by H. G Ahedi
“What the hell is that?” asked Delta as Emmeline rushed back to her seat.
“I don’t know,” Emmeline answered. She began scanning.
“Is it a gateway?”
“Or a portal,” said Emmeline. “There’s heavy interference. I’m not getting anything.”
“It’s amazing.” Delta peered through the front window.
Emmeline looked at her. “It shouldn’t exist.”
“But it does! The plaque is the key.”
Soon, the clouds in the gateway cleared, and a tunnel appeared.
“What’s in there?” Delta asked impatiently.
“I don’t know.” Emmeline checked the readings. “This is unbelievable.”
Delta powered up Astra.
“What are you doing?” Emmeline asked.
“We have to go in there.”
Emmeline’s face filled with horror. “Are you crazy? We don’t know where it will lead!”
“What do the scans say?”
She turned back to the console. “The gateway is stable now. But it could be a bumpy ride. Beyond the clouds . . .” She paused as the numbers began appearing on her screen. “Oh my God.”
“What?”
“Oh, my God! I think we found it! There’s a planet beyond that gate. I don’t believe this. It’s incredible!”
“Awesome!”
The console beeped again. “Whoa. Wait. My scans show a lot of seismic activity on the planet,” Emmeline said.
“Earthquakes?” demanded Delta. “I hate earthquakes!”
Emmeline didn’t answer and continued looking at the data. “The planet is really unstable. I don’t detect any other planets. This could be a rogue planet.”
“What’s a rogue planet?” asked Delta.
“A rogue planet, also called a free-floating or orphan planet, is a planetary mass that orbits the galactic center directly. Unlike Earth and other planets in our solar system, these planets are not bound by gravity to a sun.”
“Wow. Can we call it Delta?” Delta suggested, smiling.
Emmeline’s face brightened. “Sure, it’s a beautiful name. Let’s find out more about it.” The cockpit became silent once more, and Emmeline continued working. “I detect a faint reading of an energy source.”
“Could it be the device?” asked Delta.
Emmeline looked at her. “I don’t know.”
“We have to go in and find out.”
“I’m not sure we should.”
“Emmeline, the plaque led us to these coordinates. It opened the gateway, and now we’ve found the planet. We have to go in.”
“What if it collapses and we can’t get back?”
Delta looked at her. “Emmeline. We found a way in; we’ll find a way out. Collect as much data as you can.”
Emmeline nodded. “Well, this doorway appeared from nowhere. Who knows? The data might appear and disappear, just like the gateway.”
Delta grinned. “You’re very optimistic, aren’t you?”
Emmeline managed a bleak smile. She wasn’t sure. In her day job, she analyzed spatial objects that didn’t appear out of thin air.
Delta brought Astra to face the gateway. “Here we go,” she said.
Titan, Deck 1, Bridge
Adrian returned from lunch and enjoyed his coffee in his chair. He didn’t know why he was worried about Delta; he was being silly. She was fine, and so was Emmeline.
He moved back and forth on his seat, watching the army of robots work on the perimeter. He enjoyed the soft aroma and relaxed. Then the console beeped. He leaned forward. He was getting a reading he didn’t understand. He glanced at Evan, who was busy working. The console beeped again. He didn’t like what he was looking at. Titan’s sensors had detected something they couldn’t identify. Adrian’s heart leaped to his throat. He placed the coffee cup on the floor and unlocked his console. He prayed it wasn’t the Orias. They weren’t ready. The perimeter wasn’t secured. His fears melted away when he went through the data.
“Oh? This is odd,” he said involuntarily.
“What?” asked Evan.
“Titan has detected an energy signature at the outer edges of our solar system.”
“Is it the Orias?”
“No,” Adrian replied with relief. “This is different. Hold on.”
For several minutes, he worked as Evan stood beside him, looking over his shoulder. “Oh my God. This can’t be possible!”
“What is it?” Evan demanded.
“Look for yourself,” Adrian said, transferring the image to the viewscreen.
The screen showed a bright light beyond Neptune.
“What the hell is that?”
“I don’t know.”
“Is it the cloud?”
Adrian shook his head. “No. Titan’s computers have been programmed to identify the Orias cloud. This is something different.”
“How far away is it?” asked Evan.
“About 300,000 kilometers from Neptune.”
“Can you zoom in?”
“Titan’s sensors are at their maximum capacity.” Adrian pushed a button and contacted the Crystal Lab. “Emmeline, this is Lieutenant Olson. Titan just detected an unusual energy signature beyond Neptune. I’m sending you the coordinates. Could you please have a look at it?”
“Sure.”
Adrian turned to Evan. “It came out of nowhere.”
“Just like the Orias.”
The Rogue Planet
Astra gradually entered the gateway. Emmeline and Delta looked at the dazzling spherical radiance enclosing them from all sides. A bright light surrounded the ship, and Emmeline shut her eyes. Astra jolted. Emmeline forced her eyes open to look at her console. The sensors were going crazy. Alarms blared. The cockpit was filled with so many sounds that it almost drove her to delirium. Astra shuddered, and they were pushed forward.
Abruptly, everything became silent. It amazed Emmeline. Astra was in a tunnel leading to uncharted space. It appeared as if the walls of the tunnel were made of billions of stars. They could see several galaxies and nebulas. They watched with amazement as a large comet passed over them. “Wow,” Emmeline muttered.
Suddenly, they were pushed off their chairs as if Astra had hit something hard. The peaceful picture surrounding them vanished. Astra accelerated, trembling, and shaking, and was thrown out of the tunnel.
Delta quickly took control of the ship and brought it to a complete stop. She and Emmeline looked at each other, both breathless.
“Are you okay?” Emmeline asked.
“Yes. You?”
Emmeline nodded and turned to the console. “Well, the gateway is still open, and it’s stable. I’ll keep a sensor lock on it just in case it closes. We’ll know.”
The planet sat right in front of them.
“Anything else we need to know about this area of space?” Delta asked, checking all systems.
“Astra can only do short-distance scans,” Emmeline replied. “I don’t detect any other solar systems, asteroids, interstellar objects, or ships.”
“How’s the weather on the planet?”
Emmeline examined her screen. “This is unbelievable. I don’t know what to say.”
“Just say it,” Delta said sharply. “Nothing surprises me anymore.”
“The earthquakes have stopped, and the weather is settling down. The planet is about half the size of Earth with two big continents, and the rest of it is water. Sensors show the planet has an oxygen-nitrogen atmosphere. The oxygen levels aren’t that high, but the air is breathable.”
“Okay! It’s a smaller Earth.”
“This is weird.”
“Tell me something I don’t know,” muttered Delta.
“The energy source is in the mountains in the northern hemisphere,” Emmeline continued. “There are two active volcanoes near the mountains.”
“Oh, this just keeps getting better and better. We have magical gateways, earthquakes, and now volcanoes. Anything else you want to
add to the list?”
Emmeline just smiled.
“Where do we land?”
“You have to get me closer before I can be sure.”
Delta powered Astra ahead.
Titan, Deck 2, Crystal Lab
Adrian rushed toward the Crystal Lab. It had been over an hour, and people on the bridge were getting restless. Jacob wanted to take Freedom to investigate the phenomenon. Anastasia didn’t want to endanger any ships and was asking the admiral to wait.
The doors to the lab opened, and Adrian found Emmeline on her console. “Did you get it done?” he asked.
She turned to him, looking puzzled.
“The energy source beyond Neptune. I sent you the coordinates!”
“I checked. There is nothing,” Emmeline replied.
Adrian was astonished. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“That’s not possible. If we detected it, you should be able to detect it!” Adrian gritted his teeth.
Emmeline looked blankly at him.
At that moment, Dr. Kent stepped out of his office. “What’s happening here?”
Adrian updated him.
“It isn’t there,” Emmeline argued.
Dr. Kent glared at her. “Move aside.”
Emmeline hesitated but stepped away from the console.
“It should have taken you no more than fifteen minutes to figure out what . . .” Dr. Kent paused. “What the devil is this? What were you doing? Have you lost your mind? You were scanning the wrong region!”
“I was doing what I was told.”
“You ignored a request from the bridge,” Dr. Kent scolded her as he recalibrated the sensors. “There you have it. What the hell is wrong with you? This was a simple task.”
Adrian suddenly realized something. He reached for his pocket and removed a scanner.
“Emmeline. I don’t think you’re well. Go to the medical bay,” suggested Dr. Kent.
Adrian finished his scans and stared at the innocent-looking girl. “It’s not her,” he muttered, dejected.
“What do you mean?” asked Dr. Kent.
“It’s a holo projection of Emmeline.”
“W-What?” Dr. Kent reeled back in surprise. He put his hand on Emmeline’s shoulder, and it passed through the image. He looked up and saw the small holo projectors on the ceiling. “Oh, my God. Then where is Emmeline? What happened to her?” Dr. Kent reached for the console. “Emmeline Augury, report to your post.”
They waited.
“Emmeline, answer me!” Dr. Kent tried again.
There was no reply.
“Computer, locate Cadet Emmeline Augury.”
“Cadet Emmeline Augury is not on Titan,” answered the computer.
All the blood drained from Adrian’s face.
The Rogue Planet
As soon as they entered the planet’s atmosphere, it felt as though they had entered a battlefield. The ship shook vigorously, and the surface of Astra began turning red. Emmeline wondered if the planet was somehow resisting them.
Delta pushed the engines hard but was finding it challenging to maintain control. A jolt almost threw both off their seats. Suddenly, the scene changed, and they found themselves surrounded by black clouds. They relaxed as Astra slowly descended toward the planet’s surface.
“Wow,” Delta remarked as they passed through the clouds and the view became clearer. As far as they could see, the terrain was covered with massive mountains. There was some vegetation, but they couldn’t see any forests or tall trees. Most of the ground was covered with rocks and soil. Soon, the black clouds disappeared altogether, and the sun began shining.
Emmeline wondered how it was possible. She looked at the screen. When she had scanned the planet from miles away, this region had been under attack by dust storms and earthquakes. Now there were no earthquakes or dust storms whatsoever. The atmosphere was like Earth’s but thinner. She looked out her window. It was quiet, peaceful, and welcoming. She checked if there were any rivers; her scans revealed no sources of water. But Astra couldn’t scan the entire planet.
“Okay, where?” Delta asked.
“North, two hundred kilometers ahead.”
Delta nodded.
Emmeline scanned for signs of life. There were none. She bit her lip. Perhaps Astra’s scanners weren’t strong enough to detect them. Who did this planet belong to? Maybe life existed deep in the mountains. She had no way of knowing. She wished she had access to Titan’s far more advanced scanner.
Soon, Astra neared one of the largest mountain ranges. The computer beeped, indicating they had reached their destination. Emmeline looked at the cold gray mountains. They were much higher in the west than in the east. “The signal is coming from inside that mountain,” Emmeline said.
“We can’t land here,” Delta told her. “The deep valleys and pointy mountaintops make it impossible.”
Emmeline was already trying to come up with a solution. Astra flew above the mountains as Emmeline did her calculations. “Okay. About eight kilometers from here, there’s a flat plateau wide and stable enough to hold Astra. Land there. The signal is coming from a creek. We’ll have to hike and take this path to enter the mountain,” she explained, showing the map to Delta.
“It’s inside the mountain?” Delta asked incredulously.
“That’s what the scans say.”
Dust flew in all directions as Astra hovered over the plateau. A trained pilot like Delta had no trouble setting the ship down. She joined Emmeline in preparing the backpacks. “How much time do you think we’ll need?”
“I suppose a few hours at least. I’m worried about the portal. What if someone detects it?” Emmeline said.
“I’m worried about that too. It will be best if we get to this cave as soon as possible and then get out of here.”
“I agree.”
The hangar door opened, and they stepped out. The air was warm and dry. Now there wasn’t a cloud in sight. The sun shone high in the sky. Emmeline pulled out her scanner.
“Anything?” asked Delta.
“No earthquakes. Curious. The oxygen levels have risen since I last checked. There’s no sign of any kind of life.”
“This planet is weird.”
“Tell me something I don’t know,” Emmeline said with a hint of a laugh.
Titan, Deck 1, Bridge
Anastasia felt the weight of her responsibilities heighten. She tried to be sure of her feelings toward her crew and her duty as their commander. Was she to wait for the girls to return or drag them back home? Neither option was appealing.
At first, no one had been sure if it was Delta and Emmeline, but then they’d found an ion trail left by the ship’s engine. It was definitely an Earth ship, and Emmeline’s holo projections had come online about five minutes after Astra had left. The girls had somehow managed to get through the perimeter, but no one knew why.
Once he’d decided, there was very little Anastasia could do to stop Jacob. She knew Freedom could catch up with Astra within a day. The situation was getting out of control.
Helplessly, she watched the gates close after the Freedom left. She didn’t know what would happen to Delta and Emmeline. She just wanted them back home, but she had a feeling that the admiral wouldn’t be easy to handle. The only thing that comforted her was that Argon was on Freedom. She knew he would do everything within his power to bring them back.
“Anything?” she asked Dr. Kent, who was working on the science station. It surprised her that he had asked none of his other students for help. He seemed tense and worried. She didn’t know if he was worried about the girls or what they’d found.
“Not yet.” He answered.
The Rogue Planet
Emmeline had never missed Titan so much. After hours of walking, she felt as if the muscles in her legs were shredding to pieces. The sun shone above her head, and the breeze was cool. Although she could see and feel everything, she was havin
g a hard time believing any of it was real. The hike down was treacherous, but once they were in the creek, the terrain was mostly flat and covered with a thick layer of rocks. The track snaked between the mountains that appeared to reach for the sky. Emmeline scanned and found that the mountain was over 1.5 million years old.
“Okay, here we are,” Delta said, puffing and looking up. About ten meters up was an opening in the mountain.
Emmeline nodded. “Good. Delta, I wanted to ask. Did you get a buyer for that bike of yours?”
Delta smirked. “Not yet.”
Emmeline turned to her. “I want the red one.”
“Ha! I knew it! Sure, you can have one. I left them in the storage locker on Titan. Take it whenever you want to.”
“Thanks. It was fun to ride. I really enjoyed it,” Emmeline said. “And I want the friends-and-family discount.”
“Hey! Come on!”
Titan, Deck 1, Bridge
Hours passed painfully, and the silence was suffocating. Anastasia put down the pad and thought about the consequences. Emmeline and Delta had broken the law by leaving the solar system without authorization. They weren’t the first ones. Many had tried and failed and had been punished for it. Only four men and two women had succeeded in sneaking through the perimeter. They’d wanted to be free explorers and plot their own way through space. But when their requests to leave the system had been denied, they’d broken free and vanished into space, never to return. Man was not born to follow the rules; he was born to push the boundaries, Anastasia thought.
But Emmeline and Delta’s situation was different. They had pushed the boundaries. Anastasia didn’t know why. But she knew they would return. Titan was their home. Emmeline had a family on Earth. Why the hell didn’t they just ask me? she wondered.
The doors opened, and Dr. Kent entered hastily.
“You found something?” Anastasia asked.
“A doorway.”
“I figured.”
Dr. Kent shook his head. “You don’t understand. It was a doorway built or created by beings more powerful than us.”
