by J. Benjamin
On the other side of the human section, Val watched as the Aquarian workers quickly dashed into their eggshells. It still amazed Val how they were able to seamlessly move in and out of a solid membrane.
“T-minus two minutes,” Val said to everyone present.
“Are you sure we don’t have to buckle in?” one of the soldiers asked.
“The Aquarians bio-engineered their ships to cancel out g-force. Minerva could fly at the speed of a Pelican, and you still won’t feel a thing. Which is close to how fast this ship will be moving once we’re off the Moon.”
“Acknowledged,” he calmly replied.
“How are you feeling?” Thomas asked.
“Like complete shit. Yourself?” Val stated.
“That’s what I thought,” he replied. “But rest assured, this will be over before you know it.”
“Five hours and forty minutes,” Val said. “About as much time as the shockwave of a supernova would take to get there.”
“It’s not the getting there part that worries me,” Thomas said. “It’s the getting back. A thousand people crammed in this thing?”
“Good thing you brought the porta-potties,” Val said.
Thomas chuckled. Val turned her attention back to the Aquarian interface, which to her eyes was a floating visual of Minerva only she could see.
“Minerva, what’s your status?”
“We are ready to launch, Val Alessi,” they said. “T-minus thirty seconds.”
“Very good. Stars forgive us.”
“T-minus thirty seconds!” A voice shouted over the intercom. “Minerva’s fusion engine is firing up!”
Ty watched as the mantle of the Aquarian host came to life in a bright and majestic turquoise. It was certainly preferable to the fuchsia.
She closed her eyes. For a moment, she thought about her journey with Val, and her appreciation for the few years they’d had together.
“T-minus ten . . . nine . . .”
Ty thought about the future, their new baby with both of her mothers present. The thought of their future child kept her going.
“Three . . . two . . . one . . . we have liftoff!”
A flash of light filled the entire command center. The Aquarian host ascended from the containment chamber, through the retracted roof, and up. People cheered enthusiastically as holograms showed Minerva taking to the stars.
On Earth, the chaos from hours before came to a stand-still. Billions watched on holograms and TV screens from around the world as Dr. Alessi led a daring rescue of the thousand lives trapped on Saturn’s moon.
Minister Endo looked to the holo-screens as Minerva disappeared from view.
“Light speed, Valerie Alessi. Light speed.”
Chapter 55
What was once a series of cosmic donuts, now splintered into a C-shape, and a growing cloud of dust around Saturn. The destruction could be seen by all now, as it crept into view from the makeshift human section of Minerva.
“Holy mother of Hell,” a young male soldier said in horror.
“Somebody get a connection with Titan,” Thomas said.
“Right away, sir,” said the highest-ranking soldier of the five. “Looks like Huygens knows we’re here. Receiving signal now.”
“Patch them through, on hologram,” Thomas ordered. The soldier nodded. The face of Glen Hollings blinked into the hologram looking far wearier than he had just hours before. Beads of sweat rolled down his reddened face and bags swelled under his eyes.
“Glen Hollings, this is Thomas Adler. We received your distress call. I am here with Dr. Val Alessi and a military detail at the directive of New Tokyo and the United Nations. We are here to rescue your colonists. What is your current status?”
Hollings eyes widened in disbelief. “Oh my god! Thank God you’re here. Several of our habs are gone, including one of the two we used for farming. Our main hall collapsed while we recorded the last video. We now have eight-hundred-and-ninety-nine survivors. We’re down to rations. I’m not sure how much longer we can hold on.”
“Here’s our plan,” Thomas assured. “We’ve seen the readings from your docking bay. We believe even with the damage, we can still bridge with our ship and get you out of there.”
“That’s great news. Thank you!” Hollings said, relieved.
“There’s something you should know,” Thomas cautioned. “We are here in the alien ship, Minerva. It’s the only way we could get here fast enough.”
“I don’t care if you came in a Diamondhead Resort full of terrorists! We’ll take whatever we can get. Have you seen the surface of Titan?” Titan peered into view from behind Saturn’s shadow.
“Oh no!” Val reacted. From their vantage point, fires so large they could be seen from space, pockmarked the surface.
“Are we supposed to be able to see all of that?” one of the soldiers asked, pointing to the fires.
“No,” Val replied. “Titan is covered in a thick layer of methane. We shouldn’t be able to see anything.”
“Was covered in a thick layer of methane. That should give you an idea just how strong the shockwaves were,” Hollings interjected.
“Dear God,” Thomas said. “Okay Hollings. Tell your people to get ready. We’re coming down there. First we have to . . .” Thomas was cut off by an abrupt screech.
“What the Hell was that?” Hollings said, still on the hologram.
“You heard that too?” Thomas asked.
“Tracking the noise,” Val responded. “It’s the Herschel!”
“It can’t be,” Hollings said. “They’ve been unresponsive for hours.”
“It looks like an SOS beacon. One sec,” Val said. She brought up a separate hologram, showing the current readings on the Herschel Station. “This isn’t good.”
“What’s wrong?” Thomas asked.
“The Herschel is thousands of miles off its usual trajectory,” Val explained. “Orbit is unstable. At this rate it will burn up in Saturn’s atmosphere in a matter of hours. Maybe less.”
“That isn’t good at all,” Thomas replied.
“Several of their subsystems are down, including comms, but otherwise, the station is still, somehow, in one piece,” Val said.
“How is that possible?” Skylar, the squad leader asked. Like Val, she was one of the few on New Tokyo who had come from North America. In the weeks after the Minerva Starscraper crisis, she was recruited to help ramp up security on the lunar colony. Val had only spoken to her a few times but respected her ability to quickly take command of a situation.
“The Herschel has a backup SOS system, strengthened to withstand any electromagnetic pulse,” Hollings interjected. “If there’s any survivors onboard, they probably ran out of all other options.”
“That’s strange that the blast didn’t destroy the Herschel,” Val said.
“This certainly complicates things,” Thomas added. “Hollings, I’m afraid we have to make a pit-stop on the way to Titan.”
“I figured you’d say that,” Hollings replied.
“It’s a tough call, but if the Herschel is truly spiraling toward death, we have no choice. We didn’t come all this way to let people die. That includes Titan. That includes the Herschel,” Thomas insisted. “How long do you think Titan can hold it together?”
“Not long,” Hollings said. “But longer than the Herschel can. I will send you our most up-to-date status report, to help you through your mission.”
“Acknowledged,” Thomas replied. “And you have my word we will not keep you waiting long.”
“I hope not, because we’re barely holding it together. Good luck, for all of us,” Hollings concluded. The feed ended.
Thomas looked to the soldiers. “Suit up. We’re boarding the Herschel.”
“Minerva,” Val commanded. “Set a course for the ring-ship.”
Chapter 56
William Herschel Station - Less than 2 hours before point of no return
The William Herschel Station, once the vang
uard of the most powerful corporation in human existence, drifted as a helpless derelict. To Val, it evoked stories of long ago when watchtowers would spot phantom ships out at sea. Just like the Coast Guard, the human crew of Minerva now stared out at the dark shores, unsure of what lie ahead.
“Herschel Station, do you copy?” Val commanded through the comms. “Herschel Station, please respond . . . I got nothing. No response.”
“So then Hollings was right,” Thomas said. “Their comms are likely fried and this was a last-ditch emergency beacon. You know what that means?”
“Survivors,” Skylar replied. “That’s what we came here for.”
“Okay team, listen up,” Thomas said. “Minerva is going to approach the Herschel and lock speed. We leave Minerva as a group. Hollings identified an external hatch that can be manually opened from an external keypad. He even sent us the credentials. Once inside, we will split up and search for survivors.
“After we’ve done a complete head count of all living persons on board, we will evacuate them in groups and escort them back to Minerva. While their skippers may be inoperable from the blast, they should have functioning spacesuits, and enough oxygen for the short walk back. Minerva has created a makeshift port for space-walkers leaving and entering the ship. Any questions?”
“What’s the Herschel’s expected head count?” asked one of the soldiers.
“Per our readings, they were in crew rotations with Titan right before the blast,” Val said. “Right now they are presumably on a skeleton crew. Forty people, tops.”
“Got it,” the soldier replied.
“Anything else?” Thomas asked. Nobody responded. “Good. Prepare for disembarkation.”
The soldiers checked their oxygen supplies, readied their weapons, and made their way to the entry of Minerva’s makeshift port. Thomas prepared to join them, when he noticed Val had also suited up.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“Doing what I signed up for,” Val said. “Coming along so I can help save lives.”
“You’re a scientist, not a soldier,” Thomas said.
“I’m also not a pilot, but somehow that’s the hat I put on today. I am also not a damsel in distress and can hold my own. If there’s forty lives to be saved, you’re going to need every hand on deck. I’m not taking no for an answer.”
“You’re the only person who can fly the ship if something happens to us,” Thomas said.
“If something happens to you, odds are we’re all going down anyway.”
Thomas nodded. “You are sticking with me the entire mission.” He jogged to the supplies depot they brought onboard, rummaged through it, pulled something out, and ran back to Val.
“Take this. You never know when you’ll need it,” Thomas said, handing Val a hand-laser.
“Seriously?” Val said in disbelief. “This is a rescue mission.”
“Cosmineral, Val. Cosmineral. And while I don’t expect hostilities, we’re outnumbered 5-to-1 here. They’re mercs. Can’t be too careful.”
“If you say so,” Val replied, taking the laser-gun and attaching it to her spacesuit. They joined the platoon.
“Val, can you confirm that this is the place?” Skylar asked, referring to the mantle walls at the end of a transparent passageway.
“Minerva. Can you confirm this is the hatch?”
“Yes,” the Aquarian consciousness said through Val’s headset. “Once you step through the gap, we will close it behind you.”
“Very good,” Val said. “We’re ready.” As quickly as the words left her mouth, the mantle wall dissolved, leading into a pocket big enough to fit all seven of them. They quickly stepped through, and the wall behind them closed. Once inside, an uncomfortable feeling crept over Val.
She never space-walked in her entire life, not even when she was on the Sagan. This was it. She took comfort knowing that Thomas and five experienced soldiers were by her side.
“Ready,” Val inquired.
“We’re ready,” Skylar confirmed.
“Do it, Val,” Thomas added.
“Minerva, open the mantle,” Val commanded.
A hiss of exhaust filled the space and within seconds, the walls of the makeshift boarding chamber opened.
The half-yellow, half-darkened horizon of the Solar System’s second-largest gas giant spanned in all directions as far as the eye could see. There were black pock-marks along the surface, impact spots which would be visible for weeks. Unlike a terrestrial planet, there were no craters because there was no physical surface. There were only black scars which filled the clouds.
Val considered the beauty of Saturn. Even in its battered state, it was still incomparable to almost anything she had seen. Seeing it this close evoked memories of the time she watched the feeds of the Pelicans which skimmed the atmosphere of Mandela in Blade 53.
Except this was no feed.
“Remember, we have an hour and a half before the Herschel crosses the point of no return,” Thomas reminded. “After that, it will be impossible to escape Saturn’s gravity. We’ll all be dead.” Suddenly, Val’s romantic sensibilities of Saturn died, remembering why nothing living ever got this close.
Herschel Station floated a couple hundred meters from their current position. The derelict station looked lifeless, but some lights were clearly still on inside the ship. As Hollings’ information mentioned, emergency systems were kept alive by an internal power supply which could survive an EMP blast. This gave the team some hope.
“Team, target gate A4,” Skylar commanded. “Engage!” One by one, the five-person team rocketed off the alien ship and toward the floating ring in the distance. Before Val could react, Thomas cut her off with his right arm.
“Alessi, latch onto me,” Thomas said, drawing a tether which retracted from his spacesuit. Val didn’t question him and latched the clip to her suit. “Just in case it’s a bumpy landing.”
“I’m ready,” Val confirmed. She watched Thomas nod through his helmet. The mini-rockets on their suits came to life and they followed the platoon, which had already moved several paces ahead.
As they approached the Herschel, Val saw A4 slowly spin into view. She knew it was A4 because of the target on her heads-up display.
Skylar was the first to touch down. Her magnetic boots clung to the hard, metal surface. Each of her team members touched down in succession. Val watched as the station grew larger, and then realized her turn was coming.
“Let the suit do the work,” Thomas said. He was right. As they braced for landing, Val’s suit automatically engaged its retro-grade rockets, thus slowing her approach. Her magnetic boots kicked-in and before she knew it, her body swung around and she hit the surface, along with Thomas.
“We did it,” Val said.
“Congratulations on your first spacewalk,” Thomas said.
Skylar was the first person to approach the docking bay. Wasting no time, she went to work on manually opening it. Val realized why that gate was chosen. Most of the others had skippers docked to them.
Val quickly targeted and scanned the skippers from her HUD. It confirmed what the team suspected. The skippers were damaged beyond repair and not flying anytime soon, if ever again.
“Done!” Skylar announced. Val turned to see the octagon-shaped hatch of gate A4 open. “Let’s move!”
They quickly gathered in the entryway. Once inside, Skylar identified the gate controls and closed the hatch. The entry to the decontamination chamber opened and they stepped inside. Exhausts from the walls and ceiling doused the entire team. Val was relieved the system still worked. She shuttered at the notion of walking through the Herschel full of radiation and foreign particles.
“Alright team,” Thomas said. “This is it. Let’s get in there and move quickly. No time to waste.”
Chapter 57
Herschel Station - 1 hour before point of no return
The platoon went one direction while Val and Thomas went the other. Their mission was simple, sear
ch for survivors and evacuate the station. Having been knocked off its axis, the Herschel was without gravity. Regardless, their magnetic space boots kept their feet to the floor.
“This place is darker than I expected,” Val said. “I thought with emergency cells, they’d manage to keep more lights on.”
“What can you expect from a sonofabitch like Ivanov?” Thomas quipped, not even trying to mask his contempt for the now-deceased CEO. “All the money in the world. Couldn’t take care of his own station. Couldn’t look after the safety of his contractors. Greed.”
As they proceeded down the arched deck, Val took note of the emptiness. Their footsteps caused an industrial creaking noise. The halogen lights that were on, were so dim they were almost useless. Val noticed a water canteen floating aimlessly. Although it was the outer-most deck, and one where the ships docked, she expected to see more.
“Where is everybody?” Val wondered.
“I thought since this was the deck with all the docks, that the survivors would be waiting for us,” Thomas replied.
“They didn’t know we were coming,” Val mentioned.
“But by now, they’d probably see that giant turquoise thing and the seven human things trying to board,” Thomas replied. As he spoke, Val spotted a stairwell.
“Perhaps they’re hiding in their quarters,” Val suggested.
They moved to the next deck, a narrower one. Unlike the bay deck, the doors were close together, one after the other.
“Crew quarters,” Val said. “This has to be. Looks just like on the Sagan.”
“Start knocking?” Thomas suggested.
“I’ll take the left, you take the right,” Val said. Thomas nodded. They knocked on each door one-by-one, attempting to alert anyone who might be inside.
“Hello, is anyone in there?”
“My name is Thomas. We’re with a rescue party.”