Curse of the Altered Moon: Altered Moon Series: Book Two (The Altered Moon Series 2)

by AZ Kelvin

  “GABI, bring us in as close as you can and run every scan in the book. I want a detailed analysis as soon as I get back.”

  “It will be ready, Captain.”

  CJ left the bridge in GABI’s hands and made his way down to engineering, taking stock of the ship’s condition as he went through the various bays and compartments. med bay was in one piece. He could see Cat working near Boss’ bed as Gina and Cal came out through the door.

  “How is he?” CJ asked Gina.

  “There’s some swelling of the brain,” she said with a slight catch in her voice and small head nod. “But, Cat says he’s gonna be fine, so Cal and I were just about to start the damage analysis.”

  “He’s in good hands, G. You two start with starboard side outer compartments. I’ll take the portside after Katy and I check the engines and life support,” CJ said. “Hull breaches are priority one.” He turned to Warren. “You okay, Cal?”

  “Aye, Cap. Locked, cocked, and ready to rock,” he replied with a gleam in one eye and CJ’s reflection in the other.

  “Very well, carry on.” CJ smiled at Cal’s indomitable character. “Gina, situation report every thirty minutes.”

  “Roger, sitrep every thirty.” She and Cal started down the corridor.

  “Oh, it worked. The Wall is open,” he told them.

  Gina and Cal looked at each other when they heard the news and couldn’t help but smile. “Copy that,” Cal said, as he looked back at CJ. “When do we go?”

  “Ship repair first, fun later. Carry on,” CJ answered with his own smile. Cal and Gina talked excitedly about the news until they were out of earshot.

  CJ continued on to engineering. Along the way, he thought about how lucky they were to be alive. Luck, huh. I think we stretched it a bit today. More like I stretched it. Lucky no one was killed. Maybe I should have left this one alone. Risk everything we’ve done in the last two years for what? I don’t know if there’s even anything in there.

  CJ’s love for mysteries and the unexplained had been the driving force behind some of West Becreth Trading Company’s recent good fortune. Several of the ‘investigations’ yielded not only rare and valuable artifacts, but a few handsome rewards as well for recovering lost or stolen items. After only two years as captain of the Altered Moon, his hunger for action and adventure was nowhere near sated. Boss, Gina, and GABI were the veterans of the crew with ten years aboard and Cat wasn’t too far behind them. CJ, Katy, and Cal had all joined up one way or another around two years ago, just before the thwarted invasion of Human space by the Kang, a hostile alien race of war masters.

  CJ and more-than-crewmate Katy Latimer worked together when the Kang attacked the MT&T Super Liner Istraulis, which was boarded, looted, and then destroyed. Thousands of people were abducted during the raid, Katy being one of them. CJ saw Katy as she was grabbed by her arm and lifted off the floor by one of the Kang warriors just as the monster fired an energy weapon at him. The concussion of the blast collapsed the corridor around him and CJ was forced to launch in a life pod to escape the destruction of the ship. Fragments of bulkhead framing tore through the outer layer of the life pod as it shot from the jettison port, which caused power overloads and a hull breach. The life pod was picked up by the Altered Moon just seconds before CJ’s life-support systems failed completely.

  Boss was captain of the Altered Moon back then with a different crew, half of which betrayed him shortly after that and tried to commandeer the ship. The problem with the crew of the Moon started with the rescue of CJ from the damaged life pod jettisoned by the Istraulis. The shit hit the fan a few weeks later when Boss decided to make CJ a member of the crew. The mutiny ended up with Gina and Cat set adrift in a life pod, CJ injured and unconscious, Boss shot in the back and left for dead, GABI initiating an emergency self-destruct, and the mutineers killed in a freak shuttle bay accident as they tried to escape before the ship exploded. CJ, an engineer’s mate aboard the Moon at the time, was made captain by a strange twist of fate as the leader of the mutineers left the doomed ship.

  Dylan “Trigger” Treesh, who had taken over command during the mutiny, kicked the unconscious CJ in the head to relieve some of the irritation at having to leave the ship behind and flee for his life. “I guess that makes you captain, piss-ant,” he’d said sarcastically, meaning that CJ was the last one on board and destined to go down with the ship. The main computer system of the Altered Moon, in its emotionless way of processing information, took Trigger’s statement as a transfer of command authorization to CJ Evermore.

  Trigger Treesh would have been amazed, actually irritated more likely, if he knew what his sarcastic remark set into play and how it would change Human history. At the moment of command transfer, the main onboard computer attempted to reset all systems. GABI, who had accessed the drive systems to destroy the ship at Boss Keltzer’s last command, was seen as a security threat and attacked by the mainframe’s guardian programs.

  During the final nanosecond in the battle for bytes, two things happened: the main drive was shut down and the self-destruct was averted, and the grappler arm in the shuttle bay snagged on the outer door. The grappler assembly snapped its anchor bolts and crashed to the far end of the shuttle bay. The shuttle, Lunar Mare, was crushed by the crane with all mutinous hands aboard. GABI was never able, or perhaps never willing, to explain just how that happened.

  CJ Evermore awoke in a puddle of blood and, with a pounding headache, managed to get Boss Keltzer to the med bay and rescue Gina and Cat with GABI’s help. Boss suffered a permanent injury to his spine and gave CJ command of the Altered Moon, but stayed on as second in command. To CJ’s great amazement and joy, they found Katy Latimer alive and mostly well on Cantankerous Base, an outpost run by none other than the rumored dead shipwright of the Altered Moon himself, Nelson Moon. It was here that they had their first encounter with the Keect’na, a race of crystalline beings that were already at war with the omnivorous Kang monsters.

  Katy agreed to sign on as chief engineer, as well as Warren Caltrop, who signed on as tactical officer. CJ, together with the new crew of the Altered Moon went on in an attempt to discover what happened to the MSL Istraulis. Instead, they uncovered a galactic plot between his former employers, Merilee Travel & Transport, and the Kang Armada to enslave the Human race. The discovery sparked an adventure for CJ and the crew that exposed MT&T as traitors to Humankind, brought an end to the Kang invasion, and started an age where Humans were no longer alone in the cosmos.

  All of that seemed so long ago now—two years, give or take a month. CJ shook his head and rubbed his face to clear out the ghosts of the past from his head. He had to focus on the here and now to get his ship and crew out of danger. He had cleared his mind by the time he stepped through the hatch to the engineering bay. His eyes moved to the dozens of critical status warning lights that flashed on the ship condition panel. The large panel stretched across most of the wall and displayed status readouts on every compartment of the ship, many of which were red, indicating damaged areas. The indicators that flashed a red circle around them showed the areas where the hull had been breached, the biggest concerns at the moment.

  A majority of the breaches lined the front of the main fuselage, the leading edge of the wings, and peppered the ventral hull plating. Various other points indicated power loss or decompressed compartments. CJ crossed his arms heavily and sighed out, “Damn.”

  “It’s not all that bad…considering.” Katy seemed to appear out of thin air, standing right next to him.

  “Holy jumpin’ catfish! Geez, make some noise next time will ya?” He took Katy in his arms, hugged her tightly, and kissed the top of her head. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

  “What the hell, Seedge? You just keep on banging up my ship!” She yanked her captain’s chain a bit, just to let him know she still loved him.

  “Your ship?” he replied in kind. “I suppose I deserve a ribbing from somebody over this one.”

  “What happened out t
here? A booby trap, best guess,” he said. “Set to go off if anyone penetrated the wall.”

  “So we’re in?” She smiled and peered out of the corners of her eyes.

  “Yep and still live to tell the tale. We’re lucky the projectiles were black diamonds. They could have torn us apart.”

  “Diamonds? Really?” Katy’s interest peaked and her eyebrows wiggled. “Do I get to keep any that I dig out of the hull plating?”

  CJ laughed a little and shook his head. “Always looking for that silver lining, aren’t you?”

  “Nothing keeps me down, you know that.” A brief shadow crossed her face despite her positive statement. CJ thought of Katy’s robotic arm, which replaced her real one that was crushed by a Kang warrior. Katy patted his chest, gave him a wink and a smile, and went to gather the tools she needed to continue her repairs.

  “So how are we?”

  “Well, we’ve got some work to do, but, she’ll be right as rain, long as nothing else goes ‘bang’ right away. Main engines are okay. Portside thrusters are down. These breaches are the critical repairs: here, here, and here. They’ll have to be sealed before we can get under way.” She indicated only a few among the many breaches of the main fuselage shown on the condition panel.

  “Gina and Cal are already working in this area, so I’ll get started on the portside repairs.” He plotted out the points on his datpad. “I’ll check back with you in a bit.”

  “Roger that.”

  The next thirty-six hours crept by as CJ and the crew patched and sealed the small holes left by the high-speed black diamond shrapnel. The repairs weren’t as easy as the bridge view port where the breach was out in the open and easily reached. Most of them required an EV suit and decompressing the adjacent compartment before you could enter and dismantle wall panels just to gain access to the damaged area. The process was time-consuming and tedious. Katy went through behind the other three and repaired or rerouted the power systems as needed, and little by little the indicator lights on the condition panel changed from red to green. The critical repairs necessary to get underway were completed and the repair crew broke for a much-needed rest.

  Chief Medical Officer Zhu Katsu was still watchful over Boss’ improving condition, as CJ and Gina came into the med bay. The concussion Boss had suffered caused his brain to swell and his condition to worsen. Cat placed him in a medically induced coma and worked diligently to keep the pressure inside Boss’ head from damaging the brain. Her efforts had paid off. The intracranial pressure had subsided and she’d discontinued the induced coma a few hours ago. Now, it was just a matter of time and recovery. Gina stood over Boss’ bed and stroked his face.

  “He’ll be okay, Gina,” Cat said, as she leaned against a different bed looking weary and tired.

  Gina walked over and hugged her friend to show how much she appreciated Cat right now. Cat gratefully returned the hug.

  “You are my very best friend and I don’t know what we’d do without you,” Gina said without letting her go.

  “Me either, Cat,” CJ agreed. “Is there anything you need? What can we do for you?”

  “Nothing, thank you, Captain,” Cat answered with a smile at both CJ and Gina. “Boss is past the danger now and I can get some rest. How’s the ship?”

  “Holding air,” CJ said optimistically

  “That’s a good thing,” Cat returned.

  “Yep, yep, we’ve got some dents to pound out yet, but we’re ready for preflight check.” He was still optimistic, but he felt the fatigue he’d held at bay finally creep over him.

  “Ungh...” the sound came from Boss as he came out of the anesthetic.

  They gathered around his bed as he began to open his eyes. He focused on CJ’s face and drew his eyebrows together. “Who the hell are you?” he seemed alarmed. He saw Gina next. “Gina, thank the Stars! Where’s Trigger?”

  CJ drew back with a wounded look on his face. Cat drew in half a breath and held it. Gina turned her head slightly and scowled at Boss out of the corner of her eye. Boss’ look of alarm shifted into a sly smile as he let slip the joke. CJ just shook his head as both he and Cat smiled at their friend’s characteristically jovial behavior. Gina, on the other hand, while visibly happy that Boss was okay, let her ‘Irish’ bubble up at the moment.

  “You know”—she planted both hands on her hips and glared at him—“you’re an ass sometimes.”

  “Aww, come on, G, I was ju—” Boss tried to say.

  “Bernard Ephraim Keltzer! Not everything is a bloody effin’ joke,” she scolded him. “We’ve been bustin’ our asses for two days straight just to keep the air from leaking out into space and you…” Her anger seemed to cool as soon as she locked eyes with him. He was making puppy dog eyes and holding his hand out to her.

  “Oh, stop it.” She took a quick swipe at her eyes, as she took his hand and sat beside him on the edge of the bed. “Idiot.”

  “I’m glad you’re still with us, Boss.” CJ clapped the man on his shoulder then moved to the door. “I’ll be on the bridge.”

  “I’ll be there momentarily, sir,” Gina said.

  “Negative. You get some rest. GABI and I can handle preflight, and then I’m hitting the rack for a few hours. We all need the rest. I expect you to be on duty at”—he checked the time—“zero-eight-hundred. That’s six hours from now. Understood? Because that’s when I intend to take Moonshadow over and find out what’s on the other side of that wall.”

  “It’s open, then?” Boss asked and swung his fist through the air. “Whoo, shut the front hatch!” The effort of which made him dizzy for a second.

  “See, just relax,” Cat cautioned Boss.

  “That could be tricky flyin’, Captain,” Gina said, not quite innocently. “You should have a fully trained star pilot at the helm.”

  “Yes, I should, but I should have her here at this helm, so she can fly in and get my ass outta trouble.”

  “Captain,” she resisted.

  “Gina,” he insisted.

  “Aye, sir.” She reluctantly gave in before he had to make it an order.

  “I can help too, Captain,” Boss said, as he tried to sit up.

  “No, you can’t,” Cat said so firmly that Boss just lay back in bed with only one small complaint about missing the party. “Twenty-four hours. Not a second sooner.” She crossed her arms, tilted her head, and raised her eyebrows.

  CJ leaned toward Boss slightly and put his hand up to the side of his mouth. “Surrender now,” he whispered loudly to tease the unbending doctor. He straightened up and smiled at Cat to soften the joke. “We’ve got it covered for now anyway, my friend. You rest up. Don’t worry, we’ll get you a headset and a monitor so you won’t miss anything.”

  “And some popped corn too, then. If I am to have a show, I will need some popped corn,” Boss said, with an important hand flourish.

  “I think we can manage that and you’ll be sure to get a visit from our chief engineer if you do,” CJ said. Everyone knew of Katy’s love for popped corn and that she could track it down anywhere on the ship. “Good to see your eyes open, Boss. I’ll check in with you before game time.”

  “Thanks, Captain.” Boss held his hand out in a stationary ‘wave’ as CJ turned to leave.

  “Bridge, zero-eight-hundred,” CJ said and pointed at Gina as he left med bay.

  “Aye, aye, Captain,” Gina replied with a small salute.

  “GABI?” CJ called over the comms unit on his datpad.

  “Yes, Captain.”

  “I’m on my way to the bridge.” He rubbed his temples to ease a tension headache. “Begin a ship-wide diagnostic.”

  “Acknowledged.”

  CJ poked the icon for Cal’s comms unit. “Cal?”

  A second or two passed before Cal answered, “Here, Cap, go ahead.”

  “Did I catch you napping?” CJ said lightly.

  “No, sir, I’m, ah…at the submarine races,” Cal told him candidly.

  The unwanted image of W
arren Caltrop with his bald head, gold earring, and silver cybernetic eye seated on the toilet with his pants around his ankles as he talked on the comms, while most likely in the middle of a graphic e-novel, flashed across CJ’s mind. The visual was like drinking sour milk while being sprayed in the face with skunk musk.

  “Ooookay. Shuttle prep at zero-seven-thirty. Wheels up at zero-eight-hundred,” CJ told him as quickly as possible.

  “Copy that, Cap. I’ll be ready.”

  CJ shook his head to clear the image, as he walked the short distance to the lift and poked the ‘up’ icon on the control pad. The illuminated icons flashed a couple of times then slowly dimmed to off.

  “Ugh, shhhit.” CJ’s shoulders slumped as he stared at the door of the nonoperational lift. What else is going to go wrong? he wondered. Just a little superstition, nothing to worry about. Curse-schmurse, Tuffy Polenz had told him with a nervous little laugh. I should never have brought us here. Gina’s right. This place is cursed.

  He turned aside, opened the hatch to the access ladder, and climbed up to the next deck. He made his way through the crew compartment and looked longingly at the door to his quarters as he passed it by. Not yet, he thought, but soon. CJ groaned as he suddenly thought of the size of the entry he would have to make to bring the logbook up to date.

  He walked through the hatch and onto the bridge of the Altered Moon. He stood and looked around for a moment at the mess and the breach seal stuck to the view port when a sharply dressed woman with black hair and thin-rimmed glasses shimmered into view at the operations station.