by Isaac Hooke
“On my mark in three, two, one…Mark.”
Franklin activated the engine and the screens around him wavered momentarily. The forward displays flickered and restabilized in an instant as the ship left and returned to normal space.
Immediately warning klaxons started blaring on the bridge and throughout the ship. Red lights flashed in alarm.
“Helm! Report!” the Captain barked, standing up from his chair.
“We’re falling away, sir! Need to raise our velocity to maintain this altitude. Powering EM engines…” Franklin worked his controls frantically, his arms flying around him in his virtual cockpit as he scrambled to regain control of the ship.
“Get my displays up. Reacquire drone signal. Eyes, damnit. Get me eyes on the sphere!” Daniels and Taggert busied themselves acquiring visuals and drones, respectively, as the Commander held onto the railing in front of the bridge.
“Hold on, flank power to EM drive,” Lieutenant Franklin announced as he gripped the throttle and leaned forward on it.
“Brace for acceleration,” Bouchard warned the crew over the intercom before a deep bass thrummed through the bridge. Acceleration pushed the crew backwards as the maglev cars rolled in their tube, gravity shifting sideways then back downwards at one gee. The crew lurched in their seats or, if standing and unable to grab hold, onto the decking. The Captain managed to fall back into his seat before the ship pushed him down, his near-empty mug of tea crashing onto the deck, spilling its contents. Commander Edmunds was less lucky, sliding away from her railing, before being knocked down by the shift in direction.
“Goddamnit, Franklin! Are you trying to destroy my ship?” The Captain stood up and rushed to help Edmunds to her seat beside his. She brushed her hair away from her face, studying the displays.
“Sorry, sir. Sorry! Leveling us out.”
The main display screen at the front of the bridge showed a black wall rolling past, blotting out half the sky. The featureless sphere was devoid of any detail even from this altitude.
“Radar scan! What is our distance?” Edmunds, barked, recovered from her spill.
Daniels reported. “Hard to say, sir. Radar doesn’t seem to be giving us a reading.”
“What about Lidar? Anything?”
“It’s not reflective. We’re not getting anything back.” Daniels turned around from his screens. “Probes are coming back online. I have something…”
The screens shifted and a new image appeared from one of the probes. The bottom of the screen showed CP012 and a rolling timestamp.
The aliens had stopped moving, indistinct grey pixels against the black backdrop of the sphere arranged in a perfect grid. Beside them a bright light appeared and grew larger, perfectly circular.
“Is that a hatch? Some kind of entrance?” Commander Edmunds wondered aloud.
“More audio on the EM spectrum. Very high frequency,” Bouchard announced.
“Put it on speakers.” The Captain requested.
“Aye, sir.”
The ship continued picking up speed and slowed its fall away from the surface of the sphere as the buzzing returned to the bridge’s sound system, accompanied by the grinding and staccato clicking. Like crickets over bees.
“Is that their language?” one of the junior crew asked from the back of the bridge. Her neighbor shushed her to be quiet.
The acceleration eased as the ship settled into her new orbit and gravity returned to its rightful direction.
The crew watched and listened to the urgent buzzing and clicking as the inhabitants of the sphere filed into the bright circular light. When the last of them entered, the circle irised closed, returning the surface to darkness.
Doctor Justine Poitras, political emissary and chief contact officer staggered onto the bridge just then, her normally crisp attire rumpled and her hair askew. “Captain Macdonald!” she scolded. “I would take a meeting with you in the boardroom immediately!”
Captain Macdonald looked to his executive officer and put a hand on her arm. “I guess I’d better go take my lumps. Are you all right?”
Edmunds nodded at him, a stray wisp of hair falling over her right eye.
“Very well, then.” The Captain stood. “Commander, the bridge is yours.”
He strode to the boardroom, leaving the bridge, Dr. Poitras in tow.
***
“In hindsight, I should have offered an opinion. The unplanned jump was a terrible idea and would have severe ramifications. I’d watched the proceedings unfold and had a healthy concern for what was going to happen. Still, I was tasked with observing and offering advice when needed and the Captain had been so terse with me previously, I felt that my opinions weren’t appreciated. I didn’t want to further annoy him.
“I was afraid.”
[Pause]
“The reprimand Dr. Poitras issued in the boardroom was severe. She informed the Captain she was going to place a stern recommendation for disciplinary action on our return to Earth. She accused him of insubordination and recklessness bordering on the criminal. The unplanned jump into an alien contact situation was a gross breach of protocol.
“The Captain took all this with a stoic demeanor. He said nothing.
“Micro analysis of the VR feed from the boardroom revealed imperceptible movement in the muscles on his face.
“The Captain was smiling.”
***
Begin VR Playback, Caboose-02 2179-03-15 08:45:02
Wearing full space suits, Dr. Justine Poitras, Sub-lieutenant Annick Bouchard and Lieutenant Christopher Taggert belted into the contoured and cushioned seats in the front row of the car, closest to the exit. Lieutenant-commander Gaston Haché sat one row behind the other three. The remaining twelve seats were empty, the door sealed shut.
A calm, female voice over the speakers announced in both official languages, “Deceleration in ten seconds. Prepare for weightlessness. Déceleration en dix secondes. Préparez-vous à l’apesenteur.”
The four crew members cinched their belts tighter as the countdown ran out. Bouchard squeezed her eyes shut as the countdown approached zero. On the final mark, the crew compressed back and down into their seats as the railcar decelerated to zero meters per second. Slow motion playback as they floated up for the briefest of moments, arms lifting off the cushioned armrests only to be pressed back down again as the car was pulled up and out of the maglev tube into the forward accessway.
The door opened and the crew unbuckled.
“Colis! That is some ride,” Haché said, grinning under his moustache through his helmet at the others. Taggert returned the smile as they made for the hatch.
“Successful ejection,” Pierre observed over their headsets. “We are making our way to the encounter module.”
The hatch opened and the crew piled through into the accessway.
***
Begin VR Playback, Encounter Module CEM001 Laurentides, 2179-03-15 08:48:05
The hatch opened and the crew floated inside the cramped four-seater. The cabin interior was dimly illuminated in soft underlighting. Displays and instruments awoke as the crew took their seats, Taggert in the co-pilot’s seat, Haché on the controls, Doctor Poitras and Bouchard in the seats behind.
Bouchard activated the module’s comm systems. “Halifax, this is Encounter Team Prime. We are aboard Laurentides. Transferring comms to Commander Haché. Over.”
Haché checked over his control systems and nodded that everything met his specifications. “This is Laurentides to Halifax, requesting permission to launch, over.”
There was a pause as Halifax made their own checks. “Standby, Laurentides. We are checking with docking control. Over.”
Taggert leaned over, helmet almost touching Haché’s, and spoke low over local comms, “Co-pilote to tower, co-pilote to tower, we’re out of bière, o-verrr,” rolling his R’s, Haché grinning as he ran through the instruments.
A quick shush from Dr. Poitras from behind silenced them.
“Laurentid
es, you are cleared for launch.” Commander Edmunds’ voice. “Good luck down there. Over.”
“Roger, Halifax. Laurentides out.” Haché gripped the controls and the EM drive in the small encounter module began to hum. “Release clamps.”
Taggert flipped his hands through the virtual cockpit and the clamps holding the encounter module to its berth unlocked, releasing them. “Clamps away. All clear for takeoff.”
“Here we go.” Haché pulled up on the stick and the craft pulled smoothly off the top of the spherical displacement drive section of the mighty Halifax. The forward section of the ship loomed ahead of the sphere, sensor arrays and communications gear, solar panels and heat sinks jutting outwards like a mad gothic cathedral.
Bouchard kept her head down, monitoring the communications signals they received from Halifax, but turned to look forward through the windows. “Magnifique,” she said quietly as she looked over the spires of their ship.
Laurentides crept forward beyond their ship’s spherical displacement engine section, towards the first segment containing aeroponics and aquaculture, the Halifax rolling by underneath above the great expanse of the Dyson sphere below.
Taggert whistled. “You don’t really get a sense of just how big this thing is until you look at it directly. The screens don’t do it justice.”
“It’s just a wall,” Haché said. “It looks perfectly flat from here.”
They cleared the last antenna spike from Halifax and had an unobstructed view of the Sphere now.
Haché thumbed his mic open. “Halifax, we are beginning our descent. Over.”
Quick radio burst reply. “Good mission, Laurentides. Over.”
“Are you with us, Pierre?” Dr. Poitras regarded the displays, ignoring the banter ahead of her.
“Of course, Madame.”
“Bon. You are our record for this operation.”
“I understand.”
The tiny encounter module continued its descent.
***
Begin VR Playback, Bridge : 2179-03-15 10:33:47
“Laurentides, you are twenty thousand meters above the surface, ten kilometers from target, descending at two hundred meters per second,” Lt. Daniels reported.
All eyes were locked forward on the main displays, arranged in a four-way split showing feeds from CP043 in close proximity to the Laurentides, CP021 orbiting above the surface near their target, forward camera from the Laurentides itself gliding over the surface of the sphere, and last, a view inside the cockpit from SLt. Bouchard’s helmet cam. Four readouts on the corners of the screen showed vitals from each of the encounter module’s crew.
“Our landing lights are on full. We still can’t see anything down there. Over.” The voice of Sub-commander Haché, calm on the radio matching his smooth seventy beats per minute heart rate as he lowered the shuttle towards the surface of the sphere.
“Nothing in the EM band.” SLt Bouchard.
The bridge crew aboard HMCS Halifax were dressed in full uniform today. The Captain was seated in his chair, chin on his fist as he surveyed the encounter mission proceedings. He had a mug of tea and readouts from the ship’s helm on his heads-up display beside him.
“Franklin, I want you to double-check our backup position in case we need to jump away. I want a firm anchor in place.” The Captain was calm today. Relaxed.
“Aye, sir. Anchor is steady and holding. Zero drift.”
Commander Edmunds paced the deck in front of her Captain. “Daniels, inform Laurentides to decrease their rate of descent. Twenty meters per second.”
“Aya, ma’am. Laurentides, decrease rate of descent twenty meters per second. Over.”
“Roger, Halifax.” LCdr. Haché’s face appeared briefly on the main display, coinciding with his voice on speaker.
“Still no sign of the alien surface group. No sign of… wait, I think I see something.” SLt. Bouchard’s voice became excited. “I think it’s opening!” Her heart-rate jumped to one hundred and five beats per minute.
A light appeared on the surface, CP021 showed a bright beam emerging from a pin-sized hole on the black expanse of the sphere. The hole widened and the beam filled the sky with bright sunlight.
“Ease up, Laurentides. We don’t want to spook them. Over.” Cdr. Edmunds stopped in her tracks, watching the screens intently now.
“Aye, decreasing speed. I’m going to put us down two hundred meters from the opening. Over.” Haché’s face again on screen, his heart rate increasing to eighty beats per minute.
“Here we go.” Daniels sat back, eyes flipping between his readouts and the screens above. “There’s negligible gravity. We are going to have to hope they can hold onto the surface once they touch down.”
“I’ve got EM noise.” Bouchard’s face. “I hear buzzing!” Her heart rate edged up to one hundred and fifteen beats per minute.
Daniels shifted uneasily in his seat.
***
Begin VR Playback, Laurentides : 2179-03-15 11:12:16
“Extending landing gear.” Haché brought the legs down on the small shuttle pod. Metal feet reached out beside them, ready to take the load of the craft on the surface of the sphere.
Haché and Lieutenant Taggert coordinated the landing together, the shuttle touching down on the surface with barely a bump. “We’re holding. There appears to be some form of surface gravity.” Haché rechecked his instruments, unable to believe what his eyes and inner ears were telling him.
“This is it, everyone.” Dr. Poitras leaned forward, unbuckling her seat restraints. “This is what we came for. Lieutenant Bouchard and I will lead the contact proceedings. Lieutenant Taggert will take rear position and Sub Commander Haché will remain on board Laurentides.”
“Aye, Doctor. I’ll keep the engines warm.” Haché grinned.
Taggert unbuckled himself and stood up, moving awkwardly to the rear of the cabin. “Opening door.” He hit the panel and the door slid open, the ramp extending from the rear of the craft onto the dark expanse of the sphere.
Doctor Justine Poitras stood up as Bouchard gathered her portable communications rig, a ruggedized tablet set into a box on a strap she could carry. She’d been studying the sounds of the emissions from the aliens with Doctor Poitras and Pierre’s help, and thought they’d identified some basic introductory sounds from the surface transmissions.
“After you, Doctor.” Taggert gestured outside, heart rate showing one hundred and ten beats per minute in his helmet. “I’ll be right behind you. Wish we had a weapon with us.”
“Please, there will be no more talk of weaponry here.” Doctor Poitras waved a finger as she stepped down the ramp, landing on the smooth black surface in the light gravity. “It’s soft!” She turned around and looked back up the ramp, face illuminated from inside her helmet. A big smile creased her face and her eyes crinkled.
Taggert jumped down, taking two seconds to reach the surface and landed with a spongy thud. No bounce. “It’s…absorptive. I think it’s shock-resistant. Maybe it’s to protect against impacts?”
Voice on their comms. “Can you bring me a sample?” Lt. Daniels.
“All right everyone, please keep the noise down. This is now a diplomatic operation. We will ask for a sample from the owners in due time.” Dr. Poitras beckoned for Bouchard to come out.
SLt. Annick Bouchard took her tentative steps down the ramp, clutching her communications bundle. She reached the spongy surface and looked up in surprise. It felt strange through her boots. “It’s like… you can’t even feel it.”
Taggert nodded and smiled.
“Let’s go, Annick.” Poitras began her walk around the side of the Laurentides, the small craft’s feet resting on the soft surface. Bouchard walked along beside her, watching the display on her comm pod.
“The buzzing is getting louder,” she said as a long head and shoulders emerged from the glowing opening on the sphere. The alien was silhouetted, black against the bright light surrounding it, and more shadows moved aroun
d inside the light from behind. Bouchard’s heart rate jumped to one hundred and thirty.
Doctor Poitras walked forward, arms extended in front of her, palms up and open in what she hoped would be a gesture of peace.
The alien form continued emerging from the aperture, as the encounter team closed the gap between the shuttle and the sphere’s opening. The alien’s torso was longer than Dr. Poitras’ entire body. Two arms at either side from angular shoulders folded up in front of its chest and bent again at what might be wrists. Two long hands extended down. What appeared to be smaller manipulator arms rested on either side of the creature’s head.
“Is it wearing a suit?” Taggert asked, unable to make sense of the huge insectile form in front of them. “I can’t tell. It’s over three meters tall.”
Poitras leaned over and said, “Play the greeting chirp, Annick.”
Bouchard carefully pressed the icon to play their recorded greeting on the appropriate frequency and a loud mechanical ratchet noise sounded over their headsets. The buzzing sound increased and took on a vibrato as the alien stopped. Its head tilted in what appeared to be a quizzical aspect, then turned side to side, the tiny manipulator arms on its head fidgeting.
“Play it again.”
Unsure, Bouchard pressed the icon again. As soon as the chirp started, the alien darted up and forward, revealing the hind section and six legs. It loomed over Bouchard and she sank to her knees, head down, holding the box forward.
Two more aliens emerged from the entrance as Taggert watched from a few paces back. Frozen. Hand at his side, resting where his gun should be.
***
Begin VR Playback, Bridge : 2179-03-15 11:21:47
Captain Macdonald stood behind Franklin, eyes intently watching the screen in front of them, scanning between the views of his away team. Lt. Franklin’s hands were on the helm controls, ready to jump if need be.