“Marchenko. Marchenko must have attached it. He was here, in the shuttle. Then he must have explored this cave with the rope.”
It was a nice idea because it implied that the rope was strong enough for him and the Grosnops. Marchenko’s robot body must weigh more than 300 kilograms.
“That sounds promising,” said Gronolf.
Someone pulled the rope out of Adam’s hand, which startled him. But it was just the general.
“You’re right,” said Gronolf. “The rope must have a stable attachment. We can use it to get out of here. Maybe.”
Gronolf aimed his light upward, and Adam’s gaze followed the beam of the headlamp. The rope ran straight up between two treetops and ended in a black spot, so that was where they’d come from.
“Marchenko?” Gronolf called. “I know you’re there. Answer!”
It remained silent.
“There must be someone up there,” Gronolf said. “This is right where we fell. We definitely would have noticed the rope. But why is Marchenko hiding from us?”
Because Marchenko hadn’t been the one who threw down the rope, but Gronolf would realize this soon enough.
“Let’s go. You first,” said Gronolf. “If we’re too heavy, at least you’ll make it.”
“Thanks,” Adam said. “And then I’ll find help, somehow.”
* * *
His arm muscles hurt. Climbing out of a cave wearing a spacesuit and under elevated gravity was not easy. But the prospect of getting out served as a powerful motivator. He finally made it. Adam pulled himself over the edge into the upper, much flatter cave. This is where the shuttle was.
There was a hand on his shoulder. He flinched and nearly fell back into the cave, but a second hand got a hold of him.
“Ragnor,” he said.
The Grosnop didn’t answer. It was almost dark, so Adam couldn’t tell if it was the hatchling before him. But he couldn’t imagine who else it could have been. Ragnor was holding the rope he’d used to climb up. Ragnor had saved them, but it wouldn’t help him any.
“You’ve got to go,” Adam said. “Gronolf’s mind cannot be changed. I’ve already tried it. Give me the rope.”
“No,” said Ragnor. “There was no way to attach the rope here so that a Grosnop could climb up it. So I’ve got to stay. Or can you hold their weight?”
“No, I’m afraid not.”
“You see, only I can save them.”
“And if it’s the death of you?”
“Then so be it. I’m not going to run anymore. I just hope Gronolf gives me a fair fight.”
“You want to challenge him? That hasn’t happened for many years.”
For many generations, Gronolf had told him once, it had been typical to fight one-on-one for a desired position.
“The tradition has never been officially abolished. And it seems that the old traditions are important to Gronolf. He can’t deny me that.”
Behind them, something scratched on the ground. It was Loknor. Ragnor took a step back.
“Thank you, comrade,” Loknor said.
It sounded perfectly natural. Then Numbark appeared. He looked at their rescuer curiously, but he said nothing. Numbark probably didn’t want to pre-empt the general.
Gronolf’s mighty spring-legs emerged from the hole in the ground. The Grosnop rose to his full size—and froze. But the shock wore off quickly. Gronolf leaped forward and pressed all six of Ragnor’s limbs against the wall of the cave. The younger Grosnop looked like an impaled insect.
“You...” said Gronolf.
Then he looked at the rope in Ragnor’s hand. Gronolf relaxed, and Ragnor slid down the wall to the ground.
“You saved all of us,” said Gronolf.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“I challenge you to fight. If I defeat you, I’ll be the general.”
“And I’ll be an illegal hatchling, haha. You won’t defeat me.”
“And what if I do, Gronolf?”
“You should have escaped. We’d never have found you.”
“Because you would have died down there.”
“That’s right. But everything would have been proper.”
“Gronolf, he saved all of our lives,” said Adam. “That should be worth something.”
“I didn’t ask him to, Adam.”
“I would have immediately asked him to if I had known he could.”
“Then you would have owed him your life. Not me. I can’t let tradition be violated.”
“General, if I may say something, Ragnor challenged you to fight. Tradition dictates—”
“I know, Numbark.”
“We lost a good Grosnop,” said Loknor. “And it won’t be the last. It would make sense to have Ragnor take his place. Otherwise our mission will end in failure.”
Gronolf jumped up. “I don’t need advice from my subordinates,” he said. “But thank you all the same. You’ll get your fight, Ragnor. Tradition dictates that it be fair. A fight between me and a youngster can’t be fair. That’s why we’ll fight the fight at the end of our voyage. In the meantime, you’ll have time to increase your strength. You’ll take the place of the gunner on my personal shuttle. But now we’ve got to finish our mission here and find Marchenko.”
Darknight 27, 3890
“It’s my fault. I lost Marchenko when the shuttle entered the atmosphere,” Ragnor said. “Marchenko tried everything to keep me from leaving the Majestic Draght. He’d hung on to the outer shell of the shuttle! Unfortunately, I didn’t notice until it was already too late. The forces when entering the atmosphere were probably too much for him.”
“That’s good,” said Gronolf.
“What do you mean?” asked Adam.
“We know the shuttle’s landing trajectory,” Gronolf explained. “This makes it possible for us to approximate the area where Marchenko must have come down. Numbark will be in charge of that. Marchenko’s body is strong enough to survive such a crash.”
“It surely won’t be a small area,” said Adam.
“No, but we have the shuttle.”
“We can sit in it all we like, but it can’t fly. There’s a hard layer above us that we can’t break through, and if we still try, the layer will get even harder.”
“That’s true, Adam. But I have an idea about how to make it fluid again.”
“And how is that going to work?”
“After our landing, the ground was solid at first, but then it opened to swallow the freighter...”
“Ah, you want to put a bait above us, and if the planet wants to swallow it, then it will have to let the ground grow soft.”
“Precisely. Our shuttle, the one with the damaged cabin, is still in orbit above us. We’ll land it remotely and use it as bait.”
* * *
The ship was shaking. The exhaust gas from the shuttle was burning the ground above them.
“And... landing,” said Numbark.
The shaking stopped.
“Very nicely done,” said Gronolf.
Numbark, the navigator, had remotely directed the shuttle to a perfect landing. It was now just a few meters above them, slightly offset to the north so that they wouldn’t hit it when they took off, but still close enough for the planet to clear the way for them when it absorbed the shuttle.
“How long will it take?” Loknor asked.
“Nobody knows exactly,” said Gronolf.
“Twenty minutes, but no more than an hour,” said Adam.
“At any rate, we’ve got to fire up the engines at the right moment,” said Gronolf.
* * *
“Numbark?” Adam asked.
The navigator was sitting in his seat with his eyes closed. Hopefully he hadn’t fallen asleep.
“Numbark?” Adam repeated.
“Leave him be. He’s concentrating,” said Gronolf.
“But on what?”
“On the right moment.”
“And how can he tell?”
“He can fee
l it, Adam. You can trust him. Remain calm.”
Gronolf was utterly calm. How did he do that? This was the only way for them to get out of here. There was no second shuttle in orbit that they could land.
“So_*.*xor,” said Numbark. He was working the sector controls on the console with all four hands. A strange symphony resounded throughout the cabin, as the ship moved simultaneously forward and up.
Hopefully Numbark had hit on the right moment. If not, they’d notice immediately. What would happen if the shuttle was pushed against the solid ground because of the force of the engines from below? Would the cabin be able to withstand the pressure? Adam knew better than to ask.
Then the acceleration suddenly pushed him deep into his seat. They’d taken off! Amazing! They were saved! Gronolf slapped the back of his seat with all four hands. Thanks, Numbark!
“Setting course for the area where we believe Marchenko is,” announced the navigator.
Adam pulled the console closer. The camera view showed a few dark streaks, which were probably traces of mud. The other shuttle was disappearing beneath them into the belly of the planet. It was a fair exchange.
* * *
“Do you see this?” Gronolf asked. “I’m sending something to your screens.”
“What is it?” Adam asked.
Something strange was going on a few kilometers in front of them, which they could see better using the camera's zoom function. There was a sphere tirelessly bouncing up and down like a rubber ball—landing and then springing upward again. Was that Marchenko? Had they found him? Adam verified the coordinates. They were on the other side of the planet. When they’d landed the day before, they hadn’t been able to see Marchenko. They surely would have noticed him.
“I’ve reached him,” Numbark said. “It is Marchenko. I’m putting him through.”
“Good... that you...are finally... here.”
Yes, it was Marchenko. There were tears of joy in Adam’s eyes. He must have been speaking so strangely because he couldn’t stop jumping.
“What... kind... of strategy... is this?” Adam asked.
“You... think... it’s... funny... this way... I keep... from... getting swallowed.”
“Ah, since you exert force on the ground when you fall, it hardens instead of liquefying and swallowing you up.”
“Precisely... and now... come.”
From the planet’s point of view, this was downright mean. Adam imagined someone waving a tasty apple in front of his face and his mouth closing whenever he tried to take a bite.
“We’ll land next to you shortly,” Gronolf said.
* * *
“I’ll take care of the airlock,” said Adam.
“As you like,” Gronolf said.
Adam clung to the inner airlock door. As Numbark shut the engines down, Adam pressed the open button. The door swung to the side. He was expecting the smell of death, but then he realized that he was no longer aboard the freighter. He rushed to the outer door and opened it. The hot air pouring in didn’t bother him because a misshapen, metallic body pulled itself into the airlock.
“Marchenko!” he shouted.
The robot was splattered all over with mud, but Adam didn’t care. He fell into his four arms, happier than he had been for a long time.
“Thank you, Adam. Again, thank you for finding me, but please don’t endanger yourself on my account ever again.”
“I can’t promise you that. Plus, it wasn’t dangerous at all.”
“Oh, really? I’ll be curious to hear what Gronolf has to say. Did you find Ragnor?”
“Yes, he saved all of us.”
“That’s good. Then surely Gronolf won’t want to kill him anymore.”
“We have to launch again,” Numbark announced over the loudspeaker in the airlock.
“Let’s go, then,” said Adam.
“The computer indicates that the outer airlock door is still open, so you could be blasted out.”
“Thank you for the warning.”
Adam pressed the close button and the door banged shut.
“After you, please,” he said, pointing to the inner door.
Marchenko rolled ahead.
* * *
“You’re all well? I’m so glad!” said Eve.
They’d finally left the outskirts of the atmosphere, and the radio connection was back up and running. He’d immediately contacted Eve.
“We’ll be back on the Draght in a few days,” said Adam.
He was glad, too. He was looking forward to seeing his sister. And he’d get to take a shower and sleep in his own bed.
“And Ragnor?”
“He’s got asylum at least until the end of our expedition.”
“Thank you, Adam. You’re the best.”
“I know,” he said, though he wasn’t entirely sure.
“By the way, the Majestic Draght has picked up signals from Luhman-16B.”
That was the second brown dwarf in this system.
“Signals?”
“We couldn’t decipher them. But they’re at the same frequency the Messenger uses.”
“Oh, Marchenko will be very interested in that,” said Adam. “I’ll get him. It must be them.”
“Who?”
“Marchenko’s children, who else?”
Author's Note
Dear Readers,
The Majestic Draght has begun its journey. It will take us, including myself, to some fascinating places in our universe. Unfortunately, while these places may be just around the corner in astronomical terms, they are a few light-years away and not yet accessible.
I don’t yet know what exactly will happen on this trip. I’m a discovery writer—I find out what happens along with my characters. I didn’t discover what the Draght would find in the Luhman 16 system until the ship itself got there. This is also the case for the upcoming stage, which I’ve called “Into the Darkness.” You can pre-order it here:
hard-sf.com/links/1878512
This time, since the signals the crew picked up came from the immediate vicinity, the Draght won’t be traveling for several years. Who emitted them, and what dangers will Adam, Eve, Marchenko, Gronolf, and Ragnor face this time? Honestly, I’m just as curious as you!
As an author, what’s just as important to me are reviews. This is how my books gain visibility. If you liked Marchenko’s Children, please don’t hesitate to click here (or open the link on the computer):
hard-sf.com/links/1848991
You can also get a color PDF of The Life and Death of the Stars if you sign up here:
hard-sf.com/subscribe/
Best wishes from my writing desk,
Brandon Q. Morris
Also by Brandon Q, Morris
The Beacon
Peter Kraemer, a physics teacher with a passion for astronomy, makes a discovery that he himself can hardly believe: Stars disappear from one day to the next, with nothing left of them. The researchers he contacts provide reassuring and logical explanations for every single case. But when Peter determines that the mysterious process is approaching our home system, he becomes more and more anxious. He alone perceives the looming catastrophe. When he believes he has found a way to avert the impending disaster, he choses to pull out all the stops, even if it costs his job, his marriage, his friends, and his life.
3.99 $ – hard-sf.com/links/1731041
Helium 3: Fight for the Future
The star system is perfect. The arrivals have undertaken a long and dangerous journey—an expedition of no return—seeking helium-3, essential for the survival of their species. The discovery of this extraordinary solar system with its four gas giants offers a unique opportunity to harvest the rare isotope.
Then comes a disturbing discovery: They are not alone! Another fleet is here, and just as dependent on helium-3. And the two species are so fundamentally different that communication and compromise appear hopeless. All that remains is a fight to the death—and for the future…
$ 3.99 – ha
rd-sf.com/links/1691018
The Triton Disaster
Nick Abrahams holds the official world record for the number of space launches, but he’s bored stiff with his job hosting space tours. Only when his wife leaves him does he try to change his life.
He accepts a tempting offer from a Russian billionaire. In exchange for making a simple repair on Neptune’s moon Triton, he will return to Earth a multi-millionaire, enabling him to achieve his ‘impossible dream’ of buying his own California vineyard.
The fact that Nick must travel alone during the four-year roundtrip doesn’t bother him at all, as he doesn’t particularly like people anyway. Once en route he learns his new boss left out some critical details in his job description—details that could cost him his life, and humankind its existence…
3.99 $ – hard-sf.com/links/1086200
The Dark Spring
When a space probe returns from the dead, you better not expect good news.
In 2014, the ESA spacecraft Rosetta lands a small probe named Philae on 67P, a Jupiter-family comet. The lander goes radio silent two years later. Suddenly, in 2026, scientists receive new transmissions from the comet. Motivated by findings that are initially sensational but soon turn frightening, NASA dispatches a crewed spacecraft to the comet. But as the ship approaches the mysterious celestial body, the connection to the astronauts soon breaks. Now it seems nothing can be done anymore to stop the looming dark danger that threatens Earth...
3.99 $ – hard-sf.com/links/1358224
The Death of the Universe
Proxima Logfiles 1: Marchenko's Children: Hard Science Fiction Page 15