“He’s right commander,” Takashi echoed excitedly. “There’s no way these readings are consistent with a lack of living beings. In fact, like he said, there would have to be a significant number.”
“Very well then, continue the scans. People listen up. Master Chief, find me a way into that complex,” he said thoughtfully, “Mr. Takashi, I want a thermal imaging map on the computer and available in my cabin in thirty minutes. I’m going to give it another four orbits and then we’re sending a team down, assuming we’ve got a way in. That’s forty hours. Get some sleep in that time and we’ll have a full team briefing at T minus six hours from departure time. I’ll post the team roster within twenty hours.”
“Yes, sir,” everyone acknowledged as Farr left, hoping that they were the lucky devils who’d be the first earth people to land on another world in a century. Takashi leaned over with a puzzled look on his face and whispered to Ming.
“What’s T minus six hours?” Ming just laughed.
Two orbits later Farr sat alone in his cabin reviewing all of the data gathered on the Moon’s surface to date. The Moon had always had a battered, beaten surface and it was even more so now. The holographic display gave him details down to eighty centimeters. But the features of the surface were starting to change. The thin doomed atmosphere on the lunar surface now produced vicious winds that whipped savagely across the surface, eroding eons old features. And the quantum computer was good enough to identify several areas that were definitely wind erosion. It was an eerie, compelling landscape to Farr, one that beckoned to him, not because of how it looked, but because of what it represented to him personally. The sheer exhilaration of exploring that had driven him his whole life, no matter how many stops he’d made along the way, was almost overwhelming. He drifted over to the porthole that graced his cabin wall, the only one on the ship, although the bridge windows did offer a much better view. He gazed down at the alien landscape that was passing by and wondered if Zheng He or James Cook or Richard Byrd or any one of a hundred intrepid explorers he’d studied had felt the same way. Here, circling an alien world, he felt more at home than he had in his entire life.
But there was something that pricked his sense of impending danger, a succinct wrongness he felt when he studied the thermal maps displayed before him. The first set of thermal maps that Takashi had downloaded to him had piqued his curiosity. Something had been out of place but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it so he’d requested thermal imaging updates every time they passed over the site or a satellite did and he was now viewing the latest ones.
“Dr. Thangruph, could you overlay the imaging results from the earlier orbits on top of the latest map?”
“Certainly Commander, Lao Tzu Ming is at your door,” Thangruph informed him.
“Thank you doctor, come in Ming,” he called, his eyes still on the images.
“Do you have a sixth sense or something?” Ming said coming into the cabin. “I was just getting ready to knock.”
“No, I’ve got Dr. Thangruph. He tracks all of us,” Farr said absently as he poured over the thermal images.
“That’s cheating doc,” Ming said to the computer image. “I thought we talked about this.”
“While you did inform me that most humans prefer a good surprise, Mr. Ming, my data seems to indicate otherwise and, as you know, the Commander’s voice commands override any previous input,” the image responded.
“Doctor your data is correct, most humans do not like surprises, but some humans, like Ming for instance, enjoy surprising them,” Farr informed the shade of Thangruph.
“Then Ming’s orders concerning surprise are illogical and counter to procedure,” the image said with a thoughtful look on its’ holographic face, “I am sorry Mr. Ming, but I must inform you that your request is denied.”
Farr grinned and Ming snorted in disgust.
“Thank you doctor you may attend to your other duties now. I have what I need.”
“Thank you Commander, I would like to talk this situation over with Quincy,” the image finished and disappeared immediately.
“Have a seat Ming, and, by the way, stop trying to corrupt the doctor. He’s incorruptible.”
“I know, I know, but I can’t resist the challenge. He seems so human that I’ve just got to see what I can get over on him.”
“The short answer is nothing. He has the sum total of mankind’s knowledge in every field available to him so if you make a request that is counter to the conclusions stored there, he’ll just ignore you.”
Ming’s face contorted in thought at that. “That would explain why he hasn’t gotten back on the voice modification program I asked him to make for me.”
“He’s a quantum computer. He could’ve spit that out for you in a few minutes. Wait, what voice modification program?” Farr said, his eyes narrowing.
“Oh it’s nothing, nothing.” Ming said and when Farr continued eyeing him he flushed and said, “Honestly Callum, it’s nothing.”
“I’ll take your word for it. But that’s not why I asked you here. Take a look at these thermal images.” Farr moved his hand across the holodisplay and brought up the images suspended above the small table.
Ming didn’t say anything for several minutes as he flipped through the images. Then he overlaid them onto each other and stepped back. “Dr. Thangruph please calculate for me the temperature differential based on time of day for the tunnel systems.” The information appeared above the table and Ming was once more silent as he poured over the charts and data. Finally he sat back and sighed deeply and looked across at Farr.
“I assume you’re asking my opinion about the temperature differential and what it could mean?”
“Yes, the temperature differential occurs twice a day, at least on a twenty four hour day, based on what I’ve gleaned from the ship’s sensors and the satellites in orbit and the only place they occur is the tunnels that lead to the transparent roof and the growing area. What do you think would account for this?”
“You’re every bit as good at science as I am so you already know that the system isn’t designed like that and I don’t know of any accidental possibilities or mechanical malfunctions that would cause a specific regular occurrence like that. The bottom line is that the growing area of the colony is open twice a day for one hour and then the air in the tunnels must be evacuated between these two points,” he said pointing at the image. “That would account for the temperature differential, but why it’s happening I can’t imagine, because it’s obviously being done by humans or by machines operating on human orders.”
“That’s the conclusion I came to as well, but it took me a while longer.”
“That’s because you didn’t have all of the data in front of you like I do. You had to compile it first. It’s easy to reason a problem through once you’ve been given all of the facts, but the hard part is noticing the telltale signs that lead to the data. I never even noticed the temperature differential until I looked at these charts and I’ll bet a penny against a pound no one else did either. Well done my captain.” Ming finished with a mock salute.
“What’s a penny?” Farr asked puzzled.
“Never mind, you know you really should come to movie night once and a while.”
“I promise, on the way to the belt,” he said holding up his hands in supplication, “but why’d anyone want to keep people out of the growing area? And another thing, the thermal signature goes significantly higher than you would expect at these two points at that time of day. There’s only one thing I know that would raise the tunnel temperature rapidly and to that level.”
“Would that be a group of people milling about smartly?”
“Exactly! So, for whatever reason, twice a day humans gather around these two areas for approximately an hour and then leave and the area isolates itself once more.”
“That’s a mystery worth investigating. Which, fortunately for us, is why we came here,” Ming said.
“Has Wells found m
e a way in?”
“Yes, one.”
“Into the domed area?”
“No, at least not at the Five base, but there’s one he found around the ruins of the Six base that still works.”
“Just one? There must’ve been twenty ingress/egress points on the plans.”
“There were, but every one of the points around the ceiling in base Five is inoperable.”
“Why would they let that happen,” Farr asked quizzically.
“It’s not that they let it happen. All of the points of ingress were deliberately destroyed according to the Master Chief. That’s the only way he can explain what he’s seeing. It took a while for us to see it like that because it isn’t logical, to us I mean, but it must’ve been to whoever did it whenever he or she did it. The ingress point at Six was probably thought destroyed by the strike. Master Chief also tells me he can’t guaranty that you’ll be able to get a sealed chamber on the other side to enter into the other tunnels. So, it’s a dice roll.”
“I don’t like chance,” Farr stated thinking for a moment.
“I, on the other hand, do like games of chance, but not when the stakes are our lives.”
“Let me think on this for a while and I’ll ask you to do the same.”
“No problem. It’s been twenty hours since lunar insertion; do you have the names of the landing party ready?” Ming said nonchalantly.
“I might,” Farr said with a mischievous grin. “Why are you interested?”
“Don’t torture me, Callum,” Ming said pleadingly. “Am I on the list?”
“Of course you are. Did you doubt it,” he said soberly.
“Yeah! Who’s the man?!” Ming shouted then stopped. “Wait a minute, why am I on it?” he asked dryly squinting at Farr. “I’m a biologist, slash zoologist slash microbiologist. We don’t expect to find any mammals slash reptiles slash any other animals except humans and those have been pretty well catalogued.”
“Well,” Farr said looking evasively around his cabin. “I… suspect we might run into something a little out of the ordinary down there and I want someone experienced backing me up.”
“You’ve got four badass sergeants just waiting for something out of the ordinary to happen and that’s pretty much their only purpose here,” Ming said suspiciously.
Farr got up and drifted over to the porthole again and looked out at the landscape as it flowed past. “Look Ming, I know they’re security and they’re well trained, but that’s the extent of their experience, just training. They’ve never been on a mission where everything went to hell in a hand basket in twenty seconds.” Farr used some of Ming’s retro-vernacular in the hopes of leaving the conversation off there.
“And why would you think your biologist slash zoologist slash microbiologist would have any experience with situations that went to hell in a hand basket in twenty seconds?”
“Look,” Farr said turning toward him again and the look he gave Ming was genuinely sincere because Farr was just no good at guile and he knew it. “I know you were in Earth Forces and I know you were a lieutenant and I know you’ve seen action and I know I trust you. I don’t care about anything else and I didn’t pry into your life. For some reason Admiral Ngata threw us together and right before we left he gave me that information. I’m asking you to accompany the landing party as a favor to me. I can’t and won’t order you to come along, but since you want to go, it would give me a sense of security knowing that someone’s got my back and that’s why I put your name on the list.”
Ming’s face was tight for several seconds and then he relaxed. “Well, I want to go so I’ll be your backup, but be careful what you wish for.”
“Good enough. Now the other members will be Skorsson, Takashi, Faye and Tegev. Do you have anyone you think we should add?”
“Add, no, I think Faye is a very competent tech, Takashi is good if he can stop being theoretical and Tegev is the best of your badasses, plus a competent tech, but Skorsson? I know he’s a botanist and there are plants under the transparent ceiling, but they’re nothing exotic.”
“I’m tired of him puking on my ship,” Farr said crossly, “It’s one sixth g down there and maybe that’ll help his stomach. Besides, he’s decorated just about every station on the ship with his lunch. I think the crew could use the break.”
“So he’s going on the landing party because you don’t want him puking on your precious ship anymore?” Ming said regaining some of his humor. “If I’d known that’s all it took to make the landing party, I’d have yakked a few times myself.”
“The ship’s ventilation system could use the break too.”
“Yeh, he eats some pretty smelly stuff, like that fish soaked in lye or bleach, and it certainly doesn’t gain any more bouquet the second time around,” Ming laughed and then sobered quickly, “but seriously, how about weapons?”
The Resolution carried the four security sergeants and a weapons locker. Although this was actually a humanitarian mission, the Earth Forces had learned the hard way many times since the Calamity that starving people can be dangerous, as could scared people and people who are just plain confused. Although they came to give aid, every ship was prepared to defend its’ crew, Farr’s more than most.
“No projectile weapons I think, but we’ve hand held wireless Tasers with a thirty meter range that could knock an elephant down. I think every member, except Skorsson,” he quickly added, “should be issued one. I also want Tegev to carry one of the DEWs.”
“Good call on the microwave. I think that should be enough for what we hope to find down there,” he finished.
Often called microwave cannons by service members, Directed Energy Weapons (DEWs) had been around for two centuries. The twenty third century personnel model was portable like one of the old Earth assault rifles, just bulkier, and had several settings depending on the target that the troops were confronted with. The particular variant carried by the Resolution was an antipersonnel version. When confronted by angry crowds the “cannon” could be directed toward the gathering and the microwaves would excite and heat up the water molecules under a person’s skin. This caused, by all accounts from members who had volunteered to have it tested on them, excruciating pain and incapacitation. It tended to discourage belligerence, but left no lasting effects on the recipients, other than a fervent desire to never experience it again.
“Thanks for the assessment. We’ve got about twenty hours left. I’m going to leave Master Chief Wells in charge when we go. Ship’s in a safe orbit, virtually all of the technicians will be aboard, so it should be safe enough.”
“Yeah, ship in orbit’s safe enough,” Ming said coyly, “so it probably won’t miss its’ CO much. I seem to remember a passage in the regulation book about the CO leaving the ship. I can’t recall the whole thing but I seem to remember that it was frowned upon.”
Farr’s face remained blank and guileless as he stared at Ming. “That was for surface or air combatants. This is a spacecraft, as you can see from the view outside that lovely little window over there. The regulation book is rather vague on that and I’ll remind you the first man who walked on the Moon was the mission commander and both of the astronauts left the module at the same time.”
“Well, seeing as how the area is rather gray and there’s a tradition of sorts,” Ming replied grinning, “I guess I’ll be seeing you in about fourteen hours at the briefing. I’m gonna go start prep for the mission.”
“Same here,” Farr replied.
Farr had posted the landing team to all stations and he could literally hear the groans throughout the ship. He had then gone throughout the ship, person to person, and assured everyone that the entire crew would get a chance to walk the surface of the Moon, or at least, to visit the colony.
CHAPTER 7
The briefing started on time for a change, probably because the scientists were finally getting the routine down and following the lead of the military crewmembers. Farr was content with how the crew was coal
escing in the few weeks they had been together. The Kim joke had bonded the crew a little tighter and some of the previously aloof scientists were starting to relax.
Farr had ensured that he was sitting at the evening meal when Kim was present at the table. He pretended to be reading over reports, but was actually gauging the reaction Kim received when he sat down. Faye had come up behind him and tipped his cap over as she sat down.
“Good one today Kim, welcome to the club. You should’ve seen the one they pulled on me. But I gotta admit that Mr. Ming is a devious one.” Juarez took a seat on the other side of Kim.
“What they did to you was nothing compared to what they did to me Faye, you either Kim. We were on maneuvers in the jungles of what used to be called Panama, before the Pacific Ocean ate most of it anyways, and…” The three huddled together laughing at Juarez’s story. Others came in and waved to Kim good naturedly. Farr had heard enough and he was satisfied there’d be no future ramifications.
As he walked out he looked at the three who started to stand. He waved them back down, shook his head and grinned as he walked out. Now, he thought, they’d be telling each other that the old man was alright and had a sense of humor after all. They’d also talk about how Farr had growled at the Master Chief and the Master Chief had just stood tall, taking one for the enlisted guys. It was the way of things on a ship. Much of a commanding officer’s actions were derivation of Kabuki Theater designed to get a message across and Farr and Wells had played their parts many times over.
Farr knew it was illogical, but that was the way it worked and sometimes a commanding officer just had to go along with it. Legend, tradition, myth and scuttlebutt were powerful forces and you’d better be careful when you set one of them in motion.
Takashi was just finishing his briefing on the nature of the tunnels they would be traversing and fielding questions from the team members and the rest of the crew that could make it to the briefing. As a matter of fact, everyone was present, except the three people on bridge watch.
Children of the Dark World Page 8