Going Home part 3

Three weeks after landing they found what they were looking for. The site surveyed by Intern Evea Soren and Officer Kat Miln indicated a wealth of artifacts beneath the soil. The next nine weeks brought long days of excavating an abundance of artifacts. As the sun crossed the zenith and began the long slide toward the horizon Controller Sev sat back on her heels to relieve some of the pressure on her back from bending over the buried item she was uncovering. The stained, hard, rectangular frame appeared to have most of its rows of square buttons intact. Some of the buttons still had symbols visible on them. How long it had been buried here on this distant, forgotten world would be determined in the lab after she gave her report, but she felt in her fiber that the dating would predate the earliest settled planets on record.

She gazed around the excavation site feeling satisfied with the work they had done. It was impressive considering the limited personnel and resources. They would be bringing back a wide array of artifacts. Artifacts the Thinkers would not be able to deny or argue against sending a full team here. The fact that they had been resistive to this mission still made her uneasy. Over the years the Thinkers had passed more and more restrictive laws concerning contact between humans and all other life forms. She knew from her studies that humans had barely survived on some of the planets they tried to settle and were wiped out on others due to incompatibility with the local flora and fauna, but she felt they had gone too far, that not having any contact with other living things, completely isolating themselves from the natural environment was not, in the end, going to benefit humankind. Humans had become too much like droids, living their pre-programed lives in artificial, domed environments, blindly following the directives of the Thinkers. She gave vent to a long sigh and stood up.  

Hot and dusty from the fine work of brushing the last of the soil aside before lifting her find out of its resting place she pondered if this was the planet she wanted to spend the rest of her career exploring. She could transfer to the permanent team that would be sent here. It would give her the opportunity to continue searching for the animals that had so enchanted her and had eluded her every attempt to see again. She and Captain Darrow had made a second trip to the den under the tree only to find it abandoned, its emptiness palpable in the air of the small glade.

She felt a heaviness deep inside at the thought of leaving without seeing the black creature and her family again. She had spent her free time searching the data banks accessible to her for any reference to an animal like the one she saw without success. She felt they were important. She had felt a connection when she first saw the black one she started calling Missy, a connection she suspected was the reason Mazer had kept sending teams to more distant, unknown worlds to survey.

The team’s last day ended with the sun slipping beyond the horizon leaving brilliant pinks and purples splashed across the western sky. The night descended around them bring the day to a close and bringing the group together for their final evening on the planet. For once C.S. Grange joined the group at the campfire, sitting at the edge of the ring of light, his face partly in shadow as he talked about the return trip, about returning to the clean, civilized worlds they had left to crawl around in the dirt. He told entertaining stories of bizarre glitches in the electronics world despite all the advances in technology.

Controller Sev, relaxed and comfortable in her sling back camp chair, listened with amusement and wondered if her first assessment of Computer Specialist Grange as an unfeeling cyborg was too harsh. She sat studying the dancing flames of the fire, a mug cupped in her hands, feeling the warmth of the beverage seeping into her hands. A tingle at the base of her neck caused her to shift in her chair. She looked up from the fire and glance out into the dark. There, gazing back at her, were two glowing eyes. She remained still watching as a darker patch behind the eyes moved in the shadows, inching closer, until the shape coalesced into the black animal she had seen when they first started surveying. The animal looked thinner and her coat seemed rougher than she remembered. With out thinking she called out softly.

“Hey, Missy. What brings you to our fire?”

The animal stopped moving. Its eyes focused on her. At the sound of her voice the others turned to look. Intern Soren gasped. Everyone sat still in the flickering firelight, watching. The four-legged creature stretched its nose forward, sniffing the air, trying to pick up the scent of the snack food they had been sharing.

“Hungry?” Controller Sev asked. She bent down without taking her eyes off of the creature, reached into the bag of chips she had set on the ground next to her chair, pulled one out and tossed it toward the animal. It started and began backing into the gloom.

“Hey Missy, its okay. Its right there if you want it.”

The animal stopped moving, its head the only part still visible in the light, its eyes intent on Controller Sev. It sniffed the air again catching the scent of the tossed bit of food. The animal inched forward until it was close enough to lap up the snack. A spark popped in the fire pit. Everyone jumped and looked at the dancing flames. The black creature slipped back into the shadows again.

“Hey, Missy. Want another?” Controller Sev called out in a quiet voice. She reached into the bag and tossed another piece. It landed just inside the ring of light. For a brief moment all was still as if time had lost its battle with the forward motion of the universe.

At the edge of visibility the feathery tail began a slow, side-to-side movement and with great caution it inched close enough to snatch up the morsel on the ground. Controller Sev was ready with another chip, holding out her hand before the animal could down the bite.

“Here’s some more. That’s it, come here. Your safe here.”

The tail moved in wider sweeping motions and with less hesitation the animal stepped close enough to extend her muzzle to the outstretched hand and the chip it held. Controller Sev sat motionless, letting the animal take the food, before easing another piece into her hand. As the animal reached for the new piece, she moved her hand back enticing the animal to make another step forward. For a long moment no one moved. Brown animal eyes looked up into brown human eyes making a connection the Controller had never experience before. She looked deep into the questioning eyes, the innocence and longing they radiated tugged at her soul and she felt emotions stir in her depths, emotions long thought bred out of humanity with its focus on logic, reason and intellectual pursuits, an emotion of caring for another so overwhelming that the other’s welfare superseded her own and a lifelong bond was forged. The four footed animal leaned into Controller Melisa Sev, lifting her muzzle to sniff the human face and to Melisa’s surprise licked the second skin covering her face. After a moment of stunned silence Melisa slipped her second skin glove off. The urge to touch the animal with her bare hand so strong she ignored a lifetime of conditioning to remain isolated from the natural environment, a conditioning Mazer had encouraged her to ignore on other safe planets allowing her to experience the nature of the world outside the controlled human environments. She touched the side of the fur-covered neck, letting her hand rest without moving against the silky fur, feeling the warmth of the creature’s body. She bent forward and buried her face in the furry neck breathing in the faint, warm, musky scent that came through the filtering of her second skin.

One by one the others came over to make their acquaintance with the creature, to pet it and let it lick their hands, everyone that was except Grange. He sat back in his chair with his arms folded and a frown on his face. Melisa looked over at him, a quizzical expression on her face, and gestured for him to join them. He scowled further, gave a slight shake of his head and stood up.

“You should not be touching that creature. Have you forgotten the laws? Humans cannot associate with other life forms! That has been the law since the earliest times of human travel throughout the universe. Have you forgotten the stories of disease and death with each new planet settled when humans settled in the open? It is only through living in sterile, controlled environments and zero contact with lower life forms we, as a species, have survived for the millennium we have. It’s the law and that thing should be driven away or shot.” He scowled at the four of them before leaving the circle of firelight and making his way to the lander. They watched him enter the lock in silence.

“It was a breach of protocol and against the law to remove your skin to touch the animal, Controller.” Captain Darrow said from where he squatted next to her, his hand stroking the warm body of the animal. “It should be reported.”

Before she could respond the animal turned her head to look toward the trees and lifted her ears. She whined at the dark before turning back to Melisa, touching her once more with her moist nose before moving away from the humans. She stopped at the edge of the light to look back again before disappearing into the darkness.

“Oh!” Intern Soren said, watching the spot where the animal had slipped into the night. “She is so beautiful. You said there was a whole family. Do you think the rest of them will come visit us?”

“I hope so. She felt so thin under her coat of fur. I’m worried they aren’t getting enough to eat.” Controller Sev said replacing her second skin glove. She turned to Captain Darrow. “I’ll log the illegal contact before I turn in for the night. That is if Grange hasn’t filed it with the people he reports to every night.”

Silence filled the night air. Everyone knew C.S. Grange sent reports back to someone among the Thinkers, but none of them discussed it, preferring to avoid conflict this far from home.

After a moment the group began moving back to their seats around the fire and settled back. Talk was subdued between stretches of silence as they each shifted their gaze from the fire to the last place they had seen the animal and back to the fire. Controller Sev said very little, her hands tingled with the memory of soft silky fur, her nose filled with the memory of musky animal scent, her whole being awake with longing to reconnect with the animal again.

“I doubt we will see her again.” Captain Darrow said nodding toward the spot where the animal had disappeared into the night. Controller Sev found herself thinking the pilot was mistaken this time. There was something about the way the animal looked at her, something meaningful.

“I’m going to turn in. Busy day tomorrow with lift off at 1400 universal time.” Officer Miln said standing up. The intern stood up also, echoed the security officer’s good night and the two women left the circle of light.

For several minutes the remaining two sat beside the campfire watching the dying flames and enjoying the feel of the cool night air before calling it a night, putting out the fire and making their way back to the lander.

Going Home part 2

Controller Melisa Sev made her way through the meadow sweeping her scanner over the ground in the steady, unhurried, motion, she had developed over the years of handling this equipment. The first few days of intense work; unpacking, setting up the base camp and equipment, and conducting the preliminary sweeps to identify the locations for a more in-depth survey faded away as she focused on the screen nestled in-between the two handles she held. A wisp of a breeze set the leaves of the trees along the edge of the meadow to fluttering in the bright sunlight. Insects buzzed in the knee-high grass she waded through. The earthy scent of plants and soil filled her a contentment she found, unlike many of the people she knew, only in the outdoors.

A feeling of being watched swept over her. She lifted her eyes from the screen she was studying and peered though the few strands of hair that had fallen free from her ponytail. Everything seemed in order as far as she could see. She brought her head up, brushed the loose strands of honey blond hair away from her face and looked around for the source of her uneasiness. The sight of Captain Darrow off to her left, leaning against one of the trees reassured her. She placed her hand on her lower back and stretched, tipping her head back until she could gaze up into the blue sky above her. She lost herself in the immenseness of the vaulted firmament, the intensity of the color, the scattered filaments of white gossamer clouds. So unlike the other worlds she has been on, from her birth world with its domes and endless cityscapes to the barren planets she visited digging for artifacts, looking for evidence of human presence.

An eternity seemed to pass before she lowered her head and looked around again blinking as her eyes readjusted to the rich shades of greens surrounding her. To her right she noticed a dark patch in the underbrush next to one of the larger trees. She cocked her head and squinted studying the shadowy spot. It moved. She gasped; forcing her to stay still as she studied the spot with the same intensity she had given the screen a few minutes before. Slowly she made out the outline of a four-footed animal standing in the shade of the leaf-covered branches. It stared back at her for a few minutes before easing out into the grass along the edge of the woods and sat down on its haunches leaving just its head visible above the waving tops of the slender plants, like a ship resting in the ocean. It opened its muzzle letting its pink tongue hang out as it panted. Controller Sev exhaled in a slow, steady breath. The animal was covered with black silky fur with floppy ears and bright brown eyes; it wasn’t like any animal she had ever seen before. She felt a longing tugging at her, a longing to run her hands down the furry sides, a longing to bury her face into the neck and hug it.

“What is that?”

Controller Sev started at the whispered question right behind her. She had not heard the captain’s approach. His lack of proper address didn’t register as she struggled with feelings she was unfamiliar with.

“I, I’m not sure.” She said in a hoarse whisper. She cleared her throat. Every dig she had been on was on worlds with creatures she was familiar with or at the very least read about. This one wasn’t like any she’d seen, either live or in hologram, or heard about in the whispered discussions between the more outlandish explorers, the ones not easily controlled by the Thinkers.

The two stood still watching while the animal sat watching them for several minutes before standing up, its nose twitching in an effort to catch any scent wafting in the breeze. It began backing away from the two humans until it was almost under the bush before it turned and slipped out of sight.

“What a beautiful animal.” Controller Sev said in a rush of exhaled breath.

Beside her Captain Darrow nodded in agreement.

“I could track it, Controller.” He said.

Her eyes met his, questioning his motives, judging the wisdom of moving into the unexplored woods surrounding them. Their relationship up until this moment had been professional with little to none personal interaction. She felt she was on the brink of discovery, a level of understanding of a new possible future for herself and the rest of humankind, a future consisting of more than being a cog in the machinery of human existence.

“Just to see where it went, not to hunt it.”

His eyes seemed to shine with the same inner desire to see the animal again she felt, a desire born in the moment of awareness of the dark, furry, creature’s presence, a desire she would not have believed existed within her psyche before.

“Let’s go.” She said.

It was Captain Darrow’s turn to study her with a penetrating gaze. He nodded as if he had made up his mind about something and turned toward the tree line. She secured her scanner and followed him into the woods. He led the way, slipping silently through the underbrush, stopping now and then to examine the ground or a shrub, following a trail she could not discern. They crossed a small stream and lost the tail for a few minutes before picking it up again further upstream. After a couple of hours of hiking, of climbing over or under fallen trees Bremmer came to a sudden stop. He held up one hand signaling her to remain quiet while he listened to the forest sounds around them. She closed her eyes and tilted her head in an effort to catch the sound that had brought him to a stop.

Bremmer touched her arm to gain her attention and gestured for her to follow. He moved forward one step at a time. A few yards further along he stopped again, knelt and with a gentle touch moved a few leafy branches enough for them to peer through the opening he had created.

Less than twenty feet away the trunk of a fallen giant of a tree lay across a small glade. Roots ripped from the embrace of dark soil dangled in the air forming a wall at the base of the trunk. In the space under the trunk next to the wall of roots a dark opening was seen. In front of which the animal they had been tracking lay licking one of the three young ones tumbling and playing nearby. It was their mock growls and yips he had heard as they crept up on the den Controller Sev realized, vocalizations she had also heard among the various whisperings and notes of sound of the living forest creating a musical, vibrant, background she had rarely experienced in her canned, preprogramed, life. As they watched a larger version of the black animal entered the clearing with a furry critter hanging from its mouth. Its white fur was dingy with dirt and patches were missing along a scar running down is left hindquarter. The young ones paused in their tumbling play, the one pinned by their mother wiggling free to stand by its siblings. Their noses quivered. Their tails, at first drooping, started to wag in delight as they recognized their sire and the meal he carried. He dropped the food in front of the black, nuzzled her with his nose and stepped back turning his head to study the shrubs hiding the human interlopers. He raised his nose, closed his mouth and sniffed the errant eddies of air trying to catch any stray, out of place scent.

The humans froze and held their breath as Captain Darrow eased the branches back into place. Controller Sev turned her head, one of her eyebrows raised as if to ask, what now? Captain Darrow brought a finger to his lips, then pointed back the way they came before easing back onto his feet and half standing. In a crouched position he slipped backwards to a more open area, stood up, turned around and made his way further away from the den. Controller Sev, trying to match Bremmer in silence followed him.

“How beautiful they are.” Controller Sev said in a low voice once they seemed far enough away to not disturb the four-legged family they had spied upon. “They are not like anything I have ever seen.” Her eyes were alight with the unexplained wonder she felt. Captain Darrow said nothing. He nodded his acknowledgement of her statement and headed back to the meadow they had been scanning. She sensed they had shared a profound experience, one with the potential to change everything humanity had become. She said nothing more, needing time to process what she was feeling, letting the silence settle around them and resumed her work. Captain Darrow returned to his place, leaning on a tree, keeping an eye on the landscape.

Going Home Part 1

“All systems are a go for shuttle departure.” Mazer’s electronic voice announced sounding the all clear to depart. “Be well, survey team Beta 8923.”

The salutation following the all clear caused Controller Sev to raise her eyebrows. The overseeing computer complex seldom acknowledged the people it directed. It simply dictated the course of each person’s life, the laws all humanity lived by, the goods to be manufactured and sold, the exploration of the universe, the expansion of the Coalition, the celebrations observed… all aspects of human life.

“Controller, I really must protest. We have not completed a full survey of the planet. It is against protocol to land prior to completion.”

“Your protest is noted Computer Specialist Grange. Mazer chose this location and the go ahead to land. Are you suggesting I disobey Mazer?

Silence was Grange’s only response, which suited her. He had been a pain in her side since the Thinkers insisted she include him on her team. At this point she couldn’t help but wonder what they would have done if she had refused to take him. Mazer had ordered this expedition and nobody refused Mazer’s orders. 

“Here we go.” Security Officer Miln said as she ignited the thrusters.

The craft eased off the deck and moved toward the open bay doors. Controller Sev’s hands tightened on the ends of her chair’s armrests. She inhaled and held her breath as the shuttle crossed the threshold entering the void beyond the ship’s exterior. Will I ever get comfortable with the drop down to a planet’s surface? She asked herself as they began the descent toward the surface of the blue-green marble of a planet below. A planet so far away from the known space of the Coalition there wasn’t any possibility of interference or rescue. The team, now separated from their ship, were on their own in a way none of the others had ever been before.

She made the effort to exhale, easing her breath out slowly. She focused her thoughts on the anticipated wild landscape she would find below, the warm ground beneath her feet, the blue sky above. She forced herself to relax, the muted sounds of a working flight crew registering, slipping into her awareness as the craft entered the atmosphere bringing the sensation of motion back to the passengers. In short order the planet below resolved from broad brushstrokes of color to definitive patterns of greens, browns and blues to identifiable features of prairie, forest, mountains and lakes. The landscape sped beneath the shuttle as they headed for their predetermined landing area.

Relief coursed through Controller Sev at the thought of being on the ground again. She glanced around the cabin to see if the others had picked up on her anxiety about the drop. This was a new team for her, put together after a yearlong struggle to get the resources and the clearance needed to proceed from the humans in charge of fulfilling Mazer’s directives. The Thinkers were unexplainably resistant to this trip. It wasn’t until after she agreed to their team recommendations that they placed the mission on the launch schedule.

A sharp shift in motion brought the ship to hover above a grassy field. Officer Miln adjusted the controls and they settled to the ground with a gentle pressure. The pilots began shutting down the engines while Controller Sev released her harness and made her way through the cabin to the hatch. She again felt her annoyance at being ordered to include two security personnel on her team, Captain Bremmer Darrow, the image of the archaic man of action with little to say and Officer Kat Miln, her lithe body and green eyes reminiscent of her mythological namesake. At least she had an engineering background and could help out with the equipment. They took up billets she could have assigned to additional science staff, scientists that would have made mapping and identifying archeological finds easier. Instead she had been limited in her selection, both in numbers and in experience, Intern Soren in her junior year at the university had yet to be part of an off planet excavation and Computer Specialist Hanson Grange, an intense, indoors kind of man whose training in computer science was not the typical route archeologists took in their studies.

She slipped her second skin down over her face, letting it mold its self over the exposed surface of her body. Designed as a barrier between humans and the viruses and bacteria of the natural world, second skin was worn by all humans outside their climate-controlled homes, cities and vehicles. In recent years there had been a growing push to make the wearing of a second skin mandatory from the moment of birth regardless of how well the dwellings of humans were sealed against the environment. It was not a point of view she agreed with. Once everyone’s protective skin was secured she opened the hatch and stepped out of the sterile atmosphere of the shuttle into the clear fresh air of a pristine world rich with the scents of plants and soil. She walked a few steps away from the bottom of the ramp and stopped. She listened for a moment to the pleasant hum of insect life, closed her eyes and breathed in deeply, getting her first feel for this out of the way planet. A sense of familiarity and belonging swept over her more intensely than on any other planet she had visited in her long career of searching for long buried evidence of humankind’s journey throughout the universe. Perhaps this was the place where it all started? The home world Mazer had started pushing the archeological teams to find.

“This looks like a good spot to set up base camp, a bit of a rise and a nice view all around. Easy to defend, Controller.” Captain Darrow said coming up beside her and studying the landscape.

“Yes, this will do.” Controller Sev said uneasy at his assessment of the site based on his perceived need to defend it. “This area, with the ancient joining of two major rivers and fertile soil would have been a solid location for a settlement.” She gestured, sweeping her hand toward the vista before them. Beside her Captain Darrow crossed his arms, not saying anything. She glanced over at him, nodded her head and turned away.

The others had started unloading equipment and setting up canopies under which they placed worktables in anticipation of finding artifacts. As the afternoon wore on the chaos of boxes and crates coalesced into the order of an efficient workspace. Off to one side, in keeping with a tradition established by Mazer when the first archeology teams were sent out to search the stars for ancient human planets, an area had been stamped flat and a pit, ringed with stones brought up from the riverbank, had been dug. Now with the sun settling in the west the crew cleaned up, sitting down to dinner and discussion of work assignments for their three-month stay. The growing night was held at bay by the lights mounted in the support structure of the canopy overhead. Controller Sev listened to the chatter of the others as she watched the landscape around them fade into the dark.

In the distance an eerie howl rose above the whirring of insects inspecting the fine mesh screens separating them from the potential human prey within, raising the hair on the backs of necks, stopping the conversation. Captain Darrow rose to his feet, his hand resting on the grip of the stun pistol at his side and studied the darkness as the howl faded away. The group sat in silence. When another howl was not forth coming Intern Soren gave vent to a nervous chuckle.

“It seems humankind hasn’t evolved as much as the Thinkers claim if one howl can throw us back to our primal responses.” She said rubbing the goose bumps on her arm.

“Some of us less so than the others.” Computer Specialist Grange said. He stood up. “I’m turning in.”

Controller Sev watched as he lifted the netting and made his way across the ground to the shuttle. The sight of his stiff back as he entered the shuttle brought back to mind her first impression of him. A person she would not willingly choose to spend an hour with much less the months of preparation, travel and work associated with an archeology survey team in the field. Someone rigid and unyielding enough to possibly be a hindrance to the mission. But as the decision on who made up her team became less and less her choice, she conceded to the demands of the Thinkers that Grange be included.

The sound of laughter brought her attention back to the conversation of the others and Captain Darrow’s stories of adventure on the various security details he had been assigned to. She joined in, sharing stories of her own about past missions, letting the group enjoy a relaxing evening before the demands of the fieldwork consumed their time.