Last Flight For Craggy

by Gary Weston

  'Anyone ever tell you you are a strange woman?'

  'Nobody worth listening to.' Stella was almost drooling over the computer. 'How many fingers did he have on one hand?'

  'Four. Three one way, one opposing the other three.'

  Stella tucked her little fingers in and spread the other four over one bank of coloured sensors.

  'In that case, I would do...and here we go.'

  The strange curved screen flickered into life and they had a perfect image of one of the aliens, recording something in a scratchy, surprisingly deep voice, his small hands gesticulating dramatically. Behind him were two more of his kind, having an animated discussion.

  'We heard one of their voices briefly before.'

  'It all looks a little intense,' said Stella.

  'It's changed into something else,' said Dillow. 'Is that his home planet, you think?'

  The image showed a a lush planet with domed dwellings, “people” doing things, going about their business, small personal craft gliding along. A shift to a panoramic vista showed a world in balance, with an ecology that was a priority.

  'Makes Mars look a little sad,' said Stella. As the image panned even higher and wider, something struck them hard. It was a shot of Olympus Mons. 'Shit. It is Mars.'

  All around Mons was a tropical paradise. The aliens were living in a world they cared for transforming it into a balance of “people” and planet in total harmony. An image of several space ships beyond Mons were being attended to and unloaded of assorted containers. Everyone seemed to be working for the greater good.

  The image changed again. It was the alien explaining something, pointing to different things around him, some out of sight. Suddenly the panoramic view of Mars, particularly Mons, seemed to have the lushness stripped away, piece by piece. Gradually, the true planet, barren and dead, was exposed.

  Dillow said, 'Jeez. That could be interpreted in so many ways.'

  'I don't think we should jump to any conclusions. I want to have some quality alone time in here. I think in time, I can find out all sorts of things.'

  Dillow agreed. 'You got it. But you need a solid break and to tackle this fresh. Come on, young lady. Follow me out of here; come back once rested.'

  Chapter 123

  Tagg Potts wanted to learn all about Olympus Mons and to that aim was having a beer with Felix Hellicoyle in the wallowing pool.

  Hellicoyle said, 'Truth is, ask ten different scientists, you'll probably get ten different answers. Best guestimate is anywhere between two and twenty million years since it last erupted.'

  'Scientists. So useful.'

  'But, I'll tell you what I know. It's a shield volcano, built up of layers. Same as the ones in Hawaii on Earth. Mons is about sixteen miles high, depending where you measure from, and about three hundred and seventy miles in diameter at the widest point. The lava is mostly basalt. The volcanic activity has brought up interesting and useful minerals and elements closer to the surface and it is those we excavate from the surrounding volcano.'

  'Felix. I already know most of that. Those tunnels. How could they be formed?'

  'The surfaces are so smooth and the shape is so precise I have no idea. It is something that melts the rock so perfectly. Pity we don't have something like that.'

  Potts finished his beer. 'So, sometime before we arrived, they made that tunnel system and that so called black hole that isn't a black hole, and managed to build a holiday home actually inside Mons. They've been watching us all the time we've been here, I'm guessing.'

  'A safe bet, I'd say. They might be repeating this all over the universe for all we know. Makes us look like something that still lives in caves.'

  'Scary stuff,' said Potts getting out of the pool. 'Something to give me bad dreams. Good night, Felix.'

  'Goodnight.'

  Chapter 124

  Stella Wayward was a tenacious individual. After sleeping for a solid eight hours, she awoke fired up and was eager to go. Making her own way to the domed room, she started the computer and replayed what she and Dillow had seen before. Several attempts of using the various sensors had the previously seen images flashed back and forth. She pressed the end of the cone Dillow had pressed into the control panel. The screen went blank.

  'It's all about these little things,' she told herself as she stared at the cone. 'My guess is that there are more of these damn things around, somewhere.' She thought about the way Dillow had described the dead body, as if it had come to an unpleasant and untimely end. 'Okay, Stud. You were trying to tell us something.'

  Stella opened all the small doors for access to the other rooms. The four sleeping rooms were identical in layout including compartments presumably for clothes and perhaps personal possessions. All proved to be empty.

  'Come on, Stud. You want to tell me something, I want to hear it. Where's your stash?'

  All other rooms had yielded no results. Until she went into the utility room.

  'All this stuff left behind. More evidence of a rush job. Anything in here?'

  Stella checked everything she could and still found nothing. She pulled out a final container and opened it, finding it empty. She was about to call it a Martian day, when she noticed something. It was silver, oblong, and had been hidden behind the larger container. Compared to the other utilitarian items, this was as odd as it could be. The silver box was about the length of her hand and intricately engraved. The box itself made her shudder with anticipation, and she cautiously opened it. Inside were seven similar white cones with tiny holes along their length.

  At the computer, she selected one cone and pressed it home. Immediately the screen lit up and one alien she presumed to be Stud, was speaking. In fluent English.

  'Commander Dillow? Are you there, Commander Dillow?'

  'Stella?'

  'You need to see this.'

  Chapter 125

  Dillow stared at the screen, hardly believing the evidence of his own eyes. Even after the third play, it was still incredible. Stud was speaking a translated English, albeit with a very strange accent.

  'My name is Korlyn Num Serdinda. That is as close an approximation of my name I can make. We are a scouting party for our people. Our people have travelled across the galaxy for thousands of your years. I have lived on this planet, the one you know as Mars, for one hundred and ninety seven of your Earth years. I have walked amongst you on your planet.'

  'Disguised as what? A hobgoblin?' said Dillow.

  'That you are watching this means you have finally arrived from Earth. I suspect my kind are planning to kill me because I no longer agree with our intentions. I have rebelled and spoken up against our leaders. People of Earth have problems and your ways make no sense to any of us. Our wishes to colonise this planet will one day, I feel, clash with your desire to do the same. I see this planet as being your only salvation, whereas, we have colonised many planets across this galaxy. It is the consensus of our people that you deserve the fate you have destined for yourselves. I have argued that we should move on and leave this Mars for you.'

  'Stud's pretty cool,' said Stella.

  'Sure is.'

  'At the time of this recording, you Earth people are engaging in an all out war. Your aircraft are still primitive, but your determination to destroy yourselves, overcomes your limited technology.'

  'I wonder which war he's talking about?' said Dillow.

  'You are developing nuclear warhead capability. Adolf Hitler was determined to dominate your world.'

  'Hitler?' gasped Dillow. 'This dude has been around for some time.'

  'I have let it be known I have communicated with your leaders about our intentions. This is untrue, but it has created doubt in their minds. We have superior technology, but you would be well matched with your warlike tendencies. We are aware of your brutal capabilities and do not have the resolve to fight with you.'

  'They're scared of us,' said Stella.

  'Good job too,' said Dillow. 'One of these munchkins had a go at me, I'd st
ep on him.'

  'My time is short. I believe if the pathways will remain, you may find the methods of their use. But you must destroy them. I repeat, destroy the pathways. Also important, I have hidden a terraformer in a place where my kind may not discover. I wish you well and...'

  Chapter 126

  Forbes and Potts listened grim faced to Stella and Dillow.

  'Incredible. We owe this Korlyn Num Serdinda one hell of a lot, by the sound of it,' said Anton Forbes.

  Potts held the silver box in his hands. 'This is an antique from Earth. Korlyn must have acquired it on a visit.'

  Stella said, 'We have three more recordings to go through.'

  Dillow said, 'We urgently need to learn about this pathway thing and also this terraforming. I'll work with Stella on that.'

  Potts said, 'There are so many questions going on in my head right now. I think we...'

  A call came through from the medical centre. 'Potts.' He listened carefully, then said, 'Right. Got that. Now listen. That little guy is a damn hero as far as I'm concerned. Patch him up carefully and treat him with all due respect. Okay.'

  'Tagg?' Forbes said.

  Potts explained, 'That hole in the side of his neck. It was from some sort of injection. It was a mutated fungus. Once injected, it spread throughout his body, destroying him internally. He would have been killed slowly and painfully.'

  'My God,' said Forbes. 'He suffered and died to save our race. We, as usual, were busy killing each other, and a little alien on Mars was thinking we were worth a second chance. I don't know about you guys right now, but I for one feel incredibly humble.'

  Dillow let out a long deep breath. The sombre mood was oppressive and depressing. 'Come on, Stella. We owe it to him to make the most of what he left us.'

  Chapter 127

  'Two more days,' said Cragg.

  Fawn Dillow said, 'No more long hauls for either of us, I reckon.'

  'Missed Joel and Shyne, no doubt?'

  'Oh, man. Like you wouldn't believe. But in the unlikely event of any more long trips coming up, we have a couple of good young pilots to take up the reins.'

  'Think you'll ever marry Joel?'

  Dillow shrugged. 'It comes up in conversation, now and then. No rush.'

  'More kids?'

  'Same. Plenty of time. Are you going back to teaching?'

  Cragg nodded. 'I was unsure for a while. Roswell changed my mind. I think I still have things to offer.'

  'Of course you have. And I'll get back to freighter training. We'll always need short haul pilots.'

  Cragg asked, 'Do you still enjoy training pilots?'

  Dillow nodded. 'I get a real buzz out of seeing some nervous rookie mature into a self confident freighter captain. That's life changing.'

  Cragg chuckled. 'Self confidence wasn't a problem with a certain rookie Fawn Dillow.'

  'Mostly bluff and bravado. With a father like mine, I was never going to be a shrinking violet. I wonder what he's up to?'

  'Banging the heads together of boozed up teenagers, I expect.'

  'Yeah. He'd enjoy that.'

  * * *

  Lance Dillow was back with Stella Wayward at the alien computer, watching the brilliant young woman do what seemed to come naturally to her. He couldn't help but think of his own wonderful daughter. Some called her a chip of the old block. Rubbish. She was her own block. He was working with Stella while his daughter was somewhere in deep space; a precious cargo of mostly young people, and priceless steel, bringing them home safely. The number of people left were a few thousand, still kicking a mostly dead planet. But with the high calibre of those remaining, there was a hope worth clinging on to.

  Stella brought his mind back to the dome. 'Lance. This is the final cone. All or nothing hinges on this one.'

  'Get it on, Stella.'

  Stella pushed the cone home. What they saw was beyond anything they could imagine.

  Chapter 128

  Korlyn looked so crestfallen. He could barely look up as he made the final recording. He started to speak, but it was his own harsh sounding language. He suddenly realised, reached over and touched something, and it was back to English.

  'I am so sorry. I have let you down. I hear my own people, whispering behind my back. They are waiting for orders.'

  There was sadness in his strange eyes. Stella could feel the little guy's pain, and even though he knew what his fate was to be, he was more concerned about a bunch of big, blood thirsty idiots. Stella grabbed Dillow's arm for support.

  'If only he knew.'

  Korlyn continued. 'I intended to leave clues to the whereabouts of the terraforma, but I fear my demise is imminent. I was afraid of the others learning of my plans.'

  'Where is that terraforma?' urged Dillow.

  As if the dead alien had heard the question, he said, 'It is close to your mine by this mountain. If by some miracle you find it, this is what it looks like.'

  'That?' gasped Dillow.

  Korlyn held up the egg shaped glowing vessel, decorated in gold filigree. 'Great care must be taken when activating it. It must be opened near a substantial water supply, even Martian water will do. You may have already seen the theoretical assimilation as to what this planet should become. To activate it, simply hold the top and the bottom and twist. It should turn completely green. Once done, all people must be far away or may be in great danger. Must be more than one thousand of your miles away. Do not approach it for three of your days.'

  The screen showed the lush vegetation they had seen previously.

  Dillow said, 'His little pals must have suspected what he was up to and had orders to stop him.'

  'Miserable bastards.'

  'Wait. Korlyn has more to say.'

  'We were expanding our pathways. You must destroy it. Prevent my kind coming back that way.'

  'Pathways?' said Stella. 'Oh. He means the tunnels.'

  Dillow shook his head. 'The tunnels are just tunnels. I think it's the black stuff.'

  'The black stuff? But that's like nothing. How do we destroy nothing?'

  'It isn't nothing. That stuff creates a bridge to Phobos. It made a ten mile tunnel into this dome seem like just a couple of miles. That blackness must bend space, maybe even time. That's what he's talking about.'

  'And we have to destroy that? How?'

  Dillow said, 'That's my job. You have been brilliant, but now I have to do the next part. While I figure it out, let's tell the others about the terraforma.'

  Chapter 129

  'This?' said Hellicoyle.

  'That?' said Berry.

  Dillow said, 'That has the power to turn this glorified sandcastle into the Garden of Eden.'

  'Ooh, can I be Adam?' said Berry.

  'If you are Adam, I'm not being Eve, and I tell you that for free,' said Stella.

  'So how does it work?' asked Forbes.

  Dillow explained, 'It just sort of twists to activate it. But it has to be by lots of water and we have to be a thousand miles away before it goes off.'

  'Or what?' asked Potts.

  'Korlyn didn't elaborate,' said Stella. 'But we saw the results of how it works and I want me a piece of that.'

  Forbes said, 'Felix. You're making me nervous. Stop your hands shaking that thing and put it back carefully in the safe. Easy, Easy; don't you slam that damn door. Good. Now I can start breathing again.'

  Dillow said, 'The Terraforming thing is a great invention but I could see the fear in Korlyn's face. Fear for us, not himself. Those tunnels could lead all over the place. I have to find a way to break it, stop his little buddies coming here and injecting us with shit that eats our insides all up.'

  'And you'll do that how?' said Forbes.

  Dillow shook his head. 'I've got no idea. I'm going to spend some time floating about in there, see if I can figure it out.'

  Forbes said, 'I think it's a crying shame we have to destroy such an amazing thing. Just imagine the places we could go to if we could figure it out.'

 
'I agree,' said Dillow, 'but I am not letting those little shits loose on Mars if I can help it. Tomorrow, I'm making the destruction of that pathway a priority.'

  Chapter 130

  Dillow was rested and determined. He considered putting on a regulation white suit, wondering if his own black one was the way to go in the pathway blackness. Black was his colour, but a person could have too much of a good thing. Besides, he did have his helmet light, didn't he? Ah! No. Light couldn't escape that blackness. Oh, well.

  The eerily silent mine was still well lit up, and his lone buggy drive to the small tunnel compounded his feeling of self imposed isolation. He parked up and wasted no time in wriggling his way along the alien made tunnel. Ahead of him, just a suited arms length away, the mysterious blackness that twisted and distorted spacial reality. And he was entering it alone.

  Giving the safety line attached to his belt a tug, he entered the unknown, trusting his life to fate.

  The inky blackness would have been absolute had it not been for the dozen or so softly glowing ends of different tunnels. Pathways. He liked that. One would take him to inner peak of Olympus Mons itself. Another, unsure which one, would have him walking on Phobos faster than he could drive the buggy back to Base Three. And the others?

  He recalled Forbes' words about it being a crying shame they couldn't make use of the mind blowing technology. He agreed with the Mars Commander. But the alternative to leaving the pathways open was too terrifying to contemplate. But how to destroy it? If something could be created, it could be destroyed, right?

  Dillow closed his eyes, flipped his sun visor down, and his black uniform was lost in the blackness that straddled the universe.

  As Dillow became one with the blackness, Stella was attempting to do the same with the alien computers. Over and over she went through the cones recordings. Somewhere in those, she felt, were more answers, perhaps missed on previous viewings. Twice she watched in awe of the lush jungles the little people had created on other worlds. To do that on Mars would be so cool. But she was looking for something else. Korlyn had made it quite clear. As long as those tunnels, that pathway, remained open, they would be in constant danger. Stella was looking for any clue that would help Dillow destroy the pathway.