PERIL (14 page)

On E-Deck in Main Engineering, Cruise and Pendersen are running their systems check and repairing one of the Decima’s engine manifolds. The ambient noise from the ship’s operating engines and exhausts systems makes it hard for them to hear each other. They also couldn’t hear Magruder’s hails from the bridge.

“Man this is, bullshit! Captain Briggs, would have never pushed for a touchdown without my clearance,” Cruise gripes.

Pendersen can barely hear him.

“What?”

“I said this is, bullshit!”

“Oh, Bains,” Pendersen says nodding his head in discontentment.

“That’s right, Bains. Who the fuck does she think she is?” Cruise laments.

“I know, I know. And we’re gonna be stuck on that shithole with her for eleven month too,” Pendersen says.

“Time we renegotiated our contracts! Man we got to stick together on this, shit. Hand me that number two emitter!”

Pendersen, hands him the emitter.

“Can we get hazard pay out of this?” Pendersen asks.

“Only if we crash, fool! Check the converters on two will ya?” Cruise yells.

On the bridge, Bains, Reed, Neil, Nickolette and Magruder sit in their cockpit chairs preparing the ship to land on the planet’s surface.

“According to, HAB 1, there were some atmospheric disturbances. Other than that, all systems are green,”
Bains, announces.

“Bridge to E-Deck,” Magruder says over the intercom.

“Once we land and uplink to, HAB 1, will, ISIS, be joining us on the habitat?” Reed asks Nyna.

“No, she’ll go into sleep mode; however, her secondary systems will monitor the Decima’s systems.” Nyna explains.

“E-Deck, come in. There’s some kind of interference,” Magruder says.

“Keep at it, Magruder. What happens if HAB’s systems go down while we’re on the habitat?” Bains inquires.

“ISIS, should detect the problem and remote link herself to the habitat’s systems,” Nyna responds.

“Well eleven months won’t be the same without you, ISIS,” Neil says.

“I concur, Lieutenant,” ISIS replies.

“Bridge to E-Deck. Cruise, do you copy?” Magruder calls out over the intercom again.

Magruder looks over at Nickolette confused that she is unable to raise Cruise and Pendersen. Nickolette hand motions to her implying they are masturbating. Magruder grins and makes a fist-to-mouth gesture back at him suggesting that they are giving each other oral sex. Their fun is interrupted by bleeps on Nickolette’s console.

“We got a window opening up here! Atmospherics nominal. We should be good for descent. It’s now or we wait twenty-four hours. There’s a storm front moving in fast,” Nickolette informs Bains.

“We’re not waiting! Magruder I need, Cruise’s, report!” Bains says.

“C’mon guys respond!” Magruder continues her hails.

Magruder isolates the interference and Cruise and Pendersen’s conversation comes in loud and clear over the intercom.

“All I know is the, bitch better stay outta my way. I run Engineering!” Cruise blasts.

“You da man, Cruise,” Pendersen cosigns.

“Ya damn right I am!”

Annoyed, Bains activates her intercom.

“If you ladies are done swappin’ fuckin beauty tips down there, I’d like an ETA on that SYS-check!” Bains yells over the intercom.

“Ah yeah, ten minutes to green,” Cruise responds.

“Alright, then get up here! We’re ready to get this show on the road!” Bains gripes.

Chapter Fourteen

The entire crew is on the bridge of the Decima ready to land on MV5. Strapped into their cockpit chairs th
ey turn their attention to the holographic monitors that glow bright neon blue.

“Alright, Nyna, you got it, initiate Descent Protocols,” Bains orders.

Nyna links up with ISIS via her neuro-net. The bridge is dark, only the glowing lights from the monitors and the heavenly bodies outside the ship illuminate the bridge.

“AFT burn in 10, 9, 8…” ISIS counts down.

Bains checks her monitor and communicates some relevant data to the ships navigational computers.

“…7, 6, 5, 4…” ISIS continues.

Each crewmember checks their monitors as ISIS’s voice echo throughout the ship. Some of the monitors display the current status of the ship’s trajectory.

“…3, 2, 1, AFT burn in progress.

Outside the ship, the Aft Engines ignite a white-hot ion blast, pushing the Decima into a downward pitch towards the planet. The ship shakes vigorously from the vibrations of the engines firing.

“Vector 3, 2, 5, 9 Alpha,” Reed calls out.

“That’s affirmative 3, 2, 5, 9 Alpha,” Magruder confirms.

“Speed and trajectory on point!” Bains yells.

The monitors quickly flash displaying their descent and rate of speed. The consoles are all a buzz with activity as they keep up with the motion of the Decima. Magruder looks anxious while everyone else is completely dialed into his and her roles. Nickolette notices a variance on one of the monitors.

“HQ down 8 percent. Cruise, watch your vector!” Nickolette warns.

“I got it! Just give me more on two!” Cruise yells.

“Copy that. Two your way!”

The ship enters the upper atmosphere of MV5. Cruise cuts some of the engines allowing the ship to freefall. The bottom of the hull burns as it comes into contact with the atmosphere. The ship begins to shake violently. The crew scrambles to get a handle on the falling mega-mass of metal.

“What the!” Reed yells.

Reed’s chewed up unlit cigar falls from his lips as he struggles to do his part in the chaos.

“REMO, APLHA, CHARLIE…Shit! I’ve got multiple fields up here!” Magruder yells.

Magruder’s monitor displays the multiple vectors. The phrases, “ATMOSPHERIC DISTURBANCE” and “RECOMMEND TRAJECTORY CORRECTION” flash across the helm’s monitors.

“It’s a storm front! Where did that come from?” Nickolette asks.

“Main thruster burn at 86.25 percent! ISIS, our trajectory correction insufficient! Recommendation?” Nyna inquires.

“Number two engine is over compensating. Level off!” ISIS responds.

“Alright, Cruise, ease up on two!” Bains orders.

“I said I got it! Will you guys pilot and let me handle Engineering!” Cruise yells.

Cruise scrambles to control the ship’s rate of descent.

“We’re coming in hot!” Bains yells.

“Negative fields reading plus 5G’s and climbing!” Magruder warns.

Detecting the error ISIS intervenes and overrides all of the ship’s controls. All of the monitors read
, “OVERRIDE IN PROGRESS.” ISIS blasts the ship’s main ion engines to full. They rotate pointing towards the surface of the planet. A loud moan roars throughout the ship as it slows it’s fall.

“Descent rate leveling off,” Nyna yells.

Nyna locates HAB 1 and steers the ship to land adjacent to the structure. Massive smoke clouds billows up as the Decima touches down.

Finally, the ship comes to a rest on the planet’s primordial surface. It’s night and visibility is low as high winds blow debris around the ship. The crew squints their eyes to see the Habitat’s lights that glow about a quarter mile away.

“Nyna,” Bains call out.

“I’m on it,” Nyna responds.

Nyna communicates with the ship’s systems and the external floodlights activate. Mist and debris reflect some of the light back at the ship. Huge gusts of wind kick up adding to the low visibility.

“Checking internal and external systems,” Neil says.

“Those must be hundred mile an hour winds. We’ll need safe passage,” Bains says.

“Attempting to contact, HAB 1,” ISIS informs the crew.

“Welcome to MV5, Decima,” HAB 1 says over the intercom.

“Hello, HAB 1. Extending Umbilical,” ISIS responds.

“Acknowledged. Umbilical receptors activated.”

A large corridor emerges from the Decima and extends to an awaiting junction to the Habitat. It’s a clear see-through tunnel that allows the crew to safely travel to the Habitat. The vehicles use can withstand the high winds and debris, but none of them were willing to risk it.

“Umbilical docking clamps secure, Decima. The sun will be up in forty-eight minutes,” HAB 1 says.

“Good, by the time we disembark we’ll have some light,” Reed says.

The crew loads up their gear into three large vehicles The Grey Goose, The Titan and The Gambit. Each of these vehicles serves a unique mining purpose. Nyna, Neil, Cruise, Pendersen and Reed load the strange crate Nyna has brought along onto The Gambit.

“This thing weighs a ton! What is it?” Reed asks.

“According to, Nyna, it’s classified,” Bains says.

“Just be careful with it, gentlemen,” Nyna interjects.

After loading the vehicles the crew puts on their environmental suits and boards their assigned transportation. They drive up to the bay hatch and open it. Slowly the hatch lowers and sunlight floods the bay revealing the huge umbilical. The winds are still raging, but the corridor is secure. They drive into the large corridor and the Decima’s hatch closes behind them. The Grey Goose leads the way followed by The Titan and bringing up the rear is The Gambit. Onboard The Titan, Neil communicates with ISIS.

“Okay, ISIS is down. Her systems are on standby,” Neil informs the crew.

The Decima’s external lights dim as the ship goes dark. The crew pushes their vehicles to top speeds making their way across the strange landscape.

“Hey I get first dibs on the largest quarters” Cruise jests over the con.

“That’s reserved for the Captain––I get the second largest, Lt.,” Reed replies.

“We’ll have to draw straws for what’s left, Cruise,” Pendersen mocks.

“Whatever happened to ladies first? I am with child for fuck sake,” Magruder chimes in.

“Careful that’s how you got that way,” Cruise retorts.

The crew laughs. Bains listens to the chatter and smiles. For better or worse the motley crew is beginning to feel like family.

The vehicles arrive at the Habitat’s entrance. A large hatch opens and they drive into a huge airlock.

   “Please exit the vehicles and standby for contaminant scan,” HAB 1 instructs the crew.

The crew complies. They assemble in front of the vehicles. A red beam falls over them and their vehicles.

“Scan complete…welcome to, Habitat 1,” HAB 1 states.

A hatch slides open revealing a sleek environment. It’s a state of the art facility, a stark contrast to the Decima. As they continue further into the facility they find themselves wandering through a holographic atrium. It resembles the forests on Earth. The crew is in awe.

“Amazing, a little taste of home,” Nickolette says.

“Eh, if you’ve see one holographic projection you’ve seen them all,” Cruise scoffs.

“Captain, are you aware that one of your officers is pregnant?”

“Yes, HAB, I am.”

“This facility isn’t equipped with a nursery.”

“No worries, HAB. When the baby comes it’ll bunk with me,” Magruder says.

Magruder rubs her stomach proudly.

“Let’s get settled. We’ve got a briefing with the other teams after, HAB 1’s, interface,” Bains states.

“Yeah 13:00 hours” Cruise says sarcastically.

“With your engineering expertise you’ll have it done in no time,” Reed says slapping Cruise on the back.

The crew ventures through the atrium and enters a large room leading to the rest of the facility.

Chapter Fifteen

Cruise has just finished his interface with HAB’s systems. The crew prepares for their debriefing with the other two teams. They assemble in the habitat’s Mess Hall. Captain Vladimir Yuri of the Apollo Corporation is accompanied by three of his Lieutenants. Captain Kenji Satoh, his Commander Aneko Yamaguchi and their Science Officer Lt. David Adiva represented the Aaron Enterprises team.

Bains and her crew greet the other two teams. The general mood amongst the group is solemn. Before the briefing begins Bains has a word with the other two Captains. She notices that their entire teams aren’t present. Her curiosity is peeked. She greets Captain Satoh with a customary bow.

“Gentlemen welcome to, HAB 1,” Bains says.

She shakes Captain Yuri’s hand and notices right away the flush color of his face and that he is sweating profusely. He also has a few welts on his arms and face.