Aeolus Investigations Set 2: Too Cool To Lose: The Continuing Evolution of Lexi Stevens

by Robert E Colfax

  Unlike her usual choice of sexy, frequently skin-tight outfits, today she was dressed very professionally in Earth terms. “Just to be upfront about it, I wasn’t born on Earth. I’m from an Accord world named Cardin’s Paradise. My world is an Earth-like planet about one hundred sixty-seven lightyears from here. It’s three to four weeks distant through hyperspace. I’m not going to lecture about the physics of traveling through hyperspace other than to let you know that we use it to get from one place to another without the annoying time-dilation effects of normal space. We will produce a video with more information before too much longer.” She paused. “The starship you are now on is named Glaurang. I’m sure some of you may recognize the name from a Tolkien novel. One of my partners, the leader of our team, actually, was born and raised on Earth. She named the ship after we found it derelict in deep space.”

  She took a sip from her water bottle. Practically everyone in the audience did as well. She smiled at that. “My partner, the woman who named Glaurang, now holds the position Director Stevens mentioned as Marshal of the Accord. Glaurang is not an Accord ship. He was constructed over nine centuries ago by a race known to us as the Wraix. The Wraix are a race we know very little about. What we do know is that they were bent on conquering the galaxy, starting with the Accord. This ship would have given them the power to do that. Fortunately for the rest of us, the Wraix had the misfortune of running into a race called the Kreesh before they could get started, but I’ll get to that in a moment.”

  “I’m a partner in Aeolus Investigations. We started as a team of elite insurance investigators, although I can no longer claim that is what we are today. While on an assignment we came across this warship, which, due to malfunctioning equipment, was locked in hyperspace. The crew was dead. We believe its builders are extinct. This ship is now the property of my partnership. We believe that one fact you should all feel from the tops of your heads down to the pits of your stomachs is that Glaurang possesses sufficient firepower to reduce every planet in the Accord to rubble. Against current Accord technology, he is unstoppable. I do not mention that as a threat. Keep in mind that we’re all on the same side here. What I do want you to get from that statement is that even with all that power at their command the Wraix no longer exist. They met the Kreesh and the Kreesh wiped them out. Think on that a moment. I’m sure you’ll see my point.”

  Chapter 54

  Theatrics

  Geena stopped speaking and walked away from the podium. Theatrics were always fun when you were lecturing a bunch of stuffed-shirts. Odds were that described the majority of the decision-makers in her audience. “I’m now going to display a holographic image of one of the Kreesh, the threat your world, all of our worlds, are facing. Before I do that, let me warn you, our hologram technology is very realistic. What you will see is a large creature. The display is actual size. Trust me on that. We have the carcass of one that was discovered in deep space centuries ago by our Vankovian friends. Keep your eyes on the podium and be prepared to meet a nightmare. Glaurang, run the Kreesh simulation please.” Glaurang was no longer sentient, but his AI was programmed to recognize and respond to his name.

  Before the assembled crowd, a single specimen of the race known as the Kreesh appeared. It was just over thirteen feet tall. Its reddish-brown exoskeleton glistened under the auditorium's lights. As it looked around at the audience, its red eyes glowed. There were many gasps from the audience. Geena expected that. She didn’t gasp when she saw it anymore, but it still gave her the creeps. Knowing there were billions of them headed for Accord space enhanced the effect. In addition to its two legs and two arms, each of which possessed two joints, two prehensile tentacles sprouted from its back, giving it an effective reach of sixteen feet.

  After allowing time for the audience to form their own impressions, Geena said, “The Kreesh are an intelligent hive species. We’re still learning about them. What we do know is that they settle on a world by the billions and eat everything living. When nothing is left they leave to find a new world. We do not know one way or the other about whether they go after sea life, but based on studies of the carcass we believe that getting wet wouldn’t bother them. When they finish with a world, the surface is lifeless, bare of plant and animal life. They were dormant for ages until the race that built Glaurang stumbled across them. Our data indicate the two races fought each other for ten years, leaving the Kreesh in disarray. We’re fairly certain the Wraix didn’t survive at all.”

  She again surveyed the audience. “That war ended nine hundred years ago. The Kreesh have rebuilt, regrouped, and are now headed for Accord space. Earth lies directly in their path. We brought the Accord here to stop them.”

  “Looks like a movie prop out of Terminator or something,” one audience member called out. The computerized audio sensors isolated her voice and projected it over the auditorium’s sound system. For many of them, earbuds provided a translated version.

  Lexi walked up to the hologram from backstage. “To my mind, it looks more like a movie prop out of Alien,” she replied. “Believe me, the Alien wouldn’t stand a chance against one of these. Hello. My name is Lexi Stevens. For the last three years, I have been the leader of Aeolus Investigations, Geena’s trouble-shooting team. Our biographies are all included in your information packets. In the face of the massive threat represented by an incursion of the Kreesh, the Accord worlds are in the process of putting me in total command of the Accord itself. As such, ladies and gentlemen, I am leading the Accord to war against the Kreesh. It is my intention to stop them before they get here.”

  Geena walked over next to her. “We have not yet directly encountered any of the Kreesh. Earlier I referred to them as an intelligent hive species. We’re not sure that individually they are intelligent at all. The Wraix were never able to communicate with them. We will attempt opening negotiations with their leadership, but need to be prepared for the possibility that negotiating may not be possible. Communication may not be possible. They need to be stopped.”

  Lexi again spoke up. “I brought my command here because we need two things. We need your knowledge of warfare because none of us have experience in that area. Nor does anyone else in the Accord. I also need crews for not only this ship but also the others we will be building as rapidly as we can. In return, I will grant Earth member-world status in the Accord. I will give you the stars.”

  Chapter 55

  World Governor

  Charlie took off his headset, putting it down on the conference table. He looked across the table at Lexi. “That was POTUS. He wants to talk to both of us. He’s coming here.”

  “Just the two of us?” Lexi asked.

  “That’s what he said. It’s unusual. Usually, I get called to the White House or we video conference. He’s already in the air on Marine-One. He expects to be here in an hour.”

  She smiled. “I’m not going to dress up for him. I outrank him. Let’s keep working until he gets here.”

  The US President arrived with minimal fanfare. Other than his security detail, he brought only his Secretary of State with him. He shook hands with Lexi, saying, “A pleasure, Marshal Stevens. If you don’t mind, I’d like a few minutes alone with Charlie before we invite you in.”

  ***

  The president looked at Charlie and shook his head. “Within the first few days of my taking office, I was informed about WASP and what you did here. While after a moment’s thought I can’t say I was surprised that such an organization existed, it came at me out of left-field. Frankly, I was more surprised that damn near every nation on the planet that matters works with you than learning you were dealing with alien technology.”

  He paused. “A month ago, Aeolus Investigations showed up in our skies and changed the world. Here’s the thing, Charlie, we can’t tell anybody. We can’t afford the riots that would ensue.” He shook his head. “We just can’t.”

  “I understand, sir,” Charlie said. “You understand we’ll have to before too much longer. Astr
onomers, whether professional or amateur, are already noting the presence of Glaurang.”

  The president nodded his head. “Yes, we will. For now, the only people in the US who know are my senior staff and members of the appropriations committee responsible for your budget.” With a smile, he added, “All things considered, you’re remarkably inexpensive.”

  He shook his head. “How should I put this, Charlie? I’ve spent most of the last four weeks in closed-door discussions with the other governments supporting WASP. We brought most other governments into the discussions after your kick-off meeting a couple of weeks ago. We’ve come to the unanimous decision to remove you as Director of WASP.”

  “Sir?” Charlie said, surprise in his voice. “I think WASP is needed now more than ever.”

  “Do you? Many of us disagree. Including me. Look at it from our perspective and you’ll understand the decision. To my mind, I don’t think we need an organization tasked with protecting the planet from aliens and researching alien technology.” He shook his head. “Not when we have your daughter in orbit giving us technology better than anything we would wind up with even if we could reverse-engineer our captured ships. Besides, she’s taken responsibility for protecting the planet.”

  Charlie smiled, somewhat wryly. “There is that.”

  “Yes, there is that. Anyway, it’ll be your decision whether or not to keep WASP functional. The Marshal insists that we need to have a world government. Looked at objectively, it sounds like a good idea. We all agreed, there were actually no dissenters, if Earth needs a world government, you’re the logical man for the top position.”

  “I’m not exactly following you, sir.”

  “You’re on good terms with every government on the planet, Charlie. You have their respect. You’ve been dealing with aliens for twenty years. You’ve only been tangentially involved in politics; we see that as only a marginal handicap. Who else could we pick for the position of World Governor?”

  “World Governor?”

  “Yes, sir. There was no one else we could pick. Believe me, we debated it over and over again. I look forward to working for you, sir.”

  Charlie frowned. “How much did my relationship to the Marshal come into it?”

  The president shrugged. “It came up, of course. No one is going to deny that. Honestly, Charlie, in my opinion, the decision was based more on you holding the position of Director of WASP than your being the father of Lexi Stevens. Frankly, even if I’m wrong, the bottom line is you’re an able administrator and the only one we could all get behind. If you have no more questions or complaints, I suggest we get your daughter in here and update her. I have to get back to Washington, but the Secretary will be here for a few days.”

  ***

  Charlie’s first official act was to appoint Geena Samue as his vice governor. The fact that they were sleeping together had nothing to do with that either. If he was to integrate Earth into the Accord, he needed someone expert in the workings of the Accord as his second in command. Not only was his daughter Lexi otherwise occupied, she co-opted Andy to liaison with Earth’s diplomats. Besides, if he was the governor of Earth, Lexi was automatically his boss.

  His second official act was to commandeer WASP, an agency that, as the US President correctly observed, otherwise no longer served a purpose as his headquarters. He expected having an organization he knew, with trained people at his back was going to make his job much easier. There was stunned silence in his command center when POTUS made the announcement. Cheering and congratulation's kicked in a moment later.

  Over the next two months, WASP took over the entire skyscraper that housed its Manhattan offices. Several floors were dedicated to living quarters and embassy offices of each of the Accord worlds. The remodels were all being handled by Manhattan contractors, with design decisions being reviewed by Jis and Jadkim. The Grammin had the bottom floors due to the weight of their semi-aquatic environment. Urania-grade sensor arrays and Zappers were mounted on the roof. Rathca shields were installed along the frame of the entire building.

  ***

  Four days after Charlie became the governor of Earth, the team held a small, private party on board Urania. In addition to the five team members, with Urania in avatar form, they invited Charlie and An Dyi Kallan. All seven held flutes of champagne. Geena spoke, looking fondly at Urania-avatar, “We first did this two years ago, in our med-bay, so Urania could join us and hold a flute of champagne with her manipulator arms.”

  She paused. “We’ve come a long way since then. Charlie, due to the timing, you might be thinking of this as a congratulatory celebration of your new position as World Governor. Sorry, darling, it’s not. Three years ago yesterday, Lexi Stevens joined us as a stowaway. Three years ago today, she joined with us as the senior partner in the newly formed Aeolus Investigations. When I look back at what this team has accomplished in those short three years, well, you’re all as aware of it as I am. We haven’t followed the path we expected. We followed the path we needed to take.”

  She paused. “Now, we’ll follow Lexi’s custom of clinking our glassware together before sipping. To the third anniversary of the formation of Aeolus Investigations. Cheers!”

  Chapter 56

  Time Flies When You’re Saving a World

  There were a total of ninety-seven people seated in the conference room, a far cry from the days when it was just Lexi, Ron, and Geena with Urania in attendance via her internal sensors and the ship’s comm. That wasn’t that long ago, Lexi thought. Most of the attendees where Earth humans from multiple countries and races. Every Accord world had a few of their people present. I cured the Accord. It’s no longer a case of “mind your own damn business.” Now it’s “all for one and one for all.” I hope it’s sustainable.

  The Wraix used this room for supplies. However, the room off of the bridge that Lexi co-opted as the captain’s ready room was too small to hold this large a gathering. This room, at least, was relatively close to the command bridge. Carpenters built a three-level arrangement for chairs and tables. People were seated in folding chairs pulled up to folding plastic tables. The meeting would be held in Ritue, the only language all of them spoke. Sensors in the ceiling were set to pick up and amplify the attendee’s voices.

  Thanks to hurriedly designed and fabricated educators, every Earth human on board spoke the language. The simple model wasn’t much larger than the one Lexi originally used but had both the necessary computer circuitry and the miniaturized Klaavaanit tech she developed for the skinsuits. There was no external monitoring equipment, the helmet would shut itself off if it detected any disturbing brain activity. Its built-in rubric gave the wearer Ritue, nothing else. Everyone in the defense effort, be they combat Marines, starship pilots, privates, or generals was required to gain fluency in the alien language.

  In her spare time, not that she really had any, but she made some, Lexi was busy inscribing new rubrics to replace the much older ones Geena and her husband Crane found on Urania months after they purchased the ship at auction. There was a fair amount of incorrect and outdated knowledge in those older ones. She was concentrating on recording knowledge pertaining to how to service and maintain the technology she was turning over to Earth and the Accord. For now, she was leaving out the science behind that technology. She needed technicians and engineers who could diagnose and repair problems. While she would love to have scientific explorers extending the science behind the technology, there just wasn’t time for her to provide more than the basics.

  Lexi’s team finally learned that Earth humans were as limited as Accord humans in terms of tolerating the educator. Presumably, Lexi’s tolerance came from her mother, whom Geena had already speculated might have been an alien from an unknown race. If Lexi’s somewhat bizarre statement concerning Waince was true, Violet couldn’t be anything else. Neither Lexi nor her father found that notion comforting. Realistic perhaps, but decidedly not comforting.

  It was only three months since Aeolus arrived
in Earth orbit. Lexi’s position as Marshal of the Accord was now ratified by the remaining Accord worlds, with Sandlin and Talmon, two non-member worlds, the only holdouts. Even they sent observers to Earth and those observers were in the conference room. Jis gave them five weeks before they would come to their senses and go along with the others. As Seekateeki mentioned when Vankovia first joined the effort, holding out the new technology as bait would entice any world with any sense to sign on.

  Ron, as the legal ruler of Grammin, applied his people for Accord membership. That request was instantly approved by Lexi, making them the thirteenth Accord world despite the fact that none of them knew about it yet. Xeas followed closely on Grammin’s heels, becoming the fifteenth. Prior to Xeas, with the first Earth starship on a shake-down flight to Vankovia, Lexi squeaked Earth in as number fourteen. Of course, Earth didn’t build that ship.

  Earth’s Hornet One was the pirate ship Ron captured when Glaurang first arrived in orbit. Staffed with a small Borgolian crew from Glaurang’s complement, technically commanded by Earth officers who knew better than to interfere and let the Borgolians fly the ship, the Accord’s requirements that a world both have star-threading capability and a planetary government were satisfied. Hornet Two, the Unity Raider still on Glaurang’s flight deck, was to be officially turned over to Earth in the next month or two.