Be careful what you wish for
A STORY BY MALTRAY FOX
This story is copyright © to Maltrayfox 2007. All Rights Reserved
The Chakats and Chakona ©Bernard Doove
Lenya©xolo with his permission
2375, Chakona
Life for Chakat Goldmane was an easy one perhaps shi thought a little too easy. Chakona was paradise or as close to it as it could come. Hir work brought hir into close contact with most machines. Hir talent for Engineering had been provoked by hir sire Chakat Riverpaw. For the last few years Goldmane had been in the employ of the Stella Federation as an engineer in one of the dry docks above the world. Recently shi had chosen to leave and work on other projects of hir own, a few had worked quite nicely and had been patented. They where making more than enough credits for hir to indulge in what work shi wanted to do. Most projects shi could pick or chose shi was wearing a lose green top that matched hir eyes.
Goldmane was mostly a light grey over most of hir body only hir stomach; inner thighs lower stomach and chest were white with hir four feet. Shi had blue/green eyes and long very light blonde hair. It was this that hir name came from. Shi knew hir coloring matched that of the Russian Blue feline of Earth. Right at the moment shi was fiddling with a small handheld device shi had found it in one of the national parks. The device looked like a wrist watch but was a little bit bigger than that. It was now sitting on a work bench in Goldmane's home, shi mutter a few curses and sighed whatever was inside the device it was not going to give up it secrets easily. Putting down the hyperdriver Goldmane frowned a little. Shi had put a lot of things to one side while shi was within the Star Corps, mating wasn't an idea of hir own anyway and shi had not done so. Alright shi had a few very close friends, but it was no more than that recreational sex was easy enough and in many ways it had kept hir sane.
Goldmane changed the head of the hyperspaner for a small tractor presser. Shi smiled as the back of the device pinged softly and slid aside. The inner workings seemed to look like a small printed circuit but from the readings of the computer on the workbench it was much more than that. The technology was on a par with something shi had seen before in the Argolis cluster.
"Alright then where do you come from...the gateway creators?" Goldmane asked hirself.
The Gateway creators had existed nearly two million years ago unlike the gateways used for starship travel these could send people, ships or anything you desired in an instant. They where faster than transporter technology, however the entire system had gone down some two to three thousand years ago due to the devices not having enough energy resources. There was a theory instead of dying out they had simply left for somewhere else. Where and why was one of the great mysteries of the universe. The watch device was quite a puzzle to Goldmane, shi considered what shi should do. Scanning the device shi was rather surprised the device was no older than five years give or take a factor of a possible two years.
"I really wish I knew where you came from"
Goldmane scrabbled to get away as a powerful looking arc of what looked like electricity shot from the device and linked it to the computer. At first only alien symbols and graphics flickered over the small read out screens. Quite quickly the computer started showing standard English on the screen. Goldmane had only ever seen anything like this during the FSS Charles Grey incident. Standing back up shi padded closer to the computer, shi moved slowly fearful of any other energy spikes. Three words came on the main screen of the small computer: Ready for commands.
"List commands" commented Goldmane.
The computer responded with a huge list of possible command and directions. Goldmane looked a little amazed there was so much information. Padding to the edge of the workbench shi popped the back of the watch device back closed.
"Alright lets start with some questions, where are you form?"
The computer replied quickly: Classified Information
"Hmmph right simple questions then, your obviously some sort of interface device for what I'm not sure yet. What are you based on?"
The reply came just as quickly as the others: Time and Dimensional Re-locator with multitask and multi-function interface
"What's your energy source?"
Classified Information came up on the small screen again.
"Hmm I see one step forwards and two back. Well it's time for lunch so I'm going to ponder you for a while and whatever you are" commented Goldmane.
The Chakat left the large workroom padding into the kitchen that was on the same level. Nearly all the rooms of the house where on the same level but for the heating and recycling system that was in the basement. Lunch consisted of two large steaks and a salad; they waited on the large counter in the center of the room. Goldmane popped the steaks into a reheating unit and waited for a few minutes. As soon as the unit pinged shi removed them and placed the next to the salad. Pondering the device in the workroom shi wondered if 'Dimensional' meant what shi thought. In theory there were only four dimensions. Those being length, mass, speed and time. Goldmane considered the phrase in hir mind it wasn't possible. The device meant what shi thought it did...didn't it but that was science fiction wasn't it. As soon as shi had finished dinner shi slipped the plates into the dishwasher before returning to the workroom. Goldmane picked up the device there was no visible link to the computer.
"I wish I knew what it was like on Earth...I mean there's so much we don't know about before twenty fifty. I'd like to see that if it was possible" Goldmane said softly.
The device suddenly light up as shi said this.
"Command acknowledged, setting time and dimensional co-ordinates. Setting this area as home, all commands completed, beginning jump sequence"
Goldmane vanished in a large superluminal flash of light.