Lil and I withdrew from Mary's mind and watched her with our eyes. She had hers closed. Granger watched with concern ten feet away. Twenty minutes went by, she opened her eyes.
"I have integrated the different times. They have to be sorted for relevant data."
I said, "That's what Alisha did, two good minds."
Lil said, "You have a good mind too, Melin."
I didn't know what to say, mind is mind, are there better, and worse?
Granger approached and sat. "Looks like we know now what we're going to be doing with our nights."
Lil said, "Not enough nights. We need a Time Drop Bay. Maybe Thelma's Battleship has the equipment. Maria?"
YES, IT DOES. DOWN HERE, NOW?
"Yes please."
They thanked me many times and went toward their ships. They were probably the same inside as Alisha's. I would go find my Admiral.
I found him about to sit down at a small table with Betty, Thelma, Erlo, Hank, and Jim. I thought, 'how does she keep them all happy,' but she did somehow. The Admiral held a chair for me; I sat and leaned my elbows on the table like Betty does.
Betty started, "Symbols, letters, and numbers are the subject people. They appear the same ones, on the Carrier, the rejuv chambers, and in Thelma's dead language carved in something on a planet deader than solar dust. I've asked about the rejuv chambers. Tgthr's don't work, but when they did he didn't know but a few sequences. The ship in our yard has functional chambers, power wise, but we haven't used them because they might be defective. After all something prompted our plateau person to turn himself into head bands. Comments?"
Thelma's eyes brightened, "The 6th Interstellar Development Group, that's the outfit of the dead Captain. He didn't hail from Phaeton, or the Research Station. He must have been from Nethroes, Erlo. Can you call and find out?"
Erlo rose, removing a phone from his pocket, "Sure, I'll be back in a moment."
The Admiral sat next to me, his hands crossed in his lap, so I leaned back and did as he did.
Erlo came back, "Nothing, in any record. So, we don't know about a very important actor, not to mention green ships, eh Admiral?"
The Admiral just smiled.
Thelma decided for us all, "The only entry point we have is my dead planet, let's go."
The men didn't say anything, just twisted around in their seats. After they finished twisting, Hank asked, "Are one improved Mother Ship, one Battleship, a hundred Worker ships, and a hundred Ranger ships enough?"
"With Granger, Lil, and Mary, that should be enough. Would you like to come along, Melin?"
I looked at the Admiral, he nodded.
I asked, "When do we leave?"
Every eye turned to Thelma.
"Immediately after the last briefing."
"Done," Betty said. "I'll give one last try with Tgthr. Hank, you and Jim want to come along? Maybe you two can scare something new out of him."
They nodded. Betty said, "Let's go, no time like now."
Erlo addressed the Admiral, "The Second Federation has a lot of Military setting around. With them sending me all their criminals they don't even have crime to justify their being activated and even existing. Some Generals, Admirals, and Wing Commanders ask if you need any help."
The Admiral laughed, "Worrying about making it to retirement I'm sure. There are about a thousand planets in your general direction which we haven't gotten to yet. I would suggest that they go among those; Maria will give you a list, and tell the rulers they're searching for escaped traitors. Put a clamp on all the plants, confiscate gold and weapons, and kill Hybrids, and whatever else amuses them. From the way I see it, the Second Fed treats their people right, they could do worse than become its citizens. But, give them the choice of joining the Rim Alliance. Maybe the Second Fed would want to join, too?"
Thelma and Erlo burst out laughing, the Admiral smiled, a little bit.
Thelma said, "I don't encourage small thinking, never did."
Erlo got himself under control, "I'll mention that offer to Walter next time I see him. Hell, he might do it."
I looked at the wall clock, after dark.
I said to the Admiral, "I have to do some more with Alisha. You understand, don't you?"
"Yes, see you both tomorrow, luck with what's she's doing?"
"I'll tell her."
Total darkness hadn't fallen as I walked up Alisha's ramp. She sat in the study with her eyes closed. I sat, leaned back, and closed mine too.
Sometime later a loud beeping woke both of us. She saw me and held up her hand. A screen appeared away from us with a young fellow.
"We've located it. We found a Nav station on a Moon, along with lots of other equipment and munitions. A report is on its way to you. Any way, I'm trying to tell you we found it, the collections ship, it's about the size of Hanger Four, slowly approaching Fallon's Run, at present speed seven, eight days."
I saw he stopped only to take a breath.
"Coordinates should be in your Nav, are they?"
I saw her mind look somewhere, "Yes. You're following the Observe and Wait Plan aren't you?"
"I wrote that plan, of course."
"Where does its projected route pass by an asteroid cluster, or multi-planet system?"
"There's a star almost cold with seventeen planets, all dead, along its route, almost four days from now, sending data."
"Received. Keep this channel open and send me everything you can think of that I might remotely need. I'm dispatching the Swarm to you now. Follow the written orders if I fall out of the loop. Standing by."
She asked me, "How can I wake people?"
"Maria." I called.
"YES. SOUNDING FULL TURN OUT SIGNAL NOW."
"Alisha and I will be there in five minutes."
She looked at me, and said in my mind, 'we have to get you a rank.'
As we walked in they started arriving, the HQ personnel and the Commanders of every contingent (Betty said she thought that might be a French word).
Maria appeared by Alisha's elbow, "You can begin. I will relay to those not yet here. Why doesn't everyone take a place at the table and I will have drinks brought."
Everyone sat. I looked at the wall clock, 3:37, why don't things happen at a nice hour?
Alisha stood and began, "My people found the ANNU KI supply ship. I'm streaming my data to Maria. I expect she will have charts shortly. I've dispatched my Swarm from orbit here, to continue the surround and observe plan I have in effect. We operate under Invis at extreme range, and have never been detected until Worker Tech came into use. Thank you, Worker, for pointing out our failing."
The Worker raised and lowered its arm.
The Admiral asked, "Give me a force needed estimate, Granger, you first."
"Not complicated, everything we can get into the air, leaving as soon as we get loaded. Workers will be especially needed as this tub won't have atmosphere. We'll have to burn the drives and Nav, and the fail safes, bombs set to explode if it's intercepted. Those go out first. Am I in charge, or Thelma?"
Thelma hastily said, "I'm a scientific advisor."
The Admiral grinned, "You're it Granger. I see from your data, Alisha, that your people have picked a parking place. Well done. You're not going. You're to continue your work with Melin. This is a necessary side trip people, not a battle, but it will do our hearts good, I think, to deny them this load. Dismissed, and happy hunting. Oh, I suggest you gather around Maria, she will have the marching orders in writing by now."
I put my hand on Alisha's shoulder. She made to shrug it off, but then resigned herself to her orders. We sat and watched as Maria handed out sheets. People left the room. Maria came to us and handed us sheets too. At the bottom in big letters read, GET BACK SOON. CONFERENCE CONTINUES UPON ARRIVAL BACK. ALISHA VENTON IS THE LAST SPEAKER.
I thought it kind of the Admiral to remember us left behind, who serve too.
The Admiral came back and sat down. We watched the Moneslakia representation in
the Planetarium sky, as one by one, the ships left. Maria had made it larger for us.
She came to us and said, "I will continue to relay your stream, Alisha, and copy you on all events. Thank you from all of us."
Maria went away. Alisha grunted. The Admiral grunted also, a bit louder.
We went to Alisha's bed and entwined our bodies. In the morning we continued, she not paying any attention to anything but our project, her mind.
Nine days later they all returned, towing what they hadn't stowed. I saw them with part of my mind to which Maria sent messages. What they brought back were only tokens of the captured load. It had been a fun trip for them.
The Conference or victory party resumed the next day. Maria tried, not hard, to keep a schedule going. The Admiral just went about smiling, Maria said.
Thirteen days from when we'd started, at 785,000 years back, we quit; because she had to make a speech the next day. The Alisha Venton I started with had become a patch over her years. I looked into her eyes and got dizzy, like I still remained stuck on a spinner. We walked out in the early evening air.
The next day, in the afternoon, she gave her speech. She told how we had done it, and offered to give anyone a memory crystal in which her journey lay. She said that if we were to win, everyone should make a similar journey.
She ended by saying, "You will be walking that last distance alone, held up by your own convictions, not something adopted from someone else, no matter the nobleness of that other persons convictions. Prepare yourself for that lonely walk."
Operational Area Past - Time Mission
Chapter Twenty Three
Thelma
"We're walking into a trap as far as I'm concerned." Granger stated.
I didn't actually bite my lip, but almost. I, being the big cheese, didn't lend my ears well to accepting contrary opinions.
"Alright, tell us again what leads you to that conclusion."
"Short version, you were kept alive and led around by your nose for two hundred years, while you gained enough Galactic maturity to be given the seed ship, and then the ARKs. High odds are your journey didn't happen by chance. You already said the circumstance of you being stranded on our destination planet were highly improbable. Despite the fact that you were flying along the Rim to escape notice of traffic policemen. Now that you-we are at this critical junction in our battle against the ANNU KI you are driven to go exploring. Need I beat this dead stead more?"
"I think the house has the high odds on this one, Thelma." Erlo opined.
I looked around the table at Melin, Mary, Lil, Hank, and Jim. No help from any of them.
"You know, Granger, I've always gone through barriers, not stop in front of them."
"I'm not trying to rewrite your gene code. Just saying we should do it my way, the paranoid, safe way."
"Spell it out. I'll not try to alter your plans again."
"We're not going to set foot on this world. We're going down in a Troop Transport and out to explore on armed individual anti-grav sleds. Lil, Mary and I have been doing high powered mental preparation to work as a triad. You and Melin will always be inside our triangle. Erlo, I suggest you stay between Hank and Jim. I'm not discounting your contribution, but priority number one is Thelma's safety. If she fell into the wrong hands it would mean the end of all we're fighting for."
I tried to laugh, couldn't but chuckle, nobody joined me, so I zipped it. "You, in your next lifetime, will be a stage actor, Granger. Now you're the director. Let's figure out what we want to take along."
Skimming along the sandy barren plane I thought to myself we had left the kitchen sink on board the Mother Ship, but little else. Melin zipped along behind me in Grangers triangle. Courtesy of Betty's instructions she handled her sled like a racer. Hank, Jim, and Erlo, were two hundred feet up. Scattered here and there in the sky were Workers in their two person ships. I felt smothered. I kept my mouth shut. We certainly weren't going to sneak up on anyone. We might even scare the ruins ahead into running away.
Melin said, in my mind, 'you strange lady, mind like a flying bird.'
I took it as a compliment.
I used the Battle Helmet's built in magnifiers to speed me closer to our destination. We had come down time wise two weeks after I'd left in my repaired tramp freighter. (Fortunately,) the items to repair it had been on the bill-of-lading. I'd not given that lucky happenstance a second thought back then, but now I had to go with Granger.
Everybody had recorders on the helmets going, feeding up to the mapping imager on the Mother Ship. I liked that ship. No, I didn't want one to myself; well so far I'd fought off the urge.
We circled the settlement, laid out in a six pointed star pattern, about four miles at the widest. The central cleared area, star shaped, had the six sided oblique. Each side had characters in a different language. I slowly flew around it until I found the symbols in question, and then stopped. The atmosphere didn't give me that sense of; 'just beyond the edge of consciousness' remember feeling. But as I stared at the symbols, the feeling came back.
In my ear Hank said, "I recognize one of the languages from a place on the other side of this Universe. There's no natural way the language could have migrated to here."
"Second Officer Tenyore, what do you see on deep scan?"
"Words aren't enough. Turn on your 3-D viewers everybody."
I did mine. A lot of words would have gone into telling me the settlement had another settlement below it, and another, and another, each wider in area than the one which sat above it. This had become a different colored horse.
"Granger, what are we going to do?"
"I'm getting analysis that the second layer is made of the material that makes up the rejuv chambers. Marly's sending down the Engineers. We're evacuating the sand. Stand away one mile at 500 feet."
I complied. Melin hovered beside me, hooded skin suit on under her helmet, sort of high chic goes battlefield. I waved, just to let her know I had her on my radar. My calculations of how high a sand hill we would make were shattered because the Engineers, who came down in a combat drop mode, had on vacuum machines which fed into a disintegrator chamber. They did tests for structural rigidity as they progressed downward level by level. Under level seventeen the 3-D view showed a base with a box underneath it. At that point we had a twenty one mile square area to think about. Not large by space standards, but surly not built by slave labor. The Engineers went back up to their ship.
Next to me Melin made a movement and I turned to look at her. Through the clear helmet she had aged fifty years. In my mind she said, 'Your mind, Thelma, would have been better, but there's no space in it.'
That said she drove her sled down toward the alien installation.
Granger yelled, "What the hell is she doing? Never mind. Lil, Mary, get after her. Hank, Erlo, Jim, I didn't tell you to move. Ah shit."
I thought that about expressed the situation. I sat still not doing anything.
"Thank you for not moving, Thelma, makes me feel like I'm still in charge. I suppose you want to go commit suicide too."
"Yep."
"Go ahead; I still have a few chapters of the 'Happy Mariner' in my helmet vid-cam. Keep one of you alive to handle the shovel."
I went down slow keeping track of everybody. Melin had landed on the eighth level down from the courtyard, jumped off and ran into the heart of the structure where apparently there were corridors, and rooms, without doors, according to the Engineers. The rest had landed and tried to follow her, but why hadn't they?"
FORCE FIELD. NEITHER HANK NOR I CAN GET THROUGH.
If an Essence couldn't get through I certainly wouldn't. "Keep me informed. I'm going to fly around it and see what I sense."
I flew slowly around the structure. I'd decided to view it as one piece. I varied my altitude and saw differences in the shape of the columns that held up the higher levels. From what I could see the corridors were different too. I began to suspect that different builders had built different l
evels. I tried to not let my speculation color my observations, rather to allow it to flow into me.
MELIN HERE. IT IS A SHIP. LAND ON THE EIGHTH LEVEL AS I DID AND WALK TOWARD THE CENTER. I'LL MEET YOU.
'There's a force field.'
I CONTROL IT. I TOLD THE OTHERS I WILL LET THEM IN AFTER WE TALK.
'Landing.'
I did, and started toward the inner rooms. Melin met me about a half mile in. Around her an energy field quietly crackled. I'd never seen the like.
She said, "Don't worry. You won't be hurt. Around me is just the usual protection when the outer wall Force Fields are not up. Come stand here on this circle. We will need fewer steps to get there."
I stood on one circle; she stood on another a few feet away. The circles rose out of the floor and drifted along the corridor, deeper into 'It'. At what I calculated to be the center of mass we came to an open room with a slightly sunken central round table and four rings of circular seats, each slightly higher and wider than the previous one. The rings of seats were cut through with three walkways for access. The circles stopped and sunk into the floor. Melin led me through to the inner circle at the bottom of the theater and then sat on it. She motioned me to sit in the first row of seats. I did.
She began, "I am not hollow inside any more. This Essence would have melded with you, but you would have been you no more. Better to be you, important to the struggle. Details. This is a scout ship, intended to be used when the ARK reached the next Universe. The ARK, what we have been calling ANNU KI HQ, is 95% dormant. When the ANNU KI arrived out of the Void they were welcomed and given space, 5%, of it to live in. The ARK builders thought that anyone in essence state had outlived their savagery. Not true. So the rest of the ARK went dormant to deny it from them. This ship and others around this planet were en-route to the ARK, but stopped here so that they could not be misused. Other equipment intended for the ARK is stopped here and there. The giant ships at one time roamed this Universe gathering supplies for the ARK."
Greener Green III: Let Light Reign Page 21