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“This guy is different. Trust me. If anyone can help, it’s him. The rest is up to you.”
I take out my communicator and stare at the info Dylan just sent me. Dwight C. Josephs. Counselling and therapy. I put the device back in my pocket.
“Thanks. I’ll think it over.”
“You do that. Just don’t take another three fucking years over it.”
“Message received loud and clear.”
“How about another beer?”
Chapter 11
Melinda
I come awake suddenly and sit up, heart palpitating, skin clammy. It takes me a moment to get my bearings in the unfamiliar room. A few deep breaths, and it comes back to me. I’m on the Olar, a Venorian cargo ship that’s transporting us three humans, as well as five Venorians, to our new home on Krovatia.
Regaining my composure, I command, “Athena, lights on.”
Athena is a godsend, doing a million and one things to help me navigate my day-to-day life. When I boarded this ship, it connected to the Venorian data system and started acting as an interface, accepting voice commands in my language and communicating them to the ship’s system. It also contains a brand-new real-time translator for the Venorian, Krovatian and Driskian languages, so that I’ll be able to easily converse with my work counterparts.
Athena logs my data, from the personal, such as the dates of my period and ovulation, to all my work correspondence. It has a library of more books and movies than I will ever have the time to read or watch. It’s my lifeline. I genuinely don’t know what I would do without it. I don’t know whose bright idea it was to call this magnificent piece of technology after an ancient Greek goddess of war—maybe it’s to do with Athena also being a goddess of wisdom.
The lights come on and I blink a few times to adjust. Feeling thirsty, I pad out of bed to the small kitchenette in the corner of my room and pour myself a glass of water. I take in great gulps of the cool, refreshing liquid, letting myself slowly regain my equilibrium. I don’t know what woke me—perhaps a bad dream. I’ve been unsettled ever since boarding the ship. I’m excited of course. Nervous too. And also, just ever so slightly discombobulated. I guess it's understandable. I’m taking a big step into the unknown and though logically I know I will be fine, part of me is terrified.
For the first time in my life, I will be living surrounded by alien species, with only two other humans for company and no immediate way to contact home. We have worked out a protocol with the Venorians whereby we can send communications through them to the planet Ven, from where they will be re-routed and transmitted to Mars and then on to Earth. We estimate the time lag for a message to reach its destination on Earth will be approximately six days and another six to seven days for the response to arrive. I guess that’s not so bad in the grand scheme of things. Still, it’s the most isolated and alone I’ve ever been in my working and personal life.
Returning to bed, I settle under the covers and dim the lights again, but sleep eludes me. I lie there for a while, trying to will myself into a relaxed state, but still can’t find a way back to sleep. At times like these in the past few years, I’ve called Wyatt.Well darn. I can’t do that anymore. Although, I can still record a message to send him.
“Athena, lights on and record video message to Wyatt.”
I sit up in bed and position the communicator screen. “Hi honey,” I say. “I’m sending you this from my room aboard the Olar. It’s my second night on the ship. As you can see, the space is comfortable, and I can barely even feel that I’m travelling at speed in space—the dampeners on these Venorian ships are amazing! Nothing like our own space technology. If you were here, with the portholes covered, I’m sure you wouldn’t even realize you were in space. Anyways, it all feels a little strange, a little unnerving to be here… probably why I’m wide awake when I should be asleep! I’m told we’re about a quarter of the way on our journey, so not long to go until I set foot on an alien planet. Exciting, right? How are things with you? Tell me about your week, your days. I want to hear all about it. I miss you.”
I clear my throat. “I know, I’m going to have to get used to not being able to talk to you. I’m getting there. We should be able to still exchange video messages like this, even if it takes a few weeks to get a response. I hope we can continue to keep in touch. I’d like that. Bye for now honey. I’ll send something again when I get to Krovatia and tell you all about my first impressions. Take care. I love you.”
“Athena, end message.”
I get back under the covers and instruct Athena to dim the lights again. This time, after a little effort, I manage to fall into a fitful sleep.
???
My first glimpse of Krovatia is disappointing. On arrival into Krovatian airspace, we were intercepted by their security forces who boarded the Olar and checked our belongings, before taking us on board their shuttles to the land surface. The journey to the surface was a little bumpy as we broke through the atmosphere. When finally we came to a stop, I looked out through the porthole to see… nothing but a vast expanse of rocky desert.Is this it?
The Krovatian officers on board the ship, all dressed in combat gear—no loin cloth in sight—are polite but distant, giving us clipped instructions but not engaging in any conversation with us. All I know, is that we are being taken to a holding center where we will be scanned and processed. Now, as we come to a standstill, the officers open a hatch on the right-hand side of the shuttle and beckon us forward. We follow them, stepping out into the hot, barren landscape.What now?
They start walking towards a rocky outcropping a few yards in the distance. Unsure, I cast a glance towards my fellow humans and our Venorian colleagues. Troy shrugs his shoulders, looking as puzzled as me. Pravol, seeing the exchange, speaks softly, “I believe there is an underground space they are taking us to, but I do not sense any malicious intent. They simply want to ensure we pose no risk to them before allowing us into their midst. Let us follow.”
We set to walking behind the officers. I was already aware that Krovatians have humanoid features and a light gray skin tone, but in our short video conversations with their leaders, I had not noticed the tail. Each of the five Krovatians escorting us has a long appendage peeking out from their uniform and swinging from side to side as they walk. I examine the female Krovatian before me curiously. Her tail—a slightly darker shade of gray than her face—bends flexibly forming a lasso shape before straightening again to simply hang down her body. I noticed her doing this earlier, when we were on the ship. Could this be a tell-tale sign of what is going on in her mind? Maybe when she feels nervous or excited, her tail flexes. That could be interesting. I make a mental note to log this idea in my next transcript.
By now, we have reached the outcropping of rocks and I see that Pravol is right. One of the Krovatian officers presses a button on his communicator and a door embedded within the rocks slides open. He motions us in, and we enter an enclosed rectangular space. My heartbeat picks up, but I’m determined to stay calm. Once we are all inside, the door shuts behind us and we start moving, a quick whooshing descent into the unknown. A few seconds later, we come to a stop with a light bump and the door opens to reveal a large open space before us with Krovatian officers busily working away at their consoles. Some of them look up and cast us curious glances before returning to their work.
Our escorts guide us forward down a long corridor until we reach a large metal door which opens again at the touch of a button on the lead officer’s communicator. The room we walk into is on the small side, with no furniture except for some thick mats on the floor and a few cushions. There is a faint but pleasant aroma of some kind of incense, which stems from a small burner positioned in the middle of the room.
“Please, take off your shoes,” the officer says, “and sit yourselves down on the mat. Sicortar shall be with you shortly. As he is the highest priest of our world, you must show him the utmost respect. Do not address him as he performs the holy ceremony. Just remain sitting until he is done.”
He turns to address the Venorians. “Sicortar will be using boral crystals to scan you during the ceremony. I understand you have an antidote for its effects. Have you taken a dose?”
Hontar answers on their behalf. “Yes, we all took the precaution of taking a dose as soon as we reached your airspace. It will last for a full rotation.”
