by K. D. Mattis
Space Corps
Revelation
K. D. Mattis
Contents
Copyright
Also by K. D. Mattis
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Coming Soon from K. D. Mattis
Copyright
Copyright © 2018 K. D. Mattis
All rights reserved.
This novel is a work of fiction. All characters, places, and incidents described in this publication are used factiously, or are entirely fictional.
No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted, in any form or by any means, except by an authorized retailer, or with written permission of the publisher. Inquiries may be addressed via email to [email protected]
Cover design by Rob Erto
Electronic edition, 2018
Print edition, 2018
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Also by K. D. Mattis
The Space Corps Series
Book 1: Revelation
Book 2: Symbiant
Book 3: Retribution
1
“Admiral, we’ll be boarding the US Space Corps exploration vessel in just a few hours.”
Admiral Kayla Asher smiled and brushed away a loose strand of tightly curled blonde hair. The cramped cockpit of the space shuttle grew old, but the window made the small space bearable. Looking out, she saw the sun rising on Earth’s horizon.
The pilot craned his neck. “It’s a beautiful sight. During normal orbit, you’ll see the sun rise and set sixteen times a day.”
“How often do you make this run?” Asher asked.
“A few dozen times a week,” said the pilot.
“Does it ever get boring?”
“I’ve been on more than a dozen missions.” He made a minor course correction. “I can promise you it doesn’t.”
Straining, the new admiral could see a speck in the distance. She didn’t need anyone to tell her what it was. She recognized it as the International Space Station. Just to the side sat a considerably larger craft.
“We’ll need to make two more complete orbits around the planet, and then we can dock with the station,” said the pilot.
Turning to the commanding officer of the shuttle, Asher asked, “May I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
“I heard you had the chance to spend some time onboard the station. Why didn’t you take it?”
“Family, sir. My wife doesn’t like me to leave for too long, and I don’t like to leave her. The relationship works well that way.”
“Is living on the station all they make it out to be?”
“I would imagine it’s pretty miserable. It’s just about as cramped as can be. There’s barely enough room to stretch out.”
“I saw a million pictures of the station when I was growing up. I always wondered what it would feel like to live inside for more than just a day or so.” Asher sighed. “I know the risks of long term exposure in space, but I think that sitting so high above the Earth is worth it.”
“There certainly are risks,” the captain said, “but your ship is much better. The construction of the International Space Station started in 1998. The plans are even older than that. Your ship is much newer and much better.” With the flick of his fingers, he threw an image of the ship on screen next to an image of the station. “It’s hardly fair. The ship’s quite a bit bigger than the station.”
“That will change soon enough,” Asher said.
With the first orbit around the Earth complete, Asher felt her skin tighten and tingle with excitement.
Floating through the airlock and into the space corps vessel, Asher heard a loud but gentle whistle announce her presence.
“Admiral on deck!” shouted a yeoman.
Everyone in sight jumped to attention as well as they could. To set themselves up to give a salute, men and women in blue jumpsuits pushed off metal and held themselves in place with their free hand.
People stood all around her with their bodies oriented however they pleased. No matter how many times she saw it, the sight amused her. Asher heard crewmen of the space corps call her admiral before, but hadn’t grown used to the title. The way the title echoed out down the corridors of exposed metal, piping, and cables surprised her, and she took a moment to take it all in.
“As you were.”
With three words from Asher, the crew hurried back to work.
Only one woman remained. She pushed off the wall to meet Asher. Reaching down to her feet, she hit a button on the side of her unusually bulky boots.
Looking up at the admiral, Senior Corpsman Chase said, “There’s a pair waiting for you in your quarters, if you would like to see them. It’s great to feel weightless, and it’s great to float everywhere, but it does look a bit ridiculous.”
“My quarters? I was told we would use barracks because of the lack of available space.”
The corpsman smiled. “It was a bit of a surprise. I’m sorry to have ruined it. I assumed that the paperwork would have found its way to your desk. All crewmen will bunk in the barracks. Because you’re an admiral, you get a special treat. They’ve set aside some space for some quarters. It’s nothing large, and it’s nothing amazing, but it’s your own space.”
While small, the hall connecting to the airlock bore clean lines. In the corners, cables and pipes ran, protected by a thin casing. Not an ounce of space went to waste, which made having her own quarters more special. It would have been just as easy for them to give her space in the barracks.
“If I’m going to help start this thing up, I need to change into my static suit,” Asher said. “I would appreciate it if you’d take me to my quarters, Corpsman…?”
“Senior Corpsman Chase, sir. I’m one of the yeomen on this ship. I focus primarily on staffing and crew coordination. Speaking of which, I was wondering if you had a name picked out. We have crews ready to finalize the markings across the ship.”
Asher had seen every detail drawn out on paper, but seeing it in person felt completely different.
Chase asked, “Did central command finalize the designation of the ship?”
“Unofficially, this is very much a military vessel, capable of exerting considerable force.”
“And officially?” Chase asked.
“They settled on exploration and colonization.” With a smirk, Asher added, “It seemed necessary to calm the political waters. Let’s solidify that. Let’s call it Explorer. Complete the markings and registration.”
“I think it sounds wonderful. Although, if I can be completely honest, you could call it anything you want, and I’ll still be excited to serve on it.”
“That makes two of us.”
After changing into a static j
umpsuit and working in the engineering portion of the ship, Asher made two final adjustments to the panel she was inspecting. Looking around, she saw others standing or floating without any more work to do.
From deep in the engine of the vessel came a loud shout. A man and several crewmen shot out of a maintenance shaft and into the main engineering room.
“That’s it, people! Construction is complete. We’re ready to light this candle.”
Looking around, the man noticed Asher. Pushing off a piece of pipe, he shot down to the admiral.
“Sir, I’m so sorry, but I wasn’t aware you would be down here.”
Covered in sweat, the man struggled to catch his breath before continuing. “I can’t tell you what an honor it is. I’ve worked for months building this engine. Before that, I spent months going over the designs. Is it true?”
“Is what true?”
“Did you really design the engine yourself?”
Smiling, Asher said, “In part. Of course, others like you helped adapt it for this particular ship.”
The man’s face filled with dread. “Sir, I’m so sorry.” Snapping into a salute, the man said, “Commander and Chief Engineer Thomas Reynolds, at your service.”
“Introductions can wait,” Asher said. “What do you say we get this thing turned on?”
Asher, Reynolds, and Chase turned on their magnetic boots and walked to the bridge. The trek took a long time, but Asher savored every step.
The brightly colored metal consoles on the bridge glistened. Each had dual monitors, but none displayed anything yet. Only emergency lighting lit the room.
Asher saw the command chair, surrounded with its own monitors and consoles, in the very center of the room. Despite her first instinct to run over and jump into the seat she maintained her composure and walked slowly over to the chair, running her fingers over the back of the seat, feeling the stitching under her fingers. And when the call of the chair grew too loud to ignore, Asher sat down.
Reaching for a small microphone, Asher cleared her throat.
“Sir,” yeoman Chase said, “there’s one more thing before we begin.”
In her arms, the corpsman held a brass plaque.
“Back home, it’s customary to christen a ship with a bottle of champagne. We obviously can’t break a glass bottle over the hull, so we figured we’d start a new tradition. We figured we would have the first commanding officer of a new ship mount a nameplate on the wall.”
Asher stood. She didn’t know what to say.
Looking at the plaque with a worried face, Chase said, “You said you wanted to call it Explorer, is that right?”
Asher fought the joy inside her, instead pulling on her officer’s reserve. “That’s exactly right, Corpsman.”
Handed a drill and the nameplate, Asher found an empty spot at the back of the command bridge. After fixing the plate in place, she polished it with the cuff of her jumpsuit.
“The USSC Explorer,” Asher whispered.
“It’s official now, sir,” Reynolds said. “Marking on the hull will take a few more days. It’s surprisingly tricky to apply in a vacuum.”
“Let’s turn it on,” Asher said, fighting off a slight tremble in her voice.
Slamming into her chair, Asher grabbed the microphone once more. “All hands, prepare for activation of ship power.”
Lieutenant Elizabeth Card, the communications officer, ran over to her console to accept transmissions from key areas of the ship. Her eyes ran through a rapidly moving feed of information. “We have the all-clear, Admiral.”
“Begin introduction of fuel.”
Card nodded and distributed the orders to the various teams across the ship.
“Activate main power generators.”
Slowly, the lights across the ship came to life and lit the halls and hull of Explorer. One by one, the monitors on the bridge turned on and started transmitting data.
“Activate backup power generators.”
“Done,” Card said.
Asher couldn’t hide her pride and fear. She couldn’t help but wonder if her untested engines would work. While they had been tested in a simulation, they had never been used in the field.
“Activate primary engines.”
A rumble came from the back of the ship. In a matter of moments, it dulled to a quiet pulse.
“That’s it,” Reynolds said. “The Explorer has officially taken its first breath.”
“Comm,” Asher said, “contact Central Command. We’re ready for testing. Have them send the rest of the crew.”
2
The Explorer shook as the space station removed its docking clamps. The noise ran down every corner of the vessel and announced the readiness of the ship. When the noise reached Admiral Asher on the command bridge, she smiled.
“Admiral, docking clamps have been removed.”
Asher nodded to the corpsman. “Understood. Let me know when the docking clamps have been completely retracted.”
“It’s done, sir. We are prepared to depart on your command.”
“Very well. Pilot, guide us out slowly.”
A loud rumble came from the back of the vessel, shaking the ship and pushing it away from the space station. As one, Asher and the bridge crew reached for their thick shades, covering their eyes from the dangerous and beautiful light.
The admiral felt the movement of the Explorer through the constant vibration and intermittent jolts to the ship, all coming from the engines. Unrestricted by gravity, if it hadn’t been for the harness that held her to her seat, she would float across the command bridge.
Through the viewport at the front of the bridge, the edge of Earth disappeared from view. On one of the many screens lining the walls, Asher watched as the space station grew smaller behind her vessel. As the ship drifted farther away from the station and from Earth. Soon the planet would fade into nothing more than a dot in the distance.
For every bit of excitement she felt about departing Earth, she also felt a bit of fear. Though burning a new path, they did so alone. They lost the ability to restock their vessel for months. The longer they traveled away, the longer it would take any communications to reach Earth.
Lieutenant Robert Harris, the pilot turned his chair to face the admiral. “Sir, we’ve reached acceptable distance from the station. We can increase the speed at any time.”
“Very well,” Asher said, “plot a course for Mars.”
“Yes, sir. It’s done. The course will take roughly a month and a half if things go according to plan.”
Asher hit a series of buttons on the arm of her chair. “Pilot, please inform engineering to prepare the engines for planned cruising speed.”
The pilot nodded and pulled a microphone close to his mouth.
Taking a deep breath, Asher reached for a microphone of her own to address the crew. “All hands, please prepare for launch procedures. We will depart in a matter of minutes. Before we do, we will be making a final broadcast to Earth for national broadcast. They will use footage from our security cameras at random as we make final preparations for departure, so look sharp. We only get one shot at this.”
Lieutenant Card turned toward the admiral. “Sir, they’re ready to begin the departure broadcast.”
“They can begin immediately.”
“Yes, sir.”
The communications officer spoke into her microphone several times before again turning to the admiral. “Sir, we’re live in five, four.” The officer stopped speaking and instead held up three fingers. Then two. Then one.
The interchange between the admiral and the press room on Earth broadcast over the intercom for all the crew to hear. On a small screen to her right, the admiral could see the room through a camera set up for her. Throughout the interview, they would see images from the inside of the ship on a large projection screen at the front of the room.
“And we now join the first admiral of the United States Space Corps live onboard the Explorer just moments before she leads h
er crew on the first manned mission to Mars. Admiral, would you remind everyone of the purpose of this mission?”
Asher replied, “Certainly. We’re headed to Mars to set up the first self-sustaining colony on another planet. We’ve got a large crew here with us because a sizeable number of them will be left behind on the Mars colony as soon as it is deemed safe for human habitation.”
“Now, Admiral, I understand you’re facing a bit of a race getting there. Would you mind telling us about that?”
“When the Chinese heard about our mission, they decided they wanted to beat us there. They had already beat us in developing a colony on the moon, so being the first to do so on Mars would be a mark of superiority. And though we were on track to leave at about the same time, the space corps delayed our departure due to safety concerns. As you already know, I faced a lot of scrutiny over this decision, but I stand by it.”
The reporter continued with her questions. “So how far ahead are the Chinese?”
“That’s hard to determine,” Asher said. “They left about a week ago, but we don’t know how fast their engines are. Using our Ion Pulse Drive, or IPD, we expect we’ll complete the trip in about a month and a half. The Chinese Space Agency says theirs will do about the same, but we don’t have any way to tell. I guess we’ll have to see who has a flag planted in Martian soil first.”
With a laugh, the reporter continued. “Well, I certainly don’t want to be the one to cost you the race, Admiral. I understand that our video feed will be knocked out after you fire off the engines, but would you mind if we stayed with you until that point?”