Neptune's Massif

by Ben Winston

  "Uh oh!" Ty teased. "You never ask for favors, what's up?"

  "Well, I've been assigned a Raptor and given the mission of getting everything I need ready for an assault on the Caldarian base on Earth..." Alan began explaining.

  "Ah, I see now, you want me to steer any likely recruits your way?" Ty asked.

  "Yeah, that's pretty much exactly what I was going to ask you. I've got a ton of other shit to deal with too, but I need to get the people together so we can get trained and used to each other," Alan replied.

  Ty chuckled. "Jenny warned me before they left. I have four trainees already working hard to get up to a level I would feel safe sending them to you. All four are Talosian, so other than the English language, they don't really know much about Earth."

  "Wow, I appreciate it! I kinda expected them to be Talosian, since those were the only active applicants we had at the moment. If you are already working on it, that will make things go a lot smoother for me. Do you have an idea when they should be ready? I won't hold you to it if one of them screws up," Alan replied chuckling.

  "Actually, I don't think they will, at least not in this phase of training. You might have some issues during the team integration phase, but that's pretty much normal as the different personalities shake out. I will have a few others available if you think you might need them, but be aware that there isn't a lot of them, and all of them are Talosian," Ty replied.

  "I'm sure I can get them to behave. I was thinking about finding Sensei Nokisuno to assist us." Alan replied.

  "Your martial arts instructor from your time with the Agency?" Ty asked.

  "Yeah, he’s one of the wisest people I know and I've been considering putting his name in for recruiting anyway," Alan said. "I do know he resigned from the Agency once he understood exactly what they were using us for."

  "Well, that speaks well of him if nothing else does. I didn't think they would have let him 'resign' once he knew what was going on?" Ty asked.

  "He wasn't at that level, his duties were to simply train us in hand to hand combat. He was also a great help in keeping our sanity, but technically, he wasn’t supposed to interact with us like that. I think he bailed out before they figured out he was talking to us," Alan replied. "Anyway, I'll give recruitment a call and see if someone can't pay him a visit."

  "Knowing them, they probably already have!" Ty said, jokingly. "These knuckle-draggers (slang term for Marines) should be done in a week or so; I'll give you a call when they're ready for pick up."

  "Great! I'll need at least that much time to find some place to train and get the other stuff lined up for us. Thanks a ton for your help, Ty," Alan replied.

  "Hey, what are friends for?" Ty replied. "Take care, Alan."

  "You to, Ty. Later." Alan said and disconnected the call.

  Phoenix Base

  Shark Project R & D lab

  Selene, Earth's Moon

  Sol System

  Sol Sector

  Alan asked for and was granted an interview with the lead researcher of the Shark project. The scientist, Dr. Juno, seemed a bit confused as to why Alan would want to talk to him until Alan explained the mission to him. Then the man got excited.

  "I've been hoping something would come up that would give us the opportunity to contribute on a more active level! Please don't get me wrong, Commander, I don't mean to be happy about the need for underwater combat, but I am simply pleased that our expertise can be of use!" The small Polynesian man replied. "We have been feeling like we have been letting our comrades down by not working on something more directly related to the war effort and protecting the planet."

  "I'm afraid I don't understand what you mean, Doctor? The craft you have been developing are as important to the protection of the planet as a trans-atmospheric fighter is. After all, two-thirds of the planet is water. Those fancy fighter craft and even our most powerful ships would be useless if an enemy got into the oceans. Your research may not be getting the attention of the other programs, but believe me, it’s very much needed," Alan replied.

  "You are being kind, Commander. In all actuality, our goal was to develop the science that would be needed if and when we established underwater colonies for farming as well as mineral extraction. We have come a long way in understanding our world's oceans and what would be needed to allow human beings to live and work in the depths of our own planet. We have even developed a submerged plant that will help to remove the pollution that has been dumped in the world's oceans as well."

  "I think that would be something we need to get built and going as soon as possible. It seems I'm always reading something somewhere about how there is all this garbage in the oceans. It would be good to do something about that, too. However, for the time being, I have to focus on the mission at hand; that is getting the Caldarians out of their base and off our planet. Now here is the data file we have on the base. Will your equipment be able to operate at this depth?" Alan asked.

  "Yes it will. The real question you want to ask is will the Sharks function at this depth without shields giving them away; from the looks of this, the answer is yes. The Shark is designed to operate at depths of up to fifteen thousand feet without the need for external shields to help regulate the pressure. They can go much deeper, but to do so would require the use of shields that could be easily detected by energy sensors.

  You should also understand that as they are now, the armor they are equipped with is a variant of the enigma armor Doctor Benson developed for the Shadow fighter project. This variant uses pressure to generate power to keep the pilot warm as well as to supply power to the engines as a secondary power unit. With enough pressure, the primary reactor could be set to standby, removing the risk of detection completely. However, you might not wish to do that in a combat situation," Dr. Juno explained.

  "I understand that, Doctor. Do you think you could have eight of them built and ready for open water testing in a couple of weeks?" Alan asked.

  "Open water testing? As in the Ocean?" Dr. Juno asked.

  Alan nodded and winked at the doctor. "I would like to take your babies down and drop them in the water to see if we can break them."

  "That would be wonderful, Commander! Will you allow us to come along to record the data? If there is a problem or something you would like changed we could most likely do it on the fly. Where do you have in mind for testing them?" Dr. Juno asked.

  "Well, I don't actually have a place located yet, but I was hoping I'd be able to find a place that wouldn't draw too much attention..." Alan began.

  "My family has an old resort in Hawaii. It's far from most civilization, so we should be able to use it undisturbed. I was considering using it anyway for when we decided to do our tests," Juno replied.

  "That sounds like it would be perfect. However, I also need a place for my team to train together and get ready for the assault on the base. Any place we took over would probably become more of an asset to all of us than anything else," Alan replied.

  Dr. Juno shrugged, "I don't have a problem with that, as long as it doesn't get destroyed. I'm the only surviving member of my family. I have no use for it, but it holds a lot of sentimental value to me. I'd hate to just sell it off to some developer that would turn it into a playground for rich 'haoles' from the mainland."

  "That might be the way to go then. I'll have to speak to a few people since we might need to build a few things, but if you don't mind, I'll get working on getting the place ready for us to use," Alan replied.

  Doctor Juno nodded. "Like I said, I just don't want to see the place destroyed. If you can work with that, then we should be able to do this there."

  "I'll tell you what, let me take a look at the place, I'll see what we need and what we might need to build. I'll get a design hammered out and send it to you for approval before we actually start building it, deal?" Alan suggested.

  "That'll work just fine, Commander. I'll have the Sharks ready for testing in two weeks," Juno replied.

  "I'll be sp
eaking to the guys developing the combat systems as well," Alan said. "I'd like to make sure that they’re on board with this too."

  Dr. Juno chuckled. "I don't think you'll have to worry too much about them; it's my son's team. We simply outgrew this one lab, and so we split off the research. He's in the lab next to us, and we still do all of our reports and meetings together. I'll talk to him about this. He's actually ready for the testing, so I might need him to help get the Sharks built and ready!"

  Phoenix Base

  Transient Officer’s Quarters

  Selene, Earth's Moon

  Sol System

  Sol Sector

  Alan spent the next few days getting familiar with the systems on the Poseidon and getting to know Andreya. Mostly unknown to him, there was a lot going on out in the galaxy. Ian and the Star Dancer had played hide and seek with an Imperial Task Force. They destroyed a large ship yard and an Imperial battleship while planting listening devices all over the system. They managed to do all of that while only taking minor damage to the ship and crew.

  The Talosian diplomats addressed the United Nations on Earth to ratify the Terran Council's promotion of Ian to the rank of Admiral. It also served to make the Earth governments realize that there really were forces out there in space that did not submit to any single nation's control. When he heard about that, Alan knew that at least the American and Chinese governments would do their utmost to infiltrate the Terran organization and steal every secret they could. That would be the last thing the planet needed right now; one of those countries to get their hands on advanced technology!

  Alan was busy devising a mission to 'tag' one of the freighters that were still arriving, loading, and leaving the Caldarian base on Earth. He thought it would be helpful to know where the ships were actually going with so much crude oil. Considering the amount the freighters could carry and how often they ran, there had to be a sizable Caldarian population out there somewhere. He had just finished outlining how the 'tag' should be constructed when Andreya informed him of a priority call from the Council.

  "Put it on screen please Andreya," Alan replied.

  Councilor Laura Johnson, Elias Johnson's widow, appeared on his screen. Alan stood and saluted her. "Good Morning, Councilor, to what do I owe the honor of this call?"

  "Oh please, sit down Alan! I am a civilian after all!" Laura said. "I've been told that you’re the one handling the Caldarian base issue now, is that correct?"

  "Yes Ma'am. Commander Williams handed it off to me just before the Star Dancer jumped out for the Beta Hydri system," Alan replied.

  Laura nodded. "Well, I have some information for you then. It seems that the ARC council has decided that we are worth talking to after all. Our request for the Caldarian ambassador to intervene with his people on our behalf is being considered, and we should have a reply from the ARC’s Caldarian ambassador very soon. May I ask how far along your preparations have come?"

  "Certainly, Councilor. I'm really just getting started. My team is still receiving the initial Raptor team training and, in point of fact, I haven't even met them yet." He went on to tell her about the Sharks and how he had already made contact with the design teams and the suggestion to use the old family resort of Dr. Juno as a training area for the team as well as a testing ground for the Shark. "His only stipulation was that we not destroy anything; it holds great sentimental value to him."

  Laura nodded. "I think we might just have to make sure he is suitably rewarded for offering his family's resort for this. Do you think he would object to our rebuilding it back to its former glory? Basically restoring it back to the way it was?"

  "I think that would be fabulous, Councilor. But how can we find out what that was without asking him about it? I assume you wanted to surprise him from the way you were explaining it."

  "Call me Laura. I'll be the Councilor standing between you and the ARC council on this. Yes, I would like this to be a surprise. If it was a resort, then there were brochures printed for it at one time or another. We’ll find as many of those as we can and work off that. We'll really have to dig for the more private areas of the resort like the kitchens and storage areas."

  While they were speaking, Alan brought up all the images for the resort he had found so far, including several orbital images. He shared them with Laura.

  "Wow this place is really beautiful and really secluded. That's getting to be more and more rare for Hawaii," Laura replied.

  Alan grinned. "I thought the same things when I saw it the first time. I felt that any buildings we might have to build here should match the existing buildings as closely as possible, at least on the outside. I also felt that we should build at least part of this underground, since Hawaii is a primary target for spy satellites. Granted, they’re mostly focused on Pearl Harbor, I would still feel safer with most of the stuff hidden."

  "What do you think would need to be underground?" Laura asked.

  "During the cold war, the Soviets constructed a couple of submarine bases that had their entrances underwater and the births for the subs underground as well. Since Doctor Juno would like to see us colonize the oceans of the planet as well, I thought it would be a good idea to create a base large enough to handle the craft he might plan to build. So what I had in mind would be something like what the Soviets built," Alan explained.

  "That sounds pretty extensive. I don't know if I can get that authorized yet. I might be able to shake loose at least one construction drone for you, for a small base capable of handling the Sharks, but I'm not sure about something bigger. Right now we need every construction drone we have for projects in space," Laura replied.

  Alan looked confused. "Just build more, when they're finished or we don't need them anymore, just recycle them. All it takes is power, and that’s something we have plenty of isn't it?"

  "Yeah, it is," Laura agreed. "But the drones can only do so much without human assistance. In order to run more drones, we need more people. Granted, Janet and her entire department have been working overtime getting us people, but it still takes time to get them trained and used to working in space. "Look, I'll send authorization for a construction drone to be built for you there at the base. Once it's built, get it loaded on your ship or someone will steal it! In the meantime, have Andreya begin searching for every scrap of information she can find about that resort, including any building permits we'll need, and any taxes and such that might be due on it. Track down Paula Nelson, she should still be there on the moon; she's an architect that can help you with the designs for what you want to build." She paused to make a note for herself. "Then I would suggest you pay a visit to this property and get the drone started. I have a feeling once this gets rolling, it's gonna roll fast."

  Two days later, Laura sent a message with news from ARC. "Alan, it looks like the Caldarian ambassador is going to help, but he doesn't think it will work. He will record a message for the base commander to surrender the base and his forces to 'The Alliance'. However, he does not believe such will work. If the free Caldarians even believe that any other Caldarians survived the destruction of their home planet, then they would have been captured by 'the enemy' and no longer to be trusted. So basically, he'll try, but thinks you're going to have to slug it out with them.

  "He did mention that on bases such as this, you will not be dealing with soldiers, but more likely policemen or possibly slave drivers. Alan, he meant 'slave drivers' literally. The Caldarians used slaves, especially human slaves, liberally. I'm almost afraid to speculate on what that means for this base, but I did copy the message over to the Intel section there on the moon. With any luck, they will be able to help you plan your assault. I'm sorry I couldn't give you any better news. If you need anything else, just let me know; there is nothing like the nagging of a woman to get people moving on something. Good Luck!"

  Alan snorted and shook his head at the last line. He didn't know her all that well, but she seemed like a really nice lady.

  Paula, the architect, had
done a remarkable job on the design for the buildings and underground facilities they would need for the Hawaiian base. She took the information Andreya could find about the resort and used that as a basic template at least for the exterior of the buildings and ran with it. The small Hawaiian base would be someplace Alan wouldn't mind serving at all.

  The big drone was programmed and ready, Andreya had secured the appropriate permits and paid the fees, fines and taxes owed against the property. In her checks she uncovered a plot by a development company to get the property for back taxes. The county assessor had been paid off, and the taxes Dr. Juno thought he owed had been a tenth of what had been due. The plan had been for the property to be seized for owed taxes, then sold to the property management company for a fraction of what it was worth. Andreya not only paid up the taxes, she sent an anonymous report to the Hawaiian revenue service detailing the plot and naming the key players. She had made sure the taxes where paid directly to the revenue service so that the local assessor wouldn't be tipped off that the plot had been discovered.

  Today, Alan and Andreya would be dropping the drone off to begin work and then jumping around the globe to visit an old friend of his; Sensei Michi Nokisuno. He had timed it so that he would drop off the drone at dusk. Once it was fully dark, it could and would work on the surface, but once the sun began to rise, it would move underground and work there. One of the first things it did was create a series of holographic 'maskers' that would make sure no one on the surface could see what it was doing at night. Hawaiian nights never really got fully dark unless the sky was overcast and even then it usually didn't last very long.

  Once the big machine was dropped off and had scurried off to get busy, Alan and Andreya took off for the east coast of the mainland United States to wait for the morning, which wasn't really that long of a wait. Alan and Andreya parked the Poseidon and used one of the Terran modified Earth vehicles to get around, and simply went to a truck stop near their destination to have breakfast and wait for morning.

  When they entered the cafe, Andreya guided them over to a booth that was already occupied by two men. They both smiled up at her as she turned back to Alan. "Alan Carlson, this is John and Robert Swan. Gentlemen, this is Alan Carlson." She paused. "Alan, they work for Janet Laskar."