-
Jason and Greg were outside in the rover watching the space above them expectantly. A bright light suddenly appeared amongst the stars and began to descend toward them.
“There they are,” Greg said excitedly, pointing upward. With his eyes locked on the descending lander, Greg took a deep, steadying breath.
“This is Rescue One to New Beginnings,” a friendly voice came over the com channel. “We have begun our descent and should be with you shortly.”
“We read you,” Jason replied evenly. “We are standing by in the rover.”
“It’s going to feel good to see some new faces,” Greg commented, his eyes still focused on the descending lunar lander. He felt growing excitement knowing that shortly they wouldn’t be alone on the Moon.
“Tired of looking at me,” joked Jason, smiling.
He knew how Greg felt. New faces and new voices would help break the monotony. Greg and he were running out of things to talk about, other than the wreck. Four weeks was a long time to be stranded together in small quarters.
“Once they get here we can really begin exploring the ship,” Greg spoke, elatedly. “We can get the computer powered back up and maybe get some of those other sealed doors open. I really want to see what’s behind those sealed hatches on the ship’s hull.”’
“So does the government,” responded Jason, recalling a recent conversation with Tom Hays, the mission controller back down on Earth.
For several minutes, they watched the new lander descend, until it finally landed nearly half a mile away from them in a level and debris free section of the crater. They watched as its engines shut off and the dust began to settle back down. Once everything seemed clear, Jason started the rover toward the landing site.
“Their touchdown went smooth,” commented Greg, sounding pleased and relieved. It had been one of his worst nightmares that the emergency beacon would come back on and sabotage the landing.
“Their computers and other vital equipment are shielded,” responded Jason, maneuvering the rover around several small pieces of wreckage. “We weren’t going to take a chance on anything happening to this lander.”
It only took a few minutes to reach the landing site. As they pulled up, the hatch to the lander was already opening. An astronaut appeared and, looking around, waved at Jason and Greg.
“Commander Strong, it’s good to be here!”
“Glad you could join us, Colonel Greene,” responded Jason, climbing out of the rover. “That was a textbook landing.”
“Computers handled it,” Greene confessed as he stepped down onto the lunar surface. “We have some supplies to unload, as well as another rover we need to get down.”
Looking up, Jason saw another astronaut step out of the lander and begin their descent to the lunar surface. “Let’s get to it,” Jason responded.
Chapter Four
Four hours later, all six of them were in the quarters that Jason and Greg had put together. They had made several trips between the lander and the wrecked spaceship. All the supplies were stacked in the corridor outside. Along with Colonel Greene, there were engineering specialists Adam Simmins, Marcus Edwards, and computer specialist Lisa Gordon.
“I must say, I’m impressed,” commented Greene, looking around the two rooms. “This is definitely better than staying in the lander.”
“It’s nice just to be able to stretch,” commented Lisa, brushing a lock of blonde hair out of her eyes.
She was glad she had brought some regular clothes besides her blue flight uniform. There wouldn't be a lot of privacy in these two rooms, but she had been prepared for that when she had volunteered for this mission. It was still a lot better than sleeping in the lander.
“We have several supply drones that we need to unload, as well as the rest of the supplies from your lander,” commented Greg realizing that both Jason and he probably could use a shower.
He was extremely conscious of the fact that their quarters didn’t smell all that great. With the new supplies, they could at least take a sponge bath. It was not his favorite way to take a bath, but it was better than nothing. They had water, but they had been conserving it since they had no way to recycle it.
Lisa continued to look around, recognizing that these quarters could certainly use a woman’s delicate touch. But for now she was more interested in seeing the computer and the control systems in the command center. That was why she had come. “How soon can we go to the Command Center? I would like to see the computer and the other control systems.”
“I suggest we spend the rest of the day getting all the supplies inside, then early tomorrow we can check out the Command Center and some of the other areas,” Colonel Greene commented. He had spent quite a bit of time talking to Tom Hays back in Mission Control. "We may need some of those supplies for our exploration of this ship."
“I agree with that,” added Jason, nodding his head. “Once we have all the supplies inside we can concentrate on exploring the ship.”
Turning toward Jason, Colonel Greene continued. “From your reports and the images you have sent back, the ship’s Command Center seems to be pretty much intact. As soon as Lisa, Adam, and Marcus feel it’s safe we will attach one of the RTGs to the computer system and see if we can power it back up.”
“That might reinitiate the emergency beacon,” Jason warned, his eyes narrowing.
There were still some supply drones on the schedule that would be landing over the next several weeks. He didn’t want to cause them to crash. They would need those supplies. That damn beacon had already caused enough problems.
“I’m not too worried about that,” replied Greene, folding his arms across his chest. “We have the equipment to get into the section the beacon's located in if necessary. The equipment is still on the lander. Unless these bulkheads are much tougher than they look, we should be able to cut through them.”
“This is a warship,” Jason reminded Colonel Greene. “I suspect those bulkheads are a lot tougher than you think.”
Greene was silent for a moment, and then replied. “We can always take the power away and silence it like you did the first time.”
“We also need to look for a larger area to attach a portable airlock,” added Adam Simmins, looking around critically and noticing the size of the two rooms. “A lot of the equipment we brought needs to be inside where we can access it easily. It’s going to become crowded in here rather quickly.”
“I don’t see a problem with that,” Jason replied in agreement. Six people in these quarters plus equipment and the lander might seem roomy. “There are some larger interconnected rooms farther down the corridor that we could use. We would have to move some equipment and other stuff out, but I think we could make them livable.”
“That would work,” spoke Simmins, pleased at the thought of having even more room to live and work in.
“However, I suggest we get the computer activated first,” continued Jason, thinking about the possibilities. “It controls the ship’s environmental systems, and we know they still work since the computer pressurized the Command Center when we first went in there. We might be able to use the computer to pressurize some other compartments that would be more comfortable.”
“Sounds like a plan,” replied Lisa, anxious to get to the computer. “I’m curious to see just how this computer is programmed and the differences between it and our own operating systems.”
“Be patient, Lisa,” Colonel Greene said, smiling. He well understood the young woman’s desire to see the Command Center and the computer; he wanted to see it also. But they had other work to do first.
“Let’s take an hour to relax and then we’ll start moving the rest of the equipment and supplies,” ordered Greene, wanting to get started as soon as possible. “With two rovers it shouldn’t take us too long.”
-
Two hours later, Jason and Greg were on the far side of the crater where one of the drones had landed several days previously. The small drone
was basically a small cargo pod with an engine and four short landing struts. The landing didn’t have to be perfect as long as the drone got down relatively undamaged. The drone sat at a slight angle with a bent strut. Burn marks beneath marked where the descent engine had fired.
Greg looked around the desolate landscape of the crater. Even from here, the wrecked spaceship was imposing. It lay smashed against one rim of the crater. He wondered how much farther it would have slid if the crater wall hadn’t stopped it. There was a thin layer of lunar dust on everything. That was one thing Greg hated about the Moon, all the damn dust. It got into everything.
Greg kicked the dust with one of his spacesuit’s boots and frowned, watching it fly up. Just walking sent up little puffs of dust at times. “I hate this dust,” muttered Gregg, looking at the drone.
Jason stood next to the drone. Reaching up, he grasped a latch on the hatch and turned. He followed the same procedure for the other three latches. In moments, he had the small hatch open and, reaching inside, began taking out the small bundles of supplies that were stored inside. More food, water, and other basics they might need. It would take two trips with the rover to get everything back to the wreck. Looking up, Jason stared at the Earth. The friendly blue and white globe made him feel homesick for his sister and brother. All his life, the three of them had always been there for each other. Due to the security slapped on the current mission, his conversations with his siblings the last few days had been brief.
“Let’s get this unloaded,” said Jason, turning to Greg. “We have a lot to do.”
-
The next day, they were all in the Command Center. Lisa was examining the computer and had a panel off one side so she could see the processors. The two engineers were tracing wiring and checking for obvious damage.
“This doesn’t look too different from our own computers,” Lisa commented in surprise, shining a bright light inside the console. She turned her deep blue eyes toward Colonel Greene. “There are a few things different internally, but it’s still just a basic computer.”
“I would have thought it would be far more advanced,” commented Greene, frowning. “These people seem so far ahead of us technically that I assumed their computers would be also.”
“Is it safe to turn back on?” asked Jason, walking over to stand next to Lisa. He was still nervous about the possibility of reactivating the emergency beacon.
“As soon as I get this panel back on, it shouldn’t be a problem,” replied Lisa, standing back up and wishing she could stretch decently. It wasn’t easy to bend over in a cumbersome spacesuit. “We just need to get some power to it.”
“What about the power?” asked Greene looking over at the two engineers who had several panels off one wall, examining the wiring behind it.
“No problem,” responded Adam, turning to face the colonel. “We’ve located the main power lead, and all we have to do is attach the RTG to it.”
“What do you think, Commander Strong?” asked Greene, turning toward Jason.
“Let’s do it,” Jason replied with a nod. “We have a lot of unanswered questions and that computer could hold the keys. As you said, we can always cut the power.”
“Very well, let’s get the power hooked up.”
-
Power, the AI thought as it watched the humans in the Command Center. It could siphon off power from the human’s power source to replenish its own diminishing power reserves. This would solve the immediate power problem and give the AI more time to observe these new humans. The AI watched with interest as two of the humans attached their power source to the main power conduit for the Command Center. The AI made a few quick adjustments to some of the systems to ensure that all the power went to the systems in the Command Center and didn’t bleed back out into damaged lines and consoles in other sections of the ship. Its own power levels were getting dangerously low.
-
“RTG is hooked up,” reported Adam Simmins, stepping back from where he had been working and watching it. Trying to get everything attached properly while wearing a bulky spacesuit was a challenge. The RTG was a round cylinder approximately four feet tall and two feet in diameter.
“Turn it on,” ordered Colonel Greene, taking a deep breath. “I want everyone to watch the consoles and see if anything happens. Adam, if I tell you to cut the power I want it off instantly!”
Simmins nodded and reached over and flipped a switch. Instantly, several lights on the RTG blinked on. Other than that, nothing seemed to happen.
“The computer’s not coming on,” reported Lisa, gazing at the screen and wondering if there was a button she needed to push. She felt disappointed that the computer hadn’t reacted to the power being restored.
“It may be necessary to let the power build up,” suggested Jason looking around the Command Center. “There may be some type of minimum power requirement for the Command Center in order for its systems to function.”
He had at least expected a few lights or something to come on when the RTG had been activated. No lights had come on or anything. All the consoles were still dark. Everything was eerily still. Jason felt a little uneasy that nothing had come on. Something just didn’t feel right. Where was the power going?
-
For two hours, Jason watched power flow into the systems in the Command Center. While they waited, everyone spent their time examining the consoles and controls. Jason did his best to explain to the others what Greg and he had found out the first time they had talked to the computer. Everyone listened and asked questions. They all felt intrigued by what the computer had said and what it might know.
“This computer seems very advanced in its programming,” Lisa commented as she listened to Jason. “The way it reacted to your voice commands indicates a high level of programming.”
“I just hope it can answer some of our questions,” Greg added. “I have been waiting for weeks to find out where this ship came from.”
“We have a lot of questions to ask also,” spoke Colonel Greene, recalling everything that Tom Hays and he had discussed. For the time being Washington was leaving Tom Hays in charge of this mission. Tom was well qualified and had worked with Washington before on other missions.
Jason looked speculatively around the Command Center. It was laid out in the shape of a rectangle. There were a dozen control stations along the walls, a command console in the center where the commander would have sat, and a plotting table off to one side of the command console. Jason stood, trying to picture in his mind what this room must have looked like when it was operational and with its crew in place. He found it hard to imagine the sights the crew of this ship must have seen. There were large viewscreens on all four walls, with the largest on the front wall. This room must have been breathtaking when the ship was flying between the stars.
Bringing his mind back to the present, Jason realized there had to be some type of power storage device located somewhere that required a minimum charge before activating any of the Command Center’s systems. Simmins and Edwards had checked the RTG and confirmed that it was generating power.
“Nothing wrong here,” reported Simmins, standing up and stepping away from the RTG once again. “It’s generating plenty of power, but I can’t tell you where it’s going.”
“I would think by now there should be sufficient power to operate the computer,” added Edwards, feeling confused. “The power has to be going somewhere.”
“This is taking a lot longer than I expected,” commented Lisa, walking over and looking at the dark computer console. She was beginning to get impatient. She wanted access to the computer!
The words were hardly out of her mouth when the computer console came on. The screen lit with a faint glow. At the same instant, the hatch to the Command Center suddenly shut. Before Jason could say anything, the overhead lights came dimly on.
“What’s happening?” snapped Colonel Greene, realizing they were shut in. He looked over at Jason wanting an answer.
> Jason looked at a readout on his suit and saw that the Command Center was being pressurized. “The computer is pressurizing the Command Center.”
“Just like it did last time,” Greg commented with relief in his voice.
A few moments later, Jason checked the readings once more. Everything seemed normal. Nodding at the others, Jason removed his helmet. The air was fine, even though the room was still cool. The air was being heated, but it would take a few more minutes to be warm enough to feel comfortable.
Greg and Colonel Greene quickly followed suit. When the other three saw that everything seemed to be okay, they removed theirs also.
“Do you think it’s safe to take our spacesuits off completely?” asked Lisa, wanting to get her hands on the computer. It was difficult to work in these cumbersome spacesuits.
“It should be,” replied Jason nodding. “The computer didn’t depressurize the Command Center until we told it to last time.”
“The Command Center will stay pressurized,” a computer voice suddenly spoke. “Command Center power reserves are at 1 percent and rising. All bulkheads and emergency safety fields are optimal.”
Lisa stepped back in surprise, looking at the computer. Evidently, this computer could respond to voice commands as well as respond to what it heard in the Command Center. She recalled reading that in the report that Commander Strong had sent to Mission Control. She just hadn’t expected the computer to start talking immediately.
Greg walked over to the computer so he could ask it a question. He had been impatient to find out the answer to one particular question that had been bothering him since they had first found the wreck. “Computer, where did this ship come from?”
“That information is classified,” the voice replied.
“Damn, that’s what it said last time,” Greg moaned in disappointment. He turned to Lisa and frowned. “Getting answers might not be as easy as we had hoped.”
Slaver Wars 1: Moon Wreck Page 6
