Chapter 2
“A xenoarchaeological cultural research mission, off planet?” I could hardly believe my ears. My heart gave a leap of excitement. This was a dream come true. And yet… “what’s the catch?”
The officer who had done most of the speaking after politely but firmly telling Jaron, Dean Romo, and President Sharpe to leave, put his hands up. “There is no catch, Jacqueline. We want you to be able to do the work that you’re so good at.”
As much as it pained me, I waited. I knew better than to dive in and agree to something that sounded too good to be true.
“This planet is largely uninhabited and the area you'll work in has been abandoned by the vorpyr for some time.” The woman to the right of the first officer spoke.
Her companions glanced at her. “You would get to be one of the first to actually study an abandoned part of an alien civilization, and the first to study a vorpyr civilization.
We'll outfit you with a ship, and after running background on the team you select, they can go as well. The only thing we ask in return is copies of your notes and findings, and a debriefing.”
I tried not to let my growing excitement show.
I wanted this so badly. Would it really hurt to deal with these people a little more to get my dream field mission?
I had nothing against the Triplanetary Consortium or their military.
It had just been the taking of my work that had frustrated me so badly.
Now they were offering me a spaceship to take the team of my choice.
This would likely be the most amazing experience I would get in my lifetime.
“What is the timeline you’re looking at for the trip?” I pretended not to see the look of victory in the officer’s eyes.
The one who hadn’t spoken yet, another man, said, “I can get your team outfitted and a pilot assigned to you in seven weeks. It will take you a week to reach it, and you’ll be on-planet for two weeks to a month, entirely dependent on your decision when you’re there doing your work.”
Seven weeks of prepping for a research expedition like this was not a lot of time, but I knew the best in their fields and I was certain that I could get them to come with me.
I was also thrilled to learn that I had a say in how long we stayed.
It would definitely be a month. I already wished it could be more.
I was surprised that they would be able to get it to me so quickly.
Had they planned for me to say yes ahead of time?
“You'll need to send us the names and contact information of the people that you will want on your team by the end of next week. For planet security reasons we will go through a deep background check and interview each person,” the woman said.
“I'll do that.” Every time they spoke I became more concerned about why they’d suddenly decided to greenlight this expedition, despite what they’d said about only requesting my “notes and findings.” I also wondered what the debriefing entailed.
When I asked, they brushed it off, assuring me it would just be a conversation between them and us about our discoveries.
After I asked several more questions regarding logistics, they left.
I sat for a moment, trying to collect myself as my heart raced and excitement had my mind buzzing with what I would need to prepare and who I would need to contact.
I was light and happy as I left the room, like I’d been given wings.
Jaron was pacing outside the door. He arched an eyebrow when he saw me. “I wasn't expecting you to look so jovial after a visit with the Consortium Military. In fact, I was worried I would have to bust in and rescue you. And you know how bad I look in orange.”
A grin flashed across my face. “Let’s talk about this at dinner after work. I’m cooking steaks.”
“You’re making me nervous.” Jaron eyed me.
“See you at my house at seven.” I was too mature to skip, but the prospect of another research mission, one that fit into everything I loved to do, filled me with delight.
I loved studying the cultures of my own planet, and now I could truly study the language and cultures of other species, sanctioned. Without my work being taken from me.
“Why do you think they’re finally letting you study the vorpyr after all this time?
” Tatiana asked as we sat with our packs ready for the trip.
She was close to graduating with her PhD and had proven to be an exceptionally hard-working assistant.
I was once again glad that I hadn’t picked the student who was always at the top of the class but the one that I saw the most improvement from.
“It’s likely that they need a certain type of information that they’re not able to get through regular channels. Maybe they think it will help if any more skirmishes take place between our species.”
Tatiana bit her lip and studied me under her thick lashes. “And you’re ok with that?”
I pursed my lips. No, I wasn’t ok with it, but this was the only way to be the first to study, really study, this alien species. “I have to be. Otherwise, we don’t get to make the incredible discoveries I know we will on this trip.” I finally said.
She nodded and sifted through her pack for the third time, making sure everything was in place.
I made one more note in my journal before getting up and going to her.
I placed a hand on her shoulder, “if you’re not comfortable with this, you don't have to go. This is a morally gray area for me, but one I’m willing to take because of how much I want this.
This has been my life for over a decade.
” We’d had a similar conversation before, but I wanted to be one hundred percent certain she was ok with this.
“Where’s our chariot?” Jaron marched through the door, two huge black duffels slung across his shoulders.
“Don’t call it that in front of the pilot. I met him the other day and he was gushing about the spaceship and the superiority of its construction.” I said mildly, smiling.
Dean Romo had been concerned that people would see it as nepotism if my brother came along, but I was firm.
He was a damn good researcher. He had a great background with dual degrees in anthropology and paleontology, with his PhD in anthropology, and I trusted him.
For a mission like this, where I would be on my toes in a completely new—alien—environment, I want to know I can rely on the people who are with me and trust them to do their jobs with the utmost professionalism.
Tatiana smiled. “That will be our secret moniker for it.” She glanced at me. “I’m excited to go.”
I nodded once, more relieved than I would show. She was an asset to have, and I was grateful she would experience this with me.
“You have everything you’ll need?” I asked Jaron.
“Yep, for up to a month, possibly a little longer.”
A door opened loudly to the back of the docking station we were sitting in and I gazed out the viewing window between the waiting area and the ships. The pilot I’d spoken with, a woman I assumed was his co-pilot from her attire, and six men in Consortium Military officer garb entered the room.
One ship lowered a ramp and they lined up to get on board.
“Isn’t that a lot of officers to take us to an uninhabited part of a planet?” Tatiana whispered.
“It’s likely there will be wild animals.” I said, trying to quell the nerves stirring in my gut at the sight of the sleek weapons they carried.
“What has you looking so somber on such an exciting day? I would think you would look like Christmas came early.” Jaron asked, having missed the exchange between Tatiana and me.
I laughed. “You were the one who liked Christmas the best. And you always woke me up way too early.”
“The joy of the season needed to be dragged out of you, and I did it.” His expression turned smug. “Besides, it was easy for me to take a nap in the afternoon.”
“I’ve always hated that about you. You can even sleep on planes.” I shook my head in disgust. I’d never been able to fall asleep during the day, made obvious by the permanent purplish half-moons under my eyes.
The main entrance opened with a whoosh, and the rest of my research group trundled in, seven in total, including two exceptional grad students that were requested by Dr. Wu and Dr. Froehle.
More than one person had a luggage ski, the thing hovering over the ground, heavy with their equipment.
They really had the best hi-tek here. In regular airports they still had those awful bulky carts that squealed when pushed.
“I need one of these on all of my expeditions.” Dr. Rasmussen, a lean, graying man, and top professor of culture and societal dynamics at another university, said as he made his way over.
“Maybe the Consortium employees won’t notice it missing.” I joked.
The pilot came into the room at that moment, because, why not? He flicked his brows up at my statement. Jaron snorted. Great, I’d probably be put on some list now. Some new list. Beware, researcher fond of stealing hi-tek equipment. That’s all I needed.
“If everyone is ready, we’ll load up and get started. Follow me with your luggage.” The pilot announced loudly.
I got to my feet and grabbed my bags, which hung heavy on my shoulders. No luggage ski for me. Probably a good thing, after getting caught commenting on it.
The hanger was cold, and the metallic smell of the aircraft invaded my senses. I shivered. A feeling of dread had been pricking my stomach for hours, and this only intensified the discomfort.
“I can’t believe we finally get to study an actual abandoned civilization of the vorpyr.
” Tatiana's eyes shined with delight as if only now fully processing what was happening as we waited for the ramp to descend and allow us to board.
We'd been on one of these before, for the private research mission that all my work had been taken from, but the massive gray ship still took my breath away.
“Do we really need a ship this large?” I wondered.
It seemed to have a top part and a separate bottom section.
Was one for emergencies? Very few vessels had or needed escape pods anymore, especially if the ship would stay within the well-traveled intergalactic zones.
At least that’s what I’d heard. Conglomerates, politicians, and wealthy people were among the only humans who freely traveled intergalactically, so reliable information wasn’t widely available.
“Please board and store your bags.” the captain barked, looking irked as we studied his vessel.
“There is a special quality of researchers that no one else seems to have. We know that time is an important element in significant happenings.” Dr. Wu was a slender woman with pure white hair who also had double PhDs.
She was always busy with multiple projects at a time, so I was lucky to have been able to get her on this mission.
Wanting to keep the captain and Dr. Wu from arguing, I quickly said, “All right everyone, let’s get started on this exciting journey.”
We traveled up the ramp and boarded. After we secured our gear and strapped ourselves in, excitement warmed my chest. It would take a week to get there, even with the full engine core engaged, sending us hurtling through space, so I pulled out a notebook and carefully went over my plans for our time there.