The year is 2033. Rare-earth mineral demand is driving a new space race, and the moon is the primary target. The Orbit Mining Company, powered by the genius technological innovations of Dr. Elizabeth West, has claimed victory. Their revolutionary advanced freighter has delivered a team of miners to the lunar surface. Yet, the celebrations are cut short by a lethal encounter with an advanced alien species which have been living under the planet's surface. Corporate greed to exploit this discovery leads to a nightmarish scenario culminated when a communications failure combined with a direct confrontation with these creatures leads to panic, chaos and a hasty evacuation. A stowaway with a unique method of reproduction brings the threat of colonization, home to earth. Follow the suspenseful action as a secret military unit, tasked with covering up the existence of alien life discovers that might doesn't always make right. Cut off and alone, the team must fight for their survival and that of humankind with a combination of advanced technology, applied science, and their will to survive. These brave souls are all that stands between life as we know it, or our possible extinction.
Five Hours to Launch
The emotionless voice on the overhead speaker announced the time until departure every fifteen minutes. It was accurate, sterile, and scientific, just like the preparations. The launch area was a symphony of perpetual and focused activity. Uniformed crews gracefully moved from one task to another with a well-rehearsed precision. Heavy equipment containers were anchored in place in the cargo hold. Supplies, tools, and delicate scientific instruments were inventoried and secured in marked compartments. In the cockpit, a team of technicians tested and then retested every operating system. Outside of the ship, engineers and the flight crew inspected the hull and engines. If everything checked out, in five brief hours, the ship and her crew would be on the way to the moon.
The ship, appropriately named the Comet, was in a class by herself. She was a scientific marvel, technologically superior to all other spacecraft currently in operation. A true freighter by design, the Comet made to carry a very large payload. The hold had been constructed to transport large volumes of mined materials back to earth for processing. Stability was achieved using a revolutionary magnetic web. This system kept the payload from dangerously shifting while in flight. Unlike other space vehicles, the Comet could be piloted in the planetary airspace, taking off and landing at will. This was made possible because of the revolutionary design of the ship’s engines. The Comet was the crown jewel of Orbit Mining, and yet her existence was completely unknown to the rest of the world.
When the second Space Race began in the late 2010s, the one based on business, rather than exploration, Orbit Mining, was an unknown. Giant corporations invested billions while locked in a no holds barred, fight with one another to achieve functional orbit and reentry. Several companies had early success, making vast amounts of money launching satellites. It didn’t take long before one of those companies introduced the first orbital class rocket, capable of re-flight. By 2024, space tourism was a regular industry. Several companies boasted weekly passenger flights that left earth, circled the planet a few times and returned safely.
And while the media fawned over the potential for humans to colonize other planets, big business was eyeing something more than just paying fares. The demand for rare earth minerals continued to grow at an unsustainable pace. Historical data and samples pointed to the moon as a close and abundant source of those minerals. The company that developed a spacecraft which could land on the moon to mine rare earth minerals would instantly be worth trillions.
By 2028, several companies and governments had developed prototypes which had successfully achieved orbit. But they all faced one problem. None were large enough to ferry a payload back to earth that would cover the costs. That looked to have changed in 2031. The world watched the meteoric rise of the Expert Drilling company, a consortium of several huge global manufacturing firms. When they announced their flagship, called Selene, was scheduled to make the first commercial landing on the moon, shockwaves went through the business world.
The CEO gave a huge press briefing describing the mission and how Expert Drilling was taking the world into the future. On July 16th, the same date the Apollo 11 mission was launched back in 1969, the ship lifted off from a launch pad outside of Brussels, Belgium. Millions watched the livestream as Selene shot gloriously skyward in her maiden flight.
The flight was uneventful and took less than twenty-four hours. Television personalities raved about the huge reduction in time as compared to the earlier moon missions. As Selene approached the moon, the crew, representing seven different countries, broadcasted a live video feed. Investors and business leaders watched excitedly as the surface of the moon filled their screens. After several minutes into the descent, alarm bells could be heard, warning lights started flashing, and the video feed abruptly went dark. Millions waited fearfully as news reporters speculated on what could have happened. As the news broke, that ship crashed into the surface of the moon, killing the entire crew, the world collectively wept. It was a horrific event, one that nearly ended commercial space exploration altogether.
After this crash, government agencies around the world quickly stepped in, attempting to create legislation that would limit space exploration to government agencies only. The reaction was immediate. It was one more attempt for world control and several companies openly spoke out against it. Ultimately, no country could accomplish any real restrictions. The moon and outer space should not be subject to any nation’s laws, nor should anyone be able to claim the moon as theirs. For the rest of 2031 and all of 2032, news from the space-related companies was sparse.
All of this changed in 2033. In the spring of that year, the Orbit Mining company quietly made the first successful landing on the moon. It wasn’t until several days into the mission that the media was alerted. The footage went viral across the world, with miners extracting rock from the surface of the moon, being the focal point. The company CEO, Charles Sinclair, gave a limited interview in which he described the mission as an exploratory trip to test equipment and capabilities. He revealed the spacecraft was called the Comet but refused to provide details or photographs of it. This led to much speculation, with some even saying the company had staged the entire thing.
While the conspiracy theorists gave their opinions, the competition scrambled, hoping to discover the technology that powered the ship, who worked on it, and how they kept it a secret. Expert Drilling was considered the global leader in propulsion technology. The Selene and other prototypes were designed around variants of nuclear or chemical powered rocket systems. The major drawback of their systems was that they collectively consumed high amounts of fuel to overcome the gravity barrier.
Now suddenly, Orbit Mining, a company that had never even launched a ship, had landed on the moon, somehow outflanking them all. Everyone, especially the competition, eagerly expected the ship returning to earth. But the management of Orbit Mining kept one step ahead of them, primarily by refusing to reveal their timetable. It wasn’t until the ship entered earth’s atmosphere that the announcement was made of the successful reentry. Another report came after the safe landing at an undisclosed location. The entire playing field of space exploration changed overnight, but the question of how remained.
CEO Charles Sinclair was a reclusive but savvy business owner who had made his personal fortune in mining. He knew how to make money, even when the economy was in a downturn. His success, he claimed, was only hiring the best of the best to work on his team. Because of them, Orbit Mining was successful in areas others weren’t.
Because no one knew Orbit was developing a space program, no one paid attention to the company. This allowed him to scour the globe, looking for the brightest and forward-thinking young scientists to join the company. Of all his discoveries, one person shined brighter than all the rest. Dr. Elizabeth West, Orbit’s head of Technology was the brain behind almost every piece of advanced technology the company used. Under her guidance, the Comet was designed, built, and launched on its first mission. What was even more amazing was that the process took less than three years, from start to finish.
From day one, while working in secret, she started working on a highly advanced type of engine, powered by a variable specific impulse magnetoplasma rocket engine. The concept had been tested, dating back as far as 1983, but never reached its full potential until 2030, when she cracked the hidden code. With so much energy, the engines reached a previously unattainable level of thrust. So much that a gigantic ship could pass through the atmosphere quickly and cost effective.
The crew brought back multiple samples of rare earth minerals which could easily be mined, and returned to earth, netting Orbit Mining a fortune. Shortly after the first major press conference, complete with ore samples, Charles Sinclair went from being busy to swamped. Wall Street and private equity firms eagerly lined up to finance future operations, hoping to get a piece of the pie. Yet, Charles was very selective, never revealing the company's finances.
Within days of the news, every investigative journalist in America made it their mission to get the scoop. It was revealed that Orbit had purchased a vast tract of land deep in the New Mexico desert, but the details of the sale were missing. It was also learned there was an enormous compound on the property, but no one knew who had paid for it. Speculation was that multiple private investors were involved, but the actual truth remained a mystery.