Chapter 18: The Aliens Are Coming…The Aliens…
Kalen Space.
It took 3 weeks to discover the planet from which the old world ship had last come. Upon its discovery, they hid the ship behind a distant gas giant and launched a small probe toward the little blue planet, third from its sun.
Cloaking the ship to avoid detection would take a lot of energy and if they didn't have to do it; they would be better off. The small probe was sent to detect any indications of spacecraft or orbiting satellites. It would take it about two days before it would be in sensor range of anything and it would need time to collect data.
The passengers had all settled into a routine except Tolare, who was acting strangely. Something was wrong and Afain decided to find out what it was. The ship was big, really big and it took her sometime to just walk across the ship. Tolare had really distanced herself from everyone.
She entered into Tolare's cabin to find her lying down on a couch; she seemed to be causally reading with a pair of head phones on. It seemed her entrance had gone unnoticed.
She poked her gently, startling the young Zargozian, "Hello Tolare."
"Afain…ah…what are you doing back here?"
"Trying to find an errant family member who is acting very strangely," she said giving Tolare a look of, 'you're busted; now spill.'
Tolare looked down, trying to avoid Afain's gaze. "It showed that much?"
"Only to me, the others are much too occupied, Lyja and Kira are overwhelmed with this fantastic ship. So, what has happened?"
Tolare looked a bit nervous at first then grew in confidence as she watched, "I miss Shearah, more than I thought I would."
This was interesting development, "Oh?"
"It also seems this body has decided to mature at the wrong time."
"Oh…that is all part of growing up, you should know that since you've been through it already."
Tolare shook her head, Afain didn't really understand the scope of the problem, "Afain, you don't understand," Tolare sighed a heavy sigh. "Your restriction on us limiting ourselves to a chaste relationship really wasn't that difficult, I hadn't had sexual relations in years. You have to remember I was almost near my time to depart our world. Mating and those feelings for it…I mean… I hadn't had those desires in a long time. Now all of a sudden I have them again and this body wants it. Shearah's not around for support and I'm unsure what to do about it. So I've been trying to avoid everyone, we really don't need this on this trip."
"Well you cannot totally ignore your body Tolare and I am not in a position to give you medical advice but as a guardian I'd like to suggest a warm bath. Let loose a little, give yourself some pleasure."
"I…I…haven't done that in a long time Afain." Tolare looked deeply at her.
"Then it's about time you did, Tolare that young body of yours is full of energy and desires that, as you said, haven't been present in a long time. It will take awhile for you to adjust to them again, but you'll be fine. Just let nature take its course. I will make sure no one disturbs you and I'm sure you'll be better afterwards. Better to take care of these hormone induced impulses in private rather than ignore them and possibly embarrass yourself in public."
Tolare snorted, "And here I am the physician on this ship and you have given me my own advice."
Afain smiled, "I think the fact was that you knew exactly what to do but you felt you shouldn't. It was a conflict between your mind and body. Just hearing it from someone else gave it solid meaning."
"I suppose you're right, it's been awhile."
"Take it slow, as I said I'll be sure no one interrupts you." She smiled.
"Thank you Afain now how are you feeling, now that we have found your planet?"
"Excited, I hope it isn't all for nothing. I'm sure this magnificent ship had another destination in mind."
"The Emperor wouldn't have lent it to you if it was truly needed elsewhere. Don't worry about that; concentrate on what we are doing now. If things turn out as non-consequential then so be it.
Afain said thoughtfully, "I guess you're right, let's hope it turns out to be just that."
Britain: The Church.
The paramedics were escorted in as soon as they arrived. Warren and Jonathan tried to pull Hector away from Heather's body to give the paramedics room to work.
"Hector…son you have to let go."
"She's not dead…" He cried.
"We have to let the paramedics help her son." Warren said.
Hector looked into the face of his love, her eyes were shut; she looked to be in a peaceful sleep. "Heather I love you." He didn't want to let her go…it seemed so final. His eyes were filled with tears as he gently put down her body.
Warren and Jonathan helped him off the floor as the paramedics rushed to Heather's side.
Another brought a gurney from the ambulance and began to help treat her.
They knew it took a lot for Hector to let her go but Warren and Jonathan knew it was Heather's only hope.
They both understood the love he had for her and they tried their best to calm him. He watched in horror as the technicians worked on her. Everyone stared and held their breath as Heather had now become the focus of attention. Tears flowed, some almost turned away from the still form of the black and white 'taur'. It was heart wrenching, they all knew she had passed away right there and that only a miracle could save her. It seemed that Ti cried the most; this was to be their day, a day of happiness; a day to spend with family and friends. Now it had become a disastrous nightmare.
The beautiful dress that was specially fitted for her was cut away in desperation. The technicians brought out a defibrillator and began to hurriedly shaving Heather's 'taur' chest. They knew 'taurs' were especially difficult to revive; the success rate was extremely low. One fur fitted a breathing bag over Heather's muzzle per standard procedure, another paramedic attached the sensors to monitor her pulse; it registered nothing at the moment. She nodded to the technician to proceed.
"Clear," the fur said holding the defibrillator paddles; the other removed her paws from Heather. The shock jerked Heather's form off the floor for an instant. She fell back with a sickening thud, but the machine registered nothing but a straight line. The breathing unit was put back on Heather and they pumped air into her lungs. The other fur was readying the defibrillator for another go. "I'm ready."
"Go."
"Clear." Again Heather's body leapt into the air, her legs hung uselessly; like a rag doll.as her body contorted with the voltage. They watched the scope; an agonizing flat line traced across the screen stealing all hope with each second…then a faint beep…a long pause then another beep.
"I've got a pulse, it's weak but I've got one." The technician waved.
Hector's eyes sprung open, "SHE'S ALIVE!!!!!!"
Everyone sighed with relief, in fact they almost cheered as the tension broke in the room; there was now some hope. Hector, Warren and Jonathan helped the technicians with Heather. Her body was very awkward to move and they were extremely appreciative of the extra paws. They assured them they would do all they could for her, trying to be somewhat helpful in this time of crisis.
No one knew what to do next, Hector wanted leave right there and then but the others convinced him they needed to change first. After they changed, Hector approached the alter at which they had just stood not long ago; reciting vows which now seemed to be lost on the wind. Above it stood a stained glass figure, one that many prayed and devoted their lives to. He had never been really that religious, it played a very small part in his life; today though gave him something to think about. He put his paw on the alter, bowed his head and said his thanks. Whether his gracious silent prayer would be heard he wasn't sure, but something was looking over Heather today…something he couldn't explain.
The wedding party soon arrived at the hospital, all still shocked and numb from the devastating events of the day. None more than Hector, he had heard it; her very last words to him, "I love you," she had whispered. "I love you too, Heather," he thought, "Oh God, why her; she was so happy today."
Everyone was ever so quiet as they sat waiting for news. There was some minor chat but no one really knew what to say. About two hours later, a doctor came out asking for Heather's immediate family. Mr. & Mrs. White and Hector all stood up as they walked to the doctor's office in fear.
The office was stoic in its appearance but it didn't matter to them they wanted to know about Heather.
"Please sit." The heavyset doctor motioned. He was a white fox, a rarity, "I'm Doctor Dezman, I am a neurosurgeon here. I've been on the phone with one of Heather's doctors in Canada trying to get a feeling as to what has happened to her. Before I go too far, Heather is alive and stable for the moment, although she is in a coma."
They all looked at each other, at least she was alive.
"We did a preliminary scan of her head and it is as we feared, she has another blockage in her brain, one very deep," this didn't sound good. "We have administered a new drug that helps with blockages of this type; it may or may not work. It will keep others from forming, which is something we are hoping won't happen. Heather is on life support at the moment, it is necessary in my opinion; her system seems to have shut down. We are monitoring her very carefully and doing all we can for her."
They nodded, "Will she come to?" Nancy asked nervously.
The doctor was quiet and took a deep breath, "Heather has had a serious stroke, the one she had before was minor in comparison. One in three strokes are fatal, also one in three are debilitating." He paused briefly before he spoke again. "I have seen many cases of strokes ranging from minor to major; like in Heather's case. When the brain is this badly injured it is very difficult to predict the extent of the damage. In my experience most of my cases dealing with a major stroke like Heather's, the patient didn't respond to treatments. I'd have to say the chances of Heather ever regaining consciousness are very slim; I'm sorry. If things improve in the next few days that prognosis could change but with the information I have now it is highly unlikely."
Nancy and Sid wept, Hector hung his head low; he wanted to cry but he didn't seem to have any tears left. His spirit and heart were broken beyond repair.
Kalen Space.
Tolare took a private moment with Afain and told her things had gone well and she felt more relaxed now. Afain felt good that Tolare would confide in her and expressed her happiness; it made her feel very good inside. Things had settled, at least for the moment, they were all on edge awaiting the probe's return signal. They all decided to fire up the cloaking device anyway and begin to move forward in anticipation that the news would be that technology had been found. It would be simple to shut down the cloaking system if it proved unnecessary.
They had been wise to anticipate; the news was that there was technology orbiting the third planet from the sun; primitive but it was there. The ship cruised into the system of planets all the while taking reading and gathering data.
Afain was extremely curious if the data stream from the probe had stopped and asked Cleo. As a historian this was fascinating, a probe from hundreds of years ago traveled through this system collecting all sorts of engaging data. Now they were collecting it again for historic record. They would learn a lot about this sector of space from all this. The big chore was still ahead of her working on correlating their past from the archives of the old ship. There was so much data there she hardly knew where to start.
"The data stream from the old probe stopped some time back as we moved closer in time and distance, I assume for it could no longer co-ordinate itself, it changed from data to a distress signal. It then crashed on the planet that we seek." Cleo responded.
"Then it is still working?"
"The stream is old but I'd have to say yes it is, although I suspect it has heavy damage. Any probe re-entering the atmosphere of a planet would be. They are not designed for that, this one seemed to have faired well as could be."
"Then it is best we find it and bring it back here."
"Yes."
The ship proceeded into a high orbit and they began to scan the planet for a Zargozian energy signature. The probe they launched earlier was continuing to transmit data to the ship, to which Cleo and the others were sorting through. The ancient pod and the probe would be easy to locate, other technology branched off from it might prove to be more difficult.
Cleo set forth to discover the language of the creatures that lived on the planet and came up with some very interesting data. There were many dialects on the planet below, some used more than others. It dedicated itself in learning them although having no references to go by it was going to be difficult to translate well the first few times.
The probe was located first, then the pod, the energy levels were extremely minute but easily located with the new sensor array. They decided that they would attempt the retrieval of the pod first for it was isolated in dense foliage.
They took a smaller craft to the surface. As it was about to land, Afain, Kira and Lyja gave thanks to the planet below for allowing them to come and observe. They would have to be very careful not to cause damage or disturb the flora life any more than absolutely necessary for that was their way. Several trees would have to be damaged so the ship could land, they would have to see if they could pant new ones to take their place. Afain asked Cleo to program a small robot to make the appropriate arrangements. The sphere acknowledged her request.
It was hot, even in the darkness of the night; this was something they weren't use to. The heat wasn't something new to them, it was the humidity that had them in its grip. They didn't like it at all but it wasn't enough to warrant environmental suits. Cleo lead the way to the spot that the energy emanations were coming from. When they arrived there was nothing but trees and foliage in their path.
"Cleo, are you sure this is the correct spot?" Kira questioned, looking around at all the dense floral life about them.
"Yes Kira, the Pod lies 12 meters below us."
Afain was wide eyed, "It's buried? Then there is hope that these creatures haven't found it yet."
"It is in a cavern though, my scanners detect that it is still active."
"Then let's waste no time. Cleo we need an entrance."
"Understood, please step back in case the cavern collapses. I do not wish for you to fall in." They stood back…way back in case, as Cleo said, disaster struck.
The small sphere began to glow then a beam of energy impacted the ground. As it did, it created a very large hole. Cleo continued drilling until it had broke through to the cavern; a stench like no other enveloped them.
"Ohhh… that smells horrible." Afain complained, her nose had turned sensitive as of late to most things.
"I am detecting high levels of toxic gasses, being released from the decay of organic life. It is inadvisable to enter the location without breathing apparatus."
"Great, ok Cleo go back to the ship and bring back a hover cart with breathing apparatus."
"I've already signaled the ship to send a cart; it will be on its way shortly."
"Oh that's good."
"Since I am unaffected by the gas I will enter the cavern and scan what is there. I am not sure at the moment but something could be living down there."
"Good idea Cleo." Kira said.
The small sphere entered into the cavern and completed its scans without disturbing anything then returned.
"Well, is the pod down there?" Kira asked impatiently knowing what the probable answer was.
"Yes and other things." Cleo became a large display screen and showed the group what it saw.
"What are those?" Lyja said pointing to the organic looking lumps on the walls of the cavern.
Cleo answered, "They are organic versions of the pod, containing life forms."
"Lifeforms?" Afain exclaimed, it seems their little rescue mission had suddenly become quite complicated.
"It seems so, all are of one gender, female I believe… save one. All are in various states of development."
Afain turned to address Lyja, "Is this thing supposed to do this?" Afain found it difficult to see her in the dim light so she directed her question out loud knowing she'd answer.
"No, this is something very different. Until I get down there and see it first hand I'm not sure what I'm looking at."
"Ok, we'll just wait. Cleo, the pod, was it functioning?"
"All indications point to that it is Afain."
A humming noise alerted Kira; she turned and saw the drone approaching and moved in to intercept. The case contained four environmental suits, from what they smelled down they were going to need them.
Cleo became a platform and they rode it down into the darkness. Lyja energized a light stick that lit up the cavern and came to the realization the pod must have been here for a very long time to have this cavern form like this.