Delphi Federation (Delphi in Space Book 6)

by Bob Blanton

  “But is he good looking?” Alexia asked.

  “I think so,” Catie said.

  “Good, which dance is he?”

  “I’ve got him for the fourth dance.”

  “Then I’ll give you Emmanuel for him,” Alexia said.

  “Do you have him for another dance?” Elisabeth asked.

  “Yes, I’ve got him for the seventh dance,” Catie said.

  “Then I’ll trade you Gabriel for him,” Elisabeth said.

  “Face it, Gabriel, we’re just meat to them,” Christian said as he and Gabriel left the girls.

  “Who else do you have?” Ingrid asked as she and Sophia walked up.

  “I’ve got Jason, but he has a girlfriend,” Catie said.

  “Then why is he on your dance card?”

  “We’re friends.”

  “Then we can be friends, give.”

  “Tenth dance.”

  “I’ve got Emmanuel.”

  “Who else?”

  “Chaz, how did he get on my card?”

  “Who cares, is he dreamy?” Sophia asked.

  “Yes, and his girlfriend’s name is Sophia.”

  “Prefect, then he won’t be confused.”

  ◆ ◆ ◆

  After the private reception, Samantha led everyone into the main ballroom. Once they were all there, a huge cake was brought out.

  “Is a prince going to jump out of it?” Catie asked in a whisper.

  “We’re going for a fairy tale theme, not Chippendale’s,” Samantha whispered back.

  After a rendition of Happy Birthday by the lead tenor from the Cambridge Choir of King's College, Catie cut the cake. With the cake cutting ceremony completed, the dancing began.

  ◆ ◆ ◆

  “Sophia, I’m heading out to deploy these Solar Explorer probes,” Catie said over breakfast the next morning.

  “Thanks for letting me know,” Sophia said. “I’ll note it in the Gazette. And you’ll give me an interview when you get back, right?”

  “Of course,” Catie said. “I wonder if you would do me a huge favor.”

  “Probably, what do you need?” Sophia asked.

  “It would make me very happy if the Gazette quoted some unknown source saying that there were rumors that Marc and Sam were talking about getting married.”

  “Are they?!”

  “I don’t know,” Catie said, “but it would be really, really nice if that quote were to appear in the Gazette today.”

  “Well, since you did say it, I could quote you,” Sophia said. “But I’m not sure I should, journalistic integrity and all that.”

  “Come on, they must have at least talked about it,” Catie said. “I’ve teased Sam about it. So please!”

  “Okay, but you’ll owe me. I’ll get the third degree from my father.”

  “Thanks, and I don’t mind owing you.”

  ◆ ◆ ◆

  “Since SETI started listening for signs of life in the universe in nineteen-eighty-four, we think we’re safe in assuming that there are no planets with an advanced civilization within thirty-six light-years of us. If there were, we’d have heard their radio transmission by now. I’m setting the search parameters to within fifty light-years since we’re looking for a planet without sentient life on it,” Catie explained.

  “How many planets are out there?” the twins asked.

  “There are over one thousand stars within fifty light-years of Earth,” Catie said. “We’re going to have the probes focus on the brighter dwarf planets; there are only one hundred thirty of those. Then we’ll look at the bigger red dwarfs, and then we’ll expand the search out to one hundred light-years.”

  “Wow, how long will it take?”

  “We don’t know; when we find a planet that is in the habitable zone, we . . .”

  “What’s the habitable zone?”

  “We wouldn’t want the Paraxeans to freeze or get too hot, so the planet has to be the right distance from its sun so that it will have temperatures like Earth,” Catie explained. “That’s easy to determine based on the temperature of its sun and the planet’s distance from it.”

  “Cool.”

  “We also would prefer a planet with at least one moon, since that means its rotation will be stable, and if it has a tilt like Earth, that would be nice too.”

  “Why do we care if it’s tilted?”

  “If it’s tilted, then it will have seasons. That means the plants that the Paraxeans have in their vault will like it better. But we need the right amount of tilt, around twenty-five degrees; some plants won’t grow unless you have a cold season followed by a warmer season.”

  “Oh, this is complicated,” the twins said. “Can’t we fix the tilt?”

  “Planets are pretty big, and where would you hook on?” Catie said, but she did send ADI a message to research how to adjust a planet’s tilt.

  “So, how long?” the twins asked again.

  “It depends on a lot of things,” Catie said. “We have to send the probe into the star’s gravity well when we find a good planet. That way, we can get a better picture of what the planet is like. And the planet might be on the other side of the solar system from where the probe emerges. If it is, the probe will have to skip around the solar system to get close to the planet.”

  “That won’t take long,” the twins said. “You just jump and bang you’re there.”

  “True, but we have to charge the capacitors before we can jump. The jump takes way more energy than the fusion reactor can produce at one time, so we have to store up enough to make a jump. That can take hours, especially after a big jump.”

  “Ooh, sounds like math,” the twins said. “But how long?”

  “It might take months, or even years before we find a suitable planet,” Catie said. “We won’t know until we start getting data on the systems that are out there.”

  The twins made a face at Catie and turned to go to the forward cabin. “Let’s go!”

  Catie triggered the cargo door to close and made her way around the probes to follow the twins. “Liz, are we ready?”

  “I’m taxiing now,” Liz replied. “You have to get up here and finish your preflight.”

  “On my way,” Catie said. “Buckle in,” she told the twins as she passed through the crew cabin.

  “We are,” the twins replied. “Hey, we want to name the probes.”

  “You do? Have you picked out names yet?”

  “No, we were waiting to ask you what the rules were, like the ones you gave us for the Asteroid Explorers.”

  “Pick a star in the sector they’ll be deployed in and name it after that,” Catie said.

  “Okay.”

  ◆ ◆ ◆

  “Is this far enough out?” Liz asked as she put the Oryx into orbit around Earth.

  “This is fine; we just need to be in orbit and outside the atmosphere,” Catie replied. “Okay, girls, we’re here,” she announced over the ship’s PA.

  Catie crawled out of her seat and expertly pushed off toward the crew cabin, floating gently as she reached the door and transitioned through the airlock. By the time she made it into the cargo bay, the twins had removed the tie-downs from half of the probes and were working on number five. Morgan was keeping watch from the front of the bay, floating at the ceiling so she had a good view of the twins as they worked around the two-meter probes.

  “You two are sure in a hurry,” Catie said. “Have you named them yet?”

  “Of course!”

  “And?”

  “Betelgeuse, for sector zero, Ankaa for sector one, Pollux for sector two, Sirius for sector three, Arcturus for sector four, Antares for sector five, Deneb for sector six, and Nunki for sector seven,” the twins recited.

  “I have verified their work,” ADI said.

  “But three of them start with an A,” Catie complained.

  “I told you she wouldn’t like it,” Aalia told her sister.

  “We have backup names,” Prisha said. “Rigel for sec
tor one and Kornephoros for sector four.”

  “That’s better. Why did you pick Nunki?”

  “It just sounds cool.”

  By this time, the twins had finished removing all the tie-downs. “Liz, the probes are free, please shift the Oryx one-half meter a-keel,” Catie said.

  Liz used the thrusters to move the Oryx half a meter toward its bottom, where the keel on a sailing ship was. Since the probes were no longer tied to the Oryx, they didn’t move; the result being that the probes now floated one-half meter from the floor of the cargo bay.

  “Perfect,” Catie said. “Now, please open the cargo door.”

  “Wilco,” Liz replied. “Do you need any help back there?”

  “I think we have it,” Catie said.

  The twins were already pushing on the first probe. They quickly decided that top and bottom were the best positions; one of them hopped up and flipped over, landing on the ceiling of the cargo bay where she deftly engaged her boots’ magnetic couplings as she bent her knees to absorb her momentum. Then they both took position exactly opposite each other so that their vertical thrust against the probes would counter each other.

  “Do you want any help?” Catie asked.

  “We’ve got it,” the twins said as the probe started to move. They let it go following it to check its vector and ensure it didn’t collide with the sides of the Oryx as it continued floating out of the bay.

  Once they were sure that the first one was on its way, the twins worked their way back and started on the second one.

  “What happens if they bump into each other?” they asked.

  “You mean other than conservation of momentum?” Catie asked.

  “Yes,” the twins said in a pained voice.

  “They can’t hurt each other unless they’re traveling way faster than you can get them up to.”

  The twins then proceeded to push each probe out with enough speed that it would collide with one of the others. They managed to get a four-probe cascade with the last probe. They celebrated with a high five as the last ricochet occurred. They were very pleased with themselves as they made their way back to the crew compartment.

  “Ready to go home?” Catie asked.

  “Yes,” the twins said wearily. Moving all that mass had really tired them out.

  Catie made her way back into the cockpit as the twins and Morgan strapped in.

  “I can’t believe you let those two juvenile delinquents do that,” Liz said when Catie exited the airlock.

  “Why not? There wasn’t any harm in it, and they obviously spent some time planning it.”

  “But you’re just encouraging them to come up with more crazy ideas.”

  “Like you wouldn’t have wanted to do that if you’d thought of it,” Catie said.

  “Sure, but I’m an adult,” Liz said.

  “So?”

  “It wouldn’t be an act of delinquency if I did it.”

  “You’re just jealous.”

  “Sure, it looked like fun, and I was stuck up here.”

  “Well, it wore them out, so we can go home now,” Catie said.

  “It must have,” Liz said. “I assumed they’d want to spend at least an hour playing in the microgravity.”

  Chapter 24

  Cabinet Meeting – Dec 7th

  “How did your mission to deploy our Solar Explorers go?” Samantha asked when she met Catie in the Cabinet Chamber before the Cabinet Meeting.

  “It went fine; but don’t you think that gets you off the hook,” Catie said.

  “Don’t be that way,” Samantha said. “You should see all the great press we got from the birthday party.”

  “You should have seen the group of yahoos I had to walk around to get here,” Catie shot back.

  “I wonder if any of them were the same yahoos I’ve had to dance around for the last few days,” Samantha said.

  “Oh, you’re being hounded by the press, whatever for?” Catie asked, feigning intense interest.

  “Apparently someone leaked to the press that your father and I were discussing marriage,” Samantha said.

  “Oh, I saw that in the Gazette,” Catie said. “I thought it was a joke.”

  “It might have been, but the press is taking it seriously. Or at least, they’re using it as a pretense to generate ink about us.”

  “Well, you know that a royal wedding would be a fantastic way to garner all that wonderful press and goodwill you keep mentioning.”

  “It might, but it’s not going to be happening anytime soon,” Samantha said. “And I do think we’re even.”

  “What? You can’t think I had anything to do with that rumor.”

  “I do. I can’t prove it. But I know, so you’d better be careful, or I might mention it to your father.”

  “Even-Steven,” Catie whispered.

  “Even-Steven,” Samantha whispered back. “You know that was kind of mean.”

  “I’m sorry, I was just so mad,” Catie said.

  “We all have to do things we’re not happy with. That comes with the position. We’re in positions of influence, so with that comes a lot of responsibility.”

  ◆ ◆ ◆

  Marc entered the room and smiled at his daughter, “Have fun?”

  “It was fun. The twins decided to play pool with the probes, so they definitely had fun,” Catie said.

  “Pool?” Marc shook his head, deciding to ignore it. “I believe everyone is here, so let’s get started.”

  Marc waited a few minutes while all the side conversations finished up before starting the meeting. “Samantha, what’s the word from the Guatemalan President?”

  “He is delighted with the results from last month’s activities. We’ve finalized the deal to use Victor’s ranch as a training site for his new special forces team as well as Kal’s Marines,” Samantha said. “They will also have access to the adjacent jungle area and hillsides as long as they don’t do any permanent damage to the area.”

  Marc looked over at Kal.

  “It’s perfect,” Kal said. “The team loves the location. The locals are friendly.”

  “Good,” Marc said. “And the other cartels?”

  “The president has made it clear that this is a new era. The cartels have been put on notice that violence will be met with swift reprisals,” Samantha said. “He’s indicated that as long as they don’t create problems in Guatemala, he’s not going to be particularly aggressive about their transshipment of drugs across the country, or of their poppy-growing activities.”

  “You mean he’s going to let them continue to grow opium?” Catie asked.

  “It’s impossible to stop,” Samantha said. “There’s too much money to be made. So, if he gets rid of the cartels, new ones will just form up. Right now, he wants to control the violence and the internal drug dealing, to give his people a chance.”

  “Catie, people who are addicted to opium or heroin can be cured now, so that means they have a choice. It’s not ideal, but for the next few years, it’s the best they can do,” Marc said as he patted his daughter’s hand.

  “I guess,” Catie said.

  “Kal, how are things on the ground there?”

  “The area around the hospital is back to normal. We’re keeping active checkpoints into the neighborhood while the government looks the other way. And as I said earlier, the team loves the new training facility.”

  “What happened to Victor’s kid?” Catie asked.

  “We brought him out of stasis two days ago,” Dr. Metra said. “A representative from the Guatemalan government met with him to discuss his situation. All he asked for was that his grandmother and his nanny be allowed to join him on Delphi Station. He said he wanted nothing to do with his mother or his father.”

  “But what will he do, he won’t have anything?” Catie asked.

  “I’ve set up a fund to support him, his grandmother, and the nanny. It will take care of them until he’s had a chance to finish school. We’ll pay for him to go anywhere h
e wants; of course, Delphi City is our preference,” Marc said. “He’s still got a few weeks of treatment to go through before he and his grandmother need to decide. Until then, they’re with him on the station.”

  “Okay.”

  “I notice that most of the charity and aid work you do is through MacKenzie Discoveries, not the government here,” Herr Hausmann said.

  “That is correct,” Marc said. “Until parliament gets fully established, I don’t think I should be deciding how the Government of Delphi spends its foreign aid.”

  “Very magnanimous for an absolute monarch,” Herr Hausmann said.

  “We try,” Marc replied with a smile. “And I’m not an absolute monarch.”

  “Not quite, but pretty close,” Herr Hausmann said.

  “Then it’s a good thing I’m benevolent. Since you’re talking, would you mind reporting on the state of our treasury?”

  “Of course. Currently, there is a large surplus in the treasury, and the government is running an annual surplus. It will start to balance out as you shift more of the responsibility for health care to the government, but we’ll still manage a surplus,” Herr Hausmann said.

  “Of course, the government was already responsible for all the citizens in Delphi who don’t work for MacKenzie Discoveries, so the change won’t be too drastic. Your population is now two hundred twenty-five thousand people and continues to grow. Employment stands at ninety-eight percent; the two percent unemployed are mostly in transition between jobs, or have recently suffered a medical issue and are recovering.

  “Your balance of trade is astronomically in your favor, varying between three hundred and four hundred billion dollars per year. You really should start your own currency. We’re spreading that around in bonds from the various western governments that we deem safe investments. The sales of Vancouver Integrated’s new quantum computer chips are exceptionally strong and boosting your trade balance,” Herr Hausmann continued.

  “That has really sent the president over the top,” Samantha said. “He called it a direct assault on U.S. industry.”

  “Not much we can do about that,” Marc said. “The chips have to be made in space, and the U.S. is still denying direct imports from Delphi Station.”

  “Hopefully, that will change when President-Elect Novak takes office.”