Best Intentions

“Mark, General Steven Pell would like to speak with you. He is the launch commander at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.”

“I wonder why he is calling,” Mark thought.

“Ok, CJ. Let’s see what he wants, please put him through.”

“Hello General Pell, it’s good to hear from you. What can we do for you today?”

“Mr. Richards, we will be launching three communications satellites into geosynchronous orbit over the next seven days. The first launch will be at zero seven thirty tomorrow and the following launches will be at the same time on the following days. Since the satellites will occupy higher orbits than your ship I just wanted to give you a heads up so there are no misunderstandings about the nature of the launch vehicles.”

“Thank you general, I appreciate the notice. You know, we could put those satellites up into orbit for you in about an hour. Why go to the trouble and expense of those launches?”

“I appreciate the offer Mr. Richards, but my men and I have been launching satellites for some time now. We’ve been handling them since well before that spaceship came along. This is just business as usual for us, but thank you anyway.”

“Ok, General Pell. Once again thanks for the notice. Goodbye, please call back anytime,” Mark replied, suddenly anxious to get off the line.

“That was strange,” he thought.

“Why would General Pell not accept your offer of assistance with the satellite launches?” CJ asked, paralleling Mark’s thoughts.

“I’m not sure, CJ. If they didn’t want our help with this why did the General call himself? He could have had some underling just send us a message of intent for the launches.”

Playing a hunch Mark asked. “CJ, please check what our orbital position will be in relation to Vandenberg during the three launches.”

“Affirmative, Mark. Calculating orbit now.” After a couple of seconds CJ came back with the answer Mark expected. “At our current orbital speed and altitude, if the launch is on schedule, we will be at twenty two degrees east of the Vandenberg airbase during the first scheduled launch and at forty seven degrees west of the complex during the third launch. However, during the second launch we will be over the horizon at one hundred thirty one degrees. Four other launches are scheduled for the same period, two from Russia and one each from Japan and China.”

“That’s interesting, CJ. It’s certainly a lot of activity in a short period of time. You’ve been in the same orbit around the Earth since moving out from behind the Moon; it’s obvious that they know what your position will be during their launches. That makes me think that more could be going on here than meets the eye.”

“Do you believe something other then the launching of satellites is going to occur, Mark?”

“It’s possible, CJ, but I have no idea what it could be. Maybe I’m just being paranoid and everything is just as the General said. Well, I don’t see what difference it could make anyway. They can’t be planning on attacking your ship,” Mark said with a laugh, “that would be just plain crazy!”

“Should I alter our orbit so we can observe all three of the launches, Mark?”

“No, CJ. I don’t want them to think we are suspicious. It’s nothing to concern us if they don’t want help. But have something in the area to observe when the second launch occurs, just in case.”

“Affirmative, Mark.”

****

“We are at T-minus thirty seven minutes to launch,” came the announcement over the speakers. General Pell was in his office, meeting with the pair of CIA liaison officers.

“General, we feel that we have a good chance to pull this off,” said Tom Delaney the junior CIA operative. “The three-man team in the stealth interceptor should be able to rendezvous with the ship. With the specialized equipment that has been developed for this operation, they should have no trouble entering it and neutralizing the target.”

“Look Mr. Delaney,” the general said pounding his fist on his desk, causing a mug full of pens to topple onto the floor, shattering. He sighed and continued, “I didn’t agree with this plan and that’s what I told the president,” the general said. “I’m only going along because of my orders. The risk of failure is too great, both to those men and to this base or even possibly the entire country if they fail and are caught. Even if they manage to get aboard that orbiting behemoth undetected and kill Richards, we have no idea what the computer’s reaction will be.” He shook his head. “From what we’ve already seen of its capabilities we wouldn’t stand a chance if it decided to retaliate.”

“First of all, General Pell, the men are under strict orders to capture him, not kill him,” replied Scott Warren, the senior CIA man with the smug expression that made General Pell want to punch him. “They will only kill him if there are no other options. If our men succeed, and I believe they will, we can force Mr. Richards to turn control of that alien spaceship over to our government where it should have been from the beginning.”

“Besides,” said Tom, “if the mission goes badly there won’t be any evidence implicating our government. He will never even know that the mission was launched from this base, or the United States. We’ve timed this operation to coincide with launches from several other countries to camouflage our action. Richards is not a military man, and it should appear to him as nothing more then a rogue operation originating from who knows where with the support of a foreign government.”

“Do you think he will believe that an operation like this could have been carried out by anyone but the United States? You must not have a high estimate of his intelligence.”

“We don’t think of Mark Richards as unintelligent, we just believe that he is naive.”

“I’m not so sure of that, Mr. Delaney, and even if he is, that computer of his certainly isn’t.”

“We’ve been careful, general. There are no indications of the country of origin anywhere in the spacecraft. The technology is unlike anything in the U.S. arsenal. Even the men’s records have been altered to appear that they were all dishonorably discharged several years ago and have been working as mercenaries for foreign governments since that. All references to this mission and the entire Mosquito program and its technology have been expunged from all military databases.”

“Yeah, I’m sure he will believe that! What if you are wrong and he tracks that ship back to this launch site? You had me contact him. Do you think he will forget that? I could be implicated as commander of the base where the attack originated,” the general agonized.

“Well, in the event that happens, there are no orders for any mission like this, just satellite launches,” the CIA man said cheerfully.

“Well it’s good to know that I have the support of my Commander in Chief,” the general said sarcastically. “I wonder if it will matter to the president if this base gets wiped off the face of the planet due to these actions. I hope your men are as good as you say they are.”

“They are the best, general, believe me they are. Try to keep a positive outlook, this just may succeed!”

“You know, Mark Richards has done a lot of good around the world. Do you believe that this course of action is necessary?”

“General Pell, this is ground that has been covered already by people with bigger brains than ours. They all agree with you, but Richards has been making more and more demands regarding every nation’s internal affairs. He’s withholding most of that ship’s advanced technology. How long do you think it will be before he decides that he should be in charge of everything and tries to take ultimate power? Maybe when that ship is completely repaired? Have you thought about that general?”

“Yes, I’ve heard the arguments. But with the capabilities of that technology, what chance do the men have? Just the know-how needed to fabricate the advanced materials used by that ship.” He shook his head. “I think we’re biting off more than we can chew here.”

“Yes, the so-called neutron-steel invulnerable hull,” Scott Warren sneered. “I find it hard to swallow that a material exists that one of our high-energy plasma torches cannot cut through. I’ve seen one of them slice through the twelve-inch thick armor belt of an Iowa class battleship like a hot knife through butter. But even giving Richards the benefit of the doubt, the patch material used to seal off the damaged sections of the ship should be much easier to penetrate. With the increased activity detected around that asteroid base we just can’t wait any longer.”

“I see that more thought has gone into this plan than I had estimated,” the general admitted. “I guess all we can do at this point is wait to see what happens.”

“T-minus fifteen seconds to launch. The board is green. Radar tracking is online and we have a go. Full communications blackout is in effect and the base computer links are disabled. No surveillance has been detected.”

“Ten, Nine, Eight, Seven, Six, Five, Four, Three, we have ignition, Two, One. We have liftoff! Bird is away. The trajectory is dead on, first stage separation in t-minus five minutes.”

Three hours later the satellite was in a stable orbit. The abandoned second stage was drifting, hopefully unnoticed.

“Well there we go, general. Thank you for a perfect launch. If Richards has any suspicions, he should be monitoring the second launch. We intentionally scheduled it to occur while the ship is around the other side of the planet.”

“You’ll see, General Pell, this mission will succeed! You just have to have faith. We’re leaving to head back to Washington. Time to brief the president and this isn’t something we want to trust to even our secure communications channels.”

Twenty-four hours later while the second launch was in progress, the stealth interceptor hidden inside the thin metal shell of the Atlas II rocket came to life.

“Systems check,” said Major Cross, the commander of this mission. “Let’s get this show on the road.”

“No surveillance detected, sir. I’m bringing the shielded energy core online.”

“Thank you, Captain Doyle. Lieutenant Hassett, how are our stealth systems, any problems caused by the launch?”

“No anomalies sir. All systems are online and functioning at one hundred percent efficiency. Passive sensors detect nothing in our vicinity that is moving at greater than orbital speed.”

“Well, let’s get out of this piece of junk and get this mission underway. What is the current position of the target, captain?”

“Target is twelve thousand kilometers distant at an altitude of five-thousand kay and moving at eight kilometers per second. Mosquito’s altitude is eight-thousand kay. Speed is ten point five kilometers per second. I’m calculating a low energy modified Hohmann transfer to match target’s orbit.”

“Remember lieutenant, we want to make our orbit jumps while the target is on the other side of the planet. I know what we’ve been told about the shielded exhaust of the thrusters and the radar absorbing materials this bird is constructed of, but I’m not letting this mission go to pot because we took something for granted. Captain, keep a close watch on the power plant. I don’t want us generating one watt more power than we need. We have no idea how sensitive the target’s sensors are, but I would bet my pension that they are a damn sight more sensitive then our most sophisticated spy satellites.”

A two-man chorus of Yes Sir’s rang out in the tiny cockpit.

“Sir, we are ready to make our first orbital jump. Target is a Chinese military communications satellite at fifty-five hundred kay altitude. This will be our biggest jump and the satellite will give us good cover as it is fairly large and puts out lots of radio frequency noise.”

“Good. As soon as the target is out of line of sight, take us out and max burn to that satellite.”

The giant space vessel had just rounded the limb of the planet when the stealth craft edged out of its metallic prison and activated the small but powerful thruster pods that expelled mercury reaction mass in small quantities but at high velocity. They endured a punishing seven G’s as they dropped twenty-five hundred kilometers in altitude and shed velocity. The small ship nosed in behind one of the solar wings of the target satellite. The next target was a dead U.S. military surveillance satellite whose orbit would take them to within fifty kilometers of the objective, but they would have to wait for four orbits to pass before the target was completely out of line of sight before they made their move. The men had trained to be patient and would not take any chances that would jeopardize their mission.

****

“Mark, the second satellite launch has taken place. I detect no sign of anything out of the ordinary. The satellite has reached geostationary orbit and has begun deploying the solar power wings. I have thoroughly scanned it and nothing unusual has been detected. It seems to be just as we were told.”

“Thank you, CJ. I thought they might be up to something but I guess I’m being paranoid,” Mark said with a laugh. “That’s just another of those pesky human failings.”

****

“Sir, we are at position two in the shadow of the Chinese satellite. All systems are nominal and we still have two-thirds of our propellant supply available. Life support has ninety-six hours remaining with three hour reserve in the EVA suits.”

“Ok, let’s get ready for the final jump before we match orbits. I want constant passive surveillance on that ship. I do not want any surprises!”

Seven and a half hours later, the stealth interceptor reached the dead satellite without incident. The men prepared for the most dangerous part of the mission, one that unfortunately required the target to be nearby - the boarding itself.

“Ok men, this it. All our training comes down to this. Lieutenant, prepare for the insertion thrust to match target speed and put us on course for intercept.”

“Yes sir!” Lieutenant Hassett said with enthusiasm. “Course is already laid in and locked. At minimum thrust, we can gradually move into the optimal position and match the target’s orbital height and speed minus point zero zero five KPH.”

“Very good lieutenant, ok this is it, men. All equipment is prepared, let’s get into those suits!”

Due to the size of the craft, they were forced to don the suits one at a time and carefully so as not to hit any of the controls. Once they were prepared, they activated the main thrusters for the last time. If the calculations were correct this would be their last maneuver. They made their slow drop of the last fifty kilometers. All power was shut down and it was up to inertia and the tiny attitude thrusters to complete the job. They watched the kilometers tick off.

“Mark, I have an anomalous reading. A small un-powered object appears to be closing on our position. Its configuration does not match anything I have recorded from the human civilian or military databases.”

“Can you determine if it is some type of weapon, CJ?”

“My scanners do not seem to be able to penetrate the hull material, but infrared readings indicate the presence of two to three life forms onboard the craft. The object is obviously a spacecraft of unknown type utilizing very advanced stealth and material technology.”

“Well CJ, it looks like I wasn’t wrong to be suspicious after all. I wonder where they came from. Let’s have a look at it, on the main screen please.”

A dark area of space replaced the current view showing the African continent passing by below.

“I can’t see anything, CJ. Can you enhance the picture?”

“Affirmative. I am enhancing the image in false color.”

As the image changed, Mark could just make out the little arrow-shaped craft. As the enhancement continued, it changed from non-reflecting space black to a light gray and became visible.

“Should I take action against the craft, Mark? They will make the closest approach to this vessel in twenty minutes if we do nothing.”

“No CJ, let’s wait. I’m curious to see what they’re planning. You don’t detect any radioactive material on board, do you? I’d hate to wait and find out they brought a nuclear weapon with them.”

“Negative, Mark. No radioactive elements are on board. That is why it was not detected sooner. The material of the craft’s hull does not allow any electromagnetic leakage and dampens the majority of infrared. I only detected it as its physical presence occluded an earth crossing asteroid that I have been monitoring.”

****

“Fifteen minutes to rendezvous commander. We still have no indication that we have been detected.”

“Excellent, looks like this plan has a chance to succeed after all. Let’s prepare for the EVA. Seal the suits and attach all equipment. Lieutenant Hassett, shut down life support and activate vacuum pump. I don’t want our course altered by any venting atmosphere when we open the hatch.”

“I read zero atmosphere now, major. One minute to closest approach. Hatch un-dogged and all instrument displays are shut down.”

The three of them touched helmets together so they could communicate. “Ok men; let’s get out of this sardine can. Switch off light enhancement on your goggles. Remember, you don’t have reflective visors so do not look in the direction of the Sun or you will be blinded. We maintain absolute silence from this point on which shouldn’t be a problem since the suit radios have been disabled. You know your jobs, let’s go!”

The three men climbed out onto the hull in time to see the huge bulk of the target vessel moving past like a vast silent freight train.

Major Cross carefully aimed and fired a gas propelled magnetic grappling line across the gap. It made contact with and clung to the lighter colored metal patching the damaged section at the rear of the alien hull.

Flexing their knees, they leaped into space in perfect synchronization just as the line became taut and the wall of metal moved past their ship. The mechanism built into the launcher reeled them in even as the ship’s momentum swung them towards the alien vessel. They each affixed themselves onto the hull using magnetic grapples in the toes of their boots and the knees of the suits. Their sturdy little ship fell behind but none of them gave it a second thought. If they had even glanced back, its dark shape would have been lost to view immediately.

Hanging off the side of the huge alien ship they were fully committed now.