Loria Read online

  CHAPTER 1

  Buvej had thoroughly satisfied himself that Hug Nessar was home alone in the apartment before taking his life, at seven o’clock in the evening, with one soundless shot that killed him instantly. After removing his shoes and quickly checking out the rest of the apartment, he returned to the hallway and considered the still-warm body stretched out on the shimmering metal floor. He couldn’t for the life of him understand how the Sidians could stand these hideous cold floors, which froze his feet right through his socks, especially compared to what he was used to. When he bent towards the body the man’s odour overpowered him – Sidian perfume mixed with the sweaty stench of fear and the latest meal – which so much reminded him of the kirak dumplings of his own home planet. There was nothing else to do but remain calm and do one thing at a time, he reasoned, as he plugged in to the corpse to make a copy of its brain structure. It’s either they or us, and anyway they are an inferior race that has to make way for our future development. Now and then he shifted his gaze to the staring eyes and gaping mouth of the dead man beside him. A distant clicking sound from the kitchen made him pause in near panic for a second before he decided that it must just be a thermostat, or something like it, switching on and off.

  Half an hour later, when the brain scan transfer was finished, he used an isotron mask to make a cast of the face and body of the corpse. Then he flicked a switch that began the actual transformation that would allow him to take on the dead man’s body and identity. Since his orders were to eradicate all traces of what had happened, he began to dissolve the body as soon as the transformation was complete. First he dragged it over to the bathtub and, using an acid gun, reduced the flesh, bones and clothing until it was a viscous pink fluid, which then disappeared down the drain. The next step was to do the same, just as systematically, with his own personal effects, but not without a mixture of conflicting feelings. He had to admit he was a little nervous, and seeing his own identity vanish before his eyes in the spiral of fluid around the bathtub’s outlet was an odd sensation. Still, he had his orders, so he left the apartment and used Hug’s vintage hydrogen car to drive a few kilometres outside the city. The pre-assigned bit of forest there was a perfect place to bury the gleaming metal cylinder he had with him. The weapons and other technical equipment it contained would only be needed once the invasion had begun.

  When he returned to the apartment, it was good to think that everything so far had gone according to plan. He gazed with satisfaction at his image in the hall mirror. It shouldn’t be too hard to present himself as that man with short ash-blond hair and athletically-honed photogenic face. His only complaint, possibly, was that the man didn’t have the high forehead and slightly angled nose that on his own home planet were the very image of masculine beauty. Since it had become late and he was so tired from the exertion of the transformation process, he decided it was time to sleep so that he would be in good shape the next day. Slipping between two white sheets was a strange feeling, and one he’d never experienced before. But one usually takes on the customs of the place one has come to, he thought, understanding at the same time that this was only the beginning of what would be many remarkable things that he would need to get used to.

  When he woke, well-rested and early, he felt he knew every detail of the habits of the 28-year-old electrical engineer, Hug Nessar, and realized that in real life the information he’d received about Lorians didn’t fit at all. Hug was a complex creature, not at all unlike himself, which surprised him, since he’d always considered himself to be somewhat of an odd type. Never in his wildest fantasies had he expected that, of all places, this planet would deliver him a soulmate. Routines at home were completely different, but on this planet he had his orders, so he’d have to adapt to his new host body and repress his own personality. So, he watched a bit of 4-D TV, just like Hug usually did, interacting with the show and moving freely among the actors.

  “Just wait till they see what 5-D’s going to be like,” he grinned.

  When he’d had his shower, he stood in front of the wardrobe doors until the built-in sensors read his mood; they proposed grey chinos, a white shirt, beige-striped sport jacket and black shoes. Then a quick breakfast and off to work. “Everything in its own time,” he thought, as he drove the winding road up the mountain to the glistening space station where Hug worked. In certain circumstances it’s best to wait in the clothes of the fox until wolf’s time has come.

  He was from Oleg, a planet in the Kriad star system, with a population of fifty-five billion, who were suffering from malnutrition, disease, and miserable living conditions. The planet’s Straal Council had unanimously agreed to attempt everything in its power to find another planet to colonize. After years of criss-crossing the galaxy, the search was finally successful. An initial reconnaissance revealed that Loria, as the unsuspecting winner of their search was called, was an inhabited planet. The inhabitants were similar to the Olegians, but were in a postral civilization that resembled life on Oleg some four hundred years earlier. As such, they had the use of laser cannons, and neutron and atom bombs that if used to repel an invasion could make an environment inhospitable for generations to come. Straal agents, specially trained in everything from high technology to close combat, would have to be landed first, to assist the invasion force in rapidly attaining military control. Because of the persistent conviction with which the Astral Fleet Emissary had insisted that a thorough preparatory reconnaissance was essential for the success of the mission, it was decided to assign all 2200 agents to the operation.

  One of the 142 agents sent to Sidian, one of the planet’s larger countries, was Buvej, whose task was to infiltrate a strategic space espionage station outside the port city of Leskar. The city was on one of the most beautiful coasts of the Geidra Sea, which provided stunning views of a surging sea of clear, turquoise waters, long sandy beaches and dramatic mountains around lush valleys. From the outside, the station, high up on a mountain, gave the impression of being a constantly listening enormous ear, ready to sound the alarm at the slightest sound of danger, but that was, as is so often the case, just a false impression. The station’s boss, corpulent and short, in his 40s, and with thin and scraggly hair, always received his superiors with a loveable smile when they arrived on unannounced visits, but otherwise was obviously absent. As soon as the visitors left, everything went back to the usual absence of direction that was the everyday life of his personnel, which is what made it such thankful soil for a well-trained agent to move in.

  Arriving at the entrance, he greeted one of the guards, and asked if his weekend had gone well.

  “Sure,” he happily answered. Calm and peaceful, as usual.

  “Maybe you should re-marry, like I have,” said the guard, laughing, while the boom lifted, squeaking. “Then you’ll never get bored.”

  “I know, but it might end up being too much of a good thing,” he chuckled in reply.

  Once he’d parked and locked the vehicle, he walked through the station’s parking garage, where a gentle early summer breeze wafted through with delicate fragrances from the trees and bushes that were in full bloom at this time of year. Whistling softly, he then continued through the large, well-lit entrance of the main building, with its polished black marble floor and, once through it, had passed through the inner security check, at the heart of the building.

  “Hey, Hug, everything OK?” his colleague, Clatex, asked.

  “No worries,” he replied, then sat down at one of the large, illuminated, data-processing terminals, and began to sift through all the information stored in the central computer.

  His own technical abilities were considerably greater than Hugs, which was why he realized that the most difficult task he faced on Loria was probably to avoid drawing undue attention to himself by
being tempted to use his talents. So, the day passed by, lots of small talk and compiling of information and facts the constantly flowed in from the station’s listening hydrabol antennas. He already knew that there was a female research assistant, called Lydia, who was in love with him, and he wondered how his meeting her would go. Just when he was on the verge of standing up to leave the room with a diskette for the Noxvak computer, she suddenly appeared before him. She had pale grey and inquisitive eyes and a sensuous mouth, which along with her wavy red hair made her extremely beautiful.

  “Hey, Hug,” she greeted him stiffly, with a distinct frown. “Where have you been all weekend? It feels like you’re avoiding me.”

  He knew about Hug’s bisexual bent, and assumed that her impression was likely correct.

  “No, no, it’s just that I’ve had so much to do lately,” he answered.

  “So maybe you’re even too busy to manage to see me?” she asked him, accusingly.

  “Not at all, we can go out this evening, and eat at a Gambastic restaurant, if you want,” he proposed, well aware of her weakness for that kind of food.

  “Great!” she replied, with surprise. “How about Little Gimba?”

  “Just like you want, Darling.”

  “Pick me up at around seven, then,” and walked away, after giving him a kiss, leaving him standing there on unsteady legs and blushing.

  In the evening, when he turned into her gravel driveway, he had butterflies in his stomach that just kept growing in intensity, while, heart pounding, he went up to ring her doorbell. When she opened it, she seemed even more beautiful than before and, as if in a dream, heard her say that she’d soon be ready and he could come in and sit down while she finished. Her living room was large and roomy, with pale pink wallpaper and stuffed armchairs covered in flowery material. At one end of the room was an impressive stone fireplace; paintings with animals and landscape motifs hung on the walls and a large grey patterned Mintauran rug was spread out on the floor.

  A woman who says, “Soon,” may have something quite different in mind than what a man hears, which is why it wasn’t before at least another fifteen minutes had passed that she was ready. He was rewarded for his patience, though, for when she finally stood in front of him her beauty almost took his breath away. Her lips were shining red, the nails of her slim fingers were polished pink, and her hair flowed down towards a cream-coloured dress. Her long neck was graced by a glistening green necklace, which emphasized the whiteness of her skin, and on the little finger of her left hand was a ring graced by a sapphire surrounded by diamonds.

  When they eventually arrived at the restaurant, with its panoramic view towards the ocean, he found her company so fascinating that he hardly noticed the view nor the interior and hardly even tasted the food. To his unlimited surprise, he found himself not only in love for the first time in his life, but uncontrollably so. Once back at her place again, they made passionate, wild love, and only afterwards, when she said that he seemed to have changed, did he realize that he had perhaps exceeded his limits. When the floodgates of the heart have swung open, though, it is hopeless to stop and allow logic to win, and he knew inside that he would probably never find anyone else like her.

  They felt like soulmates, with a feeling of having always known each other, and as the weeks went by they fell ever more deeply in love and spent all their time together. Half-a-year later they moved into a two-story house, with green shutters, in a part of town called Brixel, which they were enraptured with. One night, however, he became painfully aware of his mission when the magnetic ring on his left hand began to vibrate slightly, which was the signal to prepare himself. Careful not to awake her, he rose from bed, sensing a wave of tenderness at the sight of her wrinkled dress lying under his trousers. He just barely avoided knocking over a flower vase before making his way out onto the balcony and dug an ejector box out of his pocket, relaxed, and felt that he could begin thinking clearly again. Fetrox-inhalation, which he had adopted since coming to Loria, and relished lustfully, was a completely unknown habit on his home planet. Below the balcony the lights of the city glistened, and in the sky were thousands of glistening stars, one of which was Oleg’s sun. While he inhaled his second Fetrox, he took a decision that matched what he felt in his heart. Inside his hard outer shell was a sensitive core, which was an unusual characteristic on Oleg, where the difficult conditions normally only created cold-hearted individuals. Besides Lidia’s beauty, intellect, and charisma, which made him blossom inside, she also radiated a strong yearning to be cared for, which strongly attracted his repressed protective instincts. At the same time as she was independent and stubborn, she could also be fragile and vulnerable, and which she was sad she pulled together her shoulders in a special way that made her seem both helpless and lost. Lidia had become the passion of his life and his guiding light, and just as dawn and dusk were insolubly united, so were their fates forever merged. In the world of the Oleg’s, there was no room for such so-called inferior people and he knew that their relation would never be accepted. During the invasion, in three weeks, Sidian’s defences should crumble like a house of cards and the country would be conquered by a tidal wave that would forever separate him from his beloved. He had to find a way to lead her to safety, but he just didn’t know how.

  Once back in bed, he lay thinking for a long time, without any relief. Before he eventually fell asleep again, with her head of curls against his shoulder, he though how strange life was and what a fluke it was that this wonderful woman had landed in his way and who he could no longer imagine himself living without.

  When he woke, at dawn, she was still sleeping, and he simply drank the sight of her while listening to her calm breathing. Throughout the day he continued to ponder until, in the middle of the afternoon, he finally knew what must be done. It was an unjust war that the Oleg’s were going to launch on the Lorians, which was why it was only right that he should try to even the odds. Betraying his country was certainly not honourable, and would cost him his life if he had to answer for his actions, but to betray the love of his life was, as he saw it, even worse. The next day he put his plan into motion by sending a list of 120 of the most dangerous agents to Sidian’s secret police, along with information about the invasion. The arrests would dramatically reduce the impact of the attack and he and Lidia would have an opportunity to find a safe haven while he considered his next move. He was certain that the agents were trained to endure the worst torture, and would remain silent through the worst of it, and never reveal his existence.

  It wasn’t hard to convince Lidia, who had been longing for a vacation, to request three weeks’ holiday to travel with him and visit the imperial capital, Oboe. She was delighted to swallow his explanation that he too had been longing to spend some time by themselves for a while, to take it easy and enjoy the historical atmosphere of the capital.

  They caught the first morning flight and landed at the huge busy airport after half-an-hour. After travelling the 30 or 40 kilometres in to the city centre, they checked in to a beautiful, polished-green hotel built in Pahir style and went up to their suite on the third floor. The room was decorated with rose-patterned wallpaper, with luxurious furnishings and, dominating the centre of the bedroom stood a wide covered bed with high white columns supporting its ceiling.

  “Oh, it’s so beautiful here,” exclaimed Lidia, clapping her hands in delight.

  “Sure, but I know of something even more beautiful,” he said, and dragged her laughing to the bed.

  After lying and snuggling among the soft bolsters for a while, they got up and prepared a simple salad lunch in the suite’s little kitchen. Lidia, content and satisfied after the light meal, took a shower while Hug leaned back in a comfortable armchair and listened to the sound of people laughing and talking in the street below. They’d be a lot more subdued if they knew what they were in store for soon, he thought, dismally.

  “Hug!” called Lidia through the hallway, a moment later, “It’s your turn no
w, I’m done.”

  “OK, I’m coming,” he hollered back.

  When he got out of the shower and returned to the room, he found her sitting and waiting, her legs tucked up under her. Her well-formed feet were bare and her toenails freshly painted a glowing light red. Her hair was still damp and the tender gaze radiating from her almond-shaped eyes, so that she was infinitely attractive.

  “Where do you think we should go and eat this evening?” she asked him, her head leaning slightly.

  “In a really fine place where we should be able to eat something really delicious,” he answered, aware that the very next day would be so chaotic that it was going to be difficult to go to any restaurants for a long time to come.

  “Are you crazy?”

  “I really hope not.”

  “But we can’t afford it.”

  “Well, once in a while one has to treat oneself to a bit of luxury; you only live once.”

  “Of course, Darling, but we also have to think about the future.”

  “So true, but this time I’m the one who’s right,” he smiled, brushing off her protests.

  When they left the hotel, it was dusk, and the streetlights had begun to glow and small hydrogen cars with their headlights on were gliding continuously up and down the street. After following a narrow canal for a few blocks, they turned into a little lane between decorated stone buildings and eventually arrived at the restaurant and a table for two. Heavenly aromas drifted from the kitchen and the fact that many of the tables were already occupied, even so early, indicated how hugely popular it was. They studied the menu at length, unable to decide, and eventually settled on the head waiter’s recommendation. They ordered a luxurious three-course meal, which they rounded off with Zanzik ice cream, Cafre tarts, and Umbrian fruit cake. As they strolled back to the hotel in the lulling evening air, several hours later, they both agreed that the food had been divine and worth the price. When they arrived in their room, he hugged her so intensively that she laughed loud in pleasure.