Transmigrant - Chapter 15
Copyright © 2024 Stephen B. Anthony
We are seeds, scattered by the winds, uncertain of where we’ll take root. His future lies beyond these titanium walls, but I fear we’ve crafted a world where he’ll forever be a stranger.
—Roman Decker
CHAPTER 15
The opaque curtain of the Adamastor jump gate vanished, and the ring powered down, leaving behind empty space. No one had followed them, and, without the algorithm, it was unlikely that anyone would.
As they emerged from the wormhole, the view transformed. The distant star of Tempus gleamed ahead, casting a warm glow. Ray scanned the ship’s systems.
“Status?” Ray asked, his voice steady.
“All systems green,” Estia confirmed, her eyes on the monitors.
“We made it,” Kaylie said, a hint of relief in her voice.
Ray leaned forward, his eyes narrowing with focus. “Good. Now, let’s track down Bradford and secure that artifact.” His voice was steady, almost clipped. “Estia, set a course for Tempus. We need to stay off the grid.”
“On it,” Estia replied, fingers dancing over the controls.
Kaylie leaned back in her seat, exhaling deeply. “That was close.”
Ray nodded. “And it’s only going to get more difficult from here. Let’s see what’s here,” he said, looking at the navigation map.
Ray could only find sparse details in the ship’s navigation system, and most of those details appeared to be notes from Ichiro. Ray identified five planets. The third, Tempus, was in the habitable zone. When he zoomed in on Tempus, he found a settlement called Mossley Landing. Like Tellarius, this was the only settlement on the planet. Unlike New Virginia, Mossley Station comprised an interconnected series of domes, which was like what they might have built on Tellarius if the atmosphere had needed improvements.
Ray scanned through Ichiro’s log entries about the ground station. They named it after the first colonist who arrived there. Like Ray, he had been the first to stand on a new planet. He had died over forty years ago. Ray wondered if Mossley would have been the type to be upset by a broken reproduction lab on their ship.
The colonist’s ship, the Meridian, would now be derelict, circling the planet in medium orbit. He wondered when someone had last visited the craft. No one from Tellarius visited the Perseus anymore. The tired old structure just sat there in space above Tellarius, occasionally firing maneuvering thrusters to stay in orbit but otherwise powered down. Visiting it would be an ordeal, requiring spacesuits because of the lack of atmosphere and gravitics. He wondered if the same would be true of the Meridian.
“It’ll be exciting to see a whole new world,” Kaylie said.