Angelika Queen Of Mars

Chapter 33

Chapter 33 Into That Dark Night

Kevin was now aware that something was about to happen, as I got up and started making a fresh pot of coffee.

"You were asking about that patch I had you place on your neck the other night will explain itself here shortly," I casually explained. Since the new shed now obscured the landing site I looked out the back window anyway. The motion sensitive yard lights were now on, indicating the Giuffrida had already landed. Sure enough, here came Carman and what looked to be Tarsig, followed by Sharla, Rek and Kha'Mak who was inspecting the shed.

"Who's out there?" asked Kevin,

"You'll see," giggled Dori, followed by a lot of girlish squealing and embracing as the women entered the kitchen.

I waited for everyone to enter, then standing beside Kevin, I announced.

"Listen up everyone, I want you all to meet Kevin LeBeau, He will be joining the training cadre. Kevin, I don't know what your ideas or thoughts were on extraterrestrial life, but as you can see, it exists." I then introduced him to each of my friends, starting with the Grocyrians.

"Kevin, I'd like you to meet Sharla Danth, Rek Stirner and of course you've already met my wife who is also from Grocyra." Kevin looked at Dori with surprise,

"You certainly fooled me, I had no idea you were from another planet." Dori laughed,

"Jake wouldn't let me say a word, but are you familiar with "the queen of Mars?" Kevin laughed,

"You mean that lady who's been in the news lately?"

"The very same," replied Dori, "We all came from the same planet, she was actually queen there until we were forced to flee." I then continued with the introductions.

"This is one of my supervisors in the coffee business, Tarsig Salfrig. She's from the planet Falth which is where we're going and whose marines we're in the process of training, on the trip to Falth, I go over all the details with you, and now, last but certainly not least, I want you to meet a truly outstanding pilot, and science fiction "junkie" Kha'Mak, no last name, just Kha'Mak." Kevin then shook hands with him as I turned to him and added.

"Kevin, this is the part I couldn't tell you, but understand from this point on you are under a strict moral obligation not to say a word to anyone, not even your mother about any of this, on the trip to Falth you will receive a full briefing on everything, all questions will be answered, but rest assured, you won't be going into combat or anything, we are there strictly to train the Falthian marines in urban fighting techniques as well as other aspects of intelligence gathering, which is where you will come in. I think your going to like what you find."

Kevin turned to me and asked,

"How long does it take to get to this Falth, are we going to have to go into sleep chambers or something?" Everyone laughed, Kha'Mak slapped him gently on the shoulder,

"Nothing so primitive Mr. LeBeau, generally it only takes about a relfa,"

"A week," I injected.

Since this was to be a fast turn-around, we didn't spend a lot of time socializing, Kevin pitched in and helped us load the coffee and peanuts, constantly stopping to marvel at various aspects of the ship.

"This is truly awesome," he remarked, "Looks like I'll be the first Indian into space."

"Not quite," I replied, "You've been beat by a little over a hundred and twenty-five years, I'll explain later." Carman got the information she needed from Kevin, his mother didn't have a phone, but his sister had a cell phone. Carman and Kevin worked out how much he wanted sent to his mother, as well as the amount put into his new account. We then checked out everything he was bringing along, such as a Springfield M1A, and a Sig Saur P226. He had also packed five hundred rounds of .308 ammo, as well as 9mm.

While he was stowing his gear aboard ship I told Kha'Mak,

"I didn't forget you buddy, whereupon I brought out a box full of sci-fi paperbacks bought at a couple used bookstores, as well as several new ones.

"Kha'Mak, you've become a real sci-fi junkie," I had no idea, maybe I should get DVD's of all the old Star Treks, Babylon 5, Firefly and Farscape, get a player as well and let you go to town."

"For some reason I find these stories quite interesting," he replied, "Am I to understand these books reflect your race's longing and dreams of actual spaceflight as well as the writers idea of what the universe might be like?"

"Pretty much that," I replied, "But I understand a lot of social concerns as well as political content was incorporated in many of the stories as well."

"Well I'm sorry to say none of them have even come close to approaching the truth," said Kha'Mak, "But I find these stories rather entertaining, and in some cases stimulating."

I assured him that Carman and I would continue to find him more books.

We didn't wrap things up until around three in the morning, however before Dori and I boarded the Giuffrida I was able to speak with Carman.

"So how was your trip?" I asked,

"Absolutely incredible," she replied, "Tarsig took me to some strange and amazing places, I got to meet her parents, who invited us out to their yacht on the Shenanigan sea, Oh my god, I didn't realize they don't wear swimsuits there." I laughed,

"I'm pretty sure I told you that," I chuckled.

"Yeah, well anyway, I met Moreck's parents as well, along with a bunch of their clients. We did a taste testing party so now I know exactly the kind of blends they like, and…Oh! Oh! I saw dinosaurs Oh my God, they still have them there!" She then got serious,

"Jake, I know I've said it before, and I'll never stop saying it…Thank you for hiring me, this is the best thing that's ever happened to me, I can never thank you enough."

"Did you by any chance meet anyone special while you were there?"

Carman just grinned,

"Maybe, Moreck's got a friend, we went out a couple times, umm, yeah, he says he'd like to see me again so I guess we'll see." I smiled at her,

"Well Carman, it looks like you're going places, just keep up the good work, people start to notice you." She gave me a big hug,

"You and Dori take care, Tarsig and I will handle everything here, Oh, she brought some special contact lens's so she'll look pretty much like one of us, in the eyes anyway, so nobody will get suspicious." I then told her about the video we left at the grocery in Judith and the silence from the government as well as NASA.

"Don't worry, we'll keep an eye on that situation," she replied.

Departure time was finally upon us, last minute instructions had been given, and Dori and I had said goodbye to Carman and Tarsig, Kevin was looking a bit nervous.

"Relax Kevin," I said, "Forget everything you've ever seen in any sci-fi flicks, the trip will be a little boring, but smooth."

We took our seats buckled in, and waited for Kha'Mak to take off.

As predicted, the journey to Falth was both routine and boring, however I got in some much needed reading, and Kevin got a real crash course on those that share our universe.

Midweek into our flight, he sat down next to me in the small galley, and shared his thoughts.

"So Kevin," I said, "What do you think so far?" He thought a moment, then slowly replied.

"Well sir, I had no idea all this really existed, but everyone has gone out of their way to help me, I'm still a little confused yet on just who is from the planet Falth, but I'm still learning." I smiled, then taking a sip of my coffee, I replied,

"I knew because my great great grandfather told me, I have Falthian blood in me, but even I wasn't prepared for the wonders I've seen."

"Sir, you said something earlier about me not being the first Indian to travel to Falth."

"That's right," I replied, "Her name was Weeko Brightwing, she was a member of the Nez Perce tribe." I then proceeded to tell him of the early days when the Falthians came to earth to harvest wort and walnuts. When I finished, Kevin gave out with a low whistle,

"Man! I really need to think about this stuff," he exclaimed, "I wonder if she had any descendants?" I grinned,

"One of them was at the house for a week or so looking for them just before you showed up. Unfortunately he didn't have any luck, but then Native Americans didn't keep a lot of written records back then."

"Did he try the tribal offices?" asked Kevin.

"Everywhere," I replied, "If you want to meet him I'll let him know, maybe you can offer some advice."

During the trip Kevin got a complete tour of the ship, as well as a chance to sit and talk with Kha'Mak, he later came to me and asked.

"Could I ask you a question?"

"Sure, what's up?"

"It's about Kha'Mak, he seems human, but something about him seems off." I smiled then lowered my voice,

"He's an android, Kevin, an artificial being, imagine the technology that went into creating him, there's a group of them that I'm aware of that are even more advanced. I won't say anymore at this point so it will be up to you to see and understand. It's a truly amazing world out here, and now you are a part of it." He looked at me not knowing quite what to think, but shaking his head,

"Wow, this is gonna be some ride.