"Don't," replied the admiral, cutting John off. "You're not a person who questions their abilities and now's not the time to start."
John could only nod. The admiral was right, John had never questioned his potential. "What will you do then?" he asked. "In a couple of hours your career will be over. TERRA will be crawling all over the planet looking for you and will undoubtedly search any ship heading to Luna or Mars."
"Don't you worry about me. You just focus on getting EXODUS out of the system. I have every expectation that you will accomplish your goals."
John could see the admiral had made up his mind and John's pleading wasn't going to change the decision. But there was one thing left he could do. John pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and shoved it in the admiral’s hand.
"I want you to have this." The admiral opened the paper and saw an address written on it. "It's my house in California," explained John. "It's in La Habra and sits on a large piece of land in the hills, very secluded. I'm sure you could hide out there for a little while before TERRA discovers I'm commanding this ship. I don't feel right leaving without giving you something."
The admiral was genuinely touched by John's offer. "Thank you, commander," he replied as he tucked the paper in his pocket. "I'm sure it will come in handy."
John smiled weakly. "Well, I guess this is it." He paused for a moment, trying to find the right words to say. "I'm sorry, I'm not used to saying thank you."
"No thanks is needed." The admiral extended his hand to John to shake, which the former cadet did with a bittersweet feeling. John wished they had more time to get to know one another.
"Take care, admiral."
"And you as well." The admiral walked into shuttle and John watched as it lifted off and out of the hangar bay. Although they only met a couple days ago, John was really going to miss him. The admiral managed to affect John deeply and it hurt to see him go.
Admiral Johnson was at ground station fifteen minutes later. He went over last minute details with the ground crew, who all assured him preparations for launch were in order. He soon took his place at the back wall, passing the time observing his staff working at their stations. His eyes drifted over to the large digital clock on the wall. The time had finally arrived, years of planning and construction, all to reach this single moment: the launch of the TXS EXODUS. The admiral stood at the rear of the ground station monitoring room, looking out through the large panoramic window at the massive ship laying in the open land of the Tormented Valley. The admiral admired the vessel he worked so hard to build. To him, it was a thing of beauty. He looked at the men and women working at their stations. He had asked so much of them and each had committed their lives for this project. He was proud of the effort everyone put forth in making this day a reality.
He smiled thinking how easy it was to hide the project’s activities from the command council. They never suspected one of their own had been working his own agenda right under their noses. The hardest part of this launch was staying behind. The truth was he wanted to be on EXODUS when it launched and for a brief moment, when John was asking him to reconsider, he did. But life had a way of interfering with one’s plans. He fiddled with the prescription bottles in his pocket, which only had a couple pills left. He had become too close to the crew and a good military commander kept a distance from those who served under him or her. The admiral had allowed his feelings to get the better of him. With his son gone, the people of the EXODUS Project had become his family. But he had to let them go if they were going to succeed. Besides, he didn’t want any of them to see what would become of him. In just a few hours when the effects of the medications wore off, he would be a different person.
“Admiral, we’re ready to begin,” announced the ground commander. “Preflight check is green across the board.”
“Well then, let’s send her off.”
Over on the EXODUS activity had reached a fever pitch. The crew scrambled making last minute checks and adjustments on key systems. This would be the first time the ship would move from its position and, although the crew was confident in how she would perform, there was still a sense of trepidation. What if something went wrong because a process or system was overlooked? What if TERRA discovered what they were up to and marooned the ship before it could leave the planet? Years of planning and preparations had all come down to this moment. They either would succeed or fail.
John stepped onto the command deck to find the staff at their stations in preparation for the launch. They were about to head up into space and subsequently incur the wrath of TERRA in the process. Superintendent Mortino once said that John would become infamous and it looked like Mortino was going to be right on that prediction. John had no doubt TERRA would paint him as quite the villain to the public in order to protect their image.
“What’s our status?” John asked Alex’sis as he descended into the pit. Alex’sis was standing at the operations table checking the ship’s tactical systems. He looked over to see Julie speaking with Bret. John was still mad at her for the way she behaved earlier and wasn’t inclined to speak to her at all. He’d rather have Alex’sis as executive officer. She was a typical military officer, but at least John got along with her. Julie said that he had to worry about being replaced? Hah! It was Julie who should worry about being replaced. A ship commander could replace his XO at any time and John had no problem taking such action if Julie became a significant problem for him. He would see how she performed while they were in the solar system. If he concluded things were not going to work out, he would demote her en route to the next star system.
“We’ve done a complete check of all systems,” reported Alex’sis. “All departments have reported in as ready.”
Kevin joined Alex’sis and John at the table. “I’ve transferred navigation control to ground station. They’re set to do a simultaneous launch of the ship and tower units. We'll be able to monitor ground station's control of the launch from here.” Kevin punched a few buttons and brought up several data reports on the table.
“How long to get us up in space?” asked John.
“About ten minutes,” replied Kevin. “We’ve done everything we could to reduce the ascent time into orbit.”
“That’s still a significant amount of time," commented Alex’sis. "The shields can’t be activated with the antigravity field on. We’ll be vulnerable during that period.”
“What about arming some of the ship’s weapons?” offered Kevin. John quickly dismissed that. He didn’t want EXODUS emerging from Earth with weapons active. It would risk someone panicking and firing on them.
“The increased power level would be detected by TERRA. Even with the sensor blackout mandated, I’m sure the council will be watching us and I don't want to send the wrong message. The admiral said he made all the arrangements for the launch to go uninterrupted and I don't want to jeopardize that. We have to assume that he’s taken care of all possibilities.”
“Commander,” called Bret from his station. “We’re being contacted by ground station. They’re ready to go.”
John nodded. “Everyone to their stations.” The staff moved into their positions except for Alex’sis who remained at the operations table. Although she agreed with John about keeping the weapons offline during the launch, she wanted to have her finger on the button in case they needed to defend themselves at a moment’s notice. Even with the shields offline the hull was extremely resilient to weapons fire. But she wasn’t eager to have the hull tested so soon. She was as determined as the rest of the crew to get the ship off of Earth in one piece and didn’t want to take any unnecessary chances.
John headed up to his command seat elevated above the pit. He climbed the steps and sat in the seat looking directly at a large screen. The monitor allowed John to view any of the ship’s systems and tap into anyone’s station. After a final check of the critical areas he opened the communications channel. “Ground station, this is EXODUS.”
“Copy EXODUS. Confirm lau
nch status.”
“Launch status confirmed. We’re ready to go.”
“Confirm EXODUS. All systems show go for departure. Launch will commence in one minute.”
“Acknowledged,” replied John. He took a deep breath then switched over to the inner ship communications. “Attention all-hands. Standby for launch.” He thought about making some speech to the crew, but decided against it. He wasn't about to turn this into some corny cliché.
This was it. In less than a minute they would find out if this ship was worth the time and effort put into it. As the countdown began, John suddenly thought about the life he was leaving behind on Earth. He found it strange that his mind was mulling over such a thing now. He always wanted to explore space and never once considered spending his life on any of the planets; not Earth, Luna, or even Mars. He wanted to be out in space, uncovering what it had to offer. But suddenly he was thinking about what his life could have been on Earth. Would it really have been so bad? Despite being railroaded from serving in TERRA, his graduation from the Academy would have guaranteed him any well paying job in the private sector. It wouldn’t have been such a terrible life. But then again, he would have faded into the populace as a nobody, exactly what Mortino wanted. An ordinary life was not something for John. At least on EXODUS he would be remembered for something. For better or worse, he was going to be in the history books.
“Launch in t-minus 15 seconds...,” reported ground station. John shifted his thoughts to his friends Billy and David. The admiral had provided Julie and John with one last opportunity to contact any friend or family member before they left. Julie had contacted her father, but John was unable to locate his sister. So he decided to contact someone else. He had arranged for a personal message to be delivered to his friends. Even though he was leaving Earth, he wasn’t about to let TERRA drum up a cover story without a fight. Although he would be out in deep space, he could still make life difficult for TERRA. John looked up through the panoramic window at the stars sparkling in the clear night sky. In a few moments his dream would begin.
At ground station the admiral watched as his beloved starship began its ascent to the heavens. EXODUS lifted off in unison with the four antigravity towers, enveloped in a dark blue field as the energy was maxed out to ensure the ship’s protection from Earth's gravity during ascent. The ground trembled as the ship lifted off and slowly subsided as EXODUS moved away from the planet. The admiral stopped listening to the status reports being shouted out by the ground staff as his attention was squarely focused on EXODUS. All his hopes now laid with that ship. It didn't take long before it rose far enough to no longer be seen through the window. The admiral headed outside despite the frigid cold so he could continue to watch EXODUS until it disappeared into the night sky.
As he watched EXODUS ascend further into the heavens, what was once an immense vessel was now a small dot. The various lights that emanated from the ship's hull melded into a single beacon. The admiral felt a sense of completion as EXODUS departed, but he also felt a sense of loss. It was almost the same feeling he had when he lost his son. He thought of him and hope that if he was watching from somewhere he understood why his father chose this course of action.
"Admiral, it's time to go," said his shuttle pilot, who was patiently waiting behind him. EXODUS was barely discernable now, only a blip in the sky's landscape. The admiral had to blink to even catch an outline of it. Once he was satisfied he could no longer see it, he turned to his pilot.
"Take one of the spare shuttles," he instructed. "I'll be leaving alone."
"But sir...," started the pilot, but the admiral interrupted him.
"It's far too dangerous for anyone to accompany me. Security's top priority will be to locate me and it's best that I’m alone. Go on now. There's no time to argue."
The pilot nodded and took off towards the parked shuttles. The ground staff was beginning to leave the area, steaming out of the buildings as quickly as they could move. The admiral looked up into the sky one more time, but could no longer see EXODUS at all. As the ground crew quickly rushed to their escaping transports the admiral slowly walked to his shuttle. There was no need to hurry now, no need at all.
CHAPTER NINE
Tonight was a lazy night for the boys. Billy and David were lounging in David's living room watching various entertainment shows on the holovision, a stark contrast from the celebrations they participated in after finals. Every winter break for the past four years they alternated spending winter break at one another’s house. This year it was Billy’s turn to stay at Block family home. It was a tradition initially started for the benefit of John as he had no family to go home to for the holidays. Billy’s parents loved John, however the same couldn’t be said for David’s father.
Their sophomore winter break at the Block home was one that would never be forgotten. John had gotten into an argument with Admiral Block about TERRA philosophy, something David begged John not to do. But John couldn't resist egging Admiral Block into a fight. The admiral's superior attitude pissed him off and the young cadet couldn't resist trying to push the admiral's buttons. John got him so upset with his inflammatory comments (the harshest being how much a bribe needed to be to become captain of a capital ship) that the admiral physically threw John out of the house, barred him from every coming back, and strictly forbade his son from ever associating with John. Of course David didn’t listen to his father. He secretly enjoyed seeing his overbearing old man get worked up by a young, opinionated cadet. Even to this day David, Billy, and John gleefully recounted that event. Thinking that John was out of his son's life the admiral never mentioned his name again.
The Block residence was a restored twentieth century contemporary mansion that Judith Block had redecorated over the 15 years the family lived there. David’s father, Admiral Edgar Block, was in charge of Mars’ defense operations. He traveled between Earth and Mars regularly, splitting his time between the family and work responsibilities. He had tried more than once to relocate the family to Crimson City, the capital of Mars. But Judith wouldn’t hear of it. Earth was her home and she refused to allow TERRA to move them around from place to place. She also didn't like the idea of living within a enclosed dome and was convinced the artificial atmosphere wasn't good for the children's health. Even the promotion to admiral and a coveted seat on the command council didn’t sway Judith’s mind. She wasn’t moving and neither were the children. So Edgar had no choice but to make the commute back and forth from Mars weekly.
Edgar always took a week off during the winter break to spend time with David. However, he was unexpectedly called back to Mars this morning. There had been times where Admiral Block had to depart on a moment’s notice to resolve some crisis on the red planet, but it had never happened during winter break. David was glad every time his father was called away. He routinely lectured David on what it took to be a good TERRA officer, often citing Billy as a good example. He was confident and charismatic; traits that would take him far in his career. David was taught to respect his father and he never had the courage to speak up for himself. But he resented his father for his constant lecturing, dictating, and comparisons to others. Billy was always polite and diplomatic to the admiral, but thought he was too strict and was suffocating David with his rules.
With the admiral gone and David’s mom in Richmond visiting her sister the boys decided to spend the afternoon lounging on the couch watching mindless entertainment. They had already spent yesterday being quizzed by Admiral Block on TERRA protocols and his departure to Mars was a welcomed break for them. However, their leisure night at home was interrupted when the front door opened and a mail bot entered.
“Messages for Billy Pedia,” announced the bot.
“Huh,” muttered Billy, almost half asleep. He looked over the couch and saw the black mail bot. “Over here.”
The oval shaped mail bot stepped down in the living room and approached Billy. "A little late delivering mail, aren't we?"
“Hey,
it’s a TERRA mail-bot.”, said David, seeing the orange T marked on top of the bot. TERRA used its own mail system separate from the civilian population.
“Please imprint hand for identification,” requested the bot. TERRA regarded all mailings highly important and required ID verification on everything, even propaganda. Billy stuck his hand out and the bot passed a red beam over it. “Identity confirmed.” Two video cards emerged from a slot on the bot's midsection. It grabbed the cards and handed them to Billy, one marked One and the other marked Two. With its task completed the bot left the house without saying another word.
“You think it’s a spring post?” asked David excitedly. Billy shook his head.
“I don’t think so. As far as I know everyone’s already been notified. Maybe it’s from the placement committee. I’ve heard of cadets getting their fleet assignment this early.”
“Oooohh...open it up then. Let’s see,” said David anxiously. Billy flipped open the video card marked One. It took a few moments for the message to play. Instead of the TERRA logo appearing first John’s face appeared on the screen.
“Billy, it’s John. I’ve sent you two encrypted messages. This is the first one you’re watching. I need you to watch the second message in private away from everyone. Don’t tell anyone about this, except for David. But make sure he keeps his mouth shut. You should be getting this about the same time a large ship is being spotted in Earth's orbit. All I can tell you is that I’m on that ship. The second message will explain everything. You are the only ones I trust. Don’t say anything to anyone, your lives could be in danger if you do. And this isn’t a joke.”
The message ended and the screen went blank, leaving both cadets bewildered. “What the hell?” said Billy confused.
“Could be a prank to get you back,” said David. Billy and John had played little tricks against one another for the past four years. David assumed this was simply another joke, especially since they hadn’t heard from John in awhile.
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