My abandoned Fake News/Space 1999 fic

So I found this draft for the Fake News/Space 1999 Cross-over I was at one point planning to write. It's basically a re-telling of the first episode Breakaway, with Fake News characters cast in the main roles. I had just read the re-boot comic book Aftershock and Awe so it's very inspired by that.

In the role of John Koenig: Jon Stewart. As in most fanfic, Jon is the commander, the leader, the, dare I say it, Alpha male. Because let's face it, that's how fandom sees him. 



When the Space Station came into view Jon sat up in attention.
 

”Corporal, is that the Meta probe in dock?”

 

It was a stupid question but she seemed relieved to break the silence of the long flight. ”It is, Commander. The astronauts have continued their daily training flights during the quarantine.”

 

The quarantine and the Meta probe, the very two reasons that was bringing him back after all these years.

”Thank you, Corporal. How much further?”

”Not very far now, Commander. We'll be landing at Moonbase Alpha at twenty three hundred hours.”

 

***

 The seats in the travel pod were as comfortable as he remembered, and the pod made a soft whirring sound as it travelled through the tube.

 

Alpha. Jon was finally back on Alpha.

 

The Commissioner had told him to do everything in his power to ensure that the virus outbreak didn't interfere with the Meta probe mission. Making a manned landing on planet Meta before it disappeared out of reach was top priority. Nothing else mattered.

 

The pod decelerated smoothly and came to a halt. When the doors opened he found himself face to face with an old friend.

 

“Brian! I didn’t know you were stuck here as well.”

 

His old mentor shrugged elegantly, but it looked like he wasn’t too upset with the situation. “Yes, no incoming or outgoing traffic has been allowed since the quarantine started. With the exception of your Eagle, of course.”

Jon shook Brian’s outstretched hand. “I’m sorry to hear that. With a little luck you’ll be able to go home soon. As soon as the Lunar Commission is confident that the virus infection is under control they’ll lift the quarantine.”

Brian gave him a curious look.

 

Jon shifted nervously. “What?”

“I’m not so sure it is a virus infection.”


“What do you mean it’s not a virus infection?”

“You know Alpha better than anyone, Jon. Most of these people have been under your command before and thrived. The Lunar Commission knows that you’re their best chance of getting us through the crisis, but I’m sure that’s not their only reason for sending you here.” He paused. “I think you need to talk to the CMO as soon as possible. Commander Kilborn has kept him from reporting any of his…findings.”

 

Jon sighed deeply. “I see civilian life hasn’t changed you, Brian. You’re as cryptic as always.”  

 

“And yet, you managed to learn most of what you know from me.”



I cast Brian in the role of the charming but eccentric Victor Bergman. He'd be less of a bad-ass  than he is in real life, but just as smart and likeable.

As you can see Jon has a history with this place of work, he knows the people and they're loyal to him. If anyone can sort this mess out it's him, simply by inspiring his staff to do better. This is again a very common theme in Fake News fic. 

And with Jon being the rightful leader, there is  of course also a false leader that he is replacing.



When they reached Main Mission a tall blond man came up to them. “Professor Williams,” he nodded politely to Brian before turning his full attention on Jon. “Commander Stewart. I think we both know the situation. You’ve no doubt had a tedious journey, so I’ll let you settle in. But before I leave, we should talk.”

 

Jon had waited for an outstretched hand to shake, and when it didn’t come he let his arms hang passively by his sides.

 

“I appreciate it, Commander Kilborn, and if it’s not too much you have to tell me, you can do it now. I wouldn’t want to interfere with your packing.”

 

“It really would be better if we talked in private.”

 

Next to him Brian cleared his throat. “Ah, Jon. I’ll let everyone know you’ve arrived. Come in when you’re ready.” He disappeared through the Main Mission doors.

 

The situation felt tense, so Jon smiled warmly. There was no point in kicking the man when he was down. “Commander, what is it you wanted to talk to me about?”

 

“Stewart, I don’t like you either, but you deserve to know what you’re dealing with. I have found that Dr. Colbert’s severe emotional problems affect his work. You see, he is the widower of Steve Carell, one of the scientists who were lost on the Saturn mission five years ago. This trauma has left him with certain prejudices that prevent him from doing his job.”

 

“Is that your professional opinion?”

“He is refusing to find a cure for the virus infection. Nine of my people have died so far, and if it weren’t for the fact that his father was President Kennedy’s Surgeon General, he’d have been replaced a long time ago.”

 

(I would like to take this moment to point out that had I finished this story, I would have employed an American beta reader to weed out the horrible UK-isms.)

Kilborn's the villain, as he generally is in fanfics, and here his sin is quite specific: disrespecting "Stephen".

Also, in the alternate timeline where Space 1999 takes place, JFK was never murdered, WWIII happened, followed by world peace and great scientific achievements. Long story short, in the 1980s Moonbase Alpha was built and space travel became generally available.

Also in this fic, "Stephen's" parents were pretty much the real Stephen's parents, except his father never died and became the Surgeon General instead. Also, same-sex marriage became a thing pretty early on.



Cue the scene where Jon enters Main Mission and meets his staff. There is the usual round of faces: Aasif is the controller, Sam and Jason work in the service section, John Oliver is the computer expert whose job it is to type data into the massive wall-to-wall computer and read its answers out loud. 

The staff are over-joyed to see True Leader Jon, of course. They're fed up with the lies that Earth has been feeding them and the out-of-touch leadership of Kilborn. They do let slip that they don't exactly trust their head doctor either. 


Now, the real CMO of Alpha was Dr Helena Russell, an extremely stone-faced serious person. Here it is Dr. Stephen T Colbert, actual MD and specialist in actual space medicine. 

I really like the idea of "Stephen" as conventionally brilliant in a scientific field. He's extremely intelligent and, uh, innovative in canon. In different circumstances it's not hard to imagine that he would challenge all that energy into educating himself. He'd still be clueless about countless other fields. Philosophy? History? How to function socially as a human being? Wish-washy, touchy-feely bogus disciplines.  

But understanding exactly how the human body works under a wide range of circumstances? That's easy. You just have to look at it! Also, performing difficult surgeries makes you important and he likes being important.


So Jon goes to see Dr. Colbert for the first time. Cue instant attraction.  Stephen is more interested in his instruments than his new boss and Jon is a bit taken back by the fact that his charm doesn't seem to work.

He confronts Stephen with Kilborn's accusation. Stephen replies that it's impossible to cure something that doesn't exist. The astronauts all have injuries consistent with radiation sickness, not viral infection. He shows Jon several slides of the victims' brains to prove his point. 


The comic book adaptation suggests that the leaving commander had an unrequited crush on Dr. Russell and decided to ruin her reputation in retaliation. Here, it would be a lot more direct. (Mostly because I like to see Stephen's virtue in peril. He is a precious bb and must be protected at all costs.)


Jon asks Stephen if he's tried to contact the Lunar Commission directly, and Stephen says that's probably why Kilborn's being replaced. Jon asks if Kilborn holds any grudge against Stephen. Stephen shrugs and says "He offered to let me blow him. I declined." 


Jon, being the decent human being that he is, is completely shocked at this piece of news, but Stephen is more interested in being proven right than being coddled. 


Jon decides it's time to talk to the Mission Leader.



The pilots’ rec room oversaw the hangar bay, fittingly enough. He found Captain Munn standing in front of the window.

 

After the brief exchange of pleasantries, Jon cut straight to the point. It was clear she had no idea what he was talking about.

 

“Radiation? Commander, we check the readings on Area 2 daily and there’s never been any radiation.”

 

“And yet, the workers who have died and the astronauts who are sick now have been injured by radiation.”

Olivia Munn was a top pilot and a seasoned soldier, which is probably why her only visible reaction was a slightly clenched jaw.

 

“Which of my men are sick?”

 

“Captain… are you telling me you haven’t told?”

Jon’s mind was reeling. Commander Kilborn had probably been scared to let the Lunar Commission know that the situation had escalated, but to not tell the mission leader herself? That was inexcusable.

 

“I’ll tell you everything in a minute. Just answer this; if we get the situation under control, are you and the back-up crew ready for launch?”

 

In the window behind Munn an Eagle was being lifted out of the assembly line by a large crane. The crane’s tracking light reflected off the window, illuminating her orange sleeve.

 

“Commander Stewart, this is probably mankind’s only realistic chance of making contact with an inhabitable planet. I have waited for a chance like this since I was a little girl dreaming about the space program. I’ll launch this probe even if it costs me my life.”

 

“Thank you, Captain. It’s my job to make sure it won’t cost you your life.”

 

Olivia is perfectly cast as Alan Carter. She's military through and through, yet is gutsy and adventurous enough to be a space explorer. She's an Unbroken Ace, and charming in a wholesome way.  She has a love child safely tucked away on Earth because she doesn't want to be a parent.  And yes, she rocks the uniform.   

Oh, didn't I tell you? The awesomely stylish unisex uniforms from the show are 100% unchanged in this story. (Seriously, the uniforms alone are worth watching the show for.) 


More exposition stuff happens and Jon quickly realises that nuclear waste (the Moon is basically the Earth's landfill at this point) has caused a massive build-up of magnetic radiation. The cunning politician arrives from Earth. Arguments are had. Olivia does some awesome piloting action.  A heroic attempt is made to disperse the nuclear waste before it blows up, but it fails.

The moon is blasted out of Earth's orbit. The Space Station is destroyed. Olivia's Eagle is sucked into the gravitational pull and she  manages to pilot her way back to the Moon.

John Oliver talks to Computer which gives its iconic reply: "Human Decision Required." 

As Commander, it's Jon's job to make the difficult choice not to try to evacuate. Neither of them will ever see Earth again.

Staying on Alpha means they have a chance of survival. But what kind of life will they have?


Everyone tries to process the loss of Earth in their own way. Some by repressing, others by crying or drinking. Sam and Jason are heart-broken about the daughter they left behind, but the last received transmission from Earth didn't mention New York as one of the affected cities so they take comfort in knowing she survived.


After he finally pulls himself away from Main Mission, Jon bumps into Stephen who has just finished patching up the crew members who were damaged during the explosion. Oddly enough, he seems completely unfazed by their unusual predicament.

Jon asks if it doesn't bother him that they'll never see Earth again. Stephen looks at him with surprise and says that this is the greatest scientific opportunity mankind has ever been faced with, that the Moon has been turned into a massive spaceship that will allow them to explore the universe. And besides, with Kilborn gone, he'll be able to do his work without constantly fearing being groped. And that's not an invitation, he says sternly, and Jon laughs despite the horrible situation they're in. 

Maybe with someone like Dr. Colbert on their side, they'll be able to do more than survive. 


The end.