Arkroid watched the main holo.
›Its appearance alone commands respect,‹ he thought. ›It’s definitely a combat vessel. Why are the other ships following? Is it trust or simply desperateness? What role do these caravan leaders play and what price do the ship commanders have to pay for the rescue?‹
»We’ve caught up with the lead ship, but we still have an escort. They’re keeping their distance,« Nautilus announced.
›They don’t trust us.‹
Arkroid watched the ship maneuvers.
»For your information: Two suns just turned into novae inside a twenty lightyear sector. These suns were classified as main stars inside the danger zone. A course correction of the convoy is, however, not necessary. The current course vector represents an ideal line on which it can pass through this sector. I assume that the convoy is leaping through space in small tachyon jumps, returns to normal space and checks out the surrounding sectors. Maybe the Caravan-Scouts are supplying safe passage information directly to the lead ship,« Nautilus announced.
»Well that’s just an assumption. What happens next?« Herimos asked. »Shouldn’t we contact the lead ship?«
»The caravan leader obviously knows we’re here or do you think he had sent his battle ships just to fight the pirates?« Arkroid replied.
»You think that he was only interested in Nautilus and that the pirate ships were collateral damage? More like a hornets around ice-tea?« Maya said.
Arkroid nodded.
»Let them take the initiative. Let’s show them that we’re patient visitors. It won’t take long until the leader contacts us. We have no choice but to just wait.«
Arkroid was right. Minutes later, the main holo split in half and displayed the being who had introduced himself as Logos.
»On behalf of my leader, I’m asking what you were doing in the Traumonan system?«
Arkroid’s lower lip twitched as he saw Logos on the display. He had spotted fur, small eyes at the sides of his head and a threatening jawline. Logos didn’t remotely belong to beings who could be classified as Human-like. Kuster~Laap with his bat-like head and his companions were more humanoid than Logos.
›He drools saliva constantly. Look at those four arms with six fine structured, claw-like fingers,‹ Arkroid thought. ›He looks to me like a hyena.‹
Arkroid cleared his throat before he answered, »We noticed a strange star, which we call a ghost star for lack of a better term. Our data has revealed, unmistakingly, that this star must have just materialized. We searched the ghost star’s vicinity and found the Traumonan world. We saw the devastated planet.« He looked at the ground for a moment, »Maybe there’re still survivors. Can your ships not fly to the planet and try to …«
»… absolutely not!« Logos said, pulling back his snout, barring his teeth. »There’re no survivors. The caravan will not stop or change course. Now explain our scout’s observations, you came out of a semi-material sun? No spaceship known can do this. I think you belong to the people responsible for the galactic catastrophe. You come from the other dimension and arrived here via that ghost star.«
»This is nonsense.«
Arkroid had the impression that this conversation was closely monitored from the Gugol.
»We have more evidence,« Logos continued. »You waited for the scout ship and then followed it. The scouts had to seek refuge inside the convoy. This is a heinous crime. You have endangered the safety of the caravan and prevented the scouts from their duties.«
»We were curious and didn’t know anything about these scouts!« Arkroid bellowed and got up from his seat.
Logos snarled, streams of saliva ran from his snout onto his chest.
»Then you were spying on the caravan, hiding behind your disguise shields, huh … to no avail, because we knew where you were.«
Wet spray shot at the group through their holos. Arkroid flinched even though the spray couldn’t reach him.
»All of this isn’t true. We came here to bring a Prophet of the Genorantans home.«
Arkroid held his breath for a moment. He couldn’t read Logo’s reaction. Maya smiled. Kuster~Laap, however, flapped his ears.
Nautilus announced, »I’m caught in a strong energy field, coming from the Gogul. The lead ship is pulling me inside.«
»That’s enough! We tried to be patient, friendly and diplomatic. Escape this pull and maintain a safe distance from the Gogul.«
He shut off the comm.
»Negative. I cannot escape this energy field. It is counteracting my movements.«
»What?«
Arkroid looked at Pi and Vasina.
»Emergency jump onto the tachyon middle trail. We’re leaving here now.«
»I’m sorry, Toiber. I’m surrounded by a tachyon compensation field. I can’t transfer into tachyon space. The four battle ships are generating a special field.«
Arkroid gnawed on his lower lip.
»Give me manual control, « Arkroid demanded.
»I’m sorry but you won’t be able to steer out of this energy field.«
›They want us alive, otherwise they would have killed us already,‹ Arkroid thought.
»We’re stuck in the trap,« Vasina remarked and checked her weapon, as did Tranos.
»We’ve been ordered to deactivate our shields. Everybody is to leave the ship after we have arrived,« Nautilus announced.
Herimos beat his fist on his chest and growled loudly, »Good thing that you have somebody on board who knows how to fight.«
›Should we leave the ship and be taken prisoners or is it better to resist?‹ Arkroid thought.
He looked at Paafnas who was slumped in his seat, unable to return Arkroid’s glance. Paaf licked his eyeballs repeatedly.
The crew watched Nautilus on the holos being pulled inside a large hangar. Then the hangar gates closed while Nautilus hovered above a circular landing spot.
»Let me make one thing clear to everybody. We first try to negotiate before letting our weapons do the talking. Let’s find out what’s going on here.«
Arkroid looked at Paaf.
He shivered and changed his skin pigmentations, blending into his surroundings.
»I’ll help,« Paaf said.
»Whatever happens, Paaf. I’ll watch over you.«
Maya gently touched the small amphibious creature.
»Me too!« Herimos beat his chest again.
Paaf smiled at them both.
»Maybe your silent bodyguards can pick up the slack and show us what they can do.« Pi nodded at Nood and Naad. Pi pulled up his right eyebrow, »I’m not sure if the caravan boss knows who he invited into his ship.«
›We’ll find out soon enough,‹ Arkroid thought.
Nautilus rumbled weakly as it landed.
»They’re flooding the hangar with oxygen, otherwise the hangar is empty – no welcoming committee.«
»How inconsiderate of them,« Pi sneered.
»Activate your personal shields before we step into the hangar,« Arkroid ordered. »Nautilus, as soon as we’re outside, you seal yourself. No one in except us.«
Arkroid got up and looked around at the group.
»Let’s see what the caravan leader has in store for us. Maybe, he’s curious and wants to get to know us better.« He smiled at Pi, »I doubt it, though. Don’t get separated or give up your weapons. Stick together.«
Arkroid turned around and Nautilus opened the airlock.
»That’s the way, I like it,« Herimos stated. »Just stay out of my way when my hands start moving.«
You’ll find out soon enough
They assumed a semi-circular formation in the hangar while the Techno-Ferry’s airlock closed behind them. Arkroid kept open a comm-link with Nautilus. Tranos was holding his shield before him, ready to activate a defense field for Vasina or a push-jolt field to throw at an attacker. Vasina’s hand was resting on the handle of her Progonaut sword. Nood and Naad took Kuster~Laap in the middle and shielded him. The ZyClonian nanopods were alre
ady searching through the Gogul.
Forming a funnel with his hands around his mouth, Arkroid shouted, »Hello-ho! We’re here!« His words echoed from the walls.
»How creepy,« Maya mocked.
Herimos had shouldered his heavy weapon and looked around alertly.
»Keep the weapons in their holsters or on your shoulders, that goes for you too Tranos.«
Tranos opened his mouth but Vasina waved off his complaint, Arkroid gave her a smile and a nod.
»Nobody has attacked us so far. We should not give the impression of being gun wielding rednecks or pirates.«
»What do you call hijacking our ship, Toiber?« Tranos asked perplexed.
»We call it a damn serious invitation,« Pi replied.
Arkroid looked over to Paafnas who was sitting on Maya’s shoulders. Both had become very good friends since their adventure on Procyon 7.
The walls of the empty hangar were smooth, and cold. Arkroid couldn’t see anything significant, not even a door or an airlock.
›It doesn’t make sense keeping us isolated here inside a hangar; there must be an access door,‹ Arkroid pondered.
»Look! There!« Maya shouted suddenly.
Four stocky extra-terrestrials came toward them, right through the wall. Their bodies had diffused through the wall as if it didn’t exist.
›Krolakans. Beings like Logos?‹ Arkroid wondered.
The strangers sized up Arkroid with squinting eyes, saliva running from their snouts. The about two meters tall extra-terrestrials were very alert and stopped before Arkroid’s group in a slightly stooped posture.
›They really look like up-right walking hyenas,‹ he thought. ›Well, there’s a strong resemblance. They’re certainly intelligent. I just hope they’re not as vicious as their counterparts on Earth.‹
The Krolakans walked on two legs, slightly bouncing on their knees when they set one foot before the other.
Herimos snarled and displayed his yellow teeth, which the Krolakans growled at.
»Are you making friends, Herimos?« Voit asked mockingly.
»We will bring you to the command central. If the ZyClonians don’t keep their nanopods in check then they won’t leave this ship alive,« one of the Krolakans said.
Arkroid knit his eyebrows and exchanged some quick glances with Maya Ivanova.
›Seems the Krolakans know about ZyClonian abilities and their nanopods. They may be able to detect their micro-technology. I hope Nood and Naad heed the warning,‹ Arkroid thought. ›Kuster~ Laap remains calm, except for his ever moving ears. He’s nervous. I bet he knows something.‹
Arkroid threw a scornful glance at Kuster~Laap.
»Make sure, Kuster~Laap, that your body guards honor our host’s wishes.«
Kuster~Laap’s head turned fully around, facing Arkroid, glaring.
›He doesn’t take orders easily. Is this arrogance or stubbornness?‹
The four Krolakans took their visitors in the middle and walked straight toward the hangar wall.
Arkroid hesitated; he didn’t want to run into a solid wall.
»Move on!« one of the Krolakans ordered.
Arkroid shrugged and followed the command. With one step, he was inside the wall and the next brought him into a corridor on the other side.
›The wall is non-material.‹
Instinctively, he had closed his eyes, but didn’t feel anything at all as he went through it.
The corridor was clean, with white painted smooth walls. The surrounding appeared sterile and was brightly lit.
Moments later, Maya Ivanova, Paafnas and Pi entered the corridor.
»This needs a bit of fixing up,« Pi suggested.
»How about some pictures on the walls and some background music,« Maya completed.
As soon as all team members had arrived through the wall, the Krolakans forced them down the corridor.
The corridor appeared endless, leading straight toward the ship’s center.
›Makes sense to place the command central in the center of the ship … but where is the crew? I can’t imagine that only a handful of people are flying this gigantic ship,‹ Arkroid pondered.
They passed several corridor junctions and airlocks, but met no additional Krolakans. The lead ship appeared deserted.
»Are we on our way to your commander?« Arkroid asked, but only received growls.
They kept moving down the hallway.
»Where are the other crew members?«
This time, Arkroid, received suspicious glances.
»You’ll find out soon enough,« the group leader snarled back.
Arkroid frowned and looked at Kuster~Laap. It was obvious that the prophet didn’t like this situation at all.
›Why’s he playing with us?‹
Paafnas embraced Maya’s neck and whispered something in her ear. Moments later, her eyes opened wide.
›Wonder what Paafnas found out?‹ Arkroid thought. ›Was he successful replicating the neuronal net of one of these Krolakans?‹
They stopped at a wall at the end of the corridor. The Krolakans pointed at the wall before them and told the crew to walk through it.
›They must be controlling the molecular structure of the wall and open it for us.‹
Arkroid knew a similar method from Nautilus.
»I’ll never get used to that,« Pi said and followed Arkroid through the wall with closed eyes. As he opened his eyes again on the other side, he shrieked.
Protect the Crux Heart
Bright light, swirling structures, large rooms and spinning dots of light from all directions.
Arkroid squinted. He didn’t trust his eyes. He felt dizzy. He tried to keep his balance amidst this barrage of optical impressions. He closed his eyes for a moment and heard the surprised calls from Maya Ivanova, Voit Masgur and Pi.
›Where are we? Is this the command central?‹ he thought overwhelmed.
Calling the command central a room was the understatement of the century, even the term hall would not fit this enormous space before him. Arkroid was speechless. However, there was more to this, large expanse. A very detailed, holographic display of the Milky Way and neighboring dwarf galaxies slowly spun before his eyes in the center of the command central. The display’s radius was enormous showing every finite detail of the galaxy.
›What a curiously detailed representation of our galaxy,‹ Arkroid thought awe struck. ›The Magellanic Clouds, a spherical star halo in the center, far reaching spiral arms. This is the first time I’ve ever seen something like this.‹
The entire space was filled with a deep hum. Arkroid felt the skin over his stomach vibrating. The low frequencies felt awkward and intimidating. He tried to find the source, but gave up after a minute. He twitched as he felt a soft touch on his left shoulder.
It was Maya Ivanova, but before she could say anything, he saw the even larger holo above the galactic display. Almost god-like, it showed the over-sized head of a Chiropter.
The Chiropter examined them. A quick side glace assured Arkroid that Kuster~Laap was still standing beside him.
»What the?« Arkroid said.
Observing the Chiropter in the holo, he noticed slight differences to Kuster~Laap. The skin color had a yellowish hue, not blue and the ears were smaller, less pointy with rounded edges.
A deep voice filled the air as the Chiropter addressed the team.
»I am Conceptor Plox, the caravan leader. I see one of my brothers amongst you. You came with a ship of the Creators. I have a very important message for you. Time is running out.«
The Chiropter’s voice frequency was painful. The group winced and grabbed their ears.
»You are not a brother, you are a traitor as all of you Govans,« Kuster~Laap said to the display.
The over-sized head focused on Kuster~Laap. Arkroid estimated that the head holo was at least one hundred meters tall.
»Contrary to you, we Govans have long realized that there is no salvation for this galaxy. Admit it
brother. Face reality. The parasite galaxy is the scourge of the universe. It happened before and will happen again! Your attempts to prevent the dimensional transfer were useless and in vain. We are rapidly approaching the last phase of the transformation.«
»The Gugol is commanded by a Chiropter?« Maya’s voice echoing. »But we have the same objectives then. We also want to save the galaxy and are allies.«
The Chiropter’s eyes rested on Maya Ivanova. It looked, as if a scientist was examining an insect on a petri dish.
»Your species can be found all over the galaxy. People like you, or similar looking ones, had been privileged by evolution, at least in this cosmic region,« Plox said.
Maya Ivanova clenched her fists.
»This may be a Chiropter, but he’s not much different in his behavior than Kuster~Laap,« Pi remarked.
The Govans in the holo overheard Pi’s remark, »The Goovans left the Milky Way thousands of years ago, while the Chiropters preferred to continue this prospectless fight, which was already lost then. Our brothers are still working on a mission, assigned to them by a Brotherhood, whose founders and members have fled long ago. Tell me, my brother, when was the last time you spoke to a Genorantan?«
The Chiropter chuckled and continued, »I’m certain that this self-proclaimed prophet didn’t tell you anything about a serious lack of communication between him and the Genorantans. «
»Goovans were always short of an important attribute … trust! They walk the path of least resistance, pull back and leave the burden and the work to others,« Kuster~Laap rebutted.
»Blind faith is not part of our lives. We Govans do things differently. We trust our abilities and at least try to evacuate as many galactic civilizations as possible. Since this is not in compliance with your Brotherhood plan, you’re not propagating our goals. You despise us and broke all contacts while you are boasting about your hopeless long-term plan.«
»This discussion is not getting us anywhere,« Pi interjected. »Goovans, Chiropters, Brotherhood? We Humans do not give up or leave this galaxy. We are faced with this unbelievable threat, which we have become aware of just a couple of months ago. We search for friends, not frustration. Maybe we can still prevent the catastrophe by joining forces and sharing resources. Even though, we failed as Protectors, we won’t resign.«
NEBULAR Collection 5 - Panic in the Galaxy: Episodes 22 - 26 Page 5
