Starship Genesis

by Linda M. Miller

  “Viral processors?” Noah asks.

  “The processors determine the type of creature it will become.” Talon explains. “It has to cycle through the generations of creation like it does in real life. That’s another reason it takes so long.”

  “I recommend planting two in the southeastern quadrant in the ocean first.” Deonna says. “It will probably spawn sea life first.”

  “I see that.” and mark the location in the hologram.

  Deonna continues, “Next, I’d like to plant two up north towards the central coast.”

  “That’s four seeds. Eight left.”

  “See that river in the central part where the other two rivers flow in?” She asks. “I feel that’s a perfect place to plant two more. There are at least three mountain ranges that flow down to those areas. Perfect for sustaining life.”

  “Marked.” I add. “That’s six. Six left.”

  “Down here,” she points. This smaller internal ocean would be good.”

  “That’s eight seeds. Four left.”

  “And then two seeds up here in the northwest coastal area and two in the lower southern coastal area.”

  “That’s 12 seeds.”

  “I’ll probably change a couple of my selections, Korban, if we come up with better locations as we go.”

  “You always do, Deonna.” Talon responds on my behalf.

  “Deonna, changing her mind?” Noah teases. “That’s just unthinkable...”

  “I know,” she says. “But you’ve got to admit our flexibility in locations will probably pay off.”

  “If we were around to see it,” Talon reminds her.

  “Everyone get some rest. We’ve got eight hours to arrival time.” I remark.

  “Deonna, I’m curious.” Noah says. “Have you ever planted a real garden or some flowers, perhaps?”

  “Horticulture is the weaker side of my interests,” she responds. “Genetics fascinates me more.”

  “Well, let me just say that sometimes if you want a good crop, you have to plant a lot of seeds. I just thought you might find that parallel interesting.” She smiles,

  “See you in a few hours when we plant, shall we?” She leaves the room. Talon looks at Noah.

  “Are you interested in Deonna, Noah?”

  “Well, she’s available now, isn’t she?” he says.

  “I know, but it’s a little early for that, don’t you think?” Talon replies.

  “She’s available.” Noah leaves. Talon turns to me,

  “Farmers!”

  “Why don’t you get some sleep?” I tell him.

  I head off to my quarters to get some rest. It takes longer for me to wind down due to Garner’s treachery. It would seem that the crew and I are homeless at the moment. The aggression at Seth 5 has shaken me, and I’m not certain I want to go back. I have the same vision again. This time I see my Father standing with my mother on the beach; only this time there is a tall mountain behind them far off with two peaks. Dad and Mom are smiling.

  I wake up. I’ve been asleep for six hours. I get up and return to the navigation console. We’re still two hours away. But I want to see this solar system and its planets. The rings around the one planet are indescribable. Such beauty. I finally see the blue planet coming into sight. We arrive and I signal the crew.

  THE LIFE SEEDS’ NEW HOME

  “Time to suit up, Deonna, and whoever is going.”

  I adjust the magnification on my scope to an altitude of 1,000 feet. I look for a smooth landing site close to the beach, but they’re going to have to do some hiking because the ground area is not level.

  I finally land the Genesis in a good area. Everything is solid rock. There is no soil, plant life, or weeds; just sand, rock, and water.

  Deonna exits with Talon and Noah. We watch as they hike down to the beach, if one can call it that. The team approaches an area of endless potholes in volcanic rock. She kneels down and carefully sets a life seed in a pothole. Then she selects another pothole and plants a second life seed. Talon imprints the gold plate with their location. Then they return to the Genesis.

  Noah seems inspired about his participation. Cassie decides she wants to participate in the next site. Deonna and Talon are the lead scientists and their expertise is required.

  We depart that area and head up the coast to the central mountainous region from whence rivers flow into a very large bay.

  Again, everything is rock. There’s a lot of wind in this area and large waves coming in at the same time. I warn Deonna and Talon not to get too close to the beach head and to find an pot hole closer in shore.

  Talon and Deonna exit the ship with Cassie this time. Talon sets one seed as Deonna sets another. They return to the ship.

  “I just wish we could see if it works,” Cassie comments as they enter.

  I pilot the starship for lift off once more. This time we’re heading about 3,000 miles into the center of the continent. There are some large bodies of water inside the continent that would probably make good plantings as well. But Deonna has so far stuck with the plans made earlier.

  “On to the central continent,” Deonna calls. They all watch the windows as the Genesis ascends.

  “Look at those mountains,” Talon points out. These must be the largest on the continent.

  “Definitely, too high to plant a life seed,” Deonna calls. I noticed those mountains and I knew we’d have to find a prospective fertile, crescent region and the area I picked is definitely that.”

  The mountains turn into rolling hills and shallow bodies of water appear as well.

  “Deonna, come up here.” I call. Deonna comes to my console.

  “I don’t believe it. They weren’t there previously.” Deonna becomes upset.

  “What’s wrong?” Talon asks.

  “Look down there,” I point to the area.

  “I don’t know how this happened,” Deonna cries. Talon looks at my console,

  “There’s a bubble down there with a very large garden in it.

  “Where did that come from?” Noah asks.

  “We didn’t see it earlier.” I answer. “Probably because of the damage on the exterior coms.”

  “What do we do?” Noah asks.

  “Well, it’s against our directive to interfere with inhabited worlds.”

  “Are there any lifeforms down there?” he asks.

  “I’m scanning,” Deonna says. “I see lot of animal lifeforms. But only two Humanoid so far.” She looks at me. “We have to go back and pull the other four seeds, Korban.” She looks at everyone. “I’m sorry.” This is the second shock she’s received in the past 48 hours. She runs out of the room.

  “Deonna,” Talon follows, “Any of us could make this mistake. Don’t be so hard on yourself. It just means we keep looking for another world.”

  I reverse direction to return to the eastern coast. But a storm has come up with gusts of strong wind. Lightning strikes the ship.

  “What was that?” Garner asks.

  “That was just a lightning bolt striking our coms.” I inform him. “It looks like we’ve lost navigation. We need to land somewhere to make repairs.” I continue to pilot the ship, but I can’t tell which direction we’re flying in. If I follow the planet’s sun, then it would be in a western direction. I decide to fly south and avoid the large mountain range we flew over. I’m still seeing mountains capped with snow and glaciers running down through canyons. I’m thinking these mountains are anywhere between 11,000 to 24,000 feet with wisps of clouds blowing about them. Cassie joins me on the bridge. I turn to Cassie.

  “I’m flying blind. There’s no suitable place to land.”

  Then a large explosion occurs from a volcano, showering the ship with debris and rock.

  “We’re out of control!” There’s no time to prepare for a crash, but I manage to activate my suit and oxygen, hoping the others will do the same. The bottom of the ship slams into the ground, scraping and bouncing. We are thrown to and fro around th
e ship. The hull splits open and the metal contracts with debris from outside. I hear screeches of metal contorting with rock and my crews’ screams. Yet we’re still moving. The ship tumbles, and lands upright, grinding to a halt.

  I’m dizzy after being turned over a few times, and my forehead hurts like someone hit me with a blunt instrument. It’s bitter cold and snow is coming inside the ship. The wind whips through the aisles. That means our hull is compromised. I finally stand on my feet and observe the ship is tilting to one side. Damage around me is beyond repair. Noah is on the other side laying on his back. I see a bloody nose through his cracked helmet. And then I notice mine is also cracked and I’m breathing the planet’s air. I’m scraped up and my uniform is torn. I check Noah’s suit control monitor for a pulse. He’s alive!

  “This ship will never fly again,” I tell myself. I start to check on the rest of the crew.

  “Cassie!” I yell. No answer. “Cassie?” My mind races with concern that she may be dead. The wind is shrilling, making it hard to go forward. I head back to the lower haul section.

  “Is everyone okay?” I yell. I can’t hear anything due to the wind coming inside the ship. I find Talon on his face and check his suit monitor. He too has a pulse; just unconscious. What about the rest?

  I hear a faint sound of moaning towards the back.

  “Korban…” It sounds like Cassie. She must have been thrown to the center of the ship. I wander through the aisle, holding the wall because the floor is tilting. Cassie is laying on her face and her helmet is missing. I panic because I’m afraid she’s dying.

  “Ugghhhhhh.” she moans.

  “Cassie, you’re alive!” I scream. The wind is so loud, I can barely hear myself. I sit her up and hug her. She’s dazed, but she finally notices me.

  “Korban...” Cassie is still with me to my relief.

  “You do realize you’re breathing the planet’s air, don’t you?” I yell.

  She stares in disbelief.

  “I do now. How is this possible?” She tries to get up.

  “Easy, easy,” I lift her up. “Are you able to stand? How are your arms and legs?”

  “I can’t feel anything!” She cries. “I’m so cold.” Her hands and body are shaking. I’m walking her with her arm around my shoulder.

  “It’s so cold. We can’t survive like this, Korban.” She yells over the wind. “What are we going to do?” She’s blue in the face and her breath is frozen.

  “I still have to check on the rest?” I yell. “I found Talon and Noah towards the front. Both are unconscious. Why don’t you check on them?. It’s probably warmer up there than back here. You can pull some blankets from all of the cabins.”

  I pick up her helmet and place it on her head. “This will protect your face from the wind.” I tell her.

  She nods and heads up to the front of the ship, holding the wall as she stumbles.

  I look back further and I find a great opening in the side of the Genesis towards the back. I also notice another opening with a blue haze protruding into the ship’s aisle. No time to check on that.

  I find Garner, Jahn and Bain. They looked crushed between rock, snow and metal. They’re so mangled I can barely bare to look at them. Garner is on the ground and scraped badly. His legs are crushed. I check his suit monitor; no pulse. I’m crushed inside because I’ve known each of them for most of my career. But I have to continue my search for the others in hopes that they have survived. Looking at Garner also angers me, because the reason the Genesis crashed is because it was damaged with the attack on it at Seth 5. Garner has paid the price with his own life.

  The wind is screaming and blowing me backwards. But I’m still missing four crew members. Deonna, Maylar, Sonr, and Damon.

  I look outside the large hole in the ship and jump down into the snow. It’s waist deep and I’m freezing. I see a body in the snow 25 feet away. I wade through the snow to check it out. It’s moving.

  “Deonna!” I yell. Her helmet is also missing. I finally reach her and brush all of the snow off her arms and head. I pick her up and carry her through the snow. She’s got frozen blood all through her hair mingled with snow. But she’s alive! And barely conscious. I also note that her leg is broken. The wind picks up and I slip in the snow carrying her. I finally make progress getting Deonna back to the ship. I see Cassie waiting for me in the opening.

  “How is she?” Cassie cries. “Did the others make it?”

  “Cassie, you shouldn’t have to see all of this.” She shudders and almost loses control.

  “Deonna,” she cries.

  “She still has a pulse.” I lay her on the deck and jump in the ship. “Let’s get her up front.” Cassie wraps blankets around her. She’s upset and crying. Her tears freeze to her face.

  “How many are alive?” she asks.

  “Garner, Jahn and Bain are gone. I have to go look for the others. Stay here with Deonna and the other two. They need you.”

  Again, I jump out into the snow. I look towards the direction the ship flew in from and I finally see three others in the snow among debris the ship dragged—rock, snow, and ice everywhere. I reach the first body.

  “Mylar.” no pulse. Probably froze to death. The other two are closer together. I trudge over to where they lay.

  Both Sonr and Damon are gone. Their legs are crushed and they probably died from the impact. I am grieved and freezing; but I make my way back to the ship and I see the ship is sitting in a field between two mountain peaks. We must be around 18,000 feet, I tell myself. I don’t know how we are going to survive. Then I see a large opening in the rock on the opposite side of the Genesis. A cave?

  I hurry back in the ship before I lose all feeling and return to Cassie and the others.

  “Any luck?” Cassie yells over the wind.

  “All dead.” I reply. She cries and rocks Deonna.

  “We need warmth.” Talon cries.

  “Talon. You okay?” I yell. He’s trembling.

  “I’m not liking the wind and snow I see everywhere. We’re going to freeze to death.”

  “One thing at a time, Talon.” I tell him. “Can you walk?” I yell over the wind.

  “I think so.”

  “There’s a cave in the mountain I want to check out. We might all survive if we get to the cave.”

  “Right. I’ll go with you.” Cassie stays with Deonna and Noah. We head to the back of the ship, passing our dead; no time to mourn. Talon winces at the site, and I notice there’s a very large portion of the fuselage that has opened up. We pass through the curious blue ray of light without any thought about it and step outside the ship.

  “It’s warm outside. No snow. How is this possible?” I ask.

  “I don’t know,” Talon replies. “There’s no wind. A lot less snow.”

  “Let’s go back and get the others,” we both say simultaneously.

  “Good, I’m glad we agree.”

  “There’s your cave over there,” Talon points out. “And there’s a small stream coming out of it.”

  We head back through the blue haze into the ship again, and it’s snowing and the wind is howling. We head to the front of the ship.

  “Cassie, there’s no time. Follow us!” I throw Noah over my shoulder and Talon picks up Deonna. She’s still unconscious.

  “Korban, did you find the cave?”

  “Just follow us, Cass.”

  We again pass the dead bodies and Cass sounds like she’s going to vomit. And she cries. We head towards the back of the ship and again through the blue haze. Again, the outside is warm.

  “Let’s get them to the cave.” I say.

  “What is this?” Cassie asks. “Where did the snow and wind go?”

  “You want to go back?” Talon asks.

  “No...No, I don’t.” She replies.

  I check out the cave and everything looks safe.

  “This is really strange, Korban. It’s almost like we’ve gone through a time portal. We can breathe the air and it
’s warm. It would have to be 10,000 years in the future for this kind of climate.” Talon pauses for a moment. “The blue light...”

  “Must be a time portal. I know,” I reply. “I hope this cave is safe.”

  “Ooooooooooo. My face,” Noah moans.

  “We’re going to need medical supplies, Korban.” Cassie reminds us.