by Murison, J W
Steven was pleased, ‘that’s great news sir but that’s my Mothers money, I insist we pay our own way.’
‘If that is your wish, I won’t stop you, but I have a few ideas that will generate a steady income for you rather than just sell it all off. Do you have a spare ton of the stuff?’
‘I think we have about three ton on board.’
‘That’s three times better. Do you wish some of that money to go towards your Mothers Base?’
‘I will talk with my Mother first sir.’
‘No problem, but I had better get going or I will be missed.’
‘Before you go sir there's something I would like to present to your country for their outstanding generosity.’
The Prime Minister looked at him a little funny, ‘remember it’s your country too Mr. Gordon, or should I call you Captain Gordon.’
Steven blushed, ‘yes of course I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it that way.’ He grinned, ‘you can call me whatever pleases you sir.’ Steven went and retrieved a small box from his desk and handed it to the Prime Minister.
He was puzzled, ‘what is it?’
‘Look and see.’
He lifted the lid and was left speechless. Gingerly he reached inside and took out a fire diamond about the size of a good walnut and held it up to the light.
‘My God it’s beautiful, what on Earth is it?’
Steven was bursting with pride, ‘not on Earth sir. It’s a fire diamond and they only exist in outer space. I have been told it is one of the most valuable commodities in the Galaxy. It has about a hundred times the value of a normal diamond of the same size.’
‘I can see why, it is breath taking.’
The setting sun sent a ray of light, which burst against the diamond in a hundred different colours. The Prime Minister seemed genuinely moved. ‘This is a gift beyond comparison and priceless to boot. I have a funny feeling Edinburgh castle just isn’t going to be big enough to hold this little beauty.’
‘Just don’t tell any passing spacemen you have it sir or you may just face an invasion.’
He laughed, ‘I’ll remember that. I had better go now and thank you once again.’
They shook hands once more and the Colonel escorted him back to the ramp.
Steven and Komoru sat down again. He couldn’t help but look deep into her eyes, ‘I think that went well, now where were we?’
She sighed, ‘going through a list of thousands of names, to try and find me a crew.’
Steven nodded, ‘yep, that’s exactly where we were. Do you have a close friend you can take on board as your second in command like Buzz.’
She shook her head sadly, ‘I have not been as fortunate as you at finding friends Steven. I have spent half my life away from home at one special school or another where I was in direct competition with everyone else there. I always seemed to come top of the class by a large margin. It wasn’t conducive to making friends and normal people like your Buzz wasn’t allowed near us.’
‘I’m sorry to hear that Komoru, but you may wish to consider asking your own government for a security team. Doing that you will have someone you can relate directly to, so far we have picked no Japanese for your crew and I know they have some brilliant scientists.’
‘I know most of them in my field; I was at school with many of them.’
Steven nodded, ‘I see, but you’re going to need engineers as well. Maybe you should choose those from your own country as well or at least the best.’
She nodded, ‘I will consider it.’
‘Firstly you have to try and establish direct communications with your own government.’
‘They will order me to land at once.’
‘You are in charge of that ship Komoru; you will have to put your foot down immediately. Get them to accept you on the terms that you want, not what they want. Ask with a meeting with your Prime Minister.’
‘He may not wish to meet.’
‘I can’t believe there are two fools in this world like the American President. I’m sure he will jump at the chance.’
‘Ok as soon as we get back to the Moon I will call him, but will you be with me.’
‘Of course I will.’
Chapter 41
As soon as they arrived back at their base Steven began to organise a building program with the ships. He did it silently as he followed Komoru back to her own ship. He stopped for a moment and looked around. It was strange looking at things, as they once were, alien.
A picture of a building jumped on to the screen. Komoru was puzzled, ‘what's that?’
Steven apologised, ‘I’m sorry that’s just me working on something, I hope you don’t mind?’
‘No not at all. ‘ She frowned prettily, ‘Why that looks like the ships at either side of a large building.’
Steven thought he had never seen anything cuter and beamed a smile at her, ‘yes I’m planning on constructing a base here on the Moon. A home away from home as it were, but I want your approval before I begin.’
She seemed a little bemused, ‘that is kind of you to ask, but I think it is beautiful.’
He nodded, ‘it is on a design taken from the builders but is being adapted to suit human habitation. As you can see the ships will dock either side of the structure. The captain’s quarters are located at the front there at the top of the building. One on either side.’
She was in awe, ‘they are going to be big.’
He grinned, ‘very, do you like it?’
‘I love it, but how are we going to construct it?’
His mind clicked over to the technicalities of the project ahead, ‘The ships will build a couple of million nanobots, which will in turn build other larger bots, and so forth until they have all the equipment they need to begin building it.
Once completed all the bots will come together to either be absorbed back into the ship or to be moved somewhere else. The only problem will be the materials for construction. We can only use so much from this site before we end up in a big hole. The bulk of the materials will have to be transported here.’
She was mesmerised, ‘that sounds like a big task.’
He shrugged, ‘it is, but we can get started on it straight away. There's a rich deposit of metal that they can use to begin making the bots with only a couple of hundred miles away. Babes relaying my orders to Buzz now.’
The screen cleared and Steven watched with a strange pulling at his heart as his ship lifted off and disappeared out of sight.
He took a deep breath and rubbed his hands together, ‘do you want to make a start?’
She smiled, ‘ok, let’s start with the bridge.’ Her eyes swung up, ‘I would like this bridge to be exactly the same as the other Ico. Just in case personnel from one are needed on the other. That way there will be no confusion in an emergency.’
‘You are wise my heart,’ Ico told her.
Steven smiled in agreement as she began to plan out the interior of her ship.
She turned to him, ‘how do I describe something I have not seen on your ship?’
‘Form a picture in your mind and Ico will see it.’
‘Are you sure?’
‘Trust me.’
They went from room to room again and she concentrated hard, visualising everything exactly as she wanted it. He needed to get more raw materials. Steven checked the time and decided they could visit the asteroid belt. Once there he didn’t take long to gather the materials they needed to transform the ship. They also towed a large asteroid back to the Moon.
By the time they got back Babe had returned and deposited a large writhing mass on the surface of the planet. Ico placed the asteroid next to it and both ships moved off a few miles and docked again.
Komoru checked her watch, ‘I think it is time I should try and contact my government.’
Steven nodded, ‘I think I got a few messages from your government. Babe can you locate those messages for me and transfer them to Ico.’
‘Yes my heart.’
<
br /> The messages appeared on the main screen and there was a contact number that would take them directly to her Prime Minister.
She was very nervous, ‘could you make the introductions for me Steven?’
He smiled, ‘of course. Ico could you put the transmission onto the main screen please?’
‘Of course heart of my mate.’
‘Steven will do nicely Ico.’
‘Yes Steven.’
It took a few minutes but a surprised Japanese Prime Minister appeared through a video link. ‘Hello.’
Steven smiled, ‘Mr. Prime minister, my name is Steven Gordon, do you know who I am sir?’
‘Yes of course Mr. Gordon. This line was put in especially for you. May I congratulate you on your Japanese.’
Steven laughed, ‘I’m sorry Mr. President I don’t actually speak Japanese, it’s the ships that are doing the translating for us.’
‘I am impressed.’
‘It impresses me too.’
‘What can I do for you Mr. Gordon? I am afraid because of the political climate it may not be much.’
‘I just want to make an introduction to you Mr. Prime Minister.’ He held out his hand and Komoru shyly crossed to him. ‘Mr. Prime minister I would like to introduce to you Komoru Kaizu, Captain of the second ship, which she has named Ico.’
It took him completely by surprise. For a second he did nothing. Then he stood up but realising they could no longer see him sat down again and bowed from the waist. Komoru returned the gesture bowing low, ‘it is an honour sir.’
‘I believe the honour is all mine. This is wonderful, how did it happen?’
Again she looked to Steven who told him the same thing as he told the Scottish Prime Minister. The handsome Japanese man sat back and absorbed it all. His eyes flicked back to Komoru, ‘this is a great honour you bestow on us Miss Kaizu. Our scientists would all like to look at your ship if you will permit it.’ Steven was sure he detected a slight tremble of her limbs.
She bowed low again, ‘I am sorry sir but after Ico’s experience with the Americans he refuses to submit himself to such an ordeal again.’
‘That is very unfortunate.’
Steven decided to take a hand, ‘sir if I may?’ The Prime Minister nodded.
‘To be brutally honest, there are no scientists on Earth capable of understanding the complexities of these ships; half the materials needed to build them don’t even exist on Earth, it would be a pointless exercise.
However there is an alternative. The ships have agreed to release early designs of ships that are within the capabilities of most advanced nations like yourselves to build. These ships will have anti-gravity and interplanetary capabilities. Once mankind has mastered those and are capable of gathering the materials for more advanced craft, interstellar travel will be made available.’
‘Will you make these plans available to us Mr. Gordon?’
‘I firmly believe it would be unwise to make those plans available to any single nation sir. My mother is at this moment establishing a centre in Scotland for deep space research and exploration. She may even begin to build ships there; I don’t know I haven’t been in contact with her although I plan to remedy that in the very near future. I may be able to tell you more a little later or Komoru will.’
The Japanese Prime Minister sat back and thought the situation over. Eventually he nodded in agreement, ‘Scotland would be a good place to have this centre. It isn’t big enough to cause any other country serious threat. Neither is it a country that has precipitated any global conflict.
Its people are known to be strong and courageous, demonstrated recently by the help their Prime Minister has given to yourself. He has the admiration of almost every country for his lone stand against the Americans. Did you know they are trying to bring sanctions against Scotland?’
‘I had heard sir.’
‘I Believe most of the international community will ignore the call. I only hope America doesn’t try to use force to gain what they need.’
‘I would advise them against it sir, I am Scottish by birth and I would use all the resources at my disposal to bring about a swift end to such a conflict.’
‘I presume they would now be quite considerable.’
‘They are.’
He nodded, ‘I was recently shown a film of the destruction of a missile the Americans directed towards your ship. Very impressive, but would your crew back you? Many of them are Americans.’
‘With a single word I can completely incapacitate the entire crew without harming them and take control of the ship myself. However I believe they would back any decision I make.’
‘May I enquire farther into your military capabilities?’
‘I could if desired take out a single person in a crowd or flatten an entire city from thousands of miles out into space with one shot of our primary weapons.’
The Japanese Prime Minister sat forward, ‘thank you for that information Mr. Gordon. So far my government has refused to back your adventure against my personal wishes. I am sure that now Miss Kaizu has taken possession of the second ship there will be no more hesitation amongst my fellow countrymen to back both of you. Now is there anything you need Miss Kaizu?’
‘Yes sir, this ship has no supplies. I am eating in the other ship just now, but they do not even have rice.’
The Prime Minister smiled, ‘I sympathise Miss Komoru. I have tasted Western cuisine, and although very palatable it is quite heavy for a Japanese stomach. Is there anything else I can do?’
She hesitated, ‘yes sir, Steven has suggested I bring a security force on board as we may soon face unknown dangers. He has men from the American and Scottish special services to protect his ship and suggests men from a similar back ground to protect mine.’
The Japanese prime minister seemed to grow almost an inch, ‘we have such men Miss Kaizu. I believe our special forces can rival that of any other nation.’
‘As I do sir, but I will only take volunteers and please warn any man that once they become a member of the crew then it may be for life, there can be no going back.’
He nodded, ‘so it is true.’
‘Yes sir.’
‘I saw that on the website but I do not doubt I will have plenty volunteers. Do you wish them to bring weapons with them?’
She looked to Steven, ‘I don’t know what do you think?’
Steven thought it over for a second, ‘we have developed new weapons that make anything on Earth obsolete and are willing to share. However I would leave it up to the discretion of their commander. All of my men still have their own personnel weapons from before they joined the ship. There may come a time when our new weapons may be rendered useless as they are electronically based, and where old-fashioned ones may win the day.’
The Prime Minister nodded, ‘you have a great wisdom Mr. Gordon, I will make a recommendation that they bring a good selection of weapons with them.’
‘There is one more thing Mr. Prime Minister. You must make your men understand that Miss Kaizu is commander of the ship and her word is final on all matters.’
‘Of course, how many men do you recommend Mr. Gordon?’
‘I would say no more than a dozen sir and as multi talented as possible. They will have to be able to more than fight. I would also make one of those a dedicated pilot, that is something which I have also neglected to do.’
‘I will prepare these things immediately. How will I get in touch with you?’
‘We will be monitoring this line sir, just pick it up. We will also pay for any supplies given.’
‘That will not be necessary Mr. Gordon.’
‘I know sir but it is something we insist on.’
He nodded, ‘I will call you as soon as I can goodbye.’
The line went dead and Komoru heaved a sigh of relief, ‘thank you for your help Steven, I would not have been able to do that on my own.’
He eyed her sympathetically, ‘you’re really going to have to be abl
e to take control Komoru. In a few weeks that might be an alien you’re talking to and you will have to be able to take them head on if necessary. The decisions we make will be life and death decisions.’
Her head dropped, ‘I am sorry Steven I am not good around other people.’
‘You don’t have to be good Komoru; all you have to be able to do is make a decision and make it stick. If you’re not sure about something then ask for advice, for god’s sake don’t be frightened to do that, lives may well depend on it. Once you’ve listened you will have to make a decision and make one that suits your instincts, not anyone else’s, not even mine.’
She managed a small smile, ‘I understand, thank you. My father has said similar things many times and he has always been right. I will be all right once I have found my footing.’
He smiled, ‘it is a bit of a shock. Listen to me, you’ve only been aboard for a few hours and already I’m giving lectures. I’m sorry.’
Her return smile made his heart want to start beating erratically, ‘I’m a woman, I can be very forceful when required, especially when I know I’m right.’
He laughed aloud, ‘now I know you'll be all right.’
Colonel Howe’s voice interrupted them, ‘sir that briefing starts in five minutes.’
Steven looked at his watch, ‘is it that time already, ok I’ll be with you in a minute. Do you want to come?’
‘What’s it for?’
‘We’re going to rescue my father tomorrow morning.’
‘I’ll come.’
Chapter 42
Everyone was present for the briefing. Steven stood with Komoru and Buzz to one side. The Colonel first laid out a broad outline of the plan before Steven came up.
He held up what looked like an air freshener and told them about his plan to beam them all over the prison in an attempt to knock out the opposition before they went in. The Colonel then went into the plan in detail.
When he was satisfied everyone knew their part he let them all go and reported to Steven.
‘I’m still not happy you’re coming in with us tomorrow sir.’
Steven grimaced, ‘live with it Colonel. I’m not going to be wrapped up in cotton wool.’
