The Black Planet (14 page)

Chapter 26

Lady Jane sat with her hands over her ears, ‘what on Earth is that!’  Everyone was laughing out loud at her.  Steven requested some golden oldies and soon a track from the eighties was played.  ‘Is that any better Lady Jane?’

‘I don’t know, is it?’  They all laughed even louder.

‘I hear you are going to be staying with the King when you get home.’

She stuck her nose in the air, ‘it would seem I have little choice in the matter.  When the last of my line passed away all our lands and properties were returned to the crown as well as any monies left.  I was hoping for a few days to explore but unfortunately it would seem I have to leave tomorrow with your father.’

Stevens’s dad laughed, ‘his majesty was very persuasive, and I will warn you Lady Jane our young King is looking for a bride.’

She regarded him coldly, ‘he had better do no more than look.’  It brought forth a gale of laughter.

‘Where has the English embassy put you up?’  Steven asked.

‘At the Sheraton.’

‘I hear it is very nice there.’

She cocked her head slightly, ‘haven’t you stayed there captain?’

‘No I have my own quarters on Base.’

Steven turned to Kelly, ‘what are you going to be doing when you get home Sarge?’

He shook his head, ‘don’t rightly know sir.  We got to get a medal from the president for our defence of that hill.  That’s about it.’

‘I hear it is well deserved.’

‘Hell I got plenty medals sir, they used to come in with the C rations, but I ain’t never met a president before.’

‘It ain't all it’s cracked up to be,’ grunted Howe.  That brought another laugh from the crew.

Kelly grinned, ‘yeah I heard you fellas had a run in with the leader of democracy a while back.’

‘Yeah we sorted his shit out,’ Beaver growled then apologised to the ladies in the company.

‘It’s a long story,’ Steven admitted as he experimentally sipped a beer.  His grimace made Komoru laugh.  It seemed she had forgiven him for the moment.  Her mother and father had arrived with Stevens’s parents and the mothers were deep in conversation.  A figure appeared beside Steven, he looked up to find Herr Goth standing there.

‘Herr Goth, how can I help you?’

He smiled and clicked his heels together, he looked very aristocratic in his new clothes, ‘I was looking for Sergeant Kelly sir, he promised to buy me a beer.’

‘I thought your embassy was holding a reception at the Royal.’

‘It was, however there was somewhat of a disruption and I decided to leave and find the Sergeant.’

‘They ain't paid me yet.’  Kelly laughed.

‘Gentlemen the beers are on me tonight, help yourselves.’  Steven told them.  Just then there was a commotion outside.  They could hear women screaming and men shouting.  Two men ran past naked wearing only boots and scarves laughing their heads off and a bottle of champagne clutched in each hand.

‘And there goes the disruption now,’ Herr Goth growled.

The second time round they stopped outside the restaurant.  The tall one noticed them and gave them a cheery wave, the giant at his side roared with laughter and gave them a wiggle.  Cornered by the security staff they launched themselves over the balcony with a security detail hard on their heels.  Steven had tears streaming down his face as had most of the others.  Only a few of the women were embarrassed by the display.

‘Mum when the security guys catch them and lock them up, can you make sure they get everything they need.’

She wiped away a tear, ‘I will make the call.’

Lady Jane slipped her hands from her face, ‘are you and your mother held in such high esteem here that you can make such a request Captain?’

‘My mother oversees this base and our main spaceport back on Earth.’

She frowned, ‘does this base belong to the British government?’

Steven shook his head, ‘there is no such thing now and no, no government has any say in what happens on this base.’

‘Oh then who does it belong to?’

Steven thought it over, ‘all of us I suppose.’

‘Forgive my ignorance captain, all of whom?’

‘The ships crews I suppose, we built it.’

‘You built it,’ Howe grinned at the blushing Steven.

He shrugged, ‘I just adapted a builders design is all.

‘And the one in Scotland,’ reminded his mother.

‘And Japan,’ Komoru’s mother piped up.

‘Again I just adapted plans is all.’  He turned to Lady Jane, ‘it is all very complicated, really.’

‘Wait!  This is your base, you are in charge of all this?’

He shrugged, ‘sort off.’  They all burst out laughing, ‘we of course rent out most of it to commercial companies.’

‘And all the space going vessels your Mum built,’ Buzz grinned.

It was making him uncomfortable talking about this and Lady Jane noticed it, ‘I am sorry captain I was just trying to figure out the chain of command.’

‘Well, there's Stevie,’ laughed Buzz.

‘And him,’ laughed Howe pointing at Steven.

They all began to join in laughing as Stevens face got redder and redder.  He shrugged helplessly at Lady Jane, ‘did you enjoy your meal?’  He attempted to change the subject.

‘It was rather rustic but agreeable after those awful bars you served on board the freighter.’  She answered to a howl of laughter.

‘They were awful,’ Buzz agreed and it started another conversation much to Steven’s relief.

The party began to break up soon after that.  Kelly and Herr Goth retired to the bar where they talked soldiering all night long until they could barely stand.  Many of the survivors appeared and joined in.  Soon there was singing and dancing.

Steven slipped away with a couple of bottles of champagne and a crate of beer.  He found the two Germans still locked up in the cells below, they were playing cards and cheating openly.  They invited Steven into the cell and entertained him with stories about their war; they also taught him how to cheat at cards.  Despite how much they had to drink they still seemed reasonably sober.  By the early hours of the morning Steven was as drunk as a skunk.  He left the two of them playing cards and singing loudly.  He fell into his bed and the room began to spin.

‘Would you like me to remove the alcohol from your system my heart?’

‘Yes please.’

He knew no more.

Chapter 27

Steven sat outside the council chambers for forty minutes before getting up and leaving.  Half an hour later he was sitting enjoying a relaxing cup of coffee when Buzz called.

‘Hey bud I got some guy on the line screaming at me and demanding your presence immediately, what’s going on?’

‘They are at it again bud.’

‘At what?’

‘Trying to put me in my place, they kept me waiting for forty minutes so I walked out.’

Buzz laughed, ‘so what will I tell this clown?’

‘Tell them I'm a busy man and I may have some time on Friday, so don’t forget to make an appointment.’

Buzz laughed, ‘yeah OK I’ll tell them.’

That afternoon he spent his time crawling around the Battle Cruiser with their chief mechanic.  Then in the evening he began to assign men and women from the academy; much to the displeasure from many governments back on Earth.

On the Friday afternoon he once more found himself in the waiting room but this time they didn’t keep him waiting long.  He was called in and he found himself staring down a dozen sour-faced men.

‘Mr Gordon, I am senator Kennet, in charge of this council, please be seated.  Now shall we get down to business?’

‘Yes please, I am very busy.’

‘Good, to begin with you will hand over all your assets on the moon.  It will become a forward military base.  Then you will report to Andrews Air Force base and hand over both of your ships to the US military.’

‘No.’

‘You refuse Mr Gordon?’

‘It’s Captain Gordon to you, you pompous ass and yes I refuse.’

‘In that case we will have to use force.’

‘I would like to see you try.’

It was the first time the men smiled and as the senators hand reached out to a button Steven gave a silent command.  The men began to shimmer and then disappeared.  He stood up with a smile, ‘Beam me up Babes.’  A few seconds later he appeared in the transport room in the ship.  ‘Always wanted to say that,’ he laughed.

‘Say what my heart?’

Hailey was sitting at her post, ‘you are back early Captain.’

Steven rubbed his hands together gleefully, ‘the game is afoot Hailey.’

‘What game?’

‘The power game Hailey.  Is that bug active Babes?’

‘Yes my heart.’

‘Activate it then.’

A moment later they were sitting watching developments in the White House.  The president was sitting alone when a man burst in.

‘Good God Jeff, where’s the fire?’

‘They have gone sir.’

The president shook his head, ‘who’s gone where?’

‘The committee, Earths Council and we don’t know where.’

‘What the hell is going on Jeff, weren’t they supposed to be talking to Captain Gordon today?’

‘They were sir, they were when they disappeared.’

The president sat back, ‘oh my god, what has he done!  Get him in here now.’

A familiar face appeared about ten minutes later.  The president was fuming, ‘what did you do George?’

The ex-president stuck his nose in the air.  ‘I only did what was in our best interest’s sir.’

‘The committee has disappeared any suggestions?’

‘Bring those ships down sir and bring Gordon to justice.’

The president hid his face in his hands for a moment.  ‘I brought you back onto the political scene because of a favour I owed.  You begged for this assignment and promised that you would not upset Captain Gordon in any way.  That you would prove you had changed your ways and now supported this programme full heartedly.  So what did you actually do and why weren’t you there?’

‘I did not think Mr Gordon would react kindly to my presence so I omitted myself from a seat.’

‘I see, so what did your people ask of him?’

‘We demanded he hand over his base on the Moon and both of his ships.  We were also going to demand the handing over of all his bases to US military control wherever they may be regardless of the country.  However something went wrong.’

‘You were monitoring?’ 

‘Of course sir.’

‘You have the recording?’

‘Yes sir.’

‘Hand it over.’

‘Something went wrong with the video feed the moment Gordon arrived but you can still hear them speak.’

The president listened intently then stood up and called in his aid.  ‘Jeff, I want you to removed George here from Washington and put him under house arrest.’

‘What charge sir?’

‘Treason will do for now.’

‘I protest sir,’ George spluttered.

‘Shut up you fool, you were ordered to ask Captain Gordon if he would lend us his Moonbase for the duration of the crisis and if he would put his ships under American command, not bloody demand it or them.  Get out of here you bloody idiot and never show your face in Washington again during my presidency or so help me god I will have you shot.’  He turned to his aid, ‘as soon as he is gone return.’

‘Is this a soap,’ Steven turned to find Colonel Howe there.

‘Nope, this is live from the Whitehouse.’

‘Is that legal?’

‘Never asked.’

Howe laughed, ‘I can’t believe they brought that guy back.  You wanted to see me sir?’

‘As soon as the show is over.’

Howe grinned and sat down, ‘now this is a show I could get used to.’

Jeff was only gone a few minutes, ‘he is being escorted out sir.’

The president leaned back in his chair, ‘what a bloody mess.  Damage control, get in touch with Captain Gordon and ask him to come and see me personally at his first convenience.  Apologise for what transpired and try and reassure him that it will not happen again.’

‘Yes sir.’ 

Steven turned to Sid Tulane, ‘Sid when that call comes in please inform me.’  He stood up, ‘this is going to be a superfast briefing Colonel.’

‘Then let’s get started sir.’

A short while later Sid got in touch with Steven but by then Howe knew the role he had to play.  Babes monitored the president’s office until he was alone.  She gave them a quick warning then beamed them down.  He never noticed them until Steven cleared his throat.

The president jumped clean out of his seat.  ‘Where the hell did you two come from?’ He gasped clutching at his chest.

Steven pointed upwards, ‘I got a call you wanted to see me as soon as possible to clear the air.’

‘Shit!  I meant make an appointment.’  He raised a hand, ‘never mind you are here now, would you gentlemen like some refreshments.’  They both declined.  ‘The reason I wanted to talk to you was to do with your base on the Moon.  We wish to borrow it from you for the time being as a forward military base.  I am sure you will see the sense in that.’

‘OK let me stop you right there Mr President, you are not getting our base, neither am I going to put my ships under direct American control.  The simple fact is you still gave no real idea what you are going to do about the situation or even how to deal with it. That you are trying to circumnavigate the Earth Space Corps and dictate to the World why, how and what, is proof of that.  That is not going to happen Mr President, but neither am I going to sit here and dictate to you either.  I am going to show what I have already set in motion and my plans to build a fleet of ships to defeat them.  After that you can make up your own mind whether you want to get on board with us or not.’

The president sat back, ‘OK make you pitch Captain Gordon, but tell me where my committee is first please.’

‘They are safe and sound sir and will be returned soon.  By the end of this week I will have completed fully, one base designed specifically for defence on the Moon.  That is on the dark side of the Moon.  I also have a squadron of advanced space fighters under construction at our facility in Scotland.  I also have forward operating bases being constructed on Mars and one of Saturn’s moons.’ 

‘OK stop there for a second will you, I need my secretary to take notes.’

‘Certainly.’

He went to his desk, ‘Janet come in will you and cancel all my appointments this afternoon.  Could you also arrange refreshments please for four?’

‘Yes sir.’

‘You will need dictation equipment.’

‘Yes sir.’

She got a shock when she walked in and saw the two men in his office but covered it up.  Steven began to dictate to the president.  Colonel Howe set up a projector like screen that Babes downloaded images too.  Steven gave the president a full briefing which lasted for two hours.  Occasionally Howe would explain certain weapons they had been training on and tactics. 

When he was finished the president was dumbfounded, ‘that is quite remarkable Captain Gordon and will be a quite an achievement if you can pull it off.  What do you need?’

‘Materials sir; I only have enough to complete the first base.’

‘That could be costly.’

‘Not if you give me the location of every municipal dump in the USA and permission to fly in your airspace.’

‘You have it but why?’

‘We need things like wood, paper, glass, aluminium, steel, iron, ceramics, rubber, you know basic stuff.  Our equipment can suck it straight out of a dump and turn it into anything we want and in any shape and form. What better place to get that stuff from for free than a dump, especially old ones.  Some ships as I have explained will have to be built in space, which means space docks, accommodation, everything.’

‘Why not just mine fresh materials?’

Steven shrugged, ‘as you have said it is simply cost.  Mining takes time and money.  This type of reclamation costs nothing.’

The president suddenly grinned, ‘I have a few tyre mountains you may want to consider and I believe there's lots of space junk floating about in our atmosphere.’

Steven laughed, ‘that’s just what I wanted to hear, ‘so you are on board?’

‘The United States will give you any help you require Captain Gordon.’

Steven stood and they shook hands, ‘thank you Mr President.’  A second later they simply vanished.

Janet squeaked, ‘where did they go?’

The president pointed upwards, ‘what did you make of Captain Gordon Janet?’

‘A bit creepy sir.’

‘Oh! Why?’

‘He dictated to me for two hours without looking at a single note of any kind.’

‘I see what you mean Janet.  I have met a lot of intelligent people in my time but Captain Gordon makes them look like chimpanzees trying to shove funny shapes into funny holes.’

These was a sudden commotion outside; Jeff knocked and walked in holding his nose, ‘our people have turned up sir.’

The president shook his head, ‘what the hell is that smell?’

‘I think its fish sir.’