The admiral leaned over and handed Jason a glass with two fingers of twenty-year-old scotch. “Like I said, this is the big one.” He clanged Jason’s glass.
“You keep saying that,” said Jason, before tossing back a drink. He didn’t so much as twitch as the liquor poured down his throat, and he fiddled with his cufflinks impatiently.
The admiral clicked a remote, and a large holo-screen filled the cabin in front of them.
“This was four years ago.”
An image appeared, depicting a patch of forest on fire. The image zoomed in on a black matte craft that appeared to have crash landed.
“The craft was of unknown origin,” said the admiral, clicking the remote again.
On the screen, the electrical innards of the machine were shown—along with the charred body that was barely recognizable but humanoid in shape.
“Who’s the stiff? Looks human to me,” said Jason, tossing back the rest of his drink.
“It is far from human,” said the admiral.
“What is it then?”
“It’s a new race, not of this world.”
“An alien? Come on, you’re pulling my leg.”
“I assure you that I am not,” said the admiral. “This little beauty crash landed one year after the end of the Terra-Luna War. We took it apart, put it back together again, you know. And we gained a lot of knowledge from that scout ship—”
“Why do you think it was a scout?”
“Why else would it be flying so close?”
Jason shrugged. “Maybe they were on vacation.”
“They?” said the admiral, brow cocked quizzically.
“The fucking Martians, or Jupiterians, or whatever the hell you’re talking about. What are we calling them anyway?”
“The Watchers,” said the admiral.
“Clever.” Jason finished his glass in one quick toss.
“All we know is they have been watching us. But that ship was armed with highly advanced weaponry, so—”
“So, the world government is following Directive 1, which states that any extraterrestrial being with war machines must be treated as a likely threat to the entire world, and action must be taken to ensure that we can strike first.”
“Precisely,” said the admiral, refilling Jason’s glass.
Topping me off? Jason smirked at the admiral. He wants me to captain such an important mission, yet he encourages my demons. Interesting...
“You don’t play much chess, do you, Mark?”
“What?”
Jason tested the new drink, grinning.
The admiral leaned in as the Tesla began rocketing down the runway. “Jason, we uncovered more than weapons technology from the crashed ship. We also uncovered the secret to interstellar space travel. And we want you to man the first mission.”
“And bring a giant alien nuke to within range of their planet?” said Jason lazily.
The craft took off and raced for the clouds, giving Jason that familiar feeling in his gut.
The admiral seemed beyond perplexed. “Have you heard what I said? You will captain the first faster-than-light mission in history.”
Jason grinned mirthlessly and let his ice cubes dance in front of him. “You think that is going to outshine being The Man Who Broke the Moon? No way.”
“You have more fans than you realize,” said the admiral, his eyebrows rising as he glanced at the two attendants. “The people can say whatever they want. They can make your name a curse word. But everyone knows that if you hadn’t pulled that trigger, we would all be dead.”
“They don’t need their hate to be justified, they just need it,” said Jason, watching through the window as the world became smaller. “Everyone needs an enemy, or else the enemy becomes yourself.”
Jason knew that what he had done had been justified. The Lunar Independence Party had gone too far when they pulled asteroids down on Earth, on the home of mankind. In those moments between chaos and confusion Jason had been left with the choice. With no communications signal from headquarters, he had been flying blind. Last directive: Destroy the Threat. He remembered flying over the glass domed city of Luna 1, remembered the friends and family who lived there. Then he saw the tractor beams pulling a planet-killing asteroid. There were millions of innocent people on Luna 1, but there was also the dictator Artimus Clay and his surprising number of followers, who, in a swift show of power, had taken over the colony and its asteroid defense facilities.
Both groups had to die for the Earth to live.
Jason had ordered Killian to fire...
“Jason, are you listening?” The admiral was more animated than usual today.
“Yeah, I’m listening. But, why me?”
“What?” the admiral looked truly perplexed.
No good at chess, thought Jason. But not a bad poker face.
“Why me?” he repeated.
“Why?” Mark glanced around searchingly before meeting and holding Jason’s gaze steadily. “Because you’re Captain Jason Eriksson. Because you’re the best we’ve got.”
Chapter 7
Liberty 1
The transport ship docked with the outer ring of the American space station, Liberty 1, which was still under repairs from damages sustained during the Terra-Luna War. Still, it had fared better than most. Currently, there was no traffic coming or going from the mile-long space station. But there were dozens of U.S. military ships docked.
“This looks like Liberty 1 during the war,” said Jason. “Should I be worried?”
“The United States is taking the reins with this one,” said the admiral.
“So, where is she? Where’s the ship?”
“Far from here. Away from prying eyes.”
Jason glanced over at the admiral as the ship docked and the pressure changed. “I take it that America hasn’t bothered to fill in the World Government about all of this. Is that the game here?”
“Something like that,” said the admiral. He extended his hand to the door and unclicked his seat belt. “After you.”
They exited the craft and came out into a security scanning area. These security precautions, known as S-pods, were a common feature on stations of this size. After being scanned and cleared, Jason and the admiral boarded another transport ship that brought them through the secure zone to dock with the station.
News that the admiral was on board had obviously preceded him. There was an assortment of security and first officers there to shake his hand and suck up. But the admiral waved them all off and marched with his personal guards and Jason down a long wing. He led Jason into the conference room where a half dozen men and women Jason recognized waited.
Upon seeing his old crew members, Jason stopped dead, speechless. Erik Andal, his longtime XO smiled, rolled his cigar across his teeth, and stood at attention.
“Looks like the universe isn’t done with us yet, sir,” said Andal.
“Well, I’ll be damned. You don’t look a day over dead,” said Jason, shaking his hand and giving Erik a brotherly hug.
“Must be all the healthy living,” said Erik with a wink.
Killian Weber, second officer, and chief military officer for nearly a dozen missions that Jason had captained, offered a casual salute.
Jason shook his hand, noticing that the long scar that ran from the old man’s chin to his left eye was still there and as grizzly as ever. “You never got that scar fixed?”
“Nah, beauty is for the young,” said Killian with a grin. He leaned in and said secretively, “Besides, it gets me tons of ass.”
Jason laughed, moving down the line.
Kaito Takahashi, Jason’s favored chief engineer, offered a salute as well, but he couldn’t help his excitement, and he beamed at Jason suddenly and erupted with, “We’re going all the way, Captain. No more flirting with the universe. This time, we’re going balls deep!”
“Hey, Kaito,” said Jason. “Good to see you.”
Mae Washington stepped forward and offered
up a perfect salute to Jason, but more importantly, the admiral.
“I thought you were going to retire in Ireland,” said Jason.
“I thought you were going to retire in St. Croix,” she said, brow cocked.
“Too hot.”
She shrugged. “Ireland was too cold.”
“Space is even colder.”
“Then I hope you packed your long johns,” she said without missing a beat.
Jason laughed, shaking his head.
He took a moment to greet his crew before turning to the admiral. “When do we leave?”
“Just as soon as the last two crewmen arrive. Ah, here is one of them now.” The admiral turned to the door, and to Jason’s dismay, Pal 2000, looking shiny and new, walked through the threshold with his digital face smiling.
“Ahhh shit,” said Jason.
Pal’s emoji face changed to a mischievous grin. “Good to see you again too, sir.”
Jason leaned in to look closer at Pal 2000 and glanced at the admiral. “You have your men upgrade him or something. That was almost ...was he being condescending?”
The admiral nodded. “We thought you would be quicker to accept him if he were more ...human.”
“Accept him?” Jason raised a brow to the admiral. “Are you saying what I hope you’re not saying?”
“Pal 2000 will be part of your crew. He will be your assistant of sorts and report your progress back to us.”
“Report my progress, huh? So, he’s a spy?”
“I am not a spy, sir,” said Pal 2000. “I am a—”
“Tell me again why this talking toaster is coming along?” Jason asked the admiral.
“Ah,” said the admiral, ignoring him and gesturing to the door. “The last crew woman has arrived.”
Jason’s heart dropped as Charlie Cameron came through the door looking like a million bucks. Her auburn hair was shorter than the last time Jason had seen her—at Melissa’s funeral. As strange as it felt being around the old crew, it was surreal to see Charlie again. She had been the last person he expected. And though she had been a part of his crew for years during the war, he had never expected to see her again.
It had been her who broke it off, after all.
“Captain Eriksson, Admiral.” She stopped before them and offered a smart salute.
“Charlie ...It’s great to see you again.”
“When I heard that they were letting you captain the first interstellar space flight, well, I knew I had to come along.” She finally looked him in the eye. “Someone’s got to point you in the right direction.”
After a long pause, the admiral clapped his hands together. “Well then, everyone has been reunited. Excellent. Please, everyone, have a seat. Pal, if you would be so kind as to begin the footage.”
“Yes, Admiral.”
The lights dimmed, and Charlie moved to the opposite side of the table from Jason, where she was greeted by a very excited Kaito. To Jason’s left, Erik lit up his cigar.
“Battle Mountain, June 2018, and this, from Northern California, March 2051,” said the admiral as familiar footage appeared on the wall, projected from the top of Pal 2000’s head.
“Is this a joke?” asked Jason. “Or are you about to tell us that the Battle Mountain conspiracy nuts were right?”
The admiral ignored him, telling Pal to stop on a clip. In it was an indistinguishable heap of twisted black metal, and men in silver suits with scientific gadgets were taking readings.
Jason sat up. He had never seen this footage.
“I fucking knew it!” Kaito cried.
The admiral peered at him over the rim of his glasses with a chagrined glare.
“Sorry, admiral, go on,” said Kaito, bouncing in his chair with barely contained anticipation.
“What you are looking at is the remains of an alien probe,” said the admiral.
“I fucking knew it!” Kaito cried again.
“Shut up and let the man talk,” said Erik.
“Amen,” said Mae.
“Wait a minute,” said Charlie. “Aliens?”
“I thought the same thing,” said Pal, turning to offer Charlie a large emoji smile on his pixelated face.
“Pal!” the admiral yelled, now blinded by the projection.
“Sorry, sir!” said the bot, before whipping his head back toward the projector screen and returning the image.
“This is what computer fabrications of the debris have come up with,” said the admiral as another image appeared on the wall.
Jason cocked his head. “It was an egg?”
“Egg-shaped, yes. But the best is yet to come.”
The image changed again, and Mae cried out in surprise. Kaito was speechless, and Erik Andal’s cigar hung from his slack jaw. Across the table, Killian Webber reeled back. Again, Jason cocked his head to the side. In the image, a translucent being lay dead on a hospital gurney.
“It’s like ...It’s like a jellyfish person,” said Charlie, cocking her head to the side as well.
“It is believed they are only translucent in death,” said the admiral.
Pal 2000 shifted through a series of pictures, including the dissection. The creature was at least nine feet tall, slim and muscled, with organs that were unrecognizable to Jason. Its head was twice the size it should have been, but unlike a toddler’s bulbous head, this one was long and narrow. The back of the skull was elongated, the eyes wide and slanted, resembling dead gray gems. It had two arms, and...
“The thing’s got a horse cock!” Kaito blurted.
“Look, Takahashi,” said Mae, turning to scowl at him. “I know you’ve got ass burgers or whatever, but please try and respect the moment we’re having here.”
“Sorry,” said Kaito with a nervous laugh.
“What you are seeing are tentacles, Takahashi,” said the admiral.
“Are they friendly?” asked Killian.
“Good question, Webber,” said the admiral. “The short answer is that we don’t know.”
“What do we know?” said Jason.
“Well, we know they have traveled here from at least 1,200 light years away. And we know how they did it. We also know they have been watching us.”
“This wasn’t the first probe?” said Mae.
“No, one landed in Russia in 1984, but it was much more badly damaged. Our comrades did not share that information until the Terra-Luna War.”
“How do we know they’re the same ...species?” said Jason.
“We don’t.”
“What is their propulsion system?” said Kaito. “Traveling that far would be impossible, even going ten times faster than lightspeed.”
The admiral looked at Jason, lingering, before glancing around at the others. “Much, much faster than even ten times light speed, Takahashi.”
Everyone waited, but the admiral did not elaborate. Instead, he nodded to Pal, who turned off the projector and turned up the lights. The admiral looked around the room, making sure to catch everyone in his gaze for a moment at least. “Your mission, my friends, is to make first contact with this race.”
“Holy s—” Kaito began.
“First contact?” said Charlie, her eyes watering.
The admiral nodded, smiling.
Erik and Killian shared a look of shock and awe.
“Why us?” said Jason, and all eyes turned to him. “Why me, why my crew, why us?”
The crew looked at the admiral, Pal 2000 included.
“To be frank,” said the admiral, wiping nothing from his right cuff with his left hand, as he often did in tight situations.
Jason watched him closely.
“You six are hated by some more than Hitler himself. Some want you put to death, yet to others, mostly Americans, you are heroes. This is not only America’s, but also your chance to—pardon the old expression—prove the haters wrong. If you make a peaceful first contact, you will be heroes to the world.”
“And if they are hostile, if they want war?” said Killian
.
“Well,” said the admiral, his face steely. “Then you will give it to them. The Redemption is not only the first human interstellar starship, but also the finest weapon humanity has ever conceived.”
The wall behind the admiral began to slide open. Sunlight blinded them momentarily, but then the glass tinted, making the glow of the celestial god tolerable. Jason squinted at the glass as the entire twenty-foot-wide panel peeled back. The admiral stepped aside, grinning.
“Whoa...” said Kaito reverently.
“Now that’s a beauty,” said Killian.
Jason, like everyone, rose from his chair and walked around the conference table like a zombie. They pressed their hands to the glass, wanting to be closer to the shining beacon of human achievement. For a surreal moment Jason felt as though he were in a gallery, pressed against the glass and staring at a molten silver sculpture.
Redemption shone in the sunlight, the universe black behind her. And her glow ...her glow seemed to chase away the darkness of space.
“Melissa...” Jason heard himself saying. He wished then that she were here. He wished that Ember were here with him as well. He wished that both of his beautiful girls were with him, wished they could share this moment.
He looked to his right instinctively, where he imagined Melissa would have been standing. He always kept himself between her and traffic while strolling down the street. Melissa was not there.
Instead, Charlie was there, smiling at him with a hint of pity in her sparkling eyes.
Jason wiped his eyes and turned them back to the marvel on the other side of the glass.
The ship, silver and sleek and beautiful, was shaped like a pyramid whose bottom points had been pulled back, and the entire thing stretched long. In the pit created by the three long points at the rear, a large thruster glowed. The thruster was not the secret to interstellar travel, Jason knew. He looked at the three points in the back, but they were smooth at the end, with no indication of a propulsion system housed therein.
“Pal,” said the admiral. “Show us the weapons systems.”
Pal’s pixelated face offered an eager smile. Outside the glass, in the docking bay hidden from earth, the ship suddenly transformed. The liquid silver hull coalesced into thousands of tiny dots, and from each dot a guiding laser suddenly erupted.
The Man Who Broke the Moon Page 4