“Can you call it something else other than ‘our friend’?” asked Real.
“What, then?” Jupe snapped.
“Bug!” yelled Real.
“Gooey Bug,” Morgan corrected.
“We’ll call him Friendly Bug, if that will help,” said Jupe. “But what does it matter what we call him? The fact is, he wants to help us. And we also know that since this is Ancia, nothing we knew about Ancia was true. Was ever true.”
“Johnny Beggs knew,” said Real, standing up but still shaking.
“You’re probably right,” said Jupe. “Other people too. The Wilsons, certainly. Perhaps all of UDE. All except the paying travellers on the Burning Star.”
“Beggs had us come here on purpose?” asked Morgan.
“What, he had Jupe on the ship to fly us here from T Station?” Rolondo asked him. “He knew Jupe would do that? How could he know that?”
“That Baxter Gammond,” said Real, contemplating what he knew about Ancia, “he must be in on it. We all saw Gammond telling us about it. He was on talk-shows, all over the place.”
“TC would never have worked with Gammond,” said Jupe.
“You don’t think they were both in on it?” asked Real. “With Lars Best?”
“The Bests have to be in on it too,” said Rolondo.
“Would that be right, Jupe?” asked Rebbi.
“How should I know?” Jupe shouted at her, getting frustrated with them and the conversation.
The thought that his family were connected with this new version Ancia, was abhorrent to him. And then there were other thoughts, like perhaps TC had been out here before and knew about the aliens, and all his talk about never seeing one was a lie too. Perhaps he did set Jupe up to take the ship. Such thoughts were getting to be too much for him.
“Maybe he’s working for them, maybe not,” he said. “I don’t know, okay? What we have to do is decide what needs to be done. Do we stay and try to help the others? Or do we just get out of this place, and save our own necks?”
“Where can we go?” asked Real. “Can we reach T Station?”
“Bests men will be waiting for us,” said Rolondo.
“There’s Harax Pras,” said Jupe.
“We can reach there?” asked Morgan.
“From here, it’s closer than T Station,” said Jupe.
He didn’t want to think about the problem of the navigation charts and the great unknown, since there was never any traffic between Ancia and Harax Pras. But then, if TC had actually been to Ancia, it may be on the ship’s charts, and he would need to search for it. Maybe he wasn’t being completely suicidal in making such a suggestion. TC could have made the journey many times before, during his days as a test pilot and explorer, but at that moment, Jupe didn’t believe anything he had ever been told about his father.
“You can set up your little Ancian colonies there,” Jupe continued. “It won’t be easy, that’s true, but at least you won’t be bug-food.”
“They’re eating them?” Rebbi asked in a sudden panic. “Are you sure? They’re eating the colonists?”
“I don’t know,” Jupe said with a low voice to try to calm her. “I was just being hypothetical. I just don’t think we should be here any longer. Let’s get out while we have the chance.”
“But what about the colonists?” asked Rolondo. “How many people are there down there?”
“There were too many to count,” said Morgan.
“We have no way of knowing how any could still be alive,” said Real. “They sure didn’t look alive.”
“Didn’t Mr Friendly say there were many more on the main planet?” asked Jupe.
“We have to help them, don’t we?” asked Real. “Don’t we?”
“I’m thinking we should think about warning the others who are yet to come,” said Morgan. “How many more colony flights are there to be? To come to this place? To face those things?”
“Is that a vote for leaving, Morgan?” asked Jupe.
“If those things have people tied up; and put their goo over them,” said Rolondo, “then we’ve got no choice here. We have to help them. Get them out of there, no question. We’ve got to try. What kind of nightmare must they be going through?”
“What are you saying?” Jupe asked him. “You want to get them now? Are you serious?”
“We have to.”
“And then what, bring them back here?”
“And get them out this place. Get them out of that hell they’re in. They’d do it for us, and I’ll fight anyone who says different.”
“Can we do that?” asked Real. “Can we really do it? How much of a risk is it? We don’t know anything about the bugs. Anything at all. Some were so creepy …”
“Tell me how,” said Jupe. “Getting the people out—who may not even be alive—and getting them back to the ship without lifesuits, and without the bugs noticing? You tell me. How many millions of bugs are there, and you want none of them to notice us taking their captive humans? Some of them fly, you know. And they move really fast.”
“We’ve got to try,” said Rolondo. “That’s all. We can’t leave them. Not like this. Not with the chance to help.”
“I agree we should try,” said Morgan. “But if it proves impossible, then we must get ourselves away to safety, and go to Harax Pras. That must be our priority.”
“Right now,” said Real, “Harax Pras sounds like Paradise.”
“But we must try, first,” said Morgan.
“Are you with us, Jupe?” Rolondo asked with a threatening tone.
Jupe eyed him with contempt. “Should I remind you, you weren’t down there. Myself, Morgan and Real have seen what it’s like down there, and trust me, it’s no place you’d ever want to go back to. But you know what? You want to go see who we can grab out of there? You really want to risk facing a similar fate? Then we do it after we know exactly what’s going on. When we know what this place is. When we know who these aliens are. When we know what they want with us.”
“And if we don’t, what then?” asked Real.
“Then we leave,” said Jupe. “With or without survivors, I intend to get us out of here and somewhere we know to be real, and that’s Harax Pras.”
* * * *
The so-called “Friendly Bug” returned to the ship and knocked on the hull with a slow and lumbering rhythm. They watched a monitor as the tall and appalling alien thing deposited a stack of objects near the airlock door. It then walked away a short distance before turning to sit and stare at the ship. Morgan hurried to don his airsuit to go out to meet it, and the others were quite happy for him to volunteer. He made sure to remind them all that he was the pioneer of the First Contact.
“This is to help,” Friendly Bug said to Morgan. “Once discarded from the body, the shells have many uses. Cover your body with one and you will be accepted. In that way you can get past the guards and get to your kind. Do you thank me?”
“We thank you,” Morgan said, and gave a prolonged salute, that he hoped the creature would interpret as a sign of allegiance.
The creature left him and Morgan collected the shells. He found that he could only carry three at a time, and he took them into the ship.
“What was that all about?” Rolondo asked Morgan when he returned inside with the first three.
“It was its custom.”
“You don’t know that. It might have been dangerous, waving your arm out like that.”
“It seemed to be happy with it. I think it was the right thing to do.”
They inspected one of the large black oval objects and saw that it looked like a piece from off the creature’s torso. Jupe kicked it over, reluctant to touch it, and Morgan urged him to treat it with care, saying it will one day be very valuable, and in a museum.
“So, they’re shells?” asked Real. “Is that what he said?”
“Looks like it,” said Jupe.
“What are we supposed to do with them?” asked Rebbi, intrigued, but not wanting to
touch them. She did not know why, but seeing the alien object, without the alien creature there, made her feel calmer.
“I think it is quite obvious,” said Morgan. “We are to wear them, and by them gain access.”
“Do what?” asked Rolondo.
“Friendly wants us to use them as disguise,” said Morgan.
“We don’t know that,” said Jupe.
“Did he say that to you, Morgan?” asked Real.
“I got the impression he did,” said Morgan. “They are big enough to cover us. I think it could work.”
“Do you think they’re safe?” asked Rebbi. “They could have some sort of …”
“Disease?” Rolondo finished. “Yeah, they probably do. But if we’re going to go help those people, it’s something we’ll have to live with.”
“The suits will protect us, right?” asked Real.
“I’m sure they will,” said Morgan. “Let me get the other shells inside. He brought enough for all of us.”
“How do we know this isn’t a trap?” asked Rebbi.
“It could be,” said Jupe. “I can take us back to the safety of Harax Pras, and we can wonder about that question for the rest of our lives. Or we can go and get some of our people out of there.”
“Thanks, Jupe,” Rolondo said, putting on his suit and going out to get the other shells.
Jupe watched them go and the thought struck him that they were still looking at him like he was their leader. “Let’s be clear,” he told Real and Rebbi, “if there’s any trouble, or anything that’s not right, we’re getting out of here. If this is a trap, I’m not hesitating in getting the ship off this coldrock any way I can.”
“You keep saying that,” said Rebbi.
“Because it’s true,” he said.
Rebbi was concerned that Jupe was suggesting that he would leave Rolondo out there, but her husband returned before she said anything, and he was excited by what he found.
“There was a large one there,” he said, all trace of his fear gone. “It’s for me.”
“One for you?” Rebbi asked, confused.
“I’m the biggest here,” Rolondo said as he showed them the shell, “so this must be mine.”
“You think he brought a large one so it would fit you?” asked Jupe. “Is that what you’re telling us? You think he selected one just for you?”
“Are you doubting its intelligence?” asked Morgan. “The very fact it can communicate with us, that tells us of its intelligence. No, I think we can assume these creatures are aware of a thing or two, such as Rolondo is a little taller and broader than everyone else.”
“Some sort of telepathy, right?” Rolondo asked Morgan. “That was how they were talking?”
“Can we just get about the rescue?” Jupe asked, trying to get them to focus. “We can wonder about all such fascinating details when we’re safely en-route to HP.”
* * * *
No one wanted to say the obvious, that they did not know what kind of fate they were walking into. Rolondo told Rebbi not to go with them. Her initial reaction was to tell him that she wasn’t scared, but she knew that she was, and she could not hide that from anyone. She just wanted to help. The others agreed that she should stay behind, so she was out-voted. As they covered their lifesuits with the alien shells, she tried to give them moral support, but she was not convincing. For her, the wait alone would be worse, knowing that she might not see them again, while trying not to think of being alone on the ship while waiting for the aliens to get inside. She thought about waiting until they left, and then following along behind, but then she saw Rolondo’s eyes, looking at her like he knew what she was planning, and he wanted her to stay where it was safe.
They fixed the shells to their sides by tying them down with some of the ship’s ample repair tape. In the end, they knew that they looked ridiculous, but they also knew that they had no other choice. The shells forced them to walk in a waddle, and they could barely turn their heads from side to side. But they persisted, and stepped outside the airlock and back out onto the alien surface.
When they left, Rebbi found herself looking at the last remaining shell, the one meant for her. Chosen for her by a mysterious alien creature. She no longer saw it as scary and repulsive. She picked it up and studied it. It was not long until she tried it on, and she was amazed at how comfortable it felt. It was like she was in a peaceful place, a safe place; alien and yet reminiscent of home.
She carefully sat down on the floor with the shell, and became so relaxed that she fell asleep. Not once did she check the lifesuit readouts of the four who were outside on the hostile moon, as she had promised she would. She didn’t care, having found for herself a way to block her mind of all the problems of the moon, the flight, and even of her life.
By contrast, the four walked with growing terror. They were all thinking the same, that this was just some trap and they were all fools for believing the apparently friendly alien. No one wanted to be the first to show weakness, and question what they were doing. What there was of conversation, was jokes mixed with bravado, and none of it sounded convincing.
Jupe almost made a comment about his desire to be surfing instead of this, but he knew that his joke had well and truly grown old. Anything would be good to say, to give them some distraction, but he could not think of anything else. With effort, he looked at the others and saw the same vacant expressions, as they tried to focus on what they needed to do, while trying not to think about it too much.
A large alien then appeared in front of them, and by its actions they assumed it was Mr Friendly Bug. The creature turned and led them down a steeply sloped cave, at first walking too fast for them to keep up, but then slowed its pace.
They came to the opening of a giant subterranean cave. There was no sign of life, either human or alien, and the atmosphere felt dark. With the aid of infrared inside their suit visors, they could see human-like mounds embedded in the walls. They were rows and rows high, and continuing deeper into the cave where they couldn’t see. With as much courage as he could muster, Rolondo strode to the nearest mound with all purpose. He scraped and kicked at the outer layer that surrounded what was a human body.
Their suits registered no detectable life signs, and Morgan was about to tell Rolondo to stop. But then Jupe went and took a closer look at the mound and found that he could see a person’s face, that of a young woman, perhaps only a teenager. He then joined with Rolondo in trying to get her out.
Real joined them and tried to break through the outer layer with a long-handled tool he had taken with him from the ship. Designed for welding, it sent out a shower of sparks, so they could not see what damage he was doing. The others told him to stop, knowing that it was sure to attract the aliens. Real turned it off and looked around fearfully, as if they were already descending on him. Morgan inspected what Real had tried to burn, and found just the smallest of scratches.
“Try it at full power,” Morgan told Real.
“That was full power,” he said.
Jupe looked back at their alien friend, who was just standing near and doing nothing. “What do you suggest?” he asked it, but no answer came.
“Are they all like this one?” Morgan asked about the mounds.
Rolondo took a careful look at some of the others and nodded.
“This is not going to work,” Jupe said as he walked toward the alien like he was expecting it to offer advice. “We don’t know what we’re doing here. Standing around like this isn’t helping. We could end up like them if we’re caught.”
“What else do we have on the ship?” asked Real.
“Rivet guns, wielders, that’s it,” said Jupe.
“What about our enviromakers?” asked Real.
“What good will they do?” asked Morgan.
“We have to do something,” said Real.
“Can we discuss it at the ship?” pleaded Jupe.
“You saw them, Morgan,” Rolondo said as they made their way back. “You should ha
ve told us we’d need to bring can-openers or something. You should have known it’d take more than a welder to get them out.”
Their walk back was worse than the walk there. In going there all they had was fear of the unknown, but on their return they were burdened with the feeling of failure. Their alien friend did not go with them, and instead just stood without moving, like it was profoundly disappointed with them. One by one, they discarded their shells.
Once inside the ship, they couldn’t find Rebbi. Rolondo started to panic that something had happened to her, and he sent the others through the ship to look for her. Then he realised that she was curled up inside the lone alien shell near the airlock, still sleeping. When he reached in and touched her, she woke up angry. When he told her to take it off, she refused and became hostile. Rolondo knew that she was being irrational and he busted the shell with his bare hands, and forced her out. When she was free, she began to cry. She shook her head when he asked what was going on, unable to give an answer.
The others were worried about her, blaming themselves for leaving her, and thinking that an alien had come inside the ship and done something to her. An emotional Rolondo tried to explain about the shell, but he made little sense.
“That’s it, we’ve got to get out of here, right now,” Jupe said quickly, unhappy with the situation. He instinctively knew that they were losing control of what was happening. They still knew nothing about the world they were on, and they didn’t know anything about their so-called friend. And now Rebbi had been affected by one of the alien shells. Any feeling of control he thought he might have had, was gone.
“We’re rescuing those people first,” Rolondo insisted, still holding Rebbi close to his chest.
“I think we should make another attempt, at least,” agreed Morgan.
“And I don’t,” Jupe said sternly, his voice raised and with too much emotion. “Listen, what they need is an army, not a group of idiots like us. They need to be blasted out of there with actual high-tech weapons, and all those bugs blasted at the same time. I can’t see anyone here who can do that. And those shells, we don’t know anything about them, and yet we went out there wearing them? And even if we could get them free from those cocoons, how many can we carry anyway? There’s too many of them to get aboard. How many colony ships have there been? That’s thousands of people. This is just not going to work!”