Free Leaving Blue 5.1 by Thadd Evans Page A

has.”
    “Keep me posted.” I looked down. On my vtp, Joel’s recent email enlarged. The main engine was running smoothly.
    UE blinked. “Greg, operating the Reen ships may be a problem for everyone aboard. Remember, the translators have never traveled in deep space. You must continue to instruct them.”
    “Understood. By the way, when Thomas and Jen are showing galactic maps to Darwin and other translators, Irea or you need to interpret for them because the translators don’t know much about how each moon and planet’s magnetosphere affects a star map.
    “Also, I need a co-pilot, someone who understands galactic maps and navigation. Are there any translators who have a lot of experience in that area?”
    “Darwin has some experience . However, his poor English is a problem.”
    “Send him an email. Tell him he needs to start training within the hour.
    “I’ll send a holographic message to Irea. She will help him.”
    My vtp chimed. I looked at the device. There was one new audio message. I opened it.
    Joel’s voice recording came out my vtp. Greg, I’m assembling an RM robot. It will repair satellite dishes.
    “UE, Darwin needs to learn navigation quickly. If Thomas or Jen gets hurt or sick, He will replace them.”
    UE nodded.
    Caldur waved two fingers over columns of text. I assumed he was assembling notes, but I wasn’t sure.
    “We need to check more spectrometers. Then it will be time to eat. If you wish, both of you can join me for dinner.”
     

Chapter Seventeen
     
     
    Exp One veered starboard, headed toward Aom. I returned to my office and began studying Reen ship configurations.
    My vtp chimed. On the device, Darwin’s recent text email enlarged. Greg, it’s time to launch the bombs.
    Within minutes, I entered the control room and sat behind Alan.
    In front of him, near the top of an amber screen, shuttle bay three’s hatch opened. Each bomb flew out. Soon both dropped. One moved toward the indigo ship while the other veered port, destined for Aom.
    On a pink screen, at the bottom of the indigo craft, a hatch opened—a twenty-foot-long oblong shuttle flew outside, coming this way!
    Along the edge of a gray screen, near the center of the shuttle’s bridge, a Uduss, a humanoid that was seated, hissed. “My name is Evone. It’s time for everyone aboard Exp One to die.”
    Alan shouted, “This is a nightmare!”
    In the corner of a beige screen, eighty miles above Aom, eight scorpion-like space-craft emerged from darkness.
    Irea’s voice came out of my vtp, “Greg, those ships are Uduss fighters. In twenty minutes, they will reach Exp One.”
    I blinked. “Understood.”
    Near the top of a tan screen, on a fighter’s bridge, a six-foot-tall humanoid Uduss male plopped down. “I am Mruma. We will board your vessel soon.” As saliva dripped off his teeth, he lifted a translator’s cadaver, bit off her arm and began chewing.
    On the opposite side of this room, Irea, Mona, David, Adam, Jen and Sam entered and sat down.
    Irea glanced at me. “Greg, thirty years ago, Osin, Inyt, two Council members, insisted that all of the Uduss on Aom had died. Eight months later, the Council ordered forty translators to fly a small reconnaissance ship called Hoip to Aom because Osin and Inyt wanted to find out if Aom was worth colonizing.
    “Unfortunately, when Hoip reached Aom’s outer orbit, the engines broke down and that spacecraft was stuck in orbit. Within days, a Uduss fighter from Aom, boarded Hoip, took every member of the crew back to Aom, and started breeding them because they wanted to eat them.”
    “Irea, why didn’t you tell me this before?”$
    “I was following orders. Two Council members told me that I shouldn’t talk about the Hoip. Although I feel it’s important that you know, I have betrayed the Council. I refuse to tell you anything else about their decisions.”
    I frowned, unsure of what to say.
    On a tan screen, a bomb exploded. A mushroom cloud engulfed the indigo ship