“You mean we will be separated? Forced to marry strangers?” Dorri replied tearfully. “I hate this place!”
“Shush, little star, we must remain calm and not draw undue attention to ourselves. Maybe there will be an opportunity to run away from the others after we land.”
“You think so?”
“In shā' Allāh, Dorri, if God wills it.”
Goat Locker, Peggy Sue
The senior enlisted quarters on a navy vessel are known collectively as the goat locker, and it is the domain of the ship's chief petty officers—strictly speaking pay grades E7 and higher. On board the Peggy Sue, Master Chief Zackly and Gunnery Sergeant Acuna both qualified by former military rank. Filling out the space were Steve Hitch and Matt Jacobs, both of whom had risen to Petty Officer First Class (E6) before leaving the Navy.
Between the forward guest cabins, occupied by the ship's officers and scientists, and the senior enlisted quarters was a small lounge known as the passenger day room. Aft of the goat locker was the crew's lounge and then the enlisted quarters. While the chiefs could drink with the enlisted crewmembers in the lounge, on occasion they felt the need to meet only with their peers. This they did by taking over the day room. The four “chiefs” were relaxing with drinks, discussing the recent operations on planet C's surface.
“So how did our FNGs do over the last two weeks?” asked Chief Zackly. As senior noncom he led the discussion.
“I'd say pretty good, Chief,” Rosey said, “but to be fair none of them are really cherry.”
“Except the Pasta Rasta,” said Hitch.
“And he didn't go on any of the surface missions,” added Jacobs.
“Our Jamaican stew burner is doing just fine. If we get into a situation where we need him to fight we're all in trouble,” the Chief replied. “I'm more concerned with the regular crew and the Marines. We haven't found any trouble so far, but it would be good to know which ones can be counted on if'n we run into a shit storm.”
“All the Marines seem steady enough, Chief,” Rosey commented. The Marines were primarily her responsibility. “They've all seen the hairy cricket before, Kwan more than once.”
Seeing the hairy cricket was space Marine slang for having fought hostile aliens, up close and personal. All the chiefs and all of the ship's officers had been in close combat with aliens on prior voyages. The same was not true of the crew, and certainly not true of the science staff, Science Officer Ogawa excepted.
“They all seem pretty squared away,” said Hitch. Jacobs nodded in agreement.
“If I recall correctly, yous two wouldn't know squared away if it bit ya in the ass.”
“Come on Chief, that was a long time ago,” replied Hitch, sounding hurt.
“Right. So what about the deck apes? Any problems there?”
“We managed to rotate the rest of the crew down to the surface at least once, just to give them real experience in armor in an alien environment,” Jacobs said. “They all did OK. Of course, they didn't face any creepy crawlies dirtside—nothing but sand and rocks.”
“The ones I worry about are those science types,” said Hitch. “I think they'll shit themselves the first time it hits the fan.”
“Except for Dr. Ogawa, of course,” amended Jacobs, “and the science bear. Ahnah, will probably do alright.”
“The only way to tell who has a pair is to actually get into a firefight with some bug nasties,” said Rosey, “and we didn't have any of that this time, thank God.”
“Aye, Gunny. So I guess it's smooth sailing so far,” the Chief concluded, finishing his second beer. “Well next watch they best all turn to.”
“So where are we headed, Chief?” Hitch asked.
“The Captain says we're going to have a look at the other planets in the system, since we're already here. Hopefully they will be as empty as the first one.”
“Not too empty,” Jacobs said. “After all, we are looking for treasure, right?”
“We ain't pirates, you knuckleheads. If it was up to yous we'd be running around wearing eye-patches with daggers clenched in our teeth.”
“Arr, that be right matey,” said Hitch with a big grin. Rosey rolled her eyes and the Chief just shook his head.
Captain's Cabin, Peggy Sue
With the end of surface exploration, Beth and Billy Ray found themselves together in their quarters for the first time in nearly two weeks. Beth was seated in front of the vanity, wearing a cinnamon colored satin slip, performing pre bed ablutions that totally mystified her husband.
“I cannot believe we finally have a night to ourselves,” she said, removing the last traces of face cream from her cheek.
“Sometimes the planets align and we're both off watch at the same time. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth,” Billy Ray replied. He was wearing a black silk dressing gown that Beth had given him as a gift.
Despite having traveled the world, holding a graduate degree in English literature, and being a starship captain, Billy Ray was a simple man in many respects. One of his beliefs was that a man was either dressed or not, there was no need for any intermediate states. If left to his own devices he would have happily shed his jumpsuit upon entering their private quarters and lounged around in the buff. Beth found this attitude rather uncivilized, hence the gift of suitable male nightwear.
“Where does that saying even come from? Why would I want to look in a horse's mouth?”
“One way to check the health of a horse is to examine its teeth, honey bunch. It's a way of saying be grateful for a gift as it comes.”
“Well, it sounds like a cowboy saying to me.”
“Around 400AD, St. Jerome, in The Letter to the Ephesians, said 'Noli equi dentes inspicere donati'. Basically, never inspect the teeth of a given horse,” Billy Ray said. “In English, the earliest documented occurrence was by John Heywood in 1546: 'don't look a given horse in the mouth'. So you see it's a thoroughly English adage, not some folksy bit of cowboy wisdom.”
“I should know better than to argue with you about such things,” she said with a sigh.
Billy Ray walked across the room to stand behind his wife. Still seated, she looked at his reflection in the mirror while brushing her hair. “I hope the equipment from the ruins proves to be useful, otherwise we have wasted our time on this trip so far.”
“Hey, Bobby got to show off his flying skills,” Billy Ray shrugged, “and the ship's company got some good exercise.”
“That's true, everyone except Dr. Richards.”
“There's always one stray in every herd.”
“Now that is cowboy lingo.”
“Yup.”
Beth stopped and put the hair brush down.
“I fear that I may have misjudged Gunnery Sergeant Acuna.”
“You mean, on account of her being a loose woman and all?”
“Not at all. I was concerned more about possible discord among the crew. We all have to live together, work together and, if it comes to that, fight together. Jealousy breeds mistrust and that can poison a crew.”
“You sure it ain't because she has a reputation?”
“No! If you will recall, I had a bit of a reputation myself before we met.”
“Yeah, that was part of your allure.”
“Really? I thought all men dreamt of finding a virginal princess to settle down with.”
“Not if they're smart. That's why I could never figure out those Muslims, wanting to spend eternity with 72 virgins.”
“And that doesn't appeal to you at all?”
“I agree with Dennis Miller, six or seven virgins in a man is going to want a woman who knows what she's doin'.”
Beth suppressed a grin and Billy Ray bent down to nibble on his wife's right ear.
“Feeling a bit randy tonight, are we?”
“Let's just say I feel this way whenever I see you almost naked.”
Beth swiveled to face him and he let his gown fall open.
“My, it appears that my Texas stallion is
rampant tonight,” she said with a smile. Crossing her arms above her head she reached behind her back and grasped the straps of her slip. Standing up, she removed the silky garment with a fluid motion and let it flutter to the cabin floor. Billy Ray let his nightgown slide from his shoulders and took her in his arms. Bodies pressed together, they exchanged a long, languid kiss.
“Now we both seem to be fully naked, what ever shall we do?”
“Oh, I think we'll come up with somethin' to occupy our time...”
Moon Circling GJ667Cg
The sixth planet circling GJ667C was a gaseous world about the size of Saturn. More than two and a half times farther from its star than Earth is from the Sun, it completed an orbit in just under two terrestrial years. Being far outside the habitable zone of a feeble sun it was a frigid world, with little opportunity for life to establish a hold. At least not life of a type familiar to the Earthlings exploring the inner reaches of the system. But life comes in a variety of forms.
Orbiting the outermost planet was a moon, roughly 300 km in diameter. Its spectrum was reddish, not unexpected with an M class sun, and devoid of large features, although subtle absorption features longer than 0.75 µm and shorter than 0.55 µm were present. This was consistent with a mostly metallic object, an object that would be classified as an M-type asteroid if it circled the local star in its own orbit. The fact that its orbit around the planet was retrograde—in the opposite direction of the planet's own rotation—made it probable that the moon was an asteroid that had been gravitationally captured by its larger parent.
Unlike some M-type asteroids, it showed no sign of water or water-bearing minerals on its surface. Unusually large for a metallic object, it could be the exposed metallic core from a larger body—a protoplanet that lost its rocky outer layers in collisions with other asteroids. But there were other aspects of this small moon that were odd.
Most outstanding among the oddities was its low apparent density—a solid metallic object or even a rubble pile of iron-nickel metal would need about 50% porosity to match the moon's overall density. In point of fact, its surface was pierced by a multitude of holes of different sizes, ranging from a meter in diameter to more than a kilometer. This gave the moon a porous appearance, like a sponge or Swiss cheese. It was from one of these openings that a pair of creatures observed the activity centered around the system's second planet.
“See? I told you I heard another ship arrive. Now there are two of them.”
“Yes, Gx!pk, you are right. There are messages emanating from the second planet. I wonder if these newcomers will be staying?”
“Hey, we may have neighbors! That would be something new, wouldn't it?”
“No, not really. There used to be creatures living on that world many cycles ago, but one day they just stopped talking.”
“Really, Kq*zt? I didn't know that.”
“You are still young, Gx!pk, and have much to learn.”
“So you keep telling me. Hey, the first ship—the smaller one that entered the system from the path to the parent stars—has left the second planet and is heading away from the sun. Maybe they will come to visit.”
“Hmm, you may be right. This bears watching.”
Chapter 10
New Mecca
After spending several weeks in orbit, waiting for the settlement to be established, Shadi and Dorri were anxious to set foot on their new world. The trip down to the surface was rather anticlimactic; they sat in front of pallets of freight, in the shuttle's spartan passenger section, for more than an hour and then deplaned down a lowered airstair. A warm breeze greeted them as they stepped onto the sandy ground of their new home for the first time.
A couple of kilometers away was a collection of white domes, houses and other buildings constructed by the men spraying foam concrete over inflated forms. It did look a bit like a typical middle-eastern village from a distance and Imam Mustafa rather grandly named the settlement New Mecca. The area around the burgeoning village had been seeded by robot helicopter drones more than a week ago and warm-season C4 grasses—genetically enhanced blue grama, buffalo grass, and bluestems—were just starting to send up green shoots. Once ground cover was established the area would be over-seeded with C3 grasses, more palatable to livestock.
“Hurry girls, it looks like there is rain coming,” shouted Mother Manijeh. “We must herd the sheep to their enclosure on the edge of the village.”
Manijeh was right, off to the east was a line of clouds with darkness beneath them, suggesting showers in progress. Reliable rainfall was essential to establishing grasslands where the settlers eventually hoped to graze their live stock. The planet's slight axial tilt did not provide much seasonal variation and its equatorial regions tended more to having two yearly rainy seasons. The location of the settlement had been selected with the local weather pattern in mind. Far to the east lay an inland sea that provided the moisture to drive afternoon showers in both spring and fall.
“Come on, Dorri,” Shadi said, heading toward the rear shuttle ramp where the sheep were being offloaded. “If some of the sheep run away we will have to go fetch them.”
“I don't think they will run far,” her sister answered, “my legs feel like they are made of stone.”
“Now you know why I made you exercise on the ship. The other girls made fun of us, sitting on their rears more and more as the shipboard gravity increased. Now they will suffer for being so lazy.”
It was true. Several of the other girls were having a hard time walking in the combination of heavy gravity and sandy soil. Mother Manijeh urged them on, shouting: “Yella habibaati! Imshi!”
Dorri and Shadi soon had the small flock of sheep headed toward the village as a breeze kicked up the sand and the smell of approaching rain filled the air. Wrapping their head scarfs across their faces they urged their wooly charges toward the paddock that awaited their arrival. Straggling behind the bleating sheep came the rest of the young girls and the scolding Manijeh.
No doubt about it, thought Shadi, this is not going to be an easy life...
* * * * *
That evening, with the new arrivals installed in their living quarters and the livestock watered and bedded down, Shadi and Dorri sat on the low wall surrounding the animal enclosure. Both were exhausted from their labors and they watched the red sun sink slowly in the west without speaking. As the sunset faded to black an uncountable number of stars appeared in the sky, undiminished by city lights or air pollution.
“I am so tired,” said Dorri, “I wish we had never come to this place. The days are so long and the gravity pulls at us like it wishes to drag us under.”
“Hush, little star,” her sister said. “This was our first day—it will get easier with time. Just look at the stars coming out.”
“The sunset was pretty and the stars are so clear,” Dorri agreed.
“Night hides a world but reveals a Universe,” said Shadi in Farsi.
“Mother used to say that,” said Dorri, looking at her sister with the beginnings of tears in her eyes.
“Yes, she did. It is an old Persian saying,” Shadi agreed, putting her arm around her sister's shoulders and giving her a reassuring hug. “Remember this is a big, empty world and there will be new things to do tomorrow—just be thankful that there doesn't appear to be anything dangerous on our new planet.”
Off to the west, the afternoon rainstorm had climbed into the far mountain range, visible on the horizon. Piling up against the escarpment that masked the continent's interior, the storm's clouds expressed their displeasure at being blocked by sending lightning to wreathe the offending peaks. Watching the distant fireworks, Shadi could not shake the feeling that there was more to this strange empty world than met the eye.
Bridge, Peggy Sue
The Peggy Sue spent four leisurely weeks visiting the other two planets orbiting within GJ667C's habitable zone. Nothing of real interest was found: f was smaller than c, with only twice Earth's mass and a Mars like atmospher
e, while e was nearly as big as the inner planet but with an unbreathable atmosphere they had already encountered more closely than desired. Now, the Peggy Sue was on course to rendezvous with the planet furthest from the star.
Captain and crew were not expecting to find alien life on the outermost planet, a gas giant close to 100 times the mass of Earth. Billy Ray told everyone that he just wanted to do a thorough job surveying their first star system, but in reality, he was reluctant to abandon the colonists to their fate. While it was true that nothing untoward had happened as the three sets of settlers began raising villages and seeding the virgin ground, the mystery of the empty planet nagged at the Captain's mind.
There's still no sign of life on the second planet, I guess that's a good sign. I still can't figure out how you can wipe a planet clean of life and leave the surface and atmosphere undamaged. Maybe the inhabitants were robots or something, and there never was any organic life. Yeah, and 10,000 years ago they just decided to pack up and move away—now I'm starting to sound like Bobby.
“We are entering the planet's gravitational well, Captain,” reported Nigel Lewis from the helm, interrupting Billy Ray's thoughts.
“Maneuver for a high orbit, Mr. Lewis,” the Captain ordered.
“Captain, the planet ahead has a number of satellites,” said Mizuki from the navigation station. “None is overly large or interesting, though there are several in retrograde orbits.”
“Really? It looks like you have found your retrograde moons without having to go to Triton after all.”
“Yes, and radar returns from one of them indicates that it is a sizable metallic object, made mostly of nickle-iron, roughly 300 km in diameter. But it seems to have insufficient mass for its size and composition.”
“You mean it's an anomaly?”
“Yes, Captain. Might I suggest we establish a retrograde orbit ourselves and send a shuttle to investigate?”
“I think that's a splendid idea, Dr. Ogawa,” Billy Ray replied. “This is the first remotely exciting thing to come along in almost a month.”
T'aafhal Legacy 1: Ghosts of Orion Page 12
