by David Lund
“Is this a dream, Michael?” she whispered.
“I don’t think so, but maybe we should try pinching ourselves.” She smiled slightly at his comment.
“Look after the crew,” he added. “I’ll be right back.” He turned to leave but Caitlin grabbed his arm.
“Can we trust them?” she breathed. Michael looked into her usually hard hazel eyes. She seemed more like a scared child to him now. She was frightened, so was he, but he couldn’t let it show.
“I hope so,” was all he said. He followed Gareen out of the room.
*
They were sitting behind a desk, looking at what seemed like a large television hung on the far wall, switched off for the moment. Gareen’s office was large and filled with many objects Michael had never seen before. There was something that looked like a vase made out of pure gold, with the strangest flowers Michael had ever seen: bright blue with four different flowers on the same stem.
There were other objects, so dissimilar to anything he knew that he couldn’t even begin to describe them. The office itself was a very bright white, so much so that he had to squint because of the glare. The walls were were not bare though, as several paintings decorated the bright walls, they, like the ones in his own office, showed various ships; that, Michael imagined, belonged to an older time. He once again remarked on how similar they were, and how different.
Gareen noticed Michael’s interest in his office trinkets.
“I would imagine you have similar items?” he inquired, leaning back in his chair. Michael turned his attention to the alien in front of him. He was still not sure whether or not to trust this person, although, he thought he seemed more trustworthy than Kaywal had, but he was not about to trust his instincts; they had already let him down before. He saw no harm in answering Gareen’s question however.
“I do,” he nodded to the paintings. “I also have ships on my wall. Have you served on them all?”
“No, they are before my time. Tell me Michael, what is your solar system like? Is it similar to ours?” This was one of those questions that worried Michael. Knowledge of their own solar system may be an advantage to anyone wanting to attack.
“I’m sorry Gareen, but I’m not sure who to trust at the moment and that seems like sensitive information.” Michael was surprised when the alien suddenly burst out laughing, he had not heard one of them laugh before, and if he was honest with himself, he didn’t think they could.
“I am merely being polite. We know about your solar system: eight planets, one sun, one habitable planet.” He laughed again at Michael’s stunned expression. “Do you think we didn’t study your people after the attack – sorry – the accident on the Friiist home world? We had to know if you were a threat to us. We quickly realized that your probe landing there was a blunder from a technologically inferior species, however. Still, upon studying you Humans, we can’t say that you are a peaceful species.”
“I’m afraid you give us the same impression,” Michael answered. “We have been treated with nothing but hostility since arriving in your system.”
“Can you blame us?” Gareen asked in a soft voice. Michael lowered his head.
“I suppose not.” He knew that they had good reason to be afraid of Humans, they would have probably acted the same way had the roles been reversed.
Just then, the large television switched on and a face appeared on the screen. A fat alien, wearing a white robe was seen. He was a Henfor, the crinkled skin and white hair were as similar as any of
the others Michael had seen so far. Gareen immediately stood, and Michael followed suit.
“President,” Gareen said.
“Gareen,” the president had a deep voice, not unkind. His eyes moved from the Captain of the ship to Michael and back again. Gareen spoke again. “This is Michael, the Captain of the Human ship, we rescued them from the Friiist. Do I have your permission to bring him back to Henfor?”
“Of course,” the president said, beaming. “Welcome Michael, it is an honour to meet you. This is an exciting day for both our species.” Michael’s doubts began to evaporate, but he would not let go that easily.
“I hope this is true, Mr President.”
“You have been through a lot, and I understand your reluctance to trust us, and I assure you, we have the same reservations, but we should try and trust each other, it is the only way we can put any problems aside. I regret the order I gave to make you leave, I didn’t realize the trouble you were in.
It was a foolish decision, but then, I am a fool.” He laughed. “What say you Michael? Will you come to my planet and shake my hand?” Michael hesitated for a few seconds. What the President said was sensible, if he was unwilling to trust, there was no chance for peace between them.
“You are right, sir. I will shake your hand.”
12
There was still a while to go before they reached Henfor. Michael and his crew were led to a room which Gareen called the ‘relax room’. It was an area which encompassed a whole deck. As soon as the lift doors opened, Michael’s jaw dropped. They found themselves in a great big park, full of trees and flowers of the like the crew had never seen before. There were several benches placed here and there and a food court.
Several of the Henfor were scattered around, talking to each other or simply sitting. There was so much green that Michael couldn’t even see the hull, although there were several windows in sight.
The artificial light felt great, almost like the sun; it was of course, very hot, and Michael almost felt like he was back on Earth, in the tropics. Hopefully, one day he would be.
Gareen told them to enjoy themselves and look around and to have anything they wanted to eat.
The crew dispersed. Many of them started talking to some of the Henfor, who seemed as interested in the humans are they were in them. Michael, Caitlin and Gareen walked around the small path that led around the deck.
“It is all grown here,” Gareen was saying. “We have many ways of accelerating growth of plants, and our scientists say that it is important for the crew to have such a place to relax, especially on a long journey.”
“Do you have many long journeys?” Caitlin wanted to know. Gareen placed his hands behind his back as he walked.
“We occasionally venture out into the solar system, but it is a rare occurrence. The war takes up much of our time. Sadly exploring is made difficult by the Friiist, who examine every move we make, and consider it a manipulative move on our part.”
“How long has this war been going on?” Michael asked.
“Longer than I care to remember,” Gareen sighed. A Henfor was walking gingerly towards them from the other side of the room. The three watched his approach. The alien was tall, and had a deep gash in the side of his dark face. His hair was as white as any of the other Henfor and yet Michael felt there was something familiar about him.
“Ah, Lieutenant,” Gareen said warmly, “How are you feeling?”
“Better thank you, Captain,” Michael immediately recognized the voice.
“Videem?”
“Yes, Michael.”
“You look different.”
“I have retaken my old form, and it is a great relief I might add.” He turned to Gareen. “Captain, we should debrief.” Gareen nodded.
“Yes, we should. Michael, I shall leave you to your peace and inform you when we are close to Henfor. Enjoy.” The two left the room. Caitlin was looking at Michael. He knew what she was going to ask.
“Captain, are we safe with these people?” He sighed and sat down on a nearby bench. It looked similar to any bench you might find on Earth. Caitlin sat next to him.
“I made the mistake of first trusting Kaywal, and I’m not going to make the same mistake again.
However, I have spoken to the president of Henfor, and he is either a brilliant manipulator or an honest, er… man.” He fell silent and looked around him. His crew mates were laughing and talking excitedly to the aliens around them. The Hen
for were all equipped with translators. “They can’t both be out to kill us,” he added quietly.
“I still can’t believe it,” Caitlin said. “They exist. It’s amazing.” Michael looked over at her. She was worried, he knew, but also excited. He felt nothing, he was so exhausted that he couldn’t think. He hadn’t had all of the answers he was after, and there were still great holes in his knowledge; they didn’t know what the war between the two species was about, and they didn’t know how to get home. What was going to happen to them when they reached Henfor?
Michael must have closed his eyes, because the next thing he knew, he was back on Earth, on a beach near Santa Rosa, he was soaking in the glorious sun while his wife and daughter were swimming in the ocean not far from him. He could hear them laughing.
Then a huge light appeared in the sky and a sound like a firework shooting through the sky was heard. The light grew brighter and Michael heard a deep maniacal laugh, it was Kaywal, his face had appeared in the sky near the bright light. His grin made Michael’s blood turn to ice, he felt the cold as if he was back on that ship. The light grew even brighter and Michael saw that it was a bomb, and it was heading straight for them. He rose and ran towards his family, but it was too late, the bomb hit the beach and everything exploded around him. But now he was back in space, in Earth’s orbit, on his ship, watching, powerless, as his planet exploded before him. The Earth glowed a deep crimson and cracked, parts of it shooting out in to space. The worst thing was that Michael could hear the billions of screams from all the people who lived there, and there was nothing he could do about it.
He awoke with a start. Sweat was pouring down his face and he felt clammy. He was back on the Henfor ship, on the bench in the giant relax room. He realized, with relief, that he had been dreaming. It had felt so real. Caitlin was still next to him, it seemed she had also fallen asleep because she was snoring softly. He smiled, he hadn’t known that she snored.
The dream had unsettled him, obviously what Kaywal had told him about them preparing an attack on Earth was bothering him. He still didn’t know if it was true, or indeed if they had the technology to put their plan into action. He really hoped the Henfor were trustworthy and that they
would be able to help them. Videem had helped them get off the Friiist ship and so far they had been treated with courtesy and respect. Although Michael had not forgotten how they were first welcomed into the solar system by the Henfor.
He glanced over at Lindsey now. She was talking to one of the Henfor, a female of the species it seemed. It just occurred to him that he hadn’t seen one yet. She also had dark skin, yet there was a slightly yellow tinge to it. Her hair was a deep red, unlike the white of the males, and her eyes were a brilliant green. She was really quite beautiful, he remarked.
Lindsey herself seemed to be in good spirits, she was talking enthusiastically, although he couldn’t hear what she was saying. He imagined she was talking about Earth, probably the beach she enjoyed so much. He hoped that she wasn’t saying too much. He didn’t want the Henfor to know more than they needed to. It was an odd sensation, he wanted to trust them but they had been through so much, he just wasn’t sure he could. The female Henfor was listening intently and seemed to be drinking in every one of Lindsey’s words. Michael watched them a while longer before his attention was caught by a light coming from his right.
He stood and walked towards it. It was coming from one of the windows. Before him was the Henfor planet. It shone bright blue with large masses of brown. It’s resemblance to Earth was amazing, although he suspected it was probably larger. Enormous clouds covered some of the continents but large portions of the surface were still visible. Michael noticed that there seemed to be little darkness on the planet.
“Wow,” Caitlin was awake and had come up alongside him. “It almost looks like home,” she added.
“It does,” he said softly. His crew had gathered around him now, and they were all staring down at the magnificent view that was before them. Michael tore his gaze away from the planet and looked around at them. He felt a stab of pain as he remembered that Jean and Marshall had been kidnapped by the Friiist, and that he had barely given them a thought since arriving on the Henfor ship. He had no idea of how he could save them, he didn’t even know where they were. Gareen had promised that he would help him find them, and he hoped, once again, that the Henfor were telling the truth.
They continued to watch out of the window as they entered the planet’s orbit and approached what looked like a docking port. A voice came out of some loud speakers asking all personnel to report to docking stations, and some of the Henfor left the room. The ship slowly moved in the docking station.
It was a large structure, about ten times bigger that the ship they were on. It was made out of a some kind of metal, which had been painted bright red – it seemed as if the Henfor enjoyed bright colours – and was circular. Several arms extended out towards the middle, where there was a space for ships to dock. Michael counted five arms, two of which were currently connected to vessels, similar to the one they found themselves on.
They were now approaching one of the arms. They were close enough that Michael could make out shadows moving across the space station’s windows. The place was bigger than anything Humans had ever made, and it seemed to be crawling with people. They all watched in awe and tried to take in every detail.
There was a dull clunk and the noise of the engines diminished somewhat as they were powered down. They were now connected to one of the arms. Michael was unsure of what they were supposed to do, but his crew had gathered around him, awaiting instructions. Just as Michael was about to speak, the door opened and Gareen walked in, closely followed by Videem.
“If you will follow me, we are leaving the ship,” Gareen said and turned back towards the lift.
*
They were led across the ship and to the docking ports, which opened into a long corridor lined with many windows that looked out into the dark space beyond. The only people accompanying them were Gareen and Videem. Michael was happy that there were no armed guards, it was a sign of their mutual trust, he supposed.
They walked for several minutes along this corridor until they reached a black door, which swished open for them. They entered a vast room, which was full of Henfor. They all stopped what they were doing at gaped at the Humans. Michael felt slightly nervous at their open stares, although he imagined it was normal for them to do this, they were, after all, seeing a completely alien race.
They didn’t stay in the room, they were led down a series of corridors, and after several long minutes of walking, they came to a shuttle bay and were ushered onto yet another ship. Gareen explained that it was a ‘Ground taxi’, which ferried civilians from the planet to the station. He said it was a short journey to the surface. They were the only ones on board. Videem sat in the pilot’s chair and took the helm. The craft was not large, about the size as a city bus and similar in shape. Several seats were lined on either side, Michael was surprised to see that they were equipped with seat belts, he hadn’t seen any on the other, larger ships.
“Entering the atmosphere can be a bit rough,” Gareen said as he strapped himself in the seat behind Videem. “You want to be attached to your seat. This vessel isn’t equipped with gravity stabilizers.”
Michael strapped himself in. He was sitting next to Caitlin in the front row, across the aisle from Gareen. Lindsey and Jean were sitting behind him.
Nobody was talking, as they were all to preoccupied with staring out the windows at the planet below. Michael was the only one who was looking at his friends, seeing the longing in their eyes.
He understood, because he felt it too: the planet looked so much like home, and they were wondering if Henfor could become a new home for them, or if they would ever see Earth again. The
planet was a beautiful sight, if they couldn’t get back to their own solar system, Michael supposed Henfor might be a nice place to live.
Except
for the war. Except for the possibility of an attack on Earth. They had to get home, to warn their people of possible destruction. They had to find a way.
The shuttle left the dock at speed and headed straight for the southern continent. Michael watched as they got nearer and nearer.
“Our capitol city in on the southern continent,” Gareen said unnecessarily. “It a very big city, over twenty million people live there. It is also our oldest city.”
“What’s is called?” Michael asked, curious.
“Tch’ran. It is named after the great emperor Tch’ran who built it.” Michael started to ask another question but the ship shook violently and he gripped the armrests on his chair.
“Perfectly normal,” Gareen shouted over the sudden noise the craft was making. “We are about to enter the atmosphere.”
The ship shook more as they descended. It lasted about two minutes and then everything was calm, but for the rushing wind whistling past the ship. The view outside the window changed from dark space to clear blue sky. Michael pushed his face against the window and looked up: he could see both suns – one brighter then the other – gleaming from above him. Below him, he could make out several cities, but also fields, trees and other landscapes. The resemblance to Earth was astonishing.
A few minutes later, they landed in a large area designed for landing shuttles. The doors were opened and Michael was surprised to see a great line of people waiting for them, and several thousand more were behind barriers looking in on the scene. He should have known this would happen, people had come to see the humans. It was probably one of the most exciting days of their lives.
As soon as they stepped out, The heat blasted them, it must have been forty five degrees, sweat immediately materialized on Michael’s forehead, and it took him a few seconds to get his breathing together. He also suddenly felt extremely heavy, as if he had gained ten kilos during their trip to the surface. He hadn’t felt a difference in gravity on the ship, yet here, it was very noticeable, he saw that Caitlin was struggling too, and he grabbed her hand and squeezed it gently as they walked forwards.