Twilight Earth (12 page)

She was still breathing, but the computer also knew that although her lungs had accepted the new atmosphere, the rest of her body might be a little slower. Her body had originally been designed to function in an atmosphere very much like this, but since humans had joined the consortium, it had been required of them to adjust to a much thinner atmosphere in order to survive on a mixed race ship in space.

Although there were no records to support it, Addson’s race had to have originated either on this world or on one very environmentally close to it. Since ohto producing worlds were not that abundant, the choices were rather limited. Unfortunately, when the race fled their planet many thousands of cycles ago, they did so as refugees and all of their records were lost.

As the computer sat contemplating these thoughts, the barely functioning survey equipment bleeped out a warning; something was coming up from the far distant bottom. Something bigger than the skipper.

With no other recourse, no weapons and no way to hide, the small AI did the only thing it knew of to do. It began waking Addson.

Addson groaned after the third mild jolt from the computer. “What?” she finally said.

“Sensors have detected a large metallic object coming up from below us. It will surface near us in a few minutes. I awakened you as per our agreement."

That announcement made Addson’s eyes open wide. Was it the same people that had fired those missiles? No, why would they need to travel under the water? Then who could it be? In the records for this planet, there has never been a case of anything surfacing without assistance.

Well, regardless of who was about to surface, there was very little that Addson would be able to do about it. She only hoped they would help her instead of finishing off the job and kill her. She knew the object was under intelligent control since it seemed to be changing course and maneuvering so as not to surface directly under her.

It had to be the Pirates. There was no one else on the planet that needed to hide like that. The thought filled her with dread. She knew the Pirates didn’t take prisoners and had killed anyone unlucky enough to get in their way.

Addson wasn’t sure who it was once the craft did break the surface. Granted, she hadn’t known what to expect, but whatever the hell that craft was, it sure wasn’t what she expected. If these were the pirates, then they were using completely unfamiliar tech.

When the hatch opened she was shocked that the people were moving about without respirators. Suddenly, she remembered hearing that the Pirates didn’t need respirators and her fear returned full force.

The people threw a line to what was left of her skimmer and pulled her and the cockpit section into the hold of the small vessel. She could hear them talking and yelling at each other, but couldn’t make out what they were saying. She did feel a little better when one of the people wiped off a part of the canopy and peered inside. Addson saw it was a woman who smiled and waved at her, making Addson feel a little better.

“Although they appear to be human, I do not recognize the language they are speaking. I would have to connect with the main planetary data net to do more research, however,” offered the computer.

“Gods, it feels like I’m encased in ferrocrete and my head is pounding. I could have sworn you just said that you didn’t recognize the language they're speaking,” Addson replied, slowly blinking her eyes. The lights outside the pod were bright and made her head throb worse.

“I did say that. However, I would recommend you release the canopy latch before they begin ripping this hull open trying to get you out,” suggested the computer. “Not all of the equipment is damaged. Control would be grateful if we could return at least some of the equipment for salvage.”

“Somehow, I don’t think getting you back to Control will be all that easy. I don’t think these folks are the Pirates, but I don't think they want their presence known just yet either. However, before you freak out, let me try to figure out what’s going on here, okay?” Addson asked.

“In truth, there is nothing to be done anyway. The self-destruct was completely destroyed in the crash,” the AI said. “Besides, this might be an interesting adventure."

Addson released the canopy latch, and it hissed open. The woman who had waved at her, very carefully stepped inside. She was trying not to jostle Addson as well as not touch any of the equipment in the tightly packed cabin.

The woman asked her a question. Her voice was almost musical and for a brief moment, Addson thought she was beautiful. Giving herself a slight shake, she told herself that it was the drunken feeling that the computer had told her about.

Assuming the question had been either ‘How do you feel?’ or ‘Where does it hurt?’ Addson pointed to her knee and then her ribs and finally her head.

Someone asked another question and this time Addson had no idea what was asked. She shook her head, which was a bad idea and groaned as she felt herself spin and the nausea got worse. “I’m sorry, I don’t understand you.”

The woman cocked her head to one side and slowly nodded her understanding. She put her hand to her own breast and said, slowly, ‘Sophia’.

Addson aped the woman and said her name as well.

Sophia smiled and said something that sounded a lot like ‘Greetings, Addson’

Smiling, Addson sighed and rested her head on the cushion of her seat. Sophia spoke to someone outside the pod and soon, people started handing her supplies.

Addson looked at the supplies curiously, and then decided to ask the computer if it knew what was going on.

“It appears that this woman, Sophia, is going to place a pressure splint on your knee to immobilize it. Try to assist her in this. It will help you greatly in the long run, although it might be painful to begin with since she will have to set it.” The injector slot opened once again and Addson took the offered injector. “As before, please inject this three to four inches above the broken area. It will help with the pain.”

Addson noticed that Sophia was watching her and had been listening, although it was clear she hadn’t understood all of the conversation. Addson smiled at her and tried to hold the injector against her leg. She was having a hard time since every time she would get it into place; she began shaking too badly to pull the trigger.

Sophia touched Addson’s hand to get her attention. When Addson looked up, Sophia gently took the injector and placed it against the leg. She looked to Addson for confirmation of the placement and Addson moved her hand a little further down, before nodding.

There was a slight hiss from the injector and Addson felt her leg from the knee down going numb again. Addson nodded to the splint and laid her head back.

Sophia very carefully lifted the broken leg up, onto the couch where she had prepared the splint. Once she had gotten it into position, she reset the bones, locked the stabilizing bars, closed the plastic and neoprene wrapping, and then triggered the CO2 inflating canister. The splint held the leg from mid-thigh, all the way down to the ankle and would make removing Addson from the pod much less painful for her.

However, those ribs were going to cause a problem getting her out of there. Her team would need to tape the ribs, but even then, they were going to hurt like a bitch. This person seemed like a sweet girl and Sophia really didn’t want to cause her any more pain than was absolutely necessary.

Sophia wondered what kind of machine that was that gave the girl the analgesic. The language she and the machine had been speaking seemed close to Latin, but there were a lot of differences that made understanding unreliable.

Correctly assuming that she had been addressing some kind of medical computer system, Sophia addressed it, speaking Latin, to hopefully try to get a treatment plan figured out for her new patient.

After a few minutes of listening to Sophia, the PA was surprised when the computer answered her in passable Latin and letting her know the patient's name was Addson. They discussed Addson’s condition and the best way to get her out of the pod and into the infirmary.

Sophia smiled to herself. That emergency AI would certainly come in handy when trying to talk to the girl, with its knowledge of the systems that had been aboard Addson’s ship. However, the important thing was getting Addson down to the infirmary.

––––––––

The fact that the occupant of the escape pod was human was a relief to the rescuers. Up to the point where they actually saw her, there had been no guarantee that she would be. It was also very obvious she was hurt badly, and the PA did everything she could to help and make her as comfortable as possible.

The technology in the pod was pretty advanced and the crew felt it would help the people to learn more about the new world they found themselves in. The fact that the girl did not speak English would hinder them, but not for long. This girl was very important to the survivors. She represented knowledge that they desperately needed in order to decide how to proceed; do they stay hidden? Is it safe for them to come out? Where the survivors in danger?

There were so many questions they needed answers to. The rescuers would report that the damage and wreckage they saw looked more like an accident than an attack, since there did not appear to be any blast damage. However, the bases sensors registered an explosion, although this wreckage did not show any signs of it. So, what caused the explosion? Was there war on the surface of the planet still? Had the human race indeed returned home only to have someone try to take it away from them?

So many questions and no answers. That was the reason the Prime Councilor had sent them to rescue this girl. He hoped to be able to learn something of the world they have found themselves in. The possibilities seemed endless. Did the Sal'andori return to make war on the human race? What about that other race the records mentioned; the lizards? When humanity left the planet, they had been poorly equipped to defend themselves; fleeing defeat and the loss of their home world. Where had they gone? Who had they met?

Answers.

They needed answers, and needed them badly. The girl they had pulled from the wreckage didn't seem all that old, but she seemed calm enough. Considering her injuries and the fact that she had to be in a lot of pain, the rescuers felt a grudging respect for her and a little protectiveness. The PA told them that the computer in her pod said she wasn't used to this atmosphere would appear to be drunk until she got used to it. The girl had become used to more helium, CO, and other trace gasses that simply didn't exist in those quantities in normal Earth air. So how and more important, why did she breath a different atmosphere than they did? That didn't make sense at all. The PA shrugged her ignorance of the answer. It was just another question to add to the pile already awaiting the girl once they got her back to base.

Where to take her had never been a question to the team. Ben was the Prime Councilor and he needed the answers this girl had, so she would be taken to the Command Pod Medical Unit. There she would be allowed to heal before she was questioned for her knowledge. At least the girl didn't seem dangerous. Two of the grunts said they would stay with her and provide a guard detail while she was being treated. They would be protecting her as much as they would be protecting the survivors.

Yes, this girl would be questioned, because they all desperately needed her knowledge; with any luck at all the people of the surface world would think the young girl to have drown and not come looking for her.

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B
en Winston (1965 - ?) was born in Iowa and grew up in Minnesota on the family dairy farm. Upon reaching adulthood, he joined the United States Army as a communications technician. Before getting out of the military, he decided to go to school for computer electronics.

Shortly after getting out of the military, and after getting a new job with an over-seas company, he was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease. A month after beginning the new job, he was laid off due to budget over-runs on the project he was hired for. Upon returning to the United States, he had difficulty maintaining employment because of the chronic illness.

He began writing as a form of stress release, from being home bound and not being able to work, and found he liked writing erotica. Ben wrote a trilogy called the Talosian Chronicles (Currently in rewrite to remove the graphic sex and finalized his vision of the story). The first book, Star Dancer, won awards and was nominated for many others by the online communities where it was posted.

Ben Winston returned to school for literature, after completion, he began writing professionally. Being an avid fan of science fiction he focused on this genre. He was, and still is, influenced and inspired by Gene Roddenberry, Anne McCaffery, David Weber, Isaac Asimov, and Ray Bradbury. Some of his favorite movies and TV shows are; Battlestar Galactica (both versions), Andromeda, Star Trek, Firefly, Star Wars, and many of the B-rated movies that were actually box-office bombs.

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Ben Winston

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by Ben Winston

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