The Goddess gets busy.

 At the feet of the Goddess a man lay quivering. Her spiked heel rested on his throat. A sinister smile showed upon her exquisitely beautiful face. It was a cruel sensual beauty that demonstrated  no mercy. The man at her feet swallowed hard and began to babble, "My Goddess be merciful we did not know the purpose of their instruments and thought they might be weapons, fearful for your safety we destroyed them! "So", she began, "you had my safety at heart eh". She removed her heel and walked back to her diamond and emerald encrusted throne, tossing back her raven hair and adjusting her robe, she sat  on the edge  of the downy cushioned seat. "Arise faithful slave , come closer that I might reward your fealty."she said with a kindly tone to her voice. " Tell me your name again loyal servant" her voice sounding even sweeter. "I am called Malik a humble airship captain  beneficent Goddess" he replied. "Kneel before me and receive your reward"she said with a coldness creeping into her voice. As he knelt before her she reached out with her long nailed finger and ripped his left eye out of its socket. Malik fell in agony to the hard stone floor, the Goddess was up again and was standing over him. "If you wish to have your eye restored, this is what you will do: you will return to that world and you find that woman engineer and  bring her to me!" "Guard, tell me, does our Captain Malik have any family?" she asked. "Yes my Goddess,"he said unsuccessfully trying to hide a lustful grin, "He has a lovely young daughter". "Excellent" She said as she gleefully rubbed her hands together, "I have been rather lonely of late." Despite the agony of his eye, there was no mistaking the look of hateful fear. "Don't look so glum Captain, your daughter will be returned to you, relatively unscathed upon completion of your mission", barely suppressing a chuckle. 

Zero took a moment to look Louise from head to toe. "Like What you see big fella?" she said sarcastically. "I am sorry"he said sounding a little too apologetic. "My Saurian friends are great engineers and warriors but they have never seen a human female  and are not used to someone so obviously mammalian, and to answer your question, I have not seen a human female in nearly nine of your years, so yes you look wonderful!" Louise blushed  started to reply with a snappy comeback but Zero turned and motioned her to follow. "Let's get you something to eat" he said over his shoulder. It dawned on her that she had not eaten in some time, she was ravenous.

As she exited her room she got her first look at the great airship. As a globe hopping field engineer she had experienced just about every aerial conveyance known to man; but this was something else altogether. The first thing she noticed was how many Saurians there were. The two or three she had met so far were one thing but the hundreds she encountering now was on a whole other plane. She was also surprised at the riot of colors. On the wide walkways she encountered the dull green of Dr. Bazz and his assistants plus emerald green, iridescent blue and a dull blood red. She touched Zero on the arm and whispered"They come in so many colors" He nodded " yes and as a rule of thumb, the bright colored Saurians tend to be males and the duller ones female.""You mean Dr.Bazz is a female?"she asked. "yes but their gender makes no difference until the female comes in season every 12 to 18 months. The rest of the time it is of no or little significance" he pointed out. 

A few more turns and they found themselves at what would be recognized as a cafeteria on any world. "This ship is huge, Just how big is it?"Louise asked. Zero paused a moment and consulted the readout on his arm. "In your worlds measuring system it is approximately 1000 feet long and 175 feet wide" he replied. "When we finish our discussion and you have eaten I will take you on a proper tour"he promised and then added"with your technical background you will appreciate the advanced technology of my ship." He led her to a wall mounted combination console and touch sensitive display. One area of the display had an outline of what was obviously a saurian hand the other shaped like a human hand. "Place your hand on the appropriate shape" he directed. Louise place her hand as instructed, she detected a slight tingling sensation. Within seconds a container was dispensed from an opening adjacent to the console. "go ahead take it"he urged. He led her to the only table and chairs in the room that was tailored for human use. The other chairs and tables were shaped and sized for the saurians and had an allowance for a tail. 

"As you have probably already guessed we two are the only humans on board"he pointed out. Aren't you eating?" she asked. No was his reply"I have already eaten." She looked bewilderdedly at the white box in front of her. The only distinguishing features on the box was a red tab and blue tab. Zero sensed Her confusion . "I am sorry I should have given you instructions, it's been along time since I have had a dinner guest" with that he pointed out the tabs on top of the box. "pull the red tab and the food container will self heat then open"pointing to red tab he said"pull the blue tab and the box will open but the food will remain cold." "You will find that hot will be better"he concluded.

Louise pulled the tab, the container opened to reveal six cubes. A spicy warm odor was emitted  by the box. "No utensils are required, you will find that they are hot enough to enhance  flavor and promote a sense of well being but not hot enough to burn. " Louise found that each cube was a different color as well as a different flavor and texture. "Our food synthesizer  automatically creates food with the exact amount of nutrients and caloric content for optimum health for each individual"he said as he looked on appreciatively at her obvious good appetite.

After she finished a plastic cup rose from the center of the table and filled as if by magic from the bottom up with water. She picked up the glass and held it up to the light, she could not figure out how it was done , she made a mental note to ask about it later.

Feeling refreshed she was now determined to get some answers. "Why do you go around looking like a cut rate Darth Vader? " she asked pointedly. "I do not know what a Darth Vader is but I assume you mean my mask and goggles."she nodded affirmation. "That is all part and parcel to the situation that the crew of the Albatross and the people of your word find themselves in" "the world I come from was the home of a great advanced and peaceful civilised people. Wars and starvation were of unheard in my world. Disease was virtually eradicated . Lifespans were counted in centuries. We developed interdemensional travel when your world was undergoing what you called the dark ages. We had known peace for Millenia and that is why we were unprepared for what happened. About ten of your years ago.We came in contact with another advanced civilization.At first we welcomed them, some of them even lived among us. We thought all was well for awhile until the coming of the plagues. We found later that those strangers that had lived among us were spreading a biological weapon. We had never even considered the possibility of such a thing. "

"Such was our naivete that it wasn't until after they attacked us directly, after we were sufficiently weakened, that we realized the truth. They took what they wanted and moved on to conquer and destroy others. After the ravages of the plagues and the radiation, my people became extinct. I am the sole survivor of my people. I alone for some unknown reason was immune to the virulent infection, I had hoped to use my blood to create a serum to save my people. The authorities of my world before they succumbed, hid me away in secret hidden laboratory at our south pole. But our efforts were too little too late as they say on your home world.  Even though I had survived, my face was so disfigured and my body so damaged that I need to wear this breath mask to aid my respiration, these goggles protect my damaged eyes and amplify the light so that I can see normally." "This exoskeleton  amplifies my strength to aid my disease damaged muscles" 

"But doesn't your advanced science have a way to restore your health?"she asked. "There maybe hope for that in the future after we defeat the Goddess and her Philistines!"he replied. A saurian at a near by table had evidently overheard the word Philistine and uttered a loud hiss and exposed his teeth. These Philistines were not a popular group she thought. It was at that moment that a loud tone was heard from the Tannoy system. Lights flashed and everyones universal translator buzzed. "All crew to weapons stations, Tactical Alert!" a disembodied voice emplored. "Come with me"Zero said as he pulled Louise after him as he preceded toward the bridge. 

Next Time: An Albatross Shows Her Fangs!

When are you going to show me what's under that mask?

The Goddess strolled casually around the small chamber. She at one time considered adding sound dampening, but concluded that the sound of the occasional scream might help keep her minions on their toes. She was circling a waste high table upon which a nude man was chained spread eagle. His body was glistening with sweat and his face had the look of abject terror. As the session progressed his answers were punctuated by bouts of uncontrollable sobbing. The Goddess relished it when her "guest's" were at last totally given over to her will. This one had only lasted an hour. 

"So my good doctor, you were saying that your world has a population of over six billion,"  she purred. When he hesitated the Goddess using the long finger nail of her right hand index finger,  easily penetrated  the skin between the ribs on his right side. He screamed,"Yes madam! "And how do you address me" she said as she twisted her fingernail in the wound. "Yes Goddess"he said through clinched teeth. "Much better" she said as she licked blood from her finger nail. "Now tell me the coordinates for dimensional transfer so that I may visit your charming world" "Please Goddess don't hurt me again, but I can't", His said as his eyes cast about in horror. "Can't" was her one word reply. Her finger touched a button on the remote she grasped in her hand.  A soft hum filled the room and an intense red light shone upon the man's groin area. He writhed in pain and screamed. "My good doctor, my pain ray is on the second lowest setting, should we try it at a higher setting?" she cooed sweetly. " My goddess I don't know the answer, our equipment was destroyed during your attack and the only person who might be able to tell you was the expedition engineer Louise Saunders. " he managed to gasp out. Using the pain ray much more might cause impairment and he would be of no use. Besides he was probably telling the truth. "Guards!" she screamed"return it to it's cage.

At that moment Dr. Bazz released the electro- pneumatic restraints on Louise's bed. "Be careful, even though you are well on your way to recovery, you are not fully healed" warned the Doctor. Louise did not know if she should look at Bazz's head or the Universal Translator on his belt when he spoke. The Doctor continued "We are fitting you with an exoskeletal aid similar to the one Zero wears to further aid the healing process and it will allow you move about normally with out unduly stressing your newly knitted bones. As if on cue three saurian assistants entered the room with the apparatus.  Zero discretely left the room while it was fitted. The "nurses" also brought her fresh clothes. They  soon had her outfitted in a uniform of soft grey fabric similar to one worn by Zero minus the mask, goggles and gloves. The exoskeleton was marvel of engineering. The miniature servos and linear actuators were like nothing she had ever seen on her world. The whole thing was powered by a tiny power supply no bigger than a deck of standard playing cards. The saurians told her that it was a miniature atomic migma pile generator, a smaller version of the one that powered the ship.

Louise found a mirror after the saurians had left and she was able to look at her self for the first time since coming on board. As he moved she could feel the exoskeleton bouying her up, anticipating her movements, she hoped they would let her take it home with her. Her sandy brown close cropped hair looked a bit messy but without combs or brush there little she could do about it. Her youthful boyish face looked a bit pale but she was never the type that was a slave to fashion or cosmetics. Presentable was her final conclusion. That musical chime sounded again and it was followed by Zero's now familiar voice asking for admittance. "Come in " she said into the air. Zero appeared shortly. "We have much to discuss, much to do and little time" he began.

next: The Goddess gets busy!

Zero tells his story(or at least tries to)

"Are you saying your name is Zero?" she asked. "Yes, My friends and shipmates gave the name, on their world it is considered an honor because of it's mathematical significance" he began, "it was the name of their greatest scientist that developed many of the basic concepts that their advance technology was was based.""Before you continue I must ask you, before I was brought aboard your ship I could of sworn that I saw baby dinosaurs,was I hallucinating?"she asked. "I was coming to that", he began," I was going to save that revelation till last or at least until you were fully  recovered" he said as he lifted the tiny control panel that on his left wrist  to where his mouth would of been had he not been wearing a mask. "Doctor Bazz, please come into your patients room."he said through the mask. The same vertically sliding door that Zero used a few moments earlier, rose again and in walked  what for all the world looked like a miniature dinosaur wearing a white coat and a belt from which depended a number of unidentifiable tools.

Louise was momentarily speechless, "Allow me to introduce Dr.Bazz the ships healer" he said with a nod toward his saurian companion. As Dr Bazz bowed deeply he spoke in a short sibilant burst, simultaneously a small device on his utility belt uttered in perfect English" I am pleased to meet you human Louise." After Louise recovered from her brief fainting spell, she began to observe the new comer closely. He stood nearly four and a half tall, his arms terminated with a hand that had three fingers and a thumb at the end of which were  sizable and dangerous looking claws. He had the large forward looking eyes of a predator, his skull was shaped in a way that would allow for a larger brain. A tail protruded from under his white lapelless jacket. When standing still he stood completely upright and when he walked(and later she found out when running) he stooped slightly and used his tail as a counterbalance. 

"Bazz is of the saurian race, my entire crew is composed of them. Please try not to prejudge them I know how xenophobic people of your world can be" he continued "on your world and as on mine catastrophic cosmic events drastically changed the evolutionary course of our planets, on Bazz's world no such event took place and in front of you see the result, a descendant of dinosaurs as highly evolved as ourselves." "Bazz's people built a great civilization before disaster fell." Disaster?"she said as she tore her curious eyes off of Bazz. "Yes, disaster, the same one that befell my world and that well might befall your world" he said. "You mean those Philistines? Louise asked. At the mention of the word Philistines Bazz opened his jaws displaying an impressive display of triangular razor sharp teeth. At that moment she made a mental note to never piss off a saurian!

Next time: What are you hiding behind that mask?

Who is the tall masked stranger?

Louise awoke with her mind remarkably clear. The bed she occupied was in a small or more correctly stated, compact room. It was bright but not overly so. The walls were a pleasant shade of blue that she found some how comforting. She could see a window from her vantage point but it looked as if it were made opaque and could see nothing through it. The next thing she noted was the absence of pain. She welcomed  the relief, it was the first time in days she had felt comfortable. With a slight bit of panic she noticed that she could not move. She was lying in some sort of hospital bed unlike she had ever encountered in her world. She saw that her right arm was held down by a strap, the strap had a read out of some sort embedded in it as well as some sort of intravenous tube. 

As she was attempting to will her limbs to move a musical note sounded in the air. It seemed to come from everywhere at once. It was obviously meant to gain her attention not to alarm her."Good morning Louise" a cheerful voice announce."Allow me to welcome you to my ship the Albatross" the voice continued. The voice was male and had a flat accent very much like the type she grown up with in the Midwestern United States. "By ship, you mean that zeppelin I saw before I blacked out?" Zeppelin?" he repeated sounding confused. "Oh of course, Count Von Zeppelin, he was the one that worked with dirigibles back before your World War One, no he did not design my ship." "You know about World War One?" Louise said more than a little surprised. "Of course, I have visited your world  many times in my youth and I have even met your Von Zeppelin." the voice stated in a matter of fact tone.  

Louise was beginning to doubt the sanity of the disembodied voice. His voice took on a serious tone. " We can reminisce about your world another time" he paused briefly, "I have discussed your condition with the ships doctor and I need to as they say on your world, 'fill you in' ". "Your prognosis is excellent, Most of your injuries are well on their way to healing" he continued. "Why am I restrained?" she interrupted . "To facilitate a speedier recovery it was necessary to temporarily paralyze your body he stated. "Our techniques are far more advanced than those of your world, your recovery will only take a fraction of the time it would take in one of your hospitals"he concluded. " what kind of techniques? " she asked suspiciously. "nanites" was his one word answer.

"Nanites are self replicating molecular machines about the size of a corpuscle and as we speak a large quantity of specialized nanites are committing voluntary suicide to heal and reinforce your broken bones much like small animals in your world's oceans leave their skeletons to make reefs." He explained. " You are being healed from the inside out". "I see", Louise said actually only understanding about half of what he was saying. ""I know that you have many more questions for me, but I would like to continue our conversation in person","I must warn you that my appearance maybe a bit disconcerting,but I assure you that I am as human as you are"he paused for moment . He continued in a manner that made Louise think he was choosing  his words carefully. "I too have suffered at the same hands as you have, Yes I know that you were captured and tortured by the individuals that we call the Philistines" " Philistines is a cultural reference you might recognize from your world from a book you call the bible." "I'll explain all of that in short order, but first we must meet face to face for you to understand the peril you and your world are facing. "

 

With those ominous word still ringing in her ears a vertical rectangular opening appeared at the opposite  end of her small room. The figure that strode into the room was covered from hand to hand and from head to toe in a loose fitting soft grey coverall. His hands gloved and his feet shod in soft leather boots. His face was obscured by a set of over sized seemingly opaque  goggles and some sort of oxygen mask covered the lower half of his face. Louise had to strain with her restricted movement to take him all in. His head nearly touched the ceiling, a good 6'6" she guesstimated.  He stood before her and uttered  three words, he uttered them in such a way that it sounded like they might explain everything, but for Louise they only added more confusion. 

He said"I am Zero".

NEXT TIME: Zero tells his story.

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A new ally?

Consciousness  for Louise faded in and out like waves lapping at low tide. The pain lost some of it's intensity in the time she had  lain there. She thought of turning over in an attempt to lessen the pain. She decided not to even try, the rocky ground would be equally uncomfortable no matter how she was laying. During her current brief bout of alertness she took an inventory of her injuries. Her left eye would not focus and the sight was noticeably dimmer than the right. The blood from her head injury had coagulated she confirmed with her one functioning hand and arm. She was also certain that her right leg was broken. She didn't even bother to count the broken ribs.

Not too bad,  a couple of days in a hospital,then six weeks in a cast she'd be as good as new. Better maybe considering the rest she would get. Of course lying helpless on the ground on an unknown alien world did not bode well for longevity. No food, no weapons and helpless, that about summed up her situation. While she was wallowing in her own self pity she noticed something with her left eye. She moved her head slightly so as to get a better look with her undamaged eye. She at first she could not put a name to the huge airborne object. It looked familiar. Finally the name came to her, a zeppelin! True  It had no exterior engine nacelles like the photographs from her old history books and it was dead silent, but that's what it was. 

Louise lost consciousness again, when she regained consciousness again she had another shock,she was so surprised she spoke aloud," look at all the baby dinosaurs". At that moment one of the diminutive dinosaurs pulled out a hypodermic and gave Louise an injection and yet another placed an oxygen mask on her face.  

'Those are some pretty amazing little dinosaurs", she thought to herself groggily.

Next time: The tall masked stranger!

What is an Aerthernaut anyway?

Commander Zero sat in his command chair on the bridge of his atomic powered dirigible that his saurian crew had affectionately dubbed the Albatross. The heads up display in his light intensifying goggles told him all systems were nominal. The trans dimensional transfer had brought him and his crew to yet another earth like world. This world seemed nearly lifeless. He detected only basic plant and animal life. Haliss his saurian second in command clicked his claws to get his attention. "Excuse me Zero" He intoned. "What is it?
Zero asked.

"We are detecting the signature of an atomic powered craft that was operating on this world less than eight standard time units ago" he intoned. Haliss maintained a posture that his people used to indicate that he had more to say and that he should inquire further. "What else Haliss?"he asked trying to keep his patience with his reptilian friend."Yes Zero, If you will turn your long range sensor read outs in your H.U.D. you will see what is bothering me"nodding slightly to indicate that was all the information he had for me.

Haliss' people used a wide range of postures, ticks, clicks and head movements to amplify their language. Their reptilian facial features allowed for little expressiveness. The U.T. did an excellent job translating their language word for word but it was necessary to be looking at them for complete communication. Zero touched the wrist control panel on his exoskeleton to activate the display that would relay the information from the main differential engine. He Immediately saw what Haliss was referring to. It was a life sign and what was more it was a human life sign. He had not come in contact with a fellow human in many cycles. "Haliss"I said,"bring us about". "Zero I recommend caution, it could be a trap"Haliss warned. "If it were a saurian life sign would you counsel caution?"I asked. "Doubly so"was his answer.

There was a brief flurry on the bridge as Haliss issued his orders to the crew. The navigator transferred the coordinates to the helmsman and touched the control on his panel that would give him full power from the super conducting motors. The engineer watched and nodded with satisfaction checking his displays to see that the impellers were operating at optimum efficiency. power was flowing from the mighty migma atomic pile to the six super conducting motors causing the the great air ship to surge forward.

Mookai the saurian tactical officer clicked claws to gain Zero's Attention. He assumed the posture of respectful interrogatory . Zero acknowledged him with a nod and a head bob that a superior would use for a respected subordinate. Mookai partially opened his mouth, the saurian equivalent of a blush at the compliment. "Commander should we go to battle stations" Mookai said with an emphatic head bob. "Yes" zero said with his own emphatic nod. "Weapons operators to their stations" announced the Tannoy system.

Active armor and the particle beam weapons came to life. And for good measure the recoilless rifle turrets came on line. Mookai's clawed hand flew across his panel. The engineer noticed the indicators for the weapons systems as they became activated, Mookai was not taking any chances. He had enough fire power to destroy a small planet at the ready. But as always, it's better to be safe than sorry. The gun crews barely had time to get to their stations before navigator announced that they were close enough to get a visual. So anxious was Zero that he did not wait for Mookai to throw up the image on the main display. Visually there was no mistake, it was a human.

Next week: A new ally?


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