by Bob Blanton
Shaking his head, Admiral Demichev surrendered to the inevitable and picked up the phone. “Give me the Minister of Defense.”
◆ ◆ ◆
“Yes, Minister.”
“No, Minister.”
“I do not know why Admiral Petrosky is on the sub.”
“Yes, Minister,” Admiral Demichev said. He stared at the phone. “Yes, find that sub. I’ll get to that right away, you old dragon,” he said to the now silent phone before slamming it down.
“Petrosky, when we find you, I will cut out your eyes and shove them down your throat before I slit it!” Admiral Demichev yelled. Then tossed back the vodka that he’d poured himself before calling the minister. In a fit of pique, he threw the glass against the wall.
“Come in here and clean up that mess!” he yelled at his aide.
◆ ◆ ◆
“Kapitan, there are Russian frigates above us running active sonar!”
Kapitan Rokossovsky looked at Admiral Petrosky.
“Yes, there were reports of an American submarine entering the Barents Sea; that is why we had to leave early,” Admiral Petrosky said.
“Let’s not confuse our comrades on the surface,” Kapitan Rokossovsky said. “Dive below the thermocline. Make sure we don’t bump into that American submarine.”
◆ ◆ ◆
“Mr. President, the Novosibirsk left port a day early. Admiral Petrosky was aboard her,” the defense minister said once the president’s secretary finally let him into the president’s office.
“When did this happen?!”
“Two days ago,” the defense minister said.
“Why am I only finding out about this now?!” the president yelled as he stood up and slammed his fist onto the desk.
“We have been looking for it.”
“Looking for it. If it left early with the admiral aboard, it will not be sitting somewhere for you to find it!”
“We have had a squadron of frigates searching using sonar.”
“Two days you wait before you tell me! Get out of here before I shoot you!”
◆ ◆ ◆
“Marc, the President of Russia is on the phone,” Messina said.
“Hello, Mr. President.”
“I have some serious news for you, my friend.”
“What?”
“One of our cruise missile submarines has, how do you say it, gone rogue.”
“That does sound serious. Why are you calling me?”
“Because one of our admirals has gone rogue with it. Admiral Petrosky is a great Russian patriot. He, like myself, would like to see Russia return to the glory and power of the days of the Soviet Union.”
“And?”
“During the crisis in Ukraine, he proposed that we take a submarine and destroy Delphi City.”
“Now I see why you’re calling me. I assume you’re trying to find him.”
“We are, but the Novosibirsk is one of our newer submarines, very fast, very quiet.”
“This is serious. I would suggest you inform the U.N.”
“Our ambassador is informing the Security Council now. I wanted to personally inform you.”
“Thank you, Mr. President. We will take immediate measures to deal with this.”
“I must also inform you that when Admiral Petrosky suggested we destroy Delphi City, the defense minister asked him how. He told Admiral Petrosky that your technology would detect and destroy any missile that we fired at you. Admiral Petrosky said he had a plan.”
Marc gave a deep sigh. “Thank you. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I must meet with my team.”
◆ ◆ ◆
“ADI, get Blake and Admiral Michaels for me.”
“Hello, Marc,” Blake said as his video link connected.
“Hello, Daddy.”
“Catie, I . . . never mind. Admiral Michaels has just arrived.”
“Hello, Admiral,” Blake said.
“Hello. What is this about?”
“I just had a call from the Russian President. He tells me that one of their subs has gone rogue and that he believes the intent of the admiral who boarded her before she left port is to destroy Delphi City.”
“Oh, brother!”
“Where was the sub?” Admiral Michaels asked.
“Damn, I didn’t . . .”
“Captain, the Novosibirsk was at Zapadnaya Litsa naval base, which is thirty-two kilometers from the Barents Sea,” ADI informed everyone.
“Thank you, ADI.”
“So how will it make its way here?” Blake asked.
“Zapadnaya Litsa naval base is eighteen to twenty days from Delphi City if you travel around Cape Horn. Twenty to twenty-two if you travel around the Cape of Good Hope,” ADI replied.
“Why wouldn’t he go under the North Pole?” Catie asked. “It would be faster.”
“Then he would have to traverse the Bering Strait,” Admiral Michaels said. “He has to know that the Russian Navy is looking for him. That’s a narrow chokepoint; he’ll want to avoid it.”
“I think the same is true for Cape Horn,” Blake said. “It wouldn’t take that many frigates to block that off.”
“So we search, but it’s unlikely anyone is going to find him,” Marc said.
“I don’t know; the U.S. submarines are excellent at tracking Russian subs. Especially now that they are using Hyperion,” the admiral said.
“Ah, the start of all this,” Marc said. “Back when all I wanted in life was to develop my new sonar, live in Hawaii, and run our new company.”
“That certainly was a long time ago,” Blake said. “Now, how do we get the U.S. to help?”
“The Russians are informing the U.N. security council now,” Marc replied. “Hopefully, the Americans will send their subs out to search for it.”
“They might already have one tracking it,” Admiral Michaels said. “We typically try to track all Russian submarines as they leave port.”
“One can wish,” Marc whispered.
“If we don’t find it, we’ll just have to shoot down its missiles,” Catie said.
“The president said that the admiral has a plan for that,” Marc said.
“Great!” Blake said.
“Admiral Michaels, collect what you need and come up with a plan,” Marc said. “Keep me informed.”
“Yes, sir,” the admiral said; he didn’t look very happy to be getting this particular assignment.
“Do you want us to come back?” Blake asked.
“No, we’ll have to figure this out ourselves. You’re in communication, so that’s just as good as being here,” Marc said. “Stay focused on your mission. I would like to inform the U.N. of the discovery of both planets next week.”
“You’ve got it. Let us know if there’s anything we can do to help.”
“I will,” Marc said with a sigh.
“ADI told me about the submarine,” Samantha said as she walked into Marc’s office.
“What do you think?”
“I think Admiral Michaels will come up with a plan,” Samantha said.
“I hope we have enough time.”
“I’m sure we do.”
“It’s hard enough running this fast without having all these hurdles thrown up in our way.”
“Is there a finish line?”
“I can just see it,” Marc said. “But then I worry it’s a mirage.”
Samantha walked around Marc and gave him a hug from behind, “It’s not a mirage, it might be further away than you want, but I’m sure it’s there.”
Chapter 17
Welcome, Please Stop by for Tea
On Monday, Dr. Magor finally blessed the air, and everyone celebrated by changing to shorts and tee-shirts and running around in the fresh air. Of course, they had to do all that running inside the compound.
Chief Bayless and his crew had earned their case of scotch. The façade was up, and from within twenty degrees of its centerline, you could not tell that it wasn’t a complete house. It looked lik
e a very big house, befitting the governor of the colony. Dr. Pramar had even gathered some flowering plants to place along the front to give it a homey look.
Blake had them set up a camera in front of the house and one in the office behind the façade. As promised, the office had a window which looked out on the mountains that framed the house. A large wooden desk had been printed with a pattern that matched the wood for one of the local trees.
Blake wore a modified version of his admiral’s uniform that looked official without looking too militaristic. He wanted to convey the image of an established civilian governor. He had called on ten people from the crew, each wearing a similarly modified uniform, to play his staff. They practiced the routine three times before he decided they were good enough to actually play it out for the cameras.
“Okay, people, this is Take One!” Liz, the self-appointed director, shouted. “And . . . Action!”
“Hello, I’m Governor McCormack of the Earth Colony Artemis,” Blake said. “I hope that the files we included on our language have allowed you to decode my words adequately.” He was seated at the desk, with a large painting of the building façade and the mountains in the background hanging behind him. Off to the side, you could see the mountains through the large window where a small conference table was sitting.
“We have detected your starship, and after months of observation, have determined that you are heading toward our star system. We haven’t detected any distress signals, so we don’t believe you are experiencing any difficulties. If you are, please let us know. We have the ability to range outside our system for some distance. I know that given the distance you’re traveling, it is not much, but we will do what we can.”
“Governor, I need you to approve this.” The camera cut off just as the datapad was handed to Blake.
“Sorry about that, work never ceases around here. Where was I? Oh, yes, if you need assistance. Once you reach our system, we can provide water and fuel so you will be able to continue your mission. We do have some foodstuffs that we’re producing locally, so we may be able to replenish your stores if our diets are compatible. If you can communicate your needs, we can be prepared when you arrive.
“If you’re looking to trade with us, again, letting us know what you’re interested in will help us be prepared for your arrival. We are mainly focused on terraforming this world, adapting it to be more like our homeworld so that it better suits our needs, but we could afford to spend some time collecting the resources that you seek.
“Governor, we have a . . .” The video cut out, then started up again.
“Again, sorry about the interruption. Now, as governor, I’d like to brag a little about our colony and our successes,” Blake said as he stood up from the desk. “Let’s go outside so you can get a better view of the landscape.”
The video cut to the outside camera, which caught Blake just as he exited the front door of the house. A member of the crew was tending to the flowerbeds that were next to the door.
“We are just putting in the crop for this year,” Blake continued. “It’s very dry right now, but the rainy season is just ahead of us. We are looking forward to releasing some of our native animals into the environment here. We think it will be perfect grazing for our cattle.” . . . At this point, Catie let out a loud squeal, doing her best to sound like a six-year-old.
“Ah, children. We love our children,” Blake said. “Although sometimes they can wear on our nerves.” At this time, several people rushed into the house as though on urgent business as Blake continued to walk toward the camera.
“When you reach the fringe of our system, we’ll meet you with a few of our fighters. They will escort you through your deceleration, facilitating your flight through our defenses. Once you decelerate enough to maneuver within our system, they will lead you to the planet. Please be prepared to communicate with them so there are no misunderstandings,” Blake said as four of the pilots walked past him wearing their exosuits and carrying their helmets.
"We have quite the colony here, several thousand families now call Artemis home. We are expecting another colony ship to arrive with more colonists sometime this year, and we are furiously working to build up our infrastructure for their arrival.
“Again, if you let us know your dietary needs, we’ll have some refreshments prepared for your visit,” Blake said as he concluded his speech.
“And cut!” Liz yelled. “ADI how was that?”
“Excellent, Liz. You have may have a career in show business waiting for you when you tire of flying.”
“Jokes aside, do we need to redo anything?” Blake asked.
“I can make the necessary adjustments,” ADI said. “Would you like to view it on the display in the office or in your HUDs?”
“On the display,” Liz said. “Based on the videos we saw, that’s how our guests will be viewing it.”
“Then, by the time you are in the office, I’ll have it ready to play,” ADI said.
“Well, what do you think?” Blake asked after they had finished viewing the video.
“I think you were great, Uncle Blake,” Catie said.
“I think it’s good,” Liz said. “ADI, I’d like to adjust . . .”
It took Liz five minutes to work through a few minor changes with ADI, changes that in Blake’s opinion were totally unnecessary.
“Have Marc review it,” Blake ordered. “If he approves, then send it.”
“Do you think it’ll work?” Catie asked.
“I think it’ll get a response,” Blake said. “But as to what that response will be, who knows.”
“Well, we’ll see in a day or so,” Catie said.
“I think it will take them at least a week to respond,” Blake said. “Now everyone back to work. We have a week to finish up before we head back to Earth!”
◆ ◆ ◆
“Kapitan, we are detecting several sonar signals. They are far away, but they are coming from multiple sources.”
“Put their vectors up on the display,” Kapitan Rokossovsky said. After looking at the map and vectors he ordered, “change course five degrees south, dive to five thousand meters. We will follow this trench for a few hours.”
◆ ◆ ◆
“Okay, anything we should do before we head home?” Blake asked.
“Everyone should get a chance to come down and relax, maybe run around. We’re going to be cooped up for over two weeks and not really have any chance to do anything but sit around.”
“It’s only going to be twelve days,” Catie said. “That is if I’m allowed to save all of our momentum.”
“Explain that again?” Blake asked.
“We’ll accelerate all the way to the fringe. Then jump into each star system as we go. Then when we get to Sol, we just decelerate all the way back home. I’ll adjust the acceleration and deceleration in the various star systems, so we arrive with the right velocity that will have us reaching Earth at the end of our deceleration profile,” Catie explained.
“I’m all for that,” Liz said. “Saving six days is really nice.”
“Okay, plan it out that way. I’ll let your father know when to expect us. I’m also considering whether we should leave the Foxes here,” Blake said.
“I think that’s a good idea,” Catie said. “We can use them in case our friends surprise us and arrive early, or there is a probe or something coming in ahead of them.”
“I agree,” Liz said.
“Alright, then if Marc doesn’t object, we’ll leave them. The Lynxes should be able to cover us for any issue on the trip back.”
Chapter 18
Do We Want the Stars?
Marc took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. This was his first time to address the entire U.N. Assembly. He looked at the sea of ambassadors, eagerly awaiting his speech. One hundred ninety-seven. He made eye contact with Margaret, the Delphi Ambassador, and she gave him a reassuring nod. He was nervous about how his news would be received.
“Ambassad
ors, I thank you for allowing me to address this august body. I bring exciting news, but news that will require us to reexamine our goals as a world.”
There was a general stirring in the Assembly as the ambassadors shifted in their seats and made comments or asked questions of their neighbors. Marc gave them a minute to settle down.
“MacKenzie Discoveries has found two planets which are suitable for habitation by humans and Paraxeans.”
The Assembly really stirred at that. It took several minutes for them to settle back down.
“One of the planets has already been designated for the Paraxean colonists, and they will begin their journey to it shortly.”
Marc shook his head as the buzzing got extremely loud after his last statement. Several ambassadors indicated that they wished to ask questions.
“Please hold your questions,” Marc said. “Since MacKenzie Discoveries is so indebted to the Paraxeans for the technology we have harvested from their starship, we felt it was only right that we help them complete their quest to find a planet to colonize. Now, the second planet is also very suitable; however, before we can decide its fate, there are several things that we must address.
“First: The Outer Space Treaty does not provide for the realistic governance necessary for an interstellar civilization, one that recognizes that it is not the only race traveling among the stars. It does not provide the financial assurances for private companies like MacKenzie Discoveries to take advantage of their discoveries and to recoup their investment. We propose that the U.N. must rewrite the treaty to more accurately represent the realities of space exploration and colonization.”
“What right do you have?!”
“We have every right!” Marc’s voice boomed over the sound system. “If we do not come up with an acceptable version of the treaty, then MacKenzie Discoveries will be forced to also assign the second planet to the Paraxeans and work out trade and immigration deals with them.”
The Assembly exploded at this point. Ambassadors jumped to their feet, yelling.
