Captains Paul McNally and Gaston Pomme sat across from each other in a secluded corner of the COMET’s dining hall. They were using their “time off” to get to know each other on a more casual and relational level.
Gaston studied Paul across the top of his stainless-steel beer mug complete with bagged insert and straw. Paul, having grown up earth side, could still not get used to minor details like drinking beer out of a bag with a straw. Gaston, however, had never known anything different. The two of them were as different as steak and jello. Paul had a choleric personality that was all you saw when he was in “work mode,” but which tempered down to something akin to a mild tornado when he was “off.” Gaston himself was more of a perfectionist and he tended to share the load more with his crew rather than just directing them around as Paul tended to do. Gaston kept what he believed most would consider a much healthier balance between work and his downtime. “We are probably good for each other,” Gaston mused, looking at the hard-brown eyes regarding him. Paul’s eyes were in direct contrast with the rotund outline squashed into the standard dining hall seating.
Gaston said, “Do you ever wish for the simple days you had as a carpenter on earth before you attended the academy?”
Paul grimaced and said, “Even if I wanted that life back, I don’t even think on it. There is no hope for that since my back is the way it is since my moon side construction accident,”
“I would think it would be a lot harder to injure your back moon-side with gravity being much less,” said Gaston.
“You’re right,” said Paul, “if you’re careful, but you tend to lift more and once something’s moving, it’s hard to gauge its momentum. It’s also easier for your muscles to atrophy if you don’t follow the exercise routine they give you. I never was one to follow the doctor’s order and it caught up with me when I tried to be He-Man and set up the parabolic radio tower by hand without help. That was the stupidest thing I’ve ever done.”
As Paul wrapped up his story, the paging system blared. “Captains McNally and Pomme, please check in with the COMET’s bridge…. Captains McNally and Pomme, please check in with the COMET’s bridge.”
“Well, it’s about time,” they both said in unison.
Gaston laughed, and the corners of Paul’s mouth twitched briefly into a semblance of a smile. His eyes lost their hardness for a brief moment before he snapped the vid screen down from where it was mounted on the wall. “Connect with the COMET’s bridge,” he intoned placing his eyes near the security sensor. After a brief static, Dorothy was outlined on the screen; the backdrop of stars could just be seen over her shoulder framing her long blond hair. “Both Gaston and I are here, Dorothy, what’s up?”
Dorothy’s lip twitched as she changed her train of thought from that of salutatory, as she’d expected, to business only. She found Captain McNally’s no-nonsense/no personal interaction disturbing. “The commander requires your presence in the COMET’s conference room in 20 ticks. Bring whatever and whomever you need for a discussion of landing zones and M-5 landing site procedures.”
Paul and Gaston looked at each other across the table, Paul raising his eyebrows before he returned his attention to the vid screen and without so much as a thank you, he broke the connection.
“Well, now,” said Gaston. “What do you think that’s all about? They must have discovered something quite interesting to be readdressing the procedures that were previously settled.” He stood up and stretched grabbing his tray and emptying it in the recycler as he headed out. He bit back a comment as Paul followed, leaving his tray on the table for the “grunts” to dispose of.
Paul said, “We’ll find out soon enough. I’ll see you in 20 ticks.” He turned and strode off down the corridor towards his shuttle.
Gaston shook his head and headed in the opposite direction towards his own shuttle and crew already mentally checking off what and whom he would need in this meeting. Lori Angel was his technical advisor and would know the most about F.L.E.N.’s rules of engagement if aliens indeed were found inhabiting one of the twin planets. Nicole Aspin would mutiny if she found out he had not brought his only biologist along, so she would have to come. And then he should also bring Opie Rockwell along since the mission’s security and all contingency issues flowed through him. “That should be enough.” he thought, “There’s no need at this point for it to be too crowded.” He leaned towards the security scanner and tried to keep from blinking as the green laser scanned across his eyes. The hatch opened with a hiss and he strode down the umbilical corridor between the two vessels. He had only 15 more ticks to get to the conference room. That infernal commander never gave them enough warning!
Gaston settled into his seat with a huff. He had made it to the hatch before Paul and on time and Paul still had somehow made him out to be the irresponsible one by getting seated before him and his crew. The commander wasn’t making it into a big deal and he wished that Paul wouldn’t either.
Gaston introduced his team and then Paul introduced his crowd. They should know each other better than what they did since they’d been on the same flight as long as they had, but each ship’s crew tended to gather with their own people. Paul brought his navigator Rex Riggins, both Joe and Suzie his Radar and Nuclear techs (the brains of Paul’s crew) and his geneticist, Michael Rooney (Looney Rooney) as his crew had nicknamed him.
Fleet Commander William Savage brought the meeting to order. “We are currently less than seven hours until our final course adjustment prior to entering orbit around the twin planets. We have already detected from the port side planet what appears to be evidence of technologically advanced life. Leon, please fill us in on the details.
Leon stood up and nervously cleared his throat and clicked the remote display out of standby. The four-sided display lit up brightly with a display of the two approaching worlds. “This is a visible light spectrum shot taken with our telescope by our chief astronomer. As you can see, it’s time-stamped, and I’ve overlaid it here,” and he clicked another button on the remote, “with the infrared spectrum analysis from the same time period. What you can see here…and here…” he said indicating with the tracker which showed up on all four screens, “are the heat signatures typical of controlled fires in high population areas. This next overlay, however, is from the upper end of the gamma spectrum.” He paused for effect and to gather himself. His audience was taking in every detail. Joe had popped up a small window on his vid screen and was comparing his information with what Leon was displaying. It seemed he had been following their progress and doing his own investigation as well. “What stands out the most about this gamma activity is that it is very focused, coming from this one specific area and is not just a random spike of energy. Energy capable of registering like this has to be intentional or from a massive energy source, not a pinpoint like this. We are not even capable of replicating what you see on the screen. The only solution possible is that it is created and sustained by a highly technologically advanced race.”
At this, Joe broke in, “I’m running a scan as we speak of the same area, and though the initial reading was comparable to yours, it has just spiked dramatically which would lead me to concur with your conclusion. That energy is under control, focused (on us) and variable.” His voice rose with excitement as he continued, “Suzie look at this! Just think what controlled energy capable of creating this could accomplish.” Captain McNally broke in before Suzie could reply. “Assuming that our conclusion about this data is correct, this could dramatically affect our expedition. We all know that we are to avoid direct contact with other sentient beings until they can be studied further. There are no other known M-5 planets within a reasonable distance.”
Leon said, “Thankfully, this is no normal system we’ve come to. The twin of the planet we are focused on has none of the same signs of life as this one.”
“If that is the case,” Nicole jumped in, her green eyes wide and red hair flaming out from her head, “then we could settle that one and
we would be able to study them without breaking our pact to the F.L.E.N. This is great! We can set up our telescopes to monitor their activities and learn a lot about them without ever leaving our planet. Come on guys, it’s a win-win situation; you all know that. None of us want to just pack up and go home without doing what we came here to do.”
“I agree, Nicole,” said Michael. “We need to jump at any chance we get to understand and investigate other intelligent life in our universe. We’ll be well within our bounds legally. Just think of the ramifications of finding a life form more technologically advanced than ours. We could learn much just in studying their DNA (if they even have any) and if we can communicate with them, eventually, of course, we may learn a tremendous amount directly from them.
“There’s something you’re not considering though,” Opie said. “What if they are war-like creatures that could prey on the human race? I understand your desire to learn and investigate, but there are reasons for the regulations that guide our interaction with a new race. We must follow that to a tee. Better minds than ours have put these guidelines in place to protect us and our race and also to protect them and their race. We need to know more about the uninhabited planet before we proceed full-bore. Like, for example, is it really uninhabited? How thorough has our scanning been? Are they both even habitable? What is the gravity factor? Can it sustain us for an extended period of time? And I could go on. All I’m saying is, let’s not be too hasty.”
Commander Savage brought the ensuing silence to a close. “You all have valid points. I’m not saying that we break protocol, but that we come together and agree on what steps to take to ensure that our expedition is successful and that we follow the safeguards set in place by our superiors for our safety.”
“What I suggest,” said the commander “is that we send a number of probes down to the surface to gauge the soil and atmospheric content and conditions as well as visual recordings for proof of life. We’ll do this for both planets, that way we can compare our findings to see if they validate our conclusions up to this point. Rex, you can work out the coordinate path that the probes will take with Nicole. Let’s cover the most likely areas for population. Leon can give you help on that area. We’ll base our final decision on your findings, but in the meantime, we can prepare for orbit and eventual entry onto the uninhabited planet which I hereby dub Magellan!”
At that, they all started speaking at once and it was all Bill could do to keep from breaking out in a huge grin. He’d have to thank Sheila for that one since it was one of the things they had discussed after a tryst in the dark. His thoughts wandered, in spite of the commotion, to that one night of weakness when he had joined with the pretty blond nurse down in sickbay. If it wasn’t so chancy and the possible repercussions so huge, there would have been many more “doctor’s visits.” No, it could go no further than it already had (which was too far already). He shook his head and brought his thought back to the present.
“Unless you all have questions about how to do your jobs, this meeting is adjourned, and we will meet again in six earth hours after course change before we disengage for our final orbits. We are already close enough to send the probes ahead and should know by then what the situation is. There’s a lot to do between now and then, so I suggest you get busy.” And with that said, Commander Savage walked out of the conference room. Leon tried to gather his materials as quickly as he could. He joined the whirlwind of activity as he tried to chase after the Commander, dropping papers and tripping in his haste to catch up.
Yakobe strode along the edge of the trail, his right hand gripping the bark rope that wound back and forth over the top of the floater’s cargo. He wore simple sandals grown from riverside rushes and lined with young Karamu fur. His dark green breeches and tan shirt fit comfortably and blended with the jungle life as soon as he stepped into it. But he wasn’t hunting at the moment or trying to slip unseen through the growth under the enormous trees. He was leaving that all behind. The very clothes that would hide him in his beloved jungle marked him as an “uncivilized” backwoodsman, respected only in the jungle and all but criticized by the city folk.
Rakhabi sat perched atop the floater’s cargo like a queen surveying her subjects. She and Yakobe were in constant conversation and the glances they exchanged periodically were full of meaning: punctuation that added the nonverbal exclamation point or the question mark on the end of a thought or idea. Rakhabi also wore a new pair of Karamu lined sandals which had an insert (currently in their packs) that could be added as the weather cooled to further insulate her feet. He had bought a couple of new outfits for her and she would blend right in with the rest of the city dwellers. Many already thought that he was a servant rather than her life partner. It didn’t bother either of them a bit. It was actually humorous.
Rakhabi looked like a yellow flower perched on top of the cargo. Yakobe smiled at her again as he looked up at her. She seemed to still be able to be chipper and never gave up on the possibility that her condition could be helped. She wanted a child so badly.
The floaters slowed down as they rounded the bend. The trail sloped down to the edge of the river and could also be seen across the way hardly a stone’s throw from the river’s edge. It wasn’t a fast river at this point but was broad enough and deep enough that care had to be taken.
The far bank revealed that the trees were indeed thinning out, getting smaller and wirier in appearance. Rakhabi brought him out of his distraction. “Help me down please, Yakobe, will you? Just catch me as I slide down.” He looked up just in time to throw up his hands with the idea of catching her and soon found himself on his back with Rakhabi sitting on his chest. They both shook with hardly controlled mirth at the sight they must make. Yakobe peeled her off as he sat up.
“Thanks for the heads up, Rakhabi. It’s a good thing I’m still so young and not brittle yet.” Rakhabi laughed, her eyes sparkling as she grasped his hand and helped him to his feet. “If we’d been just a couple more meters that way, you’d have been a pretty sight all covered in mud.”
As he glanced where she was pointing, he raised his eyebrows in surprise. He’d been so busy looking at the opposite bank and its stunted growth that he hadn’t seen the mess made by the traffic going in and out of the river. He truly had landed on the last scrap of grass before the ankle-deep mud along the bank of the river. “Lucky for you then,” he laughed, giving her a playful shove towards the mud.
Before Rakhabi had a chance to make another jab, the float-master rounded the corner of the float. “You can board that current ferry over there, just upriver from here and meet us on the other side. Regulations hinder us from carrying passengers on our floats while we cross. It is just too hard to control the floats over water if the load shifts at all during the transit.”
“What should it cost?” Yakobe asked.
“It’s not bad,” he replied. “It should only be a half a credit for each of you.”
“Thanks,” Rakhabi said. “We’ll meet you on the other side.”
The float-master immediately headed off to the float behind theirs yelling something they could not quite make out.
The dock where the personnel current ferry came was packed with other travelers seemingly from all over. Most carried large bundles of wood or baskets with chickens cackling. Some had ropes threaded through fish gills already mostly dry but still smelling strongly enough to almost curl their fibrous nose hairs. Others carried infants on their hips or backs. Many of the men held bows, almost as tall as they were with the strings coiled loosely around the length of the bow. Yakobe absently fingered the knife at his waist wishing that he had not left his bow behind. They had packed quickly and sparsely. He was sure there would be other things they would regret not bringing, but once they had decided to make the trip and had been given the go-ahead by the Mwene they hadn’t wanted to wait to make the trip.
The ferry arrived and the dockworkers, clad in nothing but short breeches and tanned to a dark brown, tied it off. Th
e press of people trying to get off the ferry surged helplessly for a while against those waiting to get on. Finally, the workers began to direct the flows around one another. Yakobe and Rakhabi were among the last to board and even that was to the whine of the fretful ferry worker who was sure that there were too many on board and surely the ferry would tip.
The ferry seemed like it was from another era. It did not sport the modern technology used by the float-master to raise it off the water. Instead, it wallowed in the water and shifted with every change in current and bobbed in response to the crowd’s movement. Thick cables hung from a large structure in the middle of the river and were attached to pulleys on either corner of the ferry.
Rakhabi hung quietly onto Yakobe as the ferry twisted into the current. The pulleys creaked ominously as the ferryman cranked on the windlass. The water seemed dangerously close to the ferry floor. Perhaps they should have listened to the ferryman, Yakobe thought before dismissing the thought. The ferry had been doing its job here for decades; he was sure they were safe. Several times it felt like they would catch the current and be forced under, but they finally landed on the other side without incident and followed the press of people off the ferry. They were both glad to have their feet on dry-ground as they made their way back downriver to where the floats would soon arrive. As they walked towards the trees lining the path out of the loading area, they were stopped by various hawkers selling fruit, sweet cane, various vegetables, and sticks with dried fish. The hawkers themselves were dressed in bright clothes though more often than not the brightness had faded and the clothes themselves were well worn. Yakobe found it hard to imagine living a life of isolation such as this. Rakhabi agreed but was too hyped up on their current trip to dwell long on the idea. After some discussion and haggling with a short skinny fellow that refused to leave them alone, they purchased a couple of sticks of sweet cane and a hand of bananas they ate while waiting for the float-master to arrive.
Solar Twins Page 2