to the cuffs that held him in his seat, endured the jolting, and heard the clatter of fittings, loose panels, harness holders. Up
front, somebody was noisily sick.
And they were
down
, suddenly, a crashing impact after which they bounced into the air, and slammed down again with a squeal of tyres and another sudden jolt of deceleration, this time
hurling Yuri forward against his straps.
The shuttle slowed to a halt. The dust it raised soon fell back to the plain outside, revealing a washed-out blue sky, a rocky, stony ground.
Immediately Lex McGregor came bustling back through the cockpit door. He was pulling open the neck of his pressure suit; Yuri could see he was sweating hard. ‘Wheel stop and we’re
down. You know, it was one small step for a man when Armstrong landed on the moon. But for you lot it’s one
last
step – right? The end of the line. Welcome to Proxima
c.’
CHAPTER 9
T he two astronauts went out first, of course.
Then the Peacekeepers released the passengers one by one, and escorted them out of the cabin. With an attendant Peacekeeper, they had to pass one at a time through an airlock, even though the
air was supposedly breathable; the lock was evidently integral to the shuttle’s design.
Yuri waited for his turn, disoriented, bewildered – too mixed up, he thought, to be either fearful or excited about setting foot on this alien world. Maybe that would come later. Or not.
After all, countless generations had dreamed of reaching Mars, and that had turned out to be a shithole.
At last it was his turn. Mattock cuffed Yuri to his own wrist, and tied his ankles with a length of plastic rope. Thus hobbled, Yuri shuffled ahead to the airlock, and climbed awkwardly through
the narrow hatch, into the small chamber of the lock.
While the lock went through its cycle he sat on a small bench, facing a glowering Mattock.
‘Just give me an excuse,’ said Mattock.
Yuri grinned back.
A green light glared, and the outer hatch door popped open. Yuri saw a ground of pink-grey sand, individual grains casting long shadows. The air smelled of aircraft, of fuel and oil and a kind
of burned smell of metal. But under that there was a subtler scent, an old, rusty tang, like autumn leaves in an English park, he thought.
Mattock nudged him. ‘You first.’
Yuri had to swing both his hobbled legs out through the hatch, and then he jumped down through a third of a metre or so to the ground, both his feet hitting at the same time. It felt like Earth
gravity, he thought immediately, or about that.
He was in the shadow of the shuttle’s sprawling, still hot, jet-black wing.
He shuffled forward a few paces, into sunlight, and he looked up for the first time at the star, the sun of this world. It was a tremendous beacon in a bluish sky, not as brilliant as the sun of
Earth, but still dazzling, and bigger to look at, three or four times the size of Earth’s sun. Other than that the sky was empty, save for a pair of brilliant stars, shining despite the
bright daylight, and one disc of a planet hanging like a remote moon.
The other disembarked passengers were sitting in a circle in the dirt, a few paces from the shuttle. Mattock prodded Yuri to go join them. He edged forward, looking around as he walked. Beyond
the group, he saw a lake glimmer, blue under the sky. Beyond that, a drab green belt that must be forest. And beyond that, folded mountains. There was no sign of people, no walls, no fences as far
as he could see. No dome walls, like on Mars.
Lieutenant Mardina Jones stood over the passengers. She said to Yuri, ‘The air’s fine, isn’t it? A miracle, really. Given it’s another world, and all.’
‘I guess.’
She watched him curiously. ‘You know, Eden, you’re the only one who’s just stood here and – looked.’ She squinted up at the sun. ‘Strange to think, that sun
will just hang there. Never rise, never set, not as long as you
front, somebody was noisily sick.
And they were
down
, suddenly, a crashing impact after which they bounced into the air, and slammed down again with a squeal of tyres and another sudden jolt of deceleration, this time
hurling Yuri forward against his straps.
The shuttle slowed to a halt. The dust it raised soon fell back to the plain outside, revealing a washed-out blue sky, a rocky, stony ground.
Immediately Lex McGregor came bustling back through the cockpit door. He was pulling open the neck of his pressure suit; Yuri could see he was sweating hard. ‘Wheel stop and we’re
down. You know, it was one small step for a man when Armstrong landed on the moon. But for you lot it’s one
last
step – right? The end of the line. Welcome to Proxima
c.’
CHAPTER 9
T he two astronauts went out first, of course.
Then the Peacekeepers released the passengers one by one, and escorted them out of the cabin. With an attendant Peacekeeper, they had to pass one at a time through an airlock, even though the
air was supposedly breathable; the lock was evidently integral to the shuttle’s design.
Yuri waited for his turn, disoriented, bewildered – too mixed up, he thought, to be either fearful or excited about setting foot on this alien world. Maybe that would come later. Or not.
After all, countless generations had dreamed of reaching Mars, and that had turned out to be a shithole.
At last it was his turn. Mattock cuffed Yuri to his own wrist, and tied his ankles with a length of plastic rope. Thus hobbled, Yuri shuffled ahead to the airlock, and climbed awkwardly through
the narrow hatch, into the small chamber of the lock.
While the lock went through its cycle he sat on a small bench, facing a glowering Mattock.
‘Just give me an excuse,’ said Mattock.
Yuri grinned back.
A green light glared, and the outer hatch door popped open. Yuri saw a ground of pink-grey sand, individual grains casting long shadows. The air smelled of aircraft, of fuel and oil and a kind
of burned smell of metal. But under that there was a subtler scent, an old, rusty tang, like autumn leaves in an English park, he thought.
Mattock nudged him. ‘You first.’
Yuri had to swing both his hobbled legs out through the hatch, and then he jumped down through a third of a metre or so to the ground, both his feet hitting at the same time. It felt like Earth
gravity, he thought immediately, or about that.
He was in the shadow of the shuttle’s sprawling, still hot, jet-black wing.
He shuffled forward a few paces, into sunlight, and he looked up for the first time at the star, the sun of this world. It was a tremendous beacon in a bluish sky, not as brilliant as the sun of
Earth, but still dazzling, and bigger to look at, three or four times the size of Earth’s sun. Other than that the sky was empty, save for a pair of brilliant stars, shining despite the
bright daylight, and one disc of a planet hanging like a remote moon.
The other disembarked passengers were sitting in a circle in the dirt, a few paces from the shuttle. Mattock prodded Yuri to go join them. He edged forward, looking around as he walked. Beyond
the group, he saw a lake glimmer, blue under the sky. Beyond that, a drab green belt that must be forest. And beyond that, folded mountains. There was no sign of people, no walls, no fences as far
as he could see. No dome walls, like on Mars.
Lieutenant Mardina Jones stood over the passengers. She said to Yuri, ‘The air’s fine, isn’t it? A miracle, really. Given it’s another world, and all.’
‘I guess.’
She watched him curiously. ‘You know, Eden, you’re the only one who’s just stood here and – looked.’ She squinted up at the sun. ‘Strange to think, that sun
will just hang there. Never rise, never set, not as long as you
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