by Russell Fine
Jeffery laughed. “Let’s go to the galley. I need coffee.”
The group walked into the dining room. There were several tables occupied by crew members and guests. After the group sat down, the people from the other tables walked over and they talked for a few minutes. While they were speaking, Debbie got up from the table and walked into the kitchen to speak to the chef.
“Hi April, would you please bring coffee and some snacks to our table? There are six of us.”
“Yes, Captain. I’ll have a fresh batch of doughnuts ready in five minutes and I’ll make a fresh pot of coffee. Welcome back, by the way,” April said with a smile as she hurried around the kitchen.
“Thank you. I like Procolt 2, but it’s nice to be on the Star Rover again. It’s like coming home after a vacation.”
Debbie returned to her table and sat down saying, “April is making a fresh pot of coffee and she’ll bring us some doughnuts as soon as they’re ready.”
Jeffery said, “Wonderful! We were just talking about giving everyone aboard an opportunity to go down to the surface for a few days. Do you see any problem with that?”
“No, but I think we should wait until after Frank completes his exams. I don’t want to expose any of the crew, or our guests, to potential danger until we’re certain the radiation isn’t permanently harmful.”
“I agree with Debbie. I’ll start the examinations tomorrow morning. Cathy, please be at my office at 9:00. Sheila, I’ll see you at 10:00. Jeffery, you and Debbie can come together at 11:00. I should have the results by 3:00.”
“Okay, that’s reasonable. Mike, did you have any issues with the Star Rover on the trip from Coplent?”
“No, there were no problems at all.”
“We’ll be leaving for Earth in thirty days. If there’s any maintenance that needs to be accomplished, please make sure it’s completed before we depart.”
“Yes, sir. I’ll make sure to discuss it with Ron.”
Jeffery was about to say something else when April walked up to the table and said, “Hello sir, it’s nice to have you back aboard.” Then she put a large pot of coffee on the table along with packets of sugar and creamer. “I’ll be back in a minute with cups, spoons, and fresh doughnuts.”
Debbie and Jeffery inhaled the coffee until April returned with a tray that had glazed doughnuts, spoons, and six coffee cups. She gave each of them a cup and put the tray in the middle of the table.
Jeffery said, “Thank you April. This looks great.” After the young chef left, he went on, “I think there’s going to be a war. The trade group is going to expel the planet that was responsible for the Procolt 4 attacks. That will have a severe negative effect on the population and I suspect they won’t accept expulsion lightly. I’m concerned Earth may be involved.”
Frank asked, “Why would Earth be involved in this situation?”
“Because Brealak and I discovered their actions, rescued the miners, and reported it to the Trade Council representative. They’ll probably blame Earth and Coplent for their problems.”
“That isn’t a reasonable thing to do, but I suppose people who start wars aren’t reasonable in the first place,” Mike said.
After they finished their coffee and doughnuts, Jeffery and Debbie went to their cabin. They went inside and decided to try out their new bed. Within moments they were both sound asleep.
They woke up an hour before dinner when Jeffery’s com unit beeped. He answered and Carol said, “Sir, the squirrels are absolutely amazing. I’m certain they learn faster than humans. I’d like to go down to the surface with them so we can start working on their garden. Can you get somebody to take us down?”
“Yes, but are you aware you’re exposing yourself to a type of radiation that we haven’t completely confirmed is benign?”
“I’m willing to accept the risk, sir. All the people who have spent time on the surface appear to be fine.”
“I’ll call Mike now. Wait five minutes, then call him and let him know what you want.” Jeffery contacted Mike to give him an update., “Carol will be contacting you in a few minutes to go down to the surface with the squirrels. Please do that for her.”
“Yes, sir but I’m in a meeting with Ron now in regards to maintenance. Is it okay if I ask Dean to do it? He’s thoroughly trained on shuttle operations.”
“Certainly, but make sure Dean knows the squirrels have to be taped to the seats.”
“No problem, sir. I’ll take care of it.”
Jeffery and Debbie showered, put on clean clothes, and walked to the galley. When they arrived, they found the dining room was packed. There was one empty table at the front of the room so they made their way to it. Everyone in the room stood up and applauded.
Debbie sat down, but Jeffery remained standing. He said, “Thank you all for that warm welcome. It’s good to be back aboard the Star Rover. We’ll be here for thirty days before we return to Earth. All of you know there’s some kind of unknown radiation on the surface of Procolt 2. Tomorrow the four of us who were on the planet for the past two months will have complete physicals. If none of us show any signs of problems linked to radiation exposure, each of you will have the opportunity to spend a few days on the planet. The announcement will be made tomorrow at dinner.”
After dinner, Jeffery met with each of his officers briefly. When the meetings were completed, he and Debbie went back to their cabin for the night.
By 1:00 p.m. the next day, all of the physicals had been completed. The results were not surprising. Each of them exhibited some modification in their DNA, but there were no negative effects. The only thing obvious was a substantial increase in strength. One of the requirements to be a member of the crew was to be able to lift ninety pounds without difficulty. Each of them was now able to lift one hundred and sixty pounds without a problem.
At 2:30 Frank came to see Jeffery. Jeffery and Debbie were both seated at the table in their cabin when Frank arrived. He came in and sat down with them.
“As near as I can tell,” Frank started, “the four of you are in perfect health. In fact, some of the minor problems that were noted during the previous physicals have disappeared. For example, Cathy had a slightly irregular heartbeat. Because the irregularity disappeared under stress it was not considered to be a problem. However, there’s no evidence of that irregularity anymore. The blood work for all of you was almost identical, and all of the values were excellent. Nobody had any vitamin deficiencies, liver and kidney functions were perfect. In fact, everything was perfect. I can now understand why Mr. Brown lived to be one hundred and eighty-four.
“I didn’t think about it at the time, but they were telling us his age in galactic standard years, not Earth years. So, he was probably over two hundred and fifty years old when he died. In any case, I don’t see any reason not to let the people on the Star Rover visit the planet for a few days.”
“I’m glad to hear that. I’ll make the announcement at dinner.”
Jeffery made the announcement as planned.
All of the crew members and guests spent three or four days on the surface of Procolt 2 during the thirty days the Star Rover remained there.
As Jeffery expected, the day before they were scheduled to begin the return trip to Earth, Cathy and Sheila told him they wanted to resign their positions on the crew of the Star Rover and stay on Procolt 2. Jeffery told them he understood, but reminded them that this time there would not be any help nearby. They were completely on their own. However, the women had made up their minds. Regardless of the danger and the lack of human company, they were determined to stay. In the end, the two women got their way. The following day when the Star Rover left orbit, it was permanently missing two crew members.
The trip back to Earth would take seventy-four days. During that time, Jeffery and Debbie decided they wanted to build a first-class resort on Procolt 2. The resort would have two towers with guest rooms. There would be multiple restaurants, a swimming pool, and a golf course. There would be bo
ating on the lake and cave tours. Jeffery thought that it would probably cost substantially more than $500B to build and between them they had substantially less than $1,000,000, but it was fun to dream about it.
The Star Rover exited the wormhole seventy-five thousand miles from Earth. Moments later Mike said, “The long-range scanner indicates two alien starships at the space station. They’re both from Coplent. One is Commander Streb’s warship. The other ship is Garlut’s.”
Jeffery had no idea what was going on. He could understand why Garlut was here, but he didn’t see any reason for the warship to be here. He said, “Anne, try to get in touch with Commander Streb.”
“Yes, sir.”
Two minutes later, Anne handed the private communicator to Jeffery and said, “Commander Streb, sir.”
Jeffery slipped the headset on and said, “Commander Streb, this is Admiral Whitestone. How are you?”
“I am in good health. I suppose you are wondering why I am here, Admiral.”
“Yes sir, I am.”
“In a few days there will be an emergency meeting of the Trade Council. The purpose of the meeting is to consider expelling Crosus from the trade group. There is a substantial amount of evidence indicating the attacks on the Procolt System were conducted by Crosus. If they are expelled, they may blame Earth and Coplent for their expulsion. We can take care of ourselves, but Earth is not capable of doing that. So, we are here to defend Earth in case there is an attack.”
Jeffery remembered expressing his concerns regarding retaliation from Crosus to Debbie when the first arrived on Procolt 2, but he was surprised when he realized that Commander Streb had the same concerns. He replied, “I thought that an attack from Crosus was a possibility, and I’m really pleased that you’re here to help Earth.”
“The people of Crosus are very arrogant. I have met many of their officials, and in my opinion, they believe they are perfect and all other species are flawed. That arrogance has resulted in some minor issues before, but they never admit they are wrong. Any problem they face is someone else’s fault. Since you and Brealak discovered the attacks on Procolt 4, their punishment is now your fault.”
“That doesn’t make any sense, but I’ve notice that arrogant people are often illogical. Where is Crosus?”
“Crosus is about one hundred and ten light years from here.”
“It seems to me it will take a long time before they know about the expulsion. If they decide to take action against the Earth, it would be another one hundred days until they get here. It would appear you’re going to be here for a long time.”
“There is a rumor Crosus has developed an ability to travel much faster than we can. If that is the case, they could be here within thirty days. Crosus does not discuss their technical capabilities with the other members of the trade group. They never sell their technology either. So, we really do not know how proficient they are.”
“If you don’t know anything about their capabilities, how can you be sure you’ll be able to protect Earth?”
“I can’t be one hundred percent certain we will be able to protect Earth. I am one hundred percent certain Earth is not capable of protecting itself, so I do not see any downside to being here. Also, to the best of our knowledge, Crosus does not have any warships. There is no financial advantage to building a fleet of warships and Crosus seldom does anything that does not produce a profit.”
“Is there any profit in attacking Earth?”
“No, but as I said, they are very arrogant. That may override their concern for profit. I cannot be sure Crosus will attack Earth, but if they do, we will be prepared. We will stay here for another one hundred and fifty days. Then I will make a decision regarding our return to Coplent.”
“That sounds reasonable. Since you’re here, you and your crew will have an opportunity to try Earth food.”
“I already did that. Garlut was here several days before me. He took me to dinner at the space station. It was probably the best food I have ever eaten!”
“I’m glad you liked it. Do you know where Ambassador Garlut is now?”
“I think he was going to a World Council meeting. I expect he will be back on his ship in a few hours. If I hear from him, I will ask him to contact you.”
“Thank you, Commander.”
“You are most welcome, Admiral.”
Now Jeffery knew why the warship was here and he was concerned about an attack from Crosus. He was also fairly sure just the presence of the Coplent warship would be a deterrent. He was deep in thought when he heard April say, “Sir, while we were gone the space station set up a new mooring system. They sent us a mooring status grid. We’re supposed to go to location B37.”
Jeffery said, “April, give the map to Mike and tell him to moor the ship there. I want to go back to my cabin for a few minutes.”
“Yes sir.”
When Jeffery went into his cabin, he found Debbie sitting at the table drinking coffee. He sat down across from her and said, “I think we may be safer if we go back to Procolt 2. Commander Streb is here with his warship. He thinks there’s a good possibility Earth will be attacked by Crosus, so he came here to protect Earth.”
“Why would Crosus attack Earth?”
“Well, I asked Commander Streb that exact question. He thinks they’ll blame us for the failure of their plan to cover up the destruction of the mining operation. If Brealak and I hadn’t gone back to the Procolt System when we did, nobody would know about it except for Torblit. They were not in a position to report anything, because they had no legal right to set up the mining operation in the first place.”
“I agree with you. I think we should drop off our guests and return to Procolt 2.”
“You do realize we don’t own this ship. Since NASA does, I think we have to go where they tell us to.”
“We could steal the ship. They’d never be able to catch us,” Debbie said with a smile on her face.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea. However, we could resign and ask Garlut to take us back to Procolt 2. We could bribe him with doughnuts and cinnamon rolls.”
“I just made captain and you’re now an admiral. I don’t think I’m ready to resign. Are you?”
“No, I’m not. I think you and I should meet with Max tomorrow and find out what they want us to do next.”
Two hours later, the Star Rover was moored near the space station. Jeffery contacted Max and set up an appointment for the following morning. He called Mike and told him he wanted the shuttle ready to begin taking the guests and crew members to the space station within thirty minutes. He also made an announcement to the crew and passengers regarding the shuttle departure. He was about to call Max when his com unit beeped.
He opened his com unit, thought for a second, and said, “This is Admiral Whitestone.”
Max Hiller said, “I’ll bet that’s the first time you used your rank when answering your com unit.”
“You’re actually almost right Max, it’s close. I was just about to call you. I want to meet with you tomorrow morning. Is that convenient?”
“How about 10:30?”
“Perfect. What were you calling about?”
“I wanted to ask you about your mission. You’ve been gone for over two years. I met with Garlut when he arrived and he filled me in on the situation with Crosus. But he wasn’t with you on Procolt 2. I’m sure you’ll be filing reports, but I’d rather hear the details from you personally.”
“Debbie and I will see you tomorrow morning, Max.” Jeffery closed his com unit and said, “We’re meeting with Max tomorrow morning at 10:30. He wants a report on what happened on Procolt 2.”
“That seems reasonable since NASA paid for the mission,” Debbie replied.
“Yes, I guess you’re right. Do you want to spend the night on the ship, or would you prefer to have a room at the hotel?”
“The bed here is much more comfortable. I think we should stay on the ship.”
“I agree. We’ll stay on the s
hip.”
The following morning, Jeffery and Debbie were at the shuttle bay a few minutes early.
At exactly 6:00 a.m., Dean Crawford arrived. He said, “Good morning, Admiral. Captain. It looks as though you two are my only passengers this morning.”
Fifteen minutes later they were aboard the space station. They ate breakfast at the hotel and then walked over to the shuttle bay where the Earth shuttle would be departing. They boarded and were surprised to see Garlut and Brealak.
“Ambassador Garlut. Good morning. I wasn’t expecting to see you here,” Jeffery said.
“Admiral, Captain. We have a meeting this morning with the Trade Council representative. How did things go on Procolt 2?”
“I think everything went extremely well. The radiation we were exposed to caused both Debbie and me to become stronger, as we expected. The squirrels can read and their math skills have improved. Cathy and Sheila decided to remain there. I spoke to Commander Streb yesterday and gave him an update on the situation.”
“I bet you were surprised to see his ship here.”
“Yes, I was surprised. That’s why I called him. Do you think we should be worried about an attack from Crosus?”
“I think it is very likely, but they will not be expecting a Coplent warship to be here. Only the crew of the warship and perhaps ten others knew about the plan to send it here. Even if Crosus has spies on Coplent, they would not have known about the warship.”
“Do you think Commander Streb will be able to protect us?”
“Yes, I do not think you have any idea how powerful the weapons are on that ship.”
“That’s good, but I hope he doesn’t have to use them. On another subject, Debbie and I were thinking about opening a resort on Procolt 2. Do you think that would be a good idea?”
“I think it is a great idea. But before you do, you must find out more about the effects of long-term exposure to the radiation there. You will also need permission from the Trade Council, but that will not be a problem since no single group owns the planet currently.”
