Chapter 5

Lt. Cmdr. Jenkins started getting everyone up as we past 200AU and transitioned to near space of the star. Deceleration was in progress and relative speed was already down to 200,000kps as we needed to keep a close watch on the systems Oort cloud and any wayward asteroids. At this distance we were able to confirm the findings of the late twentieth century in the possible existence of one or more planets inside the inner asteroid belt; we found two.

Epsilon Eridani: a K2V star, U-B color index +0.58, B-V color index +0.881, Mass 0.82 Sol, dia. 0.735 Sol, luminosity 0.34 Sol; appearance yellow-orange, magnetic activity +1.6 Sol, solar winds +2.0 Sol estimated age 700 to 800 million years a relatively young star.

As we slowly entered the system from above the elliptical we could easily make out the two massive asteroid belts; the outer belt from 19.8 to 21.1 AU and the inner from 2.6 to 3.0 AU. We also got good data on EE1 a planet at 3.41 AU with a mass of 1.67 Mj (Mass Jupiter) and an orbit of 2,570 days. EE2 is a 0.3 Mj planet at 40.4 AU with an orbit of 102,273 days. These are not what we were looking for; the planet(s) we were after are inside the inner asteroid belt.

Discovered in 2102 by John Randolph at the Luna Base Observatory he believed that because of EE's smaller size and lower luminosity that its habitable planet(s) would be much closer to the primary than was Earth. He found that the visible light from the primary fluctuated in a regular rhythm and postulated that at least one if not two planets lay within the inner asteroid belt. In 2145 Dr. Randolph finally found what he was looking for; with the installation of the 12 meter telescope at Luna Base the winking of the primary was clearly visible and Dr. Randolph was credited with the discovery.

As we approach Epsilon Eridani the two inner planets can be plainly seen and our instruments are gathering data around the clock. EE3 is a small planetoid much closer to its primary than is Mercury to Sol. At 36,953,700km and a mass of .043 Earth it is not much more than a large rock; most likely a captured asteroid per Dr. Livingston. So we set our sights on EE4 and get ready to settle into orbit around the planet.

Dr. Livingston suggests that we hold orbit further out than standard because of the asteroid problem; EE4 has three large ones that are planet huggers much the same as Deimos and Phobes around Mars. The largest 'moon' will be outside our orbit and the smaller two inside; the larger 'moon' is 100km long and over 50km at its widest point; the two smaller are 31km by 16km wide and 23km long by 12km wide respectively.

EE4: Mass 0.61 Earth and gravity at 77% of Earth; Dia. 10,450km rotation 22hr 30min (93% Earth.) primary orbit 124.225 million km ( .83AU). The planet has three large continents, 8 smaller continents/large islands and well in excess of 100,000 smaller islands. The largest continent is about the size of North America less the old nation of Mexico; the second is about the size of what used to be Australia and the third about the size of Honshu in the Japanese Republic. The rest range in size from about the size Madagascar down to less than 10sq km. Atmosphere 70% Nitrogen, 26% Oxygen, 2% Carbon Dioxide, 2% other elements. The planet has a very strong magnetic field, 30% stronger than that of Earth; there would be auroras at all latitudes. Axial tilt 18 30'; Temp range 15.5 to 32.5C; and most of all, lots-and-lots of WATER.

"Stable orbit achieved Capt."

"Thank you Paul; alright everyone let's turn in for the night and get a fresh start in the morning. Ms. Carlona you have the first watch."

"I have the watch; Aye Capt."

Day 1: 0800hrs: "All right people let's get at it. I want to know if there is anything in the atmosphere or water that could harm us. I want a good landing site and I want to know what if anything is living down there. Mr. Flint I want an alarm on the radar 24/7, I don't want anything sneaking up on us from any angle and I don't feel like playing bumper cars."

"Yes sir; I'll get on it right away."

Over the next six hours Paul and Lt. Hayes worked out a rotating orbit sequence that over the next 30 days would allow us to survey all the land masses of the planet and search out any possible landing sites. My only problem with it was that the last five days were inside the orbit of and in close proximity to EE4-B; the moon/asteroid in orbit No. 2. I informed Paul that I wanted the radar set to maximum range and focused on the area around that moon while it blind-sided us.

Day 5: First orbital sweep completed, Dr. Stanton comes to me with a preliminary report. "Capt. we have identified flora in abundance; 104 new species of trees, 203 new species of grasses 10 of which are grains, 183 new shrubs, 55 new fruits, 527 different alleges, 189 new fungi. We simply must get down there and start work cataloging samples."

"Dr. we must first find a suitable landing site and then insure the safety of the crew on the ground. Has there been any sign of fauna?"

"No Capt. no fauna have yet been detected, we have found some bacteria but no multi-cell organisms except flora as yet."

"Thank you Dr."

Day 10: Dr. Livingston brings me his preliminary; "Capt. we have completed two orbital sweeps and have found an abundance of iron, some lead, zinc, aluminum, copper, none of the 'noble' metals as yet but have found traces of gallium and silicon. Most of the rock found to this point is sedimentary in nature but the largest continent shows some igneous outcrops. Most of the smaller islands are volcanic in nature and may hide deeply buried deposits of as yet unknown minerals in these areas."

"Thank you Dr. keep me informed of your progress."

Day 15: I notice Petty Officer Flint and Dr. Nakamura huddled together discussing something and it appears to be something other than radar blips.

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