Lost, and Far from Home

By Philip R Benge

The starship Sirius Star suffers a near total loss of power as it approaches the planet Malletta, and only narrowly averts a disastrous crash upon the planet. Even so, it desperately needs to find some replacement power crystals to replace the broken ones, even ones in their natural state will suffice. Luckily, they do have a device though will locate them, it does, but in the dangerous highlands of the planet, and after almost dying on the trip, the captain returns to the starship with a supply of the crystals. Unfortunately, he has incurred the wrath of a local who has sworn to kill him, and when the local teams up with a space pirate, the resulting clash sends the starship spinning through hyperspace to the other side of the galaxy. Their position is unknown; therefore, all they have to do is to find their way home across space without knowing which direction will take them there. The resulting encounters on the way put their lives in danger numerous times, and only the bravery of all on board will save their lives, their starship and see them home.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Philip R Benge
• Release date: Oct 29, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370289035

Philip R Benge

Like most of the world, I had to work hard to pay my mortgage and all the other bills, which meant that I only had the time and the energy to write some short stories. I finally found the time and the energy to write some full length Science Fiction stories.

Book preview

Lost, and Far from Home

A Story By

Philip R Benge

Smashwords Edition

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Published by

Philip R Benge on Smashwords

Lost, and Far from Home

Copyright Philip R Benge 2017

Cover photo by Steve Jurvetson 2017

Thank you for downloading this eBook. You are welcome to share it with your friends. This book may be reproduced, copied and distributed for non-commercial purposes, provided the book remains in its complete original form, with the exception of quotes used in reviews.

Your support and respect for the property of this author is appreciated.

This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author`s imagination and used fictitiously.

Contents

Chapter One: The Planet Malletta

Chapter Two: Misha finds a Starship

Chapter Three: The Neanderthal Planet

Chapter Four: The Planet Vanaheimr

Chapter Five: Inside the Holy Mountain

Chapter Six: The Planet Breidablik

Chapter Seven: Return to New Caledonia

Other books by the Author

Chapter One

The Planet Malletta

It was the year 2429 and Ray Summers had not had a very good year, and it was not due to get any better. He had just kicked the console that housed the thruster controls in the hope that the tried and tested method would prove fruitful, however, the thrusters only stuttered in response as first one and then another of his thrusters faded out and then came back on. He then prayed hard to a god that he did not believe in, and then fought with the joystick as his small freighter swayed violently. Then the craft dipped dangerously to starboard and began to spiral quickly down towards the ground, for the forward starboard vertical thruster had failed. With the Stardrive working only at twenty per cent, their airspeed was now far too slow to take the ship back into space, or even to keep the heavy starship airborne. Ray feared that they would crash in the hills, lost and soon forgotten by all, the locals would be happy though, as they pillaged anything they thought they could sell to the captains of the starships at Malletta spaceport.

Johnny. Ray screamed over the ship`s intercom. What is happening back there? We need the forward starboard thruster now, or we will hit the ground hard, and the ground beneath us is mostly of the vertical kind, we will not survive.

I am trying Ray, but the system is coming apart back here, you need to get us down now, no matter where it is. Johnny Anderson screamed back. And don`t bother me again until we have safely landed, I am busy back here.

Johnny screamed loudly at another relay that was refusing to work and then complained even louder to himself.

It`s all right Ray complaining to me, but he is the one in the comfortable seat, me, I am the one being thrown around a room filled with things just willing and able to hurt a hard-working starship`s engineer.

Johnny complaints had been made to the walls of the starship`s engine room, for he and Ray were the sole crew members aboard the starship, they did not earn enough to pay for even one more person.

The console that housed the power crystals was crackling, and when Johnny opened the console, sparks shot at him making him slam it shut and hastily retreat from it. Miraculously power now returned to the starboard thrusters, and to lessen the load on the power crystals, he turned off anything not essential to landing, such as their environmental systems. The Stardrive was now down to fifteen percent power, and on the verge of failing, if it failed before they had landed then they were toast. The heat was now beginning to rise without any environmental system, mostly because it was nearing one hundred degrees outside, and getting hotter.

With the starboard thrusters now working, Ray managed to keep their craft high enough above the ground to miss the hills that surrounded the spaceport on all sides, shaving off any vegetation that got in their way. Finally, they were clear of the hills with the spaceport of Malletta in sight, and breathing a sigh of relief Ray took the starship down in a long circular flight towards the hard ground far beneath them. The reason for this was he did not want to put too much stress on their vertical thrusters, in case they all decided to fail, and with their Stardrive about to give up that would prove fatal. However, they continued to function until the craft was inches from the ground, then the craft lost all power amid a small explosion in engineering, and landed with a crash that should have caused everyone in the spaceport to hasten towards them. However, it did not, for at Malletta spaceport they were used to such things, for many of the spacecraft that used its facilities were in urgent need of a service and replacement parts, even if all they got was spit and a prayer.

**********

Ray was twenty-five years in age, all of them spent in space, considered good looking with a slim build that appeared muscular under his shirt. Some had learned to rethink their first opinion as to his actual strength, which was, when push came to shove, strong enough to take care of many of the hard cases that he had encountered. He was almost six foot tall with grey eyes and a mass of brown hair. It could take a while for you to win his trust, but he was loyal to his friends, but a fierce enemy to those who went up against him. He was also an optimist to the end, not yet a cynic as most skippers were who competed for cargo in the systems around the planet Malletta. He had inherited the spacecraft, the freighter Sirius Star, when his parents had retired to live in a small village on the planet New Caledonia, a blue and white planet that had been colonised by Earth 209 years ago. Now though his parents were dead, they had died in a virulent epidemic just last year, and the only family that he now had was Johnny, a loyal and trusted friend.

The freighter was much in need of TLC; it had been even when his father was its captain. One week earlier, he had realised that he needed to risk everything if he were to amass enough credits to make his craft space worthy, or else see it fail its next safety inspection. The trip to the planet Malletta was intended to do just that, for there had been talk amongst the bars on the space station Tortuga that Dylithium crystals were to found in its highlands, although locating them could prove to be very dangerous, as the locals were not friendly. The crystals had been so named because the scientist who had discovered them was a fan of old science fiction movies, and of one series of movies in particular, where the power source of starships was Dylithium crystals.

Tortuga orbited a moon in the New Caledonia planetary system, and just like the island that it was named after, it was a free port of call for the captains and crews of the spacecraft that operated near enough to make use of its facilities. One of its benefits was that it operated without any interference from the Earth police, who were kept far too busy with their work in the Sol solar system; however, like its namesake, it was a rather rough place to visit. As for the government on New Caledonia, they were too busy running the planet to worry about a space station that governed itself, one that stopped any known pirate from using its services.

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Ray rushed back to the engine room to check on Johnny, worried that he might have been injured or even killed in the explosion. He found him sitting there looking rather despondent and just about all in.

Are you all right Johnny, what the hell exploded back here? Ray asked, and seeing that his friend looked to be uninjured, he added angrily, forgetting his previous concerns for his friend. Shouldn`t you be fixing whatever blew, you never know when we will need to blast off from this sort of spaceport?

No problem, Ray, if you will just tell me where you put the spare Dylithium crystals, because our set is cooked and only fit for the bin. Johnny replied glumly. Unless of course you can find some half decent ones in our massive stores. If not, then we are stranded on this dog awful planet for eternity.

Ray knew that their so-called stores was merely a dusty shelf with just a few reconditioned parts that Johnny had managed to recycle. Nether the less, Ray was always the optimist, and so he rushed over to the console that held the power crystals in the hope of disproving his glum friend`s words. However, on opening it he saw that his friend had been correct; the crystals were burnt out and broken, and without any hope of repair, unless one happened to be a god.

There are all destroyed Johnny, all of them. Ray lamented.

Then it is even more important that you find some more on this dust hole of a planet. What about that fancy device Professor Wentzler gave you, did it work? Johnny asked more in hope than anything else.

It seemed to Johnny, it was flashing and whirring nicely as we moved over the highlands towards the spaceport, however, I have not had the chance to check the data, come on, let`s see if the old boy`s device came up with anything. Ray replied sounding optimistic and a little happier.

Professor Wentzler was a geologist, once he had been a much-respected one, now though he lived on New Caledonia after falling out with the authorities on Earth; it was over their putting profit before the life of the miners working on the moons in orbit around the planets of the Sol system. Now, he worked tirelessly to improve the lives of the poor and the disadvantaged, through either their sex or their beliefs, and who lived on the planet Malletta, where they had just landed.

When they reached the small bridge on the starship, Ray found to his relief that the main computer still had some power left in its batteries. He immediately checked to see if any data found by the geology scanner had been recorded, it had, and what it showed indicated a large area where the crystals were to be found, and all up in the highlands far above the spaceport.

We will never be able to take the Sirius Star up there in its present state, in any case it is either too rocky up there, that or it is covered in thick vegetation. Ray declared glumly. And to take the shuttlecraft will tip off the authorities that we are up to something, and they will take a very large cut out of anything that we find.

I am sorry Ray, but I could never travel over that sort of terrain, you will have to go alone. Johnny apologised. Unfortunately, you cannot take the risk of asking any of the captains to be found in this spaceport for assistance, they would just as likely stab you in the back as soon as you found any of the crystals.

Don`t fret Johnny, I will be all right, I will buy one of those Mallettan horses and tell the locals that I want to explore the highlands. I will be an ornithologist wanting to document the bird life up there. Ray replied. After our cargo is collected by the wholesaler that is, he should be here soon, it’s a pity that we have already spent our fee, otherwise we could have purchased some refurbished crystals here.

The wholesaler turned up late in the afternoon, and one hour later their main cargo hold was empty, save for their old shuttlecraft, one dating back even before the Sirius Star.

Now we can concentrate on replacing our Dylithium crystals, thankfully, the professor`s device seemed to work perfectly, the trip should not take me more than one week, if I am delayed Johnny, you will have to go the port authority`s office and pay for a few more days.

Just do not be too long Ray, our funds are dwindling fast, and god knows what we will have to do if you cannot find any crystals. And you be sure to watch your back; the locals distrust all strangers even more than they distrust each other. Johnny warned.

My having learnt their language should help me Johnny, but initially I will keep that to myself, then I just might learn if they are planning to cheat me, or even kill me. Ray said.

It is too late to set off now Ray, better leave it until tomorrow, get an early start in the morning. Johnny said.

Ray nodded his agreement as he turned about and made for the ship`s galley, here he helped himself to a hot cup of coffee, at least they still had some electricity in the ship`s main battery packs, for the moment, and the solar panels should re-charge them. They might just need it if things did not go exactly to plan.

Early the next morning, and after packing a week’s survival rations, some soap and a collapsible crate to pack the hoped-for crystals in, Ray took leave of his friend, and after donning a wide brimmed hat he looked the image of Indiana Jones.

See you in a week`s time Johnny, or maybe even sooner if all goes well.

Do not allow yourself to get side tracked Ray, you keep out of trouble, do you hear me? Straight there and then straight back here. Johnny called after him, a worried frown appearing on his face as he blamed his old tired body for his not being able to accompany his friend.

Ray called into the port authority`s office before starting his long trek, here he paid for a week`s port dues, telling the officials that he wanted to make some essential repairs to his vessel before looking for a cargo and then departing. The man in charge of the office, the Port Master, had smiled at him, given him a receipt for the payment, and then said.

I hope that you enjoy your stay on our beautiful world Senor.

I thank you sir. Ray replied and smiled at the official as he took his leave of the spaceport`s only office.

After leaving the spaceport, Ray walked to the edge of the town, to the market place, here he wandered around the market until he found the man selling amongst other things a Tarragona, a horse-like creature that had the feet and the stomach of a goat. It took some haggling but, in the end, he beat the seller down to two Mallettan gold pieces, to both the seller and at the moment, Ray, a sizable amount. The Mallettan gold piece being made mostly from nickel, but with some gold thrown in to give it its value.

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The first part of his trip took him North, straight up into the highlands above the spaceport, and it took him the best part of the day, at first the going had been easy but rather hot and dry, although a cool sea blowing down from the mountains to the east helped to cool him. The way took him along a dusty trail, and his butt soon began to hurt, due to riding on the hard Mallettan saddle. On the way he constantly had to wave away the flies that the smelly Tarragona seem to attract in plague proportions, biting at whatever part of him or the animal that they could reach. After he had passed into the forest region, the flies were smaller and fewer in numbers, bringing him some sense of relief, but here it rained on him, which at least drove off even the most persistent of insects. However, afterwards, with the breeze blocked by the many trees of the forest; it became more humid, when it was not raining. With the rain holding off for the present, and the sun breaking through the clouds, his wet clothes began to dry, to some degree, unfortunately, the flies returned to bother him and his mount. Finally, he was within hours of his destination, and with both him and the Tarragona feeling tired, Ray decided that they needed to rest up. He