NEBULAR Collection 7 - Guardians of the Continuum: Episodes 31 - 34

by Thomas Rabenstein

  »I can’t recommend that,« Sweeney said dryly while lifting the visor of the cockpit window by one centimeter. Bright light flooded the cockpit, causing everyone to close their blinded eyes.«

  »We’re entering the atmosphere with a sub-optimal angle of attack and cause a lot of friction. The ionized air, consisting of extremely hot plasma, is all-encompassing us,« Sweeney said apologetically. »I can’t do it any better with the manual controls. Normally, the computer compensates for the variations of air densities. I can’t do it that smoothly. Don’t worry, the Hawk can take that. We won’t burn up so easily.«

  »How comforting,« Peshewa replied irritably. »You don’t want to tell us that a simple computer could fly this ship better than you? This would be news to me.«

  Sweeney smiled sourly and acknowledged the collapse of the navigation displays with a sigh.

  »We’re flying blind now. Once we reach deeper layers of the atmosphere, the plasma jam will dissolve and we’ll have an unobstructed view again. The Hawk can be maneuvered easier then. Then, you can still think about whether you want to get out at an altitude of about 10,000 kilometers or stay with us.«

  Rak’Fler checked his plasma weapon.

  »Sometimes, you Humans have strange conversations. But no matter what awaits us down there, you can be sure that we won’t be easily digestible food!«

  Takahashi frowned for a second, then he nodded at Sweeney.

  »Make sure that the planet is between us and the dimensional gap.«

  »You bet, Sir. This anomaly gives me the creeps! Something like this shouldn’t exist! I don’t want to get too close to this ... uh … thing.«

  »If there’re any concerns that the anomaly could suck us into the tachyon continuum, then I can assure you that this won’t happen,« Strovol interjected. »It’s a one-way street. However, the tachyon wind, which is still very strong, could lead to strange interactions.«

  »I don’t want to let it come to that,« Sweeney said shivering.

  »I’m asking myself how it would feel like to swim in such strange form of energy,« Strovol pulsated enthusiastically.

  »For someone who usually hangs out inside an FTL projector, it probably feels quite cozy,« Sweeney suggested and slammed his fist on the ancient-looking button for the hydraulic system.

  The rapid descent into the atmosphere was completed and Sweeney opened the cockpit’s antiglare flap. Everyone on board was now able to take a look at the unknown world.

  »A green planet!« Peshewa said thrilled. »It seems, that chlorophyll exists wherever there’s plant life.«

  »A jungle world!« reiterated Rak’Fler a little surprised. »Planets of this kind are not uncommon. I’ve seen already densely vegetated worlds with transparent flora, or dependent on their sun, in very different colors. Usually, there’s a distinct flora to the corresponding fauna. We should’ve brought the ship’s cook along. Maybe, we have an opportunity to hunt a couple of exotic life forms. That would improve the menu.«

  »Without getting deeper into the subject matter,« Takahashi said diplomatically. »There could be some conflicts with our quarantine regulations.«

  While disappointed growl of the Krolakan filled the room, Ultimus checked the scanner for possible clues to the location of the portal hub. Strovol, who assisted him, wailed, »Sacred Stone Oracle of Taslan! I’ve never seen such chaotic field lines. The orientation and polarity of the tachyon hub are in constant motion and deformed by the emissions of the dimensional tear. It’s not advisable to use this portal, as long as the anomaly is moving around the planet.«

  »The question remains, what keeps this anomaly in orbit?« said Enola Peshewa.

  »Gravity?« Sweeney suggested with a grin.

  »Unlikely,« countered Strovol. »The interferences by the energy fields would suggest an interaction with the portal.«

  Art Ultimus nodded considerately.

  »Even though I’ve got no idea how this would work, it sounds like a good hypothesis.«

  The Hawk was shaken again.

  »Only a turbulence. The atmosphere is in some places in violent motion. We have just flown through a kind of tropical storm,« explained Sweeney.

  »I can feel it!« Strovol shouted suddenly. »The portal is located somewhere along the Equator. Keep this course and we’ll find it ultimately.«

  Takahashi nodded.

  »Follow Strovol’s advice, Mr. Sweeney. If we want to find answers to our questions, then only at the portal.«

  The more the Hawk descended, the more surface details became visible. Great lakes often tore up the dense jungle scene and looked like huge mirrors that had been fitted into the landscape. Big meandering rivers snaked between gentle hills and densely vegetated areas. Some of the rivers ended in big lakes, others trickled into wide-ranging marshlands. Undoubtedly, it was a subtropical environment.

  »I just hope the portal isn’t located inside a thick jungle,« Sweeney said uneasily. »Who knows what’s crawling around there under the tree tops – supposing these are trees down there … certainly, there’re plenty of mosquitoes!«

  The Hawk had now reached an altitude of around 400 meters and flew across the dense vegetation at the speed of sound. Strovol became more and more excited. His body throbbed and emitted a ghostly storm of lights.

  »I hope that our living neon sign isn’t blowing a fuse,« Sweeney mocked. Seconds later, he shouted, »I think, we arrived! There’s something strange, about 20 kilometers ahead! Just a moment …«

  Sweeney paused and suddenly puffed hectically. He thought he couldn’t believe his eyes. »What’s that?«

  Takahashi leaned forward to get a better view. Impressed, he raised an eyebrow.

  »I think, I know what this is.«

  »Crop circles!« Peshewa yelled impulsively. »You know? These patterns in the corn fields, like the ones, these pranksters had shaped in the year 2000 in England and other places. This practice was prohibited a hundred years later because corn had become too valuable.«

  »Someone has drawn a clear pattern into the dense forest, presumably with an energy weapon,« Sweeney speculated while flying the Hawk around the striking display of circles.

  »The portal is also down there!« bellowed Strovol ecstatically. »We’re right above it!«

  »Really? In the middle of the jungle?« Sweeney sighed. »I can’t see it.«

  »What’s the meaning of this arrangement?« Peshewa asked ponderingly. »Seven circles of different sizes, connected by a central line …«

  »Select one of the circles and land the Hawk. At least, these jokers cleared a landing pad for us,« Takahashi joked.

  Sweeney cleared his throat.

  »Uh … do you really want me to land in one of the circles?«

  »Why not? Is there a problem?«

  »Well,« muttered Sweeney with a hint of nervousness. »I would take these … forest circles … as clear evidence of the existence of an intelligent species. Some of these pre-tachyon species are cannibals and have big pots.«

  »If the remark is allowed,« Rak’Fler intervened. »Should there actually be a tribe that wants to eat Sweeney, then maybe, they’re hunters, but no cannibals. After all, we don’t belong to their kind.«

  »Oh, now I’m relieved,« Sweeney said mockingly.

  »Please, no excitement,« Takahashi interrupted. »Who knows how old these circles are? Perhaps, as old as the vegetation-overgrown portal.«

  »Why are the circles not overgrown by the jungle?« Peshewa wanted to know and unintentionally reinforced Sweeney’s argument. She answered his smile and thumbs up with an icy glance, however.

  »Questions over questions,« Takahashi acknowledged. »Let’s land the Hawk and find some answers!«

  Forest circles

  With a hard jolt, the Hawk landed. When the landing rails touched the ground, the dampening springs were pushed to their limits.

  »This landing was nothing to write home about,« Enola Peshewa commented acidly.

  Sweeney’s d
isarming grin affected her nerves as if someone had scratched a bow over the strings of an antique violin.

  »But it was bang on!« Sweeney replied casually. »We’re right in the center of the largest of these strange circles. Within a radius of one hundred meters, the terrain was leveled. Whatever grew here had been flattened to smithereens.«

  »Just for the record. Gravity is 1.06 Gravos. Thus, Crashpoint is almost like Earth,« reported Rak’Fler. »Our biofilters are clean. There are no micro-organisms, viruses, spores and no bacteria in the air. Should I’ve overlooked a foreign organism in my analysis, then we can rely on the decontamination chip. In extreme cases, our body fields will automatically activate.«

  When Enola Peshewa resolutely jumped from the bottom airlock a few minutes later, she said astonished, »The ground around the landing site is very solid and as hard as rock. Be careful when you leave the ship. Someone actually treated this area and heated it to glaze the surface!«

  Rak’Fler suddenly stood beside her and slowly squatted down. He carefully wiped away some withered plants and scanned the surface with one of his instruments.

  He panted excitedly as he read the results from his scanner.

  »They didn’t just melt the rock surface but used a subatomic transformation method. The surface around us emits a hard radiation, which kills any plant that wants to settle here. Presumably, this radiation is also the reason why our protective body fields activated automatically.«

  Only now, the other members of the team noticed the weak energy field that had enveloped their bodies.

  While Sweeney and Peshewa suspiciously eyed the surroundings, Rak’Fler quickly decided to pull out his long combat knife from his pocket and tried to ram it into the ground. The blade broke with a splintering sound. A large fragment whirred through the air and was absorbed by Takahashi’s protective field before it could harm him.

  Rak’Fler made an apologetic gesture while checking his knife.

  »The blade is usually hard as diamond and was forged by a weapons master on Krolak. The combat knife can penetrate the back shield of a creep lizzard from Lublatt. Only the noble swords and daggers of the Progonauts are of a higher quality. Whoever prepared this ground wanted to make sure that this circle or marking is preserved as long as possible.«

  »Marking?« Takahashi asked and looked around. »You mean some sort of pattern that can be located from the air to indicate that there is a portal here?«

  »Maybe it is actually a kind of sign?« mused Art Ultimus. »After all, the forest area surrounding our landing site extends by about tens of thousands of square kilometers. From the air, these forest circles are getting noticed immediately. Each visitor from outer space must immediately notice these geometrical figures because they can’t be of natural origin.«

  »What good is that?« said Sweeney puzzled. »Those who know about and use the portal technology can find them by their distinctive energy signature. Strovol can do that without any sensors or scanning devices. Our speaking neon sign just feels the energy.«

  The Taslanan hovered uncertainly over the spot. Nobody could see whether Sweeney’s remark touched him in any way. »I’ve visited several portals in the past, however, such markings, I’ve never seen before.«

  »Can you pinpoint the portal?« Takahashi asked, pointing to the towering wall of huge plants, which encircled the Hawk – stems, like hundred meters tall tree trunks.

  »In which direction do we need to go? Literally, I can’t see the forest for the trees,« Takahashi commented.

  Uncertain, Strovol floated for a few seconds over the marking. His excitement was expressed in the form of bizarre patterns that flowed through its transparent body in all colors of the spectrum.

  »I can sense the location of the portal and probably lead you to it. We have to go this way!«

  Strovol floated demonstratively a few meters toward the direction, he thought was the right one.

  Takahashi and Ultimus looked at each other, then Takahashi commanded, »We’ll look at that and leave the Hawk behind in this circle.«

  Rak’Fler looked at the shaft of his broken knife again, shrugged regretfully and said, »I’m afraid we have to walk through the jungle for quite a distance. We need to cut ourselves a path through the plant growth before us.«

  »There’s one good thing, though,« Peshewa whispered to Sweeney, »these forest circles were not created by primitive tribes. Your fear of ending up in someone’s pot is, therefore, unfounded.«

  ✭

  They had reached the edge of the circular mark and were standing directly before the towering wilderness.

  »Here we have your … trees,« muttered Sweeney as he eyed the tall plants for the first time up close. »They don’t look like ordinary plants to me. The tall stalks meander and move!«

  »What do you mean by ordinary,« Rak’Fler growled, pointing at the high plants. »The flora which thrives on Earth? This would be unusual in my eyes because on Krolak there is no chlorophyll. Our plants are blue and don’t have leaves and flowers. They have developed different, pronounced features.«

  »Other worlds, other forms,« Takahashi commented.

  »But these giant grasses act too lively for my taste. Why is it necessary for these plants to develop strong, motoric features, if they’re not specialized to hunt for food,« Sweeney noted uneasily.

  »Oh, I understand, Sweeney,« grinned Enola Peshewa. »I didn’t know that you’re also an astrobiologist next to your job as a navigator.«

  »A hobby of mine. At home, I keep a small swamp crawler mushroom from Pleunat,« Sweeney replied dryly.

  »Very nice, but that doesn’t help us much right now,« said Art Ultimus. »Strovol’s direction leads us directly through this extraterrestrial jungle. The strange forest is very dense. Somehow, we have to make our way through the vegetation.«

  »I’ll take the lead!« Rak’Fler said quickly and pulled his plasma gun. The Krolakan was determined to cut a path through the dense undergrowth, but as he approached the tree line, the long stalks began to twist. The dense jungle was suddenly filled with eerie life. The oversized grass-like plants rubbed their blades together, filling the air with rasping noises, first timidly, then louder and louder. The plant wall before Rak’Fler began to open before him. A narrow passageway became visible, no more than a trail which led into the darkness of that strange forest.

  Surprised, Rak’Fler lowered his weapon.

  »Our navigator is right. This forest is alive!«

  »Put your weapon away, please,« Takahashi said gently. He looked at the exotic plants. »We don’t land on an alien world to let our weapons speak, shortly afterward. Consider us as guests.«

  Takahashi fixed the tall plants and closed his eyes for a moment.

  »These plants have a life aura, as I can usually perceive only with organic life forms. This is not a pure flora but a mixed life form, which we’ve never encountered before.«

  »Oddly enough, the trail, which just opened for us by the plants leads exactly in the right direction,« noted Strovol and floated slowly into the dark forest.

  »What are you doing?« Sweeney shouted surprised. »Do you have a death wish?«

  »I’m just following the invitation. The plants show us the way to the portal,« said the jellyfish-like creature while his body shone brightly to illuminate the path for the other team members.

  »This could also mean: Step into my kingdom and be my breakfast,« the Irishman made a last attempt.

  Takahashi gave him a smile, pulled a small, chemical-based penlight from the sleeve of his suit and approached Strovol. Ultimus showed no emotion. He nodded at the rest of the team and followed Takahashi’s example.

  »I’m last,« barked Rak’Fler and signaled Sweeney and Peshewa to go ahead.

  »Don’t worry,« Sweeney whispered to Peshewa. »I’ll protect you and save you from the claws of the beasts if necessary.«

  Enola Peshewa’s look spoke volumes, her eyes flashed as she replied, »Spare me this embarra
ssment.«

  As Sweeney wanted to follow her, he felt the Krolakan’s claw on his shoulder, which made him stop briefly. Rak’Fler hissed a few words softly, raising his lips.

  »I’ve been watching your advances for quite a while. You don’t seem to be very successful.«

  Sweeney grimaced and also pulled up his lips. However, he could not compete with the front teeth of the dog-like being. »I’m not so desperate that I need advice from a Krolakan.«

  Rak’Fler produced short, hoarse bark and gently pushed Sweeney into the jungle. No sooner had they left the clearing, they were embraced by darkness.

  Encrypted clues

  It was eerie and strange, how the plants retreated before them, closing the path behind the group. Also, this time, Sweeney could not resist making an appropriate remark.

  »Does anyone know the story of Alice in Wonderland?« he asked into the strange noises around them. No one answered and he sighed deeply. »I thought so. In this story, the little Alice wandered through an enchanted forest. Just as I had imagined it at the time when my father read the story in the evening from his holographic reader.«

  Sweeney’s eyes drifted into the air, where the crowns of high growths were moving as in unison. The continuous noise, produced by the plants, was reassuring. He was relieved.

  Ultimus suddenly stopped and raised his hand, even Strovol stopped.

  »This jungle is impenetrable, even for my eyes,« Ultimus admitted and lowered his flashlight for a moment. »Nevertheless, I think that the lighting conditions have changed slightly. Has anyone seen this bright shimmering that flashes occasionally?«

  Sweeney and Peshewa looked at each other in astonishment, shrugged and shook their heads.

  Takahashi seemed to be listening toward the forest.

  »The taste of the auras of these plants has changed slightly.«

  »We’re very close to the portal,« Strovol announced. »But, I notice significant distortions of the portal’s energy matrix.«

  »Just go ahead and assume that there are perfectly normal people in this team,« said Sweeney. »What do you want to say?«