Quarantine

  “How’s that?” Jonathan asked, confused.

  “Like two meteor movies coming out at the same time, or several alien invader movies coming out at the same time, or within weeks of each other. Part of that is marketing, and part of it is what’s on a culture’s collective mind.”

  “Okay, I get you.”

  “There’s no reason to feel bad just because you enjoy something that’s from Earth, or America for that matter. I can watch a good chick flick anytime. And let’s face it, we aren’t making any home-grown movies yet. But that doesn’t mean we won’t be in the future. There’s nothing to say we can’t post our work anonymously online down there when it happens, either. Anyway, the reason I stopped by was to come get you for dinner. Larry cooked up something special to celebrate your sensor upgrade and it’s all ready. Time for a break,” she declared.

  Jonathan cleared his console and on the way to the station’s galley stopped off to get cleaned up. When he arrived, the others were all seated, chatting. The smells were wonderful, and he was surprised to see that it was traditional southern meal of red beans and rice, with greens and cornbread.

  They began passing the dishes around. The conversation became much more animated and lasted long after every morsel had been consumed. Jonathan was congratulated and toasted many times. When they finally cleaned up, everyone was ready for bed. After his long stint performing the upgrade, Jonathan, aided by the grand meal, fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

  * * *

  The colony’s council was discussing the final item on their meeting’s agenda, the proposed mission to Saturn. They sat through presentations from the head of the construction crew, the environmental construction forewoman, a brief presentation from Chuck about the space worthiness of the new habitat, and finally, a presentation from Piper covering her team’s proposed scientific mission to Titan.

  “I’d say we have an embarrassment of riches surrounding the provisioning of the new habitat,” Margaret observed. “Unless anyone has any objections, and if there are of course we want to hear about them, I’m inclined to sign off on all the proposals. What say all of you?” she said to the rest of the council.

  “I saw the entire environmental presentation day before yesterday and gave my approval then,” said June. “As for the rest, I was impressed by the amount of work Piper’s crew put in on their mission plan.”

  “Me, too,” Phillip added. “We’ve watched Ben and the rest grow up, now they want to contribute to our scientific knowledge. I’m all for it. To be honest, I have always thought that we were a little light on exploration. We’ve only been to Jupiter what, three times so far?”

  “And, only now are we seriously planning to send a mission to check out Jupiter’s moons. Our very existence should be heavy on exploration,” Margaret said.

  “True, but securing our home had to come first,” William reminded them. “But let’s not discount our scientific achievements either. The decades we’ve spent here have seen unparalleled progress, the likes of never seen in the history of our species. So it’s only natural that our attention turns outward. If we’re going to vote, I say let all the missions proceed.”

  Margaret looked around the table, seeing nods from everyone. “I did speak with Christopher about their mission and the fact that Ben was going along. He has given his blessings for every facet of the mission plan. So, Genesis?”

  “Yes, Margaret. How may I be of assistance?”

  “Would you notify all departments that submitted mission proposals for the hab’s trip out to Saturn that all mission components have been approved.”

  “It is done. Is there anything else I may assist you with, Margaret?”

  “No, thank you, Genesis,” she replied, looking at her datapad, “I don’t know about you all, but I’m starving. Shall we adjourn?”

  * * *

  “Piper?” Genesis announced.

  “Yes?” she replied.

  “The council has approved your mission to explore Titan.”

  “Thank you, Genesis. Would you please see if the team can meet me here in the next ten minutes?”

  “Of course. Would you like me to withhold the mission decision for you to inform them yourself?”

  “That would be perfect, thank you.”

  “Is there anything else I may assist you with, Piper?”

  “No, that will be all.”

  Once everyone arrived, all smiles and bubbly excitement, Piper realized the news about the collection mission to Saturn’s ring’s approval was already making its way around the colony.

  “Okay, I see the cat’s out of the bag. And to confirm what you may have already heard, our mission to Titan has been approved along with the collection mission. The first thing we all have to do is clear our schedules for the duration of the mission and for the month before departure to make sure all our departments have coverage during our absence and to help out the main mission crew if they need extra hands. Ben and I would like for us to be ready to go before we start helping everyone else out. Right now we’re waiting for Ops to release the date of departure, but that shouldn’t keep us from kicking into high gear. So, let’s get to it!”

  Everyone started talking at once. Benjamin winked at Piper when she looked his way. The excitement of planning and executing their own mission was almost overwhelming. They all pulled out their datapads and began making lists of equipment, consumables and spares, also sending out inquiries to all the science departments, asking if they wanted to add experiments to their mission. Benjamin sent an inquiry to Ops about the auxiliary spacecraft going to be assigned to the collection mission and requisitioning an additional pair of jumpers for the Titan excursion, hopefully Chuck’s Jupiter-modified jumpers. By the time they decided to adjourn, it was just after 4 A.M. Once they made their way to their quarters, most were still so worked up they continued to work on notes and to-do lists for the coming days. The approval of their mission was just the beginning of the vast amount of work the team had before them.

  “Captain on the bridge,” was announced as Captain Parker arrived with several guests in tow.

  “As you were. XO, this is Senator Murphy, her aide Mr. Javitz, and Mr. Thomas from the New York Times. They’re here to observe the exercise to get a crew’s eye view of how the Ardmore will operate during times of war. Would you detail guides for our guests, and see that they get assigned quarters for the duration of the exercise?”

  “Aye, understood, Captain. Ma’am, gentlemen, would you follow me, please?”

  The Executive Officer led them down into the interior of the destroyer into officers’ country.

  “Ma’am, this is your bunk,” he said, opening the door to reveal her travel bag already sitting on the compartment’s bunk. He stepped aside to allow her to enter and inspect the compartment, “Captain has scheduled a briefing for the three of you for 14:00 hours. Gentlemen, you will be sharing the compartment right next door. Men’s head is down the passage, the women’s is on the starboard side in the same location. Captain has invited you all to the officer’s mess in thirty minutes, at Noon. I’ll send someone to escort you. Ma’am, does everything look satisfactory to you?”

  “It does. Thank you. I’m going to get into something more suitable for touring the ship. Thank you XO, I’m looking forward to observing the crew in action.”

  “Yes, ma’am. Gentlemen, let’s get you squared away in here,” the XO said, opening the next compartment door. Their bags were sitting on the floor next to the bunks.

  When the guests arrived in the Officer’s Mess, they were surprised that the only occupant was the Captain. He rose to his feet as they entered, gesturing to the seats around the table.

  “Have a seat. Coffee?” he offered, as a steward hovered.

  When everyone was settled, he began. “The Rim of the Pacific Exercise began in 1971 and over time has involved scores of countries’ Navies whose goal is to foster the cooperation necessary to ensure the sec
urity and safety of the world’s oceans. This year’s exercise will involve ships and support craft, including aircraft, from fourteen countries. As observers you will have almost completely free rein on the Ardmore, with the exception of CIC, our combat information center. If you desire to observe operations in CIC, you will be restricted to standing in a single observation space to prevent you from getting in the way. The Ardmore is fully equipped with the latest in electronic intelligence gathering and combat control systems, it is hardened against the electromagnetic pulse of close proximity nuclear detonation. Most of what I’m covering is included in the electronic briefing documentation sent to you last week. I’d rather skip the obvious and ask if you have any questions for me at this time?”

  “I have one, actually two if I may, Captain,” said Thomas.

  “Go ahead, I hope I have satisfactory answers for you, Mr. Thomas.”

  “The first is kind of procedural, how is a winner determined in the exercise? And, two, will I be able to take pictures while I’m aboard? The Times wasn’t going to spend the money to send along a photographer with me in case photos were forbidden.”

  “You may take as many pictures as you want, Mr. Thomas. However, we reserve the right to delete any images that compromise the security of this vessel or its crew. Is that satisfactory, sir?”

  “Of course. I will submit my memory chip for review prior to disembarking,” said Thomas.

  “Now as for determining a winner, as you put it, it’s not that straight forward. Most of the exercise is designed to maximize interoperability between Navies of different countries. This includes reducing language barriers and establishing standard operating procedures in rescue operations, for example. Or in interdicting criminal behavior on the high seas in the case of drug-related or piracy pursuit or capture.

  “But we also have exercises in submarine detection, competitions in live fire exercises, too. Those are easy to score, find the sub before it can come into range to attack a ship or aircraft carrier, then we have a clear winner. If a sub slips through the defensive perimeter protecting a carrier for instance, then the sub wins. We have two subs on underwater exercises scheduled where they hunt each other, the same rules apply.

  “In earlier times, crews from other countries used to serve aboard ships from countries other than their own. Several of the ships in this exercise have foreign observers aboard. The only ship in the entire multinational fleet with crew men and women from countries other than the U.S. are aboard the carrier Omaha. Ma’am, do you have any questions about the coming exercise?”

  “Yes, I do. I understand that the Ardmore is going to be firing its railgun during the exercise. As this is the pre-emanate shipboard weapon in the United States arsenal, you won’t be shooting at another ship, will you?” she asked.

  Captain Parker paused, surprised that the Senator was privy to classified information about the live fire exercise.

  “You’re particularly well informed, ma’am. May I ask how you acquired that bit of classified information?” he asked.

  “Captain Parker, nothing stays secret forever. After all, you weren’t intending to lock us away in our cabins when you fired the weapon, were you?” she said, smiling.

  “I hadn’t actually decided yet. But since the cat’s out of the bag, I can state that we will be firing the DS500, but the target is classified, unless you know that as well Senator?”

  “No, I do not. However, given the destructive power of the DS500 weapon system, I couldn’t imagine it would be fired at any target containing live crew,” she replied.

  “That’s the big-ass railgun, right Captain?” Thomas asked

  Parker chuckled, “Correct, Mr. Thomas. The Ardmore has classified orders to conduct a live fire exercise with the most powerful, portable, non-nuclear weapon in the world.”

  “Captain, given that this exercise is scheduled to last for several weeks, I would like to know when the weapons test is supposed to take place. I want to make sure we don’t depart before you conduct the live fire exercise of the railgun. Are you willing to inform me of the scheduled date of the test?” asked the Senator.

  “Ma’am, my orders come from the top, I will check with SECNAV and inform you of his decision.”

  “Thank you, Captain.”

  “If there’s nothing else pressing, I will have the XO assign escorts for you all, not to herd you anywhere specific, but to take you where you want to go and answer your questions. Return here at 18:00 for dinner and you’ll have access to the ship’s officers. Will there be anything else?”

  “No thank you, Captain. I’m just going to wander around and grab some establishing pictures of the ship and generic shots of the crew, with your permission, sir,” Thomas replied.

  “Be my guest. And as soon as I get word from the Secretary of the Navy, I’ll let you know what his decision is on your observing the weapons test, Senator.”

  Over the next several days, Senator Murphy and her aide toured the Ardmore just like any other congressional tourists, asking all the appropriate questions. Once a day, Captain Parker informed Murphy that no decision had been made concerning her observing the test of the DS500, leading Murphy to conclude she was being stonewalled.

  “Alex, are you still in touch with the office?” she asked her aide.

  “Yes, ma’am. Ardmore CIC is handling the comms, but my wireless access appears to be just fine,” he replied.

  “No doubt everything is being monitored,” she said sourly.

  “Yes ma’am.”

  “You served in the Navy, you seeing anything worth noting?” she inquired.

  “Not so far, ma’am. I even got an overview of the railgun system, the hardware, and the control console in CIC. It’s true that they are capable of knocking satellites out of orbit and the scuttlebutt is that the target for the exercise is in orbit, not on the ocean,” Javitz said.

  “That was our suspicion, too.”

  “Our?”

  “Forget you heard that, Alex.”

  “Uh, okay. But I think I’d be more help to you if I knew exactly what you want to find out. As you know, I can play stupid with the best of them!” he said, chuckling.

  Murphy laughed, “That’s one of the reasons that makes you so valuable. Here’s what I know, any weapons test authorized by SECNAV, or even by the fleet admiral is Kosher. But what is not authorized is firing on the colonists’ space station or their spacecraft.”

  The shock on Javitz’s face was priceless, causing the senator to laugh.

  “You mean these idiots are planning to attack the colonists?” he loudly whispered.

  “That’s what it looks like.”

  “Why not just kick a rattler around?” said Javitz, shaking his head. “What if they fire on the space station while we’re still aboard and the colonists decide to retaliate? We’re going to be right in the line of fire. This is nothing short of madness. How do you know all this?”

  “File this under, if I told you, I’d have to kill you.”

  Javitz was silent, thinking through the implications of an attack on the colonists. He was no stranger to the videos of the colonist’s ships destroying the Russian space operations headquarters, the space ship that hovered over the White House invulnerable to everything the military threw at it, and the numerous instances of space launches the various countries attempted in trying to break the embargo. Every analysis suggested that the colonists’ technological superiority was largely untapped, that any direct confrontation would leave anyone on Earth essentially bringing a knife to a gunfight.

  As galling as it was to have the entire planet forbidden to leave the planet, there was no getting around the fact that those space colonists held the ultimate high ground. The colonists had removed everyone from space and the SEAL’s deployed to the moon against orders. But just before they left, they moved those two manned space stations into orbit at one of the Earth/moon LaGrange points after dropping off both crews at the Hous
ton space center. There was no one who wasn’t black in the entire solar system off Earth, the colony’s dominion was complete.

  All this shot through Javitz’s mind, as well as all the imagined horrific consequences of attacking them.

  “Ma’am, I’m not feeling too good about staying aboard if they’re going to shoot at the colonists.”

  “Really? I could have you airlifted back to Pearl Harbor if you prefer. Believe me, I understand and I’m not going to insist you stay. Should I make the arrangements?” Murphy asked. “This isn’t something I would ever hold against you. You have a family and if some fleet admiral or secretary of the Navy wants to put this ship in harm’s way, you don’t need to be here.”

  Javitz thought it over for a few moments, “I don’t want to die. I don’t want to never see my family again. And if the captain decides to attack the colony’s space station or one of their ships, my hope is that you will be able to do something to stop him. And I will do everything in my power to help you, for my family and for the crew of the Ardmore.”

  Senator Murphy got to her feet, came around the table to Javitz and placed her hand on his shoulder. “Thank you, Alex. That’s more than I could have expected,” she said, quietly leaving the room.

  * * *

  The monthly meeting of the United Nation’s Nuclear Disarmament Select Committee began without formality since the members were well acquainted with each other. The consensus of the committee was that in order to get Israel to relinquish their nuclear weapons, there had to be iron clad guarantees that Israel’s security would not be compromised.

  Cheng, aware of the conventional wisdom of starting public speaking in front of most any group with a joke, said, “I have come to the conclusion that what we’re trying to do is impossible. How about lunch?”