The Supremum Factor: Book 1: Birth of the Empire

Chapter 10 The Unthinkable

The next eight months passed quickly on the lunar base. Much research was accomplished, with many basic projects completed. In a corner of the hanger bay, phase two project was finally coming to a close. Only days remained before the first flight test would be possible.
A dozen people still working on the various systems worked tirelessly, until suddenly a large power surge occurred. Massive energy spikes, flowed out from the craft, into the entire base until finally all went dark. In one of the labs, Orion suddenly found himself in the dark momentarily, until emergency lighting kicked in. He proceeded to the comm system, but it was dead. Walking out in the dark, he met up with many people who were all heading down to the hanger bay.
As he arrived, Orion asked all, "report. What has happened?"
The first to reply was Maura O'Neil, saying, "sir, there was an accident in phase two. Harry got a major energy surge through him. We aren't sure how he will be."
Harry Mueller, one of the chief tactical systems designers, had inadvertently caused a massive energy spike through the new craft's systems, in an attempt to power up the main core, using the onboard energy storage units with the base's main power grid, massive feedback.
"Has anyone informed Tammy yet?" asked Orion looking over at the prototype.
"I was on my way to find her right now sir." replied Maura, turning, proceeding on her way.
Orion moved in to assess what damage there was. Before he got very far, Jason Fairfield stopped him, saying, "sir, we have a big problem."
Orion turned and looked at him asking, "how big of a problem?"
"As far as I can tell so far, the main junction power box has self destructed from the surge. We won't be able to complete repairs to it for some time. I'm not even sure we have a replacement for it," said Jason.
Orion looked at him, nodding his head confirming, then said, "it was a unique system. There is no replacement for it. But, we could strip the entire thing down, replace it with the new prototype system lab nine was working on for phase three. It will at least give us an opportunity to test it now, to see how well it functions."
"New prototype?" asked Jason in wonderment.
"Yes, it was designed for phase three's central power regulation, which requires more power flow than you could imagine," replied Orion, motioning him to proceed with him to the lab.
"Sir do you think it really is ready to use?" asked Jason.
"It is more than sufficiently ready for what we need now. We'll need to find Todd to help with its installation though," said Orion.
As he spoke, Todd just happened to turn the corner, almost running into them. "Sorry sir, didn't expect to see you there. Everyone is going the opposite way."
"Quite alright, Todd. But you better follow us back to your lab," said Orion.
"Sir?" questioned Todd?
"We require the prototype to restore power to the base," explained Orion. "The main junction box has been destroyed in the surge. There is no replacement for it except the phase three box."
"But sir, that will delay progress if we have to start from scratch again," said Todd.
"Think of it this way. This can be a primary test for it. Also if we don't take and make use of it, everything throughout the base will be delayed. The sacrifice of your project saves the many others," said Orion, moving on towards the lab.
"You make a good argument for it, sir. But it will mean starting back from scratch, fabricating every single component once more," said Todd.
"Once we have it hooked in, you can also do your live testing and monitoring of how it performs. You can also improve on anything as well, if you see potential problems or flaws in the prototype, to ensure what we install in phase three will mostly be perfect," said Orion.
"That would save us time, not having to hook up so many power sources for testing," said Todd.
"The amount of power it will regulate may never get to as close as what it's meant for, but you can extrapolate easily enough,"said Orion.
Upon arrival the trio lifted up the panel, carrying it across the dimly lit base, down corridors and up flights of stairs. The panel, weighing nearly two hundred kilograms by the moon's gravity, proved to still be quite heavy for the long trek, requiring some brief rest periods before continuing on.
Finally arriving back near the hanger bay, the old panel was quickly stripped off, the new one mounted in its place with some difficulty. One by one they reconnected all the conduits leading away to each section of the base, until finally they came to the main live feeds which was made up of four larger ones. Two from the energy absorption grid, two more from the fusion generator in that area.
"What do we do now," asked Orion.
Todd looked at them both and said, "We designed this to have multiple power feeds coming into the system. All twelve of these connections are for live input. We will have to carefully plug them in, without electrocuting ourselves in the process."
"I'll do that myself," said Orion, not wanting to risk any others.
"But sir, what if something happens to you?" asked Jason.
"Very doubtful at that. I've dealt with a lot of live power in my time," replied Orion taking the first cable. "Now Todd, where should this one go?"
"This here spot," said Todd pointing.
Connecting it up, he then proceeded with the next, the panel lighting up, coming alive. As the rest were connected, the panel registered all incoming power sources. Once done, Todd hit the activation switch. Within moments power began to flow again though the complex. With power traveling outwards attempting to restore everywhere, a mini surge began on several lines, the panel instantly cutting the flow.
"Why did it stop power flow to these areas?" asked Jason.
"It's a smart power panel. Once it detects too much flow, it automatically cuts power to prevent further damage.," explained Todd.
Orion looked at Jason, confirming, then adding, "this new system can regulate massive flows of energy preventing surges such as the one that happened earlier, unless you happen to override the system here, taking chances."
"Why do you think it cut power to these three area's?" asked Jason.
Looking at the lines, Orion replied, "this set goes to the hanger bay. Whatever had gone wrong, seems to be still going wrong. We will have to go and find out what the problem is."
Meanwhile in the hanger bay, power had come on, surges commencing once again in the phase two craft, then the lights going back out. Lou Smith having noticed this with the cables still connected, pulled the cabling out of the craft to prevent anything more from happening. As he did, power to the hanger bay resumed back to normal.
"Hmmm look at that," said Todd looking at the panel. "The hanger bay feed has come back online. Someone must have noticed something wrong, somewhere and fixed it."
"Must have began to surge in the phase two craft again. Someone likely noticed and pulled the plug. But these other two, we will have to determine where they go, then see what the problem is. Could be a relay somewhere that's damaged from the initial surge," said Orion.
"The old panel still has some clear writing on it," said Jason.
Looking at it, carefully reading what there was, Orion then said, "one leads to section three, the other to section seven. Section seven has the higher priority. Both of you, go see if you can find the problem there and fix it. Then proceed to section three. When you are done, come back and report your findings to me," said Orion.
Just then, Moy began paging Orion on the intercom. "General Zeenner, you are requested in the operations room."
"Now what," he whispered to himself, proceeding on his way.
Upon Arrival Moy looked at him saying, "Sir, I have Francis here waiting to speak to you. He's been trying to reach us for almost an hour."
"An hour? He has some good timing," said Orion proceeding to the monitor and sitting down. "Francis, what an unexpected surprise."
"Is everything alright up there?" Frank first asked. "I've been trying to get through for some time now."
"Nothing but a central power junction box meltdown," explained Orion, looking at his worried expression. "We have everything back up and running again, thanks to the prototype power regulation junction box meant for phase three."
"Anything serious happen to cause that?" asked Frank.
"We had a major surge relating to the phase two project. Nothing serious," answered Orion.
"Speaking of phase two, is it up and running yet?" asked Frank.
"A slight setback, but we should be able to start her maiden flight in a few days for testing," replied Orion.
Francis looked at him on the viewer, a little dismayed, then said, "I was hoping for better news. We just received a report that the Hubble picked up a large meteor on the edge of the system. Looks like from its trajectory it may come close to us. We have been asked to have you investigate it and if required, destroy it, since you have the means to do so."
"A tall order for an asteroid," remarked Orion.
"Perhaps, but it is what the international council has requested in order to prevent any catastrophe from happening. They say it is very huge," explained Frank.
"So after everything, they now come to the conclusion that not all of this is a waste of time?" queried Orion.
"Something like that," replied Frank.
"As soon as we get phase two complete, we will head out," said Orion.
"Very well. Notify me when you are ready. The council wants Hubble to record the events as they progress, to see how you deal with it," said Frank.
"I shall and we won't disappoint. Until next time," Orion said as he ended communications.
"A meteor, sir?" questioned Moy.
"You heard what he said. But I doubt very much that it's a meteor. I believe it to be the colony ship that I have been expecting all these years," said Orion.
"You really think that's what it is? Why didn't you say anything to Francis about it?" asked Moy.
"I didn't want to spread any alarm on them yet," said Orion, changing the frequency on the hyper com unit, then setting it to ring.
After nearly three minutes a response came saying, "hello?"
"Caroline, Orion here. It's finally arrived," he said.
"You mean the aliens?" questioned Caroline.
"I do," replied Orion, pausing for a moment. "Are you ready to finally do your story on the lunar base? I'll make arrangements to have you brought here with Barry right away if you are. You can get the whole inside scoop, before anyone else even knows," said Orion.
"Are you being serious?" asked Caroline.
"I am. This is the exclusive of a lifetime for you. Think of it. You can be the only journalist that gets any kind of footage, or gets to report on it first," said Orion.
"I know that. I was asking if you were serious on having me come to the moon finally. I've been waiting a long time now, you know," said Caroline.
"Oh. I didn't think of that," said Orion contemplating her words now. "So it's a yes, then."
"Absolutely," replied Caroline, her excitement rising. "What do I need to do or where do I need to go in order to catch a flight up?"
"I'll have my main man arrange to pick you up at the studio. He will also install a hyper com there in order for them to receive your broadcast from up here," said Orion.
"Oh my god. You're really spoiling me now," said Caroline.
"Just remember, Zee Corp owns your network. So it benefits us as well," said Orion.
"Oh that's true," said Caroline.
"Now Bro is planet side at the moment. He could be at the studio in a few hours. So tell Barry. Then both of you go home, pack what you need for a month, then return and wait," said Orion.
"Alright. We'll be ready," said Caroline.
"One last thing, don't discuss anything with anyone about the aliens," requested Orion.
"Very well, I won't," said Caroline.
"Great. See you soon," said Orion closing the channel, flipping to another and waiting.
After a few moment's came a reply, "Bro here."
"Bro, I have a little mission for you," said Orion.
"A mission sir?" repeated Bro questionably.
"I need you to go to the State News Studio in Mallordtown, install a hyper com system in their switching room so they can receive a broadcast from here," said Orion.
"Setting that up could take a few hours, sir. I won't make the next flight back," said Bro.
"I'll have the flight delayed. You will also be collecting a journalist by the name of Caroline, and her cameraman Barry to bring back with you," said Orion.
"A journalist? Isn't that a breach of security?" asked Bro.
"Caroline is the only journalist who has a Zee Corp pass to enter any Zee Corp building. She is also a Zee Corp employee, as Zee Corp owns the State News network," said Orion.
"You do sir? I wasn't aware of that," said Bro.
"Very few actually know that. So I would appreciate if you not tell any others. Just install the hyper com, show them how to use it, to receive the transmission we send to them and bring them two back,  without saying anything to any others," said Orion.
"Very well sir. I'll get on it now," said Bro, closing the com channel.
Switching to the transport's channel now, he waited for a reply. "Transport three here. Lorne speaking."
"Lorne, general Zeenner here. I need you to postpone your takeoff until Brohan returns from a task I sent him on. He will be bringing back two passengers that are coming here," said Orion.
"How long will the delay be for?" asked Lorne.
"I would say he might be about six hours," replied Orion.
"Sir, the next transport is scheduled to leave in twelve hours. Could he not take it?" said Lorne.
"Negative. I expect the two here as soon as possible," said Orion.
"Very well sir. It will delay us but we could possibly make up the time afterwards," said Lorne.
"You have fold down beds in the back wall of the flight deck. Why don't you make use of them and get some rest," suggested Orion.
"A fold down bed? I didn't know there was any," said Lorne, watching his co pilot look. "Jeff just found it. All this time we didn't know it was there."
"A few little omissions it seems. But not to worry, now you know. When Brohan returns and you are on route, let us know,"said Orion.
"Yes sir," said Lorne closing the channel.
Before Orion left the communications room, he said to Moy, "not a word to anyone about what you have heard discussed here. Is that clear?"
"Yes sir, but why?" answered Moy.
"I don't want to raise any panic to our people. I need them to continue working without having that distraction. Other than myself, you're the only one that has this information on the base. If I hear anyone mention anything about any of it, I know it will be you," said Orion.
"Uh yes sir. My lips are sealed," replied Moy.
Proceeding back to the hanger bay, Orion found Tammy still caring for Harry, who now lay on a gurney half way to the craft. Two other medical personnel at her side, aiding her with Harry, tending to his wounds.
Approaching Orion asked, "how's he doing?"
Tammy replied, "he's suffered a lot of shock and electrical burns. I have him sedated at the moment. We are attempting to take care of the burns as best we can."
"Will he be able to resume work soon?" asked Orion, looking a bit worried.
Tammy, looking at Orion replying, "I doubt he will be able to for a week."
"Do your best to get him better. We need him back to work as soon as possible," said Orion.
"Yes sir," replied Tammy a former army field medic.
Off in the distance, working on the phase two project, he spotted Zoi. He approached asking, "what is the status of your work on phase two?"
"I'm just going over last minute details on the mechanics of devices," she replied.
Relieved by her answer he said, "That's really good news, as I will require you to help me take over the work Harry was busy doing. We need it operational ASAP."
Surprised by this she asked, "what is the sudden rush?"
Looking up at the whole craft Orion answered, "we have a mission to perform with her, that the counsel is sending us on."
"Understood, but what do we know about his work?" asked Zoi.
"I know it all," Orion answered. "I know what all the projects are and how they work. But we will need Jenny Polsom's help as well. I don't like to have to remove her from her project, but we have deadlines to meet in the next day."
"Understood sir," agreed Zoi.
"Finish up what you were doing. When I return with Jenny we shall proceed," said Orion, as he turned walking away, proceeding to Jenny's lab. Entering he said, "how goes the battle?
"As best as it could, sir," replied Jenny.
"Are you in the middle of something important, right now?" asked Orion.
"Just a tad, but I almost have it complete," replied Jenny.
"Great. Finish it up. Once you are done, I will require your help on phase two," said Orion.
"Phase two? But I still have plenty more here to do. That power outage delayed me as it was. What happened anyway? I didn't leave here to find out," said Jenny.
"Harry had a little incident with the base's main power grid and the phase two craft. He's in med deck now. He may not be back to work for a week or more. So I need your help to help me finish up what he was doing. We need the craft fully operation as soon as we possibly can," explained Orion.
"What's the sudden rush?" asked Jenny.
"The counsel has a mission for us," replied Orion.
"A mission? How strange that they should ask. What do they want us to do?" asked Jenny.
"They want us to explore a strange asteroid that they just picked up on the Hubble," said Orion leaning in to her ear then whispered, "but it's not an asteroid. It's the alien vessel."
"What!?!" said Jenny turning around.
Placing his finger on her lips he said, "not a word to any other."
"But why not?" asked Jenny.
Leaning back to her ear he whispered again, "I don't want to raise panic among the rest. I need them all to keep working rather than worry about what is going to happen."
"Why tell me then?" asked Jenny.
"You should know the answer to your own question," replied Orion.
Pausing to think a moment she went on to say, "I guess that's true."
"You now know why I need your help to finish Harry's work," said Orion.
When the transport finally arrived, everyone cleared the dome bay. The atmosphere was all sucked out followed by the large doors sliding open, allowing the transport to enter and land. As soon as pressure was restored, Orion went in to greet his guests, who found the place quite amazing from the view they had on approach.
"Well this place is sure amazing," said Caroline as she stepped out first. "But it's rather smaller than I expected. This dome is like half of it."
"Oh it's far bigger than you think. Most of it is below the lunar surface. Mainly because, the energy absorption panels are far too expensive to produce and we needed to keep the solar radiation from penetrating into the base," said Orion.
"So you are saying that there is far more to see?" questioned Caroline her eyes opening wider with excitement.
"Far more," replied Orion, turning to Bro as he stepped out. "Bro, have you gotten acquainted with miss Holt and her cameraman?"
"I have sir," replied Bro.
"Great. Then you can escort them to VIP guest quarters A and B. Settle them in, then give them a quick tour before dinner is served," said Orion.
"Sir? Should that not be your duties to perform?" asked Bro.
"I have work to do on the phase two. With Harry injured and in med deck, someone needs to proceed with his work," replied Orion.
"Very well sir, I will see to it," said Bro.
"Mr Zeenner, will we get to speak later on?" asked Caroline.
"Of course, when dinner time arrives," replied Orion turning back to Bro. "Make sure to bring them up here so that we can all go and dine together."
"Yes sir I shall," replied Bro, leading them to guest quarters, their bags being carried by several other basic worker.
Sometime later when they returned, Caroline peaking into the new craft said, "hello? Anyone in there?"
Hearing her, Zoi came out greeting her saying, "miss Holt. What an unexpected surprise. When did you arrive on the base?"
"On the transport a few hours ago," replied Caroline, still looking in, wondering where Orion was. Is Mr Zeenner in here somewhere?"
"Yes. He's in the engine compartment diagnosing it's systems," replied Zoi.
"We were supposed to meet up with him here before going to dinner," said Caroline.
"Is it already that time? Seems like only a short while ago the transport arrived," said Zoi.
"You must be really busy if time is going by that fast," said Caroline.
"We have been. We had a terrible surge earlier in the day that done some extensive damage to this craft when the main reactor was being initialized. We have had to go through many of its systems to ensure they were still working and replace what was burned out. Very tedious work that seems to pass the time quickly," said Zoi.
"Was anyone hurt?" asked Caroline.
Just the one person, whom the general is now doing his work for," replied Zoi.
"Is he going to be alright?" asked Caroline.
"They say he will be in med deck for at least a week, if not more, before he could resume work," replied Zoi.
"I see,"said Caroline stepping back looking at the whole craft. "What is this you are working on? It's so big and bulky."
"It's what we call our phase two project. Basically it's a heavily armored transport, with plenty of fire power. It's equipped with a set of pulse energy beams, hyper missile launchers and rail guns," replied Zoi.
"I know what the first two are, but what's the third?" asked Caroline.
"Its a type of projectile launchers that uses magnetics to launch solid objects at a target. Great for penetrating armor," replied Zoi.
"So basically a non black powder bullet launcher," said Caroline.
"That's another way to put it," said Zoi.
Just then footsteps could be heard on the metal floor plating inside, coming closer. Looking in, Caroline could see Orion with Jenny carrying various items.
"Caroline," began Orion noticing her at the entrance. "Have you been waiting long?"
"No, not at all," replied Caroline looking up at Jenny.
Looking back down at Caroline, Jenny asked, "is that Caroline Holt from State News?"
"It is," replied Orion.
"But how and why is she here? I thought news reporters weren't allowed on the base?" asked Jenny, eyeing her closely.
"Caroline is a Zee Corp employee, with exclusive access to all Zee Corp facilities," said Orion.
"Zee Corp Employee? But how is that possible?" asked Jenny.
"Zee Corp owns most of the State News Shares," replied Orion.
"Most?" questioned Jenny.
"The last shareholders have not been willing to give up their shares. I even offered them double and they still wouldn't sell out," said Orion.
"So you invited her here?" asked Jenny.
"Caroline is my personal reporter. She is the only one I let report on the happenings of Zee Corp as well as anything else we undertake. The rest of the time, she reports just boring news, in my opinion," said Orion.
"Compared to this, very boring," added Caroline.
"So you're here to do a story on the base?" asked Jenny, getting out to f the craft with Orion.
"That and some newer events that will be going on," replied Caroline.
Turning to Orion Jenny asked, "does she know?"
"Yes. Just the three of us," replied Orion.
"What is it you all know?" asked Zoi.
"Nothing for you to be concerned about right now Zoi," replied Orion.
"What? Why not? How come only they get to know and I don't?" asked Zoi.
"Sir, I don't see why she couldn't know as well," said Jenny.
"Very well," said Orion turning to Zoi, looking at her for a moment. "You know the reason why I pushed for this place don't you?"
"Yes because you talked about aliens coming to invade us," said Zoi.
"Well they have arrived, which is why I want to get this craft up and running as soon as possible," said Orion.
"Are you serious?" asked Zoi.
"The Hubble spotted a large asteroid at the edge of our system heading in this direction. They think it's just an asteroid but I know differently," said Orion.
"Did you tell them that?" asked Zoi.
"No. I didn't want to raise panic. Once we make the encounter and discover what threat they pose, then we will tell them. But for now only five of us know," said Orion.
Wait, five? A minute ago you said just you three," said Zoi.
"Out of us four, it was three. But the only other one that knows is Moy. After me he was the first to know, then Caroline then Jenny and now you. I like to keep it just to us five now. I don't want it distracting the others, slowing their work," said Orion.
"Very well sir, I won't tell another soul," agreed Zoi.
"Good. Now lets all go to dinner. I heard say that the special today is corn fed beef steak. I've been looking forward to it all day,"said Orion leading the way out.
"Corn fed beef? You actually have that here?" asked Caroline.
"We have nearly every kind of food you can possibly think of. One of the transports was actually turned into a large refrigerator, to bring food items like that here. Another is strictly food goods. Of the last two one is mostly passengers, the other anything else we could need. I don't spare expenses when it comes to the people here," said Orion.
Joining up with Bro and Barry, they all headed down to the dinning lounge to eat. Entering the two saw all the platters of food, not believing the entire quality they had.
"Oh my god, you all do eat well here," said Caroline.
"Yes. I secured one of the best French chefs I could get. He then selectively chose his own staff that would help him, under my approval of course," said Orion.
"Everything looks so yummy. I don't even know what to start with," said Caroline.
"We do have one serious rule. Here on the moon, I don't tolerate waste. What you take you must eat. If you don't you will be rationed at the next meal," said Orion.
"Are you serious?" asked Barry.
Speaking up Zoi said, "everything is shipped here at great cost. Not only that, but our supply is limited. Should it ever happen that our food shipments are cut off, we could all end up starving. For this fact, we enforce the no wasting rule."
Looking at everything, Caroline said, "I guess I better not allow my eyes to be bigger than my stomach."
"That would be an ideal thing to do," said Orion beginning to serve himself, stopping at the kitchen window. "Michel, have you got any fresh off the grill steak for us?"
"Yes I do," replied Michel in his French accent. "I have three more here as well," placing the first on Orion's platter.
"Oh, I'll take the next," said Caroline.
"I'll take one as well," said Barry rushing up.
Zoi looking at Jenny said, "you want to split the last one?"
"That would be grande. I wasn't looking forward to a whole one myself," replied Jenny.
Having filled their platters they all went over to Orion's table to eat, chatting a little as they did. Once done, they all proceeded to head to their quarters for the night, Orion escorting Barry and Caroline to theirs, before going off to his.
"Here you both are, VIP quarters A and B," said Orion.
"Thank you," said Caroline, about to enter. "We seem to be the only ones in this area."
"Where are your quarters?" asked Barry.
"Further down the hall here marked zero zero," replied Orion.
"So you're up here as well?" said Caroline.
"Yes, along with some other senior staff," said Orion.
"Well good night," said Caroline, entering her quarters.
"Yes goodnight to you both," said Barry.
"I'll see you both in the morning. Goodnight," said Orion proceeding on to his.
A short while after Orion arrived in his quarter's there was a knock on his door. Answering, he found Caroline standing outside wearing nothing but her pink nighty.
"I was wondering if you wanted company for the night," said Caroline.
Looking at her, Orion said, "yes, come in before someone sees you."
Entering Caroline said, "I wasn't sure if you were interested or not."
"My dear Caroline, you know I would never send you away," said Orion.
"Oh, I'm happy to hear that," said Caroline taking him in her arms, pulling herself tight to him then kissing him. "I have been craving your touch again for so long."
"I've missed you as well," said Orion, holding and kissing her back. "I was actually hoping that you would come by."
"You never game me any indication since I arrived, that you wanted me to," said Caroline, beginning to undress him.
"You know I never do such in front of the others. But you are welcome every night of your stay here," said Orion, pulling her nighty off, then picking her up to carrying over and laying her on his bed.
"Mmm, you have missed me as well, haven't you?" stated Caroline.
"You know I have,"said Orion leaning over kissing her once more, before finishing undressing.
The Two made love for almost an hour before the main lights signalling night time went out through the entire base. For another two hours they continued to make love in the almost complete darkness, before falling asleep holding each other.
It was nearly four later when Caroline woke up, laying on her side, her head comfortably laying on his chest. She looked down his body, craving more love making. She got up, straddled him, then attempted to insert his manhood into her, before laying down over him, kissing him.
Waking up, Orion looked up at her saying, "you're awful frisky for it being the middle of the night," kissing her back, placing his arms around her.
"I can't help it. It's been so long without you," said Caroline.
"Then I will aim to please your hunger," said Orion, rolling them, so that he came on top.
For The better part of another three hours, two made love again, till they became exhausted then fell asleep once more together.
When morning was signaled, Barry got up and when he was ready went to Caroline's door knocking on it. Unable to get a response he assumed she was already up and about. He searched for hours, but to no avail. Finally arriving in the hanger bay, he found Zoi and asked if she seen her.
Back in Orion's quarters, he awoke first, kissing Caroline on the top of her head, which gently rest on his chest again. Feeling the touch she roused a little. "Good morning," he said.
"Is it morning already?" she asked.
"It is. The central lighting has been activated indicating it is so," said Orion.
"Mmmm. You know, I haven't slept this well in a long time," she said looking up at him.
"Now I wonder why that could be?" said Orion with a smile on his face.
"Did you want to make love some more?" she asked, reaching up to give him a kiss.
"Is that your morning wish?" replied Orion.
"Is is very much so," replied Caroline.
Proceeding with her request, they made love for nearly half an hour before Orion wrist communicator started beeping. Stopping he pressed on it answering, "yes?" in a tired manner.
"Sir, Zoi here. Did you just wake up? You sound partially asleep still," she said.
"I am. Now what is it?" Orion groggily asked.
"Well sir, we have been waiting hours for you. Also Barry is looking for Caroline and can't seem to find her, nor did she answer her door early this morning when he tried," said Zoi.
"What time is it?" asked Orion.
"Soon will be ten hundred hours, sir," replied Zoi.
"I seem to have slept in late. But to answer your question, Caroline could not sleep last night, so I gave her a personal tour of the entire base during the night. When I left her she was finally exhausted enough to sleep," said Orion.
"Well sir, we need you down here," said Zoi.
"Give me about an hour and I'll be there. I'll look in on miss Holt shortly and see if she is up yet. If not, I'll wake her to tell her Barry is waiting on her," said Orion.
"Will do sir, Zoi out."
Looking at Caroline, Orion said, "we'll have to be quick," resuming his lovemaking.
A half an hour later, the two rushed to the lavatory, showered together, then returning to each other's quarters to get properly dressed. They met back in the hall, then proceeded down to the dining lounge for a late breakfast, before heading to the hanger bay.
Over the next day, progress on the craft went well. System after system was fully integrated, with on hands testing using the base's power to temporarily power the crafts systems to ensure they were working well. The damage to the systems from the earlier surge, were also completely repaired as well. Things were starting to look good when another call came in from Francis.
"Good evening Francis," began Orion, once again in front of the comm screen. "What can I do for you this time?"
With a worried look, Francis began, "we have a serious problem. That meteor we were talking about, well, it seems that it may not be that. We have clear images of it, but just over 3 hours ago, it underwent deceleration, making a course change. It is now on a direct course for the Earth. The basic assumption now is, it's an alien cruiser of some sorts."
Reaffirming what Francis said, Orion said, "I already knew that when you first told me about it. All that I have been working for is now coming to be."
"I feared as much when I was told a few hours ago. Everyone is now talking about your prophesy, about extra terrestrial visitors. But the bigger question is, are you ready to confront them?" asked Francis
Pondering for a moment, Orion replied, "phase two is not quite ready, but we can send out phase one to intercept and determine the threat."
"Can you launch immediately?" asked Frank.
"We can launch within the hour, but I won't be able to oversee the interception," stated Orion.
Shocked, Francis asked, "I don't understand. Why can you not?"
"I am personally overseeing and working hands on, to complete phase two," said Orion. "Without my personal involvement, it would not get completed till later in the week. As it is, I pulled two others off their own projects to finish up."
Nodding in understanding, Francis went on to ask, "how long will it be till you have it ready?"
"We have it almost ready. System checks are being done right now. The final stage is to bring the main reactor online. The first attempt cost the well being of one of my people. This time, I plan to oversee it myself, with more safety precautions."
"Who will oversee the primary interception?" asked Francis.
"That would be my foremost aide, Bro. He will lead the entire group of assault crafts. If we get phase two complete in time, we may yet be able to catch up with them," said Orion.
"If you can, that would be great, but we can't wait much longer. Planetary surface defenses have already been put on alert," explained Frank.
"We'll do what we can. I'll contact you again when we launch Phase two," said Orion, ending communications, while turning to Moy. "I haven't the time to make preparations, can you inform Bro, keeping it confidential as much as you can and have him proceed immediately?"
"Yes sir, I'll get it done," said Moy.
Orion returned to the hanger bay. Within the hour, the assault crafts departed. In the phase two craft, core initialization was well underway, with added safety precautions taken. A successful startup was finally attained. With its own main power at full capacity, the base's power was disconnected, pre-flight tests ensued, followed by minor flight tests in the hanger bay.
"All tests seem to register fully operational sir," remarked Jenny.
"Yes, I can't see any problems that could pop up," agreed Zoi.
"Then we should get moving and catch up with the assault crafts," said Orion.
Excited, Jenny went on to say, "that sounds exciting sir. Will we be leaving right away?"
With a little dismay on his face he looked at Jenny and said, "I'm afraid not for you or I. Zoi will be leaving with Frank and Sam."
Jenny, understanding, gave a long sigh, saying, "Understandable sir."
"That's the plan," said Orion, seeing Jenny out, then looking at Zoi. "Get Sam and Frank, and depart as soon as possible. You need to overtake the assault crafts, to lead the encounter."
"Aye sir, right away," acknowledged Zoi.