Angelika Queen Of Mars

Chapter 4

Chapter Four Kitchen Table Conference

"My name is Moreck Gandrigg, and I'm a Falthian, the last one here on this planet.

It's been many years since Falthians sat around this table, but I'm glad to welcome you queen Angelika, you've been quite the item in the news lately, you've got the whole world talking. The Unites States government is tearing their hair out looking for someone to blame because we don't have a way to travel to Mars, on top of that business at the

Apollo Eleven site. Yes your highness you and your crew have certainly been keeping the media stirred up lately."

"I take it," replied the queen that this planet has no interstellar traveling ability?" Moreck began to laugh until he started coughing, and had to take a drink of water.

"You'll have to excuse me, I'm one hundred and forty-six years old, a Falthian's extended lifespan is one hundred and fifty. I've lived a very healthy life here on earth or Kagor as we call it. But in answer to your question, no… Roughly fifty years ago they managed to put a man on the moon that was the site you made your presence at. I was involved in the Gemini project at the time as a flight surgeon. I thought, Oh boy, here they go, the race to the stars is on. Sadly the whole effort just ran out of steam. The politicians turned their backs on the whole effort, citing problems here at home that needed the money, now all they do is shoot probes at the various planets like those rovers you found, or unmanned spacecraft traveling through the endless miles of space. Say, I've very remiss in offering you refreshment. Permit me to make a large pot of coffee, I hope you find it as refreshing as I and all my countrymen did so many years ago." While the coffee brewed, the old man told them how he came to be here, his redemption and decision to remain.

"My lovely Karla and I were married for sixty-seven years. We traveled all over the world, and as they say been there done that. Even after all these years since her passing I still grieve for her, but it won't be long before I join her, my time is near at end."

"Tell me Moreck," said Queen Angelika, "We occupied a base on Mars that was apparently some sort of "listening post" they were monitoring signals and transmissions from this planet, although the place seemed to have been abandoned for a long time." Moreck shrugged, then replied,

"I was not aware that they had built a base there. As I told you, they asked me to save articles and any news concerning technical or medical advancements, but it's been so many years since anyone showed up to collect them. Moreck then served them the coffee, along with cream and sugar. After sipping the new beverage, everyone declared it better than anything they had on Grocyra.

"This sure beats méw dras by any standard said Sharla, I think I'm going to like this."

"So you have traveled the stars too," said Mikah, "Would you care to again?" Moreck smiled but shook his head.

"Maybe at one time, but I'm here to stay, I wish to be buried next to my Karla, so I must pass, thank you for the offer just the same."

"How long have you lived here?" asked doctor Temuchin?

"I think it was 1889, by the Julian calendar, my wife were married a year later. A man by the name of Colin Blessing took me in even though my father and a couple friends tried to kill him as well as his family, along with some Falthians who ended up coming to my defense, and later became good friends. That huge field out there used to be Saint John's

Wort, an important ingredient in the making of a drug that cured a deadly brain disease.

Along with walnuts which grew on trees, the Falthians came here for slightly over five years harvesting these things, until they developed a synthesized replacement. I've already introduced Cory and Jake here, they don't live far away, and check in on me every couple if days. However There are a number of descendants on the Blessing side as well, Cory, would you and Jake start notifying everyone?"

"Very interesting," said Sharla, These Falthian's. What do you think they would do if they found out we broke into and were living in their old base?" Moreck thought a moment, then shrugged.

"Oh I doubt they'd do a whole lot. I'm sure they'd be pissed off, but I'm sure that if you explained yourselves, they would understand. The fact of another race showing up would probably override any concerns about their base, this is a rather "dead end," part of the universe, so I'm pretty sure your arrival would generate considerable interest with them as well. I might have some old pass codes around here somewhere, should you try and contact them, however I'm sure that I've been long forgotten."

"I'm curious Moreck," asked the queen. "All this sneaking around harvesting these crops, yet no official contact with these earth people, why do you think that was?"

Moreck looked at her,

"They had, and for all I know, still do. A policy they called the "Prime Directive." It forbade anyone from sharing or in anyway revealing superior technology to these earth people who were very backward at the time. It certainly caused a lot of problems for me. Anyway, they felt that in due time these "earthling's" as you call them would advance to a point where they could be welcomed into the "family" so-to-speak, and at that time would be considered "responsible" enough to handle the technology of a race like we Falthian's."

Every one chuckled at that one as Rek said,

"Well from what we've seen, it doesn't look like that isn't going to happen any time soon."

"If ever," replied Moreck. Then slowly shaking his head, he added.

"I'm afraid this is a society that's lost it's way, like I said, at one time they were all geared up and ready to go, but…But now, they've turned inward on themselves, it's as though they are just waiting to die."

"We had been giving some consideration to perhaps making our home here, but from what you're telling us…"

'No," replied Moreck, contact my people, speak with them, a number of them took earth women as brides, no doubt there's quite a lot of Falthian's with Kagorians as ancestors. I'm sure they would offer you a home as well, it's worth a try." After another hour or two queen Angelika and her crew returned to the ship for a conference.

"So what do you all think," asked the queen.

"I agree with the Falthian," replied Meta, I'm for contacting his people.

"Same here," said Tarf."

"I agree as well," said Rek, "Backward technology, we'd have to practically hide somewhere, they'd always be after our tech."

"He's right," said Dori, "These Falthian's sound like our kind of people."

In the end it was unanimous, they would return to Mars, and try and make contact with the Falthian's. Since it was late after the meeting finished, they waited until morning. When the ramp was dropped, and they emerged from the ship, there were a few more beside Cory and Jake standing nearby waiting to greet them. Mikah handed them translators.

"Welcome to earth said an older man,

"My name is Thomas Gandrigg, I'm Moreck's great grandson, this is my son Jeff." Another man stepped forward and introduced himself as Frank, and his son Martin Blessing. Caleb was our great great grandfather. There was another son as well and some of them know as well, hover they live out in California, we have contacted them all the same.

They all went back into the house, where they were introduced to a couple of wives. Queen Angelika and her crew were treated to a home-style breakfast, the likes of they had never tasted before. Angelika happened to notice that Dori had "found" a new friend, in the one called Jake, both sat together at the table making small talk. Before they ate, Moreck stood, and said,

"There are three races represented here, I think you have chosen wisely to contact the Falthian's. We welcome you all here and wish you all the best. Speaking for myself, I wish to say that soon I will be gone, but it is as it should be, I had a good and full life here so now I'm ready for the end. I am so glad that I was fortunate to meet representatives from another race before I go, it's like the "cherry" on top of the soda of life."

Moreck put on another pot of coffee due to very popular demand,

"I could never figure out why my people never really made a concerted effort to import the coffee bean. For awhile, a Falthian woman was running a small importing operation for a number of years, and actually imported a sizeable amount of beans, but nothing on a major scale. As a gift from me to you, I'll send a nice big coffee pot and directions on how to properly brew the stuff.

Queen Angelika and her people spent the next two days at Moreck's place, relaxing in the wide open greenery of the Black Hills. His family members took them for drives around the area showing them what the area had to offer. A few more of Moreck's family turned up, then a big cook out was put on in their honor, as everyone toasted Angelika. One of

William Blessing's younger descendants tried to put things into perspective when he said,

"All of us have all wished at one time or another that we could have been present here at this farm back before the turn of the century when those fields were thick with Wort and several spacecraft were parked in these clearings. What we wouldn't have given to be present, and shake the hands of visitors from the stars. But here you are proof positive to the unbelievers that there truly is life "out there."

While Angelika and her people were enjoying themselves, a "special" friendship was being forged. Dori and the young man named Jake had caught each other's attention. Starting out as a passing comment, trying out one of Mikah's translators, a walk together, then suddenly two people realizing that something had connected between them. Jake Gandrigg and Dori Kerk realized that they might just have something special here.