Star One: Tycho City Survival

by Weil, Raymond L.

  Karen nodded as she watched the commander. From the few times she had met him when he had come over to see Linda, it was easy to see what her sister saw in him.

  “Hello, Jolene,” Mase spoke as the young woman reached him. “You didn’t need to rush; Karen was keeping me occupied.”

  “Karen has been a huge help,” Jolene replied with a nod. “Today she is in charge of the airlock and the contamination procedures. Later she is going to learn how to tend all the different vegetable plots we’ve planted.”

  Mase nodded as he gazed about. He was surprised to see a few butterflies and what were obviously honeybees buzzing around.

  Jolene noticed what he was looking at and smiled. “The butterflies and the bees are for cross pollination of our crops,” she explained. “We have a number of honeybee hives spread throughout the habitat. We also have nearly a dozen different varieties of butterflies.”

  “So we will have honey too,” Mase spoke with a pleased look upon his face.

  “Some,” Jolene responded with a nod. “There will be more when we get the second ecological habitat completed and the new Tycho City habitat ecology up and running.”

  “How are your crops coming?” asked Mase, looking at several of the small plots around them.

  “We will begin harvesting our first crops in just a few more days,” Jolene replied with satisfaction in her voice as they walked over to a plot that contained tomatoes growing high up off the ground on trellises. She reached out and touched one that was just starting to turn red. “All the individual plots are monitored through our control systems and receive the proper water and nutrients through an underground system. It’s the same type of system that Julie has set up in Star One’s ecological habitats.”

  “Impressive,” Mase said with a nod. “How much food can you grow in just this one habitat?”

  “The dwarf fruit trees are still a year away from providing a good harvest,” answered Jolene, gesturing toward several small orchards. “Some of the crops, such as radishes, tomatoes, lettuce, okra, green beans, cucumbers, and others will be providing bountiful harvests shortly. Others, such as potatoes, beets, carrots, and corn will take a little longer. We should be able to feed over a thousand people out of this habitat alone if they don’t mind being vegetarians.”

  “I can’t see Anthony being a vegetarian,” commented Mase jokingly, knowing how well the shuttle pilot enjoyed his meat.

  “He may have to get used to it for a while until we get more habitats set up,” replied Jolene, knowing how Anthony liked to eat. She knew he always ordered a large portion of meat when they went out to eat on their dates.

  In the distance, Mase thought he could hear the faint sound of a rooster crowing. “Chickens?” he asked, glancing back over at Jolene.

  “Yes,” Jolene answered with a nod. “We have several varieties from Leghorn to Rhode Island Reds. There are four separate enclosures with close to five hundred in each. That will furnish us with a source of eggs as well as meat eventually.”

  “Any other sources of meat?” Mase asked. He wasn’t a big fan of a vegetarian diet though he could get by on it if he had to.

  “Don’t worry, Commander,” Jolene replied with a knowing smile. This had also been one of Anthony’s biggest concerns, one he had broached more than once when the two of them were out. “Follow me.”

  They walked toward the far wall of the ecological habitat and passed through another small airlock where they had to go through decontamination procedures once more. They entered a large room that was about a hundred feet long and thirty feet wide. Once inside, Mase instantly noticed the room seemed to have a higher humidity. He could see a number of large tanks with pumps circulating water spaced evenly throughout the room.

  “What’s in the tanks?” he asked, stepping over to look down inside of one. He was surprised to see what looked like hundreds of small fish.

  “Fish,” Jolene replied with a grin. “We have four separate species in twelve different tanks. I spoke with Julie on Star One earlier, and they have come up with a new and safe growth hormone that can cause the fish to grow quite rapidly. Once we have the next habitat ready, we will be establishing several small ponds to grow fish in to eat. The tank you’re looking at now contains catfish.”

  “What about cows, pigs, and sheep?” Mase asked. He knew that a few had been brought up.

  Jolene frowned at the question. “We have a few of each to keep the species going,” she admitted. “There are also a lot of eggs and sperm from different cattle, sheep, and pig species frozen in our gene bank. As for actual live animals, we have a dozen sheep, a dozen pigs, and six cows at the moment. We just don’t have room for more; those three species eat a lot and take up room we don’t have.”

  Mase nodded, he knew Anthony would have a hard time shortly when steaks disappeared from the restaurants. “What are the future plans for those animals?”

  “I’ve spoken to Steffan and Isaac, and they have agreed to build a third habitat once the New Tycho City is finished. The pig herd can be expanded quite rapidly, and they will eat just about anything. We also feel we can grow enough hay in the third habitat to allow us to feed about twenty head of cattle.”

  Mase nodded. He knew that once the neutron star had passed they could continue to expand the ecological habitats even more. It would be a lot of work, but it could be done. “Do you have enough help?” asked Mase, knowing Jolene was putting in a lot of hours. Anthony had been complaining that sometimes he had to go to the habitat to see her.

  “For now,” Jolene responded. “We have a number of people that came up from Earth that are well qualified to help in the habitats and I think some of them just want something productive to do.”

  “I can understand that,” answered Mase, thinking about the thousands of people currently living in tents on the outskirts of Tycho City. “Make sure you have one or two people who are qualified to handle the habitats if you’re not available. I don’t want you overworking yourself.”

  “I won’t,” promised Jolene, knowing that Anthony had probably said something to Mase about the long hours she was putting in. “I actually have four people that I’m training to run the habitats. Eventually there will be one or two people responsible for each habitat, and they in turn will report to me.”

  “Sound like a good plan,” responded Mase, folding his arms across his chest as he walked over to another tank and gazed at the small fish swimming in it. He had always liked eating fish and was glad to see they would be a major part of their diet in the future.

  Jolene continued to show Mase around, and he continued to be impressed by what he was seeing. It was obvious she had everything well in hand. When he left, he made sure she understood if she needed more people or anything else not to hesitate to ask. He also told Karen he was glad to see her working in the habitat and to listen to Jolene. He explained that Jolene needed proficient help in the habitat and he wanted Karen to learn as much as possible.

  After leaving the habitat, Mase started walking toward the Control Center. Steve Larson had spoken to him earlier concerning a daring maneuver about to be done up in space. Steve was going to attempt to join the large space station and the Space Platform together into one unit.

  Steve was hoping to give the station some additional maneuverability and perhaps move it farther out into the solar system where it might be safer. They had come up with a crazy plan to install four ion drives on the Space Platform to increase their maneuverability. Actually, from what Mase understood, the plan had originated with Teela, the station’s AI.

  Mase was also growing concerned about the worsening weather on Earth. While it hadn’t gotten as bad as quickly as they had originally thought it would, they were beginning to see an increase in the number of storms across the planet.

  -

  Lieutenant Lewis stood on the large porch of the family home watching the rain fall in torrents. Already, the bridge to town was reportedly out, and water was rapidly rising in all of t
he nearby creeks and ponds. Fortunately, the house and the surrounding area were relatively high, so any threats from flooding were extremely low.

  “Still raining I see,” James commented as he stepped out onto the porch and gazed at the dark clouds.

  “Yeah, Dad,” Trace replied as he listened to the ominous rumble of thunder in the distance. It was obvious the rain wasn’t going to let up anytime soon.

  “I checked the rain gauge earlier, and we’ve already had over three inches since last night. That makes nearly ten in the last seventy-two hours.”

  “I heard several of the NASA people say we would see more storms as the neutron star got closer.”

  James nodded his head as he looked over at his son. “I’m just glad some of the others came early. We’re only missing the Galleger family and the Kingstons. The rest brought their RVs and are riding out the storms in the meadow behind the shelter.”

  “I’m surprised they aren’t already in the shelter,” spoke Trace, flinching slightly as thunder roared loudly above them. He could see a few small hailstones falling and making splashes in the puddles of water that were everywhere.

  “We don’t want to use any of the supplies or put any stress on the shelter until we absolutely have to,” responded James, looking down toward the barn. There were several cows inside as well as his two horses. He could also hear hail hitting the roof of the large metal shed just to the side of the barn. “I hope the hail doesn’t get any larger.”

  “Have you heard anything else on the TV or the radio?”

  “Not much,” James answered with a frown. “The government is acting as if nothing unusual is going on, but the local stations are starting to report widespread flooding all over the eastern part of the state. The governors of Arkansas and Missouri have already declared states of emergency and have called out the National Guard to help sandbag towns from the rising water.”

  The door to the house opened once more, and Trace saw his wife step outside. She shivered from the cool wind caused by the heavy downpour.

  “It’s chilly out here,” Emily complained as she came over and stood next to Trace. “Is this rain ever going to stop?”

  “Eventually,” replied Trace, reaching out and putting his arm around his wife’s waist. “It’s not going to rain for the next forty days.”

  “I hope not,” Emily responded with a halfhearted laugh. “If it does we may need to build an ark.”

  Trace and James laughed at her comment, but both knew that this rain might just be the beginning of something far worse.

  -

  The next morning, the rain let up somewhat. James and Trace were down at the barn feeding the animals when they heard the sound of vehicles coming up the drive. James glanced worriedly at Trace and then walked over and unlocked a small cabinet on the wall. Inside were two twelve gauge shotguns that he kept there in case of an emergency. James handed one of them to Trace with a handful of shells. The other he took for himself and began to slide shells into the loading chamber.

  “I don’t know who that can be,” James said as he glanced worriedly out the open door and down the drive.

  “It could be the Gallegers and the Kingstons,” Trace spoke as he slid the last round into his shotgun.

  After another minute, they saw two four-wheel drive pickups come around the corner. Both were covered in mud, and one was pulling a small trailer.

  “That’s them,” James said with relief in his voice as he sat the shotgun down next to the door.

  Trace followed suit, glad they were not going to need the weapons. He had seen enough killing while at the cape and didn’t want to see any more.

  The two stepped out of the barn as the pickups pulled up. Once they stopped, the two went over to greet the new arrivals.

  Phillip Galleger opened his pickup door and climbed out. “That was one hell of a drive,” he complained as his wife and two kids piled out of the pickup and headed for the house. “The main bridge is out, and most of the roads are flooded. I didn’t think we were ever going to find a way around all the flooded areas to get here.”

  “You can say that again,” added Cole Kingston as he and his teenage son walked over. His wife and two daughters were headed to the house where the others were now busy talking to Alice and Emily.

  “We thought you might wait until the rain stopped,” James said as he motioned for them to follow him and Trace back to the barn. It was starting to rain and they could at least go inside where it was dry.

  Once inside, the men became quiet as they heard the rumble of thunder in the distance. It sounded as if the rain was going to start pouring down shortly.

  “It was getting too dangerous in town,” Cole spoke with a heavy and worried frown. “We were starting to hear reports of widespread looting, and the National Guard is now being used to enforce the law. The police can’t handle the situation on their own anymore.”

  “People were starting to run out of food and the stores were closed,” added Phillip, shaking his head sadly. “There is so much flooding in the streets the employees just couldn’t make it in to work. People got frustrated, and some of those with four wheel drive vehicles began breaking store windows and taking what they wanted.”

  “There were even a few reports of people’s homes being broken into,” Cole continued. “We felt it was time to get out of Dodge, so here we are. That trailer and the pickups are full of all the food and other supplies we could bring.”

  James nodded. “Let’s park the trailer in the shed. It will be dry there and also out of sight.”

  Phillip noticed the two shotguns next to the door and nodded his head approvingly. “I’m glad to see the two of you are not taking any chances. Trace, I’m pleased to see you made it back safely. Your military training may come in extremely useful if things continue to deteriorate.”

  Trace nodded, hoping that wouldn’t be necessary. “Everyone’s here now; how much longer before we go into the shelter?” he asked.

  Once inside the shelter, they could seal it up and they should be safe from any looters that might appear, though in this weather Trace didn’t see how anyone could get around. The Gallegers and Kingstons had made it, but from what they had said, it had been a major ordeal from all of the flooding.

  “Not until we have to,” his father replied, looking outside as the rain began to fall in earnest. “We don’t know how long we will have to stay inside. It could be for a few weeks or even months.”

  Everyone became quiet at the thought of that. The idea of spending months in the cramped environment of the shelter was not appealing to any of them, but they all knew it might become a necessity.

  -

  Warren Timmons gazed at the latest report on the condition of the underground bunker complex. The civilian quarters were nearly complete, and plans were already underway to dig even deeper into the mountain to create additional space for the people inside.

  “The grumbling has decreased considerably since we started moving the civilians into their permanent quarters,” Major Burns reported. “We need about another week to finish all of them and then we can start working on other projects.”

  Timmons was studying one set of plans, which depicted a deep underground tunnel if it could be called a tunnel. He turned to Allen Summers. “What is this?” he asked, pushing the plans toward the engineer.

  Summers glanced at the plans and then looked back up at Timmons. “As you know, we are building several additional storage areas as well as more recreation facilities. This tunnel will serve as both and should help the long-term morale in the bunker. The tunnel is six hundred feet long, thirty feet wide and twenty feet tall. We will be installing growing lights inside and a variety of plants inside the tunnel. There will be a walking trail down both sides where people can go and stretch their legs.”

  “What about food?” Warren asked, his eyes focusing on the engineer. “I assume part of this tunnel will be for growing things we can eat.”

  “Of course,” Summers
replied. “It’s been suggested that we allow the civilians to help with this. It will give them something constructive to do.”

  “Sounds like a good idea,” Warren responded. “Just make sure it’s well supervised and doesn’t get out of hand. Now, what about up on the surface; what’s going on up there?” He turned his attention toward Major Burns.

  “As you know, we still have some data coming in from several weather satellites,” Burns replied. “Storms are definitely on the increase across the globe. There are also reports of flooding and losses of power in some areas.”

  “What about Star One and Tycho City have we heard anything about them?” Warren asked. He hoped both were still okay.

  Major Burns leaned back with a look of worry on his face. “There are some rumors going around about an unsuccessful attack by our government on Star One,” Burns reported. “We haven’t been able to substantiate them, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it were true.”

  Warren shook his head in frustration. Knowing Senator Farley, there was no doubt in his mind that the rumors were correct. Leave it to Farley to try to destroy one of the few places humans could be safe with the coming of the neutron star. He wished there was something he could do, but he knew there wasn’t. Only by keeping their existence a secret could they remain safe from Farley. He also knew that General Karver had arranged for Star One to be armed so the space station could defend itself. Warren knew that when Farley found out about that he would be highly upset.

  One thing that pleased Warren was the recent report he had received from the other complex. An underground line connected the two so they could stay in constant communication. The leader of the bunker had reported that General Mann and a Colonel Wilmington had made it safely there.

  Command of the bunker had immediately been turned over to the general. Warren knew that General Mann had played a huge role in the defense of the cape, and he was glad to have the talented general in the other bunker. There was no doubt that General Karver had given Mann the bunker’s location. He also knew that Senator Farley would be searching the entire country for the general. Warren smiled. Farley could search all he wanted; he would never find the general now that he had made it safely to the underground refuge.