by Jeff Sims
They performed some furious calculations. Colin said, “No”, and Becky said, “Maybe.”
Jim said, “Which is it?”
Colin replied, “I think the Sunflower could tow it, but it would greatly increase the risk of burning out our primary reactor. It wasn’t designed for that type of sustained, heavy load.”
Jim argued, “What about conservation of motion. Shouldn’t the station just continue moving after the tugs get it started?” Jim realized the answer the second he asked the question.
Colin smiled and replied, “Yes, the station will keep going. It will pass right by the Earth and keep sailing out of the Solar System. To be clear, the Sunflower can tow the station to Earth with ease, it just can’t stop it once it gets there.”
Jim tried something else. “Could we do something cool like use Earth’s gravity to slow it down and put it in a geosynchronous orbit?”
Colin shook his head and replied, “It would sling around the Earth, speed up, and leave the Solar system in a different direction.”
Jim said, “One last question. Can the Sunflower slow the space station down from .01 light?”
Colin shrugged and answered, “I doubt it. Using the Sunflower for that purpose should be a last resort, not a first. Besides, it would take us 200 hours to tow it Earth.”
Russ asked, “What do you have in mind?”
Jim said, “I just wanted the tugs to move the drill and platform to the Mars asteroid belt while the Sunflower moved the station to Earth. It would have been more efficient that way.”
Colin said, “It would be horribly less efficient and it isn’t going to work. What is your real issue?”
Jim replied, “I don’t know. I don’t think that we should sneak up on Earth. Somehow, I think they will respond better if they see us coming versus if we suddenly appear.”
Russ replied, “I don’t think it matters. What is Earth going to do with another 18 minutes of warning?”
Jim said, “Okay, new plan. Let’s do it the old fashioned way. Russ, what is the best path to jump to Earth?”
Russ performed the calculations and displayed them on the main monitor. He said, “We can jump to a spot here right beside Uranus. Then we can make another micro jump close to Earth. We will have an hour real time journey at .04 light to reach Earth.”
Jim looked at the secondary monitor and said, “Mike, how soon can your team be ready to jump to Uranus?”
Mike replied, “We are ready to jump right now. When we reach Uranus we will have to recharge the tugs batteries for about two hours before making the next jump.”
Jim looked over at Russ and asked, “The Sunflower?”
Russ responded, “We are ready to go now as well.”
The Sunflower made the short jump to a spot in the Solar System just outside Uranus. The space station followed two minutes later.
Jim relaxed on the bridge of the Sunflower while the tugs recharged. He even followed his own command and watched several sporting contests simultaneously. During the commercials, he switched to a 24 hour news channel. He was actually surprised when Russ stated that 2 hours had passed and the tugs should be finished charging and ready to make the final jump to Earth.
Jim contacted Mike on one of the tugs and said, “How much longer?”
Mike replied, “Fifteen minutes.”
Jim broke contact and said, “The Earth should have seen us about an hour ago. We should be getting a response any minute now.”
Colin replied, “I can’t wait to hear their first message. For Earth, it should be a momentous occasion – proof that there are extra-terrestrials in the universe and first contact with another intelligent species.”
Russ said, “Computer, announce when we receive a message from Earth.”
…We have received a message from Earth…
Jim said, “Play it.”
…wtf, lmao… heart emoji…
Jim said, “Well, that was certainly an auspicious beginning to our dialogue with Earth.” He continued, “Computer, can you connect to the major news outlets and governments’ satellites?”
…Not from this distance…
Russ said, “We could target them one at a time and send out a signal every ¼ second. There would only be a 5 second difference in the time between the first signal and the last. Well, plus time the time that you talk.”
Jim said, “Computer, record the following message. Russ, send the signal individually per your idea. I will try to be judicious with my words.”
…Incoming message from Dave Norris at the SETI Radar Observatory, California…
Jim said, “Belay my order. Play the message.”
…Playing message: Hello and welcome back to Earth. Thank you for finally making contact with us this time…
…There appears to be more to the message, but the rest is garbled…
Russ said, “Apparently Victor Tyrano wasn’t as sneaky as he thought. It looks like someone on Earth has been monitoring outer space fairly closely.”
Jim said, “Go ahead and calculate the micro jump from here to Earth. We should be leaving shortly.”
Russ chose a point just outside Earth’s gravity field. It seemed like a nice, centralized point that was an easy destination. He ran a computer simulation and got a positive beep in response.
Russ said, “The jump will last four minutes. So it will look like 40 minutes to Earth.”
Jim said, “Jump.”
Four minutes later they exited hyperspace right beside Earth and unbeknownst to them, in the exact same spot that the Sunflower had used the last time it was here. The control board started blinking immediately upon arrival.
Colin said, “We are being scanned and targeted by several lasers.”
Jim replied, “Can anything hurt us?”
“No,” Colin answered.
Jim responded, “Then let them take a good, long look at us. Set a course for Earth at .02 light and shoot for a geosynchronous orbit.”
Russ input the coordinates and the Sunflower headed to Earth. Two minutes later the space station appeared and began following them.
Jim said, “Computer, connect to all major news outlets on Earth. Transmit the following message to those outlets.”
…Ready…
Jim interrupted every major television station and said, “Fellow citizens of Earth, we are not alone in the universe. There are 5 other intelligent races in our corner of the galaxy. These alien races have been at war with each other for over 2 years. The aliens that have been protecting us just lost.”
Jim paused to collect his thoughts and continued, “This lone ship could easily destroy the planet Earth. The invading aliens will eventually come to Earth with hundreds of these ships. They will force the strong into servitude and euthanize the weak. We cannot let that happen. We must build an interstellar navy and fight. Our freedom and our way of life depend upon it.”
…………………….
Amy Weisman replayed the entire message another time. She heard the words but couldn’t quite believe them. No, she thought, that wasn’t entirely true; she and her inner staff at Victory Games had suspected for a few months that their video game had extra-terrestrial origins.
Suspicion was one thing; glaring proof was something else entirely. Plus, she recognized the voice. The person giving that speech was definitely Jim Donovan.
Amy’s assistant entered the room with a printout. He walked completely into her office this time, eschewing his normal practice of standing just inside the doorway. However, he found the wall closest to the door and leaned against it as if his weight was the only thing keeping it from falling down.
He said, “Amy, Ms. Weisman, I have an update. We were able to scan the object and we have a fairly accurate measure of the object.”
Amy looked up and said, “How big is it and where did it come from and who built it?”
The engineer checked the printout and said, “Really big. It definitely jumped through hyperspace from another solar
system. Finally, there are small variations between the Advranki and the Altian cruisers. This one appears to be an Advranki design with Altian design elements included in it for aesthetics.”
Amy frowned at the engineer. Generally, her method of asking for a clarification was to give a blank, expressionless look. A frown, well a frown was not good.
The engineer saw Amy’s look and quickly responded, “The object is an exact duplicate of the cruiser design in our video game. There are some discolored panels on one side. The ship looks like it may have been damaged and poorly repaired.
Amy already knew the answer, but she knew she had to ask. She said, “So, what about its sudden disappearance and reappearance in Earth orbit 40 minutes later?”
The engineer slowly moved to the right, closer to Amy’s door. Amy was a little scared that the engineer may try to make a run for the door, so she waved at one of the chairs opposite her desk and said, “Please, sit down.”
The engineer sat in the offered chair and responded, “We ran a simulation of a cruiser making a micro jump.”
“And?” Amy asked.
The engineer sighed and said, “And it matched perfectly. I think that we knew or at least strongly suspected that the video game, computer chip, metal treatment, and heaters that Victor ‘invented’ were way beyond any Human’s technological understanding. However, proof of a working hyperdrive leaves no doubt that aliens have visited Earth in our very recent past.”
Amy responded, “They visited us in secret, gave us technology light years ahead of own, and apparently kidnapped 88 people. Why?”
The engineer answered, “I think we already know that answer as well. They gave us their technology so that we could have the means to fight for ourselves in the event that they lost the war. The kidnapped people received real life training.”
Amy thought about the Victory Games founder for a moment. Victor Tyrano had been gone for several months and every attempt to find him and the 16 employees that he had taken with him had failed. He still responded to her weekly updates so she knew that he was still alive, but that was about it.
She wondered why the aliens had chosen Victor and how he had managed to keep their presence on Earth a secret. She even wondered if any of them were still on Earth. Or Victor for that matter.
“Well,” Amy replied, “I guess we are going to build a Navy and go to war. It seems like the logical response to discovering that there is intelligent life in our galaxy.”
The engineer received a text on his cell phone. He looked down and read it and said, “The ship has parked in a stationary orbit. Two transport vessels just left the ship and are directly overhead.”
“Where are they headed?” Amy asked.
The engineer frowned and said, “Here. They appear to be headed for our parking lot.”
…………………….
“I don’t know,” Jim said.
“You have to. You have no choice,” Colin replied.
Russ said, “Colin is right and you know it. You have to do it.”
Jim said, “It seems pretty arbitrary to give myself a promotion. Upon whose authority do I use? The Alliance Navy lists me as a captain, not as an admiral or a fleet commander.”
Russ said, “That is irrelevant and you know it. The Alliance is no longer an active entity. Besides, we were sworn into the Alliance Navy under false pretenses as Solarian citizens with assumed names. I don’t think that we ever were actual members of the Alliance Navy.”
Colin said, “Technically we aren’t. Earth is not a member of the Alliance, so therefore we cannot by definition become members of the Alliance Navy.” He paused for effect and more importantly so that Jim would stop and listen.
Jim looked over and Colin and said, “That is definitely a technicality. Weren’t we given temporary citizenship on Solaria in order to volunteer for the Navy?”
Colin said, “Computer, replay Shole’s message.”
…Humans, the Hiriculans have invaded with an overwhelming force. By the time you receive this message the entire Alliance will have fallen. All Alliance naval personnel were forced to resign. There are 23 active warships guarding Conron and 14 in Solaria. They are sending 14 warships to Waylon. You need to destroy the navigational beacon in Waylon and leave the system immediately. Do not engage, just jump somewhere safe and hide…
(Long pause)
…Also, if you visit Conron you will find some carbonated water in the giant laser ball…
Colin continued, “According to her message, everyone in the Alliance Navy except us was forced to resign. So, that makes you the highest ranking member of the Alliance Navy.
Colin: “Or, if you don’t like that argument then because the Alliance has fallen, our temporary membership was revoked.”
Colin finished, “Or, if you don’t like that argument, then we are now members of an independent Earth fleet and you are the highest ranking member.”
Russ clapped and said, “Whichever way you want to argue it, you need an upgraded title. Oh, by the way, that was a great speech. We are now getting hundreds of responses.”
Jim said, “What’s the overall tone?”
Russ scanned a few of the responses. He said, “Typical responses I suppose. Most want to volunteer to ‘go kick some alien asses’, some want us to leave, and others think that the whole thing must be some kind of joke.”
Colin began scanning as well. He ordered Becky to also begin reading the incoming messages. He opened one that looked particularly interesting.
He said, “We just got a response from the President of the United States. He wants to know who we are and how we know so much about Earth. He is also offering us positions in the US military; any branch that we want.”
Russ said, “Here is one offering us citizenship in France if we give them all of the technology on the ship.”
Colin said, “Another government is threatening war unless we share the technology with them.”
Jim said, “You’re right. The situation is too volatile at the moment. First, we need the entire planet to calm down. Second, we can’t build a Navy by ourselves. We need the help of the governments and the corporations.”
Colin said, “Stop. Don’t even say that we need the entire world to set aside their petty differences, come together as one for a common goal, and form a world government. That may happen eventually, but probably not today.”
Jim said, “Computer, link to the Victory Games network. Send the 6 unlock passwords to every single gaming console in the world.”
…Completed. Every gamer now has a complete set of schematics for the hyperdrive, the ion cannon, the electro lifts, and the plasma reactor…
Colin said, “Wow! That was a lot of intellectual property that you just let go. We probably should have had a shareholder meeting or something before deciding to do that.”
Jim waved dismissively and said, “Releasing the passwords shows our good intentions. Victory Games has a several month head start, so I doubt anyone can beat them, well us, to market. Besides, if you were given the schematics to a nuclear reactor, could you build one?”
Colin replied, “As a matter of fact I could.”
All four laughed. Jim replied, “Okay, that was a bad example. How many people out there can look at a schematic of an ion cannon and build one from it?”
Colin sighed and responded, “Probably no one, especially without the corresponding material and heat treatment specifications.” He thought for a moment and added, “I just hope that Victory Games can do it.”
Becky found a particularly interesting email and said, “Amy Weisman wants to meet us personally.”
No one spoke, so Becky paraphrased another message, “There are multiple requests for us to land. There are many of them requesting that we show ourselves.”
Jim said, “That’s it. We need a plan. What are our options?”
Colin said, “We need to land some or all of our engineers on the planet so that they can begin to properly disseminate
the detailed information in a controlled fashion.”
Jim smiled and said, “That makes sense. We are going to have to build most of the detailed electronic systems on Earth.”
Russ said, “We need to build more fighters and train more fighter pilots. We need to fully staff the space station. Now that the laser drill and control station are in position in the asteroid belt beside Mars we need to ignite it and start mining.”
Colin added, “At least we will soon have the mini-freighter Travesty. It can move the iron ore and other raw materials to the space station for processing.”
Becky said, “We need to figure out how to build an entire Navy without destroying our economy.”
Russ said, “We need to find a suitable living arrangements on the station for Lorano, Carank, and the other aliens when they arrive tomorrow. I still can’t believe our good fortune.”
Jim said, “Yes. They should be here soon. I think our top priority is to have Lorano and Carank perform a thorough review of all of the resources that we have. Then we need to design a series of warships that we can actually build. We need to create ships that are economical to build, easy to operate, easy to repair, and tough in battle.”
Russ said, “And look really cool.”
Becky was still browsing through the emails. She said, “Right now I think that we should respond to some of these queries. Several people are requesting our names and one wants to know the name of the space station.”
Jim stopped. He stood there for a moment completely dumbfounded. They had lived on the space station for 7 months and had never once thought to name it. Jim said, “I need some names for this station fast.”
People starting yelling out names – “Galaxy, Mir, Babylon 6, Midway, Victory, International Space Station ...”
Jim said, “Okay. I chose one. Now I am going to make another telecast. Becky, make me a quick list of talking points. Russ, tell everyone to assemble on the hangar bay.”
Jim and Russ walked down the main corridor to the hangar bay. They smiled as a caribou jumped alongside him. Even after 19 months the painting still impressed them. Becky and Colin followed closely behind. They rest of the crew joined them on the flight deck.
