"So all of you on this Board will probably be coming to Quesann?"
"Not all," Admiral Platt said. "I'll be remaining on Earth. Quesann is too far distant for the Commander of the First Fleet to properly coordinate operations, especially given the current situation in the sectors along the Clidepp border."
"Once the move to Quesann is complete," Admiral Moore said to Jenetta, "you'll be expected to assume Evelyn's place on this board."
Jenetta was taken aback by this latest revelation, but she managed to respond with, "I'm sorry, but that's just not possible. My duties as Commander of the Second Fleet and Military Governor over Regions Two and Three consume every minute of my days."
"Once the Senate has moved to Quesann, they will take full responsibility for governance of all three regions. That will reduce your load considerably and allow you the time to participate as a member of this Board, just as Evelyn is able to do at present."
The changes that would take place with the GA Senate and Supreme Headquarters' move to Quesann, plus the extension of maximum retirement ages, had sent Jenetta's mind into overdrive. She needed time to consider things from all angles, so she simply nodded to this latest bit of information. She knew one thing for sure— she didn't savor the thought of becoming a member of the Admiralty Board. It appeared to be one more wedge being driven between her and possible ship command, although she had come to view that as a near impossibility for some time.
"Do you have anything else to present to the Board?" Admiral Moore asked.
"No, that was all. My weekly reports have included all other pertinent information."
"Very well. Then allow us to bring you up to date on several matters. The Flordaryn people are most appreciative that you freed them from the Tsgardi Kingdom, and they've requested member world status with the Galactic Alliance. They say they want to establish a cooperative sharing of technology now that they're a part of the GA."
"The Tsgardi vessels made by the Flordaryns are the most poorly made and most undependable in Galactic Alliance space."
"They claim to have made significant technological advancements, which they kept from the Tsgardi because they didn't wish to see them become more powerful. Their scientists and researchers continued to work under the very noses of the Tsgardi the entire time their race was enslaved, but new developments were never shared with their Tsgardi overlords, and the Tsgardi were too ignorant in scientific matters to know the difference. When you return to Quesann, we'd like you to deliver a delegation of political, scientific, and technical representatives to Flordarya and engage the Flordaryns in talks so we can better assess the situation and make specific recommendations to the GA Council."
"Of course, Richard."
"And lastly, we're going to construct new shipbuilding facilities around suitable planets near Quesann."
"To replace the Mars yard?"
"No, to supplement it. It will also require the creation of a foundry to produce Dakinium sheathing and other products."
"Until some other nation manages to develop Dakinium, that will be a major target for infiltration and attack."
"The responsibility for preventing infiltration will fall on the shoulders of Admiral Kanes and his intelligence section. You will only have to protect the foundry from direct attack."
"Unlike Earth's solar system, the Quesann system doesn't have a gas giant suitable for providing enormous quantities of hydrogen for fuel. Foundry operations will cost considerably more unless it can be situated in another system, one that does have a gas giant, but that would make defense substantially more difficult and spread our forces. Can't the Jupiter foundry continue to produce all Dakinium?"
"The foundry is running around the clock and still falling behind with demand. We must have an additional foundry if we're to step up ship and vital components production."
"Why can't we simply build another foundry at Jupiter?"
"With the GA Senate and Supreme Headquarters moving to Quesann, the planetary defense forces here will naturally be reduced, so the long-range plan is to have all Dakinium production take place in Region Two near the new heart of the GA. Expanded foundry facilities will be established near the new one once it reaches full production, and the foundry around Jupiter will be phased out. The exact location for the new foundries will be up to you and your scientific personnel."
"Yes, sir," Jenetta said, but her face clearly showed that she wasn't thrilled with the order. For a full minute there was complete silence around the table.
"On the positive side," Admiral Moore said, "The reduction of Earth defense forces means those ships can be reassigned to interdiction efforts, reducing the need to pull ships from other areas."
"With the Mars shipyard and Jupiter foundry still requiring protection, the cuts cannot be that significant."
"We estimate that we can free up ten ships."
"But those ships are among the oldest still in service. They never leave the solar system because they would be of little use in interdiction efforts these days. Look at the Perry. It barely survived that encounter with a Clidepp destroyer in the hands of untrained rebels. Granted, the Earth force isn't as aged as the Perry, but it's not even up to the modern standards of pre-Dakinium ships."
"Where possible, all Earth Force ships have been upgraded with the newer engine designs. Although the cost of sheathing them with Dakinium isn't economically feasible owed to their advanced age, they will have Light-487 speed capability."
"That will help, to be sure, but we're still talking about just a handful of ships. The rebellion brewing in the Clidepp Empire can't help but continue to increasingly spill over into our territory in future years. If we get pulled into that conflict and also have a new enemy attack in Region Two or Three, we'll be hard pressed to adequately defend our territory on two fronts."
"We can't properly address potential conflicts until they actually occur," Admiral Platt said. "We can only do our best to be prepared for any contingency. Moving Supreme Headquarters and the GA Senate is a logical move and can't be altered or postponed because of actions that might— or might not— occur."
"The GA Senate has made a decision to move the government center to Quesann," Admiral Moore said, "and it's our job to carry out their plan. Let's move on now. The next topic concerning Regions Two and Three is the creation of new space stations. Our planners and engineers have reached agreement that bases built inside asteroids offer the greatest safety by a wide margin. As shown at Stewart, they are far easier to defend than the space stations we built before the dangers from criminals and outside invaders became so prevalent. Higgins was very nearly destroyed by a Raider attack, where Stewart, with a much smaller protection fleet, suffered almost no damage and no loss of life. The asteroid form even beat out a suggested plan for a station covered in Dakinium plating because it could allow for the protection of hundreds of ships if we have a little advance notice of an impending attack."
"I figured the asteroid form might be chosen," Jenetta said, "so I've had my captains checking out asteroids during their patrols. We already have fourteen possible choices that warrant closer examination if the decision favored asteroid bases."
"Excellent. Have that information sent to the Marine's Corps of Engineers so they can begin their analysis of those asteroids. With that we can move onto other new business."
"There is an issue that hasn't been concluded," Jenetta said. "I asked if I might invite Admiral Holt to join me at Quesann. We got sidetracked onto other issues."
Admiral Moore looked around the table at the other admirals before saying, "I have no problem with it if a majority of this Board agrees and Brian wishes to go. All in favor of posting Admiral Brian Holt to Admiral Carver's staff at Quesann to fill a new position of Deputy Military Governor of Regions Two and Three with promotion to Vice-Admiral, signify by raising your hand."
Everyone at the table raised their hand without hesitation. Admiral Moore said, "The motion carries unanimously, subject to his acceptan
ce of the position."
"Thank you," Jenetta said, then smiled as she looked around the table and made eye contact with the members of the Admiralty Board. "I'll stop at Higgins on my way back to Quesann and offer Brian the position. I feel confident he'll want to join me, so you might want to begin considering replacements for his current position."
"We'll do that. Is there anything else you need to discuss with the Board, Jen?"
"That's about it, Richard. Thank you for your indulgences today."
"Okay, let's continue with our regular business."
Jenetta sat and listened quietly through the rest of the session, but her mind was elsewhere. Among other things, she was thinking about how she would ask Brian Holt to give up command of his base and join her at Quesann.
When the morning session ended, Jenetta and Lt. Commander Ashraf joined the Admirals and their aides for lunch in their dining room. Jenetta sat at the large table reserved exclusively for flag and general officers, while Lori sat at one of the tables reserved for commissioned officers.
In the informal and relaxed environment, Jenetta related information about the situation at Quesann that she would never put into official correspondence. At one point, Admiral Platt said, "Tell us about Christa, Jen. Is she completely well?"
Jenetta smiled and looked briefly at the four members of the Board whom she knew were aware of Project Springboard. She had no idea whether Brian Holt had informed any of the members that he had used the capabilities of that project for Christa's return to duty. Jenetta couldn't see any indication in their expressions that they knew, so she decided to assume they didn't. "Yes, thank you. Her wounds are completely healed. She couldn't wait to return to work so she could wrap up her business on Dakistee and get back into space."
"We need her talents on Dakistee right now," Admiral Moore said. "The discovery and awakening of the ancient Dakistee people has been like opening a Pandora's box. First, the archeological people have been screaming their heads off. You would have thought they'd be ecstatic to have an enormous reservoir of firsthand information about the distant past fall into their laps. I suppose they may have felt that way at first, but they'd also come to believe that Dakistee was their planet. They had expected to spend their lives uncovering the ruins of an ancient civilization. It's become obvious that the Dakistee people will not sit idly by as scientists slowly peel back the layers of time. They want their planet returned to their control as quickly as possible. Personally, I don't blame them, but they have to understand that we must dismantle forces set in motion on what we believed was an uninhabited planet. When we told the Archeological Expedition Headquarters on Anthius that they would have to return everything removed from the planet, they used their influence to have every member of the Galactic Alliance Senate demand we rescind our ruling. I informed the GA Council that we were only proceeding according to the laws passed by the Senate that clearly specify our response to such situations. I told them that if they wished us to behave differently, it was up to them to rewrite the laws. They've been arguing about the affected statutes ever since.
"Second, the awakened Dakistee people at Loudescott— or Camtolla, as they're calling the location now since that was its name in ancient times— aren't waiting for us to peacefully retire from the planet. They've formed a new pro tem government and begun pushing the scientists out of the way so they can begin awakening the still-sleeping citizens in other buried facilities.
"Third, the Dakistians aren't only pushing to get exclusive access to the locations identified as underground stasis facilities. Our intelligence people tell us that they are also looking for other buried facilities. As yet we don't know what they're searching for, and they haven't been forthright with information. We're hoping that Lt. Commander Carver's return to the planet might help us learn what they're seeking. They acknowledge that they owe her much for her role in awakening them and feel a unique kinship towards her since she was born on Dakistee."
"Their search must have something to do with gaining independence," Jenetta said, "since the stasis pods contain the brightest minds on the planet and the young people they'll need for reproductive purposes once a cure for their sterility is found."
"Yes, we're assuming they're trying to locate the wealth of the planet— probably precious gems and minerals since manufactured currency would be worthless," Admiral Bradlee said.
"By rights, it belongs to them, so we can't fault their actions," Admiral Hillaire said.
"The question is: Why the emphasis on recovery right now?" Admiral Plimley said. "No one is allowed to transport anything off the planet. It's not like it's going to be stolen from them if they don't find it first."
"As Jen said, it must have something to do with making themselves independent of the GA," Admiral Woo said. "Knowing the wealth is safely buried somewhere isn't the same as having it available for purchases."
"What sort of purchases, Lon?" Admiral Yuthkotl asked.
"That's the big question," Admiral Woo said. "I'd bet it has something to do with their number one problem— the sterility issue."
Following lunch, Jenetta said her good-byes and headed for the base's shuttle port with Lt. Commander Ashraf. As Jenetta boarded a shuttle with her pets for the trip back to the Potomac base, Lori boarded a shuttle for a flight to the Mediterranean island home of her family.
* * *
Chapter Four
~ February 26th, 2286 ~
"Today's meeting will come to order," Chairman Gladsworth said as he pounded the decorative gravel once on the equally ornamental sounding-block. He waited until the meeting hall was silent and all council members were seated and looking at him before he added, "We shall dispense with the reading of the minutes today because we have a visitor who is not authorized to hear Upper Council business. I welcome the chairperson of the Lower Council, Arthur Stephen Strauss. You have the floor, Mr. Chairman."
"Thank you, sir. And thank you to the council for allowing me to come before you today on such short notice. I have good news and I believed you would want to hear it as soon as possible. For four decades, this organization has lavished almost unlimited funds on a special project. I'm here to tell you today that the project is about to begin returning dividends on those expenditures."
"You're referring to the Age Prolongation Procedure?" Council member Whitely asked.
"Yes, sir," Strauss said to one of the oldest members of the council. For that matter, there wasn't a single member younger than one hundred forty. The advanced ages of the council members were probably most responsible for their continued monetary support of Arneu's project.
"As you all know, the formulas had just been proven successful when Ensign Jenetta Carver managed to destroy Raider-One, wiping out the development lab and killing all of the research scientists. The loss of the scientists alone far exceeded the value of the station and the other eighteen thousand employees. That fool Arneu had refused to turn over the formulas until they were proven, so we lost everything and had to start over. It's taken him almost two additional decades to recreate the lost work, but we once again have proven formulas, and they have been turned over to our Central Laboratories this time. Plus, we have an additional enhancement. We can now reverse the aging process completely."
"You say the formulas have been proven?" Gladsworth asked. "Is that definite?"
"Anyone who doubts the success of the procedures need only look at an image of Admiral Jenetta Carver or one of her clones, all of whom appear the same as the day she graduated from the NHSA in 2256. The ability of her body to heal almost any injury is legendary in Space Command. As you know, one of our people recently went against orders and tried to assassinate one of Carver's clones. He shot her three times at close range with a lattice weapon as she shot him with a laser. He died almost instantly while she survived her injuries and has already returned to active duty."
"But Carver was altered with the old formulas, the ones that were lost with Raider-One," Whitely said.
"The individual in charge of the project, Mikel Arneu, has used the new formulas on himself to change his sex and return his body to age twenty-three. That certainly indicates his confidence in the procedures. He, or rather she, is as healthy as a person can be and damned attractive to boot. I propose a return to our original plan of producing sex slaves for our brothels for a one-year test period. If no complications arise, we could then offer the DNA Manipulation procedures to anyone who has the trillion credits to buy it, but I further recommend that we alter our original plan and not offer the Age Prolongation procedure to anyone outside of senior company personnel."
"What's your reasoning behind that?" Gladsworth asked. "That procedure could make us an additional trillion on each sale."
"If we offer the Age Regression procedure and the DNA Manipulation processes, we'll still make those trillions. Then the patients will begin to age normally again. In ten or twenty years they'll be back to undergo the procedure again. But if we sell the Age Prolongation procedure, we've lost those trillions for possibly thousands of years. I suggest we reserve that one for ourselves."
"Good thinking, Strauss," Gladsworth said. "We can keep milking their vanity forever."
"I question the price," Whitely said. "If we get too greedy, we'll be limiting our market to just a few dozen people. Instead of a trillion credits for the procedures, I think we should establish a price of say ten billion credits. That way we'll have tens of thousands of potential customers.
"Yes, that makes sense," Gladsworth said. "All in favor of only charging ten billion for the two procedures, signal by raising your hand."
Everyone at the table raised his or her hand except Strauss, who didn't have the right to vote at an Upper Council meeting.
"The motion passes. Er, Strauss?"
"Sir?"
"You said that Arneu changed his sex?"
"Yes, sir. He's now a twenty-three-year-old female. And since he's used the Age Prolongation procedure on himself, or rather herself, she should live for possibly another five thousand years. At least that was the original projection for Admiral Carver."
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