MegaBoys from Outer Space
Chapter 7: Yelids' Trek

Chapter Seven, Yelid’s Trek

Prologue;

Burger looked at his spent bottle of Asynth, It was getting near the bottom, maybe four good shots left, and he knew he wanted more. He and Slade were passing the fourth of five sleep periods. The Versalon sector was so close, everything was going as planed. Slade was happy, Burger was not. Something Bendict had said was reaching through Burgers mind and calling him to take action..

“Hey Slade” He said, “watch this” Burger punched the flight override button, and swung his Monopod, as well as Slades, around.

“What the F….” Called Slade, “I’m not buckled in. What are you doing? We‘re almost there!”

“Change of Plans, my good man,” Burger replied in Captain mode.

“We’re going to have an adventure. We are going into uncharted space”

“But the Sexaphon games?” Slade protested, even though he knew that Burger was calling the shots. When Burger would not answer him, he said in frustration,

“OK, I give up Burger, I was really looking forward to the rides, now you’re saying we are not going? What’s going on?” Burger could tell that Slade was seriously upset. Got to make him feel better, Burger thought to himself; Oh my friend, I will tell you, but not everything, not just yet,

“You’ll replace out soon enough” He replied aloud,

“As a matter of fact, I just thought of something I need to pick up, take my word for it, you will have your games, just a bit later then scheduled.” He let it go at that.

“Oh alright,” Said Slade, a bit irritated. He was looking forward to the Amusement Zone, Slade had run through all his pleasure mags five times over, and knew them by heart, they were getting stale.

“You wouldn’t be going back to locate some more Asynth? Would you?” Now Burger was getting irritated, the Dysynth in his system did not like insubordination. He thought to himself, Take control,

“You think I’m turning us around to get some more Synth?” Burger mimicked, then he lightened up,

“You know what, If we come across a barter, You bet I’m getting another bottle,” Deflecting the conversation Burger continued,

“Hey wanna get beat again in a game of Planeroids?” He knew Slade was a sucker for the violent recro-drama. It was a good four hour game, and should give him some time to run important calculations. He studied the beacon co ordinates emanating from the Diwrecker control unit, on his console. Its source was light-years off, but closing. This would be his new course setting.

Back on Earth:

Buddy the K ran like a whirlwind through the corridor, he was seconds late from his break, and was glad they found the Promo to run, giving him enough time to get back into his seat, He pushed through the glass door, with the glowing sign above, reading, “Silent, On The Air” he found his swivel chair before the Mike, adjusted his earphones, got the count signal from the producer, glanced at the copy, and addressed the microphone as if he had been sitting calmly through the break.

“This is the voice of Buddy the K, your good time DJ, bringing you back the golden age sounds of Top Hit Radio, Blasts from the Past and just good time grooves. We are WRNR broadcasting from the heart of New York City, on our megazillion Watt transmitter tower high atop the historic Height building. Our first request of the hour is from Jennie Normanbender in Bayside, Queens, and she wants to hear, The Four Tops, Flashback66. Get ready ’cause here they come, have a little, “Reach out” Jennie my dear.” Buddy said as he spun the forty five on the turntable. He wondered if anyone got that, “Get ready” was a monster hit by the Four Tops main competition, The Temptations, probably not, Buddy shrugged his shoulder.

As soon as the music began, Buddy grabbed his coffee cup, with its acidic lukewarm brew. It had been sitting half tasted on his desk since seven, Now it was cold and stale. He took a sip and frowned, dumping the black liquid into the plastic lined trash basket on his right. Making sure he was off mike, he asked,

“Anyone want to get me a fresh cup, and some donuts?” The engineer smiled and shook his head. Buddy glanced at the next fifteen minutes log and playlist and checked the stack of 45’s on his desk. Their current promotion was a free trip to New York with a three day stay at the Skidmore hotel, and five hundred dollars spending money. He would announce it again after the song.

The chatter in the newsroom was about the UFO’s that were observed last night. They were spotted in the Pacific and China Seas. The sightings coincided with the power outage in the early hours. Not a standard blackout, but more like something jamming the radio signals. The technicians checked the tower and found no physical problems. Anything that knocked out the broadcast was of concern to the Stations Manager.

“The signal was jammed from an outside source” Reported the chief technician. It was global, he reported. The Manager nodded, A quick check verified that all radio signals were out, for eighteen minutes in the middle of the night. It was damn strange, but things seemed back to normal for the moment. The incoming Newsfeed made the Manager smile, this is just the kind of headline that drew listeners, “Tsunami Stopped by Naked Giant Alien” He might have to cut into Buddy’s programming with a news update. This was too good.

Yelid’s Landing:

The indicators flashing did not give Yelid any encouragement, He was going to land hard, and there was nothing he could do to avert it. The Monopod was built for maximum durability, and would be able to withstand total impact, but that did not ensure the integrity of anything inside it, All systems were vulnerable to the impact. Yelid selected the blackout mode for landing, not sure he would be able to survive the concussion. He was alone and afraid, but was comforted that he had made the right decision in unlocking his group. At least Punim and Cory had a chance at landing securely.

From a hundred miles up, the Planet loomed like a large blue green ball streaked with white clouds far below, He had crossed over from the dark side of the Planet, and was now observing the planets sun, rising over the horizon, The Monopod heat shields were glowing red, Yelid knew that there was nothing he could do, but brace himself for severe impact. The Monopod was equipped with a last minute landing failsafe. The speed of the entry would be reduced five minutes prior to impact. It would be akin to someone slamming on the breaks, thus allowing the Monopod to land at a tremendously reduced speed. More akin to a free fall landing and thereby creating much less damage to the craft and the planet, had the ship crashed full impact.

Yelid was unconscious as his ship tumbled to a stop, in the vast ice fields, the ship rested on it’s side, cradled by a natural mountain side, the heat from the Monopods entry melted the thick ice shelf, and allowed the craft to sink partially into the permafrost. It was lying awkwardly on it’s side. Yelid was not aware that his ships auto detectors had switched on before landing, Even in their damaged mode, they enacted the evasion setting, rendering the ship invisible to all the planets surveillance systems.

As Yelid regained consciousness, the first thing he noticed was how sore he was, every muscle felt like it had taken a hit, even taking in a deep breath hurt. His safety belt had bruised his ribs. The next thing he noticed was how he seemed to be lying on his side, even though he was properly belted in. Reaching for the control panel before him, he fumbled with a few switches, to bring up a status report.

He had landed and was alive, and for that he was grateful, His Monopod however was operating on twenty percent power, No Food, no propulsion, and only minimal basic diagnostic information available. The broad Area scan failed to locate Punim or Cory’s locations. The Planet was fully capable of sustaining Life. The atmosphere was friendly, the outside temperature was cold, but that was determined to be a local condition. At the planets equator the climate was much warmer. So he gathered from the Data being processed as it was being collected.

Yelid winced in pain as he undid his safety belt, and slid off his seat, toward the right. He glanced through the view port, the landscape was stark and strangely beautiful, white patches covered the ground, rocky cliffs surrounded the Monopod, and the sky was a deep blue, with white streaked clouds in the upper atmosphere. In the distance, he could discern low-lying greenery, plant life. That was a good sign, there was however no other indications of animal life that he could detect.

Yelid unbuckled himself, preparing for his first excursion, the reading on the panel indicated that the temperature was low, but not extreme, the exogear would be available on the strap, if needed. Even though the ship was operating on low power, Yelid switched on the Space Wave Detector It powered right up, it’s funny he thought, that the only thing working on full power, was an antique communications receiver and transmitter device. He set the control loud enough, so that if it picked up any signals, from Punim or Cory, or for that matter from any local radio sources, he would hear it outside. For luck, he also switched on the Translator. There was no telling what it would replace as it scanned the planets radio spectrum.

The Pod was lying uncharacteristically on it’s side, Yelid had to actually climb out. The tough outer shell was unmarked, when Yelid activated the touch lock panel, it slid open. The D unit batteries were shot, damaged and leaking from the impact. There would be no food or drink available until the units were replaced. The transport board looked cracked, there would be no way to get the Monopod back in the air. The auxiliary back up power supplies, were supplementing the crafts power, for minimum output.

Yelid closed the panel, looked around at the barren landscape, and accessed his remote databank, located on his utility straps right shoulder. He tapped the button and a hologram screen opened before his eyes, it revealed that there were life forms present, according to his readings. Yelid strained his eyes peering into the horizon, but could not make out any signs of life, other then the mossy green patches that were found low on the ground. The scan revealed that the Monopod landed near the planets northern magnetic pole.

As he circled his pod, he noticed something half buried and half exposed on thePod’s surface, A patch with some kind of transmission device. This was not on his Pod, when he arrived at the docking station at K614. Someone must have put it there while the craft was unguarded at the platform. Yelid pried the patch off, and folded it down. It fit in a small storage compartment that materialized on his strap. Later he would scan and identify the mystery unit.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of music. It was the Wave scanner picking up a signal. The translator device glowed active green. At first Yelid thought it was Cory or Punim, using the song they found in deep space, as a calling card.

Yelid with much effort, pushed the Monopod back into it’s upright position, It was much heavier than it looked and under normal conditions at home, he would not be able to lift the Pod, but in this small planets lower gravity, It seemed to weigh less.

All the while, the song was playing. Climbing back into the vehicle, Yelid took his seat and adjusted the tuner. The power was sufficient for the communications unit to run a diagnostic on the signal. Yelid blinked in surprise as he realized that the signal was not coming from Cory, nor Punim, In fact the signal was not the identical signal he had received in deep space, even though it sounded the same. It took Yelids breath away, as he realized that the signal was originating from this Planets surface. This indicates the presence of Intelligent Life.

Yelid focused on the signal, while running the coordinates of the broadcast. As the song ended, the transmission continued, Yelid listened to the voice of an adult male. The translator was getting it’s workout.

“Allright folks, that was it the bonus song of the day, the first one to call in and name the song wins the Three day stay in the Big Apple, complements of WRNR broadcasting worldwide in Mega Watts atop the historic Height Tower. Our Number again is 212-555-WRNR, We are taking your calls now, This is Buddy the K waiting to talk to you.” Yelid thought for a second, Here was intelligent life asking for him to call! He switched the device to transmit, and punched in the numbers given. Halfway around the world, phonelines reverted to static, but at the radio station, the only incoming line was from Yelid.

“Hello” answered Buddy, not realizing all phones were jammed, in the western hemisphere,

“You’ve Got Buddy the K, Who is this?” Yelid was excited; Here was one of the planets representatives. This was an historic moment. He checked his translator transmitter as he replied,

“This is Yelid”

“Hello Yelid,” The voice responded cheerfully, “And where are you from?” Yelid thought a second and answered honestly,

“I’m from Bedem” He said. Buddy looked at his producer, who shrugged his shoulders.

“And where is that?” Asked Buddy keeping his voice upbeat.

“The fourth planet in the Aver Croyden Star System” Yelid said. Buddy was expecting Newark, or perhaps Rochester, but outer space?

“That’s amazing, In a galaxy long ago and far away?” He chided, playfully. Not waiting for an answer He continued,

“How old are you Yelid?” Yelid did a quick calculation and replied,

“By your planets yearly cycle, I would be ten thousand years old, but on my Planet I’m ten. And How old are you?” The engineers were cracking up. This was gold, seeing Buddy so taken aback. If this was a prankster, he was doing great.

“Oh, this side of thirty, but we don’t need to know that,” He replied, This was so different from the way it was suppose to go. Intrigued however Buddy continued.

“OK son, lets get down, What was the name of the song I just played, and where does it come from?” Yelid spoke right up,

“Uganurry Luf, coming at you from WWRL and Dr Soul, the sound of Motown in the city” Yelid mimicked his original signal. The answer threw Buddy for a loop, there was something very odd about the response, something no one else but an old radio man, might notice, it did not pass Buddy’s attention. He continued nonplussed,

“Close enough Yelid. That was the Supremes, Super hit from Sixty Six. Yelid you are the Grand prize winner, and will be our guest at the station, and enjoy a three day fully paid stay at The Big Apples’ luxurious Skidmore hotel, plus we give you five hundred dollars spending money” The engineer drew his fingers across his throat, Indicating that the caller had to be eighteen or older, Buddy continued,

“Hang on the line and we will get your information, In the Meantime folks, we got the Spoonfull doing, “Summer in the City” Buddy switched back to the signal, but Yelid who was thinking about the conversation he just had, disconnected his line.

“What the hell was that about?” Questioned the manager during the break, and did you know that all phone lines in the city were jammed except for your call? We got the military calling us up, and I have no idea where that call originated.

“Have we got a call back number” The man at the board gave a thumbs up.

General Holland nodded to the President,

“Looks like we got the third ship, Another young boy named Yelid contacted a New York radio station, the trace frequency was unmistakable, the signal wiped out communications in the northern hemisphere. We traced the source to northern Siberia. The Russians already are sending jets to check out the coordinates, they have told us to stay away. Seems like they want to meet this alien first.” The President saw this as an opportunity to greet and befriend the Alien. Quick action was needed.

“We have established contact first, get in touch with the radio station. We will invite the Alien over for lunch! General, I’m flying you to New York. You will supervise the action from up there. The first thing we will do is get the spaceman out of Russian territory,”

He thought to himself that if the Russians instigated hostile actions, they would most likely be wiped out themselves. He was guessing that the boy would be similar in size to the giant in the China seas operation. General Holland smartly saluted, he would be in New York in less then an hour, He would pay the folks at WRNR a visit.

“Contact the station, let them know I’m coming,” The General ordered.

Buddy was off the air, his shift was over, now he sat in his office, and ran back a replay of the conversation. He played it, and paused it, then rewound the tape and played it again, As he listened, he punched up WWRL on his computer, It indicated a radio station that had operated out of Queens, back in the Sixties, it was a Soul station, when they had such things. He was familiar with Dr Soul, who had been transferred to the Chicago market when the station was sold many years ago, The Dr passed on back in the nineties. How the Hell would the kid be able to know of that station and DJ, unless he picked up a signal, that originated from Earth sixty years ago. A signal that was picked up in deep space.

Buddy shook his head, this was crazy. His thought was harshly interrupted by the station manager who was knocking on his door,

“Yeah, come in” Buddy answered. Wayne Waxman, the Manager, looked around in the hallway before stepping in. He looked serious.

“That was quite a morning show” He said, with a half smile.

“The Space kid?” Buddy interjected

“Look, I don’t know what we got ourselves into, but we were just contacted by the US Military, a matter of National Security. They are interested in the call you got, and are sending over the top brass. They want to talk to you.” Buddy took a gulp of coffee, and looked at Wayne who continued,

“This could be something really big, it could knock our ratings out of the ballpark,and you know, they were slumping, if we play this right we are back on the top.” Wayne was getting more animated as he spoke,

“The General said he wants us to make sure we contact that kid, the one with the prank call, and get him over to the station. General Holland, Chief of the armed forces will be here before Three, and wants to brief you before you speak to the kid,” Buddy glanced at the clock, that was less then half an hour from now.

“I’m just giving you a heads up Buddy, watch how you play your cards, and you could ride a monster”

“Have you ever heard of Dr Soul?” Buddy inquired, Wayne shrugged his shoulders,

“Just a little, but that was before my time” He responded.

General Holland exited the cab, and strode into the station as if he owned the place, not bothering to sign in at the reception desk.

“I’m here for Buddy the K” He said,

“That would be room 507” replied the receptionist, “He’ll be expecting you”

The General took a casual glance around the office before addressing Buddy. There were signed pictures of various artists around the walls, some the General recognized.

“Won’t you have a seat” Buddy gestured. The General sat down and immediately got to the business at hand.

“Look Mr. King”

“Call me Buddy”, The General started over,

“Look Buddy, This is a matter of National Security, I don’t know if you realize what we’ve got here, but it is of the utmost importance that you cooperate with us”

“The kid is really from space” Buddy interjected. The General stared at him, then nodded in the affirmative.

“How did you figure that out?”

“I listen, General, that’s part of my job” He replied staunchly. The General went on to explain how three craft had landed in the early hours, two were already identified, and now this third one made itself known. He watched for Buddies reaction as he mentioned that the beings were gigantic in size.

“Does Yelid know this? He didn’t sound as if he were aware of our differences” Buddy observed.

“The other two made contact and are aware of our size difference, We don’t think that Yelid or whatever his name is, has met up with anyone yet. He crashed in a remote wilderness, Russia no less. They should be flying a welcome reception to greet him, as we speak. This is not good, We want the spaceman on American soil.” He did not specify why.

“Uh huh” Buddy nodded, “And what have I got to do with this?”

“You spoke to him, he knows you. We want you to bring him to New York, He did win your promotion?” Buddy laughed,

“How big is this alien?” The General thought a second before he spoke, then he said,

“Our calculation put the “Boy” at eight hundred and seventy feet tall, and if he is like his companions, he’s naked” Now Buddy was stunned into silence. He grinned as his mind formed a mental image,

“Oh Lord” He said.

“We have to contact that boy, right now, time is wasting. Dial this number, and put the speakers on. We are going to ask him to pay us a visit. We suspect his craft is damaged, but at his size, he should be able to walk to us.”

“Wouldn’t that spread a world wide panic” Buddy asked. The General nodded,

“We have taken that into consideration, if he can figure out Earth coordinates, and we suspect he can, then we can guide him via GPS in a route over the poles, that would bypass any populated areas. These are the coordinates.” The General handed over a page of figures.

The Wave detector picked up a new transmission, directed at the Monopod,

“Hello Yelid” Came the call, Yelid would have responded immediately but something else caught his attention. In the sky, five white lines streaked across the blue. The objects were flying very high above, and they were traveling very fast in his direction. Yelid could not make out the craft, but made a notation in his diary, more traces of intelligent beings was discovered. These could fly.

Captain Korsikov, the flight leader spotted the Giant first from an altitude of twenty seven thousand feet, He indicated to his squad, that they should swoop down to get a closer look. His jet, a SU27 banked and led the descent. The four planes behind him flew in formation.

“Lock on to the Target” Was his command. The first pass at the Giant was monitored; None of the pilots had ever seen anything like this. At over eight hundred feet tall, this monster represented a threat. At the Airbase, the word was circulated, This Monster was dangerous, and it was on Russian soil. It could do immeasurable damage if left unchecked, they had heard about island M51. To make matters worse, the Monster was in contact with Eastern forces. It was decided that Korsikov and his squad, would bring the behemoth down. He led his men on a mission of destruction.

Yelid watched as the dots descended in altitude, He saw the jet trail, but could not make out the craft. They were small, like Sting flies, and were approaching him in an unfriendly manner. The first barrage of missiles were fired, Yelid saw the incoming tiny darts, and ducked in time to evade them. He watched as the missiles exploded in the nearby mountains, sending flashes of fire where they hit.

“Yikes” he exclaimed, Yelid’s instrumentation module on his strap, told him to take evasive actions, that these tiny darts were a hostile threat. He could not know that these were manned jets.

Korsikov cursed, none of his missiles made contact, they would have to make a second run. As the second round was fired, Yelid watched the incoming trails, and again evaded them, This was too much, Yelid would have to protect himself by destroying the offensive fire spitting bugs.

With incredibly fast reflexes, Yelid swatted at two of the Jets. They were knocked off course and could not regain control before plummeting to the ground. The three remaining Jets banked a sharp turn, and returned to continue the attack. The three remaining Jets homed in on their target, missiles and cannons blazing. Yelid aware now of the nature of these bugs, made a dash into the Monopod, where he fliped open his evasive shield, Even at low power, the defenses immediately activated. The three Jets, flying in tight formation, hit the Bedem shield at full speed, and vaporized from the sky. Three more fireballs dotted the frozen wasteland, Yelid hoped there would be no more insect attacks. Satisfied that the danger was past, he tuned his attention to the Wave indicator, that was still flashing, indicating a incoming message.

“Hello Yelid, this is Buddy the K, from superstation WRNR, How are you doing there, son?” Yelid adjusted the volume controls, and responded.

“Hello, this is Yelid, you have some very nasty flying insects here on your world, I had to swat them to protect myself, I hope that was OK. Have you seen my brother and my friend?” Buddy looked to the General, who indicated the affirmative.

“Yes Yelid, we know where they are, they are all OK” Yelid gave the first sigh of relief, this was the best news he had heard all day.

“We have some more good news for you Yelid, You won our grand prize, and we want to meet you, and your friends. Can you fly down to New York to meet us?” Yelid surveyed the crafts status and shook his head,

“No, my Monopod is damaged”

“That’s OK Yelid, you can walk down here to meet us, do you have a GPS?”

“Whats that?” Yelid asked. Buddy explained and Yelid smiled,

“Yeah I have navigation tools, I need your planets cooridinates so I can replace my way.”

“We’ll transmit to you the information you need, you can then follow our map.”

After the Latatude and Longitude were established on Yelids mapping system, the path was offered. This would avoid any population centers. Yelid would keep in contact with Buddy, via his ear bud, and would replace his way to the great city traveling over the poles, by foot. Buddies voice turned serious.

“Look Yelid, I know you are a stranger here to our world, Your friend Cory has met us already, He has helped us, and saved many lives and so has Punim, You have not met us, so I want you to listen carefully. To us, you and your friends are Giants.” Yelid looked perplexed, then smiled.

“Are you serious? Me, a Giant?” The thought tickled him.

“To the people of Earth, you are. And it is important that we meet and talk to you in person. Do not do anything to hurt us, and we will not hurt you.”

“Did you send those stinging flies I swatted?” Yelid asked, The General shook his head No. It must have been the Russians. Buddy continued,

“They must have come from some bad people. We do not want to hurt you. We want to help you if we can, please trust us, and we will trust you” Yelid was excited about meeting up with his brother and friend. Maybe the people of this planet could help him fix his Monopod.

“I don’t have any food or drink, How far away are you?” The General did a quick calculation, and handed it to Buddy.

“If you walk you can reach our city in five hours. We will see to having food for you when you arrive, you can drink from the Ice flows that you will replace along the way. They are fresh water, You drink water, right? Can you keep us in communication as you travel?” Yelid glanced at his communication unit, and nodded.

“I’m pretty sure I can, If I follow your directions, I won’t get lost?”

“Follow them carefully Yelid, and you won’t get lost, Our directions will bypass our major population areas, We would not want to create a panic by having you seen by unsuspecting Earth people. And remember, we are tiny compared to you, but we look just like you. You may not even be able to see us unless you are looking very carefully so watch for our structures where you step. And keep in contact with us every hour, so we can follow your progress. When you get close to our country, we will send out people to meet you, and guide you in. We should have some hot food for you, by then, and have more information about your friends.” Yelid reflected on the message, although it sounded amazing, He would follow the adult’s directions; He looked forward to reuniting with his brother and Cory.

Buddy, before he signed off, spoke into the mike with the voice of a concerned parent It reminded Yelid of his own father,

“Yelid, Take care, and welcome to Earth” The General nodded as he lit up a cigar.

“Well done Buddy, I think the kid likes you, that’s important. I’d bet at this moment that the Russians are on the warpath, I’ll have the President calm them down, In the Meantime, we will monitor the youths movements, You will be on permanent call until the kid gets here. “ Buddy reflected for a moment,

“General, you are bringing an alien giant to New York City, I sure hope you know what you are doing”

“Leave the calculations to me, and let me worry about that, You just be here as we need you. There will be a news blackout of course, until we are ready to break the news. Your station got the exclusive.”

A planet of tiny people, Yelid thought to himself as he locked up his Pod and prepared for his long walk to the planets city. His trek would take him north, through some barren lands, before he would start heading south toward the warmer climate. He had been able to upload pictures from the planets own data base, and was astounded as he saw the city he was going to visit, Here was a civilization on the verge of interstellar travel, still primitive compared to Bedem, but with a rapidly growing technology.

They were right about the water being drinkable, it was cool and refreshing, but it did not help the hunger gnawing at his stomach, nor did it stop the bruises he sustained in the landing, from hurting. He thought about what his class would make of his discovery, if he should ever make it home again. Yelid the brave explorer.

An hour into his walk, and a check of the coordinates told him he was on course, the landscape had flattened out, and the temperature was cold, on the edge of being uncomfortable. The sun was suspended, but it held it’s warmth. All the while Yelid was looking at the ground for signs of little things. His Remote magnifier, the size of a marble, floated above the ground by his feet following him obediently like a pet. It was actually in his control and it transmitted visual live feed, to a viewer screen that materialized translucently before Yelids right eye. It could go from a dim, one eye rest mode, or it could go to full 3-D visual mode for observation and recording. All by whistle command. It was one of Yelids favorite exploration tools, It enabled Yelid the sensation of seeing a ground view perspective of the surroundings; Or it could shoot up way overhead, giving aerial views Unfortunately in these barren lands, there was very little to see. A smile came to Yelids face as he heard,

“Hello Yelid, this is Buddy, How are you doing there fella?” Even though the translator was on, some slang, it could not figure out, Yelid had to fill in the blanks,

“I’m doing good. This is a cold planet you live on.”

“You bet kid, you are trekking through the coldest part of the planet, The North Pole. You won’t be seeing much animal life, maybe a polar bear, or penguins, Heck if I know, I’ve never been there” Buddy tried to visualize a boy walking over the pole, it was mind boggling.

Yelid accessed the planet data diary on his shoulder utility strap, and noted Polar Bears, bringing up a video of one. It was white and furry and tiny.

“Now your friends had more sense, they landed in the tropics where it´s nice and warm,” Yelid was curious of their whereabouts.

“How are they?” He asked. Buddy shared with him what he was able to replace out,

“Cory is a hero, he saved hundreds of people from a natural disaster. He was in contact with a scientist, who has since been communicating with him,” This made Yelid proud,

“Have you talked to him about me?” Yelid asked, Buddy replied,

“We let him know that we found you, He’s anxious to get in touch.” And how about my brother?”

“He’s OK too” Buddy said, not quite telling the whole story,

“We’ll get you all together soon enough” Buddy checked his watch and said,

“I gotta go now Yelid, We will talk again in an hour” He disconnected.

The coordinates indicated that Yelid should mark a new compass setting, heading South and toward the East. Frankly this portion of the walk was Boring, there was little to see, and just the trudging across the flat ground, occupied his thoughts. He glanced at the prints his bare feet were making, across the landscape. He could see signs of flying machines high overhead. They left their vapor trails, He thought about the stinging flies he destroyed, and now realized that they were not insects, that some little people wanted to hurt him, Why would they want to do that? He wasn’t going to hurt them, Anyway, they attacked him first.

The Landscape slowly lost it’s frost, as Yelid proceeded down Baffin Bay, the coast of Greenland on his left, Yelid was now wading through the deep and icy waters. Had his skin not been so thick, it would have been debilitating, for Yelid it was a bracing inconvenience. At least here, he could spot on the shore, occasional ports. His remote magnifier, skimming above the water, brought him the first clear pictures or the planets inhabitants dwellings, There were docks and small blocks of what Yelid determined to be housing. Smoke coming out of tiny chimneys. In the bay before him a twenty Inch long freighter plied the dark waters. The vessel was fascinating in it’s tiny details, Yelid was tempted to pick it up and observe it closely in his hand, but resisted, in fact he had to shift his direction to avoid his wake upsetting the vessel. This tiny planet was magical.

“How are you making out there Yelid? You know you are getting closer. We re following your progress, You are doing great!” Yelid was pleased, Buddy continued with a more serious tone of voice,

“Yelid, were there any other ships in your exploration group?”

“No,” Yelid replied, “Why do you ask?”

“Oh, nothing, just curious” He did not mention the replaceings from the Observatory, that spotted two more objects of similar structure entering the solar system. The General however was very concerned, and wanted more information.

“Yelid, tell me, If your people at home found out that you had an accident, or went off course, what would they do?”

“They would send out a rescue party,” Yelid brightened up,

“Are they coming to replace me?” He asked

“We don’t know, It could be them,” Buddy continued,

“Do you have any idea who else it might be”

“No idea” Yelid answered honestly.

“It’s too early to tell,” Buddy said continuing,” Are your pods sending out emergency beckons?” Yelid thought for a moment,

“Probably not, the power units in all the Pods were damaged, we all crash landed here. Besides, the transmitters were not working. I couldn’t even locate my brother.” Buddy continued,

“It’s OK kid, you are doing great, Now then” He changed the subject,

“You’re are going to make a sharp left upon leaving the bay, and continue at the new coordinates. You will also see your first city. The populace was alerted, and most likely will be as curious about you, in fact, we might start replaceing notice of you on news reports. But Hey! They heard it first from Buddy the K, Your good time DJ” Yelid smiled.