Phoenix Among The Stars (Exodus)

by Robert Stadnik

  “Sounds like a bunch of dogs in heat,” said Sandoval. John almost burst into laughter, but managed to maintain his composure.

  “It sounds like there are some coherent sounds coming through,” said Julie. “Right?”

  John shrugged his shoulders. “I was never good with foreign languages.” Julie didn’t believe it. They took linguistics together at the Academy and she remembered he showed up only twice for the course, the first and last day of class. She couldn’t believe he passed.

  “Well, the computer indicates there’s a definite dialect pattern to the sounds,” reported Bret.

  “Great, so we’ve got something out there talking to us but no way of talking back to them,” said Alex’sis.

  “Maybe we should get one of the language people up here,” offered Kevin from his station.

  “Good idea,” replied John. “I’m sure the head of linguistics will want to hear this herself.”

  As Julie sent the message via internal communications John looked at his operations officer. “Want to guess what our friend out there is saying?”

  “Probably giving us the recipe of its version of chili, or a detailed description of its mating habits,” replied Alex’sis sarcastically.

  “It?” said Sandoval.

  “How do you know if it has a gender?” said Alex’sis.

  “One step at a time,” said John, not wanting to get into an argument of theoretical reproductive habits. “First, we need to figure out what’s being said to us.”

  “Has the ship’s power output increased?” asked Sandoval.

  “No,” replied Alex’sis, checking the sensors. “I show no change in either position or energy levels.”

  “Captain,” said Julie, grabbing John’s attention. “Professor Marlin.”

  John saw an older woman, in her sixties, step off the lift and head down the catwalk and into the pit. Her high heels prevented her from running, which she wanted to do since learning that an alien life form was communicating with the PHOENIX.

  “Professor, thanks for coming so quickly,” said John.

  “I wouldn’t miss this for the world,” she replied. “Can you turn it up?”

  John motioned to Bret, who increased the volume slightly.

  “Structure is sound,” muttered the linguistics professor. “Tone and pitch is consistent. It sounds like it’s on a repeating loop.”

  “The computer has verified the message is repeating,” confirmed Bret. John was impressed she was able to discern a lot more about the sounds than any of the command staff. “How long between the time we communicated to their response?” asked the professor.

  “Uh, less than a minute,” said Julie.

  “And you haven’t replied back?”

  “No, should we?”

  “Yes, the fact they replied so soon indicates they may understand our language.”

  “How?” asked John. “This would be the first time they encountered humans.”

  “It may be a natural ability or technology that allows them to decipher new languages,” said the professor. “We may be able to establish if they have recognition of our communications. We need to send them a message, something that’ll prompt a response that will clearly indicate they understand us.”

  “How about fire all your weapons,” offered Sandoval.

  “Chief,” said John quickly, wanting to reprimand his security officer. But he couldn’t help but find the humor in the chief’s statement.

  “It would certainly answer our questions,” said Marlin.

  “We’re not having it fire on us,” said John. “Private Michaels, open a channel to the ship.”

  “Channel open, captain.”

  “Alien vessel,” said John, trying to sound like an authority figure. He wanted to say something profound, but his mind fogged up. In his haste, he could only come up with this. “Do you understand what I’m saying?”

  Julie rolled her eyes and Alex’sis couldn’t help but smile. Within seconds, the alien vessel replied with more sounds.

  “That sounds longer than just a yes,” said Alex’sis.

  “For all we know that’s how they say yes,” said Bret from his station.

  “My idea was better,” said Sandoval.

  Julie wanted to speak up and say something to the alien vessel, but didn’t want to risk undermining John’s authority by preempting him. “Captain,” she whispered. “What about asking him to move his ship?”

  John nodded in agreement. “Alien vessel, if you can understand what I’m saying, please acknowledge by moving your ship out of the debris field. Our intentions are not hostile and only wish for a peaceful exchange between us.”

  No response came from the vessel. The staff waited in anticipation for what would come next.

  “I’m picking up increased power from the vessel,” said Alex’sis. “Its position is changing. Its…its heading out of the debris field.”

  “Holy shit,” muttered John.

  “I can’t believe it,” added Julie.

  They watched on the holographic display as the ship slowly navigated between the floating rocks and out into clear space.

  “What do we do now?” asked Alex’sis. Both John and Julie looked at her with blank expressions.

  “Good question,” said John. “There’s nothing in TERRA’s operations manual on how to proceed.” He looked at the professor. “Professor Marlin?”

  “We’ve established that whatever is inside that ship understands us, now we need to have an extended exchange in order to gather as much of their speech to begin deciphering their language.”

  “That’s easy to do,” said Sandoval. “We keep chatting with them over the airwaves until we know what they’re saying.”

  “No,” said John, who had another idea. “Commander, I want the hangar deck doors opened. I will instruct the vessel to land there so that I can meet face to face with it.”

  “You’re kidding,” said Sandoval.

  “Captain,” said Julie. “We don’t know anything about what’s in that ship. We should take the time to learn all that we can before inviting it onto the PHOENIX.”

  “We got lucky encountering another intelligent life form on our second jump,” said John. “We may not come across another alien for weeks or months. It may have knowledge about the Screen and we can’t risk playing it safe.”

  “What you’re proposing is a huge security breech,” said Sandoval.

  “He’s right,” said Alex’sis. “You’re putting the entire ship at risk.”

  “That’s why the meeting will be in the hangar,” said John. “If there’s a problem you can decompress the bay and jettison whatever it is back into space.”

  “And kill you in the process,” reminded Julie.

  “It’s my plan and my choice to assume the risk. If the worst does happen, then you become captain and I become a footnote in history,” said John. “Private Michaels, instruct the vessel to proceed to the top of our ship and enter our hangar. Tell it that the captain of this ship will meet it alone and unarmed.”

  “Admiral Johnson said you had brains but I don’t see it,” said Sandoval. “You certainly have balls.”

  “Instead of making witty comments why don’t you get a security detail in place at the hangar. I’m sure you’ll be happy to equip them with whatever weapons you have.”

  “Yes, captain,” replied Sandoval.

  John headed out of the pit. For a moment he imagined himself being Superintendent Mortino as he chastised Sandoval and almost shuddered at the thought.

  “I am not that man,” muttered John.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Once Bret communicated to the alien vessel, it proceeded slowly towards PHOENIX, heading up to the hangar bay. The crew worked feverishly to prepare as best they could for the impending arrival of the alien craft. Sandoval wasted little time and had a security team armed and ready outside the hangar entrance. Both the hangar deck and command deck personnel monitored the alien vessel as it entered t
he bay and landed in the middle of the deck. John’s heart pounded as he and Professor Marlin approached the hangar doors. He was relieved to see Doctor Myers and some of his staff there among the security team and other crew.

  “The ship landed two minutes ago and has powered down,” said Julie, who was standing in front of the hangar doors like some sort of gatekeeper. “So far there’s been no indication of a door or hatch opening.”

  “It’s possible it will wait for you to step onto the deck,” said Marlin. “It may want to assess what it’s dealing with before committing to a meeting.”

  John nodded. He looked at Sandoval. “Unless that thing is sucking my brains out, I don’t want you and your team coming in at the first sign of a problem. Sit tight and move only when it’s obvious I’m in danger.”

  “Understood,” replied the chief.

  “The hangar deck environment has been isolated from the rest of the ship,” said Doctor Myers. “Regardless of what happens, you will need to be quarantined until we determine that any alien microbes you picked up aren’t harmful to humans.”

  “Got it,” said John. He looked at his first officer. “If the ship is in danger, I don’t want you to hesitate. You make the order.”

  “I will,” said Julie, fully aware he was referring to decompressing the bay as an emergency precaution.

  “Ok,” said John as he took a deep breath.

  “The intercom will be on the whole time so we can hear you talking to the alien,” reminded Julie.

  John nodded. He took a couple more breaths before getting the courage to raise his hand and hit the door panel. The hangar door slid open and John took a moment to look over at the alien vessel. It was now or never. He took one last breath and took two steps forward. As soon as he was inside the door closed behind him.

  John looked up at the control room and saw the hangar deck staff, their eyes transfixed on him. All of the sudden he felt like the main attraction in a sideshow. He felt weak at the knees and it took all his effort to maintain his composure. He couldn’t let the crew see him buckle; he had to demonstrate strength in the face of the unknown.

  John looked over to see the alien craft sitting in the middle of the hangar. There was no smoke billowing from underneath, something John expected from all the science fiction movies he watched as a kid. He couldn’t tell if parts of the craft were glowing or if it was just his imagination. What would emerge from there? Would anything come out? Hell, the vessel itself could be an artificial intelligence that falsely displayed a life form reading.

  John shook his head. Now was not the time to let his imagination run wild. He had to focus on the situation at hand. He put one foot forward, and then the next. Slowly, he made his way across the hangar, zigzagging his way towards the craft. He wanted to give whatever was in there ample time to size him up as well as give himself the opportunity to scope out the craft.

  The crew members outside the hangar doors moved to the observation room to watch John. Only Sandoval and his team remained in their position by the hangar door. Although John was the one putting his life on the line, the crew members in the observation room were afraid. None of them wanted any harm to befall their ship commander.

  Julie was concerned about John’s safety. Despite their differences, she had accepted that he was the captain of the PHOENIX. If the roles were reversed, she wouldn’t be out there risking her life on a first contact. She would be cautious, learning everything about the vessel and what might be inside before considering a face-to-face meeting. She didn’t know if John was following his instincts or trying to prove his mettle to the crew. Either way, it took a lot of courage to walk towards the alien ship.

  John took slow, methodical steps as he approached the dark vessel. He was hoping to see any activity coming from it: a door opening, a siren going off, anything. He wanted some indication that whatever was lurking inside knew he was there.

  A loud hissing sound suddenly emanated from the vessel, making John freeze in his tracks. The people in the hangar observation collectively held their breaths, anxious to see what would happen next.

  John saw a light appear from the section of the alien ship facing him. It was a door opening.

  “Please be friendly,” John whispered to himself like a scared child in the schoolyard. There was nothing he could do except wait. He was at the mercy of whatever was in there. He just hoped he made the right decision to go through with this stunt.

  The door settled on the floor and John eyes adjusted to the bright light emanating from the interior. At first he couldn’t see if there was anything inside, but then a figure blocked the light. John could only make out the outline of a dark figure, but he could tell it was big, very big.

  The figure moved towards John and it wasn’t until it reached the door’s threshold that the young captain got a good look at it.

  Julie was right, the alien was humanoid. The figure stood tall as it looked around the area. John figured it must be at least six foot five, which towered over his five foot ten stature. John wasn’t sure, but it almost seemed the creature had a beer belly. Its skin was a combination of white and black streaks, like a pattern of a zebra. There was hair on its head, but it was shaped in a manner that reminded John of a cat. He couldn’t see any ears, but the creature had two eyes, some squashed appendage that looked like a nose, and a mouth. Its clothes didn’t seem all that dissimilar to human attire. John associated what the alien wore to that of a coal miner on earth.

  If the creature noticed John, it did not acknowledge him immediately. It was busy looking around the hangar. Finally, its dark eyes focused on John. As soon as it looked at him, it smiled. John wondered if the smile meant the same thing to it as it did to a human. For all he knew the alien was thinking, “Oh goody, fresh meat to eviscerate.”

  “I’m Captain John Roberts of the TXS PHOENIX,” said John, deciding the best course of action was to stick with an official script.

  The alien opened its mouth and spoke. Although John wasn’t a linguistic expert, he recognized the alien words as the same sounds they heard on the command deck.

  The crew in the observation watched in eager anticipation as the captain and alien began talking to each other. So far so good, their captain wasn’t dead yet.

  “I don’t suppose you can try and figure out what its saying?” asked Julie to Marlin.

  “Are you kidding?” said the professor as she consulted her DAT, processing the alien words through the computer. “The alien will need to talk for hours before we have of chance of cracking its language.”

  “At least try to figure out how to say we mean you no harm,” said Julie.

  “I’m working on it,” said Marlin.

  John wasn’t sure what to do. The Academy never taught in much detail how to conduct a first contact scenario. All he could do was fall back to what Professor Marlin had told him and get the alien talking. “Do you understand what I’m saying?”

  The alien spoke again while at the same time walking down the ramp onto the hangar deck. John’s reaction was to run, but he held his ground. He needed to maintain a brave front.

  “If you understand what I’m saying, please nod your head like this,” John demonstrated. Without hesitation the alien nodded its head.

  “Amazing,” commented Marlin in the observation.

  “How the hell can it know what we’re saying?” asked Julie. The professor just shook her head. The professor mentioned before that the alien could have technology or a natural ability to interpret other languages, but Julie had a hard time grasping that concept.

  “Look,” said John, unsure how to proceed. “You understand me, but I don’t know what you’re saying. If there’s some way you can assist me in understanding you?”

  The alien spoke and walked towards John, reaching its hand from behind and producing a cylinder-like gadget. John was too curious to move and the creature quickly placed the device on John’s neck. The young captain felt the cool metal press against his skin and a
tingling sensation. As soon as the alien pulled the device away, John felt nauseous and dropped to his knees. His head was spinning so fast he thought he would pass out.

  Julie watched as the alien put something on John’s neck and reacted when he fell. “Captain,” she yelled as she ran out the observation room. Sandoval was monitoring the hangar from his DAT and signaled his team, who were all dressed in quarantine suits. They raced into the hangar with weapons activated, ready to save their captain.

  John, despite the spinning in his head, maintained his thought process. He heard the security team race in and held his hand up. “Stop,” he managed to blurt out. He didn’t want to display humans as a skittish species prone to reacting with violence even if, for all he knew, this was the alien’s way of killing him. No, he wouldn’t jump to that conclusion. There had to be another explanation.

  The security team heeded John’s order, although their guns were aimed squarely at the alien. For its part, the alien merely stood and watched John as if waiting for him.

  The dizziness in John’s head began to subside. He looked up at the alien, trying to show he wasn’t so easy to knock down.

  “My apologies for the discomfort, but this should resolve our ability to dialog. The vertigo should pass in a few nans.”

  Was John delirious? Did he actually understand the alien? “You spoke…English?”

  The alien looked at him curiously. “The micron does not translate all our words correctly,” it said. “What is English?”

  “I can understand you,” said John.

  “Good,” said the alien as it offered its furry hand to John. “Then we have overcome our communication hurdle.”

  John looked at the alien’s four digit hand for a moment. Well, it hadn’t killed him. He took the alien’s hand and was hoisted back on his feet. Its skin felt unusually warm.

  “Captain,” said Julie, running into the hangar bay. Despite her concern for him it didn’t prevent her from taking the necessary precaution and donning a quarantine suit. “Are you alright?”

  “I’m fine,” said John in a reassuring tone. He looked at the alien as he rubbed his neck. “The micron you injected?”