Eric Olafson, Fleet Cadet 29

Chapter 29: Interlude: Annapolis Tower, Earth

There were few new buildings on Earth and obtaining a new construction permit was very difficult. Usually only something that could not be renovated or preserved was rePlaced. Ever since the Second Exodus, Earth population was kept steady at about two billion beings and great effort was taken to preserve cities and historical buildings.

Annapolis Tower in San Francisco was one of the few super modern Arcologies on Earth. At over 2500 meter height it was also the largest building of the planet. It was Union Fleet Administration Headquarters and extended far underground. It was the only Union government department on Earth or in the Sol System and over 2 Million beings worked and served here. It was nowhere near the size of Union Fleet Operations headquarters on Pluribus and did not have the same Hornets nest character and buzzing activity of UFO. While many of the Operation desks were maintained around the clock, most administrative Offices kept regular working hours and were closed at night and over the weekends. Admiral Mc Elligott was always one of the very first that arrived and usually was the last to leave; there was no difference this Monday morning as his flyer set him down at the landing platform on the 50th floor. While he was often traveling throughout the Union, when he was here he lived at his ancestral home near Edinburgh Scotland. He would not have minded to take the Trans Planet transport system, but he understood the concern of the Security Department and so he was picked up by flyer. He did not have many political enemies, especially since he never took side or part in any political arguments and managed to stay neutral for a very long time. He was a celebrity and there were many Union Citizens who could recognize him on sight, especially since he chose to wear his traditional Scottish costume whenever possible. There was no political assassination or really serious crime on Earth for the last 2000 years but Earth and especially the Union did have enemies and killing one of the Immortals would have been a great feat to them.

He turned and looked over the San Francisco bay and the rising Sun in the east, coloring the still impressive and beautiful Golden Gate Bridge in a bright orange over the deep green sea. He was one of the few people who knew that this was no longer the original bridge but rePlaced molecule by molecule with Ultronit.

As an Immortal Admiral he had seen countless worlds and the most spectacular sights of the known Universe, but to him there was no Place like Earth.

His main assistant and aide worked with him now fore almost ten years and the Commander knew him well and waited at the entrance door not disturbing the morning routine of the Old Admiral. Elligott blinked into the sun and then went to the entrance. Wondering what this day would hold, even after three thousand years he still did so every day. His old friend Stahl had the Fornax problem well in hand and it did not look like the next Y’All invasion was very imminent after all and now that they had gotten a taste of the things to come and the direction from where it would come they had a good chance to prepare for it. To have a Narth Sphere there as well was very reassuring.

The Union reacted like a well oiled machine; there was no panic in the general population and confidence in the fleet. He was very proud as how much the Union had grown and grown together since the last Y’All Attack. The Union government maintained a 90 percent approval rating for over 2000 years now and this was quite an accomplishment with all those different civilizations. Normally only dictator ships could maintain such high ratings and the Union was certainly not a dictatorship.

The largest fleet concentration and Fleet construction project in many years had begun only last Friday. 170,000 ships and sixteen of the largest mobile ship yards were dispatched and would work on a Connection bridge between Union space and the Fornax Cluster. Even conservative estimates predicted that the connection would be complete in only three or four years.

His aide greeted him and as usual begun to brief him on their way to his office on the important developments over the weekend. Of course he would have been called if there was something really important.

The Commander held his PDD and said. “The Torath have sent a delegation to Pluribus this morning to apply for membership.”

“Refresh my memory on them would you?”

“The Torath are a technological highly advanced and very reclusive and aggressive Civilization in the Large Magellan Cloud. One of the few that are not associated to our friends of the Attikan commonwealth. Traditionally they were enemies to the Attikan. They claim a sizeable Area in that Cloud and say they have a base in the Fornax Cluster.”

“Oh right, they look like large angry Hamsters and if I recall they do have an impressive fleet of little but very fast and well armed ships.”

“Yes that is them alright.”

“If I recall the last reports correctly they had a very negative view towards the Attikan and the Union. What changed their minds, do we know?”

“I have no detailed Intel on that, but there is an unconfirmed report that a Union legal expert managed to solve the millennia old dispute between Attika and the Torath and that is the cause. I personally think it is the big fleet build and Stahl being in that area with his huge tub that made them think they were the target.”

“I guess we will know eventually. It certainly is good to gain another member. Anything else?”

“Not much, Sir. It might interest you that your special friend Midshipman Olafson managed to make a very impressive but quite stupid prank call.”

Mc Elligott stopped in his tracks. “A prank call?”

“Yes the Midshipman managed to route a call on the distress channels via an old relay buoy all the way down to the Cygnus Arm in the outer reaches of the Downward sector. It is an old Relay buoy chain left over from the Piostla war.

That buoy chain has not been used in 700 years. It had been left there by the USS Cyprus. He could not possibly be there of course. The security department is still looking into it and how he managed to reroute the call from there.”

“Midshipman Olafson is with a xeno biologist on Wichita planet researching the Big Bone mystery there. Have you tried to call him there?”

“Sir this was a juvenile prank, done with considerable hacking skills. I think he wanted to impress you or something. That he knows you went probably to his head and now he thinks he can call you whenever he likes.”

“So you have not called him.”

“No not yet.”

“I don’t think this Midshipman is the kind who would do a Prank call and besides I did ask you to put him on my call list. So he could call me whenever he wants.

I think we owe him that for what he endured at camp Idyllic. Besides are we not to investigate any and all distress calls of any Union citizen and fleet member?”

“Of course Sir, but I talked to the man only recently and he could not possibly be 90,000 light years away. Because he is something like a friend to you I didn’t want to make this a big deal and get him in trouble before I could talk to you, Sir.”

“He is the best friend to a Narth and the Narth made him high representative. A Narth Sphere just made the trip to the Fornax Cluster in less than an Hour. I am 3000 years old and I can’t tell you what is possible and what not.”

He reached his office and said.”Get me a connection to Wichita planet and call that Science Corps Officer there.”

“Yes Sir.”

“After you done that, you go down to personnel and send me a new assistant.”

--””--

FREYA AND BRENDA

I did not wake Brenda. She needed the sleep more than I did. Even the big Huffh fell asleep, mostly due to the fact that he was pain free for the first time in over a month. I checked periodically on the progress of the Auto Doc and dictated a detailed report into my PDD. I was certain the details of our expedition would be of significance if we made it back. I also didn’t trust the rest of these big Huffh. I somehow had the feeling that we had not reached the climax of our adventure just yet and there would be more problems ahead.

I wished I had a mapping satellite with me. I even considered taking one along but did not think I would need one in a cave.

The bones of our big patient mended well. The Nanites had no problem weaving new bone tissue. I was always in awe when I saw one of the huge battle ships, but realizing what a marvel of technology this little auto doc unit was, made me very proud of the Union. This little machine held the medical base knowledge of the entire Union and was able to apply first aid to so many different species. The tiny robots, the nanites able to replicate themselves to tackle larger tasks scurried nonstop inside the big Huffh body carrying molecule size matter from other areas of the body to mend the damage. While they were unable to reconstruct Brenda’s nose like it was before as they had no reference, they could reconstruct the leg of the Huffh as they simply used the other leg as mirror image reference.

The first rays of the Sun chased away the last shadows of the night and the big Huff stirred and I said.” Try to stay calm for another hour then you should be able to walk. I will have to leave the bandage for another day however as it supports the new bone tissue and allows the nanites to complete the reconstruction of muscle and nerve tissue.”

“You have saved my life. You have saved the life of my mate as well and you say I can walk again. This is a miracle. I was afraid all this was a night thought. Nothing real, but it is real.”

“Tell me about the Valley and the Cave. How do you trigger the transition?”

“I do not know what you mean exactly, but once a Huffh is near death it must enter the Cave and seek the Valley. It is only possible during the time when the big sky light reaches the mountains and the light of the sky light reaches into the Cave. It was the time when you appeared yesterday.”

“How do you know that?”

“The Voices of the Cave of things tell us when to go.”

“It seems we have to go to the Cave of Things after all.”

“I shall show you the way and protect you.”

“Why would we need protection?”

“Because we have to cross the Forest of the Hanglers and they are not friendly and then there are those among the Huffh who do not like that you have come back and killed Uglam.”

“Are you telepathic? I mean can you talk to other Huffh even when they are far away?”

“Not talk no, but all Huffh know what other Huffh feel.”

Brenda came out of the tent. “You are Freya now and don’t have to be so old fashioned macho. You could have made me take the second shift as we agreed.” She only wore her tight fitting green body suit and hat not put on jacket and equipment belt and I noticed how feminine her body was.

“I was not tired and I am still fresh from Basic training, we never get much sleep there and rise early so I decided to let you sleep.”

“Yeah but from now on we stick to what we agree on.” She caressed her own body and said.” One hour at a good Surgeon and you look just like that.”

“Are you a telepath?”

“No I am not, but I am a woman long enough to read faces and yours was quite obvious and remember I was once like you and had the same thoughts.”

I went into the tent and used the portable hygiene recycler and freshened up. Then we had a little breakfast of Nutro-Bars and coffee. I told Brenda what Caram had told me and that we needed to go to the Cave of Things.

We packed our things and she said.”Maybe the Uni have left behind some sort of Control device for the spatial gate.”

“That is what I am hoping too.”

The sun was now well past the horizon and I checked on Caram once again and said to him.” I think you can try to walk now.”

Caram turned back on his feet and raised his massive body using all four of his legs. He screamed so loud it echoed between the mountains and I could see the body of the female Huffh in the distance rising too. I grabbed the TKU, but Brenda put her hand on my shoulder.”Wait.”

Caram expelled air through his nostrils and shook his big head.” It feels as if I am reborn. I can walk again and I feel no pain.”

“You screamed.”

“I had to express my joy somehow. I simply could not contain it. I am sorry if I startled you Little Ones.”

I cleared my throat and said.”Well big Fellow, lead the way to the Cave of things, but take it easy and give the bones time to mend more and become stronger.”

“It is a far journey and we must travel for maybe two times the Sky Ball rising before we reach the Cave of Things, but first I must forage for food. I am hungry.”

“I never make it in time to pick up my first ship anyway, so lead the way.”

--””--

CAVE OF THINGS

Even taking it slow the big Huffh covered more ground with each step it took than we did with ten. In order to keep up Brenda suggested we use our flight belts. The units had an Arti Grav Lifter and two little turbines for movement. Caram stopped and watched us as we took off and floated next to him.” You are so little and yet you can do so many wondrous things.”

“It is just easier this way to keep up with you.” Said Brenda,” but rest assured we are not gods or anything like that.”

“What are gods?”

“Do the Huffh worship something?”

“Oh you mean like beings and such you can only see when you sleep? No we do not believe they are real and we do not worship them.”

Brenda said to me.” Fascinating they have a very old civilization and have been exposed to a high technology species and yet they have no religion.”

“Maybe if you are the biggest thing around you do not need to invent a religion.”

I looked around and said to Caram.” I can no longer see your mate. She was following us but now she has disappeared.”

“She is foraging for food for herself and me and she is very much afraid of you two.”

We had been on the move for the better part of the day and the Sun was now at the zenith and the weather was warm. The landscape had changed from the alpine meadow character around the cave to a more dense forested nature. There was a clear path between the trees, stomped compacted dirt by the movement of many Huffh.

Brenda pointed at a clearing that was opening before us and said,” I think we should rest here, so Caram can take a break and receive the food of his mate and maybe he can tell her we are not dangerous.”

Caram agreed readily.” I will go and forage and catch up with Balmi and tell her about you. I will come back to this gathering spot. It was here where the old Utnalai told me the story about the Uni.”

While the Huffh crashed into the thicket Brenda landed on the forest meadow next to a little creek and I noticed how pale she looked and the thick sweat on her face and I said.” You don’t look very good, do you feel ill?”

“I am just so tired and I feel so cold.”

I pressed the Auto Doc on her arm and the read out told me that she had a bacterial infection, and that the initial broadband treatment was not successful. The Auto Doc recommended professional Medical attention.

“Immediate medical help is unavailable, prognosis and recommendation.”

“Continued treatment with antibiotics. Recommend isolating the bacteria and uploading results to GalNet and receive Nanite Instructions to counteract infection.”

Brenda of course had heard the Auto Doc as well and said.” I think the bats infected me with microbes the Auto Doc can’t deal with on its own, we need to draw some salvia from the bat and scan it and then send the results to Medical Central. The Auto Doc might then be able to generate the correct Antibody.”

“Then we better make camp right here and do that, I still have a little Energy left on the PDD for maybe one or two short transmissions.”

While I set up camp, I felt as if someone was watching us, so I used the Science Scanner and scanned the surroundings. Brenda was sitting on the ground next to a tree, her arms wrapped around her knees and she was shaking.”If it wouldn’t be so cold I could help.”

She had a fever no doubt and I had to hurry. The scan revealed many Neuro impulses around us; these forests were full of life.

The tent went up in no time and I put Brenda on the hammock inside and turned up the heating module of the tent. She didn’t look good at all and the Auto Doc put her in a deep sleep. I killed the Bat in the Specimen container, scanned its mouth and send the scan results to Medical Central. I now had less than fifteen percent energy. Med Central confirmed the reception of the data and the Auto Docs detailed diagnosis and just as the treatment recommendation was about to transmitted, the transmission cut off, the PDD energy was depleted.

Something hard hit the tent. I grabbed the TKU and opened the flap; long hairy arms grabbed after the Muzzle and tried to pull the weapon out of my hand. Instinctively I pressed the trigger and the discharge burned something. There was a chorus of angry screeching voices and I glanced through the flap. Hundreds of primate looking creatures, covered in dark brown fur, with piercing yellow eyes and bright red colored snouts covered the entire clearing. Eight of them had been caught in the blast cone and their remains lie smoldering on the ground. The brown things were about as tall as a twelve year old, had long arms that reached to the ground and they carried rocks and sticks. As soon as they saw me, they pelted the tent with a shower of fist size rocks.

While I was confident the Memory material could withstand some abuse as it was made to provide shelter in nearly any environment, it would not last forever. My energy magazine still held 14 bolts and with Brenda’s I still had two spare energy packs. I dialed it down, took careful aim and killed ten of them in a fast pace. Those Primates fled into the tree, but did not scatter like the big Huffh had done. Still stones and sticks came raining down from the tree tops. One look at the bio scanner confirmed my fear, there were not hundreds, but thousands of them and it appeared their number increased by the moment.

I set the force field muzzle to wide cone and set a few tree tops on fire, draining my first energy pack, but the rock pelting stopped the screaming however increased and it sounded like a war cry.

Then a new shower of rocks and a tearing sound. One of the rocks had torn a big hole in the fabric of the tent.

--””--

THE HUFFH

They had crossed the shallow seas and were closer to the Cave of things now. As urgent as they wanted to reach the Cave of things, they needed to forage and since they were so many they could coral the swimming flicks and feast on them. The Huffh would form a semi circle and slowly wade through the shallow waters and drive the flicker before them into a bay at the shore. There was no escape for the flickers as they trashed in panic in the water. No longer able to dive so near to the beach, their finned backs were exposed to the air. The Huffh, now shoulder to shoulder lowered their huge maws into the water and each time nabbed six or seven of the flickers and it was good forage. They all were filled with the delicious fresh tasting flesh of the flickers.

Some Huffh found this way of foraging very unfair and cruel towards the flickers and hoped they too had a cave of life they could return, but the joy of the commune hunt and the abundance of food was enough to silence these moral objections.

Well fed and in the community with all the other Huffh, the horrors of the last day already faded. They usually did this kind of foraging only once every season and one of the male Huffh said to all of them.” If we can gather flicks this way in communion, then we can stand against the Uni in communion. Maybe they can use the Burn light on a few of us, but then the rest will crush them, just as we gather the Flicks or crush the Hanglers. This is a new thought a new way. The Anali always want to run away.”

The Old Anali felt the crescendo of approving feelings to this and wondered if that male was maybe right. The Hanglers did it that way. Even a small group of Hanglers could not stand against a Huffh, but whenever they gathered with many families they were able to wound a Huffh. Had not a large group of Hanglers wounded Galpin so bad he had to go into the Cave only one season ago? The Hanglers did not let up, even if many Hanglers perished.

Then she felt the joy of Caram. He was not dead. He felt euphoric and free of pain. That she could feel him so far away meant his feelings were very strong.

The others felt it too and the question and challenge of the male was forgotten for now and someone said.” Caram walks. Caram walks again. He is not dead.”

“The Uni have confused his thoughts.” The Old one said.” He could not possibly walk again. You all know what happens to a Huffh that has the Bone fire. It is a rouse and they try to confuse us.”

The same voice responded.”But why would they need to confuse us if they can burn us.”

The male spoke.” Because they are afraid of us if we unite and crush them and do it like the Hanglers do.”

“But the Hanglers don’t mind dying here. We cannot die like them.”

The male Huffh had no immediate answer to that and fell silent again.

But the idea was there and to the shock of the Old Utnalai it was her best friend the one who would take her place that answered.

“Uglam has died and we felt it, and it was a great shock but he did die and we are still here. Maybe a few of us must die here to gain our freedom from the Uni. Even after so many seasons we are still not home here and we are still in fear of the Uni and they do things to us we do not want. I say we go and crush them and if Huffh die then we will carry them to the Cave and let the Cave take them to the Valley.”

The Old Utnalai felt the wish and desire of power in her old friend and it was the same wish she tried to defend and even made her lie to the Huffh. Seeing it in someone else made her angry, her friend betraying her. Not willing to wait her time, she wanted to be Utnalai now.

What had happened to the Huffh? Had the death of Uglam brought in more than death? The Huffh had not known fear, not lie and deception among each other and now it was there. Did the Uni bring new thoughts with them? The Old Utnalai could not explain why she suddenly wished to harm her best friend and punish her for speaking out of line.

“We are almost at the Cave of Things. Let us finished the journey and the Voice of the Cave will tell us what the Uni want and I will tell you the secret story.”

The Herd agreed, but not anymore with complete trust that this was the only solution. There were many new feelings among the Huffh and many were new and dark.