The Scalian Legacy

The suit was a dull grey, a bit bulky, and quite uncomfortable. Jack could hardly move in it. No wonder they told him to take it off before he went to look for a computer terminal; he couldn’t run away from a turtle in this thing. He carried his helmet in his left hand. He had to wait until the last moment to put it on, as once he did, the countdown would begin in terms of his oxygen allotment.

Jack was nervous as he, Rivas, the captain and the admiral approached the hangar bay to meet with the Pendorans that had arrived. This was going to be his first true encounter with a being from another planet. Sure, Jack had now seen a few Scalians, but none actually knew he was there. He was going to share close quarters for a short time with a Pendoran, and then one or both of them were likely to be killed. Jack wondered how the Pendoran felt about this suicide mission.

As the hangar bay doors flung open, Jack walked in to find two Pendorans standing next to a couple of small ships. The Pendoran ships caught Jack’s attention first. They were only a little longer and wider than a typical fighter jet from old Earth, but taller and with thicker, longer wings. They were an uninspiring off-white, but with an impressive reflective wide glass shield at the top that did not allow Jack to see inside of it. A ramp door dropped to the floor, allowing for entrance into each craft.

As Jack got closer, he focused on the Pendorans. They were about four feet tall and wearing what appeared to be dark bluish space suits. They were indeed odd-looking, as Horace had said. Basically, they each were a fairly wide cylindrical figure, almost like a thick tree trunk cut down to size. They had what appeared to be a face near the top of this torso. The face was clearly outlined because it was the only part Jack could see through, as the rest was of them was covered by their space suits. Their faces were a translucent white, although one seemed less bright and even somewhat wrinkled as opposed to the other. They did not appear to have a nose, and had three bright, mostly white, eyes rather than two. Their mouths were fairly wide, but Jack could not detect anything that looked like lips. The bottom of their torso was on the floor, while arms, a bit thicker than human arms, and of varying lengths, were either carrying a tablet-looking device or waving around as they spoke with each other.

“Baafaware, Diuebawre Bubliewere” spoke the admiral as he approached the Pendorans.

The Pendoran to the right bowed, showing Jack that these aliens’ torsos were apparently flexible. The Pendoran then responded with some equally unintelligible phrase. Then, the Pendoran quickly switched to English. “It is pleasure see more time.” The Pendoran spoke in an odd bubbling voice.

“The pleasure is all ours, Admiral Bublieware.” The admiral then introduced the captain, Rivas and Jack. The Pendoran then in turn introduced his compatriot, who also bowed but only said, “Pleasure.”

Jack instinctively reached out to shake hands, but Rivas quickly pushed his hand down. “They don’t shake hands,” Rivas whispered.

Well, a little information on Pendoran culture would have been nice, Jack thought to himself. He had spent all of his time reviewing the schematics and had not covered Pendoran etiquette at all. Jack then bowed like the others.

“Why are they in space suits?” Jack asked.

“The air pressure on their world as well as the gas mixture of their air is quite different,” Rivas answered. “So, they cannot survive in our atmosphere. They have adjusted their ship to maintain an Earth-like atmosphere since you can’t put on your helmet until the last moment.”

“He very different,” bubbled the Pendoran to the right as he pointed at Jack.

The admiral smiled. “Yes, we have changed a lot in three thousand years.” The formalities were very brief as time was running out and everyone was exhausted from a long stretch of planning and preparation. The Pendoran who had been conversing with the admiral then spoke to the other Pendoran, who subsequently dropped two of his arms on either side to begin walking towards the ship to the left.

“It’s time, Jack.” Rivas stretched out his right arm. “Hope to see you on the other side.”

“That’s unlikely no matter what happens.” Jack feigned a weak smile. As he shook Rivas’s hand he remembered the first time he shook hands with him, the day before. So much had changed in such a short time; it was more than surreal. “But thanks anyway.”

The admiral and captain then bid Jack farewell, and he started for the Pendoran ship. Jack had to lower his head to get into the ship, as the entry was barely five feet high. As Jack entered the ship, he could tell it was going to be a tight squeeze. The roof of the interior of the ship was also just a bit more than five feet high. Also, there were no chairs—apparently the Pendorans didn’t need them given their wide torso. However, there were multiple holographic displays on the right and back of the small main control area. Then there was a long display panel just beneath the forward-looking window that Jack couldn’t see into from outside.

The Pendoran pointed him to the back of the ship’s main control area and then pointed to the ground, which Jack seemed to think meant that he wanted him to lie down. So, Jack lay down, and the Pendoran bowed as if acknowledging Jack had done well. Then the Pendoran handed Jack a small square box and pointed at an opening just to the right of Jack.

“This is the battery?” Jack asked.

“Yes,” the Pendoran bubbled.

“You don’t speak much English, do you?” Jack asked.

“Humane speak, very little, but,” the Pendoran bubbled as he turned and tapped on some controls behind him. He then spoke something in his native tongue, and a robotic voice began to speak in English. “The translator on the ship will allow us to understand each other very clearly.”

“Nice,” Jack said and then heard something bubble from the ship’s computer. “I was worried that my last moments alive with a sentient being would have to be in complete silence.”

That seemed to be amusing to the Pendoran, as he gargled a bit in reply.

While this lightened the mood, Jack could sense his heart pounding. The mission was starting. There was no turning back now. Jack tried to calm himself. He just needed to get to the computer terminals. He had memorized the paths he could take and had his FPE gun, little bombs and nanobots all in his pockets under this crazy suit. He was ready. You can do this, Jack, he told himself. You can do this.

“You nervous?” Jack asked.

“Of course,” the computer responded after the Pendoran had bubbled his reply. “But, I am proud to be the savior of our saviors. My family will be cherished for many generations.”

The ship then began to tremble and lift off the floor. Jack could see the hangar bay doors open and the other Pendoran ship leave just in front of them.

“Please hold on to the grips to your left.” The Pendoran told Jack as they neared the hangar bay exit. Jack did as he was told and grabbed on to handle of sorts near the floor with his left hand, but wondered why. Then, as the ship left the hangar behind Jack could sense his body begin to float. There was no gravity on this little ship. That’s why he had to hold on.

Jack looked ahead and saw the galaxy open up before his eyes through the front window of the Pendoran ship. It was so vast. While he felt the weight of humanity on his shoulders, even such an enormous responsibility seemed so small in the grand scheme of the galaxy.

Jack then realized that the Pendoran remained stuck to the floor of the ship.

“How come you aren’t floating?” Jack asked as the other Pendoran ship turned left, while this one turned in the opposite direction.

“The bottom portion of Pendoran space suits are magnetized to simulate gravity.” The Pendoran continued to tap on the controls of his ship. “If not, it would be difficult to fly straight.”

“So you’re stuck in one place while you fly?” Jack was interested in the logistics.

“No, my hands deactivate the magnetism when they touch the floor so I can move.” The computer translated. The small talk was not just interesting, it also kept Jack focused, and kept him from thinking too deeply about his upcoming adventure.

Jack and the Pendoran talked back and forth as the Pendoran showed Jack some items of note, including how to manually open the door to get out of the fighter. After a few minutes of briefings and some lighter conversation, the Pendoran turned to Jack and seemed to be serious—or what Jack interpreted as such if body language was somewhat universal. “In one minute, I will activate the gravity well. You need to put your helmet on just before that happens. We will only be in the gravity well for a few seconds before the ship will jolt out of it violently. The ship will have no power at that point. I will get into the escape pod.” He stopped and pointed to a door to his left. “And then demand the Scalians destroy the ship.”

“I understand,” Jack said nervously.

“Just hold on to the grip and the battery pack tightly, but do not move.” The Pendoran looked intently at Jack. “I hope that it is I that they destroy, for otherwise, we may be all doomed.”

Jack swallowed. This Pendoran was honestly hoping for his own demise. Jack felt humbled. Despite his poor chances, Jack still hoped to survive and go home, but this Pendoran held no such hope. For him, surviving would be a failure. Suddenly, surviving meant even less to Jack. He wanted to complete his mission and make this Pendoran’s sacrifice worthwhile.

“Do you have a family?” Jack asked.

While Jack had no experience reading Pendoran expressions, there was little doubt that the question caught him by surprise. “I never bonded with another. There was no time. But, I have many brothers and cousins.”

“I do not have a family either and got into this mess trying to save one of my brothers,” Jack said.

“You are brave and will also be remembered,” the Pendoran replied.

“Not by too many here,” Jack scoffed at himself.

The Pendoran returned to tapping on his controls with his many hands once more. “We are ready,” the Pendoran announced.

“I am honored to have met you, even if only for a short time.” Jack bowed his head and put on his helmet.

“Same with me.” The Pendoran bowed and then turned to start the mission.