by Z D Dean
“I’m guessing Jorloss talked you into drinking sloop instead of your local drink of choice?” Samix asked.
“Yeah. He said that the machine couldn’t make my drink, coffee, correctly so I might as well start on sloop.”
“Sounds like him. Sloop is one of the only goods that we actually carry on this ship. We have enough in the cargo hold to last us a few years.”
Samix took another sip of sloop, looking between the cup and at Zade.
“Look Samix,” Zade started slowly. “I have to ask you something. I know I’m essentially just a stowaway on this ship, destined to be tossed back on my planet as soon as you get the chance, so is there any way that I can go planet side when we land for repairs? I would be the first of my species to set foot on a planet other than Earth.”
“I don’t see why not,” Samix said after a minute of contemplation. “As long as you stay out of our way. It’s good you asked now, though. You will need to go to the medical bay to get another nanite treatment before you head down the ramp, and we are almost too close for the nanites to complete before we land. It will protect you from some of the poisonous plants native to the planet. After we land, meet us in the cargo bay. From there we will suit up and head out.”
“Awesome. I can head to the med bay right now. How do I get there?”
“Didn’t Jorloss tell you how to get around the ship? Every screen on this ship, unless being used for something else, will bring up a map with a marker for your location if you touch it.”
Slamming the rest of his sloop, Zade thanked Samix and headed toward his quarters. He wanted to bring up the map by his room so he could see how to get to the med bay and how to get to the cargo bay, expecting that he would be in his quarters sleeping off the nanite treatment when the ship started it’s decent.
A cursory glance showed that the ship’s main fuselage was disk shaped, with a triangular protrusion at the front, and a rectangular rear section. The ship was divided into three different levels. The sublevel had all of the machinery and engines in it. That was where the material reclamation systems were located as well. The first level consisted of four lab spaces, all roughly the same size. From a top down view of the ship; the front left was labeled anthropology lab, front right was the biology lab, rear left was the resources and terraforming lab, and rear right was the robotics and fabrication lab. The rear labs had rolling doors that connected them to the cargo bay which occupied the rectangular rear section of the ship. In every space book Zade had ever read, both terraforming and robotics could require or produce equipment that was too large to fit through a standard man door, which is what he supposed were behind the large doors. Anthropology and biology on the other hand could survive without access to the cargo bay.
The second floor of the ship appeared to be split right down the middle from front to back. The protrusion on the front of the ship was the command deck, with which Zade had already become acquainted. The left side of the ship appeared to be billet. Immediately to the rear of the command deck on the left side was the captain’s quarters. Following the outer arc of the ship there were five smaller crew quarters. The space between the interior of the crew quarters and the centerline of the ship was occupied by the galley and common area. On the right side of the second deck, directly opposite the captain’s quarters, was the forward staircase and the medical bay, where Zade had first been introduced to the ship. Just behind the medical bay there were four offices, corresponding to the four labs and the four scientists onboard. Separated from the offices by a short hallway running left to right there was a meeting room and the storage room for the communications, navigation, and probe systems. The cargo bay was two stories to accommodate large equipment, so like the first deck the rear rectangular section of the second deck was occupied by the cargo bay. The cargo bay also housed the rear staircase which ran down the inside of the interior wall.
Judging by the indicator on the map, Zade was staying in crew quarters number five, the room closest to the cargo bay. After getting his routes memorized, Zade turned and headed toward the galley, to crush some food so Jorloss could give him the nanite treatment as soon as possible.
“One last thing,” Samix said as Zade reentered the common area. “If you don’t make it out with the main body you are going to be stuck on the ship. We have to close it up for diagnostic testing. And we will need the SSILF that’s been shadowing you when we’re planet side, so if you stray away from the ship, you’re on your own.”
Acknowledging Samix with a nod, Zade headed to the gut truck for 15 replica beef and cheddar sandwiches, his favorite from his favorite fast food joint back on Earth. After choking down all of the mediocre sandwiches, Zade headed for the med bay where he found Jorloss examining a charred arm on a light table. Thinking nothing of it, Zade explained that Samix had approved of him going planet side and he needed the nanite treatment to protect against the poisonous wildlife before they landed, and that he had already eaten and was ready for the shots. Jorloss turned slightly, his face giving the same blank stare that Zade had seen at breakfast that morning.
∆∆∆
Zade charged into the med bay right as Jorloss was examining one of Zade’s original appendages that was too damaged to repair. Worried about how he would react, Jorloss headed him off before he could make it deep into the med bay. Luckily, Zade was too worried about going planet side to make the connection.
The nanites in both Jorloss and Samix had slightly more functionality than the ones given to Zade. These nanites connected crewmembers to the ship’s internal data network, giving them a permanent means of communication. After listening to Zade, Jorloss decided to confirm with Samix before administering.
Samix, did you tell Zade he was going planet side?
Yup.
What nanite treatment do you want me to give him? He’s rattling on about poisonous plants.
Give him a treatment that meets the standards of the ones we got before we hit this planet the first time.
Ok.
Make sure you tell him it’s for the poisonous plants. I’ll fill you in while he sleeps it off.
∆∆∆
“All right Zade, sit down in that chair while I make up the mix,” Jorloss ordered.
Zade sat and waited for Jorloss to finish making up the nanite treatment. Expecting another shot of metal gray goop, Zade held out his arm. Instead, Jorloss moved toward Zade with a small shot of sedative to relax him.
“The nanites were already in your bloodstream, so I just have to reprogram them. The sedative I gave you is enough to relax you but not enough to knock you out. I would, however, suggest you get some sleep before we go outside,” Jorloss instructed.
With that, Jorloss turned around and went back to his work, leaving Zade to head back to his quarters. As Zade walked through the common room, a sudden sluggishness came over him and he decided to rack out, assuming that he would hear or feel the ship begin its descent, and assuming that he would have enough time to head to the cargo bay after he awoke.
∆∆∆
Zade was awakened abruptly by Samix’s voice over the ship-wide intercom.
“Attention all crew we have safely landed and are preparing to depart.”
Shit! I must have overslept. Zade thought as he threw himself out of bed and towards the door to his quarters. With the route to the cargo bay memorized, Zade shot through the common area at full sprint. After heading down the hall and through the cargo bay door Zade could see Samix, Jorloss and three SSILF staged by the door. Both Samix and Jorloss had just finished securing the helmets of their suits and were preparing to open the ramp. Taking the steps down to the first floor of the cargo bay four at a time, Zade thought he could get to them before they opened the ramp.
“Hold up,” Zade shouted as he closed the final distance between him and the rest of the crew.
“Jorloss close the interior doors and prepare for depressurization. Zade I told you to be here when we landed, I don’t have time to wait fo
r you to put on a suit. Jorloss, final life support check, you good?” Samix said as she turned away from Zade.
With a thumbs up from Jorloss, Samix hit the controls for the ramp, opening it to the atmosphere.
Fuck, fuck, fuck. I don’t have a suit on, I’m going to die as soon as that door opens. Either sucked out of the ship or suffocated by unbreathable air. Why are Samix and Jorloss doing this?
“Shit!” Zade screamed as he hit the ground.
After a few tense moments, while the ramp finished descending, Zade could hear raucous laughter coming from above him. Removing his hands from the back of his head and looking up, he could see Samix and Jorloss, helmets in hand, laughing hysterically. Jorloss was doubled over laughing so hard he could hardly catch his breath.
“That’s what you get for scaring the shit out of us in the med bay, jackass,” Samix said, tears rolling down her face from laughter. “Did you really think we were going to space you for being 30 seconds late?”
“You should have seen your face,” Jorloss chimed in.
Zade, red faced and embarrassed, stood and dusted himself off. After regaining his composure, Zade began to laugh just as hard as the other two in the cargo bay. The absurdity of the situation was too much to go unappreciated. As the three began to collect themselves Zade spoke up.
“Y’all think you’re regular comedians. But seriously, how am I standing here without any kind of protection? I don’t think there is any kind of barrier up. I can feel the wind coming through the door. And this definitely is not Earth. We don’t have purple and orange spiky bushes.”
“The nanite treatment I administered wasn’t for poisonous plants, since there are none on this planet,” Jorloss explained, a tinge of annoyance in his voice. “This planet is very similar to Earth, with two major differences: the atmosphere has about half as much oxygen in it, and the planet is slightly larger than earth, meaning it has more gravity. The treatment programmed the nanites to increase your lung capacity to account for the lack of oxygen, and to slightly increase your bone and muscle density, to adjust for the extra gravity.”
As Jorloss finished his explanation, a humanoid robotic skeleton stepped up to the group. Initially, Zade assumed that it was just another SSILF. Zade had come to learn that the SSILF were synthetic semi-intelligent life forms created in the robotics and fabrication lab. The crew of the ship used them for maintenance while on the ship and rudimentary security forces while off ship. Due to their rather expendable nature, the SSILF were not capable of true artificial intelligence. They were advanced for human standards, capable of understanding and processing complex tasks like fundamental security, but unable to adapt, or operate under any standards not established in their coding. Upon closer inspection Zade could tell that whatever just walked up to the group was not one of the SSILF. Conceptually, it looked like the SSILF, but the quality was better. Unlike the SSILF’s raw metal bodies, this one was painted fire engine red from head to toe. Zade’s pondering was interrupted by Samix’s voice.
“Zade, this is Mur,” Samix said, introducing the red creature.
Mur was the embodiment of the ship’s artificial intelligence. While onboard the ship Mur conducted all navigational and maintenance activities. Mur could then occupy the red body and go with the scientist’s planet side to provide additional security or remotely control the ship. For this mission it would be staying on the ship running a full diagnostic sweep. The designs of any broken piece found by Mur would be sent to the robotics lab to be fabricated. Samix and Jorloss would be outside the ship running diagnostics on some of the external systems, in parallel with Mur’s testing, to expedite the pit stop. The SSILF would provide security for Samix and Jorloss while they are outside the ship. Even with all three individuals testing and repairing the ship, estimated time to completion was over three hours. Remembering that Zade didn’t have the same data link that the others had, Samix continued with a brief planetary description covering all of the threats on the planet. Based on their last visit, Samix knew that there was at least one class one species on the planet, somewhere in their hunter and gatherer stage of development. The ship was located in a remote region of the planet’s southernmost continent, greatly decreasing the odds of interacting with the indigenous people. In this area there were multiple predatory and dangerous creatures, hence the SSILF security team. With that, Zade, Samix, Jorloss and the SSILF security team started down the ramp, leaving Mur to close it and head to the sub deck to start testing.
Chapter 4
Walking down the ramp with a supply crate he had grabbed to help the team out, Zade began to think about the increased strength that Jorloss had mentioned. Doing some rough math, Zade estimated that the crate he was holding had to weigh upwards of 300 pounds. Impressed that he was carrying it with ease, Zade curled it a couple of times trying to hash out the extent of his new abilities. At the bottom of the ramp, Zade sat the box down and offered to help carry more items, but Samix and Jorloss both declined. With nothing else to do, Zade did a slow turn, taking stock of the planet.
The ship had landed in a small clearing of purple tinted meadow, which was surrounded on all sides by thick forest. The forest contained three distinct types of trees. The tallest and most abundant type towered over the other two. The tall trees had slender yellow trunks, topped with red foliage similar in shape to palm trees found on Earth. The second type of tree almost couldn’t be classified as a tree at all. The stout, bulbous blue trunks only stood around twenty feet tall, with a diameter at the bottom to match the height. It tapered to a point at the top, which was covered in red spikes. Initially, Zade thought they may have been adolescent because of the dramatic difference in height from the first trees, but throughout the tree line, Zade couldn’t spot one taller than about twenty-five feet. The last tree reminded Zade of some of the spruce he had seen while training in Alaska. These spruce-like trees were conical with evenly spaced rows of branches all the way up the trunk. Unlike the common spruce that Zade was familiar with, the bottom boughs of these trees were a deep azure that slowly transitioned to orange at the top. Looking up, Zade could see that the atmosphere on this planet shone a beautiful purple instead of the blue that he was used to back on Earth. The sun had dropped just below the far side of the ship. Circling the ship, Zade could see the orange behemoth perched just above the treetops. It was a much deeper color than the Sun. Jorloss informed Zade that it was a K class, one of the smaller classes of stars.
After analyzing his surroundings, Zade turned toward his current companions. The poor lighting on the ship made finding a good place to analyze his shipmates almost impossible. Planet side, with beautiful orange light shining down, Zade could really see the crew, starting with Samix. From watching her work, it appeared to Zade that the Xi’Ga were built for space. Samix’s lithe body and long limbs made her movements seem effortless as she climbed up and down the ship. She moved gracefully, and the blue of her skin shown brightly in the orange light. Zade thought she was quite beautiful. His gaze shifted to her hands. The digits on both her hands seemed to flare out at the end. Zade thought that the tools Samix was using may have been stuck to her hands. Jorloss was the exact opposite. Zade had noticed that he was a stocky, thick creature while under the ship lights, but planet side, standing next to the SSILF and Samix, Zade wasn’t even sure how Jorloss could even move around. The last of the crew to be inspected by Zade, in the daylight, were the SSILF. After leaving the ship and setting the equipment crates down, the SSILF had formed a loose perimeter about 100 yards from the ship. They were stationed at twelve, four, and eight o’clock around the ship.
Moving towards the nose of the ship, Zade could see the backside of the SSILF at the 12 position. At roughly six feet tall, it had a bare metal frame with joints in all the same places as a human with the exception of inverted knee joints. The SSILF that was escorting Zade on the ship had no protective paneling because, Zade presumed, it was meant for ship maintenance. The one Zade was approaching was a c
ombat variant, and although he could see the internal workings of the SSILF from behind, he could not see through its chest cavity like the maintenance variant. As Zade circled to the front of the SSILF, he could see that it had a hard, white, synthetic panel covering its chest and a face plate made of the same material. Stamped vertically across the left side of the chest piece and face plate were an identification number, along with the ship identifier.
“Hey Samix, what are the numbers on these guys for?” Zade shouted to Samix who was perched like a gargoyle atop the command deck typing away on a small piece of diagnostic equipment.
“What does that one say?” she replied.
“#2034, XES01,” Zade read, running his eyes down the front of the SSILF.
Samix explained that the SSILF was the 2034th created in the robotics lab on board the ship. Zade remembered that Samix had informed him that the ship had only been on mission for six months, and he remembered that Jorloss explained that the SSILF were expendable.
These guys went through 2034 robots in six months? It must have been rough going before I came aboard, Zade thought.
Continuing his inspection of the SSILF, Zade identified some kind of long rifle that each was carrying. Similar to firearms he was familiar with, these were made of the same synthetic material that the protective coverings were made of. A magazine stuck out of the bottom of the rifles. The only difference was that these, unlike regular firearms, lacked any kind of trigger assembly. With just over two hours left in the testing, Zade was satisfied with what he had learned about the crew and decided to head out and explore the woods surrounding the ship.
“Samix, I’m going to take a look around. I’ll stay within earshot. I don’t want you guys getting wise again if I’m late getting back.”
