Peter’s jaw drops, then closes with an audible snap. Tensions have been high recently, so finding the bridge crew laughing is rather unexpected. He is so caught off guard, he almost forgets why he came back to the bridge, then remembers. He motions to Radclyf and says, “That note you found.”
Instantly he has everyone’s undivided attention. He continues, “My superiors saw fit to include an operative on board.” He catches Cindy’s intent look and adds, “One who has since briefed me.”
Cindy’s eyes narrow at the thought of spies on her ship. She stares hard at Peter and waits for his report.
Peter takes a deep breath then says, “Doctor Nelson, it seems, is interested in more than just medicine.”
“Oh?” Cindy replies inquisitively. This was not what she expected to hear.
Peter’s eye narrow as he adds, “I will find out what my contacts know, then get back to you all.” He glances around the bridge, then leaves.
Joe stares at his departing form, then once he is out of sight, says proudly. “Having a Russian agent on board is pretty damned handy at times.”
Cindy’s expression is still quite terse at first, but then she recalls all they have been through. She relaxes and says, “Peter’s dedication to us is without a doubt, unwavering.”
Radclyf and Hayato add their voices in agreement, whole heartedly endorsing Peter’s credibility.
Joe turns his attention back to his console, then after a few seconds in deep thought, he opens the ship’s ramp. He does not see the huge dust cloud that wafts in, but he can imagine it. Oops, he thinks, I should have left the navigational shields on.
The dust covered reporters walk down the ramp, then make their way to the distant buildings. The rest of the day finds many of the crew departing, their contracts completed. A few have signed up for another tour, while most take their vast earnings and leave.
Once again, John spends much of his time shuttling key people to various locations around the world. With the Terran’s expected departure coming soon, many of the bridge crew visits family and friends one last time.
Western Europe
Johnny rushes around and says excitedly, “I can’t believe where we’re living.” He waves his arms, and with wide eyes, says, “The Harz Mountains in Germany, this is too cool.”
George smiles warmly at his son’s enthusiasm, then takes Lisa’s hand and walks to the villa’s wide windows. He gazes off into the distance and shakes his head. Turning to Lisa he says, “You were right. As soon as I agreed to stay on the Terran, a spot immediately opened for our son.” He gazes around the spacious room, then adds, “And then this amazing place just happened to be available for you, for free.”
Lisa replies slowly, “Yes, amazing. You know,” she adds with a tinge of sarcasm, “they could have just asked you to stay on the ship instead of using our son as a pawn.”
George sighs while gazing at her, and says, “Well, he is in the space command officer training program now.” He turns his attention back to the view outside the window, and while looking upward says, “I don’t think we will have any issues salvaging the ship we found, so we shouldn’t be gone too long.”
The pair continues to stare out the window, oblivious to the man who discretely, yet intently, watches them from the doorway of nearby villa. The man studies his surroundings carefully, then once satisfied with what he sees, turns and unlocks the villa’s door. He steps inside and scans the unfamiliar room quickly. Everything seems ordinary enough. A central coffee table rests before a large couch and two recliners. The flat screen television is one of the latest in technology, as is the villa’s security system.
He steps into the unoccupied room and says, “Akardy, project vigilance.”
The room’s unseen computer system responds, “Voice print confirmed.” A few seconds later the computer’s synthetic voice continues, “Body scan complete. You have one new message.”
“Play,” he says blandly as he quickly peeks into each of the rooms.
Peter’s voice plays, “Akardy, I trust all is well. I appreciate your constant efforts, and understand that the situation in Prague was beyond your control, as much as it was also unacceptable. Therefore, I have taken steps to ensure that you have the means to provide transport, should the need arise, in the future. The villa which has been procured for your use, has a garage. It is stocked with various equipment, which you may find useful. My loyal friend, you have my eternal gratitude.”
Akardy raises his eyebrows, and opens the door leading to the garage. He turns the lights on, then frowns. The spacious garage is completely empty. He steps onto the concrete floor, gazes around, and shrugs his shoulders. Suddenly, the floor begins to lower, heightening all of his senses. His adrenaline kicks in as the floor continues to sink downward. When nothing untoward happens, he relaxes and waits for the elevator to stop. The basement of the villa is most impressive, even to him.
A red four door sedan, with sleek lines, occupies the middle of the spacious area. The walls are lined with all kinds of weapons, from hand guns to massive rifles. Unopened boxes rest in a pile nearby, while another section is set up with more tools than most workshops ever see.
He gazes at the car curiously for a moment, then steps to it, “You look pretty ordinary,” he says quietly to himself.
Getting inside, he grins like a kid in a candy store. The controls are more like those of an aircraft, than a car. In addition, the entire dash area is one wide touch screen. He taps the screen, starts the car, then begins to learn all he can about its special features. Thirty minutes later he shuts the engine off, steps out, and whistles in admiration.
Akardy gets out and while he walks around the impressive car mutters to himself, “Gamin plating, twelve hundred horsepower, positive pressure bio hazard protection system, and a limited use gravity drive that draws power from a modified Gamin capacitor.” He shakes his head in awe, then says to himself, “Petrovich, you have outdone yourself this time old friend. There are world leaders who have less protection.”
He spends the rest of the day unpacking surveillance equipment and combat gear, along with numerous other bits and pieces. He stares at a crate of military ration packs for a moment, then tosses a few packs into the trunk of the car. His mind races ahead as he considers dozens of ‘worst case’ scenarios. With these in mind, he packs more equipment into the trunk and cabin of the car, but he leaves enough space for three passengers.
Later that evening, he takes the car out for a drive, and begins to explore the streets around the villas. As the days roll by, Akardy extends his drives until he has memorized all the streets in the area, and the main roads leading to and from the mountain range he lives on. By the time the Terran is ready to depart, he has even tested the car’s gravity drive, and quickly discovers its short comings.
Preparations Underway
Emma stares at the Terran’s new hydroponics bay with pride. The massive area has not only been set up to provide supplements to the crew’s food, there are twenty sealed bays designed for the testing of alien plant life. Each of the sealed bays is equipped with its own independent climate control system, and a specialized entryway to prevent contamination. In addition, each entryway connects to a central corridor, which also has its own climate controls.
Joe walks up to Emma, and interrupts her thoughts when he says with equal pride, “Damn amazing piece of engineering isn’t it?”
“Sure is,” she replies without taking her eyes off the spectacle.
“I came down to ask you how many scientists you’re bringing on board.” Joe states, checking the notepad in his hand.
Emma frowns slightly at the question, then recalls an earlier conversation between them. She glances at the ceiling while she thinks. After a few moments she finally says, “Couple of hundred, maybe three.”
Joe shakes his head and sighs, “I need a more precise number that that!” He states in exasperation.
“Three hundred then.” She turns to Joe, shrugs her s
houlders, and says, “I sent invitations to four hundred and fifty-three people, but so far, less than two hundred have agreed to come.”
Joe stares at her incredulously and says, “I can’t believe that folks don’t want to come with us.” He shakes his head, then with annoyance building in his voice says, “Seriously! This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to study another culture on an alien world.”
“I know,” Emma replies with disappointment creeping into her voice.
Joe puts a hand to the stubble that is growing on his chin, then says, “I will allocate the lowest level of the command decks to them, and tell George we will need three hundred more units.”
Emma nods, and catches what he just said. She frowns, then turns to him and asks curiously, “Three hundred units of what?”
“Oh,” he says, suddenly realizing that she has no idea what he is referring to. He smiles a little sheepishly then adds, “George is able to replicate the Kord implants, and to an extent, the translation computers that they gave us.”
A smile spreads across her face as she says, “I was wondering how everyone was going to be able to communicate with the Oglans.”
Joe winks, then says, “We gotcha covered.”
“Thank you,” she replies, then quickly adds, “Hey if you see Peter, tell him to quit messing around and come find me.
“No worries,” he replies, then laughs as he walks away.
Emma turns her attention back to her work while Joe heads off to his next stop. Fifteen minutes later he arrives at Reactor Control, and hunts down the man in charge of the Terran’s twenty nuclear reactors.
Joe stares at the man’s back for a few moments, then says, “G’day mate.”
The man turns around, and having misunderstood Joe’s comment, says, “It’s Ken, not Mike!”
“I know,” Joe says, a little perplexed at his comment. After a few seconds of silence he asks, “Is there anything you need, to keep these buggers running?”
Ken shakes his head as he replies, “Nah, I’m not even sure why we’re keeping them.” With narrowing eyes he states more than asks, “Aren’t we getting a second Gamin Power unit?”
Joe nods, then replies excitedly, “Yes we are.”
“So why have this crap? The output of each of the Gamin units is over one hundred times more power than all twenty of these put together?” He motions a thumb behind him to the main console.
Joe lifts a hand, then replies, “This crap, as you call it, got us a long way.” He stares at the man for a few seconds, then adds defiantly “It stays, but if you don’t want this assignment, you can leave.”
Ken stares back at Joe, then says defensively, “Hey, I didn’t mean to step on your toes.” He stares at Joe then adds, “You have to admit though, these reactors don’t add much. It’s like pissing on a fire.” He shrugs his shoulders, and then adds, “I mean, what difference do these things even make?”
Joe grins, leans closer, and says, “Two percent! Now, is there anything you will need for this mission?”
Ken shakes his head as he responds, “Who am I to argue. The amount of money you’re paying for me to babysit ‘em is crazy.”
Joe steps back, then with a stunned expression says, “You’re getting paid?”
Ken stares back, unsure whether Joe is joking or not. Finally he says, “I will run over our inventory one more time. Okay?”
“You know what they say, better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it!” Joe replies earnestly. He turns and walks away before Ken can respond.
While Joe makes his way to GUS he ponders Ken’s words. I wonder if I am getting paid? He ponders the issue indifferently, then stops midstride when a new thought comes to mind. I have no need for money on this ship and I never plan to leave it. The hairs on the back of his neck raise at his last thought, but it is the truth, he does not plan on leaving the Terran, ever. Joe touches the wall next to him, smiles, then continues on.
A short while later, Joe arrives at the room which houses GUS, the Terran’s computer interface to the Gamin systems. He stops and smiles when he observes the dozen or so technicians, busily working in the area. He recalls his long debate explaining that the system was not needed anymore. He finally conceded, that at the very least, GUS could be used to store data collected by the crew. One of the technicians almost walks into him, bringing him back to the present. The technician mumbles an apology of sorts, then wanders off absentmindedly.
Another technician, a tall attractive woman, strides toward Joe and says. “My team will have the upgrades finished in four days, well before your scheduled departure.”
Joe stares at her for a few seconds, her accent sounds a lot like Walker’s, and it throws him off for a few seconds. He replies, “It looks like you folks gutted the whole room.”
She turns back to look at her team’s handiwork, and says with pride. “Yes we did, and in doing so, more than tripled your storage space, and quadrupled your computational speed.”
Joe performs a few rough calculations in his head, then replies with delight. “Almost fast enough.” He pauses as other considerations come to mind, then with a slight frown building, adds softly, “Not quite, but almost.” He finishes his ramblings with a grin.
She glances at him, and frowns curiously as she asks, “Almost fast enough for what?”
“Oh,” Joe says, and then adds, “The Liberty’s computer systems were too slow to control the ship’s various systems during speed changes.” He pauses as he tries to summarize what happened to the Liberty. Giving up, he simply says, “This shortcoming caused considerable damage and grounded the ship.”
“Too slow!” She says in awe. Then looking at the computer systems they are installing, states with pride. “The computers we build today are so much more powerful than the antiques we used before the Gamin visited.” She stares at him for a few moments, making him suddenly aware of her sparkling blue eyes, long fair hair, and overall beauty. His eyes drift downward to her name tag.
Busted staring, Joe stammers a little as he brings his drifting thoughts back to the task at hand. He quickly lifts his gaze and says. “Yes. Ah, Suzanne,” he says recovering poorly. “We still don’t know enough about Gamin computer technology to replicate it.” He decides to focus his attention on the other technicians, and watches them work for a few moments. He feels as though he is blushing, and hopes she does not notice.
Suzanne sighs in agreement, and then turns back to look at Joe. She takes his distraction as an opportunity to run her gaze over him, appraising him. She is slightly taller than him, but not much, and though he is a little stocky, he seems fit. His short brown hair is fairly unkempt, while his light brown eyes blaze with energy. She smiles approvingly, and then asks, “Australian?”
“Huh,” Joe says, momentarily caught off guard, and then catching her question, replies, “Ah, yes.”
Suzanne nods, “I thought that’s where you’re from.”
Joe frowns as he replays her words in his mind. A few moments later he says, “American?”
Suzanne scoffs and puts her hands on her hips, “Where else?” She responds arrogantly.
Joe shakes his head, and says, “Well, I don’t know. Our crew comes from everywhere.”
Suzanne sighs as she gazes around the room, and then says. “We will be out of your way in a few days.”
“You’re not staying?” Joe remarks, a little surprised.
Suzanne shakes her head and says, “Nope. My contract is to install this system, that’s all.”
“Did you want to stay?” Joe inquires curiously, and a little too quickly.
“Hmm,” Suzanne says, thinking that his offer is simply a flirtatious jest. She tilts her head and asks. “But what would I do? You already have more than enough people to monitor this supercomputer.”
Joe recalls his excitement when he first joined the Terran and replies, “Well, you’re a computer scientist, and we don’t have the Gamin computers fully figured out yet. Don’t
get me wrong, we have learned how to use them, just not how to build more.” He grins and waves his arms as he adds teasingly, “And this ship happens to have a whole bunch of Gamin computers, as does the derelict we’re going to salvage.”
“Are you serious? I could work with real Gamin technology?” Suzanne’s eyes widen with excitement. Her mind races, damn, flirting or not, he is serious!
Joe nods his head, smiles, then replies, “If you want to stay, we could certainly put your expertise to good use.”
Suzanne has put her career ahead of everything else, thus she has no children, nor a man in her life. These last few years have seen her career stall though, and at thirty-five, she is well aware that her biological clock is ticking away. The very idea of working directly with an alien computer system is exhilarating to her, but it would probably mean the end of her dreams of having a family. She spends scant seconds pondering her dilemma, then responds excitedly, “You can just invite anyone? How do the contracts work here?”
Joe grins, then recalls his earlier conversation in reactor control. His smile broadens as he replies, “Oh, it’s simple. The core crew members of this ship do not get paid, so there are no contracts. You either come, or you don’t.”
She blinks at him in stunned silence, then finally says, “But how do you pay for things you want?”
He opens his arms wide and asks earnestly, “What do you want?”
Suzanne stares at him as she realizes that for her whole life she had been thinking that a house in the suburbs, and a family, was her destiny. The realization that her entire outlook on her future could change with a single word, is quite daunting. She asks slowly, “But what do you do for entertainment?” She frowns then adds, “After work.”
“There is no ‘after work’.” Joe responds with honesty, then watches her expression change to one of total shock. He then adds, “Most of us hang around our stations, or go to the mess hall.”
Suzanne asks incredulously, “With everyone just doing what they want, how does Cindy maintain discipline?”
Alliance (Terran Chronicles Book 4) Page 6
