The Dave Brewster Series

by Karl Morgan

  Donna Daniels began with her report on security. “All weapon systems and defenses remain on high alert. We have not discovered any threats yet, but we need to get complete reports from the planetary probes before we can be certain.”

  “Thank you Donna,” Captain Cartwright replied. “Keep your eyes open for us.” He turned to his communications officer, saying, “Lia, what can you report?”

  “Captain, we have been sending general hails toward all planets since we arrived. We have not received any replies. We are scanning all signals from the planets looking for anything that might be considered intelligent communication. As of now, I’d have to say that our findings are inconclusive.”

  “Inconclusive?” Dave asked. “That’s not good. Lia, what does that mean exactly?”

  “Admiral, we are definitely seeing some anomalies in the noise from the planet below, but it is too faint for us to know exactly what might be going on down there,” Lia replied. “We have sent five teams of maklans to fly over the planet and see what they can find out. We expect them back on board within a few hours. I’ve also sent the information we have to the science department for them to analyze.”

  “Jeff, I guess it’s your turn,” Carl said to Jeff Jackson, Chief Science Officer.

  “Carl, I agree with Lia that the odd signals we are receiving from the planet are not natural in origin. It almost seems like a beacon of some kind. Perhaps it is so old that its power is failing. That may be why the signal is so weak. I have asked two of the maklan teams to check the area where the signal is coming from very carefully,” Jeff said. “The probes we have sent to the planet below have returned. This planet is very earthlike and a good candidate for colonization, depending on what we find about the beacon. Sixty percent of the surface is covered by oceans. The land varies from frozen tundra at the poles to rain forests near the equator. The diameter is just less than eight thousand miles, and we’ve seen some evidence of plate tectonics. The atmosphere is eighteen percent oxygen, eighty percent nitrogen and two percent other gases. It looks ideal in my opinion.”

  “Any news from the other planets Jeff,” Dave asked.

  “None of our probes have returned, however, we can conclude that the two planets closer to the sun are both too hot and small to support liquid water or an atmosphere. The next planet out seems similar to this one, but we won’t know until the probes return. There are three gas giants and two frozen tiny planets further out. I’ll report more when the probes return. Within two days we will have all the information we are going to get.”

  “That’s great news Jeff!” Dave said. “God willing, we have a new colony beneath us right now. “What’s the condition of the star in this system?”

  “Spectral analysis shows it to be six billion years old. The size is similar to that of the sun in the Earth system, so we expect it to be around a long time. Macadalaka Vanokaraka, the chief maklan scientist on board is working on the exact calculations. She suggests it will take a day to complete.”

  “Jake, do you have anything to report?” Dave asked his maklan friend.

  “Yes Dave,” he thought, “that signal Lia and Jeff reported seems very familiar to me. There is something quite maklan about it. Assuming our teams don’t find any signs of a living civilization, I think we should take a shuttle craft down to the place the signal is coming from.”

  “That sounds like an excellent idea,” Dave began. “Captain, we’ll stay here in orbit for two more days until all the probe data can be analyzed. If we all think it is safe, we’ll call for Nightsky and Ticonderoga to jump here with the permanent portal. Does anyone have any other questions?”

  Jake extended a tendril to Dave and thought, “Dave, I need to talk to you, Carl and the rest of the core team after the meeting.”

  “Captain, thank you for the meeting. I’m going to keep meeting with you and my core team on a couple of points. The rest of you can return to your stations,” Dave said. The ship’s crew filed out of the room, leaving Dave, Carl, Charlie, Aria, Darlene and Jake. “Okay Jake, what’s up?”

  “As I said earlier, the weak signal seems maklan to me,” Jake began, “I’ve told you we have lived in the Earth solar system for one billion Earth years, with the last five hundred million on Neptune.”

  Carl said, “Yes, I have been briefed on that.”

  “From the history of Earth, you know the historical records are written by the winners. Over time, history books have a way of reinterpreting the past to show the current rulers in a better light,” Jake continued. “The same thing has happened many times during mankind’s brief time. Maklans have been around for a billion years. We were well developed when we jumped to that system.”

  “We agree maklan history has probably changed over time,” Dave said. “What is your point and what does this signal have to do with it?”

  “When I first felt the signal, it felt like a warning,” Jake replied. “I could not understand any words, but I felt like it was telling me to stop and go back where I came from. That’s why we need to visit that site. I might be completely wrong, and I hope our maklan crew can decipher the signal quickly.”

  Carl interrupted, “Jake, if it’s a warning, what do we do? The signal is very weak, and maybe the threat has been gone for five hundred million years?”

  “You’re right Carl,” Jake responded. “Perhaps there is no danger. Or there could be another Predax-like race of maklans near here.”

  “Maybe the signal was put to warn others about No-Makla before your people became peaceful,” Darlene interjected.

  “Exactly, that’s why I talked about history,” Jake replied. “We need to visit that site.”

  “I agree Jake,” Dave said. “Let’s wait until the morning when the maklans have returned from the planet and all the probe data is fully analyzed. If it is safe, we’ll shuttle down then, okay?” Dave heard a tone in his earpiece. He listened for a moment and said, “Sorry team, I’ve got a priority one message coming in. Please excuse me.” The others left the room. Dave touched a contact on his control panel and the grinning beak of Fa-a-Di appeared on the screen.

  “Brother Dave, it is good to see you again!” the Gallicean said. “I hope I am not intruding on important business, my friend.”

  “Brother, your call could never be an intrusion,” Dave said, happy to see his friend again. He had seen Fa-a-Di last when they flew over Neptune two months ago. Fa-a-Di had been called back to resume his duties as High Commissioner after the Predaxian invasion. After he and Field Marshall Je-e-Bo defeated the Alliance invasion of Nom-Kat-La, he returned to Gallia to insure all Predaxian agents were captured or killed.

  “Dave, I have news from the Predaxian frontier,” Fa-a-Di said as he pulled a glass and bottle of whisky from his desk. He poured a glass and sipped it gingerly. “Dave, thank you for this Scotch whisky from your home world, but I have to admit that it is pretty weak stuff.”

  “We could never match fine Gallicean whisky, General,” Dave smiled back. “Every time I taste it, I think my head will explode!”

  Fa-a-Di laughed. “We Galliceans are a hardy folk Dave. We like strong drink and flying through Dar-Fa to keep us sharp. Let me tell you about the frontier though. We were very fortunate to have human and Kalidean ships fighting along with us. Without them, I think Predax might have taken Nom-Kat-La.”

  “Thank you brother. I know our ships were not a match for the Predaxians, but with your help, our defenses and weaponry are now much improved. Too many brave soldiers died or were captured in that battle. I was fortunate to spend time with Captain Lauren London of the Courage. I was saddened to learn that her ship had been destroyed in orbit,” Dave replied.

  “That is very true, Dave,” Fa-a-Di said. “My brother-in-law fought on two ships that day. The Kong-Fa was smashed in the first assault. While his crew escaped, he jumped to the Konk-Fa and took command. That ship proceeded to knock out four enemy cruisers before the Alliance began to retreat. That boy will be a great Fleet Admiral.�
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  “It was a great victory, but none of this is new information, brother,” Dave replied.

  Fa-a-Di leaned in so close to the screen that his beak almost touched it. He whispered, “We never should have won that battle Dave. The Alliance had an overwhelming advantage in their fleet. Nom-Kat-La should now be part of the Alliance, and the hundred million Galliceans living there should have been killed or enslaved.”

  “I don’t understand, brother,” Dave said.

  “Brother, almost half of their fleet deserted just before they entered Greater Gallia space,” Fa-a-Di replied, as he drained his whisky glass and refilled it. “We didn’t know it at the time because they had thousands of minds blocking our sensors so we couldn’t see beyond the border. Just a few days ago, the leader of the deserting ships contacted Je-e-Bo and told him the story.”

  “Can you be certain it’s true, brother?” Dave asked.

  “Very certain brother,” Fa-a-Di said. “Two days ago, thirty Predaxian star cruisers were spotted two hundred light-years from Nom-Kat-La where the Predaxian frontier borders on Kalidean space. Those ships were given clearance to orbit Tantalus, a Kalidean colony in that quadrant. No-Makla sent ten thousand maklans to Tantalus to make certain that the Predaxians couldn’t control any minds. Novolus, Governor of Tantalus met with them and learned a large portion of Predaxian society is turning against the mind control and tyranny of the past. Apparently, the former Crown Prince of Predax, Panoplez Zendo, the son of Emperor Nokalez Zendo was the leader of the movement. He made the mistake of directly confronting his father. He was imprisoned somewhere in Predaxian space.”

  “That is great news, brother,” Dave said. “If Predax could change, it would be a benefit to the entire galaxy.”

  “We’ll see, brother,” Fa-a-Di answered. “I think we will need time to wait and see what develops. The rebels have asked for our help in finding Panoplez. I don’t know what we can do since the prison planet could be anywhere. I just wanted to share the good news with my brother Dave. We’ll talk again soon. Gallia out.” The view screen went black.

  Chapter 7

  On the following morning, the maklans informed Dave that the location of the signal had been pinpointed. The analysis of the probes showed no sentient life on the planet below. Dave summoned his core team to the shuttle bay to travel to the planet’s surface. Each human in the party would be accompanied by a maklan for protection. At precisely 0900 local time the shuttle craft San Antonio left the belly of Texas and dropped into the atmosphere. Commander Avery Adamsen, son of Fleet Admiral Arrin Adamsen, was piloting the shuttle. All the sensor arrays had been set to look for potential danger, such as toxic gas levels, transmission signals and signs of sentient life.

  As the San Antonio dropped through the cloud layer, they could see a large ocean below them and a coastline on the horizon. The craft moved very quickly and was soon passing over dry land. A large forest reached in three directions to the horizon. Avery slowed the craft as a small opening appeared in the trees. Jake told the group that the signal was coming from that opening. Avery flew over the opening at low speed several times to look for any signs of an installation, but they only saw a small hill rising in the center of the opening. At Dave’s signal, Avery landed the craft at the edge of the clearing.

  “Admiral,” Avery said, “I’m reading the atmosphere as fully breathable. We can disembark on your command.”

  “Thanks for the ride Avery,” Dave replied. “I think you should stay here with the ship in case we have to make a quick exit. Please keep the engines warm and the defense shields on high once we leave the ship.”

  “Aye-aye, Admiral,” he responded as he opened the hatch and lowered the ramp onto the soft grass. “Good luck out there!”

  The maklans exited first and flew around the opening to check for any danger. “Dave,” Jake thought, “it’s clear. You can come out and join us.”

  The core team took emergency breathers and blasters from the compartment and clipped them to their belts. Dave led the way down the ramp and onto the new world, followed closely by Darlene, Charlie, and Aria. The clearing was beautiful. It was about one mile in diameter. The trees in the forest around it were very large, most over three hundred feet tall. The clearing was carpeted in what looked to be grass, but it had not overgrown. It seemed to grow only to five inches tall. There was no one to clip it, so they assumed it was naturally short. The hill was carpeted with grass. At the peak, the hill was one hundred feet tall, with a gradual incline from the forest floor.

  “Dave,” Jake said, “the signal seemed to be strongest at the peak of the hill. I’m going to land there and see if I can hear it better.”

  “We’ll head that way too Jake,” Dave replied, “It might take us a few minutes to get there.” The humans started up the hill.

  Within a couple minutes, Aria said, “You need to take a look at this, Dave. When I examined the ground at the base of the hill, it looked like ordinary soil. On the hill, it seems like some kind of artificial growing media.”

  Dave bent down and pushed the grass aside, and the ground was formed into a mesh and was jet black. “Well, I guess we have our proof that this is not natural,” he said. “Avery, please come in.”

  “Aye-aye Admiral,” Avery responded immediately.

  “Avery, please ask Commander Jackson to send a team down here to analyze the growing medium on this hill. It is definitely not natural,” Dave said. “Okay team, let’s keep going up. Jake will be up there waiting.” It took another ten minutes before the humans reached the top of the hill and joined the maklan group. “Jake, what has your team learned so far?”

  “Dave, the signal is much stronger here, but not any clearer. This is definitely some kind of beacon array. My team has been sensing around for a hidden opening. There has to be a way to get inside this thing,” Jake replied.

  “Avery, take the shuttle up in the air above tree height,” Dave said. “We’re looking for an opening that might lead into this hill. The maklans have not been able to sense an opening in the clearing. Perhaps the opening is somewhere in the forest nearby.”

  “Aye-aye Dave,” Avery replied. “Give me a few minutes and I’ll get back to you.” At the bottom of the hill, the San Antonio slowly rose above the grass and up to four hundred feet and began to fly slow circles around the clearing. Within a few minutes, the landing party could no longer see the ship as the surrounding forest blocked their view. Ten minutes later, Avery’s voice came over the intercom, “Dave, I think I found it. The forest is very deep there so I can’t land anywhere but the clearing. I’m headed back to your position. If your team wants to follow me, you should be able to see me through the tree tops.”

  “Great job,” Dave said as the San Antonio reappeared in the sky above them. The core team headed in the direction of the shuttle and moved into the forest, always keeping an eye on the ship above. The forest became increasingly dense as they moved away from the clearing. Streaks of sunlight illuminated portions of the land which was littered with leaf debris, stones and fallen trees. After fifteen minutes, they began to hear signs of animal life. Creatures similar to birds flew among the tree tops. Insects scurried along the ground. “Everyone, please draw your blasters, but keep them on stun,” Dave said. “We have no idea what we might find out here.” As he said that, a large deer-like animal emerged from the darkness and ran across their path before disappearing into the dark forest again. “Did you see that?” he shouted.

  “Dave, it was amazing!” Charlie replied. “That thing must have been ten feet tall at the shoulder. And the rack of horns was enormous.”

  A pack of twenty wolf-like creatures emerged from the same area and ran across their path. The beasts were the size of tigers showing large saber-like teeth. They had been chasing the other animal. All but one followed it back into the darkness. One had seen the humans and stopped in its tracks, twenty feet in front of Dave. All four raised their blasters, but before they could shoot, the animal had j
umped the twenty feet to attack Dave. As the beast reached him, Jake intercepted it and knocked it to the ground. They rolled around in the undergrowth. No one could shoot as the two were tightly intertwined. After a few seconds, Jake glowed red, and the animal was blown back ten feet and landed on its back yelping. It rose gingerly and disappeared back into the forest, following its comrades.

  “Jake, are you okay?” Dave shouted as he rushed to his friend.

  Jake brushed the litter from his body, saying, “I’m fine Dave. That thing caught me by surprise for a moment. I guess we should have expected such things on a planet like this.”

  “Thanks for saving my life again, Jake,” Dave replied.

  “Only doing what anyone would do if they could, Dave,” Jake said. “I’ve asked my team to be on the lookout for other surprises out in the forest. By the way, the opening is just ahead about fifty feet.”

  The party continued ahead and came upon a small building with a large metal door on the far side. The door was ten feet high and seemed very thick. There was no apparent lock or handle. In the center was an indentation in the shape of a maklan. “Jake, I think that’s proof enough this is a maklan installation. What do you think, Max?” Darlene asked.

  Macadalaka Vanokaraka, the chief maklan scientist on Texas, was assigned to guard Aria on the shuttle crew. She thought, “Very true Darlene. This shape is a bit different from maklans from No-Makla or Predax. All maklan species have continued to evolve over the last billion Earth years. This must be another race, or perhaps our own from long ago.”

  “How do we get inside, Max?” Charlie asked. “There’s no lock or handle that I can see.”

  “I have an idea Charlie,” Max replied. She flew up slowly and positioned her body into the orientation shown on the door and landed softly on its surface. Nothing happened. She glowed bright red, but still nothing changed. She glowed bright blue, and the sound of mechanisms deep inside the planet started to react. Max jumped away from the door and it slowly slid aside revealing an opening. Lights came to life and they could see a long sloping corridor into the ground in the direction of the clearing. “I suppose this is our invitation to go inside,” she said.