by Paul Phipps
The TSN has also entered into negotiations with Russia and the People’s Republic of China as well as Japan for a full “Working Relationship” similar to the Ones we now have with Israel and the United States. I expect similar actions from the United Kingdom and Australia.
And now Captain Johansson, it’s your turn.” Admiral Webster said with a grin.
Grinning right back, Gunnar started off with his report.
“The Johnny Reb has been very busy constructing here and there this week. Using the lessons from our own and the Companion’s training exercises on the two firing ranges we have constructed, has found us in need of a more specialized training course for fighter pilots and their controllers. Using the experience we have acquired through the enlistment of former Navy, Marine and Air Force Pilots we are almost through with creating a fighter pilot school. No name for that has been chosen yet, but I am sure we will come up with one in due time.
Next on my list is Colonel Zorn’s SSTO, since I read all of the reports of the manufacturer and military team send to him and their respective companies, I can say that things are progressing at a near impossible pace. For them that is.” He added with an evil laugh, “They are very concerned with the power plant for the SSTO. It uses a small nuclear reactor to power the ‘cracker’ that cracks the Water that is used in the Oxygen/Hydrogen thrusters.
As I told them, that is the design that was acquired from E00002. If they don’t want to use that one then they are going to have to go back to their drawing boards and come up with another. Without the TSN’s assistance this time.” He said with a dead pan look.
“Now onto Israel, as the Admiral pointed out we have fabricated the requested Garbage reclamation and oil production facility for them. In addition we are providing fresh water derived from the Mediterranean. The leftover minerals from that process are not being wasted as they are used in the petroleum production process. As is our current procedure we have a small core crew of TSN members and have hired a crew of Israeli citizens for those duties that they are qualified for.
Next up was the Missile and mortar defense request. We have placed a series of Rail-gun and Gatling Laser batteries near the settlements and a shield wall that will be erected as needed. And it was… for only three days when the Pali’s finally realized that their former tactics no longer worked. With the addition of scanner arches at all authorized entry points and transit stations the likelihood of a suicide bomb attack has also plummeted.
All in all it’s been a very busy week for the Johnny Reb and crew.” He finished with a theatrical mopping of his forehead with a handkerchief.
Evana stood up next and began her brief, “The Comfort is still accepting High-Risk patients from around the planet. The numbers are remaining at a near constant level close to what I have reported before, we are starting to see a few medium risk patients now, mostly cancer and heart disease. The Queen Vishpla is doing a very brisk business in limb replacements and advanced prosthetics where there are religious objections to regeneration of missing limbs. Her current operating area is still the Middle East and she expects to move to Africa in two weeks to begin her work there.
Now onto the Quarn, The Elizabeth Rich and her crew have reported that the five-unit mass mind we have sequestered appears to be losing mass. The data is sketchy because of the extreme danger from it still to both Humans and A.I.’s using the Quantum Processors. This mass reduction is looked upon favorably. They intend on increasing the quantity of animal material that we are using for food to see if the rate of decrease reverses or slows down. I’m told that the results from this experiment will give us a baseline into Quarn nutritional requirements.
Next up is Rani, our rescued Indonesian orphan; she too has been transferred to the Elizabeth Rich. This was due to the findings of the Huntress’s Med-Center that it was unable to get her body to regain any body mass using the normal techniques. We are able to keep her alive without suspended animation and with her active assistance have gotten some body mass back through physical therapy and extremely high caloric food intakes. She is currently eating 7500 calories per day. Now to give you an idea of what I am talking about, the Average member of the TSN only needs around 2000 calories per day. Her doctors and the Med-Center think they know what is occurring though.”
At that point Evana had Seeker display two 3-D Images of Rani. “The first image shows the Kirlian aura of Rani at her arrival on board the Elizabeth Rich.”
The Aura being displayed was jagged like broken glass and was actually missing over about two-thirds of Rani’s body.
“Normally a Kirlian Aura is fairly uniform over the body and is only broken or disturbed in those areas of damage of disease. This is one of the primary tools used in a Scanner-Arch by the way, to do a rapid scan of a human looking for disease.
Rani’s aura though is heavily damaged or missing in many locations and where it is located it appears to be distended as though it was being pulled or perhaps the better word is ripped from her body. So the treatment plan for her is to actively restore her body using its normal tools and to assist where we can in repairing her aura.
This does appear to be working as you can see here in this second image of her Kirlian aura that was taken just an hour ago. It isn’t as ragged and appears to be spreading back out to cover the missing areas.
Now combining her physical body and its damage along with the mental powers she is displaying, the Elizabeth Rich’s crew is happily exploring ways to better detect the Quarn and defend against its mental abilities.”
“Exactly what mental powers is she displaying?” asked Captain Johansson.
“According to the last report I have received. She is showing a very high degree of empathy. She can detect how the various individuals around her are ‘feeling’. Her range is around thirty feet or so, as demonstrated by a double blind test.
She also has a good grasp on pre-cognition. Oh it’s not precise, it’s more along the lines of: I think trouble is coming in the next hour or tomorrow feels like a very nice day; that sort of thing.
She also can tell if there is a Quarn-parasitized or Quarn influenced human on sight. That is one of the things we are studying the hardest. The hope is to produce an even better Quarn detector that uses other means than the exudates we currently detect for.”
After indicating that she was done and being congratulated for the good work, Admiral Webster gave Ansel the go ahead. Ansel proceeded to discuss the Huntress’s trip to England and the positive press as well as the addition of new allies at least at the highest levels of the English government and in the press. His presentation was quickly done and then it was Commander Fuller’s turn.
“Good Morning Admiral Webster, “She began, “the Companion is back on station in the straits of Hermuz. We relieved the Susannah late last night and all of our operations are working at 100%. Communication intercepts and our intelligence gathering efforts indicate that the IUR thought we were gone for good and that the Susannah was untouchable by their armed forces.
Our re-appearance has already caused the Ayatollah Al-Quds to re-assert to the President of the IUR that we must be destroyed. I can also confirm that that order came directly from the ‘Great Leader’ to the Ayatollah.
In all other respects the Companion is fully operational and our mission is 100% covered.” She finished up and then sat down.
“Good Morning Admiral,” Lt. Commander Fuller said pleasantly, “The Intelligence section has been split with most of our people remaining on board the Susannah and myself and three of my apprentices returning to the Companion.
I do have some potentially good news to report on finding the whereabouts of the Mother Quarn.” He proceeded to have a map projected for the others to view. “This is Weh Island, also known as Sabang City in the Aceh province of Indonesia. It is both the westernmost and northernmost city in Indonesia. As you can see from this satellite view of the Island only a small portion is actually occupied despite having the title of city.
Using historical data from the United States National Reconnaissance Office and from our own current data I can state that one of the hidden Submarine bases is located under this island. It has three tunnels that are large enough for a Virginia class submarine to travel through on a rail sled. As you can see here in these photographs taken by one of our submersible capable Scout-Fighters there are two pairs of rails here on the seabed leading into these tunnel openings.
Moving on now, there also appears to be a smaller tunnel that goes from Weh Island directly into the Ayesha Orphanage. Because of these findings and the information collected by Tom-Cat and Ratter I believe that Weh Island is the Home of the Mother.”
At that point there were nods of appreciation of the given data from the assembled staff members. Seeker asked her own question then.
“Are you increasing your intelligence gathering on Weh Island or are you holding back?”
“It’s about the same, we are in the process of emplacing our own sensor network using equipment that has been developed on this Earth Analogue. Mostly of Chinese and Russian manufacture, if you are interested in knowing. And before you ask,“ He added with a grin, “the equipment is top notch and leaves no trace of the TSN behind.
Now this part is only theory and until we actually can get some instrumentation or real people into that complex we are conjecturing that the Mother Quarn who is supposed to be immobile at this stage in her life cycle has been emplaced onto a railroad type of car and is using that to go between her home and the Ayesha Orphanage and Ayesha Swimming pool complex. We postulate that a tunnel system was bored specifically for this purpose.
Next up, is the Former President-for-Life aka ‘The Master’, we have intercepted an interesting satellite phone call between him and Defense Secretary Anderson. The full recording is as usual in your daily briefing packets.
The Master was notified by the Defense Secretary that a special testing and future operational squadron has been assembled and will be based out of Edwards AFB. All members of this unit are members of ACT-NOW or are hidden supporters of the President-for-Life. The executive officer, a Lt. Col. Mitchell is also a Quarn-Slave and has been one for several years now. The Commanding Officer Col. Phyllis Brown is not a Quarn-Slave but is under the influence of the Zombie drug or a derivative of it. It appears that she is their designated Fall-Guy if things go bad for them.
Their mission is to receive, test and certify the SSTO we are providing them. They’ve given the SSTO a name, Redhawk. I like the name actually, but moving on, their proposed program of testing is very vigorous, twice daily flights for two weeks to familiarize their eight pilot candidates. Then the top three pilots will form the flight crew for the “rescue” attempt to free the former President-For-Life from behind the shield wall we erected.”
“Do you have a tentative date on that attempt, Commander?” Admiral Webster asked.
“Yes sir, April 7th it’s a Wednesday and all the pieces will be in place at that time. The tentative pickup point is still the same abandoned air strip near his base of operations.”
“Excellent! Anything else about the Master?”
“Only that he is feeding more from the children in the area, if he keeps it up the locals are likely to do a Frankenstein on him and burn him out. There are already rumblings of discontent and they are looking squarely at him and his compound.
Also the Mother Quarn is communicating with him daily now. I think she is trying to determine his level of maturity and if he will become a rival to her before she can reassert her dominance over him by personal contact.”
“Hmmm, Thank you Commander, Keep us all informed if something else pops up.” Admiral Webster then concluded the staff meeting and they all got back to work. The TSN’s own plans were also coming together.
Wednesday, March 10, 2027
Weh Island, Indonesia
The Mother was in the base the Master had had constructed for her. The special platform that gave her a semblance of mobility was currently at its normal position in the center of a shallow pool containing the local salt water and heavy nutrients in the form of fish from the surrounding waters. She was at the point in her life cycle where she required a constant organic food source as well as the Life Force from the local sentients known as Human Beings on this, the latest planet the Quarn would bring into the Whole-of-Us-All across the Universe.
The shipment of human children from South America had been successfully met and they had been brought to her via the Submarines the Master had also provided. ‘He was such a good son to her, at least he was when she could keep him under her control.’ She thought in the inner recesses of her great mind, for at this point in her life cycle she was nearly all mind. Her body was still growing and soon not even this platform would be able to contain her physical body.
She opened her local perception to ‘see’ the chamber she resided in. Seeing being relative because she had no eyes, voice or ears, the five senses known to humans were only available when a Quarn parasitized a human’s body. Another child was being presented to her, a girl this time she noted. The feeding off of the child’s life force was now automatic, the Mother could not have stopped it even if she had wanted too. And she didn’t want to, the ‘taste’, the feeling of the power of the life force was addicting.
A human would call it the soul that she ate but to her it was the life force, the potential for years of life that was being consumed. And it was necessary too, the mental abilities of the Quarn were amazing, but the cost to use them was too. It took a lot of the life force of these Humans to create the energy necessary for even long range telepathic communication between her and her children spread across the planet.
In less than fifteen minutes, the child in her chamber was consumed; the cellular disintegration that occurred in the final stages of the feeding turned the human body back into the dust it had risen from originally in the beginning of time.
* * *
“Damn-it!” Petty Officer 2nd Class Van Nells exclaimed softly.
“What is it Van?” Pilot in Command Petty Officer 2nd Class Wilson asked from his piloting station in the TSN Scout Fighter,
“I just felt that ‘thing’ again.”
“Thing? Oh you mean that weird screaming sound you said you ‘heard’ yesterday?”
“Yeah, that one. It’s really creeping me out.”
“Pilot, the submarine rails are coming into view now.” Petty Officer 3rd class Williams said from her position at the sonar and visual sensor suite.
“Thank you Liz, Van release the two moray eel probes and have them follow the tunnel as planned.”
“Roger Pilot.” Van Nells proceeded to release the two IGD’s that had been configured to look and move like Moray Eels.
“Ok everyone, keep your eyes on those instruments. I’m maneuvering to place us up and behind the tunnel opening.
George,” He told the Scout-Fighter’s Command A.I., “As usual keep me informed if you detect any interference with yourself or the crew. Insure that the Heartbeat Monitor is programmed with Escape and Evasion protocols.”
For the next ten minutes there were only the sounds of breathing and minor beeps and chirps from the instrumentation giving auditory clues about their continued functioning. The video monitors for the two Moray Eel probes showed the same thing as they moved side to side with the movement of the Eels head and body as they swam up the tunnel.
“Torpedo barrier detected, Pilot” Williams announced softly. The Eels moved closer. “High Voltage potential detected on the netting, it’s enough to fry just about anything that touches it.” She remarked.
The Eels moved through the netting carefully, and then continued down the tunnel. Ten miles further on and now comfortably under Weh Island a smaller tunnel curved off to the right. The three Petty Officers conferred with George. It was decided to split off the Beta probe and let it follow that tunnel. The Alpha probe would continue to follow the tracks down the tunnel.
The A
lpha probe arrived in the submarine berthing chamber after traveling another quarter mile. There was a submarine in there, it was of an unusual design though as there was no visible propeller, only water jet openings. It appeared to have no buoyancy chambers either, making it a true heavier than water craft. If the power to the jets stopped it would sink and glide to the bottom of the ocean. That information was quickly relayed to the Bloodhound and noted for further investigation later on.
Beyond that one though was an American designed Virginia class submarine. The Eel probe searched along the walls and the bottom of the chamber and eventually found several spots to plant miniaturized sensors both acoustic and EM frequency. Then it moved itself to a point further back down the tunnel and hid in a crack just like a real Moray would do. Its job now was to hide and report on what the sensors gathered passively.
The Beta probe had arrived at an underground pool of water, it was just about five hundred feet across and a quick once around determined that it was a shallow circular dish shape with the water only six inches in depth at the rim and nearly twelve feet deep in the center. There was also a set of railroad tracks from the southern edge leading to a spot in the center that rose up like a pedestal but was still nearly two feet below the surface of the water. It too planted several miniaturized sensors and then moved back down the tunnel that had led it to this place.
