by M A Scrawl
Sahara walked through the halls again, Kirby at his side. He smiled at one of the S.S.S guarding the halls, feeling refreshed, as Kirby had predicted. The pilots on Facility C had definitely needed some kind of practice to tone their skills, and the engineers haven’t tracked anything substantial in months. It was a clever idea, really. There was no chance of it being a bomb, but that didn’t really matter to the rest of Facility C. They heard ‘bomb,’ so they thought ‘bomb.’ The guard nodded and let them pass.
“There's something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about Abby,” Sahara said, eyes forward. “I apologize for how I behaved earlier. You asked me how long i’d been here, and I avoided the question. I shouldn’t have, but I did.”
Kirby shrugged. She had thought it strange that he had avoided the question, but she held no grudge against him.
“I’ve been here for five years Abby, running the lives of everyone here, . I wanted to go as soon as I discovered you were coming to be my assistant, but...”
Kirby looked at her shoes, not making eye contact with Sahara. She obviously thought she was stepping on a touchy subject, but she wasn’t. Kirby often did that, doing something, and then assuming she did it wrong because it hadn’t turned out the way she expected.
"But when I met you, I knew I couldn’t leave.” Kirby looked up sharply to see that Sahara was regarding her with amusement.
"You were posted here as an Overseer three years ago. I had planned to leave the year you came, but...Well," He continued on, and Kirby followed him around another corner. "You stopped me. Obviously, you were and still are brilliant, but you didn’t know anything about being Overseer. We’ve got some work to do before you are ready. So, I demoted you into an Overseer’s Assistant. I hope this makes sense to you."
Kirby continued on, slightly baffled at what Sahara had said. He had stayed for her. It made sense, but she hadn’t really understood why Sahara had demoted her. He tended to achieve actions without explaining it, trusting everyone around him would understand.
"You are a very peculiar person Abby," He said, not taking his eyes off her. "You only ever speak when you have to, and even then you only say what you must." He took his eyes off her and stared straight forward. “That might help you at times, but eventually you’ll have to change.”
What he had said was true. Abby was timid, and she knew it. Sahara knew something had happened to her in the past, something tragic and horrible. He had never asked, as he was afraid he would bring up a flaming memory. Maybe facing whatever had happened would help her...maybe not.
They arrived at the Office deck, doors lining the halls. Sahara opened the door and allowed Kirby to go ahead of him. She stepped in, glancing at her workpad. Pulling up the Alert screen, she noted there were 13 hours left before they would be able to do anything to the asteroid.
Kirby said farewell to Sahara, exited the office bay, and made her way to the Bunker Rooms. She looked about the satellite, observing the walls and ceilings. Dim lights lined the middle of the wall, and dull painted arrows could guided people to different areas of Facility C. Even with the guiding arrows she still had lost her way several times on her first week in Facility C.
Kirby stopped and took in the view next to a port window, stars shining through the clear glass. She put her hand on the thick glass and looked out in wonder as Earth entered her view.
Her long relationship with Sahara had only gifted her feelings of ambivalence towards him. Sahara seemed grim. Stern. Yet knowing that she was the reason for his remaining cast him in a vastly different light.
She inhaled slowly while she remembered. The recollection of her dream hovered. As a child, she had longed to be an astronaut. A silly notion, really. But now, she was actually there. Space! She existed on a satellite facility with full freedom to survey the galaxy whenever she pleased. It happened to be one of the few perks Facility C granted.
She thought back to when she had first come here. She remembered getting on the flying shuttle, buckling herself in, and clutching the vomit-bag she was holding. She hadn't expected it to be so unpleasant, and she hadn't been given any warning.
But it had been worth it. Coming and seeing the Earth looming below her was amazing and it felt invigorating to gaze out into the black unknown.
She ripped her eyes from the view with slight difficulty, and went on to the Bunker Rooms again.
How could Sahara be sick of being here? she thought. The grey colors and empty calendars can be dreary, but the view makes up for it all.
She entered her bunk room, 11-A. Placing her hand on the door, it opened into her room, recognizing her handprint with a short beep. There was her single bed in the right corner, a small wardrobe next to it, a desk, and a tiny closet-sized room with a shower, toilet, and sink. The room curved up slightly, as did everything in Facility C, and looking around, everything was neat and tidy.
She was very rarely in her room, spending most of her time in the Office or Control Decks.
She sighed, wanting something productive to do before the lights went out at 9:00.
She brushed her teeth, checked the alert screen, set an alarm, and went over the agenda for the next day, which wasn’t very much, and took up barely five minutes of time.
Despite the occasional report that needed to be filled out, there wasn’t much to do on Facility C. Coming here had required a lot of defense and gun training, astronaut training, heavy psychological evaluations, computer training, as well as medical history and exams, but there wasn't much here. True, there were bombs and secret chemicals, as well as confidential projects going on in Facility C, but she wasn’t part of them.
Her eyes scanned her room, critiquing it.Then her eyes settled on a picture frame of a handsome man, and his loving wife next to him, smiling. The woman looked young, with a joyful smile that Kirby hadn’t felt in a long while. The person that she used to be was in that photo, not Kirby as she was now.
The man was handsome, with a mischievous grin and blonde hair. They seemed so alive, so happy with their lives.
Kirby strode over and slammed the picture down, hiding the face of the man. Those memories were better left forgotten. She was better off not remembering him, the funny and cheerful man that he was.
Kirby took a deep breath, stuffing the picture under her bed, as far away from herself as she could get it.
She got in bed as the lights automatically clicked off at 9:00. Then she fell asleep, the sight of the stars burned into her mind, and the tragedy of the past shoved into a corner.
-Chapter 3-
-Encounter-
Kirby woke up to the sound of her alarm at 6:00, an hour before the asteroid hit Earth. She got up freshly, jumping out of bed with the same motivation she had been using every morning at 6:30. She walked over to her small closet, and got dressed, choosing from the small selection she had. Facility C governed the dress code in space, and apparently grey was in style. A grey suit with blue shoes was what she decided to wear, even though there wasn’t much of a choice. She brushed her teeth, and got her workpad, striding out of her room.
She pulled up a seperate screen on her workpad, and a voice spoke to her in a neutral voice.“Good morning Ms. Kirby. “
"Location of Samuel Sahara."
A loading icon showed up on her screen as the pad verified her voice, and searched for the Overseer. After a few heartbeats, the loading icon was replaced with typed words. The computer spoke in a monotone voice, repeating what it said on the pad."Samuel Jonathan Sahara’s location is in the Control Deck."
Kirby quickly ordered a tall coffee and a small pastry at the cafeteria. She sipped at her drink absent-mindedly as she glanced at her workpad.
Eventually, she made her way to the Control Deck, and Sahara stood there, glancing at one of the Engineer’s computers. He noticed Kirby enter.
"Glad you could join us, Abby," he said, grinning. "Mr. Replogle has just discovered something about the asteroid."
He gestured towards the screen
, and it showed a display of the asteroid. Pulling up another display on the Alert screen, it showed a series of Fraunhofer Lines. Next to the lines, a few different materials with labels sat beside each other, but one of them had a question mark above it.
Using some equipment place on the outside of Facility C, they were able to tell what material passing asteroids were made of, allowing them to observe the exact materials that passing asteroids are made ofl.
The Engineer named Replogle spoke, "Whatever this is sir, asteroid or bomb, it's made from a completely new substance!."
"When did you do this?" Kirby asked. The Engineer winced, "Yesterday. I thought maybe there was something wrong with the lines, so I had them check the system." He glanced a Sahara. "Nothing is wrong with the system sir. I should’ve contacted you before I did anything."
Sahara nodded, "It's quite alright Replogle. You were right in being careful." He stood up and buttoned his suit. "But whatever this is, its #1 priority to stop it and study it. Once we figure out whether or not it's an actual bomb, we shall either destroy it or keep it." Sahara glanced at his watch. 6:20. They had approximately 50 minutes before it made contact with Earth's atmosphere. If it passed through the atmosphere, it would break apart, just like a normal asteroid would. Asteroids that are the size of buses usually never make it to the ground, but are broken apart from the sudden and intense heat upon entering Earth.
"Do you understand?" The Engineer nodded, and typed several commands onto his desk, displaying Saharas’ orders on the Alert screen. As soon as it did, Sahara sat in the Overseers’ chair in the middle of the Control Deck. He stared hard at the projectile cruising through space on the main projector screen.
Kirby stood at his side, working on some paperwork on her workpad. Sahara was silent, his hand on his chin, examining the thing.
"When will we be able to stop it with the Shuttles?" Sahara asked. Kirby looked at her pad. "In 30 minutes sir." Sahara stood, getting out of the chair that he’d just gotten into. "Let's get ready then."
-----
The shuttle crew was separated into three different ships. They were trained in stopping and intercepting possible asteroids or bombs that could threaten Earth, and each man had been heavily trained to react to any situation. There was Patrol 1, Patrol 2, and Patrol 3, each one having three people inside each shuttle.
Their job was to intercept the projectile on its way to Earth, determine whether its a bomb or not, and destroy, or save it. In this case, if it was determined to be a bomb, they would destroy it by attaching a shrapnel explosive to it that would be powerful enough to destroy it. If it was an asteroid, they would save it and study it.
The shuttles themselves were large, square ships with a data panel on the front. They had the U.S. flag printed on the sides, as well as the ship number. They were, of course, colored grey. On the front of two of the ships was a Grapple Spear, which could be used to shoot out a cable with a long metal rod and pull an asteroid.
The shuttles weighed about 15 tons, while the supposed weight of the asteroid was around 10 tons. With a greater mass, and all three shuttles working together, they could navigate the thing safely to Earth without too much trouble.
The shuttles could hold four people, two in the front, two in the back, with double seatbelts. There was also a medical kit in the back in case of emergency, as well as a small supply of rations.
"Patrol Leader #1 check for engine systems," the Patrol Leader said from inside Shuttle 1. "Check," Came the answer from the second shuttle over the com. "Check."
"Patrol Leader #1 check for navigational systems."
"Check," replied Patrol Leader #2.
"Check," Patrol Leader #3 confirmed.
"Patrol Leader #1 check for medical supplies."
"Check."
"Check, Patrol Leader."
“Anything to add, Patrol Captains?"
"No, sir."
"No, sir."
"Lets rock and roll!"
The Shuttles disconnected from the side of Facility C, and the man-made gravitational pull disappeared as they flew away. "Testing com with Facility C. Come in Facility C." There was a short pause, and then the com answered, "We read you, Patrol Leader. Make your way to the interception point."
"Copy," the Patrol Leader said, verifying he heard the command. There was a long moment of silence as the shuttle cruised away from the Facility, and they got a good view of what it looked like on the outside.
The large satellite known as Facility C was grey on the outside, with poles between rectangle shaped rooms that curved inwardly. It was basically plastered with solar panels, and where there wasn't a solar panel, there was a window.
The Patrol Leader #1 continued on with the two other shuttles towards their destination. Before long, Patrol Leader Garrett Stevens saw the projectile burning towards them in the distance.
His smile faded as he saw it. His eyes widened and his voice became frantic as he saw the gleaming green surface, "Facility C, it's a bomb! Do you see this? That thing’s man-made!" Sahara's voice took over, “Careful men. You know what to do.”
The shuttles neared the bomb and turned around, riding alongside it. The thing neared and they slowed down slightly, and before they knew it, it was right in the middle of them.
Patrol Leader Garrett Stevens leveled his breath and changed his position in the pilot seat. He moved a small joystick on his control panel, and a camera screen in the top right of his viewing screen moved. He moved it to the left, his heart starting to pound, so that he was pointed straight at the bomb. The shuttle on the opposite side of him did the same.
"Spears ready?" he shakily asked, a bead of sweat trickling down his back.
"Ready," the other shuttle confirmed. Garrett Stevens flicked a small switch which fired both spears at the same time. A loud clang sound shuddered through the ship, the sound waves travelling through the spears, out of the cable, and into the shuttles. Stevens winced as he heard it. He paused, then slowly opened his eyes. He let out a pent-up breath. The bomb had not exploded as the spears went through it. That was good.
Pressing another button, the spears that were embedded in the bomb released hooks, firming the grip it had on its hull. He pushed another button, and the cable connected to the spear and the shuttle slowly tightened. The Patrol Leader flipped the engines into reverse, pulling away from the asteroid. Stevens grit his teeth as the asteroid resisted their pull.
“More!” he commanded through the com. He increased the engine boost, tearing the Asteroid away from Earth's gravity pull. He continued to let the engine roar, and finally, the navigational system on his screen indicated that they were no longer nearing Earth.
Stevens sighed in relief, and released his death-grip on the controlling joystick, decreasing the amount of power being shot out the back. Garrett smiled.
“Uhh, Patrol Leader?” Shuttle #3 asked.
Garrett frowned. “What's wrong #3?”
“I think I see a hole in the side of it. Permission to examine?”
A pause.
There was a chance that the hole in the side of it could have neutralized the bomb, but there was also the chance that examining it would make it explode.
Sahara sighed internally. He hated making these kinds of decisions. If he destroyed it, any chance of studying it would be gone. If he allowed his men to examine it, they could all die.
Sahara shook his head. He would let them do it, or Caspian Bard would chew him out. Sahara always seemed to be in the position to define people's lives. He hated that responsibility, but he had lived his entire life with that.
“Permission granted, shuttle #3,” Sahara said over the intercom.
“Acknowledged,” Patrol Lead #3 replied, and slowly neared the bomb.
Shuttle #3 pushed a button, and a drone detached from the front of the shuttle, a light and camera affixed to the front of it, as well as a small exhaust on the back. It came near the bomb’s hole, and after a pause, entered it.
A fe
w minutes passed of nervous tension as the drone, unseen, examined the bomb from the inside.
"Facility C, do you see this?" The com crackled. "Yes...We see it."
Garrett Stevens eyes wandered nervously. "What is it? Facility C? What's wrong?"
Sahara sat uncomfortably. He couldn’t take his eyes away from the sight of dead bodies,frozen and unrecognizable their bodies chunks of red ice, their hollow eyes staring, unblinking into the empty space above them.
The pilot from Shuttle #3 answered, "It's not a bomb. It's a shuttle.”
-Chapter 4-
-Discovery-
A few hours later, they touched down on Earth, laying the green ship down on grass in remote Alaska.
It had taken some heavy talking and planning to verify that the shuttles carrying The Ship were government-ordered and it shouldn't be immediately shot down. At the same time, it had also been difficult to verify that there were no people within a fifty miles.
“The Ship,” as the supposed bomb was now called, had been examined, tested, and examined and tested all over again to make sure it was not a bomb. It would be very embarrassing to find that it was still active, and it would be very difficult to explain to the government why they set a nuclear bomb in the middle of a Alaskan forest.
The crew set the ship down on a flat area with no trees and parked the shuttles nearby, patiently waiting for another team to come and set up a camp where they could study and analyze The Ship. This was of course, ordered by Sahara and Kirby.
Two more shuttles were brought down to Alaska, containing a set-up laboratory which was set up within an hour. Scientists crawled all over it in hazmat suits, some holding geiger counters.