Pleas to the Pleiades
Chapter 11: THE DEPTHS OF DIPHDA & THE HORNS OF HAMAL

Jimmie was excited. “Let’s go fishing, guys! We’re approaching the watery planets of the Whale’s Tail! Diphda – Deneb Kaitos. Looks like at least one of the planets has oxygen. Yeah.”

They all got into the Brave Brat, leaving the larger ship in orbit. They electrostatically descended vertically, landed on the oceans of a planet of Deneb Kaitos, and the smaller ship became like a boat. It had been designed from the beginning to have positive flotation as well as a natural glide path. Jimmie, Osha, and Candor exited the craft, enjoying the gravity, sat on the external deck of their ship, prepared their rods and reels, and began fishing in the usual way. Nothing happened for a long time. The waves of the ocean were gentle, and the ship quietly rocked in their rhythm.

Khlilia called from inside the kitchen, “You boys catching any fish for dinner yet?”

Candor grew impatient with the rods and reels. “I am tired of what you Earthlings call fishing. Let me show you how it is done.”

He stripped off his suit, and dove deep into the water.

“He can breathe underwater here?” Osha asked.

“He doesn’t need as much oxygen as we do. He can stay underwater for hours.”

“I’d like to go swimming.”

“Better not, not until we get reports about what’s down there.”

Candor finally surfaced, feathers dripping, struggling with a huge monstrous fish bigger than he was. It was a kind of tuna that looked more dangerous. He bit off its sharp-toothed head and consumed it whole. He brought the still slightly wriggling fish near the floating spacecraft, and immediately cut it into filets, throwing them onto the deck. Then he dove again and brought up another one that was even bigger.

Khlilia was happy. “Fresh filets of whatever, looks like tuna, coming up.”

Jimmie said to Osha, “See? I don’t think any of us humans could defend ourselves very well against the sea creatures here.”

The crew enjoyed their fish dinner, and then packed fish filets into their freezer, and pumped water into their tanks. Their spacecraft bobbed on the lapping waves.

Candor had more to say. “A surprise. I found a few of these. All of these sea foods check out as edible for you, my dear pets.”

He pulled out a few huge mollusks, and pried open their shells with his claws.

Khlilia was amazed. “Wow! Those are the biggest oysters I have ever seen!”

“Tasty, too!” approved Osha as they all were eating oysters, or abalone, the size of restaurant tables. “I’d like to stay longer here and explore the seas. Prince, no islands here, no land of any kind?”

The Prince of Candor replied, “Not yet. Not enough tectonic activity to raise volcanoes or other mountains. And … we do not want to stay here long. This is a very dangerous planet, even for me.”

“Wish we could find an island,” answered Osha.

“Wish we could find a green-forested but uninhabited planet,” said Khlilia.

“That would be nice,” said Jimmie.

Candor said, “They’re about all taken. Very few if any of those are left.”

Jimmie wiped his lips with a cloth. “You guys ready to head for Alpheratz?”

Osha was incredulous. “The Mane of Pegasus, or Hair of Andromeda? Sure … ? A hundred light years?”

Candor smiled slyly, “Jimmie and I have developed the real warp engine. It harnesses gravitation from any chosen point.”

As they prepared to lift and go back to the main ship, something began to make the Brave Brat rock hard, throwing its crew to one side. Food and utensils were thrown about.

Jimmie shouted, “Prepare to launch!”

“Batten down the hatches!” Candor hissed.

They closed the main transparent hatch, just as tentacles as big as redwood trees emerged from the water and wrapped around the craft. Khlilia screamed. A huge eye looked in on them hungrily.

Jimmie put the Brave Brat into rapid liftoff, taking the squid-like creature with them. As they rapidly ascended into thinner and thinner air, finally the monster’s eyes popped out from decompression, its body swelled up and began to splatter the outside of the Brat with its blood. Finally, it sloughed off from the spacecraft and fell back into the water.

“Too bad. I really wanted to take the ship underwater and survey the marine biology, but maybe it would have been too dangerous.” Jimmie was proud of their escape. “Close call, eh? Glad we didn’t go swimming, Osha? Alright, so now we have three propulsion systems. And a rocking interstellar band.”

Music ensued, Jimmie on guitar, Khlilia on synthesizer, Osha on bass, and Candor on drums, with his incredible hypnotizing vocals. But all of them sang a song about the Brave Brat and their adventures upon it. It was four descending chords of hard rock with Jimmie using a new type of wah-wah pedal he had built, making his guitar sound like a muted trumpet. Candor’s feet enabled him to play two kick drums and two high-hats all at the same time, with his rolls on the toms and snare done by hand. Then there were interludes of Khlilia’s orchestral synthesizer. It was a bit similar to the classic Cream songs “Tales of Brave Ulysses” and “White Room.”

After a short while, for the new gravitation-lens drive gave them very fast conveyance, Khlilia viewed Sharatan. “Ah, look as we pass Sharatan, The Second Ram’s Horn!”

Osha was becoming bored with space. “Like its relatively nearby but brighter neighbor Hamal, said to have a planet or two, supporting primitive life forms only. In general, a blue-white star emits radiation that is just too intense to support life. But we’ve gone forty-four light-years already? I’ve heard about playing music and losing track of time, but …”

Candor knew what was ahead, though. It was as if he had already been everywhere. “Let’s head to Hamal. I’m hungry again. And you folks are too good at music to eat. Hamal, The Ram’s Horn, alpha Arietis.”

Jimmie said, “Setting course.”

Candor continued, “Although also unlikely to support intelligent life because of its variability, the system is inhabited by fierce horned fantastic beasts, mammal and reptile. I am hungry for their meat. Let’s land in the larger spacecraft. The Brat is too small for the creatures down there. Besides, we need to stock up the main freezers with a lot of food.”

The spacecraft landed on a wild and desolate planet with deserts, mountains, and patches of wild jungle under a shimmering orange-tangerine sun’s light. Strange incredible horned beasts prowled about and hunted each other in the sweltering heat, many of them much larger than the Brave Brat.

“I’m not going out there,” said Khlilia as she folded her arms in refusal.

“It does look rather dangerous,” Jimmie agreed.

Candor did not care. “You can all stay here in safety while Jimmie and I go hunting.”

Candor and Jimmie went out and hunted.

Not far away were forests of deep golden-yellow trees. Hamal’s planet, under its tangerine-orange star, had vegetation of a chartreuse and gold colour – not a sign of unhealthy vegetation there. Magnesium was oriented differently in the chlorophyll molecule there, to respond to the more red-edged spectrum of orange.

The sky, like that of Diphda’s planet, was more purplish than that of Earth or Mars. Again, this was because of the shift in the colour wheel of the cosmos.

Jimmie Memnon and the Prince of Candor, hunters, boldly breathed the air of the new planet’s breezes.

“Good and fresh air here, Candor,” Jimmie said. “You’ve been here before too.”

“Jimmie, I created the animals on these planets. That does not mean I can really control them. It’s going to be a dangerous happy hunting ground for us. Let’s prepare our weapons. It will be a test of your abilities as a hunter.”

Jimmie gulped. On a completely unfamiliar planet, he felt like a trained and well-fed dog of a generous and noble hunter. He still liked Candor, and even had to admit that he felt like his favourite hunting dog who was about to eagerly prove himself, but he still bristled a bit about being his pet.

He gulped the good air. He and Candor unloaded their weapons on the broad plain under blue-violet skies, not far from the deep chartreuse-gold forests. The bronze leaves of the trees rustled in the breeze.

“First thing we do, is cut wood,” said Candor. “Jimmie, here’s a special saw I built from your alpha-fission device. I am sure you will find it serviceable for cutting wood.”

Jimmie and Candor made for the glimmering bronze forest edge, and began to fell dead trees for firewood, and living trunks of big trees for a small protective wooden fortress around their huge parked spacecraft. Not large, the fortress, but it was still something of safety. Old logs like the old days.

“We, especially you, can retreat into this small fortress, if we become chased by any of these behemoth creatures, that I have created, but who have rebelled against me. I am sure we will encounter them, and we will eat them.”

Sure enough, a huge, size of a tank, bear-like creature with six wooly legs ambled up, sniffing that Hamalian air. Surely, there was an entirely new smell there for this bear.

The six-legged bronto-bear bared its long, long saber-long teeth.

“Jimmie, guard and cover me with this alpha-beam weapon while I put this bear out of business.” Candor handed Memnon the alpha-fission gun.

Candor boldly approached the bear and bowed, but the six-legged saber-toothed grizzly bear was not welcoming. The two lunged at each other and wrestled tooth and claw. Candor caught the creature’s gaze, and drew it under into deep hypnosis.

Then the Prince of Candor bit open the huge bear’s throat, then skinned and stripped off its hide, and threw the hide into the fortress corral. Then he chewed out its liver, gall bladder, and heart, along with a few steaks, and threw those into the corral also.

Another six-legged saber-toothed grizzly came up upon Candor, and Jimmie fired alpha-fission into its head and neck, bringing the second bear to death.

Candor said, in his echoing great voice, “Thank you, Jimmie. Now let’s go get more meat.”

The two hunters threw their meat into their corral, where it was gathered up, much to Khlilia’s disgust at the blood.

They then ventured along the edge of the golden forest, digging up huge yams, ginseng-like roots, and gathering mint-like leaves, putting them in piles near the corral that surrounded their Big Spinner spacecraft.

Large elk-like creatures and other horned grazing animals approached the piles, attracted. Jimmie and Candor had taken sprigs of the mint-like plants and rubbed them on themselves to disguise their other-worldly scents.

Candor went out courageously and wrestled a huge elk to the ground, mortally severing its carotids, blood spurting, and then cut up the carcass into the usual pieces, after sucking out the vital parts.

Jimmie, meanwhile, shot two more elk with his alpha-weapon. Candor ripped them up as well. Sᴇaʀch Thᴇ ꜰindNʘvel.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Other very fierce creatures began to surround them. Our two hunters tossed their meat and skins into the corral surrounding the Big Spinner spacecraft. Then they leapt inside themselves, as the fierce creatures attacked. Quickly, Jimmie and Candor loaded their meat and trophies into the spacecraft, as Khlilia and Osha looked on in horror.

They took off in the Big Spinner, as the animals, fighting among each other, destroyed the former corral.

Jimmie gasped in relief. “Another wild planet. Candor, did I do alright?”

“You di fine, Jimmie. We will eat well.”

But Khlilia nearly fainted at the sight of the blood carcasses. “Must have been quite a hunt. We saw some of it through our binoculars. I’m not hungry for this though.”

Osha said, “Hey, I’ll bet you’ll some o’ them huge yams and that there spinach or whatever it is.”

Khlilia busied herself washing and cutting vegetables, while Osha cleaned and froze most of the meat.

Our crew landed in another place on the same planet, and Candor made a big fire. Candor had bloodily killed and tasted several large exotic animals, then selected and cut meat from them. He made barbecue, which he then brought back into the spacecraft and shared.

Osha was really pleased. “Tasty, this meat from that there giant elk or whatever. Thank you, Prince Candor. You are a noble person. These huge yams ain’t too bad neither.”

Candor was in a good mood too. “Let’s play dinosaur rock music as we head for Alpheratz. Our freezer is loaded with meat and fish, as well as seaweeds and vegetables. We will eat well.”

Jimmie was in an absolutely exultant mood. “Candor, we should open a restaurant someday. Exotic meat and seafood can be a profitable specialty.”

“Right, Jimmie, my favorite pet, we can go back to Mars, and with the platinum and gold we have generated, buy the Mars Hotel and its restaurant. I have always needed a human partner, a front man, for no one will do business with a reptile like me. My cousins have earned us a bad and draconic reputation.”

“Too bad we can’t take live breeding stock of these oysters, fish, and meat animals with us back to our planned restaurant project. I suppose we can try growing the yams.”

“Jimmie, my pet, I have DNA samples of all of them. I’ll be able to raise them in my laboratories. Just as interesting, our recordings are already hitting the SoundCloud and ReverbNation independent radio stations on Earth and in other star systems. We’re not exactly drawing real money yet, but we have thousands of listeners, soon to become millions, in at least five star systems. Our reputation precedes us, wherever we go.”

The group played more music, recording it all, with video too, as the system of Alpheratz came into view.

Jimmie said, “I’m tired of voyaging, and I think Khlilia and Osha are too. Candor, you tire not like we do. It appears that Alpheratz itself is neighboured by suns such as our own. Let’s take some time to relax if we can, go swimming, breathe real air, eat well, and walk about a bit.”

Osha added, “And that is where we might find intelligent life.”

“Alright, my pets,” said Candor. “But first, I have something for you. For you, Jimmie, a bronto-bearskin coat and a necklace made from its sabre teeth.”

Jimmie gasped with astonishment at the finely tanned fur and tried it on. “Wow, with its six legs made to form wrap-around belts around the neck, waist and knees! The claws are still on each leg! And it can be brought up above the waist or down to the ground depending on how cold it is!” Then he put on the necklace as Candor beamed with pride, like a dog owner rewarding his hunting hound. Pride he should have, because Jimmie looked like a great warrior – even though the coat was a bit large for him – with the six dangling bear claw belt tips and the two sabre teeth dangling down between the upper two bear claw belts. Khlilia and Osha both gasped in amazement and perhaps a bit of envy.

Candor, of course, could read their minds. “Don’t worry, my other two pets. You may not be the hunter that Jimmie is, but you still very useful to me. And Osha, I know what you’re thinking. You don’t like being a pet or a slave, especially because you have had slaves as ancestors. And Khlilia, I know you won’t eat the meat, but will you wear a skin?”

“I’m not sure, o Prince of Candor,” she answered, trying to keep her mind blank.

The Prince of Candor pulled two tanned buckskins made from the elk from a large leather sack, which looked like it was made from the same hide.

“Yes, you are right, one of those elks made two coats and this sack as well.” He placed the coats around Khlilia and Osha’s shoulders as they both flushed with gratitude and pride. “Yes, this is how to win the loyalty of pets. Feed them well, and give them very nice gifts.”

“Oh, Candor, thank you, this is so beautiful. Although I usually avoid fur and leather, I cannot refuse this gift. Wow, Osha, look, mother-of pearl beads were made from the inside shell of those huge oysters, and sewn into the coat in wonderful patterns of the constellations,” she said, as both she and Osha beamed and examined the patterns of the stars on their coats.

Candor asked,”Khlilia, would you prefer to wear plastic that contaminates your body?”

“No, Candor, I will be a vegetarian who wears nice furs.”

“You know how carefully we have constructed our spacecraft from all-natural materials. Metals, steel, titanium, strengthened in high-frequency fields. Special beryllium glass of great strength, through which we can view the universe. Even our wiring is insulated by natural materials. Our seats and beds are of leather, feathers, and fabrics. The only thing dangerous for health here is our mercury fuel. But it is not vaporized until immediately being fissioned in miniscule quantities, so it is actually safer than mercury vapor lamps.”

“And so, companions, on to Alperatz! The Mane of Pegasus!” said Jimmie.

“My pets, I must remind you that where we are going next, I do not really want to go. I know you Earth people want to visit the Pegasus planet that is completely vegan. They live on nothing but grass, oats, carrots and apples. All raw.”

Jimmie said, “Sounds boring to me, but Khlilia might like it.”

Osha only grumbled a little.

The Prince of Candor was always candid. “You will see. They even object to our decorated elk and bear skins, our leather shoes, and our leather seats and shower-bags.”

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