To The Stars (The Harry Irons Trilogy) (12 page)

"I didn't know we had any."

"Usually the survey teams take sidearms, but I wanted to bring along some extra firepower this time."

"Why?"

Fagen put the rifle back inside the locker. "Let's just call it intuition. What are you doing here?"

"Doris asked me to inventory the EVA gear."

Fagen pointed to an adjoining locker. "In here." He opened the locker to expose the electronic gear that would be taken to the surface of the planet. "Well, I'll leave you to your work."

Harry began to pull the equipment out of the locker but stopped and called out. "Edward?"

Fagen turned around. "Yes?"

"Are we going to the planet's surface?"

"We're determining that at this time. When we've gathered enough data and reviewed it, we'll make a decision."

Without realizing it, Harry frowned. Ten feet away, Fagen floated in the air, as comfortable and relaxed as the day he'd beaten Harry in their game of zoomball.

"Harry, we don't want to waste a trip to the surface if we can avoid it. We're just as interested in the other bodies in this star system as we are in the planet. All I can say is that we will review the data and make a decision based on our findings."

Without another word, Fagen tapped the deck with an extended toe and floated toward the hatch leaving Harry alone with his thoughts. To come this far and not have a look at the surface of the newly discovered planet seemed unlikely. In any case, there was nothing left to do except inventory the equipment. As he checked the items off his inventory list, he wondered about the rifles he'd seen in the adjacent locker. Why had Fagen brought them along?

Later, as Harry went back to his compartment, he passed by Kathleen's open door. She and Bart sat inside the small room, talking and laughing. Kathleen saw Harry pass and invited him to come in. Harry floated to one end of the cluttered cabin and gripped a looped nylon cord, one of the hundreds of handholds distributed thoughtfully around the interior of the Magellan. As he did so, Bart plugged in to the nearest terminal.

"What are you doing, Harry? Getting excited about the expedition?"

"What expedition is that?"

"Oh, you've been below for the past couple of hours. You haven't heard the news. It looks like we'll be taking a trip to the surface."

"Is that what Edward said?"

"Well, no," Kathleen admitted. "But we have determined there are life forms on the planet. If that's not reason enough, then I don't know what. Doris is so excited she can't stop giving orders. Bart and I escaped." Kathleen laughed.

Bart sat without expression, eyes glazed, lost in cyberspace.

"Did you know Edward brought guns along?"

"They always bring guns on missions."

"Yeah, but not cannons like these. Rifles, exploding bullets, and something that looks like a beam weapon."

Kathleen glanced at Bart. Bart didn't respond.

"Well, I'm sure he has his reasons."

"I suppose so."

Doris' voice cracked from the speaker. "All personnel are requested to gather in the galley for a mission briefing in ten minutes. I repeat, the galley in ten minutes everybody. Thank you."

"Ah," said Kathleen, "I'll bet they've made the decision for the EVA."

Bart unplugged himself and stood up; suddenly it was crowded in the small compartment. "Shall we go?" Bart suggested as he pushed past Harry.

"What's the matter with him?" Harry whispered to Kathleen.

Kathleen answered, "Nothing. Well, maybe he's just a tiny bit jealous."

The three made their way to the galley and joined the others. Fagen was the last to show.

"Shortly we will enter into orbit around the planet. At that time, we will begin a telemetric survey to discern just what lies below us. At the same time, I want surveys of both moons to determine exact size, composition, et cetera. I want to remind you that this is standard information required by the corporation. As far as taking the shuttle down to the planet's surface, that has yet to be decided. For the corporation's purposes, we can consider the mission to be a success. If we find that the planet is suitable for colonization, you are all assured of substantial bonuses. I might add that it looks good. You've all done an excellent job already and you are to be commended. Just remember that the job's not done yet."

Kathleen waved her hand in the air like an eager student.

"Yes, Kathleen?"

"What about a trip to the surface?"

Fagen cleared his throat. "EVA's are inherently dangerous. If we can gather all our information from orbit, we're better off."

Parker frowned. "What will it take to entice us to land?"

"The corporation is specific about this. Landings on planet surfaces are decided by a number of factors. Specifically, the planet must be habitable, that is, it must contain an atmosphere that is agreeable to humans..."

Kathleen giggled "Well, that lets Bart out."

"Second," Fagen continued, "there must flora and fauna of a type compatible to humans. Third, it needs to be geologically stable. We don't want to land on a crust that will give way under the weight of the shuttle. I'm sure you've all heard about the crew on Ceti-4. Their shuttle was too heavy for the ice and it fell through to the acid seas below. The shuttle and four people were lost."

"The atmosphere looks good, Edward." Bonner suggested.

"Yes, it does. The preliminary geological surveys look good too. But don't get your hopes up until after the survey work is completed. That's all I have for now. Doris?" Fagen turned to his XO. "Do you have anything to add?"

"Just a couple of things."

Bart audibly sighed and Nadine let out a groan. Doris ignored them.

"Bill, my computer analysis of the shuttle shows a slow servo response. Could you check that out, please?"

"Be happy to."

"Harry, would you go along to lend a hand?"

"No problem."

"Oh, and one other thing, Harry. While you're there, check all the battery levels for the EVA gear."

"Sure," Harry said. Now I'll have to drag all that stuff out of the lockers again, he thought.

She nodded at Fagen. "That's all I have."

"All right everybody. You've done a marvelous job so far, let's keep it up. For those of you with time on your hands, I suggest you get some rest. We'll be busy once we enter orbit."

The meeting was over. Bonner turned to Harry as the others filed out.

"What do you say? Ready to get your hands dirty?"

Harry grinned. "Lead the way."

In ten minutes, Bonner was on his back under the mid-section of the shuttle clucking his tongue, looking and sounding like an auto mechanic sizing up a problem. Harry peeped under the vehicle as Doris watched. "Bill?"

Bonner looked up quickly and bumped his head. "Ouch."

"Sorry about that," Harry said. "Found the problem?"

The engineer scooted out from under the shuttle, wiping his hands on a rag. "Yeah," he said, "the servos aren't responding. Maybe the fluid just got old."

"It's never been used," Doris said.

"Doesn't have to be to get old. Heck, looks like it's been sitting in there for years. I'll change it and see what happens. Everything else looks like it's supposed to."

"All right, let me know if you need any help." Doris turned and walked away.

"So you can get your yah-yahs by telling somebody else to get busy," Bonner muttered to himself.

"Roger that," Harry laughed.

Together, they changed the hydraulic fluid and afterwards, they went up to the bridge. Blane sat in his usual place, communicating with his computers. "How're things shaping up?"

"Very good," Blane answered. "Lots of water, lots of carbon dioxide, there's chlorophyll in the atmosphere... Kathleen will be happy to hear that."

Parker fidgeted at his console and read the atmospheric data. "Looks like the right amount of organic chemicals."

Blane, almost as an afterthought, began scanning the radio spectrum.

Harry stretched and said, "Think I'll get a little shut-eye." Doris nodded approvingly and he made for the hatch. Before he got there, Blane shouted out.

"I got a radio signal here!" As if their heads were on strings, everybody looked up. Parker turned white. Blane said nothing else. He bent over, listening to the radio feed supplied by the computers. "Wait," he said, "I lost it." He concentrated and turned on his radio filters.

Minutes slipped by; nobody said anything. Finally, Nadine broke the silence.

"That's great, Blane," she said, "maybe you picked up a morning talk show."

Doris looked at Nadine with an expression of warning. Nadine shrugged.

"There! I've got it!" Blane switched on a speaker. A wavering tone filled the small control room.

Parker cocked his head to one side. "What is that?"

"It's not a tone pack, it's more like a, uh...," Doris said and paused.

"A beacon," said Bonner. "A low tone homing beacon."

"Where's it coming from?" Harry asked. Blane looked at his display, pressed buttons on his keyboard, and looked back. "It's from the surface. Someone, or something, is transmitting a homing signal from the planet's surface."

Chapter 11

Fagen accepted the news with his usual stoicism.

"Shall I have Bonner prepare the shuttle?"

"Not just yet," Fagen responded, "you know the procedures. We'll monitor radio activity from orbit as we complete our preliminary survey. Then we'll make a decision."

Doris, always a stickler for rules, immediately agreed.

Entry into orbit went without a hitch.

As before, both Harry and Kathleen had time on their hands. Parker sat with them in the galley and discussed the chances of finding intelligent life.

"Now that's what we'd really like to find, isn't it?"

"As long as they're friendly," Kathleen agreed.

"That would give Harry here something to do."

Kathleen looked toward the kitchen. "Want a sandwich?"

Both men shook their heads. She got up and began searching through the cabinets.

Parker asked Harry where he had studied. "Regional College," Harry replied.

"Did you do any field work?"

"A trip to South Africa and a few weeks in South America."

"I wonder if we have any sprouts?" Kathleen asked as she continued her search.

"I wonder if talking to the Bushmen would be anything like an encounter with an alien?"

Harry shrugged. "Who's to say?"

"Where are they?" Kathleen called from behind a counter.

"There's no telling. They might live under rocks or at the bottom of the sea. And they might look just like us, or at least, reasonably close."

"No, not aliens! Sprouts! Have either of you seen any sprouts around here?"

Harry shook his head and stifled a laugh. "I have no idea." He turned back to the doctor.

"And that's if we find any. How do you recognize an intelligent alien if it looks and acts like a rock or a tree? Intelligence could be all around us and we simply haven't learned to recognize it because we're unable to disconnect ourselves from our humanity. Everything we know, we know through our own prejudiced view of things. Remember the eels discovered on Vega-9 by the Jameson team? As far as we could tell, those eels were the highest life form in that system, but they showed no sign of intelligence by human standards, although their behavior was so complicated it still baffles the experts to this day. The eels had no artifacts, and they couldn't, or didn't want to communicate with us. It was a great discovery, but a long shot from conversing with a creature evolved in a different star system. I really don't know what to expect, Doc."

It was the longest speech Harry had made in some time.

"I suppose I feel somewhat the same as you," the doctor said. "But I see the prospect of discovering a new species as an opportunity to prove that intelligence has a limited number of ways to evolve. To me, something shows its intelligence when it tries to communicate. If a creature constructs artifacts, that's a definite sign. If not, well, they're just taking up space in the food chain."

"What if we find a species that builds something we can't figure out? What if they're so alien there's no basis for communication?"

Dr. Parker waved his hand. "Then, as far as humanity is concerned, they're not worth communicating with. We have to draw a line somewhere."

Kathleen found her sprouts and rejoined the men at the table. "Sounds a bit ethnocentric to me."

Parker shrugged. "It's practical. If a species doesn't have something to offer, why bother with it?"

"That's pretty mercenary. What about scientific considerations?"

"Scientific considerations have to pay for themselves."