Time is an Illusion: The Ptolemy Expedition (Carina Book 1)
Page 17
“Yes, I am ready.”
Nick’s persona morphed into the serious military bearing of a trained warrior. Nick had rehearsed the routine so many times he did not need the script displayed on the extreme left of his console. Pressing the correct sequence of display options morphed the console into a fire control console. Nick verbalized the sequence for the crew.
“Console ready.
Starboard railguns on-line.
Diverting antimatter capacitors.
Capacitor one sync’d with SB-RG1.
Capacitor two sync’d with SB-RG2.
Energy flow forty percent and rising.
Energy flow eighty percent.
Starboard railguns fully charged.
Targeting sequence engaged.
RG1 target lock.
RG2 target lock.
Permission to fire, Captain.”
“Permission granted.”
With Lucinda’s permission Nick pointed to the monitor, indicating everyone should watch the monitor. Using the index finger of his right hand, in a long sweeping overhead arc, pressed the flashing green circle on the fire control panel labeled: FIRE.
The railguns each spit out a high-energy plasma bolt that vibrated, slightly, through the Jenny. The energy bolts impacted the target rock and ice balls in just under four seconds.
In four and one-half seconds the video screens recalibrated, and the rock and ice balls were fine dust particles. At eight seconds the Jenny’s deflector shield twinkled slightly from the concussive wave the explosions generated.
“Nick, did we shoot through the deflector shield?”
“Sort of, Captain. Because we used an eighty percent load on the plasma bolts, we reduced the starboard shields to twelve percent and fired through the shields. When the guns are at one-hundred percent, we will have to lower the shields.
An eighty percent load turned those rocks into nanoparticles. We should have been farther from the target.”
“Taknish, was this distance not safe?”
“Miss. Raitt, no distance is safe when weapons of destruction are employed.”
Taknish teleport, presumably to his quarters.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Five-year mission…
“Every man’s life ends the same way. It is only the details of how he lived and how he died that distinguish one man from another.” –Ernest Hemingway
“Comms, have we alerted Earth we are entering orbit?
“Yes, Captain. Of course, we have dozens of requests to speak with you personally. How do you want me to respond?”
“Ignore them Cassandra, Corb will take care of the negotiations. What are you going to do, Corb?”
The Jenny’s countdown clock reads: 0w, 0d, 2h. Turning to Taknish, Corb uses telepathy to ask for assistance.
“Can we scan the military facility and disable the nuclear missiles?”
“Yes, Enlightened One.”
“Can we target an individual missile silo?”
“What is a silo?”
“A silo has two meanings. Originally, it is a tall cylinder used to store grain. It is also an underground, hardened cylinder, that contains a missile.”
“I understand, yes we can target a silo.”
Taknish turned to Nick and nodded to the fire control console. Half of the console dissipated, and new controls emerged. Looking over the new controls Nick informed the bridge crew.
“These are controls for medium range scanners. I can plot and target the silos based on their radioactive profile. Yep, weapons are red indicators, power plants are green, refinement facilities are amber. Taknish, did you pre-program this console and the scanning profile?”
“No, Mister Davies, the console is tuned to your waves. I displayed the scanning tools, you did the rest.”
“Because I thought about what I wanted, the console obliged?”
“Yes, Mister Davies.”
“Well, hot damn!”
“Comms, open a channel to Davinder.”
“Yes, Corb, comms line to Colonel Khatter.”
“Colonel Khatter, how may I help you?”
“Davinder, I wanted you to know we are approaching Earth’s orbit. Are the preparations complete?”
“Welcome back Corb. Yes, the arrangements are completed.”
“That is good news, I will be there in a few minutes. Stand by.”
“Standing by.”
“Taknish, thank you for all you have done for us. How may we repay your kindness?”
“No payment is needed. To serve the Enlightened One is payment enough.”
“Your kindness will be remembered by the people of Earth. Are you able to reach the portal?”
“I have already contacted Ire and Yari, they are waiting for me.”
Taknish, stepped forward, placed his palms up, and for the first time, looked Corb in the eye. Realizing this was an important moment, in unison, the bridge crew stood at attention. Corb stepped forward, placed his palms on Taknish’s palms and smiled. Everyone heard Taknish thank Corb for allowing the Ch’en handshake.
No more than three seconds elapsed before Taknish teleported away.
“Why now?”
“Are you asking: Why did he leave now, Nick?”
“Yes, Corb”
“Cassandra can explain.”
“The Ch’en are a non-violent people. Taknish does not want to be present if we have to destroy missiles and, probably, kill people.”
Q'eqchi' Compound – UL2
“Davinder, Jan, I trust you are well?”
“If by well you mean grateful for being in a self-sustained underground bunker while the idiots on the surface contemplate frying the planet. Then, yes, we are well.”
“Good to hear.”
Corb’s bland response to Jan’s tirade made everyone laugh.
“Do you have it?”
Davinder handed Corb a flash drive.
“Here, Corb. It contains the frequency modulations for all military commands with nuclear weaponry. We can only trust they gave us accurate data. Do you think they will listen?”
“Davinder, I think they will listen. If they do not, I will give them incentive to listen.”
“Can you do it? Can you be selective?”
“Yes Jan, the Jenny is very powerful. Nick has interfaced with the fire control. They will listen.”
Aboard the Jenny
“Are we ready?”
“Corb, we are ready.”
“Thanks, Lucinda. Nick?”
“Right as rain, mate.”
“Anyone have anything to say before I broadcast? No? Janish, status?”
“We are in an equatorial orbit, traveling west to east, three-hundred and thirty miles above the surface.”
“Thank you, Janish. One last time, any questions? No? Okay. Comms, let’s get this going.”
“Comms ready, Lucinda.”
“This is Major Lucinda Raitt, Captain of the space vessel the Jeanette. Before we begin, we are issuing a warning: Any deviation from the approved script will nullify this accord. We are invoking protocol sequence 1 Zulu, Code 1 1A."
Nick whispered.
“Star Trek, nice touch.”
Lucinda looked to Nick and waved a hand across her throat, indicating Nick should remain quiet.
“United States of America: Confirmed, code 10 2B.”
“French Republic: Confirmed, code 9 3C.”
“Russia Federation: Confirmed, code 8 4D”
“United Kingdom: Confirmed, code 7 5E”
“People’s Republic of China: Confirmed, code 6 6F.”
“Republic of India: Confirmed, code 5 7G.”
“State of Israel: Confirmed, code 4 8H”
“Republic of Pakistan: Confirmed, code 3 9I”
“Democratic People's Republic of Korea: Confirmed, code 2 10J.”
“Thank you all for confirming. Mister Johnson will commence the discussion.”
“We have been given something both wonderful and powerful. The people
of K’an, the Ch’en, have gifted to Earth two space vessels capable of interstellar travel. I am on the Jeanette Two, we refer to her as the Jenny. She is an armored scout ship.
The other vessel, the Marissa, is an interstellar cargo hauler. The Marissa will arrive in about eleven weeks.
We have until the Marissa arrives to achieve three objectives. Before I list the objectives, I remind everyone listening, the governments, and nuclear commands, this is not a negotiation.
Item 1: Stand down all nuclear arms. On my mark you will have three minutes to comply.
Item 2: You will send a delegation of two people to the location in the instructions. The delegation will speak for your nation and will participate
Item 3: Any deviation from this agreement will result in expulsion from the treaty and your military will be disbanded.”
“We have a launch!”
“Nick, what?”
“North Korea, they launched. It is headed for Vancouver. Vancouver?”
“Cut comms. All stop.”
“All stop, Captain. We are stationary, above Central America.”
“Thank you Janish. Move us to a stationary position over the Korean peninsula. It is not Vancouver Nick, it is headed for the Hanford nuclear weapons facility in Washington state. They are making a point.”
“Can’t we zap it?”
“Good question, Cassandra. Nick, can you shoot it down?”
Nick looked at Corb, raised an eyebrow, and looked to Lucinda with a nod of affirmation.
“Nick, shoot it down.”
“Aye, Captain.”
Nick turned to his console. Using a combination of touch controls and thoughts, Nick brought the plasma cannon online in just under a minute. At the apex of the missiles’ flight trajectory, the plasma cannon fired. The Korean missile became billions of nanoparticles in under a millisecond.
“Nick, target the Korean launch facility with a railgun. Navigation, bring us about for a starboard profile.”
“Target locked, ready on your command, Captain.”
“Corb, are you ready for this?”
“Yes, Lucinda, I am ready.”
“Comms up.”
“Comms up, Captain.”
Lucinda nodded in the affirmative to Corb.
“General Kim, your actions indicate you are unwilling to be participative in our peace process. Therefore, your participation will no longer be required. Weapons, fire when ready.”
“Firing.”
The North Korean launch facility received two volleys. Each volley had three carefully targeted plasma bolts. Centered on the launch control building, almost three-square miles no longer had any buildings, vegetation, or people.
“Nick, ask your fire control to locate General Kim.”
“Do what, Corb?”
“Think about locating General Kim, the panel will respond with his location.”
“Captain?”
“Weapons, do as Corb requested.”
Nick looked back and forth between Corb and Lucinda, then turned back to his console. The weapons console had a red circle around a facility in the mountains about one-hundred kilometers from Pyeongyang.
“Target lock confirmed. I think.”
“He’s in the bunker, Nick.”
“Your orders, Captain?”
“Colonel Khatter, Chief, your input please.”
“Major Raitt, Colonel Khatter here, I support the order to fire. Rogue elements will not be tolerated.”
“Captain, as Chief of this ship, I follow your orders. You are asking for my assessment prior to issuing the fire command. My assessment is simple: Cull the bad apple before it can infect the rest of the bushel.”
“Thank you, gentlemen. Weapons, fire when ready.”
Another two volleys, each with three plasma bolts, rained down on the hardened bunker.
“Comms, redirect the satellite fed.”
“Comms, cut. Do what Captain?”
“Sorry Cassandra. Janish, help Cassandra. Comms up, please.”
Janish stepped to the communications console, thought about the satellites orbiting Earth, and a display appeared with the satellites in color codes.
“The blue dots are American satellites. That one, it is geosynchronous over Asia.”
The display zoomed in and a menu appeared. Cassandra chose ‘view images’. The satellites camera images appeared. Cassandra double tapped the image of the Korean peninsula, causing the image to zoom in further. Using her fingers, Cassandra centered the image on the wasteland that was the Korean launch facility five minutes ago. Splitting the screen, Cassandra enlarged the image of what used to be a secure facility in the lush mountains of one-hundred kilometers from Pyeongyang.
Smiling to Janish, Cassandra redirected the image to the communications channel. Corb resumed the treaty discussion.
“Does anyone else want to test our resolve? In case you have lost your script or the documents outlining the new accord, I am going to repeat the three requirements.
Item 3: Any deviation from this agreement will result in expulsion from the treaty, your nuclear arsenal will be destroyed, and your military will be disbanded.
Item 2: You will send a delegation of two people to location in the instructions. The delegation will speak for your nation. North Korea is now excluded from the negotiations.
Item 1: Stand down all nuclear arms. On my mark you will have three minutes to comply.
Repeat, three minutes to stand-down: Mark.
Cut comms.”
“Do you think they will comply?”
“Yes, Cassandra. Nick?”
“Yes, sir, re, Bob. They can’t take them offline fast enough. Here, look for yourself.”
Nick put a map of the world on the main display with red dots indicating the nuclear arsenals. Red dots were turning green at an increasing rate.
“Comms, up.”
“Thank you all for seeing the truth in peace. We will meet your delegation in two days.”
Xunantunich Mayan Temple, Belize
“We can assist you. We know where he is and can take you to him. Do you wish to go now?”
“Yes, I will meet Mister Kruger, then I will return to K’an.”
Ire and Yari were speaking with Taknish in the portal room, under the Xunantunich temple complex.
The three stepped into the portal light and reappeared in the makeshift portal Corb had created under the Q'eqchi' compound.
“Please, Great One, wait here. The humans will be surprised by your presence, we will prepare them.”
“Mister Khatter, Mister Kruger, this is Taknish. He has asked to speak with Mr. Kruger.”
“I am Jan Kruger, welcome to Earth, how may I help you… Mister Taknish?”
Placing his palms up and using telepathy, Taknish spoke to Davinder, Jan, Ire, and Yari.
“I am called Taknish, the Ch’en do not use titles. I came here to thank you Mister Kruger.”
Ire, stepped forward and with exaggerated motions, indicated Jan should place his palms Taknish’s upturned palms. Taknish continued when Jan’s palms touched his.
“Mister Kruger the Ch’en people are sorry for loss. But it is your loss that indirectly brought to us the Enlightened One. We are unable to fill the longing in your heart but know the Ch’en people share your pain.”
Not knowing what to say or how to respond, the choked-up Jan Kruger fought back tears and nodded acceptance. Taknish nodded back and teleported away. Yari broke the tension.
“It is a great honor to be allowed to touch one of the Others.”
“Thank you, Ire. Thank you, Yari. I am humbled buy your presence.”
Ire and Yari nodded, walked to the make-shift portal, and returned to Belize.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Slip the Surly Bonds
“I have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore.” – L. Frank Baum
Aboard the Jenny
“These sensors are spectacular. Look, I can see the name tags on the emis
saries. All the emissaries have arrived. Everyone is on-time and they have no weapons. They listened. I’ll put it on the main screen.”
The Jenny was in a stationary orbit, three-hundred and thirty miles, above the Q'eqchi' compound. Janish was using the navigation console to monitor the Q'eqchi' compound.
“Thank you, Janish. They are not emissaries, I believe they are correctly titled delegates. Nick, are you ready?”
“Anyone, or anything, approaches our friends without permission will get a bolt of high-energy plasma up their backside. Captain.”
“A simple confirmation would have sufficed, Nick. Okay, everyone, listen up. Davinder, Jan, and Corb, our friends, are alone with sixteen people, some of whom may have bad intent. The thing that makes us special is we’ll never give up on our friends…ever.”
“Look at you! Paraphrasing Toy Story 3. I didn’t know you had it in you.”
“The better question is, Cassandra, how does someone who reads old Mayan hieroglyphs for fun know about Toy Story 3?”
“There is a lot of down time during interstellar travel. I binged the Toy Story series a couple of weeks ago.”
Ragnar craned his neck to look at Nick, then rolled his eyes. Cassandra caught Ragnar’s inference.
“Don’t let him fool you Nick, he loved the movies.”
Everyone giggled at Ragnar’s displeasure.
“It’s time everyone, let’s be sharp.”
Q'eqchi' Compound – UL1
“Everyone, please take your seats. I am not going to waste time. First, why are the walls stainless steel, this used to be a laboratory. I had the equipment and tables removed and this conference table installed. There are no phones or data connections in this room. However, everything is being recorded and a copy of the proceedings will be provided to each of you, two copies per delegation.
Please arrange your name placards correctly.”
Davinder’s instructions were clear. The placards named the delegation’s country and the individual’s title: Delegate A or Delegate B. The delegates understood the intent. Davinder continued.
“The ground rules are simple. Delegate A speaks for the respective delegation. If you become unruly, or abusive, you will be removed from the proceedings. Replacement delegates will not be permitted if someone is removed. If both delegates are removed, your country accepts the results of the proceedings by proclamation.