Jaun the Explorer
It was known there was life out there somewhere. After all people had come to Esvuna from other parts of the Sphere nearly two thousand years ago. But from where? The problem was that beyond the ten inhabited continents, there was just Megametres of uninhabited and uninhabitable desert in all directions. It wasn’t real desert though, it rained quite a bit on some of the lands. It was just that nothing grew there. Well there were some lichens and the odd seabird colony and their guano supported some basic eco-systems, but there was no real vegetation and therefore no food. There could be no permanent settlements. Any soil imported, and people had tried, just became weak over time.
So if you wanted to explore any of the lands surrounding Esvuna then you had to take all your own fuel and food with you or establish dumps beforehand. For water, you either had to be lucky with the rainfall or manage to travel from one lake to another and hope you could avoid the frequent flash-floods. Eventually though everyone ran out of water, food or fuel. Whether they survived to tell their tale or not, depended on where they ran out.
Jaun was determined to explore further than anyone else had ever managed before. He travelled the length of the Union, looking in all the major libraries and museums at the maps that had been made of the southerly continent of Dalriad and the lands that lay beyond.
The first decision was mode of transport. There was only one real choice. To travel over both land and water, you had to either have some amphibious vehicle or travel by air. And the most efficient and quickest of those choices was flight. To travel any distance, he needed to establish fuel drops every few hundred kilometres. He could fly a plane to the first of these, land, refuel and then carry on his journey. If he could get the money he could make further fuel stops on the more distant and provisionally named continent of Mandel.
The Union’s Geographical Society had historically sponsored expeditions to Coom, Amerin or Dalriad, though in the last fifty years, the lack of success and high casualty rates had meant that public opinion had turned against them. The nearby continents were mapped and there was nothing to find beyond except death.
Jaun took his plans the Geographic Society, and expected them to be rejected out of hand but for some reason, two weeks later he received a letter explaining that they wanted to speak to him further on his plans.
“You see,” one of the Geographers said, “all expeditions in the past have been disorganised. You seem to have put a lot of thought into ensuring your safe return.”
“Well I don’t want to die,” Jaun blurted out.
“Yes but every death makes it harder for future expeditions to get funding. We feel that you might have the seeds of a system here. If we could establish refuelling points far inland at several places with frequent visits, then we could perhaps explore not only Dalriad and Mandel but the continents beyond them and who knows what we might discover.”
So if you wanted to explore any of the lands surrounding Esvuna then you had to take all your own fuel and food with you or establish dumps beforehand. For water, you either had to be lucky with the rainfall or manage to travel from one lake to another and hope you could avoid the frequent flash-floods. Eventually though everyone ran out of water, food or fuel. Whether they survived to tell their tale or not, depended on where they ran out.
Jaun was determined to explore further than anyone else had ever managed before. He travelled the length of the Union, looking in all the major libraries and museums at the maps that had been made of the southerly continent of Dalriad and the lands that lay beyond.
The first decision was mode of transport. There was only one real choice. To travel over both land and water, you had to either have some amphibious vehicle or travel by air. And the most efficient and quickest of those choices was flight. To travel any distance, he needed to establish fuel drops every few hundred kilometres. He could fly a plane to the first of these, land, refuel and then carry on his journey. If he could get the money he could make further fuel stops on the more distant and provisionally named continent of Mandel.
The Union’s Geographical Society had historically sponsored expeditions to Coom, Amerin or Dalriad, though in the last fifty years, the lack of success and high casualty rates had meant that public opinion had turned against them. The nearby continents were mapped and there was nothing to find beyond except death.
Jaun took his plans the Geographic Society, and expected them to be rejected out of hand but for some reason, two weeks later he received a letter explaining that they wanted to speak to him further on his plans.
“You see,” one of the Geographers said, “all expeditions in the past have been disorganised. You seem to have put a lot of thought into ensuring your safe return.”
“Well I don’t want to die,” Jaun blurted out.
“Yes but every death makes it harder for future expeditions to get funding. We feel that you might have the seeds of a system here. If we could establish refuelling points far inland at several places with frequent visits, then we could perhaps explore not only Dalriad and Mandel but the continents beyond them and who knows what we might discover.”
Jaun’s plane was a small two-seater. An experienced pilot had been recruited as Jaun had minimal flying experience. Jaun’s job was to take photographs. Harij would fly the plane under Jaun’s instructions and every few kilometres, Jaun would photograph the land below. When they returned the pictures would be collated into an accurate set of maps of Dalriad. Repeated photographs would be compared to the originals to determine if there were any changes. Once Dalriad was fully mapped, then Mandel and the places beyond could be explored. Then once the area to the southwest of the Union was mapped as much as possible, the lands to the south and the southeast would follow.
The first three weeks were spent mapping the coast of Dalriad close to Har. At the same time refuelling points were set up in the interior. The Empire got wind of the expeditions and made noises about no permanent settlements and treaties but the Union’s ambassadors pacified the Empire by explaining that the expeditions were entirely scientific and if the Empire wanted to explore the lands to the north of Esvuna then they were quite at liberty to do so. In fact the Union and its Geographical Society would be more than happy to lend a hand if asked. The objections from the Empire died down, after all they were not breaking any terms of any of the treaties.
The first three weeks were spent mapping the coast of Dalriad close to Har. At the same time refuelling points were set up in the interior. The Empire got wind of the expeditions and made noises about no permanent settlements and treaties but the Union’s ambassadors pacified the Empire by explaining that the expeditions were entirely scientific and if the Empire wanted to explore the lands to the north of Esvuna then they were quite at liberty to do so. In fact the Union and its Geographical Society would be more than happy to lend a hand if asked. The objections from the Empire died down, after all they were not breaking any terms of any of the treaties.
Harij landed the plane on the bare bedrock. He immediately set about refuelling the plane from the dump while Jaun assembled the small two man tent.
In the morning after a small breakfast. Jaun made a note of the refuelling station and what they had used. Harij started the plane, it taxied along the smooth bedrock and soon they were flying again, systematically traversing Dalriad, photographing and mapping the boring terrain below.
And so they continued, after seven weeks, the entire continent of Dalriad had been mapped and they started on the neighbouring land of Mandel. By that time they were having to camp out for two nights to make any progress and the Society were having to fund further trips to stock up and create new refuelling stations.
After ten weeks, Harij and Jaun were called to a meeting of the Society.
“Geographically, the maps are proving useful but there have been no immediate benefits. They are already going to be included in the next Atlas of Esvuna to be published next year as an addendum. But now people are beginning to question the expense. The President however is giving her full support and in recognition we have suggested calling the mountain range in the northwest of Mandel the Krina range.”
When the flights resumed Jaun felt under more pressure than ever to produce results.
It was on the fifth day of the resumed fights that they saw the wreckage. Jaun signalled to Harij who circled and then they landed.
There were two trucks, one was on its side, the tyres and most of the organic material had rotted away. Of the original occupants there was nothing.
Jaun took photographs, at least there would be something to show now.
“It looks like the Karn expedition from about a hundred years ago,” Harij said. “It was suspected they made it onto Mandel. Though of course they set off with great fanfare and were never heard of again.”
“So what happened to them?” Jaun asked crawling through the wreckage.
“Who knows?” Harij said. “Come on we’ve got a few hours flying before we make it back to Base D.”
The Society were pleased. At last, something concrete, even if it was only the answer to a century old mystery.
In the morning after a small breakfast. Jaun made a note of the refuelling station and what they had used. Harij started the plane, it taxied along the smooth bedrock and soon they were flying again, systematically traversing Dalriad, photographing and mapping the boring terrain below.
And so they continued, after seven weeks, the entire continent of Dalriad had been mapped and they started on the neighbouring land of Mandel. By that time they were having to camp out for two nights to make any progress and the Society were having to fund further trips to stock up and create new refuelling stations.
After ten weeks, Harij and Jaun were called to a meeting of the Society.
“Geographically, the maps are proving useful but there have been no immediate benefits. They are already going to be included in the next Atlas of Esvuna to be published next year as an addendum. But now people are beginning to question the expense. The President however is giving her full support and in recognition we have suggested calling the mountain range in the northwest of Mandel the Krina range.”
When the flights resumed Jaun felt under more pressure than ever to produce results.
It was on the fifth day of the resumed fights that they saw the wreckage. Jaun signalled to Harij who circled and then they landed.
There were two trucks, one was on its side, the tyres and most of the organic material had rotted away. Of the original occupants there was nothing.
Jaun took photographs, at least there would be something to show now.
“It looks like the Karn expedition from about a hundred years ago,” Harij said. “It was suspected they made it onto Mandel. Though of course they set off with great fanfare and were never heard of again.”
“So what happened to them?” Jaun asked crawling through the wreckage.
“Who knows?” Harij said. “Come on we’ve got a few hours flying before we make it back to Base D.”
The Society were pleased. At last, something concrete, even if it was only the answer to a century old mystery.
The flight over the Krina range strained the small aircraft. “We may have to start our explorations from the other side in future,” Harij said.
Jaun didn’t reply. He was staring. Was that another plane? He pointed his camera at it and tried to steady it. “Can you keep the plane steady?” he asked.
“Not at this height,” Harij replied. “Why?”
“Because there’s something in the air over there.”
“A plane?”
“I think so, but I can’t be sure.”
“Well I’d better descend anyway, the weather’s closing in. I suspect there’s a lot more weather on this side of the mountains because of the prevailing systems.”
They touched down on a slight slope and Jaun looked at the dark sky. “I’ll get the tent out,” he said.
“I don’t think that would be a good idea, because it could get washed away,” Harij said.
“Seriously?”
“Yes, there is no soil to soak up the rain, flash-floods will be common. We’ve been lucky we’ve not seen any before. I’ve stopped here because too high up and we will be too exposed and too low down, well we don’t want to be in the middle of a fast forming lake.”
“Could we not fly out of it?”
“Too risky, that weather front is moving in fast. Very fast.”
Within half an hour the wind had got up to gale force and rain was lashing the plane. As the sky got darker the wind increased and the plane began to move.
“Shit,” Harij said. “That’s the problem with this sort of exploration, there’s nothing to anchor the plane to.”
The force of the wind started to turn the plane. Jaun looked out of the window and watched the wing vibrate. It looked as if it would snap off. Then the plane began to slowly move down the hill.
“Bugger, we’ve been caught in a flood,” Harij said.
“What can we do?”
“We can do nothing but ride it out. If we go out in that … Well best not to.”
And so the storm continued through the night, Jaun must have got some sleep because he was suddenly aware of red sunlight shining through the plane’s window.
Harij was already out of the plane. “It’s broken he said. Electrics are damaged and one of the wings is buggered.”
“Can you fix it?” Jaun asked.
Harij shook his head. “All we can do is activate our emergency beacon and hope that when we’re missed someone comes to find us. Water shouldn’t be a problem and we’ve got enough food for a few days, maybe weeks if we ration ourselves. They should find us within a week.”
There were further storms over the next few days and the expected help didn’t arrive. Then the storms stopped and they had several days that turned into weeks of sun. Jaun was sitting out on the bedrock under the plane praying for rain and trying to conserve his energy when he saw something move in the distance. It was some kind of land vehicle. He watched as it got closer, then he realised it was of a kind he was unfamiliar with. Wherever if came from it wasn’t Esvuna.
There was a noise beside him, Harij had crawled from under the plane and was lying beside him. He held a small handgun.
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Jaun asked.
“No, but best be prepared. I don’t know who they are but they may not be friendly.”
The vehicle stopped and some people jumped out. Through the heat haze Jaun could see one of them holding something. Was it a weapon of some sort?
Jaun didn’t reply. He was staring. Was that another plane? He pointed his camera at it and tried to steady it. “Can you keep the plane steady?” he asked.
“Not at this height,” Harij replied. “Why?”
“Because there’s something in the air over there.”
“A plane?”
“I think so, but I can’t be sure.”
“Well I’d better descend anyway, the weather’s closing in. I suspect there’s a lot more weather on this side of the mountains because of the prevailing systems.”
They touched down on a slight slope and Jaun looked at the dark sky. “I’ll get the tent out,” he said.
“I don’t think that would be a good idea, because it could get washed away,” Harij said.
“Seriously?”
“Yes, there is no soil to soak up the rain, flash-floods will be common. We’ve been lucky we’ve not seen any before. I’ve stopped here because too high up and we will be too exposed and too low down, well we don’t want to be in the middle of a fast forming lake.”
“Could we not fly out of it?”
“Too risky, that weather front is moving in fast. Very fast.”
Within half an hour the wind had got up to gale force and rain was lashing the plane. As the sky got darker the wind increased and the plane began to move.
“Shit,” Harij said. “That’s the problem with this sort of exploration, there’s nothing to anchor the plane to.”
The force of the wind started to turn the plane. Jaun looked out of the window and watched the wing vibrate. It looked as if it would snap off. Then the plane began to slowly move down the hill.
“Bugger, we’ve been caught in a flood,” Harij said.
“What can we do?”
“We can do nothing but ride it out. If we go out in that … Well best not to.”
And so the storm continued through the night, Jaun must have got some sleep because he was suddenly aware of red sunlight shining through the plane’s window.
Harij was already out of the plane. “It’s broken he said. Electrics are damaged and one of the wings is buggered.”
“Can you fix it?” Jaun asked.
Harij shook his head. “All we can do is activate our emergency beacon and hope that when we’re missed someone comes to find us. Water shouldn’t be a problem and we’ve got enough food for a few days, maybe weeks if we ration ourselves. They should find us within a week.”
There were further storms over the next few days and the expected help didn’t arrive. Then the storms stopped and they had several days that turned into weeks of sun. Jaun was sitting out on the bedrock under the plane praying for rain and trying to conserve his energy when he saw something move in the distance. It was some kind of land vehicle. He watched as it got closer, then he realised it was of a kind he was unfamiliar with. Wherever if came from it wasn’t Esvuna.
There was a noise beside him, Harij had crawled from under the plane and was lying beside him. He held a small handgun.
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Jaun asked.
“No, but best be prepared. I don’t know who they are but they may not be friendly.”
The vehicle stopped and some people jumped out. Through the heat haze Jaun could see one of them holding something. Was it a weapon of some sort?
