In a Strange Land

By John M. Dennis

A ragged hole in the fabric of space. On the one side, hundreds of thousands of dedicated scientists and engineers across 4 Worlds race the clock to discover what has happened to their friends and colleagues.
On the other Seventy-eight astronauts find themselves on an alien world and are taken in by a highly civilized reptilian species, who welcome them into their midst. Despite their peaceful natures, these gracious hosts conceal a mysterious past that could prove risky as the stranded humans endeavor to adapt to their new home.
And so begins the saga of humanity’s first steps beyond the solar System.
John M. Dennis’ first novel has been on the Rhyopolys Times bestseller list for 23 straight sub-annums and at the #1 spot for the past 4 sub-annums. Now this runaway best-selling epic tale of survival and the clash of cultures comes to human audiences for the first time.

• Language: English
• Publisher: John M. Dennis
• Release date: Nov 16, 2014
• ISBN: 9781310715938

John M. Dennis

Depending on who you believe ...John M. Dennis was born and raised all along the East Coast of the United States of America. He attended college and graduate school, enlisted in the US Armed Forced and has worked in a variety of careers before persuing his lifelong dream of writing.John currently lives in Virginia's Northern Shenandoah Valley with his wife of over 25 years. Together they have a son who lives in Southern California, in whom they are both extremely proud.ORJohn M. Dennis has existed for thousands of years in a universe of his own creation. His childhood compainions were the likes of Jules Verne, H. G. Wells, Ray Bradbury, Isaac Azimov and Arthur C. Clark, not particularly in that order. His formal education took place in the Restaurant at the End of the Universe at the feet of Stephen King, John Milton, Alex Haley, William Shakespeare and Umberto Eco.John currently lives in a small village somewhere on the planet of Qet'esh where he is monitoring the situation there after a few dozen humans have arrived and shaken things up. He is recording his findings in a Chronicle which will soon be available at a major eBook retailer near you.Which version do you think is true?

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The Rift

Volume I: The Book of the Dra'qos

Book 1: In a Strange Land

By John M. Dennis

Copyright 2014 by John M. Dennis & Rhyopolys Times Publishing. All Rights Reserved

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, human or dra’qos is entirely coincidental.

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

For Angelica

Special Thanks and Acknowledgments

Special thanks go out to the following people. To my Beta Readers, who were kind enough to pour through the manuscript, George Dalton, Melody Miller & Deborah Baker.

A very special thanks goes out to Byota Mauti, the Publisher and Editor in Chief of the Rhyopolys Times, and columnist Cybo P'Nari whose expertise in dra’qos politics helped me more accurately describe their society.

Sunday, October 9, 2281

2281, October 9, Sunday, 0214 Greenwich Mean Time at the Houston Space Flight Center. Dr. James Monson staffing FCR1 and monitoring the TITAN position. Anselm is progressing at a steady velocity of .8576 light. They are approaching the 100 AU mark in approximately 15 minutes. All systems are green. The crew is sleeping soundly. No anomalies detected. Next scheduled report at … What the hell?

Jim flipped the recorder off and looked at the NAV screen on his console. He checked the switches and relays. Then, bending over and looking under the console, checked to see that all the wiring was neatly in place. Being a part of the team that built this, he would know pretty quickly if something was wrong. Nothing. Strange. He reached for the COMSET.

D’Urville Island, this is Houston Control. Come in.

Houston, this is D’Urville Island. What’s up, Jim?

Everything OK down there, Mitch?

Everything’s fine. Why do you ask?

My image just dropped off … Wait, Charity is calling. I’m going to patch you in. He flipped a switch, Come in Charity. I have D’Urville Island on the line."

Hello Henry! Jim, I’ve lost the signal. It was there one minute and gone the next. What’s going on?

I’m trying to figure that out myself, Walt. Did you run a diagnostic? Hang on a minute. Ceres is calling. I’ll patch you in … Ceres, this is Houston …

What hell is going on down there, Jim? Did you do something?

Hang on a sec, George. I’m going to get Ganymede on the line with everyone else. … Ganymede Deep Space, this is Houston control. I’ve got D’Urville, Charity and Ceres on the line with me."

This is Ganymede. What can I do for you Jim?

You have been tracking Anselm, right?

Sure, the computers have been keeping an eye on things. I’ve just had lunch. We’ve been out of the office for a bit. Why?

Check your screen, could you please?

Yeah, sure. Anything wrong?

You tell us.

OK, I’m here and I’m looking … Hmm… That’s funny. Banging is heard over the COM. Is it on? Yeah, it’s on. … How about under here? … Nope. Everything’s fine here too. OK, guys, what’s going on? Is this some sort of prank?

I'm afraid not, Jim picked up the phone a punched in a number. Half a world away, a sleepy voice answered the call on the third ring. Director Gregor. This is a secure line only to be used in emergencies. Identify yourself.

Dr. James Monson, Sir. Houston Control.

Speak.

The Anselm of Canterbury has disappeared.

I'm on my way in.

Chapter 1: Arrival

Seth Gershom woke up face down in a field of soft blue grass about one hundred meters from the nearest tree line. His first thoughts revealed a greater level of disorientation that he would have otherwise expected coming out of cryo-sleep.

Are we there already? Whoa. Wait a minute. What’s this? Grass? Where am I? What happened to the ship? They said there would be some disorientation, but this is ridiculous.

Spitting the grass out of his mouth, Seth tried to get up, but found he could not move much of his body. Praying silently that he was not injured he took a quick inventory of what did work; legs - no feeling, no movement that he could detect; arms - movement, weakness and there was a tingling feeling in his fingers; neck and head - yes, but it was stiff. That was something at least.

Rolling over and sitting up as best he could (no small feat without the use of his legs); he looked around to take stock of where he was. He was in a field of soft grass that grew about a third of a meter high. Less than a hundred meters away and slightly uphill from where he sat, a tree line marked the edge of what suggested a seriously dense forest. Above him, soft grey clouds filled the sky. If this had been on earth, he could have suspected that it would rain sometime within the next 12 hours. This was not home however, so all bets were off about the chance of precipitation. Downhill stretched over the field in a gentle decline until it met another tree line about 300 meters away. For all he knew, he could have dropped down in the middle of the only clearing on a forest planet.

The clearing itself didn't attract his attention at first. For all intents and purposes, it could have been anywhere in the Middle Atlantic Region of Terra's North-Western Quadrant. The forest was primarily deciduous with no more than about twenty-five percent evergreen trees. The clearing contained a general variety of grasses, some courser than others, and of a variety of heights. A few bushes broke up the otherwise even landscape and gave an overall pleasing aesthetic to the scene. What really set the picture apart from home was the palette. Instead of greens and browns that were common to home, here the predominant colors were blues in the leaves and grasses and blacks and greys in the trunks of the trees. On closer examination, the leaves themselves had a slight alien look to them. This further confirmed to Seth that he wasn't home.

Up the hill, to his right, he could just make out the remains of the CLS unit he had spent the last … how long had it been? The unit was wedged in a small group of protruding boulders at the very edge of the tree line with the double doors twisted open at impossible angles. He must have been thrown from it, interrupting the restoration process. That would explain why he couldn't move much. Unless he was seriously busted up, he should be able to gain nearly full mobility within the hour. He may have some issues with stiffness for a few days (that would have been taken care of during the restoration process), but he could live with that. On the other hand, there could be some serious injury from whatever had happened. He really wouldn't know that until later. Time would tell.

For the moment, it seemed that he was not in too much danger (at least as far as he could tell). There was nothing left to do but wait for the rest of his body to wake up. Closing his eyes, he thought back to the briefing that launched this adventure.

***

Ladies and Gentlemen, Dr. Rudolph Kiernan!

Enthusiastic applause came from the three hundred or so people gathered in the large briefing room at the Ganymede Deep Space Center as the centenarian Mission Director Emeritus walked slowly to the podium. His audience consisted of senior officials of the United Terran Space Agency, the top project managers of the mission and the 144 members of the crew. In spite of the honors given the old man, these others were the true center of attention for this ceremony.

The room itself was rather sparse, business-like and originally designed to hold no more than seventy-five individuals on both sides of the podium. For this occasion, close to 200 squeezed in where they could to hear the old man and to wish the crew off on their long voyage.

"It has always been a dream of my family, for the past seven generations, to see humanity reach beyond this star system. As a boy of twelve, my ancestor, Martin Randolph Kiernan, looked through the great ancient observatory at Mount Palomar at the distant stars of the Milky Way and knew in his heart that we were destined to one-day travel among them.

"Since that time, three hundred and fifty years ago, our family caught his vision and has worked, along with hundreds of thousands of other equally dedicated men and women, to get us where we are today. We have endured wars and rumors of war; political friends and enemies, times of economic boom and bust. We have seen the accounts for this effort overflowing with funds only to find them dry up overnight. There were times when we didn't think we would ever get this off the ground, let alone beyond the reaches of our solar system.

And yet, here we are, on the eve of humanity's greatest adventure, ready to burst forth from the cocoon that has been our home for countless millennia to explore the farthest reaches of our galaxy. Here we are ready to step forth beyond our small neighborhood and see the larger universe around us. I am honored and grateful that I have had the opportunity to live long enough to see this day.

Applause broke out around the room as the old man paused for a sip of water. When the honors died down once again, he continued.

But this is not about me, nor about my family. It is about the honored one hundred forty four members of the crew of the United Terran Research Vessel Anselm of Canterbury who will be making this leap forward for the rest of us.

Extended applause greeted the crew as they stood and received the praises of their colleagues and peers.

I am also very happy to see my own great grand-daughter, Dr. Stacy Kiernan who will be carrying our family name to the stars.

More applause as the auburn haired scientist in the second row of the crew stood, beaming with pride at the current patriarch of her family.

We who will stay behind in this solar system realize that you shall far outlive every last one of us; but know this - we are with you in spirit and in the hopes you hold for all humanity. Like the explorers of the past who opened up new worlds and new possibilities, you are extending the footprint of humanity beyond this solar system for the first time. Just as we followed those early pioneers to build our civilization, so others will follow the trail you are blazing this day. You venture forth with our blessings, with our love, with our hopes and dreams. Via con Dios my friends, Go with God.

More applause erupted as the whole room stood to its feet and honored the one forty four.

More speeches followed and awards were handed out to various members and teams that had made one breakthrough after another to make the mission possible. Then the session faded away into a blur of food, drink, music and shaking hands with more people than Seth could ever remember seeing - and then the room went dark.

***

Shadow!

Seth snapped out of his memories at the passing of darkness over his head. His eyes snapped open to reveal a gold foiled globe filling his sight, an apparition in white and metallic bending over him. He let out a yelp of surprise and was greeted by a mechanical voice coming from small speakers on either side of the globe,

Looks like Seth discovered that the air is breathable.

An hour later Seth was seated against a nearby log while David Brobaker, one of the mission's chemists, provided the latest in a series of injections. He rubbed his arms over his legs, trying to get the feeling back into them.

This one contains more vitamins and a dose of electrolytes. We're almost done; only three more to go, he said.

Thanks.

Not a problem. How're you feeling?

Pins and needles.

I hate pins and needles. This came from Donne Sonn, one of the mission's electricians. She was at the CLS rifling through the remains. They drive me crazy. Nothing more of any value here David. Seth, just from the looks of this, you took quite a beating. You're lucky to be alive.

Donne walked down to where Seth sat and quickly examined him.

You don't look any worse for wear. A bit bruised up but nothing permanent. How do you feel, aside from the pins and needles? She perched herself on the log.

OK I suppose. Do you guys have any idea what happened? The CLS units weren't designed to be separated from the Cryo-Module. They weren't life pods. The only thing they could do, independent of the ship, was to initiate the restoration process, and that only in the event of an extended power interruption.

Donne looked at the crumpled wreckage and said. I'd say the power was interrupted alright.

But what could have happened that caused this?

David said, Haven't a clue. I woke up inside my CLS unit and just saw that the view had changed. When it cleared me to leave, I clamped my helmet on, checked my oxygen levels and left the unit. Donne emerged from her unit about the same time as me. We've been looking for anyone else since. Don't even know what's left of the ship. Did it crash or is it in orbit somewhere?

Donne piped in, Did it just drop us off and continue on its merry ol' way?

Seth asked, Do you think this is ACB-4?

David answered, You're the navigator. You tell us.

I navigate the stars, in case you've forgotten. Once we get into orbit around the planet, the ship would map the terrain and provide us with readouts even before we got to the ground. What I'm wondering is if this is what we were expecting.

Donne said, That would be something one of the geologists could answer.

Or the ship's computer.

Wherever that is.

Seth said, Then I guess the first order of business is to find the rest of our people and try to figure out what happened to the ship.

David replied, Let's get going, then. How do you feel about now? Can you move?

I think I can. Seth hoisted himself up to his feet with the aid of the others. I might be a bit slow at first, but I'll try to keep up.

David said, Let us know if we're going too fast.

Wilco.

Donne pointed down the hill and said, We came from that direction. I think we ought to continue on the same bearing for a while. Any other thoughts on the matter?

Not from me, Seth replied, But I would like to see the freezer first.

The CLS unit had been two and a half meters long by one meter wide by one meter deep when it had been attached to the ship. Seth remembered the first time he had seen it: It was at the Ganymede Deep Space Flight Center about three weeks prior to launch. The crew went through a final fitting of the chambers to allow for minor adjustments to the couches where they would lay during their cryogenic sleep. It wasn't that the cushioning would have made any real difference in the comfort level of frozen bodies, but it helped with the psychological acceptance of the otherwise coffin-like appearance of the chamber. That the chambers could be used as regular sleeping quarters for the crew at the other end of their journey while they made the year-long or more orbital survey of the destination planet was another, more practical reason for the fine tuning of the comfort level of the CLS Units.

But now, as Seth looked down upon the wreckage of his unit, he shook his head in disbelief that he had even survived the crash. The metal of the chamber was twisted, torn and charred into a nearly unrecognizable heap. The doors had not so much flown open as they had exploded when the sealed atmosphere within had been forced outward under the tremendous pressure of the impact with the ground. Inside the unit, his helmet was still locked in place ready for use if the occasion called for it, which it obviously didn't for now. The ship was designed in such a way that, during the multi-year leg of the journey, all the breathable air within the ship was replaced with an inert gas to maintain internal pressure and act as a fire retardant. Under normal circumstances, an oxygen-based atmosphere would replace this gas prior to releasing the crew from cryogenic sleep. In an emergency, however, each CLS unit was fitted with an environmental suit and helmet to facilitate moving around the ship until the atmosphere could be switched. These weren't the heavy-duty EVA suits used outside the ship, but they did the job and carried a six hour supply of air, eight if you didn't move around too much.

Except for the doors, the unit looked in good shape; no telling how it would operate however. Under the view window on the side of the door, he could barely make out his name.

Gershom, Seth – Lieutenant

2nd Mate/Navigator

He reached inside the unit and popped a small hatch open. From the exposed cavity, he extracted a small bag. Inside he found some personal items including oral hygiene equipment, a clean pair of socks and a pair of walking shoes and a Swiss Army knife, a gift from the Swiss Army. Taking the shoes out he took off his slippers, checked to see if his socks were acceptable - they were - placed the slippers into the bag and put the walking shoes on. Now he was ready for the next leg of their journey.

Lead on McDuff.

The trio trekked on in the same direction David and Donne had been traveling when they came upon Seth. They postulated that the CLS units had impacted the ground in roughly a straight line and that, judging from the distance between the three of theirs, they may be able to discover all one hundred forty four within about a Terran week, give or take a day and depending on the terrain encountered.

They walked beneath a canopy of blue leafed trees over gently rolling hills, gentle white sunlight filtering through clearing clouds and branches. Here and there, they sensed the motion of small forest creatures ducking out of sight at their approach. They couldn't get good looks at them, but sensed they were, like the trees themselves, alien, yet familiar. Overhead a squirrel-thing scampered across a branch before jumping onto another tree. To their right they saw something resembling a rabbit ducking under a fallen log. Seth thought about the ancient story of a carnivorous rabbit and hoped that this was not a real life version of that fictional creature.

As they walked they talked about the events and circumstances that brought them there.

***

The 144 members of the United Terran Research Vessel Anselm of Canterbury had been hand selected from a field of 10,000 certified candidates from around the world who had, in turn, been whittled down from over 12 million applicants. Each was the cream of the crop in their field of study. They represented the best of the best that earth had to offer.

Applications were made while they were still in early secondary school. Each applicant had been tested in every conceivable way; physically, intellectually, emotionally and spiritually. The testing periods took place over the main school breaks and, for those who were qualified, changes were made to their course of instruction. Those who passed the first round of testing won full scholarships to a number of universities around the world where their curriculum further prepared them for this mission and where additional assessments would be made for their eligibility to the program. The ten thousand who had survived the process to that point were inducted into the program as backup and support staff to the 144 who would be chosen to actually make the trip. Once the candidate field had been reduced to six hundred, actual astronaut training began and the selection process continued, dividing the field into the four ships of the initial mission with the rest serving as backup.

Of course, when the final crew rosters were announced, there were celebrations across the globe. The chosen ones were treated to a wide range of honors from all the nations of the world. Tours of the countries and visits with heads of state went on for four months before the final phase of training began. This last part took another two years before the first crew boarded the ships to the Ganymede Deep Space Flight Center. The crews of the other ships would follow, a year apart from one another until a sufficient number to sustain the gene pool had been sent to the new world. Subsequent ships would make the trip later, but they would be more for inter-planetary commerce than to replenish the colony.

And so it was, that during the final two years prior to launch, was also when the socialization of the 144 began in earnest. Now, mind you, up to that point, these folks had had their heads buried in the books and laboratories for pretty much all their lives, and it was these people who would be spending the rest of their lives together. It was also pretty much accepted by all parties involved that the mission would be a one-way trip. Even if they did plan a route back to the earth, centuries would have passed back home and no one they would have known would be waiting for them.

So the 144 learned social skills and common courtesies that would come in handy once they arrived at their destination. For the mission directors this was probably the most delicate part of the training. They wanted the crew to learn to get along with each other with the definite outcome being families and new generations, but they didn't want this to happen prior to their reaching ACB-4. Once they got there, built their base, settled in and began their work, then there would be time for the rest of their lives to begin.

In the end, the Anselm of Canterbury was staffed with the crème de la crème of humanity; each one physically strong, intellectually superior and emotionally stable. There would be no surprises from the standpoint of the team. Everyone knew what their duty was and, most importantly, all knew they would never come back to earth.

***

Seth, David and Donne emerged from the trees at the crest of a small hill. The sight that greeted them took their breath away. Below them lay a large valley of thick forests and lush meadows of sky blue grass adorned with flowers of yellow and green. In the distance herds of elk-like creatures grazed while birds of every imaginable color flew across the lavender sky. But it wasn't these things that truly amazed them. The clouds had cleared and it was the sight of the huge ringed planet dominating the sky that astonished them into silence.

The planet hung low against the skyline to their right, taking up at least a quarter of the sky. The rings surrounding it appeared almost to touch the horizon. The planet itself appeared to be a gas giant, not unlike Jupiter whose orbit they had left probably years ago. Lines of purple and red ran parallel to the equator and there were at least two moons visible in the sky. Over to their left, about halfway up the sky, a small white star provided the daylight. It appeared about two-thirds the size of the sun when viewed from earth, but its rays were warm against their skin.

Donne finally broke the silence. We are definitely not in Kansas anymore.

David joined in, "But we're not at ACB either. None of our probes reported anything like a ringed gas giant in that system. Most of them were iron rocks with the exception of the fourth planet, which would have been our new home.

Seth added, And ACB is a yellow main sequence star, not a white dwarf like this.

Donne sighed, Oh Boy. Then she added, Beautiful though, isn't it?

***

By the time night fell, the three had found two more members of their expedition. One of them, Rajani Eversole was injured but alive, while the other, Eric Kuster, was already dead from the impact. They made camp for the night, lit a small fire, and talked into the night about their situation - the topic of the day - while they dressed Rajani's wounds.

So where do you think we are? Rajani asked.

Seth answered, ACB is the middle of three stars that are the closest to the earth and in relative proximity with each other. Based on trajectory alone we should be at any of the other two stars and could still be in the general neighborhood of our destination ..."

However …?

However, the star we saw today does not look like any of those stars; nor are there stars anywhere near those that even remotely resemble what we have here, which means .

David cut in, … We could be anywhere.

Seth said, Exactly.

Donne then mused, Then the chance of rescue is pretty much ...

Not at all.

Rajani said, Then we'd better make the best of the situation, eh? What's the first order of business?

They talked into the night, determining that finding food and water would be the first priority as they set out to find the rest of their companions. That they had no instruments with which to test the toxicity of anything proved to be a problem as there was no way of knowing what was beneficial and what would kill them on this alien world. They would have to go about it, as with everything else, in a rather low-tech manner that had been a part of their training. They would start first thing in the morning.

Setting up two-hour shifts for the watches throughout the night, Seth pulled the first watch and, as the others drifted off to sleep, he pondered how they had come to this situation.

***

Of course, he knew how they had started out. The Anselm of Canterbury utilized a revolutionary new engine (that was one of the primary contributions of the Kiernan family) coupled with an equally revolutionary triple slingshot maneuver and a solar sail to escape the gravitational pull of the sun. The fuel had been a combination of a matter/antimatter reactor with a special accelerant that allowed reasonably sized spacecraft to travel the vast distances of interstellar space without taking a fuel tank the size of a planet along for the ride. The slingshot maneuver was the other part of the equation that launched the mission.

Single and double slingshots had been used in the past, employing the