Survival Mode

set just after breakaway

Chapter 1.

Oxygen. It was an essential item for survival on the moon. He had never worried about not having oxygen before. There had never been any worry about the lack, of water, food, medicine, spare parts, fuel or people either. Because a giant safety net had stared them in the face every day they went about their business upon the moon. It was absolutely terrifying to look upward and not see the reassuring presence of that safety net, the Earth. Of course he could not let anyone see or feel his terror. Don't look upward he told himself. Looking downward at his list was just as bad. John sucked in a long breath to steady himself. Take it slow, one thing at a time. We are still alive, and need to stay that way. He steeled himself for his first visitor. Victor Bergman shuffled into his office , he had an almost wary look upon his face. "Report Victor", John said the official words. The matter of fact tone gave him comfort.

Victor paused for a second to get his thoughts in order. A thousand problems were whizzing around his brain and he was analyzing each of them. He had to empty his mind for one brief second before beginning his explanation. Making the first part as positive as possible was a good place to start. "John we have been witnesses to a miraculous event", he said boldly. That did sound amazing. But only if he averted his eyes from the obvious damage that lay around them. John just stared at him in shock. He kept going. "When the explosion happened the significant forces created from the event not only pulsed outwards, but inwards as well toward the core of the moon. We felt the concussive force of the detonation".

John nodded, they'd all been pinned to the ground from the significant forces created when the nuclear dumps exploded. For awhile he'd felt like his whole body was about to fly apart. There had been intense pain, yet his body had been so paralyzed that he'd been unable to scream. Tears had leaked from his eyes. There had been a point when he'd wished for the release of death. When the pressure had finally abated they'd all been unable to get their traumatized bodies to respond . It had been a slow recovery. "Continue", he told Victor

"The force created was enough to shift the moon from the orbit with the Earth", Victor explained.

Now John had to restrain himself from pointing out the fact that everyone would have noticed the lack of the Earth in the sky. Keeping it professional John simply said, "we know what has happened Victor. The question is, what can we do to fix things. If we repeated the accident, could we realign ourselves with the Earth". John assumed to was just out of visual range.

Victor's tongue snaked out of his mouth to wet his lips. That was not a good sign. He looked nervous.

"Just tell me", John prompted gently.

"John, if I had ever proposed a scenario like our one, I would have to put the odds of survival as zero percent". We should have been crushed. Somehow, most of the force was projected outward. Which is part of the problem. We are in fact still moving", Victor stated.

That fact hit John hard. "Still moving", he said in quiet disbelief. He could not discern anything.

'Victor shuffled his feet slightly, like he had the urge to run from giving this report. Keep going, he told himself. Be scientific, it'll be easier that way. "Yes, as I said some of the forces were internal. They caused fires under the surface of the moon. These are not the sort of fires that need oxygen John. We are talking extreme heat, that creates enough energy to act like an engine. The movement is not significant enough to cause life threatening trauma to our systems. However it will keep us in motion."

Taking a few minutes to process what Victor was telling him, John swiveled his chair in circles. The motion was almost soothing. "Alright, how do we put this internal fire out", he asked. When Victor looked at him like he had two heads, he decided he did not need to hear the answer to that question. "Will this fire go out on it's own, he asked instead. "Yes", was the very positive reply. "In many 100 years, if we are lucky", was the slap in the face.

So John decided to ask the next question and hope the answer was better, "can Earth give us aid". Victor looked downward. He had already anticipated many of the questions John would ask. The answers were not easy ones. He had discovered this answer by looking upward, at the stars in the sky overhead. "The moon has left our galaxy John", he said.

"What, that's simply not possible", John rose from his chair and shouted that loudly in Victor's face.

Victor was icily calm as he replied, "you are right it should not be possible. But that does not change the fact that it happened. The concussive force of the explosion catapulted us rapidly through space at such an extraordinary pace, that time was altered."

John was still standing, and felt his legs buckle. He managed to slide somewhat gracefully back into his chair. "So we can't go home, ever". He said those terrible words with a shaking voice.

"No", Victor agreed. "Now we must simply focus on survival from this point onward. Firstly we will have to keep the systems of this base functioning. If necessary we will have to sacrifice non essential systems to keep the other ones functioning. The production of oxygen will always be our first priority".

Now Victor was telling him things he already knew. "Our system diagnostic reports everything is still functioning properly. The problem will be how to obtain new parts. Yes we can use some from other systems. But there are also some that need to be manufactured. Where will the materials for that process come from?, he stated.

"That problem exists in all areas John", Victor said bluntly. "We can no longer expect resupply."

"So the first thing we must do is ascertain how long our existing resources will last", John decided.

"Yes, that is essential John. First though you will need to tell everyone what has happened and have a plan for the future. Otherwise everyone will think that we are just getting a prolonged death sentence", Victor had a grim look on his face that told John something very sobering.

"Is there actually hope of long term survival", John asked seriously

"We relied on Earth's resources". Where do we look for help now", Victor replied.

John thought about that. Then he pointed. Upward at space. "We'll have to find what we need out there Victor." John looked down at his list. He wrote a sentence in bold letters. He might have considered sacrificing these to aid their survival, if going back to Earth had been attainable. Now they were an essential item. "Keep the Eagles flying", was what he'd written.

Pushing the button down on his desk, he requested, "can Captain Carter report to my office".

Victor raised one eye brow. "You are talking to Alan before anyone else", he remarked.

"He can give me an accurate assessment of what it will take to keep the Eagles flying as long as necessary", John stated. "Basically those Eagles are our life line. They will need to go and gather supplies from any other source they can find."

Victor glanced upward again. "It's a new galaxy. We do not know what is out there", he sounded both excited and scared.

John did nor comment further about that. He swiveled in his chair until he heard the buzzer announcing Alan's arrival.

Alan looked rather pale as he strode into the room. He was still recovering from the loss of many pilots to the virus.

John gestured for him to take a seat. When Alan was settled John asked. "Alan we are just reviewing our current situation". Alan looked out at the stars, "one where the Earth seems to have disappeared", he said. "Yes", John answered. He paused, "I would like to know how long our current fuel supplies would last. Suppose we use all our ships everyday and travel at least a couple of days."

"You are talking about a huge fuel output there", Alan stated. He was not telling the Commander something he did not know." In his mind he was reviewing all the information he already had received about the Eagle fleet. He could answer this question with a definite answer. But he did not want to utter the words. Because he knew they were asked because of a dire and life threatening situation. Everyone knew that. The others were all out there waiting for Commander Koenig to come out of his office and tell them everything was going to be alright. They'd all watched him walk into the office and would speculate what was going on behind the closed doors. The longer they were in here, the more the worry would grow.

John watched as Alan paled further. He guessed he was not going to get a very promising reply. "Alan", he prompted . "A few months if we are lucky", Alan said quickly. Now it was John who looked pale. He'd thought it was going to be a lot longer.

"We lost fuel in the explosion John", Alan explained. "I am guessing that we cannot hope for a quick resupply".

"That's right", John agreed. "We may need to find alternative fuels to keep the Eagles flying. Can they be adapted ", Victor asked. "Yes, it is possible, though it will take a bit of working out", Alan replied. He glanced upward again at the stars and this time his gaze lingered longer. "Where are we", he asked in a hushed whisper .

Alan kept on staring , looking for any familiar reference. Then he averted his eyes from the stars, and studied Victor and John. "We are not going home", he said it in a voice already dripping with sorrow. "That's why you asked those questions". Alan clenched his hands to stop them shaking. Suddenly a huge responsibility rested upon his shoulders.

"You are right Alan", John confirmed. "We need to keep surviving in an unfamiliar galaxy." I would like you to ready the fleet for exploration of that galaxy. "

"While you do that I have an announcement to make", John gestured to the closed doors. Alan knew the others would feel the pain of loss as sharply as he did. But there was nothing he could do to bring the Earth back. He felt tears build when he thought of his home land, and how it would have been devastated by the breakaway of the moon. Millions of people were probably dead.

How do you even process something like that.

"I know it hurts Alan", John said softly. He moved to stand next to Alan. "That pain won't fade quickly. We can't let it cripple us, as inaction will cost us dearly".

Alan nodded, he had a job to do. If he kept his mind on that job then he would not be lost to despair. "I will ready the fleet Commander, and await your orders for liftoff".

He turned and waited for the doors to open. Then he began to walk quickly. All he wanted to do now was get back to his ships. But the eyes of the others were upon him. Paul Morrow, quickly moved to intercept him. "Why did the Commander want to speak to you?", he demanded.

Paul thought that he should have had a private meeting with the Commander. Why summon a pilot. "Commander Koenig will make an announcement soon", Alan said it loud enough for everyone in the operations area to hear.

"Can Doctor Russell report to my office please", came Koenig's next request.

Now Paul made a growling sound in the back of his throat. It was a sign of deep displeasure. "Our Commander seems to be ignoring us", he said. "We have all been through a grueling incident. We need our Commander to give us an update now."

"Paul it's alright, the Commander is not ignoring us. He's just busy", Sandra reassured , "right Alan?", she hinted .

Alan could feel anger rolling off Paul Morrow in waves. His whole body was tense. It was definitely not the moment for him to make a smart mouthed reply, though he was actually tempted. Sorrow did that to him sometimes.

"That's right", he said steadily. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have some orders to carry out", Alan told Paul. He quickly dodged under Paul's arm when the other man went to grab him and hold him in place. Then he headed for his Eagles as fast as he could go. The ships were going to be much better company than Paul Morrow.

Doctor Helena Russell took note of the flushed face of Paul Morrow as she strode past. Everyone was tense at the moment and that meant raw emotions often took over. Anger was always the most dangerous of these emotions. She hoped Commander Koenig was going ease the anxiety .

He was gazing at nothing when she entered. "Everyone on the base needs your leadership Commander ". Stress and anxiety levels are high, and that will eventually lead to problems", Helena told him.

"That is why I wanted to speak to you before I make my general announcement. John sighed softly, "I need your advice on the best way to deliver bad news Doctor".

Helena stared at him then reprimanded, "well you don't just blurt it out like that Commander". She was feeling her own pain over the loss of patients.

"Sorry", John told her. He reached over and dared to place his hand on hers. "Is there ever an easy way", he asked. "Not really. Though if the initial report is bad, there needs to be something positive to look forward to in the future", Helena did not try to move his hand. It was a reassuring presence. That's what she liked about John Koenig, he was a man that inspired confidence.

"This piece of news will affect people deeply Doctor. It may even cripple some", John said soberly. "But there is hope for the future".

Helena swallowed nervously. She could already feel the sorrow, that lived within John Koenig. It looked like he was facing his worst nightmare. Now he was no longer so reassuring. "What is this bad news John. We already had loss of life and severely injured people. That is the type of news everyone will expect after what we've been through".

"Yes, I know they expect that. What they won't expect is to be told that..", John paused. His grip upon her hand tightened. "We can't go back to Earth Doctor. That concussive force we all felt has actually thrown us out of the galaxy".

For a moment the room started to whirl as her heartbeat intensified. She recognized the signs of shock within herself. When she thought she was going to faint, sudden warmth made her feel somewhat better. That's when she realized John Koenig was actually holding her. "I think being there for each other will help as well", he said.

She let that warmth comfort her for a long moment. Then finally she broke free. "You are right there is no easy way to say that", she whispered. "Just do your best John", she dropped the formal address because it felt like the right thing to do.

"Let's face them together", Helena suggested. John pressed the button to open up his office. Then with Helena by his side he came down to stand amongst his people. "I am here to deliver some very solemn news", he said. He looked at each one of them slowly . "The moon has left our galaxy and is currently in unchartered space. We are going to have to look for resources to help supplement those we already have. Fortunately we were recently resupplied by Earth. So our need is not urgent. We do need to go out there though, and discover more about this new galaxy. It will afford us many, many possibilities. Captain Carter is standing by to deploy the Eagle fleet".

"All of them", Paul interjected. John could hear doubt in his voice. "Yes, we will send out all the Eagles. It will increase the chances of finding resources", he replied. "It will also burn through our fuel supplies, Paul stated. "Yes. The only other alternative would be to only send out a few ships at a time. That would save fuel, but we may not find resources easily", John remarked. He'd already thought through all the possibilities. This was a risky move. But nothing was ever going to be safe.

John could feel the fear and uncertainty in the room. These were all highly trained specialists, who could cope with a million different scenarios. However nobody would have ever proposed what had happened as a possible event. They were all still in disbelief mode. "You all know your jobs well", he stated firmly. "We do the same thing, just in a different setting. I doubt this galaxy will be a lot different to our own." We are explorers, and we have an amazing opportunity , out there." So lets find out together what this new galaxy has to offer".

He hoped that sounded positive enough.

"It won't be a place where our loved ones dwell", Sandra said softly. Tears were flowing from her eyes. "We have all lost our family and friends".

"Yes we have", Helena acknowledged. "Nobody expects you not to mourn". "We must mourn", John agreed. "Earth will never be forgotten". Everything there will live on in here", he touched his heart, "and in here", he rubbed his head. He held out his hands, and felt Helena take one side, and Paul the other. Soon all the others were joining in, making a large chain of people, that wove through the corridors.

"On this day we become a family, Moonbase Alpha, people of many different countries facing the future together, "John told them all.

"Let us begin". "Captain Carter, launch the Eagles".