by Bob Mauldin
The next several days produced enough activity to keep everyone busy. The culmination was Simon receiving a call from Galway in which he spoke to the Vice-President personally and was invited to come to Camp David in three days for a meeting with representatives of most of the more advanced nations and some of the less advanced, as well. “They would like to know how all this is going to affect nations in the third world,” the Vice-President said.
Simon replied that the food processor technology alone would put an end to hunger in most of the world. Given one of the machines, all a person has to do is put organic material, any organic material into a receptacle, press a series of buttons and food comes out of the other end. “It is fully programmable, so that whatever you want the machine to produce is kept in memory, so to speak, and when you put enough material in and request the item, it will appear. And it can be programmed to refuse to produce items like liquor and drugs of all kinds. Or it can be used in a hospital and programmed to produce the very drugs other units will be unable to synthesize. This is one item that we think should be produced and distributed without charge to hungry people around the world. One machine will feed dozens, even hundreds of people. That should do for starters.”
Another thing that happened was that new faces began appearing on Galileo again as Kitty and Lucy had beamed down to several meetings and sparked near riots at two of them. Beaming out was the only alternative at one meeting where several women tried to grab them to prove that they were holograms. Lucy left behind a sleeve and quite a few skin cells to the fingernails of one disbeliever. Kitty fared only a little better when a half-full drink cup that should have passed through her bounced off, covering her with something sticky and cold.
Jim and Ted were kept busy handing out their contact number to anyone who asked as well. After several meetings, it looked like the total number required for this trip would be met handily. To prevent a recurrence of the last time, Ted suggested that several of the unlucky ones who would not be going this time be given tours of the ship to prove that it was real. That, coupled with the President’s revelation and subsequent aerial displays all over the world, not only put an end to any disbelief among the faithful, but it assured a world-wide volunteer base to choose from that would not be depleted any time soon.
Simon went into a flurry of activity after his talk with the Vice-President. He called in his new security chief, Commander Larry Staples, a former Navy Seal, and one of the original members of the crew, his second in command, Robert Shipley, and a Lt. Commander named Olivia Beauchamp, to meet with him and Kitty. Along for the meeting were Lucy Grimes off of McCaffrey, and Stephen Walker for ideas and opinions.
He proposed that he, himself, Staples, Shipley, and Beauchamp be the contact team for this initial meeting. “I have to go, of course, Staples for back-up, Shipley so that in the future I won’t have to be present, and Beauchamp because she is the only one I have found so far who will admit to being a law student. She was not far from taking her bar exams when she decided to take a vacation with us. Now, her knowledge will come in handy.
“I don’t intend for us to get entangled in legal disputes, though. It has been my experience, admittedly limited though that be, that if you lay out what you want, and the other guy wants it, too, he will find a way to take it. I plan to let the Vice-President and his staff tell us how what we want can be accomplished. Granted, it is simplistic, but some of the best plans are just that. If it doesn’t work, we haven’t lost anything, and we can look for legal help among the downsiders.
“It has been requested that we don’t beam down, since too many of the people present aren’t familiar with the concept, even from science-fiction. So, Commander Staples will pilot a shuttle down carrying the four of us. I have been informed that a wing of Apache helicopters will be in the air while we are there, strictly as protection, of course, so I informed Galway that a flight of Mambas would fly as backup. This flight, ladies and gentlemen, will not have their wings clipped like the demonstrators did.”
Anyone who had been watching Kitty while he had been expounding his plan to speak to the Vice-President would have seen her eyes narrow slightly. She listened quietly and patiently while he outlined his plan and her expression darkened visibly when she heard who he planned to take down with him for his contact team. Security chief, sure. Second in command, understandable. But, Beauchamp just because she had studied law? A flight of Mambas for cover? she thought. I told him I’d be along for the ride. I just hope he forgets until it’s too late. Shit. I’ll fly even if he does find out!
When Simon finished, and hadn’t specifically assigned anyone to take charge of the cover flight and their pilots, Kitty volunteered her services as Wing Commander. “I’m not doing anything else, anyway,” she said offhandedly. “So, who better than a Mamba Wing Commander, and wife, to oversee pilot selection and work with Flight Control to insure mission safety.”
Simon considered the matter for a few seconds, then said, “Sure, why not? I can’t think of anyone better to watch my back.” He reached out and patted her on the leg. “And it will teach you not to volunteer.”
Radio and television commentators had plenty to keep them occupied for the next couple of days. Speculation about the President’s announcement. Analysts taking it apart. Spin doctors from both sides of the aisle ringing in with their opinions. Astronomers confirming the presence of two objects in orbit that shouldn’t be there. Simon’s broadcast received a lot of attention and the demonstration flights were featured items. A lot was made of the fact that on more than one occasion a pilot missed and his laser did no damage to objects on the ground. One scientist said something about attenuated beam strength inside Earth’s atmosphere, and the debate over that went on for hours. Religious views, pro and con. Various and sundry nuts able to get air time. Enough material to keep people arguing for years.
Simon had insisted that the meeting at Camp David be covered by the press and televised live. Galway threw a fit. “Security details are staggering, as it is, Captain. We’ll have dignitaries from all over the globe there and no way to guarantee their safety. Normally, it wouldn’t be a problem, as I’m sure you’re about to point out, but we’re dealing with an entirely different set of circumstances. This topic is too highly charged. If the press shows up, the nuts will follow. Demonstrations, possibly riots. I’m sorry, but no press.”
Simon balked. “First and foremost, I’m insulted, Mister Galway. Camp David is one of the most secure places on the planet. Just who will you be needing to protect those dignitaries from?” Simon let the silence from the other end of the connection go on until it was uncomfortable. “You’re certainly not going to say that it would be from us, now would you? We will be the only ‘unknown quantity’ there, so it must be. Maybe we should just call this whole thing off.”
Galway got his voice back. Apparently so did someone in the background. Simon couldn’t make out the words, but he did hear another voice. “The President has already made the announcement, Captain, and representatives from dozens of nations have already started to arrive. The meeting should go on as planned. This is turning into a circus.” His voice died out.
Simon spoke into the silence, picturing the agent sweating as one of his bosses put words in his mouth. “I’m not saying no more secrets, Galway. What I am saying is that this is already public knowledge. People have seen the Mambas. Some will surely see the shuttle and her escort. The press can be on hand for that, at least. You’ll do more for a space shuttle launch and landing than you will for the first meeting between an extra-planetary power and the leaders of the nations of Earth?” He paused to let Galway respond.
Getting nothing, Simon added, “What arrangements we make, you can keep at a high level and spin them any way you want as long as they don’t make us look bad in the process. But the fact of our existence and our comings and goings, well that’s history in the making. And I’ll bet from all the crap that has been aired on radio and televisi
on for the last couple of days that all the major networks would just love to be there to get footage of the first landing of an alien craft. So, here’s the deal: if we aren’t seeing live transmissions, on most if not all, of the major networks, our shuttle won’t leave the bay. Now, we’ve already acceded to your request that we not beam down the first time. It’s time for you to give a little, too. Or are you afraid of something, Mister Galway?”
Kitty, in the room at the time of the call, felt her heart skip a beat when Simon made that remark. When the conversation was over, she asked as lightly as she knew how, “What do you think the deal there is?”
Simon waved a hand negligently in the air. “Oh, just more of the usual government secrecy bullshit. I just don’t intend to let them get away with it.”
Kitty left Simon with all of her alarm bells ringing. She beamed over to McCaffrey after making sure that Lucy was in and made her way through over-crowded corridors to Lucy’s ready-room. “Just how many people do you have aboard this tub, Lucy?” Kitty asked as she sat down.
“Don’t call my bucket a tub, dammit,” Lucy shot back. “Simon wants to crew two vessels at once, as you know. We’re just taking some of Galileo’s overflow. My exec, Mark Brenner, is getting one of the ships, so we took on the people who will be training for command level and a few others, as well. And you know that Gayle is getting one of the others, so Marsha is bringing Heinlein in. Simon is having his meeting tomorrow morning, and we are supposed to get under way right after that. It’ll only be for a week, so I don’t see any real problems. We could do it a little faster but we can use that week for training.”
“True enough,” Kitty agreed. “And that brings us to why I’m here. I have a funny feeling about this meeting.”
Lucy concurred. “I’ve noticed that you’ve been kind of jumpy the last couple of days. Ever since the meeting was finally confirmed. Anything specific?”
“Well, no. I want these bases as much as anyone else does. And I realize how important the meeting actually is. I put my jitters down to a wife being concerned about her husband ... until I overheard a call between Simon and Galway.”
“What did you hear?” Lucy inquired. She leaned forward, laying her forearms on the desk, fingers laced together.
“I was there when he was discussing the final details with Galway. And Galway said no media, which Simon refused to agree to. Galway finally gave in. You know how Simon can be. I’d hate to be there when he finally meets the guy as stubborn as he is. Anyway, I just don’t feel right. It’s not anything I can put a finger on, you know? So. I’m supposed to be picking the pilots for Simon’s cover flight. That’s my official reason for being here. Now, Simon thinks I’m going to pick five of your pilots, then go sit in Galileo’s Flight Control and monitor the whole thing from there. He seems to have forgotten my promise to fly cover for him, and after that call, I’m definitely going to be in a cockpit. He’ll think someone else is in charge of it, right up until something goes wrong. If something goes wrong. And that information stops right here, Lucy,” Kitty said, tapping Lucy’s desk. “He’s going to have enough on his mind.”
Lucy said, “I have to credit your feelings, Kitty. I have them, too. But, this. I don’t know. Of course, I’ll keep the secret. Just be careful, okay?”
Kitty stood. “Of course. And I’ll keep in the background unless there’s trouble. Now, down to Flight Control. See you later.”
She called Flight Control and requested that four particular pilots meet her in Fighter Operations. When she arrived on the flight deck, she saw the last of the four entering a room located at the far end of the corridor. She hurried along past the launch bays holding their craft and entered to find all four pilots in deep discussion about the mysterious summons.
After a few minutes of reminiscing, she got to the point. “I’ll put an end to the mystery right now,” she said. The four pilots, all veterans from the very first group of volunteers, looked at her expectantly. Shirley Dahlquist, Amy Carpenter, Velma Randall, and David Sipes were people she had flown with and respected. Now, she was to fly with them one more time. “As you know, tomorrow morning Simon is going to take a shuttle down to Camp David. We have been informed that there will be a wing of five Apache helicopters to provide protection for the dignitaries there. We have informed them that we will have five Mambas flying cover for us. You will be four of those pilots, I will be the fifth.
“Commander Dahlquist will be in charge of the flight.” As Shirley started to protest, Kitty added, “As far as Simon knows, you’re in command. All radio traffic will come from you, and I will be referred to as Lt. Johnson. As long as nothing goes wrong, you will stay in charge. If the shit hits the fan, I take over and assume all responsibility for our actions. Clear?” At Shirley’s nod, she went on. “I chose you four because I know you. I know how you fly and how you think. I know you’ll follow orders and I know that you will deviate only if you think that it’s truly necessary. I hope it won’t be.
“Orders for the flight. Going in: it’s okay to show off until we get close to the ground. You need to know how your ships will react in atmosphere if you weren’t among the display pilots, so play with ‘em. Once we get down, pick a chopper and play one-on-one with it. You will not fire on any individual, installation, or craft, unless fired on first. Keep in mind that there will be media there filming our arrival and actions. So be on your best behavior. The contact team can beam out if necessary, but that will leave a shuttle on the ground in unfriendly hands. I will take the responsibility for destroying it if necessary. The contact team will have their wristbands slaved together. If one person hits the button, they all go. Their bio-monitors will activate the recall if their stress level gets too high, or we can manually recall them if we decide that the situation warrants it. The rest will be an improvisation, just like it will be for the contact team. We can ‘how about’ and ‘what if’ all day long, but that’s it in a nutshell. I will beam over as soon as Simon boards the shuttle, so we won’t have much time to talk until the mission, so I’ll say good flying now, and let you check your ships. I’ll have the Chief see that a ship is prepped for me, too, and I will see you in the morning.” She started for the door and turned. “Oh, yes. Remember. My part in this flight is secret. I can’t have Simon catching wise until after we get back aboard. That’s all.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
The alarm went off as if it were any other day. Kitty woke at the first ring but lay on her side, pretending sleep, interpreting the movements of the bed as Simon moved over to shut the ringer off. She experienced a feeling of separation the moment his body no longer touched the bed, believing that the mattress transmitted their heartbeats to each other.
She heard him shuffle across the floor and turned over to watch him walk into the bathroom. Kitty lay there listening for the shower to start, and stretched, feeling disgustingly good considering the night they had just had. She smiled to herself, content, until her feet touched the deck.
Why is it, she thought, that every time I think my life is going well, something happens to upset it? The smile faded from her face and she stood up, knowing that the water would be just right, and she had to go in there. They had been married too long, she often thought. They knew each other too well. She smiled again, knowing that Simon knew that she was awake when he left the room. Maybe that’s the problem, she thought. When he starts to predict me, well, I’m just going to have to put some surprise back into that man’s life.
Keeping her nervousness to herself, she stepped into the shower and wrapped her arms around her man, letting her body adjust to the heat and steam of the shower stall. Nuzzling the back of his neck, she said, “Ready for the big day, Lover? And after a night like that?”
Simon turned around in the circle of her arms. Obviously more awake and functional that a few minutes before, he replied, “You bet. Nights like that only make me look forward to more nights like that.” He grinned down at her and kissed her forehe
ad. “Now, woman, no time for more fun and games. We’ll have plenty of that once we break orbit.” He turned back around, feeling her hands pressing against the flesh of his waist. “Scrub my back?”
Showers finished, they both got dressed and stopped in the mess hall for a light breakfast before heading down to the shuttle waiting on Deck Eighteen. “Last night’ll have to hold both of us until I get back. Now, get to Flight Control, so I know I’m safe.” He turned her loose, looked deep into her eyes, kissed her lightly one more time, spun on his heel and headed for the shuttle.
Hours before Simon and Kitty even thought about getting out of bed, Agent Daniels was in his specially selected hiding place, congratulating himself on picking just the right spot. He watched as the shuttle was moved into position by the bay operators stationed above. He counted the service techs as they began their morning pre-flight checks. He would stay sequestered until all support personnel left, which should be enough time to sneak aboard unless guards had been posted.
He had taken a tour of one of these workhorses with Kitty’s permission and had found the best place to hide his less than svelte girth. Now lunch had come in the form of a low chime over the loudspeakers. He carefully stood up and let the returning circulation make him almost fall down. By his best estimate all the workers had left the shuttle, so he slipped out of the locker carrying the smallest case he could find that would hold his various “finds” aboard ship.
He started to relax and then remembered the force-field over the bay doors. Among the items he had on him was a laser pistol “found” in a locker room while its true owner showered off the days’ stink. He also got Crewman McNalley to find a way to undo the wristband he wore without it showing on the bridge. He got a replica to wear around at times when he didn’t want it known that he was out of his room. And he got McNalley to make a more advanced Taser made into the same casing.
