Chapter 3

"Moonbase Alpha, this is Ape City One, requesting landing instructions." Alan Carter's voice came through clearly on Yasko's console in Command Center.

"Ape City One?" inquired Tony Verdeschi, with an incredulous look.

"Alan's idea. The swift is carrying Earth's only known head of state, after all." answered Koenig, with a wry grin..

"Ape City One, you are cleared for launch pad three. And on behalf of Moonbase Alpha, welcome" responded Yasko. Koenig watched the view screen as the Santa Maria made a flawless touchdown. "Well, shall we go meet the ape delegation?" Koenig said to his wife, Helena standing beside him. Before she could answer, Koenig toggled his intercom.

"Koenig to reception committee. Report to Travel Tube three immediately." By the time Koenig and Helena arrived at the travel tube juncture, Victor Bergman and Tony Verdeschi were already there. Koenig frowned when he saw Eddie Collins from Hydroponics. He had asked Shermeen Williams to be here, as head of her section. Before he could he ask Collins where Shermeen was, a chime signaled the arrival of the travel car.

The door opened and out walked President Honorius, accompanied by five apes, three of whom he recognized. Koenig still had to conceal a bit of shock at seeing apes walking upright and speaking perfect English. Although he thought he had accustomed himself to the idea, seeing these apes within the modern confines of Moonbase Alpha brought him up short. Nevertheless, his greeting was warm and genuine.

"Mr. President, welcome to Moonbase Alpha." said Koenig, extending his hand. The middle-aged orangutan shook Koenig's hand in the human fashion. "I trust you had a smooth flight?"

"Yes, thanks to your most able pilot." said Honorius. "I believe you know most of my advisors.." Koenig bowed in turn to the orangutans Mandemus and Zaius, and to the chimpanzee's Marcus, and Dr. Zira. All seemed genuinely pleased, except for Zaius who returned a slight bow and a tight smile, almost a grimace. "Captain..excuse me, Major Marcus. Good to see you again." Even their rank insignia's match those of most Earth militaries! How strange.

"Commander Koenig, this is Lieutenant Colonel Aldo, our representative from the armed forces." said Honorius, indicating the quiet but large gorilla standing next to him. Aldo bowed, but did not offer his hand. Whatever his private thoughts, his face revealed nothing.

"Shall we proceed with the tour?" inquired Koenig.

"Yes, by all means. I am sure my fellow apes have a thousand questions already," responded Honorius, as Koenig led them down the hallways towards their first stop. As they walked, Koenig noted that all of Honorius' retinue fairly gaped at the sights and sounds of Alpha, whereas Honorius himself maintained a steady, neutral expression. No, this was not a creature to be taken lightly, all the more because he was in complete control of himself.

"So by using various chemicals in this solution, you are actually able to grow plants without soil?" asked Mandemus in amazement.

"Yes, and in sufficient quantity to provide our population with fresh vegetables every day." answered Eddie Collins with some pride. "The technique has been known on Earth for hundreds of years, and as Man started colonies in space, it was the only way we could provide fresh fruits and vegetables for our crews." As Collins was speaking, Koenig took a moment to look into Shermeen's office. Empty. Koenig scowled.

"Fascinating." said Mandemus, bending over to examine a long row of tomato plants with their roots immersed in a bath of Hoagland solution.

"Mister President, please excuse me for the moment. I have some business I need to attend to. Professor Bergman will take over." He gestured to Victor, who smiled and nodded as he led the ape delegation out of the Hydroponics section.

"Commander, I'm sorry for not showing up at the.."

"Sorry doesn't cut it, Shermeen." retorted Koenig, cutting her off. "This behavior is unacceptable for a department head! First, you extend your stay at Sursum Corda without permission. Then, you turn off your commlock. And now, you skip out of an important assignment here on Alpha!." Koenig delivered this rebuke while pacing back and forth behind his desk, as Shermeen sat silently.

"Well, lets have it. What's your explanation?" prompted Koenig.

What came next surprised Shermeen as much as it did Koenig. Later, she could hardly believe the words escaped her. She took a deep breath, and stood up, looked Koenig in the eye and said "Sir, I resign."

"What?"

"I resign from Moonbase Alpha. I want to live at Sursum Corda."

"Now wait just a minute.." began Koenig.

"No, you asked me for an explanation Commander. Its really very simple. I want to go home. I was never assigned to Moonbase Alpha, I was supposed to be a guest here for three weeks. I was sixteen at Breakaway!" said Shermeen. "Now I'm twenty-two. I've spent my whole adult life here, and I've had enough. Sursum Corda, it has… " she paused , as Koenig waited, transfixed, because this was so out of character for Shermeen. "They are a family there. There is love and peace. I .. I went to mass and confession, for the first time in almost seven years. There is a school with little children, whose minds are like sponges. They need a teacher. They need me Commander, and I want to go there. I need to go there." she concluded.

"Shermeen, you are going home. Tomorrow morning, Phase I of Operation Exodus begins. Our whole goal for the past six years has been to give ourselves, and humanity, a whole new start. You're supposed to be a big part of that. We need you here." said Koenig.

"Commander, Moonbase Alpha is not the future of humanity. It has a role to play, yes. But I cannot be a part of it anymore. I am scheduled to make Earthfall on Eagle Five tomorrow morning. I want to go to Sursum Corda."

Before Koenig could respond, the intercom on his desk chimed. It was Victor.

"John, we're done with the tour and we're headed for the Anderson Lounge."

"All right, I'll join you shortly." said Koenig, and signed off. He turned to Shermeen.

"We'll resume this discussion later." Koenig reached for his commlock.

"Commander, before you make any decisions I only ask one thing: read my report." Before Koenig could answer, Shermeen turned on her heels and left. Koenig looked down at the folder on his desk with the innocuous sounding title, 'Report on the Sursum Corda Community of British Columbia. Shermeen Williams'.

George Crato smiled with anticipation as he set his tray down on the cafeteria table. Since the truce that Koenig had brokered with the apes was holding, Moonbase Alpha was, for the first time since before Breakaway, getting semi-regular shipments of fresh food. George barely remembered to give thanks before digging in. He didn't even bother with a spoon as he picked up his half grapefruit and bit down, sucking on the red flesh. He inwardly sighed as his throat was bathed in the tart juices. After sucking the grapefruit dry, he put down the rind and reached for his fork. Eggs and bacon awaited his attention.

"At this rate, I think I'm going to have a lot more work to keep me busy." said Harlan Dawson, Alpha's only resident dentist, after sipping his coffee and looking around at the cafeteria full of happy people. Meal times at Moonbase Alpha usually consisted of such uninspired fare as soya steaks, steamed vegetables, and the occasional "lunar mushroom", the last of which, while rich in many essential vitamins and proteins, grew tiresome after awhile. Today though, Alphans were not merely keeping hunger at bay. They were truly enjoying their food for the first time in a long time. The smell of freshly percolated coffee was once again part of the background aroma of the base.

"Idle hands are the devil's playground, Harlan." said Crato between bites of fresh bacon. "Next, you'll be warning me about cholesterol."

"Hmm." answered Dawson. "Its these fresh fruits that worry me. We're not used to it. That acid will eat the enamel off your teeth like dish liquid on grease. I used to have a lot of migrant farm workers as patients, and the bosses let them eat the substandard oranges as they worked. Good God! I've never seen so many cavities in grown men before!"

"But I'll bet their colons were in great shape." rejoinded Crato. "Life is all about trade-offs, Doc." Before Dawson could muster an answer for that, Crato noticed Shermeen Williams walking into the cafeteria.

"Shermeen!" he called out. "How did things go at Sursum Corda?" Shermeen walked right by his table without pausing to look. That was odd, George thought to himself. Shermeen was usually the most affable member of their social group, if you could call it that. Now, she walked by him as though in a daze. He shared a puzzled look with Dawson. The three of them often dined together, and participated in Bible study. Although their religious backgrounds were diverse, with Crato a Coptic Christian and Dawson a Baptist, they often found more to draw them together than separate them, cut off as they all were from any clergy or, in Cratos's case, any co-religionists.

"Hey!" This time he waved his hands and raised his voice. It worked. Shermeen smiled vaguely and walked over to George's table, carrying a Spartan breakfast of toast and orange juice. George pulled out a chair for her.

"Shermeen, how did things go down there?" asked Dawson.

"I just gave my report to the Commander. I don't know what he's going to do with it, though." said Shermeen.

"There are a lot of rumors going around, but with so much going on, everyone has been to busy to think much about it." prompted Crato. "Alibe was telling me that Dave Reilly was talking about some sort of religious community down there? It all sounds so fantastic, though. How could such a small, isolated colony survive untouched for two-thousand years?"

Shermeen finally looked up from her plate, and gathered herself before answering. "Guys, I don't know where to begin." They both leaned forward, and listened.