Citadel: First Colony (24 page)

“I have a feeling we are,” Alan said, looking around at the horizon, the line of wreckage, the distant hills. “But I don’t think they’re hostile.”

“What makes you say that?” Mitch asked.

Alan shrugged. “More of a feeling than anything.”

Mitch followed his gaze, taking in their surroundings. The wreckage of the module still had quite a few salvageable parts in it, and they were going to need them. The question now was whether it would be safe until they could return. He locked up the tool kit he’d been using and made his way into the shuttle’s bay. Alan followed, silent.

As Mitch stowed the kit, he turned to face Alan, who was standing just inside the bay door. Something caught his eye. A movement, a vague shape, passed just out of sight. “Hey!” Mitch shouted. He lunged forward and leapt out onto the ground.

Alan was beside him now, holding a wrench that looked slightly melted. Mitch had seen it earlier but had no idea what had happened to it. It had been in his kit, he thought, but it had never looked like that.

“What was it?” Alan asked. Mitch found to his relief that there was at least some tension in the young man’s voice.

He shook his head, turning slowly to survey the area. “I don’t know. I caught a movement, but it was gone before I could tell what it was.”

“Some kind of animal, maybe?” Alan asked.

Mitch looked on. There were no footprints in the dust and soil around the shuttle. None but their own, anyway. No animal tracks, either. “Have we seen any animals since coming to this planet?”

Alan shrugged. “Not really. A few birds.”

“I don’t think it was an animal. It seemed to be upright.”

“We don’t know what the animals here might be like,” Alan said. “Maybe they all walk upright.”

“Good point. What do you think?”

Alan looked around again, hefting the wrench like a weapon. “I think we also don’t know if there are any people here. For all we know this planet is inhabited. It’s not the one we were supposed to land on.”

Mitch stared at him. “How do you know?”

“The maps,” Alan said. “The photos we have from just before the crash don’t match the survey maps in the navigational computer. That’s why we had to use the photos in the first place, isn’t it?”

Mitch stared at the young man for a moment. “Do you always know more than you let on?” he asked.

Alan said nothing.

Mitch shrugged. “You’re right. Our maps don’t match. Captain Somar said something to me about it before we left. But I was hoping some of the maps were just missing.”

“They aren’t,” Alan said. “I checked the nav computer. Everything’s there. We’re just in the wrong place.”

Mitch looked at him for a moment, then turned back to the wreckage that loomed over them. “We need to leave now,” he said. “Those colonists need to be taken back to Citadel. Wherever we may be in the universe, we have work to do here.”

They turned and walked back into the shuttle’s cargo bay. As the door rose to a close, Mitch took one last glance outside. There was nothing but wreckage and terrain for him to see. Now, inside the confines of the shuttle, he at last was able to shake the feeling of being watched.

T
homas
was amazed at the progress they had made in such a short time.
And he knew it was due in large part to Taggart. The man was a dynamo of leadership. He settled every squabble, dealt down every conflict and organized even those who had declared they had no intention of lifting a finger. He was much better at leadership than Thomas was, that was for sure.

Still, despite his charm and the smooth way in which he dealt with people, Thomas couldn’t help feeling that there was something off about the man. He hadn’t been able to dwell on it for some time, but now that things were settling a little and he found himself able to move at a slightly slower pace, his mind lingered on the problem of Mr. Taggart. What was it about this man that made Thomas feel so uneasy?

Eventually Thomas came to a conclusion—something that didn’t entirely make sense to him, and he was unsure of what it meant.

Taggart was
comfortable
.

It was a strange idea but the more he thought about it the more sure he was of it. Taggart, unlike any of the others who came out of stasis, had seemed instantly prepared for their situation. He had sprung into action immediately, organizing the colonists, directing the actions that must be taken. Thomas himself had been privy to their situation and circumstances from the start, but he was only able to adopt a shifting, constantly evolving sort of half-plan as to what to do. Taggart, on the other hand, seemed to come out of stasis with full knowledge of what it would take to survive here.

Was he really that good? Was he really that natural of a leader? Thomas didn’t know the man or his history, but he felt sure that no one was as instantly adaptive as Taggart was. It was as if ...

Thomas stopped in mid-thought. If he was right, then the danger they faced was suddenly much greater than he had expected. They had survived all of this, crash landing on an alien world and rescuing the colonists. They had managed to get the shuttle working again. They had even, according to reports, begun restoring water and power to Citadel itself. All of this they had accomplished with the knowledge that there was hope and that their enemy, whomever he or she might be, was light years away and probably thought they were all dead. But what if their enemy was right here with them all along?

Taggart was appointing leaders for the several small groups he had created. Each would return to Citadel together, one group at a time. That was Taggart’s plan. Suddenly, Thomas wondered if it was in their best interest to be following Taggart’s plans.

Despite his distrust and sudden suspicions of the man, however, Thomas could find no real fault in what he was doing. He was helping these people survive, after all. The majority of the colonists were used to being the wealthy and the elite. They acted with a sense of entitlement at times. Most were soft and somewhat weak, and almost all were completely resentful of their situation. They had expected to be awakened to a fully functional colony with a serving class in place. Now they found themselves in a command structure, following the guidance of the richest among them. It was natural, Thomas assumed, for them to look to Taggart for leadership. He had led them financially for years. Whatever
he
invested in,
they
invested in. Whatever property
he
bought,
they
clamored to buy adjoining lots. It was possible that many of them were here, on this world, only because Taggart himself had been in that colony module.

“Thomas,” Reilly said from behind him. He turned to see her holding the wireless to her side. “Mitch and Alan will be here any minute. It’s time to get the first group ready.”

Thomas nodded. “ok,” he said.

She peered at him. “You alright?”

He glanced back at Taggart. “How much do you know about that guy?” he asked.

She looked at him and shrugged. “Rich, like most of the people we transport. I think I read that he bought a planet once.”

Thomas blinked. “Really?”

“Yeah. Actually, maybe it was a moon or something. It was for mining, that’s all I know. It was set to be a colony when he bought it, but he shut that down, I think.”

“Must be nice to own your own planet. So why’s he here?”

She shrugged. “Who knows? The rich have their own way of doing things. Maybe he was bored. Maybe he wants to buy this planet, too.”

Thomas again looked at Taggart. He didn’t think the man wanted to buy this planet. For one thing, Thomas was relatively sure this wasn’t the world they had been aiming for. Also, why allow these colonists to come here if he was going to buy it and use it for mining? Was he thinking of setting up his own little kingdom?

Just then the wireless at Reilly’s side beeped. “We’re coming in now,” Mitch’s voice said, and in a moment the shuttle sailed overhead. The noise from the atmospheric stabilizers was loud but not deafening. The backwash was a strong wind that made clothes and hair flutter and wave. As the shuttle touched down and the engines shut off, Thomas became aware of the cheering. The colonists, seeing the shuttle as a ray of hope, were celebrating. Taggart stood at the head of the crowd, applauding in large gestures as the door to the cargo bay lowered to the ground.

Thomas couldn’t help but wonder whether this was a good sign or a bad omen.

Mitch
guided the colonists into the shuttle one at a time.
They reached full capacity in just a few minutes. “Sorry there aren’t any seats, folks. But if you can be patient, we should be back at Citadel in about half an hour.”

There was little in way of acknowledgement as the crowd stood in the cargo bay and crew area of the shuttle. They were just shy of maximum capacity for the trip. Mitch was confident the shuttle could handle the load. But that didn’t stop him from worrying that some unseen problem might arise.

Reilly had taken her place in the pilot’s seat and was going over the pre-flight checklist. Mitch slid next to her. “How’d it go?” he asked.

She shrugged. “Lots of rich people. That Taggart guy took over as soon as he was awake. Had everyone lined up pretty well.”

“No problems on the ground?”

“Nope. What’s up?”

Mitch looked around to make sure none of their passengers was listening. “When you were alone, back on the other side of the ridge, you said you heard noises outside the shuttle.”

Reilly blinked. “I did? I ... I don’t remember that.”

“No? You sounded pretty scared,” Mitch said.

Reilly glared at him. “I don’t get
scared
,” she said.

He grinned. “Sure you don’t. But back there, I’m serious, you were telling me something was outside. And you smelled something like ozone. Like an electrical fire.”

Reilly was concentrating on the checklist. “So? I was going stir crazy, I guess.”

He looked around, again made sure no one was paying attention, then reached out and touched her chin, turning her gaze to him. He had never done this before and wondered if it would offend her. But she just looked at him with a slight surprise in her eyes.

“Reilly, I need to know what you saw. Or heard. Or whatever. What happened there?”

Reilly looked at him for a moment, then closed her eyes, struggling. “I ... I can’t remember,” she said.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean I can remember talking to you guys on the radio, and I can kind of remember a smell, like ozone. But the rest is blank. I can’t remember anything until I was in the air and on my way to get you guys.”

Mitch nodded, letting his hand fall from her chin. Their eyes locked for a second. “I think whatever you were sensing, we ran into it, too.”

“What was it?” she asked quietly. Was that fear in her voice? He wasn’t sure.

“I don’t know. But when we were repairing the shuttle, we kept having all of these electrical problems. And the whole time I felt like someone was watching us. I ... saw something.”

“What did you see?” she asked.

“Nothing. I mean, I’m not sure. It was vague. Like I caught a glimpse of a reflection or something. Only there was nothing there to reflect. It wasn’t a trick of the light. Something moved.”

“Did you ... did it say something to you?” Reilly’s manner had changed now. She seemed frightened. She was staring at the console before her but wasn’t moving.

“No. Like I said, I caught a glimpse of it. Why? Did you see or hear something?”

“I ... ” she started but stopped. She squeezed her eyes shut, concentrating. “I can’t remember, Mitch.” Tears gathered at her eyelids, and one slid down her cheek. Mitch put a hand on her shoulder.

“Its ok,” he said. She looked up at him then, tears in her eyes. Mitch suddenly found himself unsure of what to say or what to do. But then she sprang forward and kissed him.

In an instant, she pulled back. “I’m sorry,” she said.

Mitch was staring, wide-eyed. “No,” he said. “No, it’s ok. I just ... well, I didn’t know ... ”

“Yes, you did,” she said to him, and now she was smiling, softly, shyly, eyes averted. “You knew.”

He stared, then smiled and nodded. “ok,” he said. “Yeah, I knew.”

She turned slightly, blushing, but then looked at him again. The smile had faded. “Mitch, something happened to me back there, and I can’t remember it. But I know it had something to do with the external data and power port. And a wrench.”

“Did you short the port with my wrench? We found one that looked melted.”

She shook her head. “No. I wouldn’t do that. I’m not stupid, you know?”

“I know,” he said. “I had to ask.”

“Whatever it was, it wiped my memory. Maybe I did get a shock or something. But I have this vague memory, like I was having a conversation with someone. And I keep thinking about my dad.”

“Your dad? Why?”

“I don’t know,” she cried.

He reached out and touched her face, and she responded by pressing her cheek into his palm. Then she sniffed and wiped her tears with her sleeve. “I’ve gone all girly since crashing on this planet,” she said.

Mitch laughed. “I don’t think anyone can blame you. Listen, if there’s anything else you remember, tell me. ok?”

She nodded. “Are you going back to Citadel with this group?”

“Yeah. I need to debrief. Also, I hear that there was some trouble back at camp. Jack’s dead.”

“Jack? Wha ... what happened?”

Mitch shrugged. “I’m not sure yet. Billy Sans was manning the radio, and he was being tight-lipped about the whole thing. He said the Captain wanted to talk to me when I got back.”

“Well, it’s going to take about ten trips to get all of the colonists back. But what about the rest of the pods? The one’s that weren’t here with the wreckage?”

“Now that the shuttle’s back to flight, we’ll be able to retrieve the rest quickly, I think. But the first priority is to get these people back to base.”

She nodded.

Mitch made his way out of the shuttle to find Thomas and Alan waiting for him. Taggart, the man who had organized the exodus from the crash site, was with them. “We’re taking off in a moment,” Mitch said. “Anything you want me to tell Captain Somar when we get back?”