Chapter 5

“Chief Commander, I’m glad to find you well sir, how are the preparations?”

“Great to see you as well, Mrs. Nichols. Everything is coming along as planned. We are fully operational and ready for the final supervised testing to begin.” Chief Commander Quincy responded.

“Very good” Mrs. Nichols turned to address the full audience of the staff meeting in the conference chamber.

“Hello everyone, I would like to begin promptly to conserve our time.” She paused and allowed the chatter to clear.

“I am speaker of the Earth Union Council, Mrs. Sandra Nichols. I am very grateful that you have invited myself and the rest of the cabinet here to be a part of this historic time. I don’t say that as your leader. I say that as your peer; a fellow human standing before the universe in awe at my smallness. I am humbled to be allowed this opportunity to reach for the stars with our arms wide in friendship. Thank you.” She finished with her hands clasped in front of her as she bowed her head in thanks.

“Right to business then, Commander Quincy?” Nichols asked.

“Yes sir, let’s get to it.”

Mrs. Nichols smiled and looked down at her list and called “Chief engineer of the base Polk Antees and Chief engineer of Drop operations Daniel Mariner.”

“Sir.”

“Sir.” they acknowledge in turn.

“All energy systems and Drop equipment are functioning fully.” “All tests have been within expected parameters and we are ready to make our final round of testing and make the manned Drop.”

“Excellent, I’m glad to hear it” Mrs. Nichols nodded her approval.

She looked again at her list “Chief of medicine: Allen Stevson.”

“Sir,” Stevson acknowledged. “All staff are healthy. Drop crew are being monitored daily and are all in good working health. Test systems are ready to record Drop travel biological data.”

“Sounds quite busy. Keep up the good work.”

“Chief of Operations: Lunara Allen.” Mrs. Nichols called again from her list.

“Sir, all operations are scheduled and prepared. We are ready for final testing and observations in preparation for manned launch.” She spoke in a sweet but confident voice.

“Thank you, my dear, some might argue you have the toughest job of all making these schedules tick.” Mrs. Nichols said.

“To all staff, welcome. I am excited to work with you and hear your reports during our final inspections and cannot wait to experience the first manned relativistic warp to another star system together!”

The staff applauded lightly in agreement with her sentiment.

“Let’s begin basic reports and get this thing rolling. Please remain grouped by departments. I want to make sure everyone here is on the same page so that everything runs smoothly.”

“Chief Commander, let’s begin with your basic report.”

“Oh man, this is going to be a long day.” Phil said quietly to Darek. Phil kept staring up and out through the domed cathedral of stars above him. This room had a very large and high-reaching transparent dome ceiling. It was tall enough that it almost looked like there wasn’t a ceiling, just a large dugout in the moon where they gathered for meetings.

“Okay,” Chief Commander Quincy began. “Harnessing vast amounts of energy, we are going to break a simple law to create a quantum-gravitational bridge. We are going to teleport quantum particles from a mass of matter to a quantum-precise location ten thousand meters off the Drop ship port. Upon teleportation the particles will occupy an area so small they will have a density great enough to warp space-time, and we have learned to teleport the particles gradually to control its size and efficiency – thanks to the fine-tuned efforts of our nano-regulators. When the Drop hole is established, we will release the crew in the Drop ship, allowing it to fall across the bridge. The hole will remain open and communication channels will remain intact, traveling continually back and forth across the bridge to monitor progress and health. Crew will pilot the vessel toward the nearest habitable planet of the star system, which should take no more than thirty minutes based on our simulations. From that point, the crew will scan the planet extensively and record all data. Upon task completion, the ship will use maneuvering thrusters to return to and through the hole. The ship’s descent to the base will be controlled with nanotech management integration, which is actually a new addition - a program written by one of our nano-technicians, Darek Grant.”

Darek raised his hand slightly and smiled as the Commander pointed him out. He made a short, uneasy half glance over at Phil, who sat looking straight ahead blankly. Mrs. Nichols looked over, nodded respectfully, and looked back to the commander. “And what else do we need to know about the process? Have any other improvements been made?”

“No Sir, everything is as it was on my last report to you. Honestly, sir, we don’t need to waste your time with this formal proceeding, we’ll do all the talking here and all the showing there, and none of it will make sense after a while so spread apart. I feel it’s easiest just to divide and meet us within our departments as you tour the final walkthrough. We want to maintain efficiency and maximize your time, sir, we’ve prepared a tentative schedule and are ready to execute if you wish.”

The Leader reviewed what she was just handed, looking happily taken aback. “You know, Commander. This is why you’ve made it to commanding our moon base. You somehow always know how to make the lives around you easier.”

“Thank you, sir, that is quite a complement.”

“These arrangements seem to be fine enough, I look forward to these two slots, lunch and dinner, I’ve heard good things about the nutritionists work up here. Let’s proceed after one brief introduction.” She gestured to the group of her co-council members who were taking part in the inspections. A tall and sharp looking female rose from the center of the second row and stepped forward. Her dark hair and eyes contrasted with her pale skin, but prominent features made her more intimidating than anything, looking like she could slice through you with a glance alone.

“This is Christen Pierce. She will be transferring to your base upon our orders, effective today. We have created a new position that we feel is wise moving forward given our constant success to date. Ms. Pierce will serve as your chief of defense. As of now, she will serve as the sole inhabitant of that field of responsibility and will analyze both the base and the Drop ships, and plan for security enhancements for defensive purposes. If you continue to be successful, Commander, we might need them.”

The Commander looked surprised at first, but neutral to the announcement overall “Welcome.” He held out a hand to the new Chief of defense. Some staff had subtly different reactions; most were caught off guard, but the light tension released as the two shook hands firmly in front of everyone. “Thank you, sir.” Pierce said audibly for the chamber in her deep voice.

“Well, if this schedule is set to accomplish the tasks of this meeting, then I believe this meeting is complete, is it not?” Mrs. Nichols asked.

“I would have to agree, sir, and if you look closely, we’ve scheduled you in some rest time now to prepare for the day,” The Commander replied warmly. “Excellent.” She nodded. “Dismissed.”

Lunara, the Chief of operations, stood and walked over to the new Chief of defense and offered an introduction. The rest of the staff got up cautiously at first. All expected this to be a days’ worth of meeting, but now within twenty minutes they had been dismissed. After the chiefs made it to the center and were clearly engaged in conversations, the staff seemed to ease up and move out faster, no longer waiting for a trap.

“Dude! We just got so lucky! Can you believe it!?” “And look at the schedule, we don’t go till next week. Duuuude, do you want to test Hando tonight??” Darek almost pleaded.

“Hell yeah, let’s go ahead as planned but we’ll do everything tonight.” Phil said firmly, still surprised at what just happened.

“Sounds good.” Darek responded, but his tone cut in a way suggesting he had more words just behind his teeth. With slight hesitation, Darek lowered his voice and became serious. “Ya know, I still don’t like that both of our names aren’t on that landing sequence program. You gave me the idea and helped me through some tough spots. WE worked on that together. I don’t like that you won’t take some credit.”

“Nah, man, you started it and got it rolling and presented it.” Phil said, “I don’t want the credit.”

“But Phil, you always do this sort of thing. Why don’t you just recognize what you’re worth? You contribute a lot and don’t take credit. I don’t like being part of you selling yourself short.”

“I appreciate it, but seriously, don’t worry about it.” Phil’s voice was level when he made that statement, matching the quiet of Darek’s. His eyes had faded back away from the moment again as he walked with his stare locked forward and down. Darek knew not to press any further, he could always tell when Phil was thinking, but especially when it was a concern. Even though Phil was on top of his emotions, Darek had learned his subtle cues after working closely for so long. He could tell something was weighing on Phil, but he would never get the answer by pressing. He would talk in his own time, he always did.

***

Later that night as Phil was setting up the camera in the lab lounge, Darek came in smiling wide and carrying Phil’s rather large but still discreet black box at his side. He locked the door and laid the case out on a table away from the view of the camera. They had decided it would be best to test the equipment while a Drop test was going on, before it actually launched, because people would be distracted.

“We’ll put our bio monitors on and have the equipment relay the information straight to my tablet. It will capture everything and record it for later, and keep it out of the base logs.”

“Sounds good.” Darek said happily as he examined the box. Phil gathered the controller and pills and flicked music on with a few taps to his wrist computer.

Phil closed and secured the box again. He took the Hando remote out of his pocket, flashed it at Darek, and they both sat down.

“Ready, Darek?”

“Ready, Phil!” They gesticulated back and forth. Phil dropped a pill into Darek’s hand. “Let’s pop’em quick.” At that, they tossed the pills back and sipped from their drinks.

“So, you think it’s going to work?” Darek asked.

“It should. I’m honestly a little scared - and sad. This has been my side project forever; I can’t wait to see it in person. I hope it’s totally awesome and everything I planned it to be. Oh man, I feel giddy like a schoolgirl. Whatever, though! I’m excited again! This is awesome man, thanks for helping me out.”

“Are you kidding? You basically said ‘hey Darek, come get high and watch cartoons with me.’ Actually, you DID say ‘hey Darek come get high and watch cartoons with me,’ of course I’m going to say yes.”

Phil powered up the flying saucer shaped controller by rubbing a clockwise circle on its top side. Immediately the edge lights lit blue and the central dome glowed red. “Communication is good, not in location yet. Shouldn’t be more than fifteen minutes.”

“Man, can you imagine what its gotta be like for them? They’re gonna be like a little army battalion on a mission for highness. The high army, deliverers of laughter, and happiness. I wonder if they know it. Can you imagine an army that fights hard just to bring literal happiness? That would be awesome.”

“Haha, rushing in like a cavalry of comedy. They’re just cruising the blood stream all cool. Then they break into the brain-neighborhood, the brainborhood, the breighborhood, yeah - and just hang out with everybody down there getting all friendly with the receptors.”

They went back and forth with more deep philosophical banter until Darek’s watch timer went off. Phil took the controller out of his pocket and lifted it in front of him as if to present to Darek a little. The dome was blue. He looked at Darek and smiled like a kid who was about to start a roller coaster ride. “Ready?”

They both sat perfectly square on their seats, feet flat on the floor and arms out at their sides in a relaxed position. “Ready” Darek responded. Both men looked forward. “Three… Two…. One,” and he lifted his arm and pushed the switch.

“Feel anything?” Darek asked after a few seconds but still didn’t move. “Not yet.” Phil checked the remote, and it was lit with white lines. “All systems are go, we’re blue on blue and my power lines are showing that it’s active.”

“Alright, well, we’ll just see what happens.”

The base PA chirped a call tone and the commander’s voice called over “Attention base crew, a previously unidentified object has just appeared on our local area scanners. Please return to quarters and take protective...” the commander’s announcement was cut off with a distant but loud boom. The floor vibrated and instantly with the vibration the warning siren and evacuation alarms blared.

Darek and Phil looked at each other, startled and afraid. Quickly, Phil muted his music and ran into the hall to see a few people dart past in panic in the strobing emergency lights. Their voices got swallowed by the alarm every time it sounded. “Darek lets go, this is real, we have to go!” Phil yelled and Darek snapped into action. They ran the evacuation route toward the emergency hangar as fast as they could. More deep rumbles and vibrations traveled through them as they heard yelling, and the evacuation lights and emergency alarms blared on. The tone was freakish. “I hate this!!” Darek yelled loudly as he guarded his ears from the dual-tone siren, but it still resonated through to their core.

“PHIL! DAREK!” It was Adrienne. “COME WITH US! OVER HERE! HURRY!”

They changed directions suddenly without taking time to think about it. They chased after Adrienne towards the hangars, closer now. There was more time between rumbles. As they ran the halls, the ceilings that would normally show brilliant clear stars were strewn with dust. Clouds floating by shrouded the scene beyond. “DAREK, LOOK! What happened?! DID WE JUST GET HIT BY METEORS?!” He yelled at the top of his lungs over the chaos.

Darek looked up as he ran, and fear gripped his face tighter. “Adrienne! ADRIENNE! WHAT HAPPENED TO THE BASE?!” Phil and Darek called after her, hoping for information.

They could see more crew running the same direction in the distance. They were getting closer, but the long straight path before them made it seem like their destination was always just another hundred meters away.

“THE DROP IS STILL ACTIVE.” Adrienne called back. “I SAW A SHIP. THERE IS SOMETHING OUT THERE. SOMETHING MOVING. LIKE A PLANE THROUGH AIR. BIGGER THAN OUR SHIPS. WAY MORE ADVANCED.”

Phil and Darek looked at each other, wide-eyed and skeptical. There’s no way it could be a ship. They had never found evidence of life anywhere else, let alone life advanced enough to be here now, and to have a ship - a highly advanced ship at that. That was too extreme to believe. “That can’t be possible.” Darek said as if to himself. It was clear his mind was racing as they finally reached the hangar and dashed to an escape ship. They followed Adrienne and she hopped into the pilot’s chair as a few more people ran in behind them. When all the seats were full only seconds later, the hatch slammed shut, leaving a darkness in which everyone shook and groaned at the shock of the unknown threat around them, most struggling to catch their breath from the sudden sprints that got them there. The fear and anxiety of what was unfolding made simple tasks difficult. They fumbled to buckle in, but Adrienne, a cool leader, was starting the launch procedures for their escape. A pop and a heavy force sunk them all back into their seats and the surrounding hangar and moonscape shot from view as they launched upward toward the stars.

Ahead through the window they could see a faint blue glow around a distortion that shimmered stars from another place. Adrienne released the auto control that would have returned them to Earth and instead steered the ship into the Drop hole. Everyone was silent and staring ahead, not knowing which moment they would die in, or if they would know when it happened.

The glow grew brighter and the hole larger as they approached. A familiar, relaxing buzz became apparent. Phil heard Darek let out a loud exhale. Shortly after, it seemed like everyone followed; he had the urge too and exhaled calm. The buzz gave them a euphoric feeling as they drifted closer to the hole and they shed their tension as they approached.

“We’re almost out of maneuvering fuel. Let’s hope I have good aim.” Adrienne said quietly. Everyone heard but no one spoke in answer.

The buzz and the blue brightness increased in strength the closer they got until just before reaching the hole, it became an intense internal glowing and a powerful lightness of body and mind.

Suddenly the glow was gone. Sound was gone. The moonlight was gone. The stars were gone. “We’re in.” Phil whispered without sound. They were weightless and drifting in an empty, solitary silence.

“Am I still alive?” Phil spoke with no sound. “I can’t see… I can’t hear.” He continued his effort in mute darkness.

Silent words met no ears, “Is this the end?”

Chapter 4

Chapter 6

Order

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