Lunar Base

Charlie Wonka sighed heavily. "Do you have any idea what might have happened?"

The video monitor showed the head of the forensics team presently analyzing what little was left of Deepstar Five; they were working under the utmost secrecy, their reports limited to the eyes of Wonka and OS-22. News of the crash had been released to the general populace as a failed test of a new destroyer prototype, and the wreckage had promptly disappeared into the high-security labs. The analyst looked extremely uncomfortable as he shook his head. "None of it makes sense, my Fuhrer. Deepstar Five was off our screens for less than two seconds, but in that time she moved roughly twenty thousand kilometers opposite the intended direction, emerging from warp facing the wrong way. Her automatic safeties should have cut in well before she reached that altitude, but there's not enough left of her to pinpoint a malfunction. Based upon our analysis of the…the available traces, if you get my meaning…several of the crew were missing at impact; there were two, possibly three men on board. There are also traces of foreign material embedded in the wreckage…some moon rock, obviously, but also large amounts of metal. It's some kind of titanium alloy, comparable to some of our own shipbuilding materials. What's strange is the composition; it matches nothing on record, nothing used by us or by any other known company on Earth."

OS-22, standing before the Fuhrer's desk, asked the next pertinent question: "What about the flight recorder?"

The technician's face grew even more troubled. "That's the strange thing. It's blank. It records the initial Jump, but nothing afterward until the last few seconds before impact."

"Corrupted?" Wonka asked.

"No. That's the thing. If it were, we would have some traces of the data. But there's...nothing. That's…that's not all…" The analyst paused, looking down at the paper in his hands as if trying to confirm what was written there.

Wonka raised an eyebrow. "Go on…"

The analyst put down the paper and blew out a heavy breath. "I…I can't explain it, sir. The flight recorder may have been blank, but the ship's internal chronometer was still running when we recovered it. Like the black box, these devices are bulletproof…well, more than that…meteor-proof, radiation-proof, you name it. I've never heard of one malfunctioning, either; they have a cesium clock built in, which is what makes them so accurate. According to the Lunar Base's own clocks, Deepstar Five's entire flight lasted approximately one hour, three minutes from liftoff until the crash. But according to the ship's onboard clock…" the analyst paused for so long that Wonka wondered if he was going to finish "…according to the ship's onboard clock, Deepstar Five was out of her berth for six months, twelve days, eight hours, and thirty-six minutes. I told you I couldn't explain it, sir."

Wonka shook his head. "Well, keep on it. Anything you can tell me will be most appreciated, especially about that foreign material."

"Yes, my Fuhrer." The analyst cut the link.

OS-22 stared intently at Wonka. "What the hell happened out there?"

Wonka shook his head slowly, his expression bewildered. "Collision with a foreign object, malfunction…I wish I knew. What I wouldn't give for an intact flight recording…"

"Do you intend to terminate the project?"

Wonka glanced mildly at him. "Do you think I should?"

"That wasn't what I meant, my Fuhrer. I merely wondered…what do you intend to do?"

Wonka straightened his top hat. "We must press on, I think. No one regrets what happened more than I, but it would be an insult to the memories of six good men if we didn't continue the experiment…find where we went wrong and set it right. I know it sounds heartless, but progress always comes at a price. And if we give up, the sacrifices of those six become meaningless."

OS-22 nodded. "We may have the research and materials, but…without RP-18…"

"I know," Wonka said solemnly. "But I'm certain we can find another man. We must. We have to find out what happened."

OS-22 saluted. "I shall begin preparations immediately."