COLONIZING
TRAPPIST
A SCI-FI NOVEL
CHRIS SHOCKOWITZ
Colonizing Trappist: A Sci-Fi Novel
Copyright © 2018 by Chris Shockowitz. All rights reserved.
Published by:
Aviva Publishing
Lake Placid, NY
518-523-1320
www.avivapubs.com
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Address all inquiries to:
Chris Shockowitz
Email: ChrisShockowitz@gmail.com
Website: https://ShockowitzSciFi.com
ISBN: 978-1-947937-52-9
Library of Congress: 2018907926
Editor: Tyler R. Tichelaar, Superior Book Productions
Cover Designer: Nicole Gabriel, Angel Dog Productions
Interior Book Layout: Nicole Gabriel, Angel Dog Productions
Author Photo: Karen Schmautz, Sierra Springs Photography
Every attempt has been made to source properly all quotes.
Printed in the United States of America
First Edition
To Carolyn, Alec, and Kira for their encouragement and support
I’d like to thank the following for their contributions to this novel:
Susan Ricci, for her feedback and encouragement
Patrick Snow, for his coaching and inspiration
Karen Schmautz of Sierra Springs Photography, for her excellent photos
Tyler Tichelaar, for his editing skills and guidance
Nicole Gabriel, for her design expertise and guidance
Susan Friedmann, my publisher, for letting me be part of the Aviva family.
And to all my family, friends, and well-wishers, thank you!
CONTENTS
Main Characters
Part I: Exploring New Worlds
Part II: Building A Colony
Part III: Protecting The Colony
About The Author
Read Chris Shockowitz’ Other Books
DUBOIS, SIMONE: Captain in the Greater European Army, third-in-command of Exo-1, and later Director of Xenoarchaeology
HAMILTON, EUGENE: Commodore in the Commonwealth Navy, Commander of Exo-1, and later Governor of Trappist E
JOHNSON, JAMES: Master Sergeant in the Commonwealth Marine Corp on Exo-1
MENDEZ, SANTIAGO: Lieutenant in the Commonwealth Navy, second-in-command of the colony ship Atlantis, and later Director of Trappist Operations at High Point on Trappist E
LAMBERT, SAMANTHA: Technical Sergeant in the Commonwealth Marine Corp on Exo-1 and later Police Officer at High Point on Trappist E
LUO, XIAOPING: Lieutenant in the Commonwealth Navy, third-in-command of the colony ship Atlantis, and later Manager of Power and Civil Engineering at High Point on Trappist E
NGUYEN, JENNIFER: Major in the Commonwealth Navy, second-in-command of Exo-1, and later Director of Trappist Sciences
SCHMIDT, HANS: Captain in the Greater European Army, Exo-1 Medical Doctor, and later Medical Doctor at High Point on Trappist E
TOPOLOV, ALEXI: Civilian Scientist on Exo-1 and later Logistics Manager at High Point on Trappist E
WYNN, ANGELA: Captain in the Commonwealth Navy, Captain of the colony ship Atlantis, and later Director of Human Resources at High Point on Trappist E
AWAKENING 2230 CE
Hamilton woke. His mind was drifting in thick fog. He was lying flat on his back. A pleasant female voice was requesting, “Please state your name.” He tried to speak, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t even breathe. He started to panic and forced his hands to move toward his face. His arms felt like they were made of lead. He felt a mask covering his mouth and nose. A bitter, antiseptic taste filled his mouth. His heart was racing. Then his training took over. He was waking from Suspended Animation Sleep.
He opened his eyes. His surroundings were fuzzy. He looked up and saw a bright red button just above his head. He willed his right arm to move. Slowly, at first, then faster, until he hit the button like a volleyball player doing a one-armed dig while lying on his back. It was exhausting.
Hamilton could feel a tube in his throat vibrating, followed by a pumping sound from above his head. After a few moments, a chilling sensation spread through his chest. A buzzer sounded and the clasps holding the mask to his face opened with a loud metallic click. He mechanically raised both hands to the mask. His arms didn’t feel as heavy now. He tilted his head back and removed the mask from his face exactly as he had been trained. A long tube slid out of his throat. The chilling followed the tube up his throat, all the way out of his mouth.
His throat and mouth were numb.
Hamilton’s chest began to hurt as his body begged him to take a breath. He took one shallow breath and coughed immediately. He knew the Suspended Animation Sleep oxygen gel would evaporate in the presence of nitrogen gas. All Hamilton had to do was breathe, but he struggled at first. Each shallow breath became a little deeper until he could breathe normally.
He could finally answer the computer’s insistent request to state his name. “Commodore Eugene Hamilton,” he said after a few false starts.
“Voice recognition confirmed, Commodore Eugene Hamilton, Commander of Trappist colonization mission. Command of this vessel is now yours. Please sit up and take the Suspended Animation Sleep recovery medication dispensed on the right side of your bed.”
“Sit up,” Hamilton said in a rough voice that sounded foreign to him. “That’s easier said than done.”
Hamilton’s excitement overcame his body’s cries for mercy. He struggled to move at first, but eventually, he sat up in the Suspended Animation Sleep bed and found three pills in a metal dispenser. He checked to make sure his body was completely disconnected from the bed, grabbed the sealed cup magnetically attached to the bedside, and took the pills. He noted the engines must be working since he wasn’t floating off his bed.
Hamilton felt the stimulants start to work immediately. His vision was less hazy. As the fog lifted from his sight, he began to think more clearly and explore his surroundings. He was in a familiar room surrounded by six beds containing his crew. Each bed had a bright green light on it, signaling all was well. After struggling to put on his flight uniform for a few minutes, he left the crew quarters and entered the command deck.
Hamilton sat in the captain’s chair and checked the status boards. Everything was green. He gave a voice command to his ship. “Exo-1, ship’s status.”
A familiar female voice responded, “This scout vessel is on course and decelerating into the Trappist system at 1 G. We will reach Trappist E orbit in 100 hours unless you change course.”
“Good news! Atlantis status?”
“All status indicators on the colony ship Atlantis are green. She will arrive on schedule four months behind us unless you change course.”
“I can’t ask for better than that,” Hamilton said to himself. He then looked around the command deck, remembering the long hours he had spent training there and in simulators for this moment.
Hamilton wanted to be remembered as the person who had led the first successful colonization of an exoplanet. So much was riding on this mission. After the failed colonization attempt at Proxima Centauri and the discovery of a lack of colonizable planets near Earth, this mission would either prove that humanity had what it takes to become a citizen of the stars or that it should remain forever trapped in its solar system.
Hamilton took a deep, calming breath and noticed his reflection in one of the side panels. Eighty years of travel time hadn’t changed him much. His light brown hair was a little shaggy but otherwise looked the same. He stood up next to his chair to gauge his height. He still seemed to be 192 centimeters tall. He hadn’t gained any weight. He had never been fat or muscular. He had turned forty just before the trip began, but he didn’t see much of a change in the way he looked, aside from needing a shave and a haircut. Then he looked at his hands and added trimming his nails to his mental list.
Hamilton sat down and brought the main view screen online. He sat back a moment as he took in the view of this new system. The wondrous new worlds he had dreamed about for a decade made a hazy shadow against the faint ultra-cool red dwarf star, the Trappist system. He had trained for this mission for five years, and now the story he had played over in his mind so many times was all unfolding before him.
Hamilton took another few moments to drink in the view before getting to work on the most important job in this star system. “It’s also the only job in this star system at the moment,” he said to himself with a laugh.
THE CREW
It was time for Hamilton to start the series of scripted events that would prepare his crew for exploring these new worlds.
“Exo-1,” Hamilton commanded the ship, “wake Major Nguyen.” Major Jennifer Nguyen was second-in-command over this mission and the lead science officer.
Nguyen joined Hamilton on the command deck and said in an exhausted voice with a light Vietnamese accent, “Commander.”
“Major,” Hamilton replied. “I’ve contacted the probe network and almost have access to the data files they’ve gathered for the last two years. It’s hard to believe that eighty years have passed on Earth while we were asleep.”
“It’s not polite to remind a lady of her age,” Nguyen said.
Hamilton laughed and replied, “I feel more tired than I’ve ever felt in my life, but the excitement of this moment is more than enough to keep me awake.”
Nguyen smiled and picked up her glass of water to make a toast. “To Trappist!”
“To Trappist!” Hamilton said before drinking a long swig of water and returning the sealed cup to its magnetic coaster.
Nguyen took over gathering the data files from the probe network while Hamilton began waking the rest of the crew.
“Exo-1, wake Captain Schmidt.” Their medical doctor, Captain Hans Schmidt, MD, came from Trans-European Germany where he had earned acclaim for improving the health of soldiers in orbit for extended periods of time. He held degrees in medicine and computer science. Everyone called him Doc.
“Hi, Doc. How are you doing?” Hamilton asked when Doc entered the command deck.
“I’ve been better. How is everyone doing?”
“I’ve been worse,” Hamilton replied.
“Okay,” Nguyen said.
Doc was moving slowly but standing straight. His graying chestnut hair was a mess, but he looked fine otherwise.
After Doc sat down at his console, Hamilton said, “Please start waking the rest of the crew, Doc.”
“Right away,” Doc said. “Exo-1, wake Captain Dubois.”
Third in command was Captain Simone Dubois, a French national. Simone looked more like a supermodel than one of the best xenobiologists on Earth. Her papers on the possible types of life on exoplanets had been required reading for most graduate students of xenobiology when the crew had left Earth eighty years ago.
As Dubois entered the command deck, Hamilton asked, “How are you feeling, Captain?” She was slightly stooped over as she walked, making her look shorter than her actual 185-centimeter height. Her long, wavy brunette hair was tied back in a ponytail.
Dubois let out a long groan before dropping into the seat in front of her console. “Why did you drag me along on this mission?” she asked in a thick French accent.
She must be exhausted, Hamilton thought. Her French accent only comes out when she’s tired or upset. “If I recall correctly, I dragged you along because you hounded me for six months.”
Nguyen laughed.
Dubois looked his way, smiled, and said, “Did I do that?”
Her piercing green eyes were regaining their sparkle.
“Please help Major Nguyen analyze the probe data.”
“Right away, Commander.”
Next to arrive on the command deck was Alexi Topolov from the Russian Federation. Topolov shambled to his console at the back of the command deck. Hamilton said, “How are you doing, Alexi?”
His only reply was “Ugh.”
Everyone laughed, and Dubois said, “My thoughts exactly.”
The only civilian member of the crew, Topolov was an excellent oceanographer and geologist. His extensive list of accomplishments in land and sea disciplines made him a perfect addition to their planetary exploration team.
Then Master Sergeant James Johnson, an African American from Atlanta, Georgia, entered the room. He stood tall and straight; his eyes were sharp, and he looked ready to run another 10 K race.
“How are you holding up, Master Sergeant?” Hamilton asked.
“I’m not 100 percent yet, but I’m ready to roll,” Johnson replied.
“Excellent. Please start diagnostics on ship systems.”
“Aye, sir.”
The final crew member to awaken was Technical Sergeant Samantha Lambert. She walked onto the command deck like she was just returning to work from a nap, refreshed and ready to go. Her short, dark chocolate brown hair was a mess, but that wasn’t unusual for her.
“How are you doing, Technical Sergeant?” Hamilton asked.
“I’m chipper, sir. How are you?” Lambert asked with a slight English accent.
“I’ve been better. Thanks for asking. Can you help Johnson with ships diagnostics and establish a comm link with Atlantis?”
“Aye, sir.”
Lambert joined Johnson in the equipment bay behind and below the command deck. Johnson had half the avionics panels open and was pulling modules out.
“What’s this about, Johnson?” Lambert asked.
“My first diagnostic program found some bad circuits in the avionics module. Just my luck it’s the one farthest back.”
“Bad luck that. I’ll start the next diagnostic.”
“I hope you’re luckier than I am.” Johnson often made jokes about his bad luck.
“Your wife would have loved the view from the command deck.”
Johnson knitted his eyebrows as he looked at Lambert. Then his face softened as he said, “Yes, she would have. Sometimes I wonder if she loved space more than me.”
“You can’t say that, mate. Space was her passion, but she loved you!”
“How would you know? You never met her.”
“I know the stories you told me about her. There’s no way she didn’t love you.”
“Thanks, Samantha. That really cheered me up.
“Good. I don’t like working with sulky slackers,” Lambert said with a smile.
“It’s funny,” Johnson said as he worked. “She’s been dead over four years now, but she was the first thing I thought of when I woke up.”
“Eighty-four years now.”
“Yeah. Eighty-four years. So why did you come on this trip? You’ve never told me.”
Lambert looked at her hands and said, “I had family problems. I’m running off to the little girl’s room while this diagnostic program runs.”
“Little girl’s room?”
“It sounds better than unisex vac toilet,” Lambert said as she left the room.
“Crazy Brit.”
I heard that!”
* * *
Doc decided to speak with Topolov to see whether he was being melodramatic in the way he was shuffling about the ship, or whether he was hiding something more serious.
“How are you holding up, Mr. Topolov?”
Again, Topolov’s only reply was, “Ugh.”
“I really need you to talk with me so I know you’re all right.”
“I’ve traveled eighty light years to a new star system to study new worlds. Forgive me, but I don’t want to talk right now.”
“Fair enough,” Doc replied, “but do you know why I came here, Alexi?” Topolov looked up from his console but didn’t say a word.
“To keep all of you alive.” Then Doc walked back to his console and went to work.
* * *
Nguyen and Dubois were organizing the probe network’s data.
As they were waiting for their programs to finish, Nguyen said, “I’ve always been curious. Why did you come on this mission, Simone?”
Simone Dubois replied, “My family lived in Toulouse, France. Our home was very old. I left to attend Ecole Polytechnique in Paris. It’s a military university. I was away on my mandatory eight months of service when a fire swept through my family neighborhood. Even my boyfriend was killed.”
“I’m so sorry, Simone,” Nguyen said.
“It was a long time ago,” Dubois said with a sad smile. “Afterwards, I decided to stay in the military and study xenobiology. I love the work. I even did a paper on the microbes you found on IO.”
“My team found them. I read your paper. It was excellent.”
“Your team found the second and third life forms in the solar system outside of Earth.”
“I had a great team. I just took them to the places with the highest probability of success.”
“They had a great leader. When I heard you and Hamilton were going on this mission, I had to go.”
“I heard you fought with Hamilton in the Mars revolt.”
“I didn’t expect to fight. I wouldn’t be alive if it weren’t for Hamilton.”
Nguyen sat up straight and said, “Do you see what I see?”
They both stopped talking and began sending messages between themselves.
* * *
Nguyen and Dubois were always talking. Hamilton usually tuned them out as he worked until they became unusually quiet. Then they started sending messages to him. The probe data was disturbing. He messaged back to Nguyen that she should share it with the crew.
Hamilton called everyone back to the command deck. When Johnson and Lambert finally arrived, he began, “As you know, we are about 100 hours out from Trappist E. After the disappointment of Proxima Centauri, all of Earth is counting on us to prevent a repeat of that disaster. Major Nguyen has gathered two years of data from our probes. There are some disturbing conclusions I’d like the major to share with you.”
“Thank you,” Nguyen said. After a deep breath, she continued, “There’s no easy way to say this. The probes found signs of intelligent life in this system.”
“On what planet?” Topolov asked.
“All of them! Buildings, roads, towns, and infrastructure. Hydrocarbons in the atmosphere created by industrial activity. Even debris in space that had to have been made by intelligent life, but there is no sign of the species that made these things. In fact, there is no animal life of any kind that we can find from orbit.”
“Were there any biological contaminants found?” Doc asked.
“None that we can tell. There were trace levels of radiation in some locations, but nothing large enough to explain this.”
“It’s premature to draw any conclusions given the lack of details on the ground. We need to get closer and gather more data. Look for signs of plague, blight, biological agents, or warfare. We can still see cities, so whatever happened couldn’t have been more than a hundred years ago.”
“What’s the plan, sir?” Johnson asked Hamilton.
“I believe the best course of action is to proceed as planned to Trappist E and gather more information from orbit before landing,”
Hamilton said. “I’d like to hear your ideas before we proceed.”
“I think it makes sense to try to find out what happened from orbit,” Dubois said.
“I agree,” Topolov and Nguyen said.
The doctor just shrugged his shoulders. Johnson and Lambert remained silent.
“All right,” Hamilton said. “We’ll spend the next 100 hours analyzing the data further. We may have missed something important in our first pass. Major Nguyen will make assignments that best fit your strengths. Sergeant Lambert, I want you to run a remote diagnostic on the colony ship. I don’t want any surprises.”
“Aye, sir,” Lambert replied.
“Let’s get started,” Hamilton said.
“Will we follow the original mission protocol for our crew rotation and sleep schedule?” Doc asked.
“Yes. Good point, Doc. Our bodies need rest to recover from Suspended Animation Sleep. You will all have your schedules and assignments in your data tabs soon. Any questions?”
There were no questions, so Hamilton dismissed the crew.
The crew quickly settled into a routine and looked less haggard after getting some sleep. Excitement grew with each hour as they approached Trappist E. They not only had a mission. They had a mystery.
DISCOVERIES
The crew gathered at shift change for a status meeting. Major Nguyen began, “My analysis shows the debris patterns and composition in orbit around Trappist E are consistent with patterns caused by a space platform exploding. The debris pattern suggests that the explosion happened less than fifty years ago.”
“So, this civilization was alive and well when we left Earth,” Doc said.
“That’s what the data suggest, Doc,” Nguyen said.
“My analysis of Trappist E’s space debris doesn’t make sense,” Captain Dubois said, going next. “I’m finding organic materials like plants and even cloth of some type in orbit but no sign of animal life. If there had been animal life, I should find some trace. If the debris in orbit is from the destruction of a space station, there should be bodies, even if there are only fragments left.”
“That’s morbid,” Lambert commented.
“If a natural disaster happened on the planet, the crew could have been evacuated,” Doc said.
“True, but the heat signatures on the planet are all wrong,” Dubois said. “No heat signatures from animals, even though we see livestock pens from space. Something is wrong. I suspect interference with our scans.”
“Interference?” Nguyen asked.
“Yes,” Dubois answered. “Either natural or otherwise. Something is interfering with our sensors. Our probes can see plants from space. Something must be alive on those planets to give off heat signatures our instruments can detect. We’re in a red dwarf system. Infrared scans should work well.”
“What if they have a different chemistry than we’re used to?” Topolov asked.
“There would still be a difference between the heat signature of a plant and the ground nearby. I am stating my current conclusions, not a final report out,” Dubois said. Her accent was getting thicker as she became defensive.
“What if the dominant species here is a plant, and the surface of the planet is covered in some plant-like moss?” Nguyen suggested.
“I can check on that,” Simone Dubois answered. “That’s a good idea. I don’t think we can validate it without going to the surface, but I will try.”
“I’ll come help you with the analysis, Simone,” Nguyen said. “Two heads are better than one.”
“Thank you.”
“I’ll go next,” Hamilton said. “The debris field around the planet is bad. There are lots of objects, large and small, that could significantly damage our ship if we follow the pre-planned flight path and speed. The mission plan has Exo-1 decelerating at 1 G a long time to burn off speed from near 50 percent the speed of light to a 20,000 KPH orbital insertion. Most of the wreckage above and below the equator has fallen to the planet or spun off into space. At the equator, however, there is still a lot of debris. My plan to deal with this is to enter orbit north of the debris fields and do a short 5 G burn of main engines to slow us and insert the ship into a higher, slower orbit, above most of the debris. The ship’s weapons can automatically destroy anything small on a collision course. The ship’s automated guidance system can dodge anything too big to destroy if there isn’t too much junk to dodge or shoot. The major found the best entry point. All I have to do is program it.”
“To execute this maneuver, I must slow us down more than we originally planned. That means we’ll be experiencing more than 1 G of gravity all the way into orbit. Take precautions when lifting, walking, or handing something to someone else.”
“This should be interesting,” Lambert said.
Doc gave his report next. “Other than the presence of cities with no one in them, the mission is progressing extremely well. The probe data and our own observations confirm the mission plan. Trappist D, E, and F are the best planets to support human life.”
Next, Topolov smoothly stepped in with his thick Russian accent. “Trappist B, C, and D are tidally locked to their sun, Trappist A. This means that one side of the planet always faces the sun. Trappist E, F, G, and H are not tidally locked and rotate. There are no moons or steroid belts. Trappist D, E, and F have liquid water on the surface of the planets in about the same proportion as our mission planners predicted. They have oceans.”
“Is there life in the oceans?” Lambert asked.
“We know there’s something living in Trappist F’s oceans,” Nguyen replied. “Our probes can see large ocean creatures from space, but our sensors aren’t working on any of these planets’ oceans. On land, we’ve found no mammals or reptiles. Not even birds.”
“Thank you, Alexi. Are there any other updates?” Hamilton asked.
No one responded.
“Then let’s get back to work,” Hamilton said.
As the brief meeting broke up, Hamilton walked to a science alcove where Nguyen and Dubois were starting their work together. “Ladies, do you have a moment?”
“Of course,” Dubois said. “What can we help you with?”
“We are the senior staff on this mission,” Hamilton said. “I’d like to keep this conversation between us.” After the major and captain shook their heads in agreement, he continued, “I’m worried. We only have four months to explore this mystery and find a landing spot for the colony ship.”
“Don’t forget, if we only wake the crew and not the colonists, we can extend that time by up to one year, “Nguyen said.
“I know, but that eats into our reserve supplies,” Hamilton said. “A blight or miscalculation in our crop yields can cause the entire colony to starve.”
“Then we can’t play it safe,” Dubois said. “We need to get to the surface and find out what happened down there.”
“I agree,” Nguyen said. “We can keep live data links with the Atlantis so it receives everything. If we run into trouble we can’t handle, then at least its crew will learn what we learn.”
“I don’t like it, but I’ve come to the same conclusion,” Hamilton said. “We’ll proceed with the mission plan. We’ll orbit the planet and gather information for ten hours, then land. I’ll need a landing site.”
“We have a few picked out,” Nguyen said. “What should be our priorities? Close to a city, close to water, rural countryside, or industrial areas?”
“What do you recommend?”
“Since there is no intelligent life now, I think we need to check out a city near an ocean. Then we can collect soil samples, water samples, and try to find out more about the previous inhabitants all in one place,” Nguyen said.
“That plan makes sense to me,” Hamilton said. “I’ll send you the new orbital path once I finish programming it. You can pick a city close to our path. Anything to add, Captain?”29
“I’ll have a full battery of tests ready once we land,” Dubois said. “Something odd is at work here, but we can’t pinpoint what it is.”
“We’ll find out soon,” Hamilton said. “Carry on.”
“Yes, sir,” the two ladies said in unison.
Hamilton returned to the command deck to reprogram their flight path. With all the debris in orbit, any changes would be tricky. He accelerated Exo-1 to 2 Gs and felt the effects of higher gravity immediately. Muscles ached that he didn’t even know he had. Just a few hours of this, he thought to himself, and the real fun begins.
ORBIT
“I’m ramping our acceleration to 5 Gs,” Hamilton warned the crew over their comm channel. He could hear their groans as they accelerated. The cocktail of chemicals Doc had injected into them before they entered their crash couches had helped, but Hamilton still felt like he’d been hit by a truck that had then backed up and hit him again.
On the main view screen, Trappist E was growing steadily in their field of view. The red sunlight passing through the atmosphere created a violet halo around the planet. Pink clouds were in the hazy atmosphere. Land masses and oceans were shades of brown and violet, barely visible through the colorful sky. Trappist B, C, and D were clearly visible in the distance, orbiting the Dwarf Sun only a little larger than Jupiter.
They could all feel the ship maneuvering to avoid debris in orbit. The ship shuddered as the laser cannons fired, destroying smaller objects threatening the hull.
As the ship slowed down, the crew began to feel the crushing weight dissipate, replaced by blessed weightlessness. Heads began to lift up from the crash couches to check their pre-assigned monitors. Hamilton’s dashboard showed all indicators green from the ship and the crew. “We’ve achieved a stable orbit. Release from your crash couch,” he ordered.
As the crew unbuckled from their crash couches, they started floating around the cabin, then propelled themselves toward their work stations. Their movements were graceful as they floated past one another like choreographed dancers in space.
“You know the burning questions in everyone’s mind, Major,” Hamilton said. “Is there any sign of intelligent activity in orbit or on the ground?”
“Nothing has changed since we entered orbit,” Nguyen said. “Our landing site will be visible in a few minutes.”
“Put it on the main view screen,” Hamilton said.
The crew discussed the landing site details for another thirty minutes while orbiting the planet. The ship occasionally chose path corrections to avoid some debris and fired the laser cannon to destroy other pieces.
Without warning, blazing alarm bells came to life, signaling the ship was under attack.
“Exo-1,” Hamilton said. “Status!”
“The hull is under attack from an unknown source.”
Hamilton switched on the crew comm channel. “Everyone, button up your suits and get in your crash couches now,” he ordered.
“Major, status,” he then requested.
The major propelled herself into the room gracefully and did a somersault into her crash couch before checking her instruments. “We’re passing through a debris field. A cloud of fine debris appears to be following us.”
“Exo-1! Switch main view screen to external hull cameras.”
Eight views of the ship appeared on the main view screen. Each one had a number in its lower right corner.
“Expand eight.”
Camera eight showed a rear-facing view of the ship’s hull. The crew could see a dark cloud following the ship and small black dots covering the outside of Exo-1.
“Magnify, center of the screen, ten times.”
All the crew could do is stare silently in horror at dozens of small, dark objects hacking away at anything sticking out of the hull.
“Crew, analysis.”
As Hamilton waited for the crew’s reply, he thought frantically about options to remove these things before they crippled his ship. He could go outside with a laser rifle, but there were so many.
“They are not a living species,” Captain Dubois said. “They appear to be robots.”
“Now we know what tore up the Trappist space stations,” Lambert said.
“Our energy shields could repel them from the ship,” Johnson said.
“Good thinking,” Hamilton replied. “Master Sergeant, bring shields, weapons, and defensive countermeasures online. Once the shields are up, I want to fire on that cloud.”
“Aye, sir!”
Exo-1’s shields were designed to deflect energy weapons and reinforce the hull against debris. They had the side benefit of shocking anything touching the hull like enemy marines trying to board a ship or small alien robots.
Then the ship was rocked by what sounded like an explosion.
“Exo-1, status.”
“Explosive decompression of the observation deck. The deck was empty. The compartment’s emergency bulkhead is sealed.” Hamilton knew the observation deck, on top of the ship, was the only compartment with a window. It was made of armored glass, but that must not have been strong enough to resist the alien robots.
Hamilton checked the monitors to make sure all the crew members were in their pressure suits. All six lights were green. “Exo-1, reduce internal air pressure to zero!” By reducing the pressure inside the hull, any breech of the hull would not cause explosive decompression or vent the ship’s precious oxygen supply into space.
“Shields up,” Johnson said.
The crew gave a cheer as the alien robots fell away from the hull, motionless.
“I don’t know how, but the cloud is gaining speed. It will overtake us in less than a minute,” Nguyen said.
“Fire the main batteries into the cloud,” Hamilton ordered.
“Aye, sir,” Johnson replied. “Firing.”
“Limited effect, sir,” Nguyen said. “We can take out a few of them with each shot, but there are too many. We could use our entire energy reserves and only kill less than a quarter of them.”
“What about the EMP?” Lambert said.
“If there is any alien technology out there, it would be fried along with the robots,” Nguyen said.
“You saw those things,” Johnson said. “I doubt there’s much left.”
“Charge the EMP,” Hamilton said. “Fire!”
Exo-1’s EMP (Electromagnetic Pulse) weapon was a defensive tool used to disable missiles or marines in close combat. It had an effective range of 4,000 meters.
A few seconds later, Nguyen said, “The cloud is no longer accelerating. It is slowing slightly. Pieces are falling toward the planet.”
“It should be a good night for watching falling stars on Trappist E,” Lambert said with a smile.
“Johnson and Lambert, gear up and make sure we don’t have any unwelcome guests on the observation deck.”
“Aye, sir,” they both said as they unclipped from their crash couches and propelled themselves to the weapons locker.
Hamilton was glad he had insisted on arming Exo-1. The armament was light by Earth standards after the Zalthurian war, but it was enough for now. Would it be enough for what was to come?
Johnson said to Lambert, “Let’s use the anti-personnel energy weapons. We don’t want to punch any holes in the ship.” These short-barreled rifles would fire an energy discharge that would overload a spacesuit’s systems to disable the electronics powering the suit. Then the suit’s occupant would either surrender or suffocate.
“Aye, Sarg.”
As they were suiting up, Lambert said, “The Trappist natives must not have the types of weapons we have. This is a lightly armed scout ship and we wasted those bots.”
“The enemy could have had a fleet and wiped out its ships and infrastructure before it released the robot cloud,” Johnson said. “They might have left the robots to make sure they mopped up any survivors.”
“Yeah, I guess so. Let’s go fry some bots.”
Lambert stood a few feet back from the door while Johnson opened the emergency bulkhead that sealed the observation deck off from the rest of the ship. His suit lit up the room as he swept his weapon slowly from side to side.
“Eleven o’clock high,” Lambert called out.
Johnson snapped his weapon’s aim to the dark spot on the wall and fired. After Johnson fired, they both realized his target had been a small bag of ready-to-eat rations someone had left on the observation deck attached to a magnetic clip.
“Sorry,” Lambert said with a shrug of her shoulders.36
“That bag of cookies never had a chance,” Johnson said with a grin. “I don’t see anything else in here. I think this room is secure. The decompression must have blown anything nearby into space.”
After one more look, Lambert said, “I agree.”
Johnson switched to the command channel to report, “The observation deck is secure, Commander. Damage was limited to the canopy glass and a scorched bag of cookies.”
“That’s where I lost my cookies,” Topolov said.
Most of the crew laughed, releasing some of the tension built up over the quick engagement with the alien robots.
“All right, quiet down. Good job, sergeants. Seal off the observation deck and get back here.”
“Aye, sir,” Johnson and Lambert replied.
Hamilton switched to a private channel with the major and said, “That could have gone a lot worse. Are you reading any other damage?”
“A few antennas in the communication array are down. A few sensors for the science lab are also offline. Nothing significant. I can reroute systems through other antennas; the communications array has a lot of redundancy anyway. We should be able to repair it all the next time we land.”
“There might be more clouds of robots out there,” Hamilton replied. “We should grab a few for analysis.” He switched back to the crew channel and said, “I’m calling an end to general quarters. We can stand down. Doc, please repressurize the ship and check for leaks. Captain Dubois, I want to capture a few of those robots for study. We’re staying in orbit for at least ten hours to study the surface close up. We’ll start shift rotations at the top of the hour. The major and I will set up monitors to avoid any other robot clouds and warn us if anything attaches to our hull. Does anyone have any questions or anything to add?”
“So, we are back to our original work schedule and mission objectives now?” Topolov asked.
“Yes,” Hamilton replied.
“Are we safe from those things?” Topolov asked.
“I think so, and we will set monitors to warn us,” Hamilton said. “Are there any other questions?”
Silence ensued for a moment.
“You’re dismissed,” Hamilton concluded.
Then Hamilton called Dubois and Nguyen into the science lab. “Why didn’t we detect the robots prior to entering the system?”
“They were dormant,” Nguyen said. “They looked like more debris on our sensors until they activated, and frankly, we didn’t know what to look for. We do now.”
“Are these things communicating?”
“There are communications signals around this planet now and one short message between the planets,” Nguyen said. “We seem to have woken them up, whatever they are.”
Johnson entered the room. “Sir, we have a strong energy transmission from the planet.”
“Analysis?”
“I have no idea, sir.”
Nguyen and Dubois changed their personal view screens to see the new threat. Hamilton looked over Nguyen’s shoulder to see a focused energy beam firing into space.
“Change our orbit to investigate the source,” Hamilton said. “Do not cross the beam.”
“Aye, sir,” Johnson replied.
“It looks like we have a new high priority landing site, major,” Hamilton said.38
“Actually, it’s one of the five sites I picked out,” Nguyen said. “Take a look.”
Five green dots marking the five highest priority landing sites appeared on the rotating image of Trappist E on Major Nguyen’s screen. The screen showed the outline of oceans and land elevations as thin blue lines on a black background. The image spun on the touch screen to a green dot next to a red X, the symbol for the energy transmission source. “X marks the spot,” said Nguyen. Their ship’s path was marked by a white dotted line. The line was moving as Johnson redirected the flight path.
“Interesting,” Dubois said. “Whoever they are, we think alike.”
“The beam just switched off,” Nguyen said.
“I’m guessing that was a tight beam communications signal. They’re probably phoning home,” Hamilton said. “We should pass over the source in twenty minutes. I’ll be on the command deck. See if you can plot where that beam was pointing.”
As their ship flew over the ruins of a large city, they spotted an odd building at the energy beam’s source. It was made of a complex alloy in contrast to the mix of concrete and steel buildings around it. “Our instruments can’t penetrate the structure, Commander,” Nguyen said.
“We’re moving too fast,” Hamilton said. “This planet is small compared to Earth. Let me try slowing us down.”
After three passes over the structure, Nguyen said, “This is definitely the source of the interference with our sensors. I can’t read a thing down there.”
“We’re going to need to land to investigate further,” Hamilton said. “Based on the attack in orbit without warning, we need to be ready for anything.”
LANDING
The crew members strapped into their crash couches as the ship orientated for landing. Hamilton checked the landing program one last time before turning the ship over to autopilot. They weren’t taking any chances with the unpredictable alien defenses. The ship slowed and dropped to a few hundred meters over the ocean near the landing site. It slowed to 400 kph and dropped to fifty meters as it approached the landing zone. It landed a kilometer from the communications source in an open field with several blocks of tall buildings between it and its target.
Hamilton, Johnson, Lambert, and Dubois disembarked in battle armor. Hamilton and Lambert carried laser rifles capable of burning through ten inches of solid steel, while Johnson carried the heavy ordinance with a particle beam cannon, grenades, and two tactical range missiles. Dubois only carried a 9-mm pistol with selectable hollow point or armor-piercing rounds. Her suit was a walking laboratory with sensors of all kinds that sent data back to the ship.
“Fan out,” Hamilton said. “Lambert on point; I’ll take left flank. Johnson, take right. Captain Dubois, guide us in.”
“One kilometer straight ahead,” Dubois said.
After dropping off the squad, the ship immediately lifted off and flew to a nearby island two kilometers away to watch and lend aid if needed. Visibility was low on Trappist E even at midday due to the low visible-light output from the ultra-cool dwarf sun. The crew members’ suits automatically enhanced their vision.
“Deploying drones,” said Hamilton. Two twenty-five-centimeter drones broke away from Hamilton’s command suit and flew off to the right and left, gaining altitude fast.
The squad was moving quickly through a field covered in reddish-yellow, grass-like plants with thick stalks topped by flat fans of fine fibers that waved in the constant breeze. The squad members’ heavy armor crushed every plant they stepped on.
Halfway across the field, Lambert said, “Did anyone notice that these plants are slowing us down?”
Dubois looked at her feet and noticed the plants were wrapping around her feet as she walked. The squad’s heavy-powered armor was difficult to move in anyway, and these plants could not produce enough resistance to seriously impede their progress, but it was enough for the experienced technical sergeant to notice.
“The plants aren’t intelligent, are they?” Hamilton asked.
“I don’t think so,” Dubois answered. “It’s probably just a defense mechanism. I gathered a sample.”
“Watch your step!” Hamilton said. “Try to avoid the plants as much as possible.”
As the squad members exited the field into city streets, they saw overgrown decorative trees with flowers and colorful fruit. Large multi-colored insects were flying around them. Thorny vines covered 5 percent of everything the crew saw. Tall skyscrapers stretched upward for ten to twenty stories, ending in a jagged, ruined skyline. The red sunlight reflecting off the clouds and wreckage made for an eerie scene. The paint on the buildings was dull and faded with occasional bright patches showing the buildings’ original colors.
“Before the attack, this city must have been an assault on the eyes,” Dubois said. “So many bright colors and textures.”
Piles of debris, ranging from a few feet to a few stories in height, covered the streets. It was hard to look anywhere without seeing the bones of the dead. Dubois chose the best path through the rubble to their goal. As they made their way toward the communication source, they noticed the doorways and floors of the buildings were taller than on Earth. Dubois commented, “The aliens that built these buildings must have been taller than us.”
Hamilton stopped to record an alien skeleton. It was like a caricature of a human skeleton with long arms, long legs, and an oddly shaped skull that was long and thin.
“One second while I get a good vid of this alien,” Hamilton said.
“We’re the aliens here,” Lambert observed.
“You’re right,” Hamilton replied. “The inhabitants then.”
“And what are these ugly round things?” Lambert asked, pointing to one. “They’re everywhere!”
“I think it’s a car,” Dubois said.
The oval, egg-shaped vehicle had a glass roof with curved windows on its front, back, and sides. It was four-and-a-half meters long by two meters high. The front door opened forward, and the rear door opened backward. Several of them were along the streets until the crew reached a point in town where transportation had apparently changed to light rail.
“Let’s focus on reaching our destination,” Hamilton said. “We can explore later if it’s safe.”
“Aye, sir,” Dubois replied.
As they worked their way over the rubble, Hamilton came close to some vines. One vine lashed out and wrapped itself around his ankle. Sharp thorns tried to puncture his armored leg, but they were no match for the Ceramsteel plating. Hamilton cut the vine by firing his laser rifle and said, “Stay away from the vines. One just tried to grab my leg.”
“I’ll grab a sample,” Dubois said.
“Why do I get the idea this planet doesn’t like us?” Lambert asked.
“Let’s cut the chatter,” Hamilton replied. “We’re almost there.”
As they entered the square where the alien communication came from, they noticed a lack of plants and very little debris. The square was about 200 meters across, with a thick concrete floor and decorative seats and a stage on one side. In the middle stood a pyramid-shaped structure about ten meters tall. Its sides looked like solar panels. At the apex of the pyramid was a gun barrel—likely the source of the energy beam they saw from space.
“Are you picking up anything, Captain?”
“No, sir.”
“Let’s move slowly into the square. Johnson, on point.”
“Aye, sir.”
After covering one quarter of the distance to the pyramid, Dubois called out, “I read motion.”
“I see it now,” Hamilton said. “Lambert, one o’clock. Johnson, four o’clock.”
As they turned to face the threat, two armored robots, looking like large, black wolves, came running into the square on four legs. They ducked their “heads” and rolled head over heels, then stood on their hind legs. Within seconds, their front arms had become gun barrels, and instantly, high velocity slugs began to stream toward the humans.
The team members crouched down defensively, their armor easily protecting them from the projectiles. Johnson fired his particle cannon first, vaporizing the midsection of the first enemy, cutting its body in two. Hamilton and Lambert fired on the second with their laser rifles. It stopped firing within a few seconds and remained frozen in position until small explosions went off inside its body. The black beast then fell sideways and hit the ground with a loud metallic clang. Thin strands of smoke rose from its carcass.
“Hit the second beast again, Johnson,” Hamilton said.
Sergeant Johnson fired, vaporizing most of the alien machine’s body.
“Continue to advance.”
The team members moved cautiously toward the pyramid. When they were within five meters of it, Hamilton called a halt and approached by himself. He saw what looked like a door. The handle was a ring that Hamilton pulled and twisted to open the door. Inside, he found a control room two meters square by three meters tall. The controls were all levers with odd markings on the right side of each lever that he couldn’t read.
“Lambert,” Hamilton said. “Get in here and see what you can make of this room. I think it’s a control room.”
“Aye, sir.”
After looking at the controls for two minutes, Lambert said, “This seems to be a system of sliding levers. The horizontal ones at the top select something. The vertical ones at the bottom control whatever was selected, I think.”
“Can you turn it off?”
“Uh, nothing here is binary like an on-off switch,” Lambert replied.
“Captain, step in here and start analyzing these markings,” Hamilton said. “I assume it’s in their language.”
Hamilton stepped out to make room for Dubois.
After a few minutes of silence, Nguyen cut into their channel. “Commander, there’s a cloud headed your way. Two clicks out and closing fast. I recommend immediate evac.”
“Agreed,” Hamilton said. “Where should we meet you?”
“I’ll have to get you out where you are,” Nguyen said. “Even then the cloud will be on us. It’ll be close.”
“Prep the EMP. Once we’re on board, we can fire it if necessary. And do not fly over the alien structure. I don’t want that energy beam punching a hole in my ship.”
“Aye, sir.”
Nguyen already had Exo-1 in the air. She quickly moved the ship into position and hovered over the square, lowering a basket designed to pick up four crew members in full armor.
The crew members’ view while rising up to the ship was incredible. Above the tops of the buildings, it became obvious to them that these buildings had been attacked by energy weapons. The melted steel and concrete blast marks were clear indicators of such an attack to Hamilton and his crew.
Exo-1