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Chapter 18....
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mfwhite
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PostPosted: Mon Nov 03, 2003 11:08 am    Post subject: Chapter 18.... Reply with quote

Shocked Confused Rolling Eyes

Well i don't know if i could top the last one......hope this meets with everyones approval.....

So with no further delay.....

Chapter 18

I'd like to put in a word to my editors....Smile

Thanks Mike...your comments and corrections are invaluable...with out them the story wouldn't be the same.

And to Dave White thanks for the wonderful input and work on 18 you did a great job.....thanks Dave.....you rock.

Cheetaur

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Last edited by mfwhite on Mon Nov 03, 2003 12:22 pm; edited 2 times in total
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PostPosted: Mon Nov 03, 2003 11:11 am    Post subject: Chapter 18....Enjoy. Reply with quote

Chapter 18: The Aliens Are Coming…The Aliens…

Kalen Space.

It took 3 weeks to discover the planet from which the old world ship had last come. Upon its discovery, they hid the ship behind a distant gas giant and launched a small probe toward the little blue planet, third from its sun.

Cloaking the ship to avoid detection would take a lot of energy and if they didn't have to do it; they would be better off. The small probe was sent to detect any indications of spacecraft or orbiting satellites. It would take it about two days before it would be in sensor range of anything and it would need time to collect data.

The passengers had all settled into a routine except Tolare, who was acting strangely. Something was wrong and Afain decided to find out what it was. The ship was big, really big and it took her sometime to just walk across the ship. Tolare had really distanced herself from everyone.

She entered into Tolare's cabin to find her lying down on a couch; she seemed to be causally reading with a pair of head phones on. It seemed her entrance had gone unnoticed.
She poked her gently, startling the young Zargozian, "Hello Tolare."
"Afain…ah…what are you doing back here?"
"Trying to find an errant family member who is acting very strangely," she said giving Tolare a look of, 'you're busted; now spill.'
Tolare looked down, trying to avoid Afain's gaze. "It showed that much?"
"Only to me, the others are much too occupied, Lyja and Kira are overwhelmed with this fantastic ship. So, what has happened?"

Tolare looked a bit nervous at first then grew in confidence as she watched, "I miss Shearah, more than I thought I would."
This was interesting development, "Oh?"
"It also seems this body has decided to mature at the wrong time."
"Oh…that is all part of growing up, you should know that since you've been through it already."

Tolare shook her head, Afain didn't really understand the scope of the problem, "Afain, you don't understand," Tolare sighed a heavy sigh. "Your restriction on us limiting ourselves to a chaste relationship really wasn't that difficult, I hadn't had sexual relations in years. You have to remember I was almost near my time to depart our world. Mating and those feelings for it…I mean… I hadn't had those desires in a long time. Now all of a sudden I have them again and this body wants it. Shearah's not around for support and I'm unsure what to do about it. So I've been trying to avoid everyone, we really don't need this on this trip."

"Well you cannot totally ignore your body Tolare and I am not in a position to give you medical advice but as a guardian I'd like to suggest a warm bath. Let loose a little, give yourself some pleasure."
"I…I…haven't done that in a long time Afain." Tolare looked deeply at her.
"Then it's about time you did, Tolare that young body of yours is full of energy and desires that, as you said, haven't been present in a long time. It will take awhile for you to adjust to them again, but you'll be fine. Just let nature take its course. I will make sure no one disturbs you and I'm sure you'll be better afterwards. Better to take care of these hormone induced impulses in private rather than ignore them and possibly embarrass yourself in public."

Tolare snorted, "And here I am the physician on this ship and you have given me my own advice."

Afain smiled, "I think the fact was that you knew exactly what to do but you felt you shouldn't. It was a conflict between your mind and body. Just hearing it from someone else gave it solid meaning."
"I suppose you're right, it's been awhile."
"Take it slow, as I said I'll be sure no one interrupts you." She smiled.

"Thank you Afain now how are you feeling, now that we have found your planet?"
"Excited, I hope it isn't all for nothing. I'm sure this magnificent ship had another destination in mind."
"The Emperor wouldn't have lent it to you if it was truly needed elsewhere. Don't worry about that; concentrate on what we are doing now. If things turn out as non-consequential then so be it.

Afain said thoughtfully, "I guess you're right, let's hope it turns out to be just that."

Britain: The Church.

The paramedics were escorted in as soon as they arrived. Warren and Jonathan tried to pull Hector away from Heather's body to give the paramedics room to work.
"Hector…son you have to let go."
"She's not dead…" He cried.
"We have to let the paramedics help her son." Warren said.
Hector looked into the face of his love, her eyes were shut; she looked to be in a peaceful sleep. "Heather I love you." He didn't want to let her go…it seemed so final. His eyes were filled with tears as he gently put down her body.

Warren and Jonathan helped him off the floor as the paramedics rushed to Heather's side.
Another brought a gurney from the ambulance and began to help treat her.

They knew it took a lot for Hector to let her go but Warren and Jonathan knew it was Heather's only hope.

They both understood the love he had for her and they tried their best to calm him. He watched in horror as the technicians worked on her. Everyone stared and held their breath as Heather had now become the focus of attention. Tears flowed, some almost turned away from the still form of the black and white 'taur'. It was heart wrenching, they all knew she had passed away right there and that only a miracle could save her. It seemed that Ti cried the most; this was to be their day, a day of happiness; a day to spend with family and friends. Now it had become a disastrous nightmare.

The beautiful dress that was specially fitted for her was cut away in desperation. The technicians brought out a defibrillator and began to hurriedly shaving Heather's 'taur' chest. They knew 'taurs' were especially difficult to revive; the success rate was extremely low. One fur fitted a breathing bag over Heather's muzzle per standard procedure, another paramedic attached the sensors to monitor her pulse; it registered nothing at the moment. She nodded to the technician to proceed.

"Clear," the fur said holding the defibrillator paddles; the other removed her paws from Heather. The shock jerked Heather's form off the floor for an instant. She fell back with a sickening thud, but the machine registered nothing but a straight line. The breathing unit was put back on Heather and they pumped air into her lungs. The other fur was readying the defibrillator for another go. "I'm ready."

"Go."

"Clear." Again Heather's body leapt into the air, her legs hung uselessly; like a rag doll.as her body contorted with the voltage. They watched the scope; an agonizing flat line traced across the screen stealing all hope with each second…then a faint beep…a long pause then another beep.
"I've got a pulse, it's weak but I've got one." The technician waved.

Hector's eyes sprung open, "SHE'S ALIVE!!!!!!"

Everyone sighed with relief, in fact they almost cheered as the tension broke in the room; there was now some hope. Hector, Warren and Jonathan helped the technicians with Heather. Her body was very awkward to move and they were extremely appreciative of the extra paws. They assured them they would do all they could for her, trying to be somewhat helpful in this time of crisis.

No one knew what to do next, Hector wanted leave right there and then but the others convinced him they needed to change first. After they changed, Hector approached the alter at which they had just stood not long ago; reciting vows which now seemed to be lost on the wind. Above it stood a stained glass figure, one that many prayed and devoted their lives to. He had never been really that religious, it played a very small part in his life; today though gave him something to think about. He put his paw on the alter, bowed his head and said his thanks. Whether his gracious silent prayer would be heard he wasn't sure, but something was looking over Heather today…something he couldn't explain.

The wedding party soon arrived at the hospital, all still shocked and numb from the devastating events of the day. None more than Hector, he had heard it; her very last words to him, "I love you," she had whispered. "I love you too, Heather," he thought, "Oh God, why her; she was so happy today."

Everyone was ever so quiet as they sat waiting for news. There was some minor chat but no one really knew what to say. About two hours later, a doctor came out asking for Heather's immediate family. Mr. & Mrs. White and Hector all stood up as they walked to the doctor's office in fear.

The office was stoic in its appearance but it didn't matter to them they wanted to know about Heather.
"Please sit." The heavyset doctor motioned. He was a white fox, a rarity, "I'm Doctor Dezman, I am a neurosurgeon here. I've been on the phone with one of Heather's doctors in Canada trying to get a feeling as to what has happened to her. Before I go too far, Heather is alive and stable for the moment, although she is in a coma."
They all looked at each other, at least she was alive.

"We did a preliminary scan of her head and it is as we feared, she has another blockage in her brain, one very deep," this didn't sound good. "We have administered a new drug that helps with blockages of this type; it may or may not work. It will keep others from forming, which is something we are hoping won't happen. Heather is on life support at the moment, it is necessary in my opinion; her system seems to have shut down. We are monitoring her very carefully and doing all we can for her."

They nodded, "Will she come to?" Nancy asked nervously.

The doctor was quiet and took a deep breath, "Heather has had a serious stroke, the one she had before was minor in comparison. One in three strokes are fatal, also one in three are debilitating." He paused briefly before he spoke again. "I have seen many cases of strokes ranging from minor to major; like in Heather's case. When the brain is this badly injured it is very difficult to predict the extent of the damage. In my experience most of my cases dealing with a major stroke like Heather's, the patient didn't respond to treatments. I'd have to say the chances of Heather ever regaining consciousness are very slim; I'm sorry. If things improve in the next few days that prognosis could change but with the information I have now it is highly unlikely."

Nancy and Sid wept, Hector hung his head low; he wanted to cry but he didn't seem to have any tears left. His spirit and heart were broken beyond repair.

Kalen Space.

Tolare took a private moment with Afain and told her things had gone well and she felt more relaxed now. Afain felt good that Tolare would confide in her and expressed her happiness; it made her feel very good inside. Things had settled, at least for the moment, they were all on edge awaiting the probe's return signal. They all decided to fire up the cloaking device anyway and begin to move forward in anticipation that the news would be that technology had been found. It would be simple to shut down the cloaking system if it proved unnecessary.

They had been wise to anticipate; the news was that there was technology orbiting the third planet from the sun; primitive but it was there. The ship cruised into the system of planets all the while taking reading and gathering data.
Afain was extremely curious if the data stream from the probe had stopped and asked Cleo. As a historian this was fascinating, a probe from hundreds of years ago traveled through this system collecting all sorts of engaging data. Now they were collecting it again for historic record. They would learn a lot about this sector of space from all this. The big chore was still ahead of her working on correlating their past from the archives of the old ship. There was so much data there she hardly knew where to start.

"The data stream from the old probe stopped some time back as we moved closer in time and distance, I assume for it could no longer co-ordinate itself, it changed from data to a distress signal. It then crashed on the planet that we seek." Cleo responded.
"Then it is still working?"
"The stream is old but I'd have to say yes it is, although I suspect it has heavy damage. Any probe re-entering the atmosphere of a planet would be. They are not designed for that, this one seemed to have faired well as could be."
"Then it is best we find it and bring it back here."
"Yes."

The ship proceeded into a high orbit and they began to scan the planet for a Zargozian energy signature. The probe they launched earlier was continuing to transmit data to the ship, to which Cleo and the others were sorting through. The ancient pod and the probe would be easy to locate, other technology branched off from it might prove to be more difficult.

Cleo set forth to discover the language of the creatures that lived on the planet and came up with some very interesting data. There were many dialects on the planet below, some used more than others. It dedicated itself in learning them although having no references to go by it was going to be difficult to translate well the first few times.

The probe was located first, then the pod, the energy levels were extremely minute but easily located with the new sensor array. They decided that they would attempt the retrieval of the pod first for it was isolated in dense foliage.

They took a smaller craft to the surface. As it was about to land, Afain, Kira and Lyja gave thanks to the planet below for allowing them to come and observe. They would have to be very careful not to cause damage or disturb the flora life any more than absolutely necessary for that was their way. Several trees would have to be damaged so the ship could land, they would have to see if they could pant new ones to take their place. Afain asked Cleo to program a small robot to make the appropriate arrangements. The sphere acknowledged her request.

It was hot, even in the darkness of the night; this was something they weren't use to. The heat wasn't something new to them, it was the humidity that had them in its grip. They didn't like it at all but it wasn't enough to warrant environmental suits. Cleo lead the way to the spot that the energy emanations were coming from. When they arrived there was nothing but trees and foliage in their path.

"Cleo, are you sure this is the correct spot?" Kira questioned, looking around at all the dense floral life about them.
"Yes Kira, the Pod lies 12 meters below us."
Afain was wide eyed, "It's buried? Then there is hope that these creatures haven't found it yet."
"It is in a cavern though, my scanners detect that it is still active."
"Then let's waste no time. Cleo we need an entrance."
"Understood, please step back in case the cavern collapses. I do not wish for you to fall in." They stood back…way back in case, as Cleo said, disaster struck.

The small sphere began to glow then a beam of energy impacted the ground. As it did, it created a very large hole. Cleo continued drilling until it had broke through to the cavern; a stench like no other enveloped them.
"Ohhh… that smells horrible." Afain complained, her nose had turned sensitive as of late to most things.
"I am detecting high levels of toxic gasses, being released from the decay of organic life. It is inadvisable to enter the location without breathing apparatus."
"Great, ok Cleo go back to the ship and bring back a hover cart with breathing apparatus."
"I've already signaled the ship to send a cart; it will be on its way shortly."
"Oh that's good."
"Since I am unaffected by the gas I will enter the cavern and scan what is there. I am not sure at the moment but something could be living down there."
"Good idea Cleo." Kira said.

The small sphere entered into the cavern and completed its scans without disturbing anything then returned.

"Well, is the pod down there?" Kira asked impatiently knowing what the probable answer was.
"Yes and other things." Cleo became a large display screen and showed the group what it saw.
"What are those?" Lyja said pointing to the organic looking lumps on the walls of the cavern.

Cleo answered, "They are organic versions of the pod, containing life forms."
"Lifeforms?" Afain exclaimed, it seems their little rescue mission had suddenly become quite complicated.
"It seems so, all are of one gender, female I believe… save one. All are in various states of development."

Afain turned to address Lyja, "Is this thing supposed to do this?" Afain found it difficult to see her in the dim light so she directed her question out loud knowing she'd answer.
"No, this is something very different. Until I get down there and see it first hand I'm not sure what I'm looking at."
"Ok, we'll just wait. Cleo, the pod, was it functioning?"
"All indications point to that it is Afain."

A humming noise alerted Kira; she turned and saw the drone approaching and moved in to intercept. The case contained four environmental suits, from what they smelled down they were going to need them.

Cleo became a platform and they rode it down into the darkness. Lyja energized a light stick that lit up the cavern and came to the realization the pod must have been here for a very long time to have this cavern form like this.

Once on the ground they walked carefully towards the pod, the ground was soft and the cavern itself filled mostly with water. As they approached, the pods interior lit up exposing what lay within.

"It's huge!" Afain exclaimed, "Is this what the inhabitants of this planet look like?" She studied its finer features, the giant's sharp protruding teeth made Afain shiver.
Cleo answered Afain's question, "I doubt that, this is probably a primitive ancestor to what is now the dominant life form."
"Let's hope." Afain stuttered.

As Lyja was doing her scans, she became more and more amazed. In more ways than one it became obvious to the others she had discovered something.

"Well speak up Lyja," Kira said seeing obvious bewilderment in her face.
"This thing shouldn't be."
"What do you mean?"
"The circuitry in this thing, it's all organic."
Kira blinked, "What?"
Lyja just couldn't believe it, "Its original components are not here anymore, likely corroded beyond working condition. This thing replaced it with an organic equivalent."
"That's not possible."
"It is because I'm looking at it. I'm reading its memory core but it's convoluted beyond belief. Only a few core commands are even recognizable and those are written in the ancient language. You might understand them better." She handed the scanner to Kira who looked totally confused.

"You're right, most of this is memory files not machine code, it's almost like a new language."
Afain ran her paw over the top of the pod, "So can we turn it off?" Afain said.
"I don't think so, not without killing the creature within." They stared at it and the tendrils that lead from it to the walls with the organic pods.

"Have any theories on those Lyja?" Afain asked.

Lyja walked up to one of them and studied it, she did a quick scan but she was really interested in what lay within. She still was amazed at what this thing had done, if she was right this was a miracle that they had found. "I do but let me gather a few more scans."
"Well, now that we found it, how are we going to get it out of here?"
Lyja was quick to answer that, "Trifelonate."
"What?" Afain said.
"It's a substance that can easily be made to solidify then after be returned to its natural state."
"But those pod things are attached to the walls."
"We'll tunnel behind it, not to worry we can have this thing out of here in a few hours with the 406."
"406?" Kira asked confused.
"It's a tunneling bot, I made sure we had one before we launched, didn't know what we'd expect. Packed almost anything you can think of."
"Ok Cleo send for that bot, lets get this thing out of here."
Understood."

It took Lyja and Kira about two hours to move the pod into position to be sealed in trifelonate. Afain decided things were under control and returned to the ship. They were extremely cautious when moving it but eventually it was accomplished without incident. All tendrils were safely moved intact. The trifoliate was applied and the pod was now sealed, ready for transport back to homeworld.

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PostPosted: Mon Nov 03, 2003 11:15 am    Post subject: Part 2 Reply with quote

On the other side globe: British Columbia.

The two mothers screamed in severe pain, they grabbed their heads in agony. Alison within mother had never felt such terrible pain. It continued until they could take it no more, they all collapsed onto the floor into unconsciousness.

It was hours before they came to, but they all felt somehow different. They really couldn't put their finger on it but they felt apart from something.

Mother/Swallow rubbed her head, "You experienced that too."

"If you mean the pickaxe to the head, yeah," Mother said as she rubbed her head. "Still have the pain though, not as intense but it's there."

"Yes I still do as well, what the hell happened?"

"I'm not sure." Mother crawled to a chair close by, her head was just swimming; it was a chore just to stand. "I'm having a hard time concentrating."

"I'm all right in that respect, just that the pain is intense." Mother/Swallow said.

Mother tapped on her belly trying to awaken Alison, she hoped that she was all right. Blast these feelings she thought, she didn't want them; they were a nuisance. "Ow." Was the thought she got, "good" she thought she was alive.

"I feel different, something is wrong…well not wrong, just not exactly the same as it was." Swallow/Mother said.

"You're right, I feel that way too." It was then mother got another thought from Alison, "The pod!!!!"


The ship: Brazil.

Afain stared at the thing in the cargo bay, it was nothing but miraculous that it survived all this time. Lyja just happened to be coming back to look at the things as well.
"Amazing." Afain said.
"Oh yes, it is. It could change our technology again if we can figure out how this thing did it."
"It's that advanced?"
"Yes, that thing figured a way to repair its systems by using other means than technology. It grew itself a new limb…so to speak. None of our machines can do that, organically I mean. They can use technology and machines to make repairs but not grow them. This machine did, it wasn't an organic to start with, but it is now. It has changed and that's the miracle."

That was indeed one for sure but Afain had another concern, "Do you think we will be able to get it to release the creature within?"
"Not sure, might, but its going to take some thing to interface with it to do it. And right now I have no idea what we have that can."

Afain sighed, "At least we saved this world from finding out about the technology. It being buried was a stroke of luck."

Cleo had followed Afain to the cargo hold, being ever so diligent making sure nothing happened to his charge.
"That is not entirely correct", Cleo said. The pod was emanating a very low carrier signal both for receiving and sending data. I thought it may be of importance so I followed it and I believe now that it was in contact with someone on this planet."
"And now?" Afain said.
"It isn't, the trifelonate must block the transmission of any signal." Cleo's data base did not have every bit of data the Zargozians possessed; many things were left out intentionally to allow room for other more important data. They assumed if Cleo needed to know something it would research it. For the most part that was true.

Lyja smiled, "Yes trifelonate has that property, its great stuff for blocking interference from electronic noise. It has many other engineering qualities too." She was about to go on but saw that Afain didn't look at all interested. "I'll tell you later Cleo."
Afain just sighed, "Did you get a location?"
"Yes, I am loading it into the ships guidance program now."
"Then its best we find these individuals as soon as possible."

British Columbia.

Mother felt extremely ill and decided to run a warm bath while Mother/Swallow went off on her own business. She didn't tell her the revelation that Alison had spoke of. The warm water felt good and she relaxed. She whispered, "Speak when you feel like it, I may not answer but I'll certainly listen."

It was a little while but Alison finally spoke, "Oooh that hurt, I'm still reeling from that. I believe, and this is only a guess, but I think we have been disconnected from the pod, "Mother just hummed an affirmative, "either by chance or by interference by someone or something else. You did say it was in a cavern, anything could have gone wrong; maybe the cave collapsed." Another hum from Mother, "There is one theory that is way out there." She was silent for a few moments then resumed, "Maybe the owners have come to claim it." Mother hummed in question.

"Well someone owned that thing, we didn't build it…at least I have no memory of it."
Mother hummed a "no" as well. "Then it probably is not from this planet, maybe the beings who left it here finally got around to coming to pick it up."
Mother whispered for this was important, "Could they trace it back?"
"You mean that feeling we have of somehow of being disconnected? Yes they might."
"Then there is hope we might get out of here." Mother whispered.
"Yes."
Mother settled back and relaxed, the first good news she'd had in a long time.

She felt a lot better after that bath, seems the relaxing helped; the pain in her head was subsiding. She went down to find Mother/Swallow rummaging through a closet.
"What's in there?"
"You tell me." She rolled out a long slim canister. "There are three of them, one isn't working. What's in them? I cannot seem to remember."

That's where those damn things went, I'd wondered where those stupid people put them; Mother thought. "They contain clones from the skunk I used for Swallow's, Ti's, and the 'taurs' template."

"What happened to the other one? Why is it non-functional?"

"It malfunctioned and released one of them, although that clone is defective; which might mean those other two are as well."
"Defective?", she raised an eyebrow. "How so?"
"It didn't grow, well it grew but not to scale. It's a very small version of the original skunk."
"Interesting, a miniature version of it; so you never discovered as to why?"
"To tell the truth I'd had forgotten about those, my employee's took them from an associate of mine."
"Oh, he was threat?"
"I needed to regain control over him, I knew he had the clone so I took her one day along with those cylinders. Those were obviously misplaced and I went on to other things, like death."

Mother/Swallow raised an eyebrow, "Ah yes, let's not think about that."

"I agree, what do you want to do with them?"

"If as you said they are not viable then it might be best to destroy them and to start again." Mother/Swallow said callously.

Alison kicked mother in protest, mother winced. "It might be best to hold off on that, I can run more tests on them to check."

Mother/Swallow just looked at her strangely, "Very well, your project." She put the container back into the closet with the other two. "Do as you please with them." She closed the door and left them to their own devices.

Mother rubbed her protruding belly, it was bigger that was for sure. She was moving along with the pregnancy; how this was going to turn out in the end she wasn't sure. One thing for sure, one of them was going to have a baby!!!


Ship: Moving Through Earth's Atmosphere.

Afain queried Cleo, "Do you have a picture of what these things look like or what their language sounds like?"
"Oh yes, I finally isolated a frequency that has moving pictures of them. There are more than one species that occupy this planet. I have found several broadcasts that look like what seem to be news reports. It is all very bizarre, it's all out of context since I have no idea how their social structure functions."
"Let me see."

Cleo flipped on a viewer and there sat a furred creature talking a very strange language.
"They are like us!" Afain exclaimed.
"Well similar, remember as I said there are many species of creatures on this planet, some sentient like this one and many that are not."
"Ah… and this noise is their language?"
"One of many to be precise."
"Have you gained enough knowledge to understand it?"
"Some actually, I have found references and databases that I have tapped into to help my education in this aspect."
"So what's it saying?"
"It is describing weather patterns, see that map behind it. It's telling or predicting the weather patterns for the days to come."
"Good luck furred one." She said in mockery. "Very interesting; keep up the good work."
"Thank you Afain." The sphere became silent; Afain stared at the creature that moved on the screen. They weren't at all that different; well this one at least. She hoped that they would be able to converse with them peacefully and not to cause an incident.

Afain found Kira and Lyja staring at a screen with great interest. "What is it you have found?"
Lyja turned her head to address Afain, "With Cleo's help we have been looking into the technology of this planet."
"Oh and how does it rate with ours?"

Lyja just smiled, "Nowhere even close. Well some of their computers are getting there in speed but nothing that compares to our level."
"That doesn't surprise me."
"Although they do have some very powerful weapons, crude but they will do heavy damage."
Afain became concerned, "Are we in danger?"
"I'd like to say no, but these crude weapons could do some major damage to this ship if we are fired upon. It's not designed to go into battle. Now the main ship is in no danger from these weapons, they are not that powerful."
"Then let us proceed with great caution. Can you describe these weapons?"
"They have small projectile weapons, they are powerful destructive things. I've told Cleo that it will have to give us remotes for our first contact. They may not be hospitable and fire these upon us. We need to be able to withstand an attack from such weapons. Cleo has already adjusted its shielding and has now made remotes for us as well. We will be prepared for such an attack."

"Do you really think these creatures will attack us?" Violence on their world did happen but it was sparse.
Kira turned and answered, "From the data that Cleo is giving us, yes. These creatures are violent towards themselves and live in a chaos ridden society. Our intrusion and appearance will probably provoke a violent reaction."
"Cleo, come here." Afain ordered.

The small sphere came almost the instant it was called, "Yes Afain."
"Kira said that these creatures can and probably will attack us, can you protect us in such a situation."
"Yes, I have a full battle mode configuration all you have to do is activate it. I can and will eliminate all threats towards you. I am programmed to protect you and those you are travelling with from any harm befalling them."
"In what manner?"
"Eradication."

Afain was shocked, "Cleo you will not kill anyone unless I specify it, under no conditions do you understand."
"That is how I am programmed to respond."
"Then its going to be different now, you will use non-lethal methods to subdue attackers in advent that I am unable to function"
"I understand."
"Good, we are here to help, even if these creatures don't understand that." Afain stated. "This is not our planet, we have to err on the side of caution. Once something is dead it doesn't come back."
"Yes, understood."
"I also want you to find some sort of greeting, if you can. To tell them we are non-hostile."
"I am working on that."
"Good."
"Is there anything else Afain?"
"Not right now."
The sphere moved off, to begin searching for a greeting to these aliens.

"It seems we have a challenge ahead of us."
Kira sighed, "Yes we do." Afain had made it clear that no one was going to get killed on her watch.

The ship arrived at the place where the signal was directed in the early morning which wasn't to the liking of the group. They wanted to be inconspicuous; landing in the middle of the day wasn't a good plan. Night also gave them an advantage of camouflage. So the ship made a slight detour and set down on the water, a fair distance from shore. The ship easily floated upon the liquid's surface, it had to move once just to be sure it avoided another craft. They awaited darkness to fall then it would be time to go back and confront the aliens.

The plan was to land, decloak, then wait until someone showed up. That being would probably be the one they needed to talk with. They had to delay one day though; Cleo wasn't one hundred percent confident that it could communicate properly with these creatures. It had asked for one more day to prepare. Afain and the others agreed, they wanted this to go as smoothly as possible.

Darkness fell and the ship flew to the Aliens location, it landed close to a large dwelling then lowered its cloaking shield and waited.

Mothers Base

Alarms sounded and the place sealed itself, shields covered all windows. Mother calmly went down the stairs knowing that it wasn't wise to panic in these situations. She made her way to her office to find Swallow there, she hated calling her that for this creature was nothing like her name sake.
"What's going on?" Mother said calmly.
"Something very interesting." She brought up camera five on the large screen monitor. It showed the front courtyard and a large oval object sitting there.
"Oh, that is interesting."
"According to the guards there was a slight buzzing in the air then that stopped. Soon after this thing appeared."
"How long ago?"
"About 5mins."
"Interesting, have the automatic turrets been deployed."
"What?"

Mother went over to a picture hanging on the wall. She pulled up a chair and hopped up onto it. She pulled on the corner of the picture and it came forward; behind it was a panel it had several buttons on it. She punched in a code and waited.
"As I suspected, they disarmed them. Not surprising in my absence. One moment and…there active once again."

Out side towers began to rise out of the ground, many of them. On the top were two types of weapons one a machinegun and another electrical discharge type. They were formidable weapons of destruction.

Inside the ship these new additions were immediately noticed.
"Kira I don't know if that's a good sign." Lyja said.
"I'm scanning them right now to ascertain the threat." Kira said, "These are powerful weapons, I'm not sure if we should proceed. Cleo, could you defend against these?"
"The projectile weapons yes, the electrical I am unsure of, my deflections of that much energy could damage others or this ship. I could not comply with Afain's new directives; someone would obviously be killed if hit by a discharge of that magnitude."

Kira looked at Afain, "I don't want anyone hurt either Afain but those weapons are all aimed at us."
Afain summoned Cleo, "You're to go outside and try to converse with those who try to talk with you. No action is to be taken against them even if you are fired upon. You said you can withstand their projectile attacks. If they begin to use those energy weapons you are to retreat back into the ship."
"Yes I will do no harm."
"Good now go." Be careful Cleo, Afain whispered.

Mother and Swallow watched as their guards surrounded the craft with weapons drawn. It was to be an interesting evening.
"It might be best if we withdrew some of those guards, nothing is going to come out of that thing with all those weapons pointed at it."
"I think your right." Swallow said, she picked up a microphone. "All but two guards, fall back to defensive positions, those two staying meet us at the front door." The mic clicked off, "I think its time we go meet our visitors."
"You lead."
Swallow gave her a sneer, "You got a hope small fry…move it."

As they walked out the two guards met them. "Something came out of it," one of them said.

"Something?" Mother asked.

"Yeah a small ball, it's just floating there." said the wolf guard.

"One on each side now!" Swallow barked, "Let's see this …ball."

Mother watched and walked beside this imposter, she was arrogant but sure of herself…one of the traits she liked about herself.

The sphere was floating just as the guard said it was, doing nothing but sitting there.

"State your purpose for being here mechanical thing." Swallow commanded of the basket ball sized sphere.

"We come in pieces." It said in what was garbled English.

Mother smirked, seems it had an understanding of English but not a good one.

Swallow corrected it, "You mean we come in peace. Meaning non-hostile?" She wasn't sure if it would understand that but she tried.

"We come in peace." It said in perfect English this time, "Learns fast" Swallow thought.

"What do you want?" Swallow asked.

"Machines of us." Cleo replied hoping that meant technology of theirs.

Swallow looked down at Mother, "What do you make of that?"

Mother thought for a minute but it was Alison who answered, "The pod; it wants the pod, "Machines of us," machines that they made." Mother thought that was a good conclusion and raising an eyebrow. "I think it wants the pod."

Swallow was taken aback, "That thing, it's not here. How the hell did it come to the conclusion we have it?" Swallow huffed.

"I dunno," Mother shrugged, "but I think that's a reasonable guess at what it means by "machines of us."

"We don't have it." Swallow said to Cleo and waited.

Cleo on the other hand had been doing a whole lot while just floating there. It found the control panel in the dwelling that controlled the weapons trained on them. It knew it could easily disable them now. It had also determined that both these individuals possessed Zargozian technology within themselves they had found their quarry. Cleo contacted Afain.

"Both of these individuals have Zargozian technology within their bodies. None of the others who were here and are now gone did. There is a residual reading within the dwelling but it is very faint. I cannot ascertain precisely that it is Zargozian in origin."

"Then this complicates matters, we need to capture them. Can you formulate a plan to do that?"

"Yes, I have already figured that out."

"Will anyone be harmed in this plan?"

"No…there is 99.8 % chance of success in the retrieval of these individuals, without harm coming to anyone."

"Do it, we cannot waste time. Our presence here could harm these individuals more than we know."

"Understood."

Mother watched, nothing was happening; then it began all at once. A blue beam shot out from the sphere at the house, it cut a hole about an inch in diameter in the wall. It took the defense system down in one shot. Swallow turned and tried to run as the guards opened fire. The sphere stopped all the bullets in mid flight. It was incredible, after another bright light emanated from the sphere Mother/Alison found herself falling to the ground.
"That was fun she thought," as the world became dark.

End Of Chapter 18

"I COME IN PIECES" ROFL

"Gort, Klaatu barada nikto"

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PostPosted: Mon Nov 03, 2003 2:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Surprised Shocked I come in pieces... Smile Very Happy Razz Laughing

Well, as long as it's not "I go in pieces"... Twisted Evil

Hmmm, so there is still some hope for Heather. Maybe a job for Tolare...

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PostPosted: Mon Nov 03, 2003 2:58 pm    Post subject: Hi Nameless Reply with quote

Quote:
I come in pieces...

Well, as long as it's not "I go in pieces"...

Hmmm, so there is still some hope for Heather. Maybe a job for Tolare...


Hey friend Nameless.....thanks for reading dude!!!!!

I think there was a Sci fi movie called i come in peace......LOL
So i did a punny.....also the title to this chapter is taken from another movie......

The Russians Are Coming...it was a good funny movie.....Smile

Anyway......hmmm slight hope......maybe organ donation... Rolling Eyes

<Runs for cover>

Cheetaur

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PostPosted: Tue Nov 04, 2003 1:38 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Nice, the threads are starting to weave together enough to show the tapestry. The next chapter is definitely going to be interesting.

A real good one, Cheets,
Cateagle

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PostPosted: Tue Nov 04, 2003 2:46 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

MORE!!! MORE!!! MORE!!! MORE!!! MORE!!! MORE!!! MORE!!! MORE!!! MORE!!! MORE!!! MORE!!! MORE!!! MORE!!! MORE!!! MORE!!! MORE!!!
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PostPosted: Tue Nov 04, 2003 12:00 pm    Post subject: Thanks fellows Reply with quote

"More..."

Hmmm see what i can do......hehehe.

I think the pace is still ok......not hurrying too much. Its still fun for me to write.....and there are still a few surprises left in the story.....not many but a few.

As seen in this chapter Cleo can be a fearsome weapon......Smile

Thanks for the priaise and hanging around......i wonder what happened to bearion......Sad

Hope he's ok

Cheetaur

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PostPosted: Wed Nov 05, 2003 4:28 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Good one Cheets! Yeah, Cleo kicked some butt this time around, didn't he? "Well that was fun", haha. Aren't Mother and Mother going to be surprised when they wake up in space? hehe. And maybe Heather will be okay? Maybe the Zargozians can come up with something for all the Sabrinas...
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PostPosted: Thu Nov 06, 2003 2:01 am    Post subject: Thanks Reply with quote

Mother in Spaaaacccceeee (Sung to the tune of Pigs in Space)

LOL

Rolling Eyes

Thanks Xaqtly i appreciate your comments Smile

Glad you enjoyed the chapter....i'm trying to keep things fresh and new.Smile

Cheetaur

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PostPosted: Thu Nov 06, 2003 2:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Good chapter. Heh, "The Russians are Coming" talk about your obscure titles.... Anyways, good stuff. Looking forward to more.
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PostPosted: Thu Nov 06, 2003 4:01 pm    Post subject: More Great Literature! Reply with quote

As everyone else has said, Cheetaur- great work!

Ya don't suppose that when the probe's signal was blocked, that like Mother and Mother reacting in pain, that Heather's stroke wasn't caused by the signal being blocked, do you? And what of Ezzy? we haven't really heard from her in the last few chapters, ya know.

But I do like how all the threads of the storyline are coming together, as another fur said. It does take some masterful storytelling to be able to track and work a number of different subplotlines and yet keep them all moving to the same point. Kudos to ya, Cheets!

-Shirh Khan

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PostPosted: Thu Nov 06, 2003 4:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Heather's latest stroke is a relapse of her earlier stroke which was caused because mother botched her genetics as she had with Ti weather on purpose or not is unknown (at least to us) I don't think any of the clones would be reacting to the pod as the two Mothers would since they would not have the transceivers Cleo had mentioned the only reason Swallow reacted was because she now has the transceiver in her body from when she ate the original Mother which must also be where the AI is located when Swallow was digesting Mother the transceiver must have incorporated itself into her body and the AI took control, anyway that's the I understand it I may be compleatly wrong.
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PostPosted: Sat Nov 08, 2003 7:24 pm    Post subject: I love comments :) Reply with quote

Cool

Styx is right, the probes transmissions only affected the pod creatures...because of the link. I'd say that was a pretty good explaination....pretty close indeedy....Smile

Glad to have you guys reading and commenting...helps build my confidence...still lack some.... Rolling Eyes

I've sent mike 19 so its rolling along nicely......Smile

And you guys have been so patient...i hope it all pans out in the end...Smile

Cheetaur

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PostPosted: Sun Nov 09, 2003 6:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Printing a book are we? You know, that ain't a bad idea. How about an anthology of several different stories? Might be just the thing to raise funds for the bookshelf. I'd be willing to donate a story and I'm sure others would too.

BTW, I'm looking at 19 now so it may not be much longer...

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