The Accidental Explorer

by George Deeb

  “But your engine, even in its damaged condition, still generates a tremendous amount of energy.” said Farber-Chatwell. “That will surely give us an advantage in moving the ship – won't it?”

  Munen showed a disheartened look on his face.

  “Unfortunately it will not. All the energy we can generate will not be of any assistance in moving the ship. Our engines work on a different principle than yours do. We generate maximum power in a mixing chamber, and then control the amount of power that is released to effect acceleration and deceleration of the ship. The energy can be directed in all vectors to direct the path of the ship. At all times the power level in the mixing chamber is held at a level of ninety percent which is the Design Maximum Safe Continuous Power level, making it readily available. This energy is then routed to a Force Conversion Chamber, the output level of which can be controlled and directed. By using this two step process, we always have a high power level available to be used not only to propel the ship, but in all of the ships systems and external mining operations. That is where our problem is. We can still generate maximum power, but the Conversion Chamber is damaged beyond our ability to repair it. To make our situation worse, we are unable to accept your help in building a new conversion chamber because we would have to give you access to our technology to do so. That would violate the IGT.”

  “Even in a survival situation?” asked Travellor.

  “We are not in a survival situation.” replied Munen. “Thanks to our good fortune in making contact with the Trailblazer crew my people are all healthy, and except for not being able to contact their families in a very long time they are also relatively happy.”

  “Now the situation has changed.” said Benua-sil-Plessa, the Orysta's Chief Engineer. “With the Moon Base fleet presently at four ships, we may be able to pull the Orysta out of the crevice with the force of their combined thrust and that of our two shuttles. I've calculated that the combined force generated by all of the ships would be equal to the holding force being exerted on the hull.”

  “But that's just a stalemate.” said Dal Yimka.

  “Yes.” said Plessa. “A stalemate. That is why to win this game of chess we will place directional explosives around the periphery of the ship, to break the contact of some of the detritus. That may give us just enough advantage to pull the ship free.”

  “Isn't there a chance the explosives might damage the hull?”

  “There is a risk, but Orysta has calculated the shape and formulation of each explosive charge and it is an acceptable risk.”

  “Who decides what is acceptable?” asked Travellor.

  “I do,” replied Munen, “as Grilik of the Orysta, and my Tahn-grilik agrees with me. I have also informed all of my crew. They also agree it is a risk worth taking.”

  “Phewwwwww....” Travellor blew out a long breath, shaking his head. “It's your ship – and your decision. But I've been in situations that required decisions like this, and as often as not they don't work out well. You view the Orysta as a damaged ship. I see it as a machine system more capable than anything else we have available to us on Earth. It's a risk you're taking – maybe a big one. I don't have a problem with trying to yank her out of the ground, but the explosives up against her hull bothers me very much.”

  “Yes.” said Munen. “It bothers all of us very much also. Since there is a possibility of causing damage to outer hull, we would like have all Ganaphe' and Moon Base maintenance personnel on standby. Only myself, Califas, Plessa, and Valian will be aboard the ship during the attempt. All other Orysta crew members will be at the Moon Base as a precaution.”

  “We can do that.” said Travellor. “I need one point cleared up, though. You said our present shuttle engines can generate four hundred and thirty-seven percent of their regular thrust for a short period. Isn't that like using the family car for drag racing?”

  Munen looked confused at Travellor's unfamiliar cultural reference.

  “If you're asking if that will blow out the engines,” said Farber-Chatwell, “yes, it will. But we have replacement engines on site and with the new engine design being tested in a week, and assuming it will be a successful test and they go into service in a couple of months – we are talking about a Cove engine design after all - I've made the decision to sacrifice the engines for this purpose. They've already reached half their operational life so it's not really much of a sacrifice. Our ships will only be down for the time it takes to swap in the replacement engines, and the Orysta's shuttles will be operational during that time.”

  “Very well Commander.” said Travellor. “Just wanted to make sure that was clear to everyone.”

  9

  The Best we can do right now

  “Cable systems?” prompted Munen, over the comm.

  “Shuttle 1 connected and ready...” the replies came back from each pilot of the six shuttles.

  ”...Shuttle 2 connected and ready..., Moonbase 1 connected and ready..., Moonbase 2 connected and ready..., Moonbase 3 connected and ready..., Moonbase 4 connected and ready...” came the other replies.

  Munen recognized each voice. Over the years Orysta and Trailblazer personnel had come to know each other very well by working together in combined operations. There weren't that many people on the moon in total, so it wasn't hard to know everyone else. Everyone on station knew everyone else, their job functions, and even had knowledge of their families back home. Personnel changeover didn't occur very much – in fact it was rare.

  The exchange of information between the two groups was unprecedented in modern history, as far as Munen knew. Medical personnel of both species had no problem treating either group since their physiology was so close. Their were only minor differences, no doubt caused by evolution on slightly different planets. Ganaphe' technology was more advanced than Human technology because they had been developing it for a longer period of time – about one hundred Earth years or so longer. Now that Humans were shown that certain principles of physics were not as limited as they had believed, their imaginations would be released from their present scientific dogma. The same had happened in other galaxies and the accelerated development was without exception.

  “Flight Commander Balfour, this is Grilik Munen. I am Turning control of the mission over to you.”

  There were a few seconds of silence, then a female voice came over the comm.

  “Confirmed, Grilik Munen. All ships and flight personnel, this is Flight Commander Balfour taking control of Operation Best Shot. Operation Best Shot is now in effect. Stand by for further instructions.” said Brighde Balfour, with the authority of experience and knowledge in her voice, and a slight Scottish accent.

  Brighde Balfour was relatively new to Trailblazer Moon Base. In her early forties, she took early retirement from the RAF, after she was enticed into her new position by Farber-Chatwell. Recruiting the top people in their field was what he did, and he did it well. It had taken some time to convince her to accept a position with an unknown organization that promised travel to places she had never been to, and she had no idea that Farber-Chatwell was one of the top people in this unknown agency. They had asked almost too much of her. There were background checks she had to authorize, and intense interviews she tolerated, not to mention the psychological testing she almost screamed about in frustration because she couldn't see the sense of it all. But she had known Farber-Chatwell for many years, and trusted his judgment – and she just couldn't overcome the allure of the promised pay scale. She could spend her whole life in the RAF and still couldn't come close to that kind of money. Even private industry couldn't come close.

  It was that first evening one month ago, when she was waiting at the small airport outside of town for the transport that was to take her to her new job, that she learned that none of the promises were exaggerated. Expecting a small private aircraft to arrive and pick her up, she was surprised almost into shock when a strange looking vehicle appeared in front of her from nowhere, and Farber-Chatwell came out of
it to help with her bags. She remembered how her heart pounded in her chest as she realized they were actually leaving the Earth's atmosphere at an unbelievable speed and heading into space – and she was wearing her new business suit with appropriate three inch heels. She also remembered how the shock turned to excitement as they approached their destination and she realized they were going to land on the moon! The shuttle doors opened up inside the Orysta, and she was welcomed by a contingent of 361 and Ganaphe' personnel – and she had absolutely no desire to look back. She knew without question that she was where she wanted to be.

  Since then she had taken over the position of Flight Commander, and no one had any doubt about her competency. She had learned the best operational procedures of both the Orysta and Trailblazer flight crews and equipment, and combined them into a new encompassing Flight Procedures Manual. It was one of the reasons she was hired for the job, and she did it in less than three weeks – far less time than was expected of her. All personnel operated by those procedures now. When the manual was reviewed by command personnel of both groups, they agreed that it defined the best operating procedures for Earth to Moon flight. Grilik Munen had had to agree to an increase in the number of Trailblazer personnel to permit her to be here, and after seeing her work product he didn't regret it. The total number of ships operating from the base was six, and two more were scheduled to be added to the Trailblazer fleet within the next two months. Flight operations had reached the point where there had to be a single control authority. Balfour was now accepted by both groups as that authority.

  “Best Shot flight, this is Balfour. Obtain your hovering positions, and maintain cable tension. Report in sequence when ready.”

  All six shuttles slowly rose above the moon's surface until the cables attached between each ship and the Orysta became tight. They hovered in pattern with a Ganaphe' shuttle at the middle of each end of the the mining ship. Two moon base shuttles were equally spaced at each side of the ship. The shuttles were attached to re-enforced points on the mining ship's hull. This configuration was selected to give a more uniform distribution of lifting force on the Orysta.

  ”Best Shot 1 in position and standing by...” came the first reply using the mission designation. “Best Shot 2 in position and standing by..., Best Shot 3 in position and standing by..., Best Shot 4 in position and standing by..., Best Shot 5 in position and standing by..., Best Shot 6 in position and standing by.”

  “Roger, Best Shot flight. Sync flight computers now please.”

  Each shuttle commander placed their flight computer in synchronous mode. On the screen in front of Balfour, a diagram depicting the shuttles in their positions above the Orysta showed blue connecting lines between the ships, indicating the flight computers were now communicating with each other and working as a single control system. This was necessary so that the lifting force of each ship could be equalized in real time, since the Ganaphe' and 361 shuttles had different power capabilities. As the flight computers linked together, subtle initial adjustments in thrust were made so that each ship applied the same amount of tension on their cable. The amount of tension had to be equal at all six connecting points or damage to Orysta's hull could occur.

  Inside the Orysta came a low groan and screeching caused by the rocks scraping the outside of the hull as the ship moved just slightly under the tension of the cables. Then a thicker, flashing blue line appeared on Balfour's screen showing that the Orysta's main computer had achieved control of the linked flight computers.

  “Orysta, this is Best Shot control. Shuttles are in position, and I show that your main computer has linked up. Please confirm.”

  On Benua-sil-Plessa's display was a diagram indicating the Orysta's computer was linked and in control of the shuttle craft flight systems. A diagram of the Orysta was also depicted with the six points where the cables were attached. Next to each point was a digital readout of the amount of tension applied to those points. Also shown on the diagram, in red, was the location of each of the shaped charges that had been placed near the ship's hull. It had taken days of around the clock work to penetrate the surrounding soil and place the explosives in position.

  “All systems are functional and ready, Grilik.” said Plessa.

  “Best Shot control this is Orysta.” said Munen. “We show all systems are ready to execute.”

  “Roger Orysta. Maintenance team, report status.” said Balfour, as she read down her checklist.

  “Control this is Maintenance team. Ready to disconnect umbilical on your order.”

  Balfour took a deep breath as she reviewed the rest of the check list. The umbilical supplied the base with an enormous amount of power. Disconnecting the moon base from the Orysta power line was the point of no return item. From that moment on they would be committed to completing the extraction attempt. During the extraction the Ganaphe' camouflage system would be shut down. Anyone with a line of sight view would be able to see the base. The structure was large enough that an amateur astronomer on Earth could spot it with a decent quality telescope. Also, and the base would be strictly on its own power generators.

  “Stand by Maintenance team. Security, this is Best Shot control. How long before satellites?” asked Balfour, as her eyes scanned the sky around the base while waiting for the reply.

  “Control – Security. We have one hour and thirteen minutes until we will be in the peripheral view of GRAIL-B and three hours and seven minutes before the LRO is a factor.”

  'One hour and thirteen minutes.' thought Balfour. 'That should give us plenty of time.' It was her decision to make.

  “All Best Shot personnel, this is Control. We have slightly more than one hour and ten minutes to complete our job. If all goes according to mission profile, that should be more than enough time. Moon Base – prepare for disconnect from the Orysta. Maintenance Team – disconnect the umbilical and separate the passageway. Report when completed.”

  “This is Maintenance – will do!”

  10

  Travellor sat in his office, monitoring the communications of Operation Best Shot, like everyone else on the base was doing. He felt agitated at not being in control of the mission. But it was not his job, and he knew it. He had never considered himself a control freak, but wondered if he was developing into one. No, he assured himself, it was just the anxiety of knowing what was at stake. The only way for the base to continue to exist in safety was for the Ganaphe' camouflage system to be put back into operation as soon as possible. That meant that whether this attempt was a success or failure, they had to get the power connected back from the Orysta on a priority basis. If a secret moon base suddenly appeared in telescopes around the world, there were plenty of countries that would immediately consider it a threat. Trailblazer Moon Base would be targeted by someone. He knew Balfour was aware of this – she had clearly outlined it in her mission plan. It was a very thorough plan, and he was amazed by her competence – especially for someone who had been on station for such a short time. She had immersed herself in learning everything there was to know about the base and the Orysta, and did so far faster than he ever could have.

  The lights in the room flickered for just a fraction of a second, and he knew they had disconnected power from the Orysta. The base was exposed now. The one very important thing he hadn't even considered until now was the Ganaphe' – and the Orysta – not being there. He had grown to consider the people and ship as part of Trailblazer Moon Base. That's what happens when you live and work so closely together for a long time. But they weren't part of it. They were far from their home and families, and if the opportunity came by to go back there they would. The problem was he hadn't been thinking far enough into the future. Nothing remains the same forever. So now he had some new priorities to consider, among them being the increase of power generation capacity on the base. Second would be the development of a shuttle that could travel to Earth and back in practical time. He didn't expect they would match the speed capability of the Ganaphe' shuttles – no
t for a while anyway – but they had to be able to operate in and out of the Earth's atmosphere. They had to develop these now, while the Ganaphe' were still here. 'To hell with going to another galaxy.' he thought. 'Lets just be able to go to Earth and back.'

  11

  “Control, this is Maintenance Team. The umbilical has been disconnected and the passageway separated. We are moving back to the base.”

  “Roger Maintenance Team.” replied Balfour. “Report when you are in a safe and secure position.”

  “Will do.”

  The base was unusually quiet. The operation was being broadcast over the base's paging system, and everyone was intent on what they were hearing. Some listened while sitting in the lounge area, where outside cameras showed the shuttles hovering over the location of the Orysta. Those on duty listened in over the comm system, but Balfour now went over the base alert system, so that no one anywhere would miss her next words. The alert system accessed every corner of the base and the Orysta. It went into the living quarters, labs, recreational facilities, and also to any personnel outside on the moon's surface.