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

by Thomas Rabenstein

  »We can’t expect help from outside; we have to save ourselves, Paaf. I want to talk to the Lord and make him open the portal for us – there’s no other way.«

  Paafnas began breathing heavily, displaying two large skinfolds at his throat, which rhythmically deflated and inflated. He seemed very excited.

  »No one has ever dared that in the past,« he whined.

  »That’s to our advantage. He won’t expect us in his castle!«

  »He?« Paafnas asked excited. »How do you know that the Lord is a male?«

  Maya smiled calmly.

  »I don’t know, Paaf, and it’s irrelevant right now. If this Lord is like us Humans then there is a chance we can talk to him and find a way to leave this dreadful place.«

  Paafnas silently looked up the mountain slope. The volcano’s sides weren’t very steep. They looked like they would be climbable without much struggle. The rocks were rugged and offered plenty of footholds. There were numerous gaps and small overhangs to rest under to regain strength. They had to climb the mountain with bare hands, but it was doable. Still, Paafnas was right: even if they made it to the top, how could they force the Lord of this world to listen to their demands?

  Paafnas looked at Maya worriedly. He almost wondered if her imprisonment had made her mad already.

  Maya seemed decided to go ahead with her idea. She began to climb and didn’t look back.

  While she had trouble climbing the mountain, Paafnas didn’t seem to have any problems at all. His suction cup-like hands and feet were perfect for this environment.

  He looked back from time to time and reported what he saw in the distance.

  »The Treugolans are still searching on foot and keeping to themselves. They’ll never catch up with us – or even see us. They’re concentrating their efforts on the vicinity of the fortress. Several of these mollusks have disappeared through the portal. I wonder where they’re going?«

  Maya held her breath and looked back over her shoulder at the flickering tachyon portal.

  »That’s irrelevant for now. They could go to my home-system or somewhere else. These Shwakans look pretty tough, and the Treugolans give them a lot of respect. I think they’re some sort of special forces under the Lord’s command.«

  »I’ve never seen these beings you call Shwakan before,« Paafnas remarked. »Only once during my imprisonment have there been visitors. They were later picked up by a ship. They looked different, however.«

  »Maybe the Shwakans were here before your time. Let’s not speculate too much – we’re wasting time,« Ivanova urged. »We need to be at the mountain top before dark.«

  Maya didn’t dare voice what she was thinking. The Shwakan contingent could be en route to the Solar System, perhaps to secure the platform in Neptune’s atmosphere.

  She pulled two small bags from underneath her coat and handed one to Paafnas.

  »These bags are still full. They’re from that being who can purify the dirty water.«

  Paafnas pulled a face, making Maya chuckle.

  »You mean the Morphonan,« Paafnas suggested.

  »Whatever you call them, they’re friendly and courteous – not what I’d suspect from a walking tree stump.«

  Maya Ivanova briefly closed her eyes.

  »You know, that was one positive thing about this Hell. The strangest being on the planet helped me survive. That makes me hopeful that in the end, Good will prevails over Evil. We’ll all be freed, you’ll see, Paaf.«

  Paafnas tilted his head. »How did you get that idea? Everyone in the universe knows that the good ones fall victim to Evil.«

  Maya kept moving.

  »I prefer a happy ending!« she scoffed.

  »I don’t know what that is, Maya.«

  Maya had found a solid foothold and began to make good progress.

  »You know, Paaf, when I was younger on Earth we used to climb rocks without safety harnesses. We called it free climbing. With experience I was able to climb some pretty challenging mountain walls.«

  Paafnas wasn’t following Maya’s train of thought. While Maya Ivanova clung to the relatively smooth mountain wall, Paafnas hung, head down, beside her, looking inquisitive.

  »Your body isn’t made for climbing. I think your people are more used to living in the plains. Are you sure that you can follow me to the mountaintop? What happens if you slip and fall? You are much heavier than me. I don’t believe that you can slide to the next grade and find a new foothold, can you?«

  Maya pulled herself higher and laughed dryly.

  »Hardly, Paaf. When I slip then I’ll fall and die. I’d give a kingdom for your suction cup hands and feet!«

  Slowly, the two different beings climbed higher and higher. Maya made use of every nook and cranny and took advantage of the shadowed regions along the wall. Seeing her destination above her lent her strength, despite having lost much of her former stamina due to malnutrition in the Treugolan prison. A few more days and she would not have the physical strength for this. She knew that even now her strength was waning. Only her will and her survival instinct kept her going – that, and her inner revolt against their inhumane captors.

  Maya looked up ahead as the unequal partners reached the midpoint of their climb. The base or the domicile of the Lord of the World was glittering in all the colors of the rainbow in the afternoon sun. Maya looked down from her position and assessed her surroundings. She saw the thorn fence that encircled the area, separating the castle and the prison grounds from the desert.

  Sand dunes, as far as the eye could see!

  Sand ocean would be a fitting name for this place. Maybe even for the entire planet.

  The extinguished volcano and its environs were the only places where sparse vegetation seemed to grow. The bluish-green of the dominant ferns and the gray tone of the thorn fence seemed to be the only type of flora to survive in this enclave. Maya began to ask herself how the Treugolans could have evolved and survived on this world. As far as she could tell, it had not rained since her arrival. Maybe it didn’t look so bleak elsewhere on the planet. It was probable that the planet possessed different, more hospitable regions.

  Maya glanced over to the landed spaceships and counted five big units positioned close to the volcano. It was probably only a small portion of the Shwakan Fleet. She wondered if the majority of the force was still in orbit around the planet.

  Shwakans …

  The more Maya thought about that fleet, the less she believed that these were the same Shwakans as on Gamma Draconis.

  Speculation was useless.

  I expect results

  Silence prevailed in the Blue Moon’s control central as Petrow and Nemov entered the room. The crew members looked at Petrow’s petrified face and knew at the same time that the new commander had rejected another approach into Neptune’s atmosphere.

  »We have permission at least to continue to observe and study the object in the atmosphere,« Petrow announced stiffly. »I need some creative suggestions from you. We need conclusive data, and most of all, proof!«

  Everyone in the control central could hear the undertone in his voice. »Wan Mui, talk to me in my cabin, please!«

  The specialist straightened. He was the authority on board the ship for coming up with new technological devices and concepts. Maya Ivanova had made much use of his improvisational talents. Wan Mui had developed the Globusterfist, which was able to penetrate the Globuster defense shield with low-speed grenades. Since then, his prototype had been further adapted and developed into a sizable weapon system.

  Nemov, Petrow and Wan Mui left the room and briefly nodded at each other.

  »The new commander wasn’t that hot on your idea, was he?« remarked Wan Mui on their way out.

  »The new commander is a woman, Mui. Her name is Nok Daralamai.«

  The compactly built Asian nodded.

  »I know her. She’s a damn good leader – but she isn’t the reason for our little chat, right?«

  The Blue Moon’s new com
mander looked down the corridor, put his right index finger on his lips and directed both men into his cabin.

  As the door closed behind them he offered the two men seats.

  »I’m not exactly sure how I should interpret the commander’s orders. She explicitly allowed us to further research that object, but prohibited a flight into the atmosphere. I’m taking that to mean a manned flight!«

  Wan Mui presented his smile, but that meant nothing as always. Unlike the other crew members it was nearly impossible to read his face when he grinned like that.

  »All sensors we’ve sent down to the object have failed after a short time under the extreme atmospheric pressures. Our technology can’t handle that yet. Same goes for remote controlled attempts to land on the object. We simply lost contact with the probes.«

  »I know all that, Mui, but then how did the Eagle manage to return with McCord subjected to those pressures for hours? Let alone in such a reasonable condition,« Petrow remarked mutedly.

  Mesmerized, Nemov raised his eyebrows. He hadn’t thought of that.

  The commander briefly looked around and took some holographic foils from his desk. They were covered with equations and data segments.

  »I’ve run some simulations and entered all of the Eagle’s parameters, including armor, propulsion system limitations, energy reserves and all and obtained some remarkable but sobering results. The Eagle’s hull integrity would have broken down after a couple of hours. The difference between the theoretical allowance and the actual time the craft was under such conditions exceeds that limit drastically. I’m trying to figure out why the craft wasn’t destroyed.«

  Wan Mui was pondering deeply.

  »Well, maybe your simulation was incomplete, or the Eagle’s static design was a lot better than your calculations presumed.«

  »No,« replied Petrow determinedly. »The Eagle’s limits are thoroughly known, and the pressures in Neptune’s atmosphere are a given.«

  Petrow folded his hands.

  »Considering that Maya Ivanova’s Hawk has a much weaker structure … just a run of the mill, Government Issue plane … and also landed on that chunk of ice, then I have to conclude that something is wrong with the whole story.«

  Again, the commander looked at the target data on his foils.

  »All we have is the object’s form. Why isn’t it possible to send a probe with automatic return parameters?«

  Wan Mui had a ready answer for that.

  »The probes are relatively small, with limited thrust. Once they entered the lower atmosphere their propulsion systems couldn’t overcome Neptune’s pull.«

  Petrow considered.

  »In other words: the probes that have so far collected the data only function for a certain amount of time, and the probes sent to land on the object lost contact and malfunctioned.«

  »Probably,« commented Wan Mui. »We don’t know for certain.«

  »Do we at least know at what altitude the problems occurred?« Nemov wanted to know.

  »At about the same altitude as the object’s zenith,« Petrow replied.

  »Sounds like the probes are crashing on the object, doesn’t it?« Nemov concluded.

  The Blue Moon’s commander got up and paced through the room.

  »I think we’re making a fatal error.«

  Touching a sensor pad on his desk, Petrow activated a holo with the object rotating in its display.

  »As we can see, it is flat at the base and circular, extending at the top to form some sort of a dome. That, though, could be deceptive … the object could actually look different than the display.«

  »What makes you think that?« Wan Mui asked, perplexed.

  »I’m thinking of the Shwakan’s disguise field. We were only able to see the entire pyramid ship after Scorge had deactivated the field. If that thing belongs to our enemies, we have to take into account their own advanced technology. I’m damned if I’m not going to get to the bottom of this!«

  Petrow’s determination was clearly detectable in his voice.

  »I want your suggestions – and I expect results!«

  Lunar Research Center

  Peter Mariczek went through the logbooks of recent experiments. The oversized test setup had gone through rigorous tests without failures.

  »Congrats to your success, Peter!« Eusebio de Esquaril, the Solar Union Science Consultant on Luna, applauded.

  Mariczek smiled and looked through the tempered lab window directly at the new plasma accelerator, a top-secret installation.

  »We now understand the Globuster weapon – at least in principle. We’ll be able to reverse engineer it. Similar to our Plasma-slingshot or PSS, the Globs fire stabilizes energy spheres, which explode with full force on impact.«

  Mariczek nodded.

  »Those last test runs were telling. The target was virtually annihilated. How long will it be before we can build a defensive ring of these around Earth?«

  Mariczek tried to curb the consultant’s enthusiasm and expectations.

  »It will take a bit. We only have a prototype so far. We’re using plasma controlled by a self-inducting electrical field. The barrel, so-to-speak, is nothing less than a high-energy particle accelerator, launching the plasma spheres at the target. The Glob weapons work similarly, but are much more compact and efficient. They can fire plasma charges with much higher energy output whose real exponential energy is still unknown to us. Remember how during the attack on Quaoar our Hawk was literally melted into the ground.«

  Eusebio de Esquaril nodded. »I think you’re right. I guess we’re still in the infant stages?«

  »I’m afraid so,« Mariczek replied, »we’re on the right track, however. Thanks to the Union, we have all the funds we need. Having the Glob vessel to study has allowed for quick progress. I’d guess we‘d have an operational weapon system platform in orbit around the Moon within six months.«

  »That’s too long, Mariczek. The Solar Union has already moved to expand and fortify the outer bases and re-arm the Fleet. A whole new generation of space cruisers will replace Pulsar Class. The bases and those ships will need our weapon systems. We learned a hard, but valuable, lesson on Triton and Quaoar. Ordinary high-energy lasers won’t cut it; they’re useless against enemy defense shields. No good for much more than meteor defense. We need your plasma-slinger or what you call it … eh … PSS to go into large-scale production, now!«

  Mariczek frowned.

  »Unfortunately, there’s another factor that will hold us up. We need to be able to rely on support from the private sector and their specialists, like Fosset Enterprises, who provide most of the workforce here on the Moon and has contracts for several projects and test runs.«

  »I know that. What’s the problem? Their people are cleared only for their own projects – none of them know the full extent of our research. Do you have security concerns?«

  »No, no, not that,« Mariczek replied quickly, »I’m more concerned about the available resources … Fosset Enterprises has recalled their personnel this morning. They told us that their people are needed elsewhere, that the company is going through a phase of downsizing and restructuring. Most of my labs and departments are now understaffed.«

  »Are you kidding me?« the consultant asked doubtingly.

  »I wish I were! The first specialists have already left Luna.«

  Eusebio de Esquaril pondered for a moment.

  »I will confer with the Union Government on a solution to your problem. We can’t afford any further delays.«

  You’re a very beautiful woman

  The small fleet had left the desert planet with a deep hum.

  Like huge bumblebees, Maya Ivanova thought.

  She had followed the fleet with her eyes and kept staring long after they had vanished into space. Everywhere the ships had flown through the evening clouds, they had left large holes in the sky.

  The Treugolans became very active as soon as the warlike Shwakans had left. Almost twenty flying disks launched and searc
hed the entire area for the fled prisoners. The sun was beginning to set, and darkness began to surround the volcano. The Lord of the World had also returned to his domicile a while earlier. He didn’t care about the Treugolans’ activities in the plain. That reinforced for Maya that the Treugolans were just a subordinate people in the hierarchy. None of the gnomes’ flying disks came even close to the volcano. They feared their master too much.

  Maya grinned with triumph and held on to the rock wall close to the volcano’s mouth. She had hoped that was the case, and was relieved that she had that right.

  Paafnas and Maya had rested for over an hour at the edge of a large protruding plateau on which the Lord’s small spaceship was parked. They had decided to wait for nightfall before going any further. Their climb had taken most of the day and exhausted Maya more than she wanted to admit. They needed a break to recover from the stress. Maya had only been able to come as far as they did because Paafnas had scouted the easiest routes for their ascent. Maya was grateful for his help. The Pleunatan climbed effortlessly and Maya envied him for his abilities.

  They glanced carefully over the edge of the plateau, which looked more like a marble terrace. Directly in front of them was the small spaceship. Maya played with the thought of stealing the ship and leaving the planet. She doubted she would be able to understand the alien technology. She wondered if she could even find the start button. Besides, the ship probably had alarm systems.

  »Look at that, Paaf! The spaceship is hovering above the ground, just like the big Shwakan jobs.«

  »Certainly,« Paafnas replied mutedly, »gravitation cushions are used by many civilizations throughout the galaxy. They can park all sizes of spaceships.«

  »Yeah, eh,« Maya Ivanova smirked sourly. Humans couldn’t do that – yet!

  »There doesn’t seem to be a lot of security here at the Lord’s abode,« Maya speculated. She looked around cautiously. She knew that it was possible they had already been detected by remote sensors. The darkness of night was deceiving with a false sentiment of security and cover, but proximity sensors were not dependent on daylight. Maya’s remark seemed to make Paafnas more and more nervous.