Orbits - Book 2 - Dangerous Debris

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Carlos and Major were both on the bridge discussing possibilities. There were few options. Major had set course to Ryugu and much of the ship had turned quiet. Rosalind was able to calm herself and she was getting much-needed rest in her cabin. Orme and his people were also resting. Before resting though Carlos had shown them how to eject all the rock and slurry debris from their container into open space. They had remarkably cleaned up the cargo bay to the point that it was spotless. Their diligent hard work was performed both out of thanks to Major and to prepare a welcoming space for their females. The calm and quiet on the bridge was a welcomed respite.

Carlos was going over his research and explaining it to Major.

“There are not a lot of good places. We know the Earth is out. I contacted a few cruise lines asking if they would take our guests on as workers. They were not interested. The same with the tourist stations. They have no need for additional workers right now and when I described them they were

very uncomfortable. I also contacted American and European mining colonies. Again no one is interested,” Carlos set forth.

“Being the workers of others doesn’t fit them. That is what they just fled from. They need to be independent, free, someplace where they can set up their own community with their own rules,” Major said.

“I think you’re right. There is one other possibility I came up with. Moon Colony Utopia. Do you remember it?”

“Was that the commune base that failed?” “Yes. It completely failed five years ago.

Everything was abandoned. Everything is still

there. Habitation pads are still intact. As far as we know their solar power generation system is still working or serviceable. There is a couple of months’ supply of water, food, and oxygen. It’s all there. Nobody has claimed it. Apparently, nobody wants it. American Eagle base is nearby. They could receive some assistance from them.

They know how to mine. They could use their

mining skills and trade with the other moon colonies.”

Well, that looks like a really good option for them. Good work Carlos. I’ll present it to Orme.”

The Excelsior was on its course to Ryugu. The Excelsior had left the well-traveled corridors of Earth’s orbits. It was lonely out in this portion of space. No other craft were in view.

Communications were non-existent. This was now the new real space - the dark and eeriness of distance between bodies or craft. There was no help to be had in case of danger. Fortunately, the time to Ryugu would only be five hours. All five of these quiet hours were needed by Major and crew to come up with a plan to extract the remaining slaves and information about Rosalind’s husband. There were technical issues as well. Carlos asked, “Captain have you figured out how we are going to land on Ryugu?”

Major had never landed his ship on an asteroid before. He performed simulations of the tricky maneuver, but no real-world situation presented itself until now. Many challenges existed in landing on an asteroid. The gravity pull was much

less. The surfaces of asteroids were notoriously rocky, uneven, and unstable.

“I’ve looked at images of Ryugu. There are two potential landing sites. One is used by the mining company. They’ve leveled an area one hundred meters from the mining base. The other is at the tip of the asteroid. I’d like to use the mining company landing site. I can hover over it and touch down with the landing struts.”

“You think they’ll let us land at their site?” Carlos asked.

“They will if they think we are returning their property.”

And that was Major’s plan. He would trick NEO- Mining that he was returning Orme and his people in order to get access to the asteroid and its facilities. He would have to hope that no one on the asteroid was informed that he destroyed the lab. Would Commander Fox have notified the NEO-Mining officials? Somehow he thought not.

He sensed that Fox had some perverse desire to have him succeed but at the same time have him watched and monitored.

Five hours to go. Extract the remaining slaves. Get information on Rosalind’s husband. The latter presented no solution at the moment. These incessant thoughts ran through Major’s mind. He worried these tasks were outside of his expertise. Landing on the asteroid, that was something he could manage. It was his craft and his skill only stretched a little bit. But these new tasks required artifice, guile, and gambit. These were more the ways of Commander Fox. He didn’t have the face for it. But it had to be done.

“Carlos you better get some rest. We’ve got a few more hours to go,” Major told Carlos.

“That’s a good idea. What about you Captain? You looked worried.”

“I’ll try. But I’ve got to talk to Orme first and tell him about the moon.”

They both left the bridge - Carlos off to his cabin, Major off to the galley to find Orme. Orme was indeed in the galley. He was alone. Major saw him sitting at the long table studiously reading his precious book. Orme was running his finger along

the words feeling the meaning of each. He paused at some repeating the motion. He did not know all the words. But the essence was flowing into Orme’s simple but perceptive mind. Major walked in and took a seat next to him. He waited until Orme finished reading a passage, but it was Orme who spoke first.

“Do you read the book Major?”

Major paused, sighed, and had to admit in embarrassment, “No I don’t.” He could not articulate a reason why he did not read this book. Major was well-read. His cabin’s library reflected this, and that was only part of his collection. But for some reason that particular book never made it into his collection. It wasn’t a question of belief.

Were the stories too old? No. Was it because the stories were interpreted in the wrong way? No.

Major would apply his own interpretation to all works he read anyway. He simply did not know why he did not read the Bible.

“Maybe it is time for you Major.”

“It has brought you much comfort.”

“No. Lessons. Learn lessons. You can learn too.”

Major had never thought about it this way. This needed examination. But for now Major wanted to speak to Orme about the Moon.

“Orme, I wanted to talk to you about your new home.”

“Our new rock.”

“Yes, your new rock. We’d like to take you to the Moon.”

“You are giving us the whole Moon? The biggest rock!”

“No Orme. Not the whole rock, um Moon. There is an abandoned base that is suitable for your people. It won’t be easy. You will have to work hard to build and expand. And with the new lives we took from the lab, you will have to expand.”

“Even a small part of the biggest rock is a blessing. We will take and make it the promised rock.” Orme looked to the container, and asked, “How?”

“I have a plan for that Orme. You will just have to trust me for now.”

“You are a great Captain. Like Noah you save lives to rebuild the world.”

Major was taken aback. He still was just the pilot of a garbage hauler. “Orme it will be you who will rebuild the Moon and who knows from there,” Major responded.

“I have already completed my work. It is time for others.” Orme again gave Major an acknowledging nod and turned to leave the galley. There was something in Orme’s voice that bespoke of completion and realization of his fate. Major had in that moment great concern for his newfound friend. He wished that he could be a part of Orme’s experiment to build a new civilization within a greater civilization. They could feed off of each other’s strength and hope. He pledged to himself that after he got Orme and his people to the Moon, he would visit and assist his friends in building their world.

Realizing he had more planning to do, Major buzzed Rosalind’s cabin, “Ros are you awake?”

“Yes Major, for a while. I got some good rest.”

“Great. Say we are going to need another favor from Mark Matthews.”