The Fire Crystal Read online

  THE FIRE CRYSTAL

  _____________________

  James F. Lawrence

  Copyright © 2013 by James F. Lawrence

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

  Disclaimer

  This book is a work of fiction. All persons and places described within it are imaginary. Any comparison or identification with real people, past present or future is unintentional.

  About this Book

  This book is an adventure in Space and Time: It starts on Earth. The Quest for Fire Crystal takes place across the sea, jungle, and desert. The story moves up into Earth Orbit, and you make the jump into Hyperspace – inwards towards the Galactic Hub.

  Tom, Calvan, and Amber travel through time, to our own future - ten thousand years from now. There they visit the Hall of the Masters, and hear the warning from Jalwath the Elder.

  A message for our own time that must be delivered:

  Time travel is the single most dangerous thing in the entire universe

  “Anything that can happen probably will.”

  Jalwath the Elder 12,019 AD

  Table of Contents

  1 Fireball

  2 The Map

  3 Journey

  4 The Cave

  5 Meeting

  6 Hard Times

  7 The Beach

  8 The Long Trek

  9 Shelter

  10 Twins

  11 The Cannon

  12 Enemy

  13 Conflict in Space

  14 Beacon

  15 Contact

  16 Decoy

  17Plan

  18 Beam Weapon

  19 Ambush

  20 Event Horizon

  21 Two Stars

  22 Machine

  23 The Jump

  24 Mars

  25 Hall of the Masters

  26 Return

  27 Homecoming

  Epilogue

  Leave a Review

  1 Fireball

  Tom fought with the controls as he desperately tried to pull the cruiser upwards. It was too late. He had come too close to Earth and felt the drag of its upper atmosphere. With a sick feeling he knew that the craft was committed to entry - and doomed. There was no turning back to the safety of space. He wasn’t going home.

  The outside of the cruiser was glowing cherry-red now and would soon be white-hot with the heat of air friction.

  “It wasn’t designed for this,” he said to himself,

  The computer was warning? “Pull up! Pull up!”

  “If only I could,” he thought, and knew that he would have to eject – FAST!

  It had been the first time Tom was trusted to travel alone, and he was to meet-up with his grandparents. They’d moved to a new colony on another planet, and this was to be his first visit. This trip was supposed to be routine, and if only he hadn’t tampered with the controls the ship’s computer would have handled the navigation. He didn’t need to even enter the Solar System.

  “Don’t ask,” his father had said when he had questioned him about this star system.

  “The Elders have decreed it a no-go zone,” and there must be a reason, his mother added.

  He was curious to get close to planet Earth, and take a look for himself. Now he would have no choice, he would be going down and had to eject. But first there was the power core of his ship to think about, and what that much fire crystal would do to a populated area. He acted fast. While there was still some limited control, he had chosen what looked like an empty desert to crash in.

  Locking the controls of the cruiser, he scrambled into the escape capsule. As he sat down the hatch shut, and safety arms held him in position. Then the alarm in the main ship started blasting out a louder warning.

  “GO” his mind was screaming, knowing that there were only a few seconds left before impact.

  The eject button blinked on, and he punched out instantly.

  A small group of people on Earth watched the drama from far below. A bright point of light was crossing the sky. A cry of surprise went up as they saw a small object detach itself, and then fly off at a sharp angle from the main object.

  “They’ve come back for us,” One man shouted joyously, and a cheer rose from the group.

  Tom’s capsule dropped down through the sound barrier with a shudder. A sonic boom crashed across the desert like a thunderclap, and echoed back from the dunes.

  The main ship had disappeared over the horizon now. From where it fell a massive fireball spread slowly upwards, into the sky. The desert twilight turned into the brightest noon any of the onlookers had ever seen.

  Tom watched from his capsule. “There goes the power core,” he said under his breath.

  Nobody on the ground spoke, they just stood and watched in awe as the seconds moved on slowly.

  Suddenly the shock wave hit. The onlookers were unprepared for this. They were blown over by a scorching blast that tumbled them along the desert floor. The wave passed over and rolled outwards across the arid land in an ever-widening circle. Peace again, although the landscape was still brightly lit but dimming, as the fireball spread into the upper atmosphere. Finally the people stood up and stared upwards again.

  The point of light was close now, and very bright. Then as it grew closer they could make out its shape - it was a capsule and looked red-hot.

  Tom noticed the people now. “This could be a long stay,” he muttered to himself. “May as well say hello now.”

  He could steer the capsule to some extent and managed to bring it hard down to the ground.

  As the craft cooled he blew out the door and jumped clear - only adding to the drama. The small gathering had drawn cautiously closer. Tom held both arms up with palms outwards, in what he hoped would seem a friendly gesture. “Peace,” he had said feeling a bit ridiculous.

  He need not have worried. They milled around him, shouting greetings and patting him on the back. Then a very old man stepped forward and hugged him, grabbing his arm, and raising it in the air as a cheer went up from the onlookers. Tom was amazed and after all the excitement a bit overwhelmed.

  The old man gestured him forward with a smile and said, “Welcome, we have waited so long for your arrival.” He waved to a small building in the distance. Tom didn’t have to walk. He was picked up and carried shoulder-high, and all the time the people sang while clapping, and dancing in time to the song as they walked.

  They were seated now in a comfortable room within the building, and Tom was conversing with the old man. He found out that he was an Elder of his people – a leader.

  Then the Elder explained. “There is a legend among our people – a core belief that they were descended from the ‘Star People. These ‘Star People’ were passengers on a spacecraft. “It crashed on Earth centuries before, and the accident left it badly damaged. Worst of all the entire power core was cracked all the way through.”

  Tom had taken these people to be a primitive and friendly desert tribe. Then he remembered a saying from Space School about alien worlds: ‘Just because people lead a simple life, then don’t assume they are simple people’.

  The Elder said. “The Ancestors repaired the craft as best they could, but the passengers were left on Earth. The craft was still in very bad shape, and no on knew what would happen when they jumped into hyperspace.”

  “So why jump?” Tom asked.

  “How else were they ever to cross the vast distance to their own world?” It
was as much a statement as a question. It had been decided that the crew would fly back, and bring help. There would be a rescue ship for them all to return in. The stranded people - this tribe’s own ancestors, had waited in vain, because rescue never came.

  “Every generation of our people have added their own tale to the legend, but still the best guess is that the crew simply didn’t make it home,” the old man said sadly. “So those left did what they had to do, and made the best of things. They farmed, traded and lived in peace with the local tribes.”

  “How did they keep their knowledge from others?” Tom asked, knowing that this was something he would have to learn.

  “It has become legend among our people, and we pass it on from one generation to another, but never speak of it outside of the tribe. When we watched your arrival, we thought you were them - our Ancestors the Star People returning for us.”

  Tom decided there and then he would just tell the truth plain and simple, so he explained how he came to be here and the foolish mistake. How he had come too close to Earth, and been dragged down by its atmosphere.

  The old man was sharp, and Tom realized he would have worked that one out for himself after seeing the manner of his arrival.

  “Like a moth that flew too close to the flame,” the Elder had said.

  Tom got the idea.

  “The exit from the capsule was exciting,” the old man said laughing. You scared us all.

  “I was pretty scared myself,” Tom said.

  “Will you use that beacon to contact your own people?” the Elder asked, pointing at the device that Tom had been holding since his arrival.

  “If only that were possible,” Tom said sadly. “It’s got a very limited range, and is really just a crash marker.”

  Then the Elder something that made Tom really sit- up and pay attention.

  “What if you could find some fire crystal?” he asked.

  Tom was surprised. “How do you know about that? All of mine went up with the fireball.”

  The Elder had smiled. “Rest and recover, then we will speak more,” he said with an air of mystery. Then he stood up and shook Tom’s hand. “Nothing changes for us, we live in hope of rescue. It’s part of our legend.”

  2 The Map

  One night about a week after Tom’s arrival a fierce electrical storm happened. The Elder had called him to a large roofed enclosure, with a glass sphere standing in the center. He gestured to Tom to look into it, and to his amazement he could see an image of the inside of a cavern. It glowed bright, almost as if it lit by blue flame.

  The Elder explained. “Before the original crew left for the journey home, most of the fire crystal was unloaded. It was too dangerous to leave in a damaged ship, so they hid it in a deep cave for safe keeping.” Then he handed something to Tom and said, “This is a map, and shows the location where the crystal was hidden.” He had told Tom that it was in a remote mountain cave, on an island to the north.

  “This is pure crystal,” he said. “If you power your marker with it, that would surely give you a good chance of being found by your people, and rescued.”

  Tom needed no further encouragement, and decided to set off the next morning. He really had no idea where to find the cave, and knew only that he should head north, thinking he would work on a search plan as he traveled.

  Before leaving Tom had said to the Elder, “I believe that your ancestors were from my own home planet, Two Stars. If this quest is successful, and I find the crystal, then you will know. If I get rescued then we will come back for all of you, I promise.”

  The Elder had thanked him, and wished him good luck. “Our people will be telling stories of your arrival here one day; it will become part of our legend,” he said, clasping the boy’s hand with both of his own.

  Tom set out with high expectations, and a spring to his step. He felt sad be saying goodbye though, and had grown fond of the old man and his people.

  He would travel with the midday sun on his back.

  The quest had begun.

  3 Journey

  Traveling northwards, he learned a lesson about this world. Not everyone was as friendly as the ‘Sky People’. Most people that he met seemed fine, but he needed to be wary. One rainy night he had lain beneath a city underpass asleep, and using his traveling-bag as a pillow.

  He woke suddenly with a start. Someone was trying to pull the bag away. Leaping upwards quickly he as found himself surrounded by at least five rough looking characters. Then an arm went around his neck from behind.

  “Nice shoes” someone said.

  There was an explosion in his head. The guy in front had punched him. Why would anyone do that?

  “You’ve picked on the wrong person,” Tom said, and reacted without thinking. There was a blur of movement, followed by some thuds and grunts. Then all the would-be thieves were lying on the ground moaning.

  “That’s right cry for your mothers” Tom had told them, as if giving advice. “They should’ve taught you to show more respect.” He backed away cautiously, and melted into the shadows leaving them dazed and confused.

  There was a wild edge to these places he decided, and he learned to avoid the cities. They were chaotic, and didn’t seem to have any overall plan. Worst of all they were crowded; with personal transport that pumped toxic fumes into the air.

  He became a jack-of-all-trades; fruit picker, mechanic, and even electronics whizz - repairing broken equipment for local farmers. In some ways it wasn’t a bad life. He ate well, and often rested for the night in a warm barn. Sometimes though the nights could be long, and thoughts would surface that were mostly hidden by the light of day.

  He was stranded on an alien world maybe for life, and wondered about his parents and grandparents. What were they thinking? He’d been expected to arrive as a visitor on Green Dawn, the planet that was being regenerated.

  “Where would he have gone?” He imagined his mother saying to his father with worry in her voice.

  They must be thinking he was dead. Then he started to wonder about his cousin Amber. She must be finished her science studies by now. If only he could just get just one message back, then all of this would be OK. He could live here and make a life. Maybe he wouldn’t have a choice about that anyway. The quest seemed to be going nowhere

  There had been some disappointments, as he searched for the sea that the map showed. Then there was the matter of the fire crystal itself. Was the old mans crystal ball real, or was it magic? Maybe there was a pretty picture embedded in the glass. What if someone had already found the fire crystal?

  Then a glimmer of humor would show through in the dark. He was beginning to get used to how things worked on this planet, and imagined that the cave was a tourist attraction now, complete with coffee house, souvenir shop, and a daily showing of how the crystal was discovered! He might even be able to buy a small piece in the shop. That would be all he needed to power-up the marker, and maybe get rescued.

  The Ancestors of the ‘Star People’ had no choice; they stayed stranded, and made the best of it. He did have a choice, and would continue the quest.

  Tom had seen many people using devices with touch screens, and decided that he wanted one too. He had been working for a grain farmer for three weeks, and had enough money saved to buy one. When the farmer heard this he offered to drive Tom into town, so that he could view what was available, and maybe buy a one.

  Now he was back in the barn with his purchase, swiping a finger across the screen and learning fast. Finding that the device not only showed his exact location, but also would display maps and pictures. This thing was cool!

  He would sit and play with the tablet looking at his own position on the map, knowing that if he zoomed out on the display it may even show the sea, and the island he was searching for. Then finally, like thunderbolt from the blue - he got it! Now he knew why he hadn’t found the sea.

  Before he had traveled to the mid west to find work, he had been following the edge of this great co
ntinent, and still moving north. He remembered that the water he saw was an ocean – no one called it a sea. So where is the sea? Tom wondered. It was times like this that he missed his friends, and needed someone to discuss this with. He traced the line of the coast southwards, and saw that there was a mighty gulf and a sea. It was confusing. It was time for Tom to go and take a look for himself.

  He made his way back to the coast, hitching lifts and following the road eastwards, picking up casual work where he could. Finally, from a bus window, he saw the long straight horizon of blue water. At last he was back on the coast.

  4 The Cave

  He skirted around the cities, following the coast south, and eventually reached the gulf. He traveled around it, and finally reached the southern region. Then he had found this place.

  There was grassland at the edge of a swamp and a rocky cliff beyond this, with a row of old houses running along it’s top. A long way down below the cliff edge was a beach, edged by a broken ridge of rocks - worn smooth by white water.

  Tom pulled the map from his pocket, and compared it with the coastline. The hair on his neck was standing on end. This place was special. Something within him already knew that.

  On the edge of the old man’s map there was an outline of what appeared to be a short section of coast. He touched it with his finger, almost by accident. The image changed. The entire map was now showing a coastline. He touched this again, and to his surprise the image changed. There before him was a picture of a beach, with some rocks in the background, and beyond them was the ocean. The picture was an exact match for the actual view before him. He had found what he was looking for!

  He looked out to sea, heart pounding with excitement. Somewhere out there was the island with the mountain. It was as if the fire crystal was waiting for him now, and he could even imagine finding it and using the beacon - then being rescued.

  After some exploration he decided that this place was a natural harbor. It ended at both ends with a sheer wall of rock, as the cliff behind the beach curved around. He walked backwards and forwards along its entire length, past the rocks and staying on the soft sand of the beach, happy just to be here.