"If it is a biological weapon that has escaped," Steve said, "I hope they've got an antidote, cos if they haven't, at the rate it kills, we're in serious trouble."
"Who's hungry?" Clare broke in, sensing the heaviness descending on the children. All hands went up. "Right," she said, "Shelley take down the orders, and don't forget Rufus. Chris, get on to room-service, let's eat!"
"Well done Sweetie," Steve whispered into Clare's ear. "Sorry I got a bit carried away there with the doom and gloom stuff."
"That's all right Hun," she said, "but we must watch out for the kids, this could get rough."
Room-service lived up to expectations, and all hunger was well satisfied, even Rufus was lying down after eating so much. "You get them ready for bed," Steve said a while later, "I'll take first watch."
"Do you think that's necessary?" Clare asked.
"I don't know, but better safe than sorry. I'll keep an eye on Star Labs just in case they come back."
"OK Hun, call me when you need to sleep."
Clare took the kids to the bathroom to explain what was happening. "From now on," she said softly, "life is going to change quite drastically. No work for mummy and daddy, and no school for you two."
Chris' face lit up at the thought of no school, and especially, no school play, but it was short lived, he knew that something must be very wrong for all this to be happening.
"Are we in trouble mommy?" Shelley asked innocently.
"No sweetheart, not for anything we've done at least, but there are some bad people out there who want to hurt mummy and daddy, so we have to make sure they don't find us. Daddy has been very clever and brought us here very near to where he used to work."
"They'll never find us here mom," Chris jumped in, "they won't think to look for us here, right under their noses."
"No, they won't son, that's why we're here. Now get ready for bed, we need all our strength for tomorrow."
The young Foresters duly obeyed and went to bed. Rufus curled up at Chris' feet, and for once, Chris was glad he was there. Somehow, it made him feel safer.
"Night sis," he said softly.
"Night bruv'," she replied.
"Night Rufus," they both said, in unison.
Morning came. "Are you awake Steve?" Clare asked.
"Sure Sweetie, did anything happen?"
"No, not much. There were some soldiers hanging around the main entrance, but they didn't do much. Star Labs looks empty, do you think they've abandoned the building?"
"Probably," Steve replied, "my guess is that they are heading for a secret location somewhere."
"Any idea where?"
"None that I can think of at this moment, but then, it is six am!" Clare slipped into Steve's bed and they slept for another couple of hours.
The TV awakened them. "What time is it?" Clare called out to whom ever it was who was up.
"It's eight thirty mummy," came Shelley's reply.
"Be a good girl and make mommy some coffee would you,"
"OK," she said, gleefully, running off to the corner table where all the drinks items were kept.
"Any news yet?" Steve said groggily.
Clare was at the TV flicking through the channels.
"Ah, here's something." She answered.
"There have been outbreaks of the mystery virus in France, Belgium and Holland. As no one is yet sure how the infection is transmitted, all access to the various laboratories where samples have been sent, has been restricted. The president has been on Television imploring people to remain calm. 'As yet,' he stated, 'there is no sign of the virus in the United States, and we will take every precaution to make sure it stays that way'. The death toll has reached fifty thousand, and world leaders are calling on the Russian president to make a statement as to the origin of this virus. Most now believe that it is indeed a biological weapon that is the cause, and are calling for the Russians to release the antidote. Further, there is now some evidence to support the sabotage theory that has been circulating on the Internet. Several religious cults have claimed that it is the end of the world."
"Heavy stuff," Clare commented. "What if they don't have an antidote Hun? It may be that the virus was an old one being kept in storage. There may not be an antidote for it."
"Doesn't bear thinking about," Steve answered. "If there's no antidote already in stock, an awful lot of people are going to die out there. We need to think seriously about what we're going to do Sweetie, just in case."
"We could head to the mountains." Clare suggested.
"Yes, we could, but almost everyone else will think of that, and it only takes one person to carry the bug..."
"I see what you mean, what should we do then?"
"I know this will sound daft Sweetie, but the only place that's safe might be a very long way away." He pointed up as he said this.
"You mean?"
"Yes, I do," he said, "the Moon."
Clare laughed, even Shelley laughed, but Chris looked at his dad and said, "Whoa..."
❧
"Hey! Something's happening at Star Labs," Chris said, excitedly. Steve and Clare ran to the window to see what it was. A large black limousine had pulled up at the main entrance, and a very important looking man got out. He talked for a few minutes with the soldiers who were posted there, then got back into his car and was driven away. About ten minutes later, Steve's mobile phone rang. The sound made everyone freeze where they were. "Don't answer it daddy," Shelley begged.
"It might be one of the people who worked at Star Labs," Steve said, picking it up. "Hello," Steve said, into the phone. He was holding it away from his ear so that Clare could listen in.
"Please don't hang up Mr. Forester," came the stranger's voice. "My name is General Hammond, and I've been looking for you for the past few days."
"Were they your men I saw arriving at my house General?" Steve asked.
"No Mr. Forester, they were Carter's men, I'm glad you were smart enough to evade them, I have them in custody even as we speak."
"And what about Carter and Vinkle?" Steve quizzed.
"Hmm, I was rather hoping you could help me out there. They've both disappeared and I have no idea where they are."
"Try the launch-pad General, they're heading for the ship."
"Are you sure about that Mr. Forester?"
"Count on it General, I know what they're up to."
The caller was silent for a moment and then said, "Mr. Forester, I realise that this may be difficult for you, but I need to speak with you about a private matter, it's not something I can discuss over the phone, will you meet me somewhere?"
Clare looked anxious, "It could be a trap she whispered."
"I don't think so Sweetie," Steve said, following his gut instinct. "Sure General, I'll meet up with you."
"Where and when?" General Hammond asked. "Let's say Star Labs in fifteen minutes."
"Good, and thank you Mr. Forester."
The phone went dead.
"Oh well, we'll know just what's going on in a little while." Steve announced.
"Do be careful daddy." Shelley insisted as she hugged him tightly.
"Yes, do." Clare added.
Steve collected his coat and left.
"Right kids," Clare said, "let's get everything packed up in case we need to leave in a hurry." The young foresters obeyed, as usual, and Rufus stood guard at the door.
❧
Steve arrived at the Star Labs main entrance just as the big black limousine pulled up. A rear window went down and a friendly voice said, "Mr. Forester? Please get in." Steve got into the limo' and it pulled away.
General Hammond looked every inch a General. Unlike Carter, who looked more like a crook than a soldier.
"How can I help you General?" Steve asked.
"It's like this Mr. Forester."
"Please call me Steve, General, everybody does."
"Thank you, Steve, it's like this. We've been aware of a covert operation, code named cuckoo, for some time now, but until recently, we had no idea what its motives were. A recent discovery seems to have triggered them into action."
"Carter and Vinkle are part of this I assume General."
"Yes, that's right Steve. We think Carter is the master mind behind it, with Vinkle as his puppet."
"Makes sense, Carter never did strike me as being a real General."
"You're right again Steve, he isn't, but somehow he managed to fool the top brass into thinking he was useful to them, and he worked his way into the Moon Base Alpha project. That's been his goal all along, to infiltrate the project. He found a way in via Vinkle who proved to be an easy target for him to subvert."
"We now know that Cuckoo is a plot to take over Moon Base Alpha, and use it for their own ends, we didn't know, however, to what lengths they would go in order to achieve this-"
"You mean the explosion," Steve interrupted.
"Smart man Steve, I can see you've already worked it out. They sabotaged an old Russian storage facility to throw the world into a panic. They hoped this would buy some time for them to bring about their escape, but they hadn't reckoned on being found out so soon. We were able to upset their plans still further by arresting some of the lower order operatives, but Vinkle and Carter have eluded us. What makes you think they're heading for the launch-pad?"
"It's the only safe place General...There's no virus on the moon! We have to stop them before they get there or all is lost."
The General thought for a moment and then closed the dividing window between themselves and the driver.
"Steve, what I am about to tell you is top secret, only myself, the President and a few highly trusted others know about it." He paused. "Have you heard of Lark?"
"No, can't say that I have General, what is it?"
"It's the final solution Steve, the last resort, the place where the buck stops for good, if you like. Lark, is short for Lunar Ark."
General Hammond paused for it to sink in.
"We've known for years that something like this virus leak could happen. Either theirs or ours, it was only a matter of time before there was some sort of accident, or act of terrorism.
"Some ten years ago I began plans for Lark, heavily disguised as just a space station on the moon's surface, but we've been secretly shipping stuff up there for years. Dr. Peebles, a brilliant mind, discovered a way to search for water on the moon, and it worked. We've found water, Steve, deep inside the Moon's crust. It's ice and it's everywhere. Pure water stored for millions of years just waiting to be discovered. The MBA project included a secret section on botany; your wife's research was used as the basis for this whole section. Her discovery of that high-oxygen producing plant, and her work on other hybrids made it all possible. A hybrid of that plant now exists on the Moon in vast quantities. Her discoveries in the desert plants also helped: a hybrid of a high-oxygen producing plant, and a very low-water using plant was developed; we call it B37A+. It's there now growing like wild fire. With enough water it grows at an astronomical rate."
He paused again.
"Steve, the moon is getting an atmosphere. Carter and Vinkle didn't know this until recently, when a report came in of a green mould growing on the Moon's surface. We estimate that in another twenty years, the moon will have a breathable atmosphere comparable to that on Earth."
"Wow General, that takes some swallowing. So Lark is a success."
"Yes, Steve it is, but we need someone to oversee its development, someone who really understands plants."
"You mean Clare."
"Yes, we do. We think that you, the Forester family, would be perfect to populate Lark. There are others who would be there with you, of course, from various walks of life, but all with a specialised knowledge that would be a benefit to Lark. It's quite literally, the Ark Steve, a remnant of the human race preserved."