The live feed from inside the shuttle showed him pushing the yoke forward as the shuttle blasted off into the sky. It arced above the building and headed into the troposphere. The screen showed only a slight amount of turbulence, and the readings were steady. As the shuttle disappeared into the sky, the feed faltered and then cut out completely. Now they had to trust that its design was sound and that Captain Bennett Sheraton would make it safely into space.
Chapter 13
The force of the rockets as Bennett was thrust upward reminded him of his first parachuting high jump, except there was no wind batting his body around as if it were a rag doll. Instead, the shuttle was defying gravity and lifting him into the unknown.
Rocketing through the atmosphere and emerging into the vastness of space was one of the three coolest things he’d ever done in his life. It was right up there with receiving his Trident and meeting Kimberly. It would have been impossible to explain to a layman what it was like going up, up, up and then transitioning into this great immenseness, as if he’d burst through a bubble and entered an endless, infinite cavern of stars and wonder.
Bennett stared. His eyes went everywhere at once, trying to take it all in. Perhaps that was what saved him. As he looked around, he saw something moving. It was crawling out of the small wall-mounted box near his head. The box was very similar to the one he’d seen on the Langley crash-test video, which had then disappeared from all logs.
The night before launch he’d checked, and there was no box. So it had to have been placed in the shuttle and attached the day of launch. His eyes tracked the movement of the contraption as it crawled free of its housing. It was a silver device, some kind of small robot.
Damn, he’d bet that Kess had had Browner install the box. Melo had told him about the incident in the cafeteria, and this must have been the reason for the yelling. Browner was told to follow some kind of list, and he’d bet his eyeteeth this box was on it.
Shit! The mechanical robot moved like a spider, gaining momentum. A creature like this had killed Yuri. It was headed for the brain of the shuttle. There was no camera this time, only a small chip on its back, so it was preprogrammed.
Didn’t Melo crush the last one with his foot?
Reaching a hand down toward the strap on his leg, Bennett withdrew a slim knife and tossed it at the spider. The momentum had the knife flying backward, and it missed its mark. That spider still moved. “Fuck,” he said.
“Nearing destination,” said Sully.
If the spider reached the brain first and switched to manual controls before Bennett reached the first orbit, he would drop out of acceleration and start falling toward Earth. There would be no recovery. It might take a while to die, but the shuttle would just plummet downward. What a slow and painful way to go!
“Not on my watch! Kess, you bastard,” Bennett muttered. “Reaching up from the grave, you son of a bitch. Well, it isn’t going to work. I’m not giving up without a fight.” He connected the dots from the manifesto to the shuttle, visualizing the box clearly now. This thing might be a part of Kess’s plan, but he could end that once and for all. “Sully, artificial gravity.”
“It’s unadvisable, Captain,” the computer explained.
“Do it now.”
Reaching his hand toward the sheath on the other side of his thigh, Bennett grabbed the other Ka-Bar knife and threw it at the spider. It slammed into the center of the creature and sparked. For a second, the robotic creature flailed its legs, and then it fell to the ground with the knife still stuck in its core.
The smell of burnt copper filled the cabin. At least it hadn’t started a fire; he’d be hustling his ass to the fire extinguisher otherwise. Relief flooded him.
“Clean the air, Sully,” Bennett ordered. He turned his attention back to piloting, tuning out the distraction. Touching the first button of the panel in the center of the console, he marked the time until he cut the rockets and switched to engine bursts.
In the Command Control Center, Kimberly sighed with relief as the shuttle cleared the atmosphere. They’d lost contact while Bennett traveled through it, and she was anxious to see his visage or hear his voice.
“Come in, Captain Sheraton,” said Liaison Jennie Jarvis. “Please respond.”
“This is the Warren Shuttle, Captain Sheraton speaking.” Bennett’s voice was sound and clear.
A shout went up in the room.
“We’re picking up several gasses present in the cabin,” said Jarvis. “Please report.”
“Nothing,” Bennett said. “Just, uh, venting some smoke. It’s handled, and all systems are working correctly. Coming up on first orbit. Going radio silent to prepare for first task.”
“Copy,” said Jarvis. “Good luck, Captain. We’ll look forward to hearing from you on the next check-in. Over and out.” The woman looked up at Kimberly and smiled.
Kimberly gave her a thumb’s-up in return. In her mind, she was already reviewing the words smoke and vent. What could possible cause such a thing? She sucked her lower lip into her mouth and chewed, running through the possibilities.
Bennett turned the Command Control Center radio to mute. Checking the proximity of the area, he could see a ton of space junk, but nothing that would interfere with the deployment of the new communications satellite. He pressed the button that would record the distribution and positioning.
Upon reaching the appropriate orbit of most normal or commercial satellite communications arrays, approximately twelve thousand feet above the Earth’s atmosphere, Bennett oriented the shuttle. Opening a side bay door, he pushed a button that jettisoned the newly updated communications array, which launched flawlessly. Its side flaps opened automatically, revealing solar panels, and the device sprang to life as it maneuvered into position.
He closed the bay doors and waited until the array had moved out of range. Then he fired the engines, turning the shuttle away from the device. A series of commands scrolled across the monitor to his upper left, and he watched the feedback from the satellite. The system connected directly with the satellite, and the complex list ended with one word, Complete, proving this part of the mission was successful.
Sending a test signal from the Warren Shuttle, he received responses from facilities all over the planet, including the Lester Facility. He checked the readout one last time and could see that the array was functional and in good working order, so he closed the bay door.
He blew out a long, slow breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. One task down. Now it was time to take the shuttle upward into geostationary orbit and tackle the next hurdle.
Kimberly had tuned out everyone in the Command Control Center. Her entire focus was on reading the plethora of information from the shuttle. She was relieved when she saw that all systems were working well and that the burst of smoke had not been from anything in the shuttle’s payload but rather from some device that had been added on board.
Looking over her shoulder, she wondered who had added something that shouldn’t be there. She picked up her phone and said softly, “Sally, I need you to trace all devices loaded onto the shuttle and tell me if something was added that was not on the manifest.”
“Working…” Sally was quick to respond. “Captain Sheraton concealed several weapons on his person and within the shuttle. Shall I show you where?”
“No,” said Kimberly with a half smile. Nothing could take the “prep” out of the SEAL. “Did anyone else add something?”
“Only Browner. He placed a metal box containing an object onto the shuttle wall.” Sally brought up a visual as she spoke. “It was approved by Project Leader Kess but was not added to the manifest.”
“Where’s Browner now?” asked Kimberly.
“Browner is located at the back of the Command Room. His vitals are elevated and he’s on the verge of passing out.” Sally showed a live feed of Browner’s face.
&nb
sp; Kimberly frowned. “Sally, send this footage to security and tell security to detain Browner immediately.” Giving her attention back to the shuttle readouts, she added, “What does Sully say about the item that was in the box on the wall?”
“Working…” said Sally. Then she showed a picture, a paused frame of footage from Sully’s onboard recorder. A knife was sticking out of the center of a small robot spider.
Kimberly laughed. That was her man. He handled whatever came along, didn’t he?
“According to Sully’s log, the item from inside the box is no longer operable. Is there anything else you require?” asked Sally.
“That will be all.” Kimberly logged off and sighed with relief. She looked up at the big screen at the front of the room, which was tracking the shuttle’s movements. “Keep going, Bennett. Keep on moving.”
A small blip at the top of the screen caught her eye. It was so small that if she hadn’t been paying direct attention to every inch of what should be where and when, she might have missed it. Kimberly was pretty particular about details, and to her, that blip stood out like a sore thumb.
She walked over to Jarvis and pointed at the top of the woman’s terminal. “What is that?” When the woman didn’t respond immediately, Kimberly said, “You need to get Captain Sheraton on the comm, now!”
Bennett fired the engines again, and the Warren Shuttle moved upward, farther into space. The Earth grew smaller as the shuttle progressed. He had to admit, flying the shuttle beat the hell out of flying a regular plane. He didn’t know if he’d ever be able to appreciate going back to one.
“We will be reaching geosynchronous orbit in ten, nine, eight…” Sully said.
Bennett flipped the switch off, cutting the engines and turning the shuttle to the side. When it didn’t move to precisely where he wanted it, he flipped the switch again and fired several small bursts.
“…seven, six, five, four, three, two, one. This shuttle is now in geosynchronous orbit at the designated spot for deployment,” said Sully.
The area was clear. There was very little up here, only high-grade military hardware, and it was ideal for the laser array.
Putting the controls on automatic, he said, “Maintain the helm, Sully. Keep me apprised of incoming messages and any change in conditions inside and outside the shuttle.”
Releasing his harness, Bennett reviewed the oxygen and power levels in the cabin, which were normal and working efficiently. He then he grabbed the broken spider, secured both knives in a storage container, and locked it down before dropping the spider into the transition bay for disposal.
Bennett ate a power bar and sucked down liquid, fortifying himself for the work ahead. After he’d relieved himself, he let himself into the transition bay, through which he would exit into space. Reviewing the list of instructions was a secondary concern, but he did it anyway. He’d rather have it fresh in his mind before he went out the door than need to come back inside and take off his suit again to do it. Though he could probably download it to Sully, he wanted Sully’s full focus on the shuttle and the area around it.
He went into the back portion of the shuttle and checked the oxygen tanks and the entire space suit before he donned it. Securing his helmet, he flipped on the power unit and said, “Sully, comm check.”
“Comm check. Affirmative, Captain. I read you loud and clear. Comm check is complete.”
Thank God the computer isn’t a talker. It’d drive me nuts to have it droning on while I work. Bennett secured the tether to his suit, adding an additional set of tools to the outside of his suit—better safe than sorry. Then he secured another tether to the laser-array box and the second set of tools. He opened the door. Kicking the spider into space was satisfying, but tromping Kess’s final wish to destroy him was even better.
Karma is a bitch, and so is payback.
He cleared his mind and stepped forward. His body tumbled forward and he opened his arm’s wide to slow his movement. Drifting in space was humbling, in a way that nothing in his life had ever been before. Stepping into this nothingness was probably the oddest feeling he’d ever experienced, even trumping his first high-altitude jump.
He could imagine how small he must seem in comparison to the vastness of space, or even in relation to the shuttle. Turning his attention back to his task, he cleared the door.
Bennett used short bursts from his jet pack to move forty feet from the shuttle. The line would reach fifty, but he needed room to implement. Figuring this spot would work, he pulled the box toward himself hand over hand. When it reached him, he pushed a button that folded the box lips back and revealed the device. It was pretty handy having a box that became part of the actual array. Now that was innovation at its best.
When he touched a yellow button on the top of the device, a flap slid back and one thousand small orbs, half the size of the smallest known microsatellites and capable of producing a lot more than small electromagnetic pulses, disconnected from all around the device and moved away. They began their journey into place. He could see them come online, one by one, as they reached their position. He watched until they were lost from sight, hidden behind the earth herself, like a well-formed army encircling the planet. It was fascinating to watch them go.
Bennett didn’t allow himself to dither too much—there was enough redundancy built into the orbs that if one were destroyed, another would pick up the slack, at least until there were only two left.
Using the screwdriver on his belt, he opened the main device and accessed the viewing panel, which would allow him to manually destroy the space junk by turning on the laser function for a short-range burst. He pointed the array at Earth and determined which objects were live, transmitting satellites or useful space tech. He distinguished them from the wads of metal, screws, etc., that created a pileup of junk and were dangerous to vehicles moving through the area.
Bennett activated the array and watched the computer double-check the objects that were tagged as trash and ask for his confirmation for destruction. Sighting each one down for a final time, he assessed that the target was indeed trash—including the broken spider. He hit the short-range button, firing the array in a giant singular burst of light. The junk was instantly vaporized.
Good riddance! From items as small as a screw to larger pieces of solar panels, the array took it all out. The best part was there was no residue from it.
Damn, it was that easy. Was it a wonder that they needed so much security to protect the laser array from falling into the wrong hands? This was a weapon of significance, and it was a protection that would hopefully keep the Earth and its inhabitants safe now and in the years to come.
“Captain, you’ve received a message from Command Control. Can I patch it through?” asked Sully.
“Go ahead,” replied Bennett.
“Captain Sheraton, hold for Dr. Warren,” said Jarvis. The liaison’s voice was very tense.
“Bennett…” said Kimberly.
“I’m almost done, Kimberly. Can it wait?” Bennett was pleased, but there was more work to do. He didn’t want to get distracted by anything until he finished.
“No! That mass we talked about that was going in another direction—it’s coming toward you.”
“Roger. Now if I can just…”
“Don’t you understand, Bennett? A comet is almost on top of you. Get out of there.” Kimberly’s voice was frantic.
“I get it. Not just yet. I need to complete this next task first. What’s the point of being here if I don’t finish?” His voice was calm.
“What’s the point of losing your life?”
“Kimberly, I understand. I love you more than my own life. I have to go…” Bennett reached up to turn his comm off.
“Wait. Bennett, I love you too. Come home to me.” Her voice was wavering. He knew she was crying.
He clicked off the comm, thrusting awa
y his emotion. Now came the toughest job: turning the array and setting it into its final resting place, so that it couldn’t be turned back toward the Earth or used against its inhabitants. If he screwed this up, there was going to be a world of hurt left behind, and he didn’t want to be responsible for that.
* * *
The Command Control Center at the Lester Facility was full of noise. Worry had everyone chattering at once, and Kimberly covered her ears so that she could concentrate.
According to the live feed from the Warren Shuttle, Bennett had successfully launched the new communications satellite and then arrived at geosynchronous orbit and implemented the array. The space junk was blown up, and thankfully, none of the communications equipment had been caught in the crossfire. Though that stuff wasn’t her technology, Kimberly still wanted the mission to be a success. These people were acting as if everything was done. It wasn’t. Nothing was complete until the array was turned and locked into place, and Bennett was safely on the ground.
“Kimberly, you asked me to alert you,” Sally said. “I’m receiving additional readings from Sully that affect Captain Sheraton’s safety and mission.” The computer displayed a number of windows on the screen. The large mass had changed course and was moving faster in the direction of the shuttle, like the Titanic heading for the iceberg. By her calculation, Bennett did not have very long before the comet made impact with him, the array, and the shuttle. The array would right itself and continue to work as long as it was turned, but the shuttle and Bennett…
She swallowed the knot in her throat, but it wouldn’t go down. She could barely breathe.
Pushing the button on her phone, she said, “Sally, get me Sully. Tell Bennett that Control needs to speak to him, or tell Sully that he needs to communicate a message to Bennett immediately.”
Sally said, “Working.”
Several seconds passed.
The Soul of a SEAL Page 22
