by Devon Shubin
“No, no Inspector,” the President interrupted him again, “What you are suggesting is to use it as technological weapon. That is a violation to our people and our peaceful diplomacy.”
He looked at the President and then Joskan, “Well, I just thought it was an idea that could help. Like I said, I didn’t come here to help battle a sea monster.”
“Actually, Inspector, when I heard what you did on Lordak Pogna for King Beziah, I requested that USHA use your services here on Underlay Lask. I hope everything he wrote in his report was true. Because Vog is no army of rebel Bodas. When he speaks, Yiskuliangs say his breath causes unconsciousness. Then he eats them.”
The Space Traveler was surprised. He was never summoned to help save a people or a problem for that matter. The eradicators were the workers who came to wipe the dlom out when it tested positive. He was the Inspector, a scientist pencil pusher some said. The only reason he had a ship was because transportation of beings was sanctioned.
“Ms. President, I am no hero to save the day. It’s true that I am a Space Traveler, but no soldier. I was not trained for battle.”
Joskan answered for his mother, “And yet, here you are. But try not to fret Inspector, you will have me, and it looks like you have her.”
Alegna felt cheated in a way. She was not formally introduced to the President nor her son. She kept her mouth shut though, as she was wise enough not to change course of the conversation. She knew enough of Vog that could be useful to the mission.
The Space Traveler stopped eating anything that was served. He was thinking deeply about how he could be of use to them Finally, he broke the silence and inquired, “How can he be defeated? I mean, what use am I against a being your people have fought and have lost for centuries now?”
“Two centuries,” the President professed, “Ever since the great war. It is true, we did pollute our own planet with our destructive weapons. Back then, I was just a child, but my grandmother explained to me that the army had thought then was a good time to rid our planet of the Eerieleens, Vog’s species. It was good idea but there was a serious repercussion. Our weapons polluted the oceans and many Yiskuliangs died from disease. Vog, he was clever enough to hid from our underwater weapons in the deep. Years came and went until finally there were sightings of a Eerieleen. Many brushed it off to hoaxes. But when Yiskuliangs were being tortured in the southern hemisphere, there was no doubting we had not killed them all.
“By then, our treaties were established and our weapons were all abolished. Our people were suffering from disease so we could not go back and use a weapon against Vog. It was a matter of principle. He took advantage of that and continues to torment us day and night. Somehow, he has gained intel, perhaps through mind reading of some sort. Who really knows. Having a conversation with him is like Most Yiskuliangs left the area and moved North. Young men travel to not only see the great Vog, but to challenge him. It’s a rite of passage to some. I just call it foolish.”
“President, why chose now to defeat him, if, I can that is?” The Space Traveler inquired as he watched Alegna eat her snake soup.
“Like I said Inspector, when word came to my ears that you have helped defeat the rebels on Lordak Pogna, I gained complete confidence in your abilities. I think you underestimate yourself and I believe that there is more good you can do in the galaxy, than just inspections.” She went back to her bowl of creepy eel like creatures.
He sighed and looked around the room and Joskan and Alegna who were trying not to stare at him as they ate in silence. Alegna did not want to face Vog ever again. She only prayed that he died of a massive heart attack under water somewhere and his bloated body washed up on the beaches. A grand celebration would then ensue by the Yiskuliangs. She could see his fifteen-foot-long arms spread out over the white sands. His eyes opened and he was pale white.
“Ms. President,” the Space Traveler said, “Even though I do not feel qualified to accept this assignment, I will to help the Yiskuliangs.”
The President nodded her head to him and smiled, “I was hoping that you would accept the mission Inspector. But I want you not to think of yourself as an Inspector any longer. You are a ‘Lyptnul,’ which means gracious male in our tongue.” She then went back to her dinner as the Space Traveler looked at Alegna knowing what was in store for them next.
In the morning, the Space Travelers ship was hovering over the recently high tide that began to recede. The moons were on the other side of the planet now, and it was time to set down on the beaches of Ondolispian. Alegna looked out the side windshield at the island that glittered in sea charms spread out over the land. The Space Traveler stood next to her as Mizpah played a soft jazz piano song in the background.
“You think we’re gonna’ make it?” He asked her.
She turned to face him, “I don’t know. It’s all so quiet down there. He is always lurking. If there was a way we could identify him before he struck, we may have a chance.”
He thought about it for a second and remembered his thermal imaging. “Infrared,” he exclaimed. “My ship has a camera at the bottom to detect water damage locations over large areas. Like when a tsunami hits a city.” He ran over to his cockpit and it the digital keyboard then typed in infrared. The screen listed the camera at the rear side of the ships belly.
“Computer,” he called, “Activate the infrared camera.”
“Initiating thermal imaging camera Captain.”
The screen pulled up the waters bellow where blues of every color waved around. Alegna stood behind him and said, “I’m glad I could help.”
He looked over his shoulder at her, “You may have just solved the puzzle.” He went back to the screen and waited.
“So, what are we looking for?” She asked him as she leaned over his shoulder.
He couldn’t help but feel the chemistry developing between them. They were both comfortable with one another and that is a recipe for a healthy relationship.
Joskan approached from the guest’s quarters, he was wiping his head with a towel from the shower he just took. He asked them, “Is it low tide?”
Alegna looked back at him and shook her head yes, “Vog should be showing his ugly head any time now. Come here and check this out, the Inspector has a device called infrared that can detect heat.”
Joskan walked closer to the screen and saw the digital blue colors that moved around signifying the cold of the waters below. He pointed to the screen and asked, “Fascinating. If the blue colors identify the cold waters, what identifies Vog?”
“If any large warm blooded creature comes in view of the infrared camera, it will turn red and yellows. Red signifies heat,” the Space Traveler explained.
Joskan patted the Space Traveler on his back and said, “Lyptnul, lets hunt the Eerieleen!” He then walked back to the guest quarters to finish getting dressed for their arrival on the beaches of Ondolispian.
Both Alegna and the Space Traveler did not take their eyes off the digital thermal imaging screen. Minutes went by. Fifteen. Twenty. Thirty minutes went by and finally a yellowish red color appeared surrounded by dark blues that grew larger. “There it is,” The Space Traveler exposed. “There’s something very big down there.”
“Vog,” Alegna exclaimed.
Joskan ran out of his quarters when he heard the commotion.
“I have a few tricks up my sleeve,” the Space Traveler said as he hit a few buttons on the hologram keypad next to the main controls and through the windshield a flying green saucer flew out of the bottom of the ship toward the waters and dove inside of them. He hit another switch and the screen displayed the saucers camera. The clear greenish blue waters gave a full view of the area where the heat was emitting from. Darkness engulfed a portion of the camera, it moved up and down like a dolphin bouncing out and back into the waters.
“You think that’s Vog?” The Space Traveler asked them. Joskan and Alegna looked at each other. “Hard to say,” Joskan answered him. “This is the daily time h
e attacks, but he’s tricky and will sometimes follow a coreplade as a shield. The experienced Yiskuliangs do not fall for his trap, but the new testers, they die every time.”
“I take it a coreplade is some sort of large fish.” The Space Traveler said as he watched the saucers camera swim toward the darkness rising to the top of the waters.
They did not answer him. Instead, Joskan leaned in over the Space Traveler. Now both he and Alegna were hovering over him. He looked over his left and then right shoulder trying to give them a hint that he was feeling crowded in. Their eyes were fixed on the screen and they did not get the hint.
“You want my seat?” He asked and both Joskan and Alegna said ‘yes!’ simultaneously as he scooted out of the way and they sandwiched in on the screen. They looked like kids in front of the T.V. on a Saturday morning.
“Ok, so I see this is a first time for you two. No problem. I’ll just watch on this.” He hit a few buttons on his wrist console and the metal ground retracted revealing a glass bottom. “Now this is what I call big time watchin’,” he laughed and when they turned to look at him standing on top of the glass the view of the waters was breath-taking. They both left the small screen and ran over to the Space Traveler who looked like a dad who just bought a big screen T.V. before the Super Bowl.
Alegna walked up to the glass floor, “Is it safe?”
“It’s safe enough for space travel,” he answered her as Joskan was too timid to try to walk on the glass floor. His mouth opened as he was amazed at the technology. He placed one foot on the laser fortress and the Space Traveler thought it would be funny to play a trick on him so he warned Joskan, “It’s not glass you know. It’s a force field.” In a hurry Joskan removed his foot and looked like he saw Vog.
The Space Traveler laughed at Joskan and commanded, “Computer, lower the ship over the heat source 200 kilometers. He looked over at the infrared screen and the yellow was gone and replaced with a large red oval shape encompassed by blue.
Joskan pointed down at his feet, “That’s Vog. Vile creature. Let’s land your ship on him Inspector!”
“Wish we could Joskan, but remember what your mommy said. No use of technological weapons. And my ship was already deemed by her as a weapon.” The Space Traveler put his two fingers up making a quotes gesture. “But there is another way. Let’s go have a talk with him.”
“Inspector, you heard what the President said Inspector. He can’t be reasoned with or deceived. You don’t stand a chance against him and if you try….he will crush you.” Alegna lamented as she then leaned down, sitting on her calves now.
“You don’t know me that well then do you Alegna. I love conflict. I eat conflict up like Vog eats…well…he juts eats. He stopped himself from saying Yiskuliangs. Instead he commanded, “Computer, take us down in the lift pad.”
“Lift pad commencing Captain.”
“Come on, all of you except Mizpah. Let’s go and see about this Vog fellow.” The Space Traveler said as he walked into the next hallway to where the lift pad sat on the metal ground. He stood on it and then looked back at Joskan and Alegna who apprehensively followed him. They climbed on the silver disk an opening in the belly of the ship retracted. The lift pad slowly lowered them over the island. From 300 feet in the sky they could see on the center of the mainland, hundreds of Yiskuliangs going about their daily routine. There were large houlds connected to one another. The tops of the funnel shaped hills had openings as volcanos. They were built for multi-family dwellings. The Yiskuliangs were a family oriented social people, this type of city was common on Underlay Lask.
As the lift pad lowered them on the inner section and away from the shore where Vog could surprise attack them, Alegna pointed outwards at the city and said, “There. That’s where my cousin lived. She has since moved on. No one gracious would live here permanently. This is a boot camp for the young and troubled.”
The lift pad lowered them within one hundred feet of the ground and Joskan warned them, “We are in striking distance now. Vog is somewhere out there and we must be vigilant.”
The Space Traveler looked behind him, away from the land and down into the sea shore. He could see darkness in the waters bellow, but was not completely convinced if it was Vog or some other sea creature. So, he inquired, “What other large animals do you have at sea? Whales?”
Joskan asked, “What is a whale?”
The Space Traveler kept his eyes on the sea below as they descended fifty feet now to the ground. “From what you described of this Vog character, a whale is similar but without hands and legs. If its beached, that is a bad thing.”
“No!” Joskan replied. “If there were any, the Eerieleens would have devoured them centuries ago.”
“Then I believe we will have a nice conversation with him very soon,” the Space Traveler said as he hit a few keys on his wrist console and his ship lifted off up into the sky out of view and transformed into camouflage replicating the spy.
Alegna hit his shoulder, “Why did you send your ship away?”
“Trust me,” he answered her with a smile.
The lift pad touched down on the wet soft white beaches. The three stepped off the pad and began walking backwards towards the hillside of the houlds. It was not long before the darkness manifested itself in the water. White caps rippled upwards. A large whale-like tale sprang out and splashed down as the enormous monstrosity Vog himself raised up from the water standing tall and proud.
“Who shall I take today?” Vog asked himself in his deep baritone voice. “YOU!” He called out and pointed to Joskan. “I have witnessed you here before as a voyeur. Now, I will be the last of your voyeurism.”
The Space Traveler was amazed at Vog’s vocabulary. He knew the President said he was intelligent, but superior vernacular in the complicated language of the Yiskuliangs was impressive.
The Space Traveler stepped in front of Joskan and said, “Vog, I am the Inspector from USHA. The United Systems Heath Association. I have traveler here from the planet Hibot’s. Perhaps you know some of the beings who lived here on Underlay Lask, the Triparians.”
When Vog heard the name Triparians he backed up out of the water and stood erect. Eighty feet tall he appeared. His shadow encapsulated the beach. “Triparians! Triparians can fly, like the birds of Naskaro.” His echoing voice rumbled across the seashore as he held his hand up in the sky and it blocked the blue morning sun. “They have all perished just like the Eerieleen. EXCEPT ME!” He pointed to his chest.
“Vog, it has been said that they call you ‘the undefeated,’ is that true?” The Space Traveler asked him as Alegna and Joskan hid behind a rock formation of houlds. Vog’s tail splashed in the water twenty feet behind him.
He answered the Inspector, “Because of my superior intelligence there will never be a Yiskuliang who can defeat me. These are primitive beings, slow, small and weak. Ask them, they know who rules the land above!” Vog shifted side to side in the waist high waters. He smashed both his webbed hands in the waters and continued, “For centuries I have been ruler of Underlay. For decades, I have hunted the small beings. But, you purple creature, I have never seen your kind before. You are violet colored like soso fish. What are you?”
“I am glad you asked Vog,” the Space Traveler replied, “I am a Duradusk. I come from the planet Hibot’s. It’s a rainbow-colored planet with twenty species of civilizations. Six of those species excluding mine, refugeed from other worlds after the great war.”
Vog’s eyes opened wide when he heard him use the phrase ‘great war,’ he responded, “The weapons! The weapons of the Yiskuliangs have destroyed my kind. Now, I seek my revenge daily upon them. The young Yiskuliangs try and battle me every morning and I eat each one as my meal! You Duradusk, you have come to challenge me I presume?” He pointed his left webbed finger at him. “You have made a terrible mistake. You cannot use any weapon of technological advances. You cannot bring a Triparian back to Underlay. You are doomed!” He now stepped forward to come and
take the Space Traveler and do vile things to him, but instead he hit a wall. A laser fortress wall that surrounded him. He pounded the invisible wall with his right hand and it shook. He turned and used his tale as a battering ram against the rear of the laser field and it hit it also, shaking the field around him. He was trapped. He looked up and the Space Travelers ship was above him.
Placing his enormous webbed hands on the laser fortress wall, he stared at the Space Traveler. “Who are you, Duradusk?”
The Space Traveler smiled and Joskan stepped out of the shadows to answer for him, “He is Lyptnul! Your hunter!”
Vog laughed and then splashed his tail behind him in the waters. The waves came crashing to the seashore and Alegna stepped a few feet back toward the brush. He looked up at the ship and then spoken into his forearm console. “Mizpah! Activate your musical device.” Mizpah sprung from the belly of the ship and waved at the Space Traveler.
