by P F Walsh
Every night for almost two weeks, the SIS drone had circled the warehouse district, watching the minimal comings and goings of customers to the all-night convenience store. It also scanned the warehouses and found no heat signatures of humanoid size. It became clear in counting the customers that the store could not operate at a profit staying open all night seven days a week. This led the investigators to look closely at the ownership. They found multiple layers of buying and selling the store to shade the real owner. The real owner was surprising, but lacking proof of any nefarious activity, was set aside.
Tonight, the drone was carefully watching as cars began to arrive at the convenience store, drop off one or two and leave for the next car to arrive. They all went into the store and did not come out. The cars drove away. The drone began a close scan of the warehouses and noticed that there was a large landcar parked in one of the small streets with the engine running. Only one heat source inside. The conclusion was this person was already inside one of the warehouses waiting.
The drone began scanning nearby warehouses and found a heat signature in one of them. This was joined by a series of arrivals from the tunnels until there was a sizable group inside. There was no mistaking which warehouse was the meeting point, and no mistaking who might be the leader. The plan was to allow the meeting to continue and finish. Hundreds of SIS and local police were now ready to move into place to grab each landcar as it exited the neighborhood. The sky was now full of dozens of drones, standing by to follow each car to the apprehension location, and to assure there was no mix-ups. The main drone reported that heat signatures were disappearing as they entered the tunnel and one was moving to go through an adjacent warehouse to the waiting landcar. Central monitoring at SIS headquarters was watching all this on a huge screen in the operations room. The call was made to close the whole area and apprehend everyone.
Twenty- seven men and their drivers were apprehended, and the leader in the landcar limousine as well. They were all transported back to SIS Headquarters where each one was locked in a separate interrogation room as was the leader. Each was thoroughly secured to a chair in preparations for the truthmed.
The door opened in one of the rooms, and three people walked in, an SIS interrogator, a court reporter, and a paramedic holding a syringe.
“Well, Duchess, are you ready for your cocktail?” he said as he smiled.
Four systems had been entered and scanned for evidence of habitation and signals. So far each was a system with no inhabitable planets and Discovery moved on through ‘no-space’ to the next one which was a longer reach, that added another five solars to the hunt. This one was like the others. Allister’s scans revealed no habitable planets. It was an unusual system with three moons circling a small, but apparently dead planet. Sean asked Allister to bring the ship, in closer so they could scan the planet for ice. As they got closer, the view of the surface was grim. It looked like Earth’s moon without the dust. Completely covered in crater impacts and not a trace of ice or frost. Allister placed the ship in a slow, active orbit to allow the ship to scan the motionless planet. Sean decided it was time for dinner and left the bridge to join the others.
They were all gathered around the two tables enjoying another buffet prepared by Allister’s management of the synthesizers. Tonight, Allister had the synthesizers prepare roast chicken breast with cheddar potato bake and green peas, one of the crew’s favorite. The Captain had Doris break out a bottle of white wine to go with the meal. He thought it was time to take a respite from the hunt. They were a long way from home but the ship was performing perfectly and the fuel supply was well into the green with no concerns of turning back. While they were dining, the large wall monitor in the dining cabin was showing the slowly scanned surface of the small planet they orbited, providing a slightly surreal note to the dinner. Sean got up with his glass, smiled at Nasht-Mer, and said,
“I would like to propose a toast to a very....” and stopped, as he looked at the monitor on the wall.
“Did anyone see that?” He asked.
“See what?” They all asked.
“Allister, did you catch that?” Sean called out.
“Yes, Captain I did see that. Good catch Captain” He said.
Sean put down his wine glass and asked Allister to play the last few minutes in slow motion, as the entire crew looked at the monitor. The monitor showed the planet scan now moving slower than before. Suddenly, the craters and the rough surface disappeared, and a large, dark city could be seen for just a brief glimpse before the image of the craters returned.
“Allister?” Sean queried.
“Captain, it appears that the entire planet is covered by a hologram and a shield that for a brief instant interrupted. This is a settled planet with a moderate industrial complex below us, completely concealed. I will try to hail them.”
The Sisters all came into the dining cabin,
“We can hear the voices and the screaming. There is intelligent life here, but not of a kind we have ever known.” They chimed in Sean’s head.
“Allister, the Sisters say there is some kind of intelligent life here. Can you move the ship to station keeping above the city we saw?” Sean asked.
“Aye, Captain, moving now.” He replied.
The Discovery parked above the city below and continued to scan. Scans were bounced back with images of a cratered, dead world. There was no response to Allister’s hails. The crew finished their meal and the housekeeping drones followed behind them to clean the dining cabin and recycle the unconsumed food.
“Captain, I have reviewed the interval when the hologram and shield stopped. My scans showed there is an atmosphere, largely oxygenated, but I did not have enough time to analyze the mix. There was also not a particle of movement below. No detection of anything alive was visible.” Allister reported.
“Do you think we could pass through the hologram and shield with a shuttle?” Sean asked.
“Certainly through the hologram, but I am not sure about the shield. I will send down a collector.” He responded.
“Excellent idea, I didn’t know you brought some of those with you, keep the cameras on, and record everything.” Sean said.
The collector, a small, intelligent metal ball, left the ship and streaked down to the planet. It bounced off the shield and hovered just outside its boundary.
“I will have it try to pass through again slower. The shield may be intended to stop asteroid impacts.” Allister said. The collector reactivated and approached the shield and hologram slowly. It slipped through the shield without effort and passed through a band of dust particles orbiting just below the shield. It then began a search plan, and the camera was able to send back the images being picked up.
“The shield seems exo-preventative. It stops signals from coming in but not going out.” Allister reported. “I believe the dust band is captive from the shield which must have been in place for a very long time.”
The crew was glued to the screen as the drone flew over the city. There were no lights, no movement, and minimal heat signatures. There appeared to be a large energy source in very low, stand-by mode. It was a world waiting for life, but the Sisters said life was there.
Two solars of collector scanning had pretty well mapped the city with no change in initial impressions. The rest of the planet was undeveloped. It was time to go down to look around. Sean turned to the crew and said,
“Let’s put together a ground party made up of Doris, Dr. Jess’m, and two Sisters.” He looked at Artie and Mel,
“You guys want to come along? There’s no way to tell whether this is hostile.” He asked.
“I wouldn’t miss it for a case of Irish Whiskey!” Artie said, Mel nodded his head in agreement.
“Doris, get Mel a hand weapon. He’s former military, maybe a crowd pleaser, and explain to him what it does.” Sean directed,
“Let’s get to the cargo hold and warm up the shuttle. Allister, you have command. Hal, warm up the weapons’ suite
and send down an armed orbiting drone in case we need to call down some help.” He said.
Aye Captain.” He acknowledged, as he turned on the weapons panel.
“I have command.” Allister confirmed, as they headed for the cargo hold.
“Be careful Sean.” Nasht-Mer said as she touched his arm.
Chapter Five
Book Three
“James, can I get a new phone yet?” Millie asked the President as they shared dinner of a supreme pizza. Millie had never eaten pizza before, and stuffily had considered it plebeian.
“I have to admit it is delicious, and if the most powerful man in the world thought it was suitable, she could bloody well suck it up and enjoy it.” She thought, as she took another bite.
“Just a little longer, Millie. Eddie says there’s an ‘op’ in progress, and as soon as they pull it off, you can throw that one away, better yet, give it to Eddie, he can pass it onto the CIA. They will feed them a huge dose of misleading babble.”
“It’s just, I feel I am being watched all the time, it’s maddening!” She complained.
“I even put the phone in that sleeve Eddie gave to me before I undress. It’s creepy.” She said.
“I have a suggestion, let’s spend the weekend at Camp David. Would you like that?” He asked.
“Can I leave my phone here?” She replied.
“Yes, definitely. It will stay at the gate in that steel box while we are away.” He answered.
“I’m in.” She said.
“Ever ride in a helicopter?” He asked.
A few blocks away, the British Ambassador had spilled all he knew to three of the team that Oliver had sent to Washington. They recorded the whole thing and especially the information regarding his recognition of the restaurant in Tokyo for being a location where they took his son within minutes of the first call. He had to be held nearby.
“Mr. Ambassador, I am very pleased you have come to us with this information. It will likely save you from going to prison. We all knew about you switching the phone already, and MI-6 had begun to investigate everything you were doing. The Secret Service was the one to find the bugs on the phone the same day you switched it, right after a very alert Ms. Griggs noticed it was not her phone. So, nothing of importance was heard or lost. They notified us about who did it. You see, in this kind of game, you are quite the amateur. Of course, we’re placing the Deputy Head of Mission in charge until we sort this out. Now, tell me, what was your son doing in Japan?” He asked to the very surprised face of the impeccably dressed former Ambassador.
“What? You can’t be serious!” The Senior Councilor demanded.
“Yes sir, no question. Under the truthmed she told us everything, including the diverting setup she arranged for us to scoop up a group we thought were the senior criminals. They turned out to be all small-time crooks and thieves. Sir, the scope of her syndicate is amazing. There are hundreds involved and we are getting all their names, one by one, from all the other ones we grabbed.” Said Erkrut-Dom
“The Duchess of Kal? Who would have ever conceived she was the mastermind behind Hhearnian crime? Did she give a reason, I mean she should be wealthy on her own right? Why would she do this?” The Councilor mused out loud.
“Sir she claims her Mate the late Duke Consort gambled away the family fortune on Nexxu and she looked to other means to preserve her life style. She admitted she never expected it to get so successful and profitable. She has hundreds of millions in her bank account, and that’s only the money we found on first blush. We have her scheduled for another session of truthmed to work on other funds that may be hidden.” Erkrut answered, and then continued.
“There is another important matter that is very unsavory, sir. We have learned where the missing honor breakers are.” He said.
“You have? Where, what have they done with them?” He asked.
“They have all been forced into slavery, sir. The syndicate has been secretly opening mines that have been shut down on economic reasons, and are now mining the ore with slaves. That makes the acquisition of the ore cost-free. The mine owners do not know any of this is going on. False companies then sell this to legitimate processing plants. We are putting together a list of these mines and will be launching a raid on all of them.” He said.
The Councilor looked very troubled on hearing all this.
“I suspected something like this was in the works. Now, we have a huge problem of repatriation of all these poor people. I suspect many will need advanced medical care, along with removal of the dye stain on their hand. They have suffered quite enough. Erkrut, this is a huge mess but it may be getting set right. Thank you!” He then blurted...,
“And lock up all those mining bosses as well as the freighter and transport crews.... Slavery! Right here on Hhearn!” He added forcefully.
After Erkrut had left, the Councilor sat back in his chair and began to plan what to do with all these people that had been forced into slavery.
“This was going to take a big special staff to process.” He thought. “There were several departments located on the edge of the city that were going to move into one of the new buildings the Twin Worlds were just finishing up. We can use their old building to set up a Rehabilitation Center. I should start working on staffing, lots of medical and social service people.” He thought. As he reached for his pocketcomm, he realized...,
“I know just where we are going to get the money to do this.”
The Discovery’s shuttle, with the ground team on board, slowly passed through the hologram and shield. For the first time, they could see the whole city laid out before them. Sean brought the shuttle to hover, as they all looked at the dense complex below. It was not a large city, but a strange city, all the buildings and surfaces were a shade of grey, lending a drab and somewhat ominous impression since nothing moved within their sight. It seemed designed to be difficult to see from any distance. The Sisters said they could hear the voices, but no thought as to where they were, or what they were saying. This made the choice of a landing spot a serendipitous one. Sean pointed out a clearing and moved the shuttle in that direction. It appeared to be a type of square or plaza.
“These are usually near governmental buildings.” He said. “Let’s start there.” He manipulated the controls to begin a descent onto the surface.
“Captain,” Allister called. “my analyses of the shuttle’s sensors say the atmosphere is thin. I recommend you wear your masks. The mix is close to Earth’s, but thinner. It may take a day or so to get used to it.”
“Thank you, copy that.” Sean replied.
The shuttle slowly settled onto the surface of the square. It was firm and no settling from the weight of the shuttle was detected. The crew attached their masks and slipped small oxy tanks over their shoulders. Weapons were drawn, set to readiness and re-holstered except for Mel’s ‘crowd pleaser’ which he slipped over the other shoulder. The shuttle doors all showed green indicator lights for atmosphere, but they were blinking, indicating nontoxic, but deficient. The doors all opened. Two pilot doors and the back ramp. The crew stepped out onto the square. They all left the shuttle with their weapons. Dr. Jess’m-Tak brought his medical back pack.
“It all looks very clean. It must have auto cleaning if there is no one here.” Said Mel.
“Don’t be too hasty on that Mel, just because we can’t see them doesn’t mean there is no one here.” Sean reminded him as they formed up a group. They all headed for the largest building on the square which had a large portico with square columns supporting it. They climbed the stairs and came to a huge metal door covered with symbols. Sean had brought his translator, as did the others, and Allister could see the door.
“Allister, any sense of this?” He asked.
“Not yet Captain,” Allister replied, “This building may be a library or a university?”
“Any ideas on the door? It has no handles.” Asked Sean.
“None Captain, try a push perhaps?”
; Sean walked up to the door examining it closely and noticed an area that was more polished than the rest of the door at about arm’s height. He pushed on it and with a small click, the door began to swing open. As they walked inside, lights began to come on. The first thing Sean did, was to look for the door control to exit, and saw a metal panel on the wall several feet back from the door on each side of the doorway. Exit panels. Directly behind them, there was another set of steps up to a large ached opening. They could see beyond, into a huge hall with balconies surrounding the room, lined with what looked like small drawers from floor to ceiling at each level. Each one covered with symbols. The main floor was covered with rows of individual kiosks.
“Looks like a Library to me.” Said Doris.
“Let’s check some of those compartments.” Said Artie.
They walked over to the wall and pulled on one handle. The face of the panel lit up and a small chime was heard in the nearest kiosk. They were not drawers, just section selection panels.
They went to the nearest kiosk and could see a lighted button flashing below the screen. Artie pressed on the button and the screen lit up with a display of buttons identified by symbols the crew did not understand. Artie noticed that at the bottom of the screen was a symbol and a tiny picture. He pressed on the picture and each button displayed a picture of the subject matter. Pressing on any button brought up a sub choice and so on, to reach the items being searched.
“Sean, even if we don’t learn the language, which Allister is likely to do, this system would allow us to learn a bit about everything. It would be interpretive on our part, of course, but a great entre’.” Artie said enthusiastically.
“Uh... Sean, I think we have company.” Said Doris as she slowly withdrew her .357 and held it behind her back.
They all turned around and faced three metal cylinders approximately six feet in height and two feet in diameter floating just above the floor. One was forward of the other two. It began issuing verbal instructions in a language not understood by either the crew or the translators. Even lacking understanding, the impression was one of a challenge or sorts.
