Earth Orbital Station 2,
Earth Core United—Military Division Headquarters
Captain Christopher Riley stepped out of the boardroom, looking utterly dumbfounded. The meeting with the Admiral and the others, including the Omega Group’s lead scientist, left him perplexed and slightly nauseated. Deep Contact hadn’t even been finished in its final stages of construction, and now he learned that there was already another similarly designed ship that beat it to the punch. Deep Explorer was (in fact) the first interstellar space vessel to be ever built, not Deep Contact. That took a long time to accept, especially seeing how the entire ECU community had come to believe that this ship––in the here and now––was to be the first one.
He quickly found a spot near a window, one of the many huge panoramic-type that dotted along the spacious outer waiting area. From where he sat, the Earth was in full view, the distant ellipse of Parthenon One, the civilian La Grange space station beyond, could be seen on the opposite side. Tilting his head to the left, he could see the moon, and the dotted lights of the domed cities on the surface. Christopher tried his best to see the shipyard in orbit of it, but one would need a pair of binoculars or magnetization glasses to see it in its stationary position.
“What now, Linda? Hm?” He asked of his departed wife. “Is this punishment? Did I deserve this for all our… my sins––to you, to them and the universe at large? Even God, forsakes me in my time of need. I would pray for forgiveness, but you know, as much as I, that I cursed him something awful the day you died.”
It had only been a few years since her death, not long enough to get past her suicide, and his bout of alcoholism that nearly caused an accident on a ship he commanded. Those are things no one, no matter how much they try, can ever erase from their past. He was lucky. Lucky that the top brass saw fit to get him the help, overcome this affliction, and give him a command once more.
But was it truly luck? No, no it wasn’t. The Earth Core United Fleet Command put him here for a reason. A topic they danced around, but made no illusions of what was to become of him and the problem he created. He gave a somber sigh, looking down in shame, and then back up to the view ahead.
“Thy will be done.”
The other senior staff soon exited the meeting and headed for their separate destinations. Admiral Berkley and Zach Mitchum (ECU’s Political Officer) shook hands and glanced over at the bewildered Riley staring out the window. Berkley grimaced slightly and gestured his head at Zach to speak to his estranged friend. Were they still friends after this? He couldn’t be sure. Even after the Admiral left, Zach hesitated momentarily before joining Riley to gaze out into the stars.
“Why me?” Riley said, still gazing out the window. “Why in god’s name did you guys choose me for something like this?”
“Chris… I…” Zach was at a loss for words.
“I suppose it’s all politics, right?” Riley turned to face him. “Send the embarrassment out in to space and keep a good standing with the rest of the ECU colonies.”
“Something like that,” Zach nodded. “You weren’t the first choice, but, with tensions so high amongst the Earth bred colonies… we needed to save face, somewhat, and send a message to them. We are the authority, one Earth, one mind on what’s best for all under our banner.”
“PR shit…” Riley snorted. “I’ve hated that whole ‘Earth Core United’ bullshit. Doesn’t even make sense…”
“Earth is the core of all the worlds we populate, a single voice that keeps humanity tied to the roots of our…”
“Yeah-yeah-yeah, I know what it’s implying,” Riley dismissed as he gestured for him to stop talking. He sighed slightly and leaned back in the plush seat. “Let’s not kid ourselves here, Zach, this isn’t some liberated government, we’re in a fucking human empire of sorts. It’s no wonder the colonies are unsettled and still resentful of Earth imposing its will on them.”
Zach looked at his feet and fiddled with his hands. He remembered now why they hadn’t spoken for so long. This argument about the ECU had gone on between them over the years, with Zach always siding with the government of Earth, while Riley felt more sympathy to the outer colonies. Their friendship strained from these combative talks, and rather than get into yet another round of endless debate, Zach tried a different approach.
“Remember that time, you, me and Linda went skiing in Switzerland?” He glanced over to Riley with a smug grin. “She was convinced that you and I would end up racing each other down to the bottom and causing an avalanche along the way.”
Riley giggled, the memory of it coming back instantly. “Of which we nearly did, if I recall.”
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“Yeah, true…”
“But Linda was the one that beat us both to the bottom and took us up on that wager we made.” Riley laughed afterwards.
“I can’t believe we went back up and skied down with nothing on… what were we thinking?”
Both men laughed and shook their heads at the stupidity of that incident.
“I think we were hoping she’d be the one.” Riley managed to say in mid-laugh.
“I know, right?” Zach said, hands raised up. “She played us good, god… what a woman.”
“Yeah, she was the best.” Riley said, wiping the tears. His face slowly shifted down from a smile to that of a somber one. “I miss her.”
“I do too.” Zach said. He patted his friend on the leg. “I’m glad you two ended up with each other. You made an amazing pair. She always said you were the one she wanted to be with. I’m… I’m sorry she…”
“That’s okay,” Riley held up a hand. “I’ve made my peace with it… somewhat…”
Zach let the man have a moment of silence. Riley took one last look out the window. The view was breathtaking. He gave a long inhale, as if he was still standing on that Swiss mountaintop and looking down at the entire world. Zach finally stood up, giving one last slap to Riley’s leg, and faced him.
“Chris, don’t look at this assignment as a failure, or a punishment, for that matter. Think of it as the greatest opportunity and something that Linda would have wanted for you. She would tell you to go out there, explore the unknown, and take on the challenge.”
“She would have,” Riley glanced at him. “If she had still been that woman back then. But, if she were still alive today, with all she was going through, she would have called me a selfish bastard and told me not to bother coming back… ever.”
Zach had nothing to respond to that. Only Christopher would know what she was truly like behind closed doors, only he would know the struggle she was enduring with anxiety, depression and whatever they were dealing with on a personal level. Having been apart from them both for so long, they were becoming more like casual acquaintances than dear friends. The job dominated his life and his political views. And neither Riley, nor Linda, felt the same as Zach did about it all.
“Are you heading back to Earth?” Zach changed the subject as best he could.
“Not yet,” Riley said. He stood up and continued to look out the window. “I’m going to head over to the Buzz Aldrin Shipyard and check out the status of the vessel. And you?”
“I’m going down to Earth, I have yet another meeting in over two hours. I need to freshen up and talk with the President about things.”
“Then I leave you to it,” Riley said, a modest grin on his face and shaking the man’s hand. “I have my mission and you have yours. Goodbye, Zach, till we meet again.”
“Take care, Chris,” Zach shook his hand and brought him in for a brief hug. “Don’t go do something stupid and die out there, ya hear me? Just find that other ship, name a planet after yourself, and come on back, buddy.”
“A planet?” Riley coyly eyed him. “I intend to name an entire star system after me.”
The two friends laughed and embraced each other for the final time. A few small sniffles, a pat on the shoulder, and then Zach headed for his awaiting shuttle for Earth. Riley watched him go and then approached the window one last time. He touched the pane and patted the view of the Earth below.
“I’m a man without a country, without a home, without a wife,” He stated coldly. His eyes shifted towards the moon. “And all I have now is a tall ship, the rough sea, and the stars to guide her. Is it enough? Can it be enough? Oh god, I just don’t know.”
* * *
Approaching the moon on a small shuttle transport, Riley struggled the with the thought of his dilemma. He was to keep silent about his true mission, especially to the crew and senior officers. How could he avoid telling them for so long? He’d have to remain out of sight, to be distant, socially unavailable and keep to himself at all times. The other captains, on many ships he served, always did this to maintain order and authority. To be a strong leader, you need to make sacrifices, to be ready to send anyone into danger, and making friends would jeopardize that command for respect.
As much as he didn’t want to do it, he vowed it was the only way for this mission. He still didn’t feel ready, his sobriety was frail, his depression hadn’t shaken fully, and now he had to command a ship with dual purposes; Explore deep space, and locate a missing secret ship. What a tangled weave he was in. An intricate thread of lies, deception and half truths. Even now, as he looked upon the approaching Buzz Aldrin Shipyard, with Deep Contact stationed inside half-built, he could see this was going to be quite the challenge.
The ship’s outer shell looked hard as anything he’d seen before. The deep black metal composite looked spliced as it revealed the inners, like that of a sliced apple down the middle, he could view the inners the station crew were working on. Layers upon layers of insulation, bright orange foam-like sponge material that absorbed radiation and cosmic rays, honeycombed between decks and walls. Silver-plated frameworks were arched all around as it contained the shape of this submarine-looking vessel. It was an impressive and imposing interstellar ship, to say the least.
Riley marvelled at the sheer size and level of construction of such a massive beast. With only months to go before launch, the shipyard crew was working on it around the clock. It was to believe this was only the second one of its kind. Riley wondered if this was the same ones who worked on the other vessel, Deep Explorer. But, no, they can’t have been, that was much too out of sight for anyone not to see or talk about. Which poised yet another question in his brain: If they didn’t construct that ship here, where is the other shipyard they built it out of? Where would build a ship of this size with no one spotting it?
“Mars? Or Jupiter?” He spoke while in thought. “Maybe between or in the shadow of either, it has to be Omega Group calling the shots on this, not the military.”
That disturbed him greatly. Riley gave a wide-eye look of realization just as he passed by vessel and made out the ship’s name and monogram:
DEEP CONTACT 001-ECUF
What made him flinch slightly was the fact that the monogram looked very similar to the style of Omega Group’s typeface. Perhaps they felt no one would notice the slight significance of that hidden meaning. But, Riley, he was no fool, he knew exactly who was calling the shots on this one. He drew out a long sigh, and remembered a line from Shakespeare he read in his youth.
“By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes…”