Twenty Days V.2

The processing continued. The lunar helium-3 reserves were too precious...too much power lurking under the soil. Large metallic jaws of the gargantuan robots dug and crushed the regolith, breaking and biting. They looked hungry, even angry as they worked. Many smaller robots took the pieces onto a large conveyor, as the broken pieces journeyed into the processor machine to capture the helium-3. Destroying the rock with the robots, with the scurrying of the smaller units appeared chaotic to an untrained eye. Perhaps to an engineer, it was a ballet of machinery and technology.

Martin shuffled into the crater, following the snaking path down to the bottom of the excavation pit. He stumbled as he rushed down, falling face first onto the ground, kicking up a large cloud of dust. He cursed to himself. Not used to wearing a space suit, Martin struggled to get back on his feet, brushing off the coating of dust, and clearing off his visor. He bounded down the path, stumbling as the path curved sharply on the descent.

Sweat coated his forehead, and stung his eyes. As he instinctively tries to wire the beads of sweat off his forehead, he only managed to smear dust over the visor. He cursed trying to remember his EVA training prior to taking the assignment. He struggled down the path, trying to stay upright until it flattened out towards the bottom.

The movement of the machines was breathtaking, disappearing and reappearing through the hovering dust. Breaking and digging in the absolute silence. Martin felt the vibrations through his feet as he stood, momentarily watching the machines work. As an engineer, the behemoths toiling in the lunar soil fascinated him. He glanced around the worksite, only seeing the machines at work. 4:17 AM. I still have time. The area was clear and he went to work.

Martin walked across the small clearing towards the maintenance console, admiring how the large machines altered their path to avoid him, as he approached the console. He pulled out a small black box with a protruding wire from the suit pocket. Ok, last one. The box slipped from his trembling hand, falling to the surface. Dammit.

The bulk of the suit made it difficult to squat down, so Martin finally gave up and fell to his knees. He grabbed the box, shaking the dirt free from his glove and some wiping still clinging dirt on the box. He looked back at the maintenance console, and opened the access panel on the pedestal. Taking several deep breaths, Martin tried to calm his pounding heart and still his trembling hands.

Ok, red line with black dots...where is it? Within the panel were circuit boards and cables running down towards the core feed. Martin moved his hand through the wiring, searching for the red cable with black dot patterns. Got it. He grabbed the small box with an uneven hand, pausing as he held the box in front of the panel.

"Please connect the box, and you'll be finished," said a soft voice through his com-link.

Martin hesitated.

"Julia is quite cute. She's five? Six?"

"You said you'd leave them alone once I help you out," said Martin. He flexed his shaking left hand into a fist. His heart pounded, and his breathing grew rapid. Beads of sweat trickled down his forehead.

"And we will. Just attach the device and activate it. Do this last act, and you'll be done. Your family will be quite safe. I assure you. Do this last thing for us, and we'll leave you be," said the soft voice.

Martin attached the box to the red cable. A small light on the box blinked green twice and blinked off, and Martin wedged it into the panel behind some of the cabling. His hand stilled as he closed up the panel and stood back up.

The bright blue with white swirled Earth hung in the blackness. Martin looked up, gasping as he looked upon his home. He paused, savoring a brief moment of his home before taking a deep breath. I need to be accountable. I hope they understand. With a heavy sigh, Martin held up his arm, and accessed his wrist console imbedded into the suit sleeve.

"Thank you for your service, Mr. Sullivan."

Martin didn't bother to respond. He selected his messaging system and selected a pre-written note in his queue and sent it. The trembling in his hands slowed as a feeling of peace washed over him. The burden was released. Martin closed his eyes, squinting from a dull ache in his head. Pain intensified, as he grabbed hold of his helmet in the futile attempt to alleviate the building pressure. He grunted and cried out as he noticed the metallic taste in his mouth.

Sounds faded into the distance and he felt his heart racing. The pulsations reverberated within his ears. His screams seemed far away. He fell to his knees, seeing the Earth above. The image of his wife and daughter filled his consciousness as he heard the faint pop sound within his head. Blood trickled from his nostrils, mouth, and ears. His deep blue eyes were destroyed and blooded. Martin held position for a moment, before falling. His body lay still. All around him, the machines continued their work, carving new paths around the body.

###

Steam drifted up from the mug. John held the mug close to his face, breathing in the aroma of his fresh coffee, much better than the freeze dried stuff served to the staff in the mess hall. John closed his eyes, cradling the mug in both hands. Ah, the perks of being the base manager.

John looked at the image of the young boy, perhaps ten years old, caught in mid-run, dribbling a soccer ball. He selected the 'play' button on his console display and the boy jumped into motion, moving down the side of the field of grass. He feigned to the inside, but continued dribbling along the sideline. One defender reacted to the fake, twisting and turning about trying to keep up. John stiffened in his chair, swaying along with the boys movements.

Blonde hair bounced about as the boy jostled and moved with the ball. Two defenders rushed forward, out of control, diving and sliding towards the ball. The boy changed direction without missing a step, as the defenders flew past. That's my boy! John smiled and nodded his head.

The boy slowed, glancing up at the goalkeeper. The penalty box was empty of defenders, and he slowed. The goalkeeper sprinted forward, diving towards the ball, hoping to snatch or knock it away. As he dove forward, the blonde boy suddenly chipped the ball in a high arc. Waving arms in desperation, the ball drifted over the goalkeeper's reach, and bounced across the goal line. Just like I taught him!

Cheers and applauds erupted from the stands, and the camera jostled around. The boy ran over to the corner, holding his arms up in triumph. The camera shook and bounded about from the cheering crowd. The image blurred as it rotated, showing a short black hair woman. "Hi honey, wish you were here. We love you!" She smiled and kissed the camera lens. The image froze as the video came to an end.

John swallowed a building lump in his throat. A slight buildup of moisture grew in the corners of his eyes. I love you too, sweetheart. John pressed his fingers up to the frozen image of his wife, touching her lips on the image. Six months is too long. Only twenty more days until I'm home.

Sitting back on the chair, John gazed at the image for a moment, breathing deep, occasionally wiping away the wetness in his eyes. He played the video again, following the motions on the field with renewed vigor. He wasn't sure how many times he played it. A hundred? A thousand? It didn't matter. For a brief moment, he was home in the crowd cheering his son. Watching the videos of his family was just as much a morning ritual as was his coffee.

He glanced at the time. Damn, time to get going. John closed out his console, and stood. The small room was not much larger than a standard dorm room, but unlike other staff on the lunar base, he had a private room and bath. Sparsely decorated, his room contained a small work desk, closet, and a small bed. Not gargantuan excesses as with CEO offices, but on the moon, a private room and bath equaled that kind of luxury.

Various sets of fatigues lined his closet. Mostly the black with gold trim decorations of the station manager position, John pulled out a fresh pair. Not one for suits and ties, John usually wore basic fatigues. Most managers John worked with and for wore suits emblazoned with all levels of medals, badges, or anything that denoted rank and stature. Having worked through the ranks, John loved to get his hands dirty, helping to get things done. Mostly, John loved to get out from behind the desk and from behind the bureaucratic paperwork.

John dressed, and he checked his close cropped salt-and-pepper hair before heading out into the corridor.

###

The door open and John entered Operations. The familiar smell of the strong coffee mixed with the heated electronics struck him. The large rectangular room was aglow from the many wall video screens and several staff workstations. John nodded to several staff monitoring the excavation machines, environmental controls, and various computer status as he walked through the center towards his small office.

John poured a fresh mug of coffee from the table in the corner and he walked around his desk. He paused glancing at his live feed of the lunar surface from the wall display. Without an actual window, John preferred to keep a live feed of the lunar surface on display. The brilliant blue and white Earth hovered in the blackness. He smiled and settled down in his chair, cradling the mug close to his face, breathing in the aroma and taking a slight sip. Not exactly a window, but it felt good to look out onto the surface.

Various system readouts were on his desk display. Excavation tonnage, shipments of helium-3 Orbital Station, quarterly goals, and various critical system statuses were just to name a few. John went through the status screens, nodding as everything was performing within the established goals. Looks good. No messages from Orbital requesting a meeting, even better. Maybe I'll avoid any further meetings before I rotate home. John smiled.

A reminder flashed up on his screen. Staff evaluations were due in a week. John frowned. No matter how much he disliked being stuck behind his desk, the never ending paperwork requirements could not be avoided, a necessary evil for management. Maybe I'll let Will take care of these. John smiled for a moment, but chided himself. It was his duty and he would see it through. I still could take a jumper out today for a recon flight to get away from the desk for a while. Not a bad idea. The solitude of flight presented a good escape from the drudgery of the daily tasks of the station manager.

After scanning the systems reports and statuses, John stared at the view of the Earth, hovering in the blackness. Beautiful. A sense of wonder and peace filled him every time he looked at it. His skin tingled from the emotion.

A sharp rap on the door brought his attention back into the office. He started as his senses returned.

"Come in," said John, straightening up in his chair.

Susan Sullivan, chief technician, strode into the office, closing the door behind her. Her black hair, pulled tightly into a pony-tail jumped as she approached the desk. "Good morning, sir," she said. "We have a problem."

John felt his pulse quicken as his thoughts veered into the multitude of problems a lunar excavation base would encounter. "What is it?"

"I'm sending you a message I received a few minutes ago." Susan pulled out a tablet and tapped the screen a few times to send the message to John. "Dammit." Susan hit the wrong keys and opened the wrong message. Her fingers were a blur as she worked the tablet. "Hang on, I think I got it now."

"Easy, Susan. Breathe. Remember those exercises I taught you."

Susan paused, closing her eyes for a moment, breathing in and out for a set of three. She calmed and opened her eyes again. "Good morning, sir, we have a problem," she said.

"Good morning, Susan. What seems to be the problem?" John smiled at her as she regained her composure for the second attempt.

Susan worked on her tablet, sending a message to John. "There it goes," she said. "I received this from Martin Weaver a few minutes ago. He's one of the engineers."

John opened the message on his display and read.

My name is Martin Weaver, engineer second class. My actions were coerced and do not represent any political or third party affiliation. My family has been threatened and failure to follow the instructions may lead to harm. I'm not sure who 'they' are, but they came out of the shadows, asking me to plant devices into the computer system. I would've come forward, but...my family. I don't know what I can do. They said they'd leave my family alone when I finish. When I send this email, it will be done, and I'll turn myself in. The station may be in danger. There may be others. They may be anywhere. Forgive me.

Martin Weaver

John read through the message again, looking for any hidden intent or meaning. "Where's Martin now?"

"I called his com-link, but he didn't respond," said Susan. "He could've removed it or turned it off. Sounds like he may come to us."

"Maybe. We need to talk to him, sooner the better." John read the message another time, activating his com-link. "Will."

"This is Will."

"Will, contact security, and have them search the base for Martin Weaver, and detain him when found. Then come to my office, ASAP."

"Got it."

John's mind raced. He double-checked various system status readouts on the wall, looking for any anomalies he may have missed before. "Didn't he rotate in with the last group?"

"Yea, I think so." Susan tapped on her tablet, opening up the personnel records. "Here it is, he came in on the last rotation. Just over two months ago. Curious."

"What?"

"We've had a couple of anomalies within this period. One power flicker. A couple of computer performance issues. All within the last two months."

"Coincidence?"

"Makes you wonder. The months before were quiet and nothing out of the ordinary. It's worth investigating."

The knock on the door caught John's attention. "Come in."

"What's going on?" said Will Stone, Deputy Station Manager, walking over to an empty chair in front of the desk. "Security's searching for Martin, but they were asking some questions."

"We have a situation," said Susan, handing him the tablet. Will took a moment to read Martin's message, arching his eyebrows and grinding his teeth. He rubbed his stubble on his chin. "Good Lord," he said, reading it through a second time. "Has this been verified?"

"Not yet," said John. "But we'll need to find out, soon. Discretion is the order of the day. I don't want to spook anyone just yet. A panic may push Martin, or anyone else for that matter, into a rash decision. We need more information."

"Agreed," said Will.

"We'll need to lock Martin out of the computer system, obviously," said Susan.

"That's a good idea," said John. "Change the administrative passwords, and restrict access to only essential personnel for now. Run a full diagnostic of the systems. Keep an eye out for any anomalies, and especially any foreign code."

"Sounds good, sir," said Susan. She nodded to each of the men, and headed for the door. "I'll keep you posted."

The door clicked shut, leaving both men in a moment of awkward silence. "Will, you'll be running this place soon," said John, breaking the stillness. "You sure you want this headache?"

"You bet," Will smiled. "Twice the headache, minimal pay raise. Bring it on."

"Any recommendations for what to do next?"

Will rubbed his chin with thumb and finger. "Discretion is vital, I agree. A rash decision may force someone to make a bad decision. We can't be sure Martin is alone, or if there're others. We don't know what we're dealing with just yet. We need to get him isolated and questioned. What's going on? What's their agenda? We don't know enough yet. First order of business is to brush out the evacuation plans for the base. We should prepare for a worst case scenario."

John nodded. "Agreed, that's sounds good. You'll do just fine when I'm gone. So much for the last twenty days being quiet." John rubbed his salted temples.

"We should take a walk outside to inspect the exterior and the computer core system. Probably the excav site also," said Will.

"Yes," said John. "Any setbacks there will set us back weeks. God, the paperwork and meetings will be a nightmare."

Rising from the chair, John approached the wall display. He gazed at the lunar surface portrayed on it. "Very well," he said, turning around. "I hate sitting behind that damn desk anyway, let's get to it. Meet me at the airlock in fifteen."

###

John's mind raced as he walked down the hall, nodding to individuals who greeted him as he past. He smiled and wished many good morning, but cast a suspicious eye on them as they passed. Was one of these smiling staff a spy? A saboteur? Nobody was above suspicion. John became an actor, wearing a false smile and appearing happy and enthusiastic as he journeyed towards the airlock.

The purple line along wall led to the airlock module along the edge of the circular base. John stepped up to the biometric reader at the entrance, holding his palm up to the reader, as it scanned. A green light flashed and the door whooshed open.

The suit room was darkened, with lights shining down on each of the suit lockers in the room. Almost like displays at a museum. The room came to life as he entered. The motion detectors brought up the lights as door closed and locked behind him. John paused, casting his gaze across the room, noticing one of the lockers was empty. Someone was outside. He walked up to the locker, looking into the glass where the suit normally would be connected.

Walking through the room, he checked each of the other suits still inside their lockers. Power and data connections ran to the suit. All the other suits looked good as John walked back to the door. As he approached the console near the airlock door chamber, he sniffed the air, reeling his head back as he neared the console. Burnt plastic.

"Will, what's your ETA?" John held his hand on the console, but it didn't respond. He tried it a second time without success.

"On my way. See you in a minute," said Will.

"Susan, what's your status?"

"The diagnostic's still going. Nothing so far. It'll be a little while yet."

John squatted down at the base of the pedestal of the console unit. "Susan, can you check the log and see if anyone scheduled an EVA?" The scent of the burnt plastic was strong.

John stood up, glancing back at the lockers lined along the wall. "Looks clear. Nothing scheduled," said Susan.

"Thank you," said John. He walked down the line of lockers, looking for anything that could be out of place. His muscles clinched upon the sound of the whooshing door. He tensed for a fraction of a second, but relaxed when seeing Will enter. He took a deep breath.

"A suit is missing," said John. "No scheduled EVAs this morning, either. Someone took a walk."

"Security still hasn't located Martin," said Will walking towards the locker with the missing suit. "No sign in his quarters or mess. His squad mates haven't seen him since last night. I'd bet he's our walker."

"Looks that way," John grimaced. "The console's dead."

Both men walked over to the airlock console. Will moved his hand on it, failing to bring it online. He sniffed around, moving closer to the access panel along the pedestal. He unlatched the small door, and reeled his head back. "Oh yea, it's been zapped."

Black scorch marks ran along most of the circuit boards. Some of the plastic wires were melted and stuck together. John crouched, peering into the mess of circuitry. "Damn, things are coming to a head."

"We may be able to get something off of it," said Will. "It'll need to go to the workshop. Do it now, or wait until we check outside?"

"Later. I want to make a pass outside and check the external core system," said John. "Let's go."

###

Dust stirred from the impact as John stepped out of the airlock. John looked around, feeling the slight vibration from the door sealing behind him. He wiggled his toes as if he stepped out onto a beach.

John scanned the horizon, seeing nothing by the grayness of the lunar surface. His eyes tracked upward, catching sight of the Earth, hovering above. For an instant, the problems vanished. To see the view of the lunar feed in his office didn't seem to compare to actually seeing the blue Earth in person. Somewhere on that blue and white smeared Earth were his son and wife, going about their day. Did they realize he was looking up at them? John's lips turned into a slight smile.

"...do you read? John?" said Will over the suit radio.

"Yea. Just looking at home for a moment."

Will gazed up at the Earth, as each man drifted into their own thoughts.

"Let's get going," said John. Thoughts of home could wait until later.

The two men shuffled from the airlock, heading towards a small red box, standing out from the gray lunar soil. Each of the men checked for anything out of place. Although the computer system was accessed inside the base, the external controls allowed physical access to the core system, buried under the ground. John pressed a button to open the console display. He entered in his code and brought up the systems status screens. Browsing through screens of information and status readouts, he nodded as everything looked online and within normal parameters.

"All systems look good," said John.

Will dropped to his knees to open the access panel. Peering inside the maze of wiring and circuitry, he searched for any evidence of sabotage or damage.

"What the...," said Will, pulling out a small box connecting to the wiring. "Someone's installed a wiretap. Looks high end, too."

"Will pulling it out hurt anything?"

"It's passive. It'll send out a burst of data to hide in with our transmissions. When data streams stop, I expect it'll be noticed. Pull it out?

John squatted down, looking at the box. "Go ahead. Martin already sent the message, so things are already afoot. We'll examine it further when we get back in."

Will snatched the box, snapping the connections to the wiring to the core system controls. He stood, holding it closer for a better look before placing in his suit exterior pocket. "We should make a check of the environmental systems."

"Agreed," said John. "Susan."

"Go ahead."

"Keep an eye on the security feed. We're going to make a circuit of the base. Get security to place a couple of guards in the airlock. Thanks."

"Got it."

John and Will shuffled away from the computer core console. They moved around the base, checking the exterior walls, conduits, and some control panels for additional data taps or any foreign objects. They scouted the area, moving their eyes around the horizon, looking for someone else on the surface.

Someone was on the outside. Unscheduled EVA, destruction of the airlock console, and planting wire taps in the control systems, all put both men on edge.

Were others involved? John gritted his teeth, keeping his thoughts to himself. He noticed the breathing volume in his suit elevated, and the pulsing of his heart pounded in his ears. He glared towards the excavation site.

"Looks clear," said Will as the two men completed their circle of the base exterior.

"John?" said Susan. "The diagnostic's complete. Everything looks good. I found some missing data blocks, coinciding with reported anomalies. Looks like they were scrubbed. I'll check the backups. Maybe we can piece it together. Someone was covering their tracks, though."

"Thanks, Susan. We're heading over to the excav site."

###

Atop the crater, the men gazed down the gradual slope leading to the basin. Three large behemoths chewed and ground up the regolith, tearing their jaws into the ground. The large pieced protruded from the jagged teeth as one of the robots snapped it into smaller pieces. John never lost his engineer's awe of mechanized machinery. He watched the ballet of the machines working together to continue the mining and processing. The design and movement of the machines mesmerized John. Memories of his early engineering days flooded his mind.

"I can't see much from up here," said John. "Too much dust. Let's head down."

The men crept down along the snaking path, leading down to the bottom of the crater. They paused, looking through the dust. Visibility decreased as the slope flattened towards the bottom of the crater. Martin's out here somewhere.

"Look!" said Will, gesturing towards the maintenance bin near a control system console unit.

John snapped his head. A gray lump lay near the ground, slightly off to the side. Both men crouched lower, staring, trying to make sense of it. John moved his eyes around the perimeter once again, but failed to see anything.

"Damn. We should've brought a stunner," said John. He glanced at Will, who shrugged his shoulders. "Keep an eye on me, I'm heading over." Nodding at Will, John crept into the clearing.

A small tool bin off to the side, so John edged his way over to it. Kneeling crouching behind it, he rummaged through it. Several tools were scattered inside, including a large pipe wrench, which John grabbed. Sometimes technicians needed it to knock something back into place, but it could also be used as a weapon. He flexed his fingers around the handle, feeling more secure.

John recognized the suit on ground as he approached. He crept forward until he was a step away from the suit. He reached forward with the pipe wrench, prodding the shoulder. There were no responses. He pushed harder, but still registered no movement.

Dust smeared across the visor as John ran his hand over it, seeing the blooded and lifeless staring into nothingness. He cleared off more of the dust from the visor, and noticed the trickles of blood that ran down the corner of the lips and nose. His palms were sweaty, and his heart raced. Martin. Damn. What did you do? John took a deep breath.

"Will, still clear over there?"

"Yea. All clear."

"It's Martin. He's...gone." John swallowed hard.

A small robot traversing the area altered its path as Will approached. He knelt on the opposite side and reached down, activating the suit system in the torso.

"The suit looks good. Pressure's holding steady. No damage from what I can tell. Integrity is good. Battery looks good," said Will as he browsed through the screens. "From what this says, the suit's fine." Will patted Martin on the shoulder.

"I wish he came to us. We could have worked something out. I think he has a little girl."

Will stood back up, still gazing down on Martin's body. "If someone got to my family..." Will's voice trailed off. "I don't know."

"I'd probably do the same as Martin," said John. "Martin, don't worry. We'll bring you home."

Will stepped over to the console, opening the access panel. He reached in, and located an identical wiretap device, connected to the wiring. "Got another one." Will snatched the box out from the panel, breaking the connection.

John stepped over to the console, examining the small device. "Have Susan go through these. Do you think we can identify what was sent?"

"Not sure," said Will. "What the Hell?" He gestured over to a climbing streak of light, climbing into the sky. A small craft was rocketing into lunar orbit.

Both men stood for a moment, watching the ascending craft.

"John, we're tracking an unknown ship. No responses to communication. Not one of ours," said Susan.

"We see it," said John. "Keep tracking and get me a line to Orbital. I need to brief the executives."

The ship continued on an arc into the black sky, flickering from view as it reached orbit.

"That poses more questions than answers," said Will.

"John, the track is leading away from Earth's orbit. I've notified Orbital and they'll continue to track it. Not sure where they're going. Very interesting," said Susan.

"Ok, sounds good. Have security send out a team to lock down the excav site." John took a deep breath. "Martin's dead. We're on our way back."

"Damn." Susan paused for a moment. "See you in a bit."

John gazed up, staring into the blackness where the craft flickered from view. His attention was disturbed by one of the large behemoths bursting into a new piece of rock. Splinters flew as the chuck of rock exploded into smaller pieces. He turned his attention to a large red box. He opened the door, hesitating for a moment, but pushed in the red button. All the robots ground to a halt, frozen and lifeless.

"Operations on hold until further notice," said John. "He'll probably be seen as one of the bad guys. But I'd have done almost anything to keep my family safe."

"I know," said Will. "All bets would be off for me. Things are at a whole new level now."

"Let's get back in." John gave Martin a final look before they headed back up the path to the base.

Twenty more days until I'm home. I hope...