Leann shook her head. “I doubt it. The Chinese like to play the long game, and they won’t want to throw away a good asset just to ruin one of your satellite launches.” She paused before continuing. “If it is a satellite launch, that is.”
Nathan grinned. “Always fishing for information, aren’t you?”
“Well, it is my job to pry,” Leann grinned back. “That and you aren’t preparing a satellite or anything like it at the spaceport. It doesn’t take a genius to realize something else is going on. I’m not a specialist, but I would think there would be something more happening at where you should be launching from.” She paused, then raised an eyebrow. “Unless you have some secret underground launch point on the island somewhere? Are you going to pull something like a rocket launched from under a tennis court?”
“No,” Piper said, “Though that would be cool! I wish I’d thought of that.”
“You did, remember?” Nathan quipped. “Thankfully, your brother and grandmother nixed that idea.”
“So there is some secret launch place, then?” Leann said triumphantly.
Nathan and Piper both grimaced, while Alex tried to keep a poker face until he realized that his two companions had already ruined it. “Listen, there is a different launch place. Whatever we do or don’t send up will be a moot point in a few days. We didn’t want to show our hand of what we were launching before it was on its way.”
John gave Alex a wary look. “Is it some kind of weapon? You know if it’s dangerous, it’s going to ruin all the work we’ve done for the past three years. Not even General Solmon will be able to stave off the panic if you start arming yourselves in orbit.”
“No, it’s not a weapon,” Alex said. “Far from it, actually, but it is big, and it will cause concern until we can explain what it is.”
“How big are we talking,” John asked.
“About as large as a small fishing vessel, plus its docking bay,” Alex answered.
John and Leann became quiet, exchanging incredulous glances. “Docking Bay? Are you launching something the size of a fishing ship and its docking bay? How?” Leann asked. “That must cost, well, beyond billions.”
Alex shook his head. “No, not close to that much. We simply don’t have the same launch costs that the rest of the world is accustomed to. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not cheap by any stretch of the imagination, but with the anti-gravity, it does not take nearly as much power or fuel to get something into orbit. On top of that, our engine development has been very efficient. Far surpassing even what NASA has available, though it’s all still conventional.”
“You’ve been charging similar rates for sending up other payloads. Have those numbers not been accurate?” John asked.
Alex shrugged. “Yes, and no. We have been charging those rates because we didn’t want to stifle other companies who were trying to get into orbit. However, it does not cost us nearly that much. The full reality of what we can do will become apparent within a few days, and it isn’t a weapon. We’re going to space to build infrastructure, and we’re going big.”
“You’re talking bigger than the International Space Station, correct?” Leann asked. In the past decades, the aging station had slowly grown and evolved, even hosting a few modules sponsored by private enterprise. However, every part that was sent up was restricted by the size of launch vehicles, and how much it cost to send weight into orbit. It was always a finite size and volume. Even the two modules that were larger made that way through the use of inflatable nanotube hulls; they were still not popular due to the extreme expense of creating that much nanotube material.
Alex nodded, smiling at the attractive young agent. “Yes. We’ll be using much of the same technologies we’ve developed while expanding and building out our island and other sites. You’ve seen the submarines we used just off the coast?”
Leann nodded though her eyes widened. “That’s what you are sending up? One of your building units?” she turned and gave John a significant look, though she wasn’t sure her partner really understood the ramifications of what she’d just said. She believed Alex that they weren’t going to be sending weapons into orbit, but she wasn’t sure that would make a huge difference to some countries or special interests. She’d have to talk to John later and make sure he understood.
Since they had become embroiled in helping Empyrean, John had worked hard to educate himself on the technologies that they were developing, though he still struggled. That’s what made them a good team. She was mentally agile, good with computers, and able to figure out what was going on with the weird technologies that Empyrean was developing while he was good at dealing with people and anticipating esoteric problems with various officials and governments.
Still, their deal with General Solmon had worked well. John and Leann had done an excellent job of working as a liaison between the U.S. and Empyrean, and the general made sure that any shock or reactions to what Empyrean was doing weren’t too extreme. To date, the relationship had worked well, but things would escalate once Empyrean began to build in space.
“Yes,” Alex said. “There are differences, but building vehicles rugged enough to survive deep in the oceans has helped us develop solid vehicles for space. Once we get our first ship up there, sending up building material will be easy, and workspace to do far more will quickly follow.”
“And the end game?” John asked. “What are your overall plans for that workspace?”
In answer, Alex just laughed. “Endgame? John, this is just the beginning. The very beginning of making real progress toward settling our solar system, and hopefully beyond. We also won’t be doing this alone, and we plan on leasing space to responsible entities.”
“Entities,” Leann mused. “Like governments and corporations?”
Alex nodded. “Yes, exactly that, and it will all begin within a few days.”
Chapter 20
Time: March 26, 2030
Location: Sea Base Atlantis, One hundred miles west of Empyrean Island, Pacific Ocean
The Brokkr had been loaded into its berthing cradle and moved to a massive hanger that could be flooded and opened to the water. Final checks were completed, and then the entire bay was flooded and opened like a clamshell to the relatively cold, dark waters at that depth. However, there were a number of submersibles surrounding it, providing plenty of light while they accompanied it to the surface.
Prior to its departure, other platforms containing emergency response teams as well as several long-range tracking stations had risen and assumed a position close to its departure zone. The tracking stations wouldn’t power on until shortly before liftoff, not wanting to tip off any of the many observers to where the Brokkr would begin its ascent.
Thirty minutes after leaving Atlantis, the Brokkr’s massive launch vehicle broke the surface, its white and orange metal glinting in the sunlight under a cloudless sky. The conditions were close to ideal, with small wave activity which generally would have spelled doom for any launch, but since the entire thing was going to go up into space, it would easily be able to lift off, and then correct for any wave motion.
That would be necessary, anyway, with powerful thrusters built around its frame. Since gravity on the vessel would be lessened and would be much lighter than its mass would suggest, it would be more susceptible to wind shear and was over-engineered because of it.
Alex, Piper, Colleen, and Helen were sitting with Nathan, Terry, an aging Johan and several others who had been instrumental in contributing toward this day. The launch control room looked the same as the one on Empyrean Island, though this one was down in Atlantis. Several hardline wires stretched up to the surface to give them direct access to the various instruments, along with connections to radar and scanning stations on the island itself.
They had a comprehensive map of the surrounding area for over a thousand miles, which showed all surface and air traffic. The closest shipping lanes were between Hawaii and Australia, with only a few other large tankers and tran
sport ships outside of that, though none were close to impinging on their launch zone. There were more aircraft than normal very high in the atmosphere, which was to be expected since they had seen the same phenomena every time they had launched.
There was intense worldwide scrutiny in what they were doing since they had started their own launch business only three years ago. Three years and they had clearly surpassed most other programs in both quality and quantity. Now, it was simply worked into their expectations whenever they launched, so there was little concern. They knew that what would happen today would be witnessed by the world.
“How is our Chinese friend?” Alex asked the security chief who had an entire display open in front of him showing a variety of feeds.
“Frustrated,” Nathan said with a chuckle. “He’s tried to get away from the American destroyer four times in the past three hours and doesn’t stand a chance. They’ve even increased speed dangerously close to the supposed highest rating of that vessel, which means he’s actually considering going faster. Not that it will do them much good. Those destroyers are faster, too.”
Alex nodded, happy to hear it. Even if the Chinese spy ship managed to get a beam on their craft, it would take a considerable amount of power to cause enough damage to the Brokkr to destroy it. They were expecting something like their usual satellite launches, and this would be much, much larger. Still, he didn’t want to risk it, since if they hit one of the main lift engines, it could still cause a catastrophic explosion.
“Any other warnings or concerns?” Alex asked.
Nathan shook his head. “No, at least nothing unexpected. The American warship could be a problem if it wanted to, but considering they are helping us, I doubt that will happen. The Russian ship is another issue, though I think they’re just here to watch. They’ve been pretty responsive to our help with infrastructure in some of their poorer areas, so doubt they’ll try to pull anything. We’re watching them closely, though. Do you want me to comment on Australia?”
Alex smiled and shook his head. Of all the countries that were on the Pacific rim, Chili and Australia had been the most responsive while asking little in return. Australia had even sent their own warship, but Alex felt it was more to support their activities than to spy, though he doubted they weren’t recording everything as diligently as the other nations. “No, but keep scanning for any control signals and keep the EMP turret platforms prepped. You never know.”
“Will do,” Nathan replied, keeping his eyes moving over the information flowing on his screens. He had an army of analysts and Piper’s increasingly smart computers working on mountains of data. This was then converted into a variety of recognizable formats that Nathan could read with practiced efficiency.
A blue light began to flash, which immediately grabbed the entire control rooms attention. Everyone leaned forward, with Piper standing and leaning over the railing, watching the excitement ratchet up on the floor below.
It was time.
“Here we go,” Colleen breathed, smiling as she watched a countdown begin on the hologram in the middle of the room. She looked like she was in her sixties now, and grew younger with each passing year. Some questions had been raised, but she just claimed diet and some clever medical innovations were the cause, though that was mostly a lie.
It was true that their medical technologies were moving forward by leaps and bounds, but they had not yet mastered a technology that would allow someone to de-age. Whatever was affecting Colleen, and to a lesser extent Alex, Piper, and Helen was all part of their larger mystery. But that was for another day. Now, they were all focused on the launch.
The time counted down at almost a snail’s pace, each second an eternity, but when it hit zero, they watched a massive jet of steam encapsulate the giant launch platform. Encompassed by a huge cloud that trembled and boiled with flashes of orange fire glimpsed from within, they watched the image while the army of techs below kept their eye on the mass of data that told them everything was operating within parameters.
Then, finally, the dome broke above the steam, pushing upwards faster than seemed possible and reached for the sky. Balanced on four large pillars of fire, it lifted smoothly, quickly gaining speed as all of the cameras and scanning equipment they had brought to the surface tracked and recorded every moment.
Seven minutes into the launch, Nathan looked over with a grin. “We’re getting some emergency communication requests coming in.”
“From who?” Alex asked, not taking his eyes away from watching the Brokkr ascend to the heavens.
“Russia, China, the UK and even France. There’s also a whole slew of requests from news agencies around the world,” Nathan said, then made a considering noise. “There’s also a very polite request from the United Arab Emirates, though they are taking pains to assure us that they are willing to wait.”
Alex did look over at that; a raised eyebrow on his face before turning back toward the launch as the moment continued to make an impact on him. “Tell them we’ll get back to them shortly.”
“Which ones?” Nathan asked.
“The UAE, since they are polite. That should be rewarded,” Alex answered, then he saw something on one of the large radar maps that encompassed the nearest thousand miles. Standing, he pointed at a set of unfamiliar red icons that were just appearing only forty miles away from the launch site . “Nathan, what’s that? Coming in from the Northwest.”
Nathan frowned, calling up the map on his local system before typing up a request to a specific analyst group. A moment later he looked up, alarm in his eyes. “It’s a flight of missiles, but I don’t know how they got out there. There are no military ships listed as being out in that section of the ocean.”
“They’re heading right for the Brokkr,” Alex said, clenching his fists.
Chapter 21
Time: March 26, 2030
Location: Sea Base Atlantis, One hundred miles west of Empyrean Island, Pacific Ocean
“How did they get so close?” Piper cried, typing madly on her own workstation. She was trying to bring the targeting systems online for the two EMP turrets they had floating on the surface. Each was connected, through massive powerlines, to the generators in Atlantis, though the capacitors would take time to build. While she did so, her DPA buzzed around her shoulders, looking like a manic hummingbird.
“They probably came in along the surface,” Nathan said in a low, businesslike tone. “We only picked them up when they changed vectors for an intercept. I don’t think they were expecting an ocean launch. My team is trying to calculate the direction they came from, but there’s a lot of ocean out there, and they were probably in transit for hours.”
Alex pounded the table. “How high is the Brokkr? Is there a max altitude for these missiles?”
“The Brokkr is only a mile up, with about seven more minutes to go before it enters the fringe of low orbit,” Colleen said. “It will cross that distance quickly, but the missiles have a lot of speed. They’ll catch the Brokkr at about fifty miles. We can increase thrust by a lot, but I’m not sure we’ll be able to outrun those missiles.”
“Fifty miles?” Alex asked, concern in his voice. “That’s pretty high for a standard missile, isn’t it?”
Nathan looked up. “Yes, but they’re making an effort and I don’t think whoever’s behind this would tip their hand unless those missiles could reach. So far, they don’t show up on any databases of missiles we know that have been developed recently. They’re flying at about a thousand miles an hour, so intercept will be within four minutes.”
Piper cursed a very unladylike sound before slamming her hand on the table. “The EMP turrets only have a range of about thirty miles. With the angle that the missiles are rising to intercept, they’ll cross the corner of my range for only about a second. That won’t be enough time to get them all.”
“Can you hack into them? Any signals we can access?” Colleen asked, moving over to stand behind Piper.
The blonde woman shook
her head. “No, I’ve already done a search, and there is nothing. I can’t get a handshake, so either they don’t have one, or they are using something we can’t identify.”
“I’ll be very curious to look at their remains if we can retrieve them,” Colleen said, stroking her chin.
Alex turned to his DPA. “Aristotle, can you reach either Agent John or Leann?”
“Yes, sir,” Aristotle answered in his cultured English voice. It had been Alex’s choice for the DPA when he’d acquired it and hadn’t changed it in several years. A moment later, it beeped. “Agent John Malcom is on the line.”
“John! We’ve got four missiles on an intercept course. Can your navy friends tell us anything or are they willing to help?” Alex asked.
“Captain Jeffers and I have already been talking,” John indicated, his voice stressed. “He just called to let me know they’ve picked up the vampires on radar.”
“Aristotle, can you please pick up Captain Jeffers’ signal and include it in this com,” Alex asked.
A moment later, an image of the U.S. Captain popped up looking startled. “Uh, Doctor Drake?” He looked to the left, presumably at one of his crew members before looking back. “This…is supposed to be a secure line.”
“I know, and I’m sorry sir,” Alex said, quickly moving onto the subject at hand. “Do you have any information on these missiles? We can’t identify what they are or their capabilities.”
To his credit, the man only frowned at Alex for a moment before answering. Alex liked him right away and was happy he was on the scene. “No, we’ve not seen any missiles like this before, which is quite disturbing. As I’m sure you know, the U.S likes to keep tabs on pretty much everyone and everything. I think the boys in Virginia are going to get a reaming on this one. Whatever they are, I don’t think they’re a joke. They are moving way too fast, and since they seem to be on an intercept course with your… ah, spacecraft, I’m going to assume they’re not using ramjets, but some sort of propulsion that will allow them to enter low orbit, or at least near it.”
Empyrean Rises Page 9
