The Conundrum, page 13
The watcher follows further back now that no one is between them and the human. The watcher signals the other to go to the mezzanine’s other side and take the other basket to the floor. The watcher’s partner is already lowering to the floor level as Syler’s basket touches down.
Syler reaches the floor level and walks along the paths, completely oblivious. He contemplates all the different colors of blossoms and green leaves. Then Syler walks out into a clearing with a fountain in the center of it, spouting water high into the jungle canopy before falling back into the pool surrounding it. He doesn’t notice that as he entered the clearing, one of the watchers was just disappearing around a bend on the other side.
Syler stands there watching the water shoot up to the sky for a moment before moving to a path on the other side—the same path that the watcher’s partner had just gone down.
The watcher closes in on the human, pausing to check around the clearing for any bystanders before heading down the path.
Syler stops along the path to examine a yellow flower the size of his head with a long pistil protruding from it. He turns to walk away when he notices someone that looks a lot like an Earth bat. The ears stick out, like they are receiving information on a different scale than a human. The teeth are pointy and sharp, sticking out from its mouth. Syler glances away, not wanting to offend it. He notices a red flower on the other side of the path, and it feels like the flower is calling to him. As he turns to walk toward it, he notices another one of the bat-people staring at him with something in its mouth. He turns back in the other direction, and there’s the first bat-being with something in its mouth.
Before Syler can react, both watchers shoot darts out of their blowguns. Syler has a surprised look on his face as he slowly slumps to the ground and passes out.
Quickly, the two watchers, bounty hunters from the system Loofia, pull out a large bag and cover the human with it, then roll him over to seal the bag. It morphs into a solid shape with no discernable features. One of the Loofians throws the bag over its shoulder, and they both head back to the clearing.
The other people around the clearing take little notice of the two Loofians carrying a nondescript bag. They carry the human back to their ship. Nobody they pass even gives them a second glance. Being small in stature has its advantages.
They load the human onto their small ship and request to depart from the station, and moments later, the station releases them. They slowly move away from the station. When they’re far enough away, they fire up their main engines and take off for a rendezvous.
ADAM LOOKS AROUND AT us. “I am very happy to be back with you after my adventure in the blackness of nothing. It was not a pleasant experience. Where are we?”
Olivia and I nod to Kisha to go ahead. “You’re in the Aleudian’s medical bay. They put you back together.”
“They know how to fix me?” He asks with a quizzical look.
Olivia and I smile. “That’s another big news story,” Olivia says, her smile growing into a laugh. Adam looks even more confused. We should probably tell him.
“Well, it seems you and the Aleudians have a lot more in common than it first appeared. The Aleudians were created by a race of beings that are long gone.” Adam tilts his head as if he’s digesting this new information. I get into more of their story so that he won’t lay there confused. I let him know everything the Aleudians told us, and by the end of it, Adam lays there with an excited look, full of contentment.
“Thank you for telling me all of this, Caleb. I must talk more with the Aleudians.”
“Definitely. But first, how do you feel?” I ask him.
He looks down at his body and then back up to me. “I feel great!” he says, with a smile the size of a small shuttle.
“Are you ready to stand up?” Kisha asks.
I see Adam enter his quick trancelike state and emerge just as quickly. “I do feel like I can...” He says as he moves his legs to the side of the bed and sits up.
Kisha moves to his side and touches his shoulder to help him. She looks like it’s fully hit her that Adam is alive again.
Adam edges to the side of the table and his feet slowly touch the ground as he stands up. “I feel strong. I thought maybe there would be some residual effects, but it seems those worries were unfounded.”
As Adam starts to cautiously walk around his bed, the door to the medical bay opens. Gold-robe walks in with a couple of green-robes following behind.
“How are you feeling, Adam?” gold-robe asks.
“I feel wonderful. I must thank you for all that you have done for me. I cannot thank you enough.”
“You are most welcome—we are glad we could be of service.”
The two green robes walk up to Adam carrying small devices, and it looks like they’re scanning Adam. They move the devices around Adam like magicians performing a magic trick with their wands. The Aleudians look at their instruments, turn to gold-robe, and nod. Gold-robe nods back, and the green-robes leave the medical bay without saying a word.
“We’re going back to our ship,” Olivia says, stepping in front of gold-robe.
“We would like to talk with Adam.”
“Not now—we need to get back to our ship and away from the effects of the station,” Olivia sternly says.
Gold-robe pauses, looking at Olivia. They finally step to one side while saying, “We understand—we will contact Adam soon.”
“Can you provide a security detail for us as we travel through the station?”
Gold-robe bows slightly. “It is already done. They are waiting outside in the passageway.”
“Thank you and know this—I do appreciate what you did for my crew member, but he needs to rest, and we need to clear our heads.”
I want Adam back on the ship as soon as possible. But I want to get him alone so I can share Doc’s news.
Adam pauses in front of gold-robe. “Thank you. I am truly grateful for everything you did for me. I look forward to talking with you more.” He smiles and nods his head in respect to the Aleudian.
I can’t leave here without saying something. “Thanks so much for what you have done for Adam.” I know—I’m magical with words.
Kisha steps a bit closer to the Aleudian. “Thank you,” she says as a smile spreads across her face. She turns to Adam, puts her arm around his shoulder, and they walk out of the medical bay.
We follow them through one of those rooms with Aleudians in different colored robes working at stations in weird cubicles. The wall irises open to the outside passageway where four red robes await. We leave the strange room, and the red robes surround us and begin to lead us back to the ship.
As we walk back, every other species stops to stare at us as we pass. They have to be wondering what the heck is going on. At this point, I am still wondering what is happening and what are we supposed to do now.
I’m eager to find out what Doc has to say, though. The thought has crossed my mind that Helios could very well be pretending to be Doc, but his mailboxes are very well secured. He’s been keeping secrets for much of his life, and I know that Doc’s learned how to keep them locked up tight.
I watch Adam as he walks through the crowded passageway. I am glad he’s back. It was scary there for a while, and I was worried we had lost him. He said something about the blackness of nothing—I don’t know what he went through, but it just makes me happier that he was able to wake back up.
We get to our port of entry, and the red robes stand aside as we cycle into the Misconception. As the hatch closes behind me, I don’t know if I’ve ever been so happy to be back on a ship.
SYND IS READING THE latest on what’s happening in the universe. The news floats in front of her, direct from her NEAD. The ship AI sends a warning to prepare for the jump out of the Fold, pulling Synd’s attention away. She looks up and watches the screens as the Starling emerges from the Fold. The screens fill with far-off stars and planets twinkling in the distance. One of the screens closes in on a rocky planet with the teardrop shape of the Aleudian space station orbiting it.
“I have the space station on the scope,” Pitre says as he works his controls.
The ship’s main engines come alive with a rumble throughout the ship. Pitre positions the vessel with the side thrusters to come about.
Synd watches as the space station becomes more apparent and more focused. She’s amazed at how it glistens like a water droplet in the sunlight. She’s never seen a station quite like this one. She’s been on different human space stations but never a product of another species’ technology or ingenuity. She is eager to see the inside of the station.
“We have an incoming message,” the communications officer says.
“Send it over,” Pitre orders.
The floating screen before Pitre comes to life with the image of the Ecknarian bounty hunter.
“Do you want me to play it here or send it to you privately?” Pitre asks.
Synd thinks about it for a moment and decides whatever they have to say the crew members on the bridge deserve to know.
“Play it, please,” she says as she looks around the room and sees that most of the crew are interested in what this new species has to say to them. She wonders if this is the first time some of them have seen or heard another species.
The Ecknarian starts saying something, but Synd can’t understand it—to her, it sounds like some hoots and screeches. Then, it reaches down onto its beltline below the video feed, and the language changes to Earth standard.
“Apologies, we do not usually speak to other beings unless it is necessary. In this case, it is necessary. So, we speak to you. We have remained in the system to assist. We have already taken down one of the crew members, and we have been monitoring the station—their ship is still in port. We await your arrival.”
The video ends, and the bounty hunter is frozen in time, staring at Synd. It’s not staring at her, but she feels its eyes burning into her. She wonders suddenly how they’re going to want their payment.
“We have multiple Space Fold exits lighting up our scans,” Pitre says over his shoulder as he examines the scans and readouts sent to him from his crew around the bridge.
“Are they ours?” Synd asks.
“They’re our spy drones, Sir.” Pitre turns to Synd. “We now have an armada of drones in the system. That ship won’t be escaping anytime soon.”
Synd looks at Pitre and smiles. Pitre turns back around and starts reading his scans. Synd wishes she felt the same way Pitre did, but she just can’t get there now. She’s going to wait and see how this all plays out. There are way too many variables still in play. She still doesn’t know how or why these Ecknarians are involved. What is their angle, and why help us? It doesn’t help that somehow; this crew of the Misconception has always found a way to escape. So, she’ll hold off on congratulating herself for having them trapped until they have the crew locked up in Starling’s brig.
“We are being hailed, Captain,” the communications officer announces.
“Send it over, please,” Pitre orders.
The screen comes to life with a bat-like-looking face, and the shoulders of a two-armed being. The crew on the bridge make a collective “woah”—apparently none of them have seen this being before. Synd stares at the screen, wondering who this must be and what they want.
“What do you want to do, Sir?” Pitre asks as he turns around to face her.
The bat-face stares at Synd but can’t see her. She leans forward in her chair, trying to look more closely at this being.
“We should find out what they want. Have they identified themselves?” She turns to the communications officer.
“No, Sir,” the communications officer says.
“Ship, do we have any information on these beings?”
“Searching. We have very little on them. They are from a planet named Loofia. That is the extent of our information,” the AI informs.
“Well, that does a lot of good—we need more information on these people and now. Why isn’t there someone out there exploring the universe and collecting information on all of these species?” Pitre says, half-joking.
“I second that,” Synd says. “Alright, let’s hear what they have to say.”
Synd readies herself mentally to speak to another species for the first time—she doesn’t want to offend them or screw it up.
Pitre unmutes the screen. The Loofian has been waiting patiently. Synd realizes that the Loofian hasn’t moved since the live feed began.
“Hello, how may I help you?” Synd asks, suddenly hoping that they have a translator device.
The Loofian touches a device on its throat.
“Harlo...herlo...Hello...” The Loofian adjusts the device on its throat as it speaks.
“Hello,” Synd repeats.
“Hello. We have something you might want.” The Loofian smiles a sharp, toothy grin.
Synd recoils inside at the site of their grin—she collects herself internally.
“What do you have?”
The Loofian smiles even larger. “We were on the Aleudian space station when we received news of your bounty. We watched as other bounty hunters failed to capture the individuals you desired.”
Pitre turns to Synd with a look of intrigue. Synd notices Pitre but tries not to look away from the Loofian.
“I see, and what do you have that we might want?”
The Loofian grins and moves to touch something to the side—the video feed switches to an individual tied up with a material that looks like webbing from a spider. The other Loofian, standing next to the tied-up individual, lifts the individual’s head. Synd instantly recognizes this person. It’s Misconception’s JumpDrive coordinator, Syler Fisco. Synd tries to contain herself and slowly takes a deep breath.
“How did they get him?” Pitre whispers, lifting his jaw off the deck.
Synd watches the Loofian as it tries to wake Syler up by slapping him. Syler doesn’t move—his head slumps back down toward his chest, his head in line with the Loofian’s chest. With a start, Synd realizes that the Loofians are small people.
“Is he still alive?” Synd asks.
The image on the screen switches back to the first Loofian. “Yes, he is alive at the moment. He is under the influence of a poison from our planet. It normally incapacitates an individual, but we’ve never dealt with a human before.” The Loofian grins.
The teeth are a little too much for Synd. She doesn’t know how to react to this new revelation—it almost seems too good to be true.
Synd collects herself. “What do you want in exchange for handing this individual over to us?”
The Loofian moves closer to the camera, where its face takes up most of the screen.
“We would like to be paid in credits, and to know more about humans. This is our first contact with humans, and we would like to collect more information on your species. We would also reciprocate in kind.”
Synd didn’t think that was coming, and it shows on her face. Pitre turns toward her with a look of surprise, which matches Synd’s.
Synd collects herself again and sits up straighter in her chair. “How would you like to make the transfer?” This might be her first time communicating with another species, but she has to act like she’s done this before. Helios gave her ownership of this mission—she knows she’s ready for it, and now is the perfect time to prove she’s ready.
“We are still in the system. We can come to you if that is sufficient?” The Loofian says as it moves back away from the camera.
“We are heading to the station. If you’d like to meet us on the way, we would be happy to welcome you on board for the exchange,” Synd says.
“We are on our way. Until we meet.” With that, the Loofian reaches to the side, and the video feed cuts off.
Pitre turns toward Synd. “Well, that was unexpected!”
“That it was,” Synd replies, but she says it while thinking about how to deal with this new information. There’s a lot to unpack, and she’s distracted by her thoughts.
Pitre watches Synd—he can tell she isn’t on the bridge right now. He respects that a lot is happening now, and she has to figure it all out.
“Would you like some help—bounce some ideas off me?” He asks.
Synd comes out of her head and looks over at Pitre. “Sorry?”
“Would it help to bounce some of those ideas off me? I know a lot is happening, and I wondered if you wanted to get any nuggets of wisdom.” A smile crosses his face.
Synd smiles back. “That—would be great. It would be nice to hear from someone with experience in these areas.”
“Let’s go relax in the officers' lounge and have something to drink and eat. I always perform better with a full stomach.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Synd says as she stands up.
Pitre joins Synd and they leave the bridge.
CHAPTER 14
As we walk through the shuttle bay, I wonder if Adam is as eager as I am to listen to Doc’s message. I can hardly contain myself now that I’m back on the ship.
“Captain, we’ve got a problem,” Missy interrupts suddenly.
“What is it, Missy?” Olivia asks as the group comes to a halt.
“Syler is missin’!”
Olivia turns to the rest of us. “What does that mean? Did he not come back to the ship?”
“He returned to the ship. He ran an update and system check on the JumpDrive and left to get something to eat. But I can’t reach his NEAD now,” Missy says, missing most of her accent.
“You mean you can’t ping it at all?” Olivia asks, looking at us in distress.
“No, Captain, I can’t!”
“What the hell?!” Kisha exclaims.
