by Jim Melanson
Khlam sighed deeply and drummed his long fingers on his knee. He also bored easily.
He heard the radio break squelch twice over the Bluetooth headset he had on. That was Hlef giving the “OK” signal. He wanted this to go quickly. He was hungry. Dad was in town. Let’s get this show on the road.
Achael
She continued, “Mike, your mission was assisted for a very specific reason.”
“Ahhh,” he said. “Now we get to it.”
She smiled. “We needed to get the weapons on board the Platform here without anyone knowing. There is too much oversight and prying eyes on everything that goes on in orbit around Earth.” The platform and its weapons had been a surprise to Achael and Helf when Gilda told them. Being Eben and military, they liked it. Anything that would pound the Eridani was okay with them.
“That was rather obvious,” he replied.
“Mom wants you to use the weapons to provoke the Eridani.”
Mike
“WHAT?? SHE WANTS ME TO … WHAT??”
The gorgeous Ah-ooh-cchhale continued, “Mike, we need to rid this solar system of the Eridani. They are a threat to Earth and to humanity. They will aggressively stop any off world expansion so that you don’t challenge their dominion in this arm of the galaxy.”
This arm of the galaxy? They were worried that those freakish things were going to be worried about humans? Wow.
She continued, “Mike, we are in a precarious position with the Eridani, the Bsirutaeben. If we just go in and pound them to oblivion, something we can easily do, then we will risk the retaliation of the entire Eridani Dominion, as well as the Ousoon.”
“The out who?” I was confused.
“The Ousoon are another race that are aligned with the Eridani. They are just as bad as the Eridani.”
Too many names, “The Eridani, they are the Seer-ROO-Tay-Ben?”?”
“Yes.”
“So you want rid of the Eridani, but you are afraid of the Ousoons?”
Hlef came out of her chair planting fists on the table, “We’re afraid of NO ONE!”
“Yes, we are afraid of no one,” Achael agreed. “However, we aren’t in the mood for an all-out battle on multiple fronts at this point in time. If we go to war here, they may also attack our homeworld, and other outposts. While we can defeat them in the end, it will cost us heavily in lives and resources. We prefer not to go that route when there is another way.”
I was even more confused than before they arrived. “So where does that bring me in?”
Achael and Hlef relaxed in their chairs and looked at each other. Achael turned towards me and continued, “As I said, Mom wants you to provoke them.”
Hlef
She watched his face as Achael dropped that little bomb on him a second time. She felt something new, something she hadn’t felt before. This must be pity. She had never felt pity before. She recognized the position this man was in. By the look on his face, this little bit of news had obviously affected him. A very strange feeling came over her with the new sense of pity.
She wanted to comfort him.
She had never wanted to comfort anyone except her sibs before. She realized she was changing and becoming someone new. That little meltdown on Earth had been the start. She finally understood fiat familias supremus.
Achael
She felt bad for him. She could see his face running through some complex thoughts, and she had a good idea what they were.
“If I provoke them, they will kill me. Do you not remember what happened last night?”
“There is some … risk …” Achael began.
“Some risk?” he snorted.
“We aren’t going to hang you out to dry Mike. Mom wants us to work out a plan with you. We are going to support you and be there to defend you when necessary. We have claimed you for protection, but luckily under the terms of the détente, it’s a one-way relationship. What they do to you, they do to us; but what you do to them, you do on your own. It’s complex, but the treaty was written by the Ousoons, who are to legalism, what oxygen is to life.”
The human stared at her. Finally, he spoke, “So what is it you want me to do?”
Khlam
He knew better than to break radio silence, but he was getting more agitated. The Eridani scout ships had moved in closer, they were at 80 km range. He was about to raise the alarm, when they stopped moving and held position at that distance.
Khlam decided to move the Dart around to the north side of the human’s growing complex of equipment, and pointed it right at them. He didn’t do anything provocative, but he let them know they were being watched.
A few minutes later they withdrew to the 100 km mark. “Hmpph, that’s strange” he said out loud. He keyed the transmit button on his COM unit. “Hey, Giggles,” that was Hlef’s nickname, “something’s up with the drones. Shake a leg will ya?”
Hlef
She didn’t react visibly to the radio message which only she and Achael could hear in their one-ear headsets. They did glance at each other, but left it at that. Hlef reached to the COM unit on her wrist, and broke squelch one time, the acknowledgement signal.
If the drones were acting up, they were acting up because of the hybrids’ presence. The last thing they wanted from this visit was a shooting war, but a shooting war the drones would indeed get if they wanted one. Hlef stood up and walked to the North side portal, looking towards the distant ice field. She leaned close to the window and looked one way, then the other.
She heard Mike ask her, “Everything okay?”
“Nothing we can’t handle, Sweetie.”
Mike
Nice. I don’t like being kept in the dark. I was about to go look out the window as well, but then realized these were the Pros from Dover. There was absolutely nothing I had to offer at the moment, so I just sat there.
The hot one’s hot sister continued, “Mike, Mom needs you to provoke them into attacking your colony site. If you can do that, then they will have broken the terms of the détente. If that happens, then the Ousoons will not join in the retaliation, and there is a slight chance that the Eridani Dominion may not come to their aid.”
“A very slight chance,” confirmed the hot one with the curly brown hair.
“Use your handheld laser rifle to fire at them, which should get them to fire on you. Then rain hell down on them. We will plan this so that we are nearby. If we get the timing right, then we can come in and pick you up before they kill you.”
“That’s a mighty big ‘IF’” I said to her. I thought about it for a minute. The one called Achael kept silent while I went through it in my mind. Finally, I looked up at her and asked, “What if I refuse?”
The two women looked at each other. The sister came back and sat down at the table, and both of them looked very serious. Achael then put all the cards on the table, “If you refuse then your corporation will suddenly find it extremely difficult to get a paper clip off the ground, let alone any future missions to Mars.”
The shoe dropped.
Khlam
A few minutes after returning to their original 100 km position, the Eridani scout ships, all piloted by the grotesque little drones, did something very unexpected. They all left.
Khlam stared at the monitor and ran a diagnostic to make sure there was nothing wrong with the equipment. They didn’t cloak, they didn’t suddenly disappear. They all rose up about 1,500 metres, and headed bearing 252 towards the Eridani base: all five of them.
This couldn’t be good. But then again, this wasn’t a known Eridani battle tactic either. They never let their drones retreat. They would destroy them in place along with the target rather than let them withdraw.
He keyed up the Hybrid base on the COM unit to confirm they were seeing what he was seeing. They confirmed it. Strange, very strange.
Khlam keyed the COM channel for his sisters, “Oy! Enough with the poodles already! Shit’s happening out here.”
Hlef
Both
women looked startled at the same time. Hlef touched her forearm controller and said, as Mike looked quizzically at her, “‘Sup Khlam?” She smiled and pulled back the hair over her right ear, revealing the Bluetooth headset.
“The drones just cleared out of Dodge.”
Now it was time for the women to be surprised. They looked at each other, a bit confused, “Say again?” Achael said after keying her COM unit. Neither one of them had their COM units on VOX while they were having the meeting. This was so that the contents of the meeting would be private.
“They all just buggered off towards their home base. All five of them. They advanced to 80 km, then they withdrew, then they left. Pfffttt. Just like that.”
“Ladies?” Mike said. Hlef looked at him and responded, “The five scout ships that were watching your base just left. No warning. They just left. That’s strange.”
“Very strange,” added Achael.
“Ummm, perhaps this is the retreat before they start blowing the shit out of me? Us?” Mike looked worried.
“No.” said Hlef. “No, the Eridani don’t withdraw their drones just because they might get destroyed in an attack. That’s unheard of in a thousand years of Eridani battle tactics. It has to be something else.”
Achael
She was indeed confused by this turn of events. If anything, the drones should have pressed their advance, or at least had more drones join them. Having them withdraw actually made her breathe a bit easier for the human, but it was still damn odd. It might even be complicating the current situation, rather than simplifying it. She had to get a hold of the Lieutenant General.
She stood up and her sister joined her, “Mike, I think we need to get hold of Mom and talk to her about this. The drones leaving, I think that something is up, that we all may have missed. We need to talk about it, and get some direction.”
“Sure, sure,” Mike said, he sounded a bit prissy. “I’ll just sit here and twiddle my fraking thumbs, shall I? All y’all bugger off for your secret meetings and decide my fate and fortune. That how we’re going to play this?”
Achael got pissed at that herself. This human may be cute and admirable, but he just had no clue about interstellar politics or interplanetary war. She had a bit of an edge to her voice, surprising Hlef, as she responded, “Yes Mike. That’s exactly what you are going to do. You are going to do nothing until we get hold of you again. Remember, we are on your side here, Mike.”
Hlef forced herself to be calm and soothing, much to Achael’s surprised irritation, “Yes Mike. We are on your side,” Hlef smiled. “Don’t doubt that for a moment. We knew your arrival would piss off the Eridani, but Mom has a plan to deal with them. Well, unless something has changed.” She smiled again.
Achael watched her sister and wondered who the hell she was? That meltdown of hers certainly brought some changes with it. Her own temper flare-up towards the human had calmed down quickly, and she tried to be reassuring before departing.
“Mike, we’ll be back as soon as we know something and bring you up to speed. We’ll see what this change in tactics may mean, and let you know how you can handle it.”
She glanced at Hlef and decided maybe a little fib would help settle him down. She stepped around the table and stood right in front of him. “Mike, you are a player now. You’re at the table and part of this. We’ll keep you in the loop and bring you in deeper after we get a handle on this,” she smiled again.
She could tell Mike was holding his temper in. She didn’t think he believed a word of the white lie.
Mike
I did a little mental deep breathing and held my temper. It wasn’t this woman’s fault. She was a pawn, like me. She had others to answer to. This was indeed going to be a very special report to Mission Control. The video of this meeting was going to rock a lot of worlds. I knew it wasn’t transmitting, but the Hab system was still recording the internal cameras. Knowing I was playing with the big boys made me glad I had added a plugin to my laptop as I was having breakfast. The plugin would automatically back up the video files from the main Habitat server.
Not for one second did I believe her B.S. about me being a player. I was a pawn. Period.
She reached out and took my hand, her freakishly long fingers wrapping around my hand, a feeling I would soon become very accustomed too. She smiled and said, “We’ll be in touch soon.”
I forced a smile back at her and said, “You are welcome back any time.”
She picked up her helmet and stepped back. The hot one walked over to me and smiled, giving me a wink, “We’ll be back soon, Sweetie,” she smiled again, “Very soon.”
I couldn’t help the genuine smile. Her hand was strong but soft, tough yet yielding. Her eyes, regardless of how big and odd they looked, were dreamy pools of invitation. “You are most definitely welcome back any time.”
She couldn’t have missed the slight emphasis on the “you” in that statement. By her slight blush and quick withdrawal of her hand, I could tell she picked it up. The one called Hlef, the hot one, my future wife, picked up her helmet and stepped back beside my future sister-in-law. As Achael reached for her COM unit on her wrist, Hlef said, “When we come back, is there anything you want, Sweetie?”
I chuckled, “Bring more cookies.”
They suddenly weren’t there anymore. I was all alone again.
I sighed heavily and made another cup of tea from my dwindling supply of tea bags. I sat at the table and slowly ate three more cookies with sips of tea while thinking about what had just transpired.
“Yep,” I said to myself, “this is going to get a lot worse before it gets any better.”
Join Mike, Achael, Hlef, Gilda, and the others in the sequel to Pathfinder…
On Mars:
Murder at Hellas Planitia
The Mike Lane Stories, Volume 2
Fall of 2015
Cultural References
This book is peppered with cultural references from some of my favourite books, TV shows, and movies. Here is a list of them from the book and the source they were taken from. These are all from people much bigger and better than I am. I did so, only to pay homage to those who have given me such joy over the years!
“frak” - As an author trying to appeal to wide range of ages, I have to be careful about too much cussin’ and such. I used the word “frak” as an expletive. I first heard this word being used on Battlestar Gallactica (the original and the remake). It’s been used in at least 17 other T.V. shows according to Wikipedia. Don’t confuse it with “frack” which has to do with oil drilling.
“chew bubble gum and kick ass” - My nod to a really great sci-fi B-movie starring the great Canadian wrestler, Rowdy Roddy Piper. The movie was called “They Live”.
“Spinning Wheels. Cue Blood, Sweat & Tears.” - I’m referring to the song “Spinning Wheel” by the jazz-rock group Blood, Sweat and Tears. The opening lines of the song go like this: What goes up must come down, spinning wheel got to go round, talking about your troubles it’s a crying sin.”
“I decided right then there would be no retreat. Hell, I just got here.” – Battle for Los Angeles (movie). Aaron Eckhart’s character in that movie was half the inspiration for the character of Mike Lane.
Feh-wu – A Mandarin phrase for “junk” from the greatest science fiction TV show ever, Firefly.
“Miles to go before I sleep” – From the Poem “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” by Robert Frost.
“Ugly giant bags of mostly water” – Alien lifeforms’ description of humans, from an episode of ST:TNG (S1E18).
“So much for the best laid plans of men, and mice.” – Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy.
SOMP (suit of many pockets) - A nod to the Canadian adventure clothing company Tilley Endurables, in reference to their fisherman/photographer vest the VOMP (Vest Of Many Pockets). Read more at www.tilley.com.
“most Riki-Tik” – An occasional expression used by character Gen Thomas Ryan, played by Robert Patric
k, in the TV show The Unit. The phrase is most likely derived from the Rudyard Kipling character Rikki-Tikki-Tavi in the Jungle Books, volume 2.
“John Carter would have been proud” – In A Princess of Mars (Edgar Rice Burroughs) we meet John Carter who impresses the Tharks with his ability to jump vast distances. A combination of low-g and his human strength.
“Grog the Caveman” - Was the hairy little quintessential caveman in the “B.C.” comic strip by cartoonist Johnny Hart.
““I. Don’t. CARE.” Achael punctuated each word like it was its own sentence.” - A nod to my hero, James Tiberius Kirk.
“Rage Against The Machine” - AKA RATM, they are a rap-metal band from Los Angeles, California, formed in the early 90s.
“shake of a lamb’s tail” - Is a term used to denote the interval of sequential steps in a nuclear explosion. One shake of a lamb’s tail is equivalent to 10 nanoseconds. I first encountered this term in popular fiction in the book, “Sum of All Fears” by Tom Clancy.
“well, then we’ll just have to begin some aggressive negotiations.” - A nod to my much beloved Star Wars, mimicking something Anakin said in reference to his Jedi Master, Obi-Wan Kenobi.
“I’m a bad, bad man.” - One of my favourite lines of the character Malcom Reynolds, played by Nathan Fillion, in the greatest science fiction TV show ever, Firefly. Nathan Fillion’s writer/crime solving character Richard Castle is the other half of the inspiration for Mike Lane.
“I was more worried about pulling a Dorothy.” - In the Wizard of Oz, the protagonist Dorothy was transported to the land of Oz by a tornado, a cyclone. My editor’s name is also Dorathy (pronounced the same, just spelled with an ‘a’ instead of an ‘o’).
“Pro’s from Dover” - a Nod to M*A*S*H, one of my fav TV shows growing up. The term comes from the 1968 book M*A*S*H by Richard Hooker.
“Hello Sweetie” - A demurely sexy line delivered by the character River Song, played by Alex Kingston, in the TV Show Doctor Who. Alex Kingston was who I loosely had in mind while crafting the character of Hlef. Closely associated, I was loosely thinking of Eve Myles, the black-haired lead character in the Doctor Who spinoff called Torchwood, as my character Achael.
