Alcantaran 1: Alien Abduction (15 page)

"Wurden, I need a couple of more things.
 
We need two or three recording devices that we can mount in the cockpit.
 
Some things may happen so fast that we can't see them and I want to be able to play them back to see what happened.
 
Also if something goes
wrong,
it will leave a record so the next crew will know not to repeat that experiment.
 
Can you get something like that for me?" Ron excitedly asked when he found the Bug.

"That will be no problem.
 
It also sounds like a good idea.
 
Do you think anything might go wrong?
 
It will take a little time for a messenger robot to get them and bring them here," Wurden said as if he had thought of the idea.

"I'm sure that the Alcantarans wouldn't sabotage their own ship, but why be sorry when you can be safe?
 
There's one other thing that could save days and maybe even weeks.
 
I have no idea what the instruments, gauges, levers and buttons do.
 
We need a pilot to tell us what they would normally need to fly the space craft.
 
Even if they flew a different type of craft, they would need the same things to fly.
 
Their knowledge could save us from doing something dangerous and would definitely speed up the search for Alcantaran relics and technology," Ron said.

Wurden was getting nervous with the talk of Alcantarans and things going wrong in the space ship.
 
He told Ron he would get the recorders and would present the council with his request.
 
He ended the conversation and moved as far away from the ship as he could.
 
Ron returned to the ship and told his pals what he had found out.
 
Tik was busy with her computer and Ron wanted to check behind some more panels so he went back to work.
 
The messenger robot brought the spy devices and Ron gave them to Tik to set up.
 
They were about as far as they could go when they saw that it was time to leave for the day.
 
They exited the ship and dropped into line.

When they got back to the cell, they didn't talk again.
 
Ron made some notes and then they used the thought transfer to discuss what they had found that day.
 
When they were through, they were too excited to go to sleep right away.
 
All three spent time thinking of the new hope they had found.
 
It was late when they finally drifted off to sleep.

When they got to the hangar the next morning, there was a nine-foot tall purple being waiting at Ron's work station.
 
The being was obviously confused about what it was doing here and what it was supposed to do.
 
Wurden took Ron's translator, adjusted it and then he introduced the being.

"This is Kota Kinabula.
 
It will be here three days to assist you.
 
That is all the time that the beast can be spared from its primary job," Wurden stated with distaste.

Ron found out the being was a Dar Es Salaam Trader that had been kidnapped to train new Bug pilots.
 
Ron later found out that all the Bug pilots wanted nothing to do with sitting in the ancient space ship and the council didn't want to lose any pilots.
 
They figured the Trader was expendable.
 
Ron liked the Trader right away but sent the thought to the other two that they had better not let him in on the secret of the escape.
 
If they found out later that they could take him, they would; but for now it was safer for the Trader if he had no clue about what was going on.

Ron led the way to the flight deck.
 
He ushered the tall Trader into the cockpit.
 
The Trader was staring like a kid in a candy store.
 
He easily slid into the pilot's seat and slid his hands over all of the different controls and levers.
 
Suddenly he realized where he was and that there were three other beings watching his every move.

Kota
looked up at Ron and said, "Where did this ship come from?
 
It is similar to ours but different.
 
Why did the Bugs bring me here?"

Ron answered, "I think it is an Alcantaran ship.
 
The Bugs found it several years ago and they can't figure out how a lot of the things work.
 
I have been tasked with finding out some of these secrets but I'm not a pilot.
 
I thought that a pilot could give me a clue what a lot of these instruments, gauges and other controls are used for.
 
Can you tell me what a lot of them are used for?"

Kota
hesitated and then carefully said, "I won't help the Bugs increase their knowledge of the Alcantaran technology.
 
I'm sorry but I took an oath when I became a Trader.
 
I guess you'll have to send me back."

"You do know that the Bugs will use the stingerray on you and that it is excruciatingly painful, don't you?" Ron said.

"Yes, I know about the stingerray.
 
They will just have to use it on me again,"
Kota
said with determination.

Ron softly said, "I don't think the Bugs will find out as much as they had hoped about that technology.
 
Do you think this ship could fly again?"

"I don't know.
 
I have no idea if the computer still works or what shape the controls are in.
 
The engines are another question also,"
Kota
said as he looked closely at Ron and then at the other two.
 
"Why are you working for the Bugs and why did they assign you to this area?"

"Well, it’s a long story and we don't have much time.
 
Just say that all three of us have health problems and the Bugs don't expect us to live long.
 
All of the beings here fit in that category.
 
We get the most dangerous jobs and I'm pretty certain that we get the least desirable food.
 
We are trying to give the Bugs something to improve our lot and let us continue to research this ship," Ron said guardedly.

Kota
sucked in a deep breath of air and his eyes widen.
 
He read between the lines and he knew the trio had a plan to escape.
 
He made a huge effort to control his emotions.
 
He knew that something or someone was watching if this trio was being so cautious.
 
He casually said, "In that case, maybe I can share some of my knowledge."

Ron could see that
Kota
had guessed they were planning on escaping.
 
He said, "Good.
 
If you will just explain to us what these things do, we'll get on with our experiments."

Kota
started his lecture just like he was addressing a new crop of pilot trainees, "Everything here is familiar but different.
 
Here is your altimeter and this is…"

Once he was started, he quickly told of the instruments and controls that he knew about.
 
He explained what each one was used for.
 
When he finished, Ron explained that he had everything set up to put power to the instruments.
 
Kota
thought it would be a good idea.
 
Ron checked that the switch was off and the rheostat was set to zero voltage.
 
He turned on the power unit and flipped the switch to on.
 
He slowly increased the power on the rheostat.
 
Some of the gauges started to move and come to life.
 
He increased the power a tiny bit.
 
More gauges came to life and he adjusted the power a tiny bit more.
 
Kota
excitedly commented as each gauge came to life and some of the ones he couldn't identify were obvious as to what they did.
 
The group worked all day checking things out.
 
Their knowledge of the space ship was starting to grow.
 
Tik was checking the computer and she thought they were ahead of anything the Bugs had ever done.
 
As they were getting ready to leave for the day,
Kota
casually commented that the Bugs computer had a program to give the basic training to new pilots.
 
It also had a virtual simulator to allow you to get the feel of actually flying.
 
Tik had been editing what went into the Bug's computer all day but it still showed a lot of progress.
 
Kota
was taken to another cell and the trio worked on the things they could in their cell.
 
Ron dictated his notes and thoughts and then looked up the pilot training course.
 
He didn't do anything with it, for right now he just wanted to know that he could get it.
 
He saw that he was going to have to get a computer that wasn't assigned to him.
 
He needed to download that program and the flight simulator.

The next two days went quickly by and their knowledge increased by leaps and bounds.
 
Ron was ready to start some of the experiments on the fourth day and they didn't know if
Kota
would be sent back to his job or not.
 
The Bugs surprised them and said that he would be there for another two weeks.
 
After a week, they knew what most of the gauges, controls and levers did.
 
Now they needed to know if they actually did what they were supposed to.
 
Kota
said a lot of the information would probably be in the ship's computer.
 
They needed some power to the whole ship to get that computer turned on.

They tried several different ways to get power to the computer but they couldn't get to the computer.
 
It was in the area that was locked away.
 
After two hours of discussion and countless experiments, the group came to the conclusion that they needed fuel in the space ship to energize its own power supply.

Ron took Gus outside of the space ship and had him show how to drain the fuel out of it.
 
They walked under one of the cowlings on the side and Gus pointed to a spot on the under side of it.
 
He told Ron each step and what safety precautions he had to observe.
 
They found a disk that could take them to the top of the cowling and checked for a place to fuel the ship.
 
As they were flying up, they saw a place on the side of the cowling that looked like it would open.
 
They flew to the top of the cowling and found the port to refuel the space ship.
 
They stopped beside it and Ron stepped down on the cowling.
 
He looked around and quickly figured out how to open it, which he did.
 
Gus looked and said it was very similar to what the Bugs planetary flyers used.

Wurden saw them on the cowling and glided over to Ron's work station where he waited until they came down.
 
He motioned them over and arrogantly demanded, "What were you doing up there on that cowling?
 
You are supposed to be trying to unlock the secrets inside the ship!"

"Well, that is what we are trying to do.
 
We are at the point where we think we can get into the computer but we need the ship's power.
 
We were looking to see how we could get fuel in there.
 
We also need to install a safety valve on the under side to pull it right back out real quick if we found any nasty surprises," Ron told him.
 
"Gus thinks we can put in a release valve right there and control it from here."

"And just where did you think you were going to get fuel?
 
Who authorized any fuel anyway," Wurden asked in a shocked manner.

"We don't have any authorization yet.
 
We wanted to check to see if we could do a quick on and off before we even asked.
 
As for fuel, that's up to the council if they want to know any more secrets," Ron stated flatly.
 
"There is so much in that ship that depends on the computer.
 
It is the key to unlocking just about everything but it will have to run from the ship's own power.
 
We can't get to the main computer itself to use any of the power units."

"I will pass the request on to the council.
 
In the meantime, it's almost the end of the shift.
 
You need to get your other helpers out of there," Wurden stated self-importantly.

Ron got the other two out of the space ship and shut the door.
 
They fell in line with the group and went to the dining hall.
 
After they were back in the cell, Ron cautioned the others.
 
He felt that they would have a visitor that night.
 
Shortly, he was proven right as the door swung open and the big wig Bug came in with its guards.

The Bug addressed Ron, "Why do you need fuel in the space ship?
 
How much fuel would you put in?"

"We are at a point where we need the computer to check out a lot of the other instruments and controls.
 
We can't get to the computer to just hook it up to one of your power units.
 
All of us are starting to think the computer can unlock the part of the ship that is still locked down.
 
I would only put in enough fuel for a two or three day supply.
 
That ship has me really curious now so I don't want anything to happen -- like it trying to fly off on its own or locking down more.
 
That's why I had Gus look into being able to empty the fuel quickly from down on the hangar floor.
 
I don't know if the Alcantarans put any booby traps in the cockpit but I sure want to be able to shut things down if they did," Ron stated.