Once again the Deimos AI interrupted, "Apologizing me. If a Representative remains within this facility, a Guardian will not be necessary. Two Guardians and one Representative would constitute the optimum number for your first contact mission."
"Thanks again, Deimos," said Arnold. "Ariane? Zack? Gertrude? Are you onboard with this?"
"Sounds good to me," said Zack.
"Ariane?"
"I'm good," said Ariane.
"Gertrude?"
Gertrude, her long golden hair in a single, thick braid ending halfway down her back, was tall, lanky and very athletic. She was also a Viking warrior in the truest sense of the word. A month earlier, she'd saved the expedition from certain failure when she foiled the plans of Dmitri Krupski, political officer from Sergei's ship. Before Murmansk had been destroyed in a nuclear explosion, Krupski, Sergei and Olga Dostoyevski had taken the Soviet shuttle down to the surface of Deimos, where Olga had been invited to help the scientists on Capri with the task of translating the inscriptions on the Sentinel Key.
It turned out Krupski was pursuing his own agenda.
In a bold attempt to interrupt the Sentinel activation process, Krupski had brandished a concealed pulse pistol and took Gertrude, Ariane and the expedition's three scientists as hostages. His intention was to use the hostages as leverage to high-jack the Sentinel Key and turn it over to his Custodian handler. Olga had not been privy to Krupski's evil plan and was as shocked as everyone else when the pistol appeared.
Krupski was in the process of herding his prisoners down to Capri's airlock, using MacPherson and Arnold to transport the Sentinel Key, when Gertrude intervened. While the politico was temporarily distracted negotiating a hatch inside Capri, she had justifiably and savagely turned on him. After a brief, one-sided struggle, she dispatched the turncoat by impaling him through his treacherous heart with her Viking ceremonial knife.
"Yeah," she said. "I'll go too."
Zack looked over at her and winked as he said, "Just who are the Guardians, again?"
Gertrude gave him an amused look. "If you feel up to it," she said, "I'd be more than happy to give a Federation marine a few tips on how to handle himself in close quarter combat."
"I'm game, but you'll need to go easy on me."
"I guarantee no broken bones, but bruises are fair game."
"No pain, no gain," said Zack.
Arnold smiled at the two of them before continuing, "Actually, having the three of you as a first contact team makes very good sense. You're all highly experienced in space travel and in combat situations. You've shown yourselves to be cool when confronted by the unknown, and none of you seem to be the type to shoot first and ask questions later. We could sleep on it, if you wish, but I think you three should make up the delegation that'll meet with the Hordea."
"I don't much like the idea of my daughter heading off into the unknown," said MacPherson, "but sending Ariane would seem to be the best arrangement for the task."
"Can't say I like it either," growled Holger, "but it sounds like the mission really needs her. I'd be a fool to stand in the way."
"Thank you, Father," said Gertrude.
"What about the fact that none of us has had squat for diplomatic training?" asked Zack.
"Hard to say whether any of that training would help in this situation," Ariane replied. "Human diplomats are trained to interact with other humans. All that aside, I don't think we really have any choice in the matter."
"I'm all in for making contact with the Hordea," said Zack, "we have to do that, but when are we going to reveal this Galactic citizenship deal to the Federation and Soviet governments?"
Arnold thought for a moment before responding. "We won't be able to go public before your team meets with the Hordea, and we get some kind of report on the Soviet situation from Won and Sergei," he said. "I don't think it's advisable to move forward until we know the results from both of those encounters. A host of new variables will be introduced after this affair becomes general knowledge, and it's safe to say things are going to get very messy when all the bureaucrats from both governments get involved. Not to mention the general public."
"Can't argue that," said Zack.
"So let me go over what we've decided to do," Arnold continued. "Won, Sergei and Symantia will head over to Soviet space and survey the situation there. Ariane, Gertrude and Zack will go make contact with the Hordea, and the rest of us will stay here and continue to work on the Sentinel Pyramid. Are we all agreed?"
He looked around the chamber and saw everyone nodding in agreement.
Zack spoke up again, "When we do go back to the Central Planets, I think it'll be important to give the Federation some kind of grand introduction, something that'll really get their attention."
"We'll have to work on that," said Arnold.
"Before we break up," said Symantia, "I have something for you." She opened the box she'd brought with her and removed a handful of translation devices identical to the one she wore around her neck. "You'll need these when you make contact with the Hordea. I suggest you wear them all the time. Even though a single one of them can provide translations for everyone in a room or on a com, you never know when you might be in a situation where you're the only person equipped with one."
Zack, Gertrude and Ariane each took one of the translators and hung it around their neck.
After the Representatives and Guardians left the common room to prepare for their respective missions, MacPherson and the rest of the advisors had a meeting of their own in the now much-emptier chamber. Symantia remained to observe. The Professor got up and stood next to the same table Arnold had used, while the others took seats on the nearby benches.
Holger slid onto the bench next to Olga and bent forward, leaning on his elbows. "Okay, MacPherson, what's next?"
"That's a very good question, Holger," said MacPherson. "Those of us in this room are the first advisors to be appointed," said MacPherson. "There will, no doubt, be others, but for now we're it. Given the scope of the tasks our colleagues have in front of them, I expect they're going to need us."
"Won and Sergei are leavin' on a mission," said Holger, "who's gonna be in charge of the Jovian Hegemony?"
"Won's vice-premier will handle affairs while he's gone," replied MacPherson. He paused for a moment before continuing, "This next step will require your approval, Holger, but after a great deal of discussion, we've concluded that you should be placed in overall control of the Sol system."
Holger sat up on his bench. "Me?" he said. "And what crime did I commit to deserve this...honor?"
"It's really quite straightforward," replied MacPherson. "You're currently King of the most powerful nation in the entire system. If your Vikings join forces with the Hegemony, the resulting combination will be even more formidable. Your two governments working together should easily be able to maintain order and protect the system."
"Protect the system?" asked Holger.
"Make no mistake," said MacPherson, "these Custodians represent an immediate and formidable danger. They came very close to derailing the citizenship process when they took control of Sergei's ship, and it would be pure folly to think they aren't making plans to try something else."
"What's to stop somethin' like that from happenin' again?" asked Holger. "Those thrice-damned, black-hearted beasts neutralized the weapons on three of my ships last time we fought them. How do you expect me to meet that threat?"
Symantia spoke up. "The Custodians violated some very strict rules during that incident. While that matter is still under investigation, I have been instructed to take specific action to ensure you are protected from their weapons neutralizer technology."
"What did you do?" asked Holger.
"I am not allowed to reveal details but, rest assured, that particular technology will no longer function in human space."
"Okay, if you say so," said Holger, not really sounding like he was convinced. "So, let me get this straight. You're sayin' the entire Sol s
ystem is mine to protect?" he asked. "That's a pretty tall order."
"If it's any consolation," said MacPherson, "all of us and Symantia have the utmost faith that you're up to the task."
"Can't say I'm in favor of any of this," said Holger, "but not havin' to face a threat from the Hegemony would help some."
"Things are going to be a lot different from now on, Holger. You might think of Sol as a test system for the rest of Humanity."
"No pressure there," muttered the big Viking, shaking his head.
Chapter 7. Departures.
Sol system, inside Deimos, October 1, 2676.
Three hours later, Won and Sergei were ready to depart on their mission to Soviet space. When prompted by the Deimos AI, they shouldered their duffels and left the common room. A short way down the corridor they turned left into a branch they hadn't seen before. They wound their way down the unfamiliar corridor, through another portal opening, and into the largest chamber they or any of the other humans had seen during their stay within the moon.
Unlike every other space inside the moon, this chamber was not a hemisphere or some variation of one. Instead, it was roughly cylindrical in shape and looked to be about a hundred meters in diameter and perhaps fifty meters in height. In the center of the cylinder was a circular dais about two meters tall and roughly seventy-five to eighty meters in diameter.
In a flash, Sergei realized the space they were in was a spaceship hangar, and the raised dais was a landing pad! The sleek, unfamiliar construct on the dais had to be Symantia L'Proxa's Sentinel scoutship.
Looking upward, he saw the perimeter around the upper end of the cylinder was a somewhat battered circle, in contrast to the perfectly round perimeter at the base. Not only that, the space within the imperfect ring above was covered over with one of the ubiquitous green force curtains that abounded within the moon. With a shock, Sergei realized the ceiling he was looking at was actually the floor of a crater and the force curtain was shielding an opening to the outside!
He turned his attention back to Symantia's ship. The craft was radically unlike anything Sergei had ever seen. First off, it was much smaller than he had imagined. Capri was not a large ship, but this one was barely half her size. It was shaped roughly like an almond, with the pointed end facing aft. The exterior surface was made up of a series of small, irregularly-shaped facets, like a jewel carved out of a larger stone by a demented gem cutter. Something about the material the ship was made of, how it diffracted and absorbed the light, made it hard to focus on the ship's surface, and Sergei had to really concentrate to keep from averting his gaze. He realized he was looking at a level of stealth technology far in advance of anything ever even imagined by humans.
There was also no evidence of any sort of conventional drive system or any of the other exterior features one would normally expect to find on a spaceship. With the exception of a rear-hinged trapezoidal door in the bottom of the ship, which also served as a boarding ramp, the outside was featureless.
He looked at Won and shook his head in wonderment.
"Unbelievable," he said. "Imagine what we could do with a fleet of such ships."
Won followed him up the ramp to the interior of the amazing ship. If they thought the exterior was strange, it was nothing compared to what they encountered inside.
Symantia was sitting in front of a 270-degree command console featuring a bewildering array of unfamiliar controls.
"I have prepared two sets of quarters," she said, pointing to the aft of the ship. "It doesn't matter which one you chose, they are identical. Please, make yourselves at home."
Won and Sergei headed aft down a short, narrow corridor. Won, who was in the lead, entered the first set of quarters while Sergei continued past him to the second. The chamber he found himself in was understandably cramped but surprisingly well appointed. While he was stowing his gear, he felt the ship begin to move upward. He and Won were both back on the bridge watching the panoramic viewscreen in wonder as the scoutship eased through the force curtain masquerading as the floor of a crater. Free of Deimos, they departed for the Alpha hyperzone of the Sol system.
***
Back on Deimos, the other expedition, the one whose task was to make contact with the Hordea, continued to make preparations. Zack, Ariane and Gertrude were in the aft cargo hold of Capri taking inventory and making a list of a needed supplies. Capri had been acting as a storehouse and the members of the expedition had been whittling away at the stores over the last month or so. Any items they were short of, mostly foodstuffs, would be supplied by the Vikings or the Jovians. They also needed to top off the ship's reaction fluid reservoirs. Zack was inspecting the two sets of personal battle armor and several cases of hand weapons the expedition had originally brought with them.
"I don't know how bad we'll need any of this stuff," he said, "but I get a warm feeling knowing we've got it,"
"My father will be sending over my battle armor and some of my personal effects when they deliver our supplies later this afternoon," said Gertrude.
"If the two of you will excuse me," said Zack, "I need to go outside and do something about the tether that goes to the entryway. Right now it's just wrapped around one of the landing struts."
"What're you going to do?" asked Ariane.
"I'm going to brush the dust off the bedrock, plant this post, and secure the tether to it," said Zack, hefting an anchoring device that was part of the Expedition's exploration equipment. "The dust layer is only a couple of centimeters deep, and the adhesive on the bottom pad of this post will bond it to the rock."
"You sure that'll be enough?"
"Let's just say I think Capri would have a hard time breaking this post loose with her thrusters, once I get it anchored."
"Be careful out there," said Ariane.
"Always."
Zack took his anchoring post and headed for the front airlock, leaving the two women in the cargo hold to wrap up the inventory. Within twenty minutes, they'd finished and gone forward to Capri's galley for a short break. Upon arrival, they each dispensed a cup of coffee before sitting down across from one another at one of the two tables.
Gertrude sampled her coffee and nodded her head in approval. "We get our coffee from earth, but it isn't nearly as good as this."
Ariane took a sip of her own coffee and sat back in her seat. "It comes from Nueva Columbia, an area on Nova Philadelphia where the climate is perfect for producing coffee."
Across from her, Gertrude put her cup down on the table, closed her eyes and stretched elaborately.
"I never thought to ask," said Ariane. "You mentioned earlier you had children. Are they going to be okay without you?'
"They'll miss me, but they'll be fine," replied Gertrude. "We Vikings have a sort of communal approach to child rearing. Our children are used to their parents being absent."
"Again, I never thought to ask," said Ariane. "Who is their father?"
"Erik Thorson is my husband," said Gertrude.
"Our Erik?"
"Yes." Replied Gertrude. "We've been joined for just over five years now."
"Hasn't that been difficult?"
"Yes and no, but it's our way. I'd be lying if I told you there were no risks associated with our lifestyle though. We do try to avoid going on missions together or even being on the same ship most of the time. I suppose the best answer is we're Vikings."
"That's all the explanation I need," said Ariane.
"I have a question of my own," said Gertrude.
"Go ahead."
"Is there something going on between you and Zack?"
The question seemed to take Ariane completely by surprise. "What? No! I mean, I like him a lot, but it certainly doesn't go any further than that."
"I've seen the way you look at each other," said Gertrude. "I was just wondering."
"Not to worry, we're just good friends."
Chapter 8. Keeling's Shuttle Services.
Sol system, low Earth orbit, October 4, 2676.<
br />
The Sol System was among the most remote and dangerous places in Human space. It was general knowledge that the planet Earth had been the birthplace of Mankind, but the planet had been rendered all but uninhabitable some five hundred years ago by an all-out nuclear war. Prior to that event, fortunately for Mankind, a steady stream of immigrants seeking a better life had begun leaving the planet and the system.
This mass migration was made possible by the almost simultaneous development of two landmark inventions. The first of these was the space elevator, which made relatively inexpensive and reliable transportation of people and goods into space available. The second was the sublight/hyperdrive technology that had turned spaceships into starships, thus enabling travel among the stars that, for all practical purposes, exceeded the speed of light. These two inventions had allowed Mankind to establish populations on inhabitable planets in over a dozen star systems within the first fifty years of their introduction.
The colonists had arrived willing, eager and capable of taming their new home worlds, bringing with them the highly advanced technology man had developed over millennia and putting it to work with a vengeance. Blessed with nearly unlimited resources and plenty of elbow room, the people forging their new homes on these colony worlds prospered and multiplied. Meanwhile, Earth itself continued to deteriorate. The planet had been grossly overpopulated and strained to the limit even before the migrations began. While the tsunami of colonists leaving had provided the critical masses of people needed to jump-start a wide array of colonies, it had done virtually nothing to ease the population burdens on the Home Planet. To make matters worse, having seen the handwriting on the wall, many of those included in the exodus were the best and brightest Mankind had to offer.
A solution to the problem, of sorts, finally and perhaps inevitably presented itself.
Earth had been devastated five centuries earlier when the ever-present conflicts over political and religious differences, combined with the planet's steadily declining supplies of land and natural resources, led to a series of devastating nuclear exchanges. Exactly which government or terrorist organization initiated the holocaust was still disputed, but the resulting conflagration and its deadly aftermath had the effect of brutally slashing the population of Earth by more than ninety-five percent while, at the same time, rendering vast areas of the planet uninhabitable.
The Archeon Codex: Guardians of the Galactic Sentinel Book 2 Page 5
