Rise of the Altered Moon: Altered Moon Series: Book One (The Altered Moon Series 1) (15 page)

“Trigger, Gar, and Hali can drift in space for all eternity for all I care,” said Boss scornfully. “We should hold a ship’s ceremony for Tamara.” The thought of Wilks as she drifted dead in the vacuum of space suddenly hit Boss deep in the chest. “We should clear out the crew quarters and stow their personal effects, as well.”

“I wonder if Wilks had any family,” said CJ.

“Yes,” said Cat, “her folks and two sisters on Shongri Quarnon.”

“We’ll get word to them someday,” CJ promised.

“What about the others?” asked Cat.

“Let them drift,” he said.

“Aye, sir.”

“I’d like to take care of the personal belongings,” said Boss. “I’d like to see what Trigger may have left behind.”

“Very good,” said CJ. “G, once we’re in the air, set a course back to the shuttle. Cat and I will cut loose what we need to secure the shuttle in the bay, then we continue on to Thraden. Okay? Good, let’s prep the ship and dust off as soon as we’re ready.”

*~*~*

Chapter Twenty

The flight back through the radiation field to where
Lunar Mare
drifted aimlessly through space was uneventful. CJ and Cat amputated the grappler arm where it stuck out from the shuttle’s fuselage. They got the hulk of the shuttle into the bay and anchored to the deck plates. The heavy winch in the shuttle bay pulled the rest of the grappler arm from the shuttle with the snapping crunch of a broken bone.

Gar’s mangled body was dragged from the wreckage, enmeshed in the claw end of the arm like mud between your toes. CJ removed the winch cable and pushed Gar, and his new ride, out of the shuttle bay. Don’t let the door smack ya, he thought to himself. He raised the single-finger salute as he watched the nasty bastard drift away. The only thing left of JP was both legs from the knees down. The rest was unrecognizable biomass.

Cat looked over at CJ through her EV suit helmet. “I guess we’ll have to give JP the boot,” she joked about what was left of him.

“Ooo, that was bad, Cat,” scolded CJ. “Here let me give you a leg up, JP.” He tossed JP’s right stump out into space followed by his left.

“Captain?” Boss called over the comms, but didn’t get an immediate answer. “Captain Evermore?”

“Oh shit, that’s me. Go ahead, Boss.”

“You may want to give Trigger the once-over before you let him go,” said Boss. “We’ve found a lockbox that needs a passkey and, ah…an eyeball and index finger.”

“What?” CJ asked with a laugh. “Come back on that. An eyeball and index finger?”

“Ah, yes, that’s affirmative, Captain.”

CJ could see in his mind Boss and Gina on the bridge, as they got a kick out this. “Copy that.”

Turning to Cat he joked, “Doctor Katzu, this man needs surgery.”

“Yes, sir!” She shot off a playful salute. “One pop and chop coming up.” She went about her grizzly work as CJ chipped away at the frozen fabric that covered Trigger’s pockets. After they secured all the requested items, they sent Dylan Treesh off to begin his new life as cosmic flotsam. CJ cleared the debris away from the port side of the crew cabin, which uncovered Wilks and Hali.

Hali was in the rear seat, which had been crushed under the debris against the rear bulkhead by the end of the grappler arm. The entire right side of her head and body had been flattened and partially torn away. CJ freed the seat assembly and sent the entire thing, Hali and all, off into space. The condition of Hali’s remains struck a somber chord in CJ. It reminded him of Katy’s abduction and the destruction of the
Istraulis
.

A somber mood fell upon them when they discovered Tamara’s body. There was no sign of trauma; she was strapped in the seat, arms reaching out for help. The atmosphere that rushed out of the shuttle protected her briefly from the void as the cold of space froze her solid. On her face, which was lined with icy tears, was an expression of grief, surprise, and despair.

“Wilks…” Cat whispered, her face tense, eyes brimming with tears.

Seeing Cat’s anguish, CJ spoke calmly. “I got it.” He wrapped Wilks’ frozen body in an equipment cover and strapped it to a cargobot. He programmed the autopilot to fly into a nearby sun and set the remote to standby.

“We’re ready here, Boss,” he said into the comms. “Would you like to say anything?”

“Yes, we’re here at the shuttle bay hatch,” he answered. “I…ah, just want to say how much I will miss Tamara and her endless knowledge of engineering. She was a kind and innocent spirit and I hold no grudge against her. She was taken before her time. Godspeed, Tamara Wilkinson.”

CJ triggered the remote and sent the cargobot on its one-way journey to the astral anchor of the solar system. “Good-bye, Wilks. Rest in peace.”

He and Cat collected the fuel plates and ration packs with anything else they could grab right away and loaded them into the cargo crate. Cat closed the outer doors as CJ loaded the crate on the lift and sent it to the engineering bay.

“Shuttle bay doors are closed, Gina,” said CJ. “Proceed on course and monitor radiation levels. We may have to stop and purge the engine ports before we make Arzian space.

“Aye, Captain. We’re on the way.”

CJ and Cat came in from the shuttle bay and stowed their EV gear in the squad bay.

“Captain?” Boss called over the comms as they finished.

CJ kept on task until Cat told him the call was for him.

“What, oh…wow, gotta get used to that…thanks,” CJ said to her and then hit the comms. “Yeah, I’m here, Boss.”

“Would you meet me in Trigger’s quarters, sir?”

“On my way,” he replied.

Cat handed CJ the little box of grizzly goodies. “Here you are, Captain. You boys have fun with that.” She winked.

“Thank you, Doctor,” CJ said dryly with a raised eyebrow.

He collected the necessary items and met Boss in what used to be Trigger’s quarters. Boss had been through the room with a fine-tooth comb and gathered a small pile of purloined items: a few ration packs, some coffee disks, and other things that were expected when you serve on a starship. The lockbox Boss had set up on the table waited for the necessary keys CJ was bringing to open it.

“Ah, Captain, you’re here,” Boss said, as CJ entered the room.

“Boss, you can call me CJ. What did you find?”

“Let’s find out,” He inserted the passkey into the slot. A small screen became visible on the top of the lockbox with the words “Identification Scan Required,” which glowed in the middle. A small access panel slid open to show red icons of an eye and a fingerprint next to corresponding input devices. Boss snapped on a med glove and held Trigger’s eyeball up to the scanner and the ‘eye-con’ turned green. He swiped the fingertip across the slot reader and the finger icon turned green. The passkey slot lit up with a rim of green and the lid of the box slid away in four directions when Boss swiped the card. In the lock box was a variety of small boxes, soft draw bags, several data card drives, a small datpad, and a folder of papers. Boss and CJ rummaged around the box to check out different items.

“Hey, that shithead!” exclaimed Boss. “He said these were lost in the temple on Sabre.” He poured six small figurines of a smiling fat guy that changed expressions and colors when viewed from different angles into his hand. There were gems in the box and a small amount of platinum and gold pieces as well as a chart with a star system that was noted “Former Rellia site–forgotten stockpile.”

“Trigger was going to look for weapons?” CJ asked, as they studied the chart.

“Looks that way, but there could be fuel plates and food packs there as well,” Boss replied, “Smart thinking, actually.”

“Look,” said CJ, “there’s a contact list on this data drive and a copy of the articles of organization for West Becreth Trading Company with him named as owner. He must have been planning to take over for some time. Gather all the belongings. Anything valuable will be placed in a common fund for the crew and we can decide what to do with it later. I need to get some rack time before my shift.”

“Captain,” Boss said, “Gina and I have moved my personal gear to her quarters so you can have the captain’s quarters.”

“Boss that’s not necessary…” CJ started to say, but Boss held up his hand.

“Actually it is. That’s where the captain’s logbook is and some other things that are for the captain only. Besides, Gina has better quarters. And, just FYI, I always found it easier to write the log while things are fresh. If you put it off it gets to be a real mess. You know, now that I think of it, I’m not going to miss doing that one bit.”

“All righty then, thanks for that,” CJ said with a laugh. “I guess I’ll go check out my new digs. See you in about four hours.”

“Yes, sir.”

CJ took a short time to look around his new cabin and saw what Boss meant. It may have been the captain’s quarters, but that didn’t mean there was a lot of it. He sat down at the desk and read a note that Boss had left for him there. He found the logbook datpad and followed Boss’ instructions on how to key in his own DNA. CJ made several entries that were necessary to shift command access. He logged the events from when they left Keenaw to the recovery of the shuttle. He closed his eyes for a second because they felt dry.

He was startled awake, the left side of his face flattened by the desktop and a small puddle of drool on the desk.

The comms buzzed again, and Gina called from the bridge, “Captain?”

“Yes…hmmmph…yes I’m here,” he answered, after he cleared the sleep from his throat.

“It’s twenty-hundred hours, sir.”

“Ah, shit. Sorry, G, I’m on the way.”
Great. First day as captain and I’m two hours late.

“I’m sorry for being late.” He relieved Gina and settled into his position at the command station.

“No trouble, Captain. We’ve all been through a lot. All systems show normal and we are on course for Thraden. Radiation buildup is at fifty-two percent and rising slowly.”

“Thank you, Ms. Riley. I have the conn.”

“Good night, sir.”

The remainder of CJ’s shift passed quietly as the
Altered Moon
cruised steadily through the Tengshi radiation field. He spent the time studying reports on the meteoric rise of Merilee Travel & Transport as the undeniable leader of galactic logistics. The sheer number of MT&T starship ‘accidents’ over the recent years gave CJ cause to wonder why there was no public outrage over the massive loss of Human life. He had no trouble imagining the payoffs that a company the size of MT&T could afford to dole out. Over two million people in ten years had ended up listed as missing or dead from MT&T vessels.

What have we stumbled into
? CJ asked himself. The early warning alert beeped annoyingly to announce that the buildup of radioactive particles had reached cautionary levels. “GABI?” he called as he cancelled the alert.

“Online, Captain.” She shimmered into view.

“Take the
Moon
off autopilot, please, and set course for the nearest star system.”

“Aye, Captain,” she replied.

The star field in the view screen slid to the right and slightly down as GABI altered their course. A nearby star glowed bright and hot directly in their path. The hatch opened and Boss glided in with Gina and Cat behind him. They talked lightly as they came on to the bridge.

“Hello, Captain,” they said nodding in CJ’s direction.

“Well, this is a pleasant surprise,” he answered.

“I love radiation purges,” said Gina. “It’s like driving your own atmocoaster. GABI, do you mind if I drive?” she asked her incorporeal compatriot.

“Not at all, G. You may render yourself unconscious.”

“That’s ‘knock yourself out,’ GABI, my dear,” corrected Boss.

“Ah, thank you, Boss,” GABI logged the correction for later reference.

“Captain, with your permission?” Gina indicated the star pilot seat with a hand gesture.

“Have at it, Star Pilot,” CJ answered. “It’s been years since I’ve been on an atmocoaster.”

“Then dust off your ‘oh shit’ handles and get ready for a ride,” she called out. “We’ll have to cruise at five million kilometers from the star for thirty seconds at full burn to clear the engine ports. It’s going to get a little bumpy. ETA to full burn is five minutes.”

“Roger that,” said CJ. “Everybody take your stations.”

The huge yellow orange ball of burning gases filled the view screen as the
Altered Moon
neared the five million kilometer mark. The ship began to buck and shake as the gravitational pull of the star fought to drag the
ship into its solar furnace. The heat and energy from the star broke down the radiation particles that had built up in the ISE systems.

“Ten seconds to go,” Gina called out a warning. “Five…four…three…two…one…going to full burn now.”

The g-force from the thirteen engines fought against the star’s massive gravity like an elephant that sat on your entire body. The
Altered Moon
skipped across the star’s corona like a stone across a pond. The gravity of the star pulled them constantly down toward the surface, while the solar winds tried to blow them back into space. The speed of the ship was the catalyst to keep their distance from the gaseous ball of fire. If one flight system shorted out at this particular moment, the ship would fall into the star and vaporize.

The internal inertial stabilizers that surrounded the pilot station allowed Gina the freedom to fly the ship or she would be pressed into her seat unable to move. The
Altered Moon
was thrown around like the toy of a cosmic child in the middle of a tantrum. The shaking worsened to the point where CJ wondered if it was going to knock out a tooth and just where the tooth would go if it did come loose.

“Radiation…build…up…ten…percent…and…dropping,” CJ said with what little air he could draw in.

“Copy that, Captain,” said Gina. “Breakaway in thirty seconds.” She settled into her seat and reset her grip on the control stick. “Fifteen seconds…ten…five…breaking away.”

Gina pulled the
Altered Moon
up into a steep climb and maintained full burn until they were clear enough of the star’s gravity to safely go about their business. The diminishing effect of the high g’s left them all feeling like they were going to float right out of their seats.