Space Fleet Sagas Foundation Trilogy: Books One, Two, and Three in the Space Fleet Sagas

by Don Foxe

  “The words do not matter,” Sensei replied. “Your answer does.”

  “You already know my answer, Tōchan,” Aya said, using the informal ‘Dad.' “I trust in you. As my father, my trainer, my Sensei, and my rock.” She brought the others back from their conversational exile. “I will not turn you in,” she said. “If I have to decide between my work and my family, I will always choose family. It would appear that my father has adopted the four of you. That makes us family.”

  “On Fell, it is family, clan, tribe, and then Fell,” Stacey said.

  “Same for us,” Chaspi added. “Family first.”

  “I don’t usually agree with my parents,” Billy said, “but I trust they want what’s best for me.”

  “What about the Patterson’s?” Aya asked Stacey, and then abruptly said, “No. Wait. I have to shower before I begin to reek. I left my bag in the dojo. You guys clean up breakfast. We’ll meet in the den.”

  Aya departed.

  “We are in her hands now,” Sensei said, standing and collecting his dishes. “They are good hands. She had a most excellent teacher.”

  “You?” Chaspi asked.

  “Her mother.”

  UESE HQ

  Two uniformed security agents escorted Pam Patterson to a lounge where Sam waited.

  “They were aware I was investigating the London Bank the moment I accessed the corporate staffing list,” he said.

  “They’re listening, and probably watching,” she warned her husband. “You don’t want to say anything even remotely incriminating.”

  He shrugged and continued.

  “It was quite a surprise when my monitor froze. Then my com-pad went dead,” he said, returning with her to the sofa. “Coffee or tea?”

  She replied with a shake of her head. Surprised at how calm her husband accepted his detention at Security Headquarters. She knew him as a low-key, level-headed financial expert, but never imagined seeing him in a situation as tense as the current one.

  “Why was it a surprise?”

  “Staffing records for all corporations on the planet are open and available,” he replied. “Public documents. I’ve started investigations with staff lists hundreds of times. Sometimes you catch a break and connect a name to another file, or recognize someone in a position that doesn’t exactly fit what you know about them.”

  “Did you see a name that seemed out of place?”

  “Didn’t have time,” he replied. “Pam, I barely opened the com-line and put in the request when it froze. There had to be a detect-and-desist alert attached to the file. But that makes no sense. It’s a public file on an open server.”

  The door opened. Paris Cassel joined them.

  “If you had used a public system to access the records, the detect-and-desist would not have activated,” he said, confirming they were under observation, and confirming he did not care if they knew. “Your official address triggered the alarm. A UEC computer assigned to the financial offices, and, more specifically, to you.”

  “I make similar searches every day,” Sam said. “It’s part of my job.”

  “Normally, but you are the husband of Admiral Pam Patterson, retired, and she has been snooping around sensitive matters. The bank in London is under surveillance. Your wife is a person of interest. You tripped the alarm.”

  “Why are they watched?” Pam asked.

  “Classified,” Cassel responded, and held up a hand to stop further questions.

  “You are no longer an acting officer in Space Fleet, and you no longer hold clearance for security issues. Sam does not have a clearance level high enough to read him into the on-going investigation. What I can tell you is I cannot allow you to intentionally, or inadvertently warn anyone connected to the London bank that someone is investigating them.”

  “Fine,” Pam said. “We’ll go home and be good children. We wont trip any more alerts.”

  “Not that easy, I’m afraid,” the Director said. He settled onto a chair facing the sofa and the Patterson’s. “We have to make sure no one else detected Sam’s inquiry. We also need to check the security scan of your home we ran. And, no, we are not the ones periodically scanning your house. This was a one-time because of Sam’s alert.”

  “I’ve know you a long time, Paris,” Pam said. “I trust you. You should trust me.”

  “I trust both of you,” Cassel replied. “I work for people who trust that I will not allow that to prevent me from making sure our current project is not compromised. You will both be guests of the UESE for a couple of days while we complete our investigation.”

  “That is a load of bull,” Sam said, standing. The calm demeanor gone. His outrage triggered by the situation becoming too convoluted for the logical financial expert.

  “Tell him, Pam,” the dapper French-Canadian spy said to his former colleague.

  “The UESE can hold us for seventy-two hours without a stated cause,” she said, placing a hand on her husband’s arm, urging him to sit down. Once seated, she continued. “They call it a global security concern, and there isn’t a damn thing we can do about it.”

  “You’ll be placed, together, in a comfortable room located within the facility,” Cassel said. “It isn’t a top-notch hotel room, but sufficient. I seriously doubt this will take more than a few hours to resolve. I have dispatched agents to your home where they will make a search. I told them not act heavy-handed. I can have them bring you both a change of clothes, if you provide a list and location of items. I need to bring your young guest in as well. Is AStasaei at the house?”

  Pam’s eyes lost focus for less than a nano-second. She looked at Cassel, wondering if he noticed her minuscule hesitation.

  “Stacey? Why I have no idea where she is at the moment,” she said. “She’s a college co-ed on winter break,” Patterson continued. “She probably out with her friends.”

  “You have a trans-com chip embedded in your neck. I suggest you either turn it off, use it to contact the Fellen, or I will block it altogether” Cassel said.

  “Yes, I still have the chip embedded. No, I will not turn it off, nor try to contact AStasaei. I’m here to discuss Sam, not our houseguest. Paris, I believe you when you say you can jam the signal. If you feel that’s necessary.”

  “Necessary, and done as we speak,” he assured her. “At least now we know where to find her.”

  “AStasaei is a citizen of Fell, and a guest on Earth. You should be careful about doing something to cause an interstellar incident,” she warned.

  “A lot of documents were signed and conditions met for Stacey to be picked up on Rys and delivered to you. Among considerations for her acceptance to college included her acceptance to abide by Earth’s laws and practices. He parents also agreed. Our Exo-Legal Affairs Department assures me I can hold her for the same seventy-two hours before either charging a crime, or requesting her removal and return to Rys.”

  “You would send her back?” Sam asked.

  “I doubt it comes to that,” Cassel answered. He rose, and looking down on the former Fleet commander, asked, “Will you tell me everything you have learned while unofficially investigating Barnwell’s suicide?”

  “Sure,” she replied. “Nothing.”

  The super spook smiled, not expecting any other reply. He would stash them safely away for a short while. If he needed to keep them longer, he could get creative later.

  DOJO

  Aya sat in her father’s chair. Deft fingers, nails polished in dark cranberry, slipped through layers of Space Fleet security firewalls. Her position as the Director of Exo-Legal Affairs allowing her access to all but the highest classified sites. Stacey’s magical touch with electronics would eventually allow her to arrive at the same place, but Aya’s passwords made it quicker. Plus, she knew what she wanted to find.

  “Why are you helping us?” Stacey asked. The young Fellen neither shy nor intimidated by the forceful woman.

  “One, because my father sees something in the four of you worthwhile,” s
he replied without making eye contact. The dark, almond-shaped eyes scanning lines of information, searching for something specific. “Two, because of Tasha and Tista Korr.”

  “The Ventierran Judge and her daughter?” Chaspi asked. For her part, Aya Ishihara completely intimidated her, but curiosity won out.

  Aya nodded. “I needed their experience. I wanted to tap into their knowledge regarding the legal issues involving interstellar trade agreements, alliances, and everything that goes with the territory. Who better to learn from than a Trade World Alliance mediator and her assistant. They were gracious, and incredibly helpful. I admire Judge Korr. If ten percent of the aliens we encounter are like the Korrs, Earth will benefit tremendously by joining the Trade Alliance.”

  “Why does that factor into helping us?” Stacey persisted.

  The lawyer with a warrior’s spirit rested her back against the ergo-chair, turning her attention from the holo-images to the blue alien standing beside her. Stacey did not quite invade Aya’s private space, but hovered close to the edge.

  “Judge Korr spoke highly of Fellen,” she said. “Honorable, honest, tough negotiators, and fiercely loyal.” She turned her incredibly deep eyes to Chaspi and Rosz, across the desk, nowhere near her personal space borders. “Tasha told me The Osperantue races are without deceit. I learned of many species, and even more about the different races within and outside the Alliance from the Korrs. No others received the praise used when describing the people from your two worlds.”

  “Was it not enough that I trust them?” her father asked.

  “No.” The daughter’s reply stern, then followed by a smile. “You are a wonderful Sensei, but you are a sucker for anyone in trouble. You retired, but never stopped thinking like the commander of the protectors.”

  “Sensei, you actually commanded the Royal Guard for the Japanese Imperial Family?” Billy asked.

  “He left the Tokyo police force to join the Royal Guard. He filled the vacancy created when Hiroshi Kimura decided not to return, choosing university instead,” Aya answered for her sire. “Over time he rose to Commander. He retired and moved to Canada. My father listens to spirits. One whispered Toronto and he moved to Canada.”

  “Really?” Billy asked, eyes wide.

  “Kami are everywhere, and anyone can learn to hear their messages,” the elder Ishihara said, “but Aya exaggerates. Rie Sasaki, Japan’s representative to the UEC asked that I spend time in Toronto after my retirement.”

  “My mother died years ago,” Aya took up the tale. “My father and Rie are not-so-secret lovers. As I said, he is not the best judge of character.”

  Rosz, Chaspi, and Billy stood quietly, caught between shock at the information quite freely given, and giggles over Sensei’s obvious discomfort.

  Stacey relaxed. The open revelations made her more comfortable with both Japanese. “Can I help you find anything?”

  “Nope. Already found what I needed,” she said. Returning to the holo-image generator, she pulled out a line of code and expanded it into a diagram. Flexing her manicured fingers across the diagram converted it into a three-dimensional representation of a large fenced area and several buildings.

  “This is Space Fleet’s Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group’s Inactive Shuttle Facility,” she said. “Decommissioned shuttles pending determination of final fate are stored here.”

  “Final fate?” Stacey asked.

  “A few get resold to private enterprises. Those in good condition may be recommissioned following upgrades. The majority are scrapped. A couple end up in museums. Until a final decision is made by Fleet Engineers, they sit here. The engines that power space flight are removed. Electronics, communications, and ident systems pulled. They are capable of manual atmospheric flight to allow pilots to deliver them to their final destination, but that is about all they can do.”

  “Why does this help us?” Rosz asked.

  “As I said,” Aya looked at the Bosine, her face framed by the straight black hair still damp from her shower, “Identifiers, electronic and otherwise, have been removed, but they can still fly.”

  “If we use one of these shuttle to fly to Fin Island,” Stacey said, “No one will see us.”

  “Exactly,” Aya agreed. “Now all you have to do is steal one, fly it to the west coast, locate Daniel Cooper, convince him to help you, and return the shuttle before anyone realizes it’s missing.”

  CHAPTER 19

  Rosz, with borrowed earbuds (from Aya), and borrowed music (from Aya), new-Earth psy-rock, sat cross-legged, back against the wall in Sensei’s combination den and office. Everyone ignored him, assuming he preferred the music and solitude to conversation. Which, in fact, he did.

  Aya and Stacey faced each other. The morning light, filtered through closed curtains, framed the two women as they held an urgent conversation. Rosz saw two different people from different species, and far different worlds, yet mirror images.

  The younger Fellen, her blue skin and auburn hair streaked with blonde highlights stark contrasts with the slightly older human, with straight black hair and light, sand-colored skin. Obvious differences. There were just as obvious similarities.

  They were the same height, same strong body-type, though Stacey displayed the full, round breasts of Fellen females. Aya’s chest equally firm, but not as full. Rosz decided he did not prefer one over the other.

  Both held themselves like dancers, or perhaps a better simile would be like fighters. While the college student’s eyes glowed burnt-orange to deep red, and the Japanese lawyer’s eyes smoldered in black night, they possessed identical almond shapes. Humans and Fellen may be alien to each other, but they could share an ancient connection.

  Chaspi and Billy stood side-by-side in front of a wall of real books. Their heads down as they talked together. He loved Chaspi as a sister and best friend. He accepted her anger issues, her desire to become more than an average Bosine, and the fact she had no clue how Billy felt toward her.

  Billy became his friend without ever attempting to become his friend, or expecting anything from a friendship with an alien. He was a bit goofy, using the Earth term Billy used himself, and smart. The young human did not yet realize his own nature. Rosz could see the adult Billy could become. He met a version of an older Billy when he met Daniel Cooper. While Billy would never consider himself a hero, he possessed the character, the will, and the honor of a paladin. The crush on Chaspi would take care of itself.

  Rosz caught Sensei from the corner of his eye. The master stood in the doorway, watching Rosz watch the others. He gave a small smile, a knowing nod, and disappeared.

  “We have a plan,” Aya said aloud. “You may as well come all the way inside, Father, it involves you as well.”

  Kai Ishihara entered. He took his seat at his desk, and the others, including Rosz, joined him. “Please tell us your plan,” he said to his daughter. “And do not forget my part.”

  SFAMRG Facilities

  Tottenham, Ontario, Canada

  (forty-eight miles from Toronto)

  “Rosz, Billy, and Sensei Kai should be half way to Mizippy,” Chaspi whispered.

  “Mississippi,” Stacey said, not whispering. “No one can hear us, Chaspi.”

  “Yea, I know, but we’re about to break into a government facility and steal a shuttle,” she replied, a bit louder than before, but only a bit. “Seems we should be whispering.”

  “The facilities closed two hours ago.” Stacey talked to Chaspi while she worked with her cello-data sheet, a fold-out thin sheet of cellophane-like material. When booted, the sheet became a functioning mini-personal computer, complete with sat-uplink. “Security is totally automated. All I need to do is hack the system and turn off the alarms.”

  “What do you think of Aya?”

  “I could take her.”

  “I didn’t know you were into girls,” Chaspi’s surprise overriding her caution. She dropped back into her whisper to say, “I mean, you are so hot, and guys just drool ove
r you, but, whatever you prefer.”

  In the dark, with nothing more than the dim refracted light from the cello-sheet, Chaspi clearly saw orange eyes squint at her.

  “Not - that - way,” Stacey said, accentuating each word. “I could take her in a fight.”

  “Oh, yea, totally get it,” Chaspi stammered. “I bet you could, too. Even if she’s been trained by her father since she was old enough to walk. I mean, you’re from Fell. You’ve been training your whole life, too. You could take her . . . in a fight.”

  “Yep,” Stacey replied. Looking back at her paper-thin terminal, she added, “Maybe the other way, too.”

  “Stacey!”

  “I’m in. Alarms are off.”

  The blue girl came out of the ditch across the road from the Space Fleet Maintenance and Regeneration Group’s facilities, and headed for the personnel gate set into the security fence. The pink Bosine followed, afraid of getting caught, and excited about the prospects of not getting caught.

  Highway to Hattiesburg

  “Sensei, I can drive if you need a break,” Billy said.

  “My vehicle. I drive,” Ishihara answered.

  The vehicle, an extended rec-bus with off-road wheels and hover-capable for short periods to cross places with roads badly in need of repair, or no roads at all. Originally designed to ferry troops, he bought it at auction. He then spent money and time converting the military transport into a cross-country mobile home.

  “You sit behind the wheel,” Rosz said from the swivel chair behind the two similar chairs constituting the front seats. “The nav-system is set, the self-drive is active, and cruise engaged to determine speed. You even left to use the restroom twice.”

  “My vehicle. I drive how I wish to drive,” Sensei replied. “It is a fully operational bathroom, with shower, and real tile on the floor. It is not a restroom.”

  “I sit corrected,” Rosz said. He carried on the conversation with Aya’s earbuds streaming more of her psy-rock music.