Beyond the End of the World, Lokians 1

Chapter 4

"Holy cow! Holy freaking cow!" Swain was going bonkers. "Oh, my God! Oh, my God! Oh, my God." He was screaming and running through the corridors of the Phoenix. "Captain!"

O'Hara poked his head from crew quarters, expecting the worst. "What!? What happened?"

Catching his breath, Swain replied, "Captain, the markings on the beacons, they're not referring to a sixth beacon. There is a sixth beacon. I think—"

He was shaking his head and moving his hands and arms a great deal when O'Hara cut him off. "Slow down, Swain."

He shook his head in excitement, when his eyes bugged out, causing O'Hara to chuckle; the whole display was rather out of character, but what he had to say was even crazier than the hysterics. "Listen, Cap, I got this all figured out," his composure slowly returned, "if the frequency output of each beacon is recalibrated to one eighth of the prior, then it'll created an octave, like musical notes. The five octaves should resonate, and act like a giant beacon. It's the same effect as planetary harmonics."

O'Hara was trying to follow. "Plana-who-what? What does the frequency do?"

"Just listen! We'll use one of the original frequencies the beacons were giving off when we found them, see? Then, together, they act like a single beacon; that's the sixth beacon that the panels refer to."

The captain was pensive. "Wait, what's going to happen if we do this? I mean, what's the point of activating these things? Besides, I thought the original frequencies were disrupting the electrical components of our equipment."

"Hold on to your horses; we can relay a message through their satellites, and let them know we found their beacons. As far as the magnetic output, we can set them up in a safe zone on Eon away from the Phoenix."

"Let who know?"

"The aliens, Captain!"

"Get outta' here. You think they're still around after four thousand years? Are their satellites even still around? Where are they?"

"Look...honestly? I don't know, but we have a chance here. For all we know, they're out there just hoping someone makes contact," Swain was practically pleading.

O'Hara rebutted, "If they're out there, which I doubt, do we really want to tell them: hey listen, we just removed your beacons, recalibrated them, and now we're colonizing your planet." Scrunching his face, Swain paused for thought when O'Hara jabbed his point further. "Besides, we won't be able to go to Presh, and just say: hey listen, we're going to take your beacons, recalibrate them, and colonize your space station."

They exchanged glances. The big man was incredulous, but then O'Hara's last statement had been in fun, if with a serious point.

"Listen, this is important, Captain. I'm sure I know what I'm talking about. Other than discovering alien tech, we could make first contact...first contact," Swain breathed.

O'Hara mulled it over. "I...will talk to the admiral and see what I can do, but just be ready for disappointment because we're likely going to go pick up Earth civilians from Century colony."

"Fair enough," Swain frowned with content resignation. "If anyone can persuade the admiral, it's you."

"I guess...."

"I can't wait, Captain," Swain replied and grinned.

He patted O'Hara on the shoulder then ran off. The captain shook his head in disbelief before getting a jump on his morning routine. After finishing his business in the bathroom, he gathered himself to prepare a speech to convince Admiral Lay.