Homeward: The Ship Series // Book Three

by Jerry Aubin

  “That planet had ants too, so we wore ChamWare and scouted out their settlement. We didn’t think there were any warriors present and it was supposed to be a low risk mission, but then one of the Marines I was with got attacked. The thing I remember most about the planet was the trees. They were impossibly tall, and even better, they were carnivorous. If you brushed up against one, it would grab you and eat you whole.”

  Mase appeared impressed. “That’s so cool! Wait—wasn’t that the same planet where we discovered the human fighter?”

  “Yeah.” Zax paused for another deep breath. “It was the officer I mentioned earlier, Mikedo, who captured that famous video and eventually sent it to me. I think you know the rest of the story.”

  Mase whistled in appreciation. “Holy crap, Zax. I never understood how you were the one who got your hands on that video. It all makes more sense, now. Why did she send it to you? What made you expose it the way you did?”

  Zax didn’t want to think about the whole episode any further. A giant, swirling mass of emotion roiled the breakfast in his belly that he so desperately wanted to keep. He didn’t want to lie to the boy, but he didn’t feel they were close enough yet to share even a hint of the truth. He deflected the questions instead.

  “Let’s talk about this some other day. We’ve got to get to the briefing. If there’s one thing you need to learn about the Marines, it’s they have a crazy obsession about never being late.”

  “Hey—you can’t stop right at the good part like that!” The boy appeared disappointed, but he stood up and gathered his trash regardless. “I’m not going to share with you my exciting news since you won’t finish your story. It has to do with the humans as well. You’re going to be disappointed when you learn that you missed a chance to hear it sooner.”

  Zax couldn’t care less about whatever nonsense the boy was spouting at that moment. He needed an escape. “My stomach’s not feeling well. You better go ahead. I’ll meet you at the briefing.”

  Mase waved goodbye and Zax walked toward the head. He didn’t really need the bathroom, so instead he leaned against the bulkhead next to it for a few mins. His emotions finally settled and eventually his stomach did as well. He checked the time and bolted at double-time pace. He didn’t want to suffer the indignity of being late to a briefing with a room full of Marines.

  28

  Sounds about right for civilians.

  Zax was winded but made it to the briefing room with twenty-seven secs to spare. It was the same compartment where he had his last planet briefing, though the room was far more crowded this time. Imair sat in the front row with the Flight Boss on one side and Sergeant Bailee on the other. Mase sat behind them, and Zax studiously avoided eye contact with the boy. He was heading toward the back of the compartment when he noticed Kalare and Aleron sitting together in the last row. He detoured quickly and grabbed a seat in the middle of the room.

  Major Odon stood ramrod straight in front of everyone. The stern Marine, who led their premier recon unit Charlie Company, remained as imposing as when Zax had first encountered him at a similar briefing two years earlier. A vivid flashback to seeing the Marine through a drug-induced haze made Zax shiver. The major appeared more fearsome than usual since he was standing next to Lieutenant Nineem. The Flight officer from the exobiology unit was even softer and doughier than he had been when he delivered that previous briefing. Odon started to speak the instant the meeting was scheduled to start.

  “Charlie Company—we’re incredibly fortunate to be joined on this recon by a large contingent from Flight. We’ll also have a couple of civilians along as guests. President Imair and another member of her staff—”

  It was impossible for Rege to have timed his entrance any better. Or, based on Major Odon’s facial expression, any worse. The Marine charged at the civilian as he walked through the hatch and got right up into his face with a fusillade of angry questions.

  “What is your malfunction, civilian? Were you not told when this briefing would start? Do they not teach you civilians how to tell time?”

  A woman’s voice boomed through the compartment.

  “Stand down, Major.”

  Odon spun around and glared at Imair. He turned slightly to check in with the Flight Boss and she spoke again.

  “There’s no need to look at him, Marine. I’m in charge here. Understood?”

  The major glared at Imair for another couple of secs before he replied. “Understood, Madam President.”

  Incredibly, Rege pressed his luck further and bumped up against the furious Marine’s shoulder as he moved past him to take a seat. The major tensed as if he was contemplating ripping the civilian to shreds. The Flight Boss cleared his throat and broke the spell. The Marine stormed to the back of the compartment with barely contained rage emanating off him.

  All eyes turned to Lieutenant Nineem, who appeared relieved that someone else had distracted Odon from his own existence. He dimmed the lights and brought up a holoimage of the planet. It was even more beautiful than the pictures of ancient Earth, and Zax was mesmerized.

  “Approximately 1,500 years have elapsed on this planet since we established its colony. Based on our initial drone surveys, it does not appear that very much has changed since then. All of the water on the planet is potable. Its surface is covered with wild fruit and vegetable plants which are all safe to eat from as long as you stay away from anything purple in color. It also teems with miniature grazing animals which I’ve been told are both delicious and nutritious. The apex predators are equally small and therefore pose nothing but a minor annoyance to anything as large as a human.

  “With 90 percent of standard gravity and ideal oxygen levels, this planet is nearly an optimal target for human settlement. The only measure by which it lacks when evaluated on the human habitability scale is that the ratio of landmass to water is only half of Earth’s. It would nonetheless make an amazing homeworld, albeit one that is more limited than Earth with regards to the population it can support.”

  The lieutenant switched the image to display a group of the alien ants. “One change we’ve identified since the colony was first established is the presence of our friends the ants. The good news is the aliens are exclusively located on one of the two largest continents with no sign they have ever been present on any of the other landmasses—most importantly the other large continent where our colonists are located. Since we know the ants don’t have any technology beyond simple tools, we can guarantee you won’t encounter any of them while you explore the colony and track down the colonists.”

  The ants disappeared and were replaced with an image of the colonists. There were audible gasps around the room at the sight of humans who wore nothing but patched together animal skins. Nineem grinned.

  “Yeah—it’s a pretty grisly sight. The images remind me of pictures I’ve seen from ancient Earth of the earliest, barely sentient homo sapiens—what they called the cavemen.”

  One of the Marines muttered under his breath, but loudly enough to be heard around the compartment, “Seems about right for civilians.”

  There were multiple sniggers and Nineem paused uncomfortably. The Boss shot out of his chair.

  “I don’t want to hear another word like that, Marines. The next person who disrespects President Imair is going out an airlock!”

  The Omega continued to glare in the direction the comment had come from until Imair reached up and rested her hand on his elbow. He sat down and Nineem continued.

  “The colonists have broken up into dozens of isolated groups which are scattered around the continent. This image is taken from the group that is closest to the physical remains of the colony. There does not appear to be any signs of violence or destruction, and we have no ideas as to why the colony was abandoned. We also have limited guesses as to the current status of their civilization. My team suggests you approach the colonists with great care and assume they are dangerous and unpredictable primates until you are able to prove otherwise. Any que
stions?”

  There were none, so Major Odon stood and spoke from his position at the back of the room. “Marines—pack out a full battle load. We aren’t going to deploy in ChamWare, but I want us to have it so we’re prepared for anything. Flight personnel and civilians should report to the Marine armory for a full kit which will include your own ChamWare. We take off at 0700 and,” he glared at Rege, “the bus waits for no one.”

  Zax stood and made to leave until his name was called above the tumult of the dispersing group. Major Eryn gestured him toward her and he approached.

  “Hello, Zax. Do you have any questions or concerns about our flight tomorrow?”

  “No, ma’am. Thank you for asking. I was surprised I got invited along.”

  “I’ll be honest and say it wasn’t my idea. The Boss insisted on bringing you. We rarely let cadets participate in missions like this one, but I suppose the Boss has no problem doing things differently to support the cadets he’s mentoring.”

  Zax wanted to guffaw at the major’s comment having learned from Mase how much the woman was doing to support him, but he managed to keep a neutral expression. She continued.

  “Don’t get me wrong. If I had to have any cadet participate you are certainly one of the top two I would choose. I’m sure it’s no secret that I’m mentoring Mase, so you might worry that I’m not happy about how close the competition has remained between the two of you. Actually, my feelings are pretty strong in the opposite direction. We all get better when we are pushed to do so, and you and Mase are doing a fantastic job of driving each other harder and harder to get even better than you would be on your own. Just look at your Leaderboard score—you’ve significantly widened your lead over your nearest competition during the past year, and I have to think that has been in large part due to Mase’s influence.”

  If she only knew. Zax smiled. “Certainly, ma’am.”

  “Well, if anything comes up that you’re unsure of or want to check in about, please reach out to me. We’ll be flying the command shuttle with the Boss aboard, and I want to be certain everything goes as smoothly as possible.”

  Zax turned to leave until the major made him pause with one final exhortation.

  “And make sure you get a lot of rest tonight, Zax. Missions like this almost always go differently than planned, so we need to be ready for anything.”

  29

  Wow.

  “Shuttle 5436—you’re cleared for departure.”

  The most momentous day of Zax’s life had begun with a trip to the surface of a planet as a passenger on board Shuttle 5436. Two years later, he sat in the right-hand pilot seat of its flight deck. Major Eryn sat to Zax’s left while the Boss, Sergeant Bailee, and Imair were arrayed directly behind them. Major Eryn had told him during preflight she wanted him to do the flying unless there was an emergency, so he replied to the controller in Flight Ops.

  “Shuttle 5436 is a go.”

  Zax performed one last visual check around his craft before initiating takeoff. His nerves got the better of him, and he applied a little too much throttle. The shuttle lifted off the deck with a sudden jerk, and Imair’s hand grabbed hold of Zax’s shoulder. He wasn’t sure whether it was a grip of encouragement or the civilian just trying to catch her balance, but he shocked himself by leaning toward the former.

  Imair had been in Zax’s thoughts a lot ever since she spoke with him privately back in Flight Ops—the day they started their journey to the planet spinning beneath them. Before the unknown bogey showed up and sent them fleeing that system, she had shared a funny story about Nolly. Imair also opened up about the tremendous grief she carried knowing the boy was sacrificed as part of her Revolution.

  Her expressions of remorse were thoroughly unexpected at the time, but they came across as being genuine. Zax had accepted them as an olive branch from the woman he had come to respect during a year of working together in Waste Systems. He subsequently spent many hours trying to filter the woman’s actions through a different lens of who she might actually be deep down inside. By all rights the Revolution should have left the Crew in a far worse position than what Imair had created. Zax found himself fighting against his inbred bias and tipping toward the conclusion that perhaps she was not a monster after all.

  They departed the hangar without further incident, and Kalare’s shuttle received its clearance and followed. The shuttles flew around the Ship until their destination came into full view. The planet was similar to all of the pictures Zax had seen of Earth, with the most notable exception being the oceans were a few shades lighter blue. The two largest continents were in view and both were sprinkled with fine, wispy cloud cover. Reports had shown it was perfect weather for a flight to the surface. Imair broke the silence.

  “Boss—I understand our plan was to go straight to our colony. Would it be possible for us to fly over the alien colony first instead? I’m interested in seeing it with my own eyes.”

  “By all means, ma’am. Cadet—instruct the other shuttle to proceed straight to the landing zone. We’ll detour and then meet up with them.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Zax replied to the Boss and then opened a private channel to connect with Kalare. He had devised a plan to use this shared adventure to initiate a thawing of their relationship, and this would be the first salvo.

  “Hey, Kalare—has Mase screwed anything up yet?”

  “What do you need, Shuttle 5436?”

  “Come on, Kalare, why are you still acting like this? Can’t we try to get back to how things were between us?”

  “I repeat, what do you need, Shuttle 5436?”

  This was not going as hoped, so Zax gave up in favor of waiting for a face-to-face discussion. “We have a change in plans, and the Boss asked me to inform you. Our shuttle is going to do a flyover of the ant colony to let Imair see it up close. He wants you to proceed directly to the landing zone.”

  “Acknowledged.”

  Kalare cut the connection after responding. Zax clearly had his work cut out for him with regards to bridging the rift between them. Her shuttle peeled away toward the continent with the human colony while he vectored his toward the one with the ants.

  A few mins later their view was obscured by the superheated plasma their craft generated as it ripped through the atmosphere. When their fiery entry ended, the continent with the ant colony dominated their view. Zax turned to the Boss.

  “Sir—how low should I go?”

  “Let’s give the President a good show, cadet. Two hundred meters.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  As they came in lower and lower, the alien colony was at first only a dark splotch against the lighter vegetation. As they got closer, the splotch began to undulate as if it was a living organism. The comparison was perfectly apt because what had previously appeared to be a solid mass resolved instead into a tremendous swarm of the ant-like creatures. They were too numerous to count, but Zax estimated it might be more than a million.

  Zax chanced a glance around him to see how the other folks were reacting. Major Eryn gawked at the scene in front of them. Imair similarly stared down at the aliens with her mouth agape. Bailee, typically stone-faced, wore an expression which hinted at shock. The Boss sported a tight grin as he took in the scene and nodded in appreciation. The Omega broke the silence with a low whistle before he spoke.

  “We’ve seen these bugs a bunch through the years but never anything quite like this. I’m impressed.”

  Impressed was far too much of an understatement to describe what Zax was feeling. He had never seen so many living organisms in such a small area, and he held his breath in awe. Zax contemplated the patterns of movement and was fascinated as pockets of the swarm moved in lockstep with each other. Tens of thousands of ants would form into a group that would move in unison through the swirling mass of the other creatures. What appeared at first to be a maelstrom of random movement was actually an amazing vision of large-scale coordination and choreography. Zax was mesmerized until so
mething in the pattern caught his attention.

  “Sir—the workers don’t care about our presence, but I’m certain the warriors are paying attention to us.”

  “It’s not only when we are down on the ground that their behavior toward us is different between the two types of ants. Warriors have been reported to acknowledge the presence of our shuttles and—”

  Zax interrupted the Boss with a shouted warning. “One of those warriors just threw a blade at us!”

  The Omega smiled. “As I was saying, warriors have even been known to throw their blades at our shuttles. I had you drop us down to two hundred meters because I knew that was out of their range. If we were going to actually land anywhere near here, we would have mapped a route that wouldn’t have gotten them all riled up. Given the size of that swarm, we aren’t going to visit here anytime soon. Get us over to the other continent, Zax. It’s time for all of us to see our colony with our own eyes.”

  30

  I agree you shouldn't trust me.

  With no aliens to worry about, Zax banked the shuttle slowly around the human colony at an altitude of fifty meters. From the air, everything appeared as if the colonists had simply walked away. The drone surveys had suggested the same was true on the ground, and Zax was excited to get out and check for himself. He deftly landed the shuttle and was starting his post-flight checklist when the Boss paused before following Bailee and Imair out of the flight deck.

  “Major Eryn—it was a pleasure to witness another example of the fine training you’re providing at the Academy. Between Kalare and Zax, it’s been fantastic to see up close how you’re developing the next generation of likely Omegas. We’ll talk soon about finding a bigger role where you can have an even wider impact.”