The Secret of Mars

“Your Majesty, wait until you see this new report I got,” Staybo excitedly stated. “There’s a variance in the obelisk. The starship had it too.”

“So we discovered,” Gart said. “Apparently, the Commander has been keeping secrets from us.”

“Secrets that might have prevented Jeanip and the others from getting trapped like they did,” an angry Earon replied.

“Why would the Commander do that?” Staybo asked. “He knows how desperate we are for information.”

“It would seem that not all humans have changed,” Earon sarcastically answered.

Staybo thought a moment. Then a look of realization appeared on his face. “Oh, you have got to be kidding me. After all this time? They’re still trying to keep secrets from the rest of the world so they can harness some new weapon? Doesn’t he realize that half of the alien species he deals with could blow the humans away in a blink of an eye?”

“That may be why he is interested in the obelisk as a new weapon,” Gart commented. “Sometimes one needs to be as strong as one’s enemy. He saw what that ray from the obelisk can do. If it could be controlled, harnessed somehow, it would make a most formidable weapon. Possibly the strongest in this galaxy. It could make the Commander and the Company very wealthy.”

“Why don’t you?” Staybo asked.

“Why don’t we what?” a confused Gart responded.

“Why has your race never developed weapons of mass destruction?”

“Because, like you Oonocks, we cherish life,” Gart answered. “We have no desire to take what others have, to conquer other races. We live our lives in peace, content with what the Creator of All has given us. That is why we have remained hidden for so long behind our cloud. Other races cannot exploit what they cannot find. From what Amber tells me of your homeworld, Europa, you do the same. Instead of a swirling cloud of space gas, you hide beneath a solid layer of ice. A layer so thick it may never be possible to penetrate it.”

“The ice shield of Europa is something my people are thankful for,” Earon softly stated. “It protects not only our lilac waters but our way of life also.”

“Do you think you will ever open the ice shield and allow other races inside?” Gart asked.

“Doubtful,” Earon honestly answered. “There is nothing in this universe that my people would want. But, I fear, there is much others would want from Europa, especially our soobree. And if we are right about the humans wanting a new weapon, then I am sure it will never be opened.”

“Another reason for my world to remain hidden,” Gart added.

“Might I ask what the object was that they found?” Staybo asked.

“Frank was right,” Gart answered. “It was a boot.”

“Whose?” Staybo asked. “Could it be from one of the guards we lost when Princess Mary disappeared? We never discovered their suits.”

“That is a possibility,” Earon replied. “But this boot looked too clean to have been out there in the Martian weather for months. There was very little dirt on the outside and none on the inside. No, I would say it is not from one of the lost guards.”

“Then who’s?”

“I asked the lab to send us some swabs of the inside of the boot and around the rim,” Earon stated. “Have one of our people check it for DNA. Maybe it will tell us if it’s from Jeanip or one of the others.”

“And if it is?” Staybo asked.

“Then, I am afraid, we will have to assume the worst,” Earon stated. “That they are gone.”

“Swaybuk, are you okay?” Anew asked, trying to revive the male Oonock.

“Hm? What happened?” Swaybuk asked.

“I do not know for sure,” Anew answered. “We seem to have all passed out. Jeanip and the other two are still unconscious. I thought I would try to wake you first.” She helped Swaybuk sit up, noting a trickle of blood flowing down the side of his face. She reached up and put her hand over the cut and said the Ancient words, immediately healing the wound.

Swaybuk opened his eyes but closed them again as he could not focus on the room. He reached out his arm and touched Anew. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

“I am fine.” She leaned forward and softly kissed him.

“Go help Jeanip, Soojay, and Quigbee,” Swaybuk instructed. “See if they need your healing powers too.”

Doing as asked, Anew glided over to Jeanip. Soojay was already awake and was trying to get Jeanip into a sitting position, but he was still too groggy to be of much assistance.

“Here, I will do that,” Anew said, as she took Jeanip. “Are you hurt?”

“No, I believe I am fine,” Soojay replied. “Just a little disorientated.”

“Jeanip, it is I, Anew. Can you hear me?”

“Woo, what hit me?” Jeanip asked as he started to regain consciousness. “I feel like I was just thrown across the galaxy.”

“I do not know, but I need for you to wake up,” Anew said.

“How are the others?”

“Swaybuk and Soojay are okay. I have not checked on Quigbee yet.”

“Please, see to Quigbee,” Jeanip said. “I am fine.”

Anew rose and looked around for Quigbee. But he was nowhere to be seen. “I do not see him anywhere.”

“What do you mean you don’t see him?” Jeanip asked, opening his eyes and forcing them to see straight. Although the scene was still blurry, he could see that there was nowhere Quigbee could be hidden. The bridge consisted of the three chairs and nothing more. “He has to be here somewhere. He couldn’t have just disappeared?”

“Why not?” Swaybuk asked as he held onto the sidewall as he stood up. “Everyone else seems to be disappearing.” Something caught his attention, and he looked at the view screen beside him. “What the? Jeanip, get up. You have to see this. I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore.”

“Give me a moment, Swaybuk,” An impatient Jeanip yelled. “Believe it or not, I’m not as young as I used to be. Besides, we were never in Kansas.”

“Jeanip, I mean it. You have to see this,” Swaybuk replied. “Soojay, walk toward the front of the ship and activate the large screen so Jeanip can see what I’m seeing.”

Soojay got to his feet and dragged himself over to the front of the ship. When he was a few inches away from the front viewing screen, it activated again. All three males and Anew stared at the vibrant colors outside the view screen. Against a background of deep royal blue speckled with dots of light was a large blue eye. Not a physical eye, but an eye made of vapor and clouds, an eye like none of them had ever seen before. The sclera of the eye was a soft, beautiful shade of cobalt blue that flowed out into space. The cornea was made up of transparent patches of sky blue with wispy lines of off-white streaming across the blue. The middle iris was a dense circle of vivid primrose pink, with bands of the same color branching out into the cornea. It filled the entire view screen, stretching across thousands of miles in space.

“Where in the hell are we?” Jeanip asked.

“Someplace we shouldn’t be,” Soojay said, unable to believe his own eyes. “If I am not mistaken, Sire, that is the Helix Nebula.”

“The Helix Nebula?” Jeanip asked. “I’ve never heard of it. Is it in our solar system?”

Soojay turned to look at his monarch. “No, Sir. The Helix Nebula is six hundred and fifty light years from Earth. With our current starships, it would take approximately eighteen million years for us to get here.”

“Eighteen million years?” Swaybuk said. “How is this possible?”

“I don’t know, but we’re not going to get any answers lying here on the floor.” Holding onto the back of the captain’s chair, Jeanip hosted himself into a standing position, holding on tight as the room finished spinning. He reclosed his eyes, hoping not seeing a rotating room would quiet his queasy stomach. “First order of business, find Quigbee. Or at least his clothes if he flowed out. Then I want a report stating how we got here. And NOBODY TOUCH ANYTHING.”

“Is she up yet?” Earon asked PiePie as he walked toward Amber’s room. PiePie was returning from the kitchen with a cup of coffee for when Amber awoke.

“Not yet, Sir,” PiePie replied. “But she asked me to make sure she was up by morning meal. She was up late last night going over the recent reports with the engineers, scientists and Gart.”

“She is supposed to be resting,” Earon commented. “Any improvement in her sight? Today is the deadline. The ship to Earth leaves in four hours.”

“I do not know, Your Majesty,” PiePie replied. “She mentioned nothing about her eyesight before retiring. And since the bandage is still on, I have no way of knowing if she can see.”

Earon stepped forward and knocked on the door. He was surprised to see Amber standing there when the door opened. She was dripping wet with a towel wrapped around her. Her bandages were gone from her eyes, and she was apparently seeing.

“Good morning, Uncle,” Amber greeted, kissing him on the cheek. “Sorry, I just got out of the shower and have not had time to dress. Oooo, is that coffee, PiePie?”

“When did you get her eyesight back?” Earon asked.

“This morning when I woke up I could see the light through the gauze bandages,” Amber answered after taking several sips of coffee. “I know I should have waited for the doctor, but I just could not. So I took them off and discovered my eyes were fine. Told you I would heal myself. That ship can leave for Earth without me.”

“That it can,” Earon chuckled.

“Uncle, I got to thinking last night. Since you probably will not allow me to go out to the obelisk, I was thinking we could somehow trick it into opening up again. I could remain here at the Settlement, where I would be safe.”

“We have seen several times how you have remained safe,” Earon stated, giving his niece a “no way” look.

“Now do not go saying no before you hear my entire proposal,” Amber replied. “The only way Mary is going to know how to repair the window is if I tell her. And I can only tell her if the obelisk opens its portal. I was up most of the night talking with Frank and the others how we might trick the obelisk into doing just that.”

“So PiePie told me,” Earon responded.

“We came up with some great ideas,” Amber continued, sitting down her now empty cup. “I will tell you all about them over breakfast.”

“You might want to get dressed first,” Earon chuckled. Realizing he was correct, she hurried into the bathroom. “No promises, but I will listen to your proposal. And I think we should swing by the medical unit first and make sure your eyes are okay.”

“Can we swing by Gart’s room too?” Amber asked. “I promised him I would have breakfast with him this morning.”

“If we must,” Earon laughed, giving her a wink.

“Sire, we’ve determined whose boot was thrown from the obelisk,” Staybo immediately reported upon Earon, Amber and Gart’s arrival. “It’s Quigbee’s”

“That is what the DNA analysis revealed?” Earon asked.

“We didn’t have to rely on the DNA. You probably don’t know this, Your Majesty, but most of the soldiers mark their clothing,” Staybo explained. “It makes it much easier to sort things out when getting dressed or being transferred. Quigbee always used a large ‘Q’ with a cross inside. The boot bears his marking on the inside flap. And the DNA did confirm it was his.”

“So, our worst fears are now confirmed.” Earon sorrowfully stated.

“Yes, Sire. More than likely he was killed and flowed out when the ship disappeared. There was nothing to keep his boot on his feet because he had no feet left.”

“That does not make sense,” Amber stated. “If Quigbee flowed out, why did we not get the rest of his clothes? Or at least more than a boot? And what about the others’ clothing?”

“I do not know, Your Majesty.” Staybo turned to Earon. “Should I notify King Kiijon and Queen Europa of our suspicions?”

“No,” Amber quickly stated. “One boot does not prove they are dead. And if they are, I want to give Dattwa and Mattwa good news along with the bad.”

“And how do you propose to do that?” Earon asked.

“As I said earlier, get the obelisk to reopen so I can talk with Mary,” Amber replied. “Staybo, I have a special job for you. I need for you to work with Frank and the others. Study the frequencies of when that obelisk did something and figure out how to get it to reopen.”

Staybo turned to Earon. “Make it so. I do not see that it makes a difference if we tell the Complex today or in three or four days that Jeanip and the others are gone for good. And the princess is right. Telling them we talked with Mary may help with the lost. Can you do it?”

“We can try,” Staybo replied. “And if we can’t, I am sure Latrill and Colvin can when they get here. I can send them our reports on the obelisk’s frequencies and tell them what we hope to accomplish. That way when they arrive tomorrow, they will have a solution for our problem.”

“I knew you would know what to do.” Amber kissed Staybo on the cheek.

“Amber, even if they figure out a way to get the obelisk to open does not mean I will okay the operation,” Earon stated, giving his niece a solemn face. “We have seen what that obelisk can do. And, for some reason, it seems to direct a lot of force your way. Unless I am convinced you will be safe, I will not authorize its opening. Understood?”

“I will make sure that I am safe.” Amber innocently smiled.

“Is that understood?” Earon asked again.

“Yes, Uncle.”

“He’s not in the hallway,” Soojay announced, sticking his head back onto the bridge.

“Maybe he somehow was thrown into the elevator, and it took him to another floor,” Anew suggested.

“A possibility,” Jeanip said. “Hopefully, this ship does not have too many floors for us to check. Anew, you stay here on the bridge and try to figure out how in the hell we ended up six hundred and fifty light years from home. Swaybuk, Soojay and I will check out the other floors.”

As soon as the two males left, Anew began investigating what had happened. Luckily, she had been recording the entire scenario. Not wanting to sit in either of the three chairs present, she looked around for another place to sit. Since she had no idea how they got where they were, she feared sitting in the chairs and accidentally touching something. Especially with Jeanip, Swaybuk, Soojay and Colvin off the bridge. Seeing no other chair, she walked to the back screens to use the small ledge that was beneath them. Suddenly, from nowhere, a chair materialized.

“Interesting,” Anew stated, running her hand across the now physical chair. Apparently, the ship could anticipate needs. Hoping it was harmless, she sat down and placed her recorder on the ledge. Immediately, the screen above her crackled and sputtered, making her jump out of the chair. The screen went dark again. Sensing no danger, she sat back down and the screen reactivated.

“State your request.” The words appeared in her mind, but not in English and not in the Ancient’s language, but in a language she had not heard before yet somehow understood.

Giggling a little with nervousness, Anew said, “Can you interface with my recording?”

A yellow scanner beam emanated from an area above the screen and scanned the recorder. “A primitive recording device. I am capable of interfacing with it.”

“Play back recording from Mark 2.15 to present,” Anew instructed.

“There will be a loss of point zero zero three eight gillips of data. Do you wish to continue?”

“Yes.” Anew had no idea what a gillip was, but she didn’t think it mattered. Immediately the image of the five appeared on the screen. They were on Mars, talking about the three circle insignia on the Captain’s chair. She watched as Swaybuk pushed the blue button and the star map appeared. Intently, she watched each person’s movement as the recording progressed. Quigbee pushed the black triangle, and she reached her hand through the map in an attempt to stop him. Flashes of light filled the screen for thirty seconds, followed by a scene of Jeanip, Swaybuk, Soojay and her lying on the floor, unconscious. Quigbee had disappeared.

“Rewind and hold from Mark 3.85.” The screen reset itself to thirty seconds before the flashes of light. “Proceed at eight quills of speed.” The recording advanced very slowly, allowing Anew to see what standard time had hidden from her. Jeanip had been right. She saw Quigbee thrown into the elevator and disappear. “Rewind and play from Mark 3.04. Maintain current speed.” She saw Quigbee push the triangle button and herself thrust her arm forward. For a moment, there was a dot of light. “Back one tallon and freeze frame.” Anew leaned across the small ledge and stared intently at the small dot of light and her finger. She couldn’t quite see the area around the dot. “Enlarge frame.”

“Specifications,” came the voice again.

“How do I do that?” she asked herself.

“Touch the screen to state parameters,” the voice said again.

Could it be that simple? Anew stretched out a finger and carefully touched the screen in the section she needed enlarged, ready to withdraw her finger at the first sign of danger. To her relief and joy, that area magnified ten times. “Increase.” Again, the area expanded. She touched the screen again. “Increase selected area.” This time she saw what she needed to see – the Helix Nebula. She knew how they had arrived at their current location. Now curious as to what else she could ask for, she said, “Locate Commander Quigbee.”

“The reference Quigbee is unknown,” came the voice. Of course, the ship wouldn’t know who Quigbee was. It had no record of him or any of them. She thought for a moment. “Show the location of the five new lifeforms on board.” The screen complied, first showing her on the bridge, Swaybuk, Jeanip and Soojay in separate unknown locations and finally, Quigbee propped up against the wall somewhere. “Identify the location of the fifth lifeform.”

“Fifth lifeform is on the third level, outside the airlift.”

“Swaybuk, can you hear me?” she spoke into her communicator.

“Loud and clear,” came his reply. “Are you in need of assistance?”

“No. I found Quigbee. He is on the third floor outside the elevator.”

“How do you know that?” came Jeanip’s voice.

“I will explain when you return to the bridge,” Anew stated, seeing no reason to explain her knowledge at the moment. It was sufficient that they knew where to find their lost comrade.

“Swaybuk, Soojay, go to the fourth third and retrieve Quigbee,” Jeanip ordered. “I am returning to the bridge.” He hurried down the hallway to the elevator and returned to the deck. As the door opened, he was surprised to see Anew conversing with one of the back screens.

“What is going on, Anew?” Jeanip asked. “I ordered that no one touch anything. And how in the hell did you know where Quigbee was?”

“I am not subject to your orders,” Anew nonchalantly stated. “As for Quigbee’s location, the ship showed me. Watch.” Anew diverted her gaze back to the screen. “Show me the location of the fifth lifeform.” Immediately the image reappeared of Quigbee. Soojay had arrived and was helping the soldier to his feet.

“Show me the location of Swaybuk,” Jeanip commanded. Nothing happened.

“It does not recognize us by our names,” Anew explained. “Tell the ship to locate the lifeforms not on the bridge.”

Taking Anew’s advice, Jeanip stated, “Locate additional lifeforms not located on the bridge or with the fifth lifeform.” Again, nothing happened. “What did I do wrong this time?”

“Nothing that I know of,” a confused Anew replied. She did not know why Jeanip’s request was not answered. “Locate other lifeforms not with lifeform five or on the bridge.” Within seconds, a picture of Swaybuk was seen riding in the elevator, apparently on his way to Quigbee.

“It appears the ship only responds to you, Anew,” Jeanip said. He wondered if the ship had anything to do with the Ancients and that was why Anew could command it. “Since it understands you, are you, by any chance, able to understand it?”

“Yes,” Anew answered. “But it communicates in a language I do not know, yet I can understand.”

“How is that possible?

“I do not have sufficient data to answer that question.”

Anew had just finished explaining to Jeanip about how her recording was displayed on the screen when the elevator door opened and an injured Quigbee emerged, supported by Swaybuk and Soojay.

“I am okay, except for the fact that my right leg is broken,” Quigbee announced. “I must have somehow gotten thrown in the airlift and taken to the third floor.” Quigbee’s eyes averted to the large screen in the front of the bridge. “Wow, what is that? Where are we?”

“The Helix Nebula,” Jeanip replied, as he looked down at the soldier’s broken leg. He saw his naked foot sticking out from beneath his spacesuit. “Soldier, where’s your boot?”

“I have no idea, Your Majesty,” Quigbee stated.