Crash Landing

by Max Chase

‘I’m guessing that they don’t have their own language,’ Peri replied. ‘The SpeakEasy must be picking up on their basic emotions.’

  Selene nodded. ‘In which case, the SpeakEasy should be able to help transmit our emotions to them.’

  ‘We could try to talk to them,’ Peri said.

  Otto sneered. ‘You can’t talk with these blood s-s-suckers!’

  ‘This is crazy.’ Diesel jabbed the side of Peri’s suit. ‘What if the bats are tricking us? Perhaps they just want us to move away from the light so that they can have us for dinner. One of us should try to climb out and use the Phoenix to rescue the others before we become bat biscuits.’

  ‘The space-monkey makes sense!’ Otto boomed. ‘I’m the most fr-fr-frozen, so I should go get the ship!’

  ‘No!’ chorused Peri, Diesel and Selene.

  ‘You’ve got to be kidding,’ Peri continued. ‘You’d steal the ship and take Prince Onix without a second thought for us.’

  Diesel nodded inside his helmet. ‘You’d leave us to the moon-bats.’

  Selene crossed her arms. ‘Definitely.’

  ‘The thought n-n-never crossed my mind!’ Otto said, but the grin on his lipless mouth said otherwise.

  ‘We can’t just leave. We’re IF cadets,’ Peri said. ‘These creatures need our help. I’m going to find out what I can, and see if I can fix the problem. Who’s with me?’

  Diesel shook his head. ‘You’ve got that look on your face. Typical first year. Just because someone else has a problem doesn’t mean you have to solve it. Leave it for someone else to fix.’

  ‘Diesel,’ Peri said calmly. ‘We fled our home because the Milky Way was under attack. You know what it’s like to be scared. We’ve got to at least try to do something to help.’

  ‘I hate it when you’re right,’ Diesel grumbled. ‘You know I got top marks in my intergalactic ethics exam. You’re not the only one who can care about this stupid stuff.’

  ‘Now we’re agreed,’ Peri said, ‘how do we communicate with the moon-bats?’

  ‘Like I said, they won’t understand your words but they might feel your emotion,’ Selene said. ‘Talk simply and directly.’

  Peri took a deep breath. He had to tell the bats his crew meant no harm and that they were going to help. No, he thought, it’s got to be simple and direct. He stepped through the beam of light towards the bats. They squeaked and swooped around his head.

  ‘Tell us what is wrong,’ Peri said slowly and clearly.

  The bats kept slicing closer and closer. ‘Heat! Frightened!’ they cried.

  ‘You’ve got to feel it,’ Selene called. ‘Project the feeling behind the words, don’t just shout. They won’t understand the words, only the emotion.’

  Peri took another breath and calmed himself. Ignoring the bats’ agitation, he forced himself to speak softly, imagining the calmness the bats must feel in complete darkness. He imagined himself going to sleep back on Earth, when his parents would wish him cosmic dreams. ‘Peace,’ he whispered. ‘Peace.’

  The bats softened their movements and began to hover around him. The aggression left their eyes.

  ‘Friend,’ Peri said.

  ‘Melting,’ the bats replied. ‘Flood.’

  Chapter 6

  The moon-bats swirled around Peri, but didn’t come closer.

  ‘Melting,’ the bats chorused. ‘Flood.’

  I don’t understand, Peri thought, staring up at the green cloud of bats. The spikes on their fixed wings had stopped bristling, but they still looked sharp enough to hurt. ‘What do you mean?’

  It’s no good, Peri thought, the bats don’t understand my question. I have to try something different.

  ‘Show us,’ Peri said, but he knew he needed to project emotion into his words. He had to express the feeling, what it felt like to share. He conjured up the memory of telling Diesel about his bionic abilities after they had accidentally kidnapped the prince. It had been a relief to share his secret. He concentrated on the feeling and said, ‘Show us.’

  As one, the swarm turned. Their movements created a gust of wind that not only held them up but swept them towards a tunnel. They had understood!

  ‘Q-q-quick, let’s get out of h-h-here!’ Otto stammered. ‘B-b-before they return!’

  ‘No,’ Peri replied. ‘I told the bats we would help them.’

  ‘They’re just b-b-bats!’ Otto snorted. ‘You soft-hearted air-breather!’

  Peri had had enough of Otto’s snide remarks. He didn’t care if the Meigwor helped or not, he was going to find out what was frightening the moon-bats and help them, if he could. He started off down the tunnel where the creatures had flown.

  His night-vision visor made the walls of the tunnel glint with green as if the rock was embedded with emeralds. But as Peri touched them he found the walls were slick with water. His space boots had already grown thick rubber soles to help him grip the wet floor.

  ‘Come on,’ Selene said, over the radio, ‘Let’s follow Peri before we lose him.’

  ‘Peri’s a . . . crrrk . . . if he thinks this is going to end well,’ Diesel complained. ‘You don’t have to be as clever as me to know this is a bad idea.’

  ‘Come on, Otto,’ Selene radioed, ‘or we’ll leave you behind.’

  Peri stumbled on. The bats were turning a corner. He could see the last few gliding out of sight. He tried running, but the tunnels were smooth as if worn down over the years. Even his boots struggled not to let him slip on the slippery surfaces.

  ‘I say r-r-roast them with our lasers and e-e-eat them!’ Otto grumbled, over the radio. ‘They’d g-g-go well with s-s-sauce made from broccoli-caterpillars and sl-sl-slime-bugs!’

  ‘Gross!’ Peri, Selene and Diesel agreed.

  The bats cries had faded, but the Phoenix crew could still make out two words clearly. ‘Melting. Flood.’

  Diesel’s teeth were chattering. ‘How can this planet be melting if it’s made of sand and rock?’

  ‘Just keep going,’ Peri answered, over the radio.

  But it is odd, Peri thought. It was getting colder and colder as they walked through the network of tunnels. His Expedition Wear glowed red in its struggle to keep him warm.

  ‘Otto, keep up,’ Selene ordered.

  ‘Watch it, sp-sp-space-monkey!’ Otto growled. ‘Meigwors can’t t-t-take the c-c-cold. I’m going as fast as I c-c-can!’

  The tunnels looked super eerie through the night-vision visor. Strange formations along the wall glistened like Centori snot monsters. Peri touched one and felt water trickle over his gloves. The coldness from the ice underneath radiated through his Expedition Wear.

  ‘Ice!’ Peri exclaimed. ‘No wonder the moon-planet’s melting. It must have ice running through it.’

  Peri pushed on. The rocky floor was getting wetter and wetter. The tunnel was getting steeper. He slipped and fell to his knees. The floor was cold and wet.

  He reached for an icicle to pull himself up, but it snapped in his hand. He could see some sort of alien eyeball frozen into the ice. It stared back at him. Peri suppressed a scream and threw the icicle away. He wiped his hands against his suit. He didn’t know what prey the bats ate, but he hoped it wasn’t IF cadets! He had to trust the bats. He had no idea where they were taking him, but he didn’t want to lose them in the maze of tunnels.

  Peri caught up with the bats just as they swarmed into an enormous cavern. More bats were flying in from other tunnels, joining the masses already swirling above. There were perhaps a hundred, if not a thousand, times more bats than he had been following.

  This must be where they roost, he thought.

  He stood on the edge of a huge cavern of ice. It was almost perfectly cylindrical, like a missile-launch tube. He couldn’t see how high it was because of the mass of circling bats. The walls were patterned with intricate crystalline shapes – from jagged stars, to long sharp lines that overlapped like laser fire. Each shape was coloured every imaginable shade of green in his night vision.
/>   Peri stepped forward to see more clearly, but his foot found nothing but air! He threw his arms backwards, trying to shift his weight behind him. For a second, he tottered on the edge, his arms frantically waving, before tipping himself back on to the path.

  He stared into the abyss below, his heart somersaulting. It had been a narrow escape.

  The path didn’t continue straight into the cave. It branched off in both directions around the edges of the cavern like a balcony. With his bionic eyes and his night-vision visor, Peri could see the floor of sheer ice at the bottom of the cavern. Extreme coldness radiated off it in waves that pulsed through him. It had to be the heart of the planet, and it was made of pure ice!

  ‘I can see Peri,’ Selene crackled over the radio. ‘Quick!’

  Peri spun around. He waved his arms and shouted to his friends, ‘Slow down! The path ends in a precipice.’

  Selene and Diesel skidded to a halt. ‘Talk about looking for a star and finding a black hole,’ Selene said, peering over the edge at the massive drop to the frozen heart.

  ‘I know,’ Peri replied. ‘I never would have believed anything like this could exist in the universe unless I saw it with my own eyes. It’s cosmic-mind-blowing!’

  Even Diesel took a sharp breath before saying, ‘It’s not bad. But I’ve seen more amazing things on Mars.’

  Peri looked around. The bats had settled on the ceiling. They clung to the cracks in the ice. In the middle of the bats hung what looked like a giant stalactite of black ice. But as it came into focus, Peri realised it was a giant moon-bat. Its massive wings wrapped around its huge body. It looked as if it was sleeping, drool dripping off fangs the size of his arm.

  ‘The moon-bat queen!’ Selene gasped.

  ‘Ch’açh,’ Diesel muttered. The narrow band of hair under his helmet turned bone-white. ‘I’ve never s-s-seen anything so scary in my life.’

  ‘Let’s g-g-get out of here!’ Otto said. ‘Before she w-w-wakes up and e-e-eats us!’

  ‘No,’ replied Peri, ‘The bats brought us here for a reason.’

  ‘Perhaps they wanted to freeze us,’ Selene said as she shivered. ‘This has to be the coldest spot in the whole planet.’

  ‘That’s it,’ Peri exclaimed. ‘It’s the coldest spot and it’s still melting. Remember they said “Flood”? All that drilling on the surface and the huge holes must have let heat and light reach the inside of the planet. It’s getting too hot underground. The ice-heart is melting.’

  ‘The moon-bats’ natural habitat is defrosting,’ Selene said.

  ‘If we want to save the moon-bats,’ Peri replied, ‘we have to somehow make this planet even colder!’

  Chapter 7

  ‘You’re c-c-crazy!’ said Otto. He could barely move. His arms, legs and neck had shrunk to almost human size from the cold. ‘The b-b-bats are s-s-sleeping! We sh-sh-should run while we h-h-have the ch-ch-chance! Get off this fr-fr-freezing rock!’

  Peri resisted the urge to push the bounty hunter over the edge of the abyss and leave him there. ‘Our ship is repairing itself, so we can’t leave,’ he retorted. ‘Besides, you need me to fly the ship. I say, we’re not going anywhere until we save the moon-bats.’

  ‘I’ve got an idea,’ Selene said. She grabbed Diesel and spun him around.

  ‘Hey, dumboid, what are you doing?’ the gunner objected.

  ‘Shh,’ Selene replied, unzipping his podpack. ‘Don’t move. If I know the Phoenix, there should be something in here that will help.’

  She started pulling stuff from the sleek pod on Diesel’s back. ‘Heal-u-like gel, nano-bandages,’ she mumbled, delving deeper. ‘Instant-fire grenades, no good. Martian-mosquito electro-nets, self-inflating sleep unit – no, no, no. Toe-amputator, definitely not. Ah! This will do!’

  Selene pulled out a Swizaser. It didn’t look like much. The compact laser was barely bigger than a hand and was made of a large sphere with two spikes. Selene gripped one of the spikes and aimed the other at the floor before flicking a switch. A narrow beam of burning hot light shot out. It zapped the ground. Steam rose as it vaporised damp stone. She switched it off and grinned. ‘This could work.’

  Peri shook his head. ‘We need to cool the planet, not vaporise it!’

  ‘It l-l-looks perfect for r-r-roasted bat!’ Otto said.

  ‘Will you shut up about eating moon-bats!’ Diesel shouted.

  Selene ignored them both, speaking directly to Peri. ‘Obviously, we need a few adjustments.’ She took off her gloves and clamped them between her knees, before fiddling with the sleeve of her Expedition Wear.

  ‘Put your gloves back on,’ Peri demanded, ‘or you’ll freeze to death.’

  Selene shot him a withering look, although her hands were already shaking. She pulled a small tool from the watch band under her survival suit. Hooking the tool into a hidden nano-fastening, she popped the cover-panel off the Swizaser and dropped it at her feet.

  Underneath the cover, the Swizaser was a tangle of wires and circuit boards, coloured tubes and buttons. Selene clipped wires from the device and dumped them on the upturned cover. It was like surgery. It sent a shiver through Peri just watching. He could imagine her doing similar things to his own bionic wires and circuits. He hoped she would never have to.

  ‘Hurry up,’ he said. There was a frown of concentration on Selene’s face. She pulled out a small circuit board, adjusted it with her tool and dropped it back inside. She was fast, despite her fingertips turning blue. ‘You’re going to lose your fingers if you don’t warm up soon,’ he warned her.

  ‘Nearly there,’ Selene replied as she started twisting the wires together. ‘Got it!’ She snatched up the cover-panel from the ice, tipped the spare wires into her pocket and closed up the Swizaser. She flicked the switches again. A beam of pure crystal blue light streamed out, smoking as it hit the damp ground. It was no longer a hot, vaporising laser beam. It was as cold as a comet.

  ‘Klûu’ah,’ Diesel exclaimed, snatching the Swizaser. ‘You’re not the complete cosmic wastoid you look.’

  Peri dropped his podpack and pulled out his Swizaser. ‘Here, Selene,’ he said, handing it over. ‘Do mine next. Otto, get your Swizaser out and hand it over.’

  Selene swiftly finished Peri’s Swizaser upgrade. Peri held Otto’s Swizaser while she made the adjustments. Now that she knew what she was doing, Selene worked faster, but by the time she finished working on Otto’s, her hands were shaking badly.

  ‘Don’t you think you should let yourself warm up first?’ Peri asked. ‘Before you modify your own Swizaser?’

  ‘N-n-no t-t-time.’ Selene’s teeth were chattering.

  She adjusted her own Swizaser last, working at double speed, before she grabbed the gloves from between her knees and yanked them on. She grimaced as she waited for her Expedition Wear to heat her up.

  Peri aimed his Swizaser into the bottom of the cave and fired. The beam of freezing light lit up the cave, but it didn’t seem to do anything. He was too far away.

  ‘Everyone, copy me,’ Peri said. ‘If we –’

  ‘Actually, Peri,’ Selene interrupted, pointing to the cracks in the cavern’s icy walls. ‘I think we’d be better off freezing the walls first before they collapse.’

  A piercing scream filled the air. The queen moon-bat had woken up and her eyes were blazing with fury. She opened her mouth and screamed again, the sound exploding through Peri’s head. Instinctively, he slapped his hands to his ears, but could not reach them through the Expedition Wear helmet.

  ‘Watch out!’ Peri ducked as a bat tried to swipe at his head. The entire swarm of moon-bats had been woken by the queen. A tornado of wings, fangs and spikes swept down towards the crew.

  ‘Why are they attacking? We’re trying to help them!’ Diesel yelled.

  ‘How would they know?’ Peri said. ‘We just need to show we mean no harm.’

  ‘Sorry, Peri, it’s either them or us. We’re going to have to freeze them,’ Diesel yelled as he fired his modifi
ed Swizaser at the moon-bats.

  Peri feared it would make them even angrier, but he was wrong. It was calming them down. Selene hesitated, but joined in too. It was working! The cooling effect of lasers seemed to make the bats feel better.

  ‘Keep firing at the moon-bats. It’s helping!’ Peri shouted as he realised what he needed to do. He tucked the Swizaser into his belt and pressed himself against the wall.

  ‘What are you doing?’ Diesel asked.

  Peri didn’t answer. He ran across the path and threw himself over the edge.

  ‘I’ve got an idea!’ he yelled as he plunged into the abyss.

  Chapter 8

  Peri fell towards the frozen heart of the cavern, tumbling against the walls of rock and ice as he fell. There was no time for his Expedition Wear to inflate.

  Slllaaaammm!

  He smacked into a giant slab of ice and crashed on to the slanted cavern floor. He slid towards a dark pool of freezing water. He clawed against the smooth ice, but it was slick with melted water. If he slipped into the icy pool, he didn’t stand a chance of surviving.

  ‘Come on,’ he urged his suit. ‘Help me.’

  Instantly, his hands tingled and the gloves of his Expedition Wear began to buzz. Sharp ice-spikes sprang from the palms like shiny metal teeth. More spikes appeared on his knees and the toes of his boots.

  ‘Rocket-tastic!’ Peri exclaimed.

  He slammed his spiked gloves and boots into the ice. Cold splinters flew everywhere and he stopped sliding. Peri stared at the huge peaks of ice jutting up from the glowing blue-green ice at the heart of the planet. He needed to fire directly into the ice-heart if there was even a chance his modified Swizaser could heal it. He needed a direct line of sight.

  Peri clawed upwards, away from the pool of freezing water. The ice creaked and moaned under his weight. Small fissures grazed the surface as he kept spiking into the ice. He was almost at the top of the block. Another arm’s length and he’d be in the perfect spot.