Because for damn sure, she wasn’t going to use any of her electronics to leave these messages and while it was doubtful anyone would trace it, they would get nowhere with a non-government civilian and leave them alone. Her? Not so much.
TQB Base, Colorado - USA
“Okay guys, we are going to need more people.” Jeffrey and team BMW had been spending the last two hours trying to come to grips with planning the final flight.
They needed to figure out food, air, water, sanitation, housing and manufacturing.
At a minimum.
Bobcat raised a hand to point at Jeffrey, opened his mouth to say something and then shut it and dropped his hand. There really wasn’t anything to say, what Jeffrey said was true. The team had to get bigger, and they needed to get bigger pretty fast.
William spoke up, “I’m going to need more testing for the manufacturing processes on the moon. Before we do the final plans, I need to understand just what we can, and cannot manufacture up there.”
Marcus asked, “Why would it be so different than manufacturing down here? If you’re worried about gravity, then let’s make sure we plan for that.” William nodded his agreement. Marcus continued, “I am concerned some related to the oxygen requirements for your manufacturing processes William. We are going to need a fairly extensive air purification system and while I am a rocket scientist.”
Bobcat interrupted, “Yes, you make that point all the damn time.”
Marcus quipped, “I was going for levity, you ass. If you would be so kind as to allow me to finish?” He waited a second until Bobcat gave a regal, if shallow bow. “Thank you, my point is that we need experts in these areas. We just spoke about air purification systems. But we also need to concern ourselves with water purification systems as well. We can always ship food in our containers up to the moon. But what happens if someone stops it?”
Jeffrey said, “I thought we were going to use the Growtainers for that?” He looked around at the group, none of the others looked like they had a clue. He shook his head, “Guys, I know that you like to focus on your areas of expertise but you need to get your minds wrapped around the fact that you need to understand the bigger picture. Growtainers are hydroponic farms inside of recycled shipping containers. It would be fucking perfect for our food needs.”
Marcus replied, “Which, if we had the perfect person for this, we could hand off the food requirements to her.”
“Her?” William asked.
“I’m thinking that we are a little male gender heavy.” He said.
Bobcat smirked, “Oh? So who is this ‘her’ you are thinking about?”
“Gentleman, and I use that term ever so loosely, focus.” Jeffrey interrupted what had promised to be a humorous interlude, but it wasn’t getting them anywhere. “Let’s breakout the major areas again and see what we do know, what we need to know but are missing and project stopping questions we need answered, understood?”
They nodded but Jeffrey noticed Bobcat smile at Marcus and mouth ‘later’.
Jeffrey shook his head while grinning. This had to be one of the best dysfunctional group of guys he had ever worked with. They could come up with methods to simplify complicated problems and attain the impossible.
If he could just get them to focus!
CHAPTER ELEVEN
QBS Polarus - Mediterranean
Frank came back from dinner where he had a lovely conversation with Jean Dukes. He didn’t actually have to say much, as she had carried the whole conversation at the table. Her topic of choice, the weapons modifications to the QBS Ad Aeternitatem.
Should anyone be unfortunate enough to attack that ship, they would find out what it’s like to grab a tiger by the tail.
He went over to his computer desk and touched his mouse to awaken the screen.
On it, he noticed that his general spider-bots had found something that would require his attention. He sat down and opened the tabs of information. He went through all of the forum posts which the computer had found and setup for his review. None of them seemed to know that much individually, but together it was a pretty damning picture.
Someone was on to them.
He pulled the dates and times of the messages and then leaned back in his chair. Not only was someone specifically on to them, they wanted their attention.
He sat back up and opened a message channel to ADAM and started typing.
ADAM?
>>Yes Frank?<<
Have you reviewed this information on my computer?
>>No, you expressly requested I not access your computer without your permission.<<
Damn, Frank thought, he wished he knew if ADAM could lie or not. He had told ADAM to leave his stuff alone but he honestly hadn’t expected him to obey the request. Maybe that was because Frank himself might not have followed the request, if he had all of the skills ADAM had. Dammit, this AI stuff wasn’t half as much fun as he thought it would be. Frank copied the information out of the red flagged group and pasted them into his message area with ADAM.
ADAM, would you please review my notes related to these forum posts and tell me what you think?
>>One moment while I review the information.<<
Frank sat back again. He was being a bit of a stick-in-the-mud about ADAM and he knew it. New technology was great, but when the technology so far outclassed his knowledge and abilities it was a bit intimidating and he was reacting like he was, too.
>>Okay. All information points to one person providing the necessary information to prove that she has significant details on TQB Enterprises. She has also made the connections to many of the operations Bethany Anne’s group have undertaken.<<
ADAM, you are sure about this? And why do you say ‘she’?
>>Because her name is Barb Nickers. I’ve looked up her work records and they very specifically state that Barb is a female. Therefore, ‘she’.<<
Then again, the AI could be a pain in the ass being correct all the time. Frank grinned. He hadn’t made it to this age in life without learning how to roll with the punches. Dealing with an AI would now have to be his latest accomplishment. Frank reminisced that he had always wanted that special partner like the old spy movies.
Spy movies… It took about two blinks before Frank grinned. Now, if he needed to save someone, how would he go about it?
ADAM, can you show me a picture of Barb Nickers?
>>Of course.<<
The image of Barb came up on the screen next to their messaging window.
Cute, very cute. She was, he guessed, now a damsel in distress.
Maybe, just maybe, it was time for Frank Kurns to live one of his own stories.
ADAM, how would you like to play a game?
>>Like Chess? Or Thermonuclear War?<<
NO! Not like Thermonuclear War you brat. How about a spy game?
>>How do you play this game?<<
Well, I pretend I’m a spy and you are the spy’s super special support person helping him. The spy needs to find and rescue a damsel in distress.
>>And this damsel in distress would be Barb Nickers?<<
See? You already know how to play.
>>Okay, how would you like to get to Washington D.C. Mr. Kurns?<<
TQB Base, Colorado - USA
Marcus went into the cafeteria looking for a light snack. It was mid-afternoon and it was too early for beer. Well, it was too early for him to drink beer.
For Bobcat it was just an afternoon sip. William was very, very cautiously allowing himself a small amount of alcohol from time to time. The one time Bethany Anne came walking in unexpectedly and William had a beer in his hand Marcus thought William was going to feint. Which would have been a problem since there was no way that Marcus, even as close to William as he had been, would have been able to stop the man from crashing to the concrete floor.
She had only come in to talk with Jeffrey for a second and when finished she eyed William. He nodded and said, “I remember last time.”
“See that
you do.” She told him, then smiled and walked back out.
Jeffrey had asked what the meaning was and Bobcat answered for William who had been trying not to hyperventilate. Bobcat had mentioned that William had gone on a bender back in Florida and then been put in the klink. Bethany Anne had warned him that if he had one more security slip up like that, she would erase his memories and put him ashore.
“Kind of a ball-buster moment?” Jeffrey asked.
“Dude,” William said, “You will never, and I mean never, get me to drink alcohol off base or around non ‘in-the-know’ personnel for the rest of my days. That lady’s reaction was all the self-control I need.”
“Worried about losing your memories?” Jeffrey continued his questions.
“Nope.” William replied, setting his beer down and looking him in the eye. “I’m worried I might fail to meet her expectations.” He pointed around the area, “See all of my toys?” Jeffrey nodded, “If you took all of these toys away, I’d get CNC machines. If you took my CNC machines away, I’d get hand tools. I’d get whatever the hell it took to build whatever the hell that woman needs.” He picked up his beer and eyed it. “I’ll enjoy this, but alcohol, especially liquor, won’t be my crutch ever again.”
Marcus looked at the simple sandwiches in front of him then noticed Cheryl Lynn off in a corner as he looked for a place to sit. He wasn’t sure if he was out of the doghouse with her totally, but she looked a little worried. Marcus grabbed his roast beef on rye and his bag of chips. He walked over to the drinks, grabbed a Sprite, shook off the ice, and made his way over to her.
Cheryl Lynn was looking through her documents when she heard Marcus come up. She raised her head as he asked, “Care for company?” She smiled and made a place for his tray. He asked her as he sat down, “Am I still in the doghouse?”
“For what?” She replied, a slight frown on her face.
“Taking Tina up into space?”
She shrugged, “No. I told you when I left I didn’t want you doing something like that again without my permission. So long as you let me know all the details of what you intend to do, I don’t think I’ll have a problem with you taking Tina on field trips.”
Marcus looked relieved and his shoulders moved a little forward.
“However,” her voice going a little lower, “I think maybe you misled me on how old you are.”
He thought back to their conversation, “No, I don’t think I misled you on that one. I believe I said I was in my 60s.”
“I had just got through talking about how young everyone looked, and how they were changed. I asked you if you were in your 40s are your 50s and you mentioned, and I quote ‘might be in my 60s’.” She huffed, “You have been modified already, haven’t you.”
“Perhaps? Well, to be honest the answer is yes. However, I have only been taking the nanocytes liquid for the last couple of weeks. Why, do you have something against those who are being genetically modified to be younger?”
“No, not since I understand why. But I would like to understand how you know, really know, that it’s the right path to go down?”
“Can I tell you a story?” He reached over his sandwich, grabbed and then opened his bag of chips. “It happens to be about a slightly bitter old scientist who felt he hadn’t been given the recognition he deserved.”
This time, it was Cheryl Lynn that pushed her papers to the side and put her elbows on the table. She could sense that Marcus was about to give her a personal story. “Sure, I’m all ears.”
Marcus looked over at her, “I doubt it. You are a far cry from Dumbo.” He took a bite to give him a moment to think about what he wanted to say. He started, “I told you that I came from NASA, and that I had been in Space-X, correct?” She nodded. “What I failed to tell you was how bitter I was at being rejected by everybody, and yet when I came in with this group I was completely vindicated and I could tell no one. In fact, I have produced some exciting new technologies and the rest of the world is clueless about it. Do you have any idea how hard that is for a scientist? We breath the concept of sharing ideas, we have the belief that science should be shared among everybody – it is part of our blood stream. And yet, I can’t do it.”
“I would think,” she interrupted, “that the concern of being killed for divulging secrets would be quite a deterrent.”
“Not really, my biggest deterrent from telling anyone was that I know I would be banned from any new technologies. Have you met TOM yet?” He continued when she shook her head, “He is the alien that is the benefactor for almost all the technology that has really pushed us forward. When I first came to the group, I was of the belief that if we wanted to find aliens we could find them here on earth. Versus trying to spy in the heavens and see what was going on. Because I was so vocal, I was a pariah in the scientific community regardless of how good I was. So when I found out I was right the whole time I wanted to stand on the highest building and broadcast my vindication to everyone who had treated me so poorly, including my ex-wife. Now, I’ve been around everything that is going on long enough to see the bigger picture. Do I still want the other scientists to know what I’ve done? Of course. And I feel that it’ll happen eventually. Now, because of my age extension, I suspect I’ll be around when they find out, but I didn’t know that for a long time. It can be hard to give up the sense of injustice that you feel when others treat you wrong. But I can tell you that because of the friendship of two military guys, not exactly a group known for working well with scientists, I’ve seen a much bigger picture. I wouldn’t give up working with Bobcat or William, and don’t you dare tell them I said that, for anything in the world. Well, maybe except for working with TOM.” He said with a small smile on his face.
“So for you it’s the people?” She asked.
“You could say that, it’s actually the people and the shared understanding of what we are trying to do about what is coming. I don’t ‘think’ there are aliens. I’ve been on the spaceship and I’ve seen the technology. I know there are aliens. There is no reason, after having long discussions with TOM, that I should doubt that there are aliens who wish us ill. And believe it or not, that is just the Kurtherians. That doesn’t take into account the many different alien groups that are out there. Hell, I suspect there are thousands of different species potentially somewhere out there. TOM has knowledge of less than a hundred.”
He set down his sandwich and looked at her earnestly, “That is slightly under one hundred other alien species. Some of them will work with mankind, some of them will undoubtedly hate us. But I have seen enough to know you can’t assume that intelligent equals peaceful. So yes, I’ve given up my personal petty feelings about the injustice I have endured. At one point I might have thought it would be karma if the same bastards who laughed at me about aliens were to die under alien guns. Now, I understand that my efforts might save those same jackasses. And then I realized something,” he took a chip and waved it as a pointer in class, “I realized that should an alien race attack Earth, those same jackasses are going to have to tell me ‘thank you’. He smiled at her while pointing the potato chip, “And that, Cheryl Lynn, will be my ultimate revenge.” With that said he crunched down on his chip as a physical exclamation point and smiled while he chewed.
She thought about what he had to say and what Patricia had recommended she do. “Marcus?” He just said ‘hmmm?’ while he continued to chew. “Do you know how I can meet Pete?”
“Sure,” he said reaching for another chip, “You just need to go over to the Ad Aeternitatem and look for him. I think he is over there this week doing some training or something.”
“Aren’t they in the Mediterranean?” She asked.
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