Arrival (41 page)

“I told you to set the alarm on your watch.”

Frank and Tony watched the exchange in amazement, as they started securing the raft onto the trailer.

“Man, this is weird,” Frank commented to Tony.

“Tell me about it.”

* * *

A few hours later, the two ATCs pulled into camp, their little horns beeping madly in triumph. Lynn and the others came rushing out of the LRV to greet them, exchanging hugs all around. Much to Sara’s relief, no one mentioned what they had seen on Tony’s gun scope feed, although she knew it was only a matter of time until someone cracked a joke at her expense.

Frank watched the happy celebration as he secured the trailer and the raft. He was relieved to have Mac and Sara back safe and sound, and it was good to see everyone so happy to be together again.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t help thinking about Jack and Will. He watched the joyous reunion taking place only a few meters away from him, all the while imagining what it would be like if Jack and Will were the ones returning.

That’s when he made his decision.

* * *

Work at the LRV camp had gone back to normal. Laura was busy analyzing the genetic structures of various organisms, while Adia spent her days studying the various flora, fauna, and insect life in the valley. Frank and Tony were busy making preliminary surveys of the valley, trying to determine the best site on which to construct the new colony. Sara was doing quite well in her little ag-lab, as she tested the growth rates and characteristics of various primary Earth crops in Cetian soil. Mac was busy holding everything together. As soon as he would fix one thing, something else would break down. Between his maintenance chores and Sara’s demands on his time, he was lucky to get any time for his workouts.

Having found a few abnormalities in Frank, Mac, and Sara’s blood, Maria spent a good deal of her time trying to understand what had caused the abnormalities. She had even gone as far as conducting unscheduled examinations of all three of them, dismissing the extra exams as safety precautions since the three of them had been exposed to the elements considerably more than the others. Since she had no idea what was causing the abnormalities, and she could not find any indication that they posed any immediate health risk, she chose not to alarm anyone.

Lynn had spent the days bouncing around from one department to another, giving a helping hand to anyone who needed it. Most of her time seemed to be spent helping Mac get ahead of the maintenance requirements. But what troubled her most was Frank’s reclusiveness. It had gotten worse after Mac and Sara’s return. He would say only what was required at the morning briefings, work with Tony all day long, and then disappear out to the tool shack after dinner and stay there until bedtime. She was worried about him, but since he was doing his job, she didn’t feel she had the right to say anything to him.

Tony was also bothered by Frank’s recent personality changes. He was pleasant and conversant during their work sessions, but strictly business. Tony wondered if it had anything to do with the fly-overs of the southern ridgeline that he had lied to Lynn about before.

* * *

Two weeks after rescuing Mac and Sara, Frank woke early, before the sunrise. Carrying his clothing and boots in his hands, he tiptoed into the airlock compartment before dressing, so as not to wake the others.

Once outside the LRV, he went to the tool shack at the tail end of the LRV to retrieve two large saddle bags, a duffle bag, and an over-stuffed survival pack. After securing them onto the back of an ATC, he climbed on and headed off across the valley into the light of the dawn.

As he rode across the valley, he thought about what Lynn would think, what she would say, how she would feel. He had thought about writing her a note, but that would’ve accomplished little. What he was doing was wrong, he was breaking every rule in the book and he knew it. But he couldn’t help it. He had to do it. Jack would do the same for him.

* * *

“Laura, have you seen Frank?” Lynn asked.

“No,” Laura answered as she prepared the morning meal. “I don’t think I’ve seen him all morning. Did you check his bunk? Maybe he slept in today.”

“No, he’s not there. I already checked.”

“Maybe he’s outside?”

“Yeah, maybe.” Lynn left the galley and headed forward, stopping on the porch to retrieve her comm-set from the charger rack. “Frank?” she called after donning her set. His set was not on the charger rack, which meant he was probably not on the ship. “Frank? Do you copy?” There was no response. She looked down at the comm-set rack, another set was missing as well. “Anyone copy?”

“
Lynn, this is Mac
.”

“Mac, where are you?”

“
Tool shack.
”

“Have you seen Frank?”

“
Uh, not exactly.
”

“What do you mean, Mac?”

“
Well, I haven’t seen him, but, there’s some equipment missing here.
”

“What sort of equipment?”

“
A few digital telemetry transceiver relays, some power cells, a couple of mini-dishes and some tripods.
One of the ATCs is gone as well,
” Mac admitted reluctantly.

“Damn it, Frank!” she swore aloud as she stormed back into the habitat. “Any idea where he’s headed, Mac?”

Her shouts drew the crew’s attention as they were sitting down for breakfast. They had never heard that tone of voice from Lynn. “Great!”

“What’s wrong?” Maria asked as she entered the wardroom.

“Frank’s taken off with a bunch of radio gear on one of the ATCs,” Lynn announced angrily. “And no one has any idea where the hell he’s headed.”

Tony sighed. “I might have an idea.”

Lynn looked at him with a glare that sent a shiver down his spine. “Well?” she asked.

“I think he might be headed for the southern ridgeline.”

“Why would he go there?” Laura asked.

“He can’t even get to the southern ridge,” Sara objected. “The flood is still in the way.”

“The water has gone down some,” Tony explained. “There’s now an exposed path starting in the southwest corner of the valley. Frank asked me to do an extra fly-over to check it out. It leads all the way to the summit, maybe even down the far side.”

“If you thought he was up to something, you should’ve told me,” Lynn growled.

“I didn’t think he was
up
to something,” Tony said defensively. “Not really. You want me to go after him?”

“And do what? Take him prisoner? Shoot him?” Lynn shook her head in disbelief. “I can’t believe this is happening.”

“I don’t understand,” Laura chimed in. “What is it that he is ‘
up to
’?” she asked.

“I don’t know, but according to Mac, he took some transceiver relays, power cells, tripods, stuff like that.”

“I noticed that some of the leftover energy bars are gone from the cabinet,” Laura said. “I just assumed Mac ate them.”

“I think he’s going to set up a repeater on the ridge,” Maria announced.

Lynn looked at her in surprise. “How do you know that?”

“He was talking about an idea he had a couple of weeks ago. He thought if he put some sort of repeater on the ridge, he might be able to pick up a distress signal from Jack.”

“Was I the only one here who
didn’t
know?” Lynn asked in frustration.

“I don’t understand,” Tony asked. “If he wanted to set up a comm-repeater, why did he take transceiver relays?”

“The comm-sets can only be charged in the rack in the EVA bay. You can’t charge them from the mini-solar cells in the escape pod’s survival kits. Frank knows that. Assuming Jack and Will survived, their comm-sets would be dead by now. But Jack’s data pad
can
be charged from the solar cells.”

“But he can’t communicate through it,” Tony insisted.

“No, but the digital telemetry relay will put out a constant query-signal, trying to initiate a telemetry link between any data pad and the LRV’s main frame.”

“Like a homing signal,” Tony realized.

“Like a homing signal,” Lynn repeated in affirmation.

“Not a bad idea,” Tony admitted.

“Except for one thing,” Lynn added. “There’s no one alive out there to receive the signal.”

“How can you be so sure, Lynn?” Maria asked.

No one but Frank had challenged that assumption until now. And it made Lynn feel uncomfortable. It was also a question she had asked herself on more than one occasion. But she had answered that question for herself. Now, apparently, it was time to answer it for the others.

“I watched the telemetry files over and over,” Lynn told them. “There was
nothing
to indicate they might have made it out alive. All I saw was the Icarus breaking apart…right up until the time we lost the telemetry signal.”

“But you never actually saw the cargo bay break up?” Maria asked.

“No, but,”

“Then you have to admit, there might be a chance.”

“If they managed to eject before the bay broke up, they would’ve hit the Icarus’s plasma wake sideways. It would’ve burnt them to a crisp within seconds. And even if they made it through
that
, the pod would have been damaged… The odds of their making it down safely are
astronomical
.”

“But there still is a chance, no matter how slight?” Maria pushed.

“Yes, Maria. Yes, there is still a chance. A very, very remote chance.” Lynn admitted.

“That’s
why
Frank can’t let go of his hope.”

“So, what? I’m supposed to just let him go and try whatever crazy stunt he wants? Just because there’s a slim chance that Jack
might
still be alive? Would that be the responsible thing to do? Hell, let’s all go off looking for Jack and Will. Why not? We can finish our work up later! The colonists’ needs can wait!”

“That’s enough, Lynn,” Maria chided. “We all know what’s at stake.”

Lynn looked at their faces. They were all watching her, wondering what she was going to do next. “Yeah,” she mumbled, her head hanging down as she looked at the table in front of her. “Yeah.” Lynn started to back away from the table. She felt as if everything was falling apart around her. “Do whatever you need to do today,” she announced as she turned and walked away.

* * *

Will had wandered away from camp, in search of a private place to relieve himself. About a hundred meters away, he found a group of large rocks that provided some concealment from the world around him. Jack had often teased Will about his need for privacy when ‘doing his business’, pointing out that there was no one around to catch him in an embarrassing moment. But Will couldn’t help that he needed the privacy. It was bad enough he had to squat over a hole in the ground and bare his posterior outside in such a degrading manner. It was even worse that he had to wipe himself with leaves. He longed for the sanitary luxuries of the toilets back on the Daedalus.

After digging the customary pit, Will reluctantly dropped his pants down to his ankles and assumed the usual position. It was cold this evening. Will was sure that winter was no more than a week or two away. He had seen frost in the morning for over a week now, and he could see his breath long after sunrise.

Will heard a rustling sound from somewhere behind him. He spun his head around, but saw nothing except rocks. He listened intently as the wind rustled through the nearby trees. He turned his head forward again. Even if the sound was nothing, he felt it best to finish his business as quickly as possible. Then he heard something else. A heavy panting, followed by a scratching sound. The panting became louder and more distinct, as if the source of the sound had moved out into the open. Will turned his head once again, more slowly than before. On the rocks behind him stood a huge creature, covered with thick, brown and gray fur. It was two meters tall while standing on all four legs, and had a long, powerful snout, complete with several fangs protruding from each side. Its eyes were black and soulless, set deeply on either side of the base of its snout. Its paws had long, sharp claws that scratched against the rock as it shuffled from side to side, examining Will. The menacing-looking creature watched as Will stood motionless, looking over his shoulder, his naked butt still dangling over the pit. Without any warning, its posture turned from observer to aggressor, as it stood up on its hind legs and let out a deafening roar that nearly stopped Will’s heart.

Will’s adrenal glands kicked into overdrive. Quickly pulling up his pants, he started to run, wanting to get as far away from the frightening creature as possible.

In his haste, Will tripped, falling forward onto the ground. The beast leapt from the rock, diving toward Will who stumbled back to his feet.

From camp, Jack heard the roar of the creature, followed by what sounded like Will screaming. It took only a second for him to react, grabbing his rifle and charging off in Will’s direction. As he dodged trees and rocks, Jack flipped the safety off, readying his weapon. Closing the last twenty meters, he could hear the continued roar of the creature mixed in with Will’s screams of panic. Jack charged up the side of the rocks, barely noticing the creature’s paw prints on the dirt at the base, and the scratch marks from his claws on the rock itself. In bounding steps, he ascended the side of the largest rock, hoping it would provide him with a vantage point from which to fire.

As he crested the top of the rock, Jack’s wish was granted. There, only ten meters ahead and four meters below him, was his target, a monstrous furry animal that had trapped Will facedown on the ground, about to tear him apart. Jack quickly raised his weapon, jamming the rifle butt firmly against his right shoulder. Shifting the weapon slightly to line up the crosshairs, Jack depressed the trigger, firing a single round at the animal.

The round struck the creature square between the shoulders, breaking through its hide and drilling deep into its muscular back. The animal reared its head backwards, twisting it to one side as if to ward off whatever had struck it from behind. But its attacker was not there. Another shot cracked through the air, announcing the next bullet as it struck the creature in the left side of its face, shearing off a large section of its upper jaw and cheek, pulling its left eye out of the socket along with it. The creature’s head snapped to the right from the kinetic energy of the bullet’s impact, its right forward leg buckling from the sudden blow.