Taylor's Ark by Jody Lynn Nye

Author:Jody Lynn Nye [Nye, Jody Lynn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Space, doctor, female, medicine, cat, dog, ottle, adventure, epidemic, merchant, colony world, Mars, baby, humor
Publisher: WordFire Press
Published: 2016-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

The heavy shuttle glider hit the ground rolling. Shona sat in the copilot’s chair beside shuttle pilot Ivo, rapt, watching the scenery of a new world spiral before her, growing larger until it filled the viewscreens. Celtuce was gigantic and covered with swirling white clouds, as if it couldn’t make up its mind at the moment of creation whether it would be a gas giant or a solid planet. The thump under her spine was solid enough. Her menagerie, in the compartment immediately behind the pilot’s cabin, set up its protests as they hit. She could hear Harry’s yowl of complaint almost nonstop from the time he was locked into his protective landing capsule. The cat’s ululation was briefly interrupted by a sound like a hiccup as the shuttle’s wheels hit the ground, then modulated into affronted cries that he couldn’t get out. Shona ignored him.

Saffie was unusually quiet. The dog had been subdued since they had said their goodbyes to Lani. When Shona closed her up inside her impact cage, she settled down with her nose on her crossed forepaws, as if uninterested in anything that was about to happen. Shona felt sorry for both the girl and the dog, realizing how close they had become over the last months. She, too, missed Lani already. They had cried, clinging to one another, each reluctant to be the first to let go. Shona wondered how the girl would adjust to life on Mars, thrust once more among strangers. She promised to send messages to Lani as often as she could, and to visit whenever there was a chance for her to come back to Mars. It wasn’t enough for either of them, but it would have to do. Shona had a job, and having arrived on the scene, could put off parting no longer.

She stared out the windshield at the terrain. She had to admit that Celtuce wasn’t the Earthlike paradise that Corporation Colony Services featured prominently on its recruitment posters, but it was interesting. The shuttle’s huge, soft tires climbed extensive hills of torn stone, some of it melted into crevices and fissures. There was nothing alive out there that she could see.

The first thing that imparted itself to her senses was that the gravity on Celtuce was heavier than Mars or even Earth standard. She was glad she had insisted on daily, full-gee exercise programs, and regretted that they hadn’t been more intensive. The muscles in her thorax fought just a little bit more than usual to draw in air, and every movement of her limbs required more effort. It would be tiring to work here until she became acclimated.

The gauges told her that the heavy atmosphere was unbreathable methane, flavored with a quantity of sulphur and other trace elements, including iron. Ambient temperature, at 10°C, was cool but not unpleasant for human beings. It was certainly warmer than Mars, whatever the Terraforming Council there was promising as its end result. The clouds of gas swirled and

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.