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  SHADOWFALL

  The Amalie Noether Chronicles

  Volume Two

  JANA WILLIAMS

  Copyright © 2020 by Jana Williams

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof

  may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever

  without the express written permission of the publisher

  except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Printed in Canada

  PRINT ISBN: 978-1-9994086-4-0

  eBOOK ISBN: 978-1-9994086-5-7

  Edited by Marg Gilks

  Cover design by Arjuna Jay

  Book interior design by TeaBerry Creative

  “I acknowledge that I live and write

  on the unceded traditional territory of the

  Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations.”

  How different would my city be now,

  if we had asserted this idea from the very beginning?

  Also by Jana Williams

  FREEFALL SYNOPSIS

  Volume One

  The Amalie Noether Chronicles

  Four hundred years in the future

  Elle Silver and 150 other young colonists had been training for fifteen years on the surface of Mars to become colonists on another planet. A week before their scheduled launch, the date was suddenly moved forward. Rumors erupted that Control, the organization that recruited and trained them, suspected a saboteur may have breached their computer systems attempting to abort the mission.

  What the colonists didn’t know was that, at the time of the launch, Control was in top-secret negotiations with their nemesis, Earth-First—a vigilante (some say terrorist) group that tried for years to coerce Control into saving the Earth instead of rocketing colonists to a distant planet. Control used the charade of cooperating with Earth-First to covertly launch their colonizing mission while their antagonists were distracted.

  Aboard the Vera Rubin transport shuttle, Elle and her fellow colonists were unaware of any of these intrigues. The rumor of the computer saboteur did infiltrate the ship before blastoff. And then, only months into the three-year flight to their new planet, very real problems arose on the Rubin that seemed to confirm the possibility of a saboteur aboard.

  The colonists took HCH, a drug synthesized from bear hormones to ensure they slept through most of their journey, and to allow the cadets to travel for years in space without experiencing known physical effects, such as bone and muscle loss. The drug worked as promised, except that its extended use seemed to foster bouts of rage and anxiety; it also resulted in lack of sex drive. These were major concerns for the human colonists packed aboard a ship hurtling towards a new planet, light-years from home.

  Elle believed they needed to gather evidence of the HCH side effects quickly so they could make an informed decision about whether they should continue their mission. The more information Elle and her friends gathered on the terrible side effects of HCH, the more tension built aboard the Vera Rubin; friendships fractured and factions developed. Elle continued to champion the quest for the truth about HCH—and every colonist’s right to vote on continuing their mission.

  HCH affected each crewmember differently. Some colonists had mild or no side effects. Elle’s lover Micah experienced terrible rages and mood swings that had him acting out violently without warning. For some unknown reason, Elle exhibited very few side effects at all. Her investigation into why this was true was complicated by her inability to remember very much of her childhood, not even her mother’s face. Elle remembered clearly that she was a ward of the state from the time she was quite small, and had been housed in one medical facility after another. What she couldn’t remember was why. At age ten she’d been shuttled to a training base on the Moon and began her cadet training for deep space missions.

  Micah’s rages became more frequent and violent, especially concerning Elle. She began to fear for her life. When Micah physically attacked Elle, she went into hiding. He then attacked her friends, Ashok and Achebe.

  Although Elle had the full cooperation of the computer avatars, Angie and Beatrice, they couldn’t supply answers fast enough. Elle ultimately decided to abandon ship altogether, to save her friends from further physical harassment by Micah. She launched an escape pod towards the new planet and made an uncharted landing on Amalie Noether. But the questions that arose on the Vera Rubin continued to haunt her once she made landfall.

  Was there a saboteur who manipulated their HCH dosage routinely through hacking the medical computers? Did a saboteur on board actually poison their water with an additional dose of HCH to ensure the colonists slept through their one chance to abandon the mission before reaching the wormhole?

  And just what was Control’s real game plan for Amalie Noether, the new planet they were sent to colonize? In the end, was Earth-First the enemy Control led the colonists to mistrust so thoroughly? Or could that have been more manipulation to ensure Control’s dominion on the new planet?

  With time and the body’s ability to repair itself, might Micah return to the man he’d been when he and Elle first met? If so, would Elle consider reigniting their relationship?

  These were the questions that refused to stay quiet, long after Elle’s daring First Landing on Amalie Noether. Of course, her landing and the planet itself elicited new questions for Elle to grapple with as she struggled to create a home.

  CAST OF CHARACTERS

  Transport ship: Vera Rubin

  Earth-First ship: Terreshkova

  Beatrice – Herschel Station medical computer

  Angie – Herschel Station systems computer

  TREKKERS:

  Elle Silver – botany

  Achebe Awatra – meteorology

  Ashok Patel – geologist

  Dov Singer – computer/robotics

  Serge Metier – meteorology

  Ang-lee Grant – physics

  Kisi Smith – astronomy

  Anand Joshie – engineering

  Rashi Sergio Silver – child

  Aliyah Beatrice Silver – child

  FIRST LANDING:

  Jin-Hai Tang – physics

  Jack Rawlings – geology

  Micah Wainwright – meteorology

  Arne Holt – geology

  Vihaan Prasad – chemistry

  Kulvinder Bakshi – botany

  Cassie Corrigan – botany

  Metha Kaur – engineering

  HERSCHEL STATION:

  Roderick Rizby Lawson – ship’s purser/Chairman

  Beryl Wentworth – physics/Caucus member

  Nkombe Brown – pilot /Caucus member

  Yuen Liu – physician/Caucus member

  Forbes Riley – chief engineer/Caucus member

  Asgaard Fey – astronomy/Caucus member

  Ram Chowdry – geology/Caucus member

  Captain Carina Guzman – shuttle pilot

  Ensign Marcus Strake – shuttle copilot

  Angelique Marceau – head botanist

  Yeoman Jeffery Baines – engineer

  Field Commander Stone – military officer

  YEAR ONE

  ONE

  Elle sat on the ground just beyond the open hatchway of Dov’s glider. She watched him rummage through supplies in the belly of the landing pod, smiling to herself as he fussed. There was only so much fussing a person could do, when your dinner choices were all algae-synth meals—corn soup, bean soup, pea soup, or algae stew. Or there was the ever-popular plankton-synth potatoes and gravy, or macaroni and cheese, or any of the other standard synthetic combinati
ons. Elle’s grin broadened. It is kind of sweet that he cares so much to make the meal memorable.

  Dov eased down from the threshold of the pod, bearing an armful of food plackets. Many of the plackets were water, the only thing worth drinking. Pure, unadulterated water was so rare, no one ever drank anything else if they could get it.

  Dov plunked the load down in front of Elle, smiling sheepishly. “I really wasn’t certain what you’d want.” He blushed. “Um, especially given your condition.”

  Elle nodded, unconcerned about her visible pregnancy, and now that she thought about it, her nudity. Maybe Dov isn’t quite as casual about nudity as Alpha company. After all, we have never trained together, she mused. “Thank you.” She surveyed the mound of plackets in front of her and started sorting through the pile for something even vaguely appealing. I used to be so blasé about food; I’d eat anything put in front of me. Not any longer, though. Maybe it’s the pregnancy hormones; these days I am definitely food-fussy.

  Elle spotted a placket of algae-synth strawberry milkshake and grabbed it. “Oh, I haven’t had one of these in forever.” She ripped the placket open with her teeth and took a mouthful. “Mmm, this is exactly what I wanted.”

  Dov beamed in response, sitting up straighter at her praise—he had served his guest well. It was clear from his reaction that it had been important. Then he sorted through the mound of foodstuffs in front of him. He picked a beef stew-synth and a strawberry shake too. After the first bite, he paused and gestured to his shuttle pod. “I wasn’t certain just how much of anything you all had been able to pack before you abandoned ship, so I brought tons of food and anything else I thought you might need.” He paused, then cleared his throat. “Sorry, I didn’t think to bring any baby stuff.”

  Elle laughed outright. “No apologies necessary. Dov, I’m sure only a god could have foreseen that I would be so very pregnant when you made landfall.” Dov grinned in response. Emboldened, Elle continued. “Now, truth time. Would you be more comfortable if I put on some clothes? Is it disconcerting for you to sit and chat with me if I’m naked?”

  The silence stretched out a little longer than was socially comfortable, but Elle waited him out. Finally, Dov shook his head gently. “It’s fine. Really. We were trained the same, you and I.”

  The pause before his next sentence was too long, Elle noticed. She had spent her childhood studying the way people delivered information. As a ward of the state for years, shuttled from one medical facility to another, she’d been poked, prodded, and used as a medical guinea pig—all in the name of science. She knew when people were skirting the full truth in conversations like this.

  “Our company shadowed Alpha Company’s training schedule to the T, just not for as many years. We rigorously adhered to the social parameters set forth by Control, too. We wanted to fit in once we finally connected with you colonists. Earth-First really didn’t have the resources that are available to Control, but we wanted to be ready if invited to launch.” Dov grinned again.

  It is a very nice grin, Elle thought.

  Slightly abashed, Dov continued. “I think it really is more my own personal expectations that are challenged right now.”

  Elle quirked an eyebrow, questioning. But Dov went suddenly quiet again, then opened another food placket and offered a second one to Elle as well. She shook her head; one strawberry-synth a day was quite enough, thank you.

  “That’s good, that your training mirrored ours so completely. We’ve worked hard to be rid of a lot of the antiquated societal notions the Victorians—or Vickies, as we call them—forced upon our old Earth culture. Things like being squeamish about nudity, human reproduction, and similar behaviors have no place out here. In a community as small as ours, it’s important we squash any and all squeamish attitudes about each other.” Elle frowned, dubious. “So, Control shared their training protocols with Earth-First, hoping to create a joint mission?”

  Dov fiddled with the half empty placket, focusing on it. He ripped off the corner and put it in his mouth. “Well, not exactly,” he said as he started to chew. “We ran a covert training program, hoping against hope that Control would agree to a joint mission.” He picked up Elle’s empty placket and offered it to her. “When your ship launched, ours followed just a few days later. I mean, no one ever said we couldn’t launch, right?” Dov looked like he was holding his breath for a moment before adding, “Will you eat the placket for the protein? Or should I?”

  Elle watched Dov silently, and he squirmed a bit, like a man who still had something more to say but was debating it. Because she didn’t know him, she didn’t know how much to push. She watched him a minute longer, then sighed. “Well, if the rest of the Earth-First gang is like you, I think we’ll all get along fine.”

  She stretched and groaned deeply. “You go ahead and eat the placket. I’m stuffed. It’s been a long, long day.” Elle pushed herself awkwardly to her feet, swayed a bit, then steadied herself. “I think I’ll head home and go to bed.”

  Dov leapt to his feet and looked about wildly, as if expecting lions and tigers and bears. “By yourself? I mean, is it safe? You could sleep here if you want.”

  Elle smiled and patted his forearm. “It’s perfectly safe, Dov. We are the only sentient beings for the thirty kilometers between us and the other colonists at First Landing. If there is native fauna, it’s likely harmless.” Elle turned and pointed towards the top of the promontory behind her. “I’m just over the hill about half a klick. Come see me when you wake up in the morning.”

  She had to push herself the first few steps up the incline. Oh, I am so tired. Breaking yourself out of jail can be hard on a woman, not to mention the thirty kilometer walk after that. I can’t wait to fall asleep in my own little nest at Azure Lake.

  “’Night, Dov,” she called out as she crested the ridge. She raised one hand in a salute goodbye but did not look back. Damn. Maybe I should’ve mentioned Azure Lake to him. She almost turned back at that thought, then she smiled. Let him experience the thrill of discovery—just as she had on landing. Elle chuckled. She couldn’t wait till morning!

  Dov stood mutely watching her walk away, a delighted and vaguely incredulous smile on his face. “Elle Silver. I just had dinner with Elle Silver,” he whispered to himself as he put the empty placket in his mouth and chewed on it thoughtfully.

  Under the subdued lighting within the shuttle cockpit, the bright face of an altimeter gauge sat isolated amidst a crowded cockpit panel array. The gauge hesitated, then the needle swung sharply to the left as the cockpit began to shimmy slightly, indicating shuttle engines had ignited.

  “Thrusters have engaged, Captain. And docking grapples have been released.”

  The cockpit shimmy became decidedly more pronounced. Next to the altimeter, a speedometer was flashing digital feet-per-second readings that didn’t appear to be moving. A female hand reached over and flicked the screen of the gauge with a forefinger—and like magic, the numbers surged into triple digits on the screen.

  The woman made an adjustment to their course with a joystick and keyed her microphone with her free hand. She called back over her shoulder to the dimly lit cargo bay, “All eyes on the forward screen, everyone. We’ll have Amalie Noether in our sights in a few minutes.”

  Behind her, rows of flight seats buttressed by thick padding and festooned with safety harnesses held the mixed female and male crew in place as the shuttle Halcyon pulled delicately away from the Herschel Station docking grapple. The passengers immediately turned their heads to face the large windscreen of the forward cockpit.

  The captain keyed her mike again. “Halcyon to Herschel Station, we are fully disengaged and about to enter atmosphere for our descent in five, four, three, two, one.” She looked to her right. “Cancel thrusters, Ensign.”

  “Thrusters cancelled, Captain.”

  Muted cheers rose from the cargo compartment behind the coc
kpit. The captain smiled and gaily waved her free hand to acknowledge the cheers.

  She keyed her onboard mike again. ‘Okay, you sandbags, hold on for the ride of your lives. We’ll do a head count once we land to see who’s puked up their breakfast.”

  The nose of the shuttle dipped sharply only seconds later and the whole crew canted instantly on a hard right as the shuttle, grabbed by the planet’s gravity, shook like a dog. The heat shield on the nose of the shuttle glowed bright orange in the gloaming preceding dawn over Amalie Noether as the shuttle slammed towards landfall on the planet’s surface.

  “Halcyon to Herschel station, do you copy?”

  “You are ten by two, Halcyon. I am assuming the com.” The vaguely metallic voice of Angie, the Herschel Station sys-com avatar, echoed in the small cockpit.

  “Copy that, Herschel. Halcyon out.” The transmission deteriorated to mild static.

  The captain tipped her seat back in a semi-reclining position and keyed her mike to the crew one more time. “Alright, everyone, try to relax and enjoy your little nap. See you on the flip side.”

  One by one the colonists strapped into their seats gave in to the rigors of descent and passed out. Some held out longer than others, but they all succumbed. Eyes closed, jaws went slack, and a bit of drool escaped here and there to float in the air around them. The cabin’s lights dimmed to utter darkness. Mere moments later, they blinked back on at half-wattage and the visible g-force strain on the colonists’ faces began to lessen. The shuttle had begun its glide path along the upper atmosphere and was sliding towards the surface.

  The captain regained consciousness, her eyes fluttering. She reoriented herself, laughing quietly. “Ah, reentry—it never gets old.” She returned her seat to the upright position.

  “What’s that, Cap?”

  “Strake, you’re conscious.”

  “No, Cap, still out like a light.”

  The captain inclined her head in the direction of the cargo hold. “You’ll note the lights are only at half power, Strake. Hopefully you can do better than that?”