Target 10 S1.5 Alien Afterall?
She was certain the top of the room was open, and the sun hanging in the sky was millions of miles away and not projected to fool them.
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Reby's nose tickled. Even before they'd made it to the door, a sweet scent wafted past her. It reminded her of the Sentir Gardens on Azu, where hundreds of varieties of tropical flowers grew, grouped by smell. Some said a visit there was a symphonic olfactory experience. What she smelled now was like that symphony all played at once, specific notes indistinguishable in the cacophony.
She paused at the threshold. At first, she thought they must be in a part of the star the jungle had retaken. Plants of various sizes and shades of green filled the room. Scattered blobs of color that ranged from brilliant yellow to deep purple clumped together in groups of various sizes. Are we outside?
The royal blue, cloudless sky stretched out above them. She could see the tops of walls on three sides peeking out over the trees that filled the space. She estimated the far wall was at least sixty meters away, and where the fourth wall should have been, she saw only an abundance of plant life. Where's the ceiling? This wasn't an illusion. She was certain the top of the room was open, and the sun hanging in the sky was millions of miles away and not projected to fool them.
"Please come all the way in. I promise none of the plants are carnivorous. And I've set up some seating on the balcony." Clay motioned with his hand, then entered an aisle created by a series of wide-leaved, but thin trees that stretched up three times her height. The ground where the plants grew was covered in a thick layer of dirt, but the aisle appeared to be the same floor as the corridors. Along the base, a thick plastic-like slab held back the dirt, creating one large plant bed.
She walked after Clay, Jemy and RJ still next to her. The foliage was so dense she couldn't tell if the room had any purpose—other than being Clay's garden. It's enormous. And nothing like a lounge.
After a few turns through the path, they emerged into a space with low-growing shrubs and flower bushes. The planting beds surrounding an open space she presumed was the balcony Clay referred to. A gentle breeze ruffled the leaves and blooms, their perfume reminding Reby even more of Azu. But the view told her she wasn't anywhere near her homeworld.
Though Clay had called it a balcony, there were none of the usual architectural details she associated with balconies. A row of knee-high, spikey plants with bulbous green and white striped leaves lined the edge of the floor where a railing wall should have been. Beyond them the jungles of Haven flourished. Tufts of taller trees poked out of the surface that looked like a bumpy green blanket stretched over the world.
Reby walked to the edge and looked down. The smooth sand-colored surface of the star dropped away, angling steeply down toward the jungle. We're at least a thousand meters up. That'd be one hell of a slide. She took a step back.
To her left, she saw another arm of the star. From the data, she remembered each arm was separated by about fifty-one degrees. The bottom and second star layers were both visible, giving her a visual reference for where they were. The lounge was at the bottom level of the second star—just as Clay had said—and most of the way to the tip of that arm. Knowing that didn't bring the comfort she thought it might.
Her Nexo buzzed. On the screen, her miniature avatar jumped and punched, reminding her it was time to exercise. She repressed an irritated growl. The annoying reminders were the reason she rarely wore the device unless she was off ship. The fact she kept forgetting to turn them off was a sore spot. I'm going to figure out how to put Aida on this thing someday. She swiped it away and checked for a connection to the Demption. Nothing. Even under open sky, they had no external comms. The knots in her stomach pushed upward.
"It's enormous!" RJ said, standing behind her.
"You can see more if you get closer," she replied.
"No. I'm fine here."
She knew he hated heights, or rather 'falling' as he insisted on saying. He must be terrified. A stab of guilt from taunting him made her chest tighten even more than it was. Grabbing his elbow, she turned him around so they both faced inside, back at their host. She squeezed his arm, and he gave her a weak smile, but she felt him stand taller when he saw Clay.
"Captain Peray," Clay called to Jemy, still gawking at the view, "would you and your crew mates come join me? We have much to discuss." He waved to a silver rectangular block with five glossy white cubes at one end. The setup looked like an improvised conference table.
The other end of the table overflowed with what looked like produce. Clusters of small purple berries sat on top of rough orange pieces almost as long as her forearm, with small green leaves at their top. Another section had pink and white variegated sticks that looked like celery, but somehow not at the same time. The pile exploded with colors, sizes and shapes and looked like it'd been setup to make a point.
"Yes, of course," Jemy replied, peeling himself away from the edge.
The table sat back from the precipitous end of the balcony and a short distance from where they exited the aisle of tall trees. Clay sat at the head of the table. Reby slowed her pace so she'd reach the table at the same time as Jemy and could sit with him between her and Clay. She didn't understand why he made her feel like a schoolgirl with her first crush. No one made her feel that way, no matter how handsome they were. Not anymore. Not until now.
RJ sat across from her, one seat between him and Clay. One of his hands was off the table, most likely in the pocket with the E-blaster. She pressed her arm against her side and felt the hard lump of her E-blaster through the fabric of her jacket. It's within easy reach. Breathe!
"I know this isn't exactly what you're used to for a lounge, but it has worked out well for me. Though, it's more accurately described as the center of activity. Thinking of it as a lounge makes me feel more at home. I grow all my food here, safely behind the screen." He pointed towards the pile of food at the other end of the table. "You can see there's more than enough for all of us, probably for several days. That is just one harvest. So you if you are concerned about resources to feed an extra passenger Captain Peray, you have nothing to worry about."
Reby focused on every word he said while pretending to look around them. At the mention of a screen, she shifted to look back toward the balcony, then up. There was no visible screen, which meant it was energetic and probably blocking the comms.
"Is it safe?" RJ said before she could ask about the screen.
Clay shifted his eyes from Jemy to RJ. "I've been surviving off it for many years now, so yes, all these are safe for human consumption. I've cultivated a combination that provides a better nutritional profile than you'll find in most star systems."
"Don't mind if I test that, do you?" RJ said and stood, pulling out an analyzer from one of his many pockets before walking to the other end of the table.
"No, of course not."
Jemy, seemingly oblivious to the tense exchange, had been rubbing his hand across the table and examining his seat. "This isn't a table, and these aren't stools or chairs."
"Very observant, Captain. No, I scavenged these from other parts of Havenstar. I'm not sure what they were before but they serve their new purpose well enough."
"Was the star abandoned, then? Empty of anything from the builders?" Jemy asked.
Reby couldn't risk giving Jemy control of the conversation. Not yet. Give me some clues! "It can't have been, could it? It's on. The lights are on, the teleporter works, the docking systems work. How can that be if it was abandoned?" She opted not to ask about the screen. Yet.
Jemy's knee started bouncing. His patience in waiting for answers was waning.
"You're both right. Havenstar is fully functional - as far as I can tell, with the exception of the parts reclaimed by the forest and some lower levels that aren't powered. But it is also quite empty. The builders, as you call them, took most everything with them."
"There must be records, writing, something left behind. How did you know how to get inside, or operate any of it?" Jemy asked.
Clay sat silent, watching RJ scan every piece of food in the pile. His face was a stone, impassive. Reby sensed he was deciding how to answer Jemy. This was the moment. He'd promised them answers, but would they be the truth?
Jemy held his breath, his heartbeat thumping in his ears. Though his body tried to tell him he was outside, maybe somewhere on Azu, his mind held onto the fact he was inside the alien structure. And the man who lived there was about to tell him about the magnificent builders. Research. Get as much info as possible before taking off to explore. Zalie's words ran through his mind, as they always did at the start of an excavation.
Only this wasn't an excavation. It wasn't like anything he'd ever done. He'd be exploring a functioning, alien-constructed site. The clues to their story wouldn't be decayed and buried. They'd be out in the open for him to see and discover. He couldn't wait to get started.
"Can you please stop that?" Clay gave him a sideways glance.
"Stop what?"
"Your legs. The bouncing makes so much noise."
Jemy forced his legs to stop moving. Reby rubbed his shoulder. He knew she understood his nervous habits.
"Thank you." Clay paused again, seemingly still distracted by RJ.
Jemy was about to ask his question again when Clay began talking.
"As I mentioned before, I crash landed on Haven. Only it wasn't Haven then. Luckily I had enough control to get close to Havenstar, or else the jungle may have gotten me." Clay spoke like he was pulling the memory out of molasses.
"I walked along the base of the closest arm towards the center, hoping to find a way in. The surface is smooth, impenetrable. I tried blasting it. Nothing happened, not even a scorch mark where it hit. But when I got closer to the center I saw a light."
Jemy slid forward on his cube. Finally, Clay was getting to the important part.
"That turned out to be an open door, the light a blinding blue—like what you saw in the docking bay. I hesitated to enter, but it was either that or the jungle."
"What about your ship? It sounds like you landed safe enough if you could walk that far." RJ said.
That doesn't matter! Jemy frowned at RJ, who shrugged his shoulders.
"My ship didn't have power. It would have served for shelter, I suppose. But what would you have done, Chief Jadieli?" His voice changed, became louder, more present, as he addressed RJ. "Would you have hidden in a powerless hunk of metal at the edge of this impressive construction? I don't know you, but I'd guess not." He drifted into silence and he looked to the side, his eyes unfocused, as if looking inward.
"I think we all would have done the same." Reby said.
She's right. Clay's attention turned to her, a warm smile spreading across his face. He likes her. Good. He'll be more willing to share what he knows.
"So you entered the door..." Jemy prompted.
"Yes," Clay said. "I entered. There was a short corridor before I ended up in a teleporter and had much the same experience you did." He paused again, taking a deep breath. "When I recovered from the disorientation, he spoke to me."
Jemy caught his breath, but held back the question burning on his tongue.
"I thought I'd lost my mind at first. Maybe I hit my head in the crash and didn't realize it. But the voice continued, assuring me I wasn't crazy and actually in quite good health. For a human." Clay took another of his long pauses.
Jemy was glad RJ didn't butt in and break Clay's chain of thought.
"How long ago was that?" Reby asked.
At least that's relevant. Jemy still wanted to let Clay talk uninterrupted, though.
"More than ten standard years. It's hard to be precise. It feels like such a long time ago. It's hard to remember it all. But he told me his name was Obexpl, or that's what his race was called."
Jemy leaned forward. The builders had a name.
"I called him Obi since that was easier." Clay sat up straight and surveyed the room, as if expecting something to be hiding in plain sight.
Jemy reflexively looked around too, but didn't see anything except RJ, still analyzing the food. He made eye contact with RJ and could tell he wanted to talk, to prod, to pull Clay's story apart. That's what it was like being an engineer, even a cavalier one. Knowing RJ as he did, Jemy appreciated his friend's new found reserve in that moment, though he didn't know how long it would last.
"Obi showed me how the technology works—how to use it, anyway. I don't fully understand why it works or how the connection is made... I was studying to be a biologist, not a physicist. Even after all this time there's much I don't understand."
"Connection?" Reby asked when Clay again drifted away from the conversation.
"Yes," Clay breathed in. "Their technology is consciousness-based, or interfaced. It's able to connect with a mind that is aware and perform requested functions."
"You mean it reads people's thoughts?" RJ sat back down on his seat, the fruit forgotten.
"No, not mind readers. It's more... directed. Our minds our chaotic, thousands of little thoughts, along with subconscious and automated instructions, are constantly flowing through our brains." He waved his hands about his head, then brought them together in front of his face. "To use the technology you need to focus on a single thought. Instruction. Without focus nothing with happen."
Jemy imagined the Clay that landed must be much different from the distracted one telling the story. Ten years alone on an abandoned world is bound to affect someone. But...
"Where's Obi?" He asked. His breath quickened at the thought of talk to the builders. The Academy couldn't deny direct communication.
"Gone."
Jemy's heart sank to his stomach. Something in Clay's voice sent a wave of sadness through him. Clay really had been alone for a long time.
"Just like that? He showed you the secrets of their technology, then just left?"
RJ's tone felt too harsh. He deserves some compassion. On two occasions, Jemy had come across taries left behind by scavies. They'd only been alone a few months, but both times they'd been wrecked emotionally, even when they'd had enough provisions to stay physically well. He couldn't imagine what being alone for years would do to someone, but so far, Clay's idiosyncrasies seemed to be just that.
"Are you always this confrontational?" Clay flattened his hands on the table and started to stand.
"Yes." He and Reby answered at the same time.
"Ignore him for now," Jemy pleaded. "Please tell us what happened to Obi."
Clay remained half-standing, then he looked at Reby.
"Please," she said.
He sat back down, shifting his body to face towards Jemy and Reby. "We were experimenting—Obi loved experiments. He was trying to see if I could restore power to some sections of Havenstar that had recently stopped working. But I couldn't. That section wouldn't respond to me no matter how many times we tried." He rubbed his fingers on the table as if he were trying to remove a spot. "He told me to try one more time, using a technique he thought would focus my intentions better. It didn't work. And he hasn't spoken to me since."
"Did he just disappear in front of you? Could he have teleported somewhere else in the st—Havenstar?" Jemy asked.
Clay snapped his head toward Jemy. "You've misunderstood me somewhere. I never saw Obi. He isn't real."
Jemy scrunched his forehead. "What? What do you mean 'not real'?"
The right edge of Clay's lips lifted. "Just what I said. He wasn't real. I never saw him, or touched him. There was only his voice." Clay again casually looked around the room.
"Then why do you keep looking around as if he's about to pop out between the trees?" RJ asked.
"Am I?"
"Looks that way." RJ raised his eyebrows and shoulders.
Jemy feared RJ might call Clay outright crazy next. He couldn't let that happen. They still needed whatever information Clay could remember.
"You think he's still here, though, don't you?" Reby jumped in. "That's why you're looking around. Even if you never saw him, you think he's real and still here."
Clay rested his gaze on her before breaking out into a full, non-maniacal smile. "You understand me so well already." He paused but didn't look away.
Jemy relaxed. Reby counterbalanced RJ. They could use that to pump Clay for as much information about the Obexpl as possible.
"Yes," Clay continued. "I think Obi may be a real physical being, but he insisted he is not. He claimed to be nothing more than an intelligent virtual custodian of Havenstar. But he seemed... too emotional, invested. If he's an AI, it's far more advanced than anything I've ever seen."
Jemy glanced at Reby and saw her eyes widen, then narrow. He knew she'd be thrilled, and insulted, that there might be something better than Aida. As interesting as that might be, that wasn't what he wanted to know.
"I've searched as much of Havenstar as I can. I never found a hint of something else living here. So, he isn't real, even if I feel like he is." Clay spoke about Obi as though he were a lifelong friend who died.
"But he told you about the Obexpl, right? Showed you records or writings they created? What about the symbols on the walls we passed? Is there a lexicon that will help decipher them?"
Clay sighed. "Maybe sitting here answering questions isn't the best way to do this."
Jemy wasn't sure what to think. They weren't hard questions. Yes or no would be a beginning. But he wanted the answers, however he could get them.
"Can you show us more of Havenstar then? Maybe some of the spaces or rooms that aren't empty?" Jemy asked.
"I think that might be best. The lounge is mine, or my modification of what was an empty room. But I'm sure you care more about the Obexpl than what I've done here." He stood and walked to the other end of the table.
"You're right to an extent," Jemy said. "But your experience here is critical to understanding them. You talked with one of them—or a representation of them, at least. That makes you the only human to have communicated with an alien race. You're unique."
Clay mumbled under his breath as he picked up a long purple fruit. He broke the top quarter off and peeled a thick skin off before eating it.
Jemy thought he said 'If you only knew' but couldn't be sure. Probably not.
"Please help yourself to any of the food here. I assume Chief Jadieli has cleared it for consumption." He paused and turned towards RJ.
"Yes. They're all edible."
"Of course they are. Why would I want to poison my rescuers?"
"You wouldn't," Jemy answered, standing up at the same time as Reby and RJ.
"I imagine we'll be quite a while on our introductory tour, so I recommend taking the wafru." He pulled out a palm-sized orange and red variegated fruit. "It travels well and is quite juicy. There aren't too many places with access to water, so having a couple of those in your pocket at all times is a good thing."
Jemy stepped over to the pile and grabbed two wafru and handed them to Reby before getting some for himself. He knew they each had a flask of water already built into their jackets, but it couldn't hurt to have more.
"So where would you like to begin?"
Jemy opened his mouth, but Reby started talking first.
"Is there a central control center, somewhere to access their computer systems? Perhaps wherever it was you communicated with us on the Demption before landing?"
She's being surprisingly direct.
Clay smiled as he took another bite. "We can start there if you'd like. But I think you'll be less than impressed."
"Let's go then," RJ said.
They left the balcony and entered another aisle between planting beds. Jemy walked next to Clay, peppering him with questions about the Obexpl. The only answers Clay had was that they were observers who set up stations like the star to study life as it sprouted up on different worlds.
"They build all this just to observe life? That's incredible." Jemy said.
"It is. But Obi wouldn't say too much more about them."
"There must be something, a computer archive maybe, with that sort of information." Jemy couldn't imagine a race that would build something this size and not having an archive.
"Oh, I think it's all in the databanks. But everything is consciousness based. It knows we're not Obexpl, so some things are not accessible. But I'll show you what I know."
"Thank you. You have no idea—"
Clay threw his arm out across Jemy's chest. "Stop."
"Stop what?" RJ asked.
"Do you hear them?" Clay whispered.
Jemy strained his ears. There was something... a buzz, growing louder. "That buzz?"
Clay turned his head towards him and nodded. "Nobody move until they've passed."
"Until what's passed? I don't hear anything." RJ waved his hands and stomped his foot.
Jemy's chest hurt, maybe from Clay's arm or because his heart was pounding so fast. The buzz was getting louder, coming from their right.
"Please don't speak either. It won't be long." Clay's voice was barely audible.
Jemy stood as still as possible, his mind generating horrifying images of what might happen if they moved. A short distance ahead, a translucent cloud emerged from the trees. It shifted upward, the buzz changing pitch as it stretched thin, then grouped back together.
The buzz became a shriek before the cloud dove across the aisle between the trees, breaking apart as it did. Though they moved fast, Jemy thought he saw flying insects, each one about the size of his pinky finger. But they disappeared into the dense greenery and their sound died out.
Clay dropped his arm. "Quietly now, we don't want to spook them."
Jemy rubbed his chest. "Are we in danger if we do?"
"No," Clay said as he started walking again. "They are harmless, but nervous creatures that always travel in a swarm—safety in numbers. Establishing a colony in the lounge took me a long time and I don't want to scare them away."
"They're huge insects. Why do you want them here?" RJ shivered.
"Because I'd have no food without them." Clay's voice was still a low whisper.
Jemy wanted to ask more questions, but felt compelled to be silent. They turned a corner and found a door a few steps away. Jemy couldn't be sure what wall it was on. It seemed like it would be across from where they entered, but the turns they'd taken on the path made him lose his sense of direction. We really need a map of the star, lounge included. The door slid open as they approached.
"Do you have—" Jemy's jaw dropped, and he stepped back.
RJ ran into him. "What the hell—"
Reby moved behind RJ to stop him and Jemy from falling backward.
Jemy heard her gasp.
Clay just stood there, smiling.
Reby held RJ's arm down and pinched him as he tried to reach for his pocket. The thing that waited on the other side of the door certainly surprised them, but there wasn't any need to blast it. The tall blocky robot certainly didn't feel threatening. Once RJ stopped struggling, she let go and stepped over to Clay, whose smile was infectious.
"You wanted to surprise us with..." she wasn't sure what to call the thing, so she pointed instead.
Clay grinned wider. "Actually, I didn't. I didn't realize Marisil would be lurking so close to the door here. She was on a mission for me and I didn't expect her back so soon."
"Marisil?" RJ asked.
"Yes. That is her name."
Reby wasn't sure if she should be impressed, or disappointed. Marisil stood almost as tall as Clay and appeared to be a mishmash of mostly matte, dark gray components balanced perfectly on a sphere. Two struts attached at opposite sides and joined to a block that rounded to fit over the sphere. Above that was another block about the same size and at the top a much smaller one she assumed was the head, but there was no face. A lighted panel stretched across the front where a face should be, and it glowed a soft green.
The general shape felt primitive, much less sophisticated than the bots and droids commonly used in the CR. But the arms that extended out from the middle section were different. They were a silver and black metal mesh that flowed down from the "shoulder" to hands with three long fingers. Though they were a familiar arm shape, they were proportionally longer than humans.
"Did you build her or was she here?" Jemy asked.
"I cobbled her together from parts I found."
"I thought you said you weren't an engineer." RJ glared at Clay.
"I believe I said I wasn't an engineer. I've become many things I wasn't before."
Clay's eyes narrowed, like he was peering into a dark room, or the far past.
The green glow on Marisil's face changed to a rotating green-blue gradient.
"Does that mean something?" Reby said, pointing to Marisil.
"That's how she communicates. Your rooms are ready."
"Our rooms?" The three of them asked in unison.
"Yes. Knowing Captain Peray's desire to study Havenstar, I had Marisil rummage together something suitable for sleeping."
Reby glanced between RJ and Jemy. They usually slept in the shuttle the rare times they stayed on the surface during a trek.
"Please call me Jemy. And I appreciate your efforts Clay, but we'll stay in our shuttle."
"Oh, I see. Well, then we'll need to get you up to speed on the teleporter if you intend to go back and forth."
"Won't we need that, anyway? Since it's the only way to get around Havenstar?" We need access to the teleporters. Reby struggled to keep eye contact with Clay. It was as if his look held the power to make her submit. She would not give in.
"Yes, it would make things easier. But they aren't the only way to get around. It's possible to walk most of Havenstar, but it takes a long time to get anywhere. And I have to admit I was looking forward to escorting you on your explorations."
She felt the words hit her, and she resisted the urge to tell him he could escort her anywhere he wanted. Instead she looked away.
"I'm sure we'll still need your help," Jemy said. "I expect RJ and Reby could spend a day or more examining Marisil—if you let them. But perhaps we could continue on to the communications room you mentioned?"
Reby relaxed. Listening to Jemy use his professional, academic voice put her at ease. He had control, which meant she could worry less about him and focus more on finding out how the systems worked.
Marisil's face flushed with white and orange, then she zipped backward with a high-pitched whirr before turning and heading down the gray corridor.
"Where's she going?" RJ asked.
"She has other duties. Come. We'll take the long way round to the closest communications room. That should give you a better sense of how things are laid out."
Clay glanced at her again before walking into the corridor, with Jemy on his heels. RJ let out a deep sigh. She nodded at him and wondered how deep into the alien labyrinth they'd get before learning the way out.