“You think it’s going to be dangerous down there, sir?” Vasquez asked.
Alexander turned back to her. “I don’t know, but it’s probably best to be careful.”
“Aye, sir—” Vasquez nodded. “—it probably is.”
Chapter 18
Alexander listened to the shuttle rattle and shake. Wonderland’s atmosphere roared against the hull as they made atmospheric entry. He stared out the real, palladium glass viewport, watching as Wonderland came swirling out of a cottony white carpet of clouds. Vibrant purples and reds snapped into sharper focus.
Lieutenant Cardinal gasped. “Those are plants. They’ve got to be!” he said.
Alexander was inclined to agree. Even at this altitude those mottled streaks of color didn’t look like rock formations. “Looks like you’re going to lose that bet, Stone.”
The ground raced up fast, and Lieutenant Stone leveled out to decrease their angle of descent. “Altitude is 2500 meters and dropping,” he said.
They entered the clouds and everything turned white. Raindrops pelted the forward viewport.
“Rain…” Vasquez whispered, her voice full of wonder, as if she were seeing it for the first time.
“Captain, I’ve got something on sensors,” Stone said.
Alexander glanced left to the sensor display to see what it was. Then the comms crackled.
“Shuttle One, this is Two. Are you getting this?”
“I see it,” Stone replied. The sensors display showed multiple unidentified contacts dead ahead and about 500 meters down. “Let’s take a look.” Without warning, he dove sharply and burst out of the clouds. Leveling out again, they saw the dusty purple horizon crowded with hundreds of black dots.
Range to the unidentified blips dropped swiftly, and Alexander’s heart raced. More of them appeared out his side window, silhouetted in the rosy light of the sinking sun. Turning back to the fore, Alexander watched as those dots swelled and details began to emerge. They were spherical and black, but otherwise featureless.
“I’m going to slow down so we can get a good look,” Ryder said. “Brace for braking thrust.”
Alexander slammed into his harness. He gritted his teeth and waited for the sensation of having his eyeballs sucked from their sockets to pass. Braking forces were called eyeballs out for a reason.
The sensation eased as the unidentified black spheres began whipping by all around them. They were semi-translucent and hollow. Papery fins flanked the spheres, and long, delicate tentacles trailed from their lower halves. They looked like giant floating jellyfish. Alexander saw the sun shining through one of them, illuminating venous patterns in its… skin, he decided.
“What are they?” Cardinal asked.
The comm lit up with exclamations from the other shuttle pilots, and Alexander grinned.
“They’re alive, that’s what they are.”
*
The shuttles flew for another hour, chasing the sun so night wouldn’t fall before they had a chance to see the planet with their own eyes. Lieutenant Stone flew them low over an alien jungle of purple and crimson-leafed trees and towering black mushrooms. Maybe they weren’t mushrooms, but that was what they looked like to Alexander.
They set down on the distant shore of the continent just as the sun was setting over a bright turquoise ocean, splashing the sky and clouds with familiar reds and golds.
Now standing in the airlock, they were all in a hurry to disembark, but no one more than Lieutenant Cardinal. He’d spent an hour salivating over all the different species of alien plants, and he was just about to get his first hands-on look at some of them.
“No one takes off their helmets,” Alexander reminded them. Doctor Crespin had warned them about the dangers of breathing the air before they left the Lincoln, but Alexander didn’t want anyone to get caught up in the excitement and forget. “I don’t care what your suit says about how breathable the air is. Until Doc Crespin clears the air as safe, it’s not breathable. Understood?”
Heads bobbed.
A green light came on above the outer airlock doors, indicating that pressure had equalized. Stone waved the outer doors open and in streamed dazzling beams of sunlight. In the distance Alexander heard the ocean crashing on the shore. The crew jumped out one after another, sand skrishing as they landed. Two out of three fell on their hands and knees. Only Stone was able to jump out without falling over.
They’d all lost a lot of muscle from the past seventy days floating in the G-tanks. Alexander decided to climb down using the guide rails for support. Once he was standing on the sand, he turned to see Lieutenant Korbin and McAdams already striding over from Shuttle Two.
“Did you see that?” McAdams called out as they drew near.
“See what?”
“Those balloon creatures,” Korbin said.
Alexander nodded. “Our first major discovery.”
“They’re incredible!” McAdams said, smiling. “They were actually floating! They must be filled with some kind of gas that’s either lighter or hotter than air. I wonder if all avian life on Wonderland flies by the same mechanism? What do you think they eat? Imagine what happens to them in a storm. Either the storms here are incredibly mild, or they are tougher than they look. We’ve got to catch one of them!”
Alexander smiled. McAdams was talking a mile a minute. “That’s what you’re here for,” he said.
“How long are we staying?”
“As long as it takes to determine whether or not the planet is habitable. A week or two I’d guess.”
“That’s it?” McAdams asked, her smile collapsing.
“It’s obvious that Wonderland is habitable,” Korbin said. “The atmosphere is a breathable mix of oxygen and nitrogen, just like Earth’s. We shouldn’t need more time than that.”
“The air might be breathable, but we don’t know if it’s safe,” Alexander warned. “Remember what Doctor Crespin said.”
Korbin nodded, and Alexander turned to look around. To one side a shadowy jungle of red and purple trees soared. A few gargantuan black mushrooms towered over them. There was already a group of people headed toward the jungle, spear-headed by Lieutenant Cardinal. Alexander frowned and mentally activated his comms to send a message to the whole landing party at once.
“Listen up, everyone. This is a strange planet. We don’t know what’s dangerous and what isn’t. For now, no one goes more than 50 meters from the landing site.”
Acknowledgments streamed in, and Alexander turned back to McAdams and Korbin. “I’m going to go dip my feet in the water,” he said, and started off toward the ocean. The clearing where they’d landed was full of scraggly bone-white shrubs pricking up through the sand. Opposite the jungle, the ocean sparkled invitingly beneath the fiery sunset. Waves thundered and crashed on the shore below the clearing.
Alexander reached the top of a sand dune and all but fell down the other side. The beach dropped steeply into the ocean. That meant there’d be a strong current. Maybe he wouldn’t dip his feet in the water after all. On his way down, Alexander watched the sand, looking for sea creatures. On Earth he would expect to find holes and the scuttling crabs that had dug them, or maybe even washed up jelly fish and seaweed, but he didn’t see anything here.
Alexander stopped a few feet from the smooth, wet sand and looked out across the turquoise ocean. Waves curled and crashed right in front of him. He imagined the salty spray coming off the water.
The sun was dimmer now, lying just above the horizon. The sky glowed a pale red, and the clouds looked like they’d been soaked in blood. The blood of patriots and tyrants, Alexander mused.
As the sun sank below the watery line of the horizon and that crimson stain seeped away, Alexander shook his head and swallowed past a painful lump in his throat. This wasn’t just the end of another day on Wonderland—it was the end of an entire species.
Humanity.
He hadn’t spent much time dwelling on the worst-case scenario. He’d tried to stay
optimistic. It would be so easy to believe President Baker had been telling the truth when he’d contacted them. Your loved ones are all safe and well. Alexander knew a lie when he heard one. The question wasn’t whether or not anyone had died back on Earth—but who, and how many.
“Goodbye, Caty,” Alexander whispered.
Commander Korbin walked up beside him, her feet skrishing through the sparkling lavender sand. She laid a hand on his shoulder.
“They’re not gone, Captain,” she said, her voice trembling with stubborn conviction.
Alexander turned to her with one eyebrow raised.
“Call it a hunch, call it faith, but they’re still alive.”
“I hope you’re right, Commander.” His thoughts went back to Catalina, and he tried to imagine her smiling face to make Korbin’s optimism seem more real. “I hope you’re right,” he said again.
Somehow now they’d reversed roles, with Korbin the one clinging to hope while he gave into despair. Korbin had two sons back on Earth, wards of the state being raised by a first-class institution in New York City. New York was a high priority target for enemy missiles—maybe the highest—followed by LA, where Caty was. They’d picked LA because it had a vibrant immigrant community of former southerners. Plenty of people still spoke Español there. It had seemed like a great way to transition to life in the northern states at the time, but now Alexander wished they’d chosen some sleepy town in the middle of nowhere instead.
He forced his thoughts back into the moment. They had a planet to explore. He turned away from the fading light and looked up to the dark, brooding jungle beyond the clearing where they’d landed their shuttles. “We’d better get back and help the crew set up the hab modules.”
Korbin nodded.
Alexander slung his arm through hers to help her up the beach. Not that she needed his help. If anything, he needed hers. They both stumbled equally as they went. Near the top of the beach, where lavender sand met ivory-colored shrubbery, they found Junior Lieutenant McAdams watching the sunset, her cheeks wet with tears behind her helmet.
“Hello, McAdams,” Alexander said.
“Sir,” she replied.
McAdams’s parents had spent their life savings on her so that she could be born a gener. As an adult she’d returned the favor, signing up for the navy against their wishes in order to save them. That was before the nukes had begun flying up North. Alexander remembered McAdams confessing her fears to him at the memorial service—‘I killed them,’ she’d said, and the sad part was, she probably had. But by that reasoning, Alexander had gotten Caty killed, too. He shuddered and pushed those thoughts away, forcing a smile for McAdams’s benefit.
“They could still be alive, Lieutenant. Regardless, we’re going to have plenty of time to grieve for the planet we lost. Right now we need to focus on the one that’s under our feet.”
Something ugly flickered through McAdams’s eyes, but then she sniffed and nodded. “Yes, sir.” With that, she about-faced and trudged back up to the landing site.
Alexander frowned, watching her go. He had a feeling he’d just put his foot in it, but maybe her anger wasn’t directed at him.
“Onwards and upwards, Captain,” Commander Korbin said, nodding as they continued up the hilly shore.
“Excelsior,” Alexander replied.
“I’m sorry?”
“That’s what it means—onwards and upwards.”
“Onwards to a brighter future, and upwards to the stars…” Korbin replied.
Alexander smiled. There was just enough optimism in that sentiment to dull the hollow ache radiating in his chest.
“Excelsior…” he whispered.
Chapter 19
By the time Alexander and Korbin reached the landing site, the stars were already pricking out overhead. Both of Wonderland’s moons were out—one of them a large, angry red eye, the other a silver crescent that was more reminiscent of Earth’s moon.
Alexander activated his comm and said, “Gather round, everyone!” He waited while people stopped what they were doing and turned to face him, their head lamps sweeping his way. A group of headlamps came bobbing in from the direction of the jungle—Cardinal et al.
Speaking to Korbin, Alexander said, “Get me a head count.” He studied the landing site while he waited. The shuttles’ landing lights were on, casting a muted golden glow across the sandy shrub-infested ground. The jungle appeared as a wall of black, towering over everything. Night was falling fast. The stars grew sharper and more numerous in the sky with every passing second.
It reminded him of going camping back on Earth when he was a kid. He remembered his family telling scary stories around the camp fire while he watched wide-eyed as the firelight made shadows dance in the trees. Back then the night had been alive with unseen terrors. The mind of a child could be a scary place. When he’d grown up he’d realized that the only really scary predator on Earth was man, but being here on Wonderland brought all his childish fears rushing back. There could be anything out there.
Even T-rex’s hairy cousin.
Alexander pictured a giant teddy bear, and a silly grin sprang to his lips.
“Sixteen. All present and accounted for, sir,” Korbin announced.
“Good,” he replied, nodding. He dialed up the volume on his helmet’s external speakers rather than use the comms. If he was being honest, that was just because he wanted to make some noise. Maybe he would scare off whatever was lurking in the jungle. “It’s time for us to set up camp, but first we’re going to go back to our shuttles for dinner. Leave whatever samples you’ve collected outside. That goes double for you, Cardinal.”
People began muttering their objections, and Cardinal started to say, “But—”
“This entire mission needs to be conducted with strict quarantine protocols. The airlocks in the shuttles and our habs have been equipped to flash cook anything that hitches a ride on our suits, but that doesn’t mean we should push our luck. There could be any number of deadly pathogens in the air, let alone any samples we collect. This planet does appear to be habitable, but that doesn’t make it safe. Go eat something, and I suggest you all take a caffeine tablet. It’s going to be a long night, and I don’t want anyone fainting from exhaustion.”
Helmets bobbed and yes, sirs, echoed around the circle as people turned to go back to their shuttles. Alexander used his finely-honed sense of intuition to find his, heading for the one with Shuttle One written on the side.
Korbin followed him, even though it wasn’t her shuttle, and McAdams joined them while they were waiting at the airlock. “Mind if I eat with you, Captain?” she asked.
Alexander smiled and nodded. “Sure.” Maybe he hadn’t offended her as badly as he thought.
Cardinal and Stone joined them a moment later, followed by Vasquez. “You won’t believe what we found!” Cardinal said, his face full of wonder behind his helmet.
“What did you find?” Alexander asked.
“The plants move. They all move!”
McAdams arched an eyebrow. “Move how? Reflex or voluntary movement? Are you sure you were looking at plants?”
Cardinal gave her a look of strained patience. “Yes, to the plant question, and if you’re asking whether the movement was self-directed by the plant, I guess that would depend on whether or not it has a brain. My bet is that it does, but probably a very rudimentary one. I tried tests involving movement, light, and water. The plants I tested reacted to shadows caused by movement, turned toward the light, and gave no reaction to the water.”
Alexander frowned. “So plants on Wonderland don’t need water?”
“More likely the ones I tested weren’t thirsty. They must have an abundance of rain on a planet like this.”
“So you’re saying the jungle could sneak up on us while we’re eating.”
“No, of course not—well… I don’t think so. Just the branches and fronds move. And they’re not dangerous, just curious.”
Alexander turned t
o look at Lieutenant Stone. “What do you think?” He was in charge of mission security, and his expression was guarded, not awed.
“I think I’m glad we brought the Cheetahs. It might not be safe to explore the jungle on foot—especially not if we have to hack our way through. Who knows how those curious plants will respond if we start chopping off their limbs.”
“Is violence your first response to everything?” Korbin demanded. “We’re not going to hack our way through a living jungle.”
“Why not, ma’am? They’re just plants.”
“Plants that move,” McAdams said. “That makes them more like animals than plants.”
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