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Chapter 6
The moon base was maintained by the Federal government's space program. Though the headquarters for the space program was still under Federal control, most of its management and technical expertise existed in the separatist states. The military contingency of the lunar base felt loyalty to the Federal government while the civilians felt the emotional pull of the states.
Jamail and Rick were discussing the events on Earth over breakfast.
“Well,” said Rick. “Now we know why we were placed under martial law. But I don't know how Captain Wright knew ahead of time what was going to happen.”
“Yeah, Rick that's strange, as if it were planned.”
“So, where are we?”
“Well, as I understand it the states are negotiating for a new Constitution to address the issue of local determination. But until then I think that except for those cases where states have directly nullified Federal law, not much will change. The Aggies will see to it I believe.”
“That is all true, but almost all the management and technical expertise of the space program is located in the states that voted for nullification. There is more wealth off-world now than on Earth, how will that affect the states thinking, especially those that host a facility of the space program?
“And the power the Federal government has, what are they going to do with it? I mean Florida has the best launch facilities in the country. The state could take over those facilities at any time.”
“What a mess. This is what you get when you try to please so many political constituencies and place your facilities all over the country.”
“Exactly. The centers of the space program have always been somewhat uncoordinated. An oasis of chaos in a generally well-run country since the Aggies took over.”
“The Aggies,” said Jamail. “I wonder what happened, they've always been able to diffuse these situations before.”
“Human unpredictability happened, it must be hard for the Aggies to understand human behavior, although I'm sure they are learning.”
Then there was a facility-wide announcement.
“Attention please, this is Captain Wright. I have been empowered to inform all of you that the moon base, auxiliary sites and orbiting facilities are now under the direct authority of the State of Texas and associated states, known as the Consortium. This should impact very few of you. Those that are impacted will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis. That is all.”
Rick looked at Jamail again in surprise.
Chapter 7
The twenty states that passed nullification represented very old fissure lines of the Republic. Most of the old South including Texas but excepting Virginia, the middle section of the country including Indiana, Arkansas, Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma and the north and west including Montana, Wyoming and the Dakotas all went their separate ways. There was no talk of a new Federation among these states, they all had had enough of Federal rule.
The Federal government at first refused the Aggies' contracts with these wayward states but relented when the Aggies forced the issue. It wasn't long until all the states that had voted nullification were represented by the Aggies. The result in effect was that not much changed economically, the Feds could still print money which the states would honor, negotiate with foreign countries for all the states, provide for the common protection and enforce Federal laws that had not been nullified, only politically was the new arrangement different. And it wasn't clear what had changed politically.
At first, caught off guard by the rapidly changing situation the President quickly recovered and took a pragmatic approach. The Federal government was soon busy establishing agreements with the separate states to smooth economic, military, and law enforcement cooperation. With the Aggies working on both sides the agreements were reached without too much rancor and drama. And with the Aggies working the world round the pressure to concentrate power in a Federal government because of foreign threats was nonexistent. In effect, the old Articles of Confederation had been somewhat resurrected.
But culturally, everything changed. People not comfortable with the new laws in their region looked to move. States lost and gained populations. The newly passed laws and measures that separated some states from neighboring states and the Federal government in civil and economic matters were enacted rather quickly. Without another layer of government, states could move without impediment, the changes were quite astonishing to some.
Though there was no talk of a Federation the new states did cooperate around shared interests and formed a Consortium of states. Texas and the Consortium began an effort to gain control of the Federal government's moon base facilities. The Federal government hadn't really pursued space interests in many years, only keeping the moon base alive for prestige and to fulfill contractual agreements it had made with the Terran Federation, which was the Feds' partner in space.
But Texas as leader of the Consortium had a great interest in establishing a presence off Earth, as they believed it a way to ensure their future economically and securely without relying too much on the Feds. Texas was especially well-positioned to make a move into space since it had the seventh-largest economy in the world.
The Consortium was able to offer the Federal government several trillion dollars for the moon and supporting facilities on Earth. The Feds made a counter-offer that would allow the Consortium control of the base, and economic responsibility to support it, while at the same time allowing the Federal government and its space partner the Terran Federation unlimited access.
Even with the Aggies working both sides the negotiations were boisterous and drawn out. That is until the news from the moon base about the actions of a certain Captain became known. Then the negotiations collapsed.
Chapter 8
“I don't like it,” said Lieutenant Wilson. “Josie in communications tells me no such orders came through. I think the announcement was completely the Captain's doing.”
“Do you know what you are saying Lieutenant?” asked Sergeant Willis.
“Yeah, I know what I'm saying. I'm saying that the Captain's a traitor to his uniform.”
“Lieutenant, we are just a small company of construction engineers. Beyond basic training, we don't have the military instruction needed to do anything about it. Do we?”
“Trina,” said the Lieutenant. “You know and I know that it doesn't matter what training we have, we've had enough to know what we have to do if we think the Captain has gone rogue.”
“Franklin,” said the Sergeant. “I hope you know what you are doing.”
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The hopper had landed in Shackleton Crater at the south polar region on the moon. The retractable docking tunnel was engaging the hopper's hatch. Rick and Jamail were preparing for their telescope run on the South Polar Infrared Telescope. Jamail always smiled thinking of the acronym.
Infrared telescopes and cold go together because the telescope itself can radiate in the infrared and interfere with its own observations if it is not cooled sufficiently. So the floor of Shackleton Crater, more than four kilometers below the rim, was ideal at a temperature of seventy to eighty Kelvin. The research center received its power from solar arrays on the rim's mountain peaks that were always in the sun. Power from the array was also sent to the main moon base and other locations. It was all autonomous and watched over by Ems.
Shackleton had also held water in the form of subsurface ice but most of that had been processed, though some small quantity still existed at the old well sites. But most of the water now came from other nearby craters.
Rick and Jamail were half-way through their observing run. By searching for excess emissions in the infrared they were looking for debris disks, a sign of planetary formation. There were other infrared observatories in space but this location allowed for the largest infrared telescope in the Solar System. The scope was usually run autonomously by its Em but Rick and Jamail were there to do some maintenance and they planned to get another run in before they left.
Just as they were pivoting the scope to another target they heard the retractable docking mechanism engage.
“We aren't expecting anyone are we Jamail?” asked Rick.
“Not that I know of.”
“Okay, let's finish this pivot and we'll go see.”
By the time they were finished and started to check out the noise the main hatch popped open, and troopers flooded into the room.
Lieutenant Wilson and some others were being carried and attended to by a couple of medics. Sergeant Willis was barking out orders. To Rick, it appeared that nearly two dozen troopers, one-third of a company, were trying to move into the room.
Sergeant Willis walked up to Rick and Jamail.
“Sirs, until further notice I must commandeer this outpost in the name of the United States Army. We will do our best not to interfere with your work but we will allow no interference with ours.”
“What is your work?” asked Jamail.
“We intend to make contact with our command chain state-side to report a mutiny.”
“A mutiny!” said Rick. “What do you mean?”
“Gentlemen, I will discuss the situation with you later if there is time. Right now I have to get my troopers stationed and the injured treated.”
It took more than an hour before the troops were organized and settled into their new environment. Most were camped in halls and the small rooms of the observatory. It was crowded and noisy. A small contingent was stationed in the hopper for immediate action if needed. Only the control room itself was off-limits to the troopers, except for a couple of guards, so that Rick and Jamail could work undisturbed.
Sergeant Willis came back into the control room and walked up to Rick and Jamail.
“Gentlemen if I may speak with you.”
“Very well Sergeant,” said Jamail. “The scope is on automatic. I am Jamail Jason and this is Rick Stockton, we are with the United Universities.”
“I am Sergeant Willis, I have temporarily assumed command from Lieutenant Wilson who was injured in battle.”
“Battle?” asked Rick.
“Yes, really more of a skirmish. You see the Lieutenant was trying to arrest Captain Wright for mutinous actions.”
“Yes,” said Jamail. “You mentioned that before. If I may ask, what are these mutinous actions?”
“Well, this is really not a civilian matter but I do hope to gain your cooperation so I will tell you. We believe that when Captain Wright declared the moon base and its facilities to be under Texas law he did so without direction from his superiors. The Lieutenant could find no evidence that such an order had come through communications to the captain.”
“Now gentlemen, I must ask for your help in establishing a radio link with Earth.”
Just then Sergeant Willis's comm-link went off, then they heard the sound of the retractable docking mechanism again, this time disengaging.
Chapter 9
Warrant Officer Bennett in the hopper was on the comm-link informing the Sergeant that he was opening fire on two incoming hoppers. Bennett was the hopper's pilot and was working fast to get it off the ground so he could maneuver to meet the incoming pair. Two of his crew had opened fire with the centrifugal guns. These weapons literally spun up fifty-caliber balls of tungsten-carbide to tremendous circular speeds before throwing the munitions at the enemy at over five-thousand miles-per-hour and at up to one-hundred-twenty-thousand rounds a minute.
Bennett and his co-pilot, Warrant Officer Stearns, had the hopper off the ground and turning to meet the enemy. The enemy, Bennett realized, that only a few hours before were some of his best buddies.
"Leave it to the brass," he thought, "to completely fubar any situation."
The military hoppers were very reminiscent of a helicopter on Earth only larger and much sleeker. The pilot and co-pilot sat in the front end with a windowed view. The other servicemen were in the compartment just behind the pilot where they manned communications or weaponry. The rocket could land vertically with its big chemical motor or horizontally with its smaller attitude control rockets built into extended pods mounted two to a side at the front and back of the machine.
Right now the hopper was transitioning from a horizontal to a vertical orientation and taking off on a vector aimed directly at the approaching enemy hoppers.
“They are getting convergence,” said Stearns.
“Okay, okay,” said Bennett. “I'm on my vector, you do your thing, we'll be alright.”
Warrant Officer Debra Stearns's “thing” was electronic hacking. She was the best in the company at breaking and entering and taking over electronics. She was trying to get into the systems of one of the approaching hopper rockets. She knew all the codes and passwords of all the rockets. She just needed a few seconds to get in.
The rattle of the fifty-caliber balls of tungsten was muted by airless space but the vibrations were very much felt by the men in the hopper.
“We're hit!” yelled one of the crew into the comm-link.
“Maintain stations,” said Bennett. He had his hopper closing fast on the other two at a vector that would take it between the enemy rockets.
Just then Stearns said, “I've got him.” As she took control of one of the enemy hopper's systems.
The hopper Stearns was controlling veered off from its approach and headed for the floor of Shackleton as if it was executing an emergency landing.
“He'll be off-line for some time,” said Stearns.
Both centrifugal guns were now focused on the remaining hopper. At first, the pieces from its flight surfaces seemed to float away on their own accord. But soon it became apparent that the stream of tungsten balls was shredding metal. The hopper lifted its nose as if it were making a tail-first landing but the nose kept rotating until the hopper was in a tight spin.
It was out of control and headed towards the observatory.
Bennett opened the comm-link, “Bennett to observatory, you have incoming, prepare for impact.”
The hopper spun itself into one wing of the observatory. There wasn't an explosion, but the debris spiraled out at impressive speeds.
Chapter 10
The details of the Battle of Shackleton Crater mesmerized the public for weeks.
After the battle, with the help of Rick and Jamail, Sergeant Willis contacted Earth and the Army chain of command. Immediately an order went out to the second in Command of the moon base to arrest Captain Wright in preparation for court-martial.
The incident had caused the death of seven soldiers when the part of the astronomy observatory they occupied explosively decompressed. Four other soldiers had been killed in the crashing hopper rocket.
In the resulting investigations, the State of Texas denied any contact with Captain Wright. As for Captain Wright, it took some time before his motivation became known. He had been passed over for promotion at his last review and knew it was only a matter of time before he would have to leave the service. Wright turned out to be the grandson of the former Texas Speaker of the House. He was very close to his grandfather and his grandfather was a good friend of the current governor.
Captain Wright had acted on rumors told to him by his grandfather. He had hoped that by acting in the way he did, the State of Texas would offer him command of the moon base when it did acquire ownership. Now he would face death by court-martial. Even his grandfather could be of no help.
Once the Federal government was convinced that Texas and the Consortium had negotiated in good faith, negotiations for the moon base began again. The Consortium acquired control and the Federal government acquired unlimited access without expenses for itself and the Terran Federation.
The Texas Consortium made immediate contact with miners in the Asteroid Belt and the settlers of Titan for trade deals. The Consortium began the construction of a processing plant at a Lagrangian point in the moon's orbit to process resources from the asteroids. A deal with Titan would provide the He3 that the fusion power plants in the states of the Consortium needed without relying on an agreement with the Federal government.
The Consortium also hoped to acquire fusion-powered space transports eventually. For now, a deal with the Solar Federation (representing the Asteroid Belt and Titan among others) for cooperation and security would fill the needs. The deal was a boost for the Solar Federation, providing it with a rather strong ally as a counterbalance to the Terran Federation.
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Roger A. Williams II took his robotic butler Carlson and returned home. The company had decided it would be better to recruit a manager from the region rather than transferring someone from outside. Roger was happy to be back home and even Carlson seemed to be relieved. Carlson received salutations from the neighboring bots almost immediately. They were pleased that such an outstanding member of the neighborhood watch had returned.
Tom Johnson had closed what was left of his shop and moved from Davison to Grant several counties over. He didn't seek public office again but lived as quietly and unobtrusively as he could, knowing as most people would never know, how the most seemingly mundane actions could spin out of control.
Otis Lawson took to sitting out front of Johnson's former shop and giving impromptu lectures to sightseers on the skirmish that had happened there and his important part in it. He was filmed by several news crews and became a minor celebrity.
Not far from Davison, Jeff Andrews and his family returned home. Jeff had missed a year of schooling because of the public spotlight. But he was glad to be back in a school where he didn't stand out and where he could speak without insult to others. His school wasn't as advanced as the one he had left but he had learned that happiness wasn't always about advancing oneself.
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Rick and Jamail returned to Earth while the United Universities sorted out the responsibilities for the damage to the observatory. The lawsuit against the Army, the Federal government and the Texas Consortium was eventually settled out of court for a large sum. Even the Consortium settled although legally it was not involved with the actions that damaged the observatory. The Consortium felt it was a show of goodwill and the fact that Rick and Jamail were Texans and their actions had generated a great deal of approval on the other side were also considerations.
Once the observatory was rebuilt Rick and Jamail would be special guests at the reopening ceremonies.
Warrant Officer Bennett and Sergeant Willis were awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for their role in the Battle of Shackleton Crater. The rest of Bennett's hopper crew received the Medal of Honor. All the troopers received some commendation with the seven dead also awarded a Medal of Honor. The four dead crew members of the crashed hopper received no awards but a commendation for their service which allowed their widows and families to receive military benefits.
The battle itself was soon turned into a major motion picture.
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