Jake split the screen. Compared the lights in the two sightings. “They’re brighter now.”
Priscilla took a long look. “I think you’re right,”
“We are at the same range,” said Myra.
It could have been a line of stalled cars in a heavy rainstorm. But the lights in the rear were growing brighter. Then they dimmed, and the enhanced illumination passed like a wave along the group toward the front. And faded.
“Holy cats,” said Priscilla. “Did you see that?”
The process started again. The rear of the line of lights brightened, and the effect once more moved forward.
“It’s a signal,” said Jake.
“You mean for us?”
“I have no idea, Priscilla. Myra, is there any way that could be a signal from the Vincenti?”
“Jake, I cannot conceive how anyone on board could have created those images.”
“It’s probably just a variation of ball lightning or something,” said Priscilla.
“I can’t imagine ball lightning in this kind of climate.”
“Well, I’m open to a better explanation.”
“Check with me later.” They were drawing abreast of the lights now. “We’re going to have to go down and look,” he said.
“Okay. We should be able to catch it on the next round.”
“Myra, transmission for Union.”
“Ready when you are, Jake.”
“Ops from Baumbachner. We are seeing lights below, in one area only. They’re included in the transmission. We have no explanation for them. On next orbit, I’ll take the lander down, and will let you know what they are.”
Priscilla took a deep breath. “They’re just going to be some sort of electricity generated by the atmosphere.”
“You’re probably right.” He was still looking at the images on the display. “I’ll send everything back, and you can relay it to Union.”
Priscilla frowned and shook her head. No. “Jake,” she said, “I’m not going to let you go down there alone.”
“Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think there may be some confusion here, Priscilla, about who’s in charge.”
“Come on, Jake. You going to pull rank?”
“Yes, since I apparently have to. Look, Priscilla, it’s just not smart for both of us to go. You know that as well as I do.”
“Jake—”
“I’ll stay in contact with you the whole time. If anything happens, if we lose touch, give me an hour or so. If you still don’t hear from me, clear out. Understand?”
“This feels like what happened last time.”
Jake sucked in air. “I hope not, Priscilla.”
* * *
BAUMBACHNER LOG
This is a futile effort. Whatever dragged the captain’s chair off the bridge and out of the ship could not have done it without wrecking the vehicle. It’s been almost a week since they were last heard from. Even if someone had made it to the lander and managed to launch, there would not have been enough air to keep him alive all this time. But nobody’s going to say we didn’t try.
Priscilla thinks it’s not a good idea for me to go down alone. Let the record show that she demanded to go along. I have had to order her to stay with the Baumbachner.
—Jake Loomis, February 8, 2196
Chapter 39
THE BAUMBACHNER LANDER entered the atmosphere and rode down through clear dark skies. The lights were still there, floating lazily in the dark. They were still rippling in that same melodic way. A visual symphony. There was an elegance to it, a glowing softness, as if he were watching an HV show in which they were getting ready to roll the credits.
“Jake.” Priscilla’s voice. “Can you make out what they are?”
“Still just lights, Priscilla. If it weren’t for the wave, I’d say they were Chinese lanterns.”
“That would be a shock. Can you tell how high they are?”
“Looks like ground level. Andrea, what do you think?” Andrea was the lander AI.
“They are close to the surface, Jake. But they are not on the surface.”
“Can you see anything else?” Priscilla asked. “Anything on the ground?”
“Priscilla, I can’t see the ground. It’s pretty dark down there.”
“Are they moving at all?”
“No. As far as I can tell, there’s no movement whatever.” The sensors gradually acquired the landscape. It was hilly, with a couple of ravines, and everything rimmed by a circle of mountains. He was descending into a bowl. “Priscilla, whatever the lights are, I don’t see how they can be natural. Something’s down there.”
“They seem,” said Andrea, “to be clustered over a fairly small area, Jake.”
“How small?”
“I cannot tell with precision.”
“Give me a guess.”
“I would say perhaps three kilometers in length. And they do not appear to be on the ground. But I would say they are only a few meters above it.”
* * *
THE BRIGHTENING AND dimming still ran from one end of the series to the other, which he could not avoid thinking of as rear to front. Accept that logic, and the line was pointing directly at one of the hills. In fact the lead light was almost resting on the crest.
He circled the area and trained a spotlight on the hill. The top consisted of a slice of flat ground. “Something’s there,” he told Priscilla.
“What, Jake?”
“Hold on.” He got one of the scopes on it. “It’s the lander.”
“You’re kidding.”
“Do I sound as if I’m kidding?”
“Okay. Good. It’s the one from the Vincenti?”
“I can’t really tell yet. But it’s hard to imagine where else it might have come from.”
“What kind of shape’s it in, Jake?”
“Actually, it looks okay. Except that the wings are off.” How in hell had it gotten there? There was no way a lander could have come down intact on that hilltop. Even had its wings been in place. One was lying in the snow halfway down the slope. “I don’t understand this,” he said. “It looks as if it landed without incident. Except for the wrecked wings.”
He descended past the lights and looked for an area to land. He got lucky: There was an unbroken stretch of ground about a kilometer away. It was, however, covered by snow or ice, and it was surrounded by mounds and rocks. Getting into it would be a squeeze, but he could see no easy alternative. “What do you think, Andrea? Can we manage that?”
“I am not comfortable with the selection. The surface will be icy, Jake. We might easily end as part of the real estate. I recommend we abort.”
“We can do it,” he said.
“I have logged my view on this matter,” said Andrea, in a disapproving voice.
“Okay.”
“Keep in mind, Captain Loomis, that if this goes wrong, I will be left to shoulder the blame.” The AI, of course, was not really annoyed. It wasn’t a conscious entity although it was easy sometimes to forget that. This was simply the Authority’s way of warning against bad behavior.
He swung wide over the battered surface. “Priscilla,” he said, “do you see that?”
“Yes. I see it. Jake, it scares me.”
“Have a little faith, kid.”
“Are you going down?”