by Angela Timms
Kyla took a deep breath. “That is the problem, what is my mark? My thoughts are running riot trying to sort that one out. Mere months ago I had known who I was and my life was pretty much planned out for me.
Now it is an open road with no signposts.” She sat on her bed and cupped her head in her hands.
Rennon sat beside her. “I’ve taken over the room next door. The laboratory looks well set out, I’m pleased with it. So how about you come and help me with the boxes and keep me company while I check over the controls and get ready with the pre-flight?”
Kyla looked down at her hands. “I’ll come and find you in a bit. I’d like to spend a moment thinking if you don’t mind. I’ll be there later.”
He put a hand on her arm and climbed the ladder without looking back. As he left the room his pager flashed up. “Pilot arriving on board imminent. Rennon you may step down as pilot.”
Kel prowled the corridors and rooms looking around. He’d thrown his possessions onto a bed in the room next to Kyla’s but something was bothering him. He was trying to convince himself that he was not sentimental about leaving Mission Command. He was trying to convince himself of a lot of things.
As he walked he bumped into Dr Samson. He was carrying a box of medical supplies. “Few more boxes to get on board but it looks like I’m with you on this one. Seems the Commander thinks you might need my services.”
Kel smiled. “Good to have you on board. Any idea who else is coming?” Samson rested his box on a ridge in the corridor. “I’m not sure, its chaos out there; the protocols have gone to the four winds. Sounds like there’s an incoming battle cruiser and odds on it’s a Follower vessel so we’re in a hurry now.”
Kel’s smile faded. “Does Rennon know? He’s doing the pre-flight.”
Samson lifted the box back up. “He knows, he was mumbling something about getting us off base as soon as he could but I think he is hoping for a pilot. We haven’t got clearance to go yet so we’ll have to wait a bit.”
There was a clatter behind Samson. They turned as a dark haired man emerged carrying and impossibly large pile of boxes. He stuck his head around the pile and smiled with a really boyish grin. He was nearing middle aged, sported a short military haircut and an immaculately pressed black boiler suit with wings insignia on his mandarin collar. “Hello there, I’m Mac Isaacson. I heard you needed a pilot, mind if I come on board?”
Kel shrugged. “Good to meet you. Better get your stuff stowed and up to the cockpit. I trust you have heard about the battle cruiser coming our way?”
Mac smiled. “I heard, hurried our packing and we’re good to go, this is all of it. My wife has been stowing things in one of the crew rooms and I’ll get us off base if there’s nothing else you want to do. There are one or two more crew you will need to meet but there’s time for that when we’re safely off b a s e . With that cruiser on its way it’s going to be close. The Commander has ordered that we all just get away; he’ll contact us later with our briefings. So, if you are ready, I’ll cast off and we can get this boat out of here.”
Kel looked at Samson. “I guess this is it. Have you got everything you need loaded?”
Samson looked a little down. “In truth I would have preferred to bring more but everything has been shared out and we didn’t do too badly. I’m going to get this lot stowed away. I’ve already found the med bay so we’re good to go. I brought a couple of my staff with me. How about you?”
Kel looked around the walls. “Nothing to leave behind I guess. Let’s just get off base before there’s trouble so they can get the base stowed away.” Mac pulled the ship smoothly out of the Bay and glided it into space so they could have a last look. Ships were flying off in all directions and they were the last but one. The Commander’s ship followed them out and as they watched the base and the moon blinked out of existence and another moon blinked back into its place without the starfish shape of Mission Command. Mac took a sharp intake of breath. “Blimey, that was cool. Look I’ve got the co-ordinates programmed into the computer. Do you want to do the honours?” Then they saw the battle cruiser rounding the planet and there was a scramble where both of them tried to hit the black button. The Eion Drive hummed into action and they flashed into the inter-dimensional corridor. The stars were gone, the cruiser was gone. In their place the elongated flashes of Eion Particles as they floated through the inter dimensional corridor.
Kel looked a little stunned when Mac got up and wandered away. Mac saw him looking and smiled. “Don’t worry, once we are in IDC the Eion Drive pretty much looks after itself until we come out of the corridor again. It’s a complicated procedure moving through the gap between the realities as it’s not a straight line or consistent space. No pilot I know can fly one of these in the IDC manually, so there’s no point sitting here and watching the auto drive doing its stuff. This ship is advanced enough to pretty much look after itself. The system will alert us if there’s a problem and I’ll be back if I’m needed.”
Rennon was moving into his laboratory. It had tables bolted to the ground and he began to set out his equipment. He stowed what he didn’t need and laid out what he needed immediately. There were shelves and these were very quickly filled with his books and notebooks. The table was soon covered with all the things he had unpacked but which had not as yet found a home. He was just inspecting a hand held scanning device when a woman appeared at his door.
She was young, in her late teens he estimated, blonde, fragile and had fine features, her skin was like porcelain. “Are you Rennon? I came on board with Mac, I’m his daughter Eloise and I’ve been assigned to your Department. Here’s my resume, I think you’ll find I have the right qualifications.” She didn’t wait to be invited in, she walked into the room, handed him a disc and started looking around. “Nice place, do you need a hand unpacking?”
Rennon smiled nervously. “You can start with that box there, the bio scanners are all on that shelf there and the spectrometers are just below them.”
She set to her task with enthusiasm and in silence which brought a smile to Rennon’s face.
Kel had gone to the galley and made himself a drink, he sat down at the big table and drank it slowly, looking around and letting the reality of it all sink in. This was his home now, his new home, another new home. It was a plain unadorned room with a single long table. He heard someone coming and looked up. It was Kyla; she wandered in, poured herself a drink and sat down next to him. “So, what’s up Kel?”
Kel took a long drink. “I hadn’t realized how much Mission Command had been part of my life. Since they let me stay it has been home, then in almost half a day it is gone and there’s no going back.”
Kyla smiled. “Daunting isn’t it? Well I wouldn’t say no going back, it is only in storage. Now if that isn’t freaky enough?”
Kel smiled back. “Very. Daunting but exciting. Here we are with the whole expanse of space and other dimensions in front of us, we could go anywhere. Is it time to try the inter-ship communications yet?”
Kyla thought about it. “Not quite yet but we’re not far off reaching the coordinates given for the first message. Have you sorted out your room?”
Kel turned the cup around in his hand. “I put my things in the room next to yours, is that alright?”
Kyla went silent and looked down.
Kel looked concerned. “Is there a problem?”
Kyla looked up. “No, no, not at all. It will be good to know you are there. So much has changed. Rennon is the other side.”
Kel put his arm around her. “Some things have changed but some things stay the same. We’re a family now, you, me, Rennon and Samson. This is our home. Come on, give me a smile. We’re big brave goddam heroes; we can handle anything can’t we?”
Kyla looked up at him, tears in her eyes. She went to speak but she shut her mouth again. He put his other arm around her and hugged her just as Rennon came in.
Rennon poured himself a cup of coffee and sat down. “I feel just the same sweet one. We’
ve got about half an hour before the first message comes in from the Commander. I’ve met Mac and he has everything under control in the cockpit and Samson is settling in and setting up an infirmary. I apparently have an assistant now, Mac’s daughter and she is quite happy unpacking. So, this is it, probably our only bit of quiet time for a while. I’d make the most of this bit of peace, my money’s on the Commander giving us a mission straight away. It’s been a lot in one go but we’re all here and we’re still together, after everything. Have you met any of the new crew yet?”
Kel sat back in his chair and relaxed back with his cup in hand. “Not yet. They are down in the crew rooms getting their things unpacked. I’m sure we’ll all meet up later. Let’s hope we all get on.”
Rennon tried the coffee and pulled a face. “Not my favourite brand.”
Kyla smiled. “We should have got some of that coffee imported from Earth, some of that was really good. We’ll soon make this place a bit more like home. It is our home after all. We’ll see what the Commander wants and then we’ll put together a meal and celebrate getting our own place.” Half an hour later they filed out of the galley and went up into the cockpit. It was slightly crowded with them all in there. Rennon and Mac sat in the cockpit chairs and Samson and Kel sat in the two seats behind them with Kyla standing in the middle. Eloise was standing behind them with a tall, middle aged classically attractive blonde haired woman, Mac’s wife. There were four boiler suited men behind them, all of which talked amongst themselves and seemed to be ignoring everyone else. They had introduced themselves briefly as Del, Arran, Sion and Oster. Engineers and general maintenance was their trade but they were expecting to double up to help with other tasks. The five Marines who had accompanied Rennon when he had rescued Kel were also there. They shared the military style of hair. Short and neat. They were also a similar muscular frame and of course style as they wore the shirt and trouser uniform. Mac flicked the radio to open channel and a red light began to flash. Rennon flicked a few more levers and the radio crackled into life.
The Commander’s voice was clear, precise and warm. “I hope that you have had a chance to take a look around your new home. This is a solo channel so I will give you my message and then you will get a chance to answer. Intelligence has come our way that the Followers have a secret research base on Glasia Ventura, a small moon in the Rekarthis Galaxy. These are desperate times and any upper hand we can get could just make the difference. It would be beneficial for us to find out what is going on there and if there is something useful to be had to commandeer it. If it is useful to them and you can’t take it then you have a go to destroy the base and leave nothing behind that they can find useful. From now on we will have to use guerrilla tactics, this will be your first mission as an independent team and I would like to wish you every success. I will be closing this channel now so that you can respond. Following that I will transmit the co- ordinates of the research base.”
The intercom crackled and went silent. They looked at each other and each one in turn nodded. Rennon flicked the comms switch and cleared his throat. “This is Rennon, we are agreeable, please transmit the location. We will acquire or destroy.” He flipped the lever and sat back in his seat and they waited.
Moments later the screen showed that information was being transmitted and schematics, location and other information flashed on the screen in front of them. Rennon logged it away into the document files and everything fell silent. They were hanging in the velvety immense darkness of space, stars and planets all around them.
11
The galley was very like the rest of the ship, gunmetal grey and chrome, functional and new. It was now littered with cooking utensils, plates, bowls and other cooking paraphernalia that Mac’s wife, Shannon had found and used and the table was set with the food she had prepared.
Shannon was in her late forties and neatly dressed. Her military upbringing and life was evident in her mannerisms and the way she went about things. The meal had been conjured up with precision until Mac had appeared to help her. Then the utensils had suddenly got a will of their own and the place had become what she was still berating him for, a mess. They laughed and hugged each other and Mac started loading the utensils and now unnecessary bowls into the sink ready for the washing up later.
The rest of the crew began to wander in until everyone was assembled around the table. Each found a place they were comfortable with. Rennon sat at the head of the table, Kyla at the other. Kel sat to the left of Kyla. Eloise had come in with Rennon and sat beside him. Kyla and Kel smiled knowingly at each other as they noticed the totally obvious way in which Eloise looked up at Rennon in a very kiddish adoring marines. fashion. The four boiler suits sat together opposite the five
Rennon seemed happy, he was chatting with Eloise about their work and everyone was chatting generally and they began eating.
The food done Rennon tapped on the table with his spoon. “I must first thank Shannon, and Mac too of course for the meal, you did wonders with the rations. There is quite a bit we have to discuss but as we are nearing the planet I’ll keep this brief. I was wondering if we should give our ship a name. As it was so new the powers that be hadn’t yet got around to naming it. In case you are wondering it got shot up on its way to be delivered.” There was an explosion of conversation, arguments and raised voices for a while and then it fell quiet. Nothing had been agreed.
Rennon smiled. “Well that was productive. Shall we try again? Does anyone have any suggestions?”
Mac looked as though he was going to say something and his wife elbowed him. “Well, I was reading a book that had come from the Earth library that came over as part of our co-operation and I wondered if the Argo would be a good name. It is short and was the name of another ship that took its crew to great adventures and back again.”
There seemed to be a general agreement and Rennon tapped on the table again. “Shall we vote?
Who is for the name “Argo”?”
Everyone agreed.
Rennon smiled. “Well, that was relatively easy, welcome to the Argo.”
The proximity alert rang out warning them that they were approaching the planet. Immediately they jumped up from the table and ran to the cockpit. Rennon and Mac leapt into the pilot and co-pilot’s chair and the others slipped into the room behind them.
The planet was a ball of blue and green below them. Lush forests covered most of it, towering mountains and deep blue lakes. It stood serene in a sea of blackness and stars, its moons and sun hanging as if motionless and the other planets in its solar system set out like a huge model. From their vantage point it didn’t look “real”. As they looked down on the world most of it seemed to be unspoilt forests and rolling pastures. They circled the planet in stealth mode and Mac and Rennon set the scanners working.
As they rounded the planet on their first sweep they came to a huge city. Mac took them down a bit lower so that they could get a better look as he muttered. “Wow!” Then he hesitated. “I don’t see any life signs.”
Rennon was looking at the scanner too. “Neither do I. That’s twice we’ve run it, shall we run it again?”
Mac was resetting the scanner to rescan. “Just once more, there has to be some sort of life here. Look at that place, there are absolutely no signs of any damage. They could be underground or shielded I suppose.”
Rennon physically shivered. “I really don’t like the feeling of this. Probably not shielded, I can scan for that. Well ok if they have better technology now then that would be a huge assumption. We’ve been caught out a couple of times now so I’m going to say nothing.”
Mac tried to smile. “Neither do I, this is very, very wrong. Look at the place. The forest looks unspoilt and natural. Look at that lake, it’s a beautiful colour but look at the signs, there are no animals, no fish, no birds and by the look of it, no people. That has to be wrong. We’ll scan again. I’ve scanned for every possibly deadly virus or chemical, gas or other pathogen that we know. I don’t
know what more than that I can do. We could take precautions and I would suggest a hazmat suit.”
Kyla physically groaned. “Not those things, they are awful. They smell, they are heavy and you can’t see a thing.”
Rennon laughed. “I agree but better that than dead.”
They ran the scan again and then again. Rennon had the laptop on his lap now and he was typing furiously. “There’s no error here, this place is totally devoid of any form of life. The atmosphere is ideal; there is no pollution and nothing that would cause this as far as I can see, well nothing visible now. The water is pure, drinkable and the buildings are undamaged. Something is very, very wrong. I’ve analyzed the air, there doesn’t seem to be any foreign agents it’s pure and clear.”
Kel looked at the scanner. “I wouldn’t put money on this being a quiet walk in the park. Can you tell what this establishment was for?”
Mac looked up. “The scanners aren’t that specific but somewhere in there is the research establishment and I’d put my money on something having gone wrong there. We’ll have to go down and take a look.”
Kel grunted. “Thought so.”
Kel, Rennon, Kyla and two of the Marines, Jakeo and Arkarus were kitted up in suits and in the shuttle which broke away from the Argo and glided down to the planet surface. There was a distinct landing pad and they brought the shuttle carefully down on there.
The shuttle’s scanners didn’t show any change as they landed. All instruments showed normal. No warnings, nothing out of the ordinary. Outside the sun shone down on the cream coloured concrete which glistened slightly in the sun. The concrete was littered with debris. Leaves, sticks and bits of plastic and other waste bits and pieces lay around. The air smelt warm and fresh, dry and mixed with the scent of grass and flowers. There was an eerie silence. Their boots rang out on the concrete as they moved in silence to what looked like a reception building. They pushed the large glass doors and they opened, it was not locked. The floor was covered in a dark blue deep pile carpet which was visibly a little dusty. There was a long light wood desk that ran the length of the room separating the incoming traveler from what looked like an office. There were papers on the desk, and pens set out, not neatly, as if they were dropped. As they got closer it was possible to see a thin layer of dust on everything where it hadn’t been disturbed for a very long time. The terminal screens were dark. Kyla went to a light switch and tried it, there was still power. Rennon was at one of the terminals, he touched the keypad, it was on sleep mode and leapt into life showing departure times and booking schedules all the slots were empty. Nothing due to arrive or depart and the date was current. He opened a desk drawer and it was well stocked with pencils, pens and a small fluffy rabbit. A cup on the table had dried beyond being moldy.