TSN: The Best Laid Plans (Terran Space Navy)
Page 38
In many ways the Director of the Institute lived for her work and like many before her she was a bit arrogant and forceful in getting her own way. But that was the sort of person Evana knew she needed to get this job done. Now to see if it could be done in time, she had a very bad feeling that time was short for all of them.
* * *
Dr. Erica Fridasdottir had escorted her two visitors down to the Institute’s lobby and was totally shocked when she saw the throng of her countrymen and the flashing lights of the polices and fire vehicles at the far end of the parking lot. There looming above the crowd was the shape of the TSN Vessel gleaming white and standing out against the black volcanic rocks it had landed on.
As the three of them stood quietly and watched two mobile news vans that went rolling past the door and headed for the end of the parking lot to set up.
Evana turned to Colonel James and quipped, “I guess they have never seen a flying saucer before?”
Colonel James chuckled, “If I were you I wouldn’t call Dawn that. She’s more of an egg I think. And speaking of breakfast items, I’m hungry again.”
“Hmmm, yes you do look a little pale. Let me get you on board so you can get something into you. The Med-Center did say you were on light duty for the next couple of weeks while you build up your strength.”
Dr. Fridasdottir couldn’t help but overhear the two women talking. Her curiosity was getting the best of her again. “Excuse me Captain Thomas, I couldn’t help overhearing, would your companion like to use the cafeteria here for something to eat?”
Colonel James nodded her head and grinned. “Yes please, by the way I’m Colonel James of the United States Army Medical Corps. I know the Captain didn’t introduce us properly, that’s because I’m not really here in any official capacity. I’m still a patient on her ship.”
“A patient? Ship?” The Doctor said in confusion.
“Yes, I’m in the rehabilitation phase of my treatment for cancer. The good Captain here was demonstrating a diagnostic device for my staff when it detected a terminal form of Pancreatic Cancer in me. Luckily for me the Terran Space Navy was able to cure me of that, but in truth it was a near thing.” Colonel James told the Institute Director.
Captain Thomas smiled and indicated that the two women should just go to the cafeteria. “I’ll just go and talk with the media people outside here and then pick you up when we’re done. Is that good for you?”
Both the Colonel and the Director agreed and made their way to the Institute’s cafeteria. Evana in turn contacted Henri and Dawn.
Captain Thomas/Comm Mode: “Henri, I need a quick translator program so I can talk with these newsies. I’ve noticed that it always impresses them to speak in their native language.”
Comfort/Comm Mode: “It’s called Icelandic and it’s the closest thing to Old Norse you will find. Ok, your Comm Implant has the translator software now. Have fun!”
Evana grinned to herself, this was in many ways fun and fulfilling at the same time. ‘No wonder world leaders get addicted to this sort of thing.’ And with that she walked out of the Institute building and headed for Dawn. ‘Let’s see how long it takes before someone notices me.’
As she walked across the freezing parking lot with the wind whipping around her, her Shipsuit upped its thermal output and created a force field hood that allowed the heat to remain around her head. Shortly she approached the rear of the milling crowd of curious people. They let her pass through when she politely asked them to move in their own language. It didn’t take long though before someone noticed she wasn’t wearing a parka or other heavy outer garments. The word spread quickly through the crowd as she moved along and then it was eerily silent as a pathway opened before her so she could approach Dawn Seeker directly.
She came up to the police line and told the officer nearest her. “Good morning to you, I’m Captain Thomas of the Terran Space Navy. Thank you for guarding Dawn, it is time for us to leave, now please let me through.”
The police officer, was nonplussed, his orders were to allow no one to pass to get near this machine. And here was the owner telling him thank you and to allow her to pass.
“Excuse me Captain Thomas, but I have orders to allow no one to pass.” The officer said resolutely.
“Very well, you have orders, I see that you can follow orders. Now I am giving you one, direct me to your commanding officer.” Evana told him in her chilliest Command Voice.
“Yes Captain! He is over there… The one wearing the yellow safety vest.” The officer pointed toward a clump of people over to his right. The man in question was talking to a very pretty reporterette whose cameraman was trying to maintain a steady posture with the wind whipping around them.
Evana thanked the officer and commended him for doing his duty. She then walked the line of policemen chatting with one or another as she went along. They in turn became friendlier when they realized she wasn’t going to challenge them or their positions. Eventually she reached the area where the reporter was interviewing the man in charge.
“-sign of anyone – are mai- a presc- ppears to be – ful” Were the snatches of the speech from the officer in charge as the wind gained a bit more speed. Evana in turn stood behind the reporters quietly and watched as they talked back and forth. After a few more minutes the reporterette turned to face the cameraman and began her own spiel.
Evana walked pass them and approached the Officer in charge. He was talking to one of his men quietly, both of then hunched down to the wind and looking at the Dawn Seeker in worry. The man he was talking to glanced over at Evana and pointed carefully at her. The Officer in charge in turn looked at her and a surprised look came over his face.
“Thank you for watching Dawn Seeker,” Evana told him cheerfully, “it wasn’t necessary you know, she just couldn’t find a parking place in the lot here.”
He in turn had his face go red and snapped at her. “And who might you be?”
“Captain Thomas, Terran Space Navy, Commanding officer of the Hospital Ship Comfort.” She replied.
“Very well then, you and your ship here are causing a public nuisance!” he started off, “I’ve had to pull in every off-duty officer for riot control. The military is on the way and I am to hold any of this ships crew until they arrive.”
Evana looked at him bemusedly and then shook her head slowly. “Interesting, I have Reykjavik Air Traffic Control’s permission to park here. The ground is outside of the city limits of Reykjavik, in fact those ended at the middle of the parking lot according to the official maps of the city.
So what are you doing in a jurisdiction that is outside of your own?”
The officer in charge of the police detachment was stunned at what Evana had told him. He was just used to the people doing whatever he told them to do. That was the Icelandic way, to obey authority.
Evana then continued, “As far as your military goes, I’m not sure what they think they can do, perhaps take pretty pictures of the Spaceship? And I’m curious, how do you intend on ‘holding’ me?”
“You can either wait here with me for the military to arrive or I will arrest you and place in the holding truck until they arrive.” The man told her in turn.
“Really, you think you can do that? Evana asked him in a sweet tone of voice that nearly any man would recognize as that of a woman getting ready to shred him into many, many bloody pieces.
And obviously the man in front of her was absolutely tone-deaf. He just kept pushing all of the wrong buttons.
“Yes I can, Captain Thomas and you will follow my instructions.” He told her.
“Before I go and do something very rash, may I ask who you are since I was polite enough to identify myself and you weren’t.” Evana asked him.
“I am the head of the Reykjavik Police Jarl Sigfriedsson.” He answered her.
“Thank you for the identification.” She in turn told him.
Captain Thomas/Comm Mode: “Dawn, do you have any IGD’s deployed into the local
area? I’m curious as to when these military types will show up and with what.”
Dawn Seeker/Comm Mode: “There appears to be a small convoy of five vehicles heading this way. All of them are of a modified SUV design. No heavy weapons are apparent at this time. Two of them do show signs of the pop-up minigun turret configuration.
And they should arrive in ten minutes.”
Captain Thomas/Comm Mode: “Thank you Dawn. Please request any TSN vessels that can reach us here in the next fifteen minutes to do so. I may have the need to have a show of force.”
Fleet Admiral Webster/Comm Mode: “Good Morning Captain! Are you out stirring up the natives again?” He asked cheerfully.
Captain Thomas/Comm Mode: “I certainly didn’t intend too, they just seem to stir themselves up whenever I’m around. Maybe it’s because I’m a woman and they think they can walk all over me?” She commented ruefully.
Fleet Admiral Webster/Comm Mode: “Possibly so, but I think that we are going to end that misperception right now. There are four hundred and sixty-one vessels heading your way. It will be very impressive if we need to show our hand. And Evana, you have my fullest confidence, I’ll back up your actions fully.” He told her reassuringly.
Captain Thomas/ Comm mode: “Thank you sir! That does reassure me.”
Officer Sigfriedsson was watching her closely as Evana held her internal conversation. He obviously didn’t know what she was doing but he assumed she was thinking her position over and he ‘knew’ he had the upper hand.
“Very well then,” Evana told him, “As long as I am going to be waiting, do you mind if I answer a few of the questions I hear being shouted at me by the reporters?”
“Yes you may,” He said with a sly smile, “Just don’t leave the area.”
With that permission Evana turned and walked over to the knot of reporters who had been shouting at her.
“You wished to talk to me?”
“Why are you here? What business are you doing here at the Iceland Ecologic Institute?” Came the questions from two different reporters.
“One at a time please.” She told them in their native language “I came here specifically to speak with Director Dr. Erica Fridasdottir of the Institute. I offered her and the institute a management position in a project that the Terran Space Navy is undertaking.”
“Can you go into any details?”
“No I will not. I presented my project, the Institute’s Board of Director’s will look it over and decide if they wish to become associated with the project.” Evana told them.
“Is that your spaceship?” A little boy standing behind the reports asked loudly.
Evana smiled at the young man and said to him. “Yes, that is a spaceship. I did come here in it and it is one of the ones associated with my command.”
“Does it have any weapons?” Asked a reporter.
“The Dawn Seeker is not armed although she does have some personal weaponry on board. She is intended as a diplomatic courier more than anything else.” Evana told them.
“Does the government know you are here?”
“Well if they didn’t, they know now.” Evana said with a laugh. “I cleared my flight plan with Reykjavik control and they were informed of my landing intentions here. There were no questions other than that.”
Evana saw the small convoy of military vehicles come racing into the parking lot of the Institute. She watched in curiosity as they made their way through the crowd of watching people. Finally the second vehicle in line opened its doors and a General and a Colonel exited the vehicle and headed toward Evana and the reporters.
“I am General Tronsfarsson and this is Colonel Karlsson, you are?” He said to Evana when he finally made it through the crowd of people. Evana started to get a little nervous when she saw that the other vehicles were disgorging troops in combat gear and start to form a cordon between the officers and the crowd of people.
“I am Captain Thomas of the Terran Space Navy, Commanding Officer of the Hospital Ship Comfort.”
“Captain Thomas you are hereby directed to surrender yourself and your vessel to me.” The General said authoritatively.
“Really? And what makes you think I will do that? And for that manner why do you think you have any sort of authority to order such a thing?” Evana asked in her deadly sweet tone of voice.
“I have been directed by my Government to do so. And I believe that I have the means to accomplish your surrender if you force me too.” He told her seriously.
“And do you know the reason why?’ Evana asked him knowing that the television cameras were still operating.
“Yes, you are considered an invading force on the territory of the Nation of Iceland.” He said in a serious tone of voice.
“Interesting… Did you know, General Tronsfarsson, that my vessels have been here several times already? The General Hospital of Reykjavik has asked my Hospital Ship to treat three of its terminally ill patients and that my Ambulances have been at the hospital and have transported them to my Vessel. In fact one was delivered back to the General Hospital not more than three hours ago. Fully healed I might add.
So your so-called reasons are farcical. Please try to come up with one that is more realistic.” She finished with scorn in her voice.
The General frowned slightly at her words and then shook his head and continued. “That may be so, my orders stand, you are to surrender yourself and your vessel to the Armed Forces of Iceland.”
“No.” Evana told him simply.
The Colonel barked a command his men turned as one and leveled their weapons at Evana and the two vehicles that Dawn Seeker had tentatively identified as heavier weapons turned out to be armed with 7.62mm Miniguns as well an automated grenade launcher as they popped up through the roof hatches of the modified vehicles.
The General smiled a nasty smile and said, “You are in no position to resist Captain Thomas. Surrender now!”
The bright daytime sky went immediately to twilight darkness. Row after row of gigantic Star Fighter Carriers each five miles long appeared in the skies above them, in the next few seconds thousands of Star Fighters came screaming down over the Capital of Iceland. The scream of tortured air would be heard on the East Coast of America and in Western Europe shortly. And above them stretching back over five hundred miles in length and four hundred miles in width was the Victory.
The General’s face went bloodless white, he voided his bowels in fear. The colonel behind him stared up with a look of near terror. The men behind them slowly put their weapons on the ground and raised their arms over their heads in surrender.
Evana waited calmly for them to regain their wits. After almost ten minutes of waiting she finally said, “I don’t know why your government ordered you to try and capture me and my ship. But you are hereby notified, not just your government but all governments. The Terran Space Navy will have nothing to do with your internal politics, we just don’t care. If your nation poses a danger to humanity we will do something about it.
Also we will not allow any government to fuck with any of our people. Do so again and a state of war will exist between us. And you saw what we did to the Nation of the Iranian Unified Republic. Ask yourselves if it’s worth it to you or your people before you embark on a course of action that involves attempting to harm the members of the Terran Space Navy.” She paused and looked around. “Am I free to go now?”
The General looked at her in awe and fear; he just nodded his head slowly.
“Have a good day General… And General, you need a bath and a change of clothes.” Evana told him sweetly.
Next item on the current agenda was the News reporters who had been shouldered out of the way by the military troops. Evana walked over to them and waited while the two reporters were excitedly describing the events to their viewers. Eventually one of them was interrupted by her producer and was told that Evana was waiting to talk to her.
“Would you like to make a statement Captain Thomas?”
The next time… No, that’s not correct; there WILL BE no next time. Any such attempt will be met with lethal and immediate force. If it is attempted by the government of a nation that government will cease to exist. You can draw your own conclusions on that.
We have no interest in what your governments do internally. Our mission is to Protect and Nurture humanity, ALL of humanity, not just a selected portion of it.
The citizens of a nation are responsible for the government they have. Their government is their representative to the world, therefore any actions of that government are considered by the Terran Space Navy as the actions of that nation’s citizens too.”