“We appreciate your cooperation, Commander Fujeint,” said one who had been introduced as Director Trace Walker. She wasn’t sure where he fit in their ranking, but noticed that the Steele person deferred to him, so he must be of some importance.
“I’ll set up an area on the station where I’ll be accessible to your needs,” Richard offered. “Sort of a liaison between our species.”
She appreciated the offer and said so.
Walker nodded. “Director Steele has volunteered to help make you comfortable. Also, I’ll arrange to have several of my people come help you settle in. Make a list of needs. We’ll see what we can do.”
“Bear in mind that currently our resources are strained,” interjected a baritone voice of a shorter but muscular member. “We’ll do what we can, but it may not be much.”
“As you might have noticed, our world is struggling to support the current population and has little resources leftover for an invading species,” sniffed another taller and thinner individual.
The comments bothered her because of the attitude it expressed and the indication of limited resources available.
She glanced over at Captain Bradley, who stared back at her, also obviously concerned with the comments.
Eventually, she did secure firm promises of water and fresh food, but it was grudgingly given.
Finally, finished with introductions and an inspection tour, the delegates trudged back to their shuttles and departed, leaving Richard and three others behind.
Merek and James, along with Richard, came back with Elise to her newly established headquarters, which was a small unit with a meagerly stocked cordite cabinet, two brown chairs, and a faux wood desk. On a oval table, she spread out a blueprint of the station that Richard had provided.
“Merek, go keep an eye on those Alysians,” she ordered, pointing to the three others wandering around.
Richard took off his gloves, then unlocked and pulled off his helmet; his gray-blue eyes twinkled. His generous mouth curved into a smile.
“What are you doing?” she gasped.
He rubbed his thick dark hair with a bare hand and opened his collar. “Fate, that’s better.” Scanning the area, he said, “Look, Elise.” At her frown, he added with a stiff bow. “Commander Fujeint.” He raised dark refined eyebrows. “I helped build this place. If I’m not clear of contamination by now, I’ll never be.” He gestured a hand toward her. “You should get more comfortable too.” He stretched. “This station’s still rough, but we’ll get her livable. You have plenty of power. Deuce said his guys will get the plumbing working and the rail cars running soon.”
James perked up.” Rail cars?” He angled around to peer over her shoulder at the blueprint. “I’d like to check them out.”
“Well, here.” She handed him the paper. “I marked out living quarters for at least half the ships. There are seventy-five housing modules on the station. We’ll have to filter groups through a bit at a time. Check out my notes. See if you agree with my assignments. Feel free to offer suggestions.” She eyed Richard who had walked away, then smiled at James. “I have a copy.” She discretely tapped her wrist computer.
“Will you be okay?” He nodded toward the Alysian who had become preoccupied with roaming around checking out cabinets and walls.
She nodded. “If there’s a problem, I’ll alert you.”
“Merek’s right outside,” he reminded her.
“I’ll behave,” said Richard, glancing over with a grin.
“Go!” she brushed the air at James and glared at the other.
Left alone, Richard ambled back over. “Is there anything to drink here? After all my talking, I’m thirsty.”
“You didn’t say too many important words that I recall,” she countered. His nearness made her tingle. Reaching up into one of the cabinets, she pulled out a packet of tea bags and two tumblers. “Now, I need hot water. Do we have hot water anywhere on board this disaster?”
His brow narrowed at the criticism. “I’ll go get us filtered hot water. You going to keep all that gear on?”
“I’m not sure this station is safe for me.”
“This part should be fine. Air filters have been operational in this section for a while. But, hey,” he shrugged, “it’s your choice. I’ll go get the water. Also, give me the tea bags.”
He left out the door as Merek entered. “Commander, come see this.”
“What am I looking at?”
“That Deuce fellow is sorting out the rail cars. Just casually watch, but don’t let him notice.” He handed her binoculars. “See if you’re seeing what I’m seeing.”
Puzzled, she studied the three Alysians. Deuce was ordering the others around. They pushed the rail cars up to the rail and then the car floated onto the track.
“Did you see that?” Merek whispered.
“Has the gravity changed? What about hover cars?”
“No. There’s been no change. The gravity is lighter here but not that light. I doubt if….”
“It’s like…”
“Telekinesis,” said a voice at her side. “I believe that’s the word you use.” She turned as Richard handed her a tumbler of hot tea.
“Is the ability common?” she wanted to know.
Richard shrugged. “Extremely rare. Maybe ten on the whole planet. He constantly complains that we abuse him.”
Merek eyed Elise. “He was complaining that they had him moving rocks on one of the moons. Mentioned it started going unstable, so they pulled everyone off.”
Richard closed his eyes, took a sip of tea, and sighed. “Might as well learn it now as later.”
Wondering, Elise angled her head. “Learn what?”
He grimaced. “We have a bit of a problem with our smaller moon, Thanos.”
Elise nodded. “We noticed something recently took a chunk out of it.”
“Yeah, real hard to miss. An unexpected comet hit it.” He took another casual sip of his tea.
Elise watched as Deuce raised another car and then caught them watching. The car crashed onto the rail.
Richard shook his head. “That was hard to miss too.” He grimaced. Raising his comm, he said, “Don’t worry, Deuce. You’ve been discovered. Just ignore us and go about your business.”
“Usually do,” came the reply. The car rose up into the air and repositioned itself gently onto the track.
“A moon that close going unstable is world threatening.” She sipped her tea as she cast a glance at him.
What had they gotten into?
A snort issued from Richard. “Everyone’s terrified. The planet’s in serious jeopardy. A comet swung too close, clipped the moon, and showered debris all over. It tilted the axis, changed the weather, and messed up the atmosphere. In some areas, you need a filter mask to breathe. That’s why my people are mumbling about shortages and resent intruders. We don’t have enough for ourselves, much less for an army of invaders, and everything keeps getting worse. We had a disaster of a planting season. Change in weather patterns have screwed up everything. In addition, the end result was that the comet set our small moon on a collision course with the larger one. If the two moons collide, it’s goodbye Alysia. Finis. And it’s a good bet it’ll happen.”
“Just move one of the moons out of orbit.”
“What a marvelous idea. Would love to do it, but I don’t have a magic wand to wave. Within a year, the two moons will crash together. Actually, you’re safer up here than down there, so don’t be so eager to visit.”
Had they found a world only to lose it before landing?
A frown rode Elise’s brow. “Move it immediately. Why are you waiting? Every minute you hesitate, the situation gets more dangerous.”
Richard’s mouth dropped open. “Move it with what? It’s a big fragging moon. You got a skyhook?”
“Better than that. Got tractor beams on every ship. We use them to pull up water and materials from asteroids.” Elise tapped the rim of her cup. “Might take three ships to
drag it out and move it into the sun’s gravity well. Then, let nature take its course.”
Richard looked like he might faint. He fumbled into his pocket and pulled out a mobile phone. “Excuse me,” he said and turned to make a beeline for his quarters.
She grabbed his arm before he could get away. “Of course, we’ll need some additional concessions for saving your world. He halted abruptly and spun around, the lighter gravity throwing him off balance. They fell into each other; her breath caught as she felt his body slam against hers.
He looked down into her eyes. “What additional concessions?” His voice turned husky. He went still as he gazed down at her.
She gazed up at him with a wicked smile. “Land. A nice chunk of land that we can settle and call our own.”
Merek coughed into a fist, hiding a grin.
Blinking, Richard stepped back. He glared at Merek. “I’ll see what I can do.”
Crossing her arms, she said, “Has to be officially deeded before we fire up a single thruster. I’m not going to take your word for it. Has to be legally recorded and backed up with your personal guarantee.”
“Now Elise…”
“Commander Fujeint. Remember?”
A muscle jumped at the side of his cheek. His eyes narrowed. “You run a hard bargain.”
“In exchange for saving your world? You’re getting the deal of a century.”
He grimaced. “I’ll see what I can put together.”
“Good idea.” Then she smiled.
Chapter 3
Moving a Moon
“Whose ridiculous idea was this?” Elise grumbled.
“Add a bit more power to your tractor beam.” James’ voice invaded her headset. “And I believe this ridiculous idea was yours, as I recall.”
“Jimbo,” she called to engineering. “A bit more power on our tractor beam.”
“I copy. I copy.” She could imagine the sweat pouring off Jimbo’s dark brow as he delicately supplied more power. For a big man, he managed delicate work.
“My section is becoming unstable.” Captain Elija Fujeint warned from the bridge of his ship the Valiant.
“Ease back on the pull, boy. This calls for a light touch, not a jackhammer’s slam.” James beamed over more video from his ship’s cameras off the New Frontier, which indicated a slight cant in the moon’s position.
“Listen, old man, we have to move this baby, not sit and coddle it, or we’ll never get out of here.” Elija’s young voice held frustration.
Listening to her ship’s power system, Elise detected a note of stress creeping in. “She needs to move soon, or I’m going to lose thrust.”
As soon as she said the words, the ship lurched forward.
“Holy shit!” At helm, Tango’s shout caused Elise to jerk about and hastily scrutinize all the ship’s readouts.
“She’s moving out.” Elija’s excited cry hit her headset.
“Watch for any wobble,” James warned.
Elise’s ship shuddered, causing equipment to slide and straps to cut into her shoulder. Through her headset, she heard Elija and James cursing while they frantically balanced the tension on the tractor beams. The ship groaned, and the moon yanked on all three ships as it slid from orbit.
Sure enough, monitors showed the planet falling away.
“Easy now,” James’s voice quavered. “Give it a little more power on your side, Elise. Let’s maintain a uniform draw on all three ships. We don’t want to go unstable.”
“God, no,” she exclaimed. “That would tear us apart. Tango, add more power. Jimbo, ease up on your tractor beam.”
The New Found Hope eased forward, dragging its burden.
Little by little, they drew Thanos away from the powerful clutches of the planet Alysia and her sister moon, Kracta.
“How far out do we have to take her?” Already young Captain Elija was getting restless.
The thrusters of The New Found Hope smoothed out as the strain reduced, and they slipped into frictionless space away from the gravity well.
“Settle in, Elija. It will take a good four hours to get close enough to dump her into the sun’s clutches. But, we can pick up speed now and, if we lose a few chunks in transit, well, space is big, and it won’t matter.”
“Four hours.” Elija groaned.
“This expedition buys a patient man a nice plot of land down planet.”
“The Diechwrathe Mountains didn’t sound all that wonderful,” he grumbled.
Elise sighed at the short-sighted kid. “Didn’t use to be,” she said. “Used to be snow all the time and no one lived there… at least anyone sane, according to Richard.”
“Richard? You getting friendly with the natives, Elise?”
“Okay, Director Steele. Although it baffles me what he directs.”
James chuckled. “Seems like just about everyone but that Walker fellow.”
“Why would we accept a snow covered uninhabitable piece of terrain in exchange for saving their world?”
Elija still hadn’t gotten the big picture.
James responded with exasperation, “Because the weather’s changed. Right, Elise?”
“Right, James. We’ll have to deal with a few up and downs in the land due to a mountainous terrain, but it’s pristine, and now the warmer weather will allow crops and seasonality. It’ll be all ours to do with as we want, virgin land.”
Elija coughed. “Sounds like you got a sales job from your buddy, Richard.”
“He’s not my buddy, but he’s useful.” A change in the tractor beam’s pitch alerted Elise to a beginning imbalance. “Hey, watch your velocity, Elija.
“Okay, okay. I’m on it.”
She heard James yawn. “Klara has a steady hand on my helm. I may just grab a few winks of sleep.”
“Get your rest, old man. You need it,” Elija retorted.
Immediately, James shot back, “Watch it, kid. I can still best you on the challenge mats.”
“Hah, try me.”
***
All talk ended for a while as the three ships settled into their task. The next four hours passed relatively uneventfully.
“James, are you awake?”
“I am now.” She could hear him slide his chair upright. “Are we there yet?”
“Soon enough, but I wanted to have a little chat before we brought the kid online.”
James coughed and rustled around. “Your Dr. Luttrell added too much testosterone into that kid’s system, no disrespect to you Elise, but your male replicant is a pain in the butt.”
“I’m well aware. John said he wanted him aggressive, especially since he was regendered from a female.”
A grunt exhaled in her headset. “He’s plenty male and you’re aggressive enough as is. But, I take you clones as you come. Who the original is doesn’t matter to me.”
“It should matter. It’s a reflection on us. What if your James was a Jane? How much leeway would you give her?”
“Well, if she had my nose, I might take pity on her. Bad enough on a guy, but you should have seen this honker on my mother. A nightmare. Is this the chat you woke me up from a well-deserved nap for?”
“Oh, no. Sorry. Just wanted to pass along some interesting information. Merek and I noticed that one of the helpers on the station was telekinetic. Richard said it was rare and changed the subject. Later, I introduced the subject of clones, and he acted like he didn’t know any, but apparently, Alysians are very prejudiced against them. Made it sound like blacks in America back in the day.”
“So, you’re saying we’d better spread the word to keep our Luttrell created idiosyncrasies under wraps.”
“Exactly—including Merek’s augmentations and any mention of nanites in our blood. Both John and his clone, Jay, are working feverishly to manufacture supplement nanites to protect us from all diseases on Alysia. Even though we have been disease free for years, you never know about alien pathogens. Everyone on my ship has gotten a booster, so I’m easing contamination proto
col on the station. Those suits are an annoyance and unnecessary.”
“We’re the same here, but what about the others?”
“Those on ships still in orbit haven’t received a booster, but they’ll get dosed before entering the station. I’m hoping we have enough.”
“Anything else?”
“John ran a DNA evaluation. I got a sample from Rich… Director Steele. For a while, I harbored the thought that Alysians might be alien shape-shifters.”
“What! And?”
“Identical DNA. We are an identical match to the Alysians. So, the question becomes: how the hell did that happen?”
An alert chimed. Tango twisted in his seat. “We’re approaching our target area, Commander.”
She stretched to work out the kinks. “Oh, and James…”
“Yes?”
“Let me know if you see or hear anything unusual concerning other possible aliens on Alysia.”
“What makes you suspect there might be others?”
“Just something I saw.”
“What? You’re talking scary, Elise.”
“Heads up, there’s an asteroid cluster up ahead.” Elise pinged Elija. “Elija, you see all those asteroids?”
Elija came online, “Yes, they’re going to make things trickier. We can’t go through; we’ll have to go around.”
James’s hoarse voice rumbled, “Let’s act fast. I got a rock running up on my starboard side too close for comfort.”
Elise stared at the fast-approaching cluster. “Jensen?” She tapped her blond –haired astrogator into the discussion.
He looked over at her. “Shortest route is port. See that hole between the debris?”
“We got a moon here. Very big rock. Was he crazy enough to think they could get through that opening?
Jensen swiveled back around to peer at his monitor. “You should have enough room. Head thirty degrees to port. Captain Bradley, increase your thrust a bit more.”
Taking a breath, Elise said, “All right, now. We need to do this carefully and smoothly. On my mark, we head thirty degrees to port. James, increase thrust to compensate.”
Elise watched as the three ships angled left, just missing the asteroids, which formed the outer edge of the cluster.
Somewhat Alien: The Station (Terran Trilogy Book 2) Page 2
