Busy Skies: The Council Dissolution Page 20
“Also, the place where we are going is closer to the center of the station, meaning it doesn't have gravity”, said Lee.
“That ought to be fun”, said Carlo. “I'm getting sick already”, said Lee.
They used a ladder to climb into the breakfast room, and along the way started feeling the gravity go away.
“Wow, this feels very weird”, said Carlo. “It's almost like my stomach wants to be where my feet are, and my feet want to be where my head is. Ha-ha, I’ve completely forgotten how this feels like.”
“I'm feeling disoriented a bit and nauseated.” - said Lee.
“It will go away”, said Dr. Quill. “Just be careful not to exert too much force on whatever you push on, otherwise you will knock yourself unconscious. Didn't you have school excursions in zero gravity?“
“We did”, said Lee, “however that was a long time ago. I've been on Earth ever since. I'm hoping the Moon is going to be much better than this”
“It should be better, however I never did visit before, so I cannot guarantee”, responded Dr. Quill.
“I had a family vacation there when I was a child, and it’s much better, however, depending on how long we stay, we will need to exercise”, said Carlo.
“I’m hoping that it's not going to be too much”, said Lee.
They got coffee in packets that prevented spilling and the only available food was an energy bar that contained fiber, proteins, and fat that was everything one needs to start the day. While eating, they took a moment to appreciate the actual size of this space station. Mostly it was empty and looked like a hollowed-out spinning top. The middle contained life support systems and all the technical equipment, while the remaining part of it was a huge wheel connected with tunnels to the center, where they were currently having breakfast. This enabled the artificial gravity and thus housed all the staff, had meeting room areas and Council meeting Chamber.
Dr. Quill’s phone received a video message from councilor Frost saying that she is ready for them in room 77, which turned out to be councilor Krueger's office.
“Finally”, said Lee, “I don't like this place and I'm tired of all the waiting. I just want to get on the Moon, collect the data, and let's finally resolve this. I want to go home.”
“What home?”, asked Carlo. “You remember what happened to the research facility, right?”
“I remember, but I don’t care, I just want normal gravity. You know what? Aquary seems to be an interesting place to live in. I’ll go there once this is done”, said Lee.
“Could you two for once keep quiet and just move along”, asked Dr. Quill. “Let's get to this meeting fast.”
* * *
“Good morning, councilor Krueger, councilor Frost.” - said Dr. Quill and faced councilor Krueger. “It seems that we met sooner than expected and that once again you need my assistance.”
“Alright, Dr. Quill, no need to gloat over my mistakes.” - he responded.
“Mistakes?” - asked Dr. Quill raising his voice a bit. “You call a tsunami a mistake? All those deaths? I have warned you that you are giving way too much power to people who don't understand what they are getting into. And now you see what happens?”
“Alright doctor, calm down”, said councilor Krueger and grinned. “I hope I don't need to remind you of your whereabouts, to whom you are speaking. Please, be seated.”
“I had a long meeting with councilor Krueger about everything that has been happening”, said councilor Frost. “As she said that, Carlo leaned towards Lee and whispered, clearly an all-nighter, she didn't change her clothes.”
Councilor Frost continued, “we agreed that we need to move along with this plan and that we need your unique knowledge of the Rock. Councilor Krueger will provide you with the latest data from the Antarctica research facility, and you will analyze it. Our goal is to weaponize several rockets that will be launched towards the visitors coming here. We aren't going to destroy them on-site, however, we want to approach them and get the information about their intentions sooner than they are too close. If their intentions are hostile, we still have time to prepare.”
“Your next posting will be on the Moon”, said councilor Krueger, “where you will receive the data from the Antarctica research facility. Lunar observatory 9 is a deep-space observatory focused on the Canis Minor region, and also a launch site. You will inspect the new propulsion system that has been developed, and once you analyze the data you will help design the warhead of the intercepting rockets.”
“What is the purpose of my visit then?” - asked Dr. Quill. “If you have developed new propulsion, I see nothing I can do to help or inspect. Furthermore, I don't see any reason why we couldn't perform our analysis in the Saharan military base. They are, after all, going to build the warhead. Also, since Sahara has no lack of sand, which is usually silicon-based, it would be a great environment to test our work.”
“Consider it like this, Dr. Quill”, said councilor Krueger. “I would feel much better knowing you're on the Moon than knowing you're on Earth. Also, I hoped that the propulsion system could trigger a scientific interest on your part. Or your assistants?” - Councilor Krueger pointed his eyes to Carlo and Lee.
“If I may ask, sir, sorry, councilor, councilors?” - asked Lee, looking at Dr. Quill, who nodded as if to give permission. Lee continued, “as far as we are informed, the Rock is intentionally sent here to terraform Earth, in the lack of better terms. If these so-called visitors live in the kind of environment that suits the Rock, why pack the warhead with a weapon to destroy the Rock? It isn't reasonable to assume that their spaceships are made of Rock-like materials.”
Councilor Krueger interrupted Lee and said, “well that is for me to know and for you to not worry. You are one of many cogs that will make this wheel turn and you don't need to worry about that.”
“It's just a precaution, there will be two more similar weapons.” - said, councilor Frost. ”Also, your flight to the Moon is in one hour.”
* * *
They didn't have anything to pack except their personal computers that also kept most of their notes so they were ready after the meeting. They received special suits and traveling equipment which included sleeping pills, entertainment drives, and a drink that had a dietary value for an entire day.
As they stepped inside and settled in, the computer greeted them.
Good morning, welcome aboard. Today you will be traveling on the Earth’s Moon in a fully autonomous spacecraft. The trip will be about 8 hours, and please feel free to use sleeping pills to pass the time quicker. The undocking will begin in 1 minute.
Carlo, Lee, and Dr. Quill were the only passengers on board, and they have discussed the meeting with the councilors and their work on the Moon.
“So there is an actual weapon that is already built, and we are just the last piece of the puzzle”, said Dr. Quill. “This is the new information.”
To what Lee added, “also, there is no need for us to be on the Moon, councilor Krueger just wants to keep us away”.
“That means that we need to collect this data and find a way to smuggle Hank in. However, I'm not sure how this is possible.” - said Dr. Quill.
“But, councilor Frost can get him in. He once he has entry credentials, it's just a matter of finding a way to give him the data.” - said Carlo.
“Yes,” said Lee, “that's not going to be easy if you remember the inspection points on the entry of the Antarctica research facility. We need to find a way to prevent an alarm from triggering.”
“But if you consider it”, started Dr. Quill, “with this new information there is no need for Hank to come to the Lunar observatory 9 at all. We know they are building a weapon there, councilor Krueger said it himself. So, when confronted by the Council they can make an inspection themselves.”
“Computer?” - ordered Dr. Quill, “open a secure communication channel.”
This spacecraft is not capable of secure communication. I am sorry. - replied the computer.
“Damn it, we are stranded”, said Dr. Quill. “We cannot get in contact either with councilor Frost or Hank.”
“Let's just hope then that councilor Frost has everything under control”, said Carlo.
Chapter 23
“This is becoming ridiculous”, said Jess. “It has been almost a week since the last communication. We don't know whether she is alright, we don't know whether Dr. Quill is OK, Lee and Carlo. What the hell are we supposed to do here? Just wait?”
“Mrs. Potts told us to be patient with councilor Frost”, said Hank. “There is probably a remarkable amount of bureaucracy to handle, cat and mouse games, chess moves, and so on. The only good thing, that there hasn't been any news in regards to accidents and deaths on the Moon or at the Council HQ.”
“That may be”, said Jess. “But it's hard just sitting around and waiting for councilor Frost to tell us what to do. Mr. Holtzman had all the data ready the second day she left, and when Dr. Quill provides the update from the Moon, it's done.”
“I'm not convinced that this will be so easy Jess”, said Hank. “Even if we collect the evidence and even if we manage to convince the council to relieve councilor Krueger, there is still the matter of facing the truth. It's one thing exploring the Rock, as a passive alien being, and it's another to handle possible visitors from another star system.”
“Do you think that it's OK what councilor Krueger has been doing?” - asked Jess?
“No, of course not”, said Hank. “However, we should prepare for the eventual visit. I'm certainly neither smart nor educated enough to have a valid opinion on this, but there must be a public discussion. There are people that are trained for those sorts of things and they need to be included. I don't think that the councilor is capable of fully understanding the consequences of his actions, and frankly, I don't think that we are the ones to tell him he is doing a wrong thing.”
“What?” - asked Jess. “It's not wrong to kill my two brothers? To try and kill me, eradicate my family, Mr. Holtzman and even yourself?”
“Jess, I'm not talking about us here”, he responded. “I'm talking about the grander scheme of things. The Rock and the visitors. What if we are doing the wrong thing for Earth? If councilor Krueger knows something we don't?”
“In that case, as you said, we are not the ones to decide his faith”, said Jess. “However, we should bring this issue to the council and they should decide how to move on.”
“Exactly. That's what I'm saying.” - said Hank. “The Council should decide, however, I'm worried if they will have similar thinking as councilor Krueger. If they choose so, they can wipe our existence from history, and let Krueger do whatever to hell he wants, with the excuse of protecting the planet.”
“Don't you think that you are now stretching it a bit?” - asked Jess. “What are the odds that everyone on the Council is a power-hungry idiot?”
“Good question Jess”, said Hank. “What are the odds? All of them are used to importance, influence, and power, and if you consider the historic perspective, it has happened before.”
“What?” - asked Jess.
“Kings and tyrants, governments, and agencies risked the lives and also sacrificed the lives for the so-called common good, wherein in almost all cases, someone was protecting their own ass”, replied Hank. “When this gets out, don't you think that no one will ask how was this possible to hide from the council? Now how does that make them look?”
“Hum, at first, I thought that you have been hanging around with Mr. Holtzman”, said Jess, “too much and that he got you hooked on history, however, you're right. This doesn't look good at all. Furthermore, how was it really possible to hide this?”
“Pardon me, but I've happened to overhear a bit of your discussion”, said Mr. Holtzman.
“You're welcome to join in”, said Jess. “We were just discussing the odds of the council making all the information about the Rock, its origins, and our visitors public, and also, how was it possible to hide all of this from them?”
“I think it's simple actually”,said Mr. Holtzman. “You only need to own several people in key positions.”
“And how do you do that?” - asked Jess.
“By the promises of importance and power, what is very important these days, or fear and lies”, said Mr. Holtzman. “And, unfortunately it seems so that councilor Krueger mastered both of those.”
Jess sighed and walked a bit around the room and said, “I'm just sick of waiting here. The anticipation is making me nervous and I'm a very impatient person. “
“You're just young Jess”, said Mr. Krueger through a sympathetic smile.
“Should we do something on our own?” - asked Jess. “There should be a way to get to Dr. Quill.”
“Jess, without a pass from the council, it would be very hard for me to justify my presence on the Moon”, replied Hank, ” not to talk about getting a spacecraft to fly there.”
After a brief silence, Mr. Holtzman said, “technically, we could get there. I mean, Hank could get there even without permission from councilor Frost. We could disguise Hank as a supply delivery. Once every week, I think there are resupply spacecraft going to the Moon and back.”
“It depends on the base, each Lunar base has a different schedule”, said Hank. “Also, that would be very easy to take care of. I have a couple of friends back from the academy that are handling that.”
“But, you just said I'm young and impatient”, said Jess. “Shouldn't we wait for councilor Frost?”
“Well, it's not that I don't trust her, I just really don't respect people who are doing politics these days.” - said Mr. Holtzman. “I know, I know that the work is hard and full of social acrobatics, but still. I'm an old engineer and my brain doesn’t process that well. So if you ask me, we shouldn't trust anyone, nor councilor Frost, Krueger, or anyone. We should just release all the information publicly. The only problem with that, of course, is that without conclusive evidence, we might be declared insane. The last crucial piece of this puzzle is at the Lunar observatory.”
“Guys, I have news!” - said Mrs. Potts coming into the living room. “I have finally heard from Patricia. She got the paperwork for Hank and tomorrow morning you are clear to go.”
“Yes!” - said Jess excitedly, “I was just about to go crazy. Finally, something is happening.”
Hank and Mr. Holtzman were quiet and they weren't impressed much with this news.
“What?” - asked Mrs. Potts. “I thought that a bit more enthusiasm would be in order.”
“What is our next move?” - asked Hank.
“You are leaving tomorrow for Station 17, from which you will take a resupply spacecraft to the Lunar observatory 9”, said Mrs. Potts. “Once you get there, Dr. Quill and his team will contact you. They will provide data storage, with the final analysis of the Rock, which is our final piece of evidence that Patricia can use. Apparently, there is no way to send that data over the traditional channels. You are to bring the spacecraft back to Station 17, and then, you will meet up with Jess at the Council HQ. From that point, Patricia takes the lead.”
“Alright kids, seems you have work to do”, said Mr. Holtzman. “Now, what I'm interested in are two things, lunch and my old friend, Mr. Winson. Speaking of which, I'll be one floor down if someone needs me.”
* * *
The following morning Hank woke up early and was preparing for his trip to the Moon. He was feeling a bit tired since the evening before they had a small farewell party for him, however, he was preparing a caffeine intense breakfast that would wake up the dead. As he was eating, Jess came by to say goodbye and wish him luck.
He was closing the door of Mrs. Potts’s house, he noticed that Mr. Holtzman was already awake, sitting in front of the main entry, enjoying the morning coffee and news.
“Good Luck Mr. Bishoff, we all depend on you.” - said Mr. Holtzman.
Hank just nodded and proceeded to the surface. He got to his har and he stopped for a moment.
He looked at the sunrise, he looked around the har, double-tapped the dash, and said, here we go! At that moment, the har started and he began his ascend. While there was no rain, it was a relatively cloudy day, as he loved flying through the clouds he chose a particularly bulky cumulus and flew right through it. However, halfway through the har began beeping and the computer warned him about an object in the collision course. As he was ascending he was passing through cloudy and sparse areas however, he didn't see any vehicles. As a precaution he corrected his course, however, the vehicle continued beeping.
Suddenly, something ripped through the car taking it apart. The sudden burst of pressure and cold air disabled Hank from seeing clearly, however, the g-force was clearly telling him that he was on his way down. He took his seat belt off and jumped on the back of the har. He was disoriented from all the commotion, but he managed to find a parachute. Through the window, he managed to see that the vehicle had already reached terminal velocity and that he was falling straight into a forest bordering the coast and the desert. He jumped out of the har and assumed the falling position to reduce his downfall speed. He managed to strap on the parachute, and just in the last moment, about 200 meters from the ground he pulled the ripcord. As he was still falling the parachute fully unwrapped just as his feet touched the canopy of the forest. He continued falling however, he managed to grab one of the branches, though he received some blows.