She turned her attention to Katrina. “Kat, take a sample of each plant you encounter. No taste-tests until you finish in the lab. We collected two dozen different plants, and one of the three we tried tasted horrible, though the database didn’t list it as toxic. If you encounter anything that is not already in the data base, be cautious and wear rubber gloves until you determine its characteristics. The Duyfken didn’t find anything that is toxic to humans, but they didn’t test every plant on the planet. They stayed primarily on Stevenson. Carter is halfway around the planet, and in a different climactic zone.”
“Yes, Ma’am,” Katrina answered as she snapped to attention.
“Very well. Have a good time, and be back before dark.” She grinned as Bart immediately started to reply, then thought better of it. The five members of this excursion left for the shuttle while Sterling delivered their sample of meat to Dihandri.
“We know it can be eaten, but we have no idea what it’ll taste like,” Sterling said as he hefted the container up onto the counter.
“Not there,” Dihandri said as soon as the container landed. “The refrigeration unit until I’m ready.” She pointed to the small refrigerator that was actually in the galley. “I’ll try preparing a few small samples in different manners, and then let you taste them. I’ll call when they are ready.” She took a knife and carved off half a kilo of meat and walked over to her cutting board, completely ignoring everyone while Sterling put the meat away.
Ann smiled and shook her head. “Let’s leave her to it, shall we?”
Everyone answered, “Yes, Ma’am,” and followed her out of the wardroom.
*
The shuttle launched moments later, with Mandy at the controls and Bart in the right seat. Kat, Thom, and Rauld were arrayed behind them. Mandy handled the shuttle expertly, though she complained about it the whole way down. “You’d think they’d have bought something that was designed in this century,” she muttered.
“Gotta have something as old as the Revenge to match the umbilicals,” Bart replied as his fingers danced across his keyboard. “Inertial Nav is on line. With the Revenge as our only GPS beacon, it’s the best we’re going to be able to do.”
Mandy nodded. “Should be enough. The valley I picked out is visible from space. I should be able to find it from ten kilometers up.”
Mandy’s prediction was accurate. The valley, a long rift in the center of the Carter Continent, was nineteen kilometers wide and over three thousand long. It predicted a complete division of the continent sometime in the distant future. For now, it provided a low, nearly flat basin filled with bushes and scrub trees of various kinds.
Mandy guided the shuttle in a long, low pass over the valley, looking for some distinctive feature. That feature reached up and almost grabbed them as they passed, and it was only Mandy’s quick reflexes that saved them from a gruesome death.
“Whoa! What was that?” Bart almost shouted as the shuttle soared high into the air.
“Geo-thermal vent,” Mandy replied as she brought the shuttle around. “On Earth they called them geysers.”
Bart looked out his view port as the shuttle swung around. “What causes them?”
Mandy spared him a puzzled glance as she brought them around a short distance from the geyser. “Don’t you have geysers on your home planet?”
“No. Not that I ever heard of at any rate.”
“Hot springs?” she asked.
“Yes, we have hot springs, but the water just kind of bubbles up. It doesn’t shoot fifty meters into the air.”
Mandy smiled and shook her head. “They are caused by the same things, Bart. Geysers just go deeper and have narrow channels that let the bottom boil; the steam pushes the rest of the hot water way up into the air.”
“Like that pot of farina,” Kat whispered.
Mandy cringed a little at having reminded her of that incident. She said, “Sorry, Kat,” without looking around.
Bart turned around and reached out to Katrina, and she held his hand for a moment, seemingly oblivious to the looks they were receiving.
Mandy broke their moment of reverie by announcing, “Prepare to land.” She brought the shuttle in nearly a kilometer from the geyser, and landed with hardly a thump.
Once the shuttle was secure, everyone unbelted and shimmied out of their environment suits. Mandy and Thom headed for the hatch, but Rauld stopped them.
“Cautiously, friends. This is totally unknown territory. I’ll lead with the rifle, and Thom will follow with the shotgun. Don’t fixate on anything, Thom. Keep your head up and your eyes moving. And watch behind us as well. The creature Rika killed can’t be the only predator.”
Everyone nodded as Mandy cycled the personnel hatch. By silent accord, the rest stepped back to let Mandy be the first person to set foot on the continent that bore her name.
Mandy stopped and covered her nose and mouth with one hand, then looked back at the others as she blinked to clear her eyes. “They weren’t kidding about the smell, were they?”
“Nope,” Thom said, “but it’s not unbearable. After you, Miss Carter,” he continued with a half-bow, and Mandy walked forward.
Mandy stopped just off the access ramp. “This is a different plant from the ground cover on Stevenson. Kat,” she said as she turned, but stopped because Katrina was already collecting a sample for analysis. “Good. I hope you’ve got plenty of containers.”
“I brought a hundred,” Katrina said as she stowed the sample. “That should be enough for one trip.”
Rauld was looking around, scanning the area, and saw a geyser erupt not too far away. He said, “Looks like there’s more than one of those geysers,” as he gestured toward the column of steam.
Mandy followed his gaze, and then nodded. “Very well. Everyone be careful. The lower atmospheric pressure lowers the boiling point of water, but not significantly. We don’t want anyone scalded.” She nodded to Rauld, and he led off into the bush.
Bart let Katrina follow Mandy, then fell in at her heels. He was carrying her sample bags, and handed her an empty container every time she picked a leaf or twig, then stowed the samples in the opposite bag. It was fortunate for all concerned that they didn’t turn and see the expression of mirth on Thom’s face.
The area around the geysers was obvious to everyone. Mineral deposits coated the ground in a white casing that shimmered as the hot water ran across it. Mandy led them to the left as soon as they got there.
“It’s best to be up-wind of a geyser,” she commented. “That way the wind blows the steam and hot spray away from you.”
Rauld was watching the area around them and said, “There, in those bushes,” as he brought the rifle up to his shoulder. Everyone turned and drew their automatics, except Katrina. She was the only member of the crew who had never fired a weapon. She did, however, have a camera, and raised it to her eye.
What emerged from the bushes were small, fuzzy, eight-legged pigs. That was the impression they gave at any rate. They were the size of a small, fat dog and moved quickly toward the edge of the geyser deposits. They stopped and drank from the cooler water at the edge of the area, and several of them were seen to lick the white crust for a moment, then the whole group of thirteen turned and vanished back into the bushes.
“They drank the water,” Katrina said as she stepped forward, stowing the camera. She’d snapped over fifty pictures of the creatures.
“Wait, Kat,” Thom said, stopping her in her tracks. “I recommend that none of us go any closer until after the next eruption. As I remember, they can go off at any time, but there’s usually a significant interval between eruptions.”
“Absolutely correct, Thom,” Mandy agreed. “Let’s get our samples from farther away for a while.”
The group circled the area, always staying up wind, and it wasn’t long before the ground began to rumble. They turned and watched as the geyser began to bubble and boil, then erupted with a column of steam and hot water about thirty meters h
igh. True to Mandy’s prediction, the wind blew most of the water away from them, though they did get showered with a warm mist.
“At least the water doesn’t stink,” Thom commented as he sniffed his fingers.
“Not compared to the air, at least,” Mandy agreed. “Okay, Kat, you and Bart collect some water and mineral samples.”
“Yes, Ma’am,” Kat replied. She walked forward with Bart right on her heels.
When they were safely out of earshot, Thom said, “They make a cute couple.”
Mandy grinned up at him. “Yes, they do.”
Rauld left off scanning the area long enough to look at both of them. “When do you think they’ll stop dancing around the subject?”
Mandy sighed and shook her head. “You never know.â She pointed off to the left and said, âI want to look at that small tree. It looks like it has some kind of berry on it.”
Chapter 40
AS ORDERED, THE SHUTTLE RETURNED BEFORE dark, but not by much. The terminator was rapidly approaching the landing area when Mandy finally lifted off. “That was a good day’s work,” she commented as soon as they made orbit.
“A long day’s work, you mean,” Thom replied. “What was the day? Thirty-one and a half hours?”
“About,” Mandy agreed.
“That’s going to take some getting used to. I prefer planets that have a less-than twenty-four hour day.” Thom stretched his back muscles and yawned. “My body thinks it’s past bedtime.”
“After we unload the samples.” Mandy guided the shuttle carefully to its docking cradle and verified the umbilicals were attached before shutting down. “Samples to the lab, then good night,” she commanded, and no one argued.
Bart and Katrina carried the bulk of her samples to her lab while Thom carried several large pieces of dead wood to the wardroom. Mandy brought the camera, and downloaded over a thousand pictures of the Carter Continent, both from the ground and the air.
It was very late in the ship’s evening, but Ann and Sterling were in the wardroom waiting when they arrived. “Anything significant?” Ann asked as soon as she saw them.
“No, Ma’am. We knew the planet was geologically active, and we found geysers to prove it. We only saw one large animal, if you call something the size of a Pug dog large. Lots of insects. Kat filled all hundred of the sample containers she brought before we’d been there two hours.”
“What’s that for, Thom?” Sterling asked when he saw the wood Thom was carrying.
Thom grinned. “You can’t see it right now, but this wood has a beautiful grain structure. I saw it when it was wet. I’m going to try sanding and varnishing it to see what it looks like.” He chuckled at Sterling’s puzzled expression. “Granddad Peter was a carver. The things he created in wood would amaze you. I’m nowhere near as good, but I do well enough. This wood reminds me of a special type of ironwood from Old Earth. The trees are extinct now, and the surviving samples are worth more than their weight in gold. If it’s as pretty as I think it will be, we’ll have an export item.”
Ann smiled and shook her head. “You continue to amaze me, Thom.”
Sterling was sitting forward in his chair now. “I’d like to try carving it as well,” he said as he tilted his head to the side.
Thom smiled and replied, “Thought you might,” as he put one of the pieces on the table in front of Sterling.
Sterling lifted the wood and his eyes widened at the weight. “You’re sure this is just wood?” he asked as he looked at the piece in his hands. “It’s much heavier than any wood I’ve ever encountered.”
“And harder as well,” Thom agreed. “I tried cutting it with just a knife and could hardly make a scratch. It’s every bit as hard as the Titanium-Aluminum alloy the hull is made of.”
Ann reached out and tried to scratch the wood with a fingernail. She didn’t leave a mark. “This is harder than the stone you usually carve, Sterling. You might need harder tools.”
“We have high-speed tool steel in the machine shop,” Thom reminded her. “I was planning on using mostly the metal-shop equipment to cut this.” He smiled. “Good thing the Navy outfits every ship with at least a basic machine shop.”
Ann shook her head. “You boys worry me. Well, it’s late and the children are home.” She flashed a smile at Mandy. “I’m for bed.”
“Right behind you,” Sterling replied, picking up the wood and nodding to Thom. “Thanks for thinking of me, Thom.”
“You’re welcome, Sterling. We’ll see what we can do with it later.” Then he left the wardroom.
Rauld was the last one to leave the room, and the lights automatically dimmed behind him.
*
The next morning saw the shuttle launch right after breakfast. Denise was piloting, and Olaf was right beside her. Balder was going along again, and Doctor Persoon and Mijon Jooste filled out the group. Dihandri had just shaken her head when she was invited along.
The Larsson Continent was well into morning when they landed on the east coast. Denise had chosen a spot that would let them reach the Jooste Sea easily. Olaf had scraped together the gear to make a basic fishing pole, and they were going to see what he could catch.
Denise set the shuttle down and was allowed to lead the way out. She walked to the end of the ramp, then turned and held her hand out to Olaf. When he joined her, they stepped as one onto the surface of Frisland.
Balder was the first to voice what everyone was thinking. “It smells better here.”
Olaf raised his head and sniffed. “Still a bit stinky, but nothing like you described from before.”
Mijon pointed toward the sea. “Wind is off the water. It is possible that the smell is that of the land flora.”
“Possible, but that’s for someone else to determine,” Doctor Persoon replied as he knelt. “This plant looks different from the one in the catalogue.”
“It is,” Balder agreed, then pulled out a sample container. “Grab a bit for Kat to play with, but put on some gloves first, Doc. Can’t have you infected with something exotic.”
Zamar looked up at him for a moment, then just grinned and put on some exam gloves before pulling up a few spears of the groundcover and placing them in a sample container. Then he noticed something in the soil he’d disturbed. “Balder, give me another container. And a trowel. There’s a creature in the soil.” Balder did as he was asked and the doctor scooped up some dirt, then dropped it and poked around with the trowel. When he again saw the creature, he scooped it up and put it in the container, then examined it.
“It looks like a grub of some kind. From what I can see it was feeding on the roots of the ground plant.”
Denise shook her head as she laughed. “Oh, Kat’s going to love this. A live specimen. All right, gentlemen, let’s look around some more. Olaf, what are you going to use as bait?”
Olaf chuckled. “Some of that meat Sterling brought back. That’s why Dihandri wouldn’t talk to me this morning. I told her what I was going to do with her supplies.”
Denise shook her head. “You’ll never learn.”
“Nope,” Olaf agreed, then all of the laughed.
In accordance with Ann’s orders, the group stayed together as they headed for the shore. Olaf was preoccupied with his gear, but everyone else was busy collecting samples and taking pictures.
The first thing Olaf noticed was an abundance of seashells, but they were like nothing he’d ever seen. “Denise, look at these,” he said as he pointed with the tip of his rod.
Denise bent over but didn’t reach out toward the shells. “Pretty. I wonder what makes them?”
“Something for the marine biologists to discover.” Olaf reached out toward the shells, but Doctor Persoon’s shout stopped him.
“Don’t touch those!” The doctor walked over and stood beside Olaf. “Some of the most virulent toxins known to man come from shellfish. The shuttle’s medical facilities are insufficient to treat even something we know the composition of. A totally new, exotic
toxin could make you the first person buried on Frisland.”
Olaf stood and reflexively brushed his hand against his leg. “Nice to know, huh?” he asked Denise.
“Nice to know before you get poisoned, you mean. Doc, you want to collect some samples or leave it to the marine science team?”
“Leave it, I think,” the doctor replied. “While Katrina and I might be able to determine if something is poisonous, the researchers are going to be better prepared and more knowledgeable in the field.”
Denise looked at Olaf, and then walked away toward the bushes along the shore. Olaf walked to the water’s edge and cast his line into the low, rolling surf.
The group spent the entire day on the shore, collecting samples and examining the area. Several new plant species were discovered, and Denise found a beautiful purple stone that looked like it was infused with gold when the light hit it just right.
As the evening approached, Olaf gave up and pulled in his line for the last time. He’d lost several pieces of bait, but had never felt a tug on the line. He was shaking his head in disappointment as they walked back to the shuttle. “I guess this proves the old saying, doesn’t it?”
“Which old saying is that, Olaf?” Balder asked.
Olaf smiled sadly and replied, “There’s a fine line that separates fishing from standing on the shore like an idiot.” He fingered the thin line he’d wound on his improvised reel as the others laughed.
*
The shuttle excursions continued at the pace of two a day from then on. Katrina stayed on the ship for the most part, only leaving one more time to explore the Von Rubenstein Islands. To absolutely no one’s surprise, Bart only left the ship when she did.
The situation remained the same for eighteen days. Then the Narcissus arrived.
Chapter 41
“ADMIRAL ANN’S REVENGE, THIS IS HARRIET Fairmont on the cargo ship Narcissus. We are in-system bound, headed for Frisland orbit. Narcissus out.”
Bart and Mandy were on watch in Control when the message arrived, and Mandy immediately pushed the call button for Ann and Sterling’s quarters.
Inadvertent Adventures Page 30