c. 2024 Rod Ice
All rights reserved
(10-24)
When the Morningstar III arrived at its destination, a sense of accomplishment and pride swelled spirits on the ship’s crew. Yet for Commander Hornell Block, an inflection of gut instincts made him too cautious for any celebration. He knew that in the cold, airless void of outer space, nothing could be taken for granted.
While pondering the blue orb below, he gestured toward Lieutenant Tara Reale. An officer assigned as his second-in-command while Kelly Strafe was receiving treatment for her lingering ailments. The perky, slender conscript had risen through the ranks quickly, as a candidate for advancement. Her dark hair and eyes were distracting for some on the team, because she appeared to thrive solely on visual appeal. Yet her capability to learn and process information at a rapid pace soon convinced any detractors. In fact, she sometimes intimidated others who inhabited the vessel. Though her inclination was always to put cooperation, and military service, above all else.
Block felt confident with this new shipmate at the helm. Though he secretly mourned losing the personal connection with his former partner onboard.
“Station us in a geosynchronous orbit, Number Two! I want this craft directly over the location of Evergreen Estates. Find that university professor, and make contact!”
Reale left her seat to stand behind their navigator as he tapped at the control console.
“Aye sir! We are decelerating now. Will be in position shortly....”
Their main viewscreen rendered a live, 3-D image of northeastern Ohio, along the lake. With magnification, it was possible to see the outline of what had once been a remote property dotted with mobile homes and storage barns. But there was no sign of a Digger shuttle, anywhere. Circling the perimeter of this abandoned development were piles of wreckage. A trio of waste mounds indicated that in recent days, some invading force had visited and failed in an unknown mission.
The commander could not hide his puzzlement. He huffed while rubbing his eyes.
“No clue about Dr. Baines? His transport isn’t on the premises, anywhere?”
Reale returned to her perch beside his primal throne. She peered at instruments that were projected overhead, from a panel on the side.
“There has been a lull in storm activity, sir. With incredibly good weather on the surface, considering seasonal changes that are at hand. That part of the continent is usually deep in snow right now...”
Block reflectively stroked the rough stubble on his square chin.
“So, where did the shuttle go? Do you suspect that he wanted to find an escape route? What direction would he have taken? East to Atlantia, or west to Calimex?”
The lieutenant paused to look at notifications on her com-link. Then offered a brief assessment in response.
“We’ve got an energy trail going north. It is very weak. Something seems to have stalled the C-drive before he could veer away from the park. The electronic signature dissipates over that body of water on the coast...”
Her superior was confused, but curious.
“He took the Digger out over Lake Erie? Does that mean he probably drowned when the thing ran out of power?”
Reale nodded without giving a direct answer.
“Maybe sir, we’d have to do a scan from down there to be certain. But I’d think it is more likely that he made it far enough to land on the other side. Torontara is a region we don’t know much about. Our records show that the area once known as Canada is largely vacant. Those who are surviving there live on a subsistence basis. They are the least sophisticated of the three, independent districts on this continent. Yet perhaps, the most resilient.”
Block nodded and stiffened.
“Resilient, how? Because they exist in harmony with the land? Things have to get frosty up there, with the cyclical chaos of modern planetary meteorology. Things are a mess! The Great Uprising ruined what used to be a very hospitable world.”
His junior aide echoed this sentiment.
“Mankind left this big rock a century ago, sir. But I’d guess they are living as our ancestors did 200 years in the past, or maybe more...”
The commander felt a chill run through his bones.
“If the seasonal cycle hasn’t happened yet, then we might be able to find the Digger, and our wandering scholar. That’s your conclusion, Number Two?”
Reale narrowed her gaze while doing mental calculations.
“That’s assuming he had a soft landing. We don’t know if there was a skirmish before he left that trailer community. Or who had him pegged as a target. Honestly, sir, we don’t know much of anything right now!”
The Morningstar chief wanted more details about what awaited them on the planet surface. But he had been placed in a situation where gambling odds were his only source of enlightenment.
“So, we’ve got to send another craft to investigate. You’re telling me to plunk down good money after bad? To risk losing two short-range ships instead of one?”
His lieutenant sharpened her tone when answering.
“I won’t tell you anything, sir. That’s not my rank. What I will say is that making a plan of action means having a closer look. We know Dr. Baines has been doing an archaeological dig for months now. It’s more than school work for him, he’s got a personal connection to the site. I can’t imagine that anyone else would have a vested interest in what he was doing. Nobody besides us...”
Block reddened with ire.
“What does that mean, Number Two? Are you pointing a finger in my direction?”
Her candor came as a shock.
“Sir, it’s well known that the high council on Mars wants to cover up the story of what he’s found on our former homeworld. And your career rests on making that happen. Maybe mine as well. I won’t argue the point. What I mean to say is, that no other motivation for interfering seems logical. I don’t know why he’s disappeared. But I do know that we can’t go home until that mystery is solved!”
The military veteran shrugged and sighed while reviewing his options.
“Very well then, prepare a shuttle on our flight deck. I’m putting you in charge of the landing group. Go to that damned junkyard in Ohio, and find out what happened. Find the other craft. And find the one who started all of this, in the first place! Judson Jeremiah Baines!”
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