There was no hope for the thirty passengers stuck in the jump shuttles that failed to launch. Any ship made from human technology would have been vaporized upon impact. The Impegi, laying in a crater that was created upon impact, was broken into several large pieces.
Commander Forte watched as his ship, and dreams of expanding a Moon Base, disappeared into an ever-rising pillar of dust and debris. Having been singularly focused on the plummeting space craft for the last seven minutes, Forte, now accessed the ultra-dimensional channel 12 to the moon base, “Moon Base, do you copy?”
“This is Moon Base, we thought we had lost you. Commander Forte, it is important for you to understand, you have crashed into territory that is under enemy control. We have no forces in the area. Any contact will be hostile,” General Byrd warned.
Sighing, Forte said, “As if this day could get any worse. When will we have an extraction?”
“Negative Commander, as of this moment, there is no extraction plan in place.”
“No extraction? We are not soldiers, we can’t defend this crash site. What is the technology level of the indigenous population?”
“They have advanced human technology. Including jet planes, helicopters, organized military forces with high command-and-control, oh, and nuclear capabilities,” General Stone Byrd replied.
“Great, what’s the enemies ETA?” Forte asked.
“Fortunately, the Impegi crashed in a remote area. It will take several hours for first responders to arrive, and days before serious ground reinforcements can arrive. Commander, what’s your situation?”
“We lost three jump shuttles upon launch and two more in dissent, all crew presumed dead. Seven jump shuttles have survived. That’s about seventy survivors. Most of the command officers survived. Beyond that, I still don’t know the condition of the surviving crew,” Forte replied.
“Sir, was Commander Furier able to salvage any of the Element 115?”
Forte bristled at the question. He was aware the ship was carrying Element 115 and that it was valuable, but above all else?
Forte replied, “I believe so, but I don’t know how much was lost in the crashed jump shuttles.” He glanced over at Commander Furier with a wrinkled brow, as if to say ‘I know there’s something you’re no telling me’.
“Commander,” General Byrd directed, “your mission at this point is to preserve the Element 115 you have aboard the remaining jump shuttles. You must not let it fall into enemy hands. You need to evade and elude the enemy long enough for us to devise an evacuation plan. You need to find a place to hide and sit tight. Moon Base out.”
“Stella, change course. Our mission is not to preserve the Impegi. We have been instructed to find deep cover and hide from the Russians,” Forte ordered.
Stella glanced back at Forte, “Aye, Commander.”
Stella informed the other six jump shuttles that they were to remain in optical stealth mode and seek cover.
Commander Forte and the other officers had taken off their harness restraints. The jump shuttle was flying at about 300 miles-per-hour, a hundred feet above the ground. The officers were looking out the portal windows for a good hiding place for all seven jump shuttles. The jump shuttles had plenty of fuel for local movements, but could not cross the Pacific Ocean fully loaded with passengers and cargo.
The jump shuttles were equipped with optical stealth, but if used constantly, it would drain the fuel supply. Forte wanted to find cover where they would not have to constantly keep the jump shuttle consuming fuel to remain hidden. An hour spent looking for the right cover could conserve their fuel for a week.
“Stella, do we have ground penetrating radar? Can we scan for caves? I’m looking for a place to set down that won’t be spotted from the air?” Forte asked.
“Yes Sir,” Stella replied.
Commander Furier, who was sitting next to Stella in the co-pilot’s seat, started pressing buttons on the display. “Sensors indicate we are rapidly approaching a mountain range; the humans call it Chersky. It is about 900 miles long and the highest peak is 10,000 feet.”
Captain Pilosus, looking at his hand-held display, added, “The Chersky mountain range is essentially uninhabited. There is little chance of detection, but we would be close enough to the crash site, if we are careful.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
Present Day
Moon Base
Major Tom woke up at six am, just as he did every day, without the benefit of an alarm clock. He was sleeping in his twin bed; his personal quarters were smaller than a standard hotel room, as space was at a premium on the Moon Base. At least he had his own quarters; many of the lower ranking officers had roommates. As he unraveled from his twisted gray sheets, he stretched his arms and glanced out the small portal that stood watch over his bed. He was thankful for the window; not everyone had a view of the rocky moon surface. In the six months, that he had been stationed on the Moon, he had never left the confines of the base. His position did not require him to go outside the base’s ten-story structure.
The Moon Base had an enormous footprint, larger than any Earthly shopping mall. The ground level of the base was a large open area used to store space craft and vehicles that could be used to explore the rocky surface. Space craft could land directly next to the large hanger and be transported into the bay through a series of air locks. From the base’s command center, they could monitor all Earthly communications, travel, and dangers lurking in deep space. The level directly below the command center was the human crew’s quarters and DFAC. The Vitahicians, often referred to as Nordics, worked side-by-side with humans, but preferred their own separate crew’s quarters.
Levels three and four, above the hanger bay, were off limits to all humans. In those levels, the Nordics had complete autonomy to do whatever they wanted, away from prying eyes. It was sovereign Vitahician territory. That was the deal struck between Americans and Vitahicians decades earlier. In exchange for greatly advanced technology, the Americans agreed to give the Nordics their own sovereign territory, on Earth and the Moon Base.
Major Tom stood a slight five and a half feet tall, had strong jaw, and light brown, closely cropped, hair. Upon graduating from MIT at the top of his class, with an advanced astrophysics degree, he was courted by the top global corporations. He was offered signing bonuses large enough to pay off his student loans and buy a house in the suburbs. He never intended to go into the military; the idea never even crossed his mind. He always thought he would get a job working for a big corporation earning three to four hundred thousand a year, and maybe settle down and marry a smoking-hot chick and have some kids. That was not to be.
His whole life changed when, shortly before graduation, he was contacted by an Air Force recruiter. At first, he blew him off, but the recruiter persisted. Tom finally ceded agreed to do one interview. The recruiter met him at his apartment on a Friday morning and told Tom that he had to sign a confidentially agreement before even moving forward on the interview. Tom begrudgingly signed it and was told that if he spoke to anyone about what he saw, he would be thrown into an off-shore detention center for the rest of his life – no lawyer, no trial. By the look on the recruiter’s face, Tom knew he was telling the truth. He and the recruiter drove to the nearest Air Force Base and into an unmarked hanger.