Chapter 2 Part 2

Nathan drifted up through the layers of subconsciousness following a steady buzz. He opened his eyes and identified the sound coming from his alarm on the nightstand. He reached out and tagged the switch turning the alarm off. To his left Dawn's body stirred and she raised her head slowly.

"Good morning," she greeted him with a smile.

"I hope so," he replied.

She traced the outline of hair on his chest seductively. "Do you have time for more?"

Nathan checked the clock. He only had an hour to get ready and get to the dock. "I am afraid not," he said as he crawled out of the bed. "I am rather rushed, but I did enjoy last night."

"So did I," Dawn yawned. "I do hope you will stop by the next time you pass through here."

"I will try to do that," Nathan assured her as he entered the bathroom. He turned on the shower, fearless of anything she might do. The only thing she might steal would be his card or computer and they were both traceable and inoperable without the proper codes.
He was not terribly suprised when he emerged and dressed only to find that his companion had departed.

Nathan gathered his belongings and made his way back to the spaceport. The ship waiting on him was much different than the one he had arrived on. The winged transport that had left the Terran atmosphere was a long sleek craft possessing both jet and rocket engines. The rocket fuel burning craft that would take him to the moon was roughly cylindrical in shape and was not constructed for atmospheric use.

Nathan boarded the ship and strapped himself in with minimal help from the crew. He had traveled in space numerous times and was quite used to the strange sensations. He wondered about the things he had learned from Gerri and speculated on where such a thing could lead.

"Attention passengers," a voice announced. "Please remain seated until we are clear of New St. Louis and the engines are shut down for cruise. We have a ten hour flight ahead of us, so try to relax. Thank you"

Nathan leaned back and closed his eyes. The best way to pass the time would be to sleep it away. Fortunately he did not get much sleep the previous night. Dawn had kept him awake quite a long time.

When Nathan awoke, the chronometer on the cabin wall showed that they had been in flight seven and a half hours. Nathan yawned and noted that most of the other passengers were milling about in the zero gravity some were talking or reading while still others were drinking from collapsible plastic bags.

Nathan's stomach rumbled and he recalled that he had not eaten in over a day. He flagged a steward and requested a bag of soup and spent the next hour and a half eating and reading. They were a little over nine hours into the flight when the announcement came for all passengers to return to their seat and prepare for the deceleration. A few moments later the ship vibrated and low rumble began as the ship's engines came to life in a decelerating thrust that made Nathan feel fairly heavy and pressed him back into his seat.

Many long minutes later the ship was jarred by the unmistakable sensation of a landing. The engines quickly went silent and the lunar gravity became a welcomed sensation.
Nathan quietly unstrapped and followed the other passengers as they gathered around the airlock. A lunar ferry specially designed as a rolling airlock tractored out and attatched itself to the ship. The passengers all moved into the vehicle and were carried back to the main complex of Lunar Alpha.

The large moon base was the size of a small Terran metropolis though most of it was underground. Alpha was a major administrative and communications center for the entire solar system. Every major industry had an office there to handle affairs.

Alpha was significantly more than just a functional location. Since it was an industrial nerve center, many executives had set up residence there as well and the rural part of the Alpha had achieved resort status among the most powerful of Market holders.

Culturally, Alpha had twice hosted the Cerebral Olympic Games and was the home of the reigning chess champion. The Lunar Alpha Theater Company was well know for its low gravity ballets. Lunar Alpha was the center of hopeful artists.

Nathan passed through customs very quickly and again made his way to the MIRA Headquarters and Operations Center. He had been there several times before, so he vaguely remembered the way. Upon reaching his destination, he notified the receptionist of his presence and that he was expected. The young lady verified the information with a security monitor and directed him to the appropriate location.

Nathan thanked her and went as he was directed to a particular room down the hall.
When the door opened, he stepped inside and sat in a desk with a palm scanner facing a blank wall. He placed his palm face down on the glass plate and announced his arrival. "I am Nathan Thomas," he declaired and followed his name with his security code.

The room lights dimmed and the scanner took a reading of his palm print. Then the wall illuminated and he sat facing a projection of another man seated at a desk. The other person sipped at a coffee mug and retrieved a file from a drawer and opened it atop his desk.

"Hello, Nathan," the image said. "It is good to see you again. How was you flight?"

"Same as usual, Mr. Deen," Nathan answered. Gary Deen was the primary operations director and oversaw all MIRA agent activities. The fact that he personally was handling Nathan's assignment meant that it was of utmost importance.

"I am not going to beat around the bush on this, Nathan," Deen began. "This is a serious matter. I am certain that you heard about the loss of Beta Six."

"Struck by an asteroid, from what I hear."

"That is quite correct. Strangely enough there are a few circumstances that warrant further consideration. First, Beta Six was a weapons research station. Though not publicly known, it was still somewhat of a secret. The Syndicate knew of it, they did not, however know what was there."

He pressed a button and a side wall illuminated showing a diagram of the inner solar system with a course plotted across it. "This asteroid was uncharted and unknown within the inner system, and the inner system has been charted extensively. It is highly unlikely that this one was simply overlooked until just now when it so coincidentally destroyed a major military outpost.

This projection shows where the asteroid originated from." A highlighted area of the asteroid belt enlarged. "But according to astronomical atlases, there are no asteroids missing from this area." Another picture flashed upon the side wall. This one was of one of the Market's large Attack Carriers. "Just the same, we have asked the Whirlpool to run a few drones by and recon the area."

"When do expect the report?"

Deen flipped a page in the folder. "We have them burning at full speed so they should be there within a few days."

"Do you want to wait for the results?" Nathan asked.

"No," Deen replied as he closed the folder. The wall display died as well. "You are booked on next week's shuttle to Twilight Station. You will get there in about two weeks and then take a chartered liner to Aries Metro. From there you will monitor the investigation and plan appropriate action."

"Appropriate action?"

Deen leaned back. "If this is a covert attack by the Syndicate, then of course there must be a retaliation."

"And if it isn't?"

"Then you will have a nice paid vacation on Mars."

"What is my arrival time?" Nathan asked.

"Just under a month."

"Only a month to travel from here to Mercury and then out to Mars?"

Deen reminded him. "You are going to take a chartered liner from Mercury out to Mars. It will be a high gee acceleration ship and will launch as soon as you get there."

Nathan thought for a moment. "I was under the impression that only the military had access to nonsynodic ships." Normally commercial and civilian craft were in established low energy orbits using only minimal amounts of fuel to synchronize their arrival and departure with their destinations. Military ships, on the other hand carried reactors and fuel and were authorized to chart their own courses as they saw fit.

"Most of the time you are right, but there are certain situations which authorize a government department to step outside of the normal rules," Deen assured him. "This is such a case."