by Joe Crouch
“Oh I like this one Feghouli, I really like this one…”
Chapter 11
The team arrived back on the Mar’Ell along with their newest addition, Taris. They mulled about in the hangar bay, each of them going about their own menial tasks. Sean rushed away from the shuttle and ran towards the exit, the cool atmosphere aboard the ship was a far cry from the hot and humid conditions on Pulio. Returning to his quarters he accessed his terminal and displayed all communications from back home – He had fourteen new messages, the majority from family and friends. Deciding he would finally get around to it later, he crashed down onto his bunk and sank into the mattress as it formed around him. His mind turned to the family he had to leave behind, he wasn’t particularly close to them, but he knew when he was in a mess they would be the first ones there to help him out. His father, a TEF chief engineer, served aboard one of the battleships that was, luckily, docked on the Moon when the Xuron struck, knowing he got fortunate offered no solace to what could have been, or what still might be. His mother had already passed, a car accident he remembered, but he was young when it happened so had little real memory of what she looked like.
Sitting up, he flicked through the menu on his desk and ordered a mieno, the small hatch popped open to reveal his freshly replicated drink. Taking a cautious sip and sitting back, he was interrupted as his door beeped. “Open,” he said for the computer to hear and with a hiss his door split in two, allowing Fez to step through and take a seat.
“How are you feeling?” Fez asked. It was a genuine question; the significance wasn’t lost on Sean, the Ioution often enjoyed joking and messing around, but when he needed to be serious he knew the alien could be relied upon, smiling, he looked up from his cup.
“I’m not too bad, cheers, it was definitely an interesting experience down there,” he muttered as he relaxed into his cushioned seat. He had explored, at least at his own leisure, his first alien world, sampled alien beverages, many alcoholic, gotten into a bar fight and was stunned by the local law enforcement and had to spend a night a cell. To say it had been hectic would be an understatement. “I’d like to go back, maybe when my kind have conquered the galaxy,” he said with a wry smile, nodding, Fez let out a calming breath.
“As long as you’re sure you’re alright,” he reiterated.
“I am, thanks,” Sean replied, sitting upright, “So, tell me about this Taris, you know her?”
“Yes, I know her, we served together on the Exo, she was a soldier in the assigned infantry and I was a navigational officer, there were plenty of times I would pilot a shuttle with her team down to the surface for any numbers of reasons.” The alien paced around Sean’s room as if something was playing on his mind, “We used to be close a long time ago, but we haven’t seen one another in years.”
“How come?” Sean questioned.
“We’ve both been busy I suppose, last I heard she was working for different planetary governments chasing fugitives for money.”
“She’s a bounty hunter?” he bellowed, the excitement in his voice giving everything away as he leant forward, gripping his steaming cup.
“Is that what you call them?” Fez asked, shaking his head, “But sure, she’s a bounty hunter, not a great job, low pay and high risk but it’s an exciting job and she always enjoyed a thrill…” Fez trailed off, lost in his memories. The alien often enjoyed telling stories about what was going on around their galactic sector, some of the operations he explained were closer to Earth than he would have expected. “I might have a surprise for you later, I’ll be checking up on it soon,” Fez exclaimed, catching his attention. With a final goodbye, the Ioution strolled out from his compartment, returning to his own tasks, this gave Sean time to rest up and get washed, he had wanted to explore some of the ship by himself but now couldn’t get his mind off from Fez’s surprise. He knew it couldn’t be much, his last surprise involved being held in place with the emitters and covered in some awful sludge. He got Fez and Farel back, though, and that’s all that mattered.
He was surprised Earth’s President hadn’t been in touch, he was their only ambassador after all and one they were reluctant to choose in the first place. Not that it bothered him, someone watching over his shoulder constantly would have given him ample cause to act out towards authority, something that probably wouldn’t fly aboard an alien warship. But he still found the whole thing troubling, while his confidence had grown over the last month, he still doubted his ability, even after infiltrating an alien compound and getting into a dogfight with two Xuron fighters. At any moment, an alien fleet could appear and their single ship would be powerless to do much about it, it was another thing on a long list of things which bothered the Human.
Walking towards the cantina he spotted Taris up ahead in a deep discussion with another crew member and before he could escape she turned and noticed him. “Oh here he is, my little alien piece of meat,” she grinned, strolling towards him with a swagger that he tried to match. “You headed for some food?” she asked, “Because I am, why don’t you show me what the food on this hunk of junk is like,” drawing angry looks from crew walking past.
“Sure, whatever,” he said trying his best to be nonchalant. They both took up seats on one of the large rounded tables that were empty and grabbed the portable terminal. “So, you know Fez?” he asked.
“Fez?” Taris looked at him in confusion, “Do you mean Feghouli?”
“Feghouli, what a name, but yeah, how do you know each other?”
“We served on a ship long ago and he would force himself to be the pilot on my assignments, he would let me sit in the co-pilot's seat, what a darling,” she laughed, “It was a great time leading him along, but once I left the Ioution fleet we actually did become closer, but with his time away and my work, we grew apart.” The two sat in conversation about their mutual friend, he tried to get as much gossip as he could, an embarrassed Fez was a joy to behold, only the meal servant broke up their intense exchange.
Digging into his meal of strange alien fruits and what looked like a side serving of yellow vomit, he couldn’t help but feel a pang of guilt about not inviting the captain down. He looked up at the Ioution sitting across from, she did look young, but there was an air of authority about her that belied her years, someone you could have a good time with, but the next minute she could be breaking your legs. “So, tell me about the job you have now,” he asked, desperately wanting her to resemble all the bounty hunters from the films of his youth.
“Well, much of the job is dull and mind numbing, I fill out form after form, go through inspections and briefings about what to do if I do open fire,” she paused, noticing his glum face, “But I also get into shootouts and have to take on daring manoeuvres to get my target,” she added while rolling her eyes, trying to please the inner-child within the Human. Their conversation was cut short as Fez stepped through, noticing them both he turned around to walk out, trying to be anywhere but there. Taris sprinted over and dragged him to their table pushing him down into a seat. “Feghouli… Fez,” she smirked, “So nice to see you back in your actual uniform, you always did look handsome.” Fez shook his head; Sean couldn’t tell if it was from embarrassment or the whole situation.
“Taris, as forward and immature as ever I see,” he scoffed. There was an air of tension between the two as if something was left unsolved the last time they were together, Sean had no idea what, and it wasn’t his place to get involved. Taris stood and looked on coldly towards Fez as she stormed out the cantina, “At least she’s gone,” he added. Sliding around the table and taking the seat she had occupied, Fez ordered a meal and turned to face Sean.
“I won’t even ask what that was about,” Sean yawned.
“Good, she isn’t worth my time,” he replied. Sean let the matter go although he desperately wanted to know what had happened. The two sat in near silence as they both finished their meals, Fez slumped back and straightened his uniform.
There were parts of the ship
Sean hadn’t yet explored, parts off-limits to an ambassador like himself. The vessel wasn’t massive by any means, the TEF Arrakis had been larger, but the crew requirements of the Human ships were also magnitudes higher than an Ioution vessel and their automated systems. “I might have a wander around the ship later, I’d like to visit some of the decks I haven’t seen yet,” he said, gauging his friend’s reaction. Fez nodded while not paying attention, grunting, he stood up and left the table heading out the cantina and towards the bridge. Sean grabbed the food the alien had left and finished off his meal before the trash collector hovered over, recycling the material left behind.
Aimlessly wandering the decks was one of his favourite past times, not just aboard the Mar’Ell, but back on Human vessels, too, maybe more-so on Human vessels. The Ioution ships seemed very clean and structured, it bothered him, there was no shouting, no arguments, not a speck of oil or dust coating the surface of anything, it was all just too clean. Back on the Arrakis, the crew took pride in ensuring things were spotless, but it was just about impossible to make it perfectly so, someone would always rub their greasy hands across a surface, smearing their last meal or workplace across the glinting windows. These things were Human, it’s not that people put up with it for long, but the flaws and imperfections made the people he worked with, most Ioutions he met were just as clinical as the ships they commanded. Sighing, he continued, nodding to the few crew who passed him by, no one was in a rush and everyone went about their business with a silent efficiency.
He arrived in engineering and saw Farel, a crewmate who had grown on him immensely, only the engineer’s feet were visible as he dove head first into a duct to make repairs. Striding over, he grabbed the Ioutions legs and yanked, jolting the surprised alien who spoke quickly in a language he couldn’t understand. “You better not be badmouthing me, Farel,” he shouted as loud as he could into the enclosed space.
Walking around engineering and picking up different parts that were scattered about, he tried to figure out what they were for, before noticing a rack of what seemed to be tools hanging on the wall. Grabbing one at random, he threw it from hand-to-hand, gauging its weight before placing it back and picked up a second. This device had a small nozzle extruding from its side, with what looked to be a touchpad on its reverse, placing his thumb down a thin blue beam shot out the exposed nozzle, cutting a hole into a nearby desk. Quickly, he put the device back and hurriedly, but casually, made his way out of engineering, picking up pace as he neared the door.
The exchange had calmed Sean’s mind a little, he wasn’t prone to bursts of introspection but every now and then he found it reassuring to look at himself and ask where he was going and where he wanted to be. He wanted to be right here, doing a job literally no one else had and he imagined most people didn’t even know about. Fez had told him they would visit Earth when they had time, but for the foreseeable future, his life would be on the Mar’Ell.
He stepped through onto the shuttle bay, an area he could always rely on for some activity and noise. Peering over the gangway he saw crewman scurrying about, all carrying pieces of different ships and covered in muck – It was the most Human place aboard. They were working on some sort of fighter craft, something he hadn’t seen before, larger than the shuttle and better equipped, its hull curved down to a point that would be its nose. If he tilted his head, the body almost looked like a whale. Walking down the steps and strolling over towards the ship, trying his best to avoid the frantic crew, he saw four large cannons placed around the fighter’s hull, sitting well into the vessels aerodynamic design. Running his hand over the glinting hard grey surface, it was slippery to the touch.
He left the hangar and headed towards the med bay. It wasn’t long before he noticed something different, a doorway that had never been shown to him, it was wide open and a quick peek around the corner showed no one in the section. Fighting with his own conscious and throwing caution to the wind, he stepped through, remembering Fez saying there were areas where he wasn’t allowed, I’m sure there’s a good reason I’m not meant to be here he thought. The long winding hallway he found himself in felt different, maybe it was all in his own mind, but the atmosphere was ominous, it just felt off to him. Running a hand along the nearest wall he felt its texture was different, no longer were they smooth and decorative, but they were rough, rugged, and had defects, something the Ioutions would never allow.
The whole area was freezing cold, icicles were just starting to form from the moisture in the air, breaking off as he ran his hand along the railing. From what he could see there was nothing there, no doors responded to his passing, no terminals attempted to show him directions or give him meaningless advice, the area was barren and completely empty. What is this place he mused, it can’t be empty? It was borderline endless, the corridor continued longer than any other he had seen in the ship with seemingly no purpose. Approaching the far end, lights flickered above him as the temperature continued to drop the deeper he got, it was impossible to stop himself from shaking, not just from the bitterness that surrounded his body, but the nerves that he was feeling from stumbling into something he felt was big. Putting his hand across the dead end, a beep-beep sound came from nowhere, barring him entry to whatever lay beyond. He wiped his hands side-to-side across the frozen wall, trying his best to find any hidden compartments that he might be able to access, but he found nothing. Peering down towards the floor he noticed a flashing light, as he was about to bend down to investigate, he felt a large hand slam down on his shoulder, screaming at the top of his voice he turned to see Fez with an irritated look scrawled across his face.
“What are you doing here, Sean?” Fez asked, looking straight into his eyes, searching for any deception.
“I…” he hesitated, “I was just exploring, seeing what some of the other parts of the ship were like, I went around to engineering, the flight deck, I even went to…” he was cut off.
“You do not come down here, this is not your ship, when I say areas are off-limits, I do mean it.” The Ioution was furious, his warm, angered breath visible in the freezing air. Sean went to reply but Fez held out a hand, “Follow me, I’ve got something to show you.” The pair walked away from his discovery, he desperately wanted to find out more, but sensing it was a subject that he had no business investigating he let it drop – For now. They plodded along the various hallways before arriving outside the flight deck, “This is something I think you deserve, something I think you’ve earnt,” Fez corrected himself as one of his bridge officers approached.
“Sir, we’ll be dropping into the system soon for re-arming and refuelling, we’re docking with His Emperor’s station… we will also be taking on a squad of soldiers,” the officer stated. From what Sean had learnt, when soldiers were aboard they usually caused trouble for the officers and flight crew, much like on a Human vessel, with their insidious games and dares that put them in sickbay. He was secretly looking forward to meeting them, their assignment of first responders for any surface disturbance was similar, if not an exact replica of the role Sean had aboard the Arrakis.
“Very good, Officer, I’ll be up to the bridge within the hour to oversee slip exit and docking,” nodding, the officer walked away at a brisk pace and headed towards the bridge. “Now, where was I,” Fez asked, “Right, your surprise.” Smiling, he grabbed the handle to the flight deck and pushed the door open, swinging inwards Sean saw everything still there from earlier, except the crew had stopped working and stood at the bottom of the stairs.
Motioning for him to follow they walked slowly down the steps, the crew that had gathered all looked exhausted and dirty like they had seen a good day’s work. “What am I here to see, Fez?” Sean asked when nothing was apparent, his head darting around to see what was new. Grabbing him by the arm, the Ioution dragged him over towards the fighter that had been sitting on the deck earlier. Her hatch was now open, exposing the insides along with various other compartments that had been ‘popped’ open to reveal more u
nder the surface. Standing beside the fighter, they both looked up, the light reflecting off her new, clean surface, there wasn’t a single mark or scratch on it. Fez climbed aboard and waved for Sean to join him.
The entrance sloped and curved up towards the vessels entry point, his heart racing, Sean walked up the ramp to a delighted Fez who had taken a seat in one of the many chairs that were dotted along her insides. The ship looked new all over, every surface gleamed and sparkled in the faint lights that illuminated the compartment. This fighter was larger than their shuttle, stairs at the rear led down to a separate deck, and a small flight near the front led to the cockpit. While fascinating, he still had no idea why he had been summoned.
“Very impressive, Fez, did your crew build it?” Sean asked, the alien nodded with a wide smile firmly planted on his face. “But why am I here,” he questioned. Fez stood up, suddenly becoming very formal.
“Sean Maguire of Earth,” he started, “I present to you the Arrakis-two, your new, very own fighter craft…”
Chapter 12
A blinding blue light erupted on the bridge as the Mar’Ell exited slip space, every terminal bathed in its illuminating presence. Arriving in the Araba system ‘His Emperor’s’ station was in orbit around the fourth planet, a slowly rotating world that was dominated by a lush blue forest with mountains peaking well into the lower atmosphere. From what Sean had learnt, the planet was colonised well over a thousand years ago. Now, cities sprawled across her surface scarring and destroying the local landscape, although areas of beauty still existed. The Ioution’s had a presence in the local space, being an outpost system for the alien empire their ships filled the radar, the sensors showed all different types from frigates to freighters. The binary stars produced a soft, warm glow over everything in the system, the reflective hulls of the Ioution ships creating large mirrors in space as the light was reflected. A noticeable build-up of energy could be felt through the ship as the Mar’Ell’s sub-light engines roared into action, propelling the massive structure forwards towards their destination. Relaxed, the crew looked on as the various displays on the bridge were populated with the astrological structures within the system.
