Eric Olafson, Fleet Cadet 28b

Chapter 28b: Fornax Cluster Interlude

Continuation... --””--

CARAM

Despite the pain numbing herbs, every step Caram took filled him with flaming pain. He and the Old ones had almost reached the Cave. Caram was almost glad it would be over soon. He hoped the cave would not be too long and too deep and the way to the Valley was not too far.

The Light of the Sky had almost set and its rays shone directly on the caves entrance, bathing it in soft orange light. The other Huffh had stopped a little behind and waited for him to disappear.

He was never that close to the cave. He had seen others pass, but doing the final journey yourself was quite different. He felt anger at the others, who were healthy, he was angry at the Old Ones who made him go. Why could he not stay and maybe the healers would find a way to help him better? He knew better of course, no Huffh with wounds like him and the bone fire ravaging had ever been healed. Maybe the Huffh weren’t as bright as the Old Ones said. Maybe the Uni had not returned because the Huffh were still unable to have words and thoughts to heal bone fire. He sighed in pain and his anger changed into fear. What would death be like? What was there at the other side? How did they know it was a Valley if no one had ever returned? The little ones that came through the flesh caves remembered nothing. He did not remember if he had done this once or perhaps many times before.

He looked up and saw two bright glowing eyes moving in the cave.

He stopped.

The Utnalai huffed. “Do not stop now, go with dignity. Show us that your spirit is still as strong as your body once was.”

“There are eyes coming.”

The Old one wanted to rebuke him, but now she saw the intense bright lights moving.

--””--

FREYA AND BRENDA

“Oh my god.” Brenda stopped.”Land walkers.”

I saw them too, they were hard to miss. Three of them, perhaps twenty meter outside the Cave entrance. They were big, perhaps not as big as Tyranno’s but not by a great difference. Brenda said they look exactly like Ambulocetus only much bigger.”

We had both stopped and I checked my TKU and dialed it to seventy percent and tight beam. I had about 20 bolts left and only one spare energy pack. I wished I had taken more, but I didn’t expect this to be a longer trip, but twenty bolts should be enough to fry a whole lot of them. Without taking my eyes of the cave entrance and the monsters I asked.” What is an Ambulocetus?”

“It is an extinct animal of Planet Earth, called the Walking Whale, an early cetacean that existed about 50 Million years ago. There was a reconstructed model in the collection of my University, only the one we had was about 4 meters long. The middle one measures at least 16 meters.”

I sighed inwardly; everything was always compared to Earth Animals. They did it in Union School and they did it at the Academy. Did they not realize that most of the Union had never seen any Terran animals, left alone extinct ones?

She said in a subdued voice.”What do you think we should do?”

I kept my voice down as well.”Too late to play it subtle, they have seen our helmet lights, maybe we should fry one of them to show we are no easy prey. Did those Ambulothings of yours eat meat?”Yes Ambulocetus was carnivorous and hunted much like the Terran Crocodile.”

“You realize I have never seen a Crocodile and I am not exactly fresh on other Terran critters.”

“I am sorry.” She said and then pointed at my weapon.” I don’t really want to introduce ourselves that way.”

“I wasn’t really thinking about exchanging greetings with some land walking Crococetus, but sitting here won’t do us any good either. We need to get into the open and see if we can get a GalNet Connection or see if we can determine some other way where we are in this Universe of ours.”

--””--

CARAM

The bright lights went out. Caram and the old Utnalai could now see the two little figures about 10 Huffh lengths inside the Cave.

The other Huffh became curious what was happening as Caram had not entered the Cave. It was a solemn act and usually the spectators were quiet, but a young one could no longer stay quiet and yelled.” Is Caram not able to walk anymore?

The Old Huffh turned her head and responded.” The Uni have returned.”

Nothing could have had a greater impact. The words were repeated throughout the crowds and herds until the last family had heard it. Everyone knew the Old Story, even those who were too far to hear the retelling from earlier on. Waves of emotions came through all the Huffh present and the old Utnalai felt both, the wonder and the aggressive feelings of some in the herd. The Huffh were angry at the Uni for being taken from the Old Place without even being asked. Have they come to make them Uni? Have they come to take them to another Place? The Old Huffh did not like any of these possibilities. She liked being the one on top. The oldest, wisest and the one everyone asked. Would she have such a Place of importance with the Uni? They were little and only two; they looked a lot like the tree hanglers of the southern forests, but with less fur. The Huffh were stronger than anything on the world.

Uglam, was a strong male and he was healthy he felt the thoughts of aggression from the Huffh and he rushed forward, up the light slope. The Old one did not stop him so he went on. He would crush the Uni and then find out how they tasted.

--””--

FREYA AND BRENDA

The three monsters at the cave entrance did not move, but a fourth one suddenly brushed past them and its intentions were not a big mystery. It roared and had its maw wide open, full of frightening teeth.

Even though this was a first contact situation, these were mindless animals and not members of a sentient civilization. I pressed the butt against my shoulder, had the center of the open maw in the sights and fired. The energy plasma generated by the combination of a few atoms of anti matter with positive matter funneled by force fields into a narrow hit the charging huge animal at near light speed and several million degrees of thermal heat. Union TKU (Thermo Kinetic Unit)were not as elegant or as sophisticated as laser or E Blasters and had a considerable recoil, but there wasn’t much else out there that delivered quite the same punch. The blast had burned a fist size hole right through the entire length of the beast. Its momentum carried it a few more meters and it collapsed right before us.

The air was filled with the stench of burned flesh and the thing was still moving, still alive. It took two more shots before it stopped.

--””--

CARAM

Caram and the old Huffh saw the bright white flash and heard the crack, Uglam fell. The spirits of the Huffh still kept him alive, but then the last thought of Uglam fell silent and he was gone. A Huffh had died and he was not alone. The Huffh fled in panic. The Old one also turned as fast as she could and followed the others downhill. Caram however was at the end of his strength he could not turn, and now with the others running he did not have their support either. He too would die right here, burned by the bright lightning of these terrible little monsters.

--””--

FREYA AND BRENDA

Just as I expected the other beasts fled, but one of them remained, it did not move much at all. Brenda stared at the dead carcass before us and she looked sad. “It is a shame we had to kill it.”

“It’s not like we had a lot of options and it doesn’t look it is the only one. I just wonder why the big one out there isn’t running.”

“Don’t shoot it.”

“I am not going to shoot anything that isn’t attacking us, but I really think we need to get out of this cave.”

Brenda slowly slipped by the dead beast and closer to the entrance. I followed her, the TKU ready.” Be careful, BB. We don’t have all that many energy packs you know.”

You know I think the beast out there is one that was about to pass to the Valley. I think it is wounded or hurt or something. It only uses its front legs while it drags its hind legs.”

“Wounded Fangsnappers are worse than healthy ones.”

The huge beast out there did not make any aggressive moves and Brenda started talking to it in a soft calming tone.

--””--

THE HUFFH

The Huffh were upset, disturbed and there was panic and fear. Everyone had felt the death of Uglam and it was the most horrible experience to them all. Now it became clear to them why a Huffh had to go through the Caves to seek the Valley and die alone. They all had felt the pain and the agony, and the final sting of death. The Huffh shared their love and affection but also their other emotions.

What would happen? Would the Uni take them away again or perhaps kill them all?

Death was a metaphor something that happened far away and never among the Huffh and now it had happened and it caused several Huffh to fall in a catatonic shock. Young ones cried and could not be comforted, because the Alai were afraid and shocked themselves.

What manner of death was this? It was like the bright light that sometimes tore the heavens during rain and storm, but it was much stronger. The Uni could speak the light and it burned. Not even strong Uglam could stand against it.

In their panic they had forgotten Caram up there by the Cave. Without their support he would be even slower. Would he die here as well? Send another wave of shock and darkness throughout the herds?

More and more Huffh came, even those who had not come to bid farewell to Caram were now on their way. They all wanted to hear what the Utnalai would say.

They all looked at her now for advice and counsel and she had none to give. Legends and stories were not meant to come true.

“Tell us what we are to expect and to do.”

She had to say something, if she did not say something and then someone else did, her leading role would be over forever, she was well aware of that and so she said. “Let us go to the Cave of the Things that have been left by the Uni. They will most certainly go there and if they see we have been good stewards, maybe they will talk to us.”

A strong young male Huffh raised his head above the others and said.” Why should we listen to them? They have made death on Uglam. We should scatter and hide and maybe they leave.”

No one had ever questioned the decision of an Utnalai before. Yet she felt that there was not as much outrage over his outrageous behavior as she wished there were.” Be silent. You are young and do not have the wisdom and you are not Alai. You do not have the cave of life.”

The young male also sensed what she felt of course and did not fall silent at all.”Your wisdom then. Tell us why they are here. Tell us why they made death on Uglam and what they want from us. If you cannot you have as much wisdom about this as the most junior Huffh.”

He became more aggressive and opposing by the moment. The Old Huffh knew why. The experience of death had broken barriers that would have not been crossed otherwise.”You did not listen to the old story then. It clearly says that the Uni will return and there are Old secret songs only Utnalai know.” She felt ashamed inside. It was the first time a Huffh had not spoken the truth. There were no secret songs. The feeling of death had also changed her. It worked however, the Young male had no answer to this and lowered his head and the common feeling was once again turned to the Old Utnalai, one of her old friends. The one that would take her Place said.” You have not shared these secret songs with me yet. Would it not be time to share them with us now? So we know what to do?”

Another Female said.” What are their secrets? We are the Huffh. I do not know what this means?”

Not telling the truth was not very good she realized, now she was put on the spot and had no answer.” It is necessary to keep some knowledge only to those who guide. Let us go to the Cave of Things and I will share one of these secret stories so we know what to do.”The second lie came to her much easier and she wondered how long she could keep this up before they realized what she was doing. On the other side of things there were the Uni and maybe their presence made it all a mood point.

--””--

FREYA AND BRENDA

The thing was ugly and big and now I too saw the broken hind legs, and the puss oozing gangrene around the bone sticking through its skin. It was hurt badly and I could imagine in terrible pain.

Brenda got excited.” I think this Land walker was about to enter the cave so it could pass to the valley and die and maybe by doing so, it would have triggered that gate again.”

While I paid attention to her, I was using my PDD and activated the emergency channels again. It would drain the energy reserves drastically but emit the strongest possible signal, and I did get a response. “You are connected to Union GalCom. Buoy 5294939-83883 DW. No civilian GalNet relay in range. If this is an emergency state the nature of the Emergency.”

I had reached an automated robotic Fleet Buoy and said.” I am Midshipman Olafson, transmitting identification sequence now. I need a connection to Fleet HQ.”

“Identity verified, you are authorized Fleet personnel. This unit will connect you to GalNet now.”

I got a sleepy looking Lt on and before I could begin he said.” Midshipman, you reached Fleet HQ on a Sunday afternoon. According to your call code you are requesting to talk to the Admiral of the Fleet, if this is a joke you are in serious trouble.”

The words:” 45 percent energy remaining. Please recharge soon or recharge or replace E pack.”

“Sir the Commander in the Office of the Admiral and the admiral himself are the only ones I know to call with this unusual situation I am in. It is an emergency and I have little energy left.”

“This has to be a joke. According to this you are calling from the Cygnus Arm in the Downward Sector, using an old Relay Buoy that was used during the Piostla War 700 years ago. Impressive hacking and simulating, but I have Fleet Security on you and they find you.”

He actually cut off the transmission.

I had 25% energy left and of course no spare E pack. Under normal conditions the PDD packs held for 2 years and I had the thing barely a year, but transmitting at maximum power was draining it fast.

Brenda had paid little attention to me or the transmission. She was still talking to the big Walker and using her Bio Scan PDD to make observations.

It then sank in. We were somewhere in the Cygnus Arm and Down Ward. This was unexplored space and basically on the other side of the Galaxy from Union territory, about 90,000 light years away and since the core was in between the actual distance a ship would have to cover was more like 120 -150,000 light years. I had learned about the Piostla war and one of the cerebral uploaded knowledge memories kicked in providing me with more detail. The Piostla came from this region and back then an effort was made to find their planet of origin. Several thousand expeditions were send in this region back then, the Piostla world was found, destroyed and the war ended. Since then only a few Explorer ships went this way. There were no outposts, no stations out here and it was incredible luck that one of the old buoy relay chains was within the 20 light year distance of the emergency range of the PDD. Now I was glad I had purchased such an expensive model, most standard units had a far lesser range.

I decided to wait. If the Lieutenant was alerting someone they would investigate and when I called the next time they would listen. I had turned the PDD off to conserve energy and told Brenda what I had found out.

She listened and was not in the least concerned; she looked extremely excited and said.” I think these creatures are genetically related to Terran Whales. I also think the grunts and wheezing is some sort of language. I am running it right now through the Linguistic logarithms.”

“Brenda, we are over 90,000 light years away from the closest Union Outpost. While the travel seemed instantaneous to us, it lasted 7 days. We entered the Cave on Monday Morning and it is Sunday afternoon a week later Union time now. I have very little energy left on my PDD to call. Do you have spare E packs?”

“I do have one spare, but it won’t fit your SII model. Mine is a Sony Economy.”

She then said.” I am not concerned about that right now, I am sure we can return the same way we came. The Land walkers pass through it and maybe they know how and now it looks we might be able to communicate.”

I had to agree, this would be our best chance. Even if I would be able to talk to Mc Elligott in person and with all the Energy in the world, he could do very little to rescue us other than send a long range Explorer and that would take years. As the Explorer would have to stop every 5000 light years to refine fuel and service the engines. I had no desire to spend two three years here and then two more flying back.

So I paid more attention to the Beast and Brenda. She worked her PDD and I checked out the beast and its wounds closer.” I think your big friend here is in big pain and perhaps he will die before he can make it through the cave and trigger the gate thing.”

“Then we must help him.”

“I am a Midshipman not a Xeno veterinarian. I don’t know anything about that.”

“You told me about Fangsnappers and big Tyranno’s. What do you do when they are wounded?””We kill them and eat them.”

“Well you may look like a nice girl, but you still act and talk like a Neo Viking.” Her PDD chirped and she said.” I think we are getting somewhere. The Walker understands math.”

--””--

CARAM

Caram had already given up. He would simply lie here and die. The Uni would not let him go into the cave and besides he did not feel he had the strength to go on much further anyway. If Uglam could die here without passing to the Valley, so could he. He too had felt the death of his friend but he was not as shocked as the other Huffh. He was thinking about death for quite a while now and his own pain and the herbs had made him number to the emotional onslaught.

Now the little Uni were right next to him. One of them made noises, he could clearly hear and it sounded almost like spoken thought.

The Uni held a little rock in her hand and it glowed with many different little lights and suddenly the little rock made sounds that made sense. Two sounds.

He made two sounds.

Three sounds...

The little rock made visible thoughts float in the air before him and one of the thoughts looked like him. Just as if looking into still water, he said.”Caram”

Then he saw floating visible thoughts of a tree and he said.”Tree.”

More and more floating thoughts appeared and he identified them. Now the Tree came back and the little rock said.” This is a Tree.”

“Yes this is a Tree.”

Now his reflection came back.”This is Caram the Huffh”

“Yes I am Caram and Caram is a Huffh.”

“I am Brenda.” Said the little Uni

“Will you kill me?”

“No we will not kill you.”

“You killed Uglam.”

“Uglam attacked us.”

Caram had to agree, this was true. Uglam was the one who started it. Then he realized he was talking to the Uni. “Will the Uni take us away from the Place?”

“What are the Uni?”

“You are the Uni.”

“We are of the United Stars of the Galaxy. Are you hurt?”

“Yes I am and I must die soon.”

“Will you allow us to try to help you?”

“You can heal me?”

“Yes I think so.”

I ran my PDD in normal mode again and without trying to call the Remote Repeater Unit, it would last for at least a month or so. I needed the PDD as I attached the little Auto Doc to the large beast, right next to the broken bone and had it connected to the PDD. Even though it was only a basis unit, these marvels of Union technology were programmed to diagnose and try to help nearly every known Union Life form. Since that beast seemed to be a carbon based life form it should not be so hard.

My PDD was on Audio read out and spoke.” Compound fracture on left hind leg lower shin bone, Transverse fracture upper left leg, severe wound trauma, infection causing wet gangrene. Immediate treatment. Producing Nanites, and antibiotics, neutralizing pain impulses, bones have to be set before nanites can mend broken bones.”

I responded.” No medical personnel or facility available. Request Step by step instructions.”

“One moment please completing body scan of patient for instructions.”

The Pain was gone. He could no longer feel his legs at all, but he was pain free. Brenda told him that Freya the other little one would need to work on his leg and asked him to roll on his side. He did He saw the little one use the Light thunder stick on his leg. But instead of burning him to death, the light burned away the stinking black flesh and the puss and he felt nothing.

The Little ones who claimed not to be Uni but Union seemed genuinely concerned about his condition and whatever they did it was pure magic, and what all the healers of the Huffh could not they could.

Out of nothing bright yellow foam engulfed both his legs and sealed them. The little one named Brenda said.” Freya is using Emergency Nanite Seal foam as a makeshift bandage so the Healing Nanites can weave new tissue and fix your bones. Since you are so big it will take a few hours. So please do not move much until then.”

“I do not understand much of what you say, but I will not move. I feel no pain. What will happen to my legs?”

“You should be back to normal by tomorrow and be able to walk. I am not sure how much muscle and nerve tissue has to be rebuild, but you will be as good as before soon.”

Caram could hardly believe. He had not understood the meaning of most of the words, but he understood that he would be able to walk again. For someone who was preparing to die for the last ten days and to hear he would not have to die created a euphoric feeling in him he could not describe, but other Huffh shared it. Especially Balmi who had not gone to the Cave of Things so far away like all the others, but she had sneaked back along the path to the Cave to the Valley and followed her mate.

She could feel his pain and sadness and confusion, and now she suddenly felt his joy. He had no longer pain and he did no longer think of dying. Caram could sense her as well as she came slowly closer, partially afraid but her love to him and her curiousness was stronger.

He also noticed the little one called Freya take his light thunder stick and point it in the direction where Balmi approached.

“Little One do not light thunder burn Balmi. She is my mate and she is here to follow me into death and now she feels I am no longer full of pain. I will call her so she will not come closer.”

“Don’t shoot.” Brenda said.” It is Caram’s mate. She is alone.”

“So are we and while I did doctor around on that big one. I am not so sure it would be wise to trust them fully yet. I won’t shoot but I think I stay on the safe side and keep the Blaster ready.”

The big walker actually understood us and said.” She won’t come closer. She will remain where she is.”

“How about the others?”

“They have gone to the Cave of Things. That is far from here and they will wait for you Uni there.”

“Why do you call us Uni anyway? The only Uni I know are the ones of the Universal Collective and they have disappeared for over 250 Million Years ago.”

“They have taken us from the Old Place to this Place, so many Cold white seasons ago no one can count them.” The beast began to tell us a story about singing brothers that went into the water and it was a nice tale. He did mention the Uni several times and the Trans spatial gate inside the cave had to be made by some advanced civilization.

Brenda however got more excited every moment and then she said. “Caram you and I come from the same planet. I think the Uni have taken you from Earth, that would explain why you look exactly like a Walking whale and it is true about 50 to 60 million years ago the Ambulocetus returned to the oceans and are the origin of the order of Cetacean, ocean living mammals. Some of the whale species are famous for their songs.”

Caram tried to digest what he just heard.” You say you come from the Old Place? You say you know of the Singing Huffh?”

I was skeptical and said.” How could they remember events that happened so long ago? No matter how accurate they try to tell the story, it would have changed to something completely different. There is no way oral history would last this long.

Brenda said.” The Whales on Earth use the same basic songs for the same time. Yes there are new songs and variations but there are base songs that are sung unchanged for millions of years. The information of these songs is in their DNA, they can’t forget it.”

“But if these Land walkers are here on this world for that long, why haven’t they evolved and started a civilization by now?”

Brenda smiled a schoolmasterly smile.” Maybe they are the top of the crop here and did not need to evolve much and they do not have the most important things you need to start a civilization. Manipulators or Hands if you will, without hands no tools, without tools no civilization, but then it seems they have a complex community and culture so I would call this a civilization too.”

Caram listened to the two Little ones and some of what they said made sense and some did not. He was thinking hard and now that his mind was free of mind numbing pain and herbs, his mind was as sharp and clear as ever.”Maybe that is what the Uni meant when they said we needed to develop more word and thought. I wish our healers could have done more to me than give me herbs and I was thinking about this before you came and I was preparing to go to the Valley to die. I wondered why the Huffh could not do more things. Then you must be the Others the Uni spoke off, the ones the Old Place was reserved for.”

Brenda was still excited and animated.” There are many humanoid species and it is called the Human Mystery because no one knew why there are so many different planets that developed humans. The Saresii, the Sarans, even the Kermac and the Arkonids are all biologically compatible and it is almost impossible that such close related life forms develop on so far separated Places. Some believed the Uni seeded human life throughout the Galaxy and now I think we have the proof that this was indeed the case.” She turned to look at the Huffh.”Your DNA needs to be cross referenced but I am pretty sure the Huffh are from Earth just like I am. The oldest bones I found in the Valley so far are several million years old, and there is a steady size increase and the newest bones are almost twenty times bigger than the old ones.”

While she talked I started to set up camp, and took the tent out of the back pack and activated it. The dense little brick made of memory fabric unfolded itself into a two person tent. Its bottom graviton anchored to the ground and the film thin tent walls made rigid by a field energy charge. Even though the material was only a few millimeters thick, it could withstand the most severe weather conditions and stand up against storm winds. Then I prepared a fire Place and collected firewood. While there was no thick forest, there were trees and bushes and I had no problem finding enough.

The Huffh observed me and then said.” Your kind is very productive and you are doing things all the time. You have not stopped doing things since you arrived. What is it you are doing now?”

“I am setting up temporary shelter and making a fire. The shelter is so we can sleep and while we have other means of cooking and providing heat, an open fire is preferable whenever possible.”

“You can make fire. Will you teach me how to make fire?”

“Tomorrow when you are well I try to figure a way out how you can make fire and I show you.”

I checked the PDD read out and the progress of the Auto Doc. The little unit was still producing Nanites as the patient was bigger than anything the Auto Doc was actually designed for, but the prognosis was good and the bones would be mended in another six hours. There was a lot of missing tissue but it too would be eventually healed. The make shift bandage of emergency foam was holding better than I thought it would.

I wondered what the Admiral would say if I had to tell him these findings.

Brenda agreed to sleep first and take second guard shift.