THE HODMANDOD EFFECT
CHAPTER FIVE

John Rogers landed the Elpis with utmost precision. Globs of mud and water spray flew in every direction when he fired the reverse thrusters, slowing their descent. Rooney, Stone and BOB-1 were in the shuttle craft when the Elpis came down. It was in such close proximity to the shuttle the small craft was caked in mud thrown by the larger ship. When the Elpis touched down, Rogers lowered the stabilizers and outriggers. They sank two feet into the mud but eventually met solid ground. It took the pilot several minutes to adjust them and get the Elpis level. Once he accomplished that, he called to the shuttle and advised it was safe to approach the ship.

The three exited the shuttle and walked over to a lowering boarding device. It worked on the same principle as an escalator, except there were no steps. Rather, this machine utilized a belt driven method to allow crew members to ascend and descend to and from the ship. Stone and Rooney were anxious to get out of their bio suits and provide orientation details to the rest of the team. The suits provided a maximum 48 hours of oxygen, even when the wearer is under duress, but they didn’t provide for keeping one clean. Both men were starting to smell themselves, and that wasn’t a good thing.

Once on board, the men were subjected to a three-phase decontamination process. This was performed in a cavity separate from the rest of Elpis’s interior. The bio suits were thoroughly cleansed with a caustic solution that was soft on the material, but would have peeled the skin off of Rooney and Stone. A steam shower rinsed the suits and drained the caustic so Rooney and Stone could remove them and their regular, outer clothing. Then came the anti-bacterial wash that was almost as caustic as the former. By the time it was over, their skin was reddened as if they had a third-degree sunburn, but it wasn’t painful to them. Doctor Trotter assured them by intercom it would only last a few minutes. A door opened, leading to a small locker where the two men could dress themselves.

Next in line was BOB-1. All he needed was the first dose of caustic cleaning, but they kept it on him for a full five minutes. After both men were dressed, they went to their assigned quarters to rub a soothing, skin salve on their bodies

. Rogers was busy collecting the rain water as fast as the Elpis was capable and heating it for the first hot showers anyone had experienced for over three years. Everyone agreed the ladies could go first, mainly because Trotter demanded it. She told them that just because they weren’t on Earth, some things still needed to stay the same.

Finally finished with the salve, and redressing, Stone and Rooney took care of their other team member, BOB- 1. Taking extra tooth brushes, they made sure that all of the mud and filth that clung to him after the caustic shower was removed. By the time they were finished, he was as clean as when he left the Astraeus. Both men were surprised when they received a curt ‘Thank you’ from the robot. After that, they tended to their weapons, making sure they were dirt and mud free and oiled to perfection. Once completed, they hurried to the mess so they could eat. The bio suits did not allow for that. They were glad to see several, steaming ‘steaks’ waiting for them and dug in.

Halfway through their meal, Rogers walked in to welcome them aboard in person.

“I hear you men had quite the adventure,” he said, sitting down beside Stone.

“You could say that,” Stone said, a mouth full of steak.

“Where do you think they went?” Rogers asked.

Both men knew of whom he was speaking.

“We’ve been asking ourselves the same question,” Rooney answered. “I think they got

sick.”

“From what?” Rogers queried, not expecting the soldier to have an answer.

“That’s what I’m hoping our smart people can replace out.”

It took more than two hours for the scientists to shower. In the meantime, the soldiers took a short nap in a clean bed. They were grateful for the opportunity. The rest of the crew ate and then readied to hear the security report. Most had been given a few tidbits by Brubaker of what had transpired when they entered the League ship. All were eager to hear the whole story. After that, they wanted to go outside with no further delay.

Rogers woke the soldiers up and allowed them some time to get a cup of coffee before delivering their report. Stone and Rooney went over the report to make sure it was concise and free from speculation. They knew these were logical people who had good reasoning skills. It would be difficult to blow any smoke and try to woo them with mirrors. The Elpis was equipped with a small meeting room. Chairs lined the walls and a small podium was front and center. When the two men entered the room, everyone was there. Even Brubaker, Fisk and Johnson were remotely cued in to the meeting. Rooney stood at the podium with Stone standing behind and to the right of him.

“Good to see all of you,” he began. “Welcome to Ajax Strata Prime.”

The group applauded and smiled, looking around at each other and nodding in delight.

“As most of you know,” Rooney continued. “We discovered a Sub-Saharan camp just a few clicks from this spot. It consisted of their ship, three habitation pods, at least two land rovers and various other items. There were no League personnel present. We believe, but cannot confirm, there was a third rover that has as yet been accounted for. It may be that it never existed, and if it did, we may never replace it. Inside the vessel we discovered one of the creatures that Constance likes to refer to as a Blue Boulder. Contrary to what was recorded by video during the Adventure’s visit, these animals are extremely dangerous. It is true they move slowly…very slowly, but their neck and head have no such restrictions. It effectively disabled me for a few moments, and if not for the quick thinking and brave actions by Sergeant Stone, I might not be here to speak with you today.”

“Excuse me, lieutenant,” Courtney Vickers interrupted. “Was the animal killed?”

“We don’t know, Ms. Vickers,” Rooney replied, keeping his terminology for them at a

professional level. “I can tell you that more than a hundred rounds of ammunition were fired at the creature, inflicting severe damage to it. However, it was still able to fight back and for several hours after suffering that damage, we knew it to still be alive.”

“How were you surprised?” Davis asked with a smirk. “I thought you men were trained at this sort of thing?”

Rooney swallowed hard.

“BOB-1 was monitoring the situation the whole time and did not pick up on the creature’s life signs,” Rooney explained. “His sensors are set to detect carbon based life forms only. BOB-1 asserts the animal is not carbon based.”

“All life is carbon based,” Courtney claimed.

“Uh…BOB-1 begs to differ,” Rooney countered. “Going back to Dr. Davis’ question, we believed the noises in the mess area were made by a League individual. We didn’t know we were going up against an indigenous creature.”

“If the robot informed you there were no life signs,” Davis said. “Why did you think a living thing was in the mess?”

“Dr. Davis,” Rooney said, becoming agitated. “I’m not going to stand here and argue with you about specifics. I will tell you we heard several noises indicating something or someone was in the ship’s mess. We investigated and…

“And wounded an animal of this planet and possibly killed it,” Davis interrupted. “As I said, you men shoot first and think later.”

Stone stepped forward, an expression of fury on his face.

“We didn’t shoot until it attacked us!” He exclaimed, pointing an angry finger at Davis. “It tried to kill the lieutenant and we defended ourselves.”

“Oh, come now,” Davis replied. “Did it say it was trying to kill you? Did it flash a sign that it was trying to kill you? How did it communicate its intentions toward you? Please, sergeant, I can’t wait to hear this.”

Rooney put a hand on Stone’s chest, gently pushing him back.

“Dr. Davis,” he said coolly. “The animal struck me and threw me across the room, temporarily disabling me.”

“Yes, I have no doubt it did,” Davis retorted. “But that could have been due to its natural behavior. As far as we know, the animal was saying, ‘Hello, I think I love you’, or some such.”

“The fact is, sir,” Rooney started, but Davis cut him off again.

“The fact is, lieutenant…you and your man are a liability to this mission,” Davis said, standing for emphasis. “We haven’t been here twenty-four hours and have already declared war on one of this planet’s species. We have already shed blood, which is something I was hoping to change about man’s entire sordid past with a new beginning here!” The more Davis spoke the louder his voice became. “It is reprehensible this creature has been attacked, regardless of its motives or instincts. Good God, man! Your actions were far worse than that creature’s was. If we had any justice system in place here I would bring you up on charges!”

Rooney was about to explode and gave a second’s thought to turning Stone loose on

Davis. He knew it would only make things worse to continue the report and decided to end it then and there.

“That’s the conclusion of our report,” Rooney said through clenched teeth and began to leave the room with Stone close behind.

“And what rubbish it was!” Davis exclaimed as the men walked out. When Rooney and Stone were gone, he strode defiantly to the remote speaker and addressed Brubaker. “Captain, I demand these men turn their weapons over to Lt. Commander Rogers for locking away. If we had enough shuttle fuel I would demand they return to the Astraeus for the remainder of this mission. Since the most pleasurable result is not possible, I want those weapons out of sight and unreachable by these…these…gentlemen. And, I want them subject to my authority while on the surface of this planet.”

What followed the tirade was a few seconds of silence. Brubaker’s voice was chilled when it came through the speaker.

“Dr. Davis,” he said. “Your objections have been noted. While I do not fully agree with your assessment of the situation, it is clear from BOB-1’s report the League personnel are either dead or missing. They pose no threat to the mission. With that understanding, I now instruct Lt.

Commander Rogers to lock away the security team’s weapons until further notice. It will be at his discretion as to when they will be unlocked. Lieutenant Rooney and Sergeant Stone will be under Rogers’ command while on the surface. You handle your people, Dr. Davis, and I’ll handle mine.”

“Be sure that you do, captain,” Davis barked at the speaker. “I will not abide another animal being senselessly attacked here. If it happens again, I shall hold you personally responsible.”

“Doctor,” Brubaker barked back. “You may hold me responsible for anything you like. Brubaker out.”

Leslie stood and walked out. She ran to the security control station, but Rooney and

Stone weren’t there. Racing through the ship, she finally found the men in the mess area. Both had just finished retrieving a cup of coffee and were about to sit down. Their faces were flushed with anger. Stone had to hold his cup with both hands he was shaking so badly. Leslie walked in and sat beside Rooney.

“I’m sorry about that back there,” she whispered, stroking his arm.

“I suppose we’re on probation,” Rooney quipped.

“Just give the order, lieutenant,” Stone hissed. “I’ll shove his head so far up his ass he’ll need a plexi-glass belly button to see where the hell he’s going.”

Rooney slightly laughed and smiled at Stone.

“I’ll keep that in mind, sergeant.”

“Rogers will be looking for you soon,” Leslie warned. “They’re taking your weapons

away.”

“They can have ’em,” Stone said. “Those fucking things were useless back at the League

ship.”

“So, you don’t think you killed it?” Leslie asked.

“I’m sure it’s dead by now,” Rooney said. “It was bleeding bad when we last saw it.” “Maybe I can talk Constance into letting you both take her there,” Leslie offered. “If it’s

dead, she can study it.”

“I’m sure Dr. Davis will have her busy with other stuff,” Rooney said. “Besides, nobody needs to go back there. Something went very wrong at that ship.”

“What do you think it was?”

“I don’t know,” Rooney answered, shaking his head. “I really don’t know.”

**********

The rain was relentless. One could set their clock by it. In the early morning hours it would cease, and then just before dawn it would come again, stronger than ever. The rain drops were very large and came straight down. There was no wind to accompany it. The planet’s surface was scarred from eons of runoff, and previous mapping revealed huge rivers and massive lakes. Only a quarter of the surface was land. The rest of the planet was ocean. Leslie was excited to see how the topsoil protected itself. She was out in the rain every day to watch what would happen and take samples of the soil. The ground, upon getting wet, would lump together and form what Leslie called a life-chain. Instead of the topsoil being washed away, the lumps somehow pushed out the harmful aspects of its material and keep the nutrients in the inner core. This was why the plant life was so lush and plentiful. Even though it looked like regular mud, she could plainly see what was happening with the use of her microscope.

Leslie also discovered other interesting information. The topsoil was similar to Earth’s.

However, her core samples showed that just eight inches beneath it the planet was rich in germanium. This was a remarkable discovery since germanium, on Earth, is approximately 1.6 parts per million. Only a few minerals contain appreciable amounts of germanium, but mineable deposits exist for none of them. To replace germanium in such great quantity on Ajax Strata Prime was significant. Until her replaceing, it was commonly believed germanium was created through stellar nucleosynthesis. This process, it was believed, occurred only inside pulsating red giant stars. Beta Comae Berenices was more like the Earth’s sun and did not qualify.

There was another item in the mud that caught her attention. For every square centimeter of soil, there were five to ten thousand microscopic granules that possessed some of the characteristics of germanium, but were not 100% germanium. She took note of the anomaly and continued her study.

Rogers was able to acquire the soldier’s weapons without difficulty. He could tell they weren’t happy, but there was no resistance. He needed to replace something for them to do that would keep them out of the scientists’ way. Stone was verbal in his intention to do physical harm to Davis if he said anything to him about the lieutenant. Rogers made sure Davis was aware of this and advised him to keep his mouth shut when Stone was near. He decided to have Rooney and Stone put up the outer perimeter defense system. Both men refused to go outside without their bio-suits and Rogers was pleased. The inclement weather, combined with the restrictiveness of the suits, meant it would take more time for them to complete the task.

The science team acted as if the rain didn’t bother them. They were busy going out every day exploring, sample taking, and then coming back to be decontaminated, take a shower and conduct analysis. The only team member that showed no interest in going outside was Dr. Trotter. She was more than content to stay inside and let the others have their fun. Trotter was more interested in her lab work and taking naps afterward.

Davis appropriated BOB-1 for his own use, ordering the robot to perform the most mundane tasks for him. Davis and Richardson were almost inseparable in both their work and their disdain of the soldiers. Most everyone kept the men at a distance. It was miserable enough without listening to their harping about the hardships of the weather on their work. Stone and Rooney were doing their own kind of harping as they set up the defense shield.

“We need to go back to that ship,” Stone argued, placing a sensor post in the mud and forcing it further into the ground.

“There’s nothing left to replace out there, sergeant,” Rooney said.

“That may be, lieutenant,” Stone continued. “But I bet they had weapons. In that storeroom.”

“And what about the creature?”

“Hell, lieutenant,” Stone replied, attaching a pulse meter to the base of the post. “That thing’s got to be dead by now.”

“It should have been dead before we left,” Rooney countered. “What if it has recuperative abilities we don’t know about? What if it regenerates at a high level? Too risky, sergeant.”

“All I know is if trouble comes all we’re going to be able to do is piss on it,” Stone grumbled. “It’ll take two to three minutes to get to those pea shooters. By then, it could be too late.”

“We’d have to get permission from Rogers, first,” Rooney explained. “He’d never let us

go.”

“All I need is permission from you,” Stone suggested, a wry grin forming.

Rooney looked around to see if anyone was close. It was purely an instinctual reaction. They were speaking through their helmet coms. If someone were standing beside them they wouldn’t be able to hear what was being said.

“Let me think on it,” Rooney advised. “I don’t like the idea of you going by yourself.”

They tried to make the job last as long as possible, but still managed to finish in just over 72 hours. The defense shield was tested and found to be in perfect working order. Neither man knew how effective it would be. The shield was designed to protect against humans. The maximum current that would be administered to anyone making contact with it was set at 95 milliamps. As the current approaches 100 milliamps, ventricular fibrillation of the heart occurs. This is an uncoordinated twitching of the walls of the heart’s ventricles, which results in death…in the majority of cases.

On Ajax Strata Prime, however, there were no human enemies the team was aware of.

One of the ‘Blue Boulders’ had already shown a resistance to high velocity lead. One could only guess how it would react when it encountered electricity. Still, it was the only defense mechanism they had once night fell.

The ground was so saturated they could only turn it on once everyone was back inside the Elpis. Were anyone to venture out at night, the possibility of being electrocuted was great. This made it even harder for Rooney to decide whether or not to send Stone to the League ship. If he did, he would have to go during the day.

And still it rained. Two additional weeks passed with the same routine of heavy downpours. There was the occasional thunder and some lightning, but the wind was almost nonexistent. The science team was getting tired of the rain and their conversation often turned to cursing the weather. On the other hand, the plants and animals of the planet thrived on it. They saw several creatures around the camp constantly drinking as if there were no tomorrow. The plants seemed to turn a more resplendent green than when they arrived, though it didn’t seem possible. The one creature everyone wanted to see, except for Rooney and Stone, was the Blue Boulder. To everyone’s disappointment, there had been no sightings, save for the one the soldiers may have destroyed.

After setting up the defense shield, Rooney and Stone’s life was one of continuous boredom. Leslie was too busy for sex and BOB-1 was too busy for chess. Rooney quickly decided Stone wasn’t an adequate substitute for either. The sergeant spent most of his time outside, sitting in a chair he uprooted from the mess. Rooney stayed in the security control center, monitoring communications between the scientists to make sure nothing strange was happening. He always kept a channel open to the Astraeus, just in case Brubaker had anything for him to do. It was early one morning during a lull in the rain when Rooney decided to get a few winks of sleep. He was about to go to his quarters when the Astraeus monitor came to life. It almost excited him that there was something else to do, even if it was only flipping a switch to see who was contacting him. He was disappointed to see BOB-2 appear on the screen.

“What is it, Bob,” Rooney grunted.

“Pawn to King four,” the robot stated.

Rooney almost jumped from his chair and watched as BOB-2’s frontal lights suddenly blinked off. The robot had deactivated per Rooney’s program. He quickly established a remote link to BOB-2 and initiated a diagnostic routine to see what the tampering consisted of. The routine had only been engaged for a few seconds when the link was suddenly terminated. Rooney tried to re-establish it, but was having no success. A full minute passed while he worked feverishly to make contact with BOB-2. His next surprise came when BOB-2 flickered back to life. All of the frontal lights came back on, and the robot’s ‘head’ moved from side to side.

“Bob,” Rooney said. “Deactivate. Command code 061682. Deactivate.”

BOB-2’s frontal lights flickered and his head stopped moving. The lights re-lit and BOB- 2 looked straight into the monitor. The next thing Rooney saw was a blank screen. He was sweating now, because BOB-2 was supposed to have been programmed to heed the command code. It had been heavily encrypted to stop someone from doing what Rooney suspected had just happened. The lieutenant frantically tried to contact the robot, but was having no success. He leaned back in the chair and considered contacting Brubaker. But, about what? He thought. What do I tell him? He suddenly had an idea and tuned the monitor for contact with the bridge on the Astraeus.

“Lt. Rooney to Captain Brubaker,” Rooney said on the com. “Come in captain.”

He waited a few moments and then tried again.

“Lt. Rooney to Captain Brubaker. Come in captain.”

“Brubaker here,” he said, his face appearing on the monitor. “I hope you guys know that you’re the ones having all the fun. I’m very much jealous of you all.”

Rooney tried to put on a good face.

“Sorry about that, captain,” he said, trying to smile. “What can I do for you, Austin?”

“Getting kind of bored down here, too, captain,” Rooney said. “Just thought I would check in to see how it’s going.”

“No problems here,” Brubaker said. “Benjamin and BOB-2 are getting ready to conduct some power maintenance. BOB-2 suggested it was time and I agreed.”

“When did he do that?”

“Oh, about five minutes ago,” Brubaker said. “Why do you ask?”

“No reason,” Rooney replied. “Like I said, it’s kind of boring down here.”

Rooney wanted to tell Brubaker what he had done, but that would only cause more questions to come his way. He labored between telling him to make sure BOB-2 was functioning properly, and waiting to see what happened. Rooney finally decided that honesty was the best policy.

“Captain,” he said. “I do have a reason for contacting you.”

“Okay,” Brubaker responded. “Spill it.”

Brubaker looked away from the monitor, a concerned look on his face.

“What the hell?” He said.

“What is it?” Rooney asked, worried. “What happened?”

“Let me get back to you, lieutenant,” Brubaker said. “Astraeus out.”

**********

Benjamin Johnson’s life blood was spreading on the generator deck. BOB-2 asked him to kneel, presumably to inspect a power tie-in that he believed was inoperative. When Johnson knelt, and bent over to take a look, BOB-2 jabbed at his neck with a tool attachment known as a phase particle neutralizer (PPN). The PPN was used to balance the magnetic force of the engine against the electrical circuits running through the ship. There were several ‘balancing’ stations running the length of the vessel, and one of BOB-2’s functions was to calibrate them on a regular basis.

The robot’s thrust sliced through Johnson’s left carotid artery, instantly rendering him incapacitated and clutching at his opened throat. The attack was vicious, being this carotid was an internal one and located deep within the neck. BOB-2, researching his massive database on human physiology, chose this particular wound because the left common carotid artery arises directly from the aorta, providing the principal blood supply to the brain. Johnson managed a yell but, after that he had no chance to emit another sound.

BOB-2 was now frantically using the bloodied tool to create a reaction between the liquid hydrogen stored in the ship’s hull and the oxygen inside the Astraeus. Johnson was constantly in the engineering section and would have detected what the robot was trying to do before it could complete its new mission. The program that overrode all others included dispatching the engineer. Once BOB-2 made the liquid hydrogen unstable, he would drill into the hull and create an arc from the generator to his metal frame. Once that occurred, the resulting destruction of the Astraeus would light up the sky on Ajax Strata Prime, even during broad daylight.

It took less than two minutes for Brubaker to arrive on the grisly scene. He looked at Johnson in horror. The man’s eyes were wide and fixed, dull with death. His blood covered the floor and both hands were frozen in a clutch around his throat. Brubaker wrenched his eyes from

Johnson’s lifeless form and fixed them on BOB-2.

“Bob! What are you doing?!”

The robot ignored him and kept working. Brubaker rushed inside, slipping on the engineer’s blood as he tried to make progress toward the robot. BOB-2 quickly turned and proceeded to meet the captain, the PPN clicking and clacking, ready to slice Brubaker open at the waist. The captain realized his situation was dire and that BOB-2 was no longer a friendly crew member. He tried to stop his forward progress and slipped on the blood, crashing to the deck. BOB-2 was only feet away, rapidly coming toward him. Brubaker kicked out with both feet, trying to slow him down. The robot lashed out with the PPN, cutting through the sole of

Brubaker’s left shoe as if it were butter.

Suddenly, Brubaker was rudely pulled backward by the collar, Johnson’s blood assisting in the speed with which he was provided distance between him and BOB-2. Fisk had come in and, seeing what was happening, reached out to pull Brubaker to safety. Just as the robot was at the door, Fisk slammed it shut and locked BOB-2 inside. The robot immediately turned and went back to its destructive work.

Brubaker stood up, covered in blood and breathing fast from the shock of what had just occurred. He looked at Fisk and could only nod his appreciation for being saved.

“What the hell is going on?!” Fisk exclaimed. “Did Bob kill Johnson?”

Brubaker caught his breath and grabbed Fisk by the arm.

“BOB-2’s gone nuts,” he said. “I think he’s trying to blow up the ship.”

“What makes you say that?”

“He’s using the PPN on a power conduit,” Brubaker explained. “I’m not sure, I didn’t get a good look at it. But I think he’s trying to destabilize the liquid hydrogen.”

“If he does that,” Fisk said, his face betraying fear. “All it will take is a spark to light us

up.”

“We got to get the hell out of here,” he ordered. “We don’t have time to stop him.”

Fisk asked no questions and followed Brubaker’s lead. Both men ran as fast as they could to the shuttle bay. Brubaker and Fisk were well aware they only had a few minutes to reach the shuttle and make their escape. Getting off the Astraeus wasn’t the only problem. They had to get far enough away so as not to be affected by the blast. It was going to be a tremendous shock wave and neither felt confident the shuttle could withstand it. Still, it was their only option and they hurried to make the most of it.

BOB-2 completed the first part of his program. The liquid hydrogen was now exposed to the high oxygen environment of the ship’s interior. Bypass valves were interlinked to form the desired mixture. The robot scurried to a tool locker and exchanged the PPN for a drill. Securing the attachment, BOB-2 rolled to a section of the hull’s inner wall and began to bore through it. He only required a small hole. Once he was through, the explosive gas would spray inside the compartment. At that point, he would strike the match.

In moments, the robot was through the wall. Liquid Hydrogen shot through the small hole at great velocity, pushing the heavy robot backward. BOB-2 wheeled around and rolled to the power conduit. He took position and opened the explosion proof hatch to the electrical components within. Without hesitation, BOB-2 thrust the drill bit into the contacts.

**********

Lt. Commander Rogers liked this part of the night best. The skies were clear and the rain gave them approximately two hours respite. Since none of the Blue Boulders had been seen, and the other creatures were apparently harmless, Rogers delayed the operation of perimeter shield. He was sitting outside, enjoying the night sounds of the creatures around him and looking up at the stars. Rogers was sipping on some scotch he had brought with him to celebrate their successful landing. The bottle was near empty, and for that he was sorry. He had already been thinking about approaching Julio Martinez, the team’s botanist, about what kind of fruit or grain they might be able to ferment. He smiled at the thought, swirling the last bit of scotch in the glass, savoring the moment before he upended it and swallowed the contents. Rogers heard a noise behind him and turned to see who it was. The figure approached and soon was within range of the small lantern Rogers had on the ground in front of him. It was Delmar Richardson.

“Hello, doctor,” Rogers said.

“Mind if I have a seat?” The man asked.

“Not at all,” Rogers said, pointing at two other chairs opposite him. “Take your pick.”

Richardson sat down and sighed.

“What brings you out?” Rogers asked, trying to get the last drop of the scotch from the

glass.

“Couldn’t sleep,” he said. “I feel like this rain has seeped into my marrow. I was raised in

England, you know. Dreadful place. The rain, you know…the bloody pissing rain comes down all the time. I thought I knew what being waterlogged was. But now, I know I had no idea.”

Rogers chuckled and nodded his head.

“I think it’s getting to all of us,” he said. “Davis believes there will be a dry season and once it hits, we’ll be wishing for the rain again.”

“Dear God, I hope not,” Richardson said, smiling. “Right now I would enjoy a full day’s sunshine and hot weather.”

Richardson looked at his wristwatch and then at the sky. His eyes scanned the stars for several seconds.

“Looking for anything in particular?” Rogers asked, placing the glass on the ground beside him.

“No, no,” Richardson said, still looking upward. “Just looking.”

Rogers followed his lead and looked at the stars again. Both men were gazing when they heard another noise. Now it was Geraldo Flores walking toward them. He was one of the laboratory specialists and mainly kept to himself. Rogers and Richardson said hello and offered him the only available chair. He thanked them and availed himself of it.

“Can’t sleep?” Rogers asked.

“I just finished analyzing some of Leslie’s core samples. I thought I would stretch my legs while it wasn’t raining,” he explained.

“Seems to be the consensus,” Richardson said. “It wouldn’t surprise me to see everybody out here at this time of night.”

“Me neither,” Rogers said.

Geraldo saw the two men go back to looking skyward. He craned his neck and winced to try and focus on what they were staring at. All three were acting the same as the plant life during the rain, straining to reach the ultimate height of their stature.

It was then a bright flash erupted directly above them. Rogers and Geraldo were instantly startled, but neither noticed that Richardson’s demeanor remained calm. The other two men rose from their chairs, mouths open at the spectacle. In seconds, the brilliant light was gone.

“What was that?” Geraldo asked, still scanning the night sky.

“I hope it wasn’t what I think it was,” Rogers said as he was running back to the Elpis.

Richardson watched him run and smiled. He stood and nonchalantly walked to his quarters. Geraldo remained, his eyes transfixed on the sky.

“What was that?” He said again, this time his voice quivering. He knew what it was, but didn’t have the nerve to say it.

Rogers rushed into the security command center to replace Rooney trying to make contact with the Astraeus. He thought it odd the lieutenant would be up at this hour, much less trying to establish communications with the mother ship. Rooney heard the sudden footsteps and turned to see Rogers staring at him.

“What are you doing?” Rogers asked him.

“Trying to get back in touch with the captain,” he replied.

“You were talking to him?”

“Yes, sir,” Rooney said. “He went to check on something and a few minutes later I lost all contact. I can’t even get a remote view of the bridge anymore. Is there something I can do for you, commander?”

“Keep trying to contact them,” Rogers said. “We just had a bright flash in the sky and I hope it wasn’t what I think it was.”

“Yes, sir,” Rooney said, turning back to the monitor.

He pressed his eyelids together and almost muttered a curse. Rooney knew BOB-2 had destroyed the Astraeus. What he didn’t know was why or, better yet, who had instructed him to do it. Rooney turned back to Rogers.

“Sir, if I may suggest,” he said. “The Elpis has long range sensors. If the Astraeus was supposed to be in our hemisphere, she should be able to pick her up.”

Rogers nodded and left to check the ship’s sensors. Rooney got up and shut the door. He returned to the console and woke up Stone, telling him to get to the command center as quickly as possible. He didn’t try to make contact with the mother ship. Rooney was certain it would be a futile effort.

It only took a few minutes for the entire crew compliment to be awakened and told of the phenomena in the sky. Before long, all of them were gathered outside, looking upward with Geraldo and discussing the different scenarios that may have caused it. Rogers exited the ship and approached the group. Rooney and Stone were standing on the outskirts of the circle that was formed around him as he came to give the latest report.

“The long-range sensors on the Elpis can’t pick up the Astraeus,” he said glumly. “There is no response to our hails. Now, I know the easy thing to do here is think the worst. But, as long as we don’t have confirmation as to the well-being of the Astraeus or Captain Brubaker, I suggest we stay positive.”

“Was the Astraeus supposed to be above us at this hour, commander?” Davis asked as smugly as he was able.

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“And is there anything wrong with the Elpis’ sensors or communications?”

“No.”

“Do you have a reasonable explanation…apart from there being an explosion…of what caused the bright flash that was seen by you, Doctor Richardson and Doctor Flores?”

“No.”

“Then how on Eart…or Ajax…do you expect us to think positively?” Davis concluded. “Doctor Davis,” Rogers said. “If it’s all right with you, I’d rather not give up on anything

positive until we know for sure.”

“Of course,” Davis said. “I defer to your command judgment. However, if the Astraeus has been destroyed, we must all work together to make sure we survive down here. As far as we know, this may be the human race’s last chance.”

Rogers had no desire to continue the conversation with Davis and went back into the ship. Davis, on the other hand, was not finished speaking to those who remained. Even though Leslie and Constance were silently crying, and the rest of the men, along with Courtney were looking at each other with blank stares and fearing the unknown…Davis couldn’t resist going on.

“I believe it may behoove us all to think about how we are going to proceed from here,” he said. “If our worse fears come true, it will be necessary for us to replace plant life that bears nourishment we can use. For those who are not averse to eating meat, we have to replace out what animals are edible on this planet. If our tenure here is to be an extended one, we have to think about how to make new clothing and new footgear. Most importantly, we must decide who is going to lead us.”

“There it is,” Rooney spoke up. “I was wondering how long that was going to take.”

Davis threw him a smug look.

“Of course, lieutenant, there will always be room for those with sufficient brawn to perform heavy labor.”

“Under your command?” Rooney mocked. “That’ll be the day.”

He and Stone walked to the Elpis and disappeared inside. Leslie followed them, not wishing to hear any more. It was too early for her to start making plans for a life on Ajax Strata Prime. She had to get her head around what had happened. It was also strange, she thought, how Davis was able to switch gears so quickly, going from a temporarily assigned scientist to a permanent resident. The prospect of staying there for the rest of her life was not a pleasant one.

She found the soldiers and Rogers in the security command center, still trying to raise the Astraeus. Leslie watched them for a full five minutes before losing patience.

“Would you just stop it,” she demanded. “They’re dead. They’re all dead. And we’re stuck here.”

The tears began to flow as she covered her face. Her shoulders were shaking from the uncontrolled sobbing. Rooney walked over and held her for a time, trying to comfort her. Rogers took over at the communications console, desperately trying to raise Brubaker. After several minutes, even he gave up and had to admit it was time to accept the inevitable. The Astraeus was lost and most probably everyone on board.

Two hours later the rain came. This time, every person on the team felt it was appropriate. Davis allowed his team the option of continuing their studies or taking the day off. He and Richardson went to work as they always did. At midday, Courtney, Constance and Julio Martinez picked up the tools of their trade and did likewise. The rest stayed in the relative comfort of their cabins. Rogers kept to himself on the bridge, brooding over what had happened. Rooney and Stone remained in the security command center, trying to come up with a reason for what happened.

“I tell you, sergeant,” Rooney said. “BOB-2 did exactly as I programmed him. He contacted me, said the code phrase and then deactivated. For some reason, when I initiated the diagnostic, it was like turning on a new program and he wouldn’t respond to me.”

“And when you tried to tell Brubaker?” Stone asked.

“That’s when he heard something and told me he would be back. He never showed.” “Then it couldn’t have been Brubaker,” Stone concluded. “It was either Johnson or Fisk.” “What, kill their own selves along with everyone else? That doesn’t make sense.”

“What does, then?” Stone asked, shrugging.

“I’ll tell you what I’m thinking,” Rooney said. “I’m thinking it was someone down here.

They established a link with BOB-2 and downloaded a program into him. Whoever it was had to know his protocols for him to allow it.”

“Okay,” Stone conceded. “Let’s say you’re right. That still doesn’t explain why your program functioned up until the diagnostic was started. Doesn’t make sense.”

“I know,” Rooney confessed. “I’ve been wracking my brain over it. I can’t figure it out.

But, we do know that only Rogers and Davis has those protocols. It had to be one of them, and

I’d put everything I own on Davis.”

“Me too,” Stone agreed. “But how do we prove it?”

“We can’t right now. The bigger question for me is ‘why’? Why would he do it? What would motivate him to destroy our only means of getting home?”

“Maybe he’s some kind of empire builder,” Stone smiled. “Maybe he looks at this as his chance to finally be on top of the pile. It sure sounded that way outside.”

“Yeah,” Rooney said. “Like that’s going to happen. Still, he needs watching. Another thing that worries me is he’s had a lot of private access to BOB-1. I have to get him in here and check him out without anybody knowing it.”

“That shouldn’t be too hard,” Stone said. “Let me take care of it. You’ll have all the time you need.”

“How do you plan on getting him away from Davis?”

Sergeant Stone smiled and shook his head, looking at Rooney like he was a stranger.

“Are you kidding me, lieutenant?” He asked. “You act like you don’t know me at all.”

Rooney leaned back in the chair and smiled back at him.

“Don’t hurt Dr. Davis, sergeant,” he ordered.

Stone feigned being hurt.

“Me? Harm a scientist? That goes against everything I believe in, sir,” he said. “I won’t hurt him, but I might have to make him think I am.”

“That’s okay,” Rooney allowed. “Do what you have to do, just get Bob in here as fast as you can. Today would be great.”

“Is that an order, sir?”

“That’s an order, sergeant,” Rooney said.

“Yes, sir,” Stone replied. “One Federal States robot coming up.”

Rooney watched him leave. A storm is coming, he thought. Worse than any he’d seen.