By Fred Files
The party had been going on for close to a week. The celebration of the departure. It was a way for everyone to take their minds off the events about to unfold. A way to take the minds of the people on earth away from the fact that they were about to loose the largest man made artifact in the sky, and the turbulence the absence of its gravity would play on Earth's environment. A way to take the minds of the inhabitance of Moon World off the fact that they were leaving the solar system of their births on a journey that would never end. A way to hide the preparations of Howard Smallman to escape the Moon World in the small cargo ship, MRS-121.
The Moon World was now a huge exploration ship in orbit between Earth and the Moon. It was the sum of over a hundred years of construction… a humble beginning as a space station that continued to grow. Now, its final form was realized.
The colonists who called it home… The workers who had aided in its construction… The descendents of past workers who still lived on it… they were to be the crew, and colonists for any planets the Moon World decided to settle. It was a massive spherical ship the size of a small moon, whose surface had formed continents randomly to spite those who suggested that its outer shell be shaped to resemble a small waterless earth.
The Moon World would be the first, and possibly the only Earth ship that would go out to explore the furthest reaches of the universe.
The celebrations were also intended to distract everyone and hide the fact that aside from a very few, no one on board the Moon World had a choice in whether or not they were going to go. Many felt as if they were being exiled. For them, and for Howard Smallman, the time to escape Moon World was fast running out.
Howard accelerated the MRS-121 out from Moon World's third docking tube as fast as the ship would go. He had a family, and the farthest reaches of space were no place to raise one. The duty assignments for most of the non-essential personnel, such as himself and his family, were almost suicidal. He sincerely doubted that Moon World would be gone for a whole year before there was a mutiny. But even a mutiny would not be able to change the exodus of Moon World.
The MRS-121 locked onto its course for the moon on an arc that would take it through the press traffic. The registered flight path was to rendezvous with one of the orbiting supply platforms. Howard was sure that there would be alarms going off all through Moon World of his ships flight deviation. His main hope was that their tracking systems would loose him among all the press ships covering the departure of Moon World.
His hopes faded. He had no idea where the fighter came from. Laser fire flashed. Bolts of energy flashed past the small cargo ship MRS-121. Panicked, Howard looked for an exit. One of the press ships seemed to turn to get some footage of the fight, but he knew there would be no help.
The pursuing fighter craft overshot and looped under the shadow of Moon World to come around for another pass at the cargo ship.
MRS-121 accelerated as best it could… Howard had expected trouble, but not such a dramatic response to his veering off the registered course. But he would do whatever it took to make sure his cargo got somewhere, anywhere, safely. The one thing he had expected would happen, he was still waiting for. There was still no request from either the fighter or ground control for him to heave to, or return to original course.
The only sounds coming from his communications systems were from the press ships, one of which was attempting to interrogate the pilot of the fighter.
His first thought was that the fighter had to be a pirate or something… but as the fighter overshot he got a clear view of the Terra Sphere markings on the hull of the fighter. Besides, no pirate would operate where hey would draw so much attention.
Again lasers shot past MRS-121, and Howard looked around franticly for cover he knew was not there. For a second he wondered how he could have survived this long against the fighter… but there it was in plain view… by dodging the fighters volleys, the fighter had herded him around the press ships back towards Moon World, the very place he and his family had been trying to escape from. If that fighter pilot wanted someone to go to the outer reaches of space so badly, he could take his own family… Howard wanted to stay in the system he knew best.
Out of options, Howard did the insane, and dove through the laser fire. The fighter overshot again as the small cargo ship made an unexpected dive away from Moon World, towards the moon's surface. He felt immense relief that no damage had registered to his ship.
It took the fighter a few extra seconds to locate the cargo ship the next time around… by the time it did, MRS-121 was arching out of its dive and skimming the lunar surface just a few meters off the ground.
This was not the way it was suppose to happen… Howard checked his readouts, the fighter was almost on top of him again.
He needed to land. Or at least get near enough to the Lunar Domes for the local governor to order a cease-fire to protect the colony domes. Although he was also counting on a chance to ask for asylum.
Laser fire lit the sky around him.
He could see that there was no escape, no way to out run or out maneuver the fighter. He had hoped and preyed that this would not happen, but that did not mean he had not prepared for it.
Rocks in front of him exploded… He would be forced down soon. With a calmness he had no right to feel, Howard raised the lever that released his cargo module.
The increased speed that resulted from lightening the craft bought Howard an extra few seconds. The fighter had to readjust his angle to account for the change in speed of its quarry.
He had a seconds worth of hope… The extra burst of speed had been enough to let him escape the fighter--
Howard Smallman was not even able to complete the thought. He became aware of the shower of dirt the nose of his own ship was making as it plowed its way across the lunar surface.
When the dust settled bits and pieces of MRS-121 were scattered across the landscape. Howard's limp form was among the debris as well.
He was shaken and badly battered, but alive. No, not shaken… in shock. No thoughts entered his head. With a blank expression he watched as a rescue shuttle came down to collect him.
He felt himself loaded onto a stretcher. Turning his head he saw the freedom of the lunar landscape with the domes of the lunar colony in the distance… and a tear came to his eyes as he realized he would never see it again. He was condemned to a life of hardship working deep in the bowels of the Moon World, trapped in a hellish job just because it was the job his father had wanted to do.
The rescuers did not bother searching the wreckage for other survivors… there was no point. They collected Howard, and marched back into their shuttle. One of them… the oldest of them, also turned to look at the domes of the lunar colony. Maybe similar thoughts of loss crossed his mind too.
When the door to the shuttle closed, it lifted off the ground and plotted a course back to Moon World.
A few hours later, a moon rover sped franticly across the lunar surface. It did stop at the wreckage… an elderly couple got out, and as best as their space suits would allow searched the wreckage. Their body movements seemed suddenly much older by the time they completed their search, as they stopped to look at each other and wonder what to do next.
They turned back to their moon rover, and seemed much younger and excited as they realized it was now picking up a new signal. Hurriedly they followed the signal back tacking the course the cargo ship had taken.
The cargo pod was half buried in the soil, so they had to use their rover's mining equipment to dig out enough of it to get to the air lock. The door to the cargo pod opened, and the couple went inside to retrieve what was inside. One of them hurriedly went back to the rover for extra air canisters.
The couple worked quickly, carrying out first their two spacesuited grand children out of the pod, and then their daughter-in-law… they would need to see a doctor but would survive the experience easily.
Moon World glistened magnificently in the sunlight as it finished its slingshot around the sun and began its journey. Asside from a few small news reports of excessive force used against citizens who had tried to defect to other colonies, the airwaves were covered with music and inspirational images of the Moon World leaving the system.
It would see thousands of worlds. And colonize. And form alliances. Learn new technologies. For a while, it would send messages homeward… although that would eventually stop. And it would return.