Encounters 1: The Spiral Slayers (28 page)

Radin had been promoted to the rank of acting captain of the Bet’ti
when Adamarus had been injured. However, as was the custom, Radin still wore
the silver oak leaf of commander.

Burnwall continued, “There are over a thousand different
technical fields we need to fill on each of the ten ships, and I’ve taken the
liberty of selecting 1,444 officers to be trained by the ones already qualified
in these areas.” Burnwall snorted, and looked over at Radin with a sour look,
“Almost all of these technical fields are decades out of date, still, I’m
overstaffing by two complete ships plus some as a safety buffer.”

“Outstanding,” Radin said. Radin was starting to feel like a
fifth wheel—Burnwall had definitely taken the ball and ran!

“We’ve one problem,” Burnwall continued, “we only have twenty-seven
officers qualified on the L-Class fighters and they are all here as well. Still
to be decided is how many we’ll want to train.” Radin nodded. Burnwall snorted,
“The problem we face here is, there are no operational simulators. Not a one. And
no specs that we can find to build any.”

Radin said, “Taken care of. There are twenty out at Hideaway.
Half will be shipped here as soon as possible.” Radin tried not to smile too
much. So far Burnwall had been scoring all the points…not that anyone was
counting. “How soon do you see training starting?”

 Burnwall snorted again, “My boy, training began at 05:00 the
day before yesterday.”

Radin was stunned. “These trainees are already in training! You
don’t mess around!”

Burnwall smiled and rocked on his heels, “That’s a Rodge,
Captain,” he said in his easy southern drawl and sparkle in his eyes.

The elevator slowed and came to a halt, but Burnwall reached
out and pressed the Hold button keeping the door closed. Then he pulled a small
box out of his pocket and opened it. Inside were two silver eagles. “Let’s pin these
on you, what do you say?”

Radin’s eyebrows went up.

“Your promotion to captain came through while you were in
route,” Burnwall said with a smile. He handed the box to Radin, then removed
the eagles and proceeded to pin them on Radin’s collar.

Radin was smiling and nodding, “I was starting to wonder
about that.”

“Ha!” the General barked. “Everyone’s been too busy. The pay
increase is retroactive from the time you took over the chair on The Bet’ti. But
with everything going on, no need to throw a party,” but as Burnwall released
the Hold button and the doors opened, Radin realized that Burnwall was way
ahead in the brownie point department.

The elevator opened onto a raised walkway that overlooked a vast
enclosed area that stretched out a half mile and ended at a huge window. Between
Radin and that window, over a thousand officers in full dressed uniform stood
at parade rest and in formations forming twenty perfect squares. As he and
Burnwall walked out to the railing, a single crisp clap sounded as all of them
snapped to attention.

Interspaced among the formations were L-Class fighters. And
outside the window at the end of the room, just far enough away that its
massive bulk could be completely seen, was a Leviathan Battleship with its
running lights on! And behind it were the other nine. Radin stood there in
stunned silence.

Burnwall couldn’t hide his smile. He waited for Radin to take
it all in, then said, “I…thought you might want to meet everyone.”

---

Adamarus took a newspaper into the listening chamber. As the
soundproof door closed, he walked by Bugs’ inactive avatar slouched in the
first seat and sat in the second one next to the robot. He opened the newspaper
and settled in for a wait. About fifteen minutes later, the robot next to him
sat up. “Hello, Adamarus.”

Adamarus put the paper down, “Hello, Bugs. How are you
feeling today?”

“I try not to think about that.”

“I see.” Adamarus thought for a second then said, “Come on.” He
stood up and the Avatar followed suit. “Let’s take a walk.”

“Ah, ‘a walk,’” Bugs said. “as in walking for the sake of
walking?”

“Yep, you’ve got it.”

“We’ve seen this on various video programs. Outside of the
little bit of exercise you get, we’ve never been sure of its purpose, but I
will come with you.”

They exited the soundproof door, passed by the guards and
took the moving walk down to ground level and walked outside. It was a
beautiful day. The temperature was at seventy-five degrees, the orange sun
shone brightly in the deep purple blue sky and most of the once vacant lot was
now covered with green grass. Adamarus took a deep breath, the smell of mowed
grass reminded him of long by gone days when he used to mow their front lawn.

They set off down one of the foot-worn paths that ran through
and around the lot that the Loud’s shuttle rested on. The area around the ship
was filled with control vans, trailers, power generators, and around the
parameter, guard houses.

Bugs followed beside him, and after about thirty feet asked,
“How long do we need to walk, Adamarus?”

Adamarus laughed. “I guess you can’t feel the breeze or the
sun on your back, can you, Bugs? If you could, it might make you feel better.”

“I beg to differ, Adamarus. The heat and air pressure would
roast and crush me within seconds as your gravity flattened me into the ground,
so unless you mean death to put me out of my misery…but, I can see that it is
what your species would call a pleasant day.”

“Well, I guess I meant if you were human.” They turned at the
corner of the lot. “What would your species call a pleasant day?”

“You would not care for it.”

Adamarus squinted up at the sky for a second and then looked
back down. "How is it going with the collection process?” Thirty-two
avatars had simply collapsed when their Loud controllers had stepped away from
the controller booths upon hearing about the disaster that had befallen their home.
Two days ago, two of the Loud ships had left orbit to collect the last few that
still remained where they had fallen.

"We've completed that task and our ships are heading back
now.” Bugs paused as they reached the entrance to the building that held the
situation room and gestured with his manipulator, indicating that Adamarus
should enter first. They took the elevator down to the newly upgraded situation
room and seated themselves at the new conference table. Teleconferencing
screens ringed the room and the air smelled of fresh paint and new computer
equipment.

Adamarus began, “Well, my orders are to work with you in
designing new weapons and defenses with which to fight the alien ship. So…first,
can you tell me if you have made any progress?”

Bugs looked at Adamarus, “We have discussed it and we are
sure that we can help. However, our species has not had an armed conflict in a
very long time, so there has been no need for us to think about weapons of war.
Creativity and invention come about through need. We have not had the need. We
have ideas but wish to see what you have done and the weapons you now have. We
believe seeing what you have done will help. We can also look for ways to
improve on what you have now. We also need to take a close look at the
platforms you have or plan to build to support the weapons—the war ships, and
your fixed and orbital installations.”

Adamarus took out his PDA. “I’ll have Brandon and Evelyn Eden
prepare a presentation for you. Anything else?”

“The most effective weapons for space warfare against what we
believe we will face will be kinetic weapons, laser or maser beam weapons and
high explosives. Let’s talk first about all those iron asteroids you
collected.”

Adamarus smiled, “Well, after spending ten years collecting
them, I’m glad to see that they may be useful in some way.”

Chapter Sixteen – Public Disclosure

“Your species is currently in the Omicron state;
you are just becoming aware of the speck particles and their nature and still
rely on the scientific methods for advancement. We are in the Sigma State; we
have translated a significant percentage of the data from the strings—about
twelve percent—but we know how to use very little of it.”

The Loud Named Bugs

Opening Speech, 23
^rd
Amular
Symposium
on Quantum Physics

Source: The Archive

Shelly White was secretly brought in by the team to handle
the flow of information though the news media and to help in other ways. For
now she would only be a member of the “outer circle” – that is, she was told of
the destruction of the Loud’s home system, but not told of the approaching
alien ship.

She went right to work with Woodworth, Jan and the PR group
to help them work out the short- and long-term ideas for breaking the news to
the public. She kept her job as anchor-woman with the prime video network; her
value as a member of “the team” demanded this. She accomplished this by going
virtual and doing the show from whatever location she was at.

While it was true that knowledge of the approaching alien
ship could be withheld for perhaps a long time by saying they had just detected
it, every day that the truth about the destruction of the Loud’s home system
was withheld made the situation that much worse. It was the reason for the
Loud’s early return, so every day was another day the government would have to
say, “Yes, we knew, but chose not to tell you.”

Woodworth, Jan, and the PR department already had plans in
motion—a draft of the President’s speech was going through the final edits,
however, the announcement that the President would address the solar system had
not yet been made.

It turned out that this was fortunate for it was Shelly White
who came up with the finishing touch that was needed to insure success—the
missing element that would set the stage for the President’s shocking
announcement. After all, this was a part of her job and, of course, she herself
would host it.

The Special Report she would do was called “How Can We Thank
You?” and, with Shelly and her staff working around the clock, it was put
together in mere days. Advertising for the special started at once, blitzing
the planet and all the space habitants across the solar system. The Special’s
sole purpose was to generate gratitude and friendship toward the Loud.

It was an unqualified success. Ninety-two percent of the
population watched the first airing, and the second showing a week later got
the rest.

“How Can We Thank You?” reminded everyone that the Loud had
not only come across the light years in friendship and peace, but had also
saved the life of Captain Adamarus Maximus, one of their most beloved national
heroes. At first Adamarus would have nothing to do with playing “beloved
national hero,” but the President reminded him that everyone had to do their
part and it wasn’t always something that one liked.  Like it or not, right now
he would play the part of the beloved national hero.

The documentary also reminded everyone that, after saving Adamarus,
the Loud had released every single person in the system from sickness, old age,
pain and suffering—the Loud had given them everlasting life. As if this was not
enough, they had gone on to solve the problems of how to feed, house and
provide power for the increased population that would follow.

The Special Report also showed the layered farms of the
second moon, the improved and newly built power stations, and the new off-world
settlements on the other planets, their moons, and the orbital platforms. It
showed the technological advancements the Loud had shared, and hinted at what
the trade agreement would mean for their civilization. (Of course, the general
public did not yet know that there would be no one to trade with.) The show was
a spectacular hit.

The day after the second showing of “How Can We Thank You,”
the President’s upcoming special address was “leaked” to the press. Then three
days later, the formal announcement made it official, pretty much standard
operating procedure. The address would take place in one week, but the subject
of the special address was a closely held secret.

The news media – nudged and spurred on by Shelly White –
fanned the fires with daily speculation on what the subject could be. By the
day of the special address, the solar system had been whipped into a frenzy of
anticipation and curiosity.

---

The interplanetary science craft, Solar Quest, had departed
Anderson eleven weeks ago and had traveled 180 million miles at full power to
the inner system. Now its massive and jumbled form sped a hundred miles above
the formless black surface that was Cinder’s dark side. Half a dozen other
ships were also racing towards the planet, but the next closest was still days
away.

Decelerating as she sped through the emptiness above Cinder’s
surface, the Solar Quest made her way towards the dark and deserted Hideaway
Shipyards. Thirty-four years ago, the yards and thirty battleships had been
emptied, sealed, and left running on minimal power, and no one had entered
those vast frozen structures since.

The Solar Quest was one of the newer research ships with a
forward science station located above the cockpit. This forward station had a
large view port that actually afforded the scientists a better view than the
pilots. Facing the large view port were five seats evenly spaced behind an
arched upper and lower instrument panel—each seat had a standard access and
control console.

Evelyn was sitting to the left of Brandon who had taken the
center seat. On the other side of Brandon, Leewood was working intensely at the
console.

The giant installation was still too far away to see, though
its image showed on radar. Brandon leaned back in his seat and sighed. “ETA
forty-eight minutes,” he said, looking over at Evelyn. His smile was infectious
and she smiled back and winked at him. They were both excited; they were coming
home. Brandon unbuckled his safety harness. “I’ve got to get some coffee. Want…
?” he asked.

Evelyn shook her head. “I’ll pass. I’m already bouncing off
the walls.”

Brandon made his way back and out the hatch, passing
Harrington who was on her way in.

Evelyn leaned back and ran her hand through her hair,
re-clipping it back and out of her face as Harrington took the seat to the left
of her. “How’s everything going?” Harrington asked.

“Good, I guess.” Evelyn leaned forward to resume work. “At
least the control center computer is talking to us now. Speaking of which…how
did you get it to boot?”

Harrington shook her head and said “Well, don’t spread it
around…or I’ll lose my rep as the gal with the magical touch…” She wiggled her
fingers.

“Oh, heaven forbid.” Evelyn deadpanned in a flat voice.

“Actually,” she leaned in and whispered, “when I tried it, it
just came up and started working.”

“That magic touch.” Evelyn shook her head in mock wonder.

Harrington just lifted her head and smiled. She extracted her
PDA from her work suit and plugged into her control console which came to life.
A check list scrolled up on her display. “It must feel strange coming back
after all these years,” she said as she settled into the seat and attached the
safety harness.

“Ominous is more like it.”

Harrington glanced up at the central radar image which showed
the Hideaway structures and battleships, “Not much longer now.”

“Alright,” Leewood said as he hit the Enter key with a
flourish. "Sphere-bots are ready to go.” He leaned back and cracked his
knuckles, then reached up and pushed an icon on the overhead bringing the
long-range scanner feed up on his console.

“Oh,” Evelyn rolled her eyes and looked over at Harrington,
“it was Brandon and I who spent three weeks programming them,” she thumbed at
Leewood, “while bot-jock here...what? Pressed Enter accepting defaults, waited
one hour, and looked at a one-page output?”

Leewood put on a hurt look, “Actually…I haven’t checked the
output yet…but I will.” Obviously it was time to change the subject. “President
Wicker will be telling everyone about the Loud in about half an hour. I, for
one, am glad I’m out here.”

Harrington grunted. “We’ll get his speech out here about a
half hour later.”

Evelyn leaned back, “Frankly, I’m with the Commander—glad I’m
out here. There’s no telling how the public will take news like that.”

“Woodworth believes he can tell,” Leewood said as he frowned
at his display. He pushed another icon switching the long-range sensor feed to
the central 3D hologram which materialized in front of the large view port. He
scratched his head and studied it. “I think it will go alright.” He slid his
finger across the magnification control. “Shelly’s special report…” Leewood
stopped in mid-sentence and leaned forward. “Hello? Here we go!” Leewood said
enthusiastically. Everyone looked up at the hologram as Leewood zoomed in
further. Three ships came into view. “We’re picking up more of our party.”

Harrington said, “Looks like the transport and supply ships.”

Evelyn smiled, “Right on time.”

“I’ll hail them,” Leewood said.

It took minutes for a reply to come back. During this time
Brandon had returned. Leewood put it on speaker.

“Solar Quest, this is Captain Horn of the Wayward Voyager. Also
with us are the Wanton Traveler and the carrier Madonna. Good to hear from you.
Everything here is all-green and, we’re about…oh, two days out. Glad you made
it with the keys to the castle. To have come all this way and be locked out
would have been a drag, even though we could have waited a good while with all
the supplies we’re packing.” The Carrier Class ship Madonna was packed with
fuel, tools, food and all the supplies the shipyards would need for perhaps a
year. “Anyhow…that’ll give you time to vent the air and start the heaters. Be
seeing you soon, Wayward Voyager out.”

---

The Presidential Seal on a saturated blue background appeared
for thirty seconds on billions of video screens around Amular as well as
millions more off-planet, delays depending on distance. Then the Seal slowly
faded and President James Olson Wicker appeared standing behind a stylish
podium, which also carried the Presidential Seal. He wore a dark blue suit,
white shirt and red tie. His expression was serious. “My friends…my fellow
citizens…” rang out from video screens across the solar system.

---

Despite the air conditioning, the Hall of Congress was quite
warm and he was thankful for the anti-sweat shot that had been administered by
his physician. The President had known about the heat yet he still had arranged
for this location for a number reasons: one was so that he could have a crowd
of people in front of him and not just a camera; another was because although the
lighting setup here generated a little too much heat, it allowed him to see his
audience and not just blinding spotlights. He listened to, “My friends…my
fellow citizens…” echo through the large room before continuing. “…today I come
to you with grave news.” He paused a beat. The presidential podium was located
in the center of the raised congressional leadership platform, the centerpiece
of the Hall of Congress. There was also a tactical element involved in his
decision to address the full congress; when he delivered the news to the world
and the off-world settlements – for those out there assigning blame and making
accusations, the President would not be standing there alone, he’d have the
entire congress by his side…at least physically.

In front of him were dozens of microphones—surrounding the
platform, dozens of cameras—the broadcast was going out to everywhere in the
solar system. Behind him were the congressional leaders and the leaders of the
military.

“We must ask for your forgiveness;” he continued in a strong
voice, “forgiveness for keeping this dire news from you for so long. We have
known since the early return of the Loud ships. The Loud asked us to withhold
this news for a time, and how could we say no?” This was not exactly true, in
fact, not even close, but it had been Bugs who had suggested the excuse and it
did seem a perfect one.

“We owe the Loud so much. We owe the Loud everything.” President
Wicker’s voice broke a little and his eyes watered – in this he had no need to
fake anything. He hung his head for a second, then cleared his throat and
looked back at the camera. At this point he had the total attention of every
person in the solar system. He had all 13.7 billion leaning forward on the edge
of their seats and he knew it. He could feel it.

Despite his best efforts, his lower lip quivered just barely
as he continued, “The reason that the Loud ships returned early was that, on
their way out, they encountered another one of their ships that was en route
here from their home system. That ship had left their planet and headed towards
the three ships that they knew were here.” Wicker looked up and around. “They
sent this ship as a precaution because they had detected a powerful alien
presence headed towards their world. Sadly, that precaution turned out to be
justified.”

Everyone in the hall was leaning forward on the edge of their
seats. The President took a long deep breath. “It is my sad and solemn duty to
inform you that sixteen months ago, the Loud’s home world suffered an
unprovoked surprise attack by an unknown alien force. The Loud’s home world was
completely destroyed.” Gasps echoed through the chamber. “We know this because
the Tachyon scope we have in orbit – another gift from the Loud – has showed
us. Tachyons travel faster than light and this orbital scope allows almost
instantaneous monitoring of powerful, or wide spread, events. The Loud sun has
exploded—every planet in their solar system…vaporized. Of course…” but the
President was interrupted as pandemonium broke out. Wicker looked down and
nodded to himself. People were gasping…crying…the noise continued to grow. He
picked up the glass of water and took a sip. His hand shook. He set the glass
back down.