Space Cowboy: Dreams, #2

Chapter 1

SPACE COWBOY

Kevin looked at the ship's controls.  Its computer was ready for programming.  It would be a matter of a swift command.  Around them was the stark desert landscape of Skyros.  So much had happened for him here in the subterranean world.  A reflective dream brought about by the brilliant technology of a long gone civilization? 

He closed his eyes for a few minutes and saw again Echo, the boy emperor.  Kevin was convinced that what he had taken part in was real.  The past, the future - a similar solar system in the same galaxy?  The possibilities were endless.  One truism he had learned over the course of his many adventures - there was no turning back.  The past could not be relived.  Echo was now the Emperor.

It doesn't seem right.  No one can successfully cage a wild thing . . .

Piq didn't stare.  Neither did Elo.  They seemed to understand.

I remember falling through that hole, and awakening in another world.  There were beautiful people there.  In a way I was sorry to leave, Kevin said.

This Echo.  Was he so great? asked Elo.

He was my best friend.  I can still see him now in my mind's eye.  The dance - the boy who would be a conqueror.

You're still a boy yourself.  You're not quite sixteen, my age.  Would you go back to this Emperor if you had the opportunity? said Piq.

I tried to warn him.  Like Elo, he was only thirteen years old.  Far too young to have such responsibility and power.  It's not a blessing, even for someone older.  His father was forty when he was assassinated.  I will never know if my advice was heeded, if Echo turned away from his imperial heritage.

Would you if you were he? asked Piq, with her lips and hands.

In a moment.  I've never been a stranger to danger.  It's the boredom of the bureaucratic routine.  Imagine the work load and the duties.  To greet ambassadors, military attaches, the statistics, politics, diplomacy, even military campaigns - I hope he saw the wisdom in my advice.

They sat for a few minutes without talking.  Kevin could not understand why he felt reluctant to leave.  There was nothing here on Skyros except memories.

I've left dear friends as well - Will, Cloe, the mermaid, Maria, those streets kids like Teen.  I think we all have left loved ones.  Still we can't go back to them.  We shared their lives for a short time.  We can't go back, neither can they.  Kevin?

Kevin gave a strong gesture for silence and stared outside through the ship's screen.  They sat with bated breath for another two minutes.

I thought I saw something out there, he said.

Like what? asked Elo.

It moved too fast.  I just caught it out of the corner of my eye, then it was gone.

I saw nothing.  Did you, Piq?

Piq mouthed the words and used her hands in sign language.  She was becoming confident soon they would be able to lip read, but never took them for granted.  That could spell disaster.

I was looking at you and Kevin.  There's no sign of life out there.  I think if there were, they would have shown themselves by now.  At least while we're in the caves.

We're not the first here.  The writing, the gold well is proof, there was a highly advanced civilization whose technology was at least our level, if not higher.  God knows what this planet was like once.  It could have been a paradise.

The sun's going down.  If we want to lift off, I suggest we do it now, said Piq.

Kevin programmed the controls, surprised his experience gave him no warning or protection against emotional bonds.  How many had he loved and met before, and each time he had to leave them?  Even his son was far away on another plant.  Now thirteen, he longed to see him again.  But there were things that could not wait.  His duty called.

What's wrong? asked Elo.

I don't know.  The ship's not responding.  I've checked the drive.  It's all right.  There's nothing wrong.

An interface problem.  Something's overriding your programming, said Elo.

That's impossible.  I have the controls; the ship's fully screened from any outside interference and no one here has altered the programming.  There must be some fault, a breakdown.

Let me try.  I'll examine the systems, said Elo.

You've forgotten that I can fly this thing by the seat of my pants.

You've forgotten, since young I've been an outstanding scientist.  My scientific hypotheses have not yet been fully explored.  The multi-dimensional mirror was only an opener.  For me this ship is just a breeze.

Elo put his hands on the controls, and closed his eyes.  The sweat began to drench his face, and his knuckles went white.

What's wrong? asked Kevin.

Elo's hands left the control screen and he collapsed in his chair.  Piq examined him immediately.

What's wrong with him?

Cool it, Kevin.  He's just fainted.  I have some smelling salts.  That should bring him around.

A minute later, Elo opened his eyes, and smiled foolishly.

Are you all right? asked Kevin.

I'm sorry.  I did my best to interface.  It works in theory.

What do you mean?

Someone's placed a block within the computer itself.  Your program is operative, but it's rejected by an inner loop.  It just spins there, like a top.  I can see it as clearly as I see you.  I tried to bypass it with my mind.  It grew larger.  It sensed me, like something live.

Take it easy.  I'll try again, said Kevin.

Five minutes later, he was forced to admit defeat.

We're stuck here, unless this top of yours can either be removed or neutralized.  Where did it come from?

This planet.  It wasn't there before.  I'm certain of it.  That can be the only explanation.  Kevin, we're not alone here.  We never have been.  Something or someone wants us to stay.

Kevin leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and stretched his limbs.

When I was a child, my mother read me a story about our home planet some millennium ago.  It frightened me then.  In a way it frightens me now.  When men crossed the great water in flimsy wooden ships powered by sail, their greatest fear - a sailor's nightmare - was the Kraken, the devil fish, the giant octopus or squid that came up from the great depths and attacked their ships.  They had two options - to be dragged down to the bottom and eaten, or go out, with harpoons and axes or whatever weapons they had, and fight it until they were free.  We are now in the same position.  This top of yours is our Kraken.

I'm glad I wasn't from your planet in those days.  At least a top can't eat us.

Skyros at sunset became a golden and amber wonder landscape - craggy mountains, the rocks and rough terrain set on a canvas that no artist could ever envisage.  They sat eating and drinking, looking out as the shadows became longer and darker.

There's life out there.  Just out of sight.  Underground, behind those ridges and beyond.  If the situation wasn't so serious, I'd be tempted to explore and find out what happened to the ones that build that device in the cave, said Kevin.

It's eerie and beautiful.  What is it about a desolate landscape that appeals to the other side of your conscious mind? asked Piq.

It's like a dreamscape, said Elo.

A what? asked Kevin,.

Dreamscape, a place that can only exist in your dream, it's just an expression.

The command chairs folded out to beds, and joined together as one.  Piq handed out the blankets and pillows.  Kevin curiously flashed a beam back towards the cliffs to the cave's entrance before settling down for the night.

I'm sorry, Kevin, said Elo, breaking the silence.

Sorry about what?

Making you land here on Skyros.  If it wasn't for my foolishness, we'd be home by now.

I'm not.

Why?  Are you just being nice, and trying to spare my feelings?

There's a reason for everything.  It's part of life's great plan.  It's best just to go along with the flow, and not fight it.

That sounds fatalistic.  We do have free choice.

Sometimes I wonder if that's only an illusion.

You're saying we're programmed like this ship's computer?

I think we're self programmed.  I think our subconscious knows everything from the moment of our conception, and then plans our lives like a game.  We go from square to square, feeling great about our little triumphs and victories and bad about our defeats and let downs.  Never once do we realize that life's just a balance of everything, that a defeat, a failure, is a solid foundation for the way forward which is up.  We learn nothing or very little if we're continually winning, except vanity, pride - the sin that brought the downfall of the archangels.

Thanks, Kevin.  I feel better now.

You haven't told us about your dream.

It's something I'll never forget.  It's not a dream.  Not for a moment do I believe that.  It's a life I joined in just as you and Piq joined in others.

Want to talk about it?

It was about a vain, arrogant, self-opinionated, difficult boy called Chen who was taken by a snow panther in the jungle, or so his sister Candy was led to believe by a native boy.  It's impossible to give the illusion of charm, love or beauty by pure oral description.  You would have to see them, speak to them, and relate to them to really understand how love can not only be beautiful, but very deadly, when taken to its extremes

Did they find this boy Chen?

The native boy falsified his death only after a year Candy found that out with my help and deduction.  Yet I felt no joy in depriving the native boy of his spoils - he really worshiped him.

But love must be unselfish, and that means giving and caring, not possessing.  That's obsession.

Obsession is a fine line.  No one really knows where it is.  Who is the judge - you, I?  The native boy was only following his heart, and there were reasons he acted that way that we may never find out.  It is, as you say, destiny, said Elo.

What happened to your friend?  Did he find happiness?

He did when I left, but his spirit informed me that his life would be short, like the native boy.  His sister, Candy, would marry his best friend.

It's a little sad to think that such love, such a personality would only remain in the hearts of his friends and loved ones.

Fate ruled otherwise.  That was only one motive the native boy had for keeping Chen drugged and disorientated for a year.  Chen shared himself with all the girls of the tribe.  I suspect now there may have been a genetic disorder within the tribe that affected their fertility - at least with the boys.  Shu, the native boy, has been a good chief in bringing in fresh blood, and only obeying one of nature's directives, said Elo.

So he left children - you should be happy.  His seed is being passed down.  He will never die . . . Elo?

Elo's face was buried in the pillow.  Kevin pulled the blanket over, and then his own.  He thought about the flights he'd made with Piq.  Together they would undress, and sleep in each other's arms.  That was real space travel.  With the boy aboard, it would be unfair of him to share that sort of intimacy in his presence, and they weren't in space.  They were in marooned for the time being on a barren planet. 

Kevin was conscious of movement around him.  He could feel and hear the wind.  He opened his eyes.  The ship was air tight of course.  But it was gone when he looked up at a conical shape of the inside of a tepee and a young face, smiling, whose eyes held a mystery only the young could interpret.

He put his fingers to his lips.

Shhh . . . Some's still asleep.  Doesn't' she look cute?  One day I think I'll marry her.

You're too young to commit yourself.  It's best to wait and see what else life has to offer.

I have what I want, friendship, companionship and acceptance.  They want me in their group as their flutist.  This is how I intend to spend the rest of my life.  What other options can there be?

How long had Kevin been on Oct?  Since he fell through the hole of the subterranean cave on the planet Skyros, one day, two.  Was the trip to Tor, to its capital Deleur, the center of the empire, just a dream?  Echo.  Possibly the most pure and dazzling dancer that every lived, in reality the real Emperor.  Was that just a fantasy, wishful thinking?

Looking at his face now, it was hard to imagine.  In his dreams the boy in the military uniform, the badges of the highest rank that radiated authority and majesty.

I didn't wake you, did I, Kevin?

I didn't hear a thing.  You're as silent as a mouse.  What do you have planned for the day?

I'm composing a new sonnet.  Tonight I'll play it, and see how well it goes with the dance.  One day I hope my sonnets will be heard in the towns of the big cities and be played formerly.

Towns, big cities on Oct?  Why not the imperial planet itself - Tor?

Do you realize how much music is played there?  The fashions, the songs, even dance?  It varies from planet to planet.  This I've learned from Some'.  On Tor even the best known musicians and composers on Oct would rarely get a hearing, if at all, someone like me - no influence or standing.

Go to Tor yourself.  Why wait for some musicians to hear your work and to think it worthy?  Play it yourself.

There's no possibility I could get into a theater or join music group.  They are very arrogant there.  They think we're cultureless provincials.

Then play before the Emperor himself, and let him be the judge.

You're teasing.  Do you realize how many musicians crave such an invitation?

Why wait?  Go there.  Knock at the palace door and say you're expected.  An ounce of bluff is worth a ton of hope.

I don't know if you're deliberately teasing or if you mean it.  The idea is so ridiculous it may just work.  Though it has a few flaws, like where do I find the money for a flight to Tor, and alone?  I would never be brave enough.  It's a very expensive city to live in, and to come from this part of the empire, I'd need a pass.  Tor does not wish to be flooded with economic refugees, and I can understand that.  It would only create a huge slump.

My mother taught me when I was very young, if you wish hard enough and dream it; it may just happen one day.

I'm happy where I am.  I've never been one for the bright lights.  And what of Some' and the others?  I could never leave them, not even for the Emperor himself.

Kevin sat up, took the boy's face between his hands.

What's this show of emotion about?

Echo smiled.

I'm just grateful, that's all.  Don't ever change Echo.  Be happy to remain Some's group's flutist.  Knowing your place in the universe and being happy with it, is the key to life.

I feel the same about you, Kevin, like no one I've ever met before.

The boy's face faded with the tepee.

Kevin!

Kevin opened his eyes.  He was back in the ship on Skyros.

What's wrong?  Was it a bad dream?

It was a beautiful dream.  I wish life could always be like that.

Kevin sat up, and realized his clothes felt uncomfortable.

That's strange.  I don't remember undressing.

"The ship's quite warm, said Elo.

Kevin looked the other way, and smiled.  Elo thought nothing of formality. 

Elo threw his blanket off, stretched, stood up and looked out, before putting on his uniform.

Kevin.  Come here and tell me what you see.

Kevin put his arm on his pistol belt.

The cliffs, the cave, the landscape, the morning sun.

Nothing else?

Kevin looked around, and then shook his head.

No.

We've moved.  I'm sure of it.

Piq got up and looked as well.

It's true, though it's more of a feeling.  This is the position we landed against those rocks.

Elo brought his chair upright and began to scan the computer with his hands and mind.  Kevin sat there with bated breath, hoping.  Elo opened his eyes and sighed.

My spinning top is still in place.

There's got to be a reason for it.  I think the answer lies outside the ship, not inside.  Something's holding us here, and I don't think, whoever or whatever it is, is unfriendly, otherwise the ship would have certainly been approached, if not attacked.  Anyone who has that level of intelligence in science could easily have destroyed this ship by now, rather than ground it, said Kevin.

You're personifying this problem.  Have you ever thought it may be something within the ship itself, or just a problem of malfunction?

Kevin slowly got up. 

Like Piq, I have a feeling that we're being watched.

I disagree.  The problem's within, not without.  The ship definitely moved while we slept, which proves we're not grounded.  Given time, I'll be able to break through and we can be on our way.

You don't think the computer itself is the problem? asked Piq.

Computers do not command themselves; they are there to serve a man made machine like the ship itself.  It did not evolve; it was made.

Let's start at the beginning, before we landed here.  You chose Skyros, thinking it may be the remnants of your mother planet, Plakka - why?

Just a feeling.  Both planets are similar in size, the same distance from the sun.

Did the ship's programming play any part in your decision? asked Kevin.

Of course not.  We don't hold discussions - I just scan it.  I know what you're getting at, but somehow we have a fifth column living in our computer who has its own agenda.  If that's the case, what's the motive?  What does this devious entity gain?

I don't know.  But there's one way to find out.  I'm leaving this ship, and going back to the cave.  It all started from there, and that's where I suspect our problem lies.

I'm staying here, because I know you're wrong, said Elo.

Piq was at a loss how to mediate.  Kevin saw her dilemma.

Stay with him.  I don't need any help.

The hatch slipped back, and Kevin, checking his pistol, jumped out on to the rocky surface of Skyros.

Wait!  This is foolish to separate like this.  It's a formula for disaster.  Remember what happened last time?

Kevin paused.

That was because Elo's enthusiasm overcame his common sense.  I know what's in there, and I know what I'm looking for.

He hadn't gone twenty paces when Elo climbed out of the ship, looked at Piq, and shrugged.

What choice have we?  You're right - we have to keep together, and he's right.  Sitting cooped up in the ship has us all on edge, said Elo, as he checked his pistol and made certain Piq was also armed.

Why does he have to walk so fast with those long legs of his?  I'll never understand how someone who can take command and lecture on ill discipline, disobeys his own rules in the face of logic or even common sense.

For someone so brilliant in abstract science, you have a lot to learn about people.

Is expressing my scientifically deduced opinion undiplomatic or unwise?

You challenged his authority in his own ship.  It's better to bend with the wind than fight it.  Why do you think he left?

Are you saying he's touchy?

He takes himself very seriously, even with friends.

I did not see any bad temper.  His moods seem very even.

He hides it very well.

Being mute did have its advantages.  Piq could express her opinion within ear shot of Kevin without any danger of offending.

Now I'm away from the ship I can think more logically.  If there is intelligent life, something powerful enough to razzle the ship's computer, then there must be water and a food supply not far from here, somewhere in that cave?  We never did fully explore it, said Kevin, as he stopped at the cave's entrance.  Looking up at the cliff face, the morning sun still cast a long shadow.  Landing the ship this close to the cliff had been no accident.  If offered shade, potential shelter in case of emergency.  Too close may be more dangerous - land slides, rock falls.  There was a compromise.  They made their decision.  Kevin seemed reluctant to go back into the cave.  His recent experience left only warm memories.  But that was the past - or future - another life, another aspect of himself."

Sorry Kevin, said Elo.

Kevin put his hand on his shoulder.

I rely on you, Elo.  Don't ever think otherwise.

They walked inside; the same cryptic writing was on the wall.

If only I could read it, we would know about these people.

It matters little.  Whoever they were, they're long gone.  This cave and what's within is the only evidence they were ever here.

No admitted they really wanted to go back in.

We've been this road before.  What else do you expect to find, Kevin?

I don't know.  It seems logical to suppose there is more in here than just that well.

Do you think it's some sort of blocking device, rather than a wall, an illusionary system set up to confuse or even give a high?  It's a brilliant concept, and one that's never been explored before.

It seems these aliens have an aversion to killing.  Our ship hasn't been touched, assuming whoever sabotaged our computer is one and the same of this alien race.  Most civilizations, ancient or sophisticated, would install something a little more deadly, a weapons system or just a bottomless pit.  It would be a more permanent solution, said Kevin.

Elo put out his arm, and blocked their progress.

I don't think this is a good idea.  Next time we go into that well, we might not come out again.  We could remain in a permanent dream, like a junkie, permanently stoned.

You should never let fear rule your decisions, said Kevin.

I'm talking logically.  We know the well is powerful.  The first time could have been just a warning.  Next time, we might not be so lucky.

I've never turned my back on an objective in my life.  I don't intend to start now.

Kevin's words had an ominous ring.

I don't like it, sir.  Our latest ship in the hands of a novice pilot, and a boy at that, it's lunacy.

It's only a prototype.  Our best scientists are working on the new hypothesis - it's small, faster and better.

But sir, the mass in space and difference between boy and an adult is not a large consideration.  My over eighteen year’s battle experience.  No Space Academy whiz kid can equal that.

I'm sorry, Jed, if I could, I would.  It's not a matter of past record any more.  It's physical and mental reflexes.  The young ones beat us, in more than one way.  It's a new generation.  These ships will create a new breed.  They won't replace us.  There always will be a need for talent such as yours.

Remember to put it on record my objections.  I'll write them out to make it official, because if anything goes wrong, if we lose that ship then . . . .

We won't.  The boy is only taking it out for a short run, a space trial.  There is nothing that can go wrong.

Jed left the office.  The Commander knew this would happen.  A generation gap jealousy.  Why should the young ones test the new ships?  It was neither logical nor fair.  It was his job to smooth the troubled waters. 

Next morning the ship was ready.  Kevin was strapped inside. 

Remember how many times you mastered this on the simulator.  It's no different.  Just take it easy, take it out and bring it back, said the Commander.

Nothing else, sir?  I thought I was supposed to test it.

That will come in due time.  Let's not run before we can crawl.  Once I'm happy with its basic operation, then we'll plan more elaborate tests.  So, good luck.  And never forget, always keep communicating.  At the first sign of trouble or difficulty, return immediately.

The commander watched the ship disappear into the isolation chamber.  At the Control Center he sat and observed.

It's gone, sir.

What?  Check your instruments again, and send out a return call.

I am.  Somehow he's made that asteroid belt.

He had explicit orders to remain within the orbit of the Ark.

Ark Control.  I'm not receiving you.  Ark Control.  Over.

Kevin tried again and again.  Something had happened to his communications.

Sir, I've located a bandit.  Request permission to investigate.

Kevin found himself in a position often soldiers face in battle - whether to obey direct orders or to act on a changing situation without command confirmation.  Without any directive, he obeyed the latter. 

Like his own, the alien ship was small and highly manoeuvrable.  Kevin recognized talent when he saw it.  His weapons systems were alerted and ready.

You're good, boy, but I'm better.  You won't lose me now.

This was a better trial than anything the engineers or scientists could devise.  Kevin was aware of the criticism coming from the veteran pilots.  Combat experience?  There was nothing to it.  Just chase them, and if they gave battle, so much the better.

Where did he go?

The asteroid belt was a solar system in itself, a navigational hazard that the Ark could not entirely avoid.  The scientists were pleased this would update their knowledge.  The military were not.  It covered so much immediate space; a fleet could approach virtually undetected in the asteroid's shadow.

A base right on our doorstep, the question is are you alone, mate?

Kevin again tried to contact Ark Control with no success.  Common sense told him to return.  His hunter's instinct dictated otherwise.  The asteroid was as big as a moon.  The alien craft had landed in the shadow of a large mountain ridge.

If I destroy you from here, we'll never know if you are alone or what your purpose was.

The star fighter skimmed low over the asteroid surface just as the alien ship blended into the shadow.  Landing on the asteroid was easier than the Ark's air lock chamber.  That had to be more precise.  The star fighter cruised lower and slower, then hovered above the last known sighting of the alien ship. 

A warning indicator flashed on his screen.  A great door had opened underneath him.  A beam of light shot out into space.  Kevin made another battle recession.  He was too close now.  He eased the star fighter down.  It was a mad gamble.  The alien had fled and was apparently in no position to put up a fight.  He had the advantage.  If he could get in, he could get out.

If the alien was stronger, Kevin’s star fighter would be under attack or destroyed by this.  He sensed the thrill of the hunter.  He had followed the fox back to its lair and would not give up now.  An older and wiser pilot would have reported back to base immediately, noting position and anything else, requesting instruction to keep the enemy's position under surveillance, and to wait for reinforcements.

Kevin had no such option.  His communications were cut off.  He had never been in the field before, and never alone.  At fourteen, his courage and dare overcame professional caution.  The air lock was not dissimilar to the one in the Ark.  Kevin made sure his weapons systems were primed and ready.  Above was space and freedom.

For a moment he hesitated.  At least now he had a line of escape.  The surface door closed.  That option was no longer available.  He had committed himself completely now.  He followed the line of illuminated arrows through a chamber carved out of solid rock.  Another door shut behind him.  He was out of the air lock.

He now realized the foolhardiness of his split decision.  He wished now he'd returned to the Ark.  The only thing he could do was to follow this through.  If an ambush or trap was waiting, he would make them pay dearly.  The alien ship was there - landed.

Kevin pulled behind it, at a distance, hovering, waiting for some response.  Nothing moved.  He landed and de-activated the drive.  It was a waiting game.  Time was on the alien's side.  The Ark was moving further away by the moment. 

Kevin checked his service pistol.  Ahead lay his target.  The star fighter's weapons system could easily destroy the alien at a touch of a switch.  That would tell him nothing.  What if there were more asteroid bases?  A prisoner?  That would be a coup - and proof he was confident enough not only to pilot a star fighter, but to command men, a squadron.

It was a risk leading a ship.  The fire power of his pistol was minuscule compared to his star fighter, and he would have no defense.  There were many options that rules against him taking this risk - and Kevin ignored them all.

The hatch slid open.  Kevin climbed out on to the wing, pistol in hand.  Not a movement, not a sound.  Jumping on to the ground, he approached the ship cautiously, and found its hatch open and empty.  A trail of footprints through the dust led to a doorway.  A rock.

Kevin scooped up a stone, threw it inside, and lying hard against the outside wall.  There was a blast, and the smell of pulverized rock.  He smiled.  His upbringing in the streets was the best education going.  Even the Space Academy hadn't taught him that one.  Field tactic, psychology and the science of war - street savvy he'd learned as a small child.

He threw in another rock.  It clattered down the stone steps.  Kevin threw in another and then another, still no response.  Taking his life in his hands, he ducked inside and found his enemy had only been feet away at the top of the stairs.  He was feeling more comfortable now.  He was still the pursuer.  If this was an ambush or if the base was protected, he would be overwhelmed long before this.

At the top of the stairs, Kevin looked into a hall - the central point to the whole base.  What had happened to one lone ship and its pilot?  How many hundreds of personnel had lived here?  Dust in the ship's bay indicated that it had been unoccupied for some time.

Kevin's eyes scanned a full one hundred and eighty degrees swing.  No sign of his alien.  He could have taken any one of the doors leading off the main hall, and looking up, he saw there were tiers.  The hall was multi-levelled.

Drop your pistol!

Kevin had just walked out into the hall, and the warning of the noise behind him came too late.

Now! I mean it.

Kevin's pistol clattered to the floor.

Now turn around.

The alien had come in behind Kevin.  He now realized above the stairs, there was a hidden recess, a hiding place.  Black military uniform with blue markings, dark helmet - at least Kevin didn't feel intimidated.  He was no taller than himself, though the voice was deep enough.  Kevin had never met an armed enemy in the field before though his instructors had often taught him how to react when confronted by the business end of a pistol.  Show no fear, remain calm, and above all, do not be intimidated.  Quickly locate a weakness, and exploit it.  The enemy's helmet deprived Kevin of any advantage.

Are your people such cowards that they have to rely on boys to do battle for them?

This is no battle, pal.  It's a chase.  Our soldiers only come out when they see an enemy worth fighting.

The alien laughed.

Then what am I?

A mouse than can barely squeak.

This mouse has a sting in its tail, and he caught you in its snare.  Have you any last words before I kill you?

Only one.  You're a coward.

And you'll be a corpse.  Why am I a coward?

In space you turned tail and ran.  On an even keel, you refused to pace me.  You do battle by ambush.  No wonder your base is deserted.  Your soldiers have run away from us.

If you could only see our soldiers in battle, and watch the way their blood was shed, their ships destroyed, as they threw themselves in against insurmountable odds.  Seeing the faces of the new pilots in the second, third and fourth wave, knowing they will never come back.  Those magnificent heroes - there are no words that doe justice to their bravery.

Kevin smiled.  He was winning time.

And you?

I . . .

The alien's pistol dropped from his grasp, and collapsed on the floor.  Kevin never knew why he ignored his basic instinct for survival in not retrieving his own pistol and kicking away the alien's.  Instead, he knelt down and lifted up the helmet.  He stared into the face of a boy soldier.  Never before had he seen such a race.  There was blood seeping form the boy's mouth.

Do you have any water?

Kevin removed the water bottle from his belt.

If you have a stomach wound, this will do more harm than good.

It makes no difference now.  I hurt all over.  I have this terrible dryness.  Please.

He gasped after taking three small sips."

That's enough.  You're a good boy.  It's a pity we had to meet as enemies.  We would have made better friends.  How old are you?

Fourteen.  About your age I think.  Am I right?

The boy nodded.  Putting back his water bottle in his belt, Kevin put his arms around the boy's belt and under his legs, and lifted him.

I will get you back to the Ark, they can treat you.  You'll be right.

It's too late.  I'll be dead before I get to your precious Ark.  Somehow I've managed to survive, to escape their net.  I'm the last of my kind, Kevin.  There's no one to mourn me now.  The others are gone.  Hold me.  I don't want to die alone.

The boy closed his eyes.  Kevin saw his name and insignia on his chest.  Tim.  The breathing had stopped.  Kevin felt for a pulse, but found none.  When the tears began to flow, he could not stem them.  He felt the tears as he sank to his knees.

Kevin had no idea how long he knelt there clutching the body.  His sense of time and purpose faded with the sorrow.  He managed to retrieve both pistols.  Tim would be put to rest like a soldier - armed and ready.

He walked out of the hall, down the stairs into the landing bay, and placed the alien boy inside his ship.  At close observation, he could see battle scars on its hull.

No wonder he didn't give battle.  The weapons system has been knocked out.  He was barely able to limp here, and I called him a coward.  I wonder how many of his enemy he killed before they got him?

He remained in Tim's ship, just staring at the body.  At the Space Academy he'd been taught that captured aliens, alive or deceased, were to be brought back to be studied by the scientists.  Kevin wondered who the real enemy was.

Goodbye, Tim.  God speed, friend.

He reached over and touched the boy's forehead, then left the ship.  The air lock opened automatically, and the star fighter lifted off from the asteroid.  He looked back.  It had taken a new prominence.  It now had a face and a name, a personality and a soul.  He saluted one last time and then banked.

Somewhere beyond the asteroid cloud that surrounded him was the Ark.

"Sir.