Legacy

by Bob Mauldin

  With the exception of skeleton crews on both Galileo and the now-completed space dock, everyone was present on deck eighteen. Simon and his staff stood facing Chief Baylor and his staff. Stepping forward, Simon addressed the ships’ company. “Ladies and gentlemen, crew-mates and friends. The day we have worked so hard for has arrived. The better part of a year has been spent one hundred and forty million miles away from Earth to build the first true space station in humanity’s history. The friends and comrades we leave here today will start writing the next chapter while the rest of us go back to Earth to repeat the process: recruit volunteers and build another base.

  “We stand here today as the salvation of mankind. From her own follies and from outside aggression. It is all too clear that it is possible for mankind to destroy itself or be destroyed by some natural cataclysm or, as we now know, from alien interference.

  “But right now, I have something of a happier nature to do. I have the pleasure to formally announce the completion of our first space-base. And I have the honor of naming her Orion. I also have the pleasure of introducing her new commanding officer. Commander Baylor, step forward.” Daniel Baylor, Commander, Terran Alliance, (even if only in the minds of those present), hadn’t been told the full story. Simon and Kitty loved to spring surprises wherever they could. It tended to liven things up. Daniel knew he would be in charge of the new base for a while, but that was all, until now. He had held several positions, as had most of the crew, and had actually held two different ranks simultaneously: Commander and Chief of Operations, equivalent to a captain, for the construction projects.

  As he stepped forward, Kitty and Gayle came out to meet him. Smiling at his confused look, they met him halfway between the two groups of officers. Reaching up to his lapels, Kitty calmly removed the two golden stars of a full commander and placed them in her pocket as a look of confusion crossed Daniel’s face. Turning to Gayle, she opened a case Gayle held in both hands, and, one at a time, replaced them with the silver comets of a captain. Taking one step back, she saluted. “Congratulations, Captain Baylor.” The cheers were deafening, even in that large space, and went on until he returned the salute. Kitty and Gayle returned to Simon’s group and the newly promoted Captain Baylor went to stand in front of his staff.

  Simon spoke again. “Captain Baylor. It is now my duty to relinquish command of Orion. As the only officer present with the rank to assume command, do you accept?” At Daniel’s nod of stunned acceptance, Simon smiled. In a voice that didn’t carry past the two command staffs, he said, “Acceptance is usually verbal, Dan, but I’ll take what I can get.” Raising his voice to carry to the entire company, Simon intoned, “Captain Baylor, as commanding officer of Galileo, I wish to present you with this plaque.” Stephen handed him a cloth-covered object, and as Simon took it, Stephen removed the cloth. Revealed for all to see was a highly polished brass plaque, three feet long by two feet high, with three lines of raised letters:

  ORION BASE

  COMMISSIONED FEBRUARY 14, 2012

  CAPTAIN DANIEL BAYLOR, COMMANDING

  Handing it over, Simon saluted and said, “Hang it in your reception area, Captain.” Then, dropping the salute, he shook hands with the new captain. Turning to the assembled crew, Simon announced, “Ladies and gentlemen! Captain Daniel Baylor!” When the second round of applause and cheers died down, he addressed the crowd again. “Ladies and gentlemen. I have an announcement to make at this time. Actually, what I have to say isn’t so much to you, as it is to one particular individual.”

  The crowd was suddenly aquiver, anticipating something major. Simon turned to his staff lined up behind him, looked straight at Kitty, and said, “Honey, I want you to know that I haven’t forgotten our anniversary.” Silence reigned over the Operations Deck at this announcement and he let it continue for a short time. Turning back to look out over the assembled crew he said, “Since men first started promising women things to get them to marry us, women have been promised everything imaginable, including the stars.” A titter of laughter ran through the crowd.

  He turned back to Kitty and said, “I really don’t remember exactly what I promised you way back then, Hon, but I know it was to love and cherish, help and protect. All the standard things that men say to women at times like that. We mean them, but sometimes we just can’t deliver. I’d like to think that I’ve delivered on all the promises I made all those years ago.” As Kitty started to speak, Simon raised his hand. “Let me finish. Today, I am the first man in history to have the opportunity to fulfill one particular promise.” Emotion held back his next words. “Kittyn, so far, I’ve only managed to give you an asteroid belt. In just a few more years, at most, I will give you the stars ... with the help of all of these good people around us.”

  The applause and cheers went on for so long Simon finally held up both hands to quell the noise. “Okay, people! You’ve all got your assignments. I want to break orbit in twenty-four hours. Dismissed!”

  The Director eyed Agent San Martino as he sat in the chair in front of his desk. Although it was more-or-less designed to be uncomfortable, San Martino seemed relaxed. “Well, what have you got for me?”

  San Martino shrugged slightly. “We know the ship hasn’t come back to Earth yet. We have a loose net of agents monitoring the families of all the missing people we can identify. We know about every scientist that has gone missing and interrogations have all been unsatisfactory. Seems like every family repeats various versions of the same story. ‘Taking a vacation to get away from the stress of work.’

  “As for the civilians, we’ve got over six hundred possibles identified. School records for the general area, canvassing most of the businesses in the area. Checked missing persons with every police agency from Cheyenne, Wyoming to Great Falls, Montana. We’ve leaked stories to the press hoping someone will come forward with information. And we are paying special attention to the relatives of the Hawkes’.

  “Also,” he continued quickly, “we’ve managed to find a few of the people who, for whatever reason, turned down the offer or were turned down. With that latter bunch we’re having a little better luck getting information, though even that’s sketchy. The timeline we have worked out is that they should be gone about a year, and the rumor is that whatever they are building out there, at least some of them will stay behind to operate it.”

  The Director stopped him with a gesture. “I’m going to see the President in a few minutes. All these plans for the return of the ship are all well and good, but can you give me anything in the way of good news?”

  “I hope so, Sir. Among the missing is an agent from this very agency. We’re not sure, but his dis-appearance coincides with the last few people reported missing. We are hoping desperately that he got aboard but didn’t have time to report in.”

  “And that’s it? You haven’t come up with anything better than a ‘desperate hope’?”

  San Martino shrugged again. “We have discovered and are watching what appear to be several teams in the area. It’s getting to be a real pain in the ass to keep from actually running into one of them. And from what information we can get, they all appear to be working for different countries. Or different agencies.” This last came out with some asperity.

  “If and when the time comes, terminate those teams with extreme prejudice. Except our own, of course. I leave it to you to deal with those delicately, Agent.”

  Taking the tone of voice as dismissal, San Martino stood up and simply said, “Yes, Sir,” on his way out the door. Almost two thousand miles away Agent Daniels of the Billings division of the FBI was working leads of his own. When the disappearances occurred, he began the original investigation and was quickly relegated to the shadows as the DIA took all control of the situation. One thing they couldn’t do was stop him from investigating the disappearances in his own assigned area. He had been called to Washington once and read the riot act. His response was, “If that’s all you had to say, you could have done it by p
hone.” He didn’t really expect to get out the door, much less not being stopped from returning to Montana.

  He immediately started looking into his own old files and soon hit upon what he thought was the main cob up someone’s butt. About eight months before, a lot of people disappeared. Now the higher-ups were sticking their noses back into the phenomenon.

  Knowing from experience what might happen, he ordered three large moving vans and a crew to strip the Hawkes’ house bare after a full set of pictures were taken. He felt bad about doing this, but he needed to make a point, get a reaction. He left a phone with his number attached and left the house, locking the door behind him. Several days went by with no repercussions, so he settled back to wait.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Simon and Kitty stood in the reception area of Orion, the last members of Galileo’s crew to leave the new station. Simon shook Dan’s hand and said, “Time for us to go, Captain. We’ll be back in a month or so. Keep in touch and good luck.” Realizing that the new captain already had a mountain of work ahead of him, the two Galileo officers beamed back to the ship waiting to take them back to Earth and another load of recruits.

  Running at half speed, Galileo shaped a leisurely orbit back to Earth. Full speed for the colossal engines that powered the factory ship was possible inside a solar system, but the scientists and engineers had decided that it wasn’t worth the time savings to push things too close to the limit until her full capabilities were better understood.

  Eight hours into their homeward flight, all systems optimal, all screens clear, Kitty sat in the command chair musing abstractedly about the romantic dinner she and Simon had shared the night before. Dinner in the dome of Galileo was something that could only be described as out of this world. A precious whole chicken had been sacrificed to the dinner the cooks had prepared for the anniversary pair.

  Communications reported an incoming message carrying the urgent prefix Simon had devised for intra-ship messages. Communications had twice checked in with Orion to test the higher-powered communication system they had installed. The last thing she had expected was to hear from the new dock at that particular time. “Let’s hear it, Ensign,” Kitty ordered, letting the thoughts of how she was going to repay Gayle for her duplicity in last night’s dinner as well as her steadfast friendship slip from her mind. I guess the two cancel each other out, she thought, turning her attention to the incoming message.

  The next sounds that came through the speaker froze everyone in their tracks and ended Kitty’s thoughts of how to retaliate against Gayle. “Mayday, mayday, mayday. This is Orion Base. We are under atta—” The signal cut off in mid-word, leaving only interstellar hiss in the background.

  For five interminable seconds Kitty sat there stunned into immobility. Then she began issuing orders. “Helm, get this ship turned around, now. Navigation, plot a course back to Orion Base at best speed.” Hitting all-ships, she announced, “This is the First Officer. All hands prepare for immediate maneuvering. Captain to the bridge, on the double.” Turning back to her bridge crew, she ordered, “Comm, I want full scans of the entire area. Everything recorded completely. Every sensor we’ve got, I want on full. Do I make myself clear?” That last was rhetorical, and she really didn’t expect to get an answer. “And re-establish contact with Orion.”

  By the time Simon burst onto the bridge the feel of the ship itself had changed. What had once been a subtle vibration, relegated to the status of background noise by constant exposure, had become a heavy pulse felt deep in the bones of everyone aboard, as the engines labored to slow the giant ship down and turn it around. Kitty filled him in on the little they knew and her subsequent actions. Communications interrupted. “Ma’am, still trying to re-establish communications with Orion. No luck so far.”

  Kitty only replied, “Keep trying until you do.” She looked up at Simon as he stood beside her. “Do you want to take over?”

  He laid a hand on her shoulder. “No need for that. You’re doing fine. But, I do want all weapons systems manned and free as soon as possible.”

  Hitting all-ships, Kitty called her Weapons Officer to the bridge. They had been too complacent, she now saw. But, who would have guessed that anything like this could happen so soon? And just who or what the hell could be attacking Orion? There should have been several years yet before they had to worry about the owners showing up.

  Thomas Breen, Lt. Commander, and second shift weapons officer showed up seconds after the announcement. It appeared he had been on the way without being called. “Get to your post, Thomas. Orion has been attacked and we’re going back to help. Make your weapons live and free.” Turning to her Nav Officer, “I want a best estimate on a return to Orion.” Simon taught me well, she thought. Even I can’t hear the quiver in my voice.

  Navigation responded almost immediately. “Been working on it, boss. We’re already turned around and pushing her close to red-line to get back what we lost. At max acceleration we’re four hours out.” Frustration tinged her next words. “For all the good it’s going to do us.”

  Simon stood there for another twenty minutes until Kitty again gave him the choice of taking over or getting off the bridge. “You’re not doing any good staring over everyone’s shoulders. Either take the con or let us do our jobs, Simon.”

  He grinned ruefully and patted her on the shoulder. “You’re beginning to get the hang of this, aren’t you? I’ll be in the ready-room. Let me know when the situation changes.” He leaned over to kiss her cheek and, whispered, “You could send some fighters out ahead if you think it best.” With that, he walked off the bridge.

  Twenty minutes dragged by interminably, the numbers on her watch moving at half-speed. Kitty ordered two fighters to scout ahead, keeping the third one out but closer to the ship. The only sounds were the muted voices of the bridge crew taking reports and issuing orders to the various departments. The very air pulsed in sync to the throbbing coming up through the deck-plates.

  Another twenty minutes passed, the outer black pressing in on her, tension growing steadily. Among the steady radio traffic between the two fighters and Galileo, her Comm Officer found other sounds just now being reported by the fighters. “Ma’am, I’m picking up faint signals from what seems to be a shuttle. Both fighters agree and both have authenticated another fighter answering their hail. We’re also picking up what appear to be two high-power drive traces on an out-bound vector.”

  “Any chance of catching them?” she asked hopefully.

  Silence reigned while Helm and Navigation bent their heads over their respective stations, sending data back and forth. Finally, Nav said, “Sorry, Ma’am. Even the fighters can’t get close to them under their theoretical maximum.”

  Kitty ordered, “Keep those traces under observation and record them for analysis. Communications, what do you have for me?”

  Comm replied, “Ma’am, I’m picking up faint traces of what appear to be shuttle transmissions aimed at the station. I’m trying to enhance the signal. Signal clearing. Transferring to bridge audio.”

  The signal cut in mid-message, “—ion Base, this is Shuttle Two. Please respond. Please respond.” Panic oozed out of the speakers as the bridge crew listened helplessly. “I have a damaged fighter in my capture field. Pilot needs assistance. I am headed for dock. Open the bay. I repeat: open the bay. This is Shuttle Two. I am two minutes from dock. Open the bay. I have a damaged fighter in my capture field. Respond. Respond.”

  As the shuttle pilot’s transmission ended, another voice, stronger, came in. One the entire bridge crew knew well. Ensign Miranda Lee had elected to stay with Orion and had opted for flight operations. She had come to love those sleek little craft and was out helping the shuttles supply the base with material for the smelter when the mayday came in. “Shuttle Two, this is Fighter Three. I have a visual on the docking bays. Bay Two is clear. Repeat: Bay Two is clear. You are clear to dock. Base cannot respond. Their antenna array is shot to hell. I have G
alileo and three fighters on my long-range sensors. She is on a return vector and appears to be about three hours out. I’ll fly cover until she returns. I see two out-bound drive traces. No telling if there’s anything else waiting for us.”

  Galileo established communications with the fighter and with the shuttles now in-bound to base. The two new fighters arrived on the scene and began to fly cover and search and rescue. No trace of the third fighter was found. Kitty called Simon and filled him in on the situation as it appeared at that time: Orion apparently functional, but damaged to an as yet unknown extent, cut off from communications, all shuttles in-bound, one fighter damaged, one missing. Three hours later, Galileo sat dead relative to Orion. Kitty turned the bridge over to Lucy Grimes, met Simon in the transporter room and they beamed over to the base.

  The two materialized in the middle of a scene of furious activity. Kitty grabbed the arm of a passing ensign and asked for Captain Baylor. “The last I heard, he was in the infirmary,” the distracted junior officer said. They found the new captain sitting on the edge of a table, his arm in a sling, giving orders. Simon, seeing a row of sheet-covered bodies, was beyond speech.

  Kitty, ever sympathetic to the feelings of those around her, put a hand on Daniel’s arm and asked, “What can we do?”

  Looking up from someplace far away, he answered in a voice devoid of all emotion, “You can get those bastards.”