by Aaron Dennis
“Alright, we’re guests here, so, as long as you’re up and about, I want you to explore and interact with our new friends. For now, I want Swain to learn as much as possible about how everything here works. I want Nandesrikahl to learn about the languages and culture. Zakowski, find sickbay and see what they know about medicine. DeReaux, see if they have small arms. Martinez, check on their explosives and electrical devices. Ask every question, but don’t be abrasive. We’ve been invited to learn what we can, so let’s see what’s out there. Day and I will go to the bridge. Adams and Franklin, see what you can learn about their history.”
After a salute, the crew broke off to learn whatever there was to know. Imes and Becker also split up. Since neither had been given explicit orders, Imes joined Martinez while Becker joined Nandesrikahl. Fitzpatrick teamed up with DeReaux and everyone was off. It was a seven hour trip from what the ambassador called the Explorer to the Thewlian Carrier vessel, so everyone had some time to mix and mingle.
Swain’s job was likely the most difficult. He found the ship didn’t contain very much in the way of comfort or technology, until the engineering deck, and the bridge. He was shown the zero-gravity generator, which powered and propelled the vessel. The generator employed a large, magnetic sphere of Element-115 encased in a hollow, larger sphere of Element-115 with opposing, magnetic charges. A gyroscopic room was built around the hollow sphere with other, crescent shaped bars also made of Element-115.
The bars maneuvered around the spherical room by arms connected to the walls. The movement of the magnetic arms caused the hollow sphere to spin, and because the interior ball was being pulled equally from every angle as the hollow sphere rotated around it, it gave off an electric discharge harnessed by the Element-115. An accumulated discharge given off by the contraption, harnessed enough speed and a powerful enough magnetic field to actually lift the ship from the ground.
The only obstacle was getting the arms started, which required power from a Uranium generator. Once they were engaged, there was always power being generated and diverted to other areas including communications, life support, and anything else.
The zero-gravity generator provided movement, but not coalescence. The Explorer was a scout ship set to dock with a larger vessel, the Carrier, so, while the shuttle didn’t have the ability to bend space-time fabric, it was necessary to board the Carrier. Once Swain was told that the Carrier housed numerous Explorers, and various other vessels, he grew curious about its technology.
****
DeReaux and Fitzpatrick were shown twin, telescopic cannons. They were located on either side of the ship. Panels fanned back into the hull, creating an opening, allowing two turrets to protrude through the hull. The action kept the ship pressurized, and since the cannons were inside turrets mounted to a hydraulic beam, a partition between the ship’s inner and outer hull created a firewall. The cannons were powered by the zero-gravity generator and fired ionized, super heated Helium-4.
The gas was highly compactable, and very little was required to emit a high frequency, energy burst, or plasma charge, allowing the ship to carry huge quantities in little space. One drawback to the plasma cannons was the delay involved in firing. Because each cannon used a canister of H-4, there was no simple way to eject and replace each one. The canisters were removed by hand and stored in chambers within the turrets. Each turret only held six, at which point they had to be retracted.
While the weapon’s destructive abilities were prominent, DeReaux and Fitzpatrick were unimpressed with the design, it was a hindrance in battle, but Thewls stated it was a scouting vessel. The Explorer was never intended for extended, combat situations; it was designed to blow something to smithereens as quickly as possible, and then flee to safety.
****
Zakowski meandered about the ship, enduring stares from statuesque aliens. After ten or so minutes of walking around, he finally asked someone for directions to sickbay. A Thewl woman introduced herself as Il-Ahner and personally escorted him. They went up two floors by way of auxiliary stairs then crossed a corridor shining with a soft, blue radiance. The woman motioned with a long fingered hand for Zakowski to proceed beyond a threshold.
“Oh, thank you. I would’ve wandered for hours,” he said and laughed uncomfortably.
There was no door blocking the entrance to the recovery room, so he strolled right on in. Many beds were empty, but two Thewls were receiving treatment for injuries. Zakowski observed the standard routines employed by the aliens. They didn’t seem in anyway different from Human nurses and doctors, excepting their specialty in Thewlian anatomy.
“Uh excuse me? Can I get someone to show me some medical equipment?” Zakowski asked a nurse at a counter by the far end of the room.
The Thewl looked up, saying “You must be the Human medic. We were told to help you,” she turned to another, adding, “go find Rala.”
The other Thewl nodded perfunctorily and walked away.
“Gee, thank you for your time,” Zakowski replied.
Shortly thereafter, two Thewls came to the counter, and Rala introduced himself. He was shorter than most of his compatriots, yet towered over any Human.
“Glad to meet you, Rala. I’m Earl Zakowski. They call me Zak, and I was hoping to get a rundown of the equipment used, and the techniques you guys employ.”
“Sure,” Rala replied with a pinkish face. “I can walk you through most of the areas. We haven’t had any battles, so no one is in surgery, but I’ll be glad to show you some vids. You can study the information at your leisure”
Towards the back of sickbay, Zakowski was shown a handful of surgical instruments and first-aid supplies. At the conclusion of the sickbay orientation, he attempted to make his way back to quarters, but again became discombobulated, resulting in a need for directions.
Meanwhile, Martinez and Imes found themselves in the mess hall adjacent the recreational quarters. A handful of Thewls were eating. Martinez approached one of the men.
“Hey, greetings, good to meet ya’. I’m Martinez. You can call me Marty. This here’s Imes. How you guys doin’?”
“Greetings, Martinez, Imes. I am Un-It,” The Thewl said. “This is Rettor; and that’s Isf-Ero.”
Martinez glanced at them, forgot all their weird names immediately then smiled, and said, “Our Cap’ wants us to hang out with you guys, so we can all get to know each other. All right if we sit and eat with ya’?”
The Thewls nodded and Imes sat down while Martinez went to get some food. The cook handed him two, large plates with enormous silverware. The forks and knives were similar to Earth utensils. When he made it back, Marty set the plates down in front of Imes, who was having difficulty sitting at the high tables. The difference in size made the little things, like eating lunch, uncomfortable. Marty laughed as he went through his pack to grab Human utensils for himself and Imes.
“So, you guys been on this ship long,” Imes asked.
“I have. I was on this ship before we abandoned our home world, but Un-It and Rettor came aboard only years ago,” Isf-Ero replied.
The other two Thewls nodded in conjunction.
“You guys been on any missions lately,” Martinez asked.
“Not recently, well not one that required leaving the ship. This last mission was to make contact with your people on Eon. Before that, I was just doing exploration work,” Un-It said.
“I was working on the colony we established, but my knowledge of other races and cultures seemed pertinent, so I volunteered for this mission,” Isf-Ero added.
“That’s really something,” Imes smiled. “I can’t imagine knowing about different races. We have so many cultural differences back on Earth. Being colony, raised I’ve never even had the chance to see those differences…do most races have different cultures within their regions?”
“As a matter of fact, many of them do,” Isf-Ero replied.
“One sec,” Imes said with a frown. He turned to his comm. and added, “hey, Nandy, get you
r butt down to mess hall. There’s a guy here specializes in alien cultures.”
“Be there shortly,” Nandesrikahl replied.
“Mind waiting for our friend,” Martinez asked.
The Thewls didn’t mind at all. It was difficult for the Humans to get a sense of how the aliens felt, since they didn’t smile, or blink, or sigh, or anything, but their colors kept changing. Eventually, Nandesrikahl found his way to them, and they resumed recounting.
“As I was telling your friend,” the Thewl started. “The Yvlekesh, for example, have different cultures because they have many colonies, wherein many people are separated from the main population on their home world.”
“Like us,” Nandesrikahl smiled.
“In our case, we lost cultural differences after we united to fight the Lokian threat. Before then, we did have different subcultures,” Isf-Ero explained as his complexion lost some color.
“I see. That’s not unlike our colonial men and women behaving slightly different than our Earth counterparts,” Nandesrikahl added. “Colloquialisms, and what not….”
They passed the hours with lively conversations regarding everything from dancing to art and languages. Imes and Martinez never had the opportunity to talk rifles or sidearms, but had a blast anyway.
****
Becker had wandered away from Nandesrikahl after Imes called him. She didn’t feel like expending the energy required to make what she thought were fake, new friends. After walking around on her own for a bit, just looking at the aliens, the lights, the strange panels with incomprehensible glyphs along the walls, she grew tired, and retired to her room, which she shared with a bridge officer. She was glad her Thewl roommate wasn’t around.
“Who cares about any of this? There’s crazy, bug aliens need an ass whippin’; that’s what I’m about….”
****
Day and the captain joined the ambassador on the bridge, where she had fun learning how to pilot the Explorer. O’Hara, on the other hand, had no time for fun. He was overly preoccupied with being in charge of such a delicate mission. The agents’ presence didn’t make matters any better. Franklin and Adams were already on the bridge when he arrived. Looking at them from across the sea foam, colored carpet, he found them as alien as Thewls.
“Are we to stay aboard this vessel once we dock?” he asked Weh.
“You are not confined to this vessel. When we dock, you may explore the Carrier as you please, though, there will be some areas off limits, but I’m sure you can appreciate the situation,” the ambassador replied.
“Of course, Sir. What about quarters?”
“Each Explorer has an extensive quarters deck, as you’ve seen. If you would like to take quarters upon the Carrier, I’m sure it can be arranged. You must be so eager to learn of our ways.”
“Yes,” he chuckled, rubbing the back of his head. “At any rate, I was wondering how the Carrier’s different from the Explorer.”
“It is a bit different; mainly sickbay, the defense systems, and of course the coalescence drive. Structurally, it is a sphere; it is not designed to land on planets, but to roam through space. It also harbors schools for children, training facilities for adults, and complex, recreational areas for friendly competition and various, other releases. We will dock soon enough, and then you can explore to your heart’s content. For now, I suggest you and your crew simply make yourselves comfortable,” the ambassador stated.
With that, the captain decided to try relaxing. After just hours aboard the Explorer, the crew felt an imperative need to sit with their own kind and met up in the mess hall, where they exchanged information. During their conversations, the ship’s intercom announced that docking procedures were underway.
The docking system employed was more an absorption than a docking. Two of the elevators, which ran through every level of the small ship, were designed to reach the first floor of the Carrier’s interior. Panels the size of Human cities were positioned along the bottom of the vessel, and when they fanned away, special precautions were required to maintain pressure throughout the other decks.
Up to four Explorers fit within the Carrier and connected to internal elevators. Once pressure was stabilized, Thewls were free walk around the docking zone or use two of the elevators to reach all the Carrier’s main decks. It was then revealed that Carriers and Explorers were the main portion of the Thewlian fleet. Other ships were either mining vessels or fighters and composed a much smaller portion. The mining vessels were used to extract and move resources, either from one ship to another or from one asteroid to a colony or other ship.
The fighter vessels were of two types. Type A vessels were small one and two man ships used in dog fights, either space side or planet side. Normally, either one Thewl flew one ship and manned everything on his own or two Thewls manned a slightly larger Type A, in which one man piloted, and one man worked guns. Type B ships were twice the size of As, and required a crew of six, one pilot, four gunmen, and one man to reload. Those vessels had four guns and a small, Helium-4 cannon. The cannon was fired by the pilot, but required a second man to reload.
Explorers occasionally doubled as drop ships as well. Their ability to fly into a planet side, war zone, pop off some rounds, drop off a platoon, and fly to safety was quite effective. Otherwise, they were used in the traditional way of reconnaissance and survey missions.
Chapter Seven
The Explorer finalized the docking procedure after which Ambassador Weh made contact with Admiral Yew, who was in charge of the Carrier. The ambassador sought collaboration with the Thewlian leader before finalizing travel plans to the Sol system. Many more references to that elusive planet had been found in the Human history archives. Most recently, it had popped up at the start of the 21st century during which it was referred to as Nibiru.
Several conspiracies of the past insinuated that the planet came close enough to Earth for a species of aliens to venture forth by conventional means, thus advancing the Earthlings by providing information, technology, or in some cases, actually taking Humans back to Nibiru. Both the admiral and the ambassador believed it was in fact the perfect place to begin searching for the travelers.
Everyone had gathered on the Carrier’s bridge. The room was enormous. While the Humans marveled at its structure, Thewlian leaders conversed. Nandesrikahl tried to listen as he enjoyed hearing a new language, but the other Humans, with the exception of the agents, ambled about the brightly lit room. Most of the ground was covered in sea foam green carpeting complementing the silvery walls and information consoles. There were over fifty Thewls pouring over computers, screens, and other, strange devices.
Fitzpatrick elbowed the captain and pointed with her face. “The Admiral?”
“You can always spot superiors, huh,” O’Hara whispered back.
Admiral Yew was a distinguished Thewl, not as large as some of the others, but stocky. His battle attire was a red and black armored suit comprised of flexible plating. Chrome filigree graced the collar and chest. After his conversation, Yew approached a spherical console and mashed a few keys with his massive fingers.
Having engaged the coalescence systems, the Carrier emitted a frequency, forcing two wavelengths of reality together, resulting in a space-time bend. Apart from the coalescence drive, Carriers also boasted a unique, energy rendering, visual apparatus used to calculate and navigate proper coordinates as well as time matrices pertinent to coalescence. Energy signatures were mathematically calculated then coordinates were derived from equations and subsequently plotted by a navigational expert, an old Thewl named At-Emon. Captain O’Hara’s crew listened attentively as he spoke.
“Can you dumb it down a little?” Day asked when he went off on a tangent about realities.
“One can liken coalescence to travel around a mountain. From the base of the mountain one can’t see the other side, nor what lies beyond, but if a point at the base of the mountain, which extended infinitely upon a vertical axis, were adjoined to a similar point on
the exact opposite side then pulled directly to the first point, thus effectively erasing the mountain from view, one not only sees what lies beyond the mountain, but also move on a forward trajectory, completely bypassing the obstacle.
“One must also implement a time variation equation. An energy signature verifies that our maneuver doesn’t hinder the normal flow of time between those two points. This is most easily done when two wavelengths are very close to each other in a natural state. I have picked a perfect time and place for Admiral Yew. The best route includes three such jumps in order to capitalize on several frequencies and minimize any disturbance created by forcing smaller portions of space together rather than implementing one big jump,” At-Emon elucidated.
Day was stunned. Such travel utilized by Humans meant reaching the farthest ends of the galaxy in little time. It took roughly seventeen minutes to travel from the area just outside the Gemini system to a second area in space. Eleven minutes later, the Carrier pinched another portion of space-time, reaching a third location. Six minutes after that, the final location, an area roughly eighty, thousand miles away from Pluto, showed on the monitor covering the bridge’s far wall.
In just over a half an hour, the Carrier covered a distance well beyond the Phoenix’s capabilities. Right after their arrival, Thewls scanned the solar system. Findings revealed a G-class star surrounded by large and small planets. There was an asteroid belt—the Kuiper belt to which Nandy had referred—located in an area required by the Titius-Bode law, an equation, which mandated where planets had to exist.