Starship X-15

by Alan VanMeter

She grabs me away from him, “Get in the car!” Carol shouts with her weapon covering the man. I obey quickly, as she is calling it in on her radio set.

  She jumps in and drives like a bat out of hell. We clear the garage and she tells me agents have apprehended the suspect.

  “So, what now?”

  She shrugs and drives me to another terminal on the airport grounds, but way in the back, and through a concertina wire topped fence with armed guards.

  “You are to tell the ticket agent that you have a flight with Janet airlines, and then identify yourself correctly. Good luck.”

  “Thanks, that was pretty much bad ass agent. I’m very impressed.” I’m being honest, and she is interestingly hot to me all of a sudden. “I feel like I should honestly thank you somehow Carol.” Please let me girl.

  “Well Samantha, why don’t you give me your number then?”

  Yes! In a moment when she stops to let me out, I gladly give her my number. However it is my number in Albuquerque, seeing as they had taken my cell phone even before I left for Texas, so I can only hope to hook up with her.

  “Call me.” I plead, looking at her with lust.

  Carol smiles and drives off.

  Alright, Janet airlines, never heard of it. Where are the signs? What? ‘Terminal’… that’s all. Shit. What is this crap? The lady behind the ticket counter nods when I tell her my name and that I am looking for Janet airlines. She leads me behind the counter, and to a door.

  “Just wait inside here to be called sweetie.”

  “Okay, thanks.”

  Soon a man comes up to me, and I recognize him in a moment. It is agent Carson. “Greetings again Ms. Stanley. You did very well in training I hear. Excellent job.”

  “Thanks, but where the hell am I going agent Carson?”

  “Actually we both are going there. I am to escort you. Oh, here is your ID badge, you’ll need it for this next stop.”

  “Where?” I demand.

  “You’ll see Devon. Trust me you’ll love it.” His smile is reassuring.

  After boarding a small seven thirty seven with no airline markings; we fly north from Vegas and after a twenty minute flight we land at a familiar looking air base.

  “Welcome to Area Fifty One, Devon.” Carson’s eyes’ twinkle.

  “No shit?” This is wild alright.

  “No shit. Let’s go get you settled for the evening.” He leads me off the small twin engine jet, and there is a car waiting. I am glad the A/C works well, because it is spanking hot here.

  As soon as the car is on the road Carson tells me, “You will have until midnight to eat and rest, and whatever else you wish. I suggest rest primarily, seeing as you are to catch a flight at one AM. This will be a tiring journey, so you do need rest. Understood?”

  “Yes sir.” I pause and wonder, “Am I still in trouble agent Carson?”

  “Only if you bail out, or washout of the program Ms. Stanley.”

  “Alright, but just what program are we talking about here?”

  “You will be evaluated and then cleared for that information once you reach your destination.”

  I can tell I will just have to wait and see.

  The car stops outside the cafeteria, and Carson points it out to me, explaining that I am welcome to eat for free at any time day or night. He encourages this by saying that the chefs are ex-navy ‘boomer’ chefs, and implies that they are the very best. Next he shows me to my room, telling me he will be in the lobby of the dorm until I caught my flight; to make sure I safely get aboard. I know he means to make sure I get aboard, and don’t try to split on them. Not a very likely scenario on this base.

  In an hour I go down to the lobby and ask agent Carson to join me for dinner. He is grateful. The food is fantastic, and the conversation light, then I agree with Carson that I should get some rest before my trip.

  At twelve AM I go down from my room, and Carson is ready to take me to my flight.

  “So, will I have the pleasure of seeing you again agent?” I ask after he tells me he would not be escorting me any further.

  “Who knows?” he is flat with his tone.

  “Will I ever see anyone again?”

  “Sure you will Devon. Trust us.” He does give me a relaxed smile, so I feel better.

  The car stops at a large hangar structure, and Carson gets out to open my door. He is kind to offer his hand to me, helping me to get out.

  “I wish you all prudence and luck Devon. Be brave.” He is earnest, I can tell. Now I start to shake a bit.

  “Oh, what did I get my ass into here?”

  “Relax, I know you’ll love it.” He smiles warmly. “Just through that door you’ll be guided to your flight.” He points. “Have courage, and enjoy every second of it. I wish I was going instead of you.”

  The guard reads my orders, and checks my badge thoroughly before he lets me pass inside. There is a lady at a counter.

  “Hi honey.” She motions me over, and I hand her my papers. After a few moments she calls another woman in an orange jumpsuit over, and tells her to take me to fit my suit. This lady leads me into a clean-room, and helps me don a much thinner space suit than those at NASA, with a smaller, lighter helmet too.

  “I guess I’m going into space then, right?” I ask.

  She smiles and nods. Then she instructs me on the suit controls, though she assures me they are automatic primarily. Holy shit, I’m blasting off from Area Fifty One in just a few minutes. What the hell did I do to myself now?

  Soon they lead me in to the hangar area, and there is a very futuristic, and fast looking craft waiting for me, or us; as there are seven other people in space suits waiting near the craft. There are no introductions, just the order to board. Only one flight crew personnel is present to assist us, but she does efficiently well in getting us strapped in. She is also in a space suit, and so are the pilot and co-pilot. The air leak drills come back in my thoughts. I look around and see the familiar D/C emergency pack, just like at NASA. I know what to do.

  The craft taxis like a normal aircraft, and I even hear some whining jet like noise. In moments we are suddenly moving damned fast down the runway, and then we angle almost straight up to scream into the night sky. The stress of high gravity acceleration isn’t right though. We are going so damned fast, and yet I don’t feel the G-stress hardly at all. This ship is something alright. I see out a small view port that we are leaving the Earth behind very quickly, not like I’ve seen on film of the rocket shots to the ISS, this is way different. Earth is just getting smaller towards our rear so rapidly that it is ridiculous. We must be going thirty thousand plus miles per hour.

  A chime from the intercom gets my attention.

  “This is your captain speaking, ladies and gentlemen we will be docking with NET Nine in approximately three hours and forty five minutes. We will be under one gravity of acceleration in the cabin until the halfway point, at which time we will then be under one gravity of deceleration until docking. If you need to use the facilities please ask for help from the attendant. The fasten seatbelts light is off, you may unfasten your belts if you wish. Thank you.”

  I think I will just leave mine on for now, thanks anyway captain. No one is even trying to take their helmets off, good. Even though this thing is not very comfortable, it is a smart idea to have it on, just in case. What the hell is this NET Nine we are going to, and where is it? The flight attendant is offering bottled water to us, I politely refuse. Last thing I want to try to do is to pee in this suit, no thank you.

  Almost two hours later the acceleration stops, and then the ship is spun around facing the way we’d just come. The acceleration begins again, or rather deceleration now. I see the moon as we spin, and it is way closer than I thought possible. It is so large in the small view port, and getting bigger every minute. After another hour and a half, the moon fills the portals on the opposite side of the craft from me, as we appear to begin orbiting it. So it seems that the government has been busy as of late, and very
secretly so.

  Pretty soon someone points out a large space station orbiting behind the dark side of the moon. The flight attendant says that it is NET Nine. It is huge! Yes, they have been very busy alright. Then the fasten seat belt light chimes, and the attendant ushers everyone one back to their seats. By the time we dock, the station’s true size awes everyone aboard, as most are silent like me. It is shaped as a large spinning wheel with spokes to a central hub, where we are soon docked. The inter com chimes again.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for flying Janet airlines. We hope you enjoy your stay at NET Nine.”

  The attendant begins to help people through the air lock, but I go last. I’m just not in a hurry for some reason.

  Chapter 3

  Just inside the central docking hub of the station we have to use the magnetic grips on our boots to walk, or we would wind up floating about, as it is a near zero gravity environment. There is someone to meet all the other passengers, and then there is a man in a pressure suit I recognize; Agent Wilkins.

  “How was your flight Devon?” He shakes my hand with gusto.

  “Fine thanks. Umm, Agent, when am I going to be told what’s going on? This is a bit much.”

  “As soon as you get settled into your quarters, I am authorized to tell you what’s going on.” His smile assures me.

  “It is about time.”

  He takes me to an elevator door, and motions for me to enter first. He gets in after me and stands on the ceiling.

  “You will want to be on the floor here with me Devon.”

  I look down and see I am standing on the ceiling, not the floor. So I clumsily clamber down to join him, though it doesn’t feel like down at all. The cab starts out moving fast, but slows down soon, and I can feel my weight returning to me.

  “You can turn the mag-grips off now.” He turns his off on his suit, and I do likewise.

  “I’ll show you your room, so you can get out of that pressure suit. You don’t need to wear it in the rim section, just when you are going into the hub.” The cab stops, and the door opens. He leads me down a wide well lit corridor that curves very slightly upwards in both directions. There are quite a few people going about their business, and most are in strange uniforms that remind me of a famous science fiction television series.

  Wilkins stops at a door, and presses a finger over a scanner pad. The door hisses open, and he leads the way into a smaller hallway with several doors in it. At the first door he presses another pad, and it opens.

  “These are your quarters Devon. My quarters are the last door on the left. I’ll be there when you are ready to be fully briefed.”

  “Okay.”

  After I get that suit off, I figure to take a quick shower to knock the grime off. The shower is normal enough looking, but it has one quirk to it; a sign explains that only five second bursts of water can be obtained each time the valve is activated. Instructions say to wet body, then lather and clean, and finally to quickly rinse. It is kind of frustrating, but I do understand the need to conserve water way out here.

  I knock on Agent Wilkin’s door, and it opens.

  “Have a seat Devon. Are your quarters satisfactory?”

  “Just wish it had a view port, but other than that, yeah, fine.”

  “It is a safety issue, but there are several observation lounges on board.”

  “It’s no problem. So what the hell am I doing up here agent?”

  “Right to the point I see; good. You are here to be the field investigator for Doctor Clark’s team and as such you are still working on project Cart-smith.”

  “Field investigator huh? What does that entail?”

  “You will be making flights to various locations to take direct measurements of TSM.”

  “TSM?”

  “Time-Space Movement.”

  “Sounds good. Only thing is, I don’t know how to do that.”

  “What? Sure you do. Simply take accurate gravitational readings at the determined locations.”

  “Oh.” I feel stupid now.

  “Now before you make any flights, you do have to graduate from the Academy here onboard.”

  “Academy huh, what Academy is that?”

  “Star Command Academy. We would have named it Fleet instead of Command, but there are trademark and copyright issues.”

  I can’t help but laugh. He’s kidding! Has to be. Wait, he’s not laughing… oh shit he’s serious. “Just where will I be going on these flights, agent?”

  “They will be interstellar flights Devon.”

  My eyes bug-out. “You can’t mean it!”

  “We have just recently developed the capability to travel to the stars. Humans have already been to other star systems. You will be one of these first pioneers Devon, and that is truly something to be proud of.” He gives me a fatherly nod.

  “Holy shit!” Suddenly I can barely breathe.

  “Please don’t be worried. It is fairly safe, and we are getting better at it every day, but we really need the ebbs and flows of interstellar space charted. It is critical to the whole overall mission.”

  My mind is racing with all the possibilities. “How long?”

  He looks perplexed. “I’m sorry, how long what?”

  “How long has this been going on?”

  “Oh, we started sending un-manned probes four years ago. Then we sent some animals, and we learned even more. Finally three years ago we sent the first manned ship to the stars. The pilot survived without injury, and has made numerous flights since, as well as have many others.”

  “Oh my god. I’m going to be an interstellar traveler.”

  “I hope that sounds interesting to you Devon, we thought it would suit you.”

  “Oh yes. Yes! It’s my dream come true agent. Are you kidding me?”

  “Not at all. You will be taking an abbreviated course schedule, as you don’t need to learn how to operate the ships, just the necessary protocol and emergency procedures, so it should be a breeze for you.”

  “Will I get a rank in Star Command then?”

  “Yes.”

  “As long as I am not number two.”

  “It would never be allowed.” Wilkins winks.

  We both laugh, and then he gets serious again. “There is one other thing you need to be aware of Devon.”

  “Oh?”

  “Tomorrow at your indoctrination you will be introduced to the Ambassador to Earth, of the Donox Legacy.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “You will meet some extra-terrestrial beings tomorrow.” He lets that sink in.

  “Holy shit!”

  “There is nothing to fear from them, they are not belligerent at all, but are very peaceful and advanced. Just relax, and treat them with all due respect, and dignity.”

  “Okay…” My eyes can’t seem to blink… wait, there they go.

  “Any questions?”

  “Where would I even begin… too many.” I shake my head.

  “Well then, be ready to go at oh six hundred. I’ll show you to the Indoc class.”

  As I get up to leave, I ask, “What does NET Nine stand for anyhow?”

  Wilkins smiles, “Non Existent Terminal Nine. Janet airlines stands for Just Another Non Existent Terminal.” He chuckles, and I leave. What the hell have I gotten myself into, but there is no way I’m backing out. This is too good!

  There are maps of the station in my room, and as I go out to explore, I see there are plaque maps all along the main passage. Just about everyone walking past is in the strange Star Command uniform, so I get some stares at the NASA training clothes I’m wearing. Still, I’m hungry, and the cafeteria is supposed to be just ahead. There it is now.

  Of course there isn’t even a cashier, as everything here is free it seems. I’m not complaining at all. Yeah, that was even one of Gene Roddenberry’s ideas. A cashless future. I wonder how far down the path of mimicking his vision that they’ve gone? The whole way I bet, and hope.

  The food is good,
and as I’m eating a petite, very attractive young woman in a Star Command uniform joins me with a cup of coffee in her hand.

  “Hi, I’m Stephanie.”

  “Hi Stephanie, I’m Devon.”

  “NASA huh? Are you a contractor?”

  “No, I’m a student, or a cadet to be. I start tomorrow.”

  “Haven’t they given you your cadet uniforms yet?”

  “No.”

  “Have you been assigned a stateroom?”

  “Yes.”

  “You should check the closet, and drawers, I bet you’ll find them.” She smiles.

  “Thanks. I hate standing out like a dumb sore thumb.”

  “So what is your specialty Devon?”

  “Theoretical Astrophysics.”

  “Nice, we need smart people to help us get started.”

  “To be honest Stephanie, this is kind of blowing my mind.” I sigh.

  “Welcome to Star Command cadet.” She smiles a challenge; the challenge to be bold, it is obvious. I get it now, yeah. I straighten my back, and breathe a deep breath.

  “That’s the spirit. It’s our motto you know.”

  I am confused. “What is?”

  “We boldly go where no one has gone before, in peace.”

  “I like that last part.” I smile.

  “It’s the law. Learn it, live it.”

  “Great. What else do I need to know?” I press her.

  “They will teach you everything as you progress Devon.”

  I look her uniform over, the red is the same color as what… what was it on the show? Oh yeah, Line Officers. She also has three golden star emblems on each of her collars. “If you don’t mind me asking Stephanie, what is your rank?”

  She chuckles, “I’m a Fleet Admiral.”

  “Oh shit.” I mutter. “Sorry, Admiral. I’m clueless.”

  “Don’t worry about it Devon. As soon as you put on your cadet uniform though, you will be subject to proper protocol, but you are alright for now. Besides, we don’t have much of a fleet yet.”

  “Thanks Admiral.”

  She gets up, “We’ll talk again.” I like her kind smile. She can’t be more than thirty, thirty five tops, and she’s a freaking admiral. I like this place!