Part II
She set her food tray down in the slightly crowed cafeteria and managed to fit on the end of a table mostly filled with security officers. Few gave her any notice, but the ones that did offered a glance with a malicious undertone.
Kasan Abrams was the civilian liaison for Hexil and not very well liked around the ex-military types. Back on earth she had been a member of an intelligence organization, United Global Intelligence. The UGI was the government's attempt to share intel reports across every country and military group to strengthen ties by making information on all types of issues public knowledge. Its success was more or less mediocre and they dissolved the organization after a few years of small conflicts erupting from disputes about reliability and favoritism. Kasan was in special operations, and trained in various methods of intel gathering. Although she had left UGI several years ago, some military personnel aboard Pioneer harbored suspicions about her spying on them and reporting to the captain. While she could endure passive disdain, Kasan Abrams performed her duties more out of obligation than enjoyment. When they respect my position, they'll respect me, right?
She sighed and started on her meal. She was a long way to "respect". Even the civilian families hired to colonize their new world were unsure of Abrams, but Captain Relo assured her that as soon as they arrived to the Aegis system and her role in the operation became more required there would be connectivity. So far it feels like the wrong ends of a magnet to me.
Kasan was almost done with her breakfast when her comm beeped. She fished it from inside her jacket pocket, "Abrams here."
"Good morning, Kasan. I trust you are fully functional?"
Kasan rolled her eyes and planted her elbow on the table and cradled her head on her palm. Lieutenant Ian Harper had been none too subtle to hide his increased playful banter with Kasan. She tried to downplay his advances and avoid him when possible. But since "the thaw" the captain was fairly busy organizing the ship that she had been reporting to Harper these past few days. "Yes, Lieutenant, thank you," she said in an almost muted voice. The exchange made a few of the officers close by give a smirk as they continued looking down at the food on their trays.
"Splendid. The captain would like to see you on the bridge." Harper explained and paused for a few seconds, long enough to hear a background hum of conversation. "Would you like an escort? I could--"
"No, that will not be necessary," she said as she hastily stood up and took her tray to the counter. Wiping her hands off on her pant legs she kept a steady pace as she walked down the main corridor. Kasan tied her long, wavy black hair in a makeshift ponytail and headed for the bridge. She considered herself fairly plain-looking which helped her disappear in any crowd and become anonymous. Her striking green eyes almost gave her an exotic look that matched her slender frame. Why the LT would find me most desirable makes his pursuit of love, or lust, that much creepier. She shook her head in disgust at having thoughts of him, in any context, fill her mind. She had a duty to fulfill here. Even if no one cares.
**********
The bridge doors opened with a quietness that brought a smile to Kasan face. Hexil Corporation had pulled out all the stops with Pioneer. Even the food here was bountiful thanks to the agro-garden that supplied the foodstuffs. It was developed to be easily transported wherever the colony would begin. Kasan's smile quickly died when the LT approached her from the right.
Ian Harper opened his mouth to speak when Captain Relo spoke from across the communications officer's station, "Ah, good to see you, Miss Abrams."
Kasan glanced once at Harper and started for the main viewport as Jonas signaled with his hands to meet her there. He joined her side as Lieutenant Harper kept his distance three steps back and to the right of the captain. "I finished logging the reports of the psych evals, per your request. Everyone is a bit anxious, but overall I'd say the entire ship is behind you."
"Thank you, Miss Abrams. But I didn't request your presence here for a summary of your report." Jonas gestured to the planet growing ever so slightly in view as they approached. "This is the place that Hexil deemed 'more than adequate' to colonize. I'm going to send our two fighters to recon the planet and find the exact location of our probe." Relo leaned in and gave her a flat smile, "our sensors are having difficulty pinpointing its whereabouts."
Kasan turned her head to the sensors station and found the crewman staring up at them, swallowed visibly, and quickly went back to what looked like needless typing. "Sir, does that make sense? If I recall the specs on that probe, it shouldn't even still be functioning."
The captain shifted noticeably and gave the slightest nod. "That's why I'm sending our fighters in first and not Pioneer. If everything checks out OK, I would like you to accompany the Lieutenant here dirt side along with the initial recon team, pending there's no danger to report from Verra One and Two." He turned to face her, "as soon as a defensive perimeter is setup and a local headquarters, you and Harper will lead the team."
So this was the first move. Kasan thought back to her multiple briefings she had with Hexil about her role in all this. "Liaison" was a loaded term, that she was sure. With her background they said she would be called upon to "step outside her comfort zone" when the mission called for it. She had read Jonas Relo's file and knew he would never jeopardize the crew or put her or any civilian at risk of harm that the security detail could not prevent. With that confidence in the captain, she took and deep breath and exhaled. "It would be my pleasure, Captain. I'll get my gear ready."
"Very well. I've already sent a personnel and supplies list to your quarters. It will be a joint operation with the Lieutenant here, so make sure you go over protocol and procedures with him and the rest of your team." He paused and stepped to the side to look both Ian and Kasan in the face. "We are not expecting any danger on the planet, but expect to adapt to the situation. I trust both of you know that, and I will inform you of the fighters' recon report. That is all." The captain turned back to view the lovely view, all serene and colorful, as both Harper and Abrams departed for their separate quarters.
**********
Both of the two-manned Verra-class fighters disengaged from the underside of Pioneer and headed for the planet. All four pilots had been in their simulators for the past week, brushing up on their skills with the newly designed craft. With over 30 years of experience between the four veterans, Captain Relo had every confidence in the four men.
"Alright, gentlemen. Let's keep this by the book," announced Lieutenant Brice. As lead pilot for Verra One, he was the commanding officer of the flight unit. "Sensor linked established. Visual and topical scanning feed locked in." He keyed the process into his flight computer and set course for an equatorial orbit.
From first glance the planet looked to be a smaller version of Earth. With only half Earth's mass and no moons, its atmosphere looked to be normal for a planet that size. The world had land covering two thirds of the surface with a deep blue ocean covering the rest. The land ranged from a dusty brown to rich green and snow-capped mountains raised among the upper northern regions. There were highlights of purple and pink throughout the green lands and some sections in the southern hemisphere were shades of red and brown.
"Entering atmosphere now." Brice leveled out his ship and looked over to see Verra Two duplicating his maneuver. They continued on till they reached just below the lowest setting clouds. "Sensor readings show breathable air with no trace of airborne pathogens." At least Hexil was right about this place being a so-called paradise. Lieutenant Brice had his qualms about Hexil because he didn't necessarily agree with it's stance on a couple things; even when they approached him to be the lead flight coordinator, and deposited a generous wage into his account back home, he signed on somewhat reluctantly. However, he trusted his men and Captain Relo, whom he had served with him on previous occasions.
Captain Relo's voice came through the comm, "Lieutenant Brice, finish your orbit around each polar region and then approach the approximate probe location; we now have it centered just north of the equator. Sending you the coordinates now. Everything looks fine and proper from up here." The captain paused briefly, "we are picking up random anomalies and life forms on the surface. Proceed with caution, Brice. We don't need to rush things."
"Aye Aye, sir." Brice pulled his flight stick over to the right and dove down toward the southern polar region.
**********
Jonas Relo scratched the back of his head and walked over to the crewman minding the sensors and radar station. After the earlier confusion he seemed to have composed himself back into a professional demeanor. "What did the computers give you for analysis of the signal anomalies that the fighters transmitted back?"
The sensors officer spoke without taking his eyes off of his monitors, "Sir, the analysis says they are oscillating frequencies that are changing at such a rapid rate that it made it almost impossible to find the probe in all of the white noise, so to speak, but are so faint as to not register beyond the atmosphere of the planet. That's why we were able to locate the beacon signal after Verra One made its preliminary orbit."
"And what of the anomalies? I don't want those ships circling around a hostile environment."
"Sir, their fluctuation in frequencies would lead to believe they are either malfunctioning machinery scattered over the surface, or some form of communication we are not yet familiar with."
The Captain squinted at the readout on the monitors as he circled around the station. Leaning forward the computer beeped once and displayed the latest batch of analysis examining the anomalies. NEW CATERGORIZATION OF LIFEFORMS DETECTED. BUILDING DATABASE. Both Jonas and the crewman looked at each other then turned to face the screen. The screen zoomed out and gave a grid pattern to the planet as the orange dots that represented the new lifeforms were slowly added with the green dots that were the known lifeforms. They numbered in the thousands and you could hear a hush resounding over the bridge and the main viewscreen displayed the information.
"Well, ladies and gentlemen. It looks like we are not alone in this system after all." The captain straightened up and looked over his bridge crew, "we need to find out what's going on down there. Inform Harper and Abrams and their unit to report to the ready room. I'll be joining them shortly." So much for colonization and a new life. Why the hell didn't Hexil tell us about this place? He marched out onto the main corridor with the ice returning to his stomach.
New story out! Halo: Below the Brine
(it's the best story you're not reading!)