by Trent Falls
The Tequesta was white on her topside with a black heat shield underbelly, also like most shuttles. A baby blue trim line separated the white top and black underside, giving the Explorer almost a Pan-Am like look.
Alex was a highly skilled pilot and spacecraft mechanic, yet he had on simple jeans and a sweat-stained white t-shirt. His skin was a brown, almost sienna in tone. His hair was a mop of dreadlocks, a bit matted on his head from the sweat of a good morning’s work.
A golf cart pulled up to the ramp of the ship. The driver was Russ Mattingly, one of the local mechanics. Alex looked up over his book to see Russ and the familiar passenger get out of the cart and approach him.
The passenger was John Carn.
Alex closed his book and set it aside on the ramp. John, in cargo’s and an off-white shirt, walked directly towards him.
“You need to get away from my ship!” Alex observed in his smoky voice. He sounded like he could easily be a radio disc jockey.
“What kind of greeting is that?” John asked, walking up to the foot of the ramp.
Alex stood up to meet him and gave his old friend a handshake.
“The FBI was already here.” Alex observed. “They talked to Russ too. And Joe! I’m sorry man.”
John took a deep breath.
“Did they tell you why they took her?” John asked Alex.
“No. They said something about extortion or something like that. Getting you to do a job for them.” Alex replied. “They also figured you’d come talk to me. I guess they know we’re friends.”
“The ESF can crawl inside your ass and live there, whether you like it or not.” John grumbled. “They treat victims like prisoners.”
“So, why’d you come here to talk to me?” Alex got to the point.
John looked around, checking to see if anyone might be listening. Russ had moved off to another ship on the line that he was due to maintenance. A cargo trolley hummed by over the off-white tarmac.
“I want you to take me to Mars.” John spoke.
“Uh, huh! They said you’d ask me that too.” Alex nodded. “Want to know what they wanted me to tell you in case you asked?”
“What?”
“To go fuck yourself!” Alex grinned. “But I’m not gonna do that outright. I could get into deep shit if I transport you off-planet.”
“They can’t do anything to you, Al!” John explained. “They can’t tell you that you can’t take a charter off-world.”
“They can do whatever the fuck they want! They’re ESF!”
“You’d be surprised, Al.” John noted. “Besides, I still have contacts.”
“You got money?”
“I’ll pay you standard rate for your ship for a month. Fifty thousand. And the only cargo is me.” John explained.
“Fifty thousand’s a good amount of money, but I can’t spend money in jail.” Alex took a step back up the ramp.
“Then say I held you at gunpoint or something!” John argued.
Alex stopped a few steps up the ramp. “I think they’d see through that, don’t ya think.”
“He took Julie, Alex!” John shouted back, stopping Alex again with his words.
Alex looked back over his shoulder to see John glaring at him, as serious as any man can get.
“I’m going. One way or another, I’m going, Alex!” John said with certainty. “Nothing on this fucking planet is going to stop me!”
Alex kept his eyes on John for a moment, looking down on him from several steps up the loading ramp.
“It’s been a long time, John.” Alex noted in a more reserved tone. “Don’t you think you should leave this to the professionals? I’m sure the ESF have a handle on this.”
“Euler, the guy that took her, is a pro.” John remained serious. “Who talked to you? Was it Agent Troy? The FBI?”
“Both.” Alex answered.
“And did they tell you who took her and why?”
“No, they didn’t want to go into details.” Alex replied. “I didn’t think to ask.”
“Euler is looking for the Norn.” John explained. “And when he doesn’t find them, he’s going to kill Julie!”
“You don’t know that he’ll kill her, John.”
“I don’t have to know, Al!” John shouted back. He scanned left and right with his eyes, regaining his composure quickly. “Euler is the kind of guy who killed a lot of people in the war. He and I were friends for a long time. I would venture to say he got to liking it towards the end. Killing people I mean. I’ve been away from that life for a long time but Scott…. I think he’s still there. I think he’s still a merc. He may still think the way he did during the war – and if he does he’ll have no problem killing Jules.”
“I don’t know John.” Alex looked away, taking a deep breath.
“Euler may have sided with the Xen.” John continued. “Now, I don’t know what the hell is going on, but after letting Troy ‘handle it’ I can’t let my niece’s life be held in their hands.”
“You going out there might get her killed, John.” Alex argued. “And what are you asking me to do? Get thrown in jail?”
“Damn it, Al! You and I go way back!”
“No! Don’t pull that shit on me!” Al argued. “You’re asking me to risk not only my livelihood but my freedom as well!”
John stared at Alex for a while. Their eyes were locked bitterly.
“If Euler finds the Norn we’ll have bigger problems than you could imagine.” John noted angrily.
Alex was about to turn away when John’s words made him look back again on the former Marine and Marshall.
“What are you talking about?” Alex asked, confused.
John’s mind was wracked with confusion. Perhaps it was the stress. “I don’t know.” He answered honestly. “I’m not…”
Alex smirked and turned away again to walk back up the ramp. Once at the top and in the main cargo area, he turned to an opened control hatch set into the bulkhead. The open hatch showed the control board and systems for part of the environmental controls of his ship. Al walked over to the hatch and continued working on a diagnostic test he had been running.
John walked further into the cargo area. The ship was as he remembered it. The top of the cargo area was roomy. A seam resembling interlocking gears ran the length of the roof, with bright yellow and black hatched lines marking the edges of the seam for safety. The words “vacuum at exterior” were written along the seams for any imbecile who might be inside of the ship while it was outside of the Earth’s atmosphere.
Behind John above the ramp of the bar was a thick robotic arm, folded into a stowed configuration in the ceiling. A motorized steel line ran from the end of the arm and to a swivel ball attachment. The ball was tethered by multiple nylon line to a mesh and a steel framed basket. John knew what it was from the insulated swivel ball and the basket. It was an air rescue kit.
“When did you get that?” John asked Alex, pointing back to the robotic arm and the rescue winch.
Alex looked up from his work towards the arm. He was still visibly angry in his expression. “That?” Alex took a breath. “I’ve been running emergency search and rescue ops on a contract. Backstopping the Coast Guard. Lots of rich folks getting their ass stranded in bad summer weather.”
“I thought you were running construction supplies to Florida City?” John asked.
“That too.” Alex replied, closing the hatch where he had been working. Alex was still angry, but apparently didn’t want to ask John to leave.
“Listen,” John took a deep relaxing breath, “I’m sorry I put you in a tough spot.” John remained silent for a moment in thought. “I’ll find another way to get to Mars.”
Alex shut another hatch over some conduit line quickly. He walked in quick steps towards the ramp, past John, to pick up the manual for the collision avoidance system. With the manual in his hand, he walked back towards John to stand in front of him.
“I didn’t say ‘no’, John.” Alex replie
d in an even tone. “I just need to think about it is all.”
John took a breath, allowing himself a brief grin.
“Now get the hell off my ship.” Alex gestured with a turn of his head towards the ramp. “I got work to do.”
“Alright.” John nodded, walking away.
“I’ll contact you.” Alex added.
Julie Stevens sat still in the chair of the shuttle transport where she had been strapped. Getting free seemed to be a useless effort. She instead decided to try and relax, as best she could anyway.
The transport shuttle exited hyperspace and flew madly at the planet Isis and its two grey crater-marked moons. Inertial flaps and repulse emitters mounted forward on the craft slowed the shuttle to a manageable speed. The vehicle rolled over as it closed in on the clouded blue and green world, orienting its heat shield down.
The ride exiting hyperspace felt very smooth inside the shuttle. It wasn’t until the shuttle began buffeting against the increasing air pressure that Julie felt anything.
Isis orbited a yellow, almost amber, sun called 61 Virginis; a main sequence star about 28 light years from Earth. As on Earth, Isis had a dense breathable atmosphere. The planet below was about half water, with giant oceans over half of the face of the planet ahead of the shuttle. Rich white clouds stretched over the surface, like a marble made of blue and green with white swirled in here and there. Most of the planet was covered in jungle, with a few stretches of desert at the equatorial region. Many of the jungles were actually deciduous forest. The distance from the sun and its makeup made for a planet a bit cooler than Earth.
The shuttle flared over in flame as it entered the atmosphere. The flight profile used by the shuttle was fairly aggressive, nosing down fast towards the ground. The pilot turned the ship into an increasingly wide series of corkscrew turns to bleed off speed.
Storm clouds brewed ahead.
Unlike its glider ancestor, the transport shuttle was capable of powered flight. The shuttle took on the dense storm clouds, which pulsed over with random tendrils of lightning.
Rochette sat on the flight deck, strapped into the flight engineer’s station. He looked ahead between the pilot and copilot station out to the thunderheads.
“Is this really necessary?” Rochette asked.
“I don’t like keeping us in the air too long.” The pilot responded keeping his eyes fixed forward out the window and on his HUD. “The longer we’re in the air the greater the likelihood we’ll be found.”
“No one’s going to notice us.” Rochette dismissed the idea. “No one lives on this planet anyway.”
The shuttle turned in a wide bank, descending finally below the storm clouds. The terrain below was a lush green deciduous forest that stretched as far as the eye could see. A short series of hills and mountains framed the far west. There didn’t seem to be any signs of civilization anywhere.
“Where the hell is the landing strip?” Rochette asked, feeling more than a bit nervous.
“With all due respect, sir, please relax.” The pilot noted. “You’ll see it coming up in a minute.”
The shuttle continued its wide bank. The pilot, copilot, and Rochette saw the long tarmac strip appear through a break in the trees as the shuttle oriented to align with the runway.
“See.” The pilot exhaled. “No worries.”
The pilot gently nosed the ship down. He could have brought the vessel down on its V/STOL system but the typical flight profile was often best for any aircraft. The green coniferous forest below swept past the spacecraft. The shuttle got lower on its gentle approach, flying finally over a hundred yards or so of grass until the rear landing gear passed over the tarmac, touching down only a few seconds later.
Julie could feel the sudden and familiar rumbling of the craft on the ground. The nose gear touched next.
After all those years of dreaming – she was on another planet! And it felt like any other airplane ride.
The shuttle slowed on the runway, pulling forward under power towards the end of the runway. An open mouth hangar was set at the end of the runway. It had been disguised under a number of fake trees and shrubs set on its green roof. The shuttle turned slightly to the right, finally parking in front of half a dozen armed soldiers.
Rochette unfastened his seat restraints and got up to go back to check on Julie. The pilot and copilot went through post-flight behind him.
The inside of the shuttle was a bit cramped, much like a small private jet. Getting through the passages wasn’t tough, but a big guy like Rochette needed to be careful not to bump into things. He moved through an empty passenger compartment. Seven thick leather chairs, designed with flight restraints, were set in the passenger compartment; all empty. He passed through an airtight bulkhead door at the back, emerging into a small windowless control area. It was a staging area and flight operations engineering station, set just before the main cargo area at the rear. A lone eighteen year old blonde girl bound and sealed inside a spacesuit sat tied to the chair.
The sizeable mercenary stood in front of Julie’s helmet, peering inside the glass visor at the young girl.
“Cooperate and this will all go smoothly.” His voice was slightly muffled on the inside of the suit. “Understood?”
Julie nodded compliantly.
A pair of armed soldiers entered from the cargo area at the back. Rochette unlatched the hard-shell helmet and pulled it off Julie. The cold air in the ship surprised the moist skin of her face and neck. She looked at Rochette, then the two armed soldiers in body dark brown armor and wearing helmets behind him. They both had submachine guns. Julie had never seen firearms like theirs, least of all anything looking so lethal.
Rochette worked to unbind her sleeves and removed the straps holding her to the chair.
“Get up.” Rochette instructed her. “Turn around.”
Julie did as she was told. She knew what he was doing anyway. The same procedure had been done in reverse to get her into the spacesuit. Rochette unzipped and unfastened the airtight lock running up the spine of the suit. Julie backed out of the one-piece spacesuit. She was still wearing the same clothes she had worn to the Intergy concert; black leggings and a long light blue shirt blouse. Her flat shoes had been stowed in a nearby compartment. Rochette fetched them and handed her the shoes.
“Leave the suit on the deck. My men will sort it out.” Rochette instructed her.
In a few more moments, Julie was ready to go.
“Come on. Follow me.” Rochette ordered, walking out of the workstation and turning right.
The armed soldiers remained to the left outside the opening, keeping their eyes fixed on Julie to make sure she did as she was told.
Julie followed Rochette out. She nervously exited the workstation area, trying not to brush up against the soldiers. They were frightening. She cautiously turned right and walked down a short group of four expanded stainless steel stairs. The stairs led out into the small cargo area where she had entered the ship. Rochette was already at the controls to lower the rear ramp.
Despite her predicament, the sight of the rear ramp lowering filled Julie with a sense of excitement. She was getting her first look at another world. She had no idea where she was or the name of the planet, but she knew she wasn’t on Earth. There was a red light illuminated on the right side of the cargo bay. A sign next to the red light read “Artificial Gravity”. She assumed a red light indicated the artificial gravity was off. A horizontal colored band below the light showed the type of exterior atmosphere on a scale. “Hazardous” was indicated on the far left of the scale while “Vacuum” was indicated on the far right. A blue band in the middle seemed to indicate a safe environment. A bright yellow light was set on the scale a hair to the left of a center line; a line Julie assumed to mean Earth-like conditions.
It was beginning to rain outside. The first thing she saw was the water droplets darkening the grey tarmac out beyond the settling ramp. The ramp settled with a dull thud. The conditions outside was mu
ch like a rainy Florida afternoon. The sky wasn’t dark, but it was a bright bluish grey. It was cooler outside, though. The surrounding forest was actually quite close to the sides of the runway, allowing for only a few meters of green lawn runoff before the tall coniferous trees began. The trees were quite close together, obscuring the runway significantly. It reminded Julie a bit of the hills of Washington State.
A maintenance shed was far off to the left. A four-wheeled ATV-like transport rolled up to the back of the shuttle. It was actually a small open-air off-road vehicle with oversized tires; a Land Rover Forager. The driver was another soldier, wearing a similar dark brown non-descript uniform. No one wore rank insignias.
Rochette urged Julie towards the Forager. The teenage girl complied, walking out past the end of the ramp out onto the tarmac. She looked down. She was walking on an alien world.
“Come on. Get in.” Rochette urged the girl on with his commanding voice.
Julie hopped into the vehicles back row of seats. Rochette sat in the passenger seat beside the driver. One soldier, and his machine gun, sat next to Julie while another sat in the rear-facing row of seats behind them. The Forager lurched forward on its electric engine, taking a slight hop before the drive train settled in.
The electric ATV picked up speed and drove quickly and smoothly away from the shuttle. There was a small dirt road leading out of the airstrip past the maintenance hangar. The road was a bit muddy and well worn. It was clear from the deep tire tracks in the road it was a common traffic route from the airstrip to wherever they were going. The Forager took a few hops over a rough patch in the road but continued on relatively well on the forest road.