by Ted Iverson
What if he made his point perfectly clear tomorrow and the senior senator disagreed? Could Axion turn everyone to his point of view even if it wasn’t correct? Ty knew he’d have to be flawless in his presentation. He was thinking about this when he heard Axion rap the podium with his ancient gavel.
“Gentlemen, I would like to call your attention to the back of the chamber. It seems we have a distinguished guest among us this morning.” Everyone turned to look. “Mr. Ty Bindl, could you please stand? It is an honor and a privilege to have you sit in on our humble proceedings today.” He began clapping and the chamber of senators followed.
Ty stood, gave a slight raise of his hand, and quickly sat down. This, he could only guess, was a sham. Axion was certainly a sly one.
“Senators, please take a short recess here in the chamber while I go to greet our esteemed guest.” Axion made his way down the aisle into the public gallery where Ty sat and took a seat next to him. “Why are you here?” Axion asked bluntly.
“I thought it was an open proceeding,” Ty replied.
“It is. But the items being discussed today have no bearing on your agenda, or at least, not that I am aware of. So again that leads me to the question: Why are you here?”
“Really, Senator, I am not sure that is any of your business, but if you really must know, I’ll explain. I just wanted to get the feel of this place. You know my father was here many times, and I wanted to understand the draw it had for him. He spoke many times of how he reveled in the atmosphere of this old building. I can see now what he meant. Watching all of you conduct business is impressive as well. That’s it, the reason I came: to be with my father in a way.”
Axion squinted briefly, as if trying to detect sarcasm in Ty’s voice. “I understand that you met briefly with Senator Fillmore yesterday. He tells me that you are prepared for tomorrow?”
Hesitating, Ty answered, “Yes, I am. And I think you’ll be very pleased with what we have.”
“Ahhhh, very good. Just as well since I was going to have my office contact you today to discuss the possibility of your meeting with the OEC this afternoon. Do you think that will be possible?”
Ty tried to control his panic. It wasn’t that his presentation wasn’t ready. He just wasn’t mentally ready, and the senator knew that. Ty’s showing up to observe had backfired. So Ty said the only thing he could: “I think that would be a fine idea. I do need to gather my material, as I didn’t bring it with me. What time should I arrive?” He tried to sound calm, but he was aware that Axion knew better.
“I have the time at 10:30 presently. Would 2:00 be good? That will give all the other senators time to gather.”
“Two it is, sir.” They shook hands. Axion watched as Ty got up and left the chamber. He knew he’d shaken Ty. He smiled, stood, and made his way back to the podium. Rapping the gavel again, he began.
“Gentlemen, thank you for your patience. The rest of today’s session will have to be rescheduled due to an unforeseen matter that has arisen. The OEC will convene at 2:00 p.m. today to review the proposed grant for Space Tech. Tomorrow we will hold a special session to present our findings, and we will vote at that time to approve or deny the grant. I expect a full house, gentlemen.” He slammed the gavel down and proclaimed, “Session adjourned!”
Startled, the senators filed out with curious whispers about the quick dismissal.
The chamber was now empty but for two senators: Axion and Thoma.
Thoma looked at Axion. “That was a most curious move. Why?”
“My friend, it was such good fortune that Mr. Bindl blessed us with his presence this morning. It provided us with the perfect opportunity to put him in the proverbial hot seat. He shows up to ‘see what his father saw.’ A quick, yet lame, excuse. He was here to see how things ran, how I ran them. Know thy enemy. His mistake was being seen. He should have been more discreet.
“I saw opportunity. I drew attention to him. The other senators turned to see an uncomfortable boy. They see us talking. About what? they think. But they know. Then, I surprise him. He thought that he was going to present his case to the entire Senate. Instead I asked him to present it today to the OEC. What choice does he have? He can’t say no. That would make the CEO of Space Tech look like he wasn’t ready for such an important meeting. So he says yes. Visibly shaken, he leaves to prepare for something he is not prepared to do.”
Axion patted Thoma on the back and began walking away. “Opportunity knocks,” he said in an undertone. Then Axion glanced back over his shoulder and, with a scowl, demanded, “Don’t you be late.” With that, he exited the chamber and headed to his office.
Thoma stood motionless. He hated it when he was treated like that, but he was in too deep now. He had to take it. If only he could somehow just figure out a way...
During the entire ride back to the hotel Ty sat brooding. How could he have put himself in this position? What a boneheaded move. He wasn’t upset because he was noticed or because Axion had asked him to move the presentation up. He was beside himself with anger over the fact that he hadn’t demanded to present to the entire Senate. Now he had to tell his brothers. The pit in his stomach grew. He was mumbling to himself when Ed spoke.
“Ty, what’s done is done. You can’t go back, so you must move forward. Do the best you can. You’re ready. Best case is that the OEC loves just how far you’ve gotten in such a short time and they recommend the grant. Worse case—Okay, so we won’t talk about that. Sorry, just trying to help.”
Ty wanted to thank him, but he just wasn’t up to talking. When he caught Ed glancing back at him in the mirror, he did manage a weak smile and a nod.
They arrived at the AxMet, and Ty was making his way through the lobby when he was stopped by Paul.
“Ty, follow me, please.”
Reluctantly, he followed the older gentleman. He just wanted to tell his brothers the bad news and get it over with. Paul and Ed led Ty down a corridor and into a room. The hatch slid closed, and Ty noticed that the room was round and was anchored by a large, circular table in the center. It looked like a glorified holonet device. There were several chairs around it. Paul motioned for him to sit and Ty did so, wondering what this was all about. Then the room shook and began to rise. He could feel the motion only slightly. Then, as quickly as it had started, the motion stopped. Ty was bewildered.
“My private, secure conference room,” Pau said, answering Ty’s unasked question. “We are located dead center of the hotel and are atop the roof in order to obtain optimal reception. Now, I believe you have some people you need to contact?”
“How did you know? We just arrived.”
“I could tell you, as I have in the past, that I have many contacts, but in this case, Ed notified me of the situation and I readied the room. Feel free. Your brothers are standing by.” He smiled gently and motioned toward the round table.
Ty walked over and started tapping. Slowly, one by one, large images of his brothers appeared: Zach, Orion, and Alec. It was good to see them.
“And to what do we owe this pleasure?” Zach said.
“Guys, I’ll be straight and to the point. I believe I have put the corporation in a precarious spot. I went to the Senate to observe and maybe learn how things are done there. Axion basically called me out. He moved the presentation to this afternoon. But, not for the Senate, just the OEC. He wants me to present it today, and then, I’m guessing, to the Senate tomorrow. I have a gut feeling that tomorrow will be more like an OEC recommendation, one way or another, for or against the grant. You know that after I leave that meeting later today, Axion and Thoma will discuss it with the rest of the committee. And tomorrow Axion will be the one doing most of the talking, not me. I think it’ll be a one-way discussion at that point. I shouldn’t have gone. I’m sorry.”
“I guess then telling you that we’re in the process of building the outer hull won’t brighten your day, will it?” Orion calmly replied.
“With what?”
“Well, Ty, not trying
to be rude at the moment, but I was hoping with the grant money.”
“Stop right now, you two!” Alec said, voice raised. “Arguing isn’t going to solve this. We don’t even know yet what the outcome of this will be and you two are throwing in the towel. Ty, this is simple: you go and present what we have. You told me that Senator Fillmore will back you, right? And that he would discuss it with the other committee members?”
“I believe so.”
“Then we must hope that even on short notice he’s been able to talk to some of them. You must also tell them of Orion’s find. We’ll get that information to you. That will give you more ammo. We have to stay positive. Focus on one thing at a time. Ty, you must deliver the best presentation you can, nothing less. It will work itself out from there. Agreed?”
One by one they agreed to do it Alec’s way. One by one the images washed out. Ty turned his chair to the two men in the room. Nothing needed to be said. Paul touched a few plasma buttons on the wall and the room returned to the lower floor. Upon leaving, Ty turned and shook both men’s hands. “Thank you both.” He turned and left to prepare for the session.
“Is there anything we can do?” Paul asked Ed.
“Paul, I believe the answer is no. It’s in their hands now. But I fear this may not end well.”
Ty entered the large OEC meeting room, which was in a building attached to the senatorial chamber. Ed followed with an armful of charts, as well as Ty’s bundle of binders and folders.
“Very nice to see you again, Ty. Nice to see you as well, Mr. Serner,” the senior senator said with a hint of sarcasm. Ed didn’t reply. He didn’t have to. Axion’s glare and tone of voice were enough to warn him that he should leave as quickly as possible.
Ed and Ty put their armloads of paperwork on a table then Ed turned to Ty, gave a quick nod, and headed for the door. Ty decided not to hesitate. In a pleasant voice, he began, “Thank you, Senator. Good afternoon to all of you.”
He made eye contact with each of the eleven senators. “As you know, we at Space Tech have made the commitment to continue on with my parents’ quest. Some of you may refer to it as ‘the search for FTL.’ Well, I believe the search is over. The mission did not fail with the death of my parents. It was just postponed. I have information in these folders for you to look at as we discuss this topic.”
He moved around the room, handing folders and binders to each senator. “There is a lot to go over and we cannot possibly begin to read it all here. There simply isn’t enough time. I urge each of you to go to your office or your home after our discussion here today and examine the material we don’t get through. This matter isn’t just about space exploration, nor is it some dream for monetary gain. It may be that this discovery will change the entire world. If you will open folder A, I will go over the basic ship configuration.”
Axion opened his folder. He was horrified to see the StarDancer. He sat calmly, but his mind raced. How did they come upon this? He thought he had obtained all copies. He stared at the prints again and quickly realized that they weren’t the originals. They were close enough that the others on the committee would not realize the differences. He couldn’t just break out his set to show them though. He would have to remain calm and let Ty finish this charade.
After several hours of paper, holocharts, explanations, questions, and demonstrations, Ty gave his final thoughts: “Gentlemen, we have worked tirelessly to provide you with a design and construction that will not only be safe, but will work. We,” motioning around the room, “can create history. We can do what has been thought to be impossible. Remember, gentlemen, while this is a joint private and government effort, we must show the public that your trust in our corporation is well founded. We will deliver the StarDancer and FTL. Failure is not an option as long as you continue to provide us with this grant money. There is only the future out there, no past. Together we cannot fail.”
Eleven senators rose to their feet and applauded. The twelfth rose more slowly. Axion had to admit that it was an impressive showing from one so young. Still baffled at how close the schematics were to the actual plans, he halfheartedly joined the ovation. He then acknowledged, “Thank you, Mr. Bindl. As you can tell, my fellow senators and I are quite impressed by all of your efforts. However, we will need to discuss this among ourselves. As you mentioned, there is much more to go over. Still, we thank you for your time this afternoon. We will recess for one hour. Gentlemen, eat heartily. It promises to be a long evening.”
After collecting his materials, Ty looked up to realize he was the last one in the room. He left the chamber and entered the corridor to the lobby. Axion was waiting for him.
“Very impressive. I honestly didn’t think you could pull off something like that. You do have a lot of your father in you.”
“I do.”
“You really don’t think that all this will get you that grant, do you?”
“I see no reason why it wouldn’t. Our plan is solid, we have safety guidelines and devices built in to ensure that we do not make the mistakes of the past, and we will undertake many tests to guarantee that our venture together is successful.”
“Your father didn’t succeed, did he? No. Instead, he wasted billions of our dollars on something that has never been proven to be achievable. He took shortcuts on safety just to launch, and he threw away the money and his and your mother’s lives.”
Ty was beginning to get angry, but somehow he managed to keep a level head. “According to my research it did succeed. Maybe you weren’t aware of that. But, then, how could a man of your stature not know? I mean, isn’t this your committee? Is there something you want to tell my brothers and me, Senator? I have the strange feeling you are threatening me. If you are, I suggest you stop. Somehow, with or without your committee’s money, this project will go on.”
“Not without our approval,” Axion sneered.
“I’m sorry, but last time I checked, we were a private corporation and didn’t need your approval. So please stop threatening and help us. If you refuse to help us, step aside.”
“Now who is threatening whom? Young man,” Axion said, giving Ty a sharp jab in the chest, “you really have no idea who you are dealing with, and neither did your father.” He then turned and walked away.
Ty was seething with anger as he headed for the lobby and the hover. He couldn’t believe that he’d just had that conversation with the most powerful senator in the country. He was still red-faced as he entered the hover.
“Ty, what’s wrong? Is there something you care to discuss?”
“Ed, get me back to the hotel, now. I need to get my thoughts together. I’m so mad I can’t talk.”
Ed fired up the hover and headed for the hotel.
Chapter Twenty-One
The OEC meeting had seemed promising—at least until that strange encounter with Axion. After the meeting, Ty arrived back at the hotel and contacted his brothers, relaying the news. They all seemed encouraged by the report. Ty warned them though that it was far from over.
That was yesterday. Today he was starting the day in a fairly upbeat mood. Ed delivered him to the steps of the Senate. “Ed, don’t bother waiting for me. I’ll contact you when I’m through. I’m expecting it to be a while!” He swung out of the vehicle.
“Good luck, Ty. We’re all hoping for the best.” With that the door shut and Ed rolled off, but he couldn’t help feel that this would be the beginning of the end. He decided to stay close. He found a parking area and pulled over.
Ty entered the lobby once again. He really couldn’t get enough of its beauty. He entered the meeting room, walked up the center aisle, and found his reserved seat. As he set his binders and notes down on the long table in front of him, he was amazed to realize he actually didn’t feel nervous. He remembered last night and how the senators had applauded him. Then he remembered the confrontation with Axion. That certainly hadn’t been good. He looked up. Axion appeared, as if by magic, at the podium, with Thoma by his side.
/> With a rap of the gavel, Axion called the session to order. “This special session is now in order. Senator Thoma, would you please conduct roll call?”
Thoma began calling out names and the senatorial chamber rang with one “yea” after another. After what seemed like forever, Thoma cast a glance over to Axion. “Sir, roll call completed. We have ninety-seven percent in attendance.”
“Thank you. Gentlemen, we are here today to discuss the continuation of science grant number 4253, the provision of monies for Space Tech Corporation so that they may continue to develop a faster-than-light ship. In front of you is the synopsis of the OEC meeting from yesterday. Because we adjourned at a late hour last night, the committee was unable to reach a consensus on whether to approve or disapprove the grant funding. Therefore, we met earlier this morning to conclude our discussion. The small binder before you labeled OEC Addition contains the committee’s recommendation. We will take ten minutes for you to browse through it.”
The senators and Ty quickly leafed through the two-page report. Soon murmurs were heard within the chamber. Axion grinned. Despite last night’s ovation for the young man and the support he’d gotten, Axion had managed to “convince” enough of the senators that Space Tech shouldn’t receive the grant. He glanced down at Ty as he read the report with a blank expression. For a moment Ty brought his gaze up to meet Axion’s. The senator smiled as he looked into Ty’s angry eyes.
The report was a mockery of everything Ty had presented. It spoke of not enough safety measures. It spoke of a plan not well thought out, one that could only fail as its predecessors had. Ty wondered how this could be. After all, hadn’t the senators congratulated him on a job well done as they left the room yesterday? Axion somehow had gotten to them. Perhaps he had something on every one of them. Ty was finding the politics involved with his new job left a very bad taste in his mouth.
“Gentlemen, order, order.” The room fell silent. “As you can see there has been a recommendation, and I believe it is time to call for a vote.” Axion was actually enjoying a session, for the first time in a long while. “Senator Thoma, please call for the vote.”
