Chapter 56: Asan

I’d had enough excitement, so I returned to my cabin. Jem followed me. I considered asking for alone time, but I thought better of it.

“Is it ok we just rest? I’m not ready for a long discussion,” I asked.

“Sure,” she replied. She snuggled up to me in the bed. After facing near destruction by a black hole, she needed comfort.

Ship dimmed the lights, and we slept.

I awoke hours later. Jem was awake, sobbing.

“What’s the matter?” I whispered.

She rolled over to face me in the dim light.

“So much death and destruction. We keep getting attacked or abducted. We try to save others and they don’t want our help,” she replied.

“Why do you think I dreamt about living a boring life on Tian Prime?” I said. “Our life is extremely stressful. We live by our wits and whatever tricks Ship can build. We are one mistake away from destruction.”

“I couldn’t understand those cliffhangers. We came to help, and we nearly died with them,” she said.

“I saw you were struggling, and that’s why I stepped in. They were following absurd logic. You couldn’t understand each other,” I said.

“You knew how to talk to them, and you figured out Thom sent the distress call,” said Jem.

“That was a lucky break. It gave us the chance to escape,” I said.

“You are better at finding a way through tough situations,” said Jem.

“Maybe I am better at certain skills. Your skills involved knowing that and selecting me for the mission. Collectively, we had what was necessary for the mission,” I replied.

I never thought coaching my crewmates out of their self-doubt was a required skill. I’d just wanted to escape from Tian Prime. Since then, events drove me to where I was now.

“Thank you for what you did, Brian. You saved our lives,” said Jem.

“Thank you for rescuing me from Gober. I’d say we’re even,” I replied.

Jem smiled.

A few days later, our hyper drive went offline as we arrived at the edge of the Asan system.

“We are now at the Asan system, the home system of the Asan,” said Ship.

“Ship, deploy cloaked defensive probes and keep them near us. Then activate transponder and advance into the system,” I said.

“Confirmed,” replied Ship. On the tactical display, several blue dots emerged from Ship and surrounded our vessel.

“Attention, we are being hailed,” said Ship.

Jem pressed a key, and a large being with yellow-brown fur appeared on the display. “Welcome to Asan. Please state your identity and your intentions.”

“We are a Baglogi vessel. Our intentions are peaceful. We met with captain Bedu of the Asan freighter Crayus. He suggested we ask for the high minister,” replied Jem.

“Acknowledged Baglogi vessel. Please continue on your current course and stand by,” said the Asan. The Asan put the communication on hold.

A few minutes later, the Asan resumed the call.

“We are sending coordinates for orbit around Asan Prime. We will call you back when you arrive at the coordinates,” said the Asan. The communication closed.

“Ship, take us to the designated coordinates,” said Jem.

“Confirmed,” replied Ship.

We continued towards the fourth planet.

“Attention, we are being hailed,” said Ship.

We’d arrived in orbit around Asan Prime. They didn’t keep us waiting too long before they hailed us.

Jem pressed a key, and another Asan appeared on the display. I couldn’t tell the difference.

“Welcome Baglogi vessel, I am High Minister Val-Gir. I understand you met Captain Bedu. Can you tell me how you first met?” he said.

“We answered a distress call from the freighter Crayus, and helped them with repairs to their main power,” replied Jem.

“Thank you. He has mentioned you and what you did, several times,” said Val-Gir. “You honour us with your visit. I will send you landing coordinates for your shuttle.”

“I look forward to meeting you in person soon,” replied Jem. She pressed a button and closed the communications channel.

Jem turned to me. “So what do you think?” she asked.

“They are both friendly and cautious. He asked you that question to test you, and you passed,” I said.

“Agreed. So do we all go?” asked Jem.

“Yes, wearing away team uniforms,” I replied.

“And no alcohol,” said Jem.

“Attention, Commander. You asked that I remind you to warn Captain Bedu. The High Minister can relay your message,” said Ship.

“Thank you Ship. We will tell the minister,” I replied.

We got changed into our away team uniforms and boarded the shuttle via the airlock. Taking the pilot seat, I did my usual pre-flight checks.

Soon we departed Ship and descended to the planet below us. The view of the planet was breathtaking. The polar icecaps were larger, and the temperature on the surface was colder than most planets I had visited.

I piloted our shuttle to the landing coordinates, which were near the equator. I kept our speed within an acceptable limit this time, as I did not want to upset the Asan who were monitoring our flight.

We landed with a soft touchdown at their spaceport. Once we landed, a movable walkway extended and connected to our airlock.

We exited the shuttle via the airlock and walked along the walkway which opened into a large building. Waiting for us were several Asan.

“Welcome to Asan Prime. I am High Minister Val-Gir,” said the minister. He smiled.

“Thank you. I am Commodore Jem. This is Commander Brian, ensigns Laine and Mina,” said Jem.

“I’m very pleased to meet you. Now, a brief formality, we need to scan your ID for immigration,” he said.

One of the Asan stepped forward with a portable scanning device and we held out our arms. After scanning us, he nodded to the minister.

“Thank you. Now please follow me to someplace we can talk,” he said.

We followed the minister through the large spaceport building until we reached a door that opened into a meeting room. He invited us to take a seat at a large table.

“What can I do for you, Commodore?” asked the minister.

“I have two items to discuss with you. We recently left Gober, where we met with Captain Bedu. This was the second time we met, the first was when we answered his distress call,” said Jem.

“Go on,” said the minister.

“Captain Bedu encouraged us to visit Asan and ask for you. He said you are having trouble with pirates, and we might help,” said Jem.

Val-Gir’s eye’s lit up. “Yes, Captain Bedu is correct. We have a problem with pirates attacking our vessels and outposts, and Asan has a limited military. We appreciate any help you can give,” he replied.

“I will need all the information on the pirates you can give us,” said Jem.

“Thank you!” he replied. He waved at one of his staff, who then left.

“You said you had two items to discuss?” asked the minister.

“Yes. When we were on Gober, they discovered Commander Brian has a title from Dentra. The Gobers abducted him, and they tried to force him to marry their empress. We rescued him from their Imperial Palace,” said Jem.

He looked at me for a moment. “Interesting, and how does this affect us?” he asked.

“We met Captain Bedu at their orbital bazaar. I’m concerned the Gobers might take our their displeasure with us against him. I want to warn him before he returns to Gober,” said Jem.

“That is very thoughtful of you. We don’t have formal diplomatic relations with Gober, but we visit their bazaar regularly. I will relay your warning to Captain Bedu,” he said.

The Asan who left earlier returned and whispered to the minister.

“We have sent the information we have on the pirate attacks to your vessel. We appreciate any help you can offer dealing with the pirates,” he said.

Jem stood, followed by everyone else. “Thank you High Minister. We shall return to our vessel and study the information,” said Jem.

“If you need more, ask for Commander Edlund. He can answer your questions and has authority to help you,” said the minister.

Jem smiled and nodded.

The Asan escorted us back to the large building and the walkway that led to our shuttle. After a few pleasantries we returned to our shuttle.

We entered via the airlock and I took the pilot seat and did my usual pre-flight checks.

I took off and our shuttle gradually ascended into orbit.

“How do you rate the meeting?” I asked.

“News of our good deed made it here before us. That helped set a positive tone,” replied Jem.

“They are glad we offered to help with the pirates,” said Laine.

“At least they didn’t hold a reception in our honour,” said Mina.

“I’m glad of that. I’ll never trust receptions since our visit to Gober. Did you notice they took us from our shuttle direct to a meeting room and back to our shuttle? No socializing or a tour of their city,” I said.

“They might value their privacy, or they respect our time. I was the one to say we will return to our vessel,” replied Jem.

“True,” I said.

“Laine, I’d like you to analyze the information they sent us. Look for patterns and anything we can use,” said Jem.

“Yes, Commodore,” replied Laine.

As we approached Ship, the outer door to the shuttle bay opened. I piloted the shuttle inside, and the door closed and the bay re-pressurized.