Again, Pegram's voice boomed throughout the dome. "Wasn't that your friend, Walker? Didn't you tell him I'm a SUB and capable of snapping him like a twig?"
"You bastard! I just wish he'd had his rifle."
"Oh, but he did. It jammed, just another sign from Tuhan that I am doing his will."
All the SUBs heard the noise at the same instant. A series of high pitched beeps and the rushing sound of static inside our heads. Slowly it faded away.
Susan looked at me, wide-eyed. "Matt, it's Ismay!"
Everyone was looking around at one another when Dolph's voice was heard by all. "Matt, here is Dolph. I am having Ismay back up!"
"How?" I asked.
"I told you, I am a sig spec. I am in the control room in the dome one. I have it and communications fixed. Matt, there are five rescue shuttles preparing to land right now!"
I looked at Susan and smiled.
Pegram's voice now came over Ismay. "Too late, Sergeant, I win!" And with that, he detonated the charges in the ceiling.
The initial blast blew us all to the floor. The ceiling fractured and the pieces were sucked outward. The atmosphere in the dome instantly turned into a thick fog and began its mad rush to escape.
I tightened my grip on Susan's hand and she on mine. Everyone scattered to grab hold of something. Susan and I bolted toward the billet to our left but got caught up in the cyclone of air rushing out of the tunnel behind us and up and out into space. We were whisked off the floor, and it felt as if we were being hurtled up toward the black star-filled hole, while, at the same time, spinning inside the maelstrom of air. I saw a balcony coming nearer; with my free hand, I reached out and grabbed its railing.
Susan and I had a firm grip on one another and I on the railing of the balcony; nevertheless, Susan was being buffeted about like a rag doll. I was helpless as I watched her slam three times into the side of the barracks building with such force that the wall itself cracked. As I looked up into her brilliant blue eyes, they faded to black and closed. I felt her grip on my hand relax. I screamed her name, but she did not hear.
As I felt life leave her body, I felt all hope leave my mine. I released the railing, and as we were sucked toward the jagged aperture, I pulled Susan's limp, lifeless body to my breast and held her. Spinning violently upward, I hit something—and all that I was vanished in a swirl of grief.
○O○
When I opened my eyes, I thought, for a moment, I was inside a coffin. I seemed to be in a dimly lit white box with my head on a pillow. As I woke, and stirred, the lights in the box came up, but just a little. That's when I noticed a flashing amber light illuminating a darkened passage on my right. The right wall of my box was glass from my head to my foot. The lights in the passage flickered on and a young man peeked in at me, and then quickly disappeared.
I took a moment to examine myself. The skin of my chest had been neatly peeled back and several wires were running into it. My left arm was missing entirely, and my left leg seemed badly mangled.
Just then, the glass wall slid open and four familiar friends looked in at me. There was Dolph, Doc, Bill, and Sanyo.
"Hey, buddy," Sanyo said.
"Mine Kamerad," Dolph added.
"Skipper," Bill said.
"Be still." Doc of course was matter-of-fact and down to business. From his chassis, he produced an arm with a needle six centimeters long. He inserted it into the side of my chest and paused a moment. "All right, you may speak, but slowly—and no long soliloquies."
"Where—"
"We are in a shuttle heading back to Earth," Doc said. He must have thought I was going to ask where we were. "Almost everyone is aboard. Only thirty bots were left behind to begin repairs."
"What about—"
"Walker?" Doc again guessed wrong as to the nature of my question. "He's alive. Sanyo and his bots pulled Walker into the dome's shelter and thus saved him from the explosive decompression. He is aboard and in medical stasis."
"We lost Emily and Juan, though, when Pegram blew the dome," Bill said. "As an aside, Pegram was sucked out. His lifeless body was discovered out on the lunar surface."
I looked at Sanyo. "Susan?" I asked.
He paused, his eyes swiveled toward Dolph, then he said, "Well, Matt, I don't know how to—"
"The good news is she's not dead," Dolph finished for him.
"What then?"
"Let me explain…you're too emotional," Doc said, then rolled forward. "Susan's G-buc was severely damaged, so her systems shut everything down in order to preserve power for her biotronic brain; thus, she appeared dead to your eyes.
"In order to save her life, I returned her brain to Ava. She is there now. Her consciousness and memories have survived, whole and intact. She wants you to know she is praying for you and will be there when you return."
I could not think to make a reply. A grief like nothing I have ever felt gripped me. The woman I love is alive, I should be happy, but now she's untouchable. Add to that, I am speeding away from her and can't even speak to her.
I looked at everyone and said, "Just once more...I would like to have looked...into her eyes and told her I love her."
I felt my optical sensors over-lubricate and the excess run down my cheeks.
"That's enough," Doc said. "He's becoming distraught. Matt, I'm going to return you to stasis; I'll see you again at the JPL." He withdrew the needle from my side.
Sanyo reached in with a tissue and wiped my eyes. I started to fade out. The last words I heard were Doc's. "When did he start doing that?"
○O○
I awoke in total darkness and was aware of a systems test being conducted. I could not see, nor hear. None of my customary sensory functions were operational. I felt as if I were dreaming. I was aware, but there was nothing to be aware of except the ongoing test. Then I heard Doc's voice speaking to me over Ismay, "Matt, can you hear me?"
"Doc, what the hell is happening? My chronometer says six months and seventeen days have passed since we last spoke."
"Matt, you are at the JPL in California. A new body is being built for you. The engineers and scientist here were impressed with all the work I'd done on you, but were frank in expressing their opinion that it was a miracle you lasted as long as you did."
"So, I'm not in my body right now?"
"No, you are in a special container for disembodied biotronic brains. I have arranged for several to be transported to my RMB on JILL."
"How long before my new body is ready?"
"Yours is not the only body being built, you know. Be patient. Besides, in stasis you do not experience the passage of time."
"Doc, I haven't spoken to Susan in months, she must be—"
"I have kept her informed, Matt, at every step of this journey. She longs for you as you do for her, but unlike you, she is showing considerable patience and understanding."
"I'm sorry, Doc. It's just that—well, for me, it still feels like I lost her again only an hour ago."
"I understand Matt, and I am sorry for your situation. I'm going to return you to stasis now. When you next awaken, you'll be in your new body. I won't be with you, as I, along with the other bots, will have returned to the Moon with a cargo of new bots and SUBs. There is much work to do back on JILL. The IIEA is quite serious about restoring the base, and are sending a small army of Bios up to do just that.
"Oddly, the industrialized nations have willingly provided money, people, and their most gifted scientists to the IIEA without the usual bickering. Many volunteered vast amounts of assistance immediately. It was an incredible thing to see."
"That's good to hear. I've come to think of JILL as home."
"Sleep tight, Matt."
○O○
When my eyes opened again, I was on a table in a lab at the JPL. Standing over me were a doctor and a nurse, both in surgical garb. "Good morning, Sergeant Strum, I'm Doctor Noris. We have several tests to run and we'd very much appreciate your cooperation."
"You got it, Doc," I said. I not
iced my voice was strong and clear. The doctor and nurse returned to their jobs. I watched as the nurse spoke into a computer monitor, "What is the power consumption levels of accelerators 226a and b please?"
The computer's female voice responded, "The charge traveling through 226a and b are synced at five kC."
Instantly, I was reminded of Ava and, thus, Susan. I plummeted into a deep melancholy.
The doctor returned to my side. "Sergeant, my instruments indicate an activation of bilateral limbic and para-limbic structures in your brain to include the cingulate, medial prefrontal, and mesial temporal cortex, as well as in your brain stem, and your thalamus. These are all indicators of a profound transient sadness. Are you indeed experiencing sadness?"
"Yeah, Doc, I sure am."
"Son," he said, his voice losing that professorial tone and taking on a more fatherly one, "before his departure, the bot you know as Doc briefed me on his work to and with you. He explained your emotional attachment with Susan and her current predicament. Being human, it is only natural you have these feelings."
This comment really took me by surprise, this doctor saw me as human.
"Son," he went on, "I need you to find a happier place in your mind in order that we may proceed here. Perhaps a saying that my grandfather taught me may help you; he used to say 'love will find a way'. I, for one, believe that. Now, please relax."
○O○
Several hours later, about 19:00 local, I was given a clean bill of health and told to report to the IIEA representative on the fifth floor, room five twenty-one. The room turned out to be a corner office with an attractive secretary and a great view.
It was the view that stopped me cold. Outside, there stood a long, tan-colored hill covered in clumps of green vegetation. Beyond, were the mountains coated with green trees. They stood as the very sentinels of life on Earth. The sky was a breathtaking blue, and high, thin, white clouds drifted lazily past. I could not recall when I last saw a blue sky, clouds, or green mountains.
I was, again, in the uniform of the LCDD. I was informed that the gentleman I was about to meet was a Mr. Smith. Okay, sure.
I opened the door and entered the palatial office to find Mr. Smith standing by the wet bar mixing a drink. He was African American, and very tall; he had shaved his head, and his eyebrows. He bore colorful tattoos on his scalp and neck.
"Please, come in Sergeant Strum. May I fix you a drink?"
"No, sir, thank you."
"Oh, I am sorry, you don't eat or drink. You know, I've been involved in the SUB program for seven years and you are the first one I have ever met. Please, have a seat."
He took a chair next to me, rather than return to sit behind his opulent desk.
"Sergeant, a lot has transpired since you have been in the hospital. Not only has the sword and stars' attempt on our facility failed—thanks, in no small part, to you—but we have learned that they are but the military branch of another, larger organization that was working on a doomsday device. One of their agents, a Doctor Muller, had been sent to JILL undercover to retrieve this device, which our people had captured. Why it was on the Moon, I have no idea.
"This parent organization calls itself 'the servants of the serpent'. Their efforts were thwarted by a brother SUB, a Sergeant Hugh Pacherd. Did you know him?"
"No, sir."
"The entire story surrounding these recent events on JILL remains classified. Our public story is that the quake caused catastrophic damage to the facility and necessitated its temporary evacuation. Which is not entirely untrue, is it?"
"It is a lie of omission, sir. The Bios, bots, and SUBs that died up there deserve better."
Mr. Smith paused a moment, took a sip of his drink and nodded very slightly. "You're right. But I am going to lie about JILL, and for two reasons. I do not wish to hand our enemies a propaganda tool, and the SUB program is still classified."
"You are aware they had SUBs of their own?" I asked.
"It's a complicated story of just how they managed to get their people into our SUB program. Suffice it to say the hole has been plugged, and we are confident that the technology itself has not been compromised.
"And you are also correct in your assertion that the heroes of JILL deserve better. That recognition must wait, however, for an end to the war and a more accepting human population."
"Sir, we SUBs are human. You mean those without cybernetically enhanced functions." I took a line from Susan.
"Of course. I apologize. Sergeant, I'm sending you back to JILL. How does that decision sit with you?"
"Sir, JILL is home to me now; all I love is up there, so that decision sits well with me."
"Good. And I am promoting you to lieutenant, I don't care if that sits well with you or not. You are a natural leader, and I want you up there as an officer."
"Sir, only the Pentagon can—"
"It's taken care of, Lieutenant."
"Thank you, sir. I think."
"You will be returning to JILL with a shuttle full of new SUBs. These men and women were seriously wounded in combat. They are still a little disoriented as they are—"
"New to Subdom?" I helped him.
"Subdom? I rather like that; yes, they are.
"Because of the nature of the emergency on JILL, they were rather rushed through orientation. More classes are scheduled for them once they arrive, but I am hoping that on the trip out, you'll talk to them, assuage any fears or doubts they may have."
"Yes, sir, I'm happy to do that."
"Outstanding. Thank you, Lieutenant. Congratulations, and good luck."
○O○
The trip back to the Moon took over thirty hours. I could have timed it to the second if I had desired, just one of the advantages of having a chronometer organic to your brain.
I spent a lot of time talking with the new SUBs. Unlike my experience, they were awakened on Earth in order for them to have as much time as possible to become acquainted with their new bodies and capabilities. Our discussions were informal and of great benefit to these young people who were awakening to—quite literally—a whole new world.
I found two guys who had been assigned to my old unit, the 617th Infantry Brigade Combat Team. They were replacements who had come to the Crusaders long after my departure. Their news was grim. The Crusaders were back in the shit, but real progress was being made, this time. Everyone attributed it to the new US President and his hard line against terrorists and any who would support them, either directly or indirectly.
One of his first acts was to freeze the assets of the South East Pacific Defense League, first in the US, then all the allied nations got on board. With the pressure the allies eventually brought to bear on the world, all the SEPDL's assets were eventually seized worldwide, effectively shutting them down. The exposure of the SEPDL's active involvement in the attack on the Chinese aircraft carrier lost our enemy the clandestine support China had been providing.
Then the president got the surge approved, and real progress was now evident to all. Perhaps, as Winston Churchill had said, this was not the beginning of the end, but it was the end of the beginning.
When I was not talking to the new SUBs, I went into storage and spoke with the bots. Each was packaged for transport but able to see, hear and speak. What I quickly learned was that, new, these guys were empty slates. It was clear what Susan had done as Ava. She had filled their little cups in such a way as to allow each to develop its own personality.
The last few hours of the flight, I sat and recalled images of Susan, both in her original form and as the modified Hella. I considered both equally beautiful, because I was in love with the woman inside, not the shell that contained her. However, I did seem to default to the original. I would always see Susan as Susan.
Our captain addressed us, asking that we all return to our seats as we approached the Moon and entered our final approach vectors.
I sat down and turned my seats monitor to exterior observation mode. I was watching a forward
view.
Ahead, I could see the base rolling over the lunar horizon, what’s called the limb of the Moon, tucked neatly between newly formed mountain ranges on Mare Insularum.
From up here, I was amazed to see the vast amount of repair that had already taken place. The LCDD dome looked brand new and all the domes, except three on the far west of the complex near the still gaping crevasse in the Moon’s crust, seemed occupied. Lights were blazing, windows were illuminated; I was amazed.
But perhaps the most amazing thing was the construction at the site of the nuclear blast. A somewhat smaller twin of the BSC was being built on that spot. Ingenious really, this new facility wiped out all traces of the previous damage, to include the crater the blast had left.
I waited; I can't say patiently, but I waited. The shuttle eventually landed at the Lunar Harbor and, while everyone departed, I sat quietly. It was the longest I had ever waited for anything in my life. When at last I was alone in the empty shuttle, I initiated Ismay. "Susan, it's Matt."
Chapter 23
Run
"Matt!" Susan cried, "Oh, Matt!" In her excitement, she spoke very fast. "I watched the shuttle coming in. I was told you'd be on it, your name is on the manifest, I wanted to call you the instant you came into range, but I was afraid you'd not be there!"
"I'm back, darling, and I'm never going to leave you again!"
I heard a sound that took me a second to recognize, she was crying.
"Susan, it's okay, baby. We're together again."
"Oh, Matt, I am so happy you're back, but we are not together yet."
"Where are you?" I asked rising from my seat and only then realizing what I had asked. As Ava, Susan was everywhere.
"Right now, I'm in sector zero."
"Of course," I said, rather crestfallen. "When can I see you?" I asked.
"We're in the middle of some delicate calibrations; I estimate completion at 19:30."
"Damn, that's almost four-and-a-half hours from now!"
"I will monitor your whereabouts the rest of the day. Despite your history here, you are going to have to undergo some orientation briefings, receive some issue items from supply, and be assigned billets. At 19:30 be alone in your quarters. I'll come to you."
The Battle of Broken Moon Page 31