by Bob Lee
In his cabin, Jeff heard Brother Jacobs’ summons. He turned towards Bonnie who was lying on the bed, her swollen belly sticking up in the air. “You heard Brother Jacobs; I need to go. Get up, find the girls and start a meditation session. I will be back shortly.” He turned and exited the cabin.
Bonnie thought about rising as the door closed, but she was tired and sore. The baby wasn’t due for at least another month, as far as she could tell, but the lunch work shift had left her exhausted, even with the additional breaks she was allowed. “I’ll get up in a minute,” she thought as she lay there. “Meditation would be nice instead of doing chores. I wonder what Brother Jacobs wants Jeff for.” Although she really had planned on getting up, she instead slowly drifted off to sleep.
# # #
Li Julong waited as their Moon rocket approached Mars, anticipating his first close-up view of the red planet. The trip had been uneventful so far; the ship had approached and docked with each refueling package on schedule. The sergeant had taken every rendezvous opportunity to train another few of the Koreans on how to spacewalk and detach spent fuel pods so that he did not have to do everything himself. The design had made it a simple matter to pop the latches and release the old pods, so the only thing the Koreans needed to be careful of was drifting away with the spent canister. Attaching the new fuel pod was also easy, as the hoses simply inserted with a twist, locking it in place. Then the five latches were snapped back, securing the new pod to the ship. Since they had managed to dock with each fuel package, they were well situated with extra fuel at each stop in case they were off course, but their trajectory had been accurate so far.
The trip itself was intensely boring, since they were under rocket power the entire trip, except while docking with the fuel packages. They spent most of their time crammed into the small central cylinder of their ship with nothing to do. The ship was controlled entirely by computer and totally automated, so they all just sat dozing or playing a board game. The scientist, sergeant and ten Koreans could follow the news broadcasts from Earth, but for the most part these were ignored. Julong was disappointed that he could not even watch Mars loom larger in a viewport, as after they reached the halfway point of their trip, the rocket had to turn around and decelerate for the remainder of the voyage. There were no outside cameras that would allow him to view their destination which was in the rear. The first glimpse he would have would be as they made it into Mars orbit and docked with the final fuel capsule.
Luckily, the chief scientist had brought a magnetic Go game set. He loved the feel of the black and white oval stones and the small click they made when placed on the board. He and the Koreans had played incessantly over the past month, with the winners being awarded the losers’ afternoon dessert. NCO Wong had refused to play, indicating that a loss would undermine his authority.
Julong sat gazing at the stars out the ship’s window, while two Koreans were competing at Go and a small screen in the corner was playing news broadcasts. He was somewhat dozing, when he noticed a red arc appearing in the corner of the window. “Mars, Mars,” he shouted to his comrades.
They all leaped up and crammed together trying to see out the porthole. The small sliver that could be seen of the planet below slid in from the side, allowing more of Mars to be seen. The scientist pointed out to the Koreans some of the easily seen topography. “There is Olympus Mons, the highest mountain in the solar system,” he said. “And there is Valles Marineris, the longest and deepest canyon ever seen. It is 4,000 kilometers long, but the Great Wall of China is even longer, of course.”
He continued to point out various geographic features, when one of the Koreans shouted, “Lao Li. You need to see this on the news!”
He and the others turned around, and witnessed the Channel 84 news broadcast in shock. When it was over, Sergeant Wong said to them quietly, “Now you know why we spent all of that time in weapons training. Enough! You two,” he said pointing to a pair of Koreans, “get in your suits and prepare for the last refueling stop in orbit before we land.”
CHAPTER 30
Whoop, Whoop. “Emergency; Fire,” a pleasing woman’s voice said over the Cycler’s intercom. Whoop, Whoop. “Emergency; Fire.”
Bonnie sat bolt upright in bed, confused, and looked at the alarm clock. Only fifteen minutes had passed since she had closed her eyes.
Whoop, Whoop. “Emergency; Fire,” the woman’s voice continued.
Bonnie could hear pounding on the door to the cabin. She looked over at it, still confused, wondering if she was having another horrid dream.
“Bonnie! Are you in there? Open the door!” Sue called from out in the hallway, continuing to hit the door with her fist. “You have to get out!”
Bonnie waddled over to the door, still groggy, and opened it. A waft of grey smoke hit her in the face, causing her to cough violently.
“Bonnie, there’s a fire; we have to get to the Pegasus now,” Sue yelled. “Where are the girls?” she continued as she poked her head into the cabin’s interior.
“Um,” Bonnie said as she looked around. She shook her head trying to clear it. “Oh, they know the procedure. They must have already headed for the ship.” Coming more fully awake, she turned back to old Sue. “Wait, I have to get the emergency bags we packed.” Bonnie hurried to one of the wall panels and opened it, revealing one luggage bag and a backpack. She grabbed them both, put her arms through the straps of the backpack and turned around. Sue had come in with her.
“We have to hurry, Bonnie. Here, grab the back of my dress and hang on,” Sue said.
Bonnie held on with her one free hand, dragging the luggage behind her with the other, as Sue hurried them both back into the hall. Panicked people crowded the hazy corridor, yelling instructions to each other to grab various items. Bonnie could see thick grey smoke all along the top of the ceiling. Old Sue elbowed her way past the members of the Called to the tunnel at the end. The tunnel was jammed with people as they all tried to get themselves and their luggage out at the same time.
“Move your butts!” Sue yelled as she pushed the rear end of the person in front of her who was halfway into the tunnel. As soon as that person had entered fully, Sue turned around to Bonnie. “Here, Honey. Give me the bag. I’ll be right behind you.”
Bonnie thanked her, and struggled to get into the tunnel. Her large pregnant abdomen did not make it easy and she choked on the fumes coming through it into the hallway she had just left. As she looked ahead, she could see arms pulling the people in front of her through from the main module side. When she reached the end, two strong arms lifted her down. It was Platinum Two, George Biggs.
“Bonnie, you need to go up the ladder as fast as you can,” George said. “This is not a drill; it’s for real this time,” he said, pointing behind him.
The wall on the left where the kitchen was located was ablaze. Fire rolled up the sides of the walls and across the ceiling. A thick haze filled the whole room. At the far end of the module, she could see the tunnel to the other residence cabins. Flames were curling out of it.
As Bonnie stepped onto the ladder leading to the hangar corridor, she froze. The dream that she had had many months ago came back to her. She looked at George. “My children, have you seen them?” she asked.
“I saw Jean take your dog Lucky and the goat Lotus a minute ago,” he said. “I’m sure your children are fine. They know the drill.”
“No, wait,” Bonnie said as she stepped off the ladder. Just then Sue exited the tunnel and hopped down beside her.
“What are we waiting for?” Sue said. She then looked at George. “Why aren’t you fighting the fire?”
“It’s too late. Look at that thing,” he said, gesturing at the wall on fire. “The other module has already evacuated. We have to get out now!”
“No, not without my children,” Bonnie said. “Not this time!” She took off running for the far left corner where the animal pen was. As she passed the kitchen, she could feel the intense heat emanating from
the flames on the side of her face. She reached the pen and skidded to a halt, coughing from the smoke. There at the far end of the pen was Julie, huddled in the corner holding the baby goat Buttercup in her arms.
Bonnie grabbed Buttercup from her daughter. “Let’s go, Baby. I’ll take Buttercup. We have to get out of here immediately,” she said. Putting the kid under one arm, she took hold of her daughter’s hand and tugged her to her feet. “Run, Baby. Run to the ladder now.”
# # #
Jeff Chiswick ran through the hangar towards the Pegasus after having set the kitchen fire. He was still in shock over the news video that Brother Jacobs had shown him. They had come all of this way and endured years of privation and hardship to reach this point, and it all seemed to be unraveling. Just as they were about to succeed, it appeared that both NASA and the Chinese were attempting to reach and destroy the Great Consciousness before they could achieve contact. He had instantly agreed with Brother Jacobs that this was unacceptable.
Brother Jacobs had then revealed that they could still succeed. His leader and mentor had outlined a bold and audacious plan for the success of their mission. He had handed Jeff one of the emergency oxygen candles from his room and told him to set a fire in the kitchen as a diversion. He, Brother Jacobs, would also set fire to his own room using one of the candles, and then leave and enter the Pegasus cockpit. He explained to Jeff that he would start the ship and set it to automatically land them on Mars, since Julie’s diary explained how to accomplish this. They would put their destiny into the Great Consciousness’ hands, and leave the Commander and Pilot behind.
Jeff ran up the stairs into the winged spaceship, down the aisle, and into the door at the front of the Pegasus. Brother Jacobs sat in the left seat, tapping at a screen in front of him. As Jeff entered, Brother Jacobs turned around with a maniacal grin. “It is working!” he said. “The ship is starting! Sit here next to me, Platinum One, and enjoy the moment before our brothers and sisters arrive!”
Jeff sat down and looked around. This was the first time he had been up at the front of the Pegasus. There were a bewildering number of switches and displays. For the first time, he had a twinge of doubt. “Are we sure we can do this?” he asked.
“Faith, Platinum One. It has led us this far and will lead us home. In a few moments the launch command will display allowing us to proceed with the plan.”
“What are you two doing?!” screamed a voice behind them. Jeff turned around to see his eldest daughter Jean standing in the doorway to the cockpit with a leash in each hand restraining the she-goat and dog. “You’re trying to launch? Are you crazy? Where are Pilot Sam and Commander Roy?”
“Jeff, get her out of the cockpit and sit her down and shut her up,” Brother Jacobs stated. “While I finish readying our craft for departure, you make sure that everyone boards the spaceship and straps themselves in. If anyone causes trouble have the others help. Tie them down if you must. When all are aboard, lock the doors with the manual locks and come tell me so that I can initiate our departure.”
Jeff rose out of the right hand seat and grabbed Jean by the arm. “Go sit down and be quiet,” he said shaking her. “Listen to your father. This is for the best. Brother Jacobs knows what he is doing.”
“I don’t think so,” Jean said. “He doesn’t even know that it’s called a ‘flight deck’ and not a ‘cockpit.’”
“That’s not important. Get in the back and put the animals in their crates, and then strap yourself in. I don’t want to hear a peep out of you until we are underway,” Jeff said, shoving her down the aisle. Jean turned around with a defiant look, but realized there was little she could do at the moment. She took Lucky and Lotus to the back and strapped them securely into their crates.
No sooner had Jean accomplished that when a multitude of the Called came pouring through the door into the Pegasus. She could see her father giving directions and people scurrying to stow their emergency bags and find their seats. As the flood started to become a trickle, she saw her mother, sister and Sue enter. Her mother was carrying the baby goat, Buttercup.
“Jean, thank goodness you’re here,” her mom said as she came down the aisle. “I was worried you were trapped somewhere.”
“Thanks, Mom. But do you know that Brother Jacobs is planning on launching us without the pilots? I think he’s gone crazy!”
Three rows in front of them, Celia was standing looking back at them. “I heard that, young lady,” she said pointing at Jean. “How dare you! You are going to be punished for that!”
“Not now, Celia,” her husband George said from behind her. “We are all under stress at the moment. Just sit down and buckle your seatbelt.”
Celia sat down with a huff. At the same time, Jeff saw that all the seats were filled, and closed the outer door and engaged the manual lock. He then closed the inner door and did the same. He walked up the aisle and into the front of the ship where Brother Jacobs sat at the controls. “Everyone is here and ready,” he said. “The doors are locked as you asked.”
“Excellent. Go and tell everyone that the fire has spread to the hangar, and that we need to leave immediately. They are not to worry, as the Great Consciousness will lift us up and gently place us down in the Promised Land. Close the door to the cockpit when you depart.”
As Jeff turned back to the group to deliver Brother Jacobs’ message he slid the door closed. Brother Jacobs invoked the hangar evacuation and departure procedure from the command screen, and a minute later when that completed he pressed the ‘Initiate Launch’ line.
The leader of the Called did not bother to read the red error screen that came up as a result. He knew from Jean’s diary that this happened periodically and could be countermanded. Brother Jacobs pressed the ‘Override’ selection. Another red screen resulted, and he pressed ‘Override’ once more without reading it. The Pegasus initiated its secondary thrusters and slowly drifted out the hangar door into space.
CHAPTER 31
“Sam, turn up the flow valve on the blowtorch a bit more,” Roy said over their private radio channel. “This stuck lockdown clamp just doesn’t want to budge. The Star-Kissed habitat is relying on this supply rocket, especially for the bazooka tubes, and we need to get this baby launched.”
The two astronauts had switched to their private channel while working on the final supply rocket so that the colonists could not listen in on them. However, as a result, the Commander and Pilot were unaware of the commotion occurring just a few meters beneath their feet.
“There, finally,” Roy said as the frozen bolt broke loose. “You can turn off the blowtorch now.” As Sam complied, Roy placed a new bolt into the clamp to replace the one that had become stuck.
“Do you think the guys at the base have actually made rockets as weapons?” Sam asked. “That seems pretty dangerous, making explosives while in the habitat. I sure hope that we don’t arrive only to find the whole hab blown to bits. I wish NASA had given us more information, but they haven’t said anything since the last transmission.”
“Well, we’ll find out soon enough. Right now we have to just concentrate on getting these supplies to them. It looks like this is now ready. Let’s move back and give the launch another attempt.”
The two astronauts retreated, taking the now silenced blowtorch with them. Sam approached the launch panel once more and waited for Mars to be optimally positioned. This time, the rocket’s clamps released, and the supply rocket drifted away. Roy watched as the engines ignited, sending the supply ship to the NASA base.
Behind him, he heard Sam say, “Holy Mother of God! The Pegasus; it’s leaving!”
Roy turned around to face the back of the asteroid cycler. There, a few hundred meters back, the Pegasus had emerged from the hangar and was drifting away. The Commander watched in astonishment as its twin rear rockets ignited for a few seconds and then abruptly cut off, sending the winged craft dwindling into the blackness of space. He quickly changed his radio frequency to the Pegasus’ radio ch
annel.
“Pegasus, this is Commander Roy Olstein. What the hell are you doing?”
The voice of Brother Jacobs came back to him. “Ah, Commander. You and your NASA friends thought to deny us our destiny. We are leaving. Enjoy your ride back home on the asteroid. I suggest you hurry. A fire is raging below you. There is still time for you to put it out.”
Sam had also switched frequencies and heard the exchange. “You idiot. You’ll never make it,” she said.
“Oh, and why is that?” Brother Jacobs asked.
“Because,” Sam said, “you don’t have any fuel for the deorbit burn!”
CHAPTER 32
Li Julong sat at the command console and initiated the transfer of fuel from one tank to the others in order to empty it. The empty tank would be replaced by the fuel pod that they had just rendezvoused with. When he had finished the transfer, he went to the window of the Chinese spaceship. Sergeant Wong and two of the North Koreans floated outside. Each of them had long tethers clipped to their suits which extended back to brackets on the Moon ship. The NCO was carrying what looked like a large inflatable mattress.
The scientist knew that they were approaching the most dangerous part of the refueling task. None of their spacesuits included the emergency jets that all NASA suits contained in case of a tether failure.
As he listened over the ship’s radio, the chief scientist could hear the NCO directing the Koreans. The three of them had just finished floating to the nearby refueling pod and grabbing onto handholds protruding from its sides. Sergeant Wong then clipped the mattress onto the front of the pod.
