»Paaf!« she shouted.
»Be careful, Maya! The statues!« he warned. »They’re alive!«
Maya slowly stepped backward, she trusted Paaf’s warning. She kept her hand close to her weapon.
»Do not reach for your weapon, Maya! We won’t get out alive, if you even hint it,« Paaf warned again, while slowly moving along the ceiling.
»Paaf, of what nature is the danger, I can’t see anything?«
She looked at Voit to see by his reactions if he had felt anything, but he only shook his head.
A noise from the entrance to the hall made Maya and Voit turn around. She paled and Voit uttered a deep sigh.
The statues at the entrance moved! They positioned themselves in such a way that they blocked the way out. Slowly, they raised their weapons. Although, they still seemed as if made of white marble, the statues moved and assumed threatening stances. The eyes on their foreheads focused on Maya and Voit. Their claw-like toes scratched over the hard ground, leaving impressions behind. They were ready for a fight, no doubt.
»How’s … that … possible?« Voit remarked nervously and slowly followed Maya. »There’s no life in them, no aura!«
»They got Klori’Tar,« Paafnas said. »I witnessed how they overwhelmed him within seconds. He couldn’t even use his weapon. Don’t be deceived, they’re dangerous and damn quick!
Maya swallowed hard.
The statues around the big table also began to move. They turned their heads toward the intruders.
They stepped closer with rumbling noises, echoing of the walls.
We’re trapped! she thought horrified.
»Paaf! Stay up there and don’t move!«
You dared to disturb the harmony of the manifest, Maya heard a voice in her mind. She looked at Voit, who nodded at her. He had heard the voice too.
She raised her arms to show that she had no intentions of using her weapon. Voit followed her lead and also raised his arms.
The statues’ heads followed each of her movements.
»We come in peace and don’t want to fight!« she said aloud to the guards. »This is a misunderstanding. We didn’t know that we committed an illegal act.«
The guards formed a line before Maya and Voit. Their agility was frightening. Maya had Goosebumps!
»No resistance!« she whispered to Voit, also thinking the words with great intensity.
»They don’t possess a bio-electric field! I can’t use my abilities here.«
»Don’t even think about it, Voit. We can’t get anywhere with brute force. It doesn’t look good for us.«
She raised her hands again and thought, You can read my mind … we’re looking for a friend. We just want to bring him back and leave this place immediately.
Gurgling sounds came from the ceiling. Maya looked up and held her breath.
Defying gravity, one of the guards was climbing; head down, across the ceiling toward Paafnas, while Paaf tried to dodge the guard by moving out of the way, sideways.
One of the guards who was facing Maya and Voit stepped forward. He was the largest of them. Maya estimated his height to be around three meters. A boomerang-like object was rotating in the open palm of his hand
It is too late! You cannot go back anymore! The voice blared in Maya’s and Voit’s heads. You saw the manifest. Your knowledge shall never leave this hall and get into the hands of the enemy!
An attack
Tranos walked before Vasina, his shield held close to his body. It looked for the people inside the tank, as if he was protecting himself from an attack. In reality, Tranos scanned the vehicle before him while observing his displays.
Vasina checked the surrounding attentively, her weapons ready.
Loud hissing noises came from the vehicle as Vasina and Tranos were about hundred meters away from it. It sounded like purged, compressed air.
Several, black, tennis ball-like objects where catapulted toward the two Progonauts. After a relatively steep parabolic trajectory the objects fell down on them.
»Six grenades with different trajectories!« Tranos warned aloud. »Ten seconds to impact!«
»Counter measures!«
Tranos activated a defense shield which enveloped the two.
Vasina and Tranos crouched as the grenades hit the ground around them, exploding with loud bangs and strong pressure waves. Sand and rocks were hurled into the air. The shield protected them.
Tranos pushed the energy shield toward the pressure waves and absorbed the unleashed kinetic energies.
»What’s going on down there?« Arkroid inquired. »Report! Are these Kugos always welcoming visitors like that? Tranos, teach them a lessen!«
Tranos straightened, he pointed the front of the shield toward the vehicle and released a strong pressure wave. Seconds later, the Kugo tank was lifted into the air and fell on its side. The kinetic energy created by Tranos’ shield was powerful enough to have caused some damages to the vehicle as the billowing smoke coming from the tank proved.
Hatches opened and several crew members disembarked the tank in a hurry, trying to seek cover behind some larger rocks.
Rattling noises, like machine gun fire, filled the air. The projectiles hit the energy shield without penetrating it.
The Kugos attacked the Progonauts from two directions without any effects.
Vasina nodded at Tranos, then they sprinted toward the attackers. Vasina took one machine gun position, Tranos the other one.
Vasina came over the Kugos like an avenging angel. The soldiers, dressed in sand-colored uniforms, pressed themselves closely to the ground. They were surprised, looking at her with horrified eyes.
Tranos had it easy and disarmed two totally surprised soldiers within seconds.
In Vasina’s case, the soldiers were braver. One of them tried to push her aside by means of his body weight and momentum. Vasina quickly dodged the attack and whirled the soldier around, throwing him on the ground. Moments later, the Kugos gave up resistance.
The soldiers looked at her with wet eyes.
She returned the glances with a stern look and a grim face.
»Is this customary with you people to greet visitors with grenades?« she shouted at them, using the translation device.
A Kugo with colorful epaulettes slowly got up.
»I’m Wrecker. You speak our language and understand me? If you look for revenge, then I’ll take responsibility for my men. Kill me!«
Vasina’s eyes had a hard expression, but then she made a calming hand movement, hoping that the man understood the gesture.
»We’re not looking for revenge. We came her to talk to you people.«
The leader gasped for air, talking to his men with clicking sounds. Moments later, the soldiers holstered their weapons.
Wrecker, only half as tall as Vasina, looked at her with his big eyes. His face twitched nervously. He obviously tried to calm the situation. Although possibly not his first contact with space farers, he didn’t seem to have a lot of them in the past. In comparison to his crew, he appeared the most composed. He kept sizing up Vasina before he attempted an explanation, »The sky above us was burning for days. Meteors suddenly caused never before experienced explosions, destroying the landscapes and regions. It started after Kug, our planet, had been subjected to a phenomenon which made all of us fall unconscious for hours.«
The man stopped talking as he saw Tranos step by Vasina’s side. It seemed that the Kugo was intimidated by Tranos’ warrior-like appearance.
»Keep talking, he won’t hurt you!« Vasina commanded.
Wrecker took a deep breath before he continued, »We can’t explain this phenomenon and thought already that our last hour had come. Suddenly, the fires in the sky disappeared and everything seemed normal again. We were relieved and rejoiced. Our sovereigns were of the opinion that the star farers had caused the catastrophes. Many of these strangers visited us and took more than they had given us in return. Scouts reported your arrival on Kug. So we came to chase you away, b
ecause we didn’t want this phenomenon to occur again.«
»We’ve never been to your planet before,« Tranos explained with a deep and calm voice. »We’re not interested in harming you.«
Wrecker took a frightened look at Tranos’ shield. He understood that the strangers were much more advanced.
Vasina pointed backward at the portal and said, »We’re not responsible for this phenomenon that devastated your world. Unfortunately, this is not the end of it yet, even if it seems this way. We came through the portal. Our friends are waiting there for our return. Come with us and we’ll talk in peace.«
Wrecker swirled his arms through the air.
»That’s out of the question. We’re not permitted to enter the banning zone around the artifact. It’s too dangerous.«
Vasina and Tranos exchanged some quick glances. She seemed undecided for a moment and chose her words wisely, »Are you telling me that the monolith and the temple, built by your forefathers, is taboo to you?«
Wrecker slanted his head.
»We don’t have religions as others we came in contact with. We don’t believe in higher powers and certainly don’t build temples. We never did this!«
Vasina made an all-encompassing gesture with her arms in the direction of the mountain.
»I’m talking about this place of worship, the temple over there. We assumed that it is connected to you.«
Wrecker seemed nervous and searched for words.
»The mountain and the two pillars are forming the artifact, but they were not created by our people. We don’t even know how the artifact got here, although, it is mentioned in the scrolls throughout our history. Very few people know this site. We’re in the middle of a large desert. There’re no settlements close by. The artifact only appeared sporadically. It wasn’t visible for a long time. When the skies were burning, it suddenly materialized again. I think it was sixty years ago when that happened the last time. You should know. You came through the portal!«
Vasina didn’t feel comfortable, she called Arkroid.
»Toiber, we have an unexpected … uh … problem. We should leave the portal and the mountain area immediately. Something is wrong with this place.«
»Tell me about it, we also lost contact to Maya and Voit!«
Unreal environment
»If we ever get out of here, then you’ll have to answer to me, Klori’Tar,« Maya hissed, while she fought a restraining energy field. She had no recollection how she got into this room and how she was captured. Voit, Klori’Tar and Paafnas were in the same situation. All of them were suspended two meters in the air. Dimmed light filled the grotto-like room, somewhere inside the mountain.
After several tries, she gave up fighting against the energy field.
We can’t overcome this field, not with muscle power! Klori’Tar pondered, then he shouted in Maya’s direction, »I’m glad you came. I already thought that I’d die here alone ... well … at least you tried to rescue me.«
»Rescue you?«
Maya almost choked.
»Well, you’ll be dying in good company, at least,« Voit added sarcastically. »I can even make that quicker for you, if you like.«
Horrified, Klori’Tar blew up his airsacks, knowing that Voit could do that with his special abilities. His croaking noises echoed from the grotto walls.
»You should’ve warned us!« Maya scolded him. »We’re now subject to the mercy of these horrible beings.«
»They’re no beings! They don’t have a brain, which I can analyze with my vertoflex organ. Klori’Tar had no chance,« Paafnas defended him. »The guardians surprised him. He had no communication to the outside world, even if he’d tried, we wouldn’t have received his message. I wasn’t able to reach you either.«
»I think that he didn’t even think of warning us!« she yelled in anger. »What’s your business inside the mountain anyway, Klori’Tar? Are you looking for gold coins or hidden treasures?«
»I don’t know what you’re talking about. I never would have looked for gold currencies. I wouldn’t know what to do with them. You can’t deny, though, that this is a special place. I don’t answer to you. You can’t give me orders! If I decide to conduct an exploration then I’m not asking you for permission. Fate has brought me here. I agree with Paafnas, the guardians are no living beings. I think they’re highly developed machines. They communicate via telepathy and seem self-sufficient. I’d like to find out more about the people who created this technology.«
»Highly developed?« Voit doubted. »Not considering that these beings or machines appear not Human-like, these robots look more like medieval knights, with lances, swords, shields and armor … but no energy weapons! Why should somebody construct such primitive looking guard-robots to protect this mountain and the hall? I don’t understand this.«
»You think like a Human,« Klori’Tar complained. »These machines beat us, right? Regardless how they look. If these machines in the hall are already this powerful, I don’t want to know what the twelve meter giants at the stairs can do. Did you have a chance to look at the table closer before you were captured?«
»No, we didn’t have that pleasure,« Voit admitted bitterly.
They have no idea what we’ve found! Klori’Tar thought.
»One of the guardians mentioned a manifest. That was the last thing I heard before we were enveloped by these fields,« Maya said. »We don’t know the meaning. Maybe you can enlighten us?«
Klori’Tar’s cheeks blushed, indicating his excitement..
A manifest! That’s it!
»C’mon, Klori’Tar, tell them or do you want me to do it?« Paafnas suggested.
Damnit, he saw everything from the ceiling!
»Okay, just in case you haven’t seen it. Nothing in this place is what it seems! Not even this historic site, surrounding us. The large marble-like table is not an altar or relic from olden times; the statues are no icons as much as this place is not a temple! It might confuse you, but I think, we’re not even inside a real cave!«
»Really? I would’ve never thought of that,« Voit mocked and looked around. »You’re right, there’re no bats here! Why didn’t I notice that earlier? Thanks Klori’Tar.«
»I’ve never heard of such an animal. I know, however, that beings like you primarily rely on their senses. That’s why I assessed the situation poorly. I should’ve known better!«
»The marble table, Klori’Tar,« Paafnas reminded him.
»This table must be the manifest. It appears to us as if it were a simple table with engravings of three different civilizations. I could make out one of the scribes, but don’t understand it. Without doubt, they’re of Genorantan origin! The other engravings are totally unknown to me, I’ve never seen something like this before.«
»Like the portal,« Maya remarked with a huff. »What’s so significant about this? The Genorantans built a portal and left their footprints behind, so what? They did this many times before all over the galaxy.«
»You still don’t get it,« Klori’Tar croaked. »The table is a valuable data carrier. The portal and the mountain are forming one unit. The energy connection between the portal and the monolith should’ve warned me. I think that this mountain is a Genorantan base of great significance. Maybe it’s the reason why Morgotradon established his base on Spook. He wanted to be close to this mountain, not the Crux-Heart!«
»Wait a second,« Voit interrupted. »Are we talking about the same people who built the Crux-Heart and the Dimensional Mirror? This mysterious civilization that created the tachyon-portal network? How did you get this abstruse idea, that this mountain with its corridors and crude tunnels has anything to do with Genorantans?«
»I’m absolutely sure, remember: Looks are deceiving!«
Maya shook her head.
»I think, I can’t follow your logic. You probably suffered a concussion.«
»This place is unreal,« Klori’Tar insisted. »How then is it possible that rock-carved statues come to life suddenly? Their primitive w
eapons penetrated our defense shields. These robots could even detect and look through my disguise field. They communicate amongst each other via telepathy. I’m absolutely sure that I was scanned before I entered the mountain and the caves. Then the table with all its engraved symbols. My scanner could not record anything, although I saw the symbols with my own eyes!«
»Hmm … loss of communication to the outside!« Voit added. »The mountain itself can’t do that. Nautilus’ radio-comm technology is very advanced.«
»Exactly! This entire monolith is very strange. I doubted from the beginning that the Kugos created this temple by means of hammer and chisel. We were and still are being deceived. I think somebody will make us want to believe that we’re inside a different reality.«
A deep pitched gong sounded through the cave. The vibrations produced by the sound waves caused headaches and nausea. Nobody dared to speak; only Voit looked around, trying to find the source of the noise.
After the gong sounds subsided, Maya looked around cautiously. Strangely enough, the restraining energy field let her do so.
»If Klori’Tar is right, then where the heck are we?«
Gone
Wrecker ran over to his toppled vehicle and returned minutes later with a bundle of documents. Small, yellow symbols and diagrams were printed on the pink paper, held together by a clip on the side. The Kugo leader rifled through the pages and searched for some specific entries.
»Many observations are entered in our log, including the appearance of the artifact,« he explained. »The monolith and the portal appear sporadically from time to time, just to disappear again. Only a handful of Kugos researched this phenomenon. Some, who had entered the mountain never returned, this also occurred to the people who were inside the banned sector.«
Wrecker pulled out a topographic map and unrolled it. While pointing at their actual location on the map he explained to Vasina, »This is the area where we are located. As you can see, the portal and the mountain are not part of the map. The nearest settlement is about two hundred kilometers to the North. The closest habitat with water, about one hundred fifty kilometer East.«
NEBULAR Collection 5 - Panic in the Galaxy: Episodes 22 - 26 Page 32