Isaac's Dream, Chapter 2

Isaac’s Dream
Chapter 2

The best day of your life is the one on which you decide your life is your own.
No apologies or excuses.
No one to lean on, rely on, or blame.
The gift is yours.
It is an amazing journey
and you alone are responsible for the quality of it.
This is the day your life really begins.
–Bob Moawad

Lyshta checked the time, for the hundredth time in the last hour. The trip seemed to drone on for days, and the tight quarters afforded passengers on this mining crew transfer ship were almost unbearable. Not only did she look uncomfortable and out of place, she was.

The seats were built for Genoman men who were physically huge compared to the lithe and athletic theoretical propulsion engineer. When strapped in, she felt like a child in a booster chair but she didn’t care. The daughter of Lionas LaVigne, Genoman Director of Stellar Exploration, had been offered private transportation to visit her brother Lucian, but had declined so she didn’t embarrass him in front of his team. That was a story in and of itself.

Lyshta was traveling with her fiancé, Dr. Jonas Adamovics. They were on their way to visit her maternal twin who had recently received a commission in the Archaeological Directorate and placed in charge of his very own outpost, a day that many in his family thought might never come. Lyshta never doubted him though, as she was his biggest fan.

It had been a long time since she had last seen Lucian, back on Mars Colony at his graduation ceremony several years ago. While she had graduated with a double Master’s in engineering and physics with a Doctorate in theoretical propulsion from Charles Darwin University (at the ripe old age of 17), Lucian lingered in school until sometime after his 21st birthday. While that would be quite normal for the offspring of a Lukron or Senkan, Genomans (genetically selected for high levels of intelligence) considered this a sign of genetic impurity.

Having graduated so many years before her brother, she had taken a position at the Gagarin Spaceflight Institute after Lucian declined her offer to continue tutoring him. A challenging and tedious job, it brought her many acclaims for her technical skills but was not quite as satisfying as she had hoped.

Somehow, she’d remained enchanted with her educational choice right up to the moment of taking the job. Through correspondence with Lucian she had developed an appreciation for archaeology, and the many stories he shared about exploring the long forgotten remains of once great civilizations only served to remind her of her unhappiness.

Just thinking about her brother brought memories of both childhood and adolescence under the direction of their parents, Lionas and Leiko. While it certainly had not been easy growing up in the public eye as children of a Director in the Genoma Corporation, it had its advantages. Both Lyshta and Lucian had been appropriately spoiled, but were always taught the value of hard work and discipline.

As a child, the level of spoiling had not been all that obvious to Lyshta, but upon her graduation and seeing all the opportunities that lay before her (because of her father’s connections), it became very apparent that she would always be “above the fray”, even though she wanted to be just like everyone else. Lucian felt the same way, but had a harder time dealing with the notoriety among his male peers, who always expected more from him than he felt he could give.

They were 25 years old now, and Lucian had finally earned the respect he sought from the archaeological community, on his own terms. With no help from Lionas, at least none that he would ever know about, Lucian accepted a lucrative position at Farpost Delphi and chose a seasoned team of scientists and archaeologists to lead into the fray.

His first duty was to lead an excavation team to K2-AZ, s planet recently approved for exploration. When Lucian had told Lyshta what he had found thus far, working on his own and ahead of the team, both she and her fiancée decided to take some leave to accompany him on what would surely be the jewel in his newly minted crown of success. Lucian had kept a few secrets though, regarding on item in particular…

Lyshta could barely contain the pride and excitement she felt. Seeing her brother reveling in his success, finally getting to share in the adventure he lived on a daily basis was a dream come true for her, as she knew it was for him. The document she had been reading remained open on her armpad, but she had not even glanced at it in the past hour, choosing instead to enjoy the anticipation of this joyous adventure in silent lucidity.

At least that was the plan, but this time destiny had another adventure in mind for her, and it didn’t include copious amounts of joy.

“We are now approaching Farpost Delphi,” reported a friendly voice over the small space transport’s intercom. “Please engage all safety restraints and be sure all loose cargo is secure. Although our gravity equalizers will be online as we land, atmospheric re-entry can be unpredictable at times.”

As Lyshta stowed away the few loose belongings into her bag, Jonas leaned over and squeezed her thigh reassuringly. She smiled back at him as she activated her automatic restraint system and prepared for the descent.

Entering the pale blue atmosphere elicited a slight rumble as the craft descended to the outpost. It wasn’t the worst approach she’d ever made to a planet, by far, and these things never really bothered her that much anyway. She had a healthy respect for this ship in particular, as it was one of the first she had helped design.

After this trip, she silently vowed to convince the interior designers to include a few more amenities in future designs to accommodate a wider variety of passengers. Stark and utilitarian looked good on a budget sheet, but it was very hard on the posterior.

Eagerly, her eyes swept the landing area as the transport finally came to rest on solid ground, looking for that familiar face, the likeness of which stared back at her from the mirror in her vanity each day. They were fraternal twins but shared many of the same features. This was a plus to Lyshta, but it gave her brother a bit more of a feminine look than he would have liked.

The lander had hardly touched the ground before she ripped off the safety harness and leapt for the door, pushing against it as it opened, unable to contain her exuberance any longer.

As she stepped outside, she found her brother waiting just as eagerly with a big smile on his face. She rushed up and threw her arms around him as he hugged her back, firmly. “How are things going, Luc?” she asked as she melted into his arms, enjoying the reconnection of a bond that only twins could share. “Or is it Commander LaVigne now?” she teased.

Lucian laughed as he watched a grinning man he had never before met in person step off the shuttle, bags in hand, tall and handsome as the day was long. “I believe it’s ‘Commander’ but everyone just calls me ‘Lucky.’” He pulled one arm free and extended it to Jonas as he beamed a smile and said, “Which is something I have in common with this handsome fella you brought along.”

“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Lucian,” offered the still grinning and similarly impressed Jonas. “I’ve heard a lot about you and your exploits over the last few years.” A glance at the teary eyed but happy faced Lyshta reminded him of why he loved her so much. “Sometimes, she keeps me awake all night recounting your adventures.”

“What she romantically thinks of as adventures are actually a lot of hard work,” said a humble Lucian. “This trip will be no different, and I’m honored to have the both of you along.”

Lyshta shook her head, “I…” and a quick glance at Jonas betrayed something. “We wouldn’t have missed it for the world!” She wouldn’t have missed it for the world, but Jonas had been less than thrilled at being dragged off to the other side of the galaxy to diddle in unimpressive dirt while so much work remained unfinished back home. At her insistence though, he had reluctantly agreed to accompany her. “Tell me all about the trip you have planned for us, Luc….”

Lucian noticed the slip of the tongue, but ignored it as he beckoned them towards their quarters. “Well, we’ve determined that this was an advanced race from some of the artifacts we’ve found. We’re calling them “Pashtans” for now, based on some writing we’ve been able to decipher. They’ve been extinct for millennia. You’ll be amazed at how well the planet has preserved the relics here, or at least by how durable they are.”

“That’s wonderful!” she exclaimed, clapping her hands together to contain the genuine excitement she felt at the idea of actually seeing the place first hand. When Jonas came up behind her, she jumped in surprise. Noticing he was carrying both her baggage and his own, she quickly apologized, “I’m so sorry, Jonas. I’m so caught up in the moment that I forgot to grab my bags.”

He smiled, “It’s OK, at least now I know where I stand around here…”

Lucian continued, “The base camp is a pretty good hike from here because this facility was built before the domed citadel was discovered. How they could miss it is beyond me. Most of the team has just arrived as well, and we haven’t started clearing the area outside the dome for a landing zone yet so we’re going to have to walk in. I’ve only been there once, myself, but I told you about that already. Hell, this place is so fresh, they haven’t even done a bug sweep yet, so we’ll be armed, just in case. Hope you don’t mind getting your hands dirty.”

Jonas was caught off guard, learning that the area they would be exploring hadn’t been cleared of biologicals. Standard procedure required a thorough process of searching for and exterminating extraneous, possibly dangerous forms of life, prior to any scientific expedition.

He was going to mention this, but thought better of it. Jonas had already done his best to avoid coming on this trip and he didn’t want Lyshta to think he was trying to undermine it again, so he smiled and listened as Lyshta reveled in the challenges that lay ahead. Besides, the chances something bad would happen were slim if they were armed and moved in a large group.

“Of course not,” Lyshta responded, oblivious to Jonas’ concerns. She glanced around at the large trees surrounding the modular structures that had obviously been plopped down by an automated construction drone. As she looked back at the landing area, she noticed a man standing next to the transport, arms folded to the front as if waiting for further orders. In fact, that was exactly what he was doing.

“Oh, right!” She waved to the captain of the ship, letting him know he could leave. Another transport would come in about two weeks to pick them up. Lyshta took her bag from Jonas, prying it from his grip as he tried in vain to be chivalrous. “We’re ready for just about anything.”

But there was no way she could have been prepared for the events over the next few weeks.