Explorer

by Andreas Christensen

  EXPLORER

  A GENESIS COMPANION NOVELLA

  Andreas Christensen

  Explorer

  A Genesis companion novella

  Copyright 2015 Andreas Christensen

  Cover design by Yoly Cortez, cormarcovers.com

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  1.

  Tina Hammer stood on the Newport pier, admiring the ship that lay before her eyes.

  "I can´t believe it´s finished already," Tina said, grinning. Roger, the chief shipwright nodded slightly, a discrete smile creeping across his face as well. Normally the level tempered and quiet sort, Tina saw how he stood a hint taller, gazing out on the ship that lay moored just off the coast.

  Its general makeup was that of an old-fashioned icebreaker, although it was heavily modified with modern equipment such as remote controlled sails, satcom navigation, automatic underwater mapping and detection devices, and automatic course correction and autopilot, for starters. She expected it to be necessary. Just a few kilometers north of here icebergs were floating down on the currents along the southern coast of Rossi, the northern continent, even with summer fast approaching. And it meant the Explorer could function with just a small crew, meaning fewer mouths to feed, which again gave it a much longer operating range.

  Almost two years ago, Tina Hammer had been the first human to set foot on Aurora, landing her shuttle on Verdi, in a place that would later become Fort Andrews, the first settlement on the planet. It felt like ages ago. But then, a lot had happened since, and Tina wondered if anyone would ever inhabit that place again. A nuclear wasteland, nobody would be allowed to go there for a long time. Perhaps one day, when humans expanded south again, they might decide the area would be fit for habitation. But it would take a long time.

  It wouldn´t be her, that much she knew. South of the Stronghold, every little piece of land held too many bad memories. No, she had other plans. And right now, a key component of those plans lay out there, on the water, slowly rolling with the waves, waiting to be put to the task of expanding human reach on this new world.

  "We named it Explorer," Roger said, his gaze never leaving the ship. "And it´s the finest ship I've ever laid my eyes on, if I may say so." Tina walked along the side and took in the massive ship, fashioned of North Verdi Hardwood. Roger explained how the ship had come to be, and the thinking behind the details. The more she heard, the more impressed with this man she became. He had been one of the first to join her and her group of friends, back when all she wanted was to build boats, and she was happy to see that he had continued improving his craftsmanship.

  The memory of the now burned down little town still stung. Port Hammer, its inhabitants had named it, after her, until Havelar´s soldiers leveled it in a futile attempt to crush the budding rebellion. Even then, Roger had a knack for building on the ideas of centuries old designs and adapting them to their new environment here on Aurora.

  "It´s old fashioned of course,” he said. Tina let him speak, not interrupting his words.

  "Our resources are still limited, and if we put in an engine at this point, the ship´s range would be too limited. The war really taxed us. We just don´t have the fuel to spare. We´ve got a couple of fuel cells, but that´s it. So we came up with the idea of using sails, not unlike those on a caravel. The lateen sails make for maneuverability and speed, even to windward, and look." He pointed to the shape of the hull, near the water line. At first Tina didn´t understand, but then she saw the way the hull bulged.

  "See, the egg shaped form makes it so the ship is pushed upward by the ice, instead of being crushed by it, when the forces get too strong. Of course, there are limits, but we´ve studied the blueprints from Fram, the ship used by both Nansen and Amundsen on polar expeditions back in the 19th and 20th century, and copied as much as we could. If there was ever a safe sailing ship for polar exploration, this is it," he said.

  "And there´s room to put in an engine later." Tina noticed Roger waited for a response, and she turned toward him.

  "So do you think we should wait? For the resources to put in an engine, I mean? It would feel safer." she said. Roger shook his head.

  "No. It´s ready, and who knows how long it would take before we´re ready to use fuel for seafaring exploration. I think the Stronghold´s priority right now is Verdi. We still haven´t explored all of our own continent yet. So if anyone´s going to take us beyond Verdi in this decade, it will be you. In the Explorer. Using sails." A gust of wind from the north brought a whiff of salt, and Tina turned toward the sea. The Explorer looked like a good ship. Even Dean, one of her closest friends, going all the way back to Selection, had been ecstatic when he came back from having seen it. And he was the one who knew his ships, having built them even back on Earth. Tina wished he could come with her, but with the little baby, there was no way to drag him away from the Stronghold. She chuckled to herself, thinking of the way the capital was booming, with babies everywhere. The population was skyrocketing, and there were newborns almost every week now.

  "Give me a month to get the crew and provisions in order. Make sure everything is ready by then," she said. A smile spread across the chief shipwright´s face.

  "Aye aye, madam. And if I may be so bold, I´d love to be part of that crew," he said. Tina looked at him, so eager to get out there, into the unknown. This is what they had come here for, in the first place, and it was about time they got some real exploration done.

  "It´s a deal, Roger."

  2.

  "So, I take it the crew is all set?" Kenneth asked. Tina had returned to the Stronghold, the capital city of Aurora, where old friends still worked and lived. She had come to say goodbye to one of the best, and this time she didn´t expect to see him again. Kenneth Taylor looked pale, and he had lost a lot of hair. Not to mention weight. She knew he was dying, despite the efforts of Doc Bowers and his team. Despite the combination of strength and luck that miraculously had allowed him to live even this long. She tried not to think about it, while she answered.

  "Last I checked in on them, everyone seemed eager to get started." Just like she was. For two years all forms of exploration had been put on hold, and nearly a year after the wars ended, only Jeremiah Lowell's southern excursion had managed to get moving. Since they had been forced to travel across the heavily wooded lands to the west, keeping a careful distance between themselves and the radioactive ruins of Fort Andrews, the expedition had taken a lot longer than originally planned. Nevertheless, through summer and early fall, Professor Lowell had mapped the area, and in the process made contact with a second Akhab tribe. Having Jujjj along must have been a big plus, and Tina had wanted to bring one of the Akhab on her own expedition. But for some reason, the Akhab had declined. She didn´t understand why, and none of them wanted to explain it. Perhaps Maria would understand, but with her new duties, she was too busy to see Tina this time around.

  Tina felt proud every time she thought of the young woman. Maria Solis, the spoiled daughter of one of Earth´s richest families, and now the liaison between the Aurora humans, the Akhab, and even the star farers from Sanctuary. She felt proud because she had taken the young woman under her wings, back in the war, and she had learned to love her, almost like a daughter.

  "You seem to have a lot on your mind," Kenneth said, and Tina started.

  "Oh, sorry, I just..." She looked at him, and saw those steady eyes, those eyes that had given them all
direction, back when everything hung in the balance. It could have gone either way, but he had shown them all the right path. Kenneth Taylor had never doubted, never wavered in his beliefs. Aurora was at peace now, and everyone pulled in the same direction because of this man.

  And soon he would be gone, forever.

  She held back the tears, but he obviously knew because he reached out and touched her shoulder.

  "Hey, I´m still here," he said, a smile on his face. Tina smiled back.

  "Yeah... You know, I won´t be back before next spring though...." she trailed off. Kenneth nodded.

  "Come here," he said, and pulled her close, still some strength left in him despite his weakened condition. She hugged him back, a tear pushing through her defenses before she could stop it. She dried it off on his shoulder so he wouldn´t see.

  "Doc Bowers tells me he´s been researching some alternative methods," he said when they pulled apart.

  "Can´t say I´m convinced - I´m a Harvard professor, after all - but what do I have to lose?" He grinned.

  "Perhaps the last thing people remember of me will be me dancing around the street, buck naked, chanting and whatnot."

  Tina smiled, and tried to imagine. She shuddered.

  "Ouch, that would be quite a legacy," she said, and immediately regretted saying anything. She didn´t want to speak of him as if he were already dead. She looked down and shuffled her feet.

  "What about taking off the mask? Drew and Lisa seem okay..." She trailed off when he shook his head adamantly. They had seen the effects of the airborne parasite, both the good and the bad. Kenneth seemed determined not to go down that road.

  "You saw what happened to Ben, and Drew and Lisa will be battling this parasite for the rest of their lives,” he said. “Any day, one of them might lose control, and we have no way of knowing or preventing it. All we can do is hope. No, I´ve had a good life, Tina, and in the end I think I held true to my ideals. That´s about as good as it gets, in my book. I´m not going to risk losing that." Tina knew she wouldn´t be able to convince him otherwise. Kenneth had made up his mind, and she would respect that.

  "I have to get going. We´re sailing out in a week." Kenneth nodded, and extended his hand. She took it and held it tightly.

  "So, I guess this is goodbye then," he said. She looked at him, determined to remember this moment.

  "Goodbye, Kenneth. And thank you." She let his hand go and turned around. She secured her mask before entering the airlock.

  Just as she was about to close the inner door behind her, he spoke again, almost too quiet for it to be meant for her ears.

  "Thank you for helping me find my way, my friend."

  She half-turned and smiled at him, before she shut the door, and stood quietly while his words kept repeating in her mind, until the outer door opened. She stepped out, and looked back at the cabin of the President of Aurora.

  He was dying, and yet, she knew he was happy, in his own way. She let out a deep breath, and managed to hold back the tears once again.

  3.

  It was a beautiful spring day. Even this far north, the western breeze brought tidings of warmer days to come. The air held a salty tang, so strong she could almost taste it, as she squinted in the harsh Cancri light, glittering off the surface.

  The crew was already on board, six altogether, and ready to go. They had enough provisions to last them a year and she knew it could easily take that long for the journey she had in mind. Roger, the shipwright, had brought more equipment and provisions for repairs than she´d expected, but the Explorer was roomy, built to carry up to twenty people and cargo, so she was still light and easily maneuverable. Tina had spent the last couple of days training with the others, and though she was likely the least experienced sailor on board, she was probably the most eager to go.

  "It´s time," she said to the captain, John Turing, a solemn man about her age, who nodded and relayed the order to the deckhands, Leah Currie and Peter Dawes. They immediately went and loosened the moorings, while a small group of ship builders helped push the Explorer away from the dock.

  "Sails up," Captain Turing ordered, and Leah, Peter and the third and last deckhand, Li Xao, went to work. Tina watched them as they worked, fascinated by the way they knew what to do whether the captain gave the order or not. She smiled, and noticed John smiling as well, behind his thick reddish beard, while standing at the wheel. The Explorer was in good hands.

  Li Xao especially put in the extra effort, and Tina thought she knew why. Being Chinzhoi, he probably felt he had to prove his loyalty and his dedication. Tina knew many still questioned the decision to let fifty Chinzhoi join the Aurorans after their failed invasion, and there had been more than one occasion where it had almost come to blows. But the Chinzhoi had adapted quickly, and for those with the mind to notice, they were among the most determined of all, bent on fitting in and making sure they deserved their second chance. Tina was glad to have one of them on board, and particularly Li Xao, who had proved to be a quick learner when he had joined the ship builders in Newport.

  As soon as they left the bay behind, with Newport a diminishing speck against the wilderness of the North Verdi coastline, they set course due north. She planned to reach the Rossi coast in a week or two. She wanted to land there, both to explore the area for a few days, and to establish the first of a string of depots. If something happened to them, they could always fall back to the nearest depot, which would hold a small stash of provisions and a satcom device to call for help. She planned to establish such depots in several locations, and after studying the images downloaded from the Exodus, she had already planned for five of them.

  "Why leave so much of our supplies?" Roger had asked once. Tina had just smiled at him. He was a great shipwright, but she had been a soldier and a commander. If there was one thing she had learned it was to plan ahead. And to expect the worst. Accidents did happen. The unexpected did happen. And the sooner she did what had to be done, the better.

  "I´m thinking long term, Roger," she said. "There may not be another expedition for years, if all we do is explore. We need to leave something behind. If we build something - anything - there will be something for the next ship to sail toward. Besides, what if we lost everything and couldn´t make it back? What if we ended up stranded on a frozen beach just before winter, losing all provisions and the means to let anybody know we´re in distress?" He still hadn´t agreed, and argued that they would need everything they had on the ship, but she had been adamant.

  "The depots will be built. If we don´t need them, someone else might. This is not just about us."

  She let the thought of that conversation go. She and Roger were good friends, and although he couldn´t see what she saw, he was irreplaceable as the one who had built this ship. Nobody knew the Explorer like he did.

  She looked out at the sea. The sunlight glittered in the waves and a few jerrybirds still followed them high above. She grinned and closed her eyes. Right this moment, there was nowhere else she´d rather be.

  4.

  The first day at sea made Tina realize how ready she was for something positive to happen. She had been tired of war and conflict already before leaving Earth. As soon as they landed on Aurora, once the first campsite had been established - what would later become Fort Andrews - she and her closest friends had gone north to establish their own little camp. She had hoped to be able to build boats and start a new, more peaceful life there. Instead, just months later, she´d been deeply invested in war again. And after Port Hammer burned it got worse. Now, nearly two years after first landing on Aurora, she felt life creeping into her joints again, a swelling of the heart and a joy that couldn´t be put into words. She almost giggled as she watched the waves break against the ship´s prow, for this was what she had dreamed of ever since Selection, back on Earth.

  They were making good speed, and now Tina saw for herself the quality of the craftsmanship of Roger and his team. She had built boats, barges, and dinghies, but nothing
like this beauty. The Explorer slid through the waves like a hot knife through butter, and she began to think they might reach the Rossi coast in less than two weeks, based on their current speed. And not a cloud in sight.

  The second and third day was equally uneventful, so she made it a point to get to know the crew better. She already knew Roger, of course, and she had spoken to John quite a few times as well, enough to know not to try small talk with him. So she began mingling with the deck hands, Leah, Peter and Li Xao.

  "I remember back in Selection, dreaming of exploring the new world," Leah said. "I never imagined it would take two years before we even began." Tina recognized the feeling all too well, for she had thought the same all along. The war had been unnecessary in so many ways, but when it came down to it, there had been no other way to break the bonds of totalitarianism.

  "My father was a sailor," Peter said, "and he would tell me stories from all over the world. I guess deep down, all I ever wanted was to be like him."

  Li Xao didn´t say much, but Tina knew he listened well. He did speak some English, but she knew it was very limited. It was less than a year since the Chinzhoi began learning their new language, and as far as she knew only a handful of them knew even the simplest phrases before the invasion. When she asked him why he had asked to come, he just shrugged.

  "No longer war, is good. Now I want see all," he said. When Tina asked what he meant, he shrugged again.

  "This world. So much for seeing."

  Tina smiled then, recognizing the same desire to explore that she felt as well.

  "We are not so unlike, you and I," she said. "Warriors tired of war, and ready for something completely different. Ready to see everything." Li Xao nodded eagerly.