“Yes Justice I am aware that we need to leave.”
My family’s forward progress slowed considerably when I apparently started talking to myself.
I stopped and turned to face them, over my shoulder the big security hatch silently opened and my trailer of disbelievers came to a sudden halt. They just stared with looks of horror on their faces.
“Believe me when I tell you, I felt the same way the first time I saw it. Bill I have some of the artifacts I mentioned earlier. I would like to keep one in the old hanger behind the solar farm. I don’t need much room.”
They still just stood gaping in shock at the opening that apparently came out of nowhere. I walked up the ramp and put my safe down.
Finally, Karl said, “It’s real Bill. It’s a freaking invisible spaceship.”
I looked at Karl and smiled. “It’s not really invisible it has a cloaking system that has a way of showing you what you would be looking at if it were not actually here”.
My simple explanation was no help at all. I was still getting the deer in the headlights looks but I could tell the reality of what just happened was starting to sink in.
Karl looked at me and said, “Who’s flying this thing?”
“The artificial intelligence runs everything. It told me it is capable of managing everything aboard ship without help from anyone. It made me second in command because I guess I was the only living being available. Honestly, he’s starting to sound like a real person more and more every day. I gave it a human name I call him Justice. Say something to my family Justice.”
In a louder than necessary metallic voice laden with reverb Justice says, I am Justice, an Oolaran military capable A.I. control………
I cringed and yelled out. “JUSTICE! Knock that shit off!”
I turned back to look at my family and their eyes were as big as silver dollars and they had retreated away from the loading ramp.
“I apologize for increasing your stress levels. I assure you my intentions were just the opposite. I have observed Nathan for seventy-eight planetary rotations. In most all situations involving high levels of stress, Nathan’s interactions with me always included some form of levity and sarcasm. In most all cases, it significantly lowered his anxiety levels. I now realize it was an error to presume it was a family trait.”
Bill and Callie stood holding each other and made no attempt to get any closer. Justice’s change of voice and apology gave them no reassurances at all. Karl frowned and slowly made his way back up the ramp. “Are you going to trust your life to a computer, one that might possibly be malfunctioning? What if something breaks?”
I gave Karl a small smile. “The A.I. has systems capable of repairing the ship. It’s been taking care of itself for more than two hundred years.”
Karl was shocked. “Are you telling me this thing is some kind of antique?”
“Karl, the ship is old but the technology is so advanced, the aliens that found it have been trying to unlock its secrets for a very long time. When their attempts failed, they figured out a way to take over its systems. They have been using it ever since for illegal covert operations.”
Karl was just shaking his head at the revelations I was unloading on him. I could tell he wanted more answers but I was running out of time. “Karl, I wish I had more time to explain things but I don’t. You are going to have to trust me on this when I say the intelligence running this ship is just like a living being. He has the same moral values we do and I am going to help it recover its stolen systems.”
Karl was having none of it and said in a trembling voice, “Nathan if the ship is as smart as you say it is, just send it away. You don’t have to leave with it.”
I turned to Karl and said, "Really, that’s what you would do if someone needed your help?" I could tell my question did not sit well with him. I put it to him in a way I was sure he would understand. “If you had the chance to be the first of your kind to go out and explore the galaxy, you’re telling me you would rather stay home?” Karl dropped his head and slowly shook it. “No, you are right I don’t think anything would keep me from going.”
I reached out and put my hand on his shoulder. “The dead alien in the med bay has got Justice tangled up in a bunch of illegal activities. The ship being stranded on a protected planet is serious crime so we need to leave soon."
The three of them looked at me and Karl said “What do you mean by protected?”
“Justice has told me there are thousands of alien races out in the known galaxy. A lot of them are very similar to us. The advanced races protect us against the predator races. Sometime in our future, the people of this planet will learn to travel outside our solar system. When the time comes we will be asked to join the Galactic Union.” I looked down the ramp at Bill. He stood there with his arm around Callie, holding her tight. The stunned look on their faces did not bring me any comfort. If anything, I had just turned their lives upside down. It would be getting light soon and I needed to be ready to leave. “You know all the pictures of little gray aliens with big dark eyes you have seen on TV, some of those pictures are real. They are a race of beings known as the Grawl and their not supposed to be here. The alien that commanded this ship was a Grawl and he was searching for artifacts. If they find anything useful, they steal what they can and take them off world. I recovered the artifacts the Grawl was trying to find. I got a good size load. I hid some up north and I am going to take the rest with me. I have a thirty two ton block of platinum I would like to leave here.”
Bill gave me a wild-eyed look and said, “Thirty two, tons!”
“Yeah, Justice says it’s worth something like one point two billion U.S. dollars. I am going to have Justice remove it from its container so if you need funds for any reason you are welcome to take what you need. You can’t let anybody trace it back here.”
Karl blurted out, “Jesus Nathan, you’re crazy rich are you sure you want to leave?”
I gave Karl and his family a big smile. “Believe it or not Justice said platinum isn’t worth squat out in the galaxy.”
Bill finally found words to say to me. “Nathan, you can leave it here as long as you promise to come back. The airport is doing well and I don’t think we will need the funds. We appreciate the offer.” Karl asked me if I knew when it would be safe to come back.
“Karl, a long time ago some very advanced beings went around this galaxy and made sure most all developing races would have technology that will help them reach the stars. That advantage is being taken from them and nobody has a clue it’s happening. I have given it a lot of thought, when I leave here I am going to try and change that. The beings responsible for trying to keep the rest of the galaxy in the dark ages are not going to like it. I‘ll try to come back some day when I know it’s safe. Justice warned me some very powerful aliens are searching Earth for this ship. The aliens are willing to do whatever it takes to cover up what has happened here. Justice and I are going to make sure they never have control of this ship again and that is going to cause a shit storm when they find out. It’s going to be light in another couple of hours and we need to be gone by then. I’m going to get a cargo lift and move the platinum into the hanger. If you get the door open I will be down shortly.”
I had the billet moved in twenty minutes and was storing the lift when Karl came up to me.
“Nathan, I’ll go with you. You’re going to need all the help you can get.”
“Karl, Justice changed me to the way I am to help me survive. He rebuilt my body with alien tech when he saved my life. It wasn’t designed for humans and it took more than two months of testing to get it right. Justice weaponized me and I’m going to tell you it was not a pleasant experience.” I smiled and added, “Justice told me there was a good chance I am the strongest human on Earth. Without the same treatment your odds for survival would not be good.”
The disappointment on Karl’s face told me he did not want to be left behind. I smiled thinking he just wanted to fly the spacesh
ip. I glanced up at Bill and Callie in time to catch the relieved look on their faces when I turned Karl down.
I suddenly heard Karl yell out. “What the hell is that?” I turned around and saw an extruded arm come down from the ceiling holding Bills pistol and holster. I laughed aloud and said, “Yeah, I hate it when he does that, it still creeps me out.”
Bill, Callie and Karl had retreated from the edge of the ship not knowing what to expect. I reached out and took the holstered pistol. Justice quickly retracted his arm into the overhead.
“Bill here’s your pistol back, it’s hard to say if it helped save my life but it did feel good having it when I was trudging through the wilds.” Bill slowly reached out and took the weapon. “Bill, I would like to ask a favor from you and Callie before I leave.”
They both looked at me with questioning looks and Callie said, “Nathan you are part of our family and family don’t have to ask for favors, just tell us what you need.”
Their reaction to my question put a big smile on my face. “Would you have any extra food I could take with me? Justice is a lousy cook and the protein concentrate he has been feeding me is pretty iffy.”
For the first time they both gave me a small smile. To see them showing emotion other than fear or dread was like having a heavy weight lifted from my shoulders. Callie said, “Come back up to the cabin and we can go through the refrigerator and freezer. I am sure we can come up with enough for a week or two.” Bill, Callie and I headed towards the cabin with Karl standing on the edge of the cargo ramp staring wide-eyed into the immense opening.
“Justice, guide Karl to the bridge and show him a little of the galaxy I’ll be ready to go when I get back.” I could tell Bill and Callie did not want Karl on the alien ship. I told them he would be fine Justice would not let him touch anything important. As we started up the hill to the cabin I turned around and yelled to Karl, “You’re going to love the elevator ride to the bridge!”
When we got to the cabin, Bill disappeared into his study. The shock of finally knowing what happened to Wisener and Bill’s negative reaction to the starship had me wondering if I should have come back at all. Callie took me to the garage and dumped out one of the big storage totes stacked against the wall. We opened the big chest freezer and she started piling elk, beef and some chicken along with a generous supply of frozen vegetables. As we came back into the kitchen heading to the refrigerator Bill walked out of his study wiping down the big stainless .44 and put it back in the shoulder holster.
“Nathan, I don’t know what you will run into where you’re going but I can’t let you leave here without something for personnel protection. It will be a lot handier to carry a pistol than a rifle. Take the pistol and this ammo can, it’s got a couple of hundred rounds in it.” He gave me a small nervous smile that only turned the corners of his mouth ever so slightly. “If you run short you can always come back home and get some more.”
“Thanks Bill, you never know when good old Earth tech might get me out of a bad spot. I have been struggling with the thought of telling my Grandparents I’m OK but I think it’s best to leave me missing for now. I have another set of coordinates for a cove out on the north coast. I want you to wait for a few months and then figure out a way to get word to the right people in your old military network to recover what’s there. The platinum in the old hanger is just as much yours as it is mine. Spend it on our families as you see fit. I think you should secretly start passing it to every honorable veteran’s charity you can find. We won’t need it in the future because the galaxy is full of new undiscovered elements. I know in my heart this is my home and I will be coming back, and when I do, I promise you I won’t be empty handed. The technology I’ll bring with me will benefit everyone on this planet.”
Bill’s reference to this being my home was casting shadows of doubt on the need to leave. Callie walked over and gave me a hug but the look of worry never left her face. The expression on Bill’s face was grim resolve. Having one of his pilots lose his life with another soul on board was taking its toll on him. The implications of pilot error would possibly lead to a lawsuit by the Jennings family. I doubt even the knowledge of what Bonnie was doing and the amount of gold at the cabin will make anyone feel any better about the loss of life. The only good coming from my return was the small consolation I survived to tell them what happened.
We walked together down the hill to the runway and I could hear Karl talking to Justice. I knew the A.I. was only giving Karl simple yes and no answers to most of his questions but was mute on the majority of questions pertaining to our intended mission. I walked up the ramp with the big tote and was mildly surprised to see a gurney float down from the overhead and settle in front of me. Justice was a stinker for details concerning possible contamination of the ship. I set the tote on the gurney and watched it disappear into the overhead tunnels.
The awe on Karl’s face disappeared as he quickly walked up to me and steered me down the ramp to where Bill and Callie stood.
“Nathan, the bridge looks like a cobbled together junkyard and you’re A.I. buddy doesn’t act smart enough to fly shit from a duck’s ass let alone take you safely to the stars and back.”
“Karl, it takes a while for him to warm up to humans, when he does you can’t shut him up. The less you know about what we will be doing the better. The Grawl tore this ship apart trying to reverse engineer many of the systems. They took almost everything that would let the ship have a choice as to what it could do. We are going to try to restore everything taken from the ship. Right now, we don’t even know if it is possible. The race that built it disappeared almost two hundred and fifty years ago.”
Karl squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head. “Nathan all of this seems like a really bad dream and what you are talking about doing almost sounds impossible. After you went missing and the second month went by without finding you, we had given up hope that you were still alive. Seeing you standing here on this ship, convinces me you are capable of doing the impossible. If things are the way your friend Justice says, I guess it’s going to take a Missouri farm boy to show the crooked sons of bitches we don’t cotton to such shit. Take care of yourself and don’t forget where your home is.”
Karl was my brother and I would miss him a lot. I was glad we had all of our boyhood years together and they were memories I would never forget. I held out my hand to him and as he reached for it he hesitated staring at my massively muscled arm and gave me a nervous smile. I smiled broadly, stepped forward, and gave him a quick embrace. “I plan on coming back one day when I know it’s safe. When I do, I’ll see if you still want to come with me” That brought a big smile back to my friends face. I turned to Bill and Callie; they would not even step on the cargo ramp. I told them good-bye and I’ll be fine. I could tell Karl was trying his best to keep a stiff upper lip when he flashed me a thumbs up. I closed the cargo bay and headed for the bridge.
“Justice, take us out of here easy I don’t want to mess up a single hair on my families heads.”
“Acknowledged Nathan”
12
The view of the Earth falling rapidly away and the moons low orbit towards the edge of the quickly shrinking blue disk made me a little jittery with anticipation.
“Justice I assume you have a plan for sneaking us out of here.”
“Nathan, I will attempt to lessen our detection level by reducing the disruption waves produced when jumping to hyperspace. We will travel between the orbit of Earth and the planetary body known as Mars. There is a point the gravity wells of both planets will be equal to each other. When we reach that location, I will create a warp field around this vessel allowing us to travel in interdimensional space. Even with the masking codes Sora used to enter restricted space, probability of detection by search or sentry drones will be at its highest when we make our transition. There is also a very high probability the research facility will be alerted this vessel has left the system. We will travel in interdimensional space until this c
raft is just outside of star system 2456 in the Scutum-Crux arm of this galaxy. The trip will take forty-six point seven hours. We will exit hyperspace and decelerate so it will be possible to intercept the low orbit of the secret Grawl facility in the atmosphere of the gas giant 2456-4.”
“Well Justice, since I’m just a passenger now, I am going to explore more of the ship. I have also been using the fancy implants you shoved in my head. I found information about the Oolaran weaponization program and several references to combat training. I would like you to review those most suitable for a good mission outcome and start me on the programs as soon as possible. The next order of business is what did you do with my Earth food?”
“After carefully scanning the contents of the storage container I have determined the animal proteins and bi products along with plants and plant based bi-products are easily synthesized by the food production processing units located in the galley. I have entered the proper programming sequences to manufacture a wide selection of Earth based food products. Bacteriological contamination on the food items brought aboard with you made them unsuitable for storage. I purged them in the upper atmosphere of your planet when outer hull temperatures reached 3000 degrees. Several glass containers of products known as condiments were sterilized and retained for your use.”
“You threw away my food! If you were so worried about it contaminating your ship you should have said something and I would have eaten it! If I am command personnel, you should at least ask before you throw away something belonging to me! I planned to have elk steak and potatoes for my next meal. You had better hope your fancy food processor can make me a good steak and some potatoes or we’re turning this bucket around and heading for Walt’s Market. That’s not negotiable it’s a command level decision”
I was still pissed when I stepped out of the drop tube on to the galley deck. I entered the big archway to the cafeteria and smelled a reasonable facsimile of home cooking. I took the tray and my container of water and looked around until I found a square metallic container with my bottles of condiments in it. I plunked the whole box down on the nearest table along with my tray and sipped my water while inspecting my platter. The color palate of the meat was not quite right, but the mashed potatoes looked close enough I really could not complain about it. Both had steam rising from them so there was not going to be any bitching about it being cold. I took my eating utensil and cut into the meat noticing it cut like hamburger. I really could not knock points off for tenderness. The temperature was a little hot and I promptly burnt my tongue. The consistency was on the grainy side and the flavor was a little bland but nothing that a generous dousing of steak sauce would not fix. Overall it was probably on par for institutional quality food. It would never come close to Callie's cooking, but I would not starve. I had finished eating when my vision momentarily blurred and I had the nauseous feeling of my meal rising in my stomach. My skin was tingling and I felt the distinct urge to scratch myself all over. I was thinking I got alien food poisoning when Justice comm'd me.
First of my Kind Page 13
