Emerald

Orbit

Esmeralda. The word hangs in the air while they enjoy the sight of the planet, suddenly aware their long voyage is about to end.

"Esmeralda, the emerald. An adequate name, Carlos." Andrej is the first to break the awed silence, his voice quiet. "It fits this beauty better than target planet QRX-57."

Mil smiles as she observes how much effort it costs Koshi to tear his gaze from the screen. Even the Captain is caught in wonder. He leans over Dray's shoulder to read the first incoming information from the long-range scanner.

"The ship is ready for final approach." He turns towards Mil. "What about the crew?"

She clears her throat and hesitantly turns her back to the screen where the image of the pristine planet lures and beckons. Koshi's stern gaze makes her feel caught out, and she tries to concentrate on her medical duties. The blood rushing to her cheeks doesn't help her cause.

"Scans are confirmed and saved for Dray, Andrej and me." She clears her throat. "I still have to register yours and Carlos's."

Koshi grins and steps up to her console. Still embarrassed, she avoids his eyes while waiting for the readings. They are fine, naturally, he keeps himself in shape. With a short glance towards the Captain, Mil enters her code. She always found it pointless to add her visual impression to complete the medical clearance. But regulations are regulations. As soon as Koshi is done, she beckons Carlos to join her.

The technician pulls an apologetic face while he presses his hand onto the scanner. "Sorry, Mil. I know I should have done this after awakening. Just then, the engine was my first priority."

"No worries. We're still within the time limit." She waits for the sensor to tell her the readings are registered. "But speaking of time, my advice is to eat something before we start the approach. The last transfer was longer than standard and burned a lot of our reserves."

Koshi nods, and Dray's brilliant smile almost reconciles Mil with the pilot. When it comes to food, her mood brightens faster than the morning sun rising over the horizon.

While they move to the common room, the joyful anticipation is almost palpable. Andrej redirects the outside view to the big screen above the table. During the meal, Mil's gaze keeps travelling to the mysterious green planet. Emerald jogs her imagination.

Her heart beats at an increased rhythm: This is the moment she worked hard towards for many long years. All the sacrifices suddenly seem small compared to the fact she finally is in orbit above a foreign world. She still has trouble grasping that her childhood dreams are within easy reach.

Only Carlos remains in a thoughtful mood, an obvious clash with his normal, cheerful nature. Koshi observes him during the meal and calls him out before his plate is clean. The technician shakes his black curls.

"It's just that I don't know what went wrong with the engine during the braking manoeuvre." He shrugs and drops his fork. "The routine check didn't register any fault, our Harris-values should be normal under the circumstances. In fact, nothing speaks against initiating another long distance transfer right away. But it bugs me I have no idea what happened during the exit sequence. Doesn't help I was drugged when it happened."

Mil doesn't remind him the transfer drugs are mandatory. Like all of them, Carlos is aware of the safety procedure. She can only try to imagine how much it must hurt him to admit his helplessness in front of the crew. As a gifted mechanic, he tends to treat his engine like a living being.

Koshi, a stubborn rationalist, certainly knows this, even if he himself never appears to doubt the read-outs. "Right. Technically speaking, there is no reason to delay the mission. Let's clean up here and then get to work." His face remains emotionless while he stands up to address the pilot. "Dray, please bring the ship into a stable orbit and calculate the necessary parameters to scan the whole planetary surface. It might occupy us for the next twenty hours or so. Use the secondary engine."

Dray nods her assent and Koshi turns to the astrophysicist. "Andrej, would you mind to program two of the surface sensors to search an adequate landing site?" He doesn't wait for a response. "And Mil, I need useful data about the atmosphere and the environment awaiting us down there as soon as possible. We are not going to set down before we have a clear vision of the conditions on the surface."

"Aye." She drains her cup.

"Great. If you prefer to recheck the main engine, you can get to it now." Koshi smiles at Carlos. "I'm not eager to run into complications in a gravity well. I'll join you and give you a hand as soon as I've set off the status report to headquarters. It's just routine."

One last time, Mil glances wistfully at the promising, green sphere in space before she pulls herself together and collects the dishes. She is relieved Koshi chose to treat the technician's misgivings as a serious issue. To walk the surface of this planet is the dream of her life. She doesn't want a technical problem to destroy it so close to fulfilment.