Lunara
The Original Trilogy
Seth and Chloe
Gwen and Eamonn
Parker and the Protector
Wyatt Davenport
Copyright © 2012 Wyatt Davenport
Smashwords Edition.
Lunara
Seth and Chloe
Part I
Chapter 1
Parker McCloud stood behind Transmissions Officer Atalo Grove with his arms crossed. He gazed out the main window of the control tower of the massive lunar colony of Lunara toward the Earth—what the meteors had left anyway. A gray and white cloud mixture formed a dull skin around the atmosphere. History said that the Earth had been a beautiful world. He found it hard to believe Earth had ever been as magnificent as Mars, which was alive again after eons of stagnation.
The setting sun edged behind the darkening Earth, dimming Earth’s moon with a crawling shadow.
His day was over. An hour ago, the mining shifts ended for the day, emptying the corridors within Lunara. As usual, Lunara’s command tower, which had served as a sentinel above the Earth for the last two hundred years, went silent.
In hangar bay five, three stories down, his ship, the Protector, rested, waiting for a meteor to strike. Well, he conceded, the ship wasn’t technically his ship. As head mechanic aboard the light freighter, he had developed an intimate attachment to the starship that he had never come close to achieving with a woman. He loved a machine. An odd circumstance, which he accepted after plenty of debate with himself and others.
Out of the corner of his blue eyes, a streak, long and narrow, darted across the sky into his view.
"What was that, Atalo?" He brushed back the dirty blond hair from his eyes.
"Don’t know," Atalo tapped on the keyboard.
Initially, the streak appeared to be a standard meteor, but the tracking system would have picked up the movement hours before, and no indications of activity had come from Meteor Control. Parker focused on it, leaning in for a closer view. The realization didn’t materialize, and his concentration lapsed.
"Sir, come here for a moment," Parker said to the chief, who was lingering idly on the other side of the command tower. If anyone knew, the chief would.
Against the fleeting light let in by the setting sun, dimmed and cascading over the upper half of his rough face, agitation wore across the man. Chief Ty Falloom was an icon of the Revolutionary War, which had ended ten years ago. He had chosen to live out his remaining years on Lunara. Thin bands of gray lined the side of his head like wisps of cobwebs spun on his life. Chief Falloom embodied Lunara—a Protector, a fighter, and a survivor.
The chief moved with hurried steps, his eyes trained on Parker. "Don’t shout across the command tower, Mr. McCloud."
"Sorry, sir." Parker swallowed hard.
"What do you want to show me?"
Parker pointed at the screen. "Sir, an anomalous reading is coming earthward."
The chief leaned in to view the screen. "An incoming ship?" He let out a long drawn-out sigh.
"Sir, it might be a meteor, but that means the net missed the break."
"The net is too sensitive to miss anything," the chief said.
An alert beep trilled. Parker straightened his body and glanced down at the viewscreen. He recognized the readout instantly as a transponder beacon identifying the object as a vessel.
Atalo scanned the cargo transport manifest. "Sir, no scheduled arrivals for three days."
Not surprising, Parker thought. The freighter bays were occupied, and unless ordered to do so, no one visited a mining colony like Lunara.
"Check the passenger transports," the chief said.
Atalo scanned his fingers along the transport manifest. "Sir, I have one ship scheduled to arrive today."
"When?"
"Later, sometime tonight. I wonder if they are early."
Tension pinched at Parker’s temples. "If this is the ship, they should have advised us of a course correction. Unless it is a priority Martian shuttle."
Mars Central routinely disrupted the tranquil habits of the colony with bureaucratic reviews, and Parker didn’t want to listen to all the complaining. His brow furrowed as he thought about other possibilities. He refocused toward the blue streak, finding it already discernibly larger.
Atalo adjusted the tracker on his viewscreen, which zoomed to a clean image of the vessel, revealing the shuttle’s dented hull and the wing’s rusted fringes.
"They don’t make ships like that anymore," Parker muttered.
"Mr. McCloud?" the chief said.
"Seems to me from the rigid winged frame to be a second-generation Martian starship." Parker rubbed his forehead. "But older ships don’t generally travel out this far, not without plasma shielding."
"Good eye," the chief replied. "We missed the signal because our long-range trackers look for the shielding signatures."
"Sir, those have always been unreliable. Especially with the advent of the modulation correctors."
The chief laughed. "Mars has been more unreliable in upgrading Lunara. Our scanners rely on the shielding for initial detection."
"Understood."
"Atalo," the chief said, "key the ship’s code into the computer. I want to know who this is."
Atalo keyed the ship’s characteristics into the database query, and moments later the terminal spit back the shuttle’s class, confirming Parker’s suspicion that the ship was from the second generation of starships.
"Sir," Atalo said, "it isn’t a type that comes to Lunara very often."
"If ever," the chief replied.
Atalo scanned the manifest once again. "The owner isn’t on the list, nor is any of the standard transponder information." He paused for a second. "I have the name. One sec."
"Tell me as soon as you have it," the chief said.
With a twist of the dial, Atalo’s terminal scanned the communication frequencies for the shuttle.
Parker leaned in for a close look, and Atalo, always helpful, tapped on the control panel to activate the speaker. Static buzzed and hissed until Atalo found the correct frequency.
A rough transmission finally crackled through. "Lunara Colony, this is the Mars Medical shuttle, Guardian. Requesting clearance to land. Shuttle to Lunara, do you copy?"
The chief tensed.
Parker guessed his suspicions. Mars Medical had arrived early, which meant Seth and Chloe were in a bigger mess than they had anticipated. Seth and Chloe, though only five years younger than his thirty years, weren’t as versed in the affairs of Mars as he was, and they weren’t taking this intrusion into their lives seriously. They could blast a meteor better than anyone else in the solar system, but when it came to the politics of Mars and the rights of people, they didn’t know a Martian dune from a chasma. Since Mars Medical first contacted them a few weeks ago, he had made it a point to keep an eye out for them, and he had, yet the situation hadn’t been as urgent as it was now . . . with Mars Medical on their doorstep.
Parker tilted his thin face slightly and rubbed the light stubble on his cheeks. "What do you think, Chief?"
The chief ignored him, and Parker thought better of asking him again. There was a determination in the chief’s eyes that Parker hadn’t seen before.
"Lunara, transmitting now," the voice over the radio said.
The terminal flashed and began to verify the ship’s credentials. The initial code showed that the ship had submitted a schedule to arrive later that evening. "One moment Guardian, the computer is calling up the information."
"What is the shuttle’s digital designation?" the chief asked.
"Sir," Atalo said, "the flight manifest lists them correctly as the Guardian,
and their code checks out. Where should I instruct them to dock?"
"I see . . . let’s find out why they are so eager." The chief took the mike from Atalo and placed it to his mouth. "Guardian, this is Chief Administrator Ty Falloom. Why have you arrived ahead of schedule? Your flight plan should have put you here twelve hours from now."
"A passenger on board demanded we increase our velocity," the voice replied. "He used his authority to speed us along, too."
"I understand," the chief said. A look of dread passed over him. With that one look, he expressed his worry about the shuttle’s purpose.
Parker’s stomach dropped and he pulled in his lean, six-foot-three frame to catch it.
The chief swallowed. "Guardian, we are not prepared for your arrival. You should have updated your flight manifest with all course changes during your trip. Prepare to hold outside of Lunara until we are ready for you."
"I read you, Lunara," the voice replied. "What is our ETA for docking?"
"Six hours at the earliest. Our hangars are full with freight repair shuttles for the ore transfer. After they leave for Mars, I’ll grant you clearance."
"Unacceptable," a new voice boomed out the receiver. "This is Dr. Hans Bauer of Mars Medical. You’ll prepare for our docking immediately."
In spite of Parker’s best attempt to remain quiet and let the chief handle the shuttle, he groaned discernibly. Mars Medical advertised itself as the leading Martian governmental agency for protecting the public health and safety of the Martian people. In actuality, it had a reputation for bullying, both on Mars and in distant stations and colonies. Travelers through Lunara spun tales of violations of the Principles of Man. About every six months, the holonews reported Mars Medical’s brutality in attaining its goals: detentions, torturous medical tests, and a litany of other things. The justification was always the safety of the population, and that excuse seemed to be accepted in the inquiries from Mars Central. Parker, however, never bought the excuses. The travelers who told their stories were too visibly shaken to exaggerate what had happened to them.
"Guardian, our colony isn’t prepared for you," the chief replied. "We have flight plans for a reason."
"We expect to land when we arrive," Bauer replied. "I’m transmitting our command override from Mars Central."
The chief signaled Atalo to mute the transmission to the Guardian.
An odd panic set over Parker. Bauer’s urgency aroused fear for his friends. "You can’t let them dock," he told the chief.
"Be quiet." Concern stretched along the chief’s face.
Parker bit his lower lip.
The terminal chirped and the clearance-code override materialized on the screen.
"Sir, the Mars Medical ship Guardian arrived ahead of schedule," said Commander John Tarlynn, who had appeared behind Parker. Parker and the chief both turned as the second-in-command of Lunara and head of communications quickened his step in his heavy boots. He came over to them.
"Yes, John. We are talking now," the chief replied. "Any ideas? They are already flexing their muscles."
"I—" Tarlynn began.
"You can’t let them bully their way on and violate Seth and Chloe’s privacy," Parker said with enough force to sour the chief.
"Mr. McCloud, this is my command tower. What are you doing here?"
"I used my clearance," Parker said, cursing himself for such a weak reply. Truth be told, he wanted to be on the tower when Mars Medical arrived and had come to tell Atalo to warn him when they arrived. He, along with the rest, had not expected Mars Medical to arrive so fast.
Tarlynn shook his head. "Sir, if I may, they are passing all the right codes to stop our delays. We should deal with them within the colony."
"Yes, of course," the chief replied. "Stalling is our best option. Seth and Chloe will remain safe for a little while longer." He smiled sluggishly. "The bureaucratic wheel will churn them around and around."
"Excellent, sir," Tarlynn said. "I’ll prepare a reception area."
"Good idea."
"Lunara Colony, let us land immediately," Bauer’s voice screeched over the radio.
"Please, Chief," Parker said, "we can’t let them on the station. What they are doing to Seth and Chloe isn’t legally justified."
"Mr. McCloud, get off the command tower immediately," the chief said. He turned toward Atalo. "Unmute it, Lieutenant."
"Yes, sir," Atalo replied.
Parker bristled. He wasn’t about to leave until he heard the outcome. For the Martian government to strong-arm the chief unsettled him. Chief Falloom had always been the absolute leader on Lunara and an advocate for Lunaran rights on Mars. Parker guessed that the intrusion had upset the chief more than he let on. Adding to Parker’s uneasiness was the chief’s comment about Seth and Chloe. Ever since the chief found them as stowaways fifteen years ago, he and his wife, Jan, had been their Guardians. If Mars was threatening them, Parker had no doubt the chief would react with more than bureaucratic nonsense and receptions.
Parker took a few steps back but stayed within earshot.
"Our systems are processing your request," the chief said to Bauer.
"We’ll be docking when we arrive," Bauer replied, quicker and sterner than they expected. His frustration was clearly audible over the crackling transmission. "Did you receive our clearance code from Mars Central?"
"I see it, but you don’t carry much weight with me. I run Lunara and the freighters carrying the meteor stones are a lot more important than an overzealous doctor. You’ll hold in high orbit around Lunara until we call for you."
"Don’t be a fool, Falloom. The clearance code, signed by Minister Cortez, gives me authority, and don’t be so sure he doesn’t value me over a few meteor stones."
Parker couldn’t see the terminal from his spot, but he saw the chief look down with apprehension and pause for an agonizing few seconds.
With a sigh, the chief thrust the mike back to Atalo and walked away.
Parker felt curious. On the terminal next to Atalo, he called up the clearance code details and found the imprint of the minister’s signature on the end. The minister! You couldn’t get higher clearance than the leader of Aethpis. Why was Mars Medical so obsessed with his friends?
"Guardian," Atalo said, "I’m transmitting the docking-bay coordinates now."
Tarlynn eyed Parker. "You are supposed to be off the tower."
Parker stepped up to Tarlynn. Defiance rippled from his tense shoulders and quick strides. "Sir, I don’t like how they overrode the flight plan . . . and the chief dreads their arrival. Why didn’t he inform operations?" He cocked one eye toward Tarlynn, hoping to pry into his mind.
"Chief Falloom did warn me about this transport. He wouldn’t tell me the importance of why he wanted to know when the shuttle arrived." Tarlynn hesitated before continuing. "But he did exchange heated words with someone on Mars a few weeks ago. He came to my station afterwards and ordered a full update on this ship’s arrival. I was going to handle the Guardian ahead of time, but they arrived sooner than we expected."
"Why are they here so early?"
"I don’t understand, either. The chief wants me to stall on the station, but did you hear how he attempted to halt them in orbit again?"
"Yes," Parker admitted, "he seemed panicked by their arrival."
"Chief Falloom doesn’t panic," Tarlynn said. "At least, I have never seen it."
Parker followed Tarlynn’s eyes out toward the shuttle that was lumbering around the towers of Lunara. The older ship banked away from the communications tower and the floodlights beamed off the hull, reflecting the Mars Medical logo.
"Sir," he said. "If the chief doesn’t like it, I don’t like it."
"Me either." Tarlynn could barely get the words out.
Chapter 2
Starwing pilot Seth Smith cursed under his breath as he wrenched the last stubborn bolt into place on the xenon-flow valve attached to the Protector's Ion engine. A sharp pain pulsed through his muscular hand
as blood spilled from his finger onto the starship below.
The Protector loomed large beneath his feet, approximately a hundred meters long, docked in hangar bay five. The belly of the ship held a massive expandable cavity for transporting meteor stones, the highest-valued resource in the solar system. The most spectacular sight to behold was the enormous twin Ion engines mounted to the rear, which were capable of achieving the fastest speeds in the solar system.
The wonders of the Protector mattered little to Seth when compared to the pair of starwings attached to the top of the hull, like tethered remoras on a shark. The starwings were the only two ships of their kind in existence. A mixture of a precision bomber and a speed fighter, the bow-winged craft delivered charges into the heart of Earth-bound meteors at breakneck speeds. To Seth, no thrill equaled flying within a hair of a tumbling meteor.
His finger stung as the blood oozed out of the fresh wound. In a weird way, he welcomed the pain. Anything that got his mind off the agonizing thoughts was a blessing.
Mars Medical’s hastily scheduled visit had distracted his concentration all day, and now the distraction had cost him a good chunk of his finger. Their sudden notice worried him. No one from Mars Medical ever came to Lunara to oversee routine physicals. The troubling part of the report stated that Dr. Hans Bauer, the acclaimed bioengineer, was coming to do the tests. A doctor of his caliber was fit to run the physical, but why would he come all this way to run a simple test?
Seth thought he knew why, too. His and Chloe’s abilities, especially his strength, were a part of a myth growing among the miners on Lunara. He hadn’t outright told anyone that he had abilities, but somehow everyone knew. He did his best to keep Chloe away from the rumors. She was far too sensitive to the minds around her to live with negative thoughts, but how could she ignore Mars Medical’s intrusion into their lives? And even worse, how could he protect her? It angered him that Mars Medical had come so close and created such a buzz among his friends.
Blood cooled in the palm of his hand. He reached into his back pocket for his grease rag to stop the flow and pressed it firmly against his skin.
Lunara: The Original Trilogy Page 1