The Council of Hhearn Trilogy Box Set

by P F Walsh

  “Central, please run a full diagnostic on your systems, start with the life support systems immediately, and report any failures and repair needs. Prioritize them as well with the most urgent first.” He asked.

  “Are you a Master?” Central probed.

  “Yes, Central, I am the master who is now in charge of all the mechanical and electrical operations of Caerus until Captain Flynn changes that assignment. My name is Artie” He said. A moment passed,

  “Yes, Artie, I have you on the list Captain Flynn gave me. How can I serve? “

  “Run a complete systems diagnostic routine as I described.”

  “How shall I address you? Master Captain Flynn prefers ‘Captain.’

  “You may address me as Artie,” He replied.

  “Acknowledged, diagnostics running.” Central reported back.

  “Central, while that is running, please identify the reason why the breakers interrupted all power?” He asked.

  “Artie, there were three test connections to the cave capacitors that were not disconnected. The cave capacitors were never fully charged for a move, only a few tests were done. Those connections must be disconnected if there is to be another move. It is evident from our successful move that further testing will not be required.” It answered.

  Artie asked Central to locate the connections and he was directed to an underground substation. He and Mel brought their tools and disconnected the three, heavy test cables from the cave feeds and laid them aside.

  “Let’s go and get some lunch.” Artie said after they had closed up the substation.

  “Not yet, Artie. I’ve got one more thing for Central.” Mel said.

  “Central, this is Master Mel. I am designated as Security Manager for Caerus by Captain Flynn. You may address me as Mel. Please activate all defense systems, screens, and detection systems including the orbital hologram.”

  “Acknowledged, systems up and reporting. No approaches are detected.” Central replied.

  “Now, we can go to lunch,” Mel said, “and talk about how we’re going to staff this thing. We can count on some of our more unfriendly nations to start sending spy satellites or an actual manned capsule once they get our location down. We will need Rooky to put together rules and regulations. Lots of work ahead.” He said.

  “Finally, something to do with our lives!” Artie said as they walked back to the lodging building.

  “Speaking of that, you’re in charge of facilities. Can’t we dream up a name for the lodging building?” Mel asked.

  “Good idea, let’s toss that around while we eat.”

  Artie and Mel had a big lunch and decided that for now, they would have Central instruct a drone to make a sign to put up on the entrance to the lodging building. Keeping to simplicity, they decided to name it the “LaGrange” Hotel. They both thought it was perfect.

  Caerus was causing a political stir on Earth. Several nations complained that a celestial body could not be claimed or owned and filed complaints with both the UN and IRO as well as the White House. The UN began committee meetings guaranteed to come to no legible determination within the next year or so, the IRO ignored the complaint as beyond its purview and authority. The President however, called a brief news conference and only had a few words to say,

  “I have had a complete legal analysis handed to me on this issue prepared by an attorney who has an interplanetary practice, and as far as the United States is concerned, it is a moveable space station, and we look forward to its success as a research organization. As for the complaints, when those people can move celestial bodies around as easily and harmlessly as Captain Flynn has done, perhaps their complaints would be more interpreted as legitimate, instead of jealousy. Subject closed.” At the conclusion of that statement, the President walked away from the microphone and went back to his office passing his secretary,

  “How did that go, Elizabeth?” He asked,

  “Never heard you more explicit, Mr. President.” She said.

  “Good, maybe those ‘nattering nabobs of negativity’ will stop nattering.” He said, walked into his office and mused,

  “Can’t remember who said that, but I like it.” And then,

  “Now let’s see how many retired vets we can line up for Sean’s security team. Who is the guy in charge of the Seals? Oh yeah, Elizabeth, get me the assistant deputy chief of Naval Operations, can’t recall his name though.” He said into his intercom.

  “Yes sir, right away.” She answered.

  A raging Zakarian burst through the doors to the emergency room screaming,

  “Where is my son?”

  A young intern stood frozen in place with fear as the huge Zakarian approached him and grabbed him by the collar.

  “He is back there!” The intern said and pointed to the far alcove.

  The Zakarian held onto the collar and dragged the intern behind him to what the intern supposed was a bloody end. The intern squirmed and flopped until he slipped out of the white jacket and ran off, as the Zakarian plodded firmly toward the alcove drawing his dagger as he walked.

  He stomped into the room his heavy boots alerting everyone to his coming as they all ran to hide. Maejel heard the commotion and yelling and knew immediately this was Zakarian trouble. She decided not to leave Kiz-bel by himself. She reached alongside him where his sword had been laid and drew the blade. She held it with two hands like the pictures of the Samurai she had seen. It felt balanced and deadly. She had never held it like this before.

  “Who is responsible for putting non-clan blood into my son?” He bellowed into the cluster of rooms, at first not noticing the petite Maejel standing alongside the Gurney.

  “I did.” She said. The Zakarian noticed her for the first time standing there poised with a sword in her hands. He laughed.

  “You? And you stand there before me with a challenge?” He began to move from side to side to appraise her skill. Maejel did not move in response, but locked her eyes on his without flinching, like a deadly snake. A poise that was not lost on the Zakarian. He realized that he still had the intern’s jacket in his left hand and threw it at her. Maejel just raised the sword and allowed it to cleanly slice the jacket in two silently. Her gaze never wandered from his eyes. The Zakarian’s eyes widened, and his mouth opened slightly, as he watched the blade slice the jacket without the slightest effort. He was even more impressed that it was clear she knew what the blade could do. Kiz-bel the Younger propped up his head,

  “Father, do not challenge her. The sword can cut you as though you were mere mist. Besides, she is your blood daughter!” He said with some effort.

  “What are you talking about?” He rumbled, still keeping a keen eye on Maejel who had not moved an inch.

  “I have made her my blood sister in return for the sword she now wields. She gave it to me as a gift. It is the sharpest sword I have ever seen. She came to the hospital to save my life, and has given much of her blood to keep me alive. The doctors said I would have died if not for her blood which is Clan blood anyway.” He said, then dropped his head back down to rest.

  “I have a blood daughter?” He asked. Kiz-bel the Younger merely nodded. As large group of Security officers with stun guns blocked the hall waiting for the next move. Maejel was still standing there motionless.

  “Of course she is my blood daughter, look at her, unafraid, ready to cut me in half.” And he burst out laughing as he put his dagger back in its sheath.

  “Set your weapon down daughter, I yield.” He said. Maejel waited just a bit to see if this was a feint, and then Kiz-bel the Younger said,

  “He has conceded the challenge Maejel, it is the first time I have ever heard of such a thing. You may put the sword back into its scabbard.”

  She relaxed her pose and went to put the sword away. Kiz-Bel the Older (last name capitalized as elder) waited until she had done so and stuck out his hand in greeting. She slapped his palm and smiled. The guards all stood there wondering what was next. Maejel noticed this at last, an
d said to them,

  “You may all leave now, there is no conflict, this was a family matter and it is settled.” She said and they slowly began to disperse.

  The next hour was spent telling Kiz-bel’s father what had happened and the history of this great sword. He examined the sword carefully having seen what it could do, and marveled at its balance and the feeling of power it exuded when held.

  “My son, you have the most amazing sword in all of Zakar. Such a gift could only be repaid by making her one of our Clan, and even then, you have a life debt. You have done well. She is strong and unafraid. She brings honor to our Clan” He said as he slipped the sword back into its scabbard and placed it alongside his son. He reached up and took off the clan pin on his left upper breast and gave it to Maejel,

  “Wear this with pride. It has centuries of honorable history.”

  All this while, Maejel was thinking,

  “I have to pee really bad.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Book Three

  The Discovery fleet dropped into the next system and began scanning immediately for threats and information.

  “Captain, I have another contact that is moving in our direction but its speed is much slower than the torpedoes. It may just be an asteroid.” Allister announced.

  “Thank you, let us know as soon as you are within visual range. Is there any detection of signals or sentient activity?” He asked.

  “Nothing Captain, it is a quiet system like the last one. There are no inhabitable planets that we can see. Actually, my scans now show there are multiple objects of various sizes in that contact cluster. It is more likely to be asteroid particles from collisions. We’ll know more in a few hours.”

  Once again, the crew settled down to wait for more information and have lunch.

  They had all filled a plate from the buffet and had just sat down at the tables in the dining cabin when Mother Primitia came into the room.

  “Captain, something is near. I am seeing bright flashes of light.” She whispered into his head.

  “Is there danger?” he asked silently.

  “No danger, just a feeling of great loss.” She whispered. Sean nodded.

  “Allister, be cautious, Mother Primitia says she has a feeling of great loss.” He warned.

  “Acknowledged, Captain. Raising shields.” He responded.

  Sean asked Mother Primitia to come back when the cluster was getting near. She nodded, and went back to her cabin as the crew returned to eating their lunch. A few hours later Allister announced,

  “Captain, the cluster is now close enough for medium range visuals.” He said, and the monitor in the dining cabin lit up with images of broken ship parts similar to what they had seen at Denknish. Mother Primitia floated into the room to look along with the rest of the crew.

  “Allister, focus on the largest item in the group and let’s see if there are any identifying marks.” He asked.

  The screen zoomed in on the largest piece which looked like the whole front of a small ship. There was a small insignia near the nose. Allister zoomed in again. The insignia became clear. It was a plaque with a shadow profile of a woman with a head veil that did not obscure the face but was draped from the forehead back, to fall in pleats behind her head. Mother Primitia uttered a silent gasp that Sean heard in his head.

  “What is it, Mother?” he asked silently.

  “That is the insignia of the Queen’s ship from the migration. It has been destroyed.” She whispered.

  “Was she killed here?” Sean asked.

  “No, I sense she was already dead, but everyone else on board was killed.” She muttered. “I can see the flash of the explosion in my mind. There was no suffering, and Death was quick.” She whispered. “We should recover the plaque.” She added.

  “Allister, send a drone and see if it can recover that insignia plaque. Instruct it to inspect that ship section for anything else that might be of interest.”

  “Aye Captain, dispatching now.”

  They all watched as the drone removed the plaque and began a scan of the section, passing into it for a quick look. Allister switched the monitor to the drone’s camera feed as its light scanned around the inside. There was an anteroom with chairs bolted to the deck, unoccupied and a bridge door beyond. The door was open and the drone slipped in to look around. There were some remains still strapped in their chairs, desiccated, but still intact. All were in uniform.

  “Allister, there is some kind of a case like a briefcase hooked on the Captain’s chair arm. Can you retrieve it?” Asked Sean.

  “Yes Captain, I believe the drone can do that. Its other arm is free.”

  The drone retrieved the case along with the plaque and returned to the Discovery cargo deck. Sean and Doris went to examine them with Mother Primitia.

  Sean put on some gloves and retrieved the frozen plaque from the drone and placed it on a nearby counter. Then he unhooked the case from the drone’s other claw. It was dark brown, made from some type of skin-like material. It too, was frozen from the cold of space. He decided not to try to open it until it warmed up. He took it to Dr. Jess’m-Tak’s lab where they first x-rayed the case. The images showed several small articles that looked like jewelry and a dark block that may be a book of some type. They were gathered around the x-ray display panel,

  “Looks like a book to me.” The Dr. said.

  “Some of the outlines of the jewelry look familiar.” Mother Primitia said silently to Sean.

  “Let’s give it a day or so to warm up, and we’ll open it up and look.” Sean said. He followed with,

  “We’ll park here for a few days, we may learn something from this case that will be important for us to know before we catch up with the emigrants.”

  “That is very wise Captain. I feel there was great turmoil in this spot.” Mother Primitia said as she floated away.

  After the x-ray, they placed the case in one of the lab’s specimen cases to warm up slowly over the next few days. The case was equipped with an air circulator that was set it for a dry result. It would draw off any frosting moisture that might affect the contents, especially a book that had spent more than one hundred annuals in the vacuum of space.

  Millie Griggs was waiting in the China Room of the White House when a group of ladies on a tour arranged by the British Embassy filed into the room. Millie became mixed in with the group as they all looked at the china collection, some of it from England. One woman spoke to Millie,

  “Not exactly Buckingham is it? She prodded.

  “No, I agree. Buckingham would be far too ostentatious for the Americans. For example, look at that tall painting of Grace Coolidge, elegant but simple, you might suppose she was someone you would meet at Harrod’s shopping.” Millie proposed. The lady frowned, and asked are you from England?”

  “Yes, I am.” She put out her hand,

  “Millie Griggs from Twickenham, Southwest of London. Are you enjoying being here in Washington? So much happens here!”

  “Yes, but they are all so unrefined and lacking in regal leadership, aren’t they?” She posed.

  “Oh, I’m not sure at all about that. I read somewhere, ‘The sword thrust matters not what the arm is wearing.’ That certainly seems true with the Americans doesn’t it?’ She asked, then continued,

  “They must get full marks for being approachable though, and that is such a remarkable demonstration of humility, despite their world power. Not a lot of that in Buckingham, is there?” Right before the lady could answer, there was a flourish of activity at the door as two Secret service men came into the room and stood on either side of the doorway. The President walked in with a big smile, stopped and said hello to all the surprised ladies, welcomed them to the White House, and then walked over to Millie,

  “Ah, there you are Millie, shall we go?” He asked. Millie turned to the lady who had engaged her in conversation and said,

  “Excuse me dear, but the President and I are going out for Dinner. Good luck on doing t
hat at Buckingham.” And with a smile, she went with the President and the Secret Service entourage out the door of the China room to a huge buzz of spirited laughter and jolly remarks from the ladies.

  All, except one.

  The President’s limo left the White House surrounded by black SUV’s filled with Secret Service. Millie and the President were enjoying a chat,

  “Who was that lady you were talking with?” He asked.

  “Actually the whole group was from England. I didn’t find out who she was though. She had a poor opinion of your Office’s regality!” She said with a chuckle. The President laughed.

  “There’s a darn good reason for that. If I start acting like a King, the political storm to remove me would be epic.”

  The limo slid to a stop outside the 1789 Restaurant. The Secret Service secured the sidewalk and the entrance for them to enter. Millie noticed they weren’t coming in with them.

  “Aren’t they going to come in and check the restaurant?” She asked.

  “No need,” he said, “they’re already here having dinner. All the close tables will be occupied by Secret Service couples.”

  “Good Evening Mr. President, and Ms. Griggs. We are so pleased to have you here for dinner, this way please.” The Maître D’ led the way to the back corner in the John Carroll Room.

  A waiter seated them, and placed the napkin on their laps, another waiter came over with their favorite drinks all prepared.

  “My, I am certainly getting spoiled eating dinner out with you.” She said as she lifted her perfectly prepared Gin and tonic to toast the evening’s conviviality.

  “On the contrary, it’s I who are getting spoiled having someone to eat dinner with that isn’t bringing problems on the dessert tray.” He said.

  “The latest one was a doozey. Captain Flynn moved a whole planet into our solar system! A planet that was abandoned by aliens.” He said and continued,

  “The UN and several unfriendly countries went nuts and filed complaints everywhere they could think of except Planned Parenthood. I mean it is the birth of a new world and all, they should have been included, don’t you think?” He said with a smirk.