Chapter 4
When the bell went off, the three were already up and ready to go. The day dragged on forever. Tik snapped at everybody and even Ron was tense. Gus just buried himself in his work and tried not to think. Finally the shift ended and they were back in their cell.
"How long do you think we should wait?" Tik asked nervously.
"Why don't you check the spy devices in the passageways around here and at the inbound hangar? That should give us an idea." Ron answered.
Gus said, "We've got this far, don't blow it now. I might have to go on the rampage if the Bugs found out. I have to think I have a chance to get out of here or life is not worth living."
Tik pulled out her computer and saw that there was still a lot of traffic in their passageway so she did some more research while they waited. She found the schedule for the space ship Yaota and it showed that it would be heading to Bamberga next week. The other space ship had nothing scheduled for the next month. Tik checked the supplies and fuel on board both of the space ships. She was surprised to see how little fuel was on both ships. She checked past flights and saw that the fuel was loaded just a day or two before the ships flew. There was a minimum of supplies and it didn't look like there was much of anything for the three of them on either ship. Something was wrong but she just couldn't put her finger on it.
Tik checked the spy devices again and saw that the traffic in their passageway and around the inbound hangar was pretty low. The trio agreed now was the time to try. They helped Tik into the special harness they had made from stolen parts. She had a place for the stingerray and her computer right close to the reach of her hands. They took tools out of Ron's tool pouch and Gus' belt to give her the best chance for whatever came up. Finally Ron helped her into the cloak. He fussed nervously, showing her again where the on/off button was.
Tik snapped at him, "I'm not some helpless child. Let me alone! I know how to turn it on and off and I know how to work the tools I have."
"I know. I'm just nervous and I want to be able to go," Ron snapped back.
"Well, unless you cut your legs off, you won't fit in this cloak and I know two of us won't fit and I can't carry you," Tik said.
"Easy, you two. All of us are nervous and want this to succeed. Tik, don't let your temper get the best of you. We want you back here," Gus interjected.
The group had decided that they didn't want to risk the translator so Tik was going to try thought transfer. They had been working on it across the hangar and it seemed to work pretty well now. They were still learning about the process so this would be a good chance to test distance.
Tik stepped up to the door and her heart was pounding so loud she knew that Ron and Gus could hear it. She spoke softly to her mini-computer as she turned on the cloak. Gus held the door so it only swung open a crack. Tik looked both ways in the passageway and didn't see anything so she quickly stepped through. Gus pushed the door shut. Ron and Gus' faces showed the strain. They weren't in the passageway but their pal was and she could be in danger at any second. Neither would breathe easily until she was back. Gus came over to Ron so he could feel the thought transfer if Tik sent anything.
Tik slipped along silently for awhile and then picked up her pace. She wanted to get to the inbound hangar, check it out and then get back to the cell to tell her cell mates. She dropped to all four legs so she could make as much speed as possible. She moved as fast as she could and still keep it fairly quiet. The group had all agreed it would be dangerous to use an elevator unless a robot or some equipment was already on it. If a Bug got on and bumped her, all their plans would be for naught. Tik made it to the stairway with no problems. She had to descend 15 levels so she started down. She made the inbound hangar level with no problems and she did a thought transfer to let Ron and Gus know. She felt the affirmative answer in her mind and felt reassured. Now all she had to do was cross to the other side of the mother ship. The trio had looked at the diagrams of the mother ship and figured she would have to travel more than a mile and a half.
Tik was making good time down the passageway when she saw the two Bugs gliding toward her. She quickly moved to the right, closer to the wall, and waited as she held her breath. The Bugs appeared to be talking and glided closer and closer. The Bug nearest her wall didn't seem too steady and was gently weaving back and forth across the passageway. He would get closer to his companion and then veer closer to the wall. Tik was watching with every nerve telling her to run. The Bug veered away from his companion again and Tik saw that it was going to hit her. She noiselessly ran forward 10 steps and stopped. The Bug swerved next to the wall where she had been standing. She wanted to sit down and shake but she knew she didn't have time. She continued moving, glad to be away from those two.
Tik was almost to the last passage when she saw the four Bugs coming down the passageway. They were abreast across the entire passageway and Tik didn't see any place to go. She moved to the center of the passageway because she wanted as much room as possible to dodge the oncoming danger. The Bugs were close enough together that she couldn't let them squeeze past. As they moved closer Tik tensed. Just as they got to her, she leaped over the gliders and between the Bugs on them. She had thought about jumping completely over the Bugs but then her belly would be exposed and it would not be invisible.
One of the Bugs she had jumped between suddenly accused his companion of touching his leg. They started arguing about it and Tik crept away. She found an intersecting passageway and had to sit down to calm her nerves. Her heart was racing and she felt like panting because her breathing had been so shallow. At last her breathing and heart beat returned to almost normal. She started moving toward the hangar again.
There it was -- the inbound hangar door. Now all she had to do was figure out how to get in without raising suspicions or causing an alarm to go off. Tik decided to wait for just a little bit to see if a robot or something would go in or come out of the door. She sat waiting nervously for any kind of traffic. She felt like she had been waiting for hours and was about to give up when she heard a robot coming down the passageway. It came up to the door and gave a series of beeps. The door swung open and Tik jumped right behind the robot as it rolled into the hangar. Tik quickly moved next to the wall to avoid any traffic. She sat quietly looking around. Suddenly she tensed in alarm. There were Bugs with blasters around both galactic space ships. She looked at the ceiling and saw a turret with multiple blasters sticking out of it. The turret looked like it could spin in a 360 degree circle. It could cover every square inch of the hangar. None of this had shown up on the mother ship diagrams. What was going on here? Tik moved around the hangar to see if there was another way to approach the two space ships. Every place someone could hide was guarded by Bugs with blasters! Tik found a place she could safely use the camera on her mini-computer and filmed the entire hangar. Maybe Ron could see something she didn't. Right now she didn't see any way for them to get anywhere close to those space ships, let alone inside of them.
Tik felt completely discouraged. What were they going to do now? She started moving back toward the door she had come in. Some Bugs went out and she followed as closely as possible. She slunk back down the passageways that she had just moved down with such high spirits and hopes. She couldn't even concentrate enough to send a thought transfer back to her waiting pals. She was so deep in her fog she almost missed the robot coming at her. At the last moment, she spotted it and jumped to the side to let it pass. She reached the stairway door and slipped in. It took her a lot longer to go up the stairs than it had when she came down. She finally got back to her level and sneaked a look out in the passageway. It was clear so she headed back to her cell. What was she going to tell her cell mates? Would Gus do something crazy?
Tik sent a thought that she was opening the door and coming in. The door swung in and she hurried inside. Gus was there to push the door shut. Tik turned the c
loak off and slowly took it off. She took items out of the harness and handed them back to Ron and Gus. Then she took her mini-computer out and took the harness off.
"Well, what's the verdict? Can we get out using either of those ships?" Gus inquired anxiously.
Tik was almost afraid to look at him. She slowly said, "The Bugs have guards in there with blasters. There is a turret in the ceiling that looks like it can spin 360 degrees and it can cover the entire hangar."
"How was the turret controlled? Were there Bugs manning the blasters or do you think they were controlled by the computer?" Ron quickly asked.
"I couldn't see from where I was at. Here, let me show you what I filmed," Tik said as she pulled out her mini-computer.
She turned it on and showed what she had filmed. The three looked it over and then Ron had her replay it again. None of them could see a way to get into either of the space ships. They kicked around some ideas of creating a diversion but they had no idea what response the Bug guards would have. They all felt really low. Their first idea didn't look like it would work at all. Ron suggested they all go to bed and look again tomorrow. They might have some ideas that would come later and they could do a little more research.
The next morning they went to work as usual and all three were preoccupied with the escape plan. None of them did much work and almost caught Wurden's attention. Ron saw it first and quickly sent out a thought transfer. The other two picked up enough to stay below Wurden's radar. When they got back to the cell, the planning started again. Tik researched and the other two tried to come up with something. Everywhere they turned they seemed to run into a brick wall. It was the same routine for the next week -- work during the day and try to find an escape. Finally, they were just about ready to admit defeat.
The next morning Ron was working on a damaged robot when Wurden came to his work station. He said, "Follow me. We want you to look at something else."
He led Ron beyond the ancient space ship to the far wall of the hangar. Ron had never been over here so he covertly looked everything over. They stopped in front of a rack of a dozen rockets. They were about 12 feet long and were about a foot in diameter with a very thin shell on the outside. There were triangular fins on the base of the rocket and smaller steering fins about two-thirds of the way to the top. There were 1-inch diameter nodes evenly spaced around the circumference of the rocket just behind the nose. There were matching nodes just forward of the tail fins. The sides appeared to have a door in them that would open outward, but no hinges were visible. There was a round six-inch circle in the middle that looked like it could be a port or covered fixture to fill or empty the rockets. Some of them were missing fins or other parts and one looked like it had been badly burnt.
Ron asked, "What are these used for? What are those little nodes around the top and bottom?"
"Nobody knows for sure what they are used for or what any of those things do. We have tried to follow instructions but so far we haven't had any luck making them do anything. We want you to take parts off of that one and make this one work. There's not much on the computer about them but that's all we have."
Ron looked up the information on the computer and studied it for several minutes. Then he turned to the rockets to check them out. He used a meter to see if there was any fuel in the rockets. All of them were completely empty and showed no trace of fuel at all. He signaled a robot to come over and pick up the rocket that was going to be used for parts. He studied the rocket for over an hour. He didn't see anything that gave a clue to the rocket's use. The computer did show a way to open a panel to get inside. He opened the panel and checked inside. On the inside of the panel were faint characters which Ron found to his surprise he could read. He quickly went back to the computer and saw that it mentioned the characters inside the panel but gave no interpretation of what it meant. Ron excitedly went back to the rocket. He slowed himself down because he didn't want Wurden to notice that he was getting excited. He read the inscription on the inside of the panel and then checked the wiring and plumbing inside the rocket. He was pretty sure that this was another artifact from the Alcantarans. The more he studied the rocket, the more sure he was. He really struggled to keep his excitement hidden. He knew what the rockets did and how they worked. He saw that one valve was set in the wrong position and somehow he knew that the rocket wouldn't work properly with the valve set like that.
Slowly he removed fins and other parts. He laid them on his work station. When he had all of the parts off, he had the robot carry it back to the rack. By that time it was the end of the day so they headed back to the dining hall and then to the cell. Ron didn't say a word about the rockets to his friends until they were back in the cell and Tik had set the spy devices off. She had a special video clip that she put into the mother ship computer that made it look like they all went to sleep right away.
Ron started very seriously, "Gus, you mentioned something quite a while ago. Do you remember asking about taking the old derelict space ship in the repair hangar? Maybe we need to pursue what needs to be done to make it fly. Tik, can you do some research on it? What have the Bugs tried? What success have they had?"
Tik started to protest, "That old thing? It's so old I don't know whether I would ever trust it or not. I'll see what the Bugs have and then we can see from there."
Gus had been watching Ron's face and he could see an undercurrent of excitement there. He asked, "Didn't you work on something over by that space ship today? What did you find?"
Ron answered, "I'm not sure. That's why I want Tik to find out everything she can about that ship. See how many other artifacts the Bugs have that they think might belong to the Alcantarans. Right now we know we can get access to that ship. We just need to know if it will fly and how long it would take to get it ready."
Ron and Gus just had to sit back on their bunks while Tik did her research. She found little bits and pieces here and there. It took a long time to make any sense of what she found. Ron and Gus got tired and went to bed as she continued to look. Finally she got tired and went to bed herself.
The next morning Ron said, "Keep your ears open and ask any of the other Bugs that will talk to you about the ship. Try to make it casual and don't show too much interest."
Ron took his time the next day putting things back together. He jury rigged some cables to hook electrical power to the stripped rocket. He figured Wurden would throw a fit if he tried it on the one he was trying to make whole.
Wurden saw the cables and came over to see what he was doing. "What do you think you are doing? Do you have authorization to do that?" Wurden cried in alarm.
"Well, this is just a piece of junk now that everything has been stripped. I just thought I would try this experiment to see if I could tell what this thing was supposed to do. I didn't see anything on the computer that even suggested anybody had ever tried this," Ron stated matter of factly.
He touched a switch and suddenly there was a force field around the rocket. He grabbed a meter to see how strong the field was. It was pretty strong for the little current he was applying. Wurden didn't say another word. He just hovered right over Ron's shoulder as he continued his experiment. Ron increased the current just a tiny bit and the field strength increase four fold. He tried pushing against the field and found he couldn't budge it. He grabbed a hammer and tried smacking the rocket. The force field grabbed the hammer and slowed it to a stop. The hammer felt like he had hit a big bowl of cold molasses. When the blow stopped, he could pull the hammer out with no resistance. The force field momentarily increased from the energy of the blow. Ron shut the power off and reached in the rocket to make a few adjustments. He didn't let Wurden see him flip the valve to the original position. He turned the power back on and tried his experiments again. When he increased the current this time, there was no increase in the field strength. He tried the hammer and this time the force field ricocheted the h
ammer blow. When the hammer ricocheted back, it almost smacked Wurden in the head. Wurden zipped back a safe distance and continued to watch closely. Ron increased the current quite a bit with no increase in the field strength.
Ron started muttering for Wurden's benefit, "Stupid piece of junk. You work one time this way and the next time you don't work."
He turned off the power and made a couple more adjustments. He tried the experiment with the same results. The meter showed that a large well-placed blow would go right through the force field and destroy the rocket. He continued to make adjustments and experiment with the same results. Finally he turned to Wurden, "I don't know what happened the first time I turned the power on. It worked fine then but every time since, it just won't work. I think I could take some kind of bar and drive it completely through the rocket with a hammer. The force field is so weak and doesn't get any stronger with an increase in current. Is that what your scientists found?"
Wurden was pretty non-committal but Ron knew he was right. Wurden was making notes and sending them to his superiors about the experiments. Ron had tried some things the Bug's scientists hadn't thought of. Wurden got a response back from his superiors telling him to have Ron check out the ancient space ship.
Wurden stated officiously, "Follow me. We have another mystery for you to take a look at." He led Ron to the rear of the old space ship. He touched some buttons on his personal computer and the rear door on the space ship opened. Ron approached the old ship with awe. No one really knew how old the ship was but it showed its age in the dents and scrapes on the skin. The ship was 579 feet long and cylindrical in shape. It was 175 feet in diameter at the back and stayed that diameter until close to the nose, where it slowly tapered to a blunt nose like on a 747 jet. The bottom was flattened and had legs with pads for landing gear. It had two fins that started as a taper 50 or 60 feet behind the nose and ran the entire length of the ship. They came to a point in the back and stuck past the flat rear for 15 or 20 feet. The fins looked like they were about 60 feet tall. There was a half tube that ran along the side of the ship. It covered about two thirds of the side and was open at both ends. It reminded Ron of the intakes for military jets. Ron couldn't see inside these intakes so he wondered if they might be the engines or the fuel tanks. He didn't understand why a space ship would need air intakes especially in outer space vacuum. The back was flattened and appeared to have a smaller personal door as well as a large door that looked like it could drop and be a ramp. It almost looked like there were three levels but he couldn't see how you would open the door to all three levels. He didn't see any other doors and thought that was odd. He was used to several escape exits on any vessel that large on Earth. It definitely wasn't your typical flying saucer that the movies always showed but it looked like it would really move when it was flying.
Ron shivered with excitement as he climbed into the door. He wondered what the beings that had built and flown this thing looked like. He wondered what had happened to them. Wurden didn't like coming inside the space craft and his unease showed in his every movement. They entered a passageway that was like a tube about 10 feet in diameter with a flat floor. There were lights that came on as they walked toward them. They were not part of the ship and looked like something the Bugs had installed. As they walked, Ron saw doors leading to the interior of the space ship and passageways that went up and down. Wurden didn't even pause at any of them. He led Ron to a door and stepped through. They were inside an immense cargo bay. Ron thought they must be in the top third of the space ship. It looked like there should be other levels below them. Across the deck were rows of doors with two more rows on top of them. There was a narrow catwalk to access these doors but it looked like they had been designed to allow some sort of lifting device to lift items right up to the doors. Ron looked but didn't see anything that looked like a lifting device. Some of the details were hard to see because the lights the Bugs had put up didn't reach all the corners and they weren't very bright. When they stepped out further onto the deck, Ron saw that the wall they had just stepped through was a mirror image of the far wall. To his right or toward the nose of the ship he saw an elevator leading to the different levels. There was also a ladder on the wall.
Wurden explained in his officious way, "We have examined this ship for years and there are parts of it we have not been able to access. There is no fuel on board so the elevator doesn't work. If you climb that ladder, you can access the flight deck and see the controls that fly this ship. We have never fired the engines, so we don't know if they work or not. My superiors would like you to examine the flight deck and see if there is anything you can figure out or experiments that might be useful."
Ron said, "OK, I can do that. Are you coming up there with me?"
Wurden answered, "No, I have pressing business back in the hangar. Watch for the group of beasts leaving tonight and join us."
Ron could see that Wurden was almost in a panic to get out of the old space ship. It made Ron wonder what had happened, if Wurden was the only one who was nervous about being in the ship or if that feeling extended to all the Bugs. Wurden turned and headed for the door. Ron saw him drop to all six legs and skitter rapidly away. Ron just grinned and decided to check out some of the doors. He tried several and found they were locked and wouldn't open. There were a couple that did open and they were just empty rooms. It looked like they used to have something in them but he assumed the Bugs had cleared them out. He turned to the ladder and started climbing. When he reached the top, he walked slowly onto the flight deck while he looked around.
He must have been unknowingly transmitting excitement because he started getting feelings in his head asking where he was at and what he was doing. He was feeling the messages from both Tik and Gus. He walked to the front window and looked out. Gus was just turning from the fuel dump and getting ready to return to the hangar. Tik was there classifying the fuel and logging it in. Ron sent a thought, "Hi guys, look up at the nose of the ancient space ship." They both looked at the same time. Ron was waving in the window and he thought Gus was going to drop the fuel canister. Ron was really feeling the questions then. All he could send was "Tonight".
Ron explored the flight deck and that whole level. He could understand the writing on the instrument panel but didn't understand all of what he read. It would be like a non-pilot sitting in the cockpit of a 747 and trying to figure out what each gauge and instrument was supposed to do. Even the levers and buttons made no sense. He needed to have the hand-held computer in here and learn a lot about how to fly a space ship. He noticed spots on the racks to the side that had empty spaces in them. He look inside the rack to see what all was there. He started opening some of the panels and looking inside. He was looking for any writing that might give him a clue about the intended use for all of the equipment. He looked and then put the panel back in place. He was about a third of the way through when he looked up to see the group getting ready to leave. He hurried out of the flight deck and down the ladder. He arrived at the door to the floor of the hangar and climbed down. Wurden was waiting and Ron would not have been surprised if he saw him tapping his foot in impatience.
"Well, did you discover something our scientists missed?" Wurden snootily asked.
"Just the picture of the pilots family that he hid under the co-pilots dash board," Ron quipped to irate him.
"What! Where is it at? I want to see it," Wurden instantly demanded.
"Well, I left it there. The pilot might come back and he'd sure be upset if it was missing," Ron said with a straight face.
"Our scientists think that ship is over 25,000 years old. How can a pilot come back?" Wurden stated haughtily.
"I don't know. My planet doesn't have anything this sophisticated. Maybe the pilot had a time machine and went somewhere on vacation. When the time is right, he might use the time machine to come back," Ron retorted.
Wurden
gave a start at the thought of the ancient race returning for the space ship. Ron saw that was an idea that the Bugs hadn't considered. Wurden said, "There is no such thing as a time machine. You can't travel in time."
"If you say so, but on my planet they have written about it for decades and I figure someone somewhere has figured it out. By the way, I need to take a hand-held computer tonight to start making notes on what I have found. I also need to look at any manuals for that ship. If you don't have any manuals for it, maybe one of the manuals for one of the planetary flyers will give me a clue what the ancient race was doing with the different gauges and instruments."
"Go ahead and get your hand-held computer but hurry up. We're already behind schedule," Wurden said as he started the rest of the line for the door.
Ron grabbed the computer and fell in at the rear of the line. Gus and Tik were near the middle so they couldn't ask the questions that were about to drive them crazy. Ron had a feeling so he concentrated on a thought. "Don't talk when we get to the cell! We are going to have visitors."
Ron kept broadcasting the same thoughts all the way to the cell. He could tell from the body language that the other two were about to burst. The door opened and they went into the cell. He headed straight to his bunk and the other two did the same. Tik could see what he was doing but Gus could only listen. Ron moved the translator before he pulled the computer out of his tool pouch and started dictating information about the ancient space ship. He told about some of his impressions and questions that he had about the different equipment. The other two were about to go crazy because they not only had no idea what was going on but now they couldn't understand what he was saying.
Ron was just starting to ask questions about what experiments the Bugs had done when the door swung open. Four Bugs carrying their stingerrays walked in and formed a line between the trio and the door. They had different colored embroidery around the hoods than Wurden and the other Bugs they were used to seeing. Another Bug followed them in the door on its disk. This Bug was different too and even its robe was a different material and color. It stopped and looked at the three occupants of the cell.
It turned to Ron and asked, "What did you deduct from your experiments with the rocket? Do you have any idea what it is used for?"
Ron answered, "I'm not sure what it's used for. It might be used to scoop up something like air from the stratosphere on a planet. I think that there is a circuit or a program that is missing. The shield worked the first time but wouldn't work after that."
"What circuit or program do you think is missing?"
"I have no idea about that. I'm not an engineer so I can't really design something like that. You should have some engineers that could whip up a circuit in short order," Ron said as he hoped the Bugs couldn't tell he was lying through his teeth.
"I see. What do you think the circuit should do?"
"Well it should have some kind of feedback to the shield. The first time I tried to hit the rocket with the hammer; the shield absorbed the blow and increased the field strength. The other times the shield just deflected the blow and I couldn't increase field strength even with a huge increase in current. I just made a couple of notes about that here in the computer tonight," Ron continued his wild tale.
"We have never heard of a shield that absorbs the energy. Are you sure?"
"Well no, I haven't really worked on anything like this before. You could ask Wurden, since he was right there watching the experiment," Ron said.
"We have and he knows less about what you did and what actually happened. Do you think the ancient race might have time machines and actually return?"
"I don’t have any idea. Wurden says it's never been done but we have lots of literature that describes the theory. If someone can think it, it can be done. Maybe not my race or yours but how advanced were the ancient ones?" Ron asked.
Ron saw that the thought of the ancient race coming back made even this higher level Bug nervous. Ron now wanted to know what the Bugs knew about the Alcantarans. Something was definitely spooking these Bugs.
The Bug spoke again, "Do you think you can discover secrets from the ancient ship?"
Ron pondered a little before he spoke, "I'm pretty sure I could. I would need some power in the ship to experiment with some of the different circuits. Also, I would need a computer expert to look at some of the instruments and compare them to the instruments you have on your planetary flyers. That would give a clue what each one does and once you unlock a few clues, the rest come faster and easier. I don't think it will be quick. I foresee a long process that will yield the results several months or maybe even years in the future."
"What else would you need?"
"Someone to help with the heavy lifting and to run for parts. From what I saw of the ship today, it will be very difficult for a robot to maneuver in there. If the whole back opened and there was a ramp, then a robot could easily work in there. Have you ever had the whole back open?" Ron asked.
"No one ever thought about opening it. Our scientists got through the small door easy enough and didn't feel the need to try the other. Where would you start looking and experimenting?"
"I'm not sure right now. I don't know enough to even ask an intelligent question. I need 4 or 5 days just to explore and get an idea of the function of different parts of the ship. Are your ships the same as other races? Do you have things you do different on your ships?" Ron asked.
"Yes, we have things that are much further advanced than other races. The council will ponder these things. In the meantime, finish your report and Wurden will direct you in your tasks."
The Bug turned and glided out the door. The guards followed and the door swung shut. Tik was about to jump off her bunk with curiosity. Ron ignored her and finished his report and questions in the computer. He adjusted the translator and then stretched out on his bunk like he was going to sleep. He started broadcasting for Tik to put on the video loop that looked like they were all sleeping. He transmitted for her to call his name when she had it going and no one could see them talking.
He watched out of the corner of his eye as Tik turned to the wall and got into her tool bag. Very shortly she called his name.
Ron jumped off the bunk and quickly went to Tik's. Gus came over and touched the translator. Ron rapidly explained, "We can't talk very long. We are being watched tonight. I think I found something today on the rockets that the Bugs had never thought of. They ordered Wurden to take me into the ship to see if I could find anything they had missed. I think they are going to have me start checking out the ship. I've got to feed them something to make them keep me on it but not enough to give them any idea what it will do. I'm trying to work it out so you two will be my helpers, so be ready. For right now we need to seem like we are just barely being civil to each other. Tik, it might even help if you complain to Wurden if we work together. Maybe something about me being too bossy or whatever."
Tik replied with a grin, "Honey, I can complain and make Mr. Smarty Pants think I'm one word away from taking a bite out of your hide."
"Just don't over do it or they will transfer you. I've noticed that Wurden and even that big wig Bug are scared to death of the Alcantarans. I'll bet the scientists were too and that's why they haven't found out very much. I'm going to need your help with some of the computer stuff and looking up what the different instruments are for. Every chance you get when you are absolutely sure you won't get caught, find out everything you can about the Alcantarans. See if you can find out why the Bugs should fear them. Gus, I may need you to help with some of the heavy lifting and to help get into the parts of the ship that the Bugs have never been in. I know both of you have a lot of questions right now but we need to get back to bed. I don't know if we will have another visit tonight but it certainly wouldn't surprise me. I don't want to be seen talking to you two. That would spoil our surprise for the Bugs," Ron concluded as he got up and retu
rned to his bunk.
They had settled down and were just drifting off to sleep when the door opened again. Wurden stepped in and surveyed everything. He didn't say a word but stared at each of the occupants intently. In just a few minutes he stepped out without a word. The door swung shut behind him. The question flashed through everyone's mind, 'What in the world did he want?'
They all drifted off to sleep again and were ready when the bell went off in the morning. Wurden watched them closer this morning as he took them to the dining hall. He continued to almost stare at them as they went to the repair hangar. He dropped Gus and Tik off at their usual job. He led Ron to his work station and had him start repairing a robot. Ron worked most of the morning on it. Suddenly there was a commotion at the door to the hangar. The big wig Bug and his guard walked in. The supervisor Bugs, including Wurden, quickly glided to them and there was a quiet conversation.
Wurden led the big wig and his entourage to Ron as the other supervisor Bugs returned to what they were doing. Ron watched out of the corner of his eye but kept working on his project. He ignored the Bugs when they glided up until Wurden made a noise like he was clearing his throat. Ron looked up and acted like he had just spotted the group.
The big wig said, "The council has decided to let you explore the ancient ship on a part time basis. We need you to keep doing your work during the morning and take the afternoon to explore and experiment. For right now, explore and pose your questions on the computer. Give a general outline of what you want to experiment on and what order you would do it. When you are ready, Wurden will give you this translator and we will assign two people to help you with your experiments. If you have some success, we will continue this schedule; however, if you find nothing after two weeks, we will terminate this experiment."
Ron answered, "That sounds alright to me. If I don't find anything in a couple of weeks, it would be a waste of time anyway. Will Wurden show me how that translator thing works?"
"He will give you full instructions and will introduce you to your helpers."
The big wig and his entourage turned and left the hangar. Wurden seemed a little upset -- like he thought Ron had gone over his head or something.
Ron looked at him and said, "You are going to be coming inside the space ship to supervise aren't you? I know you could add a lot to the experiments."
Ron saw Wurden shiver with dread as he emphatically stated, "No! I have too many duties around here to be tied up inside that space ship every afternoon. If you really need something or a question answered, I will be right there."
Ron nodded and grinned. He could see it would have to be a national emergency or a find of Alcantaran relics to get him back in that space ship. Wurden would want to get the publicity for finding the relics and also to see if he could 'appropriate' some samples for his own study. Wurden quickly found something else across the hangar that needed his attention. Ron continued to work at his station until Wurden came back and led him to the ancient space ship. Wurden opened the door and Ron watched the sequence as he did. Once Tik was able to get inside the space ship, he knew that he would be able to open that door any time he wanted.
Wurden left again and left Ron to explore to his heart's content. Ron had brought the hand-held computer this time and he decided to start from the bottom and work to the top. He found the bottom third of the space craft was blocked. He tried several different passages but they were all blocked at the same level. He figured the space ship was set up like a sea-going ship and had sealed compartments. He tried all the doors he could and explored every thing that was open. He had worked through less than a third of the space ship when he saw it was time to leave for the evening. He left the ship and took the computer with him again. He knew he would have more thoughts after he had been away from it for awhile. He could feel the questions in his mind again as they walked to the dining hall. He warned both of his pals to be careful. He was certain that they were being watched.
Wurden led the group back to the cells so Ron whispered what the Bug had said this morning. He told them they had better not talk tonight because he didn't know if they would have a visit or not. He would try to transmit thoughts and if they could understand they should transmit back or one rap on the bunk would mean they understood. Two raps would mean they didn't get a clear idea.
Once they were in their cell they all went to their bunks. Ron thought of a few things and entered them into the computer. After he had made his notes, he tried thought transfer to the other two. Some of the thoughts went through and some weren't clear. He kept trying and they all could tell that it was getting better. No one came that night and they all soon fell asleep.
The next day Ron went back to his workstation in the morning and then explored the space ship in the afternoon. That night back in their cell, the trio was afraid to speak because they didn't know if a live Bug was monitoring the room. Tik turned her back to the room and did manage to do some research. Ron continued practicing the thought transfer.
The routine was the same for the next two days. On the fifth day Ron started making his list of experiments he wanted to try. He arranged them by priority and then listed what equipment he would need. He entered it in the computer and told Wurden when he came out of the space ship. On the sixth day he worked at his station all day and didn't even get close to the space ship.
The next morning the big wig Bug arrived and told him his experiments were approved. He directed Wurden to get the helpers and to instruct Ron in the use of the translator. Ron and his helpers were to have all of the next four days to do the experiments. They should start as soon as the helpers could be summoned over. Wurden demonstrated how to use the translator; and then while Ron rounded up some of the equipment, he went to get the helpers. Wurden brought back Tik and Gus. He made proper introductions and instructed them to follow Ron's orders. Wurden led them all to the space ship and opened the door. He didn't stay around any longer than he had to.
As soon as they were inside, Ron stated, "I wonder if the ancient race left any spy devices to check up on intruders."
Tik caught on right away and used her mini-computer to check for any of the Bug's devices. There were none. Ron indicated the translator and Tik checked it out. There was nothing sending a signal but she didn't know if it was recording. Ron decided they could talk and they would do something to erase any recorded conversations.
Ron asked, "Have either of you two ever been in the cockpit of a space ship?"
Tik said, "I've been in there to repair a computer but I have no idea about anything else in there."
Gus replied, "I had never been on a space ship until the Bugs kidnapped me."
"Well, we have our work cut out for us. We need to figure out what everything is and how to fly this thing. We are also under the gun to find some secret that the Bugs couldn't find. We have about a week to do it. Here is the list of experiments that I made. I'm not going to try to do anything down here until we find something we can give the Bugs," Ron said.
Ron led them to the flight deck and then into the cockpit of the space ship. The other two looked around in awe. Ron checked his list and then determined what each of them needed to do. He sent Gus to bring a small portable power unit up into the cockpit and then to get several different sizes of electrical cable. He had Tik start a search for a space ship cockpit that was close to what they were standing in. He told her that once she had found the other cockpit to match up instruments, gauges, levers and buttons to the other cockpit and label their purpose. He busied himself with finding where the power came in to the cockpit. He pulled panels and labeled them so he could put them back. He found a panel that seemed to be a distribution point. He unhooked the wire that seemed to feed the panel. He set it up so he could hook in the power unit that Gus was bringing.
Gus brought the power unit and some of the electrical cable. Ron told him to get a switch and a rheostat before he came
back. He wanted something to shut the power off in a hurry if the ship did something he didn't like. Gus brought the rest of the items that he had requested and Ron prepped everything to hook up the power. Tik had found some of the instruments but wasn't having a lot of luck with the buttons and levers.
Gus made the comment, "Too bad we don't have a pilot here. They would probably know what a lot of these things are. Even if their ship is different, they would know what you need to fly one of these things."
Ron exclaimed excitedly, "Gus, you're a genius. I don't know why I didn't think of that. Tik, I need you to switch gears. We need some spy devices here to record what the pilot does. We need to record it on your computer and edit it before we put it on the Bug's computer. Can you do something like that?"
"Yes, I would need the spy devices but I'm sure that Wurden could get those. I would just need a wireless transfer device and I know we have some of those in the store room. I'll order one right now. You'll have to talk to Wurden to get a pilot." Tik said excitedly as she started to see possibilities.
Ron told Gus to start familiarizing himself with the ship. He just needed to explore while the other two put their plan in motion. Tik went to the store room to get the wireless transfer device. She wanted to work on it for a little bit to make sure that only her computer could access it. Ron dropped from the space ship and went to look for Wurden.
"Wurden, I need a couple of more things. We need two or three recording devices that we can mount in the cockpit. Some things may happen so fast that we can't see them and I want to be able to play them back to see what happened. Also if something goes wrong, it will leave a record so the next crew will know not to repeat that experiment. Can you get something like that for me?" Ron excitedly asked when he found the Bug.
"That will be no problem. It also sounds like a good idea. Do you think anything might go wrong? It will take a little time for a messenger robot to get them and bring them here," Wurden said as if he had thought of the idea.
"I'm sure that the Alcantarans wouldn't sabotage their own ship, but why be sorry when you can be safe? There's one other thing that could save days and maybe even weeks. I have no idea what the instruments, gauges, levers and buttons do. We need a pilot to tell us what they would normally need to fly the space craft. Even if they flew a different type of craft, they would need the same things to fly. Their knowledge could save us from doing something dangerous and would definitely speed up the search for Alcantaran relics and technology," Ron said.
Wurden was getting nervous with the talk of Alcantarans and things going wrong in the space ship. He told Ron he would get the recorders and would present the council with his request. He ended the conversation and moved as far away from the ship as he could. Ron returned to the ship and told his pals what he had found out. Tik was busy with her computer and Ron wanted to check behind some more panels so he went back to work. The messenger robot brought the spy devices and Ron gave them to Tik to set up. They were about as far as they could go when they saw that it was time to leave for the day. They exited the ship and dropped into line.
When they got back to the cell, they didn't talk again. Ron made some notes and then they used the thought transfer to discuss what they had found that day. When they were through, they were too excited to go to sleep right away. All three spent time thinking of the new hope they had found. It was late when they finally drifted off to sleep.
When they got to the hangar the next morning, there was a nine-foot tall purple being waiting at Ron's work station. The being was obviously confused about what it was doing here and what it was supposed to do. Wurden took Ron's translator, adjusted it and then he introduced the being.
"This is Kota Kinabula. It will be here three days to assist you. That is all the time that the beast can be spared from its primary job," Wurden stated with distaste.
Ron found out the being was a Dar Es Salaam Trader that had been kidnapped to train new Bug pilots. Ron later found out that all the Bug pilots wanted nothing to do with sitting in the ancient space ship and the council didn't want to lose any pilots. They figured the Trader was expendable. Ron liked the Trader right away but sent the thought to the other two that they had better not let him in on the secret of the escape. If they found out later that they could take him, they would; but for now it was safer for the Trader if he had no clue about what was going on.
Ron led the way to the flight deck. He ushered the tall Trader into the cockpit. The Trader was staring like a kid in a candy store. He easily slid into the pilot's seat and slid his hands over all of the different controls and levers. Suddenly he realized where he was and that there were three other beings watching his every move.
Kota looked up at Ron and said, "Where did this ship come from? It is similar to ours but different. Why did the Bugs bring me here?"
Ron answered, "I think it is an Alcantaran ship. The Bugs found it several years ago and they can't figure out how a lot of the things work. I have been tasked with finding out some of these secrets but I'm not a pilot. I thought that a pilot could give me a clue what a lot of these instruments, gauges and other controls are used for. Can you tell me what a lot of them are used for?"
Kota hesitated and then carefully said, "I won't help the Bugs increase their knowledge of the Alcantaran technology. I'm sorry but I took an oath when I became a Trader. I guess you'll have to send me back."
"You do know that the Bugs will use the stingerray on you and that it is excruciatingly painful, don't you?" Ron said.
"Yes, I know about the stingerray. They will just have to use it on me again," Kota said with determination.
Ron softly said, "I don't think the Bugs will find out as much as they had hoped about that technology. Do you think this ship could fly again?"
"I don't know. I have no idea if the computer still works or what shape the controls are in. The engines are another question also," Kota said as he looked closely at Ron and then at the other two. "Why are you working for the Bugs and why did they assign you to this area?"
"Well, it’s a long story and we don't have much time. Just say that all three of us have health problems and the Bugs don't expect us to live long. All of the beings here fit in that category. We get the most dangerous jobs and I'm pretty certain that we get the least desirable food. We are trying to give the Bugs something to improve our lot and let us continue to research this ship," Ron said guardedly.
Kota sucked in a deep breath of air and his eyes widen. He read between the lines and he knew the trio had a plan to escape. He made a huge effort to control his emotions. He knew that something or someone was watching if this trio was being so cautious. He casually said, "In that case, maybe I can share some of my knowledge."
Ron could see that Kota had guessed they were planning on escaping. He said, "Good. If you will just explain to us what these things do, we'll get on with our experiments."
Kota started his lecture just like he was addressing a new crop of pilot trainees, "Everything here is familiar but different. Here is your altimeter and this is…"
Once he was started, he quickly told of the instruments and controls that he knew about. He explained what each one was used for. When he finished, Ron explained that he had everything set up to put power to the instruments. Kota thought it would be a good idea. Ron checked that the switch was off and the rheostat was set to zero voltage. He turned on the power unit and flipped the switch to on. He slowly increased the power on the rheostat. Some of the gauges started to move and come to life. He increased the power a tiny bit. More gauges came to life and he adjusted the power a tiny bit more. Kota excitedly commented as each gauge came to life and some of the ones he couldn't identify were obvious as to what they did. The group worked all day checking things out. Their knowledge of the space ship was starting to grow. Tik was checking the computer and she thought they were ahead of anything the Bugs had ever done. As they were get
ting ready to leave for the day, Kota casually commented that the Bugs computer had a program to give the basic training to new pilots. It also had a virtual simulator to allow you to get the feel of actually flying. Tik had been editing what went into the Bug's computer all day but it still showed a lot of progress. Kota was taken to another cell and the trio worked on the things they could in their cell. Ron dictated his notes and thoughts and then looked up the pilot training course. He didn't do anything with it, for right now he just wanted to know that he could get it. He saw that he was going to have to get a computer that wasn't assigned to him. He needed to download that program and the flight simulator.
The next two days went quickly by and their knowledge increased by leaps and bounds. Ron was ready to start some of the experiments on the fourth day and they didn't know if Kota would be sent back to his job or not. The Bugs surprised them and said that he would be there for another two weeks. After a week, they knew what most of the gauges, controls and levers did. Now they needed to know if they actually did what they were supposed to. Kota said a lot of the information would probably be in the ship's computer. They needed some power to the whole ship to get that computer turned on.
They tried several different ways to get power to the computer but they couldn't get to the computer. It was in the area that was locked away. After two hours of discussion and countless experiments, the group came to the conclusion that they needed fuel in the space ship to energize its own power supply.