Initiation Series: Series One Compilation (Terran Chronicles)

by James Jackson

  Coming in low, and from behind the city, John hopes to land unnoticed by the nearby community. After the quick and efficient landing, Radclyf bounds down the ramp even as it lowers, with his weapon ready. He has no reason to be tense, but none the less, he is alert. Hayato leaps down the ramp behind Radclyf, taking up a defensive posture near a moss covered stone wall. George clomps down the ramp next, his suit fully charged for the excursion. He stares at the wall simply mesmerized, three holes stare back at him. They are pitted and worn with age, but unmistakable. Joe and Cindy walk down the ramp next, leaving John in the pilot seat. Joe carries a number of objects, including George’s ornament, which in reality, is a replica of a Gamin hand. The claws fit easily into the holes. The ground vibrates as the door reluctantly slides back from them, then off to the side. A whiff of ancient air wafts out from the dark passageway before them. Hayato remains outside, as the rest of the group enters the unknown. Radclyf takes the lead, with George close behind. Flashlights reveal stonework as far as the eye can see.

  John references his laptop, then quietly comments. “A little way ahead there should be a stairwell leading down.”

  Radclyf nods silently, then walks on ahead. The stairwell is where it was expected to be, and does indeed, lead downward. The group follows the stairwell. It takes them thirty minutes before they finally they get to the bottom. Before them is the only exit thus far, beyond this opening, another corridor looms ahead. Another fifteen minutes of walking rewards them all with an unexpected surprise, a massive cavern. Radclyf steps into the room, and is suddenly bathed in a soft light. The room’s ancient lighting system still functions, though not properly. Many spots are still dark, it seems that even Gamin technology has its limits. Fully alert, Radclyf scans the area, the last few months have made him much more wary than ever before. He no longer takes anything at its face value. After a full two minutes, he finally motions for the others to follow.

  George enters the room and then strides toward a distant console. Joe follows, his excitement and curiosity overcoming any fears. Cindy hangs back and gazes around the massive room. The cavern appears to be dome shaped, the walls forming a circle. The center of the room houses a massive object that looks like a solid black brick. An ancient Gamin power unit, and it still functions!

  George has made it to the alien console, and without delay, he connects his suit. Data scrolls up and down his visor, while all Joe can do is patiently wait. Just as Joe begins to pace, George disconnects his suit, and steps back.

  George is saddened by what he has learned, and with a solemn voice he calls out. “We should leave, there is nothing here for us.”

  Cindy picks up an uneasiness in George’s tone, she does not like it. “Let’s move people.” She states firmly.

  The group makes their way up the stairwell. Radclyf is concerned that the natives will be there waiting, entrapping them. Joe is afraid that the doorway will be shut, while Cindy begins to question the wisdom of the trip at all. Hayato is a little disturbed as the group rushes past him. They give furtive glances at the dark passage behind them. The group’s actions are so off putting, he almost expects something to come jumping out of darkness. The flight back to the Terran is a long and quiet one, as everyone wonders what scared them. John picks up the uneasy vibes, but remains silent during the return trip.

  Once they are all assembled on the bridge, Cindy drops down into her chair. She feels drained. “John, get us away from this planet.”

  George arrives on the bridge last, and surprisingly, he is not wearing his bodysuit. He licks his dry lips; his discovery was both sad and disturbing. He debates whether to report his findings, or not, but reluctantly decides that the bridge crew should know. “The Gamin that came here were the worst kind. They took advantage of these peaceful people. They did not give the Oglans bodysuits, instead, they enslaved millions around the world. That place we visited was where large numbers of bodies were cremated. That central power unit was purpose built to hide the deaths from the other inhabitants.” George feels a tear fall down his cheek as he continues. “Those people were worked until they could no longer do their assigned tasks, then killed. The planet, once stripped of everything, became useless to them. I do not know who did this, but I am certain it was not Regent Voknor, nor any of his predecessors.”

  Cindy frowns. He is lying about not knowing. He is a bad liar. “Ghosts?” She says instead.

  Joe looks up sharply, and interjects. “I don’t believe in ghosts, but that room definitely gave me the creeps.”

  Radclyf sits by, his eyes glazed over as his mind tries to process the disturbing sensation he felt.

  Cindy suddenly stands up, her eyes wide. “We left the doorway open!”

  Radclyf stands as well, but quickly regains his composure. “Good, maybe their spirits will find peace.” He gazes around the bridge, then leaves.

  Joe looks at George curiously. What else did you learn from that console? He wonders.

  John confers with Andrew over their flight path, then relays some uplifting news. “We have a straight flight path opportunity ahead of us.”

  Cindy picks up the remote unit for the Kord power cell, then turns it on. “Punch it.” She says blandly.

  John taps the main drive symbol then smiles as he increases their speed. “Factor seven, and holding steady, ma’am.”

  Cindy retires to bed, exhausted. She sleeps fitfully, her dreams filled with images of the peaceful Oglan civilization being enslaved. Their large oval eyes, thin frames, and peaceful nature, adding to her disquiet.

  George also sleeps fitfully, the early suits were not as safe as his. Thousands of Oglans died testing various prototypes. Finally, the Regent gave up in disgust. George’s dreams are filled with images of Oglan cities being obliterated from space as the fleet departed. The Oglan’s final reward for their peaceful subservience.

  Chapter Eight - Journey’s End

  The days pass, as does the bridge crew’s unease. The Kord power cell continues to work, providing them with an abundance of energy. The ship’s lights are brighter, there are no vibrations throughout decks, and the cascade of colors impacting the shields are spectacular.

  Peter is the only one who is still feeling out of sorts. He spends a lot of time on his own. Emma finds him brooding in the mess hall, and decides to sit with him. Before she can say anything, he blurts out accusingly. “Why didn’t we bring some of that Oglan produce aboard? There had to be something on their world that was safe, and nutritious.”

  Emma is surprised at his rudeness, and replies sheepishly. “I thought you knew? We have no way of testing anything, to see if it’s safe to eat.”

  Peter scowls, his demeanor turning ever more sour, “Surely you have equipment for that? You were doing those planetary surveys.”

  Emma sighs deeply and shakes her head slowly. “Yes, we did!” She replies, becoming annoyed. She then adds condescendingly, “Between the raiders and everything else that has happened, all my gear is either missing, or damaged.”

  Peter puts a hand to his throbbing head.

  Emma’s attitude shifts to one of concern. “What’s wrong?” She asks as she frowns deeply. This is not at all like him, he is always so controlled.

  Peter closes his eyes, takes a deep breath, and then opens them again. Looking straight at Emma, he gives her a brief smile and says, “I must apologize. I ran out of tobacco last week. Then it was the coffee, and yesterday the tea. All we have is water that tastes like nothingness.”

  Emma grins at him, which just makes him scowl all the more. She grabs his hand and says. “Come with me.”

  Peter reluctantly lets her lead him, his headache preventing him from thinking clearly. Arriving at the medical area, Peter stops, then folds his arms. He states indignantly. “I do not need a doctor. I need my pipe and a cup of tea!”

  Emma tilts her head. Her expanding grin merely vexing him all the more. She walks into the room where Henry is standing, watching them. Emma motions for Peter to
come in, but he remains where he is, scowling all the more.

  Emma turns to face Henry and states, “He is out of pipe tobacco and tea, and is getting too grumpy to be around.”

  Peter, still with his arms folded, glares at the two of them.

  Henry walks to a cabinet and takes out a silvery package. He tosses it to Peter who catches it easily, and then stares at Henry, stunned.

  “What’s in here?” Peter asks, his curiosity mounting.

  Henry nods in his direction, grins, and then answers. “That my friend, is a sealed package of emergency supplies. The contents are safe. I have a few left, for medicinal purposes only, you understand.”

  Peter opens the package and is flabbergasted at what he finds. A canister of tobacco, his brand, along with a dozen or more pouches of his favorite tea.

  Henry grins broadly as he looks up at the ceiling innocently. “I had these put together before we left.” He looks back at Peter mischievously. “Turn it over.”

  Peter does so and is astonished to see his name emblazoned on the package. His jaw drops in surprise, and he is not one easily shocked.

  Henry steps toward him and places a hand around his shoulder. “As the ship’s doctor it was my duty to come prepared. Enjoy!”

  Peter turns to Emma, he is at a loss for words.

  Emma smiles, walks to Peter and bumps him with her hip. “Now, you’d better be more sociable the next time I come and sit with you, Mister!”

  Emma turns, and strides off, leaving Peter standing there blinking in surprise. He turns to Henry and motions over his shoulder at the departing woman with his thumb. “Did she just do, what I think she did?”

  Henry laughs, “I have never seen you nonplussed before.” He heads back to his cabinet, then tosses Peter two more packs. “Don’t break the seals until you need them, each one is a three-day supply.”

  Peter is overwhelmed. “How many did you bring?”

  Henry’s grin fades. “Not enough my friend, not nearly enough.”

  Peter nods his head, understanding the situation all too clearly. “I will make them last then. Thank you.”

  Henry’s smile fades as Peter leaves the room. He then sits down, suddenly demoralized. Glancing at the cabinet again, he notices the piles of packages with Jim’s name on them. The other cabinets are closed, but the names Daitaro, Akira, Olaf, and others, all seem to stare out at him. Over eighty dead since launching, and another seven with severe brain trauma. This mission has turned into a voyage of the damned. He has no idea that the very same thought had crossed George’s mind a while ago.

  Cindy is sitting in her command chair, observing another sticky situation. Andrew and Joe have been debating with each other over their course back to Earth. What began as a quiet discussion between these two friends, has escalated into a heated argument.

  Joe stabs at his console aggressively. “Independent gravitation variances are included, look!” He taps away at numerous Gamin symbols as though he were on his own keyboard.

  Cindy glance to Joe’s right and frowns as she notices that his laptop is closed.

  Andrew peels off the last of his sticky notes, and then taps symbol after symbol on his own console. “You look! Your formula doesn’t take into account the effects of quantum dynamics from…”

  Finally, Cindy has heard enough. She stands up, and interjects. “Gentlemen!” She states firmly. “What seems to be the problem?”

  Joe and Andrew stare at each other, neither willing to speak up.

  John glances at the two men, then answers for them. “We need to activate the Gamin navigational console and update our data.” He pauses, giving Joe and Andrew a solid stare before he continues. “We’re not one hundred percent sure of where we are.”

  Cindy sits back down. “Oh, is that all? What about running your data through GUS?”

  John glances from her to Joe, and then Andrew.

  Joe shakes his head in annoyance. “GUS is just too damn slow.”

  Cindy’s expression turns pensive. GUS too slow? “Okay. So, what’s the real issue then?”

  Joe glumly replies. “As soon as we turn that console on, the Gamin, or others, may be able to locate us.”

  Cindy sits back as she mulls over the dilemma. The crew has run out of food and is living off ration packs. Even coffee and tea are becoming black market items, she smiles inwardly at this. Henry has resorted to handing out his stores as well, which in itself, indicates how desperate the food situation is becoming. With every sack, and unsealed food container, having been destroyed due to the risk of spore infection, they lost many months’ worth of flour and rice. Add the destruction of hydroponics bay, and the situation becomes dire. Even though the command crew has been instructed not to say anything about the food shortage, the two remaining kitchen hands have undoubtedly let others know of their dwindling supplies. The bridge crew remains quiet as Cindy deliberates. She stands and walks to the main view. The mesmerizing cascade of colors still enthralls her.

  Cindy turns to face the crew. Her face is a stern mask as she issues her orders. “We will disengage the main drive, then reinstall the Gamin navigational console. Run the Kord power cell until you get enough data to plot us a course, all the way home. Let’s make as few stops as possible, no sightseeing.”

  Cindy puts a hand to her forehead as a last-minute thought comes to mind. “We need a morale booster. Peter, see if you can drag up enough supplies for the crew to have a real meal. I think we should just stop right here and have a little get together before we move on.”

  John nods his head in agreement, then shuts down the main drive. His fingers deftly moving over the Gamin console. “You may as well shut down the Kord power unit.” He states matter-of-factly.

  Cindy watches the colors shift back to the bland white dots, then does as requested. Walking past John’s console, she stops, noting that his mass of sticky notes are gone. They’re becoming very familiar with the Gamin terminals, she smiles inwardly.

  The Terran floats in space, momentum is all that carries her forward. Every drive system is shut down. The nearest sun is a distant white dot. This seems to be the perfect place to revitalize the crew’s waning spirit.

  Peter, Emma, and Henry, gather the ship’s crew, assembling everyone in the mess hall. It does not take long, as there are few crew members remaining.

  Once everybody is present, Cindy stands on a chair and delivers what she hopes is an inspirational speech. “We’re going to stop right here, between the stars. We have come a long way, and survived some harrowing ordeals. It’s time to relax and let our hair down.” She smiles as her eyes wander across the crowd. “Though much of our food is gone, we won’t starve, there are plenty of ration packs.”

  One of the crew men chuckles, then hollers. “Ration pack party!”

  Cindy steps down and looks to Peter for support.

  Peter nods slightly, then holds up a bottle of vodka. “I have a whole case to share, enjoy!”

  Peter leaves the bottle on the table, then retires to the bridge. Cindy also leaves the mess hall. Joe and Andrew stay, and start a new debate, though this time, it is a friendly one. Emma casually follows Peter, while the rest of the crew gets on with the ration pack party. She peeks her head around the corner and looks at the bridge area. She spots Cindy and Peter standing close together at one of the Gamin consoles. They are tapping at various symbols, then pointing at the information displayed.

  Emma is about to walk away when Cindy notices her out of the corner of her eye, and says, “Hey Emma, come and join us. We’re discussing the ship’s status, plus trying to figure out how far we are from home.”

  Emma joins the pair. While the bulk of the crew is unwinding, the trio get to work evaluating the ship’s condition. George joins them, and is surprisingly not wearing his bodysuit. After a lengthy discussion, they come to a consensus, and then one by one, they all leave the bridge. The Terran continues to drift in space, like a derelict, as the festivities continue on, unabated.
<
br />   Many hours later, the revelers have reduced in number to a hand full of die-hards. Joe and Andrew stagger toward their respective quarters. On the way, they find John struggling to climb the stairs. Laughing, they help each other up the stairwell to the command levels, where they split up. Eventually, the entire crew has had their fill, and is sleeping.

  Silently, the Terran drifts on. Its systems operating smoothly and efficiently, even on the minimal power the reactors are putting out. Fans whirl, providing air flow throughout the ship, while heating elements keep the interior warm. Even the bridge is deserted at this late hour, leaving no one to monitor the ship’s slow progress. The minutes turn into hours as the crew sleeps.

  Cindy wakes up, suddenly alert and anxious. She dresses quickly, and then runs toward the bridge. Arriving, she finds it unoccupied. Mildly panicking, she quickly checks the ship’s status. Finding nothing unusual, she sits in her chair and relaxes. That is the last time we leave the bridge unattended. Her mind is still replaying many of the nightmares that have been plaguing her lately.

  George arrives a short time later, this time in his bodysuit. He nods to Cindy and says, “Morning, or afternoon, not really sure what time it is.”

  Even the Gamin’s twenty-six and a quarter hour day is irrelevant to them. The ship itself, does not have a day-night mode. They have been spending whatever time they need to, on the bridge. George glances at the empty seats, then gets to work reconnecting the Gamin’s navigational console.

  Emma wakes, stretches, then sits up in alarm. She looks around sheepishly, gathers her belongings, and then quietly scurries off to her own room. Like many of the crew, she enjoys a long hot shower, relishing the sensation of the water cascading over her body. Having brought aboard an abundance of water, this is one luxury the crew does have. She sighs as she gets out of the shower. If only we still had the right equipment, then we could have tested the food, well… next time. She does not even realize that she is already planning to stay on board, even after this harrowing trip. There is no doubt in her mind that they will get home, her confidence in Cindy’s leadership is unshakable.