Harvest End

by Max Dane

He nodded, “Here, let me help you.”

  Together they moved behind the droid and disengaged a long silver cylinder. As the droid shoveled samples of the sand into small containers, they opened small supports on the cylinder and placed it vertically on the ground.

  “Have you used one of these before?” he asked.

  “No.”

  “Stand back,” Mathis steadied the tube and activated it. “I think it takes a few minutes to warm up before it generates the wave. We’ll know it because the light at the top will flash.”

  Watching the indicator light, she said, “It creates infrasonic waves doesn’t it? Aimed straight down. About one in twenty people can sense them.”

  “That’s right,” he said, “And when they bounce back we get a very clear picture of everything below.”

  A moment later the light began flashing.

  “Look, Mathis, I think it’s finished.”

  He nodded, “Let’s pack it back on M1 and move to the next location.”

  After loading the equipment back on the droid, they made their way to the second location.

  “You know, it’s not exactly sand,” she said.

  “I agree, it’s like sand, but it seems to compact more like a powder.” He pointed behind them, “Look at our footprints.”

  She could see them perfectly defined, leading all the way back across the dunes.

  “Well, at least we know no one else has been walking around here.”

  “Yeah.”

  As they walked, the wind blew, and dust slowly began to cover their suits and faceplates. Mathis had to stop several times to wipe his sleeve across his helmet. Forcing a smile, he said, “I wish I would’ve brought a handkerchief.”

  Around them the world was silent, all except for the sound of the droid whirring behind. Its treads were holding up well, but they could see that every opening and crevice was filling up with the powdery stuff. Mathis stopped briefly to wipe the ‘eyes’ of the small robot.

  Finally they arrived at the second location and proceeded to gather more samples. Mathis trudged around the droid, and together they removed the long tube for another sounding.

  “This was the Port Authority tower,” she whispered. Looking back, she couldn’t see their shuttle or even the edge of the jump weed anymore. The dunes seemed to cover everything. “Mathis, this is creepy. What happened here? What thing could have done all of this?”

  “I don’t know; I read the briefing, but somehow it’s not what I expected.”

  “I know what you mean. It’s as if the colony is here, all of those people watching us.”

  The light began flashing, and he jumped. “It’s done; let’s hurry up and get to the third spot. I want to get out of here.”

  They made their way to the final location, this time stopping repeatedly to wipe the sand from their helmets. Twice the droid whistled when the gears in its treads clogged with sand. Mathis had to tilt the robot while Rachel poked and prodded the sand out of the moving parts.

  While he was holding it, she said, “Mathis, take a look at this.”

  “I can’t see anything, Rachel. This thing is heavy.”

  “Oh sorry, there’s something coiled up in the tread gears.”

  “What is it?”

  “Hold on.” She changed her position and reached in from the back, “There, I think I can get it now.” Pulling carefully she unraveled a piece of cloth, blue with white stripes.

  “Okay, you can put it down.” She stepped back while he lowered the robot’s side back to the ground. Breathing hard, he stepped over to see what she had found.

  “I think it’s part of a child’s shirt; it looks like a sleeve.”

  He took it and turned it over. “There’s no blood that I can see, but it might still have DNA inside.”

  “I agree; let’s bag it,” she said and sealed the tiny piece of fabric inside the automated carrier.

  The remnant of the child’s clothing only added to the sense of doom that permeated everything around them. Without speaking, they hurried to finish the investigation, both eager to return to the shuttle.

  By the time they returned to the edge of the jump weed, the droid was jerking and stuttering, first the right tread locking up and then the left. Mathis was becoming concerned. The droid was heavy and he was tired. The idea of dragging it the rest of the way was not appealing. “M1, I’m not leaving you here, now pull yourself together; it’s not much further.”

  Mathis grabbed the robot’s arms and heaved it out of the sand and onto the flattened jump weeds. “Now come on, you can do this.”

  Rachel led the way, and together they made it back to the shuttle bay.

  Mathis pulled the droid the last couple of feet and wrapped the ship’s harness around it.

  “Mr. Trask, can you hear me?”

  “Yes, sir, I can hear you.”

  “We’re almost ready to come inside; can you please retract the droid.”

  “Yes, here we go.”

  Seconds later the harness holding the droid was pulled up and locked firmly against the hull. Mathis stepped up to Rachel, “After you.”

  She stepped inside, and he followed as the shuttle doors began to unfold back into place. When the dunes were completely out of sight, Mathis relaxed a little.

  “Boy, I’m glad that’s done.”

  “Me, too.”

  Together they removed the environmental suits and locked them in a large quarantine closet. Then they passed through the hatch where they waited while the ultraviolet lights and bio-elimination spray provided the standard decontamination. Several minutes passed, but finally the second door opened and the pilot handed them sterilized jumpers to wear.

  “Thanks, Mr. Trask.”

  He nodded and returned to the cockpit.

  As they took their seats, the pilot initiated the start-up routine for the shuttle. They could hear the engines revving up from the aft section. Mathis buckled his harness and then reached down to put his shoes on. From the corner of his eye he could see Rachel doing the same. He leaned back and felt something gritty under his shoe. Looking down, he removed his shoe and found traces of powdery sand. It was sprinkled in places around the floor. He knocked it off and put his shoe back on, ‘Man, that stuff gets everywhere.’

  “Hold on, everyone. Here we go.” The pilot engaged the drive, and the shuttle lifted smoothly from the ground. The shuttle cleanly jumped up and through the atmosphere, emerging just below the science vessel. Huge docking bay doors opened and ushered them inside. Dr. Barringer was waiting outside when they stepped off the shuttle.

  “Well done, Mathis, Rachel, well done indeed,” he said, shaking their hands. “I can’t wait to get your samples to the lab.”

  As they were leaving, Mathis heard a loud crunching squeal and turned around to see M1 grinding gears under a broken tread.

  ‘Well, at least the little guy made it home.’

  Bunda System, Mechanical Freighter ID: 21650984A89

  Waking slowly from a deep sleep, Alex felt a persistent nudging on his right leg, just above the ankle. He reached down to brush it away and felt cold steel. Startled, he jumped up and hit his head soundly on the low ceiling.

  “Ow, my head!”

  He sat back down, rubbing his head, finally remembering where he was. “Oh, hello,” he said to the small robot. “Oh that hurts; I did it again, didn’t I?”

  “I am sorry for waking you, but we are nearing the Bunda Port Authority and are receiving a repeating transmission. Would you like to hear it?”

  “Yes, please put it on.”

  “… if you have any questions. Vessels requiring assistance are advised to continue on to either the Deneb, or Rigel systems. Thank you; this message will repeat.”

  The message paused and then began again.

  “Greetings from the Bunda Colony, Port Authority. By order of the Planet Steward, Teagan Astoria, and in accordance with the Earth colonization quarantine protocol, the Bunda Colony spaceport is closed to all
traffic at this time. Until the colony has been determined free of invasive organisms, all landing privileges are suspended. There are no exceptions. You may contact the Bunda Port Authority if you have any questions. Vessels requiring assistance are advised to continue on to either the Deneb, or Rigel systems. Thank you. This message will repeat.”

  Alex felt cold fear grip his chest. The colony was already experiencing symptoms of the things that killed the Madras colony and the Juliet. “I need to speak with them; can you connect me?”

  “Affirmative.”

  Seconds later, a disembodied voice spoke to him from the speakers on the small droid. “Yes, this is the Bunda Port Authority. How can we help you?”

  For just a moment he hesitated, finding it disconcerting to hear a human voice coming from the small bot. “H-Hello? Can you hear me?”

  “Yes, we can hear you. Listen, we’re a little busy down here, so unless this is an emergency… ”.

  “No wait, my name is Dr. Alex Stiles of the merchant vessel, Juliet.”

  “That’s odd, we show that you’re on a maintenance ship, number 21650984A89.”

  Nodding vigorously to the voice from the bot, “Yes, that’s correct. The Juliet was destroyed jumping from the Lester Colony.”

  “You survived?”

  “Yes, it’s a long story, but right now, I need to understand what’s happening at the Bunda colony. What can you tell me?”

  “Well, Dr. Stiles, we are responding to reports of the scourge from several places around the colony. Currently we are trying to isolate the infected areas and sterilize them.”

  ‘The scourge?’ Feeling a chill, he thought, ‘It’s here all right; they’ve named it.’

  “How do you know about ‘the scourge’?” he asked.

  “We received stories from New Dublin and New Rome. Apparently the scourge wasn’t caught in time and wiped out the New Dublin colony completely. We’re not sure about New Rome; they’re the ones who alerted us. Unfortunately, we haven’t heard anything in several days, and now we’re neck deep in it ourselves.”

  “May I ask how you’re sterilizing the infected areas?”

  “Fire and plasma torches. They make rings around the documented homes and factories and then burn them.”

  “Is it working?”

  “Honestly, we don’t know. It might just be slowing the spread of the scourge.”

  “Have you sent for help?”

  “Yes, automated probes were sent to the surrounding systems, and one to Cetus Beta.”

  “Cetus, why Cetus?”

  “Because we heard a rumor that Earth Fleet ships are there, wiping out whoever did this to us.”

  ‘Whoever did this to us.’

  The words rang in his head, over and over. He felt sick. He knew who did it.

  ‘I know because I was the one who killed the New Dublin colony, and probably the New Rome colony, and now maybe the Bunda colony.’

  He wiped his face with wet hands.

  The sane part of him knew that it wasn’t really him. It was just an accident, a plague carried and dropped at each world the Juliet stopped at, a stupid accident carried out by a stupid crew.

  But the death toll was staggering. He couldn’t breathe.

  Quickly he estimated a quarter million colonists at New Dublin, and nearly that many at New Rome. How many at Bunda? He guessed at least one hundred and fifty thousand, maybe more.

  He could taste the bile at the back of his throat.

  “Dr. Stiles, are you there?”

  He wiped his mouth, “Y-Yes, I’m here.”

  “Doctor, we’re suffering from intermittent power outages and it looks like we’re about to have another. I recommend that you head to the Lester colony in the Deneb system.”

  “Yes, of course,” he said, heart sick at the circumstances below. “Sir, I didn’t get your name.”

  “James Wes, Doctor, my name’s James Wes.”

  “Good luck, Mr. Wes, may God provide for you and the people of Bunda.”

  “Thank you, sir, to you as well.”

  He nodded and signaled the bot to disconnect.

  “Where should we take you, sir?”

  ‘Where indeed?’

  It was a good question.

  He knew they couldn’t land here, and going back to the Lester Colony wouldn’t help anything. It was just a matter of time until they began to suffer from the exact same symptoms. Mr. Wes had said there were Earth Fleet ships in the Cetus system. They probably were there trying to figure out what was going on. If he could catch up with them, he could give them information that might help. Looking around, the idea of making the jumps from Bunda to Rigel, Rigel to New Dublin, and finally New Dublin to the Cetus system in this utility bay sounded bad.

  “What is your designation, my small friend?”

  “I am maintenance droid 21650984A89 dash A.”

  “Then I shall call you ‘2A’ for short, and you may refer to me as Alex. Do you understand?”

  “Yes, Alex.”

  “Very good, now 2A, I have a question for you, and it’s very important. I need to know when it was that this ship had any contact with the Bunda colony, landing on the planet, collecting parts or materials, anything.”

  “Two years, eight months, seven days, thirty three minutes and eleven seconds.”

  ‘Excellent, nothing in any way that might mean contamination by the scourge.’

  “Very good, 2A, now how fast can this ship go and how much oxygen do you have for me? Additionally, I need water and food if you have it?”

  “We have contemporary ion drives and can travel as fast as most human rated ships. However, we do not have any gravity chairs, or magnetic hammocks to protect you from the duress of traveling at full speed.”

  “I understand, 2A; what about the air, water, and food?”

  “We do not have breathers to purify the air supply, and our oxygen is limited to what we are carrying in our pressure tanks. If you are able to make use of the breather you brought with you, you may be able to survive longer.”

  “Okay, and what about the water and food?”

  “We can distill water from ice we have collected, but we have no food, Alex.”

  ‘No food. A human can only survive about three weeks without food. This is going to be rough.’

  “I want to go to the Cetus system. We will join the Earth Fleet ships in that system, and you may depart afterwards.”

  The small droid made some quick calculations, “I estimate it will take fourteen days to enter the Cetus system, and one to two days to locate and contact the Earth Fleet ships.”

  ‘Fourteen days.’

  No food for fourteen days. He pulled at the skin on his arm trying to judge the degree of body fat. It would be a hard thing, but there was nothing else to try.

  “Please proceed, 2A. I will practice a meditation technique to slow my heart rate and conserve air and water. Please set course as quickly as you can, and go as fast as I can tolerate.”

  “Affirmative.”

  Alex lay back down, “Oh, and 2A?”

  “Yes?”

  “Thank you.”

  The robot, emotionless and sterile turned and quietly left; unmoved by the atrocity inflicted upon the human colonies, its interest was simply to be rid of its human occupant, its only desire to return to the maintenance of the Bunda satellites. He wondered if it realized that by helping him, it might be helping the Bunda colony, and thereby ensuring the need for the Bunda satellite network.

  It was all too much.

  “Computer, please dim the lights by two thirds.”

  Lying flat on the hard metal floor, Alex took deep breaths and calmed himself. He could hear the engines revving up, the force against him beginning to build. He counted backwards from ten.

  ‘Ten, nine, eight, slow regular heartbeats, seven, six, five, deep breaths Alex, and whatever happens, four, three, two, don’t think about food.’

  The ship’s drive engaged, hurling the automated
vessel across the Bunda system towards the jump to New Rome, in the Rigel system.

  ‘One.’

  Chapter 4

  Hiding places there are innumerable, escape is only one, but possibilities of escape, again, are as many as hiding places.

  - Franz Kafka

  Cetus Beta, the Ajax

  “Julian, do you really think that’s necessary?”

  “Yes, Commander, we have to be certain.”

  Shaking her head, Micha sighed and walked over to the comm panel, “Okay, okay, we’ll do it your way, Julian. But I still think this is a waste of time, the inner system planets are simply too hot to be potential hiding places. And when are you going to start using my name?”

  “I suppose when you’re out of that uniform,” he said studying the list of search routines for the Ajax’s support ships. Efficiency was everything; if there were any way to optimize the ships and distances, it could reduce the time for completion.

  “What?” She paused, looking very stern.

  Suddenly embarrassed, he realized what he’d just said.

  “Oh, that’s not really what I meant,” he said nearly stuttering the words. “I grew up around the military, you know the uniform; it just engenders the sense of protocol and- ” As he spoke he backed into their notes on the console, knocking them off. Watching the papers fluttering down, and his embarrassed back pedal, she couldn’t help but laugh. “Yes, I think I understand.”

  Without pausing, she turned back to the communications interface and pressed the transmit button. Still smiling, she said into the microphone, “Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I am addressing all twelve of our ‘sweeps’. By now you have had a chance to review your individual flight plans. Our goal is to remove any doubt about the possibility of Madras colonists hiding elsewhere in the Cetus Beta star system. Your search regions are coordinated to be as thorough and timely as possible. But even so, please bear in mind that we are trying to find and rescue survivors. Their power and supplies are bound to be minimal, so watch for signs, use your experience, and be thorough. Good luck, and come back safely.”