Alien Odyssey

Email me with your comments! To my wife Donna, Daughters Jennifer and Kerri, Son Matthew, and Seven Grandchildren. Thanks for your inspiration and support! Table of Contents (Click on Title) The Aliens (List of Characters) ii Chapter One: The Third Planet 1 Chapter Two: Forbidden Garden 6 Chapter Three: Doctor Arkru’s Plan 17 Chapter Four: Alien Safari 29 Chapter Five: Aboard The Ark 46 Chapter Six: The Collection Teams 66 Chapter Seven: Rifkin To The Rescue 93 Chapter Eight: Somewhere In The Forest 104 Chapter Nine: The Rescue Teams 115 Chapter Ten: The Rifkin Madness 122 Chapter Eleven: Disaster In The Forest 133 Chapter Twelve: The Adventures Of Rifkin 149 Chapter Thirteen: Disaster Strikes Again 161 Chapter Fourteen: The Rescue Of Rifkin 168 Epilogue: Written In The Rocks 185 Glossary Revekian Terms & Concepts 188 Poem Rifkin’s Ballad 195 ii The Aliens The Leaders Doctor Arkru (the Professor) Chief scientist of the Ark, whose good intentions for the student collectors are based upon the friendlier worlds of Beskol, Raethia, and Orm. Falon Commander of the vessel, who discovers the new planet, but remains Arkru’s staunchest critic after landing on the new world. The Students Rifkin Prodigal student, whose reckless personality leads to disaster on the planet. Zither Intellectual member of Arkru’s class, whose personal odyssey becomes a central theme. Rezwit Kindred spirit of Rifkin, a favorite of the professor, until mayhem breaks in the forest. Vimml Fun loving but mischievous follower of Rifkin, who creates havoc on and off the ship. Shizwit Shy student, who, rising to the crisis, becomes the Key Master of her class. Alafa Female Student, the equal to Rifkin, who competes with the leader of her team. Omrik Original friend of Zither, whose timid personality, is more suitable on the ship. Illiakim Female member of Zither’s team, who is traumatized by the horrors of Irignum. Grummel Member of ‘Rifkin’s Gang,’ who, on the new world, appears to be slightly mad. Lumnal Youngster who identifies with the big kids, until disaster strikes in the forest. Yorzl & Zeppa Male and female youngsters, who should never have been allowed off the ship. The Technicians Zorig An efficient assistant to Arkru, who proves to be a great disappointment in the forest. Urlum Zorig’s little sister, whose delicate emotions, keeps her grounded on the ship. Tobit and Ibris Young technicians, who never wanted to leave the ship in the first place. The Officers Orix Navigator of the ship and chief critic of the mission, who skepticism rings true. iii Remgen First Mate, a critic of student collection until the search for Rifkin begins. Imwep Second Mate, whose main interest at first is bagging himself a beast. Kogin Third Mate, sidekick of Imwep, who befriends Zither at a critical time. Dazl Chief Engineer, a crusty officer, who joins the search for Rifkin in the forest. Abwur Communications Officer, ship sage and member of Falon’s inner circle. Doctor Eglin Chaplain and Medic, whose prayers are heard frequently from the bridge. Other Members of the Crew Varik Assistant Medic, who will make a lasting imprint upon earth. Wurbl Portly Chef who supplies the ship’s company with a limitless range of alien meats. Imyor Assistant Chef who reluctantly volunteers for the second rescue mission into the forest. Hobi, Jitso and Gennep Ship’s Storage Clerks. Hobi and Jitso will later join at different stages of the search, but only one will return to the ship. iv Chapter One The Third Planet Among the myriad of stars, one distinguishable point became visible from the ark’s bridge. When first spotted by Commander Falon, it was entered into the ship’s log along with all the other observations on his watch. Casually, following normal routine, he switched to the ship’s scope with the intent of tracking it on his computer screen, a task that would take most of the hour. The point had appeared suddenly and fortuitously after the ship began to emerge unscathed from a belt of asteroids, yet continued to compete with much more wondrous objects in space. Constellations, star clusters and nebulas loomed as a backdrop for meteors and comets, and the ghostly trace of exploded stars drew his attention away. At one point, which was taped into the ship’s log, he recorded a black hole surrounded by a brilliant halo of light. Untold marvels and astronomical enigmas were sprinkled jewel-like over the cosmos to distract him from that dull point of light. Nothing seemed so spectacular in the cosmos after witnessing the aftermath of a supernova, a black hole and a gigantic constellation with its one hundred billion stars. Yet he knew, with increasing confidence, he had discovered something important this hour. Raising an excited four-fingered hand to his mouth, his huge cat-like eyes widened in disbelief as the realization grew. This was not a star; it was a planet—a brand new world! ****** Commander Falon had no external ears, only portholes on each side of his head that quivered in response to sounds. At this moment, the holes were motionless, and yet his mind was reeling with thoughts. Although his pupils were dilated with expectation, his simian face, with mere breathing slits for a nose, showed little emotion as he stared at the new world. He was, as were others of his kind, completely bald and had bright pink skin, mottled slightly with red splotches that came with aging, as did the wrinkles on his neck and chin. In spite of his gangly arms, which appeared too long for his torso and his short bandy legs, the commander walked with a graceful bipedal gait. A smile played on his thin lips as he paced back and forth on the bridge. The commander surveyed his crewmen critically but with understanding this late hour. Orix, his executive officer and the ship’s navigator, had missed the planet entirely but so had First Mate Remgen and all the other crewmen on deck. He, alone, had made the connection, but he must be certain before sounding the alarm. Despite its apparent mediocrity, he had followed mission procedure, and now, it was paying off. The target point appeared fixed and radiated dully contrary to the blinking bursts of surrounding lights. The questions he continued to ask himself were basic to the mission. Was it a watered world? Was it a planet that might contain life? Exhausted as he was, Commander Falon, with guarded excitement, continued the difficult task of tracking the object with the ship’s scope. For a moment, his eyes grew fatigued and he looked away from the monitor to study it once more with his unaided eye. He had detected it amidst billions of stars. Now that he had found it, he wondered if it would illuminate with the 1 right color: bluish white. After months of searching the cosmos, the distinction was critical—the difference between a routine asteroid or planet and a world that might support life. Suddenly, as the last debris from the meteor belt fell away, the target object brightened into a steady, luminous glow. Falon caught the change at once and shot back up to his feet. Earlier, after first discovering it, he noted its constant glow among the twinkling stars, a characteristic peculiar to asteroids, planetoids and worlds. Now, as he had hoped, there was a definite bluish-white tint to the planet—confirmation at last…. and something else that caused him to gasp. I don’t believe it, he thought, dropping back into his seat. It has company! He was almost totally convinced of his discovery. The absolute proof would come in the telescopic image on the screen. Judging by its monstrous next door neighbor, the planet was, it appeared, circling a moderate-sized star—another factor necessary to support life. It was not a mere asteroid or anomaly floating through the universe. It was connected to a nurturing sun. After lessening the magnification and placing the two objects on the same grid, he noticed the classic formation. There were, in fact, several planets of various sizes in this system. One large planet seemed to have a ring around it. Another gigantic world appeared to be hundreds of times the size of his target world. His planet, the only one with he proper tint, was the third planet from its sun. Additional magnification showed a large moon circling this world. A crooked smile broke his expressionless face. The commander now felt vindicated for his long hours of searching and for their many months in space. Had he not caught its first glimmer, the ark might have passed this planetary system entirely and spent weeks, perhaps months, searching for a new world. While crew members manning the space-going ark were lulled into drowsiness and lethargy, Commander Falon, his staff and Doctor Arkru, the scientific director aboard ship, had taken turns standing watch. The star maps created by earlier explorers and the color spectrum pointing to evidence of water, oxygen, and life were the business of everyone aboard the ark, and yet most of the crewmen and student collectors were now asleep. Those on watch ignored the great window of the bridge, except to glance up occasionally at a passing comet, meteor or celestial anomaly, except one lone sentinel, whose mind never seemed to rest. While on his long, lonely vigil, Commander Falon had become the first member of the mission to glimpse the new world. Now that he had honed in on the point with the ship’s scope, he could barely contain himself as he adjusted the settings.

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