by S. H. Jucha
Sheila replied.
Back aboard the Money Maker, the crew congratulated and hailed Sheila for her icy cold maneuver—facing down a Striker pilot. Later, Sheila sat in Tatia’s cabin, relating the truth of the encounter and sharing New Terran alcohol that Tatia had shipped aboard with her personal effects.
Tatia clinked Sheila’s cup and smiled in understanding. “To fortune, sister,” Tatia said.
-6-
Niomedes now lay behind the flotilla; New Terra sat a day out.
Again, Julien had to work to connect to Downing. When he accessed the previous contact points—readers and vid monitors—he found them disconnected or the vids physically blocked. The man was obviously hiding from Alex. So Julien monitored Clayton’s close associates and waited.
Alex waited, giving the President every opportunity to speak. He didn’t want a confrontation, but he wasn’t willing to turn from his path, either. Finally, Alex gave up and closed the comm. Well, that went well, he thought.
“Well, Admiral, so the rumors are true,” Hezekiah replied.
“That you’re part rodent, Admiral. We send you out with two ships, and a half-year later, you come back with nine ships.”
Alex could hear Hezekiah’s belly laugh.
“Incomplete? How, Admiral?” Hezekiah asked.
This time Hezekiah’s laughter was so long and hard he had trouble catching his breath.
Alex waited until the station manager’s laughter had subsided, before he dropped the bad news.
“Never a dull moment with you around, Admiral,” Hezekiah said, “welcome back. So if half the people are in danger, I would hazard a guess it’s one of those massive saucers that’s in trouble.”
“The what?” Hezekiah asked.
“I watched your interview with your sister, Admiral—very clever manner in which to communicate your story despite our wonderful President. Well, to business … I’ll have hoses, blowers, and electrical standing by on a terminal boom. I’ll send Julien the location. Can that Our People manage a docking or should I be vacationing by the time you arrive.”
“I was thinking of retiring soon anyway, Admiral,” Hezekiah replied. “Wait … you said you’re going to fix the President problem?”
“General Gonzalez? Wonderful woman!” Hezekiah said. “Are you thinking of doing what I think you’re thinking of doing, Admiral?”
“Oh, welcome back, Admiral, welcome back!” Hezekiah said, his voice rising in triumph.
* * *
The flotilla made New Terra’s orbit and took up positions fifty kilometers outward from the Joaquin Station while the Unsere Menschen and Money Maker proceeded on. Per Alex’s orders, Captain Menlo positioned the Money Maker inward of the station to act as a front guard against any Strikers lifting from the planet.
If Z was capable of sweating, it would have been pouring out of his case. He was attempting to maneuver the city-ship up to the terminal’s extended boom in nearly blind conditions. With so many sensors incomplete, Z was unable to determine subtle distances. The SADEs had positioned their ships to give Z a three-dimensional view of his ship and the station’s boom, constantly transmitting telemetry to him as the distance closed. Z would pulse the maneuvering jets, wait, review the telemetry, and pulse the jets again. The last kilometer to the boom’s end took nearly two hours to complete. When the terminal’s docking boss called “All halt” to Z, both of them waited to ensure that the last pulses had cancelled the enormous ship’s forward momentum. Once his fellow SADEs affirmed zero delta-V, Z felt overjoyed.
Oxygen conditions for the people of the Unsere Menschen had been deteriorating ever since they had launched from Libre. After the city-ship had passed Niomedes, Captain Cordova had ordered the passengers and crew to their beds to conserve the remaining air supply. The Freedom had sent shuttles of compressed oxygen tanks to its sister city-ship, but the effort was akin to bailing the bilge of an ocean-going transport with a cup.
The station’s terminal boss extended the boom out five meters to meet with the city-ship’s hatch and service ports. Once they achieved a pressure seal and pumped air into the terminal arm’s gantry, the tech boss waited for the ship’s hatch to open.
Inside the Unsere Menschen, a Libran tech named Delores tapped the manual switch for the hatch a second time,
but the hatch still didn’t move. Delores’s thoughts were muddled. She knew she was doing something wrong but couldn’t think of what that might be.
Delores focused on the control panel, which for a moment blurred, then cleared.
Delores struggled over to the opposite side of the airlock and closed the airlock’s interior hatch. Her muscles were cramping from oxygen starvation. She looked over at her panel again.
As the city-ship’s hatch slid open, fouled air spilled from the ship and enveloped the Joaquin boom tech. “Boss,” the tech said. “This is Fujio on boom control. Hatch is open. We have to move quickly. These people need air badly.”
“Z,” said the tech boss, Jaime, “I have a ten-centimeter air hose at the boom’s end. Fujio, watch for an opening near the hatch for the hose. Don’t worry about connections. Just stick it into the opening’s throat.”
Z opened an air access hatch for Fujio, who jammed the extendible hose into the opening. On Z’s signal, the nanites in the collar sealed around the hose, and Z signaled the tech and the terminal boss that a seal was in place. Jaime ran the boom’s air pump at max revolutions, forcing air into the city-ship’s ventilation system.
Fujio stood aside as more than 200 terminal workers pounded past him, loaded with heavy canisters of oxygen strapped to their backs. The city-ship was a huge labyrinth of corridors and decks, but Julien had supplied Hezekiah with the city-ship’s plan. Each worker held a small map in front of them as they navigated to their section. When they reached their assigned area, they walked around, dispersing nine cubic meters of pure oxygen from their tanks. Between the air hose and the oxygen bottles, the people on board slowly began to feel revived.
In the single day of forewarning Hezekiah had received, he had ordered multiple shuttle deliveries of pure oxygen to the station. He used the deliveries to fill the station’s reserve tanks located throughout the extensive structure, and kept the last two shuttles in reserve ready to top off the tanks as they were depleted. At the same time, he put out the word that he needed volunteers. His message included the words “Our cousins need help.”
* * *
Alex, Renée, and the twins joined Mickey, Tomas, and Eric in a small hall on board the station dedicated by Hezekiah for their use. New Terran contractors had already assembled in the hall, anxious to hear the opportunities to work on the city-ships in exchange for Méridien tech. They had signed their confidentiality agreements with House Alexander, which had more than one of them wondering who was this new business entity?
The meeting was short. Alex and his people stood in front of the forty-three company owners, and Alex introduced himself and Renée as Co-Leaders of House Alexander. Then he introduced his Directors, Tomas and Eric, and his Chief Engineer, Mickey.
“Sers,” Alex began, “we need contractors to complete the construction of the docked city-ship, Unsere Menschen, and we need some small finish work on the sister ship, Freedom. We have some of the material you will require already on board the ships, but not most of it. The T-Stations will be manufacturing the necessary material shortly.”
One of the company owners raised a hand to catch Alex’s attention. “Admiral, aren’t the T-Stations under government control?”
“You are correct, Ser. That will be remedied soon,” Alex replied simply.
The owner shifted uncomfortably in his seat. The splendidly uniformed Admiral standing before him looked younger than his son, but he didn’t act that way. The Admiral had said he would have the T-Stations producing his material soon, and the owner was inclined to accept his word—it seemed the better part of wisdom.
“As I said, the T-Stations will be producing the material for you,” Alex continued. “What you will need to provide for your part of the agreement will be labor and expenses. We’re proposing a simple trade. We will offer each of you one choice of several Méridien intellectual properties.”
The noise rose in the hall as the attendees began shouting questions over one another. Everyone quieted when they realized Alex wasn’t responding. He just stood there with his hands behind his back. In fact, the Admiral’s entire entourage stood eerily quiet, waiting.
When the noise subsided, Alex focused on an older gentleman who hadn’t shouted a question but was lost in thought. “Ser,” Alex said, pointing at the man. “Did you have a question?”
“I was wondering, Admiral, how I could manage this deal. My company handles ventilation ducting and environmental controls, and we did some of the work on the Outward Bound.”
“And a fine job you did, Ser,” Alex replied. “That shuttle saved tens of thousands of your cousins.”
“Thank you, Admiral,” he replied, nodding. “But, my problem is that I have a crew of nineteen. I saw the size of your city-ship. Even if I received only a portion of the work, it would require me to shoulder the burden of their pay for far longer than I could afford.”
“Would my special guests please stand up?” On Alex’s invitation, five men and women stood up. “Would the contractors please note the faces of these people?” Everyone turned in their seats to take in the five well-dressed men and women. “These are the Directors of five of New Terra’s smaller banks,” Alex continued. “I’ve explained to them what I’m proposing. They are quite anxious to meet with you to form partnerships. They would offer loans for payroll and expenses to support your work on our ships. They will also offer loans to support the cost of research and development of your Méridien tech in exchange for a share of the profits in the new technology. It may be that you’ll wish to form larger partnerships with other contractors to act as a single provider and to share your tech.”
Rather than an outburst, Alex’s statements generated absolute silence.
“Sers,” Alex said, “I leave you to discuss business among yourselves. You may comm Julien for any particulars regarding your opportunities and agreements. He can communicate with your readers. My Chief Engineer, Mickey, is the point person for your jobs. On board the ships, your job quality and final sign-off will be approved by the city-ships’ SADEs, either Cordelia or Z. Your direct client contacts are Director Monti and Director Stroheim. On a final note, you have this hall for the remainder of the day, and staff will serve you meals and refreshment, courtesy of House Alexander. Good day, people.”
Alex and his people swept out of the hall. The group, except for Alex and Étienne, was headed to the Unsere Menschen now that basic services had been restored.
* * *
Alex strolled into the Station Manager’s offices. The young assistant jumped up to greet him and ushered him into Hezekiah’s office. He bumped into the office’s doorway while attempting to get a second look at Étienne as he passed.
As Alex and Hezekiah greeted one another, Étienne was reminded of Duggan Racine. Hezekiah looked as big as Alex’s father—and seemed just as friendly. Their greeting included hugs and a fierce round of backslapping.
“Hezekiah, I can’t thank you enough for your efforts on behalf of my people,” Alex said. “From the reports I’ve received, it was a close call.”
“Admiral, I am pleased to be of service,” Hezekiah replied. “It’s not every day you have the opportunity to save over a hundred thousand people. But I’m afraid my generosity will soon come to an end. When the bill comes due and no one is able to pay it, I will be held accoun
table.”
“How much is the bill, Hezekiah?” Alex asked.
Hezekiah was about to protest that it would do Alex no good to view the extensive bill. It would not only include today’s emergency services but an advance against terminal services fees. Except … Alex didn’t look concerned. In fact, as Hezekiah regarded his friend, Alex didn’t look like the young pilot he remembered. Dressed in his commanding Admiral’s uniform, Alex sat straight in his chair and was regarding him with a look that said he was waiting for an answer and expected one forthwith. With a few taps on his reader, Hezekiah pulled up the Admiral’s bill and handed his reader over to Alex.
Alex regarded the total, tapped into the reader several times, and handed it back. Hezekiah refreshed the account summary on his reader and saw that the bill was indeed paid. Hezekiah looked at Alex, wide-eyed with mouth hanging open.
“But … how?” was all he could say.
Alex shook his friend’s hand and exited the Station Manager’s offices.
Étienne, following behind Alex, sent privately,
* * *
Exiting a shuttle back aboard the Rêveur, Alex headed to the bridge to speak with Andrea when he noticed his location app placed her in the Captain’s cabin. Just outside Andrea’s door, Alex paused. His app also placed Renée, Tatia, Sheila, and Alain in the cabin as well. In fact, Étienne, who would have left him by now, was still standing beside him.
