by Richard Leru
“Erebus, do you read?” Arenta gave a thumb up. “Can you track where that signal goes?” Visually pleased with the answer coming through the communications and with herself for thinking of the idea, Arenta turned to Dr. Titus and Alex. “Let’s go find us some aliens, boys!” With that, she powered the shuttle back to the Erebus.
ON THE EREBUS, the rumors were flying between the crew. People were a mixture of confused, excited, and scared. Some were questioning their religion while others gave themselves a pat on the back. Alien life − it was real. The second the shuttle doors opened, the three returning command crew were bombarded with questions. A wall of people formed around them, asking about what they’d seen. Security finally intervened and escorted them to the command center.
The communications crew had tracked the signal and discovered it was going to a solar system, titled Solar System 313 by the mission brief. Solar System 313 was further from the center of the Milky Way. It was in direct contradiction to the mission plan; however, with no settlers and clear evidence of intelligent life, no one cared to question the next move. Alex quickly made his calculations and plugged the navigation into the computer. They were hunting for little green men!
Commander Birch gave a ship wide brief on the entire situation. The crew was a mixture of panic and curiosity. Why were we chasing after something that was clearly more advanced than us? Fear sank its teeth into every mind it could find. Worming into the very hearts of the crew, every worst case scenario registered in the people’s minds. Security crews were hastily dispatched throughout the ship to keep the peace.
“Alex, aren’t you afraid?”
Alex had grown to like the talks with Dr. Yuen before getting the sleep serum injection. It felt like being tucked in as a child.
“Yuen, if I lived my life guided by my fears and not my hopes, I wouldn’t be here,” Alex said, nearly quoting Captain Jones.
“What do you hope to find when we get to where this signal is going?”
“Friends.”
He may have hid it well, but Alex had his share of fears about the possibility of aliens. These fears were not simply about being killed or captured and used as test subjects, but much worse. What if they followed the path that led them there? What if these aliens tracked the Erebus back to Earth?
As the sleep serum did its job, Alex churned over a single, surprising, thought.
We are not alone.
* * * * *
The Erebus jumped forward and back, throwing Jones to the ground and Alex face first toward the bars of his makeshift cell. The orange light flickered on and off for a second. His lip was bleeding again, but he didn’t care, not at this point. He started to laugh. The next second, Jones reached through the bars and grabbed him around the collar, picking him up off the ground.
“YOU THINK THIS IS A JOKE, RUNNER? YOU’RE KILLING EVERYONE! How do you fix it? What’s the code?”
Alex did the only thing he could think of. He had seen it in every action movie when the prisoner shows his defiance. Alex spat right into the face of the enraged Captain Jones, blood from his lip mixing with his saliva.
Jones dropped Alex like a sack of dead weight, wiping at his eyes with both hands. Jones snapped. No more restraint, it was time to end this. He pulled out the key to the cell and unlocked the door. Dead weight was exactly what Alex was going to be soon, literally.
10.Solar System 313
Solar system 313 consisted of 12 smaller planets orbiting a large red sun. This time, the Erebus arrived already in action. No one knew what exactly would be encountered here. Every man and woman was at his or her station, scanning and preparing for the worst.
Nothing. All they found was silence. Initial scans of the planets showed every single one completely devoid of life.
Dr. Titus asked the question everyone was thinking. “How could this be where the signal was going? Did we track it wrong?”
The communications crew rechecked their numbers. They were correct. The signal was heading to Planet D, E, and F of the system. There, it stopped. Commander Birch gave his now routine ship wide address and called for landing teams to explore the three planets where the signal was being directed. Crews hustled about the ship, preparing and launching the shuttlecraft. The three exploratory missions all returned the same data. All three planets had no signs of water, but showed trace amounts of carbon. The soil was black ash and the planets had little or no atmosphere. The landing parties took samples and returned to the ship.
The red sun would take much longer to recharge the ship. In the meantime, Alex would be joining Dr. Titus and Jo in the lab to work on the examinations of all the samples they had taken during the mission.
Machines beeped and hummed as sample after sample was loaded. Jo and Alex were working on the specimens taken from solar system 1 while Dr. Titus had drawn the short straw and was running a composition analysis on the soil samples from solar system 2 and solar system 313.
“Alex.”
“Yeah, Jo?”
Jo had put down the petri dish she was using to examine a cross section of a plant from Planet B. The time had finally come. Alex knew eventually Jo would talk with him about what happened with Angela, and he had been dreading it. Alex attempted to keep working, now just seemed too random of a time. There had been chances earlier to talk, well, maybe there weren’t, but still, now was the time to find answers, not think about Angela. Jo reached out and lightly grabbed his hand, forcing him to put down the scalpel he was holding.
“Alex, please. I just, I just don’t understand. I know she loved you, and I know she was excited for this mission. What happened?”
Alex gazed off into the distance, pausing for a few moments then looking Jo straight in the eye. With a voice nearing depression, he responded, “I don’t know.”
“You can tell me. Was it something I did? Did I make her feel unwanted in anyway? I keep trying to think back. Did something happen between you two? Was she scared of space? Were you trying to protect her?”
The questions were coming rapid fire and slowly shifting from blaming Jo to blaming Angela to blaming Alex. Becoming defensive, Alex snapped back, “HEY!” Alex calmed himself taking both of Jo’s hands in his. “I didn’t do anything. When I left to oversee the last parts of construction, we were as happy as could be, looking forward to a life among the stars. You didn’t do anything either. This was her choice, her decision. I don’t know why she chose to not come. All we can do is continue to work, and ask her when we get back, okay?”
Jo nodded her head and smiled slightly. Alex went back to his work, hoping to never have that conversation again. Not because it wasn’t true, or because his mind raced with sadness and anger toward Angela, but simply because he didn’t have the emotional energy to deal with that. So for the next few hours, they worked in an awkward silence. It was clear though that at least another person on this ship cared about what happened to Angela.
“Well, solar system 2 and solar system 313 are officially dead, big surprise there,” Dr. Titus said sarcastically, looking down at the tablet in his hands as he walked over to Jo and Alex. “Mostly iron and carbon, slightly irradiated and dead. I would guess the radiation is because of the fact that the planets have no atmosphere. Although solar system 313 is twice as irradiated as solar system 2. Probably because when its sun went nova and turned into the red giant we are orbiting now, it must have released massive amounts of energy. That energy very easily could have been radiation. Also, solar system 2 is higher concentrated in iron. What have you two found out about solar system 1?”
Jo took the liberty of answering Dr. Titus’s question. “Well, planet C has, well, I guess, had,” Jo thought back to last image she had seen as the Erebus had left solar system 1. She’d caught a glimpse just before succumbing to the sleep serum, an image that had been burned into her memory. The asteroid had set fire to the atmosphere of the planet upon impact. Jo shook her head regaining her focus on the current room. “Rivers of water and a clay based s
oil, that’s what gave it the red color. Planet b’s samples have been much more interesting. These live samples here,” Jo paused for a moment. “Kind of weird knowing these are literally the last living things from that planet.” Jo had stopped answering the question and was now just staring at a leaf.
“Jo?” She snapped back to reality.
“These samples here show active photosynthesis and germination. The insects collected, although larger in size, still fit the traditional classifications as beetles, flies, and arachnids. As for everything’s cellular structure, it’s amazing; they are identical to Earth’s own plant and animal cells. So I’m running a DNA test on the lizard we found and seeing if there is some linked ancestor to known reptiles in the computer’s database.”
Dr. Titus leaned over the table and raised a skeptical eyebrow. “Linked ancestor?”
“Well, it is possible that some intelligent race out there seeded planets with life and replicated the process. “
“Really, Jo? Planet seeding, that’s ridiculous.” It was Alex’s turn to judge her theory. Alex had been making slides, not really seeing or interpreting the data. In this case, he had been simply a glorified assistant, so when Jo voiced her theory, he reacted with shock.
“Look, guys, can you explain the giant satellite dish floating in space with strange writing? I can’t. Until then, I think we need to consider every possible option, no matter how much I feel like wearing a tin foil hat while saying it. For now, we have evidence of similar cell structure, an advanced alien intelligence. They could have travelled the stars ages ago, maybe even transporting life. Given what we’ve seen, it isn’t that far-fetched. Besides, the test will be done in a couple of seconds, then we’ll know for sure.”
As if on cue, the machine beeped signaling the DNA test was complete. The three of them huddled around a small monitor, looking blankly at the image in front of them. The lizard specimen collected from Planet B not only shared an ancestor with a modern lizard, but also matched perfectly to a known sample, one that had been found inside a fossil millions of years old. Dr. Titus turned away first and looked at the dead animal on the lab table.
“So that lizard, is really a dinosaur?”
Alex hated himself for saying it. “Planet seeding it is then.”
Jo began to laugh. At first, just a slight giggle, then into a full hysterical laugh. Alex and Dr. Titus looked at her, both wondering what was so funny about this situation.
“I’m just glad we didn’t meet what left that footprint,” Jo squeaked out. Together, they all laughed heartily, in a moment of strange humor. It was the first time this whole trip any of them had really smiled. Their twisted joy was short lived.
Piercing rings echoed down every hall, room, and corridor nearly shattering eardrums. Red lights flashed, the alarm had been sounded. The doors to the lab sealed shut with a hiss of air. Alex made a beeline for the nearest communication screen. Alex pressed the connection button to the command center.
Arenta came on the screen. “Alex, are you secure?”
“Yes, Dr. Titus, Jo. and I are in the science lab. The doors sealed shut with the alarm as programmed. What’s going on?”
“We have a security issue. Stay where you are until we give you the all clear.”
“Security issue? What is happening up there?”
“It seems not everyone is as enthusiastic about chasing aliens.”
One level below Arenta, chaos ruled the Erebus. Twelve of the ancillary crewmembers, mostly maintenance and systems analysts had become tired of simply taking orders. To them, the mission was over. Without settlers, the possibility of building a new colony in the stars was impossible. They wanted to go home, be with their family, and lick their wounds. The group had attempted to take the elevator to the command center. Security had halted their ascent on the ninth level, fearing a full-blown mutiny was on hand.
The crewmembers, however, were planning on a peaceful show of force. When the doors opened a floor lower than planned and a group of security officers stood in front of them electric rifles aimed, that peaceful mood evaporated. A shouting match ensued; no one wanted to make another move. Neither group wanted to take the first shot in this skirmish. Only after a long bout of unintelligible screaming did some semblance of quiet take root. Men stared at each other, tension building by the second. During the standoff, the group of crewmembers had advanced out of the elevator. Without anyone noticing, its doors had closed. Now they reopened, carrying one passenger.
Commander Birch stood, an imposing statue, showing no emotion as if this whole situation was beneath his attention. He was a father stopping a fight between his unruly children.
Birch directed his order to the security forces. “Everyone stand down. There is no need for this.” Turning his attention to the group of rebels, Commander Birch scanned the crowd. Only one person did not avoid his making eye contact. “Am I right to assume you are the leader of this insurrection?”
“Yes, and this is not an ‘insurrection’. We simply want a voice in what we are all doing.”
“A voice?”
“Yes, we are part of this mission and we demand an explanation of why we aren’t returning home. The settlers are dead. Our mission is over. Why are we chasing some signal that already attacked us?”
Commander Birch softened his stance and lowered the tone of his voice. “I know you are afraid, this is a trying time for all of us. No one has ever faced decisions like this, in all the history of man. We are pioneers and every step we take puts us in danger, but we must take them. More importantly, we must take them together. I need you and the rest of the crew to perform at your absolute best so that we can succeed. Remember your place, you are here to make sure the ship runs the way it was designed. I am here to lead and make tough decisions. The decisions are mine and mine alone to make. You signed away your voice when you joined this mission. However, I understand that men of your caliber won’t blindly follow so I will grant you a favor. I will answer your question. We are continuing our mission for the simple reason that it is not over. Our mission was to find a habitable world and settle it. The settlers are dead, that is a tragic truth. We still have to find a habitable world. That is now our only mission.”
“Then why are we chasing this signal?”
“Use your reason. If there is a race of living things somewhere in the stars that are intelligent, and can also travel the galaxy, doesn’t that mean they came from somewhere? They must come from a planet with life sustaining capabilities, right? This makes it a guaranteed and completed mission, if we find them. Then we can all go home to our families. That’s what we all want, right?” Birch directed his final statement to the entire group of mutineers standing slack jawed. Heads nodded in silence. “Good, now I need you, from this moment on, to do your job, and allow me to do mine, uninterrupted.” Birch leaned in close, whispering only to the leader of the group. “This ship was built to run on minimal staff. Remember, you are not needed here.” Birch looked him straight in the eyes and without breaking eye contact, spoke to everyone in the room. “Now, everyone get back to work, we will be moving on soon.”
IN THE CONFERENCE room once again, Alex was beginning to hate this place, Jo was presenting the information they had found.
“Have you lot gone mad?” Captain Ratchet was the first of many to pitch their hats into the ring. Franks seconded his motion with a well-timed, “I thought you all were scientists.”
The room became an eruption of discussion from every crew leader of whether planetary seeding was the truth or the ridiculous ranting of a space weary biologist. Commander Birch was standing quietly, watching the room. Alex got a strange sense from him, always calculating, looking for an in. He began to imagine Birch drawing out exactly how he would kill every person in the room if it became necessary. First, he would take out Jones by stepping behind him with a swift twist of the neck. Before his body even struck the ground, his sidearm would be drawn, pumping round after round into the closest targets
. Then he would look directly at Alex and….
“Mr. Runner, Mr. Runner …would you care to weigh in on the current discussion?” Commander Birch had simultaneously silenced the room and put the fear of God into Alex.