Homeworld, page 2
Holly moaned inwardly. Though dealing with the US authorities was inevitable, it would still be a pain. “How many, exactly?”
“Darian here, Captain,” another female voice said, this one sounding sterner. Darian Tennen, a former LAPD detective, was now chief of security aboard their ship. “Six men and two women from NASA, twelve men and eight women from different agencies.”
Too many. Returning to the captain’s chair, Holly engaged one of the smaller screens. “On screen, Darian.” Soon the image of a throng of people below Speeder One’s hatch appeared. Most of them wore the obvious go-to black suits and white shirts, some of their jackets bulging at the side, revealing the presence of their sidearms.
“Two from each entity and no weapons.” Holly watched the agents’ reactions unfold on the screen. Flanked by two of her brand-new subordinates Darian dealt with the situation well. She refused to let anything or anyone on board the Velocity ignore her captain’s orders. Observing the agents removing their sidearms, she knew she had made the right call. Not that these agents wouldn’t be outgunned, but protocol dictated that they outlaw unknown weaponry on board.
With a raised hand, Darian stopped one man, pointing to his feet. Holly wasn’t surprised to see him grudgingly remove a clutch piece from his ankle strap.
“All right, Captain. We’re taking off with the last crewmembers and their next of kin. The visitors are all seated at the far back of the shuttle and being monitored.” Darian spoke rapidly.
“I’ll meet you in the shuttle bay.” Holly rose as she spoke. “Commander, you have the bridge.” She directed the last sentence to the man standing over by an ensign at ops. Formerly a retired chief of police in Dennamore, Geoff Walker was now Holly’s next in command. He glanced at her.
“Time to form a welcome committee of one?” He spoke lightly, but the seriousness in his dark-gray eyes showed he knew very well that the visitors en route represented the US authorities. Only the fact that the Velocity stayed in a high orbit around Earth had kept the vast array of the US arsenal of weapons from being directed at them.
“It is,” Holly now told Walker. “I don’t know how long this will take, but I hope for the Velocity to break orbit at 0200 hours.”
“We’ll be ready for it from our end.” Walker nodded toward the young man he had just left. “Ensign D’Angelo has almost finished his inventory lists.”
“Good. I’ll page you later.” Holly nodded to Walker and then left the bridge. The elevator in the corridor outside took her down to deck ten so fast, she seemed to be freefalling. Stepping out, she ended up in organized mayhem where wide-eyed new crewmembers emptied Speeder Two of their luggage and supplies from Dennamore. Contrary to the federal authorities, every Dennamore inhabitant that had descended from the aliens who landed in the Adirondacks in the late 1700s was eager to help the mission take place. They seemed determined to either be part of the crew or do their damndest to facilitate a safe, comfortable journey to their ancestors’ homeworld.
“Captain!” A young woman rushed up to Holly. “Chief Tennen paged that they should dock shortly.”
“I know, Ensign Ritter,” Holly said after glancing at the uniformed woman’s nametag. “We’ll need three more security officers.”
“On it, Captain.” Ritter nodded briskly and turned around while tapping her speaker. “Three security officers to shuttle bay, now.”
It still felt surreal to watch more and more people show up in their ancestors’ uniforms and see how their Neural Interface Expertise Connectors—NIECs—induced the knowledge they needed to perform their duties from where they sat attached to the back of the neck. The uniforms, unlike the space suits that were form-fitted like a second skin, consisted of black pants over short boots. A sleeveless light-gray, collarless shirt under a mustard-yellow jacket, along with the rank insignias, separated the officers from the crewmen, who wore turquoise jackets. A single golden lapel showed whether the crewman in question wore a NIEC.
A humming sound grew in intensity, alerting everyone that Speeder One was approaching. The shuttle-bay door opened, and, unfathomably, only a sensor barrier kept everyone on deck ten from being sucked into space. The sensor barrier crackled and sparkled as the shuttle penetrated it. The doors closed as it set down on its struts next to its sister ship.
Holly stepped closer, stopping six feet from the end of where the ramp would reach once it opened fully. Ensign Ritter and a colleague flanked her to the right, and two other security officers did the same on her left.
“Keep your cool,” Holly said quietly. “Nobody is armed, and I fully expect them to make demands and perhaps even threaten repercussions. Be prepared to escort anyone out of line back onto the shuttle if Chief Tennen gives the order—or if I do.”
“Aye, Captain,” Ritter said smartly.
The hatch snapped open and lowered onto the deck without much sound. In the area above it, Chief Darian Tennen stood flanked by security, much as Holly did. She waved the new crewmembers and the ones among their kin that were able to join them on the space journey to disembark.
Holly shook their hands, even those of the eight children. The crew complement now held about eighteen minors.
“Are you really the captain?” a small, young person asked, jarring Holly from her train of thought. Blinking, she looked down at a small boy, perhaps six years old. He was holding what looked like a large stuffed squirrel and a tablet. Next to him, a young man smiled nervously.
“I am,” Holly said, crouching in front of the child. “What’s your name?”
“Simon. This is my dad. His name is Mark.” Simon beamed up at his father.
“Welcome aboard, both of you. If you follow the welcome committee over there, they’ll show you to your quarters and the location of the first information meeting.”
Mark and Simon thanked her, and she couldn’t blame them for being taken aback by the impressive alien technology around them. The walls were made from a metal alloy that didn’t exist on Earth, in a pattern reminding Holly of an intricate katana sword’s swirls created by expert forging.
Darian appeared behind the last of the crewmembers and their accompanying family members. With her dark-brown hair in an austere ponytail, she radiated the authority of being the chief of security. Walking down the ramp, she guided the agents and civilians from the different agencies, who were also guarded by Darian’s staff.
“Captain.” Darian greeted Holly. “Our guests. I’ll let them introduce themselves.” She spoke noncommittally, but the way she eyed a couple of the guests was an unmistakable sign that she wasn’t impressed.
“Thank you, Chief.” Holly took a few steps forward and gazed at the unfamiliar faces. Two women and six men stared at her, and among the latter, three of them regarded her through slitted eyes, looking ready to act rashly. “Welcome aboard the Velocity, ladies and gentlemen. I won’t reiterate the explanations we have already transmitted to your respective agencies, verbally as well as through extensive documentation, but instead—”
“Stand down, Ms. Crowe. We’re here to seize this vessel by order of the joint directors of the CIA, NSA, and FBI,” one of the hostile-looking men said. He took a step forward. “No matter what hubris this detection has created among you people, you cannot be permitted to—”
“Stop right there,” Holly said firmly. “I am Captain Holly Crowe, and this is my ship and my crew.”
“You’re a schoolteacher, and you’ve filled the find of a millennium with a bunch of mountain hicks!” the other man, who possessed the same sneer as the first, said. “You have no idea what you’re playing with here, and the sooner you realize how many laws, state and federal, you’re breaking, the better.”
Holly glanced at Darian and sighed. “These were the ones you thought we could talk to?”
“Believe me, there are degrees of hostility and stupidity,” Darian said, not taking her eyes off the men.
Holly shook her head and turned back to the group. The two women wore NASA patches on their sleeves. The four men who hadn’t yet spoken appeared less riled up, but Holly knew it was a mistake to assume too much too soon. “Your words show you haven’t read the English translation of how this ship operates, along with the alien technology. We provided all information to your respective agencies and, of course, to the government and the UN. Nobody but descendants of the original crew of this ship can operate it, and that’s a fact. This reality makes it our ship, and though the crewmembers may be new, the Neural Interface Expertise Connectors turn them into an accomplished crew and provide them with their individual ranks instantly. I really don’t care if you believe me. That’s how it works.”
“That’s fucking science fiction.” One of the men even snarled.
“And yet here we are,” Darian said and smiled broadly. “In a huge interstellar spaceship. Sort of takes the fiction out of the science, doesn’t it?”
“Captain?” One of the women, a compact, freckled redhead of Asian American descent, raised her hand. “I’m Mireille Wu, a senior astronomer at NASA. I have no military agenda, and I’m grateful and excited to be on board.”
Holly didn’t allow herself to relax but recognized the mesmerized look in Mireille’s eyes as she stared around the shuttle bay. “Welcome, Ms. Wu.”
“Doctor. This is my assistant, Emma Andersen.” Mireille motioned to the tall blonde by her side. “Can we sit down somewhere and share more information before you embark on your journey?”
Ah. Someone had actually read some of the documentation they had provided during the last few hours. “Certainly. Everyone is welcome to join me in the conference room if they can maintain common courtesy.”
“It’s not a matter of being courteous,” hostile man #2 said. “This is about national, even international, security. Who knows what you can uncover if you’re allowed to take off with technology you can’t possibly know anything about?”
“Are you willing to join us in a civilized manner, or do you prefer to be delivered back to Dennamore without any information for your respective bosses?” Darian stepped in between Holly and man #2. “We can easily arrange either scenario.”
The two men looked like they were grinding their teeth, but then man #1 nodded curtly. “By all means. As long as you’ll listen to the point of view of the directors.”
“Of course. I’m always ready to listen. This way.” Holly stepped over to where the elevators were located. “Chief, you’re riding up with me. Your officers will take the cargo elevator. Deck three, section two.”
Six security officers, some of whom had worked as a store manager, office clerk, and a personal-fitness expert, among other things, less than twenty-four hours earlier, accompanied the visitors into the larger elevator.
“Glad we frisked them twice,” Darian said as they stepped into the other elevator. “Those vocal guys, and trust me, they weren’t as trigger-happy as their other colleagues, had clutch pieces on both legs, knives, and a double harness holding a sidearm and a taser—each.”
Holly blinked. “What the hell did they think they’d do with that weaponry even if they managed to shoot some of us? They’d be stuck in orbit on a ship they couldn’t operate.” She ran her hand along her forehead. “We really hit a nerve, obviously.”
“We didn’t expect anything less, did we? Consider how our own leader in Dennamore reacted.” Darian shrugged.
Holly thought of Desmond Miller, chairperson of the Elder Council in their small mountain town. He had gone from belligerent and vindictive to fearful…and resentful. Never once had he showed signs of feeling the special, inherited yearning to join the crew on the Velocity. “You have a point.”
They reached the conference room a few moments earlier than their guests. Capable of hosting twenty people around a diamond-shaped table, where Holly’s seat was located at the top and center, its bulkhead was lined with something that reduced the hum of the propulsion system to a minimum. Holly admitted that she still had to get used to feeling the reverberation in the gravitation-deck material. It would probably take even longer to become accustomed to the feeling of her feet being magnetized to the deck plating. However, it certainly beat existing in a weightless environment.
The first two security officers stopped just inside the door. “Your guests, Captain,” the young woman to the left said.
“Show them in. I want the two of you to remain by the door.” Holly shot the woman and the equally young man a sharp glance, but they met her gaze calmly.
“Aye, Captain.”
Their guests entered the conference room, and Holly could detect the moment the two women from NASA saw the image of Earth on the large viewscreens adorning two of the walls. It was a poignant, impressive sight.
“Oh.” Mireille stopped and gripped the backrest of one of the chairs.
Even the men from the different agencies appeared taken aback for a moment. “That’s quite something,” a blond man in his early fifties said.
“Please.” Holly motioned for everyone to sit as she took her own seat. “Before we continue, I’d like to hear suggestions and demands concisely. I doubt I can meet every demand, but within reason, my crew and I are willing to listen.”
As if on cue, the door opened, and her first officer entered. Walker took the seat next to Holly. Soon the senior staff, consisting of the people who had discovered the alien artifacts and the ships, occupied the chairs. Samantha Pike, formerly the head librarian and now the chief pilot and navigator, sat down next to Darian. Claire Gordon, chief engineer, came in with an older woman, the ship’s counselor, Camilla Tennen. Previously, Claire had worked at her father’s garage as a gifted mechanic, and Camilla had just returned to Dennamore a few months earlier after an extensive career as a scriptwriter in Hollywood. Raoul Viera, a family doctor turned chief medical officer, sat down next to Camilla and murmured something in her ear that made her nod.
“I think that’s everyone,” Holly said lightly, after introducing the senior staff. “Now, let’s see if we can put your mind at ease, at least to a degree.” She let her gaze wander from face to face around the table, including her own crewmembers.
“I want to know why you were trying to bring weapons aboard the ship.” Walker laced his fingers together and rested his elbows against the table.
“Common sense,” one of the impatient men said. “We still have no idea if hostiles are on board, pulling the strings. If you think about it, that scenario is highly likely. How could any of you people even begin to maneuver a ship like this? For all we know, you’re a front for an alien attack, or even a domestic one.”
Darian snorted and shook her head. “Are you stupid for real? We have provided information and identification of everyone who has felt the yearning—the calling, if you will—to serve on board this ship. They’re all regular people ready to take on a challenge and do what they obviously now feel they were meant to. We even have some civilians who aren’t of alien descent who are taking on this assignment.”
The man stared at Darian as if she had snakes weaving through her hair. “You as a former LAPD detective should know better.” He hissed. “We demand to be allowed to examine whatever psychotropic drug those NIECs infuse into unsuspecting US citizens.”
Samantha slammed her palm onto the conference table. “Oh, be quiet. We don’t use drugs on anyone, let alone anyone who yearns to embark on the Velocity. You have to realize that they do so long before they learn of the alien artifacts.” She looked over at Holly. “I fail to see why we need to keep repeating ourselves when the CIA agents have preconceived ideas that border on conspiracy theories.”
“I hear you, Chief Pike. I do.” Holly took a moment. “I want to make something clear. You’re here as a courtesy. This vessel is going on its mission to locate the homeworld of our ancestors. You are here only because the senior crew and I believe in transparency. We will return, and when we do so, who knows what information we’ll be able to bring back with us. If we find life on Dwynna Major, we might have a chance to establish diplomacy between Earth and another planet for the very first time.”
“Or you’ll bring back someone ready to attack Earth.” One of the CIA agents huffed. “You don’t know what will happen!”
“They may become great allies and share technology with us that can help us with climate change, illnesses, etcetera.” Holly could tell from the way the man rolled his eyes at his colleague how naive he found her statement. “Guess it depends on how you look at it. I can reassure you that we don’t intend to lead any hostiles back to Earth.”
The discussion billowed back and forth, and after another hour of circling the same concepts, Holly raised her hand, having had enough. “We will be breaking orbit in five hours. I have a scheduled conversation with the secretary-general of the United Nations in half an hour. While my next in command, Commander Walker, and I do that, I will leave you in the capable hands of my chief of security and her team.”
“You’re just walking away from this meeting?” one of the FBI agents asked, sounding more perplexed than angry.
“For now, yes. In the meantime, I want you to consider what I’m about to offer you. If anyone is interested, we can include as many as four of you on our mission, to observe and report back to Earth. My chief engineer has arranged to deliver a communication device to the United Nations as we speak, and, at least for part of the journey, we will be able to send digital messages globally and to the crew’s family members and friends.”
The two women from NASA exchanged a wide-eyed look as Holly rose.
“Commander, with me.” Holly nodded to the ones still sitting around the table, noting how taken aback the visitors seemed. As she left the room with Walker by her side, she made some private bets as to who might want to accept the offer.
