Unbounded

Chapter Nine: Echo

Mission Time: +630.08 Earth-years

Mbali sat at the head of the table reading reports. Behind her, the floor-to-ceiling false window displayed the multi-colored limb of a terrestrial planet. Most of the senior staff sat around the table in silence.

Mbali swept the reports aside. "I'm not waiting any longer--I warned them about being late before. Does anyone know what Tekoha and Ariki are doing?"

The others shook their heads.

Mbali took a deep breath. "Before I begin, I have a quick announcement--Doctor Tai will no longer be serving as ship's doctor; from now on he will be a nurse assisting Doctor Li Lan. Although she has just been brought out of stasis for the first time on our journey, she has been briefed on the mission status." Doctor Li nodded slowly and stiffly, sitting next to a slouching Tai. "Now, the world you see behind me is the fifth planet out, 9.58 light-minutes from Beta Hydri. And since it's the fifth planet, I'm calling it Echo--temporarily, at least. It's quite remarkable in that it is the most similar world to Earth we have encountered so far."

"More so than Teal Grip?" Kahu asked.

"Teal Grip is colder than Earth on average. It can support less biodiversity, and therefore is less habitable than Earth. Echo, on the other hand, is slightly warmer than Earth. Its higher oxygen level, at 29 percent, also makes it closer to an ideal for animal growth and metabolism. Overall, it seems Echo is actually more habitable than Earth," Mbali said. "So, although we obviously cannot colonize because of the presence of a biosphere, I am willing to stretch Protection Protocol slightly by sending down some sterile probes to collect resources from the surface. That should greatly reduce our decayed isotope burden. I know this departure from our standards may be shocking, but the reality is we--" Mbali paused as the conference room door slid open.

In walked Tekoha, Ariki, and Ryder. They stood shoulder-to-shoulder near the open door. Then they opened a gap, and someone else entered: a tall woman with blonde hair and white uniform.

Mbali stood. "Why is this woman wearing white?" she demanded.

The woman approached the table, surveying the sitting men. Then she looked Mbali in the eyes. "My name is Helga Thorsdottir, but you will call me Helga. I am a designated executive replacement. I was revivicated by these gentlemen after a vote revealed a loss of confidence in the current executive, Mbali."

"This is outrageous. Zhao Zhong, get her out of here," Mbali ordered.

"All those in favor of replacing Mbali as executive, please raise their hands," Helga said. Except Zhong, Kahu, and Lan, everyone raised their hands. Mbali sat back down slowly, stone-faced. Helga approached her at the head of the table. "Stand up," Helga said. Mbali stood, jaw clenching. "Mbali, would you please take a seat next to Zhao Zhong? You will report directly to him from now on, as I am placing you on his security team." Mbali stiffly walked past her and sat next to Zhong. "Good, that's settled. Now then ..." Helga sat in Mbali's former seat and began arranging reports on the table.

"You're not qualified to do anything right now," Mbali said. "You need to be briefed by Fai-tsiri."

"Don't worry; I'm prepared. One of my specialties is speed reading, absorbing large amounts of information, and making correct decisions based on it. I've already gone through the important reports. Oh, and Mbali, please change into a black uniform as soon as we're finished here. Now, as I was going to say, my first official act will be to suspend Planetary Protection Policy."

"That's illegal," Zhong said. "Protection Policy is a law."

"Not to mention the executive doesn't have the authority to make such decisions," Mbali said. "Only Fai-tsiri can give commands; it is your job to execute them."