Devon and Kate joined him as he peered inside the gap. “OK, we don’t have much time, so let’s get started. Watch the edges as you enter. Kate, place the first comm. relay just inside.”
Jack stepped gingerly through the opening and scanned the immediate area with his light. They were in a short corridor that led to a large arch at its far end. The smooth black walls were lined with metal brackets that he imagined once held equipment or ornamentation which had long since been eaten away by the gas. With each step, the roar from the winds subsided. By the time they reached the end, it was quiet enough to hear their feet shuffling along the dust covered floor.
The inner arch served as an entryway into a mammoth hall; their flashlights were too feeble to reach the ceiling, or the walls on the other side. Jack turned to look behind him and let his light trace a path up the slowly arcing wall until it disappeared into a dark haze above. They stood, transfixed by the size of the structure until Don’s voice crackled over the radio.
“Jack, do you read me?”
“We’re here,” he replied still distracted by his surroundings.
“It’s been over five minutes since you exited the shuttle and we hadn’t heard from you. You need to...”
“Sorry, you’re right,” he said quickly. “We’re inside the structure. There was a short corridor that seems to have been gutted by the gas.”
“Yes, we saw it from your helmet cam. It makes me think that there’s not going to be much prospect of finding any sort of supplies.”
“I know, but we’re still going to continue.” Looking ahead, he spotted several scattered piles of debris. Devon led the way to the nearest one. They stood for a moment and stared at a lump of twisted metal.
Don’s voice broke the silence, “I can’t get a good view of what that is. Your video is breaking up a bit.”
“OK, I’ll leave the comm. link open and try to describe what we see. We’re standing by the nearest pile. It’s a mass of twisted metal maybe thirty meters across and ten or so meters high. It looks like it fell from above, but I can only guess as to what it once was. The metal looks sturdy, maybe it used to support some structure that was suspended overhead.”
They slowly worked their way deeper into the room, past several similar, equally spaced mounds. Jack provided Don with any details he thought were useful. To assist with their analysis later, Kate took out a small video recorder and documented their findings.
“Captain, over here,” Devon called out.
Jack looked up to see his pilot’s flashlight cutting through the dusty haze about twenty meters ahead. “What is it?”
“I don’t know, just come here.”
Another collection of twisted rods and beams lay in front of him. It took a moment longer to see what had caught Devon’s attention: their flashlights revealed the blue-grey sheen of a polished metal wall behind the pile. He pointed his light upward and saw that the wall was actually part of a massive, gently sloping column that rose above them. It was at least fifty meters in diameter at its base. The seamless curve of the structure gave it an almost fluid-like quality. Embedded in it was a ramp that spiraled upward, ending at a platform a few stories above them. Jack strained his eyes in the dim light to see beyond the platform. But the column simply continued its climb upward, and vanished into the darkness.
“It’s beautiful, Kate said softly. “It looks like this could have been some sort of grand hall.”
Jack stood next to her, admiring the gently tapering structure when Devon’s voice broke the silence.
“I found an entrance to the ramp.”
Without answering, they joined him and began their ascent. As they reached the base of the platform, Don’s voice came in over the comm., “You’re at eighteen minutes. That means you have twelve minutes of safe exposure left.”
“Thank you,” Jack replied.
Don continued, “I suggest you start heading back in five.”
Jack suppressed any annoyance at their limited amount of time and simply said, “Agreed.”
They walked to the platform’s edge and gazed out into the vast open chamber. The blackness surrounding them however kept them from truly appreciating their view. For Don’s benefit, Jack said, “It appears that the entire interior the tower may be open. This has the feel of some sort of raised podium or reviewing stand.”
“I agree,” Kate said. “I’d love to spend some time in here with an archaeological team. We might be able to learn about their culture, their architecture, and find out who these ... these beings really were.”
“I would too,” Jack replied gently, trying not to the quash the first hint of passion he’d heard from anyone in days. “Right now, though, let’s focus on surveying the area for anything worth salvaging.”
Their lights allowed them a view of only the nearest portion of the chamber’s gently curving outer wall. Aside from the piles of debris, the room seemed grand, but featureless. “Kate, does the camera have an infra-red setting?”
“Yes, I’ve already tried it. It doesn’t show me much more than what we’ve already seen. All that I can tell you is that it looks like you’re right, the entire interior of the structure is open. There are some more debris piles, and another column like this one much further in, a good three or four hundred meters away.”
Jack looked back at Devon and found him staring straight up. “What do you see?”
“Nothing really, just that our ramp stops at this level.” Devon pointed to his left and continued, “There’s a set of doors over there. Maybe it leads to an elevator or stairs.”
Jack glanced at his watch, “It doesn’t matter much now. We only have another minute or so before we have to leave.” They aimed their lights back out into the dark chamber, but saw nothing more. “I want each of us to take a different route back to the corridor. Let’s cover as much ground as possible during this visit. Maybe we can find something. Just remember – don’t linger. We’ll meet at the arch in five minutes.”
“Understood,” Devon answered.
At the bottom, Jack headed right and made his way toward the wall. He passed more piles of debris in silence. There was nothing that seemed even remotely useful. Growing impatient, he called out, “Has anyone found anything?”
“Nothing yet,” was Devon’s reply.
Jack waited for Kate’s response, but heard nothing. After a few more seconds, he called out, “Kate, respond please.”
“Here Jack. Yes, I think I’ve found something.”
“What is it?”
“There’s a wide section of the floor over here that slopes downwards – almost like a broad path or walkway. It ends in front of several sets of doors.”
“Are they open?”
“No.”
“Don’t touch anything!”
“Uh…Ok,” was Kate’s surprised response.
Realizing that his reply must have sounded too urgent, he added, “I’m just worried about what might be behind them. I’m heading over to you. Tell me what you see.”
“Well, the doors are set about 5 to 7 meters below the main floor. They’re windowless and made of the same, blue-grey metal we’ve seen throughout the structure. It looks like they should slide open, but I don’t see any obvious control panel or handle. The walls are similar to the corridor we saw on the way in. They’re covered with brackets and must have held some sort of less durable surface. My guess is that this is an entrance or exit for a large number of people ... or aliens, I guess.”
“I see it now,” Devon said. “I’ve doubled back and found the ramp. It’d be great to see what’s behind those them.”
“It’s too dangerous right now,” Jack answered.
“What if ...”
“No ‘what ifs’. We need to be outside in three minutes,” Jack said sternly.
“Wait, hear me out first. I’ve got two shape-charges in my tool kit. I could attach them to one of the doors and detonate them remotely.”
“Where would that get us?”
>
“I assume that you’re worried that there’s more of that gas in there. We’ll set the camera here to watch what happens, and detonate the charges when we’re safe in the shuttle. This way we’ll at least get an idea of the risks now, instead of wasting another half-day before we can come back.
It only took a second for Jack to admit to himself that it was a good idea. He waited, though, until he finally caught up to them at the top of the ramp before answering, “Ok, do it. But, move quickly.”
He turned to Kate, “Download the images on the camera to the computer now in case it gets destroyed when we blow the doors.”
“Got it.”
Jack stood back for a moment as Devon set to work. He was a little frustrated that he hadn’t thought of the idea – maybe he was playing things too safe now. Turning away from them he looked at their surroundings again and fell back on a single recurring thought: ‘What happened here?’
Devon came up from behind and said, “We’re all set. How do you want to proceed?”
“Like you said, we’ll detonate them once we’re in the shuttle. We can watch the feed from Kate’s camera.” Drawing a deep a breath, he turned to Kate who had carefully balanced the small device on a ledge at the start of the ramp. “Is it ready?”
“Yes. Since it’s not made for remote operation, I’m just going to start recording now and let the feed go directly to the shuttle’s computer. We can watch everything on the screen from there.”
“Good, let’s go. We’re already a couple of minutes over our limit.” He started back at a light jog and the others kept pace with him. As they approached the break in the tower’s outer door, the roar of the planet’s winds grew again to the point where he had to shout his instructions. “Take your time climbing through here,” he called out.
It took only another minute to reach the shuttle. The relief that swept over him once the airlock door sealed behind him was unexpected, though he knew its source: there were no surprises or mistakes this time. His peace was broken by Don’s voice over the comm. “You were in there three minutes beyond the limit.”
“I know, but we couldn’t pass up this chance to find out what else may be in there.”
“I’m just saying, we need to be careful.”
Jack ended the discussion with a polite, “Agreed.”
They gathered by one of the shuttle’s monitors where Kate typed in a few commands to display the video feed. A clear, wide-angle view of the alien ramp and its row of doors appeared. “Don, are you getting this too?”
“Yes.”
“Devon, are we ready?”
“Affirmative,” was his pilot’s quick answer.
“OK, blow the charges.”
He fixed his gaze on the plain, pewter doors. They were instantly obscure by a bright flash. Small chunks of debris streaked past the camera. Thick clouds of grey smoke filled the screen, but soon pulled away, revealing a one-meter wide, jagged opening. Hope began to take hold as the view remained clear. His stomach dropped, though, before he could fully form any thoughts; a cloud of yellow-grey gas suddenly billowed out from the opening. They watched quietly as it gently flowed toward the camera. Two quick bursts of static swept across the screen before it went blank.
“Shit!” was all that Jack could say.
“What do we do now?” Kate asked quietly.
“We go back to the IPV.”
Chapter 22 – July 26, 2124; 13:00:00
Kurt pushed himself back from the tangle of wires with which he was working, and wiped the sweat from his forehead. His creation resembled a rat’s nest more than a carefully constructed series of relays and circuit breakers. With the schedule Jack had set for them, however, there wasn’t time to consider appearance.
He turned to Claire, who was looking over his work, and said, “I assume if one of your students back on Earth tried to pass this off as an assignment, you’d have failed them in a minute.”
She laughed and said, “I don’t think it would have taken that long.”
Kurt smiled, “Can you pass me that cover plate? I don’t want to leave the high-voltage lines exposed.”
She handed him the plastic plate and he began re-attaching it to the wall. He felt that it was almost demeaning to have her assist him with such a mundane task. True, she was technically his assistant, but she held a doctorate in Electrical Engineering and had given up a faculty position at MIT to join the mission. It made him wonder how crew members like her dealt with their place on the ship. To be selected, of course, you had to be the very best in your field. But once they were underway, Claire and Pierre, among others were relegated to ‘assistant’ positions for the next 30 years. Barring someone’s death, there would be no advancement to a higher position or rank. He began tightening the last of the screws, but his mind wouldn’t let go of the thought. Of course, being an ‘assistant’ on humanity’s first foray to another star-system was more rewarding than any title he could imagine. But to have made it this far in their careers, they had to have had a strong desire to be the very best; to be the top person around. At some point being second wouldn’t be good enough.
Claire handed him a few more screws and he finished tightening the cover. Looking up, he said, “That’s the last one, right?”
“Yes. We’ve installed twenty of these relay and breaker units over the last ten hours. This better be the last.” Her tone stated very clearly that there was no doubt.
“I hope so,” he said with a smile. Then more seriously, “I’m still just worried about how much charge will actually build up when we pass through … the AGC. I mean, we’re just guessing what’s going to happen. What if each transit isn’t exactly the same? If it’s more severe, we could be in some serious trouble. Then there’s still the problem of what happens to us.”
“You’re not going to start that again, are you?”
“What do you mean?” he asked incredulously.
“Aside from blacking out, we came through fine last time. There were no serious injuries.”
“You sound as confident as Jack. I just wish I could be.”
“Well, think of it this way, it’s not like we have any choice.”
After they packed away the last of their tools. Kurt asked reluctantly, “Well, are you ready to actually go through with this?”
“Like I said, what choice do we have?”
Claire led the way down the corridor and asked, “Any word on what’s up with Don?”
“What do you mean?”
“You know, he seemed to accept the decision to go through the AGC without too much of a problem.”
“Well, if you mean he didn’t yell at anyone, then yeah.”
“What do you mean? I didn’t hear him say much of anything.”
“No, but he didn’t take it well,” Kurt said shaking his head. “Nadya was on the bridge earlier when Jack told him. She said that all he did was turn his back on Jack and storm off the bridge.”
They took a moment to move to the side of the corridor as Maurice pushed his way past. “Maurice, what’s the hurry?” Kurt asked loudly. There was no response as the computer engineer simply continued down the hall and ducked into one of the labs.
“Did you really expect an answer?” Claire asked.
“I swear he’s getting stranger each day.”
“You say that every time you pass him.”
Kurt laughed, then replied thoughtfully, “If you ask me, he’s the one to be worried about, not Don.”
“I guess. I’ve barely seen him since we went through the first AGC.”
“Why, have you been looking for him?”
“No,” she answered defensively. “But think of it. I mean on the Magellan it was no big deal if you didn’t see someone for a few days. It was big enough that it simply meant that your paths hadn’t crossed. Here, though, you can’t help but bump into each other a few times a day.”
They came to the end of the hall and pushed their way up to the next level. He was about to ask Claire wh
at she thought Maurice’s absence really meant when he heard raised voices coming from just outside the bridge. Heading quickly toward it, he found Don shouting at Jack, “...no damned way you’re going to make this decision yourself! You’ve got no right!”
Jack cut him off, “Right? What the hell do you mean? We went over this yesterday. I told you if you could give me a reason, a real reason to delay, then I would.”
Don pushed his finger toward Jack and continued, “You can’t just give some bullshit deadline. You need me and my staff to check everything and give you an OK. There’s no...”
“This is not a goddamned science mission anymore!” Jack shot back. His voice was laced with exasperation as he continued, “We’re trying to survive. Saying ‘you’re concerned’ or ‘need more data’ isn’t good enough.”
Kurt kept his distance as Don’s voice turned decidedly sarcastic. “So, you alone are right until you’re proven wrong. Let me tell you, if you’re wrong, we’re all dead.”
“What would you have me do? Wait here another three or four days?”
“Until we’re sure our choice is safe.”
“Would you even know in that time?”
“I’d have to be given a chance to try first!” Don shouted as he leaned in toward Jack.
Kurt’s only worry now was that Don would actually take a swing at Jack. Instead Don paused, thinking he’d made his point. Jack, however, continued, “The problem is that you don’t know if you’ll ever be sure any choice is safe. To me it’s simple. That planet down there is dead. There is no hope at all for us here. That means every day longer we sit here serves no purpose – it just means we’ve wasted another day’s supplies.”
“What good are supplies if we just recklessly push ahead and kill ourselves?”
“If you can tell me that you can significantly reduce our risk given a day or two more time, the I’ll wait.”
“I can’t guarantee anything. All I can do is try.”
Prelude to Extinction Page 24