The Poseidon neared the blue planet.Mac thought that if this were the life-sustaining haven they hoped for when leaving earth, and they could accomplish their mission, Neal’s sacrifice would not have been in vain. Mac had been attempting to push out the images of Neal and the roaches eating him, but it was like a bad movie on repeat, as he sat watching the beautiful blue planet grow larger. He could see mountain ranges and rivers with more clarity. One vast continent stretched out in a charred black landscape, with volcanoes churning red-orange pools of lava so brilliant they could be seen from space. Grey clouds of smoke rose high into the sky as Poseidon neared the atmosphere. Mac had no rational explanation for the tightening in his stomach, but there was an ominous vibration emanating from the darkened, burning region of the planet. Mac steered them to the east toward a giant continent ringed with mountain ranges and forests.
“Here we go.” Kim said. The crew was filled with nervous excitement.
The Poseidon soared through the atmosphere of this lush new planet, above green valleys and over snow covered mountain peaks. What the star travelers from earth did not know was that at the top of one peak they passed lived an ancient ice giant named Krill the Mongrel. As he watched the strangers fly overhead he growled at the silent craft and tossed a ten-foot-long ice javelin into the air at them. As the large metal disk whisked by Krill’s mountain, Stephanie saw the ice rocket shoot harmlessly by.
“Did anyone else see that chunk of ice fly by us? Tell me I’m not the only one.” Stephanie said.
“Maybe it was a weather condition or something? We don’t know what this planet’s gravitational situation is. It’s possible you saw ice in the clouds.” Jack said.
“I think I’d know ice in the clouds when I saw it.” Stephanie said.
“Sorry ma’am, I’m just here to work security.” Jack said. He grinned and turned back in his chair to watch their descent.
A large white pyramid reaching for the heavens reflected back the late day sun and below it they could see two more in a line. These megalithic structures were constructed outside the forest near a shimmering ocean. A radiant translucent capstone split the sunlight in a rainbow.
“You see those pyramids?” Kim asked. “They look very familiar.”
“Yeah, a little too much like the ones on the roach planet. Jack said.
“Apparently pyramids are a universal constant.” Mac said.
“I see a forest ahead.” Mac said. They whooshed over the tree tops of the wooded land and as they did, a young wolven warrior looked up, turned his head toward them and began to walk their direction through the forest.
Mac could see beyond the woods to a field of open grass, and experienced an immediate feeling of déjà vu. It washed over him as they hovered over the exact spot where in the movie on General Martin’s corbamite platter he’d seen the three wolf men back on earth.
“You alright, Colonel?” Jack asked.
“Yeah, just a little tired, that’s all. I know we’re in the right place. Kim, what’s your environmental scanner read now?” Mac asked and knew the answer. The three landing gear legs extended from their craft as it hovered above the field.
“It all looks good to me. We should be able to breathe normally without helmets here.” Kim said.
“OK, let’s get out, but be careful if you see bugs, or strange plants, or anything with three heads, and give a shout out if you do. Also, stay close to the craft so that we can hop on and beat it out of here if we need to.” Mac said.
Mac lowered the ramp, while the team armed themselves with rifles again. The sun was setting over the large prairie. Tall grass covered the field and was roughly knee-deep. The air was fresher than any of them had experienced and it carried an almost intoxicating perfume of summer flowers. White clouds hovered overhead as the Zeta 1 star, this planet’s sun, began to dip below the skyline giving way to twin moons that had not been visible to the crew when they had descended to the planet’s surface. Stars twinkled above them like a blanket of sparkling diamonds as the travelers enjoyed their first moments on the new planet.
“This is a beautiful place. I wish we had something like this back home.” Stephanie said.
“This may be home if we can manage to make nice with the locals and not start an intergalactic war. You hear that everyone? Do not start an intergalactic war.” Mac said.
“I’m hungry, and we haven’t eaten today, I’m pretty sure. Let’s tap into those rations.” Kim said.
“Not a bad idea. Although it’s pretty out here, I think we’ll spend the night inside our ship. I won’t be sure about this place until we step out into the light of a new day and can explore. Predators tend to stalk the nighttime.” Mac said. He missed his kids, but even here so far from earth, he couldn’t help but think of Carol and how much she would love the scenery of this field. “Damn, I miss you.” He said to himself.
“What’s that Mac?” Jack asked. His eyebrows were raised.
“Nothing, I’m just tired from a long day.” Mac said.
“I agree. This could be home.” Jack replied.
The forest beyond the field was populated with some of the largest trees he had ever seen, so tall they would have rivaled the height and girth of the great sequoias. For a moment, in the stillness, among shadows he saw a form move beyond the tree line.
“I think we’re being watched.” Mac whispered.
“You see something out there?” Jack asked. He was looking through the magnifying sight on his rifle.
“I wouldn’t go waving rifles around unless we know for a fact we’re in danger. The locals might be feeling us out and if you appear to be hostile we may not get off on the best foot.” Mac said.
“Yes sir.” Jack said and lowered his rifle.
The crew took shelter in the Poseidon now that it was completely dark. Their clear view of the star filled sky was magnificent as there were no city lights to interfere with the nightscape. They each ate their rations in exhausted silence. Mac brought out the TSA-2056, detaching the small credit card sized control mechanism for the star gate. He missed his children so much that he contemplated taking the device outside and pushing the button now. His crew watched him palm the remote control in his hand and wondered if he would do it, but Mac decided against it, and placed the control back on the metallic device, pushing it aside and going back to his own meal.
Unknown to the crew, Dante, the young wolven hunter observing them, sent to locate those who would come from the stars, was watching them from high up in the trees. The strange hairless people who exited the craft were a curiosity, and he wondered with quiet excitement if they may be the ones he was sent to find. He also knew that the centaurs had been sending patrols close to his woods and had been instigating small skirmishes with some of his own people as the centaurs widened their reach. Gregor, the village chief, shaman and wise man, had also sent Dante out on patrol days ago to make sure the forest had not been breached by the miscreant centaur tribe. So far, this was the most interesting thing he had seen, and in the morning he would go down and initiate contact with the strangers. Night was a bad time to approach strange people, as it tended to send them into a state of alarm. anHe also had no idea if they had ever seen a wolven before. So, he sat in a tree contemplating the future, eating lamb rations from his meat pouch, with his crossbow lying beside him as the twinkling stars displayed another night of brilliance in the heavens above him. Around midnight he fell asleep listening to the crickets sing and dreamed of a coming war.
“Are we opening the star gate tomorrow?” Stephanie asked. Mac cocked his head as if giving the question great thought.
“Let’s scout out the area first, maybe see if there are some locals and decide if we’re dealing with a hostile environment. If we open that portal and an army of snakes or those damned cockroach things come swarming through this mission will have been for nothing. Looks can be deceiving, even though it looks like we landed in paradise.” Mac said.
“I’m a just playing Devil’s advocate h
ere, but wouldn’t it be better, from a security perspective, if we open the star gate and got armed reinforcements from home before engaging the locals, who may be hostile toward strangers?” Jack asked.
“I see your point, but we need to make sure that we’re not opening the star gate back to earth and allowing a division of ET storm troopers or something like that back to our home planet. I know we’re kind of hanging out in the breeze here, but let’s wait until we’re reasonably sure that we’re not dealing with hostiles, and then we can consider opening the gate. I also need to make sure none of us are going to drop dead from some microscopic biological bug native to this planet. Three days should give us time to burn in here. Let’s see if we all live and then we give the all clear.”
“Now I know what the first Europeans to cross the ocean to America must have been feeling. It’s exhilarating and frightening at the same time.” Stephanie said.
“I agree with the Colonel, waiting a few days is a great idea. We have no idea what kind of viruses are here. Ninety-five percent of the population of the New World was wiped out by Smallpox when the Europeans invaded America. They inadvertently killed over 20 million people and needed no weapons to do it.” Kim said.
“It sounds to me like the people here have more to worry about from us, than we from them. Besides, how the heck did you know that?” Jack asked.
“I’m not only a science geek; I’m a history nerd as well.” Kim replied.
“She’s right. Throughout history, the most common cause of mass extinction has been tiny organisms.” Stephanie said.
“Comforting.” Jack replied. He was shaking his head and sitting Indian style on the floor eating a ration of roast beef and drinking water brought from home. “I’m exhausted, let’s eat and crash. Tomorrow’s going to be a big day.”
An hour later, the inflatable portable beds were set up and all aboard were sleeping soundly. A chorus of snores filled the air as their first night on the new planet passed. As they slept, each of them dreamed of a wolf man in a robe, sitting around a ceremonial fire. He convened with them, candles burning in a circle around him as incense floated about his head like a cloud. He was in a state of deep meditation. Then they could see the inside of an ancient library, the shelves filled with leather bound books containing recipes, magical elixirs, and potions to alleviate all manner of maladies. The man was communicating with them in their dreams, and as he did they could see a village of wolf men standing with outstretched arms and friendly smiling faces. His people would not harm the humans, and each member of the party felt a peaceful feeling of love as the shaman opened his eyes and smiled a large toothy grin.
Jack woke up with a full bladder and the early morning sun shining in his eyes as his team mates slumbered. He rose from his bed and walked over to the ramp, which descended at his arrival. He walked down, stopped halfway, and turned around to walk back up the ramp, lifting the surprisingly light TSA-2056 and control unit, taking it outside with him. Jack had no way of telling time in this new solar system, but he guessed it was still very early morning as there was dew on the grass and the sun was low in the sky. After relieving himself, Jack turned his attention to the TSA-2056. He had been curious about the device and since his commander was asleep he wondered if it could hurt to just poke around with it. He also did not trust this new land and felt an urgency to get the gate open so the human military could come through and secure the area. Before they left, the General had given him direct orders to get the star gate open as soon as possible when they landed on the right planet.
“Jack, I don’t think I have to tell you how important this mission is, do I? You guys are it, because this is the only ET craft we have that’s in one piece, and there are no more star gates.” General Martin said.
“Yes sir, I copy. You want me to get the gate open ASAP and get our troops through before someone out there figures out what we’ve got and tries to take it.”
“That’s correct lieutenant. You do this for me, and you’ll jump two ranks. Major Sparling has a nice ring, doesn’t it? Now, I want you to look for anything of material value that we can use when we rebuild over there. I’m talking about gold, diamonds, platinum, you know, precious metals. We need to establish another hierarchy of power and do it quick.”
“Yes sir.”
“We just can’t have people running around uncontrolled over there when we repopulate, Sparling.” Mac said.
That had been their last conversation before Jack left. Now he was millions of light years from Earth, yet so close he could get home with the click of a button, if he could figure out how it worked before Mac woke up. As he was hovering over the device, Jack heard the beating of hooves on the ground, as if someone on horseback were fast approaching. His mind turned to his gun, which was still aboard their ship. He turned around to retrieve it.
“What are you doing here and what are you?” A gruff male voice said from behind him. Jack’s skin prickled at the sound as he turned.
“We’re humans from Earth and we’re here on a peace mission.” Jack said. He had no further comment when he saw what had just asked him that question.
Three centaur warriors stood before him, at least eight feet tall with muscular human-looking torsos and powerful biceps leading down to strong hands that held menacing steel tridents. Their bodies were that of powerful warhorses and they were carried on legs so muscular that each thigh was like a tree trunk. Jack was no match for these creatures and he knew it the instant he looked at them. He swallowed hard. Jack was staring at the face of a thickly bearded green man with slanted eyes, sharp horns protruding from his large forehead, and a long black mane of hair draping down his muscular back. The centaur was frowning and had his trident raised for a strike, when one of the centaurs in back walked forward.
“I’m Yawl, leader of this rabble, and General to Ragnok, King of the centaur clan.” He said. Yawl regarded Jack the same way a child with a magnifying glass looks at a bug he is about to fry with the sun. “Forgive Lonas, he becomes alarmed rather quickly. Please repeat yourself. Why are you here and what is that thing on the ground behind you?” Yawl asked.
Jack became more nervous now, and knew that if he told this man—a stranger who might have meant him harm—what the TSA-2056 could do, these centaurs would kill all of them and use the device to do god only knew what.
“This is just a box filled with parts for the ship. We had a little trouble on the landing and I’m going to fix the gear.” Jack said.
“I think you’re lying. You had better tell me what this does or we’ll stomp on you and destroy it.” Lonas said.
“Lonas, please.” Yawl barked. “My apologies, strange creature. I can’t take him anywhere. But seriously, we need to know what that does, right now.”
Jack had dropped the remote control on the ground before he’d turned around and he was scanning his memory to remember where it was now without looking down. Yawl was impatient and rose up on his back legs in a show of force. When he did, Jack stumbled backward and landed hard on the remote with his rear end. As he did, the box began to glow as rings of golden light formed from it in mid-air. The centaurs backed up a step as a dark portal filled in the opening inside the golden energy rings and a trail through space rushed forward until it opened on the other end, inside the secret underground hangar where three maintenance men in jumpsuits got the surprise of their lives. They were looking at a hole in the west wall where three mythical figures from fairytale legends stared at them with great interest. They stopped what they were doing and stared with open mouths at the foreign world before them. One maintenance man named Dave waved at them in shock as the portal began to close.
Jack rolled off the remote and grabbed it as Stephanie walked down the ramp yawning. She had heard nothing of the commotion and was the second person awake. When she saw that Jack was missing, she decided to go look for him. Stephanie got up and walked outside to see the portal closing and the centaurs looming over Jack on the ground. She stifled a sc
ream. What had Jack done! Jack jumped up and ran toward her, and then tossed something from his hand to hers. When she caught it she realized it was the remote control for the TSA-2056. She quickly tossed it inside the ship before the centaurs saw her. It skidded across the floor, hitting Mac’s right leg, which dangled off his airbed.
The star gate was now closed completely. When Jack scampered up the ramp, Yawl taking it as a sign of aggression, tossed his trident through the air, hitting Jack in the center of his back with a loud thump, crushing his spine. A crimson stream splattered Stephanie’s flight suit as she stood horrified and confused. The three pronged weapon stuck out of his chest as Jack fell to his knees gasping for breath. The weight of the weapon pulled him backward down the ramp and then caught in the ground propping him up like a deranged, bloody scarecrow. Jack was gurgling blood and a wheezing, sucking sound came from his chest as he raised his head to look at Stephanie. His mouth was filling with blood, as he tried in desperate last attempt to warn Stephanie to run, but it was too late and he died propped up on his knees, staring into the new day sun.
“You! Open that back up again!” Lonas shouted.
“I..I..I” Stephanie stammered. She was too terrified to say anything else.
“I like this one, she’s pretty. Take the box!” Yawl yelled. The third centaur galloped forward and swooped down to grab the TSA-2056.
“I’m taking this one with us. She’ll figure out how to get it working, or we’ll eat her for breakfast tomorrow.” Yawl said. Before Stephanie could run away, she was in the clutches of his powerful arms struggling to get away. He held her under his pungent right armpit and began to trot away from the Poseidon. Stephanie screamed as they moved toward the forest.
Mac was startled by the commotion outside and jumped to his feet as he watched a trio of horse men carrying Stephanie off through the spacecraft dome, now galloping at high speed. He grabbed his rifle and ran to the ramp, where he stopped. Before him was the deceased Jack Sparling kneeling with a trident sticking out of his chest, arms flayed back and face to the sky as if he were having a religious experience. It was a horrifying spectacle. Jack was dead. Mac had two dead crew members on his conscience now. He ran past Jack and when he got to the bottom of the ramp, he took aim on the closest centaur to him, a shot two football fields away. Kim ran down the ramp in panic and let out a grotesque yelp when she saw their former crewmember impaled before her, posed as if he were pleading for mercy. As she passed, she bumped him and Jack toppled to the ground, the steel trident slamming against the ramp.
“If you shoot and miss they’ll come back and kill us all. Well, you may die.” A low male voice growled.
Mac turned to see a wolf man walking toward him and turned the barrel of his gun, beginning to sweat, the beating of his heart growing louder in his ears. This strange beast stood eight feet tall with a crossbow slung across his back. The man was muscular and carried himself in the manner of a warrior as he approached Mac. The wolf man’s hazel colored eyes held him with a fierce, penetrating gaze that made Mac feel as if the plasma repeater rifle in his hands would never be enough firepower to knock this creature over.
“Shit…OK…what now? Who are you?” Mac said. He was struck by how much bigger the wolf man was than they; almost twice as tall. What could he do except to surrender? Now another person from his crew was dead and his doctor had been kidnapped. He wiped a bead of sweat from his eye with his shoulder.
“If I wanted to hurt you, it would have been last night when you were out here wandering around like children, just before dark.”
“So it was you, out in the woods.” Mac said.
“Yes, I was watching you. My name is Dante of the wolven tribe Blood Paw. I fell asleep in the night and woke up just as the centaurs were running off. I blame myself for not doing more to stop them, I apologize. We can get them back, possibly, but we’ll have to work fast.” Dante said.
“I’m Mac, and this is Kim. What do you mean them? I only saw one person being carried off.” Mac said.
“I saw Yawl grab your friend, and Lonas took the box.” Dante said.
“What did you say?” Mac felt a white streak of fear slide down his back like an icy hand.
“Yeah, Yawl…”
Mac lowered the rifle to his side. He turned and darted for the ship as Dante stood calmly by. Mac ran up the ramp, slipping in Jack’s blood and almost tearing his ACL. His mind barked at him to calm down. He bolted for the clandestine compartment. When he removed the panel his worst fear was confirmed.
“Godammit! He was probably trying to get it open. Son of a bitch probably made a deal with the General!” Mac was so frustrated he completely forgot that Kim was stuck outside potentially in grave danger with this strange wolf man Dante. He got to his feet. “Breath in, breath out.” He said to himself.
“As I was saying, your friend and that box were taken, but we may be able to get them back. I’ll take you to my father, Gregor. He may have some idea how we can do this in a way that does not start a war with Ragnok. He’s the village chief, shaman and wisest of our tribe.” Dante said. Kim stepped forward in awe of the much taller alien.
“My name is Kim, I’m the science officer.” She said.”Pleased to meet you.” Kim’s hand was visibly shaking and the color had washed from her face.
“Pleased as well. I am sorry about your friend.” Dante said. He seemed genuinely concerned. Kim was relieved to find that he had a sense of empathy.
“We’ll bury him over by the ship.” Mac said.
“Bury? You can’t bury him underground. That’ll draw the libmoks out. They’ll just dig the body up and mutilate it before eating your friend there. We’ll have to burn his corpse.” Dante said.
He produced a small leather pouch from the bag attached to his hip and walked over to where Jack’s body lay. Dante reached inside the pouch with two of his fingers and produced a white powder that he sprinkled on Jack’s body. He was muttering something, but Kim and Mac could not make sense of it. He stepped back and in an instant green flames engulfed the dead man, emulsifying him down to the skeleton. In a few more minutes even his skeletal frame had vanished. The pilgrims from earth had never seen anything like it, and stood enchanted as Dante turned back to them.
“I don’t know how long your friend will survive in the clutches of Ragnok, so we had better get back to my village. Gregor will know what to do.” Dante said.
“Thank you for…taking care of our friend.” Mac said.
“You’re welcome. We can’t leave bodies laying around out here, so as soon as someone’s soul moves on to the next dimension, we burn them. Certain unscrupulous necromancers have raised our own dead against us in times past.”
“Hold on, like zombies or something? People here can actually do that?” Kim asked.
“Yeah, one time I had to fight my second cousin off and send him back to the grave. That’s something you don’t ever want to do, let me tell you.” Dante said. He was shaking his head and frowning.
“Well, we certainly don’t want to do that. Alright, Dante, we’re willing to go with you. It is imperative that we get Stephanie back.” Mac said. He almost mentioned the TSA-2056, but decided it would be better if he kept his mouth shut until he knew these people a little better.
They closed the ship up and took two rifles with them along with a day’s worth of rations in their small backpacks, given to them by DSEC, and followed Dante into the woods. Mac had the control unit for the TSA-2056 tucked in one of the zipper pockets of his flight suit, secreted away from even Kim. He held his panic at bay, trying to avoid thinking of what would happen if the TSA-2056 was destroyed, and he hoped that Stephanie was not being tortured.
“What were those things that took Stephanie?” Mac asked.
“Centaurs, a mean and nasty tribe of war mongers and cut throats. Your friends met Yawl, the worst of them aside from King Ragnok. I don’t know what they were doing out this far, but I suspect they’re planning another war with us.” Dante sa
id.
“War?” Mac asked.
“Yeah, we’ve heard rumblings from the west that Ragnok and his centaur army have been ransacking villages and slowly advancing east. We’ve tried to ignore it until now, but it looks like we may have no choice but to fight. They’re also not going to just hand your friend back over for nothing.”
“I distinctly remember saying, don’t get us into an intergalactic war.” Mac said to himself.
“Be that as it may, you’ve come at a time when a war that has been in armistice for a very long time is about to reignite. Welcome to Eritria, my friends.” Dante said.
His voice came out as a growl that raised the hair on Mac’s neck, giving him cold shivers. They all walked on in silence, but Mac thought about the smiling faces of his children and his burning desire to see them again. He began to get sick with hope and dread. Would war really come? The humans and Dante ventured into the forest, with Mac and Kim desperately hoping a rescue of Stephanie could be pulled off in time.
CHAPTER 8