Until the dawn, p.3
Until the Dawn, page 3
"Yes, but the Waywardsman has new, state-of-the-art systems," William pointed out.
"That is a valid point," mused Trey thoughtfully. "None of our stuff has officially been used yet on official, operational vessels. Perhaps our software and hardware isn't as vulnerable."
"It's got to be something else," Melissa objected. "All signals from Earth are gone, primarily because of interference from the massive bombing and attacks on the orbiting satellites." She listened closely for a moment. "But the local wireless traffic is full of ship-in-distress calls. If they were electronically jamming everyone's systems, we wouldn't be able to hear those." She looked at them, white-faced with terror. "Would we?"
"If you'll excuse me," the Colonel said solemnly, "I'm going to go see about assembling my Marines. Don't stay above ground for too much longer, folks." he cautioned sternly, and then headed for the closest exit.
"Have you been able to raise the Commander of that supply shuttle?" Norris asked curiously.
"No, sir. If they're still alive then they've stopped transmitting on their end."
Trey had put on a set of headphones and was listening intently. "We're getting creamed," he said, whistling softly. "The military has lost entire warships already."
"Could it be some sort of EMP weapon?"
"No way," Trey replied. "You could blow up the biggest nuke we've got right next door to one of those newer combat starships and its electronics would still work. The people on board would fry before the systems shut down." He continued listening intently for several minutes, and the Operations room became totally silent.
"Can you continue monitoring from the hangar bay?" wondered Norris.
"Affirmative," Trey responded. "Most of our fancier stuff is either on or around the Waywardsman anyway.
"Then let's shut this stuff off and get down there, too. The thirty minutes that I advised others about will be up soon."
* * *
The underground hangar bay was huge… and it had to be. In its center sat the Waywardsman, the most advanced long-term exploratory Earth vessel ever built. Its central fuselage was lengthy and massive, designed to accommodate a large population numbering near a thousand. Sprouting from its dorsal hull at 45 degree angles were the top two "wings". The port wing, called the "Garden", was duly named due to the entire, self-contained flower and farm gardens located within. The starboard "Livestock" wing was more like a space ranch – holding all kinds of small animals and livestock. The two were connected along the top of the fuselage, allowing insects and other small creatures to move freely from one wing to the other. It was an engineering marvel.
Two identical wings sprouted similarly from the bottom of the fuselage. One housed a complete electronics, software and hardware "Laboratory", while the other was an "Observatory" filled with telescopes and other types of astronomical equipment. Nestled neatly between the two lower wings was a roomy launch bay, containing half a dozen shuttles along with room for a dozen single-pilot fighter craft.
Hatches along the entire port side of the starship's ground level hangar bay were open and waiting. Hundreds of people were streaming through the access points and into the Waywardsman, responding as quickly as possible to the unexpected evacuation notice. Stationed just in front of the bow of the large vessel was an armed Marine squad led by Colonel Murray Emerson. Next to him stood Captain Norris, Melissa Hastings and Trey Rem. In front of them was just one of many science stations designed to monitor the Waywardsman's key systems. Currently it was capturing and recording all communications traffic from the vast depths of the solar system surrounding the moon.
"It looks like we're going to have to test your new ship sooner than expected," Murray commented, surveying the organized crowds of people moving aboard.
"Quite possible," replied Norris grimly. "What's the word, Trey?"
"Like I said, we're getting creamed," he replied. "At least half the fleet is gone, including the flagship. Admiral Henry of the Lexington has taken command of the surviving fleet." Trey paused, listening closely. "He's ordering all allied ships to rendezvous at Neptune, where they're planning to organize a counter-strike." He studied a list of received transmissions and shook his head. "So far, there is nothing from the Russians or the Chinese. If their ships are still intact, they're being extremely quiet."
"That would be my first choice," nodded Norris with a sigh. "Someone caused us to blink long enough to surprise our primary fleet. It's possible that the Russians and the Chinese were even less prepared than we were. I know a couple of their Captains and haven't heard a word. Several of them would have warned me."
The kid appeared genuinely intrigued. "How do you know them?"
Smiling, Norris tousled Rem's unkempt brown hair with the fingers of his left hand. "While you toil endlessly down here in the underground lunar caverns, some of us up on the surface have been acting as diplomats. The top levels of the base are declassified, and we have at times re-supplied ships from other nations."
"When do we lift off?" asked Colonel Emerson cautiously.
"Is that really necessary at this point?" Norris studied the hard lines of the Colonel's face closely. "Shouldn't we wait and see if they know about us?"
"They know about us!" Melissa said sharply from her position next to Trey Rem. "I have multiple radar contacts overhead, and one of them is the biggest signal I've ever seen. It has to be one of those unknowns."
"Where would they hide a fleet big enough to engage most of the world's fleets?" wondered Norris, clearly intrigued. "This Brotherhood must have been planning to engage us for quite some time. Before today, I've never even heard of them."
The hangar bay rumbled ominously around them. As soon as the sound began to die down, another rumble – this one much louder – rocked the entire underground complex. Sounds of metal fatigue filled the hangar, and equipment setting on the ground began to vibrate. Several of the consoles in front of Trey and Melissa abruptly went dark – either from damage or lack of power. With everything that was happening, it was difficult to tell at a glance.
"So I guess they're nuking the Operations Center," decided Trey wryly. "It's lucky I'm used to being down here all the time, because we're probably going to be here a while."
"They're bombing the surface, definitely," Norris replied, as more nearby explosions rumbled through the surrounding cavern. "They're going easy on us – just taking out the above ground base. If they were using thermonuclear bombs, we would know." He thought carefully for a moment and then came to a decision. "Colonel, get your troops ready… as soon as an opportunity presents itself we're evacuating this base in the Waywardsman. We can't take a chance that our unknown enemy won't get to us down here."
"One problem, sir," pointed out Trey. "We can't go to Neptune. The planet is currently orbiting right through the center of a massive radiation cloud that will fry our new CAS Drive if we're not careful." He smiled and shrugged his shoulders. "I never know when we might go out there, so I watch the weather reports."
"Admiral Henry included a route through the cloud in his last military transmission," Melissa pointed out.
"No way," responded Trey. "The CAS Drive's main software is still being fine-tuned. That's why I was planning to have you temporarily park her on the surface. From there, we could make direct adjustments to the hardware and software in a non-atmospheric environment.
"Then we don't go to Neptune, at least not yet," decided Norris. "We'll find another location, and hook up with surviving vessels later." He turned his attention to Melissa. "How many enemy ships are we dealing with?"
"Just one now," she reported. "The larger vessel has completed its attack on the complex and has transited away. I've got one enemy transport ship on its way down – everything else has left the area."
"I suppose they know about the underground part of the base, too," Trey ventured nervously.
"Affirmative," Melissa responded. "The transport is setting down less than 100 meters from the edge of our overhead hangar doors."
"Looks like it's time for me to find the Colonel," Norris said. "Everyone else get into the ship. And have the command crew prep the ship for liftoff."
"We're nowhere near ready to use the CAS Drive," Trey objected, "Captain, we could really damage our systems if we don't make proper adjustments to the software first."
"Don't worry," Norris replied, patting the nervous computer specialist on his shoulder.
"We'll use the standard PTP drive for now. You'll get your chance to complete the work; it'll just have to be done out in space instead of on the lunar surface."
* * *
"Those uniforms don't look like Russian or Chinese to me," Colonel Emerson said flatly, turning to regard the Captain thoughtfully. "Just who the devil is responsible for all of this chaos? It couldn't be us… right?"
Norris chose not to respond, for the moment. The two of them were standing near one of the airlock entrances that opened out onto the lunar surface. On one of the monitors they watched a squadron of forty or so white, space-suited soldiers marching directly toward them. They were closely following a leader wearing a completely black colored space suit. None of the suits appeared to have any recognizable types of identifying marks or emblems. Approximately fifty meters from the door the encroaching soldiers halted their approach. The person leading them continued forward and stopped just outside the airlock. There was no other signal of any kind… whoever it was just stood there patiently waiting.
"Do we let him in?" asked Norris, glancing uncertainly at the Colonel.
"As long as his troops stay right where they are, yes," replied Murray. "You did say you wanted us to stall them as long as possible?"
"That's an affirmative," the Captain replied. "As far as intelligence goes, unless they've directly interrogated our President they should believe our project is way behind schedule. They also shouldn't know that the Waywardsman has a backup PTP drive, in addition to the brand new CAS system." He looked quickly at his watch. "However, Trey and the others will need a few more minutes to complete the pre-flight process. We've been planning to land the ship on the moon's surface anyway, so it shouldn't take him long."
The Colonel motioned to the two marines on either side of him. Both immediately took up defensive postures and raised their weapons cautiously. Murray then turned back to Norris and nodded.
There was a loud hiss audible as Norris released the lock on the outer door. They heard it open and close – followed by a long pause as the airlock re-pressurized. Glancing cautiously at the Marines, the Captain shook his head in frustration and released the lock on the inner door. It opened slowly, and the space-suited figure entered the inner corridor. As soon as the airlock door closed tightly shut, the newcomer unlocked and removed the suit's helmet.
The man in the space suit had long dark hair pulled back in a ponytail and handsome, Eurasian features. He was extremely well-muscled, and smiled slightly at the looks of astonishment on the faces of the men surrounding him. "My name is Horrend 627," he stated matter-of-factly, "You may call me Horrend. I am here to demand your unconditional surrender."
"I am Captain William Norris," replied the Captain. "I hope you don't mind if we ask you a few questions first."
"Not at all," Horrend replied far too politely, inhaling a deep breath of fresh air. "Just understand that I am authorized to spare your lives if you surrender unconditionally. Resistance of any kind will result in the recall of my warship and your immediate destruction."
"Are you a member of this Brotherhood we've been hearing about?" asked Murray. The look on his face betrayed his confusion. "What nation do you represent?"
"Yes, I am a member," replied Horrend. "And I represent all nations, actually. Today a new order is forming on Earth, and there will be a centralized, governing body. Borders as you knew them will cease to exist within days. Earth and its resources are ours, now. As I have already stated, it would be wise for you to surrender yourselves to me without resistance. It will spare innocent lives. No more need die today."
"How can you do this?" Norris demanded, his face reddening. "My mother and father are back on Earth for God's sake. Is there even anything left of it?"
"You are wasting my time," Horrend said casually with more than a hint of arrogance. "Please lower your weapons and allow my troops to enter. I will continue to answer your questions as they secure the base." He smiled again and held out his hands. "Please… think of your comrades," he said. "We know you have almost eight hundred people – most of them civilians – stationed at this base."
"We are prepared to evacuate," Norris replied firmly. "All I have to do is say the word and the Waywardsman will be out of here before you can blink twice."
"That's a bluff and you know it Captain," Horrend replied. He stepped forward and looked Norris right in the eyes. "Your CAS system remains un-perfected. Without PTP capability, you're reliant on standard thrusters and just a duck in our shooting gallery. My people will complete the enhancements to your new ship. Now step aside – I will not ASK you again."
Murray nodded at his two Marines and they turned to take Horrend into custody. The Eurasian spun so quickly that no one had time to react. He picked up one of the Marines effortlessly with both hands and tossed him across the corridor and into the wall. Then his left hand closed just as fast around Colonel Emerson's throat and proceeded to lift him as well. The Colonel began gasping for breath, and Horrend smiled malevolently at him with an expression of total arrogance.
Norris spun to attack the intruder but the second Marine beat him to the punch. Several shots rang out, and Horrend's smile faded as quickly as it had appeared. He dropped the Colonel and staggered forward, trying to get at the remaining guard. The Marine fired twice more before Horrend finally slowed and toppled backward.
"Don't worry Private, he forced our hand!" Emerson told the marine who had fired. The man's face was pale and filled with fear – he was staring in shock at the spreading blood stains on the floor. The Colonel stood up slowly and then cautiously checked Horrend's unmoving form for signs of life. "Did you see the strength he has?" He moved next to check on the other marine, who – aside from an injured arm – appeared to be okay.
"Yes," mused Norris with frustration. "Obviously, this man has genetic enhancements. And that is a violation of just how many treaties? Well… I couldn't say just now without a whole lot of research."
"Who the hell made him?"
"Obviously, he is a product of this mysterious Brotherhood that we're hearing so much about today," Norris replied, looking over at the monitor. Its image still showed the motionless soldiers, standing on the lunar surface above while patiently waiting for orders. "But I think our course is clear. We've got to get the hell out of here while we still have the chance to do so!"
Hide And Seek
UNTIL THE DAWN
Chapter II: Hide and Seek
* * *
The Command Dome on Waywardsman was bustling with activity when they got back. People all around the cavernous room were moving as quickly as they could, getting the ship ready for launch. In the background, Norris could hear the sound of the ship's maneuvering thrusters warming up as he helped the wounded Marine he was carrying. Murray and the other Marine were right behind him. Curious, Norris glanced at the wounded man next to him.
"What's your name, son?"
"Corporal Brad Keenan, sir," the man replied. He winced in pain as the Captain eased him cautiously into a chair alongside one of the larger computer consoles.
"You stay right here, Brad." Norris ordered as he turned to face the others. "Melissa, please ask Dr. Simon to come up here. "I'm pretty sure his arm is broken."
"Yes sir," she replied, activating intra-ship communications. "Dr. Cassie Simon, please report to the Command Dome. I repeat, will Dr. Simon please report to the Command Dome."
Melissa turned back to her console, struggling to keep focused. Amidst the buzz of working people moving past her, she continued to hear comments about the possible destruction of Earth's population. She couldn't help but wonder about her family and friends back in Kansas. She had a couple of older brothers and a younger sister... they all worked hard to keep a farm there thriving.
What would things be like now? How many, if any, had survived? She couldn't help thinking about these things in the back of her mind, but diligently made sure the bulk of her attention kept focusing on the status reports and flashing indicators on the console in front of her.
"Point-to-Point computer is on-line and ready, Captain." She noticed that Norris was standing behind her, rather than joining the rest of the command crew in the dome's ringed central control center. "Maneuvering thrusters are active. We're pre-flighted and ready."
"Anything on motion sensors?" asked Norris.
"No sir, but our security surveillance shows the soldiers that were waiting outside the airlock you just came from are busy forcing their way in. They obviously know we're planning to try and leave."
