"Commander," Paul Morrow reacted to a reading on his console and turned to face Koenig who sat at his desk overlooking moonbase Alpha's nerve center. "Something is happening."
Standing nearby was Professor Bergman who quickly moved to Morrow's side and looked at the same incoming data stream. As Koenig approached, the professor explained what had drawn Paul's attention: "A power build up, John."
Koenig asked, "Another energy pulse? We're due for another one of those soon."
"This is different," said Bergman as he scratched his chin.
Paul explained, "Massive. Off the scale, commander."
"But still unidentifiable?"
"I'm afraid so," Bergman answered.
From her station on the far side of the room, Tanya Alexander provided another revelation. "The object is moving away from Al;pha. Distance increasing to one hundred thousand kilometers."
John Koenig glanced at both Paul and Victor as he said, "I don't know if that's a good thing or not. Is that transmission still hitting computer?"
Paul glanced at a gauge. "If we open the inputs, computer will be flooded again."
"Maybe we should," Victor suggested. "It may be the only way to figure out what this is about."
Koenig considered for a moment. "No. There's another way." He leaned forward and punched a comm button on the console. "Helena. What's Kano's status?"
Dr. Russell's voice responded, "No change, John. Sound asleep and not responding to external stimuli."
"He's been out for a couple of hours now."
"That's right," she said.
"If you needed to wake him, do you think you could?"
Her sigh was audible over the open channel. "I can try, but I don't know what effect that will have on him."
Koenig stood straight. "The object is changing, but Kano isn't. What does it mean?"
Victor tilt his head and pursed his lips, but offered no answer.
# # #
Alan moved much faster than Sandra, and she had fallen behind. But she knew she was on the right track when she rounded a corner and came to Embarkation. There she found security guard Carson struggling to stand with pilot Pete Johnson—in full flight gear—lending a helping hand.
"Carter?"
Johnson nodded toward the closed bulkhead. Carson said, "The guy hit me. He's under arrest."
Sandra stepped closer to Johnson and grabbed his commlink.
"Hey, you can't do that."
"I must. I promise, I will give it back."
Johnson warned, "You can't go in there. He could take off at any minute."
"That's what I'm trying to stop," she said and opened the door with a beep from the commlink.
Carson stood up. "He's under arrest."
"Let me handle this. It is not a matter for security."
The ache in Carson's belly suggested otherwise.
Johnson told her, "He's lost it. Gone off the deep end."
As she moved to board Eagle Three, Sandra told him, "Then he needs to be rescued."
Carson shook free of Johnson's helping hand and stepped toward the commpost.
# # #
"Energy output is increasing," reported Paul Morrow.
Koenig paced among the nervous operatives working in Main Mission. "It's building toward something."
"A weapon?" Morrow asked.
"Maybe," Koenig admitted. "We just don't know."
"John," Victor Bergman spoke in a calm voice that belied the growing anxiety infecting the Alphans. "We may not be able to understand exactly what kind of energy is at work here, but the power at their disposal is immense."
Morrow said, "Our meteorite deflection screens. Do you think they can protect us?"
"The output is exceeding our ability to measure," Bergman said. "I don't think we've ever encountered any artificial construct as powerful as this object."
Morrow pointed out, "You didn't answer the question, professor."
Bergman offered a wry, unhappy smile. "Yes, I did."
Tanya: "Object is now one hundred and fifty thousand kilometers from the moon. Distance is increasing. One thousand kilometers per second."
The energy build up was out there, in the empty, quiet vacuum of space, but the intensity it brought buzzed through the room. The panic became palpable.
"No more guess work," Koenig said and punched the comm button on Morrow's console. "Helena. We're running out of time. Wake up Kano."
"John, nothing has changed. I don't know what impact that will have on him."
"Do it!" he ordered and severed the connection.
"Commander," Paul interrupted. "Security reports a breach at Embarkation." He looked up from the incoming report. "It's Alan Carter. He's forced his way onto Eagle Three and relieved Pete Johnson."
Bergman bit his lower lip and grumbled, "Carter. He's going to go up there and start shooting at it. You have to stop him, John."
"Do I?" the commander asked. "Maybe he's been right all along."
# # #
Carter sat at Eagle Three's control sticks, eyeing systems status indicators in preparation for take off.
Commander Koenig's voice broadcast over the comm system, audio only.
"Alan, this is a direct order: do not lift off. Are you receiving?"
Carter flipped a switch and the voice went away. Under normal circumstances, Main Mission could use computer to override flight controls and force a shut down. But the commander had ordered all computer signal receptors turned off so as to keep the intruder from infiltrating the system.. With the receivers turned off, no one could take remote control. Every Eagle would fly on manual.
Just the way I like it.
Ignoring Koenig's order did not sit well with Alan. They had become close friends, sticking up for each other many times over the years. The idea of disobeying the commander was a foreign concept to the astronaut; Koenig had earned his loyalty. But during their time on the wandering moon, the commander had taught Alan many lessons including the need to do what was right, even if it was unpopular.
None of them had been in orbit. None of them had been forced to react to the alien's unprovoked aggression. None of them had—
—killed friends.
Carter threw his eyes to the cockpit ceiling. There were no answers up there.
The only answer is to shoot that thing, now, while we're between energy pulses.
He drew a deep breath and reached for the ignition switch.
"Alan."
The voice came not from the communications console, but from beside him. Sandra stood at the cockpit entrance.
A shock traveled up his spine. His back straightened and his shoulders tensed. "San? What are you doing here? You have to get going."
"No, Alan, I cannot."
"Don't you understand? That thing out there is a threat to Alpha. Someone has to shoot it down. The commander, the professor… they're not thinking straight."
"So it is your job to do?"
"Damn right. So you need to get off. No passengers on this flight."
"If this is the right thing to do, then I am staying."
"I don't want you to come. Now move along; I don't have much time."
"Alan, I am only here because of you. Because of what you did. So if you are going to risk your life to stop this object, then I am coming with you."
He shook his head. "No, no. I have to do this. I have to do this myself."
"No, Alan, that is where you are wrong. None of us on Alpha do anything by ourselves. We are one. Together. That's why we've survived this long."
He tried to answer, but frustration and stress locked his jaw tight.
She said, "Alan, you are trying to face this alone, but you can't. You shouldn't."
In a softer tone he told her, "One laser shot is all I need."
"I am not talking about the alien."
Alan grit his teeth and glared… but focusing his anger on Sandra was wasted effort; he could do no such thing. Her very presence sapped his rage; pushing it aside and tapping into feelings far deeper.
A random beep from a monitor caught his ear, followed by the gentle hum of electronics.
Alan traced a hand over the control console, and scanned the cockpit with his eyes, like a child strolling through a museum.
"Parks and I worked on the ergonomics in here. The early prototypes." Alan pointed to a cluster of switches. "He had them move the artificial gravity panel closer, so it is in reach of the pilot. If the gravity failed, a pilot couldn't very well unstrap and walk across the cockpit to get it back online. Had to be within reach. Made sense. That's the type of thing he saw. He had an eye for details."
"The two of you worked well together."
He looked to the gauges on one end of the console, then a panel of buttons on the other end.
"I know every inch of this machine. Every control, every circuit, every power conduit. I not only read all the manuals, but I also helped write some of them." His fingers swept gently over the flight controls. "I know the protocols for any emergency, docking procedures and modular disengagement. I spent a hundred hours in a simulator and then hundreds more at the stick before I came to Alpha."
"You are the best pilot on the base."
"Because I trained. Over and over again. Blindfold me and I could still fly one of these big beautiful birds through the South Pole–Aitken basin or the Newton crater without breaking a sweat."
He contemplated that idea. She put a hand on his shoulder.
"But they couldn't train you for what happened above Alpha. No one, Alan, is trained for that."
"I had to do it." He chewed on that truth and repeated, "I had to."
"Yes."
Alan turned to her, distress on his face. "I just don't know if I can live with it. Too many people… gone. Too many friends. That's part of the bargain. I get that. But not by my hand. Not like that."
"This is true," she said. "We have lost so many. But there are more who remain. People who were in Main Mission… people you saved."
"But the cost, Sandra. The price I paid." He shook his head.
"It is not yours alone. That's why I am here. That's why you are not lifting off without me at your side. I won't allow you to carry that burden yourself. You will take me with you, or you will not go. There was no choice with Parks and Bannon, but there is now. A choice for you to make. You can disobey the commander, you can allow your anger to endanger your life… or you can come back to us. You can let us help you. The window between energy pulses is closing, so you must make a choice, Alan. What will you do?"
# # #
Kano's mind took him back in time, to that last chance; the last chance to choose a different life. A chance to turn away from the cold, artificial intelligence of computer and into the arms of Anna. One last chance to allow the old wound to heal.
He stood outside a boarding tube. His flight to Alpha waited, engines spooling to power, numbers counting down to lift off.
On that day so long ago, he had come to this place alone, avoiding goodbyes. But in this phantasm, she was there, watching as he was to everything behind and step into a new life.
"Why am I here again?" he wondered aloud. "This is an old dream."
"I don't understand," the ghost of Anna said, breaking the allusion. No longer play-acting. "Your feelings for her are strong, yet you left her."
Kano glanced at the countdown. In this fantasy, zero meant liftoff. He could not help feel, however, that beyond these walls of sleep, the countdown meant something much more. Something was slipping away. In the dream, his last chance to embrace happiness. In the world outside, another chance was fading.
"It's a prestigious assignment," he answered the specter. "It's what I wanted. To achieve. To be perfect at something. Computers… software… artificial intelligence… that is where I can make a difference."
"I think she pitied you," the illusion said. "You are beings of flesh and blood; organic in nature. Yet you, David Kano, seek to become a machine. You deny your nature, in the vain search for contentment in another form."
"That's what you are, isn't it? You're artificial beings. Robots. Androids."
"You do not have the term. What we are surpasses your ability to comprehend. But we are trying."
"You took the form of Anna, because… because…"
"Because you refused to listen to her. A decision you regret."
"No," he stood straight, glanced at the countdown, and then to her again. "What does it mean? What is it we are to hear?"
But the force that had entered his mind was enthralled with the emotion it found within. "This is new. It took time for us to understand. We see it now. You are afraid to live, David Kano." She—it—spoke, struggling with the strange words in a language it finally understood. "That is what your Anna thought, wasn't it? You hide inside your textbooks and computers, behind microchips and processors. Because you are afraid."
"No. I am not afraid of anything."
"You are terrified… terrified of being what you are."
He grumbled, "And what am I?"
"Human. Human, from the planet Earth. Had you not run away, you'd still be there. Not trapped on this wandering planetoid."
"I'm happier here." But was he? Was it happiness? Or was he just safer with his computers. People could wound.
The entity surveyed the surroundings of the Earthly embarkation point. "This was your last chance to stay. This is now your last chance to return."
Like circuit boards in main computer, the pieces of the puzzle fell into place.
"You… you've been trying to tell me…"
"It has been difficult to communicate. Your memories… strong but difficult to navigate. Words… a foreign concept to us."
"The travel tube. The Eagles."
The vaguely female voice of main computer announced, "Final call for boarding."
David Kano understood.
"I have to go. You must let me go."
The construct resembling his last love… the broken heart he had foisted upon himself… answered, "You can leave anytime you want."
The door swung open to a black void.
David stepped toward the portal but then paused. He said to that which pretended to be Anna, "I'm sorry. I know what it feels to be hurt. To be left behind. You're right, I didn't listen."
He stepped into th black…
… and opened his eyes in Medical Center. Dr. Russell and Dr. Mathias hovered above.
"It worked, doctor," Mathias said.
Helena shook her head and withdrew a step. "I haven't administered the stimulant yet." Then to her patient: "Kano, how do you feel."
He pulled away the straps and lines attached to his arms, chest, and head.
"Easy, David," Mathias said and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You've been out for some time."
"There is no time." Kano sat up, swung his bare feet out of bed and stood on the cold floor. "I must speak with commander."
He shoved his way past the doctors, taking Dr. Mathias' commlock along the way, opening the door, and staggered into the outer hall at a fast trot.
Mathias tried to intervene. Helena stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. "Let him go." She raised her commlock. "John. David Kano just woke up."
"Well done, Helena."
"I didn't do it. He's headed your way. He's in a hurry."
# # #
Sandra walked slowly into Main Mission, holding Alan's hand firmly in her grasp.
For a moment, the alien threat, the surging power, the enigma that might very well doom them all, was set aside as they welcomed Alan back into the fold.
In the time before breakaway, his actions would have reaped the commander's fury, and the scorn of the base. He had disobeyed a direct order. An unforgiveable act. But they were no longer simply his coworkers or comrades-in-arms, they were family. And family understood.
One by one, they met his gaze. Koenig with a firm stare, Morrow with a subtle nod, Victor with a hint of a kindly smile at the corner of his lips.
There would be no penalty, no admonishment, only help. Only acceptance. And while his actions to save moon base would never leave his psyche, he might one day learn to live with it.
Someday.
An alarm blared from Tanya's station.
"Commander, something is happening out there."
Koenig looked to Professor Bergman. "We're about to find out if it's friend or foe."
"With that kind of power?" a hint of exasperation carried in Morrow's voice. "We won't know what hit us."
David Kano stumbled into Main Mission nearly out of breath, his legs weak after having not been used for hours.
The tension in the room was palpable, a mix of dread and anticipation as they monitored the strange energy buildup indicated on the screens; living with the worry that this might be one last, gigantic attack from the strange intruder. There was no defense and nowhere to hide from the amount of power the object wielded.
John Koenig, standing rigid next to Paul's station by the command desk, noticed David's arrival immediately. "Kano," he said but added nothing more.
Kano looked around, the room spinning as his legs threatened to give way again. He caught himself on the edge of a workstation, inhaling deep.
"Commander, I don't believe we have anything to fear. We have to… we have go. We have to hurry."
Murmurs spread through Main Mission. Victor Bergman edged closer, his interest piqued. "David, what is it you're trying to tell us?"
Kano met Victor's gaze, his eyes reflecting a clarity that seemed at odds with the chaos of the moment. "It's not here to harm us," he said. "I think… I think they're here to save Alpha."
Alan Carter folded his arms and cocked his head. "Save us? They have a funny way of showing it."
Ignoring the comments, Kano continued, "They're leaving... and they want us to go with them. We must evacuate. Get everyone to the Eagles and—"
But Kano's instructions were cut short by a sudden surge of light that washed over Main Mission both from the view screen and the windows. A gasp spread through the assembled.
A swirling vortex of red, yellow, and blue surrounded the strange entity.
Sandra could not help but mutter, "It is beautiful."
"No!" Kano cried and collapsed to his knees. "Wait! I understand now! Please, we need more time!"
The entire moon shook as it teetered on the edge of a hole in space time.
And then, with a burst of golden light, the diamond-shaped entity – surrounded by that same eerie glow – fell into the storm. A moment later, the light faded, the shaking ceased, and the cosmic gate snapped shut like a book closing, placing an impenetrable period at the end of an unfathomable sentence.
Kano buried his head in his hands.
Silence fell upon Main Mission. The alien encounter had ended as abruptly as it had begun, leaving the Alphans grappling with the reality that, in the vastness of space, they were perhaps more vulnerable—and more alone—than ever.
# # #
The routine returned. The beeps and blinking lights of Main Mission were no longer warnings of mysterious visitors, but the everyday job of monitoring life support and environmental controls, recycling operations and power generation. Computer operated without disruption, and shift changes were underway with Winters swapping out with Morrow to oversee Main Mission for the next twelve hours.
Kano, Dr. Russell, Professor Bergman, and Commander Koenig stood on the balcony. Outside, nothing but the vast empty black of space above the moon's horizon.
Victor could barely contain his excitement. "An Einstein-Rosen Bridge, John." He waved his hand and clarified, "What we commonly call a wormhole. In space."
"I don't understand," Helena said.
It was Koenig who answered, "A tunnel through space time. Or a space warp. But one that was artificially created."
Kano put a finer point on it. "A way home. A bridge to Earth."
"Now don't beat yourself up," Koenig said. "You don't know that."
"But I do, commander. It is what they were trying to tell me."
Helena asked, "Do you really believe they were inviting us to go with them?"
"Yes, well, there was a communications gap," Professor Bergman noted. "From what you described, I think it's safe to say we were dealing with some advanced, artificial beings."
"Artificial?" Helena repeated. "Or just different?"
Kano touched the cold window with a finger. "They were different. Very, very different. Of that, I am sure."
Bergman surmised, "So different, in fact, they needed to learn about you before they could even try to communicate what they wanted. And even then, only could do so by accessing your memories."
"And my feelings." Kano said, softly, as if to himself. As if he were alone.
Dr. Russell put a hand on his shoulder.
Koenig folded his arms. "We locked them out of our computers, so they went into your head through your implant. If only… if only I hadn't locked them out, we might have heard their message in time. We might have understood."
"Now John," Bergman said and leaned against the wall. "You had no way of knowing. None of us did. We were all afraid of what they were up to. That's not paranoia, it's not unwarranted fear. Our experience has taught us to be cautious."
Kano heard that. "Yes. We were hurt in the past. We were afraid of being hurt again."
Helena shrugged. "It's human nature."
"Is it? We were afraid to listen."
Koenig gave Kano a glance, but the computer expert kept his attention out the window. Helena offered a silent nod inviting them all to leave Kano alone, He had much to deal with; ghosts, pulled from the grave of yesterday, returned to haunt him.
Bergman lingered a moment longer. His mouth opened, he raised hand, but opted to say nothing. He too headed for the stairs and descended to Main Mission; returned to the routine.
Kano stayed behind. Out there he saw Anna, walking on a beach, awash in the summer sun, a happy smile on her face.
He whispered to himself, "I was afraid to listen."
But it wasn't a beach. There was no summer sun. Only the hard, cold surface of a dead moon hurtling through space.
series created by
Gerry and Sylvia
Anderson
