Rise of the Zygots
Chapter 3
The Gift
The door to the laboritory opened and the Admiral entered, closely followed by Wilma and Kane.
"Good afternoon, Dr Goodfellow. May I introduce you to one of our guests? This is Commander Kane from the Draconian envoy. Commander, Dr Goodfellow is one of the Earth's top scientists and his field speciality is biology. We are privileged to have him as the ship's scientist during our mission."
"Welcome, welcome, do come in." The old man cocked his head towards Wilma. "You know I have been studying the plants that you brought back from the green planet Colonel and they are quite fascinating, did you know - "
A metallic voice interrupted. "I'm sure our guests do not want to hear the intricate workings of a mere plant Dr Goodfellow!"
"Oh Kane this is Crighton," the old scientist explained. He is a quite remarkable robot; his posotronic brain is capable of storing and recalling a vast amount of data in a split moment…"
"My brain is far too superior for any human to comprehend." Crighton said haughtily. "Commander Kane? You were a computer engineer from Earth, but I understand that you defected and left to join the Draconians as their commander, even though the two were bitter enemies."
Kane's mustache twitched. "Well I was a lot more than a computer engineer, but you are correct about my leaving to join the Drac - "
"So your very presence on this ship is actually treason!"
"Crighton!"
"Oh the dull politics of humans hold little interest to me Admiral. I just find it difficult to comprehend why anyone would bother to abandon one inferior species for another." He rolled to the other side of the lab.
The Admiral held his hands aloft. "Commander Kane I must apologise for his outburst."
Wilma's hand went to her forehead in embarrassment "He believes himself far superior to humans, including Dr Goodfellow, who actually built him," she explained.
"Built!" Exclaimed the snooty robot. His thin metal arms rose to bend at the elbow in a gesture of indignation. "Why do you insist on perpetuating this myth Colonel?"
"Good Lord, Dr, could you please ensure the next time this walking lamp post is upgraded that he receives the tact and diplomacy programme. Commander I am very sorry."
Kane chuckled. "I am not offended Admiral, I have heard far worse – most of it from Princess Ardala." If you ever get bored Crighton and feel like changing sides, call me," he said with a smirk.
The humour washed over the robot completely. Crighton elongated his neck by several feet, which left him towering over the humans, adding to his superiority complex. "That, I very much doubt will happen, Commander!"
Admiral Asimov rolled his eyes up to the ceiling and muttered. "Oh good lord!"
-o-o-o-o-
"So that is the officer's quarters?" Ardala, Buck and Hawk had just exited the elevator on B deck. Pantherman padded along a few feet behind. The guards had been given light refreshments in the mess hall.
"Yes Your Highness." Buck replied, as they walked along, hoping she would not request to see the interior of his cabin.
Ardala halted her step and spun round to face her escorts. "Hmm, so you and Wilma reside here in quite close proximity. You must see a lot of each other."
Buck stopped. "Well it would be quite difficult to avoid each other on a ship in the middle of space."
"I suppose so. She appeared to contemplate this for a moment and then turned to Hawk. "And what about you Hawk? You are not formerly an officer so do you have similar living quarters?"
"They are a little further away on D deck. I do not have much in the way of décor. When the hum – men destroyed my village on Throm there was very little left."
"Throm?" I have not heard of this place. I assumed that you were from Tharsk."
"Tharsk?" Hawk's eye's widened.
"Yes, I heard tales of a race of bird-men living there in the caves when I was younger. I think it was one of the worlds my father invaded."
Hawk and Buck exchanged glances. "And are they still living?"
Ardala looked offended. "Do you presume that we killed absolutely everyone we encountered? Not at all, we gave people the opportunity to join the Empire – of course if they refused then that was a different matter. However, I have never heard of any Draconian having a bird-man in service."
Hawk looked thoughtful. "And where is this planet Tharsk?"
"In the Hidden Sector, part of my father's Empire. I'm not totally sure, but I can find out." She smiled seductively. "You are very welcome to come on board the Draconia whilst we check our data banks. Buck shot Hawk a warning look, which Ardala failed to notice.
Hawk became more animated. "Perhaps some of these worlds are home to the lost races of Earth too. Buck and Ardala gazed at him in surprise.
"You know, Hawk could have a point. The Draconians usually travel deeper in space than we do and if your father has conquered two thirds of the known Universe then it is highly he has come into contact with those people we lost contact with."
"But we have retreated from many of those worlds since the treaty."
"So you don't occupy the green planet where we met yesterday?"
She laughed. "Occupy what exactly? A bunch of dumb animals? Whilst they make excellent quarry I fear they would make very poor soldiers or servants.
Buck stayed silent.
She gazed into his eyes, trying to gage his expression. "You think me cruel hunting that animal don't you?"
"Princess, many people hunted in my time, some for food, some just for sport. It was the past time of kings. It is not my place to judge."
"Very diplomatic Captain." She turned away and they continued down the corridor. "Colonel Deering didn't like it did she?"
"I – don't know, she didn't say so, did she?"
"I saw the look of her face Buck." They paused,having reached the end of the corridor. "Do you think I'm cruel?" She said softly. "Is that why you didn't want to be with me."
"Princess, it's not so simple," He began.
They entered a small elevator. A few seconds later, they alighted at the chosen rendezvous point, the Observation deck. Buck was relieved to have the distraction.
The Princess, her two male escorts and the strange hybrid creature; Pantherman, stepped out onto the Observation deck. She admired the view from the panoramic window for a moment, until they were joined by Wilma, the Admiral and Kane a few moments later.
"Kane," Ardala crossed the room to greet her commander. "I want an observation deck."
"Yes Princess," He nodded and smiled, hands clasped behind his back. As soon as her gaze was drawn back to the window he muttered to the Admiral, "Does she think I can build one in space?"
The Admiral, said nothing, but glanced at Wilma with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes.
Wilma sucked in her cheekbones in amusement. After a moment, she moved to stand just behind the Draconian princess. "Did you enjoy your tour your highness?"
The Princess's scarlet painted lips parted as she smiled to reveal pearl-white teeth. "Yes, I did thank you Colonel." She trailed a manicured fore finger through through the air and cast a seductive glance at Buck. "I particularly enjoyed my visit to the officer's living quarters."
"Oh?" Wilma glared at Buck.
Ardala felt triumphant at causing discord between the two officers.
-o-o-o-o-
A short while later the visiting party and senior officials were seated in the suite that had doubled up as a courtroom during Buck's recent trial. Buck, Hawk and Wilma were seated at one side of the long trestle table that had been erected especially for the occasion. The Admiral sat at one end of the table with Ardala and Kane at the other. The rest of the crew and the Draconian guards were seated at other tables. Everyone was served a glass of Vinol and a number of small dishes; the closest thing the Searcher had to appetizers. In the absence of live entertainment, the guests were treated to 20th Century classical music courtesy of Buck's limited collection.
When they had finished eating, Princess Ardala rose from her seat and a hush descended upon the room.
"Admiral Asimov, I thank you for your welcome and your food. We regret that our visit must come to an end, it has been a most interesting day. Once we regarded Terrans such as yourselves as our enemies. I am pleased to say that this is no longer the case and as a token of our growing friendship and understanding between our races, we offer to you a gift. One that I believe will help you in your search to find the lost races of your planet Earth."
Buck glanced at Wilma. He remembered full well, the Draconian 'gift' when he had first awakened after his 500 year nap.
Kane narrowed his eyes in confusion. What gift?
"We are aware that whilst your primary mission is to locate the missing races from your planet Earth, this has up to now, yielded little fruit. Therefore it is my belief that the reason you have not yet encountered these people is that they are possibly among the Draconian Empire."
Kane stared at Adarla in disbelief. What was she doing?
Admiral Asimov and Wilma exchanged puzzled glances across the table. The possibility that the missing Earth People had fled to a world that was until recently occupied by the Draconian Empire, had been discussed. That part of the universe remained closed to outside traffic. Buck had likened this to something called the 'Berlin Wall'.
"Your Highness…" Kane began.
She ignored him and continued. "As you know, this part of the universe has for obvious reasons remained accessible only to ourselves; however as a symbol of peace, I am prepared to allow access to you Buck." Her gaze lingered on him for a brief moment. "Hawk and of course Colonel Deering," she added as an afterthought. "We are giving you the coordinates to the stargate that leads to Draconian Space." She paused to allow her words to sink in and smiled regally as her gaze swept the across the table, in anticipation of the reaction.
Kane just stared, open-mouthed. A murmur went through the room for a few minutes then hushed as the Princess resumed her speech.
"You are permitted to make such inquiries as to establish the origins of the people you encounter, however you may not interfere with business of the realm. If this is acceptable to you Admiral then we shall make the arrangements."
Admiral Asimov was lost for words. "I – don't know what to say Your Highness. That would be simply marvelous."
Wilma was not as enthusiastic. "Buck did she say anything to you about this?" She whispered.
Buck scratched his nose, using this guise to whisper behind his hand to Wilma. "We did touch upon the subject earlier."
"I wonder what she's up to."
"She seemed keen to prove that she wasn't the evil tyrant we knew her to be. I don't know. I hate to admit it but maybe on this occasion the leopard has changed its spots."
Wilma raised her eyebrows. "But never forget that it is still a leopard."
Ardala noticed Buck and Wilma chatting but declined to mention it. Instead she beamed a broad smile. "Good then that's settled then. We will be in touch shortly to discuss the finer details. Now if you will excuse us, we must return to the Draconia. Kali tah Draco'th – that is an old saying which means that you are with Draconia."
"So long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Adieu," Quipped Buck – that is an old Earth saying which means till we meet again!" The others just stared at him.
-o-o-o-o-
"Can we really trust her Admiral?" Wilma whirled round in her chair on the bridge, a short while after the Draconian envoy had departed.
Her concern was echoed in the Admiral's eyes. Now that he had "time to reflect, his own doubts had started to creep in. "I honestly don't know, but I don't see how we can refuse without offending them."
Buck was leaning casually against the guard rail. "Did you see Kane's reaction? He is either a really good actor all of a sudden or he didn't have a clue she was going to spring that one."
"What about her decision to have you and Hawk escort her around the ship whilst landing me with Kane?"
"Well if you remember, when we bumped into her on the green planet, Kane wasn't with her then either, I think it's possible that she is just fed up of him and avoiding him wherever possible."
"That's very magnanimous of you Buck, considering your past history with her."
"I know Wilma but I have to hope there really is good in her somewhere. I think sometimes she was so desperate to please her father that she would do anything he asked without questioning her motives. I really think she's grown up and learned to think for herself. I also think her meeting with the war witch Zarina put her in her place a little."
"Well let's hope you're right," She sighed. "Because if you're not and we are in the middle of Draconian territory without a squadron…"
-o-o-o-o-
"Buck, why are you so willing to stand up for Ardala all of a sudden?" Wilma was alone with Buck in his cabin several hours later. Her eyes blazed. "Or did you get a little close to her when she visited your quarters this afternoon."
"Don't be ridiculous Wilma! His nostrils flared. "What are you implying? That me and Ardala snuck off and had us a good time whilst you were showing Kane round the science lab? We didn't actually visit my quarters – besides which Hawk was with us the whole time!"
She turned her head sharply to look at him, then wandered over to the window. She went silent and it was several moments before she spoke again, her voice softer. "You've just always been so suspicious of her motives before now, so what's changed?"
He chewed his lip whilst he mulled her words over then Hhs eyes widened in sudden remembrance. "Actually I think it was Hawk who may have given her the idea!"
"So when we are all prisoners of the Draconian Empire, trapped on god knows where, we have Hawk to thank," she sighed.
"It won't come to that and even if it does, we've outwitted the Draconians before several times," He reminded her."
"What makes me suspicious – is that she invited me!"
"I kind of liked that part."
She glared at him for a moment, then looked away deep in thought. "Hmm!"
