Earth Ship Protectress: Book Two in the Freddy Anderson Chronicles

by John Ricks

  I could feel her happiness at this. I think she thought that she would be left out.

  “Aye aye, Commander. Will do.”

  “What’s her name, Master Chief?”

  “She’s Air Force One until the president disembarks. Then, since she’s the first of the ships to actually carry the president, we’d like to call her America’s Pride.”

  I said, “I like that. Who thought up that one?”

  “Colleen did.”

  “Tell her thanks for me, and let her know that I want the team to figure out names for the rest of the ships. Try to give them names that fit a category. All shuttles need to be named something with either America or Pride in the name.”

  “Will do, Freddy.”

  We boarded, and everyone settled down. Marian Smith was at navigation, Betsy Donet had weapons and science, Katie Swanson had communications, and Denise Potter had systems and shields. Melanie was sitting next to the president, Susan was sitting in the middle at the captain’s spot, and I sat next to her. The admiral and the civilians wanted to stay at the base for a while.

  Susan said, “Smith, set a course for the White House.”

  “Captain, we have presidential priority all the way and clearance to land on the White House lawn any time within the next two hours.”

  “Very good, Swanson. Smith, I want to drop on the White House lawn in exactly 1.5 hours.”

  “Plotted and set in, Captain.”

  I looked over at the president and said, “I think they watch too much TV.”

  The front screens came up, with a small insert at the bottom of the screen showing the sides and back. The shields came up, and I heard Katie ask the base for permission to depart.

  “Permission granted. The shield door is open, and everything is clear up to ten miles. Good luck, friends.”

  “Thanks. Captain, we have clearance from home base for takeoff.”

  “Engage, and make me proud, girls.” The commander was close to tears.

  I reached out and touched her shoulders. “Good job, Captain.”

  She smiled but kept her eyes on the screens.

  Air Force One/America’s Pride lifted up slowly and smoothly. They had practiced long and hard on this. Each one of them must have felt as if she had flown around the world a thousand times, but that was nothing compared to the real thing.

  We drifted almost straight up, just going to the side enough to align with the door in the base shield, and then we ascended at an alarming rate.

  It took only three seconds before Marian reported, “Captain, we’re at eighty thousand feet.” She pushed the controls forward, and we shot out like a bullet. There was no noise and only a little feeling of movement. Thank goodness I had set the dampening controls correctly.

  “Captain,” I said, “please, on the first flight of any ship, start out slowly. If I’d set the dampers wrong or not matched up the shield velocity modulators, then we’d be mush right now.”

  “My fault. Got that, Marian? Everyone?”

  “Understood,” they said in unison.

  “I trust your work, Freddy. But it’s nice to know that you believe you’re human.”

  “Captain, now that you’re going to get reports from Shop, you’ll see just how human I am, and you can look back on this takeoff and thank God for the blessing he just granted all of us.”

  She looked at me with shock. I was sweating and with good reason. I had seen what the wrong settings did to an apple. There had been nothing left but sauce, not even seeds.

  After things were going well, the captain turned to the president and apologized for her error in judgment.

  The president said, “Do that again, and I’m going to need a change of clothes! Apology accepted, but please be careful.”

  “Yes, ma’am. Now, Freddy, please explain to me why we don’t feel the pressure of acceleration.”

  “Oh, that’s easy.” I spent the next hour going through the math. When I start talking shop, I forget that others have no idea what I’m saying. It was an hour before the commander stopped me and said, “Could you please go back to the point where I lost you?”

  “Sure. Where was that?”

  “When you said that it has to do with tricircular molecular physics.”

  “But that was …” I blushed. “Sorry.”

  “That’s okay.” She turned to the president. “I did that to show you why he has to go with us on the destroyer.”

  “I get your point,” she said. “I doubt anyone in the world could keep up with him.”

  I said, “Dorothy Pendelson’s father, Professor Jim Pendelson at MIT, and his team could. He was the main reason I invented tricircular physics. Some of it came from his ideas.”

  The president said to Susan, “Didn’t she say that her father wanted to visit?”

  “Yes. Very much.”

  “If he and his team can pass the screening, then I want them at the base, learning.”

  I said, “After the mission. I’ll have no one except the commander in my shop again until I get rid of those bombs.”

  “I understand, Freddy, but he could stay at the base and learn on the ships you bring out.”

  “I guess so, if the commander agrees.”

  “Sorry, Madam President, but I think that’s a bad idea. Freddy doesn’t have time to teach the professor much at this point, and his stuff is not patented yet. We need to keep the distractions down as much as possible, and I can just see what would happen when the professor got there. Three days later, he and Freddy would still be deep in a mathematical discussion that had no chance of ever ending.”

  I put my hands on my hips and said with a little indignation, “And what’s wrong with that?”

  They both looked at me and said at the same time, “Everything.”

  The president said, “I see what you mean. I bow to your expertise.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Captain, we’re almost above the White House,” said Marian.

  “Swanson, do we have communications with the White House yet?” Susan asked.

  “Yes, ma’am. They’re ready and waiting for our landing.”

  “Carry on, navigator.”

  They were all smiling. This group was so happy, they were almost giggly, and this made me very happy. I couldn’t help it. This kind of emotion is very contagious for an empathic person. It was easy to see that Melanie was the same way.

  Melanie pathed in almost childish laughter. “Freddy, do you feel that?”

  “Of course I do. Fun, isn’t it?”

  “I’ve never felt like this before.”

  Katie pathed, “You’re empathic, then; so is Freddy. I’m not, but the joy is so thick in here that everyone feels it. Look at the smile on the president’s face. She’s beaming. It’s not just that they’re flying this ship for the first time, but this proves that the ship works. For the first time in months, the president is allowing herself to be happy … hopeful … and she’s transmitting this to everyone.”

  “She’s not telepathic, Melanie,” I added, “and she doesn’t receive emotions at all, but she transmits her emotions, and when she does, it affects everyone. You need to attune yourself to this, and let her know when she’s doing it. Teach her to use it. It’s a powerful weapon for her if she can learn to control it.”

  “I will.”

  “Good girl,” said Katie.

  “Captain, landing in five, four, three, two … we’re down.”

  “Good job, team. Donet, scan for issues, and report.”

  “All appears clear, Captain.”

  “Stand by to open the hatch.”

  The girls gathered their weapons from the weapon storage locker. “Set on lowest stun setting. I don’t want an incident that we can’t reverse,” said Susan.

  I put my hand on Susan�
��s arm. “I haven’t tested them yet, ma’am.”

  “We have, Freddy, and we had to readjust them a little. The ones you left in the trainer were adjusted so that stun meant ‘cooked well done.’ At the lowest setting, it disables at a distance of about one hundred and twenty feet. Anything higher, and your target is toast or complete dust. In addition, they have a charge that lasts for seventy full power shots. We tested out what ‘full power’ means, Freddy.” She looked right into my eyes. “If you would have used that stunner at the airport last year, you would have killed all those men and removed the building and several other buildings! We need to talk about limiting the power of this design.”

  I blushed.

  She turned to the team and said, “If everyone is ready, then open the hatch, Potter.”

  Two of the girls preceded the captain and me down the open hatch. When they were in place, the president and Melanie came down. We shook hands and thanked her, and she returned the thanks, all formal like. The president walked up to the White House with new Special Service personnel, and we reentered the shuttle.

  Susan said, “Job well done, team. Now let’s go home.”

  We talked about many things on the way, including opinions on everything that had happened in the last two days. When we were almost home, we received a call from the president.

  Katie said, “Captain, the president would like us to know that the generals have already found seven planets that look promising.”

  I said, “Ask her if there were any signs of intelligent life on them.”

  “She says yes, on two of them, possibly three.”

  “Tell her that they found only five and possibly four, then. But let her know that trade contacts may be a possibility.”

  “She says she understands, and a team will be established to determine what our proper conduct should be.”

  “Hold on to that connection, please.” I sat there in thought. After a few minutes, I said, “Tell the president that I am sorry for holding her up, and put her on speaker.”

  “Hello, Freddy.”

  “Hello, ma’am. I was thinking it would be a mistake to believe that any contact with another species is going to be mundane. The possibility of our wiping them out or their wiping us out is very real when you think on the microorganism level. On your team, I would suggest that you include a microbiologist, medical specialists, military, and someone who can hold to some form of morality without getting fanatical about it. I believe that some people will not listen to reason on this subject. People are going to want to put their hands on everything, as that is our nature, and that may not be the best idea. Please add in a telepath, if you have one, with orders that the political and secondary agendas are to be reported and canceled out. I know you’re good at this kind of stuff, but Congress is not the right group of people to set this up. Also, I think it would be a good idea to send out probes to monitor these planets. I’ll make some up and send them out after this current project is finished, and I’m back from vacation.”

  “Good ideas all, Freddy. I’ll take them into consideration. Thanks.”

  “That’s all I can ask. I’m glad you’re the kind of person who will listen. Thanks.”

  The captain stepped in. “Madam President?”

  “Yes?”

  “How many people can I take away from NASA? I don’t mean borrow either. I mean take and keep. I want them to belong to us.”

  “As many as you want. If you want the whole group, they’re yours. Just say the word. I’ll contact them and let them know. By the way, Captain, your new rank will be waiting for you when you get home. Good night.” She hung up before anyone could say a word.

  Gray said, “They did not limit those hand weapons.”

  Little Yellows warned me, “Only look and listen.”

  I answered back, “As you wish … at this time.”

  They smiled.

  Green said, “We have several of the hand weapons, thanks to the Grays. However, we cannot duplicate them at this time. We are working on it.”

  Yellows asked, “Where are you testing them?”

  Green said, “We tried the gunnery range in this ship. That was a mistake.”

  Gray said, “I thought one of their ships blew that hole in the side of this ship.”

  Green cringed. “No, it was one of my pen mates. Now we use a maximum shielded room.”

  Yellows said, “We have a question.”

  Green said, “Go ahead.”

  “What is NASA?”

  Green said, “That is one we know well. NASA is one of their entertainment groups.”

  Gray asked, “That does not make sense. Why would this Black, called Susan, want to have entertainers for this scientific research?”

  Green said, “Experience. This Susan needs creatures with experience. We have found many references that NASA spends a lot of time in space, and that entertainers spend a lot of time spaced out.”

  Yellows said, “Oh, you may be right on this.”

  Little Yellows smiled. “We think you are wrong; otherwise, why is the creature laughing so hard he has tears?”

  Blue, with a half-smile and questioning tilt of his head, looked at little Yellows in surprise and said, “Green, continue.”

  Chapter 23

  Be Professional

  When we set down on the platform at home, the entire crew was waiting for us. As the commander left the shuttle, I heard the snap of attention and the lieutenant saying, “Welcome back, Captain Susan James.” She handed the newly appointed captain sealed orders in a large package.

  As I departed the shuttle, I received a roaring cheer. They were happy with the first run of one of my ships, and I received handshakes and hugs from everyone. The captain was reading the orders and yelled, “Master Chief!”

  She returned to the new captain and saluted with a smile. “Yes, my captain?”

  “You’re out of uniform, and so is the rest of the team! Is that any way to start your limited duty officer career, Lieutenant?”

  “No, ma’am!”

  “I want the ranks in order—now!”

  “Troops fall in.” The girls ran around like headless chickens and got into lines. The new lieutenant said, “Close interval, dress right, dress.” The girls put their right hands on their hips, with right elbows sticking out, and moved so that their elbow touched the next girl. It was all rather fascinating. When they were all lined up, the new lieutenant said, “Ready, two.” The hands and elbows snapped down in unison, like it was one sound, crisp and clear, and they faced forward.

  The master chief, now lieutenant, came forward and addressed the captain, saying, “Troops standing by, ma’am.”

  “Very good, Lieutenant.” She turned to the group. “First, let me congratulate you on doing a great job with the president and her visitors. What I’m about to tell you is one of the most enjoyable jobs a captain can have. Lieutenant Junior Grade Daphne Morgan, front and center. Congratulations, Lieutenant Morgan, on your promotion.” She took out a set of bars and handed them to Daphne. They saluted each other. This went on through the entire team. It seems that when I was in my workshop, they had taken some kind of proficiency tests, and every one of them had passed with flying colors. The president then pulled some strings to ensure that everyone was promoted. I had no idea that the master chief had applied for rank as an officer. I didn’t know she could. This was great, and everyone was happy. Instead of waiting for a specific period, this group was promoted immediately. Darnel, Henderson, Swanson, Donet, Peters, and McMasters received the rank of chief. I giggled, as I could just see them running around with feathers in their hair, wearing moccasins, and Henry Peters wearing a headdress and carrying a spear. Smith, Parks, and Potter made first-class petty officer, and Pendelson made second-class petty officer. The new lieutenant grumbled something about not being allowed to initiate chiefs anym
ore. I was puzzled about that, but I could ask later.

  The captain said, “One more thing.” She gave the envelope a shake. “Everyone attached to our team for any part of last year has been awarded a navy achievement medal.”

  I must give them credit. With emotions running so high, I couldn’t see how they could hold rank and not even smile. I could tell the difference between the SEALs and the two additions. Those two were smiling and fidgeting. The lieutenant saw this and went right up to them. They weren’t smiling now; they were standing stock still.

  “Master Chief—oh, sorry—Lieutenant! Take over.” The captain quickly departed with a look of satisfaction on her face.

  The lieutenant yelled, “Everyone, except YNC Henry Peters and PN2 Dorothy Pendelson, dismissed.”

  Two of the girls, Colleen and Betsy, came over to me and led me away, saying, “You don’t want to hear this, and they don’t need the witnesses. Witnesses will only make the”—she paused—“lieutenant worse.”

  “Tell me about it,” I said, while rubbing my behind. They laughed, and we crossed the first bridge toward the house. I could already hear the yelling. I felt sorry for those two. They were not used to being in such a well-disciplined unit. That really was no excuse, though, as even I knew better. I put up my shields after I heard, “How dare you embarrass me in front of the captain like that? I can see you need special training. How about you remove the water from that river, and put it in the other one? On the run. Move it!”

  “What do we use, Lieutenant?”

  “I didn’t give you permission to talk!” she yelled.

  I knew the two were out of shape, but they were breathing heavily before they reached the first river. I looked at Betsy and said, “Please tell the lieutenant I am appalled at the condition those two are in. I would expect them to be able to run longer before being winded.”

  She smiled and said, “You realize what that will do, don’t you?”

  “Yes, I do. I expect to start training myself as soon as this first project is completed. I never want to be that out of shape. You cannot afford to be out of shape and be in space.”