Star One: Dark Star

by Weil, Raymond L.

  “Teela said there’s been an earthquake in Los Angeles,” General Karver said looking at the devastation being displayed on the screen.

  “It’s bad,” Christy responded in a low voice. She knew that millions of people had just died in the earthquake and the water pouring in from the Pacific.

  The view switched to another helicopter camera, showing survivors clinging to floating debris and waving frantically at the helicopter for help. The view swelled as the camera zoomed in to show a mother holding desperately onto her young child as the waves slowly pushed them out toward the deeper ocean waters.

  The scene was replayed hundreds of times in the next hour. Scene after scene of helpless survivors adrift in the debris, or waving from the tops of shattered buildings, trying to attract attention so they could be rescued. What made it even worse was the total absence of any type of organized rescue. Desperate survivors trying to get out of the water more often than not capsized the few small boats that did appear.

  “How large an area has the ocean covered?” asked General Karver, his eyes riveted to the screen. They had known this was going to happen, but seeing it was still shocking.

  “From orbital satellites, approximately 4,200 square miles are now underwater,” replied Teela, doing some quick calculations and checking the latest reports from the satellites. “The death toll will be in the millions. Due to the inclement weather the country has been suffering under for several months now, there is no longer any type of organized federal government capable of launching the type of rescue and relief effort that is needed.”

  “It will only get worse won’t it, Teela?” asked Steve, knowing what was still ahead for the Earth.

  “Yes, Sir,” Teela replied, her dark blue eyes showing sadness. “Local governments still exist in some parts of the country. They have maintained some order and have even done a good job dispersing the limited quantities of food and fuel supplies at their disposal, but none of them are capable of responding to a catastrophe on this scale. Many communities in California are pleading for help, both due to earthquake damage and an influx of hundreds of thousands of survivors who have fled the rising water.”

  “This is only the beginning,” Christy mumbled shaken by the tragic loss of life. It was all she could do to watch the screen. “As the weeks go by, there will be more and more earthquakes and even volcanic eruptions. Add that to the weather situation and the people left alive on Earth will be living in hell.”

  “Turn the screen off, Teela,” Steve ordered not wanting to watch anymore. “The Earth is doomed; we already knew that. We all know that there will be a lot of suffering. There is not a single member of this crew that doesn’t have loved ones still down on Earth. All we can do is hope and pray for their safety and turn all of our efforts toward our own survival.”

  “I agree,” said General Karver, nodding his head. “Earth is finished; our future lies ahead of us.

  -

  Down on Earth, Senator Farley watched the Los Angeles disaster on the main screen in the military operations room. Minor earthquakes had become a routine occurrence over much of the globe for the last several weeks. The seismograph almost never stopped recording the earth tremors, which were steadily increasing in number and strength. This was by far the most powerful one yet.

  “What is causing these earthquakes?” he demanded of his frail Science Advisor who stood trembling before him. “Now that Star One has left, why is our weather not clearing up? I want the truth damn it!”

  The weather situation had reduced his hold on the country to a tenuous one at best. He no longer had any way to enforce control. Local governments and National Guard units were beginning to depend more on each other rather than the Federal Government, which he headed. What military units he still commanded were finding it next to impossible to carry out his orders to maintain a firm grip on the country. Many areas were cut off and on their own.

  The Science Advisor stood in front of the senator knowing that like so many others before him, his remaining life could probably be counted in mere minutes. However, before he died he decided that for once Senator Farley would hear the truth, whether he liked it or not. Nodding toward one of his associates, the main screen switched to a view of space with a dim dot highlighted in a small red box.

  “You have doomed us all, you fool,” the man stated with a surprisingly steady voice, his eyes glaring at Senator Farley. “We have confirmed beyond a shadow of a doubt that the object in the red box is indeed a neutron star bearing down on our Solar System. It will destroy us all. In a few short months, we will all be dead, including you. You’re nothing more than a pompous, ignorant fool that has led us all to disaster. Your brainless desire for revenge against Star One has doomed everyone. Instead of building ships and deep retreats that could possibly have survived, we have wasted all of our resources on your idiotic whims. The neutron star is causing our weather problems, not Star One!” he yelled passionately, his anger at Senator Farley rising. “The neutron star, not Star One has caused the increase in earthquakes, and this is only the beginning. We are all going to die, and there is not a damn thing you can do to prevent it!”

  Senator Farley stood glaring at his Science Advisor with fury growing on his round face, his eyes taking on a wild, almost deadly look. No one could talk to him like this. It was not to be tolerated, after all, just who did this man think he was? Reaching out, he pulled out a pistol from the holster of one of his personal guards and calmly shot the raving Science Advisor between the eyes. Everyone in the room was stunned, as the now dead science advisor fell to the floor in a slowly growing pool of blood.

  “Take this garbage outside,” ordered Farley, gesturing with the smoking pistol.

  When no one made a move to obey, he angrily looked around the room. With stunned surprise, he saw that everyone was staring at him with utter contempt and revulsion. With a sudden panicky sensation, he knew that he had pushed them too far this time.

  “I don’t think so, Senator,” spoke General Young, stepping forward, flanked by two marines with their assault rifles pointed in Farley’s direction. “We are all tired of living in constant fear of you and your henchmen. It’s time to set things right, at least for the limited amount of time we have left.”

  “What your science advisor said was true, we all know that,” the young general added. “Your hatred for Star One has blinded you to the truth and for that, this nation is doomed.”

  The general gestured for his other men in the room to disarm the senator’s bodyguards. “We have known the truth for weeks. We should have taken action earlier.”

  “Because of you, a lot of people are going to die that could possibly have survived this carnage,” continued General Young, gazing with contempt at Senator Farley. “If you would have used our resources wisely instead of for your own personal gain, it’s hard telling what we could have accomplished.”

  “You little piss ant,” snarled Farley, enraged. “I made you a general; is this how you repay me? You won’t get away with this. I’ll have you court-martialed and shot before the day is out!”

  “I don’t think so,” replied Young, standing defiantly in front of the senator. “You have executed those in command who might have supported you. Now there are only those of us left that want to survive. We can’t with you in charge. I have enough loyal troops in this complex to round up all your pathetic supporters. This complex is deep enough and secure enough that we might be able to save some of the human race, once the worthless ones that you brought in are disposed of. There are enough good people still left up on the surface that deserve a chance at living. We will find those that we can and bring them down here. Perhaps by doing this, we may be partially forgiven for what you have done to this country.”

  “I won’t allow it,” growled Farley, lunging at the general and reaching for his neck, only to be grabbed and restrained by two beefy marines.

  -

  Several hours later, Senator Farley found himself and several
dozen of his staunchest supporters on the surface, surrounded by a squad of hard faced marines. The driving rain made seeing for more than a few yards almost impossible. Already, Farley was drenched through to the bone. His eyes contemptuously held straight ahead, refusing to look at the marines.

  The young general stopped in front of him, taking a moment to stare sadly at the now powerless senator.

  “We are giving you enough supplies for several days. If you or any of your people are spotted in this area again, they will be shot on sight. Do you understand that, Senator?”

  “Go to hell!” spat Farley, glaring at General Young. “One of these days I’ll return and kill you and your feeble military force. You were all incompetent anyway. I’ll find more men. When I do, I’ll return and deal with you.”

  “I doubt that, Senator,” replied General Young, shaking his head. “You know as well as I do that this retreat is nearly impervious to attack. Whether you want to admit it or not, my men are highly trained. We have already put the word out over our communications equipment that you have been found guilty of crimes against humanity and banished to the surface. No one will give you any aid. You have killed and doomed too many people. There is no one that wants you anymore, no one that wants to follow you. You are through!”

  Nodding to his men, the general and his marine detachment returned to the small building that concealed the elevators, which led down to the deep underground complex. The guards in the small building had been doubled to ensure that no one could forcibly gain admittance.

  Senator Farley looked around his group and then trudged off into the rain, leaving the supplies lying on the ground. Someone else could carry them; he wouldn’t! After a few minutes, he stopped and looked back; no one was in sight. Everything was hidden in the driving rain that fell like sheets across the desolate countryside. The dismal roll of distant thunder echoed through the trees. A few small hailstones began to fall.

  The rest of the people banished with him were gone. He was alone with no supplies. The fools, he thought, as he turned and struggled on through the ankle deep mud. Some day he would return and get his revenge. Moments later, Senator Farley disappeared into the heavy, dark rain.

  -

  On Star One, General Karver, Christy, Todd, Teela, Julie, Dryson, Captain Gerald, and Steve were holding a meeting in the small conference room next to Steve’s office. Their goal was to return Star One to a semblance of normalcy now that the boosting of the station was done. They had 120 days of flight time ahead of them before they reached the neutron star-black hole binary.

  “What is the current status of the station?” asked Steve, looking inquiringly at Teela.

  “The station came through the boosting in excellent shape,” Teela reported. “I can detect no damage to any of the station’s structure.”

  “That’s good to hear,” commented General Karver.

  “Anything else, Teela?” Steve asked.

  “We did have a number of areas that were subjected to more stress than originally estimated in our simulations due to the constant vibration from the ion drives. While all sensors showed the stress factors stayed in the green, some were very close to the upper limit we had allowed for. A number of those areas have already been strengthened. But there are still some others that need to be addressed. All areas should be adequately strengthened before we reach the black hole.”

  “I have already talked to Lieutenant Hastings, and she is scheduling work details to handle it,” Christy informed them, looking down at some notes on a pad in front of her. “We should have all the areas in question strengthened adequately within two weeks.”

  “What about the Space Platform?” continued Steve, waiting for Todd to answer.

  “We will be checking the ion drive chambers tomorrow,” began Todd, looking over at Steve. “We want to go through the entire system to see how it held up during the boosting. After that we will be checking the SRB boosters and running more simulations on structural integrity, particularly where the platform and Star One are joined.”

  “I have recordings of all the stress reactions from each boost,” Teela reported. “We will use those to check for any additional problem areas.”

  “Teela and I have been looking into the stress the station will be subjected to when we near the neutron star-black hole binary,” continued Todd while looking over at Teela, who smiled back. “We definitely still have some sections of the platform and Star One that need to be strengthened, as well as those we have already mentioned.”

  “What about the ecological habitats, Julie?” Steve went on, letting each individual report on their respective areas. He wanted to make certain Star One was ready for what was ahead.

  “They came through fine,” responded Julie, glancing down at the notes she had brought. “We had minor damage in one of the vegetable growing sections where some loose soil shifted slightly, but nothing we can’t correct with a few days of hard work. We had a few animals that were injured, but they should be fine after a few days of rest.”

  “How did the animals get hurt?” Steve asked. The animals would be extremely valuable in the future, and they couldn’t afford to lose any of them.

  “It was a small calf and several pigs,” Julie replied. It had pained her to see the animals get hurt. “We didn’t want to sedate the smaller animals, and it didn’t seem as if it was going to be a problem. They got scared from the vibration during one of the boosts. The calf broke his leg and the two pigs just got banged up some. All three will be fine.”

  “We need as much food production as we can during the next few months,” Steve said, taking a deep breath. “We don’t know what type of damage the station may suffer when we transit the wormhole. I want as large a food reserve as possible. ”

  Pausing, Steve looked over at Ted Dryson. “What about the station’s fusion reactors; how are they functioning?”

  Dryson and Stoler were now in charge of all three of the station’s fusion reactors. The solar panels had been taken down and stored. They would not have held up to the thrust or the upcoming passage through the wormhole. The forces exerted on them would have torn them loose from their mountings.

  The two large reactors, one in the Power Wheel and the other in the Space Platform, were each capable of furnishing all the power the station could possibly need. The small research reactor had been converted to be used as an emergency power source. It could handle the power requirements for the station briefly in case of an emergency.

  “We’re going to be taking each reactor offline during the next several months and going through the entire system,” explained Dryson, looking at a few notes he had brought along. “We will also be installing another failsafe system to scram the reactors in case of a catastrophic emergency. Currently, all three reactors are functioning normally. The boosting seems to have had no effect on them whatsoever.”

  “Excellent,” replied Steve, pleased. The fusion reactors were their key to survival. They would allow them an almost unlimited long-term source of power.

  “Captain Gerald, it seems like we are going to have to depend on the railguns more than we had originally thought,” Steve stated with concern in his eyes. “We have already had to use the railguns six times to clear our flight path of small asteroids. Will they hold up for another four months?”

  Captain Gerald opened up a folder lying in front of him and then answered. “I have a copy of the specs for the railguns here,” he said gesturing at the folder. “Lieutenant Emerson and I have talked at length about keeping the railguns continuously powered up and online. As you know, they were not designed to stay activated continuously. Lieutenant Emerson believes that by keeping four railguns down at all times for routine maintenance the system can be maintained. That would give us six railguns under remote operation from Main Control. We will keep two crews on the outer rim manning two of the railguns in case there is a problem in Main Control. By rotating the railgun downtime, we should be able to maintain the system almost indefinit
ely.”

  “We are also training additional personnel to operate the railguns from Main Control,” General Karver added. “Captain Gerald and Lieutenant Emerson have done a fine job over the last twelve days, but they can’t continue to work at that pace and stay efficient. We have already begun training Lieutenant Damon Carter to command one of the shifts. We will be training two additional officers to operate the weapons console in Main Control if needed.”

  “Good,” replied Steve, knowing the two had done a great job protecting the station. “Let’s go over what we need to do for the next several months to prepare the station for transiting the wormhole.”

  “Commander!” Teela interrupted visibly excited and standing up. “I just picked up a general broadcast from an underground location in the Eastern United States. You won’t believe what is being reported. A General Marcus Young is reporting that Senator Farley has been removed from power for crimes against humanity. Local state governments are being given full authority to deal with the current National Emergency and the Federal Government, other than the military, is being disbanded.”

  “What about Senator Farley? Does it say what happened to him?” Christy asked, intrigued by this new development.

  “No, it doesn’t. The communiqué is quite vague on that point,” Teela replied. “The message is being constantly repeated.”

  “It’s a shame it couldn’t have happened sooner,” uttered Steve, glad that Senator Farley had finally been removed from power. He wondered why it had taken so long.

  “I know a Colonel Marcus Young,” Captain Gerald stated thoughtfully. “I wonder if this could be the same person. If it is, he would have found it very hard to stomach Farley’s actions. The man is honest and dedicated to his career. His men are also extremely loyal. If he were placed in charge at Farley’s headquarters, he could have very easily overthrown him.”

  “I don’t believe I know the man,” spoke General Karver, looking thoughtful and quite pleased at this latest development. “I wonder what this General Young plans to do now?”