Shortly before 1400 the feed said, “Frigates returned. Initiating final sensory sweep.”
Just to be communicative I said, “That’s to make sure we didn’t miss anyone.”
There was a momentary pause in the pacing and eating (God people ate when they were nervous, we’d had several refills and it wasn’t a small table, I’d had my share) and everybody resumed. The pickup setting was for everything in a bodies vicinity that they’d touched in the last 20 hours, and naturally, the body. No one in any archives had done this scale. I figured, one battlefield pickup, multiplied equaled a planet, easy, since they were all on the only land mass, and half of that was frozen. Then they would stay in suspension until we arrived at the Reg world.
The next voice at 1435 said, ‘Operation complete, Operation complete’ and that was that.
Betty's voice came into my mind; WE HAVE ALSO COMPLETED OUR PICK-UP OF BRENESI ESSENCES. THEY WILL BE ROUTED TO A SPECIAL MED DECK WE'VE CREATED FROM JUNIORS SCAN.
I said, “That's the whole of it then. DO, we depart Bren System 1835 as per plan. Has anything occurred among the parties to alter the plan?”
“If not, Marion, I suggest you get your capsule on board along with Jill’s assistant so we can get underway.”
A male voice came over the feed relayed from the War Room, “Disconnecting from station now, Assistant on board. The capsule will be in ARK vicinity in 30 minutes. I will bring it to stationary placement one kilometer off ARK IVs mid-ship. Suggest Tractor beams. Ready to leave with N Mass to Earth vicinity pending Marion being aboard her ship and picking me up, acknowledged destination, Sol orbit 180 degrees from Pluto.”
We waited some more. Then the War Room feed said ‘capsule aboard--- General Niken reports one Rail Gun Dock ready for departure’.
I figured, might as well tree the coon now as later, so I said, “That does it folks. You can go about your duties, or pleasures. I’ll contact you individually if there is something else. Marion, Betty, Paula and Erlo, please remain, there’s a small detail we have to figure out.”
Everyone else left; glad to be out of the trench. I got a fresh drink bottle and sat near Marion, “Explain, Marion, what’s going on with you?”
She looked at Paula and Betty sitting nearby patiently waiting. Erlo sat off in a corner saying nothing. She stood, took her gun belt off, laid it on the table, and pushed it away from her. She reclaimed her seat and said to Paula and Betty, “Please don’t fry me before I’m done talking.” She looked at me and continued, “I’m sorry about getting in your head XO. It’s something I have no real control over, but when it happens I take advantage of it. I’ve had this gift, or curse even before I died the first time, to wish and let the wish go and the wish finds itself in the right mind to fulfill the wish somehow.”
I looked at the Essences, no indication.
Marion continued, “Harkness died in an escape capsule from the station so he thought he’d take one along as a souvenir, Only he took the Station Captain's escape capsule which happens to be a heavily armed Frigate, the designation is Heavy Frigate. Oh Hell who cares about the designation, he just wanted to stick it to them. I know childish, but that’s him and I love him, as best I’m capable of.’
She would have gone on but I held up my hand and then laid it on her arm, “We’re on your side, your team Marion, we’re behind you, and Harkness. We’re between you and the black, if you let us be. Do you know what Paula and Betty are?
They’ve seen Infinity, eternity, and are it. How could you expect them to find fault with you? I don’t either. I still remember things in my career which would stand your hair on end. Will you have us on your team and trust us, will you?”
She covered my hand with hers and said, Yes!”
“Alright off you go. Paula, Betty , see she gets where she has to be, Express handling.”
Erlo rose and said, "That was interesting. I'll convey the data to Ranger HQ. They can carry on from there. I'm going back to my pool. All this work tires me."
I remained in the room waiting for them to return. At 1710 the War Room feed said, ‘N-Mass departing—look at that thing go.’ I continued waiting, 1740 Marion walked back into the room Paula and Betty at her side.
Paula said, “We disconnected the Atomics trigger, for safety.”
I waved Marion to the seat where she had been sitting and asked, “Do you understand?”
“I understand your Express Box is a copier, which evidently can be reversed and calibrated to alter bodies.”
“That’s true. Go on.”
“Though I sit here with my gun on I can’t shoot Essences and you with your improvements are probably faster than me.”
“You think? Explain.”
“I’ve shook hands with Junior. I can turn to steel if I alter a few chemicals in my body, which I had to do when we were teaching Junior manners. But you felt no threat, and he always tries to crush hands. He’s a savage, all the more savage because his world has been taken from him. Jill is his clan so she’s safe. Don’t worry.”
I wondered if she was funning me and looked at Paula. She shook her head. “Well and good, we’ll take me up later, but you have not said that you understand, Marion. Do you?”
“You think you can use my gift/curse against the ANNU KI. It’s possible you might.”
“Marion, if you can’t change you to we in your last sentence I will put you on my personal ship to Ranger Hq. Five minutes from now. Please reconsider.”
She fought with herself for twenty minutes, keeping her eyes on me all the time. Finally she said, “You’ve hurt me here. Me, with Harkness is happy. I can’t resolve that. But I will cooperate with these two, to find the usefulness, or idiocy of my gift. In return, you will spend all your free time with me, so I can help you understand yourself. That understanding may mean more to your cause than my gift.”
I looked at Paula and Betty, no help there. So I said, “Hour per hour, I agree. Give them a half hour now. Then get some uniforms, or other clothes from supply and come to my ship. I don’t think I want Erlo seeing you. He’ll probably know but if he doesn’t see you he won’t have to do anything about us. Is that within your power, can you control your hurt that long, a half hour?”
“Yes, I’ll see you shortly.”
The three of them left, leaving me with a complete understanding of the expression ‘a tiger by the tail’.
Marion came back after a half hour without her pistol belt. Seeing my surprise Betty said, “Marion has allowed our weapons people to see what they can learn from it. They were especially interested in the miniature anti-grav.”
“That’s very kind of you, Marion. Let’s retire to my ship now and get some relaxation. It’s been a tiring day for the rest of us too.”
I offered my arm and she accepted it. Off we went. In the ship I asked, “Do you want a cabin of your own, or do you want to share mine?”
“We’ll share for now. Where’s the hot tub?”
“How do you know there’s a hot tub?”
“I design and build space ships. Also I know humans. They always want to get back to the sea. The years they spent there are highly over rated as far as I’m concerned.”
“We must discuss that sometime. Here’s a robe, down the hall to the left. Do you need your back scrubbed?”
“There’s probably a brush, but on second thought, why not?”
“Why not indeed."
The next morning I was still searching for an answer to that question. We had spent the night intertwined in my bed but she hadn’t allowed any love making. Who knew? I felt like a 13 year old at church camp.
Over breakfast in my quarters she said, “To be a Ranger, if I still am one, I need a ship. I’ve been thinking. That heavy Frigate we stole is not much compared to my ship but it’s a good base design, for water, also, and underwater with a few modifications. Also I need my own Med Deck. What do you think?”
“Think about what? You fixing it to your satisfaction and running off t
o storm the universe?”
“My word, I’ll not storm off until you say I can go. Do you believe me?”
“In the end our word is all we have. Yes I believe you. How much time do you need?”
“Two months.”
“Here’s what I’ll do. I’ll put you, and the Frigate, and a 100 person crew in a maintenance bay/machine shop along with Erlo’s right angle tech, whatever you want, and Betty, in a time drop 1 to 15 containment. You come out with your ship. We both learn about your gift. Betty is the best, long story. No, I wont go in with you but I’ll be waiting when you come out in four days. Deal?”
“I don’t need any help.”
“I believe you, but learn to supervise, learn to instruct, learn to share, we need you to do this and I don’t expect you’ll be any the worse for the experience.”
“One hundred technicians and laborers, my pick.”
“If you want to sort through 30,000 files, or you can trust Molly to input your skill needs accurately.”
“Molly sounds better. Where do I find her?”
“Whistle. Forget it, Earth joke, see someone desirable, whistle to make contact, you had to be there. Come in Molly, sit, forgive the robes, slow start. Can you do what Marion wants?”
“Yes.”
“Marion asked of Molly, “Telepath, can you read me too?”
“Your mental shifting routines take a moment to decipher, but yes?”
“Can I have her too?”
I looked at Molly, dawning realization focused and I knew how much better I functioned with her. I was at a loss.
Molly solved it for me, “I’ve been training a sub. She can be here in a half hour. If you mesh then I can go off for four days and the fleet won’t founder.”
Mouths of babes, “Then it’s settled, Marion. Go forth, conquer.”
Marion asked of Molly, “Is he always like this?”
“Mostly.”
“My life may not be at an end after all.”
Molly went off to brief her sub. We finished breakfast in domestic togetherness. I was in deep, deep trouble.
A half hour later, Molly and Marion were gone and I was having my xteenth cup of coffee with Sally Runtree. Sally was from the same tribe as Molly, but tall, thin with a face like a hawk, and eyes too. I couldn’t look away from her face. In my mind I was back In Egypt 9,000 BC, in a lab involved in sorting out genetic strains. Sally was a good example of what we had tried to reverse. Maybe reversing hadn’t been the right way to go.
She drank her coffee and munched on a sweet roll not bothered with my staring. Finally she asked, “Permission to contact Paula and review your Atlantian files?" Molly mentioned them and that time always rung a bell with me.”
I was still staring, but not so intensely now, “Granted, and have her map your past, and go to Med Deck for genetic comparison scan.”
“Will do. Thank you.”
“Alright, to business, first order, create Marion file, highest classification, send verbatim to Thelma. Then ask Erlo if he’s free for lunch. Keep track of Molly and relay to me whatever she sends. Understand?”
“Yes.”
“Care for another roll. Stalorne hides them for himself if I don’t ask.”
She laughed heartily. We were going to be fine together.
Chapter 36
Rafe
As I sat down at his table Erlo said, “I don’t think I could put on much weight here. You always come up with something to put me off my food, to steal a phrase from your time. What is it this time?”
I tried to appear offended but I couldn’t control my glee. “You make millions, whatever your money unit is and you complain. I’m going to make you some more money.”
“I don’t have much more believability left, but I’ll bite.”
“Bilik. You said he owns the other half. Or maybe you didn't say. Telepaths report all sorts of things. Let’s get some cooperation. Instead of the cut-throat nonsense, which only hurts the small fellow.
“Damn, for a fellow just passing through you make wide waves. Alright, I’ll talk to him when I get back .”
“Talk to him now. I can get him on board in twenty hours. That will leave you two with 36 hours to carve it up with no overlap.”
“You got a ship that fast?”
“Yes.”
He thought a bit and said, “Get me a phone.”
I brought a phone out of an inside pocket and said, “Push button 1; gets to his office direct.”
“You’re serious, no, here goes. Mister Bilik, Ranger Fracule here. We need to talk. Can you come out to the ARK IV for a couple of days? Good. Expect pickup in 10 hours. They’ll call upon approach. You’ll go up in your own ship. Yes, you can just dock on the pickup ship as it swings through. Very professional this bunch. See you soon.”
He handed the phone back, but I didn’t take it. “He may call back, keep it.”
I pulled another one out and pressed a red button and said, “Initiate plan B-2 now."
Then I said to Erlo, "They’ll use the Captains ship, very fast. The minute he’s here we’ll get together for a chat.”
“Fine, now if you don’t mind I’m scheduled for a lecture in interplanetary relations. You know I could make a life here around my pool. Excuse me, please.”
I thought I might as well go by Walter’s penthouse while I was near. Security announced me before I got off the elevator. I thought it would be good show as they were used to having bodyguards around. Walter met me at the door and steered me into the office and to a chair near a small table while he took the opposite chair. He said, “The list hasn’t met with any objections that I cared to listen to, except the Head of Intelligence. He resigned and booked passage for some Rim World, but he was killed on his way to the spaceport. Routine traffic accident, someone else’s faulty equipment.
However they can’t find his family who were on a later flight. I’m sure they’ll bob up somewhere. To substitute, I’ve put on the Deputy Head of Intelligence. I hope that will satisfy Erlo.”
I pulled out a phone and handed it to him, “Keep it. Erlo is on 5 you’re on 6, I’m on zero. Sort it out. Best to Bernice. We’ll have dinner tomorrow night on my ship if you care, 1900. Mystery guest. Come early if you like. Show you around, control room and all. Paula can amuse Bernice, Betty’s off on a mission. I have a new aide. You’ll be impressed with her. Let me know, I’ll send someone over whenever it suits you to make sure you don’t get lost on the way.”
“We’d be delighted. Have us picked up at 1700.”
“Grand. It will be a memorable evening, Gotta go.”
I suddenly realized I hadn’t seen, or heard, of Ranger Hortimer since we had started our journey. Was I going to like what he’d been up to? I pulled a third phone out of my right inside pocket and pushed zero.
It said, “Ranger Hortimer is in Hanger M-7. Dial M-70 on the Express. I found a phone booth and dialed. I walked out of the booth of M-7 not too far from Hortimer's ship. He was supervising the loading of some large crates. He saw me and waved me over.
“You’re one day too early for a swim in my pool.”
“Pool? Oh, you’ve got a hold of some of that 'right angle space' stuff.”
We Rangers always used it in a limited fashion, but your people have added some improvements which have expanded its usability.”
“I’d say, swimming pool? How big?”
“25 by 50 by 9 in the deep end. The water is of course extra fuel.”
I didn’t say ‘enough for a few times around the Universe’. That would have been impolite. “I just wanted to see how you’d been amusing yourself. Gina around?”
“Yes, she’s in the library. It’s just 75 by 100. Marvelous, this improvement. Care to have the tour?”
“I’d like to, but time doesn’t permit. Having a dinner aboard my ship tomorrow 1900. Come early, we’ll chat. Someone will be there that Gina would like to meet. He’s a librarian of a kind. Oh, Hortimer, copy my aide on what you’ve done. W
e may want to do the same fleet wide. You’ll be recognized of course. Gotta go.”
I went back to my ship via Express. Stalorne had tea ready. I leveled out after a while.
About 2000 I was contemplating a walk around the Control Room when Sally knocked on my office door and said, “I have a report from Paula.”
“Come in. Tea please. Let’s sit here.”
I got her settled at a two person table, tea came, and I motioned for her to continue.
“I did as you said, Med Deck first. They said I did have a trace of Avian DNA but it didn’t match anything on Earth, rather some remote planet in the data base, Myerier. Odd though, the data base didn’t mention any space travel. So I took the results to Paula and she regressed me. My back line was American Indian back to a prisoner drop about 9,000 BC from some overpopulated planet named Tilstein, which has no claim to fame other than not allowing birth control. Evidently the Genetic strain is purely that, and doesn’t have anything to do with me as an Essence. So how the strain got to Earth Is a mystery. Paula thinks it was not the mixing you encountered in Atlantis. We can speculate all we want, but in the end we have too few facts.”
“So we’ll gather facts. Make plans for an expedition to Myerier, minimum footprint for safety, 24 hour due time.”
“Will do XO. Will there be anything else this evening. Molly mentioned you liked her foot rubs.”
“Tomorrow night would be the time for that. Dinner 1900, dress uniform. You’ll be sitting next to me. If I’m about to start immolation, nudge me and say my attention is required elsewhere for a moment. Understand?”
Greener Green I: Where Does the Circle Begin Page 25