John Koenig - Ultra Probe Mission and Reassignment

Ultra Probe Mission and Reassignment

Koenig first served on Moonbase Alpha as a senior astronaut in the Reconnaissance Section. He was one of the leading figures of the Ultra Probe mission. When Professor Victor Bergman discovered the planet Ultra in 1994, a long-range spacecraft was constructed to carry a crew of scientists to explore the planet. Koenig worked with Professor Bergman and his friend Tony Cellini on the project; Koenig and Cellini were the two leading candidates to serve as the probe's command pilot. To determine who would fly the probe, Koenig and Cellini tossed a data chip (in lieu of a coin) and Cellini won. After its departure on June 6, 1996, Koenig remained on Moonbase to co-ordinate the mission with the base's computers; he analysed the probe's navigational data and flight telemetry.

The Ultra Probe mission was a disaster; the vessel disappeared from sensor contact after passing behind the planet. Some months later, the probe's lifeboat was found drifting towards Earth with Cellini inside; he was barely alive. The three other crew members had disappeared. When he recovered, Cellini explained that when they arrived at Ultra, they found a graveyard of seemingly abandoned alien ships on the far side of the planet. They docked with one of the ships, and Cellini claimed that a terrifying "monster" had invaded the Ultra Probe and devoured his three crew mates alive; the creature appeared immune to conventional weapons. Cellini had barely escaped by separating the command module from the rest of the ship and using it as a lifeboat to return to Earth. Although Koenig and Professor Bergman believed Cellini, the internal black box aboard the command module failed to provide any evidence of Cellini's 'monster'. The conclusion of the inquiry was that Cellini had accidentally opened the airlock on the Ultra Probe, killed the crew and Cellini had subsequently suffered a mental breakdown. When both Koenig and Professor Bergman made an impassioned plea to Commissioner Dixon, a highly-placed official in the World Space Commission, to follow up with another probe to investigate Cellini's story, they were rebuked. Both Koenig and Bergman were grounded for a time, and Cellini was sent to a hospital on Earth for counseling and psychiatric evaluation. Although Cellini's story of a bizarre monster devouring his crew was widely disbelieved, Koenig continued to trust Cellini and believed his story. After being assigned Commander of Moonbase in September 1999, Koenig used his influence to have Cellini re-assigned to Alpha's Reconnaissance Section.