“You don’t need to pretend to be asleep, Stephen. I saw you writing a moment ago,” she said.
“Sorry,” he said, drawing his curtain back again, “Have you ever been so confused that you just felt like you know absolutely nothing?”
“Yes,” she said, sitting down on her bunk, “Most of my life is like that. You had a black eye to remind me how confused I can get. Thank God that reminder faded.”
“You have got to drop that. I never for one moment blamed you for kicking my butt. I only wished Randall could have got a taste of your anger,” he said with a laugh, “But you know what, I was proud to take his place for you. Every punch you threw, I just simply thought ‘come on, he deserves another one - bring it on’.”
She nodded and forced a smile.
“I knew who you thought I was. I also knew what he deserved. That’s why I didn’t say anything until I thought you were going to kill me,” he said, “I think something changed in me that day. That’s where I am so torn with confusion.”
“I know,” she said, looking at him like she was reading his thoughts, “I’m not going to chase you out of my room if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“Thanks,” Stephen said, “So, you’re okay now, right?”
She nodded and then kicked her slippers off. Then she took off her bathrobe and hung it on her bed.
“Yeah, I’m alright now. But if it’s okay with you, I’d still like you to hang out and keep the bad guys away,” she said.
“Sure thing,” he replied, pulling his curtain closed again.
. . . . .
Eric was surprised to discover forty-five full crates of potatoes awaiting him on deck four when he arrived at 0800. He lifted one of the lids and peered inside. Each crate was indeed fully packed with freshly picked, dirty potatoes.
“There’s your potato harvest, chief,” Stan said.
“When did you guys do this?” Eric asked, watching three of the niners headed his way.
“We stayed up all night and dug potatoes. I told them they could have next weekend off if they worked an 18-hour shift,” he said, brushing his hands off on his shirt, “But we’re leaving you with the job of finding people to get these potatoes dehydrated, flaked, frozen, or whatever else needs done before they get shipped to the dome.”
“Good work,” Eric stated, “Go ahead and get some sleep.”
He patted Stan on the back and started toward the corn fields. The whole deck was slowly becoming a desert of dirt. After everything was harvested, there would be no need to replant. The potato fields had now joined that desert. Now the corn was just about all that was left.
In that moment, he suddenly became aware of a lot of laughter coming from beyond the rows of corn. He quickened his pace, recognizing the voices of some of the tenners aboard. He was shocked when he got past the corn and found the area that used to be the bean field. The niners were apparently not the only ones who stayed awake all night.
“What happened here?” he shouted.
Somehow, it appeared that the whole crew had dug a giant swimming hole into the bean field and then built a mudslide mountain next to the pool. A hose had been hooked up to the sprinkler system and was currently flowing down the mountain of dirt and into the large swimming hole. There were dozens of people in and around the pool. They were all so muddy that he couldn’t tell who anyone was.
“Who authorized this?” Eric shouted, finally getting their attention.
He looked around at the people in the pool and finally, a man he didn’t recognize pointed to the top of the mudslide. There he located a muddy man holding an equally muddy young girl in his lap. The man on the slide refused to take the blame. Instead, he raised a muddy arm and pointed to an even muddier lady standing at the bottom of the slide. She raised her hand and waved.
“It was me, Eric. I figured it was time to give the crew some play time,” she said.
“Captain?” he asked, shocked by her appearance.
“Yeah,” she replied, feeling embarrassed all of a sudden.
“But, the water. And what about the mud?” he asked.
“Hey,” Chasen said from the top of the slide, “Will a couple people please grab the Agricultural Officer and toss him mercilessly into the pool?”
“No!” he shouted, instantly realizing that several muddy people were heading his way.
“And that’s an order from the Captain,” Autumn added, “If Eric gets away, I am shutting the pool down permanently as a punishment.”
Eric started to run when he saw the people sprint after him. He only made it a few yards before he was tackled by three people.
“No,” he hollered as he was suddenly lifted into the air by four muddy people, “I’ll have you shucking corn for a month.”
He squirmed in their slippery arms as they lifted him higher in the air. After a cheerful count of three, they tossed the Agricultural Officer into the middle of the muddy pool. When his head broke the surface, he appeared to be furious.
“Eric, I sentence you to a day off,” Autumn said, leaping into the muddy pool beside him.
“You are all crazy,” he replied, splashing the Captain.
She fired back a torrential splash, finally drawing a chuckle from Eric. The crew spent the remainder of the day splashing, sliding, and swimming in the area that once supplied much of their food.
Week #730
“We’ve got a visual,” Chasen said, keying a few buttons on his console.
Paige looked up at the main viewing panel as a picture of a very Earth-like planet appeared on the screen.
“It’s absolutely beautiful. It really looks like Earth,” she said, “Call the Captain,”
He picked up the handset and called all available crew members to the bridge.
“How far is it?” she asked.
“A few days away. This video feed shows what it would look like from only a few hours away. Wait a second…” he said, peering closer, “Huh?”
He rapidly tapped at the keys of his control panel. The planet on the screen zoomed closer and then closer again.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“Look at the equator on the left side of the screen. I’m going to keep magnifying,” he said, bringing the view even closer.
She could see the object that he was now focusing on. It was clearly an artificial satellite held in orbit.
“They couldn’t have that kind of technology yet, could they?” she asked.
“Very doubtful. I’d say it was probably released from their spacecraft before they landed. I’m running full scans now.”
Several people entered the bridge as Chasen continued to run multiple scans on the artificial satellite. Autumn stared at the screen in awe from behind his chair.
“It’s gorgeous,” she whispered, “Look at those oceans.”
“Uh, they know we’re here,” Chasen said.
“What?” she asked.
“It’s not a communications satellite at all. They performed some alterations to that satellite before it was released into orbit,” Chasen said, “According to these scans, that unit is a space telescope and a sensor array. The sensors are currently set to identify artificial warp trace signatures.”
“Speak English to me,” Autumn said, “What are you telling me?”
“The satellite is an alarm. It was keeping a watch for ships coming out of warp in the vicinity. And don’t forget that horrendous bang we made when we broke warp. They know we’re here, plain and simple. It’s also a remote telescope, so I’m sure they’ve physically seen us also,” he said.
“That’s scary,” she whispered, “Are they watching us right now?”
“We can’t say for sure, but the lens is definitely pointed in our direction,” he said.
The crowd continued to talk amongst themselves as they watched the planet slowly rotate on the screen. They remained unaware of the conversation between Autumn and Chasen. Paige was the only one privy to their conversation.
> “What do you think is going on in their minds?” Paige whispered.
“A ship this size?” Chasen asked, “I’m sure they are shaking in their shoes and preparing for the worst.”
Autumn shook her head and dropped her gaze to the floor.
“Any suggestions?” Autumn asked.
Chasen sighed while he watched the visual on the screen. Paige started to pace in front of the screen. The ruckus created by the overlapping conversation behind them spoke of excitement and relief.
“I say that we define their location and then land in a completely different area,” Chasen offered.
“I’ll second that,” Autumn stated, “Do we have a means to communicate with them?”
“No. The satellite is strictly…” he started to say before an idea hit him, “You know what? Where’s Stephen?”
Paige searched the crowd then caught Stephen’s eye from across the room. She waved him over. He squeezed past a group of excited tenners then rushed over to Chasen.
“I can pick up the frequency of the digital telescope transmissions,” Chasen said, turning to Stephen, “Can you set up a communication that can be transmitted along that same exact frequency? I want to send something that can be displayed on their monitors to be read.”
Stephen rubbed his chin as he stared at the satellite. They would be attempting to somehow communicate with a society from an older technology.
“We’d have to know what kind of viewing panel… well actually; we could make an educated guess based on the date of their spacecraft. They were probably using the V136s. Even if they used the V138s, I could send the same thing. Yeah, we could do it,” Stephen said, “Find me the frequency and let me into the Detect and Interpret room.”
“I’m on it. Captain, could you get him situated?” Chasen asked.
. . . . .
“Did they get your message?” Jenny asked as Chasen led her to bed.
“We’ll never know,” he said, sitting on the edge of the bed, “It was definitely sent and we sent it on the right frequency. The problem is, they can’t respond.”
“What all did you tell them?” she asked, covering up and drawing her elephant to her face.
“We told them everything. We had to give them the whole story all at once since there could be no two-way communication. We can only hope they believe it,” he said.
He knelt down and kissed her on the forehead. Then he put his mouth by her ear and started their nightly tradition, “Dear Jesus, please keep us safe and help us to get safely to our new home. Please look out for us and bring us closer to you each day. We thank you in advance.”
He got up off the bed then turned off the light. Rather than going to bed himself, he left the berthing and headed three doors down to Autumn’s berthing. He knocked twice before the door opened.
“What brings you by this late?” she asked, gesturing him in.
“Have you ever heard the term ‘misery loves company’?” he asked, “Well, how about ‘anxiety loves company’?”
She walked over to her bed and sat down. He sat next to her and looked down at the floor.
“Jenny was asleep before we ever finished prayers. Nothing seems to truly bother that girl. I mean, she’s nine now and I guess she’s old enough to start growing up. But you know what? I’m scared. I’m worried. I’m thoroughly frightened and I don’t really even know why.
“I’m not afraid of the people living there. I’m just afraid of our own people turning to me for direction. I don’t even trust me, so why should anyone else? I’m just…” he started before she drew him into her embrace.
She held him while she ran her fingers lightly along his back.
“Can I just stay like this until I fall asleep? I promise not to try anything,” he asked.
She didn’t respond. She continued to hold him, breathing lightly on his neck. Within a half hour, she heard his breathing change into quiet snoring. She kissed his neck then eased him down onto her bed. She grabbed one of the extra blankets and pillows then turned off the lights before lying down on one of the other beds. As the Captain and also a Christian, she didn’t want to raise any suspicions or rumors amongst the crew. She also didn’t want to lead Chasen into temptation, should he wake up in her arms. There would be a day for that soon enough.
Week #731
Autumn sat in the Captain’s chair scrolling through the ship’s reports on her viewing panel. She had spent much of the morning transferring all the ships files into the mainframe of the Landing Dome. Much of it was already transferred automatically during the monthly back-ups, but she couldn’t leave any room for error. Chasen himself had spent the last ten hours on the bridge gliding the ship into a stable orbit around Ephraim.
“Did you transmit our original message to them again?” she asked, still typing on her keyboard.
“Yeah, I sent it daily for the last three days. I also informed them that we would be landing on a separate continent for our own safety. I explained that we understood their fears if they existed and couldn’t risk landing in a hostile environment should they not trust us,” he said, “I located them already by tracing the signal beam.”
“Are there a lot of them?” she asked, looking up from her panel.
“Scanners are picking up what appears to be two separate colonies on the same continent. It appears that they split up for some reason. There are two hundred and ten human-sized heat traces in one colony and seventeen traces in the other. Not nearly as many people as we expected to find, but who knows what the environment is like and what types of diseases or dangers we’ll run into.”
“Don’t even suggest that,” Autumn said.
“We need to be realistic. We are not being delivered into a controlled environment like on this ship. We will be living in an uncontrolled, wild environment,” he stated, “The continent we’ll be living on is over four hundred kilometers wide and I’ve actually detected insect life and possibly avian life in the thick forests. This is the real deal.”
“Four hundred kilometers? That’s not a continent – that’s just a big island,” she said, “Are you sure about the insects?”
“First of all, this whole planet doesn’t have any continents like we had on Earth. The largest continent is the one that the previous visitors claimed and it’s only 700 kilometers across at its widest point. The whole planet is basically riddled with large islands. And yes, this planet apparently has insect, fish, and possibly avian life. Nothing bigger, though,” he replied, “And I think we are finally locked in the orbit we wanted. Welcome to Ephraim, Captain.”
She looked up from her viewing panel and stared at the main screen on the wall. Directly beneath the ship was the island that would become their future home. She glanced over at him and smiled.
“I think it’s time we hold a meeting with the whole crew,” she said.
. . . . .
Chasen held the large packet of papers in his hand while he looked out into the noisy crowd. Paige and Autumn were standing at his sides. He had secretly hoped that since he was finished with his shipboard duties, he would be free of being a leader. That was apparently not going to be the case for some time.
“Hello, everyone. Can I please have it quiet in here before I begin? I have some very important information and I recommend that you take notes,” Chasen stated, pausing for the room to quiet down.
A baby was still crying at the back of the room, but he couldn’t expect the mother to leave. Everyone needed to be part of the meeting.
“First of all, I’d like to let everyone know that we are now in orbit around our new home,” he said, pausing once the cheers began, “Yes, we have basically landed as far as the ISDC is concerned.”
Autumn patted him on the back as the crew continued to cheer and talk loudly amongst themselves.
“I’m going to have to ask for silence again. I’m sorry to break up the excitement, but we’ve got a lot of stuff to cover now,” he said, pausing again for the room to become quiet, “I�
�m going to need some help from everyone here in this room over the next several hours. No matter how old you are, you can help me with something very important. I need your prayers and this isn’t something you can just ignore.”
He looked around the room, hoping they could see the seriousness in his expression. The crew indeed was silent except for the whimpers of a baby.
“We have discussed the power of prayer with many of you when we gathered for the last harvest celebration. This is a very serious issue in the Bible. You are all entrusting me to detach, launch, and land the Dome safely. I’ve never done this before and I’ve never had any formal training in this. I only have what I gathered from the operations manual. Do I trust myself? Yes, but only if the operations manual was thorough enough. I would feel more comfortable if we had some divine assistance in this. Before I even continue this meeting, could we all silently offer up some prayers right now?” he asked, surprised to see that many had already started.
“Dear, Lord,” he whispered, “We all need your help and we come to you for assistance in safely landing the Dome later today. We need your help in everything. I want to do nothing without your involvement. We ask for this in Jesus’ name.”
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