Still doubts
»Do you want to leave the Crux-Heart?« the two Conceptors asked with one voice. Both their holos had amalgamated to one. Both busts were hovering inside one holo before Arkroid.
»The Krolakans will remain here and secure the system. We have established a special comm-channel between the Nautilus, the Krolakan Fleet and the Crux-Heart. Be cautious! We’ll be back as soon as possible.«
Conceptor Mokhoorn wiggled his ears.
»The Caravan Scouts have agreed to a meeting, their liaison is on his way to us. I hope you make it back in time. I don’t think they will wait long.«
Lai Pi nodded.
»This meeting is very important. We won’t be away for too long. They would not come if the Great Tremor takes place in a couple of days.«
»Nobody is perfect, they can err too,« Herimos warned, accompanied by Vasina’s agreeing nod. She seemed more silent and serious than the days before.
She knows that it’ll be a struggle for life and death between her and Morgotradon, even Maya is counting down the minutes before she gets a chance to meet him face-to-face. I hope we’ll come back in one piece! Arkroid thought.
Suddenly, the avatar disappeared.
We’ll stay in contact via mental bridge from now on, Nautilus announced to Arkroid. I need to make some preparations.
»My Cobalt Hunter is ready,« Klori’Tar said and left for the hangar, not forgetting to pay his utmost respect to the Conceptors. Before he entered the corridor, he quickly turned around and said to Arkroid, »I’m not sure if we can synchronize our flight exactly to the second. I suggest, we meet at the target coordinates. Your transponder signature has been entered to my ship computer, so I can identify you immediately. I’ll search the target system; maybe we’ll get some information on how to find Morgotradon. So far, he was able to sneak away. The evil will not outpace me for long. I will have my vengeance!«
I’m worried is it too much self-esteem or just plain arrogance? Arkroid thought.
Pi smirked.
»We’ll see you in the target system, I hope you don’t have to wait too long for us!« he remarked while Maya and Vasina suppressed their mocking grins.
»One more thing before you leave,« Voit addressed Klori’Tar before he slipped through the door, »how did you obtain the coordinates for this solar system?«
Klori’Tar didn’t reply, he just turned around and walked to the hangar.
»Let’s trust him and follow his lead,« Arkroid suggested. »Somehow, he knows how and where to find Morgotradon. Let’s head to the hangar.«
»By chance or systematic approach?« Maya Ivanova whispered to herself.
»The target star is Rellic. The Kugos are living on the fourth planet,« Kuster~Laap explained. »The Rellic system is about eight lightyears away.«
»Are you planning to come with us … all of you?« Arkroid inquired, nodding at the ZyClonians who silently flanked Kuster~Laap.
»Of course,« Kuster~Laap replied excitedly. »There’s nothing for me to do here until the Caravan Scouts arrive. The Conceptors can easily defend the Crux Heart with the help of the Krolakans. I’d like to function as an advisor to the Protectors as my guardians and I know this region.«
Arkroid smiled thankfully.
»We appreciate your help, as always.«
While Klori’Tar was flying back to his ship by means of an energy sphere, Arkroid came closer to Kuster~Laap and asked, »What do you think of Klori’Tar? Is he luring us into a trap or does he really possess useful information?«
»I can’t answer your questions, but we’ll find out soon enough. He could be telling us stories, considering his alleged achievements in contrast to the comparatively, primitive technology on board his ship. There could be some truth to what he was saying.«
»These Kugos … what kind of people are they?« Pi asked.
»They’re very friendly. Their civilization is currently going through the early industrial revolution. They have not yet ventured into space. We had been in contact with them in the past, they know that they’re not alone in the cosmos.«
Arkroid pondered for a moment, then said, »That also means that they can’t leave their world. They’re sitting ducks and subject to the effects of dimensional overlapping.«
»As many other civilizations,« Kuster~Laap replied.
»Well, we should go now or Klori’Tar will be faster than us!« Pi chuckled.
Anti-Protons
The flight via the central tachyon track went smooth without interruptions. Even though the Cobalt Hunter had a twenty minute lead, it was no problem for Nautilus to locate and pass Klori’Tar’s ship.
»I don’t know, but if Morgotradon is really in the Rellic system, then he must have detected the Messy Unit. Klori’Tar is very careless,« Pi assessed.
The thought had crossed Arkroid’s mind. The Messy Unit was fairly noisy in tachyon space. He briefly closed his eyes and said, »I agree, Pi. Let’s assume that Klori’Tar was telling the truth and that he’s been after Morgotradon for quite some time, I can’t imagine that Morgotradon hasn’t noticed him yet. I also think that Morgotradon doesn’t see Klori’Tar as a threat, otherwise, he would have eliminated him already.«
»Are you saying that you want to use Klori’Tar as bait?« Maya frowned.
Arkroid shook his head.
»No Maya, he’s more or less a decoy while we’re scanning the Rellic system under the protection of our anti-detection shields. I can’t prevent Klori’Tar from rumbling through tachyon space, but this circumstance could help us. If Morgotradon is active in the Rellic system then he might not notice us because of the Messy Unit.«
Arkroid continued, »Should we encounter Morgotradon then I’d like to find out how Klori’Tar was able to locate him. Even Nautilus can’t do that.«
»Re-entry in two minutes,« Nautilus announced. »The Messy Unit is ten minutes behind us.«
Please check the system for dimensional overlapping and be ready for emergency maneuvers. Make use of the best anti-detection scheme.
Sure thing, Toiber, Nautilus bridged.
A glance from Pi showed Arkroid he had also understood Nautilus’ mental message.
The ship re-entered normal space and began shaking violently as if it was being pelted by gigantic hammers. The Rellic system had been affected by an anomaly.
»Damnit!« Maya Ivanova cursed and held on to her seat’s armrests.
»I’m worried about the Kugos,« Kuster~Laap announced. »These abnormal occurrences have been happening more and more frequently. I wish we could do something.«
Arkroid and the team took a deep breath as the vibrations subsided.
»We’re flying through a sector with a strong space warping phenomenon,« Nautilus warned. »The space structure was briefly dented by a sporadically occurring dimensional overlap. It seems, however, that the system relevant data, which I received from Conceptor Crux, is still valid and within expected parameters. The star is small, almost like Sol. The system possesses five planets and ten dwarf planets which are orbiting the star on elongated, elliptic orbits. The third planet belongs to the Kugos, an oxygen world with desert character and several interior oceans. The planet is still on its expected orbit.«
Nautilus continued to fly through the solar system, gathering more data.
»Currently, I cannot detect space traffic or faster-than-light communication. There’re some FM messages within the ordinary frequency spectrum. The messages are possibly originating on Kugo. It’s not yet clear if the messages were transmitted in a directed fashion or if they are reflections.«
»Can you decipher the messages?« Pi inquired with a grin. »Maybe it’s some sort of entertainment program? If so, I’d like to know what kind of music they fancy.«
»I was able to detect the carrier frequencies and decoded the information. The content is clear and simple. They are calling for help!«
Pi’s grin fell off his face. He checked his console and verified Nautilus’ analysis.
They’ve been hit by the overlap effect! We should try to help them if possible!
Arkroid had his eyes closed and listened to the mental message from Nautilus. He nodded at Pi.
I agree. Set course for the planet! I doubt we can do much but we can at least try.
Pi had also received the message and revealed to the team, »The Kugos are calling the Stellar Gods. The Sky is burning! That doesn’t sound good at all!«
The planet closed in fast. Nautilus initiated the breaking maneuver while the team watched the planet’s surface become more detailed inside the holos.
The planet was surrounded by a bright shimmering aura. Arkroid had never seen such a phenomenon before, even Pi and Herimos were speechless. Vasina and Tranos checked the instrument panels, but could not come up with an answer.
»Can somebody tell me what’s going on down there?« Maya asked. »Does this energy phenomenon come from the star? Is it something like high energy particles, causing Northern Light effects in Rellic’s atmosphere?«
»No, this is not the case,« Nautilus replied. »I cannot detect solar winds of such intensity in the system. These Northern Lights, you were mentioning, Maya, would only occur over the polar caps anyway. It seems that the entire upper atmosphere is burning.«
»I understand why the Kugos are calling for help. We don’t even know yet what this is!« Vasina replied, stunned.
Voit stared at the holo while moving his head.
Maybe the aura reminds him of bio-electric auras? Arkroid thought.
»The phenomenon is not as strong on the planet’s night side, but it can be viewed better. It looks for the Kugos as if their sky is literally burning!« Voit said.
»Toiber, do you want me to change to a nearer orbit to study the phenomenon closer?«
»Absolutely not, Nautilus! We keep a safe distance to the planet. We won’t approach further or even land before we know what’s going on.«
»Whatever it is, this is an after-effect of an inter-dimensional shockwave,« Kuster~Laap said. »I agree, Toiber Arkroid, we need to find out what’s going on before we land or get closer.«
»Fortunately, the gravitational lines of force didn’t collapse or reverse, such as we’ve seen on Dryllion,« Maya said. »Those beings didn’t have a chance!«
»These chaotic effects can be different each time although the causation factors are the same,« Kuster~Laap explained. »It all depends on the intensity and the duration of a dimensional overlap. Sometimes nothing happens, unnoticed by some civilizations who barely escaped their demise.«
Pi strained his eyes looking at the scrolling data on his display.
A reversal of natural laws! he thought irritated.
»This energy aura, is it constant, is it unstable at times or there locally different variables?« Pi asked.
»The aura is not equally strong around the planet. The strength varies slightly, but is most prevalent toward the sun,« Nautilus announced.
»It is a particle erasing phenomenon!« Pi announced, not really believing his own words.
Arkroid frowned.
»What?«
»It erases the charges of equal elements … a matter anti-matter reaction!«
Pi bowed forward and touched some sensor pads on his terminal, initializing a simulation to check his theory for errors.
»Matter and energy particles are colliding with atoms in the upper atmosphere … that’s it,« he murmured loud enough that Vasina could hear him.
»What are you mumbling, Pi?« she asked mesmerized and started her own simulation. She shared her results with Herimos and Tranos … the outcome was the same.
»Pi’s thesis is correct,« Nautilus acknowledged. »I readjusted my sensors and … the entire Kugo planet consists of anti-matter. It seems that all atomic charges on the planet have been reversed as the shockwave rumbled through the system. Electrons turned into positrons while protons changed to anti-protons. I can detect the presence of strong, meson showers. The particle thrust energy and charges were not just wiped out, rather transformed into other energy rich particles during the collisions.«
»The entire planet, its atmosphere … and the population?«
Arkroid held his breath.
»That must be it!« Herimos confirmed. »Cosmic dust, interstellar matter, atoms and sun particles … they all collide with the upper atmosphere, which results in bright energy flashes. I’m afraid that the Kugos are now isolated from the rest of the universe forever! If we shake hands with them, we die in a devastating explosion; our bodies annihilated, turned into pure energy!«
Kuster~Laap followed Herimos’ conclusion with starry eyes. The Chiropter’s, usually agile face, appeared like a mask. He was hit hard by the Kugos fate. His deep voice was painful as he said, »Again, a peaceful civilization is doomed due to these unknown, ruthless rulers of the parasite galaxy. Who is going to make them pay for what they’re doing.«
»The Kugos are not doomed,« Tranos corrected him. »As long as they stay on their home-world they’re relatively safe. The space surrounding the planet is actually a good insulator, despite the heavily reacting atmosphere. The Kugos will survive.«
»I see it differently,« Pi objected. »The steady stream of particles from the sun will eat away the atmosphere over time. Cosmic dust, meteorites and other matter, raining down on this planet, will erode the atmosphere and become a heavy burden to the Kugos. They will exist for a while, maybe hundreds of years, but their fate is sealed. Their planet has become a foreign body in our universe!« It was obvious to the team members that Pi was struggling with his findings. »I’m afraid, we can’t do anything … nothing at all.«
Arkroid swallowed and commanded with a sore voice, »We maintain the anti-detection shields and avoid the Kugo planet. We’ll concentrate on the remaining stellar objects in this system. Let’s not forget our mission despite our sympathy for the Kugos. I want to know if Morgotradon is here in this solar system. I don’t believe that he’s on Rellic, unless he was surprised by the shockwave … how much longer do we have to wait for the Messy Unit?«
»Three minutes, Toiber.«
Arkroid nodded, but whispered to himself, »Then let’s wait for what comes next.«
Rexas
The arrival of the Messy Unit was like an explosion to the sensors on board the Techno-Ferry. Klori’Tar didn’t seem to care that his re-entry caused so much noise. His ship was not only detectable over a great distance; it also caused a gravo-mechanical shockwave, similar to a small space tremor, which an unknown observer certainly would be able to detect.
Arkroid shook his head in disbelief.
»I admit that the Klorians possess a certain degree of technical maturity and that they master interstellar spaceflight, but why is Klori’Tar behaving like a bull in a china shop?«
»If he wouldn’t come across so naïvely, I’d actually say that he’s got a plan,« Herimos gnarled sarcastically.
»Perhaps, he wants to make Morgotradon aware that he’s on his heels with this dramatic spectacle of an entry.«
Maya made a grim face. She would not rest until Morgotradon was captured and taken care of.
Arkroid, looking at Maya’s face, realized what Morgotradon had done to her and that she would never forgive him.
»I’m detecting three unknown energy signatures, close to the first planet,« Nautilus announced. »There could be power plants on the planet or charging weapon systems, maybe even combat ships readying their weapons. They’re located in the planet’s shadow.«
»This is not accidental! I think it’s a reaction to Klori’Tar’s rumbling,« Maya replied. »What a fool! He probably caused some sort of defense system to jump into action! Do we have any info about the planet?«
»The inner planet is like your Mercury. There’s no atmosphere, its surface is a hot rock desert.«
»Could these be Kugo ships, Nautilus? Isn’t it possible that they’ve made the leap into space in the meantime? Our information about them could be out-of-date. Thi
s would make it possible that some of them escaped the dimensional overlap shockwave and not be subjected to the anti-matter disaster? Well … they can’t return to their home-planet,« Maya speculated.
»No, the Kugos don’t have space technology, they don’t have the means to leave their planet,« Kuster~Laap interjected. »Even if they’d have a space going vessel, what would they want on this gleaming hot rock?«
Maya Ivanova frowned.
»On their first real space ventures, Humans landed on their moon, not really a Garden of Eden either,« she countered.
»Then Humans used their resources unwisely,« Kuster~Laap scolded.
Arkroid intervened to prevent Maya from escalating this non-issue.
»I think, Kuster~Laap is right. There might be an alien base on the first planet. Perhaps there’s one of Morgotradon’s bases or a Dark Brotherhood outpost. Anything is possible.«
»We’ll find out in a short while,« Herimos slapped his chest, ready for a fight. »We’ll see who of you made the correct assumption, because our noisy friend is flying past Rellic on course to the first planet – right into their arms!«
»In other words: Right before their cannons! We need to warn him!« Paafnas demanded. »His ship doesn’t look like being able to put up much of a defense!«
»I’m certain, Klori’Tar is aware,« Pi assured him and glanced at the holo with the Messy Unit displayed. »He definitely detected the energy buildup. We should underestimate him, based on the way his ship looks.«
»The Messy Unit is flying directly toward these energy signatures, he knows what he’s doing,« Nautilus commented.
»He might be a bit over-confident, I hope he’s not digging his own grave,« Pi worried. »We should send him a message. He’s in great danger if these signatures are from Morgotradon’s allies. Although, it seems that Morgotradon has ignored Klori’Tar’s advances so far.«
Arkroid gnawed on his lower lip.
Klori’Tar led us to this solar system. He knew that something or somebody was waiting for him. If he doesn’t come to his senses then he’ll fly into his demise! Nautilus, send a warning to the Messy Unit and advise him to exercise a more cautious approach! Arkroid commanded via mental bridge.
NEBULAR Collection 5 - Panic in the Galaxy: Episodes 22 - 26 Page 23