The continuing adventures of the Leconauts
The Leconauts Night and Day
You have landed at the place where you can experience the continuing chronicles of the Loudhailer Electric Company mothership and crew. Starring Leconauts Captain Lou Loudhailer, Sonic Architect Parsons, Ricardo the Astral Bard and Bombardier Walker. Written by Loudhailer Electric Company’s Sonic Architect and keeper of the sacred flangector, this is Season 18 of the adventurous antics of the Leconauts traversing the galaxy and encountering a myriad of marvellous musical lifeforms and dastardly villains as they venture forth to perform at the galaxy’s Temples of Song.
Stardate 31.03.20
Season 18 The Leconauts Night and Day
S18:E1
MEANWHILE, IN A PARALLEL UNIVERSE…….
The Leconauts were back on the bridge of the Leco, their Sonic Starcruiser, intently watching the Vistascreen. ‘There’ said the Bombardier, ‘that wasn’t there until a couple of bidodecabits ago!’ ‘What do you suppose it is?’ asked the Astral Bard, ‘it doesn’t look like a star….’ ‘No’ agreed the Bombardier, ‘it doesn’t, but I think we are meant to think it’s a star.’ ‘But who, why, how….’ The Astral Bard became lost in his own thoughts and stopped speaking. ‘I wonder….’, said Captain Lou, almost thinking out loud. ‘What do you wonder, Captain?’ asked the Sonic Architect. ‘I wonder’ continued the Captain, ‘if this has anything to do with what Shaman Hood of the Hawk was saying about his pow-wow with the Paiutes?’ The three other Leconauts remained silent. ‘Astral Bard’ said the Captain decisively, ‘would you bring that Teetee up to the bridge, please? The one you’ve been immersing yourself in recently.’ ‘Aye aye, Cap’n’ replied the Bard, and with a familiar ‘whoosh’ of the access doors he was gone.
Several light dodecamoons away, a huge object was hurtling towards the Milky Way, on a collision course with the small and insignificant planet called Terra Gaia. The object was bigger than the planet Jupiter, bigger than the star at the centre of that solar system, bigger in fact than any other object in the known universe. It wasn’t alive in any sense which we may understand, but neither was it devoid of life. It had been pushed through the fabric of our universe just as easily as a needle is pushed through a paisley patterned cotton shirt. It came from….Outside, the Ultimate Void, where demon entities babble and writhe, contorting themselves into blasphemous shapes, and titter maniacally into the Stygian eternal emptiness…..
The Astral Bard returned with the ancient tome as per Captain Lou’s request. ‘Anything about the Legends of the Paiutes?’ asked the Captain, a note of urgency entering her voice. The Astral Bard turned the yellowed pages carefully. ‘Yes, here we are’ he replied. ‘Apparently, the Paiutes rewrote many of their legends after a meeting with a Shaman from the sky, who told them many things which were foretold, and gave them much new information.’ ‘Shaman Hood!’ exclaimed the Sonic Architect. Captain Lou looked across at him, agreement in her eyes. ‘But one legend they would not be moved on was the End of the World of Night and Day, which was handed down by their earliest remembered Medicine Man. This legend tells that the night star and the daystar will be consumed by a hungry spirit which they say comes from ‘Beyond the Spheres’. When the night star and the daystar are consumed, then the world will die because nothing will grow, the waters will not be held in check and the world will drown…..’
‘Is there anything in their legends to say that this eventuality can be averted?’ asked the Captain.
The Bard looked up, a grave expression on his usually mischievous face. ‘No’ he replied. ‘It is written, and so shall be……’
S18:E2
…BACK IN THAT PARALLEL UNIVERSE…..IT’S TIME FOR EPISODE TWO OF SEASON EIGHTEEN! IN WHICH THE LECONAUTS RESOLVE TO DEFEAT THE MYSTERIOUS ENEMY…….
‘I won’t accept that we can’t do anything about this’ said Captain Lou angrily. She was pacing up and down on the bridge of the Leco, her crew arrayed around her. ‘We’ve saved the galaxy from certain peril before and I’m damned if we won’t do it again!’
‘We will need to conjure forces more powerful than any we’ve created before’ said the Bombardier. ‘We will have to combine our flangectors and thunder machine with others to stand a chance of being able to generate the kind of power needed’ said the Sonic Architect. ‘But whose?’ asked the Captain. ‘Who do we need to seek out to stand alongside us in such a quest?’ She continued to pace up and down, and then suddenly snapped her fingers. ‘Terra Fin’ she exclaimed. ‘The end of the world!’ The Astral Bard smiled. ‘The End of the World of Night and Day! Of course!’ ‘But will that be enough?’ Captain Lou was thinking fast. ‘And the place – the place is significant. Astral Bard?’ ‘Here, cap’n’ he replied, hastening to her side. ‘We need to find out more about those Paiute legends….’
With that, the Transference Spot began to glow and a figure materialised. ‘Shaman Hood of the Hawk!’ exclaimed all four Leconauts. ‘The Shaman stepped off the spot and smiled. ‘Greetings’ he said. ‘I figured you may need some help!’
‘You were right about that!’ said the Bombardier. ‘The Paiute legends’ said Captain Lou. ‘How much can you tell us about the End of the World of Night and Day?…..’
The Object was inexorably travelling towards the Milky Way leaving cosmic mayhem in its wake. It carved a singular path through space, destroying worlds, turning asteroids into dust, displacing huge swathes of spacetime. It had a sense of its own momentous power. It liked what it was feeling……something akin to a purpose…..
Shaman Hood of the Hawk smiled. ‘I think it is entirely possible to save the universe’ he said, as though it were no weightier than the possibility of making a curry or a cake. ‘Something has come through from the Ultimate Void’ he said. ‘Something Other, something Outside, and to combat it will take a combination of flangector and thunder fire hitherto unprecedented in the annals of Jimikind.’ ‘And the location?’ said Captain Lou. ‘That will be important too?’ The Shaman smiled again. ‘Locations’ he said, with the emphasis on the plural. ‘We won’t be able to destroy this thing, and indeed, doing so would pose a significant threat to the stability of the universe; what we must do is to return it from whence it came – Outside, back to the Ultimate Void…..’
The Astral Bard looked up from another large Teetee; ‘I think I have a location!’ he exclaimed. All eyes turned to him. ‘A Temple of Song in Chameleon City! Called Night and Day…..!’ ‘I know of this place’ said the Shaman. ‘It is well found. There are three other Temples of Song called Night and Day in the galaxy. We must attack the Object from each one, simultaneously.’
‘Time to call in some favours from the Rebel Alliance’ said the Captain, decisively. ‘Astral Bard, get Admiral Bunting on the Vistascreen…….!’
S18:E3
IT’S TIME TO CHECK IN TO THE PARALLEL UNIVERSE AGAIN! HERE WE GO WITH SEASON EIGHTEEN EPISODE THREE! IN WHICH THE RENEGADE ALLIANCE COMES TOGETHER…..!
Admiral Bunting listened carefully as the audacious plan was outlined. Three Starcruisers of the Renegade Alliance each to travel to a distant star; Polaris, Alpha Centauri and Antares, and mount a simultaneous strike on the mysterious object which had somehow penetrated the fabric of our universe, thereby sending it back to Outside. He already had three renegade ships in mind to undertake the perilous mission; The Eye of the Snake, the Italian Vogue, and the Lucky Strike. Now all he had to do was convince their Captains to embark on a mission from which is was entirely possible that they would not return….
Lord Ron of the Hale smiled; ‘yes, our scanners detected this object some time ago. It clearly does not belong in our universe. The Eye of the Snake will play its part.’ The Vistascreen went blank.
Dino of Jackson D’Ville was similarly enthusiastic; ‘Almost certain peril, you say?’ he crooned. ‘Well, the Italian Vogue has spent many dodecamoons actively seeking out peril! Sounds like a hoot! Put us down for some of it!’
And Captain Cavan of the Dale could scarcely contain his excitement; ‘dawgone misbegotten, unnat’ral cosmic abominations, stickin’ they oar in whurr it ain’t wanted! Will the Lucky Strike he’p send it back to where it once belonged?! Y’r durn’ tootin’! Yessiree!’
Finally, Shaman Hood approached the Vistascreen and spoke to the Admiral; ‘I’d like some help at this end with the incantations’ he stated. ‘Could you send out Young Syd and Sir Richard of Harries on a Starhopper?’ ‘Of course!’ replied the Admiral. ‘Oh, and will you put a few jugs of psyder in the hold? I think we may need it……!’
A septalog later and the Leconauts were sitting on the bridge of the Leco with Shaman Hood of the Hawk, Sir Richard of Harries and Young Syd. The Shaman was outlining the battle plan. Captain Lou had confirmed that Terra Fin would be joining them in Chameleon City to launch their spacechants into the aether at Shaman Hood’s command. At exactly the same time the three other renegade vessels, linked telepathically to the Leco by the Shaman, would also launch their spacechants into the aether, aiming them in the direction of the Object.
‘Let’s get some sleep’ said the Shaman. ‘We’ve got a busy dodecabit in front of us!’
When the morning came the Leconauts constructed the Edifice of Song in the Studio of the Fair View, deep in the bowels of the Leco. When they were ready Shaman Hood of the Hawk, Sir Richard of Harries and Young Syd arrayed themselves in front of the archaic construction. The three Sages began a ritual called the Ghost Dance, circling around a ceremonial fire and surrounded by the sky of the open prairie, holographically represented by the Leco’s Envirocom. At a signal from the Shaman the Leconauts began to launch their spacechant into the aether. Everything began to swirl around them; shapes grew indistinct, morphed into other shapes and back again. Vast cosmic gulfs were revealed, endless vistas of terraced balustrades ran off into the distance, the thin piping of accursed flutes danced on the aether, and ancient incantations arose from throats which belonged to no creature of any sane world. Cosmic abominations stirred, then writhed in eternal ecstatic agony, amorphous and unspeakable in their hideousness. When at the very brink of sanity, faced with the insane made real, space and time simply warped, and the Leconauts found themselves on the streets of Chameleon City, outside a Temple of Song called the Night and Day. Simultaneously, in three different worlds, the crews of the Eye of the Snake, the Italian Vogue and the Lucky Strike found themselves in exactly the same situation……
S18:E4
…MEANWHILE, IN THAT PARALLEL UNIVERSE IT’S GIG DAY! CAN THE LECONAUTS AND THEIR ALLIES DEFEAT THE UNKNOWN ENEMY AND SAVE GALAXY ONCE AGAIN…..? IT’S TIME FOR THE SEASON EIGHTEEN FINALE……..
The Leconauts stood together in Chameleon City outside the Temple of Song known as Night and Day. The Sonic Architect turned to Captain Lou; ‘I feel strange, like we are in the Dream World again.’ ‘Yes’ replied the Captain, ‘it’s quite unsettling, isn’t it?’ ‘Time to get this show on the road’ said the Bombardier. They entered the Temple. ‘Look’ cried the Astral Bard, ‘it’s Young Syd!’ Sure enough, their erstwhile companion had somehow been transported to Chameleon City along with them. He came forward to greet them. ‘The Terra Fins are here’, he said, ‘along with two other bands of renegade spacechanters, Karpadia and Midnight Paradise. Apparently the Admiral didn’t want to take any chances, so he sent back-up.’ ‘Good’ said the Captain, ‘we only get one shot at this so it has to be right first time!’
They entered, to find their Edifice of Song waiting for them.
In the three other locations across the galaxy, to whence had been sent the Eye of the Snake, the Italian Vogue and the Lucky Strike, similar situations were being played out. Shaman Hood of the Hawk stood aside Lord Ron of the Hale, Admiral Bunting stood alongside Dino of Jackson D’Ville, and Sir Richard of Harries stood alongside Captain Cavan of the Dale. The Shaman, the Admiral, Sir Richard and Young Syd were all linked telepathically by an ancient spell cast by the Shaman.
The Leconauts watched the two renegade bands launch their spacechants into the aether. Each one released an energy plasma, permeating the Leconauts and filling them with a strange power which seemed to magnify and sharpen their senses. The Terra Fins unleashed a ferocious sequence of spacechants which filled the bodies of the Leconauts like nourishing sustenance. At the end of the last spacechant the Leconauts turned to each other and all agreed that they felt like enhanced versions of themselves, as if all of their powers had been increased a hundredfold.
They took their positions in the Edifice of Song. Each pronounced themselves ready. Young Syd stood in front of them, eyes closed, listening for the command from Shaman Hood to be telepathically conveyed. At last, he looked up and uttered the single word ‘Launch!’
….WILL THE MISSION BE A SUCCESS? FIND OUT T0MORROW IN THE SEASON EIGHTEEN POSTSCRIPT……!
S18:POSTSCRIPT
And so it came to pass that the Leconauts and the crews of The Eye of the Snake, the Italian Vogue and the Lucky Strike did all launch their spacechants into the aether simultaneously, each from a galactic location called Night and Day. The sounds created by the four bands of renegades cleaved through spacetime over immeasurable gulfs before converging and blending into a glorious and deadly noise.
The Object sensed danger; it did not know how to face the unknown threat so it continued blindly on its course. The Object was hit by the lethal quadrachant which split into its constituent parts and twined around the Object in a spiral formation like a ropetwist from the Age of Legends. The strands met again at the far side of the Object and reconnected into a hard sonic knot. The knot began to twist, exerting pressure on the Object, reducing its bulk as the strands continued to weave. The Object used all its blind fury to try to resist but it seemed the more it struggled the tighter the sonic bands became. Eventually, its strength depleted, the Object simply surrendered. The strands of sound continued to tighten to the point where the entire mass of the Object was compressed into a space no bigger than the head of a pin. Still the bands grew tighter until, with a cataclysmic explosion, the Object was pushed through the fabric of our universe into the space beyond….the Ultimate Void, where daemon entities babble and writhe, contorting themselves into blasphemous shapes, and titter maniacally into the stygian eternal emptiness…..
Shaman Hood opened his eyes. He knew that the mission had been successful. He gave the signal telepathically and the four spacechants, emanating from distant corners of the universe, reduced in intensity, then died down into beautiful silence. A feeling of calm pervaded the four renegade bands and their conductors. The Shaman spoke; ‘success!’ he exclaimed. The Leconauts felt a connection with the three renegade groups and heard a sublime mixture of spacechants as they decayed and disappeared into the endless aether of faerie. The other renegades felt it too and all basked in the precious and blissful moment. Then it passed as an autumn leaf carried by the breeze. All was well, all was well……..
THE LECONAUTS WILL BE BACK! WE DON’T KNOW WHERE, WE DON’T KNOW WHEN, BUT WE KNOW WE’LL MEET AGAIN SOME SUNNY DAY……STAY TUNED FOR THE RETURN OF CAPTAIN Lou, THE SONIC ARCHITECT, THE ASTRAL BARD AND BOMBARDIER WALKER!
Discover more Adventures of the Leconauts here:: https://loudhailer.net/the-leco-chronicles
Written by Loudhailer Electric Company’s Sonic Architect and keeper of the sacred flangector, Jeff Parsons