The Space Adventure of Planet Zoltos and the Green Death

By G.C. Dill

Thunder rumbled in the distance and rain fell from the night sky onto the Big Easy, its revelers and the unconscious Paul Rocheport- who was drunk again. This was his miserable life after being forced to murder and giving up control of his life to a gangster named Gregory Reznikov. In New Orleans, he eases the despair of his life with drink, jazz music and with the false love of Miss Violet’s House of Pleasures until Resnikov has to leave Earth. Paul awakes to the terrors of outer space on a Tillidian Galaxy Skipper with everything that brought him peace left behind on Earth. Things go from bad to worse when the brothers of an alien beauty he meets on board jettison him into space in an escape pod to die floating forever in space. Instead he meets his true love. But can he save her from the evil he has brought with him and will she forgive him for the Green Death?

• Language: English
• Publisher: G.C. Dill
• Release date: Jul 31, 2015
• ISBN: 9781310845840

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The Space Adventure

Of

Planet Zoltos

And

The Green Death

by

G. C. Dill

Copyright 2015

All rights reserved

Smashwords Edition

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Chapter One

Paul stumbled forward bumping his head on the wooden sign outside, Times Past, a jazz bar on Royal Street in New Orleans, Earth. He reached for the wall, missed it and fell sideways onto the sidewalk in a drunken stupor. Thunder rumbled in the distance and rain fell from the night sky onto the Big Easy, its revelers and the unconscious Paul. Ed, wearing a dark green rain slicker and hat, found him and lifted him, soaked in rain and booze, and threw him onto one of his large shoulders then shuffled off through the crowds and the gentle rain. It had been around three in the morning when Ed dropped him, soaking wet, onto the filthy cot where he slept off his binges. It was now late morning and Ed was back.

Get up, said Ed using his foot to shake the cot.

What? asked Paul covering his eyes from the bright lights in the laboratory.

I said get up. Get a shower. Get to work. Gregory will be here at three.

All right, Paul answered weakly. His head was pounding; the lights seared his eyeballs causing him to be disoriented and shaky.

Ed walked out of the lab, through the breezeway and returned to the house. Paul rolled off the cot and then held his hands against his forehead and face to protect himself from the bright sunlight of the new day as he slowly followed Ed’s pathway making his way to the house for a shower. The steaming hot water beating down on him helped a little. After the shower, Paul went to the kitchen.

Here drink this.

Ed handed Paul a blended concoction of raw potatoes, milk, and kale meant to cure hangovers. Paul closed his eyes and chugged it, then sat down.

Is there coffee?

Ed thumped a mug of black strong coffee down on the table.

Do you remember what I told you?

Yes. Gregory is coming.

You better get your ass in gear.

I’ll be ready.

Paul held out a hand and stared at it. It was shaking. He grabbed the coffee mug with both hands and drank the burning hot liquid down. He needed control of his hands as the formula required precise measurements. Once mixed, the formula had to sit for about an hour to cool enough to be handled safely. If he started by one he’d be all right. He glared at the clock over the stove. It was eleven in the morning already.

Shit.

Eat something.

Ed tossed a plate of powdered beignets on the table.

Thanks.

At one o’clock Paul stood in front of the main counter in the laboratory wearing a filthy lab coat, gloves and a face shield. The components of the green death were all lined up on the counter in the order Paul would need them. Next to the chemical containers was an analytical balance. He stood as still as stone, eyes closed, arms crossed with gloved hands resting against his upper arms, palms down, breathing deeply.

One more, slow, deep breath then Paul opened his eyes and began. He measured the viscous liquid in milliliters with a volumetric pipette. He weighed the puff of green powder in the analytical balance to the tenth of a milligram. Then he combined both in a liter flask. He corked the flask and swirled the combined ingredients. The solution was not uniform. There were streaks of green and cloudy spots throughout. He put the flask down on the counter in front of the balance and used the striker to light the Bunsen burner located two feet to the right. He took some long tongs and grasped the vial by the neck. Sweat formed on his forehead under the face shield. This step was so dangerous Ed stood behind a seven foot high shield holding a fire extinguisher. He wouldn’t be able to save Paul if the flask blew but he could save the lab.

Are you ready? Paul asked Ed.

Ready, answered Ed.

Paul lifted the flask with the tongs and briefly warmed the bottom of the flask over the flame. Paul moved the flask away from the flame and gave it a swirl. He started to smile. The swirling liquid was now uniformly crystal clear and starting to glow a bright apple green color. One more moment over the flame then a vigorous swirl and now Paul carefully placed the flask into an ice bath. He ran to join Ed behind the shield. Both watched intently through the view port in the shield as a cloud of steam hissed up around the flask then subsided. Laughing, Ed put the fire extinguisher on the floor and shook Paul by the shoulders.

You did it man.

Yeah. Time for a drink.

Paul turned off the Bunsen burner and left the tongs on the counter, then he hung up the lab coat, tossed the gloves and face shield and followed Ed out of the lab. True to his word Gregory showed up at three o’clock.

Where is it? demanded Gregory in his soft scratchy voice.

Gregory Reznikov had been strangled and tortured by some business associates a few years back. They’d left him for dead. They should have been more certain of his status before leaving him because now they were all dead and he just had a rasp to his voice to show for it; a feature that made him even scarier to those who knew him.

He’s packing it up now, answered Ed.

Paul walked into the parlor of Gregory’s house carrying a small wooden box.

Ed you can take the box now. I’m going to take a walk.

Ed took the box from Paul who turned to leave. He didn’t get out of the room fast enough.

Paul? How many vials did it make? Gregory asked.

Paul stopped walking and turned slowly to look at Gregory.

Six.

That’s good. A good yield. Thank you Paul.

Paul wanted to get as far away from Gregory as possible but he decided he had to know who was going to die.

Where’s it going?

What? Gregory coughed out the word. He was surprised that Paul had the courage to ask.

Just curious.

Zoltos.

Paul nodded and left the parlor. Zoltos was a newly discovered planet over thirty-seven million light years from earth in a solar system in the Sunflower galaxy. Ruby Durkson, an Earthling with great wealth, a shady past and a tremendous amount of money had received preliminary rights to colonize Zoltos by the Commonwealth of Planets, Department of Alien Census (DAC). If Zoltos turned out to be a pleasant planet and not currently inhabited, many rich Earth families would pay to leave the polluted, dreary planet Earth for a chance to live and bring up families in a clean fresh ecosystem. The next step in Durkson’s plan was to have the Department of Alien Census approve the planet as void of humanoid life. After that colonization could begin.

The green death was undetectable and so far one hundred percent deadly. Gregory had sold it to the developers of three planets so far. It was illegal to remove the native population by killing it off, but the DAC would never know. Under threat of death from Gregory, Paul had altered the green death from a rodent killing formula to kill humans, then all humanoids and designed a dispenser that was fitted to unmanned drones used in aerial attacks to dispense the green death on unsuspecting planets. Following Paul’s instructions the previous planet builders had filled the drones, and then launched them from space. In one incident the planet’s population of humanoid life were cave dwellers who built no cities. The scans indicated a small population center north of their equator of approximately half a million people. After the drone sweep, there was no sign of humanoid life until a year had passed and one of the new colonists was searching a nearby cave where he discovered drawings on the cave walls. Who the beings once were became a marvelous mystery to the new inhabitants of that world.

In another instance, the planet builders purchased the green death from Gregory and used it on their new world without ever knowing if a humanoid population existed, they just wanted to be sure. Then there was the planet called ‘New Hope’. New Hope was a desert planet made of stone and sand, bereft of the green plains and forests that make other planets so hospitable. The humanoids on New Hope were not native to the planet. They were descendants of an ancient prison population sent there to die by a now nonexistent people from a nearby solar system. When their sun went supernova, the home planet and its solar system were destroyed. The prisoners on New Hope were left to survive on their own. Many of the inmates were intelligent skilled people imprisoned for political reasons. They built walled cities to live in, and were thus protected from the elements. They also dug deep wells to bring underground water to the cities and the lands near the cities where they grew food. The cities’ walls protected them from several carnivorous species of large animals. The planet builder that owned New Hope used the green death to wipe out those descendants of the original criminal population, then took teams down to shut down the water supplies to the fields. The crops dried up and the wind blew sand over the cities. In a few months the cities appeared to be ancient. The DAC scans from orbit would not detect the true status of the water supply and after the planet was approved for colonization they would simply turn the water back on, at least that was the plan. It didn’t matter. The planet was never colonized as the owner of New Hope was eaten by one of the carnivorous beasts of the planet before he finished his application to DAC.

Paul continued to ponder the history of his invention and its use on his way to Miss Violet’s House of Pleasures. Once inside all thoughts of death were replaced by thoughts of pleasure and relaxation. It was now the year 2145. Whoring became legal in all of the Commonwealth of Planets fifty years prior in the year 2095. Daisy Ann met Paul in the lobby at Miss Violet’s at four o’clock. Her creole heritage showed in her smiling face and her voice.

Hello Daisy Ann.

How are you Paul? You got paid again I see.

Daisy Ann was twenty-four. She was short and when she smiled up at Paul her dimples made him smile. Daisy Ann took Paul by the hand and walked him from the lobby down the carpeted, dimly lit hallway toward her suite. Miss Violet’s was built three years ago but designed to look like a whore house from the 1800’s when New Orleans was wild and the buildings lit by gaslight. Daisy Ann’s specialty was the bath she always gave her clients before leading them to her bed.

The bathtub sat in the middle of a fifteen by fifteen foot room. The floors and walls were tiled. Each wall was a beautiful picture of a magnolia tree in bloom. The white flowers contrasted against green leaves which then contrasted again against bright white tiles. The floor tiles were painted with a water scene resembling the Louisiana bayou. Twenty alligators partially submerged in swamp water looked toward the bathtub. The tub itself was designed like an ancient claw foot tub. But it had modern features and high above hung a twenty-four inch wide shower head. The tub was raised so that Daisy Ann could work on her clients without bending or kneeling. On one side was a set of two steps allowing the client to easily enter the tub. Daisy Ann drew the bath with hot water and two capfuls of lavender bubble solution. As the humid fragrance rose from the tub Paul stripped off his clothes.

Come on, Honey. Step on up here.

Paul stepped up onto the platform and lowered himself into the tub. The weariness fled from his muscles as he slowly sank into the bubbles and the deliciously hot water. Daisy Ann reached for the long handled scrub brush.

Lean forward, Honey.

Paul grabbed the sides of the tub and pulled his torso forward. Daisy Ann gently scrubbed Paul’s back pulling the water up his back with the brush and let it cascade over his shoulders. She gently used the brush to massage his shoulders, upper arms and back. Paul leaned back allowing Daisy Ann to continue with the brush down his chest to his flat stomach. She deftly moved the brush to his upper thighs and down the top of his legs to his big feet. His toes wiggled and jerked under the water as Daisy Ann brushed the bottoms of his feet.

She walked to the wall and hung the scrub brush on its hook. She brought back a handful of shampoo from the dispenser on a shelf next to where the brush now hung. She worked the shampoo into Paul’s short hair massaging his scalp bringing him to the edge of complete relaxation. She used a porcelain pitcher to pour warm clear water over his head to rinse out the shampoo. Paul knew what was next and he waited patiently. Daisy Ann reached for the switch and the water began to bubble and swirl rapidly over Paul’s body. Then she pulled a cord and ice cold water came gushing down from the enormous shower head. The wildly swirling water disappeared down the drain and the ice cold shower came to an abrupt stop. Paul stood and Daisy Ann took a large, warm, thick towel up the steps and wrapped Paul’s shivering body. The towel’s warmth restored comfort. Daisy Ann patted him dry.

Come on, Honey.

Paul rubbed his hair dry, tossed the towel and eagerly followed Daisy Ann to the bedroom directly connected to the bath. The lights were electric but designed to flicker like gaslight. There was a fire dancing in a fireplace in the wall across from the doorway. The rest of the room was filled with a round bed. The quilted surface of the bed was covered with magnolia blossom leaves. There were no sheets or blankets; this bed was not meant for sleeping.

Daisy Ann opened her blouse to reveal a scarlet bustier holding her voluptuous bosom. She dropped her skirt and stepped out of it showing a matching scarlet garter belt, stockings and frilly underpants. She gave Paul a come hither movement with her head. Paul hugged her tightly and kissed her warm inviting lips. He undid the bustier during the kiss and allowed it to fall to the floor. After unsnapping the garter belt and sliding off the stockings he lifted Daisy Ann and carried her to the bed. Daisy Ann lay there while he removed the garter belt and the panties then she accepted him into her embrace. She worked Paul’s body to bring him to the cusp of delight as he enjoyed her squeezable luscious curves. After they finished Paul thanked Daisy Ann.

She watched him dress then said, See you again next time you get paid, Honey, as he headed out of her suite.

Paul didn’t want to go home to his cot in the lab. So he headed for Royal Street. The jazz band,