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Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781546203421 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | AuthorHouse |
| Publication date: | 08/09/2017 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 188 |
| File size: | 260 KB |
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Read an Excerpt
CHAPTER 1
He stood atop a hill overlooking the ruble. Our once great planet, destroyed. Now almost impossible to breath the air outside without an oxygen mask. Dean stood overlooking the launch site of the Hercules II. He was to be on that carrier tomorrow morning at 0900.
Deans last day on Earth consisted of three doctor appointments to make sure he was cleared for launch tomorrow. He had basic training later that afternoon to work any kinks out of launch prep, and then the rest of the day was his. Now standing atop of the overlooking hill to I.S.C (International Space Control) launch terminal he wondered how the human race could destroy such a magnificent planet. A once thriving and beautiful place now stood ruined. Fires had destroyed many cities; floods immersed streets, forests, and buildings. The atmosphere damaged to the point of the sun making it almost impossible to be outside during the daylight hours if the clouds ever cleared. The once beautiful blue water of the oceans now a dirty green washed up on the shores.
It shouldn't have been a surprise to the public. The Civil War had been coming for years. A corrupt government had the U.S. citizens in an uproar. Looting, destruction, and protesting began to be part of everyday life. It didn't take long for other countries to take advantage of such a thing. Many tried to take over our land during our weakest moments. This Soon turned into World War III thus causing the beginning of the end times.
Luckily one company had prepared for such an occasion. I.S.C took over NASA in 2023. An independent company funded by a multi billionaire. Edward Gammon inherited his parents billions after their death in a plane crash. Their money plus his trust funds bought him the rights to his lifelong dream, to explore the Universe.
Edward took his knowledge and business degree and started something no human ever dreamed of actual seeing in their lifetime. Edward built a moon base in 2028. This fully functioning Skylab built on the surface of the moon, consisting of launch pads, docking stations for carriers, a greenhouse, hospital, rec rooms, and much more. The Skylab named Moon View housed 300 workers within its first year. Its continuing growth into year two placed its population at 700 and was the reason humans set foot on Mars by the year 2031. NASA once proposed it would take 260 days to reach Mars with a manned space craft from Earth. I.S.C accomplished this from our Moon in just under 32 days with there ever growing technology.
Now that Earth is standing in destruction, everyone wants to leave and join I.S.C. The acceptance into their programs is not easy however. Many apply and get denied, and those that get denied will die on this Earth along with this planet. It's estimated by I.S.C that Earth has approximately 1,460 days left before its totally uninhabitable.
But there is new hope in the human races eyes. News of another terrestrial planet found by I.S.C's moving Skylab called Telescopium. The planet named Portobello due to the first satellite image of the surface reviling giant house sized mushrooms sprouting out of the planet's surface. Portobello is estimated to be ten times the size of Earth, and is home to an indigenous species humans have come to call Plovs. Not much is known about the Plovs and contact with them has not yet been successful. Dean Matthews and his team of explorers hope to change that however. His crew will be among the first to venture out to Portobello aboard the Deltoton on the 32 day voyage from Moon View to Mars to resupply and then take the 93 day voyage from Mars to Portobello.
Dean will be the Commander of the Deltoton with his piolet Anna Lynn. The rest of the main landing party will be Cade Rhett, Geologist, Luna Amidala, the ships doctor, Nolan the ships linguist. The rest of the bridge crew includes Easton Ryder, tactical commander, Skylar the team's navigator, and Bella the crew's astronomer. The Deltoton is equipped with tactical guns called Star striker's which are over grown rocket launchers alongside Ares Defenses, which fire like machine guns. The ship also houses Guardian ships that are infantry drop ships and smaller two manned space fighters called Raptures. Inside the Deltoton's hanger sits three Revenant assault tanks and six Avenger Anti-Aircraft Humvees.
Of course Dean and his team pray they will not need any of these weapons at their disposal, it would be foolish to approach an inhabited planet not prepared. Satellite imagery shows that Portobello has two cities built approximately one hundred miles from each other. The rest of the planet is wilderness and mountains and lakes. The team of the Deltoton is set to fly a Guardian ship into the smaller of the two cities that man has named Morrell. Morrell looks to be a space port of sorts always showing aircraft flying in and out of docks. The larger city named Shiitake has less aircraft traffic but is twice the size of Morrell.
Dean and his team hope to fly in on the Guardian that is only equipped with one Ares Defense gun under the infantry hull on the back for troop deployment into Morrell and be allowed to dock as merchants. But before any of this can happen the team has to safely launch from I.S.C's launch base in the Hercules II. Then they have to make their way to Moon View to be briefed with final instructions, load supplies on the Deltoton and make there 32 day voyage to Mars. Mars is where the Deltoton crew will land at the Gemini Base to equip itself with the tanks and Humvees. While on the Martian surface the team will also pick up its infantry in case they are needed for battle. The Deltoton is capable of housing 700 people comfortably for three years before having to dock somewhere to resupply.
The Gemini base was built as a military training camp for all I.S.C army's. I.S.C being a non-government company trains and employs its own army's. Thirty three miles north of the Gemini base on Mars is a small town that is home to 2,367 humans that live and work on the surface as scientist conducting experiments and linking data up with the Telescopium Sky Lab. Telescopium is large enough for ships like the Deltoton to dock to and is approximately forty seven days further from Mars towards Portobello. Telescopium houses close to nine hundred people itself. The Sky Lab has everything needed for hundreds to live within its hull for years. There are many more exploration ships constantly docking and departing from Telescopium in hopes to find other Terrestrial planets.
Dean awoke extra early the morning of the launch. He jumped on his treadmill for the last time and ran his normal three miles before breakfast. Showered and having eaten he headed to his car with his single bag of personal belongings allowed to be taken. It was a nine mile drive to the launch site from his home. A long nine miles through rocky unpaved roads with looters and militia always causing problems. The only real security left on the planet was that employed by I.S.C to protect the Earth's I.S.C training facility and launch site to get the last remaining acceptable humans off the planet before the planet self-destructs.
It was estimated that from the 7 billion people on Earth before the war approximately only 9 million lived. Over the next 3 years another 2 million died from disease, hunger, and killings. There was no government left, no one willing to step up to help control the chaos. After the war I.S.C had already built Moon View and was in the process of finishing the construction of the Gemini Base. Telescopium was already deployed and Portobello had been discovered. So of the remaining 7 million on Earth I.S.C launched a media campaign telling anyone wanting to start a new life should apply. The only thing on any TV screen left on Earth was always news, nothing but death, despair, and how humanity was doomed.
The first day after I.S.C launched its ad they had thirty three thousand people lined up outside their world headquarters in Alabama. By the second day they had seventy thousand. Any one over the age of fifty was automatically denied. They were at too high a risk of death during launch off of Earth. Anyone under the age of thirteen were also denied, too young to be safely strapped into the gear needed to protect you while penetrating through the Earth's atmosphere. Anybody with any kind of serious injury or disease was also turned away immediately. The last thing anyone wanted was to have a disease wipe out the human population at Moon View, whose population now the day before Dean's launch had multiplied to ten thousand. It was rare to have a day go by without a space craft either launching or landing on Earth. Over the last fifteen days leading up to Deans launch, I.S.C had launched and landed forty seven space craft caring people accepted to Moon View.
On an average infantry ship that carried humans from Earth to Moon View you could safely fit forty passengers not including the three people it took to fly the ship. So if math hasn't changed over the last fifteen days leading up to Deans launch that was one thousand eight hundred and eighty people taken to Moon View. Thankfully I.S.C employed some of the smartest people in the world. Moon View was equipped with farms growing crops for food, and had livestock taken from Earth in an early experiment. I.S.C launched mission livestock the end of the first year on the Moon. They had launched three ships full of cows, sheep, chickens, and pigs. A little over half of each species survived the flight, now giving Moon View a thriving livestock.
Hercules II stood thirty two feet vertically. Sitting in the third seat all Dean could see was the sky. "This is the last time I will ever see this sky." Dean thought to himself sitting there looking out the window.
The clock began to countdown from thirty seconds. Dean could hear the boosters turn on from a low pitched hum to a booming growl. The Hercules II had made this journey twenty six times. Hercules began to shake and bounce as the boosters ignited. Flames shot out from under them and the Hercules lifted into the air and stayed there suspend for a few seconds until the clock ticked down to zero.
"We have lift off!" A voice said enthusiastically in the com. Dean began to smile as the Hercules II launched its way into outer space. The most miraculous view he had ever seen.
CHAPTER 2
The vestibule of Moon View was like something out of a sci-fi movie. Large hologram televisions everywhere, small rail cars transporting people around, and a ceiling lit up like a sunny day back on Earth with hologram clouds floating around. Directly in the center of the lobby was a circular desk with three women working at computers. Off to the right was a large food court and to the left looked to be a large line of small stores. So far Moon View reminded Dean of a shopping mall back on Earth.
As the group worked their way inside the main floor a little further a series of three different toned beeps came on the overhead speakers and a women's voice followed.
"Deltoton crew please report to platform G. Deltoton crew please report to platform G."
Just as Dean was thinking to himself "where the hell is platform G?" A hologram monitor in the center of the lobby formed a map of Moon View highlighting Platform G and a route from the lobby there. A small drawer slid out from underneath the monitors stand with a tablet inside and the women's voice announced please take this for your convenience. Dean reached out and grabbed the tablet to see it also had the map with GPS on it to show them the way.
"PLATFORM G"
Big bold letters overhead read in flashing red lights as the Deltoton aircrew walked through the opening at the end of the hall on the fifth floor. They had to cross a suspend bridge overlooking the Dock Ports below to a big round dome attached to the other end almost looking like a planetarium. The room they walked into was another small lobby with a desk to the right. On the left was a group of chairs and a couple of leather couches. The outside wall behind the seating was all glass for a phenomenal view of the moon's surface. A woman sat behind the desk at a computer with an ear piece attached to a microphone. She looked up from her computer as the crew walked into the room and asked them to take a seat and someone would be right out to help them.
Dean sat down in the center couch and his crew seated themselves all around him. There was a door on either side of the desk on the opposing wall. The crew sat there for what seemed like an eternity. Suddenly the door on the left side of the desk opened. An average height man came into the room. He too was wearing a headset like the woman at the desk.
"Deltoton Crew! My name is Darren, I'm the one in charge of finalizing your teams briefing. If you will all please follow me we will get things squared away."
Briefing, more like signing you're first born over to someone. So much paperwork, they had a stack of fifty or more forms for each individual to sign. Then the crew had short evacuation training in case the Deltoton had to be abandon and then were issued their uniforms. The final paper given to each crew member was the most disturbing. The top of the page read "Sacrifice for the greater good."
Question 1. Are you willing to perish for the knowledge you seek?
Question 2. Are you ok with living on a craft for the rest of your life?
Question 3. Will you do everything you can to save another's life in time of need?
Question 4. If death occurs is there anyone you want contacted?
And that was it. Four questions, one final form. The Deltoton was soon to be the flight crew's new home for the rest of their lives. A thought that hadn't actually crossed any of their minds until now. This thought left a large lump in Dean's throat that was hard to swallow, and brought a few tears to Anna Lynn's cheeks.
The Deltoton crew had eighteen hours to themselves after briefing before they were to report to the Deltoton Bridge for launch. Eighteen hours to explore Moon View didn't seem like much time. Moon View was a very large facility by itself not counting the ships docked to it making it even bigger. The buildings structure itself covered four square miles and stood as high as seven stories in some areas. The facility had everything including a movie theatre, pool, bowling alley, gardens, and playgrounds for children, and libraries. There was a school in the west wing of Moon View for kids of all ages to keep knowledge ever growing.
Another large structure stood behind Moon View called Site 88. Site 88 was a research and production facility. This facility was where equipment and machinery was invented and built for ships like the Deltoton. Because humans could never walk on the lunar surface without space suits everything was connected. Even though it didn't look like site 88 was connected to the rest of Moon View it was by underground tunnels. These tunnels referred to as channels by the Moon View residence were wide and tall enough to drive very large vehicles through them.
The most spectacular part of Moon View in most people's opinions had to be the gardens. In the front of Moon View there was a second very large dome where the garden was. Within the garden were several different types of trees, flowers, and shrubs. A creek ran through the center to a pond in the back filled with fish, turtles, and frogs. All of this was made conceivable from the efforts of I.S.C wanting Moon View to feel as much like Earth as possible. Crews from I.S.C hauled ship after ship of good old dirt and rock up to the lunar surface to build Moon View.
Dean had decided to spend a little of his time here within the gardens of Moon View. He sat on a bench facing the creek watching a mother with her kids in the playground on the other side. A smile grew across his face as he observed them play and laugh. "Maybe there really is still hope for happiness for mankind" Dean thought to himself. He sat there for another ten or so minutes before getting up and making his way to the other side of the info structure. He had decided to join the rest of the flight crew at the Lunar Bar & Grill for one last meal not on the Deltoton. The crew laughed and shared stories of life back on Earth before the war destroyed the planet. Stories of dumb things they had done as children. Their favorite memories of playing outside, movies they had seen, and relationships made. Memories shared of all these things that would never again be done by future generations on the once great and beautiful planet.
(Continues…)
Excerpted from "Portobello"
by .
Copyright © 2017 Matthew D. Wheeler.
Excerpted by permission of AuthorHouse.
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