Boucher's World: Encounters

By P.B. Cannon

The Humans and Elvwists of Boucher’s World have undergone a major transformation that has changed them into... something else. They’ve been out of contact with their home-worlds for two thousand years but recently they’ve learned that an expedition will soon be arriving from Earth.
The captain of the lead ship, Timothy Moore, and his crew are not aware that there’s a high-tech society or anyone other than Humans on Boucher’s World. They also don’t believe in psychic abilities.
What will happen when they confront a situation for which they don’t even come close to being prepared? What happens when a ship arrives from the Elvwists homeworld?
The outcomes of these crucial encounters will shape and change the future of all humans, and all Elvwists.

• Language: English
• Publisher: P.B. Cannon
• Release date: Mar 30, 2014
• ISBN: 9781311468826

P.B. Cannon

P.B. Cannon was born and raised in Charlotte, NC, and though she has visited other cities and states, she has a preference for Charlotte and expects to live there for the rest of her life.She is a teller of tales who enjoys concocting yarns of science fiction, fantasy, paranormal, and other stuff. She relishes reading, drawing and painting, walking, working crossword puzzles, and she likes to dance.She is a retired electronics technician and admits to having worked at a variety of other jobs during her life, including being a dishwasher, a busgirl, a housemaid, a motel/hotel maid, working in a fast-food joint, a telephone operator, and a store clerk. There have been other, even-less-glamorous jobs.She also daydreams a lot.

Book preview

The Advent II

Timothy Moore, captain of the shepherd ship, Advent II, disliked hiber-sleep. He usually opted not to use it if the journey was only going to take a few weeks, as most did, but with a trip of this length, it was a must.

His head felt like cotton-stuffed crap, which was the way it always felt coming out of hiber-sleep. He sat up slowly and rested on his elbows, then raised his knees and leaned his head forward. If he could get some coffee into his system, the headache and grogginess would soon dissipate.

He gradually became aware that someone was standing nearby and carefully turned his head to his left. His eyes were still blurry, but he could make out the young ensign, Justin Sigmund, standing there already dressed in his black uniform, and, thank God, he had a large mug of coffee in his hand holding it out to him.

Careful, Captain, it’s hot, warned Justin keeping his voice low.

Timothy appreciated him speaking quietly. The ears were sensitive for a few minutes after coming out of hiber-sleep, and this one had been the longest they’d ever endured - two years.

Timothy disconnected himself and slowly swung his legs over the side of the sleep case, reaching for the cup. He took a small sip, grunting with pleasure as the hot liquid washed over his lips and down his throat.

The caffeine immediately began its job of stimulating his befogged brain. It was black, bitter, strong, and hot, the way he liked it. He blew on it and took another, bigger sip. His head started to clear. As he nodded his thanks to the ensign, he noticed the young man appeared to be somewhat unsettled. He raised a questioning eyebrow.

There could be a problem, Captain, Justin said uneasily.

He smiled at the ensign, shaking his head - carefully. Preparing to reassure him, he cleared his throat, but his voice still came out raspy from non-use.

I know this is the farthest our ships have ever been, Justin, and this is only your third trip, but there’s nothing to be nervous about. I’ll choose our landing area, send the coordinates to all the ships, and they’ll awaken the pilots to begin the landing process. I’ve done this many times before, and this crew has been the most successful in the contingent at this. By now, it’s routine. The only difference this time is the distance. We’ll be planet-side before you know it. We’ll either placate or subdue whatever low-techs that may be there, wake the colonists, get them settled in, and we’re done until our next assignment.

He took another sip of his coffee. We’ll be fine.

Of course, they had to remain on the planet until they got their orders from Headquarters. The length of their stay would depend on whether they had to police the place until troops could arrive in two years - not including the time it would take for Headquarters to get the expedition together - but he wasn’t anticipating that kind of trouble. He had no doubts the colonists would be able to handle any issues that might arise. He and his crew wouldn’t be there long, six months at the most.

Ah, Captain, I’m sorry to have disturbed you, but there’s a matter that needs your immediate attention, sir, said Justin. There was an anxious note to his voice.

Timothy eyed him, suddenly noticing how quiet it was. He glanced around the hiber-sleep chamber and saw that none of the other crew members had been awakened yet. They were all still lying in their sleep cases, peacefully dreaming. The only other empty cases were Justin’s and the ones that would be used by the pilots of the colony ships for the return trip to Sol’s system.

He frowned. Since they were in orbit around the planet, everyone should be stirring by now. Why weren’t they? He turned back to Justin.

Well, what’s the problem, Ensign? Why hasn’t the crew been awakened?

We’re not in orbit yet, Captain. We’re still three weeks out. The ship woke me up because, he swallowed, because it received an incoming message but couldn’t answer because its program had malfunctioned. It needed me to fix it, sir.

Timothy sipped his coffee, trying not to get annoyed.

Well, fix it then. You didn’t need to wake me up for that.

It had to be an inquiry from Headquarters. They were likely asking the ship to verify their safe arrival in the Epsilon Eridani system. The query was a little ahead of schedule; it shouldn’t have come until they were in orbit, but all the ensign had to do was reply to them and then reprogram the computer so the ship could answer the next time. He needn’t have disturbed him.

Of course, now that he was awake, there wasn’t much point in going back under for three weeks…

Justin swallowed again. I did, Captain, but that’s not the issue. The message is not coming from Headquarters. It’s coming from, ah, Boucher’s World, sir.

He stared at Justin blankly. What? What do you mean it’s coming from Boucher’s World? If anybody’s there, they wouldn’t be high-tech enough to communicate with us. They wouldn’t even know we’re coming.

"Sir, I know the assumption was that if anyone was still on the planet, they would be at least semi-primitives, the same as the other re-founds, but I’ve spoken with them, and they’ve been trying to raise us for several days - or weeks, I’m not sure which. I spoke to a man named Morgan Sams. He has an odd accent, but he speaks Common almost perfectly. He said something about their ancestors being trapped in some way and unable to communicate with Earth, and they’ve only recently been able to try and re-establish contact. As for what they’re transmitting with, well, I don’t know how any of those things would’ve lasted this long, but they’re using an old model of the USCOMS."

The acronym stood for Universe Spanning Communications System, a technology developed centuries ago that allowed instantaneous communication to anywhere in the universe. It was a technology that had survived the breakdown of the old regimes and the ensuing thousand years of chaotic existence for Earth’s inhabitants.

They know we’re coming, Justin went on, "or at least they know this ship is. I don’t know if they’re aware of the colony ships. They started asking questions, so I told them they would have to talk to you, sir."

The captain regarded him silently for a moment. You didn’t tell them anything, did you?

Justin shook his head firmly. No, sir. Nothing. His dark brown eyes were uneasy.

The captain nodded. Good man. Okay. Tell them I’m on my way.

The ensign saluted and left for the control room.

Timothy stood his six-foot-five-inch, lanky frame up gingerly, running his hand through his tousled blond hair. He knew better than to move too fast at first, so he stood there for a few seconds, making sure his head was reasonably clear before taking a step. He gulped down the rest of his coffee and set the mug on the little stand beside his hiber-sleep case. He shucked his sleep suit, throwing it into the stericleanser, and climbed into the tiny sleep-chamber shower.

The suits always left a residue that everyone was eager to wash off upon awakening, even if it was just ship water, as they called the chemicals used in their initial shower. Later showers would consist of actual water, but that first one always employed the sterilizing medium to ensure the destruction of any bacteria that might have gotten in and built up over the length of the trip.

He finished quickly, pulled on his formal uniform, and headed for the control room.

As he walked in, Justin nodded at him and opened up the communicator. Morgan Sams, are you there? Over.

The answer was immediate. Yes, Justin. I’m here. There was a slight hesitation, then he added, Er, over.

Justin said, My captain is here, now. He is still a bit groggy, but he wants to speak with you. Over.

Timothy sat down in front of the device, and after speaking to the native, learned to his irritation that the man was a farmer. There was no way he could bargain with a farmer. The man said the colony had some sort of government, so he told him, "I need to speak to one of your rulers. I can’t negotiate with a… farmer! Contact us again when your ruler arrives! Out." He leaned back and looked up to see Justin looking at him rather reproachfully.

"What? I’m supposed to work out a deal with the leading farmer and…what else did he say? Camp coordinator? What the hell does a camp coordinator do anyway? No, I need someone with authority." He knew he sounded peevish, but damn, his head had gone back to hurting. He needed more coffee.

Quit staring and go get me some coffee! he growled.

As he watched the silent ensign hurry out, he felt a tinge of guilt. Poor Justin had done nothing to warrant being spoken to like that. It was just the shock of being awakened and finding out that not only were people on the planet, they knew his ship was coming and knew how to contact it, too.

He was also exasperated that Headquarters had been in such a hurry that a reconnaissance team with troops hadn’t been sent first. Yes, that would have delayed the expedition, but the whole issue would have been resolved by the time they arrived.

These people didn’t appear to be quite as low-tech as supposed. He was going to have to step carefully, try to work out a non-violent solution that would be to his, and the Republic of Earth’s, advantage.

It wasn’t as if they weren’t going to land. They had no choice. The fifteen colony ships were, as usual, one-way only. Each carried two thousand souls, and there was nowhere else for them to go. The Advent II would be making the return trip, but he had two essential responsibilities, two things he had to ensure before he and his crew could leave. First, he had to secure the welfare of the colonists, and second, he had to make sure of the acquisition of Boucher’s World for the Republic.

Hoping it wouldn’t take long for the farmer to get someone in authority, he settled in to wait for Justin to come back with his coffee.

He thought about the re-found program, which was how he had arrived at this particular point in his career.

******

In the twenty-fourth century, Earth began sending out colonists to planets in other star systems to alleviate overpopulation pressures, both on its world and within the habitats that had been constructed in L5 orbits to relieve previous strain from rampant proliferation. The colonization program was a success even though contact was lost with the first extra-solar colony that went out to a world in the Epsilon Eridani system.

Not long after the sendoff of that expedition, scientists had invented a workable method of terraforming. It allowed the use of planets and, in some cases, moons discovered much closer to home in the Alpha Centauri system. Earth colonized these worlds before the colonists ever reached the Epsilon Eridani system.

The Alpha Centauri worlds had required extensive terraforming, and conditions were harsh for a time, but being closer and therefore quicker to reach was greatly in their favor.

Earth enjoyed a remarkable span of seven hundred years of expansion and relative peace before the eventual collapse of its society. Though - surprisingly - it managed to avoid totally destroying itself, a long period of internecine war and a worldwide, virtual dark age followed, during which all extraterrestrial and extra-solar system colonies were left on their own. Some survived, some did not; all lost touch with Earth.

After a thousand years and numerous bloody battles, one forceful family ended the fighting, and the planet succeeded in unifying itself under one worldwide government. This family became the hereditary rulers, and Earth began to rebuild.

Three hundred years later, the population of the mother world exploded again. Room and resources were once again in short supply. Though a lot was lost during the long centuries of strife, the preservation of some critical technologies by diligent scientists proved to be an action that allowed later experts to find and put them to use for the new Republic. The starship drive was one of the first devices they worked on, improving it, and making it faster.

Once the old records of the lost colonies began being found, the rulers of the Republic pressed the scientists to work on the one necessary item that had been lost - hiber-sleep. They were unable to recreate the previous method but managed to invent a new one, which worked reasonably well. After this, a program of re-location and repopulation of all the old off-world settlements was initiated.

The process had been ongoing for the last hundred and fifty years. The rulers were resolute in their drive to re-find and absorb all the old worlds into the Republic. This was done whether the planets were currently occupied or not, or if occupied, whether they wanted to be a part of the Republic or not.

That Earth had set up a colony in the Epsilon Eridani system was a surprise when the records were discovered during an archaeological dig through a pile of rubble on a mountainside in Rime - once called Iceland. It was believed to have been a storage facility for one of the ancient conglomerates.

After going through the spotty files, the data were enough for the world and its location to be identified, along with a brief history and some scientific readings. The planet was described as having near-perfect Earth-like conditions, which explained why colonists were sent to such a far-away world in the first place.

That type of planet, not needing any terraforming, was rare, and Boucher’s World was the first found and the first planet outside Sol’s system where the old Earth regime had sent colonists. Eight thousand souls had gone with the hope of being successful enough for Earth to send more along, once they’d been there at least five years. The colony had gone silent only one year after making planet-fall. Because of the distance involved, no one was able to learn what happened.

By that time, the speed of the starship drive had improved from the one hundred and eight years it took the original colony ships to reach the planet, but it still would have taken fifty years for a manned ship to get there. Therefore, two unmanned probes designed to reach the planet in half that time but able to make observations en route, were launched to try and uncover what became of them.

Both quit transmitting before getting anywhere near enough to the planet to obtain any useful information, and the authorities of the time had considered it too dangerous to send any more colonists in that direction when by then, they already had colonies on the terraformed planets and moons in the Alpha Centauri system.

Earth mourned the people of Boucher’s World as lost. They set up a memorial dedicated to the first extra-solar colonists, even though they hadn’t been the first to actually reach a planet in another star system.

That memorial was destroyed during the centuries of conflict, along with all knowledge of the expedition.

******

Bringing his thoughts back to the present, Timothy shifted in his seat, wishing Justin would hurry up with the coffee.

He reflected that these people spoke Common, which meant they’d been able to keep their civilization going to a certain extent, or they would’ve been like most of the other colonies found to date: either extinct or in a primitive state speaking a language so diverged from Common that it might as well be an entirely different one. On a couple of re-found worlds, it had been a different one.

Because of the distance involved, this old colony world was the only one to which settlers were being shipped based solely on the information obtained by the newer, more efficient probes that had been dispatched directly after the records were found.

Those old files indicated the planet was rich in minerals and metals, more-so than expected, and especially rich in an extremely rare and valuable one heretofore found only in small amounts on a planetoid in the Alpha Centauri system. The probes had ceased working before doing a complete analysis, but enough was sent back to confirm most of the old information.

The Republic wanted this planet.

They’d know more once they landed and could start doing the more thorough analyses their probes hadn’t been able to before they quit. Still, as indicated in the ancient records, the planet appeared remarkably Earth-like based on atmospheric evaluations, although the light from the star had more of an orange hue than that of Sol’s.

The probes showed what appeared to be a town - or the ruins of one - and evidence of several smaller towns or villages. The only other thing seen were forests and what might be cultivated fields on the larger of the two big continents. Anyone there had to be simple agrarians, and dealing with them would be easy. They knew how to handle farmers.

After the experts studied the reports, seven years after the archeologists found the old records, the Department of Recolonization chose the colonists for the newly re-found world, who were then loaded onto the big one-way ships. The head of the program selected Timothy’s crew to lead them to the planet. As had become the custom among the shepherd captains, he had re-named his flagship for one of the original colony ships to the world: Advent.

Timothy had a certain amount of firepower aboard and could make some calculated airstrikes that should be enough to force the natives into an immediate capitulation if it came to that. But that also would make a mess of whatever the old settlement had that could be of use to his people. Plus, the natives would be much happier and a better source of cheap labor if they weren’t having to recover from being bombarded.

Prior to his time, that method of persuasion had been used only once, and the results were not pleasant. No, that was a last resort at best. Better to try diplomacy and negotiation first.

Justin came back in carrying Timothy’s filled mug.

Your coffee, sir, he said, handing it to him.

Timothy took it and set it on the console after taking a sip. He leaned back and looked up at the ensign.

Bring over a chair and sit down, Justin, he said gruffly. He watched as the ensign unlocked one of the wheeled chairs and sat, stiffly, in front of the console but at the other end, away from him.

Justin was assigned to him when he was eighteen years old and just out of training. He had been a crewmember for six and a half years now, including the time it had taken to get to Boucher’s World. Timothy was quite fond of the young man. He always performed his duties well and followed orders without complaint. He was helpful not only to the captain but to the rest of the crew, of which he was the youngest member. Commissioned an ensign directly before they left on this trip, he was due for another promotion when they got back home, and the captain intended to give him a good recommendation.

He thought he should probably apologize for being short with him, but he was too edgy at the moment. Maybe later, after he got a handle on things.

Now he said, What do you think, Justin? Think these natives are as high-tech as they seem to be?

Justin stared into Timothy’s dark gray eyes. The captain seldom asked for his opinion on anything. He worded his reply carefully. "I believe they’re not as low-tech as we thought, sir. They have to be at a certain level to even know what the USCOMS is. We should proceed with caution until we can get a better idea."

Timothy nodded. His thinking exactly.

Justin appeared about to add something further when the communicator chimed, signaling an incoming transmission.

Timothy hit the receive switch, and his eyebrows pulled together at hearing the voice on the other end. He couldn’t tell if it was a man or a woman.

Captain Timothy Moore, this is Sparrow of the ruling council of Boucher’s World. I understand you wished to speak with someone of authority. How may I assist you? A moment of hesitation, then, Over.

From the musical voice, the captain was unsure of which sex he would be addressing, and this Sparrow hadn’t given him a title for him/herself. He knew that titles could be very important in some societies - as it was to some people in his - so he kept his voice neutral for his answer.

Sparrow - er, is that your first or last name? I don’t mean any disrespect, but I can’t tell from your voice if you’re male or female, so I don’t know how to address you. Please advise. Over.

The answer left both him and the ensign gaping wide-eyed at each other.

I have only one name, Captain Moore, and I am both male and female as I am an Elvwist. My title is Councilmember, but it is not necessary to address me as such. You may call me Sparrow. Over.

Timothy’s brain paused. He stared at the USCOMS in disbelief. Surely he hadn’t heard what he thought. He noted Justin’s face had paled. His probably had too, and his mind felt fuzzy.

He stirred, realizing he’d been silent too long, and said slowly, "You are an alien? A non-Human? You rule over the Humans? Over."

The answer didn’t soothe Timothy’s mind any.

"I am an Elvwist, Captain Moore. I do not rule over Humans; I rule with them. Perhaps it will help if I explain further. When eight thousand of your ancestors arrived here a little over two thousand years ago, my ancestors had already found and terraformed this planet and had been here for eight hundred years."

Sparrow continued, telling him of being trapped inside a dome and being cut off from their home worlds, and not being able to get out until recently when they’d found the USCOMS and began trying to contact Earth. He/she, with a voice sounding remarkably like singing, ended with, We operate as one society, Captain. I am the only Elvwist member on the ruling council. The other six members are Human. I understand that this may come as a surprise to you, and I will also understand if you would prefer to speak with one of the Human members. Over.

Timothy sat there for a moment, trying to digest what he’d just heard. How could there be such a sophisticated civilization here, and between aliens and Humans? Something wasn’t adding up. There was nothing in the records about aliens. Should he believe this… person? And where was this dome? Surely their instruments would have detected something like that. It would have to be enormous to cover nearly the entire continent.

He thought rapidly and decided it would be to his advantage to withhold that they had suspected there might be people on the planet. However, he needed to know how many Humans there were, how many of these... these... Elvwists and, assuming they were aliens, whether or not they had contacted their world.

He said, "This is a lot to take in Sparrow. We didn’t know there was anyone on your world, let alone intelligent members of another… species. Our people saw nothing there except vegetation. Where are your cities? Your factories? We didn’t see any kind of… dome. How many Humans are there? How many of your kind? Have you contacted your home world? It took him a second to realize he’d forgotten to say over. Over."

If what he was hearing was fact, no way would he be able to buy these people off with a few trinkets or minor technologies, and in all the time Earth had been sending ships out to reclaim the old colonies, they had never seen any trace of an alien race. Maybe he should just blow them all to hell and gone as soon as they were within range.

He glanced over at Justin, who looked blankly back at him. He was still in shock.

Sparrow spoke again. Captain Moore, I know there is much to absorb. You did not see any cities because we prefer to live in villages amongst the trees. Our factories are all underground as we do not like to mar the beauty of the surface and they operate efficiently there. It leaves more area for our trees, homes, and farms. You could not see the Dome because it is transparent. We have not yet been able to contact the Elvwist world. It paused before adding, Perhaps it would be best to await your arrival when we can meet you and show you our world. We will be happy to answer all your questions at that time. When may we expect to greet you? Over.

Timothy quickly thought it over and decided it would be better if they could arrive before expected. It might give him just the edge he needed, so he told the Elvwist they would be there in five weeks. This ploy, however, did not work.

"I have been informed that your ship had a failure in one of its functions, Captain Moore. Perhaps there is also a problem with your navigational instruments. We have been watching your ships for weeks and trying to contact you for several days now, and have calculated that you will be arriving in three weeks. Over," was the return transmission from Sparrow.

Crap! They wouldn’t know that without some pretty sophisticated instruments. This could mean they also had some sophisticated defenses and/or weapons, and if fired upon, might be able to return fire. He couldn’t chance that. Not with thirty thousand lives in his care. Shit. They’re smarter than I thought, he concluded.

He did the only thing he could under the circumstances. Running a hand through his hair, he lied. My tech, Ensign Sigmund, just checked the instruments, and they were, um… in error. You are correct. We will be arriving in three weeks. Where shall we land? Over.

Sparrow began to give him some natter about landing on the other, smaller continent but finally said - Timothy thought with reluctance - there was room to land on their much larger one. It was obvious to him that the alien wanted them to land on the other continent.

This helped him decide that the smaller land mass was exactly where he didn’t want to go. No, there would be a much better chance of learning about their weapons or defenses if they were close at hand, maybe he could even get a spy among them.

And, Sparrow had given him a choice.

"Thank you, Sparrow. We will land on your continent. Will you be able to mark the area for our ships? We wouldn’t want to hit your, um, dome. Over."

He hoped he didn’t sound too skeptical about the dome, but at this point, he didn’t really care if he did. He tried to imagine what the alien looked like and remembered a picture from a book of speculative fiction he’d read as a youth about little green, bipedal creatures with bug-eyes.

Sparrow affirmed they’d be able to send the coordinates for the designated landing area.

The captain heard what sounded like laughter in the background. Curious, he asked about it, and Sparrow explained that one of the young people had made some sort of joke.

He shrugged. Well, he certainly wasn’t in a joking mood, so he didn’t inquire. They probably wouldn’t laugh about the same things, anyway. He was ready to end this conversation so he could think. He needed to wake up the rest of his crew. He had to get a plan of action, and he wanted their input.

He said, Oh. All right. We’ll see you in three weeks. Out.

He flicked the off switch on the communicator and sagged in his seat. He felt positively drained. And his headache was back with a vengeance.

Justin, aspirin, please. And stop by my cabin and bring the bottle you’ll find in my desk drawer.

Wordlessly, Justin got up to go out the door.

And Justin…

The ensign stopped and raised his eyebrows.

Get a cup for yourself and bring it with you. I can imagine you need a drink, too.

Chapter Two

The Crew

They awakened the rest of the crew, and Timothy explained the situation to them.

Commander John Steele was incredulous.

Aliens? Are you sure, Tim? That seems unlikely. We’ve never seen any signs of other intelligences in all the years we’ve been in space. I mean, people have been looking for them for ages, even before we ever got off our little ball of dirt.

Yes, Tim, added Lieutenant Moira Welsley. "We haven’t even found ruins from an extinct civilization."

I’m reasonably sure, John, and I know we’ve never found any before, but it’s a big universe. Both of you keep in mind that we’ve only seen a minuscule portion of it. This is the farthest we’ve ever been from Earth.

He perused his crew. All but three were lieutenants or higher. The other three were ensigns, Headquarters having decreed no other ranks were needed for the small shepherd ships. They were simple to operate and weren’t big battleships or explorers that needed a lot of personnel, and, except for the short stay expected on the planet, the crew would all be in hiber-sleep for the bulk of the expedition.

Aside from being under his command, the other officers were also good friends, and he valued their input and opinions. He hoped they could come up with some helpful suggestions because he surely hadn’t any.

They were sitting in the tiny canteen next to the sleep-chamber. Justin had broken out rations for their first solid meals in two years and made more coffee, and everyone had a large mug to help alleviate the hiber-sleep aftermath sluggishness. They had begun looking fairly alert.

Justin and the two other ensigns, Martin Seung, and Cheryl Jackson, went to the control room to do a complete diagnostic on the computer while Lieutenant Pricilla Esk went off to the engine room to evaluate the equipment. Being their weapons specialist, she was running diagnostics on the ship’s defenses and armaments. Just regular routines but essential, especially after a journey of this length.

The ship was automated, but all systems had to be tested upon awakening and any necessary maintenance performed. That was the only way to ensure it was kept in top operating condition. After all, things could go wrong. Witness the program that had malfunctioned and prevented the ship from answering the queries from Boucher’s World.

Did they say if they knew the purpose of the dome? asked John.

"No. The alien said we will talk when we get there in three weeks. Believe me; I’m very interested in hearing about that. Since he said they were trapped, the inference is they didn’t put it up and possibly don’t know who did or why. A quick and easy guess? To deliberately keep them in. But if so, who did it, and why, and how have they now been able to leave?"

He had a lot of questions. Headquarters would too, and they would be adamant that he get answers as soon as possible.

Has Headquarters been notified? asked Lieutenant Commander Jeffery Brown, who had been sitting quietly sipping his coffee.

Not yet, Jeff, said Timothy. "I’m not sure how to tell them this, and I’m pretty sure I won’t be believed when I do. At least not right off. We’re going to have to send pictures of these aliens before they’ll buy that."

He sighed, carefully stretching his legs out while making sure he didn’t nudge anyone, and crossed them at the ankles. He always felt cramped in the canteen, and the rest of the ship wasn’t much better. He was always dodging to keep from banging his head on something. He was the tallest one aboard, and he suspected the little shepherd ships were originally built for much shorter people.

Well, we’re not supposed to be awake yet. We can wait the three weeks until we get to the planet and tell them before we land, pointed out John.

True. After all, they can’t do anything from there, agreed Moira. "Take ‘em two years to get here after the four to six months or so it’ll take to get an expedition equipped and ready, so we can’t depend on help from that direction for a while. Assuming we need help."

Timothy nodded. Yes, you’re right. However, we need to come up with a plan for when we get to the planet. These people are definitely not what we were expecting. The alien said they don’t rule over the Humans, but he could have been lying.

Would he have a reason to do that? asked Jeff. I mean, what would he gain from lying?

Well, I guess we could speculate ‘til we’re blue in the face, said Moira, and we still wouldn’t know any more than we do now. She got up and poured herself another cup of coffee, the overhead lighting throwing highlights off her fiery red hair. She focused her green eyes on the captain. What did the alien sound like, Tim?

He barked out a short laugh.

That’s just it, Moira. I’ve been calling it he, but… um, I guess I really shouldn’t. The alien mentioned, at one point, that he should be addressed as it."

At their puzzled looks, he informed them of what Sparrow had told him about its sex and gender - or rather, the fact that it had no specific gender.

Both, huh, came from Jeff. He grinned. "I’ll bet that must be very interesting."

Hey, down, boy! chuckled John. "I know you aren’t thinking of involving yourself with some strange looking little green hermaphrodite."

Jeff had a well-known reputation for exotic tastes, and he liked both females and males. He put on a hurt look.

No, John. As the ship’s doctor, I’m merely interested in their biology, but he had a devious look in his eyes, and a small smile hovered around his mouth.

Timothy scowled and tried to get them back on track "Look, we need to stay on subject here. I don’t care if it’s a three-headed dragon; if Jeff wants to screw it, he can - so long as he does it on his own time. What we’ve got to figure out is how we’re going to handle this. We sure can’t get there and offer them shiny beads or perpetual video games in exchange for the rights to their planet. The only thing I can think of that we have that they might want is a lift off the planet. They said they’ve been trapped inside that dome for two thousand years, so maybe they’re anxious to leave and would like a ride to Earth in exchange for certain concessions."

Moira looked thoughtful, then shook her head.

"Don’t think that’ll work, Tim, not if they’re as advanced as they appear to be. I wouldn’t think their rulers would be willing to shaft - and you know that’s what it would be, so quit looking at me like that - all their citizens by pledging their planet and all their resources to the Republic of Earth for a mere ride home. Besides, what about the aliens? Isn’t this Sparrow one of the government rulers? What would he… er… it want? We couldn’t take it to its planet even if we knew where it was, and I doubt it would want to go to Earth to live."

And it had come back to the aliens. Their being there threw anything they came up with, out of joint. They were an unknown and couldn’t be factored into any strategy they could think of.

They discussed it for a while but didn’t come up with anything that Timothy could construe as being viable.

Finally, he admitted, We’ve got nothing. Looks like we’re just going to have to wait until we get there, and then play it by ear.

Thus far, the only thing they’d decided was that he would go out to meet the natives accompanied by Ensign Sigmund since the natives had also spoken with him.

They would go well armed as a precaution and wear the suits with the embedded flight circuits.

Chapter Three

The Un-Transformed

On Boucher’s World, a week after contacting the lead ship from Earth…

They will be here in two weeks, Lloyd. That doesn’t give us much time, so even though we still have the issue concerning the un-Transformed that needs to be resolved, we should at least get started on deciding a course of action to take with the people from Earth.

Maggie was sitting in the small office in her apartment in the outside camp. The meeting was being held by hologram, and as she gazed at the images of her fellow councilmembers, she picked up her bright yellow cup from her desk and took a sip of tea.

Lloyd had proposed they wait until they all met physically to discuss a strategy