Hayato, watching from a distance, catches something off to the side. There are trucks, a lot of trucks. He cannot help but wonder how much of this was planned ahead. The convoy drives right up to the large spacecraft, and parks near the ramp. A small fleet of tracked vehicles come down the ramp, and, in no time, set up a receiving area. Truck after truck takes their turn unloading pigs, cows, and chickens. More trucks arrive, in what appears to be a never-ending procession. Panning his binoculars back, Hayato curses to himself as the entire delegation has gone, including the three aliens.
A few hours go by with nothing more than the seemingly endless line of trucks coming and going. Hayato almost misses it again. An aircraft, perhaps a transport craft, with its distinct, long cylindrical shape, departs from the top of the spaceship. It heads skyward until it is too small to be seen. Eventually, there is movement from the terminal. The trio of Gamin strut out to their small craft, board it, and then fly inside the parked spaceship.
Hayato continues his lonely vigil throughout the rest of the day, and into the night as truck after truck comes and goes, unloading various livestock. Once in a while, an alien transport craft lands as others leave. Akira relieves Hayato as the team starts a rotational watch on the spacecraft.
Location:
Planetary Orbit
Earth
Hundreds of satellites orbit the planet. They provide exceptional coverage for the various media systems. Each is solar powered with electric based reactionary motors that ensure they stay in orbit indefinitely. The data the Gamin gather from these satellites is extensive.
In the armada's command ship, Regent Voknor stares at real meat for the first time in longer than even he cares to admit. Those on lesser ships have gone much longer, living purely off synthesized rations. The samples sent up from the planet, having passed all the inspections to meet Gamin food requirements, now sit on a plate before their leader. He hesitates for a moment, and stares at the samples as he decides which to eat first. Alien meat does not always taste as good as it looks. He tries to recall the planet whose meat was foul beyond all comprehension. His plate has three samples, one white and two pink. The white meat, though filling, does not impress the Regent. One of the slabs of pink meat, however, is a pleasant surprise; he devours it and demands more. The bridge crew relaxes, clawed hands pull back from various controls. If only the Chinese knew that everything hinged on this one dish.
In an uncharacteristic moment of pure satisfaction, Regent Voknor issues a rare order. “Make sure that all are given the three meats.”
Usually only the lesser foods are distributed, but this planet has yielded and is complying. With a single word, the fate of the Chinese is determined, as is that of the world.
“Restock!” The Regent’s order travels quickly down through the chain of command.
Regent Voknor understands the value of morale, his fleet has been damaged, ships destroyed, and lives lost. He can see that the bridge crew is extremely happy with his orders, as they make haste to implement them before he can change his mind. They are a shrewd bridge crew, so he expects nothing less.
“Launch the transport; we will honor the bargain.” Regent Voknor is quite satisfied with the way things are going.
With the Gamin receiving fresh water, and now, fresh meat, all that remains is for the repairs to his fleet to be completed. Shortly thereafter, a large transport ship departs. Within its hold is an amazing gift for the Chinese.
As the transport departs, Regent Voknor issues another order. He plans to retire shortly and eat some more of that delicious meat in the privacy of his quarters. “Get the base fully operational. We must replace our losses.”
The Regent wants his fleet repaired as fast as possible. From past experience, he has found that subjugating a planet’s population takes time, and a lot more resources than they have to spare. With the numerous satellites that make up this planet’s grid having been complete, he feels much more comfortable. There should be few surprises from this planet now.
As the Regent sits back, relishing the day's events, an aide approaches, interrupting his thoughts. “What is it?” He is quite annoyed by the aide.
“Regent, there is new activity from the planet.” The aide is quite uneasy at presenting this news, and relays it somewhat tentatively.
Had his taste buds and belly not just been sated, the Regent’s response may well have been very different. Instead he sits back, and ponders the development for a moment. With the smile of a chess master, Regent Voknor issues his instructions, he is very specific as he leans forward and concludes his orders.
“No mistakes this time, understood?” He adds bluntly.
The bridge crew quietly accepts the orders and they follow them carefully.
Regent Voknor looks at the forward screen as he manipulates some controls hidden in his chair. The view zooms in on Earth, focusing on one small area of the planet before him. The planet’s northern icepack stares back at him. Smiling again, he sits back to watch as his orders go into effect. He is looking forward to the next few days. This is an interesting planet indeed, he thinks to himself.
Regent Voknor retires to eat more meats as his orders go into effect.
Hours become days, as the Regent samples more foods from the planet below; some are pleasing and some are not. Thus, the list of desired food items is generated, and sent to the various governments below as additional requirements.
Meanwhile, the space armada has been busy conducting repairs, among other duties. The average Gamin has much to do, but is also pleased that repair crews and supplies are now getting to every ship in the fleet. It is rare that the Regent shares the best samples with the lower ranks, but this time he has held nothing back. Even the lowest ranking Gamin has tasted all of the various meats from this planet, boosting their moral incredibly.
Location:
Manhattan Island
New York
As the days roll onward, so do the ore trains. With startling regularity, they move into the exchange area built by the people working for the aliens. The amount of material being delivered is staggering, as is the speed in which it vanishes into the spaceship’s cavernous hold. Transport craft come and go with increased frequency, causing those few that are paying attention to raise their eyebrows. The spaceship is obviously being repaired, as damaged armor plates can be seen being fixed, or completely replaced. The cranes, with their arms extending upward, move around as section after section is overhauled.
George finds that he has a lot more free time. He spends his time training others, or fixing their mistakes, as very few people seem able to properly operate the bodysuits. Family life settles down, as their daily duties start to become a normal routine.
George, with little to do on yet another fine day, heads back to see what his wife Lisa is doing.
“Oh, good! You’re home early. I would so like to go into the city!” Lisa exclaims out of the blue.
“Well, we should stay here in the Gamin Quarter. We have everything we need; besides, the protestors concern me.” He can almost hear their anti-Gamin slogans and hateful remarks.
“All they do is rant and rave. Besides, the police move them off from time to time.” Lisa is almost pleading to get out, and go into the city.
“Not just yet, my love.” He sighs. “We are alien sympathizers in the eyes of many, and even though the protestors are moved away, they just come back claiming it's their right to have freedom of speech.”
She sighs as well, resigned. “Alright, you win this time, but I want to go to the city and shop, even if it is just to window shop, and soon. I want a change of scenery for an afternoon.”
“As soon as it’s safe, I promise we will go to the city and you can browse all the shops you want.” George hopes he can fulfill that promise soon; the protesters are quite vocal at times.
Elsewhere in the city, Dr. Lee keeps detectives Jones and Edwards up to date. He notifies them when he gets new corpses with the same tell-tale head inj
ury. With analysis of the projectiles being stalled, all the detectives can do is gather a list of victims and locations. Finally, sickened by the ever-growing list, the detectives come up with a plan. In an act of desperation, they organize teams that travel to each rooftop. There, they paint warning signs on the roof tops that they hope will get their message across.
Any would be hero wanting to 'bag themselves an alien' is greeted by a very basic message: “THEY SHOOT BACK.” The two detectives sign off from the case, as it is very clear to them that closing this case by conventional means is just not going to be possible.
Sharz is also in the New York area, reviewing the progress being made, and he is most pleased. He has found a suitable human representative for the Regent. It is always nice when the natives are cooperative, and this George is quite intelligent and social, which is an added bonus.
Location:
Beijing International Airport
China
As the morning rays of sunlight encroach upon the airport, Hayato is rewarded for his patience. The six-hour watches have been quite dull. Observing the endless parade of trucks with their cargo of pigs, cows, and chickens, has been fairly mind numbing. Transport-type craft continue to come and go from the massive spacecraft every now and then. One incoming transport does not land at the spacecraft, but comes in low, as it heads toward another part of Beijing. This change almost goes unnoticed by Hayato, but only almost.
Hayato hurries to his parked van, where he contacts his men. “Chokichi, come in.” He stretches as he speaks; these long periods of doing nothing have stiffened him up.
“Reading you.” Chokichi glances at his receiver making sure their line is secure.
Hayato issues his instructions. “Get the others and head to...” He glances up at the transport as it moves away. “… Damn it. I can’t tell you where exactly. There is an alien transport, or shuttle coming in, and it's not landing at the airport. We must find out where it's going and what it's doing.”
“Copy that; moving out.” Chokichi puts his finger in the air and makes a quick circle, signaling his colleagues, as he places the handset down with his other hand.
Daitaro takes the remaining van, and, with Chokichi and Akira, they head out. They are dressed in civilian clothing and have made sure that all their weapons are secured inside the van’s various secret compartments.
Thirty minutes later, both vans are converging on one of Beijing's power stations. They arrive just in time to see an alien craft taking off. A few police cars arrive quickly and try to secure the area. The aliens have delivered a metallic-looking building which just rests there mysteriously, next to a normal building.
A policeman heads over to intercept Hayato who is walking purposely toward the power station. “You have to move back; this is a restricted area.” His voice is firm and authoritative.
Hayato stops and shows the papers indicating his work status. “I am under contract to work on these power stations.” Not exactly what the papers say, but perhaps close enough to fool this man.
The policeman looks at Hayato, glances at the vans behind him, and then the power station. He seems quite hesitant, but finally makes a decision. “Not this power station, move along please.”
Damn, for a second I thought I was going to get past. Hayato tries to act confused as he looks at his papers for a second. “I will have to go back and check with my boss, then. I am sure he said to come here. He said it was urgent.” Hayato shrugs his shoulders as he moves back toward the vans.
A confrontation with the Chinese police is not something he wants at all. Getting back to the vans, he can see the police have other people to keep back, and are quite busy with the growing crowd of onlookers.
Akira takes quite a few pictures of the strange metallic building. It is sixty feet tall, sixty feet wide, and has a length of about one hundred fifty feet. The structure has no discernable doors or windows. He nods at Hayato as he flashes him the small, but powerful camera.
Daitaro leans casually back against the van whilst paying careful attention to all of the happenings. “Any idea what that building is for?” He nods in the direction of the police, as they set up a restricted area with caution tape.
Hayato looks back as two more police cars arrive. “No idea at all. Get all you can, but we need to move on before we attract too much unwanted attention.”
People dressed in lab coats come out of the power station and head toward this newly delivered building. These plant operators walk up to the side of this strange building and, as if they know what they are doing, open some panels in its side.
The policeman that had earlier intercepted Hayato is now pointing at the vans as he talks with another policeman. They both look at the vans for a moment before being distracted by the ever-growing mob.
“We are being noticed.” Says Akira quietly, as he dips the camera below the lip of the van’s window.
“Okay, let's head back and see what we have.” Hayato is quite disappointed at the lack of information.
Getting into the two vans, Hayato and his team heads back to their Beijing safe house. As they leave, the police in the area pay them little attention, for they are quite busy.
Location:
North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD)
Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado Springs, Colorado
The President of the United States of America sits down to read the brief before him. The Gamin have sent specifications for a new power plant. He had not actually expected these aliens to honor the offer. His excitement is short lived however, as he reads on. With many of the components required being beyond current technology, it will take years, not to mention billions of dollars, to create the infrastructure required just for the lesser parts. In addition, the core to the power plant involves the reaction of particles as of yet undiscovered by humanity. The Gamin in their wisdom, have also handed over information on mining and conversion systems, but again, the President reads that these endeavors will also take years to complete, and cost many billions more. He throws down the documents with a sour taste in his mouth.
As he digests this information, an aide interrupts his thoughts by walking to the room’s large television. “Mister President, please excuse the interruption, but you are going to want to see this.” The aide presses some controls and starts to play a recording.
As the screen comes to life, the President finds himself looking at the Chinese President. Behind him is a large metallic building with wires snaking between it, and another nearby building.
The Chinese President is issuing a public address. “The People’s Republic of China graciously thanks Regent Voknor, of the Gamin for his wonderful gift of this power plant. With this gift, the Chinese citizens will find they have more electricity than is needed, eliminating the brown outs that have plagued many areas. We will burn less coal, allowing China to meet the world’s greenhouse gas emissions standards. Once we build three more of these power plants, our entire country’s energy needs will be met.” The news clip ends with the Chinese President not withholding a beaming smile.
The aide shuts off the recording and quietly leaves. The President, stunned by the news, stands up, and starts pacing around the room in annoyance. He has many questions, and very few answers. What did the Chinese do to get a functioning power plant? What, if anything, does this have to do with the ending of the Korean war? And where is the North Korean leadership? How exactly does China plan to build three more power plants? There are just too many questions and too few answers.
The President stops his pacing as he considers his options. As was with the space race with Russia, the President of the United States of America sometimes has to make some costly decisions. He cannot let the Chinese beat America in making these power plants. He considers the Russians, and their position on this. Are they with China, or are the Chinese acting alone? He rubs his forehead as a headache develops. Billions, even trillions of dollars are called for here, but it does not matter the cost. H
e can ill afford to allow China to be the only country with this functioning alien technology.
While he sits down and ponders his ultimate decision, another fateful decision will soon catch up with him.
Location:
Outback
Western Australia
The walled off area, with its parked spaceship and construction dock, looks a lot smaller from a distance than it is. The dock reaches into the sky as it encases its charge. At almost one mile wide and just over two miles long, this dock looks like a collection of old dinosaur bones. A main section runs along the ground the length of the construction area. Wide arms that look like a ribcage extend out, and around, a spacecraft that is currently under construction. These arms can move independently, and each ends in a claw-like appendage.
The Prime responsible for this task is most pleased. Not having to deal with hostile locals has been a great blessing. With an abundance of resources coming in from all avenues, the industrious Gamin work with great speed and efficiency.
Superstructure, hull and armor parts, and materials, continue to arrive from New York and St. Petersburg at a steady pace. Combined with the resources of the fleet in space and the local mining, it takes mere days for the spacecraft to take shape.
A week of work finds the massive spacecraft almost fully enclosed. The power grid that runs throughout the spaceship is installed, along with piping for various liquids and gasses. Life support systems are added prior to the internal hull being set in place. Gravity plates are then installed both inside and out. Internal plates are connected to the various ship’s systems as they are installed. External plates are the spacecraft’s primary landing and takeoff system, and are fitted accordingly. Sublight and main engines are more complex and, being connected directly to the spaceship’s superstructure, also require an early installation.
Initiation Series: Series One Compilation (Terran Chronicles) Page 17
