~ To Wish For Adventure ~

by

Jayme Evans

“Intruder alert. Intruder alert.” The warning messages sounded throughout Elkava’s private quarters. The speaker system always sounded like the communication came through the walls all around, no matter what room you were in.

She tapped the communicator on her wrist. “Command Post, on my way.”

Princess Elkava of the family Ominar hurried from her quarters and boarded the nearest transit. “Command Post.” Her order resounded in the square area, and the shiny metal panel retracted from the wall and slid to a close. The quiet transit moved upward and over toward the command post of the Eager Explorer. Her starship still smelled new and sparkled with clean, unmarked walls and panels. She hadn’t had it but six months, and for the most part, the new technology far outranked anything her brother, Daamic, or her first cousin, Ralf, had on their own starships. This new craft had the most advanced equipment available in the Euphratorian Empire. Her father had commissioned it just for her, along with his excessive warnings about traveling to unexplored worlds.

Still very young according to the standards of her people, unjoined and with no prospects from anyone that truly interested her, she had decided to explore and find adventure like her brother and her cousin at nearly the same age—thus the name Eager Explorer. She wished for adventure. Plain and simple. Now, it seemed she would have it, just from entering the orbit around the unnamed planet. What kind of intruder could they possibly have? The on-board sensors had picked up nothing. She’d had a lot of trouble convincing her father and Daamic that she could handle the new galaxy’s exploration. They’d said this was too much for her to start out with, and she didn’t want to prove them right.

“But you are second in line to the throne, Elkava.” Her loving father, emperor of the Euphratorian Empire, always seemed to show equal concern for her, woman or not. He had never shown any favoritism among his three children—she, her brother Daamic and her sister Dorrac—or even with cousin Ralf, whom he had practically adopted.

“And that means what, Father? Daamic explored, and he is the crown prince. Even with his family, he travels back and both to Earth. You’ve never held him back. It’s not like you don’t have multiple heirs to the throne now. Daamic’s children will be in the line before I could ever advance to the throne, heaven forbid.”

“It’s not like I’m worried about heirs to the throne, Elkava.”

A little embarrassed, she had ducked her head. “I’m sorry, Father. I know that and I didn’t mean—”

“I know what you mean, but we knew a little more of Earth than we know of this new galaxy. This unknown part of the universe is much farther away from the Trio-Worlds. We haven’t made first contact and have no idea what type of people we are dealing with. They could be like Coss or worse. Those lizard folks wanted nothing more than to enslave anyone not from their planet. Or they could be far more advanced and not look kindly on strangers in their galaxy. They could blast you out of space just because they don’t know you.”

“True, but I need to do this, Father. I need to get away, do something new. Please don’t hold me back.”

He had frowned and she hated that all the more. She never wanted to do anything her father disapproved of. It was just the way she was. “Is that what you feel I am doing?”

“Sometimes. I know you don’t aim to, and I know you love me very much, but I’m a grown woman now, even by the Empire’s laws. Daamic doesn’t feel I’ll have any trouble. He trusts my abilities as a scientist and commander, even a young one, to study a new star system. Also, he knows the capabilities of my new starship.”

He had sighed but dropped his head. He had given in, but reluctantly, and well she knew the look.

Before the Vaker-Ominar war, the new galaxy had been discovered by Chief Researcher Kelent of the family Masdro; therefore it was initially named the Masdrona Galaxy. The brilliant researcher had counted eight planets circling in one of the nearest major solar systems, yet to be named. None of the eight planets had been named, except by numbers: Planet One, Planet Two, Planet Three, etc. Nothing exciting. Probes indicated life on Planet Three and Planet Four but no more. Attempts with probes to pick up local communications proved useless without interpreters, and the research hadn’t gone on long enough to know the language or languages of Planet Three.

Now, the Eager Explorer and ten of her fleet starships, which Father had insisted accompany her, hid behind a moon of one of the planets that had life. It was not an easy feat to stack eleven starships out of the signal ranges from the planet. If the planet had technology as good as the Euphratorian, the sensors could have picked up her fleet on entering the galaxy.

Just like the Earth’s Sol System, the third planet showed land, water and a viable atmosphere. Contact had not been made and wouldn’t be this trip, but in the three days her scientists had been here, life signs on the planet showed thick populations of major cities in several areas. One particular continent seemed to have the most humanoid life signs and a sizeable number of residents. Elkava would do as Daamic had done when he first went to Earth: pick up broadcasts from the surface, listen and study. If they could decipher the language and learn it, a cloaked trip might be in order. A little bit at a time, slow and easy. There was no hurry, because they’d known about this system for over ten years. Even with no other pressing issues, exploration didn’t have to be rushed, especially since the Euphratorian Empire wasn’t in need of land, materials, minerals or people.

Elkava stormed into the Command Post. “What do we have, Chief Communicator Baza? Chief Security Agent Senacaan?”

Chief Agent Eken of the family Senacaan stared at a monitor in front of him. Images of the various decks of the Eager Explorer switched from one to another. “Your Highness, reports are coming in from all over the starship that someone has been in their heads, asking for information about the crew, such as who are they, where are they from and so forth.”

Chief Communicator Baza punched at the floating screen in front of him. “We’re getting reports from some of the other starships, too, Your Highness. Someone is definitely trying to communicate telepathically in Venixen.”

Shock riveted through her. “In Venixen rather than Malleneese?”

“Most of the crew on all your starships know both languages equally well, even though Malleneese is the official Euphratorian language.”

“Yes, I know, but telepathically? Aboard these starships, no one can do that but me.”

The chief security agent’s face showed deep concern. “Someone has to be on board with that ability, Your Highness.”

“Call me commander, please. Major Agent Senacaan, drop the royalty title. I’m trying to be one of you, like Daamic is aboard his starship.”

“Yes, Commander. My apologies.”

“In fact, suspend all references to the Ominar family and royalty specifications per safety protocol, ala, ala, bega, seven, one, one, zero, five, ala, ala.” None of her crew responded, as normal. They’d learned to take instructions without comment. “I need not remind you that once invoked, protocol states you must address me as Commander Shamarka.” Her mother’s family name. It was the agreed-upon name if they should ever be boarded or captured by aggressors.

“Yes, Commander Shamarka,” reverberated all around the room. It wouldn’t be difficult for them to keep up the ruse. The name had been practiced in drills many times, especially coming to this unknown world and not knowing what to expect. She certainly hadn’t expected detection this fast, before they could even pick up more planetary communications than they had. All their equipment hadn’t been tuned in to the signals below.

Elkava leaned over the communicators monitor. “We shouldn’t be visible to their detection systems because all the ships are in line behind one of the three moons. Are there signaling communication devices near?”

“Not that we know, Commander, unless they have something on the moon we are near. We didn’t pick up any transmissions to or from, if they do. They are undetected by our own scanners.”

“What if the telepathic intrusion is coming from the planet?”

Chief Communicator Baza never blinked. “No disrespect, but even you can’t project that far.”

She bit on her lip. “No, I can’t. You’re right. Someone has to be on the starship, but I know of no one that has telepathic abilities except members of my family and none of them are with us. I can sense no one here or pick up any foreign thoughts, and anyone on board wouldn’t be asking who we are. I’m surprised these intrusions haven’t reached me, but I’ve been sleeping.” She turned her head slightly. “Chief Navigator Clandon, have you picked up any traffic nearby besides my own starships?”

The stoic black-haired man never moved his gaze from the monitor view of the planet below him. The lovely view of Planet Three reminded her of the Trio-Worlds and Earth with blues and greens and white clouds. Incredibly beautiful. “No, Commander. Our sensors have not picked up anyone or anything near us, even though several starships are in orbit around the planet. No life signs like the ones on the planet are in close proximity to us.”

Could it be? A transmission from the surface? What other great abilities might she find here? A whole planet of telepaths, telekinetics or empaths? The Old World, where the families Vaker and Ominar had originated, had never been found and the name had been blocked out by the ancestors who came to the Trio-Worlds. Only one hundred and fifty years ago, but long enough to earn control of the planets and erase the history from Euphratorian records. She had not encountered any such powers except for the sparse number of Ominars in the Euphratorian royal family, not since the Vaker-Ominar War when the sole survivor of the family Vaker was executed. Even Daamic’s offspring developed telepathic, empathic and telekinetic abilities, and they were half human—their mother from the planet Earth. The possibility that more people had the same powers as the Ominars was not unreasonable, but she had never encountered them and hadn’t expected to.

“I will try to do a broad communication.” Elkava closed her eyes, not that she had to, but she wanted to expand her range if possible. Occasionally communications could be made between two very close starships. If anyone were near in a cloaked starship or shuttle, she might be able to pick them up.

::This is Commander Shamarka of the Eager Explorer. Those not my crew, please identify yourselves.:: She let the Malleneese broadcast to every thought. It would hit every receptive mind onboard her starship and several of the nearest ones of her fleet. Mental gasps radiated all around her. This might frighten her crew, even though it had not been her intention. She had to ‘talk’ to whoever was intruding on her crew’s thoughts.

She waited. Nothing. Most likely, as suggested by Chief Communicator Baza, the intruder wasn’t on board, but from the planet below.

::This is Commander Shamarka of the Eager Explorer. Those not my crew, please identify yourselves.:: This time, she communicated in Venixen.

Again silence. “I’m not getting—”

::Commander Shamarka, you are in Aleroneese territory. Identify yourself.:: The words were certainly Venixen. How could someone this far from Venix know the language? If they knew Malleneese, they hadn’t answered the first time.

She didn’t hesitate to reply. ::This is the Eager Explorer from the Euphratorian Empire. We are but peaceful explorers.::

::And you intrude on our planetary space with a fleet of warships?::

::The warships are only a protective escort for my science vessel into unknown space. We knew of no one with whom to make first contact. If we are violating any code of interplanetary law in this galaxy, we will leave immediately.::

::Too late. Our weapons are trained on your nearest warships and your science vessel. Do not try to leave your position behind Alerone’s moon or you will be fired upon.::

“Shields now!” she ordered her second-in-command, Major Agent Noaster.

“Already done.” The blond woman, head of her military here on the Eager Explorer, sounded as competent as Elkava knew her to be. But, capability might not be enough if the unknown starship proved aggressive.

::We did not even know the name of your planet. As I said, we are a peaceful people. We have no wish to cause problems.:: She couldn’t take the chance that the unknown assailant would have more powerful weapons. ::Allow us to leave, and we will not return unless invited. Send a representative to the Euphratorian Empire and we can discuss any communications between us.::

::Euphratorian Empire?::

::Yes. Have you heard of it?::

::That does not matter.::

::Then seek us out and invite us.::

::And have our starships blown apart as soon as they entered Euphratorian airspace?::

::That would not happen. You would be monitored but allowed to speak your need. Since you know Venixen, you could communicate with us without any problem. I repeat, we are peaceful. We welcome visitors to our part of the universe.::

::Too late. Your motives must be investigated. Prepare to be boarded.::