peoples – is too important for us to risk him compromising what we’re trying to accomplish here.”
“I will meet individually with each of my men, so that Kark does not feel singled out.”
The next day, Spreck met with McKay one-on-one in the airlock room, the only private place on the Magellan-A. Following that meeting, he spoke with Kark.
“What is this about?” said Kark before Spreck could say anything.
“I asked Captain Gray if I could meet with each of you for a debriefing, and he agreed because he understands the importance of command structure protocols. He knows that my subordinates want to feel a measure of control over their own destiny – not that they are just being dragged along by their Master without any input. And he understands that if any of my subordinates have objections or take exception with how I am dealing with things, that it would be inappropriate for you to voice those concerns in front of others. You are permitted to speak without restraint.”
With the invitation open, Kark jumped right in.
“Master, we must not go along with this human’s plans!”
“Explain.”
“He is deceiving you! He has no intention of giving us Mars. Terraforming? If they can terraform, why have they not terraformed it for themselves?”
“They need our energy technology to make their terraforming prototypes fully functional.”
“That’s what the human says,” said Kark dismissively. “The solar system is ours. Earth is ours. These insignificant upstarts need to be relocated or destroyed. Preferably destroyed. They killed everyone in the King’s Army. Doesn’t that bother you, Master? That we sit to each meal with the murderer of our brothers?”
“It bothers me that so many must die yet, when a peaceful solution may exist,” said Spreck. “And Captain Gray did not personally kill the King’s Army.”
“No, but his crew did. Gray is not to be trusted, and the rest of the humans are interlopers, squatting on our world,” said Kark.
“Gray has told me that the humans have not only occupied Earth, but have done damage to it. A new Mars would be a pristine paradise following terraforming.”
“It’s also much smaller,” said Kark, refusing to see anything positive in the Mars plan. “It would barely support our people, even if terraforming was possible.”
“What do you suggest?”
“We should commandeer this vessel, return to the population transport ships, and prepare to finish this war with a decisive victory,” said Kark.
Spreck sighed. “I will take your advice under consideration. For now, do not do anything without explicit orders from me.”
“Of course, Master,” said Kark.
During ship’s night, Spreck and Gray spoke in confidence once again.
“You were right,” said Spreck. “McKay is in agreement with us, but Kark is troubled. He does not trust you, and he does not accept the idea of settling Mars instead of Earth.”
Gray slowly wiped his open palm down his face, from forehead to chin. “Hopefully he’s not representative of your people as a whole – or your king. So, what do you think we should do?”
“Kark is a loyal officer of the King’s Army. Despite his personal opinions, I can count on him to follow my orders. He won’t be happy about it, but he’ll do as he is told.”
“Do you think he’s likely to turn McKay to his way of thinking?” asked Gray.
“No. McKay, as an engineer, is actually excited about the idea of terraforming Mars. And I told him that as the first engineer to reach Earth, he will likely be selected for a leadership position in the joint q’Chek-human task force for the project. He now has a sense of purpose once again, and that drive is in unison with yours and mine – to end this war peacefully.”
“Good. Because this boat is too small for more than one personal agenda. I’d hate to have a mutiny on my hands,” said Gray.
Several days later, after a slight change of course, the Magellan-A arrived at a small planet where Gray hoped to harvest some food to see them through the remainder of the journey. He piloted the vessel into the thin, warm atmosphere and touched down in the southern hemisphere alongside a mountain range.
“Alright,” said Gray, climbing into an envirosuit. “The air is breathable for all of us, but it’s a little thin for humans and I’d probably start to get dizzy after a while, so I’m going to wear this. We’ll need to fan out and search the caves that are about a hundred meters from here. I couldn’t land any closer because of the terrain.”
“And what are we looking for?” asked McKay.
“The System is reading evidence of fungus in the caves – similar to the kind you were used to eating on r’Lach,” said Gray. “If you see anything that looks edible, scan it with this,” he handed each of them a handheld device. “It’ll analyze the composition and tell you if it’s safe.”
“How will we know?” asked Kark. “We cannot read your human words.”
“The green light will flash,” said Gray. “Now let’s get going. The System also reads heavy tectonic activity on this rock. We don’t want to get caught in any of that instability.”
Gray led the way into the airlock room, sealed off the bridge, then opened the door to the outside. A hissing sound accompanied the equalization of pressures, and a warm breeze hit Gray’s face. He took a deep breath. It was not satisfying. He’d expected fresh air, but it smelled like sulfur and was too thin to fill his lungs deeply. He placed the envirosuit’s helmet on and locked it into place. An external speaker relayed his voice to the three q’Chek.
“Let’s move out.”
The next two hours were spent climbing through caves and turning over rocks, seeking out and collecting what looked to Gray like a variety of mushrooms. The scanners, which had been configured to indicate what was safe for q’Chek physiology to consume as well as humans, separated the poisonous from the nutritious as they gathered the food.
As Gray finished gathering some berries he’d spotted near a cave entrance, he turned around to find Kark standing and facing him, pointing his scanner at him.
“Sorry, I’m not edible,” said Gray, smiling.
“Do not move,” said Kark coldly.
Gray stifled a laugh. “What are you gonna do, shoot me with the scanner?”
“Yes. McKay may be an engineering genius, but my specialty is weapons. I’ve configured this device to emit an energy pulse. It doesn’t carry enough charge to kill you, but it should incapacitate you for several hours.”
The smile dropped from Gray’s face, but he kept his cool. “Great plan. Then what are you going to do, hijack my ship and fly all the way back to your population transport ships? You’re going to have a tough time flying it with all the controls locked out.”
“With enough time, McKay will be able to break your codes.”
“He’s in on this?”
“No. But he will cooperate. I’ll make sure he does.”
“And what of Spreck? Are you going to ‘incapacitate’ him as well? What of your loyalty to the King’s Army?”
Kark stomped his foot in anger. “How dare you even speak its revered name! You, who slew my brothers! Now step backward into the cave!”
Gray started to slowly move backward into the entrance, when Spreck appeared from behind Kark and clubbed the q’Chek soldier over the head with a heavy branch. Kark crumpled to his knees, then fell over on his side, a trickle of dark green blood emerging from under his short blue hair. Spreck picked up the scanner.
“Come on, let’s get him back to the ship,” said Spreck.
The two carried Kark back to the Magellan-A and placed him in the airlock room. Gray tied Kark with the same cords with which he’d bound Spreck previously, and they went back outside to complete the food gathering.
“I thought you said he’d obey your orders,” said Gray, as they walked back toward the caves.
“I thought he would. I was wrong.”
&nb
sp; “Well, that was almost a very costly mistake, Spreck,” said Gray, irritated.
“I know. I am sorry.”
“How about McKay? Are you still sure about him?”
“Yes.”
“Where is he, anyway?” asked Gray. “I haven’t seen him in a while.”
Gray and Spreck called out to McKay. Gray called him by his human nickname, Spreck called out in his native tongue. As they crested a small hill, they saw a body lying on the ground.
“McKay!” Gray called. Gray and Spreck ran to McKay, who was face down and unconscious. He was also missing his left arm.
“What has happened?” cried Spreck.
“I don’t know, but whatever did this is probably still nearby,” said Gray. “We need to get back to the ship. Grab his legs.”
As they picked up the fallen q’Chek, Spreck said, “You said there were no animal life forms on this planet.”
“The System didn’t read any. Maybe it somehow missed something.”
They rushed back to the ship and placed McKay in a chair on the bridge, then ran back out, grabbed all the food they’d gathered, brought it in, and closed the airlock just as something started rustling in the nearby brush. Gray fired up the synchrostatic coil sequence and prepared for take off, just as McKay regained consciousness.
“Spreck, the medkit is in the third compartment on the right,” said Gray, over his shoulder.
“Blur,” said McKay. “It was a foul – a foul-smelling blur.”
“The creature must have a way to mask its biosigns and cloak itself,” said Gray. “That’s why we didn’t see anything, and why the
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