Colonizing Trappist (eBook)

CHAPTER 2

THE CREW

It was time for Hamilton to start the series of scripted events that would prepare his crew for exploring these new worlds.

“Exo-1,” Hamilton commanded the ship, “wake Major Nguyen.” Major Jennifer Nguyen was second-in-command over this mission and the lead science officer.

Nguyen joined Hamilton on the command deck and said in an exhausted voice with a light Vietnamese accent, “Commander.”

“Major,” Hamilton replied. “I’ve contacted the probe network and almost have access to the data files they’ve gathered for the last two years. It’s hard to believe that eighty years have passed on Earth while we were asleep.”

“It’s not polite to remind a lady of her age,” Nguyen said.

Hamilton laughed and replied, “I feel more tired than I’ve ever felt in my life, but the excitement of this moment is more than enough to keep me awake.”

Nguyen smiled and picked up her glass of water to make a toast. “To Trappist!”

“To Trappist!” Hamilton said before drinking a long swig of water and returning the sealed cup to its magnetic coaster.

Nguyen took over gathering the data files from the probe network while Hamilton began waking the rest of the crew.

“Exo-1, wake Captain Schmidt.” Their medical doctor, Captain Hans Schmidt, MD, came from Trans-European Germany where he had earned acclaim for improving the health of soldiers in orbit for extended periods of time. He held degrees in medicine and computer science. Everyone called him Doc.

“Hi, Doc. How are you doing?” Hamilton asked when Doc entered the command deck.

“I’ve been better. How is everyone doing?”

“I’ve been worse,” Hamilton replied.

“Okay,” Nguyen said.

Doc was moving slowly but standing straight. His graying chestnut hair was a mess, but he looked fine otherwise.

After Doc sat down at his console, Hamilton said, “Please start waking the rest of the crew, Doc.”

“Right away,” Doc said. “Exo-1, wake Captain Dubois.”

Third in command was Captain Simone Dubois, a French national. Simone looked more like a supermodel than one of the best xenobiologists on Earth. Her papers on the possible types of life on exoplanets had been required reading for most graduate students of xenobiology when the crew had left Earth eighty years ago.

As Dubois entered the command deck, Hamilton asked, “How are you feeling, Captain?” She was slightly stooped over as she walked, making her look shorter than her actual 185-centimeter height. Her long, wavy brunette hair was tied back in a ponytail.

Dubois let out a long groan before dropping into the seat in front of her console. “Why did you drag me along on this mission?” she asked in a thick French accent.

She must be exhausted, Hamilton thought. Her French accent only comes out when she’s tired or upset. “If I recall correctly, I dragged you along because you hounded me for six months.”

Nguyen laughed.

Dubois looked his way, smiled, and said, “Did I do that?”

Her piercing green eyes were regaining their sparkle.

“Please help Major Nguyen analyze the probe data.”

“Right away, Commander.”

Next to arrive on the command deck was Alexi Topolov from the Russian Federation. Topolov shambled to his console at the back of the command deck. Hamilton said, “How are you doing, Alexi?”

His only reply was “Ugh.”

Everyone laughed, and Dubois said, “My thoughts exactly.”

The only civilian member of the crew, Topolov was an excellent oceanographer and geologist. His extensive list of accomplishments in land and sea disciplines made him a perfect addition to their planetary exploration team.

Then Master Sergeant James Johnson, an African American from Atlanta, Georgia, entered the room. He stood tall and straight; his eyes were sharp, and he looked ready to run another 10 K race.

“How are you holding up, Master Sergeant?” Hamilton asked.

“I’m not 100 percent yet, but I’m ready to roll,” Johnson replied.

“Excellent. Please start diagnostics on ship systems.”

“Aye, sir.”

The final crew member to awaken was Technical Sergeant Samantha Lambert. She walked onto the command deck like she was just returning to work from a nap, refreshed and ready to go. Her short, dark chocolate brown hair was a mess, but that wasn’t unusual for her.

“How are you doing, Technical Sergeant?” Hamilton asked.

“I’m chipper, sir. How are you?” Lambert asked with a slight English accent.

“I’ve been better. Thanks for asking. Can you help Johnson with ships diagnostics and establish a comm link with Atlantis?”

“Aye, sir.”

Lambert joined Johnson in the equipment bay behind and below the command deck. Johnson had half the avionics panels open and was pulling modules out.

“What’s this about, Johnson?” Lambert asked.

“My first diagnostic program found some bad circuits in the avionics module. Just my luck it’s the one farthest back.”

“Bad luck that. I’ll start the next diagnostic.”

“I hope you’re luckier than I am.” Johnson often made jokes about his bad luck.

“Your wife would have loved the view from the command deck.”

Johnson knitted his eyebrows as he looked at Lambert. Then his face softened as he said, “Yes, she would have. Sometimes I wonder if she loved space more than me.”

“You can’t say that, mate. Space was her passion, but she loved you!”

“How would you know? You never met her.”

“I know the stories you told me about her. There’s no way she didn’t love you.”

“Thanks, Samantha. That really cheered me up.

“Good. I don’t like working with sulky slackers,” Lambert said with a smile.

“It’s funny,” Johnson said as he worked. “She’s been dead over four years now, but she was the first thing I thought of when I woke up.”

“Eighty-four years now.”

“Yeah. Eighty-four years. So why did you come on this trip? You’ve never told me.”

Lambert looked at her hands and said, “I had family problems. I’m running off to the little girl’s room while this diagnostic program runs.”

“Little girl’s room?”

“It sounds better than unisex vac toilet,” Lambert said as she left the room.

“Crazy Brit.”

I heard that!”

* * *

Doc decided to speak with Topolov to see whether he was being melodramatic in the way he was shuffling about the ship, or whether he was hiding something more serious.

“How are you holding up, Mr. Topolov?”

Again, Topolov’s only reply was, “Ugh.”

“I really need you to talk with me so I know you’re all right.”

“I’ve traveled eighty light years to a new star system to study new worlds. Forgive me, but I don’t want to talk right now.”

“Fair enough,” Doc replied, “but do you know why I came here, Alexi?” Topolov looked up from his console but didn’t say a word.

“To keep all of you alive.” Then Doc walked back to his console and went to work.

* * *

Nguyen and Dubois were organizing the probe network’s data.

As they were waiting for their programs to finish, Nguyen said, “I’ve always been curious. Why did you come on this mission, Simone?”

Simone Dubois replied, “My family lived in Toulouse, France. Our home was very old. I left to attend Ecole Polytechnique in Paris. It’s a military university. I was away on my mandatory eight months of service when a fire swept through my family neighborhood. Even my boyfriend was killed.”

“I’m so sorry, Simone,” Nguyen said.

“It was a long time ago,” Dubois said with a sad smile. “Afterwards, I decided to stay in the military and study xenobiology. I love the work. I even did a paper on the microbes you found on IO.”

“My team found them. I read your paper. It was excellent.”

“Your team found the second and third life forms in the solar system outside of Earth.”

“I had a great team. I just took them to the places with the highest probability of success.”

“They had a great leader. When I heard you and Hamilton were going on this mission, I had to go.”

“I heard you fought with Hamilton in the Mars revolt.”

“I didn’t expect to fight. I wouldn’t be alive if it weren’t for Hamilton.”

Nguyen sat up straight and said, “Do you see what I see?”

They both stopped talking and began sending messages between themselves.

* * *

Nguyen and Dubois were always talking. Hamilton usually tuned them out as he worked until they became unusually quiet. Then they started sending messages to him. The probe data was disturbing. He messaged back to Nguyen that she should share it with the crew.

Hamilton called everyone back to the command deck. When Johnson and Lambert finally arrived, he began, “As you know, we are about 100 hours out from Trappist E. After the disappointment of Proxima Centauri, all of Earth is counting on us to prevent a repeat of that disaster. Major Nguyen has gathered two years of data from our probes. There are some disturbing conclusions I’d like the major to share with you.”

“Thank you,” Nguyen said. After a deep breath, she continued,...