by R J Murray
“The Triangle?”
“Between old Memphis, Atlanta and New Charlotte. Grain belt area mostly. Corn was more common but wheat, the new strains, they did real good there. We raised melons and berries too, on the side mostly and we had a vegetable garden for our table so we didn’t have to take as many rations as some families. Can I go down to the planet please? I know what to look for and how to check the soil for ph and fertility and to see what the soil may need for farming.”
“You are younger than most of the conscripts. That could be a problem.” Green looked her over much as the woman had. He checked his terminal on the wall next to the table and read the display for several minutes.
“We have not had many volunteers from this ship so you can go. Most of the volunteers were men from the other sections. Come with me and I’ll take you to orientation.” He stood and headed for the hatch behind him, Syble following close behind.
They entered a small hall and for the first time in the trip out Syble saw men other than the crew. Farmers like her family but found wanting by the government and tagged to be shipped off world to get rid of them. At least that was true for many. Some just ticked off the local civil clerks and got shipped. A few were here because of a neighbors jealousy or resentment over past slights, real or imagined and a very few were here because they were just better at things than their neighbors were. Standing out was never a good idea in the eyes of the government.
Syble was here because she refused to blend in and be a sheep. She spoke out at school, at meetings and at almost every opportunity to complain about conditions, prices and the fact that they had no choice but to accept what the government buyers offered for their crops. In short, she had a mouth and an attitude that she refused to stop using.
“As I call your name, raise a hand and call out present. We will tell you where to go after this.” A man stood on a bench at one end of the room and started calling names. Syble did as he asked, since it didn’t make sense not to. When he was done, they were all marched out to an airlock where they waited for a ship to lock on.
“When the airlock opens, wait for instructions before moving into the Astangii.”
“What a weird name. Is that even English?” someone asked.
“English isn’t even much of a language anymore. Don’t you folk speak common where you’re from?”
“English is common!”
“No it ain’t. Common is common and English is what the old people use to talk a hundred years ago.”
Syble grinned but didn’t join in. Common was different from English but there were a lot of English words still used along with Chinese, Japanese, French, German and most other languages on Earth. Part of her problems back home had been her interest in how all this came about and she tended to look for books that the government didn’t like very much. She knew her history and they way things had changed pissed her off a lot. She heard a clang and lights on the air lock turned green.
“Stand clear till we give you the word.”
The air lock opened and the line started to move forward as the crew waved them on.
~~~~~~
“Follow me.” Reed waved at the line of men and women and headed toward South Bay Three, a place prepared for the new arrivals. When they got there, a trip of about ten minutes, he waited for them to sit and get quiet. While they were still talking, he could feel the ships separate.
“How long before we start moving to the new planet?” one man asked.
“We already are. We separated from the colony ship as soon as you were aboard. Now listen up. Some of the things we have heard from the colonists disturb us and we wanted to make sure you knew what you are getting into. The planet has been uninhabited for at least three thousand years. There once was a colony there of an alien race. There was a war and they were killed by another race. They left machines behind who still seem to be fighting that war. We destroyed two space bases and several ships to get this planet but there could still be dangers on the ground that we do not know off.”
Grumbling began at once and Reed waited for them to quiet down.
“Why bring us here if we can’t take over farms?” one man asked.
“I’m not sure why you think you’re going to take over anything. Did someone tell you we had an existing colony out here for you to join or did you just assume that we would be busy building chicken huts and plowing fields for you? We have been busy alright. First, they sent you out before we found a single world we could live on.”
Grumbling and angry shouts followed for a few minutes.
“You need to settle down because if that made you angry, you are going to get really pissed after this. They didn’t give you enough air to make it here. The only reason any of you are alive is because of Captain Lee Tung Hoo and his efforts. He met you a good six weeks from here and got you resupplied with air and water, took you to an ice belt so you could sit and refill all tanks and fought off an attack by the Catroph ships that was designed to destroy you all. The Catroph are still around in one sense or another so consider yourselves in a war zone. Now, you want whine because we didn’t have time to build you a bunk on this planet, maybe you should get back on your carrier and go home. See if they let you land.”
“Have you run any tests on the soil and did you have time to do any surveys of the land around where we are going to set the ship down? Also what kind of climate can we expect?”
Reed looked for the voice and spotted a young woman standing toward the back.
“Finally, some real questions. Soil is rich and fertile, balanced PH. Temperate climate where we are heading, four seasons with snow in the winter but not too much. We picked a spot further north than our first landing site because of the milder weather. Lots of trees to cut down and build with and some open ground for farming. As we send people down we will expand this site before we move to the next. Some of you will be aboard the transports for a few months yet, until we can get food crops growing and build bunk houses. We have printed out all the information we have and you can each get a copy up here on the table behind me.”
Reed stepped back as the group headed to the table, everyone getting a copy and passing them back to those who were behind them. The next twenty minutes were silent except for the rustle of paper. When they stopped reading and started talking again Reed tapped on the table with the butt of his sidearm.
“They told us we would ride down in the passenger crates and live in them till we were sorted out. Why aren’t you doing that?” A man asked.
“How did they say the crates were going to get down to the planet?” Reed asked.
“They said mules.”
One of the crew behind Reed snickered until Reed gave him a look.
“Do you have one in your pocket? The freighters captains asked if we had mules because they did not. We were not sent out with any so if we can get you down, it will be piecemeal.”
“Please, what’s a mule like you’re talking about? I know what mules are on Earth, we had one for a while, for plowing and hauling.” A woman asked.
“It’s a ship used to handle cargo containers also called space tractors. A hundred years ago, these freighters were used to haul ore and metals from the asteroid belt but they are not able to land. They are space vehicles only. The cargo containers would be cut loose around the moon and mules, the space tractors would gather them up and reenter with them. They would land six containers at a time at whatever port needed them and go back up for the next load. These days the mules haul helium three from the moon to Earth.”
“Can you build one?” The woman asked. “We’ve been up there a long time and I know they don’t want to be aboard those things any longer than we have too.”
Reed grinned. “I don’t know, but I will ask the Commodore about it. Maybe we can. Now for the farms and buildings, we have some equipment aboard from the carriers. Bulldozers, earthmovers and the like. Plows and other farm equipment will come down on the Asgard along with another group of colonist
s. Until we have land cleared and shelters built, no one else will land so we need to work fast and long hours. We have plans for the first settlement, drawn up on Earth. They are in the back of that book you have. If you have any ideas about changing them, it needs to be soon because once we start building, we don’t really have time to be changing our minds.”
Paper rustled again and small groups began forming. Fingers pointed and drew in the air until Reed had paper and markers passed out. They continued to work until the ship had landed. The small bump caused many to look around and a few stood, not sure what had happened.
“Easy folks. We are down. Today we are going outside and look at sites. You each need to get a few hours of sun and wind in your hair so no physical work today. Keep working on the ideas about the settlement and we will talk more about that tonight. Follow me and we will go outside.
“One more thing. If you see a place you want, a spot you just have to have then take some of the markers we placed by the exit with you. Mark out a space far enough from each other to farm and build on. If we have any conflict, we will decide who gets what with a lottery. You are the first here and you volunteered. No sense in not rewarding you for being brave enough, or maybe dumb enough to do that.” Reed said with a smile.
A few nodded and some even laughed. It was fine with them if they got first choice.
Syble stood with the rest, eager to get out of the ship and see their new home.
Chapter 8 Planet Fall
Syble stood and stared at the forest in the distance. The trees were taller than any she had ever seen. She stood still, looked at the bright clean sky, took a deep breath and choked. She could hear everyone else coughing too and wondered why.
“Not use to air that came from nature instead of a tank. We did the same thing when we first touched down. The air isn’t filtered so you are getting dust, pollen and the Maker knows what else in each breath. Even on the transports the air, what there was of it, was filtered. You’ve been breathing it for what, five, six months? You gotta adjust to nature once again, that’s all.” Ash told the group. He took a deep breath and smiled. “It does taste good though, once you get use to it.”
“Stay in sight of the ship and wonder around in groups. No one needs to be alone for now, not until you get use to the place and understand the natural hazards. We will be right here when you come back. If it gets late and we don’t see you returning, we will sound an alarm, which you will hear if you are within twenty kilometers of the ship. When you hear it, come back immediately. It means one hour till dark and you don’t want to be tripping through the forest after dark.” Reed waved them off and returned to the ship slowly, breathing deeply.
Syble walked down the ramp trying to breathe normally. It got easier after a short time and she continued to walk around. It was rock as far as she could see. Some of the others were talking about it as well.
“Not much gonna grow here.”
“Had to land on rock to hold up the ship I guess. Sure is big. I wonder why it looks like a rock on the outside?”
“Disguise maybe. Wonder how far it is to real dirt.”
She wondered off, looking for dirt.
~~~~~~
“Think they will be alright Sir?” Ash asked as he walked back up the ramp to Reed.
“I think so. All animal life that we know of on this planet was brought here by the Astangii people. They didn’t bring any large predators with them, just small things to balance out the plants they brought along. There are a few native bugs that can bite and sting according to the records we have but they should be further south in the tropic region, we hope. We really have little choice. They need to make this work and letting them look around is part of it. We can’t stay here and hold their hand all the time, not with alien ships still active.”
“Yes Sir. I would like to hold someone’s hand sooner or later though. A couple of the women are not bad looking.”
“You want to be a farmer?”
Ash shook his head. “Not that much.”
Eric stood watching the people move away from the ship as Reed and Ash reached the hatch.
“Can we build mules to haul those cargo containers down here Sir?” Reed asked.
“Mules? Those things you use to fly. Maybe we can. It depends on how complete the base is in orbit and how much material they have. I know we can’t do it with what we have aboard the ships.”
“Make it a lot easier to get these people down here and they could use the containers to live in until we can get houses and farms up.” Reed responded.
“Okay. Give Courageous a call since he is still in orbit and can get something going. Are you the only mule pilot with us?” Eric asked.
“On the Astangii, yes. I’ll ask if there are any others in the fleet.” Reed headed back into the ship.
~~~~~~
Syble let the almost normal grass slide through her fingers as she walked. It felt good to be on dirt again, around living things. She kept walking, moving away from the small groups of men and women as they fanned out from the ship. She was headed for a small group of trees ahead separated from the forest by almost a kilometer. The small group had about a hundred trees in it and was surrounded by the grassy fields.
She bent down suddenly and studied the soil, running her fingers through the tough grass roots to reach the dirt underneath. She scooped up a handful and ran her thumb through it, separating it into smaller and smaller clumps before lifting it to her face and smelling it. The soil was rich, smelled right and had life within. She watched as something like a pill bug rolled out and began crawling up her finger, a worm like creature emerged and immediately burrowed back. She could feel it wiggling along her hand and giggled. This was going to be home and it was good. She headed for the trees once again, pulling out the markers she had snagged from the bundle and shoving the first one into the tall grass. Syble activated the beacon and pressed her thumb into the side port, marking this land as hers and no one else’s. She was still a kilometer and a half or more from the trees, but nobody else was anywhere near her. They did say to get it big enough to build on too. She was only following orders.
~~~~~~
“Markers are showing up Sir.” Ash told Reed.
“Good. Let them grab something to call their own and that will give them a reason to bust ass. Show me on the screen please.”
The big screen lit up and red dots showed where markers were in position and activated, but the enclosure was not yet complete. Most were south and east of the ship, but one set was more to the north east.
“Who is that?”
“It says Syble Aarons. She’s that little blonde I was talking to on the ramp I think. Still a kid really.” Ash answered.
“Guess that makes you an old man then, right grandpa?” Reed laughed. Ash was only twenty two. “She planted another one. How much does she want?”
The two markers were over three kilometers apart. They watched the screen, sipping tea or coffee and waiting for the next step in the colony.
“Incoming call for you Mr. Reed. It’s the Courageous.”
“Put it on my screen.” Horace’s face appeared on the smaller screen on Reed’s console.
“Mr. Reed, good news. We can build one mule. Only one and it will be small, one cargo container at a time. I got the robots working on it now. Should take about two weeks once they get going and the nanobots join in. It got me wondering how long it would take them to build a ship from scratch. You interested?”
“Well yes. Of course I am. Silly question of the week Sir.”
“Eighteen months from beginning to ready for space for one the size of Astangii, without the rock armor.” Horace shook his head. “So fast. It took three years and a thousand bodies to build the Asgard on Luna and it is only one-third the size of the Astangii. I’m working on the plans in their computer now, making changes to the layout for our needs. I’ll send a copy to all ships so you can see what I’m doing and give me suggestions. Anne already stopped me twi
ce to tell me it can’t be done that way so I won’t be offended if you all have different views than I.”
“Anne is your computer?” Reed asked.
“Yes. Named after my late and somewhat unofficial companion. Smart woman she was.”
“Well, she did marry you, Sir.”
Horace laughed until he was red in the face. “I’m not sure that was a compliment Mr. Reed, but it was a good chuckle. Asgard out.”
“Astangii out.”
Reed walked over to Ash once again, watching the big screen. More markers were placed and two sections were now showing green. “How big is that?”
“They are about twenty square kilometers for the east one and nineteen for the other. That puts them at two hundred hectares more or less for each section.”
“What about our kid?”
Ash chuckled. “She is still going. It is going to be huge.”
~~~~~~~
Syble had moved her first marker closer to the ship and further from the trees. There was a stream before the real forest started and she wanted waterfront but not as much forest. Her third marker was inside the forest almost half a kilometer. She felt a good stand of trees would mean lumber as well as hunting if there were any animals here. Her dad had hunted with bow and arrow, since guns were restricted and she could too. That meant she now had one side marked, nine kilometers more or less, although she was sure it was more. It was time to grab some length while nobody was around. She started walking north and after about an hour, planted her fourth marker. She still had four more to go.
“Well, I might make it back by the time the sun sets. Might not if I want to get this done.” She started jogging toward her next corner.
~~~~~~
Eric watched the screen. Almost everyone was done marking their land, and were heading back to the ship. Two were still at it, but one of them was close to finishing. None of the plots were more than about three hundred hectares except for the one to the north.
“How much did she peg out?” Eric asked.