So you might have noticed that I haven’t written much here in a week or two. I have a good excuse though. Really!
See, it all started when I received an urgent call from the President of the United States. “I’m sorry to call so late in the evening,” he began (it was 3:36 AM), “but this simply cannot wait until morning. I received word at oh-two-thirty hours, that we have lost all communication with our secret lunar base. The status and whereabouts of our colonists are unknown. I’m afraid I must ask you to undertake another dangerous mission for your country.”
“No dice, Mr. President,” I answered. “I retired last year after the Delta Incursion. My walking papers are stamped all the way to the top. With all due respect, sir, not even the President of the United States can put me back on one of those confounded ETCs (Extraplanetary Transport Craft) again.”
“I’m not asking as your President, Justis,” he replied, desperation betraying his previously solemn tone, “I’m asking as your friend.” Twenty minutes later I was in a chopper headed to Groom Lake.
Again.
(more…)