"Intrigue on Bethel Nobles"
Introduction:
He was exhausted beyond all endurance. His eyes could barely stay open and while his usual self would fight against what his mind was urging, the weakness of fatigue and grief was overwhelming.
John Koenig sat on the floor, his back leaning against the tan colored wall at the head of the capsule. The craft he was in was small, perhaps the size of two Eagles, if they were to aligned side by side. The journey had lasted six months and it was near its end.
The last three months had been the worst, possibly the loneliest of his life. He tried to keep his mind busy. He worked at the console, learning from the records, charted their progress, and listened to the odd yet somehow familiar alien music. He even spoke aloud, telling the spaceship and its other silent passenger tales from his past.
But the reality was constantly there, reminding him of the fragility of his kind, and the sadness of their situation. The lack of appropriate food on the craft, the complete lack on nutrition, did not help matters. If Helena had been able to continue with her own work perhaps it would not be so bad – in so many ways.
John's mind, especially during the last week, wandered often. He wasn't eating or drinking enough, he knew. But ever since the green flashing light at the head of the cryogenics chamber faded away, he had little desire to do either. What was the point of living if she was not with him? His hand arose slowly and gently patted the capsule next to him, "Soon Helena," he whispered, "It will be soon." She could be alive. She was inside, asleep and possibly … dead. Perhaps her time had run out?
"Have hope." he whispered. The Commander could only pray he did everything right, that the machine worked as she thought it might. His eyes closed. If only they had recognized the signs. So many red flags had flashed before them, both on Alpha and on this spaceship.
Moonbase Alpha. What were his people doing now? How had they coped when he and Helena disappeared, never to return?
Commander Koenig drifted off to sleep, his hand dropping from the capsule, and he dreamt of that time when this mysterious craft approached them and the Alphans, being curious and naive, decided to enter and explore. Who could have known what would happen?
Perhaps not even the alien beings who sent the craft to a people it would never reach understood. John thought to talk with them when they finally landed on the planet, asking them many questions. If they were as intelligent as he suspected they would cure Helena and perhaps he and she could live on this new world and be happy … be happy … happy …
Her face swam before him and so did Moonbase Alpha. John was transported, through his dreams, to a time six months ago when they knew their course and potential dangers but did not know he and Helena, that their lives on the Moonbase, were evidently at an end ….
(1)
"As far as computer can tell us, Commander, there are no living beings on that craft." Maya said from her console in Command Center. An eyebrow lifted, worry evident on her lovely face. The last time they recalled something similar they were attacked by a beta cloud creature. The beast nearly destroyed Moonbase Alpha before Maya was able to destroy it.
"Someone or something must be piloting that craft." Alan Carter pressed a few buttons on his console, "Seems to be on automatic, John. Maybe a preprogrammed computer is telling it where it should land?"
This time it was Koenig who thought back. He was reminded of the Kaldorian space craft from many months ago. What did Captain Zantor say? Their shipboard computer could only do what was pre-determined, to land on Earth's moon. How could it do otherwise?
Tony Verdeschi glanced at Sandra, "Is it asking for permission to land?"
The craft had been hovering in space, circling the moon, almost as if it was confused. Alpha picked it up an hour ago on long range sensors and sent out a coded message, asking it if there was anything they could do for the deep space stranger. It never replied.
"No." Sandra said, "But its computer, perhaps a locator of some kind, has pin-pointed Launch Pad Three and it seems to want to land there."
Helena Russell walked into Command Center and stood behind John's chair, looking at the craft on their big screen.
"Commander, I'm getting something." Sandra touched her keypad and fine-tuned audio. A reedy computer-like voice acknowledged that it was being contacted by life forms.
The voice called: "People of Soolmete, we of Bethel Nobles, request permission to land our craft. It is substantially prepared for your tribute, as per our agreement."
"Soolmete?" Tony gave Koenig a questioning look, "It seems our friend missed its target."
"Patch me through, Sandra." Koenig said. He turned slightly to make eye contact with Helena. He was warmed when she gave him a mild smile and nod. He returned his attention to the screen.
"Go ahead, Commander."
"This is John Koenig, Commander of Moonbase Alpha. We are not of Soolmete but from the planet Earth, many billions of light years from this position in space." He paused, "How may we help you?"
The craft seemed to hesitate, digesting the information just given to it. "May this craft land near Moonbase Alpha?" it asked.
"For what purpose?"
"To recalibrate. This craft's prime directive has been tainted. Must reprogram." It paused, "Must … modify."
"Why does it have to land on the moon to do that?" Helena wondered.
The answer hung in the air for a moment.
Koenig called: "You may land away from Moonbase Alpha. There is a flat area on our moon, near quadrant PR three point two ..."
"Affirmative." The craft replied before the Commander could finish.
"John, it's landing on Launch Pad Three!" Alan reported, anger and fear apparent.
"Craft from Bethel Nobels, I said to land away from Alpha!" Koenig insisted but there was no reply. "Damn." Angered, he stood and started to pace as the craft set itself on the launch pad and seemed to power down. "Maya, do you detect any weapons on that craft?"
"No Commander." She then corrected herself, "There is a low level laser but it is manually operated fire power. It is not functional until there is someone inside the craft to operate it."
"Commander Koenig," the craft called, "We give permission for your people to enter our craft and investigate while we recalibrate."
"That's mighty generous of it." Verdeschi commented, sarcastically.
"What do you say, John? Do we take it up on the offer?" Alan asked, looking up at Koenig as he stood still and considered the invitation. For Carter's money it was dangerous but it was also a space vehicle he had never seen before and the pilot, was curious.
"Yes, but leave it on the pad. I don't want it brought inside the hanger until we know what we're dealing with." Koenig said, "And when we do go in, we are going to be well armed and wearing space suits."
Standing near the closed Command Center door, Helena smiled. John Koenig was ever cautious, she thought. Could they blame him?
The travel tube snaked forward and made a perfect connection to the craft's door.
Koenig brought Helena, Maya, Alan and two armed security guards with him. All were being monitored by Verdeschi in Command Center via cameras on the helmets of their space suits. "Is there an atmosphere?" Koenig asked Maya.
She lifted a hand held monitor, a scanner of her own design, and studied the readings, "Not at this time. However, there are atmosphere controls inside the craft." She added, "I do not detect any forms of radiation or poisons, Commander. But there is what I can only describe as a chemical which surrounds the ship. It does not seem to be harmful but, saying this, I'm not sure what it is."
The door parted and the security men entered first, weapons drawn. The craft was well lighted. Alan and Maya entered next, the pilot immediately going to what appeared a pilot's chair, then John and Helena entered, taking in the alien technology.
"All clear, Commander." A guard called.
The spaceship was twice the size of an Eagle yet contained only two passenger seats. Both were small and made room for other enigmatic equipment. The common area of the module was a stark white with the exception of a wall computer which blinked color light, much like the wall computer in Command Center.
It grasped Maya's attention and she approached it eagerly.
Meanwhile, a far wall caught Helena's interest. She walked over to a console hooked into what looked like a spiral grid. Her steps became normal as an atmosphere and gravity were applied by Maya, who found the correct controls.
John followed her, and flipped open his helmet face plate when Maya gave them the go-ahead. "What is it, Helena?"
"Life support." She whispered, "It is a sort of medical lab." She gently pushed past John and placed her hands on an enclosed cylindrical tube with a large transparent window "Cryogenics." She theorized.
"I take it someone was going to sleep? I wonder for how long."
"Commander," one of the guards called, "We've found a food storage unit. It's dehydrated and looks well stocked, although who knows if it can actually been eaten."
"Leave it alone. We don't want to be accused of taking anything that does not belong to us." Koenig ordered.
From the pilot's console Alan told them that the ship was indeed on an automatic pilot, pre-programmed to go to and return to a destination."
"Is it far from here?" Koenig asked.
"As far as this ship is concerned it's where it should be but the return to Bethel Nobles is in about six months our time."
"If the ship decides to leave." Koenig said, already wondering how they might salvage the craft for their own purposes if it decided to stay.
"It's programmed to leave, Commander." Maya said, checking the shipboard computer, "It is recalibrating as we speak."
"How long before take-off?"
Maya pressed a few buttons on the computer wall. A digital screen, flashing blue and yellow lit up. "Estimation is four hours."
Koenig nodded, "In that period of time let's see what information we can gather then we'll send the craft on its way."
John looked over at Helena and smiled. It was nice when they made new discoveries and there was no danger at hand.
It was her return smile, the joy at having found something new and interesting in deep space that he remembered most. She was such an intelligent, beautiful woman. There were times when he acknowledged Helena's astuteness and other times he took her for granted.
Again his hand, weak and shaking, stroked the cylinder Helena was sleeping inside. They had hoped to take this voyage together, keeping one another company, but even though their intentions were honorable, one or the other would eventually have had to succumb to the chamber. Helena had been trying to learn how to work it if all else failed. But there was risk and he would have insisted on being the guinea pig. And Helena, of course, would have felt it should be her.
Unfortunately, the accident made up their minds for them. She was dying and without the hope of a cryogenic deep-freeze Helena would not make it to Bethel Nobles and he would be bereft. Although honestly, he still did not know if she lived asleep or died as soon as they attempted the process. A blip at the head of the chamber during the start of the process said her life signs were functional. But did the alien technology really know what it was doing for a lifeform originally from Earth that it had never seen before? If only he knew enough to be certain.
Still, Helena had such a look of trust through her agony, holding him close as he picked her up and brought her to the chamber, laying her inside. Then, when he squeezed her hand one last time, hen her eyes looked into his, when the capsule door closed, there was nothing more he could do.
Every day for weeks now he walked over to look through the faceplate, to see if there was deterioration, but there was none that he could perceive. John could only hope and pray …
Tears gently ran down John Koenig's hallow cheeks. "Forgive me, Helena." He whispered, as he sat on the floor near the capsule. "If I go before you … forgive me …."
How he and Helena found themselves trapped aboard the vessel would be a great story to tell their children someday, he mused feebly, and once again weakly closed his eyes.
CONTINUE TO CHAPTER TWO.
This fiction was originally written for the Martin Landau Appreciation FB Page and is being archived on this fiction site. This is FAN fiction and is written for entertainment purposes only.