Postby stylesrj » Tue Jul 29, 2014 12:09 pm
Normally I write these several chapters in advance. Close to submitting a new one, I go and edit the old ones a little. Not in this case. The literary Rebel Fleet is closing in on me, like one jump away. Chapters may take longer to be put out there as I'm editing closer to the fleet.
In fact, this chapter is going to be split into two parts. Mostly because the Zoltan Homeworlds need to cover two important events (Crystal Quest and Zoltan Ship Unlock).
Also, Zoltan shenanigans! Star Wars and Trek references!
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Sector 5 – Zoltan Homeworlds – Crystallisation
The exit beacon out of Aquarius was crowded with refugee ships waiting for clearance to jump away. The Zoltan Resource Protection Committee was laboriously searching certain ships in the queue, especially those using Rebel hulls, transponders and colours.
Charlie Smith sat in the mess hall with the rest of the crew while the Nesasio was waiting for clearance. The scientists they picked up mostly kept to themselves, discussing theories and regulations involving them. Most of them were Zoltans, but he saw a young Mantis in a stereotypical white labcoat.
Why does he remind me of my brother? Robert’s not a Mantis, Charlie thought to himself.
The Mantis scientist was trying to chat to Translator about weapons technology and the physics of plasma guns. The Lanius did not seem interested though. “Go bother someone else about it Doctor Jones” he said, looking at the nametag.
Charlie looked to the Zoltan scientist Duncan. “Do you know anything about the stasis pod we recovered?”
“At this moment, very little. But I do believe that it may have some relation to the ancient ancestors of the Rockmen. The architecture is similar” he explained cheerily.
“Ancient ancestors?” Charlie asked “You mean there are things older than the Rockmen?” He looked to the Rock scientist praying in front of his meal. He appeared very different from the others Charlie had seen though. Instead of being very bulky and covered in craggy skin, the scientist looked as if he had his rough edges sanded off, leaving his rocky hide shiny and smooth. The nametag on his labcoat read “Chieftain Duna.”
“The Crystalmen of course! They’re the magical ancestors of the Rocks, Charlie!” Duncan said excitedly. He drew the out word “magical” for some reason.
“You Zoltans have some crazy beliefs about magic” Charlie commented “Why don’t you get a room with Elizabeth and share notes?”
“Absolutely not! If we get a room together, chances are that she would absorb my energy field” Duncan said, quickly moving his plate away from Translator.
“She’d do that?” Charlie asked as Elizabeth glared at Duncan.
“Well if she’s serious about becoming an Envoy, she needs to gain more power. There are two ways that can be done” Duncan said “You find a spatial rift and harness its power or you start absorbing your fellow Zoltan’s energy fields.”
He looked around the room “I don’t sense any distortions in space and time and there’s plenty of Zoltans here. I sure hope the Order teaches their monks about the Wise Man. A Wise Woman might make the problem worse, or be one of the most amazing conflicts in the galaxy. There can only be one!”
He then raised his hands in the air and made a very poor attempt to sound like thunder crashing. Translator seemed to get the reference and gave a short screechy laugh. Elizabeth glared even harder. “If you keep mocking our Order, we may silence you ourselves.”
Charlie looked at the Zoltans strangely and then asked Duncan “Right… so let’s get back on the subject here, what’s a Crystalman? Besides being a magical Rock, Duncan?” He drew out the word “magical” to spite him.
“Well a long, long time ago in a faraway part of the galaxy, there used to be these planets made of magical crystals teeming with life. Like everyone else they developed tools, built walls, pyramids, maths, science, history and unravelled mysteries” Duncan said “Then they went into space, made the FTL drive and colonised other planets, which later on became the homeworlds of the Rockmen.”
Chieftain Duna said “Don’t believe anyone from Vrachos when they cite the Holy Words. The Crystals were magical but hardly gods.”
Charlie nodded and said to Duncan “Uh-huh. Yeah that makes sense. Crystals and magic, gotcha. Keep going.”
“The Crystals did not have easy access to their source of food of crystals, so over time their children grew up to be rocks as they consumed their surroundings. Crystalmen fell into myth and legend, leaving only a few artefacts lying around. Such artefacts are in possession of the great Rock tribal Chieftains and are symbols of their divine heritage and rights leadership” Duncan continued.
Duna grunted “I used to have one myself, but during the annexation of my tribe, I had to give it up. I certainly wasn’t expecting the Inquisition to take offence to my work.”
“Nobody expects the Grand Inquisition” Duncan remarked cheerily before looking back to Charlie “The best I can say is that stasis pod is definitely an artefact from the Age Of Crystals. So even if it doesn’t work, it’s still an artefact of the time and valuable to any tribe.”
“If I still had mine, I’d pay you hundreds in Scrap for it” Duna said “The gullible fools would think I have a god in my possession or the corpse of one. Then again the Inquisition would try and destroy it to preserve their farce.”
“Alright people, listen up! We’ve got clearance for the Zoltan Homeworlds. Grab on to something solid because we’re about to jump!” Slocknaw announced over the comms. He then added cheekily “Make it so!”
* * *
With the scientists onboard, the Nesasio had very little trouble passing the various Zoltan Resource Protection Committee ships, apart from a checkpoint requesting to scan and identify possible fugitives. Upon scanning Virus #247-12, they cited 18 different counts of “Utter Villainy” and demanded the Engi be handed over to be disassembled.
Elizabeth-Trikko remarked that most crimes involving the Engies were summarised as “Utter Villainy” to the ZRPC. It was much more convenient than filling out an entire rap sheet with the various offenses a machine could commit.
An altercation broke out until Slocknaw calmed them down, waving his flabby hands in front of the guards and stating calmly “This is not the Engi you are looking for.”
He said something else in his mind to them, something that would persuade the guards to leave them alone, but he felt the situation made a great opportunity to do something a lot of people only dreamed about.
Translator started laughing “Have them tell us they don’t need to see our papers and to move along.”
The Nesasio shortly arrived at the location of the research facility. Apart from the station, the sensors also picked up a single Zoltan ship slowly moving towards them. Another scan was run showing the ship to be an Energy Fighter chassis, and most unusually with no detectable weapons or even a shield to protect it.
A Zoltan monk appeared on the screen, looking like an emaciated, translucent green-skinned Human. He shifted back into his smooth, Zoltan form when he saw he was talking to a Slug. “This is a Zoltan peace envoy. We carry no weapons or shielding and rely on the mercy of others to communicate our message” the monk hailed.
Elizabeth suddenly appeared next to the Slug before he could ask what the message was. “It’s better you hear them out than have to ask what the message is. Otherwise it may go over your head.”
“We take your silence for interested contemplation” the monk continued. He then started to talk at length about peace and harmony. Slocknaw tried to pay attention at first but it sounded like complete nonsense. Elizabeth seemed enthralled though.
“Please, spread the word of enlightenment to those that have not heard. Once you have, contact our brethren” the monk concluded, transmitting a series of coordinates on the beacon network. Slocknaw jotted it down and labelled it “Quest” before chuckling to himself. “Yeah I’ll be sure to pass on the good word to those I encounter.”
Satisfied, the Zoltan ship then jumped from the system. Elizabeth said “That was a very enlightening encounter Captain. You should feel honoured.”
Slocknaw put a hand to his head in pain and groaned “Then why do I feel like I should kill myself?”
“Because we don’t have any headache medicine in the Clone Bay?” Virus suggested “Microcloning should clear it up next jump.”
They then went to dock at the Zoltan Research Facility. It was not an impressive structure but to Duncan, it was home. “ZRF Guiding Light is currently researching genetic distortion due to stasis sleep and prolonged FTL travel” he explained as the science team got to work unloading their equipment and hauling the stasis pod to a specialised lab.
They began hooking up tubes and conduits to various points and began chatting excitedly amongst themselves. “Interesting. I've never seen a cryogenic system like this. It appears to still be functioning…”
The pod was placed on a large table in the middle of the room with a holographic image of a plasma storm above it, complete with thunder crashes. After some tests, Duncan announced “Amazing! It has the ability to reconstruct the body if it was damaged during transit. Watch” and pulled down a large lever.
The hunks of crystal inside the pod began to reform to build a humanoid structure. The scientists crowded around to watch in awe and take recordings. Duna started saying a prayer in a rather loud and reverent voice.
“My Lord, awaken from your long slumber beneath the mountains. Awaken and guide the tribes to a new dawn of peace and prosperity. Liberate us from our oppressive burdens and help us crush and enslave our foes. May the stones guide us all.”
He then made the sound of clearing a throat. “It’s traditional” he stated.
Eventually the pod slid open and a large man somewhat shorter than a Rockman climbed out. He seemed to match Duna in appearance except his entire body was made out of smooth, shimmering blue crystals and his face lacked the glowing eyes typical of Rockmen.
Duncan shouted “They said I was mad! Mad they said! But now, I’ll show them! I’ll show them all! It’s alive!” much to Slocknaw and Translator’s amusement and Charlie’s confusion.
The Zoltan cleared his throat and said much more calmly “This is a momentous occasion. First contact with the Crystals. What first words might he say?”
The Crystalman looked at everyone rather confused, then at Duna as if wondering if his descendants were trying to imitate him. He then put a hand to the lower part of his head and massaged it as if he was in pain before humming something with three distinct pauses. The third sentence was punctuated by the Crystal holding up several fingers with each hum. He then repeated the sentences several times.
“Any idea what he just said sir?” Charlie asked Slocknaw.
“I can read his mind, but without a translation, I can only gather the intent of what he’s trying to say” the Slug replied, putting both hands on his head to indicate he was using his telepathic powers “But his humming has a distinct pattern. Tell me, if you were stranded in an unknown area and no one spoke your language, what would you say first?”
“My name, rank and serial number” Charlie said with an impressed nod “If I am to get an understanding or a ransom, knowing who I am to them is important.”
“Exactly and since he’s giving us numbers…” Slocknaw looked to Virus and asked “Can you build a translation suite?”
“Crystals communicate through resonance vibrations as opposed to shaping the air into words and language” the Engi replied “Both Duncan and Duna have had extensive notes on Crystal languages but no pronunciation guide. At least until now...”
Her visor glowed brighter for a few seconds. “I’ve run a few thousand simulations and I should have a translation suite now. I’ll correct my pitch and tone as I further develop my understanding.”
“Mathematics is the universal language” Slocknaw said to Charlie.
Virus started humming to the Crystal. He nodded happily in response and hummed something back, gesturing more numbers with his fingers. The two were exchanging dialogue in what would have been a harmonious tune if Virus didn’t stop every few seconds after mispronouncing something or using the wrong gesture.
The Engi was telling the Crystal the state of the galaxy and the journey they were undertaking to resolve the problems. Then the Crystal gestured to the side of his face and hummed something else. Virus then put an arm on the location and shifted her hands into small repair tools.
Duna made a gesture of wiping a tear from one of his glowing blue eyes as he listened to the dialogue. “If only the tribes could hear this. They’d be moved by his words of such beauty and tone and overthrow the Inquisition and it’s corruption of the Holy Words…”
The Crystal then startled everyone by speaking in oddly-accented Galactic which was quite different to the melodious tones of before. Virus had most likely fixed his universal translator. “Howdy friends. The name’s Ruwen Shattersphere. Captain of the Tektite and a Deputy Backup Courier for the Empire of Messengers.”
Duncan remarked to Duna “I think his translator might have ruined it for you.”
Ruwen said to Slocknaw “Your friend has told me everything I need to know. I owe you and your fine crew a debt of gratitude for recovering my pod and bringing me back into this galaxy.”
“It has been so long since your people have left the galactic scene” Duna said, bowing out of respect “Your people are revered as gods to the Rock tribes.”
“I was told that as well and I’m touched, friend. I knew we’d miss you folks when we were going into isolation but to be treated like gods?” Ruwen asked “I’m just a courier who got a little set back on their last delivery run. Nothing divine about me…”
“I know, but the tribes are easily swayed by faith. Few people are left who know the truth” Duna said.
Ruwen looked at the Rock’s smooth hide “What happened to you? From what I know, being sanded is painful.”
“It’s a tradition” Duna said, brushing his arms “The pain subsides after a few weeks but it reminds us of those we had descended from. Shaping yourself into the image of the gods is a blasphemy to most Rock tribes however, punished with exile or death. Or death by exile.”
“You couldn’t go with a simple carving?” Ruwen asked. Duna shook his head.
The Crystal raised an arm and a map of the galaxy was projected underneath his hand. Apart from a few stars shifting, it was very similar to the sector map Slocknaw had. “Anyway, are ya’ll heading towards the Vrachos sector by chance? I’ve got codes for a gateway to my homeworld. I can properly repay you folk there.”
The Slug shook his head “I’m not sure if we have the time to divert course for the Crystal Empires. Or even if the gate still exists.”
He took out his own copy of the sector map and pointed out to Ruwen where they led, ending with a sector aptly named “Last Stand.” “We’re hoping that won’t be the case and it’ll become “Turning Point” once our package is delivered to Federation Command” Slocknaw explained. “We can go to Vrachos and drop you off at a station, but I don’t think we can spare time to go sightseeing. It must be a lovely place though.”
The Crystal nodded “I understand. The mission comes first and the package you deliver is more important than anything else. Rule 4 of the Courier Code.”
“Courier Code?” Slocknaw asked.
His features perked up “The Empire of Messengers had five main rules for their Couriers: You don’t examine the package, you don’t tamper with the package, you don’t let anything stop you from delivering the package and the package is more important than your own life. Finally, you don’t give it to anyone else but the recipient. Not their secretary or adjutant. Directly to the recipient.”
“That’s very extensive” Slocknaw said “So what happens if you deliver a bomb? Or poison?”
“That would violate the mutual trust between the Empire of Messengers and its clients” Ruwen stated “Needless to say you’d only be able to get away with it once.”
“I see. So what will you do now?” Slocknaw asked “Find your own path in the galaxy? Live like a god in Vrachos?”
Ruwen shook his head “There is also a sixth rule that’s not as well known – If a courier of any race or creed is having difficulty with their delivery then within reason, you help them get it to their recipient. Couriers must look out for each other for they may one day return the favour.”
He gave a formal salute to Slocknaw “If ya’ll are willing, I’d like to serve on your ship and help you get that package delivered safe and sound. I am not in any rush to return home – chances are my associates would all be dead or too old to recognise me.”
Slocknaw handed him his datapad and saluted in return. “Very well Captain Ruwen Shattersphere, welcome aboard” he said before offering the Crystal his officer’s cap.
“If we encounter a ship from Vrachos or any other Rock tribe, I need you to pretend you’re the Captain of the Nesasio. If the Rocks treat you as a god, it wouldn’t be right for you to be under the command of some Slug.”
“I’m a few thousand years out of date in my leadership abilities but I can see your point friend” Ruwen said, putting on the cap “I won’t let you down if the opportunity comes up.”
Duncan said “Hate to interrupt but our sensors are picking up a Mantis vessel on approach to the station. Has anyone seen Doctor Jones?”
The Mantis scientist seemed to have run off shortly after Ruwen was revived. Then the comms started buzzing with feedback. “Hello? Hello? This thing on?” a chittering voice said.
“Try the gain” Duncan shouted helpfully.
The comms started clearing up. “Much better. Thanks Duncan” the Mantis said “Anyway… hah! Finally after months of waiting with you foolish meatsacks and gasbags, my brothers and sisters have finally arrived to spring my dastardly trap!”
“Knew it!” Charlie remarked “Mantises don’t know anything but war – they get Engi slaves to build everything for them after all.”
“Doctor Jones? What is the meaning of this?” Duncan shouted.
Jones said “It means I’m taking over your station and shutting down the bakery. I’ve just about had enough of those stiff dough cakes!”
“I thought you were one of us Doctor Jones!” Duncan screamed “Why would you do this?”
“You actually thought I was a scientist?” Jones said incredulously “You ever seen a Mantis scientist?”
“Yes and no” Duncan stated bluntly “I thought you were one of the rare cases. You even had a labcoat! What was I supposed to think?”
“You’re such a gullible gasbag. I’ll kill you last!” Jones laughed. “My name is also not Doctor Jones. It’s Kaaazthwak and you all will be the finest kills before me and my brothers and sisters reach maturity!”
Two Mantises teleported into the room in the same place as Charlie and one of the scientists. Normally teleporters had precautions in place to avoid the infamous “Telefrag” of days past, but Mantis technology lacked (or disabled) such safeguards in favour of rapid swarming. So it was rather shocking to see two people and two Mantises suddenly explode in showers of blood and ichor all over the lab.
Kaaazthwak shouted “My brothers and sisters, we’ve got a mighty fine prize for KazaaakplethKilik! If you see a shiny pebble man, keep him alive and tag him with your teleporter stick! Kill everyone else!”
More Mantises teleported into the lab, claws and energy blades ready for combat. Slocknaw keyed the comms to the Nesasio. “Elizabeth, get out of the shield room and get to the helm. We need immediate evacuation” he shouted, throwing Charlie’s teleporter transponder to Ruwen.
The Crystalman grabbed it and immediately understood the device’s purpose. “Hold on tight friend, I think we’re going to be beamed away” he said to the Rockman.
A minute later the teleporter activated and the Nesasio’s crew was immediately taken out of the research station, along with Ruwen and Duna to whom the Crystal had grabbed onto before being teleported out. The cruiser shook as several energy bolts brushed past or impacted with the hull, piercing through the shields like they did not exist. The autopilot did not have the sophistication required for good evasive manoeuvres and Elizabeth had very little idea on how to fly the ship.
Virus immediately rushed for the helm “I’m going to get us clear of the station and out of here. The gun batteries are online and will tear us apart the longer we stay here!”
An announcement came on the screen from Kaaazthwak “We have control over the station’s guns! This place belongs to our father KazaaakplethKilik now!”
“We’re about to do an emergency jump” Virus said as she shunted power and extra fuel into the FTL drive. “Last thing we need is a Mantis swarm teleporting into our systems!”
Just as the Mantis ship activated its teleporter again, the Nesasio disappeared from the system in a flashing pulse of light and towards another beacon, leaving several Mantis corpses drifting in space.
* * *
There was the sound of an electronic “ding” and Charlie Smith stepped out of his cloning tank to the sound of warning klaxons. He quickly donned a uniform and keyed into the comms “What’s going on? Is the ship breaking up?”
“We took some damage. Nothing too much to worry about though. Virus is fixing the holes” Slocknaw informed him “What’s the last thing you remember?”
“We were going to a Zoltan research facility weren’t we? What happened? Did we open the pod?” Charlie asked, noticing that his voice was higher pitched. Gotta stretch the vocal cords, he thought to himself.
The Slug explained to him the events that occurred on the station. “You died quite spectacularly. A Mantis was teleported in the same space as your body was” Slocknaw said with a chuckle “I recommend you check in the mirror before meeting us in the sensor room. There has been some… difficulties in your reconstruction.”
“Don’t exaggerate Slocknaw, it’s just the usual memory loss” Charlie remarked “It’s probably nothing. Hope you got a copy of the footage though.”
He walked over to the sensor room’s doors. Adjusting to the new body always took him a bit to get used to, but something felt different this time around.
He then ran a hand through his beard only to find it missing. I know the Clone Bay removes tattoos, but not facial hair. Maybe I should check the mirror in the men’s room, he thought to himself as he approached the restroom facilities.
“Ensign Charlie Smith. Invalid chromosomal data to access facilities” the computer stated to him. He finally took a better look at himself and screamed as realisation settled in.
Slocknaw was the first to comment when Charlie burst angrily into the room “Looking good there. For a Human.”
“The hell is this about? When you said difficulties, I thought it was just more memory loss” Charlie shouted “Not mammary gain!”
“The emergency jump fried some of the circuits. Once they’re fixed, your next death will put your body back to normal. If you want to of course” Slocknaw said before pointing to the viewscreen. Acting Captain Ruwen Shattersphere and the Rock scientist Duna were standing in front of it.
The screen displayed a large planet-sized object drifting through the cloud with a massive rectangular prism poking out of one part of it like a space elevator. “Is that a space station or just a rogue planet?” Charlie asked, poking the picture “Because that’s certainly no moon.”
“Through luck or intent, we have discovered the Great Eye” Elizabeth-Trikko announced “If we look into its depths, we shall receive our just deserts.”
“Personally I don’t like the look of that monolith. From what I’ve heard they turn people in babies” Slocknaw added, zooming in the display around the rectangle. Several dead space whales were floating near it, all them very young or undeveloped in appearance “And that seems to be the sort.”
“I agree. I’ve seen this phenomenon before… back in Numa actually” Ruwen said, shaking his head “It caused several of my former crew to regress into little shards before they disappeared entirely. I don’t want the same happening to you folk so early into our meeting.”
“It’s most likely a defence mechanism against those who are not worthy to approach” Elizabeth said, then adding somewhat nervously “We’ll be fine. You’ve got us.”
“Something doesn’t seem right about what you just said” Charlie commented “And it’s not because I’ve suddenly gained intuition. You don’t think you’re worthy don’t you?”
Elizabeth shook her head “We are worthy – we have been brought here by the Great Eye and we must walk the path. Captain Slocknaw, we should not hesitate any further.”
Slocknaw could sense a single lifesign on the moon below. It was that of a very old Zoltan. His mind was so open, so vast that the Slug briefly wondered if his fellow Zoltans could read it. He didn’t delve further though as the old man’s thoughts were filled with knowledge he thought he probably shouldn’t know. It was a highly effective defence mechanism against telepathy.
So the Slug said “Our mission is to save the Federation, not discover new wonders around the galaxy. Patch up the damaged systems and prepare to jump. Ruwen has the right idea: I have no intention of risking our crew to that… thing.”
Elizabeth muttered something profane under her breath as everyone returned to their stations. The Nesasio was underway, FTL drive spinning up for another jump away from the Great Eye.
It was a few minutes later when the lights shut down and switched to the emergency red lighting. The ambient sounds of the ship ceased, replaced with a dead silence. Charlie waved a hand in front of a nearby vent and discovered life support was still working, just that everything had gone inexplicably quiet. “What the hell is going on?” he said into the comms. “The FTL drive is no longer responding! We’ve only got impulse engines.”
“Bad news. The planet has suddenly changed course” Slocknaw announced “It’s coming towards us like some sort of spaceship, the monolith as its nosecone.”
An ancient alien voice reverberated throughout the ship in a language the universal translators were not picking up, except for Elizabeth and Translator. The Lanius dutifully translated for everyone’s benefit. “It’s a message from a power beyond imagining – The Great Eye has seen you. The Great Eye understands.”
“That sounds ominous” Charlie replied, configuring the drives of the Nesasio, shunting power from other thrusters to the main engines. He figured that the ship needed all the power it could get to escape from a planet-sized spaceship.
Sound returned to the ship as the cruiser shuddered and creaked from the gravity shifting. The generators were having difficulty maintaining the constant 1.2g standard on most ships.
“Virus, that planet is heading towards us. Get us out of here!” Slocknaw ordered as he started sliding towards the doors.
“Thrusters are at maximum power. We’re going to be pulled in whether we want to or not.” the Engi responded, leaving the damaged hull plates where they were to get back to her station.
“I’m giving the engines everything we’ve got” Charlie reported. Slocknaw felt like saying something about the laws of physics but restrained himself. The Nesasio was going to fall into the planet if something wasn’t done soon.
“What if we dumped all the fuel we have behind us and detonate it?” Slocknaw asked.
“Doubt it’ll give us a bigger boost but it’s not like we’ll be using it if we’re dead” Virus said, hitting the “Dump Fuel” button on the console. Several canisters ejected from the ship, falling towards the Great Eye.
“In case we don’t make it or we get stranded beyond the beacon network, just for the record, it was nice to be serving with such a fine crew” Virus said sentimentally.
The fuel canisters detonated and rippled outwards, sending a massive shockwave in all directions. The Great Eye shifted rapidly to the side, a loud scream echoing throughout the ship. “Holy crap! Did we just poke the Great Eye in the… eye?” Charlie remarked as he saw the FTL drive was fully charged.
Virus said incredulously “I don’t know but it’s backing off. We actually managed to hurt a planet?” She raised an arm in triumph at her accomplishments, before realising the Nesasio’s fuel reserves were nearly depleted from performing such a feat.
“We need to jump now Virus. Surely we didn’t dump all the fuel we had?” Slocknaw asked, looking at the ship’s inventory then at the system map of the sector. He hoped the next jump would provide him with fuel or supplies.
Just before the Nesasio jumped however, Virus suddenly said “Wait… it’s coming back and what is that?” and the viewscreen was filled with a kaleidoscope of colours, followed by darkness.
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Next time on Charlie & the Flagship Factory - Translator adopts a puppy!
