The Death Moon

I - The Moon of the Shadows

Year 3018

"Delta E station, permission for landing."

"Granted, Lieutenant Cordon.", officer Sarah replied.

The Transport III ship parked at the dock at the base, bringing the supplies that were brought from Mars, place where the Earth's population took refuge after the Third World War that decimated the planet. With the explosion of hydrogen bombs, produced from nuclear fusion, the Earth's axis moved and the nucleus stopped, causing irreversible changes in the terrestrial electromagnetism. In addition to places like Mars, mankind created bases like that on Enceladus, a moon of Saturn, where conditions allowed for greater survival.

The captain of the base, Henry Fox, went in person to see if the whole cargo had arrived intact. A year ago they lived under strict rationing to ensure everyone's survival, and that cargo would prevent that no one would starve until the new dome was ready. It was almost finished. In it, the terrestrial biological system could be cultivated, with trees and plants to promote photosynthesis, besides serving as food; animals and insects to propagate the seeds through all the corners of the forest regions. In addition, they designed huge mirrors to increase the power of the Sun's light that came a hundred times weaker than in the planet Earth.

Thus, the solar photons loomed in the right measure to be absorbed by the planted area. And the scientists also managed to create artificial gravity in the area, which made it easier to live in these habitats, maintaining good organic conditions.

After the inspection and the start of the supplies discharge, Lieutenant Cordon climbed the commando bridge, from where he observed the operation together with the commander.

"How was your trip, Lieutenant?"

"It went well, Captain. We had some problems with the asteroid belt near Jupiter. Thank goodness that our navigator officers are experienced, and the turbulence was nothing but a fright."

"Ever since we colonized Mars, fortunately we have never been short of food. The ancestors said that the overpopulation of planet Earth caused all resources to wane. It was a good idea for our 21st century scientists to send missions to colonize the red planet and plant vegetables, altering the planet's atmosphere, and create an artificial electromagnetic field. And now, we are repeating this experience here in Enceladus."

"Yes, but everyone knows that the real purpose of the Democratic Council is to reach a planet similar to Earth in structure and weather.", Cordon said.

"I think we'll succeed in future generations. Soon we will be able to create warp drive spacecraft and astronomical distances will be turned into mere walks.", continued Fox.

"All still very theoretical, Captain. I don't know if that will be possible."

"Just look at where we are. In the remote past, the human beings would never have imagined that we would get here..."

A short-haired officer, with a chanel haircut, stepped onto the bridge, interrupting the conversation. She shook her head, greeting the captain:

"Permission to enter the bridge, sir."

"Granted, Lieutenant Sarah."

Cordon looked at her and froze for a few seconds. She had fair skin, dark brown eyes, and light hair, almost blond. The curvaceous body revealed that she worked out a lot in the base's gym. A small tattoo garnished her right arm near the sleeve of her navy blue uniform. It was the color of officers' attire.

"We were talking about how important the colonization of Mars by our ancestors was.", said Commander Henry Fox.

Sarah smiled, acquiescing, staring at Cordon. He smiled back and kept his gaze for longer than usual, staring at her. The captain cleared his throat to break the mood, and lieutenant Cordon continued to say:

"And how is the colony of Enceladus, sir?"

"We're making a lot of progress with the underground sea we found here. Since the radio waves showed that this moon had plenty of water, the place became the new target of human colonization. Too bad that the air is unbreathable, so we are taking time creating the domes with artificial atmosphere for our survival. When the project is completed, we will be able to stay alive in any part of the universe."

"If we could find a place similar to Earth, we would have the chance to take the entire population living on Mars and Enceladus today, rebuilding human life. No doubt we would try to avoid the mistakes of the past.", Sarah concluded.

"Well, I beg your pardon.", Fox said after a moment. "If you want to talk, please, feel free to stay here. I will go to the new system of water reservoirs, with some officers for supervision." Before he left, he concluded. "My immediate officer is finishing checking the charge you brought, Cordon. Sarah, arrange for the crew of the transport ship to rest. That includes the lieutenant.", he laughed, pointing at Cordon.

"Thank you sir.", said lieutenant Cordon.

The captain then retired to continue his work.

After a moment of silence, Sarah looked at Cordon and commented, with a smile:

"You must be tired and hungry... So how about we go to the base's restaurant and have some good coffee before we take you to the lodge? We have a great one here."

"Of course, I accept!"

A little later they continued the subject, sitting at the restaurant table:

"So, Lieutenant?"

"You can call me Sarah..."

"All right.", he said, somewhat awkwardly. "Sarah, how do you manage to live so far from the colony of Mars?"

"Cordon, here is very similar to the living conditions you have on the red planet. This work follows the patterns that were built on Mars and forestry engineers, geneticists and biologists have extensive experience in preparing sophisticated environments for human life, as you can see. The biggest problem was water and this was one of the main reasons for choosing this moon as the second human colony. There's an ocean of water here that will guarantee our survival.", Sarah replied, excited to talk about Enceladus, now her home.

"I've heard that geysers cast minerals of the solid nucleus to the surface of this grayish satellite, which little by little change the constitution of the soil...", she nodded. "And those scientists have managed to drain the water to the surface to treat it, making it suitable for consumption and also a source of energy, since they have been able to separate the hydrogen from the water, turning it into fuel to generate nuclear energy..."

"Yes. You seem to be well-informed about the conditions of our colony. By the way, the engineers have figured out how to make drinking water and are coincidentally, from today on, starting to pump the precious liquid out of a new, deeper part they discovered by chance.", said the lieutenant, amazed at the interest.

"I know these things because of the classes we have at the military academy. We've learned everything about Astrophysics.", he said, smiling.

She smiled back.

"You're being modest, Cordon."

"How interesting that they discovered more water on this moon. I've heard it's the place with the most water available in our solar system."

The conversation continued to run smoothly, and they had fun as they drank coffee. Cordon looked at his military colleague, amazed by her intelligence and beauty. They were enjoying the good chat.

***

Far away, in the deepest part of the moon, an horrifying aberration opened its eyes. It awoke to the sound of a perforator searching for water. The operator of the giant machine couldn't even imagine that, at that moment, something completely unknown was observing him, from a place that, if he could glimpse, he would be terrified.

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