Chapter 37: Vacation Woes

Everything had changed. A hazy fog replaced the warm tropical weather. Mina was still beside me, and so was the obelisk.

“What happened??” asked Mina.

“I don’t know. Did you see the strange light?” I said.

“The one that happened when you touched the obelisk?” she asked.

“That was a mistake. Sorry!” I said.

“I’m not injured, just surprised. Are you injured?” she asked.

“No, I’m fine. I feel foolish for touching it. At least we are alive and well. I wonder where we are?” I said.

“If we are still in the Carolus system, can we call Quon?” asked Mina.

I looked at Mina, as I called Quon on my communicator. No answer.

“We are on our own for now. Let’s stay close together. We could get lost in this fog,” I said.

Mina coughed. “The air is not too good for me. We can’t stay here long.”

“Agreed. Perhaps if we found higher ground?” I said.

“No! We might lose the obelisk. If it brought us here, it might be our way back,” said Mina.

“So we stay here. I think it must be another place. One moment the air was clear around us, and the next we have this,” I said, pointing around at the fog.

“Perhaps it is a similar but different obelisk,” said Mina.

I looked at this obelisk more carefully. There was something about it. I examined the inscriptions, then looked at the picture I took. “These inscriptions do not match the picture I took before,” I said.

“So, it is different!” exclaimed Mina.

“We need to work something out quick. If you need it, the suit you are wearing has about fifteen minutes of air,” I said.

“Do you remember where you touched the first obelisk?” asked Mina. I studied the picture again.

“About here,” I pointed at the picture where I thought I had touched the first obelisk.

“The inscriptions are different at that location on this one. If we touch the same location, we might get back. But take another picture first,” said Mina.

I took a picture. Then I held Mina in one hand and touched that location on the obelisk. There was a flash all around us.

Meanwhile, Jem relaxed in Brian’s cot under the shade of a tree. This planet felt so tranquil and she could sense the stress leaving her body. Laine, in contrast, spent her time swimming in the pristine waters. An ideal way to keep cool in the tropical climate.

Then Jem’s peace was disturbed by a call on her communicator. In an instant, the stress returned to her.

“Attention Captain!” said Quon.

“What is it?” asked Jem. She jumped up from the cot as if zapped by electricity.

“There was an energy spike at the last known location of commander Brian and Mina,” said Quon.

“Acknowledged. Can you reach them on their communicators? Do they respond to a ping?” asked Jem.

“I cannot locate them, Captain,” replied Quon.

“Please send me their last known location, we will go investigate,” said Jem.

“Confirmed,” replied Quon. She soon had coordinates to start a search.

Jem waved at Laine, who was swimming. Laine recognized something was going on, so she exited the water. Soon she was jogging up the beach towards Jem.

“Brian and Mina are missing. We need to gear up for a search and possible rescue. Bring water and first aid. They might be injured,” said Jem.

“Yes captain,” replied Laine. They both got into their away team uniforms and set off into the trees.

Everything changed, but we were not back in the forest. This time, a dry heat replaced the fog.

Mina stood beside me, and another obelisk was in front of us. We stood in a courtyard, surrounded by ruins, and beyond the ruins was sand.

“Did you bring your water with you?” I asked.

“No, I left it at the clearing,” replied Mina.

“Then we cannot stay long. I doubt we will find water available here,” I said.

A large yellow sun was blazing high in the sky above us. I examined the inscriptions on the obelisk. This was the third one today.

I took a picture of the inscriptions. There could be more obelisks yet.

“Is this different from the other two?” asked Mina.

“Yes, it must be a menu of places to go,” I replied.

“A menu we can’t read,” said Mina.

“We only have three samples. We need more text to decipher the language. But if we consider it a menu, then we can cheat,” I said.

“How can we do that?” asked Mina.

I pulled up the image from the first obelisk. I zoomed into the text.

“This phrase is what I believe I touched on the first one. It was not on the second one. It exists on the third one. My guess is this takes us back to the fog,” I said.

“How does that help? I had trouble breathing back there,” said Mina.

“It might be better than here. I can’t survive here long in this heat. We need to find our way back, and that means risking making another choice. We could pick a different choice on the menu,” I said.

“Our choice shouldn’t exist on the first picture. The first obelisk would not have a menu choice to Carolus four,” said Mina.

“Ooh, an excellent point! That should reduce our choices,” I said.

I compared the images from the first obelisk and discounted those that were also on this one.

“We have narrowed it to three choices,” I said.

“Which one shall we try?” asked Mina.

I looked at the choices we had, trying to divine which would take us back. I thought of Jem and Laine on Carolus four, as if it would trigger my intuition.

“Perhaps this one,” I said. I took Mina’s hand and touched it.

Jem and Laine made good progress through the trees. Laine found coloured tape wrapped around various plants. It was obvious this was Mina’s doing. There were only four beings on the planet, and only one of them was interested in plants.

The tape allowed them to follow in the tracks of Brian and Mina.

Later, Jem received a call on her communicator.

“Attention Captain!” said Quon.

“What is it? Have you found Brian and Mina?” asked Jem.

“Captain, I detect multiple incoming vessels headed this way,” replied Quon.

“Can you identify the vessels? Are they Lagaid?” asked Jem.

“Negative Captain. They are not of a design we have encountered. I estimate they are a match for this vessel,” replied Quon.

“Crap! They caught us this time. Can we return in time?” asked Jem.

“Negative Captain. They would intercept the shuttle before you could dock. I suggest you find cover on the planet surface,” replied Quon.

“Quon, remain cloaked and move to the far side of the planet, do not give away your position. If they discover you, get away. We are as good as dead if they destroy you. How can we hide the shuttle?” said Jem.

“Confirmed. I can activate the back-up AI aboard the shuttle. With the enhancements designed by Brian, it can hide underwater to evade detection,” said Quon.

“Do it. We can’t make it back to our camp in time to hide anything. Are there any caves near our location?” said Jem.

“Confirmed. Sending locations of caves near your location. Good luck, Captain,” said Quon. The call ended.

“Laine, a change of plan. We hide until the danger passes. The deeper we can go underground, the more we block their sensors,” said Jem. She looked at a map on her communicator. “This way,” she said.

“Yes, Captain. I hope Brian and Mina are well,” replied Laine.

“Me too! But we can’t help them if we are dead. Let’s pick up the pace, we need to find cover fast,” said Jem. As an afterthought, she took some coloured tape that Mina had tied to the plants nearby.

Mina and I stood in front of another obelisk. It relieved me to find the climate on this world more moderate. Instead of a blazing hot sun cooking us, we stood beneath an overcast sky. I felt a pleasant breeze against my face.

“This is getting tedious,” said Mina.

“At least we will not burn up under that sun or choke in the fog,” I said. The air was more than tolerable.

I looked around to get my bearings. I could see ruins near the shore of a lake. Hills and trees surrounded us in the distance. The furthest and tallest hills had snow caps. The view was breathtaking.

“What do we do next?” asked Mina.

“That last world made me thirsty. Let’s go visit the lake and try out the water,” I said.

“How can you drink now? We don’t even know if the water is drinkable,” said Mina.

“Simple. Our immediate goal is to survive and find a way back to Carolus four. I am dehydrated and without supplies. We need to drink water,” I said. I started moving towards the lake.

After a moment of hesitation, Mina followed me. This planet was so nice, and I was making a mental note to come back sometime.

At the lakeshore, I turned to Mina. “By now, Jem and Laine will notice we are missing. What do you think they will do?”