by James Palmer
“All right.” She returned his hug warmly, obviously frightened by what they just went through.
“Let’s go back to the command deck ; I’ll talk to everyone now.”
“Okay.” She replied.
Back on the command deck a minute later, Mark had Ariel cue up the comm system. “Crewmen of the Cagliostro, this is Mark Johnson, your Captain or boss or whatever you want to call me,” he began, “I want to talk to you all about what we just went through. We were in a battle with a much larger star ship. We won, as I’m sure every one of you knows. Whether we just got lucky, or we won on smarts, I don’t know, but the bottom line is we won. It’s not something to be easily overlooked, or ignored. But we cannot let that go to our heads. To be honest I do not know what we are facing out here in the slightest. What lies in store for us is a mystery for me as well as for you. What I do know is that there will definitely be more trouble ahead of us. But there is no turning back. I know, we are not a military ship, but at the moment we are all that stands between our planet, Earth, and I don’t know what. I do know there is something going on, and whatever it is, it’s big. Big enough to be a danger to all of us and our families. No matter what, we have to see this through. Back home, everyone is counting on us, even if they do not know it. We have a mission to complete, let’s do it as safely and smartly as possible. Johnson out.” He motioned, and Ariel clicked off the comm unit, then Mark Johnson slumped back in his chair for a moment, steepling his fingers in front of his eyes while deep in thought. Out of everyone aboard Mark knew the most about what they were getting into, and as he had just begun to realize, in truth, he knew very little indeed.
The battle they had just fought did do one thing, and that was to raise his level of trepidation for what lie ahead.
Chapter 4
The Cagliostro sat in stationary orbit behind a moon on the frozen outskirts of an unknown solar system. The command crew sat within the command room, as Johnson began to brief them. “The fourth planet from this sun is an Earth-like world. It is in fact slightly hotter than Earth, and appears to be somewhat arid. It also seems to be a hub of activity. We have scanned dozens of ships coming and going from that planet. It is some sort of hot spot for activity. We have been monitoring all sub space communications in and out of that planet, and what we’ve been able to ascertain is that this planet is a commerce site for this galaxy. It’s sort of a galactic hub. There is a large area that appears to be a military base located half the world away from the commerce area. As far as cities go, the commerce site is smaller than, say, New York, but it has a large space port nearby, on the outskirts of the area. We’ll be taking the ‘Stargrazer’ there. The Cag will remain here behind this world hidden from that planet.”
“How will we gain access to this place?” Red asked, pensively.
“Ariel’s been scanning frequencies and through our translator we’ve been able to ascertain what we need to be allowed access. That part of it won’t be a problem.”
“Well that brings up another thing, how are we going to communicate with these people?” Eddie asked.
“I can answer that,” Ariel interrupts, “Our suits have a translator circuit built in. we’ll speak English, they’ll answer in their language and we’ll hear it in English. They will hear their language. Whatever the heck it is.”
“How’d you come up with something like this, Mark? Heck how’d you even know where to begin?”
“Mark grinned boyishly, “Eddie, do you remember the old SETI program that had been searching for alien life for about five or six decades? The ‘Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence’ had been sending queries into deep space over that time, and had been getting some replies, but didn’t realize it until much later. I fed their data for the past half century through a mainframe I had developed that’s sole purpose was language skills. It ‘learned’ everything SETI had ‘heard’ for years and was able to decipher certain things based upon what could be considered verbal punctuation. That same technology and what was deciphered previously is in our suits nano-computers, which are of course made of nano-bytes.”
“What kind of place are we going to? You say it’s a commerce spot, but what else do we know about it?” Red changed the subject.
“We really don’t know anything about what we’re walking into. Everyone packs a weapon, but keep them under your jackets, for now. If they try to take them from us, we reconvene at the Stargrazer and wait for everyone else’s return. Then we all get the hell out of there. I’m, not allowing us to walk into an unknown city on an unknown planet without being armed. If we have to, we’ll figure this out another way. I have to warn you all though, I’m putting us out there as targets as much as we are there looking for info. I want whoever is gunning for us to know we are there.”
“So we have big bulls-eyes on our backs.” Red observed.
“Pretty much, Red. We have to make sense of all of this. This may be the only way to do that.”
Robinski nodded in agreement and sat back quietly.
“Anyone else have any questions or concerns?”
No one replied, as they looked at each other about the table.
“I’m not going to candy coat this for any of you. This is going to be dangerous.”
They all nodded in understanding.
“All right. Gear up. Meet at the shuttle dock. The Stargrazer is being prepped right now, as we speak. We launch in fifty five minutes. See you all at the ‘Grazer.”
They all stood and exited the room talking amongst themselves. Ariel sidled up to Mark as the room emptied. “You know we’re walking into a target range, right? This can’t get any more dangerous.”
“I already said that didn’t I?” he answered with some annoyance.
“Relax tiger; I’m on your side.”
“I know Ari. I wish I didn’t need you at my side, but I do. Your telepathy will be a plus down there.”
“Don’t worry about me; I can take care of myself,” she replied as she pulled her gun from its holster and checked its charge pack.
“Of that I have no doubt. There’s goin to be a lot we’ll have to watch down there. Do your best to screen out random thoughts and of course only look for thoughts centering on us.”
“You do know we don’t even know what the indigenous species looks like, right?”
Mark sighed, “Of course I do, Ari. C’mon let’s get ready, maybe I’ll even help you get dressed, if you’re a bad girl that is.”
“Oooo, I can be bad, I can be very bad.” She fluffed her long, wavy blonde hair and cooed in his ear as they exited the conference room. All the while Mark Johnson fought a feeling of overwhelming dread as they entered Ariel’s quarters.
Less than an hour later the entire command crew was gathered in the shuttle bay as Johnson and Ariel joined them. There were several small shuttle ships within the docking bay, and one larger, sleeker craft. It had a rounded nose and wings that jutted out from its sides and swept back on rounded curves resolving in points at the back of the ship. The craft was a gleaming beauty; beneath it two of the magno-disc engines spun slowly as pre-flight testing was being completed. The ship was large enough to hold six crew and supplies for any extended spaceflight, including bunks and sleeping quarters.
“Are we ready to go?” Mark asked as he walked up the entry ramp into the smaller ship.
“Just about.” Dan Sledge replied from within the Stargrazer. “Performing final pre-flight checklist right now.”
“Very good Dan. Let’s get aboard and settled in.”
The others followed, carrying duffle bags over their shoulders, filled with a few days’ clothes and gear.
Within minutes they were strapped into their chairs on the command deck of the small ship which was really only one level, with the storage space and sleeping quarters behind the command deck or flight bridge.
Mark and Dan sat in the two forward chairs and worked virtual control interfaces powering up the ships engines. Instantly the ship rose up of
f the deck and slowly moved towards what appeared to be a garage door, which began to rise as they approached it.
Mark thumbed the communicator control and instantly was in contact with the Cagliostro’s command deck. “Mr. Jefferson, we are about to leave the Cagliostro, are you firmly in command of my ship?”
The view screen on the console before Mark sprang to life, and Miles Jefferson, a young black man smiled as his visage filled the screen. Behind him, the secondary command crew began running through the Cagliostro’s diagnostics as every command crew did upon starting their shift. “We’re all set on our end Captain, we’ll take care of your ship, I promise. Good hunting, boss!”
Mark smiled aboard the Stargrazer and he replied, “Thanks Miles, hopefully we’ll be the hunters and not the huntees.”
With that the Stargrazer exited the Cagliostro’s shuttle deck and disappeared into the depths of space, accelerating towards the fourth planet from the systems sun.
“Anything we oughta know about this place?” Dan Sledge asked.
“It’s hot down there.” Red replied, “Like a hundred and five in the shade, but it’s like Arizona, a dry heat.” He snickered sarcastically.
“Our uniforms will keep us cool enough,” Mark began, stealing an annoyed glance at Red, “the thermal venting system will pull the heat from our bodies keeping us at least ten degrees cooler than our surroundings. It’s not much but it’s better than nothing. The ships hatch will be code locked to each of our suits. Only we can enter and exit. They’ll have to cut through the hatch to get into her. So we should be safe from thieves and spies, I hope.” He added.
The Stargrazer sped towards the planet in question, exiting hyper-warp just past the planet’s first moons trajectory. Casually Ariel thumbed up the comm and began speaking, “This is the ‘Stargrazer’ requesting permission to land at the spaceport in region 2.5 on planetary grid.”
There was no answer at first. She tilted her head quizzically and shrugged her shoulders towards Mark, who waved his hand as if to say ‘relax’. The comm unit suddenly sprang to life as alien words were barked from it several times before the translator was able to catch up, matching inflection with syntax, until the beings voice on the other side suddenly became clear.
“This is space port command for spaceport Z-59; please state your business here,” the voice ordered.
Ariel immediately replied, “This is the Spaceship Stargrazer requesting permission to land. We are seeking additional provisions for our extended journey back to our own solar system, as well as a few days rest on a planet’s surface among other races and peoples.”
The voice was silent a moment, then two, as if having a conversation with someone nearby before finally replying, “Very well Stargrazer, proceed to landing pad N-157. A landing beam will guide you in.”
“Thank you, Spaceport command.” Ariel answered before thumbing off the communications unit.
“We’re in.” She offered to Mark.
“Yeah, I know.” He paused a second then added, “That’s what I’m worried about.”
“Why are you worried?” Ariel asked.
“It seems a bit too easy. They have no idea who we are or where we’re from, yet they have no trouble at all inviting us in. I expected a bit more resistance to our landing here, that’s all.”
The landing beam made contact with the little ship before it broke atmosphere and helped direct them as they began its descent. The Stargrazer descended through the atmosphere, as the heat of reentry made the wings glow on either side of the sleek craft, turning them a bright yellow with heat, before they finally cooled as the ship slowed enough and vectored into its heading towards the spaceport.
Soon, the ‘grazer was slowing enough that it shed all of the excess heat it had built up upon re-entry. Some had been converted to energy and stored, but the powerful magno-disc engines created energy for power as well as flight ability. It was a win-win science. Within minutes the ship hovered above a landing spot and descended for a feather soft vertical landing.
“Should we take our bags with us?” Eddie asked.
“No, the plan is to stay here tonight, within the ship. I’m not interested in looking for whatever passes as an inn at least for a day or two. Let’s do some shopping and see what supplies we can actually come up with in this place. Everyone take your universal scanners with you and scan everything you consider buying or whatever the heck we’re going to call it here. We have to know what is in everything we’re touching here. Again our suits will protect us, to a point.”
They all nodded silently as they clipped their holsters to their uniforms and slid their energy pistols into them. The universal scanners went on their left hip.
“Everyone ready?” Mark asked.
They all replied affirmatively. Mark touched the ramp and door control. Instantly the door slid up and the ramp slid down to the ground. They walked out smiling and chatting amiably amongst themselves, putting on a perfect display of a crew that needed some time away from being cooped up in a small ship for a long time.
Around them, human-like aliens worked about the other spacecrafts parked in stalls surrounding the Stargrazer. Their skin color was dark, but purple, not what Earthmen would associate with a dark colored skin. Their hair, if you could call it that, looked more like varying shades of lettuce then hair. The workers momentarily eyed the Stargrazer’s crew suspiciously, and then returned to their business.
Mark punched a code into the ships door lock pad and the hatchway sealed up behind them, leaving the ramp to the ground in place.
“Man, you were right about this place being hot.” Eddie wiped his brow before replacing his blue baseball cap once they were out of the Stargrazer’s shade.
“Yeah ain’t that the truth.” Sledge dropped a pair of sunglasses in place, and popped a baseball cap atop his own head. The blue and white caps read “USS Stargrazer”.
“Let’s head into that market we saw from above as we were landing. Remember, let’s not look for trouble, I have a feeling it’s going to find us easy enough.”
“If it does I’ll be ready.” Red fingered his gun within its holster.
“Take it easy there, Wyatt Earp,” Dan chided, “We may not run into any trouble an’ if we do, I got yer back. So don’t sweat it and let’s not look for it.”
Red nodded stoically to Dan as they continued to walk. The streets were packed sand and the bright sandy color permeated everything as far as the eye could see.
“This ain’t exactly a garden spot, huh boss?” Eddie asked.
“Not in the least Eddie, not in the least.”
Ariel kept quiet but was doing far more than ignoring her comrade’s banter. She gently probed those around them as they walked, listening in with her psychic ability for anything that would be of use to them.
The group walked up to what could loosely be termed as a supermarket, which they entered through the deflector field doors. The doors served two purposes, one the deflector fields kept insects and other vermin out, and it also kept the air conditioned air in.
“What is this place?” Eddie asked as he looked around.
“What? The town?” Dan answered.
“Yeah, weird place. Lots of different species walking around, most are humanoid, but some definitely aren’t.”
“Not what I’m talking about Dan. This town, what is it? I mean it’s a rundown spaceport town, I get that, but something else is going on here. People live here. I’m seeing all run down one story buildings and homes. But there are a lot of ships in that spaceport. Nothing big, mostly ships about the size of the ‘Grazer. But something draws them here. What is it?”
“Good question Eddie,” Mark replied quietly, “Ariel, anything?”
“No. Not a thing. People are curious about us, but that’s about it. I’m not reading any hostile thoughts so far, just curiosity. Oh and by the way, this food here seems to be mostly edible for us, so far. Lots of different fruits here that resemble earthly melons and orange
s and the like. Some meats here appear to be this world’s equivalent of cattle. Again, edible. Some other stuff I just came across I wouldn’t touch.”
“Okay Ari, Thanks.” Mark answered, “Let’s maybe not be so inconspicuous now.”
“Whaddaya got in mind boss?” Red asked.
“What’s the best place to go for information on a new town, to get the lay of the land and what not?”
“Where else?” Red replied, “A bar.”
“Bingo.” Mark winked as he exited the market.
Ariel paid for the few items they picked up with gold coins Mark had them each carry. Gold it seemed was still the universal coin, literally.
A few seconds later Ariel and Red, who had stayed with her within the shop, re-joined the rest of the crew outside.
“So where‘re we gonna find a bar in this dump?” Dan asked as he moved his big frame through the crowded streets.
“That’s easy Danny-boy,” Mark replied with a sly grin, “Just follow the music.”
The five adventurers did just that, wending their way through busy, sand covered streets clogged with dusty people. They exited into a wide thoroughfare where what could only peripherally be called music could be heard from a number of establishments. One gathering spot was larger than the rest, and seemed the busiest, with the most raucous crowd.
“What do you think?” Red asked Mark.
“I think this is the place we want.”
The group of five entered the establishment and looked around. It was a dimly lit, smoke filled place, packed with different aliens. Plenty wore different uniforms, some just dusty work type clothes. A band played something that was barely melodic to say the least, and which seemed mostly ignored by the clientele who sat in small clusters and talked amongst themselves at dark tables. A few of the purple skinned indigenous females were out on the dance floor with a few men of differing species.
Johnson led his people to a round table in a corner of the bar. They all sat down.