The Syndicate's Journey
Page 11
“I can’t remember either.”
“I’m sure we’ll figure it out.” Major General Solbrig reassured him. “Once the Drakdel figures out the outside atmosphere, we can properly explore Snakardekus and bring as many vials as needed.”
“That’s going to take a while...”
“Yeah, but what do you think happened to our ancestors?”
“What do you mean?” Major General Reingle asked.
“Well, they didn’t have Drakdels or even the technology to scan the outside atmosphere and learn everything about it before stepping out into it.” Major General Solbrig explained. “They had to go out and explore for themselves.”
Major General Reingle felt a sense of uneasiness about what Major General Solbrig was suggesting. “You want me to go out there without any proper precautions?” Major General Reingle pointed at the window towards the desert sand that went on for miles. “I don’t think so. We don’t know what is out there other than what is in our ‘Files,’ Solbrig.”
Major General Solbrig turned and looked at him and asked. “You don’t think the OBA’s will work?”
“No, it’s not that. I’m sure the OBA’s will work, I just don’t think that we should risk it.”
“Risk what, exactly?”
“Risk our lives? Solbrig, this is life or death we’re talking about here.”
“Well, what’s the worst that can happen?” Major General Solbrig asked.
Major General Reingle wasn’t sure if Major General Solbrig was just teasing him or he was serious. “We die. Plain and simple.”
“That won’t happen. You really want to stay in the Drakdel for a day, or longer?” Major General Solbrig asked.
Major General Reingle walked towards the window overlooking Snakardekus, and he looked at the scenery.
“Don’t you want to be one of the first transhumans to stand on another planet?” asked Major General Solbrig.
“That’s nice and all... but if I die, what’s the point?” Major General Reingle asked. “What was the point in all of this then? I can see it now. First transhuman to walk on Snakardekus, Major General Matzen Reingle, dead in less than a minute.”
“What are we going to do here then? I mean, someone has to watch and make sure the Drakdel continues to function normal, right?”
“I don’t understand why I have to go out there, Solbrig. We’re here on Snakardekus for an entire month. Can’t we go out together…like tomorrow?” Major General Reingle pleaded.
“The only way to know for sure what will happen is if we explore. We have to leave eventually.” Major General Solbrig leaned back in his chair and folded his arms. “What about the on-hand experience, Reingle?”
Major General Solbrig watched as Major General Reingle turned around from the window and walked into the engine room and came back. He was holding a handful of vials and placed them into his pant pocket. He turned around and walked to the computer desk and picked up the OBA Major General Reingle secured the vial into the designated spot, then he placed it over his head and inserted the mouthpiece.
“I’ll see you soon.” Major General Reingle spoke through the OBA, which sounded like his voice was mixed with radio chatter and a breathing respirator.
“I’m playing with you, Reingle. You don’t have to go alone.” Major General Solbrig held out his arms.
He looked at Major General Solbrig and shook his head, then he pressed the button that was right by the doors. They opened, and a small pathway extended out for him to walk on. As he walked past the door, it closed automatically behind him. As he stepped on a small platform and stepped foot on the ground of Snakardekus, he felt the hard rock beneath his feet. He stopped and looked around. He felt the wind blow through his fingers and through his hair.
Snakardekus is just a big desert.
He looked to his right and then to his left. In the distance, he could see sand, cacti, and rock formations. There wasn’t much else.
Either I am on a rock formation that goes on forever, or the rocks look close together.
He waved his hand and brought up his INH. He breathed in and could feel the coolness of the OBA inside of his lungs, it almost felt like breathing in cold weather.
He tapped on the “Scan” button on his INH and pointed at the rock below him and watched his INH scan.
◆◆◆
SCANNING………………..………ONE MOMENT PLEASE
◆◆◆
He walked a little bit further down the rock, and a moment later some words appeared on his INH
◆◆◆
IGNEOUS ROCK DETECTED…OTHER TYPE UNKNOWN
DATE OF FORMATION…………..…………168 EBA
◆◆◆
“Well... that’s something.” He continued. “168 EBA, huh? That’s around six-hundred years old. What about the atmosphere here?”
Major General Reingle waved his hand and pressed “Scan” again. This time letting the INH rely on the nanochips to test the atmosphere around him.
◆◆◆
SCANNING…………………………ONE MOMENT PLEASE
◆◆◆
He turned around at looked at the Drakdel and gazed upon it. The Drakdel’s exterior was a dark, mocha color. The Drakdel was small and compact. The front end of it was a big window that overlooked Snakardekus. The wings protruded out of the body roughly ten feet and were thick. The top of the Drakdel was flat, and the three legs it had were remarkably small, but they held the Drakdel up.
Still intact, that’s good and does not look like a scratch on it. The Drakdel is an odd-looking ship, but MOD made it, so it is one of the best, that’s for sure.
His INH appeared before his eyes as he was looking at the Drakdel.
◆◆◆
SCAN COMPLETE
SNAKARDEKUS ATMOSPHERE
ARID CLIMATE DETECTED CURRENTLY 127 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT
CLIMATE TEMPERATURES RANGING FROM -30 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT TO 430 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT YEARLY.
FIVE INCHES OF PRECIPITATION ANNUALLY.
ACID DEPOSITION POSSIBLE
TYPES OF GASES IN ATMOSPHERE PRESENT: NITROGEN OXIDE, SULPHUR DIOXIDE, OXYGEN, WATER VAPOR, ARGON, CARBON DIOXIDE, AND OTHER TRACE GASES.
◆◆◆
Major General Reingle shook his head. I’m surprised that the INH was able to extract all of this information. Maybe the atmosphere is closer to Nuwurth’s than we know. Wait, what is “acid deposition?”
Major General Reingle tapped on acid deposition, and a screen appeared in front of his eyes what the description of it was. He then proceeded to find out when the last time it rained here. He scrolled down to see any information but could not find any. He swiped his hand away and then held down “Acid Deposition” with his finger, and then a drop-down list came from it. He proceeded to tap on “Scan.”
◆◆◆
SCANNING…………………………ONE MOMENT PLEASE
◆◆◆
That can’t be good. No wonder why nothing is alive here.
◆◆◆
SCAN COMPLETE
IT HAS BEEN FORTY (40) DAYS SINCE SNAKARDEKUS HAD ACID RAIN. EXPECT ACID RAIN TO COME IN THE NEXT FOLLOWING DAYS.
◆◆◆
Oh, just great. I should probably go warn Solbrig, but I’m out here, I might as well continue to explore.
He swiped away his INH and continued to walk on the rock that the Drakdel was on. He saw a slope that he was able to walk down the foundation to the sandy ground below. Major General Reingle had a sense of uneasiness when he saw the slope.
Maybe I should turn around and get Solbrig to come with me.
He turned around and started walking back to the Drakdel. Slowly he picked up his pace and walked faster. He felt like something was watching him and coming towards him. Major General Reingle continued to look behind him as he walked until he reached the Drakdel. He walked up the ramp by the door and pressed the button to open the doors, and when they opened, he jumped inside, and the doors closed behind
him. Major General Solbrig turned his head towards the doors as he heard Reingle jump inside.
“You’re back.” Major General Solbrig sounded surprised.
Major General Reingle unhinged the arms of the OBA and took it off and held it in his hand. “Yeah, I am...” He bent down and tried to catch his breath. “And I found out a lot about Snakardekus.”
“Really? In that short amount of time?”
“Mhm, it would just be better if I showed you.”
“Okay, you’re right, I should go with you. Plus, there’s nothing to do in here anyway.” Major General Solbrig looked at Major General Reingle curiously and asked him. “Wait, why are you out of breath?”
Major General Reingle couldn’t tell him about that feeling that he felt, who knows if it was even real or not. He had to make something up. “Oh, just trying to use the OBA to the fullest while trying to breathe fast is all.”
Major General Solbrig looked at him, confused, but decided to go along with it. “So, are you going to show me what you discovered?” asked Major General Solbrig.
“Yeah, sure, hold on.”
Major General Reingle walked to the desk and sat down. He waved his hand, and his INH projected onto the big computer screen. He tapped on “Files” then many files appeared on screen, he waved his hand down, and the screen moved to his recent files. He found “Snakardekus” and tapped and opened. Major General Reingle turned to face Major General Solbrig, who was sitting next to him.
“You ready to see?”
“Sure thing. I’m dying of boredom.”
Inside the folder labeled “Snakardekus” was a new folder labeled “Scans,” he tapped it. There were text documents that he had previously discovered about the atmosphere and the rock that they had landed on.
“This right here is everything that I scanned outside. Like the atmosphere for Snakardekus...but there’s one thing to worry about.” Major General Reingle remarked.
“What’s that? Too much sand?” Major General Solbrig chuckled.
Major General Reingle shook his head. “Nope. Look for yourself.”
He scrolled through the scan and pointed out to Major General Solbrig, where the scan mentioned “acid deposition.” Major General Reingle tapped on the text document that read “Acid Deposition” and showed Major General Solbrig what the scan said in-depth.
“Wow...that’s…definitely not good. Can the Drakdel withstand it?”
“See that’s the thing, I’m unsure. I mean, I don’t want to take any chances, but we can’t leave...”
“To Hell with that! What does General Deschner expect us to do? Stick it out? Find shelter?”
“I have no clue. Luckily it said a few days, so we have some time to prepare.” Major General Reingle reassured him.
“Maybe we should contact the USV Valkanaut and see if these Drakdels can withstand acid rain.”
“Yeah, I see no harm in that.”
Major General Solbrig swiped his hand, and his INH appeared. He tapped on “Call.”
CALLING GENERAL DESCHNER
In a moment, General Deschner answered and appeared on the screen. “Hello there, Major Generals!” He smiled at them as he greeted them.
“Hello General.” Major General Solbrig replied.
“You only took an hour to call, how are things?”
“An hour, really? It seems longer than that.” Major General Solbrig asked.
“You have to remember you are on a different planet, which means the time is different for you now,” General Deschner replied.
“I suppose you’re right...so, Major General Reingle found out something about Snakardekus that might have your interest...”
“Yeah, I scanned some areas of Snakardekus, and I found out that Snakardekus is prone to,” Major General Reingle cleared his throat. “Acid rain.”
“Acid rain?” asked General Deschner.
“Yes, General. We called because we are wondering if this Drakdel can withstand it.” Major General Solbrig asked.
“Well, your Drakdel is built out of Kerolium, remember?”
“Sure.” Replied Major General Solbrig.
“Kerolium is a very dense and highly repellent of liquid. Honestly, what you should be concerned about is not what metals the Drakdel is made from, but how intense are these acid rainstorms?” General Deschner asked.
“Well, that General, I do not know. Major General Reingle did the scans.”
“Well, the scans said nothing specific just when it rained here last and that Snakardekus is due for another acid rainstorm in a few days.” Major General Reingle reported.
“Well, what you need to be worried about is the intensity of these acid rainstorms, like I said. Because most metals can corrode, and it can be highly vulnerable, too. Luckily though, the Drakdels are not made from those metals. Kerolium is a highly advanced polycarbonate type of metal, which is why I had to modify these Drakdels for you all. Colerite and Titanium are fine, but only on Nuwurth.” General Deschner sat up in his chair and folded his hands. “As long as the storms stay dormant or even low intensity, you should be fine. If they start to become worse, find shelter or fly back here. I don’t really want you abandoning your mission, though.”
“Wow, you know a lot about the Drakdels. So, should we continue monitoring the situation and if it is unpleasant, come back to the USV Valkanaut?” asked Major General Reingle.
General Deschner nodded. “That’s fine, but I expect updates every Nuwurth day.”
“Sure thing, General. Oh, you wouldn’t happen to know how long a day on Snakardekus is, would you?”
“Did you set the Drakdel to do a planetary scan?” he asked.
“Yes, General, we did.”
“Good. You will know eventually then. I do not know how long a day is on Snakardekus. Hopefully, no more than a day on Nuwurth, and if so, let’s just hope that the millions of miles that separate us do not drastically change that.”
“Yes, General.” Major General Reingle nodded.
“Well, I must go. I have another call on the line.”
“Yes, General! Goodbye!”
“Call if you need anything and good luck!” General Deschner stated.
CALL ENDED WITH GENERAL DESCHNER
Major General Reingle turned and looked at him. “Well, that wasn’t much help, was it?”
“Nope. Not really.” Major General Solbrig replied. “We’re pretty much back to where we started.”
Major General Reingle shook his head and sighed. “Yeah, you’re right about that. I guess we’re on our own, huh?”
“Your guess is as good as mine. About the OBA…”
“What about it?” Major General Reingle asked.
“Looks like I will have to use it personally.”
“You aren’t afraid of exploring?” asked Major General Reingle.
“Afraid? Ha yeah, right...” Major General Solbrig laughed. “But there isn’t anything else to do here except sit in the Drakdel...”
“Really? Now you want to? What about the ‘on-hands experience excuse?’ huh?” Major General Reingle asked.
“Forget about it. To be honest, there is absolutely nothing to do here. You were right. Obviously, you came back without harm and were able to discover more information out there than I was in here, so why not join you?”
“I suppose you’re right.” Major General Reingle slightly smiled. “Go get your OBA and a handful of vials in the engine room.”
“Sure.” Major General Solbrig stood up from his chair and walked towards the engine room and grabbed his OBA from the shelf and a handful of vials like he was told. Major General Solbrig pressed a button on his left arm underneath the shoulder, and a compartment opened where his forearm would be.
He looked to the left of him and saw a cabinet. Curiously he stepped forward and opened it, and he saw two High-Frequency Pulse-Gun Disintegrators (HPD)
Armitage, Thank you.
He grabbed the HPD’s and inserted them inside of his arm a
nd closed it.
I might need these later, who knows what we will find here.
“Hey, Solbrig! Did you get lost?” Major General Reingle yelled from the other room.