The Scalian Legacy
Chapter Five

Captain Rauug was the proud commander of the largest battlecruiser in the Scalian fleet, The Seguura. However, on this day he and his trusted first officer, Gargke, were on board a small scout ship and charged with what Rauug was told was the most critical mission in Scalian history. He certainly saw the value in the technology that had been developed, but didn’t completely understand how this was supposed to change everything. Regardless, there was no doubt as to the importance of this undertaking, and he had very specific limitations to adhere to during this mission. Unfortunately, things had not gone to plan.

Rauug couldn’t believe that his probe, which was only expected to perform surveillance while they worked their experiments, had not only detected intelligent life, but had brought a couple of them on board. This was not supposed to happen. The area was supposed to be uninhabited by intelligent life. In addition, the probe was designed to detect intelligent life from a distance such that Rauug could hide his ship from it before being detected. However, it seemed like his systems weren’t programmed to identify this particular life form and that was befuddling to Rauug.

“Gargke, heedroo-astanzienan…” Rauug asked Gargke whether the external sensors could be adjusted to detect this life form as they both stared at the two incapacitated beings that the probe had brought onboard.

“Sorry, sir.” Gargke responded in his Scalian language. “We don’t have that capability on this scout ship. We should be able to do that back on the Seguura.”

“My understanding is that this will be our only trip using this new transport technology.” Rauug said. “So, I’m not sure we will need to do that once we get back to the Seguura.”

Rauug thought about his predicament for a moment, but he saw little choice. Given the parameters of his mission, he had to take these life forms back to the Seguura and to Admiral Tarza for evaluation. He could only hope that his temperamental superior would agree with his decision.

“Place them in stasis.” Rauug ordered. “And let’s not send out the surveillance probe anymore. I don’t want any more passengers.”

“Yes, sir.” Gargke responded as he carried Robbie and Marcelo to their new temporary casings.

As they arrived at the site of the space craft again, Kenny could feel the power of that menacing green glow. It pulsated against him slightly pushing him back as they approached. He looked through the force field to that house-sized ship bearing down on them just beyond it. The ships sturdy legs were still holding it up off the ground up to ten feet in some areas and under five feet in others. Kenny realized that aside from the modest reverberation coming from the force field, the Amazon had become eerily quiet. It was as if all the other animals knew to stay away.

Even as they began to dig, Kenny couldn’t believe he was doing this. Every basic survival instinct in his body was telling him to get away from this area. Instead he was digging into it. He always knew that love for family can make you do things that you wouldn’t otherwise do, but this was ridiculous. As if the situation wasn’t bad enough, the task in front of them quickly became more difficult than they first thought. Apparently, digging in the Amazon, even with a pretty good shovel, wasn’t a simple proposition.

The ground may have been charred on top, but plenty of obstacles were just below. The thick vegetation engulfed the underground with elaborate and very thick root systems. Of course, Kenny took advantage of every misfortune to try to quietly convince the group to give up on this ludicrous rescue attempt, but Jack wasn’t having any of it. He would simply move on to the next section close to the pulsating force field. He wasn’t going to give up until he had dug a ditch that circled the entire vehicle.

They couldn’t afford to damage their only shovel, so they had needed to start digging several inches from the force field. Even from that distance, the force field would almost knock Jack off balance on occasion as it pulsed. At least Jack didn’t need a light as the glow from the force field illuminated the vicinity quite well. Jack could see that the deadly green glow went all the way to the floor, but he couldn’t tell if it went underneath it.

Jack would dig a little over a foot deep, if allowed by the contents under the ground, and then start digging in the direction of the force field—but from under the ground, to avoid contact with it. Attempt after attempt would get foiled by some large, impenetrable undergrowth, until finally they seemed to find a spot where there weren’t any thick roots in an area large enough to allow passage.

Excited, Jack dug deeper under the force field and there didn’t appear to be any resistance as he past the vertical point of where the force field resided. He was past the force field underground! However, this was just the first step. They still needed to see what happened when the ground, seemingly in contact with the force field, collapsed into the hole they had created. Jack slowly chipped away at the top portion of the hole, careful to avoid contact with the force field. Finally, the top portion of the hole collapsed. They all backed away instinctively.

The force field remained at its current location, just above where the ground was. Kenny was shocked.…Jack’s guess was right! It looked as though they could slip under the force field. Jack got back to work, and Chris, now intrigued, was helping, while Kenny’s mind raced about how to stop this insanity. He thought of grabbing a rock and knocking Jack out. He thought of sabotaging the endeavor by throwing a loose branch at the force field and perhaps alerting the aliens. Still, he couldn’t bring himself to do any of those things and instead just watched as Jack created a larger and larger hole.

Soon, Jack had created a large enough hole for him to slip under the force field. Desperate to stop this, Kenny pulled Jack away and tried to reason with him one last time. He whispered a new concern: “What if the force field isn’t thin?” he said. “What if it covers all of the area through to the ship? Then there’s no way to get through!”

Jack considered this possibility and quickly went to test it with the shovel. To Kenny’s horror, Jack was able to lift the shovel well over a foot high on the other side of the force field.

Kenny wasn’t going to give up yet. He pulled Jack and Chris away again and tried one more approach. “Shouldn’t we test it? Like by finding some animal to send in there? They may detect you right away, and then that’s it.”

“Where are we going to find an animal dumb enough to go in there?” Chris chimed in.

“You’re not helping!” Kenny raised his voice as he pointed his index finger at Chris.

“Shh.” Jack placed his hands on Kenny’s chest to calm him down. “I know what you’re doing, Kenny, and I would probably do the same thing if I were you. But, you need to let me go. I just feel like I have to do this. I don’t know why, but I can’t let him go. I can’t lose him like I lost Dad and Ellen. I can’t.”

Kenny took one final shot at convincing his stubborn little brother. “There are plenty of folks that don’t want to lose you, either, Jack. How about them?”

“Mom has you and your family, and you have plenty to worry about.” Jack smirked. “Chris also has his family and friends. You guys will all be fine. Plus, I hope to be successful.” Jack looked at his older brother lovingly and gave him a hug.

Kenny returned the embrace; for once in his life he didn’t want to let go of his annoying little brother. Tears started down his cheek. He had the horrible feeling that this would be the last time he would see Jack. Kenny wouldn’t let go of the embrace on his own. He was going to hold on as long as Jack let him; but finally, Jack pulled away.

Jack then smiled and looked at Chris. Chris just nodded, and they briefly hugged. Then, they started towards the hole. Kenny stayed at a distance as he saw his brother lay on his back and begin to wriggle his way under the force field head first. Jack stopped a few times as it seemed like the force field was pulsating down on him, making it difficult for him to push his way through. At one point, Jack squirmed and Kenny feared that he had hit the force field, but Chris later explained that dirt had fallen on his face. Finally, after a few torturous minutes, Jack seemed to have crossed to the other side. Slowly, Jack lifted himself on the other side and stood up! He had done it.

Now what?

Kenny knew that Jack’s successful maneuver only delayed the inevitable. This couldn’t end well.

Jack positioned himself under the spot where he remembered the probe’s exit was. He waited. Time seemed to crawl. Due to the light emitted by the force field, Kenny and Chris could see Jack fairly well as they remained in the darkness at the edge of the forest. They were all exhausted, and it took great effort to avoid falling into a much needed slumber. Finally there seemed to be a hum slowly increasing in loudness coming from the ship. Jack readied himself while Kenny and Chris watched on nervously.

The door did not open. Instead the ship began to rise!

Kenny looked up in horror as the force field began to move towards Jack and encircled the slowly ascending vehicle. Jack had to come up with a plan quickly—and he didn’t hesitate once he got an idea. He raced towards one of the legs that had been holding up the vehicle and jumped onto one of its three outstretched, finger-like prongs. The leg then started to contract into the ship. Was Jack going to be crushed? Kenny couldn’t tell, but Jack disappeared as the leg seamlessly vanished into the ship.

The ship continued to rise for a few hundred feet, and then it was gone with another flash—and so was Jack.

Kenny and Chris stood there in silence. It seemed minutes before finally Kenny uttered: “How the hell am I going to explain this to mom?”

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