Explorers_Beyond The Horizon

by C J Paget

  The ship reeled again as Andrews answered. “All I can tell you is the Armstrong was designed for an atmospheric landing.”

  A particularly rough patch shook them even more and Rayland had to shout now to be heard over the roar.

  “Yeah, but I can’t help recalling that she was also designed to come apart.”

  Andrews laughed maniacally as the ship bounced wildly in the upper atmosphere. “Look at it this way, Captain. If we come apart on the way down, we’ll probably never know it.”

  Rayland shook his head. “That’s not exactly reassuring, Chief.”

  Before Andrews could reply, one of the green lights on Rayland’s console turned red. “Chief?”

  “Coolant bay on reactor two has ruptured!” His fingers flew across his control panel. “I’m shutting it down.”

  Another light went red.

  Layla yelled above the mayhem. “Life support reports a massive influx of radiation into the air scrubbers!”

  Rayland looked to Andrews. “Chief, can you block number two?”

  “No sir. All I can do is cool it down and flood it with liquid nitrogen.”

  “Do it!”

  “It’s not something you do quickly. Not unless you want to damage containment!”

  “How long?”

  “We’ll be on the ground before I’m done.”

  “You can’t speed it up?”

  “Not unless you want us on the ground much faster, and in much smaller pieces.”

  Rayland turned to Layla. “Shut down the air scrubbers!”

  She gaped at him as if he’d lost his mind.

  “Shut them down! We’ll be on the ground before the CO2 levels get high enough to bother us. I don’t want to spread higher radiation levels through the ship.”

  Three more indicators turned yellow.

  “Chief?”

  “Don’t worry about that. It’s the other reactors adjusting to the additional load.”

  “Keep ‘em together, Chief.”

  Andrews didn’t bother replying, yelling commands through the comm instead.

  “Layla! How long to touchdown?”

  “Telemetry shows four minutes.”

  He watched as the indicator for reactor two went from red to yellow. Slowly, the shaking subsided, and the ship leveled out. Reactors one, three, and four slid back into the green.

  Andrews called to him. “Captain, it’s under control for now, but I can’t stop what’s coming.”

  Rayland’s heart sunk. “What do you mean?”

  Chief Andrews pointed to his console. “We still can’t get reactor two locked down. The containment field has become unstable.”

  “How unstable?”

  “It’ll go critical in a matter of hours. I can re-route some of the power from the other reactors to strengthen the field on number two, but that just buys us a few more hours.”

  “You mean we’re going to lose the ship?”

  With a deafening boom, the Armstrong heaved one last time and Layla reported what he already knew. “Touchdown, Captain.”

  Andrews raised his face from his console and turned to Rayland. “Captain, if we don’t start evacuation immediately, we won’t make it out of blast range. When that reactor goes, anything within twenty kilometers is going to receive an immediately fatal dose.”

  Rayland didn’t hesitate. “Chief, buy us as much time as you can.”

  He turned to Layla. “Start emergency evac. Get the flitters offloaded and start shuttling people and supplies to a safe distance. I’ll leave it to you to find an appropriate site.”

  * * * * *

  The sun shone brightly as The Serpent dropped anchor in the shallow lagoon. Arik stood beside the Seer on the Kapin’s deck, and the two of them looked across the water to the pristine ebony sands of the beach and the crimson jungle beyond.

  “‘Tis a glorious day, Kapin.”

  Seer Uson, expecting a reply from the young man beside him, missed the simple nod of his companion. After a few seconds of silence, he turned to the Kapin to ask a question. As he did though, he spotted some of the crew nearby and realized why the man was silent.

  He sighed. Propriety again.

  “Join me in ma cabin?”

  Arik smiled and nodded.

  Taking one final look at the new land before them, Uson turned and led them to his cabin.

  As soon as the door closed behind them, Arik relaxed. “Seer, it be as wondrous as you foretold!”

  The young man paced the cabin restlessly. “The jungle be so thick, we’ll be hard pressed ta make headway inland. Did ya see the size o’ the growth? It looks ta be ancient!”

  Uson nodded. “Aye. ‘tis near a millennia since man set foot on this land.”

  His words stopped Arik in his tracks. His mouth opened, then closed as he considered. Twice more he did this before he actually put voice to his confusion. “If it please the Seer, did ya say men ha’e been here afore?”

  Uson nodded. “Kapin Arik. I’ve not known ya long, but I feel you’re a devout man. Be I right?”

  “Aye.”

  “Then ya know the tale of how man came ta be?”

  “As does every child.”

  “Did ya know the Order itself be divided on interpretation o’ the tale?”

  Puzzlement shone in Arik’s eyes. “Nay, Seer. How so?”

  “Most o’ the Order think the tale be allegorical, a myth about the ever-war twixt good an’ evil. But there be some o’ us that think it to be a more literal accounting.”

  The Seer gestured out toward the door and indicated the new land outside. “If we be right, this be the Burnin’ Land.”

  Arik cocked his head to the side in confusion. “The Burnin’ Land? The fires o’ Hell from whence the First escaped? There be no fires here.”

  Uson shrugged. “But were it always so? Ma visions have brought us here, an’ now they tell me we go four days more eastward. Four days, an’ we’ll find the truth.”

  * * * * *

  Layla pushed the crew until they ran the fuel cells out on two of the flitters, overloading them with more than double their designed capacity. Flitters that were meant for fifty people, she crammed with a hundred or more, as well as whatever supplies they could get out of the ship in a hurry. Even with that, it wasn’t enough. It turned out that the Chief’s safety margin was off by half an hour.

  He and Rayland were on the last flitter when it was caught in the blast. The two senior officers, as well as fifty-five other crewmen died instantly, leaving First Mate Layla Golden with no lover, no father for her unborn child, and nearly four thousand souls looking to her for answers.

  * * * * *

  The jungles of this new land were full of fearful things. Early on the first day of their trek, one of Arik’s crew brushed against a flowering plant and became as a drunkard. Arik had to send him with an escort back to the ship.

  Later that same day, another was stung by a bright blue creature no larger than one’s little finger. He died spitting blood and shrieking in agony.

  But there were also wondrous things that no man had ever before seen. They saw creatures half the size of a man with flaps of skin between their hands and feet that allowed them to catch the air and drift great distances between trees. There were great ponderous beasts that shook the ground when they moved; smaller creatures with red-patterned skin that blended into their surroundings; and all manner of colorful animals in bright blues and greens. The Seer warned them that the bright ones were likely painted by First Mother as a warning, and reminded them that the tiny creature that had killed their crewmate was similarly colored. The men gave them wide berth after his warning.

  On the second day the jungle began to thin out, and progress became easier.

  * * * * *

  “Now I understand why you hated reports, Rayland. They’re as tedious as they are necessary.” Layla pushed back a tear as she thought of him. There would be time for tears later.

  Lifting the flap of her tent, s
he beckoned the runner outside. “Please ask Chief Bradford to see me at his earliest convenience.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” The ensign trotted off.

  It had been a week since the loss of the Armstrong and that last flitter - a week of shock and mourning. But if they were going to survive, they needed to get out of the vicinity.

  The new chief engineer cleared his throat outside and she discretely wiped her eyes before answering. “Please come in, Chief.”

  He ducked as he entered and Layla was surprised to notice how tall he was.

  “Pull up a stump.”

  He grinned as he sat on the protrusion before her.

  “What can I do for you, Commander?”

  “What’s the progress on getting the flitters operational?”

  “I’m afraid we’ve gotten as far as we’re going to. Two are useable for shelter and minor functions, but they’ll never fly again. The other two are almost fully functional.”

  She nodded. “Good.” She took a deep breath. “Chief, if we baby them, how far will they take us?”

  Chief Bradford shrugged. “The fuel cells have solar recharge units. Given adequate sunlight and water they could theoretically last forever, assuming we don’t overwork them like we did the others.”

  “Excellent.” She unrolled one of the laminated maps they had printed out while searching for a landing site. They were wonderfully detailed, and under current circumstances, quite priceless. Layla pointed.

  “Here’s where we are.” She unrolled more of the map and pointed across the ocean. “And here’s where we need to be.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “That far?”

  “To assure that we stay far enough out of the fallout patterns, we need to maximize our distance. The question is, can the flitters get us there?”

  Bradford nodded. “Definitely. If we take light loads, and as you said, ‘baby’ the flitters…” He looked over the map and began muttering to himself. “The trip looks to be maybe eight or nine hours. Call it ten for safety. That’s roughly four thousand people with two flitters. That’s fifty per trip, two trips per day…”

  He looked up and nodded. “I’d estimate we should be able to do it in just over a month.”

  “Good.” She pulled out a folder on which she had written some notes. She realized as she handed it to Bradford that it was one of Rayland’s report folders. Damn it Ray, why does everything have to remind me of you?

  “Here is a list of personnel and positions I think should be in the first wave. Their skill sets should expedite creation of the new colony when we get them in place.”

  She discussed her plans with him until sunset. The first flitters left before the following midday.

  * * * * *

  On the second morning in the jungle one of the crew did not awaken. There was no mark on him, but he was indisputably dead. The next night, another was carried away screaming in the jaws of a great beast that tore through their camp and disappeared before the guards could react.

  After that, the stench of fear hung palpable in the air.

  On the fourth day they came to a thinning of the trees and Seer Uson stopped the procession. He pulled Arik aside nodding to a tangle of undergrowth just ahead of them.

  “Here be where ma visions bring us. The men must clear the vines there. Make sure to expose all to the light of the sun. But take care. There be treasure beneath.”

  It took only a few minutes to confirm the Seer’s words. Spears, clubs, and gloved hands combined to clear the first section, but as soon as the men saw what lay beneath, all thought of propriety was forgotten.

  “Kapin! There be metal here!”

  Arik rushed forward. Intertwined vines and briars grew over a rounded wall taller than a man—a wall that shone as only metal could.

  “‘Tis true, Seer!” He grinned. “Treasure indeed.”

  Uson shook his head. “This be valuable, but the true treasure lies within.”

  Arik’s eyebrows raised. “Within?”

  “Aye. This be but a structure. A receptacle o’ the Holy Word.”

  An hour later an elongated cylindrical room of metal and glass sat before them, the windows warped, but unbroken. On back lay the obvious shape of a doorway, but no latch with which to open it.

  Seer Uson stepped forward to examine the doorway. Tentatively, he lifted the sleeve of his robe and began to scrub the metal beside the door. After a moment, he stepped back. Where he had cleaned the metal was the unmistakable impression of a hand, as if some God possessed of great strength had shoved into the metal hard enough to leave his imprint.

  Uson stepped forward and raised his hand, then stopped. He turned to the men gathered behind him. “I know not for sure what shall happen. Show yet a bit more patience, an’ step back for a bit.”

  Arik and the others stepped back obediently. Then Uson took a deep breath and laid his hand within the God’s imprint.

  The door opened with a hiss and the interior of the chamber flared to life with light. Uson stumbled back quickly, careful not to breathe in the air until he was back with the muttering crew.

  “What manner o’ place be this?” Arik whispered to Uson.

  “I believe ‘tis a vessel the First used ta flee the Burnin’ Land.”

  He stepped forward and sniffed the doorway cautiously. Then he beckoned, and they stepped within.

  As they passed the threshold a ghost appeared before them. She was dressed strangely, and beginning to show with child.

  Uson dropped to his knees. “First Mother!”

  The others hastened to follow his lead.

  Then she spoke in a language that none but he understood.

  * * * * *

  “Welcome. I’m First Mate… make that Captain Layla Golden of the colony ship Armstrong. I’ve reset the flitter door to allow access to any human hand print, but only after remote radiation levels are safe. That means if you’re seeing this, you are most likely one of our descendants, several hundred years removed. I have no way of knowing how much of this you will understand, but it’s the best I can do.

  “We came to colonize this world, but there was an accident and one of our reactors went critical. Most of us escaped the explosion, but we lost many of our crew. We have taken temporary shelter in this clearing, repairing what equipment we can, and gathering what supplies survived. But we can’t stay. Fallout from the Armstrong’s explosion is too great a danger for us to settle this close.

  “I have left you a copy of all our records within the computer of this flitter. To access it, simply preface any queries with the word ‘Computer’ and ask. The ship’s system will respond as long as it has sunlight.

  “Additionally, there are topographical maps in this compartment that show nearby iron ore deposits. Initial surveys of the planet showed it to be very low in metals, so we chose our landing place based on the largest, and most easily accessed, deposits of iron ore we could find. You will find all the information you need to access those deposits on these documents.”

  She pointed to a button on the console. “Simply press that button and the compartment will open.”

  Layla looked at the recorder, sadness clearly showing in her eyes. “I wish we could do more, but at this point, I just hope we survive. If anyone ever accesses this recording, I suppose we did. God help us all.”

  * * * * *

  Stunned, Uson stepped forward and pressed the button First Mother had indicated. A hidden drawer slid open, and he reached within to withdraw a wealth of knowledge that would change his people forever. Clutching the documents reverently, he turned and began to explain to the men gathered around him.

  * * * * *

  Weary with the last month’s duties, as well as the strain of burgeoning motherhood, Layla shut off the recorder. Stepping outside, she pressed her hand into the palm lock and sealed the flitter for the last time. She’d spent weeks seeding it with as much information as she could. Without the salvage they had planned on receiving from the Armstrong, the coloni
sts were in for a rough existence. They would be forced to adapt more quickly to the new world, rather than adapting it to suit them.

  Layla rubbed her growing belly and smiled. “We almost didn’t make it little one, but humanity has a habit of perseverance. We’ll be all right, won’t we?”

  Bradford greeted her as she exited the crippled flitter. He’d insisted on personally piloting the last flight. “Ready, Commander?”

  Taking one last look, Layla nodded. They’d done all they could here. “Yes, Chief. Let’s go home.”

  ALONG THE PORTAL ROAD

  By Lauren M. Roy

  “Demon in the camp,” said the foreman. “Time to get up.”

  “I just got back.” Lil burrowed under the covers. The sheets had barely had time to get warm. “Send someone else.”

  “Can’t. Hale’s out, Jaana came home with a broken leg, and Nain’s either dead or run away. Get up.”

  “Can’t make me.” She snuggled into her pillow.

  “No, I can’t, but there’s a demon in the camp.” He said it slowly, as though talking to a child. “You’d feel guilty if someone got eaten.”

  “Maybe it’d be you. Then I wouldn’t feel so bad.”

  The foreman snorted. “Up, Lil.”

  “You forgot Hang. Send her.”

  “You really did go straight to bed when you came home, didn’t you? Hang’s pregnant.”

  That got her to sit up. “Pregnant? The little bitch.” But she was grinning; everyone knew how much Hang wanted babies.

  Demon-runners only got time off if they got injured, pregnant, or dead. If serious injuries happened while on a run, the first condition was usually followed swiftly by the last. Jaana, with her broken leg, was an anomaly.

  Lil’s muttered curses grew more profane when the foreman switched on the light. His heavy boots clumped away as he left. He didn’t wait to see if she’d get up.

  He didn’t have to.

  She swung her legs over the side, wincing as her shoulder twinged. She’d wrenched it something fierce on the last run. So much for seeing the doc first thing tomorrow. She shoved her feet into her battered workboots, took one last, longing look at the bed, and snatched her pack from its peg.