Retilia guided the small escape pod to the command post’s entrance deep in the side of a remote West Virginia mountain. Once inside, Retilia landed his craft and he climbed down to the landing dock below with two other survivors off the Yasinomot. Lieutenant Durinea, the post’s commanding officer, greeted Retilia. “Hello sir, I believe you will find everything in order at this post.”
“Very well Lieutenant. I did not come here to inspect your post.”
“For what purpose then do we owe the pleasure of your visit?”
Retilia felt a burning anger inside of his belly. He was not going to let a lowly Lieutenant interrogate him. It was bad enough that no longer commanded a ship of war, but now he also had lost a ship in battle. Retilia knew that if his famous father still lived, he would find the double embarrassment of his son unbearable. Retilia had to make the rest of this mission successful. Destroying Oria was the only way that he could think of to rebuild his name and restore himself to his former position. The lowly Lieutenant was about to feel the full force of Retilia’s wrath.
Retilia roared at Durinea “The United Creyte Republic is not satisfied with your progress! It is imperative that Earth is conquered and turned into a farm planet and that we destroy Oria, it’s most famous offspring. The Republic does not see any evidence that you are on top of the situation.”
“Sir, please correct me where we’ve failed. I thought we were right on target for completing the mission as outlined in my orders.”
Retilia gave Durinea an evil stare. “Are you trying to correct me Lieutenant?”
“No sir, that was not my intention, it’s just . . .”
“I’m not interested in your excuses, only the results from this mission. Please brief me on your current situation.”
Durinea led Retilia to a small briefing room in the command post. At first, he felt grateful to have assistance in accomplishing his mission. Now he wasn’t so sure. Durinea had dealt with Retilia’s type before. Having climbed through the ranks to reach officer status, Durinea was accustomed to unfair treatment from superior officers. Whatever chip Retilia had on his shoulder, it was now his chip as well.
Durinea briefed Retilia for several hours. He explained Earth’s political structure, technological capabilities, and all preparations that had been in advance of starting a takeover. Retilia was surprised at the amount and quality of work done by Durinea. If Durinea wasn’t a lower caste officer, Retilia might actually want to cut him some slack.
Once Durinea completed his briefing to Retilia, they walked to a small room down the hall from the briefing room. Durinea broke out into a smile as he showed Retilia a new device that his team had just completed.
“Commander, I believe we can use this machine to further determine the natural flying capabilities of humans from Earth.”
“And how is that Durinea?”
“Sir, this is a flight simulator game machine. It simulates the flight characteristics of an Azortec starfighter.”
“I see, but how do you expect to get anyone to fly it?”
“People on Earth are somewhat strange. Unlike others of their species, these people will actually pay to fly simulated combat missions.”
“You’ve got to be kidding, humans with a warrior-like mentality?”
“That’s right Commander. With all due respect, I believe you will find humans from the primitive planets more violent and prone to war. It is Azortec that is the exception.”
“Go on.”
“This particular machine can seat two people. They can fly unrelated missions, together on the same mission, or fight each other. I thought we might plant it at a tourist location.”
“It appears that you have this pretty much worked out already.”
“Yes. We hired several lackeys to work for us. They are arranging to set up the simulator at an arcade in Ocean City, Maryland.”
“How do we get data out of it?”
“We plan to install it this afternoon and it will be immediately start collecting data. The data is automatically fed to our systems here in West Virginia.”
“Excellent, how do you plan on rating each person?”
“We have designed 10 levels into the machine. Level 4 is approximately the level of a rookie Azortec pilot. We derived Levels 8-10 from recorded battle sequences with Admiral Oria. I don’t expect many to reach that level.”
“Durinea, there may be an added bonus. A Battle Class Azortec Starship attacked the Yasinomot today. I believe it was the Hercules.”
“Sir, that doesn’t make sense. Why just this morning, we received reports of the Hercules and Admiral Oria being in the 4th Quadrant.”
Retilia roared back “I know Lieutenant, we had the same reports on the Yasinomot! The Hercules that I battled with last night used technology that Azortec is not yet known to have. Our sensors could not see through their stealth shield.”
“That’s not possible, unless . . .”
“I know. Oria’s the only one who may have the physical capacity to navigate through the continuum.”
“We have to inform Creyte Central Command.”
Washington D.C.
Oria arrived in Washington D.C. a few hours prior to the Particle Energy Symposium to gain a better feel of the town. It had been a long night and he was disturbed that the Creytes were already infiltrating Earth with the addition of several new Creytes including Retilia. He knew that they would complicate his plans immensely.
Oria walked up 18th St. towards the corner of 18th & L Streets NW. At the corner was a large bookstore. It looked like a great place to begin more research on Earth. Oria had always found the written word to be one of the best ways to gain a more in depth understanding of a place and its culture, particularly primitive ones. The bookstore looked like it had a sufficiently large collection where someone could spend days browsing the collection and not see everything.
Oria walked into the store and past a line of people browsing magazine racks on the left side of the store. He saw a small coffee shop a bit further down on the right. The sight and thought of something to drink made Oria thirsty, so he headed towards the coffee shop.
As Oria approached the shop, he saw a sharp looking woman in uniform. He thought, “She’s good looking. I haven't thought of a woman in romantic terms for I don't want to think of how long. Earth must be getting to me. I don't have time for romance.”
Oria decided to be bold and attempted to start a conversation with the attractive woman. He walked over to her and said, “Hi, do you know why that lady is writing on copies of this book? It looks weird to me.”
Karen gave him strange look and said, “She's the author!” In her thoughts she added ‘you moron’.” She then said to Oria “Although it is a bit weird to have someone autographing technical books.”
Oria replied, “Does that happen often here?”
Karen was thinking, “Where do you come from, another planet or something?”
Oria added, “I guess I sound a bit stupid.”
“A bit! You sound like you just beamed down, like, on Star Trek or something.”
Oria smiled and responded “Star Trek? I'm somewhat familiar with that show. Do you think people from Earth could ever fly into space like that?”
Karen was thinking that if this guy weren’t so cute, she would quickly stop this stupid conversation. However, she was somewhat interested in Oria and continued on “Maybe. We’re building a space station. However, I think we’re a long way from warp drives.”
Oria chuckled and said, “Maybe the technology that will enable interstellar travel is something different than Star Trek warp drives. I have always believed there are forms of energy that have not been quite discovered yet on Earth.”
Karen was not following Oria's slight change in topics so she asked, “How did we get from gamma radiation to space travel?”
“Good question, hey, I was on my way to buy some coffee, may I buy you one?”
Karen was thinking, “This is definitely a pic
k-up. He's sort of cute and I have some time to kill, I’ll play his game for a little longer.” Karen further hoped that Oria had some military background. She seemed to have little luck with non-military types.
Karen then responded to Oria “Sure, I'll grab us a seat, why don't you get me a cup of their Hazel Nut, black.”
“Alright, I'll be back shortly.”
Karen picked up Dr. Caldwell's book and headed towards the coffee shop. She thought, “I really don't have time for this. I can't believe I said yes to this space head.”
Karen found a seat on the far side of the shop. She was hoping no one she knew would see her with this strange man. She was starting to have second thoughts about agreeing to have coffee with him.
Oria returned carrying two cups of coffee and some Danish.
Karen smiled at him and said, “Gee, I don't think I can eat all that. By the way, what's your name?”
“Oria and yours?”
“Karen. This coffee does smell good. If we were on Star Trek, I guess we could crack jokes about the reconstituted coffee.”
“I guess so. I haven't had a fresh cup in, well, you would not believe how long.”
“Try me.”
Oria thought to himself about Linda’s comment about him getting into trouble without even trying. She was right. Oria finally replied, “I'd have to give you my life history. Parts of it are classified. If I say too much guess I'd….”
Karen laughed and finished the expression “I know you'd have to kill me. That's an old one. I know. I use it myself.”
Oria looked at his watch and then said, “Hey, it's almost a quarter to four. I'm supposed to go to a symposium tonight at a nearby hotel.”
Karen responded “No way. Really? Does it have something to do with Particle Energy Lasers?”
“Yes, it does. I was at a party last night with some science types. We were talking about lasers, and one of them had an invitation but was unable to attend. He ended up giving me his ticket. So, what's your excuse for going?”
“My boss ordered me to attend it. He is always interested in anything that may have military implications. Since he has me on temporary assignment to the Pentagon, I guess I'm his gofer. I can't wait to get out of here and get back to full time flying.”
“You're kidding, that's another thing we have in common. I also am a pilot. Say it's getting late. Let's walk over to the hotel together.”
“Ok” Karen said dreamily. Karen was thinking that she might have a shot with this new friend. After all, Oria was both strong looking and cute.
Washington DC - Pentagon: Symposium on Particle Energy Lasers
The Particle Energy Laser Symposium was located at the Hilton, only a few blocks from the bookstore. Oria and Karen left the bookstore together and walked to the Hilton.
During the walk, Oria recalled a previous visit almost 100 years ago. He was amazed at the changes Washington had gone through since his last visit. He was quiet during their walk and Karen noticed that he was deep in thought.
“Oria, are you still with me, you look like you’re somewhere else.”
Oria snapped back to reality and replied “Sorry, it's been a long time since I was last here and I was just reflecting on all of the changes.”
“I know what you mean, in another year I get to move back to Florida. It sure feels funny every time I return now for a visit. There are always new buildings, developments, and less land, yet some things don't seem to change. Oh, here’s the Hilton. I guess we made it. Do you know what room it is supposed to be in?”
“No, we’ll have to ask at the front desk.”
The symposium had already started when Oria and Karen entered the large conference room. Karen was tense due to their late arrival. Training drilled into her that it was unseemly for an officer to be late. Karen wanted to avoid attention and discreetly find a seat at the back of the room. Oria had other ideas. He coaxed Karen to the front of the room forcing everyone to see her late arrival. Oria wanted to be as close to the front as possible. He didn’t want to miss anything.
The speaker was giving a presentation on a new laser device. Karen observed that the technology had obvious military implications. Of course, Dr. Caldwell, the consummate pacifist, was only claiming commercial uses for the technology. Karen thought the new laser technology had serious potential for weapon systems on spacecraft used by the STAR Hawks operation and potentially as a space based cutting tool. Both usages would be an anathema to Dr. Caldwell.
Karen saw similarities between Dr. Caldwell's technology and several Army sponsored chemical-based laser projects. Dr. Caldwell's laser was also chemical based but had increased optic capabilities and a mechanism to continuously feed the laser chemical fuels. This combination resulted in a constant and continuous series of explosions.
Dr. Caldwell demonstrated several adjustments to equations used by the control devices to maintain a constant flow to the laser and maintain a continuous beam. The audience appeared very impressed with Dr. Caldwell's presentation and asked many questions. One group in the audience from GeoTechnology was very familiar to Karen. They appeared particularly interested in Dr. Caldwell's presentation since they had lost one of the original Army laser contracts to another contractor. Karen thought, “Oh boy, I wonder how long it will take them to take a proposal to General Bronson and try to recapture a front spot in the laser weapons race.”
Oria also appeared very interested in Dr. Caldwell's presentation. Unlike most others in the audience, he saw some basic mistakes in Dr. Caldwell's calculations. She was missing some key elements that could multiply the optical power output by over a thousand fold. Oria also saw where the replacement of the chemical power module with a more capable power source, could take greater advantage of the optics developed by Dr. Caldwell. Oria raised his hand.
Dr. Caldwell saw a good-looking man with his hand raised in the audience. She hesitated to call on him since she recalled seeing him walk in with an Air Force Major. She hated the Air Force and anything to do with the military. In Dr. Caldwell's thinking, military use of this new technology was evil. She did not like the military to use her ideas in killing people and furthering the imperialistic views of the United States. However, Dr. Caldwell relented to the realities of the world and called on Oria.
Oria stood up and spoke in a loud voice “Dr. Caldwell, I am impressed with your work on laser technology. However, I do have several questions. In your equations, it looks like you have derived many of your formulas from Einstein’s work containing a flawed description of the relationship between mass, energy, and the speed of light. Have you considered that there may be a missing factor that when applied to your equations . . .”
Dr. Caldwell quickly interrupted “Sir, with all due respect, it is common knowledge in the field of physics that most of the theories outlined by Einstein have been mathematically proven true” while in her thoughts she added how am I stuck with all the weirdoes. Maybe it would be fun to ask him and have him demonstrate his ignorance. She then said aloud “Maybe you would care to join me up here and show me where you think Einstein is wrong.”
Oria rose from his seat and started to walk towards the front of the room. He ignored Karen’s tugging on his arm and trying to prevent him from making a fool of himself. Oria thought, “I know most people in here probably think I'm a fool, however, this may be the opportunity required to reveal more advanced technology.”
When Oria reached the front of the room, he said “Thank you Dr. Caldwell. I know you and your colleagues probably think I'm crazy. However, I believe you will find the information that I'm going to present quite interesting. Let’s get started by first outlining on the white board where Einstein's theories are flawed and how the corrected versions of those equations can be used to make improvements to the material just presented by Dr. Caldwell.”
Oria wrote and explained using the white board, a series of corrections and revisions to Einstein's theories. He used the opportunity to present information that w
as well beyond anything originally envisioned by Einstein. Dr. Caldwell was utterly amazed at Oria's presentation. Initially Dr. Caldwell was getting upset that someone upstaged her presentation, but as Oria continued, her scientific curiosity consumed her and she was just as much into the presentation as everyone else in the audience appeared to be.
Oria developed a strong connection to the audience as he continued to teach basic physics as taught in Azortec grade schools. Oria knew he was covering more material than what he originally stated he was going to present, but he felt that this audience could raise the interest level of the military. He was also confident that Karen was intensely interested.
Karen was amazed at the material Oria was going over in his presentation. Her thoughts were racing. Getting the material Dr. Caldwell was going over would have made the time she spent worthwhile. The information Oria was freely presenting was way beyond anything Karen could have envisioned both within domain of the public sector and anything classified as well. She thought, “Wow, and I just had coffee with this guy. He is presenting what could probably be the most significant revelation of scientific knowledge since the inception of modern science.”
Oria, continuing with his discussion, walked over to Dr. Caldwell's laser device. He pulled a piece of material out of his pocket and covered the laser's target. He then said “Dr. Caldwell, is this the highest setting that your laser fires at?”
Dr. Caldwell quickly replied “Yes, you best be careful with the laser. It can cut through an armored shield like a knife slicing butter.”
“Thanks for the warning.”
Oria fired the laser as configured by Dr. Caldwell, at the shield. Nothing happened. The material placed over the shield protected it from damage. Dr. Caldwell looked astonished. Her new laser technology could cut through any known material. It was starting to sink into her that Oria's entire presentation was totally unknown to anyone in the scientific community. A chill of fear and anticipation shot through her body.
Legend of Oria 1: Initial Contact Page 11