Rise of the Altered Moon: Altered Moon Series: Book One (The Altered Moon Series 1) (3 page)

Chapter Three

The passengers of the
MSL Istraulis
may have sat in the lap of luxury for the Gems of the Galaxy Tour, but the ride was not quite the same for the support crews of the superliner. The hard thing about engineering and maintenance jobs on any star craft was that you were only paid for the time that you were on duty. The benefits, however, could balance things out in most jobs: room and board was provided by the employer, there was travel to different star systems, free training programs, and good pay, but the pay came at the end of the trip and you were bound by the terms of the contract until then.

The MT&T engineer and maintenance contracts stated that employees were restricted to their assigned decks and compartments for the duration of the trip. For Katy, CJ, and the third member of their crew, Engineer’s Second Mate Antje Martine that meant engineering deck fifty-two was their home for the eight-week tour of the galaxy. The petty officer billets and the rest of ‘officer country’ were on deck forty-one, between Main Engineering on deck forty and the Power and Propulsion decks that ran from forty-two to fifty. Decks fifty-one and fifty-two housed the processing systems that handled all of the waste from the
Istraulis,
her crew, and her passengers.

The thirty-hour workday was split into one twelve-hour work rotation followed by eighteen hours of eating, sleeping, card playing, and watching the timeworn vids of the Public Streamcasting Systems. Routine became routine and off-duty time slowed to a crawl. Third rotation crew even challenged the other rotation crews to off-duty betting games and contests to pass the time. CJ’s favorite was ‘Catwalk Parkour,’ where the object was to race along the catwalk and surrounding machinery in a specified time without affecting critical systems or breaking your neck in the process. The petty officers tended to look the other way as long as things remained civil and the work was done on schedule.

Merilee did pipe a wide selection of visual feeds to all crew decks in an attempt to make up for the lack of a view port or access to an observation deck. The ship’s PR staff always made a big production of the main attractions along the tour. Merilee put on special programs, hosted shows, viewing sessions, grand dinners, and galas, all of which were streamcasted for the enjoyment of both passengers and crewmembers alike. Katy would sit glued to the vid screen and watch every time the
Istraulis
passed by a point of interest. She would make her favorite snack that she called ‘popped corn’ to eat during the streamcast.

“It is an ancient Earth custom and it’s bad luck for those who don’t observe it,” she would say, and pointedly munched on the crunchy yet soft morsels of heated corn kernels. “Hand me the salt, will ya?”

By the fifth week of the tour, it had become a deck fifty-two custom to gather around the common room monitor to watch the show and munch on popped corn. The crews of first and third rotations had just wrapped up a show on the third tour stop, the Cat’s Paw Nebula. They were talking and joking about the streamcast when alarms suddenly blared out, emergency lights flashed on, and alerts sounded that a life pod had been activated in the waste processing compartment.

“What the hell’s goin’ on?” Mike Rawly screamed to be heard over the alarms.

“Life pod launch in processing!” yelled back Antje. “Come on, let’s get down there!”

“CJ!” called Katy, throwing him a comms unit. “I’m heading to operations! I’ll call you from there!”

“Copy that!” he hollered over his shoulder, already on his way to processing.

CJ and Antje, with Mike Rawly and Missy James of first crew, arrived at the processing compartment hatch just as the blaring of the alarms cut off. Petty Officer Dan Miller and two members of the second rotation crew stood around one of the life pod hatches looking anxious. The super green perimeter lights of the hatch flashed on and off, which indicated launch preparation. Dan Miller was at the intercom trying to reason with the man inside.

“Come on, Frank, think about what you’re doing,” said Dan. He held his hand up to signal the others to slow down and keep quiet.

“No way! I’d rather die floating in space than work this effing job anymore!” Frank’s distraught voice came over the comms panel.

“That’s not gonna happen, Frank,” Dan reasoned with him. “The pod is locked down, it won’t launch. The order to abandon ship hasn’t been given. Security is on the way, Frank, and if they have to disable the pod to get you out, you’ll be charged with desertion of duty aboard a starship. That’s a ten-year sentence.”

The silence was almost encouraging. It seemed wrong somehow even to breathe.

“CJ, it’s Katy…command officers and security just passed operations and are heading your way,” came out of the comms unit.

“Copy that, Katy,” CJ replied quietly.

“Come out now on your own, and it’s just some time in medical under observation,” said Dan. “Please Frank. Think about Sally and the boys. How’s getting yourself locked up going to help them?”

The thoughts of his family must have cut through Frank’s mania and restored at least some amount of reason. The life pod systems powered down and the hatch slid open to reveal an angry yet shamed man covered completely in Human feces. Frank stepped out of the pod and surrendered to Dan Miller just as the command officers and the security team entered the processing compartment.

“Rawly and James, take E.M. Costas and get him cleaned up. Escort him to medical when that’s done. Report to CMO Chuley. He will be informed by the time you get there,” said Petty Officer Walt Stevens.

“Aye, sir,” they said in unison.

“Come on, Frank, let’s get you cleaned up buddy,” said Mike.

Mike Rawly and Missy James gathered Frank up and took him in the direction of the nearest head. The security team stood down and returned to their post. The petty officers of all three duty rotations had a hushed meeting with the command officers in the corridor.

The command officers left and the engineering officers came back into the room after the quick meeting.

“Where is Latimer?” asked third rotation Petty Officer Carlton Stern, looking around.

“Here I am, sir,” said Katy as she and Paul Conelly came through the hatch. “I was in operations with E.M. Conelly.”

“Evermore, Latimer, and Martine, you lot come on duty now. Help second rotation square away this mess and resume normal duties at eighteen hundred hours. P.O. Miller is going to pitch in here and I’ll take over in operations,” said third rotation Petty Officer Stern.

“Second rotation, you’re with me. Let’s get this cleaned up and make repairs on the blown out piping,” said Petty Officer Miller.

Everyone acknowledged the orders and went on their assigned ways.

“It’s a bitch when your machines take a crap on ya,” CJ joked. They laughed just a little bit.

Yeah ol’ Frank got the shit end of that stick,” added Engineer’s Mate Second Class Dave Schoen of second rotation. They laughed a little more.

“I guess Frank really had to go ‘pod-dy’ after that,” said Katy. They laughed again.

“Hey! None of what happened here today is funny!” Petty Officer Dan Miller scolded the junior officers. “We have a hazardous material spill to handle, major repairs to be done, and the well-being of a crewmate is in question. So stow the standup routines and focus on the job at hand.”

“Yes, sir!” they all said.

“Sorry, sir,” added CJ.

“The system is shut down. We need to clean the damaged area first. First rotation will finish the cleanup and commence regular operations. Second rotation will stay on duty until the repairs have been completed. Let’s move like we have a purpose, people!” Dan said.

The different rotation crews worked together to get the mess cleaned up and the equipment back online before things got out of control. The excitement of the day waned over the next couple of weeks. Frank Costas was released from medical and returned to work. Routine once again slowed to the snail’s pace of a commercial starship mechanic. CJ and Katy began to find reasons to wander off alone together and soon became more than just crewmates.

The
Istraulis
’ crew was in full tilt to get her ready for the Glimmerocks stop of the Gems of the Galaxy Tour. The most spectacular stop of the tour required the grandest productions of them all. Elegant galas and prestigious viewings were held in the domed ballroom on the top deck of the ship. The view of the Glimmerocks was indeed spectacular. The colors swam and shifted as they reflected and bounced among the icy asteroids. Everyone on board had a clear view as a strange ship suddenly appeared from the envelope of a quantum jump and opened fire on the
Istraulis
.

Fear and panic erupted into the ballroom as two explosions rocked the MT&T superliner. People fled madly, scattering everywhere when the attacking ship grabbed onto the
Istraulis
and slammed boarding ramps into the side of the superliner. Massive seals around the ends of the ramps attached to the hull as the shafts penetrated into the inner decks. Giant alien creatures swarmed in through the boarding ramps and began to shoot anything that moved with a strange yellow light that crackled with orange energy. Anyone hit fell immediately to the deck and was picked up and taken away by a group of the aliens that followed behind the leading edge of the assault group.

CJ, Katy, and Antje were in the deck fifty-two common room to watch the streamcast of the Glimmerocks and sat munching on popped corn when the view screen showed an alien ship slip into normal space right beside them.

“What the hell?” exclaimed CJ.

“Hold on!” Katy yelled as they saw the ship fire two missiles toward the
Istraulis
. The view screen went to static as the
Istraulis
was hit. The ship shook violently as power circuits overloaded and steam pipes ruptured. Alarms went off immediately and emergency broadcasts blared over the PA. The
Istraulis
shuddered several times as all three deck fifty-two duty rotations scrambled to their emergency stations.

“Communications are down!” they could hear Dan Miller yelling from the operations room. “Initiate fire control procedures, NOW! Evermore, bypass primary electrical systems and bring up auxiliary power!”

“Yes, sir!” CJ said and ran down the corridor to the power control room.

“Martine, get me some communications!” Dan barked. “Latimer, seal off that leak!”

“Aye, sir!” they both replied as they moved to do as they were ordered.

They no sooner cleared the door when Antje went down from the hit of a yellow-and-orange energy ball. Katy looked up and screamed as a huge alien creature grabbed her by the right arm and lifted her off the deck. The creature looked like a mix of mammal, reptile, and something else completely unknown. The massive paw crushed Katy’s arm; flesh, muscle, and bone into a bloody mess. Barbs in the alien’s paw hooked into her flesh and ripped out small chunks of skin and muscle. Katy screamed in pain as she kicked and punched at the monster with no effect. Two other aliens came around the corner and shot anyone they saw with the strange weapons.

“KAAATTTYYYY!” CJ yelled when he came back out of the power control room as he heard the commotion in the corridor. He was horrified when he saw Katy struggling to get away from the monster. One of the alien creatures shot its energy weapon at him. CJ dove aside at the last moment and the energy ball hit the primary power buffer causing an explosion that filled the room and the corridor outside of it with flame and smoke. The blast threw CJ across the corridor and into the bulkhead. The impact ripped a gash in his head and knocked him senseless. He came to just a few moments later to several spots of intense pain and his uniform on fire.

He slapped out the flames as he struggled to his feet and ran down the corridor. No one was left in the operations room. He turned to go to the transtube when the
Istraulis
shook and rumbled. He could feel the ship tilt as she began to list to starboard. The abandon ship klaxon blared and the life pods opened and began to flash the countdown sequence. Explosions rocked the deck and fireballs filled the corridors as the MT&T superliner
Istraulis
came to a fiery end.

CJ half threw himself and was half thrown by the explosion into a life pod and hit the jettison button. The pod shot out of the escape tube and straight into a bulkhead fragment that had been blown from the
Istraulis
. The wall of the pod cracked and the electrical system overloaded as the pod and the bulkhead collided.

“Oh, shit! Oh, shit! Not good!” CJ cursed, as he tried to stop the precious air from leaking into space. He could feel the pod wobbling in its trajectory as he fought to stabilize the situation. The minutes passed like seconds while the oxygen levels continued to drop. CJ felt the effects of hypoxia set in. He found it harder to think straight and his mind began to fill with thoughts of Katy and a peaceful spot on a beautiful planet.

“I…I’m…sorry…Katy…that I…never told you…I love you…” CJ said, as the black veil of unconsciousness began to settle over him.