Colony One (13 page)

“I don’t know,” Skylar answered honestly.

“Then why in the clear blue sky did you let her in here?” He asked pointedly.

“I worked at a research lab back on Earth. For the colony project.” Jia said without looking up from her OMNI.

“Oh,” Patrick said after a beat of embarrassed silence.

Luca grinned triumphantly. Skylar thought about asking why the majority of her passenger profile was redacted, but she thought better of it. The woman looked like she might be onto something.

Finally, Jia shared her conclusions, “The course you were given is incorrect.”

That killed Luca’s grin.

“We have been off course by approximately .05 degrees.” She continued.

“That doesn’t seem that bad,” Luca said, feeling less fearful.

His words earned him a distinct look of disbelief from the three others in the cabin. “Point-Five degrees off since we left Earth, traveling in a straight line, for
six months,
would put us several millions of kilometers away from our target!” Patrick exclaimed.

“11,532,090 kilometers to be exact,” Jai offered in an oddly calm voice.

Stunned silence returned to the cabin.

“How… how do you know where Colony Alpha is for the reference point?” Patrick asked, his voice soft as if speaking any louder may bring calamity upon them.

“I studied Colony Alpha for a year. I couldn’t forget the coordinates if I wanted to.” Jia answered.

“Why did they give us bad coordinates?” Luca wondered.

Jia frowned, the expression taking over her entire face, “I don’t know.”

“Weren’t you involved in the project?” Patrick asked.

“Not near the end,” Jia said, her voice sounding somewhat empty.

Skylar watched Jia with interest, “I think we’re going to have to chalk this one up to clerical error, folks.” She said, attempting to take the focus off the woman who was looking more and more uncomfortable. “Luckily, we have a good idea of where we’re going now. Patrick, based on Jia’s figures, how long will it take us to reach Colony Alpha?”

“Three months,” Jia answered before Patrick could crunch the numbers.

“Three months?” Luca repeated and stood up straight in the cramped space. He had been crouched in the small space so he could see the displays. His thoughts went to the freeze dried food and the occasional scraps of real food he had gotten from Ndale and how both were dwindling. “Do we have enough food to make it that long?”

“We’ll have to start rationing.” Skylar said without hesitation. She turned in her chair to address Luca, “And you’ve just volunteered to coordinate the effort.”

“I have?” Luca’s eyes widened.

“Yep. You wanted in on this pow-wow. Head to the blue section and ask for a man named Javier. He’s become somewhat of a leader there. Bring him up to speed on what’s going on – quietly – and work out a rationing plan.” She instructed and at seeing his blank face she asked, “Can I count on you for this?”

Her question made Luca square his shoulders and nod firmly, “Sure. I mean, yes. Absolutely,” he amended. Feeling a sense of purpose made him somehow feel better about the whole situation.

“I’ll make the announcement over the audio system once you two have reported back with your plan.” Skylar said. “We’ll all have to make a few sacrifices, but we knew that when we left Earth.”

Luca nodded and launched into action, climbing down the access ladder with purpose. Jia stood in his wake and looked around the small cabin indecisively. “Please let me know if you need anything else,” she said and bowed slightly before turning to leave.

“Jia,” Skylar reached out and touched her arm. The woman turned and fixed the Captain with a questioning look. “Thank you. And yes, we will probably need you to keep track of our progress, just to be sure. Is that alright?”

The woman nodded, “Yes, of course.” And with that, she climbed quietly back down the ladder.

Patrick waited until he thought she was out of earshot and said, “There is something not right about that woman.”

Skylar’s lips pressed together in an indeterminable look. “Are you saying we shouldn’t use her coordinates?”

“No,” Patrick said with a measured tone. “It’s the best lead we have, unless we want to turn around and head back to Earth.”

“You and I both know we don’t have enough food or fuel to attempt that.” Skylar spoke what they were both thinking aloud.

“We have to trust her,” Patrick conceded. “I’m just saying… there’s something not right there.”

Skylar drew her shoulders back and willed herself to meet this challenge with resolve, “We’ll take it one day at a time.” She said with a firm nod.

13

Hyperion, Mission Day 40

Two days after finding the adrift Runner, long range scanners on the Hyperion reported detection of a planetary mass in the crosshairs of their trajectory. There had been much celebration when Niko discovered the alert during his shift on the bridge. He called the crew together and explained that based on their current speed and heading, they would reach the planet in approximately eight days.

So on the eighth day, the bridge was once again full with the six person crew and the anticipation of their mission coming to fruition.

“Does it match the description of Colony Alpha?” Finn asked Niko as the ship hurtled towards their destination.

“Without being close enough for a visual, the sensors can only tell us so much,” Niko hedged. “But initial indicators point to it being approximately the same mass.” He added with slightly more hope in his voice.

“I’m taking the long range engines offline,” Charlie announced. “Engaging short range engines and maneuvering thrusters.” He turned to glance at Avery.

The Captain nodded from where she leaned against the bulkhead with her arms crossed.  Since their… discussion, Charlie had stepped much more lightly around the Captain and she seemed to approve, even to the point of going along with his mission suggestions.

“I increase short range engine efficiency by 20 percent last week,” Makenna informed Charlie. “Please adjust calculations accordingly.”

“Just means we’ll be able to get there faster,” Charlie commented.

“That is what I just said, no?” Makenna answered with a baffled tone. She looked around the bridge for some confirmation. She was met with shrugs from most and a smirk from Avery.

“Yes ma’am,” Charlie grinned with a slight shake to his head. He was beginning to warm up to the Russian and it had only taken a little over a month.

“Beginning wide patterned scans,” Niko announced. “I should be able to tell you where to put down as soon as we’re close enough to read Colony One’s signature.”

“We’ll be in visual range in approximately,” Charlie checked his console, then keyed up the viewscreen. “Right now.”

In the background, Finn and Winston stood and paced towards the blank screen as if drawn like moths to light. A round mass filled the viewscreen. It was a sandy color with a haze around it.

“That’s it?” Winston found himself saying.

“Doesn’t look like much,” Finn agreed.

“We could be calling this a second home someday,” Charlie reminded them. “What do you have for me, Niko?” he asked over his shoulder.

Niko was frowning at his console. “We’ll need to go into an equatorial orbit.” He said simply.

“Heard,” Charlie said and keyed in the sequence that would take them into an orbit along the perceived equator of the planet based on how it orbited this solar system’s sun. As he maneuvered into place, the rest of the crew experienced a slight increase in gravitational pull. It was a result of the artificial gravity interacting with the natural gravity of the planet as they got closer. “Alright, it’s your rodeo now, Niko.” Charlie said as he pushed away from his console. So long as their orbit maintained, there was little for him to do as a pilot.

Niko nodded and went to work reading the new scans as the data came in.

“I am not seeing anything,” Makenna reported on the first pass around the planet.

Niko didn’t respond, instead concentrating diligently on his console. After the second pass, Charlie spoke up.

“Talk to me, buddy. We’ve orbited this rock twice now. Where should we put down?”

“There is nothing,” Makenna reported.

Niko sat up with a set jaw. “She’s right,” he finally admitted.

“But this is it.” Finn put in. “We found it.”

“We found a planet in this solar system.” Charlie corrected.

No sooner than the words left his mouth, Makenna’s console began to beep. She gave it an odd look and pointed to a flashing light, “I do not know what is this.”

Niko stood and closed the gap between them. He leaned over her shoulder and tapped the flashing indicator. “It has a weak signal, whatever it is.” As he said it, the flashing stopped. Niko frowned and returned to his console, pulling up several applications. After a moment, he glanced Charlie’s way, “On my mark, can you initiate a polar orbit?”

“Sure,” Charlie swiveled in his chair and prepared the controls to make the adjustment that would make them circle the planet around its poles instead of the equator.

NIko watched a bank of numbers count down and held up a hand to indicate it wasn’t time. “Mark,” he said when the numbers were right.

Charlie acted immediately and within a short time and another slight shift in the gravitational pull on the ship, they were in position.

The blinking light returned to Makenna’s console, then lit up on Charlie’s and Niko’s at the same time.

“There’s a beacon orbiting with us. We’re trailing it.” Niko explained. “I’m going to try to upload its message.”

“A beacon? Left by whom?” Winston wondered.

“We’ll all know soon enough,” Niko said after a number of strokes on his console, all three major consoles activated their projection modes to display the beacon’s message.

An ethereal full-body image of a man was produced. He stood with his shoulders squared and his hands clasped behind his back. Finn, Winston and Avery gathered around and watched over the shoulders of the others as the man began to speak.

“I am Captain William Rockford of the Earth ship Colony Two,” the image explained and glances were exchanged around the bridge of the Hyperion. “Our mission was to colonize the planet – so named Colony Beta – this beacon is now orbiting. We arrived on schedule and without incident during our journey.

“When we landed, we made a… costly discovery.” The man glanced away for a beat before continuing, “While Colony Beta’s atmosphere is within tolerable levels for human habitation, many of our passengers experienced respiratory distress. Many were lost before we discovered the source of their trouble and re-boarded Colony Two. We have tentatively speculated that the decreased lung capacity of many of our passengers due to the prolonged exposure to Earth’s pollutants are why we are unable to tolerate Colony Beta’s atmosphere.

“This beacon is a warning to all other ships who have found this planet. Without our filters from Earth, we have found that it is inhospitable. At this time, we have no ability to communicate with Earth. When we realized the communication buoys did not span our entire journey, we attempted to leave a trail of debris to follow for any additional Confederation or Colony ships.”

The image of Captain Rockford paused, looking away from the recording device that was used to create the recording. There was sadness and burden in his eyes, and his body language struggled to conceal it.

“Half of our passengers didn’t make it,” he continued with a sizeable lump in his throat. “We have enough fuel to make it back to Earth, but even with the loss of half our manifest, we do not have enough food to make the long journey. It is for this reason I have chosen to take what is left of my charge to Colony Alpha where we might prosper. We have uploaded our course plan to this beacon.

“We have also launched a Runner to travel back to the communication line in an attempt to request resupply from Earth. We can only hope that if they do get our message, any ships Earth sends will be fast enough to find us in time.”

The image of the Captain looked directly at the recording device. His look gave the impression that he was looking through the souls of anyone watching. “If you are willing and able, please find us.” He said and then the image of him flickered. “I am Captain William Roc…” The message looped.

Niko tapped his interface to stop the projection on all consoles but everyone starred at the place it had been.

“Half,” Finn said in a whisper of a voice.

“I can’t believe it.” Winston said with genuine disbelief in his tone.

“Mr. Andris, when you preformed your planetary scans earlier, what were you scanning for?” Captain Avery asked.

“Metallic compounds. I was searching for the ship.” Niko answered.

Avery nodded, “Logical,” she told him. “Change your scans to report organic findings.”

He did so and stared somewhat vacantly at the console while he waited for results. He knew, based on the message, what he would find. He didn’t understand why Avery wanted to know… but he guessed she was the kind of person who required confirmation.

The console chimed and Niko read the scrolling lights with an ever-tightening chest. There was a large, unmoving mass of organic readings on one of the planet’s raised continents. He made eye contact with the Captain and nodded glumly. Her expression stayed the same, except for her eyes. There was acknowledgement there and… something else Niko could not readily identify. He turned his attention back to the console and back to the scrolling lights. So many readings…

“Niko, do you have their course plan?” Charlie asked, struggling to find something he could do to fight off the feeling of helplessness at what they had just witnessed.

“How long ago was this?” Finn asked, feeling the horror of the situation really hit her. She was suddenly imagining masses of gasping people, unable to move under their own power due to oxygen deprivation. It was probably a slow, creeping process – and that thought made her shiver, holding her arms against her stomach.

“Colony Two launched three months after Colony One,” Makenna answered. “Estimated arrival time; four months. Faster engines,” she explained. “Message is approximately six and half months old.”

Finn put a hand over her mouth. If Colony Two did not find Colony Alpha, there was probably very little chance of its survival.

“Niko,” Charlie repeated, breaking the thick silence that had taken the bridge at Mak’s assessment.  “The course plan?”

Niko snapped himself out of his trance-like state at Charlie’s words and tone. “Yea. Yes. Right.” He nodded and tapped away at his console.

“How do we know Colony Two took the correct heading?” Avery spoke up, working to keep her voice neutral.

“We don’t,” Niko answered. “But it’s the best lead we have.”

“What’s our fuel status?” She asked.

“Makenna has been working miracles. We’re still at well over three-quarters capacity.” Niko answered without hesitation.

Avery nodded contemplatively. “Alright,” she made up her mind. “We can pursue this, but don’t go getting your hopes up – and remember, there is only so much we can do.” She warned the crew, knowing full and well their affinity for sentiment. “I’ll be in my quarters. Report anything we find immediately.” She told them before she left.

“I’m setting in the course now,” Charlie told the remaining crew. “Niko, I’m going to need you to monitor the ship’s scans more than usual. Colony Two is a big ship but out here, she’s a needle in a haystack.”

Niko nodded and rubbed his eyes before refocusing them on the console.

“I’ll go make everyone some coffee,” Finn took notice and offered.

Makenna swiveled in her chair, “I take mine –”

“Black,” Finn finished for her. “Extra strong. I know.” She smiled, though the smile was a weak one as her stomach still felt uneasy.

“Spasibo,” Mak said thank you in Russian, then turned back to her console to work on a program she was designing to monitor the engine output in an effort to optimize it. The exercise was calming and distracting – two things she desperately needed after watching the beacon message.

Finn made good on her promise of coffee and the three bridge crew nursed their cups with an element of extra appreciation. Once they were settled, Finn found a place between Niko and Charlie to sit on the bridge floor, looking up at the top bulkhead of the bridge. “Why wouldn’t our scientists back home account for modern day lung capacity?” She wondered.

It was a question on everyone’s mind, though they did not want to voice it aloud due to the implications – only Finn was so brave.

“Why buoy markers only half way?” Makenna asked in way of answering.

“It’s all beginning to seem a little…” Finn trailed off.

“Intentional?” Niko asked.

Finn nodded wordlessly.

Charlie starred into his coffee cup for a long moment, “Do you think the Captain knows?” he wondered aloud.

There was silence among the bridge. It was Winston who expressed vehement disbelief, “I don’t see how that could be the case. She seemed just as surprised as you or I today.”

“How on Earth could you tell?” Niko asked. “She seems to have the same expression for all occasions.”

Winston shrugged, “I observe. There isn’t much else for me to do on this ship – and I hope that remains the case,” he threw in at the end. “I’ve observed all of your reactions to everything that has happened. She is just as surprised as all of you, I assure you.”

Charlie’s lips thinned as he frowned, but he remained silent.

“And why would she allow us to continue on this mission if she knew?” Winston added.