1. Immortal: "No young man believes he shall ever die," said Stek, who had turned forty the week before. "But we both know that's not true, don't we? Just think of all that we could achieve if we didn't grow old and die just as we are getting starte...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
The Saranyu shot out of the Starlock andLeesa came back to the present with a jolt.
There was a moment of silence as Bujold synced the exact location of the Starlock with both the ships' computer and Leesa. As long as no-one else entered the 'lock, and at least one of their two pilots was alive, the Saranyu would be able to find her way home. This particular 'lock would be quarantined until their return, or exactly twelve months from their departure—whichever came first.
"All complete, Captain," announced Bujold, into the silence. Everyone relaxed from a tension they hadn't realised they'd been holding.
"Let's see where we are then. Leguin? Viewing screen active, please." Captain Asaro's steady voice issued instructions. "Norton? Will you check on everyone's status, and report back to me? McCaffrey, now we're out of the lock, can you take over from Bujold—I'm sure she needs a break. Did that transit seem longer than usual to anyone else?" She stood, stretched and then sat down again, eager to see their surroundings as Leguin brought up the viewing screen and Leesa confirmed their position.
"Welcome to Cygnus Quadrant, gentle sapiens," murmured Leguin, who had rather an unfortunate addiction to science fiction holovids. "We're right where we should be."
"Excellent work, Bujold," Asaro praised her 'lock pilot.
Black space filled the screen, dotted with pinpoints of light. If she was honest, although Asaro knew they had travelled over 1400 light years from Earth and were in the vicinity of their target, the G-type star Kepler 452, at first glance it looked like anywhere else in space. Black and mostly empty.
"Mercedes, set the coordinates for Kepler 452b, would you? Time to discover if the planet they discovered all those years ago back on Earth is suitable for colonisation."
The ship powered through space and Leguin adjusted the viewing screens. A glow in the top right quadrant grew brighter as they approached and it wasn't long before Asaro could see a dark shape becoming more visible in the foreground. Kepler 452b. In less than an hour, they could see the planet clearly. A large disc with scattered patches of green and brown surrounded by... blue? Asaro sucked in her breath. Was it possible? Had they really found a planet with surface water... or was the blue something else? It was too soon to tell, she told herself, trying not to get her hopes up.
"Looks like we have more than a few asteroids here, Captain," commented Mercedes, focussed on her own console unit as she engaged the ship's protective shields.
"Are we close enough to put the ship into orbit?" asked Asaro, eager to get started on the survey part of the voyage.
"Soon, Captain, I'll just get clear of this debris..." There was a small pause. She glanced across at Leesa, who nodded. "Right, ready when you are, Captain."
At Asaro's command, Leesa put the ship smoothly into orbit.
"We're here! Kepler 452b. Our home for the next six months. We'll collect what data we can from up here and if we're lucky, we'll be able to take the shuttle down to the surface in a few weeks and have a proper look."
Asaro glanced across at Norton as she said that, aware that the biologist was longing to get started on her research. She would be able to gather some basic information from the ship's probes, but her job wouldn't really start until she was down on the surface collecting samples.
Norton tore her eyes away from the planet and continued around the bridge, running her bioscanner over each of the women, checking that no-one had suffered any ill effects from the transit. "I know we need a new planet, but I can't help hoping we'll find life already here," she confessed. "Perhaps we'll be the first ones to find another intelligence. Wouldn't that be something! A nice change from amoeba and lichen."
She ran the scanner over Leesa McCaffrey. "Fit as a comet's tail," she murmured, moving on to the next person.
Asaro frowned as she watched Norton run the scanner over the new officer, Mercedes, for a second time. "Problems?" she asked.
Norton hesitated a moment. "I don't think so, but I'll run another check after I've seen the rest of the crew." She smiled reassuringly at Mercedes' worried expression. "I'm sure there's nothing to worry about, but I'd just like to run a couple more tests. No hurry, when you're finished here will be soon enough."
She turned to the Captain. "I'm just going down to check on the rest of the crew. I'll bet they're longing to get up and get started on their work."
Asaro nodded and Norton left the bridge, unaware of Mercedes' anxious eyes following her.
