‘Page... get some shots of this with your wing camera,’ said Straus. ‘Vicks is about to make history by being the first woman to set foot on the moon.’
‘Will do, Sir,’ replied Page.
‘Oh my gosh... I didn’t even think of that. Just goes to show you how far we’ve come in such a short time,’ said Vicks as she struggled to walk over to Straus in the light gravity.
The node device itself resembled a large circular dinner tray with a clear acrylic domed lid protecting the inner workings. Straus bent down, picked it up, then carried it over to his ship and stowed it.
‘You didn’t need my help after all,’ said Vicks.
Straus shrugged and said, ‘Forgot about the light gravity. Alright, we still have time to jump Crusader squadron. Let’s head for Sector 44.’
After getting back in their ships, they sped off to intercept the new squadron. They formed a single file line and headed into the next sector. It didn’t take long to pick up the energy emissions from Crusader squadron as they were blasting asteroids in Sector 45 and collecting the DEP.
‘Accelerate to attack speed and open fire,’ ordered Straus.
Without hesitation Crusader squadron broke into two attack groups and engaged. The Black Hats scattered emulating how the drones usually responded. The Crusaders concentrated on Vicks's galleon and she was the first to be disabled by computer. Straus looped around in an overly aggressive maneuver, for a drone, and managed to take out JJ in Crusader #3.
Splash and Beans in Crusader 1 and 2 wasted no time in seeking revenge and blasted Straus’s ship until it registered as destroyed. In the end the Black Hats were defeated but the Crusaders lost a ship in the process.
‘Nice job, Crusaders. Better luck next time JJ.’
‘Thank you, Sir,’ said Splash the flight leader.
‘Let’s go ahead and top-off the DEP tanks and head …’
‘Commander! I’m picking up eight drones on an approach vector,’ said Page.
Straus checked his scanner and verified that they would be intercepted in less than thirty seconds and said, ‘All right people. Just like the drills. Stay with your wingman and go for the priority targets first. Crusaders, take them head on. Black Hats, let’s split up left and right and come at their flanks.’
As they sped toward the oncoming drones, he noticed an unfamiliar drone. It reminded him of a scarab beetle and it was leading the way. It shot some sort of projectile which exploded into an expanding red sphere of plasma. The expanding sphere enveloped Splash and JJ, while Beans and Cubes were able to take evasive action and avoid it.
‘My shields are failing... I’m losing power,’ said Splash.
‘I can’t maneuver,’ added JJ.
‘Vicks get in there and lay down a support field. Page stick with me. Let’s take out that beetle-shaped drone.’
Vicks headed toward the crippled ships and was able to lay down a support field. She then fell victim to the energy dampening plasma and drifted to a stop, saying, ‘I’ve lost power!’
Straus and Page peppered the Beetle drone with a combination of EM pulse, Gatling and Percussion shots. He fired his last two missiles at it and the Beetle finally blew to pieces. After gathering the DEP, Straus looped around onto the tail of the Booster. He and Page pounded away at it until it exploded.
In the meantime the expanding plasma ball had become too defuse to pose a problem. Power levels returned to normal on the affected ships and they were able to join in the fight.
After another few minutes all of the drones had been destroyed and their spilled DEP collected. Everyone was safe and aside from some carbon scoring on the hulls, their ships were no worse for wear.
‘That’s all for today boys and girls. Let’s head back. Splash, be sure to include all of the sensor data in your report. We’ll have to devise a strategy to counter that new Beetle drone, but for now, make sure to take it out first,’ said Straus.
After returning to the station, Straus docked and climbed out of his ship. He struggled to offload the node device and activated his comm unit.
‘Tómas. Do you have time for a meeting in Tech Research? I’ve got something to show you and Darla.’
‘Sure. I’ll meet you there.’
Straus picked up the node device which now weighed over seventy pounds in the station’s gravity, and decided to use a hover cart instead. He pushed the cart into the lab where Tómas and Darla were waiting. Straus ran through the story on how they discovered the sensor net and destroyed the transmitter facility.
‘With a network like that, they were probably monitoring all of our radio, television, and communications transmissions,’ said Darla looking over the node device.
‘I wonder how long they’ve had that in place,’ said Harrison.
‘Maybe your people can make a guess,’ said Straus to Darla.
‘I’ll get a team together to take this apart and see what we can determine. We’re going to have to establish some sort of network of our own, on or around the moon to make sure it doesn’t happen again,’ said Darla.
‘Maybe we can put in a modified Warp Jammer grid. Keep them out and monitor for drone energy signatures.’
‘That’s a great idea. I’ll have Alan work on the modifications.’
‘I’ll make sure to allocate whatever production facilities you need to crank them out,’ assured Tómas.
‘There’s more. After that, we engaged Crusader squadron in some war games practice. We got jumped by a drone patrol, and they had a new model drone leading the way,’ explained Straus as he pulled out his comm device to display images on the wall screen.
‘This beetle-shaped drone launched a device which created some sort of energy-dampening plasma. Our ships lost shields, maneuverability, and weapons. Had there been a few more of them, we would have been in real trouble. I’ll get all the sensor data over to you to take a look at. In the meantime, we’ll make it our top priority target.’
‘I’d love to get my hands on the device that produced that field. If you can disable one of the Beetles then we might be able to find a way to counter it, and perhaps modify it to use against them.’
‘Ok. I’ll see what we can do. That’s all the bad news. How’s about some good news?’ asked Straus.
‘I can always use good news,’ said Tómas.
‘I thought we might be able to use some good PR for our new nation. I became the first man to walk on the moon since the Apollo program, and Vicks was the first woman on the moon. Here, have a souvenir,’ said Straus as he handed them each a small moon rock.
‘This is awesome. Yes, that will make some good PR. Did you get any photos?’ asked Tómas.
‘Of course, Vicks and Page both have footage.’
‘Great. I’ll get it to the Public Relations group and have them issue a press release. Nicely done.’
‘Just sort of happened. I really didn’t plan on it.’
‘They don’t need to know that. You know how the press can put whatever spin they want on something. The Black Hats will be heroes... again.’
Straus laughed and said, ‘Ok... whatever.’
The next morning after breakfast Straus walked Darla back to her quarters to grab her things. She was heading for the Physics Symposium in Austria. She made a last minute check then closed her suitcase.
‘Would you mind watering my plants every three or four days?’ asked Darla looking toward the plants.
Straus followed her gaze and said, ‘I’d be happy to Sweetheart, and I promise not to snack on them.’
Darla laughed and held him close, then said, ‘I’m going to miss you so much. I almost don’t want to go.’
‘You know what they say about absence,’ he said as he gave her a hug, then kissed the top of her head.
They left her quarters and Straus had one arm around Darla’s shoulder as they walked down the corridor. In his other hand he pulled her wheeled-suitcase behind them as they headed for the transport bay.
Just outside
of the transport, Darla said, ‘Its going to be a long ten days without you. I wish you could come with me.’
‘Just can’t get away right now what with the training schedule and the moon project and all. If the conference was a week or so later... maybe. At any rate, I have a going-away present that will help,’ said Straus as he pulled out a small black velvet box.
Darla took it with an excited gleam in her eye that changed to mild confusion when she flipped open the lid. Inside was a small black rectangular module that was three inches long and a quarter inch wide and deep, with a silver electrical connection.
‘What is it?’
Straus pulled it out of the case and said, ‘Let me see your comm device.’
She pulled it out of her pocket and handed it to him. Straus plugged the module into the connector at the top of her device, and it practically disappeared because it matched the case so perfectly. The screen came on and a message appeared saying, ‘Installing new software.’
When it was done he handed it back to her and said, ‘Its a quantum module mated to the one on my comm unit,’ he said holding up his device. ‘We can text, call, send files, and video call from anywhere. Totally secure.’
‘This is wonderful. I can’t think of anyone I’d rather be mated to,’ said Darla with a raised eyebrow and a half smile.
Straus laughed and said, ‘About that... I had a crazy idea.’
‘I love your crazy ideas,’ she said looking up at him with her big green eyes.
‘Yeah... you keep saying that. Anyways... hows about I pop down to Vienna in ten days and we elope and honeymoon in Europe. Then later, when we’re back on the station, we can have a formal ceremony and/or reception for our friends.’
‘Really?! That sounds wonderful.’
‘Great, I’ll make the arrangements. Your conference finishes up on the fourteenth, so I’ll pick you up on the morning of the fifteenth.’
‘Oh, but there’s things I’d want to pack. Maybe I should come back to the station first.’
‘We’ll just pick up whatever we need. Don’t worry about it. We’ll be traveling light. We’ll make it work. You’ll see.’
‘Sort of an adventure. That sounds like fun. I can’t wait,’ said Darla as she gave him a big hug.
‘Have a great time and knock ‘em dead with your keynote speech,’ he said as she entered the transport.
They waved and she blew him a kiss as the hatch closed. Straus watched as the transport lifted off and eased through the shield barrier and disappeared from sight.
As he was walking back to his office his comm device alerted him with a special tone. He pulled it out and activated it only to see Darla’s smiling face.
‘Miss me?’ she asked playfully.
‘Always,’ he said with a smile.
‘This works great.’
‘You can thank Dr. Ames for that. He went into painful detail on how he managed to miniaturize the components. Listening to him explain was the least I could do, since he did it as a special favor.’
‘Once I get settled in my hotel room, I’ll send you some photos to keep you from missing me too much,’ she said as she smiled suggestively.
‘Ha ha ha. I think those will only make me miss you even more, sweetheart, but... yes, please send them anyways.’
‘Talk to you soon,’ she said, and then mouthed, ‘Love you.’
Straus mouthed “love you” back and headed to Harrison’s office to arrange the time off at the end of Darla’s symposium.
A few days later, Dr. Ames had completed the design of the modified Warp Field jammer and they were in full production. A squadron and two transports were being used to position the devices around the moon, as quickly as they were being manufactured. At that pace, it would take nearly two weeks to complete the grid.
Chapter 3
SLIGHT OF HAND
Straus’s comm unit went off with the special tone indicating that it was Darla. There was only a few days left before he was going to go pick her up and elope and he thought perhaps she was growing as anxious as he was. He smiled with anticipation as he pulled out the device and activated it. Then his expression changed to confusion when he realized that he was greeted by the image of someone wearing a black ski mask. With a sinking feeling, Straus quickly pushed the record button to capture the call.
‘Commander Strausser, we have your lady friend,’ he said as he pointed the comm unit toward Darla who was tied to a chair and gagged but appeared to be unharmed. ‘If you want to get her back in one piece then you’ll do exactly as I say. Do we understand each other?’
Straus’s mind raced on the best way to handle the situation. Nothing was more important than Darla’s safety. He felt angry and cornered, but managed to say, ‘I understand. What do you want?’
‘We want a fully loaded DEP reactor. You deliver it to us in exchange for the safe return of the lovely Dr. Peters.’
‘What could you possibly want with a DEP reactor? Its not going to do you any good if you don’t have a steady supply of DEP.’
‘I don’t know what they want it for. I’m procuring it for a client.’
‘I see. Well, that’s a tall order. Its not like we just have them sitting around. We’ll have to manu...’
‘Dr. Peters mentioned in her paper that she has her own research reactor. We’ll take that one.’
Strauss’s anger grew and thoughts of violence toward her captors popped into his head, but were tempered as he consider Darla’s safety. He reigned in his emotions and said, ‘I need to talk to her about the details.’
The masked figure considered that for a moment and carried the comm unit closer to Darla. His hand reached out and removed the gag from her mouth.
‘Are you Ok, Sweetheart?’ he asked.
‘Yes. I’m sorry. They grabbed me when...’
‘None of that matters now. How do we handle your reactor?’
She stared into the comm unit with an expression that told Straus to watch for the hidden message, and she said, ‘It will take three days for you to fill it completely. Be sure that you have the EM pulse injectors tuned to exactly 5.739 terahertz. That will ensure a minimum of loss in the transfer.’
‘Understood. Once the reactor is ready, where do you want it delivered?’
The gag was put back into Darla’s mouth and the masked figure backed away then said, ‘Put it on one of your cargo ships and contact me on your way down. I’ll give you the exact coordinates then, that way you won’t be able to set up any sort of trap.’
‘You don’t have to worry about that as long as you keep her safe. I’ll get things started on my end.’
‘Its nice dealing with a professional. No unnecessary saber rattling. Just don’t take too long. My men have taken a certain interest in your lovely fiance and I don’t know how long I can keep her in... pristine condition. Contact me on her device when you’re ready to make the exchange.’
The screen showed two men approaching Darla and she started to struggle in the chair and let out a muffled yelp just as the connection was cut.
Straus slammed his fist onto the table then headed for the Harrisons’s quarters. He pressed the call button several times in quick succession.
‘You have any idea what time it is? This had better be good,’ came Tómas’s voice over the speaker.
‘Its Straus... and it's important.’
The door slid open and Straus walked in. Tómas came out of the bedroom tying his robe closed and said, ‘What’s up?’
Straus pulled out his comm device and transferred the recorded video to the wall screen. After the recording had finished Straus heard, “Oh my god”.
He turned to see Vicks standing there in her robe with her hair tousled and a sleepy look on her face.
‘Officially we can’t make a deal with them. That would just open the door to more of the same,’ said Tómas.
‘We won’t be. All that talk about tuning the pulse injectors was a message. It doesn’t have anything to d
o with refueling a DEP reactor. I think she wants us to launch a rescue mission in three days. I’ll get with Dr. Ames to figure out the technical details.’
‘We’re going to need to be very careful not to start an international incident. You just can’t be flying into another nation’s air space unless you’re chasing a drone.’
‘I know. I know. I’ll figure something out.’
‘I’ll alert Ambassador McKay and have him contact the authorities and get the diplomatic wheels turning. Officially, I have to order you, not to do anything. Let the authorities handle it. Unofficially...’, Tómas looked up and gave Straus a small nod.
Corvus Prime: Escalation Page 3
