Discovering Alien Technology Part Two
Copyright© 2026 by GMet
Chapter 12
The rest of September went by quick as space craft got built, space port buildings got erected and a new house started taking shape. I split my time between all three sites; Winnipeg, the house and increasingly at the space port as AddlerSix and then AddlerThree arrived. With my test coordinator and my agency coordinator now both in school, I took over coordination with the CSA, though I just told them what I was doing rather than spending a lot of time with them. The AMDS and AMIS probes got into their positions in an orderly fashion and we experimented on the chosen asteroid with single probes and then combining them. Both the rail guns and the lasers cut off significant portions of the large asteroid which altered it’s course enough to assume we had a solution. We had the military in and we tried a couple of the warhead equipped probes on the remaining chunk but it only slightly altered it’s course and made some surface scars. We then concentrated several lasers to create a deeper hole and then exploded another probe deeper inside the asteroid, a la the movies for last decade. It did fracture the asteroid in two and they drifted apart and had different trajectories afterwards. Everyone was pleased with all of the results and the fact that we had a potential solution to asteroids and meteoroids should they be on a collusion course with earth or one of our future stations or space ports.
More probes were launched to fill in any gaps on our sphere of AMDS probes and a slew of AMIS probes were put into orbit around Mars, Jupiter and the moon to be prepared for the worst. The remaining members of the CSA team took over the monitoring of all the data from the probes and also ran simulations to improve the response time and destruction of inbound objects. Obviously, Base and I were monitoring all activities and would know before that team but it gave them something to be a part of.
The AddlerSix was tested on the ground first, just sitting on the vertical launch pad to fire the AIPS rockets and then it was allowed to hover a bit to ensure that it could descend in a controlled matter. We went higher and higher and then moved it away from the launch pad when it was in the air and then had the pilots find their way back. Next it landed on a bare patch of land to see what the AIPS ion flames would do to the AddlerSix’s plates and the surrounding area. We had a couple emergency trucks standing by just in case. There was a lot of dust and dirt thrown up and the exhaust covered the bottom of the ship as it rebounded from the surface but didn’t do any damage when we inspected it later.
There were the usual proofing out the seals and airlocks as well as lowering the bay door to let out the small rover. The larger rover would travel in the bottom bay of AddlerThree so the astronauts could ride in that while the smaller rover was to be used to explore remotely. It had cameras, sensors and a robot arm to pick up samples. Both rovers went through offroad testing to ensure ruggedness and functionality. I had fun driving it around the construction site edges that weren’t level or smooth.
AddlerThree was also put through the wringer on the ground to certify for flight in Winnipeg before flying to the space port here in Dryden and landing on the new runway. Once there, everything was checked again before a schedule of flights over Northern Canada were made to ensure no issues in atmospheric conditions.
Once we had the green light from CSA and the Ministry of Transport, we had the robots P1 and P2 fly the AddlerThree by itself into space, doing some orbits around earth and then coming back to land. After each flight, the team of robots, the CSA team, as well as dad and I, went over the space ship with a fine tooth comb. The coating was inspected and, while there were a few pits from microscopic collisions with space particles, no flaws were found. Even so, we decided to recoat it once more before the actual moon jaunt, just to be safe.
AddlerSeven, the firefighting craft, was next to be finished and get certified in Winnipeg before it’s first flight to Dryden. It landed on the new runway with no issues and we immediately started test flights. The first few were just empty flights at different altitudes and then we started filling the tank with water from hoses. Takeoffs with the tank a quarter, half, three-quarters and then full happened with no issues. It took P3 and P4 a few trials to make passes with water to hit targets we put in Rice Lake but eventually they got their aim and timing corrected and the water was distributed along the target area every time afterwards. They then practiced picking up water from the lake, first just skimming above the lake a couple times and then finally dipping the collector apparatus into the water. It only took about fifteen seconds to fill the tank, but it held a lot of water.
When everyone thought they were ready, they were sent to northern Alberta, to help with a stubborn wildfire that the people there couldn’t get out or get under control. Dad went along to coordinate, along with a ministry rep and it only took three passes to put the fire out in about three hours. They moved on to British Columbia and helped put out another wildfire in quick fashion. We congratulated everyone when they came back the next day and the Canadian-Addler Firefighting Service was born. The partnership took over the coordination but the pilots and the craft was ours.
While all of that was going on, I still had time to visit the new house build as the foundations were set and framing was just about completed. The roof joists were being put on and an aluminum roof would be next to be installed and then coated with our formula. Inside, plumbing and electrical wiring was being done as well as the heating and cooling systems and ductwork. We were trying to beat the cold and snow that was fast approaching so the outer walls and insulation were up and coated and then the native rock rather than bricks were being laid. Windows and doors were also being installed to keep the weather and the animals out so by the end of September, the house was secure from the weather. I helped where I could and decided to build the deck on the side facing the lake, with the help of some robots of course. We had the posts attached to the bedrock pilons we had left when grinding out the bedrock and then mounted the frame to the posts and the ledger board mounted flush to the house. Once the frame was secure, it was easy to put the decking on top and screw it all down before building the railings and steps. When it was all done, we sprayed top and bottom with a variation of our coating, making it clear but still just as strong. We did the same with the finished stone outer walls to keep them looking new and add another level to our house defences.
So, a busy September led the way into an equally busy October. AddlerFour was being built in Winnipeg’s large hanger as well as version two of AddlerEight. The space port at Dryden was completed on the outside with only the interiors of the main buildings to be finished. The emergency vehicles as well as snow and ice melt trucks moved into one of the hangers between the runways as well as CSA and the Ministry of Transport into their building, including the new control tower. We started making several fighters in one of our hangers on our side of the runway and another AddlerFour in a second hanger. The third hanger was where we started making sections for the space port on the moon, to be carried up by one of the AddlerFours in a month or two.
Saturday, October fourth, AddlerThree was launched from the new runway with AddlerSix in it’s upper bay and the large rover in it’s bottom cargo hold. We decided to only have robots on this flight to test out both space ships and equipment without having excessive danger to human astronauts. There were four additional robots sitting in the emergency pod seats as well as P1 and P2 as the two pilots in the cockpit, with P3 and P4 ready to pilot the AddlerSix. The whole family was in our new headquarters at the space port, in a large conference-sized room designated the control room. Large screens lined the walls and several work stations took up portions of the middle of the room. There were audience chairs like a theatre in front of the screens for people to just watch and listen. I took a work station and coordinated with CSA and Ministry of Transport at other work stations for the flight notifications and clearing of the airspace in our launch area. There were a few Canadian observers in the chairs but surprisingly there wasn’t a big demand for seats. The launch had been publicized and the CBC as well as CTV and Global were all showing the launch live and then would also show our feeds when the AddlerSix went down to the surface of the moon and the robots broke out the rover.
At precisely nine am eastern time, we had P1 and P2 take off in AddlerThree with a roar that we could hear from inside our building. Once clear of the runway and a few thousand feet above ground level, they went vertical while keeping the power on full. It only took a couple minutes for them to climb out of the atmosphere and into space. After one orbit around the earth, we aligned the space craft to the trajectory to meet up with the moon on it’s orbit around Earth and took off at full speed. We relaxed for a bit as all we had to do was monitor the ship’s thrusters, power consumption and other consumables. There were cameras inside watching the pilots and the passenger robots as well as several showing space from various viewpoints out of the craft. In less than two hours we were orbiting the moon and then launching the AddlerSix out of the bay with three robots inside while the fourth helped the smaller space craft exit the bay. Once AddlerSix was away, the bay doors closed and the video changed to the AddlerSix cockpit and it’s views out their windows.
P3 was designated the pilot while P4 read out altitude and other readings as they descended to the surface. We had picked a place no one had visited before, close to the equator on a relatively flat area near a mountain range. The exact location wasn’t set as surface conditions would dictate where the craft could land without tipping over or resting on a too big of an angle. Unlike the Apollo missions, we had much better control of the craft and had better sensors to confirm the surface condition. We also had power to spare so we didn’t have to settle for a less than adequate landing site before we ran out of fuel for the rockets to get back to the ship in orbit. We were all spellbound as the AddlerSix slowed down their decent, moved a bit to get to a relatively flat surface and then fired their thrusters to slow even more before the wheels touched the surface of the moon.
“Addler Control, this is AddlerSix, we have touched down on the surface of the moon at Eleven-thirty-Five am EST on October fourth, two thousand and twenty-five,” P4 announced.
“AddlerSix, this is Addler Control, we concur and congratulate you on a fine feat of flying,” I responded.
“Thank you Addler Control,” P4 responded. “We are securing AddlerSix and then will launch RoverOne for a reconnaissance mission before we exit the space craft for our first EVA.”
“Roger AddlerSix,” I agreed.
Reece and Sage had come home from school to be present for the launch and Reese insisted on meeting with the media in our press room for the launch. They were getting our video stream about a minute after we reviewed it in case something happened or company secrets were revealed. About ten minutes after AddlerSix landed, she came in and got me to speak at the press conference. I was surprised at how many people were in the room. We had made it to sit fifty people plus six camera crews in behind, but it looked like an additional fifty people were standing along both sides and the back of the room.
“I have the pleasure of introducing the President of Addler Enterprises, Ben Addler,” Reece said into the microphone at the podium before stepping aside to sit at the table beside the podium.
“Thank you, Miss Owens,” I said to her before continuing, “and thank you all for coming to the launch of AddlerThree, our new space craft built to explore the moon and Mars. As you have just watched, AddlerSix, a smaller space craft designed to get our robots or astronauts down to the surface, has just landed on the moon. Our robots are preparing our small rover to explore the nearby area before the robots do an EVA to further map the area. We’re trying to determine if that area can be developed as a space port so that the AddlerThree can land and then other space craft. We’ll need a runway at some point and then we’ll start making a base with our large AddlerFour cargo ships bringing in supplies and prefabricated sections.”
I stopped to let that sink in before continuing.
“So, once we’ve got a second area scoped out and cleared of any debris or hazardous ridges or cracks, AddlerThree will descend and do a vertical descent and land just like AddlerSix. We designed AddlerThree with the ability to do both a horizontal and vertical launch and landing just for this reason. Once on the ground, we’ll lower the ramp, drive out the larger rover, RoverTwo, and start a further explore of the area. It even has a blade to see if we can clear a long enough path on the surface to use as a temp runway to take off on. If not, we’ll go back up vertically. In the meantime, the robots will further explore the advantages of building a base on this flat with the ridges behind it for protection. At this time that’s all I have for in terms of what’s going on and what our immediate plans are for this mission. I’ll take a few questions before I have to get back to the control room.”
“What are your long term plans for the moon and beyond?” a quick reporter asked.
“We’ll build a permanent runway and a base on the moon to allow us to provide a transportation service to others that want to build their own colonies on the moon,” I responded. “Then we’ll do the same on Mars next year. After that we’re building a space station at one of the LaGrange points, we’re not sure which one at this point. The station will allow other space craft to dock and get repaired. It will also allow for the building of pure spacecraft that don’t need to enter or exit a planet’s atmosphere and all the issues that entails.”
“What else are you doing on the moon or Mars?” another one asked.
“We have no other plans at this time,” I answered. “I might like to explore them but that would just be a personal thing.”
“You’re not going to make a bigger settlement on either?” a third inquired.
“No, I’m leaving that to others,” I told them. “Countries and groups are welcome to do what they want, as long as they live peacefully. We’re just providing transportation and supplies at our space ports.”
“How would you regulate everything?” asked another.
“I don’t have those answers at this time,” I admitted. “I suppose we would restrict weapons on our flights,” I stated. “Anyone who isn’t peaceful doesn’t get supplies brought in and will have to leave could be another way to keep things peaceful. I don’t have all those answers and I suppose we’ll have to make up a charter at some point.”
“What’s to stop others from flying to the moon or Mars?” a further question was asked.
“Nothing, if they can make a spaceship to get there,” I replied. “Why bother if they can just get a ride on one of mine for much less? I want people to branch out from earth so we don’t have all the issues of overpopulating that are already occurring. Everything Addler Enterprises does is to help humanity, from pollution control, robots to help everyone, better batteries for cars, home and industry, robot surgery units, robot limb replacement and space ships to get us out into the solar system and beyond.”
“When are humans going to the moon?” the first reporter asked.
“Before the end of the year for sure,” I replied. “It could be as soon as next week but we might want the runway built as well as some temporary shelters erected before we go.”
“Are you really only fifteen?” asked a woman reporter.
“Yes, for about three months or so,” I answered. “With that, I must get back to mission control. If you have other questions, Miss Reece Owens can either answer them or will get you the answers with a bit of time. Again, thank you for coming to the launch.”
I quickly exited the room while the reporters still shouted questions at me. While I was gone, the small rover had been guided down the ramp onto the surface of the moon. The robots remotely drove it around under Base’s guidance to map out the surface in expanding circles. It altered course around rocks, crevises and small meteor impact craters so that we could add all of it to our detailed CAD model of the area. Obviously, we would remove the rocks and stones and see what we could do to fill in the others for a temp runway and then lay down a permanent one with materials we brought up or fused with the existing moon dust to harden it.
Once a long stretch perpendicular out from the ridgeline was mapped, the robots emerged from the AddlerSix and started the process of clearing any stones, protrusions and filling in the crevices so that the AddlerThree could land vertically to start and maybe take off horizontally when they were ready to leave. A couple hours later P1 and P2 brought AddlerThree down for a vertical landing in a cleared out area near AddlerSix. Significant dust was still blown around by the time it touched down.
“Addler Control, this is AddlerThree, we have landed on the moon,” P2 announced.
“AddlerThree, this is Addler Control, we confirm your landing on the moon. Congratulations”, I responded.
“Thank you Addler Control,” P2 replied. “We are shutting down and then we’ll unload the rover to continue clearing the runway before we further explore the area.”
“Roger, AddlerThree,” I responded.
We watched the video from the AddlerSix and AddlerThree showing the activities and then switched to the rover video as it made it’s way out of the lower area and started clearing the runway with the blade lowered to just above the surface to snag the rocks first.
Unbeknownst to anyone else, several extra robots and a tunnel cutter were unloaded from the lower bay and moved to the ridge while Base made sure the cameras and microphones weren’t on in that area. They hid everything in a nearby valley and would start the tunnelling process into the ridge once AddlerThree left. After the runway was cleared and other discovered crevices were filled, two robots did a further explore of the area, going out farther from the ridge and then back to explore the ridge area, obviously avoiding the valley with our hidden equipment. We checked the videos and then let the media see them. We didn’t have a detailed or extensive agenda on this first visit. It was meant to just prove out the two craft, the rovers and the ability of the robots to work in space and on the moon in the various temperatures and the dusty atmosphere kicked up from the ships landing. After that, we wanted to ensure a good landing spot for both craft and then develop the runway for takeoff and further landings. We would bring a few moon rock and dust samples to share with scientists at the CSA.
Obviously, the drilling of tunnels to start the base building into the ridge and farther down below the surface was also on our agenda but didn’t need to be advertised or have the craft stay on the surface longer than necessary. We didn’t have any surface materials to build any shelters for the rovers so, when we were done with the exploration, we loaded the rovers back into each space craft. AddlerSix took off and then hovered over AddlerThree and allowed the arm to grab it as they lowered themselves into the upper bay. The robots helped get it in position and tied down and then the upper bay door was closed and locked. One last look around for any leftover debris and then the robots that everyone knew about got inside and prepared for a horizontal launch. The countdown was done and at zero, the AddlerThree launched down the makeshift runway and was quickly off the surface, climbing swiftly out into space.
“Addler Control, AddlerThree is off the surface successfully using a horizontal launch and is now heading out to space for an orbit around the moon before we head back to earth,” P2 stated.
“AddlerThree, this is Addler Control, congratulations on the horizontal takeoff,” I responded. “Have a safe flight and see you in a couple hours back at the Dryden Space Port.”
“Roger Addler Control,” P2 said.
Reece corralled me again and we walked back to the press room.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, Ben Addler,” Reece introduced me again.
“Our time on the moon is over and was a full success,” I started out. “AddlerThree vertically landed, unloaded a full size rover which was used to clean a path for the makeshift runway, removing any stones, rocks and filling in crevices. After that was done, it explored and mapped the flat region and then also moved to the ridge to video and scan the ridge. Finally, both rovers were loaded back up into their respective crafts, AddlerSix was loaded in the AddlerThree and then they took off horizontally, using the temporary runway they created on the surface. AddlerThree is now doing an orbit around the moon and then will fly back here to finish our first mission to the moon’s surface. Once AddlerThree lands, we’ll do a full inspection of both craft and then determine our next steps. Questions?”
“This mission was short and not much was accomplished,” one of the reporters stated. “Why didn’t you do more?”
“I’ll have to correct you on your statement, we accomplished a lot,” I rebutted. “We landed two space craft during the same mission, established a landing site for vertical landings, created a runway and then explored the area. Next we loaded everything back up and took off horizontally on the surface of the moon, something never done before. The exploration and scans of the area will determine if we build our space port there or not. So, we accomplished everything we set out to do and did it in less than six hours. We’re efficient and right on schedule. We’re very happy with the mission so far.”
“What are the next steps?” another reporter asked.
“Inspect both craft once they land, repair any issues, probably recoat them and then plan a mission with humans,” I answered. “We’ll probably also send the AddlerFour up there at the same time with building supplies as well as supplies needed for a longer duration stay for the humans. A space port will be built and the runway surface will be improved. Once the lodgings, storage and repair facilities are built, we’ll start our service to the moon.”
“When do you think you’ll have your space port ready to accept visitors?” was the next inquiry.
“Early next year on the moon and before the end of that year on Mars,” I responded. “AddlerFour cargo craft are being built now that will carry all the building materials, supplies and consumables we’ll need.”
“How much will you charge?” someone asked.
“We haven’t determined our cost model yet,” I answered.
“When do you go to Mars?” was asked.
“We will go back to the moon first to get the base started and then have the human trip,” I stated. “After that, we’ll have the robot team go to Mars in AddlerThree and we’ll pick a place to land and hopefully create a temporary runway and repeat the same missions. If I had to guess, our first mission to Mars could happen in the first quarter of next year.”
“Will you be building other bases beside your space ports?” asked another.
“At this time no, but if our base build goes well, I suppose we could offer that as a service to others,” I replied. “We probably won’t be mining though if we find rare materials, we might investigate and then determine how to proceed.”
“Isn’t that against treaties?” was the next question.
“I’m not sure but we’re a privately held company, not a country,” I said. “If we bring back anything, it will be to Canada and we’ll work out how things are handled with the government here. I don’t know if there are any rules for all of this so we’ll have to decide how things will be handled in the future.”
“Are you going to share your finds with the world?” a woman asked.
“Any knowledge of the moon and Mars will be shared for the betterment of all humans,” I responded.
After a few more of the same questions, I thanked them for their time and questions and left the room again.
We all had some food while waiting for AddlerThree to get back and then I just went through all the data we received about the area on the moon we explored. It looked stable with the ridge being hard rock rather than fractured or porous. We would know for sure in a day or so when they started drilling into the ridge. Any of the rock dug out would be used to fill crevices in the runway or the surrounding area where we would put up buildings. The tunnels would be attached to one building as a storage and safety area to escape to if the building was compromised.
Buildings was really a misnomer; we would be putting up domes or half moon structures more like hangers than brick and mortar normal buildings. Some would act as hangers for the space craft for storage or repair, while others would be partitioned for various usages. The material for the domes would be the material we developed for our windshields and windows for our space craft, which we knew would handle the cold of space and be strong enough to resist small meteor hits. We would spray our coating on everything and then add force field shields for every building to further protect them. AMDS and AMIS probe systems would be deployed to detect and destroy asteroids and meteoroids before they got close.
Eventually AddlerThree called in to let us know they were entering Earth’s atmosphere and making their way to Canada. Minutes later they were on approach and made a perfect landing on the new runway and coming to a stop outside the new main hanger.
“Addler Control, AddlerThree has landed,” P2 announced.
“AddlerThree, this is Addler Control, welcome back and congratulations on a perfect mission to the moon and back to the Dryden Space port,” I responded.
“Thank you Addler Control,” P2 replied. “This is AddlerThree signing off.”
I shook hands or had hugs with everyone in the room before we went outside to greet the robots and check over the AddlerThree. The moon rocks were already being unloaded as well as the rover out of the bottom bay while other robots were checking the outer surface for pitting or worse. I did a once around of the craft and found only one streak along the side where something put a small groove about a yard long into the coating. Luckily, it didn’t get into the titanium below, but it showed us that there were dangers to take into account going forward. I let Reece handle the final press question period before we packed everyone into a bus and dropped them off at the Dryden airport side to get to wherever they wanted to go next. I had the robots do an extensive run through all the buildings to see if any listening or video bugs were installed or attempts to get into our networks. All the garbage was removed and the rooms swept and we did find a couple cameras with audio capabilities put in the press room, the washrooms and even one that got into the control room.
Once the AddlerThree was in the hanger and the AddlerSix lifted out of the top bay, we decided to call it a day. Pizza and wings were picked up and we all had supper back home. We split up after supper and the older sisters spent the night with the younger sisters while I took the den.
Sunday morning I jogged over to the new house site and used a key to unlock the front door. Robots were working on the floor tiles in the front alcove and through to the kitchen, laundry room and bathroom areas. In the kitchen, the cupboards were installed and the sink and dishwasher plumbed in. There was a big island in the middle with a large food prep area on top and drawers underneath. Blank spaces awaited the fridge, stove and dishwasher but they should be delivered next week along with the washer and dryer. I checked out the pantry with it’s empty shelves and the laundry room with the big sink installed and plumbing connections ready before moving on to the rest of the rooms on the main floor. The rest of the rooms all had hardwood floors laid down and already had our special coating to keep them scratch free. The windows were also all installed, specially made from our compound for extra security and safety. The drywall had a coat of primer on and the electrical plugs and switches were present waiting for covers after the painting was completed. The downstairs washroom was big with a long counter and two sinks and a nice toilet, all plumbed and ready to be used.