E:A Vol 8 Ch 3: February 13, 2121

Chapter 3: February 13, 2121

Thursday morning, John called Victoria to see if he could see her before breakfast. She agreed and he arrived just as she was getting ready to cook.

“Kids up?” he whispered.

“Yes. They’re with their father taking the dogs for their morning walk.”

“Good. Glad both aren’t here. I need a really, really big favor,” he whispered, though they were alone. “So, I made a deal with Jil’ana during that cave in. If she could get the doors open in under five minutes, I’d buy her dinner. I lost the bet,” he grinned, then the smile faded. “There’s not exactly a restaurant on this ship.”

Victoria cleared her throat as she went about frying up the ham and mixing up the scrambled eggs, “Are you wanting something romantic? Do you know if she’s married or not? What are your intentions, colonel?”

“No. No. I don’t know if she’s married, so nothing romantic. Just good food, casual. Fried chicken. You make great fried chicken. That doesn’t imply anything, does it?”

Victoria chuckled. “No. You’re blushing. Do you want it to imply anything?” John’s face went red and she burst into laughter at his reaction. “Oh, don’t be bashful. She’s very smart and she’s very pretty. I’ll make up a nice non-romantic dinner. No problem.”

They heard the twins talking away and the little clicking sounds of the dogs’ toenails on the hardwood floor as they entered the chambers with Zy’nayth. He instructed the twins to go wash up for breakfast as he made his way to the kitchen to see if he could help his wife.

“Not a word to him,” John whispered. “Please.”

“I sense something is afoot,” Zy’nayth said as he strode into the kitchen. “May I help with anything?”

“Nothing. I got it covered,” John said, readying bread for the toaster.

“When will you require my services?” Victoria asked John.

“Uh…not sure. Depends on schedules and such.”

“We will not be working Sunday,” Zy’nayth said, “you may invite Jil’ana to dinner then.”

John stopped. The bread touching the toaster, John’s hand frozen in place. It was only for a split second, but enough for Zy’nayth to know he was correct in his guess. John put the bread in, and turned to the High Chancellor, giving him a quizzical look.

“And she is not married. I asked Karken’al,” Zy’nayth continued.

“What…how’d…”

“The twinkle in your eye,” Zy’nayth teased. “You forget, John, that I am quite a perceptive person.

“Okay, listen, nothing, okay, I’m not up to anything…you heard my bet with her. I owe her dinner but…the mess hall isn’t the best place for a…”

“Quiet, intimate dinner,” Zy’nayth finished.

“Quiet, yes. Nothing more, Big Guy,” John flustered. “Fried chicken would be lovely. Thank you, Victoria.”

“On a serious note, John,” Zy’nayth said, “she must be a Christian. Remember that. I do not mind if you develop a friendship with her, but should you think about something more…”

John nodded but let out a sigh. “I’m not looking for…”

“If anything, I am glad a friendship is being forged.” Zy’nayth’s mischievous grin returned, “someone that talented with technology could be a valuable asset for your team. Very strategic, colonel.”

“It’s not…I wasn’t…” John let out a groan. “This is why I didn’t want him to know. I’m going to wash up, he can butter the toast.”

“Interferer,” Victoria nudged her husband, reminding him of the fact that he often told her to stop playing matchmaker, when he, himself, managed to bring Ja’val and Lutia together as well as Kol’non and Be’atta. After that, she referred to him as the “Interferer.”

“He is quite taken with her, and she with him.”

***

The talk with the department heads about the uncovered underground facility went smoothly. Vince had kept questions to a minimum and allowed Jil’ana and the Mythican specialists to give brief explanations as to what was located in the facility, though the Mythican teams would need to check equipment to make sure everything was functional. Vince told his team that each department would get a more personal and more detailed tour at a later date, and that Becket and Simon would be the first two to get the in-depth tour.

Before the weekend, John managed to get up the nerve to first, ask Jil’ana if she was married or otherwise involved, despite Zy’nayth saying he had already asked Karken’al. She said no. Then he said that he’d arrange for dinner on Sunday, if she was still interested in taking him up on his offer. She said yes.

February 16, 2121

“How’d you end up in the military? Do you like it?” Jil’ana asked John as they filled their plates. Victoria had made the requested fried chicken along with coleslaw, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, green beans, and, for dessert, apple pie.

“My dad was a career marine, just followed in his footsteps. Do I like it? I guess so. I’m good at it. I like defending my country, well, my world now. But I don’t like war,” he replied.

“Do you get to see your family much?”

“My mom died about twelve years ago from cancer, dad died about a year before I came here, shuttle accident.”

“I’m sorry. Any siblings?”

“No. Just me. What about you?”

“My mother is also passed. It’s been three years now. I have a brother. He’s a chemist. Brilliant mind. One of the top chemists on our planet. I’m so proud of him.”

“And your father?”

She grinned, “You’ve met him. General Karken’al is my father.”

“Really?”

She laughed, “Really. I look like my mother, thankfully.”

“Now that you’ve said something, I do see a little bit of him in you. The eyes. Same bluish-gray. And I wonder if the High Chancellor knows.”

“From what I’ve heard about him, he probably does.”

February 17, 2121

“So how did dinner go last night?” Victoria asked John on Monday morning. The colonel had a breakfast meeting with the High Chancellor and, as usual, arrived early to help where he could. Plus he hated being late for anything.

“Good. She thought the church service was interesting. We talked a bit about that. She agreed to talk with Pastor and Julia when she has time. I’m going to set up a meeting for them, but for now, we have so much to do. Anyway, she is open to talk to them.”

Zy’nayth walked in, “John, good morning. I did not hear anything from Jil’ana’s father, so I assume your dinner went well and you did not upset the young lady.”

“You did know!”

“I told you, colonel, I am a very perceptive man.”

“Father?” Victoria asked.

“And my wife is not as perceptive as I,” Zy’nayth said as he got juice out of the refrigerator and poured it for everyone.

“What?” Victoria smiled, “You mean Karken’al?”

“Yeah, he’s her father,” John said.

“Oh, I figured that out. Same eyes. Was thinking of David for some reason. Don’t mind me.”

“Perhaps I was mistaken about my wife’s perceptive abilities,” Zy’nayth winked at his wife.

“Miss Jil’ana’s eyes more blue,” Ky’nayth said, climbing up onto his chair.

“Did you know too?” John asked.

“No. Just know eyes. Mommy, can I has more toast? This not enough for dis big bowl of oatmeal.”

“Two slices is plenty,” she said as Mik’kenna yawned.

Zy’nayth prayed over the meal then as Victoria looked at John, he scooped a spoonful of oatmeal onto his toast then was about to take a bite. “Well, at least I know where he picked up that trick from,” she said.

Mik’kenna downed her glass of juice almost in one long gulp then turned and asked her father to pour her another glass. “I really thirsty this morning some reason.”

“Are you feeling well?”

“I fine. I just thirsty.”

Zy’nayth reached over and put his hand over her heart. She smiled, “I fine, Daddy.”

“Let me make sure,” he winked at her. It only took him a moment to check her condition, then he began to pour her another glass of juice. “Victoria, she appears to be fine. I am glad for that. Why would she be so thirsty?”

“I think it’s warmer than normal in here,” Victoria said. “And she may not have had enough water yesterday. I’ll check the thermostat after breakfast.”

Zy’nayth redirected his attention to John, “Today, we are meeting with just the Alpha Team plus Vince, Simon, Jack, Becket, and Kaven. Correct?”

“Yup, as instructed.”

“Good. I have a few of my Science Commanders joining us as well. From what we have ascertained, those major areas have workstations in the control room. I want them familiar with it before we move on to the individual areas.”

“I agree. Steve Kessler would be good to add to that list. I chatted with him yesterday, and he’s up for it if you’re okay with it.”

“Yes. I will have one of my Commanders come down to monitor the ship since the command staff will be planet-side.”

“That’ll work. Do you think that’ll take all day, two days? What?”

“I would say at least a day. I do not think the controls are much different than what is on this ship, but there are more options.”

“Let’s plan for two days, then. There’s something that may interrupt the process, but I’ll get to that later. Wednesday we’ll take the department heads down for a general tour.”

“That should be fine. Thursday and Friday, we will spend the time in the medical and research facilities. Victoria, can you talk with Becket to see if we can get all of the doctors as well as Janice and Lutia to attend? Perhaps Geoffrey as well.”

“Sure. Am I included?”

Zy’nayth sighed, “Do not be upset. I know Becket will want a doctor here on the city-ship since all of the other doctors, plus his three top nurses, will be away. You are the best choice to remain here since I can go over everything with you at a later date.”

“Now why would I get upset? I’m going to get a personalized time of instruction from my favorite Rayth. I’ll talk to Becket as soon as I get to work.”

“What about Simon? Do you want him at the med thing?” John asked. “It would be good for him to know how the systems works.”

“I do not think he needs to be there, but we can give him the option. If he chooses not to join us, and if Karken’al has someone willing, he could spend those two days getting in-depth lessons on the main systems. Ja’val would like that as well.”

“Wouldn’t you want Ja’val at the med training?”

“I can also take him with me when I explain the tools and systems to Victoria.”

“Okay, Simon, optional. Think we’ll be wrapped up with medical on Friday?”

“Medical, yes, medical research area, perhaps not. There were a lot of interesting things in there. Some I am not familiar with and neither was Ja’val. We should plan on it taking Monday as well. If there is no need for Monday, the medical staff can go back to normal hours, and the rest of us can catch up on other work.”

“Victoria, got that?” John asked as he noted it on his tablet.

“Yes, sir,” she grinned.

“Sorry, got my boss hat on.”

“You no have hat on, Uncle John,” Mik’kenna said.

John patted his head, “Where’d it go? Did you take it?”

“You no have one when you got here,” she replied.

“Are you sure?”

“I sure. No hat. I notice these things.”

John chuckled. “Okay, I’ll take your word for it.” Then he turned back to Zy’nayth, “Next Monday is either med or free. So Tuesday?”

“From this point on, I am at an impasse. We can either go through department by department: astrophysics, chemistry, electrical, flight, the ships themselves, and so on, leaving the communications and systems until last which is where most of Simon’s time will need to be spent. Or the opposite. I prefer the former so that Simon can get a solid overview of each area, then once that is done, he can take all the time he needs to go over the big systems.

“However, now that you brought up the question about having Simon at the medical systems training, I am wondering if he is really needed in each of those areas. Electrical being an obvious yes, but does he need to spend a day in the chemistry laboratory? Or botany? Do you think he should go through such areas?”

John let out a sigh and sat back in his chair. “My initial reaction: no. But…if there’s one thing I’ve noticed, it’s that Simon feels very behind. I mean, when we have a big problem, we don’t go to him, we go to Ja’val or you. He understands that’s the quickest route to a resolution of the problem, but I think it would do a world of good for his morale if he did get more in-depth about the items in these areas. Granted he was just supposed to handle computers and communications, but that, in and of itself, is a fulltime job. Beyond that. Because of how integrated Mythican systems are, he’s had to learn the electrical and plumbing and just about everything else.”

“Why hasn’t Vince brought on specialists for those areas?” Victoria asked.

“Not in the budget. We were going to but the war with the Gyhan rebels, then your brother, we needed more troops and medical staff. He talked with Michael about it last week when he was here, but from what I gather, Michael’s under a lot of pressure. There’s talk of severing ties with Terra 2, or rather Andromeda, altogether.”

“What?” Zy’nayth asked.

Again John sighed, “That’s another reason why I wanted this breakfast meeting. Outside of Ken Price and his team at Central Command, the nation, and apparently a good chunk of the world is calling to have the bridge portal shut down and the expedition brought to an end. They don’t want another attack on the planet.”

“Shutting down the bridge portal will not stop an attack from happening. My brother’s rebellion revealed the location of Earth to nearly every Rayth or inhabitant of Andromeda with a computer. And though getting any type of ship here would take a few weeks, unless they have more of the ships using xerminium energy, they can still get to Earth without me knowing. We have satellites scattered about, but there is more than a couple of routes to get from this galaxy to yours.”

“I know that. Vince knows that. The president knows that. The people don’t get it.”

“Surely not everyone’s against it?” Victoria said. “There’s always been such a strong following for space exploration. To boldly go, as that old Star Trek series used to say.”

“Unfortunately, when boldly going results in most of the Earth’s major cities being destroyed, people sort of lose the taste for the boldness. Expedition: Andromeda will have funds through the end of the fiscal year, so the end of September. After that, we’re not guaranteed a cent. We won’t be able to pay anyone who works here. Vince is going to let them know at the end of the week. It’s not something he’s looking forward to.”

“Well, they don’t have to pay me,” Victoria said, “even if I wasn’t married to this wealthy guy, I’d work here for nothing. We have a farm, we have food. I have no need for money.”

“Then how would you pay for the upkeep on that estate of yours?” John asked.

“I’d sell it.”

“I’m not sure everyone here is as willing to break ties with Earth,” John replied. “Some still have family there, granted not many, but still…like Becket, he still has a little bit of family back on Earth. Some still enjoy the commerce and entertainment. For some, Terra 2 is a job, not a home.”

“Some, maybe, but I don’t think there’s very many who think that way. Especially after the attack. They fought and bled for this place. They could have left when we were all at my estate. They were told they could leave without repercussions.”

John nodded, “Yeah, you’re right. It’s still…it won’t be easy. Many of us turn half of our paychecks in for gold so we can trade for stuff here in Andromeda. Sure we have our farm here, but it was obliterated in the attack and will take a while to get back up to speed. Even then, our food is highly supplemented with stuff from Earth. Boxed pasta, frozen foods, juices. Plus we don’t have any you know, clothing makers or computer manufacturers, or ammunition makers, stuff like that. We don’t have any way of buying materials you guys need in the infirmary: the syringes, the IVs, the medication. And we don’t have any other place to buy the antibiotics. If we didn’t have Earth antibiotics, Mik’kenna might not be sitting there with her pretty red shirt on. We have to convince them that this is a viable expedition. That Earth needs us more than we need them. We need to think of something that’ll convince them to continue funding this operation…we need the money, yes, but we need certain things that we can’t get in this galaxy.”

“We could not obtain these things a week ago, but perhaps that has changed,” Zy’nayth said. “I will think about this problem and talk with Karken’al. We should see how we can work together—our three groups of people. I can supply money, but that would most likely mean that Terra 2 would need to be declared a Raythian outpost, something I do not wish to do, but if it comes to that, we must consider it; and perhaps the Mythicans can provide the resources Rayth cannot. Do not forget that we will still have the bridge on Victoria’s estate, even if they shut down Central Command. Your team could still get to and from Earth to get supplies.”

“Did you tell the president about the bridge?”

“No. Too much came up with the visit from the Mythicans then the cave in. Perhaps Vince did.”

“I don’t think he’d take the liberty to do that, but I’ll ask him.”

Zy’nayth tilted his head as an idea came to mind, then tapped his comlink, “Ja’val, when you scanned Earth, did you find any pellite or fiarvinite?”

“No to the fiarvinite; didn’t scan for pellite.”

“Can you do that from the satellites?”

“No. They’re too far out. Why?”

“I will explain later. Is the warship we have there equipped to handle that type of scan?”

“Yes, sir.”

Zy’nayth then contacted the warship with Ja’val still connected to the call. The ship currently in orbit around Earth was given instructions as to what to scan for. “Contact me and the First Science Commander the moment you have the results,” he said then disconnected the call.

“A new energy resource, perhaps,” John smiled, “and only our friendly neighborhood Rayth can show us how to harness it.”

“Only if it is there.”

“How long will it take them to scan?”

“A few hours.”

John looked at his watch, “And we have ten minutes until we meet with Vince and the others. Finally, gonna get this thing on land again…or water.”

“So they have the generator fixed?” Victoria asked.

“No. But there is no longer a need to remain in orbit. Simon will be joining Jil’ana’s team today. She thinks they can get that fixed today. They found and repaired what caused the damage in that well we found,” Zy’nayth replied.

“What was it?”

“Another underground pipe. After ten thousand years, it appears they are wearing out. They are looking into replacing all of it.”

“Nice,” she smiled.

“Expensive,” he said. “But worth it.”

“So are we landing on the dock or back where we were?”

“Only a hundred yards difference,” John smiled. “On the water, though, for now. We don’t have the replacement ring for the coupler yet.”

“Sorry, I apparently wasn’t paying too much attention during our meals.”

“I do not think we talked about it much,” Zy’nayth smiled. “Pray for us today and for this situation that John has brought to our attention.”

“I will.”

“Bubby and I will too,” Mik’kenna said, “and Baxter and Celeste.”

“Where are you two going today?”

“Aunt Lutia,” Ky’nayth said, “she coming here with Cinnamon and Kel’lan. We still teaching baby puppies to pray.”

Zy’nayth stood and kissed each child on their heads, “I love you. Do not cause Aunt Lutia trouble.”

“We good,” Mik’kenna said, “no worry.”

“I will see you at lunch. Victoria will you be here?”

“Yeah, working four, coming home to fix lunch for everyone, going back for two.”

“I am sorry. That makes for a long day for you.”

“Nah, once Becket gets his new facility all checked out, I’ll be back to being just Mommy and working a couple of hours as needed. Besides, you know I love my work.”

He smiled and gave her a tender kiss, “I know, but I do not want you to overwork yourself. I love you. See you in a few hours.”

“Give us a smooth ride, John,” Victoria said as the two men left.

“Not the ride you should worry about,” John said as he walked out, “it’s the landing.”

“I can help!” Ky’nayth shouted.

“And probably land it better than I will,” John said, “help your mother with the dishes.”

As soon as the kitchen was cleaned up, the door chimed. Mik’kenna ran to open it, greeted Lutia and Kel’lan as she took the dog’s leash from her. “Hi Cinnamon,” she said dropping to her knees and giving the puppy a hug. “Now you have to pray today,” she said then unhooked the leash from the collar, “very ‘portant. So you watch Celeste and Baxter.”

Victoria came out of the kitchen, “Good morning. Kids have been fed. Dishes are done, and I need to tell you about something John mentioned this morning. We need to be praying about it.”

They sat on the sofa after Kel’lan was put on the floor to crawl around and play. Victoria very quickly told her what John said about the funding for Expedition: Andromeda. Then they prayed.

“I hate to pray and run,” she smiled, “but I also have to talk to Becket about schedules. See you at 11:00.”

Lutia waved her on, “So Ky, how’s the design coming on your new train city?”

“I has the track figured out, but Sissy don’t have city design finished yet. Now that Michael and Holly gone, I can start building. Sissy said she design better seeing track for real.”

“I can understand that. Kenna, what are you going to be doing this week now that you don’t have to be Becket’s assistant?”

“Mommy showed me books ‘bout spices and cooking. I read those. Bubby too. I hope Daddy get my telescope up soon. I want to study stars.”

“Well, your daddy’s been awfully busy, I’m sure he hasn’t forgotten.”

“I know. I just want to look at stars. But Daddy needs to fix balcony so I put telescope out there. I no wait until we do more decorating of guest suite things. Did you pick wall colors and papers?”

Lutia smiled. Vince had decided that they needed to get a decorating team together primarily to get some guest suites fixed up for when there was company, such as the president and his family. John was put in charge of organizing a team and put Mik’kenna on it since the girl thought she was good at such things.

“I did finally make some selections. Come here, I have them on my tablet. Let’s see if we picked the same thing. Ky did you help her with her picks?”

“I show what I like, I no know what she picked.”

“Well, get up here, let’s see.”

Ky’nayth was happy that his sister picked most of what he liked. She let him know that she thought he had good taste.

“When next meeting? I know changed ‘cause of Mythicans, but Mommy no say when,” Mik’kenna asked.

“I think we’re going to try and get together Saturday, but considering what John said about the budget, we might not have the money to do anything.”

“We keep praying. I no want bad things happen. This home. My family here. I no want everyone to go way,” Ky’nayth said and began to cry.

“Oh honey,” Lutia said and held the boy close, then wrapped an arm around Mik’kenna, “I think our family will stay together. Maybe not everyone on Terra 2, but knowing our family, we’ll stay together somehow.”

Ky’nayth sat up and wiped away his tears. “We no leave each other. We stay together.”

Lutia nodded, “That’s right. I’m pretty sure between your father, my husband, and Uncle Kol’non, they’ll figure something out. Besides, if Uncle Ny’van’s talks go well, we can all get homes on the island on Kiva. Even if we don’t, we will stay together. We all love each other too much not to.”

“We do,” he said. “I love you, Aunt Lutia. I love baby Kel’lan and Uncle Ja’val and Cinnamon. I glad you my family.”

“I love both of you, too. Now, no more tears. Let’s do something fun. What do you guys want to do? Play a game? Help Ky with his train design? Work on teaching Cinnamon how to pray? Name it!”

“I no know,” Ky’nayth said. “Cinnamon might eat train parts.”

“I’ll stop her.”

He sighed and shook his head.

“I know! Let’s make dessert as surprise for family!” Mik’kenna said.

Ky’nayth brightened up, “Yeah! We make cake!”

“Let’s go see what we have in the kitchen. Kenna, can you grab my tablet so I can look up my recipes?”

Lutia grabbed her son and carried him into the kitchen. The three dogs followed and kept the baby entertained while Lutia looked at her recipes and what Victoria had in the kitchen.

“Kids, why don’t we make brownies instead? We’d have to make some pretty big cakes to feed everyone; brownies would be easier to make enough for our family.”

“Can we frost them?” Ky’nayth asked.

“I think we can make some frosting, but let’s just frost one batch in case there are people who don’t want the frosting.”

Lutia did her best to keep their minds off of the idea of losing their friends and family, though she, too, was worried. She had always been thankful that Ja’val was content living on Terra 2. Though she liked the Rayth homeworld, her friends and family weren’t there. She, too, didn’t want to lose them. When Victoria walked in at 11:00, they were just getting ready to frost one of the pans of brownies that had finally cooled enough to do so.

“Brownies!” she exclaimed, “And whose idea was this?”

“Well, we decided together,” Lutia said. “You guys got the frosting under control? I want to talk to your mom for a minute while I feed Kel.”

“Yeah, we help frost all time,” Mik’kenna said, waving off Lutia. “We do, no problem.”

The women walked to the master bedroom, Victoria carrying Kel’lan while Lutia grabbed the baby bag and got out the food. She told Victoria about Ky’nayth’s burst of tears. “Kenna’s upset, too, but this hit him pretty hard, he’s really scared. I am too, Victoria, we have to stay together. You guys are all I have besides Kel and Ja’val.”

“You’re right, I think our family will stay together. John, Vince, Kaven, Janice, Chris, Lessa, David, Becket, and Lia. Kol’non and Be area a given, and you know I’m not going anywhere.”

“Are you sure? I mean, Chris and Lessa? Her family…if she were cut off from them…and she’s pregnant again. She won’t want to stay if we’re cut off from Earth.”

“We won’t be cut off. Even if Earth closes Central Command, we have the bridge in my home.”

“Yeah and if we’re not living on Earth fulltime, someone will wonder where we go for months at a time.”

“If it comes to that, we’ll figure it out. But it’s not going to go that far. We need to pray and to keep strong. Besides, we might know at lunch if they found the pellite.”

“What good will that do?”

“It’s what powers this ship. It’s more powerful than oil, gas, coal, even nuclear. I don’t know any more than that, but if Earth has it, my husband will make some sort of deal with them. And if not, I say we go with a full-on Rayth invasion and take over the planet,” she grinned. “Turn them into our minions.”

Lutia burst into laughter, relieving the tension she’d built up during the morning. “Thanks. I needed that. You really think it’ll be okay?”

“Will we be together? Yes. Not sure where, but we’ll be together.”

“Yeah. We will. Now any idea why they haven’t landed the ship yet?” Lutia asked. Just then Baxter, Celeste, and Cinnamon began barking.

“There you have it. Engines just fired up.” Victoria went and opened the bedroom door and headed toward the kitchen. “Are you done frosting? I think we’re getting to land the ship if you want to go watch out the window.” Victoria walked in just as they were just finishing with their frosting adventure. She told them that they did a good job, then she cut the two pans into squares and covered them.

They went back to the master bedroom where Lutia was curled up in one of Zy’nayth’s oversized chairs but had it turned to look out of the massive window. “Look Kel, can you see Terra 2? See, down there, the green area is the forest, and there it is, there’s our gulf,” she told her son.

“Attention. This is General Cavanaugh. We have been ensured that it is safe to land the ship back on the gulf. Those of you who were checking on clean up from the collapse in tower two, please report to Rashad that you have left the unstable area. You have ten minutes.”

Fifteen minutes passed. “Okay, people, here we go. Pray for a smooth ride and an even smoother landing,” John’s voice came over the communications system.

A few minutes later, Vince announced that they had landed safely. “Trips to the mainland will need to be done via boats or shuttles. The bridge portal on the mainland has not been fixed yet. One last thing, now that I have your attention, there will be a mandatory meeting for everyone Friday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. For those in the infirmary, we will have the monitors on for you. Everyone else will be expected in the auditorium. Remember, Friday at 3:00. Roll call will be taken. For those wanting to go to the mainland, please allow the botany and agriculture departments off first, we have a limited number of boats. Thank you to our new friends for all of the help they’ve been giving us. We are very grateful to have you here. Cavanaugh out.”

“Lutia, would you open up some windows, let some fresh air in here!” Victoria said with a smile, “I’m going to start lunch.”

***

Zy’nayth had just finished praying over the meal when his comlink buzzed. He stood, excusing himself from the room. A minute later he returned.

“Please say nothing’s wrong,” Chris said.

“Nothing is wrong. Vince, John, Simon, Karken’al, Jil’ana, I would like you to join me and my Firsts after lunch to discuss something. Vice Chancellor, I will need you there as well.”

“What?” Chris asked. “Not me? Can’t have a meeting without me.”

“No offense is meant to anyone else. This is, for now, a scientific endeavor that will also require some diplomacy. I simply do not wish to bore you.”

“Well, in that case, fine.”

“The rest of you may go ahead with what we have planned for the day, we will join you after our meeting.”

***

After lunch, those Zy’nayth wanted to meet with gathered in Vince’s conference room. Zy’nayth had Vince explain the situation regarding funding for Expedition: Andromeda.

“Money is not an issue,” Zy’nayth said when Vince finished. “I am able to take care of that, though in a way I would not wish to.”

“Please explain that, sir,” Karken’al said.

“In order for my government to pay salaries to those here, Expedition: Andromeda, Terra 2, would have to be turned into a Raythian outpost. It would fall under the rule of the Raythian Empire. I would prefer that not happen. I do not want to give the impression, regardless of intentions, that the Rayth are trying to take control of this operation. There are already some with misgivings who believe that I have too much influence already with what goes on here. I could fund them out of my own private wealth, but that would not be sustainable as this place grows, and again, could be misconstrued as Rayth wanting to control things here.”

“I would think that you,” Karken’al said looking at Vince and John, “have made enough contacts off-world to have ample trading partnerships for things you need.”

“For some things like food but not for specialized items,” John said, then explained how only antibiotics from Earth cured Mik’kenna and all female Rayth from a disease that had a horrendously high mortality rate. “There are other things as well, considering that most of the villages we do have trade agreements with aren’t as technologically advanced. If a computer breaks, they don’t have the items or tools Simon would need to get things fixed, granted, we do have our Rayth friends here to help with things like that, but medical supplies are probably my biggest concern. Rayth don’t have much in that area because of their innate ability to heal. I think that’s one reason why Becket was able to find the cure for Kenna. It was an illness common on Earth, and for some reason, Rayth energy couldn’t fight it off.”

John let out a sigh, “I know you’re going to show us this amazing med lab later this week, but it’s going to take a while for us to effectively use it. And if something breaks down in there, we’ll have to run to you or the Rayth to fix it. Not that that’s a bad thing, but until we have more than just Simon and his small team to oversee anything technical in the facility we just uncovered, even in this city-ship, we need things we can use and fix ourselves. Simon’s good, don’t get me wrong, but…okay, for example, First Science Commander, your team, just those on the flagship, not your responsibilities on the homeworld, your team that oversees the computer systems, communications, fixing and maintaining anything electrical on the flagship, how many men do you have? And do not include those dedicated strictly to R&D.”

Ja’val did a quick calculation in his head to eliminate the R&D group, “The ship alone, forty-eight, give or a take a few.”

“Forty-eight,” John said. “And the complement on the ship?”

“A thousand, give or take a few,” Zy’nayth said.

“Forty-eight per one thousand. We have Simon and his team of six, half of those doing double duty with electrical and plumbing, for over five thousand people, and a facility that, if at capacity, could hold a couple million people. Plus they’re working with a language they have to learn along the way and on systems they’ve never seen before. And we have no choice when something goes wrong than to reach out to the High Chancellor and his team to come and bail us out.”

He ran his fingers through his hair, “We need more people. We need to let Simon have time dedicated to nothing but learning the language and the technology so that he, and his team can work more efficiently and effectively. If, for some reason, we no longer have Rayth technicians available to us, we need to be able to fix things ourselves. Now, I have purposely left you and your people out of the mix,” he said looking at Karken’al, “since we’ve just met. I can’t assume that you’ll be at our beck and call every time we need a purification unit replaced or something.

“I guess what I’m trying to say is that yes, we need to get up to speed. But until we get there, we need the connection with Earth to remain open.”

“It also doesn’t help that from the moment we stepped foot in this galaxy, we were caught in the middle of a war,” Vince said. “We really haven’t had the time to sit and study and do our homework. And now that things have calmed down, at least in that regard, we have to dig out the city and long before that’s done, we’ll have lost the funding for this expedition. We need manpower so that our department heads can focus on learning the language and the new technology available to them. But we can’t get the manpower without the funding. I could use five thousand more men just to clean this city up from the attack, let alone hiring more specialists for each area.”

Zy’nayth looked at Karken’al, “You see their plight. To those around this table, and our extended family, this is their home. I believe many of Vince’s people, especially those who have been here from the beginning, think of this as home. Though, it is my understanding, that most who were chosen to come here have no families back on Earth, no spouses, no children, and in many cases, no parents or siblings, there are still many that do. Lt. Col. Chapman’s wife, Alessa, has family on Earth. Christopher’s father is here. Alessa’s parents wish to see their granddaughter. If they shut down the program, the Christopher and Alessa will have to make a very difficult choice. Stay here with their adopted family and David or return to Earth where they can be with her family. I do not want them to be forced into that kind of decision.

“When John told me about this, which was only this morning, he said something very interesting. He said that his team had to show Earth that they needed the Expedition more than the Expedition needed Earth. I have thought of several things that I will present to the people of Earth.

“The first thing they need to understand is that even if they shut down the bridge portal and the Expedition: Andromeda program, it will not stop any future attacks from Rayth or this unknown entity. First Commander, Vice Chancellor, that means they need to understand how fast a ship can get to Earth from Terra 2. They need to understand the distance and the speed. I would like to take the flagship there, allow a delegation from each major country on board then allow them to fly with us back to this location. There are many details we need to work on, should we go that route, so please start thinking about it.

“Vince, I assume you are already working on this idea, but we must give them reasons as to why this Expedition is so valuable. One reason, as is generally the case with all good relationships, trade. I am not willing to trade Rayth technology, I will state that now, so Vince and John, that is a matter that is non-negotiable. However, Karken’al, this is where I am going to rely on your judgment. I consider this planet as belonging to Vince’s team. But the technology is yours. I do not want them giving the people of Earth access to the weapons available on this ship, or in that facility on the mainland. However, the medical technology could be of great benefit to Earth. Simon has learned much, and could be a liaison between the Expedition’s available technology and the scientists of Earth.”

He raised his hand to stop Karken’al from speaking. “Please, let me finish. I only wish to point out various options. We can discuss them in detail later. That being said, I do want you and Jil’ana to fully consider what would be helpful to Earth, without giving them technology that they could use against each other, or in the future, against us.

“This morning, after John told me about what was going on, I had a warship, which is in orbit around Earth, scan for pellite, which is something we had not yet scanned for on the planet. There is, as far as we can tell at this point, one sizable reservoir in the Pacific Ocean. Vince, I believe it is open waters, meaning, no specific country owns the area. My initial thought was to offer to tap into that energy source, show them how to use it and provide them with a clean, powerful, substantial resource. However, since there is only one reservoir, and knowing the unstable environment of the various countries, I think that exposing them to such a powerful resource would be harmful. I imagine that wars would ensue trying to gain control of that one reservoir. But, again, I wanted to give you as much as I could.

“Finally,” he said, “Karken’al, Jil’ana, this stays in this room, please do not tell anyone on your team. There is a second operational bridge on the planet. It is on my wife’s estate. Even if they shut the main bridge at their Central Command down, Vince would still have a way for his Expedition to travel to and from Earth without having to rely on me being generous with my ships. However, no one knows about that bridge other than those on this ship. When Terra 2 was attacked, my crew was able to teleport the survivors to my flagship, then took them to Earth. Those here do know of that second bridge, and all, as far as I am aware, have kept it a secret. So yes, access to Earth will still be available, but explaining long absences will be an issue for anyone who arrives on Earth after being gone a month. Questions will be raised. Of course, then we will be back to the issue of money. They can go to Earth but would have no money to spend on things they need, unless I put Expedition: Andromeda on my payroll, which, as I said, I do not wish to do. I wish them to remain independent and not be under Rayth control. This is their home, not mine.”

He let out a sigh, “That is all I have for now. What I would like you two to do, is consider what I have said, the ideas I have. Are the Mythicans willing to help in any way? If so, how? What is your official stance on the options I presented? What problems do you foresee with any of them? Karken’al, I assume you will need to talk to your leaders, but I do ask, between us, that you keep the fact that we do have a second operational bridge portal a secret.”

“Consider the secret kept. I would like to point out another option,” Karken’al replied, “though we need to consider the ramifications of it as well. Dig out the other bridge portals that have been buried. Give them access.”

Zy’nayth groaned. “That could be dangerous for Earth and for us. But yes, let us consider all options.”

“Can I point something out?” Simon said, getting a nod from Vince. “Well, part of my job has been to give full technological reports to Earth. Sirs, they have pretty much everything that I’ve ever looked at, at least from the first couple of years before we became friends with the Rayth. At that point, I sort of stopped giving them a lot of tech info, and no, I never, ever gave them any Rayth tech or programming that you have shared with us. But as soon as we were able to tap into the Mythican computers, I uploaded all the files I could to Earth. They have the database, they just don’t know how to translate it. Or, maybe they’ve had a team working on it all these years. I don’t know.”

Vince nodded, “He’s right. Everything was reported. Standard procedure.”

“Is there a team working on translating the language, getting the information?” John asked.

“If there is, I wasn’t made aware of it. They’d probably not tell me anyway,” Vince said.

“If there were, they’d be at C.C., wouldn’t they?” John continued.

“Since it’s supposed to be a secret program, yes. But after the attack, who knows. The cat was out of the bag. They may have opened it up to more people.”

“What are the odds of that data dump having been on an internal-use only drive at Central Command?” Ja’val asked.

“Slim, but possible,” Vince said. “It was ‘alien’ tech, and if there’s one thing the U.S. government has done since Roswell…uh, a supposed alien crash site that happened in the late 1940s I believe…if there’s anything they’re good at, it’s keeping alien things pretty isolated and off the main comm channels, including the internet.”

“Could you find out?” Zy’nayth said.

“I can try. I’ll talk with the president and General Price. Michael may not even know, but I would think if anyone did, Ken would. Why?”

“Because if the files were isolated at Central Command, they may have been destroyed in the attack,” Ja’val said.

Vince shook his head, “They would have a backup off-site. That’s standard procedure. It would be isolated as well, and with something this sensitive, it would have been couriered to the second site, not transmitted via internet or any other broadcast system.”

“See what you can find out. I do not think it will change much,” Zy’nayth said, “but it would be good to know.”

“I can say, however,” Vince continued, “chances are slight that any other country has that information. Our government wouldn’t share something so valuable. Might get stolen, but it wasn’t given.”

“I need to understand something,” Karken’al said. “I thought this Expedition team was made up of members from numerous Earth countries.”

“It is,” Vince replied.

“Then why weren’t their countries given the same data?”

“Ah,” Vince said, “since the bridge portal was found in the U.S., our government started the project. They fund it. They recruited the scientists and such. There was a non-disclosure agreement signed. So, Pavel, who is from Russia, submits reports and findings only to the U.S., and not allowed to report anything to his government or anyone else. The military we have here, however, is solely made up of U.S. troops. Scientists want to do the research and are more willing to say ‘no’ to their government in order to learn or discover new things; military, well, that opens up a new can of worms. With a U.S. general in charge, someone from another country’s military might not be as willing to follow orders. And before you ask, yes, the political climate of Earth is almost always in upheaval. It’s always a nightmare even when there isn’t some sort of war or conflict going on.”

“That clears things up. Thank you.”

“Would everyone be willing to reconvene Friday after Vince makes his announcement? Or, Vince, would you prefer to meet prior?”

“I wouldn’t probably have anything to add to my announcement, I can’t imagine us having everything fleshed out by then, so after is fine.”

“It should be fine for us, and I will do my best to have input from my superiors by then,” Karken’al said.

Jil’ana cleared her throat and Zy’nayth asked if she wanted to say something. She smiled and nodded. “Nothing to do with this discussion, but something perhaps you, sir, would like to know if you wish to dig into this planet’s history. Obviously, it wasn’t known as Terra 2 when this SVBS-2 was here. The planet was called Ferrion.”

“Given that we knew of the planet’s existence, by whatever name, I do not think it made a difference in any research we have done since the Expedition: Andromeda team came over. However, Science, perhaps mention it to your team,” Zy’nayth said. “Thank you, Jil’ana.” He then turned to Karken’al before the others started to get up out of their seats.

“One last thing,” Zy’nayth turned to Karken’al. “You asked during our first meeting what you could do that would help earn my trust. This situation is one where your help to them would help to earn my trust. I am not saying you must solve the problem for them, but any help would be appreciated.”

As everyone filtered out Karken’al stopped and asked Zy’nayth if they could speak privately. Zy’nayth nodded and sat back down, Karken’al to his right.

“I’ll do what I can for this Expedition. There may be some resistance due to their ties with Rayth, but I will do my best to keep that information under the surface.” Karken’al let out a sigh. “Sir, my superiors are aware that I was looking to stop the cataclysmic explosion. They are not aware that I was intent on making contact with you. They are not aware, at least to my knowledge, that this crew is on friendly terms with you.”

He cleared his throat and continued. “Those on my ship know the full story. I will, however, at some point, tell our Prime Minister. I am putting that off as long as I can. He is…not fond of you. You, in particular, of all Rayth.”

Zy’nayth raised an eyebrow, but there was a smirk at the edge of his mouth. “Go on.”

“If we can work together on this problem and find a resolution showing that our three peoples can work together, especially showing that you have no interest in ruling over this expedition team, it would ease things when I report to him. Not for my sake, mind you. I knew from the moment I set on this course that I would, in all likelihood, lose my commission. Obviously, you can handle yourself. My concern is for this crew. They’ve risked a lot to travel to another galaxy, when it’s my understanding they don’t have reliable spaceflight to begin with. This is a major step for them.

“Prime Minister Ya’taka, however, has the sway of our Council. If I cannot persuade him to help this Expedition, they will support him.” He let out a little nervous laugh, “They’d even support him if he chose to go after you even though it would be suicide.”

He again cleared his throat, “What I’m saying is that I don’t have that kind of backing. I’ll see what I can do on the side, as it were. I will come up with ideas but at this point, until I sway the Prime Minister, any help we provide will have to be paid for. If they need medical supplies, I can order it, but I can’t afford it. May I assume you would cover costs?”

“In the long run, as I said, it would not be sustainable. In the short term, yes. This Prime Minister, does he know about the attack on my worlds?”

“Yes. He doesn’t know about this Expedition. He only knows that we detected this ship, which to him is nothing more than a mere historical curiosity. I suggested to him that if this ship existed, there may be other relics here that we would need to bring back to our homeworld.”

“And when he finds out the planet is inhabited?”

“That, High Chancellor, is something I haven’t yet figured out how to tell him.”

“I was thinking more along the lines of his response to the information.”

“He wouldn’t want a civilization of lesser technology to have our technology in their hands.”

“You stated you did not want the planet or the facility or the ships.”

“I wasn’t lying. I don’t. We don’t need any of this. Even if we were to convert them to Science Vessels, they’d all have to be modernized, at which point it would more cost effective to strip them of weapons and sell them and use that money to build new ships.”

“You have no qualms about letting the Expedition have this technology?”

“No,” Karken’al shook his head. “We have an unknown race out there that had the technology to evade our detection systems: both yours and ours. They attacked the Raythian homeworld, among other Raythian worlds. The Expedition works with you, they need all the help they can get to defend themselves. If they have access to you and your fleet, they, though perhaps not directly, have access to your tech. This ship, that mainland facility, use it. My people won’t want another war. I don’t. But I have to prepare to the best of my ability for the inevitable. That’s why I want them to have this tech. That’s why I’ve put my job on the line by contacting you. My first priority is to protect my people. I will do whatever it takes to achieve that end.”

“You are as passionate about your people as I am about mine,” Zy’nayth said. “I respect that, general. And, we must not get so caught up in helping Vince’s team learn about the new facility that we forget about this unknown entity out there. If your specialists help their specialists, we can work with Vince and his command team on the issue that has brought us together.”

“How much help can Vince’s team be? I would assume it would be your team that has the most data for us to analyze.”

“In that regard, yes, that is true. But Vince’s team often has ideas that may seem…ridiculous…at first. But with some tweaks, may lead to a solution. After all, we had 10,000 years of data to try and find a serum that would allow us to eat normal food, but it was not until we met Becket that he figured out how to go about it. Perhaps they will not be needed in the analysis, but when planning a strategy against this new race, I would be remiss to not include them in the discussion.”

***

“With that generator thing fixed,” Victoria said as she curled up in bed later that evening, “does that mean we can move the ship to its actual dock once we get the part needed to fix it?”

“In theory,” Zy’nayth replied, drawing her into his arms. “We need to wait for the water level to rise again in that well, then we will turn the generator on and see what happens. If all goes according to plan, and there are no more quakes, we will move the ship. You look tired. You are working too much, and here I am having you fixing meals for our entire extended family and our guests and anyone working with our crews each day. I am sorry. I will start holding our lunch meetings in the mess hall. They are equipped to handle larger numbers.”

“I can hold out through the week,” she replied, “but yeah, I am more tired than I thought I’d be, even with having easy meals like the tacos at lunch and the roast for dinner. Monday Alan and his crew can feed everyone.” She closed her eyes and immediately fell asleep. Zy’nayth put his hand over her heart to make sure she was well. He was thankful she was only just exhausted, then he too fell asleep.