aliens sworn to kill every Human they encountered. Yet still the ship’s bridge was filled with the sound of riotous laughter.
It was obvious they simply had sheets draped over them, much like a child’s first Halloween ghost costume, before discovering they could guilt their parents into spending money on future outfits—if they truly loved them. Now the men couldn’t look at each other without bursting into hysterics. They looked silly, but hopefully silly enough to make it past inquiring alien eyes.
When the control authority eventually made contact, Adam took the lead during the link, believing himself to be the most mature of the group. The fact that the Incus had faces resembling Shar-pei dogs didn’t help. When both Travis and Riyad let loose with involuntary snickers, the serious-looking alien questioned the sound.
“It is a prayer, recited in our ancient tongue.”
“The translation is unavailable,” said the creature on the screen.
“Yes, that is because the language of our gods is spoken only for blessings.” Adam let loose with a loud cackle as a demonstration. “I have just blessed you and your offspring, hoping for health and prosperity.”
The native blinked several times before responding; he cackled back. “I hope I pronounced it correctly. I wished to return the blessing.”
“You did well. You honor us.”
More laughter came from behind Adam.
“Please convey to your crew my thanks for their blessings, as well.”
“I shall. Now may we land?”
“Of course. Eniss Field Number Three, northwest side, as you requested. Landing beacons will be transmitted. Enjoy your stay on Incus.”
“May the gods bring good fortune to you and yours. Farewell.”
Adam couldn’t break the link fast enough.
“Dammit, what are you guys trying to do, get us all killed?”
“Forgive us, oh Great Maharishi,” Riyad said from the co-pilot seat.
“Prepare for landing,” Adam barked. “Riyad, take over. And by the way, smartass, I got your Great Maharishi right here!”
********
The team had melted down several of the gold items from Panur’s palace and now carried small stacks of ingots of the precious metal, which they hoped would have value on the planet. Since none of them had any Juirean credits, they hoped to exchange some of the ingots of transport to their destination—which Pogo said was the main research facility of what translated to Advanced Plasma Objects, or APO.
The atmosphere of Incus was tolerable without facemasks, and the surface gravity was about point-eight of Earth, just slightly above Juirean-Standard.
The Humans would deploy in two teams, with Adam and Riyad taking Pogo to Applied Plasma Objects while Paulson and Travis followed in another transport and took up defensive positions outside the facility, as backup in case something went wrong. They were linked with throat mics and ear-speakers, hidden under the white-sheet disguises they wore.
Emerging from the Vengeance into the warm starshine of Incus, the prospect of something going wrong suddenly doubled, if not trebled. There were Juireans everywhere.
The spaceport was huge; it had to be to support Eniss’s population of over four million, and this was just one of five such facilities placed at strategic locations surrounding the city. There were dozens of Juirean-style craft in port, some designed for war, others for commerce. During the brief walk to a bank of moving sidewalks leading to the ground transports, Adam spotted several Juirean Guards among the crowd, as well as hundreds of Tech-Class mane-heads, their hair yellow-tinted and tied into long pony-tails dangling down their backs.
Being the most-technologically advanced society in the Frontier, the Juireans found Incus more to their liking, closer to Juir than the other worlds in the Kidis arm. As they walked across the tarmac, Adam was already identifying targets for the time they got the laser weapon operational again. If they were
It was obvious they simply had sheets draped over them, much like a child’s first Halloween ghost costume, before discovering they could guilt their parents into spending money on future outfits—if they truly loved them. Now the men couldn’t look at each other without bursting into hysterics. They looked silly, but hopefully silly enough to make it past inquiring alien eyes.
When the control authority eventually made contact, Adam took the lead during the link, believing himself to be the most mature of the group. The fact that the Incus had faces resembling Shar-pei dogs didn’t help. When both Travis and Riyad let loose with involuntary snickers, the serious-looking alien questioned the sound.
“It is a prayer, recited in our ancient tongue.”
“The translation is unavailable,” said the creature on the screen.
“Yes, that is because the language of our gods is spoken only for blessings.” Adam let loose with a loud cackle as a demonstration. “I have just blessed you and your offspring, hoping for health and prosperity.”
The native blinked several times before responding; he cackled back. “I hope I pronounced it correctly. I wished to return the blessing.”
“You did well. You honor us.”
More laughter came from behind Adam.
“Please convey to your crew my thanks for their blessings, as well.”
“I shall. Now may we land?”
“Of course. Eniss Field Number Three, northwest side, as you requested. Landing beacons will be transmitted. Enjoy your stay on Incus.”
“May the gods bring good fortune to you and yours. Farewell.”
Adam couldn’t break the link fast enough.
“Dammit, what are you guys trying to do, get us all killed?”
“Forgive us, oh Great Maharishi,” Riyad said from the co-pilot seat.
“Prepare for landing,” Adam barked. “Riyad, take over. And by the way, smartass, I got your Great Maharishi right here!”
********
The team had melted down several of the gold items from Panur’s palace and now carried small stacks of ingots of the precious metal, which they hoped would have value on the planet. Since none of them had any Juirean credits, they hoped to exchange some of the ingots of transport to their destination—which Pogo said was the main research facility of what translated to Advanced Plasma Objects, or APO.
The atmosphere of Incus was tolerable without facemasks, and the surface gravity was about point-eight of Earth, just slightly above Juirean-Standard.
The Humans would deploy in two teams, with Adam and Riyad taking Pogo to Applied Plasma Objects while Paulson and Travis followed in another transport and took up defensive positions outside the facility, as backup in case something went wrong. They were linked with throat mics and ear-speakers, hidden under the white-sheet disguises they wore.
Emerging from the Vengeance into the warm starshine of Incus, the prospect of something going wrong suddenly doubled, if not trebled. There were Juireans everywhere.
The spaceport was huge; it had to be to support Eniss’s population of over four million, and this was just one of five such facilities placed at strategic locations surrounding the city. There were dozens of Juirean-style craft in port, some designed for war, others for commerce. During the brief walk to a bank of moving sidewalks leading to the ground transports, Adam spotted several Juirean Guards among the crowd, as well as hundreds of Tech-Class mane-heads, their hair yellow-tinted and tied into long pony-tails dangling down their backs.
Being the most-technologically advanced society in the Frontier, the Juireans found Incus more to their liking, closer to Juir than the other worlds in the Kidis arm. As they walked across the tarmac, Adam was already identifying targets for the time they got the laser weapon operational again. If they were
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