I felt a chill go down my spine, but I wasn’t all that surprised, I knew Carl was holding back something catastrophic. I really hoped the General was churning out missiles.
She added in a quiet voice, “It gets worse.”
I looked back up, “What?”
She sighed, “According to the Tressian history it’s already happened to our world twice. Atlantis, old high tech civilizations in Earth’s far past, not so much a legend anymore.”
Well… crap.
My ship was locked up so to speak, only Kristi or I could get back in as we took a shuttle back down to Earth, to the base to meet General Denton. I wasn’t looking forward to the conversation, and although I felt like one, and related to humans, I also felt ashamed at the legacy I’d just inherited from my birth parents.
I got the idea behind it. Species that couldn’t get along at all should probably be kept on the planet to cook a little longer, they aren’t ready. No matter how horrible it sounds, it would be less death than a war in space. But to… use that concept as a thin excuse to push back those civilizations that simply want freedom and a choice to go their own way, wasn’t even close to alright. The Knomen didn’t want partners, they wanted weak followers or none at all.
Well, I wasn’t one of them.
Kristi must have read my mind, because she said softly in my ear, “It’s not you, it’s probably not even most Knomen citizens, just the ones in charge that fear losing their power.”
I smiled weakly in thanks, she was a sweetheart. I’d be okay but damn. It was like finding out I was related to a serial killer or something. I shivered.
We landed the shuttle right on the base, close to the building I’d been in before, and we all piled out. The team all waved and said farewells and we split up at that point, I was sure they would be heavily debriefed elsewhere while Kristi and I met the general. We didn’t have to wait at all this time, he was actually in the conference and interrogation room when we got there, along with a couple of middle aged men in lab coats. Uh oh.
I smiled, “Hi General Denton, a pleasure to see you again.”
He snorted, “Sit, you aren’t in trouble so lay off the sugar coating will you?”
The scientists gazed at each other, clearly in disagreement with the General’s statement.
We sat and the general grunted, “Okay guys, ask your questions.”
Huh, they didn’t even introduce themselves. Maybe they’re NSA scientists.
One of them asked, “Why are you building the support ships separately, it would be more efficient to build them while the ship is being built.”
Kristi snorted, “Because my friend, bureaucracy meet loophole.”
I snickered, “What Kristi means is, when we take those ships out of the solar system, we will need to upload our ship specs to the Knomen. Right now they’ll learn the capabilities of our missiles, anti-mass particle weapons, how fast we can go, how smart our A.I. is, how many missiles it can build per hour, and all sorts of other things.”
I took a breath and held up a hand when he was about to speak.
“I think a part of that purpose is so they can gauge our strength, right now as is, it shows two empty hangers for support craft. They won’t know how good any of those ships are. If we built it as part of the battlecruiser template, they would know. In short, it’s so we can tell the Knomen less, but still be in compliance with their laws.”
The scientist frowned, “I didn’t take tactical reasons into account, and you’re right.”
The second guy asked, “I found it odd that the engineering section is simply a console on the bridge, can you explain that?”
Kristi giggled, “We watch star trek.”
He furrowed his brow at Kristi and looked to me for translation.
“Do you watch star trek?”
He nodded.
“So how often did the engineer call about EPS conduits blowing and cutting off power to deck eleven, sections fifteen through whatever. Or my personal favorite, main power is offline. It makes no sense to design a power system that complicated, and all from one place. There is no specific engineering section because we don’t need it. Main power will never go down because there isn’t any huge reactor to power the ship, there is no main power. There are literally hundreds of smaller cold fusion devices, and all located right next to the systems they power with quite a bit of overlap.
“No power lines to get cut, if one part of the ship gets harmed and we somehow survive, the rest of the ship will have power. Centralizing is a bad idea, especially when the fusion devices will last for many years without service. The only exception to that of course is the EM anti-mass field generators, we have no choice but to have those circle the ship.”
He frowned, “But…”
I smiled gently, “I know, it’s cool to have engineering, but not at all necessary. All we need is a way to keep track of all the different independent systems, which is why there’s a console on the bridge, and that’s done through quantum connections, so still no lines to cut,” I shrugged sheepishly.
“Any other questions?”
The scientists shook their heads, but one commented, “Just to say the Shield missile system is incredible, what made you think of it?”
I turned to Kristi, “Well, what did make you think of it?”
Kristi blushed at the attention, “Well the fighters enhance our offensive capability without the Knomen finding out, I figured we needed something defensive, but not part of the ship.”
He frowned, “But it’s offensive as well.”
She shrugged, “Offense is the best defense.”
The general asked, “How does it work?”
Kristi explained, “Basically they are just missiles. They are bigger of course, about half as big as a fighter, and they have hydrogen storage tanks instead of a cockpit. So you launch about fifty of them, and they surround the ship, syncing to the ship’s movements. So if an enemy launches a missile at you, the closest shield missile will automatically intercept and absorb the attack. It has very robust shields. At the weapon officer’s orders, it can also attack a target ship. It has a built in one shot anti-mass particle weapon that will fire at the enemy ship, then jump to light speed, and then drop its own shields. The mass of the missile, plus all the compressed hydrogen, will instantly turn to energy and strike the enemy ship in the same spot as the particle weapon.”
Kristi shrugged like it was no big deal, “Oh, and the hydrogen is free, it’s programmed to make a run to one of the gas giants after its built, then come back and wait to be assigned a ship. That’s about it really. The hard part was building the A.I. control for the defensive and formation flying.”
General Denton said, “That’s enough, you guys can go and work on your own designs.”
He waited for the men to leave, and then smiled, “I’m glad I didn’t fight it, because it seems you did an excellent job. Will you go over what happened in detail?”
It was about an hour later by the time we finished debriefing the General, including about our Knomen friends.
The General shook his head, “What would you do?”
I shrugged, “Make sure we join, and then build up overwhelming forces, and then tell them we changed our mind. I wouldn’t pick a fight, just get to the point we could fight and do a lot of damage, and they’ll hopefully tolerate us as an independent if the cost of fighting it is too high. Then we can claim all the stars we want away from the core and make new friends. The trick is, you can’t tell anyone that is dealing with Carl what we know, or that its only temporary.”
The General shook his head, “I don’t think I followed that.”
I explained, “Carl will know if we’re being at all deceptive. If we plan to pull out later after a buildup, we can’t let him know that, even the people making the decisions. I know that complicates things, but it’s how it is.”
General Denton asked, “Can he read minds?”
I shook my head, “More like reading an
aura, he’ll be able to tell if someone is deceptive, or holding back the whole truth. Basically you need to read in people that won’t see Carl at all, and have them convince the leaders to accept entry into the Empire for other reasons. Then later on in a year or two, when we have enough to defend Earth, you tell the leaders the rest.”
He shook his head, “I can’t hide this.”
I shrugged, “Neither can they from Carl, and if he learns the Earth wants to be independent, he’ll destroy all our technology and knock us into the stone age. They’ve done it before. You can’t lie to or trick a Knomen, the only way it will work is if the leaders really believe the Empire is a good move.”
He sighed, “I can’t argue with your plan but… What you’re talking about is called conspiracy and fraud, and against the whole Earth no less.”
Kristi said, “Sort of. We aren’t deciding to pull out, maybe once they learn the truth the world leaders won’t care one way or the other, and will decide they love bureaucracy. You’ll simply be giving them the other choice and the ability to make it happen if they wish.”
He snorted, “Well, we’ll see what the NSA thinks of that sophistry, since no doubt they’ve heard every word. I also think… well you don’t need to know that. Thank you again, can I contact you again if needed?”
I nodded, “Sure, I’m not going anywhere.”
We went home then, I hoped my apartment complex didn’t complain, my shuttle took up six spots. I had second thoughts about that halfway to the building, and I sent the shuttle back to the ship, no point in asking for trouble. I also scheduled the upgrade with the large fabricator to reconfigure my ship. Kristi gave me a hug before she left for Joe’s place, and then it was time to sleep, it’d been a very long day.
The next day was boring, but that was to be expected. It was hard to top going to another planet, buying advanced tech, and meeting blue people. Designing ships of mass destruction had been kind of fun as well to be honest. I wasn’t a bloodthirsty person or anything, but who doesn’t like explosions?
Still, I had my coffee, and I attempted to figure out a way to dump the saucer scheme. Unfortunately, I just couldn’t get the field to work in anything but a circle without compromising the integrity of the EM and anti-mass fields. As far as I could tell, the only other option was a cigar shape. I could make that work by running the superconductor in a spiral along the whole thing. So still round, but instead of circling horizontal it ran vertical.
Which mean… I could build something that fit in a parking space. I wasn’t sure how important that would remain however, it depended where the car company designers took it I supposed. I designed the rest of it out, I made it to seat six, put in a restroom, and a small storage space. I also fit in two missile launchers, and a particle beam weapon.
I probably didn’t need it, but if I ever wanted to visit somewhere close, like Tressia, it seemed kind of overkill to go in such a big ship for a three-hour trip. Didn’t it? Although, it would be safer, my larger ship would have more firepower than a family shuttle would. I saved the design, but decided not to build it yet.
Kristi wasn’t back yet, so I figured she was still shacked up with Joe after our little adventure. It was toward the afternoon when things got interesting. The news broke that aliens were real, and we’d been invited to join an interstellar Empire. The reactions were mixed of course; most people didn’t panic but there were outliers.
I’d had fun designing, but got to work on something I’d been putting off. I had to deal with my finances, I had more money than I knew what to do with at the moment, I’d have to research some charities, and perhaps buy a house or two, perhaps invest the rest of it.
Al said, “You have an incoming call, Nathan Smith.”
“Answer it Al… Hi Nathan.”
I was a little surprised he called, but it was a pleasant one.
“Hi Alicia, didn’t want you to think I forgot you. I’ve got a night off tomorrow if you want to do something?”
I smiled, “Yes, what did you have in mind?”
He replied, “It’s a surprise, wear comfortable clothes. I’ll pick you up at seven.”
I told him I would, and we disconnected. Holy crap, I had a date. I didn’t figure he’d really call since he knew I was an alien.
I watched the news for a little bit, I could still feel my mind working on the issue of shape and integrity, while there were several riots, people preaching the end of the world, and of course people who thought we should worship the aliens. It took all kinds. Luckily, most of the world seemed to take it in stride. They also announced an upcoming summit for world leaders. Apparently the ambassadors at the U.N. just couldn’t get anywhere on their own.
To be fair, that was probably more about their instructions than anything else. Leaders could afford to compromise and change their minds, ambassadors were limited to their instructions.
Kristi came home a little after dinner, and she wasn’t in the mood to go out either, so we watched old shows on Netflix for a while and talked.
“What do you plan to do when you graduate?”
Kristi shrugged, “I don’t know yet, why?”
I grinned, “Because I already know you’re smarter than me, if you want to form a company with me… or, I don’t know, need money for a research grant, you don’t have to go very far. I know I want to go exploring at some point, see what we can turn up as far as tech in new worlds.”
Kristi wrinkled her nose, “I’m not smarter than you. But yes, I’d love to work with you, for you, and follow you around when you hit alien planets. Next time we’re getting the damn manuals, I couldn’t figure out the gravity plates either, I need to see the math, not just the circuits.”
I nodded glumly, “I forgot. I was so excited we got all we wanted. I won’t be around tomorrow night by the way, got a date with Nathan.”
Kristi grinned, “He’s cute, and completely smitten with you already, you should go for it.”
I shook my head, “Three date rule. Sometimes I hate it too, but then when I miss out on getting used by cretins like Todd it’s worth it.”
Kate laughed, “Cretin? People don’t use that word anymore.”
I shrugged and pointed at myself, “Alien,” I said shamelessly as an excuse.
She snorted and shook her head, “You’re helpless.”
I redirected, “How’s Joe?”
Kristi smiled, “Good, he’s my keeper I think. It feels different this time, like he doesn’t have a one foot out the door. He even knows I’m intelligent, but he enjoys when I play bimbo.”
I giggled suggestively, “I just bet he does.”
She threw a couch pillow at me, and I decided it was time for bed…
Chapter 10
I looked in the mirror, my outfit was definitely comfortable. I had on a pair of blue jean shorts, and a red shirt that showed just a little midriff and was tight over my breasts, but didn’t show any cleavage. I walked out to the front of my apartment when the doorbell rang and opened the door.
Nathan looked good in uniform, but it was a pale reality to his attractiveness in a pair of black jeans, a blue shirt that was a little too tight, and a large smile on his face that reached his deep blue eyes.
“You look great, are you ready?”
I nodded and wondered where we were going. When we got downstairs I followed him to his ride which was a thirty-six Mustang, and he opened the door for me. We talked for a bit on the way, and I smirked when he pulled into the parking lot for a pool hall. I’d always been really good at it, and of course… now I knew why.
We went inside and I grabbed a table, as Nathan went to pick us up a couple of beers. I found out pretty quickly he was very good at the game too, which made it more fun for me. We didn’t have that much in common job wise, he was a soldier, I was a scientist on my way to getting my PhD. So we talked a lot about music, movies, books, and other hobbies.
He didn’t seem to be intimidated by my intelligence, or the fact that I was an
alien. Granted, I looked human, but he knew what I was. By the fifth game and third beer I as feeling very relaxed, but put my pool cue on the table and excused myself for a restroom visit.
When I got back to the table I froze as I looked down. The back of my mind itched as I stared down at the table. He’d put his cue down as well, and it was placed about two inches away from the other one perfectly parallel.
“Something wrong? Yours is on the left.”
I shook my head, shrugged and picked them up so I could take took my turn. I had a really good time with him, and outside of that moment I froze, I was focused on having a good time with him. I was having too much fun. It was rather late when he dropped me off at the end of the night, I let him kiss me, and regretfully didn’t invite him in, no matter how much I’d wanted to. It was rather tempting though, and I wondered if I could consider our trip to Tressia as the first date so that next time…
Well, I changed and got ready for bed, then went to sleep.
I may have forgotten the pool que incident, but my mind hadn’t, and it hit me like a ton of bricks the next morning. I brought up my interface and designed a new ship, this one looked like… a shuttle out of star trek. It was about the size of an extended van, without wheels of course which mean it had all that extra space on the bottom.
I ran some simulations and… it was a lot tougher and faster than even the bigger ships. The clue had been the cue sticks lined up next to each other. The hull contained a number of straight poles about two inches in diameter that ran the length of the ship, each one separated by four inches. The superconductor was coiled around the poles, in circles as required. The fields overlapped between each pole, which made the EM field as well as the anti-mass field more… dense.
I estimated the shuttle would take up to ten of my missiles, where a battlecruiser would fail at four or five hits. It would also be harder to disrupt with the anti-mass particle weapon, because instead of the craft being surrounded by one field, it was covered by a separate field generator every five inches. At nine feet tall and eight feet wide, that was forty independent generators.
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