Colony

by Lori Beery

  Our next task was to see if we could get to our colony ship, the Venture. That proved much more difficult than any of us had ever expected. Our life pod’s parachute was snagged in the branches of a humongous tree that grew almost horizontally out from a nearby mountain. We hung precariously a long way above the ground, two or three kilometers from the forest canopy beneath us. Gusts of wind blowing off the mountain threatened to dislodge our parachute and send us plummeting to the ground. One particularly powerful gust did catch the chute for a moment, depriving us of our anchor and continuing our downward fall. Luckily, the chute got hooked again, and we were jerked to a painful stop mere seconds after our descent had resumed. We all knew that at any moment, we could start falling again, and there would likely be nothing to stop our descent.

  Again, it was the older man who suggested that we needed to secure the pod to the tree and release the chute. After being shown how to accomplish the task, Derrick and I volunteered to make it so. Wearing rope harnesses over our environmental suits, we ventured out, toting with us a large coil of sturdy cabling. Derrick’s harness was connected directly to a tether within the pod, while mine was fastened only to his. We didn’t wear the environmental suits’ helmets since the air was breathable.

  We were able to secure the pod by looping the cable up around the trunk of the tree. When we released the chute, gravity gripped the pod, jerking it downward in an arc from where the parachute’s cables had held it near the branches. The sudden movement left Derrick and me floating in the air for a few moments before gravity, and our safety lines pulled us after the pod. The feeling was many times worse than a shuttle ride with a hot-shot pilot.

  While the pod didn’t have far to fall because the newly added cable forced it to arc under the tree, we continued to drop to the full extent of the tether. Derrick grabbed my harness and pulled me into a tight embrace. I held onto him too. We both knew that should I fall to the end of my rope, the jerk could break his shoulders, especially if the pod tugged him in a different direction at the same time.

  Our groundward fall eventually shifted into an arc, swinging us up higher than both the pod and the tree trunk. Before we reached our apex, the pod began to swing the other direction. We were tugged after it with a hard yank. Derrick stifled a cry of pain, his arms loosening their hold on me. I struggled to maintain my grip on him and grab the tether, which linked him to the pod.

  Amid the chaos, I became aware that the pod’s movement was allowing the cable to hitch down the slope of the trunk. There was a large branch growing up out of the tree trunk to which we were attached. It would bring the pod’s horizontal progress to a halt, but the question was: how would the stop affect us?

  We found out soon enough. The pod’s motion was redirected into a roughly circular path under the trunk. I squeezed my eyes closed as I fought the resulting dizziness.

  Eventually, our momentum petered out, and we found ourselves simply dangling. We were both relieved. Happily, Derrick strengthened his embrace. Shifting slightly in his arms, I was able to pick up the slack rope that connected our harnesses and tie a loop for his foot to take our weight off his shoulders. When he stepped into it, he whispered his thanks.

  About that time, our pod mates began hauling us up. We were pulled a half meter upward at a time. The even pace allowed us to turn our attention to our new home planet.

  We dangled so that we faced the mountain from which our tree grew. It rose from the slopes such that it seemed it would make a fairly easy walkway over to the mountain.

  Trouble was the tree grew at a deflection point. Above it, the slope became a cliff face. Whether there existed any way upward, we couldn’t tell. Below the tree, the slope dropped steeply down into the tree canopy. The grade must have been about seventy-five percent, if not greater. And there was no telling what lay under the leaves of the forest. We had no way of knowing how tall those trees were or what they hid.

  The view away from the mountains was composed of tree leaves as far as we could see. Off near the horizon, there was mist rising above the canopy. Dark lines cut through the forest. All of them seemed to head toward the misty area. Presumably, those lines indicated rivers, and the misty place was a swamp or a lake.

  The ground below us lay hidden from our sight. Only the forest canopy was visible. I wondered at the life on this planet. I had seen vids showing vast varieties of birds, reptiles, and mammals inhabiting the forests of ancient Earth. Would this planet be inhabited with similar creatures?

  My thoughts were interrupted by our pod mates, helping us into the vessel. For a moment, I was content to lay on the deck and rest. I was pleased to see Derrick doing the same.

  A middle-aged woman with warm brown eyes and skin handed me a water bottle. I sat up and took it, quenching a thirst I hadn’t realized I had. The woman gave a bottle to Derrick. He winced as he took it and the woman examined him. His right collar bone had snapped. His suit had provided some support for his shoulder and protected his skin from the rope, but the pod’s jerk had been too much. The woman retrieved the med kit and went to work on him. Thankfully, there was a bone knitter in the kit. When she was satisfied, she examined me. I told her Derrick had taken the brunt of every rope jerk. I was glad his injuries weren’t worse.

  When Older Man suggested we get some sleep, I remember feeling angry and – grateful. I was angry because we needed to get to the Venture. There might be other survivors who needed our help. But I couldn’t fault the logic. The sun was going down on our first day on our new planet. We couldn’t help anyone if we all fell to our death in the dark. We would wait for daylight so we could see what we were doing. – I was grateful because I was exhausted, a point I was loath to admit.

  We spent that first-night safe in our pod, secured to the tree. Tomorrow morning, we would figure out how to get to the ground and the ship.

  Early the next day, we ventured out of the pod. Each of us wore our entire environ suit, to include gloves and helmets, with harnesses over them, cobbled together from the seats’ restraint straps. Older Man had made it clear that we needed the complete suit to protect us from all the unknowns we were about to face. Even if the air were breathable, who knew what toxins existed in the flowers or plants, we would be brushing by. I hoped that Derrick and I had been too far away from said plants to have gotten contaminated during our time outside the pod the day before.

  The great tree trunk did make an easy way to the mountain slope. After a brief search, we managed to find a way up onto a stony plateau above the tree. From there, we easily located our crashed vessel. It had ripped a long gash through the forest canopy in the next valley. It looked like there should have been fires, but we didn’t see or smell any smoke in the air. I supposed it was possible that the fires had all burned themselves out during the night.

  After one of our pod mates input both the ship’s and our position into the guidance device he carried, we set off for the vessel. He was a man who looked to be in his early thirties and who had more technical knowledge than the rest of us, which led me to nickname him Radio Man in my mind. We decided to stay above the trees for as long as possible, reasoning that the going would be easier and better lit than traveling under the canopy.

  Finally, we worked our way around to the mountain’s edge closest to the crash site. At that point, we had no other option but to leave the sanctuary of the rock and enter the forest. It was a whole different world under the trees, darker, more humid, and filled with a myriad of eerie, unknown sounds.

  We paused at the forest’s edge to let our eyes adjust to the lower light levels. As we did, skittering sounds and strange calls came to our ears, aided by the enhanced detection systems built into our helmets.

  In the dimness, we saw various strange plant life. This vegetation looked nothing like the great trees supporting the canopy. These plants reminded me of vids documenting flora that grew under the sea on ancient Earth. Some of them resembled gorgonian fans while others looked like anemones. Both had tentacle-l
ike leaves stretching into the humid air. It was startling to watch those leaves quickly vanish into the stem when the leaves were touched. I wondered how these creatures sustained themselves in such darkness, especially since they were so large and numerous.

  As we pushed through the plants, we came upon other types. The most notable grew large, flat leaves, like dinner plates, that lit up when disturbed. They glowed in eerie shades of yellow, green or blue. The glowing did little to light up the surroundings. Instead, they drew attention to themselves.

  I had to work to focus on following Radio Man. He held the guidance device and was using it to make sure we kept heading toward the crash site. I was sure that if I didn’t pay attention, I would wander over for a closer look at those glowing plants. That feeling gave me the creeps. I couldn’t help imagining myself as a moth attracted to the light of a bug zapper, an ancient insect killer.

  Eventually, we arrived at the crash site. For a few long moments, all we could do was stare. The Venture, our home for so many years, was in ruin. A portion of it, presumably the nose section, had carved a large furrow in the ground. Much of the ship lay hidden by the dirt the vessel had plowed through before coming to a stop. Back along the ship’s trail, a debris field spread for what must have been more than ten klicks. We stood facing the biggest piece of the Venture. It was appallingly short even if it filled most of the furrow.

  Thinking we could cover more ground, we split into four groups. I was paired with the woman who had tended to Derrick’s shoulders. (I called her Nurse Lady in my head because of this – what can I say? I like nicknames). We climbed the mound of dirt surrounding the Venture and turned to the right to walk along the long side of the ship toward the debris field beyond. The vessel’s hull was pitted, blackened and dented. There was no way to tell whether the damage had occurred before the crash or during it.

  At length, we came to a huge gash that cut through the hull. Its right, outside edge, was bent against the outside of the ship. The left was smashed inwards. All the edges looked singed. There was a burnt smell to the area.

  Nurse Lady reported our findings while I tried to see if there was a way to climb into the ship without getting hurt or damaging our suits. In the beam of my helmet lamp, I saw wreckage. There was twisted metal everywhere. The only things that didn’t appear damaged were the blast doors and the bulkhead into which they were built.

  The doors presented both a problem and a hope. The problem was, ‘how do we open the doors?’ The hope was ‘perhaps, the ship is undamaged on the other side of the doors.’ In any case, I could see no safe way to get to the doors from our present location. After showing Nurse Lady, we decided to continue moving along the side of the ship.

  We found several more openings into the ship, but only one looked promising. This one looked almost like clothing ripped along a seam. There was no burnt smell to it, and there was significantly less twisted metal. The cavity beyond the opening looked like a room that seemed to be mostly intact. It was a mess with stuff dumped everywhere, but it was recognizable as someone’s office. Better yet, the door beyond stood open. Maybe we could get to the ship’s core.

  The opening revealed no way to climb down into the office. It looked like we would have to drop into the interior. I didn’t like that idea one bit since the distance appeared close to three meters. That was a long way to fall without a rope. Also, once in, we would be trapped inside until we could find another way out.

  After reporting in, Derrick and Older Man soon joined us. They had a rope. Derrick made the line fast to a bared strut, and we carefully climbed down into the room. In short order, all four of us stood on, what we discovered inside, was the ceiling of the office. We walked up the slightly inclined ceiling and climbed over the lintel of the interior door.

  We stood in the hallway beyond. Both directions led into darkness. Here, just within the ship, all was silent. We each switched on our helmet lamps. Even the combined beams didn’t seem to pierce very far into the blackness.

  Nurse Lady and I headed down the hallway to the left of the office door while Older Man and Derrick went to the right. We passed several sealed doors. Without power, they were just as impenetrable as walls – unless Older Man knew how to override them. It didn’t seem like a very solid bet, though, so we decided to continue down the corridor.

  We hadn’t gone far before we started noticing structural damage. Dents in the walls, fallen struts, and ripped sheeting became common. The debris made forward progress more difficult but not, as of yet, unsafe. That was until we turned the next corner. The hall was completely blocked. It looked like the ceiling had been smashed into the floor.

  We turned to go back the way we had come when a slithering sound came from behind us. We whirled about, and I caught a huge snake-like creature in mid-strike with the light from my lamp. Its gaping mouth was heading for Nurse Lady’s shoulder. She saw it and screamed. I grabbed her hand and jerked her toward me. She stumbled in my direction. The movement was, thankfully, fast enough that the creature missed her. I wrapped my arm around her waist and pulled her along as I turned and ran as fast as possible.

  We dodged the obstacles as we frantically raced the creature, our helmet lamps’ beams bouncing ahead of us in an echo of our hurried movements. We could hear the thing slithering behind us. Occasionally there was a thudding noise like it hadn’t entirely missed an obstruction in the hallway. Presently, we arrived at the office door. I boosted Nurse Lady over the barrier into the room beyond and scrabbled after her as quickly as I could.

  Once in the office, I looked around for a weapon. I hoped for a gun, but all I could find was a broken pipe I could use as a makeshift club. I switched off my helmet lamp and put my back to the wall next to the door. I held my weapon ready while Nurse Lady also toggled off her lamp and radioed Derrick and Older Man.

  Over her warning message, I could hear a quiet slithering sound approaching the door. The sound resembled the noise wind makes when it rustles dry leaves – a sound I’d memorized from nature videos of old Earth that I had the Teacher upload to my mind. The creature was hunting us.

  Chapter 5

  I remember nervously shifting my grip on my club as I waited. I really would have preferred a weapon I could use from a distance or something with a blade or point on it. I pushed my desires away and forced myself to wait. I figured the creature would have to come into the office to get us. When it did, I would club it to death.

  I didn’t have long to wait. The creature lifted its head onto the top of the barrier. As soon as it did, I swung my club in an overhead arc. My weapon smashed onto the top of its head with a sickening thwack. The creature slid limply back into the hall. I felt the shock of the impact tingle up to my elbows.

  Cautiously, I peered over the barrier at the creature. In the light from my recently switched on helmet lamp, it lay unmoving. Dark fluid welled from its ruined head. I breathed a sigh of relief. Before I could take a second breath, a loud skittering sound erupted above our heads.

  Nurse Lady and I shared a scared glance. We turned off our lamps. We both knew the office wouldn’t remain a safe place for long. I leaned over the lintel wall and shoved the snake-like creature to the left of the door with my club. It took some work, but I got the doorway cleared. I leaned my weapon against the partition. Then, I boosted my companion back over the barrier into the hall. I climbed after her before quickly turning and retrieving my weapon.

  As I straightened up, movement around the opening in the ship’s hull caught my attention. Something was prowling around the hole. I couldn’t get a good look at it because the sunlight behind it made it a silhouette. I was sure of two things: it was not human, and there were more than one.

  We switched our headlamps back on and plunged into the darkness to the right of the door. We passed three sealed doors before coming to an open one. Hoping that this was the way Derrick and Older Man had gone, we rushed through and found ourselves standing in what I recognized as the main corridor.

/>   Nurse Lady led me to the right. After a short walk, we entered sickbay. The suite looked undamaged, but there were supplies strewn all around the place. We pocketed some bandages and antiseptic cream. Our investigation turned up no people, living or dead. We found no sign of anyone being treated for an injury. We saw no blood or used medical supplies.

  Back in the main corridor, we proceeded in the direction we had been going. Voices drew our attention. We followed them into a two-room suite. The first room contained a library of recorded mental teachings. The second room contained the Teacher, the machine that could download or upload instructions directly to or from the brain. In this place, I had learned to rock climb, some basic self-defense skills, basic weaponry, and basic tracking and hunting. Although the knowledge is instantaneous, the student must practice to achieve the instinctive muscle memory.

  In the room with the Teacher, we found Derrick and Older Man. Nurse Lady and I interrupted their discussion about the Teacher being intact to warn them about the creatures around our escape route. Thinking weapons would be good things to have; we began searching for the armory. We hoped it still existed and that we could figure out how to retrieve some of the weapons.

  Eventually, we stood before the armory door. From our side, it looked fine. Older Man overrode the door’s control mechanism and manually got it opened. Through the open door, we saw the far wall was missing. The near wall still displayed a few kinetic rifles. We took them. With Older Man’s help, we found the necessary ammo for each of the weapons and loaded the guns. We were now armed. I did feel less panicked with a familiar weapon in my hands.

  From there, we explored as much of the ship as we could. We were able to confirm that the core of this section of the Venture was intact. If we had power, we would have access to sickbay, life support – the hydroponics units, the Teacher, and several replicators and synthesizers. The battered outer areas might offer parts. In any case, we would need to solve the power issue to make full use of the instruments.