Chapter 6
Miles reached out with his hand, uncertain that the alien would recognize the human greeting ritual. Garth eyed the hand cautiously, and backed into the corner of the shuttle and cowered in the corner. Garth’s eyes squinted slightly;
“It doesn’t make sense that we can understand each other.” He thought.
Garth initiated the conversation;
“What do you call yourself?” he asked.
“My name is Miles. I am a human from Earth.” Miles responded. “I am a guy too.” He added.
Garth chuckled slightly; the two species weren’t very different at all. Somehow they spoke the same language; or at the very least Garth’s ancestral memory understood and could override the Callos language in order to communicate with Miles.
“Garth. It is nice to meet you.” Garth introduced himself naturally, he felt comfortable around Miles. “I am a Callos, a lead technician of the Convoy.”
Miles shook his head in understanding. The two stood silently for a few moments, their introductions, and while sincere, held little value because neither fully understood each other.
Miles spoke first: “Garth. I am afraid I don’t understand what has been going on. Today was a normal day until I somehow survived the destruction of my planet. I was then attacked by one of your people. I don’t know where I am. I want to go home.”
“Attacked by one of my people?” Garth defended, “Why would I trust you?”
“Why would I trust you?” Miles asked back, “Because I have no one else to trust.”
Garth nervously glanced out the port window; he had been aboard the shuttle far too long to go unnoticed. If he wanted to protect Miles he needed to act soon.
“I’m sorry. I don’t know what to do either. One of our scientists found you and brought you here against the will of the people, you are to be kept hidden.” Garth explained.
Miles whimpered slightly, but his sadness gave way to determination quickly:
“What do we need to do? Can your scientist help me?” he asked.
Garth began typing at the console. He pulled up a conversation with the flight manager:
“Attention. This is Garth Linarr. I am requesting permission to transport this shuttle to CLERGY 5.” His voice boomed on the loudspeaker high above them. He glanced over to the flight tower, the flight manager tried to peer down at Garth; Garth didn’t have authorization to fly a shuttle between vessels.
“State purpose for vessel transport.” The flight manager’s voice scratched over the speaker in the shuttle.
Garth looked nervously back at Miles, who returned a hesitant smile of encouragement.
Garth continued: “Well, there is something I need to clear in the systems cache. CLERGY 5 would be the best place to fix it, because, well…”
The flight manager interrupted; “Permission granted.”
Garth released his pressure on the intercom’s button. He sat back in the pilot’s chair and let out a sigh. Loud sirens and flashing red lights blared alerting those on the floor to return to an air-locked portion of the hanger.
Miles moved for the passenger seat, but Garth hissed at him and told him to stay covered. Their shuttle lifted and floated slowly out into space, in the far off distance Miles could see a sleek glimmering ship, the vessel they just left coated with ice.
“Wow.” Miles breathed, his palms pressed against the window as he leaned to see the hull labeled CLERGY 1. Miles caught himself; the ship was labeled in what appeared to be indecipherable scribbles, yet he understood it to read “CLERGY 1”.
“Garth.” He asked. “I don’t know your language. But I can read the hull of this ship.”
“I don’t recognize your spoken language.” Garth replied. “But somehow I understand what you are saying. My ancestors must have known your language.”
Their shuttle slowly floated towards CLERGY 2. Garth explained to Miles that his people, the Callos, were a nomadic species. They traveled constantly aboard six enormous ships, Garth lived on the capital ship CLERGY 1, but the lab they were traveling to was aboard CLERGY 5. The shuttles move very slowly compared to the fast moving CLERGY vessels, the trip would take them an hour.
“Who is this scientist?” Miles asked as they past CLERGY 2.
“Her name is Lalia Tarrus. She is the greatest mind in the entire Convoy. She broke protocol to find you, but she insists that you are important.” Garth offered.
“Hey! I like to think I am important. I am the last human…” Miles trailed off.
Miles began to cry and sniffle, trying to hide that he was upset.
“It is understandable to cry.” Garth whispers, “Callos cry too.”
A mechanic hurried out onto the hanger floor, the shuttle that just left for CLERGY 5 dropped something. If the shuttle was missing a vital component there could be a catastrophe on CLERGY 5. The mechanic approached the red object lying on the hanger floor, it appeared to be a Callos suit; but as soon as the mechanic touched the fabric he knew that it was something entirely different from his own survey suit. It was something alien.
Once he realized this he stood and yelled for help, but several soldiers entered the hanger escorted by Alvar, the Admiral’s younger brother.
“Sir, I found something!” The mechanic yelled.
Alvar smiled and raised a gun towards the mechanic.
Thirty minutes later, their shuttle neared CLERGY 5. Miles had noted that he was bear beneath the survey suit, remembering that he had stripped off his clothes on Earth.
“You don’t wear clothes?” Garth asked cautiously.
“Oh, no. I do, but my clothes were left back on my planet.” Miles explained embarrassed.
Garth laughed when Miles told him that Doctor Tarrus likely found him naked.
CLERGY 5 was labeled with pink stripes, much like a tiger, the stripes formed enormous words in Callos that Miles was able to recognize as “Medical Vessel”. Garth explained to Miles that CLERGY 5 housed an enormous hospital for the sick, wounded, elderly, and insane Callos. The vessel was also the scientific base of the Convoy, the greatest minds made decisions on CLERGY 1, but they lived on CLERGY 5.
The shuttle landed without incident, Garth opened the hatch and lowered himself unto the hanger floor; it was late in the day and no mechanics were on the floor. Garth ushered Miles, still concealed in a survey suit, through a metal door which whished open for them automatically. The brightly lit corridor led past several chemical laboratories and ultimately to a dark lab about a third the size of the enormous hanger; Doctor Tarrus’s lab was larger than most human homes. Miles reached to depressurize and take his helmet off, but Garth stopped him. In the far corner of the dark lab appeared to be a floating metal octopus, its long tentacles flailing about with light emitting from the tips.
“What is that?” Miles whispered with concern as the two ducked behind a desk.
“That is an automated assistant, it works for Doctor Tarrus. It must be looking for something. Those tentacles are how it sees.” Garth whispered as he peeked over the desk.
The machine’s arms were motorized and loud at the speeds they were frantically looking around the lab. A voice broke the silence;
“Did you find anything yet?”
The voice wasn’t mechanical; some Callos was speaking to the machine. Miles peered around the edge of the table seeing crimson red boots, but nothing more.
“What did you see?” Garth asked, “Who is it?”
“I don’t know!” Miles said excitedly.
The machine responded in a calm almost organic voice;
“I have been unable to find anything out of the ordinary. Doctor Tarrus’s research pertained almost exclusively to alternative practical uses for Idinium. There is nothing relating to Earth or anything on it.”
Miles gasped out loud.
Garth pounced on Miles and covered his mouth.
The machine’s tentacles redirected; their lights scanning the dark room. The machine’s hovering mechanis
m audible as it neared the corner where Miles and Garth hid beneath a table, as it closed in on them, Miles pulled open a cupboard they then crawled into.
The machine hovered right outside of the cupboard, the Callos spoke again:
“What was that noise?” he asked.
“I have been unable to determine the cause of the noise I detected.” The machine responded in disappointment. It then hovered back towards the door where the Callos stood, the door’s hissing signaled that the two had left. Miles and Garth remained hidden for a few more minutes in the musty cramped cupboard until Miles concluded the room was clear.
The two emerged from the cupboard and explored the laboratory, keeping low profile in a hunch, should the two figures return to investigate. Garth walked past the door where the two had left, a red indicator light showed that it was locked.
“Miles, they locked the doors. They won’t expect anyone to be in here. We are safe for now.”
Miles sighed in relief and quickly depressurized his helmet, breathing in the remarkably fresh air of the laboratory.
“What did you do that for? Are you crazy?” Garth screamed at Miles.
“Do what?” Miles asked.
“You just pulled your helmet off! What if you wouldn’t be able to breath in our air?” Garth asked.
Miles shrugged, “I guess I didn’t think of that.” He admitted.
Garth took a few minutes to calm down. Miles browsed the lab, his curiosity demanding that he touch every shiny object in the room.
“So now what?” Miles asked, “What do we do now that we are here? Wait?”
Garth looked around the room, sighed, and shrugged his shoulders. He didn’t have the faintest idea of what to do next.
“We wait for Doctor Tarrus. Why don’t you tell me everything about you?” Garth suggested; they would after all, need to know what to expect from one another.
Miles slouched against the corner, he began to sob loudly.
“I’m sorry.” He apologized, “I, I…” He began to sputter.
Garth watched, at first he stood at a distance, but then he approached slowly.
“Are you upset?” Garth asked for confirmation.
Miles nodded “Yes”.
“Hey, did you want me to get you something to eat or drink?” Garth asked, trying to be helpful.
Again Miles nodded “Yes.”
Garth rummaged through Lalia’s desk, but was unable to find anything edible. He then turned to look through Galio’s desk; finding a stack of wafer-thin discs and a holo-foil image of Lalia. He held the wafers in the air for Miles to see;
“Look! I found food.” He exclaimed.
Miles quieted his sobbing to look up; the wafers were slightly translucent and brown, not at all appetizing. He stopped his sniffling.
“No thanks.” He croaked through his tears.
“Well. I’m sorry, but I don’t know what else you can eat.” Garth apologized.
“Thank you for trying.” Miles said gratefully, “Thank you for trusting me.”
“If Doctor Tarrus believes in you, I have to believe in you too.” Garth explained.
“Doctor Tarrus?” Miles asked hopeful.
“Yes. She is one of the Convoy’s leading scientists; she is responsible for several inventions that have drastically improved Convoy life. She was once married to the Admiral; the commander of the whole Convoy.” Garth explained.
“So she has the power to help me?” Miles asked.
“If anyone does, she will.” Garth assured him.
“Thank you, Garth.” Miles smiled.
“Why don’t you tell me what is going on, lets see if I can’t put it together.” Garth offered.
“Ok.” Miles agreed, wiping his nose with his arm. “Let’s begin.”
Miles started explaining what a human being was composed of; which then got to be tedious as Garth pointed out that Callos shared each of the same body parts. Though Miles felt Garth was curious to see whether everything matched, Miles had already been exposed once that day, he then proceeded to a discussion of his people; Americans. Garth was fascinated by these Americans. The two talked for several hours, only stopping to drink water from the cooling chest at the far end of the laboratory. Callos met Human, Human met Callos.