Colony (Terran Chronicles Book 3)

by James Jackson

  Cindy sits back in her chair and enjoys the spectrum of colors on the screen. The random effects of light as particles strike the navigational shields is mesmerizing, and to her, quite relaxing. She turns and smiles at Lisa who steps onto bridge with Johnny. Glancing over her shoulder, she notices that George is now at his station, diligently monitoring the ship’s systems with his suit.

  Lisa stares at the view screen, the kaleidoscope of colors is at first enticing and enthralling. But as the minutes pass, so does her well being. Lisa’s stomach churns and rumbles. She burps, then swallows quickly as bile begins to work its way up the back of her throat. She tears her eyes away from the scene then burps again, this time she almost throws up on the floor.

  Lisa pats Johnny’s leg, then shakily stands up, “I have to go and lie down for a bit.”

  Cindy looks at Lisa and frowns with concern, “Are you okay? Do you want me to fetch Henry?”

  “No, no,” Lisa replies, still burping, “I just need to lay down.”

  George suddenly realizes that his wife is not well. He disconnects his suit from the ship, then hurriedly steps out of it. Lisa waves him off, “Really, I’m okay. I must have eaten something funky, that’s all.”

  Cindy glances at George, then nods supportively to him when they make eye contact. While George helps Lisa to their room, Cindy recalls how sick the ship’s sub-light maneuvers used to make her. What Cindy does not realize, is that during sub-light maneuvers, she subconsciously avoids looking at the screen. When she has to look, she focuses on the objects that are moving the least.

  Joe automatically begins to take over George’s tasks, while still monitoring the ship’s power utilization curves. All the ship’s systems are running well, which fills Joe with a great sense of pride. He turns to Cindy and reports, “Everything is A-ok, Admiral.”

  Cindy nods to Joe, then after a quick peek at George’s empty suit, turns to Johnny. “I didn’t feel very well either, the first time I was on the bridge,” she says, trying to comfort him.

  Johnny feels as though he should see if his mom is okay, but the view is so enthralling he just cannot leave. He smiles weakly at Cindy, “Mom will be fine, dad’s got her.” But with both of his parents gone, he begins to feel quite out of place on the bridge with all the adults. He fidgets in his chair as he musters the courage to speak. He looks down and kicks at the floor while he timidly asks, “Miss Cindy, can I stay?”

  Cindy thinks before answering, then considers that George and Lisa could probably use a break, and says, “Yes, you can stay.”

  Meanwhile, far behind them already, the starship Liberty, is not fairing well.

  Chapter Seven - New Earth

  Location:

  Starship Terran

  Planetary Orbit

  New Earth

  Captain John Thompson is feeling very proud of the Terran. Between the repairs, and the additional power, a trip that would normally take them months has taken them less than two weeks. John swings around in his chair and says to Cindy, “We’re on approach to New Earth. I will park us in orbit between the planet’s two moons and over the old settlement site.”

  Cindy leans forward in her chair, “It will be interesting to see how the buildings we left behind have fared during our absence.”

  Lisa quietly sits off to the side with Johnny. She avoids looking directly at the screen, and instead gazes at George’s back. He really does know how to use that alien space suit, she realizes with admiration. She has spent very little time on the bridge, but feels compelled to be there now.

  Johnny, on the other hand, cannot keep his eyes off the massive view screen. The shifting colors still fascinate him greatly, and have done so throughout the trek. He gasps when New Earth unexpectedly swings into view. The planet is larger than he expected, its white clouds, blue seas, and large landmasses, remind him immediately of Earth. Massive ice sheets dominate the polar regions, while the landmasses are covered in a mix of browns and greens.

  George has been monitoring the ship’s systems diligently. He turns to Cindy and says, “Everything looks good from here.”

  Cindy glances at Joe, then raises an eyebrow, “No complaints about power this time? I am shocked.”

  Joe gives her a reproachful look, “Alright, I commented a few times about our power shortages last time.”

  Cindy raises an open hand and says, “Only a few times...” Her voice trails off, as she playfully antagonizes him.

  Joe sighs, “Okay. Yes we have extra power this time, but it’s not unlimited.” He stares at Cindy, but she simply tilts her head as if to say, ‘and’. Joe shakes his head slowly, then without even looking at his console, adds, “We’re running at less than three percent in our reserves right now.”

  Cindy smiles, “I knew it. You have been getting worried.”

  John grins, then changes the subject, saving Joe from further abuse, “I am really looking forward to trying out that new shuttle of ours.”

  Peter glances at John in mild surprise. Very little escapes Peter’s notice, and yet, this is the first he has heard of a new shuttle.

  Cindy catches Peter’s expression, then says, “John, Peter, Emma, you’re with me. I want everyone else to stay up here and keep an eye on things.”

  Joe turns to Peter, and says with glee in his voice, “You’re in for a real treat, mate.”

  Peter nods, but remains quiet. He wonders what else he has failed to notice.

  Cindy leads John, Peter, and Emma, to the hangar deck. Instead of heading downward to the floor, she leads them to a series of platforms that seem to jut out precariously from the walls. Peter stares at the dozen landing pads, his eyes follow the thick cables that extend from their edges to the roof. The platforms are as purpose built as the shuttles that rest upon them. Some are long and thin, while others are quite small, relatively.

  Cindy says with pride, “Knowing the Terran can’t land, these were built to transport the prefabricated items, along with everyone that’s going down.”

  Emma points to the largest shuttle, easily longer than a football field, “That one is already loaded,” she points excitedly to a smaller one that rests on its own platform below it, “and that one too.”

  Peter stares at the platforms, then at the deck far below. His eyes wander as he glances from one to the next, “What a great use of what was otherwise, wasted space,” he says distantly.

  John says with admiration in his voice, “It was Joe’s idea to adapt the Gamin’s shuttle latching system.”

  Cindy motions to a specialized gangway that leads to the smallest shuttle, “That’s our scout ship.”

  John steps onto the open side ramp, then goes inside. Peter and Emma follow, with Cindy trailing. The rear area has seats for six people, along with an abundance of storage space.

  The cockpit is a huge surprise to Peter. The forward view screen wraps around the front of the craft, much like an old World War II bomber’s tail gun area. Peter steps forward, looks up at the ceiling above, then down to the deck below. Control panels rest in front of two forward facing chairs. Another occupies each side of the cockpit. These side chairs are mounted onto small embedded rails, allowing those seated to either look forward, swivel to the side, or even slide back to consoles of their own.

  Emma sits on the right side, then slides forward while she spins around. She looks across at Peter and grins, “You can’t even get away from me here,” she says playfully.

  Cindy takes the side chair on the left, which also surprises Peter, I would have expected her to be front and center, he thinks. As if reading Peter’s mind, Cindy says to him, “I want your keen eyes, and attention to detail up front.”

  Peter nods, my attention to detail! He thinks, chastising himself. His thoughts continue, I didn’t even notice these damn shuttles and platforms when I boarded, and she wants my attention to detail!

  John takes the remaining seat, then expertly taps a few controls before him, “Joe, George, we’re ready.”

 
; Joe’s voice comes through the shuttle’s speakers clearly, “Understood, opening the ramp.”

  Peter turns to look at John, “So, was this one of the shuttles you were testing?”

  John grins as he flies down to the planet, “It sure was. In fact, we were supposed to have another one, but somehow it got…” he catches Emma’s glance, pauses, then hesitantly adds, “damaged.”

  Peter grins back, but says nothing. No need to frighten Emma, he thinks as he reaches over and pats her knee.

  Cindy gets their attention as she points at a distant structure, “Is that our settlement?” She turns to the others, surprise on her face, “The place looks,” she stumbles mentally, unable to find the words that describe the scene below, “ravaged.”

  John circles their old settlement in silence. Its once tall wooden walls lay in ruins on the ground. The buildings show severe signs of weathering, grass can be seen growing on the roof of some. Wooden doors lay shattered, while planks of wood from some of the buildings are strewn all over, as if hurled by some great force.

  Peter stares intently into the remnants of their main building, the one they holed up in to escape the wolf-cats. He suddenly points at the building, “Look, those predators have made our old buildings their home.”

  Sure enough, a pair of these large creatures lazily rest inside the compound’s main building. Their thick brown fur, and lion-like snouts give rise to their name. Emma’s notes reference them by their scientific terminology, but even to her, the term wolf-cat has stuck.

  John frowns, “But we left the transmitters behind.”

  Emma examines the scene as John continues to circle the compound. She purses her lips, then says, “It looks as though the buffalo knocked the transmitters down, along with the fences, and the wolf-cats have been using this place ever since to ambush the herd.” She points excitedly at a group of dirt mounds just outside the fallen walls, “That’s their kill zone. Those wolf-cats could be more intelligent than we first thought.”

  Cindy frowns as she gazes downward, “Let’s find a new site for our settlement, somewhere with room to grow.”

  John gains some altitude, then with no one offering a suggestion for which way to go, he heads, what on Earth would be, west. Keeping the distant ocean on their left, they travel in silence as valleys, hills, and forests, seem to roll beneath them.

  They all gasp as the shuttle clears a particularly high mountain range. Before them is an amazingly beautiful landscape. John slows the shuttle, and tours the vast countryside. The mountains give way to hills, with an expansive forest beyond. Gazing farther away, a wide, yet fast flowing river drains into the ocean. The beach on either side of the inlet is extremely long, and curves away to distant rocky outcroppings. Viewed from above, the wide sandy beach is crescent shaped. Waves lazily lap the shore. The land on the far side of the river is flat and covered in long grass all the way to a forest. Peter squints his eyes, then silently points out a lake almost hidden amongst the trees. Beyond this forest, more hills turn into yet another extensive mountain range.

  Emma looks up the valley, then back to the ocean, “This entire valley appears to have been created by glacial action.”

  John tilts his head toward Emma, “Do you want me to fly up the valley, to see if your glacier is still there?”

  Emma mulls the idea over then says, “Nah, plenty of time for that later.” She frowns a little, then adds, “You know, I think there is enough room here for a decent sized city.” She swings her chair back to her terminal, then quickly reviews the data before her. She smiles, and happily reports, “Yes, the area between the mountain ranges could easily sustain a hundred thousand people.”

  Cindy gazes at the valley, then says, “Let’s get back to the ship. I want this area thoroughly examined.” She pauses, then issues her orders, “Emma, select a ground team, take as long as you need to survey the area. John, I want shuttles on standby, for immediate evacuation of Emma’s team, if the need should arise.” She stares intently at her friends, “There may be wolf-cats, or worse, down there.”

  John nods his head in agreement. Peter suddenly experiences a strange feeling, one he has not felt in a very long time. He glances at Emma, deep concern for her showing on his face. His lips quiver as he wants to speak, but his years of training stop him. Be professional, he chastises himself, she will be just fine.

  Cindy catches Peter’s expression, and is stunned, the man can kill without hesitation, and yet here he is, with his Achilles’ heel exposed. She turns away, then purses her lips as she considers what to do. Without even turning around, she adds, as if it were an afterthought, “Peter, I want you to lead a security detail for the survey team’s protection, not that I am expecting trouble, but let’s cover all bases.”

  John turns to Peter, and with a smile on his face, gives him a supportive thumbs up, thinking, I can only imagine what would happen to anyone, or anything, that hurt Emma. Damn, he has it bad. John turns back to his console, then taps a few controls, and says, “Heading back to the Terran.”

  Once back on the bridge and seated, Cindy taps the internal communications symbol on her console, “Attention all crew. Today we found a possible site for a major settlement. I want all department heads to meet me in the mess hall in fifteen minutes.”

  George disconnects his suit from his wall console, then catches Cindy before she can leave. “The roving damage control parties have found some minor buckling in the forward section.” When Cindy fails to respond, he adds, “Those teams are proving to be quite effective, because according to the ship’s systems, everything is fine.”

  Finally Cindy nods, then simply says, “Excellent.” She then turns her gaze to the rest of the bridge crew, “Now, who wants to come with me to the mess hall?”

  George frowns, doesn’t she get it? The repair work done to the ship after the nukes, is not holding up. He ponders her blasé reaction, then smiles. She trusts her bridge crew, truly trusts us.

  Hundreds of noisy people are crammed into the mess hall, including many sightseers. Cindy makes her way to the middle of the room, then stands on chair to gain some height. She gazes at the throng of people, their excited chatter is quite loud in the crowded room. She lifts her hands in the air, and signals for silence, but the noise continues.

  A few minutes later a loud, deep voice pierces the air, “Listen up people!” The room goes quiet almost immediately because of the power behind General Walker’s words. He then turns to Cindy, “The room is all yours, Admiral.” She stares at him for a few seconds, while her mind reels, I had forgotten that he was on board, he must have kept out of sight, and out of mind, apparently.

  Breaking from her thoughts, she gazes at those assembled, “There are dangers on this world, and I am sure we did not find them all the last time we were here.” She stops, then stares at the eager faces before her, letting her words sink in before continuing on. “Emma will be in charge of all survey missions, and it will be on her authority only, as to who will be going planet-side, and when.” She holds a hand up to quell the mild murmurs that instantly begin. When the room is quiet once more, she says, “The people back on Earth have assigned this planet a name. But,” she gazes at the crowd, making eye contact with many of them. Taking a deep breath, she continues, “early settlers and explorers have always named their discoveries, and my crew has earned the right to name this planet whatever they want. They paid for it in blood, while those back home just sat behind their desks, safe and sound.” She pauses again, and with a loud and upbeat voice says, “This planet is called New Earth, and it will be our new home, and our new hope.”

  The crowd cheers, a few begin to clap, then a few more, soon the entire assembly is heartily clapping. Everyone becomes energized as they look forward to being a part of this historic event.

  Cindy waits a few more minutes before she holds up her hand once more. When the room is quiet, she finishes her speech, “General Walker, Barbara, and Patrick, join me on the bridge. The rest of you, sit
tight, and get ready for some hard work.”

  While the crowd in the mess hall begins to dwindle, General Walker shakes his head, dismayed by the lack of discipline on the ship. Cindy had said department heads, and yet she did nothing about all the people that should not have been here. He sighs, then makes his way to the bridge, musing, why we didn’t meet there in the first place baffles me.

  Walker is the last to arrive at the bridge, and once again, the number of people present surprises him. He slowly steps into the room, and immediately notices the large view screen. A planet occupies its lower portion, while stars fill the void. He takes his eyes off the scene, then scrutinizes everyone. Cindy sits comfortably in the large, centrally placed command chair. He notes that it is on a raised dais, and overlooks the rest of the room. The four chairs before it, each with alien looking consoles, are occupied. He mentally checks off those seated, John their pilot, Joe the engineer, Peter the... now, what does he really do? Walker’s gaze falls upon the last chair on the right, ah, Emma the planetologist. Gazing to the far left, he nods to Radclyf and Hayato, then frowns in annoyance. The two soldiers do not stand, nor do they salute. Casting his gaze to the right, he spots Lisa, George’s wife, and their young boy, what the blazes is going on here? A child at a bridge meeting! Is this some kind of joke? Turning farther to the right, his eyes narrow when he recognizes a Gamin bodysuit. Its visor is up, revealing George’s grinning face. Patrick stands behind George, and is almost hidden by the suit’s bulk. Swinging his gaze over to the far left, he spots Barbara, then nods to her. Noticing that there is room for him between her and Radclyf, he walks over and stands there. His face is a stern mask, as he controls his building irritation at the casual way the ship is being run. He simply says, “Admiral,” while he stares back at her intense gaze.

  Cindy has also been carefully observing, and once Walker is facing her, she directs a strong-minded statement his way. “I don’t stand on ceremony General, in fact you may refer to me as Cindy, or ma’am. We don’t waste time on salutes, or pomp, we just do our jobs here.”