Massie sat down with Sergeant Brice standing directly behind her. “I’m here to find out why you are not allowing your people to take part in the evacuation. From the reports I’ve received hardly anyone from your facilities here on Ganymede has left.”
Flaxen sat down staring at Massie. “My employees and their families may leave if they want; I’m not stopping them.”
“But you’re offering very lucrative bonuses to encourage them not to leave,” pointed out Massie.
“The Selvin Corporation is a big business here in the Jupiter System,” replied Flaxen, unperturbed about the bonus comment. “We supply a huge amount of raw materials to the other planets as well as the fleet. We also don’t believe the Eternals will bother us here. We’re too much of a minor target compared to Earth and Mars. The forces there will be able to handle the threat. We saw no reason to disrupt our business. Besides, any of our employees who leave will have to be replaced. In our business, it takes considerable training and money to handle various work positions. Our employees are a valuable commodity and we don’t want to lose them.”
Massie frowned, shaking her head. “You may be sentencing your entire work force to death when the Eternals come. They want all Humans dead.”
Flaxen laughed. “That’s ridiculous! They perceive the primary worlds as a military threat. We have only minimal defenses around Ganymede and the other moons. We’re not a threat to the Eternals and we fully believe they’ll leave us alone. The corporate directors on the other moons feel the same way. We will put up no resistance to the Eternals when they arrive, demonstrating we’re not a danger.”
Massie stood up. It was obvious she was wasting her time. “You’ll think differently when the Eternals begin dropping antimatter missiles on your facilities and habitation domes.”
“That will never happen,” replied Flaxen confidently. “If necessary we’ll negotiate with the Eternals to spare our assets. I’m sure we can make some type of deal with them.”
“Let’s go,” ordered Massie, turning to face Sergeant Brice. “It’s obvious we’re wasting our time here.”
“I’ll be sending the fleet a bill for the front door,” added Flaxen. “Next time make an appointment; I’m a busy man.”
Massie did not reply as she and the sergeant left.
-
Later back on board the Hera, Massie was telling Commander Macleod of her experience with Mister Flaxen.
“That’s what some of the bigger corporations are like,” Macleod replied. “They’re more concerned about profits than their people. I guarantee you when the Eternals show up Mister Flaxen will be in the deepest underground shelter on Ganymede.”
“I wonder if it will do any good to speak to President Treadway about this.”
Macleod shook his head. “I doubt it. The corporations are just too powerful. Earth, Mars, and even the fleet depend on them for raw materials and various types of equipment.”
“I just feel sorry for those people down there. When the Eternals come they’ll probably all be killed.”
“It’s out of our hands,” replied Macleod. “You spoke directly to Mister Flaxen and made him aware of the danger. There’s nothing more you can do.”
Looking at the main viewscreen, now focused on Ganymede, Massie wished there was something she could do for the people in the domes but she knew in this situation she was powerless. “Set a course for Saturn. There’s a major fleet military base there and I want to see what can be done to strengthen its defenses.”
Massie knew there were mining colonies on Saturn’s moons as well. She would speak to the fleet base commander about what was being done about those. She suspected she would hear the same answers she heard from Mister Flaxen. The corporations were not evacuating their personnel.
-
Fleet Admiral Nagumo was in a meeting with President Treadway, Senator Malross, and Admiral Johnston. They were discussing the planned defense of the Solar System. “Rear Admiral Tolsen is currently inspecting the colonies and outer defenses.”
President Treadway frowned. “She’s not going to be pleased if she stops at any of the corporate holdings at Jupiter or Saturn. The large corporations are resisting allowing their employees to evacuate. They’re offering large bonuses and incentives to get them to stay.”
“She’s already been to Jupiter; she went to speak to the head of the Selvin Corporation. I understand she had to rip the door off the corporate office just to get inside the building.”
President Treadway grinned. “Wish I could have seen that. Mister Flaxen is a royal pain in the ass with his constant demands for special treatment on government contracts. It’s about time someone put him in his place.”
“I understand she was allowed into his office immediately,” added Nagumo with the ghost of a smile. “Seems she took Marines and combat robots with her to the headquarters building.”
“I think I’m going to like Rear Admiral Tolsen,” said President Treadway. “Now, on to why we’re here. What’s the current status of the defenses in the Solar System?”
“We have four forty-kilometer battlestations around Earth and two at Mars,” replied Nagumo. “In order to make up for the lack of defenses over Mars we’ve added twenty Indomitable Class Battlestations and thirty of the Type Two Battlestations. We’ve also tripled the number of defensive satellites.”
“We’ve placed the forty-kilometer battlestations in orbit above our most populated regions,” added Admiral Johnston. “When the Eternals come we’ll be ready for them.”
President Treadway leaned back in her chair gazing at Fleet Admiral Nagumo. “Will we receive anymore Originator warships?”
Nagumo nodded. “We should have another fleet arriving in the next few days.”
President Treadway took a deep breath. “Then I guess we’re as ready as we’re going to get. How soon before the expected attack?”
“Another couple of weeks,” replied Nagumo.
“I wish more of our people would go through the Accelerator Rings to the Dyson sphere,” said President Treadway. “So many are refusing to leave their homes.”
“We’ll protect them,” promised Nagumo.
“I know you will,” replied President Treadway. “That’s all I can ask of you and the fleet.”
Nagumo just hoped he wasn’t promising something he could not deliver.
Chapter Seventeen
Kelsey was in the Command Center of the New Horizon as the super exploration dreadnought dropped out of hyperspace. They were near the center of the large galaxy where the capital planet of the Galactic Union was located. They were being escorted by ten battlecruisers, which were flying in formation around the dreadnought. The trip had taken nearly eight days as they had to adjust their speed to that of their escorts.
“What do our scans show?” asked Rear Admiral Barnes as she looked up expectantly at the tactical display.
“It’s a busy star system,” replied Camlin. “There are two inhabited planets and even a number of orbital colonies. There also seem to be colonies on many of the moons and other planets. Computer estimates place the system’s population at over twelve billion.”
Kelsey looked over at Kathryn. “That’s more than Earth and Mars combined.” This was the heaviest populated star system she was aware of outside of a Dyson sphere. She looked up at the tactical display seeing it fill full of green icons, some small and some extremely large.
“We’re detecting several thousand ships on our sensors,” reported Captain Reynolds. “Most seem to be passenger and cargo ships.”
Kathryn took a minute to study the tactical display. The majority of the ships seemed to be concentrated around the third and fourth planets. There were other ships scattered throughout the system. “Are we detecting any warships?”
“I believe so,” replied Reynolds. “There are two substantial fleets in the system, one around each of the two inhabited planets. They number about three hundred ships each and the ships are about fifteen hundred meter
s in length. Power readings indicate antimatter as their primary power source.”
“Much more advanced than the ships we encountered at the destroyed world of the Trills or our escorts,” commented Andram. “Preliminary scans indicate a civilization on a par with my own.”
Kathryn was a little surprised. In all their explorations, they had never encountered another civilization as advanced as the Altons other than the Eternals and the Originators. “Put one of the inhabited planets up on the main screen.”
Instantly a blue-white world appeared. It was covered in massive cities with large green agricultural areas. The world was about 40 percent water with several large oceans and many lakes. In orbit were a number of artificial habitats. They were thirty kilometers in length and seven in diameter, slowly spinning to create artificial gravity. In addition, there were a number of large space stations and shipyards in orbit as well.
“There’s a defensive grid around the planet,” Camlin informed them. “It consists of over one thousand satellites all armed with antimatter cannons.”
“The habitats, space stations, and shipyards are all heavily armed,” Captain Reynolds informed them. “I’m not detecting any energy shields in use though I suspect they have them.”
Kathryn looked over at Kelsey. “I wonder if the armament has always been here or if it’s due to the attack by the Creevak on the Trill worlds and others.”
“I would deduce it’s a result of the attack,” said Andram. “My own people kept armed vessels for our protection but we didn’t build defenses like these until the Hocklyns and AIs became a major threat.”
“How soon before we arrive at the capital planet?”
“Two hours,” replied Sible. “I think our escorts are giving us time to examine the system.”
Kathryn nodded. “Let’s take advantage of that. I want detailed scans of everything. Angela, check the communication frequencies. See what languages they’re speaking and run them through our translation programs. Let’s see what we can learn from their broadcasts.”
“Should we go to Condition Two?” asked Major Weir from his tactical console.
“No, we’ll stay at Condition Four for now. I don’t believe we’ll be facing a threat here. They want to know as much about us as we do about them.”
Kathryn continued to watch the viewscreen as it changed to show various views of the star system. There were fourteen planets and a plethora of moons and large asteroids. It was obvious smaller asteroids had been mined for resources as there were none. Both planets had massive cities with tall, soaring towers lifting up toward the clouds. Ribbon-like walkways could be seen connecting buildings and much of the travel on the planets was done by air car. Great care had been taken to preserve large tracts of land for agriculture purposes and even some forests were still standing in pristine condition. There were no signs of pollution anywhere.
“They’ve struck a balance with nature,” commented Andram, sounding impressed. “Much as we did on our old homeworld where the City of Lights is located and our current homeworld. I’m looking forward to meeting these people.”
Kathryn felt the same way. Just maybe they had finally found some allies who could help them with the Eternals. If Jeremy was successful placing the new battlestation at the anomaly to seal it off then there was a reasonable chance these people would agree to help in the war.
-
The New Horizon went into orbit around the capital planet with her escorts taking up positions around the large exploration dreadnought.
“A member of their ruling council would like to meet us on one of their orbital habitats,” reported Angela. “They will send a shuttle over to pick up whomever we would like to send.”
Kathryn nodded. “Kelsey, you will stay on the ship for this first round of negotiations. If for some reason things go south get out of here and report back to Fleet Admiral Strong. Andram, Camlin, Panthel (who was well versed in the study of alien cultures), Cynthia, (who was an Originator medical technician), and Nomar all of you will be with me.”
“A shuttle has left one of the habitats and is inbound toward us,” reported Captain Reynolds. “It should be here in about five minutes.”
“Open the main hatch to the landing bay,” ordered Kathryn. “Kelsey, the ship is yours.” Kathryn stood up and exited the Command Center followed by some of those who she had mentioned would be accompanying her.
-
Kelsey settled into the command chair. “Focus the main viewscreen on the habitat where the meeting will be occurring,” she ordered. “Sible, will you be able to remain in contact with Camlin?” The Originator AIs had a neural implant which allowed them to communicate with one another.
“Maybe,” replied Sible. “It depends on the thickness of the habitat hull. It will also be nearly at the maximum range we can communicate with our implants.”
“Keep me informed,” said Kelsey. “It would be nice if to know what’s going on inside the habitat.” This was going to be a long afternoon. All Kelsey could do was wait patiently and see what the results of these negotiations brought about.
-
The shuttle Kathryn was in entered the habitat and set down on a landing pad. Looking out the viewport near her, Kathryn saw a number of dignitaries and a few military personnel waiting. They were all from the same race. The people were tall and slim with dark skin. There was a ridge of what looked like bony cartilage above their brows and their faces were a little bit wider than a Human’s. They were not as tall as an Originator but were taller than a Human. Kathryn took a deep breath and stood up. “Let’s go and see what we can learn about our hosts.”
Exiting the shuttle Kathryn could see the surprise on the faces of their hosts as they saw the various sentients with her.
“I’m Advisor Malkor of the Calmar,” one of the tall aliens said. “Councilor Hamah is waiting at the government center for this habitat. I have an air car waiting to take us to where we need to go.”
“I’m Rear Admiral Kathryn Barnes and I have with me representatives of the sentients on board my ship.”
“I greet you in the name of the Galactic Union,” replied Malkor. “Come with me and we will go to the meeting with Councilor Hamah.”
-
The ride in the air car was thrilling to Kathryn, not because of the technology but because the habitat was like a miniature Dyson sphere. From the air car she could see the gentle slope of the ground and looking up she could see fields and buildings.
“This would take some getting used to,” she said to Andram, sitting next to her.
Andram smiled. “Yes, even I find this intriguing. My people built several of these habitats in the distant past but finally settled on simply expanding to new worlds. The habitats were difficult to build as well as maintain.”
“I suspect the habitats are here because this is the capital of the Galactic Union,” suggested Kathryn.
“A very good possibility,” said Nomar. “This would be a good way to impress other races and demonstrate the technology and power of the Galactic Union. I’m curious as to how many sentient races are involved in this Union and how they select their governmental officials.”
“They mentioned some type of elections earlier.”
“Yes, but if we’re speaking about thousands of planets how do they manage that?”
“Perhaps Councilor Hamah can explain that to us,” replied Kathryn as the air car sat down in front of a tall and slender building.
Advisor Malkor led them into the building, going through several security checkpoints. They were then whisked up to one of the upper levels in an elevator which revealed no hints of moving but arrived at their destination after only a few seconds.
“This elevator has gravity control,” commented Andram. “Fascinating.”
“It allows faster transit,” explained Advisor Malkor. “This technology is widely used in the Galactic Union.”
The elevator came to a stop and Advisor Malkor led them to a conference room wh
ere a group of Calmar and several other sentients were waiting.
“I am Councilor Hamah of the Calmar,” one of the tall slim aliens said, introducing himself. He then introduced the others with him. All were government officials of some type.
Kathryn then introduced herself and those with her.
“Originators,” said Calmar, gazing at Nomar, Cynthia, and Panthel with interest. “We have heard of your people. Many millions of years ago one of your exploration ships came to our galaxy. Several of our older races which have long since passed from this existence left records of your visit.”
“It is possible,” said Nomar. “There was a time when my people were intent on exploring the universe. We sent many expeditions to distant galaxies. Though we have no records of any coming out this far.”
“We have refreshments which I believe will be palatable for you,” said Calmar, gesturing toward a table loaded down with various fruits and drinks, including some crystal clear water.
“Thank you,” replied Kathryn, pouring herself a glass of water and then returning to the large conference table. “We have many questions we would like to ask you.”
“As do we,” replied Councilor Hamah.
Kathryn turned toward Camlin. “Perhaps it would be best for you to give them a brief history of the Originators, Eternals, the war, and why we are here.”
Camlin had done this before with other races and had refined the information she presented. Part of it would be her speaking and much of it would be video. She had already checked and there would be no problem with her interacting with the computer that controlled the viewscreens in the conference room.
“I am an Originator AI,” began Camlin. “I am fully sentient and can feel emotions. In the Originator Shrieels AIs are considered citizens. I will start with a brief history of the Originators and go on from there.”
For the next two hours Camlin spoke, outlining some of the Originators’ accomplishments, the original war with the Eternals, and the onset of the plague which devastated the Originator population. She then went on to describe first contact with the Humans and Altons and finding a cure for the plague. She finished with the current war with the Eternals and the effort they were making to find allied races to help stop the Eternals’ advance across the universe.
The Originator Wars: Explorations: A Lost Fleet Novel Page 24
