In the Name of Earth

Chapter 11: Out of This World

“Man, how crazy is this!” Ludwig enthused, dropping his luggage on his quarters onboard the EDV Jenkins, the small interstellar ship that would take them on their field trip to Deven. “It seemed like yesterday that we got invite to this! The days just flew by!”

Despite Alexa and Qui’Mal readily agreeing, Marvin could not feel more different. After his father’s gloomy confessions, and knowing all he knew about humanity’s possible demotion in Sentience Status and the internal struggles around Supernova Protocol, that had easily been the longest week in Marvin’s life. It was even hard to properly appreciate the fact that he was boarding a ship to an actual alien colony lightyears away from anything he ever called a home.

In Gaia Station, at the very least, Earth was always a few thousand miles out the window, lazily spinning around the familiar sun and the constellations were familiar. After they made the trip, every remote semblance to a home would be gone, and while that should inspire awe or dread, all Marvin felt was concern for the safety of his homeworld and all the people on it.

But he was not about to be a buzz kill.

“You can say that again! I’m hyped!” he forced a smile to his friends. “What are your guys’ assignments?”

“I’m basically on ship duty,” Ludwig said, claiming a top bunk of their four-bed room. “I get to help the engineers keep this bucket flying to and from Deven, and while we’re there I’m free to go sightseeing!”

“Just don’t make any death pacts this time,” Alexa said, sliding into the bed beneath Ludwig’s. The beds weren’t so much bunks, but rather sleeping units carved into the pristine walls.

“Don’t plan on it, missy! What about you? I didn’t know Administration left the Station.”

“Most don’t, but someone needs to write down everything the diplomats discuss, manage traveling resources and report back to base. I’ll be helping administrator Hasan with all that.”

“What about you two?” Ludwig Marvin and Qui’Mal, who respective claimed the lower and upper bunks on the opposite wall.

“I must accompany Chief-Ambassador Grant at all times,” the alien spoke.

“I see… it’d be tough to explain to the Nikal how we lost their prince on a farm-world,” Lud laughed, then nodded at Marvin. “You?”

“I’m playing Deputy-Ambassador to my dad.”

“Deputy-Ambassador?” Alexa almost bumped her head on the bottom of Lud’s bed. “That a huge responsibility!”

“I know,” he knew, and it was freaking him out. “But what can I say? It’s not like this is a matter of life or death, anyways.”

“Wait, you know what we’re doing there?” Lud asked.

“You weren’t briefed?”

Lud shook his head. Alexa, too, was paying attention, which meant she was in the dark too.

“We’re renegotiating corn licenses.”

“Come again?” Alexa asked.

“Corn licenses! You probably had to review the paperwork we’ll be signing, didn’t you?”

“You mean…” Alexa sat up on her bed. “ENP-1987-x I kept reading about in the contracts… is corn?”

“Oh yeah, that’s the product code,” Marvin beamed.

“I thought it was some kind of chemical or machine…”

“Nope. Good old corn! The Deven Colony Administration pays us huge cash for the rights to plant corn! If all goes well, they’ll pay even more!”

“And here I was,” Lud whined, “thinking we were going to live an epic space opera, but it’s just Old McDonald’s Ranch in space!”

“Hey, small productors keep the economy spinning, man!” Marvin teased.

“All engineering hands, report to takeoff,” the pilot’s muffled voice echoed throughout the ship.

“And here I go, doing all the hard work!” Ludwig leaped from his bed and left the room.

In a few minutes, the entire vessel rattled and shook, engines roaring as magnetic clamps detached from Gaia Station and the EDV Jenkins left the already faraway Earth behind. It would not be long until the flight stabilized and the engine noises were reduced to a faint hum.

“Wonder what it looks like,” Marvin mused, head sinking on his pillow. “Outside…”

“Probably a big blur,” Alexa shrugged.

“A correct supposition,” Qui’Mal said. “You get used to it.”

Another few minutes of quiet transpired as Alexa and Marvin read mission briefings and planetary reports on their infopads.

“I am drifting asleep,” Qui’Mal informed. “I apologize for any discomfort the rise in my bodily temperature may provoke.”

“It’s better than snoring, I suppose…” Marvin said without taking his eyes off his infopad.

Another few minutes later, however, the room did get disturbingly hot.

“Mind if I take off my shirt?” Marvin asked Alexa, whispering as to not awake their hairy companion.

The woman simply stroke a few keys and slid a few bars on her infopad and the room’s air-conditioning system took care of the job without the need of exposing skin.

“You must be excited,” Marvin said after another long interval, setting his tablet aside and turning on his mattress to face Alexa. “Going on a diplomatic mission, seeing a brand-new world. Think your father knows about this?”

“I’d rather not talk about him,” Alexa continued tinkering with her infopad. “But yes, I suppose I am excited. Even if I’ll just be around to take notes.”

“You were around just to take notes that night at the kitchen,” Marvin said. “Didn’t stop you from saving Lud’s life.”

“Oh, hopefully someone in Deven will urgently need a burrito!”

“That’s not the point!” Marvin chuckled. “The point is being in the right place at the right time. When the opportunity presents itself, just grab it by the horns!”

Smiling, Alexa slid her infopad under her pillow and tucked herself under her sheets.

“Good night, Grant. And thanks.”

“What for?”

“For being so annoyingly optimistic!”

***

If the lack of windows in the Jenkins was disappointing during hyperlight flight, it would be even more dismaying to the first timers, even Alexa, when the shuttle entered Deven’s atmosphere. The young curious minds thrived to see the alien world from above like children musing at their first airplane flight over a big city!

Unfortunately, though, the only available viewport was the cockpit’s windshield, and no matter how much Marvin pleaded with his dad none of the students was allowed in that section of the ship. A sensible decision, surely, but disappointing, nevertheless.

In any effect, that only made the opening of the airlock that much more satisfactory. The view of Deven was just as magnificent as any of the three young humans could have hoped for, and far from Lud’s predicted space ranch.

The spaceport being on a slightly elevated area of the city allowed them to bask on the full glory of the agricultural community, bustling with activity as ships of the most distinct designs transited overhead and were loaded with endless containers of grains and vegetables. All over town, domed structures of tinted glass and steel housed the plantations of specimens from countless worlds. Houses of diverse architectures sprinkled the city and a crowd gathered on what seemed like a farmer’s market to the east.

The natural beauty was just as riveting, with a crystal-clear blue river splitting the town. All around the walled colony, a lush forest of red and yellow trees waved at the afternoon breeze, kissed by the sunlight of the local star that crowned the red-hued skies.

Marvin and his speechless human friends paced to the edge of the landing pad, mesmerized, taking in every detail of the painting laid out before them. In a moment, Marvin’s father was standing by the trio, his own brown eyes feasting on the sight.

“Kids, you’ll never forget this sight. Your first alien planet! And if you think this is amazing, wait until you stand in Sauculs, the Moderator capital! It’s out of this world!” the Chief-Ambassador sighed, then pointed one of the many agricultural domes, the only one colored green, the size of a football stadium. “That’s where they keep the corn. It’s green to help photosynthesis. Yes, that means the plants on every other done are their respective colors!”

“That’s really nice, da… Chief-Ambassador,” Marvin corrected himself and got a pat on the back. “Are we going there?”

“Eventually, to check on the plantation. Now, though we need to make our check-in,” the Chief-Ambassador then pointed another large round structure all the ay across the colony. “Colonial Administration. Miss Hilburn, you’re coming with me and Administrator Hasan.”

“Understood, sir!” Alexa stood at attention. “I will collect my infopad and the necessary documents.”

“Please warn Qui’Mal he’s coming with us, while you’re at it.”

Acknowledging the order, Alexa hurried back inside the shuttle.

“Can we come along too?” Marvin asked his father.

“You’ll not want that, trust me. This is awfully bureaucratic. Besides, I need you to do some field research on the local agro-economy for the upcoming negotiations. Poke around the local market, see if the found anything that could replace Earthen corn, and buy a few samples to compare with. You’ll have everything you need on your infopad”

“Not the most thrilling investigation ever,” Marvin whined. “But I guess I’ll at least get to explore and meet new aliens.”

“Can I come with Marvin, sir?” Lud asked.

The Chief-Ambassador looked back to the EDV Jenkins. “Go ask Lead-Engineer Leroy if he needs anything. If he doesn’t, you’re relieved of duty for the day, Weber.”

“Nice!” the young engineer hurried back to the ship, leaving father and son side by side overlooking the beauty of Deven.

“You look like you’re in a good mood,” Marvin said, and the comment alone was reason enough for his father’s features to drop a notch.

“Space travel always helps you take your mind off stuff. I needed this,” Marvin Senior smiled. “We all did, I guess. I know corn may not sound like much, son, but I’m damn proud to have you here with me, after all these years.”

“Happy to be here too, dad. Really happy.”

Before the father could reply, Administrator Hasan, Alexa and Qui’Mal had arrived, pulling the Chief-Ambassador back to his duties.

“We’ll talk tonight, Marv. And be careful.”

“Hey, it’s just corn!” Marvin winked at his father. “How dangerous can it be?”