I looked around the waiting room and noticed that we were alone for the most part. An older gentleman sat on the far end of the waiting room reading a novel. The receptionist was also pretty far away and engrossed in something at her desk.
“We won’t be able to return, Renata,” I whispered, “We’ll have all the supplies they sent and we’ll probably already have all the homes they built us. But we won’t have a wormhole anymore.”
“They’re going to shut it down?” she asked a little too loudly.
“No, Renata, we’re going to shut it down,” I replied, “We’re going to be the colony we planned to be, independent, without war, without taxes, and free. We’re going to offer to send them back – anyone who’s still there – and then we’re shutting it down.”
“Wow…” she whispered, staring at me, “We’re overthrowing the government. We’re a bunch of special ops. We’re going to be famous!”
I put my hand over her mouth, “We can’t talk about this at all, Renata. If it’s going to work, we have to say nothing at all until it transpires.”
“Definitely,” she replied, looking frighteningly excited.
Rigel Knight
Chapter Twenty
I dropped beneath the clouds and guided the liner toward the Charleston shuttle port almost directly beneath us. I targeted the blue lights that highlighted the private VIP landing pad and gently set us down in spot ‘A’. I quickly typed in the code to shut down the hover coils and then looked over at the ensign seated next to me.
“Well, we made it ten minutes later than we planned,” I said, pointing to the clock, “9:25pm. I’m sure we’ll hear about this one. Let’s go get the Secretary of State and his wife on their way.”
I stood up to go open the side door and lower the exit ramp.
“Captain, shouldn’t we shut down the controls?” the ensign asked.
“No, I’m going to get an electrician up here to check out a glitch I noticed on the scanners,” I poked my head back into the pilot’s cabin, “I want to leave it on so it still shows the problem.”
“Oh, okay,” the ensign said, getting up and putting on his hat.
He followed me to the exit, smiling at our two passengers as they carefully exited the craft. We followed them down the ladder and then led them to the rear of the craft where the ground crew was unloading their bags from the rear entrance. The ensign was quick to grab the larger suitcases and offered to walk the Secretary and his wife to their waiting limousine just a few yards away.
Moments after that limousine left, another pulled up and stopped directly beside the Fontenot. The doors of the limo opened immediately.
“We’ve got maybe ten minutes before people start asking where I am,” I hollered, “I’d like to be high in the sky by the time that question is answered.”
Renata was already running toward the liner with a suitcase and a folded wheelchair. I approached the limousine and helped Sarai to scoot Zane along the seat. We then shifted him and slid him out the door.
“I gotcha, bud,” I said, lifting him and carrying him like I’d carried Renata across the threshold.
“What a way for a guy to get around, huh?” Zane asked.
Sarai followed behind with a couple more suitcases. I lifted him up the ladder, into the craft, and onto a comfortable couch at the rear of the cabin. Sarai thanked me, quickly taking over by putting a pillow behind his head and securing him as best as she could. Renata had run out to grab the remaining bags and after she returned, I closed up the hatch.
“Get seated and secured as quickly as you can. This may be a bumpy ride at first,” I hollered over my shoulder as I entered the pilot’s cabin.
I switched on the hover coils, turned on the radar, and then jammed the belly thrusters forward, launching us up painfully fast. I took the yoke and switched on the rear thrusters, launching us forward at maximum acceleration.
“Fontenot, this is the shuttle tower. You were not cleared for launch. Return the liner immediately along the following coordinates.”
“Shuttle tower, I have a VIP aboard that I cannot argue with, if you know what I mean.”
“There are no VIPs that are permitted unauthorized launches.”
“This one is because of his position in our government. Again, I am doing as ordered.”
“Then we will treat this as you are under duress, Fontenot. Air Force has been called to your position.”
“Too late,” I muttered, grabbing the secondary thrusters and switching those on.
I was suddenly jerked backward in my seat as the secondary thrusters brought us far beyond escape velocity and sent us shooting out of the atmosphere. I hoped that the others were all secured properly back there. I plotted a course into the navigation computer a few minutes later, setting us straight for the wormhole coordinates. Once we were clear of any orbital ships, I shut down the external communications relay and then switched on the autopilot. We still had several minutes of rapid acceleration left before the g-forces would settle down to reasonable levels.
“We’re past the reaches of any Earth-based or orbital-based craft,” I spoke into the intercom, “The only ship reported beyond that is a freighter that’s already Earthbound. It had been headed to the wormhole gate with 41,000 tons of supplies and equipment back when I was leaving there. Where that will all be located when we get there, I have no idea.”
“Did the colony get our message?” Sarai’s voice came over the intercom.
“I sent it inside the package marked for McEwen,” I replied, “He most certainly would have seen it and shared it by now.”
“Do you predict any obstacles?” she asked.
“Yes, from the two men stationed on this side of the wormhole, but as this is currently labeled a ‘science station’, both are unarmed,” I replied, “I expect it would be a military post within the year though and we could have been faced some rough opposition by that time.”
“How do we plan to fight them?” she asked, “Zane isn’t going to be much help, so it’s just going to be you and two women.”
“This is a military spacecraft, Sarai,” I replied, “And since it’s designed for transporting high ranking officials, we also need to be able to protect them.”
“So we’re armed?”
“Exceptionally well,” I stated, “I have six weapons in the locker up here and eight in the rear.”
Sarai Stark
Chapter Twenty-One
“This is so wrong,” Zane said, looking up at me as I posed before him holding a plasma rifle, “My wife is going off to battle while I’m going to be lying here helpless.”
“Hey, I’ve qualified on an older version of this rifle, so you’ve got nothing to worry about,” I argued.
Renata chose to carry a plasma pistol which only provided her a maximum of thirty rounds. With luck, none of us would be using these weapons anyway. It was sad to think I’d be bringing these along with us to KMA. A world without wars had no need for such weapons.
“I really like the flak jackets and thigh pads,” Zane said, “Makes you look like the ground troops from the UN War.”
“Well, I don’t like this. The jacket must weigh twenty pounds!” Renata said.
“Hey, it’s just for looks anyway,” I said, “All this will hopefully just be for intimidation.”
“And honestly, if they already offloaded a pallet of weapons onto our moon, I’d bet they would have seen no need to unpack them just yet,” Zane added.
“I didn’t even think about that,” I said.
“It is always a possibility,” Zane said, “But their focus for the moment would have to be on building supplies and food.”
Rigel joined us again from the pilot’s cabin, dressed for battle as well.
“Is everyone ready?” he asked.
“We’re docked already?” I asked.
“Yep, it all begins the moment we open this door.”
“I didn’t even feel us docking,” Renata said, “I thought you
were still trying to bring us in.”
“That’s one of the pleasures of riding on a liner. Everything is about the pleasant experience,” he replied, “So are you ladies ready to put on your mean faces?”
“If you don’t mind, I’ll just hang out here until all the smoke clears,” Zane said.
We laughed and then Rigel saluted him.
“We’ll be back for you in a few seconds,” I said.
Renata moved in next to Rigel and gave him a quick kiss.
“We’ll be okay,” he assured her, then he turned to the door and lifted the switch cover.
He hit the switch and opened the door. I peered past him. The docking tunnel extended about twenty feet just outside the door where another door blocked our view of anything further.
“So far, so good,” he said, leading the way.
Renata followed immediately behind and I took up the rear. When we reached the door, he went straight for the emergency override lever, probably assuming it was locked and that his entry code wouldn’t work anyway. The emergency lever was in place in case someone ever got trapped outside, so the door lock simply served no purpose as long as there was atmosphere detected outside the door.
An alarm resounded beyond the door the moment he lifted the lever. The door suddenly opened with a metallic thud. He peered into the large room while we ducked behind him.
“Commander Rigel Knight of the US Navy, requesting permission to come aboard, sir,” he shouted into the large room.
“We have been ordered to take you into custody, Commander Knight,” a voice called.
He must have verified that it was safe to enter because he started slowly into the room. Renata must have also seen that it was alright, so she immediately followed. I cautiously peeked into the room and verified that the two enlisted men were clearly not armed as we’d hoped. They stood defiantly before the wormhole casing which looked nearly identical to the one we had on KMA. They must have followed Leah’s instructions and not improved upon it just yet.
“And how do you propose to take us into custody?” Rigel asked.
“Your weapons won’t gain you access to the gate, Commander,” the shorthaired petty officer stated, “It’s locked and cannot be opened unless we open it.”
“Well, unless you somehow managed to get a new lock in the last six hours, then the code is 3-3-5-4,” Rigel said, “You conveniently forgot that I was here when the Secretary of State came through. I watched you open it.”
“You and your people are to stand down, Commander,” the chief petty officer shouted, much louder than necessary.
“I have a disabled passenger who is a member of the KMA colony and it’s going to be difficult for me to guard the two of you while I get him situated for his transit,” Rigel reasoned, “The only way I can do this is to kill both of you. That is, unless you are willing to go stand up against that far bulkhead, face away, and put your hands on your heads. We’re going to KMA whether you are alive or dead.”
“It’s my home, Chief,” I stated, lowering my own rifle toward him, “And that’s my husband in the ship. I will die to protect both. I would kill to protect both.”
Both men looked at the three of us. The chief looked like he was angry enough to kill us with his bare hands. While they might have been originally willing to die to stop us, they knew now that it was useless since Rigel had the code. A moment later, they turned around and headed to the far bulkhead with their hands on their heads.
“Wise choice,” I said.
I left Rigel there to guard them while Renata and I grabbed the suitcases, not to mention bringing Zane in his wheelchair. By the time I returned with Zane, Rigel had the metal bar on the gate of the wormhole hatch unlocked. Now all we could do was hope that Leah still had command over the other side of the wormhole. Knowing her and McEwen as I did, I was fairly certain they would.
Chapter Twenty-Two
I stepped into the blue light and then suddenly found myself inside a large warehouse. Leah stood there holding onto the back of Zane’s wheelchair.
“Nice!” she laughed at me, “Joined the Marines while you were away?”
“Had a little trouble on the other side, as I’m sure you could imagine,” I said.
“Yeah, those guys on the other side tried to warn us by sending a letter through the wormhole. An order from the USN-SD to detain Rigel Knight should he come through,” she said, holding up the letter, “Needless to say, it never got beyond me.”
Renata suddenly appeared in a flash behind me. She held two suitcases and a duffel under her arm. I took a moment to view the warehouse. I had to wonder how these people could have constructed something so fast. I was afraid to ask how many people were here on KMA now. There were probably two-dozen pallets of unidentified stuff that had been pushed up against the walls on either side of the warehouse.
“Hey, it’s not cold in here!” Renata said.
“Yeah, they brought us out of the dark ages here,” Leah stated, “Took a crew of a thousand men and women only three days to get us going. They worked day and night.”
“What was the hurry?” I asked.
“The hurry was that they wanted to get the charity portion out of the way as quickly as they could so that we’d leave them to the ground base they’re building just to the south of us,” McEwen stated, walking over to us, “They already leveled about ten acres.”
“Dear Lord,” I said.
Rigel suddenly appeared in a flash, and then turned around quickly with his plasma rifle aimed at the gate. Renata rushed over to him.
“There was another liner about to dock when I came through and it was loaded with troops,” Rigel stated.
“Shut the gate!” McEwen hollered.
Leah rushed over to the controls and entered some commands, then slid the bar over the opening. She rapidly typed some more commands.
“We’re going to have to open it again,” Leah reminded.
“But if we’re sending people through, they can’t send people at the same time, right?” I asked.
“Right, but that means once we open it, we need to start sending people immediately and we don’t stop until we shut it down,” she replied.
“Ready to get this started, President?” McEwen asked me.
“No time like the present,” I replied, feeling the butterflies rising up inside me.
Ensign Lopez met us and took charge of Zane. She wheeled him out of the warehouse and toward a house I hadn’t even seen yet. The rest of us went out into the early morning snow with plans to call a worldwide meeting.
Chapter Twenty-Three
It took nearly an hour to wake everyone and gather them into the new town square I hadn’t ever seen before. The Navy builders had given us a central building surrounded by houses spread out in a spoke pattern. They built us enough housing that half didn’t even have residents yet. The central building, larger than a gymnasium, was something of a central cafeteria, gymnasium, and meeting hall. It also housed a power plant for the whole community which was convenient considering its central location to the new village. It was the only building made of brick. The rest were made from sturdy lumber.
Much to my own surprise, there were still over a thousand people on KMA. It was a very tight fit, but we all managed to bring everyone into the central building. We decided it would be best for me to remove the armor and the weapon before I stood to give today’s speech. I went to the podium with more butterflies dancing in my stomach than I even had through any of the interviews back on Earth. I wasn’t accustomed to commanding such a large crew, colony, or city.
“Good morning everyone and I’d like to apologize for the early wake-up call. I had a very important reason for this because even as I stand here before you, we are faced with a significant problem rising up in the solar system,” I stated loud enough for my voice to carry in the giant room, “I’m just going to get straight to the point as we are now faced with an emergency situation. The wormhole that links this moon to the sola
r system where we were all born is collapsing and will reach full collapse in under two hours.”
I was about to continue, but the sudden burst of questions and conversation rose to a level that I couldn’t surpass. I raised my hands while our resident chicken farmer Bob Thompson whistled loudly.
“People! People! Let me speak,” I started, then Bob whistled again, “I need to continue. You are all welcome to stay and live among the KMA colony, but this is only on a volunteer basis. Anyone not willing to live here for the rest of their lives needs to make a quick decision. Anyone with family back on Earth needs to think about their current position here on KMA. You may start returning to the solar system as soon as you’re ready.”
It was getting loud again and I couldn’t distinguish any of the questions that were now rising in a wild cacophony of noise. I finally shook my head and stepped away from the podium. I turned to Darius and told him to get to the wormhole and make sure some of our people were properly armed.
While I hoped they would all believe in the potential collapse, I knew that some might question the news. Would it collapse? Technically, yes. It would be closing forever in two hours and there was no one outside of our original colony that would stop it. Our colony had already voted on shutting down the gateway and we were all in agreement. We needed to protect KMA as well as our colony.
Outside the building, I immediately located the man who had originally brought our shuttle safely to KMA. John had been concealing a plasma pistol inside his coat and was secretly standing as riot control should that have been necessary. He raised his eyebrows in question.
“I want to see Zane,” I said.
He pointed toward an unpainted ranch-style house to my immediate right. I hadn’t got a chance to see my new house before and now I was pretty impressed. Although small, it was truly an ordinary unpainted ranch with two front windows and a door. I could have imagined finding a similar house on Earth, only painted a bright white or a shade of tan instead of left with its natural wood tone.
Colonization Page 21
