HMS Valediction

Chapter 6

The ship settles, the reverberations calming to stillness after a few seconds of my bones rattling in aftershocks. I search the room for signs of damage.

Nothing. We're all okay.

Hayomo catches my eye and nods, sending me one of her last well wishes — a sentiment she can stick right up her ass for all I care. She closes the airlock behind her on her exit, cutting us off from ARC10. I slide my mask down and hear the seams suction the hood, sealing me from the foreign atmosphere. The heads-up display activates in blue and the instant sound of air rushes around my thin helmet. The light buzz of the empty comms surrounds me. I fill them. "Ready, VIPERs?"

They shout in unison.

Taking the lead, my HEL-SR at tactical across my chest, I step forward. The warmth from fresh battery packs charging at my hip reassures me. We're finally on an even playing field. There's nothing between me and a new world but the thick locks of the hatch. The last time I saw this hatch move, it closed us away from our home on Earth, shutting me from Dean who stood beyond it.

The locks disengage.

The top cracks. Bright light breaks through. The rays strike my eyes. An agonizing inch at a time, it reveals the alien territory.

Which is funny because doesn't this make us the aliens now? I chuckle to myself.

"What's so funny, Reaper Boss?" Umpire's question strains through what must be tight lips. I shift in place to face him and wonder how many of the others are just as nervous as he is. Flatts slaps his ass.

I turn back around and face the land.

Slow. The hatch is so slow.

My fingers stretch and flex in my gloves. Another inch of bright light pours into our cabin. We stand together, half exposed to the glare. The brightness creeps down our bodies until it lands at our feet. We're surrounded in a white world where holding our hands up against our eyes does no good against the garish illumination.

The ramp lands with a hardy thump. When the white clears, we get our first glimpse of Xeno A-302.

Now I understand the view from above – the yellow ball floating in my window makes sense.

Dense mustard clouds roll over the surface of the planet. The fog speeds around our platform and drifts into ARC10, inching closer toward our boots. With the bump in our landing, we obviously struck hard terrain, but the constant movement of scattered nimbus suggests otherwise. If we were to step out, would we fall through?

As commander, it's my hypothesis to test.

I swallow hard and take one step closer to the ground.

Panic rises as I descend, foot over foot, sideways down the ramp. Cloud tendrils curl around my ankles, thickening the closer I step to the ground. At the lip of the hatch, my courage wavers. I'm shin-deep in the cloud, but I still feel ARC10 beneath my feet.

My entire body, from my heels to my hairline, halts in place. Blaring sirens, massive red flags, all alerts scream in my mind and tell me to stop and don't go any farther because it's not just my life on-board anymore.

I can't breathe.

Who do I disappoint? My planet or my child?

"Commander?" Hayomo's curt question cuts the air in my helmet. I shake my head of my worry.

This is part of the job.

Without another thought, I step out of ARC10 and onto Xeno A-302. My foot hits solid ground.