Pericles - first landing

Jantara paused at the foot of the ladder, looking across the open … woodland? … prairie? Neither description fitted. The strange, scattered mop-topped trees and tussocky grass shone purplish in the morning sunlight: sunlight with too much red.

This landing breaks every first footing rule and protocol.

Her eyes swept out to the horizon and its hint of mountains.

But we have no choice.

There could be no cautious exploration and environmental testing – with instruments they did not have. Unloading the Pericles would take every available drop of fuel for the shuttle.

Somehow, we must survive on this world.

Somehow …

“Everything Okay, Jan?” Charlie’s voice crackled in her helmet.

She was conscious of the airlock external camera staring down at her. They’d debated who would go first and she’d won the argument: if we’re not cruising the stars, we don’t need a navigator. If something goes wrong, I’m the expendable one: new planets hold many potential dangers.

Here goes nothing.

Jantara opened her suit visor and sniffed the air: a hint of something spicy yet sweet, a tang of sea from the large bay sparkling a kilometre away.

Salted caramel, perhaps? I suppose sea spray smells this way, whatever the world.

A deeper breath brought a slight metallic taste to the sides of her tongue.

Maybe the higher oxygen concentration? It’s so different from the canned air I’ve been breathing for months.

She stretched a booted foot onto the strange coloured grass, testing the footing.

Of course it’s firm, you idiot. There’s a 1000 tonne shuttle sitting on it and we deep radared this whole site.

She stepped onto the ground. “The fresh air tastes great, Charlie. Open the hold and we can start unloading.”

A hydraulic thrum accompanied the external door as it lowered into a ramp. Once it had settled, Jantara walked up into the hold. Two forklifts waited at the entrance with a man and woman in Pericles overalls approaching. The colonist database had selected the pair as they had warehouse experience. Behind them were twenty overall-clad colonists chosen for their strength and construction skills.

“Hi there. I’m Jantara.”

 “I’m Choy and this is Andrew.” The woman glanced at her companion. “Neither of us are expert forklift drivers, you know.” Her wary stance and darting eyes reinforced her words.

Jantara smiled to calm their nerves. “We’re all improvising, given our circumstances. The ship’s AI reckons you’ll be fine.” She slapped the side of the nearest palette. “Check the palette code and your tablet will give you the location to place it relative to this beacon – when I’ve planted it.”

Jantara pulled the marker beacon from its housing on the wall and walked back down the ramp. “Okay Charlie. I’ve got the beacon …” she flipped its power switch. “And it’s on. I’m heading towards the edge of the clearing. Tell me when to plant it.”

“Another fifty meters. Bear slightly to your right.”

Behind her, she could hear the electric whine of a forklift as she walked towards the clearing’s edge.

“Stop for a moment, Jan.”

Jan cast a wary eye over the tall mop-headed tree twenty meters in front of her, its smooth trunk hiding its feet in dense shrubs: shrubs that could hide anything beneath their almost black, purple-grey veined leaves. The orbital survey had found no large animals on this continent. But, like everything since they realised their desperate plight, they had to hurry it and a large animal would be tiny in the images the AI had studied.

“Okay. Go forward one and a half meters and then two meters left.”

Jan watched her tablet as she moved.

“That’s perfect. Lock it down there.”

Jan plunged the spike into the soil and activated the beacon, stepping back as it screwed itself into the ground. The solar panels unfurled around its transmitter head and the unit beeped.

“That’s it, Jan, the grid’s set up for the unloading. Get the hold cleared so I can return to the Pericles for the next load.”

Jan glanced at the tablet on her left forearm. “On it.”

First construction is the solar power plant.

The grid highlighted the location. She could see a cart and palette headed in that direction.

A rustle from behind whirled her round. The closest black-leaved shrub shook several times, emanating loud growls.

Jan jumped back, heart thumping. A brown, knee-high six-legged animal rolled out of the thrashing bush. She scrabbled for the pistol on her belt. “I’ve got company.”

The animal stopped rolling, but the growling increased, interlaced with sharp yips. Jan counted more legs as the pistol came free in her hand: two animals – one on top of the other. They rolled again and the bottom animal extricated itself amid snarls. Twisting its body, it aimed a stream of yellowish liquid at the other, from what she assumed was its rear end. The breeze carried the overpowering odour to her – sewage, rotting eggs, burnt rubber. She slammed her visor down, letting her air system filter out the stench.

“Are you okay Jan?”

I startled a skunk in the woods. It sprayed me and I ran back to the house, screaming.

“Jan?”

My mother scrubbed my legs raw, trying to remove the stench.

“Jan?” Charlie’s voice held a tinge of fear.

She blinked several times, clearing the tears the rank odour had evoked, shocked by the agonising memory.

“Yes, Charlie…” Jan coughed. “That took me right back to a childhood encounter with a skunk.” She coughed again, retreating from the stained patch of grass. “But I think this stench is even worse. Thankfully, none of the liquid landed on me.”

“Hmm – I’ve marked that spot to warn people to stay clear.”

Jan’s tablet sprouted a yellow warning sign marking the spot. “Good idea.”

“Are you okay?”

Jan watched the two animals waddle off in opposite directions at what she suspected was their full six-legged speed. The one which had been sprayed blundered into a tree trunk and stopped, pawing at its face.

You poor thing – I know how you feel.

“Yes, Charlie. I’m fine.”

The animal disappeared into the undergrowth. “You might add pictures of those animals to the briefing, so people know to stay clear.”

“Done. The unloading should be complete in fifty minutes.”

In his voice, Jan heard the urgency they all felt.

“Understood.” She flipped her visor back up and sniffed – no trace of the stench. Her to-do list reminded her to get a soil and vegetation sample. Back at the shuttle, she picked the sampler from its rack and walked away from the shuttle’s far side to get a sample away from the engine scorch. With that complete, she returned it to its mount in the hold for the biologist to retrieve back in orbit.

I need to change out of this suit before the shuttle departs – but I’m glad I was wearing it.

Another palette was about to depart and she waved the driver to stop. “I’m hitching a lift, if that’s OK?”

They followed a track already established towards the other palettes. Once the shuttle left for another load, they could start construction.

We need the solar power up and running to recharge the carts ready for the next load. After that was the water purification system and then …

And that was just the first page of the schedule they and the AI had worked out.

Stop thinking, Jan. Get doing.