"We will never figure out what it does," Jinji remarked as she examined the two pieces of the artifact.
"Do not touch those, Jinji!" Khazal went over and gave her friend a smack on the hand. "We will discover the secrets soon enough."
The flight to the next planet was largely without incident. They were closing in on the next planet, well out of the normal reaches of Bok. This journey was proving to have lasting positive effects by establishing new friendships among strange worlds.
"Breaking slipstream," Delia announced. The ship lurched as the faster-than-light stopped and the inertial repulsor slowed the ship to normal velocity.
"What do the scanners say?" asked Venus.
"We have the next planet," Delia reported. "It has an orbit I would describe as close to outside of the idealized zone."
"What is that?" asked Jinji.
"For life to form on a planet, it must get a decent amount of solar input," Delia replied. "Too much solar input would make it too hot and too little makes it too cold. Bok is closer to our sun than might be comfortable, while this planet is farther away." She typed at the console. "This planet has an average temperature of minus five Centigrade. Life must be difficult for the inhabitants. A few million souls live down there."
"Lucky for us we had brought our thermal wear," Khazal remarked. "Set orbital entry calculations."
The
Parallax Vista
entered the atmosphere and began descent procedures. The ship landed, and the crew disembarked. Jinji bared her teeth and growled as the wind cut through them. "
Brrrr!
I hate this planet already!"
"Jinji! Shut your lips!" Khazal sneered at her friend. Her mood might have been soured by the crisp temperatures as well. "These planets can not all be beach paradises. Besides, these people have a life on here. We will show proper respect."
Delia checked her hand-comm. "It is that way," she said, pointing to a nearby village. The village looked folksy and charming, with fine wooden houses and clean streets. It could have been an ideal Scandinavian town back on Earth.
The four of them went down to the village, noticing as they went how advanced everything looked. "There are vents coming up from the ground!" Jinji ran over to one and appeared satisfied. "Warm air!" The others ran over to the large vent and warmed themselves up.
Jinji gasped, then grabbed Khazal by the arm. "Khazal! Look!
Boccans!
"
Khazal scoffed at first, well aware that they were on a planet about a hundred light-years from their own home. Sure enough, there was a couple walking by, decked out in furs and leather clothing. They paid no mind to the four alien invaders.
"I assume that is just a coincidence," Venus said dismissively.
"Red flesh and silver hair?" Delia shook her head. "This is far too much of a coincidence." She checked her hand-comm again. "The artifact piece is this way."
The four of them made way to a large structure, the pillars carved out of solid rock. They were all amazed by the architectural achievements, as well as the technology for such a small population. They made their way in, and saw several women working behind a counter. "May we help you?" asked a younger one. She had silver hair and red skin.
Venus moved forward. "I shall handle this." She turned to the clerk. "We are looking for an artifact."
"Oh, which type?" asked the clerk.
"We...do not know." Venus stood there waiting for something to happen.
"Tell whoever is in charge," Khazal began, "that the princess of Bok is here." Venus turned with an incredulous look, but Khazal nodded and pursed her lips in reassurance.
The clerk picked up a strange U-shaped device with a long cord on the end. "We have a princess here for you?" After a minute, the clerk put the U-shape in a cradle. "Go in and ask for the chieftain." She pointed to the two wooden doors next to the long counter.
The four women went through. Khazal gave Venus a nudge. "See? We can be honest with these people."
They came in to find a large ballroom, dimly lit. There were several tall chairs surrounding a large rectangular table, and several people eating and drinking from large tankards. There was a large roaring fire in an enormous fireplace. The crowd was loud and boisterous, mostly with men with long beards and braids.
"Boccans," Delia said in a low voice. "No mistaking it."
The one at the largest chair put down his tankard and stood up. He had an impressive size to him, with a chest that expanded out his sleeveless vest. He wore tight pants and fine leather boots.
"Well, well," he mused in a growly low voice. "It appears my princesses have arrived!" The other diners laughed wildly and a few of them smacked their tankards together.
"Not all of them," Venus protested over the roar. "Just me!"
The man swaggered over to the crowd of strange women. He was tall enough to eclipse the sun. Venus eyed the man as he made his way up.
"So it's you?" The man smiled with those shining teeth of his. He had an impressive beard with a long silver braid down his shoulder blades. "You said something about a place called Bok? I have not heard of this nation."
Delia held up her hand-comm. "Will you permit me to scan you?" The man looked amused, but allowed it. The scan beam ran over the man's face, then Delia examined the results. She showed it to the other women as well. "97.3% Boccan DNA. The rest is some sort of alien DNA I do not recognize."
Khazal looked the man up and down, almost as guilty as Venus of impure thoughts. "Sir, have your people ever travelled to another planet?"
The man laughed with a deep bellow. His necklace swung back and forth as he looked around at his companions. "Do we look as if we could do such things? We can barely rouse ourselves from our chairs!"
"And why would we?" called out one of his friends at the table, which was met with greater laughter.
"Although..." The man ran a hand through his silver beard. "I recall from schooling about how we came to this planet. Yes. I never believed the tales, but we were supposed to have been brought here. We all know we are not native to the planet."
