Pete(17)‘Intervention Plan’ (Young adult; adventure/sci-fi) — Peter S.Wall
March 26th 2008 03:00
FOURTEEN
'Cosmic clash'
"You and whose army black thing," Bluey growled.
"Identify yourself, Borgz," said the silver Daxian.
The Borgz snarled, revealing a mouth full shark-like teeth. "I am Commander Haz. And you do well to know me before you die Daxian scum!"
"Leave this quadrant, Commander. You have no business here," Xen said in defiance. Alert to danger, he leant forward and punched the button to activate the starship's defence-shields. And not a moment too soon.
The comm-screen suddenly went dark.
"What happened?" Bluey asked, trotting back to his seat.
"We were hit by a type of laser cannon—a very powerful one," Xen growled. "Another hit like that and this ship will be destroyed." He punched buttons on the control panel in rapid motion. "The warp-drive saved us, however shield-energy is virtually depleted."
"Hey, what is that?" Bluey asked, in awe of a giant red planet directly in front of the ship.
"That, my furry friend, is a planet humans call Mars. Daxians call it a dead planet. In any event, it is now doing a splendid job of hiding us from the Borgz.” Xen shook his silver head. “I can't understand how they detected us," he murmured to himself, not realising that by activating the ship’s cloaking-shields, a detectable burst of energy was emitted. Nor was he aware that the Borgz had been on Earth for many years plotting the planet's diamond-deposits, or that diamonds are the vital component in the construction of sion-pulsar cannons, one of which had just nearly destroyed his ship.
"Well," Xen leant forward inspecting a gauge adjacent a persistently flashing red light. "I am going to have to land the ship somewhere, we are losing atmosphere from the cargo bay."
"Can we go home then?" Bluey asked eagerly.
"Hmmm, yes, it will have to be Earth, my little friend. I'm afraid we won't make it to 27/0, a planet on the other side of what’s known as the Milky Way. Be thankful our cloaking-shields are still intact, and let us hope that the Borgz do not detect us again."
"Woof, Woof," Bluey barked excitedly, and shook his body, dislodging hundreds of hairs to float in the air.
Xen crinkled his silver nose in distaste. "Here we go."
Bluey watched as the Daxian punched a series of numbers into the control pad, then felt, as much as heard the antimatter engine start up. Suddenly the view changed, Mars disappeared, and stars began flashing past. His felt the bees buzzing inside his head again, and just when he thought he couldn’t take any more, the sensation ceased. The starship now hovered two kilometres directly above his hometown of Wombarra.
Xen turned to his agent. "Do you know of a good landing site, it has to be away from prying eyes so I can deactivate the cloaking-shields for an inspection of the hull?"
Bluey was not surprised when the physical dimensions of the starship flashed into his mind as he thought of a place to land. Then it came to him: "In the mine,” he said, “there’s a flat area up under the escarpment, and no-one ever goes up there now."
"Excellent," said Xen, punching buttons beneath the comm-screen.
Bluey watched as the screen lit up, showing an infra-red view of the town below, night-cycle having fallen some five hours earlier. He didn’t recognise anything of course—he’d never viewed Wombarra from above, let alone in the dark. And that’s when the ship started descending, fast. His stomach did a back flip. After a few uncomfortable seconds, their descent slowed. He heard a hissing sound. Felt a slight bum. They were back on terra firma!
Bluey jumped out of his seat and began his excited-dance: left/right, round and round. "Woof Woof!" He barked. "How do I get out of here?"
"Hold on there, my little friend,” said Xen. “I need to run some tests first." He rose from the flight-chair.
"What sort of tests?" Bluey whined.
"Come, I'll explain on the way."
| 59 |
| Vote |
Shared on
Subscribe to this blog
