Rescue Mission to the Stars

by Philip R Benge

  Chapter Five

  Into the Lion`s Den

  They had gathered in the shuttlecraft to throw ideas about, and Jimmy wondered whether David Charlton had come up with anything during the night, so he asked him.

  “Well David you have had ample time to ponder our problem so tell us, what solution have you come up with that will allow us to find out just what happened to the survivors of the Blazer Explorer? We now know that the starship they were on crashed here of course, but just how do you intend to go on from here and find their present location, and without having to resort to asking Ambassador Kennedy for help?” Jimmy asked.

  “I`ve been thinking about that Jimmy, and I believe that we have been remiss in our dealings with the good Mazeren people.” David said to Jimmy Fielding, who was very surprised at David`s description of the Mazerens. “We will have to initiate a meet and greet with our new friends.” David announced mysteriously.

  “Is that right David, and tell me just how you are going to open these overtures of peace and goodwill.” Jimmy wanted to know.

  “We will invite the officers of the three large space cruisers over for a meet and greet party, an informal get to know one another meeting.” David answered with a smug smile upon his face.

  “And with what are you going to feed them on, if I am permitted to ask that is, the ship`s emergency rations perhaps?” Jimmy enquired.

  “With the food that Uncle John sent along on one of his small interplanetary freighters before we left Mars, it was for just such an occasion and it is stowed away behind all the regular ship`s stores, and yes it is labelled emergency rations, that was to ensure you greedy hogs left it alone.” David replied.

  “Black tie do is it?” Jimmy asked.

  “Not quite black tie Jimmy, but you get the idea.” David answered.

  “I wondered why Mr Blazer insisted that we should pack our best go to party suits as well, David, did you have something like this planned all along, just in case?” Jimmy asked.

  “No, it was a suggestion made by Uncle John; he said that we might find them a useful tool, so I agreed. After he told us that it was to be a first contact meeting held at an ambassadorial level, I saw how his mind was working. However, I thought no more about it, but now I have figured out just how we might make it work out for us.” David replied.

  “Well how are you going to get them over here, are you just going to knock on their doors and invite them?” Jimmy enquired eager to hear just how their quest was to proceed.

  “Sort of, I thought our friend Lieutenant Williams might introduce us to them, I saw him entertaining some of the Mazerens over by the marquee. I will ask him to introduce Sarah and me to the captains of those three star cruisers, and ask if they and their officers will join us for luncheon tomorrow, with luck they will be too polite to refuse our request. Tomorrow we will all get dolled up, and the lovely Sarah will wear her best frock, and it is the presence of Sarah that will be the main reason why they will accept, seeing as how she is the only woman on the dust bowl of a planet.” David declared.

  “And how will having the aliens come over here to ogle me help us in our quest David, has a little gem of an idea blossomed within your brain, or am I to act like Mata Hari?” Sarah asked in a voice bordering on anger.

  “No I certainly wouldn`t ask you to do such a thing Sarah, unless of course we happened to be in the privacy of our own cabin.” Sarah turned bright red amid the knowing nods and grins of her fellow crewmembers.

  Sarah joined in the laughter for a moment but then she turned to David and said “In your dreams lover boy.” Then she punched him hard on his upper arm, which brought about the correct pained response from her fiancé. Rubbing his arm and complaining about excessive brutality David continued with more of his plan.

  “What I do hope Sarah, is that after we have wined and dined them here aboard our small freighter, one of them will feel it only right that they should reciprocate, and they will then invite us over to dine aboard one of their space cruisers. Once we are on board one or more of the starships then I`m sure that Steve will have some sort of whizz gadgetry that will allow him to access their computers. Once inside their systems, I hope that it will tell us what happened to my father and his crew after the starship crashed on this planetoid.” David said more in hope than certain knowledge.

  “Walk straight into the lion`s den David, so as to speak, that could be dangerous.” Sarah said.

  “As you say Sarah it could be dangerous, if they actually caught us snooping. But tell us Steve do you have any gadgetry good enough to access their computers, and smart enough to ensure that we don`t get caught at it?” David asked of his friend.

  “I may be able to come up with something that might work David; I will think about it for a while and let you know.” Steve replied.

  “Well while you think about it Steve, Sarah and I will go a calling. Even if we are unable to access their computers, we still might come up with something to repay us for our hospitality.”

  With that, David and Sarah exited the shuttlecraft and returned to their quarters to collect their coats. Once they were suitably attired, they exited the freighter and walked across the spaceport to speak to the young officer in the Space Corps about their plan to entertain the elite of the alien space fleet. Lieutenant Williams saw them walking across towards him, and looked for a way to escape what for him would be an awkward meeting, as the ambassador had made his feelings plainly clear, nothing was to be done to assist the crew of the Galactic Traveller. They were considered by him to be a diplomatic incident waiting to happen, it was only a matter of time. To make matters worse, Ambassador Kennedy was standing in the doorway of his suite of rooms, and he was looking directly across the spaceport at David and Sarah. Williams seeing no way out, decided to help rather than to hinder, and so he looked at David and then looked above David`s head, and then back with a meaningful glare at David. He now turned about and headed deep into the marquee. When he reached a position at the rear of the enclosure, he stopped and turned to greet David and Sarah.

  “Good morning David, Sarah, how are you two today?” Williams struggled with his smile; he was worried in case the ambassador came along to see what his new friends wanted with him.

  “We`re fine thank you Charles, you on the other hand appear to be harassed, having a little trouble with our ambassador?” David asked smiling at the young officer.

  “Just a little, in fact the officers of the Intrepid have been told in no uncertain way to be very careful in our dealings with the crew of the Galactic Traveller, and with you especially David. The ambassador fears that you are most likely to cause a diplomatic incident during your stay here on this delightful planet, and we are not to allow ourselves to be caught up in it.” Williams cautiously replied.

  “Hmm, that makes it a little tricky then Charles, what we want to ask of you that is.” Sarah said with such a sweet smile on her face that poor Lieutenant Williams could deny her nothing.

  “Oh I`m sure that you would never cause a diplomatic incident Sarah, and anyway it`s David who is the one that our ambassador dislikes, I`m sure that if he got to meet you he would go out of his way to assist you in anyway that you may require.” Poor Williams couldn`t even feel the slight tug on his lieutenants bars as he looked into Sarah`s beautiful blue eyes.

  “Oh what we have planned won`t cause an incident Charles, we are having a luncheon party tomorrow, and we would like to invite the captains of the three impressive looking Mazeren space cruisers that are parked around the space port, and of course their officers are welcome as well. David thought that it might cement relations between the Mazeren space farers and our own people.” Sarah said with only a little prick to her conscience, for this was to help her fiancé in his quest, while Charles Williams was only a newly acquired friend.

  “We were going to invite the Captain of the Intrepid and yourself of course Charles, but from what you have just told us that makes it impossible, I suppose.” Sarah finis
hed off with a very sad frown upon her pretty face.

  “Maybe not Sarah, it might be good to meet with the Mazerens socially and away from the official apparatus. But just what do you want of me?” Williams asked.

  “We hoped that you would introduce us to the Mazeren captains, because we haven`t met any of them, and you are probably quite well acquainted with them.” Sarah answered innocently, not saying that this would also make it appear to the Mazeren officers to be an official engagement that they couldn`t miss.

  “So how about it Charles, will you assist us in this matter?” David asked now that Lieutenant Williams looked well and truly hooked.

  “Well I suppose so David, the ambassador can hardly complain about your attempt to help with his diplomatic mission. Maybe I should bring it to his attention; he may even want to help you to ensure its success?” Lieutenant Williams suggested much to the consternation of David and Sarah.

  “No Charles, he would never allow us to have any diplomatic successes, better if we keep him out of the picture on this, just for the moment.” David said hurriedly with a worried glance across to Sarah who smiled sweetly at Lieutenant Williams. Sarah`s feelings of guilty were growing bigger then ever, she now likened herself to the German spy Mata Hari, as she smiled up at the hapless lieutenant.

  “Well I will have to inform him sometime or else I will be for the high jump, but I will do it via my captain, I`m sure that he will approve of your luncheon and the chance to meet the Mazerens away from the official functions. He should ensure that the ambassador allows your party to proceed.” Lieutenant Williams said. It seemed that Sarah did not have him fully under her spell, and she was much happier now that the young lieutenant wouldn`t be getting into any trouble because of her.

  “That`s fine Charles, I quite agree. Now, John Blazer, the owner of Blazer Space has sent an incredible amount of the best foods that Earth has to offer just for this luncheon, along with the food he has also sent some of our best wines.” David putting his hand onto Lieutenant Williams`s arm and ensuring the lieutenant`s attention was entirely on him as David noticed that Sarah had been looking a little uncomfortable with the beguiling of Williams.

  “Well that is agreed then, although I`m not sure that the Mazerens drink any alcohol, they certainly didn`t offer any at the presentation party.” Williams said before finally deciding on a sure way to help his two new friends.

  “Do you see that officer over there?” Williams said indicating an officer who was on the opposite side of the marquee and nearer to its wide entrance. He was currently engrossed in the collection of electrical gadgets that David brought from Earth. They were all for domestic use, there was nothing that could be used on board a space cruiser as the leaders on Earth didn`t want any of the items used against them, should the Mazeren people turn out to be not so friendly, as some influential people back on Earth secretly thought.

  “He is a senior admiral in the Mazeren space fleet, and he is just the man to speak to first, to see if it will be alright to invite his officers to your party. If you wait here I will go over and test the water.” Williams said, and with that, he advanced on the Mazeren Admiral.

  “Admiral, please forgive me for intruding, but the captain of the freighter that brought these goods before you.” Williams then indicated David and Sarah “David. Charlton and his fiancée Ms Sarah Jane Hardin, they are going to have a luncheon party tomorrow aboard the freighter, and they would like to ask if you would be kind enough to join them there. They would also like to invite the captains and senior officers of your magnificent space fleet to join them, a friendly meeting between fellow spacemen, with good food and wine to help us bond as new friends. They have brought along some of Earth`s best foods and I am sure that you will enjoy yourself.”

  Admiral Stator was a tall man with a head full of grey hair, brown eyes and a beard that fringed his chin. He was sixty years of age and was the most senior admiral in the Mazeren space fleet. He could have been mistaken for an ancient roman senator, or maybe a roman consul from the time of the roman republic would have been a better description, for he was a man of war as well as an able diplomat. He glanced across at David without a lot of interest, but when he saw Sarah, he quickly advanced upon them. As with all of the Mazeren diplomats, and many of the others on New Mars, he spoke English, and so was quite able to converse with them. After smiling at Sarah, he turned and looked directly at David.

  “Captain, I was surprised to hear that you brought a woman into the depths of space, didn`t you consider it rather unwise considering all of the dangers that await one in deep space?” Stator said rather disparagingly.

  “Not for this particular voyage Admiral, for we were chaperoned by the Earth space cruiser Intrepid, and once here I knew that Sarah would have the best people of two worlds to ensure that she came to no harm.” David didn`t bother with the equality of the sex’s argument on this occasion as he didn`t want to get into an argument with their hosts at this stage of their quest.

  “Admiral, I insisted on accompanying my fiancé on the epic voyage of the first contact between the people of Earth and your own world.” Sarah said smiling at the admiral and easily winning him over to their side, if only if it was for this short moment in time.

  “Yes of course Ms Hardin, it is a great moment for both our peoples, and not one to be missed by anyone, should a person get the opportunity to participate in such a momentous event. Thinking about it in hindsight maybe I too should have offered the same chance to my own family, but then one can never be too sure about a first contact, for who is to say whether it will be such a peaceful event as this one appears to be.” Admiral Stator agreed.

  “Appears to be Admiral, surely you are not anticipating any trouble between our two parties?” David asked mischievously, for he was sure that the Admiral was au fait with the attempts on his life, and that of his father and crew, and of course on John Blazer.

  “Forgive my poor knowledge of your language Captain Charlton, I certainly didn`t mean to infer such a thing.” Admiral Stator said apologetically, but David saw the humour that lurked at the back of the eyes of this high-ranking alien.

  “You have nothing to apologise for Admiral, for your knowledge of my language is very good, seeing as how we have only been in contact with one another for a relatively short time.” David said pulling back from his unwise attempt at wordplay; he would have to try harder to watch his every word. He had no wish to antagonise this powerful man, for to do so would mean a return to Earth in disgrace with his quest still unfinished.

  “As for your kind invitation Captain, I would be delighted to accept, and I will also pass on your invitation to my fellow officers. Until tomorrow lunch time then Captain.” Admiral Stator had obviously decided that diplomatic incidents could wait until another time. With a nod towards David, he then turned to Sarah.

  “And hopefully you will give me some of your time tomorrow; we can discuss the differences between the women of your world and of my own world, until tomorrow.” Stator then turned and walked across the spaceport, towards one of the large Mazeren space cruisers. Once on board he found the three captains of the space cruisers that were sitting in a neat row on the spaceport, they were waiting to speak to him. Captain Zara of the space cruiser Timor spoke. He was thirty years of age with black hair that was parted in the middle, grey eyes, a largish nose and a square chin. He was quite tall and heavily built. The whole package was quite intimidating to many of the other officers and crew of the Mazeren space fleet, but Stator merely smiled at him for he feared very few men, and those he feared were all politicians.

  “When can we return to Mazere, Admiral, events are moving forward and we need to be there to react to them?” Captain Zara of the space cruiser Timor demanded to know.

  “You are quite Captain; I am already giving the matter some thought gentlemen, and I now have an inkling of a plan in mind, but as of now it is only that.” Admiral Stator tactfully replied.

  “Tell us something of y
our thoughts, and then we can assist you?” Zara demanded.

  “No Captain, you must be patient until I have gone over it, for it is audacious, and it may also be a little dangerous.” Stator replied thoughtfully. The other officers exchanged worried glances but then decided to leave it there.

  “But enough of this kind of talk gentlemen, we and our officers have been invited over to the Earth freighter for a luncheon party tomorrow; I want you all to attend.” Stator informed his captains. “I must attend, for I believe that it will allow me to fine tune my plans for our immediate return to Mazere. I also believe that it will provide us with a springboard to bring about the sort of situation that we require on Mazere. This will allow us to step in and take over the reins of government on Mazere, and so to restore order on our planet. So as I must attend the luncheon party so must you and your officers, as I can hardly go unattended.”