The Trimedian

by Dangerous Walker

  Chase rolled the ship left and then ducked it down, bringing it back up to avoid the blasts all the while hammering forward at great speed.

  "Wait till we're a bit closer, bit closer, bit closer? Now! Fire," Chase shouted.

  Julianna hit the blue button and the red triangle appeared, she hit the red and the ship disappeared, she hit the blue button again and took another ship.

  They were in the midst of the fighters now and Milk weaved his Merrill gun around The Rover blasting fighters, not letting any escape toward the pods.

  Julianna was forced to move her gun to pick targets and she found her fingers quickly getting used to the system as she moved and spun, the two Merrill guns dancing around the ship like bees.

  And then they were through the fighters and Chase whipped The Rover in an arc to come at the fighters from behind them. The fighters themselves suddenly didn't know whether to turn back and take on the enemy ship or plunge forward to take out the pods.

  "That was only nine I'm afraid, but jolly good effort," Hendricks smiled at Milk.

  "I got eleven," Julianna said trying to hide her smile.

  "Shabbus, this girl learns quickly," Milk shook his head. "OK, Doc, double or nothing I get fifteen this time."

  "That's a wager," agreed Hendricks.

  Some of the fighters were attempting to turn to come back at The Wild Rover, but the Lehance gave it the agility of a fighter and Chase had his ship lined up while they were still manoeuvring. Once again Milk and Julianna launched their attack, blitzing the fighters. And as they came amongst them, Chase dodging and weaving through the fire, they spun their guns around the ship taking down fighters in a rain of fire.

  The last few escape pods were by now entering Peskini's atmosphere, and as they were getting whupped, the last remaining fighters beat a hasty retreat back to the mothership.

  "Dey's bugging out," Jimmy unnecessarily noted.

  "Then it's time to send them on their way," Chase grinned.

  "With de fighters out de way, dey'll use de hull guns.

  "Bring it on."

  "By my count it was fourteen, Milk," Hendricks said holding out his hand.

  "No way, there were loads out there."

  Hendricks looked over at Julianna and Milk followed his gaze. "No way. Are you telling me she took out more than me?"

  "Again," Hendricks added.

  "On her first go? Valkswagon," he said deflatedly while Julianna just smiled at him contentedly.

  "You can regain your manliness by strafing the mothership," Chase said.

  "Now that is manly. Watch and learn, Julianna, watch and learn."

  Julianna's screen went back up and her chair unlocked, but Milk's didn't. Cherry retrieved the Merrill guns and launched the FOBG gun which was a smaller version of the FOBG guns that cruisers carried. This gun was again a sphere, but bigger than the Merrills and this one had a barrel.

  The fight to protect the escape pods had taken them below the mothership and now Chase pulled The Wild Rover up and round in order to fly the length of the underside of the ship. Milk brought the FOBG above the ship and aimed the barrel up. This close to the mothership brought laser fire from the anti-fighters and Chase slalomed the ship between them as Milk fired off great blasts into the ship at nearly point blank. As The Wild Rover rolled left and right Milk had his fingers busy moving his gun all over the underside of the Durden ship to give it as much damage as possible.

  Hendricks watched Milk's work on the screen. "You don't seem to be doing much damage."

  "This gun is no match for the hull of such a big ship," Milk told him.

  "Forgive my ignorance, but then why are you bothering?"

  "It'll annoy them," Milk told him swinging the FOBG in a zig zag.

  The cabin lit up as a laser blast zinged over the top of them.

  "Dat was too close, mon," Jimmy told Chase.

  "Daring, aren't I?" winked Chase.

  "They can't afford to lose any more ships and they can't keep taking damage from us, eventually they'll run," Milk told Dr. Hendricks.

  "Right about now, in fact," Cherry informed. "The Durden ship is preparing to jump to lightspeed."

  The guns stopped firing and after a final blast Milk stopped too. The Wild Rover pulled away as the massive Durden ship jumped and was gone. Cherry retrieved the FOBG, Milk's screen lifted and he sat back one contented Indian.

  "Now that's manly," he said to himself.

  Types of Life Forms (that means Aliens) you will meet: (extract)

  Reutorgians

  Reutorgians have a body that is long and thin and might make you think of the common pencil; it even ends at a pointy tail. They have spindly arms and legs and a head shaped like a soda can and are taller than most other races.

  Tarancorts

  Tarancorts might remind an Earthen of a giraffe. They had a very similar head and a long neck that bent in an S shape so that their heads sat forward of, and level with, their shoulders. However, their skin was made up of large, tough plates that met each other at grooves. They were an odd race in that they were split almost 50/50. Some were mean and vicious, while others were very peaceful. Great architects and painters too.

  Byfrok

  Byfrok could be described as somewhere between ants and Humans. They had two legs like a Human, but then their body was shaped to accommodate another two sets of arms that ended in pincers that could be used as feet. So 'arms' wasn't an entirely accurate description. The body came to a point between the two pairs of 'arms' so that the thorax was an hour glass shape and could swivel like a second pair of hips. The head was neither ant nor Human, it was an ovoid, like a stretched out egg, with a small mouth on one end, much larger nostrils flat to the head and eyes on the side that stuck out so it could look forwards.

  Jobru

  Jobru sat on three long tentacles a lot like an octopus'. Their bodies were reminiscent of a chubby baby's with long arms that ended in three-pincered hands. Their head was oddly small for their bodies with small eyes, but a distending jaw and large nostrils. They were originally water based creatures, but were equally happy out of it.

  Zorblids

  Zorblids had a head shaped very much like a hammerhead shark, but with bigger eyes and less bitey-bitey teeth. Their bodies were humanoid and they had a small bony protrusion on their hips, shaped like a hook and they could hook their skin onto it and pull it out with their hands to form wings with which they could fly, though only from a high object. To help this their hands and feet were like a monkey's, which they used to quickly ascend trees from which to take off.

  From: A Brief Guide to the Universe for Earthens

 

  BREAKING IN

  In just a few weeks Earth had been completely changed, aliens were now walking the streets taking in the sights, visiting spas and generally doing Earthen things. There was so much Earthen stuff imported into space, but no one had ever had the opportunity to experience such things first hand. Music concerts were packed with different races, as were cinemas and cricket matches. It's not that there weren't these things in space, it's just that this was the real thing, other races did these things because they seemed like good things, Earthens did them because it was their culture and that's a big difference dressed up as a small difference. You can eat sushi anywhere in the world, but it's still special, still better, to go and eat it in Japan.

  The people of Earth were taking it all quite well. The mind is a wonderful thing. When hit by something overwhelmingly strange, to stop itself shutting down, it just accepts the weirdness thusly making it normal to their fragile minds.

  It was decided to hold a huge world fair in Switzerland so that alien races could go and get a good overview of authentic Earthen cultures, foods and music and a similar fair was set up in England with alien races representing their cultures and histories to the Earthens.

  The Prime Minister was a busy, busy man, now that he was in charge of keeping the Earth together whilst it wand
ered around in a collective state of shock. Yes, people were coping well with all the new changes, but he wondered what was going to happen when the shock wore off. Would things continue to be okay or would it all kick off?

  There was the key question of racism. Humans are a pretty racist bunch, normally to the country next to them who they share the most in common with, but hell, Humans will be racist to anyone they can. It makes them feel like they are part of the in crowd. If someone is different to you and you can say they are bad or stupid in some way, then you and people like you must be good and clever and whatever.

  Now the thing on the PM's mind was whether having aliens around would finally put an end to racist thoughts or would it merely unite the Human race to be racist to other alien races? And if they did become arrogant and racist what would the UTN do to Earth? They had all the technology, Earth had next to nothing, it would not be a winning idea for Earth, but that didn't mean they wouldn't do it anyway. Humans were both arrogant and dumb, they have, in the main, small vision and thusly small minds or maybe the other way around.

  But then they had the President up in space now and he was a good, strong man, he would not let Earth do anything stupid, just as long as the PM could keep it all together in his absence.

  ***

  Jason had been Chase for a lot of pages recently, but now that the present excitement had finished he felt Chase ease out of him and more of Jason return. Except it wasn't really like that was it? He wasn't really Chase or Jason, but an amalgam of the two of them. The only change was in his mind, he felt more like Chase when he was doing something he thought Jason couldn't do. But Jason could do it all, did do it all, it was time for him to stop thinking like this, time to stop thinking that it was Chase hidden in his lost memory that came to save them and that he was the one who could do it.

  He sat on the edge of the bed in his room in the ship. It was actually pretty comfortable and spacious and he had vague memories of living on The Wild Rover, of spending a lot of time in this room, vague memories of others on the ship with him; of parties, women and good Jonny Skyewalker whisky.

  Still that was the past, a past that although Chase's attributes had come back, would not. What he had to deal with now was the present and that meant finding out the next place to go in their quest to find the Trimedian.

  They had gotten into so many close scrapes already he wondered if they wouldn't be better off dumping the mission and do something safer. Like chainsaw juggling. But then what would they do? Did any of them really have anything else to do? Could Julianna go back to working in a bar, could he and Milk go back to Earth, Jimmy back to having to elope and avoid Freddy? Only Dr. Hendricks had any sort of decent life before he got dragged into this. The fact was that this mission was all they had, it was their life. They didn't really have any choice, but to push forward.

  When he came out of his thoughts he saw Dr. Hendricks standing in the doorway.

  "Deep in thought?" he asked.

  "I was just thinking how when this is all over, you're the only one with anything worth going back to."

  "I don't know about that," Hendricks said as he walked over and sat next to Jason on the bed, "I'm not getting any younger, perhaps I was wasting what life I have left cooped up in that little office writing books that only a handful of people will ever read."

  "What about the treasure? You've waited all these years to publicise the findings."

  "Yes, funny isn't it, all those years I waited to make the biggest discovery of recent years and now that other archaeologists are undoubtedly cataloguing it, I don't mind. I think I'd rather be here."

  "Really? Risking your life to follow me around space looking for something that has nothing to do with you?" Jason looked at him.

  "If the Trimedian will stop a war then that is a better find than all the treasures of Rarbar."

  "Then I guess we better get on with it," Jason said.

  He stood and made a decision.

  Chase walked out of the room.

  Dr. Hendricks sat in the room a little longer. It was true what Chase had said, this was all they had now, just this mission, just each other. What would they do when they got to the end of it? Chase was right, he could go back to writing his book, but was that really life now? Had it ever been? Had he fooled himself since he left the UTN Navy all those years ago? Yes or no, he wasn't fooling himself anymore; these were the first good friends he had had since his wife died all those years ago and whatever happened he was going to stick by them.

  ***

  They were flying through the galaxy on autopilot (though don't let Cherry hear you call her that) heading to the nearest star-gate and in the cabin Milk and Julianna were going through a battle simulation teaching Julianna how to control both Merrill guns at once while Jimmy was at one of the computers along the walls checking the ship out.

  Chase entered and took his seat.

  "So, Cherry, when I left?"

  "Five long years ago," she mourned.

  "Yes, five long years ago, did I leave you anything, a message or something for when I came back?"

  "Yes, you did, it's an address."

  "Excellent, what is it?"

  "You're going to love this one," she warned happily.

  "OK, so what is it," Chase urged.

  "Brilliant is what it is," she beamed.

  "Cherry," Chase said sternly, "tell me now."

  "Of course, of course," she started to giggle.

  "Dammit, Cherry what's the address?" Chase commanded.

  She stopped laughing and gave a happy sigh.

  "OK, genius, it's 69 Haptoes Road, New Tannock, Tralos, Jesperr."

  "And what's that?" Chase asked disturbed at Cherry's continuing giggles.

  Jimmy had gone to his chair and tapped the address into the computer.

  "It's a prison," he said looking at Chase.

  "Great," said Milk.

  ***

  The planet of Jesperr was in the Ovian galaxy, a galaxy like many in the Universe that did not belong to any one race. It had been discovered after the formation of the Universal Trading Network and been populated by those who wished to do so; which was lots when it was discovered that many precious metals could be found throughout the galaxy.

  Now let me explain another important plot point so that I don't have to interrupt the flow later. Being a stupidly rich galaxy meant that a lot of people wanted to come for a good thieving. To stop this, those in charge had set up something called 'Eye-Net' which surrounded the whole galaxy and basically scanned ships as they passed though. If weapons were detected the ship would be alerted that it should turn back or be destroyed. No idle threat, the Ovian Defence Force was a crack Naval team. In fact the UTN Space Navy hated them because anyone half decent usually went and worked for the O.D.F because they paid a helluva lot better.

  In fact fire arms were completely banned in the galaxy, but it was impossible to stop guns being made there and so armed men still tried to rob people of their wealth and that is why the New Tannock prison was so full of Durden Raiders.

  And so as not to interrupt Julianna's later phone call, The Wild Rover made it through the 'Eye-Net' because it works on technologies that are no longer present in the Universe and any person or computer that tries to figure out it's mechanisms just gets confused. The only way to understand The Wild Rover is if Cherry tells you and not only does she not fully understand it, but the only people she has told are Chase and Jimmy. Though she'd tell Milk if needed, but not that slut Julianna. Harumph.

  Anyway Ovian was also a galaxy that held many scientific wonders, one of those being the planet Jesperr. Jesperr had no oceans, instead it was crossed by three very large rivers; from those ran smaller rivers and smaller rivers ran from those and so on down to small streams so that the whole planet was crisscrossed by water ways. This was not the marvel however, the marvel of Jesperr was that there was a huge hole in the top of the planet, a huge hole that went all the way down until it was a huge
hole on the bottom. What the three rivers did was flow from the hole at the top down to the hole on the bottom and somewhere in the middle of the planet completely defied gravity and logic to come out of the top hole again. No one could work out how this happened as no one had ever been able to get instruments that far inside the planet.

  The city of New Tannock was a very beautiful city with a lovely set of canals both open and covered over for roads. It was a popular romantic and honeymoon destination across the Universe. The buildings were of a distinctly Victorian Britain, but in the posh, expensive sense and they, along with everything else, were very clean.

  Having left The Wild Rover at the space port our five heroes walked the wide sun lit roads, passing under the dappling eaves of tall trees that marched along the roads.

  "We have been here before," Jimmy realised.

  "Yeah, we have, it was New Years," replied Chase with dawning realisation.

  "It was, mon, and, oh, we got in a little trouble, didn't we?"

  "Yeah, I believe we did and that's why I hid whatever it is in the prison," Chase understood.

  "Why? I mean, why would you ever think of hiding something in a prison?" Milk asked exasperated.

  "I came here after hiding the Trimedian and it turned out there was still an arrest warrant out for me and Jimmy. I got locked up and it just seemed to be a safe place to hide something."

  "Yes. Safe because people can't get in or out," Milk exclaimed.

  "But it's pretty easy to get in if you're a wanted criminal," Julianna did some realising of her own.

  "Exactly," Chase flashed her a wide grin.

  "How will you get out? Same as last time?" asked Dr. Hendricks.

  "Doubt it," said Chase.

  "Why not?"

  "Can't remember how I did it last time."

  "Wonderful," said Milk.

  ***

  And now for an understatement: Trillo was not a happy Laikan. He was back in his home galaxy of Tegariff Major and sat alone in a boardroom on one of the massive Laikan cruisers having just had the dressing down of his life from his superiors. He had promised them that he had spies everywhere looking for Darkstaar and he would soon be in Trillo's massive paws. They had promised that if this didn't happen he would be shot. He wasn't happy.