The Pathfinder Trilogy

by Todd Stockert

  Until now, the best part was that the brand new ship was almost ready for testing!

  He cussed again as he ran through the corridors of the base, descending gradually into its underground labyrinth. Just a few more weeks, and all they would have left to correct were the minor glitches. That’s what frustrated him the most at the moment – the fact that the “bells and whistles” stage of the project was so close at hand. No longer limited by the moon’s low gravity, Kaufield blew through the nearest door to the Operations Center at a full sprint.

  “Take a look at this, sir,” Lieutenant Mary Hastings reported quietly, without looking up. Her short, brunette hairstyle always caught him by surprise. She was a very pretty woman but chose to look professional first, especially while on duty. That was the way she always did her job, too.

  On the main monitors at the center of the room were various pictures of Earth’s continents, fed to them from orbital communications satellites. Massive glowing explosions covered most of them, with additional new blast points sprouting up as quickly as the others began to fade.

  “God forgive!” someone across the room said in astonishment. Several of the technicians next to her were in tears, and there wasn’t a member of the crew who didn’t look shaken by the unexpected turn of events.

  “Is the picture on the right North America?” Kaufield asked, more than a little astonished by the fact that there were already so many explosions he couldn’t even be certain.

  “Yes,” Mary replied. “These images were recorded only minutes earlier. Since then we’ve lost all contact with most of the standard government channels. But there’s lots of civilian chatter, and military Comm-traffic is rising steadily.”

  “What are the civilian Captains saying?”

  “We’re receiving distress calls and reports of large, unknown vessels.”

  “Unknown vessels?” queried Kaufield. “What kind?”

  “Well, for one thing our supply shuttle just called in, sir,” she stated matter-of-factly. “They were on their way back to rendezvous with the rest of the supply convoy. A larger capital ship dropped out of PTP transit almost on top of them and immediately opened fire. All attempts to communicate with the newcomer are being ignored. That’s it… then the message ends. I know the whole story only because I received a follow up message from one of the crew – he contacted me with an emergency transmitter someone had on board. I was just about to send the Ranger to help them out when you ordered a halt on all traffic.” She shrugged. “It’s the same with the military vessels, too. Unknown ships are dropping out of transit and immediately opening fire.” Her lips pursed tightly as she listened, trying to filter out the unnecessary conversations. “There are also frantic reports from the officers on military vessels regarding some sort of electronics problem.”

  “Confirm base blackout,” Kaufield ordered, “With the exception of that shuttle. Try opening communications with her Captain. I want to know if they’re okay.” Standing next to Mary, the Captain activated another of the Comm-links that lined her console. “Thomas,” he stated firmly, “If you have everything on Pathfinder shut down I’d like you to get up here and help Mary monitor communications. She kind of has her hands full at the moment.”

  “Monitor communications. For what?” Thomas responded irritably.

  “We don’t know yet, Tom,” Kaufield told him. “That’s what I need you to find out. It sounds like there’s some kind of unknown attack underway, and whoever is doing it is interfering with military communications as much as possible while firing on our fleet… probably a jamming field of some sort. They’re also nuking Earth! I want you and your specialists on this right freaking now. Find out how they’re doing it.”

  Behind him, a door opened and a Marine walked into the room. “I heard, Captain,” he said tensely. “How bad is it?”

  “I need you to place the base on full alert, Colonel Neeland,” Kaufield replied. “I may be head of this project, but you and your troops are the ones assigned to protect us. Be ready for anything…”

  “An announcement has just been made on all civilian frequencies,” noted Mary, the expression on her face all the apology he needed for the abrupt interruption. “Someone representing an organization called the Brotherhood of the Dragon is claiming responsibility for the attacks.”

  Kaufield whirled to face the Colonel. “There you have it. This so-called Brotherhood is attacking both military and civilian targets. They also have some sort of jamming field in place that is interfering with ship-based electronics.”

  “Then I suggest we implement our disaster contingency plan,” the Colonel replied.

  “Deactivate key systems and evacuate all personnel underground?” Kaufield weighed the idea warily before nodding in agreement. “If they’re using nukes, then we can expect to get hit, too.”

  “Agreed,” Neeland replied.

  Switching his Comm to a base-wide frequency, Kaufield quickly cleared his throat. “This is Captain Dennis Kaufield,” he stated firmly. “We are declaring an emergency disaster situation. Everyone is ordered to drop what you’re doing and gather together all the supplies and equipment you can carry. Evacuate to the Pathfinder’s shuttle bay. It’s deep enough underground that we should be safe there for the time being. Everyone, and I mean everyone, assemble there ASAP. Based on what I’m seeing up here, I estimate you’ve got less than thirty minutes.”

  The Operations Center suddenly became a flurry of activity as on duty personnel began packing their essentials and shutting down consoles. Within minutes, only the Colonel, Dennis and Mary remained. As the last of the technicians left, Thomas Roh entered the room. The tall, spindly computer technician was firmly shaking his head negatively – it was difficult to tell at first glance whether his frustration was directed at the situation in general or something specific. He was nearly thirty years old, and yet – to Kaufield – he still looked like an acne-scarred kid fresh out of high school.

  “The enemy is NOT jamming us, sir. It’s something else,” he concluded confidently. “We had all our systems on the Pathfinder up and running and there was absolutely nothing interfering with our tests – not even the smallest glitch.”

  “Yes, but the Pathfinder has new, state-of-the-art systems,” Dennis pointed out.

  “That is a valid point,” mused Thomas thoughtfully. “None of our stuff has officially been used yet on official, operational vessels. Perhaps our software and hardware isn’t as vulnerable.”

  “It’s got to be something else,” Mary objected. “All signals from Earth are gone, primarily because of interference from the massive bombing and attacks on the orbiting satellites.” She listened closely for a moment. “But the local wireless traffic is full of ship-in-distress calls. If they were electronically jamming everyone’s systems, we wouldn’t be able to hear those.” She looked at them, white-faced with terror. “Would we?”

  “If you’ll excuse me,” the Colonel said solemnly, “I’m going to go see about assembling my Marines. Don’t stay above ground for too much longer, folks.” he cautioned sternly, and then headed for the closest exit.

  “Have you been able to raise the Commander of that supply shuttle?” Kaufield asked curiously.

  “No, sir. If they’re still alive then they’ve stopped transmitting on their end.”

  Thomas had put on a set of headphones and was listening intently. “We’re getting creamed,” he said, whistling softly. “The military has lost entire warships already.”

  “Could it be some sort of EMP weapon?”

  “No way,” Thomas replied. “You could blow up the biggest nuke we’ve got right next door to one of those newer combat starships and its electronics would still work. The people on board would fry before the systems shut down.” He continued listening intently for several minutes, and the Operations room became totally silent.

  “Can you continue monitoring from the hangar bay?” wondered Kaufield.

  “Affirmative,” Thomas responded. “Most
of our fancier stuff is either on or around the Pathfinder anyway.

  “Then let’s shut this stuff off and get down there, too. The thirty minutes that I advised others about will be up soon.”

  *

  The underground hangar bay was huge… and it had to be. In its center sat the Pathfinder, the most advanced long-term exploratory Earth vessel ever built. Its central fuselage was lengthy and massive, designed to accommodate a large population numbering near a thousand. Sprouting from its dorsal hull at 45 degree angles were the top two “wings”. The port wing, called the “Garden”, was duly named due to the entire, self-contained flower and farm gardens located within. The starboard “Livestock” wing was more like a space ranch – holding all kinds of small animals and livestock. The two were connected along the top of the fuselage, allowing insects and other small creatures to move freely from one wing to the other. It was an engineering marvel.

  Two identical wings sprouted similarly from the bottom of the fuselage. One housed a complete electronics, software and hardware “Laboratory”, while the other was an “Observatory” filled with telescopes and other types of astronomical equipment. Nestled neatly between the two lower wings was a roomy launch bay, containing half a dozen shuttles along with room for a dozen single-pilot fighter craft.

  Hatches along the entire port side of the starship’s ground level hangar bay were open and waiting. Hundreds of people were streaming through the access points and into the Pathfinder, responding as quickly as possible to the unexpected evacuation notice. Stationed just in front of the bow of the large vessel was an armed Marine squad led by Colonel Murray Neeland. Next to him stood Captain Kaufield, Mary Hastings and Thomas Roh. In front of them was just one of many science stations designed to monitor the Pathfinder’s key systems. Currently it was capturing and recording all communications traffic from the vast depths of the solar system surrounding the moon.

  “It looks like we’re going to have to test your new ship sooner than expected,” Murray commented, surveying the organized crowds of people moving aboard.

  “Quite possible,” replied Kaufield grimly. “What’s the word, Thomas?”

  “Like I said, we’re getting creamed,” he replied. “At least half the fleet is gone, including the flagship. Admiral Henry of the Lexington has taken command of the surviving fleet.” Thomas paused, listening closely. “He’s ordering all allied ships to rendezvous at Neptune, where they’re planning to organize a counter-strike.” He studied a list of received transmissions and shook his head. “So far, there is nothing from the Russians or the Chinese. If their ships are still intact, they’re being extremely quiet.”

  “That would be my first choice,” nodded Kaufield with a sigh. “Someone caused us to blink long enough to surprise our primary fleet. It’s possible that the Russians and the Chinese were even less prepared than we were. I know a couple of their Captains and haven’t heard a word. Several of them would have warned me.”

  The kid appeared genuinely intrigued. “How do you know them?”

  Smiling, Kaufield tousled Roh’s unkempt brown hair with the fingers of his left hand. “While you toil endlessly down here in the underground lunar caverns, some of us up on the surface have been acting as diplomats. The top levels of the base are declassified, and we have at times resupplied ships from other nations.”

  “When do we lift off?” asked Colonel Neeland cautiously.

  “Is that really necessary at this point?” Kaufield studied the hard lines of the Colonel’s face closely. “Shouldn’t we wait and see if they know about us?”

  “They know about us!” Mary said sharply from her position next to Thomas Roh. “I have multiple radar contacts overhead, and one of them is the biggest signal I’ve ever seen. It has to be one of those unknowns.”

  “Where would they hide a fleet big enough to engage most of the world’s fleets?” wondered Kaufield, clearly intrigued. “This Brotherhood must have been planning to engage us for quite some time. Before today, I’ve never even heard of them.”

  The hangar bay rumbled ominously around them. As soon as the sound began to die down, another rumble – this one much louder – rocked the entire underground complex. Sounds of metal fatigue filled the hangar, and equipment setting on the ground began to vibrate. Several of the consoles in front of Thomas and Mary abruptly went dark – either from damage or lack of power. With everything that was happening, it was difficult to tell at a glance.

  “So I guess they’re nuking the Operations Center,” decided Thomas wryly. “It’s lucky I’m used to being down here all the time, because we’re probably going to be here a while.”

  “They’re bombing the surface, definitely,” Kaufield replied, as more nearby explosions rumbled through the surrounding cavern. “They’re going easy on us – just taking out the above ground base. If they were using thermonuclear bombs, we would know.” He thought carefully for a moment and then came to a decision. “Colonel, get your troops ready… as soon as an opportunity presents itself we’re evacuating this base in the Pathfinder. We can’t take a chance that our unknown enemy won’t get to us down here.”

  “One problem, sir,” pointed out Thomas. “We can’t go to Neptune. The planet is currently orbiting right through the center of a massive radiation cloud that will fry our new CAS Drive if we’re not careful.” He smiled and shrugged his shoulders. “I never know when we might go out there, so I watch the weather reports.”

  “Admiral Henry included a route through the cloud in his last military transmission,” Mary pointed out.

  “No way,” responded Thomas. “The CAS Drive’s main software is still being fine-tuned. That’s why I was planning to have you temporarily park her on the surface. From there, we could make direct adjustments to the hardware and software in a non-atmospheric environment.

  “Then we don’t go to Neptune, at least not yet,” decided Kaufield. “We’ll find another location, and hook up with surviving vessels later.” He turned his attention to Mary. “How many enemy ships are we dealing with?”

  “Just one now,” she reported. “The larger vessel has completed its attack on the complex and has transited away. I’ve got one enemy transport ship on its way down – everything else has left the area.”

  “I suppose they know about the underground part of the base, too,” Thomas ventured nervously.

  “Affirmative,” Mary responded. “The transport is setting down less than 100 meters from the edge of our overhead hangar doors.”

  “Looks like it’s time for me to find the Colonel,” Kaufield said. “Everyone else get into the ship. And have the command crew prep the ship for liftoff.”

  “We’re nowhere near ready to use the CAS Drive,” Thomas objected, “Captain, we could really damage our systems if we don’t make proper adjustments to the software first.”

  “Don’t worry,” Kaufield replied, patting the nervous computer specialist on his shoulder.

  “We’ll use the standard PTP drive for now. You’ll get your chance to complete the work; it’ll just have to be done out in space instead of on the lunar surface.”

  *

  “Those uniforms don’t look like Russian or Chinese to me,” Colonel Neeland said flatly, turning to regard the Captain thoughtfully. “Just who the devil is responsible for all of this chaos? It couldn’t be us… right?”

  Kaufield chose not to respond, for the moment. The two of them were standing near one of the airlock entrances that opened out onto the lunar surface. On one of the monitors they watched a squadron of forty or so white, spacesuited soldiers marching directly toward them. They were closely following a leader wearing a completely black colored space suit. None of the suits appeared to have any recognizable types of identifying marks or emblems. Approximately fifty meters from the door the encroaching soldiers halted their approach. The person leading them continued forward and stopped just outside the airlock. There was no other signal of any kind… whoever it was just stood there patiently waitin
g.

  “Do we let him in?” asked Kaufield, glancing uncertainly at the Colonel.

  “As long as his troops stay right where they are, yes,” replied Murray. “You did say you wanted us to stall them as long as possible?”

  “That’s an affirmative,” the Captain replied. “As far as intelligence goes, unless they’ve directly interrogated our President they should believe our project is way behind schedule. They also shouldn’t know that the Pathfinder has a backup PTP drive, in addition to the brand new CAS system.” He looked quickly at his watch. “However, Thomas and the others will need a few more minutes to complete the pre-flight process. We’ve been planning to land the ship on the moon’s surface anyway, so it shouldn’t take him long.”

  The Colonel motioned to the two marines on either side of him. Both immediately took up defensive postures and raised their weapons cautiously. Murray then turned back to Kaufield and nodded.

  There was a loud hiss audible as Kaufield released the lock on the outer door. They heard it open and close – followed by a long pause as the airlock re-pressurized. Glancing cautiously at the Marines, the Captain shook his head in frustration and released the lock on the inner door. It opened slowly, and the spacesuited figure entered the inner corridor. As soon as the airlock door closed tightly shut, the newcomer unlocked and removed the suit’s helmet.

  The man in the space suit had long dark hair pulled back in a ponytail and handsome, Eurasian features. He was extremely well-muscled, and smiled slightly at the looks of astonishment on the faces of the men surrounding him. “My name is Hobak 627,” he stated matter-of-factly, “You may call me Hobak. I am here to demand your unconditional surrender.”

  “I am Captain Dennis Kaufield,” replied the Captain. “I hope you don’t mind if we ask you a few questions first.”