"Go tune a star, Fish"
By Jaime K. Hudson
The crew of the Nova Star will all use the 'strange device':
And they all may disappear, never to be seen again…
But the device was dangerous - to just let the Government take it!
Amelia Young was ready to go, along with the shipboard Tech-Linguist Al Fishman. They were the last of the Nova Star's crew to leave. She was quite sad though, to be losing her very first command, but they all had made and agreed to 'The Pact'. And it was high time to complete it. Now!
How much had happened in only the space of a few days, before she and her crew had drawn up their agreement – and to abort their mission! A mission that came to an end much too soon… She then 'flashed' on the recent and quite eventful days just past…
'Being a linguist and a practiced musician does have its advantages at times' thought Al Fishman, whom his fellow crewmen all called Fish. He had entertained the crew during a few meal times with his Plectrum Synthetic-Guitar, and with songs that spanned a wide spectrum, from the old Renaissance, up to The Beatles of over a century ago, plus his own pieces.
With so many PhD's and high muckity-muck rank and titles all around, the only way to cut to the quick among the crew was to give each other all proper nicknames – and the cleverer, the better, of course…
Names: such as Katey 'Katnip' Dennings; Troy 'The Toy' Thomas; Arthur 'Art' Zehmke; and Captain 'Cap' Amelia Young. These, with Albert 'Fish' Fishman, made up the crew of the Nova Star – a research and habitable planet-finding colony Explorer Class starship of the newly Reformed Planets.
The Reformed Planets were the survivors of the short but deadly war between the inhabitants of Old Earth, her Moon, Mars, and Venus. To find a new and life-sustaining planetary system beyond the planets of Sol was deemed urgent, if Humankind hoped to prevent its own extinction.
Perhaps even contact with a benevolent alien species was possible too. As it was always dreamed and hoped. 'They' would have solved all of man's old and persistent problems a long, long time ago… It was always believed.
Albert was the first to guess at the nature of the strange machine, found by the deep space research ship 'Nova Star' on her maiden voyage across the galaxy. Her scientist's had found the gleaming Tetrahedron on the cold and gassy, orange-blue surface of Vega 9's one big moon, up from ship's orbit.
Though the inner planets were more promising of colonization, as soon as Nova Star got into the vicinity of Vega 9, they happened quickly on the presence of the Tetrahedron down on the surface of the outermost planet's large moon.
Dubbing it 'VAT-1', for Vega Anomalous Tetrahedron 1, the Captain soon dispatched their small landing pod with Fish and Toy to inspect it, and very carefully, as it appeared to be sending a continuous yet faint 'signal' of some unknown language, that the Nova Star had quickly picked up, on first entering the Vega system…
"This is a high type of alien technology. It is too perfectly symmetrical to be a natural mineral formation" stated Fish, as he and Toy made the first close up inspection of the smooth-as-glass sides of the large Tetrahedron, as large as a small home. Being the music man that he was, Fish just then got the sudden urge to tap one side of it with a heavy metal probing tool he carried.
'Brrrrrriiinnnnnggggggg', was the subtle ringing tone it quickly produced.
Suddenly, the large anomaly started to glow from within its deep aqua-blue and opaque interior…
"Damn, Fish, Don't that beat all? I just wish my Katherine could be here to see what her old man, and present company, have found", said Toy, a bit sadly. For, he had not seen his 28 year-old daughter in many years. His heart suddenly ached again on those 'missing years' since she had left with her mother. He then touched his gloved, space-suited hand near that interior warming glow of the object. Fish looked at Toy, feeling some quiet empathy now for his friend and shipmate, knowing some of the man's life story, when Toy suddenly just…
Vanished!
After reporting what had transpired down on Vega 9's moon, Fish returned to the Nova Star in the 2-man landing craft. Captain Amelia ordered a 'stand down' on any further landings for 48 hours, after sending her report to Earth, via subspace hyper-light communications.
The sudden tragedy soon turned into a sudden mystery, but with much more happy results.
A return message was received from Admiral Shelton back at Nav-Com-Base in Antarctica, and in code. When it was decoded, it was read by the Captain to all of the remaining crew:
"Lt., Troy Kelly Thomas is now back, on Earth, in Vancouver, Canada. He has 'reported in', by Net-Phone, from the apartment of his long estranged daughter, just an hour ago. He gave no immediate explanation as yet, but he will be quite thoroughly debriefed soon. We can only guess that it was the device you found, that facilitated his near instantaneous return of roughly 26 light years!
Cap called for a brain-storming meeting, to be held on the next 'ship-time' day…
"Crew, all of us will have to share in Toy's duties, with him back on Earth. In the mean time, I've thought and meditated on this, on what happened to Toy, and of possible ramifications on what this alien device might mean for the Tri-Planetary Union. But before I elaborate, I would first like to get any input from all of you" she spoke, most solemnly.
One day, later the incoming message klaxon went off. Amelia soon had it decoded in a few minutes. "This confirms what I was afraid might happen. Admiral Shelton has orders for Al to attempt to 'call' Toy back, while also bringing another man, a Colonel Harrison Blackwell, along with him."
Art looked a bit alarmed… then he spoke: "Cap, an old friend once told me all about that guy. He is head of an Alien-Tech recovery operation for the military. Some refer to him as Colonel 'Black Heart', for his single mindedness of purpose. Rumour is that he loses a few men… now and again."
Next, Katey chimed in: "Would this Blackwell then take over our mission, Cap?"
"Good guess, Katnip, and quite correct!" replied Amelia… "Though it was not stated directly, it is definitely implied here…" Just then Cap got a curious, yet strained look on her graceful features.
"Well, guys, it seems we can merely 'follow orders', or make a quantum leap of faith in ourselves for some better options. Myself, I don't want this alien device to become just another bigger, badder weapon… The human race just does not need another one, especially right after that last war we all barely survived."
"Right on, Cap", from a thoughtful-looking Fish. "We are only limited by all our imaginations, in finding another way. I vote we don't call Toy and this Black-Jack guy over here. In fact, I refuse to do so, orders or no orders!"
"Thank-You, Al… I was hoping you would say exactly that!" answered a grateful-looking Captain.
They had only a few hours left, before the scheduled 'call back', but there would be nothing that Admiral Shelton could do when that time came and went – and nothing happened – as he had no Tetrahedrons there, on his end of deep space, anyways.
Amelia had called this meeting today, to discuss their possible mission options. Briskly, she gave her present assessment: "Crew, I had Sal, the shipboard A.I. run a few calculations for me. First off, I don't intend to attempt a call back of Toy, or to bring Colonel Blackwell here, even if we knew it was possible – especially if it was possible! Even then, this device might be so valuable to the Military that they might consider ordering the ships, Argo or the Prometheus, to this star system, from the other systems they are currently investigating. Sal estimates that, if this was so, and I would do so if I were Admiral Shelton, that the Argo could get here in just 3.5 years of ship travel time – and the Prometheus could even be here in perhaps just 2.9 years. So, we must decide, and act, a bit boldly here…
'The Pact', that they drew up and named, would have them all attempt to each try one or more scenarios to go to another place, or time, or even reality. After a few simple experiments, they confirmed that the VAT-1 device could function as a transporter, or even convert matter to energy, and a million and one other miracles. It seemed to operate off of deep, highly focused thought-intentions.
So all the crew thought long and hard about it, and one by one, Cap approved…
Art Zehmke went first. He had been a huge lover of classical artworks, since high school days. Being the oldest of the crew, with a fairly well sized beard, he transposed himself into 'The Last Supper'… but not the older Leonardo da Vinci painting, but the more enigmatic and much later one done by Salvador Dali.
Next, came Katnip Dennings turn. She was quite fond of old time burlesque. She went back in time to the 1950's, and became the newest 'Vamp of Vegas', but in an alternate Earth timeline – thus making her exit impossible to trace, without use of the Tetrahedron. She would later entertain an alternate Kennedy.
"You think they made it Cap?" pondered Fish, after Art and Katnip had gone…
"Well, Al, we can only hope that they did… I do believe they were successful, and that we will be too!" responded Amelia.
Being the last two left, the landing-craft pod made its last trip down to VAT-1. The Nova Star was placed in temporary orbit around the moon of Vega 9, with a hologram recording by Cap and crew, left for the alien beings that had made the Tetrahedron – should the aliens ever return. The recording was left playing on a virtual continuous loop, powered by the nucleonic power cells of the landing pod. It explained who humans where, where their race was from, and a brief history of all humankind… And why their crew decided to abandon their urgent mission, so as to not repeat some of the more bloody elements of that long human history.
No message was left for, or sent to, Admiral Shelton. The shipboard A.I., 'SAL', would still carry on with the Nova Star's original mission to check out all of the promising remaining planets of the Vega system for future colonization and terra-forming compatibility, and send regular reports back to Earth. SAL would remain 'mum' on the fate of her crew, though. Cap had placed the A.I. on a 24 hour sleep mode, and then purged all of SAL's memory banks of what had transpired from the moment Toy had suddenly disappeared, and returned to Earth…
It was now the Cap's turn. "Well, good luck, Al. You go last, as your scenario is perhaps the most important of all, if we want to keep this thing from falling into the wrong hands. Be well… And I wish you much success – and happiness!"
"Thank-You, Cap… and I wish the same for you – Amelia…" responded Fish.
The strong willed Captain of the Nova Star, Amelia would finally get some much needed R & R that she had been craving for some time. Recalling one of her favorite old time Earth serials, on what long ago was called 'Television', she would disappear into a parallel universe, and possibly also into another separate dimension, landing onto an amusement-park planet, along with the happy crew of another and much loved starship of science fiction mythology.
She liked the new uniform, displaying her well-toned legs to full effect. She was also quite grateful and flattered, to receive the fervent attentions of both Doctor 'Bones' McCoy and of Captain James T. Kirk… And they all thoroughly enjoyed each other's company, on this very much welcome, and fascinating, shore leave.
Alone now, it was now Fish's turn to make a grand exit – and grand it was!
Al, unknown to the crew, had composed over the past months of spaceflight, several complete symphonic compositions, on the ship's auxiliary computers.
Al Fishman, 'the singing storyteller', soon became a whimsical and wandering Minstrel of the Stars!
He would now go travel all the Cosmos, playing his celestial symphonies, guitar pieces, and good old Rock n' Roll in deep-resonant, gracefully rising, and snowflake-falling crescendos of pure Sonic Joy…
He was sure that he would soon find more than a few new fans out there, among all the beautiful yet little known neighbour-hoods of the great and wide Milky Way Galaxy, and perhaps even way beyond that big-banded, pool of silent suns?
Not too many modifications were needed for the Tetrahedron by Al, simply by using his focused mind, and it soon became his own private mobile concert stage, music studio, and quite a sweet and snug, and happy, little home 'out there' – there, among all the far, far glittering diamonds of an eternal and glorious night's journey… Of worlds within and of worlds without any end… and of peace!
'And who knows,' he thought to himself, 'Maybe now, instead of a guitar, you can now go tune a star, Fish…'He strummed on his Plectrum guitar and sang:
Sing a Song that's so Celestial, and write many more a verse…
If music be the food of love – as the Great Bard said – then
Play on, play on, to this great wide, wide Universe!
Powering up the Tetrahedron-Ship-Home-Music-Venue, he began his concert tour, the likes of which this Universe, and several more, had never known before.
THE END – OF A NEW BEGINNING!