by Russell Fine
“I have a suggestion. In exchange for three boxes of chocolate we will allow your people to stay on the planet. Additionally, we will make monthly trips to Procolt 2 and make sure they are okay. Do they have the equipment to contact us in the event of an emergency?”
“No, we only have one trade group communication system and it’s installed on my ship.”
“We have some handheld devices. I could give them one to use, but it does not have a translator-built in.”
“Do you have a handheld communications system that can send and receive signals from Procolt 2 to Procolt 4? Our handheld devices have a maximum range of only five thousand miles. Anyway, one of the officers who wants to stay on the planet is our language expert. I could bring her to your ship and I’m sure she would be able to learn enough of your language for basic communication in a few days.”
“Okay, we can do that. Have you made the decision to let her stay?”
“No, but I will soon. I will contact you again soon.”
“Okay.”
Debbie was on the planet, so Jeffery called her and asked her to take the next shuttle back to the ship. When she was aboard, she went to her cabin where Jeffery was waiting for her. “Is there a problem?” she asked.
“No, not exactly. I have a decision to make and I want your input.”
“Does this concern Cathy’s request to stay on the planet?”
“Yes, it’s not an easy decision. Three years is a long time to be on your own.”
“They aren’t alone. Don’t forget the squirrels are there. I’ve been watching them. I’m certain they wouldn’t allow any harm to come to either.”
“I’ve made an arrangement with Glencet to check on them once a month. Glencet is also going to give them a handheld communicator so they could contact his ship in case of an emergency. So, do you think I should approve their request to stay here?”
“Yes, I think you should.”
“Okay, but I want to make sure they understand what they’re getting into.” Jeffery picked up his com unit and called Cathy. “Hi Cathy. I’d like to see you and Sheila in my cabin at 0900 tomorrow morning.”
“Does this mean you’re approving our request?”
“No, it means I want to talk to both of you about your request.”
“Yes sir, we’ll both be there.”
The following morning at 8:57, the entry button was pushed on the door to Jeffery and Debbie’s cabin. Jeffery said, “Come in.”
Cathy and Sheila walked into the cabin.
Jeffery and Debbie were seated at the small table in their room. They motioned for Cathy and Sheila to sit.
Jeffery said, “Good morning. As I explained yesterday, I want to be sure you understand what you’re asking. My decision will depend on what you say. Is that clear?”
Both women said, “Yes, sir.”
“When we leave here, we’ll probably be unable to return for three years. Remember, this is the only interstellar ship we have. Should something happen to the ship you would be stranded here for who knows how long.”
“I hadn’t thought about that but I believe the odds are fairly remote anything would happen. In any case, I’m willing to accept the risk,” Cathy said.
“I’m also willing to accept the risk,” Sheila said.
“In the event I approve this you should know I have made arrangements with Glencet to send a ship to check on you once every month. Also, Glencet is going to supply you with a com unit you can use to contact his ship in case of an emergency. However, the com unit doesn’t have a translator built in. Both of you will be required to go to Glencet’s ship and spend enough time there to learn their language. You don’t have to be fluent, but you will need to know enough to call for help and understand the response.”
“That seems like a very good idea. Is Glencet’s ship going to stay here for the next three years?” Cathy asked.
“I don’t know, but I already thought about asking him.”
“Sheila, how are you with learning languages?”
“I am sure I’m not as good as Cathy, but I took several years of French in college and didn’t find it very difficult.”
“Good, so you’re comfortable with this?”
“Yes sir.”
“Very good. I’ll contact Glencet today and we’ll take you to his ship tomorrow. Please make sure your furry friends know you won’t be there for a few days.”
“I already told them we might be leaving and would be gone for many days. They have no concept of numbers, but if I’m given the opportunity, I’m going to try to teach them about numbers and time.”
“Okay, I’ll contact you after I speak to Glencet.”
The two women left the cabin and after the door closed Debbie said, “I think Sheila is worried about learning Torblit, or whatever they call their language.”
“I got the same feeling. We’ll see how she does. She only has to be able to call for help.”
“Yes, I know.”
Later that morning, Jeffery contacted Glencet and asked him if he could bring his two crew members over there at 10:00 the next morning. Glencet agreed and reminded Jeffery about the chocolate. Laughing, Jeffery replied he would bring the three cases.
At 9:00 the following morning, the Star Rover left the orbit of Procolt 2 and was within ten miles of Glencet’s ship by 9:30. Anne contacted Glencet’s ship informing them their shuttle would depart shortly. As the shuttle approached the alien craft the door opened to the hangar bay where the shuttle flew inside and landed. When the bay was pressurized there was a knock at the hatch of the shuttle. As soon as it opened Jeffery saw Glencet and next to him was a man probably six inches taller than Glencet, and significantly stronger looking.
Jeffery put on his translator and heard Glencet tell the man to take the cases of chocolate to his cabin. He said, “Good morning, Captain Glencet. It’s nice to see you again. Permission to come aboard?”
Glencet replied, “Please, welcome aboard, Admiral.” He watched as the three exited the shuttle and asked, “Are these the crew members who want to stay on Procolt 2?”
“Yes, they are.” Pointing at Cathy, he said, “This is Lieutenant Cathy Carter, she’s a language expert and our chief communications officer.” Then he pointed to Sheila and said, “This is Lieutenant Sheila Roth, she’s one of our ship’s exobiologists, specializing in botany.”
“It is very nice to meet both of you. Please accompany me to the bridge and I will introduce you to your instructor. Her name is Moltas.”
They followed Glencet to the bridge and Glencet introduced Moltas. The three women left the bridge. After they left Jeffery said, “I’m sure Lieutenant Carter won’t have any problems, but I’m not so sure about Lieutenant Roth. If she’s unable to learn what she needs to know to make a distress call I’ll have to withdraw my permission for them to stay on Procolt 2.”
“I will contact you tomorrow and let you know how they’re doing. Do they both have translators?” Glencet asked.
“No, we only have two. I gave one to Lieutenant Carter.”
“Okay, we have a lot of them aboard, but they are not programmed for your language. We will borrow the one Lieutenant Carter has and program our units. Then we can lend one to Lieutenant Roth. Do you have any videos of the animals you found?”
“Yes, I believe Lieutenant Carter brought them aboard. After your translators are loaded, you’ll be able to understand my crew as well as the animals. Lieutenant Carter added the animal’s language protocols earlier.”
“Very good. I will take you back to your shuttle.”
“Thank you. I’m looking forward to getting a progress report tomorrow morning.”
The following morning, Jeffery had a brief conversation with Glencet who told him both officers were doing well learning the new language. He felt they wouldn’t need more than two more days and they could be picked up in the evening the day after tomorrow.
After the conversation with Glencet, Jeffery and Debbie went d
own to the habitat. When they arrived, they were greeted by a group of squirrels. One of the larger ones came up to him and asked in a squeaky but understandable voice, “Are you Cathy’s master?”
Cathy had told Jeffery the squirrels were learning English but he was stunned by the question. He stared at the squirrel for a few moments and said, “Cathy works for me, so I am her superior, but her master.”
“Are you going to let Cathy stay here with us?”
“Yes, Cathy is going to stay with you. Sheila will stay with you too.”
“Good. We like them. We will take care of them and make them happy.”
“I’m happy to hear you say that. I want Cathy and Sheila to be happy while they stay here.”
“Will they be here when the sun comes up again?”
“No, they’ll be here after the sun comes up two times.”
Jeffery saw his response to the question resulted with a blank stare from the squirrel. He had forgotten the squirrels had no concept of numbers. After thinking about it, he said, “They will not be here when the sun comes up again. They will be here the next time the sun comes up after the sun comes up tomorrow.”
The squirrel seemed to be satisfied with his answer. It went back to the group and spoke to them for a few seconds before leaving the area around the habitat to venture back to the forest.
After the squirrels left, Debbie asked, “Do you think they understood what you said?”
“I think so. I never realized how hard it was to talk and not use numbers.” He chuckled. “To tell you the truth, I’d like to stay here too. It’s perfect. The temperature is ideal, it rains on schedule, and you can actually talk to the wildlife. What more could you ask for?”
“It does seem nice, but I think after a while I’d get tired of eating vegetables. I like meat, but I know I could never kill anything wild on this planet for food.”
“I understand, but if we set up a resort, we could bring in a supply of meat on a regular schedule. I think people from Earth would pay a lot to vacation here.”
“Are you planning on building your own starship? I don’t think NASA wants to be in the tourist transport business.”
“Actually, you would probably need several ships because with only one ship you would only be able to make two trips per year, and most people can’t just disappear for the length of time needed to come here on vacation.”
“I think they can if they’re very wealthy.”
“Well, it was just a thought. But I think we should spend the whole day here since we won’t be back for a while.”
“You convinced me.”
Jeffery and Debbie spent the day relaxing. They took the last shuttle of the day back to the Star Rover. The following day would be spent preparing the ship for the one-hundred-and-thirty-day trip to Coplent, of which, neither Jeffery nor Debbie were looking forward to.
The following morning, the Star Rover went back to Glencet’s ship to pick up Cathy and Sheila. Once they were aboard, the Star Rover returned to Procolt 2. Jeffery took Cathy and Sheila to the habitat. The squirrels were waiting for them and appeared to be very pleased to see the two women again.
Jeffery asked, “Are you sure you want to stay here? This is your last chance to change your mind.”
Cathy spoke first, “We’re sure we want to stay, sir. I’m sure everything will be okay. Glencet told us he’s scheduled to go home in a half year, but the ship taking his place will continue to keep tabs on us,” she chuckled. “They won’t do anything to cut off their supply of chocolate.”
“Glencet told me that too. When we come back, I’ll bring him a few dozen cases, and some usable power modules. We’ll come back as soon as possible.”
After the “goodbyes” were said Jeffery returned to the shuttle. He turned back and waved to his two brave officers, then he got aboard, closed the hatch, and returned to the Star Rover. He kept thinking he may have made a serious mistake allowing the women to stay.
The Journey to Coplent
October 2120
The first forty-seven days of the trip went perfectly. Even though there were a lot of ways to keep busy on the ship, the guests complained of boredom. However, on day forty-eight, the boredom changed to fear. Just after 8:00 in the morning the wormhole system failed. Jeffery was informed immediately by chief engineering officer, Ron Rice. He was not sure what caused the failure, but the entire engineering department was working on the problem. He promised Jeffery he would give him a status report in an hour.
Jeffery made an announcement to the whole ship. “This is Admiral Whitestone. As you probably noticed, we exited the wormhole a few minutes after 8:00 a.m. This was the result of a system failure. Please do not be concerned. We have replacement parts aboard the Star Rover to repair the entire drive. Engineering is working on the situation and as progress develops, I will keep our crew and passengers informed. Admiral Whitestone out.”
An hour later, Jeffery still had not heard from Ron so he called him. Ron apologized and said he had lost track of the time. Additionally, he thought they found the issue, but it would take at least another two hours to verify.
Jeffery made another announcement. “I apologize but I have no new information regarding our situation at this time. Engineering thinks they’ve found the problem, but the analysis will take some more time. I’ll keep you informed. Whitestone out.”
So far nobody on the ship was too concerned, but as the day wore on the news didn’t get any better. The failure wasn’t where the engineers first thought, and now they were looking at more than a dozen potential problem areas.
At 9:00 that evening, Jeffery called Ron and asked him to come to his cabin. When Ron arrived, he had a dismayed look on his face. Jeffery asked him for a progress update.
“Sir, I wish I knew. Every test we run indicates normal operation. Right now, we think the problem is in the wormhole projector. Unfortunately, that’s the most complex part of the system. To make matters worse, we can’t access it from inside the ship. I’m sending two men out with replacement parts and we’re going to replace every part in it. That will take thirty-six hours. I wish I could guarantee it would fix the problem, but I can’t. Jeffery, I can assure you we’ll fix it. I just don’t know how long it will take, sir.”
“I understand. I want you to know I don’t think there’s anyone more qualified than you to find it. I suspect some guests won’t be pleased when I make the next announcement, but I’m sure they understand we’re doing everything we can to resolve it. Please call me as soon as you have any additional information.”
Jeffery made another announcement and gave everybody the status of the wormhole system.
After the announcement Debbie asked, “What do we do if we can’t get the system online again?”
“I don’t even want to think about that. We’re out in the middle of nowhere and without the wormhole system this is where we’ll stay. I could bring the ship up to sixty percent of light speed in three months, but there would still be nowhere to go. I suspect the closest system with an earthlike planet is Procolt and we’re more than fifteen light years from there. If Ron can’t repair the system, the best we can hope for is that Garlut will realize there’s a problem when we don’t show up at Coplent and come looking for us.”
The next thirty-two hours seemed to last forever. The mood on the Star Rover was bleak and grew worse as time went on. There seemed to be a general feeling of doom. But everyone knew the risks, so they were generally ready to accept their fate.
Jeffery and Debbie were both on the bridge as hour thirty-three of the repair approached. Ron walked onto the bridge wearing a big smile mixed with eyes that showed exhaustion and said, “We found the problem and everything appears to be working normally! We should be able to get moving again as soon as my men are back aboard.”
Jeffery immediately made the following announcement to the entire ship. “This is Admiral Whitestone. It gives me great pleasure in reporting that Engineering has completed repairs. For
those contemplating the vastness of dying here in outer space, please put those thoughts to rest. We’ll be underway shortly.”
Fifteen minutes later, the Star Rover began moving again. The rest of the trip to Coplent was uneventful, and nobody complained about boredom as they all had much to talk to one another about with their surprising impending slow death aboard the starship. They entered the Coplent system one hundred and thirty-four days after they left Procolt 2. The last leg of their journey took them within seventy-five thousand miles of Coplent. Anne contacted the planet and learned they were expected. They were told to bring the Star Rover to a distance of fifteen units from the space station.
Coplent
February 2121
Mike plotted the course to the space station and used the sub-light engine to move the Star Rover to the correct location. Fifteen minutes later, the ship received a call from Garlut.
Jeffery put on a headset and said, “Hello Garlut, it’s good to hear your voice. We’ve had a very interesting mission so far and I have many things I’d like to talk to you about.”
“I am happy to hear your voice as well. I will be on the space station shortly and will contact you again when I arrive. If it is acceptable, I will take a small shuttle to the Star Rover. I too have many things to discuss with you.”
“You’re welcome to come aboard anytime. I’m looking forward to seeing you.”
“I should be there within three hours.”
Three hours later, Jeffery and Debbie walked to the shuttle bay to wait for Garlut.
The shuttle arrived a few minutes later. Garlut and Brealak were both aboard and after they entered the ship, Garlut asked, “Can we go the dining room to get some food? We really miss the cuisine from your chefs on Earth.”
“Yes, of course. We don’t have the same selection but I’m sure the cook can prepare something you’ll like.”