Chapter 20
Mid-Flight Conference
Leek was getting tired of his hectic life aboard ES 26. Each day he had to share the bridge responsibilities equally between the Captain, himself, and the first officer. In his “spare” time he had physical training, flight instruction, strategic planning, meals, and attending to personal hygiene. That didn’t leave much time with Lucinda and the baby.
One advantage of such a full schedule, however, was that time passed quickly. Leek realized one night that nine months had gone by. They’d soon reach Earth, and his life would drastically change, for better or for worse. This realization both startled and worried him. He made a mental note to start thinking about how he was going to make contact with the authorities on Earth. It wouldn’t be an easy task, even if he had no time constraints. But as it was, he would only have a few days to make a connection and get the American government to take action.
The attempts to keep a communications link open with Tarizon had only been a partial success. They had talked back and forth frequently but often their connection would be weak, full of static, and sometimes cut off altogether for no reason. The problem seemed to be with the beacons. They’d either drift out of position or malfunction without explanation. When the link went down, the shuttles patrolling in the area would either have to drop a new beacon or try to reposition or repair the one that had strayed or broken down, assuming it could be found. In the meantime, there were many days when there was no communication at all with the ships traveling to Earth.
Today, however, there was a stable connection with Tarizon, so Leek decided he’d better have a conference with Lorin, Threebeard, and Tehra in case they later got permanently disconnected. He went to a video conference room with Captain Shilling and Lt. Lakee. They linked in Tam and Red on board their ships and then added Lorin, who had Threebeard and Tehra with her.
“All right, I think we’ve got everybody hooked up,” Leek said. “I’m going to skip the small talk because we could lose our connection at any time. Let’s first have everyone give a brief synopsis of his or her current situation. I’ll begin.
“We’ve observed a rigorous training schedule on ES 26, and I believe everyone aboard is in top shape physically and mentally. All our fighters are in perfect working order and ready for combat. If nothing changes between now and our arrival at Earth, we should have about seventy-two Earth hours to make contact with the proper authorities and warn them of the attack. Upon arrival I plan to take a transport vehicle down to a place near my home in Texas. Madam Chancellor, how are you making out with the General Assembly?”
“They’ve had a change of attitude since Senator Drul was convicted of espionage and violating Tarizon’s Internal Security Act,” Lorin said. “The success of the RRTs has helped, too. Rhin, Riddle, and Lt. Ponde have been my saviors. They’ve pretty much put an end to any postwar lawlessness.”
“Excellent,” Leek said. “So, Sgt. Ponde got a promotion,” Leek observed.
“Yes, after saving Tehra and your young brother, Colonel Tomel and I thought it appropriate.”
“Indeed,” Leek agreed.
“And Tehra, have you and Sophilo recovered?” he asked.
“Pretty much. I still have nightmares. Sophilo seems okay.”
“Good. So, Tam, how are things on Earth’s Destiny?”
“Busy,” Tam said. “Rossi Sincini is one ambitious man. He’s managed to increase our speed by three percent. He says we might beat you to Earth.”
“Really? That would be incredible. I’d love to see Evohn Cystrom’s face when he gets that bit of news.”
“That’s not all,” Tam said. “Now that our scientists have perfected the plasma cannon, Rossi has been trying to manufacture one that can be fitted on Earth’s Destiny. He’s got the first one almost completed. Once it’s operational, it won’t take long to build a second one. We’d like to have six of them mounted so we can respond to attacks from any direction.”
“What about a fighter-mounted version? Can he build one for the T-69s?”
“No. Apparently that’s not feasible. They take a lot of extra power and even the T-69s don’t have enough. They had to upgrade the power supply in the T-73s a lot to make it work.”
“That’s too bad. Anything else?”
“We’re a little shorthanded,” Tam said. “These attack cruisers are made for a large crew. We have only about a third of the normal complement.”
“Sorry about that,” Lorin said. “That’s all we could muster on short notice.”
“I know. I’m not complaining. Just letting everybody know in case any of the other ships are crowded.”
“Actually,” Red said, “we are a little overloaded. I wouldn’t mind transferring about a third of my fighters to you. That would give us more room to maneuver.”
“True,” Leek said. “It does make sense to fill up the attack cruiser and lighten the load on the shuttles. That way we won’t have to park the shuttles in orbit around Earth. We can use them in Earth’s atmosphere to get around and help shore up our defenses.”
“Okay,” Tam said. “When we get to Earth we’ll make sure we’re ready for your transfers.”
“Good,” Leek said. “So, Red. I heard you found love on ES 52?”
Red blushed. “Where did you hear that?”
“I’ve got my spies. It’s okay. Enjoy yourself while you can. I certainly have enjoyed having Lucinda and Tokin with me. . . . So, what’s your military status?”
“Ship and crew are ready for combat. We’ve been doing a lot of flight and tactical training. It’s taken awhile for me to get used to the T-73 but I think I have the hang of it. The plasma cannon is a monster. I’d hate to be on the receiving end of that beast.”
“Good. I’m jealous. I wish I had one of those toys for myself.”
“I’ll let you borrow it if you promise not to get blown up. You have to get right on top of your target for it to work. It’s a one-shot proposition.”
“Doesn’t its stealth mode work?”
“Yeah, but you’ve got to come out of stealth just before you shoot.”
“Ouch! That could be risky.”
“You’ve got that right. It’s going to take some good tactical planning for any operation involving the plasma cannons.”
“All right, now I need some input from all of you, particularly from Tehra and Threebeard. You two know the most about Earth and the Tarizon Repopulation Project. What should be my first priority other than making contact with the CIA?”
“You’re going to need to identify the Purist leaders on Earth and try to find out what their plan is for overthrowing the government,” Tehra said.
“Yes,” Threebeard agreed. “If you can do that you might be able to thwart their plans.”
“How can I find these leaders?” Leek asked.
“I believe,” Tehra said, “that if you find a man named Kulchz you’ll have found Purist Command on Earth. I know Kulchz is high up in the ranks.”
“My father knew Kulchz. Perhaps he’ll be able to help me find him.”
“But don’t assume you can trust the CIA,” Threebeard warned. “It won’t be in their interest to have the Tarizon Repopulation Project exposed. They exploited the project for their own advantage for over forty cycles. You’ll—”
The image on the screen flickered and the sound became garbled. “. . . and then maybe he’ll believ—”
The screen went blank. A message came up: Signal Lost. Leek turned to Captain Shilling and Lt. Lakee, who both shrugged. He shook his head.
“Well at least you got an update from everyone and some good input from Tehra and Threebeard,” Captain Shilling said. “I’m so glad they’re okay.”
“Me too. I’ve got enough to worry about on Earth without having to worry about my family back on Tarizon.”
“Sir,” Lt. Lakee said. “Now that Earth’s Destiny will be arriving at Earth before us, will we be taking ES 26 down to the surface?”
“Yes, I think so. It will be very convenient having a shuttle close by in case we need it.”
“Who will accompany you on the ground?” Lt. Lakee asked.
Leek smiled. “I’d love you to come along, but I’m afraid you wouldn’t blend in with the local population. We can’t afford to be conspicuous.”
“Yes, I know.”
“We’ll need several platoons to be ready for action. One can come with me. Two others will be on standby for future orders. You can coordinate things for us from the ship.”
“Yes, sir.”
“We’ll need communications set up. Perhaps we can drop a few satellites in orbit around Earth on our way in.”
“Yes, of course. Do you anticipate any problems getting to the surface?” Lt. Lakee asked.
“You mean from the U.S. Air Force?”
“Yes, or the Purists.”
“We never seemed to have a problem during the repopulation project,” Captain Shilling said, “but I would guess the Air Force was told to ignore us. I don’t know if it will be a problem now. What do you think, Lieutenant?”
“With the new technology we’ve provided them they might spot us coming in,” Lt. Lakee said. “If they do, it could be a problem.”
“Okay,” Leek said. “I’ll give that some thought and come up with a plan. The Purists are another story. I had assumed they wouldn’t be expecting us, but I guess we shouldn’t make assumptions.”
“No,” Lt. Lakee agreed. “If the Fleet knows we’ll be reaching Earth ahead of them, they could contact their people on Earth and alert them.”
“Yes. Quite possibly. They could have seen us leave Tarizon, heading for Earth, if they were watching. So, how do we deal with any Earth-based Purist offensive? The shuttles themselves are no threat and their fighters are, at best, T-59s, so as long as we watch out for them, we should be okay, right?”
“But they could outnumber us,” Lt. Lakee argued.
Leek thought about it a moment. “Well, I’ll incorporate that possibility into my plan. We may have to create some diversions.”
“Yes, sir,” Lt. Lakee said.
“I noticed we have a few strange-looking PTVs in the cargo hold,” Captain Shilling said. “Apparently Threebeard had them put aboard.”
“Really?” Leek said. “Let’s go take a look.”
They all got up and headed for the lift to take them to the cargo deck. Once there, Captain Shilling led them around a number of large boxes and crates, until they were standing in front of what looked like a pair of 1990 Mercury Grand Marquis station wagons. Leek looked at the vehicles in amazement.
“They look just like my mother’s station wagon back on Earth. Threebeard must have had some PTVs specially made to look like the car I was driving when I was abducted to Tarizon.”
He stepped over to the vehicle’s front door. Its interior was very high tech and didn’t resemble his mother’s car at all. Leek laughed. “We can’t let anybody see inside these babies. I can’t believe Threebeard did this. How did he get them made so quickly?”
“Oh, I think Threebeard has known for some time that you’d need them,” Captain Shilling replied. “He’s usually one step ahead of the rest of us.”
Leek nodded. “You’ve got that right. . . . I’ve got to show this to Lucinda. She won’t believe it.”
Later that day Leek brought Lucinda down to see the “Earth” vehicles that looked just like the one his mother had driven. Lucinda laughed when she saw them. Leek sat in the driver’s seat of one and played around with the controls. Lucinda sat in the passenger seat and tried the radio. They laughed when Sheryl Crow’s voice came booming out: “All I wanna do is have some fun. . . .” Leek almost cried when he heard the familiar tune. They listened to a dozen songs before their emotions got the better of them while listening to “Nothing Compares 2 U” by Sinead O’Connor. They climbed into the backseat and made love.
Tarizon, Conquest Earth, Tarizon Trilogy Vol 3 Page 25
