Chapter 6 - Taking Stock

 Both Mary and J.D. had taken time to shower and freshen up after returning to the shuttle and were now seated, alongside the rest of the crew, around the monitors in the cockpit. It was a relaxed atmosphere for a debriefing session, each of them had drinks and snacks on their tables and for the moment they were engaging in friendly chit chat which continued until Captain Daniels joined them and brought the meeting to order.

 “For a first outing I think we have had a highly successful day, however, reviewing the data and watching the playback from both cameras there is one major area of concern that we need to address. In this region there seems to be people who to all intent, seem to be the indigenous inhabitants of this land. From Mary’s experience, and the general outlook of things observed by J.D. they seem to be a peaceful, pre industrial race, with no signs of any technology whatsoever. The general consensus among the crew is that these people, if we do not provoke them, will cause us no problems. But the other ones that you nearly fell foul of J.D. are a bit of a mystery at the moment. They seem to be the law givers of this nation, their uniform type of dress would indicate either some form of police, or military organisation exists here and so, we all need to be on our guard when we are interacting with anyone here. Don’t forget we do not know the laws here and I don’t want any one falling foul of them. Worst case scenario would be being taken into custody and missing our departure. We only have one chance and we can’t afford to wait for anybody.

 Both Mr Hatch and Mr Watkins have now deployed the signal booster dish which is now floating sub surface directly above us, and now we have direct contact with home. The signal is not as good at the moment as we would have hoped but Mr Hatch assures me that it is possible to further boost the signal, and will resume work on this problem after this meeting.

 Mr Watkins you have been working closely with the translation banks what is the status at the moment.”

 The captain then handed the meeting over to Travis.

 “Well, we have had a great day and we have a forty five percent working translation base, not quite enough for the computer to go automatic yet. I have it set at seventy five percent. The translations are not yet perfect but the computer has extrapolated enough of the local language to give us a working structure, obviously the more we hear the better things will get. There were a few anomalies and these occurred when we encountered the military type guys, there were a few odd words that did not fit in with the language structure that is being used by most of the inhabitants. We will keep our eye on these but early theories include the fact that these are people from an entirely different region which means that with their air of authority, it is entirely possible that they are, or once in recent history, were an invading force, and that they form part of some sort of military rule in this area. But this at the moment is only a theory. I believe that our next visit ashore will give us enough for the translations to become automated.”

It also seems that our arrival did not go completely unnoticed. From the conversations that were overheard when JD was outside the inn, it would seem that one individual witnessed our arrival. However, we have been lucky on this occasion because his story has been ridiculed by the locals and we do not expect any repercussions from this unfortunate incident”. 

“Thank you Mr Watkins, any questions anyone.” Asked the captain and when no one offered any he continued. 

“Whilst john was ashore I asked Anne to take over the geology station and I think she has some findings, Anne” 

Although Anne homer was the medic for this mission she was also a fine geologist and taking over the geology duties was almost second nature to her. She cleared her throat and addressed the rest of the crew. “Thank you sir, I’ve been examining the topography of the area we are now in. The ledge on which we are now resting is a solid bedrock and as such is quite stable, however the cliff face which rises to the port side of the shuttle has several large boulders which are not so stable, they shouldn’t however give us any problems but we should be aware that they are there, and caution should be exercised at all times. It would take quite a force to dislodge them and unless we experience an earthquake or similar, we should be OK. The monitors do not indicate any seismic activity at this time, nor have I detected any wave movements that would worry us. I will ask J.D. to check my findings to confirm that things are alright.”

 The captain thanked Anne for her research and indicated that John should check things out. He then turned his attention to Marius Hatch.

 “Mr Hatch do you have anything to add at this time.” hatch said that he did not, and the captain then instructed him to draw up a duty roster for the coming day. J.D. raised his hand, he was acknowledged, and the captain invited his comments.

 “One thing sir, I think that it was lucky that I found that coin today, and it may be useful for any of us out there to be able to purchase things should we need them, if nothing else it would help us to integrate a little better.”

 There were general nods from around the circle and the captain agreed that it would indeed be a good idea. The problem was how to obtain these coins. It was not a good idea to steal them, they couldn’t go to a bank, and they knew no one they could borrow any from. A lively discussion ensued culminating in the suggestion that they should try to manufacture their own. The few coins that they might need for the next few days would hardly affect the economy of this planet and although it was in effect forgery, it was something that Daniels thought he could sanction in this instance. He gave the job of making the coins to Travis, and said that he would confirm the use of them through control when he spoke to them later. He also added that when Travis was making the coins he should use the images recorded that day by J.D.’s camera to ensure that whatever they used was as authentic as was possible, they could ill afford to be questioned on their use by the authorities. They had to minimise the risk of detection, whilst they were here. His final instruction for this meeting was that they should each transfer all of the data collected this day to the T file, ready for transfer back to control. Daniels then asked one final time if there was anything else, and bought the meeting to an end with a few welcome words to the crew.

 “Well if that is all, I think you have all deserved a couple of hours to yourselves, we will resume duties at 20.00 hours ship time”

 With this he stood up and retired to his private quarters. The rest of the crew went into the recreation area and each chose their own form of relaxation.

 In his quarters, Daniels slipped off his boots and sat at his desk. The room was small but functional; the walls were padded, as was the rest of the ship and the only concession to home comforts was a family photograph taped above the computer terminal. He punched a few keys on the keyboard and the screen flickered into life. On screen were several icons one of which was named captain. He touched the icon on the screen which in turn opened another file containing more icons. When he touched the communication icon he was presented with a security panel requesting a code. On the keyboard he punched in a security number which would connect him to control back home. Within seconds the speakers began crackling into life. He had no problems with the others hearing his conversations, this room was completely soundproof. “1472 Alpha to control, are you receiving me over”

He waited for a few seconds before repeating himself, again he received no answer. He tried a third time and this time he was rewarded with an answer from home. The reception was sporadic at best, it was almost unintelligible and he struggled to hear the person at the other end. He tried to make a few adjustments to clear the signal but until Hatch had refined the settings, he knew that this was probably the best that he could hope for 

“1472 this is command, awaiting your report over”

 At least he had some sort of communication with them and because this is exactly what had been expected, he had prepared a video report to be sent with the transmission reports that they were expecting. The first thing that he did was to transmit the daily report, should this line of communication break down there would be no way to get the information back home. As soon as this was done he asked to speak to Major Hooton or Major General Stewart. The person on the other end said that he should stand by, and transferred the communication to Major Hooton.

 “Hooton here, go ahead Daniels” Was the reply or at least he though that was the reply. The channel was so bad that most of what was said was eaten up by static interference which caused the message to break up and crackle. As frustrating as it was it was the best they had at the moment.

 “I hope you can hear me sir, we have encountered a minor problem here, nothing drastic just a little something we overlooked. The people of this planet use a form of currency to purchase goods and services. We at present, do not have any of this currency, but we think we can manufacture it right here on board. I need your permission to go ahead and use the coins we make. Its all in my report but on this one I need an answer within the next few hours, or at least before our next visit ashore” 

For a while it seemed that the entire system went dead, Daniels was just about to make further adjustments when the speakers sprang back into life startling him just a little.

 “Can’t give you an ans...n that one at the mo...nt. we will get b...ou later with an answer…con…t…”

 He had trouble deciphering this last communication and had to replay it several times to decide that it was ‘can’t give you an answer on that one at the moment. We will get back to you later with an answer. Control out. Once he was satisfied, he severed the link with control and switched the computer to standby mode, swung his feet onto his couch, closed his eyes and relaxed.

 Generally the shuttle was quiet at the moment, all of the crew had chose pastimes that made little or no noise, the only person that was conspicuous by his absence was Marius Hatch. Everyone else had taken the captains advice and used the time to relax; Hatch was the only one working. He wanted to get the communications network up and running perfectly. He paid no attention to the others relaxing, and felt no desire or need to follow their lead, and no anger towards them for not wanting to work. This was just the way he was, and probably would always be. He was just one of the few individuals who did everything by the book, and beyond.

 As they relaxed the atmosphere was good, everyone was doing their own thing. Mary and Anne had once again made drinks for everyone, and had taken one through to Hatch, who had been working in the cockpit area. The two women were now sitting in comfortable chairs chatting.

 “I know I saw it on the monitor but what is it really like out there” asked Anne. Mary gave a little thought to what she would tell her. 

“Its like nothing I have ever seen or experienced. The first thing you notice is the air. It smells so clean, fresh, and when you breathe it its like you want to breathe it forever. It fills your lungs and you just know it’s so clean, no pollutants whatsoever. It’s worth going just for the air. And the water is crystal clear; when we stepped off the pods it was so warm like a comfortable bath. And the beach, oh the beach is fantastic, no one around for miles and great open stretches of the most golden sands I have ever seen. It was like having your own private place with no one to bother you. The sun is hot around midday, but I for one could learn to cope with that. Away from the beach it’s a bit barren and dusty and that makes you feel a bit dirty, let me tell you. I really needed that shower when I got back. But all in all it was a magical experience.”

 Anne was hanging on every word, and the more she listened the more she wanted to go. She then asked Mary about the people and the town.

 “Well the town is nothing to look at, just a load of mud huts really but the people, well the ones I met, were great. We had a real problem with the language but even though, you could tell that they were genuine. They gave me a feeling of belonging, it was if I was a long lost friend or relative or something. They didn’t need a lot, it was as if, this is their life and they were content to be who they are, Simple folk with simple needs. They had their little family and to see them together was a joy, you could tell that they really wanted to be with each other, it made me think of my David. I am enjoying this mission but I can’t wait to get back home.”

 Anne agreed that she was looking forward to the return journey also. For a while the two women sat in silence thinking about what Mary had just said. Anne turned to Mary and almost in a whisper said.

 “So how long is before you hear the pitter-patter.” Mary blushed and smiled at the same time.

 “We found out just before David’s birthday so next year we will either go out for a meal or spend his birthday in the delivery suite”

 They both laughed and Anne said that either way it would be a great present for him.

 At this, the captain’s voice came over the intercom “Sorry people but we have a lot to prepare for tomorrow so back to work. Daniels, out.”

 With this, the recreation area was cleared and everyone returned to their duties.

Chapter 7 - Obtaining The Past