The Cartographer (11 page)

“I will try not to piss myself,” I quipped.

Madoc fiddled with the straps to his rucksack and boarded the Navetta. Wraith and Satou followed him up the ramp and I moved to do the same until we were interrupted by a voice calling out near the docking bay entrance.

“Wait!”

I took two steps up the ramp before I turned toward the voice. I shook my head and rubbed my eyes while I watched a leprechaun run towards the shuttle as fast as his little legs could carry him. He was no more than four feet tall and had a rucksack similar to ours that he struggled to fasten securely to his back, the straps trailing behind him like party streamers. When he reached the bottom of the shuttle ramp I thought he was wearing a strange hat until, upon further inspection , I noted that it was actually a set of twisted horns wrapping around the sides of his head, similar to a ram.

Jasper moved to intercept the little man. “Crag, what do you think you are doing?”

The little guy ignored the captain and ran halfway up the ramp to meet me. “Hello, my name is Crag'Dughai and I am the science officer aboard the Argus. Didn't Satou tell you that I was interested in joining you for this mission?”

I looked past Crag'Dughai toward the very irate Captain standing at the bottom of the ramp with his arms crossed. I held up my hands to show that I had no idea what he was talking about.

“Crag, I told you we were not sure we needed a science officer for this mission,” Satou said over my shoulder. “At least until we gathered more data.”

“That is why I am here,” he replied. “I came to tell you that our scans have confirmed intelligent life on the surface of the planet.”

Satou shrugged. “I figured as much since receiving the initial scans.”

Crag'Dughai looked around nervously, his little hands twitching at his sides. “That is not all, initial geology tests have come in as well.”

“Ah, good! Wraith will be pleased to know that he will have data to build from.”

“Wait,” Crag'Dughai interrupted. “Initial geological scans indicate that the planet has a large concentration of technetium underneath a mountain range along the southernmost continent.”

I felt Satou stiffen by my side. “Technetium,” he gasped, “are you absolutely sure?”

“Wait a minute, I think I have heard of that stuff,” I said. “Isn't it some sort of radioactive metal?”

“Yes and no,” Satou replied. “Technetium is arguably the most valuable material in the universe. We use it as a secondary fuel and it is very hard to come by. Only three planets within the Consortium have supply enough to support our fleet.”

“Oh yeah, I remember learning about it in chemistry class,” I recalled. “Isn't it something that is produced through a nuclear reaction or something like that?”

“I guess you could say that,” Satou replied. “For it to be abundant under the planet's surface, that would mean that there is a lot of radioactive activity occurring under the crust so we should stay away from that particular region for now.”

“We have uploaded everything you need to know before you disembark,” Jasper said and scowled at Crag'Dughai before the ramp closed behind us.

The “bus” was bigger on the inside than its appearance led me to believe. There were about eight cloth-covered seats lined up side by side with a glass partition separating the passenger compartment from the two oversized pilot chairs parked in front of the cockpit controls. The passenger area of the vessel was about fifty feet long and ten feet wide and I felt like I was on the tour bus of a famous rock band. I admired the spacious interior by tossing off my rucksack and plopping down on one of the seats. I glanced toward the rear of the compartment and Gard was strapped into a section that looked like an open phone booth. His eyes were dark and figured he must have powered down for the trip.

Crag'Dughai and Wraith strapped themselves in as Madoc and Satou made their way into the cockpit. Wraith motioned toward the harness on my seat and made a seatbelt clicking motion to indicate that I needed to strap myself in. After fastening the shoulder harness I went to click the lap belt in place but hesitated when I was reminded me of my final moments with Sam outside that cave. I ran my hand over the belt, half expecting it to be similar to the rope I tied to my waist that day and slid it into the locking mechanism. I wondered what Sam would be doing at that very moment and giggled when I thought about Sam learning that I has been rocketing around space investigating alien worlds. “Please let everything be OK with you and my parents,” I whispered before being pulled from my thoughts by Satou. He communicated to the Argus that we were clear for takeoff.

The shuttle banged awkwardly against the wall as Satou and Madoc attempted to guide it out of the bay. The dock doors slid back revealing the dotted landscape of outer space. With the doors opened completely I was able to glimpse the planet for the first time, which I dubbed Planet X to the chagrin of my crewmates. Planet X, a beautifully crafted blue-green marble that eerily resembled Earth, was surrounded by four dark moons. If it wasn't for the moons I would have sworn that we made one giant U-turn and floated high above my home planet.

My chest felt like it was pushed into my spine from the forward momentum of the launch as I turned into a vertical pancake in my seat. All ability to talk was lost as my throat constricted (partially because of fear, and partially because of the gravitational forces) and the only thing I could do was clench the arm rests with such force that I almost broke my fingers. My science teacher once asked his students if sound traveled in outer space, but at that particular moment I couldn't be sure of the answer because my throat was in my stomach, which made it impossible to scream. Our shuttle hurtled toward the planet and I watched as the marble grew bigger, eventually surrounding us with its atmosphere.

When we broke thru the upper atmosphere I noticed an ocean below us with a large land mass off to the right, but as we rocketed closer I found it hard to focus on the scenery because we were engulfed in flames. I began to panic and turned toward Wraith who sat calmly, looking around like he was on a tour of Hawaii. I peeled my eyes away to Crag'Dughai who smiled and saluted me, which led me to believe that he was being entertained by my sheer terror. If I wasn't strapped into the chair rocketing to my death I would have got up and strangled him.

The flames vanished shortly after entering the atmosphere. Satou barked some orders and we slowed significantly and I hoped that my major organs which were rearranged during the voyage would be returned to their rightful location. We hovered no higher than a passenger jet and it was at that time that I noticed the ocean's water was a light violet color instead of the familiar blue I was used to. I had to remind myself that we weren't in Kansas anymore…or Earth, for that matter.

They guided the shuttle toward a densely wooded grove behind a mountain range which dwarfed the Himalayas. Even the trees on the planet differed from Earth in that the leaves were a glistening pink, dripping a viscous substance that Wraith warned me not to touch until it was scanned. Once the craft came to a complete stop, Satou turned and looked back at us.

“Is everyone OK?”

Wraith and Crag'Dughai mumbled their acknowledgements, but I found it difficult to speak because I was afraid I had swallowed my tongue. I managed to nod my head weakly, stood on wobbly legs and attempted to strap on my rucksack until Madoc called out over his shoulder.

“Wait a minute folks, I am receiving scans of life forms in the area. I started an imaging scan in a five kilometer radius and will flip on the external speakers.”

I didn't know the specifics of an “imaging scan” but I thought it was safe to assume that Madoc was fishing for the source of the life signs. He activated the speakers and suddenly our cabin became engulfed in the sounds of a forest. Wind whistled through the leaves and cries of alien beasts in the distance filled my ears and as I strained to identify the sounds, I swore I heard the distance roar of the ocean smashing against a rocky bluff. I glanced at Satou who had his palms on the control panel, peering intently through the front window.

“I hear animals or something,” I said. “Could that be what the scanners are picking up?”

“Could be,” Madoc replied although the glow of the scanners reflected his doubt.

“
The sounds are definitely animalistic in nature
,” called a familiar voice and I turned to look into Gard's blinking strobes. He detached himself from the phone booth (later learned to be a charging station) and rolled to the window.

Wraith and Satou were finishing their preparations and coolly strapping on their backpacks. Their lack of interest in Madoc's scans calmed my nerves somewhat. I knew they were grizzled veterans of the planetary scouting world and I fed off their calm demeanor. My gaze switched to Crag'Dughai who was jumping up and down like a kid in a toy store and I relaxed.

“I am still receiving scans of life in the area, but physiology scans indicate cognitive but below average brain function,” Madoc said.

I looked at the others to see their reaction to the news. Satou saw my confused look and smiled.

“Basically an animal,” he clarified. “Possibly something similar to an Earth monkey.”

“Probably accounts for what we hear outside,” Wraith interjected.

Madoc stood up and pushed a button, causing the entry ramp to descend with a whoosh and a clang. Crag'Dughai and Wraith descended the ramp followed by Madoc. I secured the graphite rod to my side as Gard and I followed them with Satou bringing up the rear. Before I reached the bottom of the ramp a hand fell on my shoulder.

“Please heed this advice,” Satou urged. “Never assume anything.”

I looked up at him and acknowledged the concern. “What do you mean?”

He let go of my shoulder and pointed down the ramp. “Always remember that when you visit a new world that you are not on Earth anymore. Never assume just because something was a certain way on Earth that it will be the same everywhere. Up could be down, water could be desert, black could be white.”

“OK, so what am I supposed to do when I see blackened whiteness?” I joked.

“By the time that happens,” he replied somberly. “I hope you will know the answer.”

Close Encounters Of The Unpleasant Kind

“W
hat's wrong?”

Satou stood at the bottom of the ramp, waiting for me.

“Is it OK for me to go out there?” I asked, gesturing beyond the ramp. “I guess what I mean is, will I be able to breathe?”

Satou smiled. “Yes, Nathan, that is the first thing we check before blindly running from the ship onto the planet.”

I slapped myself in the forehead. “Oh, of course you do.” I exited the ship and placed my hand over my eyes to ward off the sunlight as I looked around.

The alien world was breathtaking and I tried to take it all in. I marveled at the canvass of beauty spread around us. Pink leaves fell from the trees and were gathered at our feet. I raised my face toward the sky and admired the soft blue color accentuated with clouds of cotton and dotted with an orange sun. Two faded crescent moons formed bookends around the sun and I took in a breath of cool, crisp air, unlike any I had breathed on Earth. It was devoid of industrial pollutants and enveloped me in its cleanliness while a cool breeze whipped past, drying the beads of sweat lingering on my brow.

“Current temperature is sixty eight degrees Fahrenheit,” Satou said, holding an item that looked like a snub-nosed pistol with a small digital screen on the back. “Humidity is three percent.”

Madoc set up several tripods around the Navetta and connected them with a wire mesh screen. “Crag, I need you with me,” he said before turning to me. “Satou knows the drill, Nathan, so stick close.”

Crag followed him up the ramp and it closed with a thud. Before I could turn around and return to Satou, the vessel vanished before my eyes. Where there was once a shuttle, there was now an open space surrounded by trees. In a blind panic I tripped over a rock and fell hard on my rear, and I felt as I did back in the cave on Earth.

“Oh my God, they're gone,” I cried.

Wraith was the closest and the first to reach me, but I certainly did not expect the laughter that followed.

“Calm yourself,” he said. “Madoc has only engaged the shuttle's camouflaging device.”

“Camouflaging device?” I repeated.

“We wouldn't get very far if the inhabitants of the planet just happened to be out for a stroll and stumbled across the shuttle,” he said.

I looked at the ground, trying to hide the rose bloom forming in my cheeks. “I guess I still have a lot to learn.”

“Yes,” Satou replied. “But it is my job to make sure that you do.”

I joined the rest of the scouting party as they gathered thirty yards down a dirt path that twisted into the heart of the grove. Gard used his pincer hand to gather soil from the path while Wraith held out a glass vial. Gard dropped the soil into the vial and colors swirled within it, forming a rainbow briefly before settling on dark red—like blood, I thought with a shudder.

“
Soil is comprised as follows: forty percent clay, five percent water, twenty five percent silt, nine percent limestone and twenty one percent unidentified organic matter, possibly dead flora and/or animal matter
,” Gard uttered mechanically.