by Linn Schwab
Chrissy looked up at Robin with tears streaming down both of her cheeks. “They just killed those children, didn’t they?” she said.
Robin draped an arm around her and answered her with a reassuring smile. “No, they didn’t,” she insisted. “They only think they did. I asked Katrina to alter the mission recorder. They fired those missiles at the wrong coordinates.”
Chrissy smiled in relief, leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Robin. The others looked at Katrina in surprise.
“So those children are still alive?” Mindy asked.
Katrina grinned at her and nodded.
“They’re still alive for now,” Robin said. “Hopefully, we can find a way to win this war without having to destroy that space station.”
VALHALLA 072
<<
The Livingstone’s entire crew gathered in the bridge to witness a key event in their journey. More than a year after leaving Earth’s orbit, they were now far enough outside the solar system that the interstellar drive could safely be engaged. With a vast expanse of open space out in front of them, it was time to put the ship’s capabilities to the test. If the drive unit functioned as they hoped it would, the Livingstone would jump from its current location to the edge of another solar system far away. At that point, it would then take another full year to make their way past the outermost planets of the system and arrive at the world they were calling Valhalla. If the drive failed to function as they hoped, however, it would mean they were doomed to spend the rest of their lives traveling through space at sub–light speed on a lengthy trek to their chosen destination. The task of colonizing this new world would then fall to their children, or perhaps even their children’s children. No one on the ship wanted that to happen, though. Many prayers were being said that the jump would prove to be successful.
“Thirty seconds!” Jüergens announced. A hum echoed loudly through the ship’s corridors; the entire hull began to vibrate. The younger children ran to their parents in fear. Elise cradled little Annabelle in her arms.
“Fifteen seconds!”
Jüergens glanced at his wife, Gwen, sitting at his side in one of the Livingstone’s command chairs. She was holding their young son, Stefan, in her lap while she kept an anxious eye on the ship’s instruments. He saw her lay her palm on the console in front of her and whisper to one of the security cameras, “Please take care of us, Benevolent Friend. We are very much out of our element here.”
“Seven seconds!” Gustav yelled, taking over the count for Jüergens. “Five, four, three, two...”
The Livingstone shuddered. The humming sound grew to a high pitched shriek. The forward windows glowed with intense white light. An instant later, the light seemed to vanish completely, taking the high pitched shriek along with it. The ship immediately began pulling to the right, forcing everyone who was standing to fight for their balance. Warning alarms began blaring in their ears, creating a general sense of panic.
“What’s happening!” Jüergens demanded.
“I’m not sure!” Gustav replied. “It looks like there may be something out in front of us. I think the ship is trying to avoid running into it!”
“Everybody, hang on!” Jüergens yelled. “A collision may be imminent!”
Seconds later, all of the alarms went silent and the ship settled into a forward trajectory. As Jüergens’ eyes recovered from the brief pulse of bright light, he noticed he could see stars in the distance, but only darkness to the ship’s immediate left. “Where are we?” he asked. “Did we make it?”
“Hang on,” Gustav answered, “I’m working on it.” Before he could enter his commands in the console, a diagram flashed up on the monitor in front of him. The image showed a map of a solar system with the Livingstone positioned just beyond its outer edge. “Thank you, Benevolent Friend,” he said. He then leapt to his feet and announced, “We made it!”
The bridge resounded with a chorus of cheers, and celebratory hugs were exchanged all around. But Jüergens wasn’t ready to celebrate yet. The area of darkness off the ship’s port side concerned him. He tapped Gustav on the shoulder and asked him, “Any idea what that shadow out there is?”
Gustav looked at his instrument readings and determined it was a massive cloud of some sort. “Looks like it’s mostly dust and sand. Scanners can’t seem to penetrate very far. I’d bet that there are larger bodies buried inside it, though. Maybe some asteroids or a small planetoid. I definitely wouldn’t want to go barging straight in there. We should be thankful the ship was able to react so quickly.”
“So we’re going around it?” Gwen asked.
Gustav checked the ship’s current heading. “That appears to be the case. It looks like our benevolent friend has things well in hand for us.”
“How long,” Jüergens asked, “before we arrive at this Goldilocks planet we’re looking for?”
“Well,” Gustav said, “assuming we don’t run into any unexpected delays along the way, I’d guess it’ll take about fourteen months.”
The crowd of onlookers behind him voiced their disappointment with audible groans.
“Hey, I’m sorry,” he told them, “there aren’t any shortcuts we can use to get there. The ship can only go as fast as it can go, and that’s how long it’s going to take.”
Jüergens grinned and slapped him on the shoulders. “Let’s hope this planet is worth the trip, or both of us are going to be very unpopular.”
Near the stern of the ship’s hull, an external antenna began sending out an urgent transmission:
From: STN–LV
To: JSPR
Message: —Warning! Obstacle ahead!
The signal elicited no response, despite several days of continuous attempts.
* * * *
Another year passed for the Livingstone’s crew as the ship flew nearer to its intended destination. Another Christmas came and went, and another birthday for little Annabelle, marking her second full year of life. A makeshift mobile hung over her bed, depicting her new solar system’s planets and their corresponding orbits around their sun. There were nine worlds here for her to marvel over, though it would be some time before she could pronounce all their names. Freya, the planet closest to the sun, was far too hot to play host to any life. Valhalla, the second stepping stone from the sun, was the planet the whole crew had set their hopes on. They now knew the planet had a single moon, which was very similar in appearance to Earth’s. An Earth–like rotation had also been confirmed, as well as the presence of an atmosphere. Further observation also suggested the planet had a powerful magnetic field. Most of the requirements for a life–supporting world appeared to be falling into place.
The Livingstone began to decelerate long before it reached its destination. The perceptible change in inertia gave a much needed boost to the crew’s morale. The countdown to arrival was on display throughout the ship, on every screen that wasn’t needed for a more crucial function. When the Livingstone finally settled into orbit, every soul on board was in the bridge, waiting breathlessly to get a closeup view of the planet. What they saw gave them cause for further celebration. Oceans of water covered most of the planet’s surface area. Exposed land mass in the form of vast continents made up the remaining twenty–eight percent.
“This is fantastic,” Jüergens insisted. “It couldn’t possibly get any better than this.”
“Well, unfortunately,” Gustav said, “there are no apparent signs of life on this planet. No forests, no grasslands. Nothing green at all. That means there’s likely no oxygen to breathe. Which means if we want to live on this planet, we’re gonna have to adjust to wearing breathing apparatus.”
“Don’t be so glum,” Jüergens told him. “I have a positive feeling about this.”
“You can be as positive as you want,” Gustav said, “but no life means no oxygen. At least not enough to breathe, anyway.”
“It’s too soon to give up hope,” Jüergens said. “There could very well be life in those
oceans. Enough life to generate a breathable atmosphere. In any case, we didn’t come this far just to pass this planet by. We’re at least gonna go down and have a look around, so see if you can find us a place to land the shuttles. Preferably close to one of the oceans so we can get some samples of the water for analysis.”
“Alright,” Gustav agreed. He called up a magnified image of the surface. “It looks like there might be a suitable location in what we might refer to as the southern hemisphere.” He pointed to one edge of a large land mass. “On the northern edge of this continent is what appears to be a dried up lake bed, very similar to the Bonneville Salt Flats back home. It’s quite possible we could land the shuttles there, and perhaps even take off again without having to waste time constructing a runway.”
“Sounds perfect,” Jüergens said. “Let’s get a team ready to go.”
Gustav stared at him with a troubled expression on his face. “You seem awfully sold on this planet, Jüergens. Don’t you think you’re being a little presumptuous here?”
Jüergens grinned at him and countered, “You’re the one who brought us here, Dr. Halvorsen. Don’t you have any faith in your own instincts?”
Gustav frowned and drummed his fingers on the console. “Lemmings have instincts too, you know. And look where it gets them. If we send a team, we might not be able to retrieve them. I think we should send a probe down first.”
Gwen reached for Jüergens’ arm. “Gustav’s right,” she said. “You’re rushing this. I’m sure every last person on this ship is hoping this world will make a suitable home. But we still have to exercise a little bit of caution. Remember, we only have two shuttles to work with. I don’t think we should risk using them until we’re reasonably certain this planet holds some promise.”
“Alright,” Jüergens agreed. “I guess it couldn’t hurt to send a probe first, if that’s what the general consensus is here. But just so you know,” he said to Gustav, “that bit about lemmings leaping to their deaths is a commonly held misconception.”
“Is that so,” Gustav replied. “And all this time I’ve been asking myself if there was even any point in trying to recreate them.” He pulled a lever near the top of his console. “Probe away,” he informed the others.
A metallic object streaked away from the ship and entered the planet’s outer atmosphere. The crowd standing behind Jüergens and Gustav began speculating over what the probe’s findings might be. Would the atmosphere actually prove to be toxic, or would it simply be lacking in oxygen. That could turn out to be the determining factor in whether or not they tried to terraform this world. Several minutes passed before the probe’s initial readings appeared on Gustav’s monitor. His jaw practically hit the floor the instant he got his first look at them.
“I don’t believe it,” he said. “The air is perfectly breathable. Nitrogen level seems a little high, but other than that, it’s very similar to Earth’s atmosphere.”
Murmurs of excitement rippled through the crowd. “What about temperature?” someone shouted. “And what about atmospheric pressure?”
“Both well within range,” he said in disbelief. “It looks like the probe set down on the surface about twelve degrees south of the planet’s equator. The current temperature in that location is thirty–four degrees celsius.”
“So it’s a little warm,” Jüergens said, “but nothing we haven’t experienced before. What do you think?” he said to Gwen. “Are you convinced we should take a chance on this planet?”
She gazed down at the planet’s surface and slowly nodded her head in agreement. “I don’t see how we could possibly do any better. It’s almost like this planet was made for us.”
“I guess that settles it, then. So, who do we send down first?”
* * * *
More than forty–eight hours passed before the first shuttle touched down on Valhalla. Since Gustav had been the one to locate the planet, it was decided that he should be awarded the honor of being the first person to set foot on its surface. After a single pass over the dried lake bed to ensure the area was free of obstructions, the shuttle swung around for another approach, and the pilot extended the landing gear. The tires bogged a little as they touched the surface. The landing proved to be a little rough, but the shuttle eventually rolled to a stop without suffering any apparent damage.
A ramp descended from the shuttle’s belly, and soon afterward, the landing party of six scientists got their first whiff of the planet’s air. “It smells empty, doesn’t it?” Gustav observed. The others ushered him down the ramp, eager to get started collecting samples. “Alright, alright,” he complained as they pushed him, “let’s get this formality over with, shall we.” He paused at the bottom end of the ramp and lifted his foot out over the soil. “Here’s one small step, blah, blah, blah, and I officially christen this planet ‘Valhalla.’” He planted his foot firmly on the dusty surface, and the others rushed past him to begin their work.
For more than an hour, Gustav walked along the lake bed, scanning the landing site for hazards that might pose a problem for the Livingstone’s shuttles. When he was certain the area was both level and stable, he returned to the shuttle’s cockpit and sent a transmission up to Jüergens. “The landing strip checks out,” he said. “It’s reasonably well suited for landings and takeoffs.”
“That’s good to hear,” Jüergens replied. “We’ll bring the other shuttle down in a while.”
Stepping out of the shuttle again, Gustav headed for the nearby ocean. In the distance, he could see Anders and Lena wading along the water’s edge, collecting samples in clear plastic vials. These oceans must be teeming with life, he decided. Life that releases oxygen into the atmosphere. As he walked, he started flipping stones over with his toes to see if there were any signs of life underneath them. Nothing, he noted. Nothing but sand and pebbles. Whatever life there is on this planet must not have evolved yet to live out of water.
As he approached the water’s edge, he called out to Anders and Lena. “Have either of you seen any signs of life yet?”
Both of them shook their heads. “Nothing yet,” Anders said. “It all seems very surreal to me. There are no sea shells, no tracks in the sand … no drifting strands of seaweed in the water.”
Gustav pointed to the plastic vials. “But you’ll know when you test those samples, right? There will be signs of life in there for sure.”
“Most likely,” Lena assured him, “if there are any life–forms in the water, there will be clues in here for us to discover.”
* * * *
Before Gwen stepped into the shuttle, she paused to look both ways along the corridor. Both shuttles had now made several trips to transfer supplies and personnel to the surface. This was to be the final trip of the day. The last of the Livingstone’s crew would be leaving. Already, the ship felt empty and deserted, like a beloved family home whose occupants had all moved on over time. The lights embedded in the corridor’s ceiling now lit the way for no one’s eyes but her own. Soon, they would light the way for no one. The sense of separation touched her in a way that she never would have thought possible before. I’ve been wanting to get off this ship for so long, she mused. It’s all I’ve thought about for more than two years now.
When Jüergens noticed her standing in the corridor, he walked up behind her and touched her on the arm. “What is it?” he asked. “Don’t tell me you’re having second thoughts about leaving.”
“It just seems wrong to me,” she said. “To abandon our Benevolent Friend like this.” She paused to wipe away a tear. “There’s more here than just an empty space ship. It’s like we’re leaving a part of our family behind.”
“Listen,” Jüergens assured her, “we’re not abandoning anyone. This ship is far too valuable for us to just let it waste away. I have every intention of using it as a permanent space–based laboratory. As soon as we have the necessary infrastructure ready, we’ll be making regular trips back up here.”
Gwen smiled in r
elief and looked back along the corridor again. “Did you hear that, Benevolent Friend?” she yelled. “We’re not leaving you alone forever. Take care of things here for us while we’re away. We’ll be back as soon as we can.” She followed Jüergens onto the shuttle and closed the airlock door behind her.
Section by section, throughout the empty spacecraft, all of the lights dimmed and faded to blackness. The ship’s monitors continued to glow for a while, displaying a still frame video image — a parting closeup of Gwen’s face, with tears trickling down both of her cheeks. Though no one remained on board to see it, a line of text briefly appeared below the image:
—Goodbye
After a time, the monitors faded to darkness, and the Livingstone went into hibernation mode.
* * * *
The sun was already close to setting when the final shuttle set down on the lake bed. A large canopy had been erected to function as a temporary laboratory. Beneath it sat rows of portable tables and workbenches covered with various types of equipment. As Jüergens and Gwen approached the canopy, they found Gustav peering anxiously over Lena’s shoulder as she analyzed one of the water samples.
“So, how goes it?” Jüergens asked. “Anything beyond primordial ooze?”
“Not even that,” Lena replied. “There isn’t so much as a microbe on this planet.”
“Well,” Jüergens said, “at least we won’t have to worry about defending ourselves from giant reptilian flesh–eating monsters.”
“That might actually be preferable to this,” Gustav said. “The greatest threat is often the one you can’t see. Look, I realize this may be an unpopular suggestion, but I really think we should pack up our things and move on to the next solar system on our list.”
“What!” Gwen protested.
Jüergens stared at him in astonishment. “Alright, out with it!” he demanded. “You’ve been dead set against us staying on this planet ever since we arrived in orbit here. It’s almost like you’re suddenly afraid of this place. What is it you’re not telling us, Dr. Halvorsen?”