Chapter 111: JP and Voice.Place: Dagerstanteen's palace. Inside JP's lab. JP's perspectiveJP didn't know who poisoned the future ruler of the Dagerstanteens… yet. Rubbing his tentacles together, he strode out of his lab. His failure beat at him with every step he took. What he knew about the Ply Weed was still so limited. What he needed to do was travel back to the moon of Franca.Trying to calm his annoyance, he inwardly cringed at the idea of leaving the palace to hunt down a weed of all things. All this work, and in the end, he wasn't helping in the search for his lost sibling. Fenton was still not found. In every aspect, he was failing his family. He needed to think. Reaching his sleeping chamber, JP used his mind to ask Rhylent to ready his ship. When he was finished talking to his sibling in his head, JP headed into the room that held his loominairin. His gray Nebos fluttered, sensitive to his frustration. After JP paused, he shaped his Nebos into a stool. Once seated in fron
Chapter 112: Meet Ike, AKA Voice.Ike sat at his eating table across from Fenton, Queen Shay, and Shay's daughter, Princess Lee. He absently petted the end of his long black hair braid while the three of them grumbled over his announcement. "Can we discuss this?" Fenton asked as he shook his head. The bolo beads on the tips of his purple tubes clacked together as if seconding the Dagerstanteen's question. "Can we talk about options?""Discuss if you must, but you all know that we don't have another idea." Ike let go of his long hair and studied Fenton's sharp gaze. "We keep talking about this repeatedly, but the answer is always the same. I must sacrifice myself. The Panchen Fire grows bigger and bigger every day, and soon I will not be able to contain it in my body. The fire must be returned to the heart of the Planet Albeon. It is the only way to keep everyone safe. You all know the dangers if this continues.""I think what Fenton means is that we—" Queen Shay wiped at a single tear
Chapter 113: The orange tree.Ike entered his two-acre enclosed garden and scanned for the queen. Shay's typically regal form sat hunched on the bench under his orange tree. The glass ceiling of the yard was being pelted with rain as she wept softly. Ike paused as he considered what to say to the only mother figure he'd had in his life.Reaching into the pocket of his robes, Ike fished out his rolling papers and his small square container of Pix herbs. He pinched out a tiny amount of loose leaves from the box and then rolled them into a cigarette. Once he had the cigarette to his lips and his container back in his pocket, he strolled toward the queen.Sitting next to Lee, Ike blew on the end of the rolled paper. The Panchen Fire turned the herbs into glowing embers, and he started to smoke. The old king of the Dagerstanteens used to say that sometimes silence was the best way to communicate. At this point, Ike didn't know what Queen Shay wanted to hear, so he sat."Baja used to love wa
Chapter 114: One small stop. Sitting at the main control panel of the small spaceship that Princess Lee had brought to him, Ike set a course toward the planet Albeon. Even though Fenton and Lee had given him a speech on not giving up his life without looking into options, Ike couldn't ignore the Fire of Life burning inside him. The Panchen fire wasn't a creation he could explain to anyone unless they had the living blaze inside them. The inferno was getting harder and harder to contain, and Ike had to get rid of the fire spirit soon. He felt like a bomb was about to go off, and he was also aware that Albeon was dying. The planet's life force was less than a flicker, and without renewal, the surface would grow cold and no longer support the people and animals.He had to do this. He must. Besides, he was tired of living in solitude and sitting in a sanctuary, watching years go by, day after day. Maybe the long periods of isolation weren't so bad when Baja was alive, but then the Dagerst
Chapter 115: Tope.The planet of Tope was basically a giant rock floating in space with two small stars turning the sphere into a barren wasteland. As far as Ike could see, the entire expanse was craters, pits, and holes. From what Ike read about the world, the whole place was intricate caves that were primarily empty with few lifeforms. Right now, however, the planet looked busy.Twenty different spaceships were parked in rows in a massive dip on the far side of where he flew. One particular cavity-type entrance appeared to be guarded by five fully armed Folantos.Ike landed his ship as close to the cave's entry as possible. His hope was that this interaction would be an in-and-out thing where he would be on his way in no time. He intended to buy JP and leave. Simple.Opening his back hatch, Ike marched down the short metal flap and then stood on the dusty surface of the harsh landscape. The wind picked up, and, in the distance, he spotted a small dust storm. Upon seeing the whirling
Chapter 16: Using the fire."The Dagerstanteen isn't for sale." The big Folanto spoke first. "Back off, Albeon warrior.""Now wait a moment, Begermay," The Deltan waved the Folanto to the side and stepped toward Ike. "I have never seen anyone from Albeon here before. Maybe I want to hear what this warrior has to say.""Name the price, and I will pay it." Ike set his gloved hands on his guns. "I don't care what it is. I want the Dagerstanteen.""I already bought the slave," Begermay snapped at him. "This Dagerstanteen is not for sale.""Don't you want to hear the number?" The Deltan seller asked. "I'm curious. Aren't you?""I don't care about the war between the Albeon slime and the Dagerstanteen trash. I want the Dagerstanteen. This garbage will pay the price for what their leader did to us in the dome." The Folanto dug a finger into one of JP's cuts. "Take your war to the battlefield where it belongs and leave us.""Name a price." Ike stretched his neck to the left and right to get ou
Chapter 117: Free me.The five Folantos on his ship spread out around his command center. The one on Ike's left held a specific kind of weapon that shot an energy rope. If he remembered right, the gun was called a tatin. Ike tried to do calm breathing as he shook his head. There was about to be more senseless death. He would not be taken alive, and there was no way he was putting JP through more torture. Maybe these beings would be wise and run away."If you leave my ship, no one else has to die." Ike glanced at JP. The Dagerstanteen scanned Ike and then his enemies. Ike wasn't sure how much JP caught that he'd recently killed more aliens than he should have. The Dagerstanteen was all about healing, so he might be miffed at Ike's behavior."We are not afraid of anyone from Albeon." The Folanto nearest JP sneered and took a step closer to Ike's Dagerstanteen. "You will both make excellent additions to our fighting ring."Taking another deep calming breath, Ike ground his teeth together
Chapter 118: Nice try.Annoyed, Ike threw himself into the seat in front of his ship's dashboard and brought up all the spacecraft's computer systems and life board warnings."Your wiring is badly burned," JP murmured from behind him. "Free me—""And you'll help me, right?" Ike rolled his eyes. "Thanks, but I'll figure this out alone. I'm used to being by myself.""Now, which one of us is obstinate?"Ike knew there was no way he would reach Albeon with this damage. The destination was too far, and the main power was failing. Using his navigator buttons, Ike projected on the celling his mapping system and weighed the options of flying back home.Reading quickly, he assessed how far he could get before the vessel would become a floating pile of space debris.Using his fingers, he waved to move the star charts as he scanned the surrounding areas. Ike looked for a mildly friendly planet where he could do a few repairs. Even with a patch job, he wasn't sure he could get to the temple, and h