The Agathon: Book One

by Weldon, Colin

  “Gentlemen, I need not remind you that our primary concern is locating a habitable world, not conducting archaeological digs on other planets. I am conscious of other concerns regarding the safety of this ship,” said the captain. “Alpha team tells me we are currently six hours away from being able to lift off and I intend to adhere to that schedule. Do what you need to do within that timeframe, but once Alpha team has completed repairs I want you back on this ship.”

  “Captain, we cannot abandon this without...”

  “Those are my instructions, Mr. Young,” Barrington interrupted. “Lieutenant, get Beta team prepped and ready to go by seventeen-thirty hours, clear?”

  “Very clear, sir,” Chavel rounded off.

  “Barrington out.” Young looked at Chavel, clearly not happy with the decision. Chavel shrugged.

  “He’s right, Mr Young, we didn’t come here for this. We have people depending on us and if anything happens to us on this planet we won’t get a second chance at this,” he said. Young looked at the structure and shook his head.

  “Tyrell, what can you get from under the surface?” he asked.

  Tyrell raised his eyebrows. “Six hours doesn’t give us much time. I could calibrate the cube to a refined scanning beam and try and get a more accurate fix, but I think we should take a more aggressive approach,” he said.

  “Meaning?” asked Chavel. “Your pulse gun could bore a hole of up to fifty meters at its highest setting, could it not?” Chavel looked at the weapon holstered at his side.

  “We could damage it,” said Young.

  “Jerome, we are more than likely never returning to this world and whatever this is will have to remain a mystery unless we get down to a better scanning depth,” said Tyrell in a matter of fact kind of way. They looked at Chavel.

  “Hey, this is your show, guys. It’s just an old alien rock to me, but you’re right, Doctor Tyrell. A sustained shot at level six will carve a heavy chunk out of that bedrock.” Tyrell looked at Young, who was examining the outside of the structure.

  “Do it,” he said finally. They stepped back when the current round of scans were completed. Tyrell withdrew the cube so that it was out of range of the rock face and Chavel drew his weapon.

  “Now, take it easy, Lieutenant. Try not to blow up the whole rock face. It would be nice to keep it intact,” said Young, with his hands raised. Chavel lowered his gun and looked at him.

  “Trust me,” he said, smiling. He slid his finger up the left side of the weapon, increasing its power, and aimed about six feet in front of the rock face. He steadied his feet and dug in his heels to protect against the recoil in this gravity. He fired a series of sustained blasts into the bedrock, throwing a plume of grey and white dust in the air. As the thick debris cleared, the rock face stood unscathed by Chavel’s attack. The hole that had been opened in the ground revealed something that made Young gasp.

  “Holy shit,” he said, looking into the space. “Tyrell, get over here and get readings on this,” he said. The dust settled and revealed a dark-stoned structure with what looked like circuit-shaped carvings all over it. Tyrell set up the cube scanner at the edge of it and began taking readings. Seconds later the ground began to shake.

  15

  Agathon Hull

  19:00 Martian Standard

  “Did you feel something?” said Emerson to Boyett, putting his hand on her shoulder.

  “Stop flirting with me, stud, we have work to do,” she replied, not looking up from her laser welder. The hole in the side of the ship had numerous metallic sheets stretched across its surface. They had spent the last few hours erecting support pylons on the deck plating to reinforce the emergency hull segments put in place. Boyett did not have much time to take in the view, as she had endless amounts of joining rivets to seal into place. It was tedious work, not to mention unnerving to think that one of the passengers had intentionally tried to blow up the ship in hyperspace. She lost concentration for a minute when a vibration rippled through the ship and the laser welder slipped, nearly slicing off one of her fingers.

  “Jesus,” she said. She sighed and looked down at her repair work. “When we find this fucker, I’m going to turn him inside out and throw him out an airlock,” she said, catching Emerson smiling out of the corner of his transparent faceplate.

  “I have no doubt,” he answered, looking out over the surface of the hull and into the distance.

  “What’s up?” asked Boyett, following his gaze. He looked back at her. Even in the suit she thought he was a very sexy man. That was some night, she thought to herself. About time for another.

  “Thought I felt a tremor. You?” he asked. She righted herself and remained still for a moment. That was when the world from underneath her gave way. The shaking of the hull threw her on her back, as she saw Emerson struggling to grab hold of something. She suddenly found herself sliding away from the repair site and over the side of The Agathon’s hull. At that height the inbuilt shock absorbers wouldn’t protect her from serious injury and the grav lifts were locked onto the hull beside the damaged area of the ship.

  The surface of The Agathon’s hull was virtually impossible to hold onto, as she slid over its smooth curves. She gritted her teeth and prepared for the fall as she felt a tug at her back. She looked back and saw Emerson on his front reaching out and grappling with her suit. He was still tethered to the hull. Boyett breathed a silent sigh of relief as they came to a stop just before the edge of the ship. It continued to shake.

  “Barrington to all teams. Evacuate. We have serious seismic activity registering,” said the captain over the comms. In the distance Boyett began to see plumes of white smoke bursting out from the ground. She looked back at Emerson, who was scrambling to get a grip on the tether.

  “Come on, Charly, that’s our cue,” he said, getting to his feet.

  “Emerson to Bridge. We need two more minutes to seal this hull sheeting,” he said into his faceplate.

  “Okay, Landon, two minutes,” came the reply. A burst of smoke erupted off into the distance.

  “Alpha team, have you heard from Beta team?” Barrington said over the comms.

  “Negative, Captain,” said Boyett.

  “Keep comm links open. We can’t get hold of them,” he said.

  “Sir, you want me go after them?” Boyett said.

  “Too dangerous, Charly. Finish up and get your asses inside. I need you at flight,” he said.

  “Understood,” she said. Another tremor nearly shook the pair of them off their feet, but they stood their ground well and reached the repair site.

  “Are you all right, Lieutenant?” said Llewellyn, who was fusing a piece of hull with determination. Boyett gave her the thumbs up.

  “Okay, let’s get the hell out of here,” Emerson said.

  “Charly, Amanda, focus on getting that lateral shielding locked. We can finish the ventral bonding from inside the deck once we’re airborne, but right now we have two minutes so hustle people,” he said.

  “Agathon, this is Beta team. We are incoming. We have injured,” it sounded like Chavel’s voice through heavy static. Boyett looked out over the grey and turbulent surface of the dead planet. She saw a large crack creeping its way across the ground.

  “Fuck, the ground is opening up,” she said.

  “Alpha team, inside now,” came the captain’s voice.

  “Jesus, look at it,” said Llewelyn, who was frozen in place, watching the large crack that was now edging towards the resting ship. Steam and gas vented through the gaps, as they scrambled with their gear and headed over the edge of the ship and onto the grav lifts. As they lowered themselves onto the ground, Boyett thought she saw three small figures in the distance. It was difficult to make out with the dust and steam.

  “Alpha team approaching ramp. I think I see them, Captain. About three kilometres east. I can get to them,”
said Boyett, dropping her gear onto the ramp and getting ready to run.

  “Negative, Lieutenant,” said Barrington.

  “Agathon, we are unable to traverse terrain. We have multiple fissures opening up and Young is seriously injured. Requesting an evac,” said Chavel, out of breath.

  “I’ll be there in sixty seconds, Captain,” said Boyett.

  Agathon Bridge

  “Get us up,” said Barrington to Boyett, who was trying to catch her breath after sprinting through the decks to get to the bridge.

  “Beta team stand by, we are coming to your position. Hold there, do you copy?” Barrington said. No reply.

  “Beta team, do you read?” Static. The bridge began to vibrate as Boyett engaged the thrusters, as it fought against the gravity of the planet and held its position over the surface.

  “Take us to the last source of transmission, Charly,” Barrington said.

  “Got it, sir. ETA thirty seconds,” she replied. The view screens at the head of the bridge showed a volatile surface with cracks and eruptions every few meters.

  “There!” said Llewellyn, who was manning the navigation station. A few seconds later, three figures came into view. They were all lying on the ground. One of them was missing half a leg.

  “Bring us to within ten meters, Charly,” Barrington shifted in his seat.

  “Emerson, get ready to run,” he said.

  “Doctor Brubaker. Are your medical teams in place?” he asked.

  “We’re here, Captain,” she replied.

  “Okay, Charly, put her down nice and easy,” said Barrington. The pylons had remained extended and the ship sank to the ground with relative ease.

  “Go, Emerson,” he said into his comms.

  “Going,” came the reply. The view screen showed the exterior of the ship and the three figures unmoving.

  “Llewellyn, can you get me a reading on those gases?” Barrington said.

  “High concentrations of methane, hydrogen sulphide, hydrogen fluoride and carbon monoxide. If their breathers are cracked in any way…” She shook her head at the captain, who acknowledged it. Barrington suddenly felt a familiar presence in his mind. He knew it wouldn’t be long before Carrie sensed what was happening.

  Not now, Carrie, I need to focus, he thought.

  Sorry, she said. Anything I can do?

  He didn’t answer. The presence in his mind faded. The bridge began to shake. An enormous explosion of gas and dust blew out of a nearby hill.

  “Sir, I’m getting tectonic instability readings from directly under the ship,” said Llewellyn.

  “I think we’re right on top of a vent that’s about to blow,” she said, her eyes widening. Barrington looked at Boyett, whose hands were in the standby position on the thrusters. Unmoving. Emerson appeared on the screen with the other team in tow. They dragged the three out of shot of the viewer and seconds later came Emerson’s voice.

  “We have them, sir. Lock it up and let’s go,” he said. The ship was rocked to one side and a high pressure expulsion of gas hit its port side.

  “Charly!” shouted Barrington. Boyett’s hands moved quickly and she fired the ventral plasma thrusters at full blast. The ship rose quickly into the air, as the ground beneath it gave way into an eruption of gas and rock.

  “Altitude one thousand feet and rising, sir. We’re clear,” she said. She let out a breath of air through tightly closed lips and continued her ascent.

  “Barrington to engine room. How are the seals holding on deck three?” he said.

  “Tosh here, she looks good. We’re pressurising the effected sections now. Stand by,” he said.

  “We’ll hold at two thousand feet,” said Barrington. Several minutes passed as the bridge crew waited for the all clear from Tosh.

  “Okay, bridge, we are showing one hundred percent on deck three,” said Tosh.

  “Charly, take us one hundred thousand kilometres away from this planet and hold position,” said Barrington.

  “Yes, sir,” she replied, as the view screens shifted to star fields on all angles. It rose steadily.

  “I’ll be in the medical bay. Charly, you have the con,” said Barrington, as he made his way to the back of the bridge.

  16

  Medical Bay

  Twenty Days since departure

  14:43 Martian Standard

  Carrie sat by Chavel’s bio bed as Brubaker briefed the captain on the status of the three members of Beta Team. Tyrell was sitting upright and looking over at Barrington. He was wearing a breather. Young was unconscious and undergoing surgery.

  “His leg is severed just below the knee,” said Brubaker. “Seems like a gas pocket opened up right underneath it and tore it clean off. He’ll live and we have bio synthetic replacements on board, so he got lucky.”

  “The others?” said Barrington.

  “There were micro cracks in their face plates when they came on board. Tyrell has some scorching of the alveoli, as does Chavel, but I expect they’ll be back on their feet in a day or two with some dermal regenerative treatment.”

  “Thank you, Michelle. Good work,” said Barrington. He walked over to Carrie.

  “How are you doing, Dice?” he said softly. She looked up at him. “I think it’ll take more than an earthquake to take down this man, don’t you?” he said, smiling.

  “I was going to tell you about him,” she said, after a moment.

  “No need,” he replied. “We don’t have secrets, do we?” Carrie smiled.

  “No, I guess we don’t,” she replied. “You need to see the data that Doctor Tyrell transmitted back. They found technology under the rock formation.”

  Barrington looked over at Tyrell, who was watching them intently. “Show me,” he said, turning to meet Carrie’s gaze. He walked over to Tyrell who was sitting on the side of the bio bed and breathing heavily into an oxygenator. He put his hand on Tyrell’s shoulder.

  “How are you, Tyrone?” he asked, looking into his bloodshot eyes.

  “Splendid, John,” came his muffled response. “Carrie told you about the data?” he asked through a wheeze. Barrington nodded. “It’s extraordinary, John. There are markings on the surface correlating with those from the Monolith from Phobos.”

  Barrington’s hand remained on his shoulder.

  “With your permission, Tyrone, Carrie is going to take me to the lab to show me,” he said.

  Tyrell’s brow furrowed slightly. “Of course, you don’t need my permission. I can join you now,” he replied, getting up off the bio bed. Barrington held his hand firmly on Tyrell’s shoulder.

  “No, Tyrone. Doctor Brubaker needs you here for the next few hours… to monitor you. Carrie can walk me through what she has and we can discuss it further once we’ve jumped back into hyperspace. For now, just take it easy. I don’t need your lungs exploding all over the deck before we’ve reached the Aristaeus system.” Tyrell’s eyes met with his.

  “Of course, Captain. There are several kilo quads of data on the cube which did not send before the accident. It’s over there on the ledge,” he said, pointing to a side table by Brubaker’s office. Barrington nodded and tapped him on the arm. Tyrell looked over at Carrie, who nodded back as she left Chavel’s side and joined her father. Barrington took the cube and they left the medical together.

  “I need to go to the engine room to check on things,” he said, as they walked towards the lift.

  How is your assignment going? he thought in his head, linking with her mind. They continued through the corridor, nodding to passing crewmen.

  It’s proving to be difficult. There’s something on board that is blocking me. I’m not certain, but I think it has something to do with The Black. Barrington stopped mid stride and looked at her.

  “Captain!” came a voice to his left. Chase Meridian was running towards them. She sm
iled at Carrie.

  “Hey, Dice,” she said. Carrie smiled at her. She took Barrington’s arm and pulled him to one side.

  “John, have we a saboteur on board?” she whispered virulently into his ear. Barrington took her by the arm gently.

  “Easy there, Chase. Who said anything about a saboteur?” he said.

  “Come on, John, who do you think you’re talking to? Everyone is saying that someone planted an explosive device on deck three and that’s what blew a hole in the hull,” she said, her face taking on a stern expression that did not suit her generally jovial nature.

  “Is Young dead?” she added. Barrington rolled his eyes.

  “No, he’s not dead,” he said, showing frustration. Meridian put her hands up.

  “Okay, okay,” she said.

  “So where are we off to?” she added.

  “We’re heading to the engine room, Chase, then to Tyrell’s lab to take a look at the data that came in from a rock formation that Beta team found on the surface,” said Carrie.

  “And you weren’t going to invite me?” she said with a dramatic look of shock on her face. Barrington sighed.

  “Okay, Doctor, another set of eyes on this thing wouldn’t hurt,” said Barrington.

  “Excellent,” she said, turning to join them. She winked at Carrie and the trio continued on towards the lift.

  Engine Room

  16:32 Martian Standard

  Daniel Tosh was exhausted and his back hurt from prolonged use of his chair. Not to mention this mission was turning out to be far more dangerous than Young had let on and now he was possibly dead, according to Emerson who had arrived in the engine room a short time ago after ‘rescuing’ them. He was currently making adjustments to The Betty FTL chamber while Emerson was making a visual inspection of the repair work on deck three.

  “Can you hand me an ionic stabiliser, Atanazja?” Tosh said to the young woman on the opposite side of the plasma duct. She nodded and walked under the tubing to hand him the tool.

  “How are you feeling, Doctor? You look tired,” she said with a French accent.