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Episode 87: Immersion
"What won't take long?"
"Raphan?" Fomto craned his neck around Baren to see the other captain entering through the door young Melhi had come through a few minutes ago.
"This place is like a maze," the Cobel's captain joined the group. "You go in one door and end up right where you were to start with.
"The door at the front of the lobby isn't really there either," Baren offered. "I don't like this – any of it." He crossed his arms and looked around warily.
"You were saying, Captain Rikke?" Raphan turned to the woman, still standing atop the stairs.
"Oh!" Neredia took a step back, "I… just meant it shouldn't take long to get out of here. With everyone working together, we'll be back to our ships in no time." She smiled, her plum lipstick shining in the yellow light of the upper floor's lamps.
Baren, Melhi and Berger all exchanged glances. "Neredia, we don't even know where we really are. How are we going to get out of someplace we don't know the first thing about?" Fomto gestured to their surroundings.
Neredia took another few steps back. Now on a walkway above the stairs, she cleared her throat, "Let's just look around, shall we." She turned on her heel, heading toward the upstairs hall, her ruby shoes clicking on the smooth, green floor.
"Should we follow her, or look around down here?" Melhi asked from the couch.
"I'll go with her. The rest of you check everything on this floor – everything. Pull the pictures off the wall if you have to. If there are more surprises in here, I want to know about them." Fomto started up the stairs.
"Captain?"
Berger stopped midstep and looked back at the young man, "Yes, Melhi?"
"We are going to get out of here… right?" The boy's eyes betrayed his fear.
"Of course we are," Fomto assured him. "We didn't make it through Keshet just to get waylaid in an old hotel."
Melhi bit his lip, "Yeah… I guess so."
Baren gave the boy an encouraging slap on the back, "Don't you worry, son. Nothing's going to happen to any of us on Berger's watch."
Melhi folded his hands and stared at them, "I just really want to get home."
"We all do," Raphan put in from across the lobby. "Believe me."
"Everyone meet back here in two hours. We'll discuss what everyone's found," Berger nodded to each of his crew and Raphan. They all agreed to the plan and dispersed.
Fomto made it to the top of the stairs and looked around. Neredia was nowhere to be seen. He started down the hall she'd entered. It was well lit and he could see all the way down to the other end easily. There were several dozen doors on either side of the hall. Each one was just as plain as the next. Their deep green finish shone dully in the light.
He took a step toward one of the doors. When it didn't open to him he reached out and tried the control panel, but nothing happened. The door remained stubbornly closed.
Fomto sighed and gave up on the first door. He moved on to the next one, getting the same result. Nothing. As he passed the sixth room he noticed the small numbers near the top of each door. He was staring at the door numbered two-oh-seven when a thought occurred to him.
Hotel rooms – at least, ones as old as these, usually had some kind of key. His eyes brightened. He whirled around and flew back down the stairs to the front desk. There, behind the attendants' station was a case mounted on the wall marked, "Room Keys."
He grabbed the key to the first room on the upper hall. In a few seconds he was in front of the door, key in hand. He held the key in front of the control panel and was rewarded with a crisp click. The door slid open, revealing a pristine suite. As soon as he stepped inside, the lights came on and he was greeted by furnishings very similar to those in the room he was given when he was a guest at the real hotel back on Gamilon.
Satisfied that there was more than an empty void behind these doors, he tucked the key into his pocket and stepped out of the room. He turned down the hall, heading in the same direction as Neredia had.
The hall was long and monotonous. When he reached the end he found another set of stairs. He followed them down to the first floor. This end of the building was darker and mustier than the other. The floor creaked and groaned as he walked on it.
A chill ran down his spine as he crept away from the stairs, his eyes darting back and forth across the poorly lit room.
The instant he reached the center of the ominous space a shadow flitted across the deep green stone.
Fomto jerked his head toward the movement and squinted into the shadows, but there wasn't enough light.
"Hello?" Berger called into the darkness. "Neredia? Are you in here?"
"No, but I am."
The voice startled Fomto and he whirled around, firsts at the ready. "Raphan! What are you doing in here?"
The Cobel's Captain raised his eyebrow at Berger. "You told us to search the lower level."
Fomto lowered his hands and breathed a sigh of relief, "Have you seen Captain Rikke?"
"No," Raphan shook his head, his eyes looking past Fomto, "but from what little I know of her, I'm sure she can take care of herself."
Fomto smirked, "Yes she can, but it would give me peace of mind if someone were with her in this strange place."
"How did you get here?" Raphan asked.
"Stairs. You?" Fomto replied.
Raphan pointed back behind him, "Hall. I'm not eager to be in this part of the hotel for too long." The other Captain looked around warily. Berger took another look as well. The shadows seemed to have a life of their own and as he watched, several of them moved. The darkness reached out toward them, beckoning.
Fomto shivered. Suddenly, going back up the stairs in the dark didn't seem a good idea. "What do you say we take the hall back to the lobby?"
"Perhaps Captain Rikke is already there," Raphan offered. "Come on. Let's get out of here."
Nova still felt like everyone on the bridge was looking at her. They'd left Iscandar over a week ago, but she still wasn't used to being back among the crew. It was even stranger hearing Derek issuing orders instead of Captain Avatar. And Alex Wildstar's presence at Derek's old combat station made the scene even more dissonant. If Adam weren't tending to his father, she knew he'd be here too.
She stared down at her station, thinking as she glanced at some of the readings then back to the radar. When she realized what she'd seen, she did a double take.
"Um, Derek – Captain," she corrected, "there's a large object straight ahead. It isn't on the radar, but it's there."
"If it's not on the radar, then how do you know about it?" Eager challenged from his station.
"Starsha made some adjustments to our radar. Even if the main system doesn't pick it up, this," she tapped a tiny unit affixed to the top corner of her station, "will. The object looks like it's cloaked."
Derek got up from his seat behind the captain's station at the back of the bridge and stepped down to Nova's console. He leaned over her shoulder to look at the radar. "What is something that big doing all the way out here?"
Nova shook her head, "I don't know."
"Venture, take us in closer," Derek returned to his seat. "Everyone, stay alert. Whatever this is, it could be hostile."
"Why didn't we see it on the way to Iscandar?" Eager put in again.
"Probably because we were in a hurry, and we didn't have the extra set of eyes we do now, thanks to Queen Starsha," Derek replied.
Nova could barely hear Eager mumble, "Didn't think of that…"
The ship crept closer and closer to the mysterious object. Nova kept an eye on her station, looking back and forth from it to the front viewport. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, and she was just beginning to wonder if what she'd seen was a sensor echo.
She looked down at her station one more time, but jerked her head up when a collective gasp shook the bridge.
Without warning, outside the ship floated a dense bank of clouds, but they weren't the inviting, white of a summer sky. Instead, they looked more like storm clouds, gray and threatening. All around the Argo swirled a purple haze.
"Eager, where are we?" Derek rose out of his chair, hands planted on either side of his station.
"Same places before," Chris replied. "We haven't gone anywhere, Sir."
Nova studied the data provided by the extra module on her station. Unfortunately, the only thing she saw was the same information as before. "The object is still dead ahead," she supplied.
"Ahead, one quarter impulse," Derek instructed Mark, "but be ready to stop at a second's notice."
Venture nodded solemnly and set his jaw.
"Alex," Derek paused before issuing his instructions to his brother.
The elder Wildstar looked back over his shoulder at Derek, "Sir?"
"Be ready for unfriendlies."
"Yes, Sir," Alex nodded and turned his eyes back to his new post.
The ship cut through the haze. As Nova studied the view outside, she saw lightning bolts scattered here and there. None of them appeared near the Argo, which relieved her.
They sailed in tense silence for a long time. The radar readings remained much the same as before, with the gigantic object drawing a little nearer with each minute that passed.
The sky outside grew darker, almost like they'd sailed back out of the area and into space, but there were no stars anywhere to be seen.
An intense flash startled her and she jumped two inches out of her chair. At that same instant the proximity alarm blared to life.
"Full stop!" Derek exclaimed.
Nova could hear his wide eyes and pounding pulse.
Venture yanked back on the controls, pulling with all his might.
The ship swung hard to port sending everyone grabbing for their chairs. To Nova's relief, they ground to a halt right in front of a solid wall. The Argo's outer lights flicked on.
Nova rose up out of her seat to stare at the blank barrier in front of the ship. Everyone else did the same.
"Why are the lights on?" Derek asked, still at the captain's station.
"The computer think's we're in dry dock," Sandor offered. "Readings indicate that the wall is made up of solid stone."
"Nova, why didn't the radar let us know we were this close?" Came Derek's next question.
Nova glanced back down at her instruments and sat to study them again. "They still show that the barrier is several hundred kilometers away." She funneled the data to the captain's station and looked back to see Derek studying it with both elbows propped up under the computer screen, his hands folded in midair.
"What is this…?" she heard him ask himself, and then he looked back at her, "Can you get any readings on the shape of the object? Is it just a wall? How long is it?"
"Checking now," Nova leaned over her console, reaching for the unit at the top of her station.
"What're you doing?" Eager jumped out of his chair and dashed to her, scrambling to grab her hand to keep her from the unit. "Don't mess with that!"
"I'm resetting it," Nova retorted, jerking her hand out of Eager's grip, "Starsha showed me how to maintain it, now mind your own business, Christopher." The rebuke stung in her mouth as she let the words fly, but she was tired of Eager butting in. Guilt curled in her gut as she felt Homer's startled eyes on her from all the way on other side of the bridge.
A dumbstruck Eager shrank away, "Sorry… I just really want to get back home…" He trudged back to his seat.
"Chris –" she reached out to stop him – to apologize, but Eager didn't acknowledge her. She bit her lip and slowly resumed what she was doing. She tapped the added unit. A holographic interface popped up and she selected the reboot icon. With a series of bleeps and bird-like twitters, the radar amplifier turned itself off and back on. "It's working now," she offered, still regretting her sharp words.
She tried to concentrate, studying the new data as both the auxiliary unit and the main station data jumbled into one big mess for a few seconds, creating chaos on the screen.
"It's all running together," she shielded her face from a sudden flash of green light that sprayed out from her console. She peeked through her fingers a second later to find that her station had returned to normal – better than normal. "The amplifier is working with the radar now," she said in awe. As she looked on, the radar images rose up from the console and floated in the air before her eyes showing the Argo and everything around it clearly, even the haze. "Th – the object outside," she stuttered in amazement, "It's a… cross?" she furrowed her brow, confused.
"A giant stone cross?" Derek asked.
"Yes," Nova nodded. "It's five kilometers in length at the longest point and fifteen kilometers tall. The width is approximately…" she fiddled with the image, checking her data as she did, "two and a half kilometers."
"That's a big rock," Alex commented from up front.
Sandor spoke up, "Wildstar?"
"Yes?" both brothers chorused.
"Sorry," Alex apologized and looked back out the front viewport.
"That wall isn't blank," Sandor continued, now with Derek's attention. "There's writing all over its surface."
Nova watched as Derek's mouth dropped open in disbelief. She was shocked herself that something this large would be inscribed.
"Can we get sensor data on all of it?" Derek asked.
"If we fly around the entire thing, yes," Sandor replied, "but that would take a few days to do properly."
"Can't we modify those beacons we used back in the Rainbow Galaxy?" Eager piped up, "You know, the ones Feria dropped to make that sensor net?"
"That could work," Sandor replied, tapping his chin in thought. "I would need about an hour to set it up, but it's quite feasible."
"Do it," Derek directed.
Sandor immediately started working on multiple screens at his station, his usual look of heavy concentration on his face.
Nova looked back out at the stone. The ship's work lights cut through some of the darkness outside, but she couldn't see anything clearly other than what was inside the glowing circles. From this distance she couldn't even make out that there was anything at all on the rock's surface. How small must the writing be compared to the whole structure? How much information was contained on this single stone?
The questions echoed in her head over and over as the ship sailed quietly at one-tenth impulse.
The hour passed silently and when Sandor finished his work he said triumphantly, "The beacons are ready for launch, Captain. The gunnery crews are loading them into the cannons for dispersal."
"Send them out," Derek gave Sandor a nod.
The science officer pressed a key on his console. Three seconds later, little twinkling lights floated into view in front of the ship.
"The first round is away."
Firing continued until over one thousand of the little beacons were scattered around the stone. Nova watched on the radar as the small blips swarmed the object, positioning themselves equidistant from one another around the entire stone.
"Data's already coming in," Sandor said with a grin. "We'll have the entire thing in a few more hours."
"Great," Derek replied, "Now let's all get some rest. The next shift will be in any second."
As soon as he said that the door to the bridge elevator hissed open and seven crewmen and women stepped off and scattered to their stations.
When she reached Nova's side, Miki saw the radar console and gasped, "What happened?"
"The amplifier's working – properly," Nova gave the unit an affectionate pat. "It's better than any radar I ever saw back at the EDF." She got out of her seat and offered it to Miki.
With wondering eyes the other woman sat down. She pushed her long, black hair back behind her ear and adjusted her purple headband as she studied the enhanced interface. "This is great. Getting home will be so much easier. I wish we'd had this on the way to Iscandar. I can't wait to get back to Earth and see Seiji and my son."
Nova laid a friendly hand on Miki's shoulder. "We'll be back before you know it. And I'm sure your family will be overjoyed to see you again."
Miki smiled at Nova and waved at her as she left the bridge.
Everyone except Sandor – who was still at his station – and Eager were on the first elevator down. When the door opened again for her and Chris to get on, Eager entered right before Nova. He didn't look at her as she stepped in and stood right next to him.
The door slid closed.
"Chris," she looked over at the young officer. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean –"
"Forget it," Eager held up a hand in front of Nova's face and she stumbled back a step. "I understand. You're the one who spent all that time with Starsha on Iscandar. Us little people just don't get the new tech like you."
"No – no, that's not what I –"
"Just let it be, Princess," Eager cut her off again. "The next time I get concerned you're going to kill us all, I'll keep my big mouth shut."
Nova started to say something else – to protest again, but thought better of it. The two rode the rest of the way down to the crew quarters in silence.
Episode 88: Time Out of Mind
"Dad…" Adam sat up straighter in his chair as he looked out the viewport at the stark black stone and violet mist outside, "Where are we?"
Avatar struggled to pull himself up to get a better view. He fell back, breathing hard, pain in his eyes. His hand shot to his side.
"Here," Adam adjusted the thick pillow behind his father so the Captain could see what his son was talking about. "Don't pull out those stitches again. I can already hear Dr. Sane."
Avatar huffed, "He's been my doctor ever since I can remember. It won't hurt him to put in a few more stitches." The Captain clenched his jaw as he inched back just a little and pulled himself up to a sitting position.
"No, don't," Adam reached out to stop his father.
"It's alright," Avatar reassured Adam. "I just want to see what's going –"
There was a loud rap at the door, "Captain Avatar?"
"Come in, Wildstar," the old man pulled his shirt down and the blanket up, making sure to cover the worsening wound.
"Captain, this is bizarre," the door creaked open as Derek stepped into the cabin. "That thing outside has writing all over it."
"What does it say?" Avatar asked, staring out at the stone.
"We don't know yet. Sandor's still figuring that out," Derek replied, pulling up a seat opposite Adam.
"So why are you here?" Avatar asked.
"It –" Derek bit his lip and looked down at the floor. He folded his hands loosely, his arms braced on his knees. "It feels wrong." He looked up at both Avatars. "I have this weird feeling that something's about to happen."
Captain Avatar nodded soberly, "Do you trust your intuition?"
"Yeah, I do," Derek replied.
"Then do not linger here any longer than you have to," the Captain advised. "If you believe your crew is in danger, do whatever you can to keep them safe."
Derek nodded, "Alright. Once Sandor gets his data, we're leaving."
Avatar rested a bare hand on the young deputy-captain's shoulder, "No one could ask for a better person to guide this ship back home."
Derek's wide eyes met the old man's, "I just… I want to get back to Earth, and I know everyone else does too."
"Then take us home, Wildstar," Avatar let go of Derek as the young man stood up and replaced his chair.
"I will. Count on it," Derek nodded to Adam and left the cabin.
"He doesn't think he can do it," Adam observed once the door shut behind Wildstar.
"And that's exactly why he will," Avatar looked over at his son. "I had hoped you would come on this journey from the beginning, but," the old man sighed and turned his eyes back to the curious barrier outside, "I'm glad you're here for the last piece of it."
Adam took his father's hand, "Dad… I wish I'd –"
"No," Avatar squeezed his son's hand, "There isn't time for regrets, Adam. Now, tell me more about your time on Iscandar."
Derek wandered the halls for over three hours before his comm bleeped. He pulled it out and read the message on the screen, "Collection complete. Going to the lab to sort it out. Sandor."
Wildstar breathed a sigh of relief. They could finally get out of here.
He hurried back to the bridge.
Second shift was mulling around like a pack of grazing zebras. Several of them crowded near the comm station, chattering about ship gossip. Miki sat at the radar station, experimenting with the new unit. The science officer was tapping away at his console, sorting through some of the untouched data from one of their stops on the way to Iscandar.
"Stations, everyone." Derek clapped to get their attention. "We're heading out."
The lot of them scurried to their seats.
"Helm, come about. Take us back the way we came in, Jeffries," Derek settled into his seat.
"Yes, Sir," the navigator acknowledged as he fired the starboard thrusters, turning the Argo completely around. As soon as they were oriented correctly, they headed back through the haze.
"Saijo, what's our position?" Derek asked.
"One hundred kilometers from the object," Miki replied.
"How far are we from the edge of the cloud?" Derek pulled up the navigator's console to check their heading.
Miki didn't answer.
"Saijo?" Derek looked up to see Miki frozen over her station. "Saijo?" He tried again.
"C – captain," Miki slowly turned to him, her eyes wide, face pale. "The object is following us."
"It's probably just moving the same direction we are. It'll stop before it leaves the area," Derek looked back down at the navigation data.
"Sir, the haze isn't dissipating," Miki continued.
Derek looked up at her again. Fear echoed in her face.
"Helm, come about to these coordinates." He sent the data to the nav terminal. "The instruments are probably malfunctioning."
"Yes, sir." The navigator plugged in the new numbers and sent the ship into another turn.
Derek pulled up the radar station and watched as the new system showed in great detail how quickly they were headed right into the violet mist.
"All stop," Derek ordered and narrowed his eyes at the screen.
The Argo sailed to a halt, stopping gently in the rolling purple mist. Derek stood and leaned forward, arms braced on his station. He stared at the clouds outside, gritting his teeth together. As he watched, an enormous black shape appeared before them.
"It's the same stone," Miki supplied before Derek could ask.
Wildstar sank back down into his seat, and squeezed his eyes shut. He opened them again and blinked hard before looking back out the front viewport.
The stone was still there.
He pounded his fist into the metal plating next to his screen. "We can't be stuck in here," he growled. "Yamazaki, get me a report from the engine room," he directed the assistant engineer.
"Right away." The middle-aged man called his crew and after a lengthy conversation said to Wildstar, "The engine is in perfect working order."
Derek rubbed his throbbing head and sighed. "Take us back to the stone."
"Aye, Sir." The helmsman turned the ship around again and headed towards the looming cross.
Halfway to the stone Miki's voice broke through the pounding in Derek's head, "There's something behind the cross, Captain. It looks like – It's a planet!"
"What?!" Derek shot up out of his seat and strained to see out into the mist.
"The radar shows there's a small planet directly behind it," said Miki.
"Jeffries, take us around the stone. Saijo, why didn't we see it before?"
"It wasn't there, Sir," the radar operator replied succinctly.
"Changing course," the navigator adjusted the heading again, sending the Argo in a wide sweep around the base of the cross.
When they'd passed the stone, Derek let out the breath he was holding. At least the stone didn't bar their way. Its stalking made his skin crawl.
"Take us into orbit around the planet. I'll get a team together and go down there. Maybe we can find a way out of here." Wildstar pulled out his comm and started scrolling through the crew roster.
The first name to stand out was Homer's. They would need a communications specialist in case they got cut off from the ship.
Now, to choose a pilot. He scrolled back up to Conroy's name and started to select it, but hesitated. If something came up and the Tigers had to launch, there was no better leader than Conroy in a pinch. He held off and kept going down the roster.
He came to Feria's name. A sour expression lit his face for an instant as he remembered what she did back at the Rainbow Galaxy – defying his direct order. Then he sighed. She'd also been right to go against him. What she did saved the ship.
Reluctantly he tapped her name. If he needed someone to call him out, at least he knew she would do it, and her piloting skills were second only to Conroy's. If they hit trouble on the way down, or coming back, he was more than confident she could deal with it.
Continuing down the list, another question presented itself. Should he take Sandor? If the XO and Captain were both gone during an emergency, it could get bad. He scrolled by Sandor's name and continued down the list, looking for a suitable science officer to drag along. Not finding anyone he wanted to bring, he started back up the roster.
"Royster," he muttered absently, tapping the man's name.
Up popped his file:
Name: Royster, Neville.
D.O.B.: December 9, 2174
Education: High-school diploma, 2191
Earth Defense Academy, Xeno-biome Specialty, 2191 - 2194
Work experience: Sandor Aerospace, Inc., 2192-2199
"Hmm…" Derek raised an eyebrow at the information and mumbled, "Didn't know you worked for Sandor's family, and I guess that degree explains a lot about what happened on Bemera." He closed the file and selected the nervous man for the mission.
After choosing Royster, he kept going down the list, looking for one last person – someone who could fill in the gaps between the four of them. He stared at the sea of names. Before he finished reading through everyone he started over. Towards the top he spotted Adam Avatar. He was a good navigator. If they got lost, they might need him. He tapped Adam's name and was about to draft a short message to the team when he remembered the worried look on the other man's face just a few hours ago up in Captain Avatar's cabin. He couldn't just tear the man away from his dying father.
With a frustrated grunt he took Adam off the list.
Going back to the roster he stared at it, working his way slowly down through the B's, C's, D's, and E's. Coming to the F's, he ran across Nova's name. His eyes lit up at the prospect of taking her along, but his heart sank as he realized she didn't need any more displacement than necessary so soon after rejoining the crew.
He growled at the list and gave the screen a hard flick, sending the roster flying into the V's. He didn't recognize many of the names this far down the list. Being a "W" himself, he knew how little attention was given to anything after the R's.
He started reading the unfamiliar names: Valentine, Van Alst, Vard, Vasquez, Verity, Vestige, Von Grimmelshausen, Vut, Vygl. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He shook his head at the dwindling list as he started into the W's, muttering the names as they scrolled by, "Wagner, Waldvogel, Wang, Ward, Wardle, Watson, Watts, Weant, Wenn, West, Wexler, Whitaker, White, another White, Whooten, Whurst, Wilbur, Wildstar, another Wildstar –" he stopped short. Why hadn't he considered Alex? His brother had more experience than he did, and Alex knew a lot about navigation, communications, and several sciences.
Derek selected his brother's name and wrote a quick note to the four chosen.
In under a minute all four responses came back.
Derek stood up to address the bridge crew, "I'll be leaving with the survey team in two hours."
Everyone stared at him, wide-eyed.
"Sandor is your commanding officer until I return. Do what he says. He knows more than all of us put together," Derek pulled up Sandor on his comm and told the XO to come to the bridge.
Five minutes later, the science officer stepped onto the bridge. Everyone saluted their temporary chief.
Sandor returned the gesture stiffly and headed for his station. Derek stopped him and motioned for the XO to take the captain's chair. With a grateful nod, Sandor accepted the new post.
As soon as Sandor was installed, Derek left the bridge, heading straight for the hangar. Just before he stepped onto the elevator he glanced back at Sandor and was amused to find him already staring intently at a research project.
On his way to the hangar, Derek brought up the specs on the Seagull. He shook his head. Though the shuttle proved useful in the past, this time, it was too clunky for the job. They needed something smaller and more durable. He flipped to the next entry in the database: KI-8, aka. Stork. He studied the little ship. It was smaller than the Seagull, and boasted a lower center of gravity, a set of all-terrain wheels, folding wings, and a streamlined design. The downside was they wouldn't have room to take a lot with them. The small cargo hold was more like the trunk of an economy car.
He jetted a message to the team to pack light.
"We're all gonna die!" Royster's wail echoed through the tiny cabin as he sat stuffed between Alex and Homer in the back seat.
"We're fine," Feria turned around in her seat and poked a finger in Royster's face, stopping just short of the helmet visor covering his foggy glasses. "I can fly this thing with my eyes glued shut, so don't you start in on this doom and gloom stuff again, okay. We went through this the last time I took you somewhere."
Royster swallowed hard, eyeing the finger. "Al - right," he squeaked.
Feria turned around and gripped the controls. The small ship sat on the launchpad, awaiting the ATC's approval for takeoff.
Outside, the hangar bustled with activity. Pilots secured their planes and sealed the cockpits so nothing loose would fly out when the doors opened. Maintenance did a final sweep to catch anything that might interfere with the launch, and the mechanics were on-hand in case the hangar door jammed.
Derek felt his chest lighten with the excitement of another mission.
"Alright, here we go," Feria announced as the ATC let the flag drop. Everyone in the hangar huddled inside the observation booths as the bay door swung open.
The Stork rolled slowly forward on its landing gear. As soon as it hit the sharp descent of the ramp Derek heard the wheels withdraw into the undercarriage. They floated out into the haze. Feria took them straight towards the planet below, taking the atmospheric entry gently.
"Uh… Captain?" Feria tapped the dashboard, "Take a look at this."
Derek turned his attention to the instruments, "Water?"
"And lots of it," Feria nodded. "Looks like this planet is just a huge ball of H2O."
The Stork cut through the lower atmosphere and hurtled straight into the ocean.
"What's going on? Why's the water so close to the atmosphere?!" Royster screeched.
"What did I just tell you, Neville?" Feria tossed a glance back at Royster. "Nix the doomsday stuff while I'm driving."
The science officer stopped wailing, but a quiet squeaking emanated from his shaking frame. Derek heard his brother shuffle as far away from Royster as he could get. Homer did the same, choosing to squish up against the cold bulkhead instead of stay right next to the whining scientist.
Outside, the water was dark and murky. Visibility was so poor that when Feria flicked on the outside lights they still couldn't see more than a few feet ahead.
"Take us farther down," Derek directed.
Feria obliged, slowly descending into the gloom.
Royster's squeaks became more frequent and Derek was about to put his own hand over Neville's mouth to shut him up when the Stork broke through the water and plummeted down into… air?
Feria seized the controls, pulling up on the yoke to level out the plane. The packs in the trunk clunked against the back wall, sending Royster two inches out of his seat in fright.
"Whoa…" Feria whispered as they eased back into a controlled descent. "Look at this place."
Derek surveyed the landscape in awe. Down below, a vast jungle stretched as far as the eye could see. A wide river cut through it, its tributaries snaking into the main branch from everywhere. But the thing that arrested his attention was the looming shadow that towered up from the ground several hundred miles away.
"It's another one." Derek pointed towards the spectacle. "It's just like the tree on Iscandar, except this one makes that tree look tiny."
"It must be ancient," Homer said in awe as he peered around Feria's seat to get a good look at the tree.
"Take us to the tree's base," Derek said, still staring. "Let's see what it can tell us."
Feria took the Stork straight toward the tree. Derek saw her out of the corner of his eye as she checked the instruments repeatedly. Half-way to the tree he turned his attention to some of the data the sensors were collecting. When they were less than fifty miles out he was interrupted by Feria's surprised gasp, "It's gone!"
Derek's eyes shot to the front window. "Where did it go?"
"Over there." Alex pointed past Feria, out to the left. "It's moved farther away."
"Change course." Derek folded his arms and frowned.
Feria adjusted the heading.
Once again, when they were less than fifty miles from the tree, the spectre vanished, this time reappearing on the far horizon.
Derek glowered at the towering tree, and to Feria said, "Keep going."
The pilot kept on, flying straight for the apparition.
Four hours later, by the ship's clock they were no closer to the tree than before. Frustrated, Derek let out an angry sigh and looked down into the nearby jungle.
"Hold it!" Derek held up a hand. "What's that down there?" He pointed to something glistening in the trees.
"That wasn't there before," Feria commented, checking the sensors. "It's a chunk of metal the size of the Argo."
"The tree disappeared again," Royster whined.
Feria jerked her head up to look for the tree. Instead of moving, this time, just as Neville said, it was gone.
"Atmospheric conditions?" Derek queried.
"The air's breathable. No toxins the ship can detect," Feria replied after checking the sensors.
"When we land, everyone take off your helmets and stow them in your packs. The fewer things we have to get in our way, the better." The team acknowledged the directive. "Take us down... here." Derek pointed to a small opening in the jungle canopy about a mile from their discovery.
Feria nodded and sent them down into the dense wall of trees. They landed softly on the ground, their wheels out and ready.
Derek slipped off his helmet. "Get us as close as you can to that metal hunk we saw."
Half a mile through the underbrush, the Stork hit an impasse. Large boulders barred their way. When Feria tried to go around, she found the same wall of rock blocking her from going any farther.
"I guess this is where we get out," Derek mused.
The cockpit popped open, allowing the five to disembark. They retrieved their packs and strapped them on after folding up their helmets and stuffing them into their bags.
Alex dug out a sturdy rope and grappling hook. "Thought this might come in handy." The elder Wildstar gave the rope a good swing and slung the hook up the boulder wall where it caught. Alex gave it a firm tug and tested his weight on it. "Looks good."
"Let's go." Derek motioned for everyone to follow Alex. "Have your lights ready in case it gets dark. We've already been here a while and we don't know this planet's day-night cycle."
"The - the light isn't l - like our sun's light," Royster stammered. "There – there isn't a sun."
"Then where's the light coming from?" Derek asked as Alex pulled himself up the rock face and leaned over to help Homer up.
"I d – don't know," Royster managed, his fearful eyes darting back and forth from the trees to the rock.
"Well, don't worry about it right now. Let's just get up this boulder." Derek shooed the tiny scientist over to the rope and waited while Neville inched his way up the short climb. Derek sighed and shook his head. "This is going to be a long mission," he muttered as Royster finally reached the top of the rock.
Feria scrambled up quickly and Derek followed her.
They trekked the last half-mile through the jungle in silence, broken only by Royster's intermittent screeching.
"How have you not had a stroke by now?" Derek mumbled low enough for Royster not the hear him. He was about to tell Neville to shut up when they broke through the trees.
Alex, the first one to see what they'd stumbled upon, stopped short. When both Homer and Feria did the same, Derek rushed to stand beside them, Royster on his heels.
"That – it can't be…" Derek breathed. "It's the wreckage of the Yamato…"