Ghosts of Ophidian

by McElhaney, Scott

  “Why are you doing this?” Crossway asked, “What makes you the designated sacrifice? Surely we can fashion some kind of remote switch that could be activated after a specific interval of time has passed. What about-”

  “We don’t have this kind of technology or equipment up here with us and by the time another shuttle arrives with such a device, another week or two will have passed. I’m good with this, Dawn. I have what I need in my bag to repair those cables, and that means we can get this alien army out of our solar system today,” he replied.

  “He’s right, you guys,” Colonel Santini stated inside their earpieces, “Even with the cooperation of other countries and their space programs, it’s doubtful we could manufacture this remote switch and bring it back up here in less than a week. We know what’s in this ship now, so we’re talking about a week or more with the knowledge of millions of aliens in orbit nearby.”

  “So you’ll willingly send a teammate off to his lonesome death?” Crossway asked.

  “I’m not going to die! I’ll have food, water, air, and three miles worth of steel to explore when I’m bored,” Conner stated, “And speaking of air, you are all on a limited supply right now. Might I suggest that we locate the shuttle bay so you can return to the shuttle?”

  McKenzie just stared at Conner for a moment, the shook his head in resignation. Crossway simply looked down at the floor.

  “If you take the passageway toward the front of the ship, you will find a stairwell on the left,” the AI stated, “I have opened all the emergency doors between your location and the shuttle bay.”

  Conner nodded, then led the way down the passageway before any further discussion could start.

  . . . .

  The shuttle bay was nearly as large as the cargo bay, with the exception of its lower ceilings. The ceiling inside the shuttle bay rose up about thirty feet which was necessary in order to house the six white spacecraft with their rising double tail fins. Each shuttle was parked with its wings folded up at its side.

  Conner quickly contended that each alien shuttle could probably support anywhere from fifty to a hundred people. He based this judgment on the comparison of each shuttle to that of a typical airliner. Curiosity beckoned them over to one of the shuttles that had an open hatch near the nose. Peering inside, it became quickly apparent that the shuttles might be able to support an even larger payload.

  The aliens sacrificed headroom and comfort, permitting two levels of seating inside the shuttle. Passengers would be forced to duck very low when finding a seat, but this method would allow for upwards of two hundred passengers per flight.

  “It looks like they would still have room for plenty of cargo too,” Roberts hollered from the back of the shuttle.

  There was another open hatch at the back, leading into a large area that would most likely serve as a cargo bay.

  “There is a smaller airlock on the starboard wall of the shuttle bay,” the AI stated, “The door is labeled with a marking that is similar to your letter ‘Z’.”

  “Over there,” Lentz pointed when he saw it.

  They started toward the door, everyone somber as they avoided the elephant in the room. Conner was glad for the silence because he truly didn’t want to discuss it any further. He had no family to speak of anymore on Earth besides a few aunts and uncles. He had no employees anymore thanks to the efforts of the People’s Republic of Korea. And without a boat, he really didn’t even have a job anymore.

  “Can we all fit in the airlock at the same time?” McKenzie asked as he examined the lever next to the door.

  “Yes,” the AI replied, “I have also taken the liberty of guiding your pilots to the location of the airlock.”

  McKenzie pulled down the lever, opening the door to a large closet. Then he turned around and reached out a hand to Conner. Conner took the proffered hand and shook it.

  “I still don’t agree with this, but I do understand you, believe it or not,” McKenzie said.

  “Same here,” Lentz said, reaching out to shake Conner’s hand.

  Conner shook his hand and patted him on the shoulder.

  “Don’t forget to call every now and again,” Conner joked.

  “On a serious note, if you can get a hold of a powerful radio transmitter when you reach your new planet, it’d be awfully kind of you to send out a message on 1420 megahertz,” Lentz said, “Let us know you’re okay and that there really are other suitable planets out there.”

  “Why 1420?” Conner asked.

  “That’s SETI’s favorite frequency to check. They believe an alien race would use this frequency because it’s relatively silent and it has something crazy to do with the frequency of hydrogen,” Lentz said, “That’s 1420, got it?”

  “1420,” he laughed, “Seriously, I’ll look into that if I can.”

  Roberts shook Conner’s hand, then gave him a quick one-arm hug. Without saying anything at all, he turned and joined the others in the airlock. Conner turned to Crossway who was now the only one left inside the shuttle bay with him. She started toward him, then reached past him into the airlock, offering her bag.

  “Take this back with you. I took samples of everything from the air inside this ship to the bone marrow of the alien. I even swept some of the dust from the catwalk into a vial,” she said, “There should be enough in that bag to keep the scientists busy for a year.”

  “What are you doing?” Conner demanded, tugging on her forearm.

  “I’m staying too,” she said, “If you get to stay, then so do I.”

  “We only need one person to-”

  “What gives you the right to be the only one who gets to visit a new planet?” she said, shrugging off his hand, “I’m the biologist. I’m the one who always wondered what existed out there beyond our world. Why should you be the only one to go?”

  He shook his head, confused by her irrational display of anger.

  “Is everyone losing their minds?” Roberts asked.

  “I’d say so,” Lentz replied, “Get in this airlock, Doctor Crossway. We’ve already had to forfeit one member of this crew.”

  She reached up to the sides of her helmet and flipped open the red switches that locked the helmet to the neck ring of her suit. Conner watched, knowing already that she had made up her mind. She lifted the helmet over her head and breathed in deeply. She stared at Conner, then wrinkled her nose.

  “The air smells stale and oily,” she commented.

  “Let’s go, gentlemen,” McKenzie said, reaching for the lever to seal off the airlock, “Please do take care of yourselves, you two.”

  Conner and Crossway turned to the airlock and watched as the door closed. A moment later, there was a hissing sound followed by a metallic clunk.

  “I’m going to get into so much trouble from my employer for this one,” she muttered.

  He looked over at her as a smile started to infiltrate her face. He suddenly burst out laughing at her irrational worry, causing her in turn to laugh.

  Fourteen

  By the time Conner and Dawn left the shuttle bay, the ship had begun its departure from Earth’s orbit. She was carrying her helmet with her as they followed the corridor to the section of the ship that the AI had recommended.

  “Why are you seriously here, Doctor?” Conner asked.

  “I already told you,” she replied, “And stop calling me Doctor. Dawn is just fine.”

  “Well, I don’t believe you’re here just because you want to place all your chips on that off-chance that we’ll actually find a habitable planet,” he said.

  “You don’t think we will?” she asked, turning to him.

  “No, honestly I really doubt it,” he replied, “How many planets would happen to have the right mixture of oxygen, liquid water, ozone, tolerable gravity, and a star that’s in the right stage of its life? That’s not to mention the fact that it would need to have fertile soil so we could at least plant some food.”

  “So this is a suicide mission for you,” she sta
ted.

  “Pretty much,” he replied, “What did you think my chances would have been even if we did find a new planet? I’m an alien amidst millions of those creatures in the cargo hold. And keep in mind that I’m on their ship – not the other way around.”

  “I can’t believe you, Steele,” she said.

  “I told you not to stay, Dawn,” he said, “And please, call me Conner.”

  “Well, I’ll have you know that this isn’t a suicide mission for me. I intend to learn their language with the help of the AI. Then, I will learn everything I can about them through whatever I discover on this ship. Then when they all wake up, I will tell them what happened and ask to be welcome among them as we work together to survive on a new planet,” she said, “And I was hoping you’d join me on this little adventure. After all, aren’t you the one who told me it hurts to be alone?”

  He stopped in the corridor and looked at her. She turned to him with her hand on her hip.

  “That’s why you stayed,” he said, “And you really have it all plotted out.”

  “I do,” she said, “Now are you with me or not?”

  “I’m with you, Doctor Dawn Crossway,” the AI interjected, “I will teach you the language that you wish to learn.”

  Conner chuckled, shaking his head.

  “Apparently there’s no privacy on this ship,” he said, scratching his head, “Yes, Dawn, we’ll do things your way.”

  . . . .

  They spent the rest of that day discovering the small carpeted section of the ship dedicated to the comfort of a fairly small crew. It was quickly evident that this ship was meant to support only a minimal staff of non-sleeping crewmates, as there were only ten berthings that surrounded a central dining or meeting room. The two bathrooms were unusual, but it didn’t take them very long to figure those out.

  The AI directed them to the smaller of the four food storage rooms. This particular storage room was meant to supply the crew that was meant to inhabit the carpeted section since it was situated nearby and didn’t contain an extreme abundance of food. The AI informed them that there were no refrigerated or frozen foods available to them because those were kept in a different storeroom and even so, they were only frozen versions of the food they currently had access to.

  The aliens didn’t rely on a wide variety of foods. There were only four kinds of food available on the whole ship. One of the foods was something that reminded them of the green pellets that rabbits and guinea pigs would eat. They were also equally as crunchy. Neither Conner or Dawn found them very tasty.

  Another of the foods was something like a square cookie, except it didn’t seem to contain any sugar. It was less painful on the teeth than the rabbit pellets, but equally as flavorless. The third kind of food was a powder-coated ball of taffy, or at least that was the consistency it had. As far as flavor however, the taffy followed along the lines of the other foods.

  The fourth and most appealing of the foods was something that reminded them of corn flakes. It had a very subtle sweetness, giving it a little more flavor than the other foods. The only disappointment came from how dry it was since they would be forced to consume the “cereal” without milk.

  The water tasted very metallic, but they figured it had to be expected for as long as it had to have been stored inside the ship. The AI admitted however that there was a water filtration system in use on the ship, so they figured they should be grateful it didn’t taste even worse.

  Their next immediate concern was the temperature inside the ship. While the bedrooms they selected offered each of them a comfortable bed with two blankets each, this would not sustain them throughout their waking hours. Since all the other beds were not in use, they took more blankets in order to ensure their sleep would be spent in comfortable warmth. The blankets all smelled dusty and old, but they decided to worry about their laundry issues later.

  They searched the rooms for clothing, but located nothing of the sort. The AI eventually understood their request and directed them to a storage room on the next floor up. There, they discovered Carhartt-like one-piece uniforms of all sizes. Unfortunately for their particular needs, it appeared as though the aliens didn’t wear any kind of underwear. They located their particular sizes and brought several uniforms back to their respective bedrooms.

  Fifteen

  Conner awoke to the discovery that he had no way of knowing what time it was or if it was even a new day. He drew one of his blankets around himself as he rose from the bed. It took him a moment to locate the light switch in the dark. After banishing the darkness from the room, he located the wrist unit from his spacesuit. The digital display told him that it was 6:41am.

  Without the benefits of a sun, a moon, or even a planet to stand on, he would have to rely on that timepiece to keep track of the passage of time. Accepting that he wasn’t going back to sleep, he decided to try on one of the alien uniforms and begin a new day of investigations throughout the ship.

  “AI, can you hear me?” he asked as he struggled with the unusual clasps on the alien Carhartts.

  “Yes, Conner Steele,” it replied, “You’ll be pleased to note that we are no longer in the gravitational well of your star.

  “Does that mean we are no longer in the solar system?”

  “Yes,” the AI replied.

  “Hmm… I was going to ask you if you could teach me your language,” he asked, “I mean, the language of those people in your cargo hold.”

  “Yes, though I’m not quite sure how to teach someone a language,” it replied.

  “I could just give you words and you can tell me what they are in your language,” he said, moving around the room to test the feel of his new outfit.

  “Okay, we will do that,” it said.

  There was a sudden knock at his door.

  “I want to learn too, Conner,” her voice came from beyond the door.

  He opened the door and discovered that she too was dressed in one of the alien uniforms. He stepped aside and gestured her into his room.

  “I could hear you two talking through the wall,” she said, “I didn’t want you to learn the language before I could get a chance to.”

  “I was thinking of going for a walk of discovery while I bounced some words back and forth with the AI,” he said.

  “Let’s do it, then,” she stated.

  . . . .

  They spent the morning moving through the forward portions of the ship, all the while practicing the gurgling sounds that went with the words they were learning from the AI. They started with the basic words they felt they would need when introducing themselves to the aliens they now learned were referred to as “Ah Fidonay”. This meant that they would need to learn words such as friend, peace, help, planet, shuttle, and dozens of others.

  Conner and Dawn quizzed each other on these words as they made their way to the ship’s observatory. The AI had recommended the observatory because although there were no windows on the ship, it did offer a live view outside the ship at all times.

  “Orna cha kan,” Conner said as they exited the stairs on the seventh floor.

  “Okay, now what about ‘we fixed the ship’?” she asked.

  “Nocknay doo ee cla la,” he said.

  “Nocknay doo ee kah la,” she corrected him, stressing the “kah.”

  “Hey, I was close,” he defended.

  “Close doesn’t count when we have no idea what we’re saying,” she said, punching him in the shoulder, “You could have been cussing out the Ophidians for all you know.”

  “Ophidians?” he asked.

  “Ah Fidonay… Ophidian,” she said, “Come on, you’ve got to admit their skin looks a lot like a snake’s.”

  “Ophidians,” he laughed, “I like it. We haven’t even been formally introduced yet and here we’ve already given them a derogatory nickname that sounds like their Ah Fidonay.”

  “I wonder if they’d be offended?” she pondered.

  “Offended Ophidians,” he added, “I dou
bt they’d mind that name.”

  “Good, then they shall forever be called Ophidians from Ophidia,” she grinned.

  “The observatory is the room located at the end of the hall,” the AI said, “Observatory is ‘stoo konay’.”

  “Stoo konay,” Conner repeated with an exaggerated gurgling sound.

  Dawn laughed, then repeated the word also. Her version was more accurately pronounced than Conner’s.

  “I wonder how long we will have to get this crazy language mastered,” he pondered, as they approached the open doorway.

  “Using the timeframe of a typical day on your planet, I would expect us to reach the new destination in two hundred and six days,” the AI stated, “We will be reaching our maximum speed in about three days.”

  “Informative as always,” she said as she entered the room, “Oh my.”

  The room they entered was circular and dome-shaped. The expanse that was outer space was poured out before them in all directions except beneath them. The stars filled their sky, pinpricks of light of all magnitudes.

  “It doesn’t seem like we’re moving at all,” she said, spinning slowly in the center of the room.

  “We are moving at nearly a third of the speed of light right now,” the AI stated, “When we achieve our maximum speed, we will be traveling at more than 99% light speed.”

  “I guess with those great distances between the stars, we wouldn’t really see them flying past us like in the movies,” Conner stated.

  “True,” she replied, “Still, it does look pretty awesome the way they do it in the movies.”

  “What will your kids do when they realize you’re not coming home?” Conner asked.

  She moved her gaze from the ceiling to Conner who now appeared to have been entranced by her. She now felt almost embarrassed by her childlike display of spinning beneath the stars.

  “Chad, the one in jail, probably won’t think anything at all. He’s the epitome of the term ‘loner’. That boy has never needed anyone in his life and it shows all too much,” she said, “Maybe he’ll care, but it makes me feel better right now to believe he won’t. Richard, on the other hand, will probably be pretty angry with me. He and I were always closer than Chad and I.”