Encounters 1: The Spiral Slayers

by Rusty Williamson

  Harrington laughed. Evelyn seemed to be in an especially good mood. She shook her head at her friend, "Well, even I would be interested in how their ships do that little disappearing and reappearing trick.”

  The two of them headed down the hall to the elevator and rode it down to deck one where the main shuttle bay was located. The Loud Umbrella ship was due to “appear” in minutes. Over two dozen people were in the area set aside for welcoming Adamarus, Woodworth and the other new arrivals. They spotted Brandon and Leewood and headed over to them.

  Evelyn took Brandon's arm and turned to Admiral Leewood, “Well, the big day is almost here.” Leewood had been put in charge of the upcoming meetings and he had been working day and night to prepare.

  Leewood looked over with a rueful smile, “Oh yeah, the fun will start now. I understand Radin and the battleships from Anderson will arrive in a few hours.”

  “About three-and-a-half hours.” Evelyn looked at her watch, then got the group’s attention and nodded towards the window. They all turned and watched.

  The solar wind rose from Cinder’s distant black horizon in a steady up-pour. After a second, it seemed to shimmer for an instant and then the huge form of the seven-mile Umbrella ship simply appeared out of nowhere. That was it. You could have blinked and missed it. There were a few gasps, a couple of “whoops” and one “Look at that!”

  “Damn,” Brandon muttered in unison with Evelyn’s “Wow!" Neither Evelyn nor Brandon had seen this in person before – only on video. Likewise, they had never met Adamarus, Woodworth or the Loud named Bugs face to face – only on teleconferencing screens at meetings.

  Woodworth was famous for the history books he had written which had been required reading at universities for over twenty years. And, of course, the Loud named Bugs was known to everyone. The Edens were very excited about meeting both.

  Adamarus, however, was another matter. Fate had thrust him almost into the realm of myth and legend. His name and his face had already been household icons for over a decade, and now with the incredible events since the arrival of the Loud, Adamarus Maximus’ status had been elevated to something bigger than life.

  For ten years, he had lead the MUEC Asteroid Mining and Collection Project, the largest undertaking in history, and billed as the effort that would save the species. As the project progressed, his name and face had appeared periodically not only in the news media, but also on various video specials and magazines. During this time, his presence, magnetism and looks had elevated his status to that of a celebrity. Then, just as he had started to become “old news” – something that was a great relief to Adamarus – the big moment came for The Asteroid Collection Project and he was seen system-wide, on every network, sitting in the captain’s chair on the bridge of the Bet’ti bringing the first asteroid down to the surface. Overnight, he was back, this time as a conquering hero.

  Then the very next day, the world was stunned when it was reported that Adamarus had been killed along with forty-seven other souls in the worst space accident in history. Video and images of his grieving wife and child had saddened the entire solar system. Documentaries had detailed his early years as a fighter pilot, one of the seven aces, recipient of the highest medals and awards.

  Then a week later, the seven-mile alien space ship had appeared in the sky – first contact, the most significant event in history – and, with the populace already in shock and overwhelmed by events, they soon learned that the purpose of the alien appearance was to deliver a reincarnated Adamarus to the ER. But this was hardly the end of it.

  The public then learned that the aliens had made Adamarus young again! Then it was leaked that he also would never age – immortality! Directly after that news was leaked, the aliens gave everyone immortality and the name “Adamarus” was forever tied to the phenomenon. And although his true part in it was never known, somehow he became partially credited for this miracle of miracles.

  Now he was the primary contact with the Loud who were showering society with Loud-ware technology so advanced it seemed like magic. To the public, Adamarus Maximus had become more than just a hero, beyond just famous, and larger than legend.

  Both Evelyn and Brandon had been introduced to Adamarus over a year ago over a teleconferencing link, and they had seen him often on teleconferencing screens in meetings. Still, the thought of meeting him in person and outside of the meeting environment had them both very keyed up.

  They both knew that Leewood and Harrington had worked closely with Adamarus, but neither one had ever thought to ask them anything about him.

  Evelyn tore her eyes from the Loud ship and looked at Harrington. "What's he like?” she asked. Brandon instinctively knew who she was talking about and turned his head also interested in the answer.

  Harrington turned towards her with a quizzical expression. “What’s who like?” honestly clueless.

  Unexpectedly Evelyn felt her cheeks heat, “Well…Admiral Maximus, of course. What’s he like?” At this, both Harrington and Leewood gave her a curious look and Evelyn felt her face redden even more. “Well…” she faltered, “in case you hadn’t noticed…” she made an effort to compose herself, “…well, at least to the general public anyway, he’s become…” she searched for the right word, “well…something of a legend. At least according to the news…the talk shows, magazines and…well…pretty much everyone in the known universe.”

  The four of them looked at each other for a moment, then laughter burst from both Leewood and Harrington.

  Evelyn put her hands on her hips and glared at them.

  Harrington put her hand over her mouth to stop the laughter, then said, “Oh, I’m sorry…really.” She glanced over at Leewood who, with effort, also stopped laughing. “Actually,” she looked back at Evelyn, “to be completely honest, we really hadn’t noticed how the public viewed him.”

  Seeing Evelyn’s expression, Leewood suddenly realized that she was serious. “Living legend?” he asked, honestly astonished. He looked over at Harrington and huffed. “Adamarus?” he said in disbelief. “And…what about…” he looked questioningly back at Evelyn as he pointed to Harrington and himself.

  Both Edens shook their heads. “Ah…afraid not. You guys are sort of the heroes…behind the scenes.” Brandon said a bit awkwardly.

  Harrington rubbed her eyes -- they were watering from laughing -- then looked thoughtful. “I guess when you work with someone…and you’re right there with them and involved with events…you don’t see things like that. And although we watch the news, we don’t pay attention to too much else…so we don’t see or hear everything that the public does. A living legend? Really?” She looked back at Leewood and they both laughed again, this time in amazement.

  “Well, knowing Adamarus,” she chuckled, her attention returning to the Edens, “he’s not liking that too much. But back to your question…” she flopped her arms at her side as she considered what to say, “…well, he’s a nice guy…” she shrugged, “…he can cut to the chase and take charge when needed, but at the same time, he’s not overbearing. He’s very good looking, but…he has eyes only for Grace…and his son, Nero. You’ll both like him.” Harrington thought for a moment, then added, “He’s a stand-up guy. Hmm…in some ways…well, he’s kind of a straight arrow.”

  Leewood spoke up, shaking his head, “Yeah, you’ve got that right,” he laughed, “he’s a frigging boy scout if you want to know the truth.” He turned back towards the window to watch the Loud ship, dismissing the subject.

  Evelyn and Brandon both nodded. They did not know what they had expected, but for some reason, they both felt a little disappointed.

  Someone across the room said, “There they are,” and Evelyn turned to the view port. The shuttle that had carried Adamarus and company from Amular inside the Loud’s ship now appeared next to the massive umbrella-like structure. To Evelyn, the shuttle looked only slightly larger than a speck of dust next to the enormous ship.

  Twenty minutes later, the shut
tle docked smoothly in Hideaway Space Dock One with only a slight bump radiating through the floor. A minute later, the hard dock transfer tubes sealed into place and the hatches opened.

  The first to exit was Bugs’ avatar. After the Loud, Woodworth came through, then two young men with briefcases. Finally, Adamarus and a woman came through the hatch talking to each other.

  Evelyn had hardly been aware of her people rearranging their positions around her. She would be first in line as always. Despite the 50/50 partnership with Brandon, her father had also been the father of the Hideaway Shipyard and the Leviathan Battleships, and to everyone, she was master of the Yards.

  Woodworth came to her first. He smiled warmly, “Evelyn, we meet in person at last.”

  She smiled back and offered her hand. “Professor Woodworth, it’s a pleasure.” He shook it with a firm and sure hand.

  Woodworth spread his hands and looked around to indicate the entire five-mile space dock, “Couldn’t you find anything bigger to greet us in?”

  She laughed, “Couldn’t you find anything bigger to arrive in?” referring to the seven-mile Loud ship.

  “Touché.” Woodworth chuckled and moved by her to shake hands with Brandon.

  Next came Bugs, then Lenny Grant and Trevor Coleman, then Jan, the woman who had been talking to Adamarus.

  Finally, Adamarus was in front of her and he was wearing a smile that made her feel like she was melting. She was more than a little surprised at her reaction.

  Adamarus looked at her as if he were slowly taking her in. He took a deep breath and said, “Evelyn, I’ve been looking forward to meeting you. You’re even more gorgeous in person.” He bowed slightly, “Brandon is a very lucky man.”

  This made her feel a little dizzy. For a moment she felt like a young girl again. She could feel a heat rising up her neck. The sound of his voice seemed richer and warmer in person. He was taller than she had imagined and his eyes were electric.

  She offered her hand automatically and when he took it, an electrical charge seemed to course through her. She realized she had a stupid grin on her face and that she needed to say something, but found she was tongue tied. This was not like her at all. She remembered going over things to say to Adamarus when they met, but damn it, right now she couldn’t remember anything. She heard herself say, “Admiral, thank you for the kind words. I’ve been looking forward to meeting you as well—it’s not every day that a girl gets to meet a living legend.”

  It was Adamarus’ turn for his face to redden. “Well…in truth,” he leaned in towards her as if sharing a confidence, “my exploits have always been badly overstated.”

  Evelyn felt her smile getting larger if that were possible. To hide this she turned her head towards Brandon, though her eyes remained on Adamarus. “Oh, I somehow doubt that Admiral,” she heard herself say, and passed him on to Brandon.

  Evelyn watched him as he talked to Brandon. She realized she was holding her breath and her heart was pounding in her chest. She made herself breathe and forced her eyes away from Adamarus only to catch Harrington staring at her with an odd expression on her face.

  ---

  An hour later, Brandon gave Adamarus and Woodworth ”the tour.” They took the elevators down to inspect the meeting area. The meeting was several days away and the facilities were completed and simply waiting.

  They arrived inside a large building that looked like a luxury hotel with marble and granite columns, balconies, and a grand spiral staircase with glass elevators on either side. Leewood told them it contained four restaurants, two pools, four spas and a health club, as well as a dozen smaller meeting rooms.

  Then they opened one of eight double glass doors and stepped “outside” onto the concourse overlooking the main meeting area and the landscaping. “Outside” was of course inside the vast room called the atrium, which stretched out 1500 feet to where the domed ceiling met the floor. No one had warned them, and Adamarus and Woodworth were stunned by the size.

  As they stood there, a drop of water hit Adamarus’ forehead and trickled down the side of his nose. He wiped his face with his hand, a curious look on his face. At the same time, drops had started hitting Woodworth and Leewood as well.

  “What the hell!” Leewood said.

  “I think you’ve sprung a leak,” Adamarus joked.

  They all looked up and what they saw was unbelievable.

  “Why would you want to have a rain cloud?” Woodworth asked Leewood seriously. Sure enough, they could see a dark rain cloud above their heads obscuring the central area of the domed ceiling.

  “We wouldn’t!” Leewood said, concern obvious in his voice.

  Woodworth pointed at the reflection pools and waterfalls scattered about the surrounding landscaping, “By God, you’ve created…weather! The room is large enough, and with all that water surface area…the lights…”

  Adamarus laughed, “Now I am impressed!” But Leewood did not hear him as he was already on his com unit to the construction crew.

  Luckily, it only took half a day to dehumidify the room and things dried up before the meetings started.

  ---

  Captain Radin Talvin brought the ten battleships to a halt five miles from the Hideaway Shipyard. Three of the battleships were under the control of crews still in training. Although they were his best crews—the top of the class—and Radin trusted them…he just didn’t want any mistakes.

  He spent over an hour making sure that the ships were locked down, secure, and not going anywhere. Finally, leaving their second tier in command, he and Burnwall, along with their aids, took a shuttle to the Hideaway control center. The Edens, Adamarus, Leewood and Woodworth met them. The original group had not been together in a long time and they warmly greeted each other, then proceeded to get the new arrivals settled into their quarters.

  ---

  Finally, it was the night before the start of Amular’s first Council of War. It had been over a year of constant stress and working literally around the clock for everyone present, not to mention the deep underlying horror of what had happened to the Loud’s home system. To those who also knew about the alien ship…the fear and stress verged on, being unbearable at times.

  The new and expanded special team had assembled many facts, and tomorrow they would brief a second tier of people working under them and make initial decisions on what would be done over the next 200 years. Tonight, however, everyone would take a moderated break, let loose a little and shake off the burden for a while.

  Evelyn excused herself claiming loose ends she needed to attend to, but the six men and Harrington went out for drinks. There was only one place to go, a facility that had just reopened, in fact. Its location designated it as Deck 14U, but it was just called “One4U.”

  The One4U was a full function club. It had a fully stocked bar, a good sound system and a dance floor, pool tables, dartboards, and the view wasn’t anything to sneer at. One wall was a floor to ceiling window, and even though it was badly in need of cleaning, the spectacle beyond was still awesome. It was Sunday night and the first of an unspecified number of serious meetings would start at 8:00 AM tomorrow—The One4U was packed. Luckily, a table had been reserved for them.

  The music and noise was deafening. Although the converted hanger was large, there were now over 1800 people stationed on Hideaway and it looked like over 1000 were here.

  With Leewood leading the way, they negotiated their way through the sea of bodies towards the only empty booth which had a softly glowing “reserved” sign on the table.

  It was a zoo, and Adamarus found he was in the mood for a zoo. Leewood was on the other side of the table and Adamarus saw him stand and raise his hands, signaling for a round of beers. Then Leewood started looking around the crowded room, “I need to thank Flannery and Mac for saving us a table,” he hollered to the group.

  Flannery and Mac were both Master Sergeants who had worked for the Edens at Hideaway during the war. They had been in charge of the construction
for the atrium meeting area. Leewood and the two had hit it off immediately.

  The beers came and Adamarus took a drink as Leewood made his way around the table to him. Leewood leaned in close to Adamarus’ ear and said over the noise, “I think you might want to check on something.” Adamarus gave him a questioning look. Leewood pointed and Adamarus looked and spotted a Loud avatar sitting in a corner booth with two large, brawny men. Obviously it was Bugs. The group looked like they were deep in conversation. Leewood continued, “That’s Flannery and Mac, great guys, you’ll like them. However, they are a couple of notorious jokesters and there is no telling what they are saying to your Loud friend. I doubt there’s any trouble, but probably no one has warned Bugs about those two.”

  Adamarus nodded his thanks to Leewood, excused himself and started making his way through the crowd towards the trio.

  He circled around the room so he could approach Bugs from the rear and listen in a bit before interrupting. Flannery and Mac did not know Adamarus, but they would recognize him, so he worked in toward them trying to keep his face averted. Finally, when he was as close as he thought he could get, he stood about three feet behind Bugs, looking the other way. He could just make out what they were saying, but it took a minute to get use to the strong accents of the two Master Sergeants.

  Mac was saying in an amazed voice, “So let me get this straight, Mr. Bugs, you’re on your ship right now, in a ‘control booth’ operating this robot and seeing us and hearing us as if’in you were right here amongst us?”

  “That’s essentially it,” Bugs replied.

  Mac said, “Bust my buttons!” Mac elbowed Flannery and said, “I gotta get me one of these things!” indicating the avatar robot.

  Flannery leaned forward and said, “And if you have to be leaving this control booth to do something…then what controls this robot?” The rolling r’s on “robot” were deep and rich.

  Bugs answered, “The control booths are set up for uninterrupted operation.”