vote among my men. We all want to be
a part of this. Swain believes we may be able to make first contact
with the aliens that left those things behind. At the very most, we
only ask for a few weeks of your time. Then, we’ll make for Century
colony, as I’m sure that’s what you have planned.”
Lay shifted his body weight and took one of
his patented, long inhalations. He locked eyes with O’Hara.
Naturally, he said nothing, letting his baby blues create a little
drama.
“ Captain, you just asked for more time
aboard the Phoenix . Now, you take my time from this colony
to ask me if you can play with some alien toys?” Admiral Lay
accosted.
Swain nearly fell over from the brunt of the
admiral’s tone.
“ Admiral, I fully understand and
appreciate the situation, but this is practically unheard of. You
had confidence in me and my men earlier. Please have that
confidence now,” O’Hara retorted.
The Admiral almost smiled; an unusual sight.
“Well, you get one week. What’s the plan?”
O’Hara and his friend traded a look. They
were flabbergasted. Swain actually grabbed hold of the captain’s
arm.
“ Well, Sir,” he started. “I have the
entire theory worked out. I relayed messages to the scientists at
Presh. I think I know how to relay a message to the owners of the
beacons. With any luck, we can get a response, effectively making
history,” Swain said, beaming with pride.
The admiral smirked at that. “I see. Like I
said, one week, now, if you’ll excuse me, pressing matters call my
attention.”
The men all saluted. Swain and O’Hara watched
the old man enter his tent before they celebrated with the slapping
of hands. The two promptly returned to the Phoenix, where
O’Hara plotted a course for Presh to gather the beacons and
scientists. Swain chose Levine, Nandesrikahl, and Tulley to help
him with recalibrations.
Within days they had clearance to move
forward. Shortly there after, the beacons were taken back to Eon,
where camp was erected a mile from the ship. There, Swain and his
comrades set about their task.
It was 09:00 hours when Swain and Levine
finished setting up. They worked quickly to disable the magnetism
module then set the beacons to resonate as one. They had discovered
a partition in the mechanism, which provided the frequencies. With
the new arrangement, they were even able to set up near electrical
equipment.
Tinkering with a panel, Swain pieced all the
objects back together. He stepped back to glance at Levine. She
smiled.
Behind them, against a tapestry of grayish
brown clouds, and shimmering, gold leaves swaying from passing
breezes, O’Hara and Lay stood with their feet spread and their arms
folded. It was unclear whether anything had happened, so Lay turned
to O’Hara with a frown. He, in turn, glared at Swain.
“ What’s going on, men?” Lay
demanded.
“ Yes, Sir,” Swain choked. “Levine
decided on a frequency to relay through satellites back to Earth,
you know, to make sure they work first….”
Just then, a response team from Earth relayed
back via speakers, stating they had picked up the frequency from
Eon. The mere fact that the beacons functioned was great news, but
Swain wanted more. He and Levine tried using a handful of different
outputs. Everyone waited impatiently.
“ Fellas’,” Lay chortled. “How long is
this going to take?”
“ Yeah, Swain…what’s going on?” O’Hara
dove in.
“ Uh…well, you know, our team on Earth
was aware of our signal, which one, and when we were broadcasting.
In this case, there’s no way to know if our signal is picked up by
the aliens.”
“ You must be joking,” Lay sighed.
“Look, I won’t lie to you, I’m intrigued by this whole thing, but
you get one more day. If they don’t answer in one day, we’re done
here. Am I clear?”
“ Yes, Sir,” everyone
replied.
Normally, waiting an entire day for a simple
response was something excruciating, but the exercise gave all of
Phoenix Crew a
a part of this. Swain believes we may be able to make first contact
with the aliens that left those things behind. At the very most, we
only ask for a few weeks of your time. Then, we’ll make for Century
colony, as I’m sure that’s what you have planned.”
Lay shifted his body weight and took one of
his patented, long inhalations. He locked eyes with O’Hara.
Naturally, he said nothing, letting his baby blues create a little
drama.
“ Captain, you just asked for more time
aboard the Phoenix . Now, you take my time from this colony
to ask me if you can play with some alien toys?” Admiral Lay
accosted.
Swain nearly fell over from the brunt of the
admiral’s tone.
“ Admiral, I fully understand and
appreciate the situation, but this is practically unheard of. You
had confidence in me and my men earlier. Please have that
confidence now,” O’Hara retorted.
The Admiral almost smiled; an unusual sight.
“Well, you get one week. What’s the plan?”
O’Hara and his friend traded a look. They
were flabbergasted. Swain actually grabbed hold of the captain’s
arm.
“ Well, Sir,” he started. “I have the
entire theory worked out. I relayed messages to the scientists at
Presh. I think I know how to relay a message to the owners of the
beacons. With any luck, we can get a response, effectively making
history,” Swain said, beaming with pride.
The admiral smirked at that. “I see. Like I
said, one week, now, if you’ll excuse me, pressing matters call my
attention.”
The men all saluted. Swain and O’Hara watched
the old man enter his tent before they celebrated with the slapping
of hands. The two promptly returned to the Phoenix, where
O’Hara plotted a course for Presh to gather the beacons and
scientists. Swain chose Levine, Nandesrikahl, and Tulley to help
him with recalibrations.
Within days they had clearance to move
forward. Shortly there after, the beacons were taken back to Eon,
where camp was erected a mile from the ship. There, Swain and his
comrades set about their task.
It was 09:00 hours when Swain and Levine
finished setting up. They worked quickly to disable the magnetism
module then set the beacons to resonate as one. They had discovered
a partition in the mechanism, which provided the frequencies. With
the new arrangement, they were even able to set up near electrical
equipment.
Tinkering with a panel, Swain pieced all the
objects back together. He stepped back to glance at Levine. She
smiled.
Behind them, against a tapestry of grayish
brown clouds, and shimmering, gold leaves swaying from passing
breezes, O’Hara and Lay stood with their feet spread and their arms
folded. It was unclear whether anything had happened, so Lay turned
to O’Hara with a frown. He, in turn, glared at Swain.
“ What’s going on, men?” Lay
demanded.
“ Yes, Sir,” Swain choked. “Levine
decided on a frequency to relay through satellites back to Earth,
you know, to make sure they work first….”
Just then, a response team from Earth relayed
back via speakers, stating they had picked up the frequency from
Eon. The mere fact that the beacons functioned was great news, but
Swain wanted more. He and Levine tried using a handful of different
outputs. Everyone waited impatiently.
“ Fellas’,” Lay chortled. “How long is
this going to take?”
“ Yeah, Swain…what’s going on?” O’Hara
dove in.
“ Uh…well, you know, our team on Earth
was aware of our signal, which one, and when we were broadcasting.
In this case, there’s no way to know if our signal is picked up by
the aliens.”
“ You must be joking,” Lay sighed.
“Look, I won’t lie to you, I’m intrigued by this whole thing, but
you get one more day. If they don’t answer in one day, we’re done
here. Am I clear?”
“ Yes, Sir,” everyone
replied.
Normally, waiting an entire day for a simple
response was something excruciating, but the exercise gave all of
Phoenix Crew a
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