by Phoenix Hays
“I don’t... Wait, was that movement?”
“Yes,” Victor said. “Someone with decent camouflage is testing us. He’s wearing brown and tan clothing to blend in with the field. Put your ears on.”
Patrick frowned and narrowed his eyes but slid the ear protectors down onto his head anyway.
Victor raise the rifle and change his stance slightly before firing a shot. The boom echoed in the small room and even though it was muffled by the ear protection, the sound startled Patrick.
Victor reached to the panel again and touched a part of it.
“That was your only warning.” Victor’s voice echoed across the field. “You are on private property and need to leave immediately.”
The person in the distance slowly stood up.
“Leave now and no harm will come to you,” Victor said.
The person turned and ran in the other direction.
“Adam, cancel the lockdown once you have confirmation that the trespasser is gone.”
“Canceling lockdown now,” Adam said.
Victor removed his ear protectors and Patrick did the same.
“Well then, Patrick. Let’s go report back to Duke.”
The two men put their eye and ear protection back in their storage compartments, and the pill box slowly sank back into the ground. A few brief seconds later, they climbed down the ladder in the floor of the miniature bunker and headed back into the interior of Site B.
CHAPTER 58
Joe looked up as the warning light near the front door turned off, signaling the end of the lockdown.
“Finally,” Ayrin said, rolling her eyes.
“That was the longest one, yet,” Joe said. “And there was nothing about it being a test.”
“Maybe it was the real thing,” Ayrin said.
“I’m sure if it was something we needed to worry about, they would have let us know,” Mary said. “Maybe it was just a false alarm?”
“Yeah, maybe,” Joe said.
“Tell you what,” Mary said, “when your dad comes home, you can ask him. He’ll tell us if it was important.”
Ayrin nodded but Joe didn’t say anything.
“Come on,” Mary said. “Let’s play a game of Zeroed.”
“Alright,” Joe said as he stood and shuffled to the table in front of the couch.
Yellow dice rolled across the table. Before the family knew it, they were already into their third game.
CHAPTER 59
Duke leaned forward at the table inside the M31 conference room.
“And the person just turned and left after the warning shot?” Duke asked.
“Yes,” Victor said. “But they intended to get closer than they did.”
“Why do you say that?”
“They weren’t holding position at the edge of the property. This intruder was moving forward and dressed in clothing that matched the landscape,” Victor said. “If I hadn’t seen the odd shape at the top of the hill, Adam’s sensor readings are all that we would have had to go on.”
Duke rubbed his chin in thought. “Conclusions?”
“I think we should hope that this was just a local who saw the rocket launch the other night and was curious to see more.”
“And if it isn’t?” Richard asked.
“This could be the Fatalists trying to find us and the first attempt to test the facility,” Victor said.
Duke sighed. “I hate that name.” He sat back in his chair. “What do you mean by first attempt?”
“It would make sense that the news of our launch has quickly spread. If this was them, once they were able to get a rough idea on where the launch initiated, their first move would be to send someone on to the property to probe our response.”
“Why do you say that?” Duke asked.
Victor leaned forward. “Because it’s what I would do.”
“Like moving a pawn forward in a chess game,” Patrick said.
Victor turned to him. “Exactly.”
“Let’s say this is the beginning of a larger strategy,” Duke said. “What would be the next move for us?”
“Honestly?” Victor said, sitting back. “I think we lay low. Anything we do to overreact will either create more curious neighbors or embolden the—” Victor stopped himself.
Duke’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“Terrorists,” Victor said, finishing his sentence. “Have Adam activate and deactivate our defenses if any new incursions happen. If he is slower than we would normally be and does it in a way that makes it seem like there are large gaps in the defense grid, we might get them to plan on larger offensives in areas where we have nothing important, or we could force them into choke points.”
“I could do that,” Adam said. “It was fun messing with them back in Memphis, and it would not take long to work up the layout of such a strategy.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Duke said, standing up. “Victor, I’ll leave the details to you, Richard and Adam. Get a good night’s sleep afterward. I’ll see you all in the morning.”
He headed out of the room.
“Duke!”
Duke turned to see Patrick following him into the hallway.
“Yes, old friend?”
“Look,” Patrick said. “I know that we’ve already talked about this. But please think about what we just witnessed.”
“And that is?”
“Victor is clearly someone who has been a major asset for this effort. He came to Memphis with little more than a belief that we were doing something worth being a part of and the hope that he would be able to help. How do we not save him and his family?”
Duke’s jaw clenched and his eyes narrowed. He clasped his hands behind his back and leaned forward.
“I am not prepared to have my decisions second-guessed. This whole project is based on calculating every small detail. We can’t just add people because they might be deserving just to doom everyone and everything we are trying to accomplish!”
Duke pivoted and stormed away, his powerful arms swaying with each stride.
Patrick’s shoulders slumped, and he reached up to scratch the back of his head. He sighed.
At least I tried.
CHAPTER 60
Victor took a bite of the sandwich Mary fixed for dinner and finished his story.
“Once we found out that there was nobody there,” Victor said, “we canceled the lockdown.”
The family looked back at him, expecting more.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “That was it. If you are looking for some excitement, there’s going to be a dual launch tonight. The best way to watch is on TV. What do ya say?”
Joe didn’t react, still hoping to hear something else about the lockdown.
“That sounds like fun!” Mary said.
“OK,” Joe said with a sigh.
Just before 9 P.M., Victor turned on the TV to watch the dual launch. An announcer was already speaking.
“These rockets are carrying payloads that will help to finish the structure of the Sanctuary ship. Our countdown will begin shortly.”
Within a few minutes the end of the countdown neared and the camera started to shake.
“Eight. Seven. Six. Five. Four. Three. Two. One.”
Smoke shot upward from a circular hole in the ground. A similar plume erupted from a hole to its right. An Odyssey rocket began to emerge, rising up and out from the smoke on the left. Once half of the rocket was in view, the other rocket broke through the top of the smoke on the right. The first rocket cleared the smoke revealing the red-orange exhaust of the engine cone. The second rocket chased its mate as they accelerated up into the sky. The camera zoomed in as the ships streaked upward. They grew smaller and smaller until eventually, both disappeared from view.
Joe exhaled, realizing he had been holding his breath.
“That was exciting, huh?” Mary asked.
The kids nodded.
“Alright,” Victor said. “Head off to bed. Good night.”
CHAP
TER 61
Adam floated in the middle of the M31 conference room. “As you remember a few weeks ago, we witnessed asteroids being disrupted from the passage of the Oppenheimer String.”
Duke and the full complement of his management team turned to the monitor on the wall.
“Not all of the asteroids are headed our way, thankfully. But we did record this video yesterday that shows what we might be dealing with.”
An image of Mars came into view. Several points of light appeared behind the planet and began to grow larger.
“In this case.” Sanjeed said, “Mars is providing us with a warning of what could be.”
“Are these objects part of the Oppenheimer group or from our own asteroid belt?” Patrick asked.
Duke leaned back in his chair. “These asteroids are well ahead of the main group, so it makes sense that these objects were flung forward from our asteroid belt. But at this point, it doesn’t make much difference.”
Adam floated to the side of the room. “Indeed. Incoming is incoming.”
A series of five asteroids racing toward Mars grew larger and more defined – their irregular shapes spun as they closed in on the planet. Zooming in, the camera focused on a smaller portion of Mars. The lead asteroid hit the surface, creating a plume of red dirt just to the right of the center of the picture.
“That could be us,” Victor said to Patrick.
The four trailing asteroids began impacting the surface of the planet. A series of explosions built on each other until part of the planet was hidden behind a roiling cloud of red dust.
Everyone in the room recoiled from the screen.
A wide-eyed Victor raised his hand to his mouth.
Duke spoke up. “Adam, is there any change in your projections for the asteroids headed our way?”
“No, sir,” Adam said. “Trajectory and speed of the Earth-bound objects are unchanged. Many of the potentially affected areas include Africa, the southern United States and the Pacific Ocean.”
“All right, everyone,” the CEO said. “We need to move our timetable up. Our clock is down to just a few weeks to complete the Ascent to Sanctuary.”
Victoria’s jaw dropped and she turned to share a wide-eyed look with Sanjeed as he dropped the stylus he had been using on his data pad. Miyako gasped, lifting her hand to the side of her head.
Clarence sat up and put his hands on the table. “Duke, we aren’t even close to finalizing the procedures for loading the agri-rockets. There have also been delays in procuring the fuel for the passenger vehicles.”
Duke held his hands up. “I know what I’m asking is ahead of the previous schedule, but we can’t afford to have these impacts hinder or completely stop our progress. Tomorrow morning, I need status reports from each of your departments highlighting the challenges you will have in meeting this deadline. Look internally for solutions, and then we’ll see what assistance other teams can provide.”
Sanjeed picked up his stylus, pursed his lips, and tapped at his data pad. Victoria’s mouth closed and her jaw clenched. Clarence straightened his shirt, and Victor took a deep breath as he wiped down across his mouth and chin with his open hand. Concern and shock in the faces around Duke slowly melted into determination.
“It’s going to be a long night,” Duke said. “I will make myself available if you need my assistance.”
As was typically the case when a Space Vision meeting ended, the attendees burst into action with several heading out of the room while others stayed behind to make calls or work on their data pads.
CHAPTER 62
Patrick looked around at the piles of paper in his office and leaned back in his chair.
For a place I like to call my work home, I sure need to fire the maid.
He looked up at the wall monitor to see yet another rocket taking off during a rare morning launch. It was the seventh since the beginning of Space Vision’s Ascension. A buzz at the door alerted him to a visitor.
“Come in,” he said.
The door opened to reveal Duke Evensen standing there.
“Duke!” Patrick said standing up. “Please come in.”
Duke walked in without saying anything and sat down in front of the desk.
Patrick sat back down. “What’s wrong?”
“Have you seen any changes in the actions of anyone in the upper management?” The CEO’s eyebrows were low over his dark eyes.
“Uhm... no?”
“In spite of the strategy of feinting our defenses and staggering our launches as best we can,” Duke paused. “It seems clear that our most secret information is somehow leaking to the terrorists. Their incursions over the past few days have gotten bolder, and they don’t seem to be reacting to our security posturing.”
“You think it has to be someone inside of Space Vision?”
“Harry Stalk may not have been the only one, old friend.”
Patrick nodded. “Of course, you are right. What are you going to do?”
“My choices are limited,” Duke said. “The simplest thing to do is have separate conversations with people and see if something shakes out.”
“That makes sense,” Patrick said. “When are you going to start these conversations?”
“Today.”
Patrick leaned back in his chair, cocked his head and narrowed his eyes.
“Is this one of them?”
“No, old friend. If you are someone I need to worry about, the rest of this really doesn’t matter. I’m here with you to ask your assistance in these discussions.”
Patrick turned to the monitor as the view changed from a rocket disappearing in the distance to another rocket in its bay being prepared.
Ascent To Sanctuary is becoming more complicated than I ever thought it could get.
“This is bigger than any of us. Are you ready to get started?” Duke asked.
Patrick nodded.
The two men stood up and headed out the door.
CHAPTER 63
“This doesn’t get old,” a grinning Victor said to Richard. Below them was yet another Odyssey rocket being prepped for launch. Victor’s smile was beaming and his eyes sparkled with excitement. He took a deep breath and was rewarded with a fusion of smells: rocket fuel and exhaust.
Richard sighed and nodded but said nothing. His mouth was a thin straight line and his eyes were dark under low brows.
Steam billowed from ports in the rocket below them.
“Gentlemen!” Duke Evensen’s voice boomed from behind them.
They both turned to greet Duke and Patrick.
“Hello, sir,” Victor said.
Duke nodded but didn’t respond – an awkward silence hung in the air. He took a deep breath as his eyes moved from Richard to Victor and then back to the security chief. Victor tilted his head to the side, the muscles in his face tightened, and he locked eyes with Patrick. Patrick shook his head to stop Victor from saying anything.
“Come with us,” Duke said, motioning toward the nearest office.
The four men walked toward the room and filed in one by one. Patrick followed Duke around to the other side of the table and they both sat down. Victor and Richard took seats near the corners of the near side of the table.
“Thank you,” Duke said. “It seems like the terrorists are getting bolder with their trespassing on Site B.”
Victor nodded. “There’s no doubting that. Luckily, there’s been no interference with the launches.”
“Agreed,” Duke said. “What are your thoughts on how to react to them?”
The two men sat silently for a moment. Richard spoke first. “Permanently raise all defenses,” he said. “Give a show of force that will give pause to anyone wishing to rush the complex.”
Duke rubbed his chin in thought.
“Do you agree?” He asked Victor.
Victor’s eyes narrowed.
“I don’t know. I mean, at this point, we are at a disadvantage based on information.”
“How so?”
“Duke, the fact we are even having this conversation is evidence that we are concerned that they have info we don’t know about. The only way we turn the tables is by gathering information the other way.”
“Interesting,” Duke replied. “How do you propose to do this?”
“Have Adam alert us to the next incursion without setting off any alarms or defenses. If the intruder is emboldened by this, they may come far enough onto the property that they pass multiple layers of our security measures. Once they get to a point of our choosing, we spring a trap and take them into custody.”
“That’s ridiculous,” Richard said, leaning forward. “Why would we take the chance of allowing someone so deep into our interior and then risk lives to capture them, especially after what we saw in Memphis?”
“It’s a risk, definitely,” Duke said. “But one I’m ready to gamble on. Victor, please work with Adam because this will take some coordination. Richard, I’m looking to you to coordinate the staffing for such a plan. Agreed?”
“Yes, sir,” the security chief said. He sat back in his chair, arms crossed.
“You both have a lot to do,” Duke said. “I understand the amount of stress this puts on you. Do not hesitate to speak up if you need assistance.”
Patrick followed Duke’s lead as he stood and headed out of the room. After they got into the smart-vator, Patrick turned to the CEO.
“So that’s everyone. Do you have some idea who the mole is? Because I don’t.”
“Unfortunately, no,” Duke admitted. “Everyone seems to check out, and Adam has been unable to catch any questionable transmissions out of Site B.”
“So what do we do now?”
“We are running out of time. Let’s hope Victor’s plan works.”
CHAPTER 64
“How is it going?” Patrick asked as he walked into the main security monitoring room the following morning.
Victor looked over at Richard. The security chief leaned over a computer screen and talked to a staffer.