Final Days: Colony

by Jasper T. Scott

  “I couldn’t if I wanted to. The segments are AI-piloted for a reason. It’s far too complicated for manual controls to make any sense. Don’t worry, the program knows what to do.”

  “Like it knew what to do the first time? It malfunctioned and went off course!”

  “That’s different,” Keller said.

  “How so?”

  “One of the meteors knocked it off its trajectory. It was going too fast to correct.”

  Andrew was taken aback by that. “What? You never mentioned that this segment took damage!”

  “I thought you knew,” Keller replied. “Don’t worry. The damage was mostly superficial.”

  Andrew’s eyes narrowed. “We’re flying in a damaged piece of an interstellar rocket with the aerodynamics of a small apartment building, and you don’t want me to worry.”

  “That’s right.”

  “Idiot,” Andrew muttered.

  “What?”

  Andrew shook his head. Keller hadn’t actually answered his question. Why weren’t they riding up in the control room? Maybe because of those viewports. Maybe Keller or Hound didn’t want them to view Eden from the air. He remembered how the viewscreens had all blanked out on the way down. And what about the colony’s mysterious lack of aircraft? Not one helicopter in a spaceship the size of a skyscraper. Do they even have drones? he wondered.

  Andrew resolved to ask someone about that when he returned to camp. They had to have drones.

  TWENTY-TWO

  Andrew

  The damaged doors of the cargo bay gave a view to a river of red grass with green flowers flowing by like water beneath them. That blurry, colored carpet was broken here and there by the bobbing heads of the colonists, cargo crates, and the various sections of the spaceship.

  A wave of relief passed through Andrew, escaping his lips as a sigh. The camp looked fine. No signs of death and destruction from the air.

  The ground swirled up to greet them, and Andrew both heard and felt a sudden roar of thrusters firing right before they touched down with a spine-compressing thud.

  Buckles and harnesses clattered as people unstrapped from the emergency stations. Beside him, Eric Keller stood up and stretched. Andrew unbuckled and grabbed his pack from the webbed storage compartment underneath the folding seats. Slinging both the pack and the rifle from his lap over his shoulders, he headed straight for the exit.

  Sergeant Harper caught up with him, and they reached the exit together. Andrew paused on the threshold, peering down. It was a long jump to the ground. Without the pile of broken trees they’d used to climb up, the cargo level was at least twelve feet above the ground.

  “Uhhh, how do we...” Andrew turned to Harper, and saw her slinging her rifle over her shoulder and putting hands and feet to the rungs of a ladder on the outside of the hull. In order to get there, she’d had to walk down the narrow ledge running in front of the broken cargo doors. Sparing an apprehensive glance for the field of grass that would break his legs if he fell into it, Andrew turned to face the doors and flattened himself against them as he made his way over the ledge. His hands grazed the rungs, seizing cold metal, but the rungs were wet and his hands slid right off from the rain.

  Hands and legs flailing, he hooked an arm through a rung three feet down and nearly dislocated his shoulder in the process. He grunted from the pain.

  “Watch it!” Harper said.

  “I’m fine, by the way,” Andrew mumbled as he clambered after her. The rest of the team began exiting above him, and he hurried to get out of the way in case someone fell on top of him.

  His feet hit the ground, and he sank up to his hips in the grass. Turning in a half circle, he placed a hand to his brow to shield his eyes from the pale blue sun. It was already high in the sky.

  Nearby, people in brown jumpsuits were working with tractors to clear the grass. Several patches of black dirt were already cleared, and others were working to erect greenhouses over them.

  “It’s starting to look like a colony,” Harper commented.

  “It is,” Andrew agreed. “If you’ll excuse me, Sergeant, I need to go find my daughter.”

  “Don’t let me stop you.”

  Andrew inclined his head to her and headed toward one of the nearest sections of Eden.

  Eric Keller’s voice brought him up short. “Miller, where do you think you’re going with those weapons?”

  Andrew turned to find Keller striding after him with one hand on his own rifle, the other reaching out. Andrew shrugged out of the rifle strap, and removed the belt with the spare mags and the sidearm. “Afraid I’m going to start a revolution?” he asked through a smirk.

  Keller didn’t seem amused. “I wouldn’t put it past you.”

  Andrew stalked away, shaking his head.

  The nearest section turned out to be Eden One, the other storage section that he’d helped to empty out a day ago. There were people milling around it, and armed guards standing by the boarding ramp that led up to the cargo bay doors.

  Andrew stopped there, and the guards shuffled to face him. Both were wearing blue jumpsuits, carried M4 carbines, and wore M9s on their hips. They had military-short hair, blond and black. “I’m looking for my daughter,” Andrew said. Blank expressions answered. “Who’s in charge around here?”

  “Miss Baker is,” the blond one said.

  “Carrie Baker?”

  A nod.

  “And she is...”

  The man pointed with the hand that wasn’t holding his rifle. Andrew followed the gesture to the nearest of the greenhouses he’d seen going up. That one was already half assembled.

  “Thanks,” Andrew replied, and hurried in that direction.

  He found Carrie inside, directing traffic. People in brown jumpsuits, wearing gleaming exoskeletons for heavy lifting, were coming and going by the dozen, transferring bundles of aluminum poles and rolls of canvas sheeting.

  “Carrie!” Andrew called to her as he approached.

  She spun around with a fleeting smile. “You’re back.”

  He stopped in front of her, slightly out of breath. “Yeah. Where’s Val?”

  “She’s in school.”

  Relief flooded him, and Andrew let out a long breath. “She’s fine?”

  “Yes...”

  “What section?”

  “Four.”

  He nodded and turned to leave.

  “Andrew, hold on—”

  But he didn’t slow down. He ran out of the greenhouse with Carrie on his heels. “What happened?” she asked. “Did you find the missing section?”

  He stopped and nodded again, while scanning the field for the section with Eden Four written on the side. As he glanced around, he noticed a group of people in white jumpsuits sitting in the grass around a familiar white-haired woman. Reverend Morris was standing on a boulder for a pulpit, spewing nonsense.

  Curious, Andrew walked up behind the congregation. The reverend’s shrill voice began rising above the background noises of the camp as he drew near. He stood with arms crossed, listening.

  “We are at the dawn of a new spiritual awakening!” Morris said, her gaze skipping through the crowd. “The Old Testament dealt with everything that came before Christ. The New Testament dealt with everything until the end of days. And the Testament of the Saints”—she pounded a blank red hardcover book with her index finger—”pertains to the New Earth and everything that is happening now! We are the rulers of this new world, its future kings and queens, and so long as we remain faithful, we will never again know suffering, nor will we die. We are the Saints of Mary! And if you can believe it, I am she.” A hush fell over the congregation, and heads bobbed eagerly, with people whispering amen.

  Andrew blinked in shock and took a quick step back. “You’re what?” he demanded incredulously.

  The reverend’s gaze fell on him, her eyes sparkling, wrinkled lips twitching in amusement. “Beware the wolves in sheep’s clothing.”

  A dozen heads turned to look at
Andrew. He snorted and smiled. “You people can’t possibly believe that she’s Mother Mary.”

  Some people appeared confused, their certainty wavering, but others sneered at him and turned away.

  “And Hound is the second coming…?” Andrew added with eyebrows raised.

  “Did you need something, Miller?” Morris asked.

  “I guess not.”

  Carrie pulled him away, whispering. “Let’s go.”

  “You allow this?”

  “We can’t exactly shut them down.”

  “Why not? They’re out there getting an earful of bullshit when they could be using it to fertilize crops.”

  “They’re on their break. And people have a right to believe whatever they want.”

  “Where’s Hound? What does he have to say about it? Don’t tell me he’s going along with the reverend’s claims about who he is.”

  They walked away together, with Carrie in the lead. She shrugged and shook her head.

  Andrew stopped and stared hard at her. “He’s still missing?”

  Carrie gave her head a quick shake. “No, we found him.”

  “Then where is he? I’d like a word with the brains of this operation.”

  “That won’t be possible. He’s far too busy, and so am I. I’m afraid I have to get back to work.”

  “Hang on a sec.”

  Carrie stopped and pointed. Andrew followed the gesture. They’d come to Eden Four.

  “You should go see your daughter. She’s been worried about you.”

  “Well, where’s everyone else?” he asked.

  “Working, which is something you need to do as well. When you’re done catching up, you need to report to Rachel Hanson, the director of HR.”

  “I remember,” Andrew said dryly. She was the one who’d assigned him to apprentice under Harold in maintaining Eden’s machinery. “I swear, if she pairs me with that man again...”

  Carrie flashed a fading smile. “Hopefully your new assignment will be to your liking. Now, if you’ll excuse me...”

  Andrew caught her by the arm. “One more thing.”

  Dark eyebrows drifted up in question, making Carrie’s blue eyes sparkle as the light hit them.

  “Do we have any drones?”

  “Drones?” She shook her head.

  “You know, like mini helicopters...” He mimed with his hand, hovering it around.

  “I know what a drone is,” Carrie said.

  “Didn’t sound like it.”

  “Look, Andrew, I am very busy. I really need to continue my work.”

  “So that’s a no.”

  “It’s an ‘I don’t have time to find the answer for you’.”

  “You should already have the answer. Don’t you think it’s strange that we’re on an alien planet and we have no aerial support whatsoever? I mean, we can’t even use a drone to survey the land? That’s pretty damn suspicious, if you ask me.”

  “There’s probably hundreds of them in a cargo crate somewhere. We’ve only been down here for a day. One thing at a time.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Are we done?”

  Andrew threw up his hands. “I’m on your side here.”

  “Are you?” Carrie challenged.

  “Dad?”

  He turned to see Val hurrying out of an open elevator in the base of Eden Four. Tony was with her.

  They ran over together, and Val almost knocked the wind out of him with a hug. “Whoa, hey, easy,” he said.

  “I thought you were dead,” she said, her voice thick and muffled against his jumpsuit.

  “Dead?” he echoed. “Why would you—”

  Val withdrew suddenly, her eyes flashing. “Yes! Dead!” she cried, and then punched him in the arm—hard.

  “Damn it, Val!” he said, rubbing his arm. “Have you been hitting the gym?”

  “That’s the last time you’re leaving me here alone!”

  Tony began chuckling, and Andrew silenced him with a glare. “What are you laughing at?”

  “Ah, nothing, sir.”

  Val held his gaze for a few seconds longer.

  “Hey, I’m fine, okay?” He plucked at his jumpsuit. “See? Not a scratch.”

  “We heard gunfire coming from across the lake,” Val said.

  “Yeah, that’s true.” Andrew left it at that. Now wasn’t a good time to mention that two of their team had been killed. Cox’s mud-covered face and terrified eyes popped back into his head, and he pushed the image out. “Where’s Kendra?” he asked.

  “She’s busy training a police unit.”

  “Oh, yeah? Good for her. Can you show me where?”

  Val sighed. “Follow me.”

  “Uhhh, hey, I have to run,” Tony said. “Rollie needs me at the treatment plant.”

  “Go for it,” Andrew said.

  Val stepped in for a kiss, and Andrew felt his whole body tense up as their lips touched. He began to move toward them, about to say something, but Tony fled the scene too fast.

  “What the hell was that?” Andrew demanded as Val led him across the field.

  “What was what?” Val snapped.

  Andrew heard a familiar voice shouting like a drill sergeant as they rounded the side of Eden Four, and he saw Kendra standing off to one side, her arm still in a sling, watching as a group of four people ran through an obstacle course made of cargo crates.

  “We’ll talk about this later,” he growled as they reached Kendra.

  Kendra’s eyes widened, and her face flushed when she saw him.

  He grinned. “Missed me?”

  Kendra seemed unable to reply. He changed the topic and jerked a thumb to her trainees. “Nice outfit you’re running. Any openings for me?”

  “If you can clear it with the sour-faced toad running work assignments, sure.”

  Andrew snorted a laugh, remembering that Rachel Hanson did look something like a toad: short, with hunching shoulders and a jowly face that seemed to be made of rubber.

  “Hey! Did I tell you to stop running? Pick up those feet!” Kendra shouted, clapping her good hand against her thigh. “Ten more laps!” Turning her attention to him, she asked, “What happened out there?”

  Andrew winced, and turned to search for Val. She was gone. “Where did she...”

  “Back to school.” Kendra pointed the way he’d come.

  “She didn’t even say goodbye. She must really be pissed at me.”

  “She was just worried. Things happened here while you were gone. We have several people missing.”

  Andrew blew out a breath. “Yeah, we lost a few, too.”

  “A few?” Kendra asked, her eyes sharp with concern.

  “Two.” He jerked his head to the side. “Can we talk for a minute?”

  Kendra nodded. “Keep running!” she said. “Anyone who stops is on dishes tonight!”

  A collective groan went up from her trainees as they walked out of earshot.

  “What’s going on?” Kendra whispered.

  “I don’t know. Something. One of our guys said something to me while we were out there. Private Taylor.”

  Kendra nodded for him to go on.

  “He said that the stars are all wrong.”

  “Wrong how?”

  Andrew gestured helplessly. “In the wrong places. Apparently he was some kind of stargazer back on Earth. Anyway, he said that he should be able to recognize something from here, but he can’t.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “I think it’s just another piece of evidence. You remember the woman who came to speak with me in the middle of the night? The one who said we’re not going to Proxima?”

  “Yes...”

  “Have you seen someone matching her description around here?”

  “You tell me,” Kendra replied.

  Andrew shook his head. “Not yet. And that’s not all.” He pointed up at the blazing blue orb in the sky. Kendra squinted up at it. “The sun is supposed to be red.”

  “Carrie said t
he atmosphere is—”

  “Carrie is too loyal to Hound to ever rock the boat. Even if she has doubts.”

  Kendra nodded slowly. “So you think that woman who came to you was right, and this isn’t Proxima.”

  “Yeah,” Andrew replied. “I mean, haven’t you noticed that we don’t have any aircraft? Not even a single drone? We should be surveying this entire valley and everything beyond it, but instead we’re stuck here, and the fastest method of transportation we have is our feet.”

  “We have rovers,” Kendra pointed out.

  “And they can’t get through the forests.”

  “Okay, so you’re saying that Hound is hiding the fact that we went to another planet. We’ve already discussed that, and I agree with you, but what does it matter? You said it yourself, one planet is pretty much the same as another—assuming they’re habitable—so why would we care if this is Proxima or not? The air is breathable, it’s not too hot or too cold, and the gravity is tolerable...”

  “Exactly,” Andrew said. “So why hide anything at all?” He leaned in close. “Something is wrong with this place, Kendra. I can feel my skin crawling with it, and that feeling is becoming worse with every passing second that we spend here. You know I’m right. You’re FBI. This whole operation stinks of secrets and lies.”

  Kendra hesitated, but gave in with a nod. “What do you suggest we do?”

  “For a start, we need to head out there.” Andrew gestured vaguely to the mountains. “We need to see what’s past the rim of this crater we landed in.”

  “Crater?” Kendra asked.

  “Look around you—a perfect ring of mountains, all about the same height. This is an old impact crater.”

  Kendra’s eyes lit up with comprehension, and she began nodding. “That makes sense... but those mountains seem pretty steep, Andrew.”

  “I did some rock climbing back in the day.”

  “So did I, but—” Kendra hefted her arm in the sling, and winced from the pain. “I’m not climbing anything in this.”

  Andrew frowned. “Shit. Right, okay...” He raked his hands through sweat and dirt-matted hair, scratching his scalp through twenty-four hours of filth. “Maybe there’s an easier way through. A ravine or something.”

  “Maybe, but you’d have to walk the entire perimeter of the valley to find it.”