The Plight of the Bumblebee: Chapter 1

Chapter 1

June 13, 2153 began as a peaceful day for Richard Starlight. On that fateful afternoon the CEO of Starlight Enterprise found himself in his office making the final preparations for an expedition to Europa. Starlight Enterprise had been interested in returning to Jupiter’s watery moon ever since Starmen Zip Foster, Joe Taylor, and Mark Seaton made the trip there that had so nearly cost them their lives. In another four months those same Starmen would be making a return visit, and Richard still had a lot of arrangements to make before they could leave.

Over the past few months Richard’s life had seen great changes. Ever since his battle with Ban Zhou Men on the plains of Mars he had been trying to refocus the energies of his company to reflect a new and dangerous world. No longer was Earth safe; now there was a rapacious alien threat lurking on the horizon – a threat that Richard knew would soon be more than just hypothetical. What he did not know was what could be done about it.

Richard reclined in his chair and looked out over his office. Starlight Tower was located forty miles north of Amundsen City, where it had stood for almost twenty years as the tallest building on the Moon. His private office was on the 121st floor and could only be reached by two private express elevators. The beauty of the lunar landscape was always fresh and new to him; through his office’s treated glass walls he could see the cratered gray landscape stretch for miles into the distance. His red parakeet – a marvel of genetic engineering – chirped quietly on its stand behind his chair. I do my best thinking up here, he thought. Now –

The phone rang. Richard saw that it was an urgent call on his private line and quickly pressed a button on his desk. The image of a harried individual was projected into the air over his desk.

“Richard!” the individual shouted. “It’s terrible! You must do something!”

Richard smiled. He immediately recognized the caller as his long-time friend Alfred Nelson, the easily excitable director of the L5 space station. He had met him as a child when his father Thomas Starlight was supervising the construction of the station, and he had kept in touch with him ever since. He had to be in his 70’s by now, he thought, and yet he hasn’t changed a bit.

“It’s good to see you,” Richard said warmly. “What seems to be the trouble?”

“I can’t – no, I just can’t explain it over the phone,” he said urgently, “it’s too important. The safety of the entire Solar System is at stake! I need your best Starmen here immediately. We don’t have much time!”

Richard was a little surprised. His friend had a tendency to become agitated but this was exceptional. “I’ll send one of my top people right over,” he promised. “Can you give me any idea what is going on? If there is something seriously wrong – ”

“Oh, yes, there is,” Mr. Nelson repeated. “There most certainly is, and – well – no, I just can’t say anything. But please – you must hurry!” And at that, Mr. Nelson severed the connection.

Richard folded his hands together and thought for a moment. Mr. Nelson had a long history of over-dramatizing small concerns, but he knew that he would never have called if there wasn’t something actually wrong. The L5 space station that he managed was the largest one in the entire Solar System and did make a tempting target. Given the recent incursion that the Starmen had battled a few months ago he did not dare ignore the message. The question was, which of his Starmen were currently available for an immediate trip into Earth orbit?

He decided to contact David Foster. Zip was currently on the Moon, enjoying some well-earned time off by visiting his parents at their home on the outskirts of Amundsen City. Richard was in luck as Zip answered his compad almost immediately.

“I need you to make an emergency trip to L5 for me,” Richard said after pleasantries had been exchanged. “I just received an urgent call from a very animated Alfred Nelson, who requested immediate assistance. Are Mark and Joe with you?”

“Yes they are,” Zip replied, “and we can leave right away. What seems to be the trouble?”

“I don’t really know. Alfred refused to talk to me over the phone. He claimed that all of mankind was in danger and that it had to be discussed in person. I haven’t heard any other reports of trouble but I don’t think we can take any chances.”

“We’ll come prepared for anything, then. What’s the fastest way to get there?”

“Probably by shuttle, Zip. I’ll call the Amundsen City spaceport and have our personnel there prepare one for you.”

“We’re heading out the door right now. I’ll let you know what’s going on as soon as I can. Zip out.”