The transition was delicately explained by Swiss executives in a vid. After a recounting of pertinent recent history, and introductions to other members of their new Earth-side teams, Tom’s station was given a list of five high-pri research objectives, one of which was to begin in-depth examination of the Parking Lot. Knowing that these people were the ones who would continue launching semiannual supply pods to the station, the crew were all too happy to oblige their requests. John had wasted no time sending back a formal thanks, enthusiastic acceptance of the new dictate, and a vidtour of the station highlighting each member of the crew, smiling and alive (and clearly hoping to remain so for as long as possible). It’d be another three years before the reply reached Earth, so there was some amount of assumption and good faith on both ends of the comms.
Now, as the laser carrying that message neared the Oort cloud of Earth’s solar system, the crew had become quite familiar with the Parking Lot.
Side by side in the open hatch, Angela wrapped an arm around Tom’s waist as they slowly took in the panorama. Strewn somewhere across and beneath this barren landscape lay miner probes, dead dragonfly probes, and spikers. Once the crew determined to solve the mystery of a kilometers-wide cement plain, it hadn’t taken long to form theories. Either via nearby volcanic activity or an impact event, the native limestone had mixed with fine ash to form this awe-inspiring cement flat. Though its outward appearance eschewed natural formation—especially with the conspicuously straight line of the Lot’s eastern border—it only took a few months of focused study to solve the puzzle to the crew’s satisfaction. The full report was sent off to Earth. 14 million years old. The product of a now-inert supervolcano. Meters below the surface, spiker sensors had found the remains of a once-fertile marsh, frozen in time.
Tom stepped onto the cement surface first and stretched his arms over his head. Despite the scorching heat and instant sweat, he cried out extravagant pleasure and relief, rolling his neck and twisting at the waist. He bent over and touched his toes, then back up again, reaching for the clouds.
“So good!” he shouted and glanced back at Angela as she planted her first foot on the pale ground. “You know what I wish we had?”
“An air conditioner? A swimming pool? A launch pad and fully fueled interstellar transport ship?”
He interlocked his fingers in front of him and stretched out his back. “Pshh-no. No, what I really wish I had was one of those ancient torture racks where they tied your wrists and ankles to either end and just pulled…” He moved his hands apart as if stretching out dough. “What were those things called? The rack things.”
“A rack.” She inhaled a deep breath and held the hot air in her lungs.
“No, there’s got to be some sort of real name for it. Like guillotine.”
“Look it up, doof. It’s ‘rack.’”
“We’ll have to agree to disagree.”
“No, we don’t. We don’t have to agree to that at all—”
He pressed a gloved finger against her mouth, uttering a mock-seductive, “Shhhh…” then hunched down, curled his other hand around her waist, and gazed into her cobalt eyes. “Tell me something. How could you possibly be attracted to a gangly beast like me? I’m mean, look at all this.” He glanced up suddenly. “Hang on… what’s that sound?”
They froze and listened. A rapid beep emanated from within the EV. Angela climbed back inside and Tom stuck his head in after her.
“Radio!” Angela said as she opened the comms panel and fumbled with the headset. “EV-four here. Go.” Tom could hear a tinny voice through the little speaker as Angela listened. She looked up at Tom as she pinched the mic button. “Understood, Zees. Just try to stay calm. I’m handing you over to Tom.” She released the button and put the headset in Tom’s hand. “They landed in a farm. Several adult Threck approaching from the dwelling. Be cool, she sounds like she’s about to droop her poop.”
Tom pinched the button. “Hi, Zisa, this is Tom. Listen close, okay? Do you know if you’re anywhere near the city, or if this farm is out in the country?”
“Yes!” she replied in an anxious whisper.
“Which? Yes, near the city?”
“No, country,” she said, annoyed. Tom heard a garbled something from Pablo. Zisa responded, “I know! We’re two-point-two-K west of the river, okay? Just tell us what to do! A proper peace greeting or whatever!”
Tom sighed and gave Angela a grim look. Everyone was supposed to download the emergency maps, language, and customs file before exiting their EVs—something Tom and Angela had also failed to do.
Angela leaned close to Tom to hear the radio.
Tom continued, “You’re not going to like this, Zisa, but it’s important for you to know. Listen, have Pablo come near the radio so you both hear me, okay?”
“Come here,” Zisa said. “He wants you to hear…. Go ahead.”
“Here’s the deal. These are Country Threck, so they’re not as predictable as City Threck, and I’m not too solid on their dialect. You definitely want to keep from making unintentional hand or head gestures. Body movements are nearly half their language, so you could accidentally say something offensive or threatening. Don’t turn your back to them. Don’t keep your mouth open if you’re not talking—”
“Ten meters and slowly closing,” Pablo said. “One of them is saying something.”
“Just don’t interrupt. In a second, you’ll need to stop talking to me and focus on only them. Ee-shaaay-CK. That’s what you’re going to say. Ee-shaaay-CK. Nothing else. It means ‘peaceful greetings’ in every Threck dialect. Carry that a sound and punch the CK at the end. Now, give me your coordinates so we can get to you asap.”
Tom saved Zisa and Pablo’s location to his fone and DC’d with the EV to download the emergency file he should’ve picked up in the first place.
Angela was standing in front of him, fanning her face and neck with her hand. “Should I get the skimmers going?”
“Yes, please. Thank you. Don’t forget your helmet, though. This heat isn’t safe.”
A moment later, the full emergency data pack was on his fone and he sealed the EV before joining Angela at the rear to help undock the skimmers.
This wasn’t how first contact was supposed to play out. Now they were at an immediate disadvantage.
“You okay, baby?” Angela said as she prepped her skimmer. Tom only shrugged and clenched his jaw as he watched the skimmer slowly lower and twist into shape. “You were good back there. On the radio.”
“I wish I’d taken the ‘backup’ role more seriously,” he said as he stepped on his skimmer’s platform and powered it on. “Actually, I just wish Minnie was here.”
2.1
Droplets of ocean water dotted EV1’s two overhead portholes. The pod’s slow rises and falls, combined with early digestion restart, had Aether’s stomach in a threatening state. She and Qin should already be on their second calorie bar, providing the fresh bile something to work on, but the idea of eating made her feel even sicker.
Obviously, it would’ve been preferable to touch down on dry land, but she couldn’t blame Qin for that. A) He was the one who’d figured out the fine adjustments required to get the stranded pods rounded up and reentering, saving all of their lives; and B) EV1 only deviated off-course because the main chute hadn’t automatically deployed. Instead of landing along Threck Country’s lush southern coast, they’d continued hurtling an extra 8K south before the backup chute fired. Now, floating so far from shore, land was but a hazy strip on the northern horizon.