Far Mantis

by Jim Henderson

  Ximon patted her hand kindly. “I understand, Raiza. I certainly fear that creature that attacked us, but it’s dead and I doubt there are more.”

  Elsbeth stared in disbelief. “We can’t be sure of that and we didn’t fare too well last time.”

  “No, but you went back in and saw nothing. If one will attack when there are five or six of us, why would it hesitate to attack two or three?””

  “Maybe it was just ‘out and about.’”

  “I get what you’re saying, but I too think we have to go back in,” Ximon said. “Elsbeth, Shao, if you don’t want to go, you don’t have to. I’ll go with Raiza in a day or two when I’m a bit better.”

  “Ximon, shut up,” said Elsbeth dismissively. “You know we’re not doing that, and I know that, come hell or high water, we’re going back in.”

  “Me too,” Shao said.

  Elsbeth gave a resigned sigh and then signaled for them to listen. “Okay, so I have a plan.”

  She laid out her plan in detail and they decided to implement it in a few hours.

  A bit after noon they got everything together. Raiza very carefully helped Ximon into a spacesuit and Peter helped Shao so she didn’t have to strain to reach things.

  First, Elsbeth, Peter, and Raiza went over with Mantis’ telebot, the medical analysis unit, Ayah, Euclidia, and a cart full of lights. They set up a couple lights shining down the hallway and then Elsbeth and Peter stayed by the cart, shotguns ready, while Raiza went and got Ximon and Shao. Once inside, Raiza set up a folded chair and sat Ximon in it, with a rifle in his lap.

  “Now, dear,” Raiza said to Ximon. “You sit right here and watch our backs. You can switch through our video on the display in your suit, if you wish.”

  Ximon nodded and the group moved down the hall, quickly checking each room as they went so nothing could sneak up behind them. Along the way, they placed more lights, so the entire corridor was brightly lit. When they got to the cargo bay, Elsbeth and Peter placed several lights in there, so there were no dark shadows for any creatures to hide in.

  Elsbeth quickly looked in the landing bay to ensure it looked clear. When it did, she left Peter and Shao watching the cargo bay, guns ready. Elsbeth, Mantis, Raiza, and Ayah, carrying Euclidia, went into the landing bay cautiously. Raiza positioned Ayah and Euclidia so they could watch the entire bay and Elsbeth looked around to ensure there was no sign of anything hiding.

  Mantis and Raiza approached the tree-like thing. As they did, Elsbeth came over and pushed the end of her shotgun against the fleshy base of the tree. She wasn’t sure if shooting it would hurt the thing, but she’d do her best to blow it to shreds if it did anything menacing.

  Raiza placed the scanners from the medical analysis unit at several places on the tree and on the limbs attached to the grey men. In doing this, she got detailed scans. She also took multiple samples from different places on the tree. In particular, she carefully examined some protrusions near the base of the tree before conferring with Mantis and Euclidia about her findings.

  “Okay,” Raiza said, getting everyone’s attention through the radios. “This tree thing is clearly sucking vital fluids out of these grey men. Mantis, Euclidia, and I have developed a hypothesis as to the situation. We believe this tree “the vampire tree” and the creature that attacked us “the vampire spider” are in a symbiotic relationship, perhaps even portions of the same being. The creature moves about, finds, and paralyzes victims and then brings them to the tree. The tree then attaches to them, keeps them sedated, and keeps them alive for an extended period of time. As it does, it pulls certain nutrients from the its victims and exudes other nutrients in a milky substance coming out of protrusions at the base of it. The creature then comes to the tree and feeds, getting what it needs from these protrusions.”

  Euclidia added, “Well said, Raiza. I might also say that the apparent reason this symbiosis works is because the two creatures have different nutritional needs, and both need hosts that they can ‘milk’ for an extended period of time.”

  Elsbeth shook her head in her suit. “This crap keeps getting crazier. Really? Do we have to have vampire tree spider symbiotes?”

  Mantis said, “It is only a hypothesis, but it is the only one we’ve found that fits the data.”

  Ximon cut in on the radio, “So, what do we do now?”

  “I need input or direction on that,” Raiza said. “I am not certain we can remove the grey men from the tree without killing them, but they will die if we leave them. This poses and ethical dilemma.”

  “Well, then clearly we cut them off,” Elsbeth said.

  “I would tend to agree,” Simon added.

  “Of course, we don’t know how these grey guys are,” Shao said. “They could be trouble too.”

  “Possible, but not the issue now,” Ximon said. “Raiza, we at least have to try to get them off there and you’re the one to do it.”

  “I expected that would be the conclusion, though I am concerned at the probability of success.”

  “Just do your best and you can try different techniques on the different greys if you wish.”

  “Very well. I will proceed,” Raiza said. “Elsbeth, could you relieve Peter so he can assist, unless you would rather do so.”

  Elsbeth said, “No, I wouldn’t want him to get bored.” She traded spots with Peter so he could help Raiza with her ‘surgery.’

  Over the next hour, Raiza performed several procedures to try to detach the grey men. In one attempt, she just cut the tree limb, but this led to the grey quaking violently, convulsing, and dying. She then attempted to supply some nutrients to the greys before carefully removing the circle that covered their faces. In another attempt, the grey simply expired as the circle was removed. However, in one other, the technique seemed to work. The grey was unconscious but breathing shallowly on its own after Raiza removed the tubes that had extended down its throat from the circle of the tree. Raiza put the grey on the now empty cart and monitored his vitals.

  As they worked in the room, Elsbeth found a door they hadn’t seen before. She opened it and found that it led to a small escape pod with two little seats.

  She announced her discovery. “We found a ship, or more likely an escape pod. A little one, but a ship nonetheless.”

  Ximon was intrigued. “Is it small enough that we could take it with us?”

  Peter did some quick calculations. “Captain, I do not believe it could fit if we have to use the fuel bladders, which I believe our path requires.”

  “We don’t need those for a while. Let’s bring it if we can. If necessary, we can take it apart at Qurusetia or sell it or something.”

  “Fine with me,” Elsbeth said, “but we’ll still have to figure out how to get it out of there.” She messed around with some controls until an external door popped open. When it did, it slammed the interior door that she was leaning through closed, knocking her back. “Well, if it doesn’t fire off now, I guess we can get it from the outside.”

  The group looked at an airlock-type door next, the one at the very end of the hall they hadn’t explored before. Once they were all ready, Elsbeth opened it. One the other side was a tunnel of rough stone, not more hallway. Shining lights into the darkness, they could see that it split up ahead and one tunnel turned ‘downward’ toward the center of the asteroid.

  Elsbeth peered into the darkness. “Okay, we’ve got tunnels going down into the asteroid here. Looks like it could be for mining. We’re in no shape to go trudging around exploring an entire cave complex. So, I’m going to seal this back up. Right?”

  Ximon had to agree with her caution. “No argument here. When we tell the KSF about this place, they may choose to send a proper team. If so, they can explore every nook and cranny.”

  “Well, praise be,” Elsbeth said. “He can listen to reason sometimes.”

  “I heard that!”

  With great trepidation, the group focused on the cargo bay. Elsbeth and Peter cracked open containers w
hile everyone else watched for any activity. Most of the crates were carefully packed and sealed ore.

  Elsbeth said, “I think most of these contain whatever they’re mining here. That is, these here are outgoing crates.”

  Once they saw that, it appeared there might be a specific organization to the cargo. On one side were crates full of ore and tanks filled with some kind of gas. These were apparently filled here. So, the crew called it the production side. The other side was a much smaller collection of containers that might be supplies for this station. The crew called this the supply side.

  As they explored more on the production side, they found a door opening into another small room. They approached it very carefully, but there was little inside when they opened it. On one side were two sizable devices that appeared to be some manner of three-dimensional printers.

  Elsbeth studied them and said, “Looks they used these to manufacture some kind of parts or supplies. They use different kinds of materials, but it’s hard to tell what.”

  Meanwhile, Shao looked at the other side of the room, Peter having taken over for her in watching for monsters.

  “Hey, over here,” Shao said. “We’ve got a supply of containers for gas or liquid. Looks like there are several nozzles here that might be used to fill them.”

  Elsbeth came over and examined. “Yep, that certainly looks right. It kind of looks like these are the tanks that are ready to be shipped out or picked up. I think they may have some kind of tanks or chambers deeper in the asteroid where they’re essentially mining this gas. So, these could be oxygen, hydrogen, or stuff like that. It’s possible this asteroid functions as a kind of gas station.” Elsbeth turned to Peter. “Help me get a couple of these tanks to take with us for study.”

  On the supply side of the cargo bay, most of the crates contained a mix of parts, perhaps ones they couldn’t 3-D print. Some of the crates contained what appeared to be freeze-dried food of some kind. Raiza came and took a look.

  After a minute she said, “I believe these are freeze-dried yeast strains. If the yeast vats in the kitchen have issues, they can replenish them from these. I will bring some of these as they may provide insight into grey physiology.”

  Most of the other containers were similarly uninteresting. However, they found a couple that contained various electronic components, including what might be some kind of data storage modules. They took this crate. Finally, one crate contained several thin, metallic sheets about twenty by twenty centimeters. Their function wasn’t clear, but both sides were covered with the symbols or writing of the grey men.

  Elsbeth looked to Mantis’ telebot, “I assume we’ll want these, eh?”

  Mantis immediately said, “I would suggest it in the strongest terms. Those could potentially be a critical ‘Rosetta Stone’ to understanding their language. I have only translated rudiments of their language thus far and need more data.”

  Ximon nodded. “Bring ‘em.”

  They all moved to the equipment room where Elsbeth and Peter were put on point, though Mantis had some rudimentary translations that helped in interpreting some symbols on the equipment. They carefully removed multiple components that they thought might be data storage devices, though they couldn’t be absolutely sure. Elsbeth also figured out elements of the power system. It appeared that the solar panels generally powered everything. However, there was a small fusion reactor as a backup. It was operating and appeared stable but was functioning at a low level.

  Raiza popped into the control room and placed a note to one of the consoles.

  “What was that?” Elsbeth asked.

  Raiza looked almost sheepish “It is merely a note that Mantis and I worked out explaining what we found here and what we did. If the grey men return, they may be able to interpret it, so they know that we did not mean them harm and that, hopefully, their friends are safe. Is it all right?”

  “Whatever. Leave them love notes if you want.”

  As they worked back toward the entrance, they came to the cryo chamber. Here, they again debated. Ximon wanted to take one or two of the greys. Raiza wasn’t sure they should since, in a way, they’d be kidnapping them. However, Elsbeth pointed out that the LGM’s race could all be dead so they might just rot in there.

  They finally agreed that they would try to get just one occupied cryo chamber. So, they started opening them. The first three were empty. Finally, they found one that was occupied. They carefully removed it, Elsbeth wiring it temporarily to a battery pack before they unhooked it.

  They moved all this gear back toward the door. Just before they left, Peter collected two of the small space suits from the locker room. Then they all headed back to Mantis.

  When they got back, Raiza made sure the first grey was safely placed into a cryo chamber and that the other chamber from the station appeared to be operating correctly. Elsbeth and Peter took all the rest of the gear to the cargo bay.

  After all the work on the grey’s station, the group reconvened in the galley.

  Ximon said, “Okay, this was an exciting visit, but I think we’re ready to leave.”

  “Way past ready here,’ Elsbeth said, drumming her fingers on the metal dining table. “Except we should pull Mantis around and see if we can pull that little escape pod out of there.”

  “In any case, does anyone see anything critical we missed?” Ximon asked.

  “No.” Elsbeth shook her head. “Definitely nothing else.”

  Peter pointed back toward the cargo bay. “With all due respect, we could further explore the gaseous tanks and valves we found. With some investigation, we might be able to use them to top off our fuel tanks.”

  Elsbeth cocked her head to the side. “Not a bad idea, dear, but I ain’t putting some strange, alien gas in our tanks. It would take too long to really study here, but we’ve brought a couple so we can study it on the way back.”

  Mantis provided her input. “While we could certainly explore further, I believe that the caution exercised in not exploring the tunnels is well placed.”

  “As I previously stated, I am uncertain of the rightness of leaving the greys in the cryo chambers or of taking them,” Raiza said. “If there are no other greys coming or if the station is lost, they’ll just remain frozen forever unless we, or the KSF, return. However, if other greys return, they would be able to wake them and would be concerned for any of their comrades we have taken.”

  “That’s why I thought taking one was a reasonable compromise. It allows our docs back home the opportunity to hopefully wake them and communicate. The KSF can also send a team if they wish. If they go in six months and no one else has visited, they may recover others.”

  Elsbeth chimed in to try to settle the issue. “Again, I don’t think we’re forgetting anything that someone else can’t deal with. We’ve done our patriotic duty and then some. Let’s get out of here, please.”

  “I second that recommendation,” Shao said, nodding.

  Elsbeth did a terrible imitation of a voice thrown from the crowd. “Hear, hear!”

  Ximon held up his hands. “Okay, I got it. We’ll take off, try to get that pod, get to a safe jump distance, and head to Qurusetia.”

  They took off and maneuvered around until they found the external opening for the escape pod. Elsbeth and Peter had to suite up again to EVA out there. They found it a small space to operate in and there was quite a bit of cursing over the radio as they worked in there. However, they were eventually able to cut some clamps and pull it out with the cargo arm. With some more struggle, they got it into the cargo bay.

  As soon as Elsbeth and Peter were back, Ximon moved to get enough distance from the asteroid belt that they could enter jump.

  He radioed the whole crew. “Once we’re in jump, other than recuperating, we all need to try to some analysis on this stuff. Mantis, work on the language and piece together all the video we took into a coherent story. Euclidia, help with all that if you can. Raiza, keep studying the samples you took from the grey,
the monster, and that tree thing and see what else you and Mantis can figure out. Elsbeth, you and Peter study those data storage devices and that gas to see what you can figure out. I’ll work with Mantis on writing up reports on this exploration, Onzarhat, etc.”

  They all did do a fair amount of relaxing, but all of them also did some studying of everything they had found. Elsbeth had figured out a way to access some data, which provided Mantis with far more reference on the grey’s language. Mantis and Euclidia felt they were making some headway on the language and would have some concrete progress within a few weeks. Raiza was a bit limited in her biologic investigation capabilities but was cataloging everything she could. Elsbeth and Peter were also taking the escape pod apart to study its components.

  Raiza and Mantis worked up some good images of the vampire spider thing from its (somewhat shot-up body) and the brief snippets of video they captured of it. The thing was about seventy centimeters at the shoulder and about one meter long. It had no separate head, but there was a larger area at one part of the body that had a sucker-type mouth that it apparently used to ‘suckle’ from the vampire tree. They could see no real eyes, but Raiza pointed out spots along the front and sides that she believed to be light and vibration sensors. Its body was covered with a type of flexible, chitinous material, the primary color being something like maroon with some black areas. It had six slightly bowed legs, with a couple nasty-looking claws at the end of each that contained the toxin.

  The thing was ugly, and Ximon was very glad it was dead. He wondered where the unfortunate greys met up with the thing. Did it come there on one of their ships, climb up out of the asteroid, or something else?

  After that, Ximon tried to put the creatures out of mind and out of his dreams.

  By the end of the jump they were all well rested and in good health.

  Chapter Seven: Qurusetia and Coreward

  They came out of jump and immediately saw that something was wrong. They were headed straight for a small moon, with a planet looming behind it, and they were awfully close to the moon and closing fast!