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(Read the following to players)
(A) "My dearest Sarah; you may or may not approve of what I'm about to write to you but we made a point not to withhold secrets from one another, so here it is. I am having random thoughts about a certain other girl...actually she's not really a girl, of course a woman, but I guess she is extremely young...don't get me wrong, I still think about you everyday, but I'll be honest with you...those thoughts are not as numerous as they once were... and of course, I still love you, but I thought true love was forever...why can't those feelings I had when I was still with you.... why can't they be as strong a hundred years later? "
Whoop. Whoop. "Stass. Can you come up to the bridge? There is definitely something you should see." came a familiar voice over the vidcon.
"Be up in a moment, Ran." He turned off the screen and after shoving the journal under his pillow he strolled over to the desk chair where his uniform was draped over the back and put it on. He took his time because he knew from the sound of her voice that is was not an emergency, but neither was it something that could wait long. There was also excitement in her voice, which always puzzled him. In fact, emotion at all in her amazed him and he was very thankful for it. Fully dressed he made a quick glance out the window and noticed they were in shallow orbit around Loksii, the main moon of Wirque. He made it a point to say something positive to Nargal for getting them here so quickly even if knew Nargal wouldn't accept it.
As he walked down the familiar corridor to the bridge Gravtube he acknowledged every "Captain" or "Sir" from each crewmember. He was definitely pleased at how fast the ship's crew had grown the past year; a necessity to take care of the needs of all the Tellumi being transported home almost regularly now. He did not think he needed to add any staff, though...not yet.
"Bridge". The Gravtube began its short downward journey at his command. He felt nothing as it came to a stop and the doors opened revealing the true "engine" of the RandymHeart. Various sized screens filled the room at different heights illuminating the dimly lit room. From here Stassen and his crew could monitor every aspect of operation inside and outside RandymHeart. He felt most comfortable here simply because he spent the most time here. Here he also felt closer to Randym. Only Randym and Gillandi noticed he had arrived on the bridge. The others were staring at the largest viewscreen that extended the length of 3 walls. It was the planet Wirque and directly in the center was a colored icon that had been superimposed to indicate something.
"Dahnga, what is that on the surface?" He asked.
"Captain." Domine said loud enough for all on the bridge to hear. Everyone came to attention except Nargal who continued to observe the object through powerful sensors.
"You may not believe this sir, but our low frequency scans indicate we've located a small concentration of Methon in one of the mines." She exclaimed.
"If I can't believe my second in command who can I?" mused Stassen. "I always wondered if the Mahoo universe was the only place it could be found. Are you sure it's Methon?"
"Nargal is checking through our high frequency scanners now." Said Domine.
"Gillandi?" asked the captain.
"Searching for Isotope Degradation..ah, there it is. This is without question Methon." Declared Gillandi.
"Sir, although it's a small amount there should be enough for 5 or 6 Tears to the Tellum system," added Dhanga.
"Enough to bring nearly 50,000 Tellumi back home." Stassen muttered to himself. Turning to a slender figure seeming to hide behind the others he asked, "What do conditions on the surface look like Avinceta?"
"Uh, yes sir, it looks like conditions are normal on the surface. Winds are pretty calm for Wirque during the dry season."
Stassen posed another question, "What do we know of the Settlement?"
It was Joran's turn to provide the answer, "Its name is Thimium XI. I count 337 Tellumi above ground and 729 below. Also 3 alien life forms. Must've been smuggled onto the planet." Joran had a satisfied smile on his face.
"Friends of yours Joran?" asked Stassen sarcastically.
"Probably" he answered. "Only a couple solar fleet are assigned to the Settlement. Nearest outpost is about 20 Lanpars from there. There's not much in the records regarding this area. The mine itself is only an average producer of various ore. Of course, its main deposit is Thimium."
"Doesn't sound like we would attract much attention down there. Let's set the Heart down on the Loksii moon and prepare a TransShip to take us to the planet's surface." Stassen began to walk toward the Gravtube when Randym interrupted, "A Urillian Gradient Fleetship has just appeared on long range burst scans. It will be about15 minutes before we appear on their scanners."
"Captain, our hull is indistinguishable to most ships but not to a Gradient class ship. They will have record of the RandymHeart." Added Gillandi.
There were times in encounters like this that Stassen wished he could just stand and fight. The Urillian Gradient would be no match for him, but it would have an escort of at least 3 Roland Prowess Fleetships because of the recent increase in pirate attacks, which he secretly supported. Even then he would like his odds, but in the long run it would hurt.no, extinguish all hopes of the dream he and his crew believed strongly in. He had been given an extremely valuable gift, but it wasn't for him but for all Tellumi. He wouldn't jeopardize that. Most of his crew would understand his next decision but, not all of them.
"Randym, take us out of the system into deep space," he sighed. "The usual return. We don't want them to track us."
"Engines already engaged. We'll be at Fortress Autonomy in about 10 hours." Came a voice from everywhere.
"Are you going to keep your promise this time, Captain?" Reminded Dahnga.
"When we arrive at the Fortress, everyone gets 3 days of R&R with minimum rotating watches. Well deserved. Joran, contact one of our Colonies to follow-up with Settlement Thimium XI."
About the Author
jason is owner and president of RandymGames based in San Diego CA. He is married with a wonderful daughter.