by Russell Fine
Garlut thought for a few moments and said, “It is okay with me, but you will miss the next trip to Earth. I spoke to Marcet about going back to Procolt 2 yesterday, but I did not think she was going to ask you to go with her.”
“She told me you spoke to her, but Marcet and I are both anxious to get back there again. She wants to study the radiation there in greater detail and she never had much opportunity to interact with the squirrels. She has no way to get there so I told her I would ask if it was okay to use the small ship again.”
“Yes, it is okay. When do you want to leave?”
“The day after tomorrow. I will probably be gone for eighty or ninety days. I think Marcet is planning on staying for at least a year, so I will be returning by myself.”
“You are going to be lonely, but I am sure you can handle it.”
Two days before they were scheduled to leave for Torblit, Garlut contacted Jeffery to tell him Nandor had completed some preliminary plans for the resort. They had a meeting scheduled with him the following afternoon.
Jeffery and Debbie met Garlut at the space station late in the morning and went to Nandor’s office where they spent nearly two hours going over the plans, which Jeffery and Debbie found very impressive. At the end of the meeting, Nandor said he would have the final plans ready in ten days and would send them to Garlut. Garlut explained there was no hurry because he was leaving for Earth in a few days and would be away for at least seventy-five days so he asked Nandor to submit the plans directly to the bank when they were completed.
Nandor agreed and said since Garlut would not be on Coplent when the plans were ready, he would submit the plans to the bank and send them to Garlut as well. He also added there was an excellent chance the plans would be approved by the time Garlut returned to Coplent.
Garlut returned Jeffery and Debbie to the space station after the meeting. As soon as Jeffery and Debbie left the shuttle bay, Jeffery called Mike and told him to send the shuttle to pick them up. When the shuttle from the Star Rover arrived, they were surprised to see Ensign Daryl Cohen, the ship’s geologist, piloting. Chief of Security, Sean Richards was in the co-pilot’s position.
Jeffery said, “Hi, I was expecting Mike. Daryl, is this your first solo flight?”
“Yes, Admiral. But the shuttle handles exactly like the simulator. It’s actually easy to fly. Besides, I’m not alone. If I get in trouble,” he pointed over to his co-pilot, “Sean is here to help.”
“Does he have any more experience than you do?”
Sean responded, “Yes, sir. I flew it around for two hours yesterday. As Daryl said, it’s very easy to fly.”
“Good. Take Debbie and me back to the ship.”
The landing on the ship was a little bumpy, but otherwise the flight was okay. Jeffery and Debbie walked to Frank’s office to tell him about the meeting with Nandor. By then it was dinner time, so they went to the dining room and spent the next hour eating and discussing plans for the resort.
Torblit
January 2123
The following morning, the Star Rover left for Torblit. The trip took sixty-five days so, Jeffery ordered the cross-training to continue. Diane Thomas, the new communications officer, came to see him shortly after the announcement.
“Sir, if it’s okay with you I’d like to forgo the training so I can spend my time learning to speak the Torblitian language. I picked up some Torblitian language tools during our stay on Coplent.”
“I think that’s an excellent idea. When we get to Torblit, you can attend my meetings. I’ll wear a translator, but it only translates the words, not how the words are spoken. If you learn their language, you’ll probably be able to give me some useful information regarding the conversations the translator misses.”
“Thank you, sir. I really appreciate this opportunity.”
“Diane, we’re very informal on the ship. It’s not necessary to call me ‘sir,’ or ‘admiral’ all the time. Only when on the bridge, or in front of other dignitaries, and of course, NASA officials. Please feel free to call me Jeffery.”
“Okay . . . Jeffery, I’ll try to remember that.”
Three days before the Star Rover was scheduled to arrive at Torblit, Jeffery and Debbie decided they should let Mike know about their plans.
Jeffery called Mike and asked him to come to his cabin. When Mike walked in, he had a worried look on his face.
“Is something wrong?” Mike asked as he entered.
Jeffery said, “No, there’s nothing wrong. But as third in command on the Star Rover I felt there was a situation you need to be aware of.”
Mike’s expression did not change when he asked, “What situation?”
“When we get back to Earth, Debbie and I are resigning from NASA. I’m going to recommend they promote you to captain. I don’t know if they’ll accept my recommendation, but I wanted you to know about it.”
“I knew something was going on, but I didn’t know what it was. What are you going to do after you guys retire?”
“We’re moving to Procolt 2. We plan to build a resort there.”
“I thought you might be planning something like that, but I didn’t think it would happen so soon. Is Dr. Weber going with you?”
“Yes, but I’m not sure when he’ll be joining us. Debbie and I want to be there during the construction, but there’s no reason for him to be there then.”
“How are you going to get to Procolt 2? I don’t think NASA will let you use the Star Rover.”
“Garlut is lending us a small starship. He promised it would be waiting for us when we get back to Earth. Please don’t tell anyone else about this. I’ll make an announcement shortly before our arrival at Earth.”
“My lips are sealed. You know though, Jeffrey . . . I’m going to miss you both. A lot.”
“We’ll miss you too Mike, but we’ll be together for another one hundred and twenty days or so.”
Three days later, the Star Rover exited the wormhole seventy thousand units from Torblit.
Jeffery said, “Anne, please contact the space station and ask for Commander Grisom Blort. He should be expecting us.”
“Yes, sir.”
Three minutes later, Anne said, “Admiral, Commander Blort is waiting for you.”
“Thank you, Ensign.” Jeffery put on his headset and said, “Commander Blort, I’m Admiral Jeffery Whitestone, commanding officer of the Star Rover. I was told to contact you when we arrived at Torblit.”
“Admiral Whitestone, it is an honor to speak with you. I do not know if you realize it, but you are considered a hero on Torblit as a result of your rescuing our three survivors from the Crosus attack on Procolt 4.”
“No, I was not made aware of that. I don’t believe I did anything heroic. I just did what I thought was logical. However, I do appreciate it.”
“When will you arrive at our station?”
“It will be within the next two hours.”
“When you are fifty units away, please contact the station and they will tell you where to take your ship.”
“Thank you, Commander. We’ll contact the station when we are in position.”
“Once your ship has been securely placed, I will go there. I would like to discuss your meeting schedule.”
“Commander, our shuttle bay is small and can only accommodate one shuttle. If it’s okay with you, I’ll bring our shuttle to the space station. We can either meet there, or I can bring you back to the Star Rover. Whichever you prefer.”
“I would prefer to meet on your ship. Perhaps that will give me the opportunity to try some of the wonderful food you have aboard?”
“Okay, I’ll bring our shuttle to the station and pick you up. I’ll ask our chef to prepare something special in honor of your visit.”
“Thank you, Admiral; you are most gracious. I am looking forward to our meeting.”
When the Star Rover was fifty units away from the station, Anne contacted them for instructions on where to moor the ship. Anne gave the
instructions to Mike. Mike read them and went over to the navigation console, keyed in a few commands, and said, “Admiral, we should be secured within ten minutes.”
“Thank you, commander,” Jeffery turned toward Debbie and said, “Let’s go over to the shuttle bay.” Then he turned toward Diane and said, “You too.”
“Yes, sir.”
The three of them boarded the shuttle. Debbie sat in the pilot’s seat while Jeffery and Diane sat in passenger seats. Jeffery said, “Diane, are you ready for this meeting?”
“Yes sir, I don’t think I’ll have any problems.”
“Good, then I’ll let you handle the formal introductions.”
When they arrived at the station, Diane was the first person off the shuttle, followed by Jeffery and Debbie. There was a man waiting for them. Diane walked up to him and in perfect Torblit said, “Commander Blort, I’m Lieutenant Diane Thomas, the assistant communications officer on the Star Rover. I would like to present Admiral Jeffery Whitestone, the commanding officer of the Star Rover, and his wife, Captain Debbie Whitestone, second in command of the Star Rover.”
“Thank you, Lieutenant, I must say I am pleasantly surprised you speak Torblit. I am somewhat confused, Admiral Whitestone. You did not inform me of someone aboard who would be able to speak perfect Torblit. “The lieutenant took the trip here as a way to study your language and become conversationally fluent.”
“Okay, I understand. Shall we go to your ship now?”
“Yes, please come aboard, Commander Blort.”
The trip back to the Star Rover only took a few minutes. Jeffery asked Commander Blort if he would like a tour of the ship. He said he would, so Jeffery asked Diane to take him on a tour and then bring him back to the dining room.
Jeffery and Debbie went back to the dining room. April saw them sit, so she walked over and asked what happened to his guest. He told her Diane was taking him on a tour of the ship and they would be in the dining room soon.
April prepared a basket of fresh yeast rolls and chocolate filled croissants and put them on the table. She also put four cups on the table and a thermos full of hot chocolate. Diane and Commander Blort arrived ten minutes later. They sat across from Jeffery and Debbie. Jeffery asked, “Well, Commander . . . what do you think of our ship?”
“Yes, it’s very nice. It is much smaller than most of our starships, but it does seem to be very comfortable.”
“The Star Rover is Earth’s first starship. In fact, it’s currently our only starship. By the time I get back to Earth, our second ship will be nearing completion. The new ship is bigger and faster than this ship. We’re also starting to build our first interstellar cargo ships.” Indicating the plate rolls, he added, “These things on the table are called croissants and yeast rolls, they’re a very popular on Earth.”
Blort chose a croissant drizzled with chocolate and took a small bite. Suddenly there was a big smile on his face and he said, “These are wonderful. Can your cook show us how to make them?”
“Yes, but I’m not sure you have the necessary ingredients. For these, you will need something we call chocolate. Chocolate can be used in a variety of ways. The beverage you have in front of you is called hot chocolate. Please try some.”
Commander Blort picked up his cup and took a small sip of the hot chocolate and said, “This is excellent too. I am sure we have nothing like this on Torblit. Can we purchase some chocolate from you?”
“Yes, it’s one of the products we sell.”
“Is it very expensive?”
“A large box, which weighs one hundred pounds, would cost .00015 hirodim. That would be enough to make about fifteen thousand chocolate filled croissants.”
“Does it come with directions?”
“I don’t believe so, but while we’re here our chef would be happy to train some of your people on how to make foods with chocolate.”
“That would be wonderful. I will have three people here tomorrow morning for training. Do you have any chocolate aboard your ship we can purchase?”
“No, but I’ll be happy to give you a box. I’ll have it ready for you tomorrow. That way you’ll have a few days to try it before you commit to buying any.”
“Thank you, Admiral.”
“My pleasure, Commander.”
They spent a half hour discussing the schedule for the upcoming meetings. Jeffery gave Commander Blort the rest of the yeast rolls and croissants to take with him and he took him back to the station.
They had two meetings scheduled for the following day. There was a meeting with the Torblit representative to the Trade Council in the morning. Torblit was similar to Earth in that the major method of transportation was private vehicles powered by engines which utilized alcohol as a fuel. In the afternoon, there was a meeting scheduled with the largest vehicle manufacturer on the planet to discuss converting to electric motors powered by power modules.
The following morning, Mike took Jeffery, Debbie, and Diane over to the station. Before they left the shuttle, Jeffery told Mike there would be three passengers going back to the Star Rover with him and he should escort them to the kitchen to work with April. When the three of them left the shuttle bay, Commander Blort was already waiting for them. There were three other people with him.
“Good morning, Admiral, Captain, Lieutenant,” Commander Blort said. “The three people behind me are here to train with your chef.”
“Good morning, Commander,” Jeffery responded.
The three trainees boarded the shuttle. Once they were aboard and the shuttle bay was depressurized, Commander Blort said, “Please follow me to the shuttle that will take us to the Trade Council office.”
They walked to the next shuttle bay. Inside the bay was a very large shuttle. It looked like it could comfortably hold at least one hundred people. However, when they went inside Jeffery was surprised to see there were only seats for fifteen. There were a few sofas and five large, padded chairs that looked like recliners. At the front of the passenger compartment was a counter with six bar stools in front of it. Behind the counter was a woman who watched them as they boarded.
Commander Blort said, “This is my private shuttle. The lady behind the counter is Gleestol. She is my life partner and my assistant. She will make sure we are comfortable during our trip to the Trade Council office.”
After all of them were seated, Gleestol asked if anyone wanted something to drink or eat. Everyone politely declined, so Gleestol sat down next to Commander Blort. Blort picked up a device sitting on a table. He pressed a button on it and the shuttle door closed. Apparently, that was a signal to the pilot that they were ready to depart. Moments later, the exterior door to the shuttle bay opened, the shuttle engines started, and it began to move slowly out of the station.
The shuttle descended quickly into the atmosphere of the planet. The surface was obscured by a thin cloud layer the shuttle passed through a half hour later. Now Jeffery, Debbie, and Diane had an excellent view of the surface. From their altitude, at about ten units, Torblit looked very similar to Earth. They could see small cities connected by roads. There were lakes and rivers as well.
Commander Blort said, “We will stay at this altitude for an hour while we travel east to our destination. If you have any questions about what you see, please feel free to ask.”
“It looks a lot like Earth. How big is Torblit?”
“At the equator, Torblit has a diameter of seventy-five hundred units, so it is somewhat larger than Earth. The gravity is ten percent higher, so it will take you a few hours to get accustomed to it. The atmosphere is similar to Earth’s, about twenty percent oxygen, seventy-seven percent nitrogen, and three percent other gasses, primarily carbon dioxide. Our population is six billion people. Seventy percent of the people live in cities and thirty percent live in rural areas. Torblit is much colder than Earth, so most of the population lives within twelve hundred units of the equator,” Commander Blort replied.
As they looked through the windows, a large
city came into view. The shuttle started to descend to its destination. As it approached the surface, they could see both large buildings and small ones that looked like private homes. There were roads everywhere and vehicles that looked a lot like cars on Earth. The shuttle landed on the roof of one of the large buildings. After they landed, Commander Blort opened the shuttle door and all five of them walked out. The air outside was refreshing and a bit cool. Jeffery guessed it was about sixteen degrees with a light breeze.
They walked to a lobby area and went inside. It was obvious they were expected because as soon as they walked in, a girl came from behind the counter and said, “We have been awaiting your arrival. Please follow me.”
They stepped into an elevator, the girl pressed a symbol on a large display panel, and the elevator door closed. There was absolutely no sense of motion and Jeffery began to think the elevator was broken, but a few moments later the door opened and they found themselves in the lobby of a large office. The girl said, “Please be seated and I will let Malden Pinder know you are here.”
A few minutes later, a man walked over to them and said, “I am the Torblit representative to the Trade Council. My name is Malden Pinder. I am very pleased to meet you, Admiral Whitestone. Please call me Malden. I have a conference room set up for our meeting. Please follow me.”
They followed him to a conference room. After they were seated, Diane stood and said in perfect Torblit, “Malden, my name is Lieutenant Diane Thomas. I’m a communications officer on the Star Rover. Seated next to me is Captain Debbie Whitestone, she’s second in command. Next to her is her husband, Admiral Jeffery Whitestone. He’s the commander of the Star Rover.”
Malden had a confused look on his face for a few moments and then he asked, “On Earth when a female takes on a male life partner, does she change her name?