Beyond the Stars: INEO (9 page)

“Yes, he won alright. He was home in less than a week. Some say it was pure dumb luck, while others claimed he possessed a natural gift when it came to charting the galaxy and believed he was endowed with an amazingly keen sense of direction and navigation ability. He entered the academy, graduated with honors, and was destined to be promoted as one of the youngest commanders in history.” He lowered his eyes and voice and said, “He’s three months younger than me.”

I smiled at his competitive need to explain. “So he got promoted to commander?”

“No, he blew it. While Loic and I were still understudies with Tyden, we encountered an unmarked alien vessel. It seemed to be following us, ignored our ship’s hails, and refused to communicate with our people to explain its presence. A dispute broke out on the command deck on how to handle the situation. Loic was at the helm at the time. He should have consulted the reigning commanders, not only for protocol, on principle. Instead, he panicked when they got too close, and after assuming they were a threat, he decided it was best to eliminate them. He fired upon them without notifying or consulting anyone, including Tyden.”

“Talk about taking matters into your own hands.”

“Tyden was furious. He would have investigated the oncoming vessel per mission protocol. Loic’s action was impulsive and in complete violation of our oath ‘to do no harm’. He obliterated the ship. It was later discovered that the ship was a new interplanetary travel vessel transferring Farni. It was completely benign. The Council went through endless torment to straighten out the mess in order to keep the peace. They told the Farni that their ship accidentally activated our ship’s automated defense system due to their close proximity. And Loic was punished. Not only was he banned from Discovery Fleet for life, he was stripped of his degree and had to take a job as a Katarian scout. He and Tyden have steered clear of one another ever since.”

“Why would Loic do that? I can’t imagine anyone from your planet killing without just cause.”

“He claims that the Farni fired on us first. No one, including Tyden, agreed with him, and there was no proof of damage because our shields were up, allowing the Farni to look completely innocent in the matter. Loic had no one on his side during the trial. The deck crew working with him despised his arrogant, condescending attitude and weren’t willing to risk their own livelihood to save his. I don’t think Loic ever forgave Tyden or the rest of us for not validating his testimony to cover up his blunder.”

I sighed. “There’s only one way to find out …”

CHAPTER 6

MINING

Zaric and two crewmen joined Gaelan and me in the landing to prepare for the mission. I watched Gaelan gather his things for the excursion and gave him a yearning expression, hoping he was still worried about me feeling cooped up.

Gaelan sat down on a bench and pulled on a low pair of boots. “Are you planning to come along?” he finally asked nonchalantly. “There really isn’t much to see. It’s cold and dirty. But if you want to stretch your legs …”

Yes,
I thought, an invite with no pleading needed. My hunch was confirmed.

“Okay, sure,” I answered with fake hesitation and swiftly snatched up a bundle of clothes and pair of boots in my size.

“Hey,” shouted Noah, as he came rushing through the door toting an empty sack and tool belt full of gadgets strapped to his waist. “Don’t leave without me. I just heard there’s a Sulo Montaro ship left for scraps. Those babies are equipped with the best microprocessors ever made. They cost a small fortune to build. I could incorporate the parts to enhance our own relay system. It will improve our drive time by three hundred percent.”

“Noah, you look like a kid on Christmas morning,” I teased.

“Sami, you appreciate fine workmanship. This one has some of the best. Anyway, it’s customary to recycle all reusable parts before you abandon any ship.” Noah beamed.

“Fine, Noah, you can join us … if you’re quick.” Gaelan motioned for him to get dressed by tossing him a beige jumpsuit from the table.

Everyone promptly got ready. I watched two crewmen hop into a levitron. It was a small flying ship that I liked to refer to as a flying car. I started to climb through the levitron’s open door to join them, only to be stopped.

Gaelan grabbed me by the arm, pulled me back, and closed the door in front of me. The vehicle’s interior was quickly replaced with my own reflection on the window. I reached out my hand to touch the shiny glass in disappointment. “We’re not going with them,” he said. “They’re going to collect Tellurium while we talk with Loic and hopefully come to an agreement, before granting him a boarding pass.”

“What if he says no? Are you planning on leaving him there?” I asked.

“I don’t know yet. Let’s find out if he’s willing to help us first,” Gaelan said, and started walking towards the ramp of the landing as it lowered itself to the ground.

“You’re heartless,” I said with disbelief that he would even consider abandoning someone.

“Mm-hmm.” He turned and shot me an ornery grin to show me he was joking.

Gaelan, Zaric, Noah, and I walked off the ship’s ramp onto Dalinova’s rocky surface. The climate was cold and breezy; I could see my breath, so I quickly lifted my hood to cover my head and ears. The only place I was chilled was my face and hands. I thought about turning around to ask Azil for a pair of gloves, but I didn’t want to seem like a wimp.

It was nighttime with a black sky lit only by a small yellow moon and a few stars above. The golden moonlight reflected brightly across the stony ground and helped my eyes adjust to the lighting. There were rocky hills and small mountains all around us. It looked like we had landed in the middle of a huge quarry. Our feet sank into the ground’s powdery sand interlaced with jagged rocks. Not only did the loose dirt blow up when we walked, it made our gait unsteady with each step. I had to plan my moves carefully so I wouldn’t lose my balance and twist my ankle. I watched our levitron zip over our heads and land near a small mountain about one mile ahead.

“Is there any water here? The ground looks like an old, dried up sea,” I asked Gaelan while I stopped to kick up the soft sand with my boot. I began to sink and had to quickly step onto a nearby rock to hold my weight.

“The only water here now is far below the surface. Everything on top has dried up,” he explained.

Then, as if on cue, we were struck by a brisk wind. It was loaded with sand and swirled around us like a mini tornado, spraying and ricocheting dusty grains of rock off our bodies.
Blah.
I wiped my lips after some dirt flew into my mouth. Luckily, it swiftly died down. I could imagine this was an ideal place to get caught in a sandstorm. My hands became numb, and my lip began to quiver from the cold. I tucked my fingers into the cuffs of my sleeves for protection.

“Look, I see Loic. He’s waving to us,” Zaric said as he pointed towards the old mining rig in the distance.

“Good. That was easy,” Gaelan said, sounding relieved.

We walked up a steep mound of dirt to get to Loic. I focused my eyes on the old Katarian starship sitting behind him. The area was well-lit by several high lamp posts surrounding the rigs and campsite. The vessel was small, maybe two hundred feet long, only two stories high, with a strange fin off its back. It was clearly damaged. The top center of the ship had been blown off, leaving a gigantic gaping hole, dangling wires, crimped metal, and broken panes of glass and debris scattered across its roof.

The site was littered with scattered tools, buckets, wheelbarrows, garbage, and miscellaneous piles of junk. It looked like a rundown trailer home, complete with an old bench sitting out front. The ship was also surrounded by several mounds of dirt that were probably the work of the giant rig that cycled up and down about fifty feet away. The machine would raise and rotate a conveyer belt of large buckets to deposit new scoops of dirt to the mound beneath it before lowering itself back into the ground for another load. A continuous cloud of dust billowed up from the growing pile.

Noah’s face held an expression of awe. “Look at it. I wonder how many places that ship has weathered,” Noah said, sounding thrilled.

“It looks like a lot,” I replied with little excitement of my own. And then I began to take note of the aged metal and wondered where it had been as well.

Noah asked Gaelan and Zaric, “It’s small. Can we take it with us?”

“No,” they adamantly declared in unison.

Zaric put his hand on Noah’s back. “Don’t get sentimental over that heap of scraps. I’ll buy you a new one when we get home,” he joked.

“You will? Thanks!” Noah said, playing along.

I studied Noah’s gleaming face while his attention was glued to the dilapidated ship. His enthusiasm was so strong, I found it contagious. Ever since I knew Noah, he had not only been one of the most amazing, smartest engineers I’d ever met. He had two favorite hobbies. One was his ability to lure good looking women into the sack and the other was his vast study and appreciation of history. I remember feeling embarrassed by the fact that he, a Katarian transplant, knew more about Earth’s history than I did.

As we got closer, I started to ignore the ship and focused my attention on Loic, who was outside, running around frantically. His erratic movements made it look as though he was chasing something. He kept bending over to pick up his messenger bag, which repeatedly fell off his shoulder. He was dressed in dark brown clothing, had long disheveled brown hair hanging well below his shoulders, a rough overgrown beard, and an over-all unkempt appearance. He had a medium build and looked gaunt because he was starving. And judging by the looseness of his clothes and hollowed cheekbones, I figured he was.

“What
is he doing?” Gaelan asked in a mocking tone.

“Packing, I guess,” I said, watching him scamper around while he repeatedly bent over to grab pieces of scattered junk off the ground and lift the flap of his bag to stuff it inside.

“It looks like the bag is winning,” Zaric muttered after Loic’s bag dropped off his shoulder,
again.

Finally, Loic stopped bumbling about and looked satisfied with his collection of stuff. He threw the sack over his right shoulder and stood up straight as though he was trying to act composed for our benefit as we approached.

“Alas, my rescue crew has arrived. I’m ready. Let’s go,” Loic shouted boastfully. He briskly walked up to us with the large sack swinging clumsily from his back. He was a little shorter than Gaelan’s six-foot-one stature and his face had a few more wrinkles. Still, like Gaelan, he could probably pass for a person in his thirties.

“Not so fast, Loic,” Gaelan said firmly.

Gaelan gave me an unhappy look. I could tell he wasn’t thrilled to deliver Loic the ultimatum he and Tyden had discussed. Noah and I stood back and let Gaelan and Zaric deal with Loic. After all, it was their job, not ours.

“Long time no see, G.” Loic paused to look at Gaelan. “G, Zaric, you’re part of tribe Tyden, so let me guess, Ty ordered you to interrogate me before you can take me aboard,” Loic said with a moan.

“Loic, we need to talk—”

“We can catch up onboard,” Loic interrupted and started walking away.

“We’re here on business,” Gaelan stated matter-of-factly. “We have a proposition for you. We swear to bring you aboard if you agree to help us,” Gaelan offered.

Loic’s feet came to a stop. “Go on,” he said in a coy tone.

Gaelan continued. “We need to find the Dreons. Do you know how to track them?”

“I may.” Loic turned around and smiled at him smugly.

“Here’s our offer. You will help us find the Dreons. After we do, we promise to drop you off at one of the major ports with your fee in hand,” Gaelan proposed.

“Jeez, you’re already planning to get rid of me,” Loic complained in a whiny tone.

Gaelan’s and Zaric’s heads turned, and their eyes met to exchange a silent message while we waited for his answer. They were probably starting to share Tyden’s sentiments.

Loic scoffed. “And if I don’t take your offer? You would leave a man to die?”

“Do we have a deal or not?” Zaric asked impatiently.

“Oh sure, absolutely. I can get you to the Dreons in no time,” Loic said arrogantly.

“Good,” Gaelan said with a rise in his voice. “Then you won’t mind if we scavenge some parts off your ship?”