What Ever it Takes.
Chapter 3.
With the planet Lark only an hour away, Owen ordered everybody to the Auxiliary Bridge. Landing a type thirty two Frigate on the planet surface would take some skill, Owen had done it a few times but it was a long time ago and it was not something done all that often. Once a ship had been built they rarely landed on planets, they spent their operational life in space and shuttles or taxis were used to transport personal to and from the surface.
Owen had spent some time in the simulator practicing, but nothing could be taken for granted. The damage to the hull was another factor, as the ship would be under stress during the landing, just one more thing for Owen to worry about.
Once everybody had gathered on the Auxiliary Bridge, Owen, who was standing in front of the main view screen said, “quite everyone, please.”
“Quite,” called out the Chief in his best Sergeant Major voice.
“Thank you Chief,” said Owen, he paused for a moment and just looked around at everybody, before continuing, “I would just like to thank everybody for the work you have put in learning about the ship and its operating system in the simulators, well done. Soon we will be landing on the planet Lark, now the landing will be an experience for you, the ship will shake and vibrate, there will be a lot of noise as well as some sharp and violent maneuvers. Don’t worry, this is just part of the landing process.”
“Just strap yourselves in and hold on,” said the Chief, in a voice that left no one in doubt about what to do, he then added, “and don’t throw up as you will be the one to clean it up.”
“Thank you Chief,” said Owen, before continuing, “we will be landing on a large land mass in the southern hemisphere in an arid area that is sparsely populated.” Owen looked over at the Chief and continued, “are long range sensors telling us anything yet, Chief?”
“We need to be a bit closer before we can select a landing site but we are getting information about what’s in orbit, there’s a large number of satellites, probably for communications. There is one pointing out into space, it appears to be some sort of telescope so it’s more than likely for studying the stars, we should have no problem avoiding it,” said the Chief.
“I’ll take the helm, Jones, you can take my station,” ordered Owen.
Jones sat in the Captains chair while Owen sat at the helm.
“How’s that feel Jones?” asked Owen.
“Pretty good, Sir,” replied Jones.
Owen took hold of the joy stick and then pressed a button on the panel which disengaged the auto pilot. The planet Lark loomed large on the main view screen as the ship changed course, taking a low approach, heading for the southern hemisphere.
“Any likely landing sites yet chief?” asked Owen.
“Sending you the co ordinates now, Captain,” said the Chief.
“Hold on everyone,” said Owen.
The ship started shaking and vibrating as it entered the atmosphere and then after a few moments it slowed and turned to port. The main viewer showed thick cloud as they continued to lose height till they broke through the cloud cover to see the deep blue of an ocean. The ship continued to loose height as Owen guided it towards the coast line, he leveled out at five hundred meters just as they crossed the coast line.
They continued travelling inland for one hundred and fifty km’s before slowing and started circling.
“There between those to hills,” said the Chief, pointing at the main view screen.
“I see it, Chief,” replied Owen.
The ship turned and descended, hovered for a moment, while the landing struts extended, before continuing to descend, until a loud thud and that was that, the ship was on the ground.
“Shut down engines, Chief,” ordered Owen, he paused for a moment as if he was relieved and then added, “cut power to a minimum.”
“Yes Captain,” replied the Chief.
“Turner, launch two surveillance probes, one each to the top of those hills either side of us,” ordered Owen.
“Yes, Sir,” replied Turner.
“Any guess on the local time,” asked Owen.
“Mid afternoon, Captain,” replied the Chief.
“Chief, Turner, draw some weapons from the armory and recce to the south, Jones and I will do the same to the north. Joe can you monitor those surveillance probes, and Helen can you monitor local radio transmissions. The rest of you, sit tight till we get back,” ordered Owen, before adding, “if you need us you can contact me or the Chief on the radio.”
Owen and Jones headed out in an ark to the North of the ship, while the Chief and Turner did the same to the South, scouting the area for anything that might course them problems. The environment was greener than Owen expected with lots of plant life but not so much as to make walking through it difficult. There was evidence of animal life but Owen and Jones did not see any. On returning to the ship the Chief and Turner reported the same.
Standing under the ship, Owen ordered Jones and Turner back to the Auxiliary Bridge.
“Jones, can you check the surveillance probes, I need to know if there are any people, building or signs that people visit this area” ordered Owen.
“Yes, Sir,” replied Jones as he headed up the ramp back into the ship.
“Turner, can you check our inventory, some of these early type thirty two Frigates use to carry camouflage nets,” Ordered Owen.
“Yes, Sir,” replied Turner, before asking, “what’s a camouflage net?”
Owen looked over at the Chief and smiled as if to say, ‘the young.’
“It’s a devise that when deployed over the ship will prevent us from visual detection,” said Owen.
“On it, Sir,” replied Turner.
Turner hurried of up the ramp into the ship, as Owen and the Chief carried out a visual inspection of the ship. The damage was much as they had expected, they could see a number of hull breaches from the ground, they then climbed up one of the landing struts and onto the ship’s hull. The damage to the panels near the Bridge was extensive with four panels destroyed, there by exposed the Bridge to space.
“They didn’t have a chance,” said Owen.
“They would not have known what hit them,” replied the Chief.
“We better go inside and inspect the Bridge,” said Owen.
They moved toward the rear of the ship inspecting more damaged panels, taking a close look at one of them, the Chief said, “the sealant is just about gone on this panel, its only hours away from failing, we have been lucky.”
“Sometimes, Chief, a bit of luck is the difference between success and failure,” replied Owen.
They both made there was back down to the ground and then into the ship and up to the Bridge. Standing at the Bridge entry Owen looked at the Chief and hesitated for a moment.
I’m not looking forward to this, Chief,” said Owen.
The Chief just acknowledged with a look, before Owen touched the panel next to the hatchway, which then opened. Owen walked through the hatchway followed by the Chief. There was damage everywhere, everything that was not bolted down was gone.
“There is no repairing this, Chief,” said Owen.
“Only the panels, Captain,” replied the Chief.
“Let’s get back to the Auxiliary Bridge and get everyone to work,” said Owen.
“Keep them busy, keep them tired, give them no time to think,” replied the Chief.
“Sounds good to me , Chief,” said Owen.
They made their way down to the Auxiliary Bridge, Owen sat down in the Captains chair and the Chief sat at engineering.
Owen looked around at the crew and passengers, some looked calm but others looked anxious.
“I don’t want to be on this planet any longer than we need to, so we will work outside during daylight hours and inside after dark when able. The sooner we get it done the sooner we can get on our way and back to safety,” said Owen.
The intercom crackled into life, it was Turner, “Sir,” said Turner, who then continued, “I have located a camouflage net, in storage bay two.”
“Good man,” replied Owen, he then continued, “Jones stay here and monitor those surveillance probes, Helen can you continue monitoring local radio transitions. John and Andrew, go to storage bay two and help Turner take the camouflage net outside. The rest of you, follow me, you’re going to learn how to erect a camouflage net.”
Erecting camouflage nets use to course chaos in training, but much to Owens amassment and surprise the whole process went smoothly, which gave him confidence about the forthcoming repairs to the ship. With the ship camouflaged and the sun setting, Owen felt relaxed with their situation and sent everyone to the Mess Hall.
Over the last week, Bill and Joan had taken it upon themselves to be the cooks, it seemed they had an interest in cooking so it was something they enjoyed. Being a military ship, the ingredients to choice from was not extensive but they were making the best of it.
With everyone enjoying their meal Owen outlined the duty roster and jobs for the next day.
“Chief, John and Andrew can you start removing the damaged hull panels, and Turner, Joe and Grant, can you start removing replacement panels, the Chief will show you from where,” ordered Owen, he looked around at everyone and then continued, “Jones, I want you on the Auxiliary Bridge to monitor the surveillance probes, Helen, can you continue monitoring local radio transitions.”
“What about us, Captain?” asked Bill.
“You and Joan can relieve Jones and Helen as well as man Sick Bay, as and when required,” ordered Owen.
Now that they were on the surface of the planet, the stress level on the ship had dropped and everyone seemed at peace.
The sun came up the next morning, starting the first full day for the crew and passengers on the planet Lark. Without Owen having to push them, everybody when straight to work after breakfast, the Chief, John and Andrew were busy removing what was left of the panels near the bridge, while Turner, Joe and Grant, were deep into removing a panel from one of the cabins. Jones and Helen were monitoring things on the Auxiliary Bridge, while Bill and Joan were cleaning up after breakfast.
For the first time since taking over command of the Artemis, Owen had nothing pressing to deal with, he was able to sit back and take stock. Things were not great, they were on a planet that they did not have any up to date info on, they were a long way from home and a long way from safety. There was an unknown Alien out there who were not very friendly, he had a crew of people with no experience and a ship in bits. But it was a nice day and they were safe for now, so why not enjoy it.
By the end of the day, one panel had been replaced and two panels had been removed, which was good progress. At that rate it would take another five or six days before the ship would be fully operational. Everyone was in good spirits, even John was not complaining about having to work, in fact he seemed to be enjoying himself.
While having dinner that night Helen said to Owen, “there is something odd about the radio transmissions.”
“Odd, in what way?” asked Owen.
“They play music and read the news but I have yet to hear a male voice,” said Helen.
“May be men are not allowed to talk on the radio for some cultural reason, who knows,” replied Owen.
“But even in their news reports, they never mention men,” said Helen.
“This planet broke away over two hundred years ago so there is bound to be differences, maybe it’s a female dominated society,” replied Owen.
“I guess, it could be anything,” said Helen.
“As long as they don’t talk about UFO’s or strange things out in the desert,” replied Owen.
The next day dawned fine and sunny with everyone getting back at removing damaged panels and replacing them with panels from inside the ship.
Owen was on the Auxiliary Bridge, Jones was monitoring the surveillance probes while Helen was listening to the radio signals when Jones said, “Sir, we just lost one of the surveillance probes.”
“Recall it,” ordered Owen.
“It’s not responding, Sir,” replied Jones.
“How far away is it?” asked Owen.
“Two km’s, Sir,” replied Jones.
Owen activated the intercom and said, “Chief,”
“Yes, Captain,” came the reply from the Chief.
“Can you spare John and Andrew for a while?” asked Owen.
“Yes, Captain,” replied the Chief, he then continued, “we can’t do anything further until we get more panels.”
“Send them up to me and can you help Turner’s team, removing panels?” said Owen.
“Yes, Captain,” replied the Chief.
It took a few minutes but eventually John and Andrew appeared on the Auxiliary Bridge. Owen had come across many like John during his time in the military, the joker in the group, often disrespectful and difficult to deal with. But for the most part they tended to be the type who, when things get bad, could be relied on. Owen was not sure about John yet, but Andrew, when away from the influence of John was reliable and trustworthy.
“Reporting as ordered, Sir,” said John, in his usual non military manner.
“I need you two to go to the top of the hill to our south, find the surveillance probe, and repair it, you can locate it with this,” ordered Owen as he handed Andrew a radio, he then added, “don’t use the radio unless it’s important, we need to keep a low tech profile.”
“What wrong with the probe?” asked Andrew.
“It has stopped transmitting and it won’t recall,” replied Owen.
“Why not just send out a new one,” asked John.
“Two problems with that, John, one, we can’t while the camouflage het is deployed and two, I don’t want to leave our technology on this planet after we leave.”
“You can rely on us,” said Andrew, as John looked at Andrew with distain, but said nothing.
“If you can’t repair it’s surveillance capability try to repair it’s recall function. Draw some weapons from the armory, we don’t know what type of wild life is out there but only use them in self defense. We are on a planet that we don’t know a lot about, so be careful and don’t take any risks,” ordered Owen, while looking at John.
John and Andrew made their way off the Auxiliary Bridge, while Jones looked over at Owen and reported, “nothing unusual from the remaining surveillance probe, Sir.”
“Thank you, Jones,” replied Owen.
“Helen,” said Owen, as he looked over at Helen, “can you track John and Andrew via their radio and let me know if,” Owen paused for a few moments before continuing with, “just keep an eye on them.”
Owen stood up and walked towards the hatchway as he said, “I’ll be with the Chief if you need me.”
Owen made his way to where the Chief, Turner, Joe and Grant were working on removing internal panels. Depending on the panel and its location, it took anything from a few hours to a day to remove one panel. Refitting took a bit longer but the work was progressing well with two panels replaced. A third panel was just about to be removed.
“Captain, if John and Andrew are going to be away much longer, can I move this team onto installing this panel,” asked the Chief.
“Yes, Chief, they might be away for a while,” replied Owen.
“This panel is ready for removal, Chief,” said Turner.
“Do you need a hand,” asked Owen.
“Many hands make light work, Captain,” replied the Chief.
The panel needed manhandling out of it location and along a passageway to the other side of the ship, through a hatchway that was only just big enough. It then had to be fitted into an opening in the outer hull where a damaged panel had been removed. The panel was made from an alloy that was very strong but also very light so it was not that hard to manhandle through the ship. Once in location the panel needed to be sealed and bolted in place, this was the part of the process that took the time.
The intercom crackled into life, it was Helen, who said, “Owen, I’m concerned about John and Andrew, they have not moved for some time.”
Owen activated the intercom and replied, “They are probably working on the probe.”
“They haven’t got to it yet,” said Helen.
“I’ll be right up,” said Owen.
Owen rushed back to the Auxiliary Bridge as quickly as he could and as soon as he got there he asked Helen to try and contact them.
“Andrew, John, please report you location,” said Helen over the radio, she waited for a response and then said it again.
After a few moments, John answered, “reporting save.”
“What is your situation?” asked Helen.
“Do you want the good news or the bad news,” came the reply, John’s voice sounded anxious.
Helen, who was sitting at the communications station with Owen standing next to her, replied, “please report.”
Owen then took over and ordered, “John report your situation.”
“The good news is that we are save and I don’t think we are in danger, but the bad news, is that we have made contact with some locals,” reported John.
“Are you prisoners,” asked Owen.
“Yes and no,” replied John.
“Have you communicated with them,” asked Owen.
“Yes, we told them that we were studying wild life, but they didn’t buy it,” replied John.
“Have you tried moving away?” asked Owen.
“They move, when we move,” replied John.
“Are they armed?” asked Owen.
“Only with farm implements,” replied John.
“Captain, Andrew here, they are all women and they seemed shocked to see us, I mean, us as in men,” said Andrew.
“Hold your position, defend yourselves if necessary, I’m on my way,” ordered Owen, he cut off communications and looked at Helen and added, “your with me.”
Owen activated the intercom and ordered, “Chief, I need you up here at once, I’m leaving the ship for a while, you are in command until I get back, Jones will fill you in when you get up here, and Chief, if I don’t come back, get the ship home, good luck.”
Owen and Helen rushed off the ship and using their radio they followed a signal that homed in on John and Andrew’s radio. They made their way through the scrubby bush, it was not hard to walk through, but it was thick enough to prevent then seeing all that far ahead. The hill was a gentle gradient but hard on the legs as it was relentless and just went on and on. It didn’t take all that long to get to John and Andrew’s location. They found them sitting on the ground in a small clearing, with a group of women standing a small distance away. There were about six younger women ranging from their late teens to their late twenty’s, plus one older woman.
As Owen and Helen walked over to John and Andrew, Andrew said, “that older women just arrived and she seems to be in charge.”
Owen stood between John, Andrew and Helen and said, “I am Captain Owen Mathews, of the Home World war ship Artemis, we have no hostile intent, we are here in peace, we will not harm you in any way. Our ship is damaged and we had hoped to repair it and leave without you ever knowing we were here.”
The older woman, may be in her late forty’s or early fifty’s, who seemed to be their leader asked, and it seemed like the question was directed at Helen, “are they yours?”
Helen, not quite knowing what she meant, replied, “I’m sorry I don’t understand.”
“Are you a traveling stud?” asked the older woman.
Helen looked at Owen, not knowing what to say, he then said, “I’m sorry we don’t understand, he then repeated himself, “I am Captain Owen Mathews, of the Home World war ship Artemis, we have no hostile intent, we are here in peace, we will not harm you in any way. Our ship is damaged and we are repairing it and will leave as soon as we can.”
Two more women approached along a track from behind the others, one very old may be eighty or so, with the second woman helping her walk, the two walked past the others and stood within touching distance of Owen. She looked at Owen and smiled and then said, “you know, I never thought I would see something like you ever again, it must be fifty years since I last saw a man in the flesh.”
Owen looked puzzled and did not know how to answer her.
“Look girls, this is a prime example of masculinity, if I was only thirty years younger, and look there’s two young ones, you’ve made an old woman very happy,” said the old lady.
Owen repeated himself again, “I am Captain Owen Mathews, of the Home World war ship Artemis.”
The old lady stopped him there, saying, “oh the masculinity is oozing out of him,” she closed her eyes as if she was remembering a different time, she then continued, “I am Heather Gardener, pleased to meet you, Sir.”
She put her hand out and Owen shook hands with her, which coursed a gasp from all the other women.
“Did I hear you say, home world?” asked Heather.
“Yes,” replied Owen.
Heather turned to face the other women and said, “these are off worlder’s, how many time have I told you all, that there is no such thing as, traveling studs, they are an invention of romance writers.”
She turned around and said to Owen, “I’m going over there to sit on that log, come with me,” she walked with the help of the women by her side towards a large log a short distance away. Helen, John and Andrew stayed where they were as did the group of women.
“Come with us, Marry,” said Heather, to the older women in the group, she then continued, “this is my daughter, Marry, she is the leader of our family, and this,” referring to the women helping her walk, “is my other daughter, Melisa.”
They all walked over to a large log and sat down, Owen sat next to Heather, with Melisa next to her and Marry, somewhat reluctantly sat next to Melisa.
“Well Marry, you want to say something,” said Heather.
“You say you will not do us any hard,” said Marry.
“We have no hostile intent, we will be leaving in four to five days and you will not know we were ever here, we can never meet again if you wish, but we do ask that you don’t tell your government about us, as it would coarse problems for us,” replied Owen.
“You have no idea what would happen,” said Marry.
“Marry,” said Heather, she then continued, “I will explain, the male birth rate on this planet has been dropping for over a hundred years to the point where, I think the current rate is about one in five hundred thousand. There are only around five hundred men on this planet.”
“Do you know what’s coursing it,” asked Owen.
“Our scientists are at a lost to understand it,” replied Marry.
“All the men on this planet are basically imprisoned by our Government and their genetic material is farmed out by our health service but as the male population goes down the less genetic material there is to go around,” said Heather.
“When you say imprisoned, do you mean locked up,” asked Owen.
“Yes, we’re told that they are well looked after, but other than on big occasions, State function and the like, their never seen,” said Marry.
“Marry and Melisa are one of the few children conceived by the natural method, my husband was taken away not long after and I never saw him again,” said Heather, she then added, “these girls will probably never have children.”
“Well, ladies, it’s been interesting meeting you, but we need to push on, get our ship repaired and get back on our way,” said Owen.
“Would you or some of your people be prepared to help us out?” asked Marry.
“If we can, what do you need?” asked Owen.
“Babies,” said Heather, she paused for a moment, looking at Owen and then continued, “they want you to have sex with them, they want to make babies.”
Owen did not know what to say at first but, after a moment’s thought, he said, “I am in a relationship with Helen, over there, so I am not interested in your suggestion. But there are seven other men in my crew, one I expect will not be interested but the others, well I can’t speak for them, having said that, I would not be surprised if they were interested.”
“That would be good,” said Marry.
“Just to clarify, is their saying, “yes,” dependent on you not telling your Government about us?” asked Owen.
“Yes,” said Marry.
“No, No,” said Heather, as she glared at Marry, she then continued, “we will not tell our Government.”
“I see, now if some of my crew were to agree, where would?” asked Owen, he paused before continuing, “this happen,” he paused again and then added, “as we scanned the area before we landed and there are no building nearby.”
“Our home is some distance away, we are camped at the base of the hill, over the other side, we come here each year to pick fruit that grows on this hill,” said Marry.
“I will just consult with John and Andrew,” said Owen.
Owen stood up and walked over to John, Andrew and Helen.
“OK, this is going to sound a bit weird,” said Owen, he paused as he tried to find the words, then after a moment he continued, “this is a world of women, according to them, there is only a few hundred men on the planet, arr, not to put to finer point on it, they want babies and their asking if we will help with that.”
“They want us to,” said John, but before he could continue, Owen interrupted with, “yes that is exactly what they want, John.”
“Count me in,” said John.
“Why am I not surprised by that,” replied Owen, before continuing, Andrew, how do you feel about spending the night with the ladies?”
“Well,” said Andrew, but Owen broke in and added, “they didn’t say as much, but the implication is that if we don’t, they will tell their Government about us.”
“Well if it’s for the safety of the ship, I will agree,” replied Andrew.
Owen looked over at Helen and said, “I’ve already told them that I am not interested.”
Owen walked back to where Heather, Melisa and Marry were sitting on an old log, thinking about the implications of what he was about to do. In all his years in the military, all the command decisions he had made over the years, there were none like this. All the others were straight forward, he had trained for them and they were second nature, but not this, this was different, he hesitated for a moment. He weighed up his options, he could kill all these women, he could surrender to planet Lark’s Government, he could attempt to hold these women as prisoners until they leave or he could ask his men to spend the night with beautiful women. In the end the decision was not that hard.
“Ladies, John and Andrew are prepared to spend the night at your camp, but I need a guarantee of their safety and wellbeing, a guarantee that they will come to no harm,” said Owen.
“Off course you have a guarantee,” replied Heather.
“Thank you, but it’s not your guarantee I need,” said Owen as he stood in front of Marry.
“You have my guarantee as well,” said Marry.
“Shake on it,” said Owen as he put his hand out towards Marry, she hesitated but eventually took his hand. Shaking Owens hand had an effect on Marry, she looked over at Heather who smiled back at her.
“Heather, Melisa, I would like to extend an invitation to you to spend the night on our ship, indulge in our hospitality, meet my crew, I bet you have never seen a war ship before let alone been inside one, how about it?” asked Owen.
With the help of Melisa, Heather stood up and said, “we would be delighted,” she turned to look at Marry, she smiled at her, it was a smile that told her, that all would be well. Heather new the reason for the invitation and understood it, but had no reservations, in fact she liked the idea.
Owen turned back to Marry and said, “I will talk to the other men in my crew and if they agree, they will visit your camp at sun down tomorrow. I have Doctors in my crew, do you require any medical care? I will arrange for Heather and Melisa to be escorted back to your camp tomorrow morning.”
“Thank you, some medical care would be appreciated,” replied Marry.
Owen waved to John and Andrew and called out, “you two, over here,” they walked the small distance over and said, “yes, Sir.”
“This is John,” said Owen, John put his hand out and Marry shock it without hesitation, Owen then continued, “and this is Andrew,” who also shock Marry by the hand.
“This is Marry, she is the leader of this group, you will be spending the night at their camp. At sun up tomorrow I want you at the top of this hill fixing the surveillance probe, after that I want you back at the ship helping with repairs, ordered Owen, he paused for a moment and the added, “good luck.”
They both said, “yes, Sir.”
“I leave them in your hands, Marry,” said Owen, he then asked, do you have dangerous animals around here?”
“No,” replied Marry.
“John, Andrew, you want need those weapons,” ordered Owen.
John and Andrew handed Owen their weapons, in John’s case with a bit of reluctance.
Owen did not entirely trust Marry but with Heather and Melisa staying the night on board ship he felt relaxed about things.
Owen introduced Heather and Melisa to Helen as they walked back to the ship, it was a slow walk back as Heather was not young. They talked as they walked with Helen gaining some insights into life on this planet.
They arrived back at the ship just on sun down and were welcomed by the Chief.
“Good to see you back, Captain,” said the Chief, looking at the group he then asked, “where are John and Andrew?”
“Their save,” replied Owen, he then added, “this is Heather and Melisa, can you organize a cabin for them and then escort them to the Mess Hall, and Chief muster everyone to the Mess Hall.”
While the Chief, showed Heather and Melisa their cabins and then escorted them to the Mess Hall, Owen and Helen made their way to the Auxiliary Bridge.
On entering the Auxiliary Bridge, Owen called out, “Jones report.”
“Jones is on a rest period,” replied Joe.
“Joe, report,” said Owen.
“Nothing to report from the surveillance probe, nothing unusual on the radio.” Replied Joe.
“What about repairs?” asked Owen.
“We have fully installed one panel today and made a start on removing another,” replied Joe.
“How long have you been on duty here?” asked Owen.
“Two hours,” replied Joe.
“Stay here on duty, we am going to the Mess Hall and I will be briefing the crew from there, so keep the intercom on,” ordered Owen, and as he was leaving he added, “keep a close eye on the sensors for any sort of movement.”
Owen and Helen made his way to the mess hall, where he found everyone enjoying their evening meal, he sat down at the head of the table. Joan came out of the kitchen and placed a meals in front of Owen and Helen, “thanks Joan,” said Owen. She then went back to the kitchen and returned with Bill, carrying their meals, everyone was now sitting at the table.
“I would just like to welcome Heather and Melisa to our ship, I hope you enjoy your stay. They will be staying the night with us and will head back to their camp on the other side of the hill to our south tomorrow, said Owen.
“Welcome to our ship, your very welcome,” said Joan.
Everybody said, “welcome.”
“Now Heather has asked for some help,” said Owen, he paused, looking for the right words, and then continued, “we are on a female dominated planet and they have asked,” but he was interrupted before he could say more, by Helen.
“Men are in short supply on this planet and we, or more accurately, the men are being asked to help with the production of babies,” said Helen.
“How does everyone feel about this?” asked Owen.
“Do you mean they want us to have sex with them?” asked the Chief.
“Yes,” replied Owen.
“I would not be interested,” said Bill, while holding Joan’s hand.
Owen looked at Grant, “I don’t think so,” said Grant, while shaking his head.
“Jones,” said Owen, “I’ve never turn down hard duty, Sir, so for the good of the ship I will take this duty,” replied Jones with a tongue firmly planted in his cheek.”
“Turner,” said Owen, “Yes, Sir, I will comply,” replied Turner.
“How about you Chief?” asked Owen.
“In all my years of service in the military, this takes the biscuit, I have never been ask to perform this sort of duty, but I will if required,” replied the Chief.
“Helen, Joan, Joe do you want to add anything?” asked Owen.
Helen and Joan both shook their heads and the intercom crackled with Joe saying, “I have nothing to add.”
“I would just like to thank you all for your help, it makes an old woman very happy,” said Heather.
“Now that our presence on this planet has been found out, we need to speed up the repairs, Helen, I need you to man the Auxiliary Bridge from sun up till Bill and Joan get back,” ordered Owen.
“Where are we going,” asked Bill.
“Bill and Joan, in the morning can you go with Heather and Melisa to their camp and give any medical help that may be needed to Heathers group, but get back as soon as you can and then help man the Auxiliary Bridge, one of you needs to be on duty at all times, keeping a close eye on the sensors,” ordered Owen.
“No one from my group will inform on you to our Government,” said Heather.
“Thank you for that Heather, but we can’t take that as read, it would only take one, so we need to proceed under that assumption. Everyone is going to have to work twice as hard from now on, we need to get of this planet, there is no way I am going to end my days as some sort of stud,” said Owen.
“You heard what the officer said, as soon as you finish your meal I want, Jones, Turner and Joe with me, we’ll get back to removing that panel, Bill and Joan, you can join us once you finish cleaning up after the meal,” ordered the Chief.
“Helen, can you take our guesses up to the Auxiliary Bridge for a tour before bed,” said Owen, before adding, “Joe, I will relieve you in a few moments so you can help the Chief.”
Heather looked over at Owen and said, “you have no idea what it’s like to be here, I never thought in my wildest dreams that I would see a real male in full flight ever again in my life time.”
“It’s been my pleasure,” replied Owen, he then looked at Helen and added, “I’ll see you on the Auxiliary Bridge soon.”
Helen nodded in acknowledgment as Owen left the Mess Hall, once on the Auxiliary Bridge, Owen relieved Joe and then checked the sensors. He sat in the Captains chair and collected his thoughts for a few moments before Helen arrived with Heather and Melisa. Owen gave them a quick tour around the Auxiliary Bridge, even though they did not understand any of it.
“In case I don’t see you again, Heather, Melisa, I wish you well and I hope you have a happy life,” said Owen, while taking Heather by the hand, he then added, “good bye.”
“You have made an old women very happy, good bye,” replied Heather
Helen took Heather and Melisa to their cabin and then returned to the Auxiliary Bridge.
“I might not see much of you over the next few days as I will be working this crew into the ground, we have to get of this planet,” said Owen.
“I know, but if you don’t get enough rest, you might start making mistakes,” replied Helen.
“Your right,” said Owen.
The next morning, Heather, Melisa, Joan and Bill made their way to Heather’s camp. Around mid morning, John and Andrew returned from the women camp, having first repaired the surveillance probe, followed not long after by Joan and Bill.
They were all quickly put to work repairing the ship but not before being questioned by Owen about the women camp. How many women were there, what was their level of technology and what each person thought of them? There answers made Owen feel a bit more relaxed but he still pushed the crew to finish the repairs.
That afternoon Jones, Turner, John and Andrew headed to the women camp for the night, they returned the next morning, which set the pattern for the next few days.
Over the next days, Owen worked the crew to exhaustion, by the third day they were all just, on auto pilot, but the job was done. The ship was ready for space, all operational and ready to go. Owen ordered the camouflage net to be removed and the ship made ready for lift of.
Sitting in the Captains chair, Owen thumbed through the flight manual, trying to remember the process for lift off.
Helen came onto the Auxiliary Bridge and stood next to Owen and said, “not long now.”
“The trip to Port Aga should allow us some time together,” said Owen.
“I know,” replied Helen, before continuing, “you know some of the crew don’t want to leave this planet.”
“John, Andrew, Jones and Turner,” said Owen.
“They have formed attachments,” replied Helen.
“They have no option, they just can’t stay and they know it,” said Owen.
“They know,” replied Helen.
Everybody slowly came onto the Auxiliary Bridge and took up their positions, Jones at the helm, Turner at navigation, Grant on weapons, Helen on communications, Andrew on sensors, Joe on shields, Chief at Engineering and with Bill and Joan in Sick Bay.
“Chief, recall the surveillance probes, let me know when they are on board,” ordered Owen.
“Jones, are you confident about lift of?” asked Owen.
“Yes, Sir,” replied Jones.
“Chief, start power up sequence, everyone strap in,” ordered Owen.
“Captain, John is not in position,” said the Chief.
“Hold that order, has anyone seen John?” asked Owen.
“He went to the women camp to say good bye early this morning,” replied Andrew.
“Power down, Chief, Jones, Turner, draw some weapons from the armory and meet me at the rear exit hatchway,” ordered Owed, as Jones and Turner hurried of the Auxiliary Bridge.
“Surveillance probes are back on board, Captain, why not leave him here, Captain?” asked the Chief.
“I wish I could, but I have a responsibility for these people, even donkeys like John,” said Owen.
“Everybody stay put until I get back,” ordered Owen.
Owen got to the rear exit hatchway and was soon joined by Jones and Turner, Owen touch the panel next to the hatchway and it started to open. But before they could exit they saw John running towards the ship, he waved and then ran up the ramp, through the hatchway onto the ship.
“I’ll talk to you later, mister,” said Owen, he then added to Jones and Turner, “put those weapons away and get back to the Auxiliary Bridge, John, your with me.”
Owen touched the panel next to the exit hatchway and it started to close.
“Come on let’s get to the Auxiliary Bridge,” ordered Owen.
“Captain,” said John, he paused for a moment before continuing, “I wanted to stay.”
“Why didn’t you?” asked Owen.
“The women made me see sense and they told me what would happen if I was found by their Government and I didn’t like the sound of that,” replied John.
With everybody in their positions on the Auxiliary Bridge Owen ordered the Chief to start the power up sequence.
“All systems are showing green, Captain,” said the Chief.
“When you’re ready, Jones,” ordered Owen.
The ship lifted off and slowly gained height, “retract the landing struts,” ordered Owen.
The ship banked hard to starboard and took up a heading South, staying low and gaining speed, the ship soon crossed the coast on course for the planets South pole. Continuing to gain speed, it didn’t take long before the ship crossed the icy coast of the Southern land mass. With a surge of power, Jones lifted the ships nose, it gained high and speed and then as it left the atmosphere, there was a few seconds of weightlessness before the artificial gravity activated.
“I have already programmed the coordinates to Port Aga,” ordered Owen, he then added, “once on course, Jones, you can put the ship on auto pilot.”
“What speed, Sir,” asked Jones.
“M8.5, shields on minimum,” replied Owen.
It would take the Artemis five days at that speed to get to the military base, Port Aga and safety.
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