by Bob Blanton
“We’re always fully stocked,” Fred said. “We also happen to have one of the finest chefs in the Cook Islands engaged for the next three days.”
Marc ran like a little kid, beating everyone onto the pier and out to the Mea Huli. As he got close, he realized that the boat was covered in streamers and balloons. He just laughed as he climbed aboard and made his way up to the bridge.
“I have never seen your father this animated,” Samantha said to Catie. “We need to have more surprises.”
“Good idea.”
“You’ve really done some planning,” Marc said as he came up to the bridge a few minutes later.
“The party was Catie’s idea. She got Sam to help.”
“You like it, Daddy?” Catie asked as she and Samantha reached the bridge.
“I love it!”
“You looked like you could use a party,” Samantha said. “I thought Catie had the perfect idea.”
Fred went to the pilothouse and started the Mea Huli’s engines. After they’d warmed up a bit and everyone had a glass of Champagne, he had the crewman cast off, and the Mea Huli headed out after the tug and barge.
Catie took a few pictures of the tug and barge as they got underway, then she joined the festivities with a glass of apple cider. “To Delphi City,” she toasted.
Everyone raised their glass. “To Delphi City!”
They spent the afternoon watching the beginning of their new city. The massive crane on the one-hundred-fifty-meter barge lifted the first of the pontoons. It held it sideways just off the end of the barge. The construction workers pushed one of the five-meter-diameter pipes, so it hung over the edge of the barge and butted up against the ellipsoid pontoon. After they attached the temporary clamps, they started welding the pieces together using the special plasma torches. The torches joined the polysteel as though it had been formed as a single piece. It took an hour for the two welders to weld the pieces together. They pumped two thousand gallons of water into the pontoon, and the crane slowly let the pontoon sink into the water. Once it stabilized and was vertical, the polysteel tube was sticking up out of the sea twenty meters.
“How long was that thing?” Samantha asked.
“The tubes are eighty meters long,” Blake said. “Once it’s done, we’ll float the deck at ten meters above the water. That way, it doesn’t interfere with the natural wave action against the Manuae reefs.”
“Dr. McGenty strikes again,” Samantha laughed.
“Yes, he’s really serious about the environment.”
“How are you going to keep it from floating away?” Samantha asked. “Don’t tell me Dr. McGenty is going to let you anchor it to the ocean floor.”
“No, each quad is designed to have four small waterjet engines attached to its four outside pontoons, they will hold it in place,” Blake explained. “This is just a quarter quad, so we’ll use a tug to keep it in place until we get the other three pieces ready.”
“They’re getting ready to lift the second pontoon,” Catie shouted excitedly.
Everyone turned and watched as the second pontoon was lowered into the water. “Are they going to attach them together?” Catie asked.
“After they get all four of them up,” Blake said. “They’ll just cable them together for now.”
Over the next three days, they watched as the workers assembled the first quarter section of the city. The two-hundred-meter spans of polysteel were braced against the columns in four directions. Two sides of the quarter section had fifty-meter overhangs, while the other two sides terminated at the column waiting for the two hundred-meter span of polysteel to connect it to the next part of the quad. The last piece of decking was being lowered into place, as everyone stood with glasses ready to toast. Soon they were looking at a two-hundred-fifty-meter by two-hundred-fifty-meter platform that would support the start of their new city.
“To Delphi City,” Marc toasted as he raised his glass.
Everyone raised their glass in reply, “To Delphi City!”
“Why are there so many holes in this deck?” Samantha asked as she walked around.
“This is the underdeck,” Blake said. “We’ll be adding a ten-meter-tall wall around the perimeter, with support beams. Then we’ll put the main deck down. All the utilities and equipment will be down here.”
“Oh, so why the holes?”
“Less weight, better airflow. We can seal any areas we want, but most of this is just going to be pipes and conduits.”
“Then why have the decking? You could just hang that below the main decking and build rooms where you need them.”
“Unfortunately, sometimes waves come along that are bigger than ten meters,” Blake said. “We wouldn’t want all our plumbing and such to get torn up by one of them.”
“Ah, I didn’t realize that.”
“Neither did I until Dr. McGenty pointed it out during the first pass design review.”
“Hey, he’s earning his money then.”
“He’s still a pain in the ass.”
“Here’s to pains in the ass, may their visitations be brief,” Samantha toasted.
“Here, here!”
“You can see why we need the Sky Princess,” Blake said. “We need room for all the workers who will put the infrastructure in place. We want to do that before we put the main decking down.”
“It looks like you’ll have the first section completed by the time it gets here,” Marc said.
“Yes, the cargo ship with all the fixtures should be here next week,” Blake said. “We can at least get them unloaded. We’re going to store all the equipment up here.”
“Aren’t we a little close to Manuae?” Liz asked. “I thought we were going to put the city out about a mile.”
“We are,” Blake said. “Once we have the first quad done, we’ll put a polysteel production facility on it, and then we’ll use those waterjet engines to push it out farther. Right now, we want to minimize transit time. That barge is really slow.”
“What are you going to put in the first quad?” Samantha asked.
“Catie, this is your question,” Blake said.
“Oh, sure. Uncle Blake already told you we’re putting in a fabrication facility for the polysteel. We’re also going to move all the other fab from Manuae to the first quad. We’ll keep the polysteel going in both places until the first section is finished. Then we’ll start restoring Manuae. The first quad will be six hundred forty thousand square meters. That’s about sixty-four city blocks or one hundred sixty acres,” Catie said. “It’s mostly the wharf area and manufacturing, but we’re going to put some greenhouses and farming areas on it so we can grow our own food. We want it to be self-sufficient as soon as possible.”
“You’re going to grow food on it?” Samantha asked incredulously.
“We’re even going to plant trees. This quad’s only going to get about ten trees since it’s going to be mostly industrial,” Catie added. “But I’ve got some really cool trees planned.”
“What are you going to do for water? Is it going to rain enough?”
“We’re putting in a desalination plant,” Catie said, “but we’ll recycle the water and capture rainwater whenever we get rain.”
“Recycled water, for the greenhouses, right?”
“No, for everything,” Catie said. “It gets filtered so well that it’s foolish to separate it. It’s going to be like a spaceship, everything will get recycled, and there will be almost no waste.”
“Okay…,” Samantha said, still not convinced.
“Then, of course, we’ll have a couple of office buildings and dorms for the workers to use while we build the other quads,” Catie said. “Nothing will be over ten stories. The next quad will have apartments and condos, then it will start to look like a real city. And of course, we’ll be adding more manufacturing.”
“I know I’m supposed to know this, but how many people do you think will be living there?”
“When it’s finished, it’s goin
g to be one square mile of city. It will be able to house twenty to thirty thousand people, depending on how tall we make the condos,” Catie answered.
“That’s more people than live in all of the Cook Islands.”
“That’s because everyone goes to New Zealand for jobs. Maybe some of them will come back. And of course, we’ll have lots of immigration from other parts of the world,” Catie said. “Once we build the floating airport, we’ll be able to add three more sections then we’ll be up to around sixty thousand.”
“My, I forgot how ambitious we were,” Samantha chuckled. “I have a meeting to go to. Fred, can you fly me to Wellington?”
“Sure,” Fred said. “We’ll see you guys tomorrow.”
“Bye,” Marc said as he gave Samantha a quick kiss.
“Bye-bye,” Samantha said.
“Maybe we should go back to the Mea Huli and have lunch, then we can finish that board meeting we were having,” Marc said. As they made their way back, Marc got Catie alone, “Thanks for the party, it almost makes me forget about the disaster we’re having.”
“Oh, Daddy, we’ll find them.”
Once they were back on the Mea Huli, Marc restarted the updates. “Back to work. Where are we with Herr Johansson?”
“He loved my design, and Samantha’s going to close the deal right now,” Catie said. “She says she’ll bring the contract back for you to sign. I think he’s hoping to have new scooters coming off the line in a month.”
“While it’s just the five of us, how about an update on our spy situation?” Marc asked.
“Logan is a pretty good dancer,” Liz said, making Catie giggle.
“I was thinking more in the line of what they have learned and what kinds of questions they’re asking,” Marc said.
“Well, Sasha has become quite enamored with Manuae,” Kal said. “She’s always looking for an excuse to come here.”
“Why is that?” Marc asked.
“You don’t think she wants to admire our architecture?” Blake quipped.
Marc gave Blake a steely look, then he turned to Kal and rolled his hands, signaling him to continue.
“She’s bringing this small computer with her,” Kal said. “She keeps trying to hack into our comm network.”
“You didn’t think I should be apprised of that?” Marc scolded.
“You have enough going on,” Kal said. “Besides, ADI has it handled. She’s created a fake network for Sasha to try and hack into. She’s tracing all her work back to the source.”
“ADI?” Marc called out.
“Yes Captain,” ADI said. “I’m building a map of all the Russian hacking sources as well as a library of their various hacks.”
“What about the Chinese?” Marc asked.
“Ying Yue has just started to bring a computer along on her dates with Cer Blake,” ADI said.
“Apparently I managed to keep her entertained longer than Kal did Sasha,” Blake said.
“Oh, get real!” Kal said.
“Do you anticipate any problems?” Marc asked.
“I’ve got her covered,” Blake said.
“I was asking ADI.”
“No Captain. The Chinese code doesn’t appear to be as sophisticated as the Russian code. But I’ll continue to map out the sources of all their computers,” ADI said. “We can use that later if you decide you would like to send a virus attack their way.”
“What about the British?”
“No activity there, outside of Cer Logan’s dates with Cer Liz,” ADI said.
“Any unusual questions?” Marc asked the group.
“I don’t think so,” Liz said. “Logan is interested in our production capacity and what we might have coming next.”
“Pretty much the same here,” Kal said. “Other than trying to hack the network, just the standard what do you do questions.”
“What about our American spy?” Marc said.
“Oh, he’s been here, but he’s not done much,” Kal said.
Chapter 36
Take Down
Day 1 14:10 CKT
ADI pinged Marc’s comm.
“Yes ADI?”
“Captain, I detected a reference to an advanced fighter jet in communication with the Chinese Consulate in Perth, Australia. It is a vague reference about the opportunity to purchase an advanced fighter.”
“Put two surveillance drones in that area,” Marc instructed.
“It would be more efficient if I transported them in the LX9,” ADI said. “They could be in place within two hours.”
“Do it.”
“Which pilot should I use?”
“Who’s on-call?” Marc asked. Even though he’d given up the search, he’d kept his three pilots on a rotation so that a well-rested one would be available should the need arise.
“Commander Blake,” ADI responded.
“Send him.”
ADI pinged Blake’s comm and gave him the instructions.
“Hey, Bro. Good news?” Blake asked.
“Maybe. ADI picked up a communication about an advanced fighter for sale. Sounds like Centag is trying to sell the Fox to the Chinese,” Marc said.
“I bet an invitation to bid is going out to the Russians as well,” Blake said.
“ADI?”
“I have instituted additional communication surveillance on all the embassies and consulates in Australia,” ADI replied.
“Any idea where the communication originated from?” Marc asked.
“It appears to have originated within Perth via cellphone,” ADI replied.
“Where’s the cellphone?”
“It is currently turned off.”
“Who is it registered to?”
“It was purchased yesterday in Perth; you would call it a burner phone. I am accessing the surveillance cameras in that area to try and determine who purchased it,” ADI explained.
“Blake?”
“I’m already halfway to the Mea Huli,” Blake said. “Should be airborne in thirty. Kal’s with me to drive the boat.”
“Thanks,” Marc said. He gave a big sigh and rested his head in his hands, “Finally.”
Day 1 14:40 CKT
“Okay guys, we have a lead,” Marc said to open the meeting. “Blake and ADI have two surveillance drones hovering over Perth. Now that we have a general location, we need a plan.”
“My guess is that they landed next to one of those big farms or sheep stations back there. Then they took the farmer’s family hostage and are using their home as a base,” Kal said.
“How could they get away with that?” Catie asked. “Wouldn’t the neighbors notice?”
“Neighbors are miles apart out there. They probably don’t go into town that often,” Kal said. “You could land the Fox on one of the roads and drive it into a barn or shed.”
“ADI, check to see if there’s any chatter about a family that’s dropped out of sight in the last three weeks. Or changed their town visiting habits during the same time period,” Marc instructed.
“Yes, Captain.”
“What do we do if we find them?” Blake asked.
“Yes, and do we know how they overrode all the command codes and bypassed ADI?” Liz asked.
“Yes,” Marc said. “ADI explain for everyone.”
“Yes, Captain. I discovered the virus that Commander Centag placed in the systems. It was a very sophisticated piece of code. It contained the previous captain’s credentials and exploited a defect that allowed them to still be active. Commander Centag placed the code into the systems sometime before Dr. Metra ordered the quarantine. It bypassed the controls on the stasis chamber and deactivated the four of them. It was a very dangerous move since there is a high probability that the subject in stasis will die when the chamber is simply turned off and opened.”
"Can you fix it?" Catie asked.
"I have removed the code," ADI said. "If we can establish a comm link to the FX4, I can reestablish control over it."
“How do we do t
hat?” Kal asked.
“We need to get a comm within four meters of the spacecraft.”
“That’s close,” Kal said.
“What if it’s underwater?” Catie asked.
“There would have to be contact between the FX4 and one of the other spacecraft or a drone,” ADI replied. “Then I would have a direct link to the system’s communication.”
“Nothing like making it easy,” Blake said.
“Could we put an arm or something on the Fox so that it could extend a comm out?” Catie asked.
“The FX4 and the LX9 both have remote arms beneath the cockpit,” ADI said.
“How long does the contact have to be?” Catie asked.
“Five seconds.”
Catie sat back and smiled at everyone. “We just have to herd Centag’s Fox. Once we find it, with the Lynx and three Foxes, we should be able to get one close enough to make contact.”
“That sounds dangerous,” Marc said. “He’s desperate and might do something that would destroy his Fox and whichever one is close to him.”
“Then we wait him out, stay on his tail until he runs out of food, water, patience,” Kal said. “With three Foxes and ADI driving the Lynx, we should be able to hound him into the ground.”
“Okay, so how do we find them?” Marc asked.
“We watch, we listen, and we wait,” Kal said. “We should put some assets on the ground around Perth. We might be able to pick up some clues about where they’re hiding.”
“Who?”
“I’ll take a team of three,” Kal said. “It’s not the same as Afghanistan but the same principle, and they speak English.”
“Are you sure about that,” Liz said. “Have you tried talking to an Aussie?”
“Oh, they kind of speak English,” Kal laughed. “I’ll see if any of our guys speak Aussie. ADI, can you link in my team?”
“Ready,” ADI said.
“Guys, we have some work to do down by Perth. Anyone familiar with the area, especially if you can speak the local patois, send me a message. Thanks, ADI.”
“Of course, Cer Kal.”
“Okay, assets on the ground, sniffing around. We have ADI monitoring the communications, and the probes giving us up-close surveillance,” Marc said. “Anything else?”
