‘Exactly,’ said Darla.
Tómas was making notes on his electronic slate and nodding and finally said, ‘See what I mean about snowballing?’
‘A park is a cool idea. One of those big domed structures. Big enough for a softball diamond, a track, trees, picnic areas... maybe a pond. The squadrons could form a softball league and blow off steam that way rather than drinking,’ said Straus.
‘And the students will be able to use the facility for P.E. classes,’ added Darla.
‘Relax, I’m already sold on the idea,’ said Tómas as he was making more notes. 'I’ll have the construction robots start cranking out more construction robots. Straus you just keep those raw materials and DEP flowing and I think everything will work out.’
Straus nodded and said, ‘I was in the office early this morning thinking through some of the changes that need to take place. Now that we’re our own country, we need our own rank structure and new uniforms. Right now we’re a hodge-podge of ranks from different branches and countries.’
‘You work on that. I’ll approve whatever you decide on,’ said Tómas.
‘We’re also going to need our own national flag. I was thinking of something using the five stars in that bent trapezoid that make up the Corvus constellation.’
‘That seems appropriate,’ said Tómas.
‘Maybe we could hold a station-wide contest to submit flag designs with a prize going to the winner,’ said Vicks.
‘That’s a great idea,’ said Darla.
It was decided that Vicks would put the contest together, making the theme the Corvus constellation. Once the entries were in, they would decide on the best three, then have the population vote.
After breakfast Mick and Darla headed out to spend their day off together. They started with an after-breakfast walk that took them through several sections of the station. At one point, they were walking hand-in-hand admiring some greenery as Darla pointed out the different plant species. Straus pinched a leaf off of one plant, smelled it then popped it into his mouth.
‘Yes... it's nice being able to stroll through the Hydroponics lab, but I think I’d enjoy a park more. We won’t need a school for four or five years. I say we build a domed park first. Just like that one we saw in that old sci-fi movie we watched a few weeks ago.’
‘That would be nice, but... you won’t be able to eat as many of the plants,’ she said trying to hide her smile.
‘Ha. Ha,’ said Straus with mock irritation. ‘Once the Diplomatic wing is underway, I’ll push Harrison to start the park. In the meantime, this will just have to do. Ooo... that one looks tasty.’
Darla laughed and tried a piece, then nodded in agreement. They left the lab and enjoyed their day together. That evening they headed for Darla’s to watch a movie with some popcorn.
The next morning Straus walked Darla into the officers mess and after picking up breakfast joined the Harrisons and Freemans, the other married couple in the squadron. After breakfast he walked her to the lab and continued on his way. After the morning pilot’s briefing he headed to his office.
He reviewed the various ranks associated with the standard NATO codes and worked out their own rank structure. It would start with Recruit at OF-1, followed by, Airman, Lieutenant, Captain, Colonel, Commander, Commodore, Rear Admiral, Vice Admiral, and Admiral.
He put the information into an e-mail and sent it off to Tómas for his feedback. A few moments later his comm device went off and when he saw that it was Tómas, he thought to himself, “Well, that didn’t take long.”
‘You read through that email already?’ asked Straus.
‘What email? No, I haven’t seen it yet.’
‘Oh. Under the new rank structure we need to re-designate Bernie as a colonel. There isn’t a Lt. Commander anymore. The good news is that our next step is to commodore.’
‘Commodore... I like the sound of that. I’ll take a look at it and let you know.’
‘So, if that wasn’t why you were calling, then what’s up?’ asked Straus.
‘Just had a chat with McKay,’ said Tómas with and irritated tone.
‘Oh?’
‘One of the five permanent seats within the U.N. Security counsel voted us down.’
‘What?! You’ve got to be kidding. What could they possibly be thinking? Who was it?’
‘France. Through some back-channel communication, McKay was able to find out that Italy is behind it. They want a DEP reactor so that they’re not dependent on importing electricity anymore.’
‘What do they have to offer besides pasta, wine, and cheese?’
‘Gold. They have the third largest reserve in the world. We trade DEP for gold, and then we’ll have ready cash to spend with the other smaller nations... but there’s a catch.’
‘There always is. I hate politics.’
‘If we give Italy a reactor, then that means trading embassies with them. Guess who the Italian’s want to have as their ambassador here on the station.’
‘No... don’t tell me...’
‘Yes... General Bastico with Francesca as his adjutant.’
‘Unbelievable. It's like a curse.’
‘I don’t see that we have a choice. We agree to their terms, France changes it's vote, and we’re in.’
‘Did McKay offer his opinion?’
‘Are you kidding? I had to listen to ten minutes of his ranting opinion, but in the end he said that we should accept.’
‘I was afraid you were going to say that. Maybe the transport will meet with an unfortunate accident on it's way up.’
‘Ha ha ha. I know what you mean.’
‘Just make sure that you assign him our lousiest embassy suite, like the one with the view of the Recycling Plant.’
Harrison laughed and said, ‘Now that, I can do. Too bad that sound doesn’t travel through space.’
‘Hmm... I’ll talk to Darla. Maybe there’s a way,’ added Mick with a laugh.
Chapter 2
ONLOOKER
A few days later Straus met with the two newest squadrons to complete their training phase and transitioned them into the regular rotation.
‘Good morning everyone. You’ve all had the opportunity to fly with either Raven or Dragon squadrons for a week and have gotten a taste of the routine. Now it's time to apply those skills in your new squadrons. In addition, now that we’re an independent nation, we’ve adopted our own rank structure. Major Waters, you’re new OF-4 rank designation is colonel and you’ll be Flight Leader for Crusader squadron.
‘Yes Sir. What is your rank now, Sir?’
‘Still Commander. The rest of Crusader squadron will be made up of Capt. Flores, Lt. Jameson, and Lt. Anderson. Cubes?’
‘Yes, Sir?’ responded Anderson.
‘You’ll be flying the Galleon for the Crusaders.’
‘Yes, Sir,’ he replied with a nod.
‘Lt. Commander Isaacs, your new OF-4 rank designation is also colonel and you’ll be flight leader for Wizard squadron.’
‘Thank you, Commander.’
‘The rest of the Wizards will be Lt. Hasegawa, Lt. Sambrell, and Airman Allegret. Toro?’
‘Yes, Commander?’ answered Sambrell formally of the Spanish Air Force.
‘You’ll be flying the Galleon for the Wizards.’
‘Yes Sir.’
‘Ok, I want the Crusaders to head out to Sector 45 for a standard patrol. At the end of your shift head to the asteroid belt to fill your tanks and off-load your surplus at the station. Wizard squadron, I want you to fly escort for two mining transports heading to 7-Iris, then escort the two full transports coming back. There still hasn’t been any sign of the enemy, but keep your eyes peeled and stay frosty. That’s all. Dismissed.’
As soon as they left the room and were on their way to the locker rooms, Straus called the Black Hats, First and Second flights, to the briefing room. Once they were settled Straus led the next briefing.
‘I’ve just sent Crusader and Wizard squadro
ns out on their first solo assignments. First flight, we’re going to jump in and attack Crusader squadron patrolling in Sector 45. Second flight, I want you to intercept the Wizards. They’re escorting two transports out to 7-Iris. Try to take out the transports. Standard war game parameters. The computers will adjust weapon power accordingly and score the appropriate hits. Questions?’
‘Any sign of the real enemy, Sir?’ asked Vicks.
‘No, but I have a feeling that they’re out there, so stay frosty.’
They headed for the locker rooms and changed into their armored flight suits. Straus was looking forward to the exercise as it had been nearly a week since he had flown.
‘The ship is ready to go, Commander,’ said Master Chief Wilson the head of the squadron maintenance crew.
‘Thanks Chief,’ said Straus has he climbed up into the cockpit of his Ninja, an Infiltrator class fighter capable of cloaking.
Straus powered up the energizer and went through his pre-flight checks, then eased away from the docking field, spun half-way around, and coasted through the shield barrier that was responsible for keeping the landing bay pressurized.
‘Alright Hatters, check in,’ ordered Straus.
‘Page good to go,’ said his wingman flying a Samurai.
‘Tron ready,’ replied Lt. Flynn flying another Samurai.
‘Vicks also ready,’ said Victoria flying the Galleon support ship.
'Form up on me. We’ll slingshot around the moon and come at them from behind. Once we hit Sector 44, stay tight on me, and in single file. Let’s see if we can surprise them.’
‘Right with you Sir,’ said Page.
The squadron shot away from the station and headed toward the moon. It never ceased to amaze Straus that what used to be a three day flight in the old Apollo space capsules was now only a few minutes.
They approached the moon and looped around at an altitude of about fifty miles in order to slingshot onto a heading that would take them to Sector 44.’
‘Uh... Sir? No... never mind,’ said Page.
‘Never mind what, Page?’
‘Well Sir... I was adjusting the scanner as we shot passed the moon and... well, Sir... for a second... I was sure that I detected a drone energy signature. When I switched to close range scan, it was gone. Maybe it was just a glitch.’
‘Always speak your mind Page and always listen to your gut. My spider senses have been tingling for days. Let’s go back and check it out,’ said Straus.
They looped around and reversed course retracing their outgoing flight path. They descended to an altitude of five miles and began scanning the surface.
‘Picking up some energy readings from ahead, Sir,’ said Page.
‘Page, take Tron down for a closer look. Vicks form up on me,’ said Straus.
The two ships descended down to twelve hundred feet and switched to close range scans to sweep the area. It only took a few moments for Page to report back.
‘There’s definitely a drone energy signature coming from the surface.’
‘Lock onto that target with your Ion and EM pulses. I want it disabled but not destroyed so we can check it out later. Fire when ready,’ said Straus.
Page and Tron circled around and opened fire on the coordinates. Straus was monitoring from above and when the target was hit he noticed a secondary energy pulse being emitted.
‘That’s odd. There was some sort of induced energy pulse that moved off to the north and south. Fire on that location again,’ said Straus.
The two ships circled around and fired again, producing two more pulses that sped off into the distance.
‘I saw it that time, Sir. Looks like there might be a network of some kind,’ suggested Page.
‘You two head south and we’ll head north. Blast any drone energy signatures you come across and let’s see if we can map out their positions,’ said Straus.
‘Aye Sir,’ replied Page.
Straus and Vicks headed north and after a few minutes came across another drone energy signature. Straus locked onto it with his Ion Pulse and fired. They followed the energy pulse north and every few minutes they came across another drone device and disabled it.
Finally after covering several hundred miles they approached a larger drone energy signature. This time they actually spotted some sort of device on the surface. It was roughly two or three meters in diameter. Straus locked onto it and fired his Ion Pulse. It took several shots to extinguish the energy output but in the process he noticed that induced energy pulses radiated away in a dozen different directions.
Just then Page and Tron arrived, and Page said, ‘There was only a few devices in that direction Sir. I counted about twenty units all together from the far end to here.’
‘Looks like we found some sort of central hub. Watch for pulses on your scanner when I fire on it,’ said Straus as he looped back around and induced another series of pulses speeding off in all directions.
‘We’re going to have to follow each of these arms out and disable all of those devices. Let’s start toward the north. Vicks and I will proceed clockwise. Page, you and Tron proceed counter-clockwise. We’ll rendezvous here at the hub.’
‘Aye Sir,’ said Page as she and Tron formed up and turned onto their new course.
Straus and Vicks headed north taking out devices every few minutes. Once they had blasted twenty devices, he was getting ready to find the last one and turn around. He became a little confused after he had blasted twenty-five and there seemed to be no end in sight. The spacing on the devices started to spread out, but they continued over the north pole and down to the middle latitudes on the far side of the moon.
‘I’m picking up a large energy signature coming from that structure up ahead Sir. It appears to be a focused microwave beam,’ said Vicks.
Straus adjusted his scanner and took a look at what Vicks was seeing, then said, ‘I think I understand. Looks like the drones have set up some sort of spy net and are beaming the data back. That microwave beam is pointed out to deep space. Let’s silence that facility Vicks... permanently.’
They found that the facility was shielded but they took care of that problem with some extra shots from their Ion Pulse. Once the shields were down, Vicks switched to her Gatling Pulse, and Straus to his Percussion Shot and began pounding away at the structure. After several passes the power emissions dropped to zero. Though there wasn’t any satisfying explosion it was plain to see that the facility had been torn to pieces and put out of business.
Straus and Vicks headed back to the central hub and followed the next arm disabling each of the devices that they came across. Two hours later they met up with Page and Tron at the central hub.
‘That’s the last of them, Commander,’ said Page.
‘Very good. I’m going down to collect one of those node devices for the Tech Research team to take a look at. Cover me,’ said Straus as he went in for a landing.
‘Roger that, Sir,’ said Page.
Straus lowered his landing struts and set down next to one of the disabled monitoring nodes. After opening his canopy he began to climb out and stopped short.
‘It just occurred to me...’ started Straus. ‘This is the first time since the Apollo program that someone has set foot on the moon. This might make a good news story for our new country.’
‘Hold still, Sir. I’ll get some shots with my wing camera,’ said Vicks as she circled around and hovered nearby.
‘This is one small step for man... and for mankind as well, since we’ve already been out as far as Eris now,’ said Straus as he stepped onto the lunar surface.
He patted his foot onto the soft lunar dust and watched as the particles fell back to the surface, since there was no atmosphere for them to float into a dust cloud.
‘What’s it like, Sir?’ asked Vicks.
‘It's a really fine powder. Looks like barbeque ash. This low gravity is kinda fun though,’ said Straus as he was jumping up and down.
He hopped over to
the node device and could see the thin cord stretching off to the north and south connecting it to it's neighbors. He pulled out his blaster and adjusted the power setting. He fired at point-blank range severing the cord on one side of the node, then took a second shot on the other side.
He looked up to Vicks hovering nearby and said, ‘Vicks, set down and get over here. I’ll need a hand with this.’
‘Roger that, Commander.’
She maneuvered her ship over and set down near his Ninja.
Corvus Prime: Escalation Page 2