Jungle colony book 2, p.42
Jungle (Colony Book 2), page 42
“When we land,” she continued. “There will be no ‘exploring.’ No going off on your own or with a group. We land, we look at the landing site. We do not venture into the trees. And we get into our armory and check everything out remotely. We observe. Once we’ve got a decent idea of exactly what awaits us out there, we’ll start sending out parties to explore the surrounding area, and work from there. Clear?”
Several of the expedition members nodded, but several did not, and Jake watched as Anna’s attention shifted in their direction. The few who didn’t nod are new, he noted. Inexperienced.
“Why do we have to be so cautious?” To Jake’s surprise, it was Jane Wells who had spoken. “If there is anything dangerous down there—”
“They’ll have no idea what we are or how dangerous—or not—we are,” Anna replied, leaning forward slightly further. “For the same reason we all go down wearing enviro suits and don’t take the helmets off even if there’s breathable air.” Louis shivered at Anna’s words, his expression grim. “For the same reason you don’t pick up a mushroom on Earth and just bite into it. For the same reason we don’t assume that just because something looks cute and nonthreatening, it is.”
She looked around the group again, their distorted faces reflected in her visor. “We are setting foot on a planet no human has ever set foot on before. A planet that none of us know anything about. We—well, you—are here to learn about it. Jake and I are here to make sure that in the process, nothing happens to you. So, you have your basic safety procedures about how to do things. So do we. Yes, I’ve looked at them.”
“We’re actually not being as tightly wound as we could be,” Jake said as Anna reached a stopping point. “It’s all new to me too, but what Anna just described is standard procedure. Besides,” he said, looking around the table and letting his gaze linger on the less-experienced members of the expedition. “How many of you would want to wander around, say the Amazon Rainforest, dozens of miles from anywhere back on Earth, without proper planning?”
“But we are planning,” Johan said. “That’s what we’re doing right now.”
“Exactly,” Jake said. “And our plan is to find out about whatever’s down there that might puncture your enviro suits before it punctures your enviro suit, so we can make sure that doesn’t happen. Karabou?” The zoologist’s head snapped up as he said her name. “How many dangerous creatures capable of wounding or killing a human being live in the Amazon?”
“How many?” she asked, her forehead creasing. “Dozens.”
“And how many of them are obvious to a tourist? Someone unfamiliar with the place?”
“To somebody who doesn’t know any of them?” She sat back. “Almost none of them, unless you see them in action first. There’s anacondas, piranhas, caimans, vipers—”
“Because a jungle’s really diverse, right?” he said, cutting her off. “So what can we expect to see down on K-247-2, around our landing site?”
“I …” She inhaled a deep breath. “Could be anything, really. It’s an alien planet.”
“And we won’t know most of it when we see it?” Jake prompted.
“Well, not at first,” she said, nodding.
“So we play it safe, take our time, and make sure no one gets injured, or worse, eaten,” he said. “Any questions?” He looked around the table, but no one said anything. “Good. Anna?”
“Nothing to add,” Anna said, shaking her head. “Jake and I will distribute stunners before we board the VTOL to the surface with the final hab unit. We land, we get into the bio-hab, and we shut the door and observe while testing everything. Once we have an idea of what we’re looking at we go out, but with an escort. Until Jake or I decides it’s okay, none of you will go anywhere outside the hab without notifying us. Understood?” The expedition team nodded, though in intermittent groups.
“Good,” Anna said, turning her attention back toward Ikeda. “Commander?”
“Thank you,” Ikeda said, standing once more as Anna sat. “Right team. We’re getting to the fun parts.” She tapped at the table’s controls, and a new display appeared in the air, this one nothing more than orange-colored boxes, many of them different sizes. Bio-habitats. “Bio-hab layout, starting with a standard plus. McCormack will have us better scans in a moment.” The boxes began to move of their own accord, sliding into position. “So, let’s see what we can hammer out. North is this way,” she said as an arrow appeared on one side. “Who wants what to go where?”
Again the group erupted in conversation, and Jake leaned back, watching them work. Anna had already made her claim for the both of them, and Ikeda had agreed to it. Their part in the current mix was done.
All he had to do now was watch, and wait.
Chapter 14
The Sojourner shook again, trembling beneath Anna’s feet as the hangar airlock cycled once more. Lots more room in here now, Anna thought as she eyed the thick, heavy airlock doors. You could play a game of street ball and still have a little room left over. The open hangar stretched out before her, most of its cargo gone. Almost time.
The steel grating beneath her feet shook once, a brief tremble this time, as on the other side of the airlock heavy doors wound open, exposing the ship’s cargo to the vacuum of space. There goes the botany hab, she thought as the rumble subsided. She could see it in her mind—the ship’s docking arm extended out into space, one of the heavy-lift VTOLs clasped beneath it, the botany bio-hab gripped beneath that in a similar manner. The VTOL would fire its maneuvering jets as the ship let go, moving itself away from the Sojourner and out into space, its cargo still cradled beneath it. Then the VTOL’s main engines would come online, six heavy-duty thrusters burning as it rolled away from the ship and down into the atmosphere of the planet below it. In a matter of minutes, it would be descending through the sky above the L-Z, panels glowing from the heat of reentry.
Once there, it would maneuver itself into place above the rest of the bio-habs, scanners and cameras watching its descent from every angle, and would deposit its cargo right where the team wanted it. The bio-hab’s automated systems would take over, lining up the habitat’s connections with the rest of the unit, adjusting its position until the basic parts of the station were connected and online. There would likely be a few that would require human intervention, but for the most part it was an automated process. In the meantime, the heavy-lift VTOL, its cargo delivered, would already have turned and begun its rise back into the stratosphere, heading for a rendezvous with its parent vessel so it could pick up the next hab in line.
Not that there are many of those left, Anna thought as she looked out over the hangar. There were still multiple bio-hab units scattered across the cavernous space, but only one of them was still destined for the surface of K-247-2. The rest weren’t needed, either because they were duplicates of units that had already been sent down to the planet’s surface, or because they were designed for expedition team requirements their team didn’t fulfill.
The grating quivered beneath her armored feet once more, though there was no discernable motion coming from either of the hangar’s airlocks. The airlock arm retracting now that the VTOL had departed. Or the other VTOL coming back to pick up the last bio-hab unit … And with it, the team.
It was probably just the former. Otherwise she wouldn’t be the only one standing in the hangar watching VTOLs leave.
That was my choice, though, she reminded herself. The armory had been one of the earlier modules to leave the ship, right after the crew habitat units had been sent down, and she’d come down to double-check her work and make sure everything was ready for deployment. As well as add a few of her own bags to the mix, just so they weren’t cluttering up the VTOL floor on the way down. Nothing valuable. Just the locker her armor had been in, and two duffels of clothes. Which probably isn’t what most of the expedition would expect, she thought as she glanced down at the two duffels sitting next to her on the deck. Both were full of weapons and ammunition. But the clothes can take the beating if something goes wrong.
Besides, she thought as she looked out over the bay once more. I can live without clothes. I’ve got a skinsuit. I don’t want to live without my guns. She brought one hand down—ignoring the momentary flash of alarm on her suit’s hud as she did so; she still hadn’t managed to fix that—and rested it against the butt of one of the FOX-9s attached to her hips. At least the suit’s weapon docks still worked. Though the one on the right tended to be a little sticky. Probably because of the issues with her arm.
Still, the compact, bullpup submachine gun was there, resting against the side of her hip, balanced by its sibling on her other side. It felt good to be wearing them once more. They’ve gotten me out of a lot of jams, Anna thought, glancing down at the pair and patting one. Good, dependable weapons. As she tapped the butt of the weapon, an alert flashed in the corner of her hud, warning her that the weapon was currently unloaded. It was fine; she’d left it that way on purpose. No sense in loading yet. She’d wait until the team was on the way down.
Regardless of what they found waiting for them below, she was fairly certain if it was dangerous, the FOX-9s were moreso. And while most predators could take a bullet or two—some even a dozen—sixty-plus high-powered shots delivered in the span of a few seconds was easily more than most creatures could take.
And if it can take them, well, whatever that is probably isn’t going to be deterred by our bio-hab, so we’re dead anyway, she thought as she pulled her hand away from the gun. Not that she didn’t have heavier weapons in her duffels, though the ammunition for them was limited. There were only eighteen shots left for the Gorka Uno gauss rifle, since the costly ammo unsurprisingly hadn’t been a standard ammunition stock for the armory. The same went for several of the heavier rifles she owned—though again, she wasn’t too surprised by that fact. More that the ammunition she’d brought back from Pisces with her hadn’t been confiscated outright by UNSEC.
Just go easy on the micro-missiles and don’t plan on making heavy use of any grenade launchers and you’ll be fine, she thought, leaning forward against the steel railing of the hangar platform. Then she let out a short laugh. Because you’re definitely going to need grenades and micros to protect this lot. Right …
No, the armory didn’t carry specialized ammo such as that. But what it did carry would suffice. Plenty of rounds for Sluggers, as well as a number of the guns themselves. Shotgun shells of multiple gauges, including some that were sized for her own, heavier combat weapons. Even rifles, and—surprisingly enough—ammunition for her FOX-9s.
If things did go bad—really bad—we could hold out for a while, she thought. Assuming any of these scientists can shoot worth anything.
Maybe that was something worth looking into on the surface. If the place did look shady.
Who are you kidding? She thought, shaking her head. It’s an expedition about colonization. The worst you’re probably going to run into is some jungle predator that thinks the new two-legged animal with the funny shell might make a good meal.
There was a soft ding from behind her as one of the elevators arrived, and she twisted her head around just in time to see the doors slide open. A figure clad in grey security armor stepped out, two matching, red-trimmed duffels swinging at his sides, and gave her a nod.
“Hey Jake,” she said, her voice carrying across the hangar. “We all moved out?”
“Yup,” he said, his words echoing above the ring of his steps as he trod toward her. His helmet was hanging at his waist, swinging with each step and leaving his head exposed to the world. “I gave the room a pretty good once-over. We’re cleared out. Anyone else down here?”
“No,” Anna said, shaking her head and turning her whole body toward him, leaning back against the rail as he approached. “Just us. You’re the first to arrive.”
“I can’t say I’m really surprised there,” Jake said, shaking his head in amusement and dropping his bags to the grating with a hearty bang. “From the look of the cabins up there, there’s just a little bit of chaos going on.”
“Really?” She leaned even further back, crossing her arms as she returned his amused grin. Not that he could see it—though she had a sense that he could tell anyway. Probably something to do with my posture or something.
“Oh yeah,” Jake said, chuckling. “So far it doesn’t sound like any of them missed the whole bit about spending a month or two down on the surface without the Sojourner around … but it definitely didn’t occur to a few of them not to get too settled in before we arrived. A couple of them are running around in a decent panic trying to get everything ready up there.”
“Heh. Amateurs.”
“Yeah,” Jake said, stepping up next to her and looking out over the hangar. “You’d think they’d never traveled before.”
“Different jobs, different lives.”
“Yeah, that sounds about right.” For a moment the bay was quiet, then Jake turned to look at her. “So, how many units are left to get taken down?”
“Just the one,” she said, pointing. “Microbiology unit.”
“Looks heavy-duty,” Jake said, his gaze following her finger.
“Most of them are,” she replied. “Anyway, once the other VTOL gets back, we’re climbing aboard.”
“Ikeda says we’re getting a pilot for this one,” Jake said, turning to face her.
“A pilot?”
“Yeah.” He nodded, then gave a shrug, shoulders bouncing as he looked up at her. “McCormack’s a little worried about the distortion the planet’s causing. Doesn’t want to take the risk of something going wrong on the way down.”
“They didn’t do that for the other drops.”
“True,” he said. “But none of them were crewed. A module they can replace if something goes wrong.”
“Point,” she said. “I guess it’s nice to know that they care.”
“Well, that and apparently Ikeda has orders to send a sample back up or something.”
“A sample?”
“Just a cutting,” Jake said, leaning back against the railing, eyes on the elevators. “UNSEC asked for it. We’re to get a small sample of some of the plant-life around our landing zone and send it back up so Sojourner can drop it off with whoever the higher-ups are and they can take a look at it.”
“Is that normal?” she asked.
“You’re guess is as good as mine,” he said, shrugging. “Either way, it’s not going to take our team of botanists more than a few seconds. Get a cutting, drop it in a container, put it in the VTOL … job done.”
“Really?” She narrowed her eyes as she looked at him. “That sounded suspiciously rehearsed.”
“That’s because I figured you’d ask when I overheard Ikeda telling Daniel and Jane about it, so I asked. It’ll only take half-a-minute, tops.”
“What’s UNSEC want with it?”
Another shrug. “Something about its genetic code, or whatever passes for one here? I guess they want an early look.” From ahead of them, there was another soft ding as one of the elevators arrived, and Anna turned her eyes towards the doors, waiting to see who it was.
One of the doors slid open, Jane Wells walking out clad in an enviro suit with a heavy backpack slung over her shoulder. For a moment she paused as her eyes met Jake and Anna’s armored forms, but then she continued forward without a word.
“Todo listo?” she asked. Jane almost froze again, her eyes snapping to Anna’s armored form.
“Listo,” Jane replied as she neared the railing. “Quiero bajar allí.”
Anna smiled. “Entusiasmado por trabajo, hein?”
“Sí,” Jane replied. “Depois de tanto tiempo en este navio? Sí.”
“I don’t blame you,” Anna said, switching to English for Jake’s benefit. “Though this ship at least has plenty of space.”
“It’s … nice,” Jane offered, switching as well. “But I prefer being on a planet to flying above one.” She let her backpack slip off of her shoulders, dropping it to the deck with a dull thud. “Even an alien one.”
A memory flashed through Anna’s mind, flitting through it like a leaf caught in a stiff breeze. Sweets, his hands clamped tightly around the arms of his seat as their VTOL lifted away from SoulComp’s tower.
He wasn’t fond of the flying either, she thought. I wonder where he went? What happened to him? Another ding rang out from the elevators, and she shoved the thoughts away.
Nothing you could do, she thought as Kombes stepped out of the elevator, followed by Naomi. Both were wearing enviro suits like Jane’s, their helmets swinging at their waists. Kombes smiled as she saw the three of them standing by the railing and gave a little wave. “Is the VTOL here yet?”
“No,” Anna said as the other elevator let out a ding of its own, the door opening to reveal Daniel Silva, a single, small pack thrown over one shoulder and a duffel in one hand. “But,” she said, turning her eyes back toward the doctor. “Based on the amount of people showing up right now, I’m guessing it’ll be here any minute.”
The new arrivals came to a stop a few feet away, setting their bags down and eyeing one another. Naomi in particular seemed to have a look of complete resignation on her face, her jaw set in what almost looked like a scowl. Maybe she’s not a fan of travel either, Anna thought. Kombes, meanwhile, turned and nodded at Silva, who returned it, though neither spoke.
She turned, staring back out across the hangar. Any minute now … From behind her, one of the elevators let out another soft ding, and she glanced back to see one of the crewmembers from the ship stepping out, clad in a single-piece jumpsuit. Are they here to watch? Or are they just the pilot? The crewmember nodded at each of them, but didn’t move close, staying near the elevators.
Another elevator arrived, this one carrying with it Johan, Karabou, and the perpetually nervous Louis. The latter of the group already had his helmet on, and … She almost laughed. Through the clear, fishbowl visor, he was wearing a surgical mask.
