Star stopped her. “Don’t worry, I already checked, and they’re doing great.”
A reality check hit Bach. “That’s it, guys! We were so caught up in our own joy that everyone except Star overlooked the E-module occupants. Time to regroup.” He opened the fold-down table and Deni helped position stools in their bases in the floor. “Kaz, Lynch, and G.R., sit down!” he said. Bach went to the food storage center and returned with a vacuum-sealed packet. He took out three fuzzy red berries. “Firefruits are an antidote for intoxication,” he told the happy crewmates. “Eat them now.”
Star stood by as the tipsy crewmates sucked on the cinnamony fruits. When the three had calmed down, she announced, “Good news. Research shows no problems on Urusa’s other quadrants. As soon as we store enough energy and find it safe for all to live outside, we’ll fly the E-module and explore the other areas. If the passengers eventually want to relocate to those places matching their natural habitats, we’ll organize a four-quadrant food and supply sharing co-operative.”
“I still have an uneasy feeling,” G.R. said. “I can’t help wondering about extraterrestrial life forms and thinking about what happened back on Jenesis when we opened the door.” He waved toward a porthole. “Who do you think tends those gardens and grounds?”
“Oh, no, ” Kaz whispered, “I hadn’t thought about that.”
“I’ve wondered the same thing,” Star said, “and don’t have an answer yet. But I’ve looked for energy sources and other life forms, and ran fuel emission detection, and found nothing.”
G.R. wiped his face with one hand. “Well, that’s good. But this planet didn’t get this perfect by itself.”
“We have a few more tests to run before going out,” Deni said. “They’ll take about an hour.”
Star added, “So far, I’ve found Earth’s research correct. Urusa rotates, and so does its sun.”
“Answer this one,” Bach said. “Are we in the same universe, or was Einstein right and there are parallel universes?”
“Oh, boy,” Lynch said, “now it’s gettin’ interesting.”
Star sighed. “I believe it’s the same universe, but I have no point of reference because the events generated by the black hole altered the structure of our view of space.”
Lynch asked, “Are there any other planets in this customized universe?”
“It appears,” Star said, “that Urusa and its sun are a zone, or solar system, of two.”
Deni added, “We saw a few stars at times while traversing space to get here. That means we’re also part of a virgin galaxy—an alpha galaxy.”
Star returned to the cockpit. “The electronic brain’s on automatic. We’ll have new download soon.”
“We have a lot to catch up on,” Deni said.
Bach, Lynch, and G.R. stayed at the fold-down table at mid ship. Kaz looked out a porthole. “Hey,” she hollered, flagging her hand at the others to get their attention. “Let’s name our little solar system. We’re in an unknown place in time, and we’ll be here forever, so we can name it anything we want.” When no one responded, she pressed harder. “If you guys don’t make an attempt, I’ll name it something really weird.”
Lynch got up and headed aft. “Lemme get a pad and pen.” He moseyed back to his crewmates, stopped in front of them, and ruffled his hair into an Einstein-like “do.” Then, to their amusement, he paced to and fro, mumbled in a monotone, and scanned the sky from a viewport. “Hmmm. Urusa, a bit of paradise with unknown dangers in a small solar system.” He rubbed his chin, tapped on the notepad, and pointed to G.R. “Name that solar system.”
G.R. raised his primitive-looking brows. “Nirvana!”
Kaz rolled her eyes. “No, more clever. Maybe Oz, from the Wizard of Oz.”
“Not Oz!” Lynch shouted out. “That might signify bad things to come.” He strode to the cockpit. “Star and Deni, you gonna play?”
“You’ll hear from us only if it gets out of hand,” Deni answered.
Bach said, “How about Genesis? This is a new beginning.”
“That’s good,” Kaz said. “Or, how about Heart? It’s an earth anagram. Or, what about Urth? We can make it an acronym for Under Rainbows There’s Hope.”
G.R. whispered, “The Twilight Zone,” in a creepy voice, to a round of laughter.
Inspiration flowed and the crewmates tossed out one suggestion after another, including Paradise, No Mosquito Land, and Tomorrowland. One-by-one the offerings ended in giggles from the dog-tired crew.
Lynch strolled back and forth a few times, then hovered over the cackling crew with a sneer. “Something funny? Want to share it with the class?”
Bach looked up at him, chuckling. “Our galaxy was called the Milky Way. Where did that come from?”
“It came from the Mars family,” Lynch said, amusing only himself.
Kaz giggled. “How about solar system Mirth?”
“Bedrock,” Bach howled.
“Proton,” G.R. yelped.
Minutes of uncontrolled hilarity left Kaz splayed across the table convulsed in laughter, G.R. snorting and holding his sides, and Bach wiping tears from his eyes.
When Lynch could no longer maintain his stern Gestapo act he sat at the table with the others and said, “On a more serious note, how about solar system Atlantis?”
G.R. frowned. “We’ll consider it, Lynch.”
“I kinda like it,” Kaz said. “Remember, Lynch said that Atlantis was like a new Eden.”
“Actually, Plato said that,” G.R. replied, “but Eden didn’t turn out so well, and that was with just two people.”
“Okay,” Lynch said, “then how about Shalom? It’s a greeting of peace and good wishes, said to others when either coming or going.”
Kaz whined a little. “Lynch … remember, Urusa also means Place of Peace. But I guess going for a double-helping of peace can’t hurt.”
“Whoa,” Bach suddenly said. “Say Urusa and Shalom together fast and it sounds like Jerusalem: UrusaShalom.”
Lynch repeated, “UrusaShalom … UrusaShalom … Jerusalem.”
Deni looked back from the cockpit and actually broke a smile. She whispered to Star, “I think Kaz’s youth is good for Lynch. He would never have joined in anything frivolous in the past. It’s interesting to watch.”
Star smiled and nodded.
The Arkmates wore themselves out with ideas before whittling their top-ten list to two. One was Lynch’s suggestion of Atlantis; the other Kaz’s offering of Urth.
Bach wrote both names on slips of paper and approached the cockpit with a ballot gripped in each hand. He looked back and forth between Star and Deni, extended both closed fists and asked, “Who’ll do the honors?”
Deni shook her head and pointed to Star. “She will.”
Star chose the right hand and dragged out the anticipation by taking a peek, then refolding the note before handing it back.
Bach unfolded it, cleared his throat, and spoke as if heralding royalty. “In this infinite universe, in our alpha galaxy, on day one, year zero, herewith it is decreed that we christen our solar system, the foundation of our new civilization, Atlantis.”
A cheer went up and somebody yelled, “Hail, Atlantis!”
G.R. leaned back on his stool and pouted. “I still like Nirvana best.”
Kaz sighed. “Give it up, G.R., Nirvana didn’t even make the top ten.”
“Okay, you all,” he goaded. “Who’ll be first to walk au naturel onto peaceful planet Urusa?”
Kaz let out a yelp. “Au naturel, are you nuts?”
“It’s just an expression meaning no suits. I didn’t mean nude.”
“Hey, quiet!” Bach’s fun turned serious. “The Ark’s testing devices were built for Balal’s zone, so it’s possible they won’t detect, interpret, or display foreign matter here. Before we try to breathe the air on our own, we should send out a bird like Noah did.”
Lynch thought about it. “Sounds like a safe bet. We’ve plenty of birds. Sorta like w
hen the coal miners back home used to take a caged canary into the coal mine and if the bird died, they knew there was poisonous gas in the shaft and they got out.”
Kaz winced. “Ohhh, how cruel.”
“We’re sendin’ the bird,” Lynch drawled. “I’ll go get one.”
Not wanting to hear more, Kaz held her ears and headed aft. “I won’t be a part of this.” She entered the passageway to the E-module.
Lynch placed a white dove into a narrow decompression tube leading to outside, then sealed the inner flap and released the outer flap. The innocent bird pigeon-walked through the pipe, hesitated at the end, eyed the outdoor area, then spread its wings in flight.
“Godspeed,” Bach whispered, watching as the bird ascended into the clear blue sky.
The crew moved from the portholes to the observation windows and back again, trying to keep an eye on the dove as it flew higher and higher. But they soon lost sight of it. After waiting, and waiting for its return, G.R. said, “Something’s wrong.”
“It was a good sign for Noah when his dove didn’t come back,” Lynch said.
“But he wasn’t worried about hazardous conditions,” G.R. retorted, backing away from the porthole. “Good thing we didn’t go out.”
“You don’t know that anything’s wrong,” Deni scolded. “Poor bird’s been cooped up too long. He’s out scouting for a mate in paradise.”
As time passed with no sighting of the dove, one by one the crewmates stepped away from the windows. Star moved to the cockpit and the others waited for results of her tests.
When Kaz came back from the E-module and learned the bird had not returned, tears flowed.
#
The chosen one-hour wait before going out had passed, and Deni was the only one who believed the dove was still alive. She continued to look out from time to time, but wasn’t watching when the bird landed outside the cockpit window.
Star happened to look up and saw the bird with a vine-like twig in its beak as if carrying it to build a nest. The twig looked like the symbol. She excitedly yelled to the others, “He’s back! The dove is back!”
G.R. rushed to the cockpit and put his face so close to the window the dove flew away. It circled and returned. “He’s telling us something,” he said.
“We’re home!” Bach answered.
Without a word, Star lowered the ramp. Beyond the three-piece ship’s confines awaited a lush paradise bathed in the colors of a rainbow.
Lynch stepped forward. “Let’s pray before we go out there.” The others gathered together and all held hands as he prayed. “Heavenly Father, Almighty Creator of the universe and giver of all good things. Thank you for a new beginning and the hope it brings. As we long for eternity with you, we surrender now to your will and seek divine guidance for our future in the shelter of your wings. Amen.”
The crewmates spoke in unison, “Amen.”
#
The six Arkmates stepped onto Urusa.
Deni sank to the ground and ran her hand across the plush, shamrock green grass. “This … is paradise.”
Lynch’s deep breath filled him from head to toe.
G.R. flexed his muscular arms. “Totally pure, the air’s incredible—like I’m not even breathing. Wonder how an aerobic workout would feel here.”
Bach laughed and took a deep breath. “You’ll get plenty of exercise maintaining daily life; you won’t need aerobics.”
Star headed straight to the oasis and peered into the water. “A miracle,” she whispered at seeing her image in the still, clear pond.
Kaz roamed the area, touching and smelling everything in her path with childlike excitement. She headed to the front of the ship and walked among rows of leafy grapevines loaded with foot-long clusters of purple, pink, and green grapes. The tangy, sweet-sour fragrance made her mouth water, and before she knew it she’d pulled a bunch of purple grapes from a vine and popped one into her mouth. The tart ruby liquid burst over her tongue, sending a jolt of pleasure through every taste bud. “Yummm. This is how grapes are supposed to taste,” she joyously announced to no one as she rushed back to the others with the cluster in hand. “Hey, try these. Delicious!”
Deni snatched the grapes from Kaz’s hand. “Stop it, Kaz, maybe we shouldn’t eat them.”
“Why? It’s not an apple. No apple, no snake.”
All the positive energy died and no one spoke.
*****
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
A massive shadow moved across the ground from high overhead. Bach, Star, Lynch, Deni, Kaz, and G.R. raced to each other as if drawn by a magnet and stared at the sky. A spacecraft resembling a cruise ship descended toward Urusa without sound or sensation. The white craft’s three-tiered body had a smaller module on top of two large bottom layers. There were no lights or insignias.
Bach yelled, “Take cover,” and the crewmates ran for the Ark. They were almost there when the big ramp flew upward and closed unaided.
“Oh, my God!” Kaz cried out.
Scrambling around, the six looked for a place to hide, but wound up cowering together on the ground alongside the ship, men shielding the women.
The incoming craft hovered overhead, then a column of blue light with two intersecting lines, like crosshairs in a rifle’s scope, beamed from its underbelly and held a bead on the crewmates. In a soundless vertical descent, the ship set down a hundred yards behind the Ark.
The crewmates fought to contain their fear, but Kaz’s body shook and she cried out, “No! No more bad stuff to endure!”
Bach stared at the spacecraft, then suddenly, with a total loss of reason, giggled like something had struck him outlandishly funny. His body went slack and he started to sing. “A magical mystery ship has come to take us away.”
Lynch clamped his hand over Bach’s mouth from behind. “Not now, Bach.”
A panel slid open in the huge ship’s lower level. As a stairway unfolded, a blinding silver light streamed from the arched doorway. It was hard to see between the bright light and the distance, but a creature of some kind moved forward, then stood motionless at the door frame as if sizing up the situation. Then it slowly descended the stairs. Now the crewmates could tell that it had the form of a man—a tall one.
Kaz whispered, “God, help us!”
The man’s long legs carried him forward swiftly. He stopped about fifty feet away. He wore a white, unadorned spacesuit, and was without a helmet or utility belt.
The six pressed together. Then Star suddenly stepped forward and yelled out to the man. “Are you also a traveler, or have we invaded your home? Please forgive us if that’s the case. We had nowhere else to go.”
The man walked closer. Now the Arkmates could tell he was an elderly man with white hair. At fifteen-feet away the color of his eyes became visible—steely blue, like a Siberian Husky’s.
“I’m Elhannon.” His voice was deep. “And I know who you are.”
“You know us?” Lynch asked.
He nodded. Then he pointed at Bach. “Come with me to my ship.”
A nervous cough preceded Bach’s fake grin. “How about we go into my ship?”
“You’ve been too long in yours.”
Bach looked at his crewmates. “What about the others?”
“Just you for now,” Elhannon said.
Bach stepped forward, but hesitated.
Elhannon waited.
Bach tried to appear relaxed, but as he strode to the man’s side he felt like his feet weren’t moving.
Elhannon put his arm around Bach’s shoulders and led him toward his ship. Neither of them spoke as they walked. At the door of the huge craft, Bach snuck one last look back at his crewmates as he mounted the steps and disappeared inside with Elhannon.
Lynch stepped back from his crewmates. “Quick, we gotta find a way to get the Ark’s ramp open.” He looked up at the spacecraft. “If any E-module occupants are looking out from up there, maybe we can signal them to go to the cockpit and open the lever.”
Kaz shielded her eyes from the sun and backed up, looking toward the viewports in the E-module. She waved, but no return came from the windows. She closed her eyes and put her fingertips on both temples. “I’ll try to send Ivy and Obbo a mental message. They were in the cockpit a couple of times asking about all the instrumentation.”
The ramp opened.
Star, Kaz, Deni, Lynch, and G.R. rushed inside, and Star hurriedly closed the ramp. When she checked the passageway door, it had not been opened, and Ivy and Obbo were nowhere in sight. The ramp had opened by unknown means.
*****
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
The crew kept watch over Elhannon’s huge ship from the Ark, wondering what fate had befallen Bach and if he would return.
Lynch looked at his watch. An hour had passed. He jumped up and punched the wall then strode back and forth. “Damn! I shoulda stepped in—demanded more information from Elhannon before lettin’ Bach go off with him to that alien ship.”
Kaz grabbed Lynch’s arm and whispered. “What if they don’t let him come back, or if they’re doing awful tests on him?”
He shook his head, grunted, and punched the wall again.
Star moved to the cockpit. “I don’t feel he’ll be harmed.”
Deni nodded, still looking out. “Same here. I’m more intrigued than frightened by all of this.”
Star scanned Elhannon’s ship for communications signals, and activated voice enhancement equipment to try to pick up conversations from the unusual craft. “Their technology is unidentifiable,” she announced. “Comm systems don’t register at all on our tracking devices.”
Kaz peered from every viewport on the way to aft ship, then headed through the passageway to the E-module. Minutes later, she returned with Obbo and Ivy. “Sit here, please.” She showed them the stools by the table. “Look in your crystal ball and tell me what you see surrounding the strange ship outside.”
Alpha Rising Page 33
