12: Planetary Ping-Pong

It’s like ping pong with a ball made out of acid and fire.

Rebecca O’Donnell

“All right,” Al said to the exploration party, “this should be interesting. There are multiple large heat sources near your designated landing area, so watch your step. You’re also bordering another massive planet, so it will likely affect your gravity. When you’re on the planet’s far side, you’ll be lighter, but when facing it, moving will be difficult. There’s dense vegetation too, so be cautious of anything lurking nearby. Since these are immense warm-blooded animals, though their thermal signatures are weak, likely due to interference, so they may not be easy to stop. It’s why, for want of a more permanent name, we’re calling this planet Woodham. Like our lonely Tandor friend: the creatures are huge, the foliage dense and the chances of being crushed significant.”

“I doubt anything will withstand our lasers, but we’ll watch our step anyway,” Lizz said. “We’re nearing our projected landing spot, and the air tests fine. There shouldn’t be any problems breathing it.”

“I’m making an exception to our normal ‘suits at all times’ rule for this mission. Given the potential for random attacks, I don’t want to slow your responses. Xi and One assure me your aids will handle any anaphylaxis reactions, so it shouldn’t be a serious issue. For anyone without them, stick together in case you react to anything. We don’t want you spreading out where you won’t know what’s happening to each other, with or without aids.”

“Yeah, we’ve been through this a few times,” Wag reassured him. “We know how to cover our asses.”

“Fine, I’ll leave you to it, just keep me informed. We’ve been lucky so far. Let’s not spoil our record. I’d hate to reset my ‘Planets visited without incident’ board.”

“Your what?” Triliz asked.

“Never mind, it’s a stupid human joke which will take too long to explain.”

“Well, we’re landing,” Tilli said, “so hold your thoughts for the next several minutes, as we’ll be busy.”

“Now that we have a break, the quantum links we gave the Glaznik are having a significant impact. I’m grasping more of their language, both the context and structure.” Zita’s hands moved rapidly, monitoring for unexpected signals throughout the system. “If we’d provided the Zitorians with some, we’d know a hell of a lot more about them now.”

“Careful mentioning it,” Al admonished, lowering his voice. “There are still many waiting for theirs. I don’t want to foster any ill will among the crew.”

“Don’t worry,” a Lezmonom drive specialist said. “It’s only a couple allocated between an entire species, to facilitate communicating with our potential neighbors. We can wait, since we know we’ll get them as we earn them and they become available. The normal standard shipboard communications work fine for now. It’s infinitely better than scrambling between caverns just to deliver a message.”

“Now that we’re communicating more directly, how do you pronounce their name again?”

“It’s Glaznik, with a hard click after the ‘gla’, so it sounds like glă-ʘ̬-nĭk. You should also emphasize the static nature of the speech.”

“Thanks for the lesson, but have you learned anything useful yet?”

“I’m speaking with Etta and Theo daily, and joining Eli, Addy and Bi for dinner to flesh out what I’ve picked up. We’re getting a firmer grasp on how they developed and what they’re capable of. Their organic compounds are lighter than on smaller worlds. The atmosphere is also more stratified, supporting much greater weights than ours.”

“That explains a lot, but as long as they’re willing to work with us, I’m satisfied.”

“Uh, we’ve got a little ... problem,” the One announced.

Al snapped to attention. “Report. What’s the issue?”

“Planet Woodham is accelerating away from us. I’m trying to compensate by matching their speed, but...”

“I don’t understand. Planets in heliosynchronous orbits don’t suddenly take off on their own. Even if they did, you wouldn’t be reporting it if we could readily follow them.”

“When we first arrived, I mentioned this is a very... unusual system. It’s stable, but it doesn’t conform to how most such systems evolve.”

“Yeah, you said something about the planets not having normal elliptical patterns.”

“It’s worse than I assumed. It’s similar to Quichoq, with a delicate dance between the competing gravities of larger nearby bodies. With so many massive worlds, many just shy of becoming protostars, it has a drastic effect on the smaller planets.”

“But it’s still a stationary orbit, isn’t it?” Al pressed.

“It is, but that’s not saying much. All it means is there haven’t been any planetary collisions for millions of years. I’ve been monitoring each planet, trying to determine their orbital paths. Until now, I wasn’t able to map the complex gravitational interplay.”

“Quit stalling. What are we facing?”

“It appears Woodham is heading for an extremely close flyby around its nearest, gaseous neighbor. It’ll pass so near, we can’t follow without being sucked into the planet’s gravity ourselves.”

“You should have stated that upfront. I better recall everyone.” Al turned to the display showing the planet, reduced to show its adjoining body, which still looked remarkably distant. “Bad news, explorer team, I’m recalling you.”

“Sorry, can’t speak ... We’re ... fighting dinosaurs.”

“You’re what?” he demanded, leaping to his feet.

“We’ll report later, assuming we can,” Lizz, the landing party’ security officer, reported before dropping her signal.

“Damn! I casually mention things going too smoothly, and...”

“I’m afraid we won’t be able to extract them,” the One interrupted.

“Why not?” Al snapped. “They’re lives are obviously at stake. I’m not about to surrender so many people without a fight!”

“It isn’t easily executed without risking the ship and crew. If you wreck the Peaceful Avenger, the Lozzlint is left without the means to travel elsewhere. But we needn’t lose anyone.

“Not comprehending the delicate balances involved, I couldn’t anticipate how quickly their momentum shifts. By the time we match their exponential acceleration, we’d compromise ourselves. What’s more, expanding space this close may destabilize the entire system. There are a multiple underlying competing forces, but with the swiftly shifting gravities they’ll experience, their best bet is to sit tight. If they’re caught in orbit, they’ll be thrown wildly off course and potentially suffer a much worse fate. In fact, we need to withdraw too. You should inform Captain Triznor to circle around the gas giant and we’ll intercept the crew beyond it.”

“We’re gambling with their lives,” Al hissed, barely opening his mouth.

“That’s true, but they’re safer on the surface than high in the atmosphere. The higher they fly, the stronger the effect of the other planet’s gravity. As long as they remain on Woodham, its gravity should hold them steady.”

“That’s not terribly encouraging.”

“Sorry to put you off,” Lizz reported in, reconnecting their broken signal. “It seems we arrived late for dinner—the meal being us!”

“One moment,” Al said, switching to a private quantum link. ‘Triznor, follow our lead, we’re backing off and leaving the landing parties on their own. Ask Lezlly for details, as One is sending her the information.‘ “You mentioned ... dinosaurs?”

“Yes sir, I kid you not. Just like those datapods the One provided of your Earth history. These creatures are huge, with opulent feathers, foot-long fangs, extended claws and spiked backs.”

“Is everybody okay?”

“Yeah, we’re fine. As I suggested, they were no match for our laser pistols, but were willing to argue the point. It took everyone to bring it down. However, it alerted every other creature in the vicinity that there’s fresh meat for the plucking. So we now have plenty of prime, juicy dinosaur burgers to alleviate our algae-heavy diet. Only...”

“Only what?”

“The creatures nosing around froze for several moments and then bolted, heading for the hills, trees and ravines.”

“It sounds like a shitload of dinosaurs, especially as you barely fended off the one!”

“They weren’t all attacking, but were gathering to see what happened to the defeated. Having seen them together in the open, they cover a wide variety of sizes and types. But they ran, as if twelve individuals with laser weapons wasn’t their biggest concern.”

“It isn’t,” Al warned. “The planet is being sucked into a close orbit with its nearest neighbor. One is warning me it’s changed your trajectory and you’re rapidly accelerating away from us. You’re advised not to attempt flying anywhere, but secure yourselves somewhere providing protection.”

“That’s hard to do if we can’t lift off,” Lizz objected. “What’s more, it’ll leave our shuttle unprotected and prevent us from using it for shelter.”

“It’s safe to fly,” Al clarified, “but remain close to the ground and do it soon. Find something to hide under or somewhere to anchor yourselves.”

He heard her yelling to her team, ordering them to abandon their carcass cleanup and return to the shuttle.

“I guess it’s why these creatures are so massive. If this happens regularly, their size likely helps weigh them down while our lighter physiques are more precarious. If these brutes are terrified, then you’re right to be worried.” Her labored breath became more winded as she directed people in different operations. “I’ll say this, these animals recognized what was happening as soon as it began. They’re doing what you suggested, heading for lower, protected ground. I’m guessing they were rounding up one last snack before a long, extended hideaway, while their main prey has already burrowed to safety.”

“Finding a sheltered spot may be tricky,” Kal maintained. “I suspect the best locales are currently claimed by more ferocious creatures. I can’t imagine they’re eager to share.”

“Whatever you do, you need to do it now.” Al advised. “You should feel the effects soon. We’ve backing away and can’t follow any further. We’ll try to reconnect on the far side, but One predicts you’ll likely ricochet around the other planet at a phenomenal rate. So even traveling at faster-than-light speeds, it’ll take a while to catch up using a more circuitous route.”

“Our engineers, Wag and Tulli, suggest we shelter under the taller trees and secure ourselves with heavy steel cables. Though I’m unsure how many we have.”

“I’m told the shuttles have internally tethered ones. They’re for towing operations following combat, but they’re anchored and more stable than attaching them yourself.”

“Sorry to interrupt,” Gartu said. “We’re having issues with Chich’k.”

“Oh Lozzlint!” Al cursed, having adapted his profanity to her presence in their lives. “She’s not off chasing more nuts, is she?”

“Not exactly, but she was up a tree and felt the gravity lessening. She took a chance and leapt; only ... she floated away.”

“You lost her?”

“No, we have her back, but it took time. Given her lighter weight, she was drawn upwards, rather than falling like a rock. When the local gravity reasserted itself, she gradually descended. We have her, and she’s as eager as the rest of us to get out of the open. Sorry, but we’ve got to run.”

“Triznor, let’s go. We can no longer provide assistance without risking everyone’s lives. One has laid out our best option for interception once it’s circled the gas giant. For now, we need to get clear of its pull.” As the bridge staff set his orders in motion, Al considered them. “If it’s not too presumptuous, I daresay this ISN’T our choice location, lest our kids float away every few months!”

“Damn, that planet is hauling ass!” Solomon, perched atop Al’s shoulder, sang a chaotic song of worried confusion. “It took us so long to circumnavigate the gas giant, they’ve covered a lot of territory. It appears they’re heading out of the solar system. They’re moving at a speed consistent with escape velocity, though there are intervening bodies to slow their progress. Triznor, begin preparations for entering faster-than-light speeds so we can catch them before it’s too late.”

“Hold on,” the One argued. “I’m still mapping its trajectory, but I can tell it’s changing. With so many forces in play, the situation is constantly shifting. However, if you rush after them, you’ll likely overshoot your target.”

Solomon’s song changed to a confused cacophony of questioning chips. “So what do you propose? They’re traveling like a bat out of hell. It will require considerable time building up that much sub-light speed, meaning they’ll be even farther away.”

“I’m still working out the trajectories,” the One snapped, sounding mighty testy for an AI. “Their path is curving, but as it travels, each body’s influence varies. I can’t determine which will prove supreme, but as I stated, it’s an incredibly complex system. The distant second sun is also affecting everything. It’ll eventually pull it back into the primary orbit framework, but the two massive ice worlds will spin it in entirely new directions as it nears.”

“I thought basic planetary geometries were simple to calculate?” Al complained.

“This is hardly a normal system,” Ivan reminded him, glancing up from his own calculations. “With enough time and observational data, you’re right. It’s not difficult pinpointing where a given body will be at any particular time, though it’s far from a simple matter. But this is a vast system with dual unequal suns and several massive sub-solar planets, none of which are in a standard pattern. Still, it’s remarkably stable, meaning that despite the apparent dangers, they have well-established orbits. If it weren’t, we’d be seeing incredible amounts of shattered worlds complicating the orbits even more.

“Trust me, Kaci and I are as worried as you, more so since Chich’k is stuck there, but we can’t rush this. We’re running the numbers, considering separate components and comparing the calculations. Get as close as you can. When we plot their likeliest course, we can put you in the precise spot we need. Until then, you’re only making our computations more difficult.”

Al leaned back, closing his eyes and taking deep breaths as Solomon’s song took on a more peaceful tenor and tone. “I know, but I feel I needlessly sent them into a dangerous situation. We should have calculated the trajectories and orbits before approaching Woodham.”

“I’m sorry, but the physics aren’t so straightforward,” Kaci countered. “The planet’s trajectory appeared to be in a steady progression, with little indication it would veer so sharply. I’m guessing its speed hid the pull of the gas giant on it. The only way to determine the system’s orbits with any precision is by our residing here for multiple generations and knowing the hidden gravitational affects.”

“What about dark matter?” Al pushed. “It’s been plaguing us our entire trip. Could it have an outsized influence?”

“Like the other systems we’ve encountered, it’s never had its dark matter mined,” the One said. “It clearly has an impact, which is yet another confusing factor. However, I couldn’t plot the gravities of the various dark entities scattered throughout the system while plotting the planets’ main influences. I did a brief scan, and there aren’t any significant non-corporeal bodies. Instead, there are thousands of random groupings of miniscule dark elements—both dark matter and energy. However, those require exceptional effort to plot individually. They obviously have an effect, but determining the extent is like predicting the movements of each drop in a torrential flood as you’re being pulled under. It’s too complicated to delve into at the moment.”

Al sighed, plainly frustrated as Solomon’s song paused momentarily. “All right, let’s take a different approach. If we began mining the system’s dark entities, can we eliminate these wild gyrations?”

“Unlikely,” Ivan replied. “Since these orbits are so established, despite their extremes, throwing in a major change would likely produce unanticipated results. We could collect small chunks at a time, but it’s a lengthy and involved process, especially as dark matter doesn’t interact with material things. The typical procedure is to work in one area, clearing a passage so ships can approach swiftly, simplifying interstellar commerce. But changing stable, established heliocentric patterns might produce disastrous results. Every minor change dramatically affects the impact of the other planetary bodies on each other.”

“So we can’t get our people back?”

“We never said that,” Kaci argued. “It’ll just take time.” Solomon’s quiet song once more took on an edgy, frantic rhythm.

“I’m feeding our navigators the planet’s ever-changing trajectory,” the One said. “They’re compensating as we speak. But your demanding an immediate solution isn’t helping. The one thing we are sure of is your people are in little danger of striking another planetary body.”

“Which doesn’t account for their being eaten by dinosaurs, starving, losing their shuttle, or—”

“You’re making yourself crazy,” Myi cautioned, speaking in quiet tones, more for Solomon’s sake than his. “Concentrate on what you can control. You’re the Captain. Ensure your people are focused and motivated, rather than complicating their already difficult tasks. Let them do their jobs, helping them complete them faster without further upsetting things.”

“Zita, have we reestablished communications with the landing parties?”

“Radio waves travel too slowly to provide reasonable responses, and their trajectory keeps shifting. We’re getting a lot of static each time they pass another body, which also blocks the signals. Don’t forget, you do have a few Lezmonom on Woodham with quantum links.”