The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 123
Sarah decided to ask Ernie to carefully walk over the small slip
of paper and blow all over it to see if could get some more
characters to appear. Maybe wasn't just Ernie's peppery breath but
some heat too. She knew he would be diappointed if he wasn't allowed
to try.
She smiled as the little guy practically hypervenilated as he huffed
and puffed back and forth. His valient efforts were working, as more
details emerged. It definitely looked like part of a map, but also a
warning of great danger literally on a galaxy level. What ever
Scarlett and the others were up to Sarah knew they had to be stopped.
She decided to share Ernie's discovery with Frances and Macc.
At the other side of the Galaxy Droid 2 was on a special mission. The droid collective had sent him out to retrieve the President of the United Federation of Planets. While the President was missing, the Vice president was in actual leadership of the entire Federation. As the reputaytion of Vice President Scarlett was in doubt to say the least, it was necessary to act as fast as possible.
After a very complex search of probes and satelites, finally the President was located, deep inside a planet called Dorment, a planet famous for its survival courses. The rough territory and the close distance to the Dorment star makes the planet extreme hot, as they say. Deep inside there are some hollow spaces, where life is difficult, but possible. Once Starfleet used this planet for training new recrutes for special programs, but the last few years the underground bases have been abandoned. Someone has kidnapped the President and locked him up in one of the holding cells, not heavily guarded, as nobody expects a liberation attempt. Scanners cannot penetrate the kilometers surface, a spaceship will be detected easily... but not one droid...
Droid 2 reports to his log.
"It is strange how living creatures have tried to make things different. They say it is in their own interest to maintain life as it is, but some of the living creatures think otherwise. Since I have been among the living creatures, The Shepard has said that we had to addapt and make some adjustments. I still have this curiosity. Now I am on this mission to save one person. I have been ordered to use any means necessary to save this person. I have heard through the collective that this one person is the most important person in the entire galaxy. He seems to be a president and the only one to stop just one other person, who seems to be evil. Although I have been informed that the future of this timeline has not yet changed, time is one of those things we do not seem to have. I have arrived."
A small ship of the Hammerhead class decents to the planet Dorment, completely undetected. After a smooth landing Droid 2 starts digging. The temperature is 320 degrees Celcius at the surface, but as Droid 2 makes his way through the surface, temperature drops a degree for every meter. The digging goes easier than expected. The progress is increasing rapidly. At the end of the day Dorid 2 reaches the titanium outer wall of the complex. With a few directed electronic and magnetic signals Droid 2 disables some of the sensors making it look like there is a malfunction in the sensor grid. Through the small hole in this net Droid 2 is able to enter the structure. It has to make his way through the corridors. It knows that there are some areas where he will be forced to fight. Calculations are running at high speed through his artificial neural network, supported by the entire droid collective. and then it begins. Four guards in front of the prison complex are just playing some game living creatures seem to play when they are not willing to be productive. Droid 2 has the element of surprise when he disables the four guards in 1.492 seconds with only an energy useage of 17.3 Mega Watt. That is efficiency. Although Droid 2 is still basicly a machine, it feels some pride in its work. The lock of the cell is easily opened. The President is free, but he is in weak condition. Medical attention is needed fast. Droid 2 grabs the president, climbs up throuhg the tunnel he has made to come down to the complex and sees his call for help has been answered. there is the problem of the high ttemperature of the planet Dorments surface. The President will never survive such temperatures. So the calculations have to work. Just as day changes into night, the temperature of the planet surface is just good enough even for the weak President to survive. But tuime is of the essence. There is only a window of 37 seconds before the night brings a freezing temperature. Exactly an hour later Droid 2 is on the surface with the President in his arms. A few seconds later the President sits in the Hammerhead, getting medical attention of the small medical unit aboard. Droid 2 sets course into space...
ERNIE-TAP DANCING FREEDOM FIGHTER (Part 4)
************************************************************
Chewbacca managed with a lot of flattery and stroking Ernie's vanity,
to convince the little bat to learn a "tapping" dance while wearing
small metal bottle caps gently crimped to fit over his feet. At first
Ernie was fascinated by his "shoes" and that he could make noise with
his feet. But after a while his legs felt tired and kinda had to
learn how to keep his balance so wouldn't fall on his face. Chewbacca
kept feeding Ernie little tidbits and treats for every dance sequence
he would learned. After a few evenings practicing, Chewbacca started
playing a tune on a very large wooden flute to get Ernie to tap the
dance sequences to the proper beat and rhythm. Chewbacca was amused
that he was the manager and now musician for a bat and had come up
with the most fantastic plan to aid the Resistance on Endor.
Once Chewbacca was satisfied with Ernie's routine. He went to trade
his "wares" to the supply sergeant at the Storm troops post. The
supply sergeant was interested in a liquid filled wood gourd that
Chewbacca claimed to be a plant oil extract that was great for metal
parts. His wonder oil would prevent the constant rust that formed on
any metal in the humid atmosphere of Endor. Too bad the supply
sergeant didn't know there was a secret additive that after being on
any metal for a week would suddenly change into an acid, due to
reaction with a natural chemical in the air of Endor, which would
rapidly eat through any metal it coated. By then Chewbacca would be
off the planet.
Chewbacca knew how lonely the remote outposts were and how the Storm
troopers jumped at the chance for any forms of entertainment. He said
he had a trained bat that danced to music and with just a bit of help
from the sergeant , would be happy to put on a show. Chewbacca said
would be his honor to provide some much needed entertainment for the
post. The base commander thought this would be amusing so okayed the
show and for the assistance Chewbacca requested to "improve" the show.
That evening right after sunset, just as the fog begin to form, Ernie
and Chewbacca came to the outpost. During the day there had been a
plank laid across the prongs of a fork lift. An amplifier had been
attached to bottom of the plank so that any sounds "tapped" on the
board would be played over speakers and also lights would flash to
the sequence of the sounds created.
So with a flash and flair, Chewbacca began to play on his flute the
tune "Dancing in the Rain" (think Gene Kelly everyone) and Ernie was
tapping his little heart out on the plank as it was raised higher and
higher on the fork lift. Was actually quite a light show --the lights
playing shadows on the background fog. Little did the storm troops
know that off in the forest was several Resistance Ewoks fighters,
with their wonderful night vision who were intently watching the
tapping light sequence. Chewbacca had gotten word to the Resistance
to watch from a distance because he would be sending a form of Morse
code signals that everyone in the Resistance used to communicate with
when no radio transmissions possible. The "code"sequence that Ernie
was tapping out as he danced was the number of troops stationed on
the planet, all the secret weapon silos Chewbacca had located during
his stay on the planet and other valuable information he had
collected since arriving on the planet.
Awfully nice of the commandant to be so obliging to gig the light
show!
This is how Ernie became known on Endor as the Tap Dancing Resistance
Fighter and eventually led him to meet Sarah.
************************************************************