After studying the screen, Elise said, “Jazz, put me on fleet-wide comm.”
Short, red, dusty curls bounced an assent as Jazz set up the link. A pale, freckled hand went up to signal when the connection went live.
Elise adjusted her headset and announced, “Attention all ships. This is Commander Elise Fujeint. All ships are to slow to one-quarter light speed and head ninety degrees to starboard. We want to avoid any moons circling that planet or stray debris from those rings. Also, its strong gravitational pull could become a problem if we get any closer. Let’s move farther out. Respond when ready.”
After twenty-eight acknowledgments, she ordered, “Turn ninety degrees on my mark. Mark.”
The fleet spread out and rotated away in an orchestrated dance and slowed, forward jets flaring.
Jensen looked up from his board. “Captain, at first glance, most planets appear uninhabitable with extreme surface conditions. The inner planets are too hot, the outer ones too cold. However, the fourth one out from the sun looks promising. The atmosphere is within the Goldilocks Zone, and the planet exhibits heat signatures, radio, and electromagnetic waves.”
“Possible signs of intelligent life,” Lisi muttered. “Our onboard telescope shows two natural moons, along with two artificial objects orbiting the world, possibly space stations or large satellites.”
“Not much clutter floating in high space orbit,” added Dane. “So, their presence in space is recent.”
Tag looked up from a monitor. “The Valiant claims to have sighted a spaceship.”
Elise leaned forward. “They have a spaceship? Any others? What’s the configuration?”
Tag said, “We’re too far away to analyze whether it’s military or civilian, and no additional ships have been sighted.”
Jensen put a map on each monitor. “Of the twelve planets, we’ve landed just past the ninth from the sun and the largest.”
Next to her, Lisi tapped in some calculations and asked, “How close do you want to approach our target before we slow?”
Elise held up a hand, indicating caution. “I don’t want us to slow down until we approach the planet’s two moons. Also, I don’t want the fleet all bunched up as they get too close to an alien world that may contain intelligent life, especially if we don’t know whether they’re friendly or not. Three ships only,” she tapped her lips, “will approach the larger station. The rest stay out and circle the bigger moon.”
“I agree.” Lisi studied the schematic in front of them. “Those three need to be armed.”
Jensen looked up. “However, we want a slow approach so we don’t give the wrong signal or scare them.”
“Yes, let’s not make that mistake again,” Elise rubbed her forehead. The memory still burned.
“Tate, I want you to review the first contact protocol.” Jazz brought it up on their monitors. “The main flaw I saw was the misinterpretation by the aliens of our braking flares for weapons fire.”
Tango snorted. “Total disaster resulted from that first move.”
Elise’s voice shook. “Stars, we lost six ships. Six! I will not let that happen again.” She slapped her hand on an armrest.
Lisi joined in, “I agree with the idea of using colored lights to signal. If they’re intelligent enough to build a space station, they should catch on that we’re attempting a non-hostile communication.”
“Tate, review the protocol and submit a revised version.” Elise stretched. “Tag, you need to relieve Tango. Jensen, assist Dane in gathering all the data about this system you can. Set up a route for the fleet that avoids moons, asteroids, and space junk. With slower travel, it’ll take longer, so we have plenty of time before we’re near enough to the planet to worry about flashing any lights.”
Jensen tapped the display screen. “Estimating distances will be tricky. We have no data history.”
“Use lasers to get the data.”
“That flare, Captain.” Tate slanted his head at her. “I’ve confirmed that it contains an embedded reoccurring signal.”
“And?”
“It looks like Morse code—an SOS.”
Her eyebrows flew up. “Seriously?”
“Looks like.” Tate rustled a hand through his hair and peered at her. He tapped a finger on his board. “The signal keeps recycling electronically, but it implies knowledge of language by whoever set it up. Plus, Morse Code is Earth based.”
That gave her pause. She nodded. “Okay. Maybe we can use it. Tate, send the same signal back toward the flare, and add a greeting. Hello, friends or something in Morse Code. Set the whole message up on a repeating loop. Let me know if you get a response.”
“As the Captain orders.” Tate began tapping on his board.
Elise looked at her clone. “What’s the status of the fleet?”
Lisi shrugged. “Nervous and excited. Lots of arguments over what to do.”
“Anything worthwhile?”
She wrinkled her nose. “Not really.”
Jensen and Tango left for sleep shift. The bridge settled in for the long journey inward.
***
They worked their way through an asteroid field. All sizes of asteroids made up of rock and ice drifted about in space, appearing close together when viewed from a distance but actually were thousands of miles apart when the fleet came closer. Fortunately, they didn’t present a serious hazard… this time.
Dane unplugged and stood up to come over and show her several choices for the fleet’s course. “Like our solar system, most planets here have an elliptical orbit around a sun that’s slightly bigger than ours, and younger. We found five terrestrials, three gas giants, and three ice planets and one mostly water. We’ve had an opportunity during the last several shifts to track their orbits, enabling us to get some comparative data. The fleet needs to turn thirty degrees more to starboard in order to catch the closest intercept to LC7788.”
Dane’s long slender fingers swept a path to the fourth planet. “With the fleet moving at nearly a quarter-light speed, and all else traveling at high velocities, we need to pinpoint where the planet will be when we reach it, not where it is now. Kinda like shooting a zigzagging mouse running toward you while on a galloping horse–only we have three dimensions to consider rather than two.”
Elise squinted at him. “You claim to be an astrogator, trained by the finest mind in the field.”
“Who, Jensen?” A snort followed the comment.
She nodded, giving him a glare. “Surely you two can track the orbits of planets and a sun? Use all that knowledge of geometry and statistics and give me your best course. Don’t forget to check the computer banks for pre-programmed algorithms that might help provide a solution.”
“But that’ll take forever.”
“That’s why I pay you the big bucks.”
An eye roll greeted that remark. “Okay, Captain. Here’s our best shot so far.” He pulled up course calculations that they had worked up and showed her.
She studied the suggestion and handed it to Lisi to review. “I’m going to keep us near a quarter light speed until we get closer. We could stop at that ice moon and pick up water, but I’d rather not. Has Carter’s probe sent back anything useful?”
“No. He says it quit working for some reason. He’s not sure why.”
Her mouth turned down. “That’s not good. It makes me nervous. Estimate travel time with stopping as a variable. Work up several scenarios. Then bring them to me.”
Dane’s bright blue eyes looked worried. He asked, “At what point are they going to notice us?”
She studied her young crewman and pursed her lips. “Good question.”
Lisi leaned forward. “An even better question is what are they going to do when they finally do notice?”
***
Not wanting to dump their speed, Elise decided to stretch resources and not stop to resupply. The long distances between planets became closer the farther in they went, but that proved only comparative. The inner planets
were still five to eight AUs apart.
They passed another gas giant, awe-inspiring with its size and wide rings that danced around it. Violent storms made up of mostly hydrogen and toxic gasses raged over its surface, reminding them of their own planet Jupiter. Noting a large magnetic field and intense radiation that streamed millions of miles behind it due to solar winds, they gave it a wide berth.
Dane rose from his seat as Jensen reentered. “The next few planets should be more benign. They are mostly terrestrial in formation with rocky surfaces, except for one waterworld. The first one is smaller and has a thin atmosphere, but no magnetic field to protect it. However, we won’t be anywhere near it anytime soon, so I’m scheduled off shift.”
“See you later then,” she said.
They were now past the sixth planet in the system with tensions rising all across the fleet. She put Captain James Bradley of the New Frontier in charge of the twenty-five ships that would stay behind and circle the larger moon with the understanding that if anything happened to her, he would assume command.
The fifth planet in the system formed a large rocky ball and sported four moons. Unfortunately, its electromagnetic field was weak and radiation pounded down on the surface, destroying any breathable atmosphere. They went by so fast that it was difficult to do detailed studies.
Shift change arrived, and when Tango reentered behind Dane, Elise realized she needed a break. “Tango, you have the bridge.” She unstrapped and rose from the captain’s chair, every muscle protesting. Yawning, she added, “I’m headed to get some rest.” Glancing at her clone, she added, “You need rest too. I want you alert and sharp for the next phase.”
“Tango, you have the bridge.”
“I have the bridge,” Tango acknowledged as she and Lisi headed out.
Chapter 41
Boarding Team
As Elise left for her off-shift, Lisi followed her to her cabin.
It wasn’t a good sign.
“Commander, we need to talk.”
Commander was it? Her eyebrows rose. She sat down and gestured the young woman to a nearby chair.
“I don’t know how to say this—except that it’s my turn.” Her clone tugged self-consciously at her sleeve and looked up at Elise.
“Your turn?” Fear skittered up Elise’s spine.
“Mom, you brought us to a habitable world. That was your mission.” Lisi came and knelt by her chair. “Now it’s my turn to make sure our people survive in that world.” The earnest face tilted upward.
Taken aback by the comment, Elise pulled away, but Lisi reached out, stopping her. “I want to lead the first contact team.”
Elise had been afraid of that. Gripping her daughter’s arm, she said, “This world definitely contains intelligent beings. They could be dangerous. They might not want us there. You saw what happened with our last encounter.”
“But I’m a clone; I’m expendable, and you’re not.” Lisi’s eyes shifted downward and away.
Agony tore through Elise that this beautiful young woman would even consider herself in that light. “Lisi, the clones have never been treated like second class citizens on board my ship. I have never considered any of you expendable.”
Lisi’s face turned to her. “No, not you … but others think it.”
Anger surged through her. “Then, they’re wrong. I plan for you to eventually command this fleet.”
Standing up and smoothing down her pants, Lisi leaned in. “If we decide to live on this world, there will be no fleet to command.”
The point was fair, but still Elise refused to accept the idea. “As their commander, I must lead the team.”
Her daughter spun around and paced across the room and back. “There’s little you can do that I can’t.” She stopped and took a breath. “I hate to say this, but I’m younger and healthier. I have a better chance of surviving on an alien world. Guide me from the ship. Stay in command, then, but let me go out and be the spokesperson for our people. Now is not the time for ego. Please, consider what is best for the fleet.”
Elise shifted uncomfortably in the chair. She purely hated to think of herself as someone who was ego-driven, but she knew that she had always wanted to be the first to step foot on a new world. She wanted it badly. And yet, if she let her clone go, she would get her wish—by proxy. And it would be best for the fleet.
With closed eyes, she tried to think it through and finally realized the good sense of what her co-captain proposed.
“I’ll be in charge. I’ll direct from the bridge.”
“Yes, of course.”
“Who will go with you?”
“Whoever you select.”
Elise stopped to consider some choices. “Tate because he is the communications officer. Merek can be the muscle and protection. Naomi from Pilgrim’s Pride can be co-captain because she has experience and a good head on her shoulders, and someone Jing picks from the Shangri-La as shuttle pilot. And you. You will command the team. I don’t want to overwhelm them.”
Lisi nodded agreement. “Accepted. It’s a good idea to keep the first contact team to a minimum.”
“Get with the team and decide what to take and who says what. Review the protocol directive. I’ll have to make you a captain so you have authority…”
“Mom, I know you wanted to do this, but …”
Turning away, Elise choked, “Leave now and prepare while you have the answer you want—before I change my mind.”
Swiftly, Lisi took a step back. “When they ask, I will use my legal name. Lisi is a child’s name. I’m not a child anymore.”
“No, but would they even know or care about what you’re called?”
“Doesn’t matter. I know and I care.” With that, she kissed her captain and mother on the forehead and left.
Not soon after, Elise stared across a lunch table at Carter. “I want to go. Stars help me, Carter, I still want to go.”
“Of course, you do. You’re our commander. You want to lead. It’s in your DNA, same as Lisi. Consider the incredible effort it took to find a habitable world, and now we found one with intelligent aliens. We overcame enormous challenges to be here.”
“We aren’t a peaceful species. If they’re anything like us, they won’t be either.” She sipped her juice.
“Let’s meet them first before we jump to conclusions. What little we’ve seen of this world contains abundant resources we desperately need. But we don’t have to stay. We can make friends, repair and resupply. And…” His eyes shifted and he groaned.
Behind her, entering into her peripheral vision strode John.
“Oh, no.” Carter hit his forehead with the palm of his hand. He glared at the intruder. “We’re in the middle of a private conversation here.”
“Why hello to you, too,” a cheery voice said as her top physician and scientist pulled out a chair and sat down.
“No,” They both said simultaneously.
John furrowed his elegant brow. “No? You haven’t even heard what I have to say.”
Elise faced him. “No, you can’t go.”
A stubborn expression crossed John’s face. His lips pressed together and his eyes narrowed. He took a breath. “You’ll need the fleet’s best anthropologist in the first contact team, and I qualify.”
Carter rolled his eyes, crossed his arms on the table, and flopped face down on them. “Since when?” he muttered into his arms. “You just made that up.”
She ignored him and glared at John. “You can’t go for the same reason that I can’t.”
“You’re not going to lead the team?” John’s eyebrows rose. “Now that’s a mature decision. It shows good judgment. I was afraid you’d go charging in like an idiot.”
“You’re not going, either.”
His shoulders dropped; he paused. “It was worth a try.” A shrug followed. “I do know people well.”
“So predictable.” Elise shook her head.
“How much longer?” He angled a glance at Carter who lifted h
is head from the cradle of his arms.
Elise answered, “John, we’re in space—lots of real estate to cover. I’m heading out to the bridge to start slowing down the fleet. James will take all but The Pilgrim’s Pride, The Valiant, and us to orbit their largest moon. We three will go in and set up a stationary orbit with the space station. We’ll attempt to communicate with light signals, and if I think it’s safe, a team will take a shuttle to the station to greet them. If they attack the shuttle, we turn tail and join the fleet.”
“And jump the hell away.”
Carter sighed. “The question becomes where.”
“Exactly, therein lies the difficulty.” She rose from the table. “I have to go.”
Slanting his head at her, Carter said, “I’ll try to build more drones, but we’re low on metal.”
After a quick pat on his arm, she said, “Do what you can.” Standing up, she pivoted toward the exit.
“Elise…” But John’s entreaty fell into empty air as she left the two men glaring at each other across the table.
***
Lisi tugged on the tight inner suit with its sensor array, temperature ducts, liquid intake, and bodily fluid dispersal system. Over the years, they had improved the suits and made them thinner and more flexible. A silver outer shell defended against radiation and cosmic rays while also being strong enough to protect the wearer from dangerous dust and small debris.
The reflective oval helmet appeared opaque from the outside but protected the wearer’s head and shaded any light too bright for delicate human eyes.
Lisi raised and lowered her arm. “I feel like a stumbling idiot in this suit. I walk like an antique robot.” She staggered to the nearest wall and lifted a boot. “My foot isn’t in properly.”
With a grin, Jacob said, “Welcome to my world. You should have tried the earlier suits. I could hardly function in them. Here, I’ll give you a hand.”
He knelt down to push on the heel of her boot as she wriggled her foot. Next to him, Merek came to adjust a sleeve and straighten out a piece of fabric.
A World Too Far (Terran Trilogy Book 1) Page 25