Steve pressed the play button and looked back up at the screen.
“On a second flight we will be sending you a small group of special Black Knight missiles with tactical nuclear warheads, as well as ten railguns,” General Karver continued with a grim look upon his face. “These missiles can be used for the station’s protection or may be needed to divert debris if the Earth or the Moon break up from the coming stresses.”
Nuclear missiles, Steve thought. He didn’t like the idea of having those on the station at all. Nevertheless, he could also see the need if the station became trapped in a cloud of debris. The railguns though were different. He knew a little about them. Some of the new railguns on navy ships had a range of nearly 120 miles. He knew that mounted on Star One a railgun would have a much greater range than down on Earth. They were also extremely accurate.
“There is an awful lot of behind the scenes maneuvering currently being done by Senator Farley,” President Kateland began after General Karver had finished. “He has been contacting people in the military and other power groups around the country. Some of my people have even suggested that we arrest the senator, but the general and I feel that would only ignite the powder keg that is coming even sooner.”
The president paused, looking over at General Karver before continuing. “We are sitting on a time bomb that could go off at any moment. I have instructed Jane Kinsey to increase shuttle launches to the maximum possible without violating too many safety protocols. We can have the rest of Star One’s crew up within two weeks and devote the rest of the launches to supplies. Tycho City launches will take longer, and I fear that we will not be given the time to get as many people up to the Moon as we had originally hoped,” she paused and took a deep breath. She had an extremely sad and haunted look in her eyes.
“Steve, Star One could be humanity’s only real hope for survival. The Super Crays recommend that you move the station away from the Earth-Moon system. Put as much distance between Star One and the Sun as possible in case there is a nova. I wish there was more that I could do. Tycho City has a remote chance of surviving. If the underground caverns can survive the stress, then Commander Colton and his people may survive. We have nearly completed the two secret underground complexes that we have been constructing. They might have a slim chance to survive if the Earth doesn’t break up due to the stresses we will be subjected to from the neutron star and the black hole. Several other countries are also building underground shelters that might have a slight chance of surviving. You need to prepare for the worst. We will be in touch,” she finished as the screen went dark.
-
The four stood silently as the president’s final words echoed in their ears.
“What’s your assessment of President Kateland’s message?” Steve asked, turning toward Teela.
Teela paused for a moment. “The president does not believe she can stay in power much longer,” Teela replied as she quickly analyzed the president’s words. “That’s why Captain Gerald and the weapons are here. There is also some doubt as to how long they can hold the launch centers. That is why they are speeding up the launches even more. She also doesn’t believe that the Earth will survive the passing of the neutron star and the black hole.”
Turning, Steve looked closely at Captain Gerald. His face had turned pale after hearing Teela’s words. The young captain looked to be in his early thirties, powerfully built, brown hair, and used to command. But Steve knew that this would be a totally new situation for him.
“What type of quarters will your people require?” Steve asked. “I assume it would be best if we kept your people together.”
“If that would be possible, Sir,” replied Captain Gerald, respectfully. “The men can be doubled up, and I know the women would prefer that.”
“Very well, Captain,” replied Steve, turning to Christy. “Commander Jones will take care of your quarter assignments. For the time being you can store your equipment on Alpha in one of the special cargo holds. The holds can be locked, and Teela will ensure that no one enters. I will need you to direct the cargo handlers on the storage and handling of the missiles the shuttles are carrying.”
-
For the next several hours, Steve, Christy, and Captain Gerald worked nonstop supervising the unloading of the two shuttles, billeting the marines, and storing their supplies. Teela was everywhere, explaining things to the young marines and making sure the missiles were stowed properly.
It had taken several minutes for Captain Gerald to explain to the marines who Teela was. It had been necessary for her to perform her vanishing act several times in order to make the marines understand that she wasn’t real.
The dockworkers had been surprised when the large crates containing the interceptor missiles were unloaded. Captain Gerald had opened up one of the crates under the watchful eyes of Steve and Christy. He wanted to show Steve and Christy the sleek black missiles contained in the crates. Steve had taken the precaution of restricting the dock crew personnel to senior members only who knew how to keep their mouths shut.
“These missiles have a special stealth coating of material that will make them undetectable to radar,” explained Captain Gerald, replacing the lid carefully back on the crate.
“You are sure they are safe to store on the station?” asked Christy, eyeing the crate, which contained four missiles.
“They are perfectly safe until they are armed with the correct arming codes,” Captain Gerald assured them. “You could drop or crush one of these and nothing would happen. We would like to mount several interceptor missile launching platforms on Star One, and perhaps one on the Space Platform also.”
“I would suggest you familiarize yourself with Star One and the Space Platform over the next several days, and then we can meet and decide the best place for your missile platforms,” Steve said evenly, eyeing the large crates. He knew that he would sleep a little better knowing they had a way to defend the station and the Space Platform. In his wildest dreams, he had never imagined there coming a time that weapons would be on Star One.
“I can have one of the lieutenant commanders show you around the station,” Christy informed the young captain.
“After that’s been done, talk to Teela and tell her what you will need,” Steve added. “She can help determine the best places to set up the missile platforms. When the two of you have made a decision, then Commander Jones and I will review what you have come up with.”
“Very well, sir,” replied Captain Gerald, nodding his head.
Steve hoped the missiles didn’t become necessary. If they did then the situation on Earth would have taken a decidedly turn for the worse. It would also mean that President Kateland was no longer in control.
A few minutes later, all the supplies were strapped down in the storage compartment. The missiles and other weapons the marines had brought were stowed away securely. The three made a final inspection of the missile storage area to ensure that everything was firmly fastened down. Steve didn’t want those missiles shifting. Teela confirmed that everything was as it should be and that she would keep a special round the clock watch on the weapons.
“With your permission, when we finished getting settled in I would like to place two guards on permanent duty in this storage area as a safety precaution,” Captain Gerald suggested.
“I agree,” said Steve, nodding his approval. This was something his own security people were not qualified to handle. “Once you get settled in I would like you to join Commander Jones, Lieutenant Commander Williams, and myself for a meeting in my office, so we can determine how best to make use of your people. Let’s set up a conference for tonight about 20:00 hours. That will give my staff and I time to review the information in the packet you furnished us and determine how best to proceed. Teela will show you how to get there.”
“Very well, Sir,” Captain Gerald replied. “I’ll get my people situated and see you then.” Turning smartly around, he followed Christy to the elevators to go down to the
main wheel where his troops had been taken earlier by station personnel.
Steve made his way over to Alpha’s launching bay where John was waiting in one of the Centaur work vessels. John had met the troops earlier as he was coming up to Alpha. Steve wanted to take a quick trip out to the fuel storage facility to check on progress.
“How do the new troops look?” John asked as Steve closed and sealed the hatch before taking his seat. John hadn’t been too surprised to see them.
“Very disciplined,” replied Steve, fastening his safety harness. “Captain Gerald seems to be a highly efficient, and his troops are supposed to be handpicked. We’ll just have to wait and see how this works out.”
“Centaur C3 ready for launch,” John reported over his com to Alpha’s flight control. “Troops on the station are bound to raise a lot of questions.”
“I’ve already thought about that,” Steve replied. “I’ll announce that they are a specially trained unit to help with security on the station and with ongoing construction projects.”
“That might work,” replied John, nodding as his hands flew over the controls. “We do have a lot of construction projects going on.”
On the viewscreen, the hatch directly above them opened, and John expertly maneuvered the Centaur out of the narrow opening to hover above Alpha. John fired the RCS thrusters, moving the Centaur slowly up, away from the station, and above the extended solar panels.
Looking down, Steve could see that one of the two military shuttles was still docked, and the other was already over at the Space Platform being prepped for its return flight. A sudden slight burst of acceleration sent the small craft soaring off on a jet of flame into the darkness toward the coordinates of the fuel storage facility.
The fuel storage facility was nearly sixteen miles away from Star One. Looking at the rear viewscreen, Steve and John watched as the station slowly shrank in size. The station quickly became a brilliant, sparkling jewel in the velvet dark sea of stars surrounding it. Out the front viewport the Earth floated, looking pristine and tranquil with its deep blue seas and covering of fleecy white clouds. Sometimes, Steve felt the Earth looked close enough to reach out and touch.
“Hard to believe what’s in store for our planet,” John mumbled with a sad look on his face. There were so many places on Earth he had never had the opportunity to visit. Now he never would.
“I know,” replied Steve, gazing at the teeming life bearing planet. “Our job now is to survive this catastrophe and perhaps someday resettle the Earth.”
“If it’s still there,” John reminded Steve cryptically.
On the main viewscreen, the fuel storage facility rapidly grew into a jumble of girders, pipes, and plates covering its incomplete structure. When finished it would be a globe 400 feet in diameter with flat poles to allow ships to dock. The internal structure was nearly complete, with some of the protective outer layer already installed.
Steve knew that crews had been working on the facility around the clock for several weeks now. The question was that, with the advent of the black hole, would the facility be worth completing? Steve knew that somehow or another it almost needed to be maneuverable.
“We have an emergency message coming in,” John said suddenly, becoming more attentive.
Steve reached forward and thumbed on his own com. He wanted to hear what John was receiving.
“This is Centaur C10; we have a power failure in scooter S2. It is drifting away from the fuel storage facility. Rate of drift is 2.4 feet per second and current coordinates are green 4 sector 2. The scooter is already too far out for us to attempt a rescue due to low fuel reserves. Please send another Centaur out to effect the rescue. The worker is not in any immediate danger, and she is in radio contact with us currently.”
“This is Centaur C3, John Gray piloting. We are on an inspection tour on the far side of the fuel storage facility. We will handle the rescue,” John spoke quickly into his com.
“Confirm, C3,” the other Centaur responded. “We would appreciate it.”
“I can’t believe someone screwed up and didn’t have a Centaur on station with sufficient fuel reserves to handle a rescue,” said Steve perturbed. “I will definitely have to look into this screw up. We can’t afford to get too lax with the safety of our people.”
John fired the ship’s small engine and the Centaur flew smoothly up and around the structure, homing in on the distress beacon showing in green 4 sector 2. Each section of the Lagrange point had been marked off into cubes with spatial coordinates just so they could handle this type of emergency, which did happen on rare occasions.
Steve watched the ship’s small radar screen, which showed them rapidly nearing the small white dot that designated the stricken one-man scooter. Looking out the front viewport, he could see the small scooter rapidly increase in size until it and its bulky space suited occupant were visible. The worker waved at the Centaur as John used the ship’s small thrusters to maneuver up next to the scooter.
“Hi,” a young woman’s voice came clearly over the com system, sounding slightly relieved. “It sure was getting lonely out here.”
“We’ll have you aboard shortly,” John replied. “I’m going to use one of the robot arms to latch onto your scooter and bring you in.”
Using one of the ship’s robot arms, John expertly reached out and latched onto the scooter, pulling it up firmly next to the Centaur.
The worker released herself from the scooter and, using her jet pack, worked her way quickly to the ship’s small airlock. In seconds, the worker was safely inside. Once aboard she took off her helmet.
“Are you okay?” asked Steve, looking back at the young woman. “Why didn’t you use your jet pack to get back to the fuel storage facility?”
“I was near the end of my shift, Sir,” she responded uneasily, seeing that Steve was in the Centaur and feeling extremely nervous facing the commander in this situation. “My jet pack was nearly exhausted, and I didn’t want to risk using the emergency reserve. I knew that if I stayed with the scooter I would be safer and easier to pick up with its emergency homing beacon and emergency oxygen supply.”
“Good thinking, Ms. Harris,” replied Steve approvingly, seeing her nametag on her suit. “The best thing to remember out here is not to panic and or take any unnecessary risks. We know that from time to time equipment may fail, no matter how hard we work to try to prevent it. Have a seat and enjoy the ride back.”
Steve watched as the young woman, with a relieved look on her face, took one of the two seats behind Steve and John. “Back to the station, John,” Steve said, looking back out the front port. The young woman would then be able to catch a crew shuttle back to the Space Platform.
Minutes later, the Centaur was back home aboard Star One and Steve was soon back in his office. A quick call to Lieutenant Commander Williams, on board the Space Platform, and Steve found out that the Centaur that was supposed to be on station for emergencies had been delayed launching by a fuel problem. The officer in charge had not thought the delay was worth launching another replacement vehicle since the delay would be less than twenty minutes. He had also failed to notify anyone of his decision. Todd said that he would make sure the young man would never make that mistake again.
Sitting at his desk, Steve began the process of going through the packet that Captain Gerald had delivered. He reviewed General Karver’s orders, looked at the long list of supplies he had sent with the marines, and read the brief dossiers on the individual marines. It didn’t take long to see that these people had been very carefully chosen.
There were specialists in computers, electronics, maintenance, construction, and several other useful fields. For the most part, they were in their middle to late twenties. Yes, these men and women could indeed be extremely useful to Star One. Matter of fact, they might be particularly useful helping Doctor Wruggi install his deep sleep chambers. It might also be a good idea to switch a few of the storage areas in Alpha over to barracks for the troo
ps and make Alpha their main headquarters area.
-
Jennifer was in her office, speaking to Teela. The two had become extremely close and sometimes Jennifer had to remind herself that Teela was an AI and holographic projection. At times, she seemed so real. The two had taken to confiding in each other on a regular basis. Teela had progressed to the point now where she talked and acted like a young woman instead of a teenager.
“What are your plans for tonight?” asked Teela, walking over and sitting in the chair in front of Jennifer’s desk. “Could we go to Jensens and try out the new holographic projectors that Andre installed?”
Jennifer could detect the pleading in Teela’s voice. She was constantly talking Andre into installing more projectors in different areas of the station. She doubted that even Commander Larson knew just how many projectors had been installed.
“Do you realize the amount of pleading Andre had to do just to talk Jensen into allowing the projectors to be installed?” Jennifer reminded her. “Don’t forget that a lot of the pranks you used to play took place in Jensens, and he still hasn’t quite forgiven you for some of those.”
“I know,” Teela replied in a regretful voice. “But so many of my new friends eat there, and I would really like to be able to spend time with them away from work. I also want to try out some new programs I’ve designed to help me to fit in better.”
“I’m glad you are making friends Teela, I really am,” Jennifer responded. She knew that a number of the crew were becoming friendly with Teela since the new holographic imagers had been installed in their work areas.
“It’s nice to have so many people to talk to,” replied Teela, smiling, and then in a pleading voice, “Can we please go to Jensens?”
Jennifer looked at Teela, noticing that her hands were fidgeting nervously. She was clearly getting quite adept at using the hologram to show her feelings.
“All right,” Jennifer agreed after a few seconds of silence and careful thought. “Let me check with Kathleen and see if she wants to come. Maybe between the two of us we can survive this.”
Star One: Dark Star Page 9