Julie R Fricke

After the crew’s dramatic and hasty escape from the ravenous pikas in the Martian cave,  MariLuz calmly set the Planetary Lander’s course for the shortest, quickest route back to the Martian Colony, a near orbital trajectory. It was time to make haste. “Estimated time of arrival back at base camp will be 2345, about five hours from now,” announced MariLuz.

General Takeda’s close brush with asphyxiation from the breach in her space suit had rendered her barely able to squeak out the words, “Dax, you’re in charge.” A moment later, she weakly added, “Scrub cabin air.” She then quickly nodded off to sleep, aided by the oxygen mask which was faithfully working to restore her.

Dax surveyed the tired and battered crew. “Doctor Linsa, could you please attend to Fillip and make sure his care is top priority? Whatever he’s got, we must consider that all of us may have been exposed as well. Take steps to isolate the contagion.”

Dax recalled the Beaufort Nine air scrubbing he had undergone after his previous contact with the alien pikas. He realized that the entire crew had spent most of the day interacting with hundreds of them, then had all tumbled into the craft without regard for decontamination. This would call for extraordinary prophylactic measures.

“All hands!” he announced loudly to get the crew’s attention. “We all need to stow our extra-vehicular suits in the Beaufort closet, seal the door and set the air scrub to maximum. I want everyone to take a close look at any damage your suit you may have incurred from pika chewing before you put it away. Then I want each of us to do a full body vacuum procedure just as we’ve done in past drills. Get that vacuum wand into every armpit and toe gap. Don’t forget your hair. We will then instigate a full cabin detox with a complete atmospheric exchange. We want to do our best to remove any contaminated air and dust from the cave that is still clinging to us. When that is done, we will wear sterile gowns to further limit any potential risk. After that, we’ll have a quick debrief before you all can hit the rack.”

So that she could quickly begin attending to Fillip, Linsa was first in line to remove her space suit. She systematically began unzipping. “Oh my!” she exclaimed, “Look what I found in my cargo pocket!” She held up a fist-sized black mechanism. “What do you think this is? It’s not something I brought.”

Charlie hustled over. “I don’t think that’s something from the Earth base. Look, it’s got that same strange writing on it we saw on the pika lander down in the cave. You better isolate it in this clear container until we can evaluate it. Here, I’ll lock it in.”

This remarkable discovery further alarmed the crew. Even while they expeditiously set to work with housekeeping, each of them found a moment to sneak a closer peek at the mysterious contraption inside the transparent box.

The loud volume of the various vacuums and air exchange made conversation difficult but finally, air-scrubbed and suited up in paper surgical wear, crew members were able to collapse. Dax handed out soothing hot drinks and set out a large pizza. The crew compared notes on their experiences with the pikas as they pounced on it.

“Did anyone else get full-on holes chewed in your suits?” he asked.

“I had several small punctures in the legs of my pants,” remarked Linsa. “I actually think that I lost some air in a small leak. I felt a little short of energy as we made that last push to get in our craft.”

“Me too,” exclaimed Charlie. “I think the air loss made me a little light-headed. Good thing that tunnel wasn’t any longer.”

“Yeah, especially for General Takeda,” agreed Dax.

“Hey Layfield, good job getting us out of there. I’m impressed that you saw so quickly that things were not going well.” Dax turned to give Travis a high five.

“Thanks, man,” Travis was relieved to apparently finally be off Dax’s shit list. “Truce?” he asked.

”Yeah. While your earlier move trying to kidnap the pika for dinner was definitely not cool, it looks like, in the end, you saved our skin. ALL of our skins. I guess this just shows how important it is for all of us to be completely aware of our surroundings. But, next time we meet an alien, try to curb your hunger pangs.”

Dax continued, “Well, what do you say we get some shut-eye? Remember, this is really only a nap. We’ll be arriving right about midnight. Layfield, would you please check in with MariLuz after arrival? She’ll be needing relief.”

Within minutes, the crew was clambering into bunks and strapping into slumber belts so that they wouldn’t get tossed out of bed as they flew.

Dax was just horizontal when he started feeling a little odd in the stomach. Was there something wrong with that pizza? A few moments longer and he realized he needed to make a quick trip to the lavatory. Suddenly it seemed like the twenty seconds it took to unhook the seat belt was entirely too long.

Still hunched over the toilet unit and not feeling completely relieved, he was startled when someone else was knocking insistently upon the lavatory door.

“I gotta go, SOON!” urgently implored Linsa.

From further back in the cabin, they heard another voice, “You know, I’m feeling a little queasy myself.”

“Oh crap,” thought Dax, not without seeing the irony in his comment, it looks like they did get us all. He thought back to the timeline. He, Dax, had been the first to have close interactions with the pikas, followed by Fillip. At least Dax had been wearing the suit. Fillip had dealt with the suits, but without having protection himself. Linsa had grabbed that thing out of her pocket and here she was, next in line for the loo. I wonder what would have happened to us had we eaten the pika, thought Dax wryly. He also remembered with chagrin the moment when the pikas had all entwined themselves around his legs, leaving the yellow powder. Was that intentional? he wondered. Or are we just that allergic to them?

His guts were still complaining, but he took a moment to stop by the comm station to make a call to headquarters back at the base. They already knew to expect them, but he wanted to make sure that there would be an emergency medical team waiting there as well. Who knew how much worse this pika disease would become? Dax climbed back in bed but listened with increasing dread as each and every crew member ended up making numerous trips to the facilities during their five-hour flight. Dax hoped MariLuz would be able to continue piloting the craft all the way back. Fortunately, it seemed she was as yet unaffected.

The crew discovered as they off-loaded that they were being attended to by medics completely gowned in their own hyper-sterile suits. They must have also been directed to an emergency landing site, for they were taken directly into a medical unit and each put into isolation rooms. All were given IVs containing not only replenishment liquids and glucose but also general anti-bacterial as well as anti-viral agents.



By Week Two when no one was much better, medical personnel added an experimental immune system boosting agent.

Thanks largely to the immune boosting serum --or perhaps coincidentally-- by Week Three, the entire crew was out of bed and had gathered in a communal room for their first conversation in twenty-two days. They gathered their wheelchairs in a circle to trade notes.

“Those evil little creeps!” moaned Charlie. “Look what they did to us! I don’t know if I’ll ever get back to my Ranger fitness levels again.” He gingerly lifted a pajama leg and showed off his withered calf.

Fillip could only nod. His usually robust face looked skeletal.

Dax reached out to feel his bicep. ”I’m going to be really bummed if my basketball game has suffered. My arms are like toothpicks." He reflected upon what his future might look like.

Everyone privately observed General Takeda. Not only had she lost air in the large leak in her extravehicular suit, cave air had entirely replaced the oxygen for the entire duration of their thirty-nine-minute escape from the cave. She was still in a non-verbal condition. Such a shame, more than one thought. Such a shining career brought to an end.

“Strange,” said Linsa. “Is this what sacrificing your life for your country means? I guess, as a doctor, I always knew in the back of my mind that I might one day be exposed to a deadly unknown disease.”

“I know,” moaned Travis. I always knew, as a pilot, one day I might crash. To end up an invalid is not what I imagined for myself. I’ll never forgive those deadly little beasts. I hate them!”

“I guess this will go down in the history books,” mused Dax. “Interstellar interaction deemed too dangerous. Here we thought that just because they didn’t run us through with sharp horns or vicious teeth that they weren’t a risk.”

“And what have we gained, other than twenty-twenty hindsight?” Charlie lamented.

Fillip revived enough to offer, “In biology, like criminology, we have sort of a Locard’s principle. Any time two species interact, they each make an impression upon the other, especially with regard to microscopic sharing of pathogens. They breathe our air, we breathe theirs. We are completely unaware of what we are exchanging.”

“But we were wearing suits!” cried Linsa. “They were supposed to be airtight.”

By Week Four, most of the crew were able to walk, albeit slowly. Exercise equipment was added to their quarantine area. By Week Six, all except Takeda had achieved a PFR (personal fitness rating) of five, which was deemed sufficient for release to the outside world. Their serum was examined for titers of pathogenic material. Now, not only would they manage in the more challenging environment of daily life, people who were exposed to them were considered safe from contamination. It was a truly happy day. Even Takeda’s score had more than doubled, from .75 up to 1.9.

A transport bus arrived to relocate the crew to the general housing complex of the colony so that they could easily return to their old homes without fully suiting up. They were given replacement clothes and new phones. Amid the happy chatter as they rumbled over the open land on their way back, each checked their phones for missed calls.

“Hey, I’ve got thirty-five missed calls from an unknown number,” called out Charlie.

“Me too!” Dax showed the screen of his phone to the others, though of course they couldn’t read it across the bus.

“I win,” commented Linsa dourly. “I’ve got one hundred and forty-nine. What’s up with that?”

“OK, I’m checking,” commented Dax. He pushed the voicemail button for the most recent unheard message. “It’s the pika,” he said with some surprise. “How did he get my number? And he just said, ‘The end is near.’” Dax randomly scanned to read one of the messages in the middle of the queue. He played it so that all could hear. At first they only heard the distinctive, high-pitched voice. Then it became more clear.

“You have poisoned us!” the pika accused. “We are all so sick. Why have you done this to us? Please pick up my call. Why are you ignoring us?!”

Charlie then clicked on one of his messages. Again, they listened to a weak and angry pika accusing them of intentionally making them ill. He turned to Linsa, “OK, Linz, play one of yours.”

She went to her first message. Like the others, it was the expected high-pitched pika voice. But this one begged Linsa to come back. “You are so beautiful,” it gushed. “I think I love you.” The crew listened, transfixed, as nearly every message on Linsa’s phone expressed rapture at her beauty. The second half of the messages claimed they might die happy if only they could see her one more time before they succumbed to the illness that was eating away at them.

“Gad, I thought I wanted to kill them,” bemoaned Charlie. “Now I’m beginning to feel sorry for them. They suffered exactly the same fate we did.”

“Though did any of you fall in love with any pikas?” Layfield asked snarkily.

“We know they were desperately hungry,” added Linsa. “I wonder if they have enough medical care.”

“I thought I never  wanted to talk to them again,” announced Dax, “But I’m making a phone call.” He hit the call back button on his phone.

At the squeaky answer, he replied, “Hello, this is Mars Base I, Dax speaking. Is there anything we can do to help you out? Sorry we’ve been out of touch. We’ve been ill.

“I see. I think we can arrange to return tomorrow. We’ll meet you briefly at the mouth of your cave to drop off supplies. Remember, I said BRIEF.”

Dax looked at the other members of the crew. “This will be completely voluntary,” he said. It’s a medical relief mission. They’re worse off than we were. I figure we could bring them some food. Maybe that experimental immune boost would work for them. Who’s in?”

Some members nodded and a few shook their heads.

And Linsa’s phone began to ring.

And ring and ring.

Dax had always loved that exhilarating feeling of having his stomach seem to rise up in his gut as he fell over the top edge of a roller coaster. Maybe that’s what first got him interested in being an astronaut. But this was different. This was real. This time he was swooping in a death-defying drop from a Planetary Exploration Vehicle straight down toward the surface of Mars. And toward a head-first collision with space aliens who may or may not be more than a little pissed. Had they been invited or warned? It really wasn’t entirely clear.

A free fall drop of one thousand meters would land Dax at the mouth of the cave in less than fourteen seconds. It would also kill him. Fortunately, to avoid this dire consequence, he was wearing a jet pack. It would afford him some flight time in which he could critically evaluate the risks of any particular landing spot.

Dax purposely took a wide approach, the better to scope out the situation. He surveyed the boulder-strewn red mountainside of Pavonis Mons.  He circled the cave where he expected to meet the pika-like alien. The cave still looked like nothing so much as a dark throat waiting to swallow up whoever would stray too near. Dax noted that the pikas’ sculptures depicting both the Alpha Centauri solar system as well as the earth’s solar system were still there in front of the cave where they had noticed them just an hour earlier. But no pikas were visible. As Dax’s mission was to drop down for a visit to test the friendliness of the aliens, seeing no pikas was a bit concerning. What if they were holding back because they wanted to be out of the way when they launched their attack?

Dax took a second circuit of the mouth of the cave. Still no pikas. Were they going to insist upon seeing him in the flesh—well, in his EV space suit? Did he have to alight and stand there demonstrating he was not afraid? (Maybe he was—just a little.) Maybe he’d try for a quick touchdown, but be hair-trigger ready to blast out of there.

Gingerly, tentatively, he set his boots down to the left of the gaping maw of the cave. Now that he was on the ground, Dax turned 360 degrees to check all his surroundings. He paid special attention to the dark cave. Not seeing anything unusual or dangerous, he clenched his left fist and then his right toes. This activated a prearranged bio-telegraphic signal to his crew that he had arrived. He then flattened out his right palm to indicate conditions were status quo, that is, nothing was happening. The signals were voiceless. The crew had already discovered that these aliens were remarkably capable of butting into their conversations, both as listeners and as speakers. Dax was also wired to pick up and transmit any ambient noises. His entire crew would be listening in to whatever happened down here.

Dax remembered that the pika they had observed had lingered for roughly twenty minutes; perhaps he should do the same. He wandered over to the sculptures left by the giant ants. Egad, the rocks in the message left for them were huge! Dax looked out at the view. From the mouth of the cave, he figured he could see thirty kilometers. The landscape reminded him of volcanic areas at home. There even appeared to be a lava flow which stopped abruptly five kilometers off to the south. This is beautiful, he thought. If I weren‘t waiting to see if they’re going to kill me, I might be enjoying myself.

Suddenly, things got a little more interesting. He briefly felt a buzz course through his body. Interesting, he thought. I wonder if that’s the first step in the retaliation. He turned to face the cave.

Within moments, the peaceful, yet apprehensive, silence was broken by pika voices in his helmet.

“We have determined that you are not carrying any weapons with bullets or projectiles or sharp edges. We detect no plasma sources or infrared beamers. No ultra-violet ray guns are on your person. Can you confirm?”

“Yes, all of that is true. I come unarmed. I come in peace.” Dax raised his arms to shoulder height and spread out his legs for easier viewing. He wondered if all that information was gathered during the buzz he felt. “Are you also unarmed?”

Three furry pikas the size of rotund rabbits emerged from the cave and stood on two legs in front of him. One was holding a shiny metallic device the size of his foot in front of him. It appeared to have a glass-like screen with multi-colored dots on it. Of greater concern, another was holding a slightly longer instrument and had it pointed toward Dax. “Uh oh,” he thought. His stomach gave an unpleasant lurch.

 “Indeed, we are unarmed. Please do not be concerned with these pieces of equipment. They merely alert us to your movements and armory.”

Not for the first time did Dax wonder if they also could read minds with these advanced technologies. Somehow, they always seemed so perceptive to what was going through the minds of the humans.

Dax cleared his throat. How should he begin? “We also come in peace. I must apologize for the actions of one of my crew members. In a misguided attempt for scientific research, he thought he would try to help one of your members who seemed ill and take it back to our exploration craft for medical attention.” Dax figured that Layfield’s weak excuse would also have to do for the pikas. He was much too embarrassed to say what all the earthlings had thought, that Travis was planning to grill the pika for dinner.

“Strange,” remarked the cell phone-toting pika, “We felt fairly certain that the victim was intended to be served as a meal.” If a furry animal could glare, Dax thought it was doing that.

“I hope we can move on from that unfortunate incident,” countered Dax. “That was certainly not the intention of our crew. My name is Dax Obama, by the way.”

There was generalized chattering in the form of squeaks and whistles among the pikas. Then the gun-carrying pika answered, “Nice to meet you. My name is Beno 672463A. These are my partners, Jano 6755B66 and Filo 6727122. “We are in agreement,” answered Beno 2463A. “We will move on. However, we will be cautious. So many primitive societies have remnants of completely uncivilized individuals. Our mission here is far too important to be thwarted by one rogue member.”

“Yes, our mission on this forbidding planet is also important. We have been working on adapting it to our needs.” Dax continued, “Meeting inhabitants from a faraway solar system is remarkable. We certainly need to ensure that our contact is mutually beneficial. Lord knows the last thing we need is a vicious war.”

“Indeed!” The little pikas all began nodding and squeaking vigorously. “No war, no war,” they clamored. “We have strenuously rooted out all war-like tendencies in our own civilization. If we detect anything like that in yours, we will have to kill you to prevent its spread to us.”

Dax thought this over briefly. “Kill all of us to prevent war?” Something wasn’t quite adding up. Time to check in with the boss. He surreptitiously bent both hands into “C” shaped curves. This conveyed to the PEV and the rest of his crew the question, “Do you copy?” Did they hear that? In response he received the very briefest of tiny shocks to his hands. Yes, they had heard it. Hmmm, best to proceed extremely cautiously with this lot.

The pikas continued as if nothing out of the ordinary had been said. “We propose a ‘Meet and Greet.’ Why don’t we gather here on the verandah of this cave in two days’ time. Maybe we could share food. Do you have salad? We've been missing salad.”

Dax was very fond of salad himself and had also been craving it. Thanks to the hydroponic gardens, every colonist got a small salad once a week. Other than that, it was just pills. Pills and pills and pills. But he was a little perplexed. “How will we do that? We are wearing special suits to protect us from the very thin air here, as well as the other hazards such as sand storms and incoming meteorites. They also help transmit our voices among ourselves. However, because of the suits, we would have a very difficult time putting food into our mouths.”

Dax was acutely aware that any information he shared with these creatures could possibly be used in the future against them. Here he had just admitted that they might starve to death if left out without food. He must be careful to keep some facts private.

The comment about eating elicited even more high-pitched chatter. “We apologize,” Beno2463A replied. “We naively thought that was your natural form! I am embarrassed!” He continued, “Are you aware that we are not out here in our natural form either? We, too, are wearing protective suits.”

Now it was Dax’s turn to be stunned. “You mean you are not naturally small furry animals?”

Much tittering ensued. “We recognize that is what you see. But we are not. We also have many controls inside our suits. The translation device for one. Of course, the heavy fur is to keep us warm. Our planet is much warmer than this. It also adapts the atmosphere for us. Our planet has thick, luscious carbon dioxide air.”

“Why don’t we eat separately but then gather for friendly games?” Dax suggested. “We could begin with ten-minute presentations about ourselves, for example, what we look like without these space suits, then go outside for activities. I suppose that our different body types will make it difficult to compete on an equal basis, but, if we have the right attitudes about it, we will enjoy ourselves and possibly learn things as well.”

“What is this verb you used, ‘compete’?” The pikas looked confused.

Oh boy, thought Dax. We really are more different than I thought. “In this case, it means a friendly game,” he answered. We will play together to enjoy ourselves.” Dax sincerely hoped that would assuage their fears.

“Is this not what leads to war? Are you saying you enjoy having rivals?”

“No,” countered Dax, ”This is friendly. I think war is more about greed.”

“Greed? Isn’t greed about wanting to eat too much food?”

Dax shook his head. “Well, yes it can start with that feeling, but …say, I can see we have much to discuss and clarify. I will bring my crew here in two days’ time. You will not be sorry that we have had this encounter.”

Dax raised a hand in goodbye, then turned and fired up his jet pack. He had set the homing device for PEV. He hoped to goodness none of them would regret the encounter. Should they consider today an invitation or a warning?

He knew it still wasn’t entirely clear.
 

Note: This story is the latest installment in my series  "The Martian Chronicles." If you haven't been following along as it develops, you will find it helpful to refer back to the last two episodes.  Please visit https://furzicle.livejournal.com  particularly those posts dated the 14 of February and the 20 of February. To read the story in its entirety, begin way back on the 8 of January.


Furry Eno lay silently in the hammock-like sack on Travis’s back, jarring with every downward step Travis took. Egad, all this time in this bag. He stretched, then remembered his orders were to play dead. He wondered once again why he had volunteered for this duty as an A-1 space espionage agent. Sure, it sounded romantic in the movies. But the realities were far different. Sometimes it was boring and dangerous, like right now, schlepping back down into the cave. And sometimes it was frightening and dangerous like it could be in a few moments when they were finally back at his home base. He carefully evaluated all the possibilities. He supposed the worst would be a shootout where these infernal humans would begin blasting all his compatriots to Kingdom Come. Eno knew his team would then have no choice but to shoot back, much as he knew that was anathema to them. He, Eno, would likely become collateral damage sitting right there in the middle of things as he was. His stress was building. He really wasn’t sure just what to expect from these humans. They were such a primitive people!

Suddenly Travis’s mouth was spewing words into the bag right over Eno’s face. Eno already had his translation device switched on. He heard Travis's stern voice telling him not to go “ratting” about what had just happened. The nerve! Though perhaps it was understandable considering his appearance. Well, of course he would be reporting back to headquarters. What did he think an A-1 space espionage agent was supposed to do?! In response, Eno flipped off the device. As if he needed that kind of annoyance!

Abruptly, Eno felt himself turned out onto the cold rocks deep in the cave. Whew! No shooting! Yet, anyway.

Relief and pent up tension burst out of his mouth. A string of shrill exhortations filled the air. “Dumkopf! Idiot! I can’t believe you thought I was stupid enough to be caught and taken home for your ridiculous carnivorous dinner! Have you no morals? And did you really think I was stupid enough to wander straight into your hands?! What do you think I am, chopped liver? What chutzpah! What a mishegas! Feh!”

As Eno turned and scampered back to make his report, he realized he had forgotten to turn on his translation device once again. Pfft, so they didn’t understand. At least they should have picked up on his mood.

Eno noticed the flight crew fueling up their reconnaissance craft as he ran up the ramp into his company’s living quarters. Good on them, he thought. I wonder if they’re setting up for another exploration of the surface. Once inside, he wiggled out of his space suit. Fortunately, the furry exterior helped mitigate the extreme temperatures here on Mars. All the wiring inside the suit provided further help with not only the translations, but also with temperature controls, atmospheric adaptations, bionic muscular boosts, and so on and so on. Eno was happy to be relieved of the bulk of the suit. He much preferred the stretchy, comfortable fabric he wore inside.  He stretched his four limbs and tail and headed down the hall to see the Leader.

“Eno 2434A1B, reporting on the Operation Meet-up mission, sir.” Eno nodded his nearly bald head politely to his superior officer.

The officer nodded back in acknowledgment. “Tell me what you have learned, A-1 space agent. Did you have any trouble embedding yourself within the visiting human contingent?”

“No, quite the opposite, sir. Can you believe that as soon as I pretended to snuffle up to one of them, he snatched me up TO TAKE HOME FOR DINNER!”

“What heathens! Did he get so far as prepping you for cooking? I know you’ve always been willing to risk your life for our society and this colony, but I never would have dreamed you might end up on some alien’s dinner plate!” The Leader shook his head in bafflement.

“OK, that is indeed odd. But even more foreign to our way of thinking, I found they seem to have an anger management concern. When I was taken topside, the other members of their team erupted into angry and loud disagreements. At one point, I was frightened they might break out in physical altercations!”

“Were they not able to discuss their experiences calmly? Try to analyze the situation? Think of a peaceful way to interact with us, just as we would have done?”

“No sir, completely the opposite. Anger seemed to be the emotion of the day. For all we know, perhaps they fight all the time. We should be very cautious of any weapons they may employ. Remember that bomb they threw down here six weeks ago?”

“Well, Eno 2434A1B, may I remind you that that weapon originated with us. It is unfortunate that they used it. But on the other hand, we can hardly fault them. We pretty much handed it to them on a scandium platter. Too bad for them that it only worked on their own agent. I guess that’s karma for you.”

Eno steepled his twelve fingers together. “True, I had forgotten about that part. It seems having a test for menschlikeit, that is, a decency test, is always a good precaution. Oy vey.”

The Leader stared up toward the ceiling. “I’m thinking we should send them along their way. How about we fire a warning shot to get them moving? That would be responding to them in their own language. Nothing dangerous,” he added quickly. “just something to discourage them from bothering us further. We have important work to do here and can’t be distracted by belligerent, war-mongering natives. I know, how about a simple, non-fatal, green plasma blast? It will look dangerous, but only give them a scare.” He turned to his intercom and punched in the code to ballistics A6669B. “Take a look, Eno 2434A1B.”

Eno stared at the large monitor overhead and watched the green plasma blast shoot up the tunnel. “Pretty, isn’t it, sir?” he commented with admiration.

“Indeed. Though sad that we have to do this.” The Leader shook his head in disappointment. “I wonder what will happen with these people next.”

Dax and Takeda and the rest of their crew spent a long night waiting for Charlie and Travis to return. They knew they would only hear from them if there were to be a deadly emergency.

“Perhaps it’s good news that we have neither heard nor seen anything,” commented Linsa hopefully.

“Nevertheless, we must be extremely vigilant,” countered General Takeda. “If anything happens, it will happen suddenly. We cannot afford to be unready. Their lives depend upon our constant attention. Crew, check your weapons. Have plenty of ammo.”

Dawn was barely cracking the black grip of night when the radio startled them with Charlie’s screaming voice.

“Open the bays!” shouted Takeda.

Seconds later, Travis and Charlie were bursting out of the cave in a dead run for their craft. “Take her up!” commanded General Takeda sharply as the two tumbled in.  MariLuz, who as mechanic was now covering piloting duties, immediately rocketed the helicopter 500 meters up and back in an agile arc.

“Keep the bird in SM, silent mode, while we hover here out of sight behind the mountain peak,” sternly ordered Takeda. “We’ll see if we can remain undetected by the pika base. Meanwhile, we’ll do our own observations and analysis.

“Crew, how many pika aliens do you think were down there? How do you rate their apparent ability to launch a deadly attack? Does anyone have any insight on what their weakest traits were?

“I’ll have to order enough of the appropriate missiles and launchers to wipe them out. A rival community could be the death of us all.” General Takeda gritted her teeth.

“Lord, I’m afraid it’s going to get ugly. Everyone focus on your targets.”

The only other sound besides the humming of equipment was the gentle snicking of gun safeties being released.

A violent Martian sandstorm blasted the outer hull of the planetary exploration vehicle (PEV). It caused a constant rattling din that made the prospect of getting any rest this dark night virtually impossible. “Or maybe it isn’t that,” mused Dax. “Maybe it’s just the tension.” He moved aft in the ship to where General Irene Takeda, the captain of this mission, had asked each member to consult with her privately. It was the eve of their foray into the deep cave in the mountain on the surface of Mars. Not only did she want to gather as much intel as possible, she also needed to isolate each person’s input. They suspected there was a spy somewhere, maybe even on board!

When General Takeda invited Charlie back for his interview, he was only mildly surprised to see that Dax was waiting for him to join them in the RCB (Rear Cargo Bay). It was Dax and Charlie who had had the initial contact with the alien ship less than a week ago. It was the two of them who had defied orders by not reporting to their commander the bottle the interlopers had handed over to them. The fact that the aliens claimed they had arrived from Alpha Centauri didn’t exactly jibe with the fact that the bottle was a dead ringer for the beer bottles that were on offer in their Mars Colony chow hall. In fact, MacGuffin, the name of the beer, had become their battle cry for figuring out just who was involved in this mystery. Was it Commander Ben Arnold, with his shifty eyes? Was it Larry, the cafeteria worker who apparently was also a chief intelligence officer? Or could it be someone else?

When Takeda asked Charlie what private information he had to add to their data, he told them about the footsteps he had heard in the cabin the previous night. She thought that was odd, but couldn’t really surmise anything from it. Nothing had seemed out of place in the morning. None of their flight settings had been reset. And, no, he didn’t have any idea of who it could have been, though he did point out that the only crew members who bunked aft of him were Linsa and Dax. “I don’t think the prowler came from behind me,” he remarked.

“Unless,” interjected Takeda, “it was someone of our crew communicating with someone outside of our craft.”

Dax and Charlie widened their eyes at this idea.

“None of the other crew have noticed anything,” continued General Takeda. “I think it’s time to have the entire crew here for input. We’ll leave Linsa on observation duty and bring the rest together to collaborate. Moments later, everyone had been collected. Linsa was a little sad to miss the pow wow, but of course, she knew what duty meant.

“Let’s go over the basic questions,” posed Takeda, looking around the circle of faces illuminated by the reddish glow of LED lights. Somehow, it almost looked like a group gathered around a campfire. “Let me remind you, we need to keep our voices low. Someone out there could be listening. Now, first question is, are they aliens or are they our own people? What interest would aliens have in capturing us?”

“Maybe they want to take this planet for their own civilization,” suggested Charlie. “People traditionally have always wanted to make land grabs. Maybe things aren’t so good back home for them.”

“Or maybe they’re just friendly.” Dax, ever the optimist, responded.

Larry, who, before this, had only been known as the lunch tray collector in the chow hall spoke up in a whisper. “In the intelligence business, we have never had any data on another civilization. We’ve found life on other planets, though not intelligent life as we know it. We’ve seen sulfur-loving bacteria and viruses. But we’ve never had any clues about thinking beings from farther away. That’s in spite of carefully monitoring radio transmissions, and light data from all corners of space --around the clock for centuries. It’s hard to believe some previously unknown beings would show up so unexpectedly.”

“If they are aliens, we don’t even have any indication what they’re like,” Charlie exclaimed in a hushed voice. “Are they tiny, like mice or spiders, or are they gigantic, like dinosaurs? When they spoke to us, they used a computer-generated voice. In English, I might add, though I suppose if they did their research, they would have heard us speaking.”

Dax added, “But if they’re earthlings, why would they want to cause us harm?”

Larry spoke up again. “Oh, earthlings are well known for going over to the dark side for any number of reasons. “Or, it could be that they are aliens, but that they’ve enticed the humans with promises of riches or a choice piece of the land they’re hoping to claim. What if they have advanced technology that they can wave in front of somebody’s nose. Say, a device to offer time travel, or something else we all consider science fiction?”

“Perhaps some earthlings could be more susceptible to that kind of bribery,” suggested Charlie, thinking of what they’d learned about the pranks Commander Arnold had endured as a young man at the hands of his peers. He could imagine someone wanting revenge, especially with the promise of seemingly super-human powers. But even though he didn’t entirely trust the commander, he thought it unlikely the man would be so tempted.

“OK, let’s assume for the moment that they are aliens, unknown as they may be to us,” said Takeda. “Since in their initial contact they claimed to be friendly and to offer us the opportunity to visit and get to know them, why are they now hiding? What changed?”

"I think they were faking the friendliness," scoffed Charlie.

“One thing we’re ignoring so far,” he added, “is that the bottle their message was in was exactly like our MacGuffin bottles. How in the heck did they get that?”

“Maybe that’s a clue pointing to it being humans who are perpetrating this prank,” pointed out Larry.

“Or maybe they used their advanced technology to beam it up to their ship,” said Dax.

“Good ideas, everyone.” Takeda looked around the circle of solemn eyes. She saw they were tired. She saw they were uncombed. But she also saw the determination in their faces. “Here’s our plan for tomorrow. We’ll rise at 0400. We’ll suit up. I think they’ll expect us to use advanced transportation technology, but I’m thinking perhaps getting up the hill to the cave the old-fashioned way—on our feet—might provide us with an element of surprise. It should be only about ten kilometers to the mouth of the cave. As you know, what with the Martian gravity, that shouldn’t take terribly long, even though we’ll be climbing. We should all carry PLDs, that is personal light devices, though I hope to arrive at the mouth of the cave right around daybreak. Wear your infra-red goggles, set for life-detection. Our communications with each other will be encoded. Whoever we meet, alien or human, neither will understand the code we’ll be using.

“At that time of day, only one of our moons will still be shining. We don’t even know if these beings rely upon our spectrum of visible light. But hopefully, like us, the darkness will provide us some cover.

“Of course, no matter what is in that cave, our suits will protect us from any atmosphere or almost any temperature.

“And bring your thermo-tasers, of course. Thank goodness for human technology.

“Charlie, I want you to stay ahead of the others as we make our way up to the cave. Dax, you carry the bottle, packed carefully, of course. You will bring up the rear. Keep an eye on everyone. Pay attention in case someone wanders off or behaves suspiciously. As to the bottle, I have a suspicion that it may contain a toxic substance that actually is poisonous to the aliens and perhaps they’ve speculated it will be bad for us. With our suits, we should be OK if you need to open it if things get dicey down there. And maybe that will be enough to overcome them.” She looked seriously at both men. “Now go get some rest.”



The crew efficiently bustled about collecting all the necessary gear. Dax made a point to bump into Kaia to get a quick morning smooch. “That neon green EVSS (extra-vehicular space suit) is great. It’ll help me spot you through the raging sand.” She smiled at him. He glanced around. Indeed, it appeared that everyone’s EVSS was a different color. Takeda was in silver he noticed. Charlie had red trim around his waist and sleeves. Oh wait, he noticed two were in blue trimmed suits. One was Larry and he, Dax himself, also had the blue trim.

 The sandstorm still greeted them in the dark morning as they spread out to assault the hill. The general herself was slightly ahead to lead the way.  Dax noticed the wisp of a moon sinking down near the eastern horizon. Phobos, he said to himself.

Glancing at the hologram illuminated beyond his suit, Dax saw a projection of the topography of the hill they were climbing. It afforded them the luxury of knowing where every oncoming boulder or pit lay. It also made their fellow crew members especially visible. He wondered what their opponents would look like.

A metallic voice cut through the buzz inside his helmet. It was a personal message from Charlie. “Hey, if these guys want to be our friends, will they throw the welcome mat out for us?”

“Wishful thinking, man. Wishful thinking,” answered Dax. He looked around. Visibility was only about fifty meters. But there was Charlie in his red-trimmed suit right behind the yellow one. That would be Linsa, he recalled. Larry was way out ahead on the left. Dax wondered why he was so far away. In fact, it was hard to spot Larry. Swirls of Martian dust obscured the view between them about half the time. “How you doing?” he asked Kaia on their private channel.

“Getting along” she answered. “This sure beats that hike I did in the Alps before I came here. This hill is just as steep but so much easier! Wouldn't those Swiss cows have appreciated an easier hike to their barn!” As if to demonstrate, she moved on up ahead. Before long, she was a full thirty meters beyond him.

 Dax was preoccupied keeping an eye on the whole complement of crew members, as he had promised Takeda last night. She had also asked him to step into a leadership role if anything should happen to her. Dax had not really seen the need for such precautions, but, then again, she was the combat-trained leader. As a ranger, Dax himself should have seen that eventuality. Perhaps he did, but he preferred not to think about it too graphically.

The higher up they climbed, the more intensely the sand hammered them. It was accompanied by a prodigious roar. Sure, the wind howls, thought Dax. But this sounds like it’s mechanically enhanced. Is there some kind of fan up there?

Another voice cut through to the entire crew. “I’m at the cave!” announced Larry.

It must be farther than fifty meters away, thought Dax. I can’t even see him.

Another ten meters up the increasingly steep slope and Dax did spot the blue-suited Larry. Just beyond him was a gaping dark space. The cave! Larry took two steps toward the cave. Suddenly his body stopped. He was frozen in a rigid pose and then he began to shake violently. It looked as if an electric charge had gripped him and was frying all his circuits! Then, as suddenly as it started, it stopped. Larry’s body dropped in a flaccid heap. As he dropped, Larry let loose a weak, dying cry. And then it was quiet.

“Crap!” shouted Charlie.

I guess that proves it wasn’t Charlie in his blue suit that got roasted, mused Dax.

“Everybody drop!” shouted General Takeda. Immediately, everyone in their expedition force hit the ground. “Continue to move forward,” she commanded. Like lizards, everyone obeyed.

As they inched forward, a new voice entered their helmets. It was Kaia. “I’m coming,” she announced. It sounded as though she was reassuring Larry that she was coming to his aid. But she marched over to his limp body, but then proceeded right through into the cave.

How odd is that? wondered Dax. And then her voice disappeared. Dax’s stomach wasn’t sure whether to be petrified or angry.

“What’s going on?” “Where’d Kaia go?” Everyone in the crew was buzzing. “There isn’t any screaming,” remarked Charlie.

The sand seemed to moderate in its blowing. The noise seemed to die down as well. Finally, the sandstorm stopped. Then Kaia re-emerged on the lip to the cave. “I’m leaving you all,” she announced.

“What!!” All the crew jabbered at once in consternation.

“I’ve gotten a better deal with the Alpha Centaurians,” she continued. I have helped them establish this base here on the opposite side of the planet from us. The poor things. Their home planet is being worn out by over-exploitation. They’ve been searching their own solar system as well as ours to find a planet with low oxygenation and a high concentration of CO2 to suit their pulmonary needs. Their own planet is choked with plants that are contaminating their atmosphere with an overabundance of oxygen. They desperately wanted to find a place to establish a toehold of their own civilization.” Kaia began to cry. “I felt so sorry for them. I wanted to do anything I could to help. I’m the one that helped them get the bottle. I’m the one who sent them coordinates the other night.”

Dax decided he needed a better view. Maybe he could save Kaia from herself if he snuck up on her. He began to crawl off to the side and then around and up above the mouth of the cave. As he crawled, everyone else seemed frozen in an impasse. Finally, he was perched directly above where Kaia was standing.

“Kaia,” he cried out. “Look at me. Up here, above you!”

Confused, Kaia turned and finally looked up. “It’s over Dax,” she called. “You’re always too busy with your own projects. I’ve found someone better. They appreciate me here!”

“But I love you, Kaia!” Dax was desperate now. “Please don’t leave me. I need you! Who are these creatures?”

“They are sweet and desperate souls. They treat me like a queen. I love them.” Kaia crossed her arms in defiance.

“Sergeant Greenacre, I command you to return to your company.” General Takeda’s voice was imperative.

“No, General. I refuse. I quit.” With that retort, Kaia turned to reenter the cave.

Dax thought over the fact that these unknown aliens were intent upon taking over the planet that he had grown to love. He thought about all the improvements the earthlings had worked so hard for decades to bring to the Martian planet. Oxygenating the atmosphere, growing earthly foods in their hydroponic hothouses. Drilling the valuable wells down to the underground aquifers. He realized that the alien goals were exactly opposite from those of the earthlings. As much as he felt abandoned by Kaia, he knew he had little choice. He reached into his backpack and pulled out the MacGuffin bottle. At least perhaps I can form a sort of firebreak against the imminent danger, he thought. Carefully planning his trajectory, he lobbed the bottle to arc down and back into the cave. There was a sound of shattering glass. Within moments, that was followed by a muffled whumph, then billowing black smoke.

No one could see Kaia anymore, but suddenly they heard her begin to cry out in anguish. “Oh help, they’re dying. They’re dying! That horrid bottle was filled with gas and fire. It’s killing them!  I can’t bear this!  I will not abandon them!” There was coughing, followed by gasping. And then silence.


The crew trudged back down the hill. They had won this battle, but at what cost?  Two of their members were gone.

Dax hardly spoke.  While he had lost his girlfriend, he had probably saved their own fledgling Martian civilization. He was alternating between thinking about how sweet Kaia had been, and how he, himself, had had to bring her down. He recalled her constant comments about the precious pets she had left behind on earth, and her inability to separate her sentimentality for living creatures from the group’s need for self-preservation. So, in the end, it hadn’t been a desire for exotic technology or beautiful land holdings. It was simple desire for the love of more of the universe’s creatures. Dax wondered if having pets or even an initial complement of farm animals at their Mars base would have helped Kaia.

He would bring it up with the brass at their next debriefing.

"Who's ready for a MacGuffin?" somebody asked.

All they got in response was a round of groans.

Charlie left the Commander’s office feeling quite shaken. It wasn’t every day one lied to one’s commanding officer. He didn’t even notice his surroundings, not even the pinkish hue of the late afternoon sky.

He made a snap decision. He had to talk to Dax. Had anyone one else seen the encounter? Was there anyone else who could rat him out? No one else could know!  There could be no witnesses and no delays.

Charlie bounded off to the crew quarters (CQ) to consult with Dax. Thanks, Low Gravity! He was buzzed in immediately, but he could hardly stand the sense of impending doom as he waited impatiently for the three minutes it took to traverse the six-chamber airlock. (AL-6)

He hurried through the hallway, glancing nervously at every passerby he encountered. Did he look guilty? Did they know he had been involved in the secret mission? (Did they even know there had been a secret mission?) The climate control (CC) was set at the usual 22° Celsius, but somehow Charlie felt it was much warmer.

Here was the door to Dax’s apartment. He feverishly punched the VAD (visitor alert device, aka, the doorbell) rapidly three times, hoping that would imply a sense of urgency. Suddenly Dax threw open the door. He quickly glanced to the left and to the right before reaching out and grabbing Charlie by the arm, and yanking him inside. “Did anyone see you?” he blurted out.

Charlie was startled by Dax’s reaction. After all, it was he, Charlie, who had done some bad juju just ten minutes earlier. “Uh, I passed a few people on the way over,” Charlie stammered.

“But you played it cool, right?” Dax stared intently at Charlie.

“Sure, well, I tried.” Charlie answered. “What’s up with you?”

“Hey,” Dax interrupted. “Was there anyone else on that assignment besides the two of us?”

“I don’t know,” responded Charlie. “Though there may have been someone watching from Space Traffic and Air Traffic Control (STATIC).  Maybe a few others that we don’t know about. I did tell my girlfriend Linsa about the mission, but told her that I couldn’t give her any details. The Commander, of course. But, about the Commander…”

Dax cut in again. “Did you see what happened after I flew up to cut the ribbon on that interstellar ship?”

“Well, no. I was busy catching that bottle. You did see the bottle, right? In fact, here it is now.” Charlie pulled the bottle out from the interior pocket of his outdoor jacket and set it on the low table in front of the austere, standard-issue sofa. “Hey, do you mind if I take off my outside clothes? I’m awfully warm.” Charlie peeled off the stiff, dusty garment and hung it near the door that Dax had locked up tight. Now, dressed only in his long johns, as was Dax, Charlie felt much more comfortable.

“So this was the ‘traditional communication device?’” Dax asked. He laughed and picked it up. “This old thing?”

“Yep. As I was trying to say about the Commander…” Charlie tried to continue but Dax didn't stop.

“So yeah, I flew up to cut that weird ribbon off that god damned ship. Wait, do you swear to keep this conversation just between us?”

“Of course,” answered Charlie. “In fact…”

Dax continued, “So I got up there real close and vibrations started pulsing through my body. At first, I thought maybe it was from the power source of the ship. Then I began to perceive very low levels of images of tropical beaches and lush rainforests, like they were trying to entice me. But it didn’t make sense. It felt like brainwashing. It felt like a trap.

“So, I turned around. I just couldn’t do it. Suddenly the vibrations stopped, so I turned around to look. And all I saw was a sort of gray cloud where the ship had been. I don’t know if it vaporized or if it left a gray cloud as it nuked itself out of there. Very strange, though. Very strange.”

“I never even looked back after I saw you going up there!” Charlie exclaimed. “I caught the bottle they dropped out and then I reported to the Commander. But I gave him bogus info! I couldn’t help it, but when I heard that his name was Ben Arnold, like in Benedict Arnold the spy, I got all kinds of paranoid. I remembered his odd demeanor earlier. It suddenly seemed like he was in on a nefarious plot to cooperate with beings from the Outside. I panicked and told him that nothing happened and that the ship had left. I said we were back to business as usual.”

“Well, the ship certainly left,” commented Dax. “Looks like we both were derelict in our duties. I suppose we’re screwed. Think they’ll let us share the same cell?”

“Hey, I wonder what’s in that bottle?” Dax continued. “Do you think we should open it? Maybe we’ll learn something.”

“Maybe it’s full of toxins,” replied Charley.

“Or, we could put it back onto the food service pick-up belt in the cafeteria. Then they would open it. Anything bad happens, it’s not our fault.” Dax grinned. He looked for the moment as if he had found the convenient answer.

“What if it’s toxic and we all die? What then, huh?” Charlie glared at Dax.

A gloomy look passed over Dax’s face. “So then now what do we do?”

Charlie had an idea. “Do you suppose there might be someone who could help us out?”

“What?! And admit that we screwed up?”

“Nah, more like getting an expert’s opinion. Maybe we need a character reference on Commander Benedict Arnold,” Charlie replied. “Though I’m only speculating about his name being Benedict. Maybe I’m getting carried away.”

“You know,” Dax responded, “That’s a good idea. Who is there we might be able to trust? I’ll get the colony roster. Let’s consider our candidates.

“Man, I'm starving. Insubordination is a lot of work. Let’s eat something while we read,” Dax continued. “Maybe we’ll think better with some Mars calories coursing through our veins.” He got up and grabbed some MCREs out of the standard issue cupboards. (Mars Calories Ready to Eat) He also pulled out two MacGuffins, the local brew. They looked uncannily like the bottle sitting on the table in front of the sofa.

“From now on, our code word for this predicament is MacGuffin,” he said. “While everyone else will be thinking we’re talking about brewskis, we’ll know we’re tackling this bigger debacle.” The two gently knocked their real beers together, saying, “To MacGuffin!” The cold beers did help clear their minds. “So glad George MacGuffin did pull off this brewing project,” quietly mused Dax. “What else is there here on Mars to ease the stress?”

“Well, there’s always the women. Or at least some of them. Charley winked at Dax. They clinked their bottles again. “To Linsa,” he said.

“To Kaia,” said Dax.

And the two continued to discuss the predicament. They carefully evaluated everyone working the colony. They even considered folks back on earth, but eliminated them as being just too damn far away. Heck, the time delay in communications of up to twenty-four minutes would make that option completely untenable. It would take nearly an hour just to exchange hellos! In the end, they settled on one general who seemed a little less inside the commander’s clique. She was also intelligent and logical and seemed to give a steady ear to problems brought up by her staff. General IreneTakeda was definitely a good egg.

Two hours later, their talking points for the general, as well as the commander had been established. They would take a proactive approach with the commander. Charlie had said, “Maybe we should march right up to him together and build a case that we heroically saved our entire colony by not falling into the abduction trap.”

Dax had readily agreed. He checked his chronometer. “It’s only 20:38. How about we swing by Takeda’s office and then pay a visit to the commander? We’ll tell her everything, but the commander will get our amended version. No need to mention the bottle. And hell if we’ll say anything to him about being a spy!”


“Yes Sir,” replied Dax to the Commander’s latest question after twenty minutes of intense prying. “It is true that we suspected evil purposes from the alien ship.”

“Well, Gentlemen, I commend your superior intuitive reactions,” the Commander said.

Charlie didn’t dare look at Dax, but he was able to give him the slightest of nudges with his elbow.

The Commander steepled his hands and fixed his intense blue eyes on the men. “Obviously, this needs to continue to be a top-secret mission. But, also obviously, we need to try to pursue the matter as expeditiously as possible.”

“Yes, Sir.”

“I want both of you to report for duty at O600 four days from now at launch Venue 1A.

“Yes, Sir,” they responded, though a little less enthusiastically. They were going to Alpha Centauri?!

The Commander continued, “Make up a crew list of whichever individuals you feel can best support you technically as well as intellectually. Of course, you'll need a pilot or two, a navigation officer, intelligence personnel, a medic, you get the idea. Try to get folks with multiple talents. You know the drill."

This time it was Dax who nudged Charlie.

The Commander gruffly added, “Remember, mum's the word. Good work, men. You are dismissed.”


Charlie and Dax left the commander's office in silence. As soon as he thought they were out of earshot, Charlie broke the silence. “What do you think? At least we didn’t get thrown in the brig. He actually seemed to think we did a good job.  Or do you think he was just making that part up?”

“Maybe it’s all just a plot to get rid of us,” answered Dax in a gloomy voice. “You know, to carry on his ulterior motives without us breathing down his neck.”

“Really?”

“Really. You know, it could be possible.”

The two rangers gave each other concerned looks. “Let’s check back with Takeda and see how we’re going to work this.General Takeda greeted Dax and Charlie. “Good evening, Gentlemen. Have a seat. You were right, we really have a conundrum. Did you shirk your duties by not carrying out orders or did you save our civilization by defying them?

"In the hour you’ve been gone, I’ve turned up some interesting nuggets. Of course, this is highly classified, but under the circumstances... Did you know that our commander was ejected from an elite officers’ club for disagreeing with other members? That the others were so angry that they played some rather juvenile pranks on him? The man definitely has good reason for having some issues. We’ll have to proceed cautiously. Any of us could be court-martialed for pursuing this line of thinking.

"On the other hand, if Arnold turns out to be squeaky clean, we also have to examine this alien encounter. It'll be dangerous, but it's essential work, either way.

"How’d it go with you?

“I see. Let me check my schedule. I can certainly arrange to accompany you on the expedition. After all, you'll need someone with advanced navigation skills and new technology radio training. You do want me to join you, don’t you? Ok, we’ve got work to do, and only the next four days to prepare.”

She handed out a round of the local brew. "This calls for a toast. Don't worry, I'm calling this the end of the day. I can drink now and so can you.

"To MacGuffin!"

"To MacGuffin!" they all chimed in.

And while Charlie felt less guilt about thwarting a commanding officer's orders, for the first time, he also felt optimism about the possibility of uncovering a traitorous mole. He flashed a genuine smile at Dax. And Dax's returned smile reflected the same relief.