Peggy Sue (The T'aafhal Inheritance) (33 page)

Chapter 16

Polar Bear Quarters, Peggy Sue, Alter-space Day 3

Isbjørn and Bear entered the polar bear quarters after spending the last watch training with the ship’s Marines. Their developing tactical doctrine called for each bear to be supported by three humans. Because of their immense strength and physical size, the bears were capable of carrying heavier weapons than the human Marines: the latest five barreled flechette gun, the successor to Bear’s “fire hose of death,” used in the battle of the space mushroom; and the new 15mm, triple barreled rail-gun cannon, which fired high velocity explosive rounds at 1200 rounds per minute.

It was not just the heft of the weapons, but the bears’ ability to carry large amounts of ammunition to feed them that allowed individual bears to replace crew served weapon teams. Instead of human Marines carrying squad machine guns, the bears provided that function without burdening their squadmates with extra ammunition cans or additional barrels. This arrangement expanded the ship’s Marine contingent from 12 to 16, but the numerical increase hardly reflected the increase in firepower.

The cargo hold was the Marines’ normal exercise space, with morning formation being held every day followed by PT that many of the crew also participated in. This early in the voyage, the hold was still mostly full, packed with expendable drones, observation satellites and other consumable supplies. This forced the Marines to practice combat tactics in two shifts, which was why Isbjørn and Bear found themselves alone in the bear quarters when they returned from combat drill.

“I don’t think there’s anyone else here,” Bear said to his mate. “Where’s Aput?”

“Aput is at his studies with the human scientists,” Isbjørn replied. “Dr. Saito says that Aput has an uncanny knack for math and physics—the intricacies of alter-space and multidimensional cosmology in particular.”

“I never would have thought he had it in him,” Bear chuckled. “But then you have been showing some hidden talents yourself, babe.”

“What do you mean?” she asked with suspicion in her voice. All bears were notorious jokers and Isbjørn had reason to know Bear was worse than most.

“Hey, that was a complement!” Bear countered, mock indignation belied by the toothy grin on his muzzle. “I was referring to your performance in the contact party. You were the first one to talk to the fruit basket ambassador.”

“Moving closer seemed like the right thing to do,” she replied, “and don’t call them fruit baskets. It’s disrespectful.”

“It’s not like the Ambassador knows what that means and besides, Peggy Sue always provides translation to whatever it is they call themselves.”

“Still, you have most of the Marines calling them that. You’re an officer and a combat veteran, not just some brawling bruin. Like it or not, they look up to you.”

“Oh come on, babe…” he began, but before he could complete his sentence, Isbjørn rose up and hit him with a paw swipe that knocked him to the ground. Following the sudden assault, Isbjørn bolted up the icy mounds that gave the bear quarters some small semblance of a natural environment.

Bear quickly regained his feet and shook his head.
So that’s how you want it!
He said to himself, a smile spreading across his face. He ran after her, up the tiered ice shelves to where Isbjørn awaited.

As he approached, she rose up on her hind legs and roared in challenge. Halting one level down from the smaller female, Bear also rose to a two legged stance. This put their heads on roughly the same level as they exchanged blows and then clashed their jaws with fangs bared. Isbjørn dropped to all fours and lunged into him, causing both of them to tumble down the artificial hill to the floor of their living space.

This violent game of tag continued for several frenetic minutes until, finally, the pair came to a breathless stop. Bear stood over Isbjørn with a foreleg draped across her back as he panted, “Hey, babe. I was just trying to pay you a complement.”

“I know,” she replied, equally out of breath. “Oh shut up, you big lug, and bite the back of my neck…”

Bridge, Peggy Sue, Emergence at 61 Virginis

As seen from Earth, 61 Virginis is located at the southern edge of the constellation Virgo, southwest of the bright type-B binary Alpha Virginis, also known as Spica. About 27.8 light-years from Sol, 61 Vir is visible to unaided human eyes and is best viewed under a dark sky during spring in the northern hemisphere.

Astronomers and astrobiologists have long been fascinated with this particular star. Among hundreds of nearby stars, 61 Vir stands out as being the most similar to the Sun in terms of age, mass, and other essential properties. A decade ago, astronomers found that 61 Vir hosts at least three planets: one super-Earth and two Neptune-class planets of at least 5, 18, and 24 Earth-masses, respectively.

The trio were found in moderately circular, inner orbits with periods of 4.2, 38, and 124 days. Though this was one of the earliest observations of a super-Earth around a Sun-like star, the extremely close orbit of only 0.05 AU made the existence of life improbable.

“Mr. Taylor, how does the neighborhood look?” the Captain asked his science officer, shortly after the ship emerged from alter-space.

“I observed two planets in close solar orbit, one super-Earth and another roughly Neptune sized. The third known planet must be on the other side of the star from our position. As expected, the inner planet is way too close to support life. Its atmospheric flow pattern is somewhat similar to of the upper atmosphere of Venus, though not as dense, and it is so hot it glows.”

“Anything in the habitable zone?”

“The local habitable zone is roughly between 0.75 and 1.5 AU. I’m not registering any terrestrial planets in that space. At least nothing big enough to hold an atmosphere,” JT said disappointedly. “Beyond that a thick belt of dust and rubble lies between 95 and 195 AU. I’m afraid that this is a dry hole, Captain.”

“Well, we can’t expect to find aliens in every system we visit,” Jack said. “Helm, let’s make a minimum time transit to the next alter-space transfer point. That should still give us several days to collect scientific information and scan for any hint of life. Perhaps our next stop will prove more exciting.”

With those prophetic words the Captain looked forward to discovering what awaited them at Beta Hydri. A strange s
ubgiant star evolving off of the main sequence, it was subject to rhythmic pulsations in luminosity, evidence of highly variable output.
 

Kuiper Belt, 61 Virginis

In the Solar System, out beyond the orbit of Neptune lies a region called the Kuiper belt. It is similar to the asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter—consisting mainly of small bodies and other remnants from the Solar System’s formation—though it is 20 times as wide and 200 times as massive. While the asteroid belt is composed primarily of rocky and metallic objects, objects in the Kuiper belt are composed largely of frozen volatiles, ices of methane, ammonia and water. But there are also many sizable objects, dwarf planets like Pluto and Eris. Several of the Solar System’s moons, such as Neptune’s Triton and Saturn’s Phoebe, are thought to be captured Kuiper belt objects.

The system around 61 Vir is ordered differently from the one around Sol. The major planets orbit closely to their star, giving warm life little purchase. But more than 90 AU out begins a thick belt of dust and debris far larger than the Sun’s Kuiper belt. Among the distant rubble many sizable planetesimals orbit 61 Vir.

Rich in organics and precursor compounds, a number of these frigid dwarf planets developed their own forms of life—cold life, dark life. Based on different chemistry than the Earth creatures traversing the inner system, these beings were no less intelligent and no less advanced. Quite the opposite, theirs was a multi-world civilization and their technology outstripped that which humans had devised on their own. On the capital world a quasicrystalline creature, shaped somewhat like a giant sea urchin, took note of the Peggy Sue’s passage through his system.

“Ooshlewnnalloo, attend me!” he bellowed, calling on his favorite offspring. The observer was called Lewnhallooshna and he was the ruler of a dozen worlds scattered about the asteroid belt. He was ruler because nearly all similar creatures that inhabited the worlds he claimed were direct descendants—he was quite literally their sire.

“Yes great father,” answered Ooshlewnnalloo, scuttling into his sire’s presence. “Command me, my king.”

“It would appear that a ship filled with warm life vermin is traversing the inner system, transiting from one alter-space tramline to another as though it is their right to violate my space without paying proper obeisance.”

“What temerity! What a vile insult to my revered father!”

“Assemble the fleet! We will follow these ignorant trespassers and meet out punishment for this affront to my dignity. This blight on my sovereign honor will only be assuaged when their constituent atoms are torn asunder and blown into the void.”

“As you command, great father! Your sons gather to blot these offensive creatures from existence,” Ooshlewnnalloo enthused. As he left his father’s chamber to summon his siblings he thought,
what great luck! We haven’t had a good extermination in ages!
 

Bridge, Peggy Sue, Arriving at Beta Hydri

After the disappointment of 61 Vir and the boredom of the ten day alter-space transit, the crew of the Peggy Sue was looking forward to exploring the Beta Hydri system. Located about 24.4 light-years away from Sol, it lies in the southeastern corner of the constellation Hydrus, the Serpent or Water Snake. A type G2 star with 1.1 times Sol’s mass, 1.46 times its diameter and about 3.53 times its luminosity.

Perhaps most intriguing, Beta Hydri’s age was estimated by earthly astronomers at 6.7 billion years, significantly older than the Sun, plenty of time for life to evolve. On the other hand, since Beta Hydri became a subgiant late in life, it is possible that any planet that once had Earth-like conditions was now too hot to support life. But then, perhaps a colder Mars-like planet became more amicable to terrestrial life.

“I’ve got a gas giant with around 4.8 Jupiter masses at 8 AU,” reported JT from the navigation and astronomy station. “That one was more or less expected from Earth-based observations.”

“A Jupiter analogue,” said Elena. “There may be terrestrial planets closer to the star, like in the solar system. The star’s current habitable zone is centered around 1.9 AU—corresponding to an orbital distance between Mars and the inner boundary of the Main Asteroid Belt back home. The orbital period of such a planet would be about 2.5 Earth years.”

“Scanning the habitable zone now, Elena,” replied JT, concentrating on the instrument readouts. The ship’s course and velocity caused any close objects, such as planets, to change position faster than more distant stars. The Peggy Sue’s optical instruments and its computer were faster and more accurate at measuring such small movements than any human observer. JT was picking out promising candidates from prospective objects identified by the automated equipment. Using the giant planet to establish an orbital plane made this task easier. “Ah! There we go!”

“Yes, Mr. Taylor?” said the Captain.

“A terrestrial planet at approximately 2 AU, working on mass and atmospheric spectrum analysis,” he answered. “A bit smaller than Earth, but the atmosphere shows nitrogen, oxygen and traces of CO
₂
and methane. I think we have a live one, Captain.”
 

A buzz of excitement filled the bridge and the adjoining CIC. “Very good, Mr. Taylor. Helm, put us on a nice, easy approach to Mr. Taylor’s ‘live one’. Continue scanning for other objects, I don’t wish to be surprised on the way there.”

* * * * *

A day and a half later, the Peggy Sue slipped into a high orbit above Beta Hydri E, a cloud strewn green and dun colored world with a number of scattered seas and large lakes. On the approach, the ship’s telescopes and remote sensors performed a survey of the planet. If 61 Vir was a disappointment, Beta Hydri was all the scientists on board had hoped for.

The Captain, Lcdr. Curtis, JT and several members of the science team were gathered around the large 3D tank in the CIC. For a time the group of humans stood mute. In front of them was a large swath of alien terrain, looking like a miniature diorama in a museum. A broad river valley with low hills to either side, covered by orderly groves of dark green trees, cut here and there by dirt colored ribbons. The ribbons radiated from clusters of earth colored mounds, and linked the mounds with larger structures that bordered the banks of the slowly flowing waterway.

There was only one way to interpret the scene in front of them: the ribbons were roads, the mounds houses and the larger structures the buildings of a city. Carts could be seen moving on the roads and ships sailed upon the river. The Peggy Sue had found a living planet with a working, if somewhat primitive civilization. Sally Li finally broke the silence, giving voice to thoughts they all shared. “OK, now that we’ve found some aliens, how do we go about making contact?”

“I’m not so sure we should,” replied Olaf. “They seem to be at a fairly low level of technological development—late bronze age or early iron age. There is some haze from fires, perhaps for cooking, but no large industrial smoke stacks. And along the river are a number of water wheels, possibly to drive mills or other machinery. They seem to be about as advanced as Rome during Trajan’s reign.”

“Why do you say that we shouldn’t make contact, Doctor?” asked Jack.

“If they are a pre-spaceflight society it might be best to not disturb them. They certainly won’t be of use fighting the mysterious enemies you say are skulking about the galaxy.”