He laughed.
“What?” I asked, turning to him.
“Half the words you speak are alien to me,” he said, “Surely you remember how you used to never know any of their words. I still find it hard to imagine you being an Earthling now, but that’s how you speak and act.”
I pulled back, examining Braxton more closely.
“I’m not sure if that’s an insult or a compliment,” I stated.
“Definitely a compliment,” he said, gesturing toward the aft shuttle bay doors opening on the Constellation, “I mean, what have I done to attack our enemies so far? It’s been all Diana X.”
“Wait a minute. This is the awesome part,” I said, tapping the ‘enter’ key to relinquish control of the pod.
The shuttle bay doors closed. I suddenly got scared to look at the screen in case this ultimate attack failed. I turned to Braxton who had his attention glued to the screen. I leaned in and set my mouth near his beautiful ear – an ear I used to nibble one during moments I refused to remember.
“You get to be the attacker with the next pod we launch,” I whispered near his ear, “I’m ready to hear how awesome I am.”
I doubt I could have counted one heartbeat before he burst forth in exclamation. I was still a little afraid to look at the screen, but I knew I had to. The explosion in the aft shuttle bay had caused a chain reaction inside the ship, bringing secondary explosions throughout the whole aft portion of the ship. I had counted on this, knowing that the engineering section was close by, but I wasn’t certain it would work.
“Say it, Braxton!” I laughed, looking at the destruction on the screen, “Go ahead, you can talk as loudly as you want now!”
“You are absolutely awesome!” he shouted in laughter, “Look at that ship. The front portion was no big deal, but that back explosion… you destroyed a third of the ship!”
“And that’s because?” I said, smiling widely at him.
“Because you’re awesome,” he leaned in and kissed me like I’d secretly hoped he would.
He’d caught me off guard last time, but this time I needed that kiss and I demanded it from him. It was me who wrapped my arms around his neck this time, long before he lowered me to the floor. It was me who took the back of his hair and knotted it into my fist, tugging his lips impossibly closer. It was me who bit his tongue, bringing a subtle groan from him.
50th Luna – Harvest Season – 993
We’ve been missing out on Clempin. The USSC seemed to be most interested in claiming land here and more than that, claiming the natural resources for themselves, but no one could have ever imagined the Clempin.
This planet provides its proteins in a variety of nuts, the meat of several kinds of tasty birds and oddly enough only two land animals. Out of all the land animals, they have two sheep-like creatures that have a pleasant flavor. The rest of the land creatures leave a lot to be desired. Then there’s the fish of Legacy. There are the most popular varieties whitefin, uglibass, deep skimmers and tigerfish. But last week, or last six-lune as they call it here, the Legacians threw a World Party. This was something they only do every fifty harvests and as luck would have it, that was this year.
World Party was a worldwide harvest party lasting nearly half the season of harvest and hosted by different villages each time. People would trek from halfway around the world, sharing their foods, recipes, and even their inventions. Sure it was obviously an event that drew in the money or the trade, but it also introduced the world to what was going on in other villages.
It’s nothing short of amazing. Imagine the World’s Fair from centuries past. I only choose to waste the pages of this log on the World Party because it introduced the Green Earthlings to a fish called Clempin. It’s a fish caught mainly in the Gulf of Rishon, located in southern Blaze.
It’s not a matter of taste or a matter of personal preference. We are talking about a fish that all Green Earthlings, tasting it for the first time, have claimed a need to move to southern Blaze. It’s naturally salty in flavor, and you can even taste a hint of butter even if it’s not cooked in it. It’s the typical meaty white you would expect from an Earth fish, but there’s something about it that doesn’t require deep-frying to give it that deep fried taste.
I guess it comes down to this. The commodities that Legacy has to offer to the people of Earth are not simply located in the mountains or miles underground. I would choose a lifetime supply of Clempin over a lifetime supply of silver or gold. As a matter of fact, I’ve traded exactly that for Clempin yesterday and I’ll trade it again tomorrow. The World Party is something I hope stays in effect for centuries to come even as we start sending more and more people here from Earth.
14
Braxton
USSC Foothold
“Ouch,” she said, a visible spark connecting our lips as we parted.
“Oops,” I said, sitting up while assisting her up from the floor, “I guess I still don’t quite know how to manage it.”
“We might not have a lot of time at our disposal anyway. I’d be willing to bet the Constellation is sending out a distress call to its shuttles right now,” she said, bringing me quickly back to the real world.
“What could the shuttles do?” I asked, looking back at the image of the Constellation still being pummeled with noticeable secondary explosions.
“Nothing at all when it comes to helping the Constellation. They don’t even have shuttle bays anymore,” she replied, rising from the floor and helping me up, “But they can definitely board the Foothold and search for who orchestrated the attack. The point is, if their shuttles are heading up, we’d better not be anywhere near the Foothold.”
She led the way to one of the many doors surrounding the room. She pulled a lever, opening the door. Another door lay immediately beyond this one, but the second one
was something more of a metal hatch.
“We need to get into one of the pods and get out of here. I already loaded this one with two ion pistols, a few extra power magazines, and a small pack of food,” she said, opening the hatch to what looked like nothing more than a cylinder-shaped closet.
“Not much room in here,” I observed, stepping into the cylinder.
“Room enough for three people to survive in an emergency,” she said, pointing to one of the three padded Xs on the wall, “Lean back into that and pull the straps over your shoulders and around your waist. They snap together in front.”
I leaned back as she instructed, then watched her as she demonstrated the straps on herself. She then pulled a small machine down from the ceiling, blocking my view of her with an electronic window and a small control panel. I imagined Diana was seeing the same window and control panel in front of her. It probably faced all three of the pod passengers.
“Don’t touch any of the controls in front of you,” she said, just before the metal hatch closed, “I’ll be altering our course once we get below the outer atmosphere. For now though, it’s just programmed to get us safely onto the planet below.”
“I understood nothing of what you just said, so I think I’ll just enjoy the ride from here,” I said with a chuckle.
“You do that,” she replied, never wavering from her new businesslike demeanor.
I felt a shudder as our escape pod was launched from the Foothold. The electronic window in front of me lit up, showing me only a bunch of lines and random numbers that meant nothing to me.
“We’re clear of the ship and on our way toward Legacy right now,” she said, “And there’s no sign of any shuttles in the area.”
“I hate to be a downer, but what happens if we land in the middle of a battlefield or even worse, in the middle of a fireball.” I asked.
“I’ve never landed an escape pod in my life, but I’ve received the training they give to everyone on Foothold. If it’s as easy as they claim, I should be able to set us down somewhere on the eastern side of the Mystic Mountain Range,” she said.
“Ghost Mountains,” I said, “I�
��ve never been there and like everyone else on Blaze, I pretty much avoided those mountains.”
“Ghost Mountains?” she repeated.
“A lot of stories come from those mountains. Childhood spook tales mostly, but with so many supposedly true stories of ghost sightings, we all just stay clear,” I explained, “Why are you picking that as a landing site though?”
“It’s the last place Foothold’s missing shuttle landed,” she said, “Also, it’s not far from the Foothold pitchblende mines.”
“Missing shuttle?” I asked, “Why do you keep bringing up significant things like this that as though they are insignificant bits of information? And what’s pitchblende?”
I heard a sigh coming from her direction of the pod. Whether it was a sigh of resignation or one of frustration, I couldn’t tell especially since I couldn’t see her face past the machine between us.
“Pitchblende is an ugly black mineral that they refine into something they consider more valuable than gold or silver back on Earth,” she said, “They started mining it probably a dozen harvests back, employing nearly a thousand Legacians.”
I noticed how she completely avoided my first question about the missing shuttle. I decided not to pursue it since she’d been sounding more and more uncomfortable. I was beginning to believe that we were truly dropping ourselves into a dangerous situation.
The whole pod shuddered mildly, then after a moment’s pause, it began shuddering again nonstop. The screen in front of me turned off.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“We’re entering the outer atmosphere, submitting ourselves fully now to the gravity of Legacy. The screen will come back on in about a minute,” she said, then released another unusual sigh, “Look, I need to tell you something. I can’t let us die while you’ve got your hopes flying high.”
“What are you talking about?” I replied, trying to ease the tension in the pod, “My hopes are completely in the gutter.”
She snickered, “Thanks. Anyway, this pod has no significant engines on it. It’s got nothing that permits me full control over our landing. As a matter of fact, we’re going to be waving a giant flag that says ‘here I am’.”
I tried to look past the machine to see her, but couldn’t. I looked down at the control panel in front of me and realized that indeed, it didn’t have much by way of controls.
“You did some significant damage to their ship, limiting their ability to replenish their weapons. You hit them hard, and helped the people of Legacy, but we’re probably not going to make it home. Is this what you’re telling me?” I asked, “We could have stayed on the Foothold and had a 100% chance of dying, or instead we could land in a battlefield with a 95% chance of dying. You chose the better of the two options, correct?”
I think I heard her whisper yes. The screen came back on, showing a live feed of the world beneath us. The pod suddenly jerked roughly, slamming my head against the padded wall behind me.
“What was that?” I asked.
“The parachutes. We’re deploying them up high so we have plenty of time to move ourselves toward the mountains. I can steer with the chutes,” she said.
“The chutes,” I repeated, “The flag saying ‘here we are’.”
“Exactly,” she said, “And they’re brightly colored so a rescue team could find a fallen pod easily. In other words, when we get a little lower, everyone in this portion of Blaze will see us falling.”
This time it was me who sighed and I know she heard it. I instantly regretted it.
“I’m sorry, Braxton,” she said, “I basically only revived you because I needed someone to help me if by some miracle we landed on Legacy. This is the selfish woman that the other Braxton knows. This is the selfish woman I was hiding from you.”
I didn’t really know what to say. In a way, I could agree that it truly was selfish of her. She didn’t need my help in destroying the Constellation. She did that completely on her own. I’ve served absolutely no purpose so far and in a few moments, there was a very good chance I would be dead. I was revived for nothing but a companion and potential weapon once we landed.
The pod rocked suddenly, probably the result of the wind buffeting us. I watched the screen, surprised to see the mountains showing up in the lower left corner. She truly was steering us with the parachutes.
“If I’d spent several luna in a cold ship completely alone, there’s no telling what kind of decisions I’d be making. There’s a good chance that one of those decisions would involve me searching for someone to talk to,” I said, “And even if that’s all I’ve become, it’s okay. It’s been nice getting to know you for the little chance that I’ve had. And I don’t mind admitting that you’re a good kisser for someone twice my age.”
She finally laughed for the first time in a while. The pod shook and rocked a little.
“Well, maybe I’ve had a little experience knowing what Braxton likes,” she muttered, “Or maybe Braxton himself taught me a few things.”
“Again, you’re trying to make me jealous of another guy,” I replied.
The mountains were getting closer beneath us. Suddenly it sounded like someone hit the metal sides of the pod hard three times with a hammer.
“We’re being shot,” she said a little too casually, “And one of the chutes has a hole in it now, but we’re still fine.”
“Can their weapons breach this?” I asked; trying not to sound too worried.
“It depends on where they hit us, but in most cases, they’re just putting dents in our sides. If they have any plasma cannons down there though, we’re going to be toast,” she said, “We know for sure that they have at least three of them on Blaze. Oh, and we have two more holes in another chute.”
“How much longer ‘til we land?” I asked.
“I’m guessing that if you started counting slowly, we’d be on the ground by the time you reached twenty,” she said.
The echoing ring of two more hammer hits made me jump a bit especially since one of them vibrated the back of my leg. I was quite sure I’d be missing that leg if that round would have pierced the hull.
“I’m not sure I’m really ready for this,” I mumbled.
“Let’s enter the afterlife together, Braxton,” she said in a serious tone, “Whatever comes next, let’s go there together.”
“Now that’s a deal. We’re dying today, but we’re not going down without a fight.”
“Will you call out for me if you enter the afterlife and we have trouble finding each other?” she asked.
“Only if you call out for me too. We’ll find each other no matter what,” I replied.
The pod struck the ground with a thud, then made a grinding sound as it slid on its side.
65th Luna – Planting Season – 1002
Diana Nine has been allowing us to use her daughter’s somewhat primitive relay station over the past few seasons. During the course of this time, we’ve discovered something very troubling coming from the Earth’s solar system. I specify the “system” because some of the intercepted communications have come from the Titan base as well as a couple spacecraft.
We’ve come to the conclusion that something drastic has happened to the Earth-based USSC. The UN seems intent on obliterating the USSC altogether and two of the communications we’ve intercepted have hinted at missions to obliterate the Titan base and our presence on Legacy (or Hydrus as they like to call us).
We’ve decided our only course of action at this point is to create a Jump Drive. The USSC Foothold doesn’t have enough power to maintain the ship itself as well as a Jump Drive, but according to four of our top physicists and engineers, a shuttle could. Granted, a shuttle, which would be losing half its available space to the massive Jump Drive would only have room for about 20 – 30 people, but that would be a large enough crew to serve our purposes.
Our intercepted communications have told us that the Jump Drive of the Pioneer was jettisoned from the ship itself for reasons unknown. After sharing
this information with our Jump Drive crew, they have come to the conclusion that the only reason a surviving ship would take the time to cut the drive altogether from the ship would be for reasons of dangerous radioactivity. Since we know the crew of the Pioneer survived to populate this planet, we must assume it didn’t present an immediate irreversible danger to the entire crew.
The Jump Drive crew has decided that they will line the crew portion of the ship with a radioactivity barrier of both nickel and lead. They will also make the Jump Drive “disposable” so it could be jettisoned at the touch of a button (figure of speech – there would be no single button to release a whole drive from the ship, but you get the idea).
None of these plans can take place without a quarter ton of enriched uranium however. We also need three pounds of radium, both of which can be mined in large quantities at the Mystic Mountain Range. Mining it won’t be as much of a chore as refining it would be. We will begin efforts to create a gas centrifuge to separate the U-235 from the unnecessary elements of the pitchblende. All the while, we will begin the mining efforts in the mountains under the pretense of supplying nuclear power to the people of Legacy as well as offering the people of Legacy a desirable element to trade with the people of Earth.
15
Diana
Blaze Continent
I pressed the release switch on my safety harness, then tumbled down the curved wall of the pod and almost into Braxton’s arms where he lay strapped to the floor. I propped myself between the control panel and the side of the pod, then pushed the panel back into the ceiling. Now that the pod was lying on its side, the previous ceiling was more of a wall and the current floor was more like Braxton’s bed. Braxton was fumbling with his own harness, but finally got himself free. I crawled to the supply compartment in the pod’s floor and lugged my green pack from the cramped space.
The Mystic Saga Omnibus (Books 1 - 5) Page 17