NEBULAR Collection 5 - Panic in the Galaxy: Episodes 22 - 26

by Thomas Rabenstein

  »What are you doing there?« a loud voice came from the airlock.

  Surprised Friese and Chopra turned around.

  Banduk Oodergoo was standing in the open airlock with a serious look on his face.

  »Are you always sneaking up on other people like this?« Chopra said. »I almost shit my pants!«

  »Do you always sniff around in secret data?«

  »Wait a minute, eh?« Friese said sternly. »That’s our job! There’s no information on this ship that cannot be read by the commander or his first officer! I’m the judge and can throw you in the Brigg, if I see it fit … and yes, I certainly have the right to inspect my data banks!«

  Friese positioned himself before Chopra.

  Oodergoo was smiling mysteriously then nodded at the commander, while Viktor Senitschko and Teun van Velzen also entered the command central.

  Senitschko threw a glance at the scrolling search display, which Chopra hadn’t stopped.

  Chopra grinned at the scientists.

  »Well … Friedberg was right. He had predicted your behavior correctly,« Oodergoo sighed. »You couldn’t sit this one out; it was too much temptation, right? It’s not a good idea to reveal this information to the public. Scientists on Earth would die to see what we have here. We need to be very cautious how we handle this information.«

  Teun van Velzen pointed at Chopra’s terminal.

  »The data will revolutionize our lives; we have just scratched the surface and do not know what else is hidden inside the data banks. There may be details that would question our current picture we have established of the universe. It might shatter the foundation we have built our sciences on.«

  Chopra cleared his throat.

  »If you haven’t read it already, then I can tell you that our energy problems will vanish into the air. The generation of energy force fields will be child’s play. The force fields can also be used as gravo-mechanical propulsion fields. Uh … forget these old fashioned rotation segments in our spaceships to create artificial gravity … phew … we’ll be able to solve all these current technological problems, just like that!« Chopra snapped his fingers.

  Oodergoo nodded.

  »Well, congratulations then … as of now consider yourselves as secret bearers!« he said with a shrug.

  »We already are!« Friese gave a devilish grin. »That’s the nature of the beast on board a UFCRS!«

  »On board of what?«

  »Union Fleet Communications Relay Ship!« Chopra explained.

  »Hmm … you didn’t really look for these technological text passages, am I correct?« Teun van Velzen said. »What else did you find? May we take a look?«

  »You may, you may …,« Friese invited them to take a closer look at the terminals. »Come in, you may enter the command central!«

  Oodergoo silently read the text on the subholo and quoted it.

  Whoever breaks out of the Circle is destined for death; whoever remains inside the Circle is destined for death also.

  »Look, there’s another one!« Digamber pointed out and transferred the passage to the subholo.

  The Circle’s breath is cold, depressing its embrace, tormenting this unblessed alliance!

  »Again the phrase stops with a strange symbol combination,« Digamber said. »I don’t believe in coincidences. This cannot just be errors!«

  »Is this another coded fragment?« Teun van Velzen said.

  »No, I don’t believe this. The data blocks are in clear text; these are not coded or compressed binary chunks. We were already wondering ourselves. Here, take a look at the repeating groups of capital letters. They’re shifting from passage to passage, slightly, but noticeable. The groups always consist of the same symbols or letters.«

  »Hmm … it’s still possible that it’s written in code,« Oodergoo advised. »The text is strangely formulated, maybe these end-symbols are the unknown keys how to regroup these messages.«

  »I’ve already used our most sophisticated and efficient decoding scheme, so far no success!« Chopra said. »It seems strange that the people who dispatched the octahedron went through all the trouble of translating the text into our language only to code other segments.«

  »Perhaps, there is a Trojan Horse hiding amidst the data. We didn’t choose the Paradise Bird for nothing to secure the data. We cannot submit the data blocks to any of the Union mainframes as long as we don’t know what we’re dealing with!« Senitschko supposed.

  »Nevertheless, these text passages need to be transferred to Uluru,« Oodergoo said. »We need all our specialists to look at this and come up with answers.

  »Don’t worry about the Union Network data security,« Chopra assured. »We can send them a holographic depiction. That should do it!«

  »That’s a good idea!« Senitschko agreed.

  »Well … then we can be of help after all,« Friese grinned.

  Oodergoo nodded.

  »Certainly! We should have let you take part with the analysis from the beginning. Please, help us search for other hidden information. May we use your search programs?«

  Digamber Chopra nodded hastily with sparkling eyes.

  »Already transferred to your consoles!«

  First, we complete our mission

  Greenland …

  Tiller Hosch, Montas Bondifar and Sawyer Main were listening to the strange noises. They seemed to come from all directions. They could clearly hear the scratching and sliding on the groomer’s roof, but the noises also came from underneath the vehicle and from the rear.

  Sawyer Main swallowed hard.

  »This means that we’ll have an eerie encounter not before long,« he gulped hard.

  »Just, it’s not so clear yet to whom this will be an eerie encounter!« Tiller Hosch said dryly. »I’ll backup the groomer, circumnavigate the spindle and continue on our mission.«

  »Is this vehicle really safe?« Bondifar said. The others could see in his face how disgusted he was by these parasitic extra-terrestrials.

  »I think so,« Hosch said, trying to calm Bondifar. »I’d be feeling much better if this groomer were armed.« Suddenly he yelled, »Hold it … did we close the rear window or not? Did you close it, Boss? I mentioned it that it is open!«

  »Stop it Hosch! That’s not funny! If there’re any Frigonans out there then they’re probably discussing amongst themselves who of them will be using whom as a host.«

  Hosch’s voice crackled.

  »You’re right, Boss, that wasn’t funny at all. I’m sorry.«

  He backed up the groomer with full acceleration. Everyone inside the vehicle could now hear sliding and grappling noises.

  »Yes, you little bastards, you didn’t count on the Hoschman, eh? Hold on to your dear miserable lives, you scumbags!«

  Suddenly, a bright flash blinded the three men inside the groomer. The men dodged instinctively. Just in time as a fine energy beam cut through the windshield like butter, creating a circular hole. Immediately, ice-cold wind blew snow and ice particles into the cabin.

  »What the fu …,« Hosch yelled and cautiously looked over the dashboard.

  The shooter was standing before the groomer.

  Hosch saw the shadow and floored the accelerator. The groomer shot forward and collided with the shadow.

  »It was a Moxantan!« Bondifar shouted. »I saw him standing in the snow storm. He aimed his weapon at us! His entire body was covered with these prickly bastards. Hoohoo, you ran him over, Hoschy!«

  Seconds later, Bondifar screamed and jerked his head sideways.

  Hosch saw it too … a Frigonan tried to squeeze himself through the circular opening in the windshield, close to Bondifar’s head.

  »Damnit!« Hosch yelled and groped for his weapon. Because of his tight seatbelt, he couldn’t reach it. Hectically, he fumbled on his seatbelt release, but couldn’t open it. Something had jammed the mechanism. He ripped and pulled like mad at the release, while Bondifar just stoically stared at the Frigonan, not moving a limb.

  The Frigonan�
�s twitching and twisting body was already half way through the window. The extra-terrestrial made huffing, high-pitched squeaking and panting noises as it pushed forward, his pricklish hands reaching for Bondifar.

  Main also tried to release his seatbelt, but droplets of the molten windshield glass had entered the mechanism, also blocking it as in Hosch’s case.

  What a stupid coincidence! Main thought.

  He tried to remain calm.

  In the meantime Hosch had come free and grabbed his plasma pistol. At the same time the Frigonan fully emerged and, lightning fast, jumped onto Bondifar’s chest. With very fast movements, the Frigonan poked and cut through Bondifar’s suit, rapidly gaining access to his body. The extra-terrestrial began twitching and pulsating. More and more stingers poked into Bondi’s chest.

  Hosch almost vomited form the squishing sound the Frigonan made as he drilled his stingers into Bondifar.

  At first, Bondifar tried to fight off the being with irregular hand and body movements, but seconds later he soothed as if paralyzed – the Frigonan had found a new host.

  »For Heaven’s sake, Montas!« Hosch yelled and aimed his weapon at Bondifar, ready to shoot.

  Sawyer Main intervened immediately and hit the weapon out of Hosch’s hand, blasting a hole in the cabin’s roof.

  »Are you out of your mind? You’ll kill him!«

  »The beast will kill him!« Hosch shouted, trying to grab the Frigonan.

  Bondifar moaned and began hyper-ventilating. His eyes turned in his sockets while his entire body was convulsing – then he became stiff.

  »Don’t!« Main shouted and pushed Hosch to the side as much as the congested space inside the driver cabin allowed him. »You’re making it worse!«

  Hosch pulled his hands back. He looked around insecurely.

  The storm was still raging outside the vehicle, he couldn’t see anything.

  »Are there more of these beasts out there?« he asked horrified and engaged the reverse gear. He drove the groomer in reverse for about five minutes before he stopped the vehicle.

  Hosch noticed that his hands had become blue. The temperature inside the cabin had decreased below zero degrees Celsius, the windows where coated with a thin layer of ice from the inside. Hosch was breathing heavily and put on his gloves.

  He glanced at Bondifar who was sitting motionless in his seat.

  »He is hardly moving. We need to remove that thing! We owe him that!«

  Main was in the process of repairing the hole in the windshield with some duct tape, which because of the low temperature, didn’t want to stick to the glass.

  »We need to cover the hole,« he cursed, grabbed a rag from the backseat instead and plucked it into the hole. While he was working away on the windshield, he frequently looked over his shoulder to keep an eye on Hosch.

  »We don’t know what happens, if we remove the parasite. This could mean certain death for Bondi or maybe the Frigonan will attack us too,« Main said.

  »He’s totally blue in his face,« Hosch noticed. »The color of his eyes has changed. It looks as if he caught the Hepatitis!«

  »Don’t matter, he’s still alive!« Main said. »This parasite Frigonan won’t kill his host. That’s illogical!«

  »Okay, then I’ll turn the groomer around and bring Bondi to the nearest field hospital.«

  Main twitched and looked Hosch in the eyes.

  »First, we complete our mission! There’s no other option or the generals are pushing their buttons!«

  Hosch squinted.

  »If Montas dies …«

  Main ignored the threatening tone in Hosch’s voice. He understood his emotions and said, »Bondi is my friend too. We’ll take care of him, promise!«

  Tiller Hosch clenched his teeth and angrily threw in the forward gear.

  »I drive around the spindle at a distance and then we continue to the Circle Fortress.«

  I needed that

  Uluru Station, a couple of days earlier …

  Inka Haan looked at the holographic octahedron data.

  I’ve seen this before, I just can’t remember where and when.

  She was now very interested.

  The young scientist belonged to the Uluru Astro-Biology Department and was mostly involved with the research of extra-terrestrial life-forms and their uniqueness. She was very knowledgeable, energetic and objective driven. Everybody who knew her appreciated her openness and team spirit. Biology had always been her passion and she hadn’t hesitated a second as she was invited to join the Uluru team after she had obtained her doctor’s degree in biology at the University of Berlin. Most of Uluru Station had quickly been rebuilt after the Globusters had ransacked the laboratories and the infrastructure. Some research sections were still off-limits due to the heavy damages they had received. It seemed like a miracle that the Astro-Biology Department had been spared from Globuster destruction.

  Inka Haan was already working for over eighteen hours, only allowing herself small breaks, just enough to gulp down a coffee or a hot chocolate. All Uluru scientists were working around the clock to create a defense against the Frigonans after they had begun changing the Earth’s climate in the Northern hemisphere.

  After these long working hours, she began losing her concentration and needed time out. She decided to take a break and walked to the coffee shop. Three male colleagues were sitting at a table, waving at her as she entered the room. Inka was dead tired and could barely keep her burning eyes open.

  »You don’t look that great, Inka,« Jeff Sterns, climate and environmental scientist and Inka’s boss, said.

  »Ugh …,« she just replied with a wave of her hand. »I’ll have an extra-strong espresso, that’ll get me back on my feet!«

  As the waiter arrived, she ordered her espresso and then quickly swallowed a pill. Reaching for Sterns’ glass, she asked, »Is this beer? May I …?«

  »Sure, go ahead, but caffeine, pills and alcohol will kill you sooner or later,« Jeff said with a scornful glance. »You’re abusing your body, Inka. Why aren’t you taking longer brakes and have a nap, will you?«

  A large holo was installed in the center of the cafeteria through which the scientists kept up to date on the developments during their breaks. At the time nothing new was broadcasted.

  »A huge storm is brewing over Greenland,« Inka said with a tired voice. »The large island is drowning in snow and ice. The Atlantic between Greenland and Canada is frozen solid and Europe is currently experiencing another winter in the middle of spring. That’s the reason, I’m not going to bed, Jeff.«

  The other two scientists at the table were sensing the brewing tension between Inka and Jeff and left the table after a short greeting.

  Jeff Sterns wiped over his stubbly chin, nodding.

  »I understand what you want to say, but what can we do against such an overwhelming enemy?«

  He looked her straight in the eyes.

  »I don’t know. I’m certain that even the strongest enemy has an Achilles’ heel. We just need to find this weakness. Did you have a chance to look at the octahedron data? By the way: where did the data come from, who sent that stuff?«

  »No, I didn’t check them yet, as you know, they transferred me to the weather people. We’re worried about the cyclone over the Northern hemisphere. If the storm gets worse, then Northern Europe will be affected for an unforeseeable time. The experts are talking about a fatal change of climate.« Jeff Sterns pulled out a note and handed it to Inka. »These are the notes I took from our last meeting. The experts are talking about a deliberately caused climate change by the extra-terrestrials.«

  »Why would the Frigonans do this?«

  »I think you should get out of your lab more often,« Jeff grinned. »It’s a shame, because you should seriously think about going out with me. My invitation is still standing.«

  »I’m not socializing and flirting with my boss,« she laughed and then sighed.

  »Okay then … you’re fired! So, when are we going out? They’r
e showing a great movie tonight. Your shift is long over, Take a breather, girl,« he suggested, leaning back on the uncomfortable cafeteria chair.

  »I’m sorry, but I need to look at the holographic data again. Something looks familiar, but I just can’t put my finger on it,« Inka dodged the invitation. She took the espresso and emptied the cup in one gulp. She shivered slightly as the strong and still hot coffee ran down her esophagus.

  »I needed that!«

  »That can’t be healthy,« Jeff winced.

  »It keeps me on my toes for another couple of hours. Sorry, Jeff, but I got to go back to my lab.«

  She got up from her chair and hurried out of the room.

  Alright, let’s do it

  Greenland …

  »The storm is getting weaker! We can see further now!« Hiller announced, looking at Bondifar. His friend had changed. His eyes were wide open, his breathing shallow. Bondi was perspiring heavily and his skin had turned light blue.

  Main had managed to repair the windshield as good as possible; the cabin temperature was no longer below freezing at least.

  »We’ll be reaching the landing zone and the eye of the storm soon,« Main said.

  »He’s got a fever!« Hosch hissed, disregarding Main’s remark. »Look! He’s sweating like a pig!«

  Main took an infrared thermometer from the emergency medical kit and aimed it at Bondifar.

  »No! His body temperature has actually fallen … it’s only thirty degrees Celsius. He doesn’t have a fever. He’ll be fine for now.«

  Hosch raised the temperature and then turned toward Bondifar to open his thermo-suit. While he was pulling the jacket off, he kept a keen eye on the Frigonan, but the extra-terrestrial on Bondi’s chest didn’t move. The skin where the Frigonan had injected his pricks had turned dark blue. The blood from the insertion points on Bondifar’s chest had run down his belly and coagulated.

  »This should’ve never happened!« Hosch whispered to himself. »We should’ve prevented it.«