Chapter 11
The Landing
"The Scimitar has just been destroyed by an explosion!" Troy Roarke reported. He looked up from his monitor. "It would seem that they pushed their fusion engines too far." "That might also be the explanation for what happened to the Challenger," Morley said. "Perhaps not, though. I'm still hoping to find the Challenger and her crew safe and well in another section of this solar system.""There's a chance that the Challenger is still intact, sir," Roarke said. "Our scanners haven't picked up any trace of debris from her. The Scimitar's debris is already appearing on my monitor.""Let's try to find the Challenger," Morley said. "Troy, I'd like for you to assemble a shuttle crew and go in search of her. I'm afraid that she has been destroyed, but as long as there is a chance that the ship has survived, we have to look for her. The Challenger could be drifting disabled through space, unable to send us a message."Roarke headed for the elevator. "I'll assemble a crew immediately, Captain. We'll depart in fifteen minutes." "Good," Morley said. "Take the large shuttlecraft. Have a safe voyage, Troy.""Thank you, Captain." Roarke left the bridge.Morley walked over to the communications officer. "Have the Tragadomians responded to our messages yet?""No, sir. I've been transmitting for several minutes, but there's been no response. The Tragadomians surely must be aware that we're in orbit around them. Why do you think that they are remaining silent?""They're probably trying to decide whether to respond with words or cannon fire," Morley said. "Or perhaps they've already decided to attack us and are gathering their forces." He glanced over at Landen. "What does our expert on Tragadomians think?"Landen smiled at being so designated. "I'm afraid that you don't have such an expert aboard, Captain. The Tragadomian mindset is a mystery to all of us. From my previous encounter with them, I'd say that their silence is not surprising. We wouldn't expect them to broadcast a greetings to us. My guess is that they are waiting for the optimum moment to attack.""I agree," Morley said. "We'll maintain yellow alert and go to red alert as soon as Tragadomian cruisers burst out of the planet's atmosphere."For over an hour the situation remained unchanged. The Tragadomians refused to respond to offers for a peaceful meeting. The Emerald Warrior's scanners detected Tragadomian cruisers skimming through the skies of Noelm, but none of the cruisers broke out of the atmosphere. Many satellites armed with laser cannons orbited Noelm. However, none of the satellites came within firing range of the Emerald Warrior. For a second hour, the Tragadomians maintained their utter silence. They gave the impression of being indifferent to the presence of the Emerald Warrior."They're waiting for us to do something," Morley said. "I won't attack without provocation. That would be wrong. Somehow we need to establish a dialogue with them. I'm going to take a shuttlecraft down to the surface so that the Tragadomians will have to meet me face-to-face.""You're needed here on the ship, sir," Landen objected. "First Officer Roarke will be gone for at least several more hours on his search mission, so he won't be available to take charge of the ship in your absence. I request permission to go to the planet's surface in your stead."Morley considered the request. "It will be very dangerous to go to the surface, Peter. The odds are in favor of the Tragadomians attacking your shuttlecraft without hesitation. I can't ask you to risk your life.""You must remain on the ship, Captain," Landen insisted. "The Eastern Alliance command ship is lurking in this region somewhere and could attack at any moment. Your expertise is needed here."Morley sighed. "You're correct. My primary obligation is to the Emerald Warrior and its crew. A captain never abandons his ship. I'll permit you to go to the surface, but you must not take any unnecessary risks. Don't land the shuttlecraft in a hostile environment. Take off at the first sign of trouble.""Yes, Captain," Landen said, heading toward the exit."Good luck, Peter." Morley patted Landen's shoulder as the Noelmian got on the elevator.A short while later, the shuttle crew for the mission to the planet's surface had been assembled. A young Irish shuttle pilot named Linus Donovan would fly the craft. Donovan would be accompanied by Landen, Triamber, and two security guards. In spite of Landen's objections, Triamber had insisted upon coming. Susan Landen also wanted to come, but Landen persuaded her to remain on the Emerald Warrior. The five men boarded one of the two remaining shuttlecraft. These two shuttles were smaller than the one in which Roarke and his crew rode. In addition, Landen's shuttlecraft had only one laser cannon, which was mounted on its roof, while Roarke's shuttle had three cannons, one on the roof and two on the sides of the craft. However, Landen did not mind riding in the smaller shuttle; he wanted to negotiate, not fight.The shuttlecraft glided away from the Emerald Warrior and descended into the atmosphere. Donovan watched his monitor for a good landing sight. He selected an open field that was located a few miles from the Tragadomian command center occupied by their governing council. Landen and Triamber hoped to go to the command center in order to present their offer to the Tragadomian leaders so that the freedom of all Noelmians could be won.As the shuttlecraft touched down in the field, it became readily apparent that their approach had been closely watched. Two Tragadomian soldiers armed with laser rifles came out from behind some boulders."Those rifles are probably capable of burning through the hull of this shuttle," Donovan remarked as he watched the Tragadomians approach."Should we open fire with the overhead cannon?" Nat Kurre, one of the security guards asked."No," Landen said. "We don't know that they plan to fire on us. I'm going to go out and talk to them.""We'll go with you," Rich Adams, the other security guard said."Our scanners just picked up four additional Tragadomians approaching," Donovan said, peering into the monitor. "If they all start firing at once, our overhead cannon won't be able to take them out before they disable the shuttle. The laser beam is too concentrated to hit more than one man at a time.""Then we'd better do our best to avoid a firefight," Landen said.Triamber and Landen got out of the shuttle. They came down the ramp with their empty hands held high above their heads in order to show that they carried no weapons. Kurre and Adams followed, their laser pistols discreetly tucked in their belts beneath their shirts.The four additional Tragadomians now came within visual range. They emerged from behind the line of boulders and joined their two comrades in front of the shuttle. As Triamber and Landen approached the six Tragadomians, Kurre and Adams moved into flanking positions on either side. Donovan remained in the shuttlecraft, his trigger finger an inch from the button that would fire the overhead laser cannon into the midst of the Tragadomians.Landen immediately established a telepathic link with the six Tragadomians. "I bring you greetings from earth," Landen told the small squad. "We have come to offer you great riches and resources. Please take us to your governing council so that we can present our offer to them."For almost a minute, the Tragadomians stared at them in silence. Triamber suspected that the Tragadomians were waiting for something, perhaps for more of their comrades to arrive. This suspicion proved to be well-founded because, at the end of the minute, Donovan shouted a warning to them through the open door of the shuttle."Twenty more Tragadomians are behind those boulders," Donovan informed them. "And the scanners indicate that more are on the way.""We want peaceful relations with you," Landen said to the Tragadomians. "We will allow ourselves to be taken to your governing council. I would like to speak with Salurm if he is still the head of the council."This last statement brought laughter from the Tragadomians. The soldier who seemed to be the leader of the small squad stepped forward."So you wish to speak with Salurm," the Tragadomian told them. "That can be arranged. We shall send you to where Salurm is."Again the soldiers laughed. At that moment Triamber knew that the squad intended to kill them. Someone had ordered them not to take any prisoners.Triamber tugged on Landen's shirt. "Get back in the shuttle, Peter."Landen, too, sensed the Tragadomians' hostile intentions. He began to slowly back away toward the shuttle. The Tragadomians who had been concealed behind the boulders came charging forward, and the patrol of six soldiers raised their rifles to fire. One Tragadomian was instantly vaporized by the beam from the shuttlecraft's overhead laser cannon. Kurre and Adams killed two other soldiers as the two American security guards placed themselves between their Noelmian companions and the attacking Tragadomians.Landen and Triamber bolted into the shuttlecraft. The two security guards continued the firefight as they retreated into the shuttle. They shot the three remaining members of the initial Tragadomian patrol, then ran up the ramp into the shuttle, pulling shut the door behind them. Donovan had covered their retreat by panning the beam from the laser cannon across the field, vaporizing several soldiers.Beams from laser rifles burned into the craft, searing off the shuttle's outer panels. Donovan started to take up the shuttle, but soon stopped the ascent."Several Tragadomian cruisers are hovering above us!" Donovan exclaimed. "We can't break through that net!" Cannon fire from the cruisers came dangerously close to the shuttle. Tragadomian soldiers on the ground below them were killed by the blasts from their own cruisers."We'll have to skim along just above the surface for a few miles until we can find a gap above us that is large enough for us to burst through," Donovan said.Donovan used evasive maneuvers as he accelerated the shuttle away from the enemy forces. By using a weaving pattern, he avoided several cannon blasts. However, there were too many cruisers in pursuit for their shuttle to avoid being hit. Before they had traveled five miles, a laser beam hit the rear of the shuttlecraft, crippling the engine. Donovan skillfully brought the shuttle down in a crash landing. The five men aboard were jarred by the impact of the landing, but none was injured. They quickly exited from the craft, knowing that the sitting target would soon be bombarded with cannon fire.The men had run a hundred yards from the shuttle before it was blown apart by fire from the Tragadomian cruisers. The Tragadomians, though, were not deceived into believing that they had killed their prey. Their scanners had detected five small forms moving across the surface.Because the large cruisers were not efficient at tracking down persons on foot, the Tragadomian pilots landed the cruisers. Several hundred soldiers disembarked from nine cruisers."We'll never get away!" Adams yelled to his four companions.Hopelessly outnumbered and completely surrounded, the men desperately looked for someplace to hide, but the barren terrain offered no good hiding places.Suddenly, just as it appeared that they were doomed, a thick, yellow fog enveloped the entire area. The fog had come out of nowhere. It steadily grew thicker until both the pursuers and their prey came to a complete stop. Neither group could see anything through the yellow fog.A glowing woman loomed in front of the five men. Landen instantly recognized her: Miriam Baalson, the witch who had been taken prisoner with him, the wife of the man whom Landen perceived to be evil."Follow me," she beckoned the five men. "The fog will last for a short while, so we must hurry."The men followed her without argument. She moved swiftly through the fog. It was obvious that she could see through it without difficulty. In less than ten minutes, the group had slipped past the blinded Tragadomians, who were stumbling into each other as they attempted to find a way out of the fog.At last the six companions reached a forest. The fog dissipated.Miriam smiled at the men whom she had rescued. "You're safe now," she told the five men. Her eyes met those of Landen. "Welcome back to Noelm, Peter Landen."
