by Karl Morgan
“Dave, I think this might be a bit risky for your team. We have no idea what we will find down there,” Jake said.
“Jake, you have the coordinates of the clearing and the Texas, so you can jump us out in a second if needed, right?” Dave asked.
“Yes Dave, but I’m still concerned. We don’t know which maklans built this facility. They could have been much worse that the Predaxian maklans for all we know,” Jake argued.
“I’ll compromise with you,” Dave began. “You and Max will go inside with me. The rest of your team can lead the others back to the clearing, where Avery will fly them back to the Texas. Avery will come back with two more shuttles and a couple hundred troops to control the area.”
“Dave, are you sure it’s safe?” Darlene said as she held his hand.
“Ambassador,” he replied to his wife, “compared to an out-of-work accountant in the twenty-first, probably not. But we chose this life and now this is our job. When you were negotiating with the Galliceans, I was worried. It’s going to be fine. We’ll jump back to the Texas at any sign of trouble. With two maklans around me, it will be simple.”
“Darlene,” Jake thought, “I’ll take care of Dave. You have my word on that.”
The larger group headed back to the clearing with the San Antonio leading the way from above. When they had disappeared into the dark forest, Dave and the two maklans stepped through the door and into the long corridor. There was another maklan-shaped indentation inside the door. Jake matched his body to the design and the door slid closed behind them. None of them wanted any of those giant wolves following them here.
Chapter 8
Emperor Nokalez Zendo had been in a terrible mood for weeks since the failure of his fleet at Nom-Kat-La. He nearly went insane when he learned thirty of his own warships had deserted as the battle was about to begin. During his reign, Predax had increased the size of the Alliance sphere from five hundred to two thousand worlds. There were tens of millions of Predaxian maklans living on the colonies insuring that the local leaders would maintain order and allegiance to Predax. Now, many of his most loyal troops had dared to quit just before Predax was to win its greatest victory. Nokalez had dismissed the entire military leadership and replaced them with generals whom he felt shared his vision for Predax. He named his brother, Altamar Zendo to be the head of the Chiefs of Staff. Most days since the defeat, Nokalez met with his brother for hours trying to develop a plan to bring the deserters to justice. The planning was not going well.
“Brother, we have been talking for too long,” the Emperor began. “We need to take action now and make those insolent bastards pay for what they have done!”
“I agree, Your Majesty,” Altamar whimpered, “but it will not be easy. We took sixty-five ships to the frontier. The thirty traitor ships left us. We lost ten ships during the battle over Nom-Kat-La. Another fifteen ships were heavily damaged and are undergoing repair over Palus. If we could get another twenty ships from other regions of the frontier, our force would only match them. The battle would likely be a stand-off. When the people of Predax see we are involved in what seems to be a civil war, more will turn to the side of the traitors. Brother, we need more time to develop an overwhelming advantage so we can crush the deserters.” Altamar slumped down on a seat facing the Emperor.
“How long will that take, dear brother,” Nokalez sighed.
“Field Marshall Fongula Nokka of Palus told me earlier today he expects to have five ships available within seven days. The remaining ten will take several weeks,” Altamar replied.
“Weeks!” Nokalez screamed, “That is totally unacceptable. I should have known better than to put our invasion in the hands of those bird-brained fools. Do we have other colonies that can help?”
“Our governors of the other colonies are doing what they can,” Altamar replied. “Many of their ships are guarding their own frontiers, and we risk invasion from several other planets if we weaken their defenses. The twenty ships I mentioned are probably the best we can do.”
“Brother Altamar,” Nokalez sighed, “these are dark days for Predax. You remember when we were young two hundred solar cycles ago.” Altamar nodded. “When I learned I would take over from our father, I was overwhelmed. We were so full of hope and ambition for the greatness of Predax. Now look where we stand. If the Kalideans and Galliceans were to invade today, there would be little we could do to stop them. I fear that day may be coming sooner than we think. If those traitors team up with them, they could keep us from controlling the invaders’ minds, and we would be truly helpless. I feel like a failure to our family and planet.”
Altamar scurried over to a cabinet and withdrew two glasses and a bottle of liquor. He poured for his brother and himself. The two drank a toast to Predax and sat quietly for a moment. “Your Majesty, we do have one thing in our favor. The Galliceans and Kalideans are very peace-loving. I think the odds that they will attack are very small. They would rather sign another cease-fire or peace treaty. That might give us the time to resolve our internal issues,” Altamar said.
“You are correct as usual, brother,” Nokalez replied. “Perhaps the Palians should initiate the contact with Greater Gallia. That way we are left outside the process. If Palus should invade them again, it would be their aggression, not ours.”
“Brother, the presence of the maklans from No-Makla on the enemy fleet shows they are fully aware of our actions in this matter,” Altamar said. “We have had dozens of agents captured or killed on Gallia and other planets across the frontier. I don’t think we could fool them again.”
“Maybe not, but I have the beginning of a plan, brother,” Nokalez started, “Perhaps after Palus attacked, we could appear to join forces with Greater Gallia. We could even bring some warships from another colony, like Bastria. Those slugs never liked the Palians. If the Galliceans saw the Bastrians and Predaxians fighting with them against Palus, they would have to believe our intentions were honorable, wouldn’t they?”
“That is an interesting idea, brother,” Altamar said. “The likely outcome would be losing Palus as part of the Alliance. Then the gas monsters of Gallia would be on our direct frontier.”
“Perhaps brother, but I feel that there is a plan in there somewhere that could lead us back to Nom-Kat-La and victory. Perhaps you should put your generals on this issue and see what they come up with. We pay them dearly for their counsel, and it’s about time they came through. It might also help us root out any other potential dissenters in our ranks before a civil war begins,” the Emperor replied.
“Perhaps there is a way to put the blame on the deserters and my dear nephew,” Altamar said.
“That is a very good idea!” the Emperor smiled. “With Pan buried inside Thuk, there would be no one to deny it. Brother, you have improved my mood greatly. Please take these ideas to your team and take a week or two to come up with some possible actions. I think I might go hunting on Parax for a few days to clear my mind and relax.”
Chapter 9
Max, Jake and Dave continued slowly down the long corridor. The sounds of the forest were gone now, replaced by the hum of equipment buried in the ground around them. Dave could see the end of the corridor a few hundred feet ahead. That area was bathed in bright blue light. There were no lighting fixtures to provide the light in the corridor, instead the light seemed to emanate from the walls, ceiling and floor equally.
“Max,” Jake noted, “this construction seems very different from No-Makla. It’s very sterile and cold.”
“I noticed that too, Jake,” she replied. “It’s been a long time since the Great Rebirth, so the differences are understandable.”
Dave said, “It’s almost looks like human construction to me, except the strange lighting. Perhaps the maklans who built this used another race for the construction crew?”
“I suppose that’s possible,” Max replied. “I just hope they are not like the maklans of Predax. Another highly evolved and dangerous civilization of maklans would b
e very bad for all of us.”
They reached the end of the corridor and found a heavy metal door in their path. There was no maklan impression on the door or other apparent mechanism to open it. As they looked about, they saw and felt a beam of blue light pass over them. After a moment, the shape of a maklan and a human hand formed into the metal of the door. Dave reached out with his right hand and touched the hand impression on the door. The door slid soundlessly into a pocket in the wall.
The three stepped into the room as lighting came to life. In the center of the huge circular room was a massive machine that appeared to be the beacon generator. Its base disappeared into a deep well in the room reaching hundreds of feet into the planet, and the antenna rose to the top of the domed ceiling three hundred feet over their heads. Rows of computer stations formed concentric circles from the center well. Other equipment lined the walls of the room. Near them was a seating area in a large niche in the wall. Several plaques were mounted on the walls near the seats. They walked over to the niche and examined the plaques. The writing was a language they did not know. Dave tested the couch, and then sat down to take in all the sights in this place.
“Wow,” Dave began, “this place is really amazing. There’s no doubt this is a beacon of some kind.”
As he spoke, a small glass globe descended from the ceiling until it was ten feet over his head. A beam of light shot from the globe and formed into a holographic image of a maklan similar to the outlines they had seen in the door impressions. It appeared to be standing in the center of the seating area. “Welcome, my human and maklan friends!” the holograph said. “My name is Ton Kalafledes, and I was the administrator for this place we call Beacon Station 801.” Max and Jake sat on the seats next to Dave.
“Dave, did you hear that?” Jake said. “It is touching my mind exactly like another No-Makla maklan.”
“Jake,” Dave replied, “I heard perfect English.”
Ton Kalafledes spoke again, “According to the system clock, Beacon Station 801 became operational four hundred million solar cycles before this date. Its nuclear core was rated to last three hundred and fifty million cycles. I am pleased that the system continues to operate beyond its rated life. The systems here have been programmed to answer most common questions.”
Dave said, “Ton, my name is Dave Brewster. What is the purpose of this station?”
The holograph looked at Dave and replied, “Welcome Dave. I am glad that the humans of Earth have ventured so far from home. This station was designed to warn invaders they were approaching Tak-Makla and should not proceed further. It also was to welcome friendly explorers, and invite them to Tak-Makla to visit and become our friends and allies.”
“Ton, my name is Macadalaka Vanokaraka, a scientist from No-Makla. Does this station have continuing contact with Tak-Makla?” Max asked.
“Welcome Macadalaka! It is my great pleasure to welcome a fellow maklan to this world. I certainly want to invite you and your friends to come to Tak-Makla and meet the maklans there. Unfortunately, this system lost contact with Tak-Makla fifty million solar cycles ago, when our power fell below twenty percent. I am registering our power level at seven percent now. Within another million cycles, the system will lose all power,” the holograph replied.
“Ton, I am Jake Benomafolays, also from No-Makla,” Jake said, “Do you know why no one from Tak-Makla has come to reenergize the station or reestablish communications? It seems very odd to me.”
“Sorry, Jake,” Ton replied, “I have no information on that. The maklans of Tak-Makla have apparently decided there is no further need for this station. I would suggest you travel there and ask them directly.”
“Ton, is this planet part of Tak-Makla’s sphere of influence?” Dave asked.
“Dave, to my knowledge, the maklans of Tak-Makla only occupy planets within the one star system. I have been programmed to offer the planets of this system to any peaceful civilization that wishes to expand. We have been monitoring the situation on the planets and can report there is no sentient life in this system. Flora and fauna species are varied and abundant. We would hope that a civilization moving here would respect that life and learn to accommodate them in their plans,” the holograph replied.
“Ton,” Max asked, “where is Tak-Makla? As fellow maklans, we are very interested in reconnecting with them. The maklans of No-Makla also inhabit only one system, which we share with the humans. It would seem we have much in common.”
“Max, Tak-Makla is approximately thirty light years from Station 801. I have placed the coordinates for the home world into the memory banks of the star ship circling the station,” Ton replied. “I know they will be eager to meet you as well. Go in peace friends. The lighting inside the station will remain on until you exit the corridor and reenter the forest.” The image disappeared and the glass globe retracted back into the ceiling.
The trio left the room and returned slowly to the surface. They were very quiet, lost in thoughts about this place and the opportunity to meet another maklan civilization. They wondered why such an advanced civilization had abandoned this station so long ago. Could they have been attacked or died out from some other cause? Perhaps they had become barbaric themselves and were expanding into adjacent space. There was only one way to find out.
Chapter 10
Dave, Darlene, Charlie and Aria sat quietly in Dave’s ready room having breakfast. The Nightsky and Ticonderoga were due to jump from Far Sky soon to begin the process of installing a permanent portal in orbit. Dave had asked Captain Jon Lake to meet with the core team as soon as he arrived. Since they had returned from the planet yesterday, planning for a new colony had been feverish. Jake and Max had made their report to the High Council on No-Makla. Excitement about meeting another peaceful maklan civilization spread quickly across that planet.
“Charlie, I sure wish we had better coffee on the Texas,” Dave sighed.
“This is certainly nothing like our neighborhood Starbucks, right?” Charlie answered. He waved at the window showing the curve of the planet far below them. “You do have to admit the view is better here though.”
“You two never stop about the coffee,” Darlene said. “Here we are, light-years and centuries from those days, and this is all you guys have to say!”
“Sweetheart,” Dave replied, “I’m not complaining. I admit I am looking forward to taking a vacation in the twenty-first as soon as I can. But if I’m sacrificing my old life to establish a thousand new colonies, you’d think we’d have a better coffee system. The coffee on Ticonderoga was much better than this.”
“Dave,” Aria said, “I’ve already requisitioned several new systems for Texas. I know you guys too well, and the best coffee system is coming your way soon.”
“You are a life saver,” Charlie replied as he kissed his wife on the cheek.
A tone sounded on the control panel and Dave touched the contact. The image of Lia Lawson appeared on the view screen at the end of the table. “Admiral, Nightsky has jumped into this system and will be in orbit within the hour. Captain Lake sends his regards and will take a shuttle over to Texas as soon as they arrive.”
“Thank you Lia,” Dave replied.
“Dave, Captain Lake has requested a private meeting with you while he is on board,” Lia said.
“That’s fine, Lia, please confirm with him and put it on my calendar,” he replied.
“Aye-aye, Admiral. I also have Fleet Admiral Adamsen calling for you and your team. Shall I put it through now?” she said.
“Please do,” he said. Lia’s image was replaced by Arrin Adamsen’s normal stern expression. “Admiral, it is good to see you again.”
“Dave, I’m glad you have your team together. I’ve seen the preliminary reports on the Station 801 system and it looks great. May I assume you are recommending this system for colonization?” Arrin asked.
“Yes Arrin,” Dave replied. “There are two ideal planets in this system for human habitation. It looks like neither will
require extensive terraforming. We need to map the planets and find the best locations for the first outposts. Charlie, why don’t you fill in the details for the Admiral?”
“Arrin, the resources available on these planets are very abundant. Fresh water and vegetation are everywhere. There is a large variety of fauna and sea life,” Charlie began. “Most of the plant and animal life is quite different from what we’ve seen on other planets. I’ve been in contact with Chief Engineer Lagerfeld and he is already interested in establishing universities to study and catalog life here. Except for the lack of sentient species, the diversity of life rivals Earth.”
“That’s great Charlie,” Arrin replied. “Has anyone come up with names for these colonies? We can’t get our marketing teams working on the ad campaign for settlers unless we have catchy names.”
Darlene said, “Arrin, we were trying to find names that speak to the abundance of these planets. Unlike places like Far Sky and New Dawn, these worlds are pretty much ready for immediate habitation. We want to capture people’s imaginations about all the landscapes and wildlife. The names I prefer so far are New Frontier and Summer Garden. What do you think?”
Arrin laughed, smiled and replied, “Ambassador, you know I’m an old soldier. I’d probably name them after battlegrounds like Gettysburg or The Ardennes. Of course, I realize that no one would move to a place with those names. Whatever your team decides is fine with me. Send your final suggestions to the High Commissioner and I’m sure he will approve them. My interest is more about recruiting troops to provide security and setting up police and military academies. But let me ask one favor. Please set aside at least part of that forest near the beacon as a hunting reserve. The animals you mentioned in your report were simply amazing.”
