To The Stars (The Harry Irons Trilogy) (22 page)

Fagen zoomed the telescope into the hanger bay.

"I have an idea," offered Harry. "Focus on what we thought was an airlock. Yes, that's it. Now, look around the edges for more markings or..."

Sure enough, Harry's hunch paid off. To the left of the rounded indention were a series of bumps arranged in a manner that could only indicate a control panel of some sort. Above and below the "panel" were markings similar to those in the intercepted message.

"Can I get a datashot of that?"

"Right," said Fagen. He typed a command into his terminal. "Done."

"And shots of any other markings?"

"No problem."

It didn't take long to get enough pictures of the markings to help Harry guess what some meant. He knew the glyphs around the airlock panels were most likely warnings and instructions. The first word he actually deciphered was 'step'. The alien symbol was printed underneath the airlock. 'Warning' or 'danger' Harry also picked out. That was the easiest. Unfortunately, although the symbols were similar, none matched those within the intercepted message.

After taking a good look, Fagen moved the Magellan to a position where he and Bonner could inspect the alien star drive. They couldn't see the power plant, but they could see nozzles which they guessed were used for propulsion. As Bonner had previously commented, the nozzles were too small for a conventional fusion drive.

The prospect was exciting. Braithwaite's research facilities were still years away, maybe even decades, from constructing a light-drive prototype. Discovering a ship that used a light drive would have a dramatic effect on space exploration, not to mention a boon to the Braithwaite Foundation stockholders.

The big payoff was in the discovery of an advanced race. Since the opening of the wormhole and the exploration of the galaxy, plenty of life forms had been discovered, but none were deemed to be intelligent by human standards. None made artifacts. None traveled among the stars. For the first time in human history, representatives of the human race were poised to contact a higher intelligence. The prospect was exhilarating.

In the backs of their minds, each crewmember wondered what the aliens would look like. Where had they come from? What were they doing here? Would they be pleased to discover another advanced race? And lastly, where were they now?

There was no indication anything was aboard the alien craft. Although Nadine had hailed the ship countless times since first contact, all emissions from the alien ship had ceased. For two hours, the Magellan circled and probed with its sensors, recording everything. At the end of the two hours there was still no indication of life.

"Maybe it's all automated," suggested Doris.

Bonner frowned. "I don't think so. The open bay suggests something was there."

"Maybe its shuttle is automated as well."

"Could be," said Fagen, "but I don't think we'll know for sure unless we go over and look for ourselves."

"You mean EVA?" asked Nadine.

"Mm-huh."

"Well, don't look at me. I'm not going over there. I didn't sign up for any of that EVA shit. It ain't in my job description."

"Nobody's saying you have to, Nadine." Fagen turned to Harry.

"What do you say, Harry? Are you up to it?"

Harry looked back at the Corporation commander and smiled. Was he up to it? He'd never been more ready. The prospect of being the first human to meet an alien intelligence was overwhelming. It was what Harry had hoped for. A dream come true. In his excitement, he almost forgot about Kathleen.

Chapter 19

Doris faced Fagen in the privacy of his cabin. "I have just as much right to be the first as you or Mr. Irons. I have my qualifications! I've earned it!"

"Easy, Doris, easy. You'll get your chance. I want you to monitor the EVA. If we need help, you may have to go outside. If all goes well, I'm sure you'll have the opportunity to make a trip over. Being first is not everything."

"It's the only thing," Doris said pointedly. "You're only doing this because you want to be first. Isn't that true?"

Fagen shrugged. "Doris, you know as well as I that one of us must remain on the Magellan at all times. Corporation rules."

"Then you stay. Come on, Edward, you're not letting me perform my job. You led the survey team to the surface, now let me lead this expedition. It's my turn!"

"There are no turns, Doris. I make the decisions here."

"Well, if that's the case, the Foundation is going to be very interested to hear my version of how you lost one of your crew on the first and only trip to the planet's surface."

It sounded all too familiar to Fagen. "I told you, that depends on the shuttle." She stood before him, unyielding. Finally, he relented. "All right, Doris. If you want to go so badly, then go. Take Irons with you."

Doris visibly relaxed. "I'd rather take Bonner."

"Irons, not Bonner."

"Okay. No problem." Without thanking him, she turned away. Fagen called and she stopped at the door.

"Don't think I changed my mind because of your threat. I'm letting you go because you're right. It's your turn. Just make sure your recorders are going. If you're able to gain entry, turn off your transmitters. We might accidentally trip a circuit over there."

Doris smugly nodded. This time, she said thanks.

*

Harry and Doris looked like backpacking teddy bears in their EVA suits. The backpacks contained oxygen, water, propellant for air jets, and assorted holders for instruments and extra gear. Twin joysticks were situated at the ends of both right and left arm assemblies.

Doris tried to maintain a business-like approach to the task, but her enthusiasm betrayed her. Bonner gave her a thumbs-up gesture as she punched the buttons that opened the airlock. The hatch slid open exposing open space, and not a hundred meters away, the alien ship. It remained unchanged. The alien hanger bay was open, empty, and inviting.

*

Fagen and the others watched from the bridge as Doris and Harry exited the Magellan and floated to the alien spacecraft.

The radio cracked with Doris' voice. "Audio check."

Bonner spoke into his headset microphone. "Read you fivers."

"Visuals?" Harry asked.

"One hundred per cent."

From his console Fagen saw whatever Harry saw by means of a small camera attached to Harry's helmet. In case of a malfunction, Doris had a back-up attached to her helmet. At the moment Harry's camera was focused on the alien ship and its open hanger bay.

They were now close enough to see details. Bright lights illuminated the interior, but nothing moved. Slowly, almost casually, they floated into the gaping bay. There was nothing to prevent their entry. Harry wondered how difficult it would be to actually gain entry into the craft.

"Edward, are you picking this up?" Doris said into her intercom.

"That's affirmative. Any signs a smaller craft may have been in there? A lander?"

"There does seem to be something like docking cleats..."

Harry interrupted. "Whoa, look at this." He floated just to the left of the sunken area in the bulkhead, where he'd surmised the airlock control panel was. The protuberances certainly looked like buttons.

"Doris, see this group of ridges here and this thing beside it?"

"Yeah," she said, "looks like..."

"Airlock controls, right?"

It was a simple choice of finding the right button. There were only three, two small and one large. In a failsafe system, there could only be one choice: it would be the only button that worked. Open the door, close the door, equalize pressure, and open the inner door. There just weren't too many other methods of engineering an airlock.

*

Back on the ship Fagen and Bonner arrived at the same conclusion. Bonner voiced his concerns.

"But should we let them enter the craft? We don't have an invitation. They have no way of analyzing the atmosphere once they're inside. They'll have to keep their environment suits on."

Fagen considered the problem and spoke into his mike. "Doris, did you hear Bill?"

"Affirmative."

"Looks like nobody's home. What do you want to do?"

She looked through her faceplate at Harry. Harry raised a thumb and indicated his readiness. This was it, no one was in the mood to turn back.

"We're going inside."

Harry turned back to the panel and pushed the largest button. Whatever he'd expected, it wasn't what happened. In the center of the circular indentation, a spot appeared and, in a spiral motion, it rapidly grew in size until it abruptly stopped at the edges of the two and a half meter circle. The entire process took no more than two seconds.

"Bingo," said Harry, turning and motioning for Doris to enter first. She switched on her helmet light and entered an empty chamber. Harry followed. On the interior bulkhead, they found controls identical to those outside.

The airlock was small with barely enough room for the two of them. The small space revealed nothing besides another circular indentation at the opposite end.

"Radio check," Doris requested.

The reply came back slightly broken by static. "...breaking up...re-contact...twenty minutes or...coming...over."

"Roger, every twenty minutes." said Doris.

When the outer airlock door shut, Harry felt another surge of excitement. What mysteries lay beyond the airlock? How different could it be from the Magellan? For one thing, it might contain aliens. Real aliens, not something dreamed up in the mind of a movie director. He took a deep breath and tried to relax.

At Doris' signal, he punched the large button on the interior access panel. They both heard air being pumped into the small room. Unexpectedly, Harry grew heavy; somehow, a gravitational field was being generated. After a short pause, the interior hatch responded, opening in the same way as the outer hatch, from the inside out, like a chemical process instead of a mechanical action.

The interior of the ship was dark, dimly lit by odd humps in the bulkheads. Awkward in their EVA suits, they stepped out of the airlock into what looked like an equipment room but the equipment was entirely beyond their ken. Held to the grey bulkheads with straps that seemed to grow from the walls were large boxes, their purpose not readily apparent. Doris inspected them while Harry went to an open hatchway. Beyond was a dim, featureless corridor. The emptiness of the craft was eerie. Harry felt goose-bumps jumping up and down his back.

Neither of them felt like talking aloud. Harry beckoned Doris to join him. His voice inside his helmet came out in a whisper, "Shall we take a walk?" He pointed down the corridor. There were no severe angles in the construction. The corridor was rounded and seamless with walls made from the same material as everything else they'd seen.

"After you," she replied and Harry led the way. They edged up the tube until they reached a dead end with another sunken place in the bulkhead. As before, to the left was a series of buttons. Unlike the airlock controls, this one had more buttons. Harry studied it in the dim light as Doris looked overhead, inspecting the light source.

"This really looks odd. Maybe it's a chemical light." She turned toward Harry. "Let's see what's behind this hatch."

"I'm working on it," Harry murmured.

One button looked good enough to take a chance.

"Here we go..."

He punched the button and the portal opened up. Simultaneously, they looked inside. He couldn't be sure, but he instinctively thought they'd found the control room. With a sinking heart, Harry realized it could be a robotic ship. There would be no exchange of greetings if that was the case.

There were no furnishings within the space other than what Harry took to be three small chairs set into the floor. Harry gazed up and noted it was roomy. A long, curving console stretched across one side. The chairs were arranged in front of it. Like the corridors, no part of the room had sharp edges. Everything was curved. Other than the long console, there was no distinction between floor, walls, and ceiling. What appeared to be instrument panels filled the surfaces. Some were marked with the alien symbology, many weren't. Harry slowly turned around, allowing his camera to record everything he saw. The curving console was the most interesting thing in the room. Harry clumsily walked to it.

On it were buttons and switches as well as things that could only be described as monitors. The monitors showed nothing; they were blank and unlit. At intervals along the console, indicators flickered revealing power activity. Perhaps the most interesting thing were the chairs that were set up before the console. Although they didn't look like chairs, Harry thought of them as such. There were only three and they seemed to have no other function than to provide a pedestal for sitting. The bottoms of the seats were small and rounded. Harry noted they were too small for a human rump.

The absence of the occupants was conspicuous. "I wonder where they are?" Harry muttered.

"Probably on the surface of the planet. Have you got shots of everything?"