by D A Buckley
“LBA Approach, Medical Jumper Zero-Zero-Four is on the surface. I’m starting the clock,”
“LBA Approach, this is Logan in Rescue One. We are moving toward Medical Jumper Zero-Zero-Four. I see what appears to be a third body…no movement noted… and some object I cannot make out from here.”
“Logan,” the senior medical team member called over the radio.
“Go for Logan.”
“Logan we have a survivor. His health indicators are weak. He has a death grip on some sort of metallic box with a small clear window and some kind of marking…let me clear the sand here…it says J-Squared.”
“Rescue One, this is LBA One on your push. The box marked J-Squared is the primary recovery. I say again, recovery of the box is your number one priority.”
“Mr. Meriwether, we don’t have sufficient time to recover both. It’s one or the other, sir,” Logan pleaded. “Are you ordering me to ignore the survivor?”
“If that is your only choice…yes. Those are your orders, Rescue One. Recover the box at all cost. My authorization. Confirm you understand my order.”
“Rescue One confirms order from LBA One. Recover the container marked J-Squared at all cost. Medical team do you copy”
“Medical Team Zero-Zero-Four…” there was a short pause, “…copy. Poor bastard. Be advised his indicators just went flat.”
“Meri, can your rescue team tell me the name of the man they are abandoning?”
“This is Logan, ma’am. His name tag says…‘Guzman’.”
Before she could stop herself Katherine reflexively brought both hands instantly to her mouth and let out a cry, “Oh God, Ramos. Please, no, no, no. Ramos.”
“LBA Approach, this is Rescue One. Container secured. The clock is at three minutes and twenty seconds. We are RTB your location.”
“Rescue One, this is LBA Prime, expedite with all care. I’ll see you at the docks. Break, break, break. All Rescue personnel everything that you have seen here today is classified at the highest level. Any discussion concerning that container will be considered a Class One violation and I will invoke the capital elements of that directive. The storyline is that you conducted a flyover of the crash site and identified three bodies with no telemetry and antimatter levels far too high to affect a body recovery. There will be no other discussion on this mission. Everyone acknowledge receipt and understanding of this directive.”
“Katherine, I am so sorry about Ramos.” Meri comforted as best he could. “What a loss he is to this project and what a loss he is to you personally. I am so very sorry.”
Katherine recovered her composure, cleared her throat and answered. “Meri, we knew that there were risks at every step of this project. And you were right to recover J-Squared. Without them, this is certainly all for nothing. The survival of the human race is at stake.”
“Katherine I am sending my shuttle to Fairbanks. I want you here as soon as possible. Your relationship with J-Squared is needed here.”
“Alright, Meri. Let me change the subject a little here.” Dr. Mathis blew her nose and dried her eyes with a tissue retrieved from the table. “What have our techs been able to discover about the circuit board that J-Squared got for us from our Southern Hemisphere Coalition competition?”
“Nothing…actually. We were looking forward to Ramos giving it a go. All our techs say that the architecture is unique but the card itself is a complete blank.”
“Alright, well, can I add a plus one to my use of your shuttle?” Katherine asked through a final sniffle.
“Yes, in fact, I was going to ask if you would bring Suki. It is time for her here. Please let her know that she will be joining a small group of personnel we call Lifers. This will likely be her final assignment. We will begin rolling up the terrestrial aspects of TRIAD and bring everything here.”
“The Ark is finished then?”
“Not quite.” Meri sighed releasing some of the tension of the moment. “Once J-Squared is integrated we expect that they will increase our construction efficiency by running continuous diagnostics and from those data direct our construction efforts.”
“You amaze me all the time, Meri. You are always two steps ahead of the rest of us. I would never have thought about that. As usual, you are right.” As she signed off, Katherine fell into her chair and wept bitterly.
*****
When the metal sheet pierced the observation room in 1E, Rescue Team Bravo was automatically notified due to the decompression of the room. Neis remained in the room because the doors had, upon decompression of the room, automatically locked and sealed to protect the rest of the Work Station. Neis had been at LBA for over four years and attended memorial services for others whom she had not known. Somehow now in the mental shock of the moment of seeing her closest friend die just feet away, she was frozen, unable to move her limbs, unable to hear or speak. She simply saw the entire LBA crew standing on Main Street, and she among them, in stunned silence listening to the Chaplain eulogizing Ivan, whom she surreally saw in two caskets, one for his upper body and one for his lower body. She looked at his lower body and somehow this struck her as humorous and she began to laugh. And then her gaze shifted to his upper body and she began to weep, deep sobbing weeping, for the loss of her friend.
Neis was completely unaware when the rescue team opened the doors to the exercise room. Her conscious mind seemed miles and miles away as they tried to communicate with her. And then she just simply saw herself running through a grassy field of green flowers and a quietly babbling brook. Her family was there at a table laden with food on a red and white gingham tablecloth. And there she saw Ivan. She called to him but he would not answer her. She called, again and again. But he would not answer her. She called more frantically. “Was he ignoring her? Why can’t he hear me?” she thought. She called louder and louder until she cried out at the top of her voice, “Ivan.”
*****
“It’s okay Chief, its okay. You’re in the infirmary. You’re okay,” a man’s voice that was strong and reassuring said. The brightness of the infirmary lights surprised her. Where was she? How did she get here?
“There has been an accident, Chief. You’re in the infirmary. You are fine. You are going to be alright.”
“Ivan?” she asked with a tremor in her voice. “Where is Ivan?”
“I’m sorry, Chief,” the strong voice replied. “I’m so sorry.”
*****
“Captain Mosey.” Security Director Sachdeva entered the room with his assistant who was carrying a video recorder. The assistant busied herself setting the recorder on a tripod. “Flight Officer Abbot. I am Ansh Sachdeva. I am the Director of Security here at LBA. I am taking charge of the investigation into the mishap concerning your freighter. I am obliged to tell you that this incident involves some very sensitive issues and you are both constrained by law and by contract to not discuss any part of this incident or of this investigation with anyone other than myself and the Director of TRIAD. I am also obliged to tell you that, at this time, this is not a criminal investigation and I do not expect that any criminal activities have transpired. You are therefore obliged by law and by contract to be completely forthcoming in your accounting of the events surrounding this incident. Do you have any questions concerning what I have just told you?”
“No, sir,” they both answered.
“Excellent. I expect this part of the investigation to take no more than a couple of hours depending on the complexity of your answers. You may, if you wish, have either your supervisor or any other TRIAD employee possessing a sufficient clearance to be present during this investigation. They must agree to the same restrictions. Is there anyone that you would like to have present?” Director Sachdeva was the model of professional coolness developed over decades of investigative service in the employ of TRIAD.
Both shook their heads indicating a negative answer. “I think we will both be fine,” Captain Mosey said. “But before we get going. We’ve heard there was another surv
ivor. Do you know anything about his condition?”
“Regretfully,” Director Sachdeva said looking down at his data device, “you are the only survivors. This is not uncommon in an uncontrolled crash, even on the moon. involving a vehicle of this size with an antimatter matrix propulsion system. Physics is a powerful ally and a terrible adversary. Unfortunately, the laws of physics never seem to work in favor of passengers riding in a cargo compartment in my experience. My sincere apologies if my answer is a bit direct. My job requires a degree of emotional disengagement in order to gain all the facts the first time around. I find that it is better for all concerned to complete these difficult obligations as quickly as possible. If either of you had a personal relationship with any of the deceased I am sincerely sorry for your loss.”
“No,” Captain Mosey answered, “but neither of us has ever lost a PAX or a crew member before. It’s sobering. Four dead. I’ve never even had one. They were all important to somebody.”
“To be sure. I can tell you that the families have been notified. Sadly, the remains will likely never be recovered due to the extent of exposure during the anti-matter explosion. It seems the first lunar cemetery has been established. Shall we begin? Captain Mosey, when was the first instant that you realized that you were in trouble?”
“Well, once it all started things happened very rapidly. At first, I didn’t realize that each event was even related to each other. So the very first indicator I saw was the matrix overheat alarm on the instrument panel. Almost simultaneously the ship shuttered and we began to pitch over longitudinally. The flight controls almost immediately became unresponsive to any inputs from either of us.”
“That’s right,” Teddy interjected. “I immediately began to assist in regaining control in accordance with the Emergency Actions Procedures in the Flight Manual. As soon as I got my hands on the flight controls I realized they were completely dead stick. Nothing was working.”
“What did you do then?” Director Sachdeva asked.
“I declared an emergency to LBA Approach Control…” Captain Mosley answered.
“And I activated fire control measures once the ‘Fire’ light illuminated for the matrix compartment,” Teddy added.
“You were in the right seat?” Director Sachdeva asked Teddy.
“Yes. Captain Mosey was PIC.”
“Did you have the opportunity to notice anything unusual outside of the spacecraft? Anything might be important. No matter how small.”
“I did see, in my rearview a line of superhot debris that had been blown away from the matrix compartment. It’s funny how much your mind can record and analyze in these kinds of situations. I remember thinking, ‘Wow, they’re lined up in a perfect line.’”
“What do you mean exactly?”
“Well, thinking about it now, it was like ten or twelve glowing blue balls were flying away from the craft in a perfect line of trajectory but each one slightly behind the other. Kind of like firing tracers…”
“Sometimes our subconscious mind assumes that our conscious mind is perceiving with precision what it is trying to communicate. Would you expect the antimatter matrix to eject superheated blue masses? Would you expect those masses to be ejected in such symmetry? Would you expect these ejected masses to occur in only one direction?”
“Wow,” Teddy looked at Wanda, “he’s really good at this. He’s like Mr. Spock or something.”
“Please, consider each question and give me the benefit of your experience and knowledge,” Sachdeva said sternly while looking directly at Teddy.
“Right.” He cleared his throat. “Well, no. I would not expect the matrix to expel blue masses. I saw a matrix explode once in a training video on emergency situations. In that video, all the ejected matter was randomly dispersed and was as bright as the sun. Each mass was of varying sizes and left a plasma trail. You know, now that I think of it…there were no plasma trails at all. Tracer fire would better explain what I saw…but we were the only ship in the area. How could…”
“And you Captain Mosey, did you notice anything outside the spacecraft?”
“I didn’t think anything of it until right this moment, but just before the indicator lights started illuminating I recall a series of flashes on the instrument panel reflecting something behind us…like a strobe light flashing. That’s when I heard a series of hard taps, very rapidly, against the hull of the ship. It happened so fast it didn’t have time to register on my mind because the very next thing was the matrix overheat indicator illuminating and the engine fire alarm. That is such a serious event that it just took over all my conscious thoughts.”
“That is very reasonable. Was your conclusion that you had suffered multiple meteor strikes an immediate conclusion or did you form this conclusion later?” Director Sachdeva’s questions were causing Wanda and Teddy to doubt their previous conclusions.
“At the time the only explanation my mind had to offer was a series of meteor strikes. That is what I reported. But now that you say it like that…I can’t imagine a situation in which a series of meteors would strike like that.” Wanda turned toward her co-pilot. “ I agree with Teddy, Director. Tracer fire fits perfectly except…”
“Except for the absence of any other craft in the area,” Teddy added.
“And what about you, Flight Officer Abbot? Please do not read anything into your recollections. Just tell me what you saw.”
“I gotta say this, sir, if you don’t mind.”
“Please,” Director Sachdeva looked up from his data device again with a very stern look.
“I’ve never been in combat but this all now looks to me just like we were fired on. I mean I understand that there was no other ship near us on the radar so I cannot account for the contradiction of what we are saying, but think of it Cap.” he turned to Mosey. “Ten or twelve projectiles in a perfect line, one after the other, and where did they randomly strike the spacecraft? Exactly in the most vulnerable and the most potentially destructive place. Cap, I know its impossible, but we were attacked. Someone shot us down.”
“Gentlemen,” Director Sachdeva signaled to his assistant to stop recording, “I am sorry, but based upon your answers I must sequester you in the security offices until further notice.”
“Hey, you can’t do that.” Teddy protested.
“Please, gentlemen,” Director Sachdeva held up his right hand. “You are not under arrest and you are not suspected of any wrongdoing. But you must admit that your accounting of the events of this incident led to some quite serious possibilities. I am asking for your willing cooperation until I can conclude my investigation. It is imperative that this information does not become public knowledge. I know you would not want to incite fear among the crew here. A loose statement at a time when you are speaking casually and are unguarded could cause serious complications to my investigation. I must ask that you allow this inconvenience. At least until I have gathered all the facts.”
“Come on, Tedd.,” Mosley slapped Teddy’s knee, “This is scary as all get out. No one is accusing us of screwing up. But if we were fired on by someone then the implications are huge. We can take a few days in the brig for the sake of security.”
“Please do not think that you will be held in a holding cell. You can move freely about the security offices. But I must insist that you speak with no one. Not even a Security Team member. That means no communications in or out. I promise you that I will complete my investigation as quickly as possible. One positive outcome is that both of your security clearance levels are now, on my authority, raised to Top Secret - Compartmentalized to this incident. Please conduct yourselves accordingly.”
“Well, lookie there, Teddy,” Mosey said with a wide grin. “A TSC clearance raises us two grades in pay. I can take a stint in the cooler for that.” Turning to Director Sachdeva, “Say, Director, what’s for dinner in the hoosegow? I’m starving.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
“Ah, Anthony. So good to see you.” Meri met him at the do
cks and smiled warmly as he shook his hand.
“Wow, Meri. That was quite a ride.” Tony’s hand was a bit clammy and shaking.
“That’s right, you’ve never been in space before. Well, now you’re a veteran space traveler. The frequent flier miles stack up quickly,” Meri smiled and said.
“Really, are they redeemable for anything worthwhile?” Tony coughed a little as his nerves began to settle. The Terminal surroundings were bright and cheering and the constant, barely audible, background music subconsciously communicated a sense of normalcy in an environment that was far from normal.
“Well, no actually they are simply a matter of bragging rights. You will get a Nube Certificate emailed to you automatically just for making it all the way to the Docks without dying.” Meri chuckled. “You should know that we have borrowed a term from the Alaskan natives. You are officially a Cheechako. It means ‘newly arrived’ or something close to that. You will be introduced and then tagged as a Cheechako so that everyone knows to keep an eye on you until you learn the basic rules up here like not opening pressure doors to the outside or eating moon dirt, things like that. Here is your official Cheechako red and yellow striped cap. You are now a marked man.”
