Science Fiction Thriller OPEN The Coldest War

Raul Alberto Salvador
Conference Room, Tranquility, The Moon

The alarm woke him exactly at the designated time he had set it for; 6:00 A.M. Raul woke up in his small spartan room, which he much preferred to sharing a larger room with a bunk-mate. The technical advisor did not mind trading a larger space in favor of a small cramped room and a modicum of privacy.

Working and living in ‘Tranquility’ ( the pun always made him chuckle inwardly), was a culmination of hard work and years of grueling study, it was an achievement he was very much pleased with to say the least, and he was committed to the challenges that it would bring. Granted, he had not communicated much with his family since his arrival, but all seemed well enough back on Earth.

“Majel, Play Beethoven’s Symphony No.9 as performed by The Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, conductor: Joshua Bell.”

[With Pleasure] came the room’s computerized response. The Interactive Room A.I. was a small ‘tweak’ Raul had incorporated to the otherwise, spartan room.

A revitalizing shower, followed by his standard morning routine, a change into appropriate work attire; Raul would almost be ready for breakfast at the mess hall, but first, he moved to his desk and activated his computer screen. His nimble fingers would flick upon the modern keyboard and access a personal file. One of Beth Roland’s inspirational speeches would begin to play and her voice would immediately captivate him. He would then access an image of the First Lady and display it, filling his entire screen- his eyes and expression would soften, a small smile would appear on his normally stoic face.

There was no better way to start the day.

“Majel, please secure my quarters after my departure. See you soon.”

[Of course. Have a great day, Raul. Bye.]

***************

At the mess hall, Raul would sit by himself with his handy tablet out. As he ate whatever the breakfast menu was for the day, he would go over news and reports concerning world events, both on Earth and on the Moon, the global stock market and technologies. Keeping up-to-date was the only way to stay ahead of the curve. Should anyone greet him politely, he would return such greeting, but would make no other attempt to engage or make further interaction. In essence, he could not afford distractions.

Though he did not engage, he was always listening to conversations around him. Most of it was idle gossip, but the rumors regarding certain unconfirmed reports which concerned Shackleton and the Soviets were more than a bit alarming, even if he gave no outward evidence.

The U.S. could not afford an international incident with the Soviets. Why was that so hard to understand?

Compartmentalizing that concern, Raul made his way to engage in his first order of business: a meeting in the Conference Room.

Well, the Conference room was certainly a spacious and well designed space, even if he said so himself. It was interesting to note that there were reps from the other nations aside from the U.S.; The EU and the Japanese were also present.

Taking his place in a small corner,Technical Advisor Raul began to give his briefing on the new procedure on EVAs, along with the new entering and exiting procedure for the base. One of his duties was making sure all the airlock systems were operational, and ensuring that a swift exit from the base would be available should a disaster take place.

Technically speaking, all airlocks and safety blast doors were in perfect working order as well as their connection to emergency power. For all intents and purposes, all systems were green. The maintenance crew had come through as promised and passed his inspection.

Of course, he hadn’t gotten to that part yet, and almost on cue, the voice of a detractor was heard.

"In case of an emergency we need to be prepared to evacuate everyone quickly and effectively, our procedures are out dated and antiquated." Gruffly spoke the American Astronaut, that being one Dan Cooper

Raul had a perfectly constructed retort that he would not get to utter, as a ping came from the conference phone and the voice of a frantic speaker was heard.

“Sterling?”

"Raul, you need to prepare and alert the entry response team. There....there has been a casualty. Andrea...she's.....she's dead."

Raul’s mouth opened to form a question as shock barely registered on his face, but it died before it could be spoken.

“What’s your ETA and what’s your header?” He asked with measured focus as he began to expedite the request through his datapad. He needed to know which direction exactly Sterling was coming from in order to maximize his return to base. As to how exactly Andrea had perished, that was an inevitable question which was not the first order of priority.

Raul furtively glanced at the other astronauts in order to gauge their reactions.

To the security team, he sent a query regarding Sterling’s current location relative to the their position and his transport speed, as timing was of the essence. He also sent an alert to ALL guard posts, there was no telling what else might be happening out there, given the rumors.

“Do we have permission to go to yellow alert, sir?” He asked Cooper in a near monotone. It was the Americans running the show, so there was no point in directing the question to the others.

For the moment, Raul wanted to focus on getting Sterling back inside, they could figure out what exactly happened to Andrea afterwards.


Tag: @Shadowsun, @spacelady *mentioned

 

OOC: Unfortunately @Master Vo'Un'Var has withdrawn from the game. I won't sugar coat it Turgenev is in my mind one of two main characters in this story. Representing all the communist players. Which is why I am open to either recasting the role or working into the plot another character replacing him. PM me if interested. Anyway the show must go on!

Main Conference Hall, The Kremlin, Moscow

Turgenev turned to Antonov, his gaze turning steely. The Americans, they could never keep their noses out of their affairs could they? Well it made sense, it was only a matter of time before the spotted Zeus.

"Launch the fighters and put them in a defensive position, under no circumstances should they open fire, unless I authorize it." He is tone tone and calculated. He had been planning this for quite some time, it seemed everything was finally coming to a head. If he played this right, Shackleton would be theirs...If not, he could lose everything.

"Set up diplomatic channels with the Americans, we want to exert maximum pressure, but we don't want to start a war" He said off handily to one of the soviet officials. Everything was sliding into place. Now to finish the puzzle.

TAG: No one

Command Deck, USS Mauna Kea

As Commander John Li finished making his announcement, he directed the ship to accelerate, shifting its orbit as to gain speed. He continued to pour over the documentation and analysis reports from the long range scanners had. He blinked slightly at the photo that came through, it could not be, how was that possible?

"Sir, it is far larger than we anticipated..." he spoke softly to Captain Roland.

Zeus
​

The unknown soviet satellite was massive, about the same size as the Mauna Kea. It seemed to be outfitted with a large array of communication dishes. A crackly voice could be heard in both men's headsets. The voice of Lucas Heeran, squadron commander for the deployable raven flight group.

"Alpha and Bravo flights are ready to launch"

The situation was developing fast. A small cluster of Soviet Fighters was also displayed on the screen. Acting as a buffer between the two warships. Clear, direct communication would be the only way to achieve peace.

TAG: @Darth_Elu

Oval Office, The Whitehouse, Washington D.C.

Conrad looked to the President, briefly contemplating his question before responding.

"Yes Sir, Tranquility has an evacuation plan, but it is a last resort. If we were to do so it would not take long before the base became impossible to live in again. It requires near constant maintenance. But in short, yes, there are enough escape ships to evacuate everyone." He fell silent, contemplating the rapidly changing and dynamic situation Shortly after he finished speaking Susan Clark finally arrived at the Oval Office.

Susan Clark​

"Apologies Mr. President I came as fast as I could. I was able to speak with the US Ambassador to the Soviet Union and he is in the process of setting up diplomatic channels". David Mitchell gave a slight turn before stating what was residually at the back of their minds.

"Mr. President, these developments call for the situation room, we should head over now" he spoke candidly and to the point. Silence would result, perhaps filled with the recent discovery the Mauna Kea had found.

TAG: @HanSolo29 @Darth_Elu

Mir I Lander, In orbit of Mars

Volk remained silent, absent mindedly going though the rest of his check list. Natasha giggled as Semyon flicked the silver ball back to her.

"Eww it has your ear wax on it! I don't want it!" She said, despite the fact there was no earwax to be seen. She then responded to little Simi's question. "I'm doing just grand, no issues here!" Her ton was cheery, quite the stark contrast to Feng's by the book demeanor. Another message on the monitor pinged.

'Landing Sequence in thirty minutes'
​

Natasha looked back to Semyon.

"We should find our seats little Simi." she said with a twinkle in her eye. Then proceeded to locate her own and strap herself in. Now would be a chance to reflect. Soon one of them would be the first human to set foot on Mars.

TAG: @Jedi_Ascension

Office of the First Lady, The East Wing of the Whitehouse, Washington D.C.

The role of First Lady was a multifaceted affair. Mother, Wife, Diplomat, Campaign Advisor, champion of social causes, and representative of the President. To say the job was hard would be a lie, it was borderline impossible.

Recently her staff had been preparing for a key social visit with the founder of Sirsalis, Nathan Tusk a private sector space company that had recently made some impressive strides. They were responsible for much the United Space Force's technology and equipment. However they were mysteriously threatening to cut many of their contracts, a strange reaction to a new President assuming power.

Besides Beth Roland still had not had time to properly settle in yet. Her own copy of a newspaper sat on her desk.

“American Hero, Neil Armstrong, dies at 82”
​

Little Samantha was fast asleep in a different room, over looked by a faithful aid, Melanie on the other hand was jumping up and down in excitement.

"Is it true Mommy? We are going to be landing on Mars soon?" the excitement on her face clear, although only six she already firmly stated she was going to be like Daddy and Uncle Mars and go to space.

TAG: @spacelady

 

IC: Tatyana Miheeva
Location: Shackleton Crater, The Moon

Tatyana, or Tanya as her friends and relatives called her, had recently arrived on the Moon. She was hoping for another posting, like Mars for example, but you go where the State and the Party sends you, no questions asked. Sluzhu Sovetskomu Soyuzy - I serve the Soviet Union.

There was a time when the Moon was the limit, but now it was more of a waystation towards greater discoveries and opportunities. She had decided to use the assignment as a stepping stone towards her goals. So she was going to do her job as best as she could, though she hoped there won’t be a need to kiss anyone’s bottom as nepotism was a real problem in the Union.

The irony of that statement was not lost on her, given that she was the daughter of a General, but her father had refused to influence her postings. For which she was grateful as Tanya had always wanted to achieve things based on her own merit and not because she was the offspring of a high ranking official.

She was focused on the drones and mostly ignored Boris. They were not like the MiG-31s that she used to fly but still required attention. “Huh?” she grunted “Oh, yes...” Tanya frowned at the flare, what was it doing there? “We need to investigate.”

TAG: @Shadowsun

 

OOC: Sad to see you go, @Master Vo'Un'Var!

Captain Marston Roland IC:
~Command Deck, USS Mauna Kea~

It was great to hear his brother again, but under these circumstances? Not quite as much. Kurt and Marston may be present on this call, but it was the President of the United States and the Captain of the USS Mauna Kea who were speaking.

“I’d like to see that time cut in half, Captain. We’ll need those reconnaissance reports, along with the technical analysis, to determine whether it’s safe to capture, divert, or even exterminate this thing.”

Captain Roland continued listening, but glanced at Commander Li and nodded to him, paired with a little motion of his hand that said ‘you heard him.’ Looked like they were going to get a little bit closer than he had even ordered. That was fine with him.

“Under no circumstances can it be permitted to enter our containment zone near Tranquility. I’m confident that you understand the risks, and will handle the situation appropriately.”

“Of course, Mr. President. We will do everything possible to insure that it doesn’t.”

“Admiral, do we have a contingency plan in place for Tranquility - an evacuation strategy that—“

While the meeting kept going, he noticed the Commander starting to lean toward him again. The expression on his face…….he didn’t like it.

“What is it, Commander?”

“Sir, it is far larger than we anticipated…”

Mars’ eyes narrowed and his brow furrowed, his gaze burrowing into John’s own. “How much larger?”

When the Commander showed him the visuals now coming through, he could only stare at them for a few seconds.

What in the name of….What have the Soviets been doing and how have we not noticed this before?

“Alpha and Bravo flights are ready to launch.”

Soviet fighters were already acting defensively, allergic to their presence. This was going to either get out of hand really quickly or get really close. But the situation and military protocol was clear.

“Launch immediately! Alpha get into defensive formation around the Mauna Kea. Bravo, go protect our recon. Do not open fire until opened upon first!”

“…call for the situation room, we should head over now.”

“I want an update on our Tigers, now,” he hissed with urgency toward Commander Li. They were going to need them possibly. He had ordered all ships on standby, so they better be prepped soon.

Turning to face the communication feed back to the White House, he cleared his throat to get their attention.

“Sir, I have an update while you head that way. The situation is developing very quickly,” there was an edge to his voice that his brother would recognize well, telling him of the seriousness before the words even came.

“We’ve got a better visual on this satellite. It’s…giant. It’s the same size as us, Mr. President. Admiral. There is a small amount of soviet fighters already deployed defensively around the thing and it has communication dishes all over it. We’ll send you the visuals as soon as possible,” he motioned to his command deck crew to work on that even as he said it, “I’ve already deployed two squadrons of Ravens defensively in return.”

There was a tense pause.

“Sir. We don’t have much time for this standoff if we’re going to analyze it and prevent it from crossing Tranquility space. Orders or should I follow this through to its logical conclusion?”

That being an attack on Soviet forces and quite possibly launching an all out war. Nice talking with you again, brother mine…

Tag: Commander John Li, Squad Commander Lucas Heeran, Command Deck Crew, President Kurt Roland, Secretary Susan Clark, Admiral Mark Conrad, & Chief David Mitchell @Shadowsun @HanSolo29

 

Gurkovsky Semyon Dmitrievich

“I am sure you can turn it into a nice earring or something, the first martian accessory,” Semyon teased before turning to look at the monitor when it sounded off.

They were about to begin landing in a half hour. It felt like it was too soon and too long on coming at the same time. He pointed to his own seat as his way of letting Natasha know he heard her and moved toward it. He allowed himself time to remember everything that had happened that had let this moment come to pass.

So many people to be thankful for having met. So many times he was proud to have acted when he did. Even some mistakes had turned out well in the end, a blessing in disguise as the saying went.Semyon closed his eyes and waited for that fateful moment they would touch down on Mars at last.

Tag: GM @Shadowsun