Kidnapped

Gilbert Harker finds himself in unexpected trouble

Xephal, a strange new planet in fringes of the Alpha Centauri hosted all sorts of strange life and monstrosities. Before any man from Earth had set a single foot upon Xephal, it was the site of a prolonged political struggle between the brutish Gorgonians and the amber coloured and winged Alf whom the Gorgonians feasted upon. Neither side really winning their perpetual war, their corpses littered the planet’s surface by the arrival of humanity in the mid to late 24^th century. It began when a scientific expedition led by Doctor Samantha Weaver arrived on the planet, only for most of the personnel to be massacred and eaten by the Gorgonians. The famous “Centaurian” fleet, a military expedition sent to explore the Alpha Centauri, would rediscover and settle Xephal. This time, Terran authorities brought in their superhuman battle-hardened legionnaires to protect the scientists. This was not like the wars that mankind fought against the machines, advanced alien races or against each other. It was a more unconventional guerrilla war, forcing the Terrans to deploy regiments of their Home Guard, who proceeded to set up permanent outposts and settlements, gradually establishing a more safe and secure human presence on Xephal. To the chagrin of the Terran command, Home Guardsmen, especially the younger ones, brought their families along, complicating security matters as it meant young children now populated the bases established on Xephal.

However, the danger that lurked everywhere on Xephal did little to deter a certain boy named Gilbert, the eldest child of a Terran Lieutenant, Philip Harker, who had been stationed on “Outpost Zebra.” Gilbert learned to take advantage of the early hours of the morning to explore the base, its hangers, garages and armouries as well as its control tower.

It was one morning, when most of the men were asleep, that Gilbert managed to sneak through the gates of the outpost, just as the sentries opened them to let out a recon rover to scout the area. Once he left the security of the base, Gilbert took a minute to catch his breath. He looked around at the exotic and strange-looking vegetation of Xephal, whose trees and plants seemed even more alive than those of a tropical rainforest back on Earth. Curiosity killed Gilbert’s rational sense as he flicked his torch light on to illuminate the new biome, unaware that nearby creatures were looking at him with a sense of glee and hunger. He wandered further into the forest, gasping in wonder at glowing sacs hanging from the trees. Returning to these sacs before the morning were a vast number of small insectoid creatures whose bulbous backs glowed in all sorts of colours. Gilbert sat by a tree and extended his hand to let one of the bugs settle on his palm. Overhead, the star Centauri B was beginning to rise in the sky, ascending to take its throne as it turned the sky of Xephal from black to dark red.

Looking up, Gilbert could see a flying fortress in the very far distance. As a Terran schooled and bred, he knew what it was, a vast six-engine vessel that acted both as a battleship and aircraft carrier, it carried Legionnaires, among whom was his uncle, ready to reinforce any besieged outpost or rescue any lost expedition. He was forbidden to go anywhere near a flying fortress which only stoked his curiosity about the enormous machine.

A rustling noise right beside him pulled him back to reality. He felt uneasy. Shining the torch around him, Gilbert saw hunched shapes with big oval beady white eyes. It was enough to make him bolt back to the base, hoping to God that his father had woken up by now. Just as he had the base’s perimeter in sight, Gilbert felt himself getting grabbed by clawed hands whose nails pierced his skin. In a panic, Gilbert lost his cap as he felt himself slam against the dirt. Gilbert had never felt so vulnerable in his life, and he screamed helplessly as the creatures dragged him further and further away from the base. Two sentries, dressed in khaki uniforms, were on look-out duty in the control tower. Their bodies were shielded by brown breastplates, shin guards and curved helmets.

“Hey Jeff, did you hear that?” One of the sentries asked his companion.

His comrade was already focusing with a pair of binoculars.

“Chip!! Over there!! It’s the lieutenant’s son! Look who’s got him!!”

Looking through the binoculars, Chip could see Gilbert being dragged away by hunched backed frog-shaped creatures with scaly bodies, many of whom clasped spears in their clawed hands as they stood up on their hind legs. Others clasped jagged knives. Chip fired his assault rifle but he didn’t seem to hit anything. He panicked.

“Jeff!! Sound the alert!! The Lieutenant’s son has been taken by Gorgonians!!”

Alarms wailed across the base and men rushed towards the perimeter, but by the time they got outside, Gilbert had disappeared with only his cap remaining. The atmosphere was intense in the base as Gilbert’s father, Phil Harker listened in dread to Chip’s report.

“Yes sir, it is true, your son just got dragged off by the Gorgonians!”

Phil felt his skin grow cold. Eleana, his wife was right beside him, clutching onto his arm, her emerald eyes growing wider as she listened to what the men had said. She was dressed in green and her thick black hair was falling around her shoulders and down her back. As she listened, she nervously asked, “Phil, Gilbert isn’t going to be eaten, please tell me he isn’t, is he?”

“No…he’s not…”

Phil turned to the sergeant and spoke sternly.

“Sergeant, get these men to tighten the security of the base, make sure no one, especially not any of your kids, go anywhere near the perimeter of the facility!! Jeff, inform Major Jethro of what has just happened.”

“Yes sir! What about you, Lieutenant? You ain’t leaving little Gilbert to be an alien’s dinner, are you?”

“No, sergeant! I’m going to find him myself!”

“Alone?”

“Yes, alone if I need to.”

Phil headed to the armoury, leaving Eleana standing there. Eleana felt sick to her stomach, this was only her third week on Xephal and her husband was busy most of the time, he had to be in order to help defend the base. As well, she had given birth to twins, Jeff and Pete, on the voyage to Xephal. Now, her eldest child, Gilbert had been taken captive by a race known to even eat their own kind. She looked around her, desperately trying to work out what to do next.

Although this must have come off as incredibly stupid on a planet as dangerous as Xephal, Phil was painfully aware that he was still little more than a young lieutenant who had been put in command of an already frustrated batch of machine wars-veterans. These men had been dumped on what was a fringe planet at the edge of Terran territory by the Centaurian fleet. While Phil had taken part in the initial expedition and thus fought in some of its battles, his experience was nothing compared to what the men he commanded had gone through. The embarrassing truth is that this was as much about proving Phil’s own manhood as it was about retrieving his son. Phil suited up, getting a breastplate to protect his chest and groins, but he left his arms free and slung his assault rifle over his shoulder. As he heaved his backpack onto his hefty back, Phil could hear two higher ranking officers muttering to each other.

“Did you hear that that Greenhorn Harker just got his kid nicked by Gorgonians…apparently the little twerp snuck out of the base while the rest of us were asleep.”

“Really? Good Lord, it certainly shows how little the Terran parliament think of this “Xephalian emergency” that they are dumping boys like him to help us command our garrisons. And to think he’s from the same family as Zach Harker, the great hero of the machine wars. God clearly played dice with the Harkers.”

Phil’s blue eyes widened and his heart stung as the sound of their voices faded away. Clearly, they viewed his son’s capture as a sign of his own incompetence. Determined to prove them wrong, he stood up and straightened his cap, then heard his wife’s voice.

“Are you going alone?”

Phil nodded.

“Of course, I am, he’s our son, Eleana. Let’s face it, it’s thanks to me that such a naïve kid as Gilbert ended up on Xephal, the least I can do is bring him back safely to base.”

Phil, now fully geared, turned to see his wife standing behind him with her arms crossed, blocking his path. Phil looked at her somberly.

“Hold on a minute, you’re not just here to wish me luck, are you?”

“No Phil, don’t you get it? I’m going with you on this.”

“Wait, what? No, Eleana, I would never forgive myself if the Gorgonians did anything to you. Besides what qualifications do you have for this mission?”

“Qualifications?? Phillip! I’m his mother. I was the one who insisted on coming here with you because I didn’t want to be without you while I was still pregnant, not for a second time.”

Phil sighed.

“Eleana, don’t guilt me for being absent when Gilbert was born. My orders were to be with the Centaurian fleet and I honestly had no choice in the matter. Besides what about Roddy and Pete? At least if it is just me who dies out there, the twins would still have their mother.”

“Don’t worry, I left them in the nursery, they’ll be in safe hands I know that it’s risky but Gilbert is out there…”

Phil sighed again, but because he didn’t want to waste any more time, he took down a scoped rifle from one of the racks along with some spare rounds of ammunition and handed them to his wife.

“Alright, but if you are coming, you’re coming armed. Outside these walls, Xephal is not a nice place for anyone without a gun.”

Eleana nodded and slung the heavy rifle over her shoulder.

The two left the base and threaded their way carefully through the strange alien forests that were still dark even during daylight. Many of the plants were carnivorous. Eleana seemed briefly shocked but tried to keep focused.

“Phil? Your older brother is stationed on Xephal, isn’t he?”

“He is, he’s on that Flying Fortress orbiting our base. However, if we want his help, and we do, we’re going to need to set up a fleet beacon to relay a message to him.”

“And you have one of those with you, right, Phil?”

“Of course, but it will need some setting up…come on, stay with me darling. The major once sent fifty of our boys into this jungle, only ten made it back!”

The two continued deeper into the forest, Phil using a machete to hack through the dense vegetation.

Meanwhile, at the cave of the Gorgonians, Gilbert slowly opened his green eyes and felt an immense pain at his tummy. Not only did he feel cold and alone, but he also felt incredibly stupid. He knew that he was experiencing the moment in which a boy recognized that his father had legitimate reason for setting the rules that he set. Suddenly, he felt something warm and wet on his wounds. He struggled up and scrambled away till his back was against the wall of the cave’s corridor.

Opening his eyes more fully, Gilbert found himself looking at a creature like a chameleon but the size of a dog. It behaved like one. Gilbert had heard of this creature before, on the journey to Xephal, he had learnt that it was called a “caneleon.” Like Gilbert himself, it had claw marks on its belly. Gilbert sat up, keeping an eye on the caneleon and discovered that he was topless and barefooted while his own belly had deep claw marks that were still bleeding. Seeing the marks was enough to make Gilbert panic and scream. His screams were loud enough for Phil and Eleana to hear him.

“Gilbert?? Phil, that’s him!” cried Eleana.

“I know, come on, it came from this direction.”

The two continued towards the sound of their son’s screaming till they saw a large patrol of Gorgonians, forcing them to hide. Phil’s blue eyes widened as he saw two of them holding a stick to which some unidentified beast was attached to and still wriggling as if trying to escape. Eleana, clearly having never seen such creatures up close was suitably horrified by them.

Phil and Eleana followed the creatures till they reached the mouth of what looked to be a cave complex that stretched deep into the earth. They crouched down near the entrance. “That must be it, that’s where they’ve taken Gilbert.” Phil whispered.

Phil unstrapped his backpack and took out a thick cylindrical torch-shaped object.

“Hurry Eleana! Help me set this up!”

“What’s this for, Phil?”

“It means that we have a point of retreat and an easy ride home if a Terran vessel picks up our presence.”

“And if the savages destroy it, Phil, what do we do then?”

“They won’t, because you’re going to guard the beacon, alright?”

“But…”

“Honey, you got to trust me. I’m going to get Gilbert back, and if things go haywire, the dropship will be there to pick you up.”

Phil put his hands on Eleana’s shoulders and kissed her before darting off into the cave. Trembling, Eleana unslung her rifle and took up her position as the beacon began to beep.

Creeping down the passageway from the cave mouth, Phil had to admit that he regretted not waiting for a search party whose firearms, flame throwers and gas would have made this rescue much easier. A radio hung from his belt so that he could maintain his contact with Eleana. He flashed his torch light ahead to illuminate the darkness of the caverns. Just then, a Gorgonian sentry loomed up in front of him. Trying to keep his presence discreet, Phil grabbed the goblin-like creature and jabbed it in the throat with a knife. It let out a squeal, attracting more of the creatures and forced Phil to unsling his assault rifle, blasting his attackers. Having slain several of them, Phil flung a smoke grenade, taking advantage of the mist to escape the attacking Gorgonians…some of whom were blowing horns to sound the alert that they had an unwanted intruder in their territory.

Further down the passageway, Gilbert heard the gunfire. He jumped up and yelled.

“Dad? Dad!! We’re over here!!”

“Gilbert?? Hang on, Gilbert, I’m coming!!”

Gilbert had a burst of hope but suddenly a Gorgonian loomed over him and the caneleon, snarling as it raised its spear. Gilbert flung a rock at it, barely denting the creature but distracting it to glare right at him with a toothy grin, revealing razor sharp teeth. Readying its razor-sharp claws, the Gorgonian prepared to pounce. But the caneleon got there first, forcing the creature to drop his spear. In the ensuing struggle Gilbert was able to grab the spear and jab the Gorgonian in the hip, buying him and the caneleon time to escape their prison. However, they got quickly lost in the dimly lit maze of passages and soon more Gorgonians surrounded them. Truly terrified, Gilbert opened his mouth to scream for his dad. The death rattle of a machine gun rang through the corridor and minced up the Gorgonians. Gilbert clung onto his ears and ducked down, but as soon as he let go of his ears, he found his voice again.

“Dad? Dad!!!”

Overjoyed, Gilbert ran right into Phil who lifted him up in his arms.

“Calm down Gilbert!! I see you learnt the hard way not to go exploring Xephal by yourself!!”

“I’m sorry Dad, I really am!”

“Don’t worry, Gilbert, I’m not gonna punish you for it, the Gorgonians have done you enough damage…I’m going to get you back to mommy, okay?”

“Can we bring “Bolt”?”

“Bolt?”

Gilbert pointed at the caneleon who was currently standing on all fours. Before Phil could answer, they heard the roars and screeches of more Gorgonians approaching in the distance. “Come on, sunshine, you can explain it all later!” Phil said.

Phil and Gilbert started to run, the caneleon easily keeping pace with them. Before long, they had a horde of Gorgonians in full pursuit of them. Their lungs bursting, Phil, Gilbert and Bolt emerged from the cave mouth. Eleana had been watching the cave mouth obsessively and at first smiled as she saw her husband and son come into view. Her smile broke as she saw the horde of Gorgonians right behind them. Eleana ducked as a volley of arrows flew right past her while she scrambled to raise her rifle, aiming it as best she could at the pursuers.

Seeing a Gorgonian that was preparing to pounce on Phil, she fired at the creature, knocking it out of mid-air and buying Phil time to make it to the beacon. Unsure of how many humans there were, the Gorgonians hesitated and fell back. Phil came to a halt, panting as he regained his breath, while Gilbert ran straight for Eleana. She knelt down, crying with joy as she wrapped her arms around Gilbert.

“Mom!!”

“Oh God, Gilbert, please don’t dart off like that on me again, I love you too much.”

Both were speechless as they were locked in an embrace, for Eleana’s anger at Gilbert had melted away because she was so glad to have him back. Phil focused his assault rifle on the cave mouth, knowing the Gorgonians weren’t going to let them get away that easily. He noticed the caneleon was sitting beside him, panting as if it was a dog.

“So, you are my son’s new pet, is that it? He called you Bolt, is that your name?”

The creature didn’t respond. Still, the caneleon seemed happy to stay alongside the Harkers, probably because it was safer than being alone.

As Centauris B began to set over Xephal, a giant turbine powered dropship was darting above the tree line. It was doing a routine patrol, for its ramp was lowered down, allowing a hefty trooper, clad in deep brown body armour and a dark green uniform with a claw marked face to peer down at the foliage below. Another legionnaire came up behind him and announced:

“Captain Harker? We just got a distress signal; eh…from your little brother Phil!”

Zach, the trooper on the ramp, developed a look of horror as he heard the mention of his brother. Standing up, he ordered the other Legionnaire,

“Respond immediately, let him know that we are on our way!”

“Yes sir!”

The dropship turned from its original course and headed to where the Harkers were. For Zach had saved the neck of his younger brother before, and now he was determined to do it again.

As the moon orbiting the planet began to rise, Phil set up a campfire. Bolt approached it cautiously. Eleana sat Gilbert on her lap as she tended to his wounds, bandaging the claw marks. Gilbert still felt desperately uncomfortable, for his mind was sickened with regret over his antics.

“So, Gilbert, how did you get the caneleon on our side?” Phil asked him.

“He licked my wounds, stopping them from bleeding, so I helped him escape. I didn’t want him to be eaten, he lost all of his family, he’s a pup.”

“Hold on, Gilbert! How do you know this?”

“Mom, Dad, I’ve been getting dreams ever since I’ve been asleep on the ship. Dreams that have me embody the minds of other creatures, even a Caneleon…what’s happening Dad?”

Phil looked increasingly alarmed when he heard this.

“Those aren’t dreams, Gilbert, that’s your mind…whatever is happening to you Gilbert, it’s best that you keep this among us and don’t tell anyone.”

Eleana, feeling surprised and sad, asked.

“But Phil! That’s not fair, he can read minds and link with other creatures, doesn’t that mean…”

“It means that he’s got psionic potential…it’s starting to happen a lot more among kids…”

Eleana was puzzled.

“But isn’t that a gift Phil??”

“No, it’s a curse…because arms dealers and scientists will want to weaponize it. He could be taken from us and experimented on…we can’t let that happen.”

“But that’s illegal, isn’t it?”

“Among the earth governments of Terra and Atlantica yes…but we’re in the Alpha Centauri…those laws tend to disturbingly lax out here. I only hope to God that my position is enough to prevent it from happening to poor Gilbert.”

Eleana looked horrified. She clasped Gilbert closer. How anyone could have the heart to do that to a little child was more alien to her than the Gorgonians were. But then, the Gorgonians could be heard howling and screeching in the surrounding trees. Phil scrambled for his assault rifle.

“Oh God, Eleana, here come the hungry natives, let’s hope the signal of the beacon reaches my brother in time!!”

Eleana made the sign of the cross as she readied the scoped rifle. Gilbert hid close behind her while the caneleon stood ready next to them. The sheer number of Gorgonians, some of whom looked like enormous ogres was almost enough to overwhelm Phil. His fingers trembled on the trigger.

“Honey, you certain about following me out on this venture? This horde could tear down an outpost if allowed.”

“Phil, you really think I would have followed you to Xephal if I wasn’t ready to take the risks?”

Phil smiled when he heard this but before he could fire a shot, spotlights flashed down, illuminating the Gorgonians.

There was a shriek of horror and the creatures scattered as a missile shot down from the sky, splitting into smaller missiles which darted around the place, slicing up Gorgonians. They flung spears or tried to fire bursts of energy from their glowing staffs at the source of the spotlights which revealed itself to be the giant turbine powered dropship. Its turbines created a wind as its missile launchers and auto cannons shredded the area, keeping the Gorgonians at bay as the ramp to the cargo bay lowered downwards from underneath the stern of the vessel.

Zach led a troop of armoured Legionnaires down the ramp as they fired back at encroaching Gorgonians with their high-powered assault rifles and machine guns. Seeing Phil down on the ground, Zach reached his gloved hand out and asked.

“You okay down there, little brother?”

“Zach?? God, you are a sight for sore eyes…we had to rescue my son from these critters!”

“Well hop on, Phil, let’s not make losing a boy’s father when he’s young a family tradition!”

First, Eleana handed Gilbert to Phil who then passed him up to the Legionnaires who carried the wounded boy into the cargo bay. Next, Phil picked up Eleana.

“Ladies first.”

Phil handed her to Zach who helped her restabilize herself. Both she and Gilbert waited by the ramp as Bolt then leaped onto the vessel. They watched as Zach grabbed onto Phil and helped him onto the ramp. A Gorgonian leapt at Phil, causing both him and Zach to fall down onto the dropship’s metallic floor but Phil kicked the Gorgonian off with his spiked boot just as the ramp was finally raised. With all of the family in, the dropship darted back into the night sky and set course for Zebra base.

Inside, Phil gasped with exhaustion as he restabilized himself while Eleana knelt down to cuddle Gilbert. Having regained his balance and his orientation, Phil sat down beside them.

“You okay, honey?”

“We’ll endure this planet, won’t we, Phil?”

“Trust me honey, we might even start a proper life together on this planet…become part of creating some brand-new nation in the process.”

Eleana smiled as she and Phil kissed while he patted her on the back. Then, Bolt darted up and slurped Gilbert, causing the boy to laugh and leaving Phil and Eleana rather embarrassed. As Phil stood up, Zach looked at him curiously.

“Phil, how did a caneleon end up on our vessel?”

“Gilbert found it in the cave, another side effect of bringing young kids to Xephal.”

“What’s that?”

“They end up finding a new pet.”