Star Raiders and the Lost Expidition (3 page)

It was gone. They were gone. Michael could not believe that Ganu let them die. Ganu had told them that he would he would see them again, but Mike did not believe him. He hated him. Ganu placed him in his bed on the ship and frowned. He felt so guilty and wanted to do something. He would adopt him but it was against Lizzian law to take in a human boy. Michael just lay in his bed, his face buried in the pillow crying his eyes out. When Ganu closed the door, he made a decision to put him in an orphanage once they reached Cian. Then at least he would have a home and be safe as Cian was unknown to most of the galaxy. It was more of a safe house for others who were trying to hide from the rest of society.

Chapter 1

The Jewel of Na’Tuka

As a boy, Mike Tippen had always admired archeology, the study of history, he had wrote a paper on Uno Pu’Do’s last expedition to the center of the galaxy. After he wrote it, he and his best friend Justin Jobbs entered the world of amateur archeology also known as treasure hunting. They took odd jobs looking for rare and valuable objects.

A tall brown-haired man in his late twenties, stood with-in the dense rainforest wearing long cargo pants and his favorite blue shirt. His friend Justin Jobbs, a few inches shorter than he was, walked behind him as a prickly branch barely combed his blond hair. They had a job on the jungle moon of Mota witch orbited the red gaseous planet Trigal in the Regor system. An ancient alien tribe called Entians inhabited the moon-like planet. They knew that probes discovered the moon shortly after the Xatu invaded the galaxy, but the Xatu were unaware of its existence, which was good for Mike and Justin. The Entians, unlike the Animuns, were a unique alien race. Just like Earth mythology, Dryads, A tree like creature of magic times, seemed real, as the Entians were wood like aliens. Their society advanced to the likes of tribal people. Simple, peaceful, but easily agitated.

Their client told Mike and Justin that Mota held a precious jewel, the jewel that the Entians called Na’Tuka. Legend has it that the jewel contains magical properties of fire, wind, earth and water which help created the Entians’ civilization. Mike and Justin did not believe any of that, they only wanted the jewel for their client. What he did with it was his own business. The two adventures found an ancient temple deep within the bulky jungle. They had to land their ship in an open area as the map they had took them in the dense jungle. They walked for thirty minutes until they came upon, what it looked like huge dying tree trunk that spanned five stories tall. As they came closer, Mike noticed strange carvings on the tree. Pictographs. He then knew that this must be the temple. The map that a Giber gave them showed them how to pass the traps that awaited the two.

The two entered the dark shrine as Mike turned on his Illumnistick, it glowed bright blue. Inside, they were in a small wood-like foyer with an opening in front of them and strange alien writing carved above it. The room also contained a stage like area to the left of the door. On the far wall hung a large circular ornament made out of bronze. More pictographs and symbols covered the ornament. It was the same as on the map as Mike looked at both. There was a faint smell of dead rotten carcasses but it did not bother them.

“
Well? What does it say?” Justin asked as Mike tried to interpret the writings.

He had taken alien language in school, but it was a very hard subject even for a human. He gotten out is digital language pad and read from both trying to convert it.

Mike pondered and answered, “Only, tribe,” he looked down to the pad then back up as Justin adjusted his lucky ratty looking old Yankee’s hat, “Tribe members, enter, others,” he looked back down then to the warning over the door, “Will..”

“
Will what?” His friend wondered looking at him impatiently as he leaned against a stone brick wall.

“
Death, dead, Die! That’s it,” he finally answered.

“
You’re kidding me right?” Justin asked worriedly, raising his brow.

Mike looked to him and replied, “What’s wrong? Scared?”

“
No,” he said unsurely, “I’m not scared of an old out dated warning. You?”

“
Not until when we pay off Mama’Halb I’m not,” he said.

Mike when through first as Justin crept up from behind. Something in his gut told him that this was a bad idea from the start. Suddenly Justin heard his friend scream horribly and panicked.

“
Mike!” He screamed, as he was frightened.

He thought a trap had killed or even worse. Justin did not know what to do if he had ever lost his best friend. Ever since they were kids growing up in an orphanage, Justin and Mike had to look out for each other.

Mike popped his head out and said jokingly, “Gotcha.”

“
Aw, man,” he said as he tried to get his heat to start beating again. Mike chuckled, “Don’t ever do that! You almost gave me a heart attack.”

“
Where’s your sense of humor? Come on,” Mike said as Justin shook his head in disbelief and followed him.

They entered a square room where they saw an entanglement of vines attached to the walls and ceiling. There were tiny holes about the size of a small baseball drilled in the walls. There was another door on the other side of the room, but it seemed that someone sealed it off with no handles or any other way to open it. In the middle of the room, Mike noticed a small model of an old style windmill made out of carved stone, and wood that sat upon a tall square pedestal. Worn out cloth draped on the wood like sails on an old water ship, were on its blades as it lied motionlessly. It looked just as big as they were coming up to their neck. Michael knew that the Entians were primitive aliens, but they started to develop ways to increase their food supply ever since explorers discovered the moon. He did not realize that they had windmills now. Justin walked over wondering what it was. He placed his hand on the sweep, a set of clothed fans that circled the main windmill part, and try to move it, but it did not move.

“
Hey, don’t touch that,” Mike warned as Justin quickly withdrew his hand, “It could be bobby trapped.”

“
Ok, so what does this thing do?” He asked.

“
Let me check the map,” Mike said as he glanced down on the map, “Ah-hah,”

“
Ah-hah what?” Justin wondered as he went over to his friend.

“
It says here. Wind must flow to the gods,” Mike translated, “I get it, It seems that they’re four rooms in this temple dedicated to the four main elements, you know air, water, earth, and fire.”

“
All right,” Justin complied, “So how do we open the door?”

Mike thought long and hard, repeating the translation in his head and out loud. He knew of the Entians’ history and culture and remembered that their wind god Chepois lived in the east, past the vast Blue Mountains. He did not really believe in gods like that. He took out his digital compass that brought last year and tried to find east. Surprisingly enough it pointed to the sealed door. He smiled and looked at the windmill once more. There were two handles just below of the model. Mike faced it and grabbed the handles, but which way to turn it he thought. He looked at the fins of the wheel and saw that they slanted so the wind caught them on Mike’s left. He then got it. With all his might, he turned the rusty, heavy, plinth slowly counter-clockwise.

“
I Hope you know what you are doing,” Justin said unsurely.

“
So do I,” he replied as finished the rotation.

At first, they heard a clicking sound, followed by a rumbling sound. Suddenly wind dust and vine debris enter the room form the west wall. The hurricane-like wind was strong enough to blow Mike and Justin against the other wall. They coughed from the dust and debris that they did not noticed that the tiny windmill was working. It twirled wildly on its axel and at the same time, the sealed door started to slide up in to its groove. Once the door was completely open, the wind finally died down.

“
Open sesame,” Mike coughed a bit more trying to catch his breath.

Justin nodded and commented, “Those Entians have a strange way to protect their things.”

They got themselves together and preceded on though the next room. Mike heard something up ahead as they walk towards it. Justin heard it too, as it was sound of rushing water, or maybe a waterfall. They got to the other room and before them; they saw a pool of water and three waterfalls, one in front of them and two on either side of them not more than five feet away. The water was coming out of a mouth what it looked like tree trunk with eyes. They walked out onto a peninsula, surrounded by bubbling water.

The water was to dark to see as Justin wondered, “You think these are hot springs?”

“
Don’t know,” replied Mike looking at it, “I don’t see any steam.”

Justin crouched down to the water and placed his index finger in the water. It was cold, not a hot spring that he thought, and suddenly something under the water bit him as he screamed.

“
Eeow!” He exclaimed as he quickly removed his finger from the pool. His finger was bleeding as he sucked on it.

“
What!? You ok?” Mike wondered worriedly as he looked to his friend.

“
Something bit me!” He said as Mike looked to the water. He saw some weird looking fish swimming the cool water. He could not really identify it because of the mucky texture of the pool.

“
The pool must be swarming with meat eating fish,” Mike said to him.

“
Meat eating fish? Ok, that’s it!” He exclaimed, “I’m out of here!” He turned to leave the room.

“
Hey, where do you think you’re going?” Mike asked stopping him as Justin turned his head.

“
I’m not going to risk my life for a stupid jewel,” He replied.

“
Stupid?” Mike argued,” Justin, this jewel could help us pay off Mama’Halb in full, and I’m gonna need your help to get it. So will you stop acting like a baby and give me a hand?”

Justin thought for a moment and wondered. “What if we get killed?”

“
Will you stop worrying?” Mike requested, “If we do get killed then all of our problems will be solved, but I don’t like that option, so we’re going to get this jewel. Remember, in our business there’s going to be life threatening risks and great rewards. Frankly, I like the rewards part.”

“
I don’t know how you talked me in to this business in the first place,” Justin said as Mike smiled to him.

Mike did not really con him. At first, when they began their business, Justin though it was great idea. That was until their first job. Justin did not like the idea of people was out to kill him, but in the end he has knew that Mike had good instincts and agreed to stay with him. They both looked around the room figuring how to go on. Mike looked to the map again, but this time it did not say much except nonsense gibberish.

“
Don’t speak and you will proceed,” Mike translated.

“
What the hell does that mean?” Justin pondered looking to his friend.

“
Don’t know,” he replied looking at the wooden statue heads. Each of them had different characteristics, “I am guessing it has to have something to do with these Entians’ heads. Don’t speak and you will proceed,” he repeated.

“
Shut up,” Justin said as Mike looked to him quizzically.

“
What?” Mike wondered to his friend thinking that he insulted him.

Justin looked to him and repeated, “Shut up. If you don’t speak you shut up. Right?”

Justin may have something there as he looked to the heads. Justin was never was much as problem solver but some days inspiration hits him like a truck. He wondered if the mouths would close it. It would shut off the water, but how to do it Mike wondered. Mike looked around on the floor, walls, and ceiling as his friend help to looked too. There were no levers in the room or any switches. Justin then saw three weird square tiles on the floor. Each had more weird symbols of an ancient Entian heads. They were indirect line of the falls.

“
Mike!” He called, “I think I found something, look,” He pointed to the tiles.

Mike smiled to him as he looked and commented, “You see, I knew you‘d come in handy.” Justin smiled and nodded to him rhetorically. He looked at the map and at the symbols. “Togetherness,” he mumbled, “Alright, we have to step on all of them.”

“
At the same time?” Justin asked.

“
Yeah,” Mike replied, “One foot though. You get that one,” Mike pointed to the tile on his left, “I’ll take these two.” He then pointed, “On three. One, two, three!”