Discovery (Terran Chronicles)

by Jackson, James

  Andrew looks back, hoping to see George, but he is not there. Must still be busy fixin’ things, he muses.

  “Well, mate,” he says to Joe, quite defeated. “I can’t figure out how any of this really works.”

  Joe looks at his computer screen then keys in some fresh instructions on his laptop. Staring at the unexpected results for only a few seconds he mumbles to himself with a combination for concern and surprise. What is that? Typing feverishly for a few seconds he gets rewarded with more information.

  “Oh WOW!” He exclaims. Hitting the communicator on his desk hard. “Cindy, you had better come back to the bridge and take a look at this, and I mean now.” Joe just stares dumfounded at his laptop, then the Gamin console.

  Andrew and John gawk at Joe in surprise, both stunned at his boldness.

  Elsewhere in the ship Cindy hears the message as it comes across every speaker. Oh great, everyone heard that. She turns and heads back to the bridge ready to give Joe an earful. He has to address me by my title, and not issue me ORDERS.

  Only a few people actually stop what they are doing, the rest are far too busy to concern themselves with messages.

  George has been occupied repairing reactor cooling lines, his body suit shielding him from the radiation, for now. Watching the power levels plummet alarmingly fast, adds to his pressure. With the last leaking pipe repaired he looks at the radioactive mess and is suddenly inspired. Creating a very familiar tool, he pauses. This will either work or, well, it won’t. He gulps, then actives the absorption function. Just as he did on the first day of training he absorbs the material before him. Symbols scroll up and down the view on his faceplate in a familiar fashion. Power levels instantly jump up. Radioactive waste is an energy source. Ohh my, no wonder they loved our planet. All those nukes we launched, oh my. He gets back to absorbing the radioactive waste in earnest, collecting more energy, which gets stored by the suit.

  Lunar

  Location:

  Starship Terran

  Earth’s Moon

  Cindy makes it back to the bridge and stops at the sight. There dominating the view and above them is the moon. John has flipped the Terran upside down and angled the craft so as to afford them all a bird’s-eye view of one section of the moon. Clearly his skills at maneuvering this mammoth vessel are improving. Cindy is so dumfounded at the sight, all thoughts of chastising Joe vanish. The lunar base occupies an entire crater, one easily large enough to swallow even this ship.

  Andrew points at one distinct feature, a flat area. “A landing zone perhaps?”

  Cindy sits down in her command chair, flabbergasted. “What is our current power reserve?”

  Joe expecting the usually low value, looks down at his console. His eyes widen while his jaw drops. He is momentarily speechless.

  Cindy taps her arm rests impatiently.

  Joe turns to look straight at her. “Um, we have FIVE percent power, but the reactors are only giving us two percent, the other three is coming straight into the power grid from somewhere else.”

  Down in reactor control, George has connected a massive power cable to a socket in the suit’s left arm, allowing his right arm to collect waste and convert it. The cable snakes behind him as he moves from reactor to reactor.

  Cindy considers her options carefully. “I want you to take us down, slowly. Use the gravity drive only, if you can. I want to make sure we can take off again.”

  John understands immediately. If they can land with minimal thruster usage, then taking off with them should be a cinch. “Will do,” he replies.

  John rotates the massive craft as though it were a tiny space capsule. The internal dampeners so effective that no one can feel any motion at all. However, the moving moon and subsequent star field make Cindy queasy again. To distract herself she thinks about what they will do when they land. She smiles as it dawns on her.

  Cindy taps console with confidence “George, report to the bridge as soon as you can.”

  Lining the mighty craft up to land is easy enough, the rest well... John taps a symbol to extend the landing struts. As he does so a number of symbols vanish from his console. He is too busy to consider what they were, but he plans to figure these Gamin flight systems out as fast as he can. Descending slowly, the struts make contact with the moon, they flex and give, as they are designed to do, cushioning the landing. The Terran lands so smoothly that few of the crew even notice.

  Joe smiles as he monitors his console. “We used just under half of one percent of our reserves for that landing.”

  Cindy does some quick math. “Oh wow! Then our take off from Earth was a close call then, a really close call.”

  George can be heard before he is seen as his suit clangs its way with each step toward the bridge. His suit has been decontaminated, but still looks quite filthy. “What are we doing on the moon?” He asks quite perplexed. The lunar base currently obscured from view by the ship.

  Cindy grins at George. “Going to make you famous! Feel like a moon walk?”

  “OK, pretend as though I have not been here for a while. Why am I going for a moon walk?”

  “Ohh you will see. But first, how do we open the ramp to get outside?”

  George looks back even more befuddled. “You just open it.”

  “Um George, you do know the moon has no atmosphere, right?”

  “Yeah, yeah, it’s ok. With the navigational shields up, we will be fine.”

  George heads on down to the hangar bay, which Cindy has evacuated as a precaution. Just as he stops in front of the ramp a series of ominous sounds emanate from it. Clangs, whistles, and whirs all resonate out. A crack appears at the far end. This widens as the ramp lowers to the moon’s surface. It hits the dusty landscape, kicking up small clouds.

  George takes a deep breath, well here goes, then walks down. Partway down the ramp he stops. Before him is a shimmering wall. Putting an arm up to it, he steps forward. The navigational shield, like all things Gamin, is large, soon enough it fully engulfs him. Feeling as though he is walking through gelatin, George plows on. With so much effort being exerted to get through, the sudden drop in resistance is a surprise. He is propelled unceremoniously to the moon’s surface. Falling face forward, he slides along the dusty ground digging a small furrow. The view from his faceplate is no more inspiring than that from the ship. So much for ‘one small step’ he thinks.

  Carefully standing, George gazes around. The complex before him is not so much tall, as it is expansive. Indeed the way it has been built, it almost blends into the crater’s walls. Getting his bearings he walks, one careful step at a time, to what looks like an entry way. Once there he finds it’s a actually a large doorway, with a control panel off to one side. Bringing an arm up he makes a connection, as he would to a system on the ship. The tiny translator does its job as a list of options are presented to him, just like an automated telephone system. Selecting small door, he is not surprised to see a previously unnoticed door open next to him. After one last glance at the Terran he steps inside.

  Lights come on as the door slides shut behind him. The corridor is quite spacious, and could easily accommodate two suit wearing people side by side. George’s visor reports a breathable atmosphere. Stopping for a moment he considers the data, then lifts his hand to open his visor. He pauses, changes his mind, then drops his hand and walks on. After a few steps he realizes that the gravity in here is heavier than it should be, just as it is on the ship. The corridor ends at a hub which branches off in a number of directions, some are downward at steep angles. The gravity plating makes these transitions easy enough, just disconcerting.

  Back on the Terran the bridge crew waits anxiously for something from George. Finally, Cindy can’t take it anymore. “George, come in.”

  “Hang on a sec,” George is very distracted, “I think I have found a control room.”

  Cindy taps her armrest for mere seconds before responding. “Well, what have you found?”

  “Ohh, WOW. I’m coming
to get you. You’re gonna love this.”

  Cindy is completely befuddled now. “Ahh, George. Just how do you plan to get us over there?”. Silence is her only reply. “George?” She tentatively ventures while glancing around the bridge. She sits back in her chair, frustrations building. She does not have to wait long however.

  A massive wall opens up revealing a dark opening deep into the moon. Out from this cavern shoots a familiar looking, though alien vehicle. George’s voice is full of excitement as he contacts Cindy. “Meet you guys on the hangar deck, do I have a surprise for you.”

  A small ship measuring some fifty meters long and ten wide enters the hangar bay. It lands roughly, its pilot is not very proficient. The craft is about four meters high, making it look very sleek indeed. George, still wearing the body suit and grinning from ear to ear, steps proudly down its own little ramp. “There is more stuff back there, a lot more.”

  Cindy finds that once again events are happening faster than she prefers. “I take it there is a breathable atmosphere over there?”

  George nods heartily. “Same as here.”

  Cindy considers the options, but makes her decision quickly enough. “John, you’re to pilot the shuttle.” She smiles at George who simply shrugs his shoulders.

  “Joe you’re going over as well. Andrew you will stay here with Peter.”

  With that she steps up the ramp and into the shuttle. John finds the flight controls are just like those on the Terran. The trip into the lunar base is short and fast. Once there George leads them all to a massive control center. It could easily swallow the Terran’s own bridge area.

  John ends up making many trips to and from the Terran as he ferries more people over to explore the massive base. It is not until the next morning that an epic discovery is made by Hayato’s team. A second hangar bay with an attached storage area. Inside is a another shuttle, and a ground vehicle of sorts, along with three mildly damaged body suits. The ground vehicle looks like one of those seen at the Manhattan landing site, its dual inward facing blades a distinct feature.

  One of the suits has a small dent in the helmet. When George is shown the suits he just can’t believe it. My old suit, here, on the moon. He is both flabbergasted and perplexed at the same time. The other suits look as though they were dropped from a great height. Ohh yeah, recalls George to himself. Olaf’s story about how he got his suit.

  An even more impressive find is the rack of suit modules, some of which are unfamiliar, even to George. All the suits are out of power, as are the modules. Everything not bolted down is ferried to the Terran for further investigation. John makes many more trips. Jokes are made about his taxi service, and quickly circulate. The hangar area quickly fills with all kinds of items. Crews onboard tag and store each item carefully.

  That same afternoon Joe makes another startling discovery. A massive database, which not only has every facet of humanity stored within it, but also a wealth of information about Gamin technology. Joe stares dumfounded at the terminal before him. There is so much data stored here he does not know what to do with it all.

  With George’s help yet again, and with an interface circuit, Joe starts to make sense of what he has found. Cindy has been impatiently waiting for a report, adding to his pressure. Quite a few hours later Joe has a eureka moment. When he does, he can only stare at the Gamin Console, then his laptop again as the data slowly translates before him. Without George I would have been hopelessly lost, he realizes.

  Joe is pleased that he can finally give Cindy, and the others an update. Sitting in the moon’s expansive control room is Cindy, Peter, Andrew, and John, all waiting for Joe to begin. George, still wearing the borrowed body suit from Olaf, stands by as the others being dressed normally, relax in their large chairs.

  Joe closes his eyes for a second as he organizes his thoughts. “OK. I will try to be brief.” He glances around the room at the expectant faces, then begins. “The Gamin database is huge. It includes specs on a lot of alien technology, including what looks to be everything on how to build a ship like ours.” He motions generally to where the Terran would be. “There is nothing on weapons or any star charts, and nothing showing where they came from.” Even Peter is surprised at Joe’s report, but he does not show it.

  Cindy’s mind races with the possibilities. “I want you to send everything to the Aussie launch site.”

  “Uh,” Joe looks downcast now. “I can’t do that. I can transmit the data to the satellite grid or not at all.”

  Cindy groans. “So what your telling me is that we send it to everyone or no one? Can’t we upload the data to the Terran then…” Seeing Joe shaking his head from side to side she stops talking.

  Joe sheepishly smiles. “We can contact the Aussie site and warn them, get them ready to copy the data. At least they would have a head start.”

  Cindy frowns as she ponders the dilemma. “How is it then, that others would get all the data if they were not ready for it?”

  Joe looks hopelessly at Cindy then sighs as he answers her question. “The satellite grid, once given information, holds it in a buffer for anyone to access. I am not sure how the system is programmed to clear that buffer. We have to assume that this data would remain for a while, because everything else does.”

  Cindy looks at the alien terminal thoughtfully. “How much data are we talking about? Can’t we just take that terminal?”

  “Well, we could take it, but I don’t even know if the data is in there, or in some central computer. As for the Terran’s systems. I don’t know if they can hold this much data. But we can try.”

  John seems confused at the problem. “Can’t we just upload it to GUS? It’s one of the world’s most powerful super-computers. Isn’t it?”

  Joe shakes his head. “No mate, and, yes mate. GUS does have an amazing storage capacity, but that’s just by our standards. Besides GUS is really just designed to act as a buffer for data going to and from the Gamin systems. The amount of data here exceeds anything ever imagined and I have no way of even measuring how much that is in our terms.”

  While the group falls into a debate on technology, Cindy sits back and considers the right course of action to take. She glances around the room and notices that Peter is watching her. As they make eye contact he nods, as though reading her mind.

  With a renewed confidence Cindy makes her decision. “Contact the launch site via our own communication system and warn them of what is to happen.” I expect it will take a few days, if not longer for them to get ready. In the mean time, John I want you to train Radclyf and Daitaro how to fly these alien shuttles. Can the shuttles be used to travel to and from Earth?”

  John’s expression is one of mixed surprise. “Sure, they have piloting skills, should be no problem.”

  Andrew is stunned. “You want to teach those two grunts how to fly Gamin shuttles?”

  Cindy tilts her head in annoyance. “They are not grunts, they are members of elite fighting forces, very intelligent, and well trained. You would do well to remember that.”

  Being suitably chastised he looks away, blushing. Well how was I supposed to know the difference? One soldier story sounds like another to me.

  While the discussions continue, George turns and plugs his suit directly into the Gamin terminal next to him. There is no data on his tiny translator, that virtually invisible ear piece without which the alien language would be gibberish to him. Though having more of them would be handy, he does like having something uniquely special. Besides having told no one about it, he would feel uncomfortable having to explain it now. Scanning the database he quickly finds the schematics for the shuttles. It does feel strange that the Gamin would just leave this kind of equipment and knowledge behind, unless they plan on returning soon.

  Disconnecting from the terminal, George lifts his visor and waits for a chance to speak. He does not have to wait long, as the others seeing him waiting, stop chatting.

  “Well I only have good news for you. The shuttles can land
on Earth and take off again, but I strongly suggest we make sure they are fully charged from this facility’s power grid each time we use them. Oh, and before you ask, no, we can’t take the power module from this base.”

  With nothing left to do here the group head back to the Terran, and set their plan in motion.

  George happily hands the suit he had been using back over to Olaf, who until now had been keeping a rather low profile. He reluctantly takes the suit back but understands that he must suffer the headaches. Besides in some strange way, he actually misses the alien suit. Olaf backs into it with reservation, he does not like being enclosed, and never has. This time it’s a little different though. Probably because the aliens are not here, he reasons. The suit actually feels more comfortable. He relaxes for the first time ever, and finds the expected headache fails to appear. The aliens had told them in the very beginning to relax their minds. Wow, they were right, this feels great. Olaf is overjoyed that he can assist George without suffering any more crushing headaches.

  Radclyf and Daitaro’s flight training goes very well under John’s tutelage. The controls are rather user friendly. George spends some time with them while his suit recharges. The four of them also examine the alien ground vehicle and even take turns going for a spin across the lunar landscape. Cindy chuckles as she hears them laughing over the communications channel on the bridge. Boys will be boys if given half a chance. She is just happy that they are distracted, though reports of George being unusually short tempered surprise her. Probably just frustrated that though they can get back to Earth, I have them waiting. She reasons.

  It takes two days before George’s old suit has been thoroughly checked and powered up. During this time he sleeps fitfully as he waits until he can use it again. Finally he is able to step into the body suit and test it. The familiar wash of colors seemingly smoother than he experienced in Olaf’s suit. At the time he had not noticed any difference, but if he were to judge, he would say that this suit is even a better fit, somehow. He closes his eyes and relaxes as the suit encompasses him. Ahh much better.