by Ted Iverson
The lower level was responsible for all the incoming and outgoing spacecraft. Its personnel also maintained all the interior and exterior of the station and performed necessary repairs. Engineering was by far the most important part of all, the heart of OBL. Orion took his hands off the rail and headed toward the lift that would take him to the lower level.
As he walked, he was greeted with handclasps and pats on the back, hellos, and other assorted greetings. Passing through the massive area, he couldn’t help but feel that Space Tech had to have the best employees off-Earth.
Off-Earth? He chuckled a bit; they were the only employees “off Earth.”
He arrived at the lift and reached his hand into the VGID on the wall to his right.
“Destination?” the computer asked.
“Engineering, Space Dock level.”
The now familiar sphere came down from above to scan him. The average person might think all this scanning would be harmful, just as he himself had once wondered. They’d be wrong, of course, just as he’d been wrong. Research had proven it was safe.
“Identification verified. Please enter lift.”
The lift hatch opened and Orion strode into the tubular area that could hold about eight to ten people. He looked out the lightly tinted glass. It felt as if he were riding on air. He wondered why this time everything seemed new to him even though he’d taken lifts such as this hundreds of times. The sights, sounds, and smells all seemed different—not better or worse, just different. He made a mental note to ask Zach if he felt the same. The lift opened and he stepped out into the Space Dock area then started to cross the deck toward where the shuttles were kept.
“Sir, uh, Mr. Bindl. You’ll not find your ship that way.” It was Chris English. He was in command of engineering and was also the Sub-Commander of the Orbital Lab. He was average in height, but very muscular. There wasn’t anything about the ships that docked here, the Lab itself, or engineering in general that he didn’t know. He had worked with Zach, teaching him practically since Zach had been born, so the two, when on this station at least, were almost inseparable.
As Orion reached out for Chris’s hand, he couldn’t help but notice how upbeat and surprisingly distinguished the older gentleman looked. His dark navy-blue flight suit had a darker gray stripe than that worn by the men under him. It started at his right shoulder, angled down toward the stomach, then arced back toward the right hip and then traveled straight down the outer right hip and leg. Space Tech’s logo was embroidered on the left chest pocket of the flight suit. The uniform went well with English’s facial features, dark complexion, and reddish-brown hair.
“The other shuttles are still where you thought, but your father’s is over this way.” English motioned across to the other side of the bay. “I don’t recall you ever having seen your father’s new shuttle. Have you?”
“New?”
“Its construction was completed nearly a year ago. He loved it, and I loved working on it. That is, when it was here. He was so busy with the project that it wasn’t here much, but it’s a beauty.
Orion stopped dead in his tracks and grabbed English’s arm. “You knew about his project? What can you tell me?”
“Oh, Orion, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to mislead you. I didn’t know anything about the project. I was just saying that he was busy. I said project because we know about it now. He just wasn’t here much. That’s the only thing I can really tell you. Let’s talk and walk.” He motioned again with a nod toward the other end.
“Of course. I didn’t mean to stop you like that. It’s just that we are in dire need of information right now.”
“Don’t worry; I understand. As I was saying, the last time I saw your dad was when I was doing a routine maintenance check on his shuttle. He came in and just started walking around feeling her skin and looking like it would be the last time he saw her. I asked if everything was alright. He just smiled and told me everything was good. He went inside for a while and then came out with his duffle bag. It seemed pretty full to me, but anyway, that’s when he told me that he wanted to take out a regular shuttle. He asked me to prep it out. He also told me to make sure it was cleaned up because your mom was going too. I suppose I could have questioned him about it. I just figured he wanted to take it out for spin. They never came back though.” The older man looked down.
“Chris, aren’t there tracking devices in all our crafts?”
“Yes, but when you build and own the craft, you can disable it, which is what your dad did. Shortly after they launched, I got the call about the transponder being inoperative. We tried reaching them by radio, but we got no answer. Tried by the computer also; they just never responded. I was concerned, but your fathers handled far worse problems than a communications failure. By the time I decided to prep a ship to follow, which was pretty quickly I might add, they’d kicked in the plasmats and were gone.”
“Do you know the general coordinates they were headed toward when they left?”
“Yes, and it was straight, no sign of changing course. I even tried to follow the plasma signature. But they could have changed their path when they were out of sensor range. In fact, I would bet that was the plan.”
“Why do you think they’d go through the trouble to mask their destination?”
“Orion, think. It was classified, top secret stuff. They weren’t going to take a chance on being followed. They didn’t even file a flight plan; no one knew they were leaving until they left. Your dad planned it that way. Right or wrong, he had his reasons. He always did.”
They finally arrived at the shuttle’s pod. Chris placed his hand into the wall to begin the security process. “Identity confirmed. Welcome, Mr. English.” The hatch slid open, and a rush of cool, stale air blew past them.
As they walked in, Orion stopped dead. It was one of the most impressive crafts he had ever seen. It was etched steel, maybe forty-eight or fifty feet in length and about twenty to twenty-five feet high. The shape was stunningly simple. It looked as if someone had taken a long tube and compressed it into an oval. Its wings looked like gull-wing doors that were permanently open. The tail base was almost as wide as the body and was also cocked at about a forty-five-degree angle. The tip of the tail was as wide, but shaped in a crescent. The nose sloped toward the ground reminding him of a butter knife, except for the cockpit glass that took up most of the width of the body.
It almost looked like the Turtle, he thought. What truly impressed him was the quad plasmat engine arrangement. All of the corporation’s ships had only two. Fast, very fast, he thought, and built for distance and speed. It was then he noticed under each wing two items resembling small ancient jet engines. Pointing to them he asked, “And those?”
“For vertical take offs.”
“The Turtle also has those.” Orion smiled.
“Ahhhh, the Turtle. I see you found it. Your dad worked tirelessly on that. It does resemble this one to some extent. He did like this design.”
Next Orion noticed two small tubes protruding from under the cockpit. Chris answered the glance: “Plasma cannons. New to this model only, courtesy of your friendly OEC. There were many items that the OEC backed with smaller grants. My guess is a military experiment. Your dad was hesitant, but sometimes you have to accept things you don’t want in order to get what you do want. Politics.”
“Have they ever been used?”
“Only in testing. I must say,” he gave Orion a raised eyebrow, “they work very well.” English smiled.
“Any other weapons?” Orion was afraid to hear the answer.
“Of course. We can outfit her with photon torpedoes.”
“What? Photon torpedoes?”
“Nah, just yanking your chain, son. No such thing, only in Star Trek. Nothing else we can do yet.” His grin was ear to ear.
Orion looked down, shaking his head. He knew he’d been had. He looked up and both men started to laugh.
“Let’s have a look inside.”
Still chuckling, Orion followed Chris. The simplicity of the ship’s interior overtook him. He sat down in one of the four seats, each Space Tech blue with the grey stripe. The first two seats, as in any ship, belonged to the pilot and copilot. The cockpit was filled with more instruments than he’d seen before.
Chris noted Orion’s astonishment. “Ah, don’t worry. It looks intimidating, but if you’ve flown one, you’ve flown 'em all. It’ll take you ten minutes of instruction, by me of course, and you’ll be a seasoned veteran. Besides, this ship practically flies itself!”
“Okay, if you say so.” Orion continued to look around. Directly behind the seats was a bulkhead with a door. He got up, slid open the door, and peered in. There was a small storage area and another small room off to the right which he was sure would be the restroom. Beyond the storage area was another bulkhead, and behind that he was sure he would find the engine compartment and electrical components.
Returning to the cockpit area he called to Chris, “Okay, time to show me the ropes,” and he plopped down into the pilot’s seat.
Alec arrived back at the house and parked the hover in the hangar next to the Turtle. He got out and headed up to the house at a quick clip. He punched in a code on the keypad and, after a few seconds, heard the last of three door latches click. As soon as he entered the house, he made his way to the library. As he reached the door, he took out the nano device that Zach had given him, pushed up on the lid and watched as it slid open. He then opened the keypad on the wall and placed the device’s lid over the pad. He tapped a few keys on the base of the device and the lid seemed to come to life, the sounds barely audible. After what felt like an eternity, the screen on the base gave a squeal, just as it had with Ty. It glowed, and then the code appeared. Alec quickly saved it and recalled the nanos to the device. He took a deep breath and paused before punching in the code. Alec shivered, and the hair on the back of his neck stood on end. He had the feeling he was about to find something. What exactly he didn’t know, just something.
Steadying his hand, Alec entered the code. Clicks and pops indicated the door was unlocking. He placed his hand on the handle and turned it, slowly opening the door and stepping in.
The room was filled wall-to-wall with books, but that isn’t what caught Alec’s attention. His eyes grew wide and his mouth dropped open. He couldn’t believe what he saw...
Ty was anxious now that he had full access to CHAMP.
“StarDancer schematics.”
The answer he got surprised him. “Sir, there is an intruder in the home library.”
Somewhat startled, Ty moved back in his chair. The holographic screen he’d been watching was now replaced by a live three-dimensional holographic feed from the library. The door was open, and there, standing just inside the room, was Alec.
“Shall we activate security measures?” CHAMP asked.
“No, do not activate any security measures.”
“As you wish, sir.”
“Thank you.” It was then Ty realized he’d just had a conversation with the program. His thoughts flashed back to Zach and his comment that their parents had been working with AI. That thought left him as he watched his brother Alec cautiously approach their father’s desk.
Alec was now kneeling down in front of the desk looking at what appeared to be a model. “Zoom in on the desk,” Ty barked. The program complied. He shot out of his chair and stared at the sight in front of him. His whole body shook. “No way!”
It really was a crash course, Orion thought.
It had been about twenty minutes since he’d had Chris show him the basic cockpit configuration and controls. He was now strapped into his seat. There was no one next to him, yet he felt astonishingly comfortable. He adjusted the headset and clicked on the com link. “Bindl One settled in and ready to launch.”
“Bindl Two same.”
“You ready to roll?” Orion asked. “I’ll take the point after takeoff.”
“Sounds fine. I’ll swing around and take up the rear.”
“Roger, next contact in a couple.”
“Bindl Two out.” Zach’s com crackled at the acknowledgement.
“Bindl One, Bindl Two, do you copy?” the Orbital Lab’s bridge inquired.
“Bindl One roger.”
“Bindl Two roger.”
“Bindl One cleared for launch on my mark. Launch.”
The bay, which essentially was a massive airlock, had been emptied of personnel and sealed. A large steel grid had automatically risen from the floor and was being held in place behind the shuttle by long hydraulic arms. The arrangement resembled the flight deck of a naval carrier. The hatch opened and was now part of the vast expanse of space. At the command ‘launch,’ that part of the station shook. In spite of the heavy bulkheads the sound was deafening, but only for a short moment. The ship shot out the bay with incredible speed. The hatch sensors determined that the ship was clear and immediately closed, restoring air to the bay. Extinguishers were not needed to cool the launch grid, as the exposure to the extreme cold temperature of space, even for a few seconds, had been enough to do the job. After several seconds, the grid slid back down to became part of the decking again. Personnel returned to the bay quickly to start the preparations for the shuttle’s return. On the other side of the dock Zach patiently waited for his turn.
“Bindl Two, cleared for launch on my mark: Launch.”
Zach had an older, smaller shuttle. While it launched much like Orion’s, the takeoff was less violent and much less noisy. He shot out and immediately pulled on his yoke, sending the ship upward. Stomping on his right rudder, he sent the ship sharply to the right, shooting around the large hydroponics part of the station. Staying on the rudder, Zach continued the right-hand climb, letting off the pedal and tapping the left rudder as he steadied the turn. He was now in a vertical climb straight up the side of the station. “Bindl One, please patch coordinates.”
Orion adjusted several knobs. “Sending them now.”
Zach tapped a button on his right, above his head. “Got ’em. Thanks!”
“I’m clear of the station and am setting the autopilot.”
“I’ll do the same once I come up and match your speed. Here…weeee…goooo!” Zach began a series of loops and maneuvers that brought him dangerously close to many of the Lab’s antenna arrays. He also just missed another shuttle that had been inbound, inverting just in time to miss the ship. “Oh yeeaah,” Zach belted into the com.
Furious, Chris English called from the bridge. “Zach Bindl, that’s my ship you’ve got out there. Stop the antics and fly her right or you’ll be grounded faster than you could ever imagine!”
“Oh come on now; it’s just a little fun!” Zach was laughing.
“Young man, I’ll come out there and blast you myself. Now fly her the correct way.” The tone in English’s voice said it all.
“Yes, sir. Sorry.” The disappointment was clearly evident in Zach’s reply.
Orion had settled back and was looking out at the vastness of space in front of him when his ship started a slow left turn. He started tapping the touch pads and holopanel.
“Bindl One, transmit new coordinates.”
“Zach, I didn’t change them. The readout is still where I set it. I’ve already been troubleshooting, but everything looks good.”
“Why don’t you take a quick look in the back and see if you can eyeball anything. Meanwhile I’ll keep my eye on you and follow.”
“Roger, headed back now.” Orion unbuckled himself and started for the back. Just then the ship gave a hard shudder, and Orion almost lost his balance. He grabbed the nearest seat, steadied himself, and decided to return to the front.
The ship had been operating on just the two plasmat engines, which had allowed Zach to keep up. But now, before Orion could do anything, the ship took over, and the remaining two engines ignited. The acceleration sent him flying, smashing him into the bulkhead.
“Orion, what in God’s name are you doin
g? I can’t keep up with you. I’m going to lose you!” Zach screamed into the com set.
Groggy and banged up, Orion still managed to crawl to the back of the pilot’s seat and pull himself to his knees. Desperate, he grabbed at the com set. “It’s not me!” he shouted. “It’s the sh... the ship. I’m hurt, but I’ll be okay.” Just as he replied, the ship’s yoke moved down sharply. In response, the ship angled down rapidly. Orion dropped the headset and tried to anchor himself. This time he was able to hug the back of the seat and hang on, but only for a moment. The ship executed a series of rolls, to the left, to the right, and to the left again, leaving Orion feeling sick to his stomach. Then, with one mighty pull on the yoke by the ghost pilot, the ship shot up once again, this time with the four plasmat engines moving to full throttle. Weakened, dizzy, and hurt, Orion lost his grip on the seat. The last thing he remembered before bouncing off of the rear seats and slamming for the last time, into the bulkhead was himself screaming, “ZAAAAACHHHH!!!”
Chapter Eight
The two men stood in the command center, watching the two large viewing screens mounted to the top bulkheads. The gray steel support beams around them were as cold looking as they were unyielding. The room itself seemed cold too. Though it could hold as many as twelve, seated at various control panels, it was now lifeless except for the two.
As they stood looking out at the expanse of space, the klaxon reverberated throughout the structure. A voice behind them said, “Sir, the preparations will be done shortly and the crew will be ready to board. Are there any further instructions?”