Chapter 19: QUAGMIRE BOG

Chapter 16: QUAGMIRE BOG

The platform was perhaps fifty meters in diameter with two prefab buildings made of the same material at its center. Despite the nearly indestructible Duro-Plast the structure was made off, everything looked old and abandoned and in dire need of repair. "Now what," asked Mao? "Let's find the research team." I said somehow knowing we would not find anyone. The buildings were rectangular shaped and about ten meters long and wide in and six meters tall. Like the surrounding platform they were covered with a fine greenish substance, most likely some kind of moss or algae. Larger plants, tuffs of grass and yellowish colored flowers grew in nooks and corners. Only one of the buildings had windows but to dirty to see through, "Har-Hi, Mao, Elfi and Cirruit check the other structure. Draw your weapons and proceed with caution and we check this one." Wetty scanned the sensor plate with her PDD and said. "It is set to standard Union biometrics, it is not code locked. Just as she said it the door opened with a wet sounding noise, gobs of the green algae material dripping from its frame. Dry musky smelling air wafted in our direction. I called again, but no one answered so I went in, my blaster ready. I entered a common room with a table, chairs and a small portable Serve-Matic on one side. Everything was coated with a fine layer of dust. A cup and a plate on the table were covered with dried fungus. I was pretty sure no one else was here, because the same dust that covered everything was also covering the floor and it was undisturbed. There were three bed rooms with personal belongings strewn around. Uniforms, Coveralls and other items of clothing stored in the personal lockers of each room. The third room appeared most disorderly the simple non-matic bed was unmade. A PDD lay on the floor and some Data-film magazines of various publications along with other reading material on the night stand. Krabbel appeared in the bedroom door frame of the room I was just examinig and said. "I think I found one of the occupants." He led us up a short flight of stairs. There were more personal rooms and an office with a GalNet terminal. The GalNet terminal was damaged with a blaster shot and a mummified human was sitting in a corner of the room on the floor still holding the blaster which he apparently had also used to blow half of his head away. The corpse wore the uniform of the Science Corps and the name tag read: 'Dr. Herford.' Wetmouth knelt down and examined the remains closer. "That is an old uniform; this style is no longer used. The last time science corps uniforms with blue and gray panels were issued was about fifty years ago." Shaka picked up a PDD from the desk and activated it. He had to clean the read out window. "It looks like I found the dead man's personal log." "Does he say why he committed suicide?" "The screen displays the dead man's name, Dr. Samuel Herford, but I can't make the PDD do anything else. I believe the memory is damaged, maybe Cirruit can fix it." After searching the rest of the building and finding nothing noteworthy, we went back outside to meet the others. Har-Hi and his team had also finished their survey and the tall Dai came over and thumbed towards the building he had just come from. "It appears this was the lab and the storage facility of this research post. We found the remains of a badly decomposed body. Whoever he was, he has been murdered, and the vibro-machete that was used to kill him is still embedded in his chest. The lab is somewhat trashed but there is enough food to last us at least twenty years." Cirruit added. "The power cell is fine and I think I can fix the water recycler, it's just clogged. The outpost computronic, however has been sabotaged and is badly damaged, most likely beyond repair." I handed him the PDD we had found. "Do you think you can fix that? It might help us find some answers." He took the PDD and begun to check it right away. After a few moments he made a frustrated sound and said with an apologetic tone. "Sorry, Eric but the thing is useless, the memory crystal is gone, someone took it out. Whatever was recorded on it is gone." "Someone took the crystal, which takes some doing. Someone really wanted to cover his or her tracks." Elfi concluded. "There are seven beds used, twelve rooms and only two bodies. There is a possibility; the killer might still be out there." Hans added. "Looks like we are stranded on a Planet with a murder mystery, so what are we doing now?" Krabbel asked me. "We do what we came here to do. Cirruit and Shaka get the equipment working. Har-Hi, Wetmouth and Elfi you make recordings of the bodies and the crime scenes and then see if you find some container we can put the remains in. Hans and Mao you going to check the food supplies and prepare dinner. Krabbel you go on top of that building and take a blaster. Keep an eye, well better all eight eyes on our surroundings." Mao grinned. "You got a knack for this command stuff. I would have never thought of all that!" Wetmouth's mask was as unreadable as ever, but I knew her long enough now that I knew when she was smiling. "That's why he's in charge. I am amazed how he does that, too." "You made him blush!" Laughed Mao. I grumbled. "It was you who picked me. So get to work. There is lot's to do." "What are you going to do?" Asked Wetmouth. "I am going to unpack and see what kind of equipment we got in those containers. I am hoping for Quasimodos." My friends went to do the chores I had just handed out. This was the first time I was really in charge over them. Aboard the Devastator being the dorm senior was more or less just a title and I had never done the things I was supposed to do in that position, namely checking the lockers, the proper cleaning of the dorm and inspecting the state of dress, but thinking back I realized I did almost all the time tell them what to do. Even though we were in the military and others telling you what to do came with the job, I wondered if my friends resented me for this. Not that I ever had the slightest suspicion, those eight beings were my friends on a level that was hard to put in words. While I was thinking all this I went back to the edge of the floating platform, where we had first arrived and where the robot had placed the foot locker sized box. The box was hermetically sealed, but its ID lock recognized me and considered me authorized. I swung open the lid and right on top of what it contained was a PDD. The system came on right away and a Fleet Commodore sitting in an office was displayed on its two-Dee screen. The man begun by saying. "Briefing and Orders for 'Operation Second-look', issued by Special Mission Command Annapolis and authorized by me, Commodore Davidson. Following orders and instructions are for you Lt. Strasenburgh commanding your twelve member specialist team and an additional attachment of Marines. Before we come to your orders let me brief you on the planet Quagmire-Bog." The recording now included visuals and images of the planet. "Recent scholar research into old pre Union records suggest that the planet was first cataloged and surveyed by the Ult over eight thousand years ago. The Ult lost two survey teams on the planet and declared the planet dangerous and inhospitable. The Saran rediscovered it in 2100, just before Union times and also lost contact to a survey team and a subsequent expedition to rescue the first disappeared as well. The Sarans made a third attempt to find out what happened to their people in 3200 OTT and yet again all contact to the planet team was lost. The Saran attempts and the loss of their survey teams came up in a conference of the Science Council in 3500 and Science Corps was tasked to sent a team of Scientists to investigate. At first everything appeared alright, but after two weeks all contact stopped. So it was decided to send a team of Marines to find out what happened. The Marines found nine out of the original twelve scientists dead. All murdered so it had the appearance by members of their own team, not local life forms. Even after extensive search the three other scientists could not be found and finally declared MIA. The Planet was placed under quarantine until more research could be done. In 4948 a team of Scientists under Dr. Hereford went back to Quagmire to investigate the planet and the incidents again. After almost three month of eventless research and continuous contact, all contact was lost again. We fear Hereford and his team fell victim to whatever danger lurks on that planet. The Science Corps asked Fleet Science assets to look into. Fleet command agrees with Science and  wants to know what happened and what it is that keeps us from investigating this world. The Planet is a Nitrogen Oxygen garden-world with moderate climate and open water. Such planets are rare and valuable. The Star system is strategically close to the Nul Empire and in the very likely upcoming conflict it could serve as an important base. You are experienced Navy officers and along with you there are six fully equipped Marines to assist you. Your orders are to keep constant contact to a second team that remains in orbit. Report any and all findings without delay and the sign of any danger you cannot handle, you are permitted to evacuate at any time. If you are able to determine the nature of the mystery and you are able to declare the world safe, your orders are to establish a more permanent post on the Planet.So we can begin witha  detailed survey and begin to built a fleet base. To this purpose a LEGO-III Nanite factory and 20 Engineering Bots have been issued to you." I was so occupied listening to the recording, that when I noticed movement out of the corner of my eye it was too late! A dark green tentacle coiled around me and pulled me into the muddy green water. The last thing I heard was Krabbel's alarm, before I was pulled below the surface. I instinctively opened my gills and gagged. The water was full of debris and there was almost no oxygen in that soupy liquid. I would drown in this stuff just as anyone else. My legs hit the ground. The bog was not as deep as I thought it was and with all my strength I tried to stand up against whatever was pulling me down and I did manage to get my head out of the water. More tentacles coiled around me and I soon would be totally helpless and be dragged under for good. My blaster was pinned to my hip by one of the tentacles and as unreachable as any of the three knifes I was carrying, but my right arm was still free, so I pulled the .45, thumbed the safety and emptied the entire magazine into the barley visible black blob just in front of me from where the tentacles centered. The thing reared out of the water, pulling me forward. I felt the tentacles go limb and instantly knew the beast was dead! Two sun bright beams singed over my head vaporizing water and much of whatever got me. At the same time Har-Hi jumped with his swords in both fists into the water and started cutting tentacles away from me. Krabbel holding two blasters kept firing and whatever had me was long reduced to atomic ashes. Har-Hi's face was covered with green slime and filth as he asked me breathless. "Are you alright?" "I think so." He grinned at me. "I know you like swimming but you should choose who you share the water with a little more careful, besides this water is disgusting." Two huge hands grabbed us both and pulled us with no effort back on the platform. Hans managed to look concerned, relieved and happy at the same time. Wetmouth came running with a first aid kit. In her voice vibrated more than concern, almost something like fear or panic. This actually surprised me; she was usually the most un-emotional of us all. "Is he alive?" I struggled to my feet. "Yes I am fairly sure and if these tentacles had any poisonous stingers or so, they didn't penetrate my suit as far as I can tell." She used her PDD as a medical diagnostic scanner and waved it over me and checked the read out. "Other than a few contusions and ecchymosed tissue you seem alright." "Ecchy…what?" I repeated Her voice returned to the usual unemotional quality. "Medical term for bruises or in other terms black and blue marks on your skin left by those tentacles." Cirruit and all the others had come too and the X101 said. "I just finished fixing the plumbing and it looks like just in time you both need a shower." Elfi wrinkled her pretty nose. "Yes you both stink." Wetmouth took me by the arm. "The next time, please be more careful we are on an unexplored and possible dangerous world." I agreed with her. "More dangerous than you realize. Check out that recording I just found." Wetmouth was right I did have red marks around my waist and legs but nothing serious. The shower felt great and I rinsed my gills and was amazed how much dark green stuff came out. It felt great to breathe fresh water. After I had cleaned up and wore a clean uniform, I called a meeting in the common room. After everyone was there I looked around and said. "So how are we doing, so far?" I motioned to the Dai."Har-Hi first." "We recorded the crime scenes. Wetmouth secured all possible evidence for later." He counted down on his fingers. "We stored one body in a specimen container and where just about to do the same to the second when Krabbel raised alarm and you decided to examine a local life from close up." That reminded me and I pulled the .45 put it on the table and took it apart as the Marine instructor had showed me and begun to clean the gun. It came in quite handy and I promised myself to keep it in perfect working order. Wetmouth was next. "All evidence suggests that he was not murdered but committed suicide, but I am going over the forensic evidence I collected more closely later. Not that there was much of anything useful left after all this time. I also checked the recording you gave me and I concluded with 95 percent probability that we should not be here. It should be Lt. Strasenburgh his team and most of all the Marines. I further conclude that Lt. Clusen set us up." I nodded. "I am pretty sure about that as well, not that I am able to put any percentage of probability on anything I come up with. We all can agree though that there is some condition on this planet that is responsible for all those expeditions getting lost. While I am confident that we be able to survive whatever it is, I would feel better if we could leave this planet before we have to find out if my confidence is not just wishful thinking." Hans leaned forward and said. "Unless of course they send us those marines and perhaps Quasis for all of us. Then I would not mind staying." Har-Hi crossed his arms. "While I generally feel better in space and don't like to be dirt-side for long. I have confidence in you and we getting through anything this planet can throw at us." "This is bugging me more than our current situation." I said. "I mean you are my friends, do you really don't mind me telling everyone what to do?" Shaka put his hand on my shoulder. "You know I don't like talking much, but you should not even think that way. I used to be a social recluse with lots of issues as you know, but I think I speak for everyone if I say, you are the leader and we follow you to whatever end." The others simply nodded. I cleared my throat and pulled the recoil spring plug off, breaking down the gun in all its parts and said. "Any chances that GalNet terminal could be repaired?" I looked at Cirruit. "I didn't have a chance to look at it, but I get right to it. As for the other equipment, the Zero Cube is about half way drained so we should have enough power for at least a hundred years. Water recycling works fine now; there was some nasty stuff in those filters I tell you. Because of the bad quality of the water the self clean cycle has to run all the time and no one thought of turning it on before. The lab equipment is in disarray but is pretty much intact. In addition we have six old MD-type Marine TKU Rifles, a full sized F4 Paralysator on tri-pod mound and several cases of explosives and detonators. We aren't exactly helpless." Har-Hi interrupted. "Old Style TKU'S, MD-type, are they intact?" "Oh yes they are still in their shipping crate along with lots of fully charged cells." Har-Hi's eyes glittered. "Whatever is down here, we have nothing to fear. Do you guys know why they don't issue them anymore? " Elfi shrugged."I am not so sure firepower will solve the problem we are facing and I don't." "Because they were too powerful! Ahhh, I always wanted one." I was using a soft piece of cloth to clean the barrel of my gun. "I think some problems can be solved with firepower just fine.It worked on that thing that hugged me" Har-Hi pointed with both hands at me. "This is a very sound Terran philosophy indeed." I grinned and said. "Then take one and relieve Krabbel. Also do me a favor and only fire it a few times and warn us before you test it." Har-Hi laughed. "I promise." Then rushed out the door. I looked at my PDD I had attached to my left wrist. "Let's continue with what we started to do. I would like to have dinner at 2000 hrs and I would like everyone to get dressed for it. I would like to have it as formal as possible. We are Navy Officers and let's face the challenges with style." They all got up. Elfi went to Krabbel who just came through the door and told him what had been discussed. I finished cleaning my old gun, reloaded the magazine and put it back in my holster, while doing it I was padding it, like an old friend. I went back to the box to see what else it contained. There was a rectangular multi task console, one that could be carried with a strap before the waist. The unit had the manufacturer's designation written on the side:"Mk-124 Portable Construction Command Console." After I activated it a simple easy to understand layout was displayed on its screen. The two large containers the shuttle had dropped where almost completely submerged into the muck. I pressed the robot activation key. I could see the slide door opening and water rushing in. Twenty robots emerged, their shoulders and heads sticking out of the water. Engineering robots where designed to work in almost any environment and neither the mud nor the water mattered to them. A voice from the console asked. "Choose project." A bullet list appeared and I scrolled it down.

-Defense Bunker -Landing Platform -Landing Field -Settlement -Small Standard Fleet base

I didn't bother to scroll any further and selected Small Base. One of the robots launched a small device into the air and it disappeared into the sky. The voice spoke again. "Survey Satellite launched. Mapping in progress…Select site." An aerial view of our location appeared before me. It was Jungle and mud bogs everywhere. I did not see anything artificial, except the swimming base platform I was standing on. So I simply drew a circle right next to the old base, designating the area as the construction site. The voice said. "Selection received. Parameters accepted. Construction phase indicated!" The robots approached the second container. A big chute extended on one end. Water rushed in the chute and the robots began gathering mud and debris and putting it down the chute as well. The output conveyor was under water but I saw the robots taking square blocks of about four meters length and one meter wide and deep and carry them away. Long poles appeared next from out the Nanite factory and robots placed them in regular intervals all around the construction site. The robots worked tirelessly without stopping and with unerring precision. I watched a robot dragging a black mass of tentacles and scales towards the chute. It was the same kind of beast that had attacked me earlier on. While it almost killed me, this one had no chance against the tremendous power of the robot as the machine stuffed it down the intake chute of the Nanite factory, a few moments later the last tentacle end disappeared. It too would be disassembled into its molecules and reassembled into something the construction project needed. Bushes and water plants, rocks and mud everything the robots collected was devoured. It was a fascinating process and I could have watched it all day long. However there was plenty to do and I wanted to check on the progress of my friends chores. Just as I turned I saw Har-Hi on top of the building aiming his blaster gun at me! At first I thought he was aiming at something behind me and I turned to look into the same direction but there was nothing. I wanted to call my friend and ask him what he was aiming at. Har-Hi was trembling and the gun was shaking. With a sharp thunder-crack a bolt of super heated plasma burned a 20 centimeter wide hole right before me through the dura plast of the platform. The heat of the blast was so intense it singed me with a painful stinging sensation all over my face and hands! More than the heat and the blinding light form the blast hurting me; I was stunned with the realization that Har-Hi had almost killed me. My eyes were blinded from the bright bolt, I could see nothing, but I heard shouts from the others and Har-Hi's angry voice yelling something I could not understand, he screamed in his native Dai language. Then I felt Wetmouth close to me and the characteristic sounds of her medical scanner. She said. "Second degree burns all over your face, thank to the Goddess your eyes are not permanently damaged. She sprayed something cool in my eyes and then something else over my skin. My eyesight slowly returned and I saw Krabbel restraining Har-Hi and Hans aiming his immense fist at his face. Hans was angry and thundered at the Dai. "Did you lose your mind? Why in the world did you shoot at Eric?" Something that I thought I would never see, tears where rolling down Har-Hi's face. He finally spoke in Standard-Lingu. "Yes I lost my mind! I don't know why but I suddenly felt so angry and hateful against Eric. For a moment I was so angry that he killed all those Dai. I imagined him attacking my own tribe and the anger became stronger and stronger by the moment. I wanted to kill him! All the same I knew it was all wrong and what I wanted to do was not me. No matter what, Eric I could not kill you. I was able to aim the gun away the very last moment." Elfi had a serious expression on her face."As you know I have basic psionic talents and I felt something alien. It was not Har-Hi but someone or something has influenced him." She looked to Wetmouth and added."I was influenced too. For a moment I hated you Wetty. I wanted to kill you so bad it hurt. I hated you for being so beautiful and intelligent. At the same time I knew it was wrong. I never saw your face, how could I even know if she was beautiful or not. I was never jealous of your intellect, I always loved you as a friend." I said. "Let him go Krabbel." Hans suddenly grabbed Har-Hi with his enormous left and drew his right arm back; tightening his hand to a fist and his face became red with anger. "You verfluchter Dai Pirate. You tried to kill Eric. I will rip you apart!" I said as loud as I could, yet trying to sound calm. "Hans stand down that is an order." Hans glared at me and his face was barely recognizable, it looked like the horrifying mask of a raving lunatic, he was shaking all over his body. I was afraid of Har-Hi, if Hans squeezed his hand just a little, he would most certainly kill. Then his expression relaxed, his fists opened and he let Har-Hi go. The Dai dropped to his knees panting and struggling for air and Hans stepped back still trembling. "Oh mein Gott! I was ready to kill you. Please forgive me. What is happening to us?" Wetmouth said. "The lgical conclusion is that someone out there has the psionic ability to Hypno suggest. Probably latching on at the smallest emotion and increasing it." I turned instinctively towards the jungle, it was as if someone had tapped on my shoulder, but there was no one. A sudden sensation made me aware that someone was tried to enter my mind.A mild headache was all there was for some reason. Yet I suddenly felt my ring, it was getting warm. Then as fast as the sensation had come over me, it disappeared and I shook my head. To my friends I said. "Something had just tried to get inside me, but it failed for some reason and I am alright." I glanced at the ring I had completely forgotten and said to my friends who had assembled around me." We are up against someone with Psionic abilities. What can we do to protect ourselves?" Wetmouth said. "I am immune to Psionic attacks, all Sojonites are. Our wigs are not just for show. They are equipped with Saresii Psi-shields. I always have four extra wigs along in my luggage."

That was good news and I said. "Give one to Hans; if he really goes wild no one can stop him, another one for Har-Hi of course. Having a Dai with murderous impulses among us and all those weapons and skills he has would be bad news." I grinned despite the serious situation. "It's going to look good on you!" Har-Hi said nothing and simply nodded. Cirruit raised his hands. "I am immune too, no biological components to my brain. Therefore Psionics don't work on me." That's another one safe. I turned to the Arachnoid. "Alright then, Krabbel how about you?" "I am not sure. My Heidelberg score is less than five and I Archas don't have Psionic talents as far as I know, but telepaths can read my mind." Our eight-legged friend said. Better be safe than sorry and find one self inside a cocoon ready to be eaten. "Krabbel you take a wig too." Elfi said. "I think I am able to detect the thing. Just a moment ago I felt a wave of pain coming from the Jungle, something has injured it very badly and it retreated. Right now is not around or within my range to sense it." I was thinking for a moment and then said. "Mao you take the last wig, those without stay at all times with a wig wearer. At the slightest sign of trouble we must be restrained or paralyzed, that includes me!" I turned and looked once more towards the jungle. It was getting dark now. The poles the robots had erected earlier on were equipped with flood lights and the construction area was still as bright as daylight. "We cannot assume there is only one being out there with this capability, but I have a feeling their range is limited, perhaps they have to see us to affect their powers on us." I took the Construction command console and activated voice command input. "Robots, interrupt construction process and clear any vegetation for 500 meters in all directions centering on my location." The Robots dropped what they were doing and marched towards the edge of the lake and the jungle. I couldn't help but smile when I saw Hans, Mao, and Har-Hi and Krabbel wearing the pink wigs. Har-Hi gave me a sinister look. "What I am thinking now is all my own! Only because I almost killed you I won't ask for an honor fight!" I put my hand on his shoulder. "Har-Hi you never missed in your life. The very fact that I am still here, is evidence that your friendship is stronger than whatever is out there; that my friend makes me prouder than I can put in words." He looked at me for a long moment. "You are my brother." He then turned to Hans." And so are you. What Eric said holds true for you. I know you could have killed me like an insect with those fists." Wetmouth hugged Elfi. "Thanks for not killing me either. You are the closest thing I ever had to a sister." I looked around and paled. "Where is Shaka?" Cirruit answered. "He was helping me taking the GalNet Console apart and he went to the Lab looking for  a microviewer to repair a modulator component. We all rushed to the lab and saw Shaka, his eyes glued to the micro scanner eye piece while his hands manipulated micro tools. He looked up with an annoyed expression in his face as I called his name, but then he smiled. "I am almost done. I think this modulator is working now!" We told him what happened and he shrugged. "I am a Virtu Helmsman. All helmsmen are implanted with Saresii Psi shields. So no one can manipulate us while we steer a ship." "Well that leaves only Elfi and me then. How long till dinner?" "You still want to do the dinner?" Hans asked. "Absolutely." "It will be ready at 2000 hrs, or in about fourty minutes." He answered.

They had done a great job. The common room was now clean and tidy. Where they got the second table from I didn't know but it was now long enough to seat us all. It had a table cloth from clean bed blankets. We all wore Dress uniform and I took my mug filled with water and raised it. "To the best friends anyone could have. I don't know what the future holds for us or if we survive this mission, but I know we will face it together and that makes it a good future." We all ate and the mood improved. There where jokes about the wigs and Krabbel uncovered a tray and said." Guess what? I found ice cream. Not the best kind, just Navy Standard but it is still ice cream!" Har-Hi leaned back and pulled a flat container from a leg pocket and handed me a Cigar. Much to the surprise of the others we lit the cigars and puffed happily. We had to explain to the others what we were doing and then Wetmouth gave us a small lecture on the history of smoking and the health risks that once had been associated with it. Har-Hi had enough Cigars for everyone. Mao stubbed his out after only one puff and coughed. "That is the nastiest thing I ever tasted." Wetmouth followed his example and said. "I tend to agree with this assessment." Elfi however seemed to enjoy hers. Shaka refused the offered cigar and produced something he called a cigarette and that this was also an ancient Terran custom, just like the cigars just more civilized, at least that was his opinion. Krabbel tried it and gave up. "I simply don't have the lips to get a seal and therefore can't produce the necessary suction. It seems Spiders are not meant to smoke. So I stick with eating more ice cream." Cirruit said. "I could rig you some sort of mouth piece if you want, I can't smoke either. There is no connection from my mouth to anything like a wind pipe or lungs so I can't produce any suction either." Before Krabbel could respond, Elfi started shaking. "The thing is back. It feels there are more of them this time…"She didn't finish her sentence but reached for her dinner knife and pointing it at Wetmouth. She shook violently and from pressed lips she groaned. "Stop me, please!" Krabbel was fastest, he took Elfi and in blinding speed wrapped her in a silvery liquid thread coming out of his abdomen, turning her quick and like a weightless toy between his hindf legs. Wetmouth was over her a heartbeat later, using her ever present scanner and said. "Mao, quick, get me the Med Kit. I need to sedate her; her electroencephalograph is off the scale." While Mao hurried to get the kit, Har-Hi looked at me and said. "Do you feel anything?" "No nothing at all. I am going to check on the robots. Stay with me and if I act weird, sedate me too."

To Cirruit I said while I got up. "What is the status on the GalNet terminal?"

"It is a mess, and I don't have all the parts I need to make it work, but Shaka and I going to manufacture the parts we don't have. I estimate about 48 hours till we can send a message and perhaps another day before we can receive." "Alright do what you can. Hans take that Paralysator cannon and take it to the roof and assemble it." Hans nodded and left. I looked down to Wetmouth who had Elfi's head in her lap. "Wetty you stay with Elfi and make sure she is alright." Before I went out myself I added. "Krabbel and Mao you go to bed and in four hours one of you relief Hans." "I am not tired." Mao said. "We always need someone fresh on guard; Krabbel will take over after you." "Aye!" Har-Hi followed me outside. It was very dark except for the day bright circle of the construction site. Clouds of local insects swirled around the lights. I took the command board and cut the light. The robots didn't need it and I wanted to see what happened around us. Har-Hi handed me something. "What is that?" "Dark vision goggles. No Dai leaves his bunk without them. I always have a spare set, just in case." I held them before my eyes and the surroundings where as bright as day, except for color. Everything appeared in gray tones." "They're great, but I think I didn't turn them on right. I can't see any color." "Because they are made for Dai Eyes, we don't perceive color as you humans do." "That explains it." The robots had made enormous progress and cleared the ground from any vegetation almost completely around. The robots sunk to their knees in mud even at the shore of the bog lake. I kept slowly turning and then I saw it! Just outside the 500 meter circle shaped clearance at the jungles edge. It looked like an upright snake, a being without legs but it had arms and a wicked evil looking head with long horns. I instinctively knew this was not another animal but one of our adversaries! Once I had spotted it I saw there was more than one hiding over there. Well camouflaged among the trees and bushes, but now that I knew what I was looking for I could spot them. And as I saw them the headache returned and for a very brief moment, I wondered why I was not killing the Dai Pirate next to me. But it was clearly a foreign thought and I had no urge to act on it. Again I felt the ring on my finger getting warm and all the foreign influence left me instantly. Har-Hi said." Are you still you?" "Yes I am. They just tried to get me hurt you. I can see them, I pointed in the direction were I saw the snake beings. Har-Hi's TKU roared and several pulses of superheated energy plasma hammered into the jungle, setting trees and bushes on fire. I took a deep breath." Did you get one of them?" "They moved just as I aimed, so I am not sure, but the TKU blasts are powerful and it is likely I have injured one." I looked back and said into my Com."Hans come in." "Hans here." "Is that Paralysator cannon ready?" "Just about! This is a big one even for me." "How long?" "One moment!" I saw him putting the heavy projector barrel on a tripod and then after he secured the coupling he said. "Ready!" "Put it on maximum intensity and strafe the jungle 360 degrees." Paralysator rays where invisible. The rays were designed to interrupt neurological impulses and supposed to be effective on almost every life form ever encountered." All the Jungle noises that had been a constant background until now were gone. We could now hear the robots stomping movements. "Give it another pass just to make sure." I told Hans. Har-Hi said. "Anything smaller than a Nufgwaug will be dead for at least a click! That's a F4 Paralysator, anything stronger is ship mounted." "Let's find out." I pulled my Blaster and jumped into the chest deep water, my boots were sinking in mud and I slowly waded towards where I had seen the snake with arms. Har-Hi's TKU blasts had disintegrated several trees and left a smoldering smoking hole in the jungles foliage of at least twenty meters diameter. Har-Hi was following me and cursed. "I hate clean water, but this is worse!" "You hate water?" "I am a terrible swimmer and every time we had to swim in basic training I was horrified. I don't like to admit it to anyone but I am afraid of water." "Same happens to me when I have to on a space walk. The time we went after that Dai sphere I almost lost it." "You went anyway." "And so are you right now, not to mention jumping in after me earlier today." "I had no time thinking about it, when that thing dragged you under." We reached the shore. The ground was gooey and wet and the dirt stuck to the boots, but it got better the further we got away from the shore of the mud pond. Everywhere were dead or paralyzed animals and insects. The Paralysator rays set at this intensity completely fried the Neuro path ways of most life forms for good and killed instantly. We found a large piece of scaled tail at the edge of the blast area, the rest of it had to be turned to ashes like everything else caught where the plasma bolts struck. "I think you got it. That is all that's left of it." I saw something a little deeper in the jungle. It was another one of these snakes like beings. It was about Man sized and looked very alien. It appeared unharmed but was felled where it stood by the Paralysator ray. Har-Hi pulled his PDD out of a belt container and set it to scanner function. "I still read life signs. It is not dead." The being looked fierce and dangerous even now, being unconscious. Keeping my blaster drained on the snakes head I used my Com-unit activated it and said. "Wetty how is Elfi doing?" "She is fine and she cannot detect any Psionic influence." I heard Elfi. "I feel fine, except have you ever tried to get sticky spider silk out of your hair?" "No I never had that problem. Do we have something we can use to contain an alien and very likely hostile and dangerous life form?" Wetmouth answered. "Yes all you want; this is a research post after all. The lab is stocked with xeno bio specimen containers of every size and they are equipped with stasis fields." "Please come out here where we are and have a robot bring one of those containers large enough for a being about 3 meters long and perhaps half a meter thick at the widest."

-""—

The rest of the night passed without any further incident. Wetmouth was in the Lab with the snake being and ran tests on it. Elfi claimed she could not detect any influence all night. After a few hours rest and breakfast, I went outside and checked on the robots progress who had resumed their building task. During the night they had built a circular wall of interlocking blocks. Inside that ring most of the water was gone and the robots drove piles in the ground, most likely as foundation for the planned building. Other bots carried big square stones to the recycler when I realized what they were carrying and made them stop. Inside the excavated circle were ruins of a previously submerged temple or building of some kind. It was clearly not natural but had to be made by an intelligent species. I called Wetmouth out. She looked at it and got excited. "This planet must have had or maybe still has a sentient population." "Would those snake beings not count as intelligent?" She shook her head. "I am not sure what they are and the specimen you caught does have the higher brain functions of a sentient being however it does not appear truly sentient and the DNA does not match other native life forms. Their DNA has clear signs of being constructed and not developed naturally." "Well whoever built that temple might have made those snakes." I suggested. She climbed down to examine the exposed ruins and I followed. She sighed. "It looks like the robots have already carried away most of it, at least what is inside the circle. There is not much left, but from the layout and what I can see it seems most of the ruins are outside the circle and still under water. I pointed at an exposed stone block."Is there some sort of writing on this one?" She knelt into the muck and wiped the surface clean. "Yes it is. It is a simple hieroglyphic alphabet. I should be able to make sense out of it eventually. She stared at it for only about five minutes then she nodded. "Yes I am able to read most of it. The natives built this temple to appease what they call star gods. Strangers who came from the heavens and according to this there were two kinds of visitors and they fought each other in the sky and on the ground without interacting with the natives at all. Completely ignoring the natives, but causing much death and destruction among them never the less. After a decade of fighting the Star Gods left as sudden as they had appeared but left the Coiling monsters behind! It says here, that the Snakes caused brothers to fight to the death. Friends were suddenly turned into raving murders. The writer of this message has little hope of survival and fears that his whole kind is doomed." She looked up. "I think those snake beings caused this whole civilization to die." "Who do you think those sky gods were?" I asked her while I tried to picture the position of the world in relation to its position in the Galaxy. "We are close to Nul Space. They are fighting the Shiss for millennia of and on. It could have been them. Also we know very little about Nul space. Maybe there are other species that have lived in this region before the Nul expanded their influence to this area." Wetmouth then asked me for the robot control unit so she could instruct them to help her with further excavation. It was the morning of the third day when Circuit came to me. "We are able to send and receive. The GalNet terminal is repaired and works fine, but I am getting no signal." He simulated a sigh as his was his habit when he was frustrated. "I don't understand it, even though Quagmire Bog is at the fringes, we are in Union space and should be able to pick up GalNet, but nothing. I am not even getting the base line of the emergency call network and that we should get even  5000 light years outside of Union space, which we are not." "Are you sure it is working?" "I am certain. The GalNet terminal is like new. Instead of repairing I had the nanites of the robot factory make me all the parts. With the nanites it was easy to make a second terminal and I can receive the signal from the first, but nothing from the outside." "What could cause this?" "Only two things, the Nul-Nul over ran this part of space and destroyed every relay station in reach, or we are being jammed." Having seen how determined the Nul were, not too long ago, I hoped the Fleet was gathering and pushing to retake this sector. "How can we determine if we are being jammed?" "None of our enemies have the means to jam GalNet as far as I know. Fleet special operations have Jammers that can jam GalNet but it has to be localized, no technology I know off could jam an entire star system. So I suggest we build a Relay Drone and make it move a few million ways away from the planet and load it with a pre recorded message. If we can't receive the drone we are jammed, but someone outside should be able to pick it up." I pointed to the construction site. "Well we got the robots and the Nanite factory, let's built one." Har-Hi just came climbing down from our roof look out, after he had been relieved by Elfi and he waited till Cirruit was out of earshot and then he said. "You know it is very likely the Nul have attacked the Union, especially after what happened in the Alegri and the Nobane System. What are we doing if the Devi is destroyed and we are stuck here?" "Then we going to built us a ship, and go Nul hunting. We got a Nanite Factory and with some time I am sure we could manufacture us something basic that gets us to the next Fleet outpost. We are far from out of options, but do you really think that there are enough Nul out there to really destroy the Devi? As long as that ship is commanded by Harris and Stahl is around they find a way!" He smiled. "You're right, there might be a war going on out there, but the Union will prevail and Stahl won't let anyone destroy his ship." He was about to go inside then he turned. "I think you are serious, you really would go Nul hunting." "You know me." "You would have made a very good Dai. If the worst turns out to be true, I hunt Nul with you till the end of our days."

Interlude: Larthop

Larthop of course had heard of Cherubim. Being around for a long time and always connected to the hidden layer of things. Cherubim was a legendary operator in the clandestine world. That name had been whispered by those who knew things for a very long time. But like everyone else he thought of her as a myth. He never thought she still actually existed. There were a few whispered rumors about a shadowy, ghostlike woman acting on behalf of the old pre Union, Earth based Exo-terrestrial Intelligence Agency, but none of them sounded true or even possible. She supposedly acted on behalf of Earth Long before the formation of the Union, when Terra and its colonies had its own fleet, it also had its own Intelligence gathering service. Back then Earth had just stepped onto the galactic stage and only reached tech level three with the help of the Sarans.Back then Earth was weak and vulnerable, with a comparable tiny and weak fleet, but the Terran Intelligence Agency was legendary even back then, for its ruthless efficiency. Most of the other civilizations were unprepared for the unbridled brutality, the no rules no limits approach to everything the TIA operated. During those early years it became known that the Terran Intelligence service was operating outside any moral or ethical boundary.Abduction, blackmail, the systematic extermination of entire populations. Infiltrating families, religious groups. Using psychology, propaganda, psionics and methods no one ever considered. And like all key positions, the leader of this service was supposedly one of the mysterious Immortal Guides, picked and chosen by an entity known to a few as the Guardian of Earth. No one really believed that this was a true story of course. There was no mystical, enigmatic Guardian watching over the humans of Earth for millions of years with the ability to make two hundred individuals into Immortals, bestow each of them with extraordinary talents and powers. All this was just skillful propaganda, Larthop had always been sure of that. He, like so many others did not believe Richard Stahl or Admiral Mc Elligott were immortals or individuals who had been around for over 3000 years, but rather genetic or cybernetic crafted puppets acting as figureheads for the real unseen,unknown leaders in the background of that silently growing giant, called the Union. As the Union was founded, Earth officially became Terra and like all intelligence services of individual members the TIA was disbanded and its assets absorbed into the new Union Intelligence services such as NAVINT and ANA the official and only legal Intelligence agencies of the Union. All this went through Larthop's mind for many times now ever since he had met that woman in the Uni or Pree chamber deep underneath the surface of the old Kermac Home world. He, the leader and first priest of the Church of Darkness had been on an odyssey like journey for a very long time now. It was like an enormous puzzle, and he had to cover much ground to get the pieces. It had started all so long ago, when it became apparent that he was an exceptional strong Psionic talent and had been accepted as the very first and most likely last student on Narth Prime. He was the very first Non Narth ever to set foot on that world. It was there he saw it and more so felt it, an artifact the Narth were guarding. It was so full of pure power and promised godlike omnipotence, it had filled his mind with an unquenchable desire ever since. He learned from the Narth Supreme that the artifact was one of twelve such pieces. Once combined a previously defeated entity of unimaginable evil would once more awake and seek revenge on those who lead to its defeat. His live changed forever and he was filled with burning desire to gain that power for himself. The Narth did not accept him for very long and asked him to leave. He denounced his Saresii roots after the High Council did not want him to return unless he would conform to their ways and abandon his quest. Because he was Saresii and had access to forbidden and forgotten knowledge and technology of the first age he looked forward to a very long life. Traveling to distant corners of the galaxy, studying at the World od Old itself, reading the Hidden Tablets of Asgerom he had spend the first centuries of his life, exclusively dedicated to the study of anything and everything he could find about the Dark God and the Dark Ones. He followed every lead, collected every shred of information hidden and burried inside legends and myths. He tried to find answers in magic, the arcane arts, he walked the way of the Uta, the forbidden way of those who use their Psionic powers to open gateways to the Underworld and tap into realms and powers better left alone.He became aware of the Antiverse, the Netherworlds and the secrets of the Universes that came before.He heard of the 'Prophecy of Before and Yet to come'; he knew it was guarded by a group of Netherworld demons somewhere in the Igrass Expanse. While he was unable to access the actual text, he found and obtained a copy of it, from the Hidden Archives of the Gray Cats. With this information he was able to make a pact with a shadowy group from another plane of existence. He knew them only as the Brotherhood and could only contact them at certain times and only at one hidden gateway underneath the Golden Statue on the planet Netlor. He was recruited by them. as an agent in this universe and in return get knowledge and power from the Brotherhood. The Brotherhood was obsessed about the Narth, without telling him why. But he had his suspicions,whenever his own overinflated self centered ego allowed it he acknowledged the fact that there was more to the Narth and that their very existence was closely tied to that Omniverse puzzle known as the Reign of the Old Entities. Following the instructions of the Brotherhood, he had made his way to Koken, the recently re-discovered planet of origin of the Kermac. Discovered by the Union no less. Why the Kermac had abandoned their home world and traveled over 20,000 light years to relocate their culture, he did not know, but he did find what the UNI had left behind and he did find the disc, the Brotherhood wanted him to find. The Disc turned out to be a galactic treasure map of sorts, showing him the position of a place called the Cave of Things. The map pointed to a planet 90,000 light years away. It was on Koken and in that hidden UNI chamber; where a human female wearing black leather had suddenly revealed herself to him. How she had managed to stay completely hidden from his Psionic powers was somewhat disturbing to him. He knew of Terrans using active camouflage and cloaking technology to make their soldiers completely invisible. An impressive feat on its own but that she appeared out of thin air was neither very impressive nor unexplainable to him. She introduced herself as Cherubim and offered him a way to reach that planet 90,000 light years away. He was weary of partnerships. He had partnered with the Kermac and a Thauran Union admiral and the whole affair had turned out to be nothing but a waste of time. The woman introducing herself as Cherubim also knew much about him, to much to be left alive and she offered a way to his next destination. Partnerships were nothing but tools. She offered him a way to a place he could not easily reach on his own and perhaps during that partnership a way could be found to eliminate her as a factor. Besides if the disc and the Brotherhood was correct, there was a token of power waiting for him. Once in his posession, neither Cherrubim nor the Brotherhood mattered anymore.

He followed her to a small space ship, parked not far from the cave entrance, also perfectly camouflaged until she deactivated its cloaking shields. He could not identify the type or manufacturer of the craft, but it was well equipped and turned out to be very fast. That she could slip through Union battleship screens and sensor nets was very impressive but not unexpected for a leading Union intelligence operator. Similar she had no problems providing valid Union transponder codes as they approached the Kansas System. Even though it was quite a long trip from Koken to Wichita planet, he had spoken very little with her, but now as they were about to land on an unimportant planet deep in Union territory he left his cabin and went up to the flight deck. "I think it is about time you explain to me why we are approaching this world and perhaps tell me why you want to help me? If you are who you say you are; would you not be on Union side?" She swiveled around in the chair she was sitting in and folded her gloved hands over her crossed legs. She had long blonde hair and her face was an old style bio-flex mask, clearly designed to be recognized as a mask. She said to him. "There is a shortcut on this planet we are going to take. It will save us a lot of time. You can either go with me or try to find your own way to the Cave of Things." "I accepted your help because you know more about me than anyone should and because I have no means to cross that kind of distance. I just don't see the connection between this world and the Cave of Things, for now I am going along, but I am tired of being a pawn and I demand you explain yourself. I am not impressed by your name. I don't believe you are an immortal. It's an office, a front filled by a clone or someone trained for that posting." "It matters not who you believe I am or not. I know who you are, Son of Darkness. I know you have been on Narth Prime and I know what your plans are. I am keeping an eye on you ever since you left Narth Prime." She turned back to the console and answered a hail from the local port control. After she had exchanged the necessary information and identified her as a Union Citizen she received landing permission. Larthop watched her and he started to wonder if the legends and rumors he heard about this elusive Terran immortal weren't true after all."I was among the Narth over 300 of your years ago. Even if you are the same person as the legends know as Cherubim, you just lied. Nothing of Earth importance existed back then." "You are a small minded fool, just as the Narth Supreme described you. Earth is far more important to all this than any other world. There have been students and entities at the World of Old long  before Earth ascended. You are that very pawn you don't want to be." "So why did you watch me all this time? If I managed to do that for all those years, then I must be fairly important to you. Why not shutting me down or killing me, I heard of a rumor that you started out to be an Assassin on that blue planet of yours, long before the Earth monkeys accented onto the galactic stage?" "Ah so you do believe Cherubim is real after all." "I mastered the dark arts, collected myths and legend for longer than anyone I know and I have seen things no one is allowed to see. I have an open mind if nothing else." "You are as arrogant and blind as a Kermac wizard. You think you are the only one who studied what you call the dark arts. I have studied with Egyptian priests and Tibetan monks five thousand years before you were born.The Exalted himself let me to crypt hidden on the World of Old and revealed knowledge to me and yet I have not stopped studying and learning to this day. I do not claim to be the wisest or the most knowledgeable person in the Universe. I am watching you because you because you have been on Narth prime and the Narth Supreme asked me to keep an eye on you. Ever since you have seen the Token, you have acted with a one tracked mind. Its power is consuming you. Her ship descended, guided by traffic control and other automatic systems into the atmosphere of Wichita planet and approached Topeka port. The ship had a small bridge, but it was configured to the latest Terran style Bubble tech layout, meaning they both had an unobstructed view all around them. Even as they broke through the lowest cloud layer he could not see any city. There was a space port in a typical Union clover-leaf layout with a set of terminal buildings in the middle. All around the port and as far as they could see, even from this high up, were millions of animals penned up in fenced square sections of land. Six Meteor Type VI freighters all painted the same yellow red white and blue color scheme of the mighty Enroe Corporation were sitting on the land field they were approaching, with extended ramps and open freight hatches. Robots and workers were herding great numbers of these four legged, horned beasts inside. A Gulliver type freighter dwarving everything in sight, bearing the SII logo was just lifting off. Cherubim's ship touched down on a yellow and black striped area that immediately lowered them below the surface. She got up and handed him a little black attachable PDD. "This makes you a NAVINT operative and will prevent many of the usual controls." He had heard about the existence of those, the Kermac would have paid billions for one. All of the Union's secret doors could be opened with one of these. His new and mysterious partner confirmed to be quite valuable and he had no illusions that she was more dangerous than anyone he had ever dealt with before. The possibility that she really was Cherubim and all the legends and stories about her were true became more likely by the moment. But he would find a way to kill her after she was no longer needed. He too had no moral or ethical limitations. Besides at the end of this quest,he would be a God. With this PDD and her ship, he could accomplish his quest faster and easier than he could ever imagine before. Cherubim stepped through an auto dresser and now wore a long black coat and knee high boots with rugged all terrain soles. Her face had changed to that of a middle aged woman with chestnut colored chin length hair. This time there was no telling if this was a mask or her real face,"I suggest you do the same, on this world it is always very likely you step into piles of animal droppings." He followed her example and the machine equipped him with boots and the machine also outfitted him with a hat and a holster with the latest Union blaster weapon."I have no illusions that you trust me, so I assume that SII TKU is for show and not loaded." "That gun is fully functional and you might need it on our way to the cave. It is not without dangers. No I do not trust you, Larthop. I made it a core philosophy of mine to trust no one." He followed her as she left her ship and walked to a slide belt in that sub surface hangar. If she trusted him with such a dangerous weapon, she must not be afraid of it, maybe the rumors about this woman were even less than half of the truth. The control officers at customs simply waved both of them through without checking anything. She led him through the entrance hall of the space ports main building and to a Taxi flier stand. As they stepped through a strong forced-air curtain it was to Larthop as if he ran into a wall. The stench was unbelievable intense and made him gag. She had no such problems and he suspected he had some sort of filters in her nose. He boarded one of the Taxi fliers after she had climbed inside. The air inside was clean and free of any odor. "By the Seven winged demons of Kathtrak, that was horrible!" "The seven winged demons of Kathtrak are actually a life form with about as much Intellect as a dog and have nothing demonic to them." She said that in a schoolmasterly tone of voice while the Taxi was flying above the herds of penned animals."If you are the master of all black arts as you claim you are, you would know that." "The scriptures of Anntko the holy are over a million years old and ancient Saresii lore. Anntko the prophet lived before the Saresii ascended. Less than a handful of Saresii scholars even know about these scriptures and no one knows what Anntko really saw when he described his encounter with the winged Demons in the valley of Kathtrak. How would you know what they are?" "Maybe because Anntko showed me what he saw. If you survive all this and you finished your quest, maybe you find time to study in seriousness, you will be surprised what you can learn with a little patience." The Flier had left the animals and pens behind and flew over rolling hills of green grass, towards a range of mountains in the distance. The taxi was piloted by a human and not automated and the man turned to look over his shoulder to face his passengers. "We are about to reach our famous Bone Yard Valley. If you look out to the right you see the first skeletons." Larthop tried to hide the confusion he felt. It was his role and his place to be the one who knew more than others and act mysterious.Yet the woman had taken this role from him and made him feel small and insignifcant ever since he met her. The grass covered valley below, located between a ring of mountains was indeed littered with the skeletons of large animals. The flier circled down and landed next to a collection of temporary and permanent buildings. They were nestled against the sheer rock wall of a granite mountain. The flag of the Science Corps fluttered in the wind attached to a gleaming metal pole atop of the central building. He also noticed the heavy armed marines patrolling the area and watching the approaching taxi. The taxi-flier dropped them off before a barely visible force field fence. Between two fence projectors posts that served as a gate to this research compound. A sign identified this as a security controlled area and informed visitors that further approach required project and site specific credentials. Two marines accompanied by a fully equipped Cerberus robot, guarding that gate made it clear this was more than just a Science Corps installation as the Fleet and thus NAVINT was providing Site security. He had never seen on so close and he could not help but feel very uneasy. Those robots had a terrible reputation for being very intelligent, very aggressive and almost unstoppable. These Cereberus robots weren't the combat and war fighting versions,but the sentry models fielded by NAVINT. The large psionic scanner heads and the addition of Neuro ripper projectors on their weapon arms were clear evidence of that. This time they had to stop and the marines checked them and their credentials. One of them a Corporal had his helmets face plate open and moved in his six ton Quasimodo Main Battle suit like he was born in it. The Corporal was human so it looked like and his face looked as if made of a collection of building blocks, square with almost perfectly rectangular jaw lines. "This research facility is off limits to visitors." Cherubim said. "We need to get to get inside. I am authorized and this man is with me. Disregard whatever you see on your scan when you check him. I take full responsibility.I am invoking Theta protocol. Day code authorization is Morpheus." Just then the robot raised all four of his weapon arms."Approaching individual on Suspect watch list." The Corporal however said. "Stand down Cherby and initiate Theta protocol." The robot actually powered down and the Corporal waved them through." Hurry up, the bot is in maintenance cycle but not for long. Welcome to Wichita, Commandant." She nodded to the Corporal and said." You better run and follow me. It won't be very healthy if you in the bots sensor range when it comes out of the cycle." She was fast, Larthop had trouble keeping up running after her on a small steep path approaching a compount of temporary buildings. Cherubim stopped at the front of a tent like structure that was set right against the rock wall and placed her hand on a sensor field. That opened a slide door and she ushered him inside. He tried to catch his breath. "What was that all about? I thought you are the famous immortal Cherubim, should those robots not obey you?" "They do obey me, but these are NAVINT Units and you and the Church of Darkness are on several watch lists and this machine would have reported you to NELSON II. I don't want certain people to know what I am doing, this is how I have always operated and I won't change now." "Nelson II is already operational?" "Indeed, it is still in Beta mode, but already spells bad news for many rats and worms who believed to be safe." They had entered something like an air lock and only after the outer door had been completely closed the inner one opened and he could look down a long natural looking cave corridor. Lumi Plates had been glued to walls and ceiling, illuminating the place with bright light. The floor was made of freshly poured Duro-Crete. To the left was a large shipping container used as an office of sorts. A woman in a green overall came down a short flight of metal steps. "I am Dr. Brenda Brown and I am in charge of this facility. Since you are here I am sure you check out, but you have not been announced, so I like to know who you are and what it is you want." "We are here to use the Spatial Gate to Planet Place. I am with NAVINT and have a highly classified mission. Here are my credentials." Larthop suddenly understood. There was some sort of transport connection between this planet and the world he had to visit. The green dressed Science officer completed her inspection of the orders and pointed to four wheeled contraptions to the side of the container. "There are Quad-bikes. The cave ground gets a little rough about a mile down, we have not paved it further than that. There is still the bat problem, but they usually stay away now, especially if you use the Quad bikes. If they do attack use your guns and call for help. Some called for their extermination, but Xeno Bio is still researching them." Cherubim thanked the woman and Dr. Brown added." If you reach the Transition line, it is marked with a sign. Slow down your bikes, we had a few accidents from folks running into the cave wall after the transition, have a save trip." Cherubim mounted one of the wheeled things and said. "It's easy, you learn as you go." "I never thought you could drive on a motor bike bridging a distance of 90,000 light years!" He said shaking his head.

QUAGMIRE BOG

We had launched the emergency beacon with a pre recorded message two days ago. To make sure my friends would not lose hope I kept them busy, collecting specimen. We had the robots built us a basic freight flier. With it we surveyed a greater area around the base. We had the P4 mounted on the flyer just in case. Har-Hi was piloting the craft and Mao manned the Paralysator. Elfi was sitting in one of the passenger seats, her eyes closed trying to use her limited Psionics to scan for more of the Snake beings. So far she could feel nothing. Krabbel spotted it first and pointed it out to us. There about 25 kilometers away from our base we found the almost completely overgrown wreck of an old Saran planet lander. I knew I wasn't acting very environmental friendly when I had Mao hose down the area around the wreck with Paralysator rays, just to be on the safe side. The main hatch was open and vegetation had made it inside the hull of the sixty meter craft. The hull appeared undamaged as far as I could tell at first glance. The ships landing gear had sunken into the soft ground and it was sitting in a steep angle surrounded by shallow water and vegetation. The power of the Paralysator was evident in all the animals either paralyzed or dead around the old Saran ship. Mao kept watch with the P4 while Har-Hi, Krabbel and I approached the ship. I said. "If we don't make contact soon, I think we found our way off this planet. We got robots and a very talented engineer." My Dai friend pointed his blaster inside the dark opening of the access hatch. "Let's hope we don't have fight Nul in that thing." Krabbel scurried up the hull of the craft and said. "I think the Nul would be in for a surprise. I mean they never dealt with an angry Neo Viking and his crazy crew." "They did get a taste of it though when we faced those Nul fighters." Har-Hi said and then turned. "Can't see anything moving or dangerous inside, but I am not sure if the Paralysator penetrates all the armor of that thing so we better be careful." The room behind was full of vegetation and we found partial skeletons of two Saresii, the rest most likely carried away by animals. My scanner showed a weak energy signature coming from the small crafts engineering section. We completed the survey of the craft without any incidents. Not much of the vegetation had made it past the air tight doors of the air lock that led to the rest of the ship. We did find three more members of the Saran crew, all three mummified skeletons and all three had been murdered. The engines were undamaged, not so the engineering section. Someone had smashed and burned most of the controls. There was a little energy left in the emergency batteries, but not enough to even operate the ships computronic. We closed the hatch and returned to the camp. I was thinking about ways to get the ship back to the camp and repair it.

Almost two weeks had passed now since we had arrived on Quagmire Bog and we could neither reach the probe we had launched nor did anyone try to contact us. During our daily meeting I said. "It seems no one heard our beacon signal. So we complete the base construction and add the facilities to strip that Saran Planet Lander and make it a working ship. We will also keep surveying this world. We still need to find out if there are more of those snakes." We started a concentric search pattern and launched two more mapping satellites. So far we did not find any signs of the Snake beings, but the Satellite images revealed several completely overgrown ruin sites, consistent with the temple we had found. The day ended without anything happening. The construction of the base was making steady progress and the robots had finished with the foundation and had poured a solid floor inside the walled circle on which they now erected the main building of the new base. They were almost done with the first storey. The machines had to walk further now, to gather materials for the Nanite factory and doing so created a nice and wide open area, nothing could approach us without being seen. I was confident in our security arrangements and did not think the snakes could do us any harm without us seeing them first. In a relaxed mood and near the midnight hour I climbed up to our roof post to relieve Hans from his watch. I saw his hulking shadow in the darkness behind the P4 Paralysator and said. "Anything moving out there?" Hans did not answer, but he moved and turned towards me. My eyes had adapted to the darkness and I noticed his bald head almost too late. At first I was not thinking anything about it, but then I realized he did not wear the pink wig that was shielding him from the Psionic suggestions of the Snake beings. Hans howled words in his native language and swiveled the P4 around. In the faint light of a few stars I now saw one of the Snakes not far from him behind on the roof. There was no way I could evade the invisible cone shaped ray of the weapon, or reach Hans in time to somehow prevent him from firing. Only because he was fighting the influence and did not react as fast as he normally could I was still there, at this distance the P4 would be deadly if it was set to maximum output. Hans growled and I understood him now. "It's time to die Verfluchter Wikinger!"