Fireball: The Enigma Series Part Two Read online

  Desira exhaled loudly, puffing her cheeks, as she turned back to Storm.

  There was a long silence. “It all depends on what the Sigma’s doing,” Storm said at last. “If they’re staying, I will too. If not … I’m not going to be the only other person here.”

  Dmitry nodded.

  Storm floated over to the comms panel. “Secure channel to the Sigma. You guys there?”

  “Yep,” Holly said.

  “What the hell was that all about?”

  “They’re throwing their weight about. That thing wasn’t impeding them at all. They just did it to send a message.”

  “Well, they sent one,” Storm said. “You guys staying or going?”

  “Staying.”

  Storm smiled slightly. “Then I’m staying too.”

  “I’m surprised your leasing company is going for that.”

  “They’re not.”

  “Then how are you planning to … you think you’re coming aboard our ship?”

  “No. I’m going to live in the crab, attached to the outside of the Enigma.”

  There was a pause.

  “You’re doing what?” Holly said.

  “I’m lot not letting our claim go that easily.”

  “Wow. And I thought I’d seen it all. Well, good luck. I’d advise you to be on the same side of the Enigma as us so we can keep an eye on each other. And you do know we’re livestreaming all this back to Earth?”

  “Roger that, good to know. Zephyr out.”

  “We’d better get busy,” Dmitry said. “Only about fifty minutes until deadline.”

  “I’m leaving in thirty, with or without you,” Jane said.

  ****

  “Are we go to place the explosives, General?” Irina said.

  “Yes,” Igor replied.

  “I’m going to suggest that we start near the rear of the object,” Sergey said. “There’s a small chance it has a drive system that we can reactivate. That way we could control it. Also, there’s more likely to be some sort of powerplant technology we can steal.”

  “I was going to make that suggestion about a drive system,” Boris said, looking hurt.

  Igor looked at him for a second, and then turned back to Sergey. “I agree about starting near the rear. How far away do you think we should get before detonating the explosives?”

  “A minimum of five miles. But knowing nothing about the object, even 500 might not be enough.”

  “Then let’s make it 800.”

  “I wanted to be able to see what happened though,” Irina said. “The nature of the explosion and the debris thrown off could give us further clues to the object’s nature.”

  “Negative. The ship’s safety is most important.” He turned to Boris. “We need to be near enough to place the explosives first. Take us in.”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  With a small burst of thrust, Boris nudged the large, heavy ship towards the Enigma.

  “It’s truly gigantic,” Irina said, gazing up at the vast object before them. “Its size is inhuman. It’s like a whale in space, or a nuclear submarine.”

  “Yes,” Sergey said. “A shame we have to blow a hole in it.”

  “The Americans’ entry point looks like delicate surgery in comparison. I still wonder if we shouldn’t be doing it their way. If there’s anything sentient on that thing they’re less likely to strike back if we bore a narrow entry point instead.”

  “That’s not the Russian way,” Igor said. “We don’t screw about. If there’s treasure to be had in there, we want it first. You never know, the Americans might send more ships, or the Chinese may show up. Whatever is in there, we will get our hands on it first.”

  “Then explosives it is,” Sergey said.

  “Right now, it just looks like a giant oval hole in the stars as we approach the rear,” Irina said.

  “We can soon take care of that,” Boris said. The glare of the ship’s floodlights reflected back at them. Boris smiled as they shielded their eyes. “We’re only about 1,000 feet from it now.”

  “I’m sure I don’t have to tell you to watch our speed very carefully,” Igor said.

  “You do not, Sir.”

  ****

  Jane touched a communications panel. “Secure channel to Solar Conveyor 4. SC4, do you copy?”

  “We hear you, Zephyr. We don’t know what to make of this any more than you do. It wasn’t in our orders for this trip. We’ve pretty much decided we’re going home; I don’t think Rapier will want us involved in this.”

  “Roger that; we totally understand, and we’re probably going to do the same thing.”

  Storm’s face flushed a deep, furious red. “We are not leaving the Enigma to the Russians. We have legal claim to it. They can’t just take it.”

  “You and whose army will oppose them?” Dmitry said. “If we were an American ship it would be a different story, as we could make it a major international incident, but we’re from the Moon. We have no military, and no political hammer to wield here. Nobody’s going to come help us.”

  “American ship, huh?” Storm smiled. “There just so happens to be one of those nearby.”

  “Talk to them,” Desira said.

  “My plan exactly.” Storm tapped the communications panel. “Secure channel to USS Sigma. Sigma, do you copy?”

  “We hear you,” Chris’ weary voice said.

  “What are you planning to do?”

  “We’re sure as hell not going home. They can’t just barge in here and tell us all what to do. Nobody owns the Enigma. Not even you guys: we never recognized your claim on it, and we won’t be recognizing theirs either.”

  “They’re sure as hell not going to get in the way of my exploring it further,” came Drew’s angry voice.

  “Good, I was hoping somebody else would stand up to them,” Storm said.

  “Are you guys heading home?”

  “Not if I have anything to say about it. But then it’s not my ship, so … not really my decision.”

  “Yeah, I can see your leasing company’s predicament. Keep us posted.”

  “Will do. Zephyr out.”

  “You now have one hour and forty-five minutes to leave,” came the Russian voice from the loudspeaker.

  “One of my countrymen acting like this,” Dmitry said “Disgusting.”

  “I don’t suppose you could talk some sense into them…” Desira said.

  “Unlikely. One man, even a Russian citizen, isn’t going to be able to dissuade the government.”

  The others nodded in a sullen, resigned silence.

  Desira rubbed her chin, wondering what the next move should be. The other two looked off into the distance, unfocused, just trying to think their way through the situation.

  “Well, there goes our deal with Rapier Aerospace I guess,” Storm sighed, breaking the silence.

  “Yeah,” Desira nodded sadly.

  “What if we stayed here in the crab?” Dmitry said, his face brightening.

  “Are you serious?” Desira asked.

  “Completely,” Dmitry nodded. “It can support one person for three days, and longer with extra cylinders of oxygen, until we figure out a way to get back.”

  “Genius!” Storm said. “Of course, I’ll be the one to stay.”

  Jane looked at Storm in utter disbelief. “You’re going to stay five billion miles from earth, next to that huge machine of unknown origin, with a hostile foreign power right here, in that tin can?”

  Storm chuckled. “Well, when you put it like that… yeah, that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”

  CHAPTER THREE

  The Russian crew watched the telescope image of the Enigma from afar. It appeared as close as when they had been in its enormous shadow.

  “Go to detonate explosives, Sir?” Sergey said.

  “Go.”

  Sergey touched four buttons in quick succession and there was a bright flash, before a return to total darkness.

  “No way to tell if that had an
y effect until we return to the Enigma,” Sergey said.

  “Then let’s go back and look,” Igor said.

  Forty minutes later, they hovered near enough to the Enigma to see the damage they’d done.

  “The interior looks like it’s made of coal,” Irina said. They were looking at the jagged hole in the titanium skin, about the size of a tennis court. “But then we were expecting that from the American report that it’s made of Q-carbon.”

  “Emissions of any kind?” Igor asked.

  “I’m not detecting any, Sir. Neither gases nor radio waves.”

  Are we go to begin exploring?” Sergey asked.

  “Yes. Let’s see what’s in there,” Igor replied. “Besides, the deadline has passed. It’s time for everyone else to leave.”

  ****

  “Are you sure you want to do this, Storm?” Desira asked. “I see wanting to protect our claim and all, but… staying at the Enigma by yourself?”

  She embraced him in the narrow tunnel leading from the Zephyr’s flight deck to the crab’s entry hatch.

  “Yes. I’m sure.”

  “Because it’s for Anna?”

  “Yes.”

  Desira sighed and nodded. “I understand. We’ll be back with another ship to get you and continue the operation.”

  Storm nodded.

  “You’re pretty badass, dude,” Dmitry said, his American phrase humorously at odds with his accent.

  Desira let go of Storm and backed up in the narrow space. Dmitry pushed forward and grasped Storm’s hand in an arm wrestling grip. “You’re taking a heck of a risk here.”

  Storm half chuckled., “Yeah, I know.”

  “Stay safe as you can, and don’t be afraid to ask the Sigma for help.”

  “Come back and get me as quickly as you can, okay?” Storm said.

  “We will, man. The first thing we’re gonna do when we get home is get another ship to come back here. Besides telling the world what’s going on out here, since we’ll beat the news home.”

  “Yeah. That’s probably the first thing to do.”

  “Five minutes,” Jane’s voice echoed down the tunnel.

  “You’d better get going,” Dmitry said.

  Desira cast one last admiring look at Storm. “Stay safe, buddy”

  Storm pushed himself along the tunnel, using both sides of it for leverage, turned the corner, and entered the crab’s cabin. After touching two buttons on the overhead display, the inward-opening hatch swung closed. He floated down and took the controls.

  “Comms check,” came Desira’s voice from the radio panel.

  “Copy.”

  “Retracting the brackets now. Wait ‘till they’re nearly retracted before you move out.”

  “Will do. Commencing pre-flights now.”

  After a couple more button presses, readouts lit up all over the display and the progress bar started to inch its way along, above the main window. “Hurry up, hurry up,” Storm muttered, as he watched the indicator’s agonizingly slow movement. He looked outside and saw that the large metal brackets were indeed backing off towards the sides of the large cargo hold. Shouldn’t even try and fly this thing without finishing the preflight checks, but when needs must…

  “You’re good to go,” Desira said.

  “Roger that, commencing exit maneuver.” After one more look at the halfway-complete preflight, Storm applied a very gentle burst of left thrust, grabbing the handle beside him to keep from floating away. The still-retracting arms moved by slowly outside.

  “Your exit’s good, I recommend you just keep going like you are now,” Desira said.

  “Will do.”

  The back end of the Zephyr passed slowly from left to right, and then Storm was looking at the vast spectacle of the Enigma once again. “I guess you’re my home for the next few days,” he muttered to its enormous bulk. No sooner had the other end of the crab cleared the cargo bay than the doors began to close, and the large ship began its slow turn clockwise to keep its engine blast well away from the crab. Drew floated over to the small window at the end to watch. “Godspeed, Zephyr.” he said.

  “All the safety and luck in the world to you,” Jane said.

  “We’ll be back as soon as we possibly can,” Dmitry said. Then Storm had to close his eyes against the blinding light of the Zephyr’s exhaust as she accelerated away from the Enigma. Storm clambered his way from the side window to the one at the rear. He closed his eyes again against the glare, now seeing only orange and the blood vessels in his eyelids.

  Storm’s gut twisted and clenched more than he cared to admit as the glow disappeared, and he was alone with the Sigma and the Korolev. He opened his eyes again and saw only stars where the Zephyr had been. Even the inside of his dusty old office would have been better than this.

  He tore himself away from looking at empty space, back to his view of the Enigma, as the giant slowly floated by outside. Whoever had built the Enigma had done so for a reason. Should they even be messing with it at all?

  Storm applied a touch of left thrust to arrest his movement, before beginning his maneuver around the object to be within sight of the Sigma and, unfortunately, the Korolev.

  The crab drifted slowly upwards and Storm watched the Enigma’s metal surface as it curved further away from him. Finally he could see the bright exterior lights of the Sigma in the distance. He was suddenly reminded of old movies from the Apollo program, which he had seen as a boy, showing the moment when the Earth rose above the rocky and lifeless surface of the moon, a reassuring symbol of life, hope, and home. Storm had never been so glad to see Drew in his life. “Sigma, do you copy?”

  “We hear you.” It was Drew’s voice this time. “I can’t believe you decided to stick around in that tiny craft.”

  “Neither can I!” He smiled at the ridiculousness of it all.

  “We’re about five miles away, but we can you see clearly through the telescope.”

  “Good to know.”

  “How are you planning to maintain your position?”

  “Grab onto this thing and stay put. I’m going to cut out a spot that I can grab onto with the claws, and then stay here until ISI can get a warp ship back here more permanently.”

  “When are they coming back?”

  “Not totally sure, to be honest.”

  “Good Lord! So you’re out here by yourself, with no definite plan of how you’re going to get home?”

  “Pretty much. Sounds crazier when you say it.”

  “That takes some real cojones, I’ll give you that much.”

  “Thanks. I wonder what Dad’ll think, if he even knows I’m here?”

  “It’s hard to know what he thinks about anything.”

  “True.”

  By this time, Storm and his crab were slowly traversing the top of the Enigma. He adjusted his course to begin heading down the other side.

  “But, you know, of course he knows you’re here,” Drew said. “You guys have been all over the news at home; there’s a major outcry about you exploiting the Enigma for personal gain. Can’t say I disagree with that sentiment.”

  Storm laughed and nodded to himself as he began to turn the crab slowly to face the direction he’d come from, so he could see the giant object clearly in preparation for attaching his craft to its hull.

  Once he was halfway down the other side, he gradually nudged in closer to the almost sheer metal wall before him. He was only about a quarter of the way from the front, in order to stay away from where the Russian ship hovered at the rear. He stopped fifty feet from the Enigma and took the controls of the crab’s manipulator. Having set the laser in position, he depressed the trigger with his right thumb, and a fiery square appeared in front and slightly above him on the Engima. A piece of titanium floated free, and he repeated the procedure above and to the left of his craft, trying not to look at the reflected glare of his exterior lights. Now the position hold system’s cameras had reference points to focus on. Once the craft was steady, he c
oncentrated on cutting out two squares right through the outer hull, leaving only a thin strip of the structure in between, to the crab’s right. Then he cut out a similar pattern to the left. Maneuvering very carefully, he got so close to the metal that he felt like he could almost reach out and touch it with his bare hands. Then he clamped down on the bars he had created, and left the claws in position. Storm felt like a parasite attached to the outside of a whale, now bound to its fate, along for the ride wherever it chose to go.

  ****

  “The Korolev is by far the biggest ship I’ve ever ridden,” Sergey said, as he double checked his suit.

  “I hear you,” Irina said. “The passage from the flight deck just to get down to the airlock’s longer than some entire ships I’ve been on. Let alone the airlock itself; as big as the entire flight deck of some of the smaller American ships.” She tied her hair back in a bun in preparation for latching her helmet to the rest of the spacesuit. Sergey and several others were already suited up and ready to exit.

  “Come on, slowpokes,” one of them teased. “We have an alien ship to explore.”

  “Yeah, yeah, in a minute.” Irina turned back to Sergey. “Need your help to clamp this thing down.”

  He placed the spherical helmet over Irina’s head and fastened all four latches. “Okay?” he mouthed, since Irina could no longer hear him. She flashed the universal sign for okay. Sergey nodded and smiled before grabbing his own helmet and offering it up to Irina. She returned the favor.

  “Depressurizing now,” Sergey said. He touched two illuminated buttons by the door through which they’d just entered, and the air hissed out of the chamber. As the airlock depressurized, he addressed his crew: “We’ve got to watch out for jagged splinters that may snag our suits. Honestly, I think the Americans might’ve had the right idea by drilling into it, since it doesn’t leave jagged edges.”

  Irina felt her suit pop out and stiffen with the vacuum outside.

  “Everyone good to go?” Sergey asked.

  “Yes! Let’s check this thing out!” Anatoly said.

  “Pay out the guide line as you go. Anatoly, tie it down on the handle just inside the airlock door. I don’t like the idea of being stranded out there.”