Absolute Zero

by Phillip Tomasso

  “Diamonds, Chief? What about them?”

  Oh, now he wanted a more detailed prognosis? At least he sounded less hostile. That was much, much better. She exhaled a quick sigh, and answered, “You see the clouds on Neptune, everything inside the heart of that storm was crystallized or full-blown diamonds. As you know, the Neptune diamonds are the strongest known gem in the worlds. Considered absolutely unbreakable. Once sucked into the shuttle’s engines, the gems did immediate, and more than likely, irreparable damage to the thrusters.”

  “And it is safe to assume the same thing happened to the four starfighters?”

  “Quite safe, although even with restored networks, I cannot zero in on a single one of the four.” She knew what that could mean, and was sure Windsor did as well. Some things were better left unsaid.

  “The starfighters must have crashed and are beyond help.”

  Or said. Whichever. He was the acting commander. It was his prerogative to speak the unspeakable, she supposed. “Well. I am not sure I would jump to grim that fast, Commander. But I haven’t had any success on my end,” she said, and then added, “How about Gaines? Has he had any luck?”

  “Thank you for the report, Chief.”

  There was a soft double beep. The connection terminated. Mandy Kadera pursed her lips and furrowed her brow. “Now, that was rude.”

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  “Commander?”

  Anara Meyers heard the voice. Soft. Caring. Male. “Dad?”

  It couldn’t be her father. He loved her. She had no doubt. He just never sounded soft or caring. It wasn’t his way. Military pumped through his veins. Nowhere in any of his training, field experience, or background as a grunt, a lieutenant, a captain, or as an admiral was there ever room for soft. It didn’t exist in the admiral’s world.

  It wasn’t to say there weren’t tender moments or tender memories. There were.

  There had to be.

  It was just, at the moment, Anara Meyers couldn’t recall a single one.

  She also knew her eyes were closed and realized she must be sleeping, dreaming. Her father was always more kind, concerned, and loving in her dreams when she was asleep. Dreaming or awake, it didn’t really matter. Her father was there. And right now, with the way everything was going, the way life was going, having him close was good enough to offset her constant, uneasy feelings.

  The best part was he stood over her, wearing his admiral’s uniform. He loved the uniform and always looked handsome in it. Even at his age, he never let his mid-section soften, or flab over. Staying in shape and healthy was as important to him as discipline, determination, and dedication. His well-deserved medals pinned to the left breast dangled from short ribbons, making Anara smile.

  “She’s smiling,” he said. “How are you feeling, Commander?”

  “I’m tired, Dad. I feel so tired,” she answered. And she was thirsty. She smacked her lips and let her tongue pass over them. “Wha—what are you doing here?”

  “She’ll be alright. Dehydrated. Exhausted. I don’t think it’s anything more than that.”

  Her brow creased. “Who are you talking to?”

  “Commander, this is Weber. Your medic. Can you hear me alright?”

  Meyers puckered her mouth. She nodded. “I can hear you. I hear you.”

  It came back to her. A rush of memories. It was all there. All of it. The shuttle crash. Their trek across Neptune. Reaching the colony. Running out of air. “Did I faint?”

  Weber smiled. “You did. You ran out of air. It’s to be expected. Thankfully, we made it. We’re here. Inside the colony.”

  Thankfully. Yes. “Captain Stanton?”

  She had helped Ruiz carry him to the hatch. The man had collapsed, as well.

  “He and Ruiz are fine. They’re right here.”

  “Hey, Commander.” Stanton leaned over her. He smiled.

  She tried sitting up. The inside of her head shifted. It felt as if her eyes flipped around inside their sockets before rolling toward the back of her head.

  Weber placed a hand on her chest, another on her back. “Not too fast, Commander.”

  She sat still for a moment, and let her world come back into balance. When everything leveled off, took shape, she nodded. “I’m okay. I’m alright.”

  The medic took a hesitant step back. “Just sit tight for a few more minutes. Give your body a chance to recoup some.”

  It was solid advice, and she was not in a rush to neglect a doctor’s orders. “How long was I out?”

  “Minutes,” Weber said.

  “Where are we?” For the first time, the commander looked around. She was on the floor. They were in a grey metal hall. Floor lights and evenly spaced ceiling lights illuminated the hall in a soft, white glow. The recompression chamber stood across from them. “Everyone okay?” Four faces stared back at her. Flat expressions. Hard not to feel self-conscious. “Am I missing something?”

  Captain Adam Stanton stepped forward and took a knee in front of the commander.

  He wore a solemn expression, mouth frowning.

  “What is it, Captain?”

  “We’re not alone on the planet, Commander.” Stanton maintained eye contact, but his weight shifted from one leg to the other.

  “The colonists? You’ve made contact?” she asked.

  Stanton shook his head and looked over at Lieutenant Ruiz. “No, ma’am. We haven’t. That’s not what I mean.”

  Meyers didn’t want this to resemble pulling teeth. For some reason, her captain was not explaining himself clearly.

  “I’m not sure I follow,” she said, but maybe she did follow. She remembered the odd sensation she felt while they had journeyed across the frozen tundra-like terrain. Although she could not put a finger on the feeling, it had existed just the same. A tingle on the back of her neck, a shiver up and down her spine. The suspicion they were not alone, that someone, or something, had been watching them. “What are you saying?”

  Ruiz knelt beside the Captain. “We saw these … monsters. I call them Neptunites.”

  Commander Meyers bit down on her lip. Her jaw set. She directed her attention back to the captain.

  Stanton nodded. “It’s true, Commander. Not just one. We saw a handful,” he said, and then described the snake-like creatures, the black scales, and the crocodile-like heads. “But they have legs. Not a lot. Not like a centipede, but two, three, maybe four sets.”

  Meyers saw Stanton shiver. “Did the creatures appear aggressive?”

  Ruiz said, “Curious, I’d say.”

  Stanton shook his head. “I’m not sure I agree with that assessment.”

  “You thought, what, Captain? That the creatures were more than curious?” Meyers tried filtering the information. A moment ago, she had been unconscious. Now, awake, she was hearing about beings on a what-was-supposed-to-be an otherwise barren planet. “Did they seem hostile?”

  “Hostile? No,” Stanton said.

  Meyers asked, “Aggressive?”

  “Well. Not really,” he answered. “Thing is, they skirted around the area, always just out of sight. Hiding behind snow, but watching us.”

  “So, they didn’t attack?” Meyers said.

  “No, Commander.”

  Meyers pursed her lips. “Sounds like they were curious. Wouldn’t you agree, Captain?”

  “Aye, Commander,” he said.

  “This doesn’t mean we let our guard down. We don’t know anything about … whatever it was the two of you saw. I’d rather err on the side of caution. The safety of my people is my first priority. But, I want you to understand this one thing: we’re not here to interfere. Now that we’ve discovered another life, it is imperative that we do as little as possible to get in the way. The creature may be primitive or intelligent. It doesn’t change a thing. I prefer if we don’t have any more contact with the beings. However, should we run into them, I want us to do everything we can before using lethal force? Am I clear?”

  “Aye, Commander,” Sta
nton said.

  “That goes for everyone,” she said. “Do not shoot to kill the alien lifeform unless you have absolutely no other option.”

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Commander Anara Meyers gathered together the small group inside the colony facility. Amber strobes sent shadows and yellow light spinning everywhere. Thankfully, there was no audible alarm. It must have stopped sometime after initial activation and in the time it took them to arrive on the planet. There was no denying the overall ghost town feel was worse inside the empty, grey, metallic hallways than it had been when they were on the outside. She was thankful they’d made it from the shuttle to the colony and were safe, and out of the cold.

  “First things first. I’m going to their shuttle hangar. They’ve got rovers in the bay. I need to get back to our shuttle and pick up Lieutenant Bell. We’ve been gone longer than expected,” she said. “Unless he’s managed to repair the systems, he’s going to run out of air soon. And then, on our way back, I’m going to retrieve Lieutenant O’Hearn’s body. I don’t want him left out in the elements. He’s already been left alone for far too long. While I am doing this—”

  Lieutenant Marshall Weber cleared his throat.

  “Weber?” she asked.

  “If I may,” he said. “I would like to run the rescue. I think it is important you stay here. Find the colonists and figure out what’s going on.”

  “I appreciate the concern,” Meyers said.

  “As the medic, I just feel—if Bell’s been injured, I’m his best chance.” Weber nodded, as if he’d just convinced himself of this. He wrung his hands together, but never broke eye contact with the commander.

  Meyers chewed on the idea. “I’m not convinced—”

  “Commander, I can do this. You’re needed here. Captain Stanton doesn’t know where the shuttle landed, or where we left O’Hearn. I do. I know where both Bell and O’Hearn are, so I won’t have to waste time searching for them.” Weber said.

  Reluctantly, she nodded. “Okay, Lieutenant. You can run the rescue mission. Our first priority is reaching Bell.”

  “Understood, Commander,” Weber said. “And thank you.”

  “Remember, we have no idea what’s going on. Not out there, and not in here. Don’t let your guard down, soldier.”

  “Aye, Commander.”

  “But don’t shoot to kill. Not if you don’t have to,” she added. Neptunites. She believed her crew, but found it odd nothing had ever been reported about lifeforms prior. The colony had been here for years. Surely, they’d have seen something, and once they saw something, would have informed Euphoric. Right?

  Unless reports had been filed, and Euphoric was well aware. If the Neptunites had been proven harmless, friendly, and not dangerous or hostile . . .

  It was a confusing message. Weber’s training taught him only to shoot to kill. If someone had a knife, he didn’t shoot to injure or disarm. Doing so didn’t necessarily eliminate a threat. The only way to ensure one’s safety was by shooting to kill. Non-military people didn’t always understand. Oftentimes media outlets portrayed the armed forces as the villain or as trigger happy.

  The light the media cast on those protecting the freedoms of others was rarely fair or deserved, and almost never just. They fed on stirring the public into a frenzy. Emotions sold editions, boosted subscriptions. Fear. Anger. These two turned the most revenue.

  Regardless, basic boot camp tactics remained unchanged.

  If you pull your weapon, an instructor would say, you shoot to kill.

  Until now.

  _____

  Lieutenant Marshall Weber listened to the sound of his footfalls as he made his way toward the bay where the colonists kept their shuttle and rovers. Running lights lit the way. The overhead lights were dimmer, yellow, or amber, and didn’t cast much light at all.

  Weber’s breathing was quick, shallow. He ignored the beads of sweat forming on his brow. Time was of the essence. Staying calm and focused was essential. He was not thrilled about going back out into the night. He had no idea what Stanton and Ruiz were talking about. Giant snakes with crocodile heads? There was no way something like that lived on the planet all of this time undiscovered.

  The idea bordered on the edge of ludicrous.

  The starfighter pilots had crashed, were running low on oxygen, and their imaginations got the better of them. They saw things. This made the most sense, and who could blame them? With conditions as bad as they were out there, all of them had been thrust into a life and death situation. The mind was apt to go a bit loopy.

  That was what it came down to; seeing things.

  None of it mattered. Bottom line, he wasn’t taking any chances. Whether there was a monster outside or not, Weber had every intention of being prepared. There was no way he’d get caught off-guard. With his sidearm drawn, Webber kept his finger above the trigger where it rested flat on the weapon’s barrel.

  At the bay hatch door, Weber passed a hand over the detector. The hatch door slid open.

  “Lights,” Weber said, as he entered the shuttle bay, and the door slowly rolled closed behind him.

  The hatch door, once down, sealed.

  “Lights,” Weber said a second time. For several long seconds, Weber stood statue-still, surrounded by both silence and complete darkness. He heard only the tha-thud tha-thud of his heart pounding like a fist knocking on a wooden door. The steady beat throbbed inside his ears.

  A loud snap-hiss startled him. He took a step back. The sound came from ballasts above and then a pair of lights came on. Then two more, and two more after that, until the entire bay was lit up bright. There was an overall sterile feel to the bay, despite the smell of synthetic oil and fuel fumes.

  The shuttle sat parked on the right. It resembled the vessel they’d come to the planet in. A little larger than Eclipse’s shuttle, actually. There were clusters of dents and scratches on the hull. Weber traced a finger over areas most heavily marked. He knew the sharp edge, and weight of diamonds were responsible, despite the uncanny resemblance to a shuttle involved in space battles—which was silly, since there had never been a war in space. Yet. Unless you counted pirate ship attacks.

  Weber saw several red tool boxes on wheels positioned around the shuttle. He assumed attempts were being made to clean up the cosmetics, as well as ensuring the ship was fully operational.

  The floors were clean. No oil or hydraulics leaks he could see under or around the shuttle. This was a most excellent sign. He hoped the colonist mechanics—wherever they were, wherever anyone was—completed any necessary tasks and the shuttle was in good working order. Best he could tell it might be the only other way off the planet at the moment.

  Beside the scraped-up shuttle stood two rovers. They were identical. Each had six wheels, three on each side. Lining the frames were double rows of tactical supply cabinets. Weber checked two spacesuits for air supply, put one on, and stored the second on the passenger seat for Bell. He did a quick inventory of the compartments. There was an entire storage area filled with medical supplies. Needles, bandages, a backboard. There were cardiac monitors, oxygen tanks, and IV equipment. He noted a defibrillator in the corner.

  After completing the quick checklist, Weber climbed into the driver’s seat, started up the rover, and entered the code for lifting the bay door.

  As the door rose, red lights came on. A warning alarm sounded. Wind raced into the bay. Blue snow whipped about.

  Weber shifted the rover into gear, and once the bay door was fully raised, drove out of the bay. Once outside, he tapped in a different code on the controls. The bay door descended. He waited until it shut behind him before turning his attention to the darkness that stretched on forever in front of him.

  He might know where the shuttle had landed, but finding it in the dark would prove more difficult than he had anticipated. Turning on the headlights, which brought some, but only some, consolation, Weber started his journey.

  The wind whipped giant blue flakes in ever
y direction. The snow swirled.

  The rover bounced, as if threatening to tip on its side.

  The ice was Weber’s main concern. It was what he feared most at the moment. He needed to stay on land. The weight of the rover might crack the ice. He’d drop into a poisonous ocean. No one would ever find him. There would be no one around to save him. The rover would sink fast, and he’d be swallowed up by the ocean.

  An involuntary shiver passed down Weber’s spine as he did his best to push the dark thoughts far from the front of his mind, and instead concentrated on the road before him.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Commander Anara Meyers let the others, Angela Ruiz, Adam Stanton, and Danielle Rivers, study the colony layout a moment longer. She wanted them as familiar as possible with the blueprints and comfortable with all of the passageways. They needed to know what lead where. How to get from A to B, and how to get from A to B by using C or D as an alternative.

  “You don’t think it’s strange?” Captain Stanton said. He looked tired as he pressed the web of his hand over the bridge of his nose and rubbed his eyes with his thumb and fingers.

  “Don’t I think what is strange, Captain?” Meyers asked.

  Stanton waved an arm. “This. The silence. I mean, we breached doors. I saw the security cameras. The halls are well monitored. Some notification must have signaled our entering the colony through the hatch.”

  “And your point?” Ruiz asked.

  “No one’s come looking for us, whether to say hello, or with weapons drawn, or to even ask who we are. Where is everyone?”

  Meyers checked her blaster. It was fully charged. “That is why we’re here, Captain.”

  “I don’t think I expected no one to be here. I thought there might be some kind of emergency, but—how many people are supposed to be here? Thirty, thirty-five?—where is everyone?” Stanton stood with his back to a wall, eyes locked on the commander.

  “There were thirty-five people in the colony, that’s correct,” Meyers said. “You know, as well as I do, that the distress signal was merely a beacon. Having been unable to hail the colonists on any channel, Euphoric sent us to see what’s what. Now, obviously, things might be a bit worse than anyone suspected. Or hoped. None of it changes a thing. The job is still the same. Our mission is the same. We’re going to explore every inch of this place and try to piece together what happened and where everyone went. We good on that so far, Captain?”