Discovery (Terran Chronicles)

by Jackson, James

  “Oh, my! The whole continent is at war. There are numerous cities, all under siege. I want to see what the rest of the world is like.”

  John pilots the Terran around the planet, covering almost all of it in a few quick passes. They find the same relentless scene repeated over and over. A planetary war of epic proportions rages below them. Radclyf studies the landscape for quite a while before offering his depressing assessment.

  “This planet’s technology is regressing. Earlier attacks seem to have been made with nuclear type weapons, yet the current battle is being waged with ordinary artillery. There seems to be no aircraft whatsoever, making this ground war a grueling affair.”

  Joe stands up, a frown creases his forehead.

  “John, can you take us back to that desert like area we passed a while back? I’m getting some odd readings.”

  John obliges, and quickly parks the Terran directly over the expansive desert. Andrew notices numerous impact craters, and pans the view in. The ground seems to rush up at them, as does a pile of twisted wreckage. The Gamin construction dock has been reduced to a mere shadow of its former glory. Radclyf motions to the ruins.

  “It looks like whoever controlled that facility tried to defend it. I would say the attackers gave up trying to capture it at some point, then focused on destroying it instead.”

  He shakes his head in dismay as he continues.

  “For an entire planet to regress in technology, and still be waging a war, it’s inconceivable.”

  Hayato nods his head in agreement, then adds his own thoughts.

  “The combatants must have all their manufacturing facilities underground, along with the surviving populace.”

  Radclyf has an epiphany.

  “That’s why the center of the destroyed cities are hot spots. I bet they’re entrances to underground complexes.”

  John pilots the Terran away from the desolation. Locating a region filled with flashes of light, he parks the ship over the area. Andrew zooms the view in, all the way to ground level. Cindy gasps at the sight.

  “Look at the size of those ground vehicles.”

  Armored behemoths trundle along the ground, leaving deep furrows in their passing. Massive tank treads move these monsters ever so slowly. Dozens of these enormous vehicles are moving toward a distant city. The defenders have pitifully small ground vehicles which seem to be harassing the large units. Every now and then, one of the large vehicles fires a cannon of sorts. Most of the shots miss, but one does not.

  Cindy is awed as the lesser vehicle is reduced to a pile of scrap metal in the blink of an eye. Almost nothing remains of it. For their part, the relatively small vehicles continue to drive around seemingly ineffective in their task. Andrew pans out, then finding a motionless behemoth, zooms back in. Sure enough, the massive tank has been stopped, one of its tracks trails behind it. Smaller flashes come from the broken hulk. Those trapped inside are still putting up a valiant fight. A mountain of dirt is suddenly flung over the area. A few minutes later, another mountain of dirt is flung skyward. The flashes increase in intensity from the immobile target. The next artillery shot lands squarely on its front section. Armor plating buckles and collapses, a large dust cloud springs up from around the damaged tank. As suddenly as the dust appears, it’s whisked away by a powerful explosion that rips out from the ruined vehicle. Shock waves radiate out across the ground in all directions.

  Andrew expands the view, revealing more of the countryside, and more of the same. City after city has dozens of massive tank like vehicles creeping closer and closer. Although the planetary war seems to have been raging on for a long time, it would appear that one side is finally achieving a victory. But at what cost? The bridge crew is transfixed by the apocalyptic scene. They all remain quiet as they witness the ongoing carnage on the planet below. Finally, Joe drags his eyes from the riveting scene, and scans the planet.

  “The atmosphere has corrosive elements along with high levels of radioactive isotopes.”

  Joe reviews more data then looks up, stunned.

  “The planet’s eco system is on the verge of total collapse. The oceans show virtually no signs of life. The few patches of vegetation that remain are heavily contaminated, and the planet’s atmosphere is classified as inhospitable.”

  He looks away from the planet, back to Cindy.

  “If they don’t escape, and soon, they will certainly all die.”

  Cindy stares at the Gamin satellites, then purses her lips.

  “Open a channel, let’s see if anyone down there is able to talk to us.”

  Her order, though unexpected, is carried out immediately. Joe nods to her. She gulps, then touches her chairs controls.

  “This is the starship Terran, anyone receiving this?”

  Everyone awaits a response. Cindy looks at Joe questioningly. He shrugs and says with confidence.

  “They should have received the message, I have confirmation from the satellites that they transmitted it. Perhaps they don’t understand our language?”

  George turns from his panel, and shakes his head.

  “The message would have been translated into whatever language, or languages the citizens use. Remember when the Gamin contacted us on Earth?”

  Cindy, along with the other bridge crew, nods in agreement. She sighs deeply, then issues her orders.

  “Alright, we will investigate the moon, then leave.”

  Joe frowns, then looks at the others fretfully.

  “We can’t just leave them to die. Shouldn’t we at least disable the Gamin satellites, give them a chance?”

  Cindy stares at the planet, and feels saddened by what she sees.

  “These people are hell bent on destruction, we can’t risk unleashing them upon others. They are potentially too dangerous to set free.”

  Joe slumps in his chair, defeated. She is so cold and callous. He thumps his console in frustration. But damn it, she’s right. He stares at the planet for a long time before switching his attention to the moon. With a deep sigh, he reports his findings with little enthusiasm.

  “There is a lunar base, and we have access. The core systems are almost out of power, but I am reading life support, Gamin of course.”

  Cindy looks at John, then George.

  “You two head on over, make it brief.” She too, is not feeling good about leaving those on the planet, trapped.

  Joe stares at his console, then motions to Andrew. The two men spend scant seconds reviewing the data. Andrew turns to Cindy, his voice a little anxious.

  “There is something happening on the planet.”

  John stops at the doorway to the bridge, then catching the worried expression’s returns to his seat. Andrew has zoomed the view in to cover a wide area of the planet’s desolate countryside. The bridge crew waits and watches. Down on the planet massive concrete hatches open up, hundreds of them. Judging by the piles of the debris, some of the hatches seem to have been closed for a long time.

  Radclyf steps forward, his expression dour.

  “It would seem we have our answer, it looks like they are about to launch missiles at us.”

  Cindy frowns, “won’t the satellites just destroy them?”

  John shakes his head, uncertain. He takes the ship off station keeping, and waits. Almost as one, the open silos expel their charges. Long rockets launch, flying upward on massive plumes of fire and smoke. The sight of hundreds of missiles rising toward them is most impressive. Everyone of the bridge is awed by the spectacle. George has been monitoring events from his station, and reports his findings with earnest.

  “The satellites are powering up their weapon systems.”

  The missiles soar upward, getting ever closer. The Gamin satellite grid fires its own volley back. Laser beams streak downward, hitting individual missiles. The sky lights up brightly as missile after missile explodes. Within seconds, the imposing volley is eliminated. The only thing the launch succeeded in doing, was to add yet more toxins to the atmosphere from thei
r chemical propellants. Vapor trails plummet to the ground, carrying with them any unexploded warheads. In some cases, the ground impacts cause explosions to rise back upward, adding even more devastation to the ravaged landscape.

  Cindy’s jaw drops, “they’re using nuclear devices.”

  Grey clouds rise up from the ground, the mushroom shaped cloud is unmistakable.

  Radclyf shakes his head sadly, “that appears to be their last ditch effort, what a futile waste.”

  Cindy frowns, then gazes around the bridge. “Every time we discover a world where the Gamin have visited, we find the same old story. Civilizations trapped on resource depleted worlds. But not our planet. Something was different for us. I wonder what?”

  The bridge crew all fall silent as they ponder her words. After a few minutes Joe interrupts their thoughts.

  “The lunar base, you two going to check it out?”

  Cindy makes eye contact with John, then George, nodding to each of them as she does. The two of them depart the bridge without a word, the apocalyptic battle still on their minds.

  John pilots the Gamin shuttle out the Terran’s open ramp, then descends to the moon below. George sits next to him, his suit stowed in the rear of the shuttle. The entrance to the alien base is not clearly visible. Its placement and color scheme blending it almost perfectly with the moonscape. John makes a few deft touches on his console, opening an almost indiscernible door. He lands the shuttle inside, closes the door behind them, then begins the process of putting his space-suit on. After ten minutes, and with quite a bit of help from George, John is ready. He takes a deep breath, then looks at George.

  “You ready?”

  George blocks the scenes of the planet-wide war from his mind, and focuses his thoughts on the task at hand. As usual, he simply steps backward into his suit. It automatically closes around him, forming a snug fit. Looking at George’s body suit, John is quite envious of it right now. George smiles back innocently.

  “Sure!”

  They give each other a thumbs up, then John opens the shuttle’s door. Walking down the ramp, the heavier Gamin gravity catches both of them by surprise. Stumbling onto the base’s floor, they pause for a moment. Lights come on, casting a dim glow over them. John glances around nervously, then upon seeing that they are alone, relaxes a little. George glances upward, then walks on ahead, his bulk forming creepy shadows on the ground.

  “There is only one way, so I guess that’s where we go.” George’s voice comes through John’s headpiece clearly.

  John gazes around, his suit having been designed for the zero-g of space makes it difficult to maneuver in the heavy gravity. He follows George as best he can, tapping his communicator as he walks.

  “We’re inside. Nothing special to report yet.”

  They descend farther into the lunar base, neither man feeling talkative. George comes to the end of the walkway. The expected stairwell is not present. Gazing around, he spots a familiar trio of holes in the wall.

  “Looks like this is a door. Stand back, I am going to see if I can open it.”

  John steps to one side, then watches as George creates a three pronged object. As soon as George inserts the three claw-like prongs, the door moves back, then slides into a wall space. Before them is a large room, the inside of which has a panel on the wall, near the open door. George steps inside, then smiles.

  “This must be an elevator.”

  John looks inside, a little warily.

  “You think it’s safe?”

  George nods. “Yeah, I don’t think the Gamin expect visitors.”

  The wall panel has three large symbols grouped together. The central symbol is a wide rectangle. The other two are triangles, one above and an inverted one below. John raises an eyebrow.

  “You think it’s that simple?”

  George shrugs his shoulders, then touches the lower inverted triangle.

  “Let’s find out.”

  A grinding sound emanates from below their feet, followed by a series of heavy sounding clunks. The elevator lurches, then begins to descend. Metal gears, long since abandoned, protest as they travel downward. The light from the ceiling flickers from time to time, yet their descent remains smooth. The elevator has no door, allowing them to see the wall slowly slide upward as they continue down. Suddenly, an opening appears. They stare down the dim passageway, expecting the elevator to stop. It does not. George glances at John, and asks curiously.

  “Multiple levels?”

  “Looks that way,” he replies, though like George he has no idea of what to expect.

  The elevator continues downward for another fifteen minutes, passing six more openings before finally stopping. George steps out, followed quickly by John. They both stare at the elevator, half expecting it to leave. It remains still, putting both men at ease. George peers into the distance, then spots what he has been hoping to find.

  “There is a Gamin interface terminal up ahead.”

  John stares into the distance, he can’t see anything.

  “If you say so, lead on.”

  The console rests against the opening to a large cavern. The area beyond is poorly lit, but even so it’s obviously quite massive. George connects his suit to the terminal. Oh my, this is incredible.

  “This base is a massive factory complex. Pretty much everything required to outfit a spaceship can be manufactured here.”

  John stares off into the dim area ahead.

  “It is hard to see clearly, can you do anything about the dim lights?”

  George continues to review the data before him, then shakes his head in disappointment.

  “There is barely any power left. I will try to transfer the data to the Terran.”

  George taps away at the console, then gets very excited. A few minutes later he turns to John, a wide grin on his face.

  “I just sent every schematic and plan to our ship. There is stuff here I have never seen before.”

  John turns to George in surprise.

  “Like?”

  “Ohh, everything, from view screens, consoles, power plants, to,” George hesitates for a few seconds, then reluctantly continues, “weapons,” he says at last.

  George’s early excitement wanes. John nods in understanding as he voices Georges thoughts.

  “If these weapons plans were discovered by the wrong people, it…” his voice trails off.

  George stares at the console in amazement. John’s expression rapidly changes, his voice becomes quite uneasy as he shares his sudden apprehension.

  “How is it, that we can just waltz in here and get this technology?”

  George considers the question, then answers, his own voice quite calm.

  “Must be the Gamin body suit, plus the ship is Gamin, as is the shuttle.”

  John nods in agreement, suddenly becomes aware of his own suit.

  “Ugh, hate to ruin your theory, but I am not wearing a Gamin made suit.”

  George tilts his head, perplexed, then reconnects to the Gamin console. OH CRAP!

  “We have to get out of here, NOW!” George hollers.

  He grabs John, and runs for the elevator. He nervously presses the upward triangle and is relieved when they begin to ascend.

  John is obviously aware that something is terribly wrong, he gulps then asks with trepidation.

  “So, I guess we tripped some trap?”

  “You could say that. This entire facility began a self destruct countdown the second we stepped out of the shuttle.”

  John whistles, “so um, how long do we have?”

  George turns to face John, sweat droplets building on his forehead.

  John gulps, “that long, huh”

  The elevator continues its upward trek, ever so slowly. Finally, the shuttle comes into view. The pair sprints for the ramp, George beats John by a long margin. Exiting his body suit he almost hurtles himself into the cockpit. The second John steps onto the ramp George begins to raise it. Tapping the thruster controls, he lifts t
he shuttle off the ground. he immediately tilts the craft forward and engages the rear thrusters, setting them to full power.

  John stares transfixed as the opening to the lunar base skims past, just as the shuttle’s ramp shuts and seals. He struggles to get out of his space suit, a difficult task unassisted. George nervously contacts the Terran.

  “The base is going to blow, we have to get out of here, and NOW!”

  Deep inside the lunar base, the Gamin computer system complies with its age old instructions. Had the facilities power reserves not been so low, the overload would have occurred almost immediately. Luckily, it takes a while for the main power grid to go critical.

  George stares at his console as new information comes through. He stares at the opening to the Terran and gulps, they are at full speed.

  “Cindy, get us the hell away from here the second we’re on board. Don’t wait for us to get to the bridge, we’re out of time.”

  The power grid inside the lunar base suddenly detonates, the ensuing explosion rips through the moon’s interior almost instantly. George closes his eyes as he misjudges the gap. The shuttle’s roof skims the opening to the Terran, tilting them downward. The facilities inside the moon vanish instantly, the explosive force is so great. George slams the station keeping controls, hoping to stop them from plowing full speed into the far wall.

  Joe stares at his console, fingers poised. He waits for as long as he dares, the moon’s surface actually ripples before them. He gives a silent prayer, then activates the sub-light engines.

  George stares out the forward view of the shuttle, the wall is so close he can almost touch it. A huge portion of the moon’s outer crust shatters. It is carried away by the force of the explosion.

  Joe accelerates the ship to maximum sub-light speed. The shock wave catches them momentarily, then it falls behind, its energies expended. He breathes a sigh of relief, then slowly swings the ship around.

  A huge portion of the moon is nonexistent, a massive crater is all that remains of the Gamin base. Andrew stares at his console, then slumps in his chair.