Rise of the Altered Moon: Altered Moon Series: Book One (The Altered Moon Series 1)

by AZ Kelvin

  Operating against the Arzian Alliance safety regulations would cut two-thirds of the operating costs off any excavation, if one was willing to risk incarceration or destruction for their efforts. Working on the wrong side of the law could cost you your money, your freedom, and even your life. The instinct to protect those things was strong in those who were willing to run such risky ventures. So, it didn’t matter if you were in a military ship, security force, or a private vessel that just happened to wander in at the wrong time, the response to surprising such people in the middle of their business was the same: being attacked by them.

  The Altered Moon came up over the planetary horizon which brought into view a group of five ships in a stationary position over the planet.

  “What the hell?” Gina exclaimed.

  Surprised exclamations spread across the bridge as the crew of the Moon realized the other ships hadn’t registered on the sensor scans. The surprise must have been equal on the bridges of the unknown stealth ships as well, as two of the ships immediately broke off and came straight at them.

  “Weapons lock, Captain!” hollered out Boss.

  “Raising shields,” said GABI

  “Shit. Evasive G, now!” CJ ordered. “Get us around the planet. GABI, shift all power to defense and helm. Cat, power up main cannons and load fish five. Boss, ready the Moonshine.”

  “Fish five, aye,” answered Cat, as she loaded the preset missile selection of two EMPs, one thermafusion, and one cyrofusion into the firing tubes. “Cannons are online and fish are loaded!”

  “GABI, get me some kind of targeting lock on those ships, fast,” CJ shouted.

  The two ships that advanced on them looked like sleek and flattened-out black triangles with red markings. The speed of their acceleration closed the distance to the Altered Moon in a matter of minutes. Searing streaks of deep red shot out from the attacker’s ships looking for impact on their target. Two of them that found their mark lit up red-colored ellipses on the Moon’s aft shields. Four dark cylinders followed by jets of red flew out of the two ships and bore quickly down on their prey.

  “Four missiles coming in hot,” Boss called out. “Bearing one seven five by two ten.”

  “We can’t outrun four,” said Gina, her pulse racing.

  “Time to impact?” asked CJ in a hurry.

  “Eighty-two seconds,” answered Boss.

  “Captain, the dark matter emitters…” GABI suggested.

  “Yes, of course.” CJ seemed to catch on instantly. “Gina, hard about! Power up the DMITS on my command.”

  “Aye, sir.” She executed his order.

  “GABI power down all systems,” CJ ordered. “Gina, go to DMITS now! Boss, fire the Moonbeams in front of the missiles.”

  The Altered Moon spun about in place and suddenly went dark as the DMITS took over flight control from the ISEs. A blue shimmering light came from the hull plating that ran along the main fuselage from bow to stern of the ship as the dark matter emitters released a stream of the focused particles. A cloud of concentrated dark matter began to build up in space between the missiles and the Altered Moon.

  The nature of dark matter was to fill the voids of microscopic space in between the micro particles of physical matter. When the dark matter particles were concentrated, they were forced to seek voids at the molecular levels in order to break down the bonds that held the physical matter together. The time it took to build up enough concentration, however, could be as long as thirty seconds, which in battle was an eternity.

  The crew waited the agonizing seconds for the dark matter particles to build up around the closing warheads. The four pursuing missiles began to wobble in their trajectories as their panels disintegrated and fell away. Two of them collided, resulting in an explosion that consumed the other two and caused them to ignite. The detonation of the missiles mixed with the expansion of the dark matter and tripled the raw force of the explosion. A flash of blue-white light erupted from the center of blast cloud and immediately blew outward in a globe-shaped shockwave of energy.

  The Altered Moon was blasted seven ways from Sunday as it was caught up in the massive shockwave and tumbled helplessly through space. The constant out-of-control spin threw the inertial stabilizers into overload. A malfunction at these speeds would result in the crew being crushed to death in their seats or thrown against a bulkhead. The forces exerted against them at this point made movement and breathing difficult.

  “GABI…bring…the ISEs…online…” CJ squeezed out enough air to say. “All power…to…inertial…stabilizers…”

  “In progress, Captain,” she replied. “Inner System Engines are offline. I am rerouting control functions and power now. Auxiliary conduits are engaged…engines are online…rerouting power to inertial stabilizers.”

  The pressure and vertigo eased as the Altered Moon powered through the diminishing energy wave. The chaos from alarm klaxons and warning notifications mixed with the ringing in their heads from being thrown around during the ‘atmocoaster ride from hell.’ CJ leaned forward as soon as he was able and looked around the bridge of his ship.

  “Anyone hurt?” he asked. “Boss, Cat, Gina? GABI, is there any damage?”

  “I’m okay,” said Gina hoarsely. “Flight systems…are online, amazingly.”

  “I’m good, Captain,” Boss said.

  “Cat?” CJ asked again and turned to look in her direction.

  “Got a gash on my lower left leg, Captain,” she answered, “but, the bleeding’s stopped and I’ve got it wrapped already.

  “You need anything?” CJ asked, as he rose from the captain’s chair to count all his bones and check on Cat.

  “No, sir, I have a med kit here.”

  “Boss, anything on sensors?” CJ asked, while he helped finish off Cat’s bandage.

  “Nothing on scans and no sign on visual,” reported Boss, “but, we didn’t pick them up before either.”

  “GABI?” CJ asked, indicating a request for the damage report.

  “Shields are down to eighty-two percent,” she said. “Five power junction modules have shorted out and will need to be replaced. Fuel plate levels are at twelve percent. It would be advisable to replace them immediately. Total repair time is approximately four hours and twenty-two minutes.”

  “What’s our position, G?” CJ asked.

  “Twenty-eight thousand kilometers from Arzia Octonus, Captain.”

  “Give me a visual on the planet, S.O.”

  “Aye, sir.”

  The forward view screen changed from the star field that was in front of them to the image of Arzia Octonus. Not a sign of the explosion was left behind after the blast dissipated.

  “Full magnification on the blast area,” said CJ.

  The view shifted from the whole planet to just a part of it off to the left side of the screen.

  “No pursuit,” pondered CJ. “Either we got them with that blast or they think that it got us. Options and opinions?”

  “The presence of those ships lessens the likelihood that Nelson is down there,” Boss said, “and I am concerned with the size of that blast. It was bigger than what those four missiles should’ve been able to produce.”

  “They were molecular decay warheads,” said GABI. “Decaying molecules and concentrated dark matter could result in an explosion of that magnitude. I must apologize, Captain. I did not accurately predict the size of the detonation. I put the ship and crew in danger.”

  “Well, I’m glad you have the opportunity to learn from your mistake, GABI, as we are all still alive, thanks in part to your efforts to regain control of the ship,” CJ said. “I was under the impression that molecular decay technology was outlawed.”

  “Only in the Marlacuer Empire, Captain,” she explained. “No such ban exists in Arzian territory.”

  “Captain!” Gina called out, as she pointed at the view screen.

  Fifteen points of red lights could be seen pulling away as the five stealth ships left the area.

  �
��Well now, would you look at that,” CJ said.

  “Must have been too much risk of attention after the explosion” said Boss. “We should take the time to check out what they were so interested in.”

  “Agreed,” said CJ. “You and Gina take Moonshadow down to run a surface search. I’ll stay here and replace the fuel plates while GABI runs the orbital scans. I should have that finished by the time you get back.”

  “Captain,” Boss replied. “It will be easier for you to get around on the planet. Especially if for some reason you have to get out of there fast. I can replace the fuel plates easy enough with Cat’s help and GABI can monitor both sensors and ship operations without batting an eye."

  “You’re right Boss, I’m used to thinking like an engineer’s mate.” The amount that the captain of a ship had to be aware of was far more than CJ ever realized.

  “It’ll come to you, Captain,” Boss reassured him. “Just think of the needs of every station, every ship and crew operation. That will usually lead you in the right direction.”

  “Oh, is that all? Nothin’ to it,” CJ replied wryly and acted like it was all taken care of. “Gina, standard orbit please.”

  “Standard orbit, aye,” she replied.

  “Cat, get that injury looked after,” CJ said.

  “Aye, sir, I’ll have the doctor take a look at it.” She smiled to let him know it was a joke.

  “Be sure you do,” he joked back. “Boss, you have the conn,” CJ moved to the hatch, “Gina, shall we take Moonshadow out for a little spin around the planet?”

  “Aye, sir, I’ll take any chance to pilot Moonshadow,” she said with a smile.

  CJ and Gina were clothed in biosafety level-three suits that protected them from the toxicity levels of the atmosphere. Their helmets and gloves hung by the airlock door of the cargo bay on the bottom of the ship. Gina brought Moonshadow up slowly over the landscape, which gave them and the sensors time to react to any surprises. The beacon was gone now, but the position that the stealth ships were in had been marked at their earlier encounter. Gina circled over what was clearly a recent excavation site. There was no sign of craft or personnel and no thermal indications on the sensor scans.

  “Looks clear,” CJ said. “Nothing on long range either. We may have spooked ‘em…must’ve thought we were Alliance, or some such. Set her down a short ways from the main site just to be sure.”

  “Aye, sir,” she answered, as she banked Moonshadow around a small rock outcropping and set her down one hundred and fifty meters from the site.

  The two explorers donned their helmets and gloves, sealed the seams of their biosafety suits, activated the internal respiratory filters, and stepped into the airlock chamber. CJ opened the outer door and lowered the access ladder. He climbed down followed by Gina, who ran a quick sensor sweep of the area. They proceeded across the sand-blown rocky basin to the entrance of the excavation.

  The ground that surrounded the excavation showed signs of recent heavy activity. There were drag marks of cargo sleds, tread marks of landing gear, and the footprints of many different people. CJ and Gina both drew their K-13s and cautiously approached the mouth of the subterranean tunnel. They moved in and followed the tunnel into the ground. It began to take the shape of the corridor the deeper they went inside. Erosion by centuries of wind and sand had wiped clear any semblance of the exterior of a building. The further they went, the more the features began to take the familiar shapes of walls, stairs, and columns.

  The areas of illumination from their lights swam over the surface features of the corridor. The helmet lights shined on what was just in front of them, while the wrist lights lit up whatever they pointed it at.

  “Watch for trip wires and be careful where you step,” CJ warned Gina. “They may have had the time to leave some party favors behind.”

  “Copy that, Cap,” Gina acknowledged.

  The corridor led to a grand balcony that ran along three sides of a massive audience chamber. A raised platform sat at one end of the chamber that had a long table and fifteen high-backed elegantly wrought chairs. An antechamber with several doors filled the space behind the ancient table. Time and gravity had worked their magic over the ages on the ancient chamber. Chunks of rubble from the walls and ceiling lay on the floor among centuries of sand and dust.

  The balcony was half-moon shaped with two stairways that wound down around the perimeter of the chamber. They opted for the right side and headed around the corner when they saw three armed figures in EV suits standing at the top of the stairway.

  “Ambush! Take cover,” CJ shouted, as he grabbed Gina and they dove behind a large kiosk of stone.

  “Behind us,” Gina yelled, pointing at four other figures at the top of the left stairway.

  CJ and Gina rolled into prone positions and took aim at their attackers. The signature blue sizzle of Gina’s Rellia K-13 charged hydrogen particle pistol tore through the chest of the last man on the right, who just stood there…not falling, not firing back, not moving at all, in fact.

  “What? Ha…they’re scarecrows,” said Gina, as she got up, laughed, and walked over to the four fearsome props. “Space suits propped up with posts…ohh!”

  Gina backed quickly away as her light landed on the contents of the cracked and broken space suit helmet. The suit’s occupant stared out at them with eye sockets that had been empty for quite some time, judging by the outdated EV suit that the corpse was enshrined in. The orbital ridges stood out in sharp relief against the deep black of the empty sockets. The patch over the fresh hole burned by Gina’s K-13 read ‘Elias Vinson Salvage Company’ which was word-wrapped in a circle around the image of a Star Tug salvage vessel. The patch on the left side of the red-and-grey EV suit read, ‘Talbot, Robert R.’ with an old-style command symbol underneath it.

  “Sorry, Commander Talbot for shootin’ ya…again apparently,” Gina said, in reference to the small hole in both the helmet and the commander’s forehead.

  “Teaches him for jumping out at you like that,” CJ smirked, as he looked out the corners of his eyes at her.

  “That’s right, he’s lucky he was already dead.” She had a slight sneer and raised eyebrows indicating ‘he shouldn’t have messed with me.’

  They wound their way down the stairway, which took the better part of half an hour as they picked their path along broken stairs and chunks of rubble. The biosafety suits protected them from the atmosphere and were lightweight, but with exertion levels like this it still got a little steamy inside of them. A chamber floor that looked like an obstacle course for parkour runners didn’t help any. CJ and Gina followed the footprints and other tracks up to what had to be where the leaders of the Union of Allied Worlds sat before the rise of the Marlacuer Empire.

  “Wow,” CJ said, as he gazed in wonder at the ancient and ornate table.

  “Nothing but ghosts now,” Gina said.

  “Come on…you gotta be impressed with this,” CJ persisted.

  “Only if we can fly it outta here,” she said.

  “Gina, Gina, Gina,” CJ teased and shook his head. “You gotta see the finer stuff in life. Look at this chair for example. How gorgeous is that? They’re probably worth a fortune.”

  “Then why didn’t the other guys take them?”

  “Well…there must be something better further on, eh?” he countered.

  The trail led them past the council table and into one of the doors of the antechamber. The far left wall of the small room had been demolished to expose a hidden vault. The heavy door of the vault had been completely removed and lay a short ways away on the floor.

  The end of the vault was in shambles with a broken crate and a pile of datpads and micrographite memory chips that had spilled out and onto the floor. Several small drawstring bags and three medium lockboxes were still on the shelves. Other items lay here and there on the floor in little craters of freshly disturbed sand and dust, dropped in haste and left behind. The vault had been emptied in a hurry. By the loo
ks of it CJ and the crew had chased the raiders off before they were done with their haul.

  “Oh, ho, ho…jackpot!” Gina’s tone was one only a treasure hunter could understand. “These datpads and micro-mem chips could have counsel records on them that are older than the Empire. What’s here could be worth a small fortune. Captain, we need to get this stuff back to Moonshadow and get the hell out of here.”

  “Right, let’s grab what we can carry out and we’ll come back for the rest,” said CJ. “Don’t make contact with the Moon until we’re off this rock and on our way back.”

  “Roger that.”

  The first load back up to Moonshadow wasn’t so bad; they hauled the drawstring bags, the cases of datpads, and the micro-mem chips fairly easily. The subsequent loads with the lockboxes didn’t fare so well. The first box out was the heaviest, but at least it had handles for gripping. The second, while lighter, had only the magnetic panels for a cargo lift and not even a decent squared-off corner to hang on to.

  “We’re grabbing a rope this time,” CJ said, as they wrestled the second box back to the ship and sat down for a second.

  “No shit,” Gina agreed breathlessly. “Sorry, I mean, no shit, Captain.”

  “Don’t worry about it. That was a bear getting that shit up here.”

  “Yeah, and we’ve got one more to go,” Gina said, as she stood back up. “Time’s running short; we’ve been gone a long time with no word to the others. They’re going to start to wonder.”

  “Hmm…you’re right. Let’s see how fast Boss is on the pickup of a little impromptu code talk.” He thumbed the comms unit. “Home base, do you read? This is new guy, come in.”

  “Roger…ah, new guy…read you loud and clear.” Boss’ voice came over the comms.

  “Yeah, howdy there, home base,” CJ said. “Thought you’d want to know everything’s okay and we’ll be back soon.”

  “Copy that, new guy. Home base is standing by.” “C’mon G. Let’s round up that last box and skeeedaddle.” CJ circled his hand over his head.