First Contact (Galactic Axia Adventure) (5 page)

As he walked down the hall, Garret noticed the buoyant mood of everyone he met. Even the bad weather couldn’t dampen the enthusiasm the staff felt today. As senior scientist, Garret had noticed it as soon as he entered the operations area. Without media fanfare today marked the beginning of normal operation at the Maranar General Service Radio Observatory. The final tests and calibrations were completed. Now they could begin mapping Maranar’s three moons along with other celestial neighbors.

Garret entered the main control room and unlocked the cabinet containing the antenna controls. From the list posted inside he set the frequency and focus of the array. With a flick of a switch, the array hummed into life. Almost immediately the radio signature of the smallest of the three moons came in to be recorded by the banks of recording equipment on one side of the control room. Garret smiled when he heard the equipment start compiling the data. He was a veteran of several such operations but today marked a high point in his career.

∞∞∞

Another veteran, but this one of combat, was just then picking up his mail. Stan Shane had completed his training with the Observation Corps and had proudly been qualified as a Watcher for a couple of months now. Temporarily posted to what was in effect a holding unit, they kept him busy doing general work for the Watcher Service. His highly advanced ability with computers fit in well with this line of work. Stan’s commanding officer was even then trying to place him in watcher work over a planet that was technically advanced. That way Stan’s skills and aptitude would be put to the best possible use.

Stan sorted through the stack of mail on the way to his room in the SED (Single Enlisted Dorm). Among the various official mail and bills Stan found a letter from his friends, Jake and Sherry Sender back on Mica. After closing the door to his room, Stan stretched out on his bed and made himself comfortable. The one advantage to regular mail instead of electronic was that you didn’t have to sit at a keyboard and you could flop wherever you wanted. That Stan secretly enjoyed the feel of regular paper versus electronic copy, he kept to himself. After all, Stan had a reputation as a computer expert to maintain.

Eagerly opening the envelope, Stan pulled out the pages to read them. A couple of pictures showing a resort in the mountains fell out.

Temple of the Unseen Blessing

Revs. Jake and Sherry Sender

Port Mulvey, Mica

Dear Stan,

Your last letter came while we were away at the retreat. We found it this morning when we got our mail from the post office. It’s always nice to receive good news among all the bills!

The retreat in the mountains went wonderfully! The early summer weather was just right for all of the outdoor activities. The mountain flowers were in full bloom and the air was thick with their fragrance. Hiking along the trails after the morning sessions was a real treat! Even Jake managed some of the easy ones! Truth be told, I couldn’t have held him back even if I wanted to!

We had fourteen couples come for a week of both romance and learning. They really took well to the teachings we gave them, and several commented on how it helped strengthen their relationships. I sure wish we’d had something like this back when we were young and in love.

So what’s this I hear about your latest project there on base? Just can’t keep your hands off of computers, can you? I hope that your commanding officer appreciates your abilities and forgives you your trespasses! Honestly, neither Jake nor I were surprised at the report. Jake seriously doubts the modifications you made were quite “legal” but we’ll keep it to ourselves even if brought before the Empress herself! We just request that you be more circumspect in the future. Remember, no commander or senior trooper likes to be caught flat-footed by the misdeeds of his subordinates! Give them a clue and make them look good and you’ll do all right in the future.

I also received a card from Delmar the other day. He’s only got two weeks to go before his final check ride! Completing that and his oral exam will finally qualify him to graduate. Delmar mentioned a Lady of the Fleet in his training class that is also doing well. Do you think he is finally noticing girls?

So, is there any word about your next possible assignment? We’re both anxious to hear any news you may have about it! The idea of you working on a Watcher ship somewhere sounds exciting! Your ability with computers would certainly be handy on some of those more advanced closed planets. Jake said he could use your ability trying to get his home office computer to operate. But I think it’ll take a miracle from the Unseen One to get Jake and his computer working together!

Well, that’s about it for now. I should be busy getting ready for morning service, but I wanted to write to you first. Take care, and write when you can.

Love, Jake and Sherry

Stan leaned back on his pillow, letting his mind dwell on Jake and Sherry. So much had happened in the months since he’d last seen them. Watcher School, as it was commonly called, had proven quite a challenge and he rose to meet it. Coming immediately after finishing advanced computer training on Mica had allowed Stan to stay in an educational mindset, which helped considerably. Studying different cultures had turned out to be an incentive in itself and his marks reflected the result.

For Stan, the hardest part of this training had been the loneliness. He’d grown used to at least having Delmar somewhere nearby after spending nearly two years together. Correspondence between them had helped some, but one did miss seeing a familiar face. Letters from the Hassels and the Senders, Delmar’s adoptive parents back on his home planet of Erdinata, also helped fill the gap. Stan looked forward to some leave time to be with either of them. But with all of that, loneliness was still Stan’s daily companion.

Of necessity, Stan had to reach out to make new friends. He resisted the temptation to stay to himself, a natural reaction considering he thought he would only be here on Theta a few months. Most of the friends he’d made were of a casual nature and it helped the time pass faster in training.

But now months after graduation, Stan found himself still on Theta. His commanding officer temporarily assigned him to help teach computer orientation to the new students and Stan discovered he had a knack for the work. He’d never considered himself a teacher but had more than proven his ability at this task also. Rewarding as teaching was, Stan still yearned to get out in the field and apply himself to new challenges.

Besides keeping Stan busy, the school commander also saw to it that Stan was issued the best portable computer available. Stan was thrilled at having such a tool and used it for both teaching his students and for general study and recreation. There turned out to be an active computer net on Theta and it became a welcome diversion on those long evenings. Stan wondered more than once what the ancient Horicon computer Ert would think of this new gadget.

∞∞∞

The small group of Maranar scientists sat hunched around their playback equipment in the makeshift lab. It had taken them nearly two weeks with the limited equipment to unzip the condensed recordings on the short recording disk. Each possible frequency and signal variation had to be separated from the others and then cataloged. In the short fifteen minute recording, they had logged somewhere over five hundred different signals of one nature or another.

After each possible signal was separated, it was then run through the crude analyzer they had rigged up to unravel its form of modulation and amplitude. Consideration also had to be given to the possibility that if they had intercepted a transmission, it could be a squirt signal, machine language, or some completely alien form of communication. Each signal had to be repeatedly analyzed for each possible variation. The scientists working with the odd collection of equipment they’d assembled found these repetitive tasks particularly daunting.

“We finally got all of the possible signals separated and distinct,” the man seated at the console announced.

“How many were there?” one of his colleagues asked.

“Five hundred and thirty-two,” the man answered. “I managed to segregate the signals that we knew were naturally occurring. That cut the total by over half.”

“So you’ve got the rest ready to decipher?”

“Yes, but it’s going to take a while longer to determine exactly what we have.” Disappointment and frustration swept through the small group.

“Well, keep at it,” Garret announced firmly. “We know we’ve got something. We only have to determine what or who it is.”

∞∞∞

The small patroller sat on the concrete apron. Its battered skin easily shed the falling drizzle. The flight examiner waited patiently in his slicker while the student pilot checked over all of the outside surfaces and fittings on the little ship. He noted with satisfaction the care with which the student checked the bedspring array at the rear of the ship. After that, the student double-checked the operation of the airlock and signaled the waiting examiner.

“The ship’s outside condition is flight ready, sir.”

The examiner made a note on his clipboard and Delmar began to sweat in spite of the cool weather. “Permission to board, sir?” the examiner asked. On check rides the student being examined acted as captain.

“Granted,” Delmar replied nervously. The examiner boarded the ship and Delmar tried to figure out why he was so nervous. He had hundreds of hours under his belt flying and landing these ships. Flying, it turned out, came natural to him. Even during the earliest lessons he’d rarely been nervous.
Now I’m sweating like a Red-tail!

Delmar entered the ship and secured the hatch behind him. Checking its integrity, sat down and buckled into the control chair. “Please secure for take-off,” he said to the examiner who buckled into his observer seat in response. Delmar was glad that another student had tipped him off to that little trick. More than one student had lost points by not making sure his passenger was safely buckled in.

Satisfied, he’d just reached for the comm unit when he heard the examiner again writing something on his notepad He couldn’t imagine anything he’d missed in his preflight inspection. Deciding that there was nothing he could do about it now, Delmar continued his preparation for the flight.

“Rodar Control,” Delmar said into the mic. “Patroller T-887 requesting permission for lift-off and flight maneuvers in the Rodar system.” He waited for the response and the silence seemed interminable.

“Patroller T-887, Rodar Control,” the controller replied. “Your flight plan is approved and you are cleared for lift-off and the requested flight maneuvers.”

“Thank you, control,” Delmar answered. “T-887 out.” Delmar advanced the throttle and adjusted the axis ball for vertical motion. The ship lifted smoothly into the falling drizzle and then shot skyward. When they were clear of the atmosphere, Delmar set their course to their approved heading.

“Take us out toward the asteroid belt,” the examiner said. Delmar nodded. After clearing the change with control, he vectored the ship toward the designated area.

“We should arrive there in about five minutes,” Delmar reported.

“That’ll be fine,” he answered, not looking up from his notes. Delmar settled back while the ship virtually flew itself. This was the hardest part of flying—waiting. Have an examiner in the ship that remained silent was also nerve wracking. The silent minutes turned into days. He’d much rather have the examiner telling him everything he was doing wrong instead of just sitting there writing on his notepad. To keep himself occupied, Delmar scanned the sensor screens for any sign of other ships.

When the asteroid belt appeared several minutes later, the examiner again spoke. “Bring us in on a standard survey loop and then land us on that large asteroid over there,” he said, pointing at a large piece of barren rock ahead of them.

“Acknowledged,” Delmar replied. He adjusted the controls accordingly. Behind him he heard the examiner write something again. Beads of cold sweat appeared on Delmar’s forehead.

Delmar turned the ship into an oscillating loop pattern designed to allow shipboard sensors to fully sweep the surface of a planetary body. When the sensors indicated the asteroid was unoccupied and safe, Delmar chose a landing area and headed toward it using the cautionary approach vector. Designed to allow a landing ship more escape options in case of unforeseen circumstances, he thought it wise since the examiner had not specified a particular approach. Delmar found himself listening for the examiner to start writing again but heard nothing. Strangely, this made him all the more nervous.

Bringing the ship in on a smooth descending final approach, Delmar set the ship down to a bump-free landing. When they were safely landed, he cut the drive and waited for instructions. Ingrained habits from training kicked in and he found himself continuing to scan his instruments and the barren surface outside through the glass-steel windows of the trainer.

“Execute an emergency lift on my mark,” the examiner ordered, “and bring us to a dead stop at fifty thousand feet above the surface.” Delmar nodded his acknowledgment and waited. “Mark,” the examiner said after a moment.

Delmar immediately gave the ship full throttle and spun the axis ball. The little patroller shot straight upward on a vertical tangent from the surface of the asteroid. Just before the distance indicator showed the requested altitude, Delmar cut the drive and the little ship drifted to a stop six inches past fifty thousand feet. Behind him Delmar heard the examiner click a stopwatch and write something on his notepad. He wondered what the he’d found wrong this time.

After a moment, the examiner spoke again. “Execute a standard approach to Rodar Base 43 and set us down.” He watched Delmar nod his acknowledgment and begin the maneuver. He looked down at the notes he’d scribbled and smiled. From his seat, the examiner could see his student was developing a permanent cold sweat.