The Curse of the Topsy-Turvy | ONC 2020 Honourable Mention

8 - The Topsy's Curse

Perfect. Here we were, lost in space, approaching a mysterious planet, and gifted with a load of soon-to-be hyperactive space slugs ready to invade our ship. I closed my eyes, fighting my mental tiredness. "Fine. Any more uplifting news?"

No one answered, and when I opened my lids again, I was confronted with an angry stare from Aalyxh. She pointed at the small tyrinan who'd twisted her eyestalks around each other in defeat. The picture raised a wave of regret about my outburst. Ajs was still new aboard and tried hard to adapt to the Topsy's customs and rules. I sighed. "Sorry, Ajs, it's not your fault."

She untwisted her eyes in a motion that made me dizzy, the skin of her upper body flushing indigo. "This wasn't the plan, Cap Kali. The timer of the cryogenic unit was set to wake only me before the arrival in the Sqia system." Her turquoise-and-blue speckled body trembled. Was I so frightening? "The second batch was supposed to unfreeze and hatch after the arrival—after you would have been paid and left the system."

This sounded like an elaborate plan. Probably a bit too elaborate and without taking the severills, a black hole, and the grandmother of all ion storms into account. "Ajs, I gather this wasn't meant to be our business. Still, in our current predicament, I'd love to know why the Tanencha sends her younglings to Sqia'lon seven. And don't worry, I don't intend to put you or your fellow tyrinans onto my menu." Even the thought of it knotted my intestines, but I had to lighten the mood.

The tyrinan's trembling subsided. "It was a request form the government of Sqia'lon seven, Cap Kali."

She spoke more confident, I'd dissolved a few of her obvious fears. Perhaps she was willing to provide me with more information. "Do you know why the inhabitants of the colony asked for a load of frozen—"
I was about to add slugs, but fortunately Hrrovr's announcement spared me the slip.

"Captain, reaching orbit. The atmosphere seems'ss ordinary for an inhabited world, clean and breath'ssable. And I can't locate any active weapons'ss ss'sys'sstems'ss."

His collection of hisses sounded like good news. "Any signs of life? The builders of the satellites?"

"No sentient species, Captain." Hijac smelled like a fermenting pile of fruit, expressing their fascination with our discovery. "There is organic life on the planet though, abundant in some regions. But as far as I read it, it's basic, bacteria, fungi, plants, perhaps simple molluscs, nothing else. On the other hand, it's clear there once was a high-tech society, to judge by the amount of technology they left behind to clutter the orbit."

I didn't like the karjkan's use of the past tense. "Was? Left behind? Where are they now?"

"Beats me, Captain. I'd say they are gone. But we have to land to find out more about the reasons. Perhaps they suffered from an epidemic, civil war, climate catastrophe—the usual pitfalls of civilisations." Hijac's well-modulated, melodious voice stood in contrast to the listed possibilities.

I was tempted to ask Ben to raise the temperature to warm my chilled bones, but withstood. "If they faced extinction, they might have left a message to potential visitors. Aalyxh, did you scan the usual channels?"

"Aye, Kali. If they recorded a goodbye message or a warning, I can't find it. Are we going to land?"

"Not for the moment. Let's circle the planet first. We might get better readings or find... something. I don't want to set the Topsy down in a plague pit." The last remark brought me an indecipherable look from Ajs. She edged closer to my chair, and I wondered if she felt as bad about the situation as I did. "Ajs, would you mind checking if Ben is fine, down in the engine room?"

The tyrinan was on her way with a quick dip of her eyestalks. I could have called Ben over comm, but it's an old wisdom it helps to keep the rookies busy in a critical situation. Aalyxh smiled at me. "Thanks, Kali. She gives her best to fit in, but she's still afraid of you. Seems you've got a reputation on Tyrin."