THE HODMANDOD EFFECT
CHAPTER FOUR

The Astraeus entered orbit on its revised schedule and started taking samples of the atmosphere. Data acquired indicated it was raining over 95% of the planet. Only the extreme poles were void of rainfall. However, both were under blizzard like conditions. Several surface probes were launched and successfully soft-landed in mud. Some touched down in surface conditions so saturated they sank in the mire, under their own weight, and quickly became useless. The desired landing spot was drenched, but three probes sent specifically to that area reported the ground was still dense enough for the shuttle and even for the Elpis to land. The week went by quickly, and all information gathered offered no clue of the League’s whereabouts.

The air was good to breathe, the rain was simple water, and conditions were viable enough to risk a launch.

Davis pointed out, being the expert in atmospheric conditions, that there was no sign of storms…only rain. He advised it was like one would see on Earth; a tropical rain. No high winds were detected and only slight and momentary flashes of lightning were recorded. Grudgingly, he submitted his atmospheric report to Brubaker. To be on the safe side, the captain had BOB-2 confirm the replaceings.

BOB-1 would pilot the shuttle craft. Rooney nor Stone were trained to operate it. The men loaded the shuttle with their weapons and supplies while the robot performed his pre-flight check. In the shuttle bay were Brubaker, Fisk and John Rogers, the Elpis pilot. He was watching BOB-1 as a precaution to make sure nothing was missed. If they were to lose the soldiers, and BOB-1, it would be devastating to the mission. The captain wanted to make sure nothing was left to chance.

During the process of preparing for launch, the air lock door to the tiny shuttle bay opened. Rooney looked around to see Leslie walking in, a sheepish look on her face. Neither had spoken to one another for weeks. Rooney was angry and she was feeling too guilty for words. Leslie did have feelings for Rooney, but her honesty had hurt him, and she knew it. He was about to load a duffle bag of ammo into the shuttle when she started to walk toward him. Rooney dropped it to the floor and met her halfway.

“Hey,” she said, quietly.

“Hey,” he replied.

“I just wanted to wish you luck,” Leslie told him. “We’re all counting on you.”

“I’m glad you came,” Rooney said, deciding to let this conversation be civil. “It means a lot to me.”

“How long do you think it will take to check things out?”

“I don’t know,” Rooney said, honestly. “A couple of days or maybe even a couple of weeks. We have to be sure it’s safe for the Elpis and for you.”

“Dr. Davis told us about the League being here,” she admitted. “Is it safe for you to go down there?”

Rooney smiled.

“I think the question should be, is it safe for the League when I get there?”

Leslie lightly laughed and shook her head. She touched his bulging chest and looked into his eyes.

“Be safe…okay?”

“I will. Thank you.”

She then turned and walked out of the shuttle bay, not slowing to look back. Rooney followed her with his eyes until she disappeared behind the door. He turned to see Brubaker had been standing behind him. He had a wry grin on his face.

“Be safe, Pookey,” he said.

“Fuck you….sir,” Rooney replied.

Both men laughed and shook hands.

“Stay in constant touch,” Brubaker ordered. “Don’t take chances and don’t get into a fight if you don’t have to. Got it?”

“Got it,” Rooney said. “Don’t worry. We aren’t looking for a confrontation.”

“Good,” Brubaker responded, confident his man was a professional. “Best of luck to

you.”

“Thank you, sir,” Rooney said.

He walked over to the shuttle in time to see Stone throw the duffle bag of ammo into the cargo hold. The sergeant looked at Rooney as if he were aggravated.

“Do I have to do all the work around here?” He asked facetiously, smiling.

“Only when I’m saying goodbye to the folks, sergeant,” Rooney joked, slapping him on the shoulder.

Rogers stepped out and shook their hands.

“BOB-1’s got everything ready to go, gentlemen,” he confirmed. “You’re clear for launch.”

“Thanks, John,” Rooney said.

The crewmen walked out as Rooney and Stone got in the shuttle and secured the hatch. Rogers had their bio suits hanging inside and the two quickly put them on and fastened the helmets. They both went to their respective seats and strapped in. BOB-1 was positioned behind the control station, waiting for authorization from the bridge. It was silent for several moments before Brubaker’s voice came over the intercom.

“Okay, men,” he said. “Depressurizing shuttle bay.”

From inside the craft, the noise was minimal as air was sucked out and the atmosphere made equal to the space outside. It took about two minutes to complete.

“Opening shuttle bay door,” Brubaker announced.

Rooney and Stone were mesmerized by the sight. For the first time in over three and a half years of ship board time they were able to look out and see the stars with their own eyes and not on some monitor display. BOB-1 gently lifted the shuttle and slowly moved it outside the Astraeus’ protective hull. The soldiers looked out the portals and Ajax Strata Prime came into their view.

BOB-1 fired the thrusters and the sudden acceleration pushed Rooney and Stone back into their seats. Once they reached the desired speed, their robotic pilot turned the main engine to ON, increasing speed so they would be able to enter the planet’s atmosphere without bouncing off and hurtling into outer space, crippled and unable to return.

The shuttle vibrated tremendously as it entered Ajax’s atmosphere. Both men could see flames streaking from under the vessel, both hoping silently to themselves the heat shields would work. After several seconds, BOB-1 turned the main engine off and began to glide to the surface. Occasionally he would hit the thrusters to maneuver the ship and keep it on course. They soon reached the clouds and visibility was zero. BOB-1 switched to instruments and continued his perfect piloting of the craft. Below the clouds was an incessant rain. Large rivulets of water streaked across the portals and hammered the front windshield of the shuttle. BOB-1 slowed the craft with reverse thrusters and fired the landing rockets beneath the ship.

“This is it,” Rooney said to Stone.

“Yeah, partner,” Stone replied. “Welcome to whatever hell this is gonna be.”

BOB-1 set the shuttle down like a baby on a blanket, and turned off all engine and thruster power. The huge raindrops were pummeling the ship and even though it was intensely insulated, the sound was quite loud on the inside.

“Does water affect you?” Rooney asked BOB-1.

“My design provides adequate protection in adverse conditions,” he replied.

Stone looked at Rooney and mocked the robot, mouthing what he had just said and

rolling his eyes. Rooney laughed and shook his head. Stone began to unfasten the bio suit helmet.

“Hold it,” Rooney warned. “Keep that on. I don’t care what the probes say. We stay in these until I know for sure it’s safe to take them off.”

“Yes, sir,” Stone replied, making sure the helmet was still secure.

BOB-1 disengaged the locks that kept him in place at the controls and moved to where the soldiers were. Rooney took one of the AK’s and fixed it to BOB-1’s weapons harness.

“Okay, Bob,” he said. “You can’t change out the clip and we may not have a chance to do it for you. I have your weapon on single fire and you have thirty-one bullets at your disposal. One in the chamber and thirty in the clip. It’s off safety, so you all you have to do is pull the trigger. Just don’t aim it at us. If you have to use this thing, be sure you hit what you aim for.”

“My design provides for accurate target acquisition,” he said.

Stone mocked the robot as before, sitting behind him and wagging his head in the process. It was all Rooney could do to keep from laughing.

“Okay, Bob,” he told him. “That’s good to know.”

Rooney patted BOB-1 on what they believed was his head. He and Stone grabbed their weapons and extra ammo. They looked at each other and smiled broadly. The hatch was about to be opened, and they were going to step out onto a new and unexplored planet. The giddiness was almost too much for them. Rooney reached up and flipped a switch. The indicator light changed from red to green and the mechanical locks withdrew to allow the door to be opened.

Rooney swung the manual latch downward and pushed. The next thing he saw was the outside. The rain was pouring down but did not diminish his vision of the plant life. It was unlike anything he had ever seen. He pushed the communication button on his bio suit.

“Shuttle Alpha to Astraeus,” he said.

“Astraeus here, go ahead Alpha,” Brubaker’s voice replied.

“Shuttle Alpha on the surface. Helluva rain here, sir. Otherwise we are in good shape and proceeding with reconnaissance mission.”

“Proceed with caution, Alpha,” Brubaker said. “Astraeus out.”

The men and their robot exited the shuttle and secured the latch. The first thing that Rooney noticed about the plant life is it didn’t seem to be beaten down from the heavy rain. On

Earth, he thought, the plants would be leaning over from the onslaught. Here, on Ajax, the plants were seemingly thriving underneath it. The leaves and limbs of the plants were thrust up and outward, receiving the rain as if it were a god. The pelting of the drops was met with an undulating movement, as if the plants were alive.

“What do you make of that, Bob?” Rooney asked. “The way these plants are reacting to the rain.”

“The flora is not unlike some species on Earth,” he said. “However, the plants here are the rule, and not the exception.”

“Are they sentient?”

“Unable to determine without further study,” BOB-1 replied.

“At least they’re green,” Stone observed. “They look odd, but at least they’re green.”

Rooney approached one of the bushes closest to the shuttle craft. It had leaves that were pentagon shaped and broad. The stalks, or limbs, of the bush were thick with bulbous protrusions on them. The trunk of the bush couldn’t be seen for the plethora of leaves it possessed. There was no visible reaction from the plant as Rooney approached it. When he got close enough, he reached out with a hand and touched one of its leaves. As with any plant, it was not aware of Rooney’s presence and did not display movement adverse to his touch. Rooney plucked the leaf from its stem and watched. Nothing happened. He turned to Stone.

“It’s just a plant,” he said. “I guess we should expect seeing things we don’t understand right now.”

“That would be a logical approach,” BOB-1 chimed in.

Stone mocked him again.

“Okay,” Rooney said, smiling. “Let’s move out. Bob, you take the lead.”

“Affirmative,” BOB-1 replied. “My sensors indicate the most advantageous landing coordinates for the League ship would be in a northerly direction.”

“Then let’s go,” Rooney ordered.

The three trudged north in the thick mud. BOB-1 took point and Rooney followed twenty feet behind. Stone took up the rear, trailing Rooney by another twenty feet. The two soldiers communicated with their bio suit intercoms while BOB-1 had a remote link with them. The footing was treacherous in most places. Sometimes the men would sink up to their shins. Other times, BOB-1 would bog down and they would need to help him out.

After thirty minutes they came upon a rock formation that glistened as the rain struck it. They went to investigate and found that the rock had veins streaking through it. BOB-1 took a sample and ran a quick analysis.

“Gold,” he said.

“Kiss my ass,” Stone said, shocked at the replace.

“Please repeat command,” BOB-1 replied.

“Never mind,” Rooney said, chuckling. “Keep moving.”

Brubaker checked in with them every half hour on the hour. After hearing about the surface conditions, he wasn’t surprised they had made no more progress than they had. Two hours into their march, they had managed to travel one kilometer…or .6 miles. They had plenty of daylight left and trudged on.

Even though birds had been seen by the Adventure’s probes, none were evident in the drenching rain. They did see a few smaller animals that defied comparison of anything on earth.

There was a biped thing that had scales but didn’t appear to possess a head. Another animal raced in front of them on eight legs with hair on its back more than a foot long. It trailed behind the creature from being soaked in the rain and was covered in mud. Another was clutching to the trunk of a large tree. This one had six legs and almost no hair. Its face was crumpled and the mouth was formed into a permanent and grotesque smile, revealing a full set of pearly white teeth that was not unlike a human’s. However, Rooney was keeping one eye out for the blue creatures. He wasn’t convinced they were not a danger.

Four hours into the march, BOB-1 suddenly stopped. Rooney raised a fist and crouched down. Stone did the same, looking all around. The men waited and watched while BOB-1 conducted a wide scan. It seemed as if the robot was having trouble locking on to what had disturbed him. Rooney duck-walked to him and let him have a few more moments.

“What’s the problem?” Rooney finally asked him.

“Readings indicate a League signature two kilometers to the east,” BOB-1 said.

“Okay,” Rooney replied. “We expected to replace them. What else?”

“There are no life signs,” He stated.

Rooney let the comment sink in for a minute.

“Do you mean they’re all dead?”

“No. My sensors would detect decaying carbon based matter. There are no signs of life, living or dead.”

“Okay, that’s damned peculiar.”

Rooney looked back and motioned for Stone to come forward. The sergeant did as he was instructed and soon stooped beside them.

“What’s up?” He asked.

“Bob has detected the League ship,” Rooney explained. “But there isn’t anybody there.” “Why is that?”

“We don’t know.”

Rooney thought for a few moments, wishing he could rub his head to help him think. Maybe, for some reason, he thought, they were taking shelter somewhere else. Maybe the rain was harmful in some way.

“Bob, run a diagnostic on this rain. See what you can replace out.”

A small compartment lid opened on BOB-1’s torso and a cup projected outward. It only took a second to get the desired amount, and it withdrew back into the robot for analysis. The men could hear a couple of clicking and whirring sounds, then it stopped. The cup came back out and poured the sample into the mud below.

“H 2 O,” he simply said.

“Nothing else?” Rooney asked.

“Does the Rooney not understand the designation?”

“This is strange,” Rooney commented, ignoring the question. “Why wouldn’t they be there? Are they so stupid as to be out in weather like this?”

“Yeah,” Stone said, smiling. “Not smart like us.”

“Yeah,” Rooney laughed.

“Bob,” he said. “Run a self-diagnostic on your sensor array.”

BOB-1 started to clack and whir again. In seconds the diagnostic was completed.

“Negative replaceings. All sensor systems operational to 99% efficiency.”

“Okay, let’s move to that location and keep our eyes open.”

The small team moved out. Rooney tried to create logical scenarios as to why there were no life signs at the site. If any of them had died there or even bled there, BOB-1 would have picked it up. From what the robot was telling him, they were simply not there or in range of his sensors. It didn’t make sense.

Rooney relayed the information to Brubaker who authorized them to continue on. He reminded Rooney that in two more hours they would need to start making their way back to the shuttle if they were going to beat nightfall. Rooney confirmed he understood and kept going. The mystery was too great for him to pass up. He did his best to hasten their progress, and approached the League camp with fifteen minutes to spare in his time allotment of two hours.

“Beyond that ridge,” BOB-1 pointed with the AK’s laser sight. “League signature.”

“Stay here, Bob,” Rooney ordered.

He and Stone moved up the ridge, twenty feet apart. The incline was only about 30 degrees, but the mud kept them slipping and sliding all the way. With great difficulty they reached the top and crawled the last six feet on their bellies. Rooney looked over the ridge and viewed the surroundings below. He ducked back down and shrugged to Stone. Rooney reached into a waist pouch and produced a small set of binoculars. He looked through them to survey the League camp.

What he saw was a ship that had soft landed. It was about half the size of the Astraeus and was configured as he would have expected a spaceship to look like when he was a child. Three, dome-shaped pods were placed in a triangle position in front of the ship’s main hatch, about thirty feet away from the vessel. The exit hatch on the craft was open, touching the ground and forming a ramp to its interior. The ramp was approximately fifteen feet wide, allowing the rover vehicles to exit. Rooney could see two of them parked beside a pod. He assumed there were three, since that’s how many pods there were. A dim light was shining onto the ramp from inside the ship. The downpour obscured his vision from that distance to see anything smaller. If there were people down there, they were either out of sight or he couldn’t make them out.

Rooney slid from the ridge’s top and put the binoculars back in their place. He made a hand signal to Stone. The sergeant nodded that he understood. Both men readied their weapons and stood up. They slowly went over the top of the ridge and descended to the League landing site. Their heads moved like the old windshield wipers on a car. Back and forth they searched for the slightest movement as they marched forward.

“See anything?” Rooney asked.

“Nothing,” Stone responded.

The ridge was only fifty feet in height and the soldiers soon reached the bottom. They fanned out to inspect the pods, approaching the nearest one and taking positions on each side of

the door. Rooney inspected the handle with one hand and found it to be unlocked. He thrust the door open and jumped inside, the carbine at the ready. Stone rushed in to cover, but it was unnecessary. The pod was empty of people. It was equipped to house two. There were two bunks that had obviously been slept in. They saw personal items, hygienic articles, computers and dirty clothes strewn about. Rooney cocked his head to the outside and they checked the other two pods. Each one they discovered in the same shape as the first. There were no inhabitants to be found. Rooney contacted BOB-1.

“Come on in, Bob.”

“Affirmative.”

“You want to check out the ship?” Stone asked.

“Yeah, but let’s wait until Bob gets here so we can post him as a guard outside. I don’t want any surprises coming in behind us.”

“Right,” Stone acknowledged, still looking all around.

The ground was so bad on the ridge that BOB-1 had to go around. It took him more than twenty minutes to reach the men. By then, Brubaker was not happy they weren’t on their way back to the shuttle.

“I know, captain,” Rooney admitted. “I know it’s past time, but we have something weird going on down here. It’s like they just abandoned the place, and for no reason we can see.”

“So what’s your plan?” Brubaker barked. “Hang around until you disappear?”

“No, sir,” Rooney said. “Look, we’re well armed and prepared for anything suspicious. Maybe they weren’t. Prepared, that is. If we have to, we’ll bivouac here tonight and make our way back to the shuttle in the morning.”

“I don’t like it,” Brubaker said. “I don’t like it at all.”

“Neither do I, captain,” Rooney confessed. “But it took us too long to get here. The ground is pretty boggy.”

“All right, lieutenant,” Brubaker conceded. “Stay if you have to. But you won’t be sleeping well tonight. I’ll be checking on you every fifteen minutes.”

“Acknowledged,” Rooney said. “Alpha team, out.”

Rooney squatted in front of BOB-1.

“Bob, we’re going inside to check out the ship. I want you to post here and let me know if anything or anyone is coming. Don’t allow entry to this ship until I tell you different.”

“Affirmative.”

Rooney stood up and motioned for Stone to take the lead. The sergeant walked up the ramp with Rooney close behind him. They made their way inside using extreme caution. The ramp led straight to a cargo bay. Two air locks were at the left and right. From the configuration of the ship outside, Rooney figured the bridge and controls section was to the right. Crews’ quarters were more than likely to the left. That air lock was open, the other was closed. Rooney motioned for Stone to stay where he was. He then moved to the closed air lock. As before at the first pod, Rooney checked the latch and found it moved easily to allow entrance.

“What do you think?” He asked Stone.

“You go right, I’ll go left,” Stone replied. “You think it’s a good idea to separate?”

“Ain’t nobody here, lieutenant,” Stone said. “But, we have to make sure.”

“Okay,” Rooney agreed. “Keep the com link open. Holler if you need me. I’ll do the

same.”

“Yes, sir,” Stone said, and began moving to the open door on the left.

Rooney opened the air lock and ventured inside. He soon found that he was correct. The bridge and controls were located on that end of the vessel. What he wasn’t expecting was to see everything in operation. All the indicator lights were on for essential operations. Sensor monitors were alarming the absent crew as to his and Stone’s approach, but there was no one to hear it. Rooney reached out and turned it off. He looked around with wide wonder at what he was seeing. It was like he had just boarded a ghost ship. A cup of coffee was in a holder at the captain’s chair. It had mold growing on top of it. Whenever they left, it was long enough for that

to happen, he thought. Rooney saw a spiral staircase leading down. He shone his helmet light through the opening and began the descent.

Sergeant Stone made his way through the open air lock and found a small corridor led from it. A few doors were to the left and right, indicating to him this was the crew’s quarters and mess area, among other things. Two of the doors were open. Stone slowly stepped down the corridor, keeping his AK at the ready. Looking inside the open rooms, he saw that each one had two bunk beds and room for clothing storage. The rooms were unkempt, just like the pods, and abandoned. Stone then turned his attention to the rooms where the doors were still closed. One by one he inspected them to replace nothing different than in the first. He finally made it to the end of the corridor. The door to his left had a sign above it that read MESS. The door to his right read STORAGE. He was about to open the storage door when he heard a noise behind the mess entrance. Stone threw himself against the storage door, pointing his weapon in front of him.

“Lieutenant!” He exclaimed. “Got something here!”

“What is it?”

“Mess Area,” he said. “I think someone’s in there.”

“Stay there and don’t move,” Rooney ordered. “I’m on my way.”

Stone did as he was told and kept the AK trained on the door. He could hear some faint shuffling coming from the other side. It was inconsistent, not like someone moving around.

Another sound, like a pot or pan hitting the floor, resounded in Stone’s ears. It felt like an eternity for Rooney to arrive and Stone was glad to see him.

“Do you still hear it?” Rooney asked.

“Yeah,” Stone answered. “Every now and then.”

“Okay,” Rooney said calmly. “Let’s see who it is.”

Rooney stood to the side of the door and directed Stone to step to the other side. He turned on his external speaker. Once they were in position, Rooney called out.

“Federal Guard!” He exclaimed. “Come out with your hands up and you won’t be harmed!”

Rooney fully expected a volley of plasma bullets to shred the door, but nothing happened.

The men listened for a few seconds but heard nothing. Rooney looked at Stone who simply shrugged.

“This is your last chance!” Rooney yelled. “Come out now! If we have to come in, we’re going to shoot and ask questions later!”

Again, the men waited and listened. There was no sound and no indication that someone was going to come out. Rooney turned off the external speaker and went back to the helmet to helmet intercom.

“Okay,” he said. “You open it and I’ll go in. Come in behind me.”

Stone nodded and reached for the door handle. He pushed it down, wincing when it made an audible click. He stopped and listened to make sure the door wasn’t being rushed or if the sound had alerted the person inside. Hearing nothing, he looked at Rooney and nodded that he was about to push the door open. Rooney returned the nod and gripped his carbine.

The sergeant shoved the door open as hard as he could, causing it to swing wildly to the inside. Rooney rushed in, weapon at the ready. Suddenly, his feet were swept out from under him and he went flying into the air and over one of the dining tables, landing with a loud crash as metal dishware flew and clanged onto the floor. He landed on his back, causing the air to rush from his lungs. As he was trying to catch his breath, his helmet light shone on the carbine a few feet from his position. Rooney tried to crawl to it when he heard an automatic burst of gunfire, and Stone yelling his war cry. Whatever was going down, Rooney was out of it for the moment and he could only hope that Stone came out the winner.

Stone’s perspective was one of sheer horror. When Rooney rushed in, Stone saw some kind of appendage strike out, hitting his lieutenant just under the buttocks and sending him flying into the air. Stone turned his helmet beam in that direction, to get a better look. What he saw spurred him to action. It was one of Constance’s Blue Boulders. The creature lifted its long neck up in the air, staring at Stone with its huge, bulbous eyes. It opened its mouth, revealing row upon row of sharp, jagged teeth. That was all Stone needed to see. He already had the AK on full

automatic and squeezed the trigger, delivering all thirty-one rounds into the creature’s open maw. Each slug slammed into its mouth and drove through both tooth and bone, exiting out the thing’s head. It started to move back and Stone couldn’t believe how slow it was. He quickly ejected the clip and slammed another home. Releasing the bolt, he stepped forward to get a better angle and unleashed another volley of bullets into the animal’s neck.

By this time, Rooney had recovered and rose to one knee. He could now see what Stone was shooting at and took a military stance, aiming the carbine at the animal’s mid-section. The weapon was on semi-auto so he could take careful aim and Rooney squeezed the trigger ten times with about a two second interval in between rounds. Each slug penetrated the armor, but Rooney had no way of knowing none of them pierced to a vital organ. Stone also had no way of knowing the creature’s brain wasn’t located in its head. Neither man had delivered a death blow to the animal. The only thing saving them was its inability to travel quickly. Stone had seen first- hand the creature had no such defect with its neck and head. The animal’s attack on Rooney was swift and sudden. If it had better aim, Rooney would be in its jaws. Both men put in new clips as the creature slowly retreated from the continuous onslaught of lead. Rooney conducted a picture perfect fighting retreat, shooting and moving to the door. Stone covered him with a vicious volley of bullets, trying as he might to take the animal down. As soon as Rooney exited the room behind Stone, the sergeant reached out and shut the door, locking it in place.

“Son of a bitch!” Stone exclaimed. “What the fuck was that?”

“I don’t know,” Rooney said between breaths. “The bitch almost got me.”

“That was too close, lieutenant,” Stone said. “Do you think we killed it?”

Just then, a loud roar came from the other side of the wall right before something slammed into it. The wall was made of aluminum and thin. The strike caused it to bulge outward and a small split appeared in the metal.

“Shit!” Stone shouted, putting a new clip in the AK.

Rooney grabbed him by the arm.

“Let’s get outta here!”

Both men ran down the corridor and out the air lock. Together, they heaved the door closed, hearing the animal beating on the wall and roaring. The last thing Stone saw was the aluminum wall peel outward and the snout of the creature bleeding profusely a bluish blood. Rooney latched the heavy door and leaned against it, trying to catch his breath.

“Shit, lieutenant,” Stone said, looking at the rifle. “These ain’t shit! I put 90 rounds into that bitch and it’s tearing up a fucking wall.”

“I know,” Rooney added. “I put twenty into it. It never even acted like it was going

down.”

Rooney looked around and then ran to the open exit ramp. He saw BOB-1 standing his post. Rooney walked down the ramp and confronted him.

“Bob? Didn’t you hear the shooting?”

“Affirmative.”

“Why didn’t you come help us?”

“Instructions were to inform you of approaching life forms and to deny entry into the spacecraft.”

Rooney had to agree those were his instructions….to the letter.

“Okay, Bob,” he said. “From now on, if you hear shooting, please investigate and offer assistance to Sergeant Stone and I. Okay?”

“Affirmative.”

“By the way, you said there were no life signs,” Rooney accused. “We just ran into a nasty fucking life sign in there.”

“Present sensors indicate carbon based life forms,” BOB-1 explained. “Only known life forms can be detected.”

“So, this one isn’t carbon based?”

“Affirmative. If sensors did not detect a life form, it is not carbon based.”

“All right, Bob,” Rooney said, patting the robot on its supposed head. “I’ll give you that

one.”

“Analysis of life form DNA would allow for sensor program revision,” BOB-1 said. “Please provide tissue sample for analysis.”

“Well, Bob,” Rooney said. “That would mean I would have to go back in there. And, I’m not going back in there.”

By this time, Stone had come outside.

“How do you think that thing got in there?”

“It’s an animal,” Rooney said. “It probably smelled the food and went in. Somehow, it accidently shut the door and couldn’t get out. After we shot it to hell it got really pissed off.”

“They might move slow, lieutenant,” Stone added. “But that neck of theirs and those jaws are fast. Real fast.”

“I know,” Rooney agreed. “I can’t wait to tell that dipshit Dr. Davis. I was right all along. What else was back there?”

“A storage area,” Stone replied. “I never got a chance to go in. They might have some decent weapons in there.”

“Yeah,” Rooney agreed. “Maybe we hurt it bad enough that it’ll bleed out. Let’s give it a couple of days and we’ll check if it’s still alive.”

“What now?” Stone asked.

“I was about to see what was below decks, under the bridge…when you called out. Let’s do that now. And, by the way, we won’t be separating anymore.”

“Fine by me,” Stone said, a serious look on his face.

A further search of the front portion of the ship revealed nothing concerning the crew’s disappearance. Stone suggested creatures like the one in the mess area came in and killed them. Rooney countered the sergeant’s take with the fact there were no remains, not even any blood smears, nothing to indicate anyone had been killed or wounded at the site.

“Besides,” Rooney went on. “Bob’s sensors would detect some kind of human remains, even if the creatures licked up all the blood. There would still be enough blood residue for him to pick up, even if we couldn’t see it.”

Rooney called BOB-1 into the bridge and asked him to unlock the captain’s logs or any other information that might give them a clue as to where the crew went. BOB-1 went to work while Rooney and Stone went back outside.

By now it was well into the night. Both moons shone from the reflection of Beta Comae

Berenices’ starlight. The rain had stopped, for now, and the cloud cover had cleared. Rooney told

Stone to get some rest and that he would take the first watch. He took a chair from one of the pods and placed it next to the end of the ramp. The light from within the ship shone down on him as he sat down. He smiled at the sound of a familiar noise. Rooney didn’t know what they looked like on Ajax Strata Prime, but they sounded just like frogs.

**********

Rooney was awakened by the drenching rain that suddenly erupted. He noticed it was still dark and looked outside from the pod he had chosen to sleep in. Stone was standing just inside the ramp entrance, looking at the sky. Rooney rubbed the sleep from his eyes and looked at a clock that he had found inside. He saw that he had only slept a couple of hours, but he was trained to get all the rest he needed in that amount of time. Anyone else would have been miserable trying to sleep in a bio suit.

“That didn’t last long!” Rooney said through the helmet intercom.

“No,” Stone said. “Sure didn’t.”

“Sure could use a cup of coffee,” Rooney complained.

“If someone would let us take these damned suits off, I’d make some,” Stone retorted. Rooney chuckled and picked up the carbine. He walked through the rain and up the ramp

to stand with Stone. He could hear a thumping on the air lock door to the left. He turned to look at it, just to make sure it was still secure.

“Nope,” Stone said as if he had been asked a question. “It ain’t dead yet.”

“That’s amazing,” Rooney said. “We shot that thing full of holes.”

“I know,” Stone replied. “I was there, remember? I’d love to have a good plasma rifle right about now.”

BOB-1 rolled out from the bridge and stopped in front of Rooney.

“Captain’s logs were heavily encrypted,” BOB-1 reported. “Unknown reason. There was only one entry. All others have been erased.”

“One entry?” Rooney queried. “That’s not right. There should be hundreds of entries.”

BOB-1 did not see the need to answer a question he had already provided information for. He remained silent and in place. Rooney sighed and nodded his head.

“Okay, let’s hear what you got.”

After a clack and a couple of whirring sounds, the audio began to play.

“Captain Kanu of the starship Hope of Johannesburg. It is now our fourth month in this dreadful heat. The dust chokes us daily and makes it hard to breathe. Little rain has fallen and when it does, the wind and dryness licks it up in seconds. Another crewman has vanished, walked off into the night. As with the others, his clothes were left behind. The madness is affecting us all. It is now only I, my first mate, and Dr. Ekpikie. The others are gone. We no longer search for them. The hodmandods are gone, now. It is only by keeping the ship’s doors closed that we convinced them to leave. I pray when the Federal States’ devils arrive, their fate will be worse than ours. We were sent on a doomed mission. This is hell’s planet, and we are its children. (mumbling followed by ten seconds of silence) The headaches are getting worse. Difficult to concentrate. I will leave this and erase the others. Do not want our replaceings to fall in the wrong hands. Captain Kanu…signing out.”

“Do you wish for me to repeat?”

“No, Bob,” Rooney said. “That was good enough.”

“What the hell is a hodma..hodman..what? What did he say?” Stone asked, flustered.

“Hodmandod,” BOB-1 stated. “The word is not in my database. It could be an obsolete word my program does not contain.”

“Maybe they’re sentient,” Rooney suggested. “Maybe there is intelligent life here.”

“He talked about a ‘madness’,” Stone said. “What do you think that was about?”

“I don’t know,” Rooney confessed. “What bothers me the most is him talking about the dryness and the heat. This planet must go to two extremes. A severe rainy season and then a severe drought. Or, we just missed the drought and this is how it is all the time. I don’t know. Either way isn’t too desirable.”

“Dr. Davis is the team’s atmospheric specialist,” BOB-1 said. “Perhaps he can provide the answers once he arrives.”

“Maybe,” Rooney half-heartedly agreed. “And maybe not.”

Rooney pushed the surface to ship com button on his right wrist.

“Alpha Team to Astraeus. Come in Astraeus.”

“Astraeus here, go ahead,” Brubaker said.

“Once it’s light we’ll head back to the shuttle,” Rooney advised. “Prepare the science team for launch. Tell them it’s time to get to work.”

Rooney turned off the channel and looked at the sun rising over the mountains off to what he thought would be their east. Stone walked up beside him and shared the view. Both men stood in silence for a few minutes, just watching the magnificence of what few had seen before. The brilliant and red sunrise was a spectacle to behold. The sunlight shone underneath the rain clouds that were pouring their fury upon the men and formed a purple haze through the watery mist. Neither man would forget what it looked like for as long as they lived. It was new, alien, and at the same time…foreboding. Finally, Stone turned to Rooney.

“You think that’s a good idea, lieutenant?”

“What’s that, sergeant?”

“Bringing them down here,” Stone said. “These League guys…something bad happened to ‘em, lieutenant. And, we don’t know what it is or what it was. Maybe we ought to suggest gettin’ the hell on outta here.”

Rooney looked at Stone, then back at the morning sunrise. Soon the star would be above the clouds and out of sight. Soon it would return to the grey gloom of the overcast sky and the drenching rain pummeling them as they marched back to the shuttle.

“Sergeant,” he said. “Those people wouldn’t care if you and I died last night. They would still have come down here and met whatever fate was waiting for them. We knew going in this could be a suicide mission. Hell, we were laughing about it a week before we left, remember?”

Stone chuckled.

“Yes, sir,” he said. “I remember.”

“See that sky Roderick,” Rooney said, calling him by his given name for the first time. “Yes, sir.”

“You will never see another sky like that,” Rooney claimed. “Never again, if you lived five more lifetimes, would you ever set your eyes on something that beautiful. Do you know what that means, sergeant?”

“No, sir.”

“It means…you’ve seen it all. What difference does death make now?”