None of this bothered Bobby a bit—he was in his element flying a wildly gyrating craft right up to the edge of controllability. If Mizuki had not complained he would have gone even faster. As it was, his face muscles were starting to hurt from grinning so widely.
“Slider, Peggy Sue. You don't need to set any speed records to impress us, pardner.” Billy Ray, who had known Bobby for years and had shared the helm of the Peggy Sue with him in many tense situations, knew his friend's love of speed and inability to resist flying like a madman.
“Just pushing the envelope a bit, Peggy Sue.”
“The problem with pushing the envelope is that sometimes the envelope pushes back. Remember we got nobody to come scrape you off the tunnel wall if you discover the limit by steppin' over it.”
“Roger that, we are almost to the chamber anyway.”
The sled rolled sharply to starboard and then leveled out, headed for the tunnel's end fifty meters ahead. It took Bobby a fraction of a second to interpret the view forward on his helmet's display. LIDAR readings showed that there was something blocking the tunnel, just shy of the large chamber that was their destination.
“Aw shit!” Bobby said under his breath before shouting to Mizuki over suit-to-suit. “Hang on to something, we're going to hit!”
Bobby threw the sled into full reverse, but this type of utility craft was not intended for use in zero G and not known for its braking capability under any circumstances. Their forward velocity dropped to thirty kilometers per hour prior to impact and the forward facing repulsors helped cushion the blow, but Newton's Laws cannot be denied.
Arrival, The Chamber
A boulder creature over a meter in diameter came flying out of the tunnel, careening into another who was hanging in space fifteen meters from the Gunny and her companions. This set off a chain reaction as the initial boulder veered off to the right and the boulder it struck flew to the left. Both collided with more of their kind, initiating a wave of contact that rippled outward, spreading toward the far end of the chamber.
“This is like three dimensional lawn bowling,” said Rosey, as the Marines looked on helplessly.
Closely following the living boulder out of the tunnel was the speeding sled. Having struck the boulder a bit low and off center, the sled toppled forward as it emerged, its nose dropping down while flinging Mizuki and Bobby from their mount.
“Jump, Mizuki!” Bobby cried, but she was already airborne, flying toward the gathering of boulders. Bobby himself did a slow tumble, turning head over heels on a collision course with the head alien.
“Those officers must be batshit crazy to ride a hover sled down that tunnel,” Vinny marveled.
“If Hitch and Jacobs had done it, it would be crazy,” said the Gunny, “Since those two officers did it, it must be a clever tactical maneuver.”
“Speaking of the Navy's two trouble magnets,” rumbled Umky, pointing across the chamber with the barrel of his railgun, “it looks like Kato and Bosco found them and brought them to the party.”
Rosy glanced in the direction indicated in time to see the last of four armored humans emerge from a side tunnel into the chamber. Their appearance added to the confusion among the ranks of boulders as the creatures shied away from the new arrivals. Meanwhile, Misuki had drawn her katana and was about to collide with a large boulder.
“She ain't gonna attack that rock with a sword, is she?”
Mizuki tucked and tumbled forward while waving the katana in a complex pattern. This altered her attitude so that she landed feet first on the boulder. The boulder, out massing the scientist a hundred fold, was barely moved. Kicking off, the sword wielding physicist reversed course and headed back for the Marines deployed around the tunnel opening the sled had just entered from.
“Dr. Ogawa is one of the smartest humans around, DeSilva. She's using the sword like a tightrope walker uses a pole, for balance.”
“You're right, Umky,” added the Gunny, as Mizuki landed with a particularly theatrical sweep of her katana.
“I think the jury is still out on Cmdr. Danner,” DeSilva retorted.
Bobby continued his slow somersaulting trajectory until he collided face first with the lead boulder. Bobby rebounded and slowly drifted backwards, opening a gap between himself and the lava creature. The collision stopped his rotation and allowed him to come to a halt using his suit's repulsors.
“We come in peace,” Bobby broadcast using the computer's best attempt at translation. While trying to communicate, he smiled and held both hands up, palms outward.
* * * * *
“What are these insane aliens trying to do?” Asked one of the elder lava creatures. Others were busy apologizing to each other and trying to sort out the spontaneous reordering caused by the new arrivals to the chamber.
“Hey,” exclaimed Gx!pk, “there are the poo jugglers!”
“And the two who pelted us with uranium!” added Kq*zt.
“You think if I jumped around a bit the aliens would throw food at me?” asked Zz#tx, peering intently at the four oddly shaped aliens. “These are a lot bigger than the one I ate.”
This caused a ripple of conversation among those nearby, followed by a tentative advance on the aliens. In response the aliens raised the devices that Qz@px had called 'weapons'.
“Everyone just stop!” yelled Qz@px. “Let's not do anything spectacularly stupid until we can find out what these creatures want!”
* * * * *
“OK people, let's not do anything spectacularly stupid until I can establish a rapport with the head boulder here,” said Bobby over the squad frequency.
The large alien floating in space in front of Bobby shuddered, waves traveling across the surface of its body. Rhythmic pulsations deformed the alien's dark exterior, sending a web of cracks spreading across its skin. Showing through the cracks was the hot red-orange glow of molten rock.
The alien's entire body deformed as two protuberances formed. One to either side, separated by an angle of around 120 degrees. As Bobby watched spellbound, they grew longer and thinner.
“What's that thing doing, Commander,” asked a nervous Gunny, fingering the trigger guard on her railgun. Mizuki, who had landed gracefully on the chamber wall next to Umky, resheathed her katana.
“I do not think it is menacing Cmdr. Danner, Gunny, I think it is mimicking his movements,” the always observant Mizuki answered. “Bobby, it looks like the creature is trying to imitate your arm gestures.”
“I think you're right, Mizuki,” he replied. “Everyone maintain position and don't make any threatening moves or gestures.”
“How do you threaten a rock, Sir?” asked Hitch from his position on the side of the chamber.
“Don't point your weapons at them for a starter. You already shot a couple of them.” All the while Bobby was smiling for all he was worth and waving his open hands back and forth in what he sincerely hoped was a friendly manner. As he watched, the big alien's new “arms” grew fingers and waved back clumsily.
* * * * *
“I think these creatures are trying to communicate with us,” Qz@px announced to his fellows. “Everyone be quiet while I try to talk to them.”
“Ask them if they have more food,” said Zz#tx. He was immediately hushed by others around him.
“Welcome to our home, visitor,” Qz@px said to the alien.
“We... come... gently,” came the broken reply. Every lava creature in the chamber stopped talking and focused on the odd creature making silly gestures at Qz@px.
CIC, Peggy Sue
Doc White and most of the members of the science staff joined the Captain and First Officer in the CIC. They came to witness the voyage's historic first contact with an alien species. Other species had been encountered in the past and some were actually friendly, or at least not homicidal, but this was the first time for the Orion Arm Trading Company.
It was also the first discovery of a non-carbon based lifeform. True, creatures from Earth had encountered non-carbon life before, but they never actually met them, unless you count exchanging gravitonic torpedoes and particle cannon blasts as a form of introduction.
“Well I'll be,” marveled Will Krenshaw. “Some of my colleagues used to speculate about silicon based life forms but none of them ever dreamed up mobile, intelligent, lava filled rocks.”
“I guess that nature is just more inventive than us humans,” said Doc White. The fancy holographic displays of the CIC had lured her out of her domain in the medical section.
“Speaking for us polar bears,” added Ahnah, “we never came up with anything like this either.”
“I always fought to preserve life—the plants and animals—now it looks like I need to consider the rocks as well,” said Joe Rogers, the climate scientist.
“There are more things in heaven and earth, Dr. Rogers, than are dreamt of in your philosophy,” Billy Ray recited.
“I just knew you'd work a Shakespeare quotation into the conversation somewhere,” Beth said, giving her husband a sideways look.
Ignoring his significant other, Billy Ray addressed the computer: “Peggy Sue, how is the translation algorithm coming?”
“We are making great progress, Captain. Another hour or two and we should be able to converse with the lava creatures with little fear of being misunderstood. Commander Danner is quite adept at pantomime.”
“He is a man of many talents, our Sailing Master.”
“Yes, dear. Let's listen to what he and the head boulder are talking about...”
The Chamber
“I am now capable of translating most ordinary conversation with the lava creatures, Cmdr. Danner,” Peggy Sue's computer informed Bobby. “As usual, I will automatically translate units of time and distance into familiar terms. Also note that the creature's names are basically untranslatable so I am given them letter designations—the senior alien you are talking to will be called 'Q'.”
“Thanks, Peggy Sue. I'll attempt some diplomatic small talk with Q here.” Bobby loaded the software changes the computer had sent for his suit's radio, hopefully making his local transmissions sound like one of the sentient boulders. “Greetings, Q. I am Bobby Danner, leader of this small party of creatures from the planet Earth.”
There was a short pause while Qz@px mulled that over. Finally he replied. “Welcome Bobby Danner of earth. I greet you on behalf of the people of the moon metal.”
“I think that was too literal a translation in both directions, Peggy Sue,” Bobby told the computer, before returning to the conversation with the alien leader. “We have come to this system on a voyage of exploration, looking for new worlds and new friends among the stars.”
“These worlds are all fairly old, I am afraid,” came the reply.
Again with the literal translation,
Bobby sighed. “When I said new worlds I should have said worlds we had not known about previously.”
“I see. Do you often say one thing when you actually mean something else?”
“I apologize. It was a figure of speech, which our translation algorithm handled poorly. As things progress my words should be translated more accurately.”
“Apology accepted, Bobby Danner. Now that you have seen our world, why would we want to be friends with you? In the past, we have never had any friends other than our own kind, and that has seemed quite sufficient.”
“We have voyaged from our home system seeking other forms of life, with trade our primary interest. We wish to explore the exchange of ideas and technology, though we would also like to form a coalition of species—an association for mutual aid and protection.”
“I see. Is the largest member of your group from a different species?” Qz@px was obviously referring to Umky, who towered over the humans.
“Yes, that is Umky. He is of a different species than the rest of us, but his kind and ours come from the same world.”
“More than one form of life from a single world? That is interesting. There are no others on the metal moon but our kind. Tell me, why did you pelt several of us with food?”
“I believe that was just a misunderstanding, Q. Several of our people were down in a pit filled with gemstones when a pair of your folks threw a shower of red hot stones on top of them. Our people thought they were under attack and responded with the, er, shower of food. If you thought we were trying to steal your gemstones we apologize.”
There was a pause in the translation while the room erupted in a symphony of pink noise.
“What's happening, Peggy Sue? Did I say something wrong?”
“I'm not sure, Commander. The noise transmissions seem to be the local equivalent of laughter.”
* * * * *
As the leaders on both sides carried out more weighty discussions, the constantly improving translation algorithm was distributed to the other Earthlings' suit computers. This allowed them to talk with the lava creatures around them. Naturally, Gx!pk and Kq*zt sidled up to the four members of Drainpipe One, who happened to be close by.
“Hi! I'm G and this is my friend K. We were at the latrine when you threw food at us,” said Gx!pk without preamble. The lava creatures were on a whole plain spoken and to the point.
“Wow, G and K. This is like Men In Black or something,” Hitch said to the other humans, causing the Marines to shush him and Jacobs to give him a swat.
“Er, hi there G. I'm Kato and these are my friends: Bosco, Steve and Matt. Did you say 'latrine'?”
“Hey,” said Kq*zt, “You two are the ones on the ledge, the ones who shot us with the uranium!”
“Uh, no hard feelings,” stammered Kato, “we thought you were trying to hurt our friends, Steve and Matt.”
“Yeah, those are the two who were in the bottom of the middens, playing with the poo,” Gx!pk said, recognizing Jacobs and Hitch from the previous encounter.
“Why did you throw food at us?” asked a puzzled Kq*zt. “And why were two of you messing around at the bottom of a latrine?”
“Is that word getting translated wrong?” Hitch asked the other Earthlings. “It's like he keeps calling the gem pit a 'latrine'.”