by S. H. Jucha
“Lise, if Cinders goes to Emperion next, that’s supposing nothing happens at Triton —”
“We can only hope,” Lise interjected.
“What I meant to say, Lise, is that it’ll be seven-plus months before Cinders makes the JOS.”
“I don’t care if it’s two years, Emerson. Get it done. Incarcerate the man. If he’s successful, the populace is going to make him a hero. That’s exactly the kind of thing that you and I don’t need.”
After the comm call with Lise, Emerson worked furiously to lay up a charge sheet. By the afternoon’s end, he was on his way to meet with Captain Henry Stamerson, the head of the Review Board.
“I’m laying charges against Captain Cinders,” Emerson announced officiously, when he was admitted to Henry’s office.
“What statutes has the captain violated?” Henry asked, while he opened the sheet on his monitor that his comm device had received.
“For one, Captain Cinders has not been appointed as Pyre’s representative to meet with the aliens,” Emerson replied.
“What proof do you have that the captain is acting in that capacity?” Henry asked.
“He’s going to meet the aliens, Captain. What else would he be doing?” Emerson challenged.
“Saying hello?” Henry supplied. He kept his face neutral, but inside he was laughing.
“But in what capacity is the question,” Emerson replied, his voice rising.
“In that regard, I have no idea, Commandant, and apparently neither do you. Unless you have proof that Captain Cinders is acting in a capacity other than as a private citizen, this charge has no foundation. And, as to the second charge, the captain won’t be violating your quarantine order if he joins the Belle at Emperion. I imagine that more than six months will pass before he returns to the station. I see no reason to grant the filing of these charges against Captain Cinders. Good day, Commandant.”
The office door closed behind an irate commandant, and Henry chuckled. He knew that Emerson pined for the opportunity to slam a door to demonstrate his anger. He’d lamented the absence of swinging doors many times. Instead, Henry’s door slid closed, with a quiet hiss, as it did for everyone.
Henry silently thanked Harbour for arranging the meeting at the Miner’s Pit. It had allowed him to establish a close contact with Major Finian, who had given him a heads-up about the commandant. Apparently, the major and his lieutenant had again monitored the conversation between Emerson and Lise. The early warning allowed him to be prepared for Emerson’s requests, and Henry had thoroughly enjoyed sending the commandant packing with his bogus charges.
-18-
Triton
The Annie made Triton, and Captain Erring directed the pilot to maintain a fixed orbital position above the plains that fronted the dome.
Yohlin approached Jessie, while he was donning his vac suit. The expression on Yohlin’s face made Jessie pause to allow her an opportunity to speak.
“You know how I feel about you going down there,” Yohlin said. “So, I’m not going to repeat myself. But, I’m warning you, Jessie Cinders, if you get yourself killed down there by the aliens, I’m going to be angry at you for the rest of my life.”
Before Jessie could reply, Yohlin stalked off. He glanced at Aurelia, who smiled gently and sent encouragement.
The shuttle was prepped with the search rover, the shelter, and extra equipment. It was crammed so full that many of the auxiliary crew rode atop the gear, while Jessie and the dome crew sat inside the rover.
Once the shuttle landed on the moon, the pilot opened the rear cargo hatch and Hamoi backed the rover off the vessel. Jessie’s dome crew stayed with the shuttle to help in the shelter’s setup, which was their critical backup site. The light faded, as the last preparations were completed, and the crew hustled inside, doffed their vac suits, set the tanks charging, and enjoyed hot meals.
Aurelia’s excitement was palpable. It took Belinda three reminders to get the teenager to dial down her broadcast. However, by morning, Aurelia was sending at full strength again.
“Let’s get underway,” Jessie announced soon after breakfast, “before we forget why we’re here and sit on our cots all day wearing stupid expressions.”
Aurelia’s chagrined expression preceded the curtailment of her sending. But, if Jessie hadn’t said anything, donning her vac suit would have reminded her to clamp down on her power.
Hamoi climbed aboard first, entering the rover through the tight, one-person, rear airlock. He would be the driver. Jessie went second to take the navigator’s position beside Hamoi. After that, the crew entered by seniority until Tully motioned Aurelia to precede him.
The shuttle had set down a mere 3 kilometers from the dome’s entrance, which made the transit a short distance. However, the surface was littered with boulders and depressions. Per Jessie’s orders, Hamoi took his time navigating around the obstacles.
Jessie used the ship’s coordinates to zero in on the tunnel entrance and directed Hamoi when he drifted off course. When they arrived, the crew exited, each of them carrying their spare tank.
At the doors, Jessie touched the access plate and stood back, as the dome’s mechanisms cleared the small buildup of dust. When the doors slid open, the crew piled into the airlock and waited while it was pressurized.
“What have you got, Tully?” Jessie asked.
Tully held up a finger, while he watched the readout on his atmospheric tester. When the output settled, “Slighter in oxygen content than we need, Captain, but it’s all good.”
“Two sentient species from different worlds, but both require nearly the same gas mixture,” Hamoi said over the open comm channel. “This place creates more questions with every visit.”
The Jatouche witnessed the descent of the shuttle the day before, its engine flares starkly lit against the black of space. Tacticnok ordered Jittak to put his soldiers on rotation during the night, to monitor the dome’s entrance.
“Do you think these aliens are nocturnal?” Jittak had asked. When Tacticnok stared at him, without saying a word, Jittak tipped his head in apology, “Foolish question,” he said.
The Jatouche had consumed a morning meal, when a soldier hustled into the room and announced that the tunnel doors had been activated. The team rushed from the room, the last out closing the door, and raced up the ramp.
“How many?” Tacticnok asked, when she saw Kractik reach the console.
After a few taps on the panel, a visual projected above it. Kractik’s lips moved, as she counted. “Six,” she replied.
“The same number as before, even though the size of the alien’s ship indicates it could carry many more,” Jaktook noted to Tacticnok. His eyes were bright, silently acknowledging the brilliance of her idea to transport the same number of Jatouche as the aliens had seen on their monitoring array.
“Weapons,” Jittak asked anxiously.
This time, Kractik took a little longer to study the projection. “I’m not a soldier, Jittak, but nothing they carry resembles a weapon. They have spare air tanks and small square devices. None of the devices have barrels or are hooked to energy sources.”
“How do we arrange ourselves?” Jaktook whispered to Tacticnok.
It dawned on the royal daughter that she hadn’t thought through this part. Don’t intimidate them, she thought.
“Jittak, place your soldiers in a line here,” Tacticnok ordered, pointing to a spot equidistant from the entrance ramp, the console, and the platform. “Kractik, remain at the console. Prepare for a transit.” She stepped in front of the middle of the soldiers and said, “Jaktook, Jakkock, Jittak, stand on either side of me.”
“Do we smile?” Jittak asked.
“You saw the aliens, as we did, did you not, Jittak?” Tacticnok asked. It was a rhetorical question and Tacticnok hurried on. “You saw their heads and their teeth. Imagine you are them, and I greet you in this manner.” Tacticnok flashed her teeth, which were accented by sharp incisors on the upper and lower ja
ws.
“I would be intimidated,” Jittak replied. He turned to his soldiers and announced, “Neutral expression at all times. If in doubt, do nothing. We have no idea what facial expressions or gestures will frighten them.” When he turned around, Tacticnok nodded her approval.
The dome granted access to Jessie and his team, and they dropped their spare tanks inside the inner airlock door. He led his crew along the corridor, its surfaces glowing with blue symbols. The ramp at the end of the corridor was down, inviting them to the upper deck. In single file, they trooped up the ramp and stopped, as they came face to face with the aliens.
Jessie ordered his suit to shut down. He popped the seal on his helmet and removed it, and the crew followed suit.
The two species stared at each other: furred and unfurred, short and tall, tailed and tailless.
Tacticnok touched her chest and uttered her name, while she focused on the alien, who stood in the forefront of the group.
Jessie attempted to repeat the female’s name. Apparently, he failed, because it produced chittering among the aliens. One of them, a male to the female’s right, whom Jessie had seen keep the leader company, hissed and the aliens quieted.
Tacticnok repeated her name slowly, touching her chest again.
This time, Jessie caught the means by which the female produced her sounds. Rather than try to think of the female’s name in his language, he imitated the means by which she produced her name, which was by a quick, repeated clicking of the tongue against the back of the teeth and the roof of the mouth. His efforts earned him a quick view of sharp canines before the female quickly covered them.
Tacticnok repeated her name, and, this time, she pointed carefully toward him.
Without thinking, Jessie replied, pronouncing both names. Slow steps, Jessie thought, thinking he should have matched the female, who only gave him a single name.
“This one is entitled,” Jittak whispered to Tacticnok. “He carries two names.”
“We don’t know that,” Jaktook whispered back. “It might be common for these aliens to possess two names and the entitled have three.”
Tacticnok hissed to quiet them. She spoke the alien’s name, as best she could, and the alien obliged by repeating it slowly, which helped for her second try. They’re gracious, she thought.
Jaktook tipped his head toward Jakkock to follow him. He stepped forward and indicated the leader’s helmet. Then he walked around the aliens to the ramp and waved to them to follow.
There was hesitation on the part of Jessie’s crew.
“Captain?” Darrin queried.
“We’re here,” Jessie replied. “Let’s be polite.”
The Pyreans trooped behind the two Jatouche, who led them down the ramp and stopped at what appeared to be a flat wall.
Jaktook touched a glowing glyph and a door, its outline invisible to the eye, recessed and slid aside.
“It looks like we have to learn these aliens’ language,” Hamoi commented.
“That’s supposing that this is their language,” Tully replied.
“Are you implying that this language belonged to the large aliens, whose bodies we saw the first time on the deck, Tully?” Belinda asked.
“Or neither of them,” Jessie offered. When his crew stared at him, he added, “What if it’s a language common to the domes?”
“Then who put them here?” Darrin asked.
“That’s an excellent question, Darrin,” Jessie said and followed the two aliens into the room.
Jaktook swept his hand across a row of lockers, each carved with a single symbol. It was the same symbol on every locker. He pointed to the symbol on the first locker, held up his hand, and placed it over the symbol, without touching it. Then, he indicated the leader’s hand.
Jessie thought he understood what was requested of him, but, when he reached to touch the glyph, the small alien uttered a sharp click of his tongue. Jessie pulled his hand back and watched the alien pantomime pulling off a glove. Jessie released his glove, yanked it off, and touched the symbol. In response, the locker door popped open. Inside, metal hooks and straps were ready to receive the vac suits.
“Open a locker and hang up your suits,” Jessie ordered, as he unlocked his other glove and proceeded to divest himself of his vac suit.
Jaktook and Jakkock waited patiently for the aliens to store their cumbersome suits. However, when they spotted the figures of Belinda and Aurelia, they quickly offered to help hang their equipment.
“Alien male chivalry,” Darrin remarked, watching one of the small individuals struggle to help with the women’s heavy suits.
“I would love a translation guide for these carvings,” Hamoi remarked,” if they belong to these aliens.”
As the humans exited the room in the company of the aliens, Aurelia remarked, “No time like the present to find out.”
“Rules,” Jessie cautioned, when he saw her tap the shoulder of the little alien who had helped her.
Jaktook turned at the alien’s touch. The female indicated the glyph that opened the doorway, and she was gesturing toward him. He frowned and considered that the alien was requesting the symbol’s name. Before he could reply, she fanned her hands at the many symbols decorating the walls and, again, pointed at him.
“No,” Jaktook replied, shaking his head and holding up his hands in negation. He tapped Jakkock’s shoulder and touched his chest, saying, “Jatouche.” Then he waved his hands at the wall, as the alien had done, and said, “Messinants.”
“Hamoi, you might be right,” Jessie said. “Our hosts are the Jatouche, and it looks like they didn’t build the domes. The Messinants did.”
The eyes of the Jatouche briefly fluttered and their bodies stilled.
“Rules, I felt you broadcast,” Jessie accused. Slowly, the Jatouche resumed their natural movements.
“Sorry, Captain, it slipped out,” Aurelia replied apologetically. “Their nature is so gentle and generous, and I reacted to it.”
The Jatouche led Jessie and his crew up the ramp. It struck the Pyreans that their hosts, who were technologically far superior to them, weren’t the most evolved race. It made them feel incredibly inadequate.
Jessie watched the aliens, who had accompanied them below, jabber excitedly to Tacticnok. There was a great deal of head pointing and eye rolling. When they were finished, the female leader approached Jessie. Tapping her temple, she indicated his head and pointed to her head.
“Sorry, Captain,” Aurelia whispered from beside Jessie, when she realized what drove the female’s curiosity.
“Don’t be, Rules,” Jessie replied. “I’ve been thinking that we’ve little to offer or compete with these aliens and the Messinants, whoever they are, but your powers might give us an edge.”
“Agreed, Captain,” Belinda whispered from behind Jessie, “While I can’t read alien expressions, the two male Jatouche appeared to be easily susceptible to a small amount of Rules’ sending.”
Jessie touched his temple and shook his head negatively. Then, he laid a companionly hand on Aurelia’s shoulder and spoke her given name.
Tacticnok was fascinated by this turn of events. Jaktook and Jakkock were convinced of some sort of mental exchange from one of the aliens, and now the leader was telling them it was a female, called Aurelia, who possessed the incredible empathetic capability. Tacticnok repeated her gesture that she’d given the alien leader, Jessie Cinders, to the female, Aurelia.
“Captain?” Aurelia asked.
“Give her a taste, Rules,” Jessie replied. “Something pleasant and soothing, but not too strong. I don’t want to see her falling on her butt.”
Despite the strange circumstances, Aurelia couldn’t help giggling at the image of an alien dropping to the deck, emotionally overwhelmed.
“Captain, be aware that I can’t focus on a single individual in close proximity to others like this. That’s something Captain Harbour can do, but I don’t have the control, yet.”
“Well, R
ules, let this be your gift of first contact to an alien leader and her associates,” Jessie replied. “Have at it,” he added, gesturing with his hand toward the aliens.
In preparation for what was to come, Tacticnok backed up to stand with her team. She grasped Jaktook’s hand, and he flashed his teeth at her.
Aurelia called on her power, carefully forming her thoughts. She wanted her sending to be sincere and full of hope. When she was ready, she eased the gate open, letting her emotions out. Sharing her wish for a fortunate future with aliens was a tantalizing moment for Aurelia, and it widened her gate.
First Tacticnok and then the rest of the team closed their eyes. Their bodies swayed as Aurelia’s emotions triggered ancient memories of less hectic times before they were uplifted by the Messinants.
Jessie was transfixed by the aliens’ reaction to Aurelia. He’d felt much stronger impressions from her, which meant that the Jatouche were highly susceptible to her power. “Okay, Rules, enough,” Jessie whispered.
“No, Captain,” Belinda hissed. “Rules, ease off slowly,” Belinda directed. She was the one spacer who was most familiar with the teenager’s power and the uncomfortable feelings that resulted when that power was suddenly truncated.
Belinda’s words penetrated Aurelia’s focus, and ever so slowly she shut down her sending.
Jessie watched the aliens come out of their emotional trip. They chittered excitedly among themselves, except for one of them. Jessie made note of his coloring. He was the male with the watchful eyes, and he definitely didn’t appear to appreciate Aurelia’s demonstration.
“Jaktook, help me convince these aliens to cooperate with Jakkock,” Tacticnok urged. “Our linguist must program their language into our translators, as quickly as possible. I have many urgent questions to ask them.”
Tacticnok sent a reluctant Jittak and his soldiers below to reclaim pedestals and pallets and bring them on deck. When the soldiers were gone, Jakkock and Jaktook motioned to the humans to approach the console. Hamoi, who needed no urging, left the group in a hurry, arriving first.