TSN: The Best Laid Plans (Terran Space Navy)

by Paul Phipps

  “Pleased to meet you Mr. Thorpe.”

  “Likewise Commander Webster, I think that these two games might just prove to be a hit with the American sports fan.”

  “I hope you will find a fertile field for your reports then. I do have to caution you though; both of these games are at the sandlot level of play as the players feel their way into making reasonable rules of play. The last game I was at found two new rules added on and one old one being removed during one game.” Ansel told him.

  “Hmmm, well then we will take that into account in our reporting.”

  “So any other questions for me before Sean gets to put me back onto his hot seat?” Ansel asked the group at large.

  “Actually yes, I have one Commander Webster. Why were you in Indonesia recently? And at an orphanage for that matter.” A young woman who had been lounging against a wall asked.

  “Oh that… I went there to pick up a friend of my apprentice’s. They asked permission for her to come visit for a month or so. I said ‘sure, why not’, and so we went and picked her up.” Ansel told her with a grin.

  With a bemused smile and a shake of her head she said, “I’m coming to the realization that you think of the whole planet as one big neighborhood, don’t you?”

  “In many ways it is, and from space there are no national or political boundaries. After a short time it has an effect on a person’s way of looking at the Earth.” Ansel told her seriously.

  “I’ve wondered about that for years, someday I would like to see it for myself.”

  “Well then here’s your chance, just ask your boss there.” Ansel said with nod of his head toward Ms. Roberts.

  Asimov City – Wednesday March 3, 2027

  Ansel was on the bridge of the Huntress watching the bridge crew as they disengaged from the docking slip on Asimov City’s number three hanger/dock. The Huntress had previously rotated in place and now moved forward under her own power once again.

  The Advanced Star Fighter Carrier was almost half again as big as a standard Star Fighter Carrier, she was eight miles long by five miles wide and nearly three miles in thickness. She had a vague appearance of a doubled Manta Ray or perhaps a figure eight. She carried double the number of Star Fighter Squadrons and had two squadrons each of the new Close Support fighters and the even newer Scout-Fighters that had come out of the fertile imaginations of the human members of the Terran Space Navy.

  Currently there were nearly three thousand human members on board and accompanying them were around two thousand of their dependents. Many of the families on board were composed of husband and wife teams and their children.

  The single cameraman from the FOX/CNN crew was avidly filming everything that he could. Ansel in turn just smiled knowing that three-quarters of the actual operation was occurring via Comm Implants and the Advanced Computational implants of the Bridge crew.

  Captain Llewellyn was reigning solemnly from the Command Chair in the center of the large room. Murmured orders were given and acknowledged between the Navigator and the Helmsman as the Huntress began a leisurely trip to Earth and eventually to their destination of England.

  “Announce that the ‘Special Space Detail’ is released, First Watch is now in effect. Commander Hopewell you have the Conn.” Captain Llewellyn directed, once everything was going to his satisfaction.

  “Commander Webster, I believe that we are required at the Public Affairs Office?” The Captain asked.

  With a nod of his head and a wave toward the Trans-portal Ansel followed the Captain off of the Bridge. They appeared at the reception area of the small office complex. After being greeted by the Petty Officer on watch at the reception desk they were escorted to the suite of rooms that the FOX/CNN contingent was utilizing.

  Ansel noted without surprise that Mary Roberts was the director in charge of the group and that she was firmly in control of all of her operation. A senior producer was saying, “Alright John, when Edith is finished with her segment go to commercial break and then we will have Mr. Thorpe’s introduction to Dragon Ball. He’s got thirty straight minutes and then we will go to Mr. Davis and Mr. Sparks as they interview Captain Llewellyn.”

  Ms. Roberts nodded her head approvingly at the scene before her and once she was satisfied she came over the Ansel and Captain Llewellyn. “Captain Llewellyn, Commander Webster”, she acknowledged them each with a firm handshake. “Thank you both for agreeing to the interview with Sean and John. We are going for basic content this time in the interview. Captain, Sean will mostly be asking questions about your past experiences with the Royal Navy and how you came to be the Captain of the Huntress. Commander, John is looking to ask you questions about TSN policies and what future plans you can disclose to us. Also you should be aware by now that John really wants to try out a set of your Dragon Wings.”

  “Thank you Ms. Roberts for the heads-up,” Captain Llewellyn spoke for the two of them, “do you have any preferences for where you want to do this interview?”

  “We have an interview room set up over here.” She pointed to her right and then led them into it. It was a plain room with four chairs set comfortably around a small coffee table. The impression they were trying to create was a small gathering in a living room type environment.

  Ansel in turn smiled broadly and with a quick conversation via Comm implant with Diana, the Huntress’s Command A.I. saw the wall behind the chairs display in Real-time their progress towards Earth as though looking through a window with nice drapes on either side. The planet and the moon were still just two small dots. They would get larger as the interview was conducted and Ansel was grateful to the Psych section for the suggestion to have such a display.

  Mary in turn, stopped and her jaw dropped slightly at the view. She was entranced for a few minutes and then with a shake of her head re-assumed her professional demeanor.

  “Which of you decided to have that done?” She asked bluntly.

  With a raised hand Ansel acknowledged that it was him. She gave him a gimlet stare with a raised right eyebrow and then with a good natured grin said, “I knew you were smart, but now I know you are devious too. Sean and John are going to be distracted by that view you know.”

  Ansel and Captain Llewellyn both chuckled at that and then almost in unison stepped up and took two of the interview chairs and waited for Sean Davis and John Sparks to arrive.

  Nearly an hour later, Ansel was feeling like his tongue was going numb. John Sparks’ questions this time had been more thought out and he had done his homework on what cost to have the various naval vessels of the U.S. Navy designed and constructed. He had asked penetrating questions this time about the TSN’s policy and how they were going to deal with Israel now that they had been the first to formally acknowledge the TSN.

  Captain Llewellyn in turn had given a basic synopsis of the highlights of his career with the Royal Navy. He hoped that those revelations would not cause too much trouble with the ‘Asian’ members of Parliament.

  “Well Mary, have you gotten any feedback yet from your broadcasts from the Huntress?” Ansel asked here as the five of them were having a snack in a break room.

  “As a matter of fact I have, In America the feedback is generally positive. In England itself the BBC and SKYNEWS is going ballistic over our coverage. Unfortunately for them the FOX/CNN stations there have a perfectly legal right to use our own generated content and broadcast it on our own privately owned stations.” She said smugly.

  “That’s good, but I was thinking more in the line of feedback from your viewing public in England. What about them?” Ansel asked her.

  “Generally it’s positive and the fact that Captain Llewellyn is a former Royal Navy officer is being well received.” She then looked directly at the Captain. “However you might have some difficulties awaiting you. It seems that a Member of Parliament, Harold Ibn Muhammad, wants your guts for garters and has talked the Mayor of London into having the local constabulary arrest you for crimes against humanity.”

&n
bsp; “Hmmm, that’s not good to hear. Perhaps I should just stay on board then when the welcoming ceremonies with the King are going on.” Captain Llewellyn said reflectively.

  “No, I don’t think so.” Ansel said decisively. “The TSN is not going to back down to a lover of terrorism. And that’s exactly what this is; a threat of state sponsored terrorism.” Ansel frowned intently and then said, “Mary, may I ask a favor of you and your network?”

  “It depends Commander, it depends… What would you like me to do?”

  “Please re-broadcast the confrontation in Iceland between Captain Thomas and General Tronsfarsson. Especially the part about not fucking with personnel of the Terran Space Navy and the consequences for the government and nation that does so in the future.” He paused and then said wolfishly, “Oh yes, the Victory will be available as a deterrent.”

  Mary Roberts blanched at what Ansel told her and then she realized that there really was a Steel Fist inside the Velvet Glove the Terran Space Navy normally used with its interactions with the Governments of the World. She took a few minutes to consider the request and possible ramifications to her network. Then she just shrugged her shoulders in a manner more suited to a man instead of a beautiful woman.

  “Sure, let me arrange that right now.” And suiting actions to words, she contacted her lead producer and gave her instructions and let the man add any other segments he thought might be appropriate for the situation that was developing.

  * * *

  London, England

  “Yes, Mr. Prime Minister, Yes I understand where you are coming from. Yes, they are honored guests of the King. Yes, no violence or threats of arrest will be tolerated by the Crown or yourself.” The Mayor of London said while sweating profusely, standing before the Prime Minister and his cabinet.

  “Very well then, I will make sure that your patron Ibn Muhammad also understands… Completely.” The Prime Minister said with a totally flat tone of voice. Then he turned to watch the second repeat of the ‘Iceland Incident’ as his foreign minister styled it. Once it was done and the shaken Mayor of London had been removed from the Cabinet’s meeting room, he turned slowly to look at the others who remained.

  “It’s too late to rescind the invitation and there are two more days to go before they arrive.” With a jerk of his head to the Minister of Defense he said. “Your intelligence people are positive of their findings?”

  “Yes Sir, they are and there are independent confirmations from civilian astronomers in addition to those from FOX/CNN. The Huntress is close to eight miles by five miles in size.”

  “I see…” The Prime Minister replied, “Harold,” he said looking at the leader of the loyal opposition. “I won’t ask or tell you what to do. I am just going to point out that what we are about to deal with is something that NO ONE on this planet can just order around or threaten…. With impunity that is.”

  “I understand Mr. Prime Minister, however Captain Llewellyn’s presence is going to inflame parts of our population and in particular many of the members of Parliament in my party. He is a mass murderer and should have been drawn and quartered for his actions against the Sidi Barrack. His orders killed over sixty men, women and children in cold blood!”

  At that point Admiral Sir Jamesway had had enough. He spoke loudly and scathingly to the Honorable Harold Ibn Muhammad. “You sir, know absolutely NOTHING about Admiral Llewellyn’s actions in the Indian Ocean while conducting Anti-Pirate patrols. NOTHING! Just what the arseholes in the bought press felt they could make up and present as NEWS.

  Admiral Llewellyn’s forces were presented with totally verified information that thirty four vessels had been mined with explosives designed to cause the maximum damage and loss of life. That number included two Liners and six Super Tankers!

  The Sidi Barrack was the mother ship and control for the pirates operation. They demanded two trillion pounds as ransom for the lives and safe keeping of the vessels. To prove their point they blew up and sank the Exxon Maldives which as you well know caused a major oil spill that to this day has depleted the fishing grounds in the Indian Ocean.

  Admiral Llewellyn’s forces had already surrounded the Sidi Barrack when the Exxon Maldives was sunk as a demonstration of what they could and were willing to do to achieve their goals. While he was trying to use diplomacy to defuse the situation the Sidi Barrack transmitted another detonation signal to the Yoshi Maru. That explosion only killed fifteen of the crew but didn’t sink the vessel.

  Admiral Llewellyn in my humble opinion did they only thing possible to stop any further loss of life. Using his jamming equipment all further detonation signals were blocked. His Royal Marines boarded the Sidi Barrack and attempted to apprehend its crew. The fanatics in charge blew up the vessel to prevent their capture and in the process twenty four of Admiral Llewellyn’s marines were killed outright.

  There were no women and children on board the Sidi Barrack! Only Pirate scum…“ Admiral Sir Jamesway finished with heat in his voice.

  “But, But… The BBC reported…” The shaken man said.

  “The BBC has its own agenda, Harold. And we did try to present the facts of the matter but they were ignored because they didn’t fit the agenda of your party in Parliament at the time.” The Prime Minister said as he sat down heavily at the table.

  “Now you have been informed, properly as the leader of your party. Continuation of your actions and those of your party’s will find that the Crown has grown weary of you and your intransigence.” The Home Secretary contributed to the discussion.

  “Is that a threat, Mr. Home Secretary?” Ibn Muhammad shot back silkily.

  “No Harold, in this case it’s not. The survival of England dictates that your actions be curbed. Failure to do so will find you in the Tower being charged with treason and the full traditional punishments will be enforced upon you.”

  “HOW DARE YOU!” The man immediately blustered and attempted to physically threaten the Home Secretary.

  There was a slight click of the hammer of a pistol being cocked and Harold Ibn Muhammad froze in place. Admiral Sir Jamesway had his old service revolver cocked and pointed at his head. “Please continue Sir, I will be most happy to blow your head off. As it is though… You are through, Scotland Yard is awaiting you outside of this room, something about a cash delivery from the Grand Ayatollah Al-Quds of the IUR, I believe. The sum was Twelve Million pounds I understand.”

  The totally deflated Ibn Muhammad just stared as he realized his dreams of leading England into the Ummah of Islamic Nations had just been halted. ‘How did that just happen?’

  Sir Jamesway on the other hand smiled in his inner self. A cream colored parchment envelope full of interesting information about Ibn Muhammad had shown up the day before on his desk. The only thing he was surprised at was how soon he had had to use that information. ‘Maybe I have an Intelligence Fairy watching out for me?’ he wondered.

  Meanwhile on Board the Susannah a rejuvenated Snowball watched the feed from the ‘bugs’ she had planted weeks earlier. ‘One more mouse caught! Soon the biggest rat would be theirs.’ She thought with glee.

  Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant – Japan, Thursday March 4, 2027

  Evana stood off to one side as she watched Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Chiyo Watanabe stand tall and proud at the podium answering various questions from the Japanese news media.

  “The Haru, (Spring), will be at the reclamation site at all times. The current estimate for cleansing is twenty-four days. As a courtesy we will be issuing daily briefings on our progress. Video feed will not be available for technical reasons. Next question please.”

  “We have been told previously that this procedure is both experimental and dangerous. Are there any other methods that could be used that are safer yet produce equivalent results?”

  “Yes, as a matter of fact there are. The safest would be to abandon the area completely and come back in around five thousand years. Would that suit your need for safety and efficie
ncy?”

  A round a titters swept through the room. The embarrassed reporter hung her head down to hide it as best as she could. Another reporter stepped up and asked “You seem to be very young for an assignment of this importance. Could you give us a brief synopsis of your qualifications and training?”

  “I don’t see why not, As far as age goes I celebrated my sixty-eighth birthday recently. I have been involved in the ecologic sciences for almost forty years. As far as training for this particular assignment goes, I and my crew have been training for some time in these procedures and our instructors are satisfied that we are as prepared as is reasonably possible.”

  A murmur could be heard as the reporters digested what had been said. There was an obvious mental disconnect as they looked at the pert twenty-four-ish woman at the podium and the thought her being sixty-eight.