The Lost World, page 38
Maddox and Galyan exchanged glances.
“You do not want to go back to Earth again, do you, sir?”
“Not until I know I won’t be stranded there for an extended vacation. I’m going to start doing things differently. What do you say to that, Galyan?”
“I agree, sir, because I would rather have all of you aboard than be by myself in Earth orbit doing nothing. That reminds me too much of my previous existence, which was very lonely indeed.”
“All right,” Maddox said, standing. “Let’s take a walk. You can float beside me, and we’ll talk about this until we figure out the best way to try to find this mysterious jungle planet.”
“Excellent,” Galyan said. “I can hardly wait.”
-53-
A debris field drifted before Victory, the remnants of the Bloodtooth after it exploded.
“You have the honor,” Maddox said from his command chair. They had discussed this beforehand. Maddox was making it public, though.
Valerie nodded as she sat at a console on the bridge. She launched drones from their bays. The small vehicles appeared on the main screen and began their scans, following a grid search pattern through the debris.
“There are pockets of radiation,” Galyan said.
“Give me the coordinates,” Valerie said. “I don’t want to lose any drones to a hotspot. You can check out those radiation-heavy places.”
The coordinates appeared on Valerie’s screen. She entered them into her computer, guiding the drones.
Galyan disappeared from the bridge.
Hours ticked by as fragments of the Bloodtooth drifted past. Broken components, unidentifiable in their ruined state, tumbled end over end.
“Captain,” Valerie said. “I may have found it.”
All eyes turned to the main screen as Drone Three’s camera focused on a battered, scorched piece of equipment. Its casing was cracked and corroded, but the distinctive markings of a ship’s black box were still visible.
“I’m bringing it in,” Valerie said.
The drone’s manipulator arms cradled the cargo, turned, and headed for a hangar bay.
“Once it lands,” Valerie said, “I’ll send the black box to Andros.”
The Kai-Kaus Chief Technician would be using Ludendorff’s science chamber for this.
***
Andros hunched over a workstation in Ludendorff’s science lab, processing corrupted data from the found box.
The fragmentation was worse than he’d expected. The violent destruction of the Bloodtooth had seared navigation records. What should have been precise jump coordinates were now a jumbled mess of partial data and echoes.
Andros tried an Anderson filter, attempting to pull something coherent from the particles.
As the algorithms churned, Captain Maddox spoke over the intercom. “Anything yet?”
“This isn’t like pulling data off a standard black box,” Andros said. “We’re dealing with—”
“No excuses,” Maddox said, interrupting. “I need to know if we should start an insertion onto Krantz instead. That will take longer, and we’ll need to start immediately.”
The intercom clicked off. Andros went back to work. Fifteen minutes later, a hologram materialized.
“Perhaps I can be of assistance,” Galyan said.
Andros scowled. “With all due respect, Galyan, I’ve got this under control. Your processing power is better used elsewhere.”
“I have been monitoring your progress. By my calculations, you should have decrypted at least a partial jump sequence by now. Are you certain you are utilizing all available resources?”
Andros stared at Galyan. “Did the captain send you?”
“I am not supposed to say.”
Andros sighed. “If you can do better, go ahead.”
Electronically, Galyan began to study the data core.
Andros watched.
An hour passed.
“Not working, huh?” Andros asked.
“I have found a possibility. I need more time.”
“Sure,” Andros said.
Twenty-two minutes later, Galyan said, “I believe I have found something. They are distortions, but they are not random. Instead, they are echoes of the Bloodtooth’s Laumer Point jumps.”
“How did you isolate them?” Andros asked.
“I correlated the distortions with known gravitational anomalies in the sectors the Bloodtooth theoretically could have used,” Galyan said. “By mapping these against the fragmentary data from the black box, I was able to reconstruct a partial jump sequence.”
A star map materialized over a holo-imager, showing a series of interconnected points.
“What am I looking at?” Andros asked.
“I have narrowed down the possibilities to a specific star cluster, but the exact coordinates remain elusive.”
Andros hit the intercom button. “Captain, you need to see this.”
Soon, Maddox arrived, and Galyan explained their findings.
“So we still don’t know exactly where the jungle planet is?” Maddox asked.
“No,” Galyan said. “Just the likely region.”
“That will have to do. We’ll plot a course for the star cluster and figure out the rest when we get there.” Maddox rubbed his hands together and then turned, exiting the science chamber.
-54-
For the first few days, the journey proceeded without incident as they penetrated deeper into the uncharted sector of the Beyond.
On the third day, after exiting a Laumer Point, Andros spoke from his science station on the bridge. “Captain, I’m picking up a massive ion storm ahead.”
“Zoom in on it and show it on the main screen,” Maddox said.
On the main screen appeared a roiling vortex of raw energy that filled the bridge with a blue light. At first, it almost seemed mesmerizing—long streams of ionized particles writhed and twisted, their edges crackling with bursts of electricity. Each flash resembled distant lightning strikes. That wasn’t just a light show, however, but a destructive force capable of tearing through shields and disabling systems.
“The storm spans several light-years,” Galyan said. “We’ll lose several days trying to go around it.”
“How many light years across do you estimate it is?” Maddox asked.
“Given what I am seeing,” Galyan said, “five light years at the most.”
“I concur,” Andros said several moments later.
Maddox nodded thoughtfully. “We’ll wait an hour for full lag recovery and then set the star-drive jump for six light years.”
An hour and ten minutes later, Victory appeared in the ion storm. It was larger than five, and even six, light-years across. The starship bucked and heaved as arcs of energy writhed across the hull, leaving scorch marks in their wake.
There was a significant power drain until a team restored the collapsed shield. The heavy metal components helped prevent too many ship systems from shutting down. Andros was against using the star-drive jump to leave, as there was a theoretical danger in that.
“We may have to jump anyway,” Maddox said.
“I detect a lessening of energy ahead,” Galyan said. “I suggest we keep moving as we are.”
Maddox ordered it so.
Five and three-quarters hours later, Victory emerged on the other side of the ion storm, battered but intact.
From there, it took four more days of travel, with many Laumer Point and star-drive jumps.
Andros announced that they were approaching the outer edge of the star cluster.
“I am picking up a planetary body that could be our target,” Galyan said. “It is two point four light years away.”
“Confirm that,” Maddox said.
Andros beat Galyan to that. “It’s a jungle planet all right.”
“Yes,” Galyan said. “It matches what Valerie has told us about it.”
“Let’s go,” Maddox said.
They used the star-drive jump once again.
Soon enough, the main screen revealed a green world wreathed in swirling clouds and orbited by twin moons. Even from this distance, the planet’s surface seemed to pulse with life. An ordinary G-class star radiated 1.32 AUs away.
“Initiate long-range scans,” Maddox said.
The planet’s atmosphere proved to be a dense soup of moisture and organic compounds, capable of supporting a vast array of life forms. Mixed in with the natural flora were strange energy signatures.
“Do you want me to go down and look at them?” Galyan asked.
Maddox glanced at Valerie.
She shook her head.
Maddox understood. The Lieutenant Commander wanted the privilege of doing that.
“No, Galyan, but thanks. Helm, establish a stable orbit. Commander, would you like to join me down there?”
“I would indeed,” Valerie said.
“Then let’s go,” Maddox said.
In the hangar bay, Valerie checked her sampling kit for the third time, her fingers drumming nervously against the case.
Galyan floated beside her while a squad of Marines stood at attention.
“We’re about to set foot on a world that’s claimed at least one Patrol vessel,” Maddox said. “Stay sharp, stay together, and don’t touch anything without clearing it first.”
The team boarded the shuttle, the hatch sealing with a pneumatic hiss. As they launched from the bay, the jungle planet loomed before them, a swirling mass of green and blue.
“Entering the atmosphere,” Simpson said. “Brace for turbulence.”
The shuttle plunged through layers of thick clouds. Lightning crackled around them. Then the shuttle dropped through a pocket of clear air, the verdant canopy below rushing up to meet them.
“Sensors are going haywire,” Valerie said. “The electromagnetic field from the surface is stronger than anticipated. Will that affect you, Galyan?”
“To a degree,” Galyan said.
“Can you compensate?” Maddox asked.
“Partially,” Galyan said. “But it will affect more than me. We will be operating with limited scanning capabilities once we are on the ground.”
Soon, the shuttle touched down, sinking slightly into soft, loamy soil.
“Atmosphere’s breathable like we determined from orbit,” Valerie said, studying her handheld scanner. “But the humidity is bad. I recommend we use suits and helmets. The initial scans suggest a terrible proliferation of fungi and spores. I’m not seeing anything different from here. We shouldn’t breathe any of that if we can help it.”
“You heard the Commander,” Maddox said. “Suit up with helmets, with the filters engaged.”
That took time. Finally, the last Marine gave a thumbs-up signal.
Maddox pointed at the pilot.
The shuttle’s ramp lowered as heat and moisture slammed against them. Even in their suits, they felt that. The humidity was oppressive. Massive trees towered overhead, their trunks wider than the shuttle, stretching up into a canopy that blotted out the sky. The shuttle had landed in the only open field.
Valerie stepped off the ramp, her boots sinking into spongy ground. She knelt, scooping up a sample of the soil with a sterile tool and then analyzing it. “There’s lots of biological activity, which is no surprise.”
A rustle in the underbrush alerted the Marines. A creature burst from the foliage—a writhing mass of tentacles and chitinous plates, moving with unnatural speed. Before anyone could react, it snatched up something small and furry, disappearing back into the jungle with its prey.
“Did you see that thing?” a Marine asked.
“That was strange,” Galyan said.
“How so?” asked Maddox.
“The shuttle has just touched down. I would expect all native species to have fled the general area. Instead, we witnessed what we did.”
“Maybe the predator used our approached to help it hunt,” Valerie said. “Maybe it helped to expose the prey.”
“Whatever the case,” Maddox said, “keep your weapons ready. I don’t want to lose anyone. We’re here for the Patrol vessel. Galyan, any readings on its exact location?”
Valerie had previously given its coordinates: the reason they’d landed in this lonely open spot.
“I am detecting a concentration of refined metals approximately two kilometers to the northeast. It matches the composition of a heavily degraded Patrol ship’s hull, the one Valerie pinpointed earlier.”
“Do you have anything to add to that, Commander?” Maddox asked.
“Just watch your step,” Valerie said; “and keep in sight of each other.”
“You heard her,” Maddox said. “Let’s do it by the numbers.”
They pushed into the jungle. Vines writhed and shifted, as if trying to impede their progress. Strange fungi pulsed with an eerie rhythm in the underbrush.
Twice, Marines burned through a heavy patch to aid their progress.
Valerie paused to collect samples of the local flora. After a time, she commented. “Captain, the plants seem to be reacting to our presence. Look.”
She pointed to a cluster of broad-leafed plants. As they watched, the leaves slowly turned to track their movement, like a field of organic sensors.
“It is not just the plants,” Galyan said. “The entire ecosystem seems to be responding to our intrusion. I am detecting subtle changes in the electromagnetic field, propagating outward from our position. It became stronger after the last burning of vines.”
Maddox thought about that before asking Valerie, “What do you think?”
“Sir?” Valerie asked.
“I wonder if we should burn a broad path for ourselves to the spaceship,” Maddox said.
“That might be inviting retaliation,” Valerie said.
“I concur with that,” Galyan said.
“That would be better than letting the plants smother us,” Maddox said.
“I suggest we move through the jungle as unobtrusively as possible,” Valerie said. “We don’t know the range of the ecosystem’s responses. Let’s try sightseeing before we do anything else.”
“Galyan,” Maddox asked, “how fast can you return to Victory and request the disruptor cannon burn a path for us?”
“Immediately, sir,” Galyan said.
Maddox nodded. “That’s Plan B if things go bad quickly. Otherwise, let’s try your idea, Commander. No more burning down plants. We’re doing this unobtrusively.”
They pressed on, the jungle growing denser. Now, they slipped through or past thick vines.
After leaving one set, a Marine shouted, “There’s a contact left.”
The team turned, weapons raised, to find nothing.
The Marine blinked, confusion evident even through his helmet. “I could have sworn I saw something. It was right there, watching us.”
Galyan turned to Maddox. “What does your intuitive sense suggest?”
Maddox cocked his head. “Nothing yet,” he said.
They crested a small rise and the first signs of the crashed Patrol vessel came into view. Twisted metal protruded from the jungle floor, already half-consumed by the voracious plant life. A trail of debris stretched out, leading to a small clearing where the bulk of the ship lay.
“Spread out,” Maddox said. “Secure the perimeter. Valerie, Galyan, you’re with me. Let’s take our first gander.”
As they approached the derelict vessel, Galyan said, “That is not a Patrol vessel. Notice the markings, the writing on the side. That is not any human script I know.”
Soon, Maddox and Valerie stopped, studying the weird script on the side of the wreckage.
“That explains how an old Patrol vessel got out here,” Valerie said. “It didn’t. This is something else, something alien. Captain Marek was wrong about it being a Patrol ship.”
“Interesting,” Maddox said.
“Don’t forget that whatever infected Kresh was supposed to be inside there,” Valerie said.
“Believe me, I haven’t forgotten,” Maddox said. “That’s the key reason we’re here. We don’t want more of those spreading.”
“It is strange then that your intuitive sense does not react,” Galyan said.
“Not if there was only one parasite,” Maddox said. “It would have left with Kresh.”
“Do you really think that is the case?” Galyan asked.
“No,” Maddox said. “I expect something more.”
Valerie shifted uneasily.
“Are you ready for this?” Maddox asked.
“I don’t know,” Valerie said.
“Good,” Maddox said. “That means you’re worried and alert. Let’s do this and take a closer look.”
-55-
The alien vessel loomed before them, a decaying behemoth entombed in the suffocating embrace of the jungle. Vines as thick as a man’s arm snaked across its hull, pulsing with an unsettling vitality.
Maddox raised a hand, signaling the team to halt. “Valerie, what’s that smell?”
Lieutenant Commander Noonan’s nose wrinkled behind her faceplate. “It’s familiar, disturbingly so. It’s like the pheromones Kresh emitted, but stronger, more primal.” She shook her head. “This is different, though. I don’t feel any hostility—I mean coming from me. Could the parasite thing be native to this planet?”
“Or could it have emigrated from the downed ship to the planet?” Maddox asked.
Valerie looked around uneasily.
The sickly-sweet scent hung in the air like a miasma, cloying and oppressive. It seemed to seep into their pores, despite the protection of their helmets and suits.
“Galyan,” Maddox said, “any life signs in the wreck?”
“I do not sense any,” Galyan said. “But the ship’s hull is interfering with my scans. We won’t know for certain until we are inside.”
“Your holoimage can’t get through that?”
“Not until we open a hatch, sir,” Galyan said. “I am surprised your intuitive sense has not warned you.”
“Yes,” Maddox said. “That is interesting and possibly telling.”
The team approached the vessel’s airlock, its metal corroded and warped by long exposure to the elements of the planet.
Maddox instructed two of the Marines to ready their plasma cutters. He then stepped back, scanning the area.
