Adventures in Parodyverse:  Zephiir’s Prophecy, Part 4


    Shen Rae’s shuttle proved to be easier to pilot than Kiivan ever imagined.  It even landed itself - he targeted a spot on the ground, and the craft descended until it gently bumped to a stop against the stone ground.

    It was stone rather than sand, because it was a tarmac at Caph’s one and only Space Port.  They used stone rather than any form of concrete because of the scarcity of water - an ingredient used heavily in concrete casting - and because wind and sand erosion wouldn’t let it last long anyway.

    There was a sandstorm brewing, so Kiivan brought along a robe and fabric mask for himself, and one set for Shen Rae.  He led them both out into the hot wind, and then quickly to a large Caphan spacecraft that an attendant had opened and activated for them.

    The wind roared violently outside, and whipped around the fairly small Shen Rae.  Kiivan didn’t have a much easier time than she did, except that he was used to it and knew how to lean into the maelstrom.

    Once they were inside, the attendant shut the door from the outside, and raced back to the safety of the hangar.  It was silent inside the craft, though it could be felt rocking a little from the wind.

    The inside looked like it was made by lots of hand labor.  It was highly decorative, with hand carved wood and metal panels and floors.  The control panels were all hidden behind solid decorative panels, and heavy curtains divided sections of the craft.

    Kiivan lead her straight to the most utilitarian part of the ship.  He opened a metal hatch at the rear of the small passenger cabin.  It led to an extremely cramped room dominated by a large machine, crowded by a maze of pipes and wires.  The machine was as large as one of Shen Rae’s Fighter Wings.  There was a constant buzzing and hissing in there.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“This is the engine.”  Kiivan said.  “It’s highly inefficient, dangerous, and consumes lots of resources for a very short journey.  Unfortunately, it’s also the best we can do.  That’s why most of the time, our space craft are grounded.  They’re very expensive to launch, and one fifth of them...explode.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I see.”  Shen Rae examined the machine carefully.  

    The pipes concentrated some kind of volatile fuel into a high-voltage ignition source, which explained all the wires.  She turned around, and saw just what she expected - a huge bank of batteries.  That brought two different possible causes for spectacular - and explosive - failure...the fuel, and the batteries.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“What sort of fuel does this use?”  she asked.

    Kiivan quickly put on gloves and opened a smaller hatch at the top of the engine.  He partially pulled out a round, solid rod that smelled horribly offensive.  He then slid it back in gently and closed the hatch.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“They’re loaded through a door in the roof.”  he said.  “About three feet long, and they last...quite a while, but they’re expensive and dangerous to mine.  We mine this material from deep underground, and compress and mill it into an efficient shape.  Unfortunately, the way it’s used as fuel is vaporization, which also occurs during manufacturing...”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“...so the fuel factories explode a lot, I get it.”  Shen Rae guessed.

    Kiivan nodded, acknowledging her guess.

    Shen Rae exited the horrible smelling engine room, and Kiivan followed and shut the hatch.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“What does your spacecraft use as fuel?”  Kiivan asked, point blank.  “I mean, if you wouldn’t mind telling me.”

    She stood with her mouth hanging open for a moment, trying to think of how to describe it easily.  “It’s called...a fusion vortex.”

    Kiivan quietly stared at her, expecting yet patiently waiting for more explanation.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“You know how you stir a drink to mix its contents, yes?”  Shen Rae asked.  “We...layer two materials that will react and release massive amounts of energy...fuse with each other, like a star.  But we put a third material in between, that will naturally separate them.  When the mixing stops, so does the reaction.  It’s very safe that way.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Are those materials available on Caph?”  Kiivan asked.

    Shen Rae smiled.  She already knew what he was getting at by now.  “Suitable materials are, yes,”  she replied.  “I assume this means you want a jump start into space?”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I’d appreciate it.”  Kiivan sighed dreamily and looked out the window into the sandstorm now fully engulfing the small Caphan spacecraft.  “It’s a dream of mine.  I’ve been far into space, of course, I wish to share the dream with others of Caph.”

    She started to see the whole plan Kiivan had, possibly from the beginning.  He was clever indeed.  “And because space is such a dangerous place, you’d like some appropriate weaponry installed.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Of course I’d like our mission to be peaceful, but there are certain realities.”  Kiivan admitted.  “And this might be an ideal way to keep an infusion of advanced weapons out of Caph itself.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I’ll have to think about that, Kiivan.”  Shen Rae said.  “I think you should too.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I do.”  he whispered.  “Every time I see an alien craft above our city, or landing in the courtyard in front of the palace.  Each time afraid that this will be the last time Caph will be free.”

    Shen Rae sat in one of the cockpit chairs and sighed, as she watched the sandstorm outside.  “I...kind of like Caph as it is.  I don’t really want it changed like this.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Come to see things my way now, eh?”  Kiivan chuckled.  “And at the same time, you opened my eyes to realities I was blind to before.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I suppose this could be called diplomacy.”  Shen Rae said with a laugh.  “Okay, I’ll put the absolute lightest weapon I have in this craft.  Partly to avoid upsetting the balance of the universe, and partly because I don’t think this can handle the heat or the recoil from anything more powerful.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“And I’ll forbid its use without specific orders from me.”  Kiivan chimed in.  “That should curb some of the worries I have.”

    There was a long, silent pause.  Finally, Shen Rae said, “This really scares you, doesn’t it?”

    Kiivan nodded.  “But so did Caph’s fight against the Thonagarians for freedom.  There were many of us who would have been content living under their rule to maintain peace.”

    Shen Rae nodded slowly.  “As soon as the wind dies down a bit, I’ll go and pick up some equipment from my ship.  Do you have a hangar or something to work in?”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Yes.”  Kiivan pointed at a short but wide building across the tarmac.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Excellent.”  she said.  “Between the palace and this spacecraft, it looks like I’m getting a very complete tour of Caph.  Inside and out.”


---


    The Space Port was deserted during a sandstorm.  Though there were no takeoffs scheduled anyhow, the remaining skeleton staff that would have been on duty to prepare in case there was a launch went home.

    Kiivan wandered into the brightly lit hangar, alone.  There was one spacecraft partially disabled in the middle of the room.  The wind howled outside, and puffs of sand forced their way in past the seals on the huge doors, leading to small sand puddles on the floor around each door.

    Finally, after what seemed like an hour of waiting, the silver wristband Shen Rae gave Kiivan long ago chirped.  He didn’t have to look at it to know what it meant.  Instead, he headed to the hangar control panel and opened the door just to the left of the Caphan craft.

    The wind blew in, and blasted sand all over the room.  Kiivan instinctively lifted up his collar to shield his nose and mouth, and turned away to protect his eyes.  He counted down ten seconds, long enough for Shen Rae’s sleek silver shuttle to hover into the hangar, and then he hit the button to close the door.

    There was an intense roar as automatic vent fans spun up and began forcing the clouds of sand back outside, and then they stopped.  The hangar fell silent again - the whirring sound of Shen Rae’s shuttle had been drowned out by the fans, so Kiivan didn’t hear it shut down.

    In the silent hangar, the door of the silver shuttle clicking open almost silently was amplified, and echoed off of the walls.  Shen Rae stepped out.  Then another door beneath the shuttle, a cargo hatch, popped open.

    Without saying a word, Shen Rae pulled out one long, oval shaped silver tube, as tall as she was, and then a second.  Then a smaller tube that had what looked like a rounded glass cap on one end.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Let me help you with those.”  Kiivan said.

    She stopped him.  “Be careful, they’re very heavy.”  she said.

    Kiivan found out what she meant when he tried lifting one tall cylinder, and found himself straining to maintain balance.  Still, he kept up a brave front.  “Where do you want this?”  he asked.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Those two go beneath the deck, where they can stay cool.  The smaller one goes between them.  We’ll have to cut exhaust ports in the rear for the two engines, and a hole for the glass dome to fit through the front.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“These...are engines?”  Kiivan asked.  He looked through the open hatch on the Caphan craft at the mechanical monster that Caph had been using.  It was easily four times as large as both of the units Shen Rae brought.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Proton drive.”  Shen Rae explained.  “Capable of light speed, but not wormhole navigation.  They come as a pair so you can steer...the power output is one direction only.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“What does it use for fuel?”  Kiivan asked.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Radioactive decay.”  Shen Rae explained.  “Don’t worry, it’s internally shielded.  It has to be, since it uses the radiation to generate electrical power, and leaks cut efficiency.  There won’t be any dangerous waste, either...the engine uses up the rod inside until it becomes inert.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“How long does it have?”  he asked.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“It depends entirely on how hard you push the engines.”  she said.  “On my shuttle it lasts a few years.  My Light Cruiser ship has twelve of those engines, and it needs fuel once a year.”

    Kiivan nodded.  “I’m sorry for all the questions.  I’m understandably nervous about this.  Optimistic, but nervous.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I understand.”  Shen Rae smiled.  “I would be too.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“It’s a lot like a marriage.”  Kiivan observed.  “Have you ever been married, Shen Rae?”

    The alien laughed quietly and uncharacteristically blushed slightly.  “No, I haven’t.  We...should get to work.”

    The Caphan ruler nodded, and began disassembling the deck of the spacecraft from his world.  “You’re not used to such deeply social conversation, are you?”

    Shen Rae shook her head.  “No.  I suppose I’ve been in business so long, I’m used to...keeping my distance.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Don’t do that anymore.”  Kiivan advised her.  “You have too much to offer.”

    She nodded, still seeming a little unnerved.  “Thank you.”  she said.

    The two began working quietly with some very noisy tools, so not much was said as they worked on into darkness.


TO BE CONTINUED?
    

-- Story written and copyrighted (C) 2010 by Jason Froikin, and may not be 
--    reprinted without permission.  
-- Yuki Shiro designed by Jason Froikin, based on designs by Masamune Shirow
--  Liu Xi Xian and the Psychic Samurai are original design by Jason Froikin
--  Lara Night is an original creation by Jason Froikin