Starborn Odyssey: Voyage of the Lost (The Starborn Odyssey Trilogy Book 3) Read online

  He sighed. “The truth is, I still feel as if I’m sentencing all six of them to purgatory. And I may never know if I’m right or not.” He crossed his arms. He was feeling old, although he was barely 30; it was strange to see his little sister sitting there, knowing that she had volunteered to leave on an adventure, and never return. His brow furrowed at the thought.

  Gemma, who had not aged a day in the last decade, made a gesture as if to touch his arm, intended to be a comfort, although of course he could feel nothing, as her hand was only an illusion of light. At that moment, Shana sat up straight. She brusquely wiped her face with her hands, and said something curt to the video picture of their mother—Colin thought it was simply, “Bye, mom.” She stood, looking stoic.

  “See,” Gemma said, “She’s stronger than you think.”

  Colin mused, “I don’t suppose I could exercise my Captain’s authority and simply refuse to let her go at this point.”

  Gemma smiled wanly. “No, I don’t suppose so. Try to remember how you would have taken to anyone trying to stop you from exploring, when you were younger.”

  Colin grunted with begrudging acknowledgment.

  “And, your family has become an important symbol for this community. The people want to have an Argon on this voyage, and it can’t be you.”

  Colin nodded. “I know. And in truth, in a decade or so, Shana may be safer out there than we are here.” He and Gemma exchanged a long look.

  “We’ll find an answer before then,” Gemma said firmly. “I promise.”

  Shana reached the door and saw them. “Colin!” She exclaimed brightly. “I’m so glad you’re here! Hello, Gemma!” She took Colin’s arm and began to lead him toward home.

  “Did you hear the ridiculous news? Pixie got married, of all things.”

  Colin laughed. “Yes, I officiated the ceremony.”

  Shana gasped, “You didn’t!”

  “I did! And, Pixie has dyed her hair Reeshian pink for the voyage. I’m glad she’s going with you. There isn’t anyone more cheerful on the whole asteroid.”

  Shana glowered. “She’ll be less cheerful once I get a hold of her!” But she couldn’t help grinning at the thought that new pink hair and a new husband were really not drastic at all, in light of what they were about to do.

  ****

  The mood in the launch bay, generally celebratory before any kind of exploratory launch, was muted and somber. Shana and her five crew members stood before the entire colony, in pressed gray uniforms, standing proud. Shana looked down the row. Pixie and Zak were standing close together, although not actually holding hands. Zak was grinning.

  Pixie had indeed dyed her hair pink, although it was darker than Shana’s, and still tended to curl. At four foot ten inches, Pixie was shorter than Shana, who, at five foot two inches, was average for a Starborn woman. Pixie was tiny, with a dark complexion and deep, dark eyes, stemming from her Earth ancestors’ Indian lineage, and she had slightly pointed ears that had earned her the name Pixie. Her new pink hair exacerbated her appearance as a sprite. Next to her, Zak, who was full Reeshian and the second tallest person on Prometheus, looked huge. They did look happy, though.

  Kelsan and Tanya both looked serious. They were clearly thinking only of the journey ahead, unlike the newlyweds next to them. Kelsan was broad and red haired, covered in freckles, with the ability to grow a bristly red beard (it seemed) simply by concentrating on it. He was five foot four and a half (very emphatic about the half), making him just shy of Elton’s five-five, the average height for the Starborn. Standing between Kelsan and Elton, Tanya looked exotic and beautiful. She was the same height as Elton, tall for a woman, with a lean, muscular build. She was a mix of Earth African and Reeshian descent, giving her a dark complexion and curly pinkish red hair, that she had once, when they were all younger, allowed Pixie to try to straighten with an experimental tonic Pixie had invented in chemistry class, with the result being a huge cloud of unmanageable frizz that took days to settle back to normal. It was hard to imagine the warrior Tanya had trained to become in the years since then allowing anyone to do her hair.

  Elton, of all the crew, looked the most nervous. He had his eyebrows furrowed, which gave him a somewhat comical look. His dark brown hair, usually unruly, was smoothed back seriously, and there were slight blue circles under his eyes, showing he’d probably missed some sleep. He darted his eyes toward Shana and smiled a little, not very successfully. She smiled back, then faced forward, trying to focus but not really seeing the crowd of people before her. Her stomach was a tight knot of nerves, and she felt twitchy with adrenaline.

  The saucer ship sat just behind the crew, gleaming black in the bright lights. It looked, from the outside, identical to the alien saucer ship they had found crashed Narcissus’ moon, Beta, and had the same crystal drive system. Unlike the alien ship, however, it had been designed to comfortably house the six-man crew. Petya Ton had made other changes as well, most notably the inclusion of multiple drive systems to insure they would be able to fly in an atmosphere and maneuver in any type of environment, as well as making the wild, erratic crystal jumps they hoped to learn how to harness. The redundancy was incorporated because both of the saucer ships the Starborn had found, crashed, appeared to have only the crystal drive. Petya hypothesized that the lack of a close-range drive and steering system, when coupled with the propensity for anything using the crystals for propulsion to materialize near a gravity source, was the most likely reason those ships had crashed. This was generally accepted as true, although they could not explain why a race with such advanced technology would bypass such a crucial element in their ships.

  Petya and Gemma had worked for years on a formula to explain the crystal-propulsion process, using minute pieces of crystal attached to tracking devices, so that Gemma could try to map their trajectory. The experiments were inconclusive. Only time would tell if Petya’s solution would be enough to make the Wanderer a stable and safe vessel. There was no way to learn more without making the trip in person. The hope was that the computer would be able to determine the location of the saucer ship after a launch based on the relationships between stars of specific intensities; but this relied strongly on the notion that they would stay in the same sector of the galaxy, where their star charts made sense. It would be difficult if they traveled to the far side of the galaxy, in the part that looked from Prometheus’ bridge as a cloud across the sky.

  The Wanderer’s cargo hold was packed with provisions for the journey, replacement technology, and far more precious goods: seed pods and spores of many varieties of Earth and Reeshian flora, the embryos of various animals that would be necessary for colonization, held in suspension, and, finally, 50 human embryos, fertilized carefully to ensure the greatest genetic diversity, from 110 different members of Prometheus’ crew, both Earth and Reeshian. Some of the embryos had three genetic parents. The cell clusters were frozen in suspended animation, like the animals, each in an individual womb-compartment. This was the future that Shana had to protect. Her friends and family, watching her so carefully now, were the endangered past. But she refused to allow herself to continue that line of thought.

  Colin’s speech about the importance of colonization and exploration was over. Mayor Amber Carson had given each of the crew a necklace with a polished stone from the walls of the asteroid ship, to symbolize the continuation of Prometheus’ journey, and to remind them of home. Shana clutched hers in her hand, tightly.

  “Thus begins the next stage of exploration by the Starborn,” Colin said. “Three cheers for the brave crew of the Wanderer!” The crowd erupted into clapping and cheering, and not a few people were crying and laughing at the same time. The feel in the room was suddenly giddy, and Shana had to steel herself against it.

  She looked at Colin, who was smiling at her, expectantly. They had said their difficult goodbyes already that morning, and now was the moment of truth. He raised his hand to his ear in their mother’s “phone” gesture—as if to
say, “call me when you get there.” They both knew the likelihood of that was so remote as to be impossible. But it warmed her heart to see it. Shana nodded at Colin once, then took a deep breath and turned to her crew. “Alright crew, let’s go make history.” She led them onto the saucer ship, and the airlock closed behind them.

  The control room of the Wanderer was large and circular, at the center of the saucer. The walls, floor, and ceiling were all metal, shiny and cold—sterile and impersonal compared to the warm rock of Prometheus’ rooms. The saucer had no windows or ports but multiple video screens lined the walls, which displayed a three-sixty degree view of the outside, captured by their external scanners. There were several work stations around the edge of the room, with various analytical tools and computer interfaces, and there was space on the floor where the Wanderer’s crew would be able to work on physical or mechanical projects. The primary controls for driving the ship were on the large circular console in the very center of the room.

  Shana, Elton, Kelsan, Tanya, Pixie, and Zak arrayed themselves in their familiar positions around the central console, facing each other, and completed the checks for departure. The exercise felt routine, as they’d practiced it so many times, but this was distinctly different, and no one spoke. Shana supposed each of them was thinking over their lives and wondering if they had a future. She had expected to be more terrified than she was, but the prevailing emotion, she was startled to realize, was excitement. They weren’t going to have to wait generations travelling to find a new home world — and if they found one, they wouldn’t be stuck if it wasn’t habitable. Gemma and Petya believed that the jumps would be pretty much instantaneous, and would almost always land the ship near a star system or other gravity source. Of course, no one knew for sure yet—but if it was true, they could hop from system to system looking for a colony-compatible planet, and then figure out how to get Prometheus to join them there.

  Shana looked over at Pixie, whose new pink hair made her look half-Reeshian. Except for Zak, who was full-Reeshian, and Shana and Tanya, who both had Reeshian fathers, the rest of the crew were Earth-descendants. But those distinctions were meaningless now. The planet Reesh had been decimated by a near collision with a planet in an unstable orbit, and the survivors were now linked inevitably with the fate of the Earth-Starborn. Colin seemed worried that Earth may have had similar difficulties to those suffered by the Reeshians, based on the long lapse in communications with that planet. Shana realized she might never know what happened to Earth, even if her brother did find out.

  She could feel the faint vibrations of the generators coming on as Zak activated them. She scanned the ship a last time to verify that everything was in place. Monitoring the video screens, they could see the anxious and excited faces of Prometheus’ colonists in the launch bay viewports. What would they do after this, she wondered. Go home, prepare meals, walk in the Hydrop, and begin to forget the Wanderer? She picked her family out of the crowd; they were near the front. Colin looked stoic, but her father’s face looked pained. Certainly he didn’t know she could see him or he would have hidden his feelings better. She felt sad for him. At least she, herself would know what happened to her; but her family possibly—even probably, if she was honest—never would. She felt tears trickling down her checks. She looked up at her crew, and saw she was not alone. Everybody was feeling the sudden loss of all the people they loved. But there was no turning back now. Shana shook herself and gripped her controls, her hands uncharacteristically sweaty. She focused on the mission, cleared her mind, fired up the light duty propulsion system, and piloted them out of the bay.

  When the Wanderer was one hundred miles from the Prometheus, they took one last look back at the asteroid ship, and then prepared to engage the crystal drive. Gemma was not visible in the control room, but Shana knew she was listening in from the computer. “Alright Gemma,” Shana said, and was surprised at how calm her own voice sounded, “Crystal drive engage.”

  There was the briefest pause and then, with a sudden muffled siren sound, like her ears were ringing under water, Shana’s body began collapsing in on itself. She tried to gasp but her lungs would not expand; they were flat, and then they were not there at all! Her mind reeled with the sense of disembodiment. And then, almost instantaneously, she felt a violent push as if her body was exploding back to form, or re-inflating. The pain was sharp and shocking. Shana lost consciousness, for a single moment, or a thousand years; it was impossible to tell the difference.

  Gemma’s voice was audible over the strange ringing in Shana’s ears. “We have arrived near a star at critical mass. We must launch again immediately!” Shana did not have time to orient herself or respond; she barely had time to gasp in a breath. Gemma did not wait; the ship jolted again, causing a repeat of the unnerving disembodiment and a shattering pain.

  When Shana next regained herself, her face was against the control panel in front of her; her arms were over her head. She sat up tentatively, half-expecting to find broken bones or missing limbs, but everything was intact, and she felt fine, if shaken up. Gemma’s voice spoke, as the other members of the crew stretched and twisted, making sure they were in one piece. “We have arrived about three hundred million miles from an A-class star. It is over twice the size of Earth’s sun, or Reesh’s, but has about the same light spectrum, according to our analysis. This is a good start for our mission.”

  “How long were we unconscious?” Elton asked, speaking to the air, as Gemma still had not appeared as a hologram.

  “About 7 seconds,” answered Gemma.

  “Is that all? It seemed like an eternity,” said Shana. “Did we get any visuals of the first solar system we visited, where you jumped us out so quickly?”

  “It’s all recorded on the scanners for later review,” Gemma answered. “Cap is already working on mapping coordinates and seeing if we can determine anything about our trajectory.”

  Captain Duncan, or “Cap,” rarely made a visual appearance; he worked in the computer with Gemma, and let her do most of the liaison with the “corporeal crew,” as he called them. His analytical mind and ability to work directly with the computer would be invaluable as they attempted to harness and control the crystal drive’s power.

  “Has he been able to ascertain where we are?” asked Shana.

  There was a pause. Then Gemma acknowledged, “No, there are no recognizable groupings of stars and no indicators of what Galaxy we are in. We do know that this galaxy appears to be approximately the same size as the Milky Way galaxy, but we don’t know our position in it, or in relation to where we were. We may simply be so far out of position that we can’t see enough of what’s familiar. I’ll continue to scan to see the positions of stars from different locations, but the program is time consuming even with our computing capabilities and Cap working on it.”

  “Great, we went and got ourselves instantaneously lost!” Elton groaned, half kidding.

  Zak jumped up and began pacing the room, a small grin on his face. “How exciting; we’re still alive! At least we know that the system of travel is more than a theory, right? Now what’s the plan?”

  Tanya spoke up, brusquely, “What are our current surroundings? Anything look habitable in this system? That should help us figure out our next step.”

  “I’ve detected three planets around this star,” Gemma said, “but so far none in the habitable range. There may be something on the other side of the star that I haven’t been able to detect yet.”

  “I’d hate to do another jump right now,” Pixie said, with a shiver. “If there’s anything at all worth looking at here, my vote is to do that first!”

  Gemma agreed. “I suggest we check out the planet nearest us. We have no experience firsthand in a system with this size star, and don’t know for sure at what distances a world will be habitable. The nearest planet is three hundred and forty seven million miles from the star and perhaps that is sufficient for habitability.”

  “What do you think, should we ex
plore that planet?” Shana asked the rest of the crew.

  “No objection here!” Pixie said. Elton nodded his agreement, as did the others.

  “How long to get in range for a reliable scan?” questioned Zak.

  “Using standard thrusters, approximately three days,” Gemma answered with no hesitation at all. Sometimes, even though she had grown up with it and was familiar with Gemma’s level of skill, it amazed Shana just how quickly Gemma processed information, mostly because, in her hologram form, she seemed to be just another human and not a computer program. But a computer program she was, and linked in ever more sophisticated ways with all of the data systems of the ship’s computer. Gemma was, in fact, the most complex program ever designed. Captain Duncan, a genius, had discovered how to save memories and personality algorithms in the computer, and Gemma was the only person who had been able to replicate his genius. She had programmed herself into the computer, and when her human body was killed by a Scorpion, her artificial life began. Nobody else had since been able to duplicate that program, although not for lack of trying by a number of people on Prometheus. Now, Gemma and Cap were both able to manipulate, read, and analyze the data collected by the computer faster than the computer alone, or the human crew, could.

  “Alright, let’s get moving then,” Shana said.

  Elton gave her a curt nod and entered the coordinates in the navigation system. He smiled to himself as he did so. “I have to admit, I don’t entirely mind traveling the old fashioned way. It’s nice and familiar.”

  Kelsan grunted. “Inefficient.”

  Pixie shook her head emphatically. “Inefficient is fine with me. The crystal jumps cause the most pain I’ve ever experienced in my life. I’d be happy if we never had to jump again.” Everyone except Kelsan seemed in agreement with that assessment, although the memory of the pain was fading rapidly, as if it had been imaginary. That response is common, Shana supposed, showing the resilience of the human mind.