Captain Jonathan Hogart’s first mission to Frequency One seems to be going well. New crew, new flash ship, and a new race of aliens to make first contact with.
But the binary suns start affecting his team in strangely, the friendly aliens turn out to be not so friendly, and now he finds himself glued to the ground awaiting possible separation if he doesn’t hand over flash relocation technology.
As the sticky situation gets more and more complicated, and the mushroom bugs reveal further surprises, the alien crew discover that it’s not only planet brown and purple that they have to worry about. There is a much greater threat towards the center of the star system.
One that none of them would ever have suspected.
Alien Frequency is the first in a series of complete sci fi stories in the Stellar Flash series. This is a fully contained adventure of about 50,000 words.
Available in Digital and in Print Formats from Amazon
Episode 1: The Hand Continued
Chapter 5
Heartness and the boff
appeared next to a large window looking out onto a wide starscape. Resignedly,
she stopped struggling and looked out. Her years in space meant she recognized
the view. The constellation of Cassiopeia. It was the same image that might
have been visible from her station at a point in the orbit around Saturn, but
with an additional star near the middle.
Sol.
She sniffed the air and
almost choked. Stale and recycled. Not a single whiff of perfume. Gravity felt
slightly lighter than Earth normal. Possibly Proxibee normal. Proxibee was
larger than Earth but its mass was made up with more low atomic weight elements,
so there wasn’t as much gravity. But the humming below her suggested that she
wasn’t on Proxibee. She was on a ship of some kind.
The boff released
Heartness and stepped back, allowing her a moment. Heartness rubbed her arm but
there wasn’t a mark. The robot had gripped her firmly, but gently.
Was it
possible to escape? She looked about. Far away, on the other side of the room,
was what looked to be the pilot’s area. A tiny flickering dot from where
Heartness was standing, but filled with a massive view screen. Any pilot
sitting there would think there wasn’t a ship, and that they were just in space.
Heartness decided the pilot section was probably for emergencies. Still, it was
an option.
While Earth council ships
were quite conservative with their space, with every centimeter used and
accounted for, corporations could be excessive. The room was at least a
kilometer wide. Even with her augmented eyesight, she could barely make out the
other side of ship in the distance. A prismatic point finished the ceiling far
above her. Was the outside of the ship like a pyramid? The floor seemed to
suggest it, stretching in an almost perfect square shape, apart from some exits
to corridors on her right.
The entire one
kilometer-edged triangular ship, the Stellar Flash, could fit inside with some
room to spare. Was this a mother ship of some kind? She accessed data through
her newly installed lobe system under her left ear, but expected it would be a
while before it retrieved the information she wanted.
And then she remembered
her date tonight, and sighed. Zhou would have simply told him she’d been called
away on urgent business. At least it was better than telling him she had
disappearing ring ice to watch.
“Alright, boff. You’ve brought me here. I’m
sure your corporation couldn’t care less about the potential fine and jail
time, if I was to complain, so now what? Champagne?”
The robot officer slowly
turned its retro cube-shaped head to Admiral Victoria Heartness, then lifted up
its plastic four-fingered hand. “What I’m about to show you is private and
confidential.” A bluish hologram began to form above it.
Heartness glared at the
image taking shape. “If you’re going to tell me I’m your only hope, I’m going
to have words.”
The boff remained silent
as the hologrammatic video became more defined, then began playing.
It was not what Heartness
was expecting at all.
A macabre image of an
indistinct human hand rotated in the air in front of her, tiny waves of
electricity sparking and cascading across its surface. The skin looked alive,
with faint veins swollen in mid throb near the wrist. The nails were chipped
and dirty, with shadows of dust in places. Dark oil marks on the finger tips,
and the general blurriness of the blue image disguised its owner.
“What is it?”
asked Heartness, fascinated, as the hand continued to turn. “A piece of
artwork?” For a moment, she had thought it had simply been cut off by the edge
of the visual reference. But then the wrist had faced her, showing a cross section
of the marrow in both the radius and ulna, surrounded by muscles, veins and
skin perfectly sliced through as though separated from the rest of the body at
the molecular level. There was also a flickering field right at the edge,
suggesting that whatever the hand was attached to, was accessing some other
dimension.
“A human hand,”
answered the boff, anticlimactically.
Heartness sighed, her
curiosity changing back to annoyance with the robot. “I can see that,” she
growled. “What happened to it? Who’s it from?”
The boff pointed at the
hand above his hand. “This was found at the Proxima Centauri B Frequency
Research Center, inside hexicle 18.” It turned the image off and the
bright light of the field faded away, revealing the expansive room once again.
“My leasor has not
informed the interstellar military yet,” the boff continued. “She
wants this to be discrete. She sent me as soon as she realized some delicacy
was required.”
“And so, you decided to
strongly encourage me to come.” While she hadn’t taken any private gigs for
some time, thanks to her work with Earth Council and the Interdimensional
Coalition, she knew from experience that initially, most private organizations
and government parties required some secrecy before announcing the solved
problem to the world.
“We have sealed
hexicle 18 until you are able to have a close look at it.”
Heartness had no idea how
getting closer to the floating hand would help her be any the wiser. “Any
other records? What about others on the base? Do you have any other evidence of
the missing 27?”
“Updates received.
The hand is the only living thing that has been found so far. Though, our
benefactor is not sure about something else nearby, which she plans to show
you. However, only 17 of the 54 hexicles have been explored. Investigation has
now been paused while we await your response.”
“The hand is
alive?”
“Still. It hangs
there, not dying. The hand could not be shown to you on your station. Now that
you have seen it, you are free to decide. You have your flash band and can
leave from this point in space at any time. Please let me repeat that 27
scientists have disappeared, and your presence is required.”
Heartness knew this was
her field. She was contacted when there was anything the bot officers, A.I.
detectives, or government organizations couldn’t solve. With her extensive
experience in multiple dimensions and realities, there weren’t that many in
humanity’s sectors that could do what she did. She smiled ruefully. She would
be happy to give them a hand. “You know my price.”
“Yes, Admiral
Heartness. Labor credits are ready to transfer to your charity the moment you
sign.”
Heartness moved some hair
out of the way, and touched her implant. It was still searching for information
on the ship, but the work contract had already been transmitted directly to
her. It displayed in front of her eyes. Her analysis software did not detect
anything unusual, so she sent a simple thought, and her brain wave vibration
signature was transmitted via flash communication to the authorization department
in the main brokerage on a satellite orbiting Proxima Centauri C. Within a
couple of seconds she received the confirmation back via flash satellite relay
that the first 100,000 credits had been transferred to her charity. “Boff. As
you can now independently confirm, the contract is signed, and I will help the
F.R.I find a solution. Please advise Space Station X-1a that I am fine and that
everything is under control.”
“I’m sorry, Admiral
Victoria Heartness,” said a voice in the air near her. “We must keep this a
secret for now.”
“Have you been standing
there invisible the whole time?” Heartness asked the air.
“The boff alerted me that
you have signed, so I drifted over.” Then there was a click, and a woman
phase-shifted into reality next to them, taking a couple of steps to reorient
herself with the floor. She looked at Heartness seriously. “The hand you saw
isn’t the only problem we have. We moved to an outer orbit to collect you more
safely. The moment you arrived, the ship began moving back to the closest point
we can get. We can’t flash jump closer due to the disturbances, but we’re only
a few million kilometers from Proxibee.”
Heartness was unfazed by
the woman’s phase-in, and briefly noted the boff had shut down as she appeared.
But she had to know more. “What sort of disturbances?”
“It’s better that I
show you,” replied the woman. She walked towards an exit in the distance, expecting
her to follow.
Heartness sighed to
herself. Well, if the woman wasn’t going to go through the introduction niceties,
or at the very least say her name, Heartness would look it up herself. These
outerworlders assumed everyone used facial recognition as a normal part of
socializing and business, but Heartness was still a bit old school.
Her lobe storage unit had
finished downloading anything related to Proxima Centauri, decades of data, and
had accessed the most relevant information, predicting Heartness’ needs. The
woman was Doctor Vilanna Szuki, born on one of the envirostations circling
Proxima Centauri D. 37 years old. Seven PhDs. Her father was from Japan and her
mother from Ghana, so her features were almost movie-star like. High cheek
bones, blue eyes, mocha skin, and a lithe movement that could probably break a
few hearts.
Heartness guessed her
model looks might be one of the reasons why the woman was hiding away on a
massive ship in another star system. Every media outlet from here to Sirius
would want a piece of her. Though, if she ever got her back to the space
station, that moodhair would have to go.
“I hope you don’t mind if
I ask a lot of questions,” said Heartness.
“Of course.” Szuki smiled
demurely as Heartness caught up to her. “But there are some things that can’t
be explained and will need to be shown.”
“But what about this
space? Why so large?”
Szuki laughed, her frizzy
hair flickering with gold highlights. “Oh, daddy had this built for me for my
16th. You know, on Earth, parents used to give their children houses or cars.
My daddy gave me this spaceship. Big enough to enjoy an almost infinite number
of worlds in. I call it the Traverse.”
“Isn’t that a verb?”
Szuki touched her
flashband, and the room was transformed into a mountainous terrain with a
corral of horses. One of them whinnied and came over to her. She stroked it
affectionately, though to Heartness it looked like she wasn’t quite touching
it. “Hello stony. See you again soon.”
Szuki clicked her band
again, and the entire paddock and animals disappeared, replaced by towering
fluid rocks, three suns, and a group of large spikey aliens gathered around an
upturned-mushroom-shaped table. “Hey, Sharpie, congratulations on your new
spores!”
A slapping sound came
from one of the spiny aliens, which was quickly translated to “Hello Vilanna.
Thank you. Good to see you again.”
“You too!” Szuki smiled
and clicked her band again, and the tableaux disappeared, revealing the empty
space once more.
“So, it’s a hologram
room. A gaming place,” said Heartness.
Szuki pursed her lips and
her hair changed to a light green. “Not exactly. Follow me. I’ll tell you on the
way.”
Heartness frowned. Getting information out of people here was going to be harder than she thought.
Temporal Incursion. Stellar Flash Book Three. By Neil A. Hogan
Available in Digital and in Print Formats from Amazon
This is the last of the preview chapters. I hope you enjoyed them. Thank you very much for reading.
Temporal Incursion. Stellar Flash Book Three. By Neil A. Hogan
Available in Digital and in Print Formats from Amazon
Episode 1: The Hand Continued
Chapter 4
The triangular shape flickered green along one side, then settled into a new stable orbit around Saturn, just above the rings. The Stellar Flash was the flagship of the Earth Council fleet, and the best that human and alien engineering could provide. It was the ultimate in interfrequency and interdimensional travel, and also had the ability to travel in time, given the right coordinates.
The Stellar Flash had recently returned from 2.5 million years ago in the Andromeda Galaxy. Unfortunately, it had had to come back the long way around, and it was a bit worse for wear as a result.
The alien crew of 300, with a main Center crew of 8, were mostly on leave. Having taken a space-fold time jump back to the present, and found their cabins full of pieces of iridium, some had returned to their planets, some had decided to visit Space Station X-1a, and some, like Captain Jonathan Hogart, had decided to do what he could on the ship.
Hogart was a pinkish-white, muscular man in his early-to-mid 40s, with short, dark-brown hair, and a sparkle in his eyes that suggested he was always about to make a joke. A few days ago, he had moved to the Stellar Flash, intent on doing things that robots, other crew members, the A.I. and various software programs were capable of doing without him.
“Jonathan, just go to Earth,” Heartness had said. “Hug some trees. Smell some flowers. Take a break.”
“After my recent experience on the Floran homeworld, plants are the last things I want to see.”
His look had been enough, and Heartness hadn’t said another word. But now, after a day on the ship, he was beginning to think he had made a mistake.
“So, A.I., you’re sure this console needs my help?”
“Yes, Captain,” came the soft and feminine Japanese-accented tones of the A.I. “Analysis indicates that the bolts holding that screen to the floor are loose. In fact, all the bolts are loose on all the stands in the center. Please tighten them.”
Hogart held the wrench and stared at the consoles. “I don’t know, A.I. Surely there are other more important things that need to be done.”
“Other areas are about to be fixed by the repair system. Center bolts are at the bottom of the list, so they won’t be done for a couple of days. Your help will enable them to be done faster.”
Hogart smiled. “Well, if you’re sure. I’d be happy to help. This is a lot better than watching over Raj’s shoulder as he unlocks another door.”
The A.I. remained silent.
“Right, then.” He lay down next to the first panel and set to work.
Just then an alarm began blaring.
Hogart sat bolt upright and hit his head on the side of the panel. “Ow!” He yelled. “A.I. Did I activate something?”
“It is a false alarm from the space station a short time ago. Disabling now.”
“Well, that’s a relief.” He looked about the Center Control room, not quite wanting to lie down and tighten bolts.
Eight panels on stands were arranged facing outward to the wall and dome-ceiling screens. In the center was the flash drive – two columns like a stalactite and a stalagmite stretched downward and upward, not quite meeting. The space in the middle generated the flash drive field. Three exit doors were arranged equidistant around the circular area, and the surround screens were currently showing where they orbited above Saturn’s rings.
Hogart grinned at the sight of the colorful planet. It was hard to believe how huge Saturn really was. Even though Saturn’s day was a mere ten hours or so, it took them days to orbit it, and there was always something new to see.
Newslets and Mindshorts had indicated another of Saturn’s rings was about to disappear – the effect of their recent conflict with the Florans, or perhaps simply the aging of the rings. He supposed there would be an observation party at some point, but it meant Saturn continued to be interesting.
Just then, the door to corridor two dissolved, and a young-looking man with thick black hair and brown skin skipped into the Center. “We got door 347 open!” said Officer Raj Kumar, excitedly.
Hogart groaned. “Must you come running in here every time you get a door open? I mean, it takes at least seven minutes. Couldn’t your time be better spent? Besides, aren’t you supposed to be going back to Lahore for the reunification ceremony? It’s a Sunday in Punjab, as I recall.”
“Well, communications are still not that reliable. And, besides, why would I run? I just flash to the entrance and skip in! And in regard to Lahore, I sent a boff to rep me! I’ll watch it later.”
Hogart sighed. Sometimes it was fun hanging around people in their twenties, and sometimes it was just annoying. Raj was, what, 26? He shook himself and refocused. “What was the alarm about?”
“How should I know? I’m the door opener!”
Hogart put the tool he was holding in a box near him. If Kumar had not been assigned by Patel, Hogart might have had words about respect for rank. As it was, he just sighed again. “Just a moment.” He turned to the center of the Center. “A.I. Avatar please.”
An early thirties Japanese woman, in a T-shirt tied at her waist to reveal her midriff, and extremely tight blue pants with holes in them, appeared near the floor and ceiling columns. Hogart raised his eyebrows. “What happened to your kimono?”
The avatar grinned a big smile, her heavily coated eyelashes fluttering. “Costume program. I thought I’d try something from the 80s. Do you like it?”
“2080s?”
“1980s. I think it suits the shape you programmed. What do you think?”
Hogart looked at her clothes, quizzically. The blue pants looked difficult to wear, and made of some extremely thick material. Camping material? “Is that canvas? Like, for tents?”
The A.I. nodded.
“Well, it’s, um, nice, A.I.”
Why would she even think about changing? He had been reading some of the history that had gone on with a clone of himself in the Andromeda Galaxy, and the evolution of the ship’s avatar. While his clone had fallen in love with the previous incarnation of the Stellar Flash ship A.I., he wasn’t going to explore that option.
Perhaps the new A.I. had also read the reports, and was considering a future with him, or maybe he was just being narcissistic. He shuddered. He wasn’t ready for a digital relationship yet. “Back to my original topic. What was the ‘false alarm’?”
The avatar placed a finger on her cheek and closed her eyes. “Accessing,” she said, sweetly. “Official message from Admiral Wei Zhou. Nothing that should concern you. Continue with getting the Stellar Flash ship ready for her next mission.”
Hogart frowned. “Admiral Zhou is back on 1a already? It must be important. Tell me the details, unofficially.”
“You won’t like it.”
“A.I!”
“Confirmed.” The A.I. became unofficially official, staring directly ahead. “Admiral Victoria Heartness has been kidnapped by a robot officer owned by the Frequency Research Institute. She has been traced to a ship several million kilometers from Proxima B in the Proxima Centauri system. The corporation that has obtained her had previously offered several thousand…”
“Enough. I had heard about the bidder. I thought she’d turned it down. A.I. How quickly can we get the Stellar Flash to the system?”
“Flash drive inoperative,” the A.I. shrugged.
“Escape pods?”
“Storage centers still contain iridium stones. No escape pods have been maintained for over a million years. Hangar 27 will be the first, scheduled for tomorrow.”
Hogart stared at the almost empty Center, struggling to work out what to do next. A robot had taken Heartness. Was it a robot uprising, or was the F.R.I. seeing how far it could push its powers? Either way, tightening bolts wasn’t going to get him there faster.
“Ahem,” said Kumar.
“Are you still here?”
“Room 347?” Kumar stretched his arms out as though to say, ‘Are you coming or not’?
Hogart frowned. “I need to work out a way to save Victoria!”
“Admiral Zhou said not to worry. A robot officer took her to a corporation. Admiral Heartness is probably sipping champagne by now. Captain, the panels will fix themselves. Please, come with me.”
Hogart straightened his blue jumpsuit. “Why is 347 so important?”
Kumar danced back and forth on his feet. “Oh, come on Jonathan. Come and see. Live a little. You’ll love it.”
“I think I’m more likely to regret it,” muttered Hogart, but he followed after Kumar. As they exited into the corridor, Kumar clicked his flash band on Hogart’s, grinned winningly at him, and then they both disappeared.
Temporal Incursion. Stellar Flash Book Three. By Neil A. Hogan
Available in Digital and in Print Formats from Amazon
Temporal Incursion. Stellar Flash Book Three. By Neil A. Hogan
Available in Digital and in Print Formats from Amazon
Episode 1: The Hand Continued
Chapter 2
Admiral Victoria Heartness got up from her desk at the darkening interior of her space station office and scratched at her newly extended long brown hair. Something was wrong, if the raised hair on the back of her neck was any indication. The shadows in the room were lengthening, and it had nothing to do with the reflected light from Saturn just beyond her window.
Unless it was more to do
with science, she thought. Static electricity? An increase in electrons causing
eyes to perceive a slight darkening of the environment?
She looked down at her
arms and could see the hair on the backs of them rising as well. What could
cause that? She walked around the room. Was it getting lighter in the center?
The only thing possible
was the controlled formation of an isolation field of a personal flash jump. And
the slow speed suggested a longer jump
Then everything became clear to her.
Someone was about to flash jump into her secure office, from outside the Solar System, illegally!
Florans coming back to
get revenge?
Higher frequency aliens
not realizing there are laws in Frequency Zero?
Doctor John Patel
forgetting to forewarn?
Who or what else could it
be?
Even her date had to meet
her at the bar, and no one else was scheduled.
She went back to her
monitor and quickly closed the file she had been working on, a secret services
logo appearing on it before it disappeared. She briefly imagined white noise
across her thoughts to erase anything related to the file, then she got up from
her desk and walked around the room.
“Alright. Where are you?
It doesn’t usually take this long to materialize. What are you waiting for?”
There was only one group
that might be able slow the manifestation this much. The Frequency Research
Institute. Those corporation types were highly likely to send a representative
to beg. Nice of them to ring a doorbell first, she thought. She wondered who
they would send. She hoped, if it was a he, then he’d be handsome.
She shielded her eyes as
a bright oval of white light wiped the color from the room for a moment, and a
chunky, one-meter-tall blue robot appeared.
To be more precise, a
corporation’s leased robot officer.
She looked at it with
dismay. Talk about a disappointment. “You sent a boff?” she said to whoever
might be listening. “I guess you need to learn a thing or two about impressing
someone.”
The robot swiveled its
round eyes and cube head towards her. “Admiral Victoria Heartness identified.
Your presence is required.”
“No. I already turned
your request down. I have much more important things to do right now. There are
plenty of other people in the System who can h…”
A piercing alarm began to
sound across Space Station X-1a, and probably soon on the nearby bases on some
of Saturn’s moons. Heartness swore as she remembered this kind of incursion
would immediately activate any number of potential anti-foothold strategies. She quickly ran back to
her desk and swiped her finger on the panel inset, canceling them. Then she
spoke to the ceiling. “A.I. Broadcast the false-alarm message.” As she stomped
angrily back over to the robot, she barely heard the placating message of the
A.I. echoing throughout the station.
“Why are you here?” She faced down the placid face of the boff with her hands on her hips. “What possible situation could have occurred just over four light years away that needs my personal attention right now? You’ve broken quite a number of laws coming here already.”
The boff stared
impassively forward. Like an ancient robot toy for children, its cube-shaped
head with round metal eyes, a wide mouth with painted teeth, and even white
marks on the side to indicate ears, suggested something that no one could take
too seriously.
A spring of antennae
stretched across the top of its head, and its head sat atop a rectangular body
with additional oversized buttons and dials. When everything the boff needed to
be able to function could fit into a few thin cylinders on stilts, this bulky
dysfunctional throwback was almost laughable. Despite herself, Heartness
marveled at the retro construction, and especially liked the large off-switch
on the back.
The boff’s simplistic
communications system began to explain in a tenor lilt, even echoing apologetically.
Heartness frowned at the program’s attempt to appeal to her emotional side.
“I apologize, Admiral
Victoria Heartness, ma’am. But my licensor says that it is urgent. 27
scientists have disappeared from our base on Proxima Centauri B. Your presence
is required.”
Heartness looked at it,
exasperatedly. She was tired of corporations leasing robot officers, then not
programming them correctly. “Find the answers. Fix the problem. That’s what
you’re programmed for. You don’t need me.”
The boff stood silent. It
had delivered its message and now it was waiting on a response to that message.
Nothing else.
A simple machine.
Heartness hmphed, then
walked around it, while she thought. What was she going to do with it? Would it
leave when she said no? Would it hang around until she said yes? Maybe she
could get Watanabe in to look at its programming. Was there anything special
about it? No weapons. That was a good sign. Soft plastic, though it looked
metal. She could see the slots where its arms and legs were connected, and
easily detachable.
Everything was easily
replaceable, and some of the parts could even operate by themselves in an
emergency. Heartness knew the boff also contained some organic components to
ensure that at some point it would have to break down. All robots had these
fail-safes to make sure there was no chance of a permanent robot takeover. Even
so, it was likely an army of these mechs might just temporarily win, as
everyone attempting to fight them would be doubled over with laughter.
There wasn’t enough
memory or software for the boff to become sentient, and it just did what it had
to do. She stared thoughtfully at the off-switch on the back. Should she…?
No.
“Go back to where you
came from, and tell the F.R.I that I’m responsible for over 1000 beings and
their families here. I can’t leave every time you can’t do your jobs.”
“This is your final
answer?” asked the boff.
“Yes. Tell your people…”
Like lightning, the
boff’s right hand snapped out and grabbed Heartness’ arm, then its left slapped
an override on Heartness’ flash band.
“What?” she yelled. “You
can’t do this.” She smashed her fist down on the arm, but it just bounced back.
She tried to pull the arm
off from its side, but the boff was already activating the return journey.
“No!” Heartness yelled,
as the flash field enveloped them, and they disappeared.
Temporal Incursion. Stellar Flash Book Three. By Neil A. Hogan
Available in Digital and in Print Formats from Amazon
Temporal Incursion. Stellar Flash Book Three. By Neil A. Hogan
Available in Digital and in Print Formats from Amazon
Episode 1: The Hand
Chapter 1
2133/10/18/08:45 Sunday
The violet underside of
the twelve-meter-sided, triangular interdimensional ship passed through the
ceiling of the North Australia Space Port monitoring center in Darwin, and
continued obliviously on its way. Admiral Wei Zhou watched it with awe, then
smiled at the circumstances that had brought her there.
She had joined the Earth
Council long ago and worked her way up the ranks. But as is the habit of Earth
Council, once you’ve been a captain for ten years, you’re offered a promotion
to allow the next recruits their chance at a captaincy.
She did miss it, but now
she was monitoring the interfrequency and interdimensional ships that crisscrossed
Earth’s orbit, ready to offer assistance if anything Earth was doing interfered
with their journeys. If she couldn’t go out into space, then at least space
could come to her.
Billions of ships passed
through the Earth every day, and it was rare for one to pass along the surface
of the planet, let alone through the actual monitoring station in Darwin. Most
went through the upper atmosphere or through the crust of the Earth itself.
Since Frequency Shift in 2033, most of these vehicles could be seen by the
general population, and had long since become part of the background. But,
occasionally, like this one, they were worthy of attention.
Now that it had faded
through the wall, it was time to return to answering her staff. Admiral this,
Admiral that. Sadly, that wasn’t as exciting, and she was tempted to flash back
to Guangdong province for a quick cup of tea.
“Admiral,”
called one of her assistants. Zhou looked up and recognized the brown hair,
weathered skin and long beard. Bruce Jones, one of her Australian staff.
“Yes, Bruce, what is
it?”
“Another delivery of
powdered iridium from Saturn, just flashed into the base. Begging your pardon,
ma’am, but, don’t you think we have enough now?”
Zhou raised an eyebrow.
“You do know how much this stuff is in demand on Earth, right? All those people
getting their mindview systems removed. That’s a lot of medical equipment.”
Jones frowned. “I do.
It’s just that, there’s no more room in storage. Would you like me to organize
storage in Sydney?”
Zhou had had no idea that
they’d already filled all their storage areas in Darwin. The Stellar Flash ship
must have brought back quite a lot. But she’d promised she would take it off
their hands, and a promise is a promise. “Very good, Bruce. Yes, Sydney for the
rest of it. Was there anything else?”
“Going to go fishing on
the weekend. Was wondering, you know, if you’d like to come along?”
Zhou could tell he was
trying to be casual about it, but his voice went a bit high at the end. She
gave him a winning smile. “Thanks for the offer, but I’m strictly an indoors
gal. Steel walls, lots of conveniences, and an A.I. not far away. Not sure what
I’d do in an outdoor area. Probably get sunburned. I can’t even swim!”
“No worries!” he replied.
He was about to turn away when he noticed something and pointed at Zhou’s left
arm.
Zhou looked down to see
that a light on her flash sleeve was blinking. “Oh! Thanks, mate.”
He smiled shyly, then
turned back to his hologram.
She knew he had a thing
for her. Not her type, though. She preferred her men to be a bit more feminine,
thinner, hairless, and spend much of their time in space.
But now she had something
else to attend to. She looked quizzically at her flash band. She usually got
messages at her station stand. Why did it come directly to her sleeve? And who
has that channel, anyway?
She quickly opened the
message.
“Admiral Zhou, Admiral Heartness has disappeared. Please
meet me at Heartness’ office on Space Station X-1a asap.”
Victoria had disappeared?
Again?
It was like anyone on
Space Station X-1a would eventually disappear for one reason or another. She
was beginning to think that the station was bad luck. Especially as it was
being constructed with the number 1 on it during a snake year.
But she knew what she had
to do, and quickly began getting ready.
She noticed the message
was from Doctor John Patel and quickly understood the secrecy. He didn’t like
to do things that were too public.
She checked her
appearance in the mirror. No makeup smudges. Foundation was holding, short
black hair shone healthily and didn’t need a comb, black jacket fitted well, long
black pants were unlined. Should she put some bright red lipstick on? No. She
grinned quietly to herself. She didn’t want to distract anyone else.
She quickly gathered some
essential items into a handbag, set up a ‘called away on urgent business’
message at her console, then hit the relocation button at the bottom of the
message.
A bright white light
enveloped her, and moments later she was one billion kilometers away, inside
one of the corridors in Space Station X-1a circling Saturn. She quickly stepped
out of the way of a bloated blue balloon-shaped alien that floated past her,
and did her best to adjust to the slightly different gravity, air pressure, and
smells.
The coordinates she’d
been given were directly outside Heartness’ office. She waited until another
blobby alien squirmed and squelched past her, then reached out and tapped the
door.
5:30pm in Darwin
translated to 8:00am on the Space Station. Flashlag was going to be a bitch,
she thought. Then she fell into a sneezing fit as her nose began to react to
all the differences.
The door dissolved, and
Patel appeared, standing in the center of the room. He handed her a tissue.
“Wei, so good of you to come!”
Zhou took it gratefully
and wiped her nose, before putting it in a pocket. “Sorry. You know it’s thirty
degrees Celsius in Darwin. What is it here? Twenty?”
Then she realized that
Patel was holding his hand outstretched indicating Heartness’ seat.
“Please,” he said,
as though expecting no debate.
Immediately annoyed, Zhou
threw her bag down on the table and turned on him. “Cryptic message, and I
flashed here quickly, as agreed. But you can’t just expect me to take over the
station at a moment’s notice every time. I have other responsibilities at the
Space Port!”
Patel carefully lowered
his arm and frowned. “Wei, I’m sorry. With Heartness gone, we need you
here. You’re the best for this position.”
Zhou put her hands on her
hips. “I’ve done research since then. Admiral Rasskator is best for this
position. Pull her out of retirement.”
Patel shook his head.
“I don’t want to sound sexist, but some delicacy is involved. And you have
proven yourself time and time again that your feminine energy is superior when
it comes to mediation. We haven’t forgotten your help with the Mars-Earth
treaty. Basically, I need you to take care of this station of families, and any
cultural conflicts that may arise. In fact, it is why I usually recommend a
female for this role. I’m really not good at looking at anything other than the
big picture, and males can be, how shall I put it, a bit too logical? We forget
to allow our emotions to have a say.”
Zhou lowered her tattooed
brows and stared at him. “Get that fabulous Admiral Klimova from the
Russian outpost near Barnard’s star, then. He’s more feminine than I am! Even
my muscles are bigger than his! And you should see his dance moves!”
Patel held up his hands.
“I need you here. The station needs you.”
Zhou frowned, then walked
around the table and slowly slid into the seat. “Fine. I’m here, again.”
She sighed. “Fill me in. What’s happened to Victoria?”
Patel took the seat
opposite and grinned as though the exchange never happened. “Excellent! Now,
changing the subject. You know, I’m always tempted to take advantage of my
power here, but I do my best not to let it get out of hand.”
Zhou almost laughed. “Really?
Did you disable to cameras on the way here, again?”
Patel opened his mouth,
then closed it again. “How did you… Never mind. Yes.”
Zhou smiled to herself. A
point to her. Patel was the most intelligent person in the Solar System, but he
allowed his hubris to get in the way – a lot. He did his best, but he could
forget the little things. She’d feel sorry for him if he wasn’t so obliviously
arrogant about it.
She took a deep breath,
relaxed, and focused on the task at hand. “I guess the reason you needed
me here so quickly is because you need something from this room before Earth
Council sends its investigators. Something that only I can give as the admiral
now in residence.”
Patel nodded again.
Zhou snapped her fingers.
“You want me to officially access her files first! See if something is
there that could tell you where Victoria went without Earth Council knowing you
had looked!”
Patel sat back in his chair
and steepled his fingers. “I’m impressed. You should be a detective.”
Zhou smiled, despite
herself. “I might have been, if the A.I.’s hadn’t already taken all the
detective jobs. Holographic scan of the crime scene, evidence analyzed in
seconds, images sourced from recordings of wall reflections, DNA, fingerprints,
faces located in the database in minutes, maybe two to locate the criminal,
five minutes to arrest her, him or them and lock them up. That’s if the crime
hadn’t already been predicted, or caught in the act first. Detectives
disappeared decades ago. Not to mention the drop in crime since Frequency
Shift.”
“Still, there are
cold cases that the A.I.’s can’t help with.”
Zhou shrugged. “It’s
all moot, now. In any case, Secret Services man. What are you hoping to
find?”
Patel was silent, but
raised an eyebrow as if to say, You’re
smart. You work it out.
Zhou touched her chin
with a finger. “Assuming Victoria was kidnapped from this room, and the
investigation hasn’t started yet, then there might also be a recording.”
“Bingo!”
exclaimed Patel.
Zhou looked at him
quizzically. “Bingo?”
“Oh, sorry, it’s an
old 21st century term for a gambling game. Before your time.”
“I see. So, like
‘Mahj!’”
“Mahj?”
“Oh, it’s from an old
game from 2,500 years ago.” She waved a hand dismissively in the air. “Before
your time.” Zhou looked at the screen, and it immediately unlocked for her. She
peered at the processes. “The last complete room recording was half an
hour ago. The current one is…disabled.”
She squinted at Patel and
he shrugged. She let it pass, then looked up at the ceiling. “A.I. Replay
room recording from the previous hour. Authorization Admiral Wei Zhou.”
“Confirmed,”
said the A.I.
For a moment there was
silence, and then a shimmer filled the room. In the center, a short, pale,
dark-haired woman in a blue, short-sleeved jumpsuit, appeared to be looking for
something while circling the floor.
“Can I get everything?”
asked Patel.
“Pause playback.
Everything?”
“I want to access her
brain waves, thought processes, everything. I want to rule out any chance she
has been mentally taken over. We have been working on something together that
is still top secret. If whoever took her read her thoughts…”
“Accessing recordings of
any person’s thoughts is usually reserved for extreme cases.”
“When not on a mission.
All thoughts are recorded as standard on vehicle that has a flash system. We’ve
got years of Heartness’ thoughts on record as Captain.”
Zhou stared at Patel with
a look of distaste.
“Now, I know she’s a friend of yours,” he continued. “But flash jump records indicate a robot officer has taken an Admiral. If this is the start of another robot uprising, the whole of humanity could be affected.”
Zhou frowned at this new
piece of information. “A robot? Any other nuggets I should know?”
Patel shrugged again as
if to say, I don’t know what information to give you that you need to know.
She looked up at the
ceiling. “A.I. Access entire recording of the appearance and disappearance of
the boff and Admiral Heartness. Overlay reality with a holographic version, and
give mental access to Heartness’ thoughts for me and… my guest. Brain wave
vibration authorization Admiral Wei Zhou.”
“Confirmed,” said the
A.I.
“Thank you, Wei,” said
Patel.
Reality around them blurred and changed, and the recording began.
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