The Hidden Treasure of Darfor

Sometime later, Patrick woke to the sounds of the hover-taxi politely but repeatedly insisting that he get out.

  ‘You have reached your destination. Please exit the vehicle. Please exit the vehicle,’ chimed the computerised voice from the hidden speakers on the taxi’s front control panel.

  This was repeated again and again with virtually no pause, and started to give Patrick a splitting headache within about five seconds of being conscious again. Groggily, the human turned his head to the left and then to the right, taking in his surroundings with tired eyes. The hover-taxi (with he and Saleek in it) was parked on the tarmac of what seemed to be a spacious spaceport. There were large expanses of charcoal-coloured tarmac stretching off into the distance and these were punctuated with small patches of grass for no apparent reason. Hastily drawn lines on the ground that were probably there to indicate parking bays, walkways and runways could be seen but they were fading as the paint had begun to peel away in great pieces, perhaps due to neglect. It seemed to be approaching dawn – the dark sky was becoming lighter by the second as rays of sunshine crept over the horizon, casting long, thin shadows on the ground as they struck various objects.

  Patrick, somewhat on autopilot, muttered, ‘All right, all right. I’m up. We’re going,’ in an attempt to quieten the relentless pestering of the hover-taxi.

  He nudged Saleek awake and they both slowly climbed out of the taxi. As soon as they were both out, the hover-taxi wasted no time at all in shutting the door and starting its engine. Within seconds, the whine of the vehicle’s engine had reached a crescendo and it took off, darting away at lightning speed. A few moments later it was no more than a speck of black on the horizon, moving quickly to its next destination, wherever that was. Saleek half-stumbled as he tried to walk but Patrick caught him before he hit the ground.

  ‘Thanks, man,’ mumbled Saleek, looking drained of energy. ‘Hey, are we back at the spaceport?’

  Patrick looked around.

  ‘Looks like it.’

  ‘How did we get here?’

  ‘You know, I’m not really sure. This taxi thing appeared from out of nowhere and said it was for us. We got in and the next thing I know is we’re here.’

  The human looked around some more and laid eyes on a bright ball of energy about five hundred metres away. Upon further inspection it seemed as if there was a craft of some sort inside the shimmering bubble of light.

  ‘Hey, Saleek?’

  ‘Yeah?’

  ‘Is...is that your ship over there?’

  The spiky alien squinted and leaned forwards to try and get a better look at whatever Patrick was pointing at. Suddenly he let out a surprised gasp and his jaw dropped open.

  ‘Whoa! It is. Wait, why is the energy shield up? What’s going on?’

  ‘Can we ask Zeeree?’ suggested Patrick.

  ‘Good idea! Help me walk,’ agreed Saleek as Patrick duly obliged.

  Together the duo walked over to the ball of energy. As they got closer, they could see the lines and shapes that comprised Saleek’s ship more clearly, although they were still somewhat distorted and fuzzy when viewed from outside the shield looking in. Just as they got within touching distance of the energy shield, it disappeared with a peculiar popping sound. Patrick felt the air crackle quietly with static electricity, which also made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. Tingling slightly, he helped Saleek to walk onwards. Suddenly, a ramp began extending from a concealed compartment on the hull and once it had fully lowered, the main hatch opened with a hiss. Patrick’s mouth hung open in disbelief, while Saleek managed a tired smile.

  ‘Looks like she’s rolled out the welcome mat for us. We’d better get inside. Come on,’ said the spiky lyan.

  Together the pair walked up the ramp and into the ship. Once safely inside, the ramp started to retract and the hatch shut automatically.

  ‘Saleek, Patrick. Are you two OK?’ came a digitised voice which floated down from the ceiling.

  It sounded full of genuine concern.

  ‘You’ve no idea how good it is to hear your voice again, Zeeree,’ said Saleek with a broad grin.

  ‘I think we’ll be okay,’ said Patrick as he helped Saleek to walk through the metal corridors of the ship, their footsteps faintly echoing off the walls as they walked.

  ‘Patrick...’ mumbled Saleek weakly as the two of them continued through the ship.

  ‘What is it?’ asked the tired human.

  ‘Take me...to the...mess chamber,’ requested the spiky alien who was clearly in need of medical attention thanks to the beatings he had received from the oomlocks.

  ‘The mess chamber? Why?’

  ‘Just...please...’ murmured Saleek, his legs beginning to turn to jelly.

  He stopped for a moment and rested his hand on the nearest wall while he took a few deep breaths. It suddenly occurred to Patrick that if anything happened to Saleek, he had no idea how to operate the ship in the slightest. He silently prayed that it wouldn’t come to that, and if it did, that Zeeree was capable of running the ship by herself.

  ‘Saleek, even I can see that you are in no shape to be doing anything other than resting right now,’ commented Zeeree.

  Even though there were no monitors in the corridor to display her expression, it was pretty clear what she was thinking.

  ‘You should go to your quarters right now and lie down,’ she added gently, with the hint of an order in her voice.

  ‘I don’t need to be told what to do, mother,’ said Saleek sarcastically as he addressed Zeeree’s comments.

  A faint digitised sigh could be heard in the otherwise silent corridor.

  ‘I know what I’m doin’,’ insisted Saleek. ‘Trust me, we ain’t out of the woods yet. I need to be ready.’

  ‘Ready for what, exactly?’ asked Patrick, suddenly feeling worried what the answer might be.

  ‘For someone else to come after us. Or, more specifically, for the artefact that’s onboard the ship,’ explained Saleek. ‘First it was the oomlocks. Next it could be some trantiks. Or worse.’

  Patrick gulped and felt a shiver run down the back of his spine which made every single muscle in his body tense up. He cast his mind back to his first encounter with Saleek at the spaceport on Nexus One and recalled the rather massive and aggressive trantik who had picked a fight with him. Thinking about anything that could be considered worse than a trantik made the human’s stomach tie itself in knots and attempt to do back-flips all at the same time.

  ‘You really think someone else will come after us?’ asked Patrick, his voice wobbling around the edges as he failed to hide his nervousness at the prospect of more trouble heading their way.

  ‘It’s possible. I was countin’ on giving the artefact to the semloids and bein’ done with the whole thing real quick once we landed. Now we’ve been here too long and that thing gives off a signal which can be tracked across star systems if you know what to look for. We can’t stay here much longer, we’ve gotta get back into space. If anyone catches up with us here on the ground, we’re screwed. Lemme go.’

  The spiky alien gently pushed Patrick’s supporting arm away and started to walk in the direction of the mess chamber. He made it about three metres before his legs surrendered to gravity and his knees buckled, sending him to the floor in an ungainly fashion.

  ‘Saleek!’

  Patrick was by the lyan’s side in an instant and helped him get back up to his feet as it became clear that Saleek could not continue. The lyan took a deep breath and let out a loud sigh in frustration.

  ‘Fine, you two win,’ he admitted reluctantly. ‘I’ll go to my quarters and recover. I’ll leave the rest up to you.’

  Patrick’s eyes widened.

  ‘Um, Saleek?’

  ‘Yeah?’

  ‘I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I don’t have a clue how to operate a ship like this. I’m fine with standard computers and basic tech but I don’t know the first thing about using interactive holographic displays or flyin
g craft through space!’ The human looked slightly panicked as he spoke. ‘How am I going to take care of things?’

  Saleek looked straight into Patrick’s eyes and said, ‘Remember what I said when we first escaped from Mr Vallan and left Nexus One?’

  Patrick’s brow furrowed as he remembered.

  ‘You mean all that stuff about me being able to handle myself in the core systems, or anywhere else for that matter?’

  ‘Yeah. I meant it, I wasn’t messin’ with you or anything. I’ve seen some of the skills you got firsthand. You ain’t got to do anything fancy, just take off from this spaceport and get the ship into space. We can work out the rest later.’

  Patrick looked sceptical as he replied, ‘You make it sound so simple. I already told you, I don’t know the-’

  ‘And I already told you,’ interrupted Saleek. ‘I wasn’t lyin’ when I said those things. You said you can use simple computers, right? Operating this ship is the same principle as using ‘em, just with more buttons to press. Damn, dude, when are you gonna believe in yourself and show me some of that fighting spirit you humans claim to have? I need your help right now, so just do it.’

  Patrick wasn’t certain exactly what it was that made him change his mind at that point. Maybe it was Saleek’s reassurance that he could do it, that he did have the necessary skills. Or perhaps it was the mention of his species’ great talent for learning and exploring that inspired him to take action. Or maybe it was neither of those and Patrick simply needed to be told to “just do it”. In any case, Patrick nodded determinedly and suddenly felt like he had a bit more confidence.

  ‘Zeeree?’ he said aloud.

  ‘Yes, Patrick?’

  ‘Tell me how to get to Saleek’s quarters from here. I’ll help him get there and make sure he’s okay.’

  ‘Understood. But what are we going to do about any further attacks against us?’

  ‘Then I’ll need you to tell me how to get to the cockpit,’ said Patrick decisively, an idea forming in his head. ‘I assume this ship has an autopilot feature, correct? I’ve heard Saleek use that term in the cockpit before.’

  ‘Essentially, yes. I am the autopilot,’ explained Zeeree. ‘But there is more to it than that. The ship has been shut down and placed in standby mode. In order for me to access navigation and propulsion systems the ship must be manually started and I am unable to do that.’

  ‘Okay,’ replied Patrick. ‘Then you’ll just have to walk me through how to perform the manual start procedure once I’m in the cockpit. Let’s go!’