Initiation Series: Series One Compilation (Terran Chronicles)

by James Jackson

  Henry shakes his head, “Then why didn’t we run into this last time we were here?”

  Peter stands, then looks at his hands, “Well, I don’t recall those flying bugs, nor did we stray far from our settlement last time.”

  Cindy mumbles something unintelligible while she weakly waves an arm. Henry walks over to her, bends his ear to her mouth and listens. She says weakly, “Isolated environment, we just got lucky.”

  Henry stands up and frowns, lucky, is she kidding? A chill suddenly runs through his body, she’s right! We have hundreds infected, instead of thousands. He slowly scratches his head while he thinks, even the ship’s life support systems haven’t stemmed the spread of this... he suddenly turns to look at Peter, disease? The thought causes him to reconsider the way he has been looking at the illness. His aching body, and throbbing head prevent him from thinking clearly.

  The next morning George walks into the medical bay. Doctors and nurses are alarmed to see Johnny holding his hand. George waves them off, “If he was going to catch this thing, he would have done so already. Lisa kissed his forehead that first night she came down with it.”

  George gazes around, a frown forms on his brow, “Where’s Henry?”

  A nurse motions to nearby table, she says, “He collapsed last night.”

  “Damn,” George says in annoyance, “I have been racking my brain over this, and can’t figure out a solution.”

  Johnny squeezes George’s hand, then says, “I think Miss Cindy wants you.”

  The nurse and George both look over to see Cindy sitting up on her bed. She points at Johnny, and murmurs something. The nurse walks over, then listens to Cindy’s almost inaudible words.

  The nurse turns to face Johnny, “I need a sample of your blood, young man.”

  George’s eyes narrow protectively, “What did she say?” He says nodding at Cindy.

  The nurse smiles, then says, “Let me take a sample, run a few tests, then we will know if Cindy’s theory holds.”

  George looks past the nurse, at Cindy, who even manages a weak smile for him. He then looks at Peter, who simply shrugs his shoulders. Neither man can figure out the connection Cindy has made.

  The tests on Johnny seem to take an eternity. All George can do is watch as his son is poked and prodded by the ambitious medical staff. The handful of remaining doctors and nurses focus intently on their equipment. Finally, after three hours, a tired looking doctor steps away from his work area. He holds in his hand a half-filled syringe, which he takes over to Cindy, then injects her with its contents. He and the nurse monitor Cindy closely, taking fresh blood samples and readings every fifteen minutes. Meanwhile, the remaining staff continues to churn out more of the potential vaccine.

  An hour passes by before Cindy’s fever breaks, her body temperature steadily drops back down to normal levels. A nurse looks up from her computer, then calls out from her desk, “she’s cured!”

  George, who has been very patiently waiting says, “Okay, so what’s the cure?”

  Cindy lifts a hand, and rasps, “testosterone and adrenaline.” She reaches for a cup of water, then gulps it down. Weakly pointing at Peter she says, “You were scared for Emma’s safety, thus your adrenal gland was,” she pauses, as she tries to find the right words, then simply says, “busy.” She smiles at Johnny, “And you, young man, are entering puberty, and had been competing in the zero-g room against your father.”

  Peter looks at Cindy questioningly, “If it’s just adrenaline or testosterone, then why are so many infected?”

  Cindy shakes her head from side to side, “No, it has to be both, and you sir, just like many soldiers, have a naturally high level of testosterone.”

  George nods his head and adds, “And my suit was able to protect me.”

  Cindy nods weakly, “Exactly, now if you don’t mind, I would like to rest for a while. This thing has kicked my butt.”

  Peter glances at George, then says with conviction, “I wasn’t scared you know, just concerned.”

  George walks over to Peter, and whispers, “Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me.”

  Johnny looks up at both men, “So mom will be okay now?”

  One of the nurses looks up from her desk and answers for the men, “It looks like it, but we will have to run some more tests, just to be sure.”

  Johnny glances from George to Peter, then says, “Well, since I am immune to this thing, can I go to the planet now?”

  George smiles, then ruffles Johnny’s hair, “The next time I go down, you can come with me.”

  Johnny’s face beams with excitement, “Sweet!”

  Peter shakes his head, kids! Glad I don’t... his thoughts trail off when it dawns on him that Emma may have a different view about children. The very idea of being a parent scares him more than anything else he has faced.

  Hawking is Born

  Medical teams run every plant and animal specimen they have through an exhaustive analysis process. Atmosphere and water samples are also examined, down to the microscopic level. Each newly discovered bacteria is run through a gamut of tests, before either being deemed safe, or not. The medical team, with Cindy’s assistance and approval, finally develop a vaccine against the harmful elements of New Earth. They test, then retest, this vaccine on ever expanding groups as they await results.

  As soon as Cindy is able, she gets John to take her, Emma, and a small team of specialists, to their original site. They land in a field near the collapsing walls of the old settlement. Mindful of the nearby wolf-cats, the group spends hours looking for the small flying bugs.

  Cindy turns to Emma and shrugs her shoulders, “There are none here, just not enough moisture in the ground, I guess.”

  Emma casts her gaze around the area with appraising eyes, “This area is different in many ways, lower moisture levels, reduced humidity, and cooler.”

  By the end of the afternoon, the group is finished sampling and cataloging. They return to the Terran to complete their tests.

  During this time, George stays with Lisa, as her recovery is alarmingly slow. His concern for her outweighs his feelings of obligation. His absence is keenly missed by all, especially Cindy, who reluctantly accepts that he should stay with his wife, until she is well again.

  Cindy spends this time pondering their first trip to this planet. She finally concludes that, as it was a volunteer only mission, those who felt unwell simply did not return to the base camp.

  Fortunately, there have been no deaths from the flu-like virus, which is a relief to all. The medical staff continually assures the crew that the average person will recover on their own, given enough time. Also, like the flu virus on Earth, the elderly, and infirmed would be at risk of dying. However, the crew members of the Terran are mostly in their prime, or fit and healthy for their age. Cindy, and the scores of doctors document their findings, along with their recommendations.

  Once again, Cindy leaves the Terran with Emma and a team of planetologists. This time they land far away from both sites. Once again, they go through the routine of gathering samples and analyzing the air and water. Over and over, the team repeats this process, until they have investigated nine separate areas.

  Cindy gathers the bridge crew to discuss their options. She gazes at those present, then begins, “Well, we have reviewed a number of sites. Dryer, cooler areas are populated with wolf-cats, while warmer, moister, areas have the small flying bugs. These New Earth mosquitoes not only drink blood, but a percentage of them carry the virus that currently infects our crew.”

  Emma stands up and speaks, “Basically, we can set up in wolf-cat territory, or in mosquito land.”

  Peter puts a hand to his chin, and asks, “Once we build the colony, won’t the mosquitoes be less of a problem? Whereas, displacing the wolf-cats may not even be possible?”

  Emma answers quickly, “No matter where we set up the colony, it will have a profound impact on the local environment, and the creatures that inhabit that area.”


  Cindy glances at the group, and seeing that no one else has anything to offer, says, “Well, I say we set up in the natural valley between the mountains, far away from the wolf-cats.”

  Emma nods, “I prefer that option myself.”

  George has been listening, and simply nods. It does not matter to him where they go, he just wants his wife to get well.

  Cindy smiles, “Okay then, let’s get planning.”

  While thousands of people on board await the New Earth inoculation, a small group flies over the proposed site of their new settlement, Hawking. Cindy slides her chair forward and almost level with John’s, as he pilots them downward through the cloud cover. Patrick, his lap covered in papers, sits on John’s right, while Emma occupies the remaining sliding chair. The women, being scientists, spend nearly as much time gazing out the expansive windows as they do sliding back to their computer terminals.

  The shuttle breaks through the clouds coming in over the ocean, revealing the future settlement from a new perspective. Patrick points down at the river mouth where it meets the ocean. He glances down at the pile of print outs before him and says excitedly, “Look at that!” He quickly adds, “John can you hold us here?”

  John nods, “Sure can.” He brings the shuttle’s descent to a halt, then hovers in place.

  Patrick glances at his papers once more, then begins, “You can see the river as it comes down from the mountains and divides the valley. The mountains being on both sides, funnel all the water down to the forest areas, then into the wide plains.”

  The other three follow his gaze, letting Patrick continue with his commentary. He points to river, “There is a lot more land area on the left hand side of the river, so that’s where we will build our town. We will leave the right hand side as undisturbed as we can, allowing the expected flood water somewhere to go. The city planners do want to add walkways and bicycle paths in this area.”

  Emma asks, “Do you plan to build these paths and walkways into the forests?”

  Patrick nods, “Just the right hand side, because on the far left, we’re going to build a huge spillway to cope with the heavy rains we think this area sees from time to time.” He gets a little more excited, his voice picking up in pace, “The entire city will be built on a slight slope away from the river, directing all the run off away from the river. We have a filtration plant planned for the causeway’s end. This is designed to prevent the contamination of the ocean, by the garbage and junk that always seems to make its way into storm water systems.”

  Cindy glances at Emma and nods in appreciation for the town planner’s forward thinking. The two women once again, follow Patrick’s hand as he points at the distant mountains.

  Emma gazes at a distant lake that is barely discernible in the forest on their left, “Are there any plans for the lake?” She asks, pointing toward it.

  Patrick glances at his notes, then replies, “No. All we’re planning on doing is building bridges over the causeway, but that will be at a later date.”

  Emma nods stares at the landscape below, then says, “It sounds as if you’ve covered everything we talked about.”

  Patrick waves his hand at the forward view and points to the grasslands on the right, “Yes, I believe so! By leaving that grassland over there in its natural state, flood waters will be able to flow unhindered to the river. As for the river itself, we have a flood gate system planned to protect the city from rising waters.”

  Cindy casts her gaze across the landscape, as Patrick continues on she imagines the town and smiles. Three and four story buildings will make up the city center. The industrial park will sit far away, and draw its water from the river at the base of the mountains. Each industrial complex is to be as environmentally friendly as is possible, and even so, every drain from these buildings will lead to the causeway. Nothing from the settlement is to enter the river. The residential areas will be spread out, with main roadways and freeways planned for ground traffic. Cindy half listens to Patrick and Emma as they discuss the sprawling settlement. The valley is actually much larger than it appears, and has enough area to accommodate a sizable city.

  Cindy is brought back from her daydreaming as Patrick’s voice becomes even more energized. He points enthusiastically at the mountain peaks, “The wind generators we brought with us will be spaced out along both mountain ridges. As for Barbara’s radio telescope, it took quite a while to find the best location for it, but this is where it will go.” He points directly down the mountain ridge on the left hand side. “That peak at the end is the highest in the area, and though it will be tough to construct, it’s the best place for it.”

  Emma stares at the distant mountain peak, “You’re not planning to build a road up that are you?”

  Patrick shakes his head, “No, and although we will be laying a road along the top of the mountain ranges, we won’t be constructing any connecting to the town until we have time to review the stability of the mountains.”

  Emma nods, “So any vehicles we place at the top will be staying there.”

  Patrick replies quickly, “Yes, but this won’t be permanent, once the Liberty arrives, we will have a much larger workforce and can expand our plans. For the time being, we need the housing and related light industries built.”

  Emma stares out at the natural landscape before her, then asks poignantly, “What about heavy industry?”

  “Yeah,” Patrick says slowly, “we will build a mini-steel mill, sawmills, and other related facilities, in this valley. Everything else, like the Gamin power plant, and gravity plants, will be built away from here.” He shrugs his shoulders, “We don’t know where yet, so that will be another task for the Liberty’s crew.”

  Emma glances at Cindy, lifts her eyebrows in appreciation, and says, “It sounds as if you have thought of everything.”

  A nervous half smile crosses Patrick’s face, “To be honest, I would rather George be making these decisions.”

  Cindy feels a brief flutter of alarm, then quickly says, “He is spending time with his family, but he will be ready to help us when the time comes.”

  Everyone accepts the answer, and moves on to continue discussing the many finer points of the settlement’s planning. Cindy rests her head against the back of her chair and quietly sighs, worrying, Lisa, like so many others, is not recovering very well.

  John’s question brings her back into the conversation, “When can we start ferrying supplies down here?”

  Cindy frowns as she tries to recall what was just said, then answers, “Anytime you want.”

  The others had been expecting a more definitive reply, but acknowledge her response with huge smiles. John slaps Patrick on the back, “You had better warm up that suit of yours, ‘cause we have a lot to do.”

  Patrick pauses for a second and thinks, the suits don’t need warming up, then he gazes at the mountain ridges, “Oh crap. You want to set up the wind generators first!”

  John grins with enthusiasm, “Yep,” then while still grinning broadly, he pilots the shuttle away from the mountains.

  The trip back to the Terran takes mere minutes. John lands the shuttle on the same elevated pad they took off from, then opens the shuttle’s side ramp. The group walks away, all except for John, who stops and stares at the largest shuttle in the hangar area.

  Patrick glances back, then shouts out, “It will fit out the hangar bay doors.”

  John nods and waves, “Yeah, I know, but it’s a close shave,” I brought it in, he thinks to himself, and she’s a tight fit.

  Eight more days pass before the crew of the Terran is given a clean bill of health. These days find Emma busy with her team of planetologists, as they examine the numerous samples from the various landing sites. Cindy devotes her time to assisting the medical staff in confirming that the vaccine is both effective, and safe.

  Cindy arrives at the bridge, then gazes out the main view at the planet before her. She smiles, sits in her command chair, then activates the ship’s internal communi
cations. “Attention all, attention. We will begin transporting equipment, and work crews to New Earth immediately. Everyone is to read the documentation on the planet’s main features. For those of you that won’t bother, this is a brief summary of New Earth’s key features. Its gravity is slightly heavier than Earth’s, the air will feel thinner, and the temperature a little cooler. The atmospheric pressure is slightly different as well, simply yawning upon landing should alleviate any discomfort. The planet has a twenty-six hour day, with a three hundred eighty-five day year. That’s all.”

  George frowns as he listens to the announcement, then turns to his sleeping wife. His emotions are torn between his duty to the crew, and his family obligations.

  Lisa opens her eyes, yawns, stretches, then gets out of bed. She wipes sleep from her eyes, then says, “I feel so much better. I need a long shower and some breakfast.” She offers George a warm smile, “and you have spent enough time playing nurse maid, now go and help your friends.”

  George grins, “I’m so glad you’re feeling better. I have to find Johnny, I promised him that he could come with me on my first trip.”

  Lisa steps to George and gives him a huge hug, “Watch our son, he tends to get himself into places he shouldn’t.” She follows this up with a stern look.

  George recalls the day Johnny explored this ship, prior to its completion. “I will keep an eye on him.” Still holding Lisa close, he says with concern, “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  She steps back, puts her hands on her hips, then says defiantly, “I am fine, and have spent far too much time resting.” She glances up at the room’s speakers, “Besides, it sounds like there is work for you to do, Mister.”

  As if on cue, Johnny comes running into the room, his face beaming with excitement. “Are we going? Are we going?”

  George ruffles his son’s hair while gazing at Lisa, then sighs, “Very well, it looks as though I have been out voted.” He turns to Johnny, then says sternly, “You have to keep out of everyone’s way, young man.”