by Bob Blanton
“I suspect he knows more than we think he does,” Marc said. “At this point, I don’t see why we should hide those kinds of facts from him. If I or anyone feels there is a specific technology or fact that we should withhold from him, send a message to the board member and we’ll hold a private meeting to discuss it.”
“What if you ask something here that we don’t think he should know?” Liz asked.
“Just say you’re not ready with the answer and will get back to the board later,” Marc said. He gave the group time to think up more questions, when none was forthcoming with any questions, he asked Masina to show Admiral Michaels in.
“Hello, Admiral Michaels, how was your orientation meeting this morning?” Marc greeted the admiral.
“Most enlightening,” Admiral Michaels said. “My wife has been telling me all weekend to go get my knees looked at, but apparently, that’s part of your standard process here.”
“Yes, Admiral, we will give your entire family a complete workup. You should each have your appointments scheduled,” Dr. Metra said.
“We do,” Admiral Michaels said. “But my wife is so delighted with the improvements to her back after Dr. Sharmila treated her that she wanted me to go get my knees fixed right away. Apparently, I complain about them quite a bit.”
His comment elicited a good laugh from everyone.
“You met everyone at the last meeting, but feel free to ask for one of us to fill in the gaps of your knowledge,” Marc said.
“Sam, can you spend some time with the admiral going over our contract slash treaty situation?”
“Of course, will two o’clock be okay?” Samantha asked.
“That will be fine,” Admiral Michaels said.
Samantha wrote a note to herself. “I’ve added it to my calendar,” she said.
“Samantha, I notice you’re writing with that stylus, but you’re writing on the desktop. Can you explain that?” the admiral said.
“First, call me Sam,” Samantha said. “As to the writing, it’s a function built into our specs. I’m sure they introduced them to you at the orientation.”
“Yes, they did.”
“Well those of us who are not so technologically adept as others initially resorted to the tried and true method of handwritten notes, which we later scanned in or had transcribed. Eventually, we realized our comm units were very adept at interpreting our handwriting, so we didn’t have to have the notes transcribed later. Then Catie, our resident ‘Duh’ person, suggested we just write the notes with a stylus. The comm displays what we are writing via our HUD display, and it looks like we’ve written on the desktop. It’s quick and easy to tell if your comm is transcribing it right or not.”
“That’s very interesting,” the admiral said.
“Now others, like Catie, hold their comm under the table where you can’t see them type on it. The underside of the table is reflective, so the comm can see your hands and displays the keyboard on your HUD display. So Catie sits there looking like she’s not doing anything, but is passing notes to everybody the whole time. Of course, she has an eidetic memory, so she doesn’t need to take notes for herself, but she likes to help the rest of us out. Kal over there emulates Catie because he thinks it’s cool. Liz just types on the desktop using the keyboard displayed by her specs; nobody knows what Dr. Metra does, but she usually just tells us what she’s going to do, so she doesn’t get very many action items. Marc just pauses the meeting, states what he wants in the record and lets his comm record and transcribe.”
Catie looked at Samantha, surprised that she had figured out what she was doing. She had always thought everyone assumed she was typing by using her eyes in her HUD. Her appreciation for Samantha’s powers of observation went up immensely.
“You’ll have to pick the best method that works for both your ego and your technical prowess.”
“I appreciate the quick lesson and introduction to the board personalities,” the admiral said.
“Okay, Sam, now that you’ve provided a quick summary of the note-taking habits of the board,” Marc said with a laugh, “do you have anything else to add?” He too was surprised at Samantha’s powers of observation, especially since he had thought Catie was typing with her eyes.
“We opened our Alzheimer’s Clinic in Tijuana on the twelfth as scheduled,” Samantha said, “but given the situation, we’ve delayed holding a press conference.”
“Smart move,” Marc said, very happy to avoid the press conference. “Anything else?”
“No,” Samantha said. “I’ll yield my time to the admiral. I’d like to know how long we might be in this hunker-down mode.”
“Kal, anything?”
“It’s in the weekly reports,” Kal said.
“Okay, Liz?”
“We finished extruding the second shell for the space station on Friday. We’re building the cap for the top end and getting ready to build the docking ring.”
“What space station?” the admiral gasped.
“I told you to be prepared to be amazed,” Marc said. “We’re building this.” Marc put the view of the station’s hub up on the display. “This is the hub of the first section with the docking bay attached.” The display showed the image of what appeared to be a big can.
“How big is this thing?”
“The hub is one hundred meters tall, with a diameter of two hundred meters.”
“My god, that is enormous,” Admiral Michaels gasped. “And dare I ask what you mean by hub.”
“Let me show you,” Marc smiled. Here it is with an Oryx docked. He changed the slide, and an Oryx appeared at the bottom of the hub attached to a docking arm extended from the hub docking ring.
The admiral’s eyes grew wide. “Okay, I can deal with that.”
“The docking ring adds an additional thirty meters to the overall height of the hub. There are fifteen more major components to add.”
“Fifteen more?”
“Yes,” Marc said. He flashed through the next three slides which showed the station after each ring was added until he was showing a completed section with three rings.
“Oh my god,” The admiral said as he sagged back into his chair.
Marc showed three more slides displaying how the station would grow as each new three-ringed section set was added.
The admiral’s face was ashen as he asked, “How are you going to lift all that material?”
“We’re not prepared to share that information at this time,” Marc said. “Suffice it to say we have a plan. Lifting the material for the first section is the most critical, and we have most of that in orbit now.”
The admiral shook his head. “And how long before someone actually notices that thing?”
“That’s a complicated question to answer. Its orbit is opposite the ISS; the station itself is made of energy absorbing material so it will not be easy to spot by telescope or radar. The odds are good that nobody has noticed it yet.”
“I can assure you that was true as of one week ago,” Admiral Michaels said. “But that convoy of Oryxes lifting material?”
“That will be observable, at least by the various spies located on Rarotonga,” Marc said. “But they won’t know where they’re going. Nothing specifically indicates that they’re going into orbit. The people who know have been sequestered here in the city while we get the first section up. I assume you’re concerned about the US reaction once they become aware of it.”
“Specifically, the president’s reaction. He will go ballistic,” the admiral said.
“Can you help us understand that?” Samantha asked.
“The president has convinced himself that all this technology you have is the rightful property of the United States. He bases that on his belief that you possessed most it, if not all of it while you were a US citizen, therefore it should belong to the US.”
“Fascinating logic,” Samantha said. “What do you think he will do?”
“I’m afraid,” the admiral said, “that he’
s going to want to take control of it.”
“The US doesn’t have the kind of assets to mount any space operation,” Marc said.
“I know,” the admiral whispered. “But Delphi City is not in space.”
◆ ◆ ◆
Marc gave everybody a thirty-minute break before he asked them to return to discuss what the president might do and what they should do to protect Delphi City. When Marc walked back into the room, he saw Blake holding a bottle of scotch.
“Blake, as much as I need a drink right now, I think it would be better if we waited until after the discussion,” Marc said. Blake groaned but acquiesced and put the bottle back in the cabinet.
Once everybody was back in the room, Marc started the discussion. “Admiral, please feel free to make suggestions or corrections as we go. You’re probably more familiar with what we’re about to discuss than any of us.”
Admiral Michaels nodded his head to acknowledge the point but stayed quiet.
“First, I think we should list what options the US might take to, as Admiral Michaels said, take control. The first thing I can think of is the one we’ve already experienced, that is to launch a commando raid to try and seize control of Delphi City,” Marc said.
The admiral nodded his head in agreement, but Marc thought he should be getting a little more out of him than just simple agreement. “Admiral, can you help us to understand what such a raid might comprise?”
“I gather from your comments that the Chinese tried a raid,” Admiral Michaels said. “Can you tell me a bit more about that?”
“They sent six commandos via submarine. We managed to detect the sub, which alerted us to the raid. Our internal forces intercepted the commandos, and we eventually deposited them in Singapore. I think three of them defected, but we lost track after that.” Marc replied.
“That’s what I had surmised,” Admiral Michaels said. “I didn’t share my assumptions with anyone. I’m not sure that US intelligence has been able to get that information from the submarine crew since I suspect that only the captain and first officer would have known about the mission. I didn’t hear any comments about the sub and MacKenzie Discoveries while I was at the White House.”
“That was our hope,” Marc said.
“So, the US doesn’t know that you,
A) were able to detect the submarine,
B) that you actually intercepted and defeated the commandos, and
C) that you were able to disable the submarine.
Can you tell me what you have done since then to augment your defenses?”
“Yes,” Marc said and nodded to Kal.
“Sir, we have
1) expanded our sonar detection array out to fifty miles.
2) We’ve increased the size of our security force.
3) We’ve switched to two-man patrols to avoid having one guard taken out without our knowing about it; the comms did warn us pretty quickly that a guard was killed, but having that intel earlier certainly would have helped.
4) We’ve added torpedoes to the weapons array on the Foxes, but unfortunately, we have a very limited number of them.
5) We’ve added more sensors and cameras around the perimeter of the city to detect unauthorized access.”
Kal looked at Marc to question if there was more he should add.
“Foxes?” Admiral Michaels asked.
“The Foxes are the jets that the Chinese carrier pilots encountered back in March,” Blake said. “I’m sure you’re familiar with the incident.”
“One point you should be aware of,” Marc added, “is that the Foxes are capable of acting as a submarine. That is how we placed the mine that disabled the Chinese submarine for you.”
“What can’t you people do?” the admiral asked, shaking his head in amazement. “I would say you’re set up to handle a commando raid, but you should be prepared for a force of up to twenty commandos. If they choose that option, they’ll be looking for a low profile so I wouldn’t expect more, but they’re going to come in big and hard if they come in.”
“Other methods?” Marc asked the board members around the table.
“They could just threaten us,” Liz said. “That or enact an embargo.”
“I would agree on the threats,” Admiral Michaels said. “But an embargo would be too slow and too public. It would quickly involve the Kiwis, and then the United Nations. I could see them trying to interdict your tankers, but that would require that they know about them. You’ve done a good job of hiding which oil tankers are yours, and they don’t really know why you’re bringing them in. Also, they know you have two small tankers here, so any effect would be delayed.”
Marc looked at Samantha, asking if she had anything to add.
“I think he’s right about the embargo,” Samantha said. “Seems an unlikely choice.”
“So, if they threaten us, what would they threaten us with?” Marc asked.
“For the same reasons that the embargo is unlikely, the threats would have to be about taking us by force; otherwise it takes too long and involves too many players,” Samantha said.
“What kind of force?”
“A missile strike,” Admiral Michaels said. “One or two cruise missiles hitting this city would certainly get your attention.”
“It would,” Marc said, “but I’m confident we could shoot down any missiles.”
“I didn’t notice any antimissile defenses.”
“We have four Foxes that would probably be able to take out any missiles fired at us. We also have local laser weapons that could take them out at about one thousand meters. The plasma cannons could hit any that get within five hundred meters.”
“Shit!”
“Admiral, there are children present,” Samantha said, barely containing her laugh as she saw Catie’s face turn red at being called a child.
“Sorry about the language.”
“I was just trying to lighten the moment a bit,” Samantha said. “Catie, will you forgive me?”
“Right after I get even,” Catie said as she stuck her tongue out at Samantha.
“Well, it will be an interesting discussion when they threaten you, should threats be the strategy they employ,” Admiral Michaels said.
“What else?” Marc asked.
Catie was staring at the admiral with her ‘Duh’ face, urging him to say something. The admiral finally noticed her stare and shifted in his seat. “Um,” he hesitated, “I think their most likely move would be to put a carrier strike force twelve miles off your coast.”
Catie sat back in her chair; everyone could tell she was saying ‘finally’ in her head.
“What would that mean?” Samantha asked as she looked at the shocked faces of everyone in the room besides the admiral’s and Catie’s.
“If they include an amphibious assault ship in the strike force, and I would, it would mean over sixteen hundred marines within minutes of the city.”
“How would they enter the city?” Samantha asked.
“Helicopters,” Liz said.
“We could shoot those down,” Kal said.
“But it would be an act of war,” Blake said.
“Wouldn’t it be an act of war to launch military helicopters at the city?” Liz asked.
“Yes, but once American lives are lost, the public opinion will swing in favor of the president taking even more aggressive action. They will spin the story in a way that makes us look like the aggressors,” Samantha said. “Oh, we do have a problem.”
“Yes, we do,” Admiral Michaels said. “I never imagined this.”
“Why not?” Samantha said.
“The space station; who could have known that you intended to, much less were capable of putting something like that in orbit. Without that, I assumed that the worst thing the president would do is send in commandos. But that changes everything. He will not even bat an eye at launching a strike force; even risking an act of war against New Zealand will pale against losing the strategic high ground that a space st
ation like that would give you.”
“We have to win this in the public minds,” Samantha said. “Not on the battlefield.”
“I would agree,” Marc said.
“Now I know why I never wanted to be an officer,” Kal said. “They shoot at you, you shoot back. That’s so much easier.”
“Think of it more like a recon mission,” Admiral Michaels said. “They shoot, but you don’t shoot back so they don’t know where you are, or if you’re really out there.”
Kal just made a little circling motion with his head, as if he were nodding yes then shaking his head no. “Can we have some scotch now?”
Blake looked at Marc, who just shrugged his shoulders. That was all it took. Blake hurried to the cabinet and brought his bottle of Glenlivet out. “Admiral, this is really good, fifteen-year-old scotch,” Blake said as he poured the admiral a glass. He poured all around and got an eye from the admiral when he poured a splash in Catie’s glass.
“Okay,” Marc said, “How do we change the game?”
“We need to get the public on our side,” Samantha said. “To do that we need to show everybody that the president is overreaching, that he is ignoring the rule of law.”
“How would you propose to do that?” Admiral Michaels asked.
“If we could get audio of him ordering a strike on Delphi City,” Samantha said, “that would help.”
“How could you do that? He won’t give that kind of order where it could be intercepted. And if you somehow got one, he could claim it was fake.”
“Not if the audio and the subsequent action matched up, especially if we could release the audio before the action took place.”
“We won’t know before the strike force moves, which one he’ll use. I would expect him to communicate directly with the admiral in charge of the strike force and just tell the fleet commander that he’s operating under his orders.”
“We’ll know as soon as we see a strike force moving toward us,” Liz said.
“Yes, but that’s not as easy as it sounds. If the president wants to be cautious, they’ll schedule several fleet training maneuvers and simply have the ships pull out and gather at sea. There won’t be anything that signals which ships and when; at least not that your agents would be able to pick up. I assume you have agents.”
