“That’s true,” said Andrew. “Come on Kris, let’s go back to town.” He could tell Kris was not happy.
“Okay,” he said to Andrew. Then quietly he said, “As soon as they steal something or harm one of the villagers or the colonists then it becomes our
responsibility.”
“As you wish, Sheriff,” said Andrew, trying to be sarcastic.
The next morning two Barques took off and headed out to search for the Kaedians. Ten days later they were relieved by two other Barques who continued the search.
26
Platform Up
Back on Earth, President Umberto watched as the final groups of families moved into their dwellings aboard the massive elevator platform. He had just come from a guided tour of one of the houses that the colonists would live in for the next few years. Raymond Haskell, former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State, had resigned as soon as he knew he had been selected to go on the first transport. His family came from a long line of farmer/ranchers. He himself had worked his family’s farm until he was selected as Deputy Secretary of State. His wife Rita loved farming and ran the farm while he was in Washington. His two teen-aged daughters were avid horsewomen and learned to ride as soon as they could walk. When they were not in school they were working with the horses, training them or mucking out their stalls. The farm was three hours away as the crow flies or five hours by automobile, so he was only able to get home on weekends and not every weekend at that. The Secretary was away at the President’s bidding most of the time so he was very busy. Raymond was beginning to see that he was spending a lot of his time away from home. The money was good enough that he could not afford to give it up, but he wanted to spend more time with his family. So, when the opportunity came to emigrate to Altis-5, with his family’s blessing, he applied immediately.
When his acceptance letter came, he informed the Secretary of State, who tried to talk him out of it. When the Secretary failed, he took it up with the President, and she also tried to discourage him with all kinds of juicy jobs. When he would not budge, she wished him well and accepted his resignation. Raymond had met William Umberto many times and when he found out he was coming he wrote and offered to give him a tour.
They had been in the new place less than a week and were still getting used to the idea of such a drastic downsize when President Umberto arrived for his visit. Each house was 1000 square feet made of one continuously molded square unit including the floor, roof and walls and window frames which were very large to let in as much light as possible. The living room was in the center with three bedrooms and a kitchen leading off from it. Each house came fully furnished with all the large furniture, beds, couch, chairs, kitchen table a video screen and a control/communication terminal in each room.
The only things the residents had to bring were pots and pans, silverware, sheets, and other personal necessities. Each house was crammed in next to each other with just enough room to move a crate in between. The houses were next to the town buildings, schools, and hospitals, all linked together like a giant jigsaw puzzle for the trip. Each family was allowed one ten-foot square crate for each family member.
So, Raymond’s family had four crates to pack in everything they wanted to bring. Everything else they gave away or sold to friends and neighbors and anything left was donated to charity. Raymond drained their bank account, and after buying sacks of wheat, oats and barley seeds he converted whatever cash was leftover into gold. He knew there would be no need for American currency on the new planet so he hoped gold would retain its value even there. It was a gamble but what else could he do? The farm he handed over to his brother who owned a smaller farm next to Raymond’s and was overjoyed to hear of his good fortune. It cemented his desire to remain on Earth. He promised to take good care of it and assured his brother if there was anything Ray needed, he would find a way to get it to him.
Each house was connected to the platforms water/sewage and power system so that when they moved in everything was ready to go, they just had to unpack. Umberto was amazed at the tiny house; it reminded him of his first apartment in New York. He wished them well and let them get on with their unpacking.
Finally, the day came when the greatest human migration of all time was ready to depart. All the contracts were signed, all the briefings were given, all the farewells completed, and all was ready. Two hundred and fifty thousand families from fifty different countries speaking twelve different languages were onboard and settled in. Most were farmers or ranchers but there were a few veterinarians, doctors, police officers, butchers, bakers, and others, even a few politicians pretending to be farmers. All the needed skills to kick-start the colonization of Altis-5.
The video screens in all the houses were tuned into the President of the World Confederation as he gave a brief farewell speech from his vantage point two miles from the elevator on a hill among the thousands of people who had come to witness the event. At precisely six pm central European time he watched through binoculars as the color of the beam in the center changed from a lemon yellow to a brilliant red as energy levels intensified to support the weight of the platform. As the beam took the weight the ends of the ramps leading up to the platform simultaneously rose on their massive hinges and slowly slid back into the platform. A barricade surrounding the platform went up and after a final sweep to make sure all was secure within the barricade the entire four-mile wide platform began to rise.
Most of the colonists were out in the streets looking up as the platform rose toward the transport ship. As it reached fifty feet above the ground, the platform began to move more quickly topping out at about fifteen miles an hour. Even when the transport ship dropped down to five miles above the surface it still took twenty-five minutes to reach the transport, by which time most of the younger colonists were inside their houses playing video games.
William marveled at the thought of how much power it took to move such a massive weight. Gradually the platform entered the ship and at the last moment the last light from the Earth’s sun to ever be seen again by most of the colonists, was shut out and the artificial lights thirty feet up came on. The number of hours of light would change over time to mimic the increased daylight hours available on the new planet. The measurement of time would change at the same rate. The hour as measured on Earth would gradually increase until it matched that of the longer hour on Altis-5.
There was a loud thump as the platform locked into place followed by a second shuddering thump as massive bolts were hydraulically forced into position and locked in. The massive five-mile wide Hevinian Colonial Transport Ship Goliath then lifted into the darkness of space in minutes, adjusted course, and headed for Atis5. Once clear of Earth’s atmosphere it slowly increased speed as it made its way through the debris field created by the Battle for Earth. Within the massive transport’s artificial gravity, the colonists had no sensation of speed, to them it was as if they were standing still. The video screens showing Venus passing by as they exited the Solar System was the only indication of movement. The other planets in the Solar System were not visible as they were in a distant part of their orbits around the sun.
As they exited the Solar System, it took twenty minutes to reach the maximum cruising speed of 1.8 C. The screens changed to show their course, speed, and a clock counting down to their ETA. This data would be available as a separate channel during the entire trip. Five other entertainment channels and one information channel were available during the trip. As a requirement for the free land, each colonist had to volunteer his or her services during the trip in some capacity even if it meant keeping the streets in between the houses clean. The information channel in each unit began to list the assignments available as agreed to and signed by every colonist. These included choosing selectpersons for each of their towns. The platform community was divided into eight segments and each segment was divided into four towns of approximately eight thousand families. There were literally hundreds of jobs that needed to be filled, as with any s
mall town. Administrative positions also included food distribution officials, school teachers, (there was one school in each town), a housing maintenance coordinator and a law enforcement officer who would recruit their own volunteer deputies. The one medical center in each segment was staffed by Hevinian Technicians, but there were plenty of volunteer positions to be filled by colonists who were physicians and nurses who were anxious to learn all they could of the advanced medical technology.
Raymond was sitting in his living room when the screen announced it was time to choose their selectmen. All those wishing to fill the ten selectman seats were to submit a resume. Voting would be in ten days in the administration building in the center of each town. It could have been via the computer terminals but the Hevinians knew through experience that it was important to get people out and about as soon as possible. The more people interacted the easier the journey. Raymond put together his resume and submitted it. He received a reply immediately; he was registered as a candidate. Now to start campaigning, he thought. He left his house and started knocking on doors and introducing himself.
Two weeks later he was sitting in the council chambers as a newly elected selectman and already there were problems. Two families who had volunteered to emigrate to get away from each other had somehow been given houses next to each other. Also, one couple was in the process of separation when they were selected. They both wanted to go and arrived together but now they wanted separate accommodations, the list went on. This could be a long trip, he thought, as he shook his head. Despite the problems, the first month went by fairly smoothly. There were the usual number of issues normally found in any society but these were quickly dealt with by the council or law enforcement. The volunteer positions were filled quickly, mostly by those who held similar positions on Earth. Naturally there were more adults aboard than positions so many of the colonists found themselves with nothing to do. Some were content with that but many were not so, and as they learned about each other groups of likeminded people began to get together. Theater groups, bands, orchestras, card clubs, knitting circles, book clubs formed. Many Masons, Eagles, Elks, and Veterans groups found each other and organized new chapters. There was something for everyone.
It was nine am ship’s time on the thirty-sixth day since departure when Raymond arrived at the town office for the weekly selectmen’s meeting. Since being elected, he had been nominated to be the head selectman and represented the town at the segment council and just last week he had been nominated to represent his segment at the platform council. What it really meant was more work but he was okay with that because he needed to do something. He told his wife that when they arrived on Altis-5 he would resign from all the positions and concentrate on his family and farm. His wife just gave him a knowing look and said, “That’s nice dear and I will take up sumo wrestling.” He opened the door to the council chamber to find a heated meeting already in progress. That’s strange, he thought, to begin the session without him; he was the head selectman after all.
“What’s going on?” he asked, interrupting the proceedings.
Paul Stein, the town Sheriff, turned to him. “I’m glad you are here. We have an unconfirmed case of rape on our hands.” Raymond was flabbergasted.
“Unconfirmed my ass,” said Brian Stone, coming out of his chair.
Stein held up his hands. “All I am saying is we have to wait for the medical exam before we go off all half-cocked.”
Brian was now standing glaring at the Sheriff. “Are you saying my daughter lied? That son of a bitch raped my daughter and I want him arrested. Now!”
Raymond took his seat and slammed his gavel down. “This is a matter for the police and does not belong in the council room. If you cannot behave like a selectman I will ask the Sheriff to remove you.”
Paul looked at Brian. “I will have my deputies pick the lad up for questioning but there will be no arrests until this is sorted out. Besides he is not going anywhere for a while. Will that satisfy you?”
Brian was normally a reasonable man but this was his daughter, so he had to fight back the anger raging in him. “Well, all right, it’s a start.”
Brian felt himself calming down. He turned to the other selectmen, “My apologies for my outburst,” he said as he took his seat.
It seems we have not left all our problems behind, thought Raymond.
It later turned out the young woman in question had fabricated the entire story when the medical exam confirmed the fact that she was still a virgin.
27
Durack
Battle Ship Thantese: Orbiting the massive Kaedian supply and refit facility in the Cerion system.
Senior Fleet Commander Carkon glared at the man standing at rigid attention in front of his desk. Fleet Commander Durack had just received the chewing out of his career. The fact that he destroyed the Orion was the only thing that saved him. Carkon looked at the illuminated report hovering between them. It was typical of a Kaedian after action report. Written by Durack, it gave only the pertinent details that made him look good. It described how Durack skillfully made a tactical withdrawal once he realized they were trapped against overwhelming odds. Even though he knew of the danger he had fulfilled the Krammar and destroyed the Orion at great personal risk to himself.
It was with great regret that Third Officer Dresden Carkon had lost his life in the action but the Officer had shown great courage and the Senior Fleet Commander should be proud of his late son. Durack made sure a recommendation that Third Officer Carkon should receive the Order of Kaedia was included in his report. It was the highest-ranking medal available to the Kaedian forces. Not that Durack cared about the dead Officer but he knew it would placate the boy’s father.
Carkon pointed at the report. “Surface sensors on several of your ships reported an attachment of some sort of a foreign body. Can you explain this?”
“The sensors interpreted the attachment as an inert organic that self-destructed. There was no time to investigate. We came under attack as we left the field. I was facing an imminent threat that needed all of my attention.”
“That seems to have been a mistake. I have had this phenomenon researched and apparently, these organics are not as inert as you thought. These devices are adhesive explosives used effectively by the Hevinians before in their war with the Silerinians. This is what caused the mysterious destruction of your ships.”
Carkon waved the report away as he stood and faced Durack. “Under normal circumstances I would have you executed for your failure, but the Force Commander apparently appreciates your completion of the Krammar. So instead you are to be promoted to Senior Fleet Commander.”
Durack smiled inwardly that he had survived. “You have new orders. You are to take command of the Battle Cruiser Zargon and its strike group. Tactical Commander Regor Lutto will be your Exec. You will proceed to the Regulas system where you will exercise the group in the new tactics devised by Lutto and approved by the High Command. This will give you time to adjust to your new rank. Once Lutto is satisfied that the group is proficient in the new tactics the second Erth campaign will be yours.”
“Thank you, Sir.”
“Don’t thank me. If it were up to me you’d be cleaning out crappers for the rest of your career. You’re sure it was the same forces on Kryton that surprised our fleet on the way to Erth?”
“Yes Sir. In fact, Third Officer Carkon made the visual identification.”
“Very well, Durack. You were lucky this time; You are dismissed.”
Durack replaced his cap, saluted, and left. Senior Fleet Commander Carkon sunk into his chair and pulled up an image of his son on his console. He sent a secure confidential mental command to the central depository and requested all current information on the Erth Defense Brigade One. It angered him that Durack had not destroyed the Brigade for he had a feeling this was not the last they would see of the EDB.
Twenty minutes later Durack sat in the Senior Officer's lounge of the transport headed to the fleet
marshalling area where the Zargon and its fleet were waiting for him. So, they have given me a watchdog. He pulled up the personnel file of Tactical Commander Lutto. Just as I thought, an Imperial hatchet man. Lutto's file showed no entries prior to attaining the rank of Tactical Commander. He had served aboard four ships. Durack had heard of the Commanders of these ships. He brought up their files and compared the dates when Lutto was reassigned to when the Commanding Officers were replaced, they matched.
28
Land Parcels
The area of land distributed to the advance party was not an area designated for initial colonization, being much smaller than what the Hevinians considered to be a standard lot for colonization, and being hemmed in by the mountains and the marsh. So, the Hevinian surveyors had not surveyed the area or divided up the land. Therefore, the job of preparing a survey had been left to the Australians. It had taken two weeks to complete their work and submit a proposal as to how the land was to be divided including community owned paths between each parcel. They were careful that each parcel had access to fresh water abutting either the main river or one of the various ponds and streams. A large portion was north of the village ending in a range of mountains that stretched northeast from the shore. The range curved south to Lookout Mountain then ran west for several hundred miles until it abutted a second mountain range running due south. A promontory from this range ran west toward the village ending at the edge of the forest. The rest of the range continued south until it flattened out as it reached a huge marsh land at the edge of the ocean. The land within the ranges was dotted with lakes of various sizes that were connected by a network of rivers and streams providing fresh water to most of the land. The meadowland west of the village boundary extended less than a mile until it met the great forest that ran into the mountain range as it dipped south to the marsh. As beautiful and as bountiful in its wildlife as the marsh was, it was unsuitable for farming or ranching. However, the brackish water at the estuary was teeming with fish and crustaceans.
Altis-5: Book #2 of the Sleeper Series Page 27
