“I’ll just go in and do a quick look,” said Begsha.
“Negative,” replied Julie. “I don’t want you going in there alone.”
“Commander, I just saw something run into the cave.”
“What do you mean you saw something?”
“I think I saw a small figure running inside.”
“What? An animal?” asked Nimix.
“I don’t know,” said Begsha. “I’ll check it out.”
“Hold position until we get some people to you,” said Julie. “It’s for your own safety.”
“Fine,” came a despondent reply. Julie could tell Begsha was not happy with her order.
“I’ll have a team sent over in fifteen minutes. Olson out.” She looked at Nimix. “Is he going to stay put?”
“I hope so,” said Nimix. “Professor Begsha has been pretty vocal about being the first to discover new life on another world, but I don’t think he would risk his own safety for that distinction.”
The scientists were like children and Julie felt like a babysitter, telling them no when they asked for something she couldn’t authorize. She was constantly telling them why things had to be done a certain way. It would have made her job so much easier if PHOENIX had been staffed with only military personnel.
Julie’s DAT beeped, indicating it was time to check in with PHOENIX.
“Base camp to PHOENIX.”
“Go ahead,” came the voice of John over her pip.
“Captain, I’m uploading our latest data to the ship,” said Julie. As she spoke, Professor Nimix initiated the upload to PHOENIX’s main computer.
“Anything new to report?” asked John.
“We’ve still got teams spread out conducting their surveys,” said Julie. “I just got off the line with Professor Begsha of the botany department. He’s located a cave in his assigned grid area. I’m arranging to send a team over to investigate it.”
“He’s by himself?”
“Yes, captain.”
“Commander, when everyone comes back to PHOENIX we’re going to have a talk with all the department heads about planetary survey protocols.” Begsha was only one of several scientists who decided to go off exploring on their own during the mission. Nimix couldn’t help but smile at the captain’s comment.
“Understood, sir,” said Julie. “How’s it going up there?”
“Fighter groups are still doing patrols of the system,” said John. “Long range sensors have not picked up any signs of passing spacecraft, Screen or otherwise.”
Julie was relieved to hear that. “Our storage tankers down here will be full by the end of the day. I’d like to send them up to PHOENIX to get them through quarantine.”
“I’ll notify medical and microbiology to be ready for the delivery.”
Suddenly, the proximity alarms on both Julie and Professor Nimix’s DATs went off.
“Commander,” said Nimix. “An emergency beacon just went off.”
“PHOENIX,” said Julie. “Did you copy that?”
“Affirmative,” said John. “We’re picking it up here. Beacon ID belongs to Jerry Begsha. Why am I not surprised, commander?”
“Damn it,” muttered Julie. Like John, she already knew the scientist had gone into the cave. “I told him to stay put.”
“Nimix to Begsha.” There was no answer. “Nimix to Begsha. Jerry, please respond.”
“We’re not showing any disruption in communications up here,” said John.
“He may be injured or the cave’s composition is preventing a signal from getting through,” said Private Nicolai.
“If we’re picking up the beacon signal we should be able to raise him,” said John.
Julie realized John had a good point. “Professor Nimix, Doctor Roth is on duty for medical. I want her and a two person security detail at the shuttle in two minutes.”
Nimix nodded and took off.
“I’ll have Bret continue to try and raise Begsha,” said John. “We’ll keep an open line with your shuttle.”
“Understood,” said Julie.
John clenched his fists. He felt useless on PHOENIX. He should be down there helping with whatever trouble the botany professor might have gotten into, but Julie was right. He was the captain and needed to stay on board. This was their first planetary survey and, with all the problems they had conducting it, the risk was too great for the captain to be down there.
The captain looked over to Bret, who shook his head, indicating he hadn’t raised Begsha. John hoped the botany professor was fine, even though he was mad at him for ignoring protocol.
The rescue shuttle kept an open comm link with PHOENIX as it arrived to the cave. The shuttle pilot reported that Julie, Doctor Roth, and the two security officers entered the cave. The team kept an open line with the shuttle through their pips, but as soon as they entered the cave all contact was lost. Both the shuttle and PHOENIX tried to reestablish contact, but to no avail.
John felt his nerves creeping up on him. It was all he could do not to fly down to the planet with a heavily armed security team. Julie wasn’t one to ignore military protocol. She must have realized her team was out of contact with the shuttle. John knew his executive officer could take care of herself, but it unnerved him not to hear from her. It was strange, but her presence on the ship had become a comfort for him, and John wasn’t afraid to admit it. Only a few months ago, as they were leaving the solar system, John dreaded having her as his second-in-command and was convinced it would be disastrous. Instead, they managed to develop a good working relationship. Not only that, John now considered her a friend. It was as if their years of animosity at the Academy never happened.
Julie and her team were missing for the moment and there was nothing John could do about it. He needed to focus on his role as captain and minimize the risk to the others still on the planet. He ordered all teams to return to the planetary base camp, pack up everything, and return to PHOENIX. Most of the teams balked at the order, but John was adamant. A few questioned his order, but quickly obeyed hearing the anger in the captain’s voice when he repeated himself.
With the evacuation underway, the captain paced back and forth on the command deck. Drix observed the captain’s behavior and could tell he was upset.
“You must not be concerned that something has happened to them, John Captain,” said the alien. “There could be a simple explanation why we have not heard from them.”
“Drix is right,” said Alex’sis, who had recently returned from the hangar deck. “There’s nothing to indicate they’re in trouble.”
“I keep telling myself that,” said John. “But we haven’t heard from them, and that worries me. Julie wouldn’t just ignore standard procedure on checking in.”
“Commander Olson is resilient,” said Alex’sis.
“Maybe so, but that doesn’t make me feel better.” John leaned on the operations table, tapping his finger on it. “I can’t wait any longer. Contact Sandoval, have him ready a security team for immediate…”
“Captain,” said Bret. “I’m getting a signal. It’s Commander Olson.”
“Put her through,” John said. He looked at Alex’sis and Drix with a smile of relief.
“Told you she could take care of herself,” said Alex’sis.
“I’ve never been so happy to be proven wrong,” said John.
Bret patched the signal through the command deck speakers. The sound of static came over them as Bret worked to clear up the transmission.
“Commander Olson to PHOENIX,” said Julie.
“This is PHOENIX,” said John. “Julie, are you alright?”
“We’re fine, sir. Everyone is present and accounted for, including Professor Begsha. I’m uploading a visual link so you can see us.”
“Receiving the link now,” said Bret. He punched up the display and an image of what appeared to be a city appeared over the operations table.
It was breathtaking. Various crystallized objects dotted the background view
. John could make out what looked like openings in most of the structures and concluded the structures must be buildings. They varied in size and shape: triangles, rectangles, even domes.
“Are you getting all this?” asked Julie.
“We are,” said John. He looked over to Drix. “Have you ever seen anything like this before?”
“I am unfamiliar with the constructs,” said Drix, who seemed equally enthralled by the scene.
Soon the image changed to show Julie and the other expedition members together. Like she said, all were accounted for. But something caught his eye. Several more individuals stood in the background, all dressed in what appeared to be white robes.
“Julie,” said John. “Who else is with you?”
“Oh,” said Julie. “We also made some friends down here.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
The last seven hours flew by like a blur. With the exception of the rescue team in the cave, everyone was back on PHOENIX. John wanted Julie and her group to return for decontamination and debriefing, but she insisted on remaining in the cave to learn more about the aliens they encountered as she was sure they were in no danger. The captain deferred to her judgment.
John began making arrangements to go down to the planet, but Chief Sandoval wasn’t having any of it. He reminded John that putting both the captain and executive officer in the same risky situation was a huge violation of military procedures. He made such an issue about it that John begrudgingly backed off. But he had another idea. He proposed a video conference with the leader of this newly discovered alien race. Julie communicated his wishes to the aliens, who accepted the proposal.
A day later, John had assembled those he wanted at the meeting in the board room: Alex’sis, Sandoval, Drix, Doctor Myers, chief biologist Michael Candor, sociologist Michelle Tomas, and psychologist Neeman Harthy. It was agreed that John would act as spokesperson, with everyone else acting as observers.
“Computer, open communication link Priority Alpha One,” said Alex’sis.
“Link established,” replied the computer. A visual display popped up on the monitor behind John. Sitting in what appeared to be crystal chairs were Julie and one of the aliens.
The alien was humanoid, like Drix. But, unlike the Cresorian, she looked remarkably human. Her skin appeared the same consistency and color as a Caucasian human. Her hair was long and a vibrant blonde color, accentuated by sea blue eyes.
What caught John’s attention was her beauty, it was stunning. Her face had all the same features as a human: nose, mouth, two eyes. The only difference was a cross-like protrusion in the center of her forehead. The line that ran horizontally bent slightly downward at the ends. Although she looked young, her face seemed to have the wisdom of the ages written all over it. She appeared calm, as if meeting an alien race was nothing new to her.
John cleared his throat before speaking. “Hello?” Both the alien and Julie looked at John, Julie smiling to see her captain again.
“Captain.”
“How are you, commander?” John wanted to ask if the aliens were mistreating her, but he knew this was a diplomatic situation that dictated he choose his words carefully.
“I’m fine, captain. We all are.” She motioned to the alien. “This is Thresha, spokesperson for the Aldarians.
“Spokesperson?” asked John. “Not the leader?”
“I have been appointed to speak for my people,” said Thresha. Her voice was as soothing as her demeanor. “Leadership is only needed for our spiritual guidance, which is provided by our Yearden. As we have not had contact with others in many cycles, it was decided to designate one to speak for us.”
John had no idea what Yearden meant, and assumed it was a proper name the micron couldn’t translate. “My name is John Roberts, captain of the human starship PHOENIX. The individuals behind me are members of my crew. As Commander Olson has already told you, they’re here to observe our meeting.”
“That dark one on the right has physical features distinctly different from all of you,” said Thresha. John turned and saw she was referring to Drix.
“I am a Cresorian,” said Drix. “The PHOENIX found my ship after it was damaged. John Captain was kind enough to invite me to stay on board.”
Thresha looked at Drix for a long time. “Your demeanor reveals the kindness these people have demonstrated towards you.” She then looked at John. “Your decision to bring Drix to our first meeting reveals the extent you wish to allay any fears I may have about your people.”
Wow! This Thresha was good. She had only just met the human race and was already showing skill in interpreting their behavior.
“You have me at a disadvantage,” was all John could say.
“Not at all,” said Thresha. “When meeting someone in good faith for the first time, it is natural to try to make the encounter comfortable. Commander Olson and her team’s actions on the planet reflect your people’s desire to have a peaceful exchange.”
John wanted to high five Julie for doing so well on her first alien encounter. “Has Julie…, Commander Olson, told you about our mission?”
“She has provided me an abbreviated history of your people, and your desire to seek out the Screen race that has threatened you for so many cycles.” John wasn’t convinced that revealing their primary mission was a good idea, but Julie had commented that trusting the Aldarians seemed natural, and so far John was picking up the same vibe. Something about her made you want to believe her.
“I’d be interested in learning about your race’s history,” said John.
“Which we need to table for now,” said Julie, interjecting herself in the conversation. “We have a more immediate problem. The cave where the Aldarian city is located is unstable. It’s deep underground and the area has been subjected to minor tremors over the years. Professor Begsha was on the path to the city when a tremor struck. He lost his balance and fell, breaking both his legs.”
“We were able to ease his pain until Commander Olson arrived,” said Thresha.
“Doctor Roth was able to mend his bones so he can travel back to the surface,” said Julie. “But he needs follow up treatment when we get back to the ship.”
“How active are these tremors?” asked John.
“They are a normal occurrence,” said Thresha. “Our city can withstand them with ease. They have never concerned us.”
“But according to our geologists the cave itself is unstable and will eventually collapse on top of the city,” said Julie.
“How long?” asked John.
“They’re lucky it hasn’t already collapsed,” said Julie. “Our engineers reviewed the data and concluded the cave could be reinforced, but they estimate it would take well over a year to secure it.”
John looked at Thresha. “You had to be aware of the cave’s instability. Why haven’t you fixed it?”
“There are only three hundred of us left,” said Thresha. “The knowledge of our technology was lost when most of my people passed on. The few of us who have knowledge of structural design concluded the danger was minimal.”
“They have some pretty advanced technology down there,” said Julie. “They’ve allowed us to examine some of their equipment and transmit our scanning data to PHOENIX for review by our engineers and Drix. The stuff’s pretty advanced. It would take years to decipher how it works.”
John looked at Drix. “You could figure it out faster than the rest of us.”
“In time,” said Drix. “However, even for me, it would take many cycles to learn the mechanics of their technology.”
John felt he was stuck in a corner. On the one hand, he didn’t want to leave the Aldarians living with the threat of the cave collapsing. On the other hand, there was no way he could justify keeping PHOENIX here for a year trying to save their city. It was a classic military scenario: do you stay to help three hundred people or continue a mission that could save billions? It was a decision John faced at the Academy in simulations. Back then, he had no problem mak
ing the choice to help the masses over a select few. Now that he was confronting this in the real world, he found it difficult to make a decision. He wanted to help the Aldarians, but how could he justify tabling their primary mission for a year?
Luckily, a new development came up to make his choice easier.
“Command deck to captain,” came the voice of Kevin over the board room’s speakers.
“Go ahead,” said John.
“Captain, our long range scanners just picked up two Screen fighters on approach to this system.” Everyone in the board room became alarmed.
“How long?”
“They’re not moving very fast. At their current speed, they’ll enter the system in two days,” said Kevin.
“Damn it! Standby.” John looked at Julie. “You hear that?”
Julie nodded. “Do we stay and fight?”
“The Screen will pick up our presence well before they arrive to this system,” said Drix. “As your vessel is able to repel attacks from the Screen, they will likely contact other ships for support.”
“The more, the better,” spoke up Sandoval. “This will give us the opportunity to disable at least one of their ships to tow in for examination. We might even be able to capture a Screen alive for interrogation.”
“The Screen will want to know why PHOENIX remains to defend this planet,” said Drix. “They know this is not your homeworld.”
“He makes sense,” said Professor Harthy. “Assuming the Screen have the same drives as humans, they will want to know what’s compelling us to stay here. They will scour the planet…”
“Until they find the Aldarians,” said John. The Screen would want to know why PHOENIX would remain to defend an alien world and would continue to send ships here until they could get to the planet’s surface.
“Thresha, if we stay here, the Screen won’t stop until they destroy us,” said John. “Given their aggressive nature towards other races, they will take what they want from you and probably kill you.”
“We have not had contact with others for many cycles,” said Thresha. “It is possible they would not locate our city.”
“We did,” said Julie. “And, I’m afraid to admit, the Screen have a bit more experience in space exploration than we do. I’m not confident you could remain hidden from them.”
Phoenix Among The Stars (Exodus) Page 12