Galactic Treasure Hunt
DISCLAIMER: OK Angie, it's all yours. First I want to thank Haruka Takachiho (Kami bless him) for graciously allowing me to use his creations w/o which there would be no tale to tell. Likewise a big domo arigatour (thank you very much indeed) to any other creators whose works, characters, creations &c. I may use now or in the future. As always please feel free to use any of my own myriads of creations in your own works. I ask only that a similar disclaimer be posted with your works giving credit where credit is due. Well you've all been on tenterhooks wondering about this big Galactic Hunt and nai (no), we are not hunting DragonBalls again well not yet anyway but who knows what the future might bring eh? Here is the second chapter for your perusal.
CHAPTER 2 'Fllay's Find' or 'Follow the River'
A refresher for readers of Chapter 1 who have forgotten it or for newbies who missed it, this is how the first chapter concluded.
"We reach Corellian Space in three solar days. As far as this ancient puzzle (he pointed to the old vidstar chart map on the console in front of them) goes, Kami alone knows, Blondie. Your guess is as good as mine." he answered referring to the cryptic message at the bottom of the Templar vidchart.
"And I sure as Hell hope that we don't run into any Corellian pirate freighters either." he added to himself worriedly.
"Bison Fields dead ahead, sir. Orders?" announced Lieutenant Commander Molly Callahan, his navvie or navigator.
'Bison Fields' was a deadly asteroid belt which was damned hard to maneuver through. However, if they wanted to reach Corellian Space, the lawles corridor of brigands and pirates that marked the end of the known Universe, 'Bison' had to be traversed. Ahead lay very hostile territory and unexplored space.
Zach wished he had Gene Starwind aboard. That grizzled old space dog who commanded the 'Outlaw Star' space cruiser knew 'Bison' better than Zach knew his own 'Liberator'.
Zero prayed they'd meet up with no pirates, smugglers or-
ZANG! An ion bomb burst exploded in front of them!
"Shields up dammit!" yelled Suba (Subaltern) Alison Kurtz. She was Zero's new weapons officer.
"Anything out there, Ensigns?" she added.
"Nai (No) mum. He must be 'cloaked'." replied Fllay Allster.
"Got him! He's on our scans now, Suba. A Corellian star cruiser. (Probably a pirate vessel. This is lawless frontier space, remember?) Want I should return fire, mum?" shouted an eager Cagalli Yula Athna.
"Belay that, Ensign. Hail him, Integra. Tell him we're just passin' through." commanded Zach Zero.
"Ooh, he just said some nasty words taht even I have never heard before, Zach. The gist of it is that we're baka (crazy, nuts) but if we really want to commit sepukuu (Ritual suicide of the Samurai warriors) he won't stand in our way, Cap." said Sir Integra Winifred van Helsing, grand-daughter of the famous vampire hunter whose name she bore.
"Thank him kindly and let's burn those hyperdrives. Engage." he ordered and the 'Liberator' accelerated.
Are you baka idiots trying to destroy my ship or are you just insane?" grumbled 'Dynamo', the 8 feet tall 'Triceratops'the chief engineer.
"Gimme 65 Warp, 'Dynamo' onegai (please). Just until we get a few lightyears between us and them." cajoled Zero.
"In yer dreams maybe! How about 50, Cap?" growled the gigantic dragon lizard.
"Fine but you gotta hold us to that speed for at least fifteen minutes." sighed Zach.
"You, er, you surely meant to say ten, not fifteen, did you not, sir?" asked the chief engineer.
"Whatever. Zero out." he finished and hung up the relay mike.
Eleven minutes and forty seconds later the 'Liberator's massive warp core went from a roar to a quiet hum as their warp speed dropped to a sensible 25 Warp.
"The system on your vidmap starchart, sir? Well, see for yourself, Zach. It just ain't here nowhere." reported Molly and she pointed out the star windows. Sure enough there was naught except unbroken unexplored cosmos outside of the ship- certainly no star system!
"That's 'cause they're cloaked, kids." drawled Grand Admiral Han Solo. Molly stared at him like he had just gone bonkers.
"A whole damned star solar system, Han?" she demanded.
"Why the Hell not?" he drawled back.
"Well there's one sure fire way to be sure." yelled Caggie.
"Ja, das ist richtig (Yes, that's right), Herr Zero. Launch a probe out there." suggested the 'Green Baron'.
"OK. Make it so, Number One. Energize." replied Zero.
"Detonate." ordered Allie when the probe was safely away from them.
"Roger that, Al." said Fllaysie. The projectile exploded and drenched the stars with magnesium light from one end of space to another.
"Well I'll be damned!" said Molly Callahan, her cheroot dropping from her mouth to the console.
There as far as the eye could see was a small but orderly star grouping hitherto hidden from sight!
"Are we there yet, guys?" cried an overzealous Servie.
"Is that where the goodies are?" yelped Fllaysie.
"No Servie, we ain't there yet and no Fllaysie, no goodies. This is where we find our first clue. Then that one leads us to another one, that clue sends us after another and so on and so forth, ad infinitum!" snapped Zero angrily.
"I told you it was a wild goose chase dammit!" he added.
"Seeketh me out where no light cometh for thou art surely pious and must goeth in the footsteps of God Almighty. Beware for ye must haveth great faith indeed to faceth perils untold." (Signed) Giles de Montmartre (The strange symbol of the all seeing aizu (eye) surmounting the enclosed circle, square and dot was skilfully drawn above the signature).
"Hey, that's easy, guys! A 'black hole' in space!" squealed Angie excitedly.
"Yeah? Then how about the rest of it, kiddo? And what 'perils untold' I wonder? Sounds like gibberish to me, folks." replied a skeptical Zach Zero.
"I know that the 'pious' man kneels, Zach. I heard that somewhere." suggested Han Solo.
"Kneels? Where in the Hell do ya 'kneel' in a quasar, Solo?" Servalan wanted to know.
"And just what are these 'footsteps of God Almighty'" demanded Molly.
"Wait a nano-sec and hold the comlinks everyone." said Angie.
"Ain't there a constellation called the 'Path of Kami (God)' Molly? (The navvie nodded dubiously) Can you point ti out to us on the vidstar charts? (Molly tapped a few keys and the 'Path' winked into life. Angie pointed a gloved forefinger at a star group immediately South of the 'Path') And doesn't this cluster here resemble someone kneeling?
"It must mean that if we take a sighting from that star cluster and then travel through the 'Path of Kami' we will reach a 'black hole' and find our second clue, Cap." she suggested. Zero nodded.
"Seems to make a bit of sense. What have we got to lose? Molly, lay in a course for that 'pious man kneeling' star cluster- 35 Warp." he commanded. The 'Liberator' accelerated and began its week long voyage to the faroff Phi Quadrant.
"Happy now, Madam Prez?" he grumbled and Servie scowled at him. Molly turned to her skipper.
"Sir? We are not really and truly going inside a quasar depression, are we?" she asked worriedly.
Zero was well known throughout the cosmos for his 'go for broke' attitude even when his orders told him not to do something so Molly's query was quite justified. Zach stared at her.
"Are you on 'dilythium dust', Navvie? Hell no, we ain't going inside a 'black hole', map or no map. Somehow I don't think that Angie's great-great-grand-whatever ancestour ever intended anyone to either. There must be some other answer, right Subby?" he demanded impatiently.
"I'm workin' on it right now, sir." replied the very last descendant of the Knights Templar.
"Take your time, Angie. It's gonna take us another whole solar week to get there." said a still deeply concerned Molly Callahan.
Angela Mary marie Magdalena Rosette Christopher de Roncesvalles racked her mind and brain and memory for an answer to that conundrum for most of that solar week. The afternoon of the day they finally reached the Phi Quad she had it (she hoped). Now all that remained was convincing the skipper that she was right.
"Oro (What) the jigoku (Hell) Subby! You on the same 'dust' trip as Callahan? I cannot send the 'Andrea Dorian' (one of the shuttles) into a 'black hole' just because you think it ain't one! I'd suffer the same fate that Giles de Montmartre did and then some!" howled her boss.
"Then at least send in a probe, sir. I know it's really a 'worm hole' that 'looks' like a quasar opening in the space/time continuum. Onegai (Please), Cap? Humour me?" pleaded Angie desperately.
"OK. Ashita (Tomorrow) we'll launch a probe and when we lose it, we are going back to our real mission. Is that clearly understood, Subby? (Angela nodded) Good. Now get back to your post, kid." replied her skipper.
The next morning a probe was launched from the 'Pious Man Kneeling' star cluster and through the 'Path of Kami' directly into the yawning maw of the dark spatial anomaly known as a 'black hole'. An hour and a half later Zach was about to abort the 'hunt' when Integra spoke.
"Quiet! Shut the Hell up you guys! I got something coming in over the vid relays. Sir, it's our damned probe! Its signal is quite distinct, Zach." she said, speaking around her ever present cigar.
"How far?" drawled Solo.
"Ten thousand lightyears." she replied.
"It can't have gone that far! Not even in a 'worm hole', Winnie!" cried Zach.
The comm relay officer indicated the console's vidscreens.
"See for yourself, Cap." she said.
"Remember what the map said? Something about having great faith? This must be exactly what Angie's Terran ancestour meant. We have got to go through there, Zachie." insisted Servalan.
"Well I won't do it!" replied a defiant Zachary Taylor Zero.
"I've forgotten, Admiral. Remind me again, please. Just who is in charge here?" she said sweetly.
"You heard the lady, Han. Take us inside that thing and Kami help us all." growled Zero.
"Hold onto yer shorts and strap in, folks. Here we go." drawled the ex-pirate.
The 'Liberator' crawled forward steadily into the anomaly and slowly edged inside the 'black hole' which indeed was a 'worm hole'. In another hour they exited the 'worm hole' and discovered that they were all the way across to the other side of the known Universes. The 'Liberator' was in orbit around a miniscule moon only half the size of Terra's Luna.
"Looky there guys!" cried Fllaysie who was pointing at the view screens. Below them a silvery river crossed the moon and seemed to be pointing like an arrow- due East!
END OF CHAPTER TWO.
There! I promised. I swore. I delivered. Now how about a review eh? Take care and sayonara- K&K and Suzie Q ? the GE babe.