“We respond by making more as fast as possible. We perfected the medical process of fertilization and gestation, outside of the mother. Of course, we enhanced them to be immune to the virus, and from those roots we have sprung back, a million and a half people.
“It was expected to exceed five million in another two years. And we will come out of this setback, again. It is our duty to subdue this planet. Yours too, if you want to be involved.”
She heard what he said, almost … offered… and she nearly panicked. She had committed herself to her career… Her head was spinning, “I am… not sure about the… uhhh, mommy thing.”
He laughed aloud, a pleasant baritone, and she giggled. She could not help it.
Then she asked, “So why did you find that funny?”
“Because of the way you said it. Subduing the planet does not mean you have to be a baby factory on your own. We have plenty of women who have no other responsibility to the group then to reproduce, and we give them special funds to offset the costs. But, that does not mean I would not love to have a child… or two. But when I am ready, and with the one… I choose. Just remember the pressure, Mother is expecting progeny!” and he said this last with a stern look and a wagging finger, and, again, she had to laugh. He mimicked the Governor very well!
“Okay, when I find the right man… women have that biological clock, and I have suppressed it very well. But let’s not rush this… attraction. There is no point if we are going to end up on the opposite ends of the galaxy.”
“Oh, I can guarantee you that won’t happen. That is, assuming you join Renewal’s community. I hear that almost everyone on board is aching for a chance to go planet-side. And you know what? We are great helpers. I talked to my mother, who is, of course, devastated that we lost so many, so easily. She agrees that we can have Colliestown remade and renamed in a few weeks, given enough manpower, and it will hold, when finished, about seven hundred fifty thousand people. Maybe you folks can stick together, after all!”
Her eyes went wide in astonishment. “Oh, my God, from absolute darkness comes a ray of sunshine! Yes, that has hope written all over it. Despite being born and raised in this ship, most of the people want land and space around them, rock under their feet. I think it is genetic!” She leaned back again, the various compartments of her mind hard at work. Responsibility never went away.
She said, “Now, look here, you, this was indeed a fun surprise. It did lighten my mood a great deal. But I have much work to do, and you should be busy too. Do my people clean this up?”
He still held her hand. She had not noticed, but she did now. He lifted it and gallantly kissed the back of her hand, as he said, “You need to stand up, sweetheart, else you will land on your pretty butt!”
Shocked at his … familiarity, she stood up, still between the table and her chair, as Jack and all the trimmings were suddenly gone. It was as if it never happened. Except that lingering cologne… She turned around, finding the chair behind her, gone, too. It was a good thing she did not throw herself into that chair in surprise!
Feeling stunned, she whispered, “That is one well developed transportation system! I want one!”
-----
Jack was once again in the cluttered area of his own galley. His people had cleared a space ten feet on a side. He had left from the center of that, and he returned to the center of it. Around that square was a thick bare wire loop that had a connector to the nearest teleport. He had not yet explained all it could do to Angela. Small bites. He did not want to overwhelm her.
Everything was exactly as he and Angela had left it when they finished eating. He popped a strawberry in his mouth and sat there, pondering this new development in his life. A good one, for a change.
However, interrupting those nice thoughts, people were rushing to his side to clear the table, make sure he was not injured, and he waved them away. His mind was on Angela.
Chips, what a woman! What a wonderful woman!
Andora called on the communicator, his private number, his eyes only. She was in video, and her look was one raised eyebrow, one half smile, as she asked, “Well, did’ja get laid?”
“WHAAATT?! You are my niece, not my daddy, stop that!”
She laughed and reported no bogeys on the threat system anywhere in their system. She also reported that his mother had called, and had an idea or two about the suddenly vacated Colliestown.
He did not tell Andora that most of this was already decided. He’d only needed Angela’s agreement, and he had gotten it. That was what his mother needed, before turning loose a hundred thousand worker bees on the project.
People die. Move on. Out here in the universe, you cannot rest on your laurels. You cannot take the time to mourn, either, not when the enemy can be on your butt in mere moments…
So, for that wonderful lunch, the ability to raise both their spirits, he was grateful. He knew that the entire wing was aware of his infatuation with the Captain of the newcomers. It could not be helped.
And frankly, the looks, the giggles, the whispered comments, all were meant to encourage him, and he kind of liked that. But, it made his mind spin.
Courtship? Who got married, anymore? People declared themselves as a couple, signed a simple contract, then spent the rest of their lives together… oh, what the hell is the matter with me? How can I fall in love with a Captain of a monster transport, a battlewagon, sure to travel the stars as much as I will?
Then, his head suddenly considered the possibilities. The what-ifs.
Would I give it up? Work for her, with her? Maybe. Now, there was a possibility…
Perhaps it was too early. Maybe they would not hit it off. Maybe the Ice Queen was lousy in bed… hell, maybe I am!
Time would tell, as it always does…
CHAPTER 12
Hope arrived over the Capitol, having traveled seventeen light years out to an interesting star field, and, after a careful search, returning home. Round trip, less than four years!
Angela met Captain Samuel Featherstone, a big man, towering over her diminutive frame. He was an old man, too, a legend in the history of his ship and Renewal.
They immediately hit it off, with lots of stories to share. Feathers, as he preferred, suggested that they work as a team, the two ships traveling out into the galaxy, and Angela agreed to discuss it with her crew… but what she really meant, was discussing it with her ardent pursuer. She would not deprive him of her presence for years on end. Neither of them had years on end to waste.
Weeks crept by for Angela, overseeing the teleportation of almost everybody over time onto the planet. They all wanted to see the world, explore what little bit they could in a week. They needed to feel sun on the face, wind in their hair, and breathe fresh air.
And it worked. By the thousands, people, mostly couples, so far, were signing up for reserved spaces, plots of land for their homes, in the destroyed city of Colliestown. It had been named after Dr. Richard Collie, a respected psychologist who had first founded the small village, then helped it grow.
At first, there was some trepidation about settling a town that was so devastated. Angela said, in a large meeting hall, as part of her orientation speech, “Colliestown was not a target. We were, here in the Resolute. The Zephroan laser blast missed our nose and by pure chance, struck Renewal. It simply was one of those things one cannot predict. You could probably live many generations there and never see anything like it again…”
To the very individual, through thousands of cast votes, the tie for a new name was between Resolute or Washington. Though Angela tried to protest, there was a strong argument that Resolute would continue the mission and that would cause confusion.
Meanwhile, as the shipboard residents got ready to get ready, some in eagerness, some in trepidation, Governor Calmone-Morgan’s crews and Resolute’s engineers, aided by flying machinery and onsite production facilities, were building the town all over again, very quickly. First the security fence, then the infrastru
cture. It paid to be sensible.
Like the construction of Hope and Resolute before, hundreds of years before, everything was prefab for buildings of any type. Almost all was utility steel, with a few decorated with the odd, marble-like facades.
Airports, security stations, apartments by the thousands, restaurants, shops, medical centers, military compounds, the place was becoming a total rebuild of the good ship, Resolute, but on the ground. Under the roads, oddly enough, all water and sewer systems were gone. The metal simply destroyed by that laser. Eaten, maybe. Collected, certainly. So, underground, first, then the added roads and Washington was coming alive.
When any construction project has several hundred thousand people available, it is like an ant hill, practically arriving overnight. That might have been, in reality, weeks, but it appeared quickly to the those waiting anxiously to make the transition to a planet from a tin box…
Open land was less walled, more fenced, but the builders knew how to keep the native species out, the cattle and other animals in. Electric fences were ten feet tall, wires only a foot apart. No one touched the wires, either side of the fence.
There were plenty of tough men and women who disdained the city and wanted to run the farms and ranches, and who the hell wanted several thousand head of cows, sheep and pigs inside town?
Soon, the teleportation from Resolute was focused on Washington, as it took form and they needed even more hands. The vacations turned into a building exercise, and things progressed even faster.
Resolute had been in orbit over Renewal only six months when the first permanent transfers were made. There were plenty of people that had worked for shop owners onboard, who wanted their own places. Along with apartments above those places. Doctors opened medical centers and hospitals.
In short, the city of Washington filled out very quickly, while Resolute grew thinly staffed. But even there, one could find the inveterate spacer who wanted to find new things. Sometimes, taking over the owner or boss’ position helped encourage them to stay put.
Angela’s ship population went from just over four hundred thousand to less than thirty thousand in that first four months after the opening for resettlement. The ship could not drop below that number without becoming less effective in battle or life support. A quarter of those who left the ship were nearly retired military, those in the Navy who wanted freedom were given land or housing, and turned loose.
Some of those immediately formed a police department, a fire department and emergency services. All of those quasi-military organizations, as expected.
Other than sunshine and fresh air, the little town was not much different than living inside Resolute.
But then, that was changing, too. Shuttles were constantly arriving with the latest and greatest gear, some of it much better than even Hope carried, and that ship was centuries ahead of Resolute.
Her entire skin had been resurfaced with a layer of heat and cold proof plastic that contained micro-dot cameras and tiny pinpoint screens, side by side in an intricate array. This so that when under stealth, not only were they invisible to electronic measures, but cameras or eyes, too. No more shadows against the land or over the stars above.
Hope, too, was being resurfaced with the latest and greatest, but they took turns in construction and patrol so that that the world was kept guarded.
Whatever was on the downstream side of the view was portrayed on the upstream side of the ship, no matter the angle, the distance, whatever. As you might imagine, that was one hell of a network of wires. You can do the math if you have the patience and the skills.
Counting sixty-four by sixty-four pairs, that is one camera and one screen, as units per square inch, added up for those square inches of surface skin, whatever number, it would have uncountable zeroes after it. Even with the micro technology, there was so much new, thin skin that Resolute gained several tons of new mass… Oddly enough, it was put on like sprayed paint!
Nearly twelve miles long, seven miles around. And it worked flawlessly. Now Angela understood true stealth. How they had survived for all those years without it was a measure beyond belief.
The longest down time occurred in the reconstruction of her drives. Resolute’s nuclear power plants were resituated, up under the bridge, and better than eleven miles of particle accelerators were built for each of four units. They lost over a thousand compartments for the accelerators, but at the current count of people, it did not matter.
With this upgrade came a stern caution: Never, ever, go full throttle without warning. It could crush those without proper restraints. Shades of Tal’Ken’s help, she thought, anxious to give the new ship its workout.
-----
Jack never gave up. He was by her side through many of the changes in her ship, showing her the how and why, when in fact, Spook could have done the same thing. But, not beside her.
They grew closer, and then, closer still. He took her to family dinners, took her to well done shows and performances to rival work she had seen on the videos. He wined and dined her, and yet she soon began to wonder if he was serious?
Yes, she thought, an odd question, since he does spend so much time with me, but a girl has to be sure. This girl certainly does. Too much to lose. Too much to do.
The external trappings were there, but not once had he done more than kiss her hand or her forehead.
I am not his sister, damn it!
One night, on his ship, Accoster, standing side by side, the beautiful galaxy before them, Angela expressed the question that old Featherstone had brought to her.
“I am, of course, an explorer at heart. But now that I found I have a heart, I am confused, Jack. We are very good friends, close friends, and yes, there may be a future here. But I need to know what to do.”
They were standing at a large porthole viewing station under his bridge, a billion stars flaming in wondrous display outside, and he turned her to him, looked deeply into her eyes, smiled, gently, then somehow, their lips seemed to find each other.
His claimed hers as he kissed her, soundly. The shock went to her toes and everything in between. In seconds, she was instinctively kissing back, her arms up around his neck, standing on tip-toes, and found herself lost in the pleasure of it.
Finally, he released her, a shade or two breathless. “Do you still think we have a future? Or did I just throw it away? I have been a bit… terrified of you, is what kept me in check.”
“Is that why you have not… even tried to kiss me?” He was scared. So, that was it. Scared of her reaction.
“Yes. I was certain you were not ready. I did not want to frighten you away. But here, you are kind of calling my bluff, aren’t you?” He grinned, that playful, what are you going to do now?
“I… uhhh…” she could hardly manage to talk. That kiss was going through her nervous system in a way she had never imagined. “Okay, that was a … nice icebreaker. Now, I think I better … get back. Before we both do something we regret.” She kissed the corner of his mouth and tried to step back, but he held her effortlessly.
“I want you to know that when it happens, and it will, I would never, ever, regret it. You think on that, baby, and have a good night!” He kissed her lips quickly, a goodbye kiss and stepped back. On his command, she faded from view.
And she arrived in her quarters, stunned. When had he found the coordinates… oh, of course, Spook.
“Welcome home, Commander. System check, status check, all in the green. Goodnight.”
She shivered. Spook was getting a lot more personal… Constant upgrades based on previous upgrades, done in order, as required, were having an impact.
She shed her military blouse then her shoes and trousers. Sitting in her secret skimpy underthings, she thought about Captain Calmone. No man had even interested her in all these years out of the Academy. Damn it, had he asked, or even carried her way cave man style, she would have gone willingly.
Her wrist communicator chimed, a private call. Knowing immediately wh
o it was, she flipped the screen, seeing his handsome face, and she quipped, “Did not get enough, there, Captain?”
“I don’t think there is such a thing as enough of you, young lady… Captain. Just wanted to thank you for a wonderful kiss. That was… something. I won’t sleep a wink. How about you?”
“I will do fine, Captain. Good night!” she said, but kept it warm and friendly. Now as not the time to snap at anyone. Especially him…
“Good night, and, by the way, that is one hell of a nice outfit, my princess!” and he faded out.
Princess. Outfit? Oh. My God… a camera built in!! She went beet red, just that quick. Then she calmed. He was serious. But she must not misread him. This was so… confusing. She dismissed his flirting with a thought, Tsk, men!
But truth be told, she hardly slept at all that night…
CHAPTER 13
Captain Featherstone was her designated mentor on the new Resolute. Governor Calmone-Morgan had insisted, for though an older man, he knew the systems inside and out, and he essentially drove the matching battlewagon, Hope. He had all the bells and whistles, everything already installed on Hope. So, apparently, he was the only one who could show her how to make a nearly twelve miles long, flattened cigar dance almost like a fighter.
Angela found she did not mind. Jack would be a … distraction. And his constant pressure, those quips, would soon grow tiresome if she was under pressure.
The trials were set for later that same day, while she, Jack and Feathers ate breakfast in the Resolute galley. Good food, well prepared, and all three ate with gusto.
Feathers laughed as he watched ‘little’ Angela putting away a mountain of food. “Honey, you are NOT gonna grow a foot eating like that. Maybe a foot across your butt!”
Jack about choked on his sausage. “Hey, enough talk about my future fiancé’s butt!” he growled, menacingly, waving a fork at Feathers, but both men could not keep from laughing aloud.
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