As a couple, they started each day with their time in the park. As individuals, they each had their space. By enjoying their time alone, each in their private space, they shared the experience together.
The time that Quiang spent by his small fountain reminded him that Feng Mian was in her space doing her Ti Chi. In reality, he knew that she was no longer there, but he felt the connection.
His solitude was shattered as Lieutenant Chang Yi approached. Yi knew better than to make a scene, so he walked into the General’s range of vision and stood quietly.
General Quiang tried to ignore the young man, but he knew that he wouldn’t have been disturbed during his Qi Gong time unless it was important.
General Quiang was sitting cross-legged on his mat, and he wanted to finish the last step in his ritual. He continued to rub the Yong Quan spot on his left foot, then he continued with his right foot, trying to concentrate on his relaxation and not the Lieutenant standing a few feet away. Finally, he was done and had to accept the information.
“Yes Lieutenant, what have you come to tell me?”
“Sir our submarine Changzheng 8 has been taken, hostage.”
“Taken hostage, what do you mean?”
“Sir, we just received a message from it, saying that it has been taken over by representatives of the “New China. Sir, they’re holding the crew hostage, and we think that many of them have been murdered.”
General Quiang closed his eyes to remember what he could about the Changzheng 8. It was one of China’s modern, quiet submarines with a normal crew of 45. What does ‘held hostage,’ and who was the ‘New China?’ he thought. Then it hit him; it must be Keung.
“I want every ship that we have, searching for that sub. If they find it, I want it sunk. Is that clear?”
The young man was shaken by the order, and his eyes widened. “Yes, sir,” he stammered before he saluted and sprinted away.
General Quiang knew that the chances one of his ships would locate the Changzheng and sink it was slim. It represented the best of Chinese technology and could work silently. There are only a couple of submarines in the world that could find it.
General Quiang knew that it had one vulnerability. He had to contact his friend in the Naval Command structure.
“What was Keung up to?” Quiang whispered.
Keung had suddenly risen to General Quiang’s top priority. Something needed to be done about him.
Burlington 5 Minutes from Jump Exit Point
“Captain Drummond we are we are five minutes from exiting the jump point,” said Beta-5.
“As soon as we exit the jump point bring all sensors online as fast as possible and survey the area for any ships,” said Captain Drummond.
“Acknowledged,” said Beta-3.
“Izary have you prepared your message, announcing our arrival and intentions?”
“Yes, Captain. It will be transmitted as soon as we are stable in our space.”
“Good, I don’t want your people attacking us the minute we appear in your system.”
Burlington Arrives Izod System
“Captain we have exited the jump point, and there are no ships in our immediate vicinity. We are stable in the system, and our sensors are all coming online,” said Beta-3.
I have plotted a course to the Izod home planet,” said Beta-1.
“Beta-1, go ahead and execute the course change for the Izod home planet.”
“Well Captain, here we are, and no one is attacking us. I guess that’s good news,” said BG, standing next to Captain Drummond.
“Beta-5 how long will it take us to reach the planet?” Asked Captain Drummond.
“Three hours and 12 minutes,” responded the navigation computer.
“There has been no response to the message that Izary sent?”
“No Captain,” said Beta-5. “Based on the distances we can’t expect a response through normal communications for at least 45 minutes.”
Captain Drummond turned and asked, “Izary, I’m curious, what is the relationship between your corporations and the others? Are we at any risk in getting caught in a feud between the corporations?”
“As I said before I represent the two largest corporations. There are others that agree with us, but not all of them. I can only inform you of the intentions of those, whom I represent.
“That isn’t the best answer,” said BG whispering into Darlene’s ear.
Darlene could hear some Izod chatter occurring in the back of the control room between Izary and Xionna. It sounded like Xionna had an opinion that she was expressing strongly to Izary.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
“Captain Drummond, our sensors have detected four spacecraft approaching us. Their vector shows they have come from the Izod homeworld.”
“Izary, I presume that those ships approaching us are part of your fleet, and they’re friendly?
“Yes Captain, they appear to be our ships.”
“Please send a message and confirm it. I don’t want to be surprised.”
“Yes, I will,” Izary responded.
Darlene Drummond looked at each of deck crews then said, “Beta-Prime, there is something that you can do for me.”
“Yes, Captain. What would you like?” the Beta unit responded.
“Each of the Beta Units looks exactly like. Can you give them a personality, or at least make them look different? I never know which of them I’m dealing with. How about making one or two of them female. I hate to be the only woman on board my own ship.”
BG nudged her and whispered, “Good, more women.” To which he got a very icy stare.
“Yes, Captain. I will alter the frontal surface of each of their heads, so they are individual. I will make, Betas 2 and 5 females. I can’t alter their body shape, but I could fabricate a long-hair covering and change the pitch of their voices. Will that be adequate?”
Darlene Drummond grimaced for a moment then said to everyone, “When you say it that way, it sounds a little silly. Just make their voices different, so I know who’s talking with. Give them accents or something.”
“Yes, Captain,” responded Beta-Prime.
She glanced at BG and frowned at his feigned disappointment.
While the light interchange was going on, Captain Drummond was paying attention to a discussion between Izary and Xionna. There was something going on, and she didn’t like it.
“Captain we have received a response from the Izod system, two ships have altered their course in a proceeding towards our location,” announced Beta-3.
“Captain, should we pass the communication to Izary?”
“Beta-Prime, before we pass that to Izary, please analyze and translate it,” directed Captain Drummond.
“Captain here’s the translation,” Beta-3 stated.
“Ambassador Izary, we are glad to have you return, we will proceed as directed to rendezvous with the human ship. We will then escort you home as directed.”
“Captain, the verbiage isn’t too alarming. It should be noted that our translations are not 100% accurate. Should also be noted that they are following the same sentence structure and emphasis as the other messages sent to them. Either there is a hidden meaning being transferred back and forth, or this is a unique style of communication that we haven’t encountered yet,” pointed out Beta-3.
“Yes, pass it to him,” she responded. She turned and nodded towards Beta-Prime.
Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw the Beta unit, nod its head slightly.
When the message was sent to Izary, he listened then he and Xionna whispered for a second.
“Well, Izary I trust those ships are whom we are expecting?”
His hesitation was brief, but Darlene saw it.
“Yes, Captain. It is a welcoming party, and they are inviting you on board for a formal welcome when we are in range of each other.
“BG, what do you think?” Asked Darlene.
“They are acting weird, I wouldn’t trust them too far,” whi
spered BG into Drummond’s ear.
“I agree.”
Thursday, November 2, 2051
“Captain Drummond, the two Izod ships are beginning to slow to intercept us,” announced Beta-3.
“Acknowledged, send them the necessary vectors and velocities so that they can park near us. Inform them that we will transport the Izod contingent across to the shuttle,” said the captain.
“Acknowledged,” responded Beta-3.
“Izary this is Captain Drummond. Two Izod ships are approaching and will be within shuttle distance in a few minutes. Please come to the command bridge, and we will arrange transport to your ships,” said Captain Drummond over her communicator.
There were only a few minutes before Izary, and the rest of the Izod entered the command space. After they arrived, they were huddled together, and there were a lot of glances and short phrases between them, all of which made their physical appearance a little suspicious.
“Captain Drummond, I’ve been asked by the Izod high command to invite you to accompany us to our transport vehicle. We would like you to join us in our trip back to our Capitol planet,” said Izary in a tone similar to the communications between them and the other ships.
At first Captain Drummond didn’t know how to respond. That request was a surprise, and she glanced at BG to see his reaction. BG’s eyes were a little larger than normal, and it was obvious that he was also surprised by the request.
“Thank you Izary for that invitation, if I may I’d like to speak with my deputy for a moment,” answered Captain Drummond.
“BG let’s go in the mess and talk this over for a second.”
Captain Darlene Drummond got up from her chair and strode with long steps to the mess hall her mind was moving quickly. BG followed in. As soon as they were alone, she turned to him, put her hands on her hips and asked, “That was a shock. What do you think?”
“Beats the hell outa me, I don’t know what to do. I don’t trust him, I think we're being set up, but we are here to figure what’s going on,” BG said shrugging his shoulders.
“We are here to build some kind of rapport with these people. Regardless of how much we don’t trust him, or dislike them, I don’t want to offend them.”
“So, you are going with them?” Asked BG.
“I guess so,” said Drummond as she turned to leave the mess.
“That fine but I’m going with you,” BG said as he grabbed her by the arm.
She turned looked him straight in the eye and said, “No you stay on board the ship and run it. I have no one else that I trust, I can’t leave it to Beta-Prime,” Drummond said as she smiled, touched BG on the arm. “If I’m going to trust them, then I have to show it.” She turned to go back to the command area.
“Izary. I’d be honored to continue to your home world with you. Let me escort you to the shuttle; I think your ships are in position.”
Captain Drummond indicated which direction for the Izod group to go. They walked in a group and Izary, and Darlene Drummond walked behind them. BG was overwhelmed. A very important person in his life had just made a decision that might put her at great risk. Aside from that, he was now the acting captain of a huge starship. He had been involved with Darlene Drummond throughout their experience in space, so he was familiar with the ship’s operation and its tactics and weapons. Still, it was overwhelming.
Beta-3 I want all of our sensors focused on those ships and monitor the shuttle’s movement throughout its crossing” directed BG.
“Acknowledged,” responded Beta-3.
“Bring up a 3D holographic display.”
Beta-Prime interface with the computer system and the 3D holographic display materialized above the navigation table. BG just walked around looking at the formation of ships that were approximately 1 km away and the smaller shuttle as it exited the Burlington. The Burlington shuttle continued in a direct path to the Izod ship on the left and as it approached landing bay doors opened to accept it. The shuttle slowed and entered the landing bay. Immediately the landing bay doors began to close. Then all hell broke loose, the ship began accelerating away at maximum rate and as it moved it fired three pulses at the other ship. The larger ship to its right didn’t have a chance. The strong energy pulses penetrated it, and parts began flying off it before it was finally engulfed in a huge explosion.
“What the?” Yelled BG. “Beta-Prime follow that ship, maximum acceleration,”
“Acknowledged, unfortunately, that smaller ship appears to be accelerating faster than we will be able to,” pointed out Beta-3.
“I don’t give a damn follow it. Can we fire upon it?”
“Sir if we fire a railgun it is accelerating too fast, and the relative velocities of the ship and the slug will decrease the slug’s effectiveness. If we fire a laser at the propulsion system it might explode,” responded Beta-3 in the monotone voice.
“Plot a trajectory and do everything we can to keep up with it.”
“Acknowledged.”
Drummond
Captain Darlene Drummond maneuvered the shuttle through the large hanger doors onto the flight deck of the Izod ship. The instant that she settled onto the floor the doors began closing behind her. There was nothing unusual about what was happening. She did notice though that Izary and the rest of his group were acting a little unusual. There was a lot of whispered talk amongst them. The ship’s computer was doing its best to provide translations, but what Darlene heard was fragmented and somewhat incoherent. She was focused on flying the shuttle and couldn’t spend too much time trying to figure out their dialog.
She felt that something was happening. There is a subtle rumble that she could feel through the shuttle structure. It wasn’t clear what the source of the vibration was, but something was changing.
The shuttle bay pressurized quickly, and a door opened. ten Izod quickly entered through the door and again it didn’t seem that unusual. They appeared to be military, but would that be unusual when meeting a foreign dignitary? Drummond thought.
Izary, is that a welcoming party?”
“Yes, they are here to meet you. Please open the door.”
“Computer open door,” Darlene directed the shuttle’s computer.
The door opened, and there was a slight pop as the minor difference in pressure equalized. Izary and his group of Izod got up and filed down the stairs followed by Captain Drummond. As soon as she reached the bottom of the stairs, she sensed that more was going on that she was aware of. Izary and the other Izod separated themselves from the group that was waiting for her. The newcomers immediately surrounded her and began moving towards the door. She wasn’t accosted or grabbed but strongly encouraged to move quickly. It wasn’t exactly a welcoming ceremony. Captain Drummond wasn’t sure what to expect so she played along.
After Captain Drummond and her escorts passed the door, she was forced to turn right, and she noticed that Izary and his group turned left. Darlene Drummond’s level of stress increased; things were not going as she expected.
She was escorted down a couple of hallways with numerous turns until her group stopped in front of an open door. They parted making it clear that they expected her to enter. She did not know what to expect, but as soon as she entered the door was closed behind her and she could hear it lock.
BG Follows
“Are there any other ships in the vicinity?” Asked BG.
“No sir, there are only the other two Izod ships and the Burlington,” said Beta-3.
“Captain there has been a transmission from the ship we are pursuing,” said Beta-5.
“Ship’s computer, attempt to translate that transmission,” directed BG.
“Captain the transmission appears to be garbled. It might be encoded,” announced the Burlington’s computer.
“I want that transmission decoded it is your highest priority,” yelled BG as if he was ordering a person.”
“Beta-3 are we catching up to that ship?” BG asked.
“No sir, they are
accelerating faster than we are,” responded Beta-3.
BG pounded the arm of the chair that he was sitting in. “Work out their trajectory and tell me what planet they’re going to,” ordered BG.
“Yes sir, we are too far away from their ship to have an accurate destination. As soon as it is apparent, I will inform you,” said Beta-3.
Prep for Meeting On the Planet Ter
“SIMPOC, convince me again, that you can modify the Cow-Robots so they can mine the elements on Uranus,” she asked.
“Captain, the Cow-Robots, their control units, and the shuttle ships are well suited. Mining on Uranus isn’t too different from much of their planetary harvesting. Those units are designed to work in a hostile environment, and I’m sure that they’ll function as necessary,” SIMPOC answered.
“I hope so, and I hope that I didn’t sell more than we can deliver. It just seemed to be a way to stay neutral and still work with both. They know that what they need is on Uranus, so either we figure out a way to provide it to them, or they might come back into our system and take it. Then they might find out exactly what our force profile is, and then we would be totally at their mercy.”
“Captain, I feel that you made the proper call. If we have sufficient time, I could use the manufacturing abilities of our capital ships to build units that are tailored for the environment on Uranus. By suggesting a reasonable compromise, that might keep the Terest from attacking Earth, will give us time to develop our defenses.
“Captain, we’re receiving a message from the Terest ship,” Beta-5 announced.
“Put it through,” replied Joan Herl
“This is Captain Herl,” the Captain announced.
Earth II - Emergence Page 13
