Star One: Tycho City Survival

by Weil, Raymond L.

  “And the girl looks just like Jolene,” Mase added. Mase didn’t add that he and Linda had an announcement for tonight. In six more months, they would be having their first child.

  -

  Trace stood looking out the thick, reinforced window in the new structure they had built just outside the bunker. The large, two-story building was very similar to a hotel. The second floor contained twenty-four small suites of rooms, each with a small living room and a spacious bedroom. The outer walls were made out of thick concrete blocks with multiple layers of insulation.

  The bottom floor contained a large cafeteria, comfortable rooms with couches to relax, several rooms set up to watch movies, a workout room, and even a sauna. There were also a few more living quarters on the bottom level. A concrete tunnel connected the new structure to the bunker. The bunker itself had been expanded over the years with added rooms and larger quarters.

  “I like living here,” spoke Emily, walking over and putting her arms around Trace. “It’s so nice to be able to see outside.”

  “I didn’t think we would ever get this built,” Trace said as he looked out toward where a large greenhouse stood.

  This one was much more substantial and could be used nearly year round. The only time it had to be shut down was for six weeks when the temperature outside became too hot.

  “I’m glad the people from the other bunker came to live with us also,” Emily said. “It’s good to see new faces.”

  Trace nodded. They had found another group of survivors just east of Tulsa. There had been twenty-six in the other group and the two separate groups of survivors had decided to combine their resources and build this new structure where they could all live.

  It had been necessary to repair a couple of bridges and a main road, but it had been worth it. It had allowed them to greatly expand their search for material to build the new building.

  “Let’s go downstairs and watch the news,” Trace suggested. He enjoyed watching the broadcasts from the Moon. “Then later, I understand they’re broadcasting music from the sixties.”

  Emily laughed and punched Trace in the side. “I can’t believe how you like that old music.”

  Trace smiled. Life was getting better every day. He was just glad he had Emily and Nate to share it with.

  -

  Mase was in the backyard of the small house that he and Linda lived in on the outskirts of Tycho City near the outer wall.

  Standing in the small backyard, Mase took in a deep breath. Taking a long fork, he checked the steaks that were cooking on the grill.

  “Still not done?” asked Anthony, impatiently. He had been starving ever since Jolene had told him they were going over to Mase and Linda’s for steaks.

  “Be patient, Anthony,” Phillip said with a friendly laugh. “The steaks will be done when they’re done.”

  Mase looked over at his brother. It was great to have his family and friends all here together. Phillip and his wife and their two kids, Anthony and Jolene and their two young children, and then of course there were Karen and Anthony’s younger sister Jean.

  “The rolls are done and the salad,” Karen said as she walked over to gaze at the steaks on the grill. “I even managed to make up some potato salad to go with the steaks.”

  “Potato salad!” Anthony said, his eyes lighting up. He hadn’t had any potato salad in years.

  “Yes, potato salad,” Karen repeated with a big smile. “We have plenty of eggs from the chickens, and we just harvested our first really big crop of potatoes.”

  “How was your trip to Farside yesterday?” Mase asked. Anthony still insisted on flying the shuttles and had flown some food supplies over to the observatory complex.

  “It was routine,” Anthony reported. “Charles is all excited about a new comet he has discovered. He says it will pass close to Earth and will be a spectacular sight in the night sky.”

  Later everyone was eating and enjoying casual conversation. Mase looked around and smiled. It was at times like this that he knew everything was going to be okay. He heard the phone inside the house ring and wondered who could be calling. Since things had calmed down, he received very few calls in the evenings.

  Linda went inside and then, after a few moments, reappeared with an incredulous look upon her face. “That was Adam Strong over at Farside. They have made a fantastic discovery!”

  “What now?” Anthony said feeling a cold chill run down his back. He well recalled the last fantastic discovery the Farside scientists had made.

  Linda grinned and then made her announcement. “The comet that Charles discovered yesterday is not a comet.”

  “Not a comet?” Anthony repeated. “Then what is it?”

  “It’s the FarQuest, and it’s rapidly approaching us,” Linda announced.

  “The FarQuest!” exclaimed Mase, standing up feeling an excited chill run up his back. “That’s impossible! It went through the black hole!”

  “Well, the astronomers have used the Albertson reflector, and they have confirmed that it is indeed the FarQuest and will be in communications range early tomorrow morning.”

  Mase looked over at Anthony, his eyes shining with excitement. “I think we need to be in the Control Center bright and early tomorrow. I just don’t see how this could be the FarQuest. If it is, they would have to have travelled faster than light to return here. We know the system they went to was over 57 light years away.”

  “This means they made it!” Anthony exclaimed with a big grin spreading across his face.

  For the next hour, they all were talking about the possibility of this indeed being the FarQuest and what it might mean. In all the excitement, Mase and Linda forgot to make the announcement about Linda being pregnant.

  -

  Mase and Anthony were in the Control Center early the next morning. On the main viewscreen was a faint dot.

  “Is that them?” Anthony asked excitedly as he gazed at the screen.

  “Yes,” Major Daniels replied. “They are traveling at an amazing speed and should be entering easy communication range at any moment.”

  “Sir, I’m receiving a communication message from the FarQuest,” Kelly Stewart reported from her com panel.

  “Put it on the speaker,” Mase ordered, his eyes lighting up. After so long he was about to discover what had happened to Star One and the people that had been aboard the giant space station.

  Almost instantly a familiar voice spoke. “This is General Avery Karver aboard the FarQuest to Mase Colton. Mase are you still there?”

  “It is them,” Anthony shouted, his eyes lighting up. “If General Karver is on the FarQuest, then that means that Star One made it safely through the wormhole!”

  The entire Control Center grew loud with excited voices, and some people broke down in tears. Their friends that had left the solar system over five years ago were still alive.

  Mase stepped over to the com panel and pressed the transmit button. “General Karver, this is Mase Colton. It’s good to hear your voice again, Sir.”

  A minute passed and then the reply came over the speaker. “It’s good to hear your voice also, Mase,” Karver said. “I am on the FarQuest, and we should be landing in a few hours.”

  “Landing?” Mase spoke his eyes growing wide in surprise. “How is that possible?”

  A minute later General Karver replied. “We have made a number of changes to the ship,” Karver explained. “Not only can we land on the Moon, but we can also land on Earth.”

  The entire Control Room grew quiet at those words. If the FarQuest could land on the Earth, then perhaps they could adapt the same technology to the large shuttles they had stored in the landing bays.

  Anthony looked over at Mase as he realized the ramifications of what General Karver had just said. “We can travel to Earth,” he whispered in a stunned voice.

  “We won’t be separated anymore,” Mase spoke as he realized that the people on the Moon, the Earth, and potentially Star One could travel to see e
ach other again.

  Anthony looked at the viewscreen and the steadily growing white dot that was the FarQuest. “We can travel to the stars,” he spoke quietly his eyes growing wide at the thought.

  “Mase, Steve Larson told me to tell you hi,” said General Karver, over the com. “You should know he finally married Christy, and they have a little girl now.”

  “Oh crap,” Mase said as he looked over at Anthony, realizing what they had forgotten to announce the previous night. “I forgot to tell you that Linda is pregnant; we were going to announce it last night.”

  “That’s great!” said Anthony, smiling. He knew that Jolene would be really excited to hear the news.

  Mase looked back at the viewscreen. He knew that, with the return of the FarQuest, their future was now assured. He couldn’t wait to show General Karver what all they had accomplished and tell him about the survivors on Earth. He was also sure that the general would have an interesting and exciting story to tell all of them as well. Mase smiled to himself; there was no doubt in his mind that the human race was indeed going to survive.

  The End

  If you enjoyed Star One: Tycho City Survival and want the series to continue, please post a review with some stars. Good reviews encourage an author to write and help books to sell. Reviews can be just a few short sentences describing what you liked about the book. If you have suggestions, please contact me at my website listed on the following page. Thank you for reading Star One: Tycho City Survival and being so supportive.

  I reduced the price of this book from $3.99 to $2.99 since it starts out with an expanded version of Star One: Tycho City Discovery. I didn’t feel that readers should have to buy the same book twice, so I reduced the price to compensate.

  There are a few events in Star One: Tycho City Survival that I only touch on briefly. Those events are covered in depth in Star One: Neutron Star and Star One: Dark Star. These two books cover what happens with the space station, as well as other crucial events on Earth and are a two-book story.

  I am considering several more future books in this series if there is enough interest and the reviews are good. The new books would involve the survivors on the Moon and the Earth as well as the survivors from the space station. They would involve some galactic exploration and encountering alien races both peaceful and hostile. If you’re interested in the series continuing please post a review.

  For updates on current writing projects and future publications go to my author website. Sign up for future notifications when new books come out on Amazon.

  Website: http://raymondlweil.com/

  Other Books by Raymond L. Weil

  Available at Amazon

  -

  (The Slaver Wars Series)

  Moon Wreck: First Contact (Short Story)

  Moon Wreck: Revelations (Short Story)

  Moon Wreck: Secrets of Ceres (Short Story)

  The Slaver Wars: Alien Contact (Novel)

  Moon Wreck: Fleet Academy (Novel)

  The Slaver Wars: First Strike (Novel)

  -

  Dragon Dreams: Dragon Wars

  Dragon Dreams: Gilmreth the Awakening

  Dragon Dreams: Snowden the White Dragon

  -

  Star One: Tycho City: Survival

  Star One: Neutron Star

  Star One: Dark Star

  -

  The Slaver Wars: Retaliation

  Coming January 2014

  -

  Dragon Dreams: Firestorm Mount

  Coming 2014

  Turn the page for a brief description of Star One: Neutron Star and an excerpt from The Slaver Wars: Alien Contact.

  Star One: Neutron Star

  It is the year 2044 on Earth. At the Farside observatory complex on the Moon, a startling astronomical discovery has been made. A survey for pulsars has found an x-ray source in a region of space where none has been detected before.

  Upon further investigation, they find that this x-ray source is just outside of the solar system. The astronomers are paralyzed by what they have found knowing what its disastrous ramifications might be.

  A neutron star is approaching the solar system. It appeared out of a small dust cloud that was shielding its approach. Armageddon has arrived; the star is on a trajectory that will take it through the center of the solar system. Life on Earth will not survive its passing.

  The only hope for survival will be on the massive Star One space station at the Earth-Moon Lagrange point or possibly in Tycho City deep beneath the Moon’s surface. It will be a race against time to save a fraction of the Earth's frightened population.

  A power struggle will erupt on Earth over who is to survive. On Star One and at Tycho City they prepare for the worst, unfortunately, the threat from Earth might be just as dangerous as the approaching neutron star.

  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00860XMVU/ref=cm_cd_asin_lnk

  Turn the page to read a preview of the Slaver Wars: Alien Contact. The Slaver Wars series sold over 100,000 copies in 2013.

  The Slaver Wars: Alien Contact

  The 1,200-meter battle cruiser StarStrike slid quietly through empty space. The ship was a Conqueror Class Command Cruiser, one of the most powerful warships ever built by the Human Federation of Worlds. There were only four of the powerful ships of war in the Federation’s entire fleet. The StarStrike and its small fleet were on a fact finding mission deep within suspected enemy territory. The 1,500-meter Galaxy Class Battle Carrier Victory was above the StarStrike, along with its four light cruiser escorts. Several small fighter craft flew around the small fleet keeping a constant vigilance for any incoming threats. Two space destroyers were ahead of the fleet scanning for any potential enemy targets. It was essential that the human fleet remain undetected until it had completed its reconnaissance mission.

  Fleet Admiral Hedon Streth sat at his command console watching the main viewscreen on the front wall of the Command Center. He was of medium build, and his dark hair was just starting to turn gray on the sides. The admiral was forty-two years old, and the worry lines on his face showed that he had been through a lot the past few months. Months he would like to forget. It had been a trying and desperate time for the entire human race.

  The viewscreen showed unwinking stars ahead, and the scanners and long-range sensors were free of threats. The Command Center was in the shape of a rectangle, and its twenty-crew personnel were efficiently going about their jobs. At the reinforced security hatch, two heavily armed marines stood guard. No one entered the Command Center without the proper clearance. Two more similarly armed marines stood just outside the hatch in the corridor. Security now was much more obvious than a few short months ago.

  “Still nothing,” Colonel Amanda Sheen, the executive officer, spoke. She was standing next to the holographic plotting table, which showed the present fleet disposition and the CAP fighters that were flying their routine patrol routes. She was currently checking the large tactical screens above her as well as the information appearing on the table.

  “Confirm mission status,” ordered Admiral Streth, letting out a deep breath and shifting his gaze from the viewscreen to his executive officer.

  They had picked this system hoping it would be clear of enemy activity. Their mission was extremely sensitive, and the security of the Human Federation of Worlds depended upon its success. Hedon felt the full weight of that responsibility on his shoulders and knew that this mission just had to succeed. Failure was not an option. The entire Federation was in extreme danger, and this mission might well determine the future of mankind in the galaxy.

  “Navigation, I want a position status report,” Colonel Sheen barked, her blue eyes turning toward the two officers sitting at the main navigation console.

  “We are currently one hundred and eighteen astronomical units out from the target system’s primary. Fleet is currently moving in system at eighteen percent speed of light on sublight engines,” replied the chief navigation officer.

  “What do we have
on the long-range sensors?” Sheen asked over her mini-com, glancing over at the large scanning and sensor console, which was manned by two fleet officers. She wore a small communications device in her right ear, which allowed her to contact any station on the ship in an instant.

  “System has two planets,” Lieutenant Stalls reported smoothly as he checked the latest information coming in on his computer screens. “Both are gas giants in distant orbits. No asteroid fields or moons detected. System is absent of any artificial emissions.”

  “System is as we had hoped,” reported Colonel Sheen turning to face the admiral. “There are no signs of any enemy vessels, and the system has no significant resources to attract any type of mining or scientific activity.”

  Admiral Streth nodded his head in acknowledgement. He knew that Amanda was a highly qualified officer graduating in the top ten percent of her class at the fleet academy. She was a brunette with a trim figure and thirty-two years of age. She was also a firm disciplinarian. The crew respected her, and she was everything he could ask for in an executive officer.

  “Get me the Victory, I think it’s time we get some information about this area of space,” ordered Admiral Streth, reaching a decision. They had been moving steadily deeper into suspected Hocklyn space for the last eight weeks. “It’s time we launch the stealth scouts and find out what’s out there.”

  Colonel Sheen nodded. This was their mission and she was ready to get it started. Glancing back at the sensor and scanner screens, she noted that they were clearly empty of any hostile threats. That needed to continue for several more days if they hoped for any chance of success. Looking around the Command Center, she could sense the heightened vibrancy in the crew at the admiral’s announcement to begin the actual mission.

  -

  On board the Victory, Commander Adler listened as the admiral ordered the launch of the stealth scouts. The Victory had six of the highly advanced scout ships on board, which were nearly undetectable to normal methods of scanning. It was hoped that the Hocklyns would have no way to detect the small surveillance vessels. Their entire mission and the safety of their fleet depended on it.