Star One: Dark Star

by Weil, Raymond L.

  Pausing, she looked upset as she continued. “At the nearest approach of the neutron star-black hole binary, the Earth and the Moon could be pulled apart by conflicting gravitational stresses, earthquake activity, and volcanic eruptions. Both may be cracked open like an egg. Even if they’re not, the orbit of Earth will be changed so dramatically that life on its surface will be impossible outside of totally enclosed habitats.” She stopped and as she did, Steve’s computer came to life. “I’m loading a detailed analysis of the data for you to review.”

  “Will we be safe here on the station?” Christy asked almost afraid to hear the answer. It sounded as if they were doomed.

  “I estimate that the station will be safe for another 300 days, but with the gravitational stresses affecting the Earth and the Moon we will not be able to maintain our current position in the Lagrange point,” replied Teela, looking over at Christy.

  “We could be pulled down to the Moon’s surface!” Todd Williams said sharply. “We are only 37,000 miles away from the Moon.”

  “If possible, I would strongly recommend we find some way to move the station as far away from the Earth and the Moon as possible,” Teela suggested, her deep blue eyes looking at Steve. “If they do break up, the debris could seriously endanger the station. I have computed that the extra Luxen coating will protect the station from the radiation and solar flares, but it will not protect it if the Sun becomes a nova.”

  “What can we do?” asked Todd, frowning. “We can’t move Star One or the Space Platform.”

  “I would suggest equipping the station with ion thrusters, which could be used to move the station over a long distance if necessary,” Teel recommended. “Our fusion reactor can furnish the necessary power.”

  “Ion thrusters,” repeated Lieutenant Commander Williams, surprised. “Can the station take that type of stress?”

  “Yes, if we make some slight modifications,” Teela responded. She had already run the simulations on what needed to be done.

  “Let’s not go overboard with this yet,” cautioned Steve, feeling a glimmer of hope. “I want to review this data with Dryson and Stoler and others. We have some time to formulate a plan.”

  “We have some time, Commander,” Teela agreed with caution, “but not a lot. If we are to make the changes necessary for the station to survive, we need to begin within the next two weeks.”

  “This changes everything doesn’t it?” stated Christy, feeling as if the room had gotten much colder. She shivered and looked over at Steve. Was there still a chance they could survive?

  “Yes, it does,” replied Steve, wondering just what they needed to do.

  Steve wanted to review Teela’s suggestion with Dryson and Stoler about equipping the station with ion thrusters. The station had some small station-keeping thrusters, but nothing like what Teela was talking about. He also wondered if something could be done about the Space Platform. He hated the idea of abandoning it.

  The three sat in stunned silence for several minutes lost in their own private thoughts, each one wondering what they should do.

  “Do we dare inform the president?” Lieutenant Commander Williams finally whispered. “If this gets out down below, it’s hard to tell what will occur. This news might ignite a powder keg down on Earth.”

  “We have to tell her,” responded Christy, looking at Steve and Lieutenant Commander Williams. “After everything she has done for us, she has a right to know.”

  “I agree,” said Steve, pulling at his chin, thinking. “However, with the situation as it is now down on Earth, it might be a good idea for us to wait a few days or even several weeks. We have a shuttle leaving for Tycho City tomorrow; we can send Mase a complete report on our findings and our recommendations. He can also run it past his people and see what they think. I don’t know how this will affect his preparations at Tycho City.”

  “I’ll speed up our flight operations in order to get all the supplies and people we need up here as quickly as possible,” Christy added. She would have a talk with Jane and impress upon her the importance of speeding up the shuttle launches even more.

  She knew it might mean less time to inspect shuttles before they were loaded and launched back to Star One. It could significantly increase the likelihood of an accident.

  “Once Commander Colton has received the black hole information I’ll see if we can further increase the mass driver launches of raw material from the Moon.” Lieutenant Commander Williams said. “We have some excess capacity and, with the use of a little overtime, we can increase our processing of raw material considerably.”

  “Also, see if you can think of some way to increase the maneuverability of the Space Platform,” Steve replied. “I’ll look at the same thing with Star One. I just don’t know if the ion thruster idea is feasible for the station.”

  “It is, Commander,” replied Teela, confidently.

  “What about installing a fusion reactor on the Space Platform?” asked Lieutenant Commander Williams, weighing several different options in his mind. “That might allow us to install ion thrusters on it as well.”

  “We may need to,” answered Steve, nodding his head slightly. “I’ll meet with Dryson and Stoler about the possibility. I don’t know if we have enough time left before the worsening situation down below makes the shipment of equipment needed for such a project impossible.”

  “Teela,” said Steve, turning to where she still stood quietly in front of his desk.

  “Yes, Sir?” she responded.

  “I want you to work with Christy on the essential supply lists. You know what we are trying to do as far as making the station self-sufficient. Correlate the lists and make certain we are not leaving anything off. Keep in mind that we do have a limited manufacturing base here on the station and the Space Platform. We need to pay particular attention to items that we can’t produce, or we would find extremely difficult to replace.”

  Looking around, Steve leaned back in his chair rubbing his forehead slightly. “We know what needs to be done; let’s get started.”

  Chapter Four

  Christy, Steve, Julie, and John Gray were eating a quiet lunch in Jensens taking some time off from the frantic pace of the last few days. Steve had been so busy that he had found it next to impossible to spend any private time with Christy, other than that one evening when their passion had overcome both of them. They had both been too busy with their station duties to be able to spend any real time together since.

  “What are on those two military shuttles due today?” asked John, drinking a fruit juice mixture that Julie had recently recommended to Jensen. Much to his surprise, this one didn’t taste bad at all.

  “I don’t know,” Steve replied. He was curious himself as to what was being sent up on the two military shuttles. “Tim McPhryson seemed pretty adamant about the importance of the shuttles. I just learned today that when they return to Earth they will be reloaded and launched again almost immediately to the Moon.”

  “Curious,” John spoke with an intense look in his eyes. “I wonder if General Karver had anything to do with what’s on those two shuttles?”

  “I strongly suspect that he did,” Steve replied. He knew that General Karver was deeply concerned with the security situation on both Star One and at Tycho City. “I guess we will find out later today when they arrive.”

  “Since they are coming from the two military launch sites they could contain almost anything,” Christy added. She wondered if the general was sending weapons up to Star One. She knew they might be needed, but she still felt uncomfortable with the idea. The station had always been an unarmed facility.

  “So, have Steve and you been able to spend any time together recently aside from work?” Julie asked Christy with a twinkle in her eyes.

  Christy blushed and looked guiltily at Steve before replying. “We’ve been so busy the last few days, it’s been difficult just to find the time to eat, let alone spend time together. There’s so much that needs to be done, and s
o little time left to do it in.”

  John looked at Christy’s blush and smiled, winking at Julie. “Looks to me like the two of you have been getting along just fine. Is there something we don’t know about?”

  “How is your work going, Julie?” asked Christy, trying to change the subject, feeling uncomfortable with where this conversation was going. Was there nothing that was secret on this station anymore? As well as the Grays knew them, a secret would be impossible to keep for long anyway.

  “Great, with Teela’s help,” responded Julie, smiling knowingly at the two. “All the habitats are finished and functioning almost perfectly. We are still finding it necessary to fine tune here and there, and some plants are not doing as well as we had hoped, but overall I’m very satisfied.”

  “What about the food situation?” asked Christy. “Are we going to be able to feed 3,000 people over the long term?” This was something she had been worried about. There were so many items that 3,000 people would need to be able to survive comfortably on the station.

  “We should be able to produce enough food to feed the entire station’s crew with a small reserve left over,” replied Julie, recalling the latest computer figures Teela had run. “We are keeping two of the park areas, but we are putting in more of the dwarf fruit trees in both of them to augment our food production. We are already building up a reserve food supply of dehydrated fruits and vegetables in case of an emergency.”

  “I was hoping we could keep the park areas,” spoke Christy, relieved. “They will be a big boon to morale if we have to stay on board Star One for an extended period of time. The reserve food supply is a good idea.”

  “We will have to control usage of the parks though,” commented Steve, thoughtfully. “We can work out some type of schedule that will be fair. I agree that the parks will be a tremendous help with station morale and we should keep them if at all possible.”

  “You both should come down and check the habitats out,” Julie suggested, pleased that both Christy and Steve agreed with her keeping the two park areas. “I think you will be surprised at the progress we’ve made.”

  “We may do that,” responded Steve, feeling extremely tempted by the idea.

  From what some of the station’s crew had said, Julie and Kathleen had worked miracles in the habitats. Steve had routinely checked them out on the station’s viewscreens but had not had a chance for a formal inspection for several weeks. Maybe it was time that he did so.

  They continued to enjoy small talk and eat the tasty meal whose preparation Jensen himself had overseen. The four of them enjoyed times like this, which had been occurring very seldom recently. Looking at Christy, Steve knew that he needed to work in some free time for both of them as well. They still had a lot to talk about. He sighed deeply; there was just so much that needed to be done. He was worried they might not have the time to finish it all.

  -

  Several hours later, Steve and Christy rode the main elevator up to Alpha to receive the two military shuttles. Both were curious as to what General Karver was sending up. Reaching Alpha, they walked carefully in the lower gravity to the unloading area where one of the shuttles had already docked.

  They watched curiously as the shuttle hatch opened. To their surprise, a young marine captain appeared at the hatch and walked hesitantly toward them, taking one careful step at a time. It was oblivious that low gravity was new to him. Stopping before them, the young officer saluted and handed Steve a packet.

  “Captain Allen Gerald at your service, Sir,” he spoke smartly. Pausing, he smiled at the two before continuing. “The station is very impressive. Is there somewhere we can go privately to discuss my orders, preferably with more gravity if that is possible? The packet I gave you contains a private message from the president and General Karver.”

  “Follow us please,” replied Steve, feeling confused. What was a marine captain doing on the shuttle?

  “I think we can help you with the gravity, Captain,” Christy commented with a slight smile. It was obvious the young captain was extremely uncomfortable in the light gravity of the unloading area.

  Steve led Captain Gerald to a small conference room on the outer rim of the wheel where there was normal gravity. Steve could tell from the relieved look on the captain’s face that he was glad to be able to feel his normal weight again.

  “There is a message disk inside the packet,” Captain Gerald said, taking off his cap and laying it on the conference table. “If you will play the message disk, I believe it will explain everything.”

  “Teela, will you please make your presence known,” ordered Steve as he opened the packet and took out the small, shiny disk.

  Instantly the AI appeared, standing just to the right of Captain Gerald.

  Captain Gerald jumped and stared wide eyed at the gorgeous young woman who had just appeared out of nowhere. She was dressed in a regulation Star One uniform with shoulder length black hair and captivating deep blue eyes. “I don’t understand,” he stammered, gazing at Teela in confusion.

  “This is Teela, our AI,” Christy explained to Captain Gerald who was gaping open mouthed at Teela.

  Steve and she had both forgotten what a surprise Teela was to people who were not familiar with her. It made Christy realize just how much they were taking the amazing AI for granted.

  “Teela,” Captain Gerald spoke slowly, gazing inquisitively at the AI. “General Karver mentioned that you had an AI on the station, but I didn’t expect anything like this. Can she talk?”

  Teela walked over until she stood directly in front of the now extremely nervous young captain. She looked the young man up and down. “So you’re a captain in the United States Marines,” she stated calmly.

  “Yes,” Captain Gerald replied not sure how to address the AI. He hadn’t been prepared for this.

  “Teela is completely sentient and is an active member of this crew,” Steve explained, curious to see Captain Gerald’s reaction to the AI. “She is entirely capable of running this entire station on her own. I asked her to make her appearance known because I want her evaluation of the president’s message.”

  “That’s your decision, Sir,” Captain Gerald replied, his voice returning to normal and shifting his gaze from Teela to Commander Larson.

  Steve took the small disk and placed it in the room’s computer terminal for playback. The message would be displayed on the large viewscreen on the wall. The screen flickered on instantly with a view of the president and General Karver sitting in her office, looking grim.

  -

  “I’m sorry to have to keep this mission so secret, Commander Larson,” President Kateland began amiably. “But if the word was to get out it would create a serious uproar and possibly even an international incident. Who knows what Senator Farley would do with this information?”

  Pausing she looked at General Karver before continuing. “We presume from the activity with Teela and the Farside array that you now know about the black hole that is with the neutron star.”

  Steve and Christy looked at each other in confusion. How had the president found out about Teela and the Farside array? Steve and Mase had agreed to keep the information about the black hole a secret for now to ensure it didn’t get out Earth side. Someone on the Moon or perhaps even on Star One had managed to get the president a message about Teela and the arrays. But even more confusing was the fact that President Kateland sounded as if she had already known about the black hole.

  “The Super Crays located the black hole weeks ago, and we have kept it a secret,” President Kateland continued evenly, confirming Steve’s suspicions. “If the word were to get out, we believe the entire world would go off the deep end in just a matter of a few days. Yes, we know that the Earth probably cannot survive the passing of both. We also know that when people and nations down here on Earth realize that Star One and perhaps Tycho City are the only hopes of real survival there could be attempts made to seize or even destroy one or the other, or even both. That’s w
hat these military shuttles are there to prevent. The two shuttles contain 120 highly trained men and women in equal numbers whose job it will be to protect the station and the Space Platform. I will let General Karver explain the particulars,” she stopped looking over at the general.

  “These men and women are highly trained in various fields and can be used to help wherever needed as well as in their military capacity,” General Karver began. “In the packet Captain Gerald has given you is a complete dossier on each member of his team. You have final say so in all matters, and Captain Gerald understands that you, Commander Jones, and then Lieutenant Commander Williams are the direct line of command.”

  Steve looked over at the young marine captain and then back at the screen.

  “He and his men have been instructed to obey your orders without question,” General Karver continued. “In the cargo holds of these two shuttles are 80 Black Knight interceptor missiles, similar to the ancient Patriot missiles of the late twentieth century, but highly upgraded versions. The missiles are fourteen feet in length, contain conventional explosives, and are capable of intercepting any threat that may come within 1,000 miles of Star One.”

  “Missiles,” Christy said worriedly, glancing over at Steve. “Do we really want weapons on Star One?” She hadn’t expected missiles to be sent up to them.

  “I don’t think we have a choice,” replied Steve as he paused the message. “If Senator Farley has his way, he could very well try to destroy the station. It might be a good idea to have something we can defend ourselves with.”

  “The Black Knight missiles are very advanced,” commented Captain Gerald, looking at Steve. “I can assure you that they are perfectly safe. They won’t be armed unless we are forced to use them.”

  “It’s going to take a little getting used to,” Steve replied. “I never considered arming the station. We have always kept the military presence on the station to a minimum.”

  “I promise we won’t interfere with your daily operations any at all,” Captain Gerald assured Steve. “We are here to provide security and help in any way possible.”