Colony One

by E. M. Peters

  She heard footfalls and whipped around, looking for the source. After a moment of not being able to pick up on the direction, she went back to Rafiq and rifled through his pockets for the sharp stone. She gripped it tightly and paced back out into the darkness, listening for more footfalls.

  A beam of light swept across the gravel floor of the stone forest. Alexa crouched and watched to see if it was coming closer. It was moving in parallel to her, and just as she contemplated the risk of calling out, she heard her name shouted into the night.

  “Alexa!” the voice sounded familiar. “Alexa!” She heard it a second time and recognized it as Savi’s.

  She shot up in an instant, “Here!” she yelled out. “I’m over here!” The light beams swept to her and bounced as their holders ran towards her. She breathed a huge sigh of relief when Demetri was at her side, large hand clamped over her shoulder.

  “Are you alright?” He asked.

  “You could say that,” she breathed.

  “Where’s Rafiq?” Savi asked.

  Alexa gestured behind her. Savi swept her flashlight beam over and let it linger on the prone body.

  “You did that?” Demetri asked with some shock in his tone.

  “I was in the army, you know.” Alexa explained.

  Demetri whistled, “Remind me to never piss you off.”

  Alexa, out of relief and affection for the man in that moment, hugged him. He hugged her back.

  Savi took the opportunity to grab the gun tucked into the back of Demetri’s trousers. She’d seen it before when he had crouched to pick up Alexa’s medical bag. The man released Alexa and spun when he realized what she was doing, “Hey!” He called, but she was already out of arm’s reach.

  The woman marched to Rafiq, who had managed to sit up and was shaking his head in a daze. She leveled the gun at his head and pulled the trigger without a word. The gunshot echoed throughout the stone forest as Rafiq’s head whipped back and his body listed to the side, completely motionless.

  Demetri and Alexa watched with mouths slung open.

  Savi turned to face them, her expression calm. “We do not tolerate disobedience here,” she answered their astonished looks. She paced back to Demetri and handed his gun to him before continuing back towards camp. They followed her wordlessly, staying close to one another and using the time to process all that had happened.

  They returned to camp to find Jia safe with John, who looked contrite at how the evening had unfolded. Savi reported what happened – though she left out the part with the gun. She loudly proclaimed she’d taken Rafiq’s life as punishment for disobedience and, to the trio’s astonishment; the group accepted actions without protest or outrage.

  “I hope this will not reflect too negatively on our efforts to cooperate with one another,” John spoke to the trio as Maria prepped the Runner for a nighttime jaunt.

  “You can’t be blamed for one rogue individual,” Alexa conceded. She rubbed her chest where Rafiq had kicked her. She was going to be sore for a while, but at least she was alive. “Especially when the threat has been… eliminated.” She added, glancing over at Savi who had a stony expression. She understood now why John had chosen her as a second.

  “Please give Ndale my best and tell him that I will return tomorrow to discuss how we should move forward now that you have what you want,” he said and nodded to Jia’s bag and the multiple water samples.

  “Good deal,” Demetri nodded and further discussion was discontinued as the Runner’s engines spun up. They parted ways and Alexa could not be happier to be headed back to safety, feeling suddenly very grateful for the little they did have.

  25

  Hyperion: Present Day

  Colony Alpha settlement duration: 3 months

  “I can’t believe it,” Charlie said as he triple checked the readouts.

  The bridge of the Hyperion was abuzz with activity. Niko was reading the console data aloud, “Organic life found – active and mobile. Atmosphere within normalized ranges. Indications of a massive structure along the equatorial line of a land mass with an elevation of…”

  He went on, but he only had half the attention of the others. Makenna was hobbling onto the bridge, braced with a crutch under one arm that forced her to limit her movement. Winston was trailing behind her insisting that she sit. Finn was snapping pictures as Charlie and Niko’s hands were flying over their consoles as the dusty planet in the distance grew larger and larger through the cockpit window.

  The last picture she snapped was of Avery, her hands braced on a dim console and eyes locked out the window with a mask of an expression. She heard the click of Finn’s camera, turned her head and fixed the woman with an icy stare.

  Finn let her camera dangle from her neck and turned her attention to Niko’s words.

  “This is it, this is Colony Alpha.” He finished.

  “I have to agree,” Charlie confirmed and swiveled in his chair to face Avery. “Permission to establish orbit with a landing vector?”

  Avery nodded once before turning on her heal and exiting the bridge. She knew there was no turning back now, no plausible excuse to keep them from landing. Even if there was, she could see the look in Niko’s eyes – he would find a way onto that planet even if he had to fashion a space suit out of zip lock bags to do it.

  She made her way back to her quarters and very briefly considered contacting EMP HQ before quashing the idea entirely. She didn’t have enough information, and she knew there would be questions. Their mission was already overdue, and she expected a tongue lashing no matter what the next time she decided to establish contact.

  Her fingers brushed the hilt of the pistol strapped to her leg. She’d seen the readouts. She saw the projections – the tiny moving dots that looked so much like ants. There were far more little dots than there were of her or their crew. She thought of the crazed co-pilot of Colony Two and considered the very real possibility that they were on the cusp of disaster.

  A tiny bit of pressure built in her chest around her ribcage at the idea of trying to keep her crew alive. The pressure built, despite her efforts to push it down and she realized in that moment she had lost the battle to not get attached to them. She’d watched Makenna make a stubborn recovery from her stab wound and the infection that followed. She saw the Doctor finally get his footing and confidence at saving her life. She saw Niko and Charlie creating a bond that would last their rest of their lives. And Finn, the observer of humanity – she was always on the edges, reminding her that despite the loneliness of space, action still mattered – who you were, who they were as a people, still mattered.

  “Estimated time to touchdown, 40 minutes,” Charlie’s voice came through over the ship’s speakers. Avery knew it was for her benefit and hers alone – no one else was likely to leave the bridge under the circumstances.

  She spent the next 40 minutes ensuring her pistols were fully loaded.

  ɸ ɸ ɸ

  Marcus was the first to spot the trailing white cloud the Hyperion left behind her. He craned his neck and shielded his eyes from the suns as he squinted at the small dot in the sky. He kept his eyes narrowed on the object until he could confirm that it was growing larger.

  He turned away from the brightness of the sky and bellowed in a booming voice, “Incoming!”

  The word echoed off the interior of Colony One. It looked much different now. The hydroponics system had taken over much of the cargo loading area now that John and his people were able to make regular runs to the underground springs to replenish their supply. The ramp of Colony One had not been raised in months and with the growing object in the distance, his mind immediately went to the possibility the ramp’s hydraulics might fail, or that some integral part of the ship had been scavenged to the point where it would not function.

  Jia had only had limited success in repairing the cockpit. They’d gotten full powered restored to only certain parts of the ship and she spent many of her days trying to wedge herself in bulkhead walls try
ing to check for broken circuits or blown breakers. Since the discovery of water, her attention had also been split between repairs and studying electrolysis process. She was trying to find a way to divert the flow and neutralize the charge to make the water easier to access while not interrupting the process that created breathable air.

  Marcus’ warning traveled and he could hear others repeating it to carry the message throughout the ship as they had trained themselves to do. Since the truce with Colony Three, they had enjoyed relative peace – a blessing and a curse. The peace allowed the weight of their situation to more fully set in. Some were better at coping than others. A few new graves had to be dug for those who broke under the weight of their isolation – especially after the passengers of Colony Three began to tell their stories.

  Many of their passengers had not willfully signed up to be part of the colonization mission – most of them were from the poorest communities on Earth, comprised of the marginalized and jobless. They were much less surprised to be abandoned, and their bitterness and anger is what kept them going. The passengers of Colony One were much different – hopeful and grateful, even, to be given a place on the ship. Competition for passage to the new world had been steep – it was supposed to be a privilege to be chosen, and the diversity of passengers was purposeful. When the illusion was revealed, it was easy to see those who were shattered along with it.

  Javier was the first to join Marcus at the edge of the loading ramp, “Another colony ship?” he wondered aloud.

  Marcus made a noncommittal noise as he watched the sky, “Too far away to tell.”

  “I’ve got my men gearing up for a fight,” John said as he joined them. His face was fuller and rounder than when he had first met the Colony One passengers. His eyes weren’t sunken in anymore, but they still held a glimmer of steadfast skepticism. Ndale watched him closely for this reason and ensured that he was the best fed of all the passengers – even better than himself. The strategy was only limitedly successful for Ndale – John still frequently questioned the man’s leadership and sewed doubt into the others that he should be allowed to be so wealthy. His dissent was a quiet murmur so long as his belly was full but Ndale saw the writing on the wall and put in motion his own campaign against the paranoid and reckless influence that was John.

  “Good,” Marcus spoke. He and John saw eye to eye on a lot of things, despite their original rocky beginning. “Mine will do the same.”

  “Don’t you think we owe whoever that is the benefit of the doubt?” Javier asked. He squared his shoulders to the pair. “We could have used that when we arrived.” He looked pointedly at John.

  “Son, when your government abandons you to die, you don’t continue to receive the luxury of trust.” John answered. There was no hint of remorse in his voice.

  Javier felt heat radiate from his face. He generally did his best to keep his distance from both men – rationing was less of a concern with Bob’s talent at growing, and each time he was forced to spend more than a few minutes with either man, he felt in danger of throwing a punch that he knew he would regret.

  Instead of picking a fight, Javier narrowed his eyes as his only response and walked away. He would find those who he knew to have sense – he’d need all the help he could get when it came to Marcus, John and their followers.

  The incoming ship was a concern, and he felt himself having to push down a glimmer of hope that the ship was of the rescue variety. He couldn’t afford to get his hopes up just to have them dashed. He thought of the new graves, and the hope was stamped out easily.

  “Alexa,” he caught the woman on the way to the ramp’s edge. He gave only a glance towards John and Marcus, coupled with a quick shake of his head. She knew immediately his meaning and reversed her trajectory to walk with him to gather the others.

  ɸ ɸ ɸ

  “It’s not large enough to be a Colony ship,” Jia said plainly. Her voice was heard by many as all the colonists watched the ship approach.

  Luca, Javier, Alexa and Bob stood close to Jia near the front of the ramp. They’d worked ahead of time to calm the others and council cautious optimism about the ship. Despite their best efforts, many harsh whispers were heard – at least they didn’t blow us away from the sky, we probably aren’t dying fast enough for their satisfaction, I bet they just want to know why their ship didn’t come back.

  Luca found that his eyes lingered on Jia after she spoke. He was surprised by the woman’s resolve – especially as witnessed over the past several weeks. She had been sullen and frail looking for the majority of their journey – in stark contrast to Luca’s blinding optimism. Now more often than not, Luca was the sullen and frail person, casting considering glances towards new graves and nursing the feeling of absolute betrayal. Finally, unable to let his thought go unspoken, he shifted slightly to speak quietly over her shoulder, “I don’t understand how you’ve kept your sanity all this time. Knowing what they were going to do to us.”

  Jia turned to look at him. She searched his face – worry lines presenting where before there were none. After a moment, she look back towards the oncoming ship, and shrugged; “I honestly didn’t think we’d live this long.”

  Her response produced mixed feelings in Luca. He stiffened and watched the incoming ship with jaded, suspicious eyes.

  At the base of the ramp, Marcus and John’s men and women stood in a tight semi-circle, barricading the others from the new arrival.

  Javier nodded at Jia’s words. The ship was small in comparison to the gargantuan Colony ships. As the anticipation built, he found himself looking around. “Where’s Ndale?” he wondered aloud.

  The others cast their gazes around the cargo hold. The characteristic shiny black bald head was nowhere to be found, nor was the tall figure of Demetri.

  “Good question,” Alexa said in way of answering. She might have given it more thought, but the ship was coming in fast.

  Hot air and waves of sand could be felt as the small craft approached long before the sound caught up with it. When it came, it was all at once, making the group sway with the force of it. The arrival seemed abrupt and rushed, despite what felt like an eternity watching the vessel approach from space. The ship hovered 100 meters away before it rotated and began to sink slowly to the ground like a feather. The nose turned away from the colony passengers, many strained their eyes to watch the secured ramp of the ship after it settled and the engines quieted, making the air feel empty and sterile.

  Patrick watched the ship with hungry eyes – a working, space-faring ship. Just the sight of it made him feel closer to Earth.

  ɸ ɸ ɸ

  “This is certainly not what I was expecting,” Winston was the first to say it as the landscape of Colony Alpha became more apparent. Their orbit took them low enough to know there wasn’t much to the planet other than breathable air. When they began their touchdown of the Hyperion, the crew got their first glimpse of Colony One – a ship so covered in a sandy filament that it looked to be a natural mound in the middle of an otherwise rocky terrain.

  The others remained silent on the topic, jaws clenched and with a growing sense of discomfort with what they had found so far. The exuberance of the discovery had been flattened when it became evident how barren the planet was.

  And yet, there was still life. The tiny dots on the computer’s graphic display made this promise to them. Niko, whose job was finally fulfilled – they’d successfully traversed the vast space from there to here – had spent much of his time staring at the display, wondering which dot was his brother.

  The Captain was holding the controls to the loading ramp, “Let’s hope this was worth the trouble,” she said in her normal elegant way. Her thumb mashed into the hard button control and the ship was filled with the hydraulic whine and the sound of air rushing in and out simultaneously.

  The fresh air of Colony Alpha was overwhelming after months on the Hyperion. The crew paused to adjust and when they had, Finn looked the Captain from head to toe, “Ar
e you really going out like that?” She wondered.

  “Like what?” Avery asked, releasing the control and resting her hands on her hips.

  “That,” Finn pointed to her pistols.

  The Captain’s expression sharpened, “Charlie Foxtrot, you think I should leave ‘em behind?”

  Charlie stiffened. He had not gotten a solid night’s rest since their encounter with Colony Two. He often saw the mad co-pilot’s face in his nightmares and he felt the memories of frequent cold sweats make him want to shiver. He swallowed with a dry mouth and answered, “No.”

  Finn looked torn, until the pilot continued.

  “But you shouldn’t walk out there first. I’ll go.”

  “I don’t think so,” Niko interjected. He was already near the ramp’s edge. “I’m the first one out of this gate.”

  “I think we have audience.” Makkena spoke up and pointed out the ramp.

  Across the way, the passengers of Colony One stared back at them.

  “Something isn’t right,” Winston reiterated his earlier suspicions.

  “It’s not like we were able to call ahead,” Charlie rationalized.

  “Let’s get this meet and greet over with,” Avery spoke. “Finn, take your proof of life pictures, Niko have your family reunion, everyone can be satisfied, then we are getting right back off this rock and back home.”

  The crew regarded her with a universal look of disapproval.

  “Go,” she motioned for Niko to lead the way, unfazed by their censure.

  He didn’t have to be told twice. The navigator took measured steps down the ramp and squinted into the harsh sunlight to the giant ship that provided only wary gazes as his welcome.

  ɸ ɸ ɸ

  “Someone’s coming out,” Javier said and tried to slow the rapid beating of his own heart. More followed. He counted quickly. Six in total. The ship looked like it could hold more, but the figures stretched out in a loose line to walk towards the ship – the first leading by a few meters – and no more exited.