by Russell Fine
“How many people does your warship hold?” Jeffery asked.
“I think it requires a staff of ten to run the ship, but it can transport another two hundred.”
“Will there be a problem if I bring some of my crew on it?”
“No, I am sure that would be okay,” Brealak said.
“Good. I want to have the Star Rover here too, but that will take ninety days and I don’t want to wait that long to get back.”
The results of Sheila’s exam were the same as Cathy’s. She showed signs of genetic mutation, but appeared to be in overall perfect health. After her exam, Sheila walked into the dining room and sat down across from Jeffery. She said, “I suspect Cathy and I had the exact same conversation with Frank. I know he’s right and we shouldn’t stay. I want to go say goodbye to the squirrels as well. Is that okay, sir?”
“Yes, of course. We’ll be leaving in less than four hours. Cathy is explaining the situation to your furry friends now. I think you should join her.”
“I will. Thank you.”
The next few hours went by quickly. Cathy and Sheila spent the time showing the squirrels the ship and explaining that they had to leave, but would return as quickly as possible. They also informed the squirrels that if they see other people, they should hide in the cave and not to use the light in the cave at all because the bad people may be able to detect the electrical energy.
The ship left Procolt 2 on time. When they were fifty thousand units above the planet, Brealak told the new passengers to lie down and the four original crew members each took a seat in the control room. After everybody was comfortable, Brealak instructed the navigation system to start the return to Coplent.
Six days later, the navigation system turned off the time stasis field. The ship was traveling at half the speed of light and everybody aboard was awake. A short time later, the ship entered the wormhole where it would stay until it was time to begin the deceleration phase of their journey.
It was decided that Brealak and Jeffery, being the senior officers aboard, would have permanent positions in the sleeping quarters and everybody else would rotate in using the remaining four beds.
Jeffery continued his language lessons and Cathy decided she wanted to learn the Coplent language as well. By the time the ship was ready for the deceleration phase, both Cathy and Jeffery were able to have simple conversations in Coplent.
When the deceleration phase was over, they were only thirty thousand units from Coplent. Brealak contacted Garlut immediately.
Garlut responded, “I am glad you are back. How was your trip?”
Brealak told Garlut what happened. When she was done, he said, “This is outrageous! It is an act of war! I must inform the Trade Council immediately.”
“I will be at the station inside the hour. Please have a shuttle waiting for us,” Brealak said.
Garlut, unable to control his anger, commanded loudly, “It will be there. Bring everybody to the Trade Council office.”
“We should be there in three hours. I think we should activate one of our warships and return to the Procolt System as soon as possible,” Brealak suggested.
“I agree. I will contact the Trade Council and let them know what is going on. Then I will contact Commander Streb and inform him of the situation. I am sure he will activate one of our warships immediately. I will see you in a few hours.”
When it was obvious the conversation with Garlut had ended, Jeffery asked, “What happens now?”
“We are going to the Trade Council office and report what happened.”
As Garlut promised, when they arrived at the space station there was a shuttle waiting for them. They boarded immediately. As soon as everybody was aboard, the shuttle left the space station for the two-hour trip to the Trade Council office.
When they arrived at the Trade Council office, Garlut was already there. He and Brealak hugged when they saw each other. Garlut said, “I am glad you are back. I wish the circumstances were better. Commander Streb has ordered our newest warship activated. It has not been used for ninety years, but it can be operational in a day or two. I assumed you would want to go back, so I told Commander Streb that you and I will be on the mission to Procolt.”
“Yes, I do want to be on it,” Brealak replied. “I am sure Jeffery and some of his crew will want to go as well.”
“That will not be a problem. Although I do not see the need for a large contingent of soldiers. We should go to the meeting room. The Trade Council representative is waiting for us.”
They walked into the room and sat down around a large table. One by one, each of the witnesses gave their account of what happened. After everybody spoke, the Trade Council representative asked a few questions. Finally, he said, “This action is a very serious breach of our agreement. It is an act of war and must be dealt with immediately. Is Coplent in a position to send a warship to the Procolt System?”
Garlut replied, “Yes sir. Our ship will be ready in two days.”
“Good. I will send ambassadors to the other trade group planets to inform them of this situation, but we cannot wait for the next meeting. We must take action as soon as possible. Is Drabord aware of these events?”
“No sir, we were going to see him when we leave here,” Garlut responded.
“Please keep me informed and assure Drabord that the council will take whatever action
is required to resolve this situation and bring the perpetrators to justice.”
“Yes sir. I will do that.”
As soon as they left the office, Garlut contacted Drabord. Garlut told him there was an urgent situation he had to discuss with him immediately. Drabord said he would stay in his office and wait for Garlut to arrive.
Garlut and the others boarded Brealak’s shuttle, leaving his there. Garlut told the pilot their destination and the group were met with a time-frame of one-hour.
During the trip Garlut said, “I do have good news for you. Dr. Kavits and his team were able to find a cure for the disease on Earth. The information was put on a ship that left here ten days ago.”
Jeffery’s eyes lit up and a smile showed as he replied, “That’s good news. I’m sure Max will be pleased. Actually, I suspect few million people will be overjoyed.”
Everyone was quiet for a while. Then Jeffery said, “I want to bring the Star Rover back to Procolt 2 so we can continue our research there. However, the ship isn’t equipped to fight a battle with another ship. Will the warship be able to protect the Star Rover as well?”
“The warship we are sending will place monitors throughout the Procolt System. They will know if another vessel enters the system and will take immediate action. Additionally, we can install ground defenses on Procolt 2 that can protect the Star Rover as long as it stays in a low orbit,” Garlut replied.
“That makes me feel better.”
When they arrived, Drabord was waiting for them. He was surprised to see three people from Torblit exit the ship. He recognized Garlut and Jeffery from their previous meeting, but didn’t say anything. When everyone was out of the shuttle, they went inside to a conference room. As soon as everybody was seated Brealak, stood up and said, “Sir, we have just returned from the Procolt System. I am sorry to inform you that both Captain Glencet’s ship and the mining operation on Procolt 4 have been attacked. The entire crew of the ship was killed and all but three of the miners were killed as well.” Pointing at the three survivors she said, “These three men are the only survivors.”
Drabord said nothing for a few seconds. Then, with a scowl in his voice, he asked, “What is being done about this?”
“We are activating one of our warships,” Garlut responded. “It will leave for Procolt in two days. When we get there, we will examine the wreckage and try to determine who is responsible. We will stay in the system until we are relieved by a ship from Torblit. If the perpetrators come back, we will deal with them. If they are a member of the trade group, they will be expelled. If Torblit wishes to take additio
nal actions, they are free to do so. There will be no reprisals from the Trade Council,” Garlut responded.
“I would like my assistant to be on the ship going to Procolt,” Drabord growled.
“I am certain that will not be a problem. I will inform you of the departure time as soon as possible. You should know the Earth research habitat on Procolt 2 was also destroyed. Luckily, nobody was injured as a result of that attack.”
“I am pleased the people from Earth were unharmed. I want to thank you for coming to tell me this personally.”
“You are welcome. Are you going to go back to Torblit?”
“Yes. It will take me a few days to finish up some things, but I will leave as soon as possible.”
Sportec asked, “Sir, can we return to Torblit with you?”
“Of course, and you are welcome to stay here until we are ready to leave.”
“Thank you, sir.” Then turning to Jeffery and Brealak, he said, “I do not know how we could ever thank you enough for thinking about the mining operation. Had you not come to our rescue; I am sure the three of us would have died. If there is ever anything we can do for you, please let us know.”
“Brealak and I are glad we could help. Have a pleasant and safe journey home,” Jeffery said.
After they left Drabord’s office, Jeffery looked at Cathy and said, “I assume you and Sheila want to get back to Procolt 2 as soon as possible. Am I correct?”
Both Cathy and Sheila said in unison, “Yes, sir.”
Then Jeffery asked, “Garlut, can you get us back to the Star Rover?”
“Yes, of course. Pilot, please take us back to the space station.”
The trip back to the space station took two hours. As soon as they arrived at the station, Jeffery contacted Debbie and asked her to pick them up. Debbie said she would be there in ten minutes.
She arrived on time. As soon as the door opened to the shuttle bay, Jeffery ran inside and over to the open shuttle door. He went inside and first hugged and then kissed his wife.
She said, “I missed you a lot. Please don’t leave me again.”
“I missed you too. I’m going back to Procolt 2 in two days, but this time you’re coming with me. We’ll have twenty-six days to get know each other again.”
“Why are you going back so soon?” she said with some concern. “What happened?”
Jeffery told her what happened, adding, “Coplent is sending a warship to the Procolt System and we’ll be on it.”
When they got back to the Star Rover, Jeffery and Debbie went to the bridge.
Mike was there and when he saw Jeffery, he smiled and said, “It’s nice to have you back aboard, Admiral. How was your trip to Procolt 2?”
“The travel was okay, but what we found was not. Please have the entire crew go to the dining room and I’ll brief everybody at the same time.”
Mike made the announcement.
Within ten minutes, the entire crew was assembled in the dining room. Jeffery stood at the front, smiled, and said hello to each of the crew members as they walked in. When everybody was seated, he said, “I’m very happy to be back aboard the Star Rover, but I’ll only be here a short time. We went to Procolt 2 to check on Cathy and Sheila, but the mission parameters changed when we arrived at Procolt 4.”
Then he told the crew what happened and about the Coplent mission to the Procolt System.
“Mike, you will command the Star Rover and I want you to leave as soon as possible for the Procolt system after we leave,” he gestured to Debbie and himself. “When you get there, stop at Procolt 4 first. If we’re there, we’ll board the Star Rover and go to Procolt 2 with you. If we aren’t there, go on to Procolt 2.
“I also want to give you a brief update regarding the squirrels on Procolt 2. They’re extremely intelligent. I believe their ability to learn may exceed any other living being, including humans. They all speak almost perfect English now. Cathy and Sheila have started to teach them about numbers. Now they can read written numbers and do simple math. This is a remarkable achievement considering they learned it all in less than half a year. One of our goals on Procolt 2 is to continue their education.
“The last thing I wanted to tell you is that during the brief time Cathy and Sheila were on Procolt 2, they were exposed to some unknown type of radiation. It has caused changes to their DNA. So far, these changes appear to be beneficial. Both have experienced increased muscle strength and brain activity. It’s still too early to determine if there are any negative effects of the radiation exposure. For this reason, when we get to Procolt 2 no one will be ordered to go down to the surface of the planet. It will be strictly voluntary. Does anyone have any questions?”
Ensign Carol Hobbes, who was in charge of the hydroponic garden on the ship, asked, “Does this mean you’re taking the ship into a potential war zone?”
“I don’t believe the ship will be in any danger. The Coplent warship will be monitoring the entire system and a ground-based defense unit will be installed on Procolt 2 that will protect the Star Rover. But, yes, strictly speaking it will be a war zone.”
Chief Rice asked, “Since we don’t have another habitat aboard, do you want us to fabricate one during the trip to Procolt 2?”
“If you have the raw material you need you should do so. It will certainly be more comfortable than living in a cave.”
Since there were no further questions, Jeffery sat down at the table where Mike and Debbie were. “Mike, are you comfortable with taking the ship to Procolt 4?”
“Yes, and I don’t think there’ll be any problems we can’t handle.”
“Good. The Star Rover will take two months longer to get to the Procolt System than the Coplent warship and I know that Cathy and Sheila want to get back there as soon as possible.”
“Jeffery, it’s not going to be a problem. But I’ll bet you’re going to miss the food.”
“You’re right. We all will. But I think we’ll be able to live through it.”
Then Debbie asked, “Are Garlut and Brealak going too?”
“Yes, I’m sure they’re going too.”
“Good, it’ll be nice to have somebody we know aboard.”
Jeffery took Debbie’s hand and said, “Please excuse us. If you need me, I’ll be in our cabin.”
Jeffery and Debbie spent several hours in their cabin. They were on the bed resting when Jeffery’s com unit beeped. He picked it up and said, “I hope this is important.”
“I guess it is. Garlut called the ship. He wants to talk with you. I’ll transfer the call to your com unit.”
A moment later, Jeffery heard a click and said, “Hello Garlut. How can I help you?”
“I wanted to let you know the warship has been certified and will be leaving tomorrow morning. You should be at the station by 7:00 a.m.”
“That’s not a problem. We’ll be there.”
“Marcet is also going. She wants to study the squirrels and look for the source of the radiation.”
“That’s a good idea; I’m glad there will be people we know on the ship.”
“I’m sure you will find everybody on the ship very friendly. You will also be pleased to know the food generators have been programmed with a variety of Earth foods. While you were gone, William and Koltep worked on at least fifty recipes and they will all be available. I also wanted to let you know you should not bring any personal items with you. Anything you need will be provided.”
“You’re right. I’m pleased. We’ll be at the station by 7:00. So, we shouldn’t pack any clothes. What about things like a razor, toothbrush, or comb?”
“You will not need any of those items. Everything will be provided.”
“Good, thank you for calling,” Jeffery said, and they terminated the call.
The following morning, Mike took Jeffery and the others to the space station. When they stepped inside the station Garlut, Brealak, and Marcet were waiting for them.
Garlut said, “Good morning. Are all of you ready for an
other long space journey?”
“Yes, we are,” Jeffery responded.
“Good, please follow me. Our shuttle is waiting.”
They walked to another shuttle bay. Inside was a large shuttle. There
were already twenty people aboard. As soon as they were seated the door closed. A few moments later they were on their way.
It took little time to reach the ship. It was enormous, much larger than the size of a cruise ship on Earth. There appeared to be at least twelve levels on the ship based on the number of openings on the side. As they got closer, Jeffery noticed what he guessed were weapons mounted all over the outside.
The shuttle landed inside and Garlut stepped off before anyone else in their group. There, a member of the ship’s crew handing out room assignments cards. He spoke to her and after a brief conversation got the room assignment cards for everyone in the group.
As they walked out of the shuttle bay, Garlut said, “I arranged for all of our rooms to be together. Brealak and I will share a room. Jeffery, Debbie. Your room is next to ours. Cathy, Sheila, and Marcet are sharing the room right across the hall. Please follow me.”
Jeffery asked, “Have you been on this ship before? You seem to know your way around.”
“I was not on this ship, but I was on an identical ship when I was Brealak’s age. It was a one-hundred-and-fifty-day training mission. Everybody who wants to be licensed to command a ship must go through the training. The training ships do not have real weapons, but they have simulators for weapons training. That is the only difference.”
The shuttle had landed on level five and their rooms were on level eight. They walked up three flights of stairs to their rooms. When they got there, Garlut said, “Inside your rooms are watches that use our time system.” Remember there are twenty hours in a day and we use hundredths of an hour, not minutes. It is currently 6.20. Please meet me in the hallway at 6.45.”
Jeffery and Debbie walked into their room and were pleasantly surprised. The room was square, and each side was about twenty-five feet long. There were two large beds, two desks, and some very comfortable chairs. There were also two small chests. On each chest was a watch as Garlut promised. The watches had a digital display and the time was displayed using Arabic numbers. There were three buttons on the side of the watch.