Devon Blake and the Starship Crash by Douglas Warren

missing.
     
“When that thing buried itself, it buried our way back into the ship.”
     
Devon, Jacinda, and Merrell scrambled over to see if Flim was right. Just as he had said,
     
there was a huge mound of freshly turned dirt piled against the side of the ship, completely
blocking the gash they had used to leave the ship.

Chapter 12
Ensign Hal Kepler hunched over his data terminal working feverishly. He wiped his tired
     
eyes and yawned.
     
“One more time,” he muttered to himself as he scanned the search results. He knew he
     
had to make sure that he did not miss anything. One sli-up and the captain might never give him
     
another chance.
     
Ever since Hal had been assigned to the Boadicea , he had tried to make a positive
     
impression on Captain Leiber. However, it seemed that impressing ‘Old Stoneface’ was
     
impossible. He usually treated Hal with indifference, which was much preferred to the stern
     
glare he had seen the captain bestow on crewmembers who disappointed him.
     
According to the search results, what happened to Forrestal’s atmosphere could not
     
happen. The only similar incidents of a planet’s ionosphere becoming opaque involved highly
     
contaminated industrial planets. Forrestal was a nearly pristine wilderness planet. The two
     
pieces of information just did not seem to fit.
     
The rescue mission could not begin until he solved this riddle. Kepler knew that this was
     
his chance to shine. He tried to think of any natural occurrences that could mimic severe
     
pollution.
     
The answer hit him like a lightning bolt. He sat up straight and exclaimed, “A volcano!”
     
Everyone on the bridge turned toward him, startled by his outburst.
     
The captain raised an eyebrow, “New information, Mr. Kepler?”
     
“Sir, the atmospheric changes could be the result of volcanic activity.”
     
“A volcano? This sounds a little extreme for a volcano to cause.”
     
Ensign Kepler paused for a moment, thinking carefully. “I agree, sir.”
Frowning, the captain rose and walked over the Kepler’s work station. “Please explain.”
     
“Well, Sir, I agree that a single volcano, no matter how big, probably couldn’t cause such
     
a widespread problem…but a series of them might be enough.”
     
The captain turned to face Kepler, giving him his full attention. “How sure are you of
     
this?”
     
“It’s just a theory, but it’s the only one that makes any sense. The combined gas output
     
from multiple volcanoes is the only thing that could replicate the atmospheric contamination that
     
causes this type of problem…unless the survey team missed a highly industrialized civilization
     
down there.”
     
“I doubt that, Ensign Kepler.” The captain gave him a dark look. “It just doesn’t make
     
sense that they would miss an imminent disaster either.”
     
Kepler shrugged apologetically.
     
The captain paused for a moment. “As this is the only theory we have, we will go with it.
     
However, I need more information…quickly.”
     
“Yes sir, I’ll try to confirm it.” Kepler hunched over his terminal once again, desperately
trying to think of a way to confirm volcanic eruptions though the haze of Forrestal’s ionosphere.

Chapter 13
Terry and the other children pressed themselves up against the glass of their windows,
     
hoping to catch a glimpse of Devon and the others that were trapped outside.
     
Terry snickered, “Serves them right, getting stuck out there. They were just trying to
     
show off, and it bit them in the backside. Let the bowzers eat them.”
     
Link and Junior stopped peering out of their windows in unison.
“But, Terry, our brother is out there,” Junior remarked. Both boys wore a look of
     
concerned confusion.
     
“Who cares, he made his choice,” Terry said with a sneer in his voice.
     
Link’s eyebrows furrowed. “But, Terry, Merrell, might get hurt. Are you saying you
     
want him to get hurt?” Both