COLOSSUS: Departure Read online

  Before answering Hopus, Mita was sizing up Jeeves and thought we are a tall alien, Commodore Jeeves.

  “Yes, father, we have only a few more matters to tend to then we would be pleased to present Yopa to, Commodore Jeeves.”

  Mita clapped her hands and a female Nawi came quickly, stood in front of Mita and bowed her head.

  “Charu, show the Commodore to the parlor so he can relax until I return for him.”

  Charu beckoned Jeeves to follow her to the parlor and he did so.

  After they left for the parlor Mita addressed her father.

  “What places do you want we to show the Earthlink, father?”

  “Take two of the “Worrals” with you and take him to the bathink pools. Then you can show him our ortis smelter in the gem cuttink rooms. By then we will know the time of the great meeting with the Earthlink Supreme Admiral Allen.”

  Mita acknowledged her father’s request and walked back to the end of the long conference table. She spent a few seconds talking to her subordinates then left them scurrying around to finish tasks given to them by her.

  Jeeves had waited a little less than thirty minutes when he heard footsteps walking towards the parlor so he stood up. Mita walked into the parlor and escorting her were two strong built Battledogs dressed in their fighting gear. Both had their lassos and the long spears favored by most Nawi soldiers.

  The Battledogs with Mita was the biggest Nawi Jeeves had seen so far. They were at least a foot and a half taller than the other warriors and had short wide necks. Jeeves could see that their canines were longer because the tips of them were visible as they protruded slightly from their mouths.

  He had made a mental note to investigate how it was possible for the two Battledogs to be so much bigger than the rest of the Nawi. Jeeves’s next thought was I am making a lot of notes about this world. I may have to make a note telling me to read my notes. Hey, Hammer would be proud, I think I just made a joke.

  “We are pleased to take you now and show you some of our world, Commodore.”

  “As I am pleased to see it.”

  All four walked out of the parlor and walked downstairs to the main lobby of the pound. Waiting outside was a handsome light and dark purple coach hooked up to six wekas and it was obvious the coach was Mika’s transportation.

  A Nawi warrior stood by holding the coach door open for his passenger and the two Worrals quickly got onto their mounts. The coach was too small for Jeeves and when he escorted Mita to the coach she turned to him before climbing into the coach said, “The places we are goink to are not far. Do you think you can follow while walkink?”

  “Yes, I don’t see a problem with me walking,” Jeeves said.

  With Mita safely inside the coach, the warrior in charge of driving the coach made a clucking sound and the wekas took off on a slow walk.

  Chapter 10

  Back on board the Colossus, Admiral Allen was prepared for the call to come in from Yopa in reference to his visit to the planet. He decided while his staff was getting all the things gathered he may need for the meeting with Supreme Emperor Nulashin he would take the opportunity to tell his people about the Nawi and thought this should be interesting.

  There was a total of two-hundred-sixty monitors of different sizes throughout Colossus. The majority of them were thirty-six inch flat screens. In areas of the ship where a large number of people gathered for social events, craft fairs or small businesses, there was a number of sixty-inch monitors.

  Just prior to giving one of the most important messages of his life the admiral instructed the only civilian linguistics personnel, whose name was Dal Worth, the order to make a shipwide announcement that their admiral would be speaking to them shortly.

  Allen had changed into his full dress uniform that consisted of a dark blue, short v-cut blouse, and almost black colored pants that were actually blue. Attached to his blouse and located on each shoulder was a five-inch-long and two-inch wide gold bar. Embroidered on each bar were an anchor and five stars in a circle pattern. The only other item on his uniform was a set of gold wings pinned on the left side of his chest.

  Navy tradition in the past called for officers wearing their full dress uniforms to have their medals displayed and pinned to their uniform blouse, but that tradition had been voted down over a hundred and fifty years ago.

  It was decided amongst the highest ranking officers in the military to have the uniforms be simple in their presentation. Besides, some officers had up to ten or more medals and that many became quite cumbersome. Another lifelong tradition in the military was the use of hats or caps and they were done away with as well.

  Allen was in his Ready Room standing in front of a mirror looking at himself in his uniform. At the age of 61, he was still in excellent shape and looked younger than his age. He had piercing blue eyes, broad shoulders, 6’5” tall and the youngest to ever reach the rank of Fleet Admiral. As customary, Allen had the typical flattop haircut which was salt a pepper color and kept a neat, close-cut beard and mustache the same color as his hair.

  A rapid three tap knock hit his door to which he responded, “Enter.”

  The Ready Room door quickly retracted into the wall and in stepped Rear Admiral Petrov, second in command.

  “Looking quite dapper as well as commanding, Admiral”

  “Thank you, Anatoly. What’s on your mind?”

  “Mr. Dal Worth informed me that the announcement of your upcoming message to the entire population of Colossus has been issued and your people have gathered at the shipwide monitors.”

  “Well then, I shouldn’t keep them waiting. After you, Admiral.”

  Petrov walked out of the Ready Room first, followed by Allen. The two commanders took their usual places in their command chairs and Allen said, “Bring me to the masses, Ensign Wolski.”

  “Aye, aye, Admiral,” Wolski said, then pushed a button at her station that brought down the huge screen that enabled Allen to see many of his people on a multitude of split screens.

  “Good afternoon my fellow Colossians. What I’m about to tell you is something that the few people living on Earth, as well as the Moon and Mars, have hoped and dreamed would come true sometime during the existence of Humans.”

  The crowds were excited and were holding their collective breath for the next few words to be spoken by their Fleet Admiral. Most were thinking the message was about intelligent life as the rumor mill had quickly been making its way through Colossus.

  “I’m excited, no that’s not the right word. I’m ecstatic to inform you that several hours ago I sent a shuttle to the planet you see just below the portside viewing windows. On board the shuttle was Colonel Jak Hammer and Commodore Jeeves.

  “Two hours ago I was informed by General Dubois that the two men had discovered intelligent life on the planet.”

  The crowds began cheering, waving their arms in the air and just plain celebrating. Allen gave them a couple minutes to settle down, then he asked for silence so he could continue his message.

  “I too was completely caught off guard as you are now. But it is a fact that we have had First Contact with an alien race, and they are friendly.”

  More cheers exploded at the thought of the aliens being friendly. After another minute of jubilation, everyone quieted again.

  “I don’t have all the particulars right at this moment but I can tell you that I have been invited down to meet with their Supreme Emperor Nulashin. I should be debarking the ship within another hour or so for the meeting. I want you all to know that as soon as I meet with the aliens and return to the Colossus I promise to have my staff fill you in on what we have discovered about our new found friends in our shared universe. That is all for now.”

  Ensign Wolski pushed the button that made the screen recede back into the ceiling of Command Central. Admiral Allen and Rear Admiral Petrov left their chairs and went back into Admiral Allens Ready Room.

  “I’m still in a little bit of shock, Arvin. Friendly, intelligen
t life just out our doorstep, so to speak.”

  “I’ll share this with you, Anatoly, but no one else. I’m a tad nervous and I’ll do my best to not show it.”

  “You know, sir, in Russia, high command would order the second in command to meet the emperor first, then send the highest ranking commander after the second had been debriefed.”

  “Nice try, Anatoly, but this isn’t Russia,” Allen said with a smile.

  The admiral’s commlink beeped and he walked over to his voice recognition video screen and said, “Allen.”

  The on-screen image was that of General Dubois and he said, “Admiral, Colonel Hammer just received a message from Field Marshall Hopus of the Nawi and said your meeting with Supreme Emperor Nulashin will commence at 3:00 p.m. our time. Whatever that means, sir.”

  “Well, General, I presume our time and their time could be a little different and Jeeves’s translation device has coded their time to be 3:00 p.m. Please inform our people to meet me at hangar bay 1 at 2:30.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  ****

  Mita, Jeeves, and the two big worrels had traveled a little over a mile to the north of the Nawi pound. Jeeves’s hearing was ten times more sensitive to sound than any Human being and he could hear a loud roaring a couple hundred yards to the north of them as he walked steadily in the direction of the noise.

  The flat land they had been traveling was about to come to an abrupt end and nothing but a huge mountain stood in their way. As they got right up to the end Mita had her coach driver stop. One of the worrels quickly dismounted and made his way to the coach and helped Mita down.

  She said something to the huge Battledog, then asked Jeeves to follow her. Jeeves looked slightly perplexed while thinking follow you where? Mita walked up to the mountain and it seemed as if she just disappeared into the mountain, but actually, she just took a step around a part of the mountain that had been cleverly disguised and hid an entry into the mountain.

  The two worrels remained outside with the coach while waiting for Mita and Jeeves to return. When Jeeves stepped into the opening he found the interior of the mountain to be very interesting.

  He and Mita walked down a long hall lined with the same orbs used for lighting in the lobby and throughout the pound. Jeeves thought truly astonishing how proficient the Nawi are at stone cutting.

  As they continued to walk Jeeves could hear what he knew to be a large waterfall just ahead. He could also hear sounds he had grown accustomed to hearing since his stay on Yopa and that was the joyous sound of yipping, which the Nawi usually made when pleased or happy.

  A few more steps and the hall ran into an extremely large cavern with three small waterfalls pouring ice blue water down and into two round bathing pools that several hundred Nawi could fit in at one time.

  At that particular moment, there were about twenty Nawi females and their young bathing. Jeeves looked over at Mita and she was smiling and looked very happy. When the bathers saw Mita they quickly stopped what they were doing and the adults bowed their heads.

  “We are pleased. Continue your bathing as we show Commodore Jeeves the wonder that is Pundornini.”

  “Pundornini, what is that?”

  “It means water of life in we’s language.”

  Before leaving the pools the pair just observed the bathers for a few more seconds. On the far side of the nearest pool, four pups were being coaxed by their mother to jump into the water. It was a precious sight as all but one was not having anything to do with it. One little brave pup bounced around and around before finally showing his siblings there wasn’t anything to worry about and jumped in.

  The pup’s mother floated on her back near the pup as it paddled around joyously. Seeing their mother coddling their brother or sister was too much for the other pups and they all jumped in the pool together.

  Outside where the two worrels were waiting, a rider came galloping up and while staying on his mount, he said, “Field Marshal Hopus ordered me to tell you to bring Mita and the alien back to the main lobby of the pound. The grand meeting with the Earthlink Allen is to start shortly.”

  The rider took off again and one of the worrels moved quickly to the inside of the mountain. He was at the bathing pools in no time and brought Hopus’s message to Mita. Jeeves was displeased as he wanted to see the ore smelter and maybe get a look at the gem cutters at work.

  Chapter 11

  Everyone attending the meeting between two different alien species was seated at the long table in the Grand Room except for Supreme Emperor Nulashin. Sitting to the left of Admiral Allen was Colonel Hammer, then Commodore Jeeves. To the right of the admiral was the empath, Doctor Moran Piner and next to her was General Dubois.

  A server had come by and filled the golden chalices in front of the Humans with ice blue water, which was the purest water any of them had ever tasted. After nervously chatting for a few minutes the guests of the Nawi heard their first sign that maybe the emperor was finally going to show up.

  Sitting to the right of the Supreme Emperor’s chair sat Field Marshal Hopus and next to him was one of the huge worrels. Hammer quietly suggested the worrel must be Hopus’s second in command. Sitting to the right of the emperor’s chair sat Mita, Charu, and a Nawi none of the Humans had met before. He was a short black-furred male and was wearing a snug golden cap fit neatly to his head and a purple vest with a pocket. Sticking out of the pocket were two short, hectagon, metal shafts with flat ends resembling chisels.

  Standing at both ends of the table was a single Battledog in full battle gear including the long spear and both were standing at attention. Noticing the spears, Hammer leaned into Jeeves and asked in a whisper, “If the meeting doesn’t go well do you think they will stab us with those spears?”

  “If I were to hypothesize, Colonel, I would say they would only use them on you.”

  It is so strange to see these Nawi sitting in chairs upright almost like Humans Jak thought.

  A sound of rolling wheels slowly coming down from the third level of the pound echoed throughout. When the wheels stopped, to the surprise of the Humans, two eight-foot by four-foot stones pulled back into a hidden recess revealing a large Nawi wearing a silver crown encrusted with diamonds and rubies.

  The crown wearing Nawi was Supreme Emperor Nulashin and he was seated in some kind of wheelchair. Standing behind him was an even bigger worrel than the ones seen earlier. The huge alien began pushing Nulashin out of the elevator and toward his guests.

  Every Nawi in the Grand Room except for Hopus and Mita started their familiar yipping sounds of excitement. Why Hopus and his daughter weren’t yipping would be something Jeeves made a mental note to ask about at another time.

  At first glance, it was assumed by the Humans that Nulashin was a very old Nawi. His fading pure white fur was slowly being replaced by a dull gray. Just below the bottom edge of the crown were several deep wrinkles across his forehead.

  Unlike the rest of the Nawi, Nulashin’s face had turned light gray instead of the standard black. He had a long scar that ran from just below his left temple down his jawline. He was dressed in a long shimmering smock that covered his legs down to his ankles.

  Hanging around his neck was a chain link designed silver chain, adorned with what Admiral Allen guessed to be a sapphire, larger than anything ever found on Earth. Allen thought that damn sapphire has to be ten carats or bigger.

  Everyone stood, then bowed in honor of the Supreme Emperor, including the Humans. The big worrel stopped in front of the open spot across the table from Admiral Allen, then wheeled the emperor up to the table, then stepped back a few steps but remained directly behind him.

  Nulashin held up his right arm as to ask for the yipping to cease, and it did. He looked across the table and said, “It is an honor to meet with you Supreme Admiral Allen of the world Earth.”

  “The honor is indeed mine, Supreme Emperor Nulashin. We thank you for allowing us to visit your wonderful world and the world of the Nawi.”
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  The two leaders of their kind sat for several minutes exchanging pleasantries then Nulashin asked Allen to follow him to his private living quarters on the fourth floor, which Allen excepted.

  Nulashin turned to find his guard and said, “We want to return to we’s quarters, Noona.”

  The big worrel stepped up to the wheelchair and pulled his emperor from the table and began wheeling him toward the elevator with Admiral Allen following him with his gift of aged scotch in a box in his hand and was thinking the emperor must want to speak in private.

  The three stepped off the elevator and Emperor Nulashin’s quarters covered the entire visible fourth level. Noona made a motion with his left hand near the wall to the left of the entry and a large door appeared that had previously been disguised to look like part of the mountain. The door opened and they went inside.

  As the door closed it made a hissing sound suggesting it worked by some clever type of hidden mechanical means. In the center of his quarters sat a hand-carved table made of the forest trees of Yopa. The carvings were meticulous in their appointments and were of the Nawi people performing many different kinds of tasks such as hunting, mining, gemstone cutting and Nawi using spears on some kind of aquatic life in a river, etc.

  There was a single chair sitting on one side of the table and another across from it.

  Pointing at the chair on the right side of the table, Nulashin said, “Please be seated, Admiral, we shall join you shortly.”

  With that said, the emperor was wheeled out of the main room and through another interior door. Allen had been seated for about fifteen minutes when out of the same door Nulashin disappeared through earlier, came the emperor, only this time he was walking with the aid of some kind of bright, pulsating, blue device running down both legs.

  Finally seeing the emperor out of the wheelchair, Admiral Allen got his first look at how massive the emperor was. He had a very wide neck and his body was almost twice as wide as any Nawi, Allen had seen so far.