by Craig Gaydas
The doorbell interrupted us. I yelled my customary “come in” when Gard gazed at me through a series of whirls and clicks.
“What?” I asked.
“If I could give you a word of advice, Nathan,” he said mechanically. “It would be wise to check the digital viewport to see who is outside your door before inviting them in.”
“What the heck do I have to be afraid of aboard a secure Explorer's League vessel?” I asked. “Do you guys have intergalactic boogeymen?”
Before Gard could explain further, Calypso entered the room. His demeanor was intense and his fiery gaze shifted from Gard to myself. I squirmed uneasily under their intensity.
“How is your training coming along?” he inquired.
“Gard has helped me cover most of xenoarchaeology and I started going through the geology section…” I trailed off when he crossed his arms and appeared dissatisfied.
I glanced at Gard but he continued sitting in the corner staring at us through unblinking eyes. It didn't appear I was going to get much support from my android buddy during this particular discussion. God forbid I bring up Jesus or the Smithsonian which might cause him to blow a gasket from rambling on incessantly.
“Is something wrong?” I asked.
Calypso shrugged. “Well I hoped that you would be further along in your training, but I'm afraid we will have to conduct the field training portion sooner than expected.”
“Why is that?”
Calypso coughed dryly. “We were on a course for Caelum when the Argus detected a celestial body in the solar system of GX-771. Initial diagnostic scans picked up trace amounts of life on the surface of the planet, but we need to get closer to confirm. A scouting party needs to be ready and in place in the event life is confirmed.” He dropped his hands to his hips and locked eyes with me. “We need to have you ready as well,” he warned.
“So what do you need me to do?” I threw up my hands in exasperation.
Calypso sighed and looked at me sympathetically. “I'm sorry to dump this on you so quickly and I hoped to have more time to get you acclimated to the role, but unfortunately we will be orbiting the planet in less than an hour, so you can see that time is not on our side.” He turned toward the door but stopped before stepping out.
“Satou will put together a course on how to use the equipment. Make sure to listen to everything he has to say,” he said quickly and left.
I stared at the door and wondered how quickly they planned on “acclimating” me to my new role as their map guardian. My thoughts drifted to the previous Cartographer's untimely death and I wondered if I was speeding down a path to a similar fate.
“Do not fret, Nathan, Satou is one of the best engineers we have in the Consortium. He will help you quickly adapt to the use of science lab equipment,” Gard offered in consolation.
Before I could respond the doorbell rang again and I looked at the door as if it were about to bite me.
“OK so what's this digital viewer thing you mentioned before?” I asked.
Gard rolled over to the door and pushed on a section of the wall next to it. It popped open, revealing a digital screen that flickered to life. I saw Satou standing on the other side of the door with his arms crossed, appearing impatient.
“Are you going to answer the door?”
“Yeah I guess,” I groaned and opened the door.
Satou shambled in somberly and appeared to be as excited about the news as I was.
“Judging by the look on your face, you have already received the news from Calypso,” he grumbled.
“Yeah let's hope I don't end up like your last Cartographer,” I muttered.
A surprised look crossed his face before settling into a cross between sympathy and guilt. “I regret you had to learn about your predecessor in this manner, but be assured that I will do everything in my power to prevent a repeat.” He guided me out of the room and down the hall.
I grunted my disbelief but followed him anyway. At that particular moment I wasn't interested in the other aliens milling around me and kept my eyes trained on the floor. It wasn't until we left the Cirrus and stepped into the Argus boarding hangar that I looked around at my surroundings.
“Why have we left the ship?”
“The science lab in the Argus is far superior to the one in the Cirrus. We will have access to more supplies, equipment and research materials,” he replied, quickening his pace.
As we strolled through the halls of the Argus I marveled at the amount of crewmembers compared to the Cirrus. There was at least five Argus crewmembers for every member of the Cirrus. I observed similar races on the Argus as I had on the Cirrus but there were also strange, new races I couldn't dream of in my wildest imagination. The one that really caught my eye (or rather the corner of my eyes) were the ghosts. Satou watched with amusement when I froze and watched a group of phantasmal spirits gliding along the hall. One casually looked at me and passed through the closed door at the end of the hall, causing my jaw to drop in horror. I stared at the door, half-expecting it to come to life and turn into some sort of gaping maw like a nightmarish funhouse.
“Umbrals,” Satou laughed before looking at me apologetically. “I'm sorry, Nathan, I cannot help it.”
I turned to look at him. “Can't help what?”
Satou put his hand to his chin and stroked his tentacles. “What is it that you humans say? Oh yes, I remember now—it looks like you have seen a ghost.”
Satou brayed with laughter, reminding me of a donkey in heat. I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms. “Very funny, so what the hell are Umbrals?”
Satou gestured toward the closed door they passed through. “That is an Umbral. They are from the planet Umbra and have the ability to pass through solid objects however, unlike the legends on Earth, they are not deceased. The planet Umbra is comprised primarily of gas, similar to Jupiter, and is very inhospitable to most sentient beings.”
He motioned for me to follow him down the hall. I fell in line behind him while he continued to explain the existence of our ghostly brethren.
“If I can recall correctly, we almost categorized Umbra as uninhabited when we first came across it, years ago. If it was not for the keen eye of our science officer we would have continued on, missing out on the opportunity to learn a lot of our technology from them.”
“Like what?” I asked before we ended up standing in front of a set of double doors.
“Someday I will tell you, Nathan, but for right now my priority is getting you prepared for planetary scouting,” he said as the doors opened, revealing a large research laboratory inside.
I followed Satou inside and admired the amount of equipment lying around. Large bioreactors, stainless steel tables and cabinets, shelves of vials, gigantic ventilation systems, and measurement instruments adorned the lab. There was something different about this room, though, and I hadn't been able to put my finger on it until my eyes fell on a rack standing along the far wall—a weapons rack. There were rifles, handguns, weapons that looked like bazookas and flamethrowers, grenades—stuff that would be out of place in any research laboratory.
“I suppose it looks a little out of place among all of the research equipment,” Satou said, noticing the look on my face.
Turning from the weapons rack I noticed a figure hunched over one of the stainless steel tables. He turned in the direction of our voices and put down the tool he was using to work on what appeared to be some sort of walkie-talkie. I wasn't sure if he was happy, mad or sad to see us because he was missing a face. Well it wasn't really missing but it was covered by a large fishbowl helmet with tinted glass, containing the mystery inside. The only thing I saw was my own face reflected in the glass, so I looked at something more interesting like his wardrobe which was even more mysterious. Mystery Man wore what looked like a suit of armor, but when I got closer I saw that the material was more like an ashen colored synthetic fiber, rather than metal.
“So this is the human,” Mystery Man boomed. His voice reminded me o
f James Earl Jones narrating a commercial, except more mechanical in nature.
Satou bowed his head slightly and turned to me. “Nathan, this is Kale. He is a member of the Council of Five and is in charge of diplomatic relations for the Consortium.”
I walked up to Kale and extended my hand. “Nice to meet you.”
His head bowed slightly and looked at my hand. Although I couldn't read his facial expression I was pretty sure he looked at it in disgust, based on the muffled grunt that came from his helmeted head.
“Let's get one thing clear, human,” Kale's voice dripped with venom. “I am no fan of your kind and am adamantly opposed to you even being a part of the scouting party, much less the Cartographer.”
I took a step back and shoved my hand into my pocket. “Well, I guess that means you can cross me off your Christmas card list, I suppose.”
I felt Satou's hand on my shoulder long before he physically placed it there. Although I had been used to being talked down to (Natronix came to mind) I didn't appreciate the extra venom that seemed to add spice to Kale's statement. My witty rebuttal didn't faze Kale in the least.
“With that said,” he continued. “You were hand selected by Calypso and I hold no power over the Explorer's League. I just hope that you last a little longer than your predecessor.”
He picked up the walkie-talkie that he was working on and left the room. I stewed in my own personal rage juice when I saw movement at the corner of my eye.
“Well, now that the unpleasantness is over,” a mysterious voice called from the corner. “I guess we can get back to work, huh?”
I turned toward the source of the sound but there was no one there. All I could see was a large steel cabinet, a table with a rack of vials and an object that looked like a blender (later learned to be a chemical Fermentor).
“You can come out of hiding now, Wraith,” Satou grumbled.
The person known as Wraith exited the steel cabinet, but didn't open the door and simply walk out—he passed through the solid steel door and materialized in front of us. The Umbral named Wraith was completely devoid of hair and as white as bleached chalk. He was tall, about six and a half feet, lanky and although I could see him he still appeared dim like he was out of focus in a bad camera.
“I wasn't `hiding',” he retorted. “I was simply waiting for an appropriate time to make my entrance.”
“Nathan, I would like you to meet Wraith, our geologist,” Satou said with a hint of amusement.
“Nice to meet you Nathan, I promise I am much more pleasant than Kale.”
“Geologist?” I asked.
Wraith heaved his chest to make himself appear bigger, but it only served to make him look ridiculous with his lanky frame. “Yes, my job is to collect any solid or liquid matter from inhabited planets and analyze them in order to process that data and determine the history of the planet. Rock and mineral samples generally define the genealogy of a planet.”
“But that's not all,” Satou interrupted.
“Yes, yes I was getting to that,” Wraith huffed. “I also collect specimens to determine if anything of value could be extracted from them on behalf of the Consortium.”
My eyes narrowed suspiciously. “What happens then?”
Wraith held up his hands so quick that they vanished briefly. “Don't fret, Nathan, we never take anything by force. If there is something of value on the planet and the planet has a high potential threshold then that is where Kale comes in.”
“Kale will meet with the leaders of the planet and negotiate a trade agreement,” Satou clarified. “It does not happen often because the represented member planets within the Consortium usually provide us with everything we need, but sometimes there are exceptions.”
“Yes that!” Wraith waved his hands impatiently toward us before retreating to the cabinet that came from earlier. This time, instead of passing through the doors, he opened them, revealing several objects that resembled smart phones.
“Satou briefed me on your situation,” Wraith said over his shoulder. “I guess the first order of business is getting you up to speed with the equipment.” He removed one of the objects and held it out toward me. “This is your most important piece of equipment so guard it with your life.”
I took it and flipped it over in my hands. “OK, what is it?” I asked blankly which elicited a chuckle from Satou.
Wraith reached behind the object and pulled out an earphone attached by a wire and placed it in my ear, clipping the base to a belt loop in my jeans.
“This is an upgrade to your translator,” he said mildly. “It is also a communicator, allowing you to communicate to your team as well as your ship. Don't lose it, especially if you are separated from your team.”
The communicator hung loosely from the belt loop and I fidgeted with it. Wraith laughed and grabbed my hand. His grasp was cold and clammy and made me think of a fish pulled from the bottom of the ocean.
“Don't worry too much about that,” he mumbled. “You are going to get an environmental suit anyway which has a pouch for the communicator.”
Wraith stepped away from me as Satou handed me a rod, about twelve inches in length with a smooth, round end cap. The item had been constructed from a lightweight charcoal gray metal material, but the handle itself was like leather. I turned it over in my hand and looked at it, half-expecting it to come to life (you never knew what to expect with alien technology).
“Go ahead and try it out,” Satou said with a smile.
I gripped it tightly with both hands and swung it like a baseball bat. “Are we going to be playing baseball?”
Satou grabbed my hand and stopped me. “This is a graphite rod. Grab it with one hand and swing it like a club,” he grumbled and made a motion like he was hammering a nail into a board. “Practice hitting that pole over there.” He motioned toward a decorative column attached to duct work in the corner of the room.
I walked over and clubbed the pole with the rod and my arm went numb, a thousand pins and needles cascaded from my wrist to my shoulder blade. I dropped it on the ground with a clank and waved my arm up and down.
Satou roared with laughter. “Be careful with what you hit, Nathan. This weapon can drop most sentient beings but it will take a toll on your arm.”
Wraith brayed like a donkey. I held my numb arm in my hand and stared daggers at them both which only served to magnify their laughter. I was about to pick up the weapon and bludgeon the two of them when they stopped.
Their raucous laughter drowned out the sound of the door sliding open behind me, but I turned to follow their gaze. Calypso stood in the doorway with arms crossed and a fiery look. I noticed a glove dangling from his hand.
“Well, I hope I didn't interrupt your party,” he bellowed and tossed the glove to Satou, who snatched it in mid-air.
“No sir,” Satou mumbled. “We were just training Nathan with the use of the graphite rod.” His looked at the glove before asking, “Are you sure?”
Calypso nodded. “He will need more than that,” he said gesturing toward rod.
“I agree,” said Wraith. “But do you think it's necessary?”
“I'd rather play it safe,” Calypso replied.
Satou nodded reluctantly and held the glove out. “Nathan, slip your hand into this.”
I looked at the glove like it was a living entity, ready to bite my hand off at the first opportunity. Knowing Satou would never put me in a dangerous situation on purpose I slipped my hand inside. The material was like a cross between silk and chainmail—it slipped on easily and comfortably, but felt sturdy enough to stop a bullet.
“Now squeeze your hand tightly and form a fist,” Satou commanded.
I did as instructed and the glove crackled with a mysterious energy source. The object hummed with power like I flipped on some sort of alien power generator. After a while the humming felt like millions of hornets, flitting around inside their nest, except they extended from my hand to head travelling up and down my arm like a
Christmas parade.
“Those are stun knuckles,” Wraith explained. “Much more potent than the rod. Let's just say if you strike someone with those, they are going to be in for one bad day.”
I looked at the end of my arm like I was holding a leper. “Um, well how do I turn it off?”
“Just unclench your fist,” Satou replied coolly.
I did as instructed and the numbing power of the glove washed away, taking the humming with it. I took it off and set it on one of the steel tables where Wraith retrieved it and turned it over in his hands. “Added to the list,” he said before placing it into a rucksack.
“What's that?” I asked, motioning toward the pack.
Wraith smiled his ghostly smile. “Well, Nathan, this pack will contain all of the equipment you need for scouting.” He reached in and pulled out a familiar hammer.
“My rock hammer!” I exclaimed.
He held it out for me. “Yes a very useful tool, especially when it comes to gathering geological samples.”
I grabbed the hammer and clutched it against my chest. Memories of my times exploring with Sam came flooding back, bringing the tears along for the ride. Those exploits seemed so long ago, in another lifetime. I felt the familiar pangs of homesickness wrap themselves around my heart and I closed my eyes to beat back the impending flood of tears that would soon accompany them.
“We figured that you would want something familiar with you on this mission and it was actually Wraith who came up with the idea,” Satou said and placed his hand on my shoulder.
Wraith loaded several bottles of water into my rucksack. He must have sensed me staring holes into his head and looked up. “What? I understand that humans are seventy percent water and need it to prevent dehydration, so I wanted to make sure you had enough.”
“Thank you,” I said and held up the hammer. He nodded his acknowledgement and continued loading the backpack.
Calypso's radio communicator beeped and a high-pitched voice howled from it, reminding me of nails against a chalk board. “Sir, we are now entering the planet's orbit. Shuttle Navetta is ready in Docking Bay Seven where Captain Jasper will await your party.”
