Discovery (Terran Chronicles)

by Jackson, James

  On the Road Again

  Eight dead. Cindy gazes at the bodies laying in what has become a morgue. Seven having died from radiation poisoning. Another nine are not expected to survive their exposure either. Cindy considers what they can do for them.

  “We can’t leave them here for who knows how long. We will have to lay them to rest in space.”

  Henry reluctantly nods in agreement. “I suggest we wait a short time, a few days.” He nods in the direction of his infirmary.

  Cindy frowns in confusion, then in horror, understands him all too well.

  “Yes. Let me know when you are ready.” She responds as she casts her eyes downward.

  She ponders the moral dilemma. By waiting until those that are beyond help to die, she will be sparing the crew multiple burial services. There will just be one large service, when they are ready. That’s the cruel, moral part.

  “Henry, I understand that we have to ration our medical supplies. But do what you can for those that are suffering.”

  He silently nods. His many years as a herbalist have served him well. He recalls a time that Radclyf received a nasty wound. The bullet having gone straight through his leg, but without medical treatment, he would have been in deep trouble. In addition, the tropical forest they were in was speeding up the infection considerably. However the forest also afforded a few plants that Henry was able to use. ‘Pots’, he smiles at his own nickname, then saddens a little at his upcoming task. The men that are beyond hope, thanks to massive doses of radiation, chew the leaves given to them silently. Henry can’t even stay in the room with them for long, his own radiation meter steadily climbing upward. The leaves do their task painlessly and quickly. A merciful ending.

  The next day, Cindy assembles the entire crew inside the massive hangar area. Her speech is short as she tries to convey the right sentiments. She only hopes that she has done enough. Each of the seventeen dead is encased in a metallic coffin. How George made these is beyond Cindy. He not only made the coffins, but also engraved each occupant’s name onto the caskets.

  With as much ceremony as is possible, George pushes each one through the navigation shields and into space. The many trips up and down the ramp driving home the dangers of this mission to all.

  Crews continue to work day and night repairing lose hull plates. Meanwhile, Olaf struggles with repairs to the nuclear reactors, some have fared better than others. Reluctantly, he and George decide to shut three of the reactors down completely.

  While everyone else has been busy, Radclyf has been spending a lot of time brooding in the mess area. He leaves no one in doubt as to what would happen should he find any more terrorists. His demeanor is making some people nervous, so Cindy heads down to speak with him. She finds him sitting alone, humming some faint tune while staring into a cup. She can’t discern what he is humming, but it sounds vaguely familiar.

  “Mind if I join you?”

  Radclyf stops humming and gazes at her blankly.

  “If you insist,” he says, his voice devoid of any emotion.

  “What were you humming?” Cindy asks, hoping to break his cheerlessness.

  “Hmm. Oh that? Just a little something my grandfather used to sing. He was a soldier in the first World War.”

  He quietly sings a few verses. “It’s a long way to Tipperyary, Its’ a long way to go. It’s a long way to Tipperyary, to the sweetest girl I know!” He offers her a thin smile.

  “The song seems fitting to our circumstance.”

  Cindy smiles as she recalls the last lines of the song, It’s a long way to Tipperyary, but my heart’s right there. She stands and smiles at Radclyf.

  “Yes it is fitting.”

  She leaves the mess hall knowing that Radclyf will be fine, he is simply coping with their predicament in his own way.

  Joe and George make their way to the main engine area. The walkway dead ends at a solid wall. Without even hesitating, George crafts a tool with his suit and inserts it into the three holes that are in the wall. These holes form a triangle with its point at the top. Seconds later, a hissing sound can be heard followed by the wall retracting back, then sliding sideways into a wall space. George disengages the tool as he and Joe smell the unmistakable odor of something electrical or mechanical that’s burnt. Walking down the length of the corridor, they stare at the alien drive system before them. A huge long cylinder that gives off a dull blue-green hue runs as far as they can see.

  Surrounding this cylinder that’s easily two decks in height are a series of what could only pass as coils. George tries to compare what he sees to his first inspection. Back then though, the ship was unpowered, thus everything had the same dull grey color. He and Joe shrug their shoulders. Joe studies the engine intently before offering his thoughts.

  “Well, it’s not buggered, just a little cooked. If the other one is the same we should be good to go.”

  George smiles at the Australian slang. “I can’t see anything obviously broken either.”

  George is about to leave when he unexpectedly turns to Joe. “Stay here,” he says, then leaving a baffled Joe behind, he goes to his quarters.

  It does not take him long to find the thin alien device, nor long to get back to the main engines. For Joe the twenty minutes felt like an eternity, but he was satisfied to just stare at the marvelous feat of engineering before him.

  George holds up the thin object, metallic on one side and black on the other. Hoping that the device works, he taps the screen and is rewarded with a series of symbols. He and Joe spend many minutes figuring out the small tablet like device. They can only stare in stunned silence when they discover the unit’s function.

  As the hairs raise on the back of his neck Joe says to George.

  “What are the odds of that being a main engine control unit?”

  George shakes his head from side to side.

  “All I know is that with this we can run a diagnostic, which may self correct any abnormalities.”

  “Well,” says Joe, “we really have nothing to lose, go for it.”

  George touches the diagnostic icon. They both watch the device intently as symbols come and go at a phenomenal speed. Minutes later, the unit displays an unintelligible message. George runs the message through his suit’s visor, which relays the words into the Gamin language. The tiny translator does the rest, George smiles.

  Joe frowns a little in confusion at this and asks curiously.

  “You can understand their language?”

  “The engines are damaged, but now calibrated. We should return every few jumps and rerun the utility.”

  George’s wide grin beams from ear to ear. The little alien device automatically draws power when near the one piece of equipment it was designed to operate with. He does not mean to be rude to Joe, but casually disregards his question. The second engine has the same burnt odor about it, but again nothing seems to be out of place or broken. George activates the device and touches the diagnostics symbol. After a while, it too reports that the engine has been recalibrated. They seal up the passageways then report their findings to Cindy. Joe is bothered by George’s failure to answer his question, but is grateful that he can do what he does.

  An entire week passes before Cindy is satisfied with the status of the ship. With her bridge crew assembled, she smiles as she relays her message through the ship’s speakers.

  “We’re a long way from home people, but the Terran will get us there. Report anything unusual immediately. Prepare for main drive activation.”

  She looks at John to see him grinning from ear to ear.

  Frowning in mild confusion she says.

  “Punch it.”

  As John touches his panel and activates the main drive, Andrew digs into his pocket. He hands over a folded twenty dollar bill to John, who upon seeing the Australian currency bursts out laughing.

  “What,” says Andrew feigning innocence, “we agreed on twenty.”

  Cindy is almost as relieved at their banter as she is
to see the beautiful spectrum of colors once again. Cindy watches Joe carefully as she calls out with confidence.

  “Build us up to speed five.”

  “Factor five, yes ma’am”

  Factor, she likes the sound of that. “Factor five it is.”

  Joe busily monitors the reactors while Andrew gauges their course. George and Joe exchange a quick look in relief as the main engines continue to operate as they did before.

  The ship does not shake or shudder as it did earlier during the high speed jaunt, which also adds to the crew’s confidence. Some thirty hours later, John disengages the main drive which shifts the ship down to sub-light speeds. Everyone on the bridge breathes a sigh of relief as the usual shudder is felt through the deck plates. The Terran barely moves forward as the reactors recharge the main drives capacitors. Being down three reactors impacts a little, but not as much as Joe had expected.

  George and Joe take this down time to re-examine both main engines. The two men are overjoyed to find that the burning smell has lessened and indeed, the blue-green hue is brighter than when they inspected the drive last time. They rerun the calibration utility from the slim Gamin device.

  The days turn into weeks as the ship makes small hop after small hop. Repairs go well as the crew become accustomed to the routine. A few of the crew are quite busy though, and Radclyf is one of them. It has taken him almost three weeks, but finally he has found what he has been searching for. The bedding indicates that a single occupant had slept here. Many of the items that had been reported missing litter the area, as if stolen for no reason other than the desire to steal. A few of the crew had reported seeing the saboteur in the mess hall, but each had thought him with one department or another. Radclyf looks for signs of recent occupancy and can find none. He sleeps well that night, satisfied at last that there are no more hostiles aboard.

  Chapter Five - Salvage

  Location:

  Ground Control

  Outback

  Western Australia

  General Hayes stares at his orders for a long time before putting them down. With a mild sadness he strolls outside, stops then stares at the bright blue skies overhead. He ignores the odd looks people give him, nor does he return any salutes. His eyes wander to the few clouds, then down to the alien construction dock. He smiles as he observes activity in the distance.

  Putting his hands in his pockets, he walks off to look for the few remaining families belonging to the crew of the Terran. Finding the families is not difficult, soon enough they are all gathered in a meeting room. Lisa has brought Johnny to this gathering, she is hoping for the best, but fears the worst.

  The General takes a deep breath.

  “You all know the Terran made a close pass to Earth during which time they sent out a transmission. Our best scientists are unable to determine why the ship did not stop. We are not going to give up on them, but other matters have become quite pressing. There are fears that this facility may become a target and subjected to some sort of attack. To this end you are all to be evacuated.”

  Lisa stands up, her mouth agape.

  “You’re just going to toss us all out?”

  “No, no,” the General says raising his hand, “we will provide accommodations for any of you that wish it, just not here.”

  Lisa stares at General Hayes with grim determination.

  “And just what are your plans for the Terran?”

  The General meets her gaze, then for the first time in his life, he looks away.

  “We have yet to come up with any.”

  “Well,” she replies convincingly, “we will have to help you military people come up with one, won’t we?”

  The General has stared down mortal enemies, held firm to Presidents and leaders of many countries, but her steadfast gaze is something else.

  “Yes,” he ventures back, “however back to my main point. You are all to prepare for departure by the end of the week.”

  Lisa looks down at Johnny, his father’s jacket much too big for him but being worn regardless. The Terran’s emblem, with its scaly three clawed hand, a reminder to them all of the alien race that left the partially built spaceship behind. She reflects on the circumstances that led them to this point, then leads her son back to their quarters.

  Location:

  Starship Terran

  Twenty One Thousand Light Years from Earth

  John is quite pleased with their progress. Working closely with Andrew and Joe the three of them have been able to balance their speed with the ship’s available energy reserves. With power being their only limitation to a speedy return home, Olaf approaches George with a risky proposal to boost the ship’s power from the shut down reactors. After much debate, they decide to wait a little longer as minor repairs continue throughout the ship.

  Dropping to sub-light speeds yet again, Cindy watches the colorful display switch to the dull white dots of the distant suns.

  Andrew suddenly bolts upright straight in his chair.

  “Uh, one of the stars on my console is flashing.”

  Joe leans over to look at the blinking star. The Gamin terminal is able to detect stars to twenty light years, and this one is inside that radius.

  Cindy steps over to Andrew’s console to see for herself.

  “How far away is it?’ She asks curiously, as she stares at the Gamin display.

  Andrew taps on the flashing star and after a moments review of the data he grins back at her.

  “It’s a G-Type star about eleven light years away, twenty hours or so should see us there.”

  Cindy looks over her shoulder to catch George’s eye. He slowly shakes his head from side to side. The flashing star is a mystery to him as well. With reservation clearly in his voice he tells them what he does know.

  “The system is marked as habitable and undesirable at the same time.” He shrugs his shoulders and more to himself than anyone else adds, “I don’t get it though.”

  “How far out of our way is it?” Cindy’s curiosity building.

  Joe taps away at his laptop before answering. “Would add a day or two to our trip, it’s really not that far off our course,” Joe adds enthusiastically.

  Cindy ponders what a flashing star could mean. “Ok, take us there. But I want us to have energy reserves when we arrive.”

  “Yes ma’am,” John replies with relish. Turning to Joe and Andrew, the three men discuss their options.

  The hours drag on as the Terran heads toward the curiosity, making not one, but two jaunts via the main drive. The first puts the G-type star at a distance of less than one light year away. While the main drive recharged, the bridge crew received new data on the star system. The fifth planet is the one that is actually flashing and indeed the one marked by the Gamin systems as habitable. The second jaunt sees them headed straight for the planet.

  The crew is fully rested and back on the bridge ready to find out what the mystery is about. Thanks to the new data received, Andrew and Joe have been able to plot a course that will put the ship almost in orbit around the fifth planet. Cindy watches her crew as they monitor their progress.

  Joe watches his console diligently, referring to his laptop from time to time. He holds up his left hand, his voice a little high with nervous anticipation. This is the closest he has ever plotted a course to a planetary body.

  “Prepare to disengage the main drive on my mark. Three. Two. One. Mark!”

  John slides his finger down the left side of his panel reducing power to the main drive. He then deftly taps his console shutting the main engines down. A split second later he touches the symbol for the sub-light engines while simultaneously activating every thruster in preparation for maneuvers.

  Cindy is beyond impressed as John performs some fine piloting putting the Terran in a high orbit within seconds. Her eyes glint with pride at their efforts.

  “Ok, let’s see what we have.”

  The flood of data is just too much for GUS. While the diminished computer
system receives the Gamin data, the bridge crew can only wait. John maneuvers the ship so they can at least look at the planet.

  Andrew and Joe are busy pouring over the data and only look up when John whistles out in exclamation. “Would you look at that!”

  Cindy’s jaw drops at the sight of the planet as it swings into view above them. A single large moon hangs off in the distance. What stops them cold though, is the unexpected color. The planet is bathed in unsightly dark grey swirling clouds. The thickness of the cloud cover lending itself to darker or lighter shades of grey. The ground below is completely obscured.

  Cindy glances at her crew then issues her instructions.

  “John, get Edwards up here. I want you and George to take the shuttle and get a closer look.”

  She chews on her lower lip for a few seconds before venturing on. “Joe, that does not look natural to me, what does your data tell you?”

  Joe looks at Andrew then in exasperation replies. “Even when GUS was fully functional the influx of data took a while to process. What I can tell you is that the planet has a gravity close to Earth’s with a day-night cycle that is also comparable at roughly twenty-five hours. Beyond that, I can’t give you any more.”

  John and George make fast time getting to the Gamin shuttle. George leaves his suit in the shuttle’s storage compartment to sit with John up front. They depart the ship soon thereafter and quickly descend into the planet’s swirling clouds. The layer of clouds that cover the entire planet is very thick. After five minutes of flying, the shuttle breaks through the unsightly clouds revealing a most drab and dismal scene. A huge ocean of murky brown water ebbs and flows beneath them. Patches of dark vegetation float here and there.

  George wordlessly points to a distant forest of dark brown trees, they also appear to be dead. Between the two scenes, small waves of dark murky water roll up and onto a beach area layered in masses of dark unidentifiable material.