by Jim Laughter
“One Chapter,” he said reading the last words at the top of the page. Carefully turning the next page, he read some more.
“Contents of Table,” he said carefully as he finished the next page. He closed the book and read the words on the back cover. “Vicinity Surrounding the and Mine Zahab the Exploring,” he read aloud.
The little ship finished the page and then carefully put the book back into his nest. He sat there for a time thinking about what to do next when he heard voices and the sound of something approaching. He turned off his lights, and in the reflected glow of the approaching lights zipped quietly into a side chamber and hid. He remembered his treasures and the pattern of pebbles but was too frightened to venture out to retrieve them.
∞∞∞
When they reached the lip of the cavern, Gary shined his light downward toward the floor far below. It was clear by the scuffmarks in the dust that Bobby had been here before.
Bobby edged up behind his grandfather and peered hesitantly over the edge.
The boy looks like he’s expecting something to jump out at him, thought Gary. When after a while nothing did, Bobby relaxed noticeably.
“So this is where you were frightened?” asked Gary.
“Y-Yes,” answered Bobby. “How did you know?”
“Because you’ve been acting like you were expecting to see a ghost ever since we came down this passageway,” replied his grandfather.
“Then I had nothing to be afraid of?”
“Not necessarily,” Gary said. “The Unseen One gave us the ability to fear for a good reason. The brave man isn’t the one who is never afraid, but the one who understands his fear and can choose what to do about it.”
Shining their lights around the cavern, they both admired the colors and amazing shapes of the rock formations. Gary pointed out the different types of formations to Bobby and the boy’s eyes were wide with wonder.
“Let me show you something, Grandpa,” said Bobby. He directed his light down on the pebble design near the hot springs on the floor below.
“Well, I’ll be!” exclaimed Gary. He remained silent while he studied the carefully arranged glittering pebbles.
“There’s something familiar about that pattern,” Gary muttered, scratching his head.
Gary removed his camera from his backpack and took several photographs of the design. The flash from the camera lit up the cavern far more than their flashlights had.
“Hey, Grandpa!” called Bobby, “look over there!”
Bobby pointed his flashlight toward one side of the cavern. There, next to the hot springs, was the book and thermos.
“I wonder how they got over there?” Gary mused aloud.
Bobby noticed that someone or something had put the cup back on the top of the thermos. When he’d fled, the cup had been sitting next to the thermos on the rock where he had eaten.
Stepping back from the edge, Gary looked at his watch. “Hey, Trooper. We better pack it in and head for home,” he said to his grandson.
“What about the book and the thermos?”
“We don’t have a rope or time to climb down there and get them today,” Gary answered. “Maybe you can come back and get them another time.”
“Won’t they get damaged staying here?”
“No, I don’t think so,” replied his grandfather. “They’ve been safe so far. Another day or two won’t hurt them any.”
Grandfather and grandson turned and started back up the passageway. They stopped to clean up the mess left by the mice and climbed up the slope of the vent shaft and out into the open. Off in the distance, they heard the whistle of the train as it prepared to leave the station.
Good, thought Gary. The village was much quieter and more enjoyable when it wasn’t crowded with tourists.
The two hiked down to the station and checked back in with the stationmaster. They waited while he locked up and walked with him up the cleared street into the village. The few hardy souls that stayed at the village for the winter greeted each other while they cleaned up after the tourists and performed their evening chores. Gary and Bobby walked to the general store. Gary knew the shopkeeper and that he did photography as a hobby.
“Hi, Gary. Hey, Bobby!” the shopkeeper called from the back of the store.
“Hi, Jack!” replied Gary as the shopkeeper walked out front.
“Looks like you two have been hiking again.”
“Yeah,” answered Gary, “anything to get clear of the tourists.”
“Thought so,” came back the shopkeeper. “Now, what can I do for you two?”
“I was wondering if you could develop some pictures for me,” said Gary. Bobby drifted off toward the bookrack while the two older men sat on the porch bench and talked.
“Sure,” Jack said. “I was going to do some darkroom work tonight. When do you want these?”
“Oh, I don’t know--tomorrow too soon?” Gary replied.
He took out his camera and removed the roll of film. He handed it to his friend and packed the camera back away.
“Come on, Bobby!” Gary called, sticking his head in through the open doorway. Bobby reluctantly pulled his nose out of a book about space and placed the book back on the rack.
“You two take care and we’ll see you tomorrow,” called Jack as they stepped off of the porch.
Later that night, Jack pulled the developed film out of the last rinse and inspected the negatives. Puzzled by the images, he fed the film into his enlarger and made blow-ups of each. As the prints developed and came into focus, Jack let out a low whistle.
The pattern of pebbles was most intriguing and Jack could see why an old spacer like Gary was interested in them. Jack thought of an old friend he’d served with and who was still on active duty.
Knowing his interest in the strange and bizarre, he made copies of the blow-ups for him as well. Setting the prints on his dryer, he prepared them for the morning.
∞∞∞
The little ship stayed in his hiding place a long time after the strangers had gone. From what he’d seen of their shadows, they were like the men in the pictures.
He rose carefully and turned on his lights. He glided back out into the main chamber and went directly to his nest to check on his treasures.
Finding them safe and untouched, the little ship checked his design of pebbles. Also untouched, he went back to his nest and settled down. He would have to think about the strangers again. They had used words he recognized from the book, but somehow it didn’t sound right. After thinking real hard, he still couldn’t figure it out.
There was still time before the end of the time cycle so the little ship decided to explore again and go see the strange light. Rising higher in the cavern, he entered the tunnel leading to the main passageway. He turned at the junction and headed up the main bore of the mine.
At the small shaft going upward, the little ship stared at the light. It slowly changed colors from blue to orange and yellow to red and finally to black. The little ship was about to go back to the cavern for his rest when he saw little sparkles of light in the darkness above. He studied them intently and realized they were like the little lights he’d seen coming here.
After a long time of watching them, he returned to his nest and the warmth of the cavern.
∞∞∞
Back at the palace on Shalimar, a meeting of Empress Ane and various fleet advisors was taking place.
“So the situation is getting worse with the Red-tail incursions?” Ane asked.
“Yes, My Lady,” replied a fleet admiral standing at her side. “The Red-tails have changed tactics and no longer move in large groups, which makes it harder to spot them. To counter this, we’ve had to spread the fleets out thinner, hoping to detect the individual Red-tail ships as they pass within range.”
“The problem with that, My Lady,” interjected another officer, “is they are able to congregate faster than we can. And when they do, our scattered ships are outgunned.”
“If we were able to intercept individual ships fast enough, we could get them before they congregate. We could clean up this mess,” added the first admiral.
“What I wouldn’t give to have small mobile fleets of ships like Baby,” spoke up a third.
“Wouldn’t we all?” replied Ane. “Wouldn’t we all?”
∞∞∞
One of the picket ships posted further out since the last attack by the Red-tails spotted the courier ship rapidly approaching Shalimar.
“Identify yourself,” the trooper on duty radioed the incoming ship.
“This is courier ship X-342 inbound from Theta with a priority passenger under Galactic Axia directive,” answered the pilot.
They’d dropped back down into the speed range of the Albert drive and he and his passenger were enjoying the relief. It had been a rough trip at high speed. The pilot planned to have the ship checked over as soon as he delivered his passenger.
“Hi, Bill!” the watcher said. “We’ve been expecting you.”
“It’s good to be nearly home.”
The courier ship continued its trajectory toward Shalimar. When they got closer, Bill called ahead.
“Approach Control, this is courier ship X-342 requesting clearance to land directly at the Ebilizer Institute.”
“Come on in X-342. They’re ready for you,” answered the controller.
The pilot slowly eased the ship straight down to the field so he wouldn’t disturb the sleeping city. A ground crew was waiting and had cleared space in a nearby hanger for the incoming ship. The pilot brought the ship to hover over the floor.
One of the men on the ground crew noticed some damage on a landing skid and signaled for Bill to remain airborne. He held the ship steady while the crew brought out a pair of receiving cradles and sat them in place below the streamlined ship.
The ground crew chief signaled for Bill to come on down, and with practiced ease he set the ship in the cradles. With everything shut down, Bill opened the hatch and his passenger climbed out. A trooper who had been standing to one side came forward and escorted Trooper Biston Mayne and his parcel to a waiting ground vehicle. Bill watched them drive off toward guest quarters, then turned back to inspect his ship.
Chapter Twelve
The sun was already warming the village storefronts when Gary and Bobby hiked over the ridge and arrived in town. Train time was still over an hour away so life was fairly quiet with only the few year-round townspeople stirring about.
This was one of Gary’s favorite times of the day up here in the mountains. The tourist village was different with its hair down, so to speak. The relaxed atmosphere was in stark contrast to the frenzy that occurred when tourists arrived.
Gary and Bobby walked up the street to the general store to visit with Jack and to pick up the pictures. Gary was quite anxious to look at them and try to determine what it was that bothered him about the pattern of pebbles. He’d lain awake for hours last night puzzling over the pattern. It seemed familiar, yet he couldn’t place it. He’d seen that pattern somewhere during his years in space but was unable to put his finger on it.
Jack heard them come in and came forward to greet them.
“You’re in early this morning!” he teased. “I thought a retiree like you didn’t get up before eleven.”
Gary rose to the bait as always in what was part of the traditional banter between the old friends.
I would have, but I had to get Bobby up.”
Bobby ignored the comment. He knew it was just the way these two old men said good morning to each other.
“I got those pictures done last night and they’re pretty interesting,” Jack said.
“I’ve been curious about how they turned out,” said Gary, dropping the pretense of their greeting ritual.
“I thought you would be. Come on back with me to the darkroom. I want to show you something.”
“Just a minute,” Gary answered and then turned to Bobby. “I might be a few minutes.”
“That’s okay. I’ll help myself to the bookrack.”
“You can pick out a book or magazine. My treat,” replied his grandfather.
“Oh boy!” responded the enthusiastic boy.
He gravitated toward the bookrack and was soon lost to the world. Gary, satisfied Bobby was choosing books about space, turned and followed his waiting friend into the darkroom.
“First off, here are your prints,” Jack said and handed several large blow-ups to Gary. “I hope you don’t mind, but I made an extra set for a friend of mine down in the city.”
“Fine by me,” replied Gary absently. He was already examining the pattern in the prints, trying to figure it out.
“I was intrigued by the pattern too, so I tried some tricks to emphasize it,” Jack commented.
He handed another set of photographs to Gary who studied the new prints. The pattern seemed to leap from the page. Try as he might, he still couldn’t place what it reminded him of.
“I studied those things last night until I was nearly cross-eyed,” added Jack. “It was when I went to make another blow-up that I spotted the meaning. Here, look at this.”
Jack turned off the lights and switched on the enlarger. He slid the negative of the pattern into the machine then turned the enlarger sideways so it projected its image onto the wall. Gary gasped when he recognized the pattern. Wordlessly, he went over and traced out the pattern of white dots on a black background.
“I thought you’d react that way,” Jack said. “I made negative copies, and they’re included with the others I made for my friend.”
Finding his voice, Gary finally spoke what was on his mind.
“I think this is somehow pretty important,” he began. “I think we should show these to someone at the university.”
“I’ll go you one better,” Jack said with a smile. “Why don’t you take this packet to my friend? You won’t have any trouble finding him. He’s the chief of security at the palace.”
Gary stared at Jack and reached for the packet. The two men returned to the main room of the store. Gary went over to the bookrack where Bobby had his nose in the latest issue of a magazine dealing with advances in space technology. He cleared his throat to get the boy’s attention.
“Bobby, something urgent has come up and I need to take the morning train to town to take care of some business,” Gary said. “Will you be all right?”
“Sure, Grandpa,” came back the boy. “I was hoping to go retrieve the book and thermos from the mine if I could get the time today.”
“So that’s why you insisted on bringing your backpack into town with you,” said Gary with a smile. “I’ll bet you even have the ropes you’ll need to get down into that cavern, don’t you?”
The grin on his grandson’s face was all the answer Gary needed. Clapping the boy on the shoulder, he went back to the till and paid Jack for the magazine Bobby was reading.
“Thanks, Grandpa!” said Bobby.
Hand-in-hand, the two stepped out through the door. They paused on the porch of the storefront while Bobby stowed the magazine in his backpack and Gary helped him secure the shoulder straps. Together they ambled to the station where Gary bought a ticket on the morning train.
Bobby notified the stationmaster of his plans for the day, and with a gentle hug, grandfather and grandson parted. Gary watched his grandson start his hike toward the far ridge. He sat down and waited for the train.
∞∞∞
At the palace, Empress Ane waited patiently while the others poured their coffee and settled down at their places for the meeting. Calling the meeting to order, Ane immediately turned it over to her chief of security. He took a quick sip of coffee, cleared his throat.
“The reason I requested the empress call this meeting is that we think we have finally made some progress in the case of our missing ship.”
The room grew still as everybody focused their attention on the chief.
“As many of you know, we were first able to determine
the time the little ship disappeared from the recorded time the museum room went down,” he began. “That helped us narrow down the timeframe of the records search.”
The chief paused while he checked his notes. He glanced at a trooper sitting in the back of the room and continued.
“I had troopers contact all ships that were in orbit over Shalimar at that time and asked them for any records from sensors trained planetside. We got no positive response from any of the ships in question and we were beginning to consider it a dead-end.”
He looked up again and motioned for the trooper to step forward.
“A few days ago this trooper took a record from an image recorder on his ship to his section commander, who being aware of our request, forwarded both the record and the trooper to us.”
The chief stepped back and Trooper Biston Mayne rose and nervously faced the assembly. He thought he’d rather face a Red-tail than this room full of brass and the empress too.
Sensing his discomfiture, Ane smiled at him. Mayne relaxed a little and cleared his thoughts.
“The last night we were in orbit over Shalimar, I was pulling night duty in the sensor cabin aboard my cruiser. I became bored watching a blank screen like countless other troopers also in orbit and requested permission to change over to the proximity setting so I could at least have the movement of incoming and outgoing ships to watch. It helps the time go faster. The officer in charge cleared it with orbit control and I was able to make the change-over.”
Trooper Mayne paused to clear his throat again. He noticed two or three senior officers shuffle some papers, apparently growing impatient.
A few seconds later, he continued.
“I spotted a strange blur cross the corner of my screen. I thought it might be an equipment glitch so I turned on the image recorder so we would have record of it when we’d later test the sensors. We’ve found that such records aid us in recreating the malfunction so repairs can be effected quickly.”
A fleet admiral seated next to the empress leaned forward and asked Trooper Mayne if there was a conclusion or a point to his story.
“Yes, sir,” answered Mayne. “I found the record still in the recorder when we reinstalled the equipment in the ship during the current refit. Being unable to make sense of the image, I took it to my section commander who then dispatched the record and me to the Ebilizer Institute.”
