by Ricky Sides
“I’m glad to hear that the report I heard on the radio was wrong,” Jim said and then he explained that he’d heard a report that San Francisco was completely destroyed on the night of the quakes.
“Yeah, rumors were bad that night and for weeks after. Much of the city was destroyed, but there are several sections that received considerably less damage. If you have an address for the facility, I should be able to shed some light on the possibilities. My unit was sent there after the quakes,” Cliff explained.
“You know I think that Pol listed that in one of these documents. Just a moment and let me check,” Jim said as he picked up one of the information packets from the stack of sheets. Thumbing through the sheets, he located the information he was seeking and he said, “On the corner of Broadway and Center street, and the address doesn’t actually say San Francisco. It says Millbrae,” Jim explained.
“Millbrae is a small city west of the San Francisco bay, about fifteen miles from San Francisco and it is more or less intact. The city even has some power restored, or did when I was there last, but that before the collapse of California. We almost had the state back to normal in many regards too. But the state couldn’t handle the influx of people,” Cliff stated.
“We should go to the city. If there’s even a remote chance that the factory survived the disasters it may be that they had components there to make additional scale models, or even have pieces of the alloy left from the creation of the ship,” Tim observed.
“Gentlemen, I think this concludes our meeting,” Pete said rising.
“You guys going to Millbrae?” Cliff asked.
“Once Pol finds out that there is even a possibility that he could obtain more of the alloy and possibly even the materials for batteries, he’d walk to Millbrae if that’s what it took to go and check it out. Fortunately we have the Peacekeeper, so that won’t be necessary,” Jim said smiling.
“Mind if I go with you? I could be your guide,” Cliff said.
“I planned on taking you with us, since you know the area,” Jim said. “Explain to your men that we are going on a mission and that you’re going with us and then get a travel bag together. We’ll be gone a couple of days. Be sure to bring your rifle and sidearm and a sleeping bag. You’ll have to rough it on the floor of the cargo bay. Sorry but there simply aren’t enough beds aboard for everyone.”
“That’s not an issue. Do I need to requisition rations?” asked Cliff.
“No, the ship is stocked with food enough for several days. Just make sure you bring your battle armor and I mean all of it. We never know what to expect on these missions,” Jim explained.
“You are so lucky,” said Todd Baxter, the man selected to lead the Oklahoma peacekeepers. “I’d love to go on a mission in that ship.”
“It has its moments,” Jim admitted with a smile. Then he said, “If this mission goes well perhaps we’ll manage to have a fleet of ships one day and then who knows, Todd, you might end up being on the crew or more likely the captain, from what I’ve seen and heard about you.”
“Now that is a dream assignment!” Todd said smiling and one by one, the other new leaders confessed they would love assignment to a ship.
Chapter 21
The Peacekeeper departed Base 1 just before noon that day. Tim had run the course through the computer and found the route that they’d be taking. After a consultation, Jim had decided that they would leave that day despite the fact that they would need to stop for the night. In theory, the ship had the capability to make the twenty-three hundred mile flight in just less than eight hours. If the ship could travel at an altitude of even one thousand feet, then that would be true. However, with the altitude capped at two hundred feet, it was simply too dangerous to travel in the dark through unknown areas at great speed.
As the ship lifted off and began its journey Cliff Barnes stood near the windshield staring out at the landscape below. When the ship approached the city of Athens, he began to see people on the ground staring up at them as they approached. Most of those people would smile and wave before going about their business. Soon the ship passed near a city school where small children were playing in the playground. Cliff stared out the windshield at the children who had stopped what they were doing when one of the children had spotted the approaching ship. The children stood transfixed for a moment, and then many began to wave excitedly. The teacher standing near the children smiled pleasantly and waved at the ship hovering near the children. Cliff was taking all of this in when Jim’s voice spoke saying, “This is the reason we became peacekeepers Cliff. This is why we fight to preserve the peace.”
The external speakers were activated and Cliff heard Patricia speak to the teacher as she said, “Miss Norman, we have a few things for the children this trip. Would you please assemble them near the slide so that we can safely land?”
Cliff saw the teacher wave an acknowledgment of the request and the children began to jump up and down in anticipation. The teacher gathered all of the children near the slide and Patricia asked, “Are they all safely accounted for Miss Norman?” When the teacher nodded an affirmative, the ship lowered and landed with a feather soft touchdown.
“Permission to exit with the goodies, sir?” Patricia asked smiling in anticipation.
“By all means, Lieutenant, and take Cliff with you,” Jim responded.
“Thank you, sir,” Patricia said and motioned for Cliff to join her.
“Cargo bay door open,” Tim reported as the two disappeared down the hall leading to the cargo bay.
They found Lacey, Maggie, Lisa, and Evan waiting in the cargo bay. On the floor of the cargo bay were gift baskets filled with things young children might enjoy. There were crayons, coloring books, cookies baked by the peacekeepers, apples and numerous other little treats. Several of Lieutenant Wilcox’s strike force members stood ready to assist in the delivery and soon they were outside among the children distributing the packages. The children were delighted with the gifts and many hugged the peacekeepers as they distributed them. Patricia gave Miss Norman a basket she had prepared especially for her. That basket contained teacher oriented items such as pens, notebooks, folders, and pencils. “Is your computer still working properly?” Patricia inquired solicitously.
“Oh yes, and the database you supplied is such a delight to the children. I’m currently working through the different nations of the world with them. They adore the pictures of people from around the world. I can’t thank you enough for setting up that system for us,” Miss Norman responded.
“It was a pleasure to do something for the children,” Patricia explained and then she asked, “Has little Rachel improved?”
“Yes a little. She still doesn’t speak often, but she now plays with the other children,” the teacher responded and turned her attention to a young girl who Cliff estimated was about ten. Maggie’s daughter Lisa was speaking to the girl in low soft tones and the girl seemed to be listening attentively.
Realizing that Cliff had no idea what they were referring to Patricia whispered an explanation, “Rachel was kidnapped by a Marauder passing through the city last year. The man entered her home and killed her parents. She saw the whole thing. He took the girl and tried to use her as a hostage to get out of the city. We stopped him a few miles outside of town and rescued Rachel.”
Cliff nodded his understanding and said, “It’s nice of you folks to help the children in this way. I think I’ll do something like this in California when I get back home.”
“Speaking of California, we’d best be leaving,” Patricia said and then she said her goodbyes to the children and the teacher.
As the ship lifted back into the sky, Cliff stood once more in the control room near the windshield staring out at the scene below. The children and the teacher all waved as the ship spun on its axis while climbing to two hundred feet. This was the only stop they had planned until nightfall when they would stop for the day.
The trip that day was uneventful. Cliff spent a
great deal of time learning the intricate details of the ship and her capabilities. He also learned rather quickly, what Jim had meant when he’d suggested demanding Pol use non-technical language. His fascination with the drones led him to ask Pol if such a concept couldn’t be utilized in a different manner to actually create a one man fighter of sorts, and that led to an explanation from Pol that was quickly far above Cliff’s ability to comprehend. Finally Cliff had laughed after a lengthy dissertation from Pol and said, “I have no idea what that meant. You lost me early on in that explanation.”
Smiling Pol said, “I’m sorry my friend. I do tend to ramble on at times on topics of interest. I was explaining that such a thing could be done, but the drones would be able to handle G-forces that no man could match, and the additional weight of the man would require more energy to maintain flight. Then there is the simple fact that a human operator inside the ship would negate the advantage a drone has in that it does not expose a human to the threat of death while it is conducting a mission. It would also require more of the alloy and a larger battery system.”
“So you are opposed to the fighter concept?” asked Cliff.
“Under the circumstances I believe that it would be a mistake to pursue that sort of development. Now if we had a working facility producing the materials needed then that would be different. But if all that we can hope for are the scraps left over from the development of this ship, then I must say that I feel a few additional drones will be about the best that we can do,” Pol explained.
“Then you do not believe that we could develop other ships such as this prototype?” Cliff asked and he noted that most of the control room staff was now giving the conversation their undivided attention.
“I cannot say with any degree of certainty what is possible until I know what we have to work with from the list of components we would need. However, when I reflect on the systems of this ship I do feel compelled to point out many of its unique features. The appliances in the galley for example are all state of the art prototypes in their own right, as is the waste disposal system in the latrine, and the water generating dehumidification system. The communications array is similarly unique and has been modified hundreds if not thousands of times since the ship flew its first mission. As you can see, it isn’t just the alloy and battery system that would be needed to duplicate this ship. Even if we found the hulls fully assembled with the batteries in place we would have to hard wire everything and then install computers for communication and navigation and of course for weapons control.”
Frowning, Jim said, “I think I never stopped to consider all of that, but Pol is right. It is all of these state of the art components merged that make the Peacekeeper the ship that she is today.”
“And the weapons,” Pete reminded.
Pol nodded and replied, “As Pete pointed out the weapons would be similarly hard to reproduce though I can reproduce the forward laser if the components can be located. Other weapons, such as the belly gun, are beyond my capability.”
“All right, I see what you’re saying. So unless we found a fleet of assembled ships fully loaded with all of the accessories then a fleet of these ships would be impossible for us to manage,” Cliff stated.
“It would take several years to even reproduce one,” Pol pointed out.
“Then isn’t that all the more reason to try to develop something along the lines of one or two man fighters? And, not to be argumentative, but if we did find those theoretical hulls and batteries couldn’t we utilize them as transports with a minimum of comforts?” Cliff asked.
“There is some merit in what you say concerning the fighters, though you’d still be risking the life of a pilot needlessly in my view. However, the transport idea is most intriguing. The hull would require navigation and communications, power flow monitoring equipment, some form of weaponry with which to defend itself, and wiring sufficient for lighting. You’d also want environmental control units for heating and cooling. But yes. Theoretically, stripped down versions would be possible though the process would still be slow. Very slow,” Pol explained.
“By contrast what would be needed for us to create more drones?” Jim asked.
“Battery components and pieces of the alloy. I can utilize pieces of almost any configuration, though the configuration would have an impact on the performance of the drones. Then of course we would need components to create the miniaturized lasers, not to mention the electromagnetic drive systems,” Pol explained.
“Well I don’t suppose there is much point in further speculation until we determine exactly what we will have to work with after we arrive. It may be that there is nothing at all present at the facility,” Jim pointed out. Then, because he was now quite curious, he asked Pol, “Just out of curiosity, Pol, how many men could a stripped down transport version carry?”
“Approximately two hundred but that number depends entirely upon the weight of the gear the men would carry. The estimate of two hundred is based on fifty pounds of gear,” Pol answered. “But it would be a most uncomfortable journey.”
“You already know the answer?” Jim asked incredulously.
“Remember the admiral who was interested in a new design for landing craft?” asked Pol.
“Ah yes, and he would have needed to know the answer to that question wouldn’t he?” asked Jim.
“He seemed to be fixated on that detail,” Pol stated smiling.
“I’m surprised he didn’t want the numbers for men equipped with up to seventy pounds of gear,” Pete said.
“I sent him a scale from zero to one hundred pounds of gear,” Pol said.
“Two hundred seems an awfully lot. We can’t haul half that many people,” Tim stated.
“Yes this is true, but we also transport a tremendous amount of weight in the form of water, appliances, furnishings and additional equipment not to mention food,” Pol pointed out. “The landing craft version would have carried none of those things. Just the bare necessities were to be included in that version,” he explained.
***
The ship set down in an isolated spot in New Mexico as the sunlight was fading. Cliff learned first hand how the security arrangements for the ship were conducted when they were out in the field on a mission. He was familiarized with the proximity alarm system and was warned never to leave the ship for any reason without first informing other crewmembers. He was reminded that they were all supposed to request permission from the captain before exiting. Cliff enjoyed the fine meal that one of the men had worked throughout the afternoon to prepare and then he’d enjoyed the conversation among the crew afterward. Guards were assigned as usual and as usual, no exterior guards were posted. When most of the crew began to retire for the night, Cliff picked out a spot on the floor and rolled out his sleeping bag. The floor was hard, but then he was accustomed to sleeping on various surfaces so he made the best of the situation. At least it was smooth and he’d not have a rock burrowing into his back all night.
He’d been asleep only a few hours when Lieutenant Wilcox shook him awake and told him to get up and get his weapons. The proximity alarm had warned the guards that numerous moving targets were approaching the ship.
Outside the ship, a shot fired. Cliff thought he felt the vibration of the impact transferred through the hull plating beneath his fingers when he pressed his hand against the deck as he was getting up. The ship lifted into the air at that moment as Lieutenant Wilcox harried the rest of the sleeping men to their feet. Cliff grabbed his weapons and joined the lieutenant in the process of waking the men.
By the time all of the men were on their feet, he heard Pete’s voice on the external speaker saying, “You men are attempting to attack peacekeepers. We are not a threat to you. We fight to preserve the peace. Cease firing at once or face retaliation.” By way of answer, Cliff heard several bullets ricocheting off the hull.
Making his way to the control room, Cliff saw Pete staring out the windshield with a disgusted expression on his face. Jim w
as standing beside him staring out at the scene as well, but Jim was laughing. Tim was also laughing as he sat in the pilot’s seat and held the ship to a hover. Walking up to join the men, Cliff stared out the windshield at the men and women on the ground below. He could not believe what he saw as he stared at the motley assortment of men and women. Several of the people were arguing with the three men who held rifles. Apparently, their debate was quite heated. One woman was holding up a sign that read, “Take me to your planet.” Several were holding up some sort of electronic equipment. They appeared to be UFO buffs, some of whom had panicked at the sight of the ship and fired on the vessel.
“Well, we are fairly close to Roswell,” Tim said laughing.
“What the hell do those idiots think they are doing, firing at a ship they know nothing about?” Pete asked, not even remotely amused.
“Oh come on, Pete. You know this is funny as hell!” Tim exclaimed and Pete responded with the beginnings of a smile.
“I’ll give them something to remember,” Pete said grinning broadly and he walked over to access the external speakers again. “People of earth, you have angered the Praetorians. We will leave you now, but so that you do not believe you have caused us to fear you, behold our power!” Pete shouted and then rushed to the weapons station. “Put me over that dead tree to the left, Tim,” Pete requested.
Tim was laughing so hard that he could barely manage the maneuver but soon he had the ship directly above the tree and Pete toggled the belly gun.
On the ground below several of the people screamed in fear and shouted warnings as the tree smoldered for a moment and then burst into flame.
“Nudge toward them just a bit, Tim, don’t worry, I won’t fry the idiots,” Pete explained. “Let’s just make them a bit more cautious about attacking strange ships.”
On the ground, the people saw the ship nudge gently in their direction and they turned to run away. But they were so curious about the encounter with what they perceived to be some sort of UFO that they stopped about fifty yards away and stood staring in fascination. By now, Patricia had entered the room and Tim asked her, “Patricia, do we have any of the waste in the system that we can dump?” He was referring to the treated waste from the latrine, that when treated was harmless though it did still stink.