Christa began having dinner with Jenetta again most evenings, a practice that had been suspended when the transports arrived because Jenetta's work schedule didn't allow for a leisurely repast.
"Heather Gulvil is the new Senior Food Service Administrator," Jenetta said during dinner on their first evening back together."
"Heather? No kidding. I guess that it's not surprising that someone from our class at the Academy is here. Now that I think about it, I suppose it's surprising that there aren't more."
"There are so many ships and bases now that two officers from the same Academy class is probably about the average in any large command. Do you have any on the Chiron?"
"No, I'm the only one from our NHSA class that's part of the crew."
"We were asleep in stasis during the ten year anniversary. I don't suppose that we'll be able to attend the twentieth if we're still out in this sector."
"It's still several years away. Who knows where we'll be then? We should plan on attending though, if we can."
"Space Command won't give us two years off to return to Earth for a two day party."
"I know, but if we're anywhere near there, we should go."
"Okay, if we're anywhere near, we'll go."
"How does Heather look?" Christa asked.
"Fit, but older. It's funny to run into old classmates and see how they've aged. Especially since we haven't aged— externally."
"It's going to continue to get even stranger in the years ahead if Arneu was right about our longevity."
"Mikel Arneu," Jenetta said thoughtfully. "I've been so busy lately that I'd put him in the back of my mind."
"You can be sure that he hasn't forgotten about us."
"I don't think that I mentioned it to you, but he was the commandant of this Raider base until a few weeks before I seized it."
"No!?"
"What a prize that would have been!"
"Where is he now?" Christa asked.
"Bacheer said that he had gone on to Raider Ten, in the new Frontier Zone, to set up a new research facility. I can imagine what he's researching."
"Probably the same things that he was into at Raider One, DNA Manipulation and Life Prolongation. I'm sure he still wants to reverse the effects of old age and live forever. If he's managed to convince the lower council of the Raider organization that it's possible, he'll probably have unlimited funding."
"He has only to point to us as proof of what's possible with DNA manipulation," Jenetta said with a grimace. "I'm just glad that part of the plan to turn us into pleasure slaves didn't involve diminishing our I.Q."
"That would have been accomplished with the memory wipe that they intended, but you're right. I never considered that. The scientists could have engineered our redevelopment with a reduction in thought capability."
"I don't want to upset you, but it's still possible that might happen. The full change will take eight to ten years, and we're only halfway through the process, even though external changes have ceased. Heather commented about our height. She used to be four inches taller than us when we were five-foot-four. Now she's three inches shorter."
"We haven't grown any taller in more than a year," Christa said. "And I think that if our thought capability was going to diminish, it would have started already. We're probably worrying over nothing. The DNA recombinant process only takes eight to ten years because it takes that long for all bone cells to be replaced by new ones. All soft tissue and membranes have surely been rewritten by now."
"I hope you're right. I don't need anything new to worry about. Can you imagine living to be five thousand years old, and not having a brain?"
"Let's just think about what we're going to do to Mikel Arneu when we catch up with him. What do you think, boiled or fried?" Christa said smiling.
"Both," Jenetta replied grinning. "Boil him in oil."
The silliness relaxed the mood and both women laughed at the ridiculous thought of Arneu flopping around like a large fish in an oversized frying pan full of warming oil.
* * *
Things on the base had just begun to settle into a fairly sedate routine when the first convoy of civilian transport ships arrived. Jenetta marveled that business people could respond to new opportunities so quickly. They had to have loaded their ships and left for Stewart after the first rumors that the base had been taken. That was months before the habitat was secured and before the complete story was released to the public. And the ships in the convoy were all newer types, capable of sustained travel at Light-225. There must be dozens more slower ships on their way, with more eager merchants looking to cash in on the new opportunities.
Fearing that things were not as peaceful in the sector as they seemed, the convoy had pooled their resources and hired Peabody Protection Services to provide two destroyers for escort duty. On orders from Jenetta, all ships were required to stand off a thousand kilometers until they were cleared for entry into the station. Inspectors had to visit each ship looking for explosives, bio-toxins, or other hazardous material.
Normally, very large ships should only be delayed a day, but since twelve ships arrived at once, fourteen counting the Peabody ships, the delay would be almost two weeks. Jenetta's office was immediately besieged by calls from irate merchants and business people who were anxious to land after more than a year in flight.
"Inform Lieutenant Graham that he doesn't have to treat the convoy as a single entity and hold all ships until the inspections are complete. He can release them as they're cleared. Have him inspect the passenger ships first so the least number of people will be inconvenienced. But, there is to be no relaxation of inspection procedures, regardless of who is on board, or how important they believe themselves to be."
"Yes, ma'am," Lieutenant Ashraf said.
* * *
The following days were ten times worse than when the Space Command personnel transports had arrived. Jenetta's outer office was crammed with business people from morning to night. The volume of applications for concourse office and shop space overwhelmed the layers of Leasing Office personnel that she had established to insulate her office from these negotiations. She had no choice but to become involved, taking on the more difficult cases. One of the cases forwarded to Jenetta involved a restaurateur who was unhappy with the locations being offered. He wanted one of two available locations that had previously been designated as 'retail goods' stores.
"Send in Mr. Harden," Jenetta said to her com unit when she finished her previous task.
A minute later, the computer announced that a visitor was at the door. Jenetta said "Come," and the door slid noiselessly open, allowing the din from the outer office to momentarily perforate the serenity of her inner office.
"Commander Carver," the short, dark-haired man said as he entered and the door closed behind him, "it's so nice to see you again. It's been far too long. Congratulations on your successful acquisition of this magnificent new base, and on your appointment as base commander." He walked right up to the desk and took Jenetta's hand, clasping it between his own.
"Hello, Gregory. Welcome to Stewart SCB. I have to say that I'm surprised to see you here. Your restaurant at Higgins has always been at the pinnacle of success. I'm surprised that you'd leave it."
"Yes, it has been successful, but now I want to be at the pinnacle of success at Stewart, the new gateway to the galaxy."
Gently pulling her hand away, and indicating that Gregory should sit down, she said, "But what of your restaurant at Higgins. Won't it suffer by your absence?"
"Perhaps a bit; I've left my brother-in-law in charge. My sister has been harping on me for several years that I never give him any responsibility, so now we'll see what he can do with it when he gets it. I haven't involved myself at all since I left, and the numbers are down ten percent already. But I intend to make up for that here, if I can just get a decent location. You have to help me, Commander. The people in the rental office keep trying to put me in the center of a block, while I believe that
I need a corner location. I'm not asking them to kick somebody out. The spaces are open, but they insist that I can't put a restaurant in there. I have absolutely no problem with the higher rental charges for the more prominent location."
"The planners have worked very hard to lay out the concourse according to a set of rules designed to help all the merchants prosper. They've recommended that another restaurant not be located within a block's distance. If they put you on a corner, you would find as many as four other food establishments just half a block from you."
"I can stand the competition, if they can. Please, Commander. We've been friends for a long time. I'm only asking to move five stores down from the center of the block."
Jenetta sat back in her chair. Gregory's request wasn't very far outside the established guidelines, but if she did this, she'd be setting a precedent that could cause new headaches as other merchants requested similar re-evaluations of their locations.
"I'll see what I can do for you. Call the rental office tomorrow."
"Thank you, Commander. I really appreciate this. I hope that you'll be a frequent visitor to my restaurant. I brought several of my best chefs with me."
"I will, Gregory. Call tomorrow."
Gregory stood up. "Of course, Commander. And thank you again."
Many of the problems that she dealt with throughout the day were similar. Either merchants wanted a location different than the ones they were being offered, or they had a problem with restrictions that wouldn't allow them to sell certain merchandise. The station would always reserve the right to restrict the import and sales of certain items, even if they weren't illegal. One such item was Melwen powder, used in certain religious ceremonies in this sector. It's extremely unstable, and will explode if the temperature varies too quickly. It's officially listed as a not very powerful explosive, like gunpowder, on the import lists. The inspection sensors were set to look for it in any vessels entering the station, although it wasn't illegal to own or transport outside of Space Command bases.
* * *
The change in the concourse was amazing after just a few weeks. Many new shops were already open for business, some as they continued to place fixtures and decorate the space they were leasing, while other owners were driving their employees hard to get the shelves stocked so that the doors could be opened to customers. Off-duty station personnel could usually be found wandering the concourse throughout the day, watching the activity and waiting for more businesses to open. The common areas were finished. Several fountains, with pools and small, colorful fish, graced the passageways. Even small trees and shrubs had been placed along the wide 'streets' in large decorative wooden planters. Purchased through a merchant hired to bring them from a nearby solar system, they were rotated once a week from a 'nursery' storeroom, where special grow lights were used to reinvigorate the flora after its week on the concourse. Like the habitat's three swimming pools, most of the water in the fountains would automatically be evacuated to holding tanks if a decrease in gravity was detected. Since gravity deck plating consumed very little energy when operating at a reduced setting, the plates beneath the pools were connected to emergency sources. It was highly unlikely that uncontained water would ever become a concern.
At first, the newly arrived civilians ran for their lives when they saw Jenetta approaching with her large pets, but eventually they came to realize that the animals posed no danger if the Commander wasn't threatened. The un-tethered cats ensured that no one ever talked rudely to her, despite any feeling of frustration that they might be experiencing at the time. On the one occasion that a merchant did yell, only to get her attention after she had passed by his store, the cats both spun quickly, their fangs bared as they hissed and braced to spring. The merchant froze, calmly apologized for shouting, and backed slowly away. Jenetta had, of course, already calmed the cats, but the merchant felt that it would be best for him to return to his quarters so that he could change his shorts.
Jenetta began visiting the restaurants on the concourse for lunch, as soon as they started operations. Gregory's was one of the first to open for fine dining, and Jenetta visited his establishment on his first day. There was a small line of patrons waiting, but Gregory, always alert, immediately spotted Jenetta and escorted her past the waiting diners while saying loudly, "Right this way, Commander. I have your reserved table all ready." Although pets were not permitted in the restaurant, he never mentioned the two cats that rarely left her side. As her protectors, they were as welcome in the restaurant as guide dogs had once been for the blind. Now that blindness was a correctable condition, there was no more need for such animals.
As he held her chair, he said quietly, "Thank you so much for interceding with the rental office. I love this new corner location. I can already tell that it's going to be worth every bit of the higher lease rate for the more prominent location."
"I'm glad that Lieutenant Riley was able to find a spot that satisfied you. What's good today?"
"Everything that we have," he said smiling, as he handed her a menu. "The menu is a bit limited right now because some of our equipment hasn't been installed. I refuse to permit installation work in the kitchen during business hours, unlike some of the other restaurant owners, but we have a good selection anyway. If you'd like a recommendation, the Lasagna is most excellent today. It's made with a delicious meatless sauce, but we have a wonderful meat sauce to serve with it for those that desire it."
"That sounds delicious. I'll have the Lasagna, with the meatless sauce, and coffee."
"I'll see that your waiter brings it immediately. Enjoy your meal, Commander."
"Thank you, Gregory."
Gregory stopped the waiter that was serving tables in the area where Jenetta was seated, and spoke to him briefly, before rushing off to greet another patron. The waiter immediately rushed off to the kitchen.
* * *
When the incessant buzzing of her bedside com unit awakened Jenetta from a deep sleep, she rolled over to lift the com unit's cover. The vid camera was always deactivated on this particular com unit unless intentionally switched on after a call was answered. The caller either received a simulated image of her sitting at her desk, or a posed, still image when she was awakened.
"Carver," she said sleepily after stabbing at the answer button.
"Commander, this is Lt. Christopher in the Station Control Center. The Star Gazer has just declared an emergency. They report being surrounded by a large formation of unidentified warships. They say that the ships appeared to have been headed towards for the base. They tried to make a run for it, but their temporal envelope generator was destroyed by laser fire. At the same time, we detected a fleet of ships on our DDG, so I can confirm the unannounced presence of the ships."
Jenetta was instantly awake. "How many ships?"
"We're seeing twenty-six large ships. There may be more though. The Star Gazer was operating at the very fringe of our network. The Distant DeTect Grid doesn't permit us to see much beyond a hundred billion kilometers."
Flinging back the covers, Jenetta leapt out of bed as she barked, "Sound General Quarters. Recall all personnel working outside the asteroid, and close the outer doors. Notify the GSC ships at the docking piers of our alert status. Man all defenses and ready the Combat Information Center. I'll be in the CIC in ten minutes."
Pulling off her nightgown, she stepped into her trousers with both feet and then fell back on the bed to pull them up. She jammed her feet into her boots and pulled on her blouse and tunic as she ran towards the door. She paused just long enough at the door to say, "Cayla, Tayna, stay here," to the two cats that were already at her side. Her anxiety had them agitated, and they stared after her as she ran out. They paced nervously around the apartment for several minutes before lying back down.
Jenetta took the elevator down to sub-Deck Three. The lower eight decks of the station were reserved exclusively for Space Command use, and the elevators in the officers and crew quarters sections would drop to those
decks if all occupants had an implanted CT or ID. Even so, all occupants of an elevator car still needed to prove their identity by voice analysis before the elevator would descend below the main docking level.
Jenetta arrived at the Combat Information Center in less than eight minutes from the time she was awoken. The small staff that usually occupied the room at this hour was swelling quickly as officers, NCOs, and crewmen swarmed in and activated work stations and equipment. The wall that separated the CIC from the Station Control Center had been rolled back to make one enormous room. The SCC encompasses the Port Operations Center.
"Where are the bogies?" Jenetta asked.
"About ten minutes away, ma'am," a chief at the com station said. "They still aren't answering hails, and we've lost all contact with the Star Gazer."
"Send out an emergency message recalling all GSC warships in this deca-sector while we still have IDS communications. Tell them that we expect to be attacked very shortly by a force consisting of twenty-six warships of unidentified size and configuration."
The com Chief tapped several points in the com panel and spoke into his headset before turning to say, "Message sent, Commander."
"Open secure vid lines to all GSC ships in port."
A large wall monitor began to light up with images of the bridge on each ship. The captain of each ship was already on the bridge in response to the call for GQ. When all ships were represented, Jenetta turned to face the monitor. Her image and part of the CIC would be visible on each ship's bridge monitor. For the first time, she thought about her appearance, not out of vanity, but because she didn't want to give the appearance of complete disarray in the face of enemy opposition. But it was too late now, so she proceeded with her announcement calmly.
"Good morning. A large force of twenty-six unidentified warships is headed this way. They aren't acknowledging our hails, and we must assume that their intentions are hostile. I'm also assuming that they're Raider ships. I've ordered all personnel into the port and the station's outer doors closed. I've issued an emergency recall to all GSC warships in this deca-sector. The Asuncion and Chiron should disconnect from their pier as soon as their crews are aboard, and back away from the habitat. Face the port entrance, arm all weapon systems, and maintain position. The Hayworth and O'Keefe should disconnect and move to the wall opposite the habitat, also keeping their forward weapons armed and aimed towards the port entrance.
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