NEBULAR Collection 2 - The Expedition: NEBULAR Episodes 6 - 11

by Thomas Rabenstein

  As Scorge realized that his attack had been in vain, he began to rage.

  »So that’s it! Intruders in my ship!« he screamed. He prepared to pursue the uninvited visitor.

  Vasina had to create a restraining field with her shield to keep him from running into a trap – if not his death.

  »Wait!« she yelled and directed Scorge back into cover. She whispered hastily, »Calm down! We don’t know who that could be, how many there are or what they want from us! Maybe we can negotiate with them and avoid a fight. Fighting with energy weapons in this environment can cause a lot of damage. Pull yourself together!«

  Scorge’s plasma blast had already smoldered and melted parts of the ceiling. Biting, black and gray smoke had developed all around them.

  »Do you have any idea who that could be?« she whispered.

  Scorge needed a couple of seconds to regain his self-control.

  »I have a vague idea, but I hope I’m wrong.«

  »Tell me!« Vasina demanded and ducked instinctively as a bright blaster beam illuminated the corridor before them, hitting the wall directly above her.

  The opponent seemed to take Scorge’s attack as a cue to open hostilities.

  Melting metal dripped from the wall. Vasina had to jump out of the way to avoid getting burned. The enemy kept firing short blasts, causing the ambient temperature to rise rapidly. They weren’t very good marksmen or had problems focusing. Their fire was wildly inaccurate.

  Vasina established a defensive energy shield which she was able to vary in size and depth. The next blasts were absorbed effortlessly by her shield. Their opponents ceased fire immediately when they realized that their shots were useless. They probably had not counted on such resistance. Two scintillating fields were now visible, moving slowly along the wall toward Vasina’s and Scorge’s position.

  »There’s more than one!« Scorge yelled, sounding panicky.

  Vasina left her cover and directed the lens-like defense shield into the corridor in front of her. She focused it so that it covered almost the entire corridor. Their opponents’ weapons weren’t strong enough to seriously overload the shield projector.

  »Identify yourselves and deactivate your shields! If you lay down your weapons then we might be willing to negotiate!«

  »Forget it, they don’t understand you – they won’t answer anyway!«

  Scorge was very nervous. An energy blast hit Vasina’s defense shield, proving his words, however, Progonaut technology threw it off. Now it was Vasina’s turn. She aimed and fired at the intruders. The force was much greater than from Scorge’s weapon. The blast hit one of the intruders and tossed him backwards. Vasina observed the scene squinting through the smoke while the intruders retreated back into the storage room, where they tried to close the airlock behind them. Quickly Scorge and Vasina took positions beside the massive doors.

  »Pirates,« whispered Scorge in a vibrating voice. »I don’t know how they managed it, but they’ve found my ship and boarded us. If they can’t defeat us, they’ll destroy the Yax K’uk’Mo’.«

  »They’ll try. We won’t make it easy for them!« Vasina replied harshly. She revealed herself as an uncompromising warrior between heartbeats.

  »Scorge … open the doors on my command!«

  This is highly moral

  »Both objects are energy-dead, except for the weak emergency radio transmitter. If there’s a danger out there it’s not those wrecks,« commented the Techno-Ferry.

  »Please, keep an eye on it! We don’t want any surprises. These objects have been orbiting Moontaap for a long time, but as long as the danger is unknown, we need to be cautious,« said Arkroid in a hoarse voice. »Let’s launch the probe. I’d like to monitor the events on a separate holo, please.«

  »I may not have eyes, but I know what you mean, Arkroid,« the Techno-Ferry replied amusedly.

  A spherical object left the Techno-Ferry and flew directly toward the pyramid ship. To Arkroid and Pi the holo simply expanded. The probe was already displaying its data early in its flight. Darkness and obscurity dominated Moontaap’s sickle. Despite the bright sun, the planet stayed semi-dark, shielded from the expanding dust cloud.

  »Is this what you imagined Vega was like?« Lai Pi asked Arkroid.

  Arkroid shook his head.

  »We can imagine whatever we want; the universe will always surprise us. I don’t think our imagination can conceive all possibilities. Maybe when we’re more experienced in space travel.«

  »You may guide the probe yourself, if you wish, Arkroid,« the Techno-Ferry suggested.

  The probe reacted flawlessly as Arkroid took over control. He directed the probe via thought control toward a several meters large opening torn in the wreck, near the center section of the ship. The probe entered the ship cautiously by open corridors, Arkroid being careful not to bump or scrape the unstable hull and interior. The interior looked strangely familiar to him.

  »As expected: no atmosphere, temperature at four degrees Kelvin and no measurable energy emission outside what we already know from the transmitter,« the Techno-Ferry reported, analyzing and recording the received data.

  »Considering how long this ship has been here, it’s astonishing how little the Shwakan ships have changed over time.«

  Lai Pi agreed.

  »Main corridor layout is just as in Scorge’s ship, so are the storage rooms and other sections. This could be the Yax K’uk’Mo’s mirror image.«

  »Stop!« Arkroid shouted suddenly.

  The probe reacted instantly to his command.

  »What kind of residue is this?« Arkroid asked and directed he probe to the violet-colored substance on the floor inside a large storage room.

  »I am running a spectroscopic analysis!« the Techno-Ferry announced.

  A wide, pinkish looking energy beam leaped from the probe and fanned across the substance. It paused, analyzing the matter.

  »Spectroscopic analysis is running!«

  »Hey! This stuff is the same color as Moontaap’s atmosphere. What is it, dust?« Lai Pi asked.

  »Uh-huh … that’s why I noticed it to begin with,« Arkroid smiled, looking at the holo. »What’s the verdict?« he addressed the Techno-Ferry.

  »The analysis is still running!«

  Arkroid and Pi looked at each other.

  »The Techno-Ferry seems to be having problems with it,« Lai Pi muttered.

  »I can offer a preliminary result,« the Techno-Ferry announced. »The substance has a crystalline structure which is, unexpectedly, complex. I don’t know how it could have gotten aboard the Shwakan ship. Its atomic structure contains minute groups of molecules, similar to organic DNA. I deduce that this crystal dust is able to ‘seek and find’ other dust and reproduce, if it’s in adequate concentrations. The crystals are able to produce receptors which can dock to other organic DNA. This is very mysterious and irritating.«

  »Can we take a sample and analyze it here onboard?« Lai Pi asked.

  »I must consider the substance unknown and extremely dangerous!« the Techno-Ferry replied immediately. »Your safety has the highest priority. I cannot allow you to expose yourselves.«

  Arkroid didn’t ask again, and directed the probe into the adjacent room with the same result: the substance was everywhere! The ship’s decay was far advanced, although they found trade goods stored on the high shelves that appeared undamaged and intact.

  »This is weird,« he mumbled.

  Arkroid couldn’t explain the fine, violet dust. It couldn’t be rust from the ship’s hull or condensed ship atmosphere. The substance didn’t originate in the storage rooms: they found it all over the ship.

  »I’m taking the probe to the command central,« Arkroid announced. »If it’s like the Yax K’uk’Mo’ then we’ll find it on the upper level.«

  The deeper Arkroid maneuvered the probe into the ship’s core the more crystalline substance was encountered, and in higher concentrations.

  »Techno-Ferry, are you finished with the analysis
yet?« Lai Pi asked gruffly.

  »Analysis is running!«

  »We’re there!« Arkroid yelled suddenly. »The airlock to the command central! It’s open!«

  He slowly directed the probe inside. Horribly clear pictures showed moments later what had happened long ago. Arkroid paled and felt light-headed.

  »Pi! Look at this,« he said with a weak voice, followed by a muted cough.

  A Shwakan was sitting in his seat in the middle of the room. All his tentacles were fully extended and strangely twisted as if he had been fighting desperately for survival. Some had wound themselves around his body and his optical band to protect his head from whatever was attacking him. His body was totally crystallized; glittering in the dimness, illuminated by the probe’s search lights. The Shwakan’s mummified body had the same violet color as the crystalline substance they’d found everywhere, but the concentration was much stronger on and around the Shwakan’s body.

  »Analysis completed!« the Techno-Ferry disturbed the silently observing men. Arkroid couldn’t look away from the horrible scene and just muttered, »Go ahead!«

  »The sediments are partially organic – a lifeform. If there’s enough dust accumulation present it is able to organize into larger crystal structures. It could even develop into an intelligent being. It’s dangerous enough as it is because the crystal dust can dock or latch-on to your DNA, and replicate it. It can infiltrate the organic DNA of other lifeforms and change its entire host organism.«

  »Yeah – we can see that for ourselves!« Lai Pi blurted, turning his eyes away from the holo. »All there’s left of that Shwakan is just one single crystal chunk.«

  The Shwakan’s fate seemed dreadful, horrible to Pi.

  »Destroy the probe!« Arkroid commanded. »I don’t want it back inside the Techno-Ferry … not one particle!«

  »Toiber, couldn’t we isolate the substance and analyze it with precautions?«

  Arkroid understood Pi and his scientific curiosity, but he was firm.

  »Absolutely not! The risk is too high!«

  Both men went silent for a couple of minutes.

  »Techno-Ferry, how did this substance get aboard the Shwakan ship? Did you find anything about it in the transmission logs? A recording by the dead Shwakan, maybe?« Arkroid asked.

  »Obviously his warning was about the crystals, but I cannot tell you how they got aboard. The Shwakan’s personal recordings were probably destroyed when he was crystallized. I found nothing.«

  »Let’s take a look at the platform, then get back to Epsilon Indi – are you okay with that, Pi?« Arkroid asked.

  Lai Pi just nodded silently. If given the choice, he would have returned immediately.

  »I’d like to know what the Shwakan expected to find here in the Vega System. They’re all traders, aren’t they? He called the planet Moontaap … Death Eye! This is all wrong.«

  »They’re also collectors. Maybe he was after the platform,« Arkroid speculated. »Or maybe he just found it.«

  Arkroid remembered Scorge telling him about finding and salvaging a shipwreck in the Orion Sector. It seemed likely that his fellow trader had also smelled a profit, only to be attacked and killed by the crystalline lifeform.

  »Did you detect the substance on the platform?« Arkroid wanted to know.

  »The entire surface is encrusted with it,« the Techno-Ferry acknowledged.

  »Then let’s keep a safe distance and observe it from here. Please record as much data as possible.«

  It was apparent that a huge explosion had destroyed the center of the platform. The rest of it had been heavily damaged as well.

  »Is it possible that the Shwakan contaminated his ship on the platform?« Lai Pi speculated.

  »We can rule that out,« the Techno-Ferry countered. »Shwakans take extreme measures to protect themselves and their ships. They wouldn’t bring a foreign substance aboard unless it was perfectly safe. The dust may have been residue from some other phenomenon altogether … something that entered the Shwakan’s ship and killed him. The beings responsible may have brought it with them.«

  »So we don’t have an explanation for this drama, just some assumptions,« Lai Pi sighed.

  Arkroid frowned.

  »That’s not good enough. How will Scorge react when we come back with this little informa …«

  »Attention!« the Techno-Ferry interrupted loudly.

  »I’m detecting a change in Moontaap’s atmosphere! Observe the hurricanes!«

  The cloud swirls began to change color from white to violet. At the same time, Lai Pi buried his head in pain with his hands. Arkroid also felt a dark shadow trying to fog his mind.

  »What’s going on here?« Arkroid moaned.

  »I’m detecting huge streams of crystals, being transported from the planet’s surface into the upper atmosphere by the hurricanes … over a million tons! The crystals use the currents. They are beginning to organize themselves.«

  Arkroid and Lai Pi seemed paralyzed. They didn’t hear the Techno-Ferry’s warnings. A mental pressure had seized their minds, leaving them helpless. Neither man was able to lift a finger. Lai Pi vaguely recalled being overwhelmed by the Soulwalker on Earth, but this was not the same.

  A crystalline, intelligent lifeform – born under murderous pressures on the surface or the lower atmospheric layers, using huge, hurricane-like funnel clouds to reach space – attacking unsuspecting visitors who ventured too close to the planet! Moontaap, Death Eye – the eyes of the planet’s hurricanes were the death eyes! That’s what the Shwakan meant! Arkroid thought through the pain. His thoughts ran slow as molasses. He watched as thick, violet streams of crystal mass dislodged from the hurricane eyes, catapulting themselves into space. The streams joined and flowed like bee swarms toward one destination – the Techno-Ferry!

  Lai Pi lay motionless in his seat and stared at the holo display. He realized what was in store for them, but was no more able to resist the mental pressure than Arkroid. This was how the lifeform had overcome the Shwakan. He hadn’t been able to flee the danger, and with his last strength activated the radio transmitter to send out the warning.

  »Attention! The crystal steams have left Moontaap’s atmosphere and are heading for us. What are your orders, Arkroid?« the Techno-Ferry inquired urgently.

  Arkroid’s hands clenched the arm rests. He couldn’t move. The closer the crystals came, the stronger was the mental force.

  The crystal’s suggestive force is limited, but it gets stronger the closer they get and the more mass they accumulate, Arkroid thought feverishly.

  His body would not obey him at all any longer.

  »My camouflage field isn’t working! The crystals are able to find us despite it. They’re coming directly toward us, and not by coincidence. I’m diverting the energy for the camouflage field to reinforce the defense shields. What are your orders? Do you want me to leave Moontaap’s orbit?«

  The camo-field is useless because the crystals can sense our bio-electric auras, Arkroid thought. His eyes were tearing and he felt absolutely helpless, knowing that death was a matter of minutes away.

  »The crystal streams have gathered in space and will arrive within seconds. They must be controlled by an unknown intelligence. My defense shields are useless – the crystals show an unknown energy signature the shields are not prepared for. The crystals will be able to penetrate the shields.«

  Flee! Away from here! were Arkroid’s only thoughts for the moment. It was more from panic than a directed command.

  Suddenly the holo went black and the mental pressures subsided instantly. Arkroid felt like he’d dived into a pool of ice-cold water.

  He shouted at the top of his lungs, »We’re under suggestive, mental attack! Leave orbit! Emergency start, NOW!«

  A moment later he realized that his orders had already been executed. His mental panic had been adequate. The Techno-Ferry had read his mind and acted instantly. The ship had retreated to a safe distance of ten astronomical units. The planet was o
ut of optical range beyond clouds of stellar dust.

  Lai Pi coughed and lay pale in his seat.

  »How could we be so damn stupid?«

  He was still feeling a mental suggestion to remain calm and to open the ship’s airlocks.

  »We would’ve been consumed by that intelligence without an automatic-operating ship like this,« Arkroid moaned.

  »Techno-Ferry, did you not register the mental attack?«

  »I cannot detect ESP energy, but neither am I vulnerable to it,« the Techno-Ferry apologized.

  »You can read our thoughts, right? That’s ESP, isn’t it?« Lai Pi complained and groaned in his seat.

  »That’s different. I sense your brain’s bio-electric field and interpret the signals.«

  »Never mind. We need to set up a warning beacon with a message and full details!« Arkroid interrupted. »The Shwakan’s transmitter isn’t enough. Can you do that and place the beacon at a farther, safer distance around Moontaap? We have to warn other space-faring people about this trap.«

  »This is highly moral!« the Techno-Ferry announced. »I will follow your wishes at once.«

  Deporters

  »No, not like that!« shouted Scorge suddenly. He shoved Vasina away from the airlock, back into the corridor. »I’m going to open the airlock doors with explosive charges hidden in the frame. We will use the moment of surprise to enter the storage room!«

  »Good! Take position behind my defense shield and ignite the charges. You don’t want to get hit by the debris.«

  Scorge manipulated a small control device and whispered a warning to Vasina. Seconds later, the airlock doors flew from their hinges into the corridor with a loud roar, slamming into the opposite wall and then falling sideways onto the floor. Dark smoke came from the hinges and obscured the view into the room. Vasina took advantage of the smoke cover and stormed into the storage room, where she hid behind a tall shelf. Scorge followed her quickly. They looked cautiously into the room. As the smoke became less dense, Vasina saw a circular hole in the hull at the other end of the room, about fifty meters away.