“Just go ahead, JJ,” Dylan said.
Moving through the hatch into the next chamber of the moonbase, JJ took a few light steps. She hadn’t realized the Challenger Center building was big enough for something like this to fit inside it.
When she looked around, she stopped in shock. Before her, at a familiar control panel, stood two adults wearing flight suits. She recognized the woman as Noor Ansari, the moonbase chief who had spoken to them in the recorded greeting Commander Zota had played. The man beside her was compact, with a moustache and gray-frosted hair.
Moving forward and unable to stop his momentum easily, Dyl careened into JJ from behind. “Whoa, what are you doing?” They both stumbled forward into the Main Control Center, as the two adults turned to them in astonishment.
“Hey,” King said, emerging beside them. “I thought Mr. Zota said we were going to be alone in this simulation.”
Now that they had arrived in the control center, JJ expected the two adults to welcome them. Instead Ansari crossed her arms over her chest and her eyes narrowed with suspicion. “Zota? Would you be referring to Commander Zota?”
“How many Mr. Zotas do you know?” Song-Ye asked.
“None,” said the man in the flight suit. “Until about a half an hour ago. I thought it was all a joke—and in rather poor taste.” His voice was crisp, with a marked British accent. “But now I can’t tell if that Zota fellow is having fun at our expense. How the blazes did you four get here?”
JJ was surprised. “Weren’t you expecting us?”
“We were expecting someone, of course,” the British man said, “but you must admit the whole thing strains credulity.”
“We’re eager to debrief you,” Ansari cut in. “I’m Chief Ansari—Chief will do. And this is Major Fox. But first, why don’t we get you out of your spacesuits? We’ve got plenty of breathable air in here. You won’t need them.”
“Fun while it lasted.” JJ shrugged, and detached her helmet. “But I’m ready for the next adventure.”
The man regarded them all with a rather distrustful gaze, as if guarding them, while Ansari departed and returned with an armload of flight suits. “I had to guess on the sizes.”
In a flurry of disassembly, the four companions took off the components of their suits, while the British man stowed each piece in the storage chamber behind them.
Ansari tossed them each new clothing as they emerged from their spacesuits. Dyl, the first one ready, caught a work outfit and leaned against a rounded wall while putting it on.
Commander Zota had made him set aside his crutches when he put on his spacesuit, and Dyl didn’t seem to need them. JJ was glad to see her brother slide into the blue moonbase jumpsuit so easily. When she had her own spacesuit off, JJ noticed that she remained lightweight. It wasn’t some trick of the suit.
“Thank you, Ma’am,” King said politely to Chief Ansari, holding the flight suit against himself to check it for size; the pants legs looked as if they might be a bit short. JJ’s new clothes fit her perfectly, while Song-Ye, the smallest, had to roll up the pants into cuffs to keep from tripping over them.
Ansari watched them intently. “Now perhaps you’d be kind enough to introduce yourselves.”
After the cadets announced their names, Fox said, “And it’s about time you lot told us how you got here.”
It seemed like a strange question. JJ wondered if these two teachers didn’t work the simulations very often, or maybe not on weekends. “The usual way, I guess?”
Dyl nodded. “Mom dropped us off.”
“City Bus Route 4,” King replied.
Song-Ye looked bored already. “Limo … Lincoln Stretch Town Car, to be exact.”
Instead of moving on to further orientation, Ansari and Fox seemed to grow angry at their answers.
“You are all obviously too young to be taking on a mission of this importance.” Major Fox sounded as grumpy as the high school football coach when their team lost. “This is quite a serious matter. The implications, the repercussions … ” He began to trip over his words.
Chief Ansari added a stern response, “You children may see this as one grand adventure, but while you’re on this moonbase, we are responsible for your lives.”
Song-Ye flashed JJ a look that said, Can you believe this? and JJ found herself smiling in return.
“Wow, does everyone take these simulations so seriously?” Dyl asked.
Chief Ansari’s eyebrows shot up, and Major Fox looked taken aback. Fox sputtered, “Simu—you think this is a simulation?”
JJ was losing patience with the strange attitude. These people were wasting time.
“You can’t possibly believe that!” Ansari said.
“They don’t,” Fox snapped. “That’s space rubbish, pure and unrecyclable.”
“But it is a simulation,” King said. “Mr. Zota is right on the other side of that wall, and the parking lot is through the hall and out the front door.”
“We’re willing to play along, but only so far,” Song-Ye said. “Let’s just do the exercise.”
Dyl, though, anxious to move around, had made his way to one of the oblong windows. “Hey, guys—get over here and take a look. This isn’t like any model I’ve ever seen.”
Ansari watched the genuinely puzzled expressions on the faces of the four students. “You’re serious? If this is a simulation, how do you explain the fact that you arrived through an airlock, into Moonbase Magellan, wearing spacesuits?”
Fox made an impatient noise. “And how do they explain the lunar gravity?”
Dyl pushed himself away from the window and gave a little hop. His eyes went wide. “I hardly weigh a thing, so it wasn’t the spacesuits.”
JJ bent her knees and sprang upward. Her head struck the ceiling hard enough that she was sure she would have a lump. “Ow!”
“These are the special guests we’ve been waiting for?” Fox muttered, shaking his head. “What did they teach them?”
“Commander Zota had us put the spacesuits on,” King explained. “We thought it was cool that he got permission for us to wear them.”
At the mention of Zota, Chief Ansari seemed on her guard once more. “We received a transmission from your ‘commander’ just before you arrived, telling us to be on the lookout for you. But our next supply lander is due in a few days, from the ISSC, so we thought you’d be aboard it. Instead, you just appeared in the ESM.
“What’s an ESM?” Dyl asked.
“Equipment Storage Module,” Fox said. “Did you have any briefing at all? What were you expecting to accomplish here?”
“All right, enough is enough.” Song-Ye turned and marched back through the bulkhead doorway into the equipment chamber. “I’m calling my driver to pick me up early.” When she reached the airlock door, however, she was startled. “Hey, this isn’t the door we just used.” She looked through a round viewing port into a small chamber that led to a second door and—according to what she saw through the window in the next hatch—more of the lunar surface.
She started to open the airlock door, but Fox bounded forward and grabbed her arm. “You can’t go in there wearing only a flightsuit!”
The Korean girl was indignant. “That’s the way out.”
“Indeed it is, young lady, and you are in no way prepared for it.”
JJ had also come into the ESM, and when she looked through the airlock, she was startled to realize that the walls, the controls, and the second hatch all looked very different. Nobody seemed to know what was going on.
They returned to Chief Ansari in the Main Control Center.
“You talked to Commander Zota?” JJ asked. “He would have explained everything.” What was going on?
“I didn’t speak with him directly.” Ansari looked thoughtful. “The message was a data transmission marked Urgent. It had the highest security classification, with all of the correct codes—codes that warn a base commander not to ask too many questions.”
“What’d it say?
” King asked.
Fox said, “Our orders were to receive you as members of our crew, to put you to work and train you in the necessary daily activities on the moon-base.” He shook his head. “Further inquiries were definitely discouraged.”
Ansari said, “We’ve been pretty short-handed up here since we cut back to only four crew members, so we are not disappointed to have extra personnel. But, that still does not explain how you arrived here.”
JJ stared out the windowport at the lunar landscape. “I can’t explain.”
Major Fox sighed in exasperation. “Just one straight answer! That’s all we’re looking for. Did you pilot your own ship? If so, it should have taken you days to arrive. Where did it land? What supplies or equipment did you bring?”
“No ship, no days of travel—we just came through the airlock,” Dyl protested.
“Instantaneous transport, then?” Ansari glanced at Fox. “I’ve never heard of such a project, but they may have higher clearance than we believed. I thought all of Earth’s innovative projects had been abandoned. Maybe this is a good thing.” She looked back at Dyl. “Will we be allowed to use your transporter?”
“There is no transporter,” Dyl insisted.
“How else could you simply appear in the ESM?” Ansari asked.
“Pfft,” Song-Ye lifted her hands in exasperation. “This is an elaborate hoax, and I don’t like being made fun of.”
“I saw a movie once,” Dyl said, “where most of the space program was a hoax, especially the Moon landing. In the movie, everything was filmed on a set.”
Song-Ye smiled. “Exactly. You’re finally making some sense, Junior. This is probably just one huge movie set.”
“I don’t buy it,” King said. “How you do explain the gravity? And where did that changing room go?”
“Okay, somebody’s got to say it, and it might as well be me. We’re here. Really on the Moon,” JJ said. “Deal with it. We know this much: we didn’t fly here. I would have insisted on being in the pilot’s seat, and Dyl would’ve been scared silly since high speeds freak him out, whether it’s in a rollercoaster, an airplane or a car.”
“Hey!” Dyl objected.
“We’re still waiting for answers,” Fox said.
Being carefully vague, the cadets explained that they had been invited into a special training program, during which they had somehow found themselves here at the base.
Major Fox shook his head once more when they were finished. “So, again, that really doesn’t explain a thing.”
“No,” Chief Ansari said wryly, “but we’ll leave it at that for now. Regardless of how they may have gotten here, we certainly have no way to return them to Earth. Our orders were not to ask too many questions. Besides, our visitors were sent here to work.” She grinned. “And we can use the help. We might as well get started.”
***
Six
JJ could barely contain her excitement as Chief Ansari and Major Fox took the cadets on a tour of Moonbase Magellan.
“Not how I expected an actual lunar base to look,” King mused, looking around.
Dyl nodded. “I kinda thought it would be bigger. Maybe I just watch too many movies.”
“It’s not a resort complex. Everything here has to be self-contained, and construction occurs under difficult conditions,” Chief Ansari pointed out. “The original proposal for this base would have put it entirely belowground, to protect the researchers here from dangers on the surface. Unfortunately, the excavation would have been far too expensive, so these prefabricated modules were brought here instead. Over the years, our funding and staff have continued to shrink as interest wanes on Earth.”
JJ’s eyes were sparkling as Ansari pointed out the features of the Main Control Center. “How could anybody lose interest in a place like this? There’s so much to see and explore and learn.”
Ansari gave her a wry, somewhat sad smile. “You don’t have to convince me, Cadet Wren. I’ve already devoted my career to the space program—a decision that my friends and professors said was a waste of my skills.” She shook her head. “I’m glad I didn’t listen.”
JJ was perplexed to hear this, but the chief changed subjects, leading them to a projected chart of the facility layout. Moonbase Magellan was made up of five primary modules, and Chief Ansari explained each one.
The MCC bubble was the primary nerve center for operations in the base. The Equipment and Storage Module, through which they had entered, was indeed like the moonbase’s garage, where suits and equipment were stored. Though there were other access airlocks, the one in the ESM was the preferred exit point, since the lunar vehicles could connect directly to the airlock and allow personnel to enter them without needing to suit up.
The agricultural or “ag” bubble was a large greenhouse with a transparent ceiling of crystal plates where crops were grown and biological experiments were performed. The base’s biomedical officer, Dr. Cynthia Romero, worked among the plants and research animals there.
The observatory, also known as the astro bubble, was separate from the main base complex, partway across the crater floor next to a large curved sheet of hexagonal mirrors, which was the light-gathering surface of the optical telescope; a radio telescope filled one of the small craters nearby. Moonbase Magellan’s fourth crewmember, Dr. Arthur Wu, spent most of his time alone in the astro bubble.
The fifth and final module, the habitation or “hab” bubble, contained the crew quarters, sickbay, eating area, and gym.
The scope of the base amazed JJ. “Pretty impressive, isn’t it?” She glanced pointedly at Song-Ye, who shrugged.
“Sure, why not?”
“Right. So we’ve all accepted reality, now?” King asked in a quiet voice.
JJ pursed her lips. “Thing is, in our reality, there is no moonbase. We’re not even close. Something like this has got to be way in the future. Unless … what year was this base built?”
Major Fox shot her a hard look. “I thought we were past all of the silly questions.”
Ansari glanced at Fox, then answered, “Moonbase Magellan was established in 2082. We have had successful operations for decades, but now there’s talk of decommissioning it.”
“So … how old does that make the base, then?” Dyl asked.
“Cadets these days.” Fox shook his head in disgust. “Can you really not add or subtract without a calculator? It’s been thirty-eight years, of course.”
“That means it’s 2120,” King said under his breath.
“You have got to be kidding me,” Song-Ye muttered. JJ grinned.
“Sounds about right,” Dyl whispered back.
Chief Ansari gestured for them to follow her again as she shoved them around the hab bubble. “This is where you’ll be sleeping. As you can see, there are plenty of sleep modules, since the base was designed for a larger crew. Make yourselves comfortable while Major Fox and I go check in with Earth. Maybe we’ll get further instructions.”
“Or answers,” Fox said.
The compact sleep quarters were like oversized cabinets. JJ had expected to be more crowded, with several bunks to a room, but the modules were individual. Considering the long assignments on Moonbase Magellan, giving the crew a bit of personal privacy was probably a good idea. Eight of the identical rooms stood empty; each contained a bunk and had a small porthole that looked out onto the bleak but intriguing cratered surface.
JJ chose at random. “I’ll take this one.”
Song-Ye gave her an incredulous look. “Are you crazy? We can’t stay here!” She pushed up the sleeve of her blue uniform and looked at her wristwatch. “It’s already past one. What happens in a few hours when Winston shows up and I’m not there? My parents will file a police report and have the National Guard out looking for me if I don’t come home tonight! They’ll probably arrest Mr. Zota.”
Dyl looked uncomfortable. “Mom is expecting us back, JJ. Everybody’s going to be worried about us.”
“We’re all in the same s
ituation,” King said. “But that doesn’t help us get home. It’s pretty clear that Chief Ansari and Major Fox don’t know what to do with us.”
“Okay, what’s the plan, then?” JJ asked. “This could take a lot longer than an hour or two. It might even take days. Do you expect us just to stay awake until we find a way to get back?”
Song-Ye hesitated. “Maybe we’re already asleep and dreaming.”
“We wouldn’t all have the same dream,” JJ said.
“Then maybe this is just my dream,” Song-Ye countered. With a grimace of annoyance, she took out her cell phone, slid it open, and hit speed dial. She moved away and put the phone to her ear. “I’m calling my father, to see if he can get us out of here.”
King looked at her. “Is it working?”
Song-Ye shook her head, glaring at the small screen, which unhelpfully stated No Signal. “Nothing.”
“The limo doesn’t have a big enough gas tank to get to the Moon, anyway,” Dyl said.
JJ said, “Can’t blame you for trying, though.”
“This is a problem,” Dyl said. “We couldn’t have been transported to the Moon by accident. Commander Zota has to have a plan, doesn’t he?”
JJ wasn’t big on worrying, or on talking things around and around. This was an adventure, something she would have chosen to do if anyone had asked. Couldn’t everyone just accept the situation and get with the program? “Guys, stop worrying so much and pay attention to the amazing thing that’s going on here. We’re on the Moon! We’ve got a chance to do something incredible, something none of us ever expected to do. Relax and enjoy it.”
“How can I relax,” Song-Ye asked, “when I know how upset my parents are going to be?”
Dyl said quietly to JJ, “Shouldn’t we at least try to contact someone—Commander Zota maybe? I mean, I’ve got a lot of questions for him, don’t you? We’re kinda stuck here, and that’s not exactly a comforting thought.”
“If you have any ideas, I’m all ears.” JJ waved her hand around the room. “Can’t send a text message, no cell phone reception—we don’t even know if there are cell phones anymore, come to think of it, or even if the Internet still exists. Zota didn’t answer our suit helmet radios.” She didn’t add that if this really was 2120, everyone they knew was probably dead. No, she couldn’t think like that.
Moonbase Crisis: Star Challengers Book 1 Page 5
