The Gravity of Anti-Gravity II
Page 14
Rolf looked at Jerry strangely and Choxerbus answered back. “We’ve got a plan that should work. Do you realize you asked that question in Russian?”
“You’re kidding right?” Jerry answered. This time he spoke in English.
“It look’s like your brain has a little filing to complete but soon you’ll be fluent in both English and Russian and you’ll know the difference between the two,” Choxerbus smiled and said. “Rolf, you’ll be next,”
“I’ll take the machine and program back with me so that all my crew will be able to speak Russian when we return in a month or the next time there is a new moon here on Earth,” Rolf responded. “Jerry, we have a plan that I’ll explain to everyone when we get back to Velador. Are you ready to travel?”
“How about a quick lunch,” Jerry answered. “I think it might help me clear my head a little. I’d like a burger and fries please. Since we’re back on Earth, there has to be a McDonalds near here, right?”
After Jerry and Rolf ate some Russian ‘mystery goulash’, as Jerry described it, they were transported back to the landing site for pick up. Right on schedule, the airship landed, Jerry and Rolf got on and were on their return flight to Velador. The pilot adjusted the controls so that they would return two days after they left and entered the jump zone. When the ship entered Veladorian airspace, they confirmed that it was precisely the time they had left plus the time they had been away.
“Rolf, we made it back right on schedule but there seems to be an urgent message from a Bill at New Pasadena,” the pilot explained.
Rolf immediately called. “Bill, what’s going on?”
“Rolf, I hope you’re sitting down. The Cromwells with the help of some of your people have arrested Brenda and Stella. It happened just yesterday. Joanna and I were at New Pasadena helping Pops and the girls were snatched from our house. Get back here as soon as you can Rolf, we’ve got to figure something out!”
-Chapter 25-
Rolf and Jerry arrived at New Pasadena about fifteen minutes later. The ship was sent on to the desert storage facility across the continent to be concealed and wait for the next assignment.
“Rolf, thank God you’re back,” I said as he and Jerry strolled in. “It turns out that the Doctor called the authorities in Prossfell and gave them the location of the house we rented. As I understand it, four Cromwells and four Veladorians surrounded the house. I guess Stella and Brenda saw no possibility of escape so they surrendered. Rumor has it they are being interrogated at a detention facility outside of Prossfell. The news is calling them traitors but I know that’s just the Party line right now. People here know they were assigned to defend Velador which makes them patriots in the eyes of most of your citizens.”
“When the word got out that the Doctor was responsible, some of the townspeople went to his office and attacked him. It has been reported that he closed his practice and moved away where no one knows him. I’d interpret that to mean that most of the populace here are on our side,” I added. “I really feel sorry for his wife.”
“Rolf, I’m really scared I’ll lose Brenda. I’m trying to keep it together but I keep having that horrible emotional sick surge in my stomach every time I think about her!”
Rolf, who became focused on this new development, walked to a desk he had been using and started his computer. “If I can break into the Prossfell system, I should be able to find out where the girls are and the level of security there. It will be more difficult than on Earth because our encryption is far more sophisticated so give me a while and I’ll see what I can find out.”
Rolf sat down just as Joanna ran up to Jerry and gave him a hug and kiss. “Thank God you weren’t captured Joanna.” Jerry said. “Rolf is working on plan to rescue Brenda and Stella now. Since we can’t go back to our house, we’ll need a room here.
“Grandma just got a private cubical assigned to us and Bill.” Joanna answered. “Follow me and I’ll show it to you.”
“Bill, if you need me for anything,” Jerry said as he left with Joanna. “Let me know.”
I wandered off to see if I could help Pops while I left Rolf to his work. He always seemed to eventually come up with the information we needed. I heard Pops was back in the refinement area and that’s where I found him.
“Hey Bill, any word about Stella and Brenda?” he asked.
“Rolf is back and working on the problem.” I answered. “He needed quiet so I decided to come bug you. How’s the refinement coming?”
We’ve got twenty percent of the centrifuges operational.’ Pops explained “With another twenty percent, we will be able to produce enough fuel to power our new ships. Anything after that will be available for weapons. Bringing more centrifuges on line will begin to go a little slower because we started with the newest ones first which were in the best shape. The older ones will need more work to get them running.”
“Pops, Is there anything I can do to help?”
“Not right now Bill. Just work with Rolf and get your wife and baby back.”
Since I knew it would take Rolf a while to complete his investigation, I found Grandma and asked if there was anything I could do to help her.
“I appreciate your asking Bill but I think I’ve got everything under control for now. Joanna has been helping me relocate the families and tend to their needs as facilities become available so for now that’s all the help I need.”
For the first time in my odd life it seemed I had nothing to contribute to the predicament in which I found myself. As I wandered around the huge facility almost aimlessly, my phone rang. It was Jerry.
“Bill, where are you? I want to tell you about my trip back to Earth. I think I might explain it in Russian since I am fluent in the language now.”
“Great Jerry; that’ll get us nowhere fast,” I responded.
“Where are you Bill? I know you’ve got reasons to be depressed but don’t worry; together with Rolf, we’ll get Stella and Brenda back.”
Jerry and I met up near the make shift cafeteria that had been obviously hastily set up. It reminded me of a soup kitchen back home with long serving tables and small chairs but it did serve its purpose of feeding the participants of our resistance movement.
When we met and got a little something to eat, Jerry described his mission to Earth and his experience on the ITD.
“With your brain,” Jerry commented trying to lighten the moment, “you might accept the Russian language information easier than me but on second thought, with your brain, it might be harder. I guess we’ll have to wait and see.”
Jerry carefully looked around the room, turned to me, got serious and his voice lowered just above a whisper. “There was one thing that puzzles me,” Jerry began. “While my brain was trying to digest what had just been jammed into it, I woke up and was lying on this tiny bed with my eyes closed when two of the Veladorian operatives came into the room. Rolf had gone to the restroom or something. I know they thought I was still asleep when one said something to the other one. They said it in Russian so it was weird when I understood everything they said.”
“What the hell was it Jerry! The suspense is killing me.”
“I’ll give you the exact quote because I can’t get it out of my head.’ Jerry said. “The first man said, ‘Does the human have any knowledge about our plans for Earth?’ His partner answered ‘No and he probably never will’. The first guy told the second guy to dummy up after that exchange because I might wake up and understand what was being discussed. I laid there quietly acting like I was still asleep for another few minutes so they wouldn’t know that I heard them. Bill, what do you think that means?”
“I have no idea but it does make me a little uncomfortable,” I answered. “Remember the guys you overheard were from five years ago. Maybe they were referring to something different than what it sounded like. Did you ask Rolf about it?”
“No. Part of me wanted to know and the other part was afraid of what I might find out.”
“You did t
he right thing Jerry. I can’t imagine that the Veladorians have some other agenda. To pull off something on a grand scale on Earth would require the collaboration of the entire population on this planet and possibly Cromwell. Let’s keep this between us for now, okay Jerry?”
“I agree,” Jerry answered as we both pondered this new wrinkle in our preposterous lives.
“Let’s go,” I said. “Rolf may have a line on the location and situation of Brenda and Stella by now.”
After a long walk across most of New Pasadena, Jerry and I arrived at Rolf’s work station. “Any news about our wives Rolf?”
“I found that that they are being held in a correctional facility outside of Prossfell so they are a long way away. It appears that Stella has secured a well known attorney to represent Brenda and her. Since we don’t have much crime here, we don’t have many attorneys but she’s employed Shinkorloft, the best in the business.
“Shinkorloft made a statement about an hour ago pleading for their release,” Rolf continued. “He announced that since our wives were told to discontinue the defense effort, they had taken up a benign posture in a quiet residence outside of Grapsner – just like they were told to do. Their pregnancy has inspired sympathy in our people and many have become emotionally invested in their case. A large group of Veladorians have even taken a chapter out of the Earth playbook and are picketing the facility right now. If anybody can get them off, it’s Shinkorloft!”
“That sounds like a campaign slogan or a TV ad!” Jerry smiled and said
“Is this guy a politician?” I asked. “Should we start working on a rescue plan in case he’s unsuccessful?”
“I suggest we wait and see what happens.” Rolf answered. “If they can get released on their own, it would take some of the heat off of them and us.”
“Oh and one more thing; by what the press is reporting,” Rolf continued. “I believe the girls told the authorities that both you Bill and I were killed in some of the firefights with the Cromwells. It’s being reported that the enemy is rejoicing over the fact that they took out the leaders of the resistance.”
“How long should we wait before we do something, a day or two?” I asked Rolf.
“Let’s just hang on and see what happens, Bill.”
“Keep me posted Rolf.” I asked as Jerry and I walked away to look for Pops. “See you later.”
“I may be imagining some great conspiracy Jerry but did it seem that Rolf was a little less concerned and willing to wait than what we’ve seen from him in the past? Doing a ‘wait and see’ will drive me nuts!”
“Bill, don’t go getting paranoid on me.” Jerry cautioned. “What I heard from those guys on Earth from four or five years ago may not have any validity or relevance. Look, there’s Pops. Do you think we should bring him into this now or is he too busy?”
“Let’s pull him aside and tell him what we know.” I answered. “I don’t want to withhold anything from Pops even if it might be a paranoid fantasy.”
“Pops, how goes the battle?” I asked. “If you have a minute, Jerry and I would like to talk to you.”
“Well Bill, as you can see I’m up to my ass in Bidloos or whatever it is that the Veladorians call their version of an alligator. But being my Grandson and the father of my unborn great grandchild, I’ll try to squeeze you in. So what’s on that mind of yours?”
Jerry told Pops what he had heard on Earth and I added to the mystery by elaborating on Rolf’s uncharacteristic lack of action to rescue our wives. Pops response was unexpected.
“Bill based on what you have just told me, I’d say your conspiracy evidence is way too thin.” Pops explained and then his face began to look more thoughtful. “Actually, I have overheard some of the Veladorians conversations that may corroborate your suspicions. I’ve heard nothing from the garden variety people. It’s only been from some of the higher ranking ones; little comments here and there that I didn’t quite understand. I’ve been thinking it was just a difference in our languages or misinterpretations of the translation device but now I’m not so sure. Let’s all keep our ears open and discuss this with no one else outside of our little group.”
“One more thing; we need to get those Cromwells out of here. It’s taking too many of my men to guard them. And it’s men that I need.”
“I think they are scheduled to have their memories erased and then dropped in some other part of the planet. Now that the machine is back from Earth, I’ll see what Rolf has planned for them.” I answered.
-Chapter 26-
To pass the time, Jerry and I volunteered to help Pops put the final touches on locating the machinery that was going to be used to manufacture the fighter craft that his engineers had designed. It was all grunt work but it did get my mind off Brenda and Stella’s incarceration. After two days of intense work, the production line began.
The Veladorian machines were fast, precise and fun to watch for someone like me. Each device had a sense about its programming and was coupled electronically to the other devices in the line. They were able to determine and correct flaws in the manufacture of the end product on the fly.
About twenty-four hours after the first parts went into production at one end, the first completed fuselage emerged from the other. From there it was just a matter of installing the anti-gravity drives, the fusion power plant, the armament and the electronics which was expected to take another two days. So in three days time, the expected production rate would be one fighter per day. The bigger problem was finding enough pilots to fly the machines.
Several times daily I bugged Rolf about the status of our wives. In a strange way he always told me not to worry that the Veladorian legal process was proceeding at its typical glacial pace and that he expected a positive outcome soon. His nonchalant attitude was no end of annoyance to me and I told him so. He just told me to have patience.
When I asked him about the Cromwells and erasing their memories, Rolf also said that it would occur soon and he’d take care of that too. I wasn’t sure what Rolf was working on but he certainly seemed to be severely preoccupied. I tried not to let my mind fabricate any odd conspiracies but I was only modestly successful.
The day the first fighter was completed generated a huge celebration within New Pasadena. Our two most experienced pilots climbed aboard for the first test flight which was scheduled to be done within the cavernous confines of the old uranium mine we were calling home. Everyone took a break from their immediate duties and formed an audience of nearly a thousand people to witness this first flight.
As I stood next to Pops and Jerry, Pops said, “I’m as nervous as I was during the first test of your anti-gravity device.”
“And I remember back then when you said that experience was similar to the first time you had sex.” I commented. “You said you had a high degree of anxiety and a fear of making a complete ass out of yourself.”
“Well that’s not exactly what I said but it’s not too far off,” Pops replied. “I wish we had a drum. I think a drum roll would be appropriate right now.”
The anti-gravity drives began to hum and I felt a serious chill go through my body. A few seconds later, the ship rose up about twenty-five feet and carefully flew around the huge open area in larger and larger circles. As they say, ‘the crowd went wild’ and after several laps around the room including two full rolls, the ship came back to its original starting point and made a delicate landing.
“Nice job Pops”, the pilot said as he exited the ship. “I can’t wait to try it out outside where we can really put it through its paces.”
“Thanks,” Pops responded, “but most of the credit goes to the engineers and others who have risked their lives making our new ship a reality.”
Another loud cheer rang out and Pops bowed and signaled for everyone to go back to work. That was an amazing day that just got better when Pops came up to me and said. “I’ve got a class for new potential pilots beginning tomorrow. Would you like to join in Bill?”
�
��Are you kidding? I’d love to.” I answered excitedly as I pumped my fist in the air. “Yes!”
Before I went to flight training class the next morning, and as I’d done for the last several days, I stopped by Rolf’s area. “Bill, I’ve got good news and bad news. The good news is the authorities are releasing our wives tomorrow. Shinkorloft got them off and they have been cleared of all charges of espionage against the Cromwells and the Prossfell Planetary Government. They will be flown back to the house near Grapsner. I suspect that our government and the Cromwells were trying to win points with our people since there was such an outcry. The fact that they don’t have many ships guarding Velador might also have played into their decision.”
“That’s great Rolf! Now what’s the bad news?”
“We can’t see them, at least for a while. I’m sure the government will keep them under surveillance so for now we must stay away.”
“There’s got to be a way we can smuggle them out or us in,” I said in my most pleading voice.
“Maybe, Bill. After we confirm they are back we’ll see if they are under some kind of house arrest. Depending on how that goes, we’ll figure out our next move.”
“Doesn’t that include going back to Earth soon? And remember Brenda wanted to go on that mission.”
“That mission is still scheduled.” Rolf elaborated in a tone that indicated he was in a hurry and I was annoying him. “In fact you need to get on the ITD and learn Russian. Jerry and you can practice on each other then.”
“I understand Rolf. I’ve got a meeting to attend so I’ve got to go. See you later.”
As I entered to room where the flight training was to be held, I was surprised to see both Jerry and Joanna sitting there. I went up to them and said. “I guess Pops lets anybody into flight training but I am glad I’ll have human company.”