CHAPTER 8 - The Plan
The young pilot looked up at his commander and asked, “Does your plan involve anymore hand lasers?”
Gates shook his head and turned toward his crew who were all trying to process what just happened. Had their commander just killed their colleague and friend? Even Fox was stunned, and he was the only one bleeding and reeling from the pain of the deceiver’s assault on his body. He was still sprawled out on the floor.
The commander pierced the silence with what he hoped were confident sounding words, “That wasn’t our crewmate. It was an imposter. A replica…a very good replica of our Cheryl. Nothing more than a robot programmed to deceive and stall us from taking action.”
Chief Science Offer, Brooks broke into the conversation and asked, “How can you be sure, Commander? She certainly looked like her and sounded like her…minus the whole sounding like a mechanical, robot thing.”
Gates looked at Brooks intensely and answered confidently, “That wasn’t here. If they really wanted to gain our trust, they would have given her more emotion, even her memories; the things that make Cheryl unique. They just copied her body and used it as a distraction to get us closer to whatever that thing is.”
Wright shook his head and added, “The biggest mouse trap in the history of humankind.” He turned back to his station and then had another thought. He said, “Commander, where’s the bait?”
Commander Gates raised his eyebrows in consideration, stood up taller and crossed his arms. He continued to stare out the window at the object looming before them and said, “That’s an interesting question, Mr. Wright. If we are to explore this metaphor to its conclusion, then there must have been something that…wait a minute!”
Gates moved swiftly to the sensor station 1. He gazed at the readouts and then asked, “Have the computers analyzed the source of the beam yet? The one that sent us that robot?”
Danielle Johnson replied, “Almost, but so far, it’s inconclusive. I don’t think there’s anything there that can explain how they could help us.”
He moved across the way to sensor station two that was being manned by James Miller. The commander leaned in to see the readouts on Miler’s station and said, “I’m not looking for how they beamed Cheryl off the ship or even why. I just want a point of origin for that beam.”
Miller nodded his head in understanding and added, “If we can discover the point of origin, it might give us a clue as to where Cheryl may be.”
Gates smiled at Miller and lightly smacked the man’s shoulder with his hand. “We’re looking for a door or a hatch of some kind. I’m all of a sudden less interested in the technology than I am finding a way inside.”
Weapons officer, Stephen Moore broke into the conversation, “Are you saying you want to attempt a rescue mission, Commander?”
Gates stood upright and answered emphatically, “That’s exactly what I’m saying.”
Moore cleared his throat as he was known for doing quite often and said, “Commander, I’m sure you’re aware of the incredible risk of such an attempt in such hostile space and circumstances as this. We’ve never tested the new ISRS this far out into interstellar space before. It’s only been flown in and around the earth, the moon, and Mars.”
The ISRS stood for Independent Short-Range Shuttle. It was designed to take people from the surface of a planet, mainly the earth, the moon, and Mars to an orbiting ship or space station. The idea was that the ISRS would serve well aboard the Redemption for its inevitable first contact mission, should they need to land on a planet. It could also serve as a convoy to other space fairing vessels they should happen to meet along the way. The idea of teleportation was something only dreamed up in science fiction entertainment from earth’s history. This shuttle was the only means for anyone from Redemption to leave the ship outside of drydock.
Ensign Wright, Redemption’s enthusiastic pilot became very excited and shouted, “Well, alright!”
Gates and the rest of the crew smiled at the young man’s enthusiasm. Gates responded, “Let’s slow down a minute and take breath, though. Mr. Wright and Mr. Fox, please head down to the shuttle bay and begin preparations for a space flight.”
The two men looked at each other and then at their commander. They nodded at each other and then promptly rose to leave after acknowledging Gates’ orders almost in unison.
Gates went back to his command station and sat down. He tapped the ship wide communications button and began speaking, his voice reverberated throughout the corridors of the Redemption, “This is Commander Gates. I’ve ordered Fox and Moore to prep the ISRS for a rescue mission of kidnapped crewmember, Cheryl Atkinson. We’re analyzing data and forming a plan as we speak, but I wanted to make you aware of our current situation. You, no doubt, have been watching the bridge feed as we encountered the mysterious object from the planet, was subjected to its intrusive beam, and stalled by the manufactured representation of Atkinson. We have been drawn uncomfortably close to the planet and I intend to use our close proximity to our favor by using the ISRS to get us into the heart of that thing.”
The “bridge feed” was a resource implemented by the planners so that other crewmembers not in the command center could see and hear what was happening in real time. That way, they might better understand orders sent down from above and react accordingly.
Gates continued, “I need the next in line for the command center posts currently vacant. I need a communications officer, a weapons officer, and a pilot. Once we’ve formulated a plan, I’ll inform the entire crew again. I need everyone to give their best over the next few hours. We’re literally facing life or death, here. Rest assured, I intend to find Atkinson and bring her back…assuming she’s still alive. Commander Gates, out.”
He pressed the button again and rose from his chair. Science Officer Brooks rose and met him in the middle of the command center. The two men stood there for a moment talking through their situation when the replacements arrived.
Gates turned to greet the new arrivals as they passed through the short and dark hallway into the command center. Both of the new crewmembers stood at attention at the sight of Commander Gates.
“Relax guys,” Gates said, “we’re working here and formalities only slow things down.”
The new arrivals relaxed their shoulders, smiled uncomfortably, and breathed sighs of relief. Being in the command center for the first time was pressure enough, but to get called up during a crisis was another level of stress and pressure entirely.
Engineer Adeena Montgomery was a slightly shorter than average woman, with long graying hair that laid gracefully on her shoulders. She was middle-aged but still had a lot of spunk even in the way she walked.
Gates had familiarized himself with all of the crew records before the mission began, but he had yet to meet these two crewmembers until now. He liked Adeena and the energy she brought to the command center instantly. She had a humble confidence that impressed him. He also knew that this was not her first time in space.
Adeena had been responsible for key contributions to the engine design of Earth’s Redemption and helped push the initial project past some of its early struggles. She was a problem solver and her records showed that she flourished under such circumstances. Gates was happy to have her on the command deck.
The other crewmember was a bit more fidgety and inexperienced. Todd Burton was anxious and not doing a good job of hiding it. Gates was a bit concerned about this but also knew that Burton’s record was spotless and even heroic. Todd Burton was a dark-haired young man in his twenties. He had dark brown eyes that had seen a devastating amount of violent combat experience in the third world war, a pivotal event in earth’s history; one that helped push humanity to the brink of self-destruction.
Burton was a weapons expert, but his real weapon was his expertise in the martial arts. His most dynamic story from the war revolved around an intense moment when he became surrounded by enemy forces and had no other choice but to use his special skills to defend himself and put down his attackers. Twelve other men lost their lives that day and Burton became a legend.
Gates addressed both of the officers before him, “Welcome to the command center and thank you for responding so quickly to my call. Please make yourselves familiar with each of your stations. In a few minutes we’ll begin working on the plan to get our crewmember back.”
The two officers found their stations and went to work immediately to understand their respective stations. They, of course, had training in command center simulations, but being their under very real and unique circumstances such as this meant they needed to know where every single button and lever were so they could quickly respond in the heat of the moment to their commander’s orders.
Commander Gates addressed the entire command center crew, “Everyone settled in? It’s time to work on the plan to get our Cheryl back.”