Leila looked at Eric and then said to Tag, Thank you. Well use it when we need to, but well watch over it in the event you return and might need it. My hope and my prayer is that someday all that has happened will be forgiven and you can come home.
Tag sat on the bus as it approached the spaceport gate. It had been remarkably easy to get on. He just got in line with the other workers and walked right on. I hope its this easy to get on the ship, he thought. The bus passed through the gate uneventfully and he settled back to wait until it was his turn to get off. He thought back to saying goodbye to Eric and Leila. He could tell they were both worried, but they hugged him, wished him well, and said goodbye. Leila was crying and Eric was trying to comfort her.
Leila was holding her test booklet and she handed it back to him. Keep this for good luck, she said. This really belongs with you. He took it and put it in his back pocket, hugged them both, and left.
Now he could see the ship he was going to take. She was right, the ship was small; it was only 105 feet long, but that could be a good thing because it would be hard to see. The cleaning crew got off the bus and walked over to the ship that had its port open and entered. Tag walked behind the last cleaner and used his skill at not being seen. Once they were on board he opened the door to the storage bay and climbed in. He moved behind one of the boxes that held the food provisions and lied down. Then he closed his eyes and sensed the three members of the cleaning crew as they moved about the ship. Three hours later the crew left and the port to the ship was closed. Tag waited for an hour, then left the storage bay and went to the bridge to remove the codebooks from under the pilots seat. It was 12:30 a.m. so he still had over four hours until the scheduled freighter lifted off. He settled in with the manuals and began to familiarize himself with the ship.
Four forty-five a.m., its time, Tag thought. He entered the bottom code and waited a moment, then entered the top code and waited again, and then entered the middle code. The control panel in front of him came on and he quickly checked all the gauges to ensure that everything was working. He pulled lightly on the elevation lever and felt the ship rise a few inches, then he lowered it back to the pavement. He looked out of the viewport in the direction of the huge freighter that was preparing to lift off. He was amazed at its size. It was over 2,800 feet long and 350 feet wide. He understood why everyones attention would be focused on that liftoff. Then he saw it start to move upward. He immediately pulled the elevation lever and rose to the level of the surrounding fence, then moved in the direction of the city. The ship moved smoothly over the field surrounding the spaceport, and once clear of the perimeter, he took the ship to the upper levels of the traffic lanes and headed south, away from the spaceport. He moved into the commercial level, where most of the traffic was actually larger than his ship and traffic was extremely dense. He avoided going too fast so as not to attract attention, and in less than ten minutes the spaceport was over the horizon behind him. He started to gain altitude moving upward through the atmosphere, keeping the edge of the planet between him and the spaceport sensors. So far so good he thought. He added some more speed and turned in the direction of the moon. I just might make it!
Commodore, I have something peculiar here, Lieutenant Mikado said.
What is that? Commodore Kosiev asked.
I have a ship leaving Earth and heading toward the moon that is not listed on our schedule of flights.
Kosiev and his squadron of ships had been sent back to Earth for refitting and recreation time. They had been there thirty days, and the only duty they performed was patrolling incoming and outgoing traffic. Are you sure its not on your list?
Yes sir.
Scan that ship for its identification code, then contact spaceport authority and ask them if theyve approved this ships departure.
Lieutenant Mikado lifted a com and spoke for a few minutes. Sir, spaceport authority says that that ship is supposed to be landed at the port. They just now checked and discovered that it was missing. It has absolutely no clearances. They request that we stop the ship and investigate whats going on.
Sound general quarters, pull in the screen. Take us to that ship, helmsman.
Tag felt the scan of his ship and knew that he had been discovered. He closed his eyes to see if there were any shadows around the ship that he could use to hide and didnt see any. He went to full speed and ran straight towards the moon.
Sir, that ship has just increased speed and is accelerating towards the moon.
Contact the Destroyers Red Sea and Yellowstone. Tell them to get under way and to move out to the sides of that ship. Contact spaceport authority and get the transponder code.
I already have it, sir.
Then transmit it and open a communications channel.
Tag could see the moon getting larger when he heard a voice over his speakers. Earth ship 12148, you will cut your drives and prepare for boarding. If you fail to comply immediately you will be fired upon. Tag sensed that they had somehow remotely turned on an electronic beacon on his ship and there was no way to hide from their sensors. He couldnt let them capture him because they might be able to link Leila to his escape. He decided he would rather die than run that risk so he continued to speed towards the moon, which now filled his view screen. He put the ship on autopilot and went to the back closet and took out a spacesuit, which he quickly put on. Then he sat back down, placed his hands on the controls, and closed his eyes.
Sir, theyre not responding.
Target one of our lasers on the aft engine mount.
Ready, sir.
Fire.
Tag sensed the laser was about to be fired and jerked his ship up just as it went through the space his ship had just occupied.
Sir, the laser missed.
Kosiev looked at Mikado and said, How?
I dont know. The ship changed direction just as we fired.
Use three lasers; I want that ship disabled. Fire when ready.
Tag was rolling his ship in multiple directions to avoid the lasers. He could sense where they were going to hit before they actually fired and he moved his ship out of the way. He simply flew into the psychic shadows he saw ahead of his ship.
Sir, we are unable to hit him with a laser, Mikado said with frustration in his voice.
You cant be serious, Kosiev said. Our sensors have confirmed that ship is nothing more than a civilian transport. It doesnt even possess a screen. How can you be missing it?
I dont know, Mikado answered. But it is able to avoid every shot.
Then use all eight lasers.
Sir, I authorized use of all the lasers more than three minutes ago. We have still been unable to hit him.
Kosiev was amazed. There was no possible way for that ship to avoid being hit, but there it was, still headed full speed towards the moon. Arm two missiles and set them to target the transponder on that ship; fire when ready.
Tag was now flying low over the surface of the moon when he discovered that his time was up. He could avoid the lasers because he could see where they were going to be and knew the path that would avoid them. Missiles were different. He could see that they were locked on his ship and there were no psychic shadows in front of him; there was no way he could avoid them. Not only were they faster, but they could outmaneuver him. He pressed the eject button on the console, felt the floor open out from under him, and felt his chair accelerate out of the ship and drop towards the surface of the moon. The chair automatically turned and fired its small maneuvering jets to slow his forward velocity down so that he could land safely. Tag sat in the chair and saw his ship explode overhead as the two missiles impacted. Then he watched as the surface of the moon flew by under him at a dizzying speed. It began to slow down as his chairs jets continued to fire; they finally stopped firing at six hundred feet above the surface. He saw a huge crater below him and realized that he was going to land inside it next to the crater wall. The chair released him one hundred feet above the craters floor, and he started to fall slowly towards the moons surface. He used his suit jets to land him softly in the crater.