Evaline Transcendent

by Timothy Bateson

  “Attention all crew members. Touchdown in five… four… three… two… one”. A second later, the Miranda Two touched down, and the hydraulics in the landing gear absorbed most of the impact. “We have touchdown. Please report to duty stations”.

  A jolt from the rear landing gear reminded Evaline of the earlier fires. She ran a quick diagnostic. Everything looked normal, but the ship had landed, and then settled at the rear. She cross-referenced the reports from the sensors, revealing that the landing pad had landed on the lip of an indentation before slipping.

  A quick note flashed out to the colonists to be on the watch for unusual terrain features and to check their footing. The Captain followed up with a request to cycle the shipboard air with the planets own atmosphere. Evaline forwarded this to the environmental controls and ordered the hatch systems to crack the seals.

  Chapter 6 - Kármán-III-Delta

  Twenty years had taken their toll on the equipment, and the outer hatches jammed on the first attempt at opening. Evaline rotated one of several external cameras to look along the hull, in the direction of the hatches. What she discovered didn’t give her very much information, but she saw enough evidence to indicate that there wasn’t much physical damage.

  Evaline tried to open the hatches a second time, and spotted the cause of the problem, as a layer of dust blew free. A spectral analysis of the dust showed that it had originated along the path the Miranda Two had taken through space. There had been every indication that this material should have burned up during the atmospheric entry, but instead it had fused to the hull.

  A quick analysis showed that continued attempts to open the hatches, without removing the debris would likely damage the hatch mechanisms. Depending on the extent of such damage, it was possible that the crew would have to cut their way out of the Miranda Two, and potentially destroy valuable building materials, or equipment in the process. Evaline wanted to avoid that possibility if possible, and searched for solutions that would not involve having to break out the cutting equipment.

  Thankfully the designers of the Miranda Two had possessed enough foresight to install a backup system, and Evaline directed blasts of highly compressed air into the seals. Debris from micrometeorites fragmented and turned to dust before drifting off into the surrounding atmosphere.

  With the outer hatch seals cracked, Evaline sent the order to drop the outer hatches. The panels rotated downward, forming ramps that would allow the colonists access to the surface.

  Circulation pumps kicked into action, exchanging the external and internal atmospheres. After the impact, she was hesitant to allow the colonists to start their investigation of their surroundings, but she had got them here intact. Planetfall, and the awakening of the crew reduced her role from expedition leader, to an advisory tool. As such, it was no longer her place to make critical decisions.

  As soon as the air within matched the air outside, Evaline requested permission to unlock the inner hatches.

  “Acknowledged, Evaline. Let’s see what’s out there. I’ve also approved your request for more sensor capabilities. I don’t like not knowing what caused that impact”. Erikan paused for a few moments as her mind switched topics. “The crew is going to need access to the cargo hold. I want you to leave all hatches closed except the cargo bay. Let’s play this cautiously. I don’t want any surprises, and the cargo bay hatch has the widest ramp, and easiest access”.

  “That would have been my recommendation, Captain. Complying with your orders”.

  Given the suspicious nature of the movements that Evaline had detected, Erikan decided to delay the full deployment of the colonists until a thorough investigation of the landing area had been conducted. Three hours of pouring over the sensor logs failed to resolve the cause of the impact that had occurred during the landing cycle, so the order went out for the security team to prepare for departure.

  The Miranda One’s computer had not reported any incidents during the landing procedures, and the crew logs that had made if back to Earth also lacked any notes of concern. However, Evaline wondered if the crew of her predecessor had hesitated, overwhelmed by what they were doing. But after a few processing cycles, Evaline decided that she had no feelings on the matter.

  While she waited, Evaline ran through the sensor logs from before the landing and tried to study the anomaly from a different direction. Even though she had not seen signs of movement on two of the logs, the projectile revealed itself on the third.

  In Evaline’s review of the images, the baseball-sized rock landed somewhere deep in the plant cover at the western side of the clearing. She tried to follow its trajectory backwards, to the point of impact, and uncertainty entered her equations. There was no record of the state of the heat-shield before the rock’s impact, or the speed at which the projectile had been traveling prior to impact.

  There were too many unknown factors involved in the equations, so with the available information, Evaline projected a cone of probability for the rock’s point of origin. She mapped it against the terrain, outlining about a square mile. Interestingly the area coincided with the source of the earlier unexplained movement, however there were no signs of disturbed vegetation that might suggest a launching device for the projectile.

  Switching to the security channel, Evaline made a quick report of her findings, and waited to see what the security detail would do with it.

  “Chief Sabatini to all personnel. Evaline has updated me on a situation. One or more of the original colonists may be alive. Either that or we have discovered a genuine alien life form. In either case, we should avoid a hostile encounter”.

  Evaline watched as the colonists stopped to update themselves on the data-feed from Sabatini’s comms channel, and then the discussion turned to how they should proceed. Erikan took the lead, as the security detail raced down the ramp and contacted alien soil for the first time. Even though this was only the second expedition to set foot on Kármán-III-Delta there was no hesitation in their deployment. It was this coherence of action that had Evaline setting herself a reminder to go over their personnel files. She suspected several of the security team had worked together previously, and that meant there was a potential for loyalties that went above the mission profile.

  The security team held their ground around fifty feet inside the perimeter of the clearing. Comms chatter between the team members and Erikan indicated that they were hesitant to extend the perimeter too far because their numbers were limited. Stretching those personnel too thin would leave them unable to respond rapidly to changes in the situation.

  Evaline was concerned by this reluctance, but understood it. Just like the security team, without the extended range of the additional sensors she’d requested, she too was effectively blind to anything beyond the first few feet of the alien forest.

  “Captain, if the landing zone is secure, may I suggest we allow the science team to deploy the sensor network? I will be able to provide better advice on how to proceed once I am able to get readings from deeper into the forest”

  The response came back after a few moments of comms chatter between Sabatini and Erikan. “Agreed Evaline. Provide a list of the sensors you wish installed, and the dispersal pattern, and we’ll do our best to accommodate the request”.

  Thirty minutes went by, while a combined science and engineering team assembled the supplies they required, and prepared for their first encounter with an alien world. Evaline watched as the two-man teams dispersed around the perimeter, with each team being joined by a member of the security team.

  At first, it looked as though the scientists were going to leave their security and engineering partners behind, and push ahead into the alien forest, but Sabatini’s team was quick to reign them in. Requests came in from several of the scientists, who wanted permission to proceed into the tree-line as soon as the sensor grid was established. But Captain Erikan declined the request, in favor of allowing the security team time to evaluate the potential threat first.

 
; Until the security team determined that it was safe to proceed beyond the clearing, they would be the only personnel permitted entry to that dark wall of vegetation.

  Chapter 7 - Contact

  Evaline watched the security team spread out at the perimeter of the forest. Signs of elevated heart-rates and blood pressures indicated that they were under increased stress. But Evaline felt none of the same symptoms, as she continued to monitor the situation. She hadn’t been programmed for emotions, because no reliable model had been established that could replicate emotional states accurately. The few attempts to do so had led to very unstable personalities, which had proved to be either self-destructive when they realized their limitations, or had spent so long contemplating those same emotions as to be useless.

  As such, Evaline had no context for what the crew were going through, except her diagnostics. She knew that stress and fear could sometimes heighten the senses, but if they discovered something, those same emotions could also lead to an unfortunate incident. She had been programmed with enough medical knowledge to know just how the various chemicals generated by the human body could affect mental and emotional states. As much as she wanted to advise caution, too much caution would put everyone on edge, and that’s when snap decisions and instinctive reactions caused accidents.

  As the security team walked deeper into the forest, the shipboard sensors lost tracking and their visual signals faded from the cameras. Instead, Evaline switched to studying the feeds from their comms and medical monitors, which were on a much higher frequency. She saw interesting spikes in the readings whenever someone reported potential movement on their flanks.

  It was too soon for the team to have encountered the anomalous readings that Evaline had previously detected, unless the source of that motion had moved closer to the ship. However, if one of the original colonists were out there, it was possible they had decided to investigate the new arrival.

  There was another possibility. Maybe the security team had encountered an alien life form, and that this was a first contact situation. If this was the case, then there were a huge number of unknowns, including the possibility that the Miranda One’s crew had also encountered this species. If that had happened, then their actions would likely color the reaction of the natives to the presence of the security team.

  Evaline knew there was no point in speculating without further facts, so she kept a portion of her processing cycles monitoring the communication channels, ready to advise if needed. Another portion of her processing power went into monitoring everything that happened on the ship. She also used those cycles to maintain the holograms that interacted with the colonists that remained on board.

  Despite the number of requests for solid information about the delay in allowing the colonists to depart, Evaline considered it best not to give them anything except the facts.

  The science team had been efficient in getting the sensor grid established, and Evaline’s detection range expanded into portions of the electromagnetic spectrum beyond the visible. She selected overlays for the various ranges available to her and proceeded to conduct a new analysis of their environment.

  Something very interesting came up in the readings Evaline could take in respect to the plant life. Just like back on Earth many of the plants reacted to external stimuli, and she could trace minute electrical signals caused by the passage of the security team. What proved to be more interesting still was the fact that many of those signals would travel quite a distance. The speed with which they propagated was too fast to have been transmitted by chemical processes, so Evaline speculated that there might be an interconnected root system and that was carrying the signals. However, she would be unable to confirm that assumption without more information from the science team, and for the moment they had been confined to the landing zone.

  Six hours had passed since the security team had entered the forest, and more and more unconfirmed sightings were being reported. Evaline, Erikan, and several medical personnel discussed the situation, and come to the agreement that stress, exhaustion, and the extended state of high alert could be playing tricks on their minds.

  Evaline was about to recommend that the security team be recalled, and a second expedition sent out in the morning, when the comms squawked into life. The voice on the other end was almost drowned out by static and yells from voices in the background.

  “Sabatini to Erikan. Sabatini to Erikan. We are under attack. Location two miles from base, bearing—”

  Skreeee

  The transmission ended at the same time as Evaline received notification that Sabatini’s life-signs had ceased. Two other security team members followed within seconds, and mayhem broke loose on the security comms. What sensors could penetrate the forest showed no signs of motion in that direction, and Evaline noticed that there were a lot of gaps in the information she was receiving, as if the signals were being disrupted.

  Without information from the security team about their attackers, Evaline could not formulate a suitable response. She filtered her assessment to the command crew along with a recommendation for their retreat.

  “Erikan to security team. Pull back. I repeat, pull back. Report nature of attack and assailants. Evaline, get a lock on those crewmembers. I want a bearing. We’re going after our people. Also, give me a recommendation on personnel with search and rescue training and weapons experience. I want a six-member team ready for briefing in ten minutes. Anyone else with weapons experience is to be placed on a rotating guard detail until further notice”.

  Evaline assigned three scientists, two technicians, and the Captain herself to the rescue team, and issued orders of the guard detail. If the Captain had been more specific in her request, or allowed for an expanded team, Evaline may have added more people, each of who had skill-sets that were expunged from the standard profiles. Full access to the confidential records meant Evaline was assessing the colonists, even before they had launched. Captain Erikan had not even had time to browse those same records, or she might have seen the notation on the bottom of Sabatini’s file. “Position of security chief is conditional on continued drug treatment for hypersensitivity. Still considered best candidate for position at time of launch”.

  The sharp sound of blaster fire and ballistic explosions came over the security comms. Evaline patched the security comms through to the command channel, allowing the Captain real-time access to the firefight.

  “Captain, security team under renewed attack. Life-signs steady, but under severe stress. Recommend immediate departure of rescue team without a full briefing”. The feed from the security comms was more than enough to convince the Captain that her security team faced significant danger.

  “Acknowledged, Evaline. Tell the security team help is on the way”. Erikan’s voice didn’t match the levels of stress that her life-signs showed. And, as Evaline watched, those stress indicators also dropped as her respiration rate slowed. The Captain had experience with handling the demands of her position, just as her profile had suggested. Evaline made a note to conduct a follow-up on the Captain’s methods of controlling those stress levels. She saw possible applications for colonists who might have trouble adapting to the alien environment.

  “No confirmation on nature of the enemy. I suggest that the rescue team take a sensor module with them. I cannot establish any firm guidelines with the limited range of information that I can get from the comms system alone”.

  “Acknowledged, Evaline, please patch into security team visor cams. I want to see what those folks are—” Another screech cut through the channel as something momentarily overloaded the security feed.

  Evaline cycled through several potential causes for the overload. Despite trying to evaluate the most likely reasons, she was unable to reach a definitive conclusion with the data available. Several more processing cycles passed, and she fed the available information to the science computers, with a similar inconclusive report.

  And then as abruptly as it had ended, the security
feed was back online. A quick assessment of the data stream, and Evaline produced a report that she knew Erikan was not going to like.

  “Three more team members show as deceased, Captain. Visor cam feed coming through now. I cannot get a clean visual on the attackers. Bipedal, humanoid, but otherwise—” A sudden lack of comms from the security team caused Evaline to stop and issue an immediate update. “I just lost that feed again, Captain. I can only assume the enemy is jamming the feeds. The intermittent nature of the jamming might be accidental, but if it isn’t, then we have to consider it a psychological ploy”.

  “Roger that, Evaline. Continue monitoring and try to reestablish connection”.

  Evaline knew that she had to extend the range of her sensors even further than she had originally requested. There were only a certain number of sensor units on board, and she had already had about a third of them deployed. She wasn’t willing to use up the remaining sensor packages at this point, and decided to take another route.

  Two Aerial Reconnaissance Vehicles with Advanced Communications sat in hangers at the top of the ship, just inside the upper hull plates. Evaline started the pre-launch procedures without requesting permission from Erikan. Instead, she simply reported her action, and reasons for it, a step that was outside her current operating protocols.

  “I am dispatching an ARVAC drone, Captain. The signal booster on board may be able to break through, depending on the cause of the jamming. However, the sensor package is limited compared to the sensor modules. I may not be able to get a visual, depending on canopy cover. But, if the rescue team can get that sensor module into place, I might have enough signal power to break through the jamming”. Even as she was talking, Evaline triggered the launch procedures. A hatch opened in the topside of the Miranda Two, and she issued the final launch confirmation codes.

  “ARVAC drone away, Captain. She should be overhead right now”.