The Search for FTL

by Ted Iverson

  Something was wrong. He sensed it. Deciding not to waste any time, he rushed off to get dressed.

  Ty lost no time in getting to Tech. The more he thought about the way she’d sounded and looked, the more he knew that something was definitely wrong. In a hurry, he headed for the front gate, pulled his hover up to the front steps, and jumped out.

  He’d made his way about halfway up the steps when the doors to the building burst open and ten men in camouflage came pouring out. A trap, and no warning. He froze for a split second then turned and began to run down the steps. He could hear footsteps behind him, getting closer. He reached under his jacket and pulled a weapon from behind his back. As he bolted down the stairs, another twenty or so uniformed men appeared in front of him. He had nowhere to run, no way out. He turned back to face up the stairs just as Axion came strolling out of the main entrance with more men. Ty’s eyes widened. Joanne was close behind them and she was crying. She was a hostage and had had no way to warn him. There was no way for him to win this battle. He lowered his weapon, and then dropped it.

  His minions parted as Axion approached. Axion stopped directly in front of Ty. Axion glanced at the blue sky. “A beautiful morning, isn’t it? For all present, that is—except for you and your family maybe.” He sneered, and then grabbed Joanne’s wrist and pulled her next to him. “Your lovely assistant was very helpful this morning. It was a shame we had to wake her so early. We thought about coming to your home, but it seemed more effective to have you apprehended in front of your much-honored corporation. Soon the press will arrive and the entire world will witness the beginning of the end for Space Tech. Of course, the only thing they will see will be you, bound in the back seat and being whisked away to your new home. I’m sure you’ll be very comfortable there.” He stood beaming. “Have you nothing to say?”

  Ty was about to reply but his hands were faster than his words. He reached out to choke Axion. But before his hands got close, the butt of a weapon made contact with his head. Ty fell to his knees, hand clutching the painful spot. He could feel the blood seeping through his fingers. He looked up and saw Joanne shake her head discreetly, tears streaming. So, instead of adding fuel to the fire, he staggered slowly to his feet and held out his clasped hands.

  As he was handcuffed and roughly pushed into the car, he heard a voice from the top of the steps: “They made me. I’m sorry,” she said loudly, as tears continued to stream down her face. “I’m so sorry.”

  Axion made a motion, and two men quickly grabbed her by the arms and escorted her back into the building. At that moment Ty realized there’d be no Alec and no Ed to save him, no miracle rescue. It appeared that Axion was right. This was the beginning of the end.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Orion and Zach were working diligently in the design vault when Zach’s com link sounded out.

  “Captain Powers here. Zach, we need to talk right away. If your brother isn’t there, you’ll also need to get him. There’s been an occurrence on Earth.”

  “Occurrence? Just what do you mean?”

  “Just get your brother and meet me in my chambers.”

  “He’s with me. We’ll be right there.”

  “Alec,” Orion announced point blank.

  “It has to be. Ty warned us about this.”

  Orion sighed heavily and nodded his head in acknowledgement. “Let’s go get the bad news.”

  Without a word they made their way out of the vault and to the captain’s chamber. Zach touched the com link on the bulkhead. “Zach and Orion reporting, sir.”

  The hatch opened and the man spoke somberly, “Please come in and take a seat. I’ve got some disturbing news to share.”

  The two reached his desk and sat down. “What is it, Captain?”

  “Before I talked with you I wanted to confirm the reports that I’ve been seeing on the holonet. We’ve been trying to reach Space Tech, with no luck. Seems all transmissions have been blocked. I was finally able to get through to your aunt and uncle about an hour ago. I waited to tell you both, because I wanted them to confirm the reports.” He folded his hands and looked from one to the other. “It’s Axion. He’s apprehended Alec and Ty.”

  “What? Both? But how? I thought we had more time,” Zach blurted. “How did this happen?”

  “It happened,” Orion replied, “because we were too confident it wouldn’t happen so fast. Axion has become not just a danger to our family, but to everyone he claims to serve.” He glanced at his brother with a gloomy look. “It will be up to us now.”

  “Up to us? Whoa! I know you can’t be thinking what I think you’re thinking.”

  “I don’t mean to butt in,” Powers said, “but, there’s more to this. That is, if you two care to hear it.”

  “Yes, we’re sorry. Go ahead.”

  “Shortly after Ty was taken away, Axion made a statement to the press right on the steps of Space Tech. Would you care to hear it or would you like me to give you a synopsis?”

  Orion shrugged and said, “We might as well hear it.” He glanced over to Zach, and saw both shock and anger clearly written on his face.

  “Here it is.” A few taps and Axion’s figure appeared, hanging in midair, with Space Tech’s main entrance as the backdrop.

  “Ladies and gentlemen of the world, approximately one hour ago, the Senate’s newly formed security force made its third arrest.” He motioned behind him. “Right here at the famous Space Tech Corporation. Recently, the Senate passed several laws regarding the future of space travel and of FTL in particular. These went into effect immediately. Shortly after, it was determined that the four Bindl brothers were knowingly violating these new laws. Evidence has been gathered and a warrant issued to inspect, not only their headquarters, but their Orbital Lab and Luna Moon Base as well.

  “We have found enough evidence here today to take Ty Bindl into custody. The charges will be numerous, some of which include obstruction of justice, tampering with evidence, and aiding and abetting known criminals: Ed Serner and Ty’s brother Alec Bindl. These are just a few in a long list of charges.

  “As for Alec Bindl, he was apprehended last evening for breaking and entering on private property, property that is government funded, and stealing government property. He is also charged with several counts of murder and attempted murder. We have warrants out for the two remaining brothers, Orion and Zach. They are believed to be residing at their Orbital Lab. Make no mistake, they will also be taken into custody! We are preparing four shuttles with troops, as we speak. It may take some time to apprehend them, but they will not evade us. We have also frozen all of Space Tech’s assets and have taken over operations.

  “The government does not wish to interfere with private space travel and exploration, so we are already examining a bid for all of the corporation’s assets. We hope to have a buyer very quickly.

  “This is an unfortunate event. We have all put our faith in this mighty corporation for many decades only to watch it lose its way in a matter of weeks.” Axion dropped his head, shaking it slowly. Then he looked up and frowned, his robes flowing about him in the breeze. “I fear that Jeff and Jennifer Bindl would not have approved of what the world has just witnessed. Thank you all for your time. There is much to finish yet, so if you will all excuse me.” He bowed majestically, turned, and entered Space Tech. The image faded.

  “Brutal, just brutal,” Orion stated. He looked over to his younger brother, who sat speechless, white-knuckling the seat’s armrests.

  “Zach, we’ve got to do something. I’m not going to just wait here until they come to get us. It’ll take a week or longer for them to get those shuttles ready. I’m going home now.”

  “What? Are you nuts? There’s no way I’m staying up here either. You need my help.”

  “No, absolutely not. You’ve got to stay here and finish getting the gear and weapons ready. It appears inevitable that we’ll be going to war with Axion and his men. We’ll need that gear.

  “I can handle
it down there. After all, they think we’re here. Hopefully, they won’t think that because we think they’re coming here that we’ll think we’ll be safe on Earth because they’ll be looking for us there, I think.”

  “Huh?” Zach said, confused. “You think that they’ll think... what was that?” They burst into laughter.

  Captain Powers, however, wasn’t laughing, “Do you two understand the gravity of this situation?” He looked at each in turn, then focused on Orion. “I do agree with you, Orion. Zach, you must stay here and lead the men and women of this Lab. Orion, any idea on how you’ll get down to Earth without being detected? They’ll have every satellite trained on this Lab and you’ve disabled the shuttles.”

  “Yes, I do have a plan. The shuttles have been disabled, but we’ve left five very large transports operational to get supplies back and forth from here to Luna. We’re going to create a meteor shower and light show to entertain the world. We’ll load the transports with moon rocks from our quarries, as large as we can get them. Hundreds. The satellites will be trained on this station, so detection of Luna activities should not be a problem.

  “When we’re ready, our pilots will fly our transports here as fast as possible, remaining far enough away from the Lab to avoid detection of course. As they approach the OBL, they’ll turn with their bay doors toward the OBL. Then they’ll open the doors as they fire the retros as hard as they can and come to an abrupt stop. The rocks will be traveling fast enough to continue toward Earth. I’m aware that some will hit and damage this Lab, but it’s a necessary evil.

  “I’ll be in an escape pod. As the boulders and rocks pass by, I will manually release my pod and will, hopefully, float earthward with the rocks, undetected. Captain, you will report to Earth that a rogue meteor shower has occurred and that the station has taken some damage. Upload a few good photos of the damage for the holonet to feed on.

  “Tell them our electrical systems were heavily damaged then cease all communications with Earth. I’m aware that some rocks will skip off the atmosphere, but I am counting on many of them getting through. They’ll be expecting the light show as the rocks burn up in the atmosphere. If one were to make it streaking back to Earth...you get the picture. We have the secure link that I’ve established, so I can fill you in on news and what’s going on. However, from that time on, no one will be receiving or sending anything through our corporate communications system.”

  Orion smiled.

  Zach chirped in, “That’s just crazy enough that it may actually work.”

  “Who are you sharing this plan with? You may want some backup when you land.”

  “Captain, not one soul. Not my family, not anyone. If it’s leaked out that I’m going back, what hope would we have? I’m afraid I have to go this one alone.” Orion looked determined. “Zach, go have the men ready the transports. We can’t waste any more time. If they leave by midday today, they can be at Luna by midafternoon, load up, and be back here by tomorrow noon. Our storm should be scheduled for then. I’m going to get my things together and ready the pod. Gentlemen,” Orion said as he stood up, “I’ll see you both at dinner to finalize things.” He turned and walked out.

  Zach turned to face Powers. “Think his plan will work?”

  Banning put an arm around Zach. “Truth or lie?”

  As they looked toward the hatch, Zach’s reply came, “Don’t think I want either.”

  A long sigh followed. “Good, because I didn’t think you wanted to hear either.” He removed his arm from the youngest Bindl’s shoulder and walked out of his chambers. “Shut the hatch behind you” was all Zach heard.

  Alec had been moved from cell to cell over the past week, each more unpleasant than the previous one. Now he was once again walking blindly down some godforsaken corridor. It smelled of vomit and urine and was very damp. Finally, his captors stopped in front of a cell. He heard the jiggling of some keys and the clanking as they were inserted into the lock. Last, he heard the creaking of a metal door opening. They removed his hood and roughly shoved him into his new home.

  “Thank you!” he shouted at them.

  Wrong thing to say, he thought as the larger of the guards removed a club from his belt and smashed it against Alec’s shoulder, knocking him across the cell and into the adjoining cell’s bars.

  “You’re welcome,” was the grumbled answer.

  Alec was rubbing his throbbing shoulder when the prisoner next to him spoke. “Mr. Bindl, I presume?” The speaker’s raspy voice turned into a raspy cough.

  Still facing away and nursing the shoulder, Alec answered, “Yeah, and who wants to know?”

  “Maybe you were the one who was right.” The other prisoner had another coughing attack. “Maybe weapons would be in order at the moment.” He moved closer to the bars.

  Turning as swiftly as his battered body would allow, Alec faced the other man. Even in the darkness, he was able to make out the outline of his former instructor. “Ed, is it you? Are you okay?”

  “I’m guessing about the same as you, so the answer to that would be not so well.” Ed reached through the bars and the two shook hands.

  The control room was as busy as Zach had ever seen it. In about one-hour Orion’s plan would commence. Zach had been thinking about how hard it was going to be for Orion to complete his mission alone. As usual, Zach made a sudden decision and made his way over to Captain Powers. “Sir, if you don’t mind, I’m not going to stay here for this. I’d like to go down and continue to work on the weapons and armor. Keep myself busy. Can you please keep me informed?”

  “I understand. I’ll let you know what’s going on with the mission.”

  “Thanks.” Zach left the control room and took no time making his way down to the fabricating area. Once there, he called for a meeting with the supervisors he’d appointed. “Gentlemen, there’s been a slight change in plans. Here’s what I need you all to do...”

  In five minutes Orion would find himself floating helplessly toward Earth. He was trying to get comfortable in the tight quarters of the pod. If all went well, he’d enter the atmosphere and allow the pod to fall on its own to about one thousand feet. He’d then fire retro rockets to slow it down. Normally, one would release the emergency parachutes, but he had to look like a meteor for as long as he could. This meant no chutes at all. When he was almost at ground level he’d activate Zach’s latest pod invention: wings combined with a very small conventional jet engine. This would allow him to maneuver the craft to his prearranged landing site. His hope was that at such a low level he’d be able to evade radar detection. He looked at the plasma timer on the tiny console: one minute. He strapped himself in. “Captain, how are we looking?”

  “The product is being delivered. I hope this works. According to our radar, we’re going to take some serious hits. Good luck. Got to go now and brace for impact.”

  No sooner had the transmission ended than the OBL shook violently.

  Orion’s only hope was that no one would get seriously injured. The plan was risky, but it was the only way. He looked at the timer: plus twenty seconds. It was time. He pressed a plasma button and the hatch housing the pod blew away. Another tap and the pod shot out among the rocks and boulders. Through the tiny view port he saw the OBL, then it was gone, then it was back again. He was spinning crazily. Thank heavens it was in the right direction. What he didn’t see was the second pod that had jettisoned less than a minute after his. What he didn’t know—what no one else but one knew—was that this pod had been programmed to follow Orion’s coordinates. No one knew no, but soon everyone would figure it out.

  The Lab had taken extensive damage everywhere except for the hydroponics dome, for which everyone was thankful. Now, it was time for Captain Powers to do his part. He booted up the emergency holonet com link and began, “To anyone out there who can hear or see this transmission: this is Captain Banning Powers, Sub-Commander of Space Tech’s Orbital Lab. We have been heavily damaged by an unforeseen meteor shower. Again, if anyo
ne is receiving this, we have sustained major damage and are running all sectors on backup power. I am transmitting images. Please contact Space Tech as, somehow, our attempts to communicate with them have gone unanswered. Help us, please, as we are in—” Placing his hand on a plasma switch, he cut the transmission abruptly.

  And so it is done, he thought. His attention now turned to tending to the injured and making repairs to the battered Lab.

  “Fabricating, could you please send up Zach.”

  “Sir, he isn’t here. He gathered us together shortly before we got hit, told us all to continue the job, and said that he would contact you as to a rendezvous point for delivering the gear. You did know about this, didn’t you, sir?”

  “What? No, I did not!” He cut the com. Turning to the crew, he shouted angrily, “Run a scan. Am I missing more than one pod?”

  “Uh, sir, pods one and six have been ejected. We were only tracking pod one. There was only supposed to be one pod,” the crewman pleaded.

  The Sub-Commander was furious. He pounded his fist on the console in front of him, as red tinged his facial features. He wasn’t angry with his crew. He was angry with Zach. He walked over to the bridge’s view port and stared out for some time, wondering why Zach couldn’t, just once, stick to the plan.

  He was also thinking that he had no way to contact Orion about his brother’s latest bit of negligence. The commander finally turned around, only to all eyes were focused on him. “Let’s get to work,” he said. “We’ve got to repair this thing. We’ve got weapons and armor that still need to be delivered. As the old saying goes, ‘We must complete the mission!’ I want damage reports now. First and foremost, I want power restored. Get the fabricating area back online and I mean like yesterday!” Trying to remain composed, he turned and left for his chamber.

  The entry into the atmosphere had been extremely rough, but the small pod had held up and was now plummeting toward the Earth at an incredible speed. Orion initiated the instrument panel startup. He’d left it off until this point to avoid any chance of detection. Thankfully, it came to life as planned.