by Adair Hart
“Wow, that’s a lot of charges. These Fredorians seem a bit rough,” said Dr. Snowden.
“Yes, we will need to be careful. The credentials will be discovered in time. Their systems are quite advanced. We should have at least three days, though, or more, depending on how deeply they investigate this. However, credentials are usually only checked upon entry or when trying to go somewhere secure. I am not expecting it to be scanned often. The satellite only has basic access. Once we are down there, I will check out their systems in more detail and update the passes. I do not want to do too much to trip anything at this point, however,” said Evaran. He gestured at V. “It looks like V has found us a port to land in near the event. Dr. Snowden, if you can refrain from fighting, we should be okay.”
Emily laughed. “The only time he would fight is if someone threatened his nap.”
Dr. Snowden snorted.
“V, disengage stealth mode.”
“Acknowledged.”
Dr. Snowden was impressed that V could find the Fredorians, create passes, and locate a port to land at, all under a minute. This was an advanced civilization, and their tech was not even close to the Torvatta’s. It gave him a new appreciation of what the Torvatta brought to the table. He wished that the Fredorians had a better reputation, but it would only be for a few days. They had a rough history.
The Torvatta descended to the planet and broke cloud cover. Dr. Snowden got up and walked to the front of the ship. He watched as they approached the ground. He could see the port they were going to, and it was connected to a large dome that appeared to have arched entrances equidistant to each other at the base. It was the largest constructed building he had ever seen. It looked like it spanned miles and miles. As they drew near to the port, he could see the port was busy. Aliens were everywhere, along with ships, cargo, and other things he could not make out.
“The dock authority is requesting credentials. Sending now,” said V. He touched the main console, and the front screen showed a landing pad below, with the screen putting a green outline around it. “We have been cleared for landing pad A772.”
Dr. Snowden gripped the front guardrail as the Torvatta landed on the landing pad.
“Careful, Uncle Albert, you might break the railing,” said Emily.
Dr. Snowden snorted as he let go of the railing. “Just excited is all. Glad we have the universal translator or we wouldn’t know what anyone is saying.”
Evaran stood up and nodded at Dr. Snowden. “Yes, but bear in mind, it just translates speech, not mannerisms. Let us see what awaits us.”
They walked to the entrance and down the ramp of the Torvatta. A purple-skinned humanoid rushed over to them, with a machine hovering to his right and two humanoid robots behind him. The head stood out to Dr. Snowden, as it had a cone shape on the back end curving upward. The robots appeared to be heavily armored with various weaponry attached to them. The humanoid alien had on a golden light-armored suit with an open-face helmet, a sidearm on the side, and what appeared to be some type of weapon attached to the forearms. He gestured at them. “I am the dock manager for this landing pad. Your credentials, please.”
They showed the dock manager their passes, which the hovering robot scanned. The dock manager then tapped at his forearm and scrutinized a display that appeared over it. “Fredorian, huh?” He gestured at them, and the two robots stepped forward. A beam shot out encasing Dr. Snowden, Emily, and Evaran. The dock manager nodded. “No weapons. Good. And no illegal contraband. You might surprise me after all. Your ship can remain here for eight days. If it is still here at that time, it will be moved to the holding yard. Standard fees apply for retrieval. Any questions?”
“Not at the moment. Thank you for your time,” said Evaran, bowing.
The dock manager smirked. His forearm display beeped, and he looked around. The robots behind him angled their arms and moved in sync with the dock manager’s gaze. They shot a light beam into the air. The dock manager pressed a button on his belt, and V, who had been stealthed, lit up in a red bull’s-eye. The dock manager narrowed his eyes and turned to Evaran. “No flying civilian robots of any type are allowed. Especially stealthed ones.”
“My apologies. It is our first time here. V, body mode,” said Evaran, gesturing toward the ship.
“Acknowledged,” said V. He flew into the Torvatta and, after a few moments, exited in body mode. He bowed his head to the dock manager. “I apologize for the inconvenience. My intent was not to deceive.”
“Uh-huh. I’m sure you didn’t know. You all are definitely Fredorian,” said the dock manager as he shook his head. “Okay, you’re cleared to go. I registered your robot. Make sure it doesn’t get lost. Because you are Fredorian, and I emphasize this, no fighting. Enjoy your brief visit.” With that, the dock manager turned and walked away with his robot entourage in tow.
“Real friendly guy,” said Dr. Snowden.
“He did not seem friendly,” said V.
“I was being sarcastic, V. That guy seemed like he was in a hurry. Given how populated this area looks, I can see why. Was that a Kreagan?” asked Dr. Snowden.
Evaran extended a hand toward the walkway leading away from the landing pad. “He was. Shall we?”
Dr. Snowden sighed as he looked at Evaran. “Well, guess we have a general idea of what they think of Fredorians.”
Evaran half smiled. “As with any civilization, not all would hold that view.”
They went up the walkway to a landing strip that ringed the dome. Evaran pointed to a large arch farther down the strip. “That is an entrance to the city interior.”
They walked in silence toward the arch. Dr. Snowden was absorbing everything around him. Although the first Kreagan he met was short with them, he was still happy to be here. He noticed the various aliens on the landing pads and saw the dock manager rushing from landing pad to landing pad. He looked like he could barely keep up with the ships coming and going. “Wonder why this isn’t automated for such an advanced civilization.”
“Probably because it would be easy to hack. Much harder with a living being. An automated system would be trivial to bypass by more advanced societies, especially those with strong AI. A decentralized system might be better. Wonder what language they program in,” said Emily.
Dr. Snowden jerked his head back. “Uhh … when did you get all technical?”
Emily paused as she studied the ground. “I don’t know. The thought just popped in my head.”
Evaran narrowed his eyes and then scanned Emily with his ring. “Are you feeling okay?”
Emily half grinned. “I’m fine. Really. I don’t know why I said that. It just made sense.”
“I see. Interesting,” said Evaran. He nodded, and they continued walking.
Dr. Snowden looked up at the gateway as they approached it and saw the hustle and bustle of the crowds as they entered and left. When they got to the entrance, he noticed there were two security booths, but they were not checking passes. When they crossed through the gateway, they walked through a light shielding. He figured it must be some type of automated scanning mechanism. It made sense to him.
He was still adjusting to the smells. The smells seemed to pulse, sometimes there was a foul odor, then a pleasant one. It struck him that maybe not all aliens can sweat, or if they did, it may have a different scent than what he would expect. The multitude of colors also stood out to him.
“So, where to first?” asked Evaran.
Dr. Snowden smiled big. “Everywhere.”
They visited many different exhibits over the course of the day, but four of them stood out to Dr. Snowden. Each exhibit was civilization specific and contained the history, marvels, and advancements of that civilization. He liked the first exhibit. It was from a humanoid race known as the Pahruul. They looked human, but had red skin and unusual bone-like ridges on their body. They did not know of Fredoria but were more than happy to show him and the others around. He marveled at how advanced their world was with its sing
le government. They had conquered poverty and most diseases, and their technology was leaps and bounds ahead of Earth’s. Their deep voices were comforting, although he found it odd on the females.
The second exhibit was from the Kumoritin. They were also humanoid in form and short, but had feathers and a head that reminded him of an eagle. They had wings on their backs, and he was surprised they could fly, given their size. Their world was heavily forested with vast oceans. Like the Pahruul, they did not know of Fredoria but were more than happy to show him and the others around. They were advanced like the Pahruul. He was beginning to sense there was a technological threshold that a planet had to reach to become a member of the Kreagan Star Empire. He noted that the Kumoritin had nailed down traveling in their solar system and to other ones. He wanted to know more of the technology, but they only had general descriptions.
The third exhibit was the most unusual for him. The Huuzol reminded him of three-foot tall centipedes, but without the large mandibles of centipedes on Earth. He noted that Emily was nervous during that exhibit. He remembered when a bumblebee got caught in her hair and she could not sleep for days. She just did not like bugs in any form. The Huuzol were probably her nightmare come true. The Huuzol were friendly, however, and showed them around. Their planet was mostly jungle and was much larger than Earth. He guessed that the higher gravity had a hand in their evolution. They were the first among the other species on their planet to evolve to sentience. Apparently there were two other species, but they were wiped out in their long history, leaving the planet to the Huuzol. He found it interesting that there was a primate-like creature on their planet at one point. The Huuzol eventually drove them to extinction and were horrified when they ventured out into space and discovered that almost every race they encountered was humanoid. The Huuzol, like the others, did not know of Fredoria and were very advanced.
The fourth and last exhibit that stood out to him was from the Gungrolix, a plantlike creature that appeared to be a moving mass of vines under a wood-like carapace. He wondered how fast they could move if they needed to. He didn’t see a mouth or set of eyes but figured maybe they used other senses or the features were covered from view. Like the Huuzol, they evolved as the dominant species, but only after a struggle with a reptile-like humanoid species. They were also horrified when they ventured out into space. They knew of Fredorians and seemed to have a lot of respect for them. When he asked them about it, they told him they respected any race willing to take what they believe to be theirs. They then discussed the recent war Fredoria had been involved in. That did not surprise him, given what he knew of the Fredorians. He did enjoy the Gungrolix, though. They were very outgoing. The Gungrolix talked in the official Kreagan language through a device that was attached to one of their vines. He liked their heavy Eastern-European-sounding accent.
After the Gungrolix exhibit, they walked over to a sectioned-off open area with blue grass. Dr. Snowden and Emily sat on a bench, while Evaran scanned the crowd.
“Everything okay?” asked Dr. Snowden.
Evaran nodded. “It is. We are being watched, however.”
Emily scanned the crowds. “I don’t see anything.”
“And that is what they want. Come, we can do one more, then we should find a place to rest for the night and get dinner,” said Evaran.
They wandered the streets for a bit, arriving near a large exhibit building with dark-red symbols etched on black walls. Dr. Snowden’s skin crawled when he noticed a reptilian humanoid smile at him as they approached it. The head reminded him of a short-nosed alligator. The reptilian was human-sized and seemed more muscular than an average human. The dark-gray scales with various hues seemed to sparkle under the waning suns. It was the bright-yellow eyes that blinked horizontally that caught his attention.
“Come in and see the wonder that is Drodalia,” said the reptilian.
Evaran put his hand on Dr. Snowden’s shoulders. “You three go ahead. I will find us accommodations for the night. If you need me, you know how to contact me.”
“You sure?”
“I am.”
Dr. Snowden nodded. “Okay. Be safe.” He watched as Evaran walked off. Something was bothering Evaran. Whatever it was, it was clear Evaran wanted to handle it alone. He faced the reptilian. “After you.”
They followed the reptilian into the exhibit building and then stopped inside a large circular foyer area, with a large entrance to the main exhibit ahead of them. The reptilian went off to the side to a table, scattering its contents as if searching for something. Dr. Snowden’s nostrils flared at what smelled like burnt flesh. He cupped his nose and coughed. He saw Emily had noticed it as well.
“The smell here is powerful,” said V.
Dr. Snowden shook his hand and head at V.
V cocked his head to the side. “Is everything okay, Dr. Snowden?”
The reptilian turned to face them. “Your robot servant is just verbalizing what it senses. No offense has been taken. I apologize for the smell. Some species can’t stand it, and some love it. I suspect your species would hate it.”
“V is not our robot servant. He is part of our crew,” said Emily.
V nodded at Emily. “Thank you, Emily.”
Emily smiled at V.
“Well, regardless,” said the reptilian as he walked over to them with a device in his hands. “I still need to scan credentials before we can proceed.”
Dr. Snowden showed the reptilian his credential pass.
The reptilian scanned it and then checked his device. He stepped back with widened eyes. “You’re Fredorian!”
Dr. Snowden jerked back his head with widened eyes. This was the first visceral reaction he had seen from being known as Fredorian. “Right. Is that an issue?”
The reptilian narrowed its eyes and then checked Emily’s and V’s credential passes. “Depends on if you have come to start trouble or not.”
Dr. Snowden contorted his face. “Not at all. We just wanted to see your exhibit.”
The reptilian eyed them for a bit, cocking his head as he smiled. “You are unusual for a Fredorian. Nonetheless, I am Szaris, and I will be your guide. Follow me, and if you have any questions, feel free to ask them. You will have to excuse the other Drodalians who may not be as welcoming as me.”
They followed Szaris through the entrance and into the main exhibit hall. Dr. Snowden saw it was set up similar to the other exhibits. There were various sections such as technology, history, cuisine, and the like. Szaris led them to the beginning of the history section, which spanned the length of the main exhibit’s right wall. It was apparent they put a big focus on it. The history section was divided into smaller sections, with each section having its own hologram and representing an era in Drodalian history. Szaris walked them most of the way through it. They were quiet for the most part and listened to Szaris speak. They got to the point in the history section that detailed the Drodalians first off-world colony.
Szaris turned toward them. “I’m sure you already know how this turned out.”
Dr. Snowden nodded his head at Szaris.
Szaris’s eyes flared. “No comment, then, huh? Curious.”
V stepped forward. “They know what was done and know it is a sensitive subject among Drodalians. They are merely being polite by not commenting on it.”
Szaris took a breath and blinked slowly. “Really? Usually Fredorians have a lot to say about it. Let’s move on.” He turned around and continued on down to the next section.
Dr. Snowden shrugged at V. Emily put her hand on V’s shoulder while looking at him with a half grin.
Szaris took them through the rest of the history section. Dr. Snowden was fascinated by how they evolved from a state similar to Earth to one where they were now a star-spanning race. He was initially shocked at the brutality shown toward the Drodalians by the Fredorians. The Drodalian first off-world colony was on a planet that the Fredorians had claimed as their own. The Drodalians did not know of Fredoria at the tim
e, and their colony was massacred. In turn, they wiped out the first Fredorian outpost set up there, and it erupted into a war lasting over two hundred years. The Kreagans had stepped in and awarded the planet to the Fredorians.
The hologram also had a listing of the savagery committed against the Drodalians by the Fredorians, ranging from being impaled on spikes to torn apart when fed to vicious animals. It was sickening to Dr. Snowden, but what made him more uncomfortable was that he could easily see Earth doing this to a race they were at war with.
He did not dismiss that these details were from the Drodalian perspective. It might be very different from the Fredorian perspective. The Fredorians were definitely human. The reasons given for the atrocities seemed unsatisfactory to Dr. Snowden. He understood why Szaris hesitated about them being there.
They reached the end of the historical section. Szaris then led them to the technology section. Dr. Snowden was impressed by their technology. Compared with the other exhibits he had seen, the Drodalians were slightly more advanced. He wondered if Earth would ever get there. He was startled out of his thoughts by Szaris.
“Like our compressed-space technology advancements?” asked Szaris.
“I do. Wish we had it,” said Dr. Snowden.
Szaris blinked slowly. “Fredoria does have it. How else would you have gotten here?” He tilted his head. “Come, let me show you the ambassadorial chambers.”
Dr. Snowden realized he messed up. It was difficult playing a Fredorian when he knew so little about them, especially around the Drodalians. He looked at Emily, who shrugged her shoulders.
Szaris led them to the back of the exhibit hall and into a large room with a conference table in the middle. He gestured for them to sit as he walked to the front of the table. After they were all sitting, Szaris interacted with a console built into the table. The door to the conference room closed shut. “You can speak freely here. I have turned on the privacy filters for the room. So, what species are you exactly?”
“We are Fredorian,” said Emily.