A short spolding jump took us back to the ice world and the first thing we did was to ask how they were getting on with the supplies from Earth. There had been an almost immediate improvement in their general vitality and the flask of Earth bugs was now undergoing analysis in their laboratories.
Experiments were taking place with some of our viruses and only a few were able to bind to alien cell membranes which meant that there was little danger to them. Those which did seemed to be shrugged off by their immune systems.
It was a different story with bacteria. Many were capable of making the aliens sick, but most of our bacteria were finding it difficult to survive within them. Those which did were quickly overcome by specialist cells in their blood.
So far, it looked as if they would be safe from attack by Earthly bugs, but care and observation would be ongoing.
If there were no serious reactions, two of them would be invited to travel back to Earth with us in an area of our Spirit which contained a biohazard compartment. It had been designed in case some of the crew picked up an alien bug and had to be isolated and could equally well be used to transport some of the aliens.
When the ten days ended, I was to take a Rimor down to the Heradians and spend some time trying to understand their habitat. During that period, we were all trying to add some basic Heradian language skills. Our entities shortened the learning time considerably, but my ability was still only pidgin quality when Chi and I began to prepare our Rimor for departure. Anna-one undocked the fuel tank for descent to the surface to await our arrival.
‘Hi, Stroya, Mark here.’
‘Copy you, Mark.’
‘Anna is about to send down our fuel tank and we’ll be following it in the shuttlecraft.’
‘Right, okay, Mark.’
‘Your people know how to secure the tank to the ground so that it can’t get blown over by the wind?’
‘Yes, Bill gave full instructions and Gurd will be with them.’
‘Sounds good. How’s the quarantine going?’
‘Descorad here, Mark. I’m one of the virologists monitoring our volunteers,’ said a new gruff voice.
‘Nice to speak to you, Descorad. What results so far?’ I asked.
‘None of the bacteria seem to like our high pH blood, but two of the volunteers have developed a condition where their eyes keep weeping and headaches have been a problem. One of them is better today, but the other was later to pick it up and is still suffering. It is the virus you called rhinovirus. No one else has symptoms so far.’
‘Hi, Descorad, Tosh here. That sounds promising. Rhinovirus is one of the main causes of what we call the common cold. Your bacteria tests are interesting as they suggest our blood might be too acidic for your bacteria to survive within us. Let’s hope so.’
‘We’ve carried out all the checks you suggested, Tosh. We think we’re good to go,’ said Descorad.
‘That’s good news,’ I said. ‘We’ll still need to remain isolated from you until our guys on Earth get a look at your own bacteria and viruses to see how they might affect us.’
‘I’ve prepared some containers to take with you,’ said the alien. ‘Also, the weed-eating plant. We’ve no way of testing it but, theoretically, it will consume the weed. In addition, we’re providing some sacks of seeds which should be able to be scattered among the weed-eating plants to gain some sort of foothold and create areas where the weed has been vanquished.’
‘Our labs will be able to check that,’ said Tosh.
‘Stroya,’ I said. ‘Anna says the tank is about to leave, so should be with you in a couple of hours. We’ll follow when we know it is secure.’
‘No problem, Mark. We’re ready,’ said Stroya.
‘Speak again later, Stroya, Descorad,’ I said, and left the virologist talking with Tosh.
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
The tank descended safely. The Heradians secured it to the ground ready for docking and blast-off.
Now it was just the two of us in the Rimor, me in the left seat and Chi on the right as pilot and commander while in flight. Shooey, of course, sat on the top of her console ensuring we’d receive all the luck we needed. Her belief in the mascot had been reinforced by its saving of us from crashing into Arctur earlier. I hoped we wouldn’t need any more luck on this mission.
We both wore lightweight airtight suits. For contamination reasons, we’d connect to bottled air before leaving the Rimor. We couldn’t breathe the nitrogen-rich, oxygen-poor concoction which formed Arctur’s atmosphere anyway, but we would have been able to survive in the enclosed areas of the Heradian’s base if we’d been immune to their bugs. Our hope was that Earth would find nothing dangerous in the bugs and viruses which the aliens carried so that, in the future, we’d be able to meet without suits. We already knew that the atmosphere on Herade itself, as well as Haven, was quite breathable.
Countdown ended, Chi fired the engines to drop us out of orbit then turned the Rimor so that its main heat shield would be taking the brunt of the fiery friction we’d encounter as we fell towards Arctur’s surface. This would be a good test for both the landing and take-off systems as Arctur had by far the densest atmosphere of any of the planets we’d visited – including Earth.
I always felt more comfortable when the worst of re-entry was behind us as my childhood fear of fire had given me understandable anxieties during lift-off and re-entry manoeuvres.
‘Excited, Mark?’ asked Chi.
‘You bet,’ I said. ‘This is a pretty historic journey we’re taking.’
‘Yes. Alien contact. One for the history of spaceflight museums,’ said Chi, grinning at me. ‘Do you think, sometime in the future, museums will have tableaux depicting it with wax models of you and me?’
‘I’m sure they will. Featureless world though,’ I said.
‘Yes, reminds me of flights over Antarctica. I used to fly supplies and crew into McMurdo Station on Ross Island. Spent three months there too,’ said Chi. She laughed. ‘This will be a home from home.’
‘What were you doing?’
‘Looking for meteorites, part of my astronomy doctorate. Few years ago, now,’ she replied.
‘I worked on the Larson D ice shelf as part of my geology PhD. It’s one of the last of the big shelves left on the continent.’
‘Do you think the reduction in carbon dioxide emissions is having an effect on global warming?’
‘I’m sure it is, Chi, but whether it will happen quickly enough is another matter. Warm water has been circulating under the shelves for decades. It will be touch and go whether they can be saved.’
‘Ten thousand metres. Starting engines,’ said Chi.
The Rimor shook as it came back under power and Chi banked us tightly to the right.
‘I’ll take us over the two outpost sites at about two hundred metres before we land,’ she said.
‘Stroya. Mark here, we’re down to nine thousand metres,’ I said over the radio.
‘Copy that. So excited to meet you,’ said the alien.
‘Both of us, too. We’re coming in low over your small eastern base shortly and we’ll circle over your main complex before landing vertically. We want some video and photographs to take back to Earth,’ I said.
‘Gases,’ said Chi.
‘Yes. Gases, Stroya. Keep clear of us for about five minutes after we land to let the engine gases purge,’ I said.
‘Actually, our breathing apparatus protects us, so don’t worry. A minute or two should be enough,’ said Stroya.
‘See you soon.’
‘Their eastern base is beneath us now,’ said Chi as she slowed the Rimor to give us the chance to look down upon the smaller base and its gas tanks.
‘I’ve got images,’ I said and she accelerated towards the main complex at the end of the frozen lake.
‘Landing site looks fine,’ Chi said.
‘Give me a chance to get some good photographs of the site, the vitamin tank on its side and the complex,’ I said.
We slowed, circled for a while then approached the designated landing site.
‘Coming down, Stroya,’ I said. A throng of Heradians milled around the fuel tank and vitamin container. ‘Keep your people clear.’
‘Don’t worry, I’m closest and well clear. Gurd’s helping me control the crowd,’ she said, and laughed. ‘People are treating it like an important sporting occasion.’
‘Fifty metres,’ said Chi. ‘Twenty, ten, five, touchdown!’
The Rimor settled gently onto the snow-covered plain.
‘Purging jets,’ said Chi.
‘Stay clear, Stroya,’ I said.
It is amazing how long it takes waiting for just a few minutes to pass, but it seemed an age.
‘Clear,’ said Chi.
‘Okay, Stroya. We’re preparing to get out,’ I said.
‘Minus twenty-two outside,’ said Chi.
‘Brrr! We’ll feel that in these suits,’ I replied.
Through the left windows, I could see a couple of hundred aliens moving towards us, all wearing the respirators necessary for their survival in the hostile atmosphere of Arctur. It was a huge proportion of their population which gave us an indication of how important this was to them.
I opened the inner lock and the outer door swung away, attaching itself to the securing brackets on the hull. A blast of freezing air welcomed us as we stood in the doorway. Chi moved alongside me, and we looked down at a sea of faces. It was bitterly cold and the lightweight suits gave only meagre protection against the temperature.