Damocles Chapter 3: The Colony
Sarah Woodsford leads an away mission to a colony of a previously unencountered people
Captain’s Log, Stardate 86392.03. It has been two months since we have dealt with the creature, and both Karr and I are still injured. As a result, I have assigned Chief Medical Officer Sarah Woodford in command of the away mission to make first contact with the colony of a previous unmet species.
1
The grass lawn formed around Sarah as she beamed down. In the distance there were a number of strange looking buildings. They were each large, but the way it was built, suggested much of them were hidden under ground. Mountains were in the distance, as and beyond that, looming large above the landscape was the planet the moon orbited, as well as two of the other moons. Paved roads connected the buildings.
In front of Sarah was an elderly looking man, dressed in a red and gold uniform. He had with him various minions, dressed in their own uniforms, as well as a woman dressed in an amber dress. They were alien, resembling large, two-legged foxes with white fur.
“Greetings to our humble settlemt. I am Commander Andurra, leader of the colony here. This is my wife, Casslinda.” He said, offering his hand.
Sarah took the hand. “Thank you for welcoming us to your colony. I am Doctor Woodford, of the Damocles. This is Lieutenant Brooks, Lieutenant Commander Kingston, and Head of Science Dr Peter Haigh.” She replied.
“Captain Syvar and Commander Karr give their apologies for being unable to come, but they are recovering from injuries received in a recent battle.”
He gave her a smile, and said, “Of course, do not worry, it is good that they recover, and hopefully they are able to come down later, gods willing. Now, if you will, follow me. We have prepared a meal for you.”
He turned around, and Sarah led the landing party in following them. They walked in silence, taking in the alien planet. Its strange smells – a peculiar mix of almost-daffodils and oranges, it’s strange sights, with blue grass, and the two-legged dinosaur looking things that some children were playing with in the distance. It had a weaker gravity than her home of Centauri, but not so weak that they could push themselves far distances from it. It was a strange sensation, like walking on pillows on a sailing ship.
They were taken to a building, made of steel, and in the shape of a beetle’s carapace. Andurra opened the door after putting in a code. They filed in. The inside was a simple metal walkway toward a staircase. Two soldiers were sitting there, talking as they did their watch duty. Woodford followed Andurra down deeper into the building. The staircase was long, and as they descended the building went from steel to more natural materials such as timber. Fire lights replaced harsh artificial light. Soon, they had descended into a large antechamber, which looked like the main chamber of a warren. There were many people going about, many dressed in simple clothes, reminiscent of colonial americana.
They followed them through the antechamber, and int a side chamber, that contained a great many figurines and other statuettes depicting various scenes, primarily battles of heroes. In the middle was a large table made of a dark wood. Andurra moved to a seat on the middle of the table, and sat down there. His wife sat next to him, and the minions sat across the rest of the side of the table. Woodford and her party moved to sit opposite them. Brooks took the seat opposite Andurra, drawing it out as so Sarah could sit there, before sitting next to her.
As soon as they sat down, a number of servers appeared from seemingly nowhere, and placed large plates in front of them. The dish appeared to be some sort of bird, though one she was not familiar with. Presumably native to the colony.
“The chef made sure to prepare something that you would find appealing, based upon the information you provided. I hope you enjoy.”
“Thank you, that is most considerate.” She replied.
“Now, before we eat, let us give thanks for this meal.” Andurra said, before giving a prayer to his gods. Woodford followed, giving a prayer to Jesus.
They began the meal. The meat was entirely unlike anything she had had before, but it most resembled kangaroo mixed with turkey. There were strong seasonings placed upon it, none of which she was familiar with. But the entire combination was excellent.
“This is very good Andurra, give our compliments to the chef.” She said.
“Thank you, I will.” He replied, “We haven’t seen travellers coming from your direction before, may I ask where you are from?”
“Our people originally came from earth, but that has been occupied for nearly 80 years. Centauri is where our king resides, but humanity has largely been fractured.”
“I see, that is terrible to hear. It is terrible for a people to lose their home. Even as we set off into the stars, one’s home is unique.” Casslinda said.
“That it is.” Sarah said.
“Let us give prayer that these good people can reclaim their ancient home, and reunify their people, under a just and noble king.” Andurra said.
A prayer was said by the foxes, and then they continued their meal, and conversation. “May I ask where you yourself come from?” Brooks asked.
“Of course, we come from Delgoria. It is a beautiful planet full of brilliant colour, and plains. It is a gem among the darkness of the abyss. A planet with many moons, 69 in fact, and on the largest of the moons sits our emperor in his stone tomb, waiting the day for his return and reclaim his throne.” Andurra said.
Before anyone could respond, a lesser minion came in, and said something to Andurra.
“It seems that one of our outposts are having some problems. I need to head off immediately, but if you wish, you can join us, and get a better idea of our colony?” He asked.
2
They rode steeds to the outpost. Strongly resembling horses, but with 8 legs, and with ape like feet rather than hooves, and thick, white, hair. They were fast, and moved through the land with practised grace. Through a rocky outcrop, they went, barely noticing the difference between it and the flat grass. Quickly they arrived at the outpost. A tall, circular building, with a lookout at the top. There were 15 more foxes on the ground, each in armour, and holding their guns, long energy rifles, with a green glow emanating from it. Opposite them was a large crowd of what appeared to be large amoebas with faces. Tendrils came out from them, and they were wielding spears and primitive bows. One could see through them, like seeing through water.
Sarah and her compatriots got off their horses, and stood at a distance, as Andurra and his men moved closer. Brooks and Kingston both kept their hands on their guns. Andurra and what appeared to be the leader of the primitives talked for a bit, before there was a spear thrown, striking one of the fox soldiers. Less than a second later, there was a heavy blast of energy fire. Some of the amoebas managed to fire back, but in moments, the entire group had been killed, exploding in blasts of goop. Andurra standing in the middle of a semi-circle of his men, his hands clenched.
He walked back to them, and said, “I’m sorry you had to see that. Unfortunately, we’ve been having issues with some of the natives, a lot of tension on both sides. I think it’s best if you return to your ship, until we can work this out.”
Sarah almost complied, before Brooks stepped in, and said, “No, I think it would be better if we stayed. We may be able to act as a neutral arbitrator, help form sort of peace between you two.”
Andurra thought for a moment, “If you wish, but you’d need to convince them as well. And they aren’t exactly willing to negotiate, at least so far.”
Brooks nodded, “We’ll be able to help with that. Give us a location, and we can talk to them. Try at least.”
Andurra nodded, and replied, “very well, it is your own decision, your own risk. I’ll have one of men give you the co-ordinates, and you can get there. But it would be best if you head off in the morning, rather than at the dusk. It is easier to communicate with them at that time.”
“Thank you, Commander, we’ll do just that. Is there anywhere we can stay overnight?” Sarah asked. She hid her annoyance, and kept her smile.
“Yes, back in town. Let us head back.” He replied.
They headed back, and were given rooms inside their underground town. They were single rooms, with a small light in the roof that gave a flame-like glow. There was a single desk, table, bed and adjoining bathroom. Sarah looked at the place, and found the underground nature of it comforting in a way she couldn’t verbalise. She probably should go talk to Brooks about his overruling of her authority, but she found herself too fog headed. Instead, she took out her tablet, and played some music. As she slipped into bed, there was a knocking upon the door. Opening it, Brooks was standing there. He was tall, nearly 6 feet, with a thick beard, and tired grey eyes.
“Do you mind if I come in?” He asked.
“Of course.” She replied.
He stepped in, and sat upon the table. “My apologies for overstepping my authority before, I should have advised you privately.”
“Just don’t do it again.” She said.
“Of course. I’ll mind my tongue more carefully in the future. But I should let you get back to bed.” He said, getting up to head off.
Sarah watched him go, but just as he was opening the door, she said, almost against her better judgement, “Good night.”
He bid her goodnight, and headed off. Sarah went back to bed, and stayed up thinking.
3
In the morning, Sarah, Kingston and Brooks stood in the open field where they first beamed in. Each carried the standard phaser pistol. She pressed her commbadge, and requested that Mckinney take them to the provided locations. Moments later, the world around them dissolved, and began to reform into a rocky outcrop. Before them was a cave entrance. Two amoebas were there, wielding spears.
“I am Lieutenant Commander Sarah Woodford, of the Damocles, we are here to help negotiate a peace.” She said. Fortunately, Andurra had enough voice samples to feed into the universal translator.
The two amoebas simply looked at her, before looking at each other. One moved forward in a squishing motion, until it was about 3 feet away from her. A holy appeared in the side facing her, and it began to speak.
“Are you with the Foxes?” It’s voice was strange, and could only be described with goopy.
“No, we are with the Damocles.” She replied.
It turned to look at the other amoeba for a few seconds, and it went inside the cave. For several minutes they stayed there, the amoeba in front of them holding it’s spear menacingly, or at least trying. It was a bit hard when it was only as tall as her knees, and she wasn’t exactly tall. She tried to supress a smile, finding the creature adorable.
Eventually, the first creature came out, with another beside it. The new amoeba was carrying a sword. It went up to them, and look them up and down.
“You wish for peace?” It asked.
“Yes, we do.” She replied.
“If you are truly willing, and as are the Foxes, we will have talks. But you, and Andurra, will come alone. You may only have two others each. They will be held here. These are our terms, they are non-negotiable.” It said.
“Very well, we will return tomorrow if Andurra agrees.”
It moved in a strange way, before squishing back into the cave. Sarah asked McKinney for transport back, and soon they found themselves back in the field. They headed back toward the complex, and met back up with Andurra. When he heard the deal, he nodded his head, and said;
“Very well, that is acceptable, it is not like they pose a threat to us anyway, but if it brings them comfort, than so be it. Hopefully it spares us needless killing.” He said, drinking his wine.
“Hopefully. Do you have ideas for what they will want you to concede?” She asked.
“I have a few ideas, but at the end of the day, all the power is with us, so I’ll only grant what is reasonable. Co-existence, trade, that is my goal. But if they wish to go further than that, I’m afraid they’ll be sorely mistaken.” Andurra said.
“We’ll keep that in mind, and try and keep their demands reasonable. I can’t guarantee anything.” Sarah said.
“Understood, I trust you. Just keep in mind that we’re doing this for their benefit, if they believe they have a fair say, it will be better in the long term toward building peaceful co-operation, without resentment. But things are never easy.”
She nodded, “Yes, of course. But if that is all, I have to go back to my men.”
He bid her farewell, and she went back to their guest quarters. A small detached area, with a small common room, and a series of one bed rooms. Her men were sitting around the table, playing a game of cards.
“Lieutenant Commander, do you wish to join us?” Brooks asked as she walked past.
“Yeah, we’re just finishing up the round.” Kingston added.
“No, it’ll be fine, I have some work to finish up. Enjoy yourselves though” She said, and she headed back to her room.
It was a lie of course, she had nothing of the sort, but she absolutely detested the idea of such things, she much preferred to spend time on her own. She went back to her room, put on some music, and drew for the rest of the day. A meditative activity, her thoughts left her as she focused on the lines. While it wasn’t as comfortable as with paper, it was sufficient. She drew for the rest of the day.
In the evening, the foxes provided dinner at Andurra’s expense. She knew that it was at great expense; the colony was still young enough to not have full food independence. The ingredients, and the drinks, would be cutting into their reserves. She kept track in her head how good of a gift that the Damocles would need to provide upon their departure.
They ate around the table, all five of them. It was a good meal, another native bird. The men talked amongst themselves, while she listened, not feeling comfortable enough to talk. She was young, younger than them, less experienced. She had no idea why she had been promoted so quickly, though she suspected that Karr was strongly involved in it. They had met on the Odysseus; Sarah having been assigned to her to help replace the crew lost while she was MIA.
The dinner finished, and she told Brooks and Security officer Hodd Toward that they’ll be the ones coming, Kingston being in command why they were gone. They nodded, and she went off to bed.
4
The six of them beamed back in the exact location they were beamed the day before. A small group of 5 amoebas were there, waiting for them, spears at the ready.
“You do that regularly?” Andurra asked, “That was the worst sensation in my life.”
“You get used to it.” Brooks said.
The Amoebas led them into the cave. It was small, small enough that they had to bend down, and crawl in places, dirtying their uniforms. It was damp as well, and water dripped from the ceiling constantly. But fortunately, it was cool, so there was at least one relief as they followed the guards to their destination.
Soon they arrived at their destination, and there was the amoeba with the sword again. There was a fire, with what appeared to be carpets made of dried moss around it. They were shown to their places, and they sat down around it.
The lead Amoeba said something the translator couldn’t interpret, and began to do a ritual of some sort. Eventually, it ended, though not before all their faces had red paint, well, something resembling paint at least. She would need to confirm what it was afterward. They began their negotiations. They went on for several hours, with some of the basic details being worked out, such as the borders between their two territories, and trade deals. But after several hours of talk, they decided to call it for the night.
They had a small meal provided by the amoebas, mushrooms, and lichen for the most part. Discreetly, she took out her tablet, and had it scan the foods. It was edible, though not exactly nutritious for them to eat. She confirmed it to Toward and Brooks with a nod of the head, and they began to eat. It was foul to the tongue, but she hid it from her face, and gave a smile, and told them that it tasted good. They nodded in appreciation, as she finished the meal. Everyone ate in silence. From the way Andurra and his compatriots reacted, she guessed they weren’t enjoying it either.
When they were done, another ritual was conducted, though they understood none of it, and they were taken to another room in the cave. Small mats of moss were there, one for each of the dignitaries. Other than that, and the small fire, it was entirely austere. Sarah suspected that all the fires had been for their benefit. Despite the uncomfortable surroundings, she managed to get to sleep, eventually. Her rosery was in her hand, as it so often was when she slept.
She woke up several hours later by someone only inches from her face, saying something she couldn’t quite make out. Opening her eyes, and turning over, she saw the face of Brooks.
“Toward has been killed, get up.” He said.
She blinked, and got up quickly, turning around to where Toward was the night before. He was on his side, so his back was to her. Getting up, and moving over to the other side, she examined his body. His neck had been slashed. Looking closer, it was almost certainly by a sharp edge, but not to the standard they could achieve. Almost certainly, it was the work of the sort of tools that the amoebas had.
She went over to Brooks and asked, “What happened?”
“I woke up about 10 minutes, found him like that. Looked over the body, it seems he’s been dead for a few hours.”
“Why would the amoebas kill him? It doesn’t make any sense, why only him? And more so, his collar is down, so they knew it’s protective against such attacks.” Sarah said.
“Indeed, and a first attack would’ve woken him. So they must have moved the collar before they slashed his throat, meaning they knew the protective nature of the uniform. The amoebas almost certainly wouldn’t know this, but the foxes would. They may be behind us technologically, but they would have some level of protective fabrics, and know it’s benefit. And be able to keep him asleep enough when they lowered the collar.” Brooks reasoned.
Sarah nodded, “but they may have drugged us during the meal. It’s still possible that they are the ones who killed him. For now, see if any of the Foxes have one of those knives, I’ll look for evidence the amoeba did it.”
Brooks nodded, and headed toward the foxes, who were sleeping on the other side of the small room. Sarah looked at him for a couple seconds, before turning away, and inspecting the body of Toward. She had no gloves at hands, so she was forced to look at the wound barehanded. She did a scan with her tablet, before taking a closer look, feeling the wound with her hand. There was no sense of residual as she would’ve expected from the amoebas. Looking at the scans, there was no trace particles either. Feeling through it, she found something that didn’t feel like it should be there. Taking it out, and examining it, it seemed to be a single hair.
Brooks moved behind her, and whispered, “Did the scan, Halkim has an appropriate knife. What should we do?”
Looking further at the hair, she said, “wake them up, and keep your hand on your gun. Tell Andurra the situation, and see what he says.”
He nodded, and followed her orders. The three of them got up, and Brooks told them what happened. When Andurra went to ask a question about who they think is the culprit, Brooks shot the fox with the knife dead. No one even saw his gun leave his holster.
Some of the Amoebas came over to see what had happened, and Brooks simply told Andurra that he should be glad that Woodford was there, before telling the Amoebas who walked in that they were leaving. They guided them out, as Sarah followed limply behind him. When they left, he opened a commline to Mckinnely and to Kingston, and had everyone return to the station.