Volume II

The Dream Seers: Offworlders

 

By Nathan Skaggs

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BookRix GmbH & Co. KG

Munich, Germany

 

© 2019 by Nathan Skaggs.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publishers, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review to be printed in a newspaper, magazine, or journal.

 

Second edition

 

All characters in this book are fictitious, and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

 

BookRix GmbH & Co. KG has allowed this work to remain exactly as the author intended, verbatim, without, editorial input.

 

 

 

 

 

ISBN: 978-3-7487-1608-2

PUBLISHED BY

BookRix GmbH & Co. KG

Einsteinstrasse 28 81675

Munich, Germany

Preface

As a young boy, a brilliant astronaut learned his dreams were a glimpse into the future. The astronaut wondered if anyone else possessed this special gift. The answer came decades later when his planet was devastated by a natural disaster he saw in a nightmare. This amazing saga begins in the Milky Way's Dark Star Territory when humanity is in its infancy.  One advanced alien species from this region of the galaxy will try to exert its influence into Bright Star Territory,  but another species has other plans for the Milky Way.  As the eons progress, these two alien species will make contact with beings outside of our galaxy.  This intergalactic contact will eventually have repercussions for Earth and other nearby inhabited solar systems.  In the age of interstellar travel, humans may be pawns in an alien scheme.

Simulacrum

170,000 feet above a distant planet twice the size of Earth, a lone astronaut, Helier, observed the magnificent ultraviolet sun at the center of his solar system. Helier felt divine while gazing upon his home planet, Simulacrum, from the Luna hydrogen strato lab blimp. From this altitude, Helier could easily see the North and South Poles, the planet’s three land masses-the Eastern, Northwestern, and Southwestern Continents, and the many islands in the vast oceans separating the continents as the jet stream carried him around the planet. Simulacrum’s twin moons, Severus and Drusus, were also clearly visible. Each moon was half the size of Earth. Recent satellite surveys revealed the moons had breathable atmospheres, plentiful water, and abundant flora and fauna. Helier prepared for landing upon seeing the Northwestern Continent’s southwestern coast.

“Helier to mission control, I’m beginning my initial descent.” Helier reported.

“Welcome home, doctor. Are you ready to be on solid ground again?” The project commander said.

“Yes sir! 722 hours in the sky is enough! I’m ready for some real food!”

“Congratulations are in order. You’ve set new worlds for airship speed of 69 miles per hour and flight duration of 15 days. Since you’ve arrived a few hours early, the Air Force can begin remaking the Luna into a hybrid flying wing and pontoon boat shape. The completed vessel could make aquatic take offs and landings. Airship designers at the Northwestern Continent Space Administration think your family’s ultralight concept shows promise.”

“We aim to please. Is my family aware I’m about to arrive.”

“We certainly are, Helier! We came to Salt Flats Air Force Base last night. Gratus arrived this morning.” Helier’s father, Lucan, said.

“Dad! Are Mom and Gratus with you now?” Helier asked.

“Yes, honey. Your brother’s right by me.” Helier’s mother Cato said.

“How’s the view up there, buddy?” Helier’s brother, Gratus, asked.

“It’s great! I actually had a better view of Severus and Drusus without the full atmosphere! Even without a telescope or binoculars, I had an excellent view!” Helier exclaimed.

“Son, save your stories for after your landing. We’re on our way to the dry lake bed for a final check of your landing zone.” Lucan stated.

“We thought you’d like a smooth runway. We’ll have the celebratory champagne waiting.” Cato said.

An hour and a half later, Helier received a hero’s welcome. Following a brief party, the base physicians rushed Helier to the infirmary for a post flight physical.

“Helier, you’re in remarkably good health following your two week journey around the world. We’ll closely monitor your physical and psychiatric health for the next two weeks, since you’ll be the first astronaut to man the Northwestern Continent Orbital Space Station. Your successful circumnavigation of Simulacrum proves a sole individual can survive in a sealed environment for 15 days. Your mission will only last two weeks, since the effects of zero gravity for extended periods on living organisms is unknown. Now I believe you need to have some time with your family.” The senior base physician said.

“Thank you, sir. I’m ready for Mom’s cooking. I’ll see you in three days. Helier said.

Helier immediately joined his family at a guest house the base commander reserved for them. Helier was astonished by the Air Force’s generosity.

“Is it characteristic for the military to be so hospitable for civilians?” Helier asked.

“This is very uncharacteristic, but the Air Force knows we’ll be here for half a month, so they saw the need to accommodate us, since we’re all part of the upcoming project.” Gratus said.

“They can also keep an eye on us here. They want to make sure their two astronaut candidates don’t hurt themselves before the launches.” Lucan said.

Helier made a surprised look.

“Oh you didn’t know. Gratus will be your relief astronaut. The decision was made this morning.” Cato said.

“Now we have two reasons to celebrate.” Lucan said.

“I’ll be doing some high altitude balloon flights and weather experiments during the next 22 and a half days for my preparation.” Gratus said.

“Well congratulations! We always wanted to be astronauts!” Helier said.

“The Eastern Continent Space Agency just unveiled the Cronus V Rocket. The Eastern Continent Navy is ready to transport it to the West Coast Spaceport. Did you see this spaceport?” Gratus inquired.

“I think so. But their Air Force had most of their space technology concealed during my flight over their territory.” Helier stated.

“The Politburo is keeping a lot of their technology classified.” Lucan said.

“That’s enough talk for the moment. You must need some rest.” Cato stated.

“I most certainly do. We’ll continue this conversation in a few hours.” Helier said.

One week later, The Eastern Continent Navy had serious trouble transporting the Cronus V Rocket stages in the open ocean. Undersea tremors caused a brief series of unexpected swells. For a brief moment, the Navy feared the barge transporting the first stage might capsize. Luckily, the barge captain skillfully maneuvered the barge into the oncoming surge. The first stage suffered minor damage to an O ring which was immediately repaired upon arrival at the West Coast Spaceport. Due to this mishap, the Eastern Continent Army and Air Force transported smaller sections of the rocket via ground and air transport.

The Southwestern Continent Aeronautics Committee simultaneously suffered a minor setback. The famous Air Force pilot, Captain Chiron, broke a rib when he fell from his horse. Chiron was selected to man the Southwestern Continent Spacelab. An alternate would be selected. Key Aeronautics Committee officials decided to delay the selection of a replacement pilot until the day of the launch. A list of qualified alternates would continue training as if they were already chosen for the position. Even Parliamentary officials did not know who the lucky pilot would be.

Hours before his scheduled launch into orbit, Helier was dreaming about a futuristic aircraft. This magnificent space plane was a top secret military prototype capable of flying into outer space and landing like any conventional airplane. The space plane’s miniature nuclear reactor was decades ahead of anything in modern aviation or so Helier thought. Under the cover of darkness, Helier taxied out of the hangar to await clearance for launch.

“This is Major Helier. All systems are go. I request clearance to launch.” Helier reported.

“Major, you are cleared for launch.” The Air Force general stated.

“Acknowledged. Let’s start with a vertical take off.”

Helier tested the aircrafts VTOL and thrust vectoring capabilities. A select group of test pilots watched intently as the space plane quickly and effortlessly hovered 1,000 feet above the runway.

“That’s good, Major. Go ahead and fire the rocket at full power. We’ll see you just before dawn, Major.” The Air Force general ordered.

“Yes, sir. I might just break the record for achieving escape velocity today. I trust you’ll monitor me continuously throughout the flight.” Helier replied as he activated the main rocket.

Within moments, Helier was out of site. At 353,760 feet, Helier had a perfect view of the entire planet. All of the sudden his alarms sounded. Nuclear missiles were launching all over the planet. Killer satellites began attacking ICBM’s, SLBM’s, and other satellites with particle beams, missiles, and self detonations. Fortunately, Helier’s sophisticated rocket was radar invisible. Helier quickly flew to a higher orbit above the Northwestern Continent when he began targeting incoming missiles with lasers, SAM’s, and machine guns. Unfortunately, there were too many missiles. Seconds later, mushroom clouds appeared all over Simulacrum. Contact with the base immediately ceased.

“Helier to base! Helier to base! Is anyone there? Please, someone answer!” Helier begged.

The explosions only lasted for minutes, but virtually every corner of the planet was affected. Helier scanned his base for survivors. The base was as he left it, but life was absent, because one neutron bomb breached the base’s overwhelmed defenses. With ground targets neutralized, killer satellites began targeting each other. Helier was safe due to the rocket plane’s stealth design. Helier scanned the surface for hours hoping to find any signs of life. While orbiting above the Southwestern Continent, Helier briefly saw a sparkle of light. He instinctively took evasive action fearing he was targeted by a killer satellite. Much to his surprise, the space plane’s telescopic cameras revealed a near perfect copy of his rocket plane. Helier was further surprised to see the six point star of the Southwestern Continent on the rocket plane’s tail fin.

“This is Major Pegasus of the Southwestern Continent! Please identify yourself!” A fearful female voice said.

“This is Major Helier of the Northwestern Continent!” Helier responded.

“Major, I never thought I’d be so happy to see the Northwest Continent’s five point star! Have you made contact with anyone else from our nations or the Eastern Continent?”

“No ma’am! You’re it! Nor have I seen any space planes with four point stars! The Eastern Continent was rumored to have a secret space program, but I found nothing!”

“They were just that! Rumors! Are there any signs of survivors on the Northwestern Continent?”

“Nothing! All my hales go unanswered, and my scans of the Eastern Continent are equally bleak.”

“We can’t stay up here forever, Major.” Where do you propose we land? Radiation levels are high across the entire planet.”

“There’s a tropical archipelago to the west of our continents midway to the Eastern continent.”
“Oh yes! The abandon military bases from the Second Global War!”

“My scans show acceptable radiation levels.”

“I’m ready! Let’s go! Maybe some military personnel are already there.”

“If you’re right, I hope they’re friendly.”

Moments later, Helier and Pegasus landed on a remote island. They were completely alone. They timorously approached one another. Helier pulled a coin from his pocket.

“Well since you and I are the last two people in the world, heads the Northwestern Continents wins, tails the Southwestern Continent wins.” Helier said.

Pegasus nervously chuckled. Helier then flipped the coin high in the air. Both astronauts watched as the coin fell into the ocean.

Helier awoke rather startled. He had not had such a frightening nightmare since his childhood. The dream was so real. Helier was afraid to sleep, because the dream terribly frightened him. He called his father to calm his nerves, because they often had similar dreams.

“Helier, I had a feeling I’d be hearing from you. I suppose you just had a nightmare that sent chills up and down your spine.” Lucan said upon answering the telephone.

“Nightmare is an understatement! What did you see?” Helier asked.

“I saw forest fires all over the world followed by a prolonged, harsh winter.”

“I saw Global War III.”

“Well there’s always plenty that can go wrong in an operation of this magnitude.”
“Obviously! I just hope I’m not flying to my own death. I’ll be sitting on a ridiculous amount of fuel.”

“True. But we wouldn’t even attempt space travel if we were concerned about complete safety. Look how much trouble the Eastern Continent Navy had transporting the Cronus V rocket stages to the launching site.”

“I thought the transport barge with the first stage was going to sink when the billows hit. Had the fiords been farther away, the barged would have capsized for sure.”

“And there you have it. The danger is not always in space.”

“Well at least I’ll be up in space if a nuclear war begins.”

“That’s not the best dream to have the night before your space launch.”

“We’re all a little nervous. Maybe we just need some sleep.”

“Good idea. I’ll see you in a few hours.”

Just before sunrise, President Nicon unexpectedly joined Helier and his family.

“I just had to see a space launch for myself.” Nicon said upon entering the helicopter to the launch pad.

“I’m honored. I’ve had visits from Congressmen, foreign ambassadors, and now the President.” Helier said.

“Prime Minister Wido picked Charis as Captain Chiron’s replacement.”

“If she manages to launch in the next few hours, she’ll be the first woman in space!” Cato exclaimed.

“Premier Brennius will be rather upset if that happens, since he purposely selected Rena to be the first woman in space.” Gratus commented.

“Even if Charis beats Rena into space, Rena will still be flying with two of the best pilots in the world. I’d love to fly with Gabinus and Gustavus. Their military records are impressive.” Lucan stated.

“Right now, I’m more concerned about my own piloting skills. It’s nine minutes to launch time. Cameraman, can you make an extra copy of this film? Helier said as the helicopter landed.

“Certainly, sir. Now everyone smile.” The cameraman said as Helier entered the elevator to his space capsule.

“Everybody wish me luck!” Helier said.

“Good luck!” Everyone replied in unison.

Once Helier was secure in the space capsule, everyone flew to a safe distance. At precisely 5:59 a.m., Helier was launched into space with thunderous applause.

Immediately following Helier’s rocket launch, the Air Force flew his family to the Sanctuary Archipelago. Gratus was scheduled to conduct more high altitude airship trials. V.I.P.’s from the Eastern and Southwestern Continents joined their hosts from the Northwestern Continent Space Administration at the Northwestern Continent Space Tracking Station on Sanctuary Island. Upon arrival, Gratus proceeded to the awaiting experimental pontoon boat shaped airship, Solis. Within minutes, Gratus was ascending thousands of feet above joyful observers.

At 85,000 feet Gratus established three way communication with Helier and the Space Tracking Station.

“Does everybody have adequate audio visual reception? I can see and hear all of you.” Gratus stated.

“We have good reception of both you and Helier.” Lucan said.

“Helier, were you able to see Charis’ launch from orbit?” Cato asked.

“Yes I did. I was a picture perfect launch. I lost site of her when she approached the Spacelab.” Helier replied.

“Cronus V is just about to launch. You should be in direct line of site now.” Lucan said.

“I just got a view of it now on my telescope! It’s huge!” Helier stressed.

“The Eastern Continent’s about to begin live television coverage of the launch.” Gratus stated.

Just as the Eastern Continent began live broadcasts, a temblor shook the launch pad. Since all systems were go, the Eastern Continent Space Agency initiated an immediate launch to avoid possible damage to Cronus V. The world watched in awe as the towering rocket shot into the sky. At 10 miles altitude, Cronus V burst into flames. Unbeknownst to the cosmonauts, the O ring damaged in transport developed a micro fissure during the temblor. Smiles and glee the world over became cries of sadness knowing Gabinus, Gustavus, and Rena died in the bleve.

“No!... Guys, please tell me I’m wrong, because I think I saw a fireball of what used to be Cronus V!” Helier shouted.

“That’s exactly what you saw!” Cato responded.

“Helier, if you have it on tape, run it back to us, so we can see it from your angle.” Lucan said.

“Guys, I see a Southwestern Continent Air Force plane approaching. Charis’ parents should be on that plane. Maybe Charis also saw what happened.” Gratus said.

“The Eastern Continent Navy is reporting more undersea tremors off their western coast.” Lucan said.

As everyone continued speaking in disbelief, a super volcano erupted at the North Pole sending shockwaves southward.

“We have another serious problem! I see a major mushroom cloud rising above the North Pole! The glacier’s ablaze, and a mega tsunami’s heading south!” Helier exclaimed.

Subsequent eruptions in other volcanic chains were triggered. Major earthquakes followed the eruptions. Skies in the northern hemisphere were turning black.

“What’s happening down there? I see dark clouds all over the ocean!” Helier shouted.

“Simulacrum’s suffering a massive earthquake! It’s even felt in the southern hemisphere!” Cato answered.

When the shockwave reached the South Pole, another super volcano buried under the icecap erupted.

“Now there’s a glacial inferno in the South!” Helier yelled.

“That means in a few hours two mega tsunamis will collide near the equator!” Lucan responded.

“What about me? Volcanic clouds are forming in the distance!” Gratus stated.

“We’re still experiencing some temblors, so stay up there as long as you can!” Lucan said.

“Sanctuary Island may be safer than the air! Red lava’s shooting out of volcanic islands all over Simulacrum! I’m bound to get struck sooner or later!” Gratus roared.

“Start your descent now!” Cato demanded.

“I’m coming down!” Gatus replied.

“Stay a few hundred feet in the air if there’s still an earthquake!” Lucan ordered.

“That’s a given!” Gratus responded.

“Should I stay in orbit or attempt a reentry before it gets worse?” Helier asked.

“No! Stay where you are! We can’t raise Mission Control! We couldn’t possibly coordinate a landing on such short notice!” Lucan said.

“We have to do something! I’ve lost communication with tracking stations all over the world! Pretty soon, I won’t even be able to see the surface! If I land, I must do it now!” Helier stressed.

“You wouldn’t survive! There’s no safer place for you now!” Gratus said.

“Listen to them, Helier. We may not even survive this!” Cato implored right before communications failed.

Helier attempted to reestablish communication. After trying every channel, he bounced signals off all nearby satellites. His efforts were unsuccessful. All he heard was static. With each passing moment, the skies grew darker. Helier looked through his telescopes for any other flying craft. The Southwestern Continent Spacelab was nowhere to be seen nor were there any space planes. Helier was directly over Sanctuary Island when the last clear sky went completely black.

Four hours later that seemed like an eternity, Helier noticed a blip on the radar. He immediately began hales.

“This is Helier of the Northwestern Continent Orbital Space Station! Please respond!” Helier said repeatedly.

After trying nearly all channels, he received a reply.

“This is Charis of the Southwestern Continent Spacelab! Have you made contact with anyone from our nations or the Eastern Continent?” Charis fearfully asked.

“Thank God! I thought I was alone!” Helier exclaimed.

“It’s nice to finally meet you, Helier! I wish it were under better circumstances!”

“Unfortunately, you’re the only person to speak to me in hours!”

“Do you know if my parents made it to Sanctuary Island?”

“I don’t know! My brother spotted their plane, but that was the last I heard!”

“Do you have any bright ideas, Helier? I am open to suggestion.”

“What did your Mission Control tell you?”

“They said, ‘Stand by for further instructions.’ Then communication failed.”

“Then we wait. But in the mean time, let’s see if we can synchronize our orbits to about 100 yards from each other.”

“Gladly! We should have visual in a few hours when our paths cross. Do you have video capability?”

“Of course! But the quality may be bad while we’re bouncing signals of satellites.”

“Don’t worry! We’ll make do!”

Upon activating video, Helier was impressed by Charis’ beautiful flowing raven hair and ebony eyes. Charis was equally pleased by Helier’s bright blue eyes and short brown hair. After several hours of conversation, Helier and Charis successfully synchronized their orbits.

Survivors in the Sanctuary Island Archipelago fared better than survivors in other areas of the planet due to their great distance from the Poles. Fortunately, the islands’ original inhabitants abandoned the archipelago centuries ago. During Global War I and II, the Northwestern Continent military presence was substantial. Immediately preceding the eruptions, this semiarid archipelago was primarily used for scientific purposes. The Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines, and Coast Guard still conducted operations throughout the islands even though their presence and facilities were greatly reduced. The Merchant Marines kept the islands stocked with food and other vital supplies. Scientific and military crews were now manning the light houses and trying to contact possible survivors 48 hours a day.

Another important scientific project in the Sanctuary Islands Archipelago was The Global Seed Repository. The repository housed a collection of seeds of all known Simulacrum plant species. Such collection would prevent extinction of plant species and the animals which depended on them. Now more than ever, survival depended on the ability to raise crops without adequate sunlight. Scientists immediately began planting crops like carrots and potatoes that could thrive in less sunlight. The Sanctuary Islands Archipelago would soon become the largest farm on the planet.

Two weeks after the eruptions, Lucan was dreaming he was on a family vacation to the tropics when his sons were teenagers. Helier was parasailing when storm clouds suddenly appeared.

“Let’s bring Helier down before it storms!” Lucan said to the deckhand.

“Right away sir! I’m starting the winch now!” The deckhand said.

The winch inexplicably stopped when violent wind and rain began.

“What are you doing? Get him down! There’s lightning all over the place!” Cato yelled.

“The winch is jammed!” The deckhand responded.

“Now what do we do? We can’t drop him in the ocean! There are man eating sharks all around us!” Gratus shouted.

“I’m getting the hand cranks for the winch! We’ll pull him down manually!” The deckhand responded.

“Get a lifeboat under him!” The captain radioed the first officer as the catamaran raced toward shore.

“Second officer, you’re with me!” The first officer ordered.

The second officer appeared completely covered in a yellow rain goat and goggles.

“Please hurry, gentlemen!” Lucan said.

“We can easily rescue your son with that special elevator of yours, doctor!” The second officer stated.

A loud voice on the radio abruptly awoke Lucan from his deep sleep.

“Sanctuary Island, come in please. Sanctuary Island, come in please.” A male voice said repeatedly.

“This is Sanctuary Island! Lucan speaking! Who is this? How’d you manage to survive?” Lucan exclaimed.

“Lucan, this is Captain Scipio of the Merchant Marine ship, Atlas! We were deep up the Andromache River! Too far for the tsunami to reach!” Scipio responded.

“Scipio, how many other ships are with you?”

“We’re it! How many other ships arrived since the tsunami?”

“You’re the first! We thought we were alone!”

“Good God! I’d hoped I was wrong!”

“Do you have cargo, Captain?”

“Yes! Our hold is full of winter wheat and soy beans we never delivered! We also picked up tons of dried fruit and vegetables, hundreds of miles of telephone and antenna wire, light weight fabric for weather balloon experiments, and hundreds of miles of light weight balloon tether twine!”

“Scipio, you may have just saved two astronauts! When will you get here?”

“About three hours!”

“May we use your balloon materials and electrical wire?”

“As long as you let us make port!”

“Agreed! Follow the lighthouses! I’ll alert the others to prepare for your arrival! Lucan out!”

Lucan immediately woke his family to prepare for the Atlas’ arrival.

“Cato, I know how we can find Helier! We need Gratus and Charis’ family in here now!” Lucan exclaimed.

Lucan swiftly ran to Gratus’s room.

“Gratus, wake up! Wake up!” Lucan said while knocking on the door repeatedly.

“Dad, it’s 3:00 a.m.! What in the world do you want?” Gratus asked.

“We’re going to get Helier!”

“Oh! How?”

“We’re going to build that elevator to the moon!”

“Now I know you’ve gone mad!”

“No! We can’t communicate with Helier, because the dust prevents it! If we get a strato lab above the dust, we can contact him and guide him to the island!”
”Okay. Now how do we keep in contact the strato lab?”

“We tether a cable with an electric wire to a weather balloon for direct communication!”

“Now you have my undivided attention!”

“We can use the miles of telephone wire from the approaching Atlas cargo ship!”

“A cargo ship’s coming? But what about the weight of the tether and the wire? It’s 32 miles to the top of the stratosphere!” Cato stated.

“We’ll attach hydrogen and helium balloons to the line! There are old weather balloons throughout this archipelago, and the Atlas has light weight balloon fabric!” Lucan said.

“Perfect! There are stockpiles of helium and hydrogen canisters stored with the weather balloons! Let’s get started!” Gratus exclaimed.

Moments later, Helier’s and Charis’ families were hard a work planning the rescue.

“If Helier and Charis are still in orbit, we have a chance to save them!” Lucan exclaimed.

“Well how do you plan to do that? What can we do to help?” Charis’ father, Herius, inquired.

“We’ll use an illuminated strato lab to beckon them home!” Gratus explained.

“They both had a 30 day supply of food and water which gives us 15 days to find them before they’re forced to land.” Charis’s mother, Katharina, said.

“Chances are they made contact long ago!” Cato said.

“I hope so! They’re probably on the verge of insanity!” Herius commented.

Military and scientific personnel joined the rescue effort several hours after Helier’s and Charis’ families formulated detailed plans. The arrival of the Atlas shortly thereafter, gave everyone a new purpose.

During the remainder of the month, six additional ships moored far upriver in the Northwestern, Southwestern, and Eastern Continents arrived in the Sanctuary Archipelago. Northwestern Continent Navy ships included Cerberus, the world’s largest aircraft carrier and the Gorgon attack submarine from the Celaneo and Mania Rivers, respectively. Southwestern Continent Navy ships included the destroyer Vulcan and the helicopter carrier Egeria from the Lactanus and Orcus Rivers, respectively. Eastern Continent Navy ships included the battleship Nemestrinus and ballistic missile submarine Summanus from the Glycon and Nox Rivers, respectively.

The Northwestern Continent Air Force fleet of long range bombers, supersonic bombers, fighter jets, and helicopters in the archipelago escaped the rising ocean waters due to their landing strips’ higher elevations. Army aircraft in the Archipelago were also safely moved to the higher elevations. Air Force pilots surveying continental coasts and other islands between the continents found destruction reaching hundreds of miles inland in low lying areas. Air Force statisticians estimated the mega tsunamis would have reached heights of 300 feet world wide to inundate such vast areas.

After one month isolated in space, hopelessness was overtaking Helier and Charis. They were now suffering the initial effects of psychosis. Hallucinations and delusions were common occurrences. Their dreams also became more vivid. Early one morning, Helier dreamed he and Charis were pilots during the Second Global War.

“Charis, we can’t outrun that dust storm! We have to land soon!” Helier yelled.

“Tell me something I don’t know!” Charis shouted.

“Look to my port side! There’s a mesa shaped island!”

“Now you’re making sense! Let’s go!”

Helier and Charis landed their prop driven planes moments before the dust storm swept across the island. Immediately following the dust storm, a helicopter approached. Helier was overjoyed to see his brother, Gratus at the controls with Lucan as copilot.

“Couldn’t you guys have picked a better landing spot?” Gratus asked jokingly.

“We didn’t have much choice!” Charis said.

“Well come on then! Everyone’s waiting for you back at the base!” Lucan exclaimed.

“I was beginning to think you forgot about us.” Helier said.

“Your families never stopped looking.” A stranger in a silver colored fire proof suit said. The sound of metallic footsteps awoke Helier from his dream. He immediately peered out the window concerned spatial debris was striking the station. Luckily, the hull was not perforated as he feared. The sky was clear of debris. Helier was puzzled, because the footsteps now sounded as if something were crawling across the station. Helier followed the footsteps towards the window facing Charis’ space station.

“Whoa! Where in the world did you come from?” Helier shouted as a bright, silver colored, upside down knight suddenly faced him through the window.

For a moment the knight’s facemask became clear revealing a handsome man with tan skin, brown hair, and striking solid blue eyes.

“I have journeyed an unimaginable distance just to find you, Helier.” The knight said.

“Charis! Wake up! There’s another astronaut out here!” Helier haled Charis.

Helier heard a blood curdling scream from Charis.

“Helier! Something’s trying to get in here!” Charis yelled as a female knight looked her in the eye.

The clear facemask revealed a beautiful, fair skinned brunette with solid ebony eyes.

As the knight facing Helier turned right side up, Helier saw another knight crawling on Charis’ station.

“You need not fear us. We are here to ensure your survival.” The knight said.
“Who are you?” Helier demanded.

“My name is Heracles. My wife, Helen, is visiting Charis.” The knight said.
“I’d given up on a rescue! Where’s your ship?” Charis asked.

“We are not your rescue party.” Helen answered.

“Prepare your reentry modules for landing. Your families will come for you in a matter of hours.” Heracles said just before he and Helen were inexplicably yanked away from the space stations in the blink of an eye.

“Where’d they go?” Charis asked.

“I don’t know! I could have sworn lightning plucked them away from us! Is that what you saw?” Helier inquired.

“Yes! That’s exactly what I thought happened! Should we believe what they said?”

“We have no choice! Our rations will be gone soon! One way or another, we’re going home!”

“But we can’t see through the ash, and we have no Mission Control to guide us home!”

“We can starve to death and burn up during reentry in a few weeks or take our chances today! I’m ready to go home!”

“Then we’ll go together!”
““That’s the spirit! Let’s see if we can contact someone on the surface!”

The possibility of rescue gave Helier and Charis a new sense of hope. Not even the site of their blackened planet depressed them as they attempted to send and receive radio signals to Simulacrum. Static was all they heard. 15 minutes later, they ceased their futile attempts to contact survivors.

“Now what do we do? We can’t reach anyone.” Charis said.

“Let’s do our pre flight checks, and leave communications open. The knight said in a matter of hours, so we have plenty of time.” Helier said.

“Our new friends didn’t give us much information. Like who’s supposed to guide us down.”

“If they can exist, I’ll take a leap of faith that help’s coming.”

One hour later, Helier and Charis completed their reentry preparations. In the event help did not arrive, the discussed possible landing sites.

“Well, now we’re committed. I just ate my last rations. Helier stated.

“Me too. Let’s take whatever remaining water we can with us. I hope you have a good landing site in mind.” Charis said.

“Our best bet is my uncle’s farm. I know the latitude and longitude.”

“Why is this farm so special?”

“Because it’s in the Northwestern Continent’s Central Plains and his farm has a well. It’s a highly agrarian area with low population. The grain silos were overflowing before the eruptions. If everyone’s dead there’ll be abundant food.”

“Do you have a Plan B if your uncle’s farm did not fare well?”

“My grandparents’ house also has some grain storage bins. If neither place fared well, we’ll go to my parents’ place. They have two small feed bins and a creek is nearby.”

“I never thought I’d be saved by a bunch of farmers.”

“I wouldn’t worry too much! Maybe we’re not a bunch of simpletons like you think!”

For the next hour, Helier briefed Charis on the landing zone terrain. Just when they reviewed the final coordinates, a voice sounded on the radio.

“Gratus to Helier, come in please. Gratus to Helier, come in please.” Gratus said as the bright, white Solis emerged from the dust.

Seconds later, Gratus appeared on the view screens.

“Gratus, this is Helier! How’d you find us?” Helier exclaimed.

“Us? Does that mean Charis is with you?” Gratus asked.

“Yes I am!” Charis exclaimed.

“Where is everybody?” Helier inquired.

“We’re on Sanctuary Island!” Gratus answered.

“How’d you survive?” Charis asked.

“The Sanctuary Archipelago was a natural barrier to the tsunamis!” Lucan stated.

“Dad is Mom with you?” Helier asked.

“I’m here, honey! I also have two people who wish to speak to Charis!” Cato said.

“Charis, baby, it’s so good to hear your voice!” Katharina said.

“We thought we’d lost you!” Herius said.

“Mom, Dad! I wasn’t sure if you mad it to the Island!” Charis exclaimed.

“Guys, this is all well and good, but I need to brief Helier and Charis on the splashdown procedures! I’ll keep a channel open!” Gratus interrupted.

“Splashdown! You plan to bring us down in the water in complete darkness!” Charis growled.

“Relax! Now listen to me! We have six Navy vessels and a Merchant Marine Cargo ship to assist in the recovery. Numerous Air Force and Army planes and helicopters will also provide support. I’ll have the whole plan explained to you in about an hour.” Gratus explained.

For the next hour, Gratus gave a detailed description of the splashdown procedures and the recovery area.

“Do either of you have any quick questions?” Gratus asked.

“Not at all! Just get us down from here!” Helier said.

“What if we deviate outside of the proposed recovery area?” Charis asked.

“All available smaller patrol boats will also be on the look out for you both. All boats, aircraft, and buildings will be illuminated with white lights instead of ultraviolet light.”

“White light’s kind of blinding for us.” Helier said.

“Yah. But it’s also the brightest light in this darkness. You can’t miss it. Even at noon, it’s as if the sky were covered by the blackest rain clouds I’ve ever seen. For one last favor to us, illuminate the sky hooks on you parachutes. We need all the help in the world to spot you.”

“Our parachutes will deploy at the preprogrammed altitude. Make sure you stay out of our way.” Charis said.

“We may drift for miles if we manage not to collide with anything. Are boats and planes ready now?” Helier said.

“Yes. Now one last thing. The wind is blowing from the west as usual. So Helier, you go to my north, and Charis goes to my south. So please don’t hit me!” Gratus said.

“Understood!” Helier and Charis stated in unison.

“You never know. Maybe will make contact with the continents. Hopefully other scientists in the Simulacrum are attempting communication with high altitude balloons if they survived.” Gratus concluded.

160 minutes later when Helier and Charis were directly over Sanctuary Island, they detached from their space stations. Unseen in the distance, Heracles and Helen started a rapid descent towards the reentry modules. The sudden return to gravity was excruciating for Helier and Charis.

“Guys, remember we’ll lose communication for a while due to atmospheric friction!” Gratus warned.

“Affirmative.” Helier and Charis responded.

Heracles and Helen hovered above Helier and Charis until they reached the edge of the atmosphere. During the communications black out, Heracles and Helen maneuvered in front of the reentry modules’ windows.

“Whoa! Helier and Charis screamed upon seeing Heracles and Helen enveloped in flames.

“Spread your wings once you leave the fire. The bird will carry you to the city on the sea.” Heracles instructed Helier while leaning on his reentry module.

“Do exactly as Helier does.” Helier heard Helen instruct Charis.

Moments later, the reentry modules successfully cleared the incredible atmospheric heat. Terminal velocity came seconds later.

“Charis open your parachute now!” Helier ordered.

“Done!” Charis replied.

“Well done, doctor. We shall meet again.” Heracles said just before he and Helen eerily ascended into the dusty upper atmosphere.

Ground crews were surprised at the dramatic deceleration.

“General Rudolphus, they deployed their parachutes early! You have time to catch them with sky hook! They don’t need to splashdown!” Lucan quickly suggested.

“You’re right! Helicopter pilots, you heard him! We’re going to do the first space capsule landing on a carrier deck in history! I want Helier on the Cerberus! Charis gets the Egeria!” Rudolphus ordered his Air Force special forces pilots.

Five minutes later, the reentry modules were low enough for the successful sky hook. Cheers erupted throughout the Sanctuary Islands Archipelago when medical crews helped Helier and Charis onto the carrier decks with their parents’ assistance. Morale was high once again.

“Gratus, we got them, come on down!” Lucan exclaimed.

No! He must stay! There are two more astronauts!” Helier interjected.

“You and Charis were the last astronauts in orbit!” Cato stated.

“He’s right! I saw them! They spoke to us!” Charis interrupted.

“Charis, you were hallucinating! You’ve been breathing stale air!” Katharina stated.

“Gratus can’t stay up any longer! The winds are increasing!” Herius said.

“Wait a minute, guys! I don’t see astronauts, but I’m receiving radio signals from several points of origin! There are survivors scattered in remote areas of the Continents!” Gratus joyfully reported.

“Gratus, you got 10 more minutes then we reel you in!” Rudolphus said.

“Acknowledged!” Gratus replied.

Medical crews immediately rushed Helier and Charis to the main infirmary on Sanctuary Island. Despite their weakened state due to the prolonged stay in zero gravity, they were in surprisingly good physical condition. Carbon dioxide levels in their blood were slightly elevated.

“Excess carbon dioxide would explain their hallucinations.” Herius said.

“Even then, the carbon dioxide levels were not at critical levels. I’ve seen miners rescued from coal mines with more carbon dioxide in their blood.” Lucan said.

“How do you explain the same hallucination?” Katharina asked.

“The power of suggestion. One of them thought they saw an astronaut, so they convinced themselves they weren’t alone. Delirium would have eventually overtaken them.” Cato answered.

Gratus was on the ground within the hour. He immediately proceeded to the infirmary.

“Hey little brother, that was some fancy flying! I couldn’t have done better myself!” Gratus said.

“What took you so long? Did you stop for a drink along the way?” Helier joked.

“No! But I felt like it! I have to tell you I beat your altitude record by 3,000 feet!”

“173,000 feet! That’s amazing!” Charis said.

“I thought so! I also hold the record for fastest ascent of tethered airship! And even more amazing, I made contact with survivors from Salt Flats Air Force Base. They should arrive in about 96 hours aboard the transformed Luna!” Gratus said.

“How’d you think to use the blimp as a radio transmitter?” Charis inquired.

“Actually, we got the idea from Dad’s bedtime story about a space elevator.” Gratus explained.

“Dad’s goofy stories were actually useful!” Helier laughed.

“As long as it worked, I’m happy!” Charis said.

“I have to go now. The doctors want you to rest. We’ll all see you in the morning.” Gratus said.

Helier and Charis continued their conversation in private.

“Your brother left in such a hurry, I didn’t even get a chance to thank him for saving our lives.” Charis said.

“He saved us, but you saved me. I would have gone nuts alone up there.” Helier said.

“You’re the reason I didn’t take a giant leap to surface. You saved me, too.”

Charis extended her hand to Helier. It took all their strength to hold hands.

“You’ll have plenty of time to thank Gratus. The doctors give us a month to recuperate.” Helier said.

“It’s nice to finally meet you, Helier.” Charis said.

“The feeling’s mutual, Charis.”

Engineers from Salt Flats Air Force Base arrived on Sanctuary Island two days after reentry. During the following month, the engineers and scientific crews used all available materials to modify the Solis airship based on the Luna’s specifications. A rigid lightweight frame was fastened to the crew compartment. Crews then covered the frame with lightweight fabric. The transfigured Solis was nearly identical to the Luna’s flying wing-pontoon boat design. The engines could utilize gasoline, propane or hydrogen. Surprisingly, there were enough excess materials to build a third airship, the Ventus. The three airships were immediately drafted into the search for food and fuel.
                        Helier and Charis spoke the night before the Continental surveys began.

"The scouting preparations have been finalized. The Luna is secured aboard the Atlas. The Gorgon and the Nemestrinus will accompany us to the Mania River. The Cerberus will carry the Ventus to the mouth of the Nox River. The Summanus will provide support." Helier reported.

"Our crews have the Solis tied to the Egeria. The Vulcan will travel with us to the Orcus River. Do you know who will pilot the Ventus?" Charis asked.

"An Eastern Continent bomber crew. Gratus taught them everything there is to know about airships."

"Good. Long ranger bomber crews have already surveyed areas not affected by the tsunamis. We should be able to scout ahead of the planes and boats for suitable landing sites."

"I just hope we find grain ships and fuel upriver before the winter begins in the Northern Hemisphere. Winter will be especially brutal due these dreadful nuclear winter effects."

"I'd rather not think about. The black rain and snow are horrible enough."

"It's going to be strange without you these next few weeks, since I've seen and talked to you every day for the last two months."

"I will miss you. Hurry back."

The two kissed before retiring for the night. Fear of what they find in their once proud homelands was unnerving.

Several days later, the Atlas, Gorgon, and the Nemestrinus entered the mouth of the Mania River. The Luna and helicopters immediately began scouting upriver. To their surprise, no survivors were present. Cities were completely empty. The landscape was completely barren due to lack of sunlight. Volcanic ash became thicker with each passing mile away from the equator. A few wild animals and feral livestock inexplicably survived in spite of the harsh conditions.

Helier and his family discovered scores of grain barges and ample fuels supplies during their sortie near city, Stridon.

“Captain Scipio, there’s a large fleet of grain barges, tugboats, and fuel ships in Stridon.” Lucan radioed Scipio.

“Well done. We should reach you in about 24 hours. Are there any other areas that may have supplies?” Scipio asked.

“Yes. The helicopter crews are scouting the

Impressum

Verlag: BookRix GmbH & Co. KG

Tag der Veröffentlichung: 23.09.2019
ISBN: 978-3-7487-1608-2

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This book is dedicated to my family for a lifetime of unconditional support and the greatest kindness I have ever known.