Titan Stand

by Max Jager

  "How did you find your way back to the palace?" He asked.

  "That's the weird part Matt. I was just walking down this little country lane, and suddenly that Fergus guy appears. He asked me if I was lost, I told him I didn't know, he then said,

  "Follow me," and led me back to town. Oh yeah, he told me to tell you that elf who was making that knife for you is done with it, stop by he'd like to see you again."

  They went to Matt's room where he packed up all his gear and clothing, then on the way out, ran into Bria and her mother.

  "I'm all set to go," announced the princess, "I guess those Golians are still down in the bar so let's go find them and get going." As they walked Matt formally introduced her to Kaitlyn,

  "Well maybe this won't be so bad after all," stated Bria. They found the Golians just coming out of the hospitality room where Bria kissed and hugged her mother saying a final goodbye.

  "You be sure to stay in touch through the trading company, said her mother as they accompanied the Golians out to the transportation that would take them to the landing field.

  The Golian spacecraft looked very similar to the Nora-Lee; however it didn't have a name. It didn't take long once they were strapped in to get airborne, and get into space.

  "The trip will take around two cycles, so make yourselves comfortable, said Karlt Juliff, "There are fold-down racks in the cabin back there. I'm afraid there isn't a lot of privacy aboard this ship but that's the way things are on most of our craft."

  Both Bria and Kaitlyn were tired, so they elected to head for the cabin to get some sleep. Matt chose to remain and chat with the two Golians.

  "You know" he chuckled, "Back on my planet you guys are pretty much what everybody thinks aliens look like."

  "Is that so?" replied Grak.

  "By the way, what are "aliens?"

  "Well, umm, it's just a term that refers to anyone not born on our planet."

  "So we fit your people's ideas of what "aliens" should look like, is that a good or bad thing?" Then Karlt quickly injected,

  "Keep in mind that a wrong reply will result in the Golian navy sending a fleet of attack ships to completely destroy your planet." This completely alarmed Matt. Not expecting a reply such as that, he didn't know what to think or do. He scanned the Golians faces for any sign that they were playing a joke on him but he could not tell a thing.

  "You wouldn't really do something like that would you?" he nervously asked.

  Both Grak and Karlt could see they really had this being upset, pushing things even further, Karlt added.

  "Absolutely, a number of Yeans before I was born, the Diyari ambassador accidentally coughed while old king Prekh was making a speech. It irritated him so much he ordered their planet completely destroyed." Both Golians were expecting more horror from this stranger; however his reaction was something else entirely.

  "What the fuck kind of people are you?" Snarled Matt. "You know I told you my people think you guys look like aliens should look. Well they also think all you aliens do is attack other planets and kill innocent people. This is bullshit! Well all I can say is bring it on you'll get as bad as you give. You'd better just keep your fucking asses in space because if you land we will kill everyone of you, god damn it to hell this is crap!"

  Both Grak and Karlt recoiled in horror, then at each other, then Grak winced.

  "We are very sorry Matt, we were only joking, we Golians are not like that. We apologize most profusely for giving you a false impression of our race."

  Matt now felt like an idiot for blowing up like that. He then offered his hand,

  "I'm the one that should be apologizing to you for going off on you like that, but my experience with alien races is very limited, but I'm learning." Both Golians took his hand and shook it in turn.

  Chapter 22

  Titan Stand Chapter 22

  Matt sat with Grak and Karlt as they flew the spacecraft back to Fort Kamata just talking about their world.

  "Fort Kamata was built on what our scientists think was part of a much larger planet," explained Karlt.

  "There is an atmosphere of sorts, but the oxygen level is very low. It's also rather cold there as well."

  "So what do you guys do?" Asked Matt, "Live underground and in domes?" Both Golians looked at him,

  "Why yes, how did you know?" Asked Grak.

  "Oh just a wild guess," he replied. "Back on earth they're always talking about building a permanent settlement on our moon, we'd have to do the same thing."

  "I see," replied Grak. "Well in the case of the fort, as we call it, all the living areas are underground all that you see above the surface is a gigantic solar collector as well as a landing area. There are other facilities as well and as you mentioned, are all located under two large domes. Fort Kamata is strictly an outpost for this sector as well as a collection point for transshipments of goods and various ores."

  "Is there any kind of military presence there?" Continued Matt, "What about raiders or space pirates?" Both Golians quickly dismissed his query,

  "That's a subject we're not permitted it discuss with outsiders," said Karlt, "suffice to say that detail is "covered." Matt learned that both Golians were part of the Golian equivalent of the naval reserve working as pilots for the outpost.

  "Technically we work for the Golian government," explained Grak, but we are paid through the Loridian trading company; out here they are one in the same."

  Matt thought about that for a moment, then said,

  "You know it's kind of interesting in that when the country I come from was still being explored, they would send companies of trappers out into the unexplored wilds to trap beaver for their pelts. The fur companies would establish posts or outposts in places where these trappers could bring their pelts and trade for things they needed. But basically they were hundreds of miles away from any civilization."

  "Well we don't know about any of that," replied Karlt, but even as far as we are from Golia, we certainly don't feel isolated, something's always going on back at the fort."

  "He's right," added Grak, "Take you for example; when Zeb first alerted us that there were off-worlder's on Denedra everybody just about fell out of their chairs. It's not that we never expected to run across new faces but our universe is an old one and has long been established. Just be prepared for a lot of questions," then Grak lowered his voice and asked.

  "Is it really true that your planet would fight to the end?" Grak's question puzzled Matt, but he answered it straightforwardly.

  "You told me that your galaxy is filled with hundreds of planets," began Matt, "Now imagine that instead of separate planets, with different races and cultures, you had one planet where all these different races lived, what do you think would be the result?" Both Golians looked at each other with horrified faces.

  "Bluk! Replied Karlt,

  "I think we get the picture."

  "I'm afraid the one thing we on earth do very well is make war on each other and do terrible things not only to our own people, but to others as well," continued Matt.

  "Well in all fairness," said Grak, "There are several planets that it is advisable not to travel to, and I'm sure our superiors will inform you of them. A lot of raiders come from these places, but our naval forces keep them pretty much contained."

  Then Matt asked a question that had been on his mind ever since they landed on Denedra.

  "I'd like to ask you guys a question but I'm not sure how to frame it. I don't want to insult anyone but back on my planet, we have what is called "science fiction." Basically it's speculation about what will happen in our future, as well as possible other races out here in space."

  "We're listening," replied Grak.

  "Are there any races that look more like animals, you know vicious attitudes, big teeth, monsters, in other words beings that don't resemble us. You know, races that don't walk around on two legs have two arms, hands and fingers?" Both Golians leaned back in their seats and grinned.

  "Yes," rep
lied Karlt, there are a few races like that, but they aren't traveling around in space." Leaning forward, he added.

  "You see my friend, in order to do what we do, you need a superior intelligence, which is not to say that some of these races aren't smart, but their physical construction doesn't permit them to design and construct spacecraft, or develop enlightened societies. We told you about certain races that maintain hostile attitudes but they are all humanoids like us. Now perhaps many thousands of yeans from now they will have reached a stage of development that will permit them to venture forth into space or make something of their societies, who's to say?"

  By this time Kaitlyn and Bria had woken and were hungry.

  "Say whatcha got to eat on this ship?" Asked Kaitlyn.

  "Yeah," added Bria, "I could use something to eat as well." Both Golians chuckled,

  "Well we've got a nice supply of eabak on board, it's not as good as fresh made, but it's practically our national dish," explained Grak, "Karlt, be a nice fellow and fix our hungry passengers some eabak." All three passengers looked wary at the offer, but it sounded like that was about all there was to eat.

  "I've got an MRE," said Matt. Both Grak and Karlt gave him a suspicious look.

  "What's the matter?" Asked Grak, "Don't like our food?" Well instead of putting food into it, Matt had put his foot in his mouth.

  "Well…If you insist," he muttered.

  "We do, replied Grak, relax, it's nothing bad tasting or alive, just let Karlt make some, you'll see."

  "Well it smelled good anyway," thought Matt. The food came in packages that looked very similar to MRE packages, Karlt opened three of them and mixed everything in a metallic looking container, then placed it in what Matt assumed was some sort of oven, probably their equivalent of a microwave. When the Golian doled it out it looked a hot potato salad but there were all sorts of things in the mixture. Both he and Kaitlyn looked with apprehension at what they were about to eat, but Bria shrugged, and dug right in.

  A big smile came over her face as she looked at Karlt and smiled.

  "Say this is really good, it's almost like "Hemga," a lot of the miners take it for their mid-day meal, it really fills your belly and sticks with you." Bria continued to work on her serving so both Matt and Kaitlyn dug in as well. Once again Karlt heard rave reviews from both.

  "So what's in this?" Asked Kaitlyn.

  "Well," replied Karlt, "There's tabtag's, iza's, uh, ursil, pimag's and mupil's.

  The dish is seasoned with apsal, adash, lumen's, chibat's lum, and kekka."

  He then pointed to the various ingredients which Matt recognized as potatoes, onions, carrots, turnips and what appeared to be shrimp. The rest were spices like salt and pepper, along with some sort of hot sauce. All three cleaned their bowls with what looked like large spoons with three tines on the lip of the spoon.

  "Keep in mind," explained Karlt, what you just ate was packaged for long term storage, you haven't eaten eabak until you've eaten it fresh.

  "Say I owe you guys a big apology," announced Matt, "This stuff is really good,"

  "Can we get a recipe?" added Kaitlyn. Karlt just laughed,

  "When we get to the fort, you can get as many recipes as you like, everyone seems to have one, like I said, eabak is our national dish, everyone fixes it a little differently."

  To pass the time, Kaitlyn taught everyone how to play poker, as well as "Pitch," so that by the time they arrived at Fort Kamata, Bria, as well as the Golians could play decently. Matt was asleep when they reached the fort so he didn't get to see the approach to the planet. Once they had landed, Grak directed Bria to the proper office where she could receive her travel visa and set up her Loridia account. Matt and Kaitlyn on the other hand were escorted by both Golians to Deev Mocon's office where Mocon, along with two other Golians waited. Deev made the introductions,

  "Greetings outworlders, my name is Deev Mocon; I'm the Loridian director for this sector. This is Ilmi Krex, and Dryl Gwisk, representatives of the Golian central government." Both Matt and Kaitlyn shook their hands as they sat down in the offered chairs.

  "Word has reached us that you two are from outside the Loridian Empire would you mind explaining to us how and why you are here?" Both Matt and Kaitlyn felt like they were being put on the spot, but Matt began with just the facts.

  "Well my name is Matt Grainger, and this is Kaitlyn Parkinson. We are from the planet earth. We are traveling with two androids named Amber and Gandric. Currently they are on the planet Xandrus with a trade delegation from Denedra and Doradus looking to restart some sort of manufacturing on Xandrus." The female Golian identifying herself as Ilmi, then spoke.

  "Xandrus, isn't that the planet where the droids revolted and now run everything?" Matt nodded,

  "They are all out of work; Amber and Gandric are trying to help them get production going again."

  "I've been reading some of the preliminary reports Zeb is sending me, seems like they have a lot to offer, and he's recommending that we consider it for a manufacturing hub for this sector."

  Returning to Matt, Ilmi asked,

  "So how come we haven't heard of you "earthling's before?"

  "Probably because we don't have real space travel yet," he replied. "We send out unmanned probes, and have a small space station orbiting our planet, but other than that we don't get around much."

  "So how did you come to be with these androids?" asked Ilmi. Matt gave her a quick explanation of Amber, Greg Tate, the Nora-Lee, and the Neistra. Dryl Gwisk looked at Ilmi, and said,

  "Now there's a name I haven't heard of in awhile," Ilmi agreed.

  "So what about them?" Asked Kaitlyn, "Are they good or bad?" Both Golians chuckled,

  "I'm afraid you are going to have to define "good and bad," this is really going back, but for awhile, they were trying to compete with Loridia, and almost beat them out, but in the end, Loridia won out with lower overhead, and a superior payment set-up. As far as I am aware, they are still around."

  "They are," added Deev, "But there is a lot of animosity between us, we don't trade with them, and I think they have their own arrangement with a few non-aligned worlds or something like that."

  "Tell us about this "earth" Mr. Grainger," asked Dryl. Matt tried to think of something positive, but in the end gave up and went with the description he had given Grak and Karlt.

  "I understand this Golian empire of yours is made up of a lot of different races and such. Well imagine just one planet made up of countries instead of planets, that's earth." This commentary brought forth looks of disbelief from the officials.

  "And your planet is still in one piece?" Asked Deev.

  "Well just barely," replied Matt, "everyone's got nuclear weapons and are always threatening to blow their enemies up. I'm afraid the one thing we're really good at is starting wars." This admission brought more looks of horror.

  "So tell us," said Ilmi, "What would happen if we were to land on your planet?"

  Matt wasn't so sure about this on, looking to Kaitlyn for support; all he got was an indifferent shrug.

  "Well I guess it depends on where you land," he replied. "There are a lot of people on earth that think we are all alone in the galaxy, then are others that are just waiting for races like you to show up. If that's what you really want to do, I'd park myself in orbit over earth and talk to someone like NASA, that's our space agency. I'd also hint that you have the ability to blow up the whole planet should you decide to land in an unfriendly country and they kill or capture whoever it is you send."

  Both Ilmi and Dryl studied Matt and Kaitlyn for a moment, then replied,

  "That bad eh? Well tell us; is there anything worth trading with your planet?"

  "Hard to say," He replied, "I don't know what you're after, and earth is so far away, whatever it was would really have to be worth it I guess."

  "By the way," said Dryl, "Where exactly is earth?"

  "Umm I've got the coordinates here on my phone," said Kaitlyn. She then pulled her phon
e out of her back pocket and played with it for a moment.

  "Yeah, here it is…Sector 000658000, Quadrant 765007, Mega 126002, Keva 6000466."

  "That's the old navigational system," said Dryl, but in some places it's still used, you say this Amber and Greg came from the planet Z'ha'dum? That was part of the old Neistra consortium so it's no wonder you're still using the old navigational system. However we can translate it easy enough."

  "Well we thank you two for the information," said Deev, "So what are your plans?"

  "Well Bria really needs medical help, and we will be looking for a place that might be able to treat her. And being new to space travel as well as this galaxy, we'd just like to travel around and explore."