Читать книгу Deep Space Dream - D. LAWS - Страница 9

Chapter 5

Terna

After traveling for what seemed like forever at a speed that Roy could not comprehend, he was again wondering what kind of reception he would get at this new planet. After all, he was brought aboard by mistake, he conned the computer into making him captain, and doesn’t know a damn thing about space or this ship. His thoughts were interrupted by the AI’s voice.

“Captain, I have attempted to contact Terna but have received no response. I am detecting several ships moving at high speed from Terna to an intercept course with this ship.”

Roy realized that his ship had been missing for over seven hundred years and may appear as a threat instead of a ship returning home.

“AI, bring the ship to a complete stop and power everything down except communications.” Roy hoped this action would show no aggression and open a line of communications.

“Sir. I am receiving a request to identify and state our purpose.”

“Send them the ship’s identification and request that they check it against the records from seven hundred years ago.”

After several minutes that seemed like hours, a message was received to follow the escort ships to a space dock above the planet and to allow a security force to come aboard. Roy instructed the AI to send a compliance message and to follow the instructions.

The transport carrying the security force landed in the cargo bay, and they exited the craft. What a bunch of clumsy-looking fools these guys are, Roy thought to himself. If this had been a trap, I could have taken them all out. Roy raised his hands to show that he was not armed. The commander of the force demanded that the rest of the crew come forward and was slightly taken aback when Roy said he was the captain and the entire crew. They then demanded access to the AI to install a remote unit to download the ship information. Roy feared that doing this would give these people control of his ship. If things “went south,” he would have no way to get control of his ship back and to get out of there.

“No,” he stated in a firm voice. “But you may search the ship to verify there are no other people aboard. You will walk on the side of the hallways marked ‘crew’ and not interfere with the duties of the AIMUs. Is that clear?”

The commander of the force approached Roy and stuck what appeared to be a weapon in Roy’s face, “I’m in charge here,” he yelled.

Roy quickly took his weapon away from him and then handed it back stating in a calm but authoritative voice, “I am the captain of this ship and allowed you to come aboard as a guest. You will not threaten me and will respect my command.”

The quickness and ease of being disarmed scared the commander. He’d never had anyone challenge him before, and this lone “Captain” was not intimidated by him or his security force.

“Captain, it seems that we got off to a bad start. We have had some trouble with probing ships attempting to gather information about our defenses. When you said that this ship was over seven hundred years old, and we come aboard and see a ship that looks brand-new, well, you can understand our concern.”

“Apology accepted. You are free to walk about the ship, but I meant what I said about the halls and AIMUs. If you or your men are hungry or want something to drink, the Lounge on Deck 5 is always open. AI, allow the commander access to the Bridge if he desires.”

This invitation to free access to the ship and to allow his men access to the officers’ lounge was unheard of on Teranan ships. The commander ordered his men to lower their weapons and to scout the ship to verify that the captain was the only person on board.

The commander accompanied Roy to the Bridge and was quite awed by the clean condition of the ship.

The voice of the AI interrupted their tour. “Captain, I am receiving docking instruction. Shall I comply?”

“Yes,” replied Roy.

The security commander was surprised by the soft female voice. “That’s a girl’s voice!” he exclaimed.

“Yes, I find that voice much more relaxing. Don’t you?” Roy responded. The commander thought for a minute, then agreed that the female voice would be better to live with.

“Captain, docking is complete, and it is safe to move between the ship and the docking facilities. Your presence is requested at the Space Command Center, and a transport is waiting to transport you.”

Roy stepped away to have a private conversation with his AI. “AI, can you set up a ‘firewall’ or block any attempts to access the ship’s controls but allow archive access to the ship’s movements up until the time you returned to Earth? Maybe set up a ‘dummy’ AI control system that would trap any commands that are not from me?”

“Yes, Captain, I can configure such a program.”

“Good, do it.”

Roy and the security team left his ship and entered the space dock. He was amazed at its size and the number of workers and robots going about. He was directed to the waiting transport. As he flew closer to the city, he was impressed with its size and arrangement. He could see that a lot of thought went into its planning. They landed on a building rooftop in an area not much larger than a helicopter landing pad. He exited the transport and was met by another security group.

Don’t any of these guys own an iron? I bet those boots have never been polished, he thought to himself. They entered a lift and were taken to a large conference looking room with three well-dressed men sitting there, one wearing a uniform similar to Roy’s but with a lot more decorations hanging from it was the first to speak.

“I am Flight Admiral Kosh. This is Supreme Chancellor Derg and Chief Security Advisor Milh. We have a lot of questions about you and how you came to be in command of a lost Ternan ship.”

“I am Captain Roy Darwin of the spaceship Excalibur (the only name he could really pronounce). The ship was abandoned by the captain and crew over seven hundred years ago and left to decay in space. I boarded the ship in the area of Earth and set about improving it. The AI had this location in its programming, so after checking to see if any of the old crew had survived, we came here.”

Flight Admiral Kosh sat at a computer-looking device for several minutes, then stated, “Captain Roy Darwin, the AI flight log verifies your account, and we thank you for your effort to rescue any remaining crew. Your ship is very outdated and of no use to us. Besides, based on old salvage law, your recovery of a verified abandoned ship makes it rightfully yours.”

The supreme chancellor simply nodded his head in agreement. But Chief Security Advisor Milh grunted, “We cannot allow an alien with an armed ship to remain in our space. We know nothing of this person or his true intentions.”

“Get real. No one in their right mind would come here with an old empty ship with no crew and expect to cause you any harm,” Roy blurted out. “And just how far away do you expect me to go with no crew or supplies?”

Flight Admiral Kosh replied, “Yes, I agree. Security Advisor Milh, your concerns are noted, but Captain Roy Darwin’s argument is strong. Captain Roy Darwin, if we assist you with a crew, will you leave this section of space?”

“Well, yes, I would welcome a small crew, but why would you give me a crew and why would anyone be on it if they knew that they would never return home?”

Flight Admiral Kosh answered, “We have some undesirable citizens that are somewhat trained as flight crew.”

“I don’t think so,” responded Roy. “My ship is not a flying prison for your criminal element.”

Flight Admiral Kosh said, “You misunderstand. We have no crime or criminals here. The only reason that these citizens are considered undesirable is their inability to safely produce children. Their moral and work ethics are the same high standard as the main citizenry of Terna.”

“If that is the only reason that you want to get rid of them, and they are a trained crew, then I see no problem.”

Flight Admiral Kosh explained, “Well, they are not fully trained on such an old ship as yours, but maybe we can employ you with some supply missions to our outer mining locations as ‘training missions.’”

Roy thought for a minute. He realized that these “supply missions” must be the lowest of the low in desirable duties and that this was their way of making him “earn” his crew, but it was a chance to get a crew. After all, all that he wanted was another human or two to talk with.

“I agree, if that’s okay with the rest of you,” he replied, his eyes scanning the three seated at the table. All three nodded in agreement, but Roy could see some doubt in Security Advisor Milh’s body language.

Flight Admiral Kosh said, “That concludes this interview. I will assign an aid to show you around our fine city and provide you with accommodations.”

Roy thanked the panel and left with the security group to the lift. At the lobby level, he was met by a man who identified himself as the aid. “I am Job. I will be your aid for as long as you are on Terna. Is there any place you would like to go or see?”

Roy thought for a minute, then said, “Really, I don’t know anything about your city or what it has to offer. Maybe just a quick tour around and then I’ll need to return to my ship for food and rest.”

“We have may fine eating locations here, and accommodations can be provided for you.”

Roy explained, “I am an alien to your world. My taste in food may be different, and I have nothing to pay with.”

“You are a guest of the governing body and are not required to pay for anything.”

Wow, just like a congressman on Earth, he thought to himself, then said, “Don’t get me wrong. I really do appreciate the hospitality of your world and want to see more, but like you, I would rest more comfortably in my own bed aboard my ship.” Roy couldn’t wait to get back aboard to see what had been tampered with and what attempts were made to gain control of his ship or spy on him.

“Actually,” the aid continued, “there is no pecuniary system here. All labor and manufacturing is accomplished by the AIMUs, and no citizen is employed except for the crew on the space dock. Their work there is rewarded by their families being well cared for here in the city. Therefore, there is only one class of living, unless you are an appointed governing official. They are considered as a higher class.”

“I see, now I understand,” Roy said, holding back his true thoughts.

After his tour of the city and seeing what it had to offer, Roy was truly impressed. Everyone appeared to be happy and going about their business. There was no “poor” side of town, and everyone was nicely dressed and appeared to respect each other. Was this better than Earth? Well, in some ways it was, but he noted that there didn’t seem to be any motivation to get ahead. All development was left up to the AIMUs.

“Job, I was told that there was a group of ‘undesirables.’ Who are they, and what’s that all about?” asked Roy.

“They are fine female citizens that cannot produce well-developed children. Their waists are too small to provide adequate development space for the child fetus to grow in. They are treated as any other person, but their inability to give healthy birth makes them undesirable for marriage.”

That was a relief to Roy. At least, he wasn’t taking on a group of misfits or malcontent people. “I understand that they are trained crewmen. Do they serve on many Ternan ships?” Roy asked.

Job replied, “No, they have not served on any ships. The men on the ship’s crews don’t wish to be seen around them. In fact, women don’t serve on the ships. Their position is to remain on Terna and have children.”

“Why?” Roy asked.

“Many years ago, one of our explorer ships visited a distant planet. When they returned, they unknowingly brought back a disease that attacked and killed a very large number of children. Since then, our medical scan units have been greatly improved and prevent that from reoccurring. Children are very important to us, and we lost a full generation. This decision to remain at home to have children was presented by the women of our city as their choice.”

“So these undesirables are trained but have never been on a ship? How were they trained?”

“Well, they are trained with a Knowledge Scanner. It implants all of the basic knowledge of a given ship’s function, and it is up to the crewman to fully learn through experience.”

“How much knowledge can be gained with this Knowledge Scanner?”

“The brain can only receive a small amount of ‘forced’ information. Therefore, we only place one complete job knowledge in each person. Many years ago, we tried to implant multiple jobs into one person with unforgivable results.”

After several hours of sightseeing, Roy, concerned about his “new” crew, returned to his ship for some food and much needed rest.