Interlude [07] - Jennefer Marsh
o0o
The first five years on Planet were the hardest. It was said that a Landing Pod could support one thousand people, yes. But it couldn't exactly fit one thousand people. My parents arrived on a world where the air was poison, the water was poison, the plants were poison, and the animals… seemed harmless enough. That is, until the Scout Patrols met their first Mind Worm boil, and so there went whatever hopes that Planet would be a gracious host to its uninvited guests.
Given the sheer inhospitability of Planet's ecology, it was often a surprise to other factions that the Gaian philosophy existed at all.
I was among the first generations of those born on Planet. Born Jennefer Marsh to Jack Marsh and Elita Muirne. My elder brother, Robert Marsh. was actually conceived on Mission Year 2100 – on the Year of Arrival – and the second child to be born on a new world. (My parents, I'm now aware, had to marry very quickly.) I was born on Mission Year 2104.
My brother was a fervent Gaian. He grew up in a cold dark hole. And I mean nothing less than a cold dark hole, because the Landing Pod that would eventually turn into the settlement of Gaia's Landing landed along the slopes of the Pholus Ridge. And by land, as my parents recounted to me, it was more like half-crash into a mountainside then sloooowly slide down until the people inside could stop panicking.
The original mission orders called for an orderly settlement made with prefab structures, but even the equipment to put up those structures were irreplaceable. The Landing Pod was disassembled to form the core buildings and facilities of Gaia's Landing. But there were over eight hundred people that needed housing, and if they used all the materials just for housing, then that would mean uncomfortably small hospitals, laboratories, creches and learning centers, factories, indoor greenhouses, and communal areas.
They found some caves, sealed the end, pumped the air out, and made sure it was all air-tight, then ran some lights inside. They chiseled out rooms, dug channels for latrines that emptied out into a pit for composting, and for the first year of Arrival, everybody – even Deirdre Skye, I was told – slept on the cold ground on bedrolls and ate mushy food.
For four years, my brother grew up in a cave, raised by an entire troop of adults, who sadly were often just too exhausted coming back from work. He was the only thing to brighten their day, reminding them that all their hard work was for the sake of countless generations yet unborn. I was too young to retain any memory of those days.
I had a much easier childhood. His early maturity, the praise he drew from the adults, that was the standard I wished to emulate.
o0o
By Mission Year 2105, Gaian technology and industry had figured out how to create airtight pseudo-concrete out of what was otherwise useless xenofungus, and we gained unlimited and renewable building material. The first open-air farms on Planet thrived. Plants loved the nitrates in the soil, and did not care about the low levels of oxygen in their air.
After living in a hole for so long, my brother cried upon finally leaving that cave for good. He saw the open sky, the cultivated grounds, the farms and forests nestled into rows alongside native flora so that they were pollinated by the symbiotic creatures that tended to the native plants, and the towering mounds of Gaia's Landing… and all was beautiful.
By the actions of his parents, and his parent's generation, he was made free. By applying old knowledge into new horizons, they made out of Planet a safe refuge, a loving home. By the understanding of Centauri Ecology, all the children born to Planet would never go hungry. By the understanding of Biogenetics, they would be protected from poisons and disease. By the understanding of Social Psychology, they can grow up as well-adjusted citizens ready to claim their birthright. Deirdre shared this knowledge to all other factions encountered on Planet, asking little in return.
The least he could do to respect the sacrifices of the generation before him was to preserve and protect their legacy of respect and harmony with Planet's native ecosystem. Wild animals were just that – wild, and if they attacked, that was their nature. Left unprovoked however, mankind on Planet could so very easily live in harmony, peace, and satiety.
And now my brother was dead. Murdered by the Spartans.
o0o
Sending off the Colony Pod broke our family.
About nine years past Arrival, the Council floated the idea of setting up a base to the north, in a much better location than Gaia's Landing. Whereas Gaia's Landing was set up on the slopes of a hill, though with the good fortune of a sheltered bay that would likely become very useful later on, there was a much flatter area with better rainfall and two areas with veins of minerals close to the surface. This area was also within reach of a Pholus Ridge peak with geothermal activity… and hot springs.
It was the perfect location for farming, mining, spreading out the population, and perhaps tourism and relaxation. It had the potential of being the new de facto capital of the new faction formally known as the Stepdaughters of Gaia. Deirdre approved of the idea.
My father and my elder brother were eager to move and work there. However, my mother wanted to stay. By then, at 2112 when the Colony Pod had finished construction, she had born my father four children – a boy, a girl, a girl, and a boy again. At this point Gaia's Landing was well-established, and the younger children were made to go to school instead of the informal hands-on apprenticeship method of instruction that educated my brother's generation. Gaia's Landing had grown comfortable.
Traveling overland on Planet was still very difficult, and the task so very labor-intensive, that it would be years before we'd all see each other again. Just as my mother had good reasons not to leave, my father could not be persuaded to stay. He understood the philosophy of conservation and the great usefulness of relying on renewables and living within one's means, but he had never really been comfortable with the Gaian outlook that was starting to speak about Planet in near-mystical terms.
Not all colonists who were in the Landing Pod were a part of Deirdre's team, after all. In the confusion of the evacuation, colonists just headed for the nearest pod upon waking up. My father was a very practical man, and had little need nor patience for a thinking. He simply endured it the same way he endured everything else.
The Council was very heavily under Deirdre's influence however, because of course the people were only too happy to elect and re-elect the people who figured out how to feed them, and clothe them, and warm them and continued to look for ways to make their life on Planet safer and more pleasant.
The new colony would be named The Flowers Preach. Even then, I was sure, the name irritated my father very much.
And that was my childhood. By the age of eight, I was left without paternal or brotherly influence. However, it wasn't as if I was without guidance. In a way, every Gaian is a parent to all the children. We spent most of our days in the Children's Creche while the adults worked, and as we grew up we were always welcome to ask questions and learn more about the different jobs and new careers on base.
School was fun, because there was always some practical application for what we were learning. By the time I was sixteen, there were enough people and we had the beginnings of an Industrial Base that the concept of a 'college' entered the Gaian school system. That was an incredible time, because Deirdre herself would lecture on occasion about Xenoempathy and Life Systems. All around me, with every day, the world was changing and growing bigger.
o0o
The Gaian Explorers were among the bravest people on planet, mapping out the land and prospecting for resources for only the sake of discovery, not pay. They climbed mountains and willingly entered fungal bloom sites. Every great discovery was paid in lives, such as learning that low-frequency radio waves and radar attracted Mind Worms.
It was only later that radios were set up to use high-frequency hopping that imitated Planet's innate strange electromagnetic fields that long-range communication became possible.
It was the explorers that, in 2107, found the wreck on the UNS Unity. It was a heart-wrenching scar on the face of Planet, thousands of kilometers across, with all sorts of debris scattered around the impact site. It was the explorers who braved the possibly radioactive site to see what could possibly have survived of humanity's great work. They found some intact Unity Supply Pods with equipment that could be repurposed, mining lasers, and some archives that helped us recover the foundations of better inter-Colony Information Networks (specially high-throughput microwave transmissions that would not attract native life) and advanced the creation of our Industrial Base.
But there was only so much one could do exploring on foot and on Rovers. The sea was the frontier to study, my brother said to me. It normally would take up to three months to travel the wilderness between Gaia's Landing and The Flowers Preach, hardly good conditions for sharing and trading resources. But on a ship? That was just a week.
Three years after leaving to set up a new colony, our family was whole again.
This time my father would stay for good. But not my brother, he would be part of the new Sea Explorers, on the first long-distance ships made with schematics traded with the Spartans. We were only two years apart in age, but I wanted to go on an adventure too!
He patted my head and said "The most I can do as an Explorer is to look at things and haul up samples. Study hard so that you can tell me what these things are that I'm bringing back."
And those were glorious days indeed. Laying down an explorer ship was a great undertaking, one that could perhaps be used for other base facilities that could make our lives
Who was there to round the crown of Hera, to glimpse a land so pink with xenofungus from end to end? Robert Marsh! Who broke into the Northern Ocean? Robert Marsh! Who sailed all the way around the Pholus Ridge and the Sea of Pholus to arrive at the newest Gaian colony built as our gateway to the East? Robert Marsh!
Of course, he was just one of the younger sailors there, the honor would go to Captain Nobel, but oh damn it – I wanted more than just a pat on the head! Adventure!
My father didn't allow me to join the first wave of colonists to set up the Song of Planet, established to the southeast of Gaia's Landing. From his experience, that was always the least enjoyable part of the experience. But I wanted to sleep in uncomfortable conditions and work with limited means, too! That was what makes it worth the trip!
"You're cute" one of my friends said to me. "But you're crazy."
o0o
My time arrived at 2123, all this while my brother was promoted to an executive officer on the newest ship, the Rosinbloom under Captain Nobel's command. It was a Laser Foil, because we learned heavier weaponry were necessary to deal with attacks by Isles of the Deep.
Fascinating creatures! They were actually the aquatic vector of the Mind Worm, fused together as one mass through a natural calcifying glue. Bouyant with gas pockets, these living islands, which could grow to the size of actual islands, roamed the seas in search of prey or carrion. They moved through some form of water jet, capable of speed matching or even exceeding our motors.
And of course, there were also capable of psychic assaults as their land-borne cousins.
My brother was wildly considered a vessel of good luck for the crew, because while they were all paralyzed only he could move as if unaffected and steer the ship away.
So, with the launching of the second Gaian Explorer ship and the keel being laid for the third (and Transport craft don't count), it was my brother's turn to live up to his promise. Scientists were needed aboard, and I would learn what it means to be a Sea Explorer.
Adventure was a whole lot of sitting and waiting. I tried not to grumble. I asked for it. The Dawn Greeter had a crew of 20, and everyone pulled their weight. The Executive Officer of the ship was more like the one in charge of logistics and paperwork. My brother promptly pawned off that responsibility to me as soon as I joined the crew so he could spend more time joining the surveyors whenever the ship pulled to shore.
"This is not favoritism or nepotism!" I complained. "This is just abuse!" The crew found it too funny. Jerks. But I was good at math and reading maps, so it wasn't too bad.
And, in time, I would officially become the Dawn Greeter's executive officer, under Captain Jean Boothby, while my brother moved out to become the Captain of his own ship – the GSV Dendrobium. The newest ship was actually armored with layers of sythnmetal and had its laser cannon in a turret. It was as close to a warship as we dared build.
We Gaians only ever had three ships that could be said to be of any military use, and we sent them all out to accompany a Sea Colony Pod paid in part by the Morganites. We would have to sail past dense sea fungus, where an Isle of the Deep might suddenly appear. Planet was dangerous, but the most dangerous beings in it were other humans.
And now my friends were dead, murdered through Morgan lies.
o0o
My brother could not have died. He was the favored son of Planet!
But he placed his ship between us and the enemy, and the Dendrobium was lost with all hands. He fought and he gave his life to give us and the Sea Colony Pod time to get away.
"Should we… wait?" I was asked. Left unspoken was 'for the bodies to float up?'
I shook my head. It was only an hour ago that I saw Captain Boothby's cut nearly in half, her shoulder exploding into chunks. Her corpse fell on top of me, and I screamed in both terror and disgust. The lady who taught me all the little tricks of survival on sea that my time with the Aquafarms did not impart, her smile and her strange 'hih-hih-hih' laugh, gone in an instant.
And people called the Morgan-Spartan War a farce just because it didn't involve armies fighting on land. Why, a few days ago, were we so gods-damned naïve as to think raiding involved no real violence or deaths?
I wondered if it was not a punishment for our own brand of hubris?
We Gaians are not a chosen people.
We are those who have chosen. Freely, with eyes wide open, we have decided to live in a way that respects life and seeks to avoid senseless waste and hostility. Yet have we deluded ourselves that being a more moral person should somehow protect us from danger?
If my brother, who deserved most of all to live and change Planet for the better – if his fate is rejected, what hope was there for us?
After an hour, we saw a ship approaching from the horizon. We thought that the Morgans, contrary to our expectations, would dare to send their own ships for rescue even with the threat of Spartan warships in the area.
As it approached, only then did we realize – it was far too big.
Sending that Sea Colony Pod broke us.
There was nothing that could put us back together again, not even the greatest miracle of science.
o0o
Nemo.
A man with no name. A name without a nation.
All marine scientists inevitably comes to read about the Nautilus and its travelers in their adventures 20,000 leagues under the sea. Jules Verne was a classic adventure and a very well-presented science fiction story for its day. The wonders of the sea however would in the consciousness of mankind pale beside this tortured man who chose to live apart not just from the laws of man, but the very natural habitat of his species.
He was living mystery that survived through the centuries.
And now, another Nemo rescued us, gave us shelter, and even as he bled he revealed – that he possessed power over us. How could you trust such a man?
"If you allow a man a chance to be good, then he will be good" Captain Nobel said to me. "But if you expect only evil from someone, then evil is something you breed in both your hearts."
"Why? It's not... as easy as you make it sound, sir. We could be in so much danger again. Where is the justice in that?"
"Because we must, because anything less it would be a betrayal of everything they died for. We must put our fate in someone else's hand not because we're afraid, but because we are brave enough to believe that there is still good in the world."
Everyone else had left to their own rooms. Nemo was in his plush bedroom. Nemo was arrogant and bombastic and sometimes he was just such a child. That was even more terrifying, because how could you trust someone with such power with so little self-control? A tantrum would do so much damage.
Captain Nobel and I were standing right outside the door. "We have all lost people. Not just this time, but every time we as Explorers set out. I've seen comrades die screaming, Mind Worms burrowing into their eye sockets to lay eggs inside their brains. I am not saying this to say this loss isn't the greatest we've suffered – but that we as Gaians, it is also a part of our nature to live with sacrifice.
If he did not come along, what do you think would have happened?"
"Maybe the Morgans would come around in a day or two. Maybe they'd do it to finish us off. The lifeboats… they would have enough battery power to bring us to shore. But if we did that, our fuel cells might not have enough to keep charging our air recyclers and water purifiers. We would…" here I took a deep breath. "We would have to draw lots."
Our main problem was air – Chiron had very low oxygen levels, and enough atmospheric pressure with nitrogen compounds to make every breath poison. Inert gas necrosis after prolonged exposure could be expected from breathing in the barely breathable air at sea level.
People had to die so we could survive. If I had to give my life up, I could only hope to face it with so much dignity.
"Do you understand what I'm asking from you?"
I nodded and prepared my heart. "Yes, sir."
He just sighed and began rubbing at his forehead. "No. Clearly, you don't. It doesn't matter if he rescued us, it doesn't matter that he's been so helpful. You are a trained medic. You're going in there to help. Anything more than that? If he tries anything, it is your duty to beat his face like a drum until he stops."
"… sir, maybe we should bring back Adelaide for this."
"Not for gratitude, Jen, nor to secure an alliance. (Besides, in this condition? She'd kill him.)" He coughed. "Listen carefully, this is your mission."
"Sir."
"A man of mystery is only powerful as long as his mysteries remain a tantalizing prospect. I believe that is why he chose to ally with us, the Gaians. He knows we are the only ones who would respect his need to keep secrets. If he comes to us as a friend, then we Gaians will be his friend.
This has ever been our philosophy. A community is not a place, it is a connection to history and meaning, and ours is that never again shall we repeat that which led Earth to ruin."
"What does this have to do with Nemo? He's just one man."
"I am not blind, Jen. I recognize the way he walks, the way he talks, the way his eyes look at everything with a mixture of both familiarity and incomprehension. This is a man who might as well have walked straight off the blood-stained sands of southern Turkey or south California. I speak to him not as someone on Planet, but as unto a lost tourist on Earth, and he responds in kind."
I gasped and put a hand up to my lips. "Sir! Are you saying…?"
"That Earth may have sent a second expedition? It is possible, but we should have seen a drive flare by now."
"Then… what do you think this is all about?"
"I don't know. And this is what's most important, Jen. You have to communicate to him – it doesn't matter. We don't care. We will treat him as an equal, we will respect his boundaries, but neither are we going to kowtow to his whims. If he wants servants and sycophants, he can just get the hell out. There is no one else on this Planet that he can turn to who won't be full of prying jackholes."
"I… see."
"Take care of him, but don't let him push you around." The Captain paused to consider. "In fact… it might be better if you were a bit more aggressive with him."
"Sir!" I huffed. "I do not have that fetish."
"Why must you young people always put everything in a carnal context? I mean treat him as you would your brothers."
I put a hand over my heart and winced as I bowed. "I… can do that, sir."
o0o
Now Nemo looked up at me with a touch of fear in his eyes. Where was the sense in that?
'Why me? What power do I have over you?' I wanted to ask. We were playing a silly little farce where we pretended we were hiding nothing from each other. My captain ordered me to take care of him, and I did. I ordered him around, and he obeyed. It was as if instinctive for him. It looked as if he would tolerate from me anything short of nagging or physical violence.
It was a delicate dance. We could see how much Nemo enjoyed the sometimes vicious repartee between him and Captain Nobel. We all pushed, trying to provoke reactions from each other. It was… fun. It bordered on the disrespectful, as I said before.
I remembered: "Normally at this point a commanding officer would say that should you not get emotionally involved. But nuts to that. Be compromised. Get your emotions all tangled up in his well-being. You're not his handler. We're not the Morgans running a honey pot scheme. You're batwoman."
"… I don't follow." Na na na nan na na?
"Go and tell him that. If he's really from Earth, he's going to recognize what it really means."
"That glorious sunuvabitch…" was Nemo's response later. "An officer's orderly, without whom he might as well just stay in bed being useless to anybody. The Alfred to my Bruce Wayne. The Jurgen to my Ciaphas Cain. The Sancho Panza to myself as Don Quixote de La Mancha." He blinked, with his eyes owlishly wide. "That's… heh. All right. Let him know I really appreciate this."
"Um. May I ask why can't you just say it yourself, sir?"
"Because that would be rude, Jen. Just rude."
Please do not involve me in the infantile games between you two.
o0o
"What do you think I'm angry about this time?" I asked instead, in a much gentler tone of voice.
"I… honestly have no idea" was his response. He groaned. "I mean, there are far too many things, how the heck should I know? It's your call." He splayed his arms out as if ready to be crucified. "Just hit me with it."
This was probably the reason why I was the one trusted to supervise him. I was the only one among the crew that would NOT take advantage of the many openings to innuendo he offered.
Was he just playing with me? Was it just some sex thing after all? I was not a very worldly woman. I was not… experienced… in such things. But even I could tell that when that Morgan woman was trying to seduce him, what I initially thought was interest was actually sheer naked terror.
Treat him as you would your brothers. That was easy. Because as much as I respect my elder brother, Robert Marsh was sometimes just so much such a reckless idiot. And my youngest brother, William? Annoying. There were times I loved them to bits, and times when I would love to break them to bits. This was the normal sibling experience, I was told.
"You were whispering something to that Morgan woman…? You really scared her for a moment there, sir. I don't mean to imply anything, but… are you sure it's something that won't come back to bite you later?"
He let out a nervous laugh. "Yeah, about that… I really regret doing that."
"Umm." I shook my head. "No, I'm sorry. It's none of my business anyway, sir."
"For all I know, anything may happen now! It's probably just a coincidence!" he hurriedly added, as if that would offer any defense. Instead of taking my hint out of the uncomfortable line of questioning, it seemed he would rather double down on the idiocy. "Even if the logo for Morgan Metagenics looks anything like an Umbrella, that doesn't mean I may have to pre-emptively nuke the place!"
What.
Nukes. What. There were so many questions I wanted to ask, and I had to remind myself that I was not in any way allowed to beat any answers out of him. "Morgan Metagenics?" I asked hesitantly. "What's going to happen at Morgan Metagenics?"
He began to wave his arms around wildly. "Nothing! Probably nothing! Very much nothing!" he stopped. "… there's a tiny tiny tiny chance there may be zombies."
"Zombies." I said back tonelessly.
"I'm not proud of it…" he whimpered.
"You saw the future… and it was zombies."
He groaned louder and hid his face in his palms. "I'm not sure. I don't know… I can't know. She's too much like Alice, it's like the universe is taunting me."
'What is wrong with you?' I did not ask, because I knew the answer. Most likely it was the same thing that was wrong with me. "Who is Alice?' I asked, in a softer and more conciliatory tone of voice.
"Alice… is exactly like how she appeared on Resident Evil. If Miss deVorcelk has someone on staff named anything similar to Jill Valentine or Albert Wesker, I really don't want to have to clean that up."
Wait. Resident Evil. "Excuse me, what. Are you saying…" It was like a hammer was hitting me right behind eyeballs. "Do you mean … are you talking about fiction?"
"Um. Yes."
Fiction.
I closed my eyes and massaged my temples.
Fiction.
How much of anything he'd said so far could we take on face value?
This only really added more fuel to the time traveler theory. I sat on the table and picked up the cup of tea. I took a few sips in silence to collect myself. Ahh. This was a fine Gaian blend. Fiction.
Of course. If you had submarines, it was inevitable you would name one of them Nautilus. If you had a starship, it was inevitable one of them would be named Enterprise. And it would become one of the most decorated ships of the fleet, because the crew would take for granted that they had to live up to the name.
The ARM Empire... was that fictional too?
"This… Oh." I raised my thumb to my lips and began nervously chewing on my thumbnail. "I have no idea what I should do about this. Captain only said to hit you if you fucked it up. But if you're fucking with them, I don't know if I should cheer you on. This is an amazing way to get them to waste so much time and money chasing after shadows. Was this your plan all along?"
He groaned and covered his face with a pillow. "It's not planned."
"That… doesn't really matter, does it?"
There was no response for a long while, that I wondered if he did manage to choke himself. But eventually his voice filtered through the pillow – "Jen...?"
"Yes, sir?"
"I can't... I can't take vengeance for what happened. Only you – only Deirdre Skye – only the Gaians have the right to assign blame and call for reparations. I'm just here to help you get home."
It was a good thing his face was covered, he couldn't see me reel back as if I'd been backhanded. He was right. He was helping us out of the kindness of his heart and we've been just as brazenly using him.
"I understand. Please excuse my impudence…" My brother did not die for this.
"But what you said… is a really good idea."
"What."
"It's a nonviolent solution. I can do nonviolent solutions." He laughed while pressing the pillow even harder into his face. "The Spartans may feel my A-game. I don't think Deirdre can deny me that… though the Morgans may have led them to false conclusions… they are the still ones who made that final decision. It should have been equally as easy, even easier, to choose not to murder."
Here his voice drifted off into wonder. "For it to be so easy not to murder…"
There were so many questions that I wanted to ask, so many mysteries I wanted to unravel, so much injustice I wanted to see avenged. Yet, it would not be right.
I was, after all, a Gaian. I remembered the Gaian Acolyte's Prayer –
- - - I shall not confront Planet as an enemy, but shall accept
- - - its mysteries as gifts to be cherished. Nor shall I crudely
- - - seek to peel the layers away like the skin from an onion.
- - - Instead I shall gather them together as the tree gathers the
- - - breeze. The wind shall blow and I shall bend. The sky shall
- - - open and I shall drink my fill.
Like Planet itself, I would not seek to demand things from Nemo in all his strangeness and all his anachronisms, for whatever knowledge or wealth I might gain was not worth the friendship we cultivated.
Oh...! If only it were possible for Nemo and my brother to meet each other, I am sure they would have become fast friends too.
o0o
Because brothers and sisters were natural nemeses.
When viewing him through that lens, it was surprising how very little I had to fear. It was surprisingly how little restraint I had to exercise in the danger of offending him somehow. The power he represented was intimidating, but once you figured out that much like Captain Nobel he relished being able to provoke reactions out of people, the best response was just a calm unamused stare.
"That is adorable." Captain Nobel once said, upon seeing my stern disapproving gaze for the first time.
"Stop bullying my XO, Jacob." Captain Boothby came to my defense. Now hers was a glare that could strip paint off a hull! I spent so much time in front of a mirror trying to imitate that look.
A shower of viscera, eyes full of shock, as the head starts to peel away from the neck –
I closed my eyes and took six deep calming breaths. I blinked and turned my focus back onto my work –
o0o
A day had passed, and we all had enough of the Morgans and their lifestyle.
Adelaide and Rommel approached, each carrying a heap of monogrammed towels. "Hey, Nemo. Since you're the one paying for all of this, the Captain said to ask if it's okay to steal the all towels in the suite."
I looked up from the checklist, about to ask "… why?" when Nemo responded with clear understanding.
"Oh, right. It's tradition." It's a what? "If this high-class hotel can't deal with its guests keeping some souvenirs, it's out of luck getting its high-paying clients back for a second stay."
"See?" Adelaide said, bumping Rommel with her hip. "It's fine. Pack it in."
"Not so fast! We need a second opinion. Jenny, what do you think?"
I turned away, completely losing interest. "You may steal if you want. It's a small thing, all it takes is knowing you can live with yourself as a thief."
"Tch. Fine." Adelaide put her towels on top of Rommel's pile, covering his face.
Nemo tilted his head slightly. "Wait a second, why bother asking me if the final decision's going to be Jenny's anyway? It's not like I don't understand it, what with the whole Gaian chain of command and all… but what's the point in asking twice?"
"There was always the chance you two would agree on the best decision." Rommel answered carefully as he shuffled away.
"What the hell." Nemo turned and pointed at me. "What is this, Jen? Are you my Jenemy Cricket now?!"
I looked up. "Jenemy Cri… oh. Jiminy Cricket. Pinocchio." I loved that movie. Let your conscience be your guide. I smiled. "Yes. Yes I am."
He looked stunned for a moment, then his face spread out into the most awestruck boyish grin. "I can live with that."
I held the data slate up to my face. I was no longer some giggly teenager, surely I was not blushing.
"HELLOO CAMPERS!" Captain Nobel burst into the room and announced "WE'RE ALL PACKED UP AND READY TO GO! EVERYBODY OUT, CHOP CHOP. EXCEPT YOU TWO OVER THERE, DON'T THINK I DON'T SEE YOU HAVING A MOMENT THERE.
WE'LL COME BACK IN TWO HOURS, LOVEBIRDS. TEE TEE EFF ENN."
"I approve." I said out loud.
"Eh?"
"If you want to go over there and strangle the Captain? I'd just like you to know I pre-emptively approve of that course of action."
"You are the best conscience." Nemo replied with an gleeful grin, and he leapt off the couch to spar against the Captain some more.
Captain Nobel was a master at breaking sequence. I did not whether to be relived or annoyed every time he implied something about Nemo and myself… the harder he pushed us together, the more we would try to keep our distance. Or maybe he was training us to think it would not be such a bad thing?
A true master at Social Psychology. He was not the Gaian's foremost Explorer for nothing, able to hold together a crew for years in isolation in out in the wilderness. He was like that odd uncle in the family, the one who always showed up at around mealtimes, and you were never quite sure if he was a bum or just independently wealthy.
Captain Nobel and Nemo were gyrating in place and clawing at the air. Oh Planet. Some sort of rap battle?
o0o
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MEMSTOR from DATALINKS keyword "Unity Rover"
- n received:
The U.N.S. Unity was stocked with many of lightly armed Unity Rovers, intended for use in exploring Planet's landmasses. Most Landing Pods had between four to six inside in a disassembled state, while many more were intended to be dropped in Unity Supply Pods rather than take up valuable room inside Unity Landing Pods. Powered by a small 275 kW radiothermal generator good for 14 years of operation, and a 1500 kWh energy bank, Rovers were critical for the early exploration of Planet. Apart from seating for the crew and passengers, it also contained a small galley and plenty of room for miscellaneous cargo or mission packs. Dimensions inside were fairly tall and with 'wasted' volume, so conditions were fairly comfortable.
A Unity Rover was capable of supporting seven Explorers or new colonists for weeks without contact with a base. The first Explorer teams packed their Unity Rover full with several months worth of supplies and a backup generator, and rode outside as they mapped all around the landing site. They set up base camps and supply caches for later waves of Explorers and resource Surveyors, who often had to proceed on foot.
Only later would the Industrial Base and the assembly of new radiothermal generators (due to the lack of usable fossil fuels) allow the manufacture of new Rover vehicles. And with them, an evolving Doctrine: Mobility would form the earliest cornerstone for organized defense and response to emergencies on Planet.
