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Episode 3 – Arrival © C. J. Hoare June 2006.

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Gisel craned forward for a glimpse out the small passenger door beside the cargo ramp as the Iskander crewman opened it. Her father reached out a hand to pull her against the seat back. "Be careful Gisel. We don't know what might be out there."

It had taken her a great deal of fast talking to secure a place in this first ground investigation mission. Her father relented and included her in his team – in large part because she'd made him worry for her mental state. Had she really intended suicide a week ago? All she knew was that she'd frightened herself as well as him. It felt as if some alien Gisel had taken over her emotions. She'd keep tighter control from now on.

She leaned forward again as M'Tov and his crewman stepped out onto the head of the unfolded flight ramp, assault rifles at the ready. She could probably see as well as anyone inside while they scanned the area around the landing zone. She glimpsed a grassy meadow and a small creek, with woods beyond. No sign of human inhabitants, but then they'd picked a landing site over a mile from the nearest village – and Intruder was loud enough to scare them away.

M'Tov turned to them. "It looks clear. Team leaders, prepare your people to disembark."

Henrik Matah unfastened his seat belt and stood, staggering slightly after a month of weightlessness. "Ground truthing team collect your packs and join me at the cargo ramp." He looked down at her. "How do you feel?"

She tossed the ends of her seat belt aside and sprang to her feet. She strove to ignore a surge of dizziness. "Fine, Father. You know I'm the fittest one here. I can carry twice the load you've given me."

She stepped confidently across the floor of the cargo hold toward Marc Chronon, the youngest member of Iskander's flight crew, as he pressed the buttons to lower the Intruder's cargo ramp. Only five years older than her, he was an electronics and communications specialist. She'd charmed an extra radio receiver out of him for the mission, but only because he wanted it tested after some repairs.

He put out a hand to keep her back when she stepped onto the descending ramp. "Let M'Tov go first, Gisel. This is his show."

She stuck out her tongue before dodging around his arm and running down the moving ramp. She jumped off into the grass, still bent over from the blast of the Intruder's landing. Like most of their larger systems, the aircraft was powered by a fusion reactor, and its turbine engines used electric arcs to turn air and recycled water into a superheated steam reaction mass. At less than combustion temperature, the vegetation below the aircraft had not been charred. She kneeled to lift up handfuls of bowed stalks to hold against her face. "Come on down, it smells just like home."

Colonel M'Tov glared down at her. "Please come back at once, Miss Matah. I want to place my guards before any of you civilians disembark."

She grinned up at him and winked as he said ‘civilians'. M'Tov was one of her fencing class, and she was sure she knew how to get around him. But she stood and hurried back up the ramp. "Sorry, Colonel, but remember we're not civilians any more. We're all in this together."

He frowned and turned away.

"Gisel." Her father's voice. "Come back here and pick up your load."

She waited just long enough to stand at salute while M'Tov and his six men picked as guards filed past her, and then scampered across the cargo bay to her father and his team.

"Hurry up, Gisel. We're the second team off. Remember this is a speed mission. We don't want to be on the ground long enough for the local authorities to react."

"Yessir!" She threw another salute. She could have pointed out that ‘local authorities' was just a supposition. Everyone's comments, as they'd flown over the countryside, suggested they'd meet no modern organization here. From a thousand feet up, the buildings in the villages looked a lot like thatched sheds – the people living there could even be serfs. They'd marveled at the castle beside the river, over three miles away – was there a knight in armor living there? Wow, wouldn't that be neat?

She'd never expected to see a real castle, with battlements and even a banner flying from its highest tower. She wished her father's team was going that way instead of up the valley to ground truth various types of trees and crops that Iskander had recorded in remote sensing imagery from space. Everyone had agreed that they must eventually establish themselves on the surface, but needed to evaluate the whole world before deciding where. This ground investigation would verify their remote sensing data, so they could use it to pick the best location. Why waste time? Already, she loved this place and wanted it to be here.

M'Tov led the first investigation team, heading to the village beside the river estuary, much closer to the castle. She could see him standing under Intruder's tail, detailing three men to guard the aircraft and placing the last three among the file of specialists in his investigation team. She picked up her pack to swing onto her back and looped the carry strap of the portable analyzer over her left shoulder. Her cut arm twinged a bit, but she pushed the discomfort away. The katana's warning cut was scabbed over and no longer inflamed.

Father led them to the ramp, a video camera in one hand. They had no escort with their team but he carried an automatic pistol in a belt holster. She doubted he could hit a barn from the inside. Pity they hadn't given it to her. Back on Earth, she'd sweet talked herself into a few shots at the pistol range adjoining her fencing gym.

"We're to keep together," Henrik said. "Are you listening Gisel? I don't want any straggling. Now check our communications." He unclipped the receiver from his belt. "Intruder, this is team north, do you read?"

"Loud and clear, Mr Matah."

Gisel pulled out the spare receiver. "North team second radio. Gisel Matah, over."

Commander Johansen at the Intruder's controls answered. "Seems to be working right now, Gisel. Drop it a few times and call us from a distance."

"Ha ha, smartass. We may need this extra one. The Colonel's guards have most of the rest."

"You may need it," Johansen's voice came back. "Keep sassing me and I'm going to leave you down here."

She turned toward the cockpit door where she could see both pilots silhouetted against the windshield, and gave him the finger. The rest of the team descended the ramp, and she had to sprint to catch them up.

Henrik glanced down at a compass in his hand. "This way, everyone. About half a mile to the swamp where we do our first checks."

Gisel held her speed down almost to a stroll to keep from overtaking the rest of the team. Some were already wheezing – but on the journey they'd never listened when she tried to tell them to exercise more. She had ample time to look about her as they walked. The Intruder had landed in a small valley where a creek, if you could call it that – it was only a metre wide – meandered slowly to the wider river estuary almost a mile in the opposite direction. They left the area where the grass was long and uncut and crossed several areas where it had been clipped down to ground level. Animal droppings suggested that livestock had been staked out to graze. She looked at the droppings – wonder what the hell made those piles. Animals – domestic or wild – were a rarity on the Earth they'd come from.

The meadow on the hill to her right extended to a tree covered ridge. The name forest came to her but this seemed too small. Perhaps it was proper to call this a wood. She'd have liked to leave the team and run up to experience the trees – she hadn't seen real trees since she was a kid – but knew it wasn't worth getting into trouble. They were to check out trees further up the valley.

Only a few isolated trees graced the hill on her other side, and the ground between was cut in strips of bare red-brown earth. Cultivated fields, she guessed. A faint hint of green showed where plants were beginning to sprout – just like the seeds in that biology project back at the school she'd attended while the Iskander was prepared for this mission. Before the divorce, before Father went to Titan. Forget that – look at the scenery. This place was . . . what was the word? Primitive. Yes, that was it. Like hundreds of years in the past.

She looked back at the Intruder from the crest of a rise in the valley. Two guards stood under the wingtips in the shade, and the flight crew was talking to the third at the base of the ramp. M'Tov had said the aircraft was to take off if any threat to its safety appeared. It was their only link between Iskander and the surface, and they couldn't risk any damage. He'd briefed everyone on alternative pickup points if that happened. What he didn't say was how they were expected to get there if some . . . army, or something big enough to damage the aircraft showed up. Amateurs at this kind of thing – shit – didn't M'Tov ever read SciFi thrillers?

Sure, Intruder made enough noise to scare the dead, but she didn't believe all the locals had run away. Someone could be watching them from those trees.