Free Hunter Legacy 11: Home Is Where the Hero Is by Timothy Ellis Page A

Four. There were no shortage of
volunteers. Apparently there is a Fleet Captain Jane on the Missile Cruiser,
and I've placed both squadrons under her command, as the senior officer in the
system. Any problem with that?"
    "None."
    "Thank you for your trust in me
General," said Jane through room coms.
    "Well earned Colonel. And it allows me
to not have to leave an experienced senior officer here, who might be needed
elsewhere, so you are perfect for the job."
    "Happy to help."
    I chuckled. The General rose, and departed.
    Eric and Jessie entered, and stood before
the desk. Both of them looked like they'd been up all night.
    "I didn’t know you were into old games
Jessie."
    "Neither did I," she answered
with a laugh. "Eric told me he was sneaking into your old haunt to use
your game rig, and invited me to see what I’d been missing all these years.
Damn me if I never noticed the night go by."
    "Hope you didn’t mind," said Eric
with hope in his voice.
    "Of course not," I laughed.
"I told you ages ago you could use it while you were here. I just hope
it's worth your marriage."
    His smile died, and both of ours became
bigger.
    "There is that. But she should be used
to me not being around by now."
    "One would think so," I agreed.
"But reality?"
    "Work boss?" he said, changing
the subject deliberately.
    "You want us to survey the system for
jump points," said Jessie.
    "Yes. It's never been done properly as
far as I know."
    "And if we find any?"
    "Go through and check them out. But
you only have about thirty six hours. Any later than that and you risk not
being able to leave for a year."
    "What if we don’t find any?"
asked Eric.
    "Expand the search well past your
normal parameters, just in case it’s a long way out, or on a different
plane."
    "Do you think there are any?"
asked Jessie.
    "I'd be surprised if there's not at
least one."
    "Me too," said Eric.
    "In any case, check back with me in
thirty six hours, and we'll decide if any further exploring is needed or
not."
    "Aye sir," they said together,
and left.
    I spent a short time checking emails.
Plenty there, but found nothing which needed immediate attention. So I headed
down to the Launch Deck.
     

Seventeen
     
    How do you define a paradise planet?
    Rainforests, endless rolling fields of
shaggy grass, forests, deserts, oceans, mountains, valleys, mighty rivers
across continents, snow fields, swamps. Ecosystems as nature intended. Birds
and bees, insects, animals, trees, plants, fish. Some heal, some taste good,
some kill. Did I mention shaggy grass? I like my grass shaggy.
    Yes, but what makes it a paradise planet
for humans?
    Earth like. About the same combination of
gasses in the air. About the same gravity. About the same magnetics. A moon
about the same distance away in the same orbit. About the same tilt.
    Yes, but what really makes a paradise
planet?
    No people!
    Gaia Three was all that. And no-one was
allowed to live there. Once people live anywhere, they start cutting down
trees, killing things, digging things up. They turn things into other things,
and then pollute the area. Species die. The balance is upset. Do it for long
enough with an ever increasing number of people, and eventually the planet
dies. Remember the Earth. Less than three thousand years it took. And actually,
it was the last four hundred which did the real damage.
    No-one lived on Gaia Three.
    It was a true paradise.
    We spent several hours flying around it. We
hovered over magnificent waterfalls, glaciers, coral atolls, jungle, and
savannahs. Melissa even dropped us into the caldera of an active volcano,
hovering mere meters above the highest reach of the lava. We marveled at nature
at its completely untouched.
    As lunch time approached, Jane took over
the controls, and brought us to the Sacred Glade she'd selected. We hovered
over a small river, just before a waterfall. The airlock on the side opened,
and we stepped out onto a rocky outcrop, and started down a set of steps carved
into the rock,