Moon Base One: Ascension

By J.P. Behrens

Young Dean Autumn wants nothing more than to go to the Moon. After much hard work he was finally selected by the Federation of Galaxy Explorers as the first kid to land on the Moon. He is now a member of Moon Base One! Even though he has studied all about the Moon and Moon Base One, nothing could have prepared him for the uncertainty of life so far from Earth. A strange series of accidents begin to threaten Moon Base One, causing Dean to wonder if they are really accidents at all. As mishap turns towards disaster, Dean must discover the answer before the first Moon Base becomes the last.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Father's Press
• Release date: Jun 11, 2011
• ISBN: 9781452493503

J.P. Behrens

When not saving the universe from ultimate impending doom or feeding starving kittens, J.P. Behrens has found time to write several novels, some short stories and a few trans-dimensional messages. When last seen J.P. Behrens was fighting off genetically altered super monsters with a spoon, two blue crayons and a wad of gum.

Book preview

Moon Base One:

The Ascension

By

J. P. Behrens

Smashwords Edition

Published by Father’s Press on Smashwords.

Copyright Aug. 2009 J.P. Behrens. All rights reserved.

J.P. Behrens holds the copyright of this book and has granted the exclusive right to publish it to Father’s Press.

Smashwords Edition License Notes

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Father’s Press, LLC

Lee’s Summit, MO

[phone]

www.fatherspress.com

Cover photo by Fortin and Sanders Illustrations

Dedication

This book is dedicated to the adventurous spirit within us all and especially to Michael, Shane and God.

Acknowledgements

I would like to acknowledge the help of the Federation of Galaxy Explorers, especially Nick Eftimiades.

I would also like to thank Mike Smitley for his confidence in this work.

Chapter 1

Dean Autumn was secured in his launch chair in the passenger section of the shuttle craft. Turning his head, he watched as they sealed the outer door of the shuttle. A sudden surge of panic rose up in him, but he quickly tamped it down. He wanted to be on this space shuttle: wanted it more than anything else in his life. Now was no time to panic. The lights flickered for an instant as the shuttle went on internal systems. His excitement was rising as fast as his panic. Part of him wanted to stay at home where it was safe and another part of his twelve year old mind wanted to get to the Moon as quickly as possible.

He tired to calm himself by looking around the cramped area. The passenger section had about twenty people in it including him, and none of them seemed ready to panic. Then again none of them were twelve years old either. The chair began to vibrate as the engines began their burn sequence. Panic clutched at him and he focused hard on the wall of the passenger section. It was white. Actually, it was all white. The floor was white. The ceiling was white. The walls were white. With the exception of a few brushed steel levers and controls, being in the passenger area was like being inside a great, big egg. A great, big, fragile egg about to be hurled thousands of miles into space. This line of thought was not helping him to calm down as the vibration under his seat increased.

Just think about the job, he told himself. The shuttlecraft was taking him to his new job: a real job, unlike his friends who were getting paper routes, walking dogs and babysitting. He had joined the Federation of the Galaxy Explorers and now he was going to the Moon. Dean had made all the papers: the youngest person ever to go into space. He’d studied hard. He’d applied to the program. He had even used the argument that they could see the effects that living off world would have on children before settlers came to the moon. Finally, they agreed. Finally, he made it. Finally, he was going to Moon Base One.

He was going to research the effects of using Helium Three as a fuel source outside of Earth’s protective atmosphere. Testing the effects of using Helium Three on the Moon was a stepping stone for future colonies: not only on the Moon but Mars or maybe even extra solar planets. Something deep within the workings of the shuttle banged, and Dean gripped the armrests.

This is all normal, he reassured himself. Probably the first of the igniters firing. Yeah, that was it. Probably wasn’t even a bang. Probably just a click or a clunk echoing in from below. Yeah, perfectly normal. Probably didn't even hear anything. Yeah, just my imagination. Yeah, yeah. That's what it was, just my imagination. There was another bang and Dean gripped the armrest tighter. The shuttlecraft is just preparing for launch, he continued to calm himself. These sounds weren’t in the simulator because their just unimportant. If there was a problem, the captain would be on the inter…

The Captain’s voice came over the intercom, reassuring in its calmness. We are clear and prepared for launch: T minus 5 seconds and counting.

See, he said to silently trying to convince himself. Everything is normal. Don’t be such a baby. It is all just the way it’s supposed to beeeeeee, he continued and the shuttle took off. Even with all the dampeners and regulators the shuttle launch was nothing like the simulators. This was better! Dean let out a yell.

This is awesome!

If it wasn’t for the gravitational forces that were pushing against his body he would have held his arms up like a roller coaster. Laughing and screaming with excitement, it was like racing down the coolest rollercoaster on the planet, only he was going up! Up, past the buildings and the planes, past the clouds, past the Earth itself, he was actually really, really heading to the Moon!

Yes!

He felt the shuttle go through it’s phases as fuel tanks were jettisoned and listened to the crew as they went thought their checks with each other. It was only when he heard them talking back and forth that he was glad his transmitter to his intercom had been turned off. He maybe the only kid on the ship, but he didn’t want to also be the only one who was rollercoaster-screaming through launch. It was important that they saw him as a professional, as one of the team. One of the coolest teams in the world! Actually, they weren't on the world - coolest team in the solar system!

Yes!

And all of this because he, Dean Autumn, was the smart one. When people said that Dean was the smart one, he used to hate it. He did not like being the smart one in class. He did not like the other kids making fun of him for spending his time, building rockets and robots instead of skateboarding. Yet laying awake at night, all those mean things they said just melted away as he watched the Moon begin to rise in the east and travel along the elliptic. ‘One day,’ he had told himself. ‘One day, I’ll be there.’ It was an almost physical need to get to the Moon. He wanted it so badly. His father told him that if he kept studying and working hard, he had no doubts that Dean would accomplish anything he set his mind to. And he set his mind towards the Moon, devouring every book on the subject, building model Moon Bases, designing new bases. Every waking moment he had worked towards this day. Well, Dean had set his mind on the Moon and he was on his way; the only twelve year-old in the entire history of the species! Cool! The first one! The only one!

The only one. The absolute only one. He hadn’t really thought of it like that before. He would be the only kid on the Moon. Hmm. That was okay; he liked adults better anyway. They didn't make fun of him for studying.

That was another cool thing about getting this job: not only was he going to the Moon, but he now got to study at the Lunar Academy. How cool was that! When The Federation of Galaxy Explorers said that they were going to start the mining colony, Moon Base One, Dean was one of the first to turn in his application. FOGE had said that every nine months on a rotating basis, Base personnel would be allowed to work on the Moon. It would be just like going away to school. He was going to be considered Base personnel. He was considered a scientist.

The miners would come as well, but they would be on a six week rotation. They should start arriving in another week or two. Dean would be one of the first of