Vestige
Chapter 9

“Cairo…Cairo…” Geologist-Fillip Natsome, clad in his space-protectant, nudged the astrophysicist a bit harder on his arm. “Astrophysicist-an Preun!”

The scouting mission lead snapped out of his sleep in his bunk; aft-section of the scouting ship, where there were personal compartments for tiny private areas for the crew. He looked around the small section and noticed that all the other bunks were vacant. Natsome went on…

“Tech-Housenn and I stayed up all night waiting for synth Number Four to show up…”

The astro-scientist’s head snapped up. “It never did?”

The geologist simply shook his head; a deeply worried countenance on his face. And after the astrophysicist learned of the news, there were two faces with deeply worried countenances.

“Where’s everyone else,” an Preun asked as he got up and started to slip his space-protectant back on.

“They’re outside, still trying to locate Number Four. Synth One had been scanning all night for Number Four—nothing, of course. It’s standing guard now. As for Tyra; well, you know Tech-Housenn with her wandering ways…”

Again, Astrophysicist-an Preun’s head snapped in Geologist-Natsome’s direction. “What? I told Tyra to stay on the campgr—”

“You told her, last night, to come back to the camp. This is today, and, frankly, Cairo, that’s why the scouting mission is here—to investigate, whether or not, the planet and its system is a good place for us to relocate our citizens…besides, she took the mechanic with her.”

That seemed to ease an Preun a bit. Whom, by that time, was fully-attired in his space-protectant. Both men exited the parked scout-ship and joined Pilot-Thuall and Chemist-Salomenes at the campground’s growing infrastructure of scientific equipment, computerable perimeter fencing, and the four, remaining single-flyer vehicles assigned to the four remaining humans on the campgrounds. Synthetic laborer One—the synth that made it back to the base last night—stood ramrod still in the center of the camp; its sensors and comm-systems reading and observing all things in the vicinity…

“...Yes, this time I heard it,” Mechanic-Sohill assured Tech-Housenn in a whisper. The two were in an eye-stretching plains region. The hills undulated as if they had been a sea-expanse that had been frozen on the spot, billions of years ago! Their single-flyers were parked several yards away. “Tech-Housenn, how do we know if we’re not walking into a trap? These blips of comm-interference…are they just a way to lure us to some thing’s trap?”

“I can see you don’t venture out too often, Charmain…Alright; I’ve thought about that, too. But we don’t know. That’s why the scouting team is here, isn’t it? Despite what Astrophysicist-an Preun said to me last night about my excursions, we have to take a bit of a risk for our colony, Mechanic-Sohill.”

They finished taking readings in that section of the plains—no synthetic laborer Number Four, and nothing to indicate where the strange interference came from. Tyra continued after they glanced at their reading from their devices, including their respective portables.

“Look, I’ve learned not to assume things…last year, after my synths got that portal to the enclosed chamber opened and we had those unexpected readings because of the millennia of trapped air, when news got out about it, some colonists thought aliens had been stowaways there and sabotaged that part of the Ship just to keep the colonists away from there!”

The young mechanic did a sarcastic laugh. “I have a confession to make, Tech-Housenn…I was one of those colonists who thought that!”

He could see through her translucent protectant’s headpiece that she was smiling and rolling her eyes at his response. The humans were able to breathe cMaj’s air, but the light-weight helmets made it easier for them. He saw through that translucent cover that a sudden thought crossed over her.

“Were you also one of those that protested the altered living conditions within the Ship during the Acclimation Period? Because the Ship’s actuator’s stats show they tend to be of the same demographics…”

Maintenance Technician Housenn was beginning to make a name for herself in the media of events within the Colony after her replaceing of the ancient signal a year ago, so Mechanic-Sohill knew where she was coming from. He gave a thoughtful look at her before responding.

“I’d rather not say one way or the other—”

“—this is synthetic laborer Number Four…Repeat, contacting Colonial Mission cMaj, this is synthetic laborer Number Four…”

Before Tech-Housenn and Mechanic-Sohill could even respond, there was a barrage of responses from the other scout crews; asking where synth Four had been and a few choice words! But Number Four responded, “You must evacuate planet cMaj now…Repeat, you must evacuate planet cMaj now…Advised that you do not wait for me…evacuate planet cMaj now…!”

And synthetic laborer Number Four simply repeated that last message…