by John Coon
Lance closed his eyes and released a deep breath. He clasped his hands together, interlocking his fingers, and rested his chin on his knuckles like someone in deep thought or deep prayer. After a minute or so, he opened his eyes and fixed his attention on Xttra again.
“Someone needs to set up the sensors, right?”
Xttra cracked a smile and gave him a friendly slap on the shoulder.
“It will be fun.”
The two old friends donned zero gravity suits. Jbali donned an oxygen mask and joined them inside the cargo bay. He opened the lower hatch and helped in lowering the sensor array through the opening. Xttra and Lance followed suit and lowered themselves onto the crater floor. Their boots left distinct prints frozen in dust as though each print was a mold forged from clay.
Every step they took needed to be calculated and measured. Xttra worried he would lose his balance and topple over at any moment as they pushed the sensor array forward. His steps bordered on hops and his feet kicked up a spray of dust and bits of rock as they plodded toward the center of the crater.
“How are you holding up?”
Xttra did not dare turn his head to look over and confirm Lance remained in good shape. He kept his eyes focused on the ground ahead to avoid tripping over any loose rock or dust.
“I'm surviving.” Lance's voice carried a hint of wariness. “Just trying to keep my mind occupied.”
“What are you thinking about?”
“The last slotball match I watched. It must have happened a year ago now. I still remember how bad Sendala clobbered Birshana in the final period.”
“How come both teams from Sendala always seem to win every match?”
“Must be something they put in the water there.”
Xttra laughed. He lost track of how many times he heard those same rumors.
“Do you ever wonder how far you could have gone in slotball if things turned out differently?”
Lance glanced down at his left ankle. The same one he blew out during a high-speed crash in a match. It brought a premature end to his childhood dreams of making a career out of slotball.
“Some days more than others,” he said. “I won’t lie. It crosses my mind more often now than it once did.”
Once they obtained an unobstructed view of Earth, Xttra and Lance set the sensor array down on the crater floor. They bored several small holes into the lunar crust to secure it in place. Lance positioned the sensors in every direction to make it easier to intercept transmissions coming from Earth. The sensors would relay those signals back to the scout ship and, from there, they could work on cracking the alien language.
Xttra pressed a small button embedded in the forearm of his zero-gravity suit to activate a long-range communicator inside his helmet.
“It's all set up,” he said. “Ready to learn an alien language?”
“It shouldn't take long since we've already translated the probe message.” Calandra's voice crackled amid minor static over the long-range communicator. “This will be fun.”
Xttra shook his head at her idea of fun.
Walking back without a sensor array added an unwanted hop to each step Xttra took. A wave of relief swept over him when he reached the lower hatch without tripping or falling.
Once back inside the ship, Xttra and Lance removed their zero-gravity suits and rejoined the other crew members checking the sensors from the bridge. It did not take long before their sensor array started detecting radio waves from the alien planet. Lance locked in on the frequencies and adjusted the array, so signals looped through their ship's internal communication system.
Heavy static soon greeted their ears. The transmissions from Earth were a jumbled mess. These aliens used a different frequency to send radio waves than the scout ship did. It fell on their shoulders to find and adjust to a correct frequency with pinpoint accuracy. Then they could immerse themselves in whatever languages these aliens spoke and translate strange alien words into familiar ones.
Tuning out background distortions proved a more difficult chore than anyone predicted. It took a few minutes of adjusting before alien voices came through with enough clarity to hear what they said. Hearing these aliens speak for the first time sent a burst of joyful energy surging through Xttra.
He was not alone in that feeling.
“That's the one.” Atch sprang to his feet and stabbed his finger in the air. “That's our frequency.”
Xttra cast a tight-lipped wide-eyed glance at his navigator's over-the-top response.
“We all figured it out too, Atch.”
His annoyed remark did nothing to diminish Atch's excitement. A broad smile took up residence on the navigator's face. Lance fed the audio through a translation program in the ship's central computer. Atch pressed a green button and a thin oval monitor rose from a long slot on the navigation station console. He opened both the original message and later translation. This offered a useful guide for showing what each alien word meant in transmissions from Earth.
Calandra tilted her head and scrunched up her face as she listened to the transmissions.
“That sounds like music in the background. I think an alien is singing.”
Xttra stood perfectly still behind her and closed his eyes. He also heard music and a definite rhythm flowed through the unidentified alien's words.
“I wish I knew the words.” Xttra said, opening his eyes again. “This music has a smooth rhythm to it.
Atch cleared away distortions from one transmission after another. Soon, he encountered a batch combining visual imagery with sound.
“Patch the transmission feed through the holocaster,” Xttra said, resuming his usual seat at the helm. “Let's see what pops up.”
Lance streamed new transmissions through the holocaster as ordered. Calandra joined Xttra at the helm and rested her arms on the back of his chair. Holographic images began materializing above the helm console. Xttra's eyes widened when the first ones appeared. He glanced up at Calandra and witnessed a similar reaction from her.
These new images offered a startling look at life on Earth. Buildings exploding. Vehicles chasing other vehicles through winding streets. Aliens firing weapons at other aliens.
Xttra felt taken aback by how much these aliens resembled typical people on Lathos in their physical appearance. He never expected to see Earthians who resembled humans. Still, the Earthians' violent behavior left a much larger impression on the crew than their appearance as transmissions continued streaming through the holocaster.
“That's not a good sign,” Lance said.
“What we're seeing is proof we must carry out our chief sovereign's standing orders without further delay.”
Xttra cast a wary glance at Doni once he said those words. The fill-in medical officer brushed back his thinning white hair and returned a firm stare.
“You want to turn around and go home?” A crease formed in Calandra's brow as she posed the question. “Before we set foot on Earth?”
Doni lifted his chin and flashed a slight tight-lipped smile at her.
“Don't be blind,” he scoffed. “Everyone here saw the same images. Your 'probe builders' are embroiled in a war. We are putting ourselves in danger if we land.”
Xttra bit down on his lower lip and turned away. Calandra posed a valid question. He seethed at Doni's smug condescending response. Xttra paused the holocaster images. He played the most recent transmission back in a loop and examined it with a closer eye on his second viewing. Certain images looked alarming and Xttra had no trouble admitting it. Still, the same images lacked context. No one had any idea when or where these events unfolded, or which factions or clans were involved. Earth could be home to many nations, much like Lathos itself, rather than a single world government. And they saw no sign of any struggle extending beyond the planetary surface.
“I find it tough to believe a distant warring alien race would send out a probe bearing a message of peace,” Xttra said.
He turned away from the transmissi
on feed and focused his attention squarely on his medical officer.
“Paranoia will not help us on this expedition.”
“Neither will foolish recklessness.”
Doni's unbroken stare matched the frostiness in his words. Xttra sprang from his chair and instinctively puffed his chest out.
“Are you challenging my leadership?”
“I'll tell you once I see actual leadership.”
Every muscle in Xttra's body stiffened and his lips mashed together in an intense frown. Jbali sprang to his feet and wedged himself in the narrow space between Doni and Xttra before either one closed the gap.
“We should be cautious,” Jbali said, raising a hand. “No one is arguing that point. But we don't need to operate on fear either.”
“How about using common sense?”
He stared at Doni and pressed a finger to his lips.
“First contact missions always carry some measure of peril,” Jbali said, turning to face Xttra again. “I witnessed it firsthand on Peleus Prime. One crew member almost turned Peleusian leaders against us when he violated a sacred custom during our first meeting. But we worked things out before the situation escalated out of control. Everything turned out fine in the end.”
“In other words,” Xttra said. “We shouldn't jump to any conclusions here.”
His eyes purposely fell on Doni when he said those words to drive his point home. Doni looked down at the floor and away from Xttra. He said nothing else, choosing instead to fume in silence. No one else agreed with him.
Xttra leaned over the back of his chair and resumed watching the images streaming through the holocaster. Calandra came up behind him and draped her arm around his shoulders.
“Thank you,” she whispered. “Thank you for sticking up for me.”
Xttra clasped her forearm and smiled.
“I'll always be on your side,” he said, matching her whispered tone.
When they gathered enough transmissions to try to create a comprehensive translation, Atch ran each one through the central computer. It extracted frequently used words and phrases. Atch matched results with the original probe message. Once he discovered which symbols corresponded with letters from the Earth language, a broad grin appeared on his lips.
“I think I figured out their language.” Atch said, glancing over at the helm. “At least, it seems to match the first message the probe builders sent us.”
Calandra dashed over to the navigation station. Her eyes pored over each word on the monitor. She joyfully clapped her hands together.
“Do you know what percentage of functional communication it will translate accurately?”
Atch looked up at her and grimaced.
“Right now? 40%. Maybe 50%. The number will keep rising as we gather more data. By the time we make contact, we should be up to at least 80%.”
That progression rate worked for Xttra. He dropped into his seat again and strapped himself in. Lance followed suit. They activated the ship's engine and Xttra ignited the thrusters.
“Let's go meet a new alien race,” he said.
12
Hot, ionized gas formed an envelope around the outer hull as the scout ship plunged into the upper atmosphere. Dark, cold space began yielding to a distinct blue tinge. Gravity tugged at Calandra with increasing strength. She breathed deep and closed her eyes.
A short alarm sounded inside the bridge. The outer hull started to shake.
“This is a bit rougher than I anticipated,” Xttra said. He turned and looked at Lance. “Activate the velocity constrictors. I'm not looking to plummet straight to the ground here.”
Calandra peeked through half-closed lids and saw Lance press three square buttons on his console in a 1-2-3 sequence. Once activated, the velocity constrictors combined with Earth's natural atmospheric drag to slow their descent through the atmosphere. The shaking grew more subdued. It did nothing to slow a buildup of friction. White flames spurted out from the gas envelope. Her heart pounded against her ribs. Would their shields hold amid all this heat and friction?
Calandra was not alone in her concern.
“How are the shields doing?” Xttra said. His blue eyes stayed riveted on approaching wispy clouds. “Those flames from that gas envelope feel uncomfortably close.”
“Shields are holding steady,” Jbali said. “We're still in decent shape. Nothing to worry about.”
Flames faded and vanished at last when the blue atmosphere swallowed up lingering remnants of black space. Xttra angled the scout ship toward a massive continent they identified as a possible home for the probe builders from planetary transmissions. The ship plunged through a bank of white clouds. Mountain peaks, rivers, and lakes grew more defined on the western part of the continent still awash in sunlight. The shadow of night had already enveloped the eastern part.
A sudden burst of heavy static crackled and reverberated through the bridge. Calandra gritted her teeth and pressed her fingers against her ears
“Where's all of the static coming from?” she asked.
Her eyes darted around the bridge, seeing if she could pinpoint the cause. Atch's eyes grew wider once he traced the source of the static.
“I think the aliens are trying to talk to us.”
“Can you patch it through a communicator frequency that we use?”
Atch pressed a pair of small green buttons on the navigation console. A voice broke through across the communicator at last, but it cut out again before any discernible words followed. The navigator banged his fist and sighed.
“This isn't working right.”
Xttra frowned.
“I guess we better focus on finding a suitable landing spot and try to speak to these aliens again once we're on the ground.”
“Two small ships are approaching our position.” Tangible concern gripped Atch's voice. “I see a pair of blips on the navigation screen.”
One alien ship appeared on the horizon. Calandra had never seen anything like it before. The alien vessel resembled a long cylinder with a v-shaped tail on the far end. A long wing jutted out from either side near the middle of the cylinder. Another craft constructed from a similar design soon appeared a short distance behind the first one.
“Can you communicate with either alien vessel?” Xttra's expression remained stoic, but his eyes matched the concerned tone in his question.
“No,” Atch said. “I tried the same frequencies we used to decipher the other Earth transmissions. It isn't working.”
Xttra veered the scout ship away from the oncoming alien vessels. Both smaller ships mirrored those movements and stayed on his tail. A voice tried to break through a second time on the long-range communicator. Static snuffed out almost everything they said. Calandra picked out only two words amid the static before the voice faded out again.
“Someone out there is trying to talk to us,” she said. “I wish we knew what they were saying.”
At once, sensors detected a projectile closing on their position. The nearest alien craft had released the projectile. To Calandra, it appeared to gain speed as each second passed.
“I think I have an idea what they want to say,” Xttra said. “And I don't like it.”
He pressed a small white button on the helm console. Two cylindrical metal columns emerged from the floor on either side of the pilot’s chair. Each column had similar thickness to a fence post. A sphere topped both columns. Grooves molded to fit the shape of a human hand sat atop each sphere. Xttra pressed his hands into these new steering columns.
“Whoever fired at us bit off more than they can chew. Hold on tight!”
Both spheres shifted based on movements from his hands. Xttra rolled the ship onto its side. It shot upward as he angled the spheres forward. The projectile mirrored changes in course and altitude but failed to match the higher speed. Increased gravitational forces tugged on Calandra's entire body during these maneuvers. Safety restraints held her tight against the back of her chair.
Xttra leveled the
scout ship out once it climbed above the projectile. Then he executed a sharp turn and dropped to the same altitude as the projectile again. Now, after that final turn, the scout ship faced the oncoming projectile.
“Tell me I've got enough juice in the plasma cannons,” he said.
“You're good to fire at any time,” Bo'un replied.
Xttra glanced over at Lance. A determined look washed over his face.
“Get rid of that thing.”
Lance nodded and squeezed a trigger stick just below his console. Two plasma bolts discharged from long cannons embedded in the belly of the ship. Each bolt slammed into the projectile and incinerated it. Xttra veered the ship away from the floating wall of flames.
“Now let's get those alien ships off our tail.”
Xttra turned the scout ship 180 degrees a second time and shot forward with blinding speed. Both alien vessels disappeared from their sensors. Once they vanished, a relieved sigh escaped from his lips and a smile returned.
“Nothing to it. Just like blasting down the Cliffs of Annaeus in my aerorover back home.”
Calandra's hands still firmly clutched her chair. She made a mental note to never go on a sightseeing trip to the Cliffs of Annaeus with Xttra.
“We have no choice left except to abort this expedition and return home. These aliens made the decision easy for us.”
Calandra cast a sideways glance at Doni as soon as he spoke those words.
“How did they make the decision easy for us? Did you stop to think they were simply defending themselves from an unknown vessel?
“You're making a bold assumption.”
“And you aren't making one? How can we claim to know their motives?”
Her voice grew more animated with each question. Calandra did not want to let him convince everyone else they should turn tail and run home over a simple misunderstanding arising from their inability to communicate with an alien vessel. Those transmissions from Earth they gathered earlier had produced too much fear. It now clouded judgment for crew members who should know better.
“Firing at us makes it clear their motives are not peaceful.” Doni bristled at her defense of aliens she never met. A deep scowl became etched on his face. “You're much too naive for your own good.”