Sumeru - 8. Chapter 8

Sumeru Control Center

The control center was crowded when Naamah stepped in. After a heated discussion, Sumeru security had finally let him in. Naamah proceeded to the controls. A huge screen showed a small and antique spaceship in a hangar.

“Who are you?” an elder man asked, turning to Naamah.

“Naamah, the Asuras representative,” Naamah said. “Our species is responsible for the civilization on Ki.”

The man mustered him and thought a minute. “I’ve heard of it,” he said. “I’ve downloaded the council discussions. It was proposed your species support the Ki civilization, but it was only a proposal and not a mandate. I’m Commander Saar.”

“Well,” Naamah started, taking a breath

The commander waved his hand. “We’ve got no time for lengthy explanations. Anyways, I know that your species was long in the Ki system ages ago. You’re probably qualified to be here. You have permission to stay.”

“Thank you, commander,” Naamah said. “What do we know? How was it possible the ship protruded so far into Sumeru space?”

The commander gave him a stern look. “We’re working on this,” he said.

Sleeping at the controls, could happen to the best of species, Naamah was about to say, but swallowed his words. “Anyways,” he said. “What have you figured out meanwhile?”

“The Sumeru computer pulled the data from the ship, a barely encrypted system. The ship has a warp drive, a very crude one. It’s an almost miracle they’ve made it here,” the commander said. “The Sumeru system was the ship’s target. They probably detected the collector ring and thought they’d pay us a visit.”

“So they expected to find another species,” Naamah said. “What did they have in mind? Invasion or trade?”

“Nothing of the sort,” the commander said. “It was an exploration, as far as we can tell. A trip into the unknown, out of curiosity, as is the trait of all space-faring civilizations. Your species was a long time in the system. You had contact with them in earlier times. You should know them better than we do. What can you tell us about them? But make it short. Keep to what is really essential.”

Naamah gave a nod. “Like you said, they have many traits of young space-faring civilizations. They want to explore, expand their space, augment and exploit. They strive for knowledge, goods, and wealth. They want to succeed. They compete. They don’t shy from a war if they see a chance for victory. But they have other traits, too. They care for the members of their group. They unite and form alliances, they trade and negotiate. They have all the common traits of upcoming civilizations that advance to take steps into space.”

“Young civilizations are emotionally unstable and underdeveloped on a societal scale. They become a danger to space when the development of personality traits and cultural standards does not keep up with the technological advancements,” the commander said.

“Do you think it’s the case here?” Naamah asked with a nod at the screen.

Commander Saar considered his words. “This is not something for me to judge on,” he said. “I have a personal view on the matter, but it doesn’t count here.”

“What will you do?” Naamah asked, looking at the screen.

“I have order to read out their computer system and figure out why they are here. That’s what we have done. I’m waiting for new orders from Supreme Command. Until then we keep monitoring the ship and the crew,” Saar said.

“How many crew?” Naamah asked.

“Five male crew. Four alive, one dead,” the commander said.

“One dead?” Naamah asked with a hint of unease.

“One man died on a scouting operation on the planet Cailan,” Commander Saar said.

“This is new to me,” Naamah said. “It wasn’t on the news.”

“We’ve only recently found out,” the commander replied. “Their ship is equipped with a cryo chamber. A body is placed in it. The man died shortly after they had left their ship due to an unknown cause. The physician on board of the ship diagnosed a stroke.”

“Is he wrong?” Naamah asked.

“I’m not a physician,” the commander said curtly.

Something was wrong here, Naamah thought. He wondered what had really caused the man’s death, but he decided to chang the topic.

“Anything more we know about the men on the ship?” he asked.

“Not much,” the commander replied, then stopped and listened to an incoming message.

“They’re making contact,” he said. “I must contact Supreme Command.”

Commander Saar walked away. Naamah looked after him.

“What happened?” he asked a man on a console.

“The Ki crew is making contact,” the man said. “They talk. They transmit information. They want a response.”

Naamah looked at the screen. The humans had come to Sumeru just when he had wanted to go to Ki. Was it coincidence or was it an act of providence, fate maybe? Naamah winced at the thought.

The door opened and Azrael rushed in.

The smart ass, Naamah thought in annoyance and turned to the monitoring screens.

John cleared his throat.

“I’m Commander John Ross. I command this mission. I’m responsible for the overall mission success as well as the safety of the ship and the crew. Navy pilot Dan Wesley, Flight Engineer Pete Crop, and Payload Commanders James McKinsey and Rob Kendrick complete the crew. We lost Flight Engineer Pete Crop on a scouting mission on exoplanet X104C7. He died of an unknown cause, most likely an untypical stroke. Dan Wesley is the pilot of the ship. He assists in maneuvering the spacecraft and is responsible for the release and recovery of satellites and probes. Flight Engineer Pete Crop was a Mission Specialist with additional responsibility of assisting the pilot and the commander. He kept track of information from CAPCOM and was responsible for the space crease communication system. Dan Wesley has taken over his tasks. PLC James McKinsey is a Mission Specialist with additional responsibility of the science. He is a physician and biologist. PLC Rob Kendrick is a Mission Specialist with additional responsibility of the science. He has a linguist, sociologist and anthropologist.”

John paused, then carried on.

“Spaceship Shiva took off from Cape Canaveral, Earth, on August 8, 2068, and proceeded to the edge of the solar system where the warp drive was initiated. The spaceship entered the star system X104, 25,000 light years from Earth, after five months travel time. The ship dropped back into real space and the ship’s sensors and computer systems scanned the star system and analyzed the incoming data. We found that star system X104C7 consists of a gigantic gas planet, seven times the size of Jupiter, and four rock planets, one of them, exoplanet X104C7, in the habitable zone. Exoplanet X104C7 is an earth-like planet, the three other rock planets resemble Mars to a high degree. The sun of the system is, like our sun, a G-type main sequence star, a yellow dwarf.”

“Spaceship Shiva arrived at its target, exoplanet X104C7, a month later. The exoplanet was detected by Earth’s telescopes. It was studied closely and categorized as a plausible candidate for supporting life as we know it. The planet is approximately the size of Earth, the orbital period matches Earth’s and the atmosphere is 99% earth-like. Exoplanet X104C7 is in all respects a second Earth. We had previously observed that the star’s light dimmed in dramatic ways as something passed in front of the star and blocked its light. Scientists suggested a swarm of comets, but this was soon ruled out. Another possibility was that this star was home to a technologically sophisticated extraterrestrial civilization that had constructed a phalanx of orbiting solar panels, a so-called Dyson swarm, that blocked the light from the star. Operation Shiva’s goal was to investigate the Dyson ring and find out about possible extraterrestrial life in the star system.”

“Did I forget anything?” John asked after a pause.

“I would like to add that we decided to touch down on exoplanet X104C7 upon detection of remnants of buildings and streets on the planet,” Rob said. “The ship detected a landing place, an ancient airfield, and we took the chance to find out more about the ancient extraterrestrial culture. The ship’s sensors detected no signs of intelligent life active on the planet. The planet seemed deserted. We concluded that whatever civilization had lived there had either left the system or gone down for unknown reasons. It supported our conclusions from investigating the Dyson ring. We found the objects orbiting the sun of the system, energy collectors apparently, were dead, not operative, not active at least by our standards.”

“Let me add something, too,” James said. “We had only little time to investigate the planet, roughly an hour, before we returned to our ship. We had been careless probably, underestimated the dangers on an alien planet. Pete Crop died on the planet of an unknown cause, an untypical stroke. We took his body back to the ship. I placed it in the ship’s cryo chamber. The temperature will last 24 hours or so, but then it will increase. I wished the systems of the cryo chamber started working again. Well, you see, I want to take Pete home in good shape.”

Dan drew in a breath. “Well said, James,” he said in a low voice.

“Let’s take a break,” Rob said. “Let them process what they heard. How about we think of a proper greeting, some introductory words, in case they care?”

“Okay,” John said, looking at the time display on his wrist. “Twenty minutes silence, but don’t stop to watch.”

Eighteen minutes later the back-up system came on. Dan jumped at the controls. Access was denied, but the life support system worked and the system of the cryo chamber was on.

“God, I thank you,” John said with relief.

Sumeru Control Center

The Sumeru computer processed the words from the Ki crew quickly and downloaded it to the memories of the Sumeru control team.

Commander Saar nodded approvingly. “An intelligent way to make contact. An intelligent species,” he said.

He contacted Sumeru Supreme Command and a short while later got their response.

Commander Saar raised his voice. “Command from Supreme Command. Get the Ki crew and take them to an interrogation room. Commander Endad, Commander Zaquiel, you come with me. The security team is already informed and prepared.”

There was a commotion in the room.

Azrael turned to Commander Saar. “I’ll go with you. We were in contact with the species in the past.”

“Who are you?” Commander Saar asked in annoyance.

Azrael explained.

Naamah watched them. He intervened.

Commander Saar waved his hand. “Enough with this talk,” he commanded. “Commander Endad, Commander Zaquiel, let’s go.” He looked between Azrael and Naamah. “For heaven’s sake, you two come too.”

They left the room and hurried to a teleporter.

“Who the hell invited you to the control room?” Azrael asked Naamah as they hastened along.

“I invited myself,” Naamah said. “The Asuras are responsible for the Ki. Your words. You proposed it only a couple of hours ago. So why don’t you just leave and let me perform my task.”

Azrael snorted. “Never,” he said. “I won’t let the Ki get in contact with the group who worked on their extermination.”

“This is all nonsense and you know it,” Naamah retorted. “The war was never about the humans. It was a war between Asuras and Devas. And if you had not split up with the rest, this war would never have happened in the first place.”

“Just shut up,” Azrael said.

Commander Saar gave them a stern look. Azrael smiled apologetically and Naamah made a dismissive gesture with his hand.

“It’s nothing, commander,” he said. “Just a small dispute. Already settled.”

They stopped in front of the teleporter.

“This is a good time for you two to leave,” Commander Saar said. “I don’t know your intents, but you’re more than just interested in receiving the Ki crew. I don’t like it. Either you stick to protocol or you leave now, at this instant.”

Azrael and Naamah complied and the men stepped into the teleporter. It took them to the hangar. They got off and met up with the security team, ten armed security men, who showed them to the entrance to the hangar. Commander Saar spoke with the head of the security team. The man nodded and pointed at his belt.

“He carries translation gadgets,” Commander Saar explained. “We can’t expect them to speak the Sumeru language. Hence, the Sumeru computer will translate. The computer has sequenced their language based on the data it pulled from their ship. Communication shouldn’t be too difficult. Now listen, you two. I’m the commander and I will do the talk. Understood?”

Azrael and Naamah complied grudgingly.

Commander Saar positioned in front of the door. Commander Endad, Commander Zaquiel, Azrael and Naamah stood behind him. Security opened the door.

A door in the wall slid open.

“They’re coming,” Dan said.

The men straightened in their seats.

Dan tried a few buttons. “Access denied,” he said. “They have control of the ship.”

A military squad entered and spread out in the hall, ten men dressed in black suits and helmets, holding unknown weapons in their hands.

“That’s probably just to impress us,” James said. “I’m certain they have an automated defense system and their computer could take us out at any instant.”

“Like Pete,” Dan said.

“They’re human-like,” Rob said excitedly. “Bodies, two legs, two arms, a head. This should make contact easier.”

“No rushed actions,” John said. “We don’t have the slightest clue of their intents.”

Another group entered the room. An elder man led the group, four men followed him.

“The welcoming committee,” Dan said. “Should I feel honored?”

“They’re human-like,” Rob said, rising to his feet. “They show their faces. Two eyes, a nose, a mouth, very human-like. I’m stunned.”

The group crossed the hall and they could make out more features as the men came closer. Three men were dressed in sand-colored uniforms The other two were dressed in tight-fitting black trousers, one wore a light blue shirt, the other a purple one. All men wore black boots. The men in uniforms had were of medium size and had Mongolian features, the other two were taller and slimmer.

“Who would have thought they resemble us closely,” Rob said, sounding stunned.

The others didn’t share Rob’s enthusiasm. They felt totally unprepared for the situation.

The group stopped in front of the ship. A few seconds passed, then the hatch of the ship opened. It was too late to put on the suits.

“What if we can’t breathe the air?” Dan asked, alarmed.

“We can,” James said, holding up a gadget. “I’ve checked on the oxygen all the time with an independent device running on battery. The oxygen rate isn’t changing. They breathe oxygen. The oxygen rate on the exoplanet is practically identical with Earth’s. Same here. I guess we found the species that originated on the planet.”

“I would like to know where we are,” Dan said. “On the planet or somewhere in space?”

The alien group looked at the ship. They didn’t move.

John took a deep breath. “All right, they want us to get off the ship. We don’t have much of a choice,” he said, rising from his seat. “First contact. That’s what Earth wanted all along anyways. It’s the goal of our mission.”

John went to the hatch. The others followed him. The men descended the ramp, looked around in the hangar, then proceeded towards the group that was waiting in front of the ship. They stopped and gazed at the aliens.

John took a heart. “Greetings from Earth,” he said.

Commander Saar waved his hand. A security men stepped forward and held out four small devices. He demonstrated how to use the gadgets. John put one into his ear and gave James the others. He turned back to the leader of the alien group.

“Welcome on Sumeru,” Commander Saar said in a stern voice. “I’m Commander Saar from Sumeru control center. We understand your language. We receive translations from the main computer directly to our brain. You should understand us with the help of the gadgets. We will take you to an interrogation room. Will you comply?”

Naamah watched the men from Ki or Earth as they called their planet in their own language. The inhabitants of Sumeru were used to foreign species, but Naamah could tell that the humans were stunned. Tamiel had found images of humans in the Sumeru archives. The human men looked much like Naamah had imagined them. Their clothes were different from those in the old days, however, when the humans had usually dressed in long robes. Naamah wondered if the men knew that humans and Asuras had already met in the past. He glanced at Azrael who likewise watched the men from Earth curiously. Azrael returned the look and a smile.

“Of course, commander,” John replied. “I’m John Ross, commander of the spaceship Shiva from Earth. I guess we have much to discuss. I thank you for the welcome. May I ask where we are?”

“Sumeru is a space station,” Commander Saar replied. “Come now,” he said.

The security men gathered around the men from Earth. Commander Saar’s group proceeded towards the exit. The men followed.

“Don’t you fear we contaminate the base or take weapons along, commander?” John asked as they passed the door.

“The computer scanned you and your ship. You are no danger to us and our space base,” Commander Saar replied.

Security led them to a teleporter. Saar spoke with the security men. The men left and returned into the hall.

“Your ship will be investigated,” Commander Saar said. “The computer has already scanned it, but the men will have a look, too. Please enter, the teleporter will take us to the interrogation room.”