Space Fleet Sagas Foundation Trilogy: Books One, Two, and Three in the Space Fleet Sagas

by Don Foxe

  “I know better,” Cassel assured the head of the Board of Governors. “I may not know the inside story on what Reinhardt is doing in Hattiesburg, but I have the reports detailing security. It would take someone better than anyone we have to get past their traps, and we have the best on Earth.”

  “It’s taken five years to get to this point, Paris,” Armand said. “Patterson could mess everything up. Shut her and her husband down. Do it now.”

  “She’ll be missed. Sam, too. Both are high profile,” Cassels replied.

  “You’re the super spook,” Armand answered back. “Find a place to stash them. Think up a cover story. The Camarilla is ready for the end game. Patterson was the white queen. She’s off the board. Collect that Fellen college student staying with them. Wrap the three of them into a nice package and stick them under a Christmas tree until the dust settles.”

  Dorm

  “Do you think they will lock Mr. Patterson up?” Billy asked.

  “I have no idea,” Stacey answered. “You know everything I know. I promised to contact her when I got to the dorm.”

  Stacey activated the coms portion of the chip embedded below her right ear. A movement of her jaw activated a private and secure communication channel between certain aliens and humans. A conversation initiated by the simple method of beginning a call with a person’s nickname.

  “Pam, this is Stacey. Do you copy?”

  “Stacey? Why I have no idea where she is at the moment.”

  Patterson’s voice sounded in her ear. Stacey raised her hand to quiet the others. She opened onto a conversation Pam intended her to overhear. By starting her sentence with Stacey’s name, she opened her end of the channel. While no one else would hear anyone in the dorm from Pam’s location, she wanted the room quiet so she could concentrate.

  “She’s a college co-ed on winter break,” Patterson continued. “She’s probably out with her friends.” Silence as someone spoke, but the Fellen could not hear anyone beyond Pam. “Yes, I still have the chip embedded. No, I will not turn it off, nor try to contact AStasaei. I’m here to discuss Sam, not our houseguest. Paris, I believe you when you say you can jam the signal. If you feel that’s . . .”

  “Can-Am blocked Pam’s chip,” Stacey said, informing the three waiting impatiently for news. “She’s at the UEC Security Services offices and they are asking her where to find me.”

  “Stacey, it’s Genna. Do you copy?”

  Stacey held her hand up again. Surprise at the contact by the PT-109’s avatar evident in her expression. The threesome with her once more left perplexed, unable to hear the communication inside her head.

  “Genna, this is Stacey.”

  “The trans-com channels are compromised. Your conversation with Admiral Patterson was tracked. You need to leave, and, Stacey, you need to hide. I will be unable to communicate again. Do not try to contact anyone with your chip. Do you copy?”

  “Genna, I need help,” the girl begged. The enormity of the situation becoming real.

  “You need to hide,” Genna repeated. “No one alive on Earth can help at the moment, and no one off Earth is aware of everything happening. Sorry, Stacey. Kennedy could only cover for a short contact. Go. Kennedy will find you when it is safe. Genna, out.”

  Her blue skin pale, and her orange-red eyes slipping into amber. The girl, visibly shaken, took a seat on Chaspi’s bed.

  “Genna warned me the UEC traced my conversation with Pam. She also said the private channels are compromised. She said I need to hide. Security guards must be on the way here now, and there is no one to help me.”

  Rosz rose from his place on the floor to take command.

  “Everyone grab winter clothes, credits, and nothing else. Nothing that can be tracked or traced,” he commanded. He tossed his ever-present earplugs and personal data stick with his library of music onto Chaspi’s desk. “I’m serious. Anything electronic stays behind. Stacey, wrap a scarf around your face, pull up your hood, and use Chaspi’s wrap-around sunshades. I don’t want to see blue skin.”

  If the others were surprised at Rosz’s sudden take-charge personality, no one wasted time remarking on the personality shift. If he intended to leave his music, they needed to take the current situation seriously. Most importantly, Stacey needed to get away from the dorms before she could be picked up.

  The four bundled students blended with the few others still on campus during the winter break. The time of day worked to their advantage. People working in offices leaving for home, and students not able to go home or on vacation, headed out for dinner.

  They were on a public sidewalk when the official black hover-transport flew past and came to a stop in front of the dorm. A half-dozen armed security guards, not campus security but UEC Elite Security officers, exited the transport and rushed through the front doors of the lobby.

  “Where can we go?” Chaspi asked. Her fear for Stacey, anger over the situation that placed her friend and the Patterson’s in danger, and inability to think rationally tickled her evil-side. She felt someone needed a good kick, but had no idea who.

  “The dojo,” Rosz answered.

  “Dojo?” The word issued from Chaspi and Stacey in harmony, though Stacey’s version muffled; her mouth buried in warm cloth.

  “What’s a dojo?” Chaspi added.

  “A safe place,” Rosz answered. “I hope.”

  CHAPTER 17

  FELL

  ASkiilamentrae watched Hiroshi Kimura demonstrate Japanese sword fighting techniques to an audience of young boys and girls of the AS tribe. Sky’s light blue skin and auburn hair marked her as a resident of Fell. Tall, at five-ten, and firm. Muscled and toned from workouts, and more recently, battles with Mischene and Zenge invaders. Her golden eyes held tints of burnt orange. She smiled at the children who ‘oohed' and ‘aahed’ as Hiro flowed from one sword stroke to the next. The smile displayed small fangs where humans have canines.

  “He loves your planet,” Cindy Shah said. Lt. Colonel Shah commanded the Earth ground forces sent to fight and free the planet from the invaders. Shah and Kimura’s relationship moved to the next level during the deployment. They now lived together.

  “He’s a superstar on our world,” Sky replied. “The Earth ninja who single-handedly killed thousands of Zenge warriors with his sword, Shadow Death.”

  “Hiro is at peace on Fell,” Shah continued. “He says the kami of the planet sings to him.”

  “Kami?” Sky asked.

  “On Earth there is a religion called Shinto. They believe all things have an essence, or a spirit. It’s called Kami. That Fellen maintained their world as a place of nature, even as they reached out to the stars, shows an understanding of Kami.”

  They ended their conversation as Hiro came to a halt. He twirled his blade, at the same time his right foot found and flipped its sheath into the air. He caught the sheath in his left hand and slid Shadow Death in with one motion. The applause from the children could be heard throughout the small village.

  Hiro presented a ceremonial bow to his audience. Show over, he walked across the grass and dirt stage to join the two women.

  “Kami is nature,” he said. He overheard their whispered conversation, even as he demonstrated killing blows at incredible speed with a razor-sharp sword. “It is the trees and the mountains. It is river, rock, and snow. Your air is thick with moisture that blankets your world. Every afternoon lightning and thunder announce the day’s end. Children laugh easily. Adults greet you with a smile and open heart. I do, indeed, find peace here.”

  “Children still scream in the night,” Sky said. “It will be a long time before the Zenge do not haunt their dreams.”

  “Then we must give them other things to dream about,” Hiro said. “I would like to open a dojo.”

  “A dojo?” Sky asked.

  “It translates from Japanese to a place of the way”, Hiro said. The communicator-translator bracelets they wore allowed them to understand each other’s language. There remaine
d words, especially words not in English, requiring explanation until the translator’s intelligence began to understand and accept them.

  “A school for learning the martial arts,” Shah said.

  “All children on Fell are taught how to fight,” Sky said. “It is a major part of our heritage as warriors. To have a place where they can learn the techniques of Hiro, the Earth Ninja, would be welcomed.”

  “Have you heard from Coop,” Hiro asked. Like Coop, Hiro survived the Space Ranger Project. The two formed close bonds during and after the program. While Coop followed his dreams to fly in space by joining the Navy Flight School, Hiro followed a different path. He returned to university and received degrees and advanced degrees in planetology.

  “I’m afraid we have lost him,” Sky replied sadly. “Patterson tells us to remain patient. She says events on Earth move in a bad direction. Someone tried to kill him inside Space Fleet’s medical center. I know she cannot say things which might be overheard, but I know she moved him to a safer place. Storm and I want to be with him, to keep him safe. She insists we remain here with our family and friends. That she, nor Nathan Trent, will tell us his condition means he must be the same, or worse.”

  Hiro placed an arm around the taller Fellen, hugging her close, in spite of the sweat on his gi.

  “I have known Pamela Patterson for many years,” Hiro says. “She loves Daniel Cooper, and keeping him safe while he continues to heal will cause her to act overly cautious. Only Elie may know Coop better than Pam. But all who know him realize he would not ask that you abandon Fell and family to sit and wait for him to awaken. It is what we call a personality flaw,” the Japanese swordsman tells her. “He would lay his life down for every one of his friends, you included. Any one faced with a fight knows he will be rushing to stand with us. We all pray he would ask us to be there for him in times of trouble. We also know it is not his way. When danger is nearest him, he will not call his friends.”

  “That is just stupid,” Sky replied. Her eyes melted to burnt orange and her rising blood pressure darkened the tone of her skin.

  “Don’t get angry, Sky,” Shah interjected. “Coop is male. They’re just wired for stupid, especially when it comes to protecting people they love.”

  “I beg your pardon,” Hiro said, pretending injury by her statements as he released Sky.

  “I believe I had to take you to bed,” Shah answered, adding a wry smile. “Big, bad ninja was either too stupid or too afraid to make the first move.”

  “It’s will be difficult to see you go,” Sky said to them. “It would have been wonderful to see your dojo in action. We thought we would have you with us longer. The short amount of time has been well spent. Your people helped us reclaim our world, and have joined Fellen to rebuild our space ports. Every day more of my people come out of hiding. You’ve given us our planet back, and we will forever be grateful.”

  “We’re not going back,” Shah said softly, taking Hiro’s hand. “I plan on resigning my commission. I’d like to stay to help open Hiro’s dojo. If the people of Fell will have us.”

  “Are you sure?” Sky asked. Caught off-guard by the statement, she stammered, “Of course you can stay. You are already members of our tribe. But what about your career? What will Space Fleet do?”

  “Space Fleet has changed since we left,” Shah said. “With Admiral Patterson retired, and the new policies regarding aliens, it just isn’t the same group I signed up to serve. I’ve already informed Colonel Gregory, who completely understands.”

  “There will be several-thousand others who also wish to remain,” Hiro added. “All who came to fight volunteered. Most do not serve under Space Fleet. Some do not serve military branches directly under the UEC’s control. I have listened to many who have fallen in love with your planet and its people, just as Cindy and I have.” Hiro stopped. He stood as if listening to the spirits of Fell.

  “Some, like Cindy, will be allowed to resign their positions and remain on Fell legally,” he continued. “Some will be branded deserters and might never be able to return to Earth without facing prison.”

  “Everyone who wishes to remain will be welcome,” Sky assured him. “We will build them homes. We will provide them with work. Fell has never been completely open to those from other worlds. Those visiting from off-world remained in the villages of the space ports, allowed limited access to our world’s beauty. Maybe our reclusiveness factored in our defeat by the Zenge. We will not repeat mistakes. Those who stay will be Fellen.”

  “If you will talk with your fellow tribesmen, and those of the other tribes, and if all agree, I will make it known to those who wish to remain, they will have a home,” Hiro said to Sky, and presented a small bow of gratitude.

  “I’ll talk with them,” Sky assured him. “But they will say what I have already said. Anyone who voices anything else will have to answer to me.”

  Mars Shipyard and Docks

  “There will be changes.”

  Rear Admiral (lower) Stephen J. Hawks stood before a massive hologram. One wall of his office recently converted to the latest in holo-technology.

  “I, and many others, believe these changes are long overdue and necessary as we face new challenges. In respect for who you are and what you have done for us, I wanted to inform you of our plans personally.”

  Captain Sam Harrington, commander of the SFPT-99, Franklin D. Roosevelt, stood at ease, facing the display of spaceships floating before him. Chief of Security, Benedict (Benny) Claflin sat relaxed in a chair, eyes on the same display. The two men Space Ranger survivors, both British special operators prior to that project; Claflin SAS and Harrington RAF. Currently they served under the command of Hawks.

  Hawks, a slender man with undistinguished caucasian features and short brown hair, greying at the temples, cleared his throat and continued.

  “You will remain on the Roosevelt, Captain Harrington. There is no need to replace members of your crew. Other than your AI’s avatar, everyone assigned to the PT-99 is human.”

  Harrington nodded.

  “Captain Sligh is retiring. Captain Cooper remains AWOL. Captain Elena Casalobos will be assigned as the commanding officer of the Kennedy upon her return from Operation Crossroads.” Neither man offered a comment regarding Cooper or Casalobos, fellow Space Rangers.

  “Captain Casalobos will need to select an Executive Officer. The ship’s avatar will no longer be recognized as a Ship’s Counselor, nor maintain a military designation. Because of her importance to the well-being of the ship’s Artificial Intelligence unit, she will remain on board. She can act as a civilian secretary for the ship’s commander, but she will not sit at bridge controls.”

  Hawks waved the images of the two Patrol and Torpedo Class vessels off to the side. He expanded the image of a larger vessel with a long flat surface atop the ship. A traditional-appearing command tower rose above the stern’s surface.

  “Our new Space Fleet Carrier Class ship, the Elliott S. Fairchild. Reconstruction projects to convert a Destroyer Class into our first Carrier, SFCC 101, are complete. She will soon launch from MSD. I will personally take command of the Fairchild.”

  “A bit difficult, that,” Claflin said, his British accent faint, but discernible. “What with you commanding MSD and second in command to Admiral Singletary for all of Space Fleet.”

  “I will maintain my command of MSD and the Martian sites. The majority of my time will be spent on MSD taking care of Fleet business,” Hawks replied. “When the order comes in to send a battle group to the Ares System arises, I will transfer from the platform to the ship.”

  “Until that order, when you are on MSD and the Carrier is operational?” Harrington asked.

  “Captain Noa Tal will be my First Officer,” the Admiral replied. “Captain Tal will also command the new six-fighter wing of Spirit-class ships hangared aboard the Elliott. Singletary promised Captain Casalobos that position, but had to be replaced with her assignment to the Kennedy. When I am on MSD, C
aptain Tal commands the Fairchild.”

  “Noa is a fantastic pilot, but does not have much in the way of command experience,” Harrington said. “She’s also loyal to Cooper.”

  “Why I want her in my sights at all times,” Hawks replied. “This holo-wall will display the bridge of any ship any time I want. If I decide Tal is a problem, I can take control from here and it will be like I was there.”

  Hawks pushed the carrier aside, waved in another spaceship, and expanded the image.

  “Captain Pare´will take command of Pegasus. The Destroyer Class battleship is already undergoing trials. By now I am sure you are both aware our newest ships, Fairchild, Pegasus and the SFPT-89 when completed, will not use Artificial Intelligence operating systems. We do not believe the AI and avatar experiment warrants the risks and problems associated with them. More traditional, time-tested operating systems will be installed. This means officers and crew will be more responsible for the ships’ systems, but I see that as a positive.”

  Neither Brit commented on Paré. Truth be known, the French Canadian presented an enigma to everyone. Never phased by anything. Never attempting to get close to anyone. Disciplined and deadly.

  “Once the Star Gazer makes the final return with our personnel, any of the aliens currently in New Zealand, or those who ventured off the island to other parts of our world, will be provided the option to board her for a return to Osperantue. I realize not all of the aliens are from Osperantue, but they may see it as a potential way-station to their own worlds.”

  Hawks pushed Pegasus to the side, joining the three ships drifting in holo-space. He made a motion with this fingers, and the Star Gazer appeared. The ship looking like a black baseball attached to a black basketball.