"I have no idea if there're any planets at all. If there were a planet, how would you pay for fuel? We have a few things we secreted on board but I have no idea how much they want for fuel or how much those things would be worth. The blue star is our destination and I think those rockets will fly to the sun to bring us back fuel," Ron said.
"I hope you're right. The Bugs fired 3 or 4 of those rockets at different stars and the rockets never came back. They were really ticked at loosing them. The rockets were worth a lot of money as artifacts of the Alcantara. This space ship was one of theirs. The Bugs found it in the Burbidge Chain Galaxy in the middle of nowhere. There was no clue how long it had been there, where it came from or what happened to the crew. I think some of these rockets came off of this ship," Tik chimed in.
Gus put in his two cents worth, "Our fuel is limited and if this doesn't work we may not have enough to get out of the solar system. Our water, food and air are limited also. We scavenged what we could but it won't last indefinitely. I need some sand and Tik will need her UV light or we will be back in the same shape that you found us when you were first captured. Do you remember the troubles we had? By the way, how did the Bugs capture you and how did you get the translator unit and the healer unit?"
Ron thought back to that hot July day over two years ago. He started his story, "I was on Earth working in a circuit breaker box. These boxes feed electrical power to the different circuits where electrical appliances are plugged in. I had to work on it with the power on and just as I was ready to stick my screw driver inside there was a big sonic boom with a flash of light. I jumped and stabbed the screw driver right into the main incoming power line. I was being electrocuted when the power suddenly went off. I felt a tingle and felt so numb I couldn't move. I never did lose consciousness and I was aware of being grabbed by several Bugs. I had a tool pouch on and they left it on me. When they loaded me onto the planetary space ship that the Bugs use to fly back and forth to the mother ship, I had enough use of my arms and legs to push against the door jamb just as they lifted me in. I fell right on top of one of our little robed friends. When I landed on top of it, I smashed down with my elbow. I didn't drive its head as far down inside its shoulders as Gus did today but it snapped its neck. It was wearing a robe like they usually do but it had a cape on also. I rolled off the Bug and had just enough movement to grab the cape and roll it under my body. I don't know why I grabbed the cape but it had pockets in it which contained the translator and healer units. All of us are glad now that I did grab the cape. The Bugs didn't even notice that I had the cape. Hmm….I wonder if bright sunlight affects their eye sight? The Bugs didn't miss a beat; they just finished loading me into the planetary ship and brought me to the mother ship. The Bug with the snapped neck followed the rest and it was hours before the stupid thing finally realized it was dead. They are just like some filthy vermin we have on Earth. You can cut off their head and it takes hours for the body to die.
When we got to the mother ship, they threw me into one of the little rooms and left. The tingle I felt was a stun gun and its effect lasted for another couple of hours. I figured out later that because I was grounded in the breaker box, a lot of the stun bled off in the electrical grid. The Bugs estimated I would be out for about eight hours so I had time to examine both units and hide them in my boots before they came back to get me. I folded the cape and stuck it in my tool pouch. I had no idea what the healer was but I figured out what the translator was. As long as the unit was touching my bare skin I could figure out what the writing over the door switch said. When the Bugs came back I understood what they were talking about. I didn't let on that I knew what they were saying; I just tried to see if any of them understood English. I don't think they do; but other Bugs had translators, so they could communicate with me. They took me to the room/cell that you two were in. Tik wasn't a pretty sight and I had no idea about you. I knew you were big and maybe dangerous but I didn't realize how sick you were. How did they get you Gus? How long had you been in there before I got there?"
Gus thought for a minute before he replied, "I was there over a year before you arrived. I lived on the planet Prokne in Coddington's Nebula. Prokne is a desert planet where gravity pull is greater than what is set on Auntie. I was in a group riding and packing our kamaals to WuxiCity. The kamaals are our six legged beast of burden. They can pack several hundred pounds and go for long distances with very little water or food. They are much more practical in the desert than mechanical vehicles. The sand clogs machinery and motors very quickly.
We had goods we hoped to trade for tools and energy cells. My people, the Sand Ghosts, are nomadic and live on the edge of the desert near the mountains but the Jiangau build and live in the few large cities on my planet. There are a few small villages that are trade centers for my people but you have to go to the Jiangau in the cities for the good trades. The Jiangau manufacture the energy cells and tools that we need. We provide the raw materials and other items they need to survive in the cities. With such a small population, this arrangement has worked well for us for centuries.
We were three days from WuxiCity when the Bugs flew over us. They flew so low that the kamaals spooked and ran away. My kamaal threw off its pack and me and then followed the others. We had never seen space ships before and I wasn't sure what had just happened. I picked up the pack and started to track my group. I didn't dare leave the pack because the wind could come up at any time and would bury it so I could never find it. The Bugs needed someone strong enough to lift large objects and move them around. When they saw me pick up the pack, they stunned me. I didn't remember anything until I woke up in a cell on the mother ship. They kept me moving large objects without the proper nourishment until I was so sick I could hardly move myself. That's when you came in. Tik, where and how did they get you?"
Tik told her story, "I'm from the galaxy Melpomene and the planet Vesta IV. My people, the Mis'stears, all seem to have a knack for electronics. We can make about any kind work and computers are my specialty. I don't care who makes them or what different types they use; I can fix them and program them. I don't know how to describe it but I can almost feel what needs to be done. I was working at the space port at Anbang when the Bugs landed with one of their planetary space ships. They asked about a computer technician and the space port directed them to the company I worked for. My company sent me out to work on their computers. I worked several days and had most of their problems cleared up. The last day I went to the space ship thinking I would be finished that day. Just before I was finished, they took off and headed to the mother ship. They grabbed me about six months before you, Ron. Someone on that mother ship owes me a lot of back wages and it sounds like they will owe both of you also."
"Well, this space ship is a down payment on what they owe. I, for one, want to make sure they leave Earth and other planets alone. They need to be taught that they can't kidnap a being every time they have a job they can't do," Ron stated emphatically.
Gus growled, "I agree. How do we teach them to stay off our planets?"
"I don't know. We'll find a way. Right now, we just need to make sure we get away and get fuel for this ship," Ron replied. "We need to get those rockets ready to use, and Tik, you need to check those computers and comm units we patched into the console where the Bugs ripped out the old ones. They seem to be working right now but we need to make sure that all of the computers are talking to one another and everything is secured in place. We'll need those comm units later but, for now, we have to keep complete radio silence. Once you're sure everything is all right maybe you could run checks on the ship's computer memory banks and see if you can find anything the Bugs missed. Gus, we can explore more of the ship with the same thing in mind. There are still some areas we couldn't get into and I don't think the Bugs had any better luck."
Ron and Gus walked to the hold of the space ship and started setting up the rockets. Ron checked the computer and found out what settings they needed and made the necessar
y adjustments. Gus helped move the rockets when needed and explored more of the space ship. Finally, Ron had everything adjusted to his satisfaction. All they needed to do was fuel up the rockets and load them into the external tubes on the space ship. He joined Gus in exploring areas they couldn't get to while they were on the mother ship.
Tik double-checked all of her installment and redid some of the temporary connections. She agreed with Ron about not wanting something coming loose during a crisis. She made sure the computers themselves were securely fastened into the console. Then she ran diagnostic checks to make sure all the computers were working together. One computer had some quirks she didn't like so she tweaked some of the programming and it worked a lot better. Next she started checking the data bank in the original space ship computer. There were parts of it that had been encrypted and she was certain the Bugs hadn't seen any of those files. She tried several different ways to get into the files but she was not having much luck. After several hours of straining, she had to move away from the computer. She decided to see if she could find Ron and Gus. The space ship was set to warn them if anything approached or if there was any other anomaly so they didn't really need anyone to stay in the flight cockpit.
Tik found Ron and Gus working on a locked door in the level just above the hold. They had Gus' and Ron's computers and had been trying for over an hour to get the door unlocked. Tik looked closely and couldn't see any progress on the computer. They decided to put the computers away for now and to go get something to eat and then get some rest. The last two or three days had been very intense and nerve-wracking and they were all feeling it. As they headed to the dining area, Ron said they needed to tell their story and have the ship's computer record it in case they ever had a chance to use it against the Bugs.
Chapter 2
Each one of the trio fixed the nourishment their body needed. After they had finished eating they cleaned up the galley and sat down. Tik called to the computer and told it to record their story.
Since Gus had been captured first, he started the tale. Gus woke up feeling confused. The surface he was lying on didn't feel like the desert he had been on. He opened his eyes and looked around at the 10 foot by 12 foot room. The ceiling looked to be about nine feet tall and had a diffused light coming from the center section. The walls were bare, smooth and a pale tan color. He sat up from the large bunk he was lying on and bumped his head on the bunk above him. He smoothed the kilt he was wearing and checked the crossed straps that went over his shoulders. The straps were attached to the belt holding his kilt and his personal pouch. The straps had small pockets that held his personal tools. Besides the personal pouch, he had a knife and a hammer/ax hanging from the belt. All his tools and weapons seemed to be intact and everything was still in his personal pouch. Once he had checked his personal belongings, he looked across the room and saw another stack of bunks. The bunks all had three drawers underneath and when Gus opened the drawers under his bunk, they were empty. He checked the other drawers and they were empty also. The rest of the room was bare except for a door and a small depression in the floor against the wall opposite the door. Gus tried to move the bunks and found they were fastened to the floor. He went to the door to try it but it was locked. Gus grabbed the handle and strained for all he was worth. The door didn't budge. Next he went to the bunks and tried to move them again. He looked closely but couldn't see any thing attaching them to the floor. He paced the room for several minutes but could see no way out or any way to communicate with those outside the door. He went back to the door and pressed his ear to it. He listened intently but could not hear anything. Finally he returned to the bunk and sat down.
The light never varied so Gus had no idea how long he sat there. Suddenly the door swung open and a small creature stepped in. The creature was in a dark gray robe with a hood. The hood was up and there appeared to be a face shield covering the entire opening of the hood. The creature was about four feet tall and the robe went clear to the floor so Gus couldn't see what its feet looked like. The robe had two sleeves on each side of the body and the sleeves were long enough that no hands showed.
Gus stared for a few seconds and then roared loudly, "Who are you? Where am I at?"
The creature stood and stared impassively. The creature saw a Sandghost from the planet Prokne. The Sandghost stood over seven feet tall with very broad shoulders and long thick arms. It had a large barrel-shaped torso. The hands on the ends of the arms were enormous with four fingers and a thumb on each hand. The head was almost a cube with almost square corners like a block of stone that an artist had just started carving. It had the eyes, nose and mouth but it hadn’t been rounded like a human head yet. It was very massive, in proportion with the rest of the body. Each leg was bigger around than the creature in the robe. The Sandghost's skin looked like someone had made a giant statue out of sand and then had given it life. The creature didn't know it but Gus weighed over 400 pounds. The creature slowly took all of this in and didn't make a sound.
This infuriated Gus even more and he roared even louder, "Listen, you pile of kamaal waste, I'll split you in two." Gus started to take a step toward the creature.
The creature moved the lower limb on the right side and reached into a fold of the robe. The limb moved quicker than Gus' eye could follow as it pulled a small slender rod with some sort of grip. The creature held the grip in something like a hand with two fingers and a thumb. The fingers looked like they had small suction cups on the ends.
He had barely completed the step when he saw a bluish light on the end of the rod. He dropped to his knees as he felt an excruciatingly intense pain. The pain was so bad he could hardly breathe and he definitely couldn't move. After what seemed an eternity, the pain stopped and he gasped for breath. He was so weak all he could do was kneel there, trying to get air into his body.
"I am Nansha of the Challeka Traders of Elgebar V. Our supreme commander is Zibo ao Te and you are her prisoner. If you do as I say, we may, at our discretion, offer you a chance to purchase your freedom. If you threaten us again, the pain will be worse next time. We have work for you to do to earn your keep. You will follow me now to see where you will work," the small creature said in a quiet voice in Gus' language.
The creature turned and stepped from the room, where it mounted a small disk that sat on the floor. Gus dragged himself to his feet and followed. It was all he could do to put one foot in front of the other but shortly he felt himself returning to normal. The disk rose about six inches off the floor and moved down a large passage-way. Gus followed as best he could until his limbs started moving normally again. As he started moving better, the creature moved the disk faster down the passage-way. Gus thought about attacking the creature again but the memory of the pain was too fresh. He decided to bide his time and would get this creature the first chance he got. Sandghosts were known for their long memory.
The creature led Gus down the passage-way to an elevator and they dropped several levels. When the elevator opened, they moved into another passage-way. There were more of the robed Challekans and several other aliens moving in both directions. The creature led Gus to a doorway that swung open as they moved up to it. When they stepped through, Gus saw a huge room with several of the flying machines that had spooked his kamaal. Gus saw that some of these machines had a ramp down in the back and different species of beings were loading and unloading boxes, bags and equipment. Nansha directed Gus to one of the flying machines where another robed creature was directing the unloading process. Nansha waved toward Gus and then chirped, clicked and rustled to the other robed figure.
The robed Challekan came over to Gus and said, "My name is Sabah. You can start carrying those sacks to the grav-sled over there. I'll be over on that platform observing so don't try anything."
Gus debated in his mind about smashing this creature or doing as it said and looking for a better chance to escape. He decided to comply for now and bide his time. He really didn't want to be zapped with that ray aga
in. He slowly walked up the ramp and grabbed a bag. He carried it to the grav-sled and threw it down. He turned and slowly walked back into the flying machine and repeated the process. When all of the sacks were unloaded, Sabah took Gus to a grav-sled and told him to start loading the boxes in another flying machine. He showed him where to store the boxes and told him to make sure that the stacks were tight and neat. Gus got all of the boxes in the flying machine and then Sabah showed him how to put a net over them and secure them. Another grav-sled arrived and Sabah told Gus to start loading these items next to the boxes he had just secured. Gus noticed that Sabah was supervising about 20 other large alien creatures. Gus didn't see any other Sandghosts but some of the other creatures were as big as he was; however, they didn't seem to think on their own. They acted more like the robots Gus saw occasionally.
Gus didn't know how long he continued to work because there was no way to tell time. There were no clocks and the lights never varied. Finally, Sabah collected all of the creatures in his control and they started walking single file back to the elevator that Gus had come down earlier. Sabah indicated that Gus should fall in at the tail of the line while the robed Challekan brought up the rear on its' disk. The line entered the elevator and Sabah touched the elevator controls to make it move upward. When it came to a stop, the line moved down the passageway to a large hall where the other creatures picked up trays that contained food. When it came Gus' turn, he found a tray with food that he recognized but of such poor quality that ordinarily he wouldn't have eaten it. Now he knew that he had to have nourishment to keep up his strength. Gus looked around and saw several hundred assorted creatures eating in the hall. He noticed that there was very little conversation between the different species. If there were two of a kind sitting together, they might be talking but there was no conversation between different species.
Alcantaran 1: Alien Abduction Page 2
