The massive shuttle launch platforms collapsed as carefully placed charges brought them down in piles of useless, twisted rubble. Huge explosions rolled across the cape as fuel, and unused SRBS exploded in clouds of fury, scattering debris for miles. In a few seconds, the work of decades had been reduced to burning rubble and fiery ashes. An enormous pall of dark gray smoke rose from the cape, covering the countryside and causing a brief lull in the fighting as everyone realized its significance.
From Launch Control, Colonel Wilmington looked out across the cape. He had pressed the detonator buttons that had caused the destruction. With satisfaction, he knew that he had carried out the general’s last order. Everywhere there were fires and twisted wreckage. Looking up into the heavens, he gazed at the two shuttles that were climbing away to safety on pillars of fire.
High in the sky, two blinding arrows climbed slowly toward space, fighting their way toward safety. On the ground, fighting came to a sudden stop as insurgents and defenders alike turned to watch the two ascending shuttles trying to escape. Defenders felt immense relief that this was the end, and the shuttles had gotten away safely. Insurgents felt angry that they had failed to stop the final launches.
A squadron of insurgent aircraft patrolling out over the ocean kicked in their afterburners and climbed high in pursuit of the accelerating and defenseless shuttles. They had been waiting for this moment. Since these were the last shuttles, they would have high priority targets on them trying to escape. Senator Farley had saved these fighters for just this moment. He didn’t want Jane Kinsey, Tim McPhryson, and General Karver to escape.
Defensive missile fire arrowed up from the remaining launchers on the outer perimeter of the cape trying to knock the planes out of the sky before they could launch their deadly cargoes. Several of the planes were hit and vanished in exploding fireballs. The survivors quickly began launching their deadly missiles at the climbing shuttles.
From the ground, the remaining air defenses launched all their available missile interceptors trying desperately to defend the rising shuttles from their impending doom. High-speed interceptor missiles arrowed up into the smoke filled sky, targeting the inbound missiles. Seven fiery explosions high in the air marked their limited success, but two of the insurgent interceptors darted through the defensive missile fire to strike one of the rising shuttles.
Both missiles penetrated the main fuel tank and then detonated. A colossal explosion and fireball blew the attached shuttle into a thousand pieces. An expanding fireball seconds later was all that marked the shuttle’s quick demise. Tim McPhryson and Jane Kinsey never knew what killed them. It had been sudden and decisive.
General Karver stared at the main viewscreen. It showed the bright fireball, which only moments before had been a United States space shuttle. He felt shock knowing that he had lost two more close friends. There had been so much death since the advent of the neutron star. General Karver closed his eyes and said a quick prayer for his fallen comrades.
The two pilots were shaken by the destruction of the other shuttle, but their radar was clear of any more of the dangerous missiles. They would get away, but both knew that it could have been their shuttle that had been destroyed just as easily.
General Karver opened his eyes, gazing ahead at the slowly darkening sky. He felt remorse and anger at the deaths of his friends. However, their deaths would not be in vain; both had died for something they believed in. Someday Senator Farley would be made to pay, and General Karver would see to it that Star One survived to extract that revenge.
On the ground, Colonel Wilmington watched as the wreckage of the destroyed shuttle rained down upon the cape and the nearby ocean. The operations officer in Mission Control had already told him which shuttle had been hit.
Over the radio, he could hear General Mann ordering a cessation of all fighting and an immediate surrender of his troops. The fighting here and around the cape was over, but Colonel Wilmington couldn’t help wondering what was next. He looked up at the now distant shuttle, barely visible through the smoke that lay over the cape. General Karver had survived, and Colonel Wilmington strongly suspected that Senator Farley hadn’t heard the last from the general.
-
On board Star One, Steve and Christy stared aghast at the fireball, which marked a shuttle explosion low in Earth’s atmosphere. They had been using the spy satellites to monitor the fighting around the cape. They had both watched the shuttle launches and the destruction of the cape.
“Tim and Jane both,” breathed Christy, fighting back tears. She had known both quite well, and Jane Kinsey and she had been friends for years. “They didn’t deserve to die like this. Not after everything they have been through.”
“The other shuttle is up safely and out of immediate range of their missiles. General Karver, at least, survived,” replied Steve, feeling the deep loss.
Steve was glad the general had survived. He could use the general’s guidance as well as his help in defending Star One. The world they now lived in had gotten even more dangerous today.
Steve had known Jane for a long time. She had supported his efforts to get Star One built for years. Tim had always been someone that Steve could count on whenever he needed a favor. Now both had died in that fiery fireball above the cape.
“The cape launch facilities are destroyed,” confirmed Teela, checking the spy satellites she now controlled. “Fighting around the cape has stopped except for a few isolated pockets. General Mann has surrendered his forces to the rebels as General Karver ordered. All incoming shuttles are currently on safe flight trajectories.”
“I’m glad the general escaped,” Captain Gerald said, walking over from the weapons station. “If we are attacked up here he could be very useful. His knowledge of the weapons that can possibly be used against us and his experience will be invaluable.”
“Rest assured, Captain Gerald,” Steve replied ominously. “Senator Farley will do everything in his power to destroy us. It will take everything the general, you, and all the rest of us can do to survive the next few months.”
“Christy, I want to have a department head meeting in two hours in the main conference room. Teela continue to monitor the situation down below. Captain Gerald, I want you at the meeting to report on our defensive preparations,” ordered Steve, standing up.
Moments later, Steve left Main Control and retired to his office. Sitting down, he poured himself a glass of ice water. Leaning back with eyes closed, he thought about the many times that Jane and Tim had helped to bail out Star One and keep it safe from Senator Farley. It was a tragedy that neither would ever have the opportunity to see up close what they had helped to build.
Opening his eyes, he let out a deep breath and took a long drink of the cold water. Taking out a notepad, he began going over what he needed to cover in the staff meeting. They had a lot of planning that needed to be done, especially if the station was to survive.
Christy was still feeling numb from the sudden destruction of the shuttle and the demolition of the cape. She understood why the cape facilities had to be destroyed, but it still didn’t make her feel any better. They were now completely and totally cut off from Earth. Standing up, she walked over to Margaret’s station to speak with her. She just needed someone to talk to for a few minutes while she tried to make sense of everything that had happened.
-
The conference room filled rapidly as the department heads and senior officers filed in and took their places expectantly. Everyone was familiar with what had been occurring on Earth, and some already knew about the tragedy that had occurred earlier that afternoon. In a few quick minutes, the room was full and unusually quiet. The normal banter between the department heads was missing. Everyone looked nervous and unsure of themselves.
Steve stood up and looked at the concerned and hesitant faces of his friends and fellow crewmembers of Star One. This was a good group of people. But could they deal with their new situation? They were now totally cut off from Ear
th and on their own.
“As all of you have probably heard, the cape fell a few hours ago. As of right now, we have no support on Earth at all,” spoke Steve, looking around at the expectant group of faces.
The group was silent listening intently. “Also, I am sad to inform you that Jane Kinsey and Tim McPhryson were both killed when their shuttle was struck by several insurgent missiles which broke through our air defense,” continued Steve, trying to keep his voice steady.
“God, Jane and Tim both!” one of the department heads uttered in shock. “How could that happen?”
“The insurgents had a squadron of jet fighters just offshore waiting for us to launch,” Steve spoke with a poignant look on his face. “Our defensive missile fire was overwhelmed, and two missiles broke through. The shuttle was destroyed instantly.”
“Their deaths were instantaneous,” Christy added with a pained look upon her face. “I doubt if they even knew the shuttle had been hit. The second shuttle, with General Karver on board, escaped and is presently en route to Star One. We currently have six shuttles in transit to us with supplies and people aboard. There will be no more.”
“We are on our own,” Steve informed the group. “There will be no more help from Earth.”
“We have Tycho City,” Ted Dryson commented. “We can still get raw material from their mass driver.”
“It’s just us and Tycho City now,” commented Julie, nodding her head. She had felt vastly relieved knowing that John’s shuttle had made it, and he was on his way safely back to Star One. “At least we’re not completely alone.”
“We knew this would happen eventually,” said Steve, trying to sound as calm as possible. “At our latest count and including the people on the inbound shuttles, we will have 3,824 people here on Star One and another 8,200 or so safely on the Moon at Tycho City.
“Can we handle that many people?” Julie asked with concern in her voice. “We have made a lot of improvements in the ecological habitats, but I’m not sure they can handle that many. It will stretch our food and oxygen supplies.”
“Shouldn’t be a problem, Julie,” spoke up Doctor Wruggi. “We still need another couple of weeks, but we will have around 1,200 of those people in deep sleep. With the help of Captain Gerald’s marines, the last of the deep sleep chambers are nearly ready.”
“We already have 620 people in deep sleep,” Steve reminded everyone. “We will be a little crowded for the next few weeks until the rest of the chambers are ready, but we will manage.”
“What about Tycho City?” asked Jarl Stoler. “We need that mass driver operating.”
“I have spoken to Mase Colton in the past hour. They are busy shoring up the defenses around Tycho and digging themselves in deep below the surface,” added Steve, wanting everyone to understand the seriousness of their current situation. “The mass driver will be well protected.”
“The only problem is that we are between the Earth and the Moon,” commented Ted Dryson, worriedly. “Any attack on the Moon can’t be made until we are eliminated.”
“Mase and I agree with that,” replied Steve, nodding his head. “We feel that the main danger of attack will be against us here on Star One. We can’t see them moving against the Moon unless we are eliminated first. At the moment, Senator Farley has no major launch platforms or shuttles left that can be used to mount a serious attack against us. We are safe for the time being.”
“What about missile attacks?” asked Martain Blackwater, worriedly. “They may not be able to mount a manned attack, but there are still a lot of unused long range missiles down below, hundreds of them.”
“That is the immediate danger,” admitted Steve, nodding his head in agreement. “While it is true that they can’t launch a shuttle against us, there are some rockets which could be modified for an attack. However, it will take a lot of effort on the insurgent’s part to make a successful attack feasible. I’ll have Captain Gerald explain the steps we have taken to protect the station from missile attack.” Nodding toward Captain Gerald, Steve sat back down.
Captain Gerald stood up and looked around the room at the attentive faces. In the past few months, he had made a point of meeting and introducing himself to as many of the people on Star One as he could, particularly the different department heads. He knew that, in an emergency, it was essential for these people to be able to trust him and not question his decisions.
“As most of you know, we have installed ten railguns on the outer rim of Star One’s main wheel. They are powered by the station’s nuclear fusion reactor and are capable of destroying an incoming missile as far as 25,000 miles away. The railguns are made of Luxen and are capable of firing a projectile round once per minute if necessary.”
“Are these rounds explosive?” asked one of the other department heads with concern in his voice.
“No, a railgun uses the velocity and mass of the round to destroy its target,” Captain Gerald explained. “It uses magnetic fields to accelerate the round to very high speeds, which allows the round to penetrate and destroy its target.”
“A range of 25,000 miles should give us plenty of time to take out inbound targets,” Lieutenant Commander Todd Williams said. “They are not our only weapon of defense either.”
“This gives us the ability to destroy ten inbound targets per minute if needed,” continued Captain Gerald, nodding his head. “On the upper wheel, we have installed two interceptor missile launching platforms for Black Knight missiles. We have also installed one missile launching platform on the Space Platform.”
“Missiles?” exclaimed one of the women department heads. This was something she hadn’t heard about. “What kind of missiles? Are they dangerous to have on the station?”
“These are smart missiles fourteen feet long with an effective range of slightly over 1,000 miles. Once these missiles have acquired a target they will home in on that target and destroy it, regardless of any defensive maneuvering the target may do. Each launching platform is capable of firing six missiles each. We have a large supply of Black Knight missiles, and we feel that our defensive missiles can take out anything that gets through our railgun defenses. The defensive weapons console in Main Control is manned around the clock, and we feel certain that we can intercept any threat aimed at us. Their warheads are not armed until after they are launched, so they are quite safe to store on the station.”
Captain Gerald sat back down, and Steve stood up. “I know we didn’t get all the supplies up we had hoped for. Even so, we did manage to get the last parts of the new fusion reactor for the Space Platform. Also, everything on our essential lists plus a lot on our reserve lists. Dryson and Stoler, along with a number of marine specialists and our own people, are working around the clock to complete installation of the new fusion reactor on the platform.”
“We should have it completed in two more weeks,” Lieutenant Commander Williams added from his spot to Steve’s left. “Once it’s installed, we will have artificial gravity and can begin installing the ion boosters we have planned for the Space Platform.”
“That will give us plenty of power for the Space Platform and the material processing plants,” Steve added. “We will be receiving a lot of raw material from the mass driver on the Moon. We still have a lot of Luxen we need to produce.”
“Installation of the reactor has been proceeding smoothly, and many of the parts were already assembled when we received them. General Karver’s people on the ground really helped us out a lot there,” reported Todd.
“Excellent,” replied Steve. He would feel a lot better when that fusion reactor was installed and operating.
“Teela, will you give us a quick rundown on the situation Earth side?” Steve said, looking over at the AI.
Teela stood up and calmly looked around the room. Everyone was used to seeing her dressed in her regulation Star One uniform. Todd smiled warmly at her, and Teela could feel her cheeks flushing slightly. Sometimes she wondered if she shouldn’t tone down the programs tha
t helped show her emotions. They could be embarrassing at the most awkward moments.
“Currently, Senator Farley controls the entire United States plus parts of Northern Mexico and all of Canada,” she reported. “Only two nuclear weapons were used in the U.S., and those were low yield tactical weapons against the military launch centers.”
“I still can’t believe Senator Farley used nukes,” said Ted Dryson, shaking his head in disbelief. “The man must be mad.”
“We estimate that over two million Americans have been killed in the fighting and rioting that spread across the country,” Teela continued quickly, checking the latest casualty figures.
“Two million,” Andre said, shaking his head sadly. “So many wasted lives.” There were still many close friends and family members of the crew down on the surface. He knew that some might have died in the fighting.
“Senator Farley has a firm grip on everything his forces control and has established a military government with him at its head to control the United States as well as the territory in Mexico and Canada the insurgents have taken over,” Teela continued. “No one dares to challenge him; if they do, they disappear.”
“Megalomania,” Doctor Blackwater commented. “He has all the classic symptoms. Commander don’t underestimate this man. He is capable of almost anything!”
“We won’t, Doctor,” replied Steve with a glint in his eyes. “We know what type of man we are dealing with. Go ahead with your report, Teela.”
“For the last several days, he has been broadcasting constant reports that the threat from the neutron star was totally fabricated by the previous administration. He also says that they have found collaborating proof in secret files in Washington that he will be releasing shortly. The public seems to be buying it. Every time someone who used to have authority questions it, they disappear rather quickly.”
Star One: Dark Star Page 14