A/N: This story is dedicated to the memory of Gareth E.E. Brown (1966-1988), the brother of DaddyOrson, after whom the Captain is named.
∞ ∞ ∞
Day 00001 Mission Nilex
Over the hours, Captain Gareth Levant watched as the group steadily grew to some fifteen hundred people. They bustled amongst each other, unloading shuttle after shuttle. Hydroponic, lab, medical, geological, and waste-recycling equipment, farm tractors, prefab houses, crates and crates of items. Small crates, to crates that filled the entire cargo bay of the big-haul shuttles, all of it unloaded with efficiency.
The people themselves were colorful. Many of the men wore dark beards and multicolored turbans, and all the women wore decorative headscarves over their hair. All wore a belt over their intricately patterned robes. The hubbub of the people grew louder as their numbers grew, but it was an amicable noise. Gareth listened, but he heard no swearing, no voice raised in anger, no arguments.
«What are you thinking?» the ship's A.I. communicated within his mind.
He continued to observe Canaisis using her magnetic 'hands' to rotate a shuttle towards the exit tunnel as it floated a few feet above the floor. He smiled a little as the people stared at the shuttle as if they hadn't seen it happen over a dozen times already.
«I'm thinking,» he thought in reply, «they're still amazed at what you can do.»
«That's a good deflection, Captain, and might be the truth at this moment. But I know you better than that. And you know that's not what I was asking,» Canaisis added with slight chiding in her voice.
Gareth's smile grew a little bigger. «I'm not really thinking anything—I'm observing these people. There's something different about them.»
«What are you observing that has your interest?»
«Well... I'm not sure. I agreed for us to take them to New Jordan because the Nilex Corporation sent a request-query for this group to be colonized. I didn't base my decision on that—it was the group leaders' profiles that caught my attention. I'm still interested in why you included the profiles with the request, Canaisis.»
A second of silence passed before Canaisis replied, «It was included in the initial requests I received upon first entering the Sol system. It's unusual for a laser message to arrive before I approach Neptune. The resources involved must have been immense for them to monitor for me and locate me. They had the request prepared and kept a message laser on standby with no knowledge of our arrival time nor vector of approach. I received it before Earth's current governing body contacted me by several minutes. Since it was unusual, I included its entirety.»
«Why didn't you inform me of this immediately?»
«You came out of sleep, Captain, and asked about my status, same as you always do. Then you asked for our location. When I told you, you asked if we had contact with Earth. You were still a little groggy, and I felt you could wait for the extra data. Does this data change anything, Captain?» Canaisis asked with slight concern in her voice.
«No, Canaisis, I can't say it does. I'm sorry I was a little short with you. But you know how it is with first contact after being away for so long. We just don't know what we'll be dealing with.»
«I understand, Captain. We've been through this enough times. I know how worried you are for our safety. Interaction with Humans is part of your skill set—I prefer to observe and trust your judgement. Do these colonists cause you concern, now that you've observed them?»
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CANAISIS ∞ Chronicle One: The Last Living Ship ∞ 1: A New Mission
Science FictionBook 1 of CANAISIS ∞ The Last Living Ship trilogy (Chronicles of Canaisis 1) Can a ship, born to sail the ocean of stars to ensure Humankind's survival, save her Captain from the void within his own heart? ∞ ∞ ∞ Canaisis is the last of her kind, a L...
