They all smiled at his last words. The trill of the moment caught up with them and they all returned to their tasks, regularly looking at the screen that showed the information from the scans.
And as the information’s flowed in, they all if there was gravity on the ship would have jumped from surprise and joy.
“O my god.”-the comment came from Kaminski who in fact spoke what was on everyone’s minds.
“We have a planetary system. Not as large as our own but we have it all right. And remember when they thought they had a ping on a planet back in what was it 1998 I think at a distance of 0, 5 AU. They were right and close. The planet is at 0, 54.”
Jennings looked at Rivers and then at Antonov. He knew that they were all thinking the same.
“What was the habitable zone for Proxima? From 0.20 to 0.30 AU or…? Dr. Antonov?”
“It was estimated to be from 0.23 to 0.55 Astronomical units. And if that is right…”
“Then it is in the habitable zone. And she is not the only one. We have two more, one at the very edge at 0, 24 and one at 0, 45. And we also have two more far outside. And some asteroids from whose composition I guess some came from our own. The one closest is the largest one, roughly one and a half the size of Earth. And it has three moons.”
“Jesus Christ. Do you know what this could mean?”
Everyone looked at Rivers. As they discussed it more and more people started coming to the bridge. In five minutes there was no more room.
Jennings looked at the group that filled the bridge. A smile came to his face as he remembered his nephew. He instinctively touched the pocket with his picture. It was his dream. And it was his as well.
“This is for you. For you Pit…” As the thought passed by he returned his gaze on the gathered group.
“Alright people we have a meeting in twelve minutes. We are all excited but let’s clear this place and see what we can find out about the planets and then will discuss it. Everyone return to your posts and will see you on the briefing.”
When the group dispersed and the bridge cleared he looked at Linda. Her face showed excitement. He knew that his showed it as well. He still didn’t know if any could harbor life but six worlds in the habitable zone that was a hell of a chance. He tried to imagine the reaction at home but couldn’t. It was a dream come true in a sense and they were all aware of that fact. If only… he stopped that thought.
“Linda, see if you can calculate how long it will take us to get there. And inform our shuttle pilots that they should see if they remember how to fly our new smaller shuttle. I believe that it is faster.”
As she heard his order she smiled. And so did the rest of the people that remained on the bridge.
“Yes captain.”
“Thank you.”
He returned his gaze to the screen, but now his eyes weren’t lost in the distance. As he looked they were glowing.
A dream come true, a dream come true. If only.
That was the thought that went through his head.
Twenty minutes later they were all gathered in the briefing room. The smiles on the faces of the scientists and on everyone else showed that the findings were good.
“Well gentlemen it seems we hit a jackpot.”
“It sure does.”- As Rivers confirmed everyone smiled.
“Sergei if you can…”
“Thank you Sam.”
The Russian scientist activated the screen that showed the system with all the information’s gathered and included in the video.
The six planets were shown as they were positioned. The asteroids and comets were also shown.
“As you can see, and as we all know there are six planets in system. One small, roughly the size of our moon lies at 0, 12 AU. It has no atmosphere and from what we can tell it is a rocky world much like Mercury. That one holds no interest. As for the rest of them, the second planet lies at 0, 24 AU, it has atmosphere, and so do two of its moons. At least one we are sure holds atmosphere that humans can breathe. We need to go closer to check the composition of course. We have atmosphere on the other two planets. The one that is closest to us is the fourth planet and it lies at the outer edge of the habitable zone at 0, 54 AU. It is a cold world but it has oxygen and liquid water. How breathable it is we are not sure but the temperature is something like the Siberia and the Arctic back on Earth. It has plant life and seas of that we are certain. And we have atmosphere on the third world as well. The other two are rocky icy worlds that are outside the habitable zone one at 0, 96 AU and one at 1, 75AU. It is possible too that there are other planets further out but that remains to be seen.”
“Now as for getting closer, it would take too much time for the Deadalus alone to reach any of the worlds. At the top speed it would take several days and it will take us at least a weak to reach it. But the jumper shuttle can reach any in less than a day.”
As he said the last word they all looked at him.
Jennings looked at the Russian scientist who nodded and set down. Jennings inhaled and started speaking.
“As you all know our mission was to investigate this side of the warp point see if recognize the star and then return back and report. The fact that we are just four light years from home does not change our orders.”
“But captain…Sam think of the opportunity. The fact that we discovered a star system and the chance that it could harbor a habitable world, several in fact…That is a chance we can’t miss to explore.”
“I know Dr. Heller. And we won’t let the chance slip. We will visit each world. Just not today, or better said not all of us.”
His last words got their attention. He waited for a moment until he got their undivided attention and continued.
“As you know the shuttle we took from the Argus can move much faster than this ship. In fact it is capable of crossing the distance between this and our solar system in from what I read a day. And it has a big sub light speed as well. It can carry a crew of eight people, eight people and two pilots.”
“You mean that you will leave a team here?”
“Yes we will Dr. Antonov. Two pilots, four soldiers and four scientists will remain in system and await the return of the Deadalus. Your target is the fourth planet which is closest at the moment. The Deadalus will return in this system after it picks up another shuttle along with one of the civilian ships that are in good condition. We will bring more shuttles and supplies and do an extensive search and scan of the system, and of the other that is close as well. I plan to use the other ship and the shuttles to look in Alpha Centauri as well.”
As he finished the sentence everyone started speaking and asking questions. He was expecting the reaction. He knew that everyone wanted to be on the mission. Hell even he wanted a slot on the shuttle. The discussion took another hour before they agreed on the four scientists that were going to stay. It was decided that two biologists, a physicist and Dr. Antonov should be the ones to remain. The team of soldiers was far easier to pick up. One of the soldiers was a medic in case of something unexpected happening.
One hour later the shuttle left the bay of the Deadalus and headed towards its target, and the Deadalus turned and entered the Warp Point.
Paterson together with Admiral Simonson and Edward looked at the images and the report that Jennings brought before them. They all looked amazed, especially the scientists. Their looks were literally lost in the images that the tiny crew of the Deadalus took with the ship telescopes. They were hazy but still showed worlds that clearly had atmosphere. And plant life if the spectral analyzes were to be believed and water. The only question that remained was weather the atmosphere was breathable for humans.
“Sam this is amazing…Habitable worlds… and so near and at a red dwarf.”
“We still don’t know if they are habitable…”
“They have atmosphere, plant life and water. They are habitable. Maybe not soon, but we can build colonies on them…Closed domes. This will change everything. And if there are planets h
ere, than what about Alpha Centauri…The chance there is even greater. We can’t miss this opportunity. Admiral you have to pursue this.”
Simonson looked at the three people in the room with him. On the outside his face was revealing nothing but on the inside he was just as excited. So excited in fact that he already made all the arrangements to prepare one of the civilian ships a ship they named Intrepid changing the Alteran name that meant actually the same. It didn’t have an AI on board, but it was a ship that was in a way a testing ground for the crews that made the transition on the large ships. And Anaya said that she could make a transition herself and command the ship. After a short discussion it was decided that the transition should be made from another AI one that commanded a civilian ship named Hestia. The ship was in a bad shape and it was going to be scrapped so the decision wasn’t hard and Hestia’s AI agreed. It was a lower class model, a class five but that was no obstacle for the mission. As he was having this meeting the AI was already transferring to the Intrepid. All that was left was to pick a crew. That was a headache he was planning to leave to them.
“And it won’t be missed Doc. The Intrepid will go through under the command of commander Jennings and I will carry the entire crew of the Deadalus. It will carry six shuttles and two vipers for support. The Intrepid can carry a crew of four hundred. A crew for flying the ship is already on board. You will take command once you are onboard Captain Jennings. The crew consists of twenty nine people. I will also transfer five platoons of marines just in case. Use them captain. The rest of the crew is yours to choose. You leave in forty eight hours.”
As he finished his sentence he waited for a question but none came.
“That is all gentlemen. You are dismissed all except you captain. I would like to have a word with you.”
Jennings smiled and just nodded. The scientists just nodded and with smiles on their faces left the office.
As they did both officers smiled and started their friendly discussion.
CHAPTER TWELVE
15 May 2018 11:00 hours
Proxima Centaury
As the shuttle slowly descended on the ground Antonov watched the landscape. It was the third continent on the planet that they were now visiting. The planet was cold, most of it covered with ice and snow. But that didn’t bother the local flora and fauna. It was obvious that they are used to this icy world. The air was breathable, a little bit heavier than the air on Earth similar to the air on higher altitudes. They were all excited but the biggest excitement came from the discovery could be seen on the faces of the two biologists. The chance they had now to study a life on an alien world…that was irreplaceable. He smiled as he watched them now. They were young. Addison was twenty eight and Marcus thirty four. It was strange to have so young ones on a mission in space but they were renowned and well known, one of the best in their branch. And of course times were changed now.
He sighed.
Everything was changed now, everything was different. The invasion… that changed it all, and all this no matter how beautiful it was, how amazing, it still was just something that lost its beauty, its innocence.
He turned and looked at the four soldiers with them. They were ready for anything with faces that showed the same emotions of surprise and hidden joy but were also serious. They were the ones that were really important now. Not he and the other scientists. The whole future of mankind depended on the soldiers. And he hoped that he and the rest of the people in his branch will be able to provide them with what they needed.
He sighed again as the shuttle landed.
All this…that fight would be for this too. For the real future that now was open, for all the dreams that now humanity could have. As they stood up and stepped outside, the soldiers first positioning them self so that they could cover every angle and the scientists stepped outside after them, he looked at the white landscape. It was mixed with the dark green color of the tall trees.
The trees were a strange mix something similar to both pines and firs, but a lot ticker, stronger and higher. The trees rose up to fifty meters in the air, some even higher. And as it was common in an untouched nature they were abundant.
Antonov smiled at that thought. Earth must have looked much like this in the distant past before man started walking on it.
Small plant life was scattered everywhere. It was different and yet similar to the plant life that you could see in the colder parts of Earth. It reminded him of Siberia. There was a difference in temperature. Strangely it was colder there than here. The planet was warmer than they expected. Most of it was an icy world but the equator had warmer climate, with temperatures similar to the early spring temperatures on Earth. The temperature there moved from five to fifteen degrees. It was well below zero here though. The thermometer showed minus thirty five degrees…That was cold. When they set out from the Deadalus they packed warm clothes just in case that the world had a breathable atmosphere. The space suits they had were designed to keep them warm. In space the temperature was literally freezing, although without one you wouldn’t have time to feel the cold really, as you would die instantly. They discarded the suits the first day when they discovered that the air was breathable.
The group slowly moved away from the shuttle in the nearby forest. They couldn’t see any animals here but the animals were there all over. They were a strange mix. From what he could see and from what the biologists said most of them were reptilians, but there were also mammals and some other bizarre life forms. They all had thick fur, and were large. Many of the ones they saw were as big as a man, some even larger…
He remembered the strange lizard like beast they saw. Two and a half meters long, it had four three fingered legs. He could rise and stand on his lower extremities that were larger than the front ones. From what they could see he used his front extremities as hands for grabbing the prey. Two rows of large sharp teeth could be seen in his mouth. In a way they were a mix between the teeth of shark and a cat. It was obvious that it was one of the top predators on this world. They still didn’t name it. The research so far was done by mostly taking soil samples and some samples from trees and taking pictures from everything of course. The real research was going to start once the Deadalus or the ship that the captain said he would bring arrived. Three days or better said almost three days passed since they left Deadalus and it returned through the warp point. They had supplies for ten more days. After that…well he just hoped that they could survive on the local life and water.
As he was watching Addison was trying to take a sample from a tree. She used a drill to punch a hole in to its heart and take samples. The process was going slow. Marcus in the meantime cleared the snow and was taking samples from the grass below. Jamison the physicist was with him. Two of the marines were close by keeping careful eye on the scientists and the surroundings. The world was alien and no one knew what could be lurking behind the trees. Several animals could be seen in the distance and he knew that they were watching them. They were something new on this world, something not seen before. He knew that there were no intelligent aliens here although after they were sure that there was water and air they all hoped and at the same time feared that there might be some intelligent specie. The first few hours they just flew the planet at high altitude trying to detect any signs of intelligent life. In the end they were sure there was none. In a way that was a relief. The attack left deep scars in everyone. If before they all dreamed of finding other intelligent life out here now they feared it. The aliens might be dangerous. That strange sentence use mostly by the SF writers and movies was now a fact. The peaceful aliens that NASA and SETI wanted to present were a thing of the past. And yet in a way they were still there. He knew of the other alien species found on the ship that crashed in Macedonia, of the Sicarians. Even with his dying breath that alien tried to help them. And he remembered the story that Anaya told. About the Alterans…their ancestors in a sense and the other races some of which stayed on their side till the very end. There was
good out there but it was obviously hidden. It would take time but there was hope.
As he was encased in his thoughts on of the pilots came out of the shuttle. He approached the commanding officer…Lt. Atkins and whispered something in his ear. Atkins was a tall man from Afro-American descent. He was in his mid-thirties. He smiled as the pilot finished talking and nodded. After the pilot went back to the shuttle Atkins used his radio to contact the rest of his team and then headed toward him. As he did that the other marines also started heading back and on the way they picked up the surprised scientists.
“What is it Lieutenant?”
“Our friends have arrived. They are on the Intrepid. The mission is a go.”
“Did you say the Intrepid? What about the Deadalus?
“Captain Jennings said that they left the Deadalus in the solar system. They transferred on the Intrepid along with a lot more people. They want us back with everything we have. Other teams are landing all over to pick up samples.”
“So the mission is a go.”
Atkins smiled showing a row of white teeth.
“It was never in doubt doc…Never in doubt. Of course it is a go. Now let’s go. We all need the rest and a shower.”
Antonov just smiled and headed after him.
Jennings looked at the faces of the men he left behind three days ago. The excitement was obvious on all of them. Even the four marines were according to Ellis stunned by what they saw. And he knew.
The knowledge that there was a habitable world here ... And with the ship sensors that the Falcon had he now knew that there was not one but five in total. That was amazing and it left everyone without words.
“Well it seems we have a habitable world, don’t we Sergei.”
“Yes we do Sam. It will take time with the soil considering that it is colder, and that it is richer in metals than Earth is, but yes it is habitable. And so is the second one. They are both cold ones, with winter most of the time and snow covering most of the planet…but the air is breathable, the water we can drink, not all of it but most of it and as we now know after taking animal samples we can even use some of the local fauna as food source.”
The Icarian Legacy Collected Edition: Brave Souls - First Strike (Volume 3) Page 22