Free Fugitive From Asteron by Gen LaGreca Page B

curious sphere. It possessed a life-giving mix of sea and
land, with green fields and sunlit skies. The sight of this planet alarmed me
because it looked remarkably like Asteron.
    The presence of only one moon
reassured me that I had not reversed course. It did not soothe me very much,
however, because this colorful planet was Feran’s chosen destination—the one
place in the universe where I most profoundly did not want to go.
    The spacecraft began firing
directional rockets, slowing down, descending. A spectacular pink glow
surrounded my craft as I left the black void of space and entered the planet’s
atmosphere. While I descended, the automatic flight plan remained engaged. When
would it disengage? Feran would probably have programmed his ship to carry him
as close to the ground as possible and perhaps even to land for him. He had no
desire to curl his hand around the stick and feel the thrill of harnessing the
craft’s power himself. The only thrill I had ever seen him display was when he
harnessed people. I instinctively touched the scar made by the chain I had so
often worn around my neck. Fearing I would have little or no time or fuel to
alter the ship’s destination, I had devised a plan to throw Feran off track. I
might be forced to land at or near his programmed spot, but I could make him
think I came down elsewhere.
    While the craft brought me to the
alien world, I waited for the right moment. Outside my window I observed a
clear moonlit night on the planet. I saw signs of intelligent life in the
lighted clusters that signified cities and the roads emanating from them. Then
a fortuitous thing occurred. I saw that I was heading over a mass of water, a
gulf, curled inside a crescent of lights from the land masses on its sides.
This was the perfect place to set in motion my plan.
    I was now flying at the reduced
speed of aircraft travel, and I could feel the new tug of gravity as I walked
to the airlock. I slid inside the camper and activated its systems.
    “Help me. Help me. Can anyone
hear?” I said through a communication channel set to reach other craft in the
same fleet. “Help me.”
    “Is that you, pig?” Feran had
indeed picked up the signal. “But wait! You are transmitting from the
camper
.”
A touch of fear heated his voice. “What are you doing in the camper?”
    “There is a fire onboard. The ship
is going to crash.”
    “What? Impossible!”
    “I sealed myself in the camper,
where I have life support. Maybe the aliens will rescue me when I eject.”
    “You worthless blockhead! Go back
to the craft at once! By my calculations you should now be passing over a gulf.
You must not lose the ship!
I will have Asteron flight control tell
you how to save it.”
    “If you can get me off auto-flight,
I will head for solid ground and attempt to land before the ship crashes into
the sea. That way I can save your cargo. What is your password to disengage
auto-flight?”
    He paused, suspicious. “Flight
control will tell you what is necessary for you to know and nothing more.”
    “It is too late anyway. The fire is
out of control.”
    “What is this fire, and where is
it?”
    I did not reply.
    “You have three orders, you
miserable swine: You must not let the cargo sink into the sea. You must not let
it catch fire. And you must not let it crash.”
    “Maybe you should order the fire
not to burn.”
    “Go back to the ship and put the
cargo in the camper to protect it!”
    “What exactly is this cargo, Feran?
What is it you are asking me to place in a safe container while I go back into
the flames?”
    “It is something that is
mine
and that you had no right to take. Do you understand that?”
    “Fully. There was something that
was
mine
and that
you
had no right to take.
No right at
all!”
I did not recognize the savage cry that was my voice. “For that, I
will watch your cargo sink to the bottom of the sea!”
    “Shut up! You have no idea what you
are saying. You must save