by Mark Lawson
Nate looked at each of the aliens before him.
Commander Arl was a tall, distinguished looking, alien. He stood about two metres with a head like an eagle’s, complete with a rather short beak. The feathers on the top of the Commander’s head stood in a regal-looking crest that bespoke dignity and authority.
The First Officer did not resemble any Earthly animal or human that Nate had ever seen before. He, or she (Nate could not be quite sure), seemed to be without any form. Keta seemed to be made entirely of a yellow, rubbery material, perched upon a hovering disk. Nate could see neither a face nor any other distinguishing features on the yellowish blob. He could, however, plainly see that whatever the First Officer was, he or she was alive, the blob pulsed with energy and with life. As Farden introduced Keta to Nate the disk turned, approached Nate and the mass that sat upon it began to flow over the edge of the hovering platform and, as it flowed onto the floor, it transformed into a female, humanoid shape. Keta stood before Nate like a great, yellow jelly baby, looking up and down Nate’s small frame. The platform that Keta had been riding flowed over her body, shaping itself into the same kind of suit that Nate and the other occupants of the bridge were also wearing.
Sar was heavy set, short and very powerful looking. The strangest thing about the Engineer was the fact that he appeared to Nate to be more vegetable than animal. His face was brown and wooden in appearance, but living and very flexible. Great tufts of green foliage grew from his face and head, like a full head of hair and a fulsome beard encircling his mouth and eyes. Nate couldn’t help but think that he looked like a small tree on legs.
Vult was a similar height to Sar. His skin seemed to be made entirely of plates of polished gold. Hair like golden wire stuck out from the back of his head in a tangled mass.
There was only one thing that the four strange beings had in common with Farden, they each wore a silver, metallic suit like the one that Nate was now wearing. Each of the suits bore the insignia of the Confederation Security Force, a red glowing sword in front of a spiral galaxy, held within a single, large triangle. The colour of the triangle differed from suit to suit as if displaying rank or some other information about the wearer’s role on board the ship. Farden’s triangle was gold, Arl’s was silver, Keta’s was orange and Sar’s and Vult’s were green.
Nate looked at his own suit to see if he had the same insignia on his chest, but he didn’t.
Each of Farden’s companions gestured a greeting to Nate as they were introduced to him. “I’m Nathaniel Armstrong,” responded Nate by way introduction.
“We are pleased to make your acquaintance,” responded Commander Arl as a broad smile spread around the edges of his beak.
“We are happy that you accepted General Farden’s invitation to help. He has no doubt explained to you the peril that the galaxy faces if the weapon is built.”
Nate nodded.
“The weapon is an Ion ray that works a bit like your microwave oven at home. When it hits its target it excites the atoms, breaking down the electronic bonds between the protons, the neutrons and the electrons. It can destroy a whole planet within seconds.
“That impossible,” interrupted Nate.
“Sadly, it’s not,” responded Commander Arl.
“We don’t know who stole the plans. They were taken from our secure facility at the Central Vault about a month ago. They were scheduled for destruction but a spy within the facility removed them before they could be incinerated. We caught the spy as he tried to escape from the facility but he didn’t have the plans with him. We know that he did not destroy them, we were able to access his memories on that issue, but we don’t know who he was working for. It seems that he didn’t know either, otherwise he would have a memory of his employer that we could tap into. He simply dropped them off at a pre-arranged location – but when we looked, they were no longer there. The spy is now safely locked away serving a life sentence in a maximum security prison on Altrak. Whoever has the plans for the Ion ray now is probably aware that we know that the plans are missing.”
Nate couldn’t help but get excited at the thought of spies and secret plans. Even so, the thought of a killer death ray sent a shiver down his spine.
“We know that the thief will build the Ion ray, why else would he go to all the trouble of stealing the plans. He must have gone in search of Ionium: the element that the weapon needs to power the ray. Ionium is very rare. The only place that it can be found in the known Universe is within the planet Sultron. Our intelligence tells us that a facility has recently appeared on the surface of Sultron, we can only assume that the thief is now there and is mining the Ionium that he needs. General Farden will brief you with the details later, but when you hear more about Sultron you will understand why we believe that the new facility belongs to our thief.
“If you are willing, you will be sent to Sultron to stop the mining operation and destroy the weapon. The plans too must be destroyed, such a powerful weapon cannot ever be allowed to fall into the wrong hands again. You must recover them and bring them back to Big Sister where they will be destroyed, or destroy them yourself on Sultron. You will recognise the plans when you see them, they will be on a storage crystal similar to this one,” Commander Arl held up a small, orange stone to show Nate.
Nate stared at Arl quizzically. “I understand that this mission is important,” he confessed, “but why do you need me? Each of you seems more than able to go on the mission yourselves. Commander, you look much stronger than I am and Farden can stop time and read people’s minds. I can’t do any of those things.”
“You don’t recognise your own abilities, Nathaniel Armstrong,” chided Commander Arl. “In time you will be able to do things that neither Farden nor I could ever hope to do. You don’t understand the powers that you possess. You need to develop them, of course, but they are there, waiting to be discovered, trained and utilised. Over time, you will become stronger than me, and you will be able to do things with your mind that General Farden couldn’t even dream about.”
Nate looked perplexed, “I’m just an ordinary kid,” he explained. “How can I hope to do any of those things?”
“You have already started to use your powers,” explained Arl. “Have you never noticed how you seem to know when the school bell is about to ring? Do you think that your sporting prowess is the result of natural talent or an athletic build? And yesterday you saw lizards running out from beneath the rocks before they even left their hiding places. You have the ability to see things before they happen and you have been using that gift for a very long time without even knowing that you possessed it.”
Nate, of course, wasn’t aware that he had been doing the things that Arl was now suggesting he had done. But now that he thought about it, he was always one of the first out of the classroom and he always caught more lizards than Sam. Nate had always thought that lizards were particularly slow animals, easy for anyone to catch, but maybe it was just that he was particularly quick.
Commander Arl continued, “And you can read others’ minds the same way that Farden and I can. Don’t you remember writing about Aquarro 5 yesterday at school? You weren’t making up the things that you wrote, you were sensing General Farden’s presence at your classroom window and accessing his memories. And how is it that you can understand what the General and I are saying to you? We’re not speaking English you know, we’re each speaking in our native tongue. Your mind is translating what you hear into English, and that is what you think you hear. You can understand any language in the Universe, and you can make yourself understood by implanting your thoughts into the mind of anyone you are talking to if you choose to do so. You really are quite an amazing boy Nathanial Armstrong, you just haven’t realised it yet.”
Nate was astonished at what he was now being told. He dropped his head deep in thought, pausing to allow himself time to digest the information that Arl had just given him. After a few moments’ silence, Nate became puzzled as to how he was able to do such ext
raordinary things when none of his friends could do them. He raised his head and opened his mouth to pose this question to Commander Arl.
“It’s quite simple really,” explained Arl, interrupting Nate’s train of thought. “You have alien blood flowing through your veins. Your great grandfather was an alien. He was a member of a powerful race that possessed the power to alter time, control the elements and muster the powers of the Universe. Your great grandfather’s race held the Universe in balance and exerted their powers to promote peace and happiness among its inhabitants. Your ability to foresee events just before they happen to you is just a dim shadow of the great power that your great grandfather’s kind possessed. Sadly, your ancestor’s race was destroyed in a single cataclysmic event, which was not at all an accident, I’m sorry to say. You are only part human. You are part alien Nathaniel Armstrong. With training, you will be able to develop your abilities and, perhaps, become as powerful as your great grandfather.”
Nate recalled the old, grey photographs that his father had once shown him of his great grandparents. He remembered a smallish, unusual looking man in a three-piece suit with tall hat and a cane. He looked peculiar, but his appearance did not scream out alien life form. Was that the man that Arl was referring to?
“In addition to the abilities that you possess, there is a more practical reason why none of us can go on this mission,” continued Arl. “The thief will be expecting Confederation Forces Officers to come after him. He will no doubt be scanning the planet’s surface and the neighbouring system for any sign of us. He almost certainly knows who each of us are and will be alerted, immediately, if we come anywhere near the planet where he is mining the Ionium. Only you can slip past his bio-security scanners and infiltrate his complex. General Farden will brief you on the details of your mission.”
Nate was overwhelmed by the information that had just been imparted to him by Commander Arl. His skin tingled with excitement as a shiver of anticipation ran up and down his spine. He was going on a secret mission. He was about to set foot on an alien planet. He would confront a real life alien in an attempt to save the Universe. “But it all sounds terribly dangerous,” Nate thought as his excitement gave way to trepidation. He couldn’t even begin to imagine the dangers that he would face on his first mission as a C.O.P. For a boy whose imagination had stretched across galaxies, it was a unique experience for Nate to tremble at the thought of the unknown.
Chapter 5: The Briefing
A giant holograph image of a planet appeared in the centre of the bridge. It slowly rotated before Nate’s eyes.
“The planet Sultron is unique,” began Farden. “We know very little about it really, it’s such an inhospitable place.
“Sultron orbits the giant twin suns of Solaris I and Solaris II. It completes an orbit of its suns every 40 days. A Sultronian day is only six hours long. The night is also six hours long. During the day the temperature on Sultron’s surface can reach a staggering 900° Celsius. At night, the temperature drops to approximately 40° Celsius which, of course, is still quite warm.”
“What’s it like in summer?” joked Nate in an effort to lighten the mood.
“Much hotter,” came Farden’s response. Nate gulped, suspecting that Farden did not really have a well-developed sense of humour.
“The planet’s crust is made of volcanic rock. During the day its twin suns heat the planet to incredible temperatures, making it impossible for any life to exist. The temperature is so hot during the day that the suns melt the surface of the planet’s rocky surface, so Sultron’s terrain is constantly changing. One feature remains constant on the planet, there is a large mountain range that runs for some distance along the surface. The range is the result of the incredible volcanic activity that rages deep in the planet’s core. Below and above the mountain range, great plains stretch out for miles and miles.
Nate looked at the holographic image of the planet and saw the mountain range that Farden was speaking of. The mountains rose steeply out of the planet’s rocky surface high into the air. Nate thought that it was rather inaccurate to describe the geographical feature that he was now seeing as a mountain range, the sides of the mountains looked more like cliffs, dropping vertically to the vast plain below.
“Our intelligence indicates that the facility that has recently appeared on Sultron is located on the top of the plateau,” continued Farden. As Farden spoke these words the holograph zoomed in on the plateau atop the cliff revealing an expansive plain.
“The planet’s mantle consists of rivers of highly concentrated acid. During the day the acid is heated and expands through the planet’s honeycombed core. When it reaches the side of the planet that is in darkness, or more correctly, in a kind of twilight, it vents into the atmosphere through the many geysers that dot its surface.
“The planet is unique in the Universe. It is the only world that we know of that has the right acids, the right elements and the right amount of heat to form Ionium crystals deep below its surface. Ionium is a highly volatile compound. Once it has been mined and exposed to oxygen, you must be careful not to drop or jar it because any sudden movement will cause it to explode violently.”
“Sultron has an atmosphere that you can breathe. There is plenty of oxygen in the air. In spite of this, the heat makes it unlikely that you will encounter any life forms on the surface of the planet. If you’re left on the dark side of the planet just after the twin suns have set, we think that there is a chance that you could reach the facility on the top of the plateau. If you make your way along the plain, up the cliff and along the plateau you should be at the facility within three hours, plenty of time to assess the security and find a way in.”
As Farden spoke these words the holographic image highlighted the way from the proposed drop zone to the facility. The route appeared as a bright green line running along the lower plain, up the cliff face and along the upper plain to a metallic dome.
Farden continued, “We suspect that the facility is covered by a heat shield during the day. It would have to be otherwise it would be reduced to ashes in a moment. You will have to get to the facility before the shields go up, otherwise you will be trapped outside.”
Nate was suddenly overcome with visions of his flesh melting away from his bones. A vision of his skeleton standing on the surface of an alien planet in a pool of his own flesh popped, unbidden, into his mind. He shook his head in an effort to dispel the intrusive thought from his mind and focus upon Farden’s briefing.
“Once inside, you need to find the plans that Commander Arl told you about and destroy the complex and, if they have started constructing the weapon, the Ion Ray itself..”
“So there won’t be much time left to pick out a postcard or visit the gift shop,” Nate interjected, trying to jolly himself out of the fear he was expriencing. A lump formed in his throat. He couldn’t see how it was even remotely possible to do what was being asked of him. There were too may dangers, too many things that could go wrong.
“It won’t be easy,” conceded Farden, “but you are the only one who can complete this mission. As Commander Arl said, the thieves will undoubtedly be scanning for signs of the Confederation. They must suspect that we have now discovered that the plans are missing, and are launching a mission to recover them. You’re our only hope.
“We cannot go anywhere near Sultron. Neither can Big Sister. Our presence will be detected in an instant,” repeated Farden in an effort to emphasise the point to Nate. “Fortunately, Sultron lies near a trade route that passes by the outer edge of its solar system. The trade route runs some 1.6 million kilometres away from the surface of the planet, but that is the closest that we can get without raising suspicion. I have arranged for you to ride on a cargo ship with a trusted friend of the Confederation. He will take you to the drop-off point on the dark side of Sultron just after sunset, from which point you must make your way to the complex at the top of the plateau. Your pilot must, therefore, approach the planet from its darker side. We
can only hope that you will be able to leave the trade route and slip through to the surface without being detected.”
The lump in Nate’s throat had now grown so big that he could barely breathe. It was one thing to travel across the Universe to meet some of its friendlier inhabitants. It was quite another thing for Nate to risk life and limb to destroy a fearsome weapon on a hostile and unforgiving planet that made the surface of the Sun look like a winter wonderland. Nate tried to play the hero and put on a brave face, but his emotions were getting the better of him.
“I … I can’t do that,” he confessed. “I just can’t. I’m sorry, but I’m just a boy, I’m barely 11 years old. I really can’t do it.”
Farden looked at Nate sympathetically and placed a webbed hand on Nate’s shoulder. “You must,” he whispered. “You’re probably the only one who can pull this off.” Farden’s last few words hung in the air as the importance and urgency of the situation slowly filtered through Nate’s senses. Even if he did not feel heroic, he must be a hero and try. A strange glow of confidence and determination began to build deep in Nate’s stomach.
As if sensing Nate’s courage, Farden removed his hand from his shoulder and flashed a wide, toothy grin.
“We will meet your driver on Casseon, a planet just beyond the edge of the Solaris system. The place is a trade stop for long distance haulers, so his presence will not arouse any suspicion. We must not appear in Confederation uniform. It’s best not to take any chances lest our plan be discovered.”
“So far I haven’t heard anything about getting home,” thought Nate as he weighed up his chances of completing the mission and finding a way off the planet.
Farden tried to answer Nate’s concerns. “There must be ship capable of traveling long distances somewhere within the facility, otherwise they could not have hauled the equipment that they need to Sultron and set up the mining operation. Every ship capable of traveling long distances has an escape pod of some description.” Farden began to describe to Nate some of the tell-tale signs to look for and how to recognise an escape pod. “Almost every escape pod is activated by a large red button, it’s like a universally recognised standard, no complicated controls or anything like that to worry about,” Farden concluded.
