Earth Station (Station Series Book 1)

by Martin Schroth

  “What, you doubted me. Oh ye of little faith.” Paul heard ESSI on his com and knew she was smiling.

  They actually made it to Mary’s room without incident. Since they had their armor in the cloak mode, that was no surprise.

  “Now comes the hard part folks. Ready?” With that, Paul put in the door code. Nothing happened. “What the hell? ESSI, what gives?”

  “Sorry, they must have changed the codes when the alarm went off. I can get the new codes in a few seconds. Hold on.”

  “Forget that shit.” Paul knocked on the door. After a few seconds, the door opened and Mary was standing on the other side. She stuck her head out the door and looked from side to side. She couldn’t see us. As she was about to close the door, Marcus slapped a patch on her neck and as she reached up to grab it, she collapsed into Marcus’ arms. “Let’s get out of here.”

  Since Mary wasn’t cloaked, she looked like she was floating in the air as they moved towards the shuttle. Paul and Lars took point with Marcus right behind.

  ESSI was monitoring the situation. “Paul, you have three operatives around the next corner. They are not aware of your presence but they are running a security sweep because of the alarms and the unconscious personnel at the landing site. They still haven’t discovered the shuttle. It is only a matter of time before one of them runs into it and gets knocked on their ass.”

  “Thanks ESSI. Marcus, wait here until we signal you.” Lars and Paul rounded the corner and up on the operatives. Lars drew his weapon, and within a few seconds, all of them were on the floor, unconscious. Paul smiled to himself, they had no idea what hit them. “Alright, Marcus, come on.” There was no response. Oh, shit. “Marcus is not responding, head back around the corner.”

  As Paul and Lars rounded the corner, they saw Mary floating in the air surrounded by four operatives. “Lars, take them out.”

  The operatives turned toward them, when they heard the noise that they made coming around the corner. These suits may have been cloaked, but they still made noise when they walked around in them. It didn’t matter though, because every operative was out for the count before they knew what happened.

  “I didn’t want to move or talk while you were around the corner. Carrying Mary puts a cramp in my style for responding to the threat. I knew you would be back here in a few seconds. Thanks for meeting my expectations,” Marcus said with a smile.

  “From now on, we stick together. Let’s go,” Paul ordered.

  They made their way to the exit without further confrontation.

  “They are in a quandary in the control room of this place. I have disabled all the monitoring devices and they can’t see anything. It looks like they are sending operatives to each of the sections to see what is happening. You ran into three of them a few minutes ago. Since they lost contact with those three, they are sending a lot more troops in your direction. I suggest you get the hell out of there,” ESSI informed Paul.

  “Nik, we are almost to the shuttle, lower the ramp and be ready to leave.”

  As they ran into the landing area, several operatives came in from different directions. Before Paul could say anything, the turret swiveled and shot the incoming. That slowed them down considerably. The rescue crew made it to the ramp and were in their seats in seconds. Marcus put Mary on the cot and buckled her in.

  “Nik, let’s get out of here,” Paul said in a loud, concerned voice.

  “Your wish is my command.” With that, the shuttle lifted and was on its way to Earth Station.

  ….

  I saw the shuttle land and the ramp lowered. As I watched, Marcus carried my mother down the ramp and laid her on a gurney. Dr. Clay was there to monitor her. “How is she doc?”

  “She’ll be fine. I’m going to take her to sickbay. Follow me.”

  “Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I won’t ever forget this,” I said to the rescue crew.

  “It’s nothing that you wouldn’t have done for the rest of us. You’re welcome,” Paul responded.

  With that, the doc and I escorted Mary to sickbay.

  By the time we got there, Mary was starting to come around.

  She sat up with a start. “Who are you people and what have you done with me?”

  “That is a very long story, that goes back almost thirty years. I would like to introduce myself. My name is Jake Weiss, and I am your son.”

  “What…”

  “That’s what I said when I found out you were alive,” I said with a grin.

  July 19th, 2112

  Dr. Skinner walked in as I was talking to Mary. “Mary, this is Dr. Friedrich Skinner. He is a psychiatrist that is an expert in Stockholm Syndrome. Do you know what that is?”

  “Vaguely. Are you saying that’s what I have? I feel like you are the ones that have abducted me from my home. How am I supposed to trust you?”

  “We believe Stockholm Syndrome is what you have. Dr. Skinner will explain what that is to you in detail a little later. As far as trust is concerned, the next room has a computer and a modern tv. You can go in there anytime you wish and watch what you want on the tv and research anything you have questions about on the internet. I bet you didn’t have access like that in your previous residence.”

  “I believe that I can deal with this, your highness. Mary, it will take some time for you to trust us. However, in the meantime, my sole purpose at this point is to make you understand and come to terms with the reality you are in. They call your son ‘your highness or your majesty because he is the monarch of Bodhi. Bodhi is the name of the country that you are in at present. All the information about this place is on the computer that is available to you. There is also someone else that I would like to introduce you to. ESSI, could you show yourself and be introduced to Mary?”

  ESSI appeared and startled Mary. “Hello Mary, I’m ESSI which stands for Earth Station Sentient Intelligence. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.”

  “Are you real? What do you do?”

  “Yes, I am real. For all intents and purposes, I am a living person, just not corporeal. I exist in the ES computer. While I am talking to you, I am also helping Dr. Bauer with construction of our space station, performing maintenance all over the station, and a host of other tasks which require my attention. I’ve been given instructions by your son to be available to you 24 hours a day. If Dr. Skinner is not around, you can always ask me anything you wish. It is a pleasure to meet you, just call my name and I will appear.” With that, ESSI vanished.

  Mary had a puzzled look on her face. “What is this place? And what was that?” indicating the place that ESSI had just disappeared from.

  “With your permission, your highness, I think that Mary needs to take a tour of Earth Station. I suggest that Maggie come with us.” Turning toward Mary, “I believe that showing you this entire station will help you. Are you up for it?”

  “If it will help me understand what is going on, sure.”

  I called Maggie and she soon appeared at Mary’s room in sickbay. “Are you guys ready?” Maggie lifted her arm towards the door. Mary and Dr. Skinner left with Maggie.

  I stuck around to talk to Dr. Clay. “How long is this going to take?”

  “From what I have gathered so far, Mary is a highly intelligent individual. It shouldn’t take too long, maybe a week or so, before she understands and internalizes her situation. Don’t quote me on that though, I’m not an expert.”

  “I’m going to send some of Barry’s people down here to make this room look more like an apartment. That will make her more comfortable and give her her own space. Once both you and Dr. Skinner give the word, we can have her move to the residential ring.”

  “I’ll be expecting them.”

  With that, I left sickbay and headed toward the conference room. Paul and the rest of the rescue team were already there for the debrief. Mike and Mac were also sitting in.

  “ESSI, please join us.” ESSI appeared and sat in her usual seat.

  “Before we
get started, thank you again and I am sure Mary will thank you when she is able. Alright, Paul, tell me what happened and your thought processes while you were engaged. The rest of you, feel free to interject details and opinions.”

  “We need someone who is schooled in tactics. We made some blunders in the rescue which were avoidable,” Paul began.

  After going over all the details of the rescue and discussing how it could have gone better, I turned to ESSI. “ESSI, what is happening back at the facility in New Mexico?”

  “I pretty much shut down all their surveillance during the operation, but they have put together eyewitness testimony and what little surveillance they did have. They have concluded that Bodhi is somehow involved. They still are perplexed about why Mary was taken and no one else. They are clueless on how we did it. We appeared or, for that matter didn’t appear, like ghosts to them. They could see our weapons fire, Mary floating in the air and that’s about it. I would expect them to contact us somehow in the near future.”

  “Mike, you probably know more about these guys than anyone here. What do you suggest we do when contact is made?”

  “I suggest that we tell them we know who Mary is. Also, give them some of the intelligence we have on their facility and who runs it. That will make them nervous and scramble to find out how we know all that stuff. We can monitor their progress and intervene if need be.”

  “Is there an imminent threat to Bodhi?” I asked.

  “I’ve discussed this with Mac and ESSI, and I don’t believe so, not presently anyway. We will continue to monitor their leadership and special ops to garner their intentions.”

  “If they do retaliate, we need a plan. Mike, Mac, Paul and ESSI, could you please get a defense plan ready so that we can go over it at our next morning meeting?”

  “Sure thing, your highness.” I still didn’t like being called that, but since we had people present who weren’t in the Executive Committee, I let it go.

  “You might want to talk to John down in engineering. He has informed me that he has some new toys for Paul and his militia. They might come in handy.”

  “Does anyone have anything to add to this debrief?’ No one responded. “In that case, you are all free to leave.”

  After they left and I returned to my office, I contacted Maggie. “How’s the tour coming?”

  “Mary is amazed at our place here. We are just finishing up in the research ring and are then going to head to ESSC. After that, I will show her the residential ring. It should be dinner time by then, and we can meet you in the mess hall.”

  The rest of the day went by quickly. As I entered the mess hall, Mary, Maggie, and Dr. Skinner had not shown up yet. I grabbed a seat at one of the tables. I didn’t wait too long and the three of them walked in. “So how was the tour?”

  “Very impressive. But Maggie hasn’t told me how this all came to be,” Mary responded.

  “Let’s get our dinner and then I can tell you the story.” We all got in line, even the emperor must wait in line for food, I thought as I smiled. After we sat back down and started our meal, I told Mary the story, beginning with my upbringing at Weiss House and the subsequent creation of Earth Station.

  “This is all too strange to take in. This morning, I was at home, and now I am here – a place beyond description. It’s going to take me a while to process it all.”

  “Dr. Skinner, here, will help you put it all together. If he can’t answer a question, I am sure we can find someone who can. I feel that you are a bit more comfortable with your situation than you were this morning.”

  “I still don’t trust you. How do I know that you are my son?”

  “Dr. Clay has DNA from both of us which proves that I am your son. If you don’t trust him, just say the word and we will travel to whatever lab, anywhere in the world, to have your and my DNA tested.”

  “I might take you up on that. For now, I’m really tired and would like to get some rest.”

  “Dr. Skinner will escort you back to sickbay. We have converted the room you were in to a small apartment. For the next few days, I have to restrict your movements. Feel free to test them and explore all you want. Security will let you know when you are somewhere that you shouldn’t be.” With that, Dr. Skinner got up and escorted Mary back to her place in sickbay.

  “Maggie, what is your impression of Mary?”

  “She is very bright and inquisitive. I couldn’t answer some of her questions because of security, but all in all, I think she was satisfied with the tour. I do believe that she is still in a state of disbelief. Give her some rest and I believe she will come around in a few days. I like her.”

  “I am going to have Mac keep an eye on her until we feel that we can trust her. I don’t like doing that; for crying out loud, she is my mother. But she has been indoctrinated for the last thirty years and that has got to have had an effect on her. I hope Dr. Skinner can bring her out of it.”

  “She’ll be fine. Just give her some time.”

  “Thanks for your help. If you find it within yourself, I would like you to become her friend. She doesn’t have anyone here and if you are her friend, she at least will have someone to talk to. I don’t expect you to be my spy. Just be her friend.”

  “I’d like that I’ll get her tomorrow morning and take her to breakfast before our meeting.”

  “That would be great. Thanks again.” With that, Maggie and I left the mess hall and headed back to the residential ring.

  July 25th, 2112

  “Good morning everybody. Things are getting interesting,” I said with a smirk on my face.

  “Dr. Clay will be here in a few minutes to give us an update on my mother. Before he gets here, I would like to propose that he become part of the Executive Committee. We need his expertise. His team has made some impressive advances in the medical field and I believe he would be a valuable member of the Committee. Any discussion?”

  “I’ve had the pleasure of working with him these last few days. He has my vote,” Maggie said.

  “I also believe he should be with us. He is a professional and has the best interest of the citizens of Bodhi at heart,” Phil added.

  “Anybody else? Okay, lets vote then. All in favor of Dr. Clay becoming part of the Committee, raise your hands.” Everyone raised their hands. “Motion carries. We will inform him when he gets here.”

  Mac spoke up next. “Mike and I have discovered a mole in our research department. He has given the US the plans to our 3D food processor. We didn’t realize what he was doing and were unable to stop him. As of now, he doesn’t know we are on to him however, we have security in place that will intercept any communications he has with anyone on the outside. The question is, what do we do about this?”

  “I’d like to make a suggestion. Two parts really, first, we should feed him some extraneous information which he might have a hankering to pass on. Second, we should give the plans for the 3D food processor to the rest of the world. That way, the information the US has will do them no good,” Paul said.

  “I like that idea, but do we really need to give him information to pass on? I thought we already had him dead to rights for passing on the 3D plans,” Charlie added.

  “Let’s think about this for a minute. He could be valuable in sending misdirection to whoever, and then we could track where that information goes. That way, we could gain information on their covert operations hierarchy,” Mike interjected.

  “I agree with Mike; he is the expert in this kind of thing. I am sure he has dealt with this type of situation many times. I, for one, think that we should accept his analysis,” Mac said.

  “Let’s put this to a vote, I’ll split it into two parts. First, we should release the plans for the 3D food processor to the rest of the world. Let’s see a show of hands for releasing the plans.” Everyone raised their hands, John and Phil were a little hesitant because the food processor was one of their ‘babies’, but slowly their hands came up. “Charlie, could you get everything togethe
r with a list of distribution points? Let me have a look at it before you send the information out. Have it for me by this afternoon.’

  “No problem. How about 4 this afternoon?”

  “That’s good, now for the second part. Who is in favor of keeping our mole in place and feeding him selected information to pass on?” Charlie, Maggie and Barry didn’t raise their hands. “Motion carries.” I looked over at the three that did not raise their hands, “For the record, I would like to know if you are voting against or abstaining?”

  Maggie and Barry responded. “Abstaining”

  Charlie indicated that he was voting against.

  Just as we finished with that business, Dr. Clay appeared outside the conference room. His image showed up on one of my screens. “Come on in doc. We have been expecting you. How’s my mother doing?”

  “She is doing fine. She seems to be progressing faster than we have expected. Time will tell.”

  “How about Carlos?

  “His body’s health is deteriorating fast. The end will be either today or tomorrow. Phil’s team is monitoring everything that happens in the matrix, and we will know the instant that there is any change.”

  “The matrix is maintaining its stability and I believe it will remain that way indefinitely,” Phil added.

  “Dr. Clay, I would also like to extend an invitation to you. The Committee has unanimously decided that we would like you to become a member of our team. What do you say?”

  “I’d be honored your highness.”

  “We don’t do that here; my name is Jake.”

  “Okay then, Jake, it would be my pleasure to serve.”

  “Have a seat, doc. Our meetings are at 8 every morning. Sometimes they only last a few minutes, other times they last all morning. You will need to adjust your schedule accordingly. Now on to some other business. Barry, how’s the space station coming?”