by Kumar L
The settlement, it looked like a modern facility, came into focus and they could see three landing pads a little distance outside its perimeter. The pads were surrounded by some fields of grain and they could just make out some human shapes moving around.
‘Looks like Joe and Lucy are not the only humans on this planet. Scan for human signatures and biological threats.’
‘I am reading at least fifty human heat signatures in the settlement Captain,’ said Manisha.
‘There are also multiple bacteria and viruses in the air. Mostly unknown to us. I would recommend EVA suits if we are going out,’ reported Dr. Khan. Extra Vehicular Activity or EVA suits would provide them a self-contained atmosphere to work for extended period of time while keeping the crew safe from any harmful organisms.
‘Noted. We also need to protect whoever is down there. They will not be having our immunity. The worse we can do is to kill the local population with our common cold,’ said Anara drily.
‘Captain, there is something else you should see. Fifteen kilometers to the west of the settlement. I’m zooming in now,’ said Ryan.
The object came into focus spread across hundreds of kilometers, its shape immediately recognizable even this far from Earth.
‘A radio telescope,’ breathed Ryan, ‘it’s massive. Captain, this could have been used to send the signals we received back on Earth.’
‘Let’s record this Ryan. Narada, send data transmission with logs up to this point back to Earth. Also drop a data pod, keep it on the northern pole of the planet. I don’t want these guys to know what we are doing.’
‘Transmission sent. Pod prepped and loaded, Captain. Deploying now,’ reported Narada.
‘What’s your order Captain? Are we going to land on the planet? We will be exposed to attacks from the orbit or ground and taking off will take time leaving us vulnerable,’ said Ryan.
‘I was thinking the same thing. We will have to land if we want to learn more, Joe and Lucy are clearly not going to tell us anything more from up here. But I hate to leave the ship and crew in danger if I can help it.’
‘A small party then Captain?’ asked Rawat. ‘You, me, Dr. Khan, Dr. Lian, one each from the science and medical teams and a couple of security people?’
‘Captain, I don’t think you should go. This is too dangerous. Besides the fact that you will be on an unknown planet with natural dangers, we are being pursued by an enemy ship and you will be completely exposed on the surface. I suggest that you let me go in your place.’
‘You want to rob me of the greatest moment since man set foot on Jupiter’s moons, Ryan?’ Anara asked her eyebrows raised playfully. ‘No. I will be selfish here and will go down to meet them. Besides I will have enough people around me not counting the humans already on the planet. Manisha, let’s land this ship.’
‘Aye, Captain.’
Antariksh followed the other ship down and landed beside it on one of pads. They waited for Joe and Lucy to respond. Meanwhile samplers were deployed to collect samples were collected from the atmosphere and soil by automated robots and Manisha scanned the surroundings for additional threats and mapped the terrain.
‘There are two power signatures Captain. Possibly the settlements power plants. Size and capacity unknown, located on the far side,’ she reported.
‘Noted. If there are no other threats visible, let’s be on our way people. Ryan you’re in command in my absence. You will go back into orbit and if the aliens come we will decide what to do. In any case, if the ship is in any danger please leave the system. We will stay with Joe and Lucy and hopefully they have some means to protect us. You can come pick us up when we’re ready. We will be in touch on the comm. Expect me to check in every hour,’ ordered Anara as she gestured for the rest of the team to join her.
‘I know we are taking a big chance, Ryan,’ she continued looking at the concern on his face, ‘but we will not get solutions by remaining safe in our ship. We will be carrying some personal weapons in any case and I have two of Rawat’s heavyweights with me.’
‘Noted,’ agreed Ryan with a sigh. She had clearly made up her mind and they did not have enough time to argue over this. ‘Best of luck and if I may say congratulations, Captain! We have reached our destination.’
21st June 2117
Assessment
Director Srinivas had been called back to the PMs office. The original members of the cabinet and scientists were assembled again.
‘Welcome Director,’ said the PM. ‘We are eager to know what is the progress report from the mission.’
‘Thank you Sir. As I had indicated in my last report, the last known position of the ship was approx. 2.5 LY from Earth. We have been receiving data at agreed intervals and I can share the latest which has reached us today morning.’
He activated the display in the room and called up the details.
‘As you are aware gentlemen, the mission has been quite smooth so far. There have been no malfunctions and the crew is healthy. They have done a number of jumps so far and no adverse effects have been noted. I am happy to inform that so far the ship has been performing as designed and the crew has worked admirably.’
‘Has there been any other contact with Proxima?’ asked the PM.
‘No Sir. We had sent the acknowledgement message but there has been no reply. Recently we had sent the message that our ship is on the way. Again we have no way of knowing if it has been received. The relevant frequencies are being monitored very second but no reply has been received.’
‘What’s your theory, Srini?’ asked the PM. ‘Why have they gone silent now?’
‘I have no ideas on that Sir. The time for them to receive our signal and for us to get their reply was sufficient. So time is not the constraint,’ he said shrugging his shoulder. ‘It may well be a political decision if they have a government structure similar to us. Maybe they got cold feet or even a breakdown in their equipment. I'm afraid we just don't have enough information. However, as the ship gets closer to Proxima we should be able to get some answers.’
‘This troubles me, Srini. If we assume the political situation has changed then our ship may well be flying into danger. They cannot call for help and we cannot provide it even if we want to. We also cannot send them a message asking them to take precautions. It may be like lambs being sent to slaughter,’ said the worried PM.
‘If I may Mr. Prime Minister,’ said the Defence Minister. ‘We do have some means on board to allow the ship to defend itself in case of eventualities.’
‘I'm sorry Sir,’ countered Srini. ‘The laser guns on board are of very low yield. I don't expect them to be really useful in a conflict situation.’
‘I was not referring to the laser guns, Srini,’ said the Defence Minister with a sidelong glance at the PM. ‘Maybe it is time Prime Minister that we brief Srini.’
The Prime Minister was silent while he mulled over this request, then he slowly nodded. Srini was looking at the two politicians completely confused with exchange.
‘Brief me on what, Sir?’
‘You’d better sit down, Srini. There is something you should know. Do you remember the brief stoppage of construction work we had taken on Antariksh? There were some features we added to the ship through DRDO in secret.’
‘Features, Sir? You mean weapons?’ he asked, understanding slowly dawning on him. Why had Pratyush not said anything about it to him?
‘Dr. Pratyush was under my direct orders not to reveal this, Srini,’ said the PM as if divining his thoughts.
‘You see Director, I thought it prudent to arm our ship to face any eventualities so far away from home,’ said the Defence Minister. ‘You will agree that decision will help our crew in a face-off,’
‘What have you placed on board, Sir?’ Srini asked almost afraid of the answer.
‘Heavy duty laser cannons and a few thermonuclear devices.’
Nuclear bombs - the Director’s heart sank. The ship was already nuclear powered and now the r
isk was increased because of these bombs.
‘Don’t worry Director. These bombs are more a deterrent than for actual use. I have ensured dual responsibility for arming them. In case of trouble Major Rawat will brief the Captain immediately. And if there is no trouble then the bombs will remain hidden and come back to us,’ said the Defence Minister.
‘Will they come back, Sir? We have let loose nuclear bombs into deep space in the hands of people who are alone and may be threatened. What happens if they use them? Will it not result in an interstellar war? We have send destruction to people we have never even met.’
The group was silent. Finally, the PM spoke up. ‘I appreciate what you are saying Srini, but this was necessary. I have every confidence our team will handle this with the respect it requires.’
‘Now, on to the other thing,’ continued the PM. ‘Director, we need another ship.’
‘Another ship, Sir?’
‘Yes, Srini. We have demonstrated our capability to travel to interstellar space. Even if Antariksh fails to reach Proxima, it is time we improved on the original design and construct a bigger more powerful ship,’ said the PM. He got up from his seat and walked across the room. ‘There are two reasons, Srini, why we must do this. One we need to look beyond the stars near us and go further into the cosmos. Second, in case what Antariksh discovers is inimical to Earth’s interest, we need powerful ships to defend ourselves and if required to take the war to the enemy’s planet.’
Though deeply troubled, Srini knew this was beyond him now. He realized that life as they knew on Earth had changed again but he was surprised that the PM who had always advocated for peace was now talking about war. Maybe the military mind-set of the defence minister had got to him or maybe it was the ‘8’. He decided to persist a bit longer.
‘Why are we thinking of war Sir? All our data so far does not indicate a threat to Earth.’
‘That is quite true, Srini. But over the last few weeks, as I have waited for news from Antariksh, I have drawn strength from the fact that those people from Earth all alone far in space, still have the means to protect themselves if required. You do not send an explorer into the jungle knowing there are predators who will harm him without some means to defend himself, right?’
‘Anyway, we want you to concentrate on building a ship which is faster, can carry more people, function independently and can communicate with Earth whenever required. This is the simple brief available to you,’ instructed the Minister for Space Exploration.
‘Yes Sir, I will get on with it.’ Srini nodded to the people in the room and stepped out of the conference.
‘I want to make it clear, Balraj,’ said the PM once Srini left the room. ‘No more nuclear weapons. We need alternatives for the new ship. We have a proven model of spaceflight that works. I want FTL communication to be your top priority. We will explore space from a position of strength, not to threaten those we meet but to ensure we are treated as equals.’
‘I understand, Prime Minister. I have teams working on that even now. We have an experimental transceiver aboard Antariksh as well and once we have a working solution, I will come back to you. The research is still classified of course,’ said the Defence Minister acknowledging that he was probably encroaching in the domain of space exploration.
22nd June 2117
The human settlement
The Captain stepped gingerly off her ship and felt her feet touch the hard surface of the landing pad. After having spent months in space, the sunlight felt good on her face even through her adaptable EVA suit. It was softer and somewhat diffused unlike the sunlight back on Earth. She walked a few steps, turned and looking around her, noticing fewer colours and the absence of large trees. Her crew followed her one by one, the security officers taking positions at the front and rear of the group.
They all marvelled at the fact they were now in a completely different solar system on a planet almost unknown to humans. However, it did feel better than Jupiter or Mars where humans were constrained to remain inside environment domes.
They all headed slowly towards the other ship. The gravity felt stronger than Earth and after having been on the ship at 0.9g, their steps felt leaden. That would take a bit of time to get used to as their bodies adapted. The heads up displays in their suits streamed data steadily and the comm systems chirped with various observations of the team members.
Once they were at a safe distance, Antariksh lifted off slowly. Rising steadily it was soon lost to view and their only contact would now be through the EVA suits they were wearing. They had limited supplies of food and water for a day or two. A drone followed them with the scientific and medical instruments. Joe’s ship remained silent on the pad.
Joe and Lucy were waiting near their own ship. A few more humans stood around them. Anara had not noticed if they had come from the ship or the settlement. All of them looked the same age with an equal mix of male and female. The two groups walked towards each other - One group in orange survival gear and the other in grey trousers and tunics. Anara’s security guys kept a sharp eye around them wary of the other humans. They were carrying one projectile pistol each but were under strict orders from Anara to keep them hidden, to be used as a last resort only.
‘Welcome to HuZryss,’ greeted Joe, smiling. ‘This is home. We go to village and then we can talk.’
Anara nodded her agreement and the group moved the short distance to the village. The village was laid out in a roughly spherical shape and the houses were spartan, what would be called mid-century back on Earth and plainly finished. The streets were paved and clean. However, the absence of trees and colours of plants and flowers gave the entire scene a surreal look. Everything seemed to be in grey and black with a few rust colours thrown in. There was very little vegetation within the compound.
‘Where are we going Joe?’ asked Anara, her voice coming clear through the EVA helmet of her suit. The questions in her mind were coming up fast but she restrained herself. She felt is odd that they had not met a single alien so far.
‘We go to hall, Captain Anara. People wait for you,’ Joe answered. Outside the environment of his ship, his voice sounded deep but it seemed he was having some trouble formulating sentences without some sort of outside help.
As they moved deeper into the village towards a larger building near the centre of the village, Anara received a message from Ryan that Antariksh was now in orbit directly over their position. They would now maintain an open channel with Ops control so that the senior crew on the ship could follow whatever happened on the surface.
The building seemed to be some type of communal meeting place. Another bunch of people waiting outside the hall and excitement was clearly visible on their faces as they talked to each other pointing towards Anara and her people in their orange garb. The new humans all looked the same age but with a mixed ancestry from an Earth perspective. Anara wondered on this as the noisy chatter died down as the Earth group approached and they all filed into the hall. Rawat gestured to one of the security person to take position outside the doors.
The inside of the hall was a spartan as the rest of the village. There were a set of simple benches set in the middle in a circle facing the centre. Anara waited till Lucy asked them to take the benches in the front while the humans of HuZryss waited. Slowly everyone settled down with an air of expectation.
‘Joe,’ started Anara, ‘I find it remarkable that humans have found their way so far from Earth, especially when we on Earth have just managed to reach speeds which enable us to travel to another star system. We have trusted you so far. Now we need some answers. Who are you?’
‘Captain Anara,’ there was a sadness in his voice as Joe answered. ‘We are the people who are not wanted.’
‘What do you mean?’ Anara was intrigued. ‘I don’t understand.’
‘Joe cannot tell where we come from because he does not know. None of us know,’ another person interjected. ‘My name is Jim.’
‘Jim,’ repeated Ana
ra trying to make sense of what she was hearing. What the hell was this?
‘We are 50 people here. The Guardians brought here fifteen rounds ago to save us from the Others. This is where we live now,’ said Joe.
‘Brought you from where? Who are the guardians? How do you know English for God’s sake?’ exclaimed Anara.
‘I will tell you story Captain Anara,’ said Lucy. ‘I cannot tell where we come from. I do not know. We were small, I remember when we were on different planet. The Guardians took care of us. There was a building we all lived in. It was good time.’
‘Were there more of you?’
‘No always this many from I remember,’ answered Lucy, looking at the others as if confirming she had understood the question. Her companions nodded back.
‘We were there for twenty or thirty rounds. The Guardians always were with us. They teach us things, take care of us, give food. We did not go out of building. We only knew the Guardians.’
‘Go on,’ encouraged Anara, hanging on to every word. This was better than any mystery thriller she had ever read despite the broken English being used by the group.
‘Then one day many people came into the building. They carried .. weapons. They broke things and tried to hurt us and the Guardians. But then the soldiers came and saved us. They took us out of the building and into a camp. That was first time we see the city. It was very big, very beautiful. We stay at camp for many days. Then one day two big ships came - like the ship outside. All of us and few Guardians were brought here on the ships.’
“This place was like this. It is for us they told us,’ said Lucy taking over the narrative. ‘Every few weeks we get some food and other supplies but now the Guardians don’t come many times. We are alone.’
‘What do these Guardians of yours look like? Where do they live?’ asked Dr Khan.
‘They are not like us. They are little bigger than us. Different colour skin, darker thicker body. You will meet them. They are good. I don’t know their planet location but it takes time to get there. I don’t know in Earth time how much.’
