by Ted Iverson
Standing mere inches from the surprised senator’s face, he said, “Hello, Senator. I have a gift for you.”
Reaching out quickly, he ripped the cover off the device. He tossed the cover aside, and it bounced twice and went careening off the side of the deep crevice. Next, he smashed the device into Axion’s chest. The unexpected electrical charge sent Ed staggering back a few steps.
Axion looked down, horrified. He instinctively kicked out and connected, sending Ed flying back. As Ed fell, his head hit a rock and the cave began to spin. Axion desperately tried grab the device and remove it. Finally, he managed to do so, but the damage had been done. The nanobots were loose and doing their job.
During Ed’s encounter with Axion, Alec had gotten a second wind and had taken up a spot behind Ed as he went into his roll. Alec was ready for more when he saw the energy suit flicker. The senator quickly started touching buttons and adjusting others, but the magnetic suit flickered some more, faded, and then disappeared altogether.
Axion was defenseless. The man was now standing firmly on the ground with a sad, almost pleading look on his face. No, he was begging. But now was not a time for mercy. Alec knew it was now or never. He set out toward Axion at a dead run. Leaping, he threw his arms around Axion’s waist. The two men fell to the ground. Alec beat Axion repeatedly, then stood, grabbed Axion by the collar, and dragged his limp form up and over to the edge. As Alec held the senator out over the chasm, a last burst of strength enlivened the man. As Alec released him, the senator, in one, desperate, last act of defiance, grabbed Alec’s wrist as he fell. Together they plummeted into the dark depths of the crevice.
Ed’s mind was just clearing when he saw the two vanish. He moved as quickly to the edge as his legs would take him. When Zach and Ty found him, he was still staring down into the crevice.
“We’ve just about got it done!” Ty shouted in excitement. “Axion’s men were no match for the droids. They’re doing a mop up of some stragglers in the sub-caves and trails, but we did it!”
Zach held up a hand for quiet. Something was wrong. Ed was just standing there, showing no emotion at the news. “Ed, what happened? Where’s Alec?”
The young man felt sure he didn’t want to know.
Ed turned slowly, lifted his head, and looked at the brothers, his eyes filled with tears. As they looked at Ed, realization set in: Alec was gone. The three men just stood in silence, tears flowing down their dirt-streaked, battered, and bloody faces. Orion joined them. He was limping badly and was supporting himself with a piece of pipe from one of the destroyed lighting platforms. He saw the look on the other men’s faces and instantly understood the situation. He too shed tears.
Eventually, Ty, Orion, Zach, and Ed returned to a makeshift command center located near the ship. Captain Lyet informed them that their mission had been accomplished and pointed to the opening of the cave, where they’d entered. One of his men, Captain Adelor, and the droids now had a system of sturdy rope ladders set up and were preparing to escort the prisoners up to the surface. The boys and Lyet gave a wave to Adelor.
The captain waved back and, in a deafening voice, commanded, “Move 'em out, boys!” His voice echoed throughout the cave.
Hours had passed and they were now outside the cave. Orion, Ty, Zach, and Ed were talking with Captain Lyet, DES, and PC when one of the droids approached. He held out a mobile holocom pad. A figure appeared. It was Senator Fillmore.
“I am sorry about your loss, about a lot of things. I’m sorry for everything. I am now the Senior Senator and I want you to know that I have moved to terminate Meteoric’s ownership of your company. As of now, Space Tech is, and always will be, yours. I admit Axion carried too much power, which we as a governing body allowed. I promise such an occurrence will never happen during my tenure. As for the grant money, it seems that some has just been made available.”
“Thank you for contacting us, Senator. We’ll be looking forward to working with you once again,” Ty gave a slight nod and the figure was gone. They looked at each other in relief.
“Captain Lyet, we have assembled all remaining operational troops and loaded them onto the transport.” Captain Adelor pointed at the large ship that had been summoned after the battle. “We have transported any injured humans to local medical facilities. The others have taken hovers into town. Something about celebrating the victory.” He smiled.
Cyrus laughed. “Yes, yes, of course, that’s fine.” He patted the man on the back and said, “Good work. Carry on.” He saluted to the captain as he turned to leave.
“What about you, gentlemen?”
Somberly Ty answered him: “We move on. It’s what Mom, Dad, and now Alec would have wanted. I think we’re flying back to Space Tech tonight for a good rest. Tomorrow we need to get back to work. First thing is to get the prototype out and back to corporate or the Outpost so we can see what makes it tick. Right?” He looked at everyone. They all nodded in agreement.
“We need to keep this place secure,” Ed said. “I’m staying back to make sure that happens. I’ll just need, say, about twenty-five or thirty of your droids.” He looked at Lyet.
“That won’t be a problem.”
With that, Ty, Orion, and Zach made their way to the Turtle, and Lyet headed to the transport. The ships rose and disappeared into the evening sky.
The sun had begun to set rapidly. Ed had set up a perimeter with his droids. Satisfied that all was well, he made his way over to the Hare, which Orion had insisted on leaving for him.
Inside the Hare, he found the duffle he’d packed before they’d left. He riffled through it. Then, after exiting the ship and closing the hatch, he strapped a small pack to his back and made his way to the cave. Draped over his shoulder were three extremely long spools of rope and on his head was what appeared to be a miner’s hat with lamp. He kept seeing Alec being pulled over the ledge. It was a disturbing vision that he couldn’t dispel. Arriving at the cave’s entrance, he looked down the hole that had led them to the battle. He turned and anchored the end of one spool to a sturdy tree close by, then tossed the rest of it down the hole, along with an extra spool he’d brought along. He watched it unravel as it fell. Then he switched on the miner’s lamp, slipped on some gloves, and grabbed a hold of the rope. He tugged hard to make sure it was tight then began his descent.
Epilogue
Faster Than Light
(Tuesday, October 16th 2057)
Two and a half years had passed since the loss of their parents and brother. As they sat in the cockpit of StarDancer II, Zach and Orion’s hearts beat rapidly. In minutes they were to realize their parents’ dream, one that had been taken away from them.
After the confrontation in South Dakota, Senator Fillmore had kept his promise. All of Meteoric’s assets were immediately seized by the government. Space Tech was returned to the Bindls intact, and the grant was restored. Those events were only a part of what had led to this moment.
There were also two years of intense labor and research by everyone at Space Tech’s facilities, the corporate headquarters, the OBL, Luna Base and, of course, where they were at that moment, the Outpost. They were in the midst of routine pre-launch checks, but both were thinking of their lost family members.
Ty, Joanne, Aunt Peggy, Uncle Nate, Captains Powers, and Lyet were also there behind consoles, along with numerous other control operators who were going over the checks with the two men in the ship. Ed had been invited but opted to stay on Earth. His new position as director of Space Tech’s Peace Task Force was keeping him away. That and the fact that he didn’t much care for space travel.
Ty glanced up at the large video board. Lyet had opted for this type of viewing in the control room instead of using holoimagery for observing flights. He never really gave a good reason why, but his crew said it was his love for the movie style of Digital Versatile Discs or, as he called them, DVDs. Either way was okay with Ty as long as nothing happened to his brothers. The video board showed the enormous ship
still in the dock, droids on solo flying platforms floating over it doing last minute inspections of the exterior.
The countdown hit five minutes, and Captain Lyet gave the recall orders for those droids. Less than a minute later, without the activity surrounding it, the ship looked lifeless.
Aunt Peggy and Uncle Nate made their way to the observation deck to take their seats. Ty decided to watch the launch from the control room. Joanne stayed by his side.
He had been so occupied with his thoughts and feelings that he hadn’t heard the final seconds counted off or the words, “We have a launch!” The Outpost shook beneath them. Joanne had her hand in his and tightly held his arm with her free hand.
The video board showed the ship slowly breaking free of its moorings. Thick, lifeline cables, lines, and large metal holding arms were retracting or being tossed aside with the sheer force of the launch. Ice crystals that formed on the StarDancer II fell from the hull and from the outer Outpost structure and floated aimlessly in the ship’s wake. It was an impressive sight.
Ty stared at the video display, barely breathing. Then Ty and Joanne glanced toward each other, smiled, and returned their gaze to the launch.
The Outpost stopped shaking. Ty took a few deep breaths and felt better. Joanne moved closer and tilted her head to rest it on his shoulder. The ship was slipping from sight and into the unknown. Soon, it was no longer visible on the big board and was replaced with tracking paths and other information.
Standing amid the buzz of activity, Ty felt this was the beginning of an incredible new era for mankind. The only thing that bothered him was that no one could tell exactly what the new era would bring.
Some thirteen hours into the mission a single alarm went off. Orion called out to Zach, “Seems as if we have some sort of disturbance to the rear of the ship. It’s not on the ship. It’s more like, oh say, two meters behind and under.”
After handing his brother a quick readout from the computer, he touched a plasma button and the rear holocam came online. They could see a long, deep depression that was maintaining a constant length behind them. It was surrounded by a multitude of swirling colors. They could see no end to the phenomenon.
“It’s steady and doesn’t seem to be interfering with the flight. I say we continue.”
“Agreed.” Zach was upbeat. “Everything checks normal.” The two brothers left the holocam on and got back to work, occasionally looking up to admire the strange view.
They were fourteen hours into the flight, and the time was drawing near. Everything had been good so far. They were already flying faster than anyone, other than their parents, ever had. Flipping pages in the flight manual and checking the holoscreen readouts in front of him, Orion announced, “Approaching mark point.”
Zach reached down to his side and pulled out a laminated sheet. This was the final checklist before reaching FTL speed. This was going to be the first successful manned FTL flight. His heart raced as he called out the checks:
“Forward obstruction sensors?”
“Online,” Orion called out.
“Rear obstruction sensors?”
“Online. The rear disturbance noted earlier has no change.”
“Star map nav system?”
“Online.”
“Star magnetic field sensors?”
“Online.”
“Field locations?”
“Locked.”
“Plasmat engine one?”
“Online.”
“Plasmat engine two?”
“Online.”
“Magna drives one through three?”
“Online.”
“All conventional engines?”
“Online. All drives and engines operational.”
“Drive synchro sensors?”
“Green.”
“Do you have the coordinates from Mom and Dad’s notes locked in?”
“Affirmative, we have coordinate lock.”
“Magnetic plasma shield?”
“Holding steady at one hundred percent.”
The checks continued for several more minutes. Now history was at hand. “Engage magna auto drive on my mark.”
Drawing a deep breath, Orion reached down and touched a plasma switch. Slowly he moved his hand behind the switch and gently rested two fingers on a set of plasma buttons. He heard his brother’s voice. Would this be the last time?
“Mark!” Zach barked out.
Orion pressed the keypads simultaneously.
Zach counted down: “Three, two, one. FTL has been achieved! Passing FTL and accelerating. Throttle back the magna drives and maintain a speed just over FTL. We don’t want to push the envelope on this trip.”
Just then the ship lurched upward, almost as if they’d hit a bump in the road. The forward obstruction sensor alarm went off. Their hearts pounded. The computer started to spit out data. Once again, Orion handed his little brother the sheets and instantaneously switched the holocam to the front of the ship. The front blast shield had been closed over the front viewing window, so the holocam’s image was being projected onto the back of it. What they saw astonished them.
The space in front of the ship now resembled the rear: a distorted depression about four, maybe five meters, flowed ahead of the ship and appeared to be maintaining that distance as they flew on. It too was surrounded by a colorful, swirling, tunnel. There was one difference: at the very end of the tunnel, there was a dime-sized hole through which the black of space could be seen. The hole never changed size or distance as they flew on.
“Oh my...” Zach could hardly breathe. “We’re space surfing.”
“You mean—No, it isn’t possible. It can’t be.” Orion too was astonished.
“Yes, I do mean! The rear disturbance or depression must have been created by the intense magnetism of our ship when we shifted the magna drives a little higher. It’s sort of a like a ship’s wake. Then, when we hit faster than light, it created the depression in front of us. We are in the middle, riding the wave. Space surfing. It even appears that we’re in a suspended state and not moving, but look at the instrumentation.” He pointed. “We are moving. And because we’re traveling at such a high rate of speed, the light has distorted and twisted into the multitude of swirling colors! Just keep doing what’s in the flight plan, maintain a constant speed.”
Orion obeyed his younger brother’s command and began working the controls. He started to breathe a little easier. They’d done it. The search was over.
Or is this just the beginning, he wondered.
“Begin transmission.” He spoke into the com, just as Neil Armstrong had when he’d first stepped foot on the moon. Orion had remembered a poem by John Masefield that they’d learned in high school. He began the transmission with it.
I must down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by,
And the wheel’s kick and the wind’s song and the white sail’s shaking,
And a grey mist on the sea’s face, and a grey dawn breaking.
I must down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.
I must down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull’s way and the whale’s way where the wind’s like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick’s over.
“StarDancer II has achieved FTL speed. As we accelerate our tall ship, we can say that mankind can now truly use the stars to steer by. We approach a neighboring star system in peace and we hope that, if only for this moment, you on Earth will reach out to your neighbor in peace and share in an achievement for every human, no matter what race, creed, or color. Orion
and Zach Bindl out.”
Zach was watching the still incredible view on the forward observation window’s blast door. It was nothing like what he’d thought it would be. The stars did not fly by in long white streaks. Instead they twisted and turned, distorted by the speed they were traveling and partially hidden by the bluish hue of the protective magnetic plasma energy shield.
After what felt like an eternity, the ship suddenly jarred, causing both of their hearts to sink.
“It’s nothing, Zach. We’ve reached the deceleration destination point. That was only the magna drive reversing polarity. We’re slowing down.”
Suddenly, the view in front of the ship flickered and the swirling stopped as the tiny black hole that was at the end of the tunnel grew rapidly. The depression disappeared and, in an instant, they could see the pinpoint light of the stars again. They switched the holocam to the rear. Now they saw nothing but black sky with stars.
“Zach, once our speed fell below light speed, the magnetic field must not have had enough of an effect to hold the surfing constant. I sure hope we’ve recorded and documented enough of this event. When we get home and present this, the scientific community is going to go nuts!” Orion let out a depth breath and went on, “Okay, now it’s time to get back to work.” He looked over at his brother, who was nodding his head in agreement.
Once again they got busy doing checks and rechecks. Everything still looked great. After a deceleration of about an hour and forty-five minutes, they entered the first solar system beyond Earth’s own. They couldn’t believe what they were witnessing.
It seemed small at first, but grew as they made their approach. It could have been Earth’s twin. Orion wanted a better view, a view outside the shield. After touching knobs and then pressing another, they heard a thump, and an object raced away from the ship. It broke through the shield and headed toward the planet. “Probe launched.”