To The Stars

by Thomas Stone

  As the jeep gained altitude, Harry searched the branches but saw nothing.

  Fagen guided the jeep in a direction that took them over the spot where Kathleen was last seen.

  "We'll start here." Fagen shouted over the jeep's engine. "Keep an eye on the trees. That's probably where they went. They could be walking on top of the branches."

  "What if we find her?" Harry shouted. "We'll have to land somewhere."

  "Yeah, that's a problem." After a moment, he spoke again. "We've got another problem too."

  "What's that?"

  "We can't stay here indefinitely. The shuttle hydraulics have a slow leak. We have to return to the Magellan soon, before the fluid levels drop to the minimum."

  "You mean if we don't find Kathleen, we may have to leave her?"

  "Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves. I'm going to fly in widening circles over the area. There's no way they could have gotten far."

  Fagen concentrated on his flying and Harry looked from the erratic motion sensor display to the tree branches.

  From their perspective, there wasn't much to see. The forest was thick and hid the ground. Occasionally, Fagen flew between the trees, the rotor blades passing the tips of the branches by mere feet. Twice, the motion sensors registered large life forms but these turned out to be a furry creature similar to a sloth and a large cat.

  It wasn't really a cat, but that was the best way to describe it. Its small head had pointed ears and it rested on taloned paws. Its tail gripped the bark of the large branch upon which it sat. As Fagen flew past, the creature flattened its body against the branch and drew its lips back exposing four inch incisors.

  After an hour, there was still no trace. The sun had traveled across the sky and was now poised over the mountains to the west. To the east, an unmistakable cloud buildup indicated an approaching storm.

  "We've got to go back." Fagen said. "We're almost out of fuel."

  Harry peered into the trees, hopeful he would see some sign, some clue as to Kathleen's whereabouts, but in minutes, they were back at the shuttle site.

  Parker ran up to the jeep before the rotor had stopped. "Any luck?"

  Fagen shook his head and climbed out.

  "I got all the gear stowed away."

  Neither Fagen nor Harry said anything.

  "Well? Don't you think we should prepare to..."

  Harry turned to the doctor and grabbed him by his lapel. "You don't care, do you? Kathleen's lost out there and you don't care."

  "Let me loose." The doctor said coldly.

  Fagen watched but didn't say anything. Like Harry, he'd had enough from the doctor.

  "The only thing you're concerned about is saving your own uptight ass. Your profits mean more to you than the lives of the people around you. Some doctor you are." Harry let him go. Parker jerked away and straightened his collar. He backed away a step.

  "I'm going to make a full report. This incident will be fully documented." Parker turned and climbed into the shuttle. Harry looked at Fagen. Fagen shrugged.

  "Don't worry about it. It's no big thing. Besides, the report will go through me. Let's put the airjeep away."

  "What about Kathleen?"

  Fagen looked up at the darkening sky.

  "I'm afraid we may have lost her."

  *

  Four kilometers away, Kretin and Arai set down their load and rested at the base of a tree. The flying object was gone. They saw it for the first time an hour before. When it flew over, they were on the top of a large branch, sitting on their prize, preventing her from moving. Since then, they saw the airjeep two other times and for a full hour they were able to hear it. Now the only sounds they heard were the comforting sounds of the forest.

  Arai was afraid they would encounter the night creatures again and told his brother so. He wanted to bed down for the night.

  Kretin looked up at the faint light. "It's still early, we should move on."

  The boy knew his older brother was right. They needed to get as much distance as possible between themselves and the strange tailless people. Arai looked at their captive. It lay on the ground tied by its wrists and ankles to a pole.

  Arai thought the others of her kind were stupid. They could have followed easily if they had used the trees. Why had Kretin taken such a stupid creature? What use could it be?

  Kretin poured a little water into his hand and let some run onto the rag that covered it's mouth. The thing sucked at the dampened rag and drew in the water. Arai could see it was frightened. When they picked up the ends of the pole again and started walking, it passed out.

  Soon after, the ground shook and a great roar filled the air. A plume of fire rose into the sky. In seconds it was gone, so fast that Arai and his brother only stood and stared, the pole holding their captive slumped over their shoulders.

  "Good," said Kretin, "they are leaving! We are victorious!"

  The two brother's tails gestured excitedly as they continued on their way.

  "When are we going to stop?"

  Kretin shrugged and whipped his tail. Soon.

  He searched the branches overhead and pointed to a tree not far away. They made their way to it. Kretin was the first to climb up. Standing on a thick branch, he reached down with both hands and tail and took the prisoner by the arms. With ease, he lifted it up. It opened its eyes and cried out.

  "Shhh!" said Arai.

  "It has no sense of safety. It makes so much noise."

  "Maybe it thinks we're going to kill it."

  "Well, aren't we?"

  Kretin shrugged. "I don't know yet."

  He reached down and felt the edges of the gag. It was loose and falling off, but before he could tighten it, Arai whispered to Kretin. Kretin nodded and tied a length of cord around the prisoner's neck, like a leash. Then he untied its feet, leaving the hands bound. He didn't bother to fix the gag.

  In fascination, Kretin stared at it. "I wonder what it tastes like."

  "Who cares, unless we're going to kill it?"

  Kretin straightened up. "All right," he said, "we'll kill it, but I want the heart for myself." He drew his knife and stepped forward.

  "Wait," Arai said, "something comes."

  It was too late. The prisoner had seen what was about to happen and had backed away. In so doing, it stepped too close to the edge and slipped. Without its hands or a tail to grasp a hold, it fell to the ground landing on its back with a thud. "Oooff!" it said.

  Across the forest floor, some thirty yards away, a hulking shadow stepped into view. Arai saw it and a chill passed up and down his spine. Although he'd never seen one, it had to be one of the night creatures.

  It faced them, snorted and took a step in their direction. The prisoner apparently wasn't injured from its fall; it jumped to its feet, did an abrupt about face and ran. The monster followed on the ground as did Arai and Kretin in the trees.

  Arai scampered to the lead and, looking for a good ambush position, he dropped to the ground. Stepping into the shadows between two huge tree roots, he waited. Soon, the prisoner rounded the tree and stumbled over a root. It saw Arai wedged between two huge roots. Arai stared back, giving no indication he cared for its safety.

  Heavy steps pulled up. The monster was close, very close. Arai peeked over the top of the tree root and saw the beast. It stood on its haunches not ten yards away, scanning the forest.

  Now he was close enough to see details of the thing. It wasn't a pleasant sight. It was big and covered with coarse hair. It traveled on all fours but at the moment it stood upright, searching for its prey. A pungent smell reached Arai's nostrils.

  The beast sniffed the air and slowly turned its gaze to the tree Arai hid behind. Arai ducked out of sight silent and unmoving, practically invisible in the crook of the great tree. At a casual glimpse, all that could be seen of the boy was the shaft of his spear sticking out into the dim light. Recognizing the more immediate danger, Arai's captive scrambled past him and hid next to him.

  The
night creature heard the scuffling of feet over tree bark and turned in their direction. It sniffed the air again. Stepping around the tree, it stood directly in front of Arai, peering into the shadows. It knew something was there, but could not yet decide if it was something edible. Finally, it caught the scent of the boy and saliva began to stream from its jaws. It crouched and slowly approached their hiding place.

  The boy remained motionless and watched as the beast approached. There was nowhere to go. The creature peered into the darkness and saw the spear shaft. It raised itself upon its two hind legs and, towering over Arai; opening its jaws wide it roared. With blinding speed, a great paw swiped the air and knocked the spear from Arai's hands. The wooden shaft dropped to the ground. There was no escape.

  Suddenly, the prisoner, who up until this moment had shown nothing but fear, jumped to its feet and emitted a muffled scream, startling both Arai and the creature.

  Rows of long, jagged teeth were exposed from the creature’s gaping mouth as it raised a paw and poised to strike.

  But Arai's prisoner wasn't finished yet. Although its hands were tied, it grabbed Arai's broken spear and shoved the splintered shaft directly into the beast's face. The broken spear entered through the monster's mouth sinking into the soft flesh of the palate and then struck against unyielding bone.

  The night creature shrieked in pain, staggered backwards and, with frantic paws, attempted to remove the spear, but only managing to push it in farther. In pain and confusion, the monster retreated, cutting a path straight away from its intended victims.

  Arai looked at his odd-looking prisoner with newfound respect. It looked back at him and then to the path the beast had taken, apparently undecided about whether to run or remain where it was. It had saved him from a particularly nasty death and, according to the rules of the tribe, it had earned status. Arai began to re-think his dinner plans.

  Chapter 16

  The flight back to the Magellan passed uneventfully. Harry sat alone where just a few, short hours before, Kathleen had sat beside him. It was hard to accept that she was gone, but he knew there wasn't much of a chance of finding her now. The shuttle had a problem with its hydraulic system. If they couldn't repair it aboard the Magellan, they would have no means to return to the surface.

  The radio signal that had initially drawn them down to the planet still pulsed at regular intervals. Perhaps if Kathleen hadn't gotten lost, they would have found the source of the transmission and unraveled the mystery, but as it was they might never know.

  Fagen steered the shuttle into the hanger bay and the bay doors shut behind. After the craft was secured and the hanger bay pressurized, they unstrapped themselves and filed out. Parker, still miffed, ignored Harry and fussed with his specimens.

  "Keep those sealed until you get them to the lab." Fagen instructed.

  "I'm well aware of the procedures."

  Fagen ignored the doctor's attitude and went to check the hydraulic leak. Harry pulled Kathleen's gear from the shuttle and began packing it away into a locker.

  A hatch opened and Doris entered the bay. Parker, with his hands full, passed her on his way out.

  "Did you get some good samples?"

  "Oh, yes. Excellent. Would you care to see? I'm taking everything to the lab where I can safely isolate each one while I sort everything out."

  "I need to speak with Edward first. I'll be along later."

  "Very well. I'll see you in a while."

  Doris watched as the doctor, arms laden with his carefully labeled samples, floated through the hatchway. She turned back to the shuttle. Fagen was underneath, looking at the piping through an open access cover. She came up behind him.

  "What happened?"

  Fagen paused in his inspection. "We lost Kathleen." His words

  echoed within the hanger bay, stinging Harry.

  "I understand, but how could that have happened?"

  Fagen sighed and wiped his hands on a rag. "What do you mean?"

  "Well, I mean, you're responsible for your crew. How could you let one of them wander off and become lost?"

  "You weren't there, Doris. That's not exactly what went down. Kathleen and the doc were attacked. The doc says it was primitives. By the time Harry and I got to them, Kathleen was gone."

  "What are you going to do about it?"

  Fagen looked at the underside of the shuttle. "First, I'm going to have Bonner look at the hydraulic system. It's leaking again, more this time than the last. If he can fix it and guarantee that it'll stay fixed, we'll go back down and continue our search. Otherwise..." Fagen shrugged.

  Doris frowned. From her expression, Harry could tell she thought Fagen should show more concern.

  When she didn't leave, he stopped looking at the tubing and faced her. "This isn't getting us anywhere. If you think I'm remiss in my duties, you're free to make a report to the Corporation. Meanwhile, we still have a mission to complete. I suggest you pay more attention to your own duties." He turned away and continued his inspection.

  Doris pursed her lips and stared at Fagen's back as if she considered attacking him. After a moment, she abruptly turned away and floated back to the hatch. She looked at Harry on her way out, but he occupied himself with packing away the gear.

  Unlike Doris, he didn't blame Fagen for what had happened. He didn't blame anybody. Still, if it had been he who had accompanied Kathleen and not Parker, perhaps things would be different.

  *

  Bart didn't take Kathleen's loss very well either. When Doris told him Kathleen was missing, he looked at the XO with disbelief.

  "That's not funny," he said.

  "I'm not trying to be funny, Blane."

  "Where is she? What happened?"

  "Somehow, she got separated from the others. Dr. Parker said there were natives, aborigines. Kathleen and the doctor were attacked. Apparently, they took Kathleen."

  Blane stared at his instrument console. "She can't be gone," he muttered. He looked at Doris.

  "You don't understand," he said, "she can't be gone. I need her!"

  Doris leaned back in her seat. "Take it easy, Blane, we'll all still get our full shares."

  "Is that what concerns you? Your full shares? What about me? I need contact! I need the connection!"

  Doris blinked at the man.

  From across the bridge, Nadine said, "Well, if you feel so strongly about it, why don't you just plug into the ship's computer?"

  "It's not the same!"

  "So what's the problem?"

  "The computer isn't human! Kathleen understands me. Now I'm alone."

  Doris sighed. "Go to your compartment, Blane. Get some rest. Things will seem better after you've slept."

  "Don't patronize me!"

  She calmly looked at the wild-eyed wirehead. "Do as I say or I'll have you forcibly removed from the bridge."

  Blane looked at her for a long time. His hands shook and his mouth twitched. Finally, without a word, he left the bridge.

  "That's one shook up white boy," commented Nadine after Blane was gone.

  "Yes, well, he'd better get a grip," said Doris. "Hold down the fort. I'm going to talk to the doctor."

  "All right, but don't forget my shift is over in half an hour."

  "I haven't forgotten," Doris said over her shoulder as she made her way out. She passed Bonner in one of the narrow passageways and asked how the work on the shuttle was going.

  The large man shook his head. "It doesn't look good. One of the hydraulic lines developed a crack. I can patch that okay, but the stress on the guidance system while the fluid was low... well, it caused some microcracks in the relief tubing. There's no way to fix that until we get back to the Earth station."

  "You mean we can't use the shuttle again?"

  Bonner looked thoughtful. "Now I'm not saying that. But I am saying that if we do, we're going to have to be very careful. If I had to make a decision, I'd advise against taking it out again."

  "Well, do your best."
/>   "What about Kathleen?"

  "What about her?"

  "Well, what if we find her?"

  Doris leveled her gaze at the engineer. "Now Bill, what do you think the chances are of that occurring?"

  Bonner looked uncomfortable. "I don't know." The big man shrugged. "But if there's a chance, shouldn't we try?"

  Doris patted him on the arm. "We'll do everything we can, Bill, but we've all got to remain focused on the mission. Right?"

  "I guess so." Bonner felt uncomfortable and changed the subject. "Who's on the bridge? Any more radio signals?"

  "Nadine's up there now. I sent Blane to get some rest; he got a little excited about Kathleen. And no more radio signals. I've got to go. I'm glad we had this little talk. See you later."

  Parker didn't see Doris enter the lab. He played with his specimens like a kid with new toys.

  "Find anything interesting?"

  The doctor looked up. "Yes," he said, "I did. Would you like to see?"

  "Sure." Doris stood beside the doctor as he displayed his prizes. She pointed at a large beetle. "What's that?"

  "That's an insect I picked up at the spot where Kathleen and I ran into the trouble. Beautiful specimen, huh? Look. It could have evolved on Earth." He set the insect down and picked up what looked like a salamander. "The same for this. It's really quite remarkable."

  "Why?"

  "What do you think the chances are that a species would evolve here in the same way a species would on Earth?"

  Doris shrugged.

  Parker continued. "Not much chance at all. I mean, it's possible. But not very likely. The really odd thing is that the geological survey indicates a much earlier eco-culture."

  "What?"

  "These plants and animals," Parker motioned toward his specimens. "They're similar to Earth organisms, but they don't fit with the geological time. The geological activity is similar to a much earlier period. The life I've seen, plants and animals, all appear to be too advanced. At least, in comparison to the age of the planet."

  "How can that be?"

  The doctor shrugged. "That's a good question."

  "I'd like you to take a look at Blane when you get a chance."

  "Oh? What's the problem?"

  "He's upset about Kathleen."

  "We're all upset about Kathleen. It was unfortunate."