Tehe, seemingly confused at first, finally came back to the reality of their situation and rushed to a seat nearby to anchor herself in, as everyone else was doing on the ship.
In a few minutes, they would land on an alien world, a rocky and completely foreign landscape, covered by a wild and lush vegetation and inhabited by strange creatures and monsters they had never seen before; a dangerous and uninviting world, full of unknowns and deadly things. A new world, nonetheless, they now would have to call home. It was known to them as Kahjuna, the blue planet. Seventy million years from now, man would inherit it and call it Earth.
PART I
Chapter I
The welcome mat
The sky was still overcast, but the rain had stopped. Walking through the large Amsterdam airport, Dedrick was looking for his passport. He had just used it at customs and hoped he had not left it there. He stopped in front of a big map of the city on the wall and put his bag down. Searching every pocket, he finally found it in the left one of his Swede jacket and slipped it into his carry-on bag. After closing the zipper, he took a look at the map. The Schiphol airport where he had just landed was just southwest of the Netherlands capital, in the municipality of Haarlemmermeer. Staring at that name with interest, Dedrick was counting the multiple letters in it when a voice behind him called out, “Mr. Sokolov? Dedrick Sokolov?”
Dedrick turned around to face a beautiful short hair brunette staring at him through her glasses, holding a sign with his name on it.
“Yes?” he replied a bit hesitant.
“My name is Sylvia Kaarzeev. I work for the Mars First foundation. I am your guide. Welcome to Amsterdam. This way, please.” Her Dutch accent was barely noticeable.
Pointing towards the exit sign, she added as she started walking beside him, “Do you have any other luggage to pick up?”
“No, that’s it. Would you mind if I grab something to eat before we go, though? I’m starving!”
“There will be a meal waiting for you at the base when we arrive. The drive is not long.”
Feeling there was probably not much room for discussion on the matter, Dedrick followed her to the exit. After crossing an automatic double glass door, they walked straight to a black limousine parked along the sidewalk. A man wearing a dark suit was already holding a door open for them. Sylvia gestured for Dedrick to step inside the vehicle and followed him in.
A few minutes later, the black car and its passengers were flying down A1, in route for Amersfoort, about thirty minutes southeast of the airport.
Sitting across from Sylvia in the back seat, Dedrick couldn’t help looking at her. She seemed lost in thoughts, looking out the window at the scenery, her legs and hands crossed. A very attractive woman, probably of Asiatic descent, he thought. She looked sharp and professional while still very sexy. Her legs looked fit under her long skirt and her suit jacket was shaping her upper body nicely, without revealing hardly any cleavage. Sensing the Russian’s obvious stare, she slowly brushed her medium-length hair with her left hand, revealing a gold hearing dangling a couple of inches from her ear, then turned her eyes on him. Dedrick turned away immediately. She smiled.
“How was your trip?”
“Good… good,” he replied, trying to hide his embarrassment.
“I don’t like traveling in those big airliners much,” she then offered. “Or I have to fly first class. People drive me nuts.”
He was glad to see he wasn’t the only one thinking so. “Actually, me too. I can’t stand some of these people. Not that I am complaining, of course. Your company paid for my trip and I’m grateful for that,” he added quickly, not wanting to sound rude or ungrateful.
Looking down, he noticed her thin ankle chain.
“Trust me, Mr. Sokolov, the company I work for doesn’t mind. You are an asset to them now.”
“Yes, I guess. Me and forty others.”
She just looked at him for a moment but did not reply. As she turned back her attention to the scenery outside her window, Dedrick thought he had noticed a faint smirk on her face and wondered what she knew that he didn’t.
For the next several kilometers, neither one said anything anymore. The two passengers lost in thoughts, seemed to focus their attention on the flat landscape rolling outside.
Dedrick knew very well this wasn’t Russia anymore. Of course, anyone observant enough would have quickly noticed the different vegetation, rolling hills, and European style architecture that was so distinct and differed from the buildings and houses he was used to back home. Yet, he was also thinking of how similar the world could be from country to country. Although several thousand kilometers apart, cities like Amsterdam and Moscow were essentially identical in their overall layout and function. People gathered and lived in them in pretty much the same way. Arteries of roads and highways often connected the different suburbs and places of interest to the town’s center while the essential amenities, water, electricity, and communication lines were made part of their intricate design. Some eco-friendly balance was almost always considered as well, allowing space for enough parks and “green” places, sufficient trees, walking trails, flower filled medians, especially in heavily populated areas. Mars would definitely be a new experience, no doubt.
“No trees or rivers there… I hope we know what we’re doing,” he thought, thinking of the other candidates as well.
Dedrick wasn’t much of a talker and even less so in front of such a beautiful woman but the small confinement of the car eventually made him want to fill the silence, so he asked, “Do we have far to drive?”
“No, not far, we’ll be there soon,” she replied without looking at him.
About forty minutes later, after having crossed several small towns and made several turns, the limousine finally came to a stop in front of a guard house. A few signs were visible but Dedrick couldn’t read any of them since he did not know Dutch.
After showing his passport and a few checks were made by one of the guards over the radio, the gate was lifted, and the limousine let through.
They drove another kilometer or so through a dense forest of pines before entering a clearing several hundred meters in diameter. The grass looked freshly mowed. A few lonely trees stood in the open space, randomly scattered around. In the distance, a dense forest partially encircled the area, making for a dramatic contrast. A wide, two-story building stood in the center of the field. Dedrick quickly estimated the structure was fairly new and covered a good 10,000 square meters at its base.
“That’s a pretty big space,” he thought to himself. Another white building had just come into view behind the first one. A large dome adorned its roof. “There must be one heck of a telescope in there.”
Connecting the two buildings, a tall glass gallery was flanked by manicured vegetation and beautiful flowers of all sorts. The car came to a stop near the entrance of the larger building.
“Here we are Mr. Sokolov,” said Sylvia getting out of the vehicle.
“You can leave your bag in the car. I’ll have someone take it to your room, but first, I’d like you to meet Mr. Bruininck before I show you around. This way, please.”
Dedrick followed the woman along a narrow, gravel path. Two large glass doors opened automatically as they approached the building and four armed guards appeared from inside.