Foothold, page 13
part #1 of Foothold Series
David smiled up at her. “Sure, great idea.” In the back of his mind, however, he couldn’t shake an uneasy feeling.
***
“Pitching over.”
David initiated the deceleration sequence and the five of the crew that were strapped into their seats on the bridge felt the familiar sensations of the thrusters firing. Slowly the view of the approaching planet moved towards the top of the view screen as the ship started to move.
“All systems nominal,” John announced.
Ten minutes passed and the retro burn fired to stabilize the ship.
“Status?” asked David.
“Good burn, all systems nominal,” John said.
“Course is good, orientation nominal for deceleration,” Grace added.
“Initiating deceleration burn,” David said, even as he did it.
The faint background vibration of the main drive was felt by all as the burn commenced.
David let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. “Thrust levels?” he enquired.
“Nominal thrust, holding at 60%,” John replied.
“Only 2 days of this and we’ll be looping around VI,” David announced.
“I’d better get to the dome,” Nathalie announced, as she unbuckled and stood up, to no one’s surprise, although David wondered what she would be observing now the ship was facing the other way.
***
For two days the Hope slid tail-first towards the world still labeled as “VI”. No one seemed willing to attach names to the inner planets just yet, until they knew which one was to be their new home, as if naming them now would somehow queer their chances of finding a suitable candidate.
Now had come the time to complete their deceleration burn and pitch over once more, so they could train their primary observation instruments onto the planet that was now looming large in their rear-facing view screens.
“Status?” David queried as the pitch-over maneuver completed.
“Good burn, systems nominal,” Heidi replied, taking her turn as flight engineer.
“Trajectory looks good,” Grace added. “Time to closest approach is 6 hours, 19 minutes on my mark… mark.”
“Good job everyone,” David said. “Nathalie…?”
The others smiled - Nathalie was already on the move.
“Yes, Captain?”
“Carry on, we’ll join you in the observation dome shortly.”
“Yes, Captain.” Nathalie fled the bridge.
***
An observer on the surface of Tau Ceti VI would have seen a new comet approaching the planet - a bright new star that a week ago had developed a hazy tail of expelled ice that glowed in the light of the Tau Ceti sun. Unlike most comets though, this one came very, very close, and lost its tail just as it seemed it was going to collide with the planet. It swept across the night sky, faster even than the little moon that rose twice each night, and then was gone, once again trailing a glowing tail.
On the Hope, David, Grace and John were all on the bridge as they approached the planet.
“Tracking?” David enquired.
Grace seemed tense. This type of maneuver was best done by instrument, David reflected. To the human eye, the approach seemed too fast and too close, and was in fact quite uncomfortable to watch. But by the instruments, they were tracking perfectly for a close flyby that would give them a gravity assist towards Tau Ceti V.
“Nominal.”
“All systems nominal,” John echoed. “Powering main drives for exit burn.”
For the optimum trajectory they needed an additional push from the main drives as they exited the flyby maneuver.
“Standing by for ignition in one minute,” Grace said.
Time crawled by as they watched the approach on the main screen. The planet below them seemed to be entirely covered by ice and snow. White clouds in the atmosphere blurred the distinction between earth and sky, giving the world an ethereal appearance.
“Computer is initiating thrust sequence,” David announced.
“Trajectory is nominal,” Grace said.
“Drives are nominal, all systems good,” John added.
Sixteen minutes passed and the drives shut off.
“Well?” David asked, looking at Grace with a raised eyebrow. Between the two of them they had made it a point of pride to get every course change perfect.
Grace smiled broadly.
“On the money. We’re right where we should be.”
David smiled in return. “Maybe someone back home will be impressed one day.”
“I reckon they’ll have other things to worry about,” John spoke up, “judging from the latest news we got.”
He was referring to the news summaries that had arrived over the past week. They all pointed to a worsening situation on Earth with climate change making increasingly large areas of the planet unsuitable for human habitation. The population of the planet was dividing into north and south areas and the social cost was rising.
David nodded thoughtfully. “It doesn’t look good.”
None of them expected to ever return to Earth, but it was comforting to know that they had a backup plan in the event that no suitable planet was found in the Tau Ceti system. This was to place the ship in a stable orbit then put the entire crew into stasis and wait for rescue from Earth. They could wait like this for another 50 years if necessary. But with Earth preoccupied with the climate crisis this option did not seem as likely to succeed as once it might have.
“No use in dwelling on Earth’s problems though,” David added. “Let’s focus on finding a place for us.”
“No argument there, mate.” John said. “How about I safe the engines and we grab some dinner?”
***
An hour later, everyone had gathered in the galley.
“Argh, this stuff isn’t getting any better,” John complained, pushing at a rubbery mass coated in some kind of slimy sauce.
“What is that? Heidi asked with distaste.
“It says Fettuccine Carbonara on the packet, but I reckon rubber with wood glue is closer to the mark.”
“That’s not the worst thing though,” Grace said.
“What could be worse?”
“Well, you know David wants us to save food, right? If we get a lower gravity planet we’ll be able to take extra weight in the shuttle. There’s lots more pasta there we can take.”
John made a face. “Great.”
“It’s only like this because it’s made to last a century,” David said. “Besides, it’s not so bad when you consider the alternative.”
John grinned. “Starvation has never seemed so good.”
“You think you are unlucky,” Nathalie said with a sigh, “Think how this is for a Frenchwoman, having to eat this… glop.”
The others looked up with surprise. For Nathalie, that was almost a joke.
“Don’t worry,” Grace said, “we’ll soon be on the ground and have a farm started, then you can show us how it should be done!”
Nathalie nodded. She was known for her culinary skills, although she didn’t think of herself as a good cook. But necessity breeds invention, she thought to herself, and if no one else can do it, I must!
“Let’s take a look at the flyby footage,” David said, changing the subject. “Nathalie, can you talk us through it?”
“But of course,” she replied, and brought up the video presentation she had prepared.
The video showed the approach to Tau Ceti VI from the telescope mounted in the observation dome, in vivid detail.
“You can see here it is an ice planet as we suspected. It is unlike any planet in our home solar system in this regard - a rocky planet covered in ice. If I overlay the radar topography map you can see here there are significant variations.” She looked up. “The planet has mountains and plains, and seas.”
She zoomed in on an area that showed a flat expanse of ice rent by large fissures.
“Do you see this area here? This is evidence for tectonic activity. This planet has a magnetic field and hence probably a molten core.”
David was on the edge of his seat, staring intently at the screen. “And the atmosphere?”
“Much as we determined. Surface pressure… we don’t know for sure but I’m estimating between a quarter and one half of Earth’s. Composition is 36% nitrogen, 59% carbon dioxide and the remainder traces of noble gases. No significant oxygen or methane.”
“So no signs of life?” Grace asked.
Nathalie shook her head. “No.”
“But we can live here,” David said with satisfaction. “It has everything we need.”
“Don’t forget the heavy gravity,” John said. “It won’t be easy to get back off it if something goes wrong.”
“I’m still hoping V will be a better bet, but it’s a relief to know that there’s at least one place we can go.”
John nodded. “Won’t be fun though with that gravity and the cold.”
“It’s still a better prospect than Mars, though,” Grace countered. “If our native Martians can live on Earth then we can survive 1.5g’s.”
“1.47,” Nathalie corrected.
“Maybe,” John said. “Have you ever met a Martian? On Earth, I mean?”
“…No, but I’ve read…”
“I have. And believe me, they were bloody miserable. Imagine if you had to live in 2.5g’s, that’s what Earth is to them.”
“But VI is only 1.4…”
“Sure, just saying, it won’t be pleasant to start with.”
“It’s a moot point for now,” David said, “Just think of VI as being our fallback option. Yesterday we didn’t have one, now we do. That could be the difference between life and death for us.”
***
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Grace asked.
They were all in the stasis suite, and David and Heidi were preparing to go into stasis for the last time.
“Absolutely sure”, David replied. “It’s going to take nearly 100 days to get to V, the course is programmed in, and there is simply no need for us, with you and John awake.”
“You just want to make sure there’s plenty of Carbonara to go around, you bastard,” John said. “Either that or you just want to get up close and personal with Heidi.”
“John!” Heidi scolded, blushing.
It was true they were getting close as they squeezed into the tiny stasis chamber.
David turned his head to look at John. “It’s the Carbonara,” he deadpanned.
“Heh,” grunted John. “Well, you won’t be laughing when you see what’s for dinner 92 days from now,” he said with a gleam in his eye as the stasis chamber began its final countdown.
Both David and Heidi pulled a face that revealed their true feelings about the ship’s cuisine, one that would stay frozen in place until they were revived.
Later, Grace was in the mess picking at a reheated meal as she checked their flight trajectory, when John walked in.
“How’re we looking, Captain?” he asked with a smile.
“Captain?”, Grace answered, before realizing that she was, in fact, in charge.
Seeing realization dawn, John said, “Not something that came up in conversation, huh?”
“Not really - I guess with a team as small as ours having a command structure doesn’t seem as important.”
John nodded agreement, but said: “Well, someone’s gotta be in charge and right now that’s you. “
Grace sighed. “I guess so.”
John changed subject. “I didn’t like to ask, but pretty weird what happened with Vasily - I bet you were pretty shattered by it all?”
Grace felt a complex rush of suppressed emotions emerge as she was forced to remember the incident, topped by annoyance that John had chosen this moment to raise the subject.
“Yes, but that’s history. David is our captain now.”
“I bet you must miss him? I mean, the two of you’ve spent quite a lot of time together since leaving Earth?”
“Yes, of course.”
John sat down, sitting closer than necessary given there were only two of them at the table. He looked at Grace with undisguised interest.
“Still, no need for lonely nights while we wait.”
Grace was momentarily lost for words, seeing where this line of conversation was heading. She considered. In the context of their group what John was suggesting wasn’t completely out of line. The final sixteen had spent nearly two years in close quarters together, and they had all known that they were in some way ‘intended’ for each other. They were sixteen healthy human adults, all of them among the most physically attractive members of their species. There had been a significant level of fraternization between many of them, and John was as enthusiastic as any, and didn’t lack for attention given his natural good looks and easy personality. But for Grace, something had changed. She felt a real connection with David, and had not in her mind seen herself with anyone else once she had decided he was her man.
She smiled at John, “I’m happy to wait,” she suggested as neutrally as possible.
But John wasn’t finished yet. “You know they want us to, right?”
“Excuse me?”
“Crossbreed. It wasn’t policy, but you know unofficially they thought it would be good for the gene pool if we were to spread our genes around.”
John was being incredibly blunt now, but he was correct in that crossbreeding between their four pairs was unofficially encouraged. But be sure to let Nigel know for his studbook, she thought dryly.
“I know, but I’ve decided that I’m happy to leave that to the next generation.” She was carefully controlling her tone to send a message that this was her last word on the matter. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’d like to consult with Nathalie on the latest nav sightings.”
She got up and headed to the corridor, pushing her empty meal tray into the trash as she left.
John watched her go with a bemused air. He could confess to himself, if none other: he’d always had an eye for the ladies; an appreciation for the female form that more often than not was rewarded with attention from women dazzled by his good looks and easy charm. More often than not that led to the excitement of new sexual gratification followed by the inevitable fallout once his new paramour discovered that there was no chance that they’d be able to claim him permanently.
He’d been born under a lucky star, or so it seemed. His father Brad was a former surfing champion, who never seemed to be able to be parted from the ocean or his surfboard for long, leading to a nomadic life as they moved from beach to beach, running a small but successful surf coaching business. Blond, tanned, toned and handsome, Brad could have had his pick of any of hundreds of girls, especially during his competition days. Instead he fell hard for his mother Claire, for good reason - she was beautiful, with a naturally pale complexion that had tanned to a bewitching freckled appearance, setting off sea-grey eyes that sparkled with intelligence. Claire could have had a career as a scientist, or businesswoman, or anything she wanted; instead she settled for a life as a substitute teacher to be with her man.
John had been born soon after they married, and had been their only child. Right from the start he’d attracted attention from women for his good looks and quick intelligence, something he’d learned to play to.
Once his teenage years arrived it didn’t take long for his body to inform him that girls weren’t just for hanging out with at the beach, and he lost his virginity at age 13 one sultry night in the dunes behind one of the many beaches that made up the back yard of their wandering life.
Somehow he’d broken away from what many would have considered an idyllic lifestyle of sun, surf and girls. He discovered engineering, and something just clicked in his brain, and then he knew what he wanted to do with his life. A blossoming career in mechanical design had led him to military service in Australia, then to England, eventually becoming a naturalized European citizen. From there, his specialization in space systems had eventually led him to the Hope project.
None of his practiced charm seemed to have an impact on Grace though.
***
As the days passed, there was a slightly awkward air between them whenever they met, which fortunately was infrequent. Grace spent her days on the bridge, monitoring the ship and reviewing and adjusting their settlement plans; John was continuing his program of maintenance checks, and Nathalie, as usual, was glued to her telescope. To break the monotony (and stay away from John), Grace took it upon herself to force Nathalie away from the observation dome twice a day for a meal.
Grace had once or twice broached the subject of John with Nathalie, but she didn’t seem interested in discussing it. She wasn’t sure if this was because of her obsession with her work or there was some deeper reason, but whatever it was she was on her own.
Eventually, there had come a time when they had both arrived in the galley at the same time for a meal break.
John spoke first. “Look, Grace, about the other day…”
“It’s fine, really,” Grace answered, a little too quickly.
John took on a slightly embarrassed expression. “No, it’s not. I stuffed up, and I’m sorry. We’re not back on Earth any more and I was out of line assuming you might…”
His voice trailed off.
Grace looked up. “Let’s just forget it and start again, shall we?”
“Sure, thanks. That’ll be the end of it.”
They spent the rest of their break talking shop and then returned to their respective tasks. Grace felt a little easier about their situation now the air had been cleared. It did however, she reflected, reveal something about herself that she hadn’t until now realized. She may just, she thought, be in love with David Miller.
Starship Hope, Tau Ceti System
March 31, 2109
Silently the Hope sped through interplanetary space from Tau Ceti VI to Tau Ceti V. A third of the way through the final leg of its long, long voyage it made its closest approach to Tau Ceti IV, the planet provisionally named Huygens.
