Joan stopped and stared at her mechanical friend for a moment while she thought back. SIMPOC, you’re right. We might never get another chance; let’s go talk to him.
Joan and SIMPOC walked into the small conference room allowing others to pass around them and by them to get to their seats. After they had sat, Joan’s position was right next to Admiral Monson. After all, it was her maneuvers that saved the earth defense force.
“I’ve been told that the beer and pizza on this boat is pretty good,” said the President with a smile.
“Sir, if I may point out the beer and pizza have all been manufactured on board with formula and chemicals,” said SIMPOC who was standing behind Joan.
Everyone sort of looked at him for a moment then smile, and the jokes began flowing. It took a few moments for the president to get the room back under control before he spoke again. “Okay, SIMPOC we understand how you make this. But please tell us that you reconstituted this from base elements, and chemicals add to its flavor,” the president said as if providing a little bit of advice.
“I don’t care how it was made give me some more beer and pizza,” said the President.
For the first time in a long time, the Earth Defense Force leadership and Earth’s leadership were able to relax. The great space battle had been won, perhaps not the war, but that was the reality the new Earth had learned to accept. They were now players among the stars with some enemies and some potential friends. Everyone knew that exploration would continue, and the Earth Defense Force would be tested again, but today in that room it was time for beer and pizza.
After many pizzas and pitchers of beer had been consumed Joan felt it was time to ask for a favor.
“Mr. President?” asked Joan.
“Yes Joan, what can I do for you?” responded the president.
“Sir, SIMPOC has been analyzing the potential escape routes for Julius. He’s looked at the solar systems his first leg could have brought him to. He is pretty confident that he can map the first couple of legs of Julius’ escape. If that’s true then he and I both have high confidence that we can locate Julius,” said Joan.
“… And Tom?” asked the President.
Joan just looked back, of course, it was to find Julius, but also to find out what happened to her husband, Tom. She didn’t need to acknowledge the President’s statement just nod slightly.
“Joan, as far as I’m concerned you’ve done everything you can for us right here right now. If you think you can find Julius and your husband, go forward. But we do need to caution you. If you run across Julius, you have to be careful. We are not ready to confront him, and if he suspects that we are weak he might attack us sooner rather than later,” cautioned the president.
“Mr. President, I have a suggestion,” said Admiral Monson.
“Yes, Admiral?” responded the President.
“Sir, many times in battle those who stay on the offense prevail. It’s true we just fought a hard battle, but we didn’t lose any of our major assets. The capital ships that went down are all back online. The Mars laser station proved to be highly effective, and the missiles from the moon base caused as much turmoil as we hoped they would. We have those two Terest Space Stations that, once we figure them out, will be a huge asset. I suggest that we continue the offensive and we send two additional capital asset ships with Joan as she tries to find Julius. Julius isn’t expecting us right now, his forces might be just coming together, or he may not have any. It might be a real advantage for us to find him with superior force and see if we can resolve his threats to us. That is a lot better than waiting for him to attack us when he is ready,” recommended Admiral Monson with a solemn tone.
“Nial, what do you think?” The President asked was vice president.
“Sir, fighting in space is new for us. Tactics are new, but it is always smart to continue the offense. We know Julius is out there and we know he’s going to attack us, but we don’t know when. It is a gamble to send almost 1/3 of our resources to track him down and deal with them, but as the Admiral pointed out it will be our surprise to him instead of him surprising us. I agree with Joan’s request,” said the vice president in a strong voice.
“Joan, let me talk some more with Nial and Lew, and I’ll let you know,” announced the president.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
The final notes of “Hail to the Chief” echoed through Admiral Monson’s shuttle bay as the president and vice president stepped off the shuttle.
“Thanks, I appreciate it. My title doesn’t mean as much now as it used to, but it’s nice to remember,” said the president.
Admiral Monson gave the president and vice president a smart salute which was returned. Then he responded, “Yes sir, it is. With a little luck, we might get the world around us under control, and we can get back to some semblance of normalcy,” responded Admiral Monson.
“Is everyone here?” Vice President Hagerly asked.
“Yes sir, we’re set up in a new conference room that I had put together. The one in the command area is too small.”
“Lead the way,” announced the president.
“Mr. President you’ll notice that we’ve made some accommodations for us humans. We’ve extended the area with gravity, and we’ve even put in some elevators. We have a second floor with quarters for more people and a full kitchen with the larger conference room,” pointed out SIMPOC.
“Great,” responded the president. “A catered lunch.”
“Not quite sir, but you won’t starve.”
After the short ride to the lower level, the small group entered the full-sized conference room, and the captains of each of the capital ships stood.
“Thank you, ladies and gentlemen,” the president responded. “First off, I want to thank you. Earth owes you a debt of gratitude. You went into battle against an unknown enemy and succeeded in defending Earth. There isn’t much more than I can say, except Earth owes you.” The president of the United States then applauded the small group of heroes. They each joined in, applauding the bravery of each other.
“Sir, we’ve been going over our weapons, tactics, and results for the last two days. Now is a good time to pass on the details,” said Admiral Monson.
“Great, I’m looking forward to hearing it all,” responded the president.
Thursday, November 23, 2051
Thanksgiving in Washington
The weather couldn’t have been designed better. The air was crisp and the sun warm. Over 2,000 people were gathered on the lawn around the base of the Washington Memorial. The day was beautiful, the celebration necessary and the future hopeful.
It wasn’t a formal sit-down dinner, but more of a potluck. Tables were everywhere, each with homemade foods and desserts. Many were from the diverse cultures of the survivors. There weren’t any formal kitchens to prepare the meals, but thousands of hands who wanted to contribute. The food was amazing, and everyone had eaten their fill. Now it was time for the leader of the new free world to speak.
Joan Herl and Darlene Drummond talked with a small group of people in front of the small stage. Vice President Hagerly and Admiral Monson were in civilian clothes and talking to each other. SIMPOC was in the middle of the crowd throwing a football to a bunch of children. They were having a ball, catching the ball. No matter where they ran or jumped, SIMPOC’s throw was perfect.
BG had just fished out a cold beer from a huge container, and he approached them.
Anyone want a cold beer, he asked through the alien connection to the two women.
Joan wasn’t drunk, but it took a few seconds for her to figure out what just happened. Her eyes got large, and she looked at her friend.
“What the,” she asked.
“Had to. After they boarded us, BG got zapped pretty bad. I told them to use anything they needed to fix him,” Darlene said in confidence to her friend.
“Wow, now there are three of us,” Joan said as she sipped her wine and smiled at her friends.
There
wasn’t a formal introduction or supporting speeches by a list of dignitaries there would be one speaker, and his words would be transmitted across the open area.
President Arnold Patterson put his hot dog down and climbed onto the stage.
“I’ve been told that I’m supposed to give a speech today?”
The crowd responded with some hoots and cheers as they took seats on the grass.
“I don’t have anything prepared,” he said, which was followed by some good-natured cheering in the crowd.
“But you’re not going to get off that easy. Today is a special day. It’s a day of Thanksgiving. I’m sure that many of you are asking yourself what are we here to give thanks for? We all know the horrors that we’ve had to deal with. We have to put those behind us. We are here, and the best tribute we can pay to those who aren’t is to continue. That’s what I plan to do.”
He was met with cheering and applause.
“I chose this location for our celebration with a purpose. We are within sight of many of the important symbols of our past, and I hope our future. We are also within view of the White House,” he paused and looked towards the ruins as the crowd grew silent.
“Yes, we have a horrible symbol of the trials that we’ve endured. We no longer have our White House. But, in a way, I think that is proper. We have burned the past and perhaps cleansed it. Now it is time to move forward. We have a vast horizon in front of us, and we need to be aware of how we got here, but not to dwell on it so much that it becomes a weight we have to carry. We are now space travelers. We now can go places we only dreamt of a short time ago. Yes, we have paid a huge price to get here, but that price was paid, and all that we owe our past is to keep our memories.”
“As you can see, we have some interesting vehicles parked on the South Lawn. Those are typical of what was given to us by the Jakeel. We have some of the shuttles and even a few of the Cow-Robots that are now under our control. I encourage you to look at them, and we’ll be giving rides in the shuttles later on. Please sign up for a ride; I think you’ll be impressed.”
“As I said, I didn’t have prepared remarks for you, so I’ll conclude them, and I wish all of you to have a nice afternoon.”
He waved as he left the stage to a round of good-natured applause.
The mood was light, as it was intended. Everyone wanted to relax and have a nice Thanksgiving. As the president walked from the stage, he saw Joan, and he waved to Hagerly and Monson to join them, then he pointed to a table adjacent to the stage where they could sit and talk.
Joan saw the president’s signal, and immediately SIMPOC stopped playing football turned and moved quickly to the small group.
Joan sat at the table and was joined by Vice President Hagerly. They got comfortable and had to wait a few minutes while a couple of the onlookers cornered the president, congratulated him and shook his hand.
“Joan, can we talk?” The vice president asked.
“Of course, sir,” she responded as SIMPOC joined the group, startling him.
“First, why is it that SIMPOC always knows when we are talking. He seems to sense it?”
“I don’t know sir, maybe just good instincts,” she responded.
“Indeed,” Vice President Hagerly said as Admiral Monson and President Patterson joined them.
“Mr. President, that was an amazing meal. I know, because I ate too much. Now, I feel like a long nap,” said Joan as she leaned back. “Someone pour me another glass of wine.”
Hagerly was eager to reach across and top off her glass. “There you go, you better not drink too much, I don’t want you to throw up all over the place.”
“Mr. Vice President,” Joan said with a little slur in her voice, “Mind your own damn business.” She said, just as she leaned over and hugged him.
They laughed, and the Vice President poured more wine for himself. “Joan, now that we appear to have a future, it might be a good opportunity to see what Julius is up to. It might also be a chance to retrieve Tom.”
Joan sat upright and tried to focus on her friend. “Do you mean, we’ll go after them?”
“Hold on for a minute. The president and I have been talking. We haven’t made a decision yet, but I think that’s what he’s going to suggest.”
She couldn’t contain herself and blurted out the question, “Mr. President, can I go after Julius and save my husband?”
President Patterson was a little taken aback by the direct question, but he slowly smiled and nodded his head.
“We’ve been talking, and we agree there is no better time than now. Our relationship with the Terest and Izary are ‘under control’ for the moment. That leaves the one major threat, Julius. None of us think that if we ignore him, he’ll go away. We all think that when he has an advantage, he’ll come after us. We don’t want that to happen when he’s ready. So, the only logical step to take is to go after him.”
“Joan, we’ve been talking, and we think that it might be time to do something about Julius. After your trip to the Terest and Darlene’s time with the Izod, we think things should be quiet for a while.”
“Well sir, I think it’s a safe bet for a short time,” Joan added.
“I’m not a grand tactician, but I don’t like having an enemy who is doing something we don’t know about. We have some ideas about the Izod and Terest, but he is at least as big a threat as they and we know nothing. Nial, Lew and I have talked, and we think you should take a force and see if you can find out what he’s up to. It will also give you a chance to rescue Tom.”
The President’s last statement caught Joan by surprise. Her mind was overwhelmed with images and a mix of anger and hope. The look in her eyes told the president everything that he needed to know.
“Put together a plan and let me know what you need.”
Joan was speechless for a few moments, then she got up and hugged each of the three men.
“Gentleman, please excuse me. I’ve got some planning to do.”
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
“SIMPOC, what do you have?” Joan asked as she entered the command section of the Chevesky.
“Captain, I have been calculating the best options to find Julius and hopefully Tom Herl. As you know each solar system has a set of exit and entry points depending on the mass distribution around the system. If I use just those points to calculate possible locations, the number is exponential and yields an impractical answer. I have laid the distribution of possible locations against areas of the local universe that are hostile. I’m assuming that Julius will seek places that might have intelligent life for him to steal resources. When I make that comparison, I can eliminate a significant percentage of destinations.”
“Okay, SIMPOC. I don’t want all of the possibilities, please just give me the answer,” Joan said.
“Yes, Captain. Based on my analysis I have eliminated 32% of the possible destinations, and if I use the information that we got from the Jakeel, I’m able to eliminate another 18%. The number of possible destinations is still large, but it’s becoming manageable.”
“SIMPOC, that’s still too many options. Let’s take a leap of faith and assume that Julius won’t go too far from us. He isn’t running from us; he just wants to find resources then return and deal with us. I’m assuming that he is close. Give me the locations within three jumps.”
“Yes, Captain. That is logical. When I factor in your suggestion the answer yields 18 possible locations. If we lay out a search pattern to cover all of them, we can accomplish that in approximately 6.5 days.”
“Great, do it,” Joan said with obvious emotion in her voice.
Deal with Julius in Lennari System
Joan Herl sat in her command chair looking at the displays manned by her Beta units. “SIMPOC, what have we stumbled onto?”
“Joan, there appears to be a conflict occurring and … stand by,” the intelligent robot said.
“There is a Jakeel ship exiting orbit, along with two space stations.”
&nb
sp; “Jakeel ship? Is it Julius?” she yelled.
“Most likely,” SIMPOC announced. “It appears that the Jakeel ship was embroiled in a conflict between two races. After measuring the electronic background emissions, it appears the race of this solar system is being attacked by that fleet entering orbit.
“Did Julius, cause it?” Joan asked her friend.
“Unknown, I suspect that he either caused it or made it worse.”
Joan was faced with a difficult decision. Pursue Julius or help the indigenous race against something her Earth computer might have caused.”
“Can you tell if Tom in on that ship leaving the system?” She asked SIMPOC.
“Not at this distance,” was the reply that distressed her.
“Unless we know that he is on that ship, I think we need to help this population. I suspect that Julius had something to do with this and ‘it’ is our responsibility. We’ll catch up to him soon enough. Tom is either dead or alive, and I don’t think that will change any time soon,” Joan said with considerable pain in her voice. Either he is dead, or Julius will use him somehow, she thought quickly to herself.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
The firepower of the 3 Jakeel ships along with force applied by the Lennari ships engaging his formation was devastating. The number of attacking of Borram ships decreased rapidly until there were none.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
“SIMPOC, try to communicate with this race and let’s see what we’ve done.” Said Admiral Joan Herl.
“Yes Admiral,” SIMPOC replied.
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Earth II - Emergence Page 33