Angelika Queen Of Mars

Chapter 23

Chapter 23 Gathering At Dunn's Passage

The Moneymaker's quickly dressed again and Reggin used a crude metal and wood box mounted on the wall to call the Chief of Police, while Bretta prepared hot karma.

"Hello chief, sorry to wake you, yeah this is Reggin. Hey look I need you and Brate over here right now, no, no there's no trouble so don't come charging in here with guns drawn. There are some very interesting people here that want to speak to you…Yeah, no I can't tell you…Look, just get over here right now."

By this time captain Yarod had arrived bringing more translators with him offering one to Bretta. Before long chief Sotha and his deputy Brate arrived cautiously knocking on the door.

"Come on in chief!" announced Reggin. Both men slowly entered thinking this might be a gag or a trap but Reggin just offered them seats at the table.

"Sit down already, these people you see here are not from this planet." For the next hour Eno and Brate simply couldn't believe their ears but had to face simple reality in accepting the fact that they weren't alone in the universe. Finally chief Eno asked,

"So what is it you want captain Yarod, are you here to scout us for invasion?"

"God's ghost man, are we back to that? Of course not we're here doing a simple survey, nobody plans on invading anything, in fact there's a good chance that once we leave you'll never see us again, the data we collected on your planet will go into a vast database in the government space agency and that will be that." This seemed to confuse Eno as well as Reggin.

"Now wait a moment here," replied Eno "Let's not be too hasty here, so you're not planning on sharing any technical information with us?" Yarod shook his head,

"Sorry, but that would be violating the Prime Directive. But don't feel bad there's another planet known as Kagor that has a much higher level of technology than you do yet still not as high as ours, yet we cannot share with them either, and we've been visiting them off and on for well over a hundred dorns. I realize it sounds very selfish but there are strong reasons why this has to be enforced but in the long run it benefits us as well as you." Eno then looked at Reggin, who replied,

"I'm sorry Eno, there's nothing I can do, what could any of us do anyway."

"I don't know, call someone from the government," replied the police chief, "They should be made aware." then quickly turning to captain Yarod, he added,

"Don't you want to talk to them; don't you want to talk to our leaders?" Captain Yarod shrugged,

"Not particularly, we can't tell them anymore than we're telling you, besides this is safer. Consider this a courtesy call." Yarod saw the disappointment in the people's eyes and realized he wasn't getting out of here without offering something.

"All right, look, even though we have to leave, there are two destroyer's circling this planet as we speak, I'll talk to commander Armun and see what she says perhaps you can get your president, king, or who ever you call leader to make the trip out here, but I'm warning you, no large crowds, no military, no one else but you leader and perhaps whoever is in charge of technology. Yarod then placed a small device on the table,

"Technically this is violating the prime directive but it's a simple comm device, if your leader decides to come, call us."

Before he and his crew left, captain Yarod asked,

"Before we go, answer me this; none of you seem especially awe struck by the fact of beings from another world landing in your backyard, why is that? Brate answered that one,

"Captain, I'm a simple man, I work as chief Sotha's deputy, lived here all my life. Ask anyone who's lived out here for as long as all of us have and the fact of people dropping in on us from outer space is nothing compared to other things we've seen out here, no sir,."

"Why," asked the captain, "Something else going on here?"

"It's nothing you can put your finger on," replied Reggin, but sometimes when the wind blows or you're standing out on a quiet evening after the sun has just gone down you'll hear sounds of a horrific battle taking place somewhere off in the distance. When you can get them to admit it, there are people who have seen dust clouds from huge armies traveling across the Calm Sett. Like I told this lady here, our history on this planet only goes back three hundred years, and it's only been since airships were invented that any kind of exploration has been attempted. People go off they just don't come back. Figure it out; this was someone else's home once now it's ours. How or why we got here is anyone's guess, we're just too busy doing the day to day to spend much time trying to figure it all out. Well captain we will do our best to try and get out here but if we don't and you never return, thank you so much for the chance to actually meet someone from another world, think of us from time to time if you will. Good by and good luck." Everyone then shook hands as Yarod and his crew left and returned to their craft.

The three men and one woman sat at the table staring at the comm device lying in the middle until Reggin spoke,

"Think it's worth the effort to try and contact Belmara?" The chief shrugged,

"Probably not, but I'll give it a shot they'll just think we're crazy, but then they already think that."

Just before they departed, Meta said to captain Yarod,

"Sir I have a hunch those people are going to have a hard time convincing their leaders that we were for real. Perhaps we should give them a little help?"

"You're probably right Meta," he replied, "Any idea of what we could do to help?"

Meta smiled then giggled,

"How about…"

As large motorized airships made their way through the smoggy skies over the capitol the crews and passengers were all surprised to hear a loud boom overhead as a strange craft came streaking out of the southern sky. It dived down towards the city, then shot straight up passing an airship by a hundred kat's. It then shot forward as it leveled out quickly circling the entire city before disappearing skyward up through the clouds. The strange spectacle soon became the talk of the town so when the department of administration received a call from the police chief way out on the frontier talking about visitors from space, the call was taken seriously.

The Kor'Math docked with the Narjasic and soon a major conference was underway discussing the events that had taken place on the planet.

"We have to be very careful about this," advised Commander Aelfric,

"We are dangerously close to violating the prime directive, however if these people can arrange a meeting I think it's our duty to attend."

"I agree," added Commander Armun, however I'm very intrigued by what Meta and Boykin told me about the language those people spoke. The fact that it closely resembles what Jake and his people speak bothers me, add the fact that those people have only been on that planet for a little over three hundred dorns really gets me to wondering."

"It does me as well, added Commander Aelfric, "Something just isn't right here, and like it or not it's all part of our mission. Oh by the way, Jofyr, Yurenna and Elick asked if they could review all the land data we put together on Gale Celesta."

"I wonder why?" asked Angelika,

"Who knows?" replied her husband, "I saw no harm in it, Mikah is helping them with it."

Belmara was in turmoil many offices in the Government were burning the midnight oil, as meetings and discussions were held concerning the phone call from Dunn's Passage and the subsequent appearance over the capitol of a very strange and unexplainable flying craft. In the end, president Martin Gisborne, the director of planetary development, Hugh Ackworth, and the president's science and technology advisor, Doctor, and Professor John Gittens made the decision to travel to Dunn's Passage and see what these people wanted.

Three days later, the Kombaric received a transmission from the planets surface informing them that the president had agreed to meet and would be there in two days.

Commander Armun drafted a response to chief Sotha indicating that there must be no crowds, other than chief Sotha, and Reggin Moneymaker, and that included locals. No military presence of any kind, this was to be a low key meeting with Gale Celesta's leadership.

The day dawned cool, but quickly turned warm, this was Dunn's Passage time to shine everyone knew that the president and his staff had arrived late last evening in their private airships which, with many other's were moored in a huge circle around a temporary fence marking the purposed meeting place with the people from space. President Martin Gisborne along with his wife Anne. The Director of Planetary development, Hugh Ackworth and Doctor John Gittens were also here along with a number of other government officials and privileged friends. There was also militia here keeping the small crowd back, and providing security. In the middle of the ring a large tent had been erected which contained a temporary bar and kitchen to provide food and drink for everyone. The only real crowd here consisted mainly of the local citizens who knew about what was to happen along with a few who simply found out for one reason or another. Workers had labored all night to not only erect the tent and set things up but prepare the chairs and tables for the dignitaries to sit at. They had finally finished up around eight in the morning when President Gisborne and his entourage arrived and took their seats. Shortly afterwards chief Sotha and Reggin Moneymaker arrived whereby they greeted the President and his department heads

"How long are we to sit in this infernal heat?" questioned Mr. Ackworth. Since things were so still and quiet out here a practiced ear could hear things coming three or four miles away.

"Not long now," replied Mr. Reggin, I think I hear them now." Suddenly the air was filled with a low rumble coming from the south. Almost instantly two black hawk-like fighters came roaring in roughly a thousand feet high shooting over the field and airships in a matter of seconds, making their turn far out over the grasslands.

They then made another inspection pass before immediately slowing and hovering in mid-air, while a larger craft, the same one that over flew Belmara practically dropped right out of the sky and gently set down a dozen yards from the tent. The people's mouths hung open in astonishment; these strange flying machines were nothing like they had ever seen before or would ever again. They eagerly watched as a ramp dropped down to the ground and several figures all clad in black or dark blue emerged and made their way to the tent. President Gisborne and his party were still recovering from all the turmoil caused by the fighters racing overhead when several strangers entered the tent and moved towards them holding several objects in their hands. Through sign language, Angelika, her husband, and Mikah indicated that the tiny devices fit in the ear.

"I think they want us to place these things in our ear," said doctor Gittens. "Perhaps they are some sort of translator?"

Through silent demonstration the emissaries from Gale Celesta finally figured out how to properly install, and understand what the Falthians were saying. Reggin and chief Sotha then made full introductions. Angelika felt like she was a queen again listening to her advisors, or some petitioner as she sat next to her husband and listened to president Gisborne speak.

"We of Gale Celesta thank you for making this visit to our humble world, never in our wildest dreams did we ever figure on a visit from visitors of the dark void. May I then boldly inquire as to the reason for your visit?"

Angelika's husband looked at her in a manor suggesting that she speak first.

Without standing up, the former queen replied,

"Mr. President and esteemed guests, we are conducting a survey of this part of the universe, basically just seeing what's out here. Our scanners indicated there was life on this planet so here we are. We are from the planet Falth which is millions of light dorns away, we have the ability to travel through space at unbelievable speeds, otherwise we would not be here. It is not our intention to open trade, or establish an embassy, just a courtesy call. But now that we are here, two things have piqued my curiosity. One is the fact that you have only been on this planet for a little over three hundred dorns, yet you have no recollection of a time before that. The other, and most importantly, is that you speak a language very similar to that spoken on another world we visit and that is a planet with a higher lever of technology than yours known as Kagor."

This caused a real "tizzy" with the Gale Celestians until the president called for order and then spoke.

"You say these Kagorians are more advanced that we and also speak our language?"

"There are many nations on Kagor," replied Angelika, most speak other languages, however the nation we visit occasionally does speak a variation of your language not as stylized as yours but they call it English."

"Most interesting," replied president Gisborne "Is this Kagor you speak of very far away?"

"Yes…Very," replied Angelika wondering what Gisborne was angling for.