Pax Galactica - A Space Opera

Chapter 14 - Close Encounter

Decker watched the shooting star cross the night sky with eyes like telescopes. It looked like a starship, and if he didn't know any better he could swear it emerged from the nearby wormhole router. This meant it wasn't human, nor was it made by any hyperspace-capable civilization. Interesting.

Decker jumped out of the roofed-platform tree house, his third best shelter, and down to the forest floor. He checked to make sure he didn't drop any of his tools or weapons and then stroked his beard. He couldn't help himself. He had deliberately allowed his beard to start growing naturally once he arrived on Hyperborea and now he had a good month's worth of growth. He didn't think he was going to keep the look but he liked it for the time being.

Decker could now hear as well as see the starship tearing through the air overhead, preparing to set down about 20 clicks to the east. He decided to follow it, see what was doing. It was headed in the direction of Kel and Zaire's camp anyway, so maybe he'd run into them and they could figure this out together.

As he made his way through the forest growth Decker heard a familiar 'sproing' noise. He snatched the spring leech from the air with practiced ease, bit off the head, and spat out the teeth. Then he popped the rest into his mouth and chewed while he walked. He knew the area well enough to avoid all the more serious dangers.

The ship set down near a very familiar section of savanna. It had already unfolded, and its occupants had begun to go about their business, by the time Decker arrived.

Decker silently climbed a tree and watched. Of all the skills that necessity had refined in his time in Hyperborea stealth was the where he had made the most profound gains. He was fairly certain the aliens wouldn't notice him.

The starship now resembled a fat egg that had opened up into four different pieces to reveal a twisted spire within. Twelve spindly legs protruded from the sides. Decker could hear the district operational noises of at least fifteen different machines coming from within. He didn't recognize either AG or an EMFM.

Three aliens were had at work making adjustments to the ship. They had heads that looked like pink-grey cauliflowers attached to a minimal squat body that mostly appeared to be an anchor point for two legs and a thick tail. The legs ended in clawed, five-toed feet arranged like stars. Four tiny, almost human-like arms sat at the corners of their toothless mouths.

All three wore bubble-like helmets that covered their heads and which were filled with a foggy green gas. Each helmet had four mechanical arms arranged roughly where the mouth would be. These arms were what the aliens were using to work. Twin metal cylinders sat atop the helmets.

One of the aliens dug a small hole and inserted a pole, which immediately lit up at the top with a simple hologram, some kind of alien pictograph. If Decker didn't know better he could swear they were planting a flag.

They must think the orbital is abandoned, Decker reasoned. They're claiming it in the name of whatever tinpot wormhole network polity they represent. Decker couldn't fault them for their ambition. That's what A.R.C. gets building their training orbital on the wormhole network. On second thought, that can't have been an accident.

Decker figured this could work out to his advantage. He was certain that some kind of mutually beneficial trade could be worked out. He found the badly compressed Galach in his implant, unpacked it, and tried to dust off as many cobwebs as he could. Decker learned the interspecies lingua franca as a kid but never met an alien who couldn't mind-signal in something approaching a human language so he just filed it away in his implant never to be seen again.

Wormhole network users *loved* Galach though. Decker's accent would be artificial sounding as all get out but he knew he'd be able to make himself understood.

Decker climbed down from the tree and walked slowly towards the ship with his hands harmlessly in the air.

"Greetings in friendship of the first degree unknown entities," said Decker. He figured he'd try spoken Galach first. He might get lucky. "I propose that a mutually beneficial action would be trade between us of material objects on the basis of their subjective value."

He could really hear the computer in his accent. It was a little embarrassing. There was also no poetry to Galach; everything came out sounding like an inebriated functionary wrote it.

The aliens all stopped what they were doing. They turned to face Decker almost as one.

Maybe they weren't a verbal species. There was no communications infrastructure so he couldn't just signal them. Instead Decker attempted to set up a direct mind linkage like he had with Ophelia. None of the aliens would accept his implant's handshake. Neither would the ship's sub-sapient AI.

"Peace between worlds?" Decker tried.

All three aliens opened fire with the cylinders atop their helmets. A biting swarm of needles exploded from each weapon. The needles didn't appear to be magnetically stabilized, they spread out in a cone, and they moved at a low velocity but Decker had literally no armor.

Several of the needles grazed Decker, cutting him as they sped past. One bounced off his collarbone. Another four hit him in his right arm and stayed there.

The aliens weren't great shots but they were using quantity to compensate for quality. Decker bolted. The range on the alien needler guns wasn't fantastic at he was already near the edge of it. They fired after him but weren't able to score any appreciable hits.

Decker did his best to disappear into the canopy. He found a reasonable branch on which to rest and catch his breath. His arm throbbed and stiffened. Before he knew it it was completely paralyzed.

Decker could feel the electric current running through his arm, being emitted by the needles. He knew this had to be what was causing his arm to seize up. Decker closed his eyes, turned off all pain in his body, and pulled one of the needles out. He could tell it was shocking him as he did so but he felt no pain. One by one Decker removed the needles.

Almost immediately feeling started to return to his arm. Granted that feeling was limited to pins and needles but it was a start. Decker tried to close his fist and he actually managed a small amount of movement. He turned pain back on and hissed.

Decker could hear some inefficient, low-end repulsor blasting away, announcing the location of whatever it was attached to to the whole orbital. He could actually see the twinkling lights of various sensor arrays sweeping through the electromagnetic spectrum as whatever was emitting them crept through the forest. The aliens had launched some kind of probe to find him.

It was only a matter of time before it did. He could hide from organic eyes and ears no problem but even a truly primitive mechanical probe was going to be able to pinpoint his location using senses he couldn't hide from.

Decker figured he'd have to get the drop on it while he could, try to take out the probe and then get far enough away that he could avoid any further probes. He began to maneuver through the trees, his arm almost half-useful again.

Working his fist open and closed over and over Decker was able to get it functional enough to hold a weapon. Grabbing a stone hammer from his belt with each hand Decker moved himself just above the probe and dropped from the tree.

His left hammer smashed into the egg-shaped probe, denting it somewhat and crushing the hammer. His right hand wasn't able to hold onto the hammer once he made impact. Decker himself crumpled to the ground.

The probe began to spray needles in every direction. Decker had obvious damaged some kind of navigational systems when he dented it. By paying careful attention and anticipating its movements Decker was able to keep himself behind the probe, out of the area of effect of its spray of needles.

Drawing another hammer from his belt Decker slammed it with both hands into the dent he had already made in the probe. The probe spun like a top, sending needles in every direction, before it spun out and crashed into the ground.

Decker was pounded with needles from this last gasp. He took several to every extremity, not to mention the dozens in his torso. Within minutes he began to seize up and fell backwards onto the ground. He was entirely unable to move.

Decker decided to call that one a draw.