Libre, A Silver Ships Novel (The Silver Ships Book 2)
Page 15
Alex took control of the meeting again.
He left the questions on the table and waited.
Renée hated this part. The two shared the language of offense-defense like a pair of game masters. She didn’t really hate it, but it was frustrating.
Everyone looked to Alex to see if he agreed, but he was far away, communing with the SADEs.
Alex gave the SADEs a fight scenario for them to consider—the type and extent of force necessary to draw the patrolling silver ships to the farthest edge of the system, the amount of time that would gain him to destroy the ten protectors and the mother ship, and the forces required to accomplish the task. As the SADEs gamed, Alex changed parameters and the scenarios spewed forth.
The discussion had so quickly energized Alex’s thoughts that he failed to close the group’s conference comm, and unfortunately he had subsumed their security protocols. Méridiens were taught specific protocols that allowed them to control the flow of information into their comms in an ordered and sequential fashion. Participating as a bystander to Alex’s multi-threaded processes required just the opposite technique.
Renée contained her smile at Alex’s enigmatic comment. It was his usual one when he had made a major discovery or design breakthrough.
Alex regarded the sallow complexions on the Librans’ faces.
Eric was swallowing carefully and sipping water to prevent retching. He had been on the receiving end of the comm onslaught before. This time, he had chosen to participate in order to test his own capabilities. Obviously I need to admit my inferiority in this regard, Eric thought, and realized he had just shared that thought with the group.
Alex didn’t bother to reply.
The Captain cleared his throat. Much of his old confidence, gained during decades as a freighter Captain, was returning.
The response opportunity rotated to Cordelia, who sent,
They heard an audible groan from Mickey, and concerned faces swiveled his way.
Smiles went round the room. The only word the group heard came from Tatia, who said,
Alex heard a final word from Julien:
-15-
Alex met Tomas the next day after morning meal for a private tour of the Freedom. It would be just he and Tomas, so Alex could focus on the city-ship’s build-out. Of course, Alex’s shadow accompanied him.
The Librans were attempting to build the two city-ships in tandem, working on the same tasks on both ships at the same time. Alex wondered if the concept proved out in reality. The morning of the tour, while he was still in the refresher, he had queried the SADEs on the efficiency of this method.
Within a few moments, Z had responded,
* * *
“Greetings, Admiral,” Tomas said, meeting Alex as he descended the shuttle’s gangway ramp into the Freedom’s bay. “Do you have a specific agenda for the tour, or would you like me to be your guide?”
Alex shook Tomas’s hand and said, “Why don’t you lead, Ser Monti, and I’ll add things to the list as we go.”
The two men spent the entire day touring the ship. Tomas would have been surprised to know that the majority of Alex’s communications during the day were with the SADEs, who apprised him of details that Tomas could not have possessed and sent him images portraying the finished appearances of areas still under construction.
Each of the ships had achieved basic operational status, having closed their hulls, installed their engines, and begun building out environmental systems. But in many cases, they resembled a skeletal system. Cabins were still under construction, and kilometers of power, control, environmental, and sensor systems were yet to be installed.
Tomas was especially pleased to show Alex the city-ship’s center. At the heart of the ship was a huge park with trees, shrubbery, flowering plants, and grasses. Waterways wound through the park, and broad-leaf plants with blooms of flowers floated in the waters. Tomas was almost gushing as he held his arms wide to indicate the massive park as he and Alex stepped from the lift.
The trees were six to eight meters high and were already extending lacy branches over crushed stone walkways and park benches. The ceiling was a gigantic half-sphere, four decks high, and covered both the park and the shops that surrounded the park. Flowers were blooming throughout the landscape. The small streams fed pools filled with colorful fish.
Alex was surprised to see the number of people at work. “Ser Monti, you’re putting a great deal of effort into this park.”
“It serves two purposes, Admiral. We will need to live for many years on this ship, and our people will need a place of peace for their well-being. And rather than attempting to carry sufficient water supplies for years, we’ve designed our water filtration systems into the garden. The roots of these plants are bio-engineered with embedded nanites that filter the water. Our engineers estimate our initial water supply will last for eight to nine years before we require topping off our water tanks.”
Tomas urged Alex to walk through the park, which Alex presupposed was to view it more closely. But it turned out the Leader had an ulterior purpose. Hundreds of people lined the walkways and had been waiting for the New Terran Admiral. He was greeted with bows of respect from most, while older Librans often touched a shoulder or an arm.
Regarding the huge undertaking of the park and shops, Alex was of two minds. It was a peaceful, idyllic place that the people might need if they were to stay aboard their ship for years while they built a new home, and it was obvious that the people had to have started construction on the park soon after they finished the ship’s basic requirements, in order to easily transport all the organic material into the ship’s central location. But how much time has this place cost them? Alex wondered.
Both Cordelia and Z, whose fates were tied to the successful launch of their ships, understood the Admiral’s thoughts. Their Méridien-trained people were undertaking the city-ships’ construction using centuries-old methods, despite the desperate circumstances. The Admiral, on the other hand, saw a world soon to be menaced by an enemy and planned accordingly. The SADEs’ quest to improve their ship’s construction efficiencies acquired significantly more processing power.
After the tour of the upper decks, bridge, park, and shops, the latter enticing as they were, Alex requested that they tour the engineering aspects of the ship.
Cordelia, who originally hoped Alex might visit her new display suite, was pleased to hear him request that Tomas tour the ship’s fundamental systems. Her displays would mean little to her and the Librans if they were dead.
When the tour was finished, Alex asked to meet privately with Captain Cordova in his cabin to prevent alarming the bridge crew with their discussion. Alex was ushered into the Captain’s cabin and seated at an expansive conference table. Alex liked the elderly man, who he felt exuded an air of confidence and grace.
“Captain,” Alex began, “if you had to leave orbit thirty, sixty, or even ninety days before construction was completed, would you change anything?”
“Is there something I should be concerned about, Admiral?” José asked.
“At this time, the question is hypothetical, Captain.”
“Well, Admiral,” José said, relaxing back in his chair, an air of repose overtaking his usually erect posture, “our ship construction methods are tried and true. Efficiency is best maintained in this manner. If we were to speed up the process, we would more than likely disturb the entire timeline, resulting in a delay of the schedule.”
Julien felt sad for Cordelia and Z. It was hard to comprehend that those you served, those you depended on to keep you safe, were often not the best qualified to do so.
Alex thanked the elderly Captain for his time and headed back to his shuttle for the return trip to the Rêveur. On the way, he signaled the SADEs.
* * *
Julien was sympathetic to his fellow SADEs’ angst. They depended on the Librans and yet were caught between their people’s purposeful, dependable construction methods and a stranger’s concept of launching the ship with minimal life support capabilities.
Both Cordelia and Z were unsettled by this explanation. Julien was asking them to believe in his Admiral. Believe that the New Terran Leader would produce a plan to ensure the survival of a quarter-million Librans.