Trouble in Orion's Belt; A Stellar Journey
Chapter 8: Lachesis

Jul lay there in the shade which was noticeably a little cooler but was still substantially hot and she determined it must be at least one-hundred-twenty degrees Fahrenheit in the shade.

Since she was born on Mars she was unfamiliar with trees at best and had only seen a few of them in the Biocontainment field. The ones she had seen on Mars were not to be compared to these. It seemed that these trees formed a thick cluster and the limbs intertwined; forming a canopy overhead.

She dozed off for few moments but after she awoke she studied the trees more closely. The meshed clusters of the tops were like a ceiling and the spaces between the trunks formed a myriad of tunnels. She didn’t dare explore them so she examined the open air and sky. The mountains in the distance were cloaked by translucent wavy lines caused by the heat. She could see the waves dancing and causing ripples in the scenery.

The mirage effect was that she saw figures moving around in the obscure landscape. It was like watching vague images on a movie screen of people scurrying through the streets of a city.

She noticed a faint thumping noise but disregarded it as part of the illusion. The thumping noise did however appeared to be moving in closer.

The dancing figures of the heat were unaffected by the noise but then a large object drifted down from the sky that had an odd familiarity to it and the thumping noise was generated from it. There was then a rhythmic vibration associated with the thumping noise which was accompanied by a subsequent ‘chop, chop’ sound.

The object slowly settled to the ground and shortly a figure emerged. It was a human figure that was noticeably different from the dancing figures in the heat-waves. She felt a sudden start and her heart was racing. The figure was undeniably moving towards her.

She sat up and squinted her eyes to focus on the figure which was female. Then she jumped up from her seated position and stood upright.

“Mom!” she shrieked in exhilaration.

“Jul!” Donna grasped her shoulder to urge her along.

“Come along dear we need to go directly back to the compound.”

“We need to rescue dad.”

“We will talk about it on the way but now we have to get you to safety.”

Readily they were in the helicopter and whisking through the air.

“Dad is on Lachesis.”

“Lachesis? Why and how could he be on Lachesis?”

“It’s difficult to explain but the specter that was seen by both Simon and Dave on the first night of our arrival explained it to me.”

“I thought I saw him when you guys disappeared but it was hard to tell from the rain,” Dave volunteered a statement. “So what happened and how did Richard get stuck on Lachesis?”

“Chalotte was operating some kind of teleportation device and we were caught in its beams.”

“Okay, dear we will be back at the compound soon and we can talk more about it then. Just try and relax until then.”

Bob and Dana were in the lab examining the black granules Brad had given them as a specimen.

“Hmmm? I would say that this is a genetically altered grain,” Bob said; sounding almost convinced.

Dana looked up from her work screen. “That does seem like the logical assumption and they appear to be secreting some kind of yeast.”

“So that’s what you make of it?

The tiny shells were configured similar to miniature conch shells and through the opening there was a substance that moved through it.

“Well, yeast is the only substance that I can compare it to. Evidentially the granules are lying over a layer of water in the bottom of the cell and the interconnected cells serve as a vessel giving them a space to grow.”

“So, Brad’s assumption that the structure is an enclosure for a cultivation center wouldn’t be too far off the mark. I am assuming that Aumrill had choseb him for his uncanny observatory skills.”

At about that time the sound of a helicopter came into auditory range.

Minutes later they were all gathered inside the dome to talk to Jul about her adventure.

“I’m fine!” she insisted. “We need to rescue dad.”

“The problem, at this point,” Dave queried, “is that we don’t have enough data to confirm that Richard is actually on Lachesis. He could be anywhere.”

“And I’m telling you I saw the monitoring device that showed him walking on the surface of Lachesis,” Jul argued.

“”Well at this juncture it’s the only reference point we have,” Brad argued in her favor,” “and we need to start someplace.”

“Well, that’s the truth,” Donna agreed. “We are just wasting time talking about it. Now that Jul is safe we should just take the hint and start looking for Richard on Lachesis.”

“I guess, you’re right,” Dave conceded to the reality of the situation. “I am going to get the ship ready for conversion.”

“Would you like some assistance,” Bob offered.

“Well, maybe a little I’m going to have to figure out how to morph the craft for space travel. While I’m doing that you can load it with enough food for two people for at least two days.”

“Okay, I’m on it Dave. I’ll let you know when I’m done.”

Dave studied the craft and with his electro-notepad he made a checklist. The micro-hinged joints were readily noticeable and the only determination now was to identify the control switches in the cockpit.

Dave went up to the cockpit and he went over his checklist and saw that most of the navigational objectives would have to be preprogrammed. ‘Easy enough,’ he thought.

He plotted the position of Lachesis which was still on the other side of the globe and then opened the control panel for the navigational commands. He set the controls then closed the panel. Then he configured the pressurization unit to automatically switch to outer space as opposed to the aircraft position. After a few adjustments he was confident that all the preparations had been made.

“Okay, Dave I supplied you with enough food and water for two days with a few extras just in case,” Bob said over the radio speaker.

“Thanks Bob. Now I have everything plotted out so go inside and let everyone know that I’m not waiting and as soon as I’m taxied out on the runway I’ll be taking off.”

“Right away! Have a safe flight.”

“Thanks Bob. I will try and keep everyone informed by radio.”

Bob went inside to make the announcement and shortly everyone was outside as they watched the plane taxi onto the runway.

The plane took off in the usual way but minutes after becoming airborne the plane yawed and rolled. In the middle of the roll the front and back wings curled into loops and a collar emerged from the loops conjoining them to create a singular system. The engines of the craft shut down and the object drifted upward momentarily; then powerful thrusters engaged in a flash of light and the craft was thrust upward.

The one thing Dave did not account for was the sudden g-forces that would render him temporarily unconscious. This subsequently was why it needed to be preprogrammed.

The group on the ground watched as the craft disappeared into the sky.

Once the craft escaped the atmosphere the automatic pressurization controls went into effect.

While Dave lay unconscious the craft veered into its trajectory. Clotho was already emerging over the airglow and the craft would direct itself around it and continue on its rendezvous path to Lachesis; which was further out.

While he was in his unconscious state he did not notice the strip of the Milky Way and on the far end was his very own Sol; still a bright spot in the spectacular sea of stars. The craft continued on its predetermined path.