Heaven Saga 3: Sojourn Into Despair (15 page)

“This
is getting really boring,” Baed said while chewing on an emergency ration. “I
know we have enough of these to last us another six months, but still.”

Jesela
stood at the back console while chewing on an emergency ration as well. “It’s
been three months since our journey began. I’m surprised we’ve managed to get
this far.”

Jesela
grabbed a bottle of water and handed it to Baed.

“Thanks,”
Baed said. She took a sip. “We’re half way home now.”

“But
I agree on this issue,” Jesela said. She held the ration in her hand with
disdain. “These fulfill all of our nutritional requirements for the day. I’m
starting to think nutrition is overrated.”

“It’s
been two weeks since we ran out of fresh fruit and vegetables,” Baed said. She
made sure the ship was flying normally. Jesela walked back up to her console
while chewing on her meal.

“Huh,”
Jesela said before stuffing the rest in her mouth and slamming a gulp of water
as she checked something.

“What
is it?” Baed asked. “It’s not like you to rush a meal.”

“We’re
picking up some kind of signal from nearby,” Jesela searched the bandwidth,
“Looks like an old fashioned radio signal.”

“Where’s
it coming from?” Baed asked as she called up the star map.

“On
our current path we should reach the solar system the signal is originating
from in five days,” Jesela said before pointing out the origin on the map.

“Why
didn’t we pick it up sooner?” Baed asked.

“It’s
because we’re close to the center of the galaxy,” Jesela explained. “The large
number of black holes and heavy stars are causing signals to move strangely.
The other explanation I can think of is the radio signal is coming from a race
that’s just discovered radio technology.”

“Do
you think I should contact the other senior officers?” Baed asked.

“No,”
Jesela answered. “If it’s going to take us five days to reach we shouldn’t
interrupt them while they’re resting. I know for one I’d be rather cranky if I
had to report to duty just for this.”

“You’re
right,” Baed said. “Brian’s not doing so well these days. It’s a miracle he’s
even walking right now.”

“It
just proves how advanced our medical technology is,” Jesela said. “As long as
one isn’t vaporized they stand a good chance of surviving.”

* * *

Grigon
stood in the launching bay while a number of Kalaidian engineers checked the
Raknas’ systems. He was at the base of a nearly finished silver colored mobile
suit. Looking up he noticed Brian standing next to him.

“You
surprised me,” Grigon said.

“Didn’t
mean to,” Brian said. “Couldn’t help but notice how fast this is being built.”

“In
a few weeks I’ll install the main drive system. All that’s left is the fine
tuning,” Grigon said. “How are you feeling today?”

“Better
than usual,” Brian answered. “Celi has gotten better on figuring out what can
keep me upright. I think she’s also getting closer to a cure.”

“I’d
rather this story end with you in it Brian,” Grigon said. “I didn’t spend all
this time roaming the edges of the galaxy to not see your success.” He noticed
something on the console. “What might this be?”

“What
is it?” Brian asked.

“Jesela
and Baed started detecting radio signals from a nearby star system. According
to the map she sent we should be there in a few days.”

“I
wonder if the Greys know about them,” Brian said.

“For
sure,” Grigon said. “Now whether or not they’re considered a threat or not I
can’t answer. This is on the edge of their territory, so they may not care much
for whoever this species is.”

“From
what we’ve seen the Greys eliminate races on the verge of space technology,” Brian
said.

“Yes,
they certainly do take care of business in that regard,” Grigon said. “But not
every species in this part of the galaxy has been wiped out. The Grey’s area of
control may be shown to be nearly half the galaxy, but in reality they only
control around a third. They have plenty of blind spots within their
territories.”

“What
exactly are we getting on the signal?” Brian asked.

“Nothing
but scratchy old code,” the old Malcovin said before playing it. A series of bleeps
and blips began.

“Sounds
a lot like Morse code to me,” Brian said.

“What’s
Morse code?” the old birdman asked.

“That’s
what communication like this is called on my world,” Brian explained. “The
sender sends out a series of dots and slashes to form a message.”

“Now
that you mention it I do remember hearing about something like this.” Grigon
paused. “Quite simplistic when you think about it.”

“Yeah,
that’s what Morse code was for,” Brian said. It was cutting edge technology
only a hundred years ago.” He looked at the console. “Now I’m really interested
in hearing what kind of species this is.”

“We
will know soon enough,” Grigon said.

* * *

“We’ve
successfully jumped into the system,” Baed reported. Next to her was Zae. Behind
them sat Brian and Celi, while Jesela and Meldi stood at the top console.

“We’re
recording all signals,” Zae said.

Jesela
looked over the vast amount of data incoming. “No doubt now, this is definitely
an advanced race.”

“How
advanced are we talking about?” Brian asked.

“From
what you’ve told me Brian they’re about where your people are at the moment
technologically,” Jesela said. “I’m detecting complex communications systems as
well as an electronic world wide data network.”

“From
what I can tell they have no orbital defense systems,” Meldi said. “They have
several artificial satellites in orbit.”

“Start
putting their communications through the translator,” Brian ordered.

Zae
turned to him. “Are you sure about this?” she asked.

“I
know all about protocol in terms of communication with less advanced races,” he
said before standing up. “The Edict of Geluke Don wasn’t put into place
lightly. But something’s bothering me.” He stood in thought. “Check to see if
any of their messages are being specifically sent into space.”

“Alright,”
Jesela said. She looked over the communications for a moment. “I think we’ve
got something.”

“Can
you translate it?” Brian asked.

“Already
done,” Jesela said. “It’ll only be in text though.”

“That’s
fine,” Brian said. On the main monitor there was a large amount of text.

We
call ourselves the Braiden. For nearly a hundred years we’ve been sending
messages into space in hopes of contacting another race. If this message
reaches you, please know we’re asking for help. Our homeworld is the third
planet in our solar system. Until a hundred and fifty years ago it was the only
inhabited planet in our solar system. That was when they appeared and began
changing the fourth planet. At first our scientists and astronomers were amazed
at what they were seeing, that was, until recently. The beings who’ve taken the
fourth planet will not respond to our communications. They’ve never sought to
communicate with us either. Fifty years ago a number of the people of our world
began experiencing strange lapses in time. Unknowingly they were being taken by
those strange creatures. The horrors they describe are unimaginable and they’re
appearance even more so. The creatures we speak are small, with grey skin and
large black eyes. We have no name for them other than the Strangers. We don’t
know where they come from or their intent. What we ask is for another race, any
race, to tell us who they are. If they’re a threat tell us and please, if
possible, help us. Within this message we’ve encoded a large amount of data
from our people, including language, culture, technological advancements,
historical events of note, etc. Please, someone out there hear this call. We
pray to the gods you find us soon.

There
ended the message. Jesela called up their genetic data which also contained a
vast number of images of their people.

“That’s
incredible,” Brian said while staring at the image of the Braiden. They stood
the height of a Kalaidian with a light brown or black or red fur covering their
arms and legs. Their faces looked equine in nature, almost like a cross between
a human and a deer. Their two legs were reverse jointed with cloven feet, while
their hands had two large fingers and an opposable thumb. The males grew facial
hair and had small horns emerging from their heads. “If I was to peg them I’d
say they look a lot like satyrs from Greek mythology.”

“They
look a lot like
Mikikas
from our ancient legends,” Baed said.

“This
is their homeworld,” Jesela said before calling up its image.

On
the screen were two hemispheres that showed their planet had five major
continents. Two were locked in the polar ice caps, while the other three were
stringed along the equatorial regions. The three continents had a large mixture
of forest and mountains with little desert or wastes showing.

“It’s
like a shining green emerald mixed with the ocean blue,” Zae said.

“How
recent is this message?” Brian asked.

“This
was sent out less than three months ago,” Jesela answered.

Meldi
looked up from the files she was looking through. “It appears their government
is a unified world nation,” she said. “Their military appears to be small and
limited. They have extensive solar arrays on the surface of their planet. I’m
also detecting a number of nuclear power systems.”

Jesela
called up another image. “This is the fourth planet according to the data.” On
the screen appeared two hemispheres like the first one, but the image couldn’t
be more different. The planet was two thirds the size of the Braiden homeworld
with dark clouds enveloping the planet’s surface. Around the planet was a
massive solar power ring. “According to the data provided the atmosphere below
is being artificially created.” Jesela displayed an old image in black and
white from a century before. “This is what it looked like a hundred and ten
years ago.”

“Incredible,”
Baed said. “In only a century the Greys created an atmosphere that thick. It’ll
be less than a hundred for life to be able to live on the surface. I‘ve never
seen atmospheric adjustments done is such a short period of time.”

“Are
you sure it’s the Greys?” Zae asked.

“Yes,
look at these markings,” Celi said. She displayed them up on the screen. All
over the orbital ring of the fourth planet were purple hieroglyphs.

“I
say we pay them a covert visit,” Grigon said over the com. “I know interstellar
law prohibits contact like this but they’re asking for help.”

“Agreed,”
Brian said. “Are you alright with that?”

“Under
normal circumstances I’d object,” Zae said. “But these are hardly normal circumstances.
They’re actively asking for help and rightfully so. We’ll approach covertly as
to not excite the Greys and make contact with their government leaders.”

“Alright
then, it’s decided,” Brian said. “Set course for Braiden Prime.”

“Yes
sir,” Baed said. She flew the cloaked Avoni towards the green and blue planet.
The Vomada followed at the same speed.

What
a strange vision.
Lumiar thought as she awoke to the sun shining down into her bedroom. Her home
consisted of a series of domes emerging from the ground with most of the structure
below the surface. Hidden cleverly amongst the trees were numerous solar panels
and wind turbines. The capital city of the Braiden was vast and covered a great
amount of territory, though it had little impact on the natural environment
other than the few roads needed for foot traffic. Hidden within the trees light
speed rail systems flowed silently. At this time of the morning parents
escorted their children to school before heading off to work for the day.
Lumiar stood up and watched life unfold outside her window. A number of those
walking by waved and said good morning to their High Priestess, the leader of
their world nation.

Lumiar
Wavecrest stood at the same height and general proportions as a Kalaidian, with
long red hair flowing from her head. On her arms and legs the red fur showed. She
wore a simple green piece over her body similar to a toga. She closed her eyes,
deep in thought.
If feels like a great storm is on the horizon.
She
looked at the sky where the fourth planet would be.
I wonder if the
Strangers will ever say anything to us. We’ve been trying to communicate since
we were able to a hundred years ago and still, nothing. What’s this feeling of
trepidation I’m having right now?
She clasped a gold and emerald torc to
her right arm.
Official duties come before meditation on the matter. The gods
will tell us when the time is right.
She closed her eyes and joined her
hands before saying a prayer. A frantic knock on her door broke the silence.

“I’m
sorry to interrupt you my lady, but I have urgent news to report!” Fran
Molediver, the Minister of Intelligence shouted.

Lumiar
went to the door and opened it to find a flustered Fran. He had black hair and
small black horns with a light beard and mustache on his face. He wore a black
shirt and leggings. His rank within the government was a badge on his shirt.

“You
seem quite excited Fran,” Lumiar said. “Please, come in.”

Fran
stepped in. “I’m sorry to ask this but can you close the windows? I have
something to show you my lady, something of the utmost importance.” From a
pocket in his shirt he pulled out a small computer drive. Lumiar closed her
windows and put down the shades for privacy. “This morning we received and
encoded message from space. Someone has heard our message.”

“Is
it the Strangers?” she asked.

“No,
they don’t identify themselves as such,” Fran said. “As matter of fact they
explain as much in this message.” He went to the computer and uploaded the
message. “They sent us a video file using our own encoding systems. It looks
like they took care to not broadcast this to the general public.”

“I
don’t like hiding things from the people,” Lumiar said.

‘I
understand, but this seems to be a matter the aliens wish to keep secret,” he
said. “Please watch the video and you’ll understand.”

Fran
turned the video on. On the screen appeared the bridge of the Avoni with Brian
standing at the center. Zae and Baed sat at their stations with Jesela and
Meldi in the back. Celi stood next to Brian.

“This
is a message to the leadership of the Braiden. We’ve chosen to use this method
of communication for now because the beings you refer to as the Strangers are
hostile aliens seeking the destruction of all races who don’t obey them. I know
hearing this may alarm you, but I assume that if you’ve attempted communication
with these beings and found no solace in a reply then you’ve assumed the worst.
We’re here now to answer the call you so desperately have sent out into space.
I’ll start with introductions. My name’s Brian Peterson, Lieutenant Commander
and acting captain of the Independent Kalaidian vessel Avoni. I’m human and I
come from a world called Earth.” Brian pointed to the ladies in front of him.
“This is Lieutenant Commander Zae and Lieutenant Baed, my first officer and
helmswoman.” He pointed to Celi. “This is my chief medical officer Lieutenant
Commander Celi. And finally, the two ladies behind me are Lieutenant Jesela and
Lieutenant Meldi, my chief engineer and head of security respectively. All of
them are Kalaidian and come from a homeworld called Kalaidia. There’s a second
ship traveling with us whose owner is named Grigon. He’s a Malcovin and comes
from the planet Malcov. As a courtesy and show of our willingness to be honest
with you we’ve sent an encoded genetic profile of each of our three distinct species.
As you may have surmised we’re but a small number of the innumerable species of
intelligent races existing within this galaxy. We were brought to this area of
the galaxy by an accident in our gravity drive, the device we use to power our
ship’s systems as well as travel between solar systems. Our journey has been
long and hard with many battles with the creatures you refer to as the
Strangers. Currently we’re in stealth mode in orbit of your planet. To be blunt
our motives may be on the selfish side, we acknowledge that. What we seek in
return for aiding you in this endeavor are a few basic things. Our journey has
been many months without a chance or place to replenish our food and water supplies.
Given we only have a hundred and nine crew members what we ask for isn’t much.
If possible I’d also like to ask your leader or leaders if they would be kind
enough to meet us in person. Preferably a place as secluded as possible. We
don’t want to upset your population in any way while we’re present. My hope is
we can reach an understanding of each other as rational beings. We’ll remain in
orbit for one of your standard weeks. If you don’t contact us by this time
we’ll assume you don’t desire our presence and leave accordingly.” Brian
clasped his hands like Lumiar had done earlier and closed his eyes. “We pray
the gods always show you favor, bless the land, bless the air, and bless the
waters of Braiden.”

The
message ended with the data on genetic information appearing on the monitor.
Lumiar stood with a look of shock and amazement on her face while Fran smiled.

“This
is what we’ve been waiting for,” Fran said. “All that remains is proving this
is true.”

“Are
you the only one who’s viewed this?” she asked after collecting herself.

“Yes,”
he answered. “The two of us are the only ones who know about this. I leave the
decision to act up to you my lady, as it’s not my place to question your
decisions.”

“Secure
a channel for me to speak with Brian and the others of the Avoni,” she ordered.

“As
you wish,” Fran said. “I’ll endeavor to arrange this by the evening.”

“You
may take your leave,” she said. “And Fran, thanks for bringing this to me.”

“Is
there anything else you wish?” he asked.

“Schedule
a meeting tomorrow morning for all of the ministers of our government. If this
is true, it’s important for us to remain transparent. We’ll show them first and
then the people.”

* * *

“You
should take a break and get some sleep,” Baed said. She looked at Brian. They
were the only two on the bridge at the moment.

“I’m
alright,” Brian said while looking at images of the planet below. “From space
one can barely tell their planet’s inhabited.”

“The
Braiden are one with their environment,” Baed said. “My people didn’t think
like that until we achieved faster than light capability.”

Brian
laughed. “My people still haven’t figured it out.”

“What’s
Earth like?” she asked. “You’ve said a few things here and there but not much
in all the time you’ve been with us.”

“That’s
because there’s not much to be proud of,” he said. “I doubt much has changed
since I left. But I can tell you a few things. My people are divided in nearly
every way. We’ve divided ourselves religiously, culturally, technologically,
racially, economically, etc. Humans have a long way to go before they’ll ever
join the Confederation. I often wonder what it’ll be like the first time I meet
another human. I have a feeling that when that day comes those humans will look
upon me as a relic of the past.”

“Are
you saying you’re a barbarian?” she asked.

“In
a very real way Baed, I am. My people are exposed to war and bloodshed every
day. Violence is glorified. That’s why when I sent your fellows into the Mardok
bases and the experimental colony they had such a negative reaction. I was
exposed to so much violence on television and through games I’m numb to such
scenes.”

“I
don’t see how that’s possible,” Baed said. “Disturbing is disturbing, no matter
how much of it has been seen.”

“True,
but one gets used to it,” he said. “The truth is in the part of the world I
come from violence is rare. But there are murderers we call serial killers that
are very much like the Greys. They’re unfeeling, dark, hidden, with motives
only they can understand.”

“Is
murder a common thing on Earth?”

“Yes,”
he said. “And despite all the war and murder happening our population’s still growing.
It should have reached eight billion by now.”

“Murder’s
quite rare amongst Kalaidians,” Baed said. “Violence has been for the most part
removed from our society. Since the males died out it’s even more so. Life is
precious to us, more so than anything else.”

“I
wish that were the case on my world,” he said with a cynical laugh. “But sadly,
the greed of a few keeps much of humanity in poverty. Poverty breeds dissent.
This leads to violence. When a man and his family are starving they care little
for law and order.”

Baed
turned around and an incoming message from the planet below. “It looks like
someone’s ready to speak with us.”

Brian
stood up and straightened his rank circlet. “Put them through.”