Pleas to the Pleiades
Chapter 9: PO'EKHALI

A few days later, they were back on Mars. Much to the surprise of Khlilia and Jimmie, a much larger ship, was waiting outside the Citadel of Candor. It was a little smaller than the Earth-Mars Express, the EMME, another standard long cylinder, but it still had the feature of being able to spin and thus provide artificial gravity. It had modules stacked from the nose section with its bridge and other control systems, then a small dining and entertainment area with a recording studio, then the crew’s quarters, then toilet facilities with suck-bowls and shower-bags, and finally the main engine room at the tail.

“I see your robots have been busy while we were gone,” Jimmie said to Candor.

Candor only looked with pride at the newer spacecraft. “The Big Spinner.”

“Well, Prince of Candor, if I’m going to be the Captain, I’d prefer to call her the Feather Dancer.”

“Ho! As the Feather Dancer she will be known.”

The Brave Brat electrostatically descended onto a port with an airlock on the side of the larger ship, then locked on, electro-docking. The trio was able to enter the larger craft through this airlock, and then look around and inspect the interior.

“Let’s go get Osha,” said Jimmie.

“We’ll first put the larger craft in orbit and test its systems, and then we’ll descend back to Hesperia and get your musician friend.”

Now on board, Osha said, “Man, this is a nice ship. A lot faster than what I rode on to git to Mars, and much more comf-turble. A few days is always better than a few months. Them seeds and young plants you brought back from your grandma Osie will be much appreciated by all the Hesperians, too, as well as all the fresh vetch-tables and fruits. Man, you’re a hero in Hesperia. Binger is a bit shook up that you didn’t bring him any cigarettes, though. He’s a bit impatient that you only brought tobacco seeds.”

Jimmie chuckled at his old friend who looked like a teenager. He was inwardly glad that he had opted to Harmonize only down to the apparent age of thirty.

Osha kept talking, “The girl I can dig, but who’s this feathered alligator guy?”

“I am the Prince of Candor,” the voice reverberated proudly.

“Nice reverb,” Osha said.

“Be nice to him, Osha,” said Khlilia. “Without him we would not be here. Besides having helped Jimmie build this ship, he’s the one who provides us with food. Osie helped too, of course.”

“Any friend of genius Jimmie is a friend of mine,” answered Osha, extending his hand to Candor. Candor took it, and although Osha felt uncomfortable with the dangerous talon grip, he smiled.

Candor grimaced and smiled as well, but the smile of Candor always looked like he was ready to eat. “I don’t really like shaking hands. Never know where they’ve been. You mammals.”

“Osha, I am Khlilia. I’m a musician too. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“Osiyo, Khlilia. I guess that means we’re gonna be jammin’ soon.”

“Yeah. The only reason we are all alive is because the Prince of Candor likes our music.”

Osha gulped, “I hope he likes my playin’ too. About our course: Diphda, The Whale’s Tail – Deneb Kaitos – beta Ceti, An orange (K0 spectrum) variable star, second order of magnitude, 53.4 light years away. The variability of the star is pronounced. Why y’all want to go there?”

Jimmie answered simply, “Simply to see what there is to see in the sea there. We’ll get there in five weeks or less at our relativistic speed.”

Khlilia said, “Said in Therapeutae legends to support a type of cetacean or whale civilization of large submarine inhabitants on a water-covered world.”

“Although it is rather unlikely that such a variable star could ever support life, the orange spectrum is perhaps acceptable. Any landforms would experience extreme alternations of temperature and violent weather due to the star’s variability; but an undersea world is protected under the waves. I know,” said Candor.

Osha said, looking at the charts of the proposed itinerary, “Then, beyond, Alpheratz, The Mane of Pegasus, or Hair of Andromeda – alpha Andromedae; a white (B8 spectrum) variable star, second order of magnitude, 101.81 light years away. This star is also variable, but not extremely so.”

Khlilia said, “Although life could be thought to be unlikely here because of this variability, it has been said in the Therapeutae legends to support a highly cultured civilization of humanoids quite similar to us, but with differences, such as the highly intelligent winged horse-like creatures who coexist with them. There’s probably a nonvariable star nearby Alpheratz.”

Jimmie the Captain said, “We go there next. Five more weeks.”

Candor seemed to know all about the star civilizations. “This civilization is matristic or matriarchal and quite advanced, much more so than that of our own planets. It is said to have suffered, along with the Cassiopeians and Pleiadians, at the hands of other more demonic star civilizations – my Draconian cousins and their collaborators. But now, the seasons are complex on any planets here, alternating in a cyclic pattern that gives very intense extremes every few years. The year is basically seven or more seasons long, and this encourages incredible variations in the plants and animals there. Pheratz, the planet, is much farther from its sun than we are from ours, due to the heat of the white star. Any reference to Andromeda probably refers to this, the brightest star system of the constellation, rather than to the distant galaxy of the same name.”

Osha said, “Next on the chart is Baten Kaitos, the Belly of the Whale, Mirach, The Girdle of Andromeda, Mira, The Eye of the Whale, really rather too variable to be likely to support life as we know it. Okay, let’s go. Po-yekhali!” He loved quoting cosmonauts. He really loved Gagarin.

As they took off again from their orbit position, Osha was sentimental, gazing out the window. “I’ll miss the Hesperian Hippodrome. Too bad Binger Shaker didn’t want to come along.”

Jimmie said, “Candor is a real good drummer too. We’re headed for Deneb Kaitos. What do you say we all get some sleep? I’m tired. The ship is set on course, and any stray asteroids will be automatically avoided. We’ll be to the celestial north of the plane of the solar system – the ecliptic – so we shouldn’t see too many ’roids.”

Khlilia said, “I’m exhausted.” She snuggled next to Jimmie, and they began to make their way to their cabin.

Osha said, “I’m not. I’ll stay up and look out for asteroids while I get acquainted with this feathered alligator guy Candor.”

“Prince Candor, Osha.” Candor demanded respect.

Looking back over his shoulder, Jimmie said, “He’s an excellent cook, Osha. Don’t insult him, okay? He likes to eat people sometimes. He used to be a high lord among the Aztecs. He’ll have many interesting stories to tell you. You can compare barbecue sauces.”

Osha gulped in respect.

Candor said to Osha, “Don’t worry, you are my pet also.”

The spaceship passed asteroids through the eternal night of space, and approached Jupiter.

Khlilia woke up, came out of the cabin with Jimmie into the control room, and looked out the window.

“Look, we’re passing Jupiter already! How beautiful!”

Candor said, “As we gather momentum, we will pass Saturn in only another day. Then, as we go faster and faster at relativistic speeds, we will leave the solar system and exceed the theoretical barrier of the speed of light. We will approach Deneb Kaitos in five weeks of beautiful celestial scenery. Tomorrow, we will view the ringed dignity of Saturn.”

“Uh, Prince Candor, where is Osha?” Jimmie asked, a bit worried.

“Well, I did not like his music as much as I like yours. But he was tasty, er, tasteful enough.”

“You beast! What did you do with him?” Khlilia was almost crying.

Osha entered, yawning after sleep. “Don’t worry, Khlilia, he cooked us enough of that frozen venison for a great lunch. We ate some of it last night, with salmon and vegetables. He’s a great cook. Reminds me of a samurai sushi chef I once knew. Great theatrics. Great barbecue sauce. As long as our freezer doesn’t run out, we tasty humans will be alright.”

Jimmie was confident in Candor and in their itinerary. “Hopefully, we’ll get fresh seafood from one of the ocean planets of Deneb Kaitos, and fresh meat and vegetables from Hamal or Sharatan.”

The spaceship passed the magnificent planet Saturn, and all were glued silently to the viewports in awe of its majesty. If you have not seen Saturn closely, you have not lived.