The God Complex: The Book Of Alan, Destroyer Of Worlds

Chapter Thirty

As the Archangel approached the light grey orb Dawkins currently explored, Gabe swore he could see condensation running down the side of the planet's atmosphere.

They sat nervously in the control room, eyes fixed on the green dot flashing on their screens. Dawkins and the EDEN exploration party had landed in a mountainous region in the north of the planet, so their plan was to swoop in low, in the hope of avoiding their radar and land in a barren, rocky wasteland about nine kilometers away and trek north from there.

After that there was no plan. Hopefully they could get him alone and convince him to help them, but if Gabe had to take him by force, then so be it.

Entering the planet's atmosphere there was little need for such precautions, the air was thick with moisture making visibility less than five meters. They could have parked right next to the Military Police and they wouldn't have noticed.

Kit on, they stood in the loading bay in front of the main shuttle ramp and steeled themselves for what was about to come: Their first kidnapping.

The Silence was deafening.

Gabe secured his space suit and checked his oxygen levels. There was a decent level of oxygen on the planet, but they were embarking on some serious trekking and potentially carrying back an adult against his will, so they could use all the help they could get.

He pushed open the exit ramp and stepped out onto unchartered territory. It was cold, wet and grey. Gabe wished he could have found more words to describe the first interstellar planet he stepped foot on after Earth, but it was cold, wet and grey.

A fine mist hung like a blanket permeating everything it touched. The ground beneath them was treacherous wet stone, so they gingerly made their first steps towards Dawkins and the truth.

In deep silence they navigated their way across the cold, rocky terrain, guided only by the beacon of Dawkins shuttle. Throughout their march, Gabe continued to ask himself just how far he was willing to go for this, what lines he'd be willing to cross, yet never could he find himself a suitable answer, so on he walked in silence. The flashing beep of the beacon growing ever quicker.

Eventually, he grew tired of the sound of his glove wiping the moisture from his visor and removed his helmet, squinting out at the seemingly featureless horizon and imagining the mind blowing exotic vistas that lay beyond the foggy drizzle.

Stumbling and bumping blindly into every obstacle, they gradually inched closer towards Dawkins shuttle, taking turns to crash onto the cold, wet rock beneath them, until eventually, Monkey refused to get back up and they decided to rest.

'This is just depressing,' wheezed Jaibles. 'It's a planet made of damp, why are they even exploring it? They can't be thinking of settling here, I'll never have a dry pair of socks again?'

By the time they had neared the top of a rocky scramble, Jaibles had signaled for them to proceed quietly. They were close.

At the very top was an isolated pocket of visibility hundreds of kilometers across, a clearing punctuated by small rock formations and what looked like clusters of vegetation. Jaibles crouched behind the nearest rock, removed his helmet and beconned them closer.

'Alright me hearties, this is it. Dawkins shuttle is less than a kilometer over there and they've already been on this planet for over an hour, so they could be anywhere; keep your eyes open, stay together and stay quiet.'

Gingerly they crept across the vast clearing, sneaking from rock to rock, creeping carefully between the throngs of wild bushes bejewelled with dark orange ovals.

Jaibles slowed his pace and signalled wildly to his left. Gabe scanned the horizon and some three hundred meters away he saw two figures dressed in black and silver: Military police. There was no sign of Dawkins with them, they were just casually patrolling the area. All Gabe could focus on were their large guns swinging casually by their sides.