Chapter Ten

"It's about time you both got back here," Audrina glared straight ahead. Her eyes narrowed as they stayed focused forward. My gaze followed hers and then I began to understand the odd look on her face. The bridge's main window had turned completely white. It was almost as if we were moving through a thick wall of snow.

"Where are we?" I tried to keep my voice calm as I continued to stare out the window.

"We are allegedly landing, but I can't see anything and even though Caleb has control, I can't understand any of the coordinates or the stupid codes. It looks like a scrambled mess," Audrina threw her hands up in the air, seemingly frustrated, but I could also hear her voice slightly waiver. She was trying to hide just how nervous and probably a little scared she really was right now. "I wish LUX were here."

I couldn't really blame her. My heart was racing and I, too, wished LUX were here to take control of the Iliad. I trusted LUX, but not Caleb.

My eye lids slowly closed and then opened back again as I tried to make sure I wasn't missing anything. It didn't really matter how many times I closed my eyes. Each time I opened them back up, the window was still completely white.

"Surely, we aren't planning on landing in an area covered in snow and ice." I knew my mother liked this sort of climate. After all, her precious lab, Artek, had been built in a similar type of place. It didn't really make sense. If she wanted to stay somewhere cold then we could have just stayed on Earth.

"Luther, Gave, what do you guys have for me?" I sat down next to Audrina and let my hand slide over the controls. "Caleb, how long until we are on the surface of Merak?"

"Captain James, it's good to hear you have returned to the bridge. We have started our descent. It will take around thirty minutes before we are on the surface. Dr. James and General James are waiting for us to land."

Paul's threat echoed in my head. I thought we had more time until we landed. I clenched my fists. "I know. I too am looking forward to seeing them again. By the way, what is the temperature outside?" Images from the bot Theo had given to me filled my head again. The bluish-grey surface we had seen was just a layer of the planet's atmosphere. Underneath was a lush land. It looked uninhabited, but maybe we once again had wrong information. The window in front of me was still white.

The Iliad began to shake. "Caleb, what's happening?"

"We are going through the outer layer of the surface. It's very dense. Please make sure to fasten your seat belts."

"Caleb, what have you done to the controls?"

"Captain James, I do not know what you are asking—"

I took in a deep breath. "Caleb, the coordinates are not making sense." A series of numbers and letters flashed in front of me looking like a jumbled mess.

"Crew of the Iliad, please do not be alarmed. The coordinates make sense to my system. We will be on stable ground in just a few minutes and the temperature is minus 225 degrees."

The white began to slowly fade away into black. I caught my breath. No one else made a sound on the ship as we continued to watch the landscape in front of us quickly change. A large body of silver water shimmered in a soft light in front of us.

"Captain James, it looks like water, but it is not. Trust me. Do not ever go near that substance."

"What is it?"

"It's RaCO. A radioactive form of cobalt found naturally here on this planet. When it comes into contact with oxygen...it becomes one of the rarest chemical elements ever discovered."

I felt the large lump in the back of my throat burn.

"Is there oxygen on this planet? That doesn't seem possible."

"No, there is not any oxygen," Caleb responded, but didn't elaborate.

RaCO had to be the reason we were in this God forsaken place. The Iliad jutted off towards the right. Somewhere off in the distance, Caleb's voice was letting the rest of the crew know we were just about to land on Merak.

What would I say or do when I saw Marie and Paul. I wish I had access to more weapons. We could try and fight our way off of this place and go somewhere better...and warmer. We were too far away from the sun.

"Caleb, is there any protective gear on this ship? There is no way we can exit if we don't have anything to keep us warm."

"You will not need to exit the ship. The cylinder near the back is a transport pod. It will take you to the Napoleon."

There was a long moment of silence as we all digestedthe words Caleb had just said. I looked backout the window. The black had turned togreen, but I soon realized it wasn't trees or grass that had made me see thecolor, but green crystals. The entireplace was frozen.