Talatu

By Dennis M Lane

16 year old Talatu Idris is as desperate as anyone for the Colony Ship d'Artagnan's Honour to arrive at Barnard's Star. There would be her first ever look at a real sky, there would be adventure - a chance to prove herself as a Midshipman - and, most of all, she would be out from under the watchful eyes of her disapproving mother.

However, Talatu gets far more adventure than she bargained for. Captured by the surprisingly intelligent JanchuaCrax, she has to convince the planet's inhabitants that they should not "turn every animal and plant against the human invaders".

Talatu has to channel her Nigerian father's storytelling ability and what she has learned about 'Gaia' to convince her captors that the first violent contact between humans and the JanchuCrax is not the only way.

Dennis M. Lane has combined the language of his poetry with the pace of his short stories to create a "Rite of Passage" for modern teens. Taking the reader through Talatu's military training, capture and journey through a dangerous wilderness; all this before she has to take on the mantle of defender of the human colony!

Talatu is a young adult novel in the 'Heinlein juvenile' vein but with a twenty-first century sensibility. The heroine is confident and resourceful, but, in many ways, out of her depth on a planet. Will her journey be the making of her, or the ending of her?

Suitable for all ages.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dennis M Lane
• Release date: Mar 6, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301208197

Dennis M Lane

Dennis M Lane was born in the monochrome days of the early sixties, deep in the industrial heartland of England. Coming of age during the Thatcher Years, the conflict that he experienced during the Steel Strike and the Teacher’s Strike played a great part in his political development.In 1986 he travelled to Nigeria as a volunteer teacher and this lead to a long career working in international development, which continues to this day.He has lived in 7 countries across Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific, each country making its own impact upon him. He has finally settled in South Africa where he has now lived for 8 years.His writing ranges from poetry, which covers a variety of themes from the personal to the political, and are written in a range of styles and forms; through short stories; to longer forms.His first book was "8 Million Stories", a collection of general poetry, and was published in 2010. His second book "The Poring Dark", a science fiction collection of short stories, poems and flash fiction, was published in September 2012 (two of the poems being nominated for the 2013 Rhysling Award). His third book (and first novel) “Talatu”, is a Young Adult Science Fiction tale and draws on elements of his experience in Nigeria. It was published in March 2013.He is currently completing his second novel "The King's Jewel" the first of "The Helix Key Series" which is a Young Adult series best described as Quantum Leap meets Assassin's Creed with a backbone of Stargate; and is populated by his own ancestors (going back as far as the time of Christ!)

Book preview

TALATU

by

Dennis M. Lane

Dedication

For Chantell

Without your love and support

nothing would get written.

Text © Dennis M. Lane 2013

Cover Art: Talatu Portrait © Dennis M. Lane 2012

www.terrandreamarchive.com

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

###

Chapter One

Wata rana shekaru aru-aru da suka wuce… That’s how my father always began stories, which, very roughly translated from the Hausa, means once upon a time. So… Once upon a time there was a girl called Talatu, she was a special girl, born on a Tuesday, which is what her name meant in the language of her forefathers. But being born on a Tuesday is not what made her special, it was the fact that she was born on a ship travelling between the stars. She was the apple of her father's eye and would sit on his knee as he told her stories about his home in Northern Nigeria on faraway Earth. Little Talatu would waddle around, following her father down the lines of plants that he tended and she would sing along with him as he named all of the plants for her. She was Yarsarkini Talatu, Princess Talatu, and her father was the King of a land of flowers and fruit, of strange smells and jets of water that always seemed to catch her unawares. Princess Talatu was the happiest girl on the whole of the ship…

But, life is not a fairy story, little Talatu grew up…

Talatu Idris! You're asleep again! Concentrate on your lessons, and see me after class.

What a way to wake up… I looked around the classroom while surreptitiously pinching myself; I wanted to make sure that I was really awake this time.

Anyone who knew me at the time, even in passing, would not be surprised at all that I started my story asleep. I was always waking up tired and, at any given moment, could be found having a quick snooze. Warrant Officer Clooney said that, once I got control of my gift, it would make me a better soldier, as the ability to catnap at any time or place is key to surviving protracted contact with the enemy. As I didn't actually want to be a soldier and any potential enemy could be sixty light years away, back on Earth, I thought that the point may well have been moot.

Of course, as our mission was to fly to Campbell’s Star and, for all we knew, it could be crawling with ‘hostiles’, I guess that Warrant Officer Clooney’s advice was pretty good.

Anyway, if I am to tell my story, I need to start in Miss Roux’s class. For it was there that my journey really started. It was because of her that I began to grow up. I think that it’s very important to be honest and so I’ll put this all down as it happened ‘warts and all’ as they say; I want to make sure that you can understand what I was thinking at the time. Looking back I’m pretty embarrassed by how I was then, but, in my defence, I was just a kid!

I’m sure that Miss Roux was really only concerned that one of her pupils was always falling asleep, but, to give her credit, she did want to do something positive to change that. I just couldn’t see it at the time. I know that it must be frustrating for a teacher to have a pupil fall asleep on them, but, really, dialectic argument? We were heading into the unknown, as part of Earth’s colonisation effort; surely there were more important things to learn than that! I glanced around the classroom and there was Matt smirking. I would deal with him later.

Miss Roux carried on with the lesson, Some people may feel that classical philosophy has no place on a colony ship like the d'Artagnan’s Honour, she turned her pasty sheep-like face towards me and I reddened, could she read minds? However, she continued, if we are not to end up as some utilitarian militaristic dictatorship, then the liberal arts have a very important place in a rounded education. You may need to learn engineering or agriculture, and I am sure that your apprentice days are both interesting and useful, but, unless one learns to stretch one’s mind, you will forever remain parochial; no matter how far we travel from Earth. As Miss Roux spoke I was nodding, she may not have believed it but, in principle, I agreed with her! I actually enjoy learning; it’s not my fault though that she could bore the pants off a virgin nun in a chastity belt!

#

School finally came to an end and my mates filed out of the classroom; leaving me to the tender mercies of Miss Roux. She is not the worst of teachers I guess, although, having lived my whole life on The Dart, I have a very small sample to go on. However, one thing that Miss Roux most definitely is, is a stickler for the rules. To my constant pain, sleeping in class had risen in the charts and, for the past year, had been undisputed number one in the hit Talatu parade. Talatu! I was drifting again and my teacher’s sharp tones brought me back. What can we do with you? I have seen your quarterly medical reports and there is absolutely nothing wrong with you. Your mother tells me that you get enough sleep. So what is the problem? She regarded me with her large watery eyes.

I don’t know Miss. I was brilliant back then. Sixteen years old and all I could say was, ‘I don’t know Miss’!

Well, I’m afraid that I cannot tolerate this any longer. If she’d been tolerating it, she could have fooled me… I propose a two-pronged solution. First, I need you to actually do some work; I expect a five thousand word essay on the history of dialectic by tomorrow. My eyes went wide; there went movie night flying out the porthole! Second, I am going to arrange for an appointment with Dr. Moon. If there is nothing physical, then we need to take a look inside that tired little brain of yours.

But…

But me no ‘buts’ Talatu, I will speak to your mother about this and I know that she will concur. Now, I can see that Margaretta Becker is loitering outside, so run along.

Yes Miss. I kept my head down and left without another word, I knew that anything else that I said would just dig me deeper into the mire.

Maggie was in the corridor waiting for me. Jeez Tal, what is it? she asked.

A five thousand word essay…

That’s not so bad…

AND I have to see Dr. Moon.

Maggie tutted, So Roux The Ewe thinks you’re crazy?

Apparently so. I stomped off down the Rim, Maggie following quietly, not wanting to twist the knife that I could feel sticking out of my back. How was I ever going to live down being sent to the shrink!

I thought that it was probably best to give Miss Roux the time to talk to Mum before I got home, so Maggie and I headed south along the Rim until we got to the Kids Commons. I needed a chocolate shake and a quiet corner to sulk in.

The Kids Commons was split into two sections, the first, which everyone had to walk through, was more of a youth club. There were table tennis tables and other physical activities, TriDChess for those into more intellectual pursuits, and games consoles. Behind all of the bustle and bright lights could be found the booths where the older teens hung out, basically our area was like a bar without the alcohol. We normally grabbed a booth right at the back; we weren’t interested in preening and posing like some of our classmates, and the ridiculous slang that they were constantly coming up with! Looking back, I suppose the three of us were a bit elitist, but we felt that we were a part of something bigger than just ourselves, and didn’t really feel the need to be drawn into what we saw as the pettiness of the teen culture of the ship.

The Gods of Teendom were not on my side that evening. Before we could even get to a booth, Matt was on us like a tick on a dog. So, asleep again! What on Earth do you do at night?

Well, I replied, I am not on Earth, have never been to Earth, and what I do at night is none of your business! Matthias Hendriks, or Matt as he is more popularly known, had been a friend for as long as I can remember, but he can certainly be a pain sometimes. No, strike that; he can be a pain MOST times. As usual he completely ignored my barbed comments and carried on grinning.

OK then, on to more important matters, Matt continued, I hear through the grapevine that old Clooney is planning something big in a couple of weeks.

Oh yeah? sneered Maggie. What special security pass did you steal to find that out? Or are you a psychic and read his mind this morning?

I ignored their bickering and walked to the dispenser to key in a Mocho-Choco-Fudge-Fantasia and then I took it with me to a corner. The other two could join me when their argue-motors ran down.

What Matt had said had piqued my interest. I sat down with my shake and tongued my uplink tooth. **Yes, Talatu?** the calming voice of The Dart’s all access computer whispered in my inner ear. **What can I do for you?**

**Hi Castelmore. Can you check for any area bookings made by Warrant Officer Clooney for the next two weeks?** I subvocalised.

**Warrant Officer Clooney may have flagged them as ‘Need To Know’ and locked them.**

**Well, I need to know!** I pulled up a menu on my retina screen and accessed some very illegal subroutines. Maggie may have been a sceptic with regards to Matt’s access to the SecureNet, but, what even she didn’t know, was that I had been wandering around inside the command directories since I was twelve! Castelmore could be a bit of a stickler for the rules sometimes; that was when I needed to give him a little bit of a push.

Once I’d slipped through what I called ‘the kiddie lock’ Castelmore sounded more business-like **The Rim Forest has been designated off limits from 06.00 to 18.00 on the Tuesday after next.**

**The whole of the forest? All three quadrants?**

**Yes.**

Now that was news. The Cadets had run exercises in the Rim Forest before, but restricted to one quadrant. It looked like Matt was right and Clooney was planning something big; this would take in over a kilometre of forest trails.

So, Tal, asked Matt, grinning, are you staying for the movie later, or do you have to get to bed early? Obviously he had tired of tormenting Maggie and so had returned to his default target.

I shrugged my shoulders, trying to look nonchalant. Neither. Have an essay to write.

Sorry, he sighed. That Roux is a pain when she’s ‘doing something for your own good’ isn’t she?

I couldn’t help but smile. She sure is. Whatever Matt’s faults, he does know how to lighten a mood… eventually.

Well, at least you can relax with your shake first. He headed towards the media console, What do you fancy? Dolphin Punk or Trad Rock?

I wrinkled my nose I can’t face all that high pitched squeaking right now, let’s stick with the rock huh? Unable to help it, I found myself relaxing and letting the music flow over me. I subvoced to Castelmore **Please put together some summary notes on the history of dialectic argument for me to review this evening.**

**Will do, Talatu,** he replied.

#

Mum was waiting for me when I got home, exactly as I’d expected. She had her ‘I love you darling, but you can be soooo frustrating’ face on. Talatu, where have you been?

Hello to you too, Mum.

I’m sorry Talatu, hello; it’s just that I have had a worrying conversation with Miss Roux.

I frowned. Well, to answer your question, I have been in the Kids Commons. I thought it best to leave you free to talk to Roux The Ewe alone.

Talatu! Miss Roux does NOT look like a sheep.

So YOU say, I shrugged.

Well, Talatu, I have had that conversation with Miss Roux and I have to say that I agree with her, you need to see Dr. Moon.

Mum! I’m just tired!

You are not just tired, you zone out, you fall asleep when you shouldn’t need to, you have trouble concentrating. I’m worried about you.

And so you’re going to humiliate me by sending me to a shrink! Thanks a LOT!

My mother shook her head slowly, Talatu, whether you can see it or not, we all have your best interests at heart.

Fine! I have an essay to write. I stalked off before Mum could get another word in. I could see that what she said was true, she was trying to do what was best for me, but it’s a teenager’s job to give their parents a hard time.

#

The next day, after school, I found myself in the Eastern Quadrant waiting for all the other kids to wander off and do whatever fun stuff they had planned. As soon as the corridors were empty, I picked up speed and slipped into Sick Bay. The nurse on duty looked at me suspiciously; as usual I was a picture of good health. Yes? Can I help you?

Got an appointment with the shrink, I mumbled. I’m Talatu Idris.

Dr. Moon will be ready for you in a few minutes. She had put the official emphasis on the word ‘Doctor’ obviously none too happy with my ‘shrink’ comment.

Fine, I said, and plonked myself down on the couch by the bulkhead and sat staring at the pattern on the carpet.

It was only a couple of minutes later that a pair of large feet appeared on the floor in front of me. I looked up into the smiling face of Dr. Moon. I knew that it was going to be difficult to keep the sullen teenager act going for very long if he kept on smiling like that.

Hello, Talatu. It’s a long time since I’ve seen you.

An opening I couldn’t resist, Not long enough… I could feel the cold hard eyes of the nurse boring into me.

Now then, Talatu, smiled Dr. Moon, it won’t be that bad. Follow me.

I, of course, followed.

Dr. Moon’s office was a strange mix. As the only full-time psychiatrist onboard, he had a hybrid office, part medical consulting room, part lounge decked out with some lovely imitation leather couches, and part playroom with brightly coloured toys in the corner. I went over and sat on the edge of a couch, not wanting to look too comfortable.

So, Talatu, how are you feeling?

Fine.

Sleeping well?

Yes.

Plenty of friends?

Yes.

Doing well in school?

OK.

So – what’s the problem?

Obviously, one word answers were not going to deflect him. Look Dr. Moon, as far as I’m concerned, there isn’t a problem. Sometimes I lack concentration, sometimes I fall asleep. Has anyone thought to evaluate Miss Roux’s teaching?

Dr. Moon grinned, I know what you mean; she can be rather dry and precise.

Just a bit! I gave a tentative grin back.

But, Talatu, I don’t think that Miss Roux’s teaching style is the main reason. The other children in your class manage to stay awake. He leaned forward and stared into my eyes and I felt as if he was looking at my brain. What do you think about when you lose focus on what other people are saying?

It’s like I already know what they are going to say, so I move on. I see tangents to what they’re saying and they’re often a lot more interesting.

What sort of tangent?

Well… for example, the other day Miss Roux was talking about the Eco Revolution in the 22nd Century, how, after the extinctions and the pandemics, things began to get better when the human population stabilised at five billion. I started to think about how many colony ships it would take to transport five billion people off of the planet – it’s nearly twenty nine million ships by the way – then I got to thinking how quickly we could fill the galaxy with humans.

"That all sounds very interesting. It’s the