by T I WADE
“Rhodium is in extremely short supply on earth,” added Ryan and this load will help alleviate the worldwide shortage.”
The cameras kept on at the stones.
“How much are the larger and smaller stones worth?” asked Joe Downs.
“Hard to say,” replied the scientist scratching his head. “I would guess that each of the large stones is worth in the range of six to ten thousand dollars, and the smaller silver rhodium marbles, about twenty-five hundred dollars each. This isn’t the ‘Antiques Roadshow,’ guys!”
Several more questions were shouted out and then the crews began to sign off as the stations got their all-important advertisements back on air. They all came up to Ryan and thanked him for the best scoop ever had in Nevada.
Joe Downs wanted a private interview about the National Security Agency guy flying off the handle at Ryan. He told a happy Ryan that his feed had gone nationwide a minute after he began filming to beat the other television stations. His producer had already spoken to Downs stating that the station had been asked to leave the NSA out of the broadcast for future airs, but the station had refused. This was prime television, the first treasure from space, and interesting reactions from certain members of government agencies.
Chapter 2
The Repercussions
They were swift and fast in coming. Ryan did complete a short interview with Joe Downs, trying to explain the reasons certain people were against his space program.
This interview lasted only a few minutes while General Saunders’ band and men marched around the apron, being filmed by the other two crews. Ryan explained that he was somewhat shocked at the manners and tenacity of certain government representatives who seemed to be against his going to space. Joe Downs asked if it was due to his hiring the NASA scientists. Ryan replied that the president himself had recently phoned him politely asking for them back, and he had gladly offered to release them to NASA as soon as their contract with Astermine ended. Ryan then went on to say that he and Bill had lengthy discussions about a number of services Astermine could provide to the government including disposing of the radioactive stockpiles in the country, and preventing the derelict space station from hitting earth. In addition, he and the Director of the Federal Reserve Bank had discussed the possibility of bringing precious metals from space. There was no need to hide the motives for his program.
Both Directors had since said their goodbyes and their aircraft were taxiing down the runway for takeoff.
Joe Downs finally asked if the FBI had visited him, surely they were the bureau to investigate any wrong doings inside the country. Ryan replied that he hadn’t heard from them.
The first two television crew helicopters lifted off, but did not leave until they flew low over the still open doors of the shuttle to film the closed canisters still inside the hold.
General Saunders was still walking around the shuttle and asked Ryan if he could have a look inside the cockpit. At the same time, a refreshed and showered Jonesy came out and Ryan asked his pilot to show the general the flight deck.
The C-130 returned to Nellis and the jets were supplemented with a splash and dash of jet fuel to get them home.
While the three men sat in the cockpit, the airfield became quiet, a lone air force helicopter and pilot on the apron. The tractor tied up to the front wheel of the shuttle, and it was pulled into line and then reversed into the coolness of Hangar Six.
“So, General, the handling of the shuttle is much like flying a brick with small wings,” said Jonesy as the shadow of the hangar enveloped them. Ryan asked a security guard to allow the general’s pilot to enter the hangar and grab a cold soda. He must have been hot sitting in the chopper in the sun.
Ryan listened as the two pilots talked flying for several minutes. He was also a pilot, and understood everything they were discussing. Jonesy knew what to say and what not to say, especially about the Cloaking Device, operated by a small unimportant switch in the middle of many. Its dial and switch label were in Russian though, and the general did finally notice it.
“It’s an interesting little device made in Russia,” explained Ryan. It’s a transponder of sorts that gives us a more direct readout of where the shuttle is in relation to the ground below. We read out its radar impulses down here at ground control.” That seemed to answer the general’s question, to a certain extent.
“Do you need any more pilots, Ryan?” asked the air force general.
Yes, we could do with one or two more experienced test pilots, once our second shuttle goes into operation, why?”
“I don’t know yet, but I have this gut feeling that General Mortimer wasn’t happy about what happened here today. He stuck his nose into something he had no reason to, but he could inquire why Nellis Air Force Base was attending the celebration here at your air field, and why two jets, one C-130 and a helicopter were in attendance. Normally, as base commander, I have the authority to give these sorts of orders, but he might countermand them out of anger and insult.”
“You were invited to inspect the shuttle’s return, and to check up on the Dead Chicken,” suggested Jonesy. “There is nothing he can say to the fact that you weren’t doing your job.”
“True, but he can twist anything from a positive into a negative and I’ve seen him do it a couple of times.”
“I want to phone the Chief of Staff and find out where he stands on this invasion of privacy and individual rights his adjutant walked into,” Ryan commented. As he said this his phone rang. It was Bill.
“Hi Ryan, Bill Withers here. I just wanted to let you know that the president asked me to retire as Administrator of NASA, as of one hour ago. It seems that he is not happy about today’s celebrations.”
“Sorry to hear that, Bill. I recommend that you take your story to the media.”
“Unfortunately, it seems that I have to sign a contract pertaining to my early retirement, or lose my government pension,” Bill replied.
“Can you fly a jet, Bill?” Ryan asked
“No, but I was one of the best aerospace engineers of my day. I helped design the first space shuttles after being an apprentice on the Apollo design team in the 60s.”
“Let me know what happens, Bill. We always need new talent here at Astermine. Just bow out gracefully. The new guys in Washington will get what’s coming to them.”
“See what I mean?” added General Saunders. “There is going to be a witch hunt after today’s fiasco with Congressman Dickens. It was General Mortimer who invited him.”
“Let’s go to lunch; I’ll get your pilot fed and looked after. This shuttle needs to be emptied and readied for her next trip. I’m working on ten-day turnarounds from now on.”
Maggie was asked to stay hidden while the general was on the airfield. With so much going on, Ryan needed to be a little more worried about security than usual. The lunch hour newscast featured the arrival of the treasure on televisions all across the country. The TV feed showing Bishop being made to look like a fool in front of the cameras was being carefully studied.
Ryan’s phone rang again. This time it was the director of the National Security Agency, Peter Dodd. He apologized for Bishop interrupting the ceremony, acknowledged that he had made himself and the NSA look stupid, and that it wouldn’t happen again. Ryan told the NSA to stay off his property, and leave him alone, or he was going to take the agency to court on First Amendment rights. Peter Dodd laughed at the tenacity of the civilian; he told Ryan that he was free to do so, suggesting that Ryan wasn’t rich enough to take the NSA to task, and hung up.
Now he was getting mad, so he made another phone call. Jonesy was pretty surprised to learn who was on the speed dial list of Ryan’s cell phone.
Ryan was put through to the director of the CIA. Much the same happened as did in the conversation to the administrator of the NSA. He made a complaint of harassment by Tom Ward, received an apology, warned the CIA about his First Amendment rights, was apologized to again, and was hung up on.
> The next call was to the Pentagon. The Chief of Staff was rather surprised that his adjutant was running around in Nevada and would look into it. This time Ryan was not hung up on.
He knew it would be a waste of time to phone the president, but he did call the former president to thank him for his help. The man was happy to see his success on the news and find out that it had all been a successful outcome. He told Ryan that it would be a while before anybody would harass him, and to keep the Nevada news teams close by. The media always worked both ways in a free country.
The last call was from The Department of Homeland Security. The department had heard about the importation of precious metal from outer space, and explained to Ryan that the product needed to be checked for any other hazards, besides radioactivity. Ryan explained that his team was checking the contents now, they would get a copy of the findings, or the department could send out agents to check it at any time. The Federal Reserve Bank was about to get involved in the movement of the precious metal futures, and the Department of Homeland Security could check it at their offices as well if they wanted.
The final newscast reported that Congress was to hold an emergency session to discuss the laws, licenses, and duties to be levied on products imported from outer space, now that it had been accomplished. The only way the government could get its hands on some of the profits was to tax Astermine’s profits. Ryan smiled while Congress was debating the new situation. Since he was already in the hole for three billion dollars in costs to get the precious metals onto terra firma, he would not have to pay taxes on the profits for the foreseeable future, and his three flights to DX2014 could be tax free.
Ryan Richmond had survived another round with his enemy. Unfortunately, General Saunders was not as lucky; he called the next day to inform Ryan that he also had been asked to take early retirement from the air force, and asked if he could get a job in about thirty days.
Chapter 3
DX2014, Second Visit
It was a mystery why the government agencies were so anxious about four tons of asteroid rock. They were acting as if somebody had cheated during a game of poker.
The House of Representatives did something very unusual; it passed a bill within ten days announcing a 65 percent import duty on all precious metals arriving into the country from space.
The news teams asked Ryan for a response to this new bill. He calmly told him that the bill still had to be passed by the Senate and signed into law by the president.
Ryan knew final passage of the bill would take time, and he already had two more shipments scheduled to arrive in Nevada before any bill was finalized. He was happy to hear from his friend in the Senate that the House bill would take another sixty days to be voted on by the Senate, as they didn’t like being ordered to hurry anything through. Until the law was passed by the Senate, and finally signed by president, which Ryan was sure would only take a matter of hours; he had better mine and import as much rock as possible.
Ten days after the fiasco at the airfield, the next flight took off into space. It was piloted by Jonesy and Maggie, with Ryan and VIN as passengers, Ryan allowed the Nevada news crews to patch into the shuttle during its first orbit.
“Mr. Richmond, Joe Downs here. How is the weightlessness in space today?”
“We are just floating about as usual,” joked Ryan.
“Ryan, Martha Howard, NBC. What are your feelings about the Administrator of NASA suddenly taking early retirement a week after coming to congratulate you?”
“I can’t really comment on that question Martha. Bill Wither’s private life is his own. Maybe it was something he wanted. I doubt that it was due to visiting my airfield, but if it was, then somebody in Washington is playing a bad game of chess, or shall I say playing a game of chess badly. Bill is a good man in the field of space travel, one of the best. NASA will certainly not be as good an agency without him.”
“Bill Mather here Ryan, ABC Las Vegas. Will you be employing Bill Withers?”
“Hey! Mr. Mather, that’s below the belt. You’ve seen how certain government departments react to my employing people who previously worked for the feds. They get pretty mad. But I will tell you one thing, if Bill Withers wants a job with me, he knows where I am and I will write a contract with him right there and then. He is that good! He is certainly in the same class as the other brilliant federal employees who had their contracts terminated and who work for me now.”
“Mr. Richmond, Joe Downs again. What about Congress suddenly passing this “Imports on Metals from Outer Space Bill” currently going through the Senate? Isn’t 65 percent a little steep, even for someone like you?”
“Of course it is, Joe! Company profits will be federally taxed at a minimum of 30 percent. To that, add on federal Import duties of another 65 percent, for a total of 95 percent! How much is 5 percent of a billion dollars before other taxes are levied, Joe? I’m lucky I’m in Nevada, but I really feel sorry for the Earth-Exit team in California, who will also have to pay state taxes. The government has just stopped them from ever thinking about going to space to mine the precious metals the country desperately needs. Earth-Exit is the president’s pet project, and his government has squashed any opportunity to mine in space.”
“Why do you state Earth-Exit is the president’s pet project?” asked Martha Howard.
“You ask the president why he favors Earth-Exit, Martha,” Ryan replied.
“So is asteroid mining finished before it is started?” asked Bill Mather.
“Not yet. Russia has offered to purchase everything I bring back at current market prices plus 5 percent. China offered the same. Even India is about to make an offer. The precious metals won’t be taxed if they don’t land in the United States.”
“Are you willing to deal with foreign countries?” asked Martha.
“If I have to,” replied Ryan.
“What do you think Congress will do to prevent your dealing with foreign countries?” asked Joe Downs.
“They will close down my operation, stop me from flying out of the United States and ban anybody else from starting up a private space company. That is why I will bring in everything I can until the law is passed. I will let the Federal Reserve Bank and the United States Government act as my selling agents so they can make commission on all sales. I intend to keep within the law of our great nation until the day it is changed. Thank you all for the interview.”
“Some interesting words,” commented Jonesy. The shuttle was on autopilot and about to meet up with the descending shuttle a hundred miles in front.
“I think that will give us a few more months of peace. The Senate, I’ve heard, will take at least two months to pass or fail the bill. Until then they can’t touch me, or be seen or heard invading my air field. I’ve heard that they are about to begin highway checkpoints in Nevada to check all my incoming trucks. I still have three loads of panels to go, and yesterday asked the company to ship them immediately. That is all the top secret cargos I have coming in. After that it is only food and provisions on a weekly basis. I think the guys who don’t like me can only go so far before they begin to get into trouble with their own laws.”
The shuttles met up. Penny and Michael had Astermine One in their shuttle’s hold to be refitted with her new engines and an extra living cabin. Astermine One would be coming straight back up on the next launch.
“Ryan, I’m sure you could get the third shuttle up faster than six weeks,” suggested VIN through the internal intercom.
“How’s that if it’s not complete?” asked Ryan looking at his helmeted miner questioningly.
“Can you fly a shuttle all the way to ground with its Cloaking Device on? All the way to the airfield?” Vin asked. “I have an idea. You are waiting ten days for each launch, right?” VIN added. Ryan nodded. “So bring this shuttle in early, cloak it, and have the Dead Chicken flying around at 50,000 feet to make it look like an atmospheric test flight for the new shuttle in the hangar. Make a statement that testing h
as started early, say fourteen days from now. By that time you will have both the shuttles on the ground. You will also have Astermine One down, and you need ten days to change its motors. So, when we head out to DX2014 in seven days with both mining craft, you will be able to double your shuttle flights by the time we get back by using two shuttles instead of one. Also if the shuttles only went into low space orbit, you could use Asterspace Three to transfer the cargo from the shuttles to Ivan. It will save you so much delivery time. Get my drift?”
“I’m sure it is possible for the incoming shuttle to fly in most of the way undetected,” Ryan replied. “I don’t think it would be a problem until it got down to the 70,000 foot level. Then I believe the device would become inactive due to the increasing air density around the shuttle surface, and it could show up on radar screens.”
Ryan thought about it for several minutes as they watched Penny and Suzi wave at them from a couple of hundred feet away. They switched over the Cloaking Devices.
“Yes, I see your plan, Mr. Noble, and you have just doubled your annual income,” laughed Ryan impressed.
“Please explain it?” asked Jonesy.
“Sometimes, Mr. Jones, I think you are not with the program,” laughed Maggie.
“Thank you, Ms. Sinclair,” smiled Ryan. “What would we all do without Mr. Jones here? I’m just thinking about pilots for all five craft, Mr. Noble,” added Ryan.
“If you get General Saunders as an extra pilot, and a few more crew up at Ivan to do all the loading and unloading, that should help,” suggested VIN.
“Yes, but we have three pilots in Astermine One and Two to consider over the next six months as well,” added Ryan.
“I can fly solo in one,” volunteered Maggie. “You want to send both Astermines out on the same mission? Jonesy can fly one, I can fly the other and VIN can be our backup dude for your rock collecting exercises. He has the legs to do it. That saves one pilot. There isn’t much to do on these flights except monitor, land, load and takeoff.” Maggie added.