RED KNIGHT
a STAR FRONTIERS Novel
by Layne K. Saltern
Faint peach clouds were floating beneath a glimmering orange-yellow sun in the citrus yellow sky. It all looked so tranquil, although the clouds were gathering for a storm.
It wasn't until we reached the bottom of the unloading ramp that I took a good look at the starport. It was empty. A euclidean plane of cracked, stained concrete stretched out as far as I could see in every direction. There were a few sparse buildings, shriveled, collapsed and blackened, like plastic toys melted in a fire. The only structure still in operation was a small monorail terminal that connected to a transparent monorail tube.
"What happened here?" I asked.
Tulk'n wasn't his grinning self, but had fallen to a far graver tone. "The Sathar happened. Pale was the first planet to fall in the First Sathar War sixty years ago. Tarkcenterr was hit about the hardest. Most of the Pale citizens fled to New Pale, which was no more than an outpost planet back then. Some fled as far as Gran Quivera. A lot of people have moved back to Pale, but they don't come to Tarkcenterr." He paused for a moment of silence. "I don't think they want to remember."