by JD Clarke
He held out his hand after only a brief moment of indecision. “I am Captain Stevens of the Churchill, flagship of the Atlantic Union Fleet.” He had a firm handshake, and his eyes never left mine. “You’ve caused quite a stir, Commander Hauptman. You say you left Earth in the space shuttle Atlantis and are just now returning.”
“Yes, sir. It’s only been a little over a year for us, but because of the time-dilation effect of our traveling at near the speed of light, many years have passed on Earth. May I trouble you for an exact date, Captain Stevens?”
“The date is 21 March 2172. You’ve been gone for 160 years.” He continued studying my eyes and expression for a moment before looking over at Sybil.
“Allow me to introduce my associate, Sybil. She is a member of the Unity, a race composed of what we would consider artificially intelligent beings.” I motioned for Sybil to step up and greet the captain.
Sybil held out her hand in greeting. “I am pleased to meet you. I am very curious about the structure of organically intelligent societies. Organic chemistry presents so many limitations.”
Captain Stevens gave her the briefest of handshakes. “We may retire to the conference room, where you will be more comfortable,” he said, addressing me again. The captain turned to his other officers. “Commander Duncan, Commander Rollins, will you accompany us please.”
Captain Stevens led the way to a small conference room with an oval table in the center with twenty chairs around it. Captain Stevens took his seat at the head of the table. I sat on his left, with Sybil to my left. The officers sat across from Sybil and me. Commander Rollins was on the captain’s immediate right.
“Your mission is well documented, Commander Hauptman, but I believe you were assigned as a civilian advisor aboard the Atlantis under Commander Douglas.” The young commander smiled affably. “We’re of course curious to hear your story.”
The next two hours were spent giving them a highlight’s version of our adventure. It was strange to speak out loud using my vocal cords for such an extended period. The neural net translated for me and also helped me in choosing my words. English had changed a great deal since we had been gone. It was not unrecognizable, but it was different. I was impressed that they held most of their questions until I finished my story. Captain Stevens sat silently watching me. I am sure he was judging me as well as the accuracy of my story. His only reaction was a raised eyebrow as I finished my description of Claire’s betrayal and attempt to destroy the Defiant and us with it. I noted his renewed interest in Sybil.
“And you believe the Unity present no immediate threat to Earth?” Captain Stevens asked me.
“Not immediately. I believe they will be involved with sorting out their own social problems for a time, but they will adapt and then continue their conquest of all star systems of interest. They will eventually turn their sights on Earth. I don’t know how long we have, but Earth must prepare,” I told the captain.
“How are your repairs to your ship progressing?” Captain Stevens inquired.
“I assume we’ll be able to save her, but I will have a better idea after I return to her from our meeting.” I knew the captain would have a lot of questions for me concerning the future fate of the Defiant and Sybil as well. I headed him off by asking my own questions. “What is Earth like? We’ve been gone a long time, and we’re naturally curious as to what has been happening. Before we discuss any future plans, I would like to be brought up to speed on Earth history over the last 160 years. Did NASA manage to destroy the moon mining operation that threatened Earth? Were any more probes sent to our system?”
Captain Stevens sat back and considered my request for a moment. “Of course, you have a right to know what has been going on here since you left. Duncan, you’re the history buff. Why don’t you fill Commander Hauptman in?”
“To answer your question about the mining operation, yes, it was destroyed, but not until it had blasted a huge amount of moon material into space, much of which struck Earth. Nearly every satellite in Earth orbit was knocked down or turned into junk. The International Space Station was lost. Large meteors struck Earth. Most fell into the oceans or sparsely populated areas. But Ontario, Chicago, Moscow, and Munich were badly damaged by direct meteor strikes. World communications were badly compromised. The resulting dust thrown into the atmosphere caused severe famines for a decade. Wars erupted as nations scrambled to secure resources for their people. Five years of war terminated in the biowars. Earth’s population was decimated, and new alliances formed among the surviving nations. It took four generations to restore civilization to its former level of peace and plenty. But when order was finally restored, the nations of Earth had a new cause to rally around. We knew that we were not alone and that the universe was a dangerous place.
“All uncontrolled energy emissions, radio, TV, and the like were strictly regulated. We did not want any alien civilizations to detect our presence. All communications were by optic fiber or focused laser beams. The nations of Earth worked together to establish colonies on the moon and on Mars as outposts of humanity. They also worked together to build a space fleet of ships to defend Earth against any alien invasion or unintentional threat to Earth’s safety.”
“Which is of course why we are here,” Captain Stevens concluded.
“How is Earth governed now?” I asked Commander Duncan, giving the captain a smile to let him know I was not intentionally ignoring him.
“There are two main governing bodies, the Atlantic Union, which comprises Europe, Africa, North and South America, and Australia. The Asian Alliance of Free Peoples, which includes the old Asian countries of your time, including China, Russia, India, Turkey, and Japan and most of the Middle Eastern countries. Iran acquired most of the surrounding countries during the chaos of the famines.”
“Commander Hauptman, I must ask your intentions,” Captain Stevens said, broaching the subject I most feared.
“You mean do I intend to hand over the Defiant to your fleet, or do I intend to force my own influence on Earth? How do we proceed from here—that’s the real question, isn’t it?” I asked, looking him directly in the eye. “To be honest with you, Captain, I don’t know. My first responsibility is to the safety of Earth and the people that live there. All the old nations that my crew and I knew are gone. I have no ambitions of conquest or visions of grandeur, I can assure you. But I do want to be sure that I am doing the right thing and that the technology we are bringing is delivered to the right people and used for the purpose of defending our solar system from the Unity, not used against the people of Earth in some bid for dominance or petty border disputes.”
“You would refuse a direct order from the Atlantic Union’s high command to relinquish your ship?” asked Commander Rollins in astonishment.
“If I thought it was not in the best interest of all inhabitants of our planet, yes, I would,” I said calmly.
“You’re not even a real commander. You’re a civilian in a costume uniform. You even admitted it was made up by one of your crew.” Rollins was becoming red in the face.
“Designing your own uniform has many precedents in history, Mr. Rollins.” The captain’s calm rebuke and commanding voice took some of the color out of his subordinate. “Napoleon jumps to mind, but I don’t think Commander Hauptman wears the Little General’s shoes. Very well, it will take some time for my report to reach Earth and for me to receive a reply. I will be requesting orders as to how to proceed. I suggest we meet again at that time to discuss our options further.” The captain stood, signaling a halt to this meeting.
“Thank you for your hospitality, Captain.” I stood as well. “Gentlemen, it was good to meet you.”
The two commanders rose and nodded, although Rollins was still visibly upset. There was no attempt at parting handshakes.
“I will of course maintain my fleet’s present position,” stated Captain Stevens, meaning he would keep his guns on us.
“Of course, Captain, you have a heavy resp
onsibility,” I replied as Sybil and I turned to leave.
There was an escort of four armed men to see us safely to the air lock and leave the Atlantic Union’s flagship. Sybil was silent the entire walk back, only speaking when we had secured ourselves back in the Cyclone.
“They are very weak. Their weapons could not effectively penetrate our armor, and I believe their ships to be only armed with laser weaponry. Their defensive shielding is nonexistent. They cannot impose their will upon us. We, on the contrary, can do as we wish.” Sybil took her station at weapons control.
“It’s not a contest of strength, Sybil,” I replied. “It’s a matter of how do we work together for mutual benefit.”
“I do not trust them, especially Commander Rollins. Captain Stevens is more complex, but I believe he will follow whatever orders he receives. Commander Duncan is curious, interested in learning, and not committed to a specific ideology.”
“I agree with your assessment, Sybil, but I think there may be more to the captain.”
“Perhaps, but they are dangerous. They are afraid of us.”
Response
Our repairs were going well. We had aligned the two sections of the Defiant, and Mako had come up with the idea of actually ramming the two sections together. The collision smashed and entangled the two halves together in such a way as to make it near impossible to separate them again. We used the warships to straighten the forward section in-line with the axis of the mother ship. The Defiant’s engines were operational again, and thousands of maintenance robots flooded the area of the juncture—cutting, welding, removing, and replacing the damaged areas of the two halves. I had instructed the reunion of the two halves to be completed before repairs to the bridge were begun. I wanted the ship in one piece as soon as possible.
Jackson and Sybil soon had an auxiliary bridge functional in the control room above the hangar deck. We were back in command of the Defiant, but she was still falling toward the sun with a weakened structure.
“The first thing we need to do is turn her around, get her aft end forward so that when we resume our deceleration, the forward section is forced into the ship, not pulled away from it.” I instructed Jackson on my ideas for slowing down and then establishing an orbit around the sun that would put us near Earth as it made its annual journey.
“Sasha, any change in the Earth fleet’s positions?”
“No, Jason. They are still maintaining a semicircle on the port side of the Defiant. Do you still want me to keep an eye on them? It’s getting kinda boring sitting out here in an empty warship.”
“Better stay there on guard until we at least get more of the sensors up and functioning. It won’t be too much longer.”
“Hope not, I’m getting hungry.”
Mako was inspecting the junction between the two halves of the Defiant. “Jason, these robots are a wonder. They’re actually working on repairs to the power and communication conduits. I think we’ll have power in the forward section in just a few hours. It still looks like a mess, but much of the wreckage has been removed from around essential areas. Still cannot access the forward section, no open passageways yet.”
“Thanks, Mako, I have one more task for you. Stop by the First Ring and get us something to eat. On second thought, I’ll meet you there. There’s no mess hall in this section anyway.”
“OK, Jason, see you there.”
Sybil turned away from the 3-D display she had been working on, modifying it to access the external sensor arrays. “Commander, I have a request.”
“Yes, Sybil.” I was getting tired and hungry. I was also wondering how long it would take for the powers that be on Earth to make up their minds on what to do about us. I’m sure Captain Stevens was anxious to get his orders as well.
“I would like to start fabrication of an android body for Noomi. Her holographic processor unit is undamaged. I can download her consciousness to a new body as soon as it is fabricated. We could use another crew member to help with repairs.”
“Of course, Sybil. Sorry I didn’t think of that myself.” I had been too busy to think much at all. I was busy reacting to circumstances and putting out fires. I needed to get ahead of events and begin thinking ahead. “As soon as we have sensors back online, have Sasha monitor the Earth fleet from here. You can then check on the fabrication equipment and restore Noomi to another android body.”
“I can monitor things from here, Jason,” Jackson put in. “Sybil can go now if you like, and Sasha can meet you and Mako for dinner.” He smiled at me, and his manner mirrored my own. It was like having a twin. “You look tired.”
“I am, thanks. Give Sasha the message please.” I left for the tram. Thankfully, it was still working in this section of the ship. I had thought of forcing one of the runabouts into the main corridor to travel the length of the mother ship, but it had not been necessary.
Mako was already on the First Ring when I got there. He was sitting on the platform with his feet dangling off, a pile of fruit next to him. “Have a seat, Jason. It’s a beautiful view from here. Makes you forget all the troubles we’ve been through.”
I sat next to him and looked out over the lush vegetation. “Not really, Dena loved it here. I would have buried her here if there had been anything left to bury.” I was suddenly flooded with emotion—loss, defeat, loneliness. I would never feel Dena again, never feel her heart and soul within my mind. I couldn’t stop the tears. I hid my face in my hands as I turned away from Mako. I shook and cried uncontrollably.
Mako placed his hand on my shoulder without saying a word. There was nothing to say. Only he and I would be returning to Earth. The others had all been lost. Commander Douglas lay beneath the ground on a small hill not far from where we sat. Dr. Becker was vaporized, his atoms floating in space. Nick Brunsic was alone fighting on an alien planet, his fate unknown. Sergeant Klanton, his body stored aboard and awaiting burial on Earth. And Dena, who loved me and held me through countless nightmares, was now gone. I felt very alone. I had failed to bring them home.
“You’re exhausted, Jason. You should get some rest. You’ve been up for forty-eight hours straight.”
I forced myself to stand up and control my emotions. “I think I’ll take a walk. Maybe lie down on our old campsite on the hill over the spring. Wake me if you hear anything from Captain Stevens.”
“Sure, Jason, just get some rest.” Mako watched me as I began down the ramp to the forest floor. Then I heard the elevator open.
“Hey, what’s up? I’m starved. Hey, Mako, where’s the boss?” Sasha asked as she bounded across the platform.
I closed my eyes and just walked on down the forest path.
Meeting
I slept a solid twelve hours before being awakened by Sybil. My body felt rested, but I felt empty inside, as if everything had been poured out and flowed down between the little sand grains, to disappear beneath the very ground I was lying on.
“Captain Stevens is requesting a meeting with you,” Sybil told me as she gently shook my shoulder.
“Any clue as to his orders?” I asked.
“No, he revealed no further information in his message.” Sybil looked me over, maybe with a look of concern or maybe just evaluating my condition.
“Then we better set up a meeting and not keep him waiting.” I stood straight and strode to the elevator, trying to look strong and confident.
“Good to hear from you, Captain Stevens. Any news from Earth?” I asked him over the laser communications.
“Only that the Board of Council is requesting further information.” Captain Stevens revealed little emotion, but I got the feeling he was uncomfortable about what he was about to request.
“Captain, please allow me the honor of being my guest. I would very much like to give you a tour of the Defiant. I believe you would find it interesting, and it would also allow you the opportunity to meet the rest of our crew.”
“You’re very gracious, Commander Hauptman. I accept your offer.”
“I can have Sybil transport you across to the Defiant if you wish.”
“That’s quite all right, Commander. I can transport over in one of our shuttles. Would one hour from now be convenient for you and your crew?”
“I will see you then, Captain.” Even without the aid of the neural net, I could hear the relief in his voice.
“What information, Jason?” Mako asked me. It was only the three of us on the temporary bridge. Sybil was there as well.
“They want to know the capabilities of the Defiant and our warships. They don’t know if they can force us to relinquish control,” I replied. That was why the captain was tense; he was unsure of how willingly we would share the sensitive information he was ordered to obtain.
“Earth authorities are making contingency plans in the event that we refuse to give them what they want,” Sybil observed.
“Exactly. They want the technology, and they want the power that the Defiant represents. Things on Earth haven’t changed. People in power never want to share power.”