Star One: Dark Star

by Weil, Raymond L.

  “Christy, I want you in Main Control checking each shuttle launch and verifying with ground control that it’s a legitimate launch,” continued Steve, looking over at her. “You know the people on the ground. Also, implement Code Omega signals immediately from each shuttle at midpoint. If they don’t respond with the correct response, they are to be shot down.”

  Steve, Christy, and Jane Kinsey had worked out weeks before specific codes to be used in case of a situation like this. Each shuttle commander knew the correct responses. Anyone else would be at a loss as to how to respond.

  “Todd, I want you to get with Captain Gerald and begin arming two of our shuttles with Black Knight interceptor missiles. We don’t know what we may have to deal with, but I want the ability to meet it as far away from the station as possible. We can surely adapt them to work from a shuttle.”

  “Shouldn’t be a problem,” responded Captain Gerald, going over in his mind rapidly what needed to be done. “I have several people that have been working with Lieutenant Commander William’s crews that can help with the installation. We can modify several of the older cargo shuttles. We need the passenger shuttles to continue bringing up people from the cape. Teela can help us with the design specs.”

  “How did all this happen?” asked Christy not believing how quickly everything was falling apart down on Earth. She let out a deep breath, not wanting to believe that they could be cut off from Earth at any moment.

  “Senator Farley must have been working with some key members of the military for weeks,” answered Captain Gerald, recalling some of his intelligence briefings from General Karver prior to being sent to Star One. “Senator Farley could not have planned something of this magnitude without help from strategically placed military officers.”

  “Our own military,” said Christy, shaking her head. “I wouldn’t have believed it to be possible.”

  “The business consortium that is behind Senator Farley could have helped with setting up the coups in other countries,” Lieutenant Commander Williams added. “With their business contacts in the governments, it could have given Senator Farley the connections he needed to orchestrate this.”

  “This was well planned,” Captain Gerald said with a frown on his forehead. “The president’s popularity has been steadily decreasing for weeks. Senator Farley just waited for the exact moment and then he struck.”

  Teela suddenly materialized in front of Steve’s desk with a look of fear and desperation on her normally pristine face. “Look at the screen. We just picked this up from one of the surveillance satellites.”

  Everyone looked at the large viewscreen, which Teela had switched to a view as seen from a satellite high above the Earth. Brilliant white flashes were appearing across parts of Europe and the Middle East.

  “It started two minutes ago,” said Teela, quietly. “From the few reports I’ve managed to intercept from Earth, a radical religious group seized two nuclear launch facilities in the Middle East and launched against Europe and Israel.” Teela paused, cocking her head slightly to one side as if listening to someone.

  “Those are low yield nuclear explosions, probably in the ten to twenty kiloton range,” Captain Gerald spoke in a subdued voice. He felt sickened. Not since Hiroshima and Nagasaki had nuclear weapons been used on human targets.

  “Why would they do this now?” asked Christy, staring wide-eyed at the screen, not wanting to believe what it was showing. This was like a nightmare.

  “With the coup attempt going on in the U.S. it has left a power vacuum,” replied Captain Gerald. “They know the U.S. at the moment is powerless to intervene. They are taking advantage of the situation.”

  “But Israel has nuclear weapons too!” Lieutenant Commander Williams said worriedly. “Don’t they know that Israel will retaliate?”

  “The launch facilities are in two different Middle Eastern countries. Both governments claim they did not authorize these launches. They are asking for time to retake the launch facilities from the terrorists,” Teela reported as she continued to monitor the events occurring on Earth.

  “The terrorist groups must have infiltrated the launch facilities,” stated Captain Gerald, shaking his head in disbelief. “They had to have had inside help to get the arming codes and launch the missiles. Israel will not give them time for explanations! They will retaliate shortly, and it will be devastating.”

  Steve could see that at least one, maybe two nuclear weapons had gone off over Israel, perhaps more. Steve knew without any doubt that Israel would retaliate in kind. He felt a knot grow in the pit of his stomach. He wondered if they were watching the beginning of the end of the world.

  “This could break out into a full fledged nuclear war,” warned Todd, gazing at the viewscreen. “You can’t throw nuclear weapons around like that and not expect to be struck back.”

  “I doubt whether the radicals care; they are fanatics,” responded Captain Gerald, watching the screen and knowing that Israel would strike back shortly.

  “When Iran developed a nuclear bomb back in 2014 it resulted in a nuclear arms race in the Middle East,” spoke Teela, informatively. “As a result, a number of Middle East countries now have nuclear weapons. There are a dozen nuclear missile launch sites scattered across the Middle East, plus those in Israel.”

  “I am picking up a broadcast from the radicals,” Teela reported as she translated the demands instantly into English. “Their leader is demanding the immediate release of all political prisoners, as well as a number of convicted terrorists that are currently incarcerated. If not there will be a second, more widespread attack against other western targets. They claim the first attack was in revenge for past attacks against their organization and its leaders.”

  On the screen, Steve had counted at least ten brilliant flashes that designated nuclear detonations across the western and central parts of Europe, as well as at least four over Israel. He knew that underneath those nuclear fireballs thousands, if not millions, of people were dying.

  “They’re mad!” exclaimed Christy with horror in her voice, realizing the extent of the death and destruction that must be occurring down below. She gazed in shock at the screen. “What are they doing? Don’t they realize what they are destroying?”

  “They don’t care,” Captain Gerald repeated with hard, angry eyes. “We have been briefed on several of these militant organizations. The taking of innocent lives means nothing to them as long as they can accomplish their goals.”

  “With the U.S. out of it the radicals must have felt this was their best opportunity to attack,” commented Steve, trying to keep his voice calm.

  “Nuclear launches detected,” Teela broke in suddenly, her gaze turning to the viewscreen. “Israel is launching their retaliatory strike.”

  Over the next several minutes, they watched as a series of brilliant nuclear detonations began to spread across other Middle East countries. Twelve nuclear fireballs appeared above the known launch facilities in the Middle East.

  “Those are larger detonations,” Captain Gerald spoke as he watched the screen intently. “Probably in the forty to fifty kiloton range. Those will be extremely destructive. Nothing will survive underneath those blasts.”

  For several minutes, everyone was quiet. No new flashes of nuclear death appeared on the viewscreen. Steve hoped that it was over and calmer heads would now reign. Enough people had just died.

  “No new launches are being detected, Sir,” spoke Teela, feeling shocked by the violence and loss of life that the nuclear signatures testified to. “The terrorists were not able to get off a second strike.”

  “Then it’s over for now,” Christy said in a subdued voice.

  “We need to find out what’s going on in the United States,” Steve spoke determinedly. “Teela, see if you can use the satellites to find out what’s going on in Washington.”

  Teela became quiet as if listening to another voice and then, looking petrified, she looked back up at the screen as it changed to a view
of Southeastern China and Taiwan.

  “The Chinese have launched an invasion fleet across the channel separating them and Taiwan,” Teela stated. She magnified the view on the screen showing a fleet of military ships and troop transports in the Taiwan Strait.

  “What now?” Christy asked, her blue eyes watching as the world seemed to be falling apart. When was this going to stop?

  “The power vacuum created by the coup in the United States,” replied Captain Gerald. “We were Taiwan’s biggest supporter. Without us to back them, China is seizing this moment to retake the island.”

  “The Taiwanese President has threatened to use nuclear weapons if the ships are not turned back immediately,” reported Teela, listening to the high priority messages between the two countries. “The Chinese Premier has refused and is demanding Taiwan’s immediate surrender and the rejoining of the two nations.”

  On the screen, low yield nuclear explosions began to appear over the narrow stretch of water separating the two countries. Bright flashes of light blocked out the view of the Chinese invasion fleet.

  “Taiwan has launched a preemptive strike against the Chinese naval force approaching their shore,” Teela continued to report.” Six low yield weapons glowed on the screen, boiling the ocean and ships beneath them.

  “I’ve tapped into the military satellites above the area,” explained Teela, using her powerful memory core to create new programs almost instantly and override the security codes on the satellites. “The invading Chinese fleet has mostly been destroyed. Only a few vessels survived; loss of life is very high. I’m detecting missile launches from mainland China.”

  Scant minutes later, much larger nuclear detonations began to roll over the Taiwan countryside, vaporizing everything below as China’s vengeful response struck. Taiwan launched a feeble counterstrike with its remaining launch platforms, with only four small yield nuclear devices managing to reach China’s shore and erupting briefly over the countryside. Then all was quiet. From start to finish, the entire exchange between China and Taiwan had lasted less than twenty minutes.

  Everyone in the room sat quietly, too stunned by these new developments to move. They all wondered what was next. It was as if the entire world had suddenly gone mad.

  “It seems to be over,” Teela reported as she used the satellites to scan the surface. “The fighting in Washington has also died down. It looks like the insurgents have control of most of the Capitol. There is still some fighting going on around the White House, but it looks like just isolated pockets of resistance to the insurgents.”

  “All right, everyone,” Steve said finally, breaking the eerie silence. “Let’s get going; we have work to do. Teela let me know if anything else happens Earth side. For the time being, I want hourly status reports, especially if you hear anything about President Kateland. Captain Gerald, please tell your people at Main Control to keep a close watch for any missiles that may be hurled our way. It seems like all hell is breaking loose down below.”

  “Yes, Sir,” Teela and Captain Gerald replied together.

  -

  Down on Earth, President Susan Kateland sat quietly in her office in the underground bunker, deep beneath the White House. A member of her Secret Service team had just told her that they didn’t have the forces needed to break out of the underground command complex. The remaining military forces up above had surrendered to the insurgents. It would only be a short matter of time before the insurgents forced their way down into the bunker.

  She looked sadly around the small, well-furnished room that served as her office in case of a National Emergency. The flag of the United States and the seal of the president hung behind her. In her entire stint as president, she had never had to come down here other than to familiarize herself with the bunker’s function. She had always thought that if she did it would be to protect her country from a foreign aggressor, not from her own countrymen. President Kateland let out a long, heavy sigh, not wanting to believe what was happening to her country.

  She had turned off the screens that showed the disaster rolling across many parts of the globe. The underground bunker had been able to receive communications but had not been able to transmit anything for several hours. She had managed to contact General Karver earlier several times before their last line of communication had been discovered and cut off. She’d given him specific orders to follow if she didn’t make it out of Washington.

  She was grateful that North America had so far been spared the horror of the nuclear carnage that had consumed other parts of the world. She bowed her head, praying briefly for her country and its people who she had failed so miserably.

  Several large, deafening explosions shook the underground bunker, causing the American flag behind President Kateland to crumple to the floor. The room became filled with dust. She could smell smoke as if something was burning. She continued to pray, knowing that deliverance would not be forthcoming. The insurgents were obviously using explosives to blast their way into the bunker.

  Her prayer was interrupted by a series of yells and shots out in the hallway where several marines and secret service agents had been guarding the entrance to her office. Moments later, the door was kicked violently open and soldiers wearing blue armbands stormed in. One was clutching a bleeding arm from a wound received in the fighting outside in the hall.

  They stopped when they saw the president sitting at her desk, staring at them with disdain. Glancing around the room nervously, not able to look President Kateland in the face, they satisfied themselves that no one else was present. They stepped back out closing the splintered door behind them.

  Several minutes later, President Kateland heard voices out in the hallway, one she recognized. Standing up and holding her head defiantly, she waited grimly as the door opened and Senator Farley, flanked by several military officers, triumphantly entered the room.

  “Hello, President Kateland,” Senator Farley said with a smirk, striding over to stand in front of her desk. “You are my prisoner, and I command you to tell your remaining military forces to stand down or they will be destroyed. There will be no reprisals for those who surrender.”

  Looking Farley squarely in the eyes, President Susan Kateland replied defiantly. “You can go to hell before I bow down to the likes of you!”

  Senator Farley’s face turned livid with anger, and he raised his hand up as if to strike her, before pausing and regaining his composure.

  “Do you want to die?” he snarled with madness dancing in his eyes. “You are my prisoner. It’s over; there’s nothing else you can do!”

  “Perhaps not,” replied President Kateland, standing straight and looking disdainfully at the officers with him. Several turned away, not willing to meet her gaze. “But I will never surrender this country to you, or cooperate with the likes of you in any way whatsoever!”

  “That’s the same thing the vice president said just before he was placed in front of a firing squad,” replied Senator Farley, smiling cruelly. “Oh well, we will just tell the people you were killed accidentally in the fighting.” Turning, Farley left the room followed uneasily by the military officers.

  A minute later, two hard faced soldiers entered and, drawing their pistols, shot the defenseless president where she stood. Hired thugs, she thought as she fell and life left her shattered body. Her last fading thoughts were of General Karver, knowing that he would do everything in his power to finish what they had started. Star One would survive! So died the last American President.

  -

  In Main Control, Christy was monitoring the six shuttles that the cape had frantically launched in the past four hours. The shuttles had been loaded with the last scheduled crewmembers that had made it to the cape along with some vital equipment Star One and Tycho City still needed. If there were time, more people would be sent up. However, at the moment no one knew how many shuttle launches would be made in the future, and each one needed to count.

  Satellites around the globe had not detected a
ny more nuclear detonations, even though it was obvious that widespread fighting had erupted across many areas. Heavy fighting raged in numerous countries, and rioting had spread unchecked through many of the world’s major cities.

  Checking the main viewscreen, which was focused on the Space Platform, she could see a lot of activity around the two cargo shuttles that were setting there. Several Centaur work vessels and one-man scooters were hovering near the two shuttles. A number of white spacesuited workers were also visible.

  Todd and Captain Gerald were in the process of converting both shuttles into delivery vehicles for the interceptor missiles. Christy knew that most of the spacesuited figures she could see were Captain Gerald’s military personnel. She had never thought she would feel this way, but she was glad Captain Gerald and his marines were on the station.

  Looking around Main Control, she was pleased with how efficiently the crew was handling this emergency. Even the new weapon’s control station was calm. Lieutenant Sandy Emerson and two other marines controlled the station’s new interceptor missile platforms as well as the recently installed railguns.

  Hearing the door to Main Control slide open, she saw Steve come in with a worried look on his face. Christy knew that he had been on a secure com line with Mase Colton for quite some time. She also knew he was under a lot of pressure with the responsibility that he was now saddled with.

  “What’s the latest from down below?” asked Steve, taking his command chair next to Christy and rubbing his forehead.

  “General Karver is massing his loyal troops around the cape and the two military launch centers,” reported Christy. “Jane spoke with him a short while ago, and he is still in the process of positioning his forces.”

  “I just hope he can continue to hold them,” responded Steve, shaking his head worriedly. “We still have a lot of supplies and people I would like to get up here.” With the ongoing construction of the deep sleep chambers, Steve had added a number of additional people to the list of who needed to be brought up to the station.