Alpha 1472 (3 page)

The far wall of this room, located directly in front of the crew, was made entirely out of glass. It created a corridor with the extreme back wall. In this corridor were placed three desks and three chairs. On the desks were note pads, pencils, and glasses of water. Set into each desk there was a computer terminal and screen which was linked directly to screens that were placed in front of each crew member and to two screens that were suspended behind the glass wall, facing out into the room. All of these screens were accessed the control corridor.

The light in the corridor flickered to life and the door to the left opened. In through the door walked three men, who proceeded to take their places behind the desk. Each of them placed a folder onto the desks and began to log on to the computer system. Whilst this was happening all of the crew, including the laid back J.D. sat upright in their seats and prepared them selves for the mission briefing.

The person who was to conduct this meeting was Over Commander Lyle Harrison. He had been in overall command of alpha section for many years and was used to briefing crews on mission objectives, this one was different for him, for the crew, for everyone.

Alpha division was set to specifically deal with first contact situations, which to date had never occurred, and for the exploration of new found planets and asteroids which from time to time came into the range of the planet. Lyle Harrison was the consummate leader he took an obsessive interest in any and all of the missions findings and discoveries. This time his thoughts were more excited than they had ever been, he was about to give the briefing of a lifetime. Outwardly he remained calm, relaxed and authoritative. He wanted desperately to be part of the crew but his age had prevented him from being included, this did not however dull his commitment to the project. He sipped his water, looked at the assembled crew, put on his glass and began to address the awaiting astronauts.

“Good morning everyone, as you already know I am over Commander Lyle Harrison. To my left is Major Peter Hooton, and to my right is major general Tom Stewart. These two officers will, during this mission, be your first point contact. All matters regarding anything will first be discussed with your captain and he in turn will relay any findings, problems or requirements to mission control via these two men. “Now let’s get down to business. You have probably heard the rumours which have been circulating that you are about to visit a planet which has never been visited before. Well I can now confirm that these rumours are in fact not true. Interstellar cartography has confirmed that the planet that is now in range of our own is one that was visited during the infancy of our space programme. It was the first time that we had ever lost anyone during an interplanetary mission. The three man crew of 106 Alpha did not return however the records show that they did manage to relay vital information about the planet. We believe, from their findings that the surface of the planet is able to sustain life as we know it. Long range sensors show that it supports an atmosphere and there are signs of extensive vegetation and desert regions. As yet we have picked up no radio transmissions nor do we expect to, so we must assume that either there is no life as we would recognise it or that if there is life, it is only at a stage of early development. Until you discover more about what you are up against you will have to be on your guard. The planet is approaching us from the gamma quadrant and will only be in range for three hundred and sixty hours, so we must assimilate as much information as we can in as shorter space of time as is possible this is a once in a lifetime opportunity that we must make the most of, we will only have one shot at this”. He turned his attention to the computer terminal and began to extract the information he now needed. I would now like you to turn your attention to your monitors. As you can see from the simulation, the planet is approaching from the gamma quadrant and will be in range for three hundred and sixty hours. Alpha 1472 will launch 96 hours before the planet is in actual range and will rendezvous at this point... This is the first point at which we will be in optimum range for a landing attempt. As our orbit passes through this system provided that you manage to locate a suitable landing site for your first orbit, you will have precisely three hundred and ten hours to assimilate and collate as much information as possible. This will leave only two hours for you to affect a successful take off from the planet, and as you are all aware break free from its gravitational pull”.

With a click of his mouse
he halted the computer simulation that was in progress on the screens “At this point we will once again be out of range. I have no need to tell you just how important this mission is. This will be the one that will have the most far reaching implications for the future of every single person on this planet. The information that you bring back with you could be the building block of technological, medical, meteorological and geological advancements that will see us through into the next millennium and beyond.”

“If you look in the envelope on your desks you will find a ROM disk. On each of these disks are the parameters of your individual missions. I know that there is, within reach of you the ability for cooperation, and we are relying on that to maximise the information yield from this mission. I have personally hand picked each of you for this mission. I selected you because I believe that you are the best people for the job. It will be the adventure of a lifetime, and I have no doubt that you will all go down in the annals of history and be spoken about long after this mission is over. This is precisely why failure is not an option”.

“
If you have any questions, and I would be disappointed if there were not, all of them should now be addressed through major Hooton and major general Stewart. All that remains for me to do is wish you good luck and safe return”. With these words he stood to attention, saluted the crew and left the room. Major general Stewart rose to his feet and began to address them. “Good morning” he began “All the listening stations around the world have been concentrating maximum efforts on this project since telemetry alerted us to the approach of the planet we have labelled Epsilon Omega and to date there had been no confirmation of any type of manufactured radio waves. Further to this, observation has not been able to detect any unnatural satellites orbiting the planet. From these two facts, we have to assume that Epsilon Omega has no form of defence, we further have to assume that if there is any type of civilisation present on the planet it is either at one end of the evolutionary scale or the other, that is to say, they are beyond the need for defence or communication and it is also likely that they are probably also beyond the need for space travel. However we tend to dismiss this as being the case. We are more in favour of the other end of the scale, a pre industrial society. This being the case, I must stress the importance of non involvement. Under no circumstances will there be any contact of any kind with any intelligent life form that may be present.

Unfortunately mission alpha 106 made no transmissions back to this planet after entering the atmosphere of epsilon omega so we can have no knowledge of any life form that may exist there. We do know
however that the atmosphere has a high probability of being able to support our biological needs. There is no way to even speculate as to the fate of alpha 106, but we are confident that any problems encountered by them were not a direct consequence of the planet itself.

If you would all like to go thro
ugh to the relax room we have provided relaxation terminals for each of you. There is also sustenance and refreshments available... take care to review your mission thoroughly. Report back here at precisely 1300 hours. For now ladies and gentlemen, that will be all”. The two officers collected their paperwork and left the room. The crew did likewise and retired to the relax room.

The table at the far end of the relax room was laid with a complete meal. The crew all took their places on the stools that surrounded the table. As they were about to start their meal captain Daniels called for their attention. “Listen everyone, this will be the last proper meal we will be having and I for one would like to enjoy it in peace. So, I don’t want to hear anything about the mission. Now let’s eat.” His words put everyone at ease, and the next half hour was a welcome break in the already intense time that lay ahead of them. They sat, and for the duration of the meal they engaged in polite, but friendly conversations. The captain had realised that they needed this time to get to know each other somewhat after all they were going to be confined together in a relatively small environment for a long time.

Upon completing their meal the crew moved over to the comfort of the easy chairs that were arranged in a circle, alongside each chair was situated a computer screen and a terminal. In silence each of the crew sat studying and absorbing the information provided for them on ROM discs. Most of the material held on the discs was a standard nature, but because of the importance of this mission there was certain information specific to each of them that differed from any other orders they had received before. They sat and worked on their mission briefs for hours, until one by one, they reclined in their seats, each displaying an air of accomplishment. At 1250 hours captain Daniels, having waited until everyone had completed their own evaluation of the tasks ahead, cleared his throat and said to everyone,

“Right, now we all know what is expected of us, I now have to ask you. You have all read the last paragraph held within the file marked vital, read last, and this is the absolute last chance you will have to withdraw from the mission, I am obliged to point out certain facts to you. If you decide to withdraw there will be no adverse remarks placed on your records, nor will it affect any future missions that you may be considered for. Since alpha 106, there have been no significant problems in space, so all of the departments within the programme assure us that there will be no unforeseen problems with this mission. Bearing in mind these facts I must now ask you to make a decision, .do any of you wish to withdraw from this mission?” he paused and waited for an answer. Each of the crew sat and reflected upon the final paragraph which read... Finally and most importantly, the mission upon which you are about to embark, is one, the nature of which our world has never known before. It is a mission in which there may be a possibility of first contact with an alien civilisation. If this should be the case then certain parameters must be adhered to. We will assume that there is life on epsilon omega. Should this life form be at an evolutionary stage that has not yet reached the advancement of our own we must be aware of its future advancement. To these ends it is imperative that there be absolutely no contact of any kind with any intelligent being encountered. It would be unfair of us as a civilisation to influence the natural evolution and learning process of another world. If, in the unlikely event that beings encountered should display the same physiological attributes to our own there are provisions within your orders to allow you to interact with them in an effort to establish their level of advancement. In the event of craft malfunction resulting in the termination of the mission on epsilon omega the aforementioned parameters will remain in force. To achieve this we have, for the first time, on any craft installed a self destruction device. This device can only be activated by the input of three of the secret pin numbers given to each of the crew. One of these numbers must be that of the captain or of the second in command. This drastic measure is important to preserve the integrity of whatever we may find. It is imperative that you understand the implications of this device. Once activated the self destruct mechanism cannot be aborted. In the event of the need to implement this device, your final orders from control are to prevent the contamination of the planet and its inhabitants, the self destruct device will not be activated until all seven of the crew are secured within the vehicle. There must be no evidence left on the planet to suggest that it has been visited by anyone or anything that is not endemic to that environment.”

Each of the crew sat and considered this paragraph, silently anticipating the others, each expecting on
e or more of their number to decline the mission. After a few moments it was clear that there were to be no objections to being included in the mission. The captain looked at each of them in turn.

“I will take that as being a resounding acceptance of all of the conditions laid out in your orders, and invite all of you back into the briefing room.” When they had all re-taken their seats, the door was automatically closed and they could hear a pronounced hiss as the room was hermetically sealed. The room then went through the same process as did the final entry room; the lights dimmed to the familiar purple glow and began to hum. This process was the final procedure in the sterilisation programme; from this point onwards they would have no direct contact with the outside world. For this mission it had been decided that it would be prudent to minimise any risk of cross contamination between worlds.

After a short wait the two officers who had been there earlier, returned to the corridor and took their seats. All of the crew were now irrevocably committed to the mission and this was to be the final time they would see anyone before their return.

The clock on the wall was reading 1300 hours as major general Stewart and Major Hooton rose to their feet. They stood to attention and saluted the crew, Major Hooton spoke, “On behalf of the entire staff of this facility we wish you a safe journey and a speedy return” The crew stood to attention and returned the salute. The officers and the crew sat down. Major generals Stewart reached over to his terminal and pressed the key marked activate.
The entire corridor containing the two officers slid silently to the left, as it did so it revealed the panoramic view of the launch pad. By this time the shuttle that was to take them out of the confines of their planet was standing proud on its supports. All around the area the hustle and bustle of support vehicles could be seen. As the room travelled slowly towards the shuttle, Mary thought that this was like watching a huge television screen, to her; it felt like she was watching a film. It had a strange fictional quality to it, a quality that suggested that this was not really happening, that somehow it was all a dream. In the night sky she could see a myriad of stars, as she scanned the skies she gave a heavy sigh, soon she would be a very small part of that theatre.
Her attention was drawn to the carnival that was now being played out in front of her. The speakers inside of their room had now been patched through to mission control, as they came on line the first words that the crew heard were those of the countdown operator.