The Milk Run

By Claude Joseph

Experience the compelling sequel to Cape Paterson you wouldn't want to miss!

The rise of a vindictive quest for revenge began when an Earthling visited the planet Mendome. Angered by this intrusion and interference, the Gliesans strike back and take away the most important and precious asset on planet Earth. Nonetheless, the Earthlings are immensely determined to not let them get away with it.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris AU
• Release date: May 2, 2012
• ISBN: 9781469188799

Claude Joseph

Claude Joseph studied Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of New South Wales. He then started his career as an engineer in the Overseas Telecommunications Commission in the satellite and data engineering branch. Later he studied Food Business Management at Monash University. More recently he project managed major power system upgrades and portal development projects at Woolworths. Claude is married with two daughters in university and lives on the NSW Central Coast on the Bouddi National Park peninsula. His interests are in astronomy, the environment and playing tennis.

Book preview

Chapter 1

Iota Horologii System, 2154

It was the indigo sky that told the Gliesan shuttle crew they were back on planet Mendome, but the stick insects would remind them why they shouldn’t be.

This was the tenth trip back to the planet from which they had evolved to supply seed for the plantations on the once lifeless planet Gliese 581 g. The regular milk run gave them an opportunity to call on their fellow creatures, but now, they had work to do.

Glot wheeled out his seed scanning collector. This contraption selectively sucked up fallen seeds from the ground using multiple vacuum nozzles fixed to the underside that only activated when an image recognition scanner identified a seed. Once sucked up, it flicked them onto an internal tray that slid out from the side.

After cleaning its scanners, Glot turned the collector on. A startled flying tree that had evolved from walking trees which in turn had evolved from fig trees flew off. It wasn’t going to overhang its branches above that noisy contraption.

Beyond the giant Venus fly trap, Charger and Barger’s drooping ears pricked up. The six-eyed monsters warmed to the familiar sound.

They bounded past the giant Venus fly trap and then pushed on past the partially buried Mendome sunlight storage room.

Glot slid out the tray from the contraption to examine the seeds. The spatula-headed Gliesan observed the seeds bounce on the tray. Some thumping beast was approaching. Glot left the collector and went to his supplies.

Charger and Barger thundered down the old brown Mendome footway. The worn path buckled under their weight. They squeezed through an ancient arch, dislodging a loose boulder that tumbled down the verge, landing with a thud and crumbling apart.

Charger stood on his haunches and let loose a guffaw when he spotted Glot behind him holding out some juicy melons. The monsters split open the gourd and devoured it. Glot stroked his monsters’ underside with tenderness.

Melons were also a favourite of the Gliesans, especially after the long trip. While Glot took his protective mask off to eat a succulent melon, a stick insect, lying in wait, sprayed his face. Glot wheezed and spluttered and choked. He spun around in a disorientated state, collapsing to the ground, bruising his fin in the process. On hearing his distress, fellow Gliesans rushed to his aid and administered the antidote. Any later, the Gliesan would have perished.

After the symptoms slowly wore off, Glot sought out the stick insect. He knew it would take hours before the stick insect replaced the poisonous spray in its glands. Spotting it cowering in the corner, Glot stuck his long black tongue out in contempt. He then lunged forward and grabbed hold of the stick insect, ripping it apart, and because dividing is their normal way of reproduction, mangled it beyond salvation.

In case other stick insects were around, Glot put his mask back on.

Glot still felt grumpy, however. To cheer him up, his crew mates drew his attention away saying, ‘Listen, Howler and Scowler are around.’

Glot heard some commotion in the distance. That was enough confirmation.

The monsters, Howler and Scowler, were bursting the giant seed sacs from the viscid vine. The seed sacs had only inflated overnight. They raced to burst them first, swiping their appendages at them and piercing them with their comb of razor-sharp claws. Then Howler jumped on one, while Scowler sat on another which went bang. They loved to hear the blast from the rush of air being released. Scowler would frown at Howler, when Howler beat him to one, while Howler would bellow defiantly. The sticky leaves stuck all over them in the process so that it was obvious where they had been.

Glot caught up with them and chuckled when he saw their state. He gave them a tummy rub with his fin, getting the green glutinous substance on it too.

‘You two have done me a favour. I was meaning to plant the viscid vine on Gliese 581 g too,’ said the Gliesan. He pushed the seed scanning collector along the viscid vine patch, sucking up seeds as he did. Once he had done the whole patch, he slid out the seed tray and poured the seeds into bottles to take back to their new home.

The monster numbers in Mendome were in decline. The Gliesans were determined to conserve them, so each time they returned, they checked on their well-being. Glot noticed Scowler and Howler had a skin irritation from the sticky goo and wanted to apply an ointment. It wasn’t easy reaching all their skin surfaces, so he motioned the monsters to lie down on one side and then another while he smeared it on.

Over the next week, the Gliesans busied themselves collecting more seed and gorging on ripe fruit. However, it was always hot and uncomfortable wearing their head masks. They wished they could live here unencumbered as they used to, but too many Gliesans had perished on this planet from the spray of the stick insect. They had to accept living on a new planet and look for the opportunities it brought.

The Gliesans packed their seed bottles in crates for the return journey to Gliese 581 g, where they would replenish their plantation stock. One advantage of moving to a new planet was that they could pick and choose what they brought with them. They wouldn’t be taking any nasty bugs in their luggage. Quarantine had to be foolproof to ensure no bugs snuck on.

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Mendome was the common name that four-armed and four-legged giant octopus-like creatures gave to the Iota Horologii planet when they used to live there 100 million years ago. It was the name Jessica Trellis heard the creatures use when pointing to their star system on a flag in the 100-million-year-old knowledge tablet she had unearthed at Cape Paterson. She in turn called the creatures Mendomes.

Millions of years later, another intelligent creature, the Gliesan, evolved on planet Mendome, but was now establishing itself on the previously lifeless planet Gliese 581 g. They had left planet Mendome because of an uncontrollable plague of stick insects that had made it intolerable for their species, but other life forms still thrived. Every time they tried to eradicate the stick insects, the flying trees would spread them further afield.

Because of Gliese 581 g’s proximity to its sun, it was tidally locked to it. Its days were the same length as its years. The planet rotated only once in the time it took to complete an orbit around its sun. One face was permanently bathed in sunlight, while the other face was permanently left in darkness. Just as Earth’s moon always presents the same face to the Earth, Gliese 581 g always presents the same face to its sun, and with no axial tilt, there were not even seasons. As a result, the only temperate area was where the sun was thirty degrees above the horizon. So that’s where the Gliesans planted seeds from planet Mendome.

On the trip back from Mendome to Gliese 581 g, the Gliesans sang their song together,

We milk the planet of its seed

And then we do our run.

We plant viscid vines and flying trees

Which droop towards the sun.

Chapter 2

Gliese 581 System, 2154

When Glot arrived back on Gliese 581 g, his family welcomed him with open fins. They sat around the dinner table and enjoyed a hearty vegetable soup together, happy to