“Ninety-five percent will be quite high for a mapping app.” “I know, Mahmud. But that is what we will need to be able to guarantee that when we do eventually escape from these Gualdions, we will be able to trace our way back to Tiangrit. On the other hand, if we need to even advance further, then with the mapping app we can have an idea of where we are going, and not keep running into trouble.”
“That would be great,” Mahmud replied. He pointed at the wasp ship that was flying ahead of them. “Any word from them about what is happening or where we are going?”
“Not yet. But are they even obligated to tell us where we are going? For all I know, we are simply on the trail for their so-called Seeds of Life. At least that is what the whole jail break episode was all about.”
“Crazy alien women,” Mahmud muttered. “I agree with you. They are really crazy. And very dangerous. How are you and the other guy feeling?” “Still feel a bit weak, but not as weak as before. I hope they don’t do it again. It was really weird and messed-up.”
“Well, just pray they did not succeed in whatever it was they were doing. Because if they did, then I have a feeling they would want to keep you and the other menfolk around for a very long time.”
“What? Keep us around? You mean like slaves or something?” “No, not like slaves. More like farms.”
“Farms? Captain, you are kidding, right?” “On the contrary, Mahmud, I am quite serious,”
Kristen replied. “They will keep you men like some sort of farm from where they will be harvesting seeds for their fertilization. That means they will treat you well, nurture you, and make sure they can harvest as much seeds as possible from you all.”
Mahmud made a face. “Please, don’t go on any further, Captain. I think I am going to throw up.” “But it might not work out like that,” Kristen continued. “Especially if our knowledge of genetics is anything to go by. It is just not possible to cross the genes of humans with whatever specie of aliens these women are. Are we even correct to call them women?”
“What else would you call them? They have everything a woman should have. Although maybe more. But I am just saying,” Mahmud replied.
“You don’t know anything, Mahmud. Those things are monsters that will not hesitate to destroy us. Don’t get carried away. They are dangerous, and they would willingly get rid of us.”
“You are right, Captain. But still, they are hot and pretty.”
“Maybe that was why they came for you and not any other man.” “Come on, Captain,” Mahmud protested. “I am sure it was a mere coincidence. They must have just chosen me and the other guy randomly.”
“Maybe you are right. But you know what? Maybe you should pray then that their experiment should work out.”
“I should now pray that their experiment works out? Why?” “Because that way we all will be assured we are going to be kept alive. Because they will need all of you men. And then you can carry on with enjoying their hotness,” Kristen added.
“And if the experiment is a failure?”
“Then we will all be doomed, because they will have no need for us anymore.” Mahmud suddenly fell silent. It was as if all this while he had failed to realize the situation they all were in. It was ironic and unreasonable at the same time. But the fact of the matter was that the fate of the entire crew members actually depended on the successful outcome of the experiments that were being carried out on the specimens taken from Mahmud and his fellow colleague.
“Mahmud, are you all right?” Kristen asked as Mahmud continued his silence. He nodded. “Yes. I am fine. I am just wishing and hoping that whatever samples were gotten from me were okay. Captain, they are going to be okay, right?”
Kristen was confused and did not know what to say. It was obvious Mahmud was now frightened. Even though she was the commanding officer of the ship, she had no idea what the Gualdions were going to see when they completed their experiments.
“I think I will go over to my cubicle, Captain,” Mahmud stated. “Damn those crazy alien women,” he muttered and left.
After he had gone, Kristen stood up and looked across the bridge. Somewhere below her she could see Mahmud shaking his head as he settled down on his seat. Others were busy at their monitors.
She mulled over what she had just discussed with Mahmud. There is no doubt about it, she was thinking. We are going to survive if the experiment is successful. But if the experiment is a failure…
Kristen looked outside at the wasp ship that was flying in front of them.
Hope and salvation!
CHAPTER SEVEN
“Colonel, can I have a moment with you please?” the soldier asked as she came up to her seat.
“Sure, what is it, soldier?” Colonel Havlun asked. “I think you might want to take a look at this,” the female warrior said, and handed her a flat device. The colonel collected it. It looked like a tablet and had a flat screen and a grey metallic back.
The colonel opened the screen and regarded the image she saw there.
Estramos was watching her as her gaze turned into worry. “What is the matter, Colonel?” Estramos asked. “This is not good,” Colonel Havlun muttered. “This is really not good.”
“What is not good?” Estramos asked.
Colonel Havlun stood up from her seat. “I’ll be with you in a minute, please. Soldier, come with me.” Estramos watched the colonel walk away and vanish through a corridor, followed by the female soldier. Once in the corridor, the colonel opened a door and entered a room with the soldier. Inside, she pulled a latch by the side and locked the door.
“When did you get these readings?” Colonel Havlun asked. “It was just a moment ago, Colonel,” the soldier replied. “As soon as I saw them, I did not hesitate to bring them over to you.”
“The results of the cross-fertilization show that out of three eggs we fertilized, only one has been able to survive. That is a 33 percent success rate.”
“Is it good enough?” Colonel Havlun shook her head. “It’s a pass mark. But I had hoped for a better score. It was either going to be all a success or a complete failure. But this one is neither here nor there. It only goes on to raise more questions than answers. Why would one survive? What made the other two not survive?”
“Do we perform the procedure all over again? Maybe we would be able to isolate any trace any unhealthy variables.”
“Do we still have any more human samples?” “None, Colonel. I am sorry, we used them all up.”
“That now presents a fresh challenge for me,” the colonel said. “Why is that so, Colonel? The humans are still our hostages. We can always request for their men to come over once we get back home.”
“It is not as easy as that,” the colonel replied. “They are now the possessions of Estramos.”
“But how?” the soldier asked. The colonel sighed. “I had to strike a deal with him. It was the only way I could get him to commit to the mission for the Seeds. That, and two and a half tons of gold.”
“Don’t you think you gave him too much?” “I don’t think so. Not as long as he can take us to a major supplier of the Seeds. Once we have that we will be compensated for any losses and inconveniences we have had to initially endure.”
“Maybe so, Colonel. But still, we can always ask him to ‘borrow’ a human or two. He should be willing to do so.”
“You mean Estramos? The guy is very shrewd. He would turn it into another money-making avenue for exploiting us the more.”
“We might have no other choice, Colonel. We might really have to ask him.” “Maybe if it gets to that, I’ll see what I can do. But for now, we will stay focused on the mission at hand. This result must remain with us and should not become a topic for discussion amongst any of you. I do not want Estramos to have any knowledge of this result. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Colonel. I understand.”
Colonel Havlun stepped out of the room and walked back to her chair. As she sat down, Estramos confronted her. “You seemed re
ally worried a while ago,” Estramos said. “Is everything all right?”
“I guess it will be,” the colonel replied.
“What is the problem?”
“It was the result of the procedure.”
“What happened? Did it not work out?”
The colonel shook her head. “No, Estramos. It was a complete failure.” “That is too bad. But I told you it was not going to work out. You can’t cross your kind with humans. But maybe you could try crossing with me,” Estramos said. He started flexing his arms.
“See? I am one healthy and strong bunch of sample for you to make use of,” Estramos said.
“Thank you for your kind offer, Estramos. But you are not part of the deal.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You know what I meant, Estramos. You are not part of the deal.” “So I only get to have the humans?”
“The humans and the gold, nothing more.” “But I might just be the missing link you are looking
for. I am serious. You can try my own samples, the natural way, Colonel.” “No, thank you, Estramos. I am not ready to strike another deal with you. It was easy for me to get the human samples because they are—or were—my prisoners. With you, I am just not ready to start a new deal at all.”
Estramos shrugged his broad and hairy shoulders. “Okay. If you say so. But I am always available in case you change your mind. I really believe my own samples might just work out for you.”
“Estramos, can we just change the topic? You need to focus on the mission at hand.” “What is there to focus on? I know where we are going and that is not a difficult thing to remember for someone like me.”
“Is that it?” the colonel asked. “What if there are challenges on the way? You know you are going to help us ensure we get to the supplier without any hitches.”
“Don’t worry, Colonel. I know how to handle hitches. You seem to have forgotten that hitches are my middle name.”
“Really? Since when do you have a middle name?” Estramos grinned broadly again. “Since you were kind enough to come and burst me out of jail.” “Estramos, focus and concentrate, please,” the colonel said while checking some readings on her monitor.
At that moment Estramos stood upright. She saw him turn and start to walk away.
“Where are you going?” the colonel asked. “I need to go stretch myself a little. I’m tired of sitting down for so long. You know where we are going, don’t you?”
“Did you give me the coordinates yet?”
Estramos stopped. “You mean I haven’t told you where we are going?” The colonel made a face at him. “All this while we have been getting away from the fort. And then we began the negotiation. You never mentioned our destination, Estramos.”
“Really? That was very careless of me. We are going to the Gaius Nebula.”
“The Gaius Nebula?” the colonel repeated. “Yes. Once we are there just let me know so I can assist you in navigating to our final destination.” “But you could have just given me the coordinates.” “Do you think I know the exact coordinates? The whole thing is in my head. I can only take you there by holding your hand, not by directing you to the place.”
“You are making things difficult for me, Estramos. Piloting through space on a manual status is not very efficient. You and I know that.”
“I’m sorry, Colonel. But our deal was that I get you a good supplier, and that is what I am going to do. It never had anything to do with how efficient or how quickly you were to get it.”
The colonel was fuming as she watched Estramos go. The bandit is shrewd and cunning , she was thinking. But she had no choice other than to work along with him on his own terms. It was only he that could take them to where they would get a solution to the problem at hand.
She sat back and started to monitor the screen. Estramos, she was thinking.
Maybe I should consider his offer to make use of his samples.
*** As the Atlantis sped through space behind the wasp ship, Kristen looked up and peered through the window.
“How is the journey going?” Lynda asked. “I think we are getting pretty close to what resembles civilization,” Kristen replied. “My mapping is showing that they are taking us to one of the distant galaxies in the universe. It is a nebula.”
“A nebula?” Lynda repeated.
“Yes. Up ahead. It is the Gaius Nebula we are going to,” Kristen said. They both looked outside. In the distance far ahead of them was a wide expanse of mass, comprising of rocks, gaseous substances, and light. Unlike the asteroids they were familiar with that had a lot of solid rock formations, there were more clouds of lights and stars shining in this formation. From their current location, it appeared like a pattern made by a glass plate which was shattered on a white surface, with its shards and pieces littering all around a close vicinity. At the centre of it all was a higher concentration of planetary bodies and rocks, while towards the outer regions was more of gaseous clouds, dust, and light.
“How will anyone navigate through all that?” Lynda asked.
“I really wish I knew,” Kristen replied.
“These people are really taking us into the hidden regions of outer space.” “I am glad I thought about developing the mapping app. That way, we are sure to get out of any location no matter what the situation might be.”
“You are right, Captain. Let's hope they don't find out about the app.” “They cannot know. Not ever,” Kristen emphasized. “Besides, it is almost complete with the mapping of the previous coordinates that have been adopted by their wasp ship. As at the last reading we were at 87 percent. I am aiming at getting it to at least 95 percent. I am sure we will soon achieve that reading.”
Just then a light beeped on Kristen’s console. “Hello, Captain,” the colonel’s voice came over the radio.
“Yes, Colonel. This is Captain Kristen speaking with you,” Kristen replied. “That is good. We are approaching our next port of call, which is the Gaius Nebula. I want to advise you to take additional safety measures. The outer regions are usually full of turbulence and storms. Your visibility might be very impaired because of this. You need to switch from manual pilot to auto so you do not get lost. I wanted to tow you through but because of the various moving particles all around, it would be easy for you to experience a collision with one of them. This is why you will need to engage your auto-pilot so it can sync and mirror our flight path effortlessly, while avoiding any collisions with moving bodies.”
“I understand, Colonel. We are going to switch to auto right away.” Kristen looked at Lynda. “I am sure you heard the colonel loud and clear. Get them to switch over immediately.”
Lynda nodded. “Captain, this will be a very good opportunity for us to suddenly go missing. Or don’t you think so?”
“We could take the chance, but I think it would be a premature move. Let us first get as much information as possible from them. Then we can make a move. Besides, I think we can make some headway with that bandit that was rescued from the fort.”
“You mean the prisoner?”
“Yes. Estramos,” Kristen replied.
“How can he be of assistance to us? Isn’t he supposed to be an ally of the Gualdions?” “You are right. But does he have permanent allegiance to them alone? For all I know he is just a criminal for hire, a mercenary who will do anything as long as the terms are favourable to him.”
“From what you described about him, I think we should be careful how we deal with him.” “Is it just him we have to be careful about? We need to watch out for all of them. However, I am willing to take our chances more with him than with those women warriors. Anyway, just get us into auto before we get into the outer regions. There is still time to analyse our options.”
“Okay, Captain,” Lynda replied and left.
Not long after she left, a message popped on Kristen’s screen: AUTOPILOT ENGAGED. Kristen picked up the microphone. “All right, people. Everyone should listen up,” Kristen announced
. “We are now on autopilot as a result of explicit instructions handed down to us by our alien captors. We are about to enter into a nebula, and these are known to have dangerous and very unpredictable terrains. I need you all to fasten your seat belts, strap in, and remain in your corner, cubicle, or desk as the case may be. I do not have to emphasise the need for you all to desist any form of movement while we enter into this region.”
Kristen dropped the microphone and checked the app. It was still reading and working seamlessly. She was hoping the device would still be able to pick up relevant coordinates as they approached what seemed to be a stormy cloud of dust, light, and particles.
But it was not a storm. This was the outer fringes of the nebula. From within the Atlantis, it appeared to be some form of murky clouds which had formed by milk that had just been poured into a cup of tea. There was a whiteness that was so bright all around them, while at the same time, they could distinguish the unmistakable dark, jagged, and ragged features of rocks and asteroids. Every now and again they would see the bright glare of a nearby star. Then this would be suddenly obscured by a huge boulder, asteroid, or a small planet. The entire nebula was like a maze of moving objects of different sizes. Some were stationary but a lot were moving, many rotating on their own axis, while others were simply responding to the gravitational forces and pulls from the centre.
For Kristen, the image was magical. Momentarily, she recalled some of the advanced studies she had undergone during her training at NASA. But most of those had simply been reviews and debates on the high-resolution pictures which had been taken by their satellites and deep space probes. Nothing could match the extreme and real close-up and resolution they were experiencing at this very moment. It was very easy to get distracted and end up in a fatal collision with another object.
No wonder the colonel had stressed the need for the Atlantis to follow them while on autopilot. Everything looked so beautiful and unreal. Almost as if they were in a paradise, or a heaven of some sort.
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