Jeopardy Chap 5

The hatch slid to one side and bright lights shined into Jackson’s eyes. He couldn’t exactly see what, if anything, stood in front of him.

“What’s the air like inside?” Jackson asked Wagner, who was reading a scanning instrument.

“Looks like 17% oxygen, 77% nitrogen, 1% argon, 0.5% carbon dioxide, and 4 percent water vapor. Temp is 31 C. Gravity is zero point seven G’s. Think of it as Costa Rica in July.”

“Helmets off,” Jackson said. Once they unlocked their EV suits and stashed their head covers in the Osprey, Jackson was able to look through the oncoming lights to see the occupant who had opened the hatch.

A shiver erupted on his skin inside his insulated suit. A single life form, taller than themselves, thinner than themselves, and hairless. It had smooth, mottled blue skin like a salamander, with a pair of bulgy, golden-green eyes, one on each side of its…head? The big orb resembled a beach ball with some of the air let out, hanging behind the area with the eyes, and a nose. Or it might have been a mouth. And under each eye was some kind of organ that appeared ribbed like the underside of a mushroom.

Most stunning were its multiple legs, or, arms, likely both, that stretched from the base of the head-neck-face straight to the deck. It didn’t have a central body. In fact, it didn’t appear to have a spine. Two appendages below the … face/nose/mouth? were short, with filamentous ends, something like fingers. Two more appendages just below the first were longer, with several tentacles at the end that stretched out like seaworms. Both were near the face and head.

The other appendages, eight, it seemed, were legs, paired like an insect, but not with an exoskeleton. The whole being looked like it had been put together from spare parts: half a dozen mottled-blue slugs upright under a soft shell that bobbed behind its eyes, which were focused directly on his own. It was a 2.5-meter, sky-colored, octopus! Hextopus? Dectopus?

Captain Jackson maintained his composure, on the outside. He had to admit he’d never met a spineless, space faring life form with ten arms and legs.

A moment later the alien waved one of its long arms and stepped backward so the three humans would have room to enter. Jackson led Adams and Wagner into the alien’s territory leaving the Osprey attached, but empty.

It shuffled ahead of them up a dimly lit corridor. Another one appeared, more greenish, and waited for them to catch up. It handed its crewmate a small metallic box. The blue alien touched it and then held it out to the humans. Jackson looked at his men, then back at the alien.

Alien number One fluttered its mushrooms and emitted notes from an Asavari scale, reminding him of his former navigator, an Indian woman. She loved her folk music and often played sitar recordings in her quarters; he’d caught her meditating with an open flame and her music playing when the fire suppression system went off.

“Does he want us to talk?” Wagner asked.

“Maybe that’s a translator,” Adams said.

“Do you want us to speak to the box?” Jackson asked, looking at it in case they were wrong. Maybe it was a recorder, or a device to read their temperature, but the creature only made another sound and pushed the box at them again, wavering it slightly.

“You want us to talk? Well, boys, let’s talk.” Jackson turned to their two hosts. “I’m Captain Thomas Jackson of the Science Ship Maria Mitchell; we’re from a planet that’s 23 light years from here, called Earth. This is my doctor, Phil Adams, and my armory officer, Clayton Wagner. We’re humans.” Jackson’s eyes casually searched for weapons on the aliens or their ship but discern any threats.

“What do you call yourselves, and what is your emergency? I hope that’s a translator because I’m going to feel like an idiot if it’s not.”

“I’m Dr. Adams, a physician. If you have a medical situation, I’d like to see your doctor and sick bay.”

The response was more Indian music from their mushrooms and they both manipulated a button-sized device into small holes behind each eye.

“We understand you. Keep this.” The blue alien’s words sounded as if it was a talking computer, a synthesized voice. It handed the box to Jackson. “Not stop it from function.”

Captain Jackson took the translation device by the handle.

“Thank you. I don’t think we would be able to speak your language.”

“We Zlōgers. Our planet, Lojeen, 11 light years toward center of galaxy. Our star old, cool. Come with.” Jackson followed the aliens and his crew followed him. He took in the surroundings as they traversed deeper into the ship. Still enveloped in their EV suits, Jackson began to feel the weight of the high humidity and the low oxygen content in the air. A vague odor like that of a busy fishing wharf permeated the walls.

“We grateful for help.”

“What do I call you?”

“I am Commander Gugnichacrik, he is Pekeena, medicine zlo.”

“I’m Captain Jackson, this is our medicine person, Adams, and Wagner, my technician.”

“Your garments show hierarchy?” Gugnichacrik asked, turning, and ambling away from the hatch toward the heart of the ship. The others followed a step behind. “We no need.”

Did it mean they didn’t need a hierarchy or garments? The vague odor of a fishing seaport seemed stronger, as did the gravity, the deeper in they got. Windows obviously weren’t important aboard the alien vessel. Jackson’s body was acclimating to the environment although not enjoying the change of scenery from the Maria Mitchell.

“Yes, but these do not.” He tugged at his own suit. “They are environmental suits.” The Zlōgers led the party to a room that seemed comfortable, with bench seating and a central table.

“You put outer garments here if environment suitable without wearing,” Pekeena, the doctor, told them. Given the conditions, Jackson didn’t hesitate to climb out of his 14-kilogram suit. 

Environmental suits were worn over snug fitting long sleeve shirts and close-fitting trousers, both of which were significantly cooler, drier, and easier to wear.

“We appreciate that,” Jackson said. “Commander Gugnichacrik, we have urgent business in the Beta Hydri system and they’re expecting us. We don’t have time for a kidnapping and ransom, so what is it you need? We just need to be on our way.”

“Not see hull damages?” If a Zlōger could appear surprised, this one was doing a good job of it with wide opened eyes and fluttering mushrooms. Jackson looked at his party, shaking his head.

“No, we certainly didn’t. It must be on your starboard side.”

“We want reach orbit of planet, make repair.”

“You said medicine supplies. Do you need something specific or raw materials?” Jackson’s clipped speech took an extra moment for the translators to kick in. The two of them looked at each other and blew air through their mush – those were gills. Those are gills, respiration organs! He looked at Adams and glanced back and forth a few times. Adams nodded.

“Amphibians,” the doctor whispered. Jackson answered with a subtle nod.

“You offer all service? At what price?” the greenish doctor Zlōger asked. Jackson looked from Adams to Wagner and back to the greenish creature.

“Wait, no, you said medical supplies.”

“Maybe we can make a trade. Sit?”

Jackson remained standing, his hands clenched.

“What do you need, we will give you what we can, and we must leave immediately.”

“We need food 40. Hull breach caused by a small meteorite, we suspect. We not have proof. Most space dust and particles reflected by radiation shield. We will need boron, lithium, aluminum--”

“Wait.” Jackson held up one hand and turned to Adams. “My doctor will help you if you will take us to your infirmary.” Adams moved toward them.

Commander Gugnichacrik crossed the room to a monitor. Jackson amused himself briefly watching the Zlōger walk, as if on extended tip toes. At the end of each limb was a large single claw that clacked on the smooth flooring. The flat monitor came to life and an image of a hole appeared, roughly four by four meters.

“Our hull aluminum alloy with ionomers to seal minor disturbance. With breach this size, not reach half-light speed.” An alarm rang in Jackson’s head. They’d been following them at more than 100 times light speed. Was that a mistake in the translator or the blue guy’s speech? He spoke with diligence.

“Our ship has machinery that can build most any needed technology if the materials are available. My doctor even used it to manufacture medicine, but my engineers usually use it to replicate parts that break or wear out.”

Jackson couldn’t imagine going into space without a Directed Energy Deposition machine. How would they replace things that you’d need? Broken dishes, damaged tools, blankets, parts for propulsion systems, weapons … if they had the raw material, they could make whatever they programmed it to make. Given enough room, time, and materials, the damn thing could make a house. In fact, on Earth, they sometimes did in regions where newer technologies weren’t available.

“We able to assemble our hull with right elements. We hope find them on planet. We could use taxi to planet. Many our crew would enjoy visit your ship.”

A tense burst of serotonin rattled Jackson’s solar plexus and a red flag waved in his head.

“What can you offer in trade?” he asked, mostly to avoid answering. Gugnichacrik rattled off a list of metals, minerals, and miscellaneous engine parts.

Captain Jackson’s ears pricked when he heard ‘iridium’ but these blue guys weren’t benign explorers. He put a lock on his enthusiasm.

“Iridium would be of value to us, say, ten kilograms in exchange for the medical supplies you need?” Jackson would have done it out of generosity had they not fired on Maria Mitchell.

Gugnichacrik rose from the bench and herded the humans back to the hatch. “We contact you next day?”

“We have a mission to attend to. We’re not waiting until tomorrow. Don’t you want my physician to assess your infirmary deficiencies?”

The Zlōgers waited for the translation then conferred in low tones. Jackson took the chronometer from his wrist and set a timer for one hour before handing it to the commander.

“We will not stay longer. We’ll return with whatever medical supplies you need and then we will leave.”