Welcome to day 2 of my 2007 NaNoWriMo novel. Current word count: 5,599/50,000 This year I am continuing my Dark System trilogy. For a brief recap please see this post. For full pdf's (unedited) of the first two books please click here. (Full books carry an advisory warning) Word count going up! yay. I'm off to a good start this year. I hope that I can keep this pace up. I figured that this was a good place to pause and post. This post will finish up chapter one, then I can start tomorrow with chapter 2. The story is both easier and harder than I thought it would be. It's easier in that the words are flowing smoothly. But I'm still at a hard point to actually write it. I especially feel for Eugene, what happened to him at the end of book 1 is just horrible. But it needed to be done. woohoo. Now I get to go home, and then it's back to it. I actually ended yesterday at just over 3000 words, so that means I've already wrote another 2500 today and I probably have another hour or two to write at home so I'm hoping that I can really jump start this month. Hope you enjoy. Navigation: Start | Previous | Next Dark System: Corinth Chapter 1: Arrival 3 Eugene had been staring out the viewport since he had finished his meal. Mark wanted to talk to him, but was still nervous about broaching the subject. “Mark?” Robert asked, breaking the silence. “Can you help me find the washroom?” Mark turned to Robert. “Sure.” Mark waited in the aisle. Robert stood, and with a last glance at Eugene indicated that he was ready. Mark guided the blind man toward the restrooms, but as soon as they were comfortably out earshot Robert laid a hand on Mark’s shoulder. “I’d like a larger tour of the ship if it’s at all possible,” the blind man said. “I thought that you might,” Mark whispered back. “We’ve already passed the nearest restrooms.” Robert smiled. “I’m still getting used to being accepted.” Mark chuckled, the sound felt foreign. He realized that he hadn’t had occasion to laugh in some time. “We’re coming to some stairs,” he said. “Bottom and top?” Robert nodded, indicating that being warned at the bottom and top of the stairs would suffice. “I think that most of the passengers on this particular vessel are one deck above us. They wanted to keep the general populace separate from the crew. They only allowed us to be so close to the deck ourselves because of orders from the CA. They wanted to make sure that whatever information we had was safe from possible threats, including the information in our heads.” “Do you think they’ll scan us?” Robert asked, a tinge of worry imbedded into the question. “I don’t think so,” Mark replied. “But why does that bother you?” “I guess that I just don’t want to go through it again. It was hard enough after the disappearances. They insisted that I was telling events other than what happened. I don’t want to have to go through that again.” Mark paused and studied the blind man for a moment. Once he came to a conclusion he spoke again. “If they do decide that they need to scan us, I’ll do my best to either get you excused or your time to the shortest possible.” “Thank you.” “Top step,” Mark said as he stepped out onto the main passenger deck. Robert paused at the top, and allowed Mark to guide him out of the stairwell. They paused next to a security guard standing next to the door. “We’ll be able to go back down if we go out there, right?” Mark asked the young man. Mark could see that he was frightened, the events on Hallan had been unexpected for many of the rescue teams. The young man looked at Mark and Robert. “Why do you want to go out there?” Mark thought about the question. He could tell that the guard was under orders to prevent movement between the cabins. He didn’t know how to explain Robert’s ability. He didn’t know how to convince the scared young man that the blind man was the only one who could possibly prevent the death spreading to other planets. Mark realized that he had been thinking on the question too long when the guard spoke again. “Well?” came the annoyed query. “We just wanted to check on the conditions of the passengers,” Mark said weakly. “I’m sorry,” the guard said. “But I can’t let you wander like that. We should be landing shortly. You can check on them then. Please go back to your own seats.” Mark nodded, and guided Robert back to the stairs. “I’m sorry,” he said once they were out of earshot of the guard. “I couldn’t think of a good reason to get us in there.” “That’s okay,” Robert replied. “I was able to get close enough to the window to peek into the room. I couldn’t sense them all, but I don’t think that any of them were in there.” “I’m glad that you could get at least that much from the trip. Bottom.” Mark headed back toward where Eugene was sitting. He was about to lead without stopping when he once again felt Robert’s hand on his shoulder. “Tell me when we reach the washroom. I would like to freshen up.” “Okay.” Mark led the way in silence, and paused in front of the restroom door. “Do you need me to wait?” Robert turned and looked around the room. He saw Eugene’s aura. “Just tell me how many rows there are.” Mark counted. “Ten rows. And the aisle is straight from here.” “Ok. I think I can make it back by myself.” Mark nodded, and walked back toward Eugene. As he approached the seat he saw that Eugene had fallen asleep again. He took his seat, and watched the sleeping man. He was so engrossed in watching that he didn’t even notice Robert’s return. “He’s still troubled,” Robert said from be hind Mar’s chair. “I know. But there’s nothing that we can do for the moment. It was just yesterday, and the first thing that a trauma like that needs is time. All we can do for the moment is give him the time and space that he needs to heal.” “Do you think that he can heal?” Mark shook his head. “Hard to say. Probably never completely, but he can recover, and he can move on. That’s all we can hope for at this point. We just need to give him the space that he needs to come to grips with what has happened. We need to allow him to mourn the loss of his friend. And we need to be there when he is willing to talk about it.” Robert nodded. “Your training in working with trauma victims shows.” Mark smiled. “I wish that it didn’t. All that means is that I have seen far too many people damaged by circumstance. It means that reading the signs is second nature.” “I wish that I had met you after that day on the beaches. I wish that you had been the one to talk to after I was blinded. I may not have turned out so bitter.” Mark turned, and stared at Robert, who had resumed his own seat. He wasn’t used to the blind man being so candid. Mark was about to say something when the cruiser shuddered. He looked out the viewport, and saw that they had entered the atmosphere. Crimson clouds flew past the viewport, and the light of Meridia’s star grew dim. “Did we just enter the atmosphere?” Robert asked. “Yeah. I must have lost track of time. I didn’t realize that we were this close to landing.” A noise came from Eugene’s seat. Both men turned toward the sound. Mark saw that Gene was once again staring out the window. He also noticed how pale Gene was. “Ladies and gentlemen,” came a voice over the loudspeaker. “We are now on approach to the Shanlee spaceport. From there you will all be relocated to outpost forty-two until further notice. Please proceed in an orderly fashion once we disembark. You will have time to search for loved ones once you reach the station. Do not attempt to hamper the duties of the personnel by trying to get any information. They have been ordered to assist in relocation, and nothing more. Any resistance to being moved, or any commotion will result in restrain and possibly arrest. We will be landing in approximately ten minutes. That is all.” Silence fell among the three men. “I guess that’s it then,” Robert finally said. “We’re prisoners until the Colonization Authority says otherwise.” Mark was about to agree, until a uniformed communications officer approached the three. “You’re the ones who requested the evacuation?” Mark nodded. “I’ve been instructed to take you to the Colonization Authority field office as soon as we arrive. Please make sure that your data is in order.” Mark nodded again. He had expected to be summoned to the field office, but not that quickly. “I guess we’re not prisoners yet,” Robert said quietly. 4 The dimness of the planet was maddening. Mark knew that it was the middle of the day on Corinth, but on any other planet the lighting was similar to what could be described as twilight. Huge area lights cast an unnatural glare on the surroundings. Mark could see that the lighting was also bothering many of the refugees. Already terrified people huddled in small groups, waiting for the orders from the security guards. He knew that a dark atmosphere was the last thing that the terrified citizens of Hallan needed. People sought out daylight to escape their fears; it was an instinct that couldn’t be avoided. Yet the terrified citizens had been brought to the one place where there was no daylight to be found. Mark worried inwardly about the continued mental health of the evacuees. A tap on the shoulder brought Mark back to reality. He turned to see a couple of guards leading Robert and Eugene to a transport. A third guard stood directly behind Mark, and was the obvious source of the tap. “This way, sir,” the guard said. Mark cast a single, furtive, glance back at the rest of the refugees, and then allowed himself to be led to the waiting transport. As he approached he could see that the trunks of data had already been loaded, and the security guards were casting nervous glances between Robert and Eugene. Mark climbed into the transport, and the guard that had been following closed the heavy door. The guard climbed into the front of the transport, and had barely closed his own door before it started moving. As the transport bumped along, Mark wondered if there was a problem with the motion stabilizers. But as he saw the large black rocks of Corinth’s surface zoom past the window he realized that there was just too much variation in the ground for the transport to overcome. For a brief moment he wondered if a land based vehicle would actually be better for the situation. As the transport left the spaceport grounds the shift in lighting was immediate and drastic. Mark realized exactly how dim the planet was as the glare of the area lights faded. The red tone was everywhere, interspersed with black. Mark looked out on the almost barren landscape, and wondered how it was that people could stand to live on Corinth. He could already feel the atmosphere bringing him down as he searched desperately for light or color. “The cities are easier to deal with,” said a voice from the front. Mark looked up, unsure that he had really heard anything, and trying to pinpoint the source of the sound. “What was that?” One of the guards turned and faced him. “I said that the cities are easier to deal with. There is more light, and it’s not nearly as harsh as that at the spaceport. And since the majority of the citizens are artistically inclined there is plenty of colorful art to look at.” Mark gave the guard a questioning glance. The guard laughed slightly. “I see it all the time. And it got to me at first as well. The constant darkness and the monotonous tones. Until I reached the city I thought that I would go mad from it all. But you spend enough time here and you come to accept it all. I don’t even notice it anymore myself, but I often encounter visitors who have the same reactions to this place.” Mark nodded, and turned to look out the window again. “Mark?” Mark turned and looked at Robert. “Yes?” “I’ve never been here. I always meant to come. Can you describe it to me?” “I will when there’s something to see,” Mark replied softly. “For now there’s not much to see. Red clouds and black rocks make up the majority of the sights so far.” Robert nodded. “Ok.” Mark turned to where Eugene was sitting. He wanted to ask how Eugene was holding up through everything. But Eugene had fallen asleep again. One of the guards noticed and cast a questioning glance at Mark. “What’s up with him?” Mark sighed, and shook his head. “It’s a long story, and one I don’t necessarily want to repeat. Let’s just suffice it to say that he’s had a traumatic past few days.” Mark turned to look out the window again. “We all have,” he continued almost in a whisper. The black rocks continued to slide past the window of the transport as they approached the city. 5 As they climbed out of the transport in front of the Colonization Authority field office Mark found that he had to agree with the guard who said that the cities were better than the surrounding areas. Ambient lighting brightened the landscape almost to daylight levels on other planets, and the murals and artwork that decorated the city brought in much needed color. For a moment Mark could almost imagine living in such a place. They were still pulling the trunks of data from the transport when Mark saw a well-dressed man walking out of the building. At first he thought that the dimness of the planet was playing with his sight, and then he realized that he really did know that man who was coming out to meet him. “Bill!” exclaimed Mark as he went to greet his longtime friend. “What are you doing here?” “We were already concerned about Hallan before you called the other day. I was already dispatched and on my way here when your call came in.” “Why didn’t you tell me?” “It seemed that you had enough concerns, and since you called asking about getting an evacuation I figured that my coming out here was a relatively minor detail.” Mark shook his head, and then brightened visibly. “Either way, it’s good to see you. I assume that means that since you’re probably the highest ranking Authority figure on the planet you’ll be overseeing the investigation as to what happened?” Bill nodded. “Not exactly a job I’m looking forward to, but I really don’t have a choice. The Authority council is already clamoring for an answer to this mess.” “Well, I’m glad to have you overseeing this. It means that things will go a lot smoother. You’re fairly open minded, and I know that I can trust you with the details. Most importantly I know that I can trust you not to ask inane questions about an absolutely insane situation. And that’s what we need right now. Because if I hadn’t lived through it myself I would be considering this situation absolutely absurd.” Bill nodded. “That bad, huh?’ “Yeah, and then some.” Bill shook his head. “Better introduce me to your friends. Since we’ll be working together a lot as we try to figure this out.” Mark led his friend over to where the other two men were waiting. “Bill Riley, meet Robert Gibson and Eugene Baca.” Robert turned toward the sound, and stuck out his hand. Eugene appeared to not have even noticed the introduction and stared off into space. Bill took Robert’s proffered hand and gave it a firm shake. He then turned to Eugene, who had still not quite caught up to the events happening around him. Bill glanced at Mark, Mark returned the gaze with a look that said he would explain later. Bill nodded. “If you gentlemen will please follow me,” he said as he turned to return to the building. Mark waited for Robert to find the steps with his cane, and then started up himself. About halfway up he realized that Eugene wasn’t following. Turning he saw Eugene still staring into space. “Gene!” he called. Eugene appeared to come out of a trance as he saw Mark on the stairs. With a sheepish look on his face he ran to catch up. Mark looked back up the stairs while he was waiting and met Bill’s eyes. With a nod he indicated that Bill should continue to lead Robert where they were going and then meet up with him and Eugene. Bill returned the nod, and walked out of sight. Mark turned back to Eugene and waited for him to catch up. “You don’t have to do this right now, you know,” Mark started as Eugene finally cam close enough for them to talk. Eugene shook his head. “Maybe not, but I need to. I gotta get over this and get back to work. There are still too many unanswered questions for me to stop now.” They had reached the top of the stairs by then. Mark stopped and took Eugene by the shoulder. Turning the man around Mark looked into his eyes. “What you need now is to give yourself a chance to grieve. You need to mourn the loss of your friend, and you need to work through what happened. Being macho about it won’t help anybody.” For the first time since they had left the excavation site. Eugene actually seemed to break free of the trace that had held him in its grasp. Terror filled his eyes, and he fell to his knees. “I couldn’t stop her!” Eugene wailed. “Dan… I couldn’t keep her from killing him. Beth… our friend… why? How?” Mark knelt beside him, for the first time feeling that Gene was working through that horrible scene. “We’re going to figure it out.” Eugene looked up, and nodded. “I have to. I have to give him that much respect.” Mark nodded. “Good. Now, don’t close yourself off like that again. Mourn, as much as you need. But remember that we need you too. We need to respect their deaths, and discover what really happened.” Eugene nodded and stood up. Mark stood as well, and when he turned toward the building he saw that Bill was waiting for them in the doorway. 6 The three men sat facing a screen. Figures, diagrams and other assorted images flashed as Bill discussed the situation as it was. “Thankfully,” he continued, “the early reports were incorrect. Initial indications had only about twenty thousand of the fifteen million residents able to get off the planet. Those numbers have been updated, and while still dismal they are considerably better. New reports are estimating that slightly better than two million residents have evacuated, and the number is expected to rise slightly as small orbiters are picked up. Forces are still forbidden to land, but there are a number of people using orbital launchers and small star jumpers to escape. All evacuees are being ordered to report here until we can determine exactly what happened.” Bill paused, and the image changed to an aerial map. “For now, we’ve prepared outpost forty-two to handle the influx of evacuees. It should also easily accommodate the stragglers.” “Good,” Mark said. “That’ll make the job of reuniting easier. It’ll also help us to interview people.” “That’s why we chose that location,” Bill replied. “We’re also going to be launching drones to fly over Hallan in the next few days. At this point that Colonization Authority is hoping to return these people to their homes as soon as possible. So the drones will have sensors for viral threats, bacteria, and air quality. As soon as we have the report, and the planet is recognized as safe the people will be returned.” Bill paused as he saw the blood drain from the faces of the audience. Silence filled the room. Mark broke the silence. “I think that the CA may want to think about relocating these people to other planets. I honestly doubt that this is an issue that can be overcome by waiting it out.” “Do you even know what you’re saying?” Bill asked quietly. Mark nodded. “Yes, Bill. And you know that I would never say such a thing without good cause.” “But we don’t even have all of the data yet.” Mark nodded. “At this point I don’t think that really matters. I have the nagging feeling that it’ll only reinforce the need to abandon the planet.” “I hope you’re wrong.” “So do I,” Mark replied, a sad tone to his voice. A chime sounded through the room. Bill’s mood shifted slightly as he acknowledged the sound. He walked over to the wall and pressed a button. “Send them in,” he said to the person on the other end. Mark gave Bill a puzzled look as the door opened and three uniformed Colonization Authority employees walked into the room. “Gentlemen,” Bill started as Mark and the other stood up to greet the newcomers, “I’d like you to meet the investigative team that the Authority has put together. You’ll be working with them to determine the cause of what happened on Hallan, and putting together a recommendation of what to do next.” Robert moved as if to leave the room. “I should let you all get acquainted,” he said. “Since I’ll most likely be of no use I’ll just wait outside.” “No need,” Bill said. “You’re welcome to stay. You’re familiar with the situation, and I think that we’ll be working with you more than you realize.” “How’s that?” “Let’s just say that I’ve had a chance to read bits of Mark’s report. Not all of it, but I don’t think that I’d like to exclude you from these proceedings.” Robert nodded. He could tell that Bill was being cautious with his words, but understood the ability to see auras. Robert felt behind him for the chair and sat back down. Bill continued with the other introductions. “From left to right we have Greg Kensington, an infectious disease specialist, Corey Ewing, crisis counselor, and Jonathan Sterling, an additional translator slash technology specialist.” Bill paused. “Gentlemen,” Bill continued, turning to the three newcomers. “I’d like for you to meet Mark Parsons, Eugene Baca and Robert Gibson. They are the ones who submitted the emergency evacuation request for Hallan.” Mark nodded, and shook each of the men’s hand in turn. He could see that although Eugene was performing the pleasantries well enough, his eyes were already starting to glaze over again as he began retreating back into himself. Mark nudged Gene lightly, bringing him back to the task at hand. “I think that you’ll all agree that this situation is of utmost importance. We need to work quickly to bring it to a satisfactory resolution. We’ll start by interviewing and taking samples from all of the evacuees. Myself, Robert, Mark and Corey will handle the interviews and samples. Eugene and Jonathan, I would like for the two of you to continue translating that data. If there is anything that can be used to make the process faster I need to know about it immediately. Any questions?” The assembled men shook their heads. “Good,” Bill said. “For the time being we’re going to be stationed at outpost forty-two along with the evacuees. That’ll allow us to work faster and be nearby in case of emergency. If things get out of hand, or if need arises then we’ll consider relocating back here to the city. We leave in ten minutes.” The assembled men nodded, and filed out of the room to make sure that they had everything they needed.