He had been away for the bad parts. And even after many years, Carter still felt pangs of guilt. But before the bad parts had been a period that all concerned recognized as one of the best times on Alpha.
Once Helena had made her peace within herself over the return of Lee Russell to her life, all of Alpha seemed to breathe a collective sigh of relief. There were now nearly fifty children on Alpha and as they grew, the sound of their laughter seemed to be a balm to heal all the adults of their homesickness. Life proceeded quietly, and, for the most part, uneventfully.
When a ship appeared within range, the Alphans braced for trouble that didn’t come. Aboard the ship was an ambassador from the Croton Federation along with Captain Sahala, who had succeeded in transporting Dorzak and returned home to make her report.
That report included information about Moonbase Alpha and its presence on the frontier of the Federation. It was decided that despite the presence of a Psychon on the moonbase, or perhaps because of it, the people of Alpha should be courted as allies.
There was to be an exchange of information and ideas, establishment of trade. The Alphans could use goods and materials manufactured within the Federation. The base could exchange space on their planetoid for a variety of research scientists. The Croton Federation was an alliance of inhabited worlds. Space travel was common, but space habitats were not. Moonbase Alpha’s presence on an airless world with low gravity was a novelty. Their autonomy was not in question. The Federation hoped that Alpha would become a full fledged member of the alliance. The first step was an exchange of ambassadors.
By the time negotiations were under way, it was obvious who should be appointed to represent Alpha. Alan and Sahala could barely keep their eyes off one another. Their attraction to each other was evident to everyone, as was their joy at being together.
Alan tried to protest that he had no idea how to be an ambassador, but John would not hear it. No one on Alpha had that kind of experience, but Alan did know Alpha’s needs and Alpha’s capabilities.
And, John added, he could be quite persuasive and charming when he wanted to be. Alpha needed this relationship with the Federation.
Lee had also counseled him to accept the position. Alan and Lee had become good friends since Lee’s arrival. Lee could easily see the bond growing between Alan and Sahala. If there was any chance, Lee strongly urged Alan to go with Sahala and not to turn his back on love.
Alan was one of the few on Alpha who knew just how much Lee loved Helena – enough to give her up for the good of Helena’s new family and all of Alpha. He was also a close enough friend to the Koenigs to know that Helena also still loved Lee every bit as much as she ever had, although that love seemed to change to a fond, melancholy friendship once she chose to stay with John.
In the end, Alan realized he must take the job and when Sahala returned to the Federation, Alan was with her. Within a year, their daughter was born, and Alpha was thriving and expanding. Alan and Sahala divided their time between Alpha and Croton, but they were away for the bad parts.
At first Lee thought this new job was some kind of busy work, but he soon began to understand why he was given the task. Hydroponics was integral to the survival of Alpha. Unlike a spaceship where a good amount of the air was filtered and scrubbed by mechanical means, Alpha depended on a number of methods for air renewal, including the hydroponics section. It was a major portion of the base’s life support. It was also the primary source of food. And there had been no true leadership in the department for years. The Food Services manager treated the place like a farm, growing what was needed to feed Alpha, but not taking into account what was needed for optimum life support. And although there had been certain attempts to take a long view, with various pet projects, there was little order.
As he began to understand the department he also began to see that Koenig was right. He could make a difference here, whether he had a green thumb or not. He settled in to make the needed changes and adjustments, but tried to do it by making certain those in the department bought into it. Tempering innovation with patience he settled in to do the best he could. And he found that he liked his job, and if he stayed busy enough, he liked his life on Alpha as well.
On the morning of his birthday, John Koenig woke slowly thought about the day ahead of him and smiled. Not something he’d had the chance to do much over the years on Alpha, but this year – the last two years – on Alpha had been different. Better. Happier. With the supplies received from the Federation they no longer faced chronic shortages. There were now nearly 100 children on Alpha, and there would be more, and the transient population of visiting researchers had grown rapidly.
Alpha had always had room to expand, both into the caverns below the surface and in the original sprawling complex itself. By the time his son was grown, Alpha would truly be a city on the moon.
Helena gave a sigh and turned over next to him. He pulled her into his arms and she curled up against him, arm across his chest, head pillowed against his shoulder. She was planning a birthday party for him tonight. As far as he was concerned, this was celebration enough – a chance to lie here in quiet reflection and hold her in his arms was all he could ever ask for. But she wanted to make a fuss and he was inclined to let her.
It wouldn’t be some sort of silly royal bash, however. A chance to dress up, be with friends, relax for the evening, dance a bit. But he had scaled her back from planning a base-wide party. Thank heavens she was sensible enough not to make it some kind of surprise party. It would be just friends. Mostly the command staff and a few others. He had lost many good friends over the years; Victor, Cellini, Luke Ferro, Kelly. Alan had been asked to come home for the party, but sent his regrets. Sahala was expecting their second child and they felt it best to remain on Croton. Human and Croton biology were similar enough to allow offspring, but different enough to make it a challenge. They would stay near the doctors who had seen them through baby Jessamyn’s birth.
Tony and Maya would be there of course, with their little boy Paulo. Paulo was two years younger than Neil, but with his half Psychon blood, maturing quickly. He was small, but precocious and the two were fast friends.
Lee Russell, now chief pilot, would be there. John had found that he liked Helena’s first husband. The man was a talented pilot as well as an able administrator. When Alan left, he had recommended Lee as his replacement and it made good sense. Lee had really turned around the hydroponics department, giving them more focus, separating and encouraging the experimental section from the sections which grew food and provided oxygen. He also encouraged everyone on Alpha to help improve air quality by growing their own plants in their quarters. When he moved back to Recon, he recommended Ben Starnes as his replacement.
The other survivor of the Astro Seven probe had been a contributor to his former captain’s success in hydroponics. It turned out that Ben had grown up in Northern California in a new age commune where his parents and their friends had founded an organic farm of some repute. Ben’s full name was “Benevolent” and although his ancestry was Jewish, he had been raised a Buddhist. His love of flying had brought him from hang gliders to airplanes and then into the space program, but he had retained much of his childhood training and many of the ideas for the hydroponics section had been his. He was happy to step into the job and continue the long term plans, working with living things. He had been an old friend of Melita and Kelly, and had married Melita soon after his arrival here. Their little boy was named after Melita’s lost husband. Ben, Melita and little Kel would be at the party.
Across the room, the door cracked open. Neil peered in and caught his father’s eye. John smiled and held out a hand. With a wide smile the boy dashed into the room and jumped into his parents’ bed for a hug. John’s birthday had begun.
Helena had organized a wonderful party. There was dinner for the families, then a pińata, filled with small toys and candy for the children. It was shaped like a bird, and the adults seemed to be as much involved as the children. Once the little ones had gathered up all the goodies, they were diverted to a corner of the room to play while the adults danced. John held his wife in his arms and guided her around the floor with great pleasure.
“Thank you.” He said softly into her ear.
She smiled. “For what?”
He kissed her temple. “This party. A day with you and Neil. For being so wonderful.”
“I didn’t do much, other than ask others to help with this and that.”
John smiled. “I expect you did more than that. I…”
He didn’t finish the thought. At that moment there was a small but distinct drop in pressure, and alarms began to go off. Helena clutched his arm tightly, then stepped back slightly so he could remove his commlock from his belt.
“Command Center.” He demanded.
“Commander. We have a loss sudden loss of pressure in Airlocks three, five and seven.”
Tony and Lee were approaching from either side of the room where they too had been dancing. Neil dashed over and Helena gathered him up in her arms.
Tony cut out the wailing sirens and reported, “John, we’ve got a sighting of an unidentified ship on the ground just at the edge of the crater.” He added, “I’ve sent security teams to the breached airlocks. This looks like an attack.”
“Call up every available security guard.” John told Tony. He touched Helena’s shoulder. “You and Neil head for the lower caverns. Lee, see that they get there, head for an Eagle. Get the other children below as well.” He caught Lee’s eye. “You make sure they’re safe.”
Lee nodded. Maya and Melita were already herding the other children out the door. Lee took Helena’s arm and steered her in the same direction. He took the boy from her and swung him onto his hip. Helena tried to turn back toward John but Lee tugged on her arm. “Come on, Helena. He needs to know you’re safe.”
John was already leaving through another exit, giving orders to Tony and speaking into his own commlock. He paused briefly and looked toward Helena, knowing how utterly frustrated she was, unable to remain at his side. She couldn’t see him, but somehow seemed to feel his glance. She nodded, turned, and took Maya’s baby from her and allowed Lee to lead her away.
Lee sought his granddaughter out the next day. He felt that same obligation to finish this as he had to make certain that Helena was safe that horrible long-ago day. Lisel needed to understand. He was beginning to see a maturity in her and the potential to be something special. She just needed to get over this most recent drama and understand the longer view. John Koenig’s granddaughter needed to know what had happened.
This time Lee dropped by her supervisor’s office and had a brief chat, then he collected his granddaughter from her workstation and led her to the uppermost reaches of Alpha. They stood on the balcony above Main Mission. This area had been in disuse when he had come to Alpha in favor of the safety of the underground portions of the facility. During his tenure in Hydroponics he had asked and received permission for it to become a memory garden for those who had given their lives for Alpha. Ben had continued that plan, and the place was now a spot of quiet contemplation. Vines grew along the supports for the balcony, and benches scattered among the plants provided places to sit and reflect. But no plants hid the view of the stark landscape beyond the windows and the eternal beauty of the stars beyond.
In this setting, Lee told her the rest of the story.
Not willing to trust an elevator, Lee led Helena and Melita and several others to the nearest stairway. It would take them to the lowest level of Alpha and give him a chance to check the corridor ahead of them before they made their way to the catacombs. He worried about Helena, carrying Angelica Verdeschi and maneuvering stairs without the benefit of sight, but she moved with a surety behind him.
Neil was bursting with questions and clutching a tiny toy Eagle, his prize from the Pińata, but a few words from Helena reassuring but urgent, quieted him. He clung tightly to Lee, looking over his shoulder at his mother.
He set the boy down at the bottom of the stairway and peered into the quiet hallway. The alarms were no longer calling, but a comm post down the hall flashed emergency lights. He urged the others out of the stairwell and down the hall to the main airlock leading into the catacombs. There was an elevator directly into the Beta section, but this was a back way, leading past the hydroponic grain farms and into the great cavern.
He turned to the others, there were six women, each holding a child. Neil and two other children stood holding their mothers’ hands. Nine precious children in all. He tried to decide where to take them. Helena put a hand on his arm.
“Leave us here. I can use a code to seal this airlock to all but command level staff. I’ll do the same for the airlock for Beta cavern. We can stay in the maintenance area. There’s even food stores here if needed.”
Annette Fraser came up beside her. “I can go through the other cavern and bring the rest of the children here without using the communications lines, in case they’re monitored.”
Lee nodded. “Do it.”
Helena looked at Lee with determined, if unseeing eyes. “You need to go back up there.”
He took her hand. “It’s where I belong. He wanted me to see you safe.”
“We are. As safe as can be. Tell him that.” Helena said.
Lee nodded, one hand giving Melita’s shoulder a squeeze, the other still holding Helena’s hand captive. He saw them all through the airlock and waited until it closed behind them. Then he headed back up the stairs to help defend Alpha.
It was an invasion, pure and simple. Fly in from Alpha’s blind side, stay low among the mountain ranges. Land just outside the crater. March suited infantry to three separate points. Blow the airlocks for initial entry, then move into the corridors through makeshift airlocks against the emergency bulkheads. They used softshelled projectiles that did not penetrate walls, but moved fast enough to do damage to human flesh.
Their reflective pressure suits would do double duty against light based energy weapons and the invaders remained helmeted and anonymous as they made their way through the hallways of Alpha.
Lee’s commlock buzzed as he headed to launch pad one. His duty lay aboard an Eagle. Tony’s face appeared on the screen. “Can you get to Command Center and direct the action from there?” Blood ran down his forehead from a scalp wound. Tony wiped it with his sleeve to keep it out of his eyes.
“Where’s John?”
“Pinned down on level two near airlock five. I’ve sent reinforcements.”
Lee thought for a moment. That was directly above him. “Tony, have the reinforcements meet me at level four corridor six. I know a shortcut.” Lee dashed up the stairs without waiting for a reply.
Spending all that time in hydroponics and life support paid off. He knew there was an accessway for water and air that led up between levels in that area. It was little more than a ladder and crawlway to access the pipes but it came out inside a small storage area between two restrooms on that level. With any luck they could completely surprise someone who didn’t know about the hidden doorway to that service area.
A general call went over the commlock. It was Maya. “To all Alphan defenders, invader’s suits reflect energy weapons but do not protect from focused bursts of sonic energy.”
Lee met up with a small security team as she clicked off. They all looked puzzled. Lee pointed at the laser rifles two of them carried. “Those will be of no use. Anyone have an extra hand gun for me?” One man handed over the small device. “Set them on stun,” he ordered.
“Stun? But -- ” someone objected.
“Stun.” Lee emphasized. “The stun setting uses a focused sonic beam. The higher settings add light which does us no good with the reflective suits. Hit them with a prolonged burst of pure sonic, preferably in the head to do maximum damage to their inner ear.”
“What if they don’t have ears,” one of the guards muttered.
“You’d better hope they do,” Lee snapped. He touched an access panel on the wall which swung back to reveal the service area for this floor. At the back was the ladder which would lead up two floors to an identical space. Once there, Lee placed his team so they would have maximum coverage down each side of the corridor.
The door opened to a crossfire. As soon as they sorted out which side was the enemy, Lee directed fire in that direction. He tapped one of his companions who rolled with him out into the hallway, staying low, and their cover fire allowed the handful of Alphans who were pinned down come forward. Two security guards supported Koenig, whose left side was soaked with blood.
“Get him to Medical,” Lee shouted, pointing to the ladder at the back of the storeroom.
“No, wait.” John was already pale from loss of blood and shock, but his voice was strong. He pulled his commlock from his belt. “Computer, seal all doors on level two and three. And power down the artificial gravity towers at thirty seconds from my mark. Mark.” He looked up at Lee and nodded. “That should buy you some time. Get to Command Center and coordinate with Tony.”
Lee nodded. “Get him to Medical, now.”
They scrambled down the access ladder, protecting their Commander as much as they could, and using the ‘gift’ of lower gravity to carry him more easily. Two split off from the main party toward Medical as Lee continued to Command Center with the rest.
Lee sighed and sat back. “It turned out we were defending against the diversion. Tony and Maya, on the other side of the base, received the main assault. And I found out later that it was Dorzak, the Psychon that Sahala had transported to prison so many years ago who had master-minded this little invasion. Despite the implants, he’d managed to overpower his captors and coerce a trading ship paying the exile planet a random visit. He had returned to Alpha for Maya and intended to simply take her.
“He hadn’t reckoned with your Aunt Maya’s own determination. He thought he could simply come in and take over. But we all learned something interesting about Psychon women. She had told us that Psychons mate for life. What we didn’t realize was that not only do they mate for life, but the bonding makes them impervious to any sort of mind control. Maybe she didn’t know that either, she was still very young when Psychon was destroyed. That and the fact that Tony was hit unleashed mental powers she didn’t know she had. She was impervious to any sort of control Dorzak tried to impose. And he was spread thinly, with controlling the invading force on our side of Alpha and the small force that accompanied him. Tony was down, but Maya made short work of his cronies and him. And once Maya was able to neutralize Dorzak, our invaders gave up.”
“And my… my grandfather?”
Helena stepped onto the balcony then. She had climbed the stairs silently as he spoke and now joined him on the sofa. She always seemed to know just where he was. She reached across and took Lisel’s hand. “Alpha was safe, but it was too late for John.”
As soon as it was safe to do so, Bob sent for her. He didn’t have good news, but he knew Helena needed to be there.
The soft bullet used had hit him full force in the abdomen and they had been pinned down during crucial minutes when he needed to be treated by a trauma team. It had ripped through his intestines, liver and pancreas. He had lost a lot of blood as well and was very weak. The Alphans had no way to repair the extensive abdominal damage. Bob could keep the pain at bay for a while, but the end was near. He held Helena’s hands in his as he told her this in the detail he knew she would want, no matter how painful it was to hear.
Helena entered the ward where John was laying, feeling more blind now than she ever had. She took in the familiar sounds and smells of the Medical Center and she could tell that death was near.
“Helena.”
It was the sound she needed to get her bearings. She knew how to reach him now. She barely brushed the edge of the bed with her leg and then her hand was joined with his.
“There’s a stool just to your right,” he directed her.
She reached out, found the stool and drew it closer. She settled against him and he drew her fingers to his lips.
“It was Dorzak.”
“I’ve talked to Maya,” John said. “Tony’s in surgery. Their weapons were nasty. He’s going to lose his leg.”
“John—“
He silenced her with his fingertips, then moved to stroke her face. “I know. I don’t have long. Bob’s been very straightforward with me.”
“I can’t lose you.” His thumb removed a tear.
“Helena. You have to raise our little boy. You have to take care of Neil.”
She couldn’t stop the tears and he pulled her down to rest against his shoulder, his fingers moving through the silky blonde hair he loved to touch.
“Helena, I have to tell you, this place would have been hell if I had been here without you. I’d forgotten how to love. You brought that back to me.” He kissed the top of her head. “I love you so much. Our time together, our marriage, has been the happiest part of my life.”
“John, I love you so much.” She wished there were something she could do, anything, to keep this from happening.
“You’ll tell Neil, how much I love him. How proud I am of him. He’s so little, I know he won’t remember much.”
“Of course he will. You know I’ll tell him all about his father.”
They spoke softly together. Recalling to each other moments they had been happiest, their wedding, the birth of their son. For John’s sake, Helena tried to stop the tears. She could tell that John was in horrible pain. He was sweating, and his breath was becoming ragged. All too soon Bob and Lee joined them.
“How’s Tony?” John asked them.
“He’s out of surgery. There was nothing we could do about his leg,” Bob said with regret. “But he’ll make it.”
John nodded. He shifted and Helena sat up, although John kept his hand firmly on her shoulder, keeping her as close as possible.
“Lee. I need you to take command.”
“Me? John I – “
“Tony will be out for the foreseeable future. And you’re next in line. Helena and Bob here can help. Sandra will fill you in on day to day routine. Make her your second.”
“John, I can’t –“
“You have to. You must.” He turned to Bob. “I’ll make an announcement, ask Sandra to see to it, soon. Five minutes. But I need to talk with Lee and Helena alone for a moment.”
Bob murmured assent and moved away.
“If we were all still on Earth, we would have been involved in some weird kind of legal battle. Lee, technically she’s still married to you, since you’ve come back from the dead. I need you to take care of her for me.”
“John, you know you don’t have to ask that of me.”
“I know, but Helena needs to hear it. Helena. I love you, and I have no doubt how you feel about me. But I know how you feel, how you’ve always felt about Lee.” He reached out and took Lee’s hand, shook it a moment, then put Helena’s hand in Lee’s and closed his hands around it. “Helena. Go back to him. No one can help show him how to be Commander of Alpha better than you. And no one loves him like you.”
“John don’t –“ Helena started.
“You need him. And he needs you. And Neil needs both of you,” he said firmly in a voice that brooked no argument.
Then Sandra was there and he was addressing everyone on the base. He still hadn’t let go of Helena’s hand and Lee stayed beside her, half supporting her.
“Attention, all sections, Alpha…”
“Your grandfather was a good man. One of the best I’ve ever known,” Lee said gently to Lisel. “And he and your grandmother made it possible for all of us to survive. They never shirked from their duty, no matter how tough the decision. And that’s the way your father lives his life, too.”
“You’re saying he didn’t pick out Eric on purpose to be away for years.”
“No, your father didn’t send him away because of you. He chose him because he was the best man for it. And if it is meant for you and Eric to be together, it will happen.”
Lisel nodded, skeptically. She looked at her grandparents. “I just can’t imagine the two of you being apart.”
Lee looked at his wife and smiled, seeing past the scars that covered her face and eyes. “Neither can I. Now, shouldn’t you get back to work?”
“Gosh, yes! I’ve got to go!” With kisses, the girl rushed from the room.
“Do you think she understood?” Helena asked as the door swished shut behind her.
“She will, in about fifty years.”
ECL
January 2007