NEBULAR Collection 4 - Second Reserve: Episodes 17 - 21

by Thomas Rabenstein

  Nok glanced at Nuri. Her eyes spoke volumes.

  »Follow him,« she advised Nok.

  »I’ll come, but my assistants will accompany me,« she gave in.

  The leader raised his trunk and began sniffing and touching Hassan Khalil.

  »I haven’t met this individual yet … he smells mysteriously like your other assistant. They can both come too.«

  Without another word, the extraterrestrials turned around and flanked the three Humans, pushing them onward. The base people who saw them looked worried.

  ›They think we’re not coming back!‹ Nok imagined. ›They may be right.‹

  An alien craft with a transparent dome awaited them in the main hangar. A large wedge-like gap in the dome had opened.

  ›Is this the entrance?‹ Nuri wondered.

  »The transport sphere will bring you to the Boodrum. You will remain within an energy bubble so you don’t contaminate Circle General Mindbreaker’s ship!« the Moxantan leader grunted.

  »Cute …,« Nuri replied mockingly, to a stern look from Nok.

  »What about you?« Nok asked warily. »Is there not enough space for all of us in this sphere? Don’t you want to accompany us?«

  The Moxantans produced the strange sounds which Nok interpreted as laughter.

  »Moxantans are not permitted to board the Boodrum.«

  Nok Daralamai, Nuri Jawa and Hassan Khalil were pushed into the spacecraft. The gap closed and the dome-like craft softly lifted off.

  »Well … at least they picked us up,« Nuri remarked lightly, but she couldn’t hide her fears. Once out of the hangar gates, the craft took off with a breathtaking speed. Its occupants felt no acceleration forces. The craft flew in an elegant curve toward the semi-spherical Boodrum bolide, passing the circle battle ship Destroyer.

  »How is it possible to build such large spaceships?« Nuri whispered, craning her neck to get a full view of the ship. Seconds later, the wall of the Boodrum was towering above them. The small transporter was flying toward the lower third of the bolide where a hole not much larger than the transporter had opened in the hull.

  Nok closed her eyes briefly.

  ›Why do I feel so small, so damn tiny? What can I … what can we do against such an overpowering enemy?‹ she pondered.

  Suddenly, she twitched, feeling Hassan’s hand on her shoulder. His gesture meant to be reassuring, made her feel even more uncomfortable. Hassan pulled his hand back when he noticed her reaction.

  »We should take this opportunity to gain insights into their social structures. They don’t seem to want to kill us … not yet!« Hassan remarked dryly.

  »Yes,« Nuri replied. »They could’ve done that already and much easier. Keep an eye out for any internal Circle conflicts … arrogant as these beings are, they have conflicts, and I’d like to know how they manifest themselves.«

  »You noticed it too, eh?« Hassan responded with a quick sardonic laugh.

  »What got me thinking was knowing that Moxantans are not allowed on this ship! That could mean all kinds of things. Stay alert,« Nuri responded with a nod.

  »Hmm … the Moxantans are controlled by Mindbreaker, not Destroyer as we’d expect,« Nok added offhandedly.

  ›I already hate their damned names!‹ she cursed disgustedly.

  The transporter had entered the ship and flew down a round tunnel whose walls looked like the inside of an old gun barrel with groves and lances.

  »Look at that,« Nuri whispered, mesmerized, as the transporter suddenly reached the end of the tunnel.

  ›The bolide is hollow – and empty!‹ Nok thought, surprised but also impressed. ›No, not quite. There’s an energy source at the bolide’s center!‹

  The bolide’s center was a dome. Nok saw countless lights on the surrounding walls. They were windows to rooms that extended toward the thick hull structure. The blinding, bright energy source hovering in the center illuminated the whole interior of the ship. Gallery-like superstructures extended from the walls toward the center, serving as anchor points for small spacecraft, which were still much larger than Nova Hawks.

  ›There’s an entire fleet hidden here! This is a carrier!‹ Nok thought in alarm.

  Nok tried to remember all her impressions and details, but it was too much for her.

  »This little sightseeing tour is probably intended to psych us out,« Nuri suggested. »They want to break us – scare us into submission with their might!«

  ›But why? They already have us,‹ Nok pondered.

  The transporter slowed down and flew along the hull’s internal walls. Nok saw large, oversized windows with strange beings behind them – motionless!

  All of the beings were armed, some wore armor; all were certainly intelligent.

  ›No wonder they don’t move … they are trophies!‹ she knew suddenly. ›Conquered and eradicated galactic races – degraded even in death! This is despicable!‹

  Nok looked around and saw that her companions had come to the same conclusion.

  Nuri had paled and choked, »They have no morals …«

  The transporter approached a landing dock that shaped itself to receive the craft. Once docked, the craft’s dome cleared while the hanger remained dark.

  Nok couldn’t see anything beyond the transporter.

  ›They’re letting us burn … probably to observe us. Damned if I’ll give them the satisfaction!‹

  »What are you getting with your expanded senses, Hassan?« she asked. »Can you see into that dark room?«

  »The energy field the Moxantan leader was talking about is still present,« Hassan whispered. »It works as an interface, separating us from the ship.«

  »They can talk directly to us without us having to physically enter their ship,« Nuri added.

  »Very practical,« Nok mocked with a grim smile. »It’ll also protect them from my thanks for destroying Despina and killing our people.«

  Nok was deadly serious and calm. She was no longer impressed by the enemy. She saw all their power and hostility for what it was: a façade covering a primitive society of brutal, life-despising beings. Typical bullies – and she’d dealt with those before.

  »They’re here!« Hassan warned, and the hangar was suddenly bathed in dark-red light.

  Three vague bodies stood before them in silhouette.

  »They seem humanoid. I don’t know if that’s good or bad,« Nok stated.

  Nok tried to concentrate on making out the strangers’ forms, when the being in the middle abruptly stepped forward and was revealed in a floodlight beam.

  Nok twitched.

  It was Human-like, but definitely not from Earth. The stranger was smaller than a Human. The first thing that caught Nok’s gaze was the oversized head with staring, emotionless black eyes and small, almost nonexistent nose openings, and the total absence of hair. Rows of wave-like, grooved skin covered the top of the head. The Quadranans, as the Moxantan leader called them, had no ears just two bulges growing at the sides of the head.

  ›Nuri was right … we’re dealing with different peoples forming an alliance,‹ Nok realized.

  The Quadranan seemed to stare through Nok and her companions. He stood silently for long minutes, hardly moving a limb, before he slowly opened his mouth, filled with needle fine, yellow teeth.

  »We are Circle General Mindbreaker,« he introduced himself. His voice was childlike but sharply accentuated. His translation device seemed to work better than that of the Moxantans. Suddenly, the other two beings stepped into the light and Nok saw that they looked to her exactly the same, even to the grooves and waves on their heads.

  ›… same height, same posture … they look like clones to me,‹ Nok thought. For some reason this made her shudder.

  »We intend to build a Circle Fortress close to the blue gas giant!« the left Quadranan pronounced without further prologue. »Behind the Dimensional Shield we will be protected from the Great Tremor. After that, there will be no more resistance in this galaxy – only submission!«
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br />   »Why are you telling us that?« Nok all but shouted. »We’re only supposed to be servants,« she added dryly.

  »Only our servants will escape the Great Tremor! Your cooperation determines whether you remain Circle Servants, or if we throw you and your worlds into your sun,« the one on the right threatened.

  Nok was deeply worried. Could they do that?

  »What form would this cooperation take?« she asked directly.

  »We know that you possess a great treasure. Give it to us and your people will live,« replied the middle one.

  Nok suddenly felt Hassan’s whispering breath at her ear.

  »He’s lying through his yellow teeth! Either way they intend to take over the solar system and kill us all. They’re already laying the foundation for a … a Human Holocaust! Ask them about the fourth bolide, Nok.«

  Nok straightened up.

  ›The fourth bolide is probably on its way to Earth, but we don’t know for sure since we’ve lost contact with HQ,‹ she contemplated.

  »What are you talking about, what treasure?« Nok responded irritated.

  Her words provoked an unprecedented reaction, because all three Quadranans answered together with one voice, »We followed the treasure and found your solar system,« they declared, displaying their yellow teeth. »We know that you hide the treasure!«

  The middle one stepped forward, reached out with his hand as if he wanted to grab something out of the air and pull it toward himself.

  »Give us the treasure and we may be able to see that you receive mercy.«

  »What’s happening to Earth right now? What is your fourth ship doing?« Nok asked bluntly. She didn’t like the smile on the three Quadranan faces at that.

  »The Frigonans like your world … they are building a Circle Fortress in the cold regions of your planet. Then they will force a symbiosis with your people, if you’re compatible.«

  »They want what?« Nok asked, horrified.

  The three beings couldn’t answer because they suddenly staggered. They swayed, sank to their knees and grabbed their heads as if they had been overcome by an unexpected weakness.

  »The audience is over!« they screamed together. The transporter craft lifted off immediately and they were catapulted out of the Bolide even faster than they had come. Nok and her team landed again inside the hangar on Triton within minutes.

  They disembarked, and the transporter disappeared before their eyes.

  Disregarding the Moxantans waiting at the hangar entrance, Nok assisted Hassan, who looked exhausted.

  »What was that? Your doing, Hassan? I mean the way those three beings on the Boodrum collapsed? If it was, it’s a big risk! Besides, we might have learned more by keeping them talking,« she scolded, fighting for self-control. She wanted to yell at him.

  Hassan shook his head.

  »Not me, Nok. Don’t get me wrong, I’d gladly kill those smug bastards if it didn’t bring me down to their level. It wasn’t me, it was her …,« Hassan nodded at Nuri.

  Nok turned around. She hadn’t paid attention to Nuri the whole time. The young woman was standing beside her, shaking and trembling, her shoulders hanging, face ash-white.

  »How?« Nuri asked in a daze. »I wanted to kill those people … and I almost did. I imagined their auras becoming weaker … vanishing … then they were weaker …«

  Nok briefly closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

  ›Her abilities can kill as well as heal. She didn’t know that until now!‹ she pondered.

  The Moxantans came closer, raising their weapons.

  Nok had barely time to whisper at her two companions, »We need to talk! Your abilities may mean our salvation … and Humanity’s survival!«

  21 - Circle-Busters

  Written by Thomas Rabenstein

  A high risk factor

  Nuri Jawa moved like a shadow through the empty Star Hall. She looked around and checked over her shoulder several times, trying not to make any noises. She glanced up at the transparent dome. Neptune’s stray light shone into the hall, lending it an eerie twilight. Strange shadow patterns were drawn on the floor, by the steel braces and trestles of the dome’s structural supports. It felt unreal. The only noise being the faint whistle of the air conditioning.

  Normally, Star Hall was the meeting place for the off-duty base personnel. Since the strangers had appeared and taken over the base, the visits had stopped and Star Hall was deserted. Most crew members stayed in their cabins; only those needed at their duty stations or on maintenance calls walked, cautiously, through the corridors and hallways.

  Astrophysicist Jawa checked the area again to make sure no one was following before entering the main corridor to the express-elevator.

  The invaders, members of the Moxantan Circle nation, strange non-humanoid beings under the command of Circle General Destroyer, were all over the base. Their patrolling soldiers and tiny surveillance drones left no stone unturned, giving the Human base crew a hard time. Resistance was useless. Most of base personnel were still alive because they teeth-grindingly tolerated the oppression – especially when it mounted to brutal physical attacks.

  ›This whole situation is like a powder keg with a very short fuse,‹ Nuri Jawa thought despairingly.

  She entered the elevator selecting the lowest level by touching the control pad. She stood in a way so the internal cabin camera couldn’t catch her face. Nobody knew if the Moxantans had cracked the security codes of the bases’ main computer, but if so they could easily use the internal surveillance system against the Human crew, and the small colony of Trox.

  She waited patiently, with her head hidden, until she had arrived at the lowest level. She hesitated a moment when the elevator door silently opened. Nuri left the elevator swiftly and walked toward the Exo-Section.

  Even down here, beneath the base, it was unusually silent.

  ›Why did they dim the lights here too?‹ she wondered.

  The crew accommodations where located about one hundred meters underground, while the Trox lived nearby in Exo-Section – her destination.

  The airlocks to the crew accommodations, usually left open, were locked. Even the different Base Exchange stores and Commissary were closed.

  ›Our people are cautious – waiting for what comes next. Barricading themselves down here won’t help them, though. If the Moxantans want to, they’ll simply break open the airlocks and cabins and rip them out. There’s very little we can do about it!‹

  It was unclear why the aggressive Moxantans hadn’t chased the base crews out of their rooms yet. Maybe it was easier to monitor and control them where they were.

  A sudden noise in the corridor forced Nuri to jump into a cove beside a large, protruding power distribution transformer. She shuddered uneasily.

  ›I walked into a Moxantan trap!, she thought fearfully.

  »Nuri … Nuri, come over here,« she heard someone whisper.

  A couple of pale-looking tentacles waved hectically at her from a dark side corridor.

  She leapt up and ran into the darkness. Moments later, she felt the extra-terrestrial carefully touch her face.

  »They didn’t see me, Gork! How are you and the other Trox doing?« she whispered, finally recognizing who was standing before her.

  »We’re afraid! The Moxantans are merciless,« whimpered Gork. »They’ve already killed four of us, without reason. We didn’t provoke or fight them!«

  »I’m sorry, Gork,« Nuri answered compassionately. »We Humans …« Nuri stopped for a moment, realizing that she – a Hybrid – had just considered herself Human, »… are in the same boat. They are attacking us too. There are more dead and wounded people all the time. We’re trying to find a way out, but there’s not much we can do at the moment. The Moxantans have the advantage. «

  Gork made some strange noises which the universal translation device couldn’t translate. Nuri knew the Trox well enough to know that he sounded melancholically.

  »Has Commander Daralamai arrived yet?�
� she asked, changing from the painful topic.

  »Yes – she’s here with us – also the strange Human who can pass through ceilings and walls,« Gork answered in a trembling voice, as if he felt uncomfortable just thinking about it.

  Nuri nodded.

  »Yes, I know. It’s quite a remarkable skill for a Human being. Please, take me to them. Nok Daralamai has asked to meet me.«

  The Trox embraced her with his tentacles and pulled her along. Astonishingly, he was moving very fast on his crawling soles without making much noise.

  Gork brought Nuri to a parts depot where she saw the base commander standing between stacks of machine parts. The stacking robots had been deactivated. Hassan Khalil was standing beside her, grinning.

  »I found her right away,« Gork said to Khalil who just bobbed his head amiably.

  ›He sent the Trox for me, and told him exactly where I was. His senses are phenomenal!‹ Nuri thought, impressed.

  Nok Daralamai didn’t waste time. »Hassan has taken care of the depot’s surveillance systems, so we can talk freely. I don’t like having to meet in secret on my own base. The Moxantans are suspicious, especially the under-leaders working for Circle General Mindbreaker. The Moxantan spying attempts are becoming more and more unbearable. We’re no longer masters of our base. That goes for the rest of the solar system too.«

  »I’ve heard of new occurrences …,« Nuri tried to report, but Nok interrupted.

  »… I know, Nuri. I try to keep the peace and intervene or mediate whenever possible, but I can’t be everywhere. The Moxantans don’t give a damn about my complaints. I’ve ordered the crews to minimize their duties and workloads and remain inside their quarters.«

  Nuri nodded.

  »It could be worse, despite the many dead,« Nok added.

  Nuri knew what the commander meant. The destruction of an entire moon was an example nobody would forget easily.

  »The reason, I asked you to meet me here is I’ve received some disturbing news. The fourth Circle battleship has left the tachyon portal. We don’t know what they were up to. The portal crew was cautious – they didn’t want to give the bolide any reasons for counter actions or retaliations, but they reported no incidents. No extra-terrestrial set foot on the platform. The same battleship is now conducting some strange activities in the destroyed moon’s debris cloud. The Moxantans called the ship Toxoma.«