by Juli Blood
Glancing down, Franklin realized that it was later than he thought and Princess Kalea was waiting for news. “Yes, Your Highness?” he answered.
“Is the situation resolved?” she asked.
“Yes. It seems a new and rather young crewman felt he was running late and didn’t want to miss the orientation meeting, so he hid the box where it would be ‘safe’ and then left to get ready for the meeting. We didn’t detect any falsehood in him but Gilbert has ordered that he return to Estar Beta and be replaced.”
“Do we have time for that?” Kalea asked.
“We have to wait for the sensors anyway. I’m sure someone with such a low rank will be able to be replaced quickly,” Franklin answered.
“Do we really need a replacement?” Kalea asked.
“It probably isn’t essential but with our length of stay unknown, it could prove helpful to be fully staffed,” Franklin replied.
“If his replacement arrives with the sensors, then fine. If not, then we will do without. Do we have an estimated arrival for the replacement sensors yet?”
“It’s too soon. The earliest we will receive secure communication is just before the morning meal, and that is assuming that we get an immediate reply,” Franklin answered.
“Please let me know what is said regarding the time frame; I was hoping to leave by Third Day at the latest. If this sets us back I’m tempted to leave without them and let them come via one of the supply shipments later.” Kalea’s frustration was evident. Suspicion threaded through her. She just couldn’t believe that someone could be that careless with security materials. It felt wrong. However, if he really was that stupid, it was good they found out now and not later when it could have caused a larger or more serious problem.
“We do have one additional case of sensors that isn’t officially in our inventory. We will be covered should we have need of them,” Franklin answered.
Kalea shook her head and mused about how many of the ships supplies were “unofficial.” “Very well. Have a good evening.”
Kalea looked across the sitting area. Bryan sat slightly reclined in the chair across from her. “Can you believe it? All those sensors wasted because some crewman thought they would be safe in the kitchen.”
“Maybe,” Bryan replied but didn’t elaborate since he wasn’t sure how she felt about the situation.
“Yeah, maybe.” Kalea replied in a voice that sounded very tired. “Oh, what happened to dinner with Uncle Evan?”
“He said he had some things to finish up before he leaves tomorrow. Don’t worry though, he promised to say goodbye before he left. So, what would you like to do this evening?” Bryan asked sensing that she was too keyed up to sleep.
“I’m not sure. Was there anything else you found while exploring the space port that you wanted to share?” Kalea asked.
“A few things. Why don’t we go for a walk and I’ll show you around?” Bryan suggested.
“Sounds like fun.” Kalea said with a smile as she rose from the couch and accepted the arm he offered.
Hours later they returned to their suite laughing and smiling. Kalea was truly relaxed for the first time in weeks.
“Thank you Bryan, I had a wonderful time and your commentary was hilarious.” Kalea said with a smile and a slight hug of his arm.
“You are most welcome, Your Highness.” Bryan said very formally and Kalea giggled.
“Good night Bryan,” Kalea said as she released his arm. “I’m going to go to bed and hopefully get to sleep before all the things I need to do tomorrow capture my attention and keep me up.”
“Very well, good night Kalea.” Bryan said as he lifted her hand and lightly kissed it. Tipping his head up he smiled roguishly and said, “Sweet dreams.”
Kalea laughed as she knew he expected her too and then dashed into her room to hide her giddy expression.
24
Kalea had just drifted off to sleep when her AVID buzzed, waking her. Without much thought she tapped the display. “What?”
“Forgive me for waking you Princess Kalea, but the automated shuttle transporting the returning crew member just exploded in route,” Franklin reported.
“What? Is there any way the crewman survived? Did an escape pod launch?” Kalea asked wondering what could have caused the explosion and if there had been time to get to an escape pod.”
“The internal security recording was automatically transmitting at the time of the explosion. I am on my way to view it at the space port security office now. If there is any indication from that, I will let you know. Otherwise, we will have to wait for a report from the onsite investigation team.”
“Was there anything on that transport related to our mission other than the crewman?” Kalea asked.
“No,” Franklin answered simply.
“You don’t think it was an accident do you? I knew something wasn’t right. How soon before you know if there is anything useful on the internal security recording?” Kalea asked as she tried to determine what, if anything, she should or could do tonight.
“I just arrived. I think I should know something soon,” Franklin answered and then disconnected.
Kalea rubbed her eyes and prayed for the crewman and his family. If he hadn’t been in the escape pod it was really too late for him but not for his family. Instead of getting up she simply decided to pray until she heard back from Franklin.
“Holy One, please guide my steps.” Kalea added and then waited for His leading.
~
Franklin knew from the expression on the security guard's face that the news wasn’t good. With little delay they showed him the recording that clearly showed the crewman stand up, rotate his head 360 degrees and then explode.
“He was a machine,” the guard closest to him commented to the room in general.
Franklin didn’t comment. Turning to the commanding officer he said, “I will need a copy of the recording and until further notice, no mention of what happened on that ship is to be discussed with anyone, even those in this room. The security implications are too serious and too far-reaching for word of this to spread. I suspect that the…crewman did not realize there would be a recording of the explosion. Let’s not tip our hand and reveal that there was.”
The commanding officer immediately agreed and sent a meaningful look at his staff. One of them handed Franklin a data stick with a copy of the recording and Franklin left.
~
Expecting Franklin to contact her via the AVID, Kalea was surprised at the knock on her bedroom door. Quickly she dressed and then entered the sitting room.
“Franklin what is it?” Kalea asked, knowing it was very serious for him to come to her like this.
“We have the recording. You need to see it for yourself.” Franklin handed her the data stick and she quickly opened the stick reader port on her AVID.
The file began to play and Kalea watched in amazement as the crewman’s head rotated and then he exploded. Looking up, she simply asked, “How?”
“That’s the problem. I honestly have no idea. Obviously he was some type of robot, but why we couldn’t detect him with our bio identification scans, I don’t know. What’s more, there is probably not enough left of him in space to figure it out. We now have a very valid security threat that we can’t identify or defend against.” Kalea could tell he wanted to move her to a secure location and not let her leave until he had answers.
“Wake Gilbert, Benjamin, Dr. Henderson, Jackson, Danielson, Pierce and my Uncle Evan and have them here as soon as possible,” Kalea said, and at his nod she walked over to Bryan’s door to wake him. Franklin was gone before Bryan responded to her knocking.
‘Bryan, wake up.’ Kalea called over the link as soon as she felt him waking. ‘Now, Bryan. Wake up.’
‘Kalea what’s wrong,’ Bryan asked as he forced himself to sit up and shake off the fogginess of sleep.
‘There’s been another incident. We need to talk. Gilbert and the others are coming, so hurry.’ Kalea ful
ly shared the fear that had blossomed in her when she saw the recording.
Suddenly the door burst open and Bryan stood there in only his pants. “What is it?” he demanded having felt her fear.
“This.” Kalea activated her AVID and widened the screen with her left hand so he could clearly see it. Focusing on the screen Kalea kept her eyes away from Bryan because even in this moment seeing Bryan without a shirt on did strange things to her emotions. Emotions that were already running high.
“No, it can’t be,” Bryan said as he played the recording again.
“You know what it was?” Kalea asked as she spun back to face him.
Looking up, Bryan saw the horror on her face and reached out to her as he moved closer. “Yes, I mean it looks the same.” Leading her to the couch he urged her to sit down while he ran his hand through his hair and paced. “I was briefed on a research project that was working on this type of technology several years ago. They were having issues and requested more funding. Unfortunately, many no longer believed it would ever work and the request was denied. They did, however, continue to get their previously approved funding and continued to work on the project. Last I remember, they didn’t think they would have a prototype ready for another year.”
“So it was from Saxionias?” Kalea asked.
“I can’t be certain, because all reports indicated that they couldn’t be this far along, but it does look like the same technology.” Bryan finally dropped down beside her.
“Do you remember enough about it to explain how we were unable to detect it?” Kalea asked.
“Let me think.” Bryan said and stared off for a few moments to gather his thoughts.
Kalea closed her eyes and tried to pray, but she didn’t know what to ask for exactly, so she simply sought the peace of the Holy One and tried to lay this extremely heavy and stressful burden at His feet. Not quite able to let it go, she opened her eyes, rose from the couch, and began to pace.
There was a soft knock on the door to their sitting room and Kalea stepped over to grant access. Bryan quickly stood and ducked back into his room for a shirt as Gilbert, Uncle Evan, Benjamin, Franklin, Pierce, Jackson, Danielson, Kyle, Jonas, Harold, and Dr. Henderson entered the room. Kalea quickly realized her mistake in having the meeting in her sitting room, there weren’t enough places for everyone to sit.
Before she could suggest a different location Gilbert, Uncle Evan and Dr. Henderson took seats leaving two for her and Bryan. All the others stood along the walls and waited. Bryan returned and took one seat and then gestured for her to join him.
Kalea decided time was of the essence and took her seat as she began, “We have had a serious security breach that we unknowingly allowed and eliminated, we think. It seems the crewman that we sent back because of the misplaced bio sensors was not who he claimed to be, but was in fact some type of machine. He exploded the automated freighter on its way back to Estar Beta.”
Knowing they needed to see the footage, Kalea made the adjustments to her AVID and gestured to Jackson and Danielson against the nearest smooth wall. They stepped aside and she had her AVID project the footage on the wall. No one spoke. Benjamin, made quick eye contact with Bryan but didn’t say anything.
Bryan simply nodded and then spoke. “About three years ago I was briefed on a research project that was working on this type of technology. They were having problems and requested additional funding that was not granted. Many assumed it would fail and didn’t want to invest more into it if it did. Obviously, they or someone else worked out whatever issues they were having.
“From what I remember, this project was developing a way to, in essence, copy a person and substitute the copy for the real individual. It is my understanding that the outer layer of this copy was a cloned exterior of the real person and the interior somehow shielded from scanners. Unfortunately, I didn’t have an in-depth report to begin with so I don’t know how exactly it was done.”
Benjamin looked relieved that Bryan had shared openly as he then said, “If I may?” Bryan nodded and he continued. “My cousin twice removed, was one of the techs working on this project. We don’t talk much but he mentioned the last time I saw him, about six months ago, that they had finally gotten more funding. He was relieved because he was afraid the project was going to be shut down and he would get transferred. He also mentioned that he thought the funding came because they had finally worked out one of the largest complications with the project but he didn’t elaborate on what that problem was.”
Looking around the room Kalea wondered what the others were thinking. Settling on Dr. Henderson Kalea asked, “Dr. Henderson is there any way to determine if a bio sample is cloned?” Kalea asked.
“Not on the first sample, no,” Dr. Henderson answered. “Normally we don’t compare samples closely. Each bio sample is slightly unique but the basic DNA is identical. That is what the scanner is checking, so the other bio information is not logged or recorded. However, if this copy has only an exterior layer of living tissue it would most likely sustain itself the same way tissue-growing machines do in the labs. Those machines simply continue cloning the same sample of tissue repeatedly until it has grown enough for its purpose. These tissues are then grafted back over the injury allowing a patient to heal more quickly. However, those cloned areas are soon replaced by new growth as the body heals. If this machine is simply cloning its outer layer then it will soon have identical samples in every way for any bio scan. If we were able to record and compare the bio scans then within…I would estimate two weeks or less we would find any copies.”
“Two weeks is too long,” Gilbert said as he rubbed his forehead.
“Yes, but it gives us a place to start,” Kalea replied and then thanked the doctor. “Anyone else have any suggestions?”
“None that aren’t invasive,” Gilbert mumbled.
“Statistically speaking…,” Uncle Evan began, “how many of these things could be in operation?”
“We have no way of knowing,” Kalea replied and Bryan agreed with a nod.
“What triggered the explosion?” Uncle Evan asked again.
No one answered right away as they hadn’t given it much thought since they were so focused on the potential of there being other “clones” already on board.
“We don’t know,” Kalea answered. “I’m not sure we will be able to determine that either. We could stay here or return to Estar Beta and still not be sure.”
“Perhaps…” Dr. Henderson began, “a bone scan? It should be able to detect a copy?”
“How?” Kalea asked.
“If the machine is designed to bypass normal scans and yet only has an exterior layer of bio material, then a bone scan would reveal whether it has real bones or fake - I would think,” Dr. Henderson explained.
“Could it really be that simple?” Bryan questioned.
“Actually, it might,” Gilbert said sitting up straight. “None of us would have considered such a scan. How likely would a researcher be to consult a doctor to find the flaws in his project when he’s already struggling for funding?”
“True, but how would we know for sure that this scan will work? We don’t have one of these copies to test it on,” Franklin pointed out.
“What is involved in a bone scan?” Bryan asked Dr. Henderson.
“A person simply places one foot into a small scanner and then in a few seconds you step out and the scanner prints a report on your bone density and overall bone health,” Dr. Henderson explained.
“Since it doesn’t sound time-consuming or complicated, we could simply scan the entire crew again and see if there are any strange readings. If nothing else, it would give us a baseline to monitor their bone health from here on,” Bryan suggested.
“The real question,” Gilbert said, “is since we can’t be sure if we are secure or not do we proceed with the mission?”
“Actually that isn’t the question at all.” Kalea answered, “The mission will continue. Franklin, when will we hear
back regarding those sensors?”
Checking the hour, Franklin answered, “Any time now, assuming they answered immediately.”
“Very well. Dr. Henderson, I suggest you begin scanning the crew now. If you find anything unusual please notify Franklin immediately. Gilbert, you and Benjamin will need to stay for a moment but unless anyone else has a suggestion, I think we are done for now.”
No one commented, and at Kalea’s nod everyone but Gilbert, Uncle Evan, and Benjamin left, leaving just the five of them in the sitting room.
“Uncle Evan, I know you have clearance and Father would probably want you here but…” Kalea let her voice fade.
“Dear, there are many things that you haven’t been briefed on yet. One day you will be, but for today let’s just leave it at the fact that your father does want me here,” Uncle Evan replied and Kalea didn’t care to argue the fact. Besides he seemed to be hinting at something important but she didn’t have time to figure it out.
“Fine. Gilbert, Benjamin, here is what I think should be our next step. Let’s assume that the bone scan will indeed detect the copies. Is there any way you can add that type of a scan into the ships security? And how long do you think it will take?”
Gilbert didn’t want to answer. Truthfully all he could think about was the explosion of the transport vessel and what it would have done to Peacemaker if it had happened on board. He knew Kalea well enough to know that she was planning to leave Space Port 5 soon, with or without a solution to this latest problem. Part of him admired her faith and another feared it was stubbornness and not faith that was leading her.
“If we can get at least one more scanner from the space port Med Lab we could be ready in a few hours,” Gilbert finally answered.
Kalea gave him a thank you smile before she said, “I don’t want to announce our departure but if the scans are completed before the mid-day meal, I would like to have a nice meal on board Peacemaker for the entire crew and then launch. We can communicate with Estar Beta and Saxionias in route but not before. Gilbert, you, Rose and Uncle Evan will need to leave the meal early or you’ll be coming along. Try not to be obvious and Gilbert, make sure you’re the last one off, so you can seal the ship behind you. When the time comes, I will make the announcement and we’ll launch within minutes. Any questions?”