Shortly after Vo'ptinh woke up, his breakfast arrived. His meal consisted of pancakes, scrambled eggs, sausage links, bacon, toast, orange juice, tea, and coffee. He ate every bite of his breakfast, savoring everything.
When he was finishing the last few bites of bacon and eggs, Craig knocked on the door and walked in. He stopped by Vo'ptinh's bed and, extending his hand, said,
“Hello, Commander. I'm Commander Craig Poole, Commanding Officer of the ship. Welcome to the Artemis.
”It's nice to meet you. You look a helluva lot better than you did yesterday. How are you feeling?“
”Hello, Commander Poole. It's nice to meet you too. I'm feeling better, especially after this big breakfast.“, replied Vo'ptinh.
”Glad to hear that. You and Ke'zulah gave us quite a scare. Dr. Ortkhat wasn't sure if we were going to lose you or not. He tells me Ke'zulah's still comatose but that she's very slowly waking up.
“May I call you Vo'ptinh?”, he asked.
“Yes”, said Vo'ptinh.
“Thanks. You can call me Craig if you'd like.
”T'Planh, my First Officer, and I read some of your logs.
“Was the alien linguistics translator correct in saying that your ship was in a collision with another ship, and then two weeks later you got hit by an asteroid?”, asked Craig.
“Yes, that's correct. We drifted for weeks. My crew is all dead. Ke'zulah and I are the only survivors. I'm very grateful to you and your team for rescuing us.
”Dr. Ortkhat told me what ship we're on but I've no idea what Interstellar Federation is, nor am I familiar with any of the alien species he told me were here on the ship, including yours. Where exactly are we?“, asked Vo'ptinh.
”We're on one of the outer arms of the Milky Way galaxy. Where are you from?“
”We're not from your galaxy. We're not from any galaxy, to be honest. Our people are spread over two star systems. Both stars are free floating and are not part of any galaxy.“
”So your star's an intergalactic star, a rogue star, correct?“
”Yes.“
”You've had quite a trip then. No wonder you've never heard of us or vice versa. How did you learn to speak Terran?“
”I'm not sure. There was a legend centuries ago about aliens in a spiral galaxy who spoke it. Transmissions were intercepted, eventually scholars deciphered it, and everyone learned it. We've never actually met anyone who spoke it...at least, not until last night.“, replied Vo'ptinh.
”Very interesting.“, Craig said.
”I was told my ship is in a tractor beam. When can it be released?“
”Sounds about right. Ever have any luck with the ladies doing that?“, asked Craig.
”Yes. I met my wife on one of those one night. She wore me out that night...the next day, the entire weekend, and the rest of the next several years!“, Vo'ptinh replied, smiling lasciviously.
”Sounds like Vh'rilot ladies are pretty lusty.“, said T'Planh.
”You've no idea!“, replied Vo'ptinh, still smiling lasciviously.
Five minutes later they were approaching the ship.
After landing in the hangar bay, Vo'ptinh got in the wheelchair. After they all donned full life support suits, Craig pushed Vo'ptinh as he directed them to the bridge and other places.
For the most part, he was silent as they went throughout the ship. The inside of the ship was complete destruction.
Vo'ptinh's heart was heavy seeing the lifeless bodies of his crew.
In several places Craig helped him walk while T'Planh lifted the wheelchair over cracked areas. In a few places he actually carried him in a fireman's carry since it was safer than helping him walk.
Vo'ptinh wanted to go to sick bay to get some medical records and other files. Sick bay was one of the very few places that still had pressurization, so they were able to taketheir helmets and gloves off. It didn't smell good due to the bodies there, but Vo'ptinh didn't let that stop him.
”These files are for Dr. Ortkhat. They show our chemical profiles and other things he and the other scientists on your ship might need to treat us and learn more about us.
“Since your ship is a science and exploration vessel, I figure it will help you and your mission. There are blood samples here as well.”, he said after retrieving the files and vials of blood
“Ah! You're still alive! Leave it to Ardhanian slugs to survive this! Come along! Time for you to give up your secrets to aliens the likes of which you've never met before!”, he said, handing six containers to the Ensigns.
They put their helmets and gloves back on, then left sick bay. They stopped in both engineering and the chapel, during which he took some religious books and other items of religious significance to their race, etc
They finally arrived on the bridge soon afterwards
Since the bridge was still pressurized, the helmets and gloves came off once more. Vo'ptinh methodically went around to each station and collected digital files.
He then sat in the Command Chair and asked the men to stand behind him. He started a video stream and, in Terran, recorded a video
“This is Commander Vo'ptinh Za'tolbh. Our ship was struck six weeks ago by another ship. Our navigation and communications systems were knocked out. We were lost.
”Two weeks later we were hit by an asteroid, with the ship suffering catastrophic damage. We were thrown even farther off course, and were drifting with no way to know where we were.where we were or how to get back home.
”Over the next four weeks, my crew died from injury plus starvation due to our ship's food supply rotting due to massive depressurization and lack of preservation abilities, and also dehydration from no drinkable water being available.
“Myself and Ke'zulah, one of our housekeepers, are the only survivors. A few days ago we skipped into comas.
”Yesterday we were rescued by a ship full of previously unknown races of aliens under the command of Commander Craig Poole, standing right behind me. He's human. His ship put us in a tractor beam for their safety and ours.
“His second-in-command, Sub-Commander T'Planh, a Cardistanian, and a team of med techs, rescued us.
”Dr. Ortkhat, a Cardistanian just like T'Planh, told me we were maybe 5 or ten minutes from death when they got to us.
“Ke'zulah is still comatose, but is gradually waking up and cautiously expected to survive. We'll know more once she's awake.
”My crew fought bravely to survive, and my wish is for them all to be posthumously awarded our Medal of Valor for their bravery.
“I'd also like my First Officer and dear friend, T'ovedokh, to be postumously promoted to Commander for his service during the crisis. He went above and beyond the call of duty to try to get us back to our territory. May my crew's memory be a blessing to their families and our beloved Vh'rilot Union.
"I don't know if she has any family but, if she does, please tell Ke'zulah's family she's the reason we survived as long as we did.
”She sacrificed her health for us all, going without food and water as much as possible in order to make sure there would be more for the crew and myself. We were in grave condition when we were rescued, but she was in far worse condition than I was.
”I know she's a widow, and am positive her late husband would be proud of her bravery.
“I'm forever grateful to her, to the aliens who rescued us, plus Dr. Ortkhat and his medical staff.
”While we recover, Ke'zulah and I will be aboard the Artemis, Commander Poole's ship. They're part of a multi-species long-term science and exploration mission to learn about heretofore unknown alien species. Commander Poole has invited us to join them.
”I'm seriously considering it as a way to learn more about different alien races and, somehow, get information to our people about them. I've yet to meet anyone with horns on the ship, although every alien I've met has been very interesting-looking.
“I've downloaded our sensitive files and will be sending them to you from the Artemis. Commander Poole will also forward them to the D'olmakhs and another race's territory that are closer to the edge of their galaxy and, therefore, might have a better chance of communicating with you.
”Also, please inform our scientists that all the Ardhanian slugs onboard have also survived. I'm bringing them to the Artemis. They're still as nasty-looking as ever!
“I'll also be setting the ship up for vaporization. I believe it's better, both for security purposes as well as for the bodies of my crew. It's more respectful for them. Their bodies have already started decomposing.
“Vaporizing their bodies should give their spirits peace so they can rest more comfortably among the stars. I'll be pressing the button within the hour.
”It's been an honor to serve as Commander of this ship. I hope to find our way back to our territory one day. I wish you all well. May our Vh'rilot Union last through eternity.“, he said.
After saving the video stream, he set the ship up for vaporization. Taking several deep breaths, he then said,
”Alright. I'm ready.“
They put their helmets and gloves back on then left the bridge. Vo'ptinh politely insisted that he be the last off the bridge, and that he walk off the bridge.
Realizing he wanted to follow the millenia-old rule that a captain should be the last to get off a ship, Craig agreed to let him walk as long as possible throughout his ship for the last time.
At that moment Craig received a message from Dr. Ortkhat. Ke'zulah was finally awake. He told Vo'ptinh, who heaved a sigh of relief.
When they finally made it to the hangar bay, Craig made sure that Vo'ptinh was the last to walk into the shuttle and, in so doing, was the last off the ship.
Ten minutes later, they were back aboard the Artemis and on their way to the bridge. The Ensigns brought the Ardhanian slugs to sick bay for Dr. Ortkhat.
Arriving on the bridge, Craig told Vo'ptinh he could sit in the Command Chair and put him temporarily in charge of the Artemis as he did what he would be doing regarding his ship.
Vo'ptinh got the destruct button out of his pajama shirt pocket.
He told Craig he should remove the tractor beam and back the Artemis up at least another 500 kilometers.
Vo'ptinh said a silent prayer then, in Vh'rilot, chanted a blessing. As he sang the last note, he took a deep breath, looked at his ship one last time, and pressed the button.
ns 18.68.41.183da2
