Titan Stand

by Max Jager

  "Well they were told to destroy everything related to that research which they claim they did, but now I'm not so sure."

  Brand looked around,

  "Why, what makes you say that?" Jezang frowned and pursed her lips,

  "Well let's just say I was involved in a job at the time that while unrelated to anything to do with the scandal put me very close to that mess. As a result, I had the opportunity to actually see a few examples of what they were actually doing." Pointing to the dead creature at her feet she said.

  "That is what they called a "Gw'oth, I wasn't sure until I analyzed it's brain tissue which I find contains chemical traces of artificial DNA as well as a compound known as KMZ which basically binds two dissimilar molecular structures in the brain. It was this artificial compound that caught the Khufrian's."

  "So you think they dumped all the evidence on this planet?" said Brand.

  "It certainly looks that way," she said. "No one's ever been told the full extent of their research or what they actually created, however I recognize the Gw'oth here, it's anyone's guess what else is living on this planet." She then said something that caught Matt by surprise,

  "There is no telling how many tormented beasts are living here. It may well be the Khufrian's haven't given up entirely on their demented research, however I will make a visual record along with a DNA sample of anything we find to be used as evidence that they are still holding these creatures for some nefarious purpose."

  "Well this just keeps getting better and better," muttered Rekton, "We'd better get moving and find the ship." Slowly they moved out all weapons at high ready. The rain seemed to let up as they approached the crashed gun ship. Almost missing it at first due to the vegetation covering the wreckage. Jezang spotted a hatch almost hidden by vines and fast growing kudzu like vegetation. Further examination revealed the ship was halfway buried into the ground with a mass of broken trees and rocks piled up in front of it. While everyone covered him Brand carefully opened the hatch .

  "Careful there," said Aesil , "Could be traps in there." Brand then called to Jezang,

  "Get in here Jezang, looks like the power is completely out,"

  "Doak!" he added, "I need you as well, everybody remain outside, but stay sharp until we get some light in here." While Brand, Jezang and Doak were securing the ship everyone else remained outside on alert. Suddenly there came a chilling scream with Matt exclaiming,

  "What the fuck was that?"

  "Didn't sound like a mortal being," said Ifwol, "But more like some sort of creature."

  "This place gives me the creeps," muttered Matt. The rain suddenly stopped as if someone had shut off a spigot while the rain storm moved off with the lightening and thunder faded. Moments later, as if on cue a cacophony of barks shrieks, and birds sounds filled the air. Matt remembered something from a movie he saw once.

  "As long as those birds keep making noise like that we should be safe, but if they stop all of a sudden, we've got trouble."

  "How do you know that?" Asked Aesil.

  "I don't know…I just do."

  Finally Doak appeared at the hatchway,

  "You can come on in, I've got the emergency lighting running, but it won't last long."

  "Anyone left in there?" asked Rekton,

  "Doesn't appear to be, there's also two escape pods missing as well."

  "Well if they bailed," added Rekton, "They could be anyplace on this planet." The interior was cast in a dim greenish glow from the emergency lighting, it was also rather cramped as well.

  "Not much room in this can," observed Ifwol,

  "The Malhazar's aren't known for building spacious interiors, they are like the Selantrian's who don't put much into comfort," observed Doak, "Since this is a gun ship, everything is devoted to the weapons systems, and battle computer."

  As he carefully moved around, Matt's mind returned to thoughts of Holliqua and what her function aboard this ship was.

  "It appears there is no one here," announced Brand, "We didn't find any traps either, however two escape pods are missing."

  "It's possible that two people ejected while the others rode this thing down," observed Aesil.

  "Or all stayed and the life pods were decoys," added Rekton.

  "Aesil!" exclaimed Brand, "See what you can do about downloading the ship's log and flight data. Matt, you and Doak look around see if they left anything that might give us a clue as to their fate, or where they might have gone." Carefully he and the android checked the rest of the ship. The crew cabins made the jail cell he was using on Brand's ship look like a stateroom, one narrow bed with a thin pad and blanket along with an in-the-wall locker. Opening the locker Matt began to inspect it for clues. There was a small grey bag pushed towards the back of the tiny upper level of the locker. As soon as he brought it close to open it he gasped for it bore the faint aroma of the same perfume Holliqua was wearing when they made love. At the time, he suspected it of being some sort of aphrodisiac.

  As faint as the fragrance was, all his memories of that night came flooding back. Opening it he found a plastic card somewhat thicker than a credit card. Recognizing it as a high tech memo pad he pushed the button on the side. Instantly Holliqua's picture appeared followed by a message.

  "Matt! I hope among hopes that you are the one listening to me…"

  She then began to speak English,

  "How the hell did she learn English?" He thought.

  "Listen carefully, I'm speaking your language for security reasons. Our ship is heavily damaged , no hope of making it home, Drenoc our pilot is dead, Aneejac our co-pilot is hurt but is flying the ship. He says Tumar-Ju for all it's dangers is our best hope. Heading for a structure our sensors located near center of continent. Please hurry, don't…"

  Her voice ended. He looked around a little more but found nothing. Returning to the others he showed Brand the memo pad. There was just enough power left in the device to play it one more time at which everyone stared at him. No one spoke a word, but he knew what they were thinking.

  "I've got all the data, what there is of it," announced Aesil, "However I think they wiped all the navigational data."

  "No doubt in case the raiders found the ship, nothing to trace them back to Moriedia," said Brand.

  "Well if there is some sort of structure on this planet I certainly didn't see it," said Rekton,

  "Neither did I," added Brand.

  "Do you suppose they mistook a formation of rocks for a building?" said Aesil.

  "It's possible," replied Brand, "Well there's nothing left here, let's get back to the ship." On the Return trip everybody double-timed it back to the ship however upon reaching the stream there were three animals that vaguely resembled extremely large wild hogs who, upon catching their scent gave out with roars, and began to charge. Once again it was a free-for-all as everybody opened up. Aesil's needle gun literally took all four legs off one leaving it to scream and flop around like a giant sausage. Matt and Jezang took out another as her bursts of 7,62x39, and Matt's slugs and ought buck literally blew it apart. Brand and Rekton dumped two thirty round magazine's into the third, again tearing it apart. The sound of bellowing could then be heard from the nearby thicket as everyone began to run for their lives back to the ship.

  Thrashing through the swollen stream no one dared to look behind them as they made for the now open ramp.

  "Up ramp!" Shouted Brand as they stormed up it. "Let's get the gleep out of here!"

  As they lifted off, everyone gazed at the scanner screen in horror as a veritable nightmare of creatures feasted on the remains of the creatures they had shot.

  Matt thought they resembled the barbongs he's seen on Ussen Ommo only much larger. Jezang thought they looked like more like sloags but had been genetically re-engineered by the Khufrian's.

  "It's a shame I wasn't able to get a DNA sampling," she lamented, "But I got a good look at them so I'm able to provide photographic evidence."

  They then began a concerted effort to
locate the structure Holliqua spoke of.

  It was slow going as they slowly passed over the dense rainforest in a grid pattern. While the search continued, Jezang studied everything Malvak could bring up concerning the genetic scandal and the subsequent censure of the Khufrian's.

  There wasn't a whole lot of information about it considering the magnitude of the scandal.

  "The only information Malvak could find only states that all the "experiments" were disposed of," said Jezang.

  "Well that ought to be a clue," said Brand, "Disposing of is a whole lot different than destroying. Dumping those creatures on Tumar-Ju technically qualifies as disposing of, we certainly know they weren't destroyed." Jezang did a little more digging and managed to come up with the original planetary survey which turned out to have been done by a Khufrian research crew. She also discovered that the Khufrian's had made a claim on the planet but that there was a dispute with the Neistra but no indication of any resolution of the matter'

  "It doesn't surprise me ," said Rekton "With the Neistra fading away as they did there's no one to argue with the Khufrian's."

  "So who's to say these animals weren't already here from the start," observed Matt',

  "Precisely!" replied Rekton,

  "Sort of like the island of Doctor Moreau," added Matt, "Only here it's a whole planet."

  "Eh, what's that all about?" Asked Rekton.

  "I'll tell you some other time," replied Matt.

  The search continued for another day, and with the clock running Brand was becoming concerned.

  "If there was anything here we would have found it," he complained, "We're just not picking anything up."

  "What if the structure Holliqua spoke of is situated in some sort of cave?" Offered Matt, "Would that affect the scanner's ability to spot it?" Malvak then spoke up in defense,

  "Possible but not probable…However there is one possibility. We are assuming this "structure" is recognizable as such built with manufactured materials. It's not common because of the cost but if the structure was built from certain materials designed to hide it and built to look like a common rock formation we may have been flying right over it and not known it."

  Brand then had Malvak bring up every rock formation they had passed over. Carefully studying each one Brand and Rekton settled on a large flat rock perched over the river which was hidden in places due to the heavy foliage and overhang.

  Matt studied the image as well then said,

  "Since we've got nothing better let me toss this out. What if that flat rock is actually a landing pad? There could be steps cut into that rock or possibly a hidden access hatch. All that overhang from the trees could be hiding a bridge to the other side. I don't know, maybe I've just watched too many dumb movies and played too many video games but it's worth a shot." Both Golian's looked at him.

  "He might be on to something," said Rekton, "I've been quite impressed with this young earthling lately he's been very intuitive. Brand studied Matt for a moment then shrugged,

  "Why not?"

  Landing on the rock Matt, along with Jezang, Brand, and Rekton spread out to inspect the rock. Acting on a hunch Matt headed for what looked like a large flat rock near the edge of the "table" they were sitting on. Living in the Rockies he was familiar with rock formations and how natural rock formations were formed and looked. Calling Brand over he pointed to the large semi-round rock.

  "Something about this rock doesn't look natural, it's too smooth, looks more like a rock that's been smoothed by millions of years of water rushing over it like a beach stone. I'm betting there's something under it, maybe there's a hidden control around here."

  Sure enough, Rekton found it, At the opposite edge of the rock they were sitting on was a semi-pointed rock pointing away from them. Rekton felt his hand along it's under face until he called out.

  "Matt was right, I'm feeling some sort of switch here." Suddenly the semi-round rock began to rise revealing a platform and a two button panel on the inside.

  Rekton looked at Brand as he pointed to Matt,

  "What did I tell you!" Studying what was clearly an elevator Brand said,

  "This only confirms part of it there's no way those Malhazar's could climb up here."

  "There has got to be some sort of bridge across the river," said Matt, "And no doubt another entrance down below and I'm guessing a larger one so they could release the animals through it."

  "It makes sense," added Rekton, "Well I'm ready if you are." Suddenly Malvak's voice came over their earpieces,

  "Five unidentified…Wait one…Raider craft approaching."

  "Melik! Our four cycles aren't up yet what's Slyr trying to pull?"

  Chapter 82

  Titan Stand Chapter 82

  "Jezang!" Called Brand, "I want you, Matt, and Ifwol to grab some supplies and find out where that elevator takes you. Jezang, grab the needle gun from Aesil and take it with you. Matt, you're only going to be able to take one gun plus your pistol due to ammunition considerations which will it be?"

  "I guess I'll take my AR, it's a little lighter, and I can pack more ammo."

  "Get on it!" Ifwol, grab the medical bag and the Geltron rifle. The rest of us are going to find out what Alejac wants. Things might get rather complicated, but we'll keep in touch. If you find those people get them up here or to someplace we can get in to pick them up. Rekton, Aesil, let's get out of here!"

  Matt and the others quickly grabbed their gear, along with swapping out weapons as Brand made ready to lift off. Crowding into the elevator housing Jezang pressed a button which started their descent. The platform only went down ten feet or so stopping in a sort of ante-room with another door. As she pressed another button, Jezang looked up,

  "Apparently this button closes the platform housing above us…Yes, I see it getting darker up there. The small room was illuminated by a wall mounted light fixture that threw out a soft greenish glow. There was another panel mounted on the stone wall next to the door, in the middle was what appeared to be a lock and from it's design operated with a key shaped like a "C,"

  "Looks like we're shit out of luck," observed Matt, "Unless you've got a master key." Jezang looked at him and grinned,

  "Observe young one." Reaching around to the small of her back, she opened a small leather pouch and removed a small black box. Placing it over the lock face she gently squeezed it. Something seemed to be happening as a bluish light appeared from under the box. She waited for a couple moments until the light disappeared, then slowly turned the whole box. A distinct "click" could be heard as she removed the small box. Showing Matt the underside he could see that a "C" had appeared. On the side of the "C" were several random holes.

  "This device forms a perfect key," explained Jezang, "Although I haven't used it in a long time, not many use physical keys anymore. This facility has been here for a very long time, I've only seen a key of this type only once before, and it was also Khufrian."

  "That's pretty neat," said Matt, "Where can I get one?" Jezang smiled.

  "These are very expensive Matt, and I'm afraid it wouldn't work for you, as it's powered off the energy from my finger tips." Matt shrugged,

  "Oh well!"

  "Everybody stand aside," she then warned, "There could be traps." Slowly Jezang opened the door, but nothing happened. Stepping into the room, again lit with the soft greenish light they found it to contain only a long legged desk with what looked like some sort of electronic equipment sitting on it. Pointing to the desk, Ifwol said.

  That desk is definitely Khufrian, notice there's no chair. Khufrian's don't like sitting down. Although they lost their tails a very long time ago sitting down seems to bother them. They do most everything standing up."

  "How do they sleep and…You know," asked Matt. Ifwol gave him a curious look.

  "They sleep on their bellies and usually curl up like drikes. As for the other, well you're going to have to ask someone else."

  "This appears to be a transmitter/receiver unit," sa
id Jezang, "However the battery is missing, and if all this dust is any indication, for quite a long time."

  There was nothing else in the room but there was another door, however this one didn't have a lock on it. Opening the second door, they found it led to a flight of stone stairs that curved around taking them down for what Matt figured were at least four levels. At the bottom of the stair well was a larger door with another lock in it. Once again, Jezang used her "lock pick" to open the door. After checking for traps, they examined the room which contained numerous metal cages that all contained skeletal remains of animals, as well as a noxious musty smell.

  "Well this confirms it," said Jezang, "This must have been where the Khufrian's released their "experiments" into the wild. I need to get a good look at each of the remains for evidence, it will only take a moment."