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THE CHARON COVENANT
By BRENDA MUNDAY GIFFORD Publish America
Copyright © 2007 Brenda Munday Gifford
All right reserved. ISBN: 978-1-4241-8786-7
Chapter One
DAY ONE
The assembly line was moving rapidly, robot drones were hovering in all directions to keep pace. Quotas for laser pistols were to be doubled. The memorandum from Weapons Control was expecting some increase of problems with the civilian work force. What exactly no one outside the Inner Circle knew, and civilians who questioned their commands were known to disappear.
Chess Drew, was the laser assembly supervisor for over 6 years, a tall somewhat muscular man, one of those lucky individuals whose body responded well to a light amount of exercise. He was a nice looking man, with a fair complexion and neatly trimmed blonde hair, who enjoyed spending some of his leisure time at sports with his best friend, Karl.
He posted the memo but couldn't help questioning in his mind. "What could be about to happen, everything seems normal? Why would civilians want to cause trouble when everything is done for us? I guess there's always a bad element in every society." Chess sat down at the computer terminal and began adjusting the number of drones on the assembly line to meet the needs of the increased volume he was to add each day. It wasn't a particularly difficult job, mostly that of a glorified programmer.
The surroundings were comfortable, even if they weren't much to look at, a narrow room with only one door and a large Plexiglas window to oversee the assembly line.
The assembly room was a huge conveyor belt and the floors were lined with metal strips that guided automated carts to various work stations inside the line area and allowed the worker drones to move freely. No humans were allowed.
Occasionally, when quotas were down, he would modify programs to add new features to the laser pistol his unit produced. After all, any accepted modifications earned merits for some extras, what might be called the finer things in life, such as they were.
Chess' attention was drawn from the terminal by one of the many alarms on his circuit board; one of the lights for an assembly drone was lit in red, signaling a malfunction. "Oh man, not #176 again. That drone's due for an overhaul, that's gotta be his fourth malfunction this month."
Chess turned to his terminal, which controlled the service robots and punched in a request for #176 to be taken to maintenance, which automatically ordered up a replacement drone; one of Chess' latest accomplishments; which was to keep civilians away from the laser weapons.
"Chess, hey Chess!" yelled Karl Sands, stepping into the small room. He was a dark haired man, equal in height as Chess at a little under six feet and always looking as if he needed a shave. Chess and Karl had been friends since childhood and now worked in the same facility. Although Karl was always the brainy one, specializing in Space Aeronautics and would probably have been vested into the Circle if it wasn't for his wife's outspoken attitude against them.
Karl continued. "Chess, it's time, Dara's on her way to delivery!"
"Is she alright?" He asked as he punched out on the computer terminal for 'personal time', 'replacement requested'.
Karl grinned as he held Chess' jacket out for him. "She's fine. Now let's get going!" It seemed ironic that Karl would be the one to accompany him to the Care Unit, since only two years prior he and his wife, Mera, had lost their child shortly after delivery.
Karl and Chess put their I.D. badges into the inner door lock. After a second computer verified their I.D. and opened the door. Their unit was on the sixth floor of a cold hospital grey building that went several stories underground. As they approached the elevator, they were searched by Weapon Control Officers. First with metal detectors and again physically to ensure no weapons or classified material were being removed from the unit. This search procedure would be repeated at the main entryway just prior to leaving the building.
As Chess stepped onto the moving walkway, he remarked. "We'd better step on it, there's probably a long wait for a shuttle, she'd pick lunch hour of all times."
Karl grinned. "It could be worse; it could be two O'clock in the morning." The common areas in residential and business districts were paved in cement, with moving walkways stretching in every direction. Since nothing could be grown in the moon's soil and maintained, the surface was covered to avoid tracking the regolith everywhere.
As they moved along the corridor, Chess remembered first meeting Dara on a week long vacation break. Dara had always been somewhat of a tomboy at heart and being raised by her father from age 2 didn't make her any less so. Her father had done the best he could after her mother died of regolith fever. He was a military man who was strict but loving and worked long hours away from home; leaving her to take care of herself, building her self-confidence. She believed he would've liked to have had a son, even though he never said it. When he was at home they'd have long talks which often lead to wrestling matches with her; yet he never seemed totally at ease when he was around her. In her teens he began teaching her sparring and told her she should always be able to defend herself. Dara just loved him and enjoyed spending the time doing whatever she could that would make him stay home with her.
Looking back she realized, in part, he must've known he wouldn't always be there for her. She wondered if he knew he would be taken so soon. Little did she know how invaluable his teachings would be.
"What a small world," Chess chuckled to himself. He recalled at first he didn't notice her with her nose stuck in the pages of a book, but how she tossed her hair over her shoulder as she read, had caught his attention, and how it took him two days to work up the nerve for an introduction. She was the most beautiful woman he'd seen, perhaps the most beautiful person on the planet. Her skin had the clearest complexion and it seemed almost iridescent; along with the biggest eyes he'd ever seen. She was one of those people that other people couldn't help but stare at.
"Oh yes," she'd said rather slowly, as if she could barely remember having seen him before. Then she stood and took his hand and in a very matter of fact way, introduced herself. "How do you do, my name is Dara Barlow; I was born in the Western Sector. Are you a "moon baby too?" She inquired, placing herself gently into the easy chair she'd been occupying.
Chess stood frozen for a moment, somewhat surprised by the strength of her handshake, then stuttered a reply. "Well, uh, yes."
"Yes, what?" She further requested as a small grin crossed her lips. "Yes, you were born here?" She said, quite amused at his embarrassment.
Shortly after his return to work, he took a two day leave of absence to visit her and ask her to be his wife. Dara didn't hesitate in replying, as this was what she'd been hoping for since coming home from vacation. Chess had all the qualities she'd hoped to find in a man. He was sincere and kind; a man who was not afraid to show his affection. Dara knew that it'd mean moving farther away from her job as a fitness instructor; she realized that she wouldn't have chosen this career if it wasn't for her father's influence throughout her childhood. She taught classes from aerobics for out of shape office workers to martial arts for kids all the way up to adults; but with the shuttles, it'd only mean an extra 15 minutes. Chess recalled how they talked the night away and most of the next day; making plans about their future and the life they'd share together..
Now their first child, Chess knew he had much to be thankful for and that the Circle enabled this all to happen; he'd have the home and family he'd always dreamed of and Dara would be able to stay home and raise their child for as long as she wanted.
As Chess and Karl neared the transport shuttle building they could see there was a long line waiting to board the shuttle transport, possibly a 20 minute delay. The shuttles ran mostly underground, except at the platform entrances, where they came up to ground level, to make loading and unloading more convenient. Chess, normally a reserved man, pushed to the front of the crowded platform.
"Stand back, we're loading now!" shouted the Transport Officer.
"My wife," Chess abruptly interrupted. "It's my wife, she's going to the Care unit, I need on now!" Chess insisted, his voice sounding very demanding.
The Officer stared back, looking cold in the uniform of a Weapon Control Officer, a dull green 3 piece vested jumpsuit with a typical S2 laser pistol strapped to his shoulder holster. Chess always noticed the weapons, which was somewhat of a hobby to him.
"All right, go ahead," the Officer waved them into the transport.
Even though they were over 75 miles from the Care Unit, the sleek steel colored transport would deliver them to their destination within minutes.
"I wonder what it was like to have automobiles?" Karl said almost as if speaking out loud to himself. "It must've been chaotic, you never hear of a wreck in one of these tunnels from a bad transport driver," they both laughed.
"What I would've really liked was to fly in an airplane or on one of those space shuttles," Chess added.
"Do you think we'll ever go back to Earth?" Karl tilted his head back and closed his eyes.
"Hey, quit the day dreaming, we're here." Chess poked him in the side.
As they stepped out of the shuttle and onto the moving walkway, Chess grinned. "Now that's the look of a father to be if there ever was one," Karl Chided. "What was the name you picked?"
"Dara wants to name him after her father, Daryl. It takes some of the excitement away knowing which gender it'll be before it's born. Hey, here's our stop, we almost missed it." They both hopped off the walkway and headed toward the large glass doors of the Care Unit.
There was only one of these hospitals for the entire population, although each living area was provided an Urgent Care Unit for emergencies. Any long term care, surgeries or births were taken to the much larger Care Unit. There were no windows, as was the case in all buildings, except the living quarters. Even those were small and not glass, but a type of semi-clear Plexiglas.
They approached the check in station at the front of the lobby as a group of Control Officers marched by. "Have you ever seen so many Officers in one place, they're everywhere," Karl's voice broke as he spoke. "Why are there so many here, of all places? I wonder what's up?"
"Hey you know those types of questions are strictly forbidden," Chess warned as he leaned up against the check in counter.
"May I help you?" The receptionist asked, clad in the dull green nurse's uniform of the Circle.
"Yes, my wife is here; we're having a baby." Once again a grin crossed Chess' face.
"Very well. I need your name, wife's name and your code number please." The woman quickly turned to the computer terminal on her desk.
After all the information was given, she handed him their I.D. cards. "This is to be worn at all times, don't enter any green areas, those are for Circle personnel only." She paused. "Your wife is in Wing B Floor Twelve. If you've any questions go to the information terminal on that floor." She quickly turned to her terminal and continued typing. Karl gave Chess a wink and headed for the elevator to take them down to the twelfth floor.
As they approached the elevator another patrol of Officers marched passed, looking straight ahead as if mesmerized. "I don't know about you, but it makes me feel safe knowing those guys are around," Chess said as they started down the elevator.
"I still say we have a right to know what's going on. I know, I know, it's forbidden. But they didn't used to be everywhere like they are now. Have you seen any reason why we need to have so many more patrol officers," Karl said as he pushed the twelfth floor button.
The doors opened, they stepped into the entry room and fed their I.D. badges into the drone guard. It was a bit eerie how the drones hovered in the doorway until they'd verified your I.D. Then they raised over your head so you could pass under, never leaving their station. The halls were all cold white tile to allow the drones to maneuver equipment from room to room as needed. Each room was large enough to fit six patients and had no doors, as the drones could not be encumbered, privacy was not a consideration. Chess went to the room where his wife was supposed to be, but her bed was empty.
"Do you know here my wife is?" He asked one of the women next to him, motioning toward the bed.
"No, I'm sorry, I just got here. Why don't you check the information terminal?" As the woman stepped out the door she pointed down the hall to show them the way, she'd obviously been there before.
Karl put his I.D. card into the terminal and punched in "NEED LOCATION OF DARA DREW, CODE NUMBER D42765426F." The computer quickly displayed, "DAY ROOM 12C, DOWN HALL TO RIGHT." Each patient's wrist band allowed the scanners located all over the hospital to identify the location of every patient. All personnel were required to wear badges that served the same purpose. Visitors were the only unmonitored people in the Care Unit.
"She's down this way, Chess; it must not quite be time yet. All that hurrying for nothing." Karl smiled at Chess' wrinkled brow.
"Chess, see the green doors at the end of the hall? If you try to enter with your I.D. card, the drone will alert the Officers and I was told they take you away for questioning. What's going on in there, I'd sure like to know." As Karl glanced up at Chess, he could see the disapproving look on his face. "All right, I'll stop."
Dara rose to her feet as they entered the Day Room. "Chess, I thought you'd never get here, I hate this place, it's so cold and sterile." Chess wrapped his muscular arms around her and hugged her tightly.
You couldn't help notice the drastic difference between the make up of these two people. At 5 foot tall, Dara looked like a child standing next to Chess' 6 foot frame. Chess, with his neat almost military hair cut against Dara, who wore her dark brown tresses neatly braided and pinned to the back of her head. They were opposites in many ways. Dara was more emotional, if she felt or believed in something, it was with every fiber in her being, while Chess was a relaxed personality, taking in everything with a grain of salt. It took a lot to stir his emotions.
"Hang in there, sweetheart, we'll only be here for a day and then we'll all be together." Chess tried to comfort her.
As they headed back from the waiting room Chess asked. "How soon, have you talked to the doctor?"
Dara stroked her swollen abdomen. "The pains are close together, I'm sure I don't have much longer to wait. I just want to hold him and no everything is all right."
Chess could see the worried look on Dara's face. "Quit worrying, everything's fine."
"I can't help it, I keep thinking of all those dreams I've had."
"They're just dreams, don't make them more than they are." Chess rubbed her lower back as they walked, trying to calm her.
"I'm sure you're right, but isn't it weird that all the strange dreams and thoughts started after I got pregnant?"
"It's just all those hormones, now let's get some rest."
"I keep thinking what a beautiful baby he will be, especially if he takes after his father. You know you still have time to change your mind, we don't have to name him after my father, Daryl," she asked, hoping he wouldn't.
Her father had disappeared years ago after protesting the methods of the Inner Circle and Chess knew how much this meant to her. "I wouldn't change a thing. And besides who has time to think of that now." He smiled and took her hand.
"Come on, let's get you back to bed, you're gonna need all the rest you can get." Chess gently supported Dara as they sauntered toward her room. Just as they were going in Dr. Litton approached.
"I was just looking for you; we need to get you prepped for delivery. I'll send the nurse right down." Doctor Litton was relatively young and like all the new doctors, not yet a full member of the Inner Circle. Not even he knew what it would take to become fully vested. Until then he didn't wear the green garb of the Circle, but instead dressed in conventional white, which made his fair complexion and carrot red hair seem almost afire.
Suddenly a drone came speeding passed, blurting a message. 'ALL PATIENTS AND VISITORS TO YOUR ROOMS, THIS IS AN ALERT, THIS IS AN ALERT." Quickly, Chess scooped Dara into his arms and hurried her into the room.
"What's that all about?" Dara queried.
"I'm not sure, changing of the guards or something, I suppose." Chess tried to pass it off as nothing so as not to upset Dara.
Just then a patrol of Officers shuffled passed pushing a civilian and shouting, "You were warned, you will be penalized!"
(Continues...)
Excerpted from THE CHARON COVENANT by BRENDA MUNDAY GIFFORD Copyright © 2007 by Brenda Munday Gifford . Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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