"Not directly." I said. "Split your classes, between manned and remote controlled. We expect to find a source of replacement fighters which, with remotes manned, double the birds in the air. By the way Jandor, how is your saucer plan shaping up?"
"Nerre' and I have been dog fighting with the two models we built. They will turn on a dime. The 'G' forces are beyond even our ability to withstand. We haven't yet overcome that problem."
"Well done on those solutions. Look at the hull system this ship uses. Maybe it will suggest something to you. You are to report directly to us on the progress of training. You can go on, if that's all?"
They just left. We were gaining a sense of urgency, splendid.
"Trist." I asked. "What say we go to the engine rooms and see if we can find anything strange?"
"Doubtful, anyway we can't leave this ship until the first bunch of pilots arrive. Not without creating increased traffic patterns. So we might as well look around."
When on the propulsion deck, we didn't find anything new. Matter of fact we didn't find much of anything except motors for the household functions. Where a dozen Fusion reactors should be, they weren't. Trist and I sat at a dual control panel and we could see all of the internal ship functions plainly.
Trist said, "Either a pact has been reached with powerful Gods. Or, we are missing a deck. If we are missing a deck, which it doesn't appear to be the case, then it's sealed. If it's sealed it's probably sealed for a good reason. The reason, argumentively, must be that the power is limitless. The only example of that we know of, is a direct draw from the sun. Which you and I know can't be held long, in our day. This ship will have to be tested, by you, because I'm not reproducible. How fast can you get a crew together?"
"I don't want to disturb anything we have going. I'll take the next fifty people. Then go and try to wreck this thing. You make a list of tests that we should be able to do. We'll do them. Let's go back to the Captain’s office. I think he had the softest chairs."
I sent a tight band transmission back to my office, (Note for Hilde, to Paula, next fifty bodies out of the tanks report directly to me.)
On the way back something that Thelma had said about the Elders occurred to me. "Trist, let's look at the Navigation Station. Something I just remembered."
"Sure, is that old unconscious correlation kicking in again?"
"Something Thelma observed. She said the Elders ships kept changing. A possible explanation would be that they were suspended in time, never fixing on any particular time point like we do."
When we got there Trist sat and turned the station on. He ran tests and said it appeared normal. I noticed a bank of displays off to his left that weren't activated. "Trist, what's that on your left?"
"I don't know."
He swung the chair to the left and there was an audible click. The central large screen of a display of nine screens came to life and asked, 'Do you want to reset the deviation from the Galactic Constant? If so enter the new deviation. If not, the present deviation of 1007940 will be maintained. Touch appropriate block below.' The blocks to touch were; MAINTAIN, or RESET TO, and a space to enter something after that. Trist touched, MAINTAIN. The console shut off. The chair was released to swivel free with a loud click.
Trist said, "Someone needs to explain this. Let's go ask our good testing Captain."
Trist sat at the Captains desk, activated the console, and entered, Galactic Constant. The screen read, 'A minus, or plus reading from a fixed point to ascertain where the vessel is in relation to deviations of stellar drift, see file drawer number seventeen which is now open'. We looked at the wall of file drawers. One was open. The screen continued, 'Printing star charts of locations of the Galactic Constant for each major Galaxy'.
A series of maps started to appear on the course plotting table. We watched it grow to about six inches deep. For a slight moment I wanted to go hide in a cave. All I'd wanted was my family and my farm and my books. Now I had the universe laid out before me.
I pulled out a thin file from drawer seventeen and left it open. Back at the desk I saw Trist had entered, Propulsion System, this vessel. The screen changed to, Solar Location Drive, maintains vessel in relation to nearest twenty five suns, draws power from the closest, file drawer number thirty two. Another drawer opened. I got a thicker file from it. I said, "Let's get around what we have before we make any further inquiries."
We sat at our small table with two overstuffed chairs and read, exchanged files, read some more. Trist got something out of the Captains cold chest. My only solace was to start another carafe of our juice.
He said, "We can make suppositions all day long about this. Fact is, the Elders became involved in the latest hours of the Phaeton civilization. The same as they did on Earth. Who knows if they were successful? Who knows if we will be successful? I suggest your newly reborn spend some time here, or any of the other Carrier Ships."
"I'll do that when we get back to our stations. I want to do an experiment to clarify why we don't have any fighter maintenance."
I called Nerre' on our short range radios and asked, "Can you launch one fighter and have it maintain a position a mile away?"
"They're not built for deep space, you know that. We may lose it."
"I know. Do it and come to the Captains office, Jandor also."
Trist sat in the Control Chair while they were launching the fighter. No alarms sounded so they were evidently designed for high launch and recovery.
When the two of them arrived at the office I said, "I'm going back to my first times on the ARKs. The main system enhancement program would return everything to a base norm every twenty four hours. If that carries over we should have a new fighter in your empty launching tube a day from now. Regardless Admiral Prestrillo and I have discovered several points of information which you need. They go like this."
We explained what we'd discovered. Jandor wanted to ask about his saucers.
Trist entered, 'overcoming gravity effects in saucer craft'. The consol read, 'isolate pilot in created space, file drawer number fifty two'. Both of them sat at a briefing table with that drawer's contents. I admired how they took the changes in stride. Me, I deserved a bonus for the worrying level I achieved.
Trist and I watched them from across the room. He said, "There's something to be said for mental youth."
"True. I haven't even gotten back to before this section of this universe in my regression. We'll have to figure out how far this craft goes back. Hours spent on regression further back will have no tactical advantage."
Trist reflected, "Can't say that for sure. Anyway I understand everybody's learning the technique. I'm going to learn it myself, so I can pass it along to the Rangers. Thinking about learning, do you have any indication that the Elder technology isn't up to defeating the ANNU KI?"
"No."
"So let's pretend we can, defeat them, and hit them somewhere."
"Where?"
He considered, "According to Lillian the different ANNU KI ships don't support each other. So let's cut the one in Canada off. We'll go back a hundred thousand years from the end and cut out a thousand years. Then see what effect that has on the rest of that ships timeline. Get some experience factor. I'm cautious about attacking the one on the South Pole. It will be affecting the electro magnetic flow of the planet. But for the moment let's put together a Task Force, Alpha let's say. We'll gather two Balls, Five Carriers, and Lillian's ship with her people. Hell, we could even give them a Ball, if they could handle it."
"Tina and Lillian will be coming out of the Time Drop in five days. We'll see what they have to offer. But sure, let's do it. We'll make a list of who we want to go along with me. Damn, my world for something to write on. Wait, here's a drawer. What do you know? Stocked down to the note paper."
I commandeered the Captains quarters, a short walk away from the office. Trist had to settle for the XO Quarters. Trist found the Mess and had some fruit he remembered, as good as picked yesterday. Evidently th
e Phase Out tech had been widely used for the most common applications. We spent the next four days planning for a Scout incursion and then, the main attack.
Carol forwarded an update from Paula. She, Paula, attended the removal of the Time Drop seals on the passenger station. After an exam, about which she was more than usually terse in her report, she declared them fit. So Tina and Lillian were underway to my Carrier by shuttle. Who knew what Paula's problem was with the two of them, but it would be my problem shortly.
In our conversations over the last days, Trist mentioned that he had located one other Space Station outfitted for Terra Forming. I knew from fixing them, the systems were much more complex than the usual passenger station we had now.
Another fighter had appeared to replace the one standing off from us after the first twenty four hours. That took care of fixing fighters. I told Nerre' and Ted to do the same as we had and store the excess fighters on the passenger station. The fighter saucer craft was becoming a reality with the help of Ted Markus. He and his crew had finished installing Universal Drive Nodes on all of the Space stations. The result, we could move as a group to any where, any time with five minutes warm-up. Two thousand plus dragon people pilots, minus dragons, were underway in another liner to our location. We weren't much of a secret anymore. Trist and I resolved to change location once I returned from Canada. If I didn't return, he would move as he saw fit.
I watched the shuttle arrive and went to the Captains, now my, office to await their arrival in person.
Lillian walked in first. She was a glowing ball of purpose, even more glowing from six months of rest.
Tina was behind her. It was the same Tina whose spirit showed through our different faces. But she was something more. More what? Then her personality hit me undisguised by Lillian's. She looked at me with a gaze that came from long ago, a gaze that had seen suns be born and die. I suddenly felt cold inside. Momentarily, I almost pitied the ANNU KI. An emotion from me which they would never get from her, I'm sure. Trist and I stood. I thought of offering her the chair and the command. Maybe I should. Her presence said she would handle both easily. We saluted, then shook hands, then hugged each other. With the momentary pressure I felt hardness in her body that I didn't yet have. She was six months further along in development. But it was, I thought, more than that. She had the assurance about her that she had overcome, thoroughly, her own self inflicted limitations. She greeted Trist, Jandor, Nerre' and Ted with hugs. They were all open- eyed at her change and didn't know how to react.
Her voice when she spoke seemingly came from various locations, "It's beyond words to say how glad I am to see you, all of you. I know I've changed. I saw the before and after recording. You'll get used to me because you will become like me, right Lillian?"
"Yes, the experience is recorded. It's already being implanted. What can't be realized by sleep learning on those already reborn, I will go over in group settings. Main point is that it can, and has been done. You, in your present forms can learn what's needed to be successful. Let's kick ass. I learned that from Tina."
I said, "Canada, here we come. I want you Tina to command a Carrier. Also you, Lillian. Your own pilots will soon be here. You're both promoted to Captain. Nerre' will be commanding another Carrier, Captain also. If you can show me that you've handed over your duties, and knowledge, Jandor you can command the last Carrier. Let's go over the plans that Trist and I have formed. Paula will staff every Med Deck, with trained reborn. We'll also put in artificial wombs which are double purpose rejuvenation capability. For the purpose of secure communications we will have one Essence Ensign in each Control Room"
I went away from the formation with my fifty crewmen and women, when they were ready, to do tests. We didn't manage to wreck the Carrier. The fighters launched and were recovered at speeds so fast that even we blacked out. The missiles hit everything they were aimed at without a time lag. A broadside from the cannon melted an asteroid to nothing. We fired both sides together. The energy reserve needle flickered once. If we did some dumb command the ship reminded us the command was faulty. We ran out of imagination in regards to further tests so we came back and told everybody the results. Disbelievers had to go over the results several times. Eventually everyone had the confidence we had.
With Lillian's assistance we were able to locate the Canadian ship. It was in the center of what would later be Victoria Island. I was now en-route. We were Special Group One. Nerre' had given the task of putting her Carrier crew together to her XO, and now had the Control Chair. In the week before departure, Tina had been by my side day and night. These new bodies contained old emotions, plus longer endurance for moments that seemed to have no end. She seemed to be saying something to me which she couldn't say, which I should gain from our rapport. After departure on our mission, with her on another ship, I considered the experience. There existed a nameless difference in me. Additionally, whatever patience I had possessed, vanished. I tried to keep my displeasure at delays to myself. I failed. But no one wanted to throw me overboard, yet.
We took three days to get there. Not because it was necessary, but because we were testing Time Drive systems. We sent back the results every twelve hours by drone data capsules. From their availability we concluded a distrust of the air waves had been long standing.
I stood by the Chair, as we came to rest using Inviz, five miles up over the island. There was nothing visually apparent on the island. Low intensity density analysis told another story. It looked like an old Conestoga wagon wheel, hub, spokes (28), and the outer rim. The hub had a spire going almost to the surface from its roof. There was movement in all spaces. The movement patterns didn't change. Was that because they didn't see us? Or maybe they were very well disciplined.
We held our position and charted the daily flow routines, twenty four, thirty six, and forty eight hours. By now they should have reacted to an enemy overhead, we thought. They had a definite night and day routine, with fewer people about during the night. We saw nothing to suggest a changing of any guards. It was the middle of summer. There were long days and short nights. Only once did someone go outside the wheel. We located the power sources, fourteen H/FU reactors, located where the spokes met the rim, at every second spoke. There were also the same numbers of what appeared to be inactive reactors. Time to test them, I decided. We had left a five hundred pound rock in the upper atmosphere aimed at a lake near the installation. Upon activation and its entering the atmosphere we calculated impact in eleven hours. Five hours elapsed before we noticed a crowd gathering in a room which hadn't had crowds to now. The crowd dispersed after two and a half hours. That was a lot of time to calculate the course of a meteor. When it impacted forty miles away there were two bodies on duty.
The next day the routine was interrupted for a meeting. Following the meeting the fourteen inactive reactors were put on line. This resulted in an active H/Fu reactor where each spoke met the rim. Four hours later a force field dome appeared over the installation with its base outside the rim. With minor fluctuations the shield maintained its strength for four hours. Then it shut down. One by one the recently activated reactors were shut down too.
We could only conclude that the performance wasn't especially impressive, but it wasn't done under the threat of immanent attack, rather an orderly drill. Readings were made of surface tension of the surrounding area. The surface wouldn't support a marching man, so any attackers would have to rely on their Anti Gravs. It was mid July from the angle of the sun. The magnetic North Pole was five degrees from the true North Pole. We slowly lifted out during a solar flare. No activity resulted that we noticed. Of course the whole exercise could have been an attempt to dis-inform. One never knew.
Nerre' thought she knew our ship well enough to proceed without hesitation, so we arrived at the fleet location in just one day, every read out read neutral. Who knew what the design limits were. The long dead Captain didn't mention any in his testing results.
OPERATIONAL AREA - RURAL VIRG
INIA
OCTOBER - 1854
M.VERDAI DUNN-BERGER
CHAPTER ELEVEN
I heard the chimes from the mountain control booth, and was back there again, and naked in bed. I gathered myself, considering that would be a neat trick. Maybe that would be possible. I should ask Betty.
LATER, IT'S POSSIBLE, BUT ATTEND TO NOW FIRST. YOU'VE GOT A LOT OF BALLS IN THE AIR.
I looked at how many and thought 'oh, damn' what was I doing sleeping. I sprung out of bed and raced to the shower. The speed of my racing told me why I had been in bed, slower than slow.
While dressing I said, 'status report' to the air around me.
'We are holding position over the General's horse farm. Dragon people were up, ate, back to bed. Taln had heart irregularities during sleep. Room administered a stimulant - suggest full work-up. Remainder - all systems normal. General, Suzy, Aeolin are waiting in dining room. End of report'.
The first thing I noticed when I walked into the dining room was their notepads.
I said, "I'll get to all of the questions, after I get my food. I got a heaping tray and started refueling. The General pushed three pages toward me saying, "More recruits." I was glad to see he was in the fight frame of mind. I looked at the pages separately and knew that they would be gone tomorrow night. Finishing the last bowl of peaches I said, "You realize General, that there will be more people going missing, than we lift out. Some will run and hide. Some will be enemy agents, and know that fact. They will disappear also, mostly bankers and insurance people, enemy agents. You'll be a week behind events of our making and the world will appear somewhat uncertain to you. The people who will be least effected by the missing will be the ones who are already working on a longer time reference. They will be the enemy. Include them on your lists first. Just do your routine and no one will look at you twice. Are there any questions about the contents of the carpetbag?"
Greener Green II: The Balls Brigade Page 14