Flidoring The Early Wars (10 page)

“Wow, that was amazing!” yelled Lyemad.

Within minutes, everyone had a chance to watch dozens of such feats. Other ramps—closer to buildings—allowed the Lipkians to roll and fly up to second-and third-story balconies. Outside one of the bigger buildings was where Baskwit took the Ambassadors and sat them down to introduce other Lipkians to them. For the next few hours, they talked and learned many things about their strange culture. The Lipkians treated them to a smorgasbord of different fruits, vegetables, and roasted insects. Some of the vegetarians politely passed on the insects. Even
Lyemad tried them and was surprised at how good they tasted.

Lyemad and Tessslan had not even looked at each other during the entire visit. Tessslan had decided to talk to a small group of Lipkians—off to the side of the main group—about the Flidoring. He did not want any more outbursts from Lyemad, and he knew that it would be easier to explain the “Way of Peace” to a smaller group. Lyemad stayed close to his father and Baskwit, learning as much as he could about their culture.

Everyone was ready to go back up to the Volkran for the night. Lyemad and Baskwit were walking near to where Tessslan was talking to another small group of Lipkians, when they heard him say, “Remember, do not sssay anything about thisss to anyone elssse in the landing party.”

Suspicious, Lyemad said, “What secrets are you telling now Tessslan?”

Tessslan jumped to his feet saying, “Oh, you ssscared me. You should not sneak up on people like that. I wasss not telling sssecretsss.”

“Oh, come now Tessslan. I just heard you tell them not to tell us. That is a secret and now you are a liar,” said Lyemad with a vengeful voice.

“Who are you to sssay that I am a liar?” Tessslan shouted back. “You have no idea what true ssspiritualism isss. All you care about isss the technology you can take from other worldsss.”

Lyemad got right into Tessslan’s face and said, “Do not start preaching your fraudulent beliefs to me. I am so tired of you…”

Without any notice, Tessslan twisted quickly around and walloped Lyemad with his powerful tail. Lyemad went sailing across the room and bounced off two different Lipkians before finally landing on the floor. Fortunately, the soft fatty tissue of the Lipkians broke the force of his fall. As he slowly stood to his feet, the pain from the strike was obvious in the strained look on his face. Holding his side and looking down, he saw the blue from his blood staining his clothes and trickling onto his hand. One of the pointed spines from Tessslan’s tail had pierced his skin during the blow.

Overcoming his shock, Bellmus ran over to Lyemad and helped him over to a stone bench. After examining the wound, he turned toward Tessslan and yelled, “What is wrong with you, Tessslan, have you lost your mind?” Realizing that the injury looked worse than it was, he continued, “This is no way for Ambassadors to be acting. You should be ashamed of your behavior.”

Timsssack had made his way over to Lyemad to inspect the damage when he said, “Tessslan, go to your quarters and wait for me there.” Then looking at the blood he said, “Lyemad, are you alright? I am so sorry about this.”

“I am fine,” started Lyemad with a stressed voice, “I just need a minute to catch my breath.”

Confused by his son’s actions, Timsssack asked, “What did you do to Tessslan to provoke him like that?”

“I did nothing to him, I asked him what secrets he was telling the Lipkians. He said that he was not telling secrets. So I told him he was lying, because both Baskwit and I heard him,” said Lyemad, still having a hard time getting air into his lungs.

“You must have misunderstood him. Tessslan does not lie,” said Timsssack.

“No. All day long he was off with small groups of Lipkians and when we walked by him, I heard him say, ‘Do not tell anyone about this.’
That
sounds like a secret to
me
,” said Lyemad in a sarcastic tone.

Seeing the situation could get out of hand, Bellmus said, “Well let’s get you back to the Volkran and bandage this laceration. We can sort out the details later.” Then, in a more diplomatic voice and turning toward Baskwit, he said, “Please forgive this little incident. It seems that our boys might need a break from all this star traveling. We will continue our talks with you in the morning, then we can discuss the future of our relationships.”

Baskwit and the other Lipkians had not said a word during the whole incident. They were not in shock as much as they were curious about the aliens’ strange ways. After a brief moment of reflection, Baskwit said, “I do not know this word ‘forgive’, but if you want to come back at the beginning of day, that would be fine. I do not know the future of our wives, sons, daughters, or parents, but if you want to talk about our relationships we can.”

“Oh, dear. I meant that we could talk about the future of how your world and ours will interact with each other,” said Bellmus, remembering that he needed to choose his words carefully when talking to the Lipkians. He continued with, “To forgive means that you will not be angry or take any bad actions against us for the trouble we caused you.”

“Oh, I am not angry with you. Your ways are strange to us, but we are not in trouble over them,” said Baskwit in his normal unattached way. “We would not take bad actions against you unless you took them against us first. Yes, we can talk about those interactions at the next beginning of day.”

On the Volkran, things had heated up more as Tessslan, Timsssack, Lyemad and Bellmus all tried to sort out what had happened in Courtyard. Bellmus was the only one to stay calm and he was surprised that Timsssack was so defensive of Tessslan, when he was the one that got physical and hurt Lyemad. Two hours had passed before Tessslan offered an apology to Lyemad and, even then, he still felt it was Lyemad’s fault. They both were boiling with hatred inside and everyone could sense it.

The next morning Lyemad and Tessslan stayed in the Volkran while the rest of them finished talking and drafting up peace agreements with the Lipkians. Bellmus found it more difficult than he thought to pick the right words for the peace agreement. He knew that the Lipkians were intelligent because of their technology, but they seemed a bit inept when it came to understanding language. He did his best to tolerate the situation and eventually he completed the agreement. When it came time to leave Lipkus Prime, Bellmus spent more than an hour trying, but failing to persuade Baskwit to join them. Baskwit did agree to keep a transmitter for future communications, and he accepted plans for an orbital subspace communications station, which the Electerians would build for them. The Lipkians seemed interested in space travel and other worlds, but they wanted the other worlds to build or give them everything they needed to interact with them. Of course, the other worlds agreed, as long as they could learn from the Lipkians how to use cold fusion and make stronger force fields.

Bellmus was sitting in his captain’s seat pondering the fate of the rest of their voyage. The next star system on their journey was the Sinkar system. They had no communications with the one planet in the system, and he was not sure if the crew could handle the stress of another uncertain encounter. He did not even know if
he
could handle the stress. He had three days to try to get things back under control. There was no way that he was going to let the recent events jeopardize the success of his claim to fame. He decided that a nice meal and some calls back to their loved ones would be a good place to start bringing order and peace back to the crew.

After everyone had talked to a loved one and ate a wonderful meal, Bellmus stood and said, “My fellow travelers and friends, I know that last stop on our journey was not a smooth one. However, it still was a good experience. We made new friends and found new technologies that will benefit all our worlds. Tomorrow we will arrive at Drewlay in the Sinkar system. We know there must be intelligent life there because of the energy signals we have picked up. As we get closer, Lyemad will be able to scan for cities and/or life. Let us remember why we are out here, and remember that we are representatives of our home worlds. Together we will build an alliance of planets that will unite our section of the Galaxy.”

Although everyone applauded his words, most of the Ambassadors still felt leery about the future of their mission. Lyemad had been paying close attention to the Wicterians and the Graznosians. He was certain that they had exchanged suspicious glances – more than once. The pain from his injury was mild in comparison to the betrayal he was feeling from Tessslan. There was no doubt in his mind that some sort of plot was in the works, and he was determined to discover what diabolical thing Tessslan was dreaming up.

Later—back on the bridge—Lyemad reported, “Father, we are entering the Sinkar system.”

“Excellent, how have your scans been going?” Bellmus responded.

“I have found numerous cities and we are just now getting close enough to scan for life-forms,” answered Lyemad. “Yes. I have multiple returns. The largest creatures are concentrated in and around the cities. It would seem that the Drewlayians are possibly some form of reptile.”

“Very interesting,” said Bellmus with a puzzled look, “just how advanced are their cities?”

“They have communications and power generators that are comparable to ours on Electerus,” said a surprised Lyemad. “I do not see any farms or gardens for a food supply, but there is an abundance of large rodents that I would guess could be a source of food.”

“Tessslan, bring us into orbit around Drewlay. Bichael, start your transmission of the prime numbers,” ordered Bellmus. “ I think there is a strong possibility that they have received our transmissions before, but perhaps could not translate them. That would explain why we received no response from them. We can only hope that they will respond to the numbers.”

After hours of no reply to the prime numbers, Bellmus broke the tense silence and said, “Tessslan, take us slowly down to the edge of a large city. I want to give them plenty of time to see us, and I do not want to move so fast that we threaten them any more than necessary.”

“Yesss Sssir!” Tessslan yelled back. “Ssslow and easssy it isss.

“Do you think we might provoke an attack if we just pop in on them?” Lyemad asked. “The visibility on the surface will be poor because Sinkar is an extra-large Red-giant star and the Drewlayian atmosphere will disperse the red light. I would estimate the mid-day light to be dusk-like at best.”

“That may be true,” answered Bellmus, “but I would venture to say that their eyes have adjusted to those conditions. I think they will see us long before we get to the ground, and our slow descent will hopefully make them more curious than hostile. However, just in case, Tessslan, be ready to get us out of here quickly if we are fired upon.”

“I see them. Over there!” yelled an excited Slabriel.

“Wow,
they are like big sssnakesss,” said Timsssack.

“Look at how small their arms and hands are,” said Huglam. “How can they build cities while slithering along the ground like that?”

“Well it looks like they are not going to shoot us down,” said Bellmus, relieved that he had made a good choice. “Tessslan, go ahead and land. Timsssack, Antamus, and I will make first contact. If all goes well, then the rest of you can follow.”

Bellmus opened the hatch and lowered the ramp. The red glow from Sinkar filled the sky and gave everything a mysterious ambiance. The air was damp and cool with a musty smell that Bellmus found very unpleasant. Many of the other worlds had musty smells, but this was the first one that turned his stomach. Feeling a little woozy and trying not to pinch his nose shut, he started down the ramp. The landscape was mostly grassy with a few small trees scattered around. There were many small bodies of water, but no large lakes or oceans.

A large gathering of the snake-like Drewlayians had gathered a few feet from the bottom of the ramp. Many of them had raised the front part of their bodies into the air, leaving only a small portion supporting them on the ground. They stood about eight feet tall and were a full three feet in circumference. Their scales were
a light pale-blue. As Bellmus stepped out of the Volkran, some of the Drewlayians turned a bright hot pink color. He was sure that the color change was due to a mood change—possibly fear.

At the bottom of the ramp Bellmus held out the translator and said, “I am Sir Bellmus and we come to your planet in peace.”

Right away, many of the Drewlayians started making sounds and looking at each other. After a couple of minutes, the translator started making sense of their language and Bellmus repeated his introduction. The Drewlayians instantly started turning all different shades of blue, red and pink. Finally, one of them slithered forward and said, “I am Crusher, ruler of our city. How can we understand you now?”

“A very good question Sir Crusher,” started Bellmus. “We have built this translator that figures out your language and converts it to ours. Please accept it as a gift.”

“Thank you,” said Crusher. “We have received your messages many times in the past but did not know what they were. We scanned your ship while in orbit and saw that you had no weapons that we could detect, but we did not know how to invite you to come down for a visit. We would like to learn more about you and where you come from, but our city entrances would be much too small for you to get through unless you are able to crawl.”

“No, most of us would not crawl very well, but we want to learn more about you and your world. Please join us inside our ship. You can bring as many as you like in with you,” said Bellmus, once again comforted and amazed at how well things were turning out.

A couple dozen Drewlayians entered into the ship and met the rest of the Ambassadors. After many hours of talking and exchanging stories, Crusher and three other Drewlayians agreed to go on the journey to the next and final star system called Bancy. They agreed to gather back at the ship first thing in the morning. Bellmus asked Lyemad to build a huge holding pen for the rodents that the Drewlayians called Podicles—the only thing the Drewlayians eat. One Podicle, when swallowed whole, will
last a Drewlayian for a week.

The next morning the Drewlayians gathered around the Volkran as it took off into the red sky. Crusher stood on the bridge and watched out of the window as his planet seemed to get smaller and smaller under his feet. With no fear or noticeable apprehension, he said, “I have always dreamed of leaving my world and somehow I knew that I would.”

Tessslan had been very interested in the Drewlayians when he realized that they lived a peaceful yet unreligious life style. After hearing Crusher’s last statement, he knew that this would be a perfect time for instructing Crusher on the “Way of the Flidoring”. With the Bancy system three days away, he would have plenty of time to get the Drewlayians away from the rest of the crew. He felt that the Creator had preordained the snake-like creatures to be open to his teachings. He sensed they were comrades with much in common – right down to their forked tongues.

The mid-day meal was just finishing when Bellmus suggested that everyone take some time to relax and enjoy some of the recreational facilities. The Volkran was on autopilot and there was no need for anyone to sit on the bridge. Huglam, always excited about working out in the gym, asked, “Sir Bellmus, would you care to join me in the gym for a good workout? I must say that your facilities are superb.”

“Well thank you Sir Huglam, I would be delighted to workout with you. I was eager to have you help me tone up my abdominal muscles a bit,” Bellmus replied enthusiastically.

As everyone left the dining hall, Tessslan quietly pulled Crusher and the other Drewlayians aside and invited them to his quarters. Sitting comfortably inside his living room, Tessslan asked, “Would you care for a cup of Tasssley tea?”

“Yes. That
would be nice,” replied Crusher.

Just then came a knock at Tessslan’s door. As he opened it, he was surprised to see Antamus and the other Wicterians standing there.

“Hello, Tessslan, may we come in? Antamus asked. “I saw you inviting the Drewlayians to your quarters and thought it would be a good time for us all to talk about some things.”

“Yesss of courssse, pleassse come in. Thisss isss a pleasssant sssurprissse,” replied Tessslan. “Can I get you a cup of Tasssley tea?”

“Thank you, please,” Antamus replied.

“I wasss jussst about to exxxplain the ‘Way of the Flidoring’ to our Drewlayian friendsss,” started Tessslan, “if you will indulge me for a minute?”

“By all means, I love hearing about it myself,” said Antamus.

Over the next few hours, Tessslan was in his glory as he told all about his experience with the Flidoring and his “Walk of Decision”. He felt his life was moving into his true purpose, and he knew that everything he had gone through was leading to that very moment in time. “The Creator has finally blessed me and is using me like I knew he would,” he thought to himself.

Just then came another knock at the door that jerked him from his place of self-contentment. With a somewhat confused sound in his voice he squeaked out, “Um… yesss… I mean… who isss it?”

With only further knocking as an answer, Tessslan opened the door as he said, “Hang on, what…” –stopping in mid sentence as he saw Lyemad standing right in front of him.

Looking over Tessslan’s shoulder and seeing the Wicterians and the Drewlayians, Lyemad said, “Well I figured that I would find you all here. I bet you are having a good time spreading more of your propaganda to our friends. In any case, it is time for the evening meal and everyone is waiting for you all in the dining hall.”

With that, Lyemad spun around with a certain flare, which Tessslan took as an insult, and swiftly walked down the corridor towards the dining hall. The Wicterians and Drewlayians were not sure what to make of the encounter, but they could feel the bad blood between Tessslan and Lyemad. Tessslan just stood in the doorway totally stunned by the encounter. He felt slighted, but that was not what was bothering him the most. The real issue for him was that Lyemad, once again, had managed to ruin his perfect moment of peace and contentment. The longer he stood there the more he burned with anger and disdain for Lyemad. Finally, Antamus broke the stressed silence and suggested that they should all head towards the dining hall.

The atmosphere in the dining hall was thick with anxiety and distrust, as Lyemad looked intently at Tessslan and the other animal-like ambassadors. He tried to determine what plots they had developed to undermine the Electerian-initiated mission to unite their worlds. It was becoming quite clear to him that the worlds with non-humanoid creatures were not to be trusted. He was sure that their animal passions would over-ride logic and bring about the destruction of anything good and positive that had been built between their worlds.

Tessslan—feeling the cold stare from Lyemad—could
not
hold his tongue any longer and let out a sarcastic, “What isss your problem Lyemad?”

Immediately, as if he had been waiting for the opportunity, Lyemad shot back with, “No, you have the problem. You just cannot cope with the fact that there are planets that are more advanced than yours, and we do not have to rely on some irrational Flidoring thing to be that way.”

“Now you have gone too far. I have had all I can take of your blasssphemousss tongue,” Tessslan replied harshly. Then as he stood up to leave the hall, he finished with, “Any world that isss ssso hungry for power and technology like yoursss should be excluded from usss that ssseek ssspiritual enlightenment and peaccce.”

Before he could walk away, Lyemad yelled back at him, “If you are talking about the backward
worlds full of animal passions and superstitions like yours, then I see no reason to have you in our alliance anyways. You have been nothing but trouble since the day we first made contact with you.”

With that outburst of raw emotions, both Tessslan and Lyemad stormed out of the hall in different directions. The other Ambassadors all sat in shock and disbelief until Antamus stood and excused himself and his party. Crusher quickly followed his lead while Timsssack and Bellmus both apologized for their sons’ outburst and left to confront the boys. Everyone else slowly dispersed back to their quarters with feelings of disillusionment and dismay.