by Colin Owen
"Almighty God," John began. "You, and You alone are to be thanked and praised for this second chance. I know that You inspired my father to do this, and I also know that You saw to it that he had all that he needed to accomplish Your plan. Now, O Lord, grant us, Your remnant, the grace to fulfil all that You have for us. Keep us free from all that is evil in humanity, and every other force that wants to destroy us, be it spiritual or physical. We are in Your hands Father..."
Again, his voice trailed off. Amens, came from the other men gathered on the flight deck.
"Amen," Nancy and Mary said, having come in, mid prayer. "Everything is secure captain," they reported, "we're ready to go."
"Good," Phil said, "tell everyone we'll be departing in five minutes."
"Right gentlemen," Phil said, "the other envelope is for Dr. Forester."
He handed Steve the thick brown envelope. Steve looked at it. It had the words, to be opened on arrival at the Moon, written on it. "Well, that takes care of that," Steve said, showing them what it said. "Let's get back to our seats and get this show on the road."
John laughed, recognising Mahoney's turn of phrase. The two new friends floated back through the hatch into the passenger compartment and the hatch closed behind them.
"Everything OK?" Clare asked, when Steve regained his seat.
"Couldn't be better," Steve smiled back, taking Clare's hand. "We are in good hands."
"Right folks, this is it," the captain's voice said, over the intercom. "Get ready for the engines starting up." The ship began to shudder. "Brace yourselves, the acceleration will be fierce, I'll give you a count down from five."
The ship was now shaking as it slowly turned away from the Earth. "Five...Four...Three," the noise build up was terrifying. "Two...One..." There was a sudden explosion, a noise so loud that some of the passengers passed out. Steve went faint as the ship's Trion drive kicked in. The acceleration hit...Nothing could be heard above the roar of the engines. If any of the passengers were still screaming, no one could hear them.
❧
The Trion drive had been invented way back in 2015, but early tests had failed. There was an inherent problem with Trion: it was unstable, but it was the nature of Trion's instability that gave it its power. The whole thing had been shelved for ten years until a certain, General Hammond, had re-started work on it. Science had progressed somewhat during those intervening years, especially in the nuclear department, and that's where the break-through had come. It took the power of a very small nuclear blast to focus the Trion sufficiently so that it could be used to drive a ship. It was a matter of creating a small nuclear explosion without destroying the ship.
This is where a young scientist named Vinkle had triumphed. Although a little quirky, he had a brilliant mind, and had solved this basic problem. His solution was quite simple, use standard rocket motors to get the ship moving and then set off the small nuclear device outside the ship at the rear. The speed of the ship would then protect it from the explosion, and the ensuing, Trion wave, as it was called. The Trion wave was a lethal wave of radiation that drove the ship before it, but would destroy anything it came into contact with. Fortunately, the Trion wave was very short lived, it consumed itself as it went, leaving almost no trace at all. The trick was to keep the ship at the focused head of the wave. Speeds of over one hundred thousand miles per hour were easily achievable. Vinkle's solution had worked, though it had entailed a redesign of the standard rocket motors to enable them to reach speeds of more than thirty-thousand miles per hour. It's safe to say, that without Vinkle, the ship would not be flying today. How sad it was, that the man who had made it all possible, also tried to pervert it for selfish gain.
❧
Once the nuclear blast had been left behind, the Trion drive was silent. The wave, which acted like a fold in space, pushed the ship silently on, almost like a surfboard.
It was some ten minutes later when the co-pilot, Roy Corrin, came floating through the passenger compartment. He was checking up on everyone, but having to use hand signals. All the passengers were still deafened by the blast, though there were signs from some of the passengers that some hearing was beginning to return. Rufus was unconscious, and Clare was looking a little concerned for him, but Roy felt the little guys ribs and gave Clare the thumbs up. He'll be all right, he signed.
At the front of the passenger compartment, up above the hatch to the flight deck, there were two monitor screens. The Earth was featured in one, and the Moon in the other. Steve hadn't noticed the screens before, perhaps they had been turned off until after that awful explosion. He nudged Clare, who was checking on the kids, and pointed to the screens. Earth was rapidly growing smaller in one, whilst the Moon was getting larger, just as rapidly, in the other. 'We must really be moving,' Steve thought to himself, still unable to hear properly.
About an hour into the trip, the captain came on the intercom. "You should be able to hear again by now folks. Sorry I didn't warn you about that, but I didn't want to scare you any more than I had to. If you look at the screens in front of you, you'll see Earth receding very quickly, and the Moon advancing similarly. I estimate our current speed to be around 125,000 miles per hour, which means we're about half way there. Sure beats downtown traffic!"
There were a few titters.
"Anyway, there are no more nasty surprises you'll be glad to hear. I'll shut off the Trion drive in about fifteen minutes, and we'll coast the rest of the way. Thirty minutes or so after that, I'll engage the deceleration system, which will gradually slow us down in time for landing on the Moon. I suggest you use the next hour or so to get to know one another. It will help the time to pass a little more quickly."
The intercom fell silent.
There was only a short period of inactivity, and then various folk began to leave their seats and float around the cabin. Bumping into each other turned out to be a great way to say hello. Steve and Clare took time to observe the interaction, whilst Shelley and Chris were off like a shot meeting the other kids on the flight. Rufus, however, was the star of the show. Clare had let him out of his cage, and he was happily doggie-paddling up and down the cabin like a true pro'. His canine sense of balance seemed to equip him very well for weightlessness, his tail going left and right as his legs went up and down.
John, and his wife, Lisa, found their way over to where Steve and Clare were.
"Hi," they called on bumping. "This sure is fun," Lisa said, introducing herself to Clare.
"I'm Clare Forester," Clare announced, "but do call me Clare, this is my husband Steve."
Shaking hands was still rather tricky but Lisa tried it. She immediately started to float away, but Clare and Steve both made a grab for her, each catching one arm whilst holding on to the rail with the other.
"Thanks she beamed. Are those you're two kids?" She said, nodding in the general direction of Shelley and Chris.
"Yes, those are our two," Clare answered, "and yours?"
Lisa did her best to turn and point to her daughter Katy, but Clare was left to make a guess as to which little girl was actually intended.
"Her name is Katy," Lisa smiled, "I'll introduce you properly when we land."
"OK," Clare replied, "I'll look forward to it."
It turned out that an hour wasn't long enough to get around everybody on the flight, but the captain had been right when he said it would help the time pass more quickly. The intercom crackled into life again,
"OK folks, time to get back to your seats, we'll be landing on the Moon in about five minutes."
Everyone did their best to comply, but traffic jams are just as bad in weightless conditions as anywhere else. There was much bumping and apologising, punctuated with the odd embarrassed laughter, but everyone seemed to be in high spirits and the mood was good.
The screens had been switched so that both now showed images of the Moon. It loomed until it filled both screens. Soon, surface features started to become clearer. Mountain ranges, valleys, and everywher
e, craters, some huge, some small, but they were everywhere. They all watched intently as the view shifted to one of them skimming over the surface at about one thousand feet. The ship had dipped into one of the larger craters and was now heading for what looked like a small hill. As they neared the hill, it became apparent that it was a dome, made out of a grey looking material. Steve recognised it at once,
"It's Bycrylic," he said to Clare, "we invented it at Star Labs, it's very strong and has amazing light properties. It will keep the sun's UV rays off us, hence the grey colour on this side, but once beneath it, it will be almost totally transparent."
"You invented it?" Clare asked.
"Well, me and a couple of other guys," he said, modestly.
"Tell me my genius, just what else is there about you that I don't yet know?"
Steve just smiled. "You know all the best bits," he joked, "the other stuff is boring!"
"Hmm," she replied, "let me be the judge of that."
The ship slowed and came to a hover over a landing pad. Slowly it descended, coming to a stop with a slight bump.
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Moon. This is Moon Base Alpha, the brainchild of Dr. Peebles who, sadly, is no longer with us. In just a few moments the umbilical will be attached and we will be able to disembark. Roy, your co-pilot, Nancy and Mary thank you for flying Lark space ways."
A chuckle came over the intercom, "This is your captain, Phil Clancy signing off."
There was a jolt as the umbilical was attached, then the main hatch opened and Jake Stephens popped his head inside.
"Hi folks, welcome to Moon Base Alpha-"
"We've had all that," Mary interrupted, "we just want to get off!"
"Sure thing," Jake said, with a laugh, "follow me folks, hop this way!"
Slowly everyone left the ship and hopped along the umbilical into a large air lock at the other end. When everyone was present, Jake closed the ship-side hatch and opened the base-side one. All the members of MBA were there to greet the newcomers. Zeek stepped forward and began, "Welc-"
"Yes, we've had all that," Mary fired off, "let's help these folks with their stuff."
"Is that it?" Clare asked Steve, "Six people?"
"Yep, that's it. I told you this place was top secret, the less people involved the easier it is to keep it secret."
"We need a role call," Mary shouted to be heard over the chatter, "please call out 'here' when you hear your name."
Mary went through the ritual and everyone dutifully complied. Steve was particularly delighted to hear Jimmy's name called, and Kay, his assistant. Though it brought home to him, just how many good people had been left behind. Clare saw his pensive expression.
"I know," she said, "but we couldn't bring them all." Steve and Clare hugged.
"Oh no," Chris moaned, "they're at it again!"
"Yap!" Rufus agreed.
John approached Steve and tapped him on the shoulder.
"The envelope," he whispered.
"Ah yes," Steve said, "I'd forgotten all about it. Come with me John, we'll open it together."
"Sure?" Asked John.
"Sure." Steve replied, "We're all in this together...No more secrets."
John and Steve separated themselves from the rest of the passengers and opened the envelope.
"Dr. Forester," it began, "you have been chosen to head up Lark. You have already been informed as to the purpose of your mission, and, as you are reading this, you must have arrived at the Moon. This alone is a tremendous accomplishment, but we have greater things in store for you and your companions. When you have settled at MBA we want you to access Lark and keep it alive. You will have overall responsibility, with other experts taking charge of the various sections. Your good lady-wife will head up the botanical department, a most vital part of Lark. Major Hammond will be head of the engineering department. The others will make themselves known to you when this letter is read out to them. May I take this opportunity to thank you all for your contribution to Lark, and the saving of the human race.
God be with you all,
Samuel B. Wilson - President.
Chapter Six
Chapter 6.
Life on Moon Base
Moon Base Alpha was still unfinished. Though large, there were some sections still under construction, and so were off limits. The necessary materials were in storage, but there had not been enough time to complete the building work. The six residents of MBA began to show folks to their quarters. Nancy Fuller took charge of the Foresters.
MBA consisted of a main dome, this is the one that was visible from space, and two smaller domes attached to its sides. The smaller domes were the living quarters. The main dome backed onto the side of a cliff face, which took about a third of its floor space. There were some very substantial looking steel doors in the cliff face that were sealed.
On reaching their quarters, Steve noticed another envelope on the coffee table. It read, 'For Dr. Forester's eyes only.' Steve went into the bathroom and locked the door. On opening the envelope he found a metal tag on a chain. A note simply read, 'This tag contains the access codes for Lark. Keep it with you at all times, and only pass it on to your successor.' Steve slipped the chain over his head and went to rejoin his family.
The quarters were well laid out, the Foresters had three bedrooms.
"Some have two and some have one," Nancy said, "and there are more in the other dome should they be needed. Each has its own kitchen and lounge. You'll find all the drawers and cupboards filled with clothes, and just about everything else you may need. We have vast stocks of food and plenty of water, and supplies of just about every kind you can think of. General Hammond planned this place very well."
"Yes, he certainly did," Steve, acknowledged. Nancy was about to leave when Steve said, "Please tell everyone there'll be a meeting in the main dome tomorrow morning at ten."
"Yes, sir," she said, leaving the room.
"Yes, sir?" Clare quizzed.
"Yes, they've put me in charge," Steve confirmed. "I guess I'm the boss."
❧
The main dome of MBA was divided into three sections: a central hallway where they had all arrived, and two smaller partitions. The one on the left looked as though it was designed to be a laboratory area, still very much incomplete, whilst the other was the command centre. The command centre was fully operational, with Bill Somers in charge. Eric Hadden, the other technician, was the equivalent of a highly skilled handy man, who could turn his hand to almost anything.
10-am came, and everyone gathered in the central section of the main dome. Steve called them to order and began by saying, "Well, here we are, a remnant of humanity, sent out to survive and thrive in a place such as this. It's clear now that the authorities back on Earth don't expect to survive for much longer, else they would not have sent us here. As it is, our arrival seems to have been a little premature..."
There were some titters.
"Before we do anything here, I want you all to know what General Hammond and the president wrote to us."
With this, Steve sat down and John Hammond stood and read out his father's note, and the president's letter. There was unanimous approval of Steve's leadership. John took his seat. As Steve rose to speak, all the residents of Moon Base Alpha stood to their feet, and applauded. Steve was mightily embarrassed, and yet kind of proud to see his own wife and kids applauding too. Had he really brought them up so well?
Steve waited for the applause to stop. "I'm honoured," he said, with moistening eyes, "to even be here with such wonderful people as yourselves. I do not feel worthy to lead you, and I don't intend to. What I want to do is encourage you all to fulfil your own potential. If I can achieve that, I will have been a good leader, now, enough of the speeches. Those who are section heads stay behind, all the rest of you...Go explore!"
The meeting broke up, and Steve took the section heads into the control centre and introduced Bill.
"This is Bill Somers, he's in charge of thi
s control centre. This is our nerve centre, all communications arrive here, and all other operations are controlled from here. Get to know the stuff that's important for your section. Start to learn how things work, and then teach others. The more backup staff we have, the better. OK, that's it."
The section heads began their first task and Steve left them to it.
"Eric!" Steve called out to attract his attention.
"Yo," came a solitary voice.
"I want you to find Jimmy Peebles, and start to teach him everything you can. He's a good kid and bright too."
"Yes sir," Eric replied.
Steve took a deep breath, stood up to his full height, and shouted out,
"FROM NOW ON, NO ONE CALLS ME SIR, MY NAME IS STEVE."
He relaxed and said, "Oh, by the way Eric, how come we aren't hopping anymore?"
"I wondered when you'd notice that." Eric replied. "It's all down to the power generators beneath us. A by product of the generating process is a static field, well, you know how static electricity makes things stick together..." Eric stopped and waited for the penny to drop.
"You mean, the whole place is statically charged?"
"Yep, got it in one. The domes are constructed in such a way that they hold a negative charge, with the electrons pulling down towards the generators. The pull is about three quarters of Earths gravity which is enough to keep everything within the field down."
"Who discovered that one?" Steve asked.
"It was Vinkle," Eric replied, "he really was something."
They made their way over to the lab section. It was spacious and seemed to have everything they needed, but most of it was still in boxes.
"We need to make a start on this as soon as possible Eric. See who we have who can help you." Eric went off in search of Jimmy.
