by C H Gideon
They took a roundabout path back to the airfield but saw nothing of use to them. Most of the buildings looked the same, and any time they suggested stopping to speak to locals or view something up close, Taneral politely redirected the discussion. She never said no, but still managed to refuse their requests.
When they landed at the airfield, Taneral escorted them back to the Reynolds. “Bonnerel has messaged me. We can get a large amount of phorentum on Lanteral, which is only four light-years away. I will lead you there if your ship can make that jump.”
“Very well,” Reynolds said. He turned to Maddox. “Take Ka’nak and find Takal and San Roche. I want to depart as soon as possible.
On the bridge, Reynolds dropped into his chair. “Asya, prepare the ship for departure. As soon as the crew and Taneral have returned, we’re off to Lanteral.” He turned to Jiya and Geroux. “What did you think of our hosts?”
Geroux scratched her head. “They seem to have an unusual culture. This might sound crazy, but I think the premier is the only male we’ve met.”
“All these females are part of his harem?” Jiya asked. “Bethany Anne would approve of us liberating the females, wouldn’t she?” She looked hopefully at Reynolds.
The AI android shook his head. “That’s not the mission.”
Jiya scowled.
Reynolds held up a hand. “When we return to High Tortuga, you can petition the Queen for another shot at this system.”
Shaking off her disappointment, Jiya went on, “I also thought the tour was pointless. She didn’t show us anything new. All those buildings looked alike, and she wouldn’t let us talk to anyone.”
Reynolds nodded. “My thoughts exactly. Are they hiding something? And more importantly, if they are, do we care? When we fix the Gate drive, we can go home. And with a billion light-years between us, I’m not worried about their secret—whatever it is—being a threat.”
The door slid open and Maddox and Takal stepped onto the bridge, with Taneral following. “Ka’nak is eating,” Maddox said. “I think he’s trying to show the meat who’s boss.”
The crew laughed, but Taneral looked confused. “How can she be the boss? I thought Reynolds was the captain.”
“It’s just a figure of speech,” Geroux said. “And Ka’nak is male. He won’t appreciate being called a girl.”
“But she—I mean, he—is a warrior. You have male warriors?”
“Yes, of course,” said Geroux. “Don’t you?”
“Oh, no,” Taneral said. “Only females fight. Males rule.”
“So, the females do all the work while the males lie around on couches?” Jiya muttered.
Reynolds gave Jiya a warning glare.
“Come sit by me,” Geroux said to the alien.
“I am more comfortable standing,” Taneral said, gesturing to her four legs. “Or possibly, lying down.” She turned to Reynolds. “I have transmitted the coordinates to your Ensign Alcott and notified airfield control and our security stations in orbit. You may depart at your convenience.”
“XO, take us up,” Reynolds said.
A wormhole sliced through space in the Lanteral system, and the SD Reynolds flashed into existence. As it sailed toward the second planet, the Gate closed behind them.
“The Gate drive appears to be working fine for small jumps,” Ria said. “All readings are nominal.”
“Scans show life forms but no indications of civilization,” Jiya said. “Do you know if there are predators on this planet?” she asked Taneral.
“I believe there are,” Taneral said. “As well as a nearly sentient race. But they are afraid of extraterrestrials. They won’t bother us.”
“’Nearly sentient?’” Asya asked.
“They use crude tools but do not grow their own machines,” she replied.
“Ensign Alcott, take us into orbit,” Reynolds said. “Jiya, Takal has adjusted the sensors to identify phorentum. Find us some.”
After a few moments, Jiya pointed to highlighted areas on the screen. “There are large deposits in this area. It’s the crystalline substance on the walls of caves, if I remember the briefing properly. This one looks the most accessible.” One section turned blue.
“Good work, Jiya,” Reynolds said, happy to have Jiya focused on getting the ship fixed and not involving herself in another planet’s affairs. “Ready two Pods. Put together a team to scout and collect the phorentum. We’ll need security, just in case.”
“Yes, sir,” she said, turning to leave the bridge.
He looked to Taneral. “Will you join us on the surface?”
“Of course.”
“Geroux and Maddox, we’ll go down with the team. Asya, you’re in command.” Reynolds rose from his command chair, straightened his uniform, and motioned for Taneral to go first.
“Yes, sir,” the bridge crew replied. Reynolds nodded. The crew was running like clockwork.
San Roche and L’Eliana piloted the two Pods. They descended through the clouds and soared over the rough terrain. Volcanoes spewed gases and ash. An arid plain stretched into the cloudy distance.
“Those volcanoes are dormant,” L’Eliana said, pointing across the plain to another range of mountains. “There’s a small cave complex at the foot of that range, and an accessible valley where we can land.”
“Are those tents?” Geroux asked, pointing at a neat circle of small lumps in the valley.
L’Eliana increased the magnification. “Yes, they are!”
“It appears your ‘almost sentient’ race is more advanced than you thought,” Reynolds told Taneral.
The alien shook her head. “I have not been here before, but I was told the locals were little more intelligent than animals. I shall observe and report back.”
“Contact with primitive races can be tricky,” Reynolds said. “Can we get the phorentum at one of the other locations?”
Jiya shook her head. “We could, but it would take us twice as long to collect the stuff. This cave system is easiest to get into, and according to scans, there’s lots of phorentum close to the surface.”
“Is there a secondary entrance to the cave system?” Reynolds asked. “Another way to get in without going through that tribe?”
Jiya adjusted the controls, searched, redirected, and ended with a shake of her head. “Scans aren’t finding anything. This cave system is small and fairly shallow. There’s one main entrance in this valley. Luckily, the locals are camped at the other end.”
“I guess it will have to do,” Reynolds said.
The two Pods landed. The crew checked their armor and prepared to exit. “The air here is breathable,” Jiya said. “But it probably stinks. Lots of sulfur and other fumes. We’ll want to keep our helmets on.” She glanced at Taneral. “Will your helmet filter out the gases?”
The alien blinked. “Only if they are dangerous. We use our sense of smell extensively. We are trained to identify odors and ignore those that are not relevant.”
“That would be nice,” Geroux said. “Especially when Takal and Ka’nak have been drinking too much.”
No one took the bait.
“Let’s go,” Reynolds interjected. “Maddox, you stay here and get the crew ready. Set up a secure perimeter and get the extractors ready to run. Don’t enter the caves until we talk to the natives. I don’t want to break any cultural or religious taboos if we can avoid it. This is their valley—who knows what this cave system means to them. Jiya, Taneral, get Ka’nak, and we’ll go talk to the natives. L’Eliana, stay in the Pod for now in case we need support.”
They stepped out onto the plain. Heat radiated from the dry ground and pounded down from overhead. The far end, where the natives lived, was obscured by clouds of dust. Ka’nak trotted over from the second Pod, and the team moved down the valley.
“Is something moving down there?” Jiya asked. She activated her comm. L’Eliana, can you see anything?
I launched observation pucks when we landed, L’Eliana replied. It looks like a s
izable group is on the move toward you. Maybe a dozen individuals. They seem to be riding animals.
“I hope the translators are up for this,” Jiya said. “They had enough trouble with Taneral’s language when we first arrived. Will they understand Primitive?”
Reynolds nodded. “Comm has been tweaking the system. If they have a coherent spoken language, we should understand. Unless it’s pig Latin. Never cracked that one.”
“What?” Jiya said.
“Ever-nay ind-may,” Reynolds answered with a smirk. “Here they come.”
A cloud of yellow dust boiled up. As quickly as it arrived, it dispersed, revealing the native delegation.
“Nice entrance,” Jiya muttered.
The natives were squat humanoids with six limbs, four arms and two legs. They were covered in thick, dusty hair, and rode cat-like beasts with six legs and twitching tails.
“Oh, my sisters!” Taneral whispered.
The cats crouched, bellies in the dust, and the natives climbed off. The largest of the humanoids stepped forward. Long dreadlocks hung from his head, but the hair on his body was combed smooth and flowed. He wore a belt with stone and wood axes hanging from either side. In one hand, he held a green leaf, which he held out to the crew. “Greetings, visitors. May you always have fresh greens. From whence come ye?”
The android stepped forward. “I am Reynolds, captain of the Superdreadnought Reynolds. This is part of my crew: Ka’nak and Jiya, and our friend Taneral. We came to your planet to make alliances.”
“I am Pornath, leader of this tribe. We have lived in this valley for many generations. Take this sign of life as an offering of peace between our peoples.” The male held out the leaf again.
Reynolds took the leaf. I didn’t bring house-warming gifts. Do either of you have anything? he asked Jiya and Ka’nak.
They patted themselves down, looking for something to offer. Ka’nak held out a protein bar. I brought this in case I got hungry later.
That’ll work. Reynolds offered the snack to the chief. “Take this food as our acceptance of your offer of peace.”
The chief took the bar and sniffed it. “This does not smell like food.”
“You have to take the wrapper off,” Ka’nak said.
The chief stared in apparent confusion. “What?”
“You must peel it,” Jiya said, miming the action.
The chief smiled, his lips closed. “Ah. Like L’heri fruit.” He tucked the bar away somewhere in his hair. “May there be many years of peace between our peoples.”
“We aren’t staying that long,” Reynolds said. “We want to get some phorentum from your caves, then we’ll be off.”
“From the caves?” Pornath asked. He pulled out one of his axes. “You must not enter the caves. It’s dangerous.”
“We are well-protected,” Reynolds told the native.
“It’s not safe,” Pornath said. “The Dark Ones live there. They attack all who enter and eat their souls.” He made a choppy gesture with two hands. Behind him, the other natives did the same.
Reynolds patted his chest. “We have armor to protect us.”
Pornath looked them over. “We will petition the gods for you.”
“Thanks, but—” Reynolds broke off as the chief and three of his companions dropped face-down into the dust. “Oh, you’re going to do it now.”
The four lay in the dirt. The others remained standing, watching the visitors. The chief and his companions stood. “The gods say you are foolish people, but we cannot stop you. If you survive, come to our camp for a celebration.” They turned abruptly and climbed back onto their animals. The cats leapt to their feet and bounded away.
“That was—” Ka’nak started.
“Brief?” Jiya asked.
“Simple?” Reynolds fingered the leaf, watching the dust boil up in the natives’ wake.
“Ridiculous,” Taneral said, her tail switching back and forth. “Superstitious primitives subjugating proud felines. The premier will not be happy to hear about this.”
“Maybe the cats aren’t sentient?” Jiya suggested. “They didn’t seem to mind. In fact, I think I heard one of them purring.”
“We aren’t here to free the cats,” Reynolds said. “We need to get our phorentum and get back to the ship. We can handle the dark ones, whatever they are. It’s time to get to work.”
Chapter Five
Maddox had set up sensors to monitor activity around the Pods. Within the perimeter, technicians from the crew put together a pair of devices.
“The extractors are almost ready,” Maddox told Reynolds when they returned. He held up a device strapped to his forearm. “We’ll use these detectors to find a vein, then the extractors will pull the phorentum from the walls of the caves. Did you calm the natives?”
“They think we’ll run into something called the Dark Ones,” Reynolds said. “Based on the ritual gestures, we believe it’s a religious superstition. Still, we’ll need to be cautious.”
“We are reading some lifeforms inside,” Geroux confirmed. “A small group of creatures seems to reside in a branch of the caves off to the west. From the scans, it looks like they’re about a meter high, with six legs. We can’t tell if they’re predators since something in the rock interferes with our scanners, but the phorentum is in a stretch to the south, so we may not see them at all.”
“As long as we keep our armor on and our wits about us, we’ll be fine,” Reynolds said. “Maddox, get the team rolling.”
The android led the way into the caves. His integrated visual tech meant he could see in any light, and the crews’ upgraded helmets provided similar capabilities. “Taneral, stay in the middle of the group.” He didn’t know her skills or her armor’s specs, and he didn’t need their escort getting hurt if there were problems.
Maddox followed Reynolds, with his crew of technicians pushing the extractors using maintenance bots. Taneral walked behind the equipment, and Ka’nak, Jiya, and Geroux followed, watching their six.
The dark closed around them as they moved into the cave system. The rough walls and floor made walking difficult, especially for those guiding the equipment. “These are old lava tubes,” Geroux told the group. “The lava rolled down the volcano and hardened on the outside. Then the lava drained out, leaving a tube. Over time, more lava builds on top, and you get these caves.” Geroux pointed to a side tunnel that led off their current route. “That’s where we saw the creatures.”
“Can they hear us?” Reynolds asked. “We don’t want to give them a reason to come looking.”
“I don’t think so,” Geroux said. “But that assumption is based on my knowledge of subterranean fauna from our galaxy. It’s possible they have more sensitive ears. Or other auditory sensory organs.”
Maddox stopped. “Ka’nak, stay here and keep an eye on that tunnel. Do you want someone to stay with you?”
The Melowi shook his head. “I’ll be fine. I did not wear a red shirt today.”
Reynolds snorted. “Have you been watching Earth videos?”
“Tactical suggested I familiarize myself with human culture before we returned to High Tortuga,” the warrior said.
“Stay in touch on the comm,” Reynolds said. “Check in with Maddox every ten minutes.”
Ka’nak gave a sloppy salute. “Aye, captain. Good luck finding your dilithium crystals.”
They left him standing guard at the side tunnel and continued deeper into the mountain. The tunnels slanted down, forcing them to slow.
Geroux checked her wrist computer. “This is taking much longer than I expected. The scans showed the phorentum near here, but my sensor is directing us farther in. Something in the rock must have distorted our readings.”
“Are you sure the stuff is here?” Reynolds asked. “I don’t want to waste time climbing around in lava funland if there’s no payoff.”
“It’s here,” Geroux confirmed. “Just more that way.” She pointed down the tunnel.
“Onward,�
�� Reynolds said.
“This floor is smoother,” Geroux said in surprise when they reached a junction. “This tunnel isn’t a lava tube. Maybe water-formed?”
“It will make for easier walking,” Jiya said. “My ankles are killing me.”
“True, but that’s a problem.” Geroux tapped at her wrist computer. “The phorentum develops in lava rock. This tunnel is beneath the lava. We’re down in the bedrock.”
“My sensor says it’s that way.” Maddox pointed along the new tunnel.
“Maybe this tunnel leads to another lava tube,” Geroux said.
“Are you sure your map is good?” Reynolds asked. “If something in the rock is impeding your scans, maybe this is a wild goose chase?”
“What’s a gooz jays?” Taneral asked.
“Figure of speech,” Geroux said. “Humans use some odd terms.” She turned back to Reynolds. “It’s definitely there. Just not where we expected.”
Ka’nak, Reynolds called through the comm. We’re stopping for a short break. What’s your status?
Ka’nak didn’t reply.
“I just spoke with him a moment ago,” Maddox said. “He was bored and started singing something about an island and a guy named Gill-gan.”
“Take Jiya and go back up until you regain contact,” Reynolds said. “If you run into trouble, call San Roche and L’Eliana. Tell them to bring reinforcements from the ship. The rest of us will keep looking for the phorentum.”
“Yes, sir,” Maddox said, starting back up the tunnel. Jiya swallowed a groan and followed him. After a few minutes, Maddox stopped. “This is where I heard him singing.”
“How do you know?” Jiya asked. “These tunnels all look the same to me.”
Maddox tapped his wrist. “I marked the location each time he checked in. Let me try him now.”
There was no answer again.
“Let’s go.” Maddox drew his sidearm from its holster. “If those creatures can take down Ka’nak, we need firepower on our side.”
Jiya pulled her weapon out as well. “Geroux said they were small. How could they take down someone as huge as Ka’nak?”
