CHAPTER SIXTEEN

This was the first real meal, the crew of the Exon had in some time, and Private wasted no time making up what he persieved was a long time coming.

“Commander, are you telling us all of you have risked your careers as well as your lives in coming after us? The Sargent asked.

“Well, it is not quite as stoic as it sounds. All of us in general, but me in particular, were not on the best terms with the current ruling administration. Especially when it became apparent that our exploring days had been permanently exchanged for war duties. We had several not so friendly exchanges with the new administrative military commander, thus we decided to make a career choice before it was made for us.” Commander Ratmire explained.

“Commander, you stole the Mystic?” Captain Majors asked a gasped.

“I would prefer borrowed as apposed to stole. We were in fact on a mercy mission.” The Commander stated.

“An unauthorized mission,” the Sargent mumbled.

“So, it would not be wise to return to Primera, and earth is certainly not a desirable alternative…”

The Captain was interrupted by Sara.

“Certainly, earth must not have been the only planet your species has studied.”

At first the Commander was indignant at this interruption. However, he became intrigued with where she may be going with this line of thought.

“What are you suggesting?”

“Well, it only seems logical that if you have all this knowledge of other worlds, their cultures, habits, personalities, and resources, that one of them is bound to fit in with the kind of life that could suit you.” Sara explained.

Adaria now spoke up.

“Commander, we have never conducted research with the aim of settling on any of those places.”

“We have also always taken on their appearance while we were there. I would not like to live out the rest of my life looking like someone I am not.” Lars added.

"Commander, we are also not sure that any of these places are compatible with our systems for a long period of time.”

“All of these are excellent points. Yet you are forgetting that these, and many, many more were brought up, when our leaders first started discussing exploration in the first place. We are not the kind that shrinks back from a challenge!”

The Commander then put the question to all his crew.

“We basically have two choices, we can return to Primera, and face the consequences of our actions, or we can continue to be explorers. I am sure by now our species has considered us dead. Our showing back up with the crew of the Exon, may soften whatever punishment they wish to administer, but I am quite certain, we will never be allowed off the planet again.”

The Commander paused a moment, then continued.

“Our alternative is to continue to explore. We are aware of areas in which we could refuel and rebuild the supplies we need. It is true that we at times would have to mimic the looks and actions of those whom we inner act with, and eventually we will no longer be able to maintain our ship to a degree that it continues flight. At some point we may have to choose a permanent home. It is up to all to decide, and I will abide by the Majority vote. Send your vote to my station. Adaria will compile the votes, and I will announce the groups decision.”

 The Commander was absolutely amazed that all voted to explore, and not go back to Primera. One pleasant surprise was, after much research was done, that given the size and design of the Mystic, it would not have to use a time portal to return to current time and space. It would have to generate a third more speed than normal to create a time jump in earths atmosphere then it would in neutral space, but Grunt felt confident that he could make it happen. He also reminded the Commander again, that he owed him four maintenance bots.

“Alright crew, the course is laid in. We will have to drop our cloak in order to obtain jump speed, which will more than likely draw the attention of this planets governments defense systems. We will operate with only enough shielding to deflect what they may shoot at us. Okay Milton lets go.”

The huge carrier ship materialized over the Indian ocean and did attract a lot of attention, but by the time that military jets were scrambled to that area, the Mystic was gone.

EPOLOG

By means of the Exon, the Mystic and all her crew were able to get whatever they needed from the planets they visited. Sara’s skills of negotiating became such an asset, that Commander Ratmire named her Chief supply officer. Aside from the color metaphors, she also became, next to Grunt, the one that could do the most back talk to the Commander. Captain Majors, the Sargent, and Private continued their gruff relationship, even when not working together on the Exon.

After decades more of exploring, the Mystic finally landed permanently on a sparsely populated planted of Gendron. Twelve years later, Sara died, and was given one of the largest official Primera military funerals any of the members of the Mystic had ever seen. Captain Majors, the Sargent, and the Private, all gave very moving speeches expressing their appreciation for having come to know and love Sara.

Four hundred years after the Mystic crew had settled on Gendron, Some time after that. they were pleasantly surprised to have the pleasure of entertaining a new generation Primera explores from a new more forward-thinking ruling administration.

 READERS NOTE:

This series has ended, however, I will be working hard to complete Reset to Start here on Tapas. Please check out all my stories here on Tapas. Just search for Ralph LeBrun. You also might enjoy the large number of stories I have on Kindle-Vella. Happy reading.

ADDITIONAL NOTE:

As you may or may not have discovered, I have been delayed in adding to any of my stories. Several family issues have taken all my writing time. I hope most will be resolved by October 2023. Then I hope to adding another story or two to 42nd Street Hustle, finish Reset to Start, and add a brand new story.