by Jerry Aubin
Jania appeared dubious. “Will you guarantee that timeline for the artificial gravity, Adan? That technology has always struck me as an absolute requirement if you’re going to have people living for a century on this spaceship of yours.”
Adan shook his head slowly. “I think you know better than to ask a question like that.” He turned to the Chancellor. “Ma’am, I’ve been financing this operation entirely on my own to date, and I’m well prepared to do so until it is complete. If you folks are going to start pressuring me for guarantees, perhaps you would consider putting some skin in the game yourselves. If you are worried about the timeline and my progress, would you like to make some additional resources available that will help us accelerate the pace?”
The Chancellor smiled. “Well played, Adan. Jania has still not quite developed her father’s patience, and her comment about guarantees clearly showed more of my hand than I would’ve hoped. There are two fronts down here on which I’m battling where I feel we’re facing dwindling time horizons.
“First, the East has become more and more belligerent about your project. Even though you’re acting as a private citizen, they’re trying to make the case that all of the resources you’re pouring into the spaceship are violating the spirit of our climate treaty with them. They want me to nationalize your wealth and direct everything back toward saving the Earth rather than fleeing it. I know that so far we’ve left the topic of slots for citizens of the East as an item we’ll discuss as we get closer to departure, but we may need to start that negotiation process sooner than later.”
Already being on edge from his exhaustion, any suggestion of compromising with the East threatened to derail Adan altogether. He nodded to acknowledge the comment and focused on breathing deeply without allowing his displeasure to show too much. The Chancellor continued.
“The more worrisome development down here is the state of the climate itself. I have a secret group sequestered near what’s left of Antarctica. They have access to the best data available about what’s happening around the globe. Over the last six months, they’ve seen a rapid acceleration of climate decay. Whereas we previously believed we had a century or more, their new models are suggesting we might be lucky to get a decade or two before we tip into unsurvivable catastrophe.”
Adan was not taken aback by this news as his models had long suggested the same. That was why he was dedicating every ounce of his fortune into completing the spaceship as quickly as possible. His breathing had brought his anger under control, and he replied confidently.
“Madam Chancellor—conscript me the group of scientists and engineers from the list I will provide you, and I will absolutely guarantee we’ll get this done within the next thirty months.”
The woman nodded and the screen went blank as the connection was terminated. Adan smiled. He would have finished within thirty months anyway, but now he had guaranteed himself access to a brilliant team. The people on his list would complete the docket of intellects he envisioned as an ideal crew to launch the ship once it was ready. He would have convinced most of them to join him regardless, but it sure was easier to just have the government force them on a shuttle and deliver them.
An engine throttled up out in the hangar, and Adan turned to watch through the panorama. It reminded him that he wanted to update the blueprints and move the flight operations center to a different location. Being able to view both the inside of the hangar and outside into space from the same compartment would likely be a useful design feature down the road.
19
Why are they firing at us, Z?
“Z—form up closer on me. They’re watching to see how we perform. Don’t make us look bad!”
Zax wanted to tell Mase it was his own damn fault they were breaking formation because the younger boy always drifted off line by the smallest fraction. He held back as he replied.
“Aye-aye, Prime. Though I’m guessing the Boss probably doesn’t pay too much attention to routine Combat Air Patrols.”
No sooner did they have this discussion than Mase drifted even further off course. Zax was debating the most appropriate way to tell the boy to get his act together when an alarm warbled and an FTL bloom materialized on his threat board. Then five more. Then twenty more. He keyed his communicator.
“Flight—are you seeing this?”
“Affirmative. Threat reports twenty-six inbound bogeys of unknown origin. The Alert Two birds will join up with you in one hundred and forty secs. Establish visual contact and report.”
Mase accelerated his fighter toward the bogeys, and Zax matched his speed and heading. Fifty secs later they were within visual range, and Zax heard Mase gasp.
“Z—are you seeing what I’m seeing? They’re all just like the fighter from that planet. It’s the other humans. We’ve found them!”
A reply died on Zax’s lips as his threat board erupted with warnings about weapons being fired at his fighter. He hailed the Ship.
“Flight—we’ve identified the inbounds. Prime and I concur they match the human fighter that was discovered previously, but they’re coming in hot. Do we have permission to engage the bandits?”
“Red Squadron—do not engage. You are not weapons free. Repeat, you are not weapons free. Evade, but maintain visual contact and report your observations. The Alert Two’s are inbound your position with ETA seventy secs. Comms is hailing the bandits and ordering them to stand down.”
“Prime—watch your six!”
Mase reacted to Zax’s warning and juked his fighter away from an incoming plasma bolt. Another dozen human craft had jumped into the system directly behind them and immediately fired. The boy called out to Zax with desperation in his voice.
“Why are they firing at us, Z? Shouldn’t it be obvious we’re human? Our spacecraft are so similar. Shouldn’t they be curious and not shoot?”
“I don’t have a clue, Prime. I’m just trying to stay alive!”
Another alarm wailed, but this one was different and Zax involuntarily opened his eyes. Crew scattered in every direction around the mess hall while the alert for General Quarters blared. Mase had exited the simulation as well, and Zax grinned at the boy and then bolted toward Flight Ops. Mase contacted him via his Plug.
“Really, Zax? Human fighters? I thought we had an agreement. You’re supposed to help me with your simulations—not play make-believe!”
“Relax, OK. It was a good test. Or was that not complete terror I heard in your voice right at the end? The point of a simulation is to create entirely extreme situations so all of the everyday stuff becomes routine. You really shouldn’t feel that bad since this is the worst you’ve failed in the three months we’ve done this. You’ll do better next time. At least I hope so. Besides, you still haven’t bothered to show me any of your tricks to help with the Leaderboard.”
The truth was that Zax didn’t really worry about learning Mase’s tricks since he remained on top of the Theta Leaderboard as he always had. He enjoyed needling the boy, though. They were never going to be friends, particularly because of the way Mase and Kalare rubbed each other wrong, but Zax enjoyed working alongside the young cadet more than he did 99.9 percent of the other people in the Crew. Mase laughed.
“In good time, Zax. In good time. What do you think this alert is about? Did the scout ship get attacked?”
“Can’t be that or else we’d be at Condition Two, right? My guess is the Boss is just feeling a little antsy about returning to a colony for the first time. Or maybe he’s worried a bunch of human fighters are going to jump out of FTL and attack us. I sure hope he handles it better than you did.”
“Nice one. You really got me there, Zax. Have fun in Flight Ops.”
Zax reached his seat and took over for one of the secondary Threats who worked the board when Zax was elsewhere. Rege arrived fifty secs later and slipped on his subvoc. He pinged Zax on their private channel.
“What’s going on, cadet? I thought today was only a scouting mission.”
; “I have no idea. The alert goes off and I run. Wait—here’s the Boss.”
“I’ve called General Quarters because the scout ship we sent to evaluate the colony prior to our arrival in system tomorrow has missed their rendezvous time. I’m going to give them another thirty mins, and then I’m sending a larger force to evaluate the situation.
“Flight—prepare a SAR party that includes both air and ground assets. If they’ve crashed or otherwise landed on the planet, we may need to extract them.
“Everyone else—I want you alert for anything. Who knows what we might find nearly one hundred years after we left this colony behind.”
Not even a sec later Rege was back on their private channel.
“Hey cadet—I’m confused. I was alive when we dropped these folks off. What’s the Boss talking about when he says one hundred years?”
“Have you ever heard about the concept of time dilation?”
The civilian shook his head, and Zax sighed at the prospect of having to explain something so complex to a civilian. He was about to risk the man’s ire by telling him he just wouldn’t understand when the threat board demanded his attention and he escaped the discussion.
“Boss—FTL bloom. It’s coming in to the rendezvous coordinates. I’ve confirmed its signature and the bird is ours.”
“Flight—I want that pilot on my panorama, and I want her up there now!”
A moment later the pilot of the scout craft was displayed on the exterior panorama. She appeared momentarily taken aback when she recognized she was being broadcast to the entire compartment, but she recovered quickly and spoke.
“My apologies, Boss, for our delayed return. There are no humans. Anywhere. We didn’t believe what the sensors and drones were showing, so we decided to take a few extra mins for a surface pass to see for ourselves. We didn’t land, but we got plenty low enough to confirm the colonists up and left without any struggle whatsoever. Their colony had grown beyond the original boundaries, but most of the original facilities were still present and appear exactly the way they do in the imagery archive.”
The Boss paused like he was deep in thought, and he chomped on his cigar more furiously than Zax had ever seen. He finally replied.
“This changes everything. This plan is pending final approval from President Imair, but I want everyone moving it forward now.
“First, I want all of the sensor imagery from that scout craft on my slate within the next fifteen mins. I want the pilot and crew in my conference room fifteen mins after that. We’re sending a group to the surface to pore over this colony for any clues about what might have happened, and I’m going to lead it myself. I want a team from Engineering to inspect and evaluate all of the mechanical systems the colony left behind. I’m also going to need a team who can extract all of their data archives and transfer them to Alpha for further processing. And, of course, I’m going to need a security detail just in case something is not as it appears.”
The Boss gazed around the room for a min before he continued.
“You all must remain absolutely focused on keeping this Ship safe. I have no idea what might be going on, but something doesn’t feel right. This might be a trap, but given our new mission it’s a trap we have no choice but to risk triggering.”
The Boss removed the cigar from his mouth and placed it in his shirt pocket as he turned and exited the compartment. Flight Ops was as silent as always, but there was an electricity in the air that usually only existed when the Ship prepared for an alien encounter. Kalare pinged Zax a min later.
“Zax—you’re not going to believe the message I just got! The Boss wants me to have an opportunity to fly a surface mission, so he’s ordered Major Eryn to pilot his shuttle tomorrow with me as her co-pilot. Can you believe it? I’m going to the surface! I sure hope no one tries to kill me this time.”
20
How cool is that?
The presence of the Boss and Sergeant Bailee on the flight deck added significantly to the stress that Kalare experienced sitting in the right seat next to Major Eryn. The head of the Academy clearly lacked enthusiasm about sharing the piloting duties with Kalare and had made her displeasure obvious in both word and tone from the first moment they discussed the mission parameters. Her negative attitude was never more apparent than when she “coached” Kalare on her control of the shuttle.
“Cadet—what did I tell you about the angle of attack as we enter the atmosphere? You’re off optimal glide slope by half a percent. Are you capable of doing this the way you’ve been instructed, or should I take the stick back?”
Kalare made the adjustment. The blood rushed to her cheeks as she worried about how the Boss might react to her mistakes. She held her breath when he picked that moment to reach out over her Plug.
“Don’t mind her, Kalare. She’s more displeased about me dragging her along on this trip than anything to do with you. You’re flying well considering you haven’t graduated yet. No wonder you’ve been Maverick for so much of your time in the Academy.”
Kalare wanted to grin but feared incurring the wrath of the major.
“Thank you, sir. And thank you once again for the opportunity to make this trip today.”
The Boss next spoke aloud.
“Thank you, Major. I was wondering if you were going to bother saying anything or whether perhaps I was the only one who had noticed.”
“Yes, sir. My apologies.”
Kalare again fought to keep her face neutral. She had no idea why the Boss was tweaking Eryn the way he was, but it sure was fun to watch. Kalare fretted about how the major might take her frustrations out on her, but she trusted the Boss knew how far to push.
A few mins later the shuttle pierced the cloud deck and the colony appeared off in the distance. Its drab gray buildings stood out in stark relief to the yellow of the surrounding vegetation. Sergeant Bailee spoke.
“Sir—may I suggest we do a few low-level passes to get a full visual of the colony and its surroundings? I’ve studied all of the sensor data and drone footage, but I’d like to see it with my own eyes if that’s OK with you.”
“I agree, Sergeant. Cadet—drop to five hundred meters, circumnavigate the colony twice, cross over it once from north to south, and again from east to west. Unless we see anything strange, set us down on the landing pad next to the main administration center.”
“Aye-aye, Boss.” Kalare had assumed the major would take control of the shuttle once they neared the colony and was thrilled when the Boss explicitly directed her to remain on the stick instead. Eryn was visible out of the corner of her eye, and the woman’s body language suggested significant displeasure with the situation.
What stood out the most to Kalare as they surveyed the colony was how its core matched the one she had visited with Zax. This colony had outgrown its initial boundaries and expanded outwards, but its heart was Ship standard for design and construction.
The colony checked out as clear from the air, so she landed the shuttle on the pad next to the main administration center as she had been instructed. Sergeant Bailee left to prepare the security squad, and the Boss turned to Kalare before he followed.
“Great landing, cadet. You’re a shining testament to the instruction that Major Eryn and her team are imparting at the Academy. If only all of our officers were doing such a superlative job in their respective areas.”
The Boss turned and left the flight deck without waiting for any reply from the major. Kalare had feared the worst in anticipating the woman’s behavior toward her once they were alone, but the Boss’s parting compliment had the effect she assumed the man intended. After a brief but self-satisfied grin, the major turned and addressed Kalare.
“Well done, cadet. Generally the pilots remain on board while the landing party does their work, but the Boss has directed that you be allowed to exit the shuttle and view the colony along with his squad. Dismissed.”
Kalare was thrilled about her good fortune. She had assumed she would be stuck spend
ing the next few hours waiting in awkward silence alongside the major. She opened a channel to Zax to share the news as she walked through the shuttle.
“Hey, Zax—you’re never going to believe this! They’re letting me off the shuttle, so I can check out the colony with the Boss. How cool is that?”
“Wow, Kalare, that’s great. What’s it like down there?”
“You saw that other colony, so you’ve pretty much seen this one too. They look the same. The only difference is the flora on this planet is nothing like it was on that other one. Everything is a pale yellow and there isn’t a single piece of vegetation that’s taller than a meter. Wait a sec—I’ll be right back with you.”
Kalare had exited the shuttle and was surprised to see a familiar face in a red Engineering uniform. Aleron must have ridden down in the other shuttle. She called out to him.
“Hey there! What are you doing here?”
“I was about to ask you the same thing! They brought me down to help evaluate the state of the colony’s systems. You?”
“The Flight Boss had me pilot his shuttle down. Now I’m heading to join up with his squad to check out the colony. Uh-oh…looks like I might be late.”
Sergeant Bailee approached from behind Aleron. The cadet had no idea the man was there and nearly fell to the ground when the Marine intentionally bumped against him on his way past. He stopped and appraised Aleron with withering disdain.
“Well if it isn’t Captain Clueless himself. You’ll be happy to know, sir, that I have it on good authority there aren’t any rodents on this planet. Nothing to be afraid of—you’re safe. Though, you won’t be for long if you don’t double-time it and catch up to the rest of the engineers. They’re about to head out without you, and I don’t think you really want to spend any time with me instead of them.”