Chapter 1
“Where...are we?”
I guess the Vlancos would say that I was out of balance in my life. They’re perfect—I’m not. I stood in the middle of the living room, stunned and confused over what started as a simple conversation with my wife that turned sour.
Long trips were expected. It was just a part of space travel and Carol was well aware of this. So, when she found out it was going to be another several years, it didn’t go over well. I didn’t know whether to feel anger or disappointment. My love for her is like two sides of a coin. On one side it is passionate and strong, on the other side, frustrating bewilderment. My normal response was to leave the room before things got worse. But a voice inside me said that I can’t solve my problems by running away. I think it’s what my dad would have said, and he would be right.
Unlike so many other failed marriages around me, mine means something to me. Like my work, failure is not in my vocabulary. But how could we settle our argument so we both win? It would be easy for me to use facts to justify my position, which after awhile I'm sure I would start believing myself. Or I could give in to Carol, which would only give her the incentive to be defiant in future arguments. To break down the wall between us it must be a win/win solution. Impatient as I am, and someone who hates conflict, means it had to start with me.
"Carol," I say, hopeful of approval. "I'm sorry if I have upset you in any way." Her eyes dropped. "I really, honestly, love you..." She stares at the ground. "…so, so very much. I would like to let you have your way. But I don't know if it would be good for our relationship if I just, gave in to everything you ask."
Her eyes gaze intently at the ugly orange floor covering, she has repeatedly reminded me of, which further illuminates the frustration on her face. As I stood waiting for a response, my mind starts to wander. She is so emotional, and yet, I married her for that reason. Its been said that people marry another who compliments their inadequacies; it really seems true... not because people necessarily use the other as a crutch to take control of an area they themselves can't handle, but I think it gives people the opportunity to help each other develop and strengthen each others weaknesses.
Finally, out of the loud silence, in the stand-off of our power struggle, Carol spoke up.
"Sometimes you make me soooo mad!" she shot out, abruptly. Her face red, muscles tense, a glare that would kill any insect crawling by.
Carol had a strict, traditional upbringing from a sturdy, insensitive, old style Russian father. She cowered from him, but now tends to reject male authority figures--like me. For my own good, I had to remember to keep us on equal footing. Why is it so difficult to apologize? Are we so fixed and independent that we can’t give in? How did we marry in the first place? At the moment, none of these answers will make a bit a difference to our confrontation.
I paused to see if she wanted to vent more, but she just stood there…starring at the floor, slowly blinking.
Something came out of my mouth before I realized it. “Carol, would it mean anything to you if I told you I plan on making this my last mission? What did I just say to her! I can’t believe I just said that. I really loved this job!
Immediately her muscles soften, and I could sense the tension in the room leave. This was a tough decision to make, but I knew when the words slipped from my mouth and she looked up at me and with an emotion of relief that made my heart skip, it was the right one.
She carefully, slowly and reluctantly walked toward me and gave me an intimate hug. We stood there, rocking like we were slow dancing. I was so thankful we were close again that I only half heard her speak of how she loved me because I allow her to express herself and that she takes her frustrations out on me when she means them to direct them toward her father.
The solution really was a simple and obvious one. So why hadn‘t I thought of it before. Actually, I know why—I’m stubborn and I didn’t like the answer. Sometimes I just make things difficult for myself. If I would just humble myself and give in a little, instead of trying to be equal all the time. But was this a flash of inspiration from something I just happened to overlook? Or was it from a greater untapped intelligence within or beyond me?
Something good was taking place between us, and the wall between us was removed. It brought us closer to one another; maybe even toward a great relationship, or even a perfect one. Yes a perfect one. Should I laugh and slough it off when I think of the idea of achieving perfection? I just experienced it with Carol, when we made peace. Isn’t that a perfect moment between us? So why don’t we do it all the time? We really should, and I know of people who can do it.
About a year ago I saw something that only a few people on Earth have ever had the opportunity to observe. It was the chance of a lifetime; to experience a culture where perfection is commonplace, and society was balanced. It seemed that the more they achieved high ethical standards, the less wickedness prevailed. However, there was always a sacrifice in some way. Many times risking something, or someone, to achieve it. We on Earth would say that they sacrificed their individuality, but I’m not sure. The whole ordeal still hasn’t quite sunk in yet, but I do know that the visible world and our five senses are only a shell of who we are. That we are connected to an inner, extremely precious, rarely ventured, unseen, but very real force. It made such an impact on me I had to write this down.
***
It was almost a year ago to the day when I was with a crew of five people on a research vessel, called the Sojourner5, headed toward the Epsilon Eridani system about ten light years away. We were assigned to investigate potential life supporting planets that Earth might be able to colonize in the future. There were three other vessels: one destined for the Alpha Centauri system, one for Sirius, and one for Wolf359. Even though we were traveling at near light speed, it would take us several years to make it to our destinations. Therefore, we had to go into a suspended state, not only to conserve our food supply, but also to reduce the boredom of space. We had traveled about three light years from Earth when the trouble began. We woke from our sleep and expected the Epsilon system to be staring at us. Not so.
I felt a little dizzy from upon waking and checked on the others to see if stasis reversal had any side affects on the crew. “Chip,” I called into my wristcom, “could you get a blood analysis of everyone for proper stasis reversal.”
“Affirmative,” a groggy voice replied. I assumed it was Chip.
As I scanned the planetary imager, I was puzzled at the layout, examined a few directions on the imager, only to be thoroughly baffled. I rechecked the readings and held my head.
“Computer! Where in God’s black universe are we?”
I usually call him by the informal name Bill, but I tend to get official when I’m alarmed. A warm, but a firm male voice stated, in a matter-of-fact kind of way,
“Sojourner5 is in the Hercules Cluster, near M13 at NGC #6205.”
“What? M13? That’s…that’s 25,000 light years away from Earth, on the other side of the Milky Way. It can’t be.”
The crew slowly returned to the bridge to find out the plan of the day (POD).
“Check your analysis again.”
Chip was ahead of the others. “Are we in Epsilon, yet?”
I rubbed my aching head. “That’s what I’m trying to find out.”
The computer spoke calmly. “There is no error, Alex. Sojourner5 is in the Hercules Cluster, nearest to M13 at NGC #6205.”
I took a deep breath. “There has to be an error in your program—it’s impossible for us to be 25k away.”
“All programs are functioning normal, Alex.”
I had no answers. “Fine. What’s your best guess on what happened, Bill?”
“An unknown high energy plasma disruption occurred while you were in stasis. It is highly probable that the event correlates with the Sojourner5’s new position in the galaxy. It was imperative that I accomplish multifunctional operations to keep the crew’s DNA within tolerances and therefore was not able to perform an analysis of the event as it occurred. However, if you can give me a few moments, I will access the information and provide an evaluation for you.”
My copilot, Tom sat down in the chair next to me. “Wormhole of some sort?”
“I don’t know, Tom. Thanks, Bill, go for it.” I stood up to greet my dizzy crew, took one step and my knees buckled. Tammy lunged to catch me.
Chip stood with his hands on his hips. “Yep, that’s what happened to the rest of us too. I thought it was a computer malfunction, but it looks like...” His eyes widened and looked past me. “Like, maybe were in trouble?”
“I know Chip, were halfway across the Galaxy,” I stated condescendingly.
“No,” said Chip backing up a bit. “I mean trouble, like that ship closing in on us.”
“And our red warning lights don’t mean the hookers have arrived,” said Dale, throwing out his usual humor.
As I turned around, the imager blinked red on a space vessel speeding toward us. The imager was scanning the armament on the other ship as it was preparing to fire. Before I had a chance to make any alterations to the controls, the computer went into a defensive/avoidance maneuver. Our cloaking apparatus, along with decoy deployment, was released, and full speed propulsion was automatically initiated. We were all sent flying to the bulkhead. I caught a glimpse of weapons fire and felt an ulcer coming on. The imager indicated that the alien ship deflected our shots and began a methodical sweep pattern to analyze and destroy our decoys one at a time.
The Sojourner 5 slowed down and nestled itself into a nearby asteroid group. We picked ourselves up off the deck and took our battle stations. Tom, Dale, and myself had seen military action. The others were wide-eyed and obviously on the verge of panic.
I scramble up to my seat. “Hang in their guys, everything will be okay.”
Everyone took to their emergency stations. It was imperative they remember the procedures to conduct necessary tasks to thwart off the attack. Although, we had shelter in the asteroid group, I knew that was only a temporary solution.
One by one the Alien ship destroyed all the decoys, then began making a wider sweep. As it neared the asteroid belt, I prayed our holographic asteroid mask, around the ship, would last. “Bill, what are the odds of us going one on one with the alien ship?”
“Limited info on weapons systems. 50/50. Run and hide is safest.”
I loved it when Bill abbreviated his sentences in crisis situation. “Thanks Bill, but the decoys won’t fool ‘em twice.”
I initiated the voice translator with the other ship and sent out the interplanetary peace message. They ignored the message and redirected their course straight toward us. I had given away our position and now had to do battle.
I called out tactical maneuver. “Bill, F101Delta!”
The Forward force field energized and we sped directly into the path of the alien ship. The goal was to take a hit and veer to the weak side of the ship, fire at the propulsion system as we pass by, taking us toward a safe harbor at near light speed. The alien ship fired as expected and was deflected by our shield as hoped. Our weapons either missed them or had no effect. We moved away at an erratic pattern with rear camouflage protection and lost them—for the moment.
In wait, I bit my lower lip and stared at the imager. We continued at maximum speed. In most cases, when the adversary is unknown, it is better to run than fight. The attacking alien ship appeared on the imager, slowly gaining from behind us. Bill analyzed the approach and took in suggestions from the rest of the crew. Why didn’t the alien ship answer our signal for communication? Why fire upon us in the first place? What did they want?
The safe harbor I was looking for could have meant a vacant planet or even a dusty comet…I wasn’t particular. I would do what ever it took for us to survive. It was surprisingly quiet on the ship. Everyone did their jobs plugging in information for the computer to evaluate. Finally, Bill responded.
“Alex, Starboard, 12degrees, M class planet, large humanoid population, advanced technology. Send signal? Engine speed is at 100%.”
I had no time to assess options. “Do it, Bill…and I want 110%!”
The alien ship closed fast on our position. Our vessel shook as we sped to the upper threshold velocity. Unpredictably, the secondary imager on the consol was initiated.
A response from an unknown source came from the consol. “Please direct your ship to course heading to 016.2 starboard in seven seconds.” The voice was calm yet deliberate.
“They speak English?” I said to no one in particular.
Tom sat in the copilot seat next to me, punching in data and uploading it to Bill. He stopped and stared at me. “What do you think?” he asked in a loud whisper as the seconds ticked by.
I looked at the attacking ship closing in, then at Tom. “What do you think?”
“Your guess is as good as mine. But my gut says they’ve got to be more humane than our trigger happy buddies.”
I didn’t really have time to discuss whether they were friend or foe, but like Tom, I figured it was our only option at the moment. At seven seconds, I set the course and found myself heading into a series of small uninhabitable planetoids on each side. By the time we entered the planetary bodies, the attacking ship closed in behind us. It fired on us and in that one shot destroyed aft shield failed. The ship began listing and veering off course.
Dale piped in. “The NavPro CPU’s been hit. Um, sorry Alex, I can’t fix it right now, I‘m kind a busy?”
The physical damage to the aft plating was minimal, however, a surge blasted into the computer control access grid. No further shots were initiated from the attacking vessel. My momentary theory was that it/they/whatever didn’t have intentions of destroying us but rather capture us.
“Bill! Get us anywhere but here!”
“Directional and speed control are disabled, Alex. Possible collision with planetoids is highly likely.”
“Great!” I pounded on the control panel, “We’re powerfully blind!”
Just as I was going to ask Bill for options, both imagers came on—audio only. Imaging may have been block from their end, but they spoke in American English.
From the secondary Imager, the attackers blurted out in a harsh, demanding tone. “You will be exterminated if you try to defend yourself! Surrender now!”
The primary imager’s audio initiated, and a tranquil voice spoke up. “Please stay calm, we will be with you shortly.”
Before I had a chance to answer either the attacker or the ‘ally,’ three small sleek vessels had placed themselves between us and the attacking ship. Then, like being in the middle of a family feud, the two alien groups were chattering back and forth, in a language Bill was in process of deciphering.
“Come on Bill, what are they saying!”
“One moment, Alex.”
By the time the computer finished analyzing the language, the discussion ended with some very real anger vented from our attackers to our new associate. The attacker sent a blast of weaponry, of which I have never seen before, to all three of the vessels. It was a huge, powerful blast of energy, which disintegrated the vessels immediately. We were stunned by our new allies’ obliteration. As we stared in disbelief at the force and power and destruction the blast made, four other larger spherical shaped vessels in a three dimensional triangulated format closing in on the aft side of the attacking alien ship. Before the attackers could respond, another sphere type of ship moved in front of us. They immediately energized some kind of polarizing field and effortlessly carried the attacking vessel to one of the nearby planets, like a seed inside a glass box. Bill was now translating a lot of yelling and cursing by the attackers, but foreign swearing meant nothing to us.
The person who told us to wait and be calm, came back on the screen, and again in a tranquil voice explained their intentions.
“Please, follow the green guide ship that is on your bow. Do not be alarmed, we will take good care of you.”
Did we really have a choice? They were towing us with and magnetic tow rope, and our propulsion was out. We were towed to a space station outside a large planet for repairs. The crew had gathered around the imagers behind Tom and I.
“Me and Dale just about peed in our pants!” Tammy piped in.
“It’s Dale and I,” corrected Chip.
“Either way, I peed my pants,” said Tammy.
My crew was one of the best. Tom Dover is the luckiest guy I know. We had been in some pretty hairy military situations in the past. There were times I shouldn’t have made it out alive but thanks to him.
There’s my navigator Shelby Kind, she could find her way anywhere anytime. She’s the onboard Chaplin. She’s sensitive, inquiring, and committed to her faith.
Then there’s my Bioengineer, Chip Davis, who (like most engineers) has tunnel vision when it comes to his projects. But if there is a need to patch up humans, plants or machines, he’s top notch.
My Structural Engineer, Dale Tinker is a hard guy to get to know…always uses one-liners. However, he could find his way around the ship blindfolded. Whether its propulsion, maintenance, or even armament, he’s one expert we can’t live without.
The last of my crew is Tammy Dart. She is the funniest, yet dramatic person I know. Appropriately titled a Foreign Body Specialist. That title fits well, since she examines life forms of all types and knows how to contain and deal with what ever comes our way.
I’m Captain Alexander T. Livingston. I am my Dad’s son in a long line of interplanetary pilots, but in many ways I also am the parent of the ship. I resolve disagreements, encourage good work, and guide the emotional environment of the ship.
Oh and I almost forgot, Bill. I know he is only a computer, but his voice was so similar to an instructor I had in basic training we couldn’t help but name the computer after him.
As the ship decended to the alien platform, my crew continued to chatter like chickens--surprise, fear, intrigue, relief. In the midst of our discussion, our ship landed with a dull thud in the docking bay and the imager awoke with a greeting from our rescuers.
“Welcome to the Vlanco star system, the environmental conditions is stable, and completely safe. You may open your exit access panel.”
I nervously obeyed. When the hatch opened, we saw about a hundred normal looking people in pale-green jump suits waiting for us. As we walked down off the ramp, they shook our hands and patted us on the back. They even dressed like us. I almost felt like I was home on Earth. It was really weird.
Just beyond the walkway a person in white waited to greet us. He had a smile on his face and his hand extended, ready to shake mine. As I shook his hand, he said,
“I am the Advisor. We are honored we were able to save your crew, please come and join me.”
He led us through a narrow passage. This really was strange. For a moment I thought I was in a deep, realistic, stasis dream. We passed through an archway that had a beam of light shining across the top of the opening and sliding down to the bottom, as we entered the main passageway. I found out later it was a screening device to detect any potentially dangerous viruses or diseases we might have brought. As we entered the Advisors room, he sat us down, asked us if we needed refreshments, and sat quietly for a moment to gaze at all of us.
“Could you explain what just happened out there?” I asked pointing a nervous hand toward outer space. “Who was attacking us? And why? And who are you people?”
“All in due time, Alex” the Advisor said, raising his hands, like he was surrendering, “all in due time. The first thing I must say is that you are safe here, and that we have no intention of deceiving you with our imprecise appearance.”
I looked at the rest of the crew, and they looked at me with a frown and a shrug. I sheepishly looked back at him with one raised eyebrow.
“Okay.... I’m afraid I don’t understand. You look just fine. Deception?” I waited for the rest of the information from him.
“We are similar to you, but decided to be careful and conceal our true appearance, to make you feel more comfortable. We already know some basic information about you and your crew from our data retrieval stream when we towed your ship, and understand you are a suspicious people.”
I did wonder how he knew my name, but was more amazed at the fact that we had just gone through hell with some madmen in space and yet they stood there smiling pleasantly.
“Thank you for your help and your concern for us,” I said. “Forget about the social graces. What about the ships you just lost? You must of had some people in them. Doesn’t that disturb you?!”
He looked at me calmly and said, “Yes it does, and we lost 36 lives, to be exact.” His eyes closed for a couple seconds. After a brief pause, he took a deep breath. “We did not have time to launch the stronger defensive vessels. However, sacrifice for others is always a greater reward than survival of oneself, would you not agree, Alex?
“Well...I, I guess so, but--man!” I looked back at my crew, and thought about how I’d feel if they were exterminated in a blink of an eye. As I turned to him with a pained face, I heard myself say, “But, you seem to take it too well.”
“The joy of knowing we did the right thing is a puzzling behavior for you, Alex?”
“No, um--well, yes, it is, because if I lost 36 friends of mine, I couldn’t just shrug off my emotions.” I studied the Advisors reaction, unsure of really what to say next. Who knows, maybe these people don’t have emotions. But I do know I wouldn’t have been able to sacrifice my life for some unknown aliens.
The Advisor also studied me a moment and then said, “Well Alex, it seems that we have a lot to talk about. Please, let my friends’ show you your living accommodations and we can discuss what we should do with you and your crew, now that we have you.”
He patted me on the back, dismissed my comment for the moment, and off we went. I just couldn’t get over how... how nice he was.
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