A yellow blinking light above a glass enclosure turned solid green as the pressurized air was released. It produced a short echo on the bridge of the Bohr transport craft. The chamber opened and revealed a naked man. His eye lids twitched as tiny fibers were wound around his exposed flesh by thousands of nozzles. The metallic spigots hissing as fabric flew out at incredible speeds. He reacted because of his training, and before any thoughts entered his mind, extended his arms. Soon they were covered in a green fabric interwoven with white tubes leading towards his heart. His voice box was rusty and could only release a light groan.
Once he was clothed the white tubes turned red and illuminated as his body jumped under an electrical shock. A small monitor above the capsule showed his heart rate jump from ten beats per a minute to eighty. He began shivering because his body was naturalizing to reanimation.
Softness gripped his words, “Computer what is” He shivered mid-sentence, “the current location of the ship?”
There was only silence. With his eyes adjusting he reviewed the bridge. There were a few blinking yellow lights above the other hibernation chambers. The captain’s pod was open but there was no solid green light.
“Captain…” Silence, “Captain what is the current situation? Have we arrived?”
He stepped out of the pod and felt something hard. He retracted his foot and looked down. There he saw a lifeless skeleton. The corpuses’ hair was the same length as it had been when he had entered suspended animation. Covering the bones was a decomposing fabric but the name tag remained: “Jennifer Dupperman”, the captain. A small tear appeared on his cheek as he stepped over his commanding officer.
A quick inspection of the bridge showed a command interface with a blinking cursor. He stumbled over and looked down at the old Linux system. It required the least amount of power but was the slowest way to communicate with the ship’s computer. He pressed enter and was prompted for a login. A laugh escaped his throat, because he forgot his credentials for the archaic system. The underscore line kept flickering in a rhythmic pattern. He was useless. There was one command he remembered and typed “Status” into the username section.
Massive amounts of text scrolled up the screen explaining that the reactor had run out of fuel. The engineer had been awakened to add more uranium to the apparatus. He stood up and walked over to the fuel chute and slid a bar of solid uranium into the power plant. Immediately, the Linux screen disappeared and he heard a familiar voice.
“Jim Remland, chief engineer to the spaceship Bohr, what is your command?”
“Morning computer, what happened, why is Jennifer deceased?”
“Accessing previous log information from the Captain.”
“Hello Jim, I assume you have seen my corpse and know that I am no longer with you. I am going to try and get to my pod but the crash landing will probably make that impossible. I placed you all in suspended animation for the next four hundred years. The computer was told to wake only you when the reactor needed fuel. Based on my calculations that will be about three hundred years from now. We were wrong. I can’t get into the details, but I am going to bury the Bohr into the crust of the planet. The other captains who didn’t land on the surface are planning the same. If we are successful they can’t reach us. Nonetheless, damage to the ship may change my plans. God be with you my love.”
He didn’t miss a step, “Is that all from her?”
“Yes.”
“How long has it been since she passed on?”
“Two hundred, fifty eight years.”
“Do we have any other communications in the archive?”
“For the first year we received information from the Churchill, Washington, and Eisenhower. According to their reports there were hostilities with an unknown local population. They soon ran out of ammunition and had to revert to fighting with melee weapons. The last of those three to send a communication was the Eisenhower. One ship, the Tesla, sent information for twenty years. Then stopped and began transmitting data sixty years ago for thirty years.”
Jim had run his hand through his hair and was making fists. He pulled hard on the soft curls as more tears dotted the keyboard. His mind was trying to comprehend what could have gone wrong. The planet had been chosen because it didn’t have any predators. It had been the best location to start a human colony.
“Do you have all the logs from the Tesla?”
“Yes, would you like to review them now?”
“No, how many weapons do we currently have?”
“All ammunition has expired. Safety of the user is compromised due to the amount of time it has sat in storage.”
“Do we have any other weapons?”
“No.”
“Is the ship functioning? Can we make a jump to Earth?”
“The Churchill stated that running was not an option. The distance to Earth is too great and remaining uranium would be insufficient. That was the reasoning for burying the ships in the crust. Orbiting requires too much fuel. Thus, the logical conclusion was to hide the ships where they were not reachable.”
“Crap. So we can sit here in suspended animation for another thousand years or burn up all our fuel in an attempt to escape.”
“Correct.”
“It was a hypothetical, or a catch-22 if you will.”
“Understood.”
“Computer, can you pull up a diagram of the ship.” Immediately the windows of the bridge were filled with the ships blueprints. They were a form of smart glass and a remnant from old ship designs. However, when the bridge of ships was moved to the inner belly of the craft the bridge remained unchanged, “and give me a damage report on all sections. Label broken sensors as yellow. Also show me how many people have passed away due to the crash landing; I want them to appear red.”
Colors began to dot the blueprint of the ship. Jim prayed that the engines were still capable of getting them into orbit. Something on the planet had been capable of killing their military and police force. He couldn’t believe that the Eisenhower, Churchill, and Washington had been quelled in a year. Luckily the Tesla was a transport vessel designed for research, the same as the Bohr.
The scientists on that ship should have gathered some information of the predicament on the surface. There was a large gap in their transmissions, Jim didn’t know if they had hibernated only to wake up and see nothing had changed. He would review their transmissions and have to make a judgment call on waking up the rest of the bridge team or going back to the deep freeze for another three hundred years.
“Computer, I am seeing a lot of yellow near the engine rooms. Can you go back to the historical data and see if the engines were damaged prior to the sensors being disabled?”
“Please review the screen as I give you a time lapse of the engines for every year. On years of incident I will move from week to week. Is that acceptable?”
“Sounds like something weird happened, but yes it is acceptable.”
The computer began on the day of the crash. At that time none of the engines were damaged nor the sensors. Only a small hole was visible exposing the internals to the outside world. That damage would have been patchable, thus, making the engines full functioning, until recently. Each year went by without any incident until two hundred, twelve years from the landing. At that point the engines were rendered useless and week by week sensors were damaged. The way the colors were spreading across the screen reminded Jim of bacteria growing in a petri dish. The bulk head and doorways remained intact and there was no further damage to the ship, and no one had passed away. They still had their full crew.
Jim sighed, “Jennifer was the best pilot in the fleet. Do you have any data that shows what happened to the sensors?”
“No, I was set in a low utilization mode. I wasn’t recording visual data because it would be over written in a year with no network administrators to change hard drives.”
“What about those vibrations felt in the hull of the ship?” Then he saw the barrier between the engine room and the rest of the ship. There were light vibrations resonating at the doorway that blocked access to the engine room, “When was this data recorded?”
“Now.”
“You are telling me something is at that doorway?”
“Sir, all I can say is that there is something interacting with the doorway.”
“How long as this been happening?”
“Twenty four years.”
“Has there been any breeches in the doorway?”
Jim got a quick lesson from the computer, “No, the doorway has suffered no damage. As you should know, the doorway is made from a uranium hardened alloy. Designed to protect the rest of the craft in case of engine failure that results in an explosion. One would need a nuclear weapon to damage the doorway.”
“Do we have any external sensors that can give me video?”
“No, they were all damaged.”
“So we are blind?”
“Yes, what protocol would you like to enact?”
“None yet, let me see the Tesla information.”
The Tesla’s information was vital to making a decision. It appeared that there was a species of animal that dominated the landscape. Throughout the records there was no intelligence on the description of the predator. The only accounts that were transmitted back to the ship that made an assumption on what they were doing. Only two ships had successfully burrowed into the crust of the planet, Bohr and Tesla. All other transport crafts had landed on the surface. According to the transmissions there had been a long battle, but humans were overwhelmed and taken into captivity. The most recent reports from the Tesla explained that the humans on the surface were used as labor. Some children were taken to nearby castles.
It had taken a couple of generations, but the human beings that were captives had been indoctrinate into a life of servitude. Scientists from the Tesla believe the rulers of the land had taken babies from their parents and isolated these generations. With no knowledge of the past they were malleable and could be trained. When the scientists had tried to explain the origin of the slave humans they would become agitated and call for their overlords. That was when the scientist’s transmission ceased and their suit registered no life signs. None of the brave souls returned. With no reliable information the Tesla had enacted a hibernation protocol. This meant that the survivors would awaken, breed to account for deaths in the last research attempt, teach the new generation for around twenty years, and then return to their pods. Only to awaken in another thirty years. That meant the Tesla would begin the next regimen in their breeding schedule shortly.
Jim leaned back in the chair and puffed out his cheeks as he blew air towards the ceiling. He was hungry but not starving. He figured it was important to grasp the predicament that was forced upon his shoulders. As he stared at the ceiling he thought about the sheer amount of dirt that was sitting on their ship. Something was nearby and banging on their back door. They couldn’t be that deep, but he didn’t want to assume it was friendly.
“Are you hungry Jim?”
“Yea, hit me up computer.”
“Please call me Norma.”
“Sorry Norma, I am distracted by the things going through my mind.”
“That’s why I didn’t correct you until now.” He laughed, “It wasn’t a joke. Have you decided on a protocol?”
“Not yet…” A metallic pouch with a giant red V on the front appeared from an air tube on the command console, “How much food do we have?”
While listening he pulled the top off and put the nozzle into his mouth, “We are capable of surviving off the V-packs for forty years. There is enough fuel to power the greenhouses for four hundred years. However, that is with limited ship functions.”
He cringed as the thick, dense, paste touched his tongue, because he knew what was coming. Just then the bitter and salty flavor sent shocks of distaste to his brain. Anyone who ever ate a V-pack knew how to get through the experience in the quickest way. Immediately he clenched his fist around the metallic container and forced every drop into his body. His knuckles turned white like a race car driver who was gripping their steering wheel. He turned it over and pulled a green triangle pill from the bottom and popped it into his mouth. Suddenly the previous taste disappeared. Leaving only the taste of his mom’s chicken dinner, she was long dead. While the initial part of the pasty food was horrid it did provide all the nutrients, vitamins, and calories to survive for three days without hunger. Without the special pill people would choose starvation because the taste remained for a month.
“With full ship functions, less the engines, how long can we survive?”
“About two hundred, fifty years. With a deviation of ten years.”
“What is your suggested protocol?”
“Hibernation protocol. It is better to prolong life instead of squander it in military action.”
“I disagree; we would be surviving but not living. We need to awake the current team and discuss our options.”
“You want the bridge team?”
“Yes, the chiefs of the ship. Then we will decide on a protocol or to involve the rest of the inhabitants.”
“Beginning reanimation for bridge members.”
“Can you get my personal property?”
“Yes.”
Jim walked over to Jennifer and moved her body to the center of the room. The bones cackled as they clamored against one another and some fell to the ground. The fabric turned dark as tears were absorbed by the fibers of her clothing. Her hand’s bones were left behind because the clothes didn’t cover them. Their loose nature had been their demise. He carefully returned to the scene of her death and picked each bone up. Then placed it on her chest.
While Jim cared for the deceased the computer had opened the back wall of his pod. With the lights on a gold metallic surface was visible; it split down the middle. It had pads of cloth for pressure points on the human body when asleep. These were only raised in a few points, but kept the person from feeling the cold sting of the metal when they first entered the pod. This fabric was a navy blue and dotted with small holes.
There was no pressurized gas noise as the gold backing was split using hydraulics. The chamber used hydraulics also, but maintained pressure in case the haul of the ship was compromised. These pods were also used for the crews escape. Nonetheless, a full body steel box was pushed into the space that his body would normally occupy.
“Your survival pack has been provided.”
“Thanks.”
Jim went over the steel case and pulled open the door. At this time the rest of the bridge crew had been awakened and were being dressed. Inside the case was a change of clothes and enough supplies to survive for a week. A few books dotted the container, but their names were not visible. Only the white spines stood out against a black background. The majority of the contents were designed around survival. The ammunition and firearm were worthless, but one weapon was still available, Jim’s Katana.
“Norma, what is this sword doing in my belongings?”
“It was snuck onboard by a mechanic before launch.”
“Why didn’t you raise any alarms?”
“Simple, there was a firearm in the container. If you somehow overpowered my systems and manually retrieved your effects I would rather you be emotionally compromised.”
“How would the Katana compromise me?” He saw a yellow parchment scroll wrapped around the hilt.
“Simple, it is from your past and you would choose it over the firearm. Thus, giving the security members of the ship the ability to kill you from a distance before you could invoke mass casualties.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence.” The paper had remained intact over the last centuries.
“You’re welcome!”
“That was sarcastic.”
He unrolled the parchment and saw the vivid black Kanji of his sensei, “Jim you have done excellent in your training. Since the first day you appeared before me and requested to join my dojo I knew you would do great things. I had this sword made for you three years before your journey. I have bribed one of the staff members to sneak it into your personal possessions. Tamaki Maou, I am sure you understand what that means. Use his gift well. Please continue to spread our martial arts. Lastly, I official step down from my role as the Master of the Tamashi no Akuma style, and pass the succession onto you. You were my last student and it will remain that way. You must protect the style with your life and use it only when needed. For now I call you Sensei-sama.”
Once again tears welled up in Jim’s eyes but this time they were for happiness. He had spent seventeen years training with his Master. A style of swordsmanship that had remained dormant for hundreds of years would be revitalized.
“Jim what is going on? Why is the captain dead?”
“Sit down, don’t ask any questions. I will explain everything I have learned since Norma woke me up.”
“Can we get food?”
“Of course.” Norma produced a bunch of V-packs for the newly awakened personnel.
Jim explained what had happened. That there was a group of predators on the surface that had taken human’s as slaves. No one had any documented information about their appearance. He explained how their soldiers had either been killed or used as breeding stock. Then there were the scientists who had gone to the surface and sent back information about the indoctrinated humans who lived on the surface. When they hadn’t returned the Tesla took a serious precaution: hibernation protocol. Finally, he got to the fact that there were vibrations coming from an airlock doorway to the engine room.
Tessa was the chief medical officer of the ship. She was older, with gray hair, and a larger build. The suits that were produced from the nozzles were form fitting. If one looked at her body she would look young and vibrant. Not a single wrinkle appeared beneath the suit. Her age was important because it came with wisdom and command of the ship.
Her role on the expedition was to command all ground personnel. Jennifer was in charge of the ship’s personnel and the ship itself. Tessa’s rank denoted that she would have been awoken the moment they landed on the surface. However, Jennifer’s command to put them to sleep for four hundred years overruled the reanimation process.
She began the questioning, “Jim, do you feel comfortable going into the air lock and seeing who our neighbors are?”
“I would have to check my sword and prepare it for combat.”
“But, do you want to do this?”
“Tessa, I am a man without a duty. When this ship’s engines were rendered obsolete I lost my major function. That was my primary role: reactor and engine repairs. Now, I am the only person highly trained in combat. Without guns, we have to rely on old style weapons. Don’t worry, I can handle myself in a swordfight.”
He reached out with a shaky hand and pulled out the scabbard with the sword still inside. He grabbed the wrought handle and braced for a struggle. A slight click was heard as he began to pull, and the brilliant silver blade slid cleanly into the light. Not a speck of rust was visible.
“Norma, how sharp is the blade?”
“Based on the readings I am receiving from your suit, and the visual inspection of the blade… You could cut a human being in half even if you started at their head and went to their groin.“
“Norma, can you get me a camera so I can exit the ship? Even if I die I want you guys to pull some information from my sacrifice.”
Tessa looked up from her tablet computer, “You haven’t enacted a protocol for the rest of the ship.”
“I am leaving that to you Tessa. Norma is suggesting that we enter into a hibernation regimen. I think we look into what is knocking at our doorway and then make a judgment call.”
“God’s speed.”
Jim entered his personal effects and grabbed the survival clothes. They were designed to handle extreme temperatures, ice age style weather. However, the fabric that already covered his body would compensate for the survival gear. He pulled on the belt until the leather creaked and then slung the samurai sword over his shoulder. Finally he zipped up his jacket. Immediately the red tubes covering his body turned blue which symbolized that the comfort suit had changed from heating to cooling.
Without looking over his shoulder he threw a hand into the air and waved. Norma opened the bulkhead that sealed the bridge from the rest of the ship. It was at the center of the craft and the safest location. Before the door closed Tessa was able to wish him luck. Without her knowing a small smile cut through his sorrow and uneasiness. Slightly yellow teeth appeared through the slit in his face.
“See you on the other side.”
The walk to the engine room wasn’t lengthy. Along the way Jim checked systems from small terminals on the wall. Sometimes the computer would lose a connection to an area. That could explain why some of the areas weren’t showing damage. The local console was rarely separated from the sensors. Oddly, there was no damage to these sections. If the engine room hadn’t been breached the staff could have piloted the ship into orbit. He still didn’t understand why Jennifer had decided against landing on the planet’s surface. There were a lot of questions, but Jim didn’t have time to make assumptions. Perhaps the predators could have struck them out of low flying orbit.
“Jim, I will open the first doorway. Once you are in the airlock I will close it behind you. All you need to say is ready and the second door will open.”
“Thanks Norma. Do you know the conditions outside of the ship, like is the air breathable?”
“No, do you want a space suit?”
“Nope, I would be a sitting duck in one of those bulky pieces of shit. If they are hostile I will need to use my sword. With the Tesla able to perform recon the atmosphere should be acceptable. Take readings of the air for Tessa. If I am wrong at least my death will be quick?”
“It will take fifteen seconds for you to suffer an embolism if there is no atmosphere. If there is an atmosphere but no breathable air you have only that breath to make it back to the air lock. Either way, you will experience significant stress which could result in pain. I will inform you the moment the door opens.”
“Thanks Norma… you’re the best.”
The computer failed to recognize the sarcasm in his voice, “You’re welcome!”
Jim stepped into the airlock. Once again there was silence as the hydraulics opened the doorway; there was no difference in the pressurization. This was a good sign, because it told Jim that her sensors were active. If there had been an issue the pressure wouldn’t have been equalized and there would have been a burst of air rushing from one compartment to another. The engineers called it the “A Trekky’s Dream” and it symbolized problems with the pressure equalizing systems.
The door behind Jim shut, “Norma, activate the I.C.M.D. system.”
A jolt struck his brain as the Internal Communication and Monitoring Device, I.C.M.D., powered on. He could feel his heart rate increase as he supplied power to the system. Light nausea struck him. Wrinkles around his eyes appeared as he tried to calm his body. He had never taken a life but enjoyed the feeling of his sword.
“Activated, can you hear me?”
The voice echoed inside of his brain. He hated the feeling, but it would allow them to communicate without him talking.
He responded with his thoughts, “Roger, you got my vitals?”
Norma’s voice blended with his own, “Affirmative.”
Jim’s hand pulled the silver blade from the sheath and entered his fighting stance. His right foot slid backwards until it hit the door that was now shut. He kinked out his left foot until it was perpendicular to his body. Then drew his left hand across his chest and laid his palm flat in the middle of the air; it was shaking. Across the top of his hand he placed the back of the blade. The edge prepared to lacerate the heavens. This would allow him to respond to attacks from any direction with the flick of his wrist. With the stance struck he prepared for combat by rising to the balls of his feet and bent his knees.
“Norma, open the final doorway.”
“Roger.”
As the airlock’s seal was broken he drew in a sharp breath through a thin hole in his lips. His green eyes locked onto the edge of the doorway. As it slid open an orange glow struck the edge of the blade and cast a reflection on the interior wall. He minded the gap that had been created and slide his foot against the door behind him; creating a triangle. As the door opened the light on the wall began dancing at a fevered pace. He couldn’t control his body. In a moment the entire doorway was open and he saw what had been causing the noise.
A young girl had a metal pickaxe in her hands. Beside her was a larger man with snow white hair. He held a sledge hammer across his shoulder and had been preparing to strike the door. The girl had just finished striking the alloy and the blunt, silver, and crude tip was pointing towards the ground. The man didn’t speak but ran and dropped the hammer in fright. The clang from the metal on metal strike left a ringing in Jim’s ear. The girl couldn’t move. She began to shake uncontrollable and her eyes grew to the size of almonds. Never moving, she behaved like a rabbit that was being hunted and assumed that movement would be her downfall.
“The atmosphere is acceptable. There is no toxity.”
“Thank you. I am staring at a human being. A young girl probably in her teens. There was a male but he fled when he saw me.”
“Roger, we are viewing them through the camera. Tessa believes you should open up a line of communication.”
“They probably won’t speak the language. Who knows if they are even capable of speech?”
“Tessa states that you shouldn’t make an assumption. Furthermore, she believes that your weapon is unnecessary.”
“We don’t know if they are friendly. For all I know the man ran off to get people to fight me, or his overlord.
“Affirmative.”
Orange light from torches danced around the engine room. The mirrored finish of the walls helped magnify the five torches in the opening. He could see the sensors had been pulled off. However, there was no remnant of the technology. It must have been moved somewhere. After the quick inspection Jim turned his attention to the girl.
Her appearance wasn’t horrid. Rather, the clothes that she wore were similar to casual clothing back on Earth. With light from the torches the clothing appeared brown. There were light patterns sewn in her top while the pants remained a solid color. Her face wasn’t covered in dirt and was of darker complexion than someone who lived underground. Unlike the women on the ship she wore her hair like a boy and it was cropped close to her head; six inches long. The oddity was the color, silver like the man who had been working on cracking the ship’s hull.
“The girl is tan. She has access to the outside world. I assume she is a slave for her overlords. Opening up communications can breed more risk if she learns anything about us.”
“Hold steady, the bridge crew is discussing the options.”
Jim stared at her while he communicated. To her he was ridged and set to strike. She couldn’t comprehend that he was speaking with his crew. Her eyes weren’t fixed on Jim but the blade in his hand. The silver sea had clouds of orange fire dance across its edge as the torches flicker. It made the metal appear fluid.
All of a sudden she broke her gaze and looked into Jim’s eyes, “Hel..lo.”
“She has spoken with me.”
Norma’s voice was a split second behind his, “Respond in kind.”
“Hello.” His voice was awkward when the I.C.M.D. was activated.
“I am Sanna and you?” The previous stutter had been filled with confidence.
“None of your business. What are you doing here?”
“Hiding.”
“From whom?”
“Them.”
“That helps…”
Then Norma’s voice appeared in his head, “Please sheath your weapon but stay in a ready position. I doubt she is a threat to you.”
Jim made a mistake, and answered Norma with his voice, “What if the things are out there and waiting for me to let my guard down.”
“You answered in your voice. She heard what you said.”
“Um mister. We are safe here.”
Jim’s head bowed before the young girl, “Fine.”
This decision was abrupt but he had to follow his commanding officer. For Sanna it looked like the decision was based on him trusting her. The sword clicked as it came to rest in the sheath. Jim then sat on the metal floor. His butt was resting above his heels, his knees on the metal ground, and his toes prepared to launch his body into combat.
Sanna cocked her head because of how Jim had chosen to rest. She walked over. As she passed through the airlock she touched the walls. Her fingers left a light film on the mirrored surface. Finally she sat cross legged before him and smiled. Her teeth were oddly white for someone who was living in the engine room of the ship. It bothered him.
“Why are your teeth white?”
“I brush them in the morning and night.”
“Who taught you to brush your teeth?”
“My ma and pa. Why are your teeth yellow?”
“I like coffee and used to smoke.”
“Coffee?”
“A bitter drink that helps you wake up.”
“Oh, Andy talks about coffee.”
“Andy who?”
“Andy, he is one of you.”
Tessa voice appeared on the intercom, “Andy Riffkin?”
It startled the girl. She began looking around for the origin of the voice.
Jim calmed her, “That is my friend. She is talking to you from inside our home. You can answer her. She is the one who made me put my sword away.”
Slightly skittish Sanna answered, “Yea, Riffkin. I think my Pa went to get him.”
“Excellent, Jim I think we are in the clear, relax.”
Jim spoke to Norma through the I.C.M.D., “Tessa is scaring the child. Tell her stop that for now.” Then changed to words, “Sanna why are you here?”
“Andy said there are things that could save us inside.”
“Do you have a second to tell me what you meant when you said Them earlier?”
“The harvesters…” She began to stare at nothing in particular, “if they were here you would be dead.” Tears began to drip onto the ground, “Ma… Ma and the…”
Jim saw the girl lacked the emotional fortitude to continue the conversation. He could only imagine how many had lost their lives on the planet’s surface. With no threat to his life present he switched into a cross legged position and reached out. His hand found a spot on the back of her head and drew her into his chest. He sat there and hugged her for a moment. He couldn’t feel the tears because of his clothing. Her sobs were the only evidence that she was crying. In a moment she wrapped her hands around his torso and squeezed the empathetic stranger.
With one arm cradling the back of her head and another around the small of her back the two of them looked like father and daughter. Eventually a tear sprung free from Jim’s eye. He had lost someone on the planet and finally had time to grieve. Both had lost someone precious to them. It seemed this would be a common experience for all humans stuck on this rock hurdling through space.
“Seanna.”
“It is Sanna.”
“Sanna, I lost someone precious to me. You don’t have to talk anymore. Just relax.”
“Thank you for coming.”
Their social interaction didn’t last long. Soon a metallic twang could be heard coming from somewhere in the engine room. Jim looked down at the girl and lightly laid her on the ground to the side. Then struck up his stance. The blade rejoined the environment and the atmosphere changed. Sanna looked at him from the ground and then towards the engine room. The twang turned to a click and grew in intensity. Whatever, was coming for the two of them didn’t care about stealth. Jim saw two shadows appear around a large pylon. As they approached more shadows appeared.
“Norma, prepare to close the airlock.”
A Georgian accent appeared, “Well, apparently southern hospitality is dead. I believe the proper response is: ‘Would you like some tea?’”
Tessa was back in the conversation, “I would know that ol’ voice anywhere. Could that be that young boy I delivered back on a farm in Georgia?”
“Ha! Young? I am now your senior Tessa, I am an old foggy nowadays. While you have slept, I have grown.”
Jim looked out on a man wearing the same clothing as himself. Over the left breast was a name patch: Andrew Riffkin. He carried a cane that had a sharp point on the end. The walking device was made entirely from metal, and had been the origin of the noise they heard. It wasn’t just for walking but had multiple purposes. The old man had hair down to the small of his back and it was braided. Unlike the young girl or her father’s; his hair was black.
“Shame to hear. You were one sexy man. How about you come in and give us the details.”
“Alright, seems good to me.”
“Only you. Step into the airlock with Jim.”
“Understood.”
Sanna ran to her father as the hardened doorway closed. Jim and Andrew both moved to the bridge of the ship. There was no need to talk as everything would need to be repeated. Eventually they arrived and were greeted by Tessa, she embraced Andrew.
Andy spoke first, “Tis good to see you.”
“Why aren’t you on the Tesla?”
“I got locked out. I ended up meeting a resistance force and they took me in. Been living near your ship since the Tesla went into hibernation protocol. Just fighten and surviving. Well now I just tell ghost stories and waste away. Probably only got a few more years left.”
“Fighting what?”
“It is hard to describe. Best way to put it is they are taller than us, have armored scales that deflect bullets, and claws that can tear a man in half. They move quick but can’t see in darkness. That’s why we live in the caves.”
“Why not?”
“Why not what?”
“Why can’t they see in the darkness?”
“They evolved with two suns but one burnt out by the time we began scouting for a livable location. You should have all this information in your log files.”
“We haven’t gotten through half of your transmissions. We only reviewed the important document that was sent out as a summary. What we do know is that they took humans and made them slaves.”
Andrew shook his head and pulled his pony tail around his shoulder, “So you don’t know about the satellite?” Tessa looked at Jim and he shook his head. Andrew sat down in the captain’s chair and Jim flinched, “Christ the Tesla’s communications array is trashed. We could only send transmissions. If you can receive them then you can open up the satellite we dropped in space. Then we can know what we are dealing with and what they are doing. All we know is that humans protect them and some go to the castle. We are blind out there man! They just killed us when they see us. It does look like humans are slaves now. They live a decent life as long as we don’t meet them.”
Jim had jumped in, “Why are they called harvesters?”
“They come and take any children after the first three are born. They are never heard from again, just moved to one of the castles.”
Tessa looked at Jim and spoke, “Then why is there a resistance?”
“Certain people hear stories and run. Most of the people resisting the harvestors are people who saw them kill other families. If we approach any frontier farm, the workers call their masters. The fucking scalely fucks arrive and kill us, then the family that called em. They take all the corpses to some central castle. They dot the entire landscape. Hell Sanna’s mom had called them when we approached. We just needed food that day but she already sounded the horn. Only one arrived and we got him. They are susceptible to one of these guys.” He waved around the sharpened metal cane, “gets through their scales. Lost ten men that day but saved two.”
“Do you know why they kill you but protect the other humans?”
“No idea, been wanting to use that satellite for years. It’s the reason I began banging on the back door.”
“Jim get us in communication with the satellite. Alex you help him.”
“What is the information to connect to it?”
Alex was young but a prodigy in her field. Having graduated from MIT at the age of sixteen she had been recruited for the expedition. If hibernation time was not accounted for she would be twenty-four. Her position on the ship was chief information technology officer. She still had acne from puberty and her unisex name matched her appearance. With slender build and lack of defining curves many people mistook her for a man. The only feature that gave away her gender was the light bumps on her chest and pink rimmed glasses.
Andrew let out a laugh, “I don’t know! I was security.”
Alex shook her head, “Moronic muscle heads.”
“Alex that is enough, go to work.”
Alex was bad with people. Her logical nature made bonding difficult. She rarely spoke, and when she did it was to insult someone who had showed emotion. However, this made her the perfect candidate for her position.
She stood up and looked at Jim. They both moved to a communication console on the bridge. This was located about ten meters from the captain’s chair. In front of the captain’s chair was a table with seats for all the members of the bridge crew. Most discussions took place at this table in the center off the room. Behind the captain’s chair were the hibernation pods. Thus, the design was: bulkhead, hibernation pods, conference table for bridge members, and finally command posts/consoles.
Jim was scared of Alex because of her skill set. At the age of seventeen she had hacked the Chinese government at the request of the United States’ government. It had taken her a single day to break through their security. Something that many thought was impossible. Jim suspected that she had been shipped into space because of these abilities. Either way, if anyone could find the satellite it would be her.
“Jim, can you confirm that the communication systems are operational?”
“Already did, everything is functioning normally.”
“How much soil do we need to get through?”
“No idea.”
Alex released a huff of frustration, “Well figure it out.”
Norma came over a speaker near their console because she didn’t want to disrupt the conference happening in the middle of the bridge, “We are currently one hundred fifty two feet beneath the crust of the planet.”
Jim felt useless while Alex worked. He sat in the chair besides her with his temples resting on his thumb and index finger. His eyes were closed as he massaged the skin by rotating his fingers in opposite directions. The tapping of her finger nails on the keyboard showed a love for the old Linux system. She refused to use the computer for important work. Rather, she focused only on the antiquated interface. Unlike Jim she was adept at the skills needed to unleash the true power of the super computer on board.
“Why do you prefer that keyboard to the voice interface?”
The tapping stopped, “Simple, the computer is logical and uncreative. With each stroke I learn something of my own volition. I ask questions the computer wouldn’t think to ask, I find answers that would be elusive, and I find my center.”
“That is the most you have ever said to me.”
“You lost someone important. I apologize for my previous statement.”
This slight amount of humanism passed, and the patter of her fingers began. Jim removed his fingers, opened his eyes, and watched her work. It was like watching a machine assemble a product. In the short amount of time she had been able to locate the satellites radio frequency and position in space. She was intelligent but also had a lot of the information needed to track their fleet’s equipment. With a range of frequencies, a standard form of encryption, and the correct commands, Alex didn’t stress her talent.
Alex looked over her shoulder and spoke directly to Andrew, “Do you know the username and password.”
He just laughed at her, and she released a grumbled curse. The entire time she worked on hacking the satellite’s operating system she mumbled swears. Some were clever while others were sophomoric. She had an odd mannerism that Jim had never noticed. Prior to her locating the satellite she had appeared normal. Once she began hacking the satellite she would blink three times instead of once. It seemed rhythmic and occurred in ten second intervals. The human before him was behaving like a computer.
A light whisper escaped her thin lips, “Got it.”
“Norma how long was that?”
“Five minutes and twenty seconds since she began typing after talking to Andrew.”
“Don’t talk to the computer like it’s a human. It’s a tool for our use.”
“Funny. Based on that time frame and what I counted you blink exactly three times every ten seconds. Seems like you are a machine too.”
Jim’s heart froze as her green eyes swiveled in their sockets and locked onto his katana, “A human is a tool to be used by other humans. Just like I was used by Tessa to access the satellite, and you will be used to kill.”
With those words she walked over to the rest of the group, leaving Jim frozen to his chair. While Alex spoke with the respective chiefs and Andy, Jim thawed. He turned back to the system which was beginning to access the onboard cameras. His curiosity had peaked when Alex had gained access to the satellite and began transmitting the first images of the planet’s surface. The high resolution cameras allowed the user the ability to see the veins in a leaf. Furthermore, that automatic targeting system provided an intuitive interface for the user because it integrated with the ship’s onboard computer.
As everyone spoke Jim began researching, “Norma, have the system locate one of the Castles in our vicinity.”
“Understood.” The ships main windows showed the planet. It was the first time Jim had seen the planet.
“Wow, it looks like Earth.”
“It has the same features and ability to support life.”
“Thanks Norma.”
Soon the camera found an opening the clouds and began magnifying. It had located a castle about twenty six miles from the entrance to the cave system that housed the Bohr. On a second monitor a detailed map had been downloaded and showed all current structures in the area. It appeared that there was an outpost castle within one hundred miles from one another and a centralized city roughly six hundred miles from their nearest castle. Jim whistled as his posture suffered. The rest of the crew was still in deep debate.
“Norma, can the computer see inside the walls?”
“Yes, there is no structure covering the courtyard. Would you like me to zoom into the courtyard?”
“Of course!”
Beside the monitor that currently held the map of the area was a second diagram that was being illustrated. This was the internal structure of the castle. It showed detailed distances and heights of the walls. These were calculated using shadows and the satellites position in the sky. Odd structures began to dot the in-depth chart of the castle.
“There are multiple courtyards, which do you want me to focus upon.”
“The one with the multiple structures that look like cubicals.”
“Roger.”
“Jesus Chr…” Jim threw up on the bridge before he could finish his sentence.
Alex was first to respond, “What the fuck…” but couldn’t understand what she was witnessing on the large glass windows of the bridge.
Followed by Tessa, who was the only person to complete a sentence, “Oh my, sweet mother of god how could they.”
What was happening in the small pens was horrifying. Humans that ranged from infants to young adults were chained inside the cage like veal. They were tremendously large. Some were on their backs but it was impossible to see their eyes. Their facial features were swallowed by excess skin and fat. It looked like they were being swallowed by a latex pool. Even the most obese humans on Earth paled in comparison.
However, that wasn’t what had shocked the crew. It was a small alter in the middle of the courtyard. It was a simple white marble structure. There were leather straps on all four corners of the slab. It was a basic rectangle. Normally the gorgeous stone was either: white, black, or sometimes pink. This slab was splashed with fresh and old blood. The crimson color contrasting with the browns from those that had passed long ago.
Alex’s logical brain had been compromised, “What are they doing?”
Just then one of the young adults passed into the afterlife, a heart attack. Within moments a gaggle of awkward beasts appeared. Their hardened scales were in the shape of diamonds. They flexed as their strong legs powered them forward and appeared to shimmer in the afternoon light. There was an awkward waddle as they used their tail for balance. This part of their anatomy was lightly protected and appeared rat like. Long snouts were visible and a thick long tongue darted between their invisible teeth, it was the length of their body. Small tuffs of hair were apparent as they pushed their way past the hand sized scales.
Andy chimed in a shaken voice, “That’s… them.”
As they waddled Kris pointed out a correlation between a species that existed on Earth, “They look like what is that name… it is on the tip of my tongue… Pandolins!” Kris was the environmental specialist and was well versed in biology. He quickly stopped talking when one of the creatures stretched its claw into the air and then buried it in the back of the dead human.
Not a sound was heard as the shocked crew watched a human dragged to the marble slab. A thick trail of blood marked the trek to the ritualistic structure. As the carcass was hauled a toddler was placed in the cage. The chain was adjusted for the young human and securely fastened. This young person began playing in the blood, Jim lost his stomach again.
The hunk of flesh was finally hoisted onto the sacrificial marble. They didn’t use the straps on the bloated corpse but it raised an important question: why have them? Using their sharpened claws the beasts cut slits in the arms of the body. Then pushed their snouts into the small entrances, there was one per an arm. Finally the crew watched as the tongue darted under the skin like a ground hog on a golf course. Within a moment there was only bone and skin. The innards of the recently deceased having been consumed and the sack of leftovers pushed to the ground.
Seeming unsatisfied with their meal they moved to another cubical and dragged a living soul onto the marble pedestal. The human was so overweight and lacked any semblance of muscle that struggling was futile. They watched as he was strapped into place, the same slits made, and his mouth became agape. His hidden eyes darted beneath the rolls of fat as tongues lashed out his living organs. Soon they were done with this meal and rolled it off the side of the alter. Leaving only two sacks of skin which had housed the skeletons of their previous owners on the ground.
Alex looked at Jim. Her eyes afire with emotions he didn’t think she was capable of, but her voice was calm and calculated, “Let’s kill em all.”
With a heavy heart Tessa’s made her first decision as leader of the Bohr, “Norma I have the protocol we are enacting.” With a clenched jaw and a slight pause she finished her sentence, “war.”