Black Desert

by Peter Francis

“Cut it out,” said the Captain. “We are coming in for the roundup.” He spoke to the pilot of the plane. “Lower your gear, Skipper. We’re about to deliver you home.”

  “How did we travel so fast? We went from light to dark in a couple of minutes.” He paused. “Sorry, lowering the gear now.”

  Below them Los Angeles airport spread out in a maze of buildings and runways. Ogden had planned a course which took them to the furthermost perimeter fence. The pilot reported his gear was down and locked and Stiers began the descent – the first 2,000 meters in one second and the final twenty meters at a much slower rate with shields down. The aircraft touched on the grass and Ogden released the towing beams and allowed the plane to settle. He thought, this will make an interesting reading for the tower radar. A huge plane dropping unannounced like a stone from the sky to settle peacefully on an obscure part of the field.

  Stiers settled the craft at the rear of the tailplane where the Defender class ship could not be seen and opened a portal. Ramirez escorted Debra to the exit. “Nice meeting you, doll,” he said affably. “Perhaps we can get together while I’m in town.”

  “I live in San Francisco,” she said. “Debra McEllinnery – two ‘l’s and two ‘n’s. I’m the only one in the book.” She hesitated then gave him a kiss on his cheek. “Thanks for saving my life,” she said and took the ramp to the ground.

  It withdrew after her and silently and rapidly the ship took off and disappeared into the night. Debra expected she would soon wake up and this was a dream she would miss. Yet more real was the fact that chutes were being lowered from the plane doors and inflating. Knowing her duty, Debra moved to the forward chute to help people off. She could barely acknowledge the startled looks from her fellow cabin crew as they saw her on the ground. Maybe, she thought, they think I’m made of rubber. She looked again into the sky but there was no sign of her rescuers. All she could hear, apart from the shouts of passengers, were the sirens of racing rescue vehicles as they sped towards the plane. She sighed and waited for the first cabin crew to slide down the chute so that together they could help passengers to their feet.

  In the Mojave desert only the night creatures were out hunting for food and nourishment. Coyotes prowled and arachnids crept and scorpions scuttled while snakes slithered to the top of flat rocks to cool down in the hot evening. Three sentinels, one upright and two at odd angles, watched silently. A small part of the sky blacked out and creatures, their extra senses working, evacuated the area. A strange, deep purple beam pulsed down for a second and probed the desert sand and rocks. Then the small area of black, starless sky grew larger as a shape descended fast towards the ground. It stopped 20 meters from the desert floor and descended slowly as below the few creatures there ran to safety. The alien colossus dropped to the ground and braver creatures watched, never having seen a Defender class spacecraft before.

  Inside, on the bridge, Stiers relaxed as the computer took over shutting down the ship. “We’re here,” he said.

  “Here? Where?” asked Ramirez. “We’re in the middle of nowhere with no plan. It’s like being trapped in a Christmas pudding and being pleased about finding a piece of nut.”

  “Stow it, pard,” said Stiers. “We’re here to make repairs and get ourselves shipshape. Plans will come soon enough.”

  “Aye,” said Ogden. “We have yet to analyse the recordings we made.”

  “Gowan and Ramirez – the three of us will change the disrupter valve while Ogden monitors and evacuates the system. Then we’ll all get some shuteye.”

  “It’s okay,” said Ramirez. “Ogden will never squeeze through some of those tight places. I mean, look at the size of him.”

  “He’s not fat,” said Gowan. “Anyway, the way you crow about your cock I’m surprised you can fit that through.”

  “It’s a tight squeeze,” countered Ramirez. “Lucky for you your titties fold flat.”

  “We have serious work to do,” said the Captain. “Now suit up. Ogden, flush the system. I don’t want any stray disrupter particles taking my eye out.”

  “On it,” said Ogden.

  So the Captain and the two junior officers suited up and made their way through the nightmare of crawlspaces till they located the repaired disrupter valve. The ship had communications throughout so Stiers just needed to ask, “Are we clear, Ogden.”

  “All clear. Green all the way through.”

  Gowan and Stiers crept to the valve and began chipping away at the temporary repair. Ramirez monitored them on his portable gauges. Eventually all the junctions and connections were exposed and the two officers disconnected the faulty valve, passing it back to Ramirez who sealed it in special bags. Then he passed them the new valve which they began to connect, tightening all the junctions and sealing them with laser welds.

  “Back off, Gowan,” said Stiers. “You come forward to run your checks, Ramirez.”

  Ramirez squeezed forward, barely passing Gowan till he became wedged at the junction of her legs.

  “Do I have to have your face pressed into my crotch?” she asked.

  “It’s an option you may want to consider,” he said and pressed forward.

  “Just leave it,” she said.

  Ramirez made it to the valve and Stiers began to withdraw as his junior officer ran the checks on his meter and tested the connection. “It’s all secure,” he said.

  “Green lights up here too,” said Ogden.

  Stiers, now he was better located, took a small monitoring device and placed it securely on the valve. Ogden said, “Reading the monitor. Everything is looking excellent. You guys have performed a splendid task in a difficult location. My congratulations.”

  “Can’t he just say ‘everything’s okay’?” wondered Ramirez.

  “Let’s get out of here,” said Stiers. “I want to get out of this suit and back into my hat. I miss my hat.”

  “It doesn’t offer any protection,” said Ramirez.

  “Hats aren’t about protection,” said the Captain. “They are about style. They say who you are.”

  “They say you’re a cowboy,” said Gowan, “but isn’t red meat bad for the heart?”

  “Everything is bad for the heart,” said Stiers. “Especially love. Anyway, red meat is too expensive for most folk since all these laws about cows and methane came into effect. Most people eat beef-flavoured textured vegetable protein.”

  “There’s be plenty of cows here,” said Gowan.

  “Yup. If we’ve really travelled back in time they’ll practically be running wild . I look forward to seeing a real herd of steers again.”

  “Everything is monitoring as it should be, Captain,” said Ogden, over their suit speakers.

  “We’re coming out now,” said Stiers. “You’d better go first,” he said to Gowan, “or you’ll have Ramirez squeezing past your bits again.”

  “The lady doesn’t know what she’s missing,” said Ramirez.

  “No,” said Gowan, “but the lady knows what she doesn’t want.”

  The three of them crawled back and made their way up to where they tossed their suits in for immediate recycling. Although called recycling, all that happened was that the suits were washed to decontaminate and the seals inspected by intelligent machinery to ensure they were available again for almost immediate use.

  “You’re looking smug, Paunchy,” Ramirez said to Ogden. “What did you do – find an uneaten sandwich on your console?”

  “I am filled with a strange happiness at being on Earth again,” said the Englishman. “Even if it is not an Earth we recognise immediately.”

  “We’re going to wind down for the night,” said Stiers. “We’ll have some chow then we’ll all bed down for a few hours.”

  “I’ll cook,” volunteered Ramirez. “What do you desire – instant what?”

  “I think we can afford to indulge ourselves with something better. I would like instant eggs and a few slices of that stuff that resembles bacon but which is round and orange in colour.” />
  “What do you want to do with the faulty disrupter valve,” asked Ogden, his mind on work despite the talk of food.

  “We’ll wash it clean and put it in the 3-D fabricator tomorrow,” said Stiers. “It should be reparable.”

  “I think I’ll do it now,” said Ogden. “It may take some time.”

  He left to the back of the craft – not that being round it really did have a back – and busied himself in a secure room where the fabricator was housed.

  “That’s his way of avoiding kitchen duties,” said Ramirez.

  “You volunteered,” said Gowan, “and I’m getting hungry.”

  “Nag, nag,” said Ramirez. “It’s like being married.”

  Ogden returned about the time Ramirez served them a recyclable plate of recyclable food. “Nothing wrong with your nose, Paunchy,” he said. “You smelled the grub.”

  “I smelled your cooking,” said Ogden. “Despite that, I am still hungry enough to eat. I suppose recycled refried beans will be included on the menu.”

  “I’ve done tortillas, yes. There’s nothing wrong with refried beans. They’re good for you.”

  “I expect your mother told you that.”

  “Stop whining, Ogden,” said Ramirez. “I washed my hands.”

  “It’s the rest of you we worry about,” quipped Gowan.

  “Stop this bickering at chow time,” said the Captain. “Respect the sanctity of the ranch house.”

  They opened a portal while they ate, sat around a small table and stools that slid away below when not required. The night was dark and in the distance a coyote howled its mournful call. Stiers had witnessed such calls when coyotes made their way into small towns and called for the neighbourhood dogs to come and play. Small dogs would leap fences and seek out the lone coyote who would kill it for food. They polarised the portal so light from inside the ship would not show and now and then something would scuttle by quickly, or freeze as if in hiding. Ramirez thought it amazing that even the largest spider would hold motionless as soon as a light would switch on – as if something hairy with eight legs could hide by immobility. Ramirez didn’t kill them – in fact he didn’t kill anything; preferring to let creatures get on with their life elsewhere. He did put bugs outside as he didn’t like them in his home.

  The four drank the coffee he had made. All their food was actually supplied by onboard 3-D food printers which processed basic ingredients into meals. As yet, holograms had not been developed to do the same job. The coffee was good. All their food was low-calorie and contained little sugar but just enough fats. Ramirez watched Gowan and wondered what she would taste like. He reckoned she would be sweet with small labia and a hideaway clitoris. He mentally shook that thought away and pondered how much Stiers missed his family. Sitting there, wearing his cowboy hat and drinking gulps of coffee, he looked the least likeliest spacecraft Captain ever, but Ramirez knew him and his reputation enough not to be fooled. Stiers had fast reflexes and a quick brain and – and this last part was vitally important to Ramirez – he possessed the strongest desire to get safely back home to the family he loved.

  Gowan said, “Is it too early to discuss our plans?”

  “Nope,” said Stiers, “it’s too late. We’re headed for some shuteye then tomorrow we’ll review the tapes and start to make plans.”

  “In Star Trek they just do a slingshot round the sun to travel in time,” said Ramirez.

  “Shame we have you instead of Mr Spock,” said Gowan.

  “It is not possible,” said Ogden. “You have to travel at least as fast as light or faster to move ahead through time. This is an excellent vessel but it will not be capable of handling light speeds.”

  “We’re going home,” said Stiers. “We’ll find another way.”

  “If we could find some way of preserving ourselves, all we would have to do is wait,” suggested Ogden.

  “A century of you snoring, Paunchy? I don’t think so,” said Ramirez.

  “Perhaps you have a better suggestion, Mister Junior Officer.”

  “We need to rig this ship to travel faster than light,” said Ramirez.

  “You have piqued my curiosity,” said Ogden. “Pray tell me how we would achieve that? I am fair gasping to know.”

  “I don’t know,” said Ramirez and turned his attention back to thoughts of Gowan naked. In his mind she suddenly asked him, “Do you want to give my tits a suck?”

  “Eh?”

  “Pay attention, goofball. I just asked if you have any bits for the muck. You cooked so I’m clearing up.”

  “Sorry,” he said and passed over his plate. She was wearing some kind of perfume which emanated from her wrists. He seemed to recall it was called Perhaps although his own reaction below was much more definite. “We haven’t yet reviewed the tapes from the collision,” he said, to focus his mind elsewhere.

  “Tomorrow,” said the Captain. “We’ll do everything tomorrow. We have the best part of a century to make plans.”

  “I don’t want to be away from my family that long,” said Ramirez.

  “No, partner, neither do I.”

  Gowan tossed everything into what they called the muck, although it was merely the mouth of the ship’s recycling system. Uneaten food would be recovered, hygienically cleansed and manufactured into something new. Gowan thought it was like a 1920s diner in that respect.

  “It is my belief the Captain is correct,” said Ogden. “We need some real rest then tomorrow we can begin making plans. We have to look at this from all angles. We were selected for our mental abilities after all.”

  “So how did Ramirez get in the crew?” asked Gowan.

  “Stow it,” he replied and yawned.

  “Okay, people. Shut down all but the essentials. Recycle the oxygen tanks and clean the rebreathers, expel the waste tanks then go grab forty winks,” said Stiers. “Ship’s alarms are set for 5am. Sleep tight. Tomorrow will be busy.”

  Each undertook his various tasks and the Captain, who had gone longest without a break was first into his cabin. Gowan wondered if he slept in his hat but did not dare ask. She busied herself with her tasks and studied Ogden who was so pedantic. She glanced at Ramirez who was scratching his gentleman’s relish with an absent-minded thoroughness. Occasionally she wondered about that insignificant little beast – and his organ.

  She missed her sister and her mom. Her sister had also volunteered for the fleet and was Earth based in the Alien Biology Science Department – not that they had much information to go on. Her sister had been married two years and was expecting her second child being four months pregnant. Except, of course, she was probably now dead – or had not yet been born. Time travel wasn’t sitting too well with Junette Gowan. She was an eminently practical and efficient girl and the concept of travelling through the ages disturbed her. In her relatively short life she had had three boyfriends and had been intimate with only two of them. All were a disappointment in most departments, including loving. Gowan liked to be wooed as a woman but she liked her sexual performances to be brief and hurried, always as if she had something better to do, and an attitude that surprised both her lovers, one of whom thought he may do better turning gay.

  She was not fully aware of her startling figure and pretty face, despite continual assurances from her sister and mother. Her father departed the scene – and life itself not so long after – when she was just a girl. In her formative years this made her something of a tomboy ever seeking adventure. Here, in Fleet, she had found it. Expecting to die young she devoted her life to being efficient. She admired Ogden and his tenacity and Stiers for his coolness, even under fire. She objected to the open advances of Ramirez whom she considered – erroneously as it happened – quite shallow. He played the Hispanic Lothario yet, if he took his mind off sex, he could be quite interesting.

  Gowan closed down her console once her tasks were complete and went to bed. She was not tired but knew the soothing light in her cabin would bring some sleep.

  Ram
irez had finished his duties and passed by as she was shutting down. He stopped and looked down at her. “You’re quite beautiful,” he said unexpectedly then left as if embarrassed.

  She followed and went to her own cabin, leaving Ogden, as it were, to switch out the lights. Once inside her refuge – and they were all good at respecting each other’s privacy – she used her holo screen to review a couple of technical manuals and study what she could on time travel. It seemed that what they had experienced was actually impossible. Forward travel through time seemed feasible while backward travel was considered beyond current physics. The gentle lighting lured her away from study towards rest. She came from a world medically advanced where studies on mole rats had shown ways to defeat cancer. These days – or rather in her days – there was an inoculation against cancer which was given to children and refreshed every twenty years. She knew that in this world, from her historical studies, there were illnesses waiting to catch out the unwary. She prayed her comprehensive medical treatments would be enough to see her past any problems. Already she realised they could not eat salad at restaurants but only cooked food. They would have to be wary of hamburgers and avoid steaks where possible. Chicken was also dangerous and seafood could be poisoned with mercury.

  She pondered Ogden’s love life – or apparent lack of it. He had been married but she did not know whether or not he still was or whether, as the rumour she had heard, his wife had died young in an accident – for which there was yet no inoculation. Stiers was the real mystery despite everybody knowing all there was to know about the man. The Captain had a small ranch, a wife and children, loved horses and was reputed to be quite wealthy. Yet here he was risking his life on board the best Fleet could offer by way of a spacecraft with what had seemed like certain death in the offing. Her mind went back to time travel and the real possibility of moving forward in time and finding a way back. This was Earth but Gowan thought it would turn out to be an alien planet for them, despite the similarities in language and heritage.

  The ship was well soundproofed for privacy but Gowan heard Ogden when he finally came to bed. Somehow she was not able to relax until she knew he was settled. There was a gentle, but audible, hiss when his door unfolded and folded back in place. Then sleep hit her and she dreamed of wonderful childhood times when her father was still around.