Abraxis Complex 2: Sword of Damocles
Page 10
Greg sighed and put his head in his hands. "We really need diplomats as well as the knowledge and agreement of the rest of the planet. I think I should wait to contact Delion then. Say, we have replicators in our sleds, why can't that technology be used to help feed the Greynus?"
"Two major reasons, the produce they need to survive needs to be fresh, and not processed. Replicators cannot produce anything 'live'. While the replicators can sustain the Rangers in their sleds for a short time, nutrient depletion would eventually kill them. The second reason is the power requirements for replicator use. Single use replicators like you use in the sleds take an incredible amount of your power reserves, but can be used due to the nature of the sled's power systems. The amount needed for this problem would be astronomical in scope," Abraxis explained. "It was one of the first things I looked into after the event took place."
"In other words, in order to be able to offer the Greynus help, I'll need the support of the rest of the planet," Greg said. He activated his comm. "Jolene, could you do me a huge favor?"
"Sure, whatcha need?" Jolene replied.
"I need to know how much food we produce, versus how much we need. Only grains and fruits, you don't need to include meat or any animal product," Greg asked.
"Whoa, you don't need much do ya?" Jolene replied. "How soon do you need it? This might take a while to compile."
"Well, I need to know so I can approach either the President or the UN to get their agreement to supply freighter loads of food to a dying planet, in order to get their assistance building our facilities here, and on other worlds," Greg explained. "Is Bella with you?"
"Yeah, we were going to help Mandi with her designs," Bella replied.
"Well, if you have time, could you get with Abraxis and find out everything you can about the Greynus?" Greg asked.
"Sure, are they the dying race you were talking about?" Bella asked.
"Yeah, an asteroid strike is raising hell with their planet, I'd like to be able to offer them assistance, they have lost people to starvation," Greg replied.
"Yeah, we gotta do something. How are you going to get the food to them?" Jolene asked.
"Well, I was going to see if I could work with Delion's people for transportation of the food as well as the engineers and materials," Greg explained. "Abraxis and I are still working on the whole plan here."
"Okay, we'll get to work. I'll try to get you the information you need, Greg, but I wasn't kidding, it could take a day or more to do this," Jolene said.
"Do what you can, please. It'll probably take that long to get the rest of this plan figured out anyway," Greg replied.
Jared knocked, and then entered Greg's office. "You wanted to talk to me?"
"Yeah, I have a problem, and I need advice. Actually, I need a lot of advice," Greg replied. He poured a cup of coffee for Jared and handed it to him. "I think I'm going to need to talk to the President,"
Jared almost dropped the coffee when Greg said that. "You know, you could have waited for me to set the coffee down before you hit me with that!"
"Sorry, like we talked about at breakfast, I'd like to get the Greynus to handle construction, the Harclens for transportation, and the Onarians for computers and control systems. The problem is that the Greynus will need food to save their people, and I'd like to be able to offer them some. In order to do that, I'm going to need the agreement of the government at least, quite possibly the UN at the most," Greg explained.
"Okay, I got that part. What about the other races? Do they have food they can contribute?" Jared asked.
"The Harclens do grow some foods that would be palatable to the Greynus. The Onarians do not. The plants on Onaris five contain certain chemicals that would not be good for other races to ingest," Abraxis offered. "I feel I should remind you that the Harclens have trade partners. If they could be convinced, the combined output of those five worlds alone would be sufficient to support the Greynus until their planet heals and becomes able to produce food once more."
"So what could we offer? It wouldn't be good to come to the table empty handed," Greg asked.
"There are three commodities I know of that you could offer. The beans of the beverage you and Agent Danielson are imbibing would have a beneficial medical affect for three other races. Tobacco in its natural form would do the same for two other races. Lastly, on your moon there is an abundance of Helium three that is used in specific types of nuclear reactors," Abraxis offered. "I am certain there are other items that other races would be interested in that we simply have not yet discovered."
"Still in order to offer any trade items, we are going to need the support and active participation of at least one government," Greg said. "If we claim the Moon as 'ours' that will take care of the H-3, but the rest are going to have to come from here."
"Claiming the moon will make getting the other nations to agree to this pretty remote. Last I heard they all had an interest in the moon for one reason or another. I believe they all consider it to be a strategic point," Jared added.
"I suppose it is, but its true strategic value is in defense of the planet, not to threaten other countries," Greg replied.
"No matter what you tell them, they will never see it that way," Jared replied. "Even if they did believe us about the alien threat, they would still demand access to parts of the moon, for strategic purposes."
Greg shook his head. "This is starting to look like the UN is going to be the best bet."
A knock on the door interrupted the conversation. Greg granted entry and Bella walked in.
"Greg, I've been doing what you asked, and I've discovered that we're going to be restricted in what we can offer the Greynus as far as food goes. Basically, we're only going to be able to offer them tree and vine grown fruits, except for tomatoes - they are too high in acid. Cucumbers, melons, apples, oranges, cherries, dates, etcetera ... you get the idea. However, soy beans are something they don't have, but according to Abraxis' files, would be a perfect food for them."
"So, a million tons of soy beans would make them happy for a little while," Greg said, rhetorically.
"Actually, if we could teach them how to grow them, it would help them out greatly. These can be grown underground with artificial light. They are a very high yield crop, if the Greynus could build the hydroponics facilities, this might just be a good long-term answer for them. I took the liberty of making up a rough design for the system, and a few sketches. I thought Abraxis might like to see if they are interested," Bella replied.
"I will make that inquiry on your behalf, Ranger, however, I feel that they should be aware that this idea came from you," Abraxis replied. "Not only will it re-enforce the faith they have in the Rangers, it will go a long way in their decision to assist us in this endeavor. Before I make the connection, however, should we not see if we could procure a quantity of these soy beans?"
"Jared, think you and Mom can figure out a way to get the stuff? I'll get to work on figuring out a way to get it there," Greg asked.
"Getting it won't be the problem, Greg. Getting it loaded into a ship for off-world export will be." Jared shook his head. "We'd need a freighter equipped with stealth like a sled, a place with the facilities to do the transfer, and a way to keep the armed forces from attacking us while we do it."
Greg put his head in his hands, thinking though the various problems and issues facing them. Finally his looked up. "Dad, who's your boss?"
"My what?" Jared asked. The question took him completely by surprise.
"Who is the one person that approves missions for you? The guy in charge?" Greg asked.
"Missions are decided on by a committee, but the one person most responsible for my section is an Air Force Colonel by the name of Susan Florence. Why?" Jared asked.
Greg nodded. "Okay, who is her boss? This committee, or is there an overall commander?"
"Ideally, the director of intelligence operations, John Stapleton is the person in charge of all covert operations. Greg what are y
ou thinking?" Jared replied.
Greg looked up at Jared. "We are going to be installing a shield as well as ground-based weapons systems. We are also going to be letting our guards upstairs know what's really happening here. Once that is done, I would like for Mr. Stapleton to pay us a visit. In order to do what we need to do, we need to be able to do it. I am going to visit the President and put it all on the table for him. When I do, I want Mr. Stapleton and NSA Director Gerry Whiteshield there to let him know I am not a flake and this is all very much for real. This is hanging over our heads like the Sword of Damocles, and they have to be convinced of what we are facing and the importance of working together. If we cannot do that, then we are going to be destroyed."
Not sure if he agreed with Greg or not, Jared assured him that he would make the arrangements for the visit. He didn't tell his wife because he knew she would be violently opposed to this course of action. Jared wasn't convinced either way. He knew his bosses could be intimidating fuckers, but then again, Greg was also holding all the cards and he knew it.
Sighing, he picked up the phone in his office, and started making the calls.
About the Author
Ben Winston (1965 - ?) was born in Iowa and grew up in Minnesota on the family dairy farm. Upon reaching adulthood, he joined the United States Army as a communications technician. Before getting out of the military, he decided to go to school for computer electronics.
Shortly after getting out of the military, and after getting a new job with an over-seas company, he was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease. A month after beginning the new job, he was laid off due to budget over-runs on the project he was hired for. Upon returning to the United States, he had difficulty maintaining employment because of the chronic illness.
He began writing as a form of stress release, from being home bound and not being able to work, and found he liked writing erotica. Ben wrote a trilogy called the Talosian Chronicles (Currently in rewrite to remove the graphic sex and finalized his vision of the story). The first book, Star Dancer, won awards and was nominated for many others by the online communities where it was posted.
Ben Winston returned to school for literature, after completion, he began writing professionally. Being an avid fan of science fiction he focused on this genre. He was, and still is, influenced and inspired by Gene Roddenberry, Anne McCaffery, David Weber, Isaac Asimov, and Ray Bradbury. Some of his favorite movies and TV shows are; Battlestar Galactica (both versions), Andromeda, Star Trek, Firefly, Star Wars, and many of the B-rated movies that were actually box-office bombs.
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Books Published by Blue Space Publications, LLC.
by Ben Winston
Pollux Paradox
Tides of Mars
Tides of Mars (Omnibus)
Ascension – Book I
Conflict – Book II
Book of the Guardian
Home – Book I
Pest Control – Book II
The Last Mission – Book III
The Abraxis Complex
Origin of Prometheus – Book I
Sword of Damocles – Book II (Upcoming)
Talosian Chronicles
Olympus – Book I
Star Dancer – Book II
Talosian Alliance – Book III
*Neptune’s Massif – Book IV (Upcoming)
Series
Temple of S.A.R.A.H.
Prototype – Episode I
Subroutines – Episode II
Base Functions – Episode III
*Hard Wired – Episode IV (Upcoming)
by Michael McClain
Chronicles of Atlantis Series
Chronicles of Atlantis (Omnibus)
Atlantis Rising – Book I
Euthara – Book II