Off Course

by Doug Farren

  Heather picked up AJ's unused pair and looked. “I think it's a strip mine.”

  “Visible from space?” Scott replied incredulously.

  “Where do you think all the material for those ships came from?” Heather queried.

  “What the heck are these people doing?” AJ asked to nobody in particular. “If I didn't know better I'd say they were preparing to abandon their planet.”

  “Why would they do that?” Thomas asked scratching the top of his head. “They don't have FTL. Those ships,” he continued pointing out the window, “use ion propulsion. They have to be multi-generation vessels.”

  “I have no idea,” AJ replied, tapping out additional commands on his console. “But it looks as if they’re building those ships at the expense of their planet's environment. I'm picking up definite traces of heavy, fossil fuel based, industry in their atmosphere.”

  The crew caught sight of three launches from the surface as the shuttle made several orbits around the planet. On the night side, large concentrations of artificial light could be discerned indicating the location of major cities. Five hours passed.

  Thomas was dozing in his chair when a chime from his console woke him up. A moment later he said, “We've been sent a set of coordinates.”

  AJ stood up and leaned over so he could read the message. Sitting back down, he said, “That’s all? No ‘Who are you?’ or ‘Where are you from?’”

  Thomas stretched and worked a kink out of his neck. “Guess they want to meet us face to face first.”

  AJ picked his ever-present cap off his head and scratched. Shrugging his shoulders, he replaced his hat and said, “Computer, can you send a meaningful reply indicating we’ll be proceeding to the designated coordinates?”

  The ship’s computer, always listening in on the crew, instantly responded. “The language matrix is incomplete. I can send a message indicating we have understood the coordinates given – nothing more.”

  “Do so.”

  “Acknowledged.”

  Thomas keyed a command into his console. A rough map of the planet appeared with a pulsating spot located near the edge of one of the smaller continents. A few more commands caused the image to zoom in revealing that the designated landing area was actually a small island.

  “Well,” AJ said glancing over at the map. “Let's not keep our hosts waiting. Break orbit and take us down.”

  “Aye Sir!”

  Scott and Heather were given the news and a couple of minutes later the cockpit was once again crowded. Although AJ didn't have to raise his voice to be heard by everyone in the cramped cockpit he did so anyway to emphasize the importance of his next statement. “I don't think I need to remind everyone that we are acting as ambassadors for the human race. Since first impressions are so important, we must be diligent in how we act towards our hosts.”

  “Do you want to take the scenic route and glide in or should we show off and come straight down?” Thomas asked.

  “The scenic route please,” AJ replied.

  The shuttle dropped down into the planet's upper atmosphere then began a spiraling descent toward the surface. They passed over vast stretches of water sprinkled with islands as well as several larger land masses. All showed signs of heavy industrial activity. They slowed to below the speed of sound about 600 kilometers from their destination and cruised over open water just below the sparse cloud deck.

  “We're going to have company soon,” AJ announced. “Looks like 30 aircraft approaching from the area we're heading for.”

  “I'll bet it's some kind of military installation,” Scott said.

  A few minutes later, a group of aircraft approached, executed a tight turn, and were soon positioned around the shuttle.

  “Wow!” Heather remarked. “Those jets are incredibly agile.”

  “What do you mean?” AJ asked.

  “That turn they executed a moment ago must have been at least seven or eight G's. That's pretty amazing considering the fact that this planet's gravity is slightly lower than Earths.”

  “And how, may I ask, do you know so much about flying?” Scott asked.

  Heather grinned from ear to ear as if she was about to reveal a long-kept secret. “My dad was a collector of old aircraft, mostly old fighter jets. I had my pilot license by the time I was sixteen.”

  AJ turned to look at Heather and raised his eyebrows. He couldn't help but wonder once again why she hadn't joined the merchant marines. To him, her talents were being wasted.

  Scott had been peering through the binoculars trying to get a glimpse of what the inhabitants looked like. “Here!” he said shoving the glasses toward Heather. “Since you're the expert, let's see if you can find the cockpit. I sure the heck can't.”

  Heather took the binoculars and put them to her eyes. After a few seconds she said, “There isn't one. They're unmanned. I can see the camera pods. That explains their ability to make such tight turns.”

  “The land mass up ahead is our destination,” Thomas announced. “We'll be setting down in about five minutes.”

  “Hey!” Scott yelled causing everyone to jump. “One of those jets is getting pretty close.”

  “Probably trying to get a closer look at us,” Heather calmly said, the binoculars still glued to her eyes. “These things are pretty advanced,” she continued. “Forward canards, thrust directors, variable- - - LOOK OUT!”

  The jet that had been slowly approaching suddenly rolled on its side and headed straight for shuttle. There was a bone-jarring collision that sent Heather flying towards the shuttle's window. She barely had enough time to turn the binoculars away from her eyes before she hit, smashing the binoculars into her cheekbone instead of her eyes.

  Scott, who had been standing next to her, was slammed into an instrument cabinet. AJ's head snapped to one side as the chair dug painfully into his ribs. Thomas, securely strapped into the pilot's seat, struggled to regain control of the shuttle as warning lights and alarms began flashing and screaming for attention.

  The shuttle rolled and pitched downwards sending coffee cups and anything else laying loose in the cockpit flying. “We're going down!” Thomas yelled.

  “Keep us away from any populated areas,” AJ told him as he struggled to strap himself in.

  The shuttle shuddered and a muffled explosion could be heard from the aft section of the ship. Another group of warning lights appeared as the shuttle once again rolled. The internal gravity system, which had been struggling to compensate for the ship's abrupt movements, failed as the shuttle became inverted. AJ dropped from his chair, slamming head first into the ceiling which had momentarily become the floor.

  Heather and Scott rolled along the bulkhead as the shuttle rolled completely over. Scott ended up on top of her which cushioned his injuries. Heather, on the other hand, did not fare so well. The binoculars found themselves between her left arm and the bulkhead. Her weight, combined with that of Scott's crushed down and snapped her forearm.

  Thomas used every trick he could muster to bring the shuttle back to a level flight. Try as he might, he could not maintain altitude. Realizing they would never reach their intended destination, he glanced out the window and chose what appeared to be a flat field. Unlike a normal aircraft, the shuttle did not rely on wings to maintain lift; instead it utilized a field-based propulsion system. Thomas took advantage of this as he slowed the ship's horizontal airspeed to near zero over the field.

  The shuttle dropped straight down and wobbled from side to side. Thomas' hands flew over the controls as he struggled to keep the ship from flipping over. Just before hitting the ground, he bypassed the safeties and applied all available power to the lift emitters. The shuttle slowed but also tilted hard to port.

  The port side hit the ground first, slamming Thomas into the side of his chair and causing the straps to dig painfully into his chest. The ship rolled to starboard and came to a crushing, upright rest. Even though he was dazed, Thomas managed to shut down the drive before the ship tried
to spring back into the air. Exhausted, hurt, his head ringing, and his hands shaking, he leaned back in his seat and momentarily blacked out.

  Chapter 9

  The doctor walked into the meeting room and settled onto one of the seats at the round table. All conversation ground to a halt as Councilman Goeglict signaled for silence.

  “How are your patients Doctor Choril?” the Councilman asked.

  The doctor took a sip of water before replying, “They will all be fine. The most serious injury was sustained by their leader. He suffered a hard blow to his head which rendered him unconscious. On the advice of their ship's computer, the pilot had administered a mixture of drugs which kept him sedated. I am happy to report that we found no brain damage.”

  “When will he regain consciousness?”

  “Very soon. The drugs included a mild sedative which should be wearing off shortly. Although they appear to be soft and weak, the humans are a remarkably resilient species,” the doctor commented.

  “And the others?”

  “The female sustained a broken appendage and several severe bruises. It was a clean, single break and we have successfully fused the bones back together. One of the males experienced a dislocated joint that has also been repaired. The pilot was strapped in place and received only minor bruises.”

  “That's good news doctor. What have you learned from a medical standpoint about the humans?”

  The doctor scratched the side of his face then said, “Even though they are physically very different from us, their physiology is similar. For example, we were able to use a common local anesthetic. Like us, their species consists of two sexes. One of our guests is female, the others are male. If you need more information, the medical scans are available in the central database.”

  “Thank you doctor.” The Councilman turned to face the person sitting to the doctor's right. “Commander Toonpin, have you determined why your fighter malfunctioned?”

  “An analysis of the aircraft's telemetry points to the alien craft as the source of the malfunction. We have not yet determined what exactly happened, but there seems to be some sort of field surrounding the ship that interferes with our instruments.”

  The feeders at the corners of the Councilman's mouth vibrated betraying his agitation. “In other words, we got too close and it is our fault that their ship was damaged.”

  The hairs on Toonpin's upper body raised slightly in response to the accusation. “The pilot was following council orders,” he replied trying without much success to keep the emotion out of his voice. “He was attempting to get close enough to obtain a clear picture of the aliens as requested by the council. He was so focused on that task that he did not notice his drone was becoming difficult to control until it was too late.”

  “We have plenty of pictures now,” the councilman acidly fired back. “Which brings us to the question everyone has been asking – are these humans actually Akuta as has been suggested?”

  All eyes turned towards the only female in the room. She was a historian specializing in ancient history. “I have consulted with my colleges and the only answer I can give at this time is that we don't know.”

  “How is that possible?” Councilman Goeglict asked. “Aren't the ancient records of any use?”

  “Only the earliest records are to be trusted,” Thumis replied trying to control her temper. “Over the years, the stories have been embellished to the point of being ludicrous. The humans do appear to be physically similar to the Akuta but there are important differences. For instance, the Akuta have always been described as having very black skin. The humans are so pale they resemble worms.”

  “One of them has dark skin,” Goeglict observed.

  “Their AI has indicated that a large portion of their population is dark-skinned as well,” the doctor pointed out. “Perhaps they have evolved, or there might be several subspecies. It might explain why the humans have refused to divulge the location of their home planet.”

  “We can only say that we do not know,” Thumis reiterated. “It is possible that the humans are descendants of the Akuta. It is also possible that they are not.”

  “How are we to know?” Toonpin asked. “Do we treat them as if they are Akuta or do we trust them and hope for the best?”

  “Their story is a bit hard to chew,” Goeglict said. “I find it difficult to believe that a species capable of faster-than-light travel is unable to detect an asteroid in the path of their ship.”

  “Their stardrive is based on the ability to jump through higher dimensions,” Vevicty, a renowned theoretical physicist, said, joining the conversation. “This type of travel would preclude the ability to detect an asteroid at the destination until after the ship had arrived.”

  “Does it also explain how they managed to end up so far from home?” Toonpin asked.

  “I have not yet had time to think about the ramifications of such a stardrive,” Vevicty replied. “But, based on the explanation given to us by the humans, it is at least a plausible excuse.”

  “I, for one, am not sure I believe their story,” Toonpin said with finality. “I say they are Akuta. They claim to need our help to repair their ship. That means they’ll be asking to assess our technology. It's a ploy for them to gather information to be used against us.”

  “Nonsense!” Vevicty fired back, the hairs on his upper body bristling. “They seem like decent people. If they were Akuta I would think their level of technology would be much more advanced.”

  “Then why are they so interested in the ships we are building?” Toonpin asked, raising his voice.

  “Wouldn't you be curious?” Vevicty answered Toonpin's question with one of his own.

  “Until we know for certain,” Councilman Goeglict said, stepping in before Toonpin could reply, “we’ll restrict the humans to this facility and limit the information they have access to. We don't want to risk alienating them if they’re not Akuta, but if they are, we need to limit the tactical information they may gather.” Getting out of his seat, Goeglict added, “Now that the humans have been tended to by our medical staff I would like to meet with them.”

  The meeting broke up as everyone made the short trip down the hall to the area of the hospital where the humans were now located. A few minutes later, they were gathered around a hospital bed. The doctor performed a quick examination of AJ then announced, “He should be coming around soon.”

  Heather, Scott, and Thomas had patiently waited while the doctor performed his evaluation. As he stepped aside, they once again assumed their position at the foot of the bed.

  Thomas held up an instrument and said, “Will our captain be okay?”

  An identical instrument sticking out of one of Choril's pockets began chattering in an alien voice. The doctor pulled it out of his pocket and replied, “He will be fine. The anesthetic appears to be wearing off and he should regain consciousness in a few minutes.”

  “Thank you for treating our injuries,” Thomas, who had assumed the roll of spokesman for the humans, replied.

  Goeglict took the translating device from the doctor. There was a short delay as he fumbled to find a way to comfortably hold the alien device. “We are very sorry your ship was damaged. Do you think it can be repaired?”

  “I think so,” Thomas replied but didn't offer up any details.

  “Even though our resources are limited, we will, of course, assist in any way possible,” Goeglict said. “Have you informed your mother ship of the situation? Are they sending help?”

  “Our ship has been informed,” Thomas carefully replied. There was a short delay as he contemplated the rest of his answer. He could have lied; he could have said nothing; instead, he decided to tell the truth, but not all of it. “No help will be arriving at this time. Have you contacted the other nations of your planet as we asked?”

  Goeglict had noticed the delay in Thomas's reply and wondered what the human was hiding. “Your previous request was a point of confusion for us,” the Councilman said. �
��It required an explanation from your ship's computer before we finally understood what it was you were asking. Our planet is not divided into separate nations. I am a member of the council that governs the entire planet.”

  Thomas was about to reply but stopped when he noticed that AJ was moving. Leaning over the Captain, he said, “Captain, it's Thomas. You're in a hospital. Do you understand me?”

  AJ licked his lips and his eyes fluttered open. The light hurt causing him to squint. “I'm thirsty,” he said, his voice weak but clear. “Is everyone else okay?”

  “Heather has a broken left arm and Scott's right shoulder was dislocated. Other than that and a lot of bruises we're doing fine,” Thomas replied moving away from AJ. “The Keldans have patched us up pretty good.”

  AJ opened his eyes wider and turned his head. The instant he caught sight of the concerned doctor standing next to the bed he reacted as if he had been injected with pure adrenaline. AJ sat up so fast his head nearly collided with Thomas. His eyes grew wide with fear and he struggled to climb out of the bed. Screaming and cursing, he continued to struggle as Heather and Thomas both tried to calm him down.

  Not knowing what was happening, the Keldans quickly backed away.

  The struggle suddenly stopped. AJ had become unconscious and once again lay still. Concern for his patient forced the doctor to quickly move forward. “Why did he react that way?” he asked, his practiced eyes scanning the various instruments monitoring AJ's condition.

  “I don't know,” Thomas told him as Heather hovered over the Captain.

  “I think he fainted,” Heather said. “Did you see him? He looked like he was scared out of his hide.”

  “Will he recover?” doctor Choril asked, concerned over the well-being of the alien under his care.

  “Yes, and quickly I might add,” Thomas told him.

  “Perhaps it would be wise if we were to withdraw until he is more fully awake,” Thumis suggested.

  “I concur,” Choril replied, turning towards the door.

  A few minutes later, AJ again began to wake. His eyes blinked a few times then shot open as he quickly sat upright in the bed. He looked around as if trying to find a source of perceived danger.