The Black Planet Read Online Free Page A

very happy.  When Sharon had succumbed to cancer Lewis had wanted to die as well.  Lewis had never thought he would ever love again until he met Komoru.  It was a different type of love, but it filled his heart with joy all the same.  He knew his presence gave her strength.  She depended on him and he reviled in it.
    Her stricken face turned towards him and he thought his heart was going to burst.  A single tear ran down that beautiful face.  He smiled slowly and nodded.  Komoru closed her eyes and lowered her hand.  It only took a few seconds and Lewis felt something change around him.
    ‘Time to go Miss Komoru.’
    She got up off the chair and crossed to him.  For a brief moment she paused and placed her head against him.  He reached down and stroked her head, ‘let’s go.’
    The brief moment of contact passed and he followed her quickly off the ship.  They undocked and moved away.  When they reached the bridge she ordered the viewer to be activated.  Below the fine black dust that had settled on the craft began to cascade off it to reveal it in its entirety.  As they watched, the surface of the ship began to shimmer.  ‘Let’s go join Steven,’ Komoru ordered.

Chapter 6
    It was a sombre crew that sat and watched the replay of the alien captains last log.  Until now Steven and Komoru had hidden from the crew and the Earth exactly what the builders looked like.  It was with awe that they now sat and watched the wildebeest type looking alien speak for the last time.  They couldn’t hear his true words only the translation and to some it looked almost comedic.  More than one wondered if it was a wind up, a joke by Steven; however one look at his face told them it wasn’t.
    ‘We were fools guided by the greed of our third stomachs; for months we had been on the trail of the blue grass.  We thought we had finally tracked it to its source.  Dreams of grazing through fields of blue grass drove us onwards in this desperate folly.  We knew we were in Ortea space yet ignored all the warnings we were given.  We thought our size would easily frighten off a few of these disgusting meat eaters.  Alas, it was not a small flotilla of ships that met us as we entered the planet’s atmosphere.
    They were highly organised and deadly; both our ships were damaged in the immediate assault, but we managed to break free.  We thought we had escaped; however an even larger flotilla was waiting.  They harassed us, herded us to the edge of the great barrier.  They must have a new leader; never before have the Ortea shown such resourcefulness or organisation.  We were given the choice to surrender or cross the great barrier.  We took the later choice.’
    The great head shook sadly, ‘we believed that we could skim across the forward edge of the barrier without harm; that our shields would protect us.  We were wrong.  When one member of my crew was struck down we knew we had travelled too far and that there was no return.  Our only consolation was being able to send out a warning before the Ortea surrounded us completely and blocked our transmissions.  Hopefully no one else will fall for this trick again.’
    He rested for a few minutes before going on.  ‘The journey to this planet took my mate and over half of our combined crews.  Not every strike has been fatal and I myself have been hit half a dozen times.  I cannot describe the agony, the pain is almost unbearable.  It is the only planet we have found in this solar system so far.  There may be many more nearer its Sun, but we would all be dead before we were able to travel that far.  Those of us that are left have tended to our loved ones.  We can only hope that in the fullness of time that our ships and our essence will be found by travellers who are able to cross the barrier and survive.  That one day they will return our essence home to the planet of our conception.  May you live forever in peace.’  The recording ended.
    ‘Has anyone