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

by AZ Kelvin

  CJ turned the floodlights on the damaged door and the surrounding area. The stealth hull plating made it difficult to see minor damage until you were right up close. The damage they looked at, however, was quite clear to see. “Oh boy.”

  “That bad, huh?” Boss asked.

  “Hang tight, Boss,” CJ said. “Cal, suit up and see if the grappler arm can push those doors open.”

  “You got it, Cap.” Cal headed for the airlock.

  “He’s going outside?” Pene asked in amazement.

  “Yeah, but don’t worry, he’ll be fine,” CJ reassured her. “We do this all the time.”

  The shuttle crew watched as Cal used the thruster suit to close the distance to the Altered Moon and approach the port shuttle bay door.

  “The port door is twisted badly.” Cal reported over the comms. “I don’t think it’s gonna move. The starboard door is damaged, but the control arms are intact. I’m gonna need the Chief out here.”

  Katy watched Cal through the view port while she waited for the airlock to depressurize. “Already at the hatch, Cal,” she said over the comms, as she cracked the outer seal of the airlock and joined Cal

  “Stellar, portside is gonna be tough,” Cal said. “But we may be able to push the starboard door out.”

  “May not have to,” Katy said. “Each door has its own override controls.” She opened the override panel and initiated the opening sequence for the starboard door. The massive door lifted away from them, as it opened to its fullest extent. Katy tried the same thing for the portside door, but two of the eight control arms were twisted so badly they couldn’t extend. “Cal, man these controls and open the door when I say to.”

  “You got it, Chief.” Cal moved in to the control panel and then turned to watch Katy. “All set.”

  She got a cutting laser from the maintenance locker and tethered herself off to the bulkhead. Turning off the magnetic soles of her boots, she pushed off the deck with her legs. Katy sailed through the shuttle bay and grabbed the doorframe by the damaged control arm that was farthest away. She wrapped a leg around a strut and hooked her other foot under an anchor bracket to set her position. In under a minute, she lasered up and began to cut away the damaged part of the control arm.

  In short order, she cut off the damaged sections of both control arms in question and gave Cal the go-ahead to open the port door. He hit the open icon and the damaged door managed to open about halfway before the rest of the damage forced it to a stop.

  Katy updated everyone. “Okay, the opening between the two doors is plenty to get Moonshadow through and we’ll be able to close those most of the way, but there’s no way we’re going to get it to seal up again without major repair. You’ll have to offload in EV suits.”

  “Copy that, Chief,” CJ said over the comms. “If everything’s clear we’ll set her down.”

  “Affirmative, bring her in.”

  The streamlined bulk of Moonshadow came into view slid down through the doors and settled down neatly on the deck. The landing gear locked in place as the docking clamps closed over the top of them. The side hatch opened and the landing ramp descended, which meant they depressurized the main compartment to deal with the shuttle bay’s depressurization as well. Katy had heard something earlier over the comms about a new cook, but was surprised that the person who came out was small enough they had to cinch the EV suit down to fit. Katy brought the bay doors down as much as they would go. After everyone was in, Cal cycled the airlock and opened the hatch.

  Boss, Cat, and GABI waited on the inside for the airlock to cycle through the pressurization phase. Cat helped Cal open the bulky airlock hatch and the group came through, which included one that was about a hundred and thirty centimeters tall with the face of a young girl, who peered through the faceplate of the oversized EV suit. They removed their helmets and Cal introduced the new cook to the crew while they walked to the squad bay to stow their gear.

  “Everyone, this is Penelope…” Cal started to say. “Hey, what is your last name, Pene?”

  “Penelope Andrea Burnette,” she answered. “But my mom always called me Pene.”

  “Pene, this is Science Officer and First Mate, Boss Keltzer.”

  “Hello, Pene, welcome aboard,” Boss said with a smile.

  “Hi. You’re the boss?” she asked visibly confused.

  “Only when he’s not around.” Boss nodded in CJ’s direction. “Boss is what people call me, or S.O., which is short for science officer.”

  “And this is our Chief Medical Officer, Zhu Katsu,” Cal said next.

  “Hi, Pene, and you can call me Cat.” She shook Pene’s hand and noticed right away the swollen nose and fresh bruising under her eyes.

  Pene smiled and said, “Hi, Doctor Cat.”

  “This is GABI, our operations officer.”

  “Hello, Penelope Andrea Burnette, what a beautiful name you have,” GABI said pleasantly.

  “Thank you, hello.” Pene reached to shake her hand, but Cal tried to explain that she was seeing an interactive three-dimensional image of GABI.

  “Oh, it’s a hologram,” Pene said simply. “So where are you?”

  “I am currently on the bridge.”

  “I have a hologram picture of my mom in my stuff.”

  “I would love to see it sometime.”

  “And this is Katy Latimer. She is our chief engineer,” he whispered the last part loud enough for all to hear, “and the Captain’s girlfriend.”

  “He’s your boyfriend?” she asked Katy with a shy smile.

  “Yeah”—Katy smiled back—“as long as he behaves. Come on. I’ll show you where to stow your EV gear.” Katy took the helmet from Pene and stuck it on the top shelf of the suit locker. “This goes up here. Let’s get you unwrapped.” Pene unsealed the gloves and boots, and then the triple layer interface between the top and bottom halves of the suit before she slipped the top over her head.

  Pene’s wavy and somewhat snarled black hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail, hanging to the middle of her back. She had a cute round face with blue eyes and pale skin. Her clothes were dingy and worn around the cuffs and hems. Her shoes were little more than a ragged pair of slippers.

  Cat looked over at CJ to ask what had happened to Pene and noticed the bandages for the first time since he took his helmet off. “Captain, your head!” She was startled she hadn’t seen it before now.

  “Seedge!” Katy cried out, as she saw it for the first time as well. “By the Light of the Stars! What the hell happened over there?”

  “Eh, it looks worse than it is,” CJ said.

  The streaks of dried blood that ran down his neck alarmed Cat even more, as Katy helped him pull the EV top over his head.

  “Captain, we need to get you to med bay,” Cat said sternly so there was no question about it. “Pene, you too hon. Anyone else wounded?” Cat looked specifically at Cal.

  “No, I’m good.” He held up his hands and shook his head.

  “Okay, you two, med bay,” Cat said to CJ and Pene.

  CJ winked at Pene and said, “We’d better do what the doctor orders, eh?”

  “Yes, sir, we should, Captain.” Pene nodded.

  “Boss, are we jump capable?” CJ asked before he and Pene left with Cat.

  “Aye, sir.”

  “Let’s go see Nelson,” CJ told him with a grimace from the pain in his head.

  “Aye, sir, Cantankerous Base, it is.”

  *~*~*

  Chapter Fourteen

  The jump to Cantankerous Base was much less trouble than it was at the time of the Kang invasion for two reasons: one, the border between the Marlacuer Empire and the Arzian Alliance had been mostly demilitarized since the two opened diplomatic negotiations, and two, GABI now had the ability to quantum jump to a destination inside a star system’s gravity well. The last trip to Arzian space was by ‘back alley’ space routes through a dangerous radiation zone and took more than a week at star-drive speeds.

  The Altered
Moon held somewhat of a celebrity status at CB, having been designed and built by the base’s founder, Nelson Moon. GABI’s creation and ‘birth’ were part of the same operation. Nelson’s plan was to train GABI’s artificial mind by linking to a Human mind for a time. After GABI’s training was complete, Nelson intended to take the Altered Moon, just himself and GABI, and explore the far reaches of space, never to return.

  Boss Keltzer volunteered to be the Human mind that was connected to GABI for training. Her job was to act as a middleman between the Human captain and the main computer of the Altered Moon. Boss and GABI were out on an unauthorized ‘test flight’ when Nelson’s facility was attacked and destroyed. By the time they got back to the facility, there was nothing left but a smoldering pile of rubble and they assumed Nelson had been killed along with everyone else. Years later, they found out Nelson had escaped and fled the Marlacuer Empire to the Arzian Alliance.

  Nelson set up shop inside of Tarris, one of the creepiest planets in the galaxy. Decades ago, the planet’s atmosphere had been wiped away by careless flirtation with quantum shield power on a planet-wide scale. A series of emitters were placed all around the world to project a planetary quantum energy shield. The new machine didn’t work as they expected. It didn’t create a barrier around the atmosphere, it simply sent the atmosphere somewhere else, and the planet instantly withered from the immediate exposure to open space.

  The planet developed a bizarre atmosphere of its own over the years which resulted in giving Tarris the reputation of being the planet of the dead, with an atmosphere made up of millions of corpses and inanimate objects that had managed to free float from the surface of the airless dead planet. Gravity, inertia, and centrifugal forces all fought for dominance over the ill-fated tidbits of Human civilization.

  CJ walked onto the bridge, sporting a new hairdo, or lack thereof, and fresh bandages. The normally collar-length wavy blond hair had been trimmed down close to the scalp so Cat could apply the medbond and not glue his hair into the wound as well.

  “Status, Mr. Keltzer?” CJ took his seat in the captain’s chair.

  “We are twenty-five thousand kilometers from Cantankerous Base, Captain.”

  “Hail them.”

  Boss poked the ship-to-ship icon. “Cantankerous Base, Cantankerous Base, this is the Altered Moon, how do you read?”

  “This is Cantankerous Base, we read you loud and clear, Altered Moon, you are clear to approach. Welcome back.”

  “Roger that, CB, and thank you,” Boss replied. “ETA twenty minutes.”

  “Copy that, we’ll have the doors open,” the controller said back.

  “Okay, G, take us in,” CJ said.

  “Aye, sir.” Gina brought the Moon up to standard star-drive speed and fifteen minutes later the ball of the planet Tarris began to stand out against the stars. Gina spun the ship around and fired the engines to bring their speed down to a maneuvering level to enter planetary orbit.

  “What’s different?” CJ asked as they got nearer to the dead planet.

  “There is no debris field,” GABI said.

  “Right and look, a new control tower on the surface,” Boss said.

  In the past, a huge mound of rubble on the surface of the dead planet moved aside to expose a set of doors that led to the docking bays inside the planet. Now the mass of rubble was gone and a newly built flight control complex sat next to the massive doors. The doors stood open and a corridor led to Cantankerous Base proper.

  The corridor led to a second set of doors equal in size to the first. Four giant light panels surrounded the doors, one on each side and two over the top. A bright red light flashed three times as the doors split and slid away. An incredibly loud and annoying klaxon blared six times any time the doors opened or closed. The light panels flashed green three times; then they went solid green as the doors opened completely.

  The Altered Moon flew through yet another set of doors, the third of twelve in the corridor, and turned left into a massive hangar with a universal dry dock frame in the center. The dry dock rose up and unfolded to a shape that would fit the Moon’s fuselage anchor points perfectly.

  Gina set the ship down neatly in the dry dock cradle and cut the thrusters. A large sign over the bulkhead in front of them read ‘Cantankerous Base – Dry Dock Three’ in bright utility yellow. The environment status panel under the sign showed in glowing red, ‘DEPRESSURIZED.’

  “Altered Moon, this is Cantankerous Base dockmaster, how do you read?”

  “Loud and clear, Cantankerous Base, this is CJ Evermore, Captain of the Altered Moon, go ahead.”

  “Welcome, Captain Evermore and crew of the Altered Moon. Please stay aboard your ship until the docking bay has pressurized.”

  After a few minutes, a loud bell rang out, and the environment status panel changed to a green sign that read, ‘PRESSURIZED – CLEAR TO DISEMBARK.’

  “Altered Moon, Captain, you are clear to disembark.”

  “Roger that, Dockmaster and thank you. Altered Moon out. Gina, stand down from flight operations. GABI, power down all systems.” He poked the master channel icon on the comms panel. “Attention crew, power down and lock off all systems. Prepare to disembark.”

  A tall man in a dark blue suit with a white shirt and red tie came through the dry dock access hatch when it depressurized and waited for them at the bottom of the gangway lift.

  “If that’s not a bureaucrat, I’ll eat my hat,” Boss whispered to his crewmates.

  “That’s Thaddeus, if you remember, sir,” Cal reminded Boss. “He’s the station executive coordinator now, second only to Nelson himself.”

  “Ah, yes, I do remember now. I was right—bureaucrat.”

  “I think you’d be surprised, sir,” Cal said. “He’s a man who can get things done.”

  “Hey, I remember that guy now,” CJ said with a nod. “He was always in the background.”

  “Hello and welcome!” Thaddeus smiled and waved at CJ and the crew as they came down the lift. “Hello, Captain Evermore, I am Coordinator Tad Postlewaite. A pleasure to see you again.” He shook hands with CJ and greeted everyone else individually as well. “Mr. Keltzer.”

  “Call me Boss, please.”

  “Thank you, Boss. Ms. Riley, a pleasure.”

  “Same here, Tad.”

  ”Doctor Katsu, hello. Our medical facility is at your disposal, should you need it.”

  “Thank you, Tad. We need to restock a few things.”

  “We’ll see them filled. Chief Latimer, I assume you would like to head up the repair team yourself? Tell us what you need and we’ll get it done.”

  “Thank you, Tad. I’ll hold ya to that.”

  “Our pleasure. Cal, it’s good to see you again, my friend.”

  “And you, Tad. Congratulations on the appointment, Coordinator Postlewaite.” Cal gave him a smile and slight bow.

  “Thank you, Cal. It helped to be the only one interested in the job,” he finished with a laugh. “GABI, a great pleasure, indeed.”

  “Likewise, Coordinator.”

  “Well, hello” The tall man leaned over and shook Pene’s hand, surprised to see one so young among the crew.

  “Hello, I’m Penelope Andrea Burnette, but you can call me Pene.”

  “Thank you, Pene. I am Thaddeus William Postlewaite, but you can call me Tad,” he said with a smile.

  “Thank you, Tad.” She smiled back.

  “Captain, I see injuries.” Tad indicated the bandages. “Do any of you need medical attention?”

  “No, we’re okay for the moment, thanks,” CJ replied, as he shared a smiled with Pene.

  “Very good, then if you’ll follow me, I’ll show you to your quarters.” He led the way to the access hatch and out into the corridor. The others followed behind him and each in turn encountered a large fluffy white dog with dark brown eyes and black nose and lips, who sat quietly in the corridor. The dog regarded each person and then continued to pant on indifferently.

  “Yo
u have a dog?” CJ asked.

  “Yes, that’s Snow. I had him bred up from a pure genetic sample,” Tad explained.

  “Oh, he’s beautiful,” Pene said. “May I pet him?”

  “Yes, go ahead, he’s quite well mannered.”

  “Is that a Samoyed breed?” Boss asked.

  “Yes, actually,” Tad said surprised. “Are you familiar with Terran dog breeds?”

  “Boss is familiar with everything from ancient Earth,” Gina said with mock exasperation.

  “Ah, I see. Please, this way,” Tad said with a smile. Snow got up from where he sat by Pene and fell in at Tad’s left knee. Anytime they’d stop, Snow would sit and wait patiently. “Nelson sends his apologies for not being able to meet you himself. He says that anything you need, you shall have.”

  “What, he’s too busy with wine, women, and song to come and greet his old friends?” Boss joked about his dear friend.

  “The commute would be a bit long, I’m afraid.” Tad smiled. “Nelson is on Keect.”

  “He’s on the Keect’na home world?” Boss exclaimed. “Talk about dream vacations!”

  “Yes, he has been there for the last couple of months.”

  “Isn’t the environment hostile to Humans?” Cat asked.

  “Yes, very. The high surface pressure would crush a Human being instantly, not to mention that Keect is quite hot. A perfect environment for our living crystal friends, though.”

  “So, how is he surviving?” Katy asked.

  “The Keect’na have supplied him with one of their ships to serve as his research base. He was the first Human to visit Keect eighteen months, or so, ago. He’s been back three times since.”

  “Was the first? There have been more?” Gina asked.

  “Oh, yes. The Keect’na are quite accommodating, actually. They are just as curious about us as we are about them. The Keect’na and Human technology interactions have yielded some very unexpected results. The recent discoveries have been phenomenal!”