Orion's Children

by Rohan Moorthy

  “Yup, just running through a few checks out here and we should be good to go,” said Ali. “Ah! You worry too much Ali, that’s your issue. You know that the TASNSA boys and girls have it all under control,” said Nigel as he half jumped on to the couch on Ali’s right, next to a window, which was now beginning to fill up with an impressive line of buildings and spacecraft hangars outside. “Seems to me, the only thing that needs inspecting is our bloke, Captain Johnny boy. Ha! That devil is always so eager to head in for the kill, ain’t he?” said Nigel as he titled his head back and stretched. “Well, he’s been here early alright. I came in a while back but my guess is that he was here way before dawn.” Ali waved his hand over the Texifab, which blacked out and he placed it carefully into his backpack. “Eh, you been writing again Ali?” said Nigel, twirling his long ginger moustache. “Something like that, though it’s far from finished,” said Ali smiling. “Nice one, you better read it to me when you’re done eh!” said Nigel.

  Nigel was the wild card in the team, but a person everyone admired for his unparalleled sense of bravery and adventure. An avid skier, mountaineer and biker, he personally held a series of Australian national and international sport records and an Olympic gold medal. But his biggest passion and drive lay with the conservation of nature and tribal rights, which is what led him to join the TASNSA environmental programme.

  “Good morning, gentlemen!” said Raveena Singh entering the room and carrying a rather large blue container. “Well, good morning yourself, Miss India. I reckon you are a sight for sore eyes. Mine included,” said Nigel as he winked at her and nodded his hat in her direction. Raveena smiled and placed the container on a table near Ali. She dusted her hands off and carefully undid her hair, while placing her hair pin down on the chair beside her. “And you certainly are the most courteous little rascal I’ve ever met, Nigel” said Raveena and cast him a wink back. She turned and said “Hello Ali, how is our star performer doing today?” He smiled back and pointed to the display in front of him. “Oh! So everything looking good for our trip?” she asked. “Yes, it seems that way. I know the welfare team has gone over everything but I just wanted to make sure we didn’t have any surprises,” he said.

  Raveena was one of the world’s top five most celebrated women pilots in commercial space travel. Hailing from the state of Punjab in India, she had played a critical role in further developing the country’s space travel programme, which had also included education courses for space aspirants. In fact, her contribution to the post graduate commercial space programme currently offered by Bangalore University had in 2099 been ranked as the world’s number one space course by TASNSA.

  At that moment, a hovering tray carrying Ali’s coffee came through the service chute from their left and two electric arms on its side placed the cup on the table. “Anything for you, Ms. Singh or you Mr. Greenback?” said the monitor as it descended once again. “Nothing for me,” said Raveena as she stared back again at Ali’s display. “No love, I’m well and good,” said Nigel stretching once more. “You know Ali you sweat the small stuff a bit too much. Just leave all the headache to ground control, it’s their bloody job after all,” said Nigel. Ali just nodded and continued moving his finger across the display, while ticking off different points.

  “Hey guys, most of you are here already, huh?” said Mike Johnson, who was followed by the three other members of the team. They were Akira Kyoko, Paulo Armando and Adrian Adlin. Mike himself had been a college friend of Nigel and the two were more like brothers. Mike’s family originally hailed from the Caribbean, though he had spent most of his childhood as well as adolescence growing up in New York City. Both his parents were marine scientists and it was no surprise that his passion for the seas and oceans grew because of them. Akira on the other hand, while being born in Tokyo, had lived in many parts of the world with her parents and five other siblings over the years. But from an early age it was her interest in planes and rockets that led her to pursue a career as a fighter pilot and shortly thereafter as a space shuttle pilot. The other member included Paulo Armando, who was the son of the one of the world’s former and most respected UN Secretary Generals, Bartolo Beltran Armando. He had followed in his father’s footsteps and over the years had garnered deep praise for his diplomatic skills. However, it was in 2090 that he decided to shift his attention to working with TASNSA to help with the growing space mining programme and also with Greenleaf’s government. The final person was Adrian Adlin. His claim to fame was that he was bestowed the Nobel Prize for his efforts towards wildlife conservation activities in 2095. He was also a key member of the National Geographic Green Creation campaign, started in 2089, which focused on providing university students with funding for developing technologies that could be used to provide further impetus to the natural habitat ecosystem sites being developed on the Moon.

  They all greeted each other and each got down to running through their itinerary. “I say, Nigel, do you feel that this tranquiliser rifle of yours is so necessary?” said Adrian as he pointed to the khaki bag kept next to the couch Nigel was lying down on. “Ah! You got that right mate. I am aiming to only take it out if something should pose a danger to all of us. It’s just a precaution, that’s all,” said Nigel as he lifted up the pack and touched it gently. “The man who never sweats the details seems to be contradicting himself,” said Ali. “Nah, you crazy bloke, just in case,” said Nigel. “I have no intention of physically harming anything but it’s better to be safe than sorry,” he added. As Nigel spoke, an automated trolley cart entered the room and an electronic voice sounded, which requested the crew to place all their luggage on the open platforms. A few of the team members began placing their belongings, while Raveena and Ali continued to look through the display. “Well, I hope everyone has all that they require. Check out time from here is right around now,” said John standing at the doorway. “Aye, aye, Captain. We are all accounted for,” said Nigel hunching over his pack on the floor. Everyone greeted John and after ensuring their things were on the trolley, they followed him down the hallway towards the screening bay area.

  The entire procedure took about 55 minutes to complete, which included disinfectant showers, body scans and a medical examination. Paulo had the additional task of ensuring that everyone’s paperwork was correctly filed. He skimmed through the departure list, which read:

  Team Air Hawk:

  1. John Stroff - German – Mission Leader

  2. Raveena Singh - Indian – Pilot

  3. Akira Kyoko - Japanese - Pilot

  4. Nigel Greenback - Australian - Wildlife Expert

  5. Mike Johnson - American - Wildlife Expert

  6. Ali Mehdi - Omani – Habitat Systems Head

  7. Paulo Armando - Spanish - Diplomatic Relations

  8. Adrian Adlin - British - Wildlife Expert

  *All personnel are trained astronauts and have been given TASNSA ‘Delta A’ clearance.

  Satisfied, Paulo scanned his thumb against a side panel near the screen he was looking at and then proceeded to sign three sets of printed forms, which he then placed below an odd shaped lamp that emitted a green glow. He watched as a fluorescent light moved across the paper’s surface before all the copies disappeared from view, having teleported to the TASNSA headquarters Immigration office. He then place his thumb against another panel that glowed red and recorded an official statement describing the mission, naming the crew, as well as stating the duration of the entire mission. The TASNSA guards then asked each crew member to pass through a final body scan before they could enter the dress chamber to put their space suits on. After 15 minutes, the crew stepped out onto the aero bridge, which led to the Wildlife One spacecraft. John glanced at the screens along the walls, which displayed the news coverage going out live to various countries.

  He shifted his gaze to the windows showing the world outside. The beautiful morning sunlight bathed the runway and the spaceport building in a golden hue. Everyone walked in single file with a series of a
rmed guards spaced 15 feet from each other on either side of the bridge. Up ahead, he could see the entry point of the spacecraft. From the limited view available to him, John drew his eyes along the massive hull, which was awe inspiring in every way. Its shape resembled a clam and it amazed him as to how smooth and neat its exterior was. Though he had seen the Russian made Interstellar AH-0008 model many times from its conception to the prototype stage, it still continued to amaze him and fill him with an immense sense of wonder as to how this particular machine had been conceived and engineered by Ross Hamlin and his team. As they approached the main doorway point of the spacecraft, the aero bridge expanded on either side and he stopped a few feet away from the entrance. Each of the crew members stood alongside him.

  A moment later, a giant holographic screen appeared in front of them that showed the crowded UN assembly hall and the TASNSA headquarters. The image of Stacey Adams, the now current President of TASNSA, appeared ahead of both images. A lady with a commanding presence and clear blue eyes, she smiled very slowly and spoke. “My dear crew members of Team Air Hawk, today marks the beginning of a new chapter in the history of humanity. Your mission is one of the noblest that has been. For far too long, people have taken so much from Mother Earth but she has never once failed to cater to our needs. However, the last two centuries have taken their toll and robbed all of us of our green heritage. But now, life has given us an opportunity to redeem ourselves and undo the damage caused by unwarranted and unlimited greed. Therefore, I wish you the very best and implore you to go with open hearts and minds to Greenleaf and bring back the essence of what made our planet beautiful via your ark of life. “This message was also broadcasted around the world and everywhere news channels showed ecstatic crowds cheering TASNSA and Team Air Hawk. The team raised a salute and John stepped forward to the doorway, which buzzed open. “And so it begins!” he thought to himself.

  Wildlife One Spacecraft

  Akira Kyoko stood by the main entrance and waited for everyone to move inside. She then watched as the outside world disappeared with the closing of the giant doorway. She punched in the lock code, into the side panel and heard an electronic voice call out “arm all doors and exit points.” She watched the panel flicker in multiple colours accompanied by various beeps and after a few seconds the whole interface turned completely red. She then turned and walked towards the elevator door on her right and stepped in. She pressed Level 5 [Cabin Area] and looked through the glass frame. Her ascent was quick and as she stepped out, she glanced down at some of the all-terrain vehicles and equipment in the bay below her. A vertical sliding door opened and she entered the cockpit, where Raveena was already speaking with traffic control. Towards her left she saw several screens, of which one displayed the rest of the crew getting fastened into their chairs in the deck below.

  John glanced out the window next to him and saw the expansive runway trail off into the distance. For their spacecraft, the runway wouldn’t be needed but he reflected on the tourist space flights that would begin later that day, heading towards either the Bhurj Eternia or Omega Casino Space hotels located outside of the Karman line or the Palm Grove Golf Resort located on the moon. “What’s the point of the runway anymore, when most ships have vertical take-offs like ours? I mean that technology is virtually obsolete,” said Ali. “Well, it’s still needed for the other larger crafts we have that are working on the deep space mining operations at the Asteroid belt, Ali,” said John. “Ah! Well lucky for us we’re working with some better gear to take us where we need to go in double quick time, eh, John?” said Nigel smiling and pressing himself closer to the window just behind. “Oh yes, we’ve got the crown jewel of the TASNSA fleet for sure,” said John.

  “Alright, everyone get strapped in, we are cleared for take-off,” said Raveena over the cabin’s intercom. The group called out a big yes, as they made themselves more comfortable. “Okay Akira, you want to alert the control tower that we are good to go?” asked Raveena. “For sure!” said Akira and she spoke into the helmet microphone. “Wildlife One, you are cleared for take-off! Good luck,” replied the control tower. “Roger that, control tower. We are going hot!” said Akira. Raveena then pressed and turned a small globe type device on the dashboard in front of her and the spacecraft began turning towards the western side of the runway. “Ignite engines and implement cabin stabilisers,” said Akira. The ship lifted off from the ground by about 20 feet and hovered away from the spaceport building. After moving several meters it stopped and rotated 90 degrees. “All systems go!” said Akira. Without the slightest vibration or shudder, Wildlife One moved rapidly through the air. John saw the spaceport building quickly shrink in size and within minutes he could see the entire city of Johannesburg before it too quickly shrank away below. “Go!” said Raveena. The next instant the craft shot through the air and rose high above the cloud cover with the morning sun seeping through the cabin windows and creating a wild display of light and shadow. Nigel held his breath for a moment as the craft kept rising and the outside colour of the sky began to change from a bright blue to a murky blackness that finally gave way to a beautiful canvas of stars. Everyone at the South African space port cheered, with television footage showing a very brief flash of Wildlife One before it disappeared from sight.

  A computer voice came on and announced that it was safe for the crew to leave their seats and move about freely. “Right, so the time of departure was exactly at 08:40 hours and atmosphere exit was exactly 5 minutes. Pressure and gravity fields are stable along with life support systems. Everything working smoothly, Captain,” said Raveena to John over the intercom. “Great, let’s have everyone assemble in the cafeteria in 20 minutes and run through the slumber sequence for the journey ahead,” said John. “Ah, a great a cup of tea and a croissant would do my senses some good,” said Adrian. “Yeah and a tall blonde Miss America for me!” said Mike. Only Nigel laughed at that and pushed Mike along with him towards the cafeteria situated on Level 3.

  After the early morning meal had been partaken, John called for everyone’s attention. “So as you know in about 12 hours, we will all be entering the slumber chamber and everyone needs to ensure that their vitamin shots are taken along with the right pill doses. The dinner you’ll have later today, will be your last intake of solid food for quite a while. The next time you have a meal like that will be 6 months from now,” said John. “Ah! That’s a bit too much for an outlander to take, eh, John. Makes me wonder why I signed up for this in the first place,” said Nigel as he swung another draught of beer down his throat. “I’m sure you’ll be just fine,” said John smiling at him. “Right, so meet you in the slumber chamber at 21:30 hours. Have fun,” he added. The crew spread out with most heading towards the observation deck at the front end of level 2.

  “It looks amazing, doesn’t it?” said Paulo as he gazed at the star cluster formations spread around the viewing deck windshield. “Oh yes, that it is,” said Mike sitting down beside him. “I had always dreamed of doing something like this since I was a kid,” he added. “Yes, well for me, what excites me the most is being able to do something for our planet. But more than that I really want to see the new nation that is being built on Greenleaf,” said Paulo with a sparkle in his eyes. “Yeah, well, I hear Axedon is really quite something. It kinda reminds me of when the Europeans first discovered the Americas’ and how they dreamed of building a new world,” said Mike sipping his coffee. “Yes, very much so” said Paulo. “I’ve travelled to our colonies on Mars and Saturn along with John and while they were very impressive, I have always yearned to visit Greenleaf. The type of work Kenneth and his people have done there is outstanding. The video footage and photographs really show a well-balanced and peaceful society. That to me seems truly like the Utopia that Plato spoke of, which he never believed could work, given how easily corruptible human beings are,” said Paulo. “Yup, I guess so,” said Mike as he stared at the bright flashes of shooting stars in the distance.

  The hours passed b
y quickly, till it was time for everyone to enter the slumber chamber. Ali checked everyone’s sleep pods and health monitoring systems, with a hovering medical machine by his side. With everyone completing their procedures, he switched on their pods and sealed them in, till at last it was just John and himself left. “All set for this, John?” Ali asked. “Oh yes, it’s something I’ve been waiting for, for a long time,” said John smiling. “You think we’ll be able to get all the species that we want from Greenleaf? I mean, Kenneth Anderson did inform our team and the TASNSA heads recently, about the peculiarities of the wildlife there,” said Ali. “I am aware of that but I think we’ll be just fine. Besides we do have the expertise of the team’s there to rely on as well. So, nothing to stress about,” said John. “Yes, I guess not,” said Ali. “Well goodnight then, see you in 6 months.” he added. “You too Ali, get yourself locked in quickly alright.” With that John lay down in his pod and saw the shield slide over him. He began to feel warm, with a fuzzy feeling creeping over his body. He then noticed a neat web of purple and blue lights wrap around him and he immediately began to feel drowsy. “Yes, we’re doing something worthwhile out here,” he said.

  ◆◆◆

  Part II

  The New World

  A New Horizon

  Wildlife One spacecraft

  The Wildlife One spacecraft hummed softly as it entered the Holarid solar system. A stream of meteor showers flashed in the distance leaving in their trail an exotic set of blue and green streaks. Unlike Earth’s solar system, Holarid had many startling differences. For one, it had fifteen planets in all, where 14 were twice the size of Jupiter, with the only dwarf planet being Greenleaf. Further, it also had large Arora displays spread across the spaces between the planets that were very similar to the Northern Lights seen over the state of Alaska. These lights flamed continuously with a series of asteroids flashing through them in a circular formation. The final and biggest difference, lay in the fact that the Holarid system had two suns in it. This final part was the baffling anomaly that both Greenleaf and Earth scientists had tried to decipher for years.