"Eliot, you just sounded like one of us, congratulations!"
Grant suddenly had a weird feeling, "Eliot, did we find the Terra Aurai when we were approaching the planet?"
"The Terra Aurai did not appear on our scanners, it does not appear to be in orbit around this planet."
"What the...how can it be?"
"I believe the Terra Aurai is cloaked."
"Can you locate it?"
"Yes, I can."
"Find the Terra Aurai!" Grant was beginning to have bad feelings. He prayed Eliot could find the ship, even it if was cloaked. Why had he not thought to locate the Terra Aurai earlier? He had visions of there being no ship and no way to save the villagers. "Shake it off Grant, you've got to get a grip and trust Eliot can work a miracle." After speaking to himself out loud, Grant casually looked around. Sam was looking away, minding his own business, but not being very good at the deception. "Stop it Sam, I know you heard me. I was just gathering myself and trying to stop thinking about what might happen if Eliot cannot locate the Terra Aurai."
"Sounded like you were losing it, just sayin'! I don't remember you ever talking to yourself. But hey, if it works, by all means."
Grant gave Sam a look, and then turned his attention to the view screen. "Should be just about through the outer atmosphere."
Almost on cue Eliot announced, "We have entered the atmosphere and are making our way to the GEMO 2."
The descent was quick and the world below flashed by in an instant. Sam could barely make out the mining operation. The village flashed by just as quickly. From the ground they must have looked like a missile.
"Five miles to the GEMO 2, arresting descent and preparing to land." The Varizone shuddered from the rapid deceleration. Delack was physically drawn forward towards the view screen.
"The rapid deceleration makes you aware of the forces working against your body. Most of the time it is nearly imperceptible."
"I have been on many ships and shuttles, but this is remarkable. I truly like the feeling of deceleration, the weightlessness was exhilarating."
"I kind of like it, too." Sam smiled at Delack and they nodded their approval.
"On the ground in 10, 9, 8..."
"No explosion this time Eliot, please take all measures to avoid being shot out of the sky."
If Eliot could have laughed he would have. Sam held back a good laugh. Grant was telling the truth, his fear was real. "We are on the ground, you may disembark."
"Sam, grab a low bot and gear. We'll most likely need it to carry the fuel cell."
"Good idea, meet you there in about three minutes."
Grant and Delack disembarked and headed to the GEMO 2. Once inside Grant located the fuel cell and began figuring out the best way to carefully remove the cell for transport. There were suits hanging in an open locker. Grant felt the suits were necessary to remove the cell, and not get poisoned from the radiation. How would they cover it while it was on the shuttle? Grant's mind raced once again.
Sam barged into the room, "Got the bot and the tools."
"Take a look and tell me what you think."
Sam looked over the fuel cell encasement and noticed the suits.
“I think we need to suit up before we begin taking this thing out of here."
"Agreed, Delack, go to the shuttle and wait for us to return. It may not be safe for you to be near this without a suit. As you can guess, we do not have a giant sized four-arm suit." Delack turned and left for the shuttle.
"Let's get this thing on the bot and get moving." Without another word they positioned the bot below the fuel cell and began to open the housing.
"STOP! What the hell are we thinking? We haven't powered this thing down yet. We just about killed ourselves! Grant dropped to his knees and hung his head. "Sam, I am so sorry! I am in such a rush to make sure the villagers and Tayana are safe I almost killed us."
"Live and learn, I'll shut it down so it can start cooling. Should take about an hour to cool enough for us to move it. In the mean time let's take one last look around this ship to see if there is anything we missed. We could sure use any help we can find."
"Agreed, I'll go get Delack. You shut it down and take a quick tour."
After Grant left the shuttle Sam made his way to the bridge. "Ships AI, are you functioning?"
There was a hiss and the sound of static, a deep gravelly voice, almost haunting, came over the intercom, "I am online. How may I assist you?" It sounded like an old man just waking up from a good nap on a sun drenched porch. "This is Captain Sam Northland, are there any hidden spaces on the GEMO 2?"
After what seemed like minutes, the AI responded, "There are two. One is in the wall to the left, behind the captain's chair. It can be accessed from a button under the left arm of the captain's chair. The other is in the captain's quarters. There is a button under his desk and the space is at the head of his bunk."
"Thank you! Are there any other secrets aboard the GEMO 2?"
"There are no more secrets. Everything else has been removed." Sam was proud of himself for thinking to ask the AI about the secret spaces and wondered what may be hidden away. "AI, please shut down the fuel cell and prepare it for transport. We need it ready to go as quickly as possible."
"Yes, Sir." Sam knew once the fuel cell was shut off the AI would revert to a backup power cell to sustain it for another hundred or so years before it too would be forced to shut down. Sam found and pushed the button under the chair's arm and leapt out of the captain's chair. He noted there was an almost imperceptible irregularity along the wall behind him and with a slight push the secret space was revealed. There were a few papers along with two medium sized boxes. Each was marked, "In case of emergency." This caught Sam's attention and he opened the first box. There were two of the captain's devices wrapped in protective materials along with a note, it read: If you are reading this letter then I have passed, along with my co-captain, Captain Coke. It also means one of two things. You are a good treasure hunter and congratulations are in order, you are now a rich man. Or, you are in serious trouble, may God help you. The items in these two boxes will assist you either way. In the first box is a rudimentary cloaking device large enough to cloak an entire ship and a weapon capable of destroying a small armada of ships in the blink of an eye. The second box contains the answer to life, kidding, sort of. It is a potent accelerator needed to quickly begin life on a lifeless planet, along with instructions and appropriate warnings. Captain Coke and I developed it from our research on Earth and what we learned from our mistakes here on Antaya. It contains the best of the best, and more. Do with it as you please, but be warned, some things you do not want to get involved in without serious planning. You've been warned.
The warning was ominous; there were life forms of an entire planet sitting in an egg-shaped vessel just two feet away from him. There was also a powerful weapon capable of mass destruction just another two feet away. He had the power of the gods lying before him. He gathered the boxes and papers, and carefully carried them to the Varizone.
"Hey, what did you find?"
Sam gave Grant a 'not now' look, "just a couple of boxes and some old papers, nothing really."
Grant picked up on the subtle look. He took leave of Delack and followed Sam to the shuttle. "What's up Sam? What was the look for?"
"After you left I asked the AI on the GEMO 2 if there were any secret places on this shuttle. It said there are two, and told me how to access them, and where they are. I followed its instructions and found the first secret place. We really need to talk more about it later this evening. You are not going to believe what we have in the Varizone as we speak."
"Is it alive? Does it have the potential to harm or kill us?”
“It is dormant and, well, yes, it does have the potential to harm or kill us, but not in its current situation. One of the things you are going to love and we can use it on the Ebony Belle. Well, we can use two of them on the Belle. We need to find the other secret place."
Obliging, Grant crawled under the desk to look for the elusive button. After about ten minutes of looking neither could find a button anywhere. Perplexed, they pondered the possibilities of where the button may be. Sam mentally retraced his steps, making hand gestures as if searching the undersurface of the desk again. Grant tried to figure out if there may be a play on words they had misinterpreted. Delack got bored and wandered to the GEMO2 to see what was up. He found the pair sitting on the floor deep in concentration. Sam looked like he had taken drugs and was trying to fondle a woman who wasn't there. Grant looked like he was taking a healthy dump and had to strain to get the last little pieces to come out.
"What, may I ask, are the two of you doing? Should I be afraid or call for help?" Sam and Grant jumped to their feet, made stupid gestures, and mumbled something. "This really isn't making my decision any easier. Call for help or run for my life?"
"Sorry, we are trying to figure out a riddle."
“What is a riddle?"
"It is a question with a specific answer, but you must discover the answer with very little information to go on as the question is designed to make you see many possibilities. You have to choose the one you think is appropriate for the given situation."
"Delightful, what is the question?"
"Where is the button under the desk?"
"I do not know without further investigation, may I look?"
Grant motioned to the desk. Delack plopped his large body onto the floor and managed to get his head and one of his arms under the desk. He pushed every square inch of the bottom of the desk and came to the conclusion; there was no button under the desk.
"Damn it, we are wasting too much time with this, we have to get the fuel cell to the Terra Aurai."
Sam had moved to captain's bunk while Delack was searching under the desk. It occurred to him that right beside him was a fold out board used as a writing surface—a desk. "I think I figured it out." Sam was bursting to see if he was correct and after thirty seconds of searching he found what he was looking for. "Gentlemen, the button!" He pointed to a small grey spot under the writing table and pushed it. There was a slight hiss and the secret place at the head of the bed popped open enough for Sam to open it fully. Inside were papers, contracts, and deeds to land, patents to inventions, and a box of data storage devices.
"Grab it all and get it to the shuttle, we have to get moving, Now!"
Sam gathered it up and took one last quick look to be sure it was all. He noticed a small sliding door on the left side. He opened it. Inside were three envelopes, one labeled for Tayana, one for Kyera, and one for Dyanta. Sam stuffed them in with the other papers and made for the shuttle.
Grant asked the AI if the fuel cell was cool enough for removal. It was. Sam returned and they donned the safety suits and began pulling the cell out of its housing. It was old and heavy. Their suits didn't make it any easier. They struggled, but finally got the cell onto the bot and rushed it to the shuttle. "Strap it in Sam, we are out of here."
With the cell securely in place, Sam made his way back to the bridge. "Eliot, have you located the Terra Aurai?"
"Yes, it was difficult as it is cloaked. It is orbiting the planet on the same path as the Ebony Belle. We will intercept it in thirty minutes. It is seven-hundred miles behind the Belle."
"Good work Eliot, make for the Terra Aurai."
Chapter Twenty-Four
Thirty minutes seemed like an eternity to Grant. He had not asked Eliot for a description of the Terra Aurai and Eliot had not offered one.
Before Grant could ask, Eliot chimed in. "We have reached the Terra Aurai. I have accessed its systems and controls though they are on auxiliary power. We will dock with the ship in four minutes."
"Thank you, Eliot! Please power the ship the best you can, and get the life support systems up and running along with the climate controls. We need the Terra Aurai livable in short order."
"Yes sir, all systems are working and you will be able to board in twenty minutes."
"Sam, Delack, let's grab a quick snack and go over the plan. I do not want any hiccups."
"Agreed Grant, we basically have one shot at this and it has to go off without a hitch."
"A snack would be good, I am always hungry. I guess it's why I didn't die along with my brother and the others. I was out gathering food when the explosion happened."
"No gathering here my friend, we have plenty." Sam liked Delack and treated him like he would any other friend. Delack responded in kind.
"You two go ahead, I need to get something out of my quarters."
"All right, see you in a few." They went their separate ways and Grant quickly entered his quarters. He plopped in his chair and slid to the desk bracing his hands to bring it to an abrupt halt. "Come on Grant, pull it together. What is making you so suspicions of Delack" As if talking aloud to himself was going to give him answers. "Where was he when we found him, did he have food with him? Why didn't he hear all the earlier commotion? He just said others, plural. Was it just him and Greack? Why didn't we see him moving around? Something is off and I can't put my finger on it. He's not acting like a captive. We did keep him alive and repair him, but he's trying too hard to fit in and be one of us. Is he a spy?" He quickly jotted down his thoughts and made his way to the galley.
Sam and Delack had polished off a light salad and Delack was gnawing on a rather large chunk of ham. "This thing has a great handle; I could eat four at a time." He gripped the bone protruding from one end of the ham and waved it around like a kid with a pennant at a sporting event.
"Whoa there big fella, you're going to hurt yourself." The smile on Grant's face was great cover and Delack bought it hook, line, and sinker.
"I was just telling Sam I could eat four of these at a time because of their nice handles."
"You mean their bones?"
"Bones? Oh, you mean bones, like their skeleton?"
"Yep, you've got him by his knee and you're eating the parts closest to his butt."
Delack let out what Grant and Sam guessed was a belly laugh, but it sounded like a cross between a wolf howling and a little girl giggling. Then he blew food all over the table and snuffled in for another round of laughing. His greenish face was turning a brownish orange and Sam was beginning to get concerned he may be choking. Delack sucked in another deep breath, chuckled a little and said, "You are such a jokester, Grant, eating the parts nearest his butt. Who would serve such a wretched thing?"
"Delack, Grant was not being funny. It really is the part nearest its butt, but not part of the butt, just close." Delack turned a pretty shade of lavender, bolted from the table, and ran to a sink close by where he proceeded to cleanse his body via esophageal spasms, abdominal convulsions, and lots of spitting.
"He's blowin' chunks!" Sam was caught off guard by Delack's response to being told he was eating the part near the butt. Had they crossed a line or was Delack just not a fan of butt? "Delack, you alright? I had no idea, what's going on?"
"It is my culture not to eat anything near the face, genitals, or rectum of any living thing. How close to the rectum was I?" Sam and Grant laughed and then thought twice about carrying the joke any further. The look on Delack's face was of someone eating contaminated food and trying to figure out if he was going to live or die.
Grant took pity on him and lied, "Delack, you were a good foot and a half away from the butt."
Sam was not so merciful, "True, but the balls may have rubbed against the part you were eating."
Delack rushed back to the sink and hurled again. He grabbed a pitcher of water, downed it, and then another. Once he was sure there were no more contaminated materials in, on, or near him, he spun to face Sam. "You think this is funny?" His demeanor was no longer, hey we're buddies, it was more, now you're goin
g to be a snack. He took two large steps towards Sam. Sam yanked his feet off the chair in front him and launched himself in the opposite direction away from Delack's menacing approach. Delack let out a war cry and ran towards Sam. Sam took off like a rabbit being chased by a large dangerous dog sliding behind one of the pillars in the galley. Sam and Grant were terrified. Delack pulled himself up to his full height and flexed the muscles in all four large muscular arms.
"Delack, we didn't know about your culture, we apologize for any offense, and we beg your forgiveness," said Sam.
Grant chimed in too, "Delack, we are sorry if we offended you. It was all in fun, we meant no harm or disrespect."
Delack began to laugh, and he laughed loud. He even slapped his knee a couple of times and then, "You two look like a couple of scared yearlings being chased by a fierce animal. Delack laughed some more as Grant and Sam stood there with their mouths open, staring at him.
"I just about crapped my pants! You are one scary son of a bitch! Oh my God, I thought you had lost it and I was about to die."
"Sam, I have never seen your kind move so fast. You were moving like the wind."
Grant slid into a chair, in shock. "Hell, I was breaking wind hoping you wouldn't come any closer."
"Grant, you all right?" Sam and Delack stopped to check on his condition. He didn't look good.
Grant said, "I'm fine. My life flashed in front of my eyes and a couple things caught my attention, seriously needing my attention. We need to finish eating and prepare to board the Terra Aurai."
They sat quietly as they finished their snack, and then made their way to the hatch connecting them to the Terra Aurai.
Delack spoke first, "Sorry I frightened you, I was playing along with your joke on me, it wasn't a joke after all, but it was funny."
Sam said, "Sorry for making you lose your lunch, twice. Sometimes I just can't control myself."
Eliot chimed in, "The hatch will be ready to open in thirty seconds. The oxygen in the ship is at normal levels. It has been dormant for two hundred years and may have a peculiar odor."
Helium Fall Page 21