The Europa Effect (The Vega Chronicles)

by A. L. Mengel

  Like it had been removed.

  And she felt wind against her face. Had she been dreaming again?

  She opened her eyes.

  Before her were countless tiny, white stars.

  But she was floating.

  She looked around, gathered her senses, and gasped as she looked down at her legs: for the sea of tiny, white stars was endless; there was no beginning, nor was there a terminus. It was the vast beauty of space.

  She turned around.

  No ship.

  Yet she was floating, gently, like rolling on waves, through space. …But where?

  In the distance of space, she saw it. A tiny pin point of light. But this one was different from all of the others; it was brighter, seemed hotter. Out-bursting, bright, white-hot gases surrounded it, reaching outwards as it traveled closer to her.

  You are the chosen one.

  She watched the star. As it came closer. And a flood of memories permeated her mind. She remembered the North beach on the new continent back on Earth; she remembered Jeremiah sitting with her at their camp, the howling winds flapping at their tent. She remembered standing on the beach with him as their campfire embers were almost completely burned out. She remembered pointing up towards the sky, watching the bright star, as it dominated the sky, coming closer…and closer.

  You are special. You are unique.

  Beams of light flashed around her and past her as the star neared. She felt like there was no longer any force keeping her stationary; like she was falling into darkness that was surrounded by light. There were rings around the star; it swirled white-hot, and inviting.

  As she fell, she outstretched her arms. Closer and closer she fell, through space, caught and there was no reason to leave. The warmth surrounded her, its fingers reaching across her, caressing her body, the wind blowing along her face.

  Oh, my star. Oh, my love. Oh, my dream. May I never awaken again…

  *****

  She opened her eyes and Moses was standing above her. He leaned in close to her ear and whispered to her. “Now you are ready, Abby. You are each ready for your mission.”

  She propped herself up on her elbows, looking over at the others. Eli and Jeremiah were just opening their eyes as well, as the medical staff had been removing the shiny metallic material from their bodies, and removing the needles from their arms.

  “Psst! Jeremiah!” She watched as he covered his face with his hands. “My amnesia has lifted. I remember everything now!”

  He rubbed his face and looked over at her. “Did you see what I saw?”

  She closed her eyes and nodded. “It was so…beautiful!”

  “I remember standing on the beach with you, Abby. You were the closest to me, remember? My confidant.”

  “And Cane!” she exclaimed as the medical staff assisted her into a white robe. “Desmond Cane! I can’t believe I had forgotten about him!”

  Inikia appeared next to them as Winston and Eli put on robes as well. The team stood before her, waiting and ready. “Your minds have been repopulated with the lost information,” she said. “The cryogenic freezing process has been corrected. When you go back into hibernation, on our journey to Europa, we do not expect to have this effect any longer.”

  “For now,” she said, “you must rest and eat. Later today you are scheduled for training on the mission pod for entry, descent and landing. Once you are on the surface, the ROVER will be the same that you are already accustomed to. But the Martian terrain is quite different. Much more hostile.”

  Later, back in the Dining Hall, Counselor Abagail stared at her vegetable soup. She picked up her spoon and stirred the red broth, examining the colorful vegetables. And then she felt the pressure on the bench next to her. Body weight.

  She looked up slowly and saw the smiling blonde young man. He nodded at her and set his tray down next to hers.

  “Oh, hello, Jeremiah.”

  He smiled and dug into his meal.

  He took a few bites and leaned over closer to her. “How do you feel about this?”

  She looked up and over at him.

  “It’s kind of bland. But palatable.”

  He chuckled and looked at her. “I mean all this.” He waved his fork around as he spoke. “This whole mission that we’re a part of.” He took another bite, was chewing and looking back at her.

  “I…” she placed her spoon down. “I’m not sure, Jeremiah. I mean, before the mind exploration, I hardly even knew who I was. It a pretty scary prospect. But now…”

  “Now?”

  “Now that our memories have been restored, and I know who I am, and where I came from, it seems like we are the perfect candidates to go.”

  Jeremiah took a long gulp of his water. “But why us? Why not them?”

  She placed her spoon down for a moment, looking upwards, biting her bottom lip. “I think…” Then she looked back down into Jeremiah’s eyes. “I think it has to do with us. And humankind. This is our task. It’s our mission to complete. They could do it for us, I’m sure. Their technology appears to be much further along than ours ever was. But this is our mission. This is for our people. Our destiny. And I believe we need to be placed in the driver’s seat for this one.”

  Jeremiah nodded as the hiss of hydraulics emanated from behind them. All heads turned around as they saw Moses, the rather modest looking man standing in the doorway. His hair was neatly parted on the side; his face was now clean-shaven. He was wearing the same standard issue attire that the other crew had been wearing: dark blue casual with heavy, black boots.

  So was he was one of them?

  Counselor Abagail watched Moses as the hydraulic doors hissed closed. He walked slowly towards the front of the Dining Hall, and paused for a moment, looking out at everyone, who had since stopped eating.

  “Everyone,” he said. “I want to introduce to you two members of our exploration team who are preparing for EDL currently. The other two members are now in training prep for the pod as engineers. But here, we have Counselor Janine Abagail, and Mr. Jeremiah Walter. Counselor Abagail will be leading the mission, and Mr. Walter will be focusing on DNA harvesting, seedling acquisition and transport.”

  He extended his arm out to where they were sitting and the entire hall erupted in thunderous applause as Moses sat down across from them.

  As the applause died down, he leaned across the table, closer towards them. “We’ll need you to report soon. But finish your lunches. Relax for a bit. It’s going to be pretty intense from this point forward.”

  “I’ll bet,” Counselor Abagail said, taking a sip of water. “So why the grand introduction? Made me feel like I was some dignitary or something!”

  Moses nodded. “To us, you are.” He leaned a bit closer as Jeremiah leaned in as well. “You see, you are not the only ones we have rescued. But you are some of the first to see how necessary it is for one’s own kind to take a significant role in ensuring their future, and discovering their destiny.”

  “Wow,” Jeremiah said. “There are others?”

  Moses nodded and leaned back. “Yes. There are others. We have been doing this for…I cannot even fathom, it seems.”

  Counselor Abagail’s mouth dropped open as she pushed her bowl forward. “Are you Vegan? Or Human?”

  “Good question, Abby,” he said. “And I will give you the best answer that I can. I am Moses. Copernicus is Copernicus. We are who we are. This is who we were created to be. I cannot say that we are truly Vegan – because our entire existence is on this ship.”

  “But what about the others?” Jeremiah asked. “The crew, Inikia?”

  “Inikia is a Vegan. She volunteered for this ship’s mission so long ago, it seems. There’s less of a concept of time here, you know? Since we’re always out exploring the cosmos. Making the occasional stop, and drop off. Bringing cultures who are on dying planets to new ones to start over…but never really use the measurement of time.”

  They nodded.

  “I can see that,” Jere
miah said. “Time passes so differently based on where you are in the Universe.”

  “Exactly,” Moses said. He stood. “Now take a few more minutes. Relax. Inikia will be coming shortly to pick you up. Copernicus has been calling for the final preparations for your mission.”

  *****

  After they finished their lunch, Inikia came to escort them to BAY 1. They were led down the longest, windowless corridor that Counselor Abagail could remember. Unlike the rest of the ship, this corridor was dark and grey. Networks of panels were on the walls every ten to twenty feet, and at each panel, a team of those dressed in white were manning the stations. The corridor opened into an expansive hanger. Her mouth dropped open as she looked out to see a massive set of doors, clamped shut. In the center of the receiving bay, she saw Eli and Winston already suited up in heavy, white space suits. Their helmets sat on a small table next to them.

  “Last chance to use the bathroom!” Eli called out and started waving when he spotted them. Copernicus and Moses stood with them.

  “That goes out towards the unknown,” Copernicus called out, pointing at the large horizontal doors. And then he looked at the rest of the team. “Just wanted to let you all know how close you are.”

  Jeremiah looked up and saw the underbelly of MACA 1. “Holy shit!” he exclaimed. And then he looked over at Winston and Eli. You guys are going to pilot that?”

  MACA 1 was massive in its own right. It looked just like the hologram back in the conference room. Sleek, black, pointed nose.

  “It actually will pilot itself,” Winston said. “There’s practically no room for error.”

  Counselor Abagail approached the others. “But something could go wrong, couldn’t it, Copernicus?”

  “This scenario is routine,” Copernicus explained. “Winston and Eli have been trained on scenarios where they may need to initiate a manual landing. But the chances of that are extraordinarily rare.”

  “Let’s not think about that,” Jeremiah said.

  As Jeremiah and Counselor Abagail approached the others, Inikia instructed them to go to the left dressing chamber to use the facilities and dress. “In your suit, you will be connected to catheters for bladder relief while on the surface. There are facilities at The Red Outpost, but there will be no opportunity to remove your suits and helmets on this particular mission.”

  “Well, shit, I can’t take a piss,” Jeremiah said. “Now what am I supposed to do?”

  *****

  “Countdown in T-minus 10 minutes.”

  Counselor Abagail looked down at the control panel, which reached around where she stood in a semi-circle. She looked down at the flat, black screens which covered the top of the command station, as she touched the screen furthest to the left.

  INITIATE SEPARATION.

  She held her hand just above the screen for a moment, just a few inches above the glass, as the words flashed their urgency in red.

  As she stood and waited for the separation command, Jeremiah, Eli and Winston were in the outer chamber. Jeremiah closed his eyes as an aide snapped the pressure suits together. Jeremiah could feel a cooling breeze, a light circulation of air.

  “Check your oxygen levels.” The aide’s voice was muffled, but recognizable. Jeremiah opened his eyes. Now that his helmet was on, the darkness surrounded him. He could see the controls through the viewing window; a sea of colorful, blinking lights.

  The massive hydraulic doors lifted open.

  He had never been in the vastness of space before. At least not that he could remember. He turned and watched the aide check his notes through the visor.

  “EDL seven minutes,” Counselor Abagail said, monitoring the controls as MACA 1 separated from the ship. She turned around in her seat and faced Winston and Eli as Jeremiah focused on flying the spacecraft.

  She looked at them both strapped in their seats and saw Eli was panicking. She could see through the visor that his eyes were wide. She looked down at his hands and they were grasping the seat.

  “Calm down, Eli. We’ll be fine.”

  He closed his eyes and shook his head back and forth. “What’s EDL?” He repeated it over and over as the ship roared to life, taking them closer to Mars.

  She reached out and touched his knee as he opened his eyes and looked up towards her. “It’s Entry Descent Landing,” she said. “Now listen, Eli. We will be fine. Jeremiah has been trained again and again on this spacecraft and on entering Mars atmosphere. But I need you to be calm. We’ll be on Martian soil in seven minutes.”

  She turned around in her seat, secured herself, and looked over to Jeremiah. She waved her hand and they switched to a secure channel. “Are you ready for this?”

  He looked over at her, cracked a smile, nodded. She noticed how his giant white helmet bobbed up and down. But she saw the smile. And he gave a thumbs up.

  Jeremiah spoke as he commanded the spacecraft.

  “Ready. Descent. Initiate.”

  She looked out at the red planet below them in the viewfinder. It looked like a giant, red sphere hovering in a black space. But in seven short minutes, they would be landing.

  And not much after that, they would be walking on the sandy soil.

  4

  WE ARE ALL JOVIAN

  *****

  COUNSELOR ABAGAIL TURNED AWAY from the dark mountain, facing the horizon. The sandstorm had abated, but the light was fading. The surface would soon be enveloped in darkness. She typed on her forearm keypad, and shortly after, a series of commands appeared on the dark edge of her visor, along with a digitized voice:

  ROVER LOCATION COMMENCING.

  She paused and waited for a moment as a small icon rotated in the center of the screen. The text flashed in and out.

  “Jeremiah? Winston?”

  Her voice sounded small, and tinny. They probably couldn’t hear her through the tiny microphone transmitter. Or could they?

  Or were they buried in the three graves behind her?

  She paused for a moment.

  Had she had another memory lapse?

  There was a period that she spent on the surface of Mars before the team had lost each other. Shortly after they had landed at Utopia Planitia, with a mission destination of the Red Outpost, she had spotted the ROVER. It stood on the red sand, a silver beacon, reflecting the light from the muted sun. The ROVER appeared as if it were the only sense of familiarity in this foreign, hostile land.

  As she walked against the cloud of blowing sands, several maps lighted on the dark interior of her helmet, to the side of the visor:

  ATMOSPHERE PREPARATION IN PROGRESS!

  It flashed as the digitized female voice spoke the update in her earpiece, in a methodic tone, spaced out by several second intervals.

  The ROVER was only a short distance away. It reflected the muted sunlight through the blowing sands, almost glowing against the dim atmosphere.

  She reached her arms outwards towards the vehicle.

  ATMOSPHERE PREPARATION IN PROGRESS!

  Struggling against the force of the wind, she crossed her arms across her chest, the hard upper torso of her spacewalk apparatus. She moved forward, as each determined step took her closer to the ROVER.

  The ROVER appeared so close; but through her visor, she could see it was parked beyond the far ridge. It shined at the base of a soaring plateau; it gleamed against the fading light; its silver hue seemed to glow, if not shine.

  Her footsteps were determined and certain. There was no other destination that she could think of.

  The ROVER was there.

  It did not matter how she had gotten on the surface of the Red Planet. For the ROVER, the shining beacon in the dim, fading light of Mars, was the only sense of familiarity in a foreign world.

  She paused once she reached the proximity of the ROVER. A few yards shy, she saw it sitting there.

  Lightless, motionless.

  Appearing as if dead.

  As the winds picked up once again, blowing the sand against her visor.r />
  She raised her hands and wiped it clean.

  “Clear code for communication,” she said. Her voice reverberated against the helmet interior sphere and her voice sounded tinny in the COM lines. “Jeremiah?”

  No answer, just the howl of the winds.

  She trudged forward to the ROVER, and fell against it, catching her breath. The front door was flush. She reached out and ran her hands against the edge.

  No handle.

  She took a breath and sighed.

  But she knew she had to get inside the ROVER. The winds were increasing in intensity. She looked back towards the dark mountain. It seemed so much farther away than she had thought; there was a large, shallow crater in the middle of the two mountainous formations. Had she really ventured that far? Had the ROVER truly shined like a saving beacon of light? As if highlighted by the Heavens?

  She fumbled with the arm pad, typing in key combinations. The feel was muted and soft; her suit was bulky and did not allow for precision in her typing, but after several attempts, a small screen appeared on the inside of her visor.

  OPEN ROVER?

  It read.

  “Command yes.”

  The text disappeared as the screen minimized to the corner of her viewing area. The side of the ROVER slid open. She approached cautiously but with determination. There were four seats amidst darkened controls. As the winds increased in intensity, she collapsed into one of the chairs near the front console. The side panel eased itself closed as the roar of the wind was reduced to a light howl outside the sealed chamber as the message screen on her visor maximized.

  INITATION SEQUENCE COMMENCING.

  The controls on the front panel lit across the dash in bright succession. The panel in the center lightened from a deep black to a light grey. She leaned forward to see a message forming in the center of the screen.

  ATMOSPHERE PREPARATION IN PROGRESS.

  Air blew through the interior as the exterior windows covered with sand.