Blue Planet Rising (Pebbles in the Sky Book 2)

by Jeffery Bagley

  “I have data from Brianna. Odysseus is analyzing as requested,” came the reply.

  Kristy muttered and cursed again. They were either going to have to disable that computer or agree to share everything with it. She didn’t see a middle ground. She just wished that the politicians or whoever was making the call on Earth would make up their mind.

  Chapter 44

  May 17th, 2047

  Elpis

  Jason tentatively raised the door flap of the tent as it became light outside. A strong thunderstorm had rolled in from the sea right at dusk the previous night and they had hurriedly covered all the lab equipment and made it into the tent just as the rain reached their campsite. There had been gusts of wind that had probably reached forty to fifty kilometers an hour and it was all they could do to hold the tent down. They couldn’t even hear the waves crashing on the beach below them, it had rained so hard. Finally, after midnight, the wind had stopped blowing and the rainfall slowed to a steady but light rain. It was still raining as Jason peeked out the tent flap and contemplated the gloomy sky.

  Brianna peered out from behind him. “I don’t think that it would be wise to uncover my lab equipment in that,” she stated.

  “I think I agree with you,” said Jason. “I’ll have to take the transport up to the top of the cliff and put the communication balloon up to report back to base. It’s a good thing the transport has a fold up top. Otherwise, it would be full of water right now.”

  “Out of my way! If I don’t go pee I’m going to explode!” said Sarah as she squeezed out of the tent and ran around behind some rocks.

  “I need to go too,” Brianna informed him.

  Jason held the flap up as Brianna ran out and found her own rock to go behind. “David, I’m going to take the transport up the hill and radio our status back to base. I’ll throw some rations here in the tent and you guys can go ahead and eat if you want too. I’ll be back as soon as I radio in.”

  David grunted an acknowledgment from his sleeping bag.

  Jason ran out to the transport and was getting ready to drive it up the slope above the beach when he noticed something was missing. The communications balloon was gone. He had pulled it down and tied it to the back of the transport last night. “Damn it,” he exclaimed. He realized that the strong wind during last night’s thunderstorm had probably torn the meter wide balloon free. He cursed himself for not thinking ahead. He should have deflated it, but he had been trying to conserve their supply of helium gas. Now, because of his stupidity, they had no communication balloon and no way to radio in to the base camp. He cursed and kicked the wheels on the transport. How the hell could he have been so stupid?

  Jason walked back through the drizzle to the tent. Brianna and Sarah were back and the three of them were picking through the morning ration packs.

  “That was a fast trip,” said David. “I didn’t even hear you leave.”

  “We have a problem,” Jason said. “I really screwed up. I didn’t deflate the communications balloon last night. I had tied it to the back of the transport and I guess that the wind during the storm tore it loose. We have no way of communicating with the base camp.”

  “They’ll be worried if we don’t check in,” said Sarah.

  Jason shook his head and cursed himself. “I was trying to conserve our helium. Now, we’re going to have to pack up and head back.”

  “No way,” said Brianna. “We can’t go yet. I still have a million things to do here and samples to collect. We just can’t leave, not yet.”

  “Kristy will send someone to look for us if we don’t report in by nightfall. The last thing we need is someone out looking for us in the small transport. It doesn’t have the range to come this far without the trailer, and we have the trailer with us. We have no choice but to start back this morning,” Jason said. “You can blame me.”

  “We’re not blaming anyone,” said David. “We had no idea that we were going to have a heavy storm like that. We left the balloon tied up before with no problems.”

  “Don’t we have a spare?” asked Brianna.

  “We have two more balloons,” said David. “Unfortunately, they’re back at the base camp.”

  “What if two of us drove back and let them know we were ok? We could get a spare communication balloon and then come back,” said Sarah.

  “I don’t think it’s a good idea to leave two people here without a transport,” said Jason.

  “It’s only about fifty kilometers Jason. Hell, we had to run twenty kilometers every day at the damned Space Force Academy,” Brianna said.

  “And how many have you ran in the last six months?” asked Jason. “None of us are in the best of shape. We also had to detour about ten kilometers around the river. It would probably take at least five or six days to hike it back if we had to.”

  “Let’s do this, Jason,” suggested David. “You stay here with Brianna. Sarah and I will take the transport and enough hydrogen for the fuel cells. We will leave the trailer and the small generator here. That will give you power for the equipment. We can travel much faster without the trailer. We’ll head back and keep trying to reach the base camp by radio from some high hills along the way. We’ll let them know what happened and go in and get a spare communication balloon. We can easily make the trip in one day without the trailer.”

  “The rain will really slow you down,” said Jason. “It might take two days to get back.”

  “So, you guys would have to spend three to four days here alone,” David suggested. “I’m sure you could manage to keep warm at night. Brianna could keep doing her biology stuff. You’ll have the tent and plenty of food and water. If Sarah and I can’t make it back to the base camp today we can sleep in the back of the transport with the top up. This’s the best solution we have. There’s no need to call off the expedition.”

  Jason thought about it for a minute while the others waited. “Ok, either way Kristy is going to be pissed. At least this way, Brianna can continue with her work.”

  They went out and unloaded the transport except for the stuff that David and Sarah would need for the trip back. David and Sarah climbed in the transport and got ready to leave.

  Brianna went up to David. “Odysseus told me before we left that he could reprogram one of the satellites so that it could relay messages to and from different places on the planet. Ask Kristy if she would let him try and do that. It might come in handy.”

  David nodded. “You guys behave. We should be back in two to four days.” He and Sarah drove up the slope to the plateau and the transport disappeared over the crest as it reached the semi-level ground of the plateau. Jason stood there looking forlorn.

  “Jason, get over it. It wasn’t your fault,” Brianna said to him. “We have lots to do today. If you’re a good boy then maybe we’ll have lots to do tonight,” she grinned. “While I’m setting up some more stains, I want you to walk the beach and see if the storm washed anything else interesting up on the rocks.”

  Jason looked up at the rain falling from the low grey clouds dubiously.

  “Get going, a little rain isn’t going to hurt you. If you find something good, I’ll dry you off when you get back,” Brianna promised.

  She turned and went into the tent. Jason reluctantly started walking down the beach at the water’s edge.

  …

  By mid-morning Kristy had gone from being angry about Jason not calling in, to the point where she was starting to get worried. She called Master Chief and asked him to come up to the communications station. When Master Chief made it up the hill he found Kristy sitting in the tent that they had put up around the communications equipment.

  “They still haven’t called in. I’m getting worried about them,” she told him.

  Master Chief scratched his scraggly face. “Damn beard itches like crazy,” he said.

  Kristy just stared at him. “Didn’t you hear me?” she said.

  “I heard you Kristy. I think you’re over-reacting. There could be do
zens of reasons they haven’t called in. Their radio could have been damaged in that big storm last night, they might have discovered something interesting, or who knows. You need to relax and give them a while.”

  “They could have been caught in a flashflood and drowned. They could have overturned the transport, or gotten struck by lightning, or anything,” she said.

  “Yes, and they could have gotten abducted by four legged aliens in a spaceship too,” he joked. He looked down the hill. “Nope, the space ship hasn’t moved since we got here. Nix that possibility.”

  “Your attempt at humor isn’t helping,” Kristy accused.

  “Commander, look. They are three hours late calling in. For all we know they worked late last night and are sleeping in because they’re exhausted. I say we wait until nightfall. If we haven’t heard from them by then, Donald and I will take the small transport out in the morning. The jeep doesn’t have the range to make it to the coast and back, but maybe we can get close enough to raise them by radio.”

  Kristy wasn’t happy. This was her first command and she wasn’t going to have something happen to her crew while she was responsible for them. “All right Master Chief. We’ll do it your way and wait.”

  Master Chief went back down the hill to the greenhouses where he had been helping Beatrice, Donald, and Frederick with soil preparation. They were going to plant some of the tree seeds in containers today to see if they would sprout. He wondered why women got so emotional during that time of the month. It was just one of those mysteries that men would never understand.

  Kristy was sitting in the communications tent trying to decide what to report to Alpha Control when her PA beeped.

  “Yes, what is it?” she snapped.

  “May I communicate with you, Kristy?” asked Odysseus.

  “What is it Odysseus? I’m very busy,” she replied.

  “Brianna had requested information regarding analysis of common ancestry of microscopic organisms she has discovered in the sea of this planet. I haven’t been able to contact her on her PA. She has also not reported in this day cycle,” Odysseus said.

  “No, they haven’t reported in as expected. We don’t know why,” Kristy answered.

  “Probability exists of some type of communication equipment failure. Analysis of equipment trends and reliability indicates that they have probably encountered some type of fault with their transmitting array,” Odysseus said.

  “They don’t use an array like we have here,” Odysseus. “They send up a balloon with a transmitting repeater.”

  “Is this balloon a light gas envelope approximately one meter in cross section? Does it have some small metallic equipment mounted to it?” Odysseus asked.

  Kristy squinted her eyes suspiciously. “Why are you asking Odysseus?”

  “My sensor array detected an object matching that description being propelled at high speed before an atmospheric low pressure cell during the last dark cycle at approximately eight pm human time reference.”

  “Are you telling me you detected their communications balloon last night at that time?” Kristy asked.

  “There is a greater than ninety five percent probability that is what my sensors detected,” said Odysseus.

  “Why didn’t you tell us earlier?” asked Kristy.

  “Odysseus was told by Brianna not to…break-in on human communications and not to…..bother other humans until Brianna returns.”

  “Thank you Odysseus for telling me about the balloon. At least I know the reason they have not called and that they are probably safe. I just need to find a way to communicate with them now,” Kristy said.

  “Odysseus can communicate with them,” he said.

  “You can talk to them right now?” asked Kristy.

  “Brianna told Odysseus not to change human programming,” Odysseus said.

  “What programming? How can you communicate with them, Odysseus?” asked Kristy again.

  “Odysseus can alter the programing in the two human satellites in orbit to relay communications,” he answered. “Brianna said not to change programming.”

  Kristy thought to herself. The original Elpis probe was still in orbit. Most of its sensors had been damaged during its trip to the planet. If it was lost…the other satellite was a small weather watcher that had been released by the Mike Pierce as it departed orbit. Neither was terribly important.

  “Odysseus, can you change the programming to have those satellites relay messages without damaging the original programing?”

  “There is a greater than ninety nine percent chance of success,” he informed her.

  “How long will it take, in human hours?” she asked.

  “Programming will be complete in approximately six point seven human hours. A satellite would be in position to communicate with humans at the sea approximately 9:53 PM in dark cycle.”

  “Do it, Odysseus. Change the programming so I can talk to Jason,” Kristy said.

  “Brianna told Odysseus not to…..”

  “Odysseus, I’m the senior human here. I’m over riding her order. Change the programming, please,” Kristy said.

  “Re-programming started,” he replied.

  Kristy’s PA beeped while the people in the base camp were eating supper that evening. “Kristy, my seismic sensors indicate the heavy human ground transport is approaching. I estimate its arrival in ten human minutes,” Odysseus said.

  Kristy and the others got up and went outside the small dome to meet the transport. When it drove up they saw it didn’t have the trailer attached and only David and Sarah were in it. David explained what had happened with the communications balloon. Kristy told them that Odysseus had detected the errant balloon so they had guessed as much. She agreed that they would send the transport back in the morning with another balloon. In the meantime, she told the two of them they might as well get some rest since they had driven all day. She would try to talk to Jason if Odysseus’s reprogramming trick worked. She walked up the hill to inform Alpha control that all personnel were accounted for and safe.

  …

  Jason and Brianna were making love when Brianna’s PA beeped at about ten PM.

  “What the hell?” Jason asked, as Brianna sat up on him. She had placed her PA on a box beside them, so she reached over and tapped it.

  “Hello, Brianna,” said Odysseus.

  “Odysseus, how are you talking to me this far away?” she asked.

  “Brianna, this is Kristy, is Jason there with you?” asked Kristy

  Brianna covered her mouth to keep from giggling. “Jason here,” Jason replied.

  “David and Sarah made it back to camp. They explained what happened. They’ll be coming back to you in the morning with another balloon. I had Odysseus re-program the two satellites so that we can relay radio messages off of them. We can only do so when they are almost directly overhead. I am going to have Odysseus work out a schedule when they are in a position to use and then we can schedule our updates then. Only use the balloons for emergencies from now on as we only have two left.”

  Jason frowned at Brianna who was sitting on him and moving her hips suggestively. She was trying not to laugh. “We understand. We’ll have a new data set to send you but we’ll have to set up the equipment to do so tomorrow. Let us know when the overhead satellite passes are. We’ll be looking for the transport tomorrow evening. Jason out.”

  He tapped Brianna’s PA to turn it off. “What the hell is so funny?” he asked as he ran his hands up and over her breasts.

  “She asked if you were here with me. I wonder what she would have said if I had of replied that we were making love and that she would have to call back.”

  “She would have fallen over,” laughed Jason.

  Brianna bent over and kissed him. “Let me see if I can remember what we were doing,” she whispered.

  Chapter 45

  May 18th, 2047

  Elpis

  Jason was poking around among the rocks along the shore when David and Sarah
drove back up in the heavy transport. Jason walked up to the campsite to meet them. When he arrived, Sarah was already in the tent talking to Brianna.

  “Glad you guys could join us again,” said Jason.

  “We made much better time this trip,” answered David. “If you make no stops and keep to the path we worked out from before it only takes about five hours. I would love to look at some aerial images of the area and see if there were a few better shortcuts that we could take around some of the erosion gullies. How are things here?”

  “I’ve been mucking about in the surf looking for dead things for Brianna to take tissue samples from. I haven’t found much. I did find one funny looking jellyfish like thing that stunk to high heaven, but Brianna was excited about it. I guess Biology has never been my thing. What’s new at the main camp? Was Kristy pissed because we lost the balloon?”

  “Not really,” David said. “She’s actually rather impatient for us to get back. The allied governments back on Earth have agreed to bare it all to Odysseus. They’re going to transmit copies of everything from medical anatomy manuals, Earth history, engineering manuals, and anything else Odysseus wants. They figure it’s a fair trade if he’ll give us the secrets of that ship.”

  “Hmmm,” said Jason. “I wonder what Odysseus is going to make of our history. Religion, wars, and all the other crap we humans have done to each other. When are they planning to start feeding all that to Odysseus?”

  “That’s why Kristy is so impatient. The advisory group at NASA wants Brianna to be back on site. It seems that since she was the first to interact with Odysseus, Odysseus has a special place for her in his electronic heart, wherever that is. Kristy wants us to get access to those other doors in the main dome that Odysseus has locked down. She’s certain that he’s hiding something there that he hasn’t yet decided to show us. Earth is going to transmit a bunch of dictionaries, language and grammar books in the first batch for Odysseus to study. The hope is that he’ll be able to communicate with us a little more effectively after he studies those.”