Phoenix Among The Stars (Exodus)

by Robert Stadnik

  "What will it be?" asked Mario.

  "Oh, uh...," stammered Martin as the café owner’s words got his attention. "I haven't even looked at the menu yet."

  "Then let me recommend spaghetti and meatballs. You can't go wrong with it."

  "I don't like spaghetti." Mario took Martin’s comment as an insult.

  "You didn't just say that to me." Mario's rising voice caused Martin to look around to see if anyone was watching. “No one who hates pasta eats here."

  Martin scrambled to save face. "I didn’t mean it, spaghetti and meatballs sound good."

  "The chef just finished making lasagna," said Mario, ignoring Martin's request. "It's so good you'll want to make love to it."

  "Ok. Whatever." Martin just wanted to get rid of this eccentric fool. The captain never mentioned the owner being weird.

  Mario left the fighter pilot shifting in his seat. The movement provoked some pain in his ribs. Doctor Myers had attended to his broken bones but Martin still had to take it easy until the bruises had healed. He couldn't complain as he nursed his ribs. The medical staff here had access to more advanced technology than what was available on a TERRA capital ship.

  A hand softly touched Martin’s shoulder. He looked up to see Mario and dreaded another confrontation with the owner.

  "I'm sorry," said Mario. "I didn't know you were the wounded pilot we rescued."

  "How...?"

  "I could see the pain on your face as you moved."

  "I’ll be fine. Doctor Myers said it would take a few days to fully recover."

  "No, it's not ok," Mario said as he sat down. He snapped his fingers to grab the attention of one of the waiters. "Wine from my private stock." The waiter nodded and quickly went off to get the wine. "You don’t have to put on a brave front. I know how difficult it must be trying to adjust to living on this ship, especially since you never asked to be here."

  "It’s been hard, but knowing what the crew is trying to accomplish has made things easier."

  "Phah! That's diplomatic gibberish. I’m not here to judge you."

  "I...," Martin started to say, but he couldn't muster the words. Mario was right, he was trying to put up a brave front. "This is not what I envisioned. I wish I was back home on Mars."

  "You can't go back, but you can't deny your feelings either. If you're honest with yourself, you’ll get through the rough patch quicker."

  The waiter came up and presented a wet bottle of wine he held with a towel. Mario nodded in approval.

  "Some good wine and a nice meal may not solve your problems, but they will provide a pleasant distraction."

  "I'll give it a shot," said Martin, as one waiter poured the wine and another appeared with the pilot’s food.

  As night life continued in Central, Julie was in her quarters fussing with her hair in the bathroom. She had the dinner table set for John's arrival and was spending the last few minutes trying to find a way of wearing her hair up without looking old. No matter how much she played with it, she couldn't come off looking like a matron. Alex'sis wore her brunette hair in a bun but managed to pull it off without adding three decades to her appearance.

  The door chime rang and Julie quickly untangled her long locks from around her fingers and hurried out of the bathroom, making sure her uniform was properly fitted in all the right areas.

  "Come in," she said as she entered the living room area. The door opened and there stood John in civilian clothes. He looked around the quarters, as if checking to see if it was ok to come in.

  "You're not in uniform," said Julie.

  “I may be captain, but I don’t have to wear a uniform all the time,” said John. "I’m done playing officer for today." He took a step in, allowing the door to close behind him. "Nice pad," he said as he looked around the sparsely decorated living area with its light blue hue. "Hope you're not offended that I didn't bring roses, but I didn't want to give you the wrong idea."

  Julie rolled her eyes as she went into the kitchen to check on the food in the prep unit. "Don't you ever give up with the jokes?"

  "Julie, I’m beginning to understand the enormity of what it means to be captain of this ship," said John as he slid into a seat at the breakfast bar. "I know I have to be serious commanding the ship, but you can't expect me to shed my smart-ass cadet attitude overnight."

  "As long as you know when to bite your tongue, but that may be asking too much. I heard about the exchange between you and the professor."

  John reclined in the bar seat. "Great! Rumors are already running rampant on this ship. So how bad are they making me?"

  "Actually, opinion appears to be squarely in your favor. I don’t think anyone cares for Donavin." Julie walked out of the kitchen with two plates full of what looked like cream noodles. John followed her to the dinner table.

  "Smells good. What is it?"

  "Tuna hot dish. Noodles mixed with tuna and peas."

  "Yummy!" John tried some and the taste was fantastic. His look of satisfaction made Julie smile. She cooked all the time when they lived in Dorm Row. John couldn’t find his way around a kitchen and somehow managed to start a small fire one time (to this day John swears he was only trying to boil water). Julie only cooked for herself, but she always made more food than she could eat. The leftovers she put in the fridge would inevitably disappear by the next morning. Julie knew her roommate was the culprit but never called him on it. In truth, it pleased her to think that someone she considered an adversary enjoyed her cooking.

  “Look, I know you’re right that I need to pull back with the smarty-pants routine,” said John. “I still need some time to get used to all of this.”

  “Just think before you say anything.” Previously, Julie’s advice would have elicited a sarcastic comment from John, but he held his tongue. He knew she was right. He needed to be careful about what he said. As captain, he had no doubt he would be judged on his every word and action by the crew.

  "Preparations for tomorrow's jump have been completed," said Julie, changing the subject to business. "All departments should be ready to go."

  "Did engineering complete the modifications to the probe?"

  "They did and I had a chance to review the specs. I'll admit some of the stuff is still over my head but it appears the probe will be able to scan the entire Tau Ceti system.”

  “While the probe mission is ongoing we both need to absorb as much information as possible,” said John as he poured some water for them. “We’re both at a disadvantage compared to the crew and need to get up to speed on learning all the technology they developed at the EXODUS Project.”

  John didn’t enjoy this feeling of inadequacy that had surfaced in their discussion. He was still trying to grasp the physics of the shield system along with the other advanced systems on the ship, some that were taught as theoretical at the Academy. John breezed through his academics, even if his grades didn’t reflect his knowledge. But here on the PHOENIX he felt like a third rate cadet.

  “Wouldn’t it be something if we encountered an alien at Tau Ceti?” said Julie.

  “Yeah, right,” muttered John. “Billions of star systems in the Milky Way Galaxy and we meet an alien on our second jump. It’s never going to happen.”

  CHAPTER FOUR

  A flash of light emanated in the Tau Ceti system and when it dissipated, PHOENIX appeared, having emerged from its jump.

  “Jump completed, captain,” reported Kevin. “We’re at our prearranged coordinates.”

  “Departments reporting in,” said Alex’sis as she reviewed her display on the operations table. “All systems are nominal.”

  “Thank you,” said John, who was monitoring ship operations from his command chair. “Command deck to engineering. What’s the status of the hyperdrive?”

  “The hyperdrive is operating normally,” came the voice of Professor Donavin over the speakers. “There are some minor power fluctuations that I need to diagnose.”

  “Acknowledged, but keep the hyperdrive onl
ine while you conduct your diagnostics,” reiterated John.

  “Yes captain.” John could hear the disgruntled tone in the professor’s voice. He was still upset with being chastised yesterday, but John couldn’t concern himself with the professor’s feelings. Donavin would just have to nurse his pride and get over it.

  “Scan the surrounding area,” ordered John as he reclined in his seat and read the sensor data coming in. So far it appeared nothing out of the ordinary.

  Julie, standing on the other side of the operations table from Alex’sis, was also reviewing the sensor data.

  “Looks like we’ve got a good data stream coming in,” Julie said as she verified the data’s integrity. She marveled at the level of detail they were receiving. No TERRA capital ship had such sophisticated sensors that could provide such comprehensive scan results.

  “The data is consistent with what we know of the system,” said Alex’sis.

  “Lieutenant Jacobson,” said John. “Let’s do a pass through scan of the system.”

  “But that won’t give us as much detail,” said Kevin.

  “I want scanners set to pick up any anomalous readings. Once that’s done and we’ve verified nothing unusual out here, you may switch them over for detailed scientific scans of the system. You’ll have one hour allotted for your readings then we’ll launch the probe and move on.”

  “Yes sir,” said Kevin in an eager tone. He assumed they were just going to stay long enough to launch the probe. He made a mental note to not interrupt the captain next time.

  John reviewed the data as it came in but, in truth, the whole procedure was beginning to bore him. He was hoping that exploring a star system for the first time would be a little more exciting, but so far the sensors were yielding little in terms of new data. They already had this information on record from TERRA’s long range observations of the system.

  “Scans have completed a sweep of the system for Screen vessels,” reported Alex’sis.

  Well, that took care of that. John got up from his command chair and stepped down into the pit. No Screen ships meant that the rest of their stay in Tau Ceti would lack any excitement. John started to head to his office when the operations table began beeping wildly.

  “Captain, we’re picking up an object in the outer rim of the debris disk,” said Alex’sis.

  An object? That could be anything. “What do you mean?” asked John. “The system’s full of objects.”

  “Its composition doesn’t match the rest of the debris field,” clarified Alex’sis. “It appears to be some sort of metallic compound the sensors can’t identify.” She looked over to Kevin. “Lieutenant, bring up the secondary scanners and focus on these coordinates.”

  “On it.” John walked over to the operations table and stood between Julie and Alex’sis, who were both scrutinizing the sensor data. Kevin refocused PHOENIX’s secondary scanners to the area of the unknown object. Time seemed to move slowly as John waited for his staff to report their findings.

  “This can’t be,” commented Julie.

  “What? What is it?” asked John, but Julie ignored him. She was too engrossed in what the sensors were telling her.

  “Lieutenant Brandus, is this correct?” said Julie.

  “I’ve confirmed the readings,” said Alex’sis.

  “What?” John didn’t like being out of the loop.

  “The object is emitting an energy reading. The output’s low, but it’s there,” said Julie.

  “You have got to be kidding me,” said John, remembering what he said last night about encountering an alien so soon. He looked at Alex’sis. “Is it possible the sensors are picking up the sun’s energy?”

  “No,” replied Alex’sis without offering further explanation.

  “Can we get a visual image of it?” asked John.

  “I’m already working on it,” said Kevin from his station. “The energy output is causing some minor interference with our sensors.” He punched a few buttons and a holographic image of the object appeared over the operations table. “There, that should do it.” Everyone was speechless by what they saw.

  It appeared as if a diamond was floating through space, but it was dark, almost black. Every cut and slant on it appeared to be made intentionally. This was not some random rock floating through space. There were numerous dents and marks on the hull, an indication it had weathered a harsh life. To John, it indicated to him the vessel might be old.

  “It doesn’t look Screen,” remarked Julie. They had encountered two types of Screen craft back in the solar system, and both were triangular and green.

  “What about the energy composition?” asked John. “Does it conform to the Screen?”

  “Energy signature doesn’t match what we have on record for the Screen,” said Alex’sis. “And…” John looked at the officer when her voice trailed off.

  “And…?”

  “I’m picking up a life form from within the object.”

  John held his breath. This is why he wanted to be out in space, for moments like this.

  Julie saw the eagerness in the captain’s face. She allowed him time to savor the moment. He was captivated and Julie did not want to spoil it. She was just as excited for the chance to meet an alien life form for the first time.

  When enough time passed with no word uttered by John, Julie gently nudge his hand to get his attention. “Captain.”

  John snapped his mind back to reality. “Can we ascertain if the life form is humanoid?”

  “I can’t determine that from this distance,” reported Alex’sis. “The sensors can’t figure out the life form’s physical shape.”

  “The ship’s construction is unique,” said Julie. “It’s not unreasonable to think a humanoid built it.”

  “We don’t know if it is a ship,” said John, trying to play devil’s advocate.

  “What else could it be?”

  “Good point,” said John. “Assuming it is a ship, a gas or liquid life form could have built it.”

  “Maybe, but that object was built to house an atmosphere, a clear indication that the life form is most likely organic.”

  “Speaking of atmosphere, do we know the interior composition of the hull?” asked John.

  “Negative,” said Alex’sis. “I can’t pick up the composition of the internal environment.”

  “Why don’t we just send a signal to it,” said Bret from his station. John, Julie, and Alex’sis all turned and looked at the communications officer. He shrunk back in his seat, regretting that he overstep his bounds. John smiled at him.

  “He does have a point,” said the captain. “We can stand here and debate this for hours.”

  “Debating doesn’t hurt if it keeps that thing away from us,” said Chief Sandoval as he descended the catwalk down to the pit.

  “Any problems down in Central?” asked Julie, assuming he was there to report on the crew’s status regarding the ECON being offline.

  “Central’s fine,” replied the security chief in a gruff voice. “People are upset the ECON’s not back up yet, but I’ve got the situation under control.”

  “Your arrival is good timing,” said John. “We’re getting ready to communicate with that…vessel out there.”

  “You think that’s wise?” said Sandoval. “We know nothing of what it might be.”

  “Which is why we need to try and communicate with it,” said John.

  “At least raise the shields,” said Sandoval.

  “No,” replied John. “I won’t do something that might be interpreted as hostile.”

  “And give that ship out there a chance to fire on us?” shot back Sandoval.

  “Alex’sis, has the ship shown any indication of moving against us?” Julie did not like that John addressed a subordinate by first name. It was not proper military protocol.

  “Energy readings have been consistently low,” said Alex’sis. “The ship has not moved from its position since we picked it up.”

  John gave a stern
look at Sandoval, to let him know he was serious. “If that ship demonstrates any action that can be construed as hostile, I will take the necessary steps to ensure the safety of this ship. But until then, I will not take any action based on fear of the unknown.”

  Sandoval could see John wasn’t going to waver. “At least raise the alert level on the ship to prepare us in case of a problem.”

  “Fine. Commander Olson, raise the ship to condition yellow.”

  “Yes sir,” replied Julie. She activated the ship’s internal communications. “All hands, condition yellow. All stations at the ready. Repeat, condition yellow.”

  “Private Michaels,” said John.

  “Yes, captain?”

  “Open a channel to the ship on all frequencies. Communicate a standard greeting in all Earth languages.”

  “Aye captain,” said Bret as he activated the communications dish. “Sending greeting on all frequencies and in all languages.”

  The officers waited as the message was transmitted. How long would it take? Each officer had their own idea on the ship’s response. Some thought it would take hours, to give the potential alien time to decipher one or more of their languages. Others thought it would take just moments, that an advanced alien civilization would have the resources to interpret their language quickly.

  “Captain, I’m getting a response,” reported Bret. “I think it’s verbal.”

  “Let’s hear it,” said John. Bret patched the communication through the command deck speakers. The sounds coming through were loud and abrasive. Some of the officers had to cover their ears.

  “Can we turn that down a bit?” shouted Julie.

  “Sorry,” yelled back Bret as he turned down the volume.

  “Thank you,” said John.

  “Funky language, if that’s what it is,” commented Alex’sis as they listened to the noises.