"I can't believe you broke it," Thomas was furious. "Now what are we going to do in the meantime? We don't have nearly enough ammunition to keep exploring as we have."
"Thomas, clam down," Zander put a hand on Thomas' arm. "It's not Jacob's fault, he had no way of knowing he was going to be taken by that thing."
Thomas exhaled and went for a walk around the grassy meadow to cool off.
"So, what now?" Elysia seemed rather calm.
"We can set up the beacon and test it from the lander. That way if the system bugs out and launches the second stage early, we won't have to worry," I said, trying to contain my feelings.
Thomas returned and agreed with my plan. We all pitched in and cleared a patch of grass in the centre of the clearing. Once a sufficient zone had been cleared, I took the small transmitter from my pack and placed it on the ground. I tinkered with the controls and the antenna extended to about two meters. The three small legs on the bottom drilled into the ground and latched onto the more solid layer below the soil.
"That's it, the beacon is live," Scarlett said through the comm.
Over the next few days, we would explore a little bit but didn't want to travel too far from the lander. Clint was over the moon at the chance to study the local flora and fauna. He had discovered a number of tiny mammal-like creatures living in the underbrush. They were the size of a mouse and very peculiar, their three spindly legs didn't resemble anything back on earth. We were growing restless. About a week after setting the beacon, we were beginning to argue with each other about anything and everything. We were all getting on each other's nerves and needed some time alone, which was very difficult in the landing module. After the things we had experienced, it was also too dangerous to wander outside alone so finding some alone time was pretty much impossible. Once Scarlett's leg was fully healed, two weeks after we set up the beacon, we reorganised the remaining ammunition so that the six of us had fifteen rounds each. That same day we agreed to head back out to the clearing as the second stage module would be due in a few days. The beacon had not stopped transmitting so all should be fine but we wanted to cover our bases and ensure nothing else went wrong with our colonisation effort.
"So far so good," Zander was the first to step into the clearing.
He was right, the beacon stood like a skinny monolith in the centre of the meadow, the wispy grass swaying from side to side at its base. We gave the beacon a good once over and did a quick patrol around the tree line. The rustling of tiny creatures in the jungle could be heard as they scuttled away from our footsteps.
"Uh, guys, I think we should start heading back to the lander now," Clint had frozen, staring off into the distance. When I turned to looked at him, I immediately saw what he was staring at. I massive, black cloud was approaching, the haze of rain stretching between the bottom of it and the treetops.
"Good idea," Zander said. "Let's head back guys, we don't know what will happen when that storm hits."
We all started towards the lander, moving with haste, into the tree line. As we made our way through the thick foliage, the sound of rolling thunder echoed around us. The storm was getting nearer and nearer. The bars of light that shone through the forest vanished as the sky darkened. I hoped that we would make it back to the shelter of the lander before the rain started. A loud clap of thunder made almost all of us jump. That was when we started running. I could hear rain approaching from behind. It wasn't long before the lander came into view, it's white surface contrasting against the dark green world around it. The lander was just a couple of meters away when the downpour began. The rain pelted down with such intensity that if almost collapsed. A warning signal started flashing in my exosuit's heads-up-display. I pushed on through the heavy deluge until finally; I reached the airlock and ran inside. The other five members of the team also jumped into the module. Scarlett pressed the control switch and the door slammed shut.
The red warning light continued to blink in my HUD. The exosuit was reading increased toxicity levels. The moment the decontamination cycle ended, we all removed out exosuits in unison.
"Did you see that toxicity?" Clint's face was that of awe. "It's amazing that anything lives on the planet."
"You're excited about toxic rain?" Elysia was dumbfounded.
"Not just toxic," Clint brushed off her sarcastic question. "the pH level is around three, we were lucky it didn't corrode right through our suits. Isn't this world absolutely fascinating?"
"If by fascinating, you mean horrifying," the thoughts of the tunnels coursed through my mind.
"Hopefully this storm doesn't last long," Thomas said as he stared out the window, the rain was now pelting sideways.
Unfortunately, it did last long. Days passed as we sat in the landing module, listening to the thick, acidic rain drops strike the hull. All I could think of was the cryogenics bay that hovered up in orbit. The day before the module was due to land in the meadow, I found myself sitting on the floor, next to the airlock door with Zander.
"So, you have a wife up there, right?" he asked. "What's her name?"
I looked down to the white gold ring that adorned my left hand. "Gabriella."
"I have a brother and three sisters in cryo," Zander continued. "Tobias, Lily, Charlotte and Tori. I'm the youngest."
"What's that like?" I laughed.
"Sort of relaxing, everyone asks the older siblings for favours before coming to me. Although, my family is quite competitive, I had to work my butt off to be noticed. The others are all doctors and scientists, that's why I decided to go into crisis management."
"To stand out?"
"Sort of, I had watched everyone in my family go to university and do great things. I didn't want to be just another member of the ranks."
"So, you became a soldier and joined another set of ranks?" I asked, half rhetorically.
"Exactly," an enormous smile spread across his face. "Finally, someone who understands. Most people say it's contradictory."
I hesitated a moment. "No, not at all."
That night, I was awoken by an intense noise, like a gunshot. I met the others in operations.
"What was that?" Elysia looked panicked.
Looking out the window, Scarlett answered. "It's an atmospheric re-entry. The module is coming down."
"Is the beacon still transmitting?" I asked Thomas who was sitting at the control console.
"Yes, but we should get out there ASAP."
We all hurried into the airlock, donned our exosuits and shouldered our weapons.
"Will these things hold out in the rain?" Clint asked as he pulled on his suit.
"They are rated for all sorts of exploration, including the vacuum of space, they should be fine. The acid will be the main issue but provided we take refuge in the module once it's down," Thomas spoke very confidently.
The red warning started flashing the moment the airlock door opened and the rain blew in. My boots sunk deeper than usual into the soft ground. The dark soil had turned to sludgy mud. The rain beat down on us as we charged through the ferocious storm. The sun was beginning to rise when we reached the clearing. The beacon was leaning right over. We hurried in and Clint and I righted it again. The bright light caused by the approaching second stage module was growing larger. The rain continued to beat down on us, the red waring light kept on blinking and now steam was beginning to rise from our suits. A rolling sound like thunder roared and I looked upwards to see the module soaring through the air. My heart was racing. Not long now until I could hold my wife in my arms. But, would she even want me? I had done the unthinkable and hated myself because of it. In just a few more minutes, I would tell Gabriella everything, that much I knew. I refused to lie to her.
"Here they come," Zander smiled at the object hurtling towards us. The rain cleared and the sun broke through the clouds as it rose above the treetops. Just a few more moments. Our settlement was about to begin. It was about to truly begin. We all stood back to allow room in the field for the second stage module. It drew nearer and nearer until… it didn't land in the clearing. The module overshot and disappeared behind the tree line.
We all looked in horror as our loved ones soared past us.
"Follow it," Scarlett cried and we all obeyed. We took off into the thick jungle in the opposite direction to our lander. We had never been this far into the jungle before. The last thing we needed was another surprise encounter with the local fauna. Onwards we sprinted, keeping an eye on the smoke trail the second stage module had left in the sky. Eventually, the forest ended and gave way to white sand that lead down to flawless, blue water. Three small islands could be seen near the horizon. A large pillar of black smoke bellowed from the island in the centre. Not only had the module overshot the landing zone, it had crash landed onto an entirely different island. My mouth hung open as I stared at the distant island where my wife now was. What if she hadn't survived? What if none of them survived? No. I couldn't think like that, I had come too far and been through too much to lose her now.
"Don't worry, Gabby," I spoke into the wind. "I'm coming."