The Project

Something bothered Akazar.

He didn’t really know why, but he had the strong feeling that something was wrong. Very wrong.

He got up from the bed and walked towards the small round sphere which made the window, and looked out.

Akazar was a short, chubby creature, but muscular. His bald head and face were covered with yellowish spots and his dark eyes made a striking contrast with his yellow shirt and pants. His puffed net shoes were silent as he crossed the room to the other side and so forth, holding his chin, , contemplating. He went under the bed and extracted something which looked like a large case, rummaged through it for a few minutes and eventually pulled out a shimmering white rectangular piece, he studied the piece intently for a few seconds before raising his head, closing his eyes, then lowering it and looked at the piece again, and then he spoke:

"Open a lens". Not far from him, beside his head, a kind of a hatch began to open in the red, breathing wall.

"Closer. Reach coordinate 0. 6642. "

The image in front of him changed like in a slide machine. Akazar looked, examined his map, then looked again through the window. He sat on the bed.

"Yark, come here, " he said quietly.

In front of Akazar stood a wall that was made of living tissue in dazzling red and pink.

The center of the wall began vibrating and a cone shaped head peeped out, it had yellow eyes and its face was covered with tiny green scales.

"What is the matter, I am busy, hyper jump is very soon".

"You’re not jumping anywhere, don’t you move! Come here, I want to show you something. " The yark looked at Akazar for a moment and then he mumbled to himself something obscene concerning The NYT- national yark treaty, which enforced the yark to obey his passenger with all matters concerning the voyage, unless it was contrary to the law. He retracted his head inside the wall, and the shaft closed only to vibrate once again, opening wider now and allowing the yark to emerge with all of his graceful six feet, scale covered shape.

Akazar was still getting accustomed to the fact that while a part of the yark’s conscious was standing here talking to him, a different part of it was the only thing preventing him from falling into the black void outside. Despite being born and bred on the face of cha-ree, this was Akazar’s first trip inside a yark.

"I want you to look at the map".

The yark got closer and sat on the bed, holding the map, studying it in silence.

Akazar waited a few seconds before speaking again.

"Right now we are supposed to reach coordinate 0. 6642, and observe Karpisia and Karpisia Toan, which are to remind you two extremely large planets, surrounded by powerful magnetic fields and a huge asteroid belt which makes the place look like a junkyard, instead. . . "

He got up and pointed at the window.

". . . Instead I see this!"

In the middle of the utter blackness stood a green, blue and brown planet.

"Now, " said Akazar in the sweetest voice he could muster, "either Karpisia and Karpisia toan have unexpectedly relocated. . . "

The yark stared at him with wide open eyes.

". . . or we are utterly and completely los. . . "

"Oh, we’re not lost , we’re progressing as you ordered, landman. "

Akazar hated when he called him that.

"My instructions weren’t supposed to bring us here, " he said bitterly.

The yark stood up and closed his eyes for a second, opening them again, he said:"We will not make the jump until we find out what has happend, let us check the maps. "