Platonia (12.1)

A PLATONIAN (YOUNG BY THE SIZE OF IT) WAS standing at the bottom of the ramp. Laurie, realizing that none of the crew had any weapons handy, stepped in front of them, extended her tegar, and held it in a protective stance. Laurie took a moment to note that while all the other Platonians they had seen wore only battle armor, this Platonian was different. This one was dressed in a plain tunic tied at the waist with a short rope.

Quite peculiar, Laurie thought to herself.

The little Platonian smiled and with a beckoning wave, she stepped a few paces away from the ship. Laurie, reading the signs of friendliness, put her tegar away.

"I don't think the young Platonian wants to harm the crew," Laurie whispered to Captain Mitchell.

"Why are you whispering?" Gorioshi asked her.

"I have a feeling that we may be in danger here, but not from this little one. She seems to want to hide us. See how she is very attentive to the horizon, yet she wants to lead us in the opposite direction," Laurie explained, as the young Platonian once more turned around and beckoned them to follow her.

"Okay, but let's be careful," Captain Mitchell replied.

Silently, they followed their little guide over the grassy hills dotted with many huge boulders. Laurie's internal senses and the caution of their small guide caused her to watch the horizon warily.

"Something wrong, Laurie?" Eli asked.

"I feel as though someone is coming, Dad," Laurie answered, slipping her tegar from her belt.

Just then, the young Platonian, with a fearful glance at the horizon behind them, jumped behind a boulder and beckoned the Star Traveler crew to join her. Feeling slightly apprehensive, the crew followed her lead. Looking around the side of the boulder, far against the horizon, the crew saw three larger Platonians with weapons patrolling the crest of the hill.

This young one just saved us from being spotted! Captain Mitchell thought to himself.

Worry ate at the back of Captain Mitchell's mind as he watched the patrol on the horizon dip once again from view. They don't appear to have found the ship yet.

Captain Mitchell looked inquiringly towards their Platonian escort, who, to his surprise, was waving in the opposite direction towards two other Platonians, both similarly dressed in plain tunics, who were heading their way. Once the two reached the crew, the young escort pointed in the direction of where the three other Platonians were patrolling and the direction of where the Star Traveler was located, and away they ran.

After studying the now empty horizon warily, the young Platonian beckoned the crew urgently as she quickly lead them over more hills and around boulders. It wasn't long before they reached an archway of two very tall boulders. Their escort disappeared into the ground under the archway.

Laurie carefully crept up and inspected the area. She found a trap door in the ground camouflaged with grass. With the help of her father, she opened the door to reveal a set of stairs traveling down into the ground. After a glance at the crew and a nod from Captain Mitchell, Laurie led the way down the stairs.

"Where do you think this leads?" Eli asked.

"I think we will soon find out," Captain Mitchell answered, helping Laurie open a heavy wooden door at the foot of the stairs.

As the door opened, a pale yellow light shone through and illuminated the crew's faces. They found themselves in a cozy kitchen with a long wooden table at which sat four other Platonians, all dressed in the simple tunics tinted with vibrant colors. The young escort stood off to the side speaking rapidly with a taller lady Platonian, in a language the Star Traveler crew could not understand. The tall female had the attitude of one in authority.

Laurie prodded Captain Mitchell and motioned to his MTD.

"Tarpin told me one of his friends helped you make the MTD's Translation program more accurate while you were on Lask during that snow storm. Perhaps we could try it now?" Laurie whispered.

"We only ever used it with the Laskonians, I'm not sure how well it will work with the Platonian language." Captain Mitchell explained.

"It's worth a shot." Eli suggested.

The tall female Platonian turned her attention to the humans. She started to speak but Captain Mitchell held a finger up, hoping that she would understand that he needed a minute. The hand gesture apparently didn't translate because she continued speaking. Captain Mitchell took out his MTD and pressed a few buttons while showing Laurie what he was doing.

"Could you say that again?" He asked.

The MTD spoke, repeating his question but in the Platonian language.

"Oh, I'm sorry‒can you understand me now?" The tall female asked."

"Yes… um, bear with us please. I'm not sure how complete this translator is," Captain Mitchell said surprised.

"Of course!" she smiled.

"Our ship crashed, this young one led us here," Captain Mitchell replied, pointing to the youngling. "We don't mean you all any trouble."

"That is ok, we knew you were coming. Please; my name is, Mrs. …" The translator cut out as it didn't have a compatible way of translating the Platonian's name. The lady noticed and tried to say her name again.

"Could you try spelling it?" Laurie asked while peering at the screen on Captain Mitchell's MTD.

The lady proceeded as Laurie suggested but still the team couldn't pronounce the name.

Dr. Kingston pondered the spelling and brightened. "How about Droselphine? Is that close?"

"Close enough, yes." Droselphine answered smiling politely.

Laurie, who had previously been distracted by the newness of the translation program, suddenly realized she should be worried right about now. She dropped one of her arms to her side, not yet grabbing for her tegar but keeping her hand in close reach should she need it.

"You said you knew we were coming? How." Laurie asked, her tone even and calculated.

"That is quite a long story. One that I will gladly narrate when evening falls. Until then, come, sit and have some… food. Then I'll have someone show you to your rooms," Droselphine said, adding another smile, "You are safe here."

The crew looked at each other, then sat down, joining the other others at the long table. The hospitable but non-Earth Standard- speaking natives quickly began passing various dishes of food to the crew. Many of the dishes were quite familiar, or at least similar to the crew's normal diet.

After accepting a portion of salad offered by the male seated beside him, Captain Mitchell suddenly remembered the cause of their flight from the ship.

"Mrs.…. um...Droselphine?" The captain called out to her as she stood washing dishes at the basin.

"Yes," she turned to face the table.

"We saw other Platonians heading towards our ship on our way here; do you know them? Our escort seemed desperate to keep us out of their sight."

"Your ship will be fine," Droselphine answered politely. "Tack and Endil will see to that."

Captain Mitchell, not entirely satisfied with the answer, continued his lunch. After the crew finished eating, a guide escorted them to separate rooms that had been furnished especially for them. They were each given a folded set of clothes for them to change into for the evening. Once refreshed and changed, they reconvened in the hallway near their rooms.

"Curious fabric," Dr. Smith stated, "it seems similar to felt."

"These clothes remind me of the pajama pant sets and robes of Earth," Laurie reminisced.

"Perhaps it was purposeful," Captain Mitchell replied in a lowered voice. "I get the feeling that at least this group of Platonians want us to feel comfortable. Certainly far different than those we met on Exandra."

"Captain Mitchell, do you mind if I copy that translation program onto my MTD? I'd like to see if I can work out its issue with names," Laurie asked.

"By all means! We should all have a copy in case we get separated." Captain Mitchell suggested before passing his MTD around to each of them.

Once the rest of the MTD's were loaded, Laurie had just enough time to show Gorioshi how to load the program onto his MTD before one of their hosts came down the hall toward the crew signaling for them to follow. After being led through the underground maze of corridors, they were shown into a room warmly lit with candles. Their escort found a seat on a bench. There were a couple dozen of the tunic-clad natives already seated and poised, as if waiting for something.