From the Adventures of Jon Smithe, Detached Scout
(Sound of his throat clearing)
Testing. Testing.
Is this thing on?
This is a test.
This is the first log entry of the Scout ship Bright Horizon.
This ship is so old. I can't believe it's still functioning, but they tell me everything has been replaced or refurbished or updated to modern specs or is going to be and will work fine. We're gonna find out for sure and we'll make sure it's running.
This ship's name is the Bright Horizon. It's a very old Ross-class Scoutship from a couple hundred years ago. They have the logs they transferred to permanent storage, so I guess I can read them when I'm bored. And she's surprisingly still part of the Scout Service.
This is a 'new' ship for me, tho. After I was part of the crew of the Annic Nova - a ship not from around here, I tried to get my old Scout back but they already posted it to someone new.
So they gave me this old thing. Repainted and such. Devinitely smells like fresh paint.
I miss the Annic Nova somedays. Maybe we'll run into each other again.
As far as who 'we' are, there's myself, of course: Senior Scout Jon J. Smithe. Ship Commander. Pilot and Astrogator. Space Explorer.
The Ship's Main Computer is called Archi, an Archimedes 5700 - Rating 5/bis system, and his voice interaction and activation unit is touchy sometimes. We will see how it goes.
Then, there's my Domestic Servant robot Buddy. He's a good chap. Does pretty much anything I ask him to. He has to tie my shoes for me some days. He makes a great Bloody Mary and I think he let's me win at Chess. He finds the best Entertainment and Food when we're Dirtside. Just so I'm not bored in JumpSpace.
And we got the little stowaway from the ANNIC NOVA: a Tree Kraken. I just call him Goober. He doesn't get into too much trouble. Buddy chases him around a lot. It keeps Buddy busy and it's fun to watch. He seems to like surprisingly similar food and I'll keep searching for a better food for him. But what he's eating so far he seems to like. It doesn't disagree with him so far. I've got to find a good encyclopedia entry on Tree Kraken: care and feeding. I want to build him something to climb on.
I think we all get along just fine. I guess that's it for now. Departure tomorrow morning.
End Log Entry, Jon Smithe Commanding.
XBOAT MESSAGE
IS FORM 6
REGINA X-MESSAGE LINKUP
SENDER: JON SMITHE
159-1106
1109 TIMESTAMP
SCANNED STANDARD ANGLIC
Captain Tomos Puch
Distant Merchant Albatross
Boughene Station
Greetings Captain Puch,
Glad to hear you are all safe. Message recieved and understood. That is amazing. Wow!
And they gave you a temporary ship. I hope she treats you well.
It looks as if your message was rerouted for some reason. It didn't go the normal route from Roup. That's a bit strange, but happens sometimes.
I appreciate the offer of work. I am back on Detached Duty with the Scouts. They gave away my old Scout ship already. And sent me to the Regina Capitol Scout Base.
So I've been assigned a "new" ship. I'm joking about the "new" part. It's a Ross-class Scout over 200 years old. The Scout Service has surprisingly had it in service all this time. I can't believe they can still find parts for it. But they tell me that that's what they are going to do. It's going to take several months to rebuild it to optimal specs. And then it's mine. I really hope it doesn't smell.
I'll be training some recruits until the ship is up and running. We might be dealing with some of the same problems if your ship is going for refurbishment.
You can reach me at the Scout Base here at Regina, and I'm also officially Commander to the Scoutship Bright Horizon.
It was great to hear from you. Say hello to all of the crew for me.
Clear skies, my Friends.
END XBOAT MESSAGE
Setting out on Mission from Scout Service
Jon Smithe flipped on the auxiliary lights in the Engine Room. He walked over and hit the 'activate' button on the Fusion Power Plant console. The console controls lit up with a slight hum and a beep.
As he began the start-up sequence, he said: "Archi, could you pull up the main power plant systems on the second screen, please?" When the screen came up, the Ship's Computer, 'Archi' said in a slightly mechanical voice, "Screen up."
He began the Startup Swquence and to crosscheck the power system operation, to bring the Power Plant up to Full Power.
As Smithe worked, the power on the console level indicator rose until after a couple of minutes, the Power Plant showed Full Power. A low rumble started, but Smithe adjusted a control and the rumble stopped.
He brought up the normal lighting and turned off the auxiliary.
Going over to the Main Drive, he activated those consoles.
Working at the Maneuver systems for a few minutes - checking and cross-checking, he stepped back. Smithe then reached over to another screen to engage the Main Drive.
The dual thruster indicators turned Green.
Satisfied that everything was set correctly in the Engine Room, he made his way to the Bridge, stopping by his Quarters for a few Groat Stix for himself and as a treat for Goober.
As he walked onto the Bridge, Buddy said, "All systems activated. Life Support function Main Drive shows full thrust at your command, Sir."
Smithe sat down at the Pilot console. Breaking a piece of Groat Stix off and handing it to Goober, he said: "Thank you, Buddy." Goober chomped loudly, but slowly on the meat stick, not leaving a single bit on the floor plates. His tentacles meticulously getting every little piece.
Smithe pressed a button, which opened a VoiceComm Channel to the Scout Base Traffic Control: "This is Scoutship Bright Horizon requesting clearance for Liftoff"
After a few minutes of waiting, "Sorry Horizon, the pattern is full. We can put you on the list for an hour from now."
"Very well, thank you. Bright Horizon out." he said and closed the channel. "Archi, make a log entry, please" he said out loud.
The Ship's Computer, 'Archi', said in a slightly mechanical voice, "Ship's Log open."
"Ship's Log
Date 012-1107 Imperial
1910 Regina Subsector/Spinward Marches
First Flight Departure from Regina Scout Base
Approximately one hour.
Course plot outsystem to Jump point
Jump to Jenghe system at hex 1810 for Class II reSurvey
Exploration should only take about 1 week after Jump Exit
All supplies have been loaded. Fuel is full.
All crew and passengers accounted for.
End Log Entry
Senior Scout Jon Smithe Commanding
IISS surplus Scoutship Bright Horizon."
"Ok, we've got a little time. Let's take a look at your new list of Entertainment for the Jump over, Buddy."
About an hour later, the Comm whistled with an incoming call: " This is Traffic Control. Bright Horizon is cleared for Liftoff. Clear Skies, Horizon!"
"Thank you, Control Tower," Smithe said.
He pressed a few bottons on the console and the Bright Horizon began to lift off the ground.
The ship raised up about 2 meters off the ground and began to turn, rotating to the position needed to place the ship in the correct orbit. Once the ship got to the right spot, Smithe hit the thrusters and the ship took off into the clear blue sky towards space.
Almost a half an hour later, just as the Bright Horizon reached Orbit around Regina, a squadron of six Imperial Rampart-class Fighters flew past. Smithe flipped his ship's running lights on and off several times.
"All Hail Emperor Strephon!" Smithe said out loud. Buddy had been instructed to respond with "Hail!" after the first time it happened. Goober tried to imitate Buddy with "aaoow."
The Sensors showed Regina's Highport off in the distance. And looking in that direction Smithe saw the large station. It stood out among the starview with a slight blue and red nebula behind it.
He carefully pulled Goober from the side of the Co-Pilot's chair he had climbed up on and set him on the upper part of the console so he could see outside the viewport. His tentacles gripped the surface very tightly as the Tree Kraken had never been up there before.
"See the Highport, Goob?" he said to the little creature.
Goober gurgled. It sounded like: "Tooo-dooo-looo."
"Yeah, Goober, Toodaloo. See them next time." He patted Goober on the head, and pulled up the scanner screen on his console.
The EMS Array scanned ahead for a few minutes. On their course was a large Merchant. The scenner identified it as:
TRANSPONDER
LOADOUT
2,000 dTons
Cargo Transport
7 Weapon batteries
2 Sandcaster batteries
DISTINCTIVE
Imperiallines
Type TI Frontier class
Number 447
20 Crew
Captain Julius Esteban
"Julius!," Smithe yelled, spooking Goober.
Goober tried to climb down the console, but Smithe had to catch him before he fell. He set the little guy gently on the floor. Smithe hit a few buttons on the console to open a VoiceComm channel. He flipped the RadioComm on a Broadcast frequency and keyed the nic.
Imperiallines Frontier Transport 4-4-7, Imperiallines 4-4-7, Imperiallines 4-4-7
This is:
Imperial Detached Scoutship Bright Horizon, Bright Horizon, Bright Horizon
Over.
Horizon, this is 4-4-7.
Shall we switch to channel 20196 tight beam?
Over.
Switching to 20196
Over.
Smithe switched channels to the requested one. And after a few seconds, a hologram popped up next to his console with the Captain of the 4-4-7. When the Captain saw who it was, he yelled, "Smitthy! How the heck are ya?!"
Smithe smiled and chuckled a bit as Goober went scrambling back behind the Co-Pilot chair.
"Just heading outbound, Julius. New assignment to shakedown this ship. Class II reSurvey of Jenghe." Smithe said to his old friend.
Julius looked at a screen to his side. "Wow, that's a pretty paintjob on that old thing. Hope it doesn't give you trouble."
"Me too, " Smithe said back. "Where are you coming from?"
"I'm inbound from Ruie with some Howood they were able to transplant from Pretoria." Julius shook his holographic head, "I'm telling you Smitty, it's bad on Ruie. There are Zhodani everywhere. And Ine Givar scum giving me the eye every time I left the Starport. I was lucky to get out of there with my cargo haul. I'm surprised that Imperiallines is still sending us there."
"Well, it is an Amber Zone world and not even in the Imperium. Can't you refuse the cargo run?" Smithe asked him.
"I'd probably lose my bars and be forced to retire. Conduct unbecoming or somesuch. Anyway, we're about to hit atmosphere. I'll catch up with you soon, my Friend. Be safe out there. I fear something terrible is coming," Julius warned him.
"You be safe too, Captain Esteban. Try the Norfe truffles at Jocco's while you're at the DownPort. And I have a bottle of Wine waiting for you. Take care. Horizon out," and closed the channel.
Smithe saw the ship turn for the landing sequence on his rear view screen. There was atmospheric vapor around the edge of the Freighter which started to glow from friction.
And a few seconds later...
...the Imperiallines ship exploded!
"I just talked to them, just before... I... I saw it on the viewscreen." Smithe said to Captain Arossat of the System Defense Boat Swooping Raptor. "Julius was telling me about all the Zhodani and Ine Givar at Ruie. Do you think... Could someone have set..."
"A bomb?" The Captain asked.
"Yeah. Julius didn't get scared just for nothing. And something really bothered him while he was there." Smithe shook his head.
"Well, we were at High Guard when it happened and had you both on our sensors. We know nothing came from your ship and the Scout Base showed you on the Base's tarmac before that. Plus we have what you sent us from your files and scans. If you can think of anything else..." the Captain trailed off.
"I'll send you an X-Mail," Smithe said in response. "Horizon out."
"I can't believe he's gone. Not even time to get into their Lifeboats, from the looks of it," he said to Buddy.
Buddy processed for a momenmt and said, "I can pull up contact information, if you would like to send a sympathy note or letter. The ship is on AutoPilot. I can set up some dinner for you, Sir."
Smithe thought for a moment. "Yeah, I probably should. Why don't you grab a TraVeller Food Module - just pick the top dinner. And the bottle of Atrake Wine I was saving for Julius. I'll meet you in there. I'm going to adjust our course."
After setting up the maneuver, soft music was playing as Smithe walked into the lounge and said, "I should have set it up before, but it will get us to the Jump Point faster." He shook his head. If he had set it before, he probably wouldn't have talked to Julius.
He sat down just as the 'Bot finished setting up the table. Buddy popped the cork on the wine bottle and Goober tried to imitate the tok-tok-tok sound the wine made pouring out of the bottle.
Buddy took the plate over to the food heater and pulled out the tray. Cutting up the main dish, he put some in Goober's dish along with some vegetables. He arranged the rest of it on the plate then brought it back to the table. It was some kind of meat, which usually tasted like chicken to Smithe.
Smithe took a bite. It was really good. 'Formulated by the best chefs to taste like a gourmet meal.' It was usually the sause that made it taste so good. He tossed a bit of pepper on it.
Buddy cut Goober's meal into small tentacle-sized pieces to make it easier for the little guy to eat and set the meal on the floor next to a cup of water. Goober was waiting for the 'Bot to put it down and jumped right in.
A pitcher of water is what Buddy used to water the plants in the lounge and hallway, while they ate. The plants were all Pysadi Trakes. Smithe traded the berries for a discount on the wine.
Smithe finished the meal and stood up. He refilled his glass with the sweet wine. Atrake Wine wasn't quite as good when it was grown offworld. Something about the sunlight on Psyadi, he remembered. But most people couldn't tell the difference.
He walked over to a viewport and looked out into space. After a moment, he lifted his wineglass up and said, "To the Captain and crew of Imperiallines Frontier Transport 4-4-7 - Clear Skies in the next life. Goodbye Julius, my friend. I will try to find who did this."
"Buddy, let's take a look at some condolence X-Mail. I'd like to send them before Jump. I also want to send a message to the folks on the ANNIC NOVA."
Buddy projected a holoscreen in front of him and pointed out several formats. Smithe selected several and personalized them. He only knew a couple of people Captain Estevan alsp knew, but word would get around.
"Ok, Buddy, send those," Smithe said. Buddy said, "Yes, Sir. Accessing XMail Service." The holograph displayed:
REGINA X-MESSAGE LINKUP
IS FORM 6 XBOAT MESSAGEs
STANDARD ANGLIC
012-1107
SENDER: JON SMITHE
PAYMENT: IMPERIUM CREDIT CHEQUE Cr70
"Messages sent," Buddy said.
"Ok, Buddy, please transcribe the following: 'Hello Captain Puch and my former crewmates.'" Smithe spoke about Courage and Friendship in space. How this can be a dangerous life. He talked about his friend Julius who he met in School. About the last things Julius said. About his suspiscions of the Zhodani and Ine Givar.
"'Maybe he was right. Maybe something is coming. I don't know. Either way, be safe out there. Jon Smithe out."' Send that now, Buddy" Smithe finished.
He drank the rest of the wine in the glass and put a stopper in the bottle, then put the bottle in the refridgeration unit.
Smithe walked to the bridge to check the Autopilot. Everything looked nominal. The ship would be reaching the Jump Point in about 9 hours. 'Everything else can be finished tomorrow', he thought.
He walked over to his Stateroom. Buddy abd Goober followed behind.
"Buddy," Smithe said. "Could you walk around and check every compartment, please? Just make sure everything seems secure. Let me know if anything's wrong. Thanks."
Goober clung to Buddy as they walked away and the Stateroom door slid closed. Smithe sat on his couch. He picked up the entertainment control and resumed the 'last played'
The recent 'Fusion Gun Kelly' concert came up on the screen. Loud as it was, he hit 'Mute' for a moment.
"Archi," he said. "Wake me in 8 hours please?"
"Of course," the computer said.
Buddy and Goober came in later, after walking the ship. Buddy plugged himself in to recharge and Goober climbed above Smithe's head to lay down.
Smithe fell asleep before the show ended.
Smith couldn't believe his luck. He didn't even make it to the jump point.
"I can't believe this thing broke down already," he said adjusting a wrench.
The main drive gave out just as the ship tried to turn around to break for the jump point.
"Fraq! That's not it!" he said for about the tenth time. And he kept working.
An hour later with bruised knuckles, he tried again.
"Maybe this time it'll work. Okay, trying to reinitiate thrust," he said unenthusiastically as he pressed a button on the Maneuver console.
After a few moments, there were several beeps, a click, and the maneuver drive started, with a slight rumble.
"Yes! That did it!" Smithe said. Goober curled up the end of a tentacle and tried to imitate Smithe's fist in the air.
He made an adjustment that got rid of the rumble, and made his way to the Bridge. Buddy and Goober followed behind.
Back on course, Smithe took a bite of a breakfast wrap. It said Groat Sausage and Eggs, but it was barely meat and the eggs were almost, but not quite Terran Chicken Eggs. At least the salsa tasted like salsa.
He pressed a button on the Jump Drive console.
He worked at it for almost an hour until the Jump Drive was prepped and ready for Jump. The interstellar charts for Jenghe were verified and showed a Scout Base. The densitometer and the EMS Passive scan showed a Dwarf Star of spectral class M0 V, three Gas Giants, two Planetoid Belts, and five Rock Worlds.
With the standard Jump Coordinates computed, they were ready as soon as they got to the Jump Point.
While they waited, Goober rolled a rubber ball over to Smithe. He picked it up and carefully threw it to the little guy. Goober caught it a bit awkwardly, and threw it back. It bounced but went straight towards Smithe.
"His tentacle coordination is improving," Buddy said watching them both.
"That reminds me," Smithe said. "I'd like to build something for Goober to climb on. Could you look up a few ideas while we're in Jump, please?"
"Of course, Sir. Did you have anything specific in mind?" Buddy asked.
"Just things he could play with and climb on that we could expand later. Something to work on during Jump." A light flashed on the console.
"Sir, we are approaching the Jump Point." Buddy noticed.
Smithe rolled the ball back to Goober and turned his seat to the consoles. He pulled up the Engineering screen, and watched the count go down towards Zero.
The countdown went 3, 2, 1, 0. And Smithe pushed the 'Jump Engage' button.
Goober said 'Ooooh!' as the stars turned to Jumpspace and the ship went on its way to Jenghe.
Explorer's Log
019-1107 Imperial
1634 shipboard time
Begin Log Entry
Senior Scout Jon Smithe Commanding.
IISS surplus Scoutship Bright Horizon.
"Open airlock outer door."
The metallic doorway slid apart in the middle with several beeps and boops from the voice-activated Control Panel, and creaks and clanks from the door itself.
Rust colored dust drifted into the airlock. The color of the dust was from iron oxide. They were on the second moon of Jenghe called Gwoorn. The Bright Horizon Jumped in-system about 2 days ago. The ship's scanners and sensors have been going like crazy ever since, surveying anything in their range.
As he walked out into this moon in a fresh VACC Suit*, he picked up a thin metal pole with a rounded wood end, a tiny spike of formed wood, and a little dimpled ball, just inside the airlock.
He stepped down the ramp to the sandy dirt, pushed the small wood spike into the ground, balanced the ball on top of it, and in the tradition of Human Astronauts of Terran descent throughout Charted Space...
He played Golf.
He swung the club back and then with one smooth, continuous downswing - Thwack!
The ball went flying above the sparse landscape.
He picked up his *PRInoculars and took a look. It didn't matter where it landed, but it was interesting to see how far it went.
With a lower than normal gravity, it went almost twice as far as it normally would.
The readout said: 2,984 feet - over 900 meters!
"Wow! Look at that hangtime" he said out loud. His helmet microphone picked it up.
"Ooooh" he heard on his Comm. That was Goober, the Ship's Pet. One of the few sounds he makes. A Tree Kraken. Small, hexaploid, smart and observant.
"Would you like your Grav Bike, Sir?" was from his Domestic 'Bot, Buddy.
"I'll hit a couple more, but you can get the bike out, please?" as he put another golf tee in the ground.
In the cockpit, Buddy hit the button to open the 'garage door'. It raised up enough to get the grav bike out, so he started the garage crane and hooked to the bike.
When the bike came down, Buddy signaled - "The bike is ready for you, Sir."
He walked over to the Grav Bike, unhooked the bike from the chain and started it up. It hummed softly and floated a few inches off the ground.
He hopped on the bike and set his scanner to retrieve the golf balls. Popping it in gear, he hit the accelerator and zoomed off.
VACC Suit - Variable Atmosphere Climate Controlled Suit i.e. Space Suit.
PRInoculars - Portable Radiation Imaging System binoculars
Smithe drove his grav bike up to the first golf ball on the scanner. When he was a few feet away, he stopped the bike and got off of it.
Walking over to the golf ball, he picked it up out of the dirt, dusted it off a bit, and put it in a small pocket of his VACC Suit.
Jon saw another golf ball a couple of feet away, but didn't remember seeing it on the scanner.
"Weird" he though when he was walking over to it. He heard some strange crackling on his suit's speakers. "Must be some ionic interference or something," he thought as he tapped the side of his helmet.
Smithe bent over to pick the golf ball up. It wouldn't move. He pulled at it and it just wouldn't budge. He wondered if it was stuck to the ground somehow.
It was hard to tell with his VACC Suit on. But he leaned down to look closer. He noticed that it looked like a golf ball, although not exactly. But strangely it was on top of some kind stalk or tentacle sticking up through the sandy ground.
"Maybe some little critter that likes golf balls." he thought. The Detached Scout pulled out his scanner just as what passed for a cloud on this moon blocked the sunlight. Or so he thought.
Before he could scan the little 'ball', something grabbed his leg! And the thing that looked like a golf ball opened up like an eye!
Smithe yelled into his helmet's microphone "Something's got me!" He turned to look behind him to see what grabbed his leg and saw a monster!
The creature pulled him along the sandy ground.
He yelled "Oh, Fraq!" as the creature picked him off of the ground with one tentacle. Another tentacle swung towards his helmet with a thump.
And Smithe saw a slight crack in his helmet's faceplate. That's when he yelled "Buddy! Help Me!"
He knew if the creature broke the integrity of his VACC Suit, he was a dead man. The thinner atmosphere wasn't the main problem. It was several poisonous gasses such as: ethane, argon, and concentrated sulphur in the air that would burn his lungs and kill him.
Smithe looked dowbn just as a gaping maw opened up below him!
He tried to push away from the tectacle holding him and partially succeeded, only throwing himself to the sand and dirt. But the tentacle still had ahold of him.
The creature dragged him towards that open mouth. Smithe kicked again but missed the tentacle completely.
Then he saw something from the corner of his eye that he couldn't believe.
Just before Jon was dragged under the dirt, he saw a glimpse of his Domestic 'Bot, Buddy, running towards him with Smithe's Gauss Pistol in one hand and Blade in the other.
And astoundingly, he also thought he saw Goober, the ship's pet Tree Kraken, in some kind of miniature VACC Suit launching himself off of Buddy and towards the creature's tentacle while holding a titanium saw in front of him in one of his own space suit covered tentacles.
He must be dreaming! A dying hallucination!
Hearing Goober yell "Aarg!" in his helmet speakers was the last thing he remembered.
Until he woke up back on the ship in the little sickbay.
Goober saw his eyes open and said: "Oooh!"
Buddy quickly turned around to check the medical monitor which showed almost normal. Buddy said: "I'm glad you are finally awake, Sir. How do you feel?"
Jon slowy sat up, realizing that he shouldn't move too quick. The little Tree Kraken scooted up the bed a bit closer. Smithe cleared his throat and said, "I feel alive, although a bit bruised. How did I get back here? Maybe you should start from the beginning."
Buddy put a tool down and said: "At first, I tried to contact you about a reading on the scanner and realized that communications were experiencing interference."
He continued, "I followed you with the scanners to determine your direction to the golf balls. I saw the creature on the sensors ahead of you and helped Master Goober quickly get into his new custom VACC suit. We grabbed the weapons and I started sprinting in your direction with Master Goober holding on. We were halfway there when I tried to contact you again to warn you about the creature, but the interference was too much."
The Scout asked, "When and where did you ever get the idea to make a VACC Suit for the little guy?"
Buddy picked the small VACC Suit off of a chair and said, "I had picked up a bit of a discarded Rescue Ball and pieces of helmet faceplate and other refuse when I was getting supplies at the Starport before we left Regina. I also downloaded specifics for what was necessary to create a custom VACC Suit and worked on it while you were sleeping during our Jump to Jenghe. I had anticipated that you would like Master Goober to survive a hull breach or malfunction in the life support. We hadn't tested it before today."
"I'd say it was a successful test," Smithe said. "So what happened after that?" he asked.
Buddy went on, "We had just caught up with you, when the creature began pulling you towards its mouth. Master Goober, who was knowledgeable enough to grab the titanium saw before we left the ship, threw himself towards the creature. When the creature hit your helmet hard, he became angry and began cutting it with the saw. The creature roared and tried to swat him away, but missed. You were not moving and half covered with dirt and sand. The creature must have realized it was outnumbered when I fired at it. It shook the tentacle that was hit and moved away. I put you on the GravBike and got you back to the ship. You have been unconscious for about an hour. You have a slight concussion."
Smithe leaned back and said, "Thank you both. I would have been that monster's dinner if it wasn't for you two. I owe you both, big time."
He took a breath then said, "Ok, time to get us above the clouds."