The Lost Colony, DM Arnold [ebook reader for laptop TXT] 📗

She's giving a short course on T-Delta. She left yesterday.”

“She'll tour the galaxy before I will -- and she's not even a native.”

“She'll be disappointed to learn she missed your visit. Nyk -- you must get this notion of surprise visits out of your head.”

“Right -- I need to check her calendar first.”

“If she had known you were coming, she'd have made arrangements to be with you. I know she would've.”

“I had little advance warning on this one myself.”

Andra nodded toward the kitchen. “I'll heat some meals. You can tell me all about this diplomatic mission.”

Nyk sat beside Andra at the kitchen table. He dropped his fork onto his empty dinner tray and opened a dessert roll. “I told you what I know.”

“It is fascinating. At least it doesn't sound dangerous. The lost colony of Varada. It almost sounds romantic. Think of it -- a thousand years ago the Varadans would rather walk away from the hegemony than give up involuntary servitude.”

“They must've given it up to try contact now. They knew those were the terms, and they knew they were non-negotiable. I have some background material on Varada.” He whipped his handheld vidisplay from his sash and consulted it. “The population is dispersed across the entire planet. There are four continents, two of which straddle the planet's equator and are populated. The other two are polar, ice-covered and unpopulated -- except for some native fauna.”

“Are there different nationalities on Varada?” Andra asked.

“No -- the population makes up a single Varadan nation. What is conspicuous is a formal class system, made up of a leadership class, professionals, merchants and workers. It is Varadan fashion to wear clothing that exposes the left shoulder and arm, and to wear tattooed on the left clavicle emblems of one's class. Three lozenges indicates the ruling class and three scrolls is the professional class.”

“The doctors and lawyers,” Andra remarked.

“Yes, but also the administrators, ministers and bureaucrats. Three disks identify the merchant class...”

“Three coins,” she observed.

“Three staves mark the working class. At one time there was a slave class, identified by three links of a chain.”

Andra shuddered. “To be branded a slave with an icon of the bands that bind you -- how horrible. I take it one is born into a particular class and stays there.”

“Mobility between classes is permitted, but the rules are complicated -- also, inter- class marriage is permitted, and offspring are given the choice of class to join. Varadan class hierarchy is a complex institution.”

“What else do we know of Varada?” she asked.

“Technologically, they sit between present-day Earth and Floran. They have no interstellar fleet. They do have limited, primitive hyperspace communications.” He returned his handheld to his xarpa. “Day after tomorrow we must ride the shuttle to the transit platform. An exo scout will take us to Varada.”

“A exo scout. I've never been on one of those.”

“Me, neither,” Nyk replied. “You know -- when I was a kid, Veska would visit and he always brought me a scale model of one of the scouts. For a while, joining the ExoService is what I wanted to do. My collection included every vessel in the fleet ... from the 100-series diplomatic couriers up to the 700-series heavy cruisers. I knew all the vital facts -- mission, size, crew complement, cargo capacity... I had them hanging on wires from the ceiling of my room. Sounds pretty nerdy, doesn't it?”

She kissed his cheek. “It sounds in perfect character with you.”

“I don't know whether to take that as a cut or a compliment.”

She kissed his cheek again. “Take it as the truth.”

“Do you realize you always kiss my cheek when you're about to tell me something you think I don't want to hear?”

“If you're the expert on the Exo fleet, tell me what sort of scout we're likely to fly.”

“Hmm... We're using the scout for two reasons. It's been centuries ... no, millennia since we had regular service to Varada. They'll need a scout to plot the course. That eliminates a 100-series. On top of that, the approach to Varada is tricky. The planet sits amidst the hyperspace equivalent of dangerous shoals. We'll need one well equipped for such exploration.”

“Are those the two reasons?”

“No. Tomyka will need to consult to the homeworld. The Communications Corps has already dragged a comm relay into position halfway between Varada and the nearest node on our comm net. They'll need another comm relay at Varada. Based on my exhaustive study of the matter, I predict they'll use a 200-series Scout. Those ships are modular, and one could be configured as a temporary, portable comm relay. They are used as such when a relay at a critical node in the net gets damaged for some reason.”

“200-series,” Andra mused. “I was hoping it would be a bigger ship.”

“It's big enough -- several times the size of a passenger packet. Actually, the 300- series Explorers are the smallest ships -- unless you're counting the 100-series couriers. I don't consider them scouts.”

Nyk lay on his childhood bed with a portable vidisplay propped on a cushion. On the screen was the image of an Asian woman. “Are you calling from Floran?” Suki asked.

“I'm calling from my bedroom at the Residence.”

“Oh... Why didn't you tell me you were coming?”

“I didn't know myself. Andra tells me you're giving a short course on Earth history.”

“Yes -- I was asked to come to T-Delta. I wish I knew you were coming.”

“How long will you be there?”

“The course is forty Deltan days, which amounts to about thirty-five standard Floran days.”

“Long enough to screw up your biological clock. Well, my mission shouldn't take more than ten or so standard days, so I'll be long gone by the time you return. How do you like it there?”

“It's different. I don't think it's as pretty a world as Floran.”

“Floran's not all that pretty.”

“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, Nykkyo.”

“I was discussing that point with someone else recently. Well -- you'll find Myataxya looks beautiful to all beholders. Is that gig all set?”

“Yes it is -- later this year. I can't wait... I know! I'll give you the dates and maybe Seymor will let you join me. It can be the honeymoon we never had. You said you wanted to honeymoon on Myataxya.”

“But -- we wouldn't be able to make love day and night like a proper honeymoon. You'll need to go to your conference.”

“Those conference sessions don't last 'round the clock.”

“You're right -- it does sound like a great idea. Now I can't wait.” He chuckled. “Seymor says you should find yourself an agent.”

“Hmm... I never thought of that. Do they exist on Floran?”

“Seymor says they do.” He reached to his nightstand. “I brought some pictures -- Nicky's third.”

“Let's see...”

“I didn't bother to scan these.” He held photographs to the vidisplay camera.

“Oh... So cute! Mom's looking good.”

“She's doing better...”

“I'm happy to hear that. I lie awake nights worrying about her.”

“Now, for the grand finale... Nicky's chopstick lesson.”

“Oh, my God!” Suki began laughing. “That's so funny.”

“And, here's how it all ended -- finger food.”

“Those are too precious. Look at Mom -- she's actually smiling!”

“I'll leave these here for you -- on your nightstand. They're extra prints. I had them made for you.”

“I'd appreciate that. Thank you, Nykkyo.”

“During that chopstick incident, I almost let it slip. I was taking the picture and I said, 'Suki would enjoy these.' I'm glad I didn't say 'Suki WILL enjoy these.'”

“How did Mom take it?”

“She thought I was suggesting we do the things you and your dad would enjoy doing -- as tributes.”

Suki sniffed back a tear. “Yes. You should do that.”

“I miss you so much. I lie awake nights missing you.”

“Remember -- before the next time you visit...”

“I'll call your agent first. Maybe he can put in a good word...”

Suki giggled. “What's next for you?”

“Andra and I are going on an adventure. Don't worry -- this one is strictly routine -- nothing dangerous. I'm simply needed as an interpreter for a diplomatic mission.”

“Dangerous? It sounds downright boring to me.”

“Duty calls, I suppose.”

“Is Andra sleeping with you tonight?”

“With you gone -- of course.”

“Kiss her for me, will you?”

3 -- The ExoScout

The Sudal shuttle docked with the transit platform. The docking tunnel door opened and Nyk filed onto the platform. He took Andra's hand. “We go to baggage claim. Then, to the ExoService wing of the platform.”

He stood waiting for his bag to slide into place. “There's mine,” Andra said.

Nyk stooped to retrieve it, and then plucked his own. He took her hand and they walked to the transit bullet that made the loop around the massive platform.

The car stopped at the Exo terminal. Nyk led Andra to another car which took them out to the Exo wing -- a satellite platform connected via a tunnel to the main one. He stepped to a reception desk. “Nykkyo Kyhana reporting for the Varada mission.”

A young man in an ExoService uniform consulted his vidisplay. He pointed. “That bay over there. The transport shuttle will take you aboard on the next trip.”

“Which scout?” Nyk asked.

The serviceman consulted his vidisplay again. “The 501.”

“501? That's a colonial expedition transport.”

“It's what it says here.”

Nyk shrugged, took Andra's hand and led her toward the shuttle bay. “Something wrong?” she asked.

“Not wrong, wrong. We're riding ExoScout 501. The 500-series are colonial expedition transports.” He rolled his eyes as he searched his memory. “Basic crew complement is thirteen, full crew is fifty. They are designed to carry colonists and materiel to new worlds. They have barracks to accommodate up to five hundred colonists, and a very large cargo bay for pre- fab housing and so on. I think they only built a handful of them.”

“I suppose we don't need too many,” Andra replied. “It's been hundreds of years since we've seeded a colony on a new world.”

“I suppose... Still, it seems odd to use such a vessel on this sort of mission. They're not equipped as comm relays.”

He stood at a viewport looking out into space. Parked in station-keeping was a fleet of Exo vessels. All were much larger than the passenger packets he was accustomed to flying.

He pointed. “See? That's a 200-series. Over there is a 300-series Explorer ... no, two of them...”

“Is that big, ugly one the 501?” Andra asked.

“Yes... Ugly?”

She giggled. “It looks bottom-heavy.”

“It's because of the cargo hold and barracks decks,” he replied. “They need the extra room to carry colonists and supplies when we seed a new world.”

“And -- when is THAT next likely to happen? The dome on top looks like a wart.”

“That's the observation lounge.”

The pressure door to the shuttle bay slid open. A crewman approached them. “Nykkyo Kyhana?”

“Yes.”

“Come aboard -- we'll take you to the scout.”

Nyk carried the travel cases into the bay. The transport shuttle, no bigger than an Earth minivan, was parked there. He climbed aboard and Andra sat beside him. “This looks like an ExoAgency shuttlecar,” Nyk remarked.

“Yes,” the shuttle pilot replied, “your Agency shuttlecars are built on the same chassis.”

The pilot began a prelaunch sequence and tested doorseals. “I'll bet I could fly this,” he whispered to Andra.”

“Don't deny it -- you are excited to fly in an ExoScout, aren't you?”

“It appeals to the little kid in me. How I wish I could share something like this with Nicky.”

“I'll give you the tour,” the pilot said. He flew the shuttle over the scout's topsides. “Below is the observation lounge... There is the bridge ... hyperspace sensor probes ... engineering is on the lower decks. The cargo hold is one deck up... The row of viewports marks the barracks deck.”

“I know all this by heart,” Nyk whispered to Andra. “How this brings back my childhood.”

“The warp coil is located mid-ships,” the pilot continued. “This class has a single coil.”

“Unlike the 300 series Explorers,” Nyk whispered. “They have dual coils mounted on external pods.”

Andra smiled and patted the back of his hand.

The shuttle swept up underneath and headed astern. Clamshell doors swung open to reveal the shuttle bay. The