by K. D. Mattis
“Sir, do you mean handle watching the auto-pilot for the next eight hours before my shift ends?”
“Pretty much.”
“Then yes.”
“Good,” Asher said with a wide smile. “Gonzales, I was looking through personal logs earlier today. You haven’t done your workouts for the last couple of days. Would you mind telling me why?”
The co-pilot’s face flushed red.
“I’m sorry, sir, but I’ve been busy performing system checks.”
“It’s fine. I’m behind on mine as well. If you join me, we’ll do them together. Any objections?”
Gonzales didn’t say anything. Instead, she unbuckled her harness and floated into the air. Pushing off her console to ensure she cleared her chair, she turned on her magnetic boots and slowly fell to the floor.
Bending over, Asher turned her boots off and kicked into the air.
“Actually,” Asher said, “I’ve always found it more fun to leave them off when I can.”
Without a word, the ensign mimicked the admiral and floated out of the room. Together, the pair traveled down the halls. The further they went, the more of a race it became. Each reached out to anything they could and pushed off as fast as possible until they finally reached the exercise room.
At the door of the room, both came to an abrupt halt. Entering slowly, they went to their lockers and removed their workout clothes. Each of the women found a stall, pulled a curtain to block the view, and changed out of their uniforms. A hidden door opened inside the stalls where they hung their uniforms.
Both women attached small machines to their wrists to monitor heart rate and blood pressure before stepping into the harness for the elliptical machine. In no time, they took off running.
After thirty minutes of quick sprints, Gonzales stepped off the machine to wipe the sweat off her body. Without gravity, it simply stuck in place and became uncomfortable.
Jumping off the elliptical, Asher propelled herself to the resistance training station.
Happy to have an excuse to leave the bridge, Asher hurried down to the docking bay. Along the way, crewmen snapped to salute but lacked their usual enthusiasm. Asher couldn’t blame them. For the last week, nothing happened to break she and her crew from the doldrums.
Entering the docking bay, Asher heard the usual whistle.
“Admiral on deck!”
“As you were.”
Forcing his way out of the small crowd, Commander Cole approached Asher. In one hand, he carried a nearly empty water bladder. In the other, he held a tablet computer that he never looked up from.
“Sir, we’re nearly ready to launch the probes. We’re just waiting for your final inspection.”
Asher grabbed the tablet from the commander’s hands as she neared the first probe. She looked everything over carefully. Everything looked identical to the diagram on Cole’s tablet.
“Is there something I’m looking for?”
“No, sir. Just general problems.”
Sighing, Asher asked, “Have the engineers already looked them over?”
“Yes, sir.”
“And they gave the all clear?”
“Yes, sir.”
Asher grunted. “If they say they’re good to go, then we’ll trust them. I’m just tired of looking at these things.”
The two officers made their way to a small room in the middle of the bay. The doors sealed and let off a hissing sound. Only one other man stood in the room with them. After receiving a nod from Asher, he grabbed the microphone.
“Beginning decompression procedures. All personnel, exit the docking bay immediately.”
A small icon on the man’s screen stopped blinking once everyone cleared the area.
“Begin decompression.”
The man punched a series of buttons that caused a door to open on the side of the Explorer. The air rushed from the room and into space. In doing so, the little bit of water vapor in the air instantly froze.
A few more buttons and a robotic arm unfolded into space. It grabbed one of the probes, lifted the device into space, and released it. The arm repeated the motion until the docking bay was clear of all the probes.
The arm folded back in place, and the door closed. The push of a large green button brought air back to the bay.
“We’re done here, Admiral.”
Asher groaned.
“You expected something different, sir?”
“I thought it would be more interesting than that.”
Cole laughed. “If you’re looking for something interesting, I can meet you in the game room while the crew works the probes.”
“No,” Asher said. “I think I’ll spend some time in my quarters. Call me when the network is up.”
28
Asher’s eyes widened at the sight of the planet. The blended planet of tan and white caused the ends of her fingers to tingle with joy.
“Admiral,” Harris said, “welcome to Venus.”
“Are we recording this?”
A member of the diagnostics team perked his head up. “Yes, sir. Would you like us to stop?”
“No, of course not. I just want you to know that you’re recording history.”
Asher stood to approach the monitors, but quickly turned around and fumbled for her microphone. Her hands shook, and she struggled to turn it on.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I want to be the first to congratulate you. You, all of you, are about to be part of the first manned orbit of another planet. Look sharp. We’ll be transmitting video back to Earth in a matter of moments.”
Harris looked back at the admiral with surprise.
“You heard me. Take us in and settle into orbit.”
The Explorer moved into orbit around the planet. Gravity gave a gentle, but constant, tug at the bottom of the vessel. Because the ship moved around the planet so quickly, the crew continued to feel weightless.
“It feels like orbiting Earth,” Gibbs said.
Asher nodded. “It should. Venus is almost the same size.”
As they orbited, the pilot turned the Explorer to allow a better view of the planet.
“This planet is so beautiful,” Asher said. “It’s no wonder they say women are from Venus and men are from Mars. This place is interesting and has so many layers. Mars is just a boring rock.”
“And both are filled with hot air,” Harris said.
“Hot and toxic air, Tom. Don’t make me go toxic.”
Harris laughed.
They released three satellites into orbit around the rocky planet below. In just moments, the satellites began to transmit data of the planet’s atmosphere and surface.
Using special sensors, the diagnostics team could see past the thick clouds down to the surface. From there, they picked several flat spots of land that sat high above the lava flows, and gave an unobstructed view of the surrounding area.
“Admiral,” said one of the men, “we’re ready to release the drone.”
At the bottom of the Explorer, an airlock opened and released a large pod. The pod instantly fell to the planet below. It soared through the upper atmosphere without anything to slow it down. The further into the atmosphere it went, the thicker the air around it became. The thicker the air, the more friction built up around the hull of the capsule.
Soon, the hull of the capsule burst into flames. If not for the special heat treatment on the hull, the pod would have melted away.
Breaking free from the clouds, the back end of the pod erupted off and released three large parachutes. Though designed for the intense heat of the planet, one burst into flames, then another. The remaining parachute stayed intact.
Stabilizing, the pod floated down to the surface. The rest of the pod fell away to release the drone in its full glory. In preparation for a rough landing, several large airbags inflated, covering the drone on all sides. The parachute broke away just a few dozen yards from the surface.
The probe hit the ground with a large bounce. After bouncing twice mo
re, the airbags went empty and left the probe sitting on a flat surface of Venus.
She couldn’t take her eyes off the screen. Finally, Asher looked over to the diagnostics team.
“Is it operable?”
“We’re not certain yet, sir. We’re preparing to turn it on now. We haven’t received a return signal yet.”
The second screen at the front of the bridge showed nothing but blackness. For a moment, Asher thought she saw a glimmer of light, but that hope quickly faded.
Giving up, Asher pushed herself back in her chair. She almost issued the order to abandon the probe when she saw another glimmer of light show itself.
“Am I the only one that saw that?”
The diagnostics team hurried into a burst of activity.
“No. We all saw it. We’re just not sure what it was. We’re not receiving a return signal from the craft, so we don’t think the drone is operational.”
“Have you tried running it without the signal?”
“I don’t think we can, sir.”
Cole stepped over to the diagnostic consoles and forced one of the men out of the way. Without wasting any time, he tried to move the drone.
The screen lit up.
As the drone moved forward, it continued to transmit video feed. After running for several seconds, it began to transmit data about the air, the temperature, and the wind.
Smiling, Cole said, “The return signal must have been disabled during landing. I’m not sure what caused it. The planet isn’t exactly the most hospitable. It could have been any number of things.”
The drone stopped moving while Cole operated the camera. As it panned across the landscape, it revealed mostly flat land with several lava flows creeping up from the Venetian soil.
“Feel free to play with it for a bit,” Asher said, “but then set the drone on auto. How will we receive the data it collects?”
Returning to the back of the room, Cole said, “It’s going to transmit everything to the satellites. The satellites will then send the information to our probe network, and they will send it to the Ambassador.”
Stifling a yawn, Asher said, “Very good. Gibbs, you have the bridge. I’m going to grab some sleep.”
Asher woke covered in sweat.
Looking around the room, she expected to see things damaged and in trouble. Through the dim light provided by the emergency lighting, she saw the pictures of her family and pets on the wall. Everything was fine, but she couldn’t shake a feeling of dread.
Rushing, she ripped the zipper off her sleeping bag. Her computer screen was on but didn’t show any waiting messages.
Dressing faster than usual, Asher darted out of her room. Silent, the ship didn’t offer any clues to her fear. The few crewmen she passed didn’t seem concerned about anything at all.
The night crew staffed the consoles at the bridge. Seeing them, Asher felt terrible that she didn’t know many of their faces, but she had greater things to worry about.
“Status.”
The diagnostics team looked at the admiral with wide eyes but gathered the necessary information.
“Sir, all systems are stable and operating within normal standards. We turned on the probe network a few hours ago and are now testing it.”
A young ensign acted as commander of the Explorer in Asher’s absence. As he looked at her, Asher saw his eyes drawn to the circles under her eyes.
“Admiral, is everything all right?”
“Have we heard from the Ambassador or Central Command?”
“No. Everything’s fine as far as I can see, sir.”
After looking over the crew, Asher began to review their logs at her station. “We’ll let the day crew sleep for now. Helm, plot a course for Earth.”
29
An ensign pushed her headphones hard against her ears. Her face strained as she listened.
“Admiral, I can’t quite make out what I’m hearing. I think the station is in trouble.”
Asher stood next to her seat. “Harris, please tell me we can get this beast to move faster.”
“I’m afraid not, sir. The engines have already given all they have. If we push them any harder, we’re going to start burning out parts.”
Each member of the diagnostics team buried their faces in their monitors. Asher wanted to ask them if they had any additional information but knew they would tell her as soon as something came up.
The admiral paced in front of her chair. With every step, the metallic clank of her boots told her team just how concerned she felt.
Commanders Gibbs and Cole sat at the back of the bridge awaiting orders.
A member of the diagnostics team said, almost shouting, “Admiral, we’re within visual range of the station. We can’t make out much, but the image should clear as we get closer.”
“Put it on the screen. Comm, have you received anything more from the station?”
“Sir, I’ve received a lot, but I can’t understand any of it. Every message is garbled. I keep trying to unscramble the message, but I don’t think we can do it.”
“Keep trying,” Asher said. “Any information we have before we get there could make a difference.”
The tactical officers sat in their seats, calm and collected. As the seconds passed, they kept checking over the weapons systems.
“Admiral,” Card said, “it sounds like the station is telling us to get back.”
“Play it for me.”
Static played through the bridge, but every few seconds, a few garbled words almost came through.
Asher shook her head. “It does sound like they’re saying stay away. Are you able to make out anything else?”
“No, sir. I’m still trying.”
“Keep at it,” Asher said as she sat back down.
Looking closely, Asher swore she could see something beside the station on the primary monitor.
Gibbs noticed Asher’s stare. “You’re not imagining things, Admiral. I see something too.”
“Yeah, but what?” Asher asked.
Three white beams shooting out of specks swarming the station answered Asher’s question.
“Harris, Gonzales, how long until we get there?”
“Just a few minutes,” Harris said.
As Harris maneuvered the Explorer, Gonzales did her best to keep her eye out for bits of rock and clouds of dust. When she saw something, she sent the course correction to Harris. Her hands shook as she worked.
The admiral hit a button on the arm of her chair. It enabled her voice to broadcast to the whole ship.
“All hands to battle stations. This is not a drill. I repeat all hands to battle stations. This is not a drill.”
The tactical officers exchanged confident glances.
Cole and Gibbs stepped forward and stood beside the admiral.
“Prepare the Guardian and Protector,” Asher said. “Be ready to scramble them as I give the order.”
Gibbs placed a hand on the back of Asher’s chair. “Good luck, sir.”
“No kidding,” Asher whispered. “We probably wouldn’t need any luck if they had all listened.”
Cole looked at the ground. “We rose to the occasion before. We can do it again.”
Asher nodded. Both commanders exchanged nervous glances before sprinting out of the room.
“Admiral, we’re coming up to the station now.”
Tran barely kept his hands under control as the Explorer drew closer to the alien vessels attacking the space station.
The head of the diagnostic team spoke quickly as he put images on the second monitor.
“These alien vessels are considerably smaller than what we saw before. They don’t appear to have a lot of firepower, but they’re moving incredibly fast.”
Asher strained her eyes to see them moving. “Are they the same aliens?”
“We don’t have any doubt of that. The ships have some major differences, but they’re similar enough that they have to be from the same aliens.”
“We’re
almost there,” Harris said. “They’ll be in firing range in a matter of seconds.”
“Tactical, pick the vessel closest to the station and take it out,” Asher said.
The black hull of the alien vessel made it hard to see against the backdrop of space. When it fired its weapons, the ship revealed two sharp prongs at the front. At the end of each of the prongs was the same energy weapon Asher and her crew saw before.
Six missiles shot out at one of the three alien ships. Only two hit their target. Each made an obvious mark in the hull of the vessel but failed to destroy it.
Holt and Tran focused everything else they had on the same vessel. The railguns and missile turrets of the Explorer fired off as fast as they could, but very few of the attacks hit their mark.
“Gentlemen, focus!” Asher shouted. “Take your time and aim.”
“Sir, we’re doing everything we can, but it’s too quick,” Tran said.
The two remaining alien vessels broke off their attack on the station and turned their attention to the Explorer. With two energy weapons each, they fired at Asher’s ship. The alien weapons left burn marks on the side of the Explorer.
“Status report,” Asher said.
“We’re showing considerable damage in the hull on our port side,” Lieutenant Card said, listening to people from all over the ship, “but they haven’t broken through yet.”
Tran continued to struggle with the controls of the weapon turrets. “It’s the upgrades, sir. If we hadn’t upgraded our hull after the last battle, we’d have four large holes.”
“Admiral,” Holt said, “We’re having too much trouble hitting these things. They just move too quickly for us to get a proper lock on them.”
“Can the Guardian and Protector hold up to their weapons?”
“I’m not sure, sir, but they can move a lot better than we can. They might have a better chance of hitting them.”
Asher turned to the communications officer. “Card, tell Cole and Gibbs to get their ships in the air.”
The pilot struggled with the controls and fought the Explorer. He did everything he could to make the large ship move faster, but each turn caused the Explorer to groan louder than before.
