Topic: It's All Relative

[Lieutenant_Q]

The three of them used the manual override to open the door into the access shaft, the same kind of switch that was hidden in the wall of the docking arm.  They had to pump the lever several times to get the door open, as there was no power to this door.  They slipped through the almost fully opened door into the five-meter wide access shaft, once in, a short upward thrust burst from their thruster packs sent them down the shaft slowly.  They were careful not to touch the magnetic rails that ran along the length of the shaft, in case they damaged the future elevator propulsion system.  James stopped his descent ten meters down and pressed open the manual override panel, pumping the lever three times got the door open wide enough that he could slip through, he pumped it a fourth for good measure and then closed the panel.  "Good luck."  He waved at Sam and Shaun as he slipped through the door.  They had stopped five meters further down and were beginning to pump their own lever.  Their lever exposed the tube to space, down the central shaft of the station, and giving them a view of the Walkers as they were positioning a portion of the reactor near to where it would be installed.

James opened the manual override panel on the other side of the door and pumped the door closed.  After the door closed and the panel was shut, he turned to look down the corridor.  It curved around out of sight, but it was however, directly beneath the interior units, therefore was slightly shorter in physical length.  Doors lined the exterior side of the corridor, one every ten meters, intended to be office space, they all had a couple of windows that they could look out into space from.  Only one door was on the interior side of the corridor, and that was the door he wanted,  Life Support Engineering.  One of several Life Support stations that will be situated around the station, its primary task was to provide Life Support to this half of the Promenade, and the office space beneath it.  It's secondary task was to help provide Life Support for any other regions where the station assigned to that region was either disabled, destroyed, down for maintenance, or, as was the case now, not yet built.  The manual override panel was the same as any other, slide it away and expose the lever.  A couple of pumps of the lever and he could then slip through the door.  "I'm entering the Life Support room now."

"We've made the trip to the Battery Station, Shaun is heading over to the collectors, I'm entering the Station again."  Sam's voice came back over his suit's internal speakers.

"I'm at the collectors now, inspecting for damage."

James surveyed the room, tanks of gases lined the walls, Oxygen, Nitrogen were the most abundant tanks, other gases like Hydrogen had tanks as well, but only a few compared to the others.  The Carbon Dioxide scrubbers took up a sizable portion of the room.  He set his sights on the control console, a rather large station that should be illuminated.  But at present was completely dark.  "There's no power at all to the Life-Support systems."

"There's power here, the airlock opened with just a switch, I'm in the battery room now, and all the stations are lit up."

"The collectors appear to be undamaged, and the wiring to the batteries look good as well.  There must be a bad connection between the batteries and the Promenade."

James opened the tool kit and pulled out a power supply, it was about the size of a twenty-ounce soda bottle.  He pulled open a panel on the underside of the console and plugged the power supply into the available port.  The panel lit up, indicator lights and gauges all told him what he expected to see.  Nothing was wrong on this end, but the station was not getting power.  "Connection problem confirmed, everything checks out up here."

Sam's voice came back in over the speakers, "I'm running a diagnostic check now.  Standby."  A quick moment passed, James took the time to remove the power supply from the port and close the panel.  "It looks like the problem is about half way up the central core.  I'm getting no results on anything above where Grav Deck level 2 will be."

Shaun came back quickly, "I'm done out here, I can be there in just a minute."

Ashley interjected herself into their comm link, "It might be unrelated, but I thought you should know, we can't seem to get the docking arm's internal pressure above 800 millibars.  There may be a small breach in the arm."

James scowled to himself, "Ashley, prep a launch craft, I'm going to want a LIDAR sweep of the Station.  See if there's any more issues we may need to be worried about."

"I'm here."  Shaun's report began, "And I see the problem.  It looks like something hit the wiring conduit and broke it open.  Damage to the wiring itself doesn't look too bad, but I'm going to need a hull repair kit to seal the conduit."

"Get a picture of it, but don't worry about the conduit itself, a Walker can come by later and patch it up."  James looked back to the open door, then back to the console as it flared to life.  Lights began to come on in the room and out in the corridor outside, and then the door to the corridor silently closed.  "Nicely done, the Life Support system is coming online."  He settled in at the station and waited for its computer to boot, "You can come on back up."

Sam responded first, "I'm already on my way back, I should be back inside in one minute."

Shaun chimed in, "I'm just a little ahead of her, how long do we have?"

"The Life Support computer will be up in just a second."  As he spoke the computer finished it's boot sequence, "I'm going to have it run a quick system check before it starts pumping atmosphere into the station.  It'll be about five minutes."  He set the computer to run the system check, the check mainly involved making sure all the pressure gauges on the station read correctly, and that the valves connecting the gas containers were in good shape.  It also queried him for what settings he wanted the atmosphere composition, pressure, and temperature.  He selected Earth Sea Level for all, and a temperature of 22 degrees.  The entire check program took four minutes to run, three minutes in the door opened to admit Shaun and Sam.

"Sir, Launch craft is launching."  Ashley's voice came in, "It'll take about two minutes to complete the entire sweep."

"The corridor looks like something you'd see in Star Trek."  Sam was looking around the room, "In fact a lot of this place is something you'd see in Star Trek."

James smiled as he watched the computer finish the check, "And why not?  I had an argument with some on the design team, wanted to save weight and space by just leaving all the wiring and piping exposed.  I responded to them with, 'Where's your sense of pride?  Why would you want to build something that within a couple of years will look run-down and decrepit?'  I asked them to seriously consider choosing aesthetics over functionality, as long as it was still functional.  Because we're setting the tone, but we still have to impress would be tenants.  Obviously there's some places where functionality has to trump aesthetics.  The lavatory for example."  He turned to look at them as he mentioned that, and caught the slight flush in both of their faces, even through their helmets.  "I know, I felt it too, the first time I sat on the zero-g toilet.  Just doesn't feel right to have that sucking sensation on your butt, does it?"

"No it doesn't, but what about you guys...."  Sam began.

James cut her off before the conversation got real awkward, "If you're smart, you don't try to pee standing up."

The panel made some noise.  It had probably been making noise, but there was now enough air in the room that they were hearing it.  James turned back to look at it, "Confirming the pressure loss in the docking arm.  All other sections are pressurizing normally."

Ashley came back into the comm signal, "Launch craft reports fourteen sections on the station have taken damage consistent with a micro-meteorite impact.  Of the fourteen, only the one in the docking arm, and the one that severed the power conduit hit anything vital, the rest just pockmarked the hull.  I've already asked the Walkers to add the repairs to their list.  George is already prepping for an EVA to fix the docking arm breach, he should have that fixed in the next ten minutes."

James looked back at Sam, "That was probably the bending metal sound you heard when we were boarding the station."  He looked over both of them, "We've got about fifteen minutes before the station pressurizes and warms up to a comfortable temperature.  You want to see the Promenade when its done?"

[Commander La'ra]

Just letting you know I started this tonight and am greatly enjoying it.  As a latecomer, I have little new to say beyond echoing Sharp and Andy's comments, but I'll try to toss in my two cents once I get caught up.

[Scottish Andy]

Just doesn't feel right to have that sucking sensation on your butt, does it?"

LOL...

Good installment. I amstill wondering about the ultimate goal of the freighter-which-can-be-turned-into-a-warship, but the diversion to save the crewmember is engaging.

Keep it coming.

[Lieutenant_Q]

Ah... I misunderstood the question you were asking Andy, sorry.

Regarding the freighter-turning-warship.  The Investment group spent a lot of money just on building the freighter.  They only need the freighter itself for the duration of the assembly mission.  Just under two years, assuming no delays.  After the mission is done, they have an expensive freighter, an expensive station, and no use for the freighter.  It's really too massive to be making inter-planetary trips, at least with current technology, and it's too large to be simply transporting food stuffs to and ore from the station.  Rather than have the freighter sit around and collect space dust, it made sense to reconfigure it.  Reducing it's size by 2/3rds and cutting its mass by 1/3rd, it doesn't turn it into a pure fighting machine by any means, but it does turn it into a serviceable patrol and picket craft.  A good thrust ratio, Newtonian physics remember, and a low forward profile, makes it a decent interceptor, and of course the most powerful Starship in the Sol system.  (by default because no one else has bothered to build any thing yet)  It'll be able to hold it's own against the DY-100s that will emerge in the next decade, a pure warship based on the USS Lewis and Clark.

[Scottish Andy]

Ah, okay. Thanks for the clarification.

Um... what's the Lewis & Clark?

[marstone]

i would assume the Lewis and Clark would be an exploratory ship/survey cruiser.

[Lieutenant_Q]

Yes, I mentioned it once in an earlier piece that was not part of the story but was story related.  The Lewis and Clark will be the ship that Colonel Christopher commands on his mission to Saturn.  Externally it will be very similar to the DY100, although the DY100 in this story will be a Warship.  The reason for it's existence (not the Lewis and Clark but the DY100) will be in part the Eugenics wars, the other part I am keeping under my hat for a bit.  I've got a couple more bits in this "chapter", then, since I found some Autocad software that's free to use, I'll draw up diagrams for the station, the freighter, and the Lewis and Clark, and get them up here (assuming I can figure out the software... you get what you pay for most of the time).  I haven't even yet put the designs on paper, although what they look like in my head hasn't changed since I "finalized" the design in my head about four months ago.  A few details have evolved, (the docking arm airlock for example came into being as I was writing that part, I got to that part and said to myself... uh... how do they get onto the Promenade?) but the basic design has remained the same.

[Lieutenant_Q]

L-1 Station
2 December 2013 - 23:02 Zulu

"You're the last one on the station, Captain."

James nodded a mute affirmative to Ashley as he checked the seal on his suit.  He probably wouldn't need it, but it never hurt to take the little extra precaution.  The assembly of the reactor went right on schedule, it was powered up for a brief test, and to charge the batteries, and then powered down and put in stand by.  Now James was the last man on the station, floating in the office space he had commandeered as his own for the duration of the mission.  He could see the last of the Walkers entering the freighter from the view port in the office, more than once during assembly, a Walker had tapped the window as they went by, startling him away from his work.  It was good fun for them, and he wasn't about to make a fuss over something that was so easy to keep them amused.  James powered down the lights in the office and slipped out the door.  He had taken the office directly across from Life Support, as such it took him only a split second to cross the corridor and enter that room.  A few flips of switches powered down the Life Support systems.  "Life Support is now offline."

Sam's voice came back over the comm, "Diverting power to the Station's shields.  We shouldn't have a repeat of the micro-meteor impacts."

"Let's hope so, I'm making my way out of the Station."  With Life Support off, all the lights except emergency lights were off as well.  He made the slow drift to the access shaft, and opened it with the button on the panel.  Nothing in this section changed as he shot himself up towards the Promenade.  Upon exiting the Promenade he was assaulted by a wave of light.  Sol was visible through the windows above the Promenade.  While the windows were filtered to prevent solar radiation from entering, and tinted to keep the Visible Spectrum limited, it was still bright, and it forced him to avert his eyes as he made his way to the docking arm.  Sol had just risen in this section of the promenade, meaning that it would be flooded with sunlight for the next couple of hours as the station slowly spun clockwise.  "We might have to adjust the angle of the Station just a little.  While being able to see Sol from Promenade 3 might be enticing, it'll get old for the merchants looking to attract customers."  James reached the airlock arm and cycled it open without much difficulty, the station was still pressurized, and it should remain that way until their return.  Although the temperature of the atmosphere in the station will be unpredictable.  He made the trip up the arm and onto the ship, after the airlock door closed behind him, he took his helmet off and tapped the intercom panel. "I'm aboard, lets get back to Earth."

There was no response, but only a couple seconds later the maneuvering alarm sounded, he knew the first move was going to be a lateral move away from the station, he positioned himself accordingly and finished taking off his EVA suit.  No sooner had he gotten the suit off and stuffed into the locker than the ship lurched sideways.  He was pushed to the outer wall, but only briefly, and used it to catapult himself towards the central shaft.  He made the central shaft just before the main engines fired.  He had been counting in his head how long the delay between the disconnection push and main engine firing would be, and had it pegged perfectly.  He climbed the ladder up to the Bridge and pulled himself in.  "Report."

Sam and Shaun both looked at him like they were shocked he would be up here so soon, but Ashley calmly reported from the Helm, "ETA to turn-over point, three point two hours.  We'll be in Earth orbit in seven."

James settled in to his chair, "Good."  He took a glance over at the two Airforce officers, who were still a bit incredulous, "Yes?"

Shaun looked over at Sam, and then back at him, "For you to be up here now, you would have had to been moving around during the push off."

He smiled, "Not quite.  I knew how much time I had and used the push away from the station to launch myself towards the ladder, from there its an easy climb.  It's the little things you learn how to do.  Not only does it make things a little more interesting, it also allows you to move around faster.  I'd be getting on to the bridge now if I had waited until we were underway."

Sam shook her head, "But it wasn't necessary, you took a risk that you might be in sickbay right now instead, if you we're wrong, or missed."

"Practice makes perfect."  He looked back at Ashley, "Speaking of practice, are you ready Ashley?"

"I think so."

"Good."  With no other words being said, Sam and Shaun looked at each other slightly puzzled, as they made their way back to Earth.


****

Far too short, I know, I ripped an entire section out and moved it further down the line, but didn't have enough to re-fill it with.

[Lieutenant_Q]

Earth Orbit
3 December 2013 - 00:18 EST

"I hope you've taken something away from this trip."

Sam and Shaun floated down the corridor to the launch bay just in front of James.  They entered orbit five minutes ago, and crew were already lining up to take the shuttles down to the surface.  The forty people leaving would take two hours to get to ground on just two shuttles.  The three of them were going to take the same shuttle down to Washington, while James would then ride the Amtrak up to New York, for a face to face investor meeting.  In Texas, they were cramming the last pieces of their next payload into the next Cargo Module, in two weeks they would be ready to move it to the launch pad for a New Years Day Launch.

"I'd have to say we did learn quite a bit, Captain."  Shaun looked over the line in front of them.  "How long do you think we got?"

James counted the number of people in front of them, "Twenty minutes."  He motioned for a couple of the walkers behind them to move ahead, "There's about a shuttle and a half in front of us, we'll be on the third shuttle down.  Any final questions while we're waiting?"

Sam looked over the line, "Why only two launch craft?  You had four on the way here."

James nodded, "And we left two of them at the station.  We'll have four again on the trip back.  The station is supposed to have ten, although the investors are talking about cancelling the last four."

Shaun craned his head towards him, "Why?"

James shrugged, "Cost overruns."

"Is it really costing that much more than you anticipated?"  Sam lowered her voice slightly, assuming that that could be sensitive topic.

"Not on the assembly side of things, we're actually a month ahead of schedule up here.  The problem is that Khan has control of 30% of the worlds Oil, and 60% of what is currently in production, and that's driven fuel costs through the roof.  While our Launch fuel is not really Oil based, we do use Oil based fuels with our Surface Manufacturing Operations."

Shaun glanced over to the line as the last of the first two shuttle trip passengers entered the launch bay, "How bad is it?"

"Well, right now with Gas prices at $6 per gallon, it's manageable, but with Oil projected to top $200 per barrel this spring, I can see Gas getting up to $8 or even $9.  We may have to get creative, or look for new investors to be able to finish it."

"That's why you're heading to New York?"  Sam returned her voice to normal levels as the people waiting for the next trip went back to the Grav Deck.

James nodded, "I got a closed door meeting with all of our investors scheduled for 0930 today.  I've a couple of suggestions, and some news I had been keeping under my hat, but I have no idea what's going to come of this meeting."

Shaun looked out the viewport, he could see the re-entry flares as the shuttles entered the atmosphere.  The US East coast glowed like an oasis of light in a dark desert, "You know you'll have our business in a few years."

James laughed, "I hope so, but surging fuel costs effects your budget even more than it effects ours."

A new voice entered their conversation, "What about Keystone?"

James turned to Ashley as she drifted over towards them, "The Keystone pipeline is scheduled to be complete in June.  It could have been ready now, but politics trumped reality.  Would have done anything?  I think Oil would be around the $110 range, instead of in the $150s.  The biggest problem to Oil prices, is Khan.  You just can't let someone take over that region and expect there not to be consequences.  Had the US been drilling ten years ago, and had the pipeline been built five years ago, it wouldn't be a problem.  But they weren't and it is.  The blame game is often counter-productive."

Sam looked over to Ashley, "He asked if you were ready a few hours ago, but he hasn't elaborated on what that meant."

Ashley looked at James, who merely shrugged, "Unless there's a big change from the meeting that he's going off to, He's planning on staying on the station after our next mission."

James nodded once, "This freighter will be her command, and I'll be on the station."

Shaun frowned slightly, "When did this happen?"

James smiled, "It was the plan from the beginning.  Once the station was capable of handling full time occupancy, I, the Walkers, along with support personnel, would take up permanent residency on the station, and we'd continue to build the station as quickly as Ashley could get us the parts."

Sam's expression became one of clarity, "If fuel costs are making the production aspect difficult, couldn't you make the parts on the station?"

James nodded, "Some parts can be built on the station, and that's one item I intend to bring up at the meeting."

Shaun shook his head, "Doesn't it get more difficult to have these meetings if you're up on the station?"

James smiled broadly, "No, it gets easier.  One-point-one second time delay means that they can't interrupt me as often as they do in the face to face meetings."

Ashley looked over the three of them, "That just means that I have to deal with the face to face meetings."

James shook his head, "You may get one or two, but I'll still have most of the meetings."

"Is what you're talking about at the meeting classified?"  Sam was fishing again.

James shrugged, "Not really, I imagine their going to want to talk about cost overruns and what we can do to stymie them.  A few may be looking for a more immediate return on their investments, despite the fact that when they signed up they knew it was going to be 2015 before we started getting income from the station.  I can tell you all that I've had a couple of pleasant conversations with Richard Branson.  He wants to make the station a destination for the Lunar Cruise Line that he is wanting to announce in January.  He's hoping to have the first cruise launch in December."

"What does that mean for you?"  Shaun again turned back to the view port, hoping to see the shuttles when they made their ascent.

"Three things, first and foremost, we can charge a fee for their ship docking.  Second, they'll have to refuel at the station, we can charge them for that.  And third, the tourists will spend at least some time on the station, if we can get some merchants up there, we can collect a tax on anything sold on the Promenade."

Ashley frowned, "A cruise line for the super-rich."

"This isn't cheap.  But that's where capitalism works.  They'll be an effort to make it cheaper.  As it gets cheaper, we'll see more traffic, as we see more traffic, we can lower our fees.  400 years ago, ocean travel was only for the super-rich, or those willing to sell themselves into indentured servitude.  100 years ago, it was made cheap enough that even the poor could make the trip.  Space travel is at the same stage as ocean travel was 400 years ago.  Somehow though, I doubt it will take 300 years to get to affordability.  It took the invention of the steam engine to make ocean travel affordable.  How long will it take for the invention of a more efficient rocket engine?  I really doubt it will take long, we'll see it in our lifetime definitely.  Things like the station, make the drive to get an efficient engine, all the more stronger."

[Scottish Andy]

My wife would love this piece, if she ever read anything Trek-related.

[Lieutenant_Q]

New York City
3 December 2013 - 13:10 EST

The cold December wind blew through the streets of the Big Apple, temperatures were colder than James was used to.  Being on the climate controlled freighter and station, or in the West Texas desert for the last three years had left him unaccustomed to temperatures anywhere near freezing.  It got cold in the desert at night, but he was usually not out in it.  Of course, it had to be raining, and that just seemed to make his mood that much more dour.  He had only been out in the street for a couple of minutes and he was already feeling the rain soak through his overcoat.

"You look like you've been through a battle.  I hope you won."

James turned at the sound of the familiar voice, but before he could finish turning he noticed the rain stopped beating down on him.  He smiled at Captain Carter as she held an umbrella over the two of them, "It felt more like a war.  Are there winners and losers in war?"

She smiled back at him, "There's definitely losers, you can debate as to whether there are winners or not."

He laughed, "That much is true.  What brings you up to New York?"

She smiled coyly, "You do."

James was taken aback, "Me?"

She laughed, "I want a job.  On your station."

He smiled as they started walking up the street, "What about the Air Force?"

"They would consider it a transfer."  She took a deep breath, "I joined the Air Force not because I wanted to fly, but because I wanted to go into space.  NASA used a lot of Air Force personnel in their Shuttle Program.  I was hoping to be able to use the Air Force credentials, along with my education, to get a spot in their program.  Then Columbia happened."

James continued, "And they announced that the Shuttle Program was going to come to an end."

She nodded, "I then went after the Constellation Program."

"And that was cancelled."

"It left me no where to go, until you came along."  They stopped at a crosswalk and waited for the signal to change, "I wanted to get in when the freighter was launched, but you weren't really accepting Military Applicants, and I had just re-upped my enlistment."

"That's not true.  I actually gave preference to Military Applicants, I don't ever remember seeing yours cross my desk."  They began crossing the road, the subway station was just a few blocks ahead.

"I never submitted one.  The Air Force wouldn't release me from my obligation at that time."  She looked over to him, "That's when they decided to launch their own program.  I joined that.  Major Christopher and I have been a part of the program since it's inception."

He looked back at her, "And you're leaving it now?"

She shrugged, "Not leaving it.  No.  They won't let me, I still have four years left on this tour.  But, they are more than happy to have me up there right now, what we learn up there, we can apply directly to the program."

He stopped and turned to face her, "Would you want to leave it in four years?"

She looked him straight in the eye, "I honestly don't know."

He nodded, "I can accept that."  He sighed before continuing, "I've got a number of applications waiting for me in the launch facility.  A shuttle is landing at JFK to take me over there.  If you really want to be on the station full time, you'd better get some of your affairs in order here.  It will be several months before you'll get back."

[Lieutenant_Q]

West Texas Launch Facility
4 December 2013 - 16:00 CST

A knock on his office door brought James back into the waking world.  He had been going through the stack of applications that was sitting on his temporary desk.  He blinked a few times as he looked at the clock on the wall, wondering just how long he had been asleep.  From the open door Captain Carter was looking in with a concerned look on her face, "You always nap with the door open?"

James shook his head, "Hadn't realized I had fallen asleep.  I guess working under gravity is taking a bigger toll on me than I thought it would."  He motioned for her to come in.

"You could have always done this on the ship."  She stated as she sat down in the chair across the desk from him.  The office itself was quite spartan, except for two chairs, a desk, and a wall clock, no other furniture adorned the small work space.  There wasn't even a computer in the room, although ports were available for a laptop connection.

"No."  He began, he collected his thoughts and wondered if he should get a refill on his coffee, "It's not my ship, I'd just be getting in Ashley's way.  Plus any interviews I would have to do, I would have to either come down for them, or bring the applicant up, which is a waste of fuel."

"You're not going to be getting a very good look at them if you're tired or sleeping."

He shrugged, "No, but the first applicant I have to take a good look at isn't until tomorrow."

She feigned insult, "So just what am I?"

He looked over at his coffee mug, and wished he had refilled it, "I... ahh..."

She smiled, reached across the desk and gave his hand a squeeze, "I'm kidding, I'm sorry.  You're probably not awake enough to pick that up are you?"

He looked over at her hand and just stared at it, "No.  But I am sorry, I should have phrased that a bit differently.  I don't need to take a good look at you because I already have seen you in action.  The only thing I have to decide with you, is where to put you."

She didn't move her hand from his but tried to bring his gaze back up to her face, "You mean there's a choice?"

He brought his gaze up and met her stare head on, "Yes, there is."  He smiled at her, "I can make you the Science head, no problem, your qualifications are unmatched."  He raised his free hand and pointed to the ceiling, "But, I could also have you on as Engineering, or Operations.  Especially in the Operations position, there's a lot of perks.  First off, the Operations officer is not going to be doing a whole lot while a ship isn't docked.  And since there's only one ship right now, that's a lot of down time.  Or you could be doing another task, like being in the Science department."

"You'd have me fill double duties?"  She smiled back at him.

"We are limited in how many people we can bring along this time, both by space on the freighter, and by space on the station.  We'll only have a crew of sixty, with forty of them being Walkers.  And the freighter is going to be packed to the gills with people on the trip up.  Eighty people will be a tight squeeze on there.  Some of the medical and Engineering staffs will come over to the station, but we can't forget about the freighter's crew.  Every spot we double up on, is one more role we can have on the station now.  I've got to get twenty people, but some jobs aren't full time jobs yet, Security and Operations are part time, while Engineering and Medical are full time, Walkers are..."

She frowned, "You're rambling."

He stopped, "Am I?"  He looked back down at her hand that still hadn't left his, "Sorry.  The point of the matter is there's twenty people that will be the station's crew.  Some jobs are taken, Medical staff, Engineering Staff.  Those are requirements for operations.  That leaves me with very little wiggle room.  In fact, I've only got four spare seats available, and you and I are two of them."

She smiled again, "So if I double up..."

He grinned, "Then the seat I had assigned to an Operations Officer, can be used for another position.  Like another Science, or Security person."

She withdrew her hand from his, "Sold.  I'll be your Operations and Science officer."  She winked at him, "As long as the new person is a Science person."

He nodded, "Well Bargained and Done."

She stood up and moved around his desk.  When he looked at her confusingly she just smiled and grabbed him by the crook of the elbow, "We aren't done here.  You need to get some sleep, so I'm going to haul your ass back to your quarters and make sure you get some."

He shook his head, "I've got work to do."

She picked him up out of his seat, "As your First Officer, I am relieving you of duty and ordering you to get some sleep."  She began to lead him out of the office, "Don't make me have to restrain you to your bed to make sure you do."

He thought about fighting her, but realized that she would win a physical altercation, as they made it to the door, he came up with another tactic, "As interesting an idea as having you restrain me to my bed is, Sam.  I'm afraid that just isn't very appropriate."

She jerked him down the hallway, "It doesn't have to be appropriate."  She grinned as his expression became one of shock, "It doesn't have to be sexual either."  They made it to the living section of the facility, "I'll go through the science applications for you while you're sleeping, consider it a delegation of responsibility."  They stopped in front of his door, she opened it and pulled him through the door.  Once in the room, she spun him around her and shoved him onto the bed, "Good night, James."  She turned to leave, but stopped in the doorway, "If I find out that you got out of here before tomorrow, I will break out the handcuffs."  She winked at him again and closed the door behind her, leaving him in the dark and exhausted, it wasn't even a minute later before he passed out.

[Scottish Andy]

Cute. The portions are bite-sized though so it is difficult to comment on. I am commenting though, so you know you are being read.

It's very well written and angaging, and I'm looking forward to more morsels.

[Captain Sharp]

I got behind. Still catching up.

What I'm reading is good. Looks like its going to turn into a very long tale.

Keep it up. Looking forward to more.

--The Guv

[Lieutenant_Q]

It's turning out to be much longer than I anticipated myself.  I had one scene done in December, did two more on my drive to MI in January.  And at that point, I thought that was all there was going to be, maybe I'd add a fourth or fifth just to connect the three of them.  Would you be surprised to know that you haven't read any of the original three yet?

[Captain Sharp]

It does indeed, though it probably should not have. I often come up with entire stories where the first scene I detail is NOT the first one in the story. To me, the flow of what you have presented seemed like an idea that, I don't know...cascaded from one thought and built and built as you added detail and other ideas. What you have just told us only adds to my belief.

This is a good story, and one I cannot fathom WHERE it will eventually go.

Good show, sir!
 

--Guv

[Lieutenant_Q]

West Texas Launch Facility
10 December 2013 - 11:32 CST

"A bomb exploded in central Tehran just twenty minutes ago, leaving at least a dozen dead, and hundreds more wounded.  The bomb is believed to have been targeting the Israeli Ambassador, who was scheduled to be in the area, but was delayed by a traffic accident.  No word yet on who planted the bomb, but the Persian State Media issued a statement from Emperor Khan stating that, 'Those responsible will be found, and dealt with swiftly and appropriately.'"

James lifted his head his head from the dossier in front of him, and stared at the radio on the desk.  After a quick decision he reached over to the phone on the other side of the desk, he settled the receiver on his shoulder and punched in the code for the freighter, it rang once and Ashley picked up, "Hudson."

"Ashley.  It's James.  Can you bring the ship into a high orbit over Persia?  There was a bombing this evening."

"Closer to home, Rebels today captured the port city of Puerto Vallarta.  The once popular resort town is now dominated by street fighting as Loyalists try to hold on to their last stronghold in the state of Jallsco.  Rebels today claimed that they have pushed the last organized forces out of the city, leaving only scant areas of resistance in some of the slums surrounding downtown."

"On it.  We'll be in position in five minutes."

James paused for a moment, "Also send a message to the Persian Interior department, putting your resources at their disposal.  I doubt they'll take you up on the offer, but it helps to look helpful."

"Roger that."

"On Wall Street today, Stocks are trading flat, with the Dow Industrials up by four points, S&P down a fraction, NASDAQ is currently unchanged on the day.  Oil is trading higher, West Texas Crude is showing a current bid of $156.24, that's up 83 cents, Gold is up $12.30 at $2473.70.  Even with those commodities up, the Dollar has currently set a new record high against the Euro.  The Euro is currently trading at 68 cents to the Dollar, you could have had it for $1.40 three years ago."

"If you do get a response, feel free to interrupt me, I have two interviews, but this is more important than those interviews.  Plus I want to see Khan's 'appropriate' response."

"Understood, who are you interviewing?"

James turned his eyes back to the radio, "A couple of Engineering positions.  One's due in at 11:45 and the other at 12:30."

All this after the Markets in Europe fell sharply.  France, Germany and the UK were all down roughly three percent, the sell-off there due in large part to the ongoing Italian Debt Crisis.  The Italian Parliament was due to vote on Austerity Measures required to receive another EU bailout.  The concern here is that Italy will follow the path of Greece and be forced to withdraw from the Eurozone if an accommodation cannot be reached, the Italian Parliament is still in session at this hour."

"Hmmph, The EU is done for,"  James muttered under his breath.

"If that's the case, I'd hate to see what's going to come out of there."  Ashley must have heard him over the phone.

"With Khan's Persian Empire sitting right there at the door step, Eastern Europe is ripe for the taking, but he's actually been a god-send for the Middle East.  I mean, who would have thought in our lifetime there would be both peace, and people still alive in the Middle East?"  James turned to look out his window, "When Khan took over from the Mullahs, he cut funding to Hezbollah, Lebanese attacks on Israel stopped overnight.  Hamas still gets some funding from front groups like CAIR, but they've been behaving ever since Khan used a couple Battalions from the 1st Iraqi Division to take out one of their supply bases.  I think it was that use of force, and the return of some sanity in Tehran that got the rest of the Middle Eastern nations to line up behind him.  Hell, there's an Israeli Ambassador in Tehran!  Never in my lifetime did I expect that to happen."

"Entering high orbit.  There's been a response to your query, 'Thank you for the offer, but we have everything well in hand.'  Just as you expected."

"Not a surprise.  Khan is more than willing to show that he doesn't need help.  The Empire might not be one cohesive unit yet, but it's rapidly coming together.  I am a little concerned as to what will happen when it does."

"Well it may not be long in waiting.  A squadron of attack helicopters have just taken off from an airbase outside of Mashhad."  Ashley's voice rose in pitch, "And a pair of MiGs as well."

James cursed silently as he wished he had a monitor in his office, "Where are they heading?"

"Looks to be a small town just inside what used to be the Afghanistan border."  She nearly shrieked, "The MiGs were carrying Napalm!  He just firebombed that village!  Micheal, lock Rail Guns on those Attack Choppers!"

"STOP!"  James nearly screamed through the phone, "Stand down!"

"But..."  Ashley stammered out.

James cut her off, "It's not our place to involve ourselves.  We don't need an International Incident.  And we certainly don't need you shot down in response.  Or are you forgetting that Khan has Nuclear Weapons, and the ICBMs to get one to you?"

"Stand down, Micheal."  Ashley sighed, "I hope that something good is going to come out of our inaction."

"We'll be able to complete our mission.  As for the rest, that's up to the diplomats."

[Lieutenant_Q]

United Nations Building
New York City
16 December 2013 - 14:15 EST

This was the last place that James wanted to be.  He never wanted to ever step foot in this building.  A couple of times earlier in the year, he had fantasied about reigning fire from orbit down onto this building.  Yet, here he was.  He was here at the request of two parties.  The first party was the International Red Cross, they wanted him here because he was technically still in charge of the freighter that witnessed first hand Khan's response to the bombing last week.  He had reviewed the telemetry that Ashley had sent him, and that was apparently enough for their purposes.  The second party was Khan himself.  Why Emperor Khan wanted him here was a complete mystery.  He had elected to use a cane for this day, he didn't really need the cane, as he had recovered his stamina the week before, but it gave him a few sympathy points from a few of the Ambassadors.  He sat in the corner of the UN General Assembly Room as the Ambassadors sat and listened to the IRC's report on Khan's Firebombing.  He chose to wear a nicer version of the jumpsuits that they would wear in space, a jumpsuit similar in design to the Costumes wore on the Star Trek spinoff, Enterprise, that had aired a decade prior.  The General Assembly building was designed to hold over 500 dignitaries, translators and aides.  Just a year ago there was nearly 200 separate states in the UN,  Now there was only 175.  All of the lost states a result of Khan's consolidation of the Persian Empire.

Khan personally attended today's meeting, his usual Ambassador seated slightly behind him.  James noted the extravagant Middle Eastern garb the two wore, which was fitting for men of their station in that society.  But, this being the first time he had seen the two of them in person, he had also noted something else in their demeanor.  Arrogance.  Not surprising from Khan himself, the young man was apparently in his early twenties, and had already amassed an Empire that rivaled Alexander's.  But coming from the Ambassador, a man of similar age, without Khan's achievements, seemed a bit out of place.  Khan seemed to have noticed the attention that James was paying his direction and returned the stare.  It was a brief meeting of the eyes, one that ended with Khan giving him a slight nod, before returning his attention to the nearly shrill individual who was now screaming about the follow up sweep the attack helicopters had performed after the initial firebombing.  Those helicopters had followed up the initial firebombing with a sweep of the village that killed nearly anything that moved, anything that survived, the initial assault.  The only video footage of the atrocity as it happened came from either US spy satellites, or from the freighter.  Neither was good quality, but it seemed enough for the IRC to damn Khan to the seventh level of hell.  Assuming that the man screaming even believed in hell.  The man concluded his presentation with a demand that Khan be sanctioned heavily for his actions.  He yielded the floor and returned to a seat in the other corner of the room.  Khan sat patiently as he waited for the chair to recognize him.  When the chair did so, he rose slowly, and flashed a smile to all assembled that told James, that you should feel grateful that I decided to grace you with my presence today.  "Ladies and Gentlemen of this esteemed body."  The sarcasm dripped from his words as he spoke in fluent English.  "I come before you today to inform you, that I traced the individuals responsible for the terrorist bombing last week to the small town of Bunyad Khan.  Once I had traced the terrorists back to their den, I instructed my forces to eradicate the terrorists, and those that harbored them.  They did so.  And they performed their task with the efficiency that I expected of them.  That you would presume to lecture me as to the disposition of my subjects is laughable.  I have done what no one before me has.  You may scorn me, you may hate me, but you will not disrespect me.  I have no regret, no remorse, I will do it again, and again.  Those of you who would hide behind these terrorists, be warned, if you harbor them, you will meet the same fate as Bunyad Khan."  Khan looked to the chairmen dismissively and then returned to his seat.

James couldn't help but smile, he scanned the crowd and observed the various diplomats and aides, very few were able to hide the look of shock, or scorn, on their faces.  The most amusing look though, had to come from the IRC representative, the man had all but leaped out of his seat, his face contorted with rage, he couldn't seem to find any words to express himself, but it was clear to everyone who noticed him, that he did indeed hate Khan.  James took a moment to re-gain his composure, and motioned to be recognized by the chair.  He had been brought here by the IRC in case Khan had attempted to defend his actions by doubting the veracity of the telemetry.  Since Khan had not, he wasn't going to be called, but he did feel that something else needed to be said.  When the chair recognized him, he rose from his seat, making an exaggerated use of the cane to get to his feet.  He took a couple steps forward and cleared his throat, "Ladies and Gentlemen.  I do not pretend to hold any stature, I am not a diplomat, I am simply a man with a dream.  I wanted off this rock.  You may wonder why.  The reasoning for that can be summed up very nicely here.  In this room.  This body has done nothing but coddle terrorists and their sympathizers since the day it was formed.  You all are responsible for the bombing, indirectly.  While I don't agree with Emperor Khan's methods, they were, in the end, completely logical.  The Islamic culture is one that is very susceptible to subversion.  A terrorist can enter a Muslim's home, and live there for weeks.  Under Islamic culture, the host can not turn away the guest, he cannot report on the actions of the guest, nor can he give him up.  If, as Emperor Khan says, the terrorists used Bunyad Khan as a base of operations, the entire town had to know of it.  The compassionate thing to do would have been to send in a company, root out the house responsible and hold the man for trial.  But it provides no dis-incentive for the terrorist to stop, nor does it provide a dis-incentive for the town to reject the terrorist's request for sanctuary.  Annihilating the town, on the other hand, provides a small measure of fear.  That fear will make another town think twice before welcoming in a stranger, a stranger who has destruction on his mind."  He paused for a moment, then dropped his next bomb, "One thing that you should know, is that we were in a position to stop the Attack Helicopters.  I chose not to.  It was not out of fear of retaliation.  It was out of respect for the sovereignty of Persia.  That is something that this body would do well to develop, not just in regards to Persia, but to the rest of the world.  You are not the answer to all of the world's problems.  In fact, you are the cause of many of them.  Earth is not yet ready for one world government, stop trying to force yourselves onto it."

Someone in the assembly shouted out, "Have you no respect for Human Rights?!"

James laughed, "That's an extremely laughable question coming from the people in this room.  Your so-called Human Rights Commission, headed up by states who kill thousands of their people for the high crime of simply disagreeing with their leaders.  He may have killed eighty people in that strike, but aside from the children, all of them were guilty of harboring terrorists.  However, you will note, that Persian forces went out of their way to avoid killing surviving children."  He scanned the room, some looked as if they agreed with him, but many couldn't hide their derision, he raised his voice to finish his statement, "One last item.  While my station will be a neutral, international station.  Anyone who can get there will be welcome there.  Do not take it as an invitation to set yourselves up there.  My station will not put itself under your jurisdiction.  The United Nations is not welcome there."  He turned on his heel and walked out of the assembly room.

Had James been paying attention, he would have noticed that Khan chose the exact same moment to get up and walk out of the assembly room as well, through a different exit.  James though, had been entirely focused on making his exit without looking anyone else in the eye.  He took a deep breath when he finally got out of the room.

"Your support is not unappreciated."

James wheeled in the direction of the voice, "Emperor."

He held up a finger, "Khan." He smiled as he stepped closer, his demeanor had changed to one of friendliness, "You made more than a few enemies with your statements in there."

James shrugged, "James, then.  And I didn't have many friends in there to begin with."

"But you are correct.  The United Nations is bloated bureaucracy that is corrupt to the core.  If there is to be one world government, they will have no part in it.  The truth can be a painful thing to hear when it does not match ones perception."

"Many people will blind themselves to the truth when it doesn't match that perception.  If I may, why did you want me here?"
 
Khan turned to leave, "I knew from your earlier dealings with these people that you would be an ally.  I do not forget my allies.  Just as I do not forgive my enemies."

[Lieutenant_Q]

West Texas Launch Facility
17 December 2013 - 12:10 CST

"I can't believe you spoke in support of that man!"

James looked up from the dossier folder in front of him at a fuming Ashley Hudson.  "I'll call you right back."  He took the phone off his shoulder and set it down on the receiver, "I realize that I have an open door policy, but it is usually polite to knock first."  He pushed the folder to the side.  "What brings you down here?"

"You supported that monster!  And because of you he didn't even get sanctioned!"  She didn't enter the office, but rather stayed in the doorway screaming at him.

James leaned back in his chair, refusing to let her anger rile him, "That I supported him was meaningless to the sanctions.  I had spoken to the Chinese and Russian Ambassadors earlier in the day, they were going to veto any sanctions."  He sighed, "Sometimes in politics you have to read other people.  No one in that room really wanted to sanction him.  Oh there were a few, but everyone knew what that would mean.  Persia is not Iran, its not Iraq, it's not Syria, Egypt or Lybia.  Its all of the above.  Persia is like OPEC, with one leader.  You sanction Persia, and Oil jumps to $200.  The global economy is coming apart at the seams with the Euro collapsing, it can't afford $200 oil."

"I don't need to be lectured about reality to you!  You stood by and let him slaughter those people!  Innocents!"

"They were hardly innocent."

She stopped.  He thought that he might have gotten through to her, but instead she produced a piece of paper from her shoulder pocket.  "I can't work for you anymore."  She stepped in and placed it on his desk.  "I thought you were a decent person."

James looked down at the letter of resignation she placed in front of him.  "I'm sorry to see you go.  I take it you already have your belongings?"  She nodded, he picked up the letter, "Then I'll have someone escort you off the base."

Her jaw dropped slightly, "That's it?"

He stopped half-turned, "That's what?  Were you expecting something else?"  He turned back to her, "A, 'You can't leave, what ever will we do with out you?'  Micheal will be just fine in charge of the freighter.  I'm not going to beg to keep you.  If you feel you have to leave, then leave.  I will miss you.  You've been a good friend, but this is professional now.  I don't think this is the end of our professional relationship, but where it goes from here is entirely up to you.  As for our personal, again, that's up to you.  I hold you in no less respect than I did before, in fact, if anything, I might have a bit more respect for you.  You're following your principles, just as I am following mine.  Neither one is more right than the other.  A lesser person would have simply compromised their principles because mine are the ones in charge.  I shall miss your counsel, but it changes nothing."

She stood straight up, "Then this is it then?"

He nodded, "Indeed.  We'll see each other again."

She shook her head, "I don't think I'll ever be able to work for you again."

He shrugged, "You won't have to.  There will be plenty of people looking to build a ship that would love to hire someone with your experience." He smiled at her, "I imagine you'll be docked at the station sooner than you realize."

"Until then."  She turned and left his doorway. 

He slowly turned back to the filing cabinet to file her resignation away.  He contemplated the last two years, and what was their sometimes tense, but useful relationship.  She did make a good foil for him and she would be sorely missed, but he was not going to give her the satisfaction of pleading with her to stay.  No sooner than he had shut the cabinet than there was a knock on his still open door.  He recognized the rhythm of the knock. "Hello Sam."

"So she left?"

He turned back to face her and nodded, "Yes."

"Hurts doesn't it?"  She slipped in and sat down in the seat across from him.

He shrugged, "A bit.  More than I thought it would."  He looked beyond her, "I always knew that this was a possible ending. A likely ending.  Our personalities were just so opposed to one another."  He returned his attention to her.  "Things change."

She reached across the desk for his hand, "What are you going to do?"

"The only thing I can do.  Move on.  What I told her was true.  I don't need her.  She will be missed, but Micheal can do her job just as well."  He withdrew his hand from hers, "All it really means, is that I have to find someone to fill out the freighter's bridge crew now."

She looked at him as he turned back to his filing cabinet and pulled out a large folder, he set it down on his desk and opened it up.  "Do you think she's right?"

He pulled a dozen pages off the top and set them aside, "Right about what?"

"Did you just speak in support of an evil man?"

"Good and Evil is subjective, based on your own moral compass.  There are societal norms, and that's what we tend to base our definitions off of.  No one is completely good, just as no one is completely evil.  We are all shades of grey, some darker, some lighter.  But to define a man as evil, or good.  Well..."  he trailed off as he found an application that peaked his interest, "It's All Relative."


END PART 1

[Captain Sharp]

I need to catch up on yours, sorry. Have a couple days off coming. Plan to do a lot of catching up...

--guv