Planet Secrets

By Trisha M. Wilson

**Book 1 of 3 in the Planet of Riches Trilogy**
For someone who’s been in college as long as I have, you’d think I’d be used to people by now. And for the most part I am...until I met Meredith.

Meredith was annoying on too many levels to count and was just too self-centered to live. Not that I had plans on killing her because I didn’t. Instead, I planned to ship her away to a slave planet where she’d spend the rest of her life toiling away in inhumane conditions. Poetic justice as I like to think of it for all she’d ever done to me.

But as I dug into her history, and present, I found out that she was looking for the Planet of Riches, a mystical planet which generations of people have been searching for.

A planet I’d just started searching for.

If that wasn’t bad enough, she was dealing with the Planet Mafia, the biggest and most organized mafia in the universe.

Could I use this association to my advantage or would I end up disappointed?

Would I find the Planet of Riches or end up as lost as all the others who’d searched and found nothing?

What secrets did this planet have just waiting to be revealed?

**This is Book 1 of 3 in the Planet of Riches Trilogy and ends in a cliffhanger.**
Book in the Trilogy:
Planet Secrets (Book 1)
Planet Mafia (Book 2)
Planet of Riches (Book 3)

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trisha M. Wilson
• Release date: Mar 5, 2014
• ISBN: 9781310752308

Trisha M. Wilson

Trisha M. Wilson lives in Wisconsin. With a degree in History and minors in Math and Business Administration, Ms. Wilson still has no idea what she wants to do with her life. When not regularly contributing on Colbyjack.net, she leads the life of a happy hermit with her three cats and family.

Book preview

Planet Secrets

By Trisha M. Wilson

Edited by Colby Trax

A Tale of Following the Ancients

Planet of Riches Volume 1

First Serialized at  WWW.COLBYJACK.NET

Copyright © 2014 by Trisha M. Wilson

Cover by Trisha M. Wilson

All rights reserved.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

A Colbyjack.net Serial Tale

Smashwords Edition 2017.10.28

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

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Table of Contents

Planet Secrets

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

About The Author

Works from Colbyjack.net

Chapter 1

I was in college for twelve years before I received my bachelor’s degrees.

But don’t for one moment think it took me three times the norm because I was stupid. In reality, I’m quite intelligent, if I do say so myself.

It took me so long because I was unable (or one could say unwilling) to choose a major and stick with it.

Oh, I’d be fine in a program for a year or two, but usually when I was only a semester away from graduating, I’d become bored, dislike my classes or teachers, and become interested in some other major.

It’s not like the system prevented me from doing this. They actually encouraged it by paying for all twelve years of tuition, housing, food, and a nice stipend to spend on whatever I wanted.

Eleven wonderful years into my post-secondary educational career, and just as I was contemplating changing my major yet again, this time to underwater basket weaving, I was called into the academic adviser’s office and encouraged to stick with my current major and graduate in a year.

And by encouraged I mean threatened. They actually threatened to cut me off. No more free tuition, no more free food, no free housing, and even worse, no free money. What is the world coming too when you can’t get free money for going to school? Have they no pity for the poor college student just trying to find herself?

I guess not. I could tell by my adviser’s tone he wasn’t kidding. I really did have to graduate or be thrown out. Either option was fine with them. They just wanted me gone as soon as possible.

After I’d gotten over my shock, I promptly began inquiring with neighboring colleges. Would they take me, with all my faults, and allow me to continue studying?

I soon found out the answer was no.

When I met with each of the other schools’ advisers something weird kept happening. At first, they would happily welcome me, offering me hot chocolate and cookies almost before I’d even sat down.

But once the normal pleasantries were over, the real interview would begin. How old was I? Had I ever been to college before? What did I hope to major in? How long did I plan on being at their school?

These were ordinary questions and I always answered truthfully. Not that I could have really lied. For all they’d have to do was enter my name into their database and find out about my attendance at Wukie University.

Once they learned I’d been in school for eleven years, their expressions would change. And so would their questions.

They’d start asking me why I’d been in school for so long.

Why I wanted to come to their school.

And, when did I plan on graduating.

The answers to these questions were tricky.

I didn’t want to lie, but I felt I had to.

I really wanted to keep getting the free ride, and keep growing my bank account for as long as humanly possible.

If I told the truth, I wouldn’t even have had a chance.

So I lied.

I said my teachers were mean to me, the classes too difficult, and I wanted to come to their school to get a new start. I wanted to start over with a new major in hopes of forgetting what had happened in the past. As to when I’d graduate, I became very vague. I’ll graduate when I can, I’d say to them. I was unwilling to be definite with a year or any timeframe at all.

Something about what I said must have come across as shady because that’s where the interviews would end. They’d say they were sorry but they didn’t have any room for me. They thanked me for my interest and encouraged me to graduate from my current school.

Effectively, here’s your hat, there’s the door, don’t let it hit you on the way out.

I knew what they were thinking; it was plastered all over their faces. They thought I was too stupid for their high and mighty schools. They only wanted the best and brightest and to their way of thinking, I wasn’t, just because I’d been in school for more than a decade.

I didn’t take it personally, but after going through fifteen different schools, I came to the shocking conclusion my free ride was ending. This realization left me in a weird position.

I’d never really believed I’d really have to go out into the workforce. I’d always thought I’d slip through the cracks of the educational system, able to be funded for my entire life.

I mean, being a student is really not such a bad thing. Yes, the homework is boring, but when you only do what you need to in order to pass the class, how much is there really?

Not that some of my classes weren’t interesting, because they were. Some of my favorite classes were on astronomy, exploring the heavens and the millions of planets in the universe. I was very sad when I had to change majors again because the last class, Legends of the Universe, sounded like a seriously interesting class.

But now that I did have to graduate, why not take the class? I’d just tack it on with my other classes in Logic.

Later, after looking at my schedule I also decided I might as well finish up my major in Bakery Science. Sure, it would mean I was graduating with three majors, but if I had to graduate, I might as well have fun to the very end because what was life without a little fun?

Chapter 2

One of the oldest legends in the cosmos is of a planet of riches, Professor Addy said as she paced in front of the large classroom. "Planeta Divitiarum is how the Ancients referred to it and they believed that this one planet, out of the ducentillions which exist in our universe, contained infinite riches. What exactly these riches are is unclear for the tomes use extremely vague language and untraceable references, but over the years many experts have speculated as to what these riches could be.

The majority of these experts postulated that the term ‘riches’ meant gold, silver, and other precious metals which have been sought after for millions of years. Others believe the planet is dripping in jewels such as natural red diamonds, benitoite, and musgravite. She paused for a second, looking around the room, before continuing.

"There is yet a third, very minor but vocal group which believe the Ancients meant none of those trivial, consumerist objects, instead indicating that the planet was abundant in water, food, metals, and minerals. All of which are items the Ancients would have been in desperate need of, especially during the Great Tendo.

"The Great Tendo, which you’ll remember from your other history classes, was the period when the Anarchists were most heavily bombarding the Ancients. This bombardment made it almost impossible for anyone to farm or mine, which would have been necessary to replenish their supplies, especially after the Ancients’ own military campaigns.

Along with the name of the planet, the scrolls, which remain, give directions for one to find the planet in question. But again, these are not the type of instructions which one can follow easily like take a right at the quad, a left at Henning’s Café and the Planet of Riches will be the first door on your left.

The class laughed at this. This was an old joke spanning many years. There was no quad, never had been a Henning’s Café, and certainly no door on the left. This was, however, where the older students tried to send the naive freshman who didn’t know anything. It was always hilarious when they asked for help finding said quad and everyone gave them conflicting directions.

When the laughter finally died down, she continued. For the thousands of years since these documents were rediscovered, scholars and laymen alike have been trying to follow the directions, but nobody has yet found the very elusive Planeta Divitiarum.

Professor Addy stopped speaking again, breaking the intense concentration that I’d had on her. I was always fascinated with the stories she told us. Every single one was different and new and mind-blowing.

I glanced around the room and saw Meredith Oblinger with her hand up.

By the Ancients I hated Meredith. She always had to raise her hand when things were getting interesting. She couldn’t go a half hour without having to say something, even on test days.

She was a thorn in my side.

No, not a thorn, a sword.

She was the ever present sword thrust into my side.

If I could have shipped someone off to the Zandana System, which was well known for its inhumane conditions and high mortality rates, it would be her.

Yes, Meredith? Professor Addy said. She sounded as fed up with Meredith’s questions as I was. She probably was. From what some of my classmates had said, this was her fifth class with Meredith. Could you imagine having to put up with this annoying creature for five semesters? I couldn’t. Or maybe I really didn’t want to.

"Doesn’t anyone have any idea as to where this rich planet could be?" Meredith’s nasal voice grated on my sleep deprived nerves.

I’d been up partying at the Den of the Ancients, the poshest space club in the area. (Space clubs were only considered such because the decor made one feel as if they were in space. There were stars on the walls, the ceiling, and even the windows. The only music they played were those of space musicians, and since most of these musicians liked to imitate the sounds they heard in space, you could almost feel like you were in space.

And if all this wasn’t enough for you, the employees of the club wore skimpy space outfits, usually metallic in nature, selling only drinks and food you’d find sold in starbases. All of this added up to a feeling you weren’t on your own planet anymore, instead were moving around with the stars.)

Not only were all the men who got into the club loaded, they were also smoking hot. Since I hadn’t gotten out of the club until six in the morning, I’d barely had enough time to change clothes and eat something. Sleep, however, would have made me late, and I would rather be blurry eyed and sleep deprived than miss this class.

Legends of the Universe was the most interesting class I’d ever come upon. The prof, Harmony Addy, was energetic, engaging, and a joy to have as a teacher. She didn’t give us stupid or pointless reading assignments, her tests were fair and open note, and her door was always open to her students. All and all, she was the best teacher I’d come across in my twelve years of college and I’d had some really good teachers during my time.

It was really too bad this was the only class I had with her. I would have loved to take all her classes – as long as I was guaranteed they’d all be like this one. But, alas, that was not to be. What with the school’s administrators breathing down my neck like an old man having an asthma attack. They wouldn’t hesitate to kick me out if I didn’t graduate this semester.

I wished they’d kick Meredith out. She didn’t deserve the free ride. Nobody as grating on the nerves and temper should be allowed to have a free ride.

I saw Addy barely suppress a sigh. As I said before, nobody knows the location of the Planet of Riches. If they did, it wouldn’t be a legend, now would it?

I guess not, Meredith said, frowning. When she frowned, which was all the time, it made her ugly face even more impossible to look at. But you’d think in this day and age, when we’ve charted ninety eight percent of the universe, we’d have found it by now. I mean, it’s not like the Ancients could travel far from Earth, could they?

While what the Ancients could or could not do is covered in another class, I will say we should never underestimate what they could have possibly done. Their technology was very advanced for their time, much of which we are only now rediscovering. I think it is completely possible for them to have traveled to the outer rims of our universe, found a planet which we haven’t discovered yet, and come back in a relatively short amount of time.

But –

Today’s class is not about what you believe the Ancients could and could not do. It is about myths dealing with different and very unique planets. If you have a problem with me continuing with my lesson, you can leave for the day.

Meredith sat back in her chair looking as if Addy had slapped her. I, however, was not really surprised by Addy’s words. It had been only a matter of time before she snapped and ripped off Meredith’s head with her bare hands.

I was just glad it was in my presence. I love seeing people put in their place.

There was silence for a few moments before Addy started speaking again. As I was saying, the Planet of Riches, while unique to the Ancients, isn’t the only planet to be mentioned in the scrolls of different ancient cultures. Another planet is…

Addy’s words rolled over me. I listened and took in the information but my mind was elsewhere. I was too fascinated with the Planet of Riches to care about any of the other planets she was talking about. Who would have ever thought there could be one planet in the universe which was dripping in wealth?

Even without more information, I could already picture the planet and me, covered in large jewels, glistening with gold.

This mental picture of myself started my hunt for the Planet of Riches.

Chapter 3

I had to do something about Meredith. I couldn’t take her anymore. She was nasty, disgusting, and had the worst habits I’d ever seen. She couldn’t arrive anywhere on time, she wanted me to do everything, and she smelled horrible. You’d think that in this age, she’d know what a sonic shower was, but evidently not.

After two weeks of being partnered with her on a project, and being subjected to her disgusting self, I’d come to a decision: it was either her or me.

There really wasn’t any other way forward.

Either she left, died, or quit this class or I did.

And I wasn’t going to be the one to capitulate. ‘Never give up, never surrender,’ that was my motto. And me leaving, that would be a horrible surrender of this unspoken war we were in.

Meredith, I said casually after making my decision she needed to go away, don’t you find this class difficult?

Yeah, but I need it, she answered, wiping her runny nose with her sleeve.

It took everything within me not to throw up at the disgusting sight. Didn’t she know what a tissue was?

You could always transfer schools. I hear that Dong University is a good school. I didn’t even know what type of school it was. I really didn’t care, I just wanted her gone and if by lying she left, great.

I’ve heard that, and I’m really thinking about transferring, but I’m not going to do it midsemester.

Why not? Why wasn’t she going to leave me alone?

Oh, you know how it is.

No, I don’t. Explain it to me. I had to grind my teeth together to stop from screaming at her. Maybe she’d be able to come up with a good enough reason for me not to do something extreme – like kill her where she sat.

I like this school and my roommate and I don’t really want to transfer right now. I don’t want all my hard work in my classes to go down the tube either.

Hard work? What hard work? I’d yet to see her do a single thing for this class project. I don’t even think she did the minor amount of homework assigned by Addy. No, her answers were weak at best, pathetic at worse.

"But just think about how exciting it would be to go someplace different. New teachers give you a brand new start. I really think it would be best if you leave soon. Today even. I just don’t think this is a place you should stay."

Meredith looked at me weirdly, as if not understanding what I was trying to say. No, she said firmly, I’m staying through this semester. And with that, the subject was closed.

Or so she thought.

On my side of the battlefield, the subject was still open for debate and action.

She was unwilling to leave voluntarily.

That was fine with me, I didn’t mind if she wanted to do things the hard way. Well, hard for her.

For me, what I had planned would be very fun.

Chapter 4

I started making a list of things I needed to do in order to achieve my goal.

Operation: No More Meredith

1. Find out where she lives

2. Find someone to take her away

3. Decide where to send her

4. Celebrate when she’s gone

The first item on my to-do list should have been the easiest of them all. Since we were partners on the blasted project, I decided to suggest that we meet at her place to work. Thus enabling me to get her address and check task number one off the list.

Why don’t we meet up somewhere? I suggested over the videophone a week after I’d kindly warned her away.

Why? Meredith asked, looking bored and completely uninterested in our project. Or was that how her face always looked? Sometimes, it was hard to tell if her facial expressions ever changed.

Because it’ll be easier to work on our presentation. I’ll come over to your place and we’ll be done in no time. That wasn’t exactly true. It would be hours before our presentation was done, if we worked diligently and without interruptions. But a little lie never hurt anyone.

You can’t come here, she said. Why don’t we meet at the library?

Fine. The library in an hour? Damn! Why wouldn’t she let me come over?

Yeah, an hour. The videophone screen went dark.

I got up and paced around my apartment, trying to figure out what to do now. She obviously didn’t want me at her dorm. Why? What was she hiding? Was she filthy rich and paranoid I’d steal something of value? More likely she was the messiest, dirtiest person at school and was too ashamed to have anyone over and see how she lived.

If she didn’t want to tell me where she lived, I could live with that. It just meant I’d have to find out where she lived some other way.

And maybe dig deeper into who exactly Meredith Oblinger was.

I looked at the clock and saw I still had fifty minutes before I had to be at the library and since I knew she’d be at least half an hour late I had plenty of time to start looking into Meredith’s past.

Who knows, maybe if I find something good I could use to blackmail her into dropping out of school.

With that cheerful thought, I grabbed my two year old tablet, booted it up and sat down on my ergonomic, body hugging couch. From experience, I knew it would take a few minutes for it to be ready for my use. Since I was a student, I was given old technology nobody else wanted and was expected to use it for at least two years. If I timed things just right, I might get a new tablet before graduation.

I would have bought the latest and greatest piece of technology, but then the system might think I didn’t need its assistance and that would never do. The key to living well was milking the system. Every thought I had, every action I took, was geared toward getting the most I could for nothing.

When the tablet finally came online, I started my information hunt by searching for her by name, knowing that if anything damaging was readily available it would show up first.

To my chagrin, nothing came up except her Conmis page. That might help. I clicked on her name and up came her profile. Since Conmis was the one and only social networking website online, I should have known she’d have a profile. Everyone had a profile from the very young to grandparents who only get around on hoverchairs.

Hell, even I, the person who scoffs at social media, has a profile. Now that I think about it, I think there’s a