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“Doppler. What are you doing?”

  Nothing. No response. Aria walked over and touched Candice on the shoulder. The woman’s eyes were open. Her hands were laced together by her face. “What did I do?”

  Aria wasn’t sure. “What are you talking about?”

  “Ten years,” Candice said. “We just wasted ten years of our lives. Twenty, really.”

  “You knew this when you signed up. No one made you go on this mission.”

  “I just broke up with Kenny. It was over a stupid argument. My fault really. I did this out of spite. Figured I’d show him. You remember Kenny?”

  She didn’t. It was beside the point. The agency didn’t let people sign up for a mission like this, and that was that. There was six months of psychological evaluations. It was a failsafe to prevent exactly this kind of response. “You need to get it together, Doppler. Maybe you didn’t hear the alarms, but we’ve got problems.” She stood up and walked back toward the door. “Finish getting dressed. Now. Meet up on the bridge.”

  Aria stopped at bedchamber entrance. “Let’s go, Doppler.”

  Aria didn’t have time or the patience for babysitting. It wasn’t what she’d signed up for. A little hand holding now and then, fine. That she could handle. Candice needed to find her own strength and courage—her own independence. Hand holding wouldn’t cut it, and it was far too early in the mission for tears.

  Anxious, she nearly ran on her way back to the bridge.

  The doors opened. “What’s going on?”

  “We’re through the asteroids. Wasn’t that big a field,” he said.

  “What?” Aria said.

  “We did take a hit.” Braddox cocked his head to one side as if being slammed by an asteroid was no big deal.

  “And?” Aria said.

  “And. . .we’ve got a leak. A small amount of fuel is spilling from one of the tanks.” Captain Braddox still sat in the pilot seat, the controls at his fingertips. “It’s not a huge leak. Small hole. When we land, we will have to patch it up.”

  Aria stared at the planet. They were close. So close. It was such a blue world. All of that water was amazing. The images they’d reviewed while home did not do the planet justice. Her imagination ran wild. The alien lifeforms must be spectacular. The idea of discovering brand new species of everything, gathering samples, and conducting research made her heart rate jump. She was surprised the medical staff didn’t prescribe high blood pressure meds. Problems with the ship were the last things she wanted to think about. “And the return?”

  “Should be okay,” he said.

  Should be? she thought. “What was with the shaking?”

  Braddox tightly pursed his lips. “Not sure. A hiccup. I don’t see anything else on the system indicating any other issues. Could just have been the breach to the tank.”

  “How long until we’re down?” Aria tried ignoring the alarms and the bad news. If Braddox wasn’t concerned, she wasn’t wasting time worrying—or was going to do her best to not worry. If he said he can patch the ship’s tank when they landed, then he could. While she explored the surface, he could run diagnostics until he was blue in the face for all she cared. Things she’d only dreamt of doing were close to becoming a reality. There were no new species at home. No new anything. Everything that could be discovered, had been. And used. And was now borderline extinct. Including her race. They had a job. The data collected could be the difference between death and survival. The awesomeness of their responsibility was heavy, and if she dwelled on it too long, crushing. It didn’t negate her excitement, but the people on her home planet entrusted the several space missions to find a way to save them. There was no denying that was both heavy and crushing.

  “Ten hours. Eleven tops. Where’s Candice?” Braddox said, never taking his eyes off the screens. His fingers typed on holo-keyboards. Full color plot points and radar sweeps were three-dimensionally displayed above the dash. With a slide of his hand, they shifted to the far left. He brought up another display. It resembled the solar system they were in. He spread the image, zooming in on their blue planet and the small moon rotating around it.

  “Finishing getting ready,” Aria said. It wasn’t a lie, just not an accurate truth.

  Martin sat in the co-pilot seat.

  “Don’t touch anything,” Braddox said.

  Martin’s hands went up. “I’m not. Not touching anything.”

  Candice Doppler co-piloted Liberation. She was the first one awake after Braddox. She should have been sitting where Martin sat. Instead, she hid inside her bedchamber. That wasn’t Aria’s business. She and Martin had their work cut out for them when they landed. Martin had a brilliant mind. He just wasn’t very graceful. She would feel all around better if he just stood up or sat someplace else.

  Candice walked onto the bridge. Talk about timing.

  “Sorry I’m late, Captain.” She looked well. Her hair was done, uniform on. Aria couldn’t even tell the woman had been crying. Had she used kid gloves, who knows what the outcome would have been? Maybe she’d still be fetal and balling like a baby.

  “Good morning, sunshine. Kick Martin out of your seat, and we’ll run through checks.” Braddox Founding tapped at images on his display, expanded known data dumps, read through them, and swiped them away before pulling up additional information.

  “Aye, Captain. Martin?” she said.

  He stood up. “All yours.”

  Chapter 4

  Aria and Martin were strapped into chairs behind Braddox and Candice.

  Captain Braddox spun dials and flipped switches, calling out commands.

  “Roger,” Candice said each time.

  They both had throttles in a hand and seemed to steer the ship together.

  Watching the exchange was engrossing. Aria admired their skill. She was relieved Candice had managed a one-eighty and was effectively assisting in piloting Liberation. It calmed her knowing the assembled team wasn’t crumbling before they landed.

  The blue planet was so close, had so filled up their view, that Aria was tempted to reach out and see if she could touch it.

  White clouds moved in patterns over the planet’s surface.

  “Looks like a hurricane brewing down the southwest of that peninsula,” Martin said. “Hard to tell from here, but looks like a promising storm brewing.”

  “No fear,” Candice said. “We’re not landing there. Nowhere near it, actually.”

  “Looking at the edge of the land mass over there.” Braddox Founding pointed.

  “Good,” Aria said. No storm clouds anywhere near the identified spot. Actual time on the planet was limited. Ten years to get here and ten more to get home, but less than a week on the surface. Almost seemed like a joke. Only there was nothing funny. Had to base the length of stay on supplies. Those at home were anxious for results and data. For them, it felt like they’d just launched. At home, many of the people involved with the mission were likely dead. More would die before they returned. Old age, famine, disease, and plain old accidents would take the lives of most. They’d be welcomed home by people who were in diapers when they left.

  “Approaching the planet’s atmosphere.” Candice Doppler’s fingers played over the holo-keyboard, while her eyes scanned the multiple displays in front of her.

  “Hang tight. It’s going to get bumpy,” Braddox said.

  Liberation shook. Speed increased. The hull rattled. Aria grabbed onto her seatbelts with both hands. She wanted to shut her eyes but couldn’t. If she did, she risked missing something. This entire journey was an adventure. If she didn’t go at it with eyes open, what had been the point in volunteering?

  “Gravity,” Candice said.

  “Gravity, check. And drag.” Founding kept typing with one hand. His other remained in a tight grip around the throttle.

  “Gravity and drag, check,” she repeated.

  “The gravity alone would make us almost plummet to the planet’s surface,” Martin said. “The drag is from air particles. It’s friction.
Creates resistance. Slows us down a little.”

  “Reaching three thousand degrees,” Candice said.

  “Shock wave,” Braddox said. A fiery plate erupted in front of Liberation’s nose. It was force field, and protected the ship from the intense temperatures.

  “Well within the atmosphere in three, two, and,” Candice said, stopping before she said one.

  “Thrusters engaged,” Braddox said.

  They were no longer at the mercy of gravity or drag. Braddox maneuvered the ship out over a large body of water. They were so close Aria saw the rippling waves in the sea, white caps before the waves rolled onto land.

  The beach reminded her of Cladstack Island. It was a place her father took her and her brothers when they were young. They spent long weekends at a cottage on the shore. The days were spent swimming, the nights in front of a campfire. She would never forget roasting food on sticks over the dancing flames. “It’s just like home. I don’t believe it. It’s just like home.”

  The tall trees were covered in large leaves. The landscape rose. Braddox flew over a mountain range.

  “That’s where we’re landing,” Braddox said, pointing.

  Aria wanted to remove her seatbelts. She was anxious to explore. “Looks good.”

  “Glad you approve,” Candice said. The bite was in her words. Aria ignored it and instead watched the trees get taller as the ship sank down between them.

  “Great landing, Captain,” Martin said.

  “Why, thank you.” Braddox shut down some systems and turned on some others.

  Aria unfastened her belts.

  “Testing air quality,” Candice said.

  “And?” Aria said.

  “I don’t believe this,” Candice said.

  “What? What don’t you believe?” Aria stood over Candice’s shoulder.

  “Air here is identical to home, except pure.”

  That wasn’t surprising. There was no industry polluting everything. “So we don’t need to wear any gear?” Aria hated the idea of space gear. The helmets were bulky and the suits suffocating. She may have passed tests showing she wasn’t claustrophobic, but that didn’t mean she enjoyed the hot and trapped sensation wearing the suits caused.

  “You got to wear them,” Candice said. She flung the data from her display over to Braddox with a flick of her wrist.

  “It’s too pure,” the captain said. “Your body won’t be able to handle it. Breathe in clean air like that, you risk shocking your lungs. Too much oxygen and not enough pollutants. When we head out we’ll be in full gear.”

  Aria gritted her teeth. She didn’t voice her displeasure. She should be thrilled just knowing the air is compatible. That alone made the planet a likely replacement home for her people. With a smile, she could check that off the list of Must Haves. “Aye, captain,” she said.

  Chapter 5

  The four of them dressed in grey-white support suits, helping each other ensure everything was correctly in place. The mics were hardwired. They could talk to one another easily.

  Braddox said, “When air is low, you’ll see a yellow light flash at the bottom of the mask. The helmet will vibrate. It’s letting you know—”

  “We have twenty minutes of air left,” Martin said.

  Braddox stared at Caldera. “The helmet will vibrate letting you know you have twenty minutes of air left, max. Could be less. Depends on how fast you’re breathing. If you are exerting yourself, it’s possible you can use that bit of air up in ten minutes. So be mindful.”

  Aria nodded. She remembered this from training; they had spent extensive time in suits.

  “When you get lower, it will vibrate more frequently. More yellow lights will be displayed. And when you are just about out of air, a red light comes on, and your helmet will vibrate continually. At that point, if you aren’t back to the ship, you could be in trouble,” Braddox said.

  “Before you two go out exploring, give Candice and me a chance to check out the fuel tanks. I want to make sure we’re all set here before we head out there,” Braddox said.

  “Captain,” Aria said. She knew her disappointment was expressed in her tone of voice. She didn’t care. “Our time is limited. I don’t think we should spend too much time on the ship. We need to be out collecting samples.”

  “Ms. Light, while I respect the work you’ll be doing, you need to respect mine. We don’t know what’s down here. Could be hostiles. If we need to evacuate because you and Mr. Caldera kick up a hornet’s nest, don’t you think it is important that Liberation is in working order?”

  “I do, Captain, but—”

  “You have a ‘but?’ Really?” Braddox grunted. “You and Martin can walk around. No further than a hundred yards in any direction. Is that clear?”

  “A hundred yards?” Martin said.

  Aria quieted Martin with a hand on his forearm. “One hundred yards in any direction. Aye, captain.”

  Braddox stared at her for a long moment. “We understand each other then?”

  “We do,” she said.

  The captain nodded. “Okay. Then if everyone is ready?”

  Martin and Aria picked up small metal cases.

  Candice held a tool box. “Ready, captain.”

  They entered a foyer between Liberation’s hull and the door to outside.

  When the door behind them locked closed the one in front of them opened like a mouth. The top half of the door rose. The lower have went down, legs extended. It became a ramp.

  Aria heard her heart beating in her ears. She could not recall a time she’d ever been this excited. It wasn’t about fame. It was about opportunity. They were feet away from stepping onto an alien planet. All the mental preparation was nothing compared to the here and now of the mission.

  “Ms. Light?” Braddox said, and waved with his arm like a gentleman.

  “You first, captain. You got us here,” Aria said. It was difficult being humble. She couldn’t deny her feelings. She wanted to go first.

  Braddox would be remembered forever as the first man to step foot on the planet’s surface.

  He deserved the credit.

  “Doppler? How about you and I together?”

  The suits recorded everything they did, every sound they made. The suits monitored their vitals. Everything could be watched from monitors inside the ship. As the two hooked arm in arm and walked down the ramp, the moment was being preserved forever.

  They stepped down and onto soft terrain.

  “I feel like we should say something profound,” Braddox said. “I don’t have anything prepared.”

  Candice said, “We are quite possibly the first to visit our new next home.”

  Aria wasn’t sure that qualified as profound. It did seem fitting, and the captain seemed to like it.

  “One hundred yards,” Braddox said. “Check in regularly. And your blasters?”

  Aria patted hers. It was in a holster on her hip. “Got it. Set to stun.”

  “Stun makes sense when we know what we’re up against. Right now, we have no clue. Stun might be useless.”

  “And taking it off stun would be overkill,” she said.

  “We’re not arguing about this. Until Candice and I can explore with you, I want both of you to switch off stun. Understood?”

  Wanting to say, Yes, dad, Aria simply nodded. “Let’s get moving, Martin.”

  Chapter 6

  The vegetation was thick. Shoulder-high shrubs with torso sized green leaves grew like groundcover. Trees with brown bark peppered the terrain. Long branches sprouted more but different large, green leaves.

  There was no clear path for walking. Martin led the way. His exaggerated steps made sure nothing waited to attack under the foliage.

  Aria concentrated on breathing calmly. She listened to the breaths inside her helmet. She wasn’t worried about running out of air, not a hundred yards from the ship. She just wanted to preserve as much air as possible so she could spend several hours exploring.

  Martin st
opped at a small clearing. He shook legs out of the base of his case and opened it up on the makeshift tabletop. The small lab allowed for samples collected to be stored.

  Aria set up her case beside Martin’s. “I suppose we should start with leaf sections.”

  They didn’t need to discuss a plan. What needed sampling was obvious. They were both experts in their fields. Why she called out the obvious was beyond her. It was a way of getting started, she supposed.

  They went to work combing over the area. It wouldn’t take long before they’d filled both cases with sections and samples and would need to return to Liberation for more empty cases. Gathering a piece of everything was the goal. Doing so would be impossible.

  While Aria focused on living specimens, Martin scraped up dirt and rock samples. He bottled air and liquids. He’d run tests back at the lab.

  “What’s that you have?” she said.

  He held a large round object in his hand. It was spherical and as wide as his palm. It had a swirling grey and white and reddish color. “It is some kind of rock,” he said, and tapped it with a metal instrument. “It’s most peculiar.”

  She watched him place two inside his bag before she knelt beside the base of a tree. A large insect with a shiny brown and black striped back shell moved over the bark. There were too many moving legs to count. The antenna probed up and down, back and forth. She didn’t notice eyes or a mouth. With tongs, she snatched it up and forced the being into a small tube, twisted the cap closed, and dropped it into a bag attached to the belt around her waist.

  The smile she wore might be stuck on her face until they returned to the Clandestine.

  The sun in this system demanded recognition. She knew she sweat inside the suit anyway, but the heat she felt from the rays made it worse. It was like she was being cooked alive. Could that happen? She hoped nights were cooler.

  “Aria, are you seeing this?”

  Martin loved interrupting her. She didn’t call him when she cut a piece of leaf and stored it, or when she saw the bug before she stuck it inside the tube. He’d call her for every little thing. Sure, he was as excited, but who wasn’t?