Crucible of a Species (10 page)

Braxton rolled the ship while pushing its nose down only to end up staring directly into a second set of alligator-like jaws rising up from the ocean below. He pulled up and to the right, forcing the tail of the ship down where it swung into the gaping jaws of the rising predator.

Chunks of flesh, shrouded in a liquid fan of blood erupted into the surrounding sky. Their vision quickly cleared and below they saw a thrashing, twisting body falling back into the sea. A slick of blood spread outward from the reflexive churning of the creature while smaller chucks of flesh rained down from above.

Brittany had been searching for a recorder in her ship’s bag when Sandra stumbled into her and landed across Tom Bradley’s lap. Dr. Shieve managed to grab onto the reporter’s shoulder and stand up. Her face was bright red as she straightened the front of her BDU’s.

Due to the wave drive, the passengers hadn’t felt a single maneuver in the cabin but Sandra shook like a leaf as the ship leveled off. Outside the sky and sea were once again where they should be but the scene below held their gaze.

Lieutenant Braxton circled and they could see half of the head and the lateral fins of the creature below were gone. A clean cut ran through the flesh at the edge of the irregular wound as though a laser saw had defiled some finely finished statue. Suddenly the bloody body leaped from the waters as an even larger set of jaws closed over it, lifting it in a hard, killing strike. The second creature had returned and it apparently wasn’t fussy about who or what it ate.

“What the hell was that?” Ensign Petrika cried in awe, “We were over a hundred feet above the waves and those monsters were still able to reach us.”

Dr. Shieve was on one knee holding onto the edge of Brittany’s chair. Her voice was weak but her sense of duty held strong, “Those were, I believe, mosasaurs. Thank God they didn’t catch us.”

“Oh, the second one got us.” Braxton replied as he calmly lifted the Hunter. Below them, the sea churned as the spreading blood-slick issued its luncheon invitation.

“I guess I overreacted. When I saw that thing rising up at us, I rolled the ship over and into the jaws of the second one who caught us down near the tail.”

“But, who killed it? Was it the other thing-a-saur? Why didn’t we crash?” Bradley asked.

Petrika replied in fascination, “No, it was the ship’s wave drive field. Our external field is set to push all molecules out from our path. That thing hit the field but, since the field extends only about a foot outside the skin of the craft, it only moved those molecules crossing that boundary. When that mosa-whatever caught onto our ship’s tail it was kinda like a red-hot propeller passing through butter. The field chewed it apart, throwing chunks of meat and vaporized blood into our slipstream.

“We should pick a landing spot for the Argos safely away from the water.”

Sandra replied, “Okay. Remember though, we have yet to see any large land predators and everything around here seems to come in superlatives.”

Ship’s News played across the walldisplay.
Commander Dalmas sat behind a small desk, he smiled briefly at the vidster before beginning, “A bit of good news for us all. A work-crew will begin groundwork for the site this morning in preparation to our landing.

“We’ve selected a safe and easily defendable position on which to do our repairs. The location will someday be the Four Corners area of Northwest New Mexico. Those of you familiar with the region may be surprised to see that it is now located near a river’s mouth, right on the edge of a beautiful tropical sea. A lot has changed in the area but I’m sure we’re all looking forward to spending some time under wide-open, blue skies.

“As to our food supply, we still need to confirm the nutritional value of the native foodstuffs before dropping restrictions. So please, continue to follow rationing.”

*~~*~~*~~*

Blue sky stretched before them
as they followed the coast. It spread from a lightly hazed sea horizon on their left to white sandy beaches, hills and distant mountains on the other side. The mouth of the river they were looking for lay ahead, its currents tinting the seawater in a blossoming fan of light brown silt carried from deep inland.

Two heavily loaded Hunter Recon vessels swung in towards the mainland and passed over a broad, white sand beach that gradually gave way to sea grass and scrub palm before finally ending at the base of low cliffs. The tops of the cliffs formed a flat plane extending for miles before eventually transforming into rolling foothills and higher, distant mountains.

The Hunters followed the cliff line until it opened into a river valley. Wildlife diversity exploded in an amazingly beautiful and idyllic scene as they followed the river’s rapidly flowing fresh waters.

The river had worked for millions of years to carve channels through the high plains on its trip to the sea. The meander of the channel twisted and turned, at times splitting to form side tributaries that later rejoined the mighty rush of the main current further downstream. Vast pinnacles of rock stretched toward the heavens forming needles or thin island-like projections of land. The raging waters of the river’s past had allowed these monoliths to exist through chance or perhaps because they were composed of harder minerals than their neighbors were.

One particular finger of land, near the mouth of the river, presented a wide, relatively flat top filled with palms and other trees that looked familiar to the humans. Surprisingly, it grew birch, oak, and maple in small wooded copses that abruptly transformed into a clear central meadow covered with grass. These were the new generations of plant life. They would eventually spread across the world of the future but for now, they blossomed still young, striving for a place as a new species fighting for survival on this ancient planet.

A stream flowed across the high inland plateau from where it started in the distant mountains. As it approached the base of this finger of land, its path wandered to the cliff’s edge, plummeting thousands of feet to the valley floor where it eventually made its way down to the river. Over the years, the waters cut away the cliff’s edge, thinning the neck of the peninsula until only a narrow section remained connecting the finger with the mainland.

This isolated plateau was the landing site chosen by Colonel Drake. It uniquely provided a neck of land, easily defended against all intruders from the mainland, and cliffs to isolate them from the inhabitants of the valley. Most of all, it boasted a stream providing fresh water.

The near-silent flight of the Hunters carried them over the highland, below lay a meadow filled with simple white flowers reminiscent of wild roses and a copse of mixed beech trees and brush. Lieutenant Johnson was about to touch down when a group of multicolored, flying animals erupted into flight in front of the ship using long arms to vault straight up into the air like a human pole-vaulter. Bright red and blue-banded head-crests flashed iridescent in the sunlight painting a flashing rhapsody of color as they twisted and turned. Once airborne, they unfolded multihued, elongated wings that grabbed the wind, carrying them aloft with very un-birdlike undulations and astonishing speed. “Pterodon, those are full grown Pterodon.” Sara shouted like a schoolgirl.

The two boats gracefully touched the meadow and two small doors opened on each of the ships. They had seen much in the past few days but this brought the reality of their venture to Sandra.
It’s beautiful. A whole world where humans could live, grow and prosper and yet no human foot has ever touched its soil. We are the aliens here. We don’t really belong.

“Oh my God, we never considered monitoring the sounds.” Sandra whispered in awe. “It sounds like we landed in an aviary. No, it’s more than that, much more.”

“I’ve been in the rainforest.” Ensign Petrika chimed in from the edge of the portal, “I always thought the singing of the birds during a shower was about the most beautiful thing on Earth but this puts the whole experience to shame. Strange though, I didn’t see that many birds in the area as we landed. Where’s all this bird-song coming from?”

After a moment of listening, Sandra spoke up, “I believe some of it must be the dinosaurs. Particularly the lower octave calls.”

Colonel Drake called back into the cabin, “Corporal Tyree, unload the dozer but watch that she doesn’t stall when you deramp. Remember, you’re gonna hit both a change in the oxygen mix as well as pressure.

“Dr. Shieve, please wait a few minutes before leaving the Hunter. Midshipman, you’re the official babysitter for the doctor until we have the site secure. Make sure she stays with you at all times.”

“Aye aye, sir.”

“I’m sorry, Brittany.” Sandra said over her shoulder as she watched the others disembark.

“Part of the job.” The Midshipman smiled as she glanced longingly out the door and then turned to the monitors. “I’d have to stay with the ship until we get the all-clear anyway.”

Sandra looked back toward Brittany, “It feels so different here. The air is fresh and full of strange, new odors. I guess part of it is the greater oxygen content. It’s so hard waiting; I haven’t felt like this since I was a kid.”

The dozer on the second shuttle stuttered briefly in the higher oxygen mix as it left the ramp. She could feel the floor vibrations from the unloading of their own. The air around them was vibrant with warm sunlight, exotic scents and sounds.

The dozers ploughed through the knee high open grass of the meadow. Their task was simple, level the ground filling in any uneven pits to prepare a landing pad. Multicolored insects filled the air as metal treads crushed the grass. A massive man with a thick neck and broad shoulders directed the dozers to begin leveling a section near the center of the plateau. Sandra turned to Brittany, “Who’s that, I haven’t seen him before?”

Brittany replied, “That’s Sergeant Frank Marshall. I’m surprised you haven’t bumped into him.”

“I think we can go outside now.” Brittany said as she climbed down from the command platform. “Hang on; I need to get my firearm.”

Sandra looked a little uncomfortable, “Do I need to carry one?”

“Not yet you don’t.” Brittany replied. “Not until you’ve been trained and qualified. Until then you can’t go about without an armed escort. Don’t look so concerned, it’s not a big deal. Come on and stay close.”

The girls followed a path of trampled grass to where a small rise in the ground allowed them to view the entire plateau. Soft waves on the ocean were visible to their right. Below them, the river worked its way up the valley rapidly passing from view around a bend.

The sound of the dozers transformed into a deeper growl as they strained to push topsoil. Sandra couldn’t believe her eyes as a clump of plowed ground behind one of the tractors lifted and then pushed to the side. Three bird-like creatures emerged from a hole. Judging by the height of the grass beside them, they stood about four feet high with long slender jaws and bodies maybe seven feet long. Even from here, Sandra could see their sharp, pointed teeth. A golden brown covering, resembling that of a pheasant, covered their bodies but one had a red feathery stripe that ran down his back onto the broad tail.

“What are birds doing underground?” Brittany asked.

“They aren’t birds, they’re dinosaurs. Aren’t you concerned about the dozer operator?” Then she noticed the sergeant standing off to the side. Sgt. Marshall held his Pulsar rifle at ready but didn’t fire on the three intruders. They seemed disoriented and curious rather than aggressive. One left out a low trilling call and began working its way down the ploughed section. A small brown figure darted out in front of the small dinosaur that left out a screech and charged after it. The other two began excitedly running up and down the furrows, picking at things on the ground and calling back and forth in low, undulating whistles.

“I’ve seen their fossilized skeletons. Their tooth structure is unique and the papers speculated their diet consisted mainly of fish. I don’t believe they’ll bother us, we’re much too big.” Sandra watched their antics with amusement. The dozer had stopped for a moment as the operator looked back at the three dinosaurs raising the ruckus behind him. Then the Sergeant yelled, “Stop gawkin’, Saren. We’ve got a schedule to keep! I’m watchin’ and they ain’t bothering you.”

Brittany commented, “Come on, let’s walk over toward the cliff edge. Keep your eyes open.”

“Ensign Petrika,” Brittany called across her tattoo, “Dr. Shieve and I are heading over toward the cliff edge. We’ll check out the area around the stream.”

“Understood, Midshipman”, replied the Ensign. “Keep us in sight and don’t leave the plateau. Be advised that Ensign Daily has a crew at the neck setting up fencing and some of the AutoSentinels.”

The day was very warm. A refreshing breeze lifted as they walked along the grass-free edge of the cliffs. Bird-song and the soft buzzing of insects filled the air with a cooling draft lifting off the water to caress their faces.

Dr. Shieve felt like she was in a dream world, “Maybe it won’t be such a bad experience.” She took a deep breath of the exotic aromas surrounding her and watched the colors play across the feather-like covering of a very large Pterodon’s back as it lazilly worked the air-currents on its way up the river valley.

*~~*~~*~~*

“Ensign Li,
notify the Hunter Recons that the Argos will be leaving orbit in ten minutes. We will rendezvous as planned.” Captain Adrian Lee turned toward his console and reviewed the landing procedure for the fourth time
.

Even though the worst of the damaged exterior was removed, they still expected to encounter more turbulence than normal. The two scoutships would meet them below as escorts on the final leg. Their job was to clear the the flight path of the many birds and reptiles that filled the skies.
We just need to take our time and do it right.
He thought as he read the last section of his notes.
We’ve performed touchdowns before but never with a damaged vessel and never without ground guidance.

“Helmsman, prepare to take us out of orbit and begin reentry. Nice and easy now, Mr. Sassaman.”

The Captain looked up and noticed his Helmsman smiling, it looked like he hadn’t a care in the world
.
Everything appeared in order as the ship dipped into the upper atmosphere. Turbulence first began at sixty thousand feet. Sassaman further slowed their descent.

The night side of the planet was dark and foreboding without the lights of civilization. A few brightly-lit sections followed the southern coast, Dr. Shieve had suggested these glowing areas were active volcanoes. Approaching thirty thousand feet, the soft bioluminescence of the night-covered seas appeared. Then the faint glow of dawn slowly rose above a clear horizon; it felt strange to cross more than half the world and encounter so few clouds in the sky.

The their ultimate landfall appeared ahead as the Argos passed through twelve thousand feet as vibrations and a low hum from the damaged section buzzed through the ship. Lee watched as the Helmsman compensated for the drag caused by the damage.

The scoutships met them as planned and the Argos began its turn into the final glide path where their speed dropped significantly in this final approach. Some of the vibration dampened out as they slowed but, in its place, a wobble started.

“Helmsman, can’t you correct the unbalance?”

“Sorry sir, the external field is causing air cavitation just aft of the damaged area. I’ve tried rotating our axis of entry. I’m attempting to keep it at a minimum.”

Visuals now resolved the river’s delta, ahead lay the plateau of land that would be the home of the Argos. The captain watched as the scoutships performed their weaving dance. So far the plan was working, the skies ahead were clear and without obstacle.

“Helmsman, bring her up and just a little starboard. There are some indications of turbulence resulting over the river’s outlet. Bring her up to …”

A sudden jolt and the framework of the Argos rang as though struck by a hammer that activated the emergency lighting and switched their consoles onto their internal supplies. The walldisplays went blank but telemetry and communications still worked.

“Ensign Li, get a report from Anderson. What the hell just happened?”

“Engineering reports an explosion in the wave drive capsule. Lieutenant Anderson is hurt and Ensign Petrika is off ship with the landing group. Chief Meecham is in charge.”