by S A Pavli
It was more university canteen than high class restaurant but the food was fresh, varied and plentiful. Enjoy it guys I thought. It is a far cry from the pre-packaged rations on a starship. After eating a light meal I made my way to the bar. It had been markedly improved and was now surprisingly up market, all soft lighting, hidden alcoves and sumptuous décor. But there was an area for those who enjoyed a more basic style, complete with view screens showing the sports from all over the world. I took my drink to the ‘European’ area, the screen showing a cup game between an English and a German team, always sure to provide passionate entertainment. There were a number of students occupying a couple of the tables and I took a small table against the wall. No sooner had I sat down when a voice came from behind me.
“Con, is that you?” I recognised the voice immediately, only one person ever called me ‘Con’. I turned and looked at Alice Jensson and for a moment I was back five years. The short blonde bob was still the same, the grey eyes beneath oddly dark eyebrows. Alice was more pretty than beautiful, although tall and physically striking, it was her intense energy and personality that made her stand out. I was annoyed that my guts still lurched and my heart thudded.
“Alice… uh, what are you doing here?” I must have looked stupidly surprised because she laughed.
“I could very well ask the same question.” She looked at my uniform and then looked impressed. “Captain Constantine.” She was with a group of four, three men and herself, the other three being students. “I am an occasional visiting… um lecturer? Teaching these lunk heads how to fly.” She indicated her students with a smile. She came over and we shook hands, her eyes fixed on mine with a look of questioning affection.
“Well, they are very lucky guys,” I said with a diplomatic smile. “She was the top pilot in our year,” I said to the men, who looked suitably impressed.
“Guys, can I see you later,” she said to the men, giving them a significant look. They nodded and moved over to a neighbouring table. She sat down next to me and leaned over confidentially.
“Con, I’ve heard something is going on, and it affects you.”
“Con, how are you, are you well, I’ve missed you.” I grinned at her sardonically and she harrumphed.
“Okay, okay, guilty as charged. Con, how are you?”
“I’m very well Alice. How are you? Long time no see.”
“Is that okay? Pleasantries over?” She gave me an enquiring look and I laughed.
“Same old Alice.”
“Hey, not so much of the old. But seriously, what are you doing here?”
“I have just returned from a very pleasant trip with my old mate Alfred and am staying here temporarily,” I explained. “So what have you heard?” I was not surprised that the grapevine had leaked already and wondered what she had heard.
“Something big is going down. The Cyclops station is on lock down. Nothing going in, nothing going out. Since you and the Lisa Jane arrived.” She said the last with a significant look in my direction.
“Mmm, Alfred causing trouble again,” I said.
“Don’t give me that.” She looked at me askance. “You can’t say anything can you?”
“No love. Can’t say anything.” I saw her eyes go to the military communicator clipped to my lapel and then skip away pretending she hadn’t seen it.
“So tell me what you’ve been up to.” She leaned forward, her hands clasped in front of her on the table, a small smile on her lips, grey eyes warm and friendly.
“Ah well, that is a long story….”
Chapter 5
I awoke the next morning and turned over, half expecting to find Alice in bed next to me. But the bed was empty of any other occupant and I sighed with relief. Alice had made it plain that some physical entertainment would not be unwelcome. But I had no desire whatsoever to be exploited by her, either physically or in order to ‘pump’ me for information. Could it be you are at last becoming a mature human being Constantine? Let’s not go too far!
I showered then decided some exercise and a morning swim before breakfast would do me good. The Gymnasium was at the rear of the recreation block, the swimming pool attached to it and both were busy. I spotted Alice on the treadmill and took the one next to her. She greeted me with a smile and pursed her lips in a kiss. I replied with a wink.
“How long are they gonna keep you here then?” she asked.
“Not too long I hope.”
“Not that bad is it?” She gave me a reproachful look. “All the comforts of home… and more.” She knew I was not in a relationship, she had got that out of me early on the previous evening. She had been disappointed, and puzzled, by my refusal to take up where we had left off. Alice was used to getting what she wanted, in her career and her love life.
“Yeah, this is a great place. Even better having you here,” I agreed.
“Well then…?” She was clearly asking what’s holding you back?
“We’ll see,” I said noncommittally. She shrugged and jumped off the treadmill.
“Going for a swim,” she said shortly.
“See you later.” But she didn’t reply, striding of towards the pool. Her shapely posterior, accentuated by her short and ridiculously tight pants, reminded me of Manera and I quickly re-focused my eyes on the meter on the treadmill. Don’t fall off the wagon Constantine!
I gave her a while to finish her swim and followed her to the pool. She was nowhere in sight and I completed my swim and shower without further distractions. I made my way back to my room, got changed and went down for breakfast, wondering how I was going to pass the time. Then it came to me; my hand froze in mid-air while transporting a piece of toast and marmalade to my waiting mouth. Write your memoirs of course! The world will be clamouring to hear my story. I did a quick calculation; say I sold ten million books. Christ, I would sell a hundred million. That’s… phew! A lot of money. And of course there’s talks, lectures and so on. I’d heard politicians made millions out of that. I was about to become not just famous, but filthy rich!
My pleasant daydream was interrupted by the buzz of my communicator. It was the admiral
“Good day Admiral. Constantine here.”
“Hello Captain. When you are ready, buzz my limousine and they have instructions to transport you somewhere.”
“Where would that be admiral?”
“I’m not at liberty to say Captain. I’ll be expecting you.” The line disconnected and I scowled at the communicator, as if it was responsible for the admiral’s taciturnity. Thoughts of my forthcoming wealth and fame receded from my mind. I finished my breakfast at leisure, I was damned if I was going to let the military push me around. Outside I called my military escort and was answered immediately.
“Be with you immediately Captain. Stay where you are.” They know where I am all the time. Probably know who I’m with as well. The thought suddenly occurred. Shit! I’ll bet Alice is in on this. She’s been playing me all the time. Or am I getting paranoid?
The limousine pulled up, getting glances from the passing students, and I got in. It was the same three charming and amiable escorts from the day before and they greeted me in the same way, mostly with silence and the odd grunt. We travelled in silence for a half hour, along a motorway, or highway as it’s called in the good old US of A, before turning off along a winding road that led into a huge military compound. At that point, a degree of nervousness started to percolate into the Constantine psyche, and the thought ‘what the fuck?’ crossed the grey matter.
“Er… what is this?”
“Florida national Guard, RRU base.”
“Excuse me. RRU?”
“Rapid Response Unit sir. It’s a combined army, air force and marines unit with the most advanced equipment. Mostly protection for the Cape.”
“Against who?”
“Terrorists, saboteurs, revolutionaries. Whoever wants to try their luck.”
“I wasn’t aware we had any dissidents,” I said, genuinely surprised that s
uch facilities still existed in our peaceful world.
“There’s always dissidents sir.” The sergeant replied. That was news to me, but then maybe I had led a sheltered life in my London backwater. We trundled through the guard post and then through yet another guard post and into a courtyard. The car pulled up in front of a two story building that looked as if it could withstand a nuclear bomb and we got out. I followed the sergeant through some doors and into an office staffed by a number of uniformed individuals, some male and some female.
“Wait here sir, the admiral will see you soon.” The sergeant nodded to a chair against the wall, turned and left the room. I sat and gazed around morosely. Things were taking a peculiar turn and I was baffled and just a little concerned. After a couple of minutes one of the office staff ushered me into the admirals office. He stood and came around his desk. I saluted and he returned it and then came over and shook my hand. I was worried; the admiral was being far too nice to me.
“Take a seat Captain.” He indicates a trio of armchairs by the window. I took one and he seated himself opposite. I decided to seize the bull by the horns.
“What’s up admiral. Things don’t seem to be going as I expected.” The admiral frowned.
“What makes you say that Captain?”
I waved my hand around to indicate out surroundings.
“All this security. I’ve never had to go through all this rigmarole before. Didn’t even know this place was here, never mind that you have an office here.”
“It’s by way of being my secret persona,” he said with a small chuckle. “As well as being head of the SES I am also a senior serving officer reporting to the President himself.”
“I thought your boss was Mr Cortez?”
“As far as my SES activities are concerned, yes he is. But like I said, I am a serving military officer. Any matters that may impact the security of the USA, and indeed the Earth Federation are my concern. I am not acting without Mr Cortez‘s approval.”
“Not acting without Mr Cortez’s approval? What does that mean admiral?” I was getting a bad feeling about what he was saying.
“It’s like this Captain.” He locked eyes with me, his gaze stern and dour. “We have serious concerns about the Hianja.” I frowned at him. My eyes must have shown my incredulity. “Well, not the Hianja themselves but their military force. The Peacekeepers I believe they call themselves.”
My heart sank because I knew exactly what he was about to say. The Admiral continued.
“It is a matter of basic principle to us that we do not put AI computers in command of military forces. Not only have the Hianja done that, but these are AI which are free of all control. From the information you have provided, they are fearsome military machines, way beyond our own military technology.” He stood and started to pace up and down.
“Are you saying that we cannot proceed with contact?” I asked.
“Captain, we have not taken this decision lightly. We cannot subject the Earth Federation to scrutiny by these machines. And be sure, once they know the Earth’s location, they will discover everything there is to know about our military and technological infrastructure. If they believe we are a threat, they will take us out without hesitation as they did to those pathetic dissidents. Their own people Captain, and they murdered them just like that.” The admiral clicked his fingers dismissively.
I was lost for words because the admiral was not wrong. Those very same thoughts had crossed my own mind when I had found about the ’Peacekeepers’ and seen them at work. But to prevent all contact? Surely that was extreme.
“Admiral, I understand what you are saying, but don’t you think you and your masters should have talked to me first? I am the man who knows more about the situation than anyone, and you have all taken this decision without even asking or involving me.” I was angry and spoke vehemently. The admiral waved a calming hand but I ignored him and stood up.
“I demand that you let me speak to these people. Who are they? What right do they have to make this decision on behalf of the whole of humanity.” I knew I was being disrespectful to a senior officer but I did not give a damn. The admiral. scowled his disapproval.
“Captain, you are not going to change their minds,” he said.
“How do you know if I don’t try?” He looked shifty and guilty and I frowned at him. “Come on admiral, out with it. What’s going on?”
“I’m sorry, but the feeling is that you may have been compromised. Your opinion may be suspect.”
“What?” I gaped out him. “What does that mean? That I can’t be trusted?” He shrugged in a resigned fashion.
“Look, I argued for you Captain. But they seem to have other ideas.”
“What does that mean?”
“They have information from other sources that you are, shall we say, not the same person.”
“Alice Jensson? Are you fucking serious?” He looked startled.
“You knew she was a plant?”
“I suspected it. She knew too much and was far too eager to get me in the sack. That’s not the Alice I knew.” He harrumphed, looking embarrassed.
“Sorry about that. She was all we had to work with. Don’t blame her. She was asked to do it.”
“But wait a minute. What did she say about me.”
“That you are not the man she knew. You have changed.”
“Well of course I have bloody changed. I haven’t seen her in five years. We had an affair in training school, then we split up.”
“Captain, tell me about your relationship with the alien female. Manera I think her name is.” He sat down and fixed me with grim look.
“How do you know about that?” I asked, suddenly deflated.
“Your AI Alfred of course.” I wanted to feel cheated by Alfred’s duplicity but of course , it was his job. He could no more hide any details of our experiences than he could lie or cheat.
“What did Alfred tell you.”
“That you had shall we say, an intimate relationship with this, er, lady.”
“And why should that be a problem?”
“How do you know Captain, that she was not using you. Exploiting your weakness in order to get your confidence” I was lost for words. I knew that Manera was totally genuine. After all, we were both nearly killed by the so-called dissidents and the ’Peacekeepers’ attack on the Semtrik Lode, the dissident‘s starship. She could not have been faking that. Should I take the trouble to try and persuade him? Was there any point?
I decided that it was my duty to do my best, however hopeless the situation.
“Look admiral, if you had all bothered to ask me I could give you a hundred reasons why your fears are groundless. Manera and I went through hell and were nearly killed any number of times. And I know it wasn’t a put up job. I saved her life and she saved mine. None of that could have been faked.”
“That may be so Captain, and time will tell. That doesn’t change our concerns about the Peacekeepers.”
“So, what will happen now?” I asked.
“We need time to digest the data. This is being considered at the highest level. For now you must return to London and take extended leave. Do not talk to anyone about this otherwise you will be arrested, declared mentally unfit and locked up in isolation.”
He looked grim and I slumped back in my armchair in despair. Never mind my dreams of a wonderful new future for Humanity in partnership with our Galactic cousins. Never mind my dreams of fame and fortune. How was I ever to see Manera again?
The next day my flight to London was booked and my faithful military escort delivered me to Miami airport. There were no goodbyes, just respectful nods and a casual salute from the sergeant.
London, as I came in from the airport over the M4 flyover, looked green and beautiful. It was bright spring day, the trees were in bloom with their brightly coloured flowers making a cheerful panoply, in contrast to my mood of depression. The taxi dropped me off outside my apartment, overlooking Green Park in the town cen
tre. I looked at the good people of London bustling about their daily business unaware of the momentous events that were taking place; or not taking place, actually. If you only knew what I know! But it seemed a futile thought.
My apartment was familiar yet strangely different, as if I was looking at it with someone else’s eyes. Had I changed that much? Alice clearly thought so. I opened the blinds and admired the view across the park. There had been a time, hundreds of years previously, when any residence overlooking Green Park was strictly for millionaires.
But London had become more of a backwater and was a much nicer place as a result. Apartments overlooking the town centre were no longer at a premium, the high speed automated transport system, automated cabs and modern underground making travel from the outskirts much easier and cheaper. The opening up of three other Earth type planets for human habitation had reduced Earth’s population from ten billion to eight. London had also ceased to be a major commercial centre, the power of China, India, Brazil the USA and a dozen other huge countries had relegated Britain to the second division industrially. I thought it was a much more charming and civilised place to live in as a result.
I was on extended leave; what did that mean? One week, two weeks, a month? Just hang around and wait for them to contact me? All I could do was pick up the thread of my life and wait.
Chapter 6
Three weeks later and I was still unable to adjust to my situation. I alternated between anger and frustration. Contacting my friends and family and trying to get a semblance of normality into my life was just going through the motions. My mind kept returning to the stars and what I had left behind. I wished that I had not returned, just sent Alfred back with the Lisa Jane, and let the human race do what the hell it wanted!
But I also recognised that my emotions were immature and petulant. If I was never to see Manera again then the quicker I got used to the idea the better it would be for me. Why wish for the unattainable? But a part of me did not want to accept that.
