A Planet's Search For History

by Burbaugh, MF;

  Lucy said they appeared unarmed and would clearly have seen us withdrawing most of our equipment.

  El made a snap decision. “Eldon, take Reta and Lucy and let’s see what happens.”

  I put on a tight zip-suit, clearly showing I hid no weapons. Reta did the same. Lucy wore her silver suit with bright red sneakers, as she called them.

  It took us a while to traverse the rough terrain as we headed for them. As we neared Lucy decided to stay back. She looked a lot better than the old clunking one-armed machine, but she still clearly was not human. I saw one head peeking down at us so I held up my hands and slowly turned, showing I had no weapons. Reta did too. We slowly moved forward and soon we stood twenty feet from them. Two males, what looked like light cotton or wool jackets in a camo hunting design. No weapons. They seemed to be sniffing the air—heightened smell?

  Reta sub’d that she received nothing from either of them.

  “Friends,” I said.

  I heard something that sounded like a couple words from one as the other looked at him, and then they shook their heads, turned, and went to the machine. I noticed they’d already packed up the scope in dull brown boxes. Soon they were riding to the west and disappeared from sight.

  Lucy said, “Well, could have been better, but wasn’t bad.”

  We turned and headed back to camp.

  “Was that a language he spoke?” Reta asked.

  Lucy said, “Not enough data. Could have been grunts or just a ‘let’s go’. I am not getting any form of radio or video that I yet recognize. Still analyzing it all but so far it seems to be just data, numerical data at that. I’ve seen octal and even some binary and hexadecimal base systems going by, but nothing I can link without a base rule to apply.”

  Once back, El was filled in and she thought it went well. No hostile actions noted. We’d wait a few days and see what happens before we pressed our presence.

  By the next morning it was just a few guards and the chopper and defense rigs left, along with the command staff.

  We sat at a table in the mess tent, the sides rolled up, as the morning was cool but nice.

  Garth said, “Company coming from the west folks.”

  I saw a bit of dust and the same type of cart heading down the hill toward the camp. El had the 20MMs manned but it was made clear not to fire unless ordered. It was decided Reta and I’d wait for them outside. We walked to the west about twenty yards and stood waiting.

  It was occupied by two men, but different from whom we saw earlier. They looked older—one had a white tuft and the other was streaked.

  As they came close, Reta said, “Fear.”

  “Us?”

  “No, but the old one is very afraid of something.” She appeared to be concentrating on them, then shook her head. “Some type of strong mental block, yet I feel they aren’t aware of it.”

  “Okay, let us see what they do,” El sub’d back to us.

  They pulled up and stopped ten feet away. The older man led the way toward us, hands in the air a bit, he was also unarmed. I raised mine as well, more to hope they understood we meant no harm.

  When we were four feet apart he sniffed the air as the other sat on the ground. I had the impression they were submitting to us, like surrender. I sat and had Reta sit next to me. They looked to her, and me, then each other.

  I can’t describe what I heard— clicks, clacks, and pitched noises. I held up my hand to stop. They did. I said, “I’m sorry, we don’t understand. Let me bring my translator forward.” I turned and pointed to Lucy who slowly came forward and sat on the other side. I heard her pop a few clacks back then she was holding her hand up and clearly indicating numbers, one to ten. They made noises and soon she was catching on to some of it.

  El sent Tally with a tray of water glasses and sugar cookies until we had an idea of their systems. As Reta and I both ate one and sipped the water, the younger man tried both. He smiled at the cookie.

  Though we sat there almost an hour I was diligently trying to appear interested as Reta laughed. “Hard isn’t it?” she sub’d.

  Lucy looked to us both a second. “Sorry, as complicated a language as I’ve ever seen. Oh, so you know, I think they know of the MKs.” She immediately went back to clicks and clacks.

  After another thirty minutes they stood and left. We stood and watched them drive off into the desert tundra.

  “They have a small village outside the city. This is not their home planet—all I could tell is that it no longer exists. I think maybe the MKs already hit it. Anyway, they will meet us in the town tomorrow. I think he said it was okay to bring the machine.” She pointed to the chopper.

  El asked, “What did they say?”

  “Numbers, one to a hundred. Food, water, female, male, and they know I’m a computer. About all at this time.”

  I had MK nightmares once again that night. Been a while. I sat up with a start and Lucy was sitting there with Reta.

  “I think I have nightmares too. I know I dream at least—of course I don’t sleep, just rest my circuits,” Lucy said. “Reta was awakened by yours and we were debating if to wake you or not.”

  “We were in the fort and losing bad. I was about to shoot my wife to stop them from getting her,” I explained.

  “Ah, let us hope it is just a dream then,” Lucy said, and smiled her metal smile.

  “Time?” I asked.

  “Hour to sunrise,” Reta said.

  “Reta, I forgot, where is your husband? Guard force?” I asked.

  “No, he stayed home with the other wives. Julia was due to deliver any day.”

  “Oh, okay. I wonder if mine delivered yet.” I smiled remembering how close she was.

  She patted my leg and smiled. “I just hope we didn’t do wrong bringing them into this messed up world.”

  We went to the mess tent, finding the cooks hard at it. Some eggs and toast and biscuits and gravy waited for those with the desire to eat. Coffee and tea were hot and ready as well. It was still early, but a few people were there. Tici and El among them.

  I had some biscuits and gravy and toast and coffee and sat at El’s table after she indicated she wished my presence. Reta had eggs and joined us, as did Lucy. A few minutes went by and we were joined by Tally and Garth.

  El said, “Lucy thinks they know of the MKs. I want to start bringing all the defense forces back in today. If they are already here we need protection. Lucy, Garth, Eldon, Reta and I will go to their town on the chopper. If we are detained or killed Tici will initiate responses as necessary.” She looked to him. She saw concern in his eyes but he just nodded.

  “Lucy, I want info and fast. Where are the MKs? How many people are on this planet and what are their defense capabilities? Learning their flowers smell sweet is fine but I want hard data before you even find out their word for sex, we clear?”

  “Yes, ma’am. Their language is based on sound and its many nuances, as complicated as I could even imagine, but I will do it as fast as I can. I’m taking a reader along with the MK battles and other videos to see their responses. Reta gets some weak readings but says they have a natural block. Still, she does get some readings.”

  “When the MKs come they will be in force, that is my concern. How much time?”

  “Yes, El, I know, we all have the same concerns,” Lucy said, and Tici smiled.

  “She is wound up tight as a lizard about to attack a scorpion, knowing it has no chance,” he said, and we all grinned.

  “I…Never mind. Garth, warm the chopper, thirty minutes we go,” she said.

  Reta said, “No Tici, I think she wants to fight, to avenge. I don’t read it; I feel it, because it is what I also want.”

  “If they are willing to help we may be at just the right spot to start just that, Reta. Let us hope Honor is watching and gives us her blessing,” El said, moving to a more whimsical time in the not too distant past.

  We chatted about data and supplies as Tici passed the word, “Set a tight camp, full def
ense and bring in the troops.”

  ~~~

  The little town of huts was over an hour flight time away. Those people must have driven a long time to get to us. We landed a mile away, far enough that none would think we were hostile. They didn’t. Soon five of the car things pulled up. Each had room for two people in the back behind the driver. None spoke except for a type of greeting from Lucy—all knew it was useless.

  The huts were exactly what they looked like from the air—homes. Windows had curtains, there were painted doors. I also noticed they were all exactly the same size and made of what I suspected was steel. Some type of mass-produced shelters. Maybe portable.

  We were taken to an area that clearly was a meeting or communal center. Benches and tables sat around a fire pit and two of the huts had large sections of their sides opened forming some type of serving lines. Some people were there but all males and no children. We were tolerated at the moment, clearly not trusted.

  The old man was sitting at a table drinking from a twisted glass container with ice and a bluish red liquid in it. Lucy brought the portable lab as well as the reader. He stood and indicated we should sit as we also wished.

  El and Lucy and Reta sat with the old man. I sat the table to the right and Garth sat to the left. Reta sub’d, “Strong mental shields yet no one reads minds. Most strange. Still, without attacking their shields I get strong fear.”

  They didn’t do much. Offered some drinks like the old man had and Lucy said they tested okay, indigenous fruits, very slight alcohol content. They also had a type of cookie, not as sweet, different and flavorful. Lucy and the old man and a young one clicked and clacked away for about a half hour when the old man burst into laughter and Lucy said, “Dear me. I think I just called him a whore. This is so different, the way you say it is as important as what you say.” I think we all smiled a bit.

  “Ouch!” Reta yelped.

  “What?” Lucy subbed.

  “I was just scanned and it hurt,” she sub’ed.

  “By who? Thought you said they couldn’t,” El sub’ed.

  “Not sure, wild, uncontrolled.”

  “Can you block it?” I asked.

  “Sure, now that I know about it.”

  After another two hours, Lucy said, “I think I have enough of the basics, let’s see.” She set up the reader and it started playing Diboca Honor in her usual opening greeting. Some of the new people showed a slight touch of fear, others curiosity.

  Lucy finally said, “Sorry, been concentrating on them. These people call themselves the Klag. They say this is not their original home planet. I am checking that now.”

  If the noises they were making were talking it fooled me, sounded like the chickens in the yard on Reta’s old planet.

  I saw the reader switch to our various battles with the MKs and those we had in captivity. The clucks and clacks increased.

  I saw Reta get up and walk toward the open field by the town. I figured I’d better stay with her. We still didn’t know our status yet. As she walked out into the field she again said, “Ow!” and held her head, then looked around, up, and pointed. “There, those cause it, the mental pain.” She was pointing toward some big birds that looked like our Lateias. I think Lucy called them eagles, birds of prey.

  “I see what’s going on now,” she said out loud. “Those birds send mental blasts to stun their prey then they swoop down. I bet as children the Klag automatically build the mental shields to stop it. Interesting, very interesting. Explains why there are no actual thoughts.”

  She drifted back to the conference, and as it began Lucy stood, raised both hands, bowed to the old one and sub’d, “We can leave now.” As she finished the old man did the same to her. “El, we have a lot to do and, as now seems the norm, little time. We need to deploy our entire forces south a few thousand miles, quickly. All these people will leave tonight.”

  We boarded the chopper and were again heading back to the Honor Gate as Lucy filled us in. “They have been here mining this planet for several hundred years. They were building that city we saw—it isn’t complete yet.

  “The Klag home system is the next planet out and one and a half light-years away is another system they sort of talk to through Tachyon links. That system told them the MKs were coming as they died. The Klag started mass defense building and from what the chief said they have been putting up a heck of a fight. Still they are losing.

  “Same story, not enough bullets or energy in the world, they just keep coming and coming. Anyway, they funneled a few million extra people to the south to put up a final stand from the mines. This group were born and raised here, their ancestors were colonists that were to start building cities for expansion of population from their home-world. It will never happen now.

  “El, we need to get 20s and needler cannons to those mines, set up as strong a defense as possible, and see how we stack. We also need to get some satellites up that can saturate the air with the sterilization and confusion formulas as well. We need the forts here and a defense force to see how we stand against them once more at the gate.”

  “Time?” El asked.

  “Not sure—the old man said they are still receiving information from the home world—last transmission said they felt they were still good for a month but they were definitely dying. Also said they feel the MKs know where the refugees went. He is called either a Chief or Mayor, still not sure. Did I say their language is really hard?” She knew she did but got the chuckle anyway.

  We spent several weeks moving equipment and personnel from the gate to the huge mine complex with the remaining Klag, a little over two million. Lucy was working on the language problems as we started planning defenses.

  At Officer’s Call El told us, “Defense will be needler cannons on the buildings out there, covering all approaches. Backed with 20MMs. As we come toward the entrances I want trenches to fight from, but I want them set to create a huge firewall too when we pull back. Two or three trench systems, all with needler cannons and 20s layered. I want every damn gun system booby-trapped. When we fall back we destroy them all and set the trenches afire.

  “We fall back to the forts with solid double rows of needler cannons and 20s as the last line. People, if we’re pushed behind that then we fight at each tunnel entrance—we don’t run, we do or die!”

  “Garth, make a run to the gate. I want them to be ready to stand there if needed. We absolutely must win this battle, regardless of how long it takes.” El made it clear, it was humanity’s revenge time.

  As soon as Garth landed back by us he had his crews carry out maintenance. El told Tici to get one of the spaceships together here and loaded with satellites and bombs as soon as possible. That got me to thinking. “Lucy, can we get real bombs like RPVs to target MK ships or vehicles before they get to our defensive positions?”

  “Already ahead of you. Olgreender factories were working on just such a thing. Why don’t you check on those and your wife for a few days? This is all just co-ordination stuff until the MKs arrive anyway. If they come I’ll get word to you, promise.”

  Well, I was put out to pasture, that is for sure. I bid the others farewell when Reta caught up. “Gave me my walking papers too.” She grinned.

  As we parted inside Honor Central I told Reta, “Thanks, you were a big help keeping me sane without Loka.”

  “Ah, nothing to it. Shall we see what our wives had for kids?” She knew it sounded strange as she smiled. “Later, Eldon. I hope you had a boy—Myla wanted a brother.”

  Before the time I finally walked through the door Myla knew I was home and I knew she had a brother. Loka didn’t know I was there, so I got to surprise her as she held our son.

  “He have a name?” I asked, as I kissed her and Myla, then looked at his face.

  “I did like what Lucy said the humans did. Just called him Eldon Jr.”

  “Poor kid.” I smiled.

  ~~~

  I spent a pleasant two whole weeks relaxing when, at 3AM, I was
wakened with someone at my door. “Commander, El said to tell you ‘they come’. I’ll wait here with the car.”

  Loka cried a bit as she once more shoved me out the door. I felt I was getting too old for this, as she said, “Come back to us.”

  We were all in the Center’s mess hall. Lucy and El came in and El said, “Everyone listen up. I received reports that thousands of ships are landing on the planet, as in a black sky full. I suspect they know we are waiting. Remember, layered defense, no unnecessary deaths, if we can’t hold slowly pull into the caves. I don’t care how many they have but we hold at the entrances, we clear?” We’d all been over it a million times already.

  Since there were no questions Lucy called us to attention. “Move out. Choppers wait for us outside the gate—good luck to all.”

  Five hours later I was in the forward trench lining up grenades and waiting once more. I suddenly felt old as I looked at the sixteen and seventeen year old kids surrounding me. A mix of us, Reta’s people and Klag’s. Forward needler cannons and 20s on the rooftops had been active, dropping many of the incoming ships, maybe hundreds. Sounds impressive until you find out it is against tens of thousands of ships. A few of those defenders made it back to us, but not many.

  “Commander Gnoth, may I ask a question, sir?”

  I looked, it was a young Lieutenant. “Certainly, Lieutenant.”

  “Your first battle against the MKs, were you scared, sir?”

  “Still am, Lieutenant. If a fool tells you they aren’t, get away, he’ll get you killed. Being brave has nothing to do with not being afraid; it has to do with overcoming it to do your duty.”

  “Well, what they say sounds nice. Still, I’m scared.”

  I patted his shoulder, “So am I son, go be with your men, you’ll do fine.”

  Wasn’t long and a wave of black formed to our front. “All systems hot. Here they come!” I realized it was me yelling it. I waited until the MKs hit our ranged markers. “Fix Bayonets, selective fire, make it count people, steady, steady, FIRE!”

  Up and down the line I heard the commands being echoed. All hell broke loose as my fourteen hundred men opened up and a big pile of dead and wounded MKs started forming to our front, but I knew. The pile grew higher and moved closer, and closer. “Grenades loose!” I screamed, as I tossed all six I had to my front and left and right. The needler cannons buzzed and the twenties slammed their thump, thump, thump and the MKs kept coming.