Descent

Descent
by
Raman Jalota

    How many kilometers has it been? The earth looked like a huge mass as I shot away from it. Blue oceans, green forests, yellow deserts and gray ... those damned gray cities seemed to stretch forever. Within minutes the ugliness of the cities was masked by the large blue oceans and yellow deserts as the earth became just a giant beach ball. And now, I have to strain to make details of the planet appear recognizable.
    I finally gave up on my home planet and rechecked the console ... all indicators were green or yellow and the reserves were blue ... beautiful. The RJ37 was indeed beautiful. What a smooth machine! I could hardly feel the four hundred meter long freighter vibrating as the craft flew at more than a hundred thousand kph. I grabbed the keyboard and scanned the log. The secrecy that the Xeni empire attached to it’s cargo and delivery target was unbelievable, but the credits that these trips earned me made it all worthwhile.
    Venus .... Venus is my first stop! Who the hell came up with this schedule? Goddamned Octavius! He must have pulled this on me. He knew I wanted to finish my deliveries and take my three week vacation on Europa. Now I’m forced to fly to Venus and then fly all the way back and across to Mars probably before I can catch a supertransporter bound for Jupiter. Asshole!
    As I lay pondering this unexpected delay of my vacation. I realized that this would clock another six weeks or so on my overtime and create a bigger bank of credits for use as vacation later on. Maybe I could look for some humans to mate with this year. I would have thousands of additional credits that I could splurge.
    And what about Xeni? They needed people like me. I was too valuable. The credits they gave me for each hour of cargo flight were insignificant compared to the cost of one unmanned flight that went berserk. The last unmanned flight of Xeni had carried a full load of Sulphuric acid. The transporter burned and exploded as it neared Valhalla on Callisto. The resulting destruction to the resorts and geospheres on Valhalla had driven Xeni to the brink of Bankruptcy.

.....

    Venus ... desolate Venus, covered with thick clouds of sulphuric acid and all you want of carbon dioxide and the humans had associated its name with beauty and sensuality! What lunacy! The damned planet was hotter than hell and the presence of Xeni empire on this planet was purely to make money. As the RJ37 approached, the clouds thinned and the white city of Sukram appeared; the port was clearly visible as the diffused lighting made the whole city appear like a white coffin.
    Shatrughan greeted me in the landing zone, “Yo bro! Release the platforms and we’ll begin unloading the precious Cobalt ore. How did it go?”
    “That bastard Octavius put me on this route ... Completely out of my way. I was all ready to zip to Jupiter and start my vacation. Now I’m stuck in the RJ37 for another 12 weeks or so.”
    “How do you like her?”
“It’s a beauty. She is smooth. I couldn’t tell if the rockets were firing or not. No vibrations man. She’s quiet, almost too quiet.”
    He finally came out of the unloading area and patted me on the shoulder. We went to the port shop and ordered drinks. After our first drink he leaned close to me.
    “I think you are getting a secret cargo from here.”
    “You know what it is, don’t you?”
    “I know what it’s not?”
    “And what isn’t it?”
    “It’s not the enriched Cobalt fuel rods that we manufacture on Venus. It’s something more secretive than that. All I know is what I heard whispered in the port. The shipping containers are oval shaped and may contain enriched materials.”
    “Goddamned radioactivity! When will we ever get away from this crap?”
    “You know the two things that made Xeni the biggest empire in the known universe ... manufacturing Cobalt fuel rods and providing radioactive material to whosoever wants it.”
    The plant on Venus was the best idea anyone ever had in the last thousand years. Using the heat of Venus and the absence of magnetic forces to process Cobalt ore from earth and other planets ... the savings in processing costs ensured the continuing monopoly of the empire.
    Shatrughan insisted on a tour of the RJ37 and I showed him the control room and my quarters.
    “Don’t you get bored in here?”
    “Well, I try to relearn astronomy and pass my time between looking at the log and dreaming of my vacation.”
    “You lucky bastard!”

.....

    I started the takeoff sequence and waited for the harness to tighten around my chest and shoulders. Closing my eyes, I rocked myself as the rockets blasted and launched the RJ37 into space. Finally the vibrations disappeared and the harness released me. Venus was fading fast, all I could see was a white planet with swirling gray clouds ... what a desolate place!   A quick check at the console showed greens and yellows and I reached for the keyboard, half dreading what I may find.
    It was as I thought, a straight shot to Mars and then I would be free to take my vacation. Bypassing earth would mean a straight three-and-a-half week flight. I would save 2 days by not stopping on my home planet. Even though I had only spent fourteen of my twenty-three years on earth, I felt an attachment to it, almost like to the small blue blanket that I used to drag around till I was five.
    I keyed the code to look at the cargo, my log read was interrupted. What the hell? I tried again, I got the interrupt again. This is goddamned nonsense! I connected to Sukram on Venus
    “This is Sukram port, property of Xeni empire ...”
    “Don’t give me that bullshit, this is Captain Thomas. I just took off in the RJ37. My log book is jamming.”
    “I’ll get you a techi.”
A sweet voice came on in seconds, “This is Yhtak. What seems to be the problem, Captain?”
    “As I try to get into the new cargo log, I get an interrupt notice and get thrown out. What the hell did you guys do to my log?”
    A long silence in which I could hear some whispering and clicking noises was finally over. “This is Yhtak again. I am sorry but the cargo log is top secret and you are not authorized to read it.”
    “The hell I am not. I am the commander of this craft. Nothing can be kept secret from me. I demand that you give me the codes to unlock the log.”
    “You’ll have to talk to HQ. Sorry.”
I was angry; so angry my hands were shaking. I gently replaced the keyboard for fear of my own rage and slowly moved out of my seat. A glass of carrot juice helped sooth my nerves and I looked out the window. Venus was a little fly-speck near the bottom of my field of vision. Space was beautiful. Dark purple space with tiny dots of white and gold, some shimmering, others constant and undying. It was too soon to look for the next planet. I would probably be able to make out earth’s features in another four or five days. I gazed at the gold and white dots in front of me. They were sending me a coded message. A beautiful, friendly, soothing message that finally calmed me down and I called HQ.
    “This is Xeni headquarters, what ...”
    “Give me Octavius ... this is Captain Thomas. I just took off from Sukram.”
    A pause and finally the dry voice of Octavius was on, “Hello Tom, what can I do for you?”
    “You know damned well what! What is my cargo and why is it locked out from my read?”
    “I expected you to get angry. But Tom, you know that your charter states that you may or may not have access to the detail of the cargo you may be carrying.”
    “I have flown seven years for Xeni. This is bullshit. I demand to have access to the cargo log.”
    “You know damned well that the RJ37 and its contents are the property of Xeni and as an officer of Xeni I agree with the decision that you not be allowed access to it’s identity. You really have no need to know what your cargo is.”
    “O.K. Wait till I get to Mars. Assholes!”
    I sat for a long time going over our conversation. The bastard knew what I was carrying but locked me out of the log. Why would he do that? Could there be anything so secretive that they will legally block it out from their own operators? Goddamned Octavius! I had called him an asshole and it fitted him well. I would contact my council president and file a complaint against Xeni. Bastards!

.....

    How time stands still when you are flying! The only way to know that I was moving was to look at the console and see that fuel was being consumed and Kilometers were being logged and the distance from my destination port was decreasing. Looking out the window made everything seem frozen and fixed.
Space was beautiful. Dark purple space with tiny dots of white and gold, some shimmering, others constant and undying. I thought about what might lie ahead for me and closed my eyes for a few seconds. I gazed at the gold and white dots in front of me. They were sending me a coded message. A beautiful, friendly, soothing message that finally calmed me down. I stared hard, none of the dots meant anything to me. My alignment was not in a plane where I could see any of the other planets. Maybe in a few hours.
    I wondered if I could crack the code and get into my log on my own. What should I try? I typed,     “Octavius is an Asshole.” The system did its manipulations of all the letters and words in different combinations and permutations but couldn’t unlock it. I then tried “Sukram spelled backwards is Markus.” Again nothing. What the hell, I finally tried “Yhtak spelled backwards is Kathy.” Same old nothing!
    There must be a way to have the system unlock in an emergency. Fire! That’s it. I’ll start a fire that will unlock the system. I gathered an old shirt and shoes and broke the neck of a water bottle; stuffed the shirt and shoes in the bottle and poured cleaning alcohol on it. A little wiring gave me a lighter and finally fire. The flames were not too high but the smoke was thick and stank. I pushed it right under the detectors and soon the red light started blinking and the ‘beep’ ‘beep’ of the console spelled out the precautions to take. I tried to open the log and ‘bingo’ it opened.
    Alright! They can’t get the better of me. I scanned the console ... nothing. A blank console stared back at me. I tried the keyboard. Everything was operational except the log was blank. I scrolled backward and the log from Earth to Venus appeared. Damn!
    I sat for a long time, shaking with impotent rage. What the hell were these bastards pulling on me? A cargo entry that was blank! What the hell did that mean?

.....

    On the seventh day I could see Earth in the distance. My home planet spinning on its axis, displaying the blues of the ocean and the whites of the clouds; the moon barely visible. Is this the last time I’ll see earth? No, I’ll get off at Mars with my unknown cargo and then contact the council.
    I stared at space for a long time.    Space was beautiful. Dark purple space with tiny dots of white and gold, some shimmering, others constant and undying. Earth spinning in the distance. I thought about what might lie ahead for me and closed my eyes for a few seconds. I gazed at the gold and white dots in front of me. They were sending me a coded message. A beautiful, friendly, soothing message that finally calmed me down. I stared hard, none of the dots meant anything to me.
    Well, two more weeks to Mars and then I can start the big fight. For now, it was enough that I still had some control of my life.

.....

    I stared at space a lot in the next two weeks. Space was still beautiful. Dark purple space with tiny dots of white and gold, some shimmering, others constant and undying.   I gazed at the gold and white dots in front of me. They were still sending me a coded message. A beautiful, friendly, soothing message that would finally calm me down.
And then Mars was in sight. The characteristic reddish glow as it first appears sent a ray of warmth. My depression was lessening now that action was near. I would land, unload and go to the council headquarters. Once that was resolved I’ll find a supertransporter to Jupiter and start my vacation. The thought of finding a mate for my vacation was in the back of my mind. That sweet metallic voice of Yhtak kept coming back to me, but for now, let the fighting begin.
    Mars grew larger as the RJ37 approached nearer. It was much clearer now and more yellowish brown than red. I could see one of the moons, probably Phobos. Soon it will be too large to matter and I’ll land at Revned port, regional headquarters of Xeni. I was another thirty plus hours from landing, I relaxed and slowly dozed off.

.....

    I awoke with a strange feeling. The craft should be filled with the yellowish Martian glow, it was much darker. What the hell! I looked out. Mars was right in front of me but had grown smaller in size. I was going away from Mars.
    I grabbed the keyboard and stared at the console. It was blank. I opened the log, nothing new; same empty log since Venus. I called Revned. I waited for a few seconds and then a sinking feeling hit my stomach. Communications were dead. I tried the backup unit, it didn’t operate either. I tried to fire the retardation unit. Nothing. I even tried to jettison the cargo. Nothing. Slowly it became clear. This is no accident. This is by design! The enormity of my situation was hard to bear.
    After the first wave of panic was over, I sketched my situation. I was headed away from Mars. At the speed I was traveling, I was about five months from Jupiter and a year from Saturn. I had food and water for two months or so; but my oxygen reserves were only good for six more weeks. With full communications and control, I would have obtained help easily and survived with a good story to tell Shatrughan.
    The only puzzling factor was solved when I finally broke through the cargo hatch and descended into the stomach of the RJ37. Three-fourths of the craft was cargo area; an efficient machine that hauled more cargo per cubic centimeter of Cobalt fuel than any other in the universe. The oval shaped radioactive containers were approximately two meters long and one meter wide at the widest. They were securely   packed into rows upon rows of never ending, snakelike waves of gray and yellow. The inscriptions were there ... Radium-226, spent nuclear fuel, do not open or expose. I remembered the half life of Radium was 1600 years. I was carrying about 11 million cubic meters of used Radium-226! By that rate the material I was carrying would self-destruct in several billion years!
    I stared at space mesmerized. Space was no longer beautiful. Dark and sinister black space with tiny dots of white and gold, some shimmering, others constant and undying.   I had thought the space was purple, I was just trying to fool myself into believing it was beautiful and friendly. It was black. It had always been black. I gazed at the gold and white dots in front of me. They were still sending me a coded message. No longer a beautiful, friendly, soothing message that would finally calm me down; it was a warning, an urgent warning of impending doom as I descend into the nothingness of space.

The End    2763 words

Copyright © 2004 Raman Jalota. All rights reserved. No part of this electronic publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the written permission of the author.

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