"The crash site should be just up ahead," Maaxll reported to the rest of the search unit. "I doubt we’re going to find anything, but keep your eyes open."
Will had no idea what to expect. The alien squadron he was now a part of would arrive at the crash site of the Jupiter 2 any moment, and he hoped the Robot was somehow aware of this fact. He’d discreetly reassemble his Atomizer, concealed it just inside his uniform’s gear pack, and was prepared to blow his cover and act if need be. He honestly didn’t believe in the use of violence unless it was a last resort. But, given that he still hadn’t ruled out the possibility that J.D. may have somehow made it back to the ship, he would use the lethal weapon against these aliens before allowing harm to come to his nephew.
Will had concocted a believable story about poor radio reception in the mountainous area where "his" search unit had been looking for the boy. He’d had trouble with his own communications equipment when he was trying to reach the Robot, so it was an educated guess that the aliens might experience the same difficulty in that area. This was confirmed by Maaxll - - this group had experienced similar problems while searching the area that very morning.
Will went on to explain that he’d somehow gotten separated from the others after dark when he discovered his radio transmitter malfunctioning. Assuming the others had made it back to base, he started walking that direction himself until he stumbled into the ravine where they had found him. He felt it was a half-baked story - - it certainly would never have held water with the H’rlax - - and he was prepared to offer more detailed explanation, but found none was required. The aliens just blindly accepted it, and acted as if they weren’t really interested in hearing any more about it.
The "Double L" syndrome, Will thought to himself. "Lax and Lame:" the two worst enemies to any military operation.
Maaxll dutifully relayed the information back to his commander, asking if his group should go back to the mountains to continue the search based on Thrstyn’s report.
The base commander instructed Maaxll to continue to the crash site, as two other units were still in the mountains at that time.
They rounded a bend and the Jupiter 2 came into view.
"Sir, there it is," relayed one of the men.
So far, so good, thought Will. The ship certainly looked disabled and deserted.
Will was walking with Prather, who suddenly stopped short.
"What?" asked Will, stopping and taking a few steps back next to the alien. "What is it, Prather?"
"That ship," replied Prather. "I think I know this ship! Fascinating! It looks as if it’s been enlarged or modified, but I’m certain it is a Jupiter series colonizing transport from a planet called Earth. And here all this time I thought we had destroyed those ships."
Will was stunned. He dared not say anything for fear that Prather would sense his trepidation.
"Were you in the corps at that time, Thrstyn?" asked Prather excitedly.
"Um, no. I… think I came on a few years after," replied Will, trying his best not to sound too dumbstruck. "Jupiter series, from Earth you say?"
"Yes," answered Prather. "Oh, come on - - surely you remember reading about that operation at the academy."
"Oh, sure!" replied Will a little too eagerly. Control, he thought, catching himself. Breathe deeply and think.
"I mean… yeah. Now I recognize the design," commented Will. "It’s bigger looking and not quite as sleek as I remember it, though."
"Looks like she’s seen better days all right, if you ask me," chuckled Prather. "Of course, any ship that’s just been shot out of the sky never looks its best. I’m just so surprised. Why, it’s got to be the Jupiter II. That’s the only one that ever made it off the launchpad, you know. I wonder how it survived the sabotage?"
"We had an… operative trapped on board that one, didn’t we?" asked Will.
"That’s right!" answered Prather. "Say, you’ve got a good memory – I’d forgotten about that. But, I’d hardly call him an ‘operative.’"
"Why do you say that?" pushed Will, trying to gain as much information as he could without tipping himself off.
"Well, it was just one of the local officials we’d implanted with a micro-stealth command chip," shrugged Prather. "Bigger loss for them than us, actually. Although, by the looks of it, they didn’t lose anything at all. It’s funny though, because at the time, I believe reports came back that Earth presumed the ship and crew destroyed. Guess they must’ve just gotten… lost."
Will’s mind was reeling. His suspicions about these men not being Ghelan were not only dead right, but he now knew they were obviously Aeolians, based on what he’d just heard. Which meant one of two things - - either Aeolians were Ghelan doppelgangers - - which he doubted, or they were, indeed, shape-shifters and had adopted Ghelan forms for some unknown reason.
He decided not to push his luck with any more questions at the moment. There would hopefully be more time for that later. And while he was full of questions, another curiosity had suddenly struck him.
"Prather?" asked Will. "How come no one else is picking up on what we’re talking about. I mean, I know my communicator’s busted and I can’t hear what they’re saying, but it doesn’t look like this discovery is causing much of a stir amongst the others here."
"You know Thrstyn," remarked Prather with a chuckle, "you’re a pretty bright guy. Let’s just say for now that, as you probably already know, the level of intelligence on this base is not terribly high. I mean, good example - - we somehow lose a prisoner who can’t possibly survive in this planet’s atmosphere, and can’t even come up with a body. Then, we lose four of our own men and can only find one. I see a pattern - - what does that tell you?"
"Well, you already got treated to my opinion of Maaxll," commented Will.
"Exactly!" snapped Prather. "That’s my point! As important and vital as this base of operations is, we’ve got it manned and run by morons like Maaxll."
Will glanced around furtively to make sure they weren’t overheard. Certainly this kind of talk would be considered grounds for being thrown in an Aeolian brig -- or worse.
"Don’t worry," said Prather reassuringly tapping on his helmet. "No one hears any of this. I’ll explain why later. Come on, I don’t want to miss the opportunity to at least get a look inside."
The rest of the unit was already inside the ship when Will and Prather caught up with them. To Will’s relief, the Robot had obviously seen them coming and took the initiative to make the ship appear abandoned and non-functional. There was seemingly no power to any systems and the men were combing the decks with flashlights and scanning units, aided by the night vision in their helmet visors.
Will wanted to get away from Prather so he could look around by himself, and the first chance he got, he slipped down the corridor and entered the Chariot Bay. The chamber was dark and empty.
Okay, he thought, at least he now knew they were gone and not just hiding somewhere onboard. Next, he wanted to try to find out if J.D. had indeed made it back, so he headed to the lower deck. There were a few other men already there, lurking about and checking for humanoid life signs. Will took a quick look inside the Med-dem compartment. Empty and dark – the Robot must have revived Dr. Smith as well, he thought.
A very faint reddish glow caught Will’s eye over in the lab. He pointed his flashlight in that direction so no one else would notice it. Making his way across the deck, he entered the lab and was going through the motions of scanning the room. When he was certain no one was watching, he looked behind a small bookcase sitting on the countertop. The red glow was pulsing from a small, portable quantum containment unit. Will shined his flashlight on the unit so he could see what was inside.
"What the hell?" he whispered, seeing the small pocket vid-game he’d built for J.D. on the inside.
Will slipped the entire unit into a pouch on the leg of his uniform. He could figure out what it was doing in there later. But just the fact that it was here was a curiosity and gave him a stab of hope. He knew J.D. almost always had it in his pocket when he wasn’t playing with it.
He wandered over to the galley and was looking around when Prather caught up to him.
"I’m still amazed by this!" the alien gleamed. "It’s like experiencing something… historic. Do you realize the trouble this ship and all those like it would have caused us?"
"It is pretty amazing all right," agreed Will, trying to sound like he understood what the hell Prather was talking about. "This looks to be their galley, I’d guess."
"Thrstyn, what do you make of this?" asked Prather disdainfully, shining his flashlight on the table. "Do you suppose it’s something they actually eat?"
Will came around to the other side to get a better look at what Prather had focused his attention upon. He almost laughed aloud at what he saw in the beam of the flashlight. He knew for a fact that Dr. Smith wouldn’t be caught dead eating one of these. So, unless the Robot had suddenly taken up eating hot dogs, he was fairly certain the half eaten one Prather was looking at on the galley table had belonged to his nephew.
"What are you grinning about?" Prather asked, noticing the slight smile on Will’s face.
Stupid, stupid, stupid! Will chastised himself for the lack of self-control.
"Oh, it’s just that it’s, well, rather silly-looking don’t you think," replied Will pointing to the hot dog. "I mean, come on Prather, try to picture one of these guys eating something like this." He picked up the hot dog and held it near Prather’s visor. It’s kind of… sick!" and he burst out laughing.
Fortunately for Will, once again his instincts had not failed him as Prather started chuckling, then burst out in laughter as well.
"What the hell are you two doing?" bellowed Maaxll rounding the corner.
"Ah, it’s nothing Maaxll," chuckled Prather, waving off the squad leader and regaining some of his composure. "You probably wouldn’t get it anyway."
"Or… maybe he would!" guffawed Will, and the two of them doubled over in hysterical laughter.
Remembering well the advice his commander had given him regarding Prather, Maaxll restrained the urge to wipe up the floor with these two jokers, changing the subject instead.
"Well, it doesn’t look as if we’re going to find anything here," he said. "The kid obviously didn’t make it back, so let’s wrap things up. I’m going to go scan the perimeter of the ship just to be certain. You two go assemble with the rest of the team out in front."
"We’re all finished up here, Maaxll. Why don’t you let us do that for you," offered Will, thinking he could probably appeal to the Aeolian’s sense of laziness that he’d picked up on. The last thing he wanted was for these guys to find Chariot tracks leading away from the a supposedly deserted ship.
Maaxll seemed a little confused by the offer, but relented, instructing the two of them to "hurry it up" so the unit could get back to base before dark.
"What was that about?" asked Prather after Maaxll had left and the two of them were alone.
"What do you mean?" replied Will innocently.
"Trying to get on Maaxll’s good side by volunteering to do his work, is what I mean," accused Prather.
"Well, I just figured it couldn’t hurt," commented Will. "Besides, it keeps him wondering what we’re up to," he added with a grin.
"I told you not to worry about him," answered Prather. "But I like your style just the same. Come on, I guess we’ve got a perimeter to check."
Will and Prather ascended to the upper deck via the back corridor that took them by the empty Chariot Bay.
"Hey, I noticed an oversized portal in this room," remarked Prather. "It looks like it’s an exterior hatch, maybe for heavy equipment. Let’s try it."
"It, um, probably doesn’t work. Ship’s got no power," replied Will. He had hoped he could divert Prather’s attention away from the Chariot’s telltale tracks when they got outside. If they exited here, he’d probably notice them as soon as the hatch opened.
"No, it’s okay," replied Prather. "I was checking it out a few minutes ago and saw what looks like a manual override. Come on Thrstyn, where’s your sense of adventure?"
Will followed Prather into the bay. He didn’t want to rouse suspicion by appearing disagreeable, but he had to think of something quick. Prather was already spinning the large circular handle that disengaged the airlock pressure seals.
"Now you turn that one, and we should have it open in no time," he instructed Will, pointing to the manual hatch override shank.
He certainly knew what he was doing, thought Will, as the hatch released and swung slightly inward. Grabbing a handhold, Prather slid it open along its track, filling the darkened bay with bright, mid afternoon sunlight.
Will was just about to divert Prather’s attention away from the area immediately outside, but found he didn’t have to.
Son of a gun, he thought, chuckling inwardly. He should have known better. Outside the ship, there was no sign of vehicle tracks anywhere. The ramp was not even extended.
Jumping down to the ground, Will and Prather made a quick sweep of the area before heading up front to join the others.
"You looked as if you were looking for something in particular," commented Prather as they walk toward the assembled search unit.
"Nah, just my insatiable curiosity about everything, that’s all," replied Will good-naturedly.
"You know, you’re not like the others I’ve met here, Thrstyn," stated Prather.
"What’s that supposed to mean?" asked Will defensively.
"I don’t know," replied the Aeolian. "Just an observation, not an insult. There’s just something about you that sets you apart, that’s all."
"I might say the same thing about you," said Will cautiously, trying to figure out where this conversation was headed.
"If you did… you’d be right," declared Prather as they arrived and joined the rest of the group.
* * * * * * * *
The search party’s trek back to the Aeolian complex took about 2 hours. They were still under orders to locate the remainder of the missing search unit and the escaped boy, so the unit broke off into pairs, traveling about 50 yards apart in order to make a wider sweep of the area on the way back. Will remained with Prather and his partner, and the two of them spoke casually while they walked, Will trying to learn as much as possible about his adversaries and their mission on this planet without being obvious about his overwhelming ignorance on the subject.
It was starting to get dark when they reached the perimeter of the base’s force field. Maaxll radioed in to have a portal opened so they could pass through.
Will could still see no structure, however. He assumed the stealth shields had some kind of holographic imagery built in to blend the complex in with the landscape and surroundings.
This assumption proved to be a valid one as the disruption portal opened and his group passed through what looked like a "doorway to nowhere."
The interior of the complex appeared sterile and nondescript. Plain gray walls approximately 12 feet high, domed ceilings with indirect lighting that illuminated the corridors and rooms they passed by. From casual glances around as he followed his group, Will observed several rooms lined with banks of computers, all being attended by technicians. The signage posted along the corridors was pure gibberish – symbols that looked more like a child’s scribbling than any language he’d ever encountered.
The Aeolians either already spoke Ghelan, or something that was a close derivative of the Ghelan language, which was not terribly dissimilar to a broken form of Earth English. A few of the vowel sounds were different, which caused Ghelans to sound as if they had some kind of an eastern European accent.
During his time on Ghela, Will had mastered the language and accent to the point that he sounded a native. Having grown up a "boy genius" did have its advantages. But he had no clue as to what these strange symbols on the wall meant. He’d need some time to decipher the alphabet. Problem was, he didn’t know how much time he had.
His unit descended down a wide ramp that emptied out in what appeared to be an assembly area. Four corridors branched off in opposite directions from this point leading to what Will assumed to be living quarters.
Will noticed none of the men were removing their helmets yet. Must be military protocol, he reasoned. Even if he had to remove his helmet right now, he probably wouldn’t be spotted as an imposter right away, so long as he was certain his hair covered his forehead and ears. It was his hands that would be a dead give-away, as Ghelans had six fingers. There were other obvious differences in Ghelan versus Terran physiology, however Will wasn’t terribly concerned about those, because "Thrstyn" wasn’t about to be going anywhere "out of uniform." So long as he kept his gloves on, he’d be relatively safe.
He casually meandered around the assembly area and discreetly watched several of the men in as they headed down one of the corridors, all entering separate quarters. They each passed by several doors on their way, and as they neared their own chamber, the door seemed to open on its own accord, as if recognizing the occupant. Perhaps the magic, gee-whiz circuitry of these uniforms was their "key" to gain access to their own personal quarters. If so, it would be no problem for Will to locate Thrstyn’s, but the question remained as to which of the four corridors to try first, and how to not attract too much attention in the process.
Moving closer to one of the corridors, he noticed a placard next to each door inscribed with the Aeolian gibberish symbols. Nameplates maybe? Will remembered that when he was "found," he was immediately identified by name. Glancing down at his chest, he noted a few markings on his own uniform that were probably Aeolian for "Thrstyn."
Two birds with one stone, Will thought. Not only could he find his quarters, but he’d get his first lesson and clue into phonetically breaking the Aeolian alphabet.
Just as he’d decided to try the leftmost corridor, he heard a familiar voice from behind him ask, "Thrstyn? That you?"
Will spun around, trying to act as casual as possible, "Prather! There you are," he replied. "I wondered where you slipped off to, and was just about to look for your assigned quarters."
"Had to make a stop up top on the way in," replied Prather. "And my quarters are actually just a few doors down from yours over in the Alpha sector," he said with a directional nod of his head indicating the corridor directly opposite from where they stood. "But you could’ve just used one of the roster consoles, you know," he continued, pointing to a video display screen next to them on the wall.
"Personal preference, I guess," replied Will. "I have a problem with people who have to rely on technology to perform simple tasks. Makes you soft."
Prather seemed initially confused by the response, but then seemed to dismiss it saying, "Yeah, you are probably right."
"Look," he continued, pulling Will in closely speaking in a hushed voice, "I know I promised you some explanations about some of the stuff we talked about and saw today. Be patient, okay? I’ve just got to take care of one more thing and then we’ll talk."
"Sure, no problem," answered Will.
"Why don’t you go relax in your quarters for awhile," suggested Prather. "I’m sure that after what you’ve been through you could use some rest. I’ll come for you later and fill you in. I think you’re going to be pleasantly surprised by what I have to say."
"Sounds good to me," replied Will in an affable tone.
Prather gave Will a friendly slap on the shoulder and turned to leave. Will headed across the assembly area to the corridor Prather referred to as the "Alpha sector," but kept a watchful eye on Prather, noting that he headed back up the ramp to the operations area above.
There’s definitely more to this guy than meets the eye, he thought to himself as he headed down the Alpha sector corridor. Definitely not typical military.
He stopped suddenly as one of the doors opened about 10 yards ahead of him. He waited a moment to see if anyone was going to exit, then casually walked up to the open door. He noted the "gibberish placard" next to the door and glanced down at his chest. Near as he could tell, the symbols matched, so he pass through the opening, and the door "shushed" closed behind him.
* * * * * * * *
Prather continued up the ramp to the upper level of the complex. His thoughts were focused on the events that he would soon be initiating. He congratulated himself on making such progress in the short amount of time he had been here. But given the level of intelligence and lack of security, he knew it really wasn’t that much of an accomplishment.
And then there was the man Thrstyn. He was an enigma in the equation. How was it that one such as Thrstyn fit in with the rest of this group here? There’s definitely more to this guy than meets the eye, he thought to himself as he headed up the last section of the upper ramp. Definitely not typical military.
* * * * * * * *
Dr. Smith turned the Chariot’s key to the "off" position. They’d been traveling on and off for approximately 2 hours.
The first mile of their journey, they’d stop the Chariot every 100 yards or so to cover up and mask their tracks. Finally, at one such stop J.D. spotted a large bushy, palm-like tree that he reasoned, if dragged behind the Chariot, might act something like a broom and "sweep" the tracks away as they drove along. With the Robot’s help he felled the tree and attached it to the rear towing hook with a grappling hook and chain he found in the vehicle’s utility trunk. Dr. Smith assumed a supervisory role during the process, offering a few gems of wisdom and advice pertaining to the laws of gravity and motion.
Their labors were successful, however, as they didn’t have to stop again – that is, until now.
"I simply cannot continue this monotonous excursion without some respite," Smith proclaimed setting the vehicle’s brakes. "My back is a veritable disaster area from sitting in this brutally uncomfortable seat! You know young man, I would think that after this length of time your grandfather could have seen fit to reupholster the ‘family car,’ as it were. This monstrosity has always been terrible on my sciatica!"
J.D. laughed. He found himself laughing a lot when Dr. Smith talked. And the funny thing was, the doctor didn’t seem to mind the laughter at all. Oh, he’d huff and puff and act indignant, but J.D. could tell the man enjoyed having a receptive audience.
"And just what are you laughing at?" snipped Smith with a bit of a gleam in his eye.
"You just crack me up, that’s all Ze – I mean, Dr. Smith," giggled J.D.
"Well, I’m glad someone finds my intolerable discomfort amusing, young man," replied Smith drolly. "You know, you remind me more and more of your father by the minute."
J.D. laughed again -- and again he could see Smith was really enjoying himself.
"Speaking of my dad," said J.D. turning to the Robot, "now that we got away safely, shouldn’t we figure out what to do to help Uncle Will?"
"Your uncle has always been clever and resourceful, Jay," replied Smith. "I very seriously doubt that he requires our aid."
"But like I told you," persisted J.D., "he doesn’t know about the fake me. He could be walking into a trap."
"Ah! But now, we don’t know that, do we?" answered Smith. "No, I would not underestimate the resourcefulness of any member of your family. Trust me, I know this from experience."
"What Dr. Smith means is that he has learned first hand that they can spot a phony," chimed in the Robot.
"And you sir, are a clattering clump of clandestine clutter," scolded Smith.
"So you really think we shouldn’t go try and help?" asked J.D.
"For once I must agree with Dr. Smith," replied the Robot. "At this point in time, I compute it is safer for all involved if we remain out of sight."
"But I don’t…" J.D. began to protest, but Smith gestured to stop.
"Now, now, young man. It’s high time you learned a very important lesson in life," interrupted Smith. "As my great Uncle Thaddeus always said to me, – ‘Zachary, he also serves who sits and waits.’"
J.D. was about to reply when something out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. He turned his head forward and saw, about 10 yards ahead of the Chariot, the very air seeming to shimmer, distort and then come alive with violent colors and movement.
"Holy cats!" exclaimed J.D. pointing ahead. "What the heck’s that?"
"Warning, warning!" admonished the Robot. "Anomalous energy mass forming directly ahead!"
"It looks like it’s moving this way," noted J.D. "Is it dangerous, Robot?"
"Insufficient data," replied the mechanical man.
"It is moving this way!" shrieked Smith. "Well, don’t just sit there, booby -- do something!"
Before any of them could react however, the energy mass grew in size, enveloping the Chariot and its occupants. The interior of the Chariot became a flashing maze of color and light. But the bright colors then grew dark, as if storm clouds had suddenly emerged from within them. There was a sharp, quick sound, like container depressurizing, and then all was silent. The energy mass was gone. But so were J.D., Dr. Smith and the Robot.
