by Karl Morgan
“Not really Bill,” Aria replied. “There are very few people authorized to jump in time; less than fifty. This symbol on my shirt, with the wings and dial in the center shows that I am part of the Temporal Command. Only our members, and a few distinguished guests like the Admiral and Ambassador here get the chance. What they are doing for the people of my time is so miraculous that we have given them a lot of leeway.” She turned to Dave, continuing, “I’m quite surprised that Lanz gave you the approval for this. It seems very unusual.”
“Unusual doesn’t begin to describe the situation,” Dave answered. “The Galliceans discovered a new sentient life species on Neptune and Uranus.” Aria, Cybil and Darlene looked shocked. Bill was so overwhelmed with thoughts that he let it pass over him. “That’s why we need Bill now. The Galliceans can feel the thoughts of these Beings in their heads, but it’s just gibberish. We’ve got to figure out what they are thinking quickly before we damage their civilization any more than we have already. Let’s go kids.” Dave rose and kissed Darlene, holding her in his arms. “Sweetheart, I heard you are jumping back tomorrow my time. I’ll see you then. I love you.” He turned to Aria and kissed her cheek. “Aria, thank you for your work, and I wish you all the success with Matt. Charlie tells me he is a tough nut to crack.”
“Aye-aye, Admiral,” she replied. Have a safe jump and I’ll see you and Charlie tomorrow.”
“Charlie’s still on the mission to New Dawn. I’m hoping he’ll return soon. I’ll be on Io for a day and then jump back to the Ticonderoga,” Dave said as he and his children walked out of the kitchen.
As they stepped into the living room, Bill said, “Well, should I pack something before we step out front?”
“That’s okay, son,” Dave replied, “We’ve got everything you may need in the thirty-second.”
Bill noticed a small black dot on his front door. As he watched, it quickly grew to a seven foot circle. It was blacker than night and seemed as smooth as glass. “What the heck is that?” he blurted.
“Don’t sweat it, bro,” Cybil said calmly. “As you said, we’re just stepping out the front door into the sunshine. Dad, I’ll go through with Bill. You jump first.” Dave smiled at them and stepped into the portal. “It’s okay Billy,” she said holding his hand. “We just step in, and then we step out. You won’t be able to hear me when we are inside, but that will only be a second. When the opening on the other side is stable, we’ll step through and be there.” Bill looked anything but confident, but with his sister’s hand in his and his father already gone, he smiled wryly, shrugged his shoulders and they stepped in.
Chapter 19
Dave Brewster was very impressed by the team already assembled on Io to work on the Neptune situation. The leadership of the task force included Chief Engineer Lanz Lagerfeld, the noted Kalidean scientist Machinus, and Gallicean physician No-o-Ka. For this project, the team reported to Governor De-o-Nu. They were all very happy to welcome Bill Brewster to the team and agreed to update Dave regularly. Major renovations had taken place at the space port since his flyover with Fa-a-Di six months ago. A large laboratory had been constructed with accommodations for the Galliceans. All the major rooms were double-sized, with large glass walls through the middle so the different species could work together without pressure suits. Residence halls had also been constructed to cater to their different needs for breathable air and food supplies.
While Cybil had taken Bill to settle in, Dave was summoned to a private meeting with the Governor. He was led to a private conference room that had a glass wall through the middle. As he entered, he could see De-o-Nu on the other side, sitting quietly, sipping on a drink. As he approached the conference table that was also split to be on both sides of the glass, he said, “Good day, Brother, it is good to see you again.”
De-o-Nu rose and pressed his hand against the glass. That was the best handshake they could make through the wall. “Brother,” he began, “thank you for meeting with me today. Please sit down. Would you like something to drink?”
“No thank you, Brother,” Dave replied as he pressed his hand to the glass across from the other. “I think this is the first time I’ve seen a Gallicean without either a foggy lens or pressure suit on one of us.”
“I have felt the same way about humans and Kalideans since the facility was finished,” he answered. “This was a great accomplishment for all of us. I am convinced that this kind of close working relationship will do much for our mutual growth. I also want to thank you for bringing your son to join the team. He will be a great addition.”
“You are welcome for that Brother,” Dave said. “When I thought about the Neptune situation and what was needed, somehow he just popped into my mind.”
“Yes, I agree,” the Gallicean continued, “but there are some problems on Gallia related to the Neptune situation, Dave. There are elements on Gallia that believe that these Beings may be hostile. Several crew members have been interviewed by the press talking about the feelings of sorrow and anxiety that they felt around those planets. Some of our people think those were deliberately placed in our minds to test us. If these Neptunians can control our thoughts, they can attack us and keep us from defending ourselves.”
“Brother, those Beings have existed in peace with humanity for all time,” Dave argued. “Why would they pick a fight with an advanced society like yours when they could have dominated Earth easily, even before humans evolved?”
“Brother, I am not in agreement with those who believe there is danger here, please be assured of that.” De-o-Nu rose and began to pace around his half of the room. “But our people are very political. It has not been that long since humans or Galliceans were power mad and warlike. If they sense danger, they may demand action. We could then lose our one chance to befriend another gas planet species.”
“What does our brother, Fa-a-Di think of this situation?” Dave asked.
“The general agrees with us, Dave,” he began, “but he is susceptible to political pressure too. His term as High Commissioner will end soon, and he wishes to be reelected. Dave, you must assure me what I am about to say is between you and me. Not even your wife or children can know this.”
“You have my word, Brother,” Dave said. “Unless humanity is in danger, of course. I could not sit by and allow that to happen.”
“Yes, I agree. The High Council has ordered the Chiefs of Staff to send ten war ships to Jupiter. My brother argued strenuously not to do such a provocative action near our friends on Earth. They threatened to censure and remove him if he refused.” Dave sat very quietly, unsure what all of this meant for humanity. “Those ships are now on their way. They were told not to jump into this region, as that would be readily visible to everyone here. They are traveling the old-fashioned way. It will take five weeks for them to arrive here. Those ships have orders to remain in a very high orbit around Neptune when they arrive. They are to take orders from only the Chiefs of Staff or the High Council. You have my word as your friend and my brother that I will never allow any action against humans. Before any decisions are made on the Neptunians, I will advise you and the High Council for Humanity.” De-o-Nu sat heavily, his wings limp by his side. “Dave, there was nothing else any of us could do to stop this.” He took another long drink from his glass and sighed.
Dave now rose and began pacing. “De-o-Nu, first I want to thank you for taking me into your confidence on this matter,” he started. “Second, it sounds like we have five weeks to decipher the Neptunian language. God willing, that will be enough time, my friend.”
“God willing indeed, Brother,” the governor said. He rose slowly and walked out of the conference room. Dave sat down, trying to figure out how to turn this situation around. Ten minutes later, his mind still blank, he rose and left the room as well.
In one corner of the ceiling on the Gallicean side, a crystalline spider-like creature moved after having witnessed the meeting. Its body was about six inches across with twelve long legs giving it an ov
erall diameter of three feet. While the others had been in the room, it had been completely transparent. After they left, it started to emit a bluish glow. It unfolded gossamer-like wings and floated down to the table. It scurried over to De-o-Nu’s glass. It extended a thin tendril into the liquid and tasted the heavy Gallicean whisky. The Being seemed to relish the flavor. The bluish glow increased to a blindingly bright white. The light vanished, and the spider was gone.
Chapter 20
After the jump and busy day, Dave needed food and sleep. He met Bill and Cybil at a dining hall in the star port. That room was also split by a large glass wall. Many tables were placed against the glass so human and Kalidean scientists could have a meal with their Gallicean counterparts. Dave had enough of collaboration for one day and picked a small table against a wall where he could focus on his children.
“Bill,” he started, “how are you doing? This certainly isn’t Sunnyvale anymore, is it?”
“No Dad, it isn’t,” Bill replied, “although I haven’t yet ruled out the insanity thing. This is just wild enough to be a delusion. It’s amazing that we’re sharing the same one though.” They all laughed.
Through the glass, they could see a number of Gallicean engineers and scientists sitting at their much larger tables and chairs. The average Gallicean seemed to be about fifteen feet tall, like the general. Their skin color was slightly bluish and iridescent. They kept their wings tightly folded against their backs. Away from the center wall, they could not hear anything from the other side. The Galliceans seemed to be enjoying their dinner as well. The Brewsters could see them laughing and patting each other on the shoulders. Neither they nor any of the others in the dining hall noted the crystal clear spider-like creatures that sat frozen on the ceiling. There were only four in the immense room, and no one was focusing on finding anything other than what was on their plates.
“Dad,” Cybil began, “I’ll stay here with Bill tomorrow, but I have to get back to my studies on Earth tomorrow night. Is that okay?”
“Sure, Honey,” Dave replied. “It means the world to me that you helped me convince your brother to help out.” Turning to his son, he continued, “Bill, it will take a couple days to get used to the routine here, but I’m sure you can handle it. Chief Engineer Lanz is a good friend. He is the one who came looking for your mom and me. If you have any issues, you can confide in him. Also, all of us are available pretty much 24/7 if you need to contact us.”
“Thanks Dad,” Bill said. “Cyb has taught me so much already. I think I can use the communicators pretty effectively. I really like the folks on the team I was assigned to. In fact, after dinner, I’m meeting up with them in one of the clubs that’s been opened here. From Sunnyvale to Io in an afternoon is quite a journey.”
“Not to mention fast forwarding eleven centuries, little bro,” Cybil cut in. “Call me first if you need anything. I’m not as important as Mom or Dad, so I can jump over here pretty much any time.” She smiled at her brother and continued eating.
“Dad, the food here is pretty good, but not nearly like what Aria made, she’s pretty amazing,” Bill noted.
“Yes, she is a special lady,” Dave replied. “Your mom and I had dinner at her house before we came here. It was fabulous. I don’t know where she finds the time to do that and her day job.”
Cybil looked up and said, “Dad, duh, it’s time travel.” They all laughed.
After dinner, Dave hugged his children and then excused himself. He was now exhausted. He dragged himself to his room, changed to his pajamas and went to the bathroom to freshen up for bed. Sensing he was out of the room, two crystalline spiders moved about the room, finding dark corners to sit and wait. They glowed blue and then fell totally transparent. Dave returned from the bathroom and climbed into the bed. He was so tired he would not have seen the spiders if they were bright red with flashing lights. Almost instantly, he was sound asleep.
The two creatures floated down from the ceiling and landed next to Dave on the bed. Each reached out a filament-like tendril that glowed blue and touched him.
Dave dreamed that he was flying again over a gas planet. This time it was not Jupiter. The whole planet was blue and he could feel the bite of cold gas on his exposed skin. Fa-a-Di was not there to carry him, but he was flying nonetheless. He could not imagine what kind of gas he was breathing, but it felt like ozone-rich air after a thunderstorm on Earth. He looked up to the sky and could see a very bright star. It looked like Venus does from Earth, but maybe twice the size. What a wondrous place this was! He felt totally at peace up in the sky over this alien world. The cold was biting, but he felt warm and content inside. He flew through banks of clouds and found ice particles forming on his body. They quickly blew off in the wind. He looked down, but could only see darker regions of clouds, not even a Ka-la-a to land on. He felt happy and at peace.
On the horizon he now saw thousands of blue lights floating in his direction. They became larger and larger as they approached, but he did not feel any fear. Soon they were all around him. They looked like glass balloons supported by lacy clear wings. They flew around him performing all kinds of acrobatic acts, as if trying to amuse him. He felt himself smiling and was warmed and comforted by their presence. The creatures led him around their world, and he followed gladly. They especially enjoyed flying through the bands of clouds. They seemed to absorb the ice crystals into their bodies for nourishment. He followed them on their acrobatic moves and had no problem keeping up.
After flying a while longer, the creatures changed and began to emit a violet light. Their motions became erratic as they whirled around him. He saw they were approaching a floating city in the distance. The city was in flames and rocked by explosions. From high above, he could see a massive star cruiser that was blasting the city from space. The creatures left him and flew toward the cruiser, as if trying to defend their city. Dave tried to follow them to help, but they were far ahead of him now. He could see the star cruiser change course and head for the creatures that were now bright red. A blast came from the star ship and hundreds of the creatures were blown apart. Now the cruiser was preparing a second blast, but this time aimed at him. He could not help himself. He had to attack the star ship after what it had done to the defenseless creatures. Hundreds more were flying with him and approaching the ship. Another blast shot from the ship and a bright white light sped toward him. He felt the piercing white-hot plasma hit him, burning through his skin.
Dave woke and sat up in a panic. He was drenched in sweat. He reached for a lamp and switched it on. Everything in his room seemed normal, but the dream was still pounding through his mind. He rubbed his eyes, and said, “Wow! It must have been something I ate.” He rose from the bed and went into the bathroom. When he was gone, the two spiders appeared from under his bed. They glowed white, and disappeared.
Chapter 21
Fleet Admiral Arrin Adamsen had not slept well that night either. He had been informed by his intelligence staff that a group of Gallicean warships had left Gallia in the general direction of Earth. The ambassador to Gallia from the High Council for Humanity, Marku Magnuson had sent an inquiry to the Gallicean High Council, but the curt response mentioned only military exercises in open space. The admiral ordered a small ship to follow the fleet at a respectful distance and track their progress. As he sipped his morning coffee in his office in the Pentagon, he touched a button on his control panel. The image of Captain Cadiz Carlyle of the Reliant appeared before him.
“Admiral, sir, what an honor to accept your call,” Cadiz said, clearly surprised to get a call from the head of the star fleet.
“Thanks, Captain,” Arrin began. “Cadiz, I need your help.”
“Of course, Admiral,” he replied.
“I need the Reliant and Defiant to return to Earth as soon as possible,” Arrin said. “Admiral Brewster can keep the Courage for now.”
“Admiral, is there a problem that we should prepare for?” Cadiz questioned.
“Not
that we know of, Cadiz. At least not yet,” Arrin replied. “I’ll have your orders sent this morning, and I’ll copy Dave so he knows you are leaving. By the way, is there any news regarding the colony on New Dawn?”
“Commodore Watson and I are scheduled to meet with Dave later today,” Cadiz said. “We just returned from New Dawn yesterday. The admiral was on Io then so we could not meet with him until today. He is due to jump here within the hour. I can tell you that there is little good news on New Dawn.”
“Okay, Cadiz,” Arrin cut in, “I’ll wait to hear Dave’s report later. I don’t want to break the chain of command. When do you think Reliant and Defiant can be here?”
“If we leave in twelve hours, we should arrive in three or four days. Will that be adequate, Admiral?” Cadiz responded.
“That is fine, Captain. Please give my regards to Charlie and Dave. Earth out,” Arrin finished as he touched the button to close the link and the screen went black. “Well, if the game is on, at least we have our pieces on the board now too,” he said to himself. He took another sip of coffee and sat back, closing his eyes, trying to imagine a battle between the Galliceans and his starships. Arrin knew he was totally outgunned. The Galliceans had been in space for many thousands of years, and most of those years had been peaceful. From his days at War College, he knew the first expansion from Gallia had been a war of conquest. They had conquered several civilizations, even though they did not inhabit the gas planets the Galliceans wanted. When those civilizations resisted their dominance, war was the only solution. Arrin had advised High Commissioner Darak of the risk, who had in turn mentioned the problem to Mencius the Kalidean. Mencius told Darak that the Kalideans would stand by their human friends, although he discounted the possibility of any hostilities. Arrin was not so certain though. Ten warships coming to Earth without an invitation and avoiding the Io Star Port was a very provocative act. A tone sounded and he pushed the contact on his control panel.
