“I agree with you, Admiral. The Engineering specialists even want to install an experimental computer modeled after the one that embodies the alien computer on Elpis here on the space station. Odysseus, I think is what they call that one. It really makes me nervous having a computer that can think and make decisions on its own like that. Having programs that dictate actions for certain circumstances is fine, but having a computer reason and make decisions like a human does, that’s an entirely different concept.”
“Carry on, Captain Hopper, things are looking good here. Let me know immediately of any problems that need my attention,” Admiral Ellis said.
“I will Admiral. Have a good flight to the moon.”
Admiral Ellis walked down the access tube to his shuttle and took a seat as a crewman shut and sealed the hatch. The trip back to space station Alpha only took about ten minutes. He had just about made it back to his cabin when he was practically run over by Captain Hank Jenkins.
“Admiral, can I have a moment of your time, sir?” asked Captain Jenkins.
“Step inside my cabin, Captain. I’m afraid I already know what you’re going to ask and there’s nothing I can do about it,” Admiral Ellis said.
“Sir, I’m the senior and most experienced ship commander Space Force has. Modesty aside, I’m also the best pilot you have. Why is Captain LeFontain getting command of the Olympus?”
“It’s a political decision, Hank. There’s nothing I can do about it. Our allies are now contributing a large portion of Space Force’s budget. They have a growing number of their countrymen serving up here with us and it was inevitable that one of them would get a major command,” Admiral Ellis responded.
“Give them one of the older transfer ships, Admiral. The Olympus is brand new and an unproven design. I think that experience and rank should entitle me to that command,” Hank protested.
“It’s out of my hands. Between you and me, Captain LeFontain wouldn’t have been my first choice. Unfortunately, I have to follow orders the same as you do. You’ll have to sit this one out, Hank,” Admiral Ellis said as he attempted to reason with him. “Besides, there’s something else coming up that you may be needed for. I can’t discuss it right now as it’s still in the early planning stages.”
Hank’s curiosity was aroused. “Something better than the Olympus?” he asked.
“Maybe, we’ll see how it pans out. Right now, it’s in the planning stage. Be patient, Captain,” Admiral Ellis told him.
Captain Jenkins wasn’t happy, but he saluted and left the cabin.
Admiral Ellis sat and leaned back in his desk chair. He hadn’t been very forthcoming in his conversations with Captain Hopper or Captain Jenkins, but he was worried. Buried in the mountains of information that Odysseus had transferred to Earth were three things that were being held at the utmost levels of secrecy.
The first was the information that the Barbakath had been aware of at least two other intelligent races in the galaxy. They had detected and confirmed electro-magnetic emissions from at two other star systems. Using a high powered radio telescope the Barbakath had fired off a high powered tight transmission beam at both of those star systems. It would have taken several hundred years for those beams to reach their target, but that had been over a thousand of years ago.
Records indicated that the Barbakath had been a very passive and non-warlike species. In fact, there was no record of war in their past at all. Philosophers on Earth had assumed, though, that not all species that attained space flight would be so peaceful and benign. He wondered what the reaction was from those other intelligent species would be that the Barbakath had tried to contact. He hoped that they were peaceful like the Barbakath.
The second thing they had uncovered was that the Barbakath were not the original intelligent species on their planet. The Barbakath had uncovered ancient ruins and artifacts that were millions of years old on their planet. The artifacts, and the fact that there was a rarity of metals and resources on their planet, had led the Barbakath to believe that there had previously been an intelligent species on their planet before them that had depleted the planets resources. There had also been almost a total lack of any mineral bearing asteroids in the Barbakath star system. Someone or something had long ago mined them out. The Barbakath had not found any clue as to what had happened to that previous species other than the few ancient ruins. Many of the ruins showed signs of artificial damage. The Barbakath had evolved and reached sentience millions of years after their predecessors were gone.
The last and most astounding information that had been gleamed from Odysseus’s databanks was an actual proposed design for something that had been theorized by a human physicist named Miguel Alcubierre Moya in the year 1994. At the time he had put forth his theory, it had been thought impractical. The Barbakath had perfected a design for what the humans called an Alcubierre Warp Drive. The Barbakath had overcome the difficulty of the unimaginable power input that was previously thought to be required for such a drive. Unfortunately for them, their discovery was made just months before their planet was destroyed by the brown dwarf.
NASA physicists, engineers, and some of the best scientific minds that existed on Earth were excitedly looking over the plans. The present consensus of all that brain power was that it was possible to build such a warp drive. With the power of the fusion power plants obtained from the Barbakath, it just might now be possible to build a ship that could possibly reach speeds in excess of one hundred times the speed of light. If they were right, then humans were now looking at the possibility of being able to venture beyond their own solar system. That was why Admiral Ellis pitied the poor volunteers on Benjamin Greco’s colony ship. They were fighting for the right to go colonize another planet in the solar system on an outdated ship when humanity might shortly be reaching for the stars. It was what they may find out there among the stars that worried him. Admiral Ellis took off his working uniform and turned out the light. He retired to his bunk and lay awake for several hours thinking before he finally drifted off to sleep.
Chapter 61
December 10th, 2049
Northern Territory (Near Old Chicago)
Major Stroud fought with the controls of the Snow Hawk as the winds buffeted the craft. He was hovering about one hundred meters above the snow and ice below him. It was hard to believe that less than ten years ago, Chicago had been a bustling metropolis in the center of the United States. Since the passing of the Dwarf six years ago, it had become the frozen wasteland that now lay beneath his search and rescue craft.
The Snow Hawk was a hybrid of the old vertical take-off and landing Ospreys that had been developed for the Marines back at the end of the last century. It had been combined with the new anti-gravity technology obtained from the alien site on the planet Elpis. The Snow Hawk’s body resembled that of the old Osprey’s with the two short stubby wings that could rotate forward and backwards in a one hundred and eighty degree arc. The bottom of the Snow Hawk was covered with anti-gravity plates, and its airframe was basically weightless while close to the ground except for the tips of the wings and tail that projected out beyond the field generated by the antigravity plates. Effectively, the weight seen by the Earth’s gravity was perhaps three to four hundred pounds. When it was within about four meters of the ground, even that weight was nullified by the reverse field effect of the plates.
The Snow Hawk had been developed for search and rescue operations in the Northern Provinces of what used to be the United States and Canada. Her instrumentation and equipment fit-out were all designed for ultra-cold conditions. Major Stroud’s unit was based out of what used to be O’Hare International Airport. The airport, once the busiest in the world, was now nothing but a small base with one runway that was kept clear of ice and snow that military cargo jets could land on. The small landing area for the seven Snow Hawks of the O’Hare Search and Rescue Detachment was off to one side of the runway.
Major Stroud’s detachment was responsible for locating a
nd rescuing the stubborn holdouts in the Chicago area that had refused relocation before and after the encounter with the brown dwarf. Those poor individuals that had refused relocation were now starving and freezing. Many of them had not wanted to give up their homes at the time or they were too stupid to listen to reason when the government had tried to get them to move. They had exhausted all the food supplies that they had been scavenging from old homes and supermarkets. Fuel for heaters and wood for fires was now non-existent or buried under about ten feet of snow. Daily, the Major’s unit would patrol the sky above the city and old suburb areas and spot individuals or families that were now giving up and standing on top of the snow and ice frantically trying to get the attention of the patrols.
“Major, I see them,” called his crew chief from the back. “Check your bearing at about forty degrees over near that old church steeple.”
Major Stroud turned the Snow Hawk in that direction and made out a group of three adults and four children all waving their arms at the Snow Hawk. He approached them until they were about a hundred meters away and then slowly settled the Snow Hawk toward the ground. As the wide skids on the landing gear touched the ground, he killed the turbines and lowered the anti-gravity field to about thirty percent. The skids sank about a foot into the snow, and then held.
The Major watched as his crew chief and two assistants jumped out and ran over to the group of civilians. One of the adults and two of the children couldn’t even walk. Their faces underneath the layers of coats and hoods they were wearing were gaunt and malnourished. “Damn proud and ignorant fools,” the Major grumbled to himself. He could easily leave these idiots to starve if it weren’t for the poor children who had been left behind with no say in the matter. The major and his crew were out daily risking their lives for these people who had been given ample opportunity to relocate back before the encounter.
The Major saw the news service reporter out in front of the Snow Hawk recording the rescue operation. The news service was doing a big documentary on the Northern Territory and the ongoing search and rescue operations. The reporter and his camera man had been riding with his crew for the past two weeks. In that time period, they had rescued about thirty people. All of them had the same story and same ending. The fools had held out until the food and fuel was gone, and then went crying for the government to rescue them. The major shook his head in disgust. He was looking forward to a hot meal and some downtime after this mission. After his crew and the civilians were crowded aboard the Snow Hawk, the Major started its engines, applied negative gravity, and turned the Snow Hawk back toward its base and the warm barracks waiting there. Another day in the Northern Territory was almost done.
Chapter 62
April 15th, 2050
Elpis
Brianna and Kristy were laughing so hard they had to lean on each other to stand. The Barbakath pups were all running around the area that the crew had set up as a play area. The five younger pups were chasing Freddy, the oldest Barbakath. Little Brett and Tawana, the human toddlers, tried in vain to keep up. The other three human babies were still too young to take part and were sitting in their mothers laps watching the romping of the others. The rest of the adults were sitting around talking and socializing.
Today was the third anniversary of the crews landing on Elpis. In those three years, they had accomplished a great deal. Besides becoming the first self-sufficient little colony on another planet, they had discovered Odysseus. They had sent to Earth the treasure trove of technological secrets that Odysseus had in his holographic memory banks. What they had discovered here, was rapidly changing the way of life back on Earth and advancing the technology and science of humans by decades. The fusion technology, metallurgical science, DNA regeneration science, and of course the anti-gravity technology, were all gifts that the weary humans on Earth needed as they slowly recovered from the encounter with the brown dwarf. The expedition was deemed a great success.
As the expedition crew was entering its fourth year on Elpis, their feelings were mixed. The military members were thinking of their return to regular duty and the training and catching up that they would have to do. The civilian members were facing the return to an Earth that had changed quite a bit since they had left it. They weren’t looking forward to the reports and studies that they would have to publish from their work here on the Elpis. The publicity was something that they were all dreading. The fear of getting the children up into space to where they would all rendezvous with the ship that was going to take them home to Earth had been removed with Jason’s mastering of the alien shuttle. They no longer needed the crew ascent ship. Although it was fueled and ready to be used, it was no longer absolutely necessary to have it.
As they all sat and enjoyed a day that they had sat aside as a well-deserved day of rest and recreation, they were reminiscing on all that happened on Elpis in the past three years. The biggest change was probably the local environment. They now had gardens and fields planted all around the site as they had worked to gradually improve the fertility of the soil. They still used one of the greenhouses for some specialty plants, but the bulk of their present food crops were planted out under the open sky. Because of the all but absent axial tilt of the planet, their weather was seasonable, warm, and conducive for planting all of the time. While this allowed them to continually plant new crops as the previous ones matured, it played havoc with many forms of trees from Earth that they had been experimenting with. Most of Earth’s plants had evolved with defined seasons of cold and hot. Even tropical plants were used to a wet season and a drier season for the most part. Some of the trees they had attempted to grow were flourishing while others did not.
For the most part, the entire area within a kilometer of the main artifact site had now been seeded with grass as well as various wild vegetation that they had recovered from the sites of the seed probes. The hills were now starting to take on a green tint vs the old greyish brown that they had been when they first arrived. The local streams were now home to a mix of Terran and Horast bacteria and plant life. Small Terran minnows had been established in the streams and the ponds that they had built. Larger fish were being matured in two of the sites ponds. Studies of native Horast live were constantly being completed back on Earth and if given approval, Odysseus would regenerate samples in his regeneration tanks for the crew to spread and plant in the local environment. Although they were capable of eating the same plants as the humans, the Barbakath really thrived on the Horast tubers and foliage that had been planted in several fields around the site.
The expedition crew had received the word about a week ago that the first private colony ship was going to be leaving Earth in three months. It’s one hundred colonists were planning on landing and setting up their settlement about fifty kilometers away near an area where two of the more successful seed probes had started a wide array of prairie like plant growth. Alpha Control was also anticipating that the Olympus, the first of a new class of interplanetary ships, would arrive approximately three months earlier than expected to pick them up and return them to Earth.
The exhausted pups and toddlers came back and collapsed to the ground around them as the nine adult humans relaxed after eating their picnic lunch. Everyone withdrew to themselves and became absorbed in their own thoughts. Finally, Master Chief broke the silence. “I would like to make an announcement please.”
Everyone looked at him in expectation. “As most of you know, my thirty year mark in the service, Air Force and Space Force combined, was two months ago. I’m now eligible for retirement and I’m on an extension of my enlistment.” He reached over and put his arm around Beatrice. “I plan on officially retiring the day that the ship arrives to pick the crew up. As we all know, the Barbakath pups won’t be mature by the time the ship arrives. They can’t survive here on their own until they mature into Ranor. We had talked about leaving them with the new colonists once they arrive, but we now know from their bonding process, this would cause a large emotional str
ess on them. So in light of that, Beatrice and I plan on staying here on Elpis as permanent colonists. We can care for the pups until they go through their puberty phase and become intelligent Ranor. Somebody will have to also look after their future pups until there are a few more Ranor around to take care of the herd.”
Albert broke out laughing after Master Chief’s announcement.
Master Chief looked at him and frowned. “What’s so damn funny?”
Kristy spoke up. “Albert and I had also decided that we would stay behind and care for the pups. I am going to resign my commission and command as soon as the ship showed up.”
David stood up holding his and Sarah’s second baby. “Our enlistments are also on extension and we’re going to volunteer to stay behind and care for the pups. We sort of like it here. It beats being on a ship in space.” Sarah smiled and hugged him as he stood beside her.
Donald stood up when everyone looked at him. “I have to admit that although I will miss this place and all of you, I plan on returning to Earth. I’ve realized that my old partner and I still care for each other and want to be together again. I really don’t fit in here since we need colonists to have babies. I’ll be returning to Earth as planned, although I plan on resigning from Space Force upon arrival back at Earth.”
The whole group turned and looked expectantly at Jason and Brianna. The two exchanged a look between themselves. “We’re returning to Earth,” Jason said. Everyone’s face took on a saddened expression. “Brianna wants her parents to see the kids, and she needs to spend some time talking with them about some discoveries she has made here. My father is in very poor health and I need to go see him. He may not still be alive when I make it back, but my brother says he really wants to see me if possible before he dies. For the time being at least, I’m going to remain in the Space Force. I have over six months of leave time built up that I plan on using. I’ll have to catch up on some of the new technologies, but I still have a few more years to do in my enlistment. By that time, the kids will be older and Brianna and I just may figure out a way to return here to Elpis for good.” He reached down and rubbed Brianna’s head as she wiped the tears from her cheeks.
Blue Planet Rising (Pebbles in the Sky Book 2) Page 39
