Drustev didn’t react at first to Petrow’s orders, but then he nodded and obeyed, slowly retreating toward the cave entrance. That secured the team from this side.
Petrow touched Nadja’s shoulder and slowly pushed her away from Meyer.
»There’s nothing you can do, Nadja … come.«
The three extra-terrestrials were motionless, watching the team. Petrow could read no emotions on their faces. It was like they were cast in iron. They didn’t seem disturbed about what had happened to Meyer.
»Petrow, Nadja … a bunch of Globs are gathering at the other end of the tunnel!« Drustev warned. His voice was trembling with undisguised fear. »More and more, assembling but not advancing. What are they waiting for?«
»Why are they becoming active just now?« Nadja shouted despairingly. »I thought they were deactivated for good!«
»We all did,« Petrow replied, hard-pressed. »Maybe our arrival has caused a change …«
»… and what about these guys over here?« Drustev pointed with his weapon at the Blues. »We’ll never make it out of here alive. Our way out is blocked. Shouldn’t we at least try to ally ourselves with them? Maybe they can help us? We’re all in the same boat, right?«
»I don’t know,« Petrow replied, but was interrupted by a deep sound that suddenly filled the room.
One of the Blues had opened his oval mouth and produced the unpleasant sound. The team members fell on their knees in pain.
»Stop … Stop it!« Petrow screamed and activated his outside suit speaker. »Pleeease … we can’t stand it!«
The long and pointy ears of the Blues suddenly stood erect.
Finally, they’re reacting. Petrow was fighting to overcome his nausea.
»You’re killing us with your voices!« he yelled at them and waved his hand, while struggling to get back onto his feet. »I know you can’t understand us, but please, you must realize that you’re killing us!«
The Blue in the middle stepped forward and looked at Petrow interestedly. The other Blues just turned their heads by almost 180 degrees without moving the rest of their bodies. These beings didn’t need to turn around to see in all directions.
»Good Heavens!« Nadja exclaimed, and bit her lower lip.
»They’re looking around,« Petrow tried to calm her down. »They were probably inside those caskets for a long time and they need to regain their orientation.«
»I don’t know,« Drustev doubted. »If the coffins really contain temporal energy fields then time wouldn’t seem to be of great relevance to the Blues. The time they spent inside these coffins, even if it was millions of years, would be a blink of an eye to them.«
Petrow chuckled despite the seriousness of the situation.
Suddenly, the three beings began to move toward the tunnel entrance. Drustev stepped aside in surprise.
»Are they crazy? They’re walking right into the claws of the Globusters. What are they – suicidal?« Drustev asked aloud.
The Blues didn’t seem concerned at all about the beasts waiting for them. Angry, animalistic sounds greeted them, but the Blues kept walking. They answered the Globuster shouts and grumblings with loud and deep sound waves, which only made the beasts even angrier. One of the Blues turned his head in Petrow’s direction without stopping his movements.
He’s looking at me! It’s a signal!
Petrow signed the others to follow the Blues. They formed a triangle with the team members in the middle. It was tight and constricted and the team had problems keeping up the pace, but it worked.
»What about Meyer’s remains?« Nadja inquired. »We can’t just leave him there. We owe him that. He deserves a proper burial in space or on Earth!«
Petrow understood Nadja, but right now there was no time for a burial.
»We’ll take care of Meyer later. First, we need to get out of here alive!« he announced harshly.
Over thirty Globusters had formed a barrier with their bodies in front of the tunnel exit; their heads swaying, barking and snarling at the group. As the Blues and Petrow’s team came closer to the exit, the Globusters suddenly moved back, retreating in what looked like fear. The further the group advanced, the faster the Globusters retreated – some of them in panic!
»They’re on the run!« Nadja remarked. »How is that possible?«
»Maybe we should run too. I don’t understand the Glob’s reactions,« Drustev replied.
»No … I’m convinced that the Blues are helping and protecting us!« Petrow interjected. »I don’t know how they’re doing it, but it seems to work.«
»There’re hundreds of those beasts out there!« Drustev shouted. »They can overrun us and shred us to pieces anytime they want!«
Petrow elbowed Drustev to get his attention.
»Open your eyes, Drustev! Yes, the Globs would love to do just that, but they can’t for some unknown reason. Follow the Blues! That’s our only chance to stay alive!«
Breaking radio silence
»The agitator was caught and arrested by security forces. He’s been transferred to a high-security prison on the asteroid Ceres. We’re hoping to find out more about him and his plans,« Nok Daralamai announced, reading from the memo.
»I’m sorry to inform you that it is Admiral Hayes. He’s responsible for the deaths of most of the members of parliament. Our parliament no longer exists; it was destroyed by a large bomb!«
Discomfiture and silence hung in the room as she read the news.
»Even though the agitator looks like Hayes, we know that the real Admiral Hayes is long dead. He’ll be remembered as a hero. The alien agent is also responsible for the destruction of Luna Shipyard and the problems at Uluru Station. A lot of people died on Mars during to his attack with a crystalline, biological agent. Fortunately, Toiber Arkroid, with the help of the Techno-Ferry, was able to counteract the bio-agent. He’s staying on Mars to help bring the situation under control.«
Nok crumpled the memo and threw it on the table before her. Despite her self-control everyone in the room knew that she was very angry.
»The unknown enemy is making good on his threats! The Solar Union has been placed in a state of emergency, where martial laws apply until we have a new functional parliament in place. This is the first time since the establishment of our Union that war act measures have been used. It’s now the Fleet’s job to keep Law and Order in our solar system and to protect our worlds. The Council of Ministers, of which I’m also a member, will take over government business until further notice.«
Many members of the command central crew looked startled as they heard that Nok Daralamai was not only their commander but also a member of the high profile council. Before anybody could ask any questions regarding her position, she turned their attention to a different subject matter.
»Sworge, the Trox leader at the Tachyon Portal, has sent out a call for help! Something or somebody came through the portal and whatever it is has deeply frightened them. A glowing energy sphere appeared – opaque enough that we can’t see what’s going on inside it. The Trox are in such a state of shock that their reports are mostly unintelligible.«
Nok looked at Pi for a moment.
»It’s probable that we’re facing another attack by our enemy. I need you to focus on whatever happens next, and use everything at your disposal to overcome any new threat and defend our lives.«
She had addressed all the crew members inside the control central, in which other section leaders had also joined for the meeting. It seemed as if she wanted to prepare her people for much worse to come.
»What about the Blue Moon? We should call them back to the base immediately,« Pi suggested. »It doesn’t make sense to maintain radio silence now that we’ve arrested the agitator. If the Globusters have received a wake-up pulse, as Uluru Station suggests, then the Blue Moon is in grave danger! We need to warn them!«
Nok Daralamai pondered for a moment and nodded.
»Call the cruiser and send them a warning on all frequencies. The question is
, can they receive our message or is their comm-receiver switched off? Also: launch all our Hawks and transport units to evacuate the Trox from the platform. I want our troops to encircle the portal!« Nok commanded.
»You mean a blockade? What sense would that make?« Pi inquired.
»No, Pi,« she responded. »I intend to destroy the portal! Before more enemies can infiltrate our solar system, I’d rather destroy the platform and let it fall into Neptune’s atmosphere!«
Lai Pi paled.
»Are you sure, Nok? The Dualytes have re-adjusted the portal for us. It may be a wrong move to destroy the platform,« Pi objected.
»Maybe,« she replied in short. »Still, if it comes down to the risks to our solar system versus the Tachyon Portal technology, then the answer is easy!«
As if to punctuate her comment, the Hawks and the transports launched at that moment. The older Hawks were equipped with specialized weapon modules; they assumed positions where they could easily attack the platform, while the Nova-Hawks guarded the convoy of transports that carried combat troops to the platform and would then pick up the Trox. Nok guessed that this was the most dangerous part of the mission.
Nok Daralamai got up from her seat and looked at the tactical holo, pondering. The display showed the glowing energy sphere at the portal.
»Let’s go, Pi,« she invited him. »There’s still some time until the Hawks and transports arrive on the platform. I’d like to take a look at this mysterious naked man from the Globuster lens. I’m anxious to know what he has to tell us!«
Sedna
The Blues guided the team safely to the command central Petrow and his group had already visited. The extra-terrestrials walked straight toward the command console and occupied the seats arranged around the console. As before, a three-dimensional projection manifested itself, showing the head of a Blue.
Petrow looked at the image skeptically.
»It’s one of them, that much is clear, and he has the same type of face …,« Petrow commented.
»… and the same ears that stick out,« Drustev chuckled.
The team retreated cautiously to the walls and watched the Blues apprehensively.
»Where have all the Globs gone, all of a sudden?« Drustev asked and began inconspicuously to record the unfolding events within the command central. Maybe an analysis of the recording could later provide some clues about these beings.
»The Blues act as if the Globs don’t even exist. It’s weird, isn’t it?« Drustev remarked. »Imagine if you awoke from a deep sleep with all these monsters around you. I can’t believe the Globs fled because of us.«
»Alex’s got a point!« Nadja threw in. »This is not typical of the Globs. We should get out of here as fast as we can! Maybe the Globs belong to the Blues, which would be bad for us. Something stinks!«
»Look at that!« Petrow announced, interrupting the discussion.
The head on the holo display had disappeared and a new picture resolved from whirling pixels, forming a galactic spiral arm, rotating slowly in the center of the holo.
»What galaxy is that?« Nadja inquired.
»It’s a model of our Milky Way,« Drustev announced with certainty.
»… how do you know? There’re countless spiral galaxies out there!« Nadja rebutted.
Drustev slowly shook his head.
»… look at the two small nebula-like galaxies off the main plain. They look like the Magellanic Clouds.«
Suddenly, the displayed picture became faster and more dynamic. Cubical space sectors of the main plain were highlighted and colorized and enhanced in separate smaller holos. More and more smaller holos were grouped around the main holo. The displayed sections became more and more complex. Elliptical orbits of fast moving objects became visible, tracing spherical objects.
Petrow realized what they were looking at.
»Those are solar systems! The planets are just moving very fast around their suns.«
In the meantime, the viewing angle had shifted toward the main plain of the galaxy, directly toward one of the highlighted and enhanced systems, racing by other stars and nebulae, until a yellow fixed star became the focus of attention.
»Is that what I think it is?« Drustev asked, but Petrow warned him not to jump to conclusions.
Slowly the star became larger, with a stellar object passing by rapidly. Petrow had the impression of traveling through space at over a million times the speed of light.
»A planet!« Nadja shouted excitedly.
»Not just any planet,« Drustev corrected her. »That was Jupiter! The Blues are presenting a flight through the galaxy into our solar system! Unbelievable!«
Moments later, Earth came into view and the virtual flight lost momentum.
Drustev recognized an anomaly.
»There’s something wrong here!« he remarked quickly. »The continents aren’t right!«
The rest of the team saw it too. Even the Moon was rotating too fast around the blue planet.
»Looks like a time-lapse presentation, right?« Nadja Bulkin asked uncertainly.
The display stopped from time to time and a reference mask was superimposed on the actual display and compared to older data, clearly showing a galactic drift or expansion over time.
»I think I know what they’re doing,« Drustev whispered, »the Blues are trying to establish a time line to determine how much time has passed in the meantime.«
»What?« Petrow asked.
»Well … look … they’re simulating a time scheme. Look how the Earth is changing its face; the continents are drifting apart. In a moment we’ll see our planet as we know it today. The same thing’s happening to the fixed stars and their constellations. The reference mark doesn’t change. We can clearly see how the galaxy is rotating and the marked sectors are drifting in relation to the galactic center. That’s how they determine a space-time line.«
Petrow nodded his understanding.
»That’s all well and good, but why are they showing it to us?«
»No idea,«Drustev admitted, »maybe it isn’t just for us and they really are trying to get their bearings. They were probably asleep longer then we can imagine.«
»How long?« Petrow inquired.
If anyone could even vaguely answer that question it was Drustev the cosmo-physicist. He looked warily at the display, whose motion had abruptly stopped. The Earth was displayed like it appeared today.
»Hundreds of thousands of years, at the very least!« Drustev replied with a dry throat.
Suddenly the Blues got up from their seats, looked to the ceiling and began to sing a sad song which made the entire room oscillate.
Petrow and his team collapsed and rolled on the floor in agony. The singing stopped as abruptly as it had begun. The three aliens turned toward Petrow’s team, again by moving only their heads. One of them stared at them and opened his oval mouth.
»No … don’t … you’re killing us!« Petrow pleaded.
Instead of the deadly voice a much more soothing and very deep voice addressed them.
»The flow of time cannot be stopped – it moves on eternally! We wish we could manipulate its flow, but even we have our limitations. If the Dimensional Mirror is failing, then your time has come! Be prepared for the Great Tremor and gather the Security Fleet. The hour of the Protectors will come soon!«
»He speaks our language,« Nadja whispered and leaped to her feet.
»Well, it may be our language but I didn’t understand a bloody word!« Drustev replied exasperatedly.
»No, but it sounds disturbing,« Petrow interjected and also got up from the floor, raising his hands. He was determined to talk to the Blues.
Butt naked
Nok Daralamai arrived at the isolation cell accompanied by a comm-officer operating a mobile holo that enabled Nok to stay in contact with the command central and the tactical situation. She had strapped on her wrist-comm, which enabled her to communicate directly with the defense computer, in case she needed to transmit the secu
rity codes necessary to permit the weapon control officers to use their laser guns or other defensive measures if required.
Lai Pi was walking beside he accompanied by a heavily armed security detail.
»Is all that really necessary?« asked Pi, pointing at the soldiers and then at the naked body behind a centimeters thick safe glass window.
»He came from the Globuster ship, without spacesuit, marching across Triton’s surface – butt naked!« Nok replied curtly. »He’s dangerous!«
»He warned our soldiers about the explosion, didn’t he?« Pi stubbornly refused to listen to her arguments. He couldn’t help sympathizing with the man in the cell, and had decided to make himself his advocate.
»Maybe he did that to save his own skin!« she countered.
Pi gave up. She had her own ideas. He watched her as she studied the accumulated data foils.
»Do we know who he is?« she inquired.
One of the physicians stepped forward. He didn’t look too happy.
»He uses a protective body energy shield, similar to the ones the Globusters have. We’ve never been able to study the field on a live subject. We can’t quite penetrate the field or even neutralize it. It was, however, possible to collect some DNA samples by slowly poking probes through the field … enough to identify this man. His name is Hassan Khalil. He’s a system analyzer from Earth. After we locked him in the isolation cell, he fell into a partial coma. He doesn’t react to our attempts to make contact and he offers no resistance. He’s not responsive.«
»From Earth?« Pi inquired, interested. »How did he get into the enemy ship?«
»He is one of the missing technicians who were working on the Globuster ship when the space dock was destroyed. He was probably inside the ship when the catastrophe occurred,« Nok explained briefly, looking up from the foils in her hand.
»What happened onboard the ship is unknown so far, but we know this man is wearing 47 implants which must have been installed on his flight from Earth’s orbit to Neptune,« a physician explained.
NEBULAR Collection 3 - Morgotradon: Episodes 12 - 16 Page 30