#3 - First Contact - Parts 1-5

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#3 - First Contact - Parts 1-5

Postby vemlich » Sat Aug 16, 2014 6:00 pm

It is one thing to get a readout of the results of all these actions we fill in every turn, but a completely different thing to read how the result actually unfolded. This, is the first part of a story entitled “First Contact” but when I wrote it I imagined it was the result of:

Action Code : 2 Location # 1 : XYZ12311

I hope you enjoy it, and it inspires you to bring the actions of your empires to life. A huge thank you to David Williams for his editing, and re-editing as well as for pushing me to tell more of the story that was bouncing around my empty head. Also a big thank you to my extremely talented nephew Gregory Stephenson for his artwork (It took 4+ versions for me to go back to what was essentially the first one). So here it goes…

Action Code : 2 Location # 1 : XYZ12311 aka First Contact

HAIKEN MARU MAPPING EXPEDITION
UNCHARTED PLANET DESIGNATED B157
STARDATE 3187.9

“Mendez, what do we have?” Captain Wesley Monkman said for perhaps the hundredth time this tour! The Haiken Maru Explorer class ship, Usul had been bouncing all over the sector for the last nine months going from one lifeless planet to another, and the crew of the Usul had a bit of a routine going.

“Another useless rock” sensor officer Alicia Mendez replied analyzing the 3D Holographic screen in front of her. “Getting some scanner interference from the Stellar Cloud but the 1st planet… looks like… no, my apologies Captain. Just, Argon… Carbon Dioxide… Nitrogen… No surface water… No surface infrastructure or signs of life, looks like we have another bust.”

“Ok let’s make a low orbit sweep before we jump to the next rock,” the grizzled veteran Captain said.

“Bringing us in,” piped up the last member of the Usul’s crew, ship’s pilot Charlie Stephenson, only 10 months out of the Maru Space Academy. The Usul was Charlie’s first assignment and even after hundreds of useless planets and asteroids visited he still retained his excitement. “Thrusters firing,” he said before the Usul vectored in towards the planet.

“Wait a second Captain… I’m getting something on the Electromagnagraph… Faint electronics… looks like it’s a repeating pattern but masked” Mendez stated. “I would say not naturally occurring.”

The crew waited for the Captain to speak. This was the moment of truth for an Explorer crew. Was it a hostile empire’s colony? Was it a pirate base? Was it a new civilization? Or, was it just some piece of space junk someone had forgotten to switch off that found its way to the planet surface? The bonus paid to the crew for discovering something useful would keep them in alcohol and escorts for a year or more if that is how they wanted to blow their paycheques. However, the Usul had no weapons other than the three hand-held pistol blasters in the tiny closet referred to as “The Armoury”. If the reading turned out to be something hostile the crew of the Usul only had one choice turn and make a run for it, or die.

“Can you get a fix on the transmission?” the Captain asked.

“The reading is faint sir but I can get us close” Mendez replied

“Charlie, plot us a course… stay low and land us about 5 klicks away. We’ll go on foot from there.”

“Should we send off a message to Headquarters before we go down?” Charlie asked excitedly.

“No! If they are hostile I don’t want to give them advance notice we are coming.”

“Course laid in” came the pilot’s reply as the Usul descended towards the planet’s surface.

—–

It had been a long hike from the Usul. Although the gravity was just under Maru standard the close proximity to the systems sun had made the surface temperature next to unbearable. The crew’s respirators were working overtime trying, not quite successfully, to cool the air in their environment suits. The dry wind howled around them in random gusts beating them back one minute, pushing them sideways the next, then dying out altogether, only to start the entire cycle all over again a few minutes later. Wind twisters picked up the orange and red dust of the planet’s surface and swirled it around them. The blast shields on their visors blocked out the Ultraviolet radiation from the planets sun and cut down on the brightness but did nothing to dispel the fact that this was a hot, rocky, dry planet too close to its own sun. By the time the crew got close enough to use their handheld radio frequency scanners they were all drenched in sweat.
First Contact
Reaching a ridge overlooking the mountain the Captain called a short break. “What do you see Mendez?” The Captain asked gripping his pistol tightly in his damp palm. Wesley Monkman had been a young pilot the last time he was in a situation like this, decades ago and far, far away. The reading had turned out to be a hidden pirate base, and he had been the only member of his crew to get away. Sometimes his nightmares still brought him back to that day and the screams of his comrades. “Stay alert Charlie and watch our backs.”

Mendez fixed her digital range finding magnifiers on the mountain ahead of them, double checking the heading with the readings scrolling across her data pad. “Sir that mountain looks riddled with caves. Depending upon how deep they go that entire mountain might be hollow. I think the electrical readings are appearing masked because they are coming from within the mountain.”

“Well I guess we are not going to find much sitting here. Charlie, you cover us while we cross to one of those caves. Mendez and I will head in and see what we can find. If you don’t hear back from us in four hours get back to the ship. Report in to HQ…”

“Wait one…” Mendez interrupted. “I see movement. It’s big! It looks like…” her conversation dropped off.

“What is it?” the Captain asked trying unsuccessfully to see what Mendez was looking at.

Bringing the magnifiers down from her eyes Mendez turned to the Captain and said, “It looks like a bug!”

—–

End of Part 1
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First Contact – Part 2

Postby vemlich » Sat Aug 16, 2014 6:11 pm

First Contact – Part 2

The crew of the Usul tried to make themselves as small as possible hiding behind the small ridge overlooking the mountain. Only half a klick separated the crew from what Mendez had seen.

The “bug” was huge, more than twice the size of a man. It loosely resembled a dung beetle from Haiken Maru with a hard black shell on its back and six arms or were they legs. It was hard to tell the difference as it would sometimes stand on two, four or even all six of its limbs. The large beetle like creature did not spend long outside the cave entrance. It seemed to dislike the surface of the planet as much as the crew of the Usul did and it entered the cave it had emerged from with no indication it had seen the humans observing it.

It seemed like hours when in fact only several minutes passed after the “bug” re-entered the cave before the Captain deemed it safe to talk. “We stick to Plan A. Mendez and I will go in to get a better electromagnagraph reading. Charlie, you stay here to cover us in case we need to make a hasty retreat. If we don’t come back, head back to the ship and contact Headquarters and report our situation. Maybe they will even send a rescue party.” Although the mention of a possible rescue party was meant to bolster the crew’s courage they all knew that once an Explorer crew got into trouble, they were on their own. In the entire history of the Haiken Maru Interstellar Explorer Fleet there had never been a successful rescue party. “Rescue parties”, if they were ever sent, only ever brought back corpses.

Mendez and the Captain checked their sidearms and then started towards the mountain leaving a trail of dust as they sprinted towards the cave. Pistol blasters out, pausing at whatever cover there was to catch their breath in this hot dry heat; they made good time to the base of the mountain. Staying wary of the cave entrance the beetle creature had emerged from Mendez and the Captain made their way up to a smaller cave, just above and to the right. With a final look back towards the ridge Charlie was monitoring them from, with hand scanners out, they disappeared into the darkness of the cave.

—–

On another ridge overlooking the mountain a very different observer watched the events unfold with digital magnifiers. With its second set of arms it carried a powered laser sniper rifle at the ready. It focused its weapon onto the unsuspecting members of the Usul’s crew and traced their path towards the cave entrance. It watched the two humans pause before disappearing into a cave just above where the Miner had gone into the mountain. The lone observer, crouched down to wait, its bioengineered armour blending into the dry landscape.

—–

The shelter of the cave entrance brought a respite from the inhospitable environment outside and it even seemed that the temperature had dropped. “Anything on the sensors Mendez?”

The sensor officer’s eyes were glued to her datapad. “Sir, I’ve got a lot more on the scanner now. This is actually an entrance to a series of tunnels. All the readings are still faint but I show electronics, communications, lifeforms, even water in the subterranean tunnels below.” Mendez continued to cycle thru the menus and screens on the datapad. “These readings just don’t make sense Captain…”

“What is it Mendez?”

“It’s this tunnel, all the rocks, even the walls this cavern is made of… they are all from the deep core of this planet, not surface rocks.”

“We are in a mountain, they shouldn’t be surface rocks,” replied the Captain.

“You’re right but if this were a normal mountain the rock should be of a similar makeup and any ore in them should run in veins. These rocks seem to have been stacked here randomly from different deep core mines, and what’s even weirder is that the ore mixed in with them seems to be refined. I’ve never seen natural ore like this with the impurities removed. It’s almost like this is a giant slag pile from different mines but made up of prime ore deposits”

The Captain was getting bored with the geology lesson, “What are you trying to say?”

“I’m saying that if these tunnels continue like this this mountain is worth a fortune to the empire’s mining interests. This could be the richest find an explorer crew has ever made.”

“Well let’s go a little deeper and find out. I’m going to enjoy being rich,” the Captain chuckled. But he couldn’t shake the feeling in the back of his mind that something felt wrong… very wrong.

—–

Night came quickly on the planet designated B157. It did not however dissipate much of the heat. The sandy soil beneath Charlie’s feet seemed to radiate heatwaves. Mendez and the Captain had been gone for just over an hour and nothing had happened. No huge alien bugs, no signs of life at all, just the wind howling and battering at him, blowing up the occasional dust storm. Charlie had managed to find a small outcropping of rock along the ridge overlooking the cave the Captain and Mendez had gone into which allowed him at least a meager bit of protection from the sun’s heat beating down on him.

An unusual fatigue was starting to set in. It was one thing to sit hours on end in the air conditioned bridge of the Usul with the Captain and Mendez for company, but to sit in this heat… Charlie repositioned himself yet again to try to lessen the beating the wind kept giving him. “Maybe if I just lie down I’ll be out of this wind at least” Charlie thought to himself. “I can still see the caves if I lie down.”

As Charlie lay down on his stomach he felt the heat rhythmically emanating from the ground. In the low light the heatwaves from the red soil made the view from that close to the ground a little blurry. He could not remember a time he had felt this tired before. “I can still see the caves,” he reasoned with himself. “I’ll be much more aware if I just take a break. Close my eyes for a second maybe…”

Had anyone been around to see they might have found it odd that Charlie’s pupils glazed over, just before his eyes closed.

—–

End of Part 2
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First Contact – Part 3

Postby vemlich » Sat Aug 16, 2014 6:11 pm

First Contact – Part 3

The light emitting diodes on the environmental suits gave enough light to navigate through the tunnels but not enough to make the Captain feel comfortable. He was much more at ease in the blackness of space than buried under a million tonnes of rock. Looking back at his Sensor Officer he watched her tapping continuously on the datapad. Her eyes had barely left it since they had entered the series of tunnels. First it had been to get geological readings, then plotting a course through the warren of tunnels, then scanning for the random bug creatures patrolling the darkness. At least in the tunnels the suit respirators could finally cool the air so they were not sweating all the time the Captain thought to himself.

“Looks like some type of opening up ahead, a large cavern or something… maybe” Mendez stated with her eyes still on the holographic screen, its data continuously changing with every step down the tunnel.

The two Usul crew members killed the lights on their environmental suits plunging them into pitched darkness. Switching first from night vision, then to thermal imaging, Mendez did another sweep up the tunnel before creeping forward. The two Usul crew members could see an eerie glow ahead. As they cautiously approached the tunnel started to get brighter. First it was just enough light to see outlines of rocky shapes in the tunnel, then the rocks themselves. Finally, it was almost the same light as the bridge of the Usul. Mendez had been right, the tunnel ended and opened up into a vast dimly lighted cavern with an alien city occupying both banks of an underground river. The random rock walls of the tunnels and cavern turned into elaborate structures with rounded spires depicting elaborate hieroglyphs and intricately carved oval entryways. Every so often bug creatures could be seen scurrying into and out of the structures.

“Sir, this is it. The scanners are showing no interference now. I’m showing a massive power source, a highly developed shield, weapons arrays, and sophisticated digital communication relay stations. There must be a larger entrance because I’m even showing what appears to be some type of a space port!.”

“I think we’ve seen all we need to Mendez. Let’s get back before we are discovered and Charlie takes off without us, or we end up as a meal for those bugs.”

Just then the pad in Mendez’s gloved hand began blinking frantically “Hold on…, we’ve got company coming.”
The two crew members took cover behind a loose pile of rocks just in time to see a couple of the two storey tall bug creatures come into view. The two creatures stood there for a minute with their limbs and antennas waving as if they were having a conversation without words.

“What’s this all about” the Captain muttered softly under his breath.

“Look, it’s a runt” Mendez said as she pointed towards a third bug coming into view. This one was much shorter than the other two, standing only about 8 feet tall. However, it was wearing some type of bioengineered metallic body armour and carrying what appeared to be a laser rifle in its clawed limbs.

More limb and antenna gestures continued with the third bug before the larger two moved off. The “runt” stayed just out of earshot but well within sight of the two hidden crew members.

“What now?” Mendez whispered into the mic of her environmental suit, as if she feared talking.
“I guess we have no choice,” was the Captain’s reply. “We wait.”

—–

“Twah” Charlie murmured in his sleep. He awoke with a start. “Was that a noise? How long have I been asleep?” he thought to himself. He checked the chronometer on his suit. The Captain and Mendez should have been back twenty minutes ago. “Now what” he spoke softly to himself. The Captain had left orders but should he wait a while longer or try to get them on the suit radios? As he tried to make up his mind he could feel some dried saliva on the side of his mouth. He desperately wished he could wipe the drool that would show he had been sleeping before the others arrived but the environment suit prevented that.

Looking back at the mountain to double check the crew wasn’t on their way back he noticed a light appear in the sky. The light turned into a magnificent narrow beam of fire burning across the sky. “Just a meteor burning up in the atmosphere” Charlie thought to himself. He watched the beam of fire split into pieces. “Must be breaking up” Charlie thought. Then the pieces changed course towards him.

Charlie had piloted a Fighter before in space but had never seen one do a high speed sweep of a planet from the ground. Now he got to see four of them, totally different from the Maru FTR models he was used to, their weapons ports clearly visible. These resembled the “bug” that had appeared out of the cave entrance… metallic, insectoid, and deadly.

The Usul was a sitting duck on the ground, especially with no crew on board. The camo tarp they had thrown over top would hide it from a cursory sweep but if those Fighters were using active scanners… Charlie had to get back to the ship!

Picking himself off the ground he turned around ready to sprint back to the ship, but he found his path blocked. Three six limbed bug creatures were standing watching him, all armed with laser rifles and wearing armour. These were not as big as the one Mendez had seen but they were still taller than any man. Charlie reached for the pistol blaster in his holster only to find his gloved hand grasping empty air. It was then he saw his weapon tucked into the belt of the lead “bug”.

Letting out a slow breath, his shoulders slumping, Charlie slowly raised his empty hands. Without hope he said, “I surrender.”

—–

End of Part 3
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First Contact - Part 4

Postby vemlich » Sat Aug 16, 2014 6:12 pm

First Contact - Part 4

Mendez and the Captain were both starting to get a bit nervous though the “runt” didn’t appear to notice the two humans watching it. It did however maintain a vigil over the area preventing the Usul crew members from getting back to the tunnels and the safety of their ship.

“Sir, it is past time Charlie was supposed to wait for us.”

“Yes, I think we may have to shoot our way out. But, that laser rifle its holding is going to make it tough as we are severely outranged if we try to rush it. We’ll have to…”

“More movement coming” Mendez interrupted, tapping the data pad. “Half a dozen bugs and… no… she muttered… one human lifesign!”

The two crew members suspected who the human lifesign was even before he came into view. Flanked by a squad of similar sized bugs to the “runt” was a very forlorn looking Charlie. The “runt” they had been watching fell in with the squad escorting the young pilot and the group continued down the path toward the centre of what appeared to be the bug city.

Seeking a better vantage point in an outcropping of rocks, The Captain’s eyes lingered on the spot where the escort squad disappeared from sight, a million thoughts rushing through his mind. In a low voice he asked the sensor officer, “Can you track them?”

“Already on it Cap’n. Half a Klick and increasing. Straight towards the centre of the city. Are we going after him?”

The Captain hesitated for a moment, lost in his memories. “I won’t leave another crew member behind to be slaughtered,” he said still staring towards the centre of the city. He slowly turned his head towards Mendez and said “Let’s go get him back!”

—–

Charlie was confused, during all those boring Xenobiology classes at the Academy and all the mundane moments sitting behind the controls of the Usul, He had never fallen asleep on duty before. Why had he fallen so deeply asleep and how had the “bugs” gotten his weapon?

Every so often the small troop would gather up another heavily armed bug so his escort now totalled seven, all armed with laser rifles and sporting sleek bioengineered body armour. He had yet to hear them utter a sound and any communication seemed to be through limb and antennae gestures.

Initially he had a thought that Mendez and the Captain might rescue him in the tunnels. But, his hope had been dashed when he and his escort had used a different route and were now marching down the streets of a large underground city. Their entry into the bug city only served to reinforce the idea that these were going to be his final hours.

—–

“There he is,” the Captain indicated pointing towards the group of bugs and one Haiken Maru environmental suit disappearing into the largest structure they had seen in the bug city a large elaborate mound. The Usul crew had turned off their active sensors for fear of being discovered and instead had been relying on Charlie and his escort continuing on the same route he had been from the time he entered the city. Using alleys and back streets, and staying in the shadows, the crew had made their way into the centre of the city without being noticed. The Captain had climbed a short tower just to get some perspective and it was reassuring to see Charlie ahead of them, even if it was only for a few seconds.

After spending a few minutes surveying the mound type building Charlie and his escort had entered, the Captain joined Mendez on street level. “I have an idea,” he said before leaning in and explaining to the sensor officer what he had in mind. They double checked their weapons and headed towards the building Charlie had entered.

—–

Static filled Charlie’s ears as his pupils returned to normal. They had been glazed over and he once again felt like he was waking from a deep sleep.

“Charlie,” a voice came through the static. It seemed to be a voice he should know. “Charlie,” the vaguely familiar voice repeated.

Still groggy, his heart pounding in his chest, Charlie looked around the dark cavernous room but saw no-one. The only sound being the static coming through his radio.

“Charlie,” the voice repeated more urgently.

“Yes?” Charlie said uncertainly.

“Charlie, its Mendez. The Captain and I are here to rescue you,” the voice said through the static.

“How… wait… where are you?” Charlie asked the voice.

“Close. I’m jamming all frequencies and sending this on a tight band frequency. We don’t have long. What can you tell us about where you are and how you got in?”

Charlie briefly summed up to Mendez everything he could remember going over which rooms he had entered, the halls he had gone down, and where the guards were that he had seen.

“Sit tight Charlie, we’ll be there soon.” Mendez’s voice said right before the static stopped.

Charlie was left alone in silence. His eyes started to glaze over. “No not again,” he muttered before he lost consciousness.

—–

Between the description Charlie had given them, and the sensor “snapshops” Mendez had gotten by turning on her active sensors briefly every few minutes, the two Usul crew members managed to get to the door of the chamber Charlie was being held in without running into any of the patrolling guards.

The door had been secured by a simple latch on the outside. Being careful to disable the latch, so as to not lock themselves in the room, and so the latch would still appear locked Mendez opened the door. Looking left and then right Mendez and the Captain darted inside. Charlie was standing in the center of the room, arms hanging limply at his sides, his face down. The rest of the room was shrouded in darkness.

Seeing Charlie, Mendez turned on her active sensors to plot the three of them a route out.

“Charlie,” the Captain whispered. “Charlie?”

Raising his head, “Char-lie…” the young pilot said, looking like he was trying to remember. “Yes, that was our name” he said softly. He turned to face the other crew members with glazed over pupils. “My name is Charlie Stephenson” he said with conviction, “First Speaker of Soel, Queen to the Soelien-Twa, and you are our prisoners!”

—–

End of Part 4
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First Contact - Part 5

Postby vemlich » Sat Aug 16, 2014 6:13 pm

First Contact - Part 5

The Captain did not know if he was more surprised by Charlie’s words or the squads of “runts” appearing from the darkness with the laser rifles at the ready. Looking over at Mendez he could see her analyzing her datapad, its active sensors on full.

“Active camouflage Captain. I’m only showing sensor shadows where they are. Lots of sensor shadows… and more behind us… I’m pretty sure they knew we were coming.”

“Please drop your weapons,” Charlie said in a monotone voice. “We mean you no harm.”

Mendez looked up from her datapad and met the Captain’s gaze. Slowly shaking her head she said, “There’s just too many.”

Again Charlie’s monotone voice said, “Please lower your weapons. We mean you no harm.”

The two Usul crew members lowered their weapons to the ground. “What now?” the Captain asked.

“You will be allowed to go of course. But I have a message for your leaders…”

“How could you be a spy Charlie?” Mendez interrupted.

“A spy?” Charlie questioned. “No… Charlie was not a spy but we do need to keep him.” Charlie said.

“I don’t understand” Mendez said.

“We need Charlie,” Charlie said. “He will be well looked after as First Speaker of Soel. I need a voice and Charlie will be that voice.”

“Wait a second…” the Captain blurted out. “If you are not Charlie, who are you?”

The previously unseen lights in the room came on and the far wall started sliding up to the roof. Behind the wall a gargantuan sized bug, slightly different from the rest was staring down at the humans.

“We are the Twa,” Charlie’s monotone voice said “And I am their Queen.”

—–

FLEET HEADQUARTERS
HAIKEN MARU HOMEWORLD
STARDATE 3188.1

“So let me get this straight” Commander Wilcox said yelling at the two Usul officers standing at attention in front of him. “You encountered an alien race of giant telepathic bugs, found out they are the best miners in the galaxy, and have untold riches in ore deposits. You then left one of your crew members behind to be a mind controlled slave to their queen just so you could return with offers of diplomatic relations with said race?”

“Yes sir” Captain Monkman said looking sheepishly. “But, the Twa don’t consider it slavery. Each drone exists to obey the will of the Queen. Queen Soel considers Charlie to be another drone, existing to service her will.”

The return of the Usul to Haiken Maru space had created quite a buzz of excitement through the empire. Unfortunately the “loss” of Charlie was not going well and he and Mendez were now facing a naval military courts martial on the charges of dereliction of duty and culpable negligence. Charges they suspected were to protect the image of the Haiken Maru Navy.

Three officers sat in judgment of their not guilty plea, Rear Admiral Osbourne and Fleet Admiral Anderson were well respected officers that had risen through the ranks with valor. Captain Monkman knew and liked both men. Commander Wilcox, on the other hand, was an example that money could still buy position over competence. Wilcox had taken it upon himself to act like a tight arsed, pencil pushing prick (a position he took naturally to) criticizing every decision the Captain had made.

“How do you justify your actions Captain” Wilcox asked.

“If I thought we could have rescued him we were prepared to do so and would have done it. I stand by my actions at the time. I am responsible for all the members of my crew and take responsibility for leaving Ensign Stephenson behind. However, if the fleet is going to abandon contact with the Twa, risk interstellar war, and mount a rescue mission I would like to volunteer to get him back.”

With those words the Admirals briefly looked at each other. Captain Monkman could swear they shared a thought that they would not vocalize before they quickly dismissed he and Mendez to await the verdict.

—–

“We have a decision” Admiral Anderson stated peering down at the two remaining Usul crew members. “This Court Martial was convened to gather the facts concerning the crew of the Explorer class ship Usul and the events on planet B157. The circumstances have been made part of the official record and the Fleet would like to make this statement.” The Admiral paused before continuing, “So often a society in which governments have been replaced by greedy mega-corporations or one in which each individual is required to be incorporated at birth, the individual gets left behind with little to no concern for human life or decency. Unfortunately sometimes the good of the many outweigh the good of the few. Ensign Charlie Stephenson’s sacrifice will benefit the empire a thousandfold. The Ruling Council has decided the Soelien-Twa will take over and expand our Mining Centers, increasing their productivity. This will in turn allow us to increase our Production Centers to build more and bigger ships, increase our tax base, and give us access to intelligence for star systems we have not even seen yet.” Again the Admiral paused, “As for your outcome Captain, the court martial finds that you performed adequately given the circumstances and no punishment will be awarded. You both will retain your ranks and continue to serve the Fleet.”

“However…” Commander Wilcox added. “Due to your abandonment of a crew member…” The Commander paused ignoring the glares from the two Admirals. “…The Fleet has decided that you will forfeit any and all bonuses from the discovery of the Soelien-Twa. You are reassigned to the Usul with a new pilot and ship out for your next tour tomorrow at 0800. You are dismissed.”

—–

Sitting in the Captains Quarters aboard the Usul, Captain Monkman pulled a note out of his chest pocket passed to him by Admiral Anderson at the conclusion of the official proceedings. As he began to read it again, Mendez announced over the intercom that the ship was ready for departure. Captain Monkman folded the simple piece of paper, and placed it back into his pocket.

The note flatly stated: “We are sorry”

—–

HAIKEN MARU MAPPING EXPEDITION
UNCHARTED ASTEROID BELT DESIGNATED B342
STARDATE 3188.5

Captain Monkman looked over at the new pilot, Charlie’s replacement. It wasn’t that he was a bad pilot, he was even quite likable. But even after exploring planets, asteroids, and other stellar phenomenon for the last few weeks, the Captain thought to himself that the pilot would always be known as Charlie’s replacement. “Sir, I think I have something on the Electromagnagraph” Mendez said. “Faint electronics… looks like a repeating pattern. Not naturally occurring.”

The new pilot asked, “Should I give us a closer look Captain?”

The Captain and Mendez shared a look before the Captain spoke. “No just make a note of it and I’ll include it in the next report.”

The Pilot looked at Captain Monkman with a quizzical look, an unspoken question on his face.

The Captain’s hand slowly came up and gingerly patted his chest pocket. The pocket that showed the small outline of a folded note within. The Captain wanted to say something. The emotional conflict he was going through showed on his face. He wanted to say he didn’t want to lose another crew member. He wanted to scream he couldn’t lose another crew member. But all that came out of his mouth was a whisper, “Take us to the next rock.”

End of Story
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