by Ben Winston
“That’s fine, Ma’am. As long as you know what we have planned for the land, you can start the process for us. As I said, there are several other areas we are considering as well,” Ian said. “Now, since this mess has been flushed, so to speak. I will withdraw, and let you all get back to work.”
“Of course, Commander. On behalf of the citizens of the United States of America, we would like to thank you for your assistance with this ‘training exercise’," The President said smiling.
“You’re very welcome, Madam President. Ladies and Gentlemen, I bid you a good evening,” Ian said, and closed the channel.
Chapter Seven
Terran Defense Ship TDF Star Dancer
Lunar Orbit
Selene (Earth’s Moon)
Sol System, Sol Sector
Commander Ian Williams, Commanding
In the time since the Caldarian attack, the Terrans had been thinking up ideas for new ways to defend themselves. One of those ideas had been a ring of remote, automated, missile platforms. It would take years to complete, but once finished, it would provide any intruder with a very warm welcome. Each platform held special sensors that could track ships in hyperspace, and as such, was equipped with hyperspace capable missiles.
Eventually, the ring of satellites would encompass the entire system, and be controlled from a manned station that will be built in Earth or Martian orbit. The station, once completed will have control of all the system defenses.
Vague plans had been mentioned about building a station in deep space roughly midway between the Centauri and Sol Systems to handle the sector defenses, as well as sector entry control and customs, but from a planning standpoint, it was still a long way out. The Pleiades Stations, as well as the civilian station near Mars, would have to be finished first, as well as the construction of ships for defense, but before most of that could happen, there would have to be a lot more people included in the Terran population in order to man all the planned facilities.
What that meant was that the Terran Council would have to allow open immigration. In itself, allowing open immigration from the Earth would be fraught with problems. Every country would try to place spies and agents in order to steal technology and information. A system would have to be set up in order to expose the false immigrants from the real ones. Yes, they had telepaths that could easily handle the screening, but that would reveal one of the Terrans most closely guarded secrets.
In order to handle this issue, the ruling Council decided to place the system defense control station on the schedule for construction. However, it would include a ‘port of entry’ for immigrants to pass through. Almost exclusively Janet Laskar's recruiters would man the port; with the addition of several marines until a proper security force could be trained and put in place.
The telepaths would screen potential immigrants using their telepathy, but the immigrants would believe a machine was scanning them. In the interim, scan centers would be built in the two existing civilian spaceports in the United States. A European Space Port had been in the planning stages for years, but had never been built for economic reasons. The Council planned on using that angle to help convince the European Governments to build one by offering to help them do so. The Middle and Far Eastern nations had no plans at all for a civilian space facility, but again, the Council would try to convince them to allow it. Not only would it help foster a sense of equality between the various nations, it would help the Terrans develop a more diverse population, which is something they very much want.
Since Ian was a member of the ruling Council as an advisory member, he was aware of the messages sent to and received from the UN. It had finally dawned on Ian just how large ‘his group’ of people had become when he realized he didn't know the man that had been posted as the Ambassador. While he was proud of the growth that had been accomplished, he felt slightly chagrinned at the realization.
Ian did get a short break from the excitement of military emergencies. Since the stopping of the Pakistan-Indian war by his forces, the rest of the world seemed to have backed off to reconsider how the new kid on the block was going to affect their long term plans. A personal note sent to Luke by the Secretary General of the UN thanked him and his people for all the work they had done so far in the cause of world peace. He stated that he hoped that now, with the threat of the destruction of their military forces, countries would try harder to seek diplomatic resolutions to issues.
The SecGen also passed along the gratitude of the Indian government for the Terrans intercession on their behalf. It took a while, but they had finally realized that if the bomb had been allowed to detonate, New Delhi would have been utterly destroyed, and the surrounding areas rendered uninhabitable for centuries. Although the President of India had survived the ordeal, he was left horribly disfigured, and paralyzed. Beth had argued with Ian over the level of care allowed to the Indian officials, but Ian had been adamant. Nothing beyond emergency care was to be allowed, his reasoning was that if they had let it be known that Talosian medical science could all but cure every affliction on Earth, the small Terran medical institution that had been set up would be quickly and completely overwhelmed. Later, when they had more of the infrastructure to handle the load, he would reconsider it, but for now, that was all that could be allowed.
As a counter to help ease her ire towards him, he suggested that she develop a group of people composed of civilian pilots and workers that could replicate emergency foodstuffs, and other supplies that might be of use to those in need. For example, the starving masses of Ethiopia, she could replicate as much food as she wanted, including any medical supplies that were currently available on Earth, and have them delivered to the most needy areas. However, she must have each and every supply drop filed and approved with the operations center before the mission will be allowed to depart. Marines, and or fighter escorts would be assigned on an as needed basis.
She immediately got to work, setting up several humanitarian missions to the destroyed areas of India and Pakistan, as well as a few to other areas that were in need of assistance. In very short order, Beth had two aides, and several other helpers, mostly off-duty personnel and their spouses, to replicate, pack and load the three civilian shuttlecraft she was able to convince to haul the supplies. Chloe told Ian in an aside that even Flight Operations was happy with the situation, as it gave the pilots and Marines something else to do other than just patrols and simulator training.
Serena had been at first confused, and then amazed at the activities that had been taken place on Earth. She had a hard time believing that the people that lived there could be so violently stupid as to try to throw nuclear and chemical weapons at each other. Ian did what he could to explain it to her, but she still had difficulties with it. She finally told him that she would help as much as she could, but would leave the command of it to him, since he had a better understanding of the people involved.
Ian had fantasized about taking Serena down to the UN and letting her meet the Ambassadors posted there. Of course, most of those entertaining dreams ended with her getting so frustrated she shot the idiots in their heads.
Fun time for Ian ended seven days after the event on Lake Superior. He was in his office going over a supply mission report when Mel told him that the Talosian delegation would be arriving in just under an hour.
“Thank you, Mel. Could you please find out if Commander Serena has a moment to spare me?” Ian asked.
“Certainly Sir, just a moment please,” Mel replied.
“Good Morning Ian, what’s going on?” Serena asked a few moments later.
“Our visitors from Talos will be arriving shortly. I’m calling to make sure you don’t freak out too much when they get here," Ian said. “Just keep in mind, we won’t actually fire on them, but we will scare the crap out of them.”
She looked a little troubled. “I’m still not understanding why you need to do this. After all we know they’re coming.”
Ian nodded. “They didn�
�t ask to come, they told us they were. They are arriving in a Heavy Cruiser, not a political envoy escorted by a warship. Finally, we want to make damn sure they know we will not be bullied; by them or anyone else. Besides, considering the way the houses of the Grand Council view our situation, we really can consider the Heavy Cruiser to be, at the least, potentially hostile.”
Serena nodded. “I can see that last point, and can understand your desire to show you will not be bullied. My concern is what will happen if they fire on you?”
“No one in their right mind would do that, considering what’s going to happen. But, if they do, there still won’t be much of a battle. We have a few tricks up our sleeve to make sure of it, and still make certain no one gets hurt,” Ian explained.
“Okay, I trust you, Ian. But I can’t help but feel this is an unnecessarily dangerous game,” Serena replied.
“Oh, it’s very necessary. I trust you, too; I trust what you’ve told me about the people coming here. This will put them off their guard from the moment they arrive." Ian sighed. “Anyway, how are things going with the station?”
She smiled at the change of subject. “Other than a few final touches, it’s finished. In fact, they already started laying the keel for one of the new ships. Must be a big mother, because they’re using one whole side for it.”
“Yeah, that’s the Battle Carrier. Once it’s finished, we won’t have to worry about system security again. However, construction on it will be stalling when the station gets finished. Most of the workers will be coming back here to work on the Mars Station. We’re going to have to increase the number of workers we have. There is simply too much to get done,” Ian said. “So recruitment is in the works too.”
“Considering all that you have accomplished already, I can’t wait to see what you can do with more people to do it!” Serena said, excitedly.
“Well, I’m actually expecting a fall-off in production once we get a larger number of people. It’s easier to motivate a smaller number of people than it is a larger one. Yes, we need more people in order to get all of this done, but the more we get, the less intimate the community gets,” Ian explained.
“Do you think that might be what happened to my people?” Serena asked.
Ian shook his head. “No, that is a different social issue. But, to be fair, I’m not a social scientist or even a politician, so I only have an opinion. I think because of how your house leaders have been working, aided by the fact that the general populace has no idea what's really going on, has created a type of social atrophy. Like in a feudal type of system where the dukes and barons are greedy and mostly unconcerned about the people that they rule, the people tend to develop the same attitude in reverse. They only do what is needed to keep the royalty out of their lives so they can try to improve their own lot.”
“So you think what’s wrong with the Talosian system is that the people are doing only enough to keep the house leaders from complaining?” Serena asked.
“Well, I don’t think it’s quite that simple. The leaders are only looking out for their own interests and power base. None of them are letting the people know the truth about what’s really going on, or why they’re doing the things they do. I think that if the Talosian leaders got the people more involved in what’s going on, and the house leaders became the voice of their clans like they are supposed to be, you would see a marked increase in overall production and efficiency. That is, if the people didn’t overthrow the existing power structure first.”
“Well, there is a lot of stuff that has gone on over the years that I haven’t told you. If the people had full disclosure of everything, we would have a civil war. At this point, though, I don’t know for certain if that would be a bad thing. That is, other than the fact that the Empire would roll right over us while we fought amongst ourselves,” Serena said.
Ian nodded. “And because of the hostile interaction with other races, the Alliance of races would not be inclined to protect you while you got your internal issues fixed. It’s definitely a mess with no easy means to clean it up. It's also the main reason the Council is debating even getting involved.”
“Well, I hope they do agree. I honestly don’t know what will happen to us if we don’t have you, your people, and your remarkable resources to help us," Serena said. “If they do alienate you, we’ll be doomed.”
“Well, I’ve been arguing for an alliance in Council, but, as you know, I can only offer my opinion as the military leader,” Ian said.
“Sir, pardon the interruption. The Talosian Heavy Cruiser, Adonis will be dropping out of Hyperspace in fourteen minutes. Do you still want to execute ‘Welcome Wagon’?" Mel asked.
“Yes, Mel, please initiate Operation ‘Welcome Wagon’.” Ian replied, and looked back at Serena. I guess time’s up, my friend. Wish us luck.”
“Luck,” Serena said. “Try not to enjoy this too much Ian.”
Ian shook his head. “I actually won’t enjoy this at all. It would have been whole lot easier if this would have happened in a more friendly way.”
Serena nodded agreement as she winked and closed the channel. Ian got up, and went to the bridge.
Terran Defense Ship TDF Star Dancer
Deep Space, Operation ‘Welcome Wagon’ Point ‘Mailbox’
Mid-way between Sol and Centauri systems
Alert Status: Yellow
Commander Ian Williams, Commanding
When Ian arrived on the bridge, he saw that it was already a very busy place.
“Commander on the Bridge!” the Marine guard yelled. Ian scowled at him, and he grinned back.
“What do we have, Colonel?” Ian asked as Jenny got out of her chair.
“Operation Welcome Wagon is fully active. Adonis will drop out of hyper in ninety seconds. When she does, all the missile platforms will immediately acquire and lock onto her. Phoenix Base will scramble fighters and activate her defenses.
“As you know we arrived a while ago. One third of our fighters have been launched, and the rest are ready to go. All Centurions are still out on their normal patrol routes. Our weapons systems are hot, but as per orders, master safety is on for all offensive weapons systems.
“The Raptors Damocles, Apache, and Gemini are already on station and ready. It was decided to let Apache have the lead this time, since Damocles got to handle the Earth situation. Other than that, the sector is quiet,” Jenny finished.
“Excellent, thank you. I have the Con,” Ian said.
“Yes Sir, you have the Con,” Jenny replied, and took her station.
“Jenny, do we have a place to park the Adonis once the excitement is over?” Ian asked.
“Yes Sir, Pleiades One has reserved an open birth next to the Prometheus. I made sure we would have the resources we may need to make any repairs to the Adonis that might need to be made. There is also a full wing of Hornet fighters available for transfer to her. The Station AI is installed, but not yet ready to assume her duties,” Jenny explained.
“That was quick, I didn’t expect the new AI to even be installed for another two weeks,” Ian said, grinning.
“Maia is still working through environmental assimilation and personality development. However, she is doing remarkably well,” Star said proudly from her position close to his dais. “She will be a fine station controller.”
Ian nodded, acknowledging Star. “You must be proud of her.”
“I am Sir, she has a remarkable grasp of ship design and configuration even for an AI. She has already suggested a number of corrections to the Battle Carrier that the designers hadn’t thought of,” Star replied.
“I thought you looked over the design before it was approved for construction?” Ian asked.
“I did Sir, very carefully. She spotted things I missed and has even suggested a major modification to the primary power units. As they were, it would have left the ship vulnerable during certain types of combat operations,” Star explained. "She analyzed the design in ways I never even thought of doing.
Like I said, Sir, she is going to make a remarkable station controller.”
“Adonis ETA, thirty seconds!” Chloe reported.
Ian nodded. “So you chose to name her Maia?”
Star nodded. “Yes, according to the myth, she was the eldest of Atlas’ daughters.”
Ian nodded. “The Mother of Hermes by Zeus. I’m sure she will perform very well.” He had been keeping an eye on the timer on the main screen at ten seconds, Ian called, "Red Alert! All stations, prepare for uninvited guests!”
As the lights on the bridge changed to red, and a soft klaxon rang three times to announce the change in status, Ian heard all the orders being given, but his mind focused on Chloe.
“Flight Operations, Launch all remaining fighters! Master safety is still on! Remember, lock on to your targets, but do not engage, I repeat, do not engage! Raptor Apache, you're on! Remember, this is a training mission; try not to kill anyone!”
“Hyperspace event forming, sector front, distance one hundred thousand. Energy readings confirm a capitol class ship,” Navigation reported.
“Sector Defense reports missile platforms have detected the event and are in acquisition!” Chloe reported. “Damn things actually work!"
“Remember Chloe, in normal mode, they would have already locked on and launched,” Ian said.
“True, they did have a hyperspace lock twenty minutes ago. But we didn’t know if they could transition as designed. It looks like they can,” Chloe replied.
“Sir, the Talosian Heavy Cruiser Adonis has exited Hyperspace ninety thousand kilometers off the bow. All weapons are locked, and fighters have it bracketed,” Chloe's FlightOps liaison reported.
“Sir, all missile platforms report hard lock on the Adonis,” another reported.