In the swirling vortex of super-space, a battered cargo craft flew ever onwards. Saleek’s ship had been damaged during the escape from Antorii Two and its energy levels were dangerously low. Inside the vessel, Patrick walked up to the cockpit and entered through the main hatch located at the rear. He found Saleek sat in the pilot’s chair and the main view screen was filled with an image of Zeeree’s face rather than the ever-changing miasma of super-space.
‘Hi Saleek,’ greeted the human as he sat down at a station to the left of the lyan. ‘How are you feeling?’
Saleek swivelled in his chair to face Patrick.
‘I’m feelin’ better thanks. I’ve had a long rest, eaten some food in the mess chamber and taken some painkillers and healer meds. I’ll be fine.’ The spiky lyan had a rather large bruise on the left side of his face but apart from that he looked in remarkably good condition, all things considered.
‘I’m glad to hear it,’ replied the human with a smile.
‘How about you?’
‘I’m OK I guess. I’ve had a rest in my quarters and grabbed a few hours sleep. As soon as I finished eating some food in the mess chamber I came up here. By the way, you’re seriously going to have to show me how to order different meals from that dispenser. As much as I like the taste, there are only so many servings of trefarli I can take!’
Saleek chuckled softly.
‘Zeeree, remind me to show Patrick how to use the dispenser some time, will ya?’
‘I will endeavour to remember,’ said Zeeree in a somewhat bored voice. ‘However, if we do not stock up on ingredients soon, there will not be anything left to make any meals at all.’
‘You’re all business today, aren’t you Zeeree?’ commented Saleek as he put his hands behind his head and leaned back in his comfortable chair.
‘I just feel that sometimes you do not take situations seriously enough,’ retorted Zeeree in a bit of a huff. ‘Need I remind you that we are running low on food, fuel and energy? And that is to say nothing of the damage done to our hull during our escape from Antorii Two which needs repair-’
‘By the way, nice work on that one, Patrick,’ interrupted Saleek with a grin, knowing full well how much it annoyed Zeeree when she was interrupted.
Patrick smiled sheepishly as Zeeree said, ‘I did have a little something to do with it as well. Without my piloting skills we would not have made it to super-space.’
‘You know I’m only kiddin’, Zeeree. Gee, lighten up a little,’ said Saleek as he leaned forwards and sat up properly in the pilot’s chair. ‘You both know how much I appreciate your help, right? Then there’s no need to say it all the time, is there? Now, let’s get down to it. We need a place to set the ship down for a full refuel and repair. Zeeree? Where are we heading at the moment?’
‘It has been fifteen hours and twenty one minutes since we jumped to super-space and our speed has been constant. Based on our trajectory and position when we jumped, I have calculated a number of possible systems we could be in at the moment. Unfortunately, the only way to know for sure is to jump back into normal space and see for ourselves. I only hope we materialize back in the middle of a populated system and not in the middle of a black hole or star.’
‘Yeah, I think we’re all in agreement on that one,’ said Saleek.
He tapped a few buttons on the pilot’s control panel.
‘Well, there’s no sense in putting it off any longer. Zeeree, prepare to bring the ship back into normal space.’
‘Are you certain, Saleek?’
‘Absolutely. We can’t stay in super-space forever. There’s no supply stations or space-docks out here for starters. Let’s do it.’
‘Very well,’ said Zeeree. ‘I would just like it on record that according to my calculations, we have a roughly one in five chance of materializing in the path of a hazard when we make the jump back to normal space.’
Patrick gulped. Those odds did not sound very good at all.
‘That can’t be right,’ said Saleek. ‘I’m sure you just make up these things to scare me.’
‘Sometimes I feel that you need to be scared into taking things seriously,’ replied Zeeree. ‘And, just so you know, I’m not making up those odds. By my reckoning, we will be materializing in the middle of some densely populated systems full of planets, moons, asteroids, space stations and ships.’
‘Well, there’s only one way to find out!’ exclaimed Saleek whilst wearing his trademark grin, seemingly unworried about the AI’s predictions. ‘Zeeree, prep the jump drive and bring us back into normal space.’
Patrick said nothing but unconsciously held his breath and gripped the armrests on his chair in anticipation of the jump.
‘Priming jump drive. Jump drive at full power and ready. All systems secured. Returning to normal space in three...two...one....now!’
With a huge flash of light and a slight fizzling sound as energy dispersed from around the craft, Saleek’s ship popped back into normal space. For a moment, the lights went out in the cockpit before coming on again. Everything appeared to be all right – all systems were functioning and all the ship’s occupants were still alive. The main view screen, however, was blank.
‘Well, we haven’t slammed into anything and we’re still in one piece. I’d say that’s a win,’ said Saleek from the pilot’s station as he checked the readouts on his console. ‘Where are we, anyway? Zeeree, can you get the screen workin’ and show us what’s out there?’
Patrick let his breath out in a long sigh and relaxed his grip on his chair.
‘Currently computing our location based on local star constellations. I...don’t believe this...’ uttered Zeeree in disbelief, tailing off. ‘We’re in the middle of the Barren Lands. Something must have thrown us off-course during our flight through super-space – we are nowhere near where I thought we would be.’
An image finally resolved on the main view screen which showed a rich black colour with a tiny handful of stars scattered across the periphery. To the bottom-left of the screen was a small reddish-orange blob that looked like a planet composed entirely of sand or perhaps rock. Patrick was confused as he squinted at the screen.
‘The “Barren Lands”? What are they?’ he asked.
‘The Barren Lands are a collection of star systems which contain nothing but asteroids, bare hunks of rock for planets and very few natural resources. Those few planets that can support life are full of nothing but drifters, peasants, homeless people and criminals,’ explained Saleek.
‘You should fit right in then, Saleek,’ said Zeeree dryly.
The spiky lyan shot her a glare before returning to studying the holographic display to his right.
‘However, you are also correct in your statements. The barren lands are very aptly named. There is virtually nothing in these systems apart from some asteroid fields, a few gas giants and lots of barren desert planets with very little indigenous life or natural resources. We may not find anywhere that can help us refuel and recharge the ship in these parts – we certainly won’t find any space-docks out here,’ said Zeeree somewhat disappointedly.
‘Well, we won’t know for sure until we try, will we?’ suggested Patrick, trying to stay positive.
‘Good point dude,’ agreed Saleek. ‘We’re approaching the third planet in this solar system now. Zeeree, scan the planet’s surface for any towns or settlements that might contain service depots. Hell, even a local mechanic shop would be better than nothing!’
‘Understood. Scanning...’ said Zeeree.
Around five minutes later, she had completed a full scan of the small planet’s surface.
‘Well, any good news?’ asked Saleek hopefully.
Patrick was not particularly superstitious but he crossed his fingers anyway, hoping that Zeeree would find something that could help them. If not, it wouldn’t be long before they ran out of fuel and if they couldn’t get to a more populated star system by then, they were done for.
‘I have completed a thorough scan,’ reporte
d Zeeree as her face popped up on the main screen.
‘And?’ prompted Saleek, impatient to learn what the AI had found.
‘And I was correct in my initial assumption – there are no service depots that match any known configurations on the planet’s surface. I doubt any of the larger companies would have sufficient reason to open and maintain a service depot in these parts anyway. However, I have located a large settlement twenty seven point four Drekkmas north of the equator. There are a number of buildings and constructions present and I believe one of them is a mechanic shop of sorts.’
Saleek sighed.
‘Well, I guess we really got no choice, do we?’ he said bitterly. ‘Zeeree, how much fuel do we have left?’
‘Fuel levels are down to six percent of maximum capacity. We have enough remaining to explore this solar system and the surrounding ones. Beyond that, we are unable to travel any farther. Also, you should know that we do not have enough energy to make any more jumps to super-space, at least not without recharging the internal battery first.’ After a pause, the AI added, ‘I strongly recommend we land on this planet and see if the locals can help us. I do not believe we will find anything better on any other planets nearby.’
‘I agree,’ said Saleek as he typed commands on his console. ‘Zeeree, take us down into the atmosphere and hover above that settlement. Then, get someone on the com from that mechanic shop. Let’s hope they can help.’
The Hidden Treasure of Darfor Page 29