Space Pioneer 1 - 3. Chapter 3

Lest was pacing the bridge. He stopped and turned to Doctor Midad.

"His DNA is 85% Daglon? How can it be?" he asked.

"I was surprised how well his body reacted to the medication. The nano bots worked well without any modifications necessary. His body functions, his system, his physical appearance are almost identical. I was surprised, but didn’t suspect anything. We know that evolution follows the same three or four paths throughout the universe," Midad replied.

"You said earlier that Jeff’s system is used to a different oxygen level," Lest said.

"It was, but his system has adjusted meanwhile. The human body can adjust to thinner air, like for instance in the mountains," Midad said.

Lest wiped his chin and realized he needed a shave. "He needs to shave more often than the Daglon, I noticed," he said.

Midad smiled. "I didn’t notice this and I don’t think it counts as a major difference," he said.

There was a brief silence.

"People were speculating," Midad said.

"What kind of speculations?" Lest asked.

"About 45,000 years ago, our Daglon ancestors left the planet Seth. Their destination was Alpha Centauri. The Seth had built a long-distance spaceship, a conventional multigenerational spacecraft. 10,000 settlers set out for Daglon. They arrived several generations later. Their number had dropped to 6,000, but the number sufficed to develop a new civilization. The Daglon elders said that they received a message from Seth soon after their arrival on Daglon. Regarding the speed of light, it must have been sent off six centuries earlier. It was sent before Seth sank into chaos and finally was destroyed. The message revealed that another spaceship had left the planet," Midad said.

Lest nodded and Midad continued.

"The political and economical elite planned to leave Seth and immigrate to Daglon where the first colonists had settled earlier," he said. "They built a huge evacuation spaceship. However, they had hesitated too long. The sun Betelgeuse erupted and expanded. There was anarchy and chaos when people finally realized what was going to happen. It was a classical drop back in civilization. Our ancestors were a class C species by our standards. They started killing each other off. The end came ultimately. Betelgeuse swallowed the planet."

"And what about the speculations you mentioned?" Lest asked.

"We know the Daglon received a message from Seth. It’s stated in our oldest history books. The message mentioned the other spaceship. It had been captured by a group of scientists, men and women. They had fled with the ship. The Daglon waited a long time for this ship to arrive. Six generations went by, but the ship didn’t show up. They finally declared the ship lost in space and ended the wait," Midad replied. He looked at Lest. "The public has almost forgotten about the Daglon past. Historians, however, have never stopped speculating on what happened ages ago. Some say that the ship’s crew never intended to go to Daglon. The captain of the ship was an experienced pilot and engineer. His name was Re. He was a renowned man. Many historians have speculated that he flew the ship to a well-chosen planet."

"You always surprise me with your level of education," Lest said with an acknowledging look.

The hint of a smile showed on Midad’s lips. "Thank you, captain," he said.

Lest nodded thoughtfully. "You mean the second spaceship reached Earth?" he asked. "A somewhat exciting discovery if it were true. What do you think, doctor? Is it?"

"I’m not sure, captain," Midad replied. "The Daglon are clearly a class A species, while the humans are clearly class C."

Lest raised an eyebrow. "Why are you so skeptical, doctor? You have no trust in the humans," he said.

"No, I have not," Midad confirmed. "I’ve listened to Earth’s transmissions that our computer has saved while we were orbiting Mars. The humans remind me of our ancestors. At the point of crisis, our ancestors dropped back to a primitive state. They turned to murder and manslaughter. They had already killed each other long before Betelgeuse swallowed the planet."

"The Seth were our ancestors, after all, doctor," Lest said.

"This scares me sometimes," Midad replied. He paused. "How shall we proceed, captain?"

Lest thought a minute. "We won’t tell Jeff anything for the time being, doctor. Let’s see how he deals with the language program and how he copes with life on an alien spaceship. We can’t take him back to Earth. Imagine what would happen if we did. His future lies in space. He will meet many unknown life forms. Good for him, if he can adept. He won’t last long, if he can’t," he said.

"Yes, captain," Midad replied. "We must remain cautious. Don’t promote him because of his genetic profile and don’t promote him for personal reasons."

"Would I? Why do you think so?" Lest asked.

"Am I mistaken?" Midad asked back. "You have a personal interest in his well-being."

Lest narrowed his eyes. "Yes, in fact, I have," he admitted finally. "However, I am the captain of a Daglon warship in the first place. I won’t endanger my ship and my crew. And I won’t endanger my home planet, although I have not been to Daglon for years and have split up with the Alliance. We’re on our own in space, doctor."

"This is not exactly new," Midad replied. "By the way, we ought to visit one of the trade planets. We’re running out of credits, captain."

"I know. We’re close to Cyrus. Just a two-day trip from here. Cyrus has also a medical center where Jeff can get his neural implant," Lest said.

"An implant would indeed simplify communications, but who will pay for it?" Midad asked.

"That would be me," Lest replied, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"Sure, captain," Midad said. "Your personal account is no concern of mine."

Lest showed a broad yet artificial smile. Midad nodded curtly and left the bridge.

***

Lest entered Jeff’s room. Jeff took off his headset.

"How are you doing?" Lest asked.

"I’m making progress," Jeff replied. "Unfortunately, I have little opportunity to test the language module."

Aside from Lest, the crew members were still being reserved.

"The opportunity will soon arise," Lest said. "We’re currently flying in space jump mode, but we will end it in short. We’ll reach Cyrus, a trade planet, a couple of hours later."

Jeff had no clear conception of flying in space jump mode. He had learned meanwhile that the Daglon spaceship was able to travel faster than light. Once the jump drive was activated, the spaceship did not travel through space, but somehow folded space and changed it. It intrigued Jeff a lot and he was eager to learn more about it.

"A trade planet?" he asked.

"Yes. They also have a medical center. You will get your implant there, if you still want it," Lest said.

Jeff nodded.

"While they’re working on you, I’ll be trying to make a deal. We’re running out of credits. I run my own business, you know," Lest said.

Jeff had already wondered why the Daglon warship didn’t belong to a fleet. "I see," he said slowly, not really grasping Lest’s words.

Lest turned away, but stopped and looked back. "Would you like to watch our approach from the bridge?"

Jeff straightened. "In fact, I would, Captain Lest," he said.

"Well, come then, Jeff Caspar," Lest said with a smile.

He showed Jeff to the bridge. Le’Ton, the navigator, and Corr, the pilot, eyed Jeff warily. Lest led Jeff to a seat near a console.

"Sit down here, but don’t touch the console. Any attempt to intervene in any way will result in you being taken back to your room. I must say this as the captain of this ship," Lest said.

"Understood, captain, " Jeff replied without taking offence at the command.

The crew members watched the scene, but then turned back to their devices. Lest sat down in the commander’s seat. The Daglon focused on their displays.

"Jump into real space. Countdown," Lest commanded.

The computer voice counted down. Jeff looked out of the front window and saw a spray of energy sparks.

"Jumped into real space," the pilot announced.

"Course plotted," the navigator said. "Arrival at Cyrus in 2-2-4 units Alliance time."

"That would be in about three hours Earth time," Lest said.

"Thank you, captain," Jeff replied.

Jeff saw a light in the distance, the sun of the solar system. The light was faint, the sun was far away, but it grew quickly bigger. Jeff was stunned. The speed of the Daglon spaceship was breath-taking. The ship finally decelerated. A greenish plane came into view. Jeff looked at it in awe.

"Ready to enter orbit," the navigator said.

"Speed reduced for orbit," the pilot announced.

"Enter orbit," the captain commanded.

"On orbit," the navigator said.

Jeff couldn’t hold back. He stood and looked at the foreign world, a trade planet, where aliens met to arrange their deals. It was all beyond belief. Jeff glanced at the captain. Lest raised an eyebrow. Jeff sat down at once. He seized the arms of his seat tightly.

"Landing required," the pilot said.

"Vector given," the navigator announced. "The hangar’s on the third level."

"Confirm entry," Lest said.

"Confirmed," the pilot said

"Data uploaded to the computer," the navigator announced.

"The computer will take us down," Corr, the pilot, said. "Ground control won’t take over."

"Okay. Watch the systems," Lest said.

The Daglon spaceship entered the atmosphere and touched down. Jeff gasped at the sight of the multi-storey hangar. He saw several ships flying up or going down. None looked remotely like his own vessel. Jeff was overwhelmed. He had often imagined how the world would look many years in the future. Now he realized that the future was old in some parts of the universe.

"Once we have disembarked, a few things must be arranged regarding your identification. I’ll lead you through the steps," Lest said, turning to Jeff.

The spaceship entered the hangar, touched down and rolled down the runway.

"Ship secured," the pilot announced.

"All systems out except of the self-defense system," Lest commanded.

"All systems out. Ground control asks for disembarkation details," Corr said.

"Send the details," Lest said.

"Sent and confirmed. You’ll need to go to immigration in order to get the short-time residence permit," Corr said.

"I know," Lest replied. "We need to at least partly legalize this operation."

He rose to his feet and his tone of voice changed. "All right, guys, get your things. We’ll stay in Cyrus tower for two nights," he said jovially.

Le’Ton and Corr instantly rose to their feet and hurried from the bridge.

Lest turned to Jeff. "I must get you through immigration, but that’s not a big deal on Cyrus. I’ll buy you an identity. You’ll get a chip and your data will be uploaded to the central computer of the population center. You will soon be a legal member of the Alliance. How does this sound to you?" he asked, smiling cordially.

He patted Jeff’s shoulder and then left the bridge. Jeff stood for a moment, stunned by the unfolding events. Finally, he went to his room, packed a few things and then joined the others in the cargo bay. He looked at the Daidalos. Lest followed his gaze.

"We’ll take care of your ship and the bodies soon, however not here. Cyrus is not a good place for it," he said.

Jeff simply nodded.

Le’Ton opened the hatch and they stepped out into the hangar. A security team received them and led them to a gate.

Lest turned to his crew. "We’ll meet in the tower bar in an hour and make arrangements for the night. Le’Ton, you and I will go to the trade center," he said.

Le’Ton gave a nod. The men turned away and went down a hallway. Lest turned to Jeff.

"All right, let’s get it done, Jeff. Let’s go to the medical center," he said.

***