by Purple Hazel
“Well...that is a pity, Lieutenant. But you see...I am technically your superior officer at this moment. I’m sure you realize this. Over.” He was certainly right about that part. Commanders outrank lieutenants in most of the world’s navies.
“No sir, Commander...just pointing out procedure, sir,” replied Kelvin as he pressed the mute button and turned to his crewmembers with eyes wide open as if to say “Shut it! This guy’ll have our asses on a platter!” But the incensed Italian in Rover One was not nearly done with his rant, and that’s when everyone learned for the first time just how unstable the fellow was.
“Cazzo! How dare you, Lieutenant! You do not remind me, Luigi Cadorna, of procedure. I remind you. Tenere per le palle. If it is a fight you wish...come closer, coglione!” Hearing that, everyone inside Kelvin’s surface rover sat up straight for a second or two, looking around at each other in disbelief. Did he just say that? Truly this man must be insane!
However, Kelvin had never been the type to back down, especially when it came to an open threat. What’s more, he knew the silly fellow was only a short, barrel-chested type of guy, most likely with a bit of a Napoleon Complex, who wouldn’t last five minutes out there on the surface in that oppressive gravity—certainly not in a scrap with the bigger, more athletic Kelvin. He nearly laughed out loud at his counterpart’s absurdness.
“Lieutenant, go kick his ass,” one of his team members scoffed. “He just threatened you. We fuckin’ heard him, sir. We’ll back you up.”
But Kelvin knew better and composed himself after a moment or two. Then he once again coolly urged everyone to defer such an important decision as this to a higher authority by suggesting they let the Captain himself determine a title for it later.
“Sorry, Rover One,” he patiently replied, suppressing a deep urge to walk over and throttle the arrogant man, “We didn’t copy that, I’m afraid. But like I said, we’ll have to let the Captain weigh in on this later. For now, we gotta find a way to get down these cliffs and take some samples. Then we gotta head on back. See you on the beach, sir. Rover Two... out.”
That of course was the right course of action and his men understood. They already had bigger fish to fry. Discovering live organisms living within this massive ocean was a mission priority. Naming the Kapteyn Sea by way of comparison was quite immaterial to their current objectives. His crew meanwhile were compelled to agree with him. There was clearly no point in trying to reason with that hothead parked next to them in Rover One.
“Ensign Guerrero,” Kelvin said calmly, “prepare to exit Rover Two. Crew...prepare for departure.” After that he muted his microphone so that Rover One’s team couldn’t hear what he said next. This was for his teammates only. Just between him and his men. Turning to face them, with a look of ferocity burning in his eyes, he stared them down for at least a full second, letting the significance of the moment sink in with them a bit.
They loved him, of course, and would follow him to hell and back if he asked it of them. Always professional. Always focused on the mission. Always following orders and leading them to great success. They realized what he was about to say, and braced themselves for the inevitable pep talk. He was their leader and this was about to be their shining moment as a team. It was exactly what they’d been waiting for.
Yes, they knew what this meant. It was history in the making. Whoever popped out of their craft first and made it down those cliffs to the water’s edge would be the first humans ever to do so. They’d be famous for all time, every last one of them, once they reported back to Captain Stehter.
Kelvin could see it unfolding in his mind. He could taste victory already. This was what he’d been dreaming about during all those years traveling across the galaxy. It was going to be his squad that made it down there first and he fully believed it. What’s more, he believed in his men, and that was easy to see by the way he spoke to them.
Yelling through the lens of his helmet—using no transmitter so Rover One’s crew wouldn’t hear him—he then explained in no uncertain terms to his excited crew: “Boys, you know what’s at stake here! We’ve gotta get our asses out there before Cadorna’s team; and I have no doubt we can beat ’em! We’re the best! We’re the strongest and y’all damn well know it! So whaddya say, men? Y’all up for a little run?”
He didn’t need to wait for an answer. Ozzie’s gloved hands were already reaching for the release to the hatch, champing at the bit like some hopped-up Megaball player at preseason practice competing in Oklahoma Drill. The vocal reaction from his fellow squad members was practically deafening. It even scared off some curious bugs collecting on the windshield who still couldn’t quite figure out just what they’d landed on.
What followed was almost comical, if it wasn’t for the fact it truly was an historical moment in the history of mankind.
After popping open their hatchway, Kelvin knew full well that Commander Cardona’s team was doing the very same thing, spilling out of their vehicle with the excitement of teenage boys being permitted into the local country club for open swim on a hot afternoon. It was only a matter of who could get there first, and with the tremendous gravity of Kapteyn B it would truly be a struggle to get their bodies down that ridge before their rivals.
Ozzie and Kelvin lumbered along for over a hundred meters, straining and struggling across rocks and boulders rimming the cliff line. They searched desperately for a path or even a way to zigzag among the boulders until they could reach the sand. It could be quite perilous and they truly understood the implications. It would mean risking practically everything in the process—life, limb and pressure suit included. Fall and they’d likely perish, especially if their helmet lens cracked. It would surely mean the end of the mission if someone did so because prime directive would dictate they stop everything to save a distressed comrade. And absolutely no one wanted to be the poor schmuck who ruined everyone else’s shining moment!
However, fortune was with them. Ozzie Guerrero eventually discovered a way around some of the larger rocks and eventually broke into a jog as his booted feet first made it onto the sand. Kelvin raced along behind him, desperately trying to overtake him, lungs burning as he pushed himself to the limit. The effects of the gravity were almost paralyzing!
They’d trained for years for this, back in the athletic center onboard Santa Maria, and yet being out there, with all the excitement of the moment, racing across that beach, it nearly exhausted them—like that first day of summer two-a-days right before Megaball season began.
As the two made it out onto the beach and down to the shoreline, they could sense they were way out in the lead. Now it was just a matter of beating one another to the water’s edge. From then on it was nothing but good, clean fun. The danger had passed. Merely a sprint to the water’s edge, and one of them would make history—two big, strong athletes. The brave Lieutenant and his best junior officer competing desperately for the ultimate prize.
But when Ozzie suddenly stopped cold, about twenty meters from the lapping surf, that’s when Kelvin overtook him and soon froze solid in his tracks as well. He immediately realized his young subordinate was letting him win and that’s also when it struck him deep in his soul: the sheer magnitude of their shared discovery. This was not a moment that necessitated personal triumph he realized. This was a team effort! One for everyone to share in—and his young subordinate seemed to have grasped this already without any prompting.
That’s what always impressed him about Ensign Guerrero. Good man. Good comrade. Loyal and intelligent. Knew what he needed to do. Followed orders and didn’t complain. And yet, despite his youth—biologically speaking Ozzie was only seventeen years old—Oswaldo Guerrero conducted himself with a maturity well beyond his years. Kelvin was hardly surprised by his integrity; and now the young man showed once again how to act with honor even at such a pivotal moment.
Ozzie’s got it right, thought Kelvin. This was for all of mankind back on Earth, and all those hard-working people in the factories and out on those
solar farms whose taxes had paid for this grand occasion. This moment was for them, not for a couple of exhausted, panting, gasping astronauts.
Furthermore, it wasn’t the time nor the place for an act of selfish pride. This wasn’t about personal glory at all. That’s what suddenly occurred to Kelvin; and that’s why he too stopped cold and bent slightly at the waist to catch his breath, turning slightly toward Ensign Guerrero and grinning while he struggled to regain his composure. Like two wrestlers who had competed valiantly and finished a long brutal match, they then reached out their hands toward each other and bumped their gloved fists as if to salute a fellow warrior.
Kelvin then reactivated his transmitter and commented boldly, while he coughed and wheezed, “This—gasp—is close enough, Ozzie—gasp. Let’s go ahead—gasp—and let the good Commander—gasp—grab the glory, shall we? We’ll always know—gasp—who would have made it first, won’t we?” Ozzie gave out a heaving sigh and nodded. Kelvin was quite correct. Everyone would eventually find out what they did that day. It no longer mattered anymore who wet their boots first in the massive ocean splayed out before them. That arrogant little colony commander? He could have the moment all to himself as far as Kelvin was concerned.
Then sure enough, after about a minute had passed by, Commander Cadorna and two of his colleagues from Rover One finally made it across those fifty grueling meters of sandy beach to the water’s edge; only to find Lt. Kelvin and Ensign Guerrero now standing with hands on hips, nodding toward the rolling surf only a short way from them, patiently awaiting their arrival.
“Go ahead, Commander!” said Kelvin confidently and professionally through his transmitter, “it’s all yours, sir. Go claim your prize.”
To this, the stout little commander promptly slowed to a gallant walk. He eyed Kelvin suspiciously for just a moment, then waded into the surf a few meters before retiring to the safety of the shore. By now of course, the crews from both vehicles had caught up to them. Now they all stood together, breathlessly watching from the crest of the shoreline.
“I, Luigi Cadorna,—gasp—Commander of the Colony of Kapteyn B, claim this ocean—gasp—in the name of the people of Earth!” The little man then proclaimed proudly, still panting and gasping for air, “By the grace of God almighty—gasp, by His will and great mercy...and to Whom—gasp—we are humbly grateful...we thank thee, dear Lord—gasp—for this Thou hast delivered us today—gasp—Amen!”
Kelvin bowed his head in reverent gratitude while Oswaldo Guerrero crossed himself, both still recovering from the exertion, both filled with pride in what they’d accomplished together.
They’d done it! Now they merely had to take some samples of seawater and somehow devise a way back up those treacherous cliffs to their surface rovers. Yet, no one bothered to worry about that, not for the time being, anyway, as they dutifully pulled out plastic bags to scoop up soil and ocean water for the lab back at B-lander. These samples would be tested for microbes and bacteria, tested for the seeds of life that scientists were looking for, then seeded with additional organisms which might also find a way to flourish in the oceans of Planet B.
Yes, this is what they’d come for. The mission had been a success. Kelvin had finally realized his dream. No doubt, the journey back to the B-lander would be one long victory ride for the occupants of both vehicles.
Chapter 13
All Ears
Back on board a few hours later, both exploration teams were hailed as heroes. Kelvin naturally deferred all the fame to his fellow squad members, highlighting Oswaldo’s heroic run and before that his cleverness in discovering a path down to the beach. Commander Cadorna, by way of comparison, seemed to want to seize all the glory for himself, detailing how he’d “calmly walked out into the surf” and “felt the sensations of seawater rushing past my boots”. Kelvin rolled his eyes and let Steinhart Stehter piece it together for himself.
No, he needn’t clarify just who or whom had reached the ocean first. The Captain added it up rather easily. No way in hell it was that little Italian fellow—with his boisterous story-telling—saying that he’d indeed reached the water’s edge before anyone else. Steinhart was much smarter than that. He’d write his report later that day and credit both commanders equally, which is what he’d have assumed Kelvin would prefer anyway. His young Lieutenant was a team player, not some selfish fame-seeker. If only he’d known how this personal insult would later affect Luigi Cadorna—when the commander found out later what was in Captain Stehter’s report…
Within a week after that historic day, Santa Maria had finally set down in that dry sea bed as well, some distance from B-lander. Because of its massive size, basically a full two-thirds larger than B-lander and covering an area the size of a large metropolitan sports stadium, Santa Maria needed plenty of room to “park”. For one thing, the dust cloud it created when landing nearly covered B-lander in a layer of sandy dirt; and if any living thing had been near it when touching down it would have been incinerated or quite literally blown asunder. The other reason for the great distance between the two ships was just as valid: the mother ship would create an even bigger whirlwind taking off a year later when it departed for Earth.
The surplus crew, who’d been sent with the colonists down to the surface then trudged across nearly a kilometer of cracked, dusty soil to Santa Maria, and happily returned to their former home. Ironically most of them desperately missed the place, truth be told; after suffering on board B-lander for nearly a week, sharing sleeping berths with their colleagues and grabbing short naps when it came their turn to go get some “rack time”.
Others by way of comparison didn’t bother with the assigned sleep rotation and braved the surface in tents which “popped” open upon activation and provided both internal heating as well as a breathable oxygen-infused atmosphere once all occupants were sealed up inside. The crew jokingly took to calling these devices “Jiffy Pops”.
No real predators were identified meanwhile—only curious insects collecting on them whenever they’d venture into wooded areas. The big dragon-fly looking bug that the crew of Rover One had witnessed? No one reported seeing it again, or anything like it either, so folks began to question whether there were more of them anywhere close by. The concern was always that if there were larger-sized bugs, there might just as well be larger predators that would feast upon them, and that might very well indicate the presence of a very, very large reptile, or salamander, like Young-Min had mentioned. No such beast ever materialized, though. Again, most people assumed it was just too damn cold for such a creature to exist.
The ocean however was a different story. Water temperatures in the “Great Kapteyn Sea” were surprisingly warmer than what they would have assumed, given the frigid climate back on dry land. And because of this, scientists theorized there may indeed be some form of volcanic activity far beneath the surface which heated the ocean somehow. It certainly went a long way in explaining the abundance of aquatic life they eventually found! The ocean was teaming with it.
They found so many species of fish and plant life, they frankly couldn’t name them all. Paddling out in inflatable pontoon rafts which B-lander had stored in its cargo bay, several teams of crewmembers, accompanied by a few trained marine biologists who were among the many educated people on the mission, took hundreds of samples of assorted marine life.
In fact, they almost became a “sample” themselves, when a large aquatic lizard of some kind, similar in features to a Galapagos Marine Iguana, according to one of the crew, reared its ugly head from the murky depths. It didn’t snap at them, just poked its head above the waves and eyed them for a few moments before submerging. It was about ten meters from one of the inflatable rafts when it did, and practically scared the hell out of everyone.
Judging by the size of his head, marine biologists estimated from head to tail the monster could have been upwards of eight, perhaps even ten meters long. But scientists assured everyone this beast was likely a grazing animal that feasted upo
n sub-tidal algae and swam into the ocean for food from some nearby rocky outcropping that formed its lair. Temperatures out by the seashore were much warmer than further inland and every “peak hour” during the day, when the Kapteyn sun reached its zenith, they probably laid out on those rocks to heat themselves. No, scientists fully believed they were harmless to humans. Whatever predators there were beneath the ocean, must live deep below the surface.
Fish, they found, hunted insects alighting on the surface. Large bugs were often seen venturing out over the sea to hunt for smaller fish or other insect larvae. Thus, larger fish would often pop up to snare them for a juicy meal. But as for the iguana-looking sea monster? They concluded he must have been foraging for algae nearby and surfaced momentarily to see what they were. That he was so incredibly large, could only mean he must have had no natural predators in the vicinity, some theorized. These assurances were surely welcome news to the folks going out in those pontoon boats!
The plan back at Space Programme had originally been to “seed” the planet surface, much like people once believed mythical gods from ancient religions had done back on Earth. Exploration teams went out in pairs of surface rovers to take plant and tree samples wherever they could find them, and determine locations for any fresh water sources which could be rerouted to provide irrigation and perhaps grow crops like vegetables and grains. Water was naturally going to be toxic for human digestion, at least to a degree they quickly determined, so teams of scientists also worked on testing water samples to determine exactly how this water could be treated in a way to hydrate plants that could be consumable by humans.
Meanwhile a large grow facility was to be constructed using materials brought along inside the massive cargo bay of the Santa Maria. A mobile crane was provided, which was shipped inside Santa Maria in components just like the surface rovers; and had to be reassembled on the surface. It could later be disassembled and much of it used in building the giant laser to be used in firing a light beam capable of activating the Star Shot technology on Santa Maria when it was ready to return to Earth.