Three hours earlier, Admiral McCray and First Officer Thorvald were ferried back to their ship on board the NeoAfrican cruiser, Douglass.Admiral McCray and the cruiser’s captain, Anita Johnson, had a pleasant conversation, while Thorvald looked on in his usual silence. When McCray and the captain parted it was with good cheer and the two Unity Expedition officers walked through the docking tube connecting the Douglass to the Admiral’s command ship Swiftstrider.“This is intolerable,” Thorvald hissed the moment he stepped foot inside the Unity ship.The Swiftstrider’s captain Trevor Whitlok, accompanied by Hedrik Jaffers, commander of the Drop Marine Contingent were present in the reception wing to greet their Admiral and First Officer.McCray responded joyfully to the officers’ greetings.Thorvald brushed past them in a venomous huff.“He seems to be in a good mood,” Captain Whitlok grinned.“Thorvald is a bit under stress,” McCray explained with a wink and a nod.“Being on a planet full of goddamn niggers is more than just a bit of stress for me, sir!” The First Officer blurted, his jaw twitching so noticeably it threatened to unhinge itself. “A whole goddamn planet full of bloody blacks.”Whitlok and the heavily muscled marine commander traded amused glances at Thorvald’s fury.“This is not the first time we have been around their kind,” said McCray as he and his officers embarked down a brightly lit corridor.“No Admiral, but it is the first time we’ve been around so many,” Thorvald emphasized with a distasteful grimace. “And they’re so damned smug, a bunch of inferiors claiming they built that civilization. White people founded that colony, created all that technology, not a bunch of goddamn niggers!”“Then what happened to the whites?” Asked Comander Jaffers.Thorvald scowled. “Either they left or those niggers killed them all.”The officers entered the bridge.A bank of display screens covered every area of bulkhead space, most showing real time visuals of Brookinsia, and its orbital network. The remaining displays showed images of the other six worlds that comprised the NeoAfrican Federation.Bridge crew remained focused on their terminal interfaces, hardly acknowledging the Admiral or their captain.McCray glowed with approval. He liked a busy crew.“In the end, it’s irrelevant how the blacks acquired their technology,” McCray said. “Some of their gadgetry and machinery will prove useful to us. It’s just a matter of discovering which.”“The sooner we make that discovery the sooner we scorch their filthy planets,” Thorvald insisted with a feral gleam in his eye.“Without a doubt,” McCray agreed. He eased down in his cushioned command chair. A small part of him disdained the chair’s comfort. He was a lifelong soldier, long accustomed to the hardships of duty. The soothing chair remained a difficult perk for him to accept even after several years of leading expeditions.A bridge officer approached the Admiral with a spherical device in hand. The officer held the device in front of McCray’s right eye and a chittering sound emanated from the object.McCray’s eye was not real. It was artificial. The eye did more than enable McCray to see, it was an imager and a visual recorder.The device wielded by the bridge officer extracted and stored the visual data captured by McCray’s eye. After ten seconds of extraction and storage, the officer inserted the device in an instrument panel slot for downloading. Almost immediately, images of the people and places McCray had seen appeared on the central display screen.The admiral ordered the officer to fast forward the sequence of images, then raised his hand in a stop gesture. A scene of the dinner with the NeoAfrican president froze on the screen.“That’s their so-called president,” said Thorvald, his tone laced with ridicule.Captain Whitlok curled his lip. “Good God, he’s blacker than my boot sole.”“A stupid, degenerate looking bunch if ever I’ve seen one,” Jaffers added.“You disparage them,” said McCray. “But keep in mind, they are a smart bunch of degenerates. Their instruments detected the power sources to our weaponry. Do you know what that means? It means they know how well armed we are. It also means that they are watching us and that they are not to be underestimated.”The air of mockery evaporated under the heat of McCray’s glare.Thorvald, Whitlok and Jaffers straightened, their expressions dutifully serious.McCray returned his focus to the screen. “There.” He pointed. “They call that machine a servor droid. Lt. Kobern, transfer that image to Sci-Engineering. I X rayed the droid, so Krindal and his staff will be able to study its inner workings.”“Right away, sir,” acknowledged the officer who extracted the data from McCray’s eye.“Pardon me, Admiral, but why are you interested in a harmless servant droid?” Asked a bewildered Thorvald.McCray spared an indulgent smile. “That harmless servant droid will give us some insight into how we can build very small attack drones with the ability to maneuver flawlessly through enclosed environments like buildings or space vessels. There’s much application that be derived from the mundane.”Thorvald nodded in appreciation of the admiral’s rationale. “Of course, sir.”“Admiral, Jolene did not accompany you,” said the captain.“She’s still on the planet,” McCray confirmed.Whitlok’s brow furrowed in a troubled look. “Sir, she’s down there among all those blacks, alone. I’m concerned.”“Jolene can take care of herself, Captain,” McCray replied confidently. “She has a job to do, as do we all. By the time we move on from this part of space I trust our efforts will have been met with resounding success.”Dr. Joshua Akobe indicated the holo image of the Unity ship that floated in the middle of the Noir House main conference room.President Dula, Minister Amari, First Commander Oden, Directors Vick and Dellums, Mensah and five other top level civilian and military officials were present in the room.As head of the Brookins Lab, the largest, most renowned institute for scientific research in the Federation, Dr. Akobe’s easy expertise of the topic he was presenting more than justified his exalted position.“The materials scan Captain Johnson conducted on the Unity ships revealed the standard superhardened metallics. However, the scan also picked up conspicuous traces of what I would refer to as dormant high energy layering the hulls.”“Dormant high energy?” said Dula, intrigued.“Yes, Mr. President. The reason I call it that is because my lab has been exploring the concept of combining energy and matter. You see, Mr. President, our warships employ energy shielding to preserve hull integrity during battle. The shield is generated from a power source within the ship. A hull protected by matter/energy shielding requires no external generation. Matter/energy automatically increases density when subjected to extreme stress such as a missile impact.”“Are you saying that the Unity ships have no conventional shielding?” asked First Commader Oden.“Oh, it’s possible,” Dr. Akobe speculated. “What I’m saying is that any conventional shielding they may have is likely a reinforcement of the probable dormant high energy shield protecting their hulls.”“If that’s the case, then their ships are practically invincible,” Minister Amari commented soberly. As a former Fleet officer, the Defense Minister was certainly no novice when it came to warship capabilities.“Dr. Akobe,” addressed the president. “You say your lab is studying matter/energy integration?”“Yes, Mr. President. The research is at a very early stage, but deep analysis of the scans provided by Captain Johnson should reveal data that will enable us to jump ahead several steps toward development.”“Very good, Doctor. While you’re doing that, I want you to find ways to neutralize a matter/energy shield.”“Of course, Mr. President.”“Thank you for your valuable input.”“My pleasure, Mr. President.” Dr. Akobe inclined his head to President Dula and departed the conference room.Dula turned to Mensah. “So, Robert, what is your evaluation of our guests?”“Admiral McCray doesn’t lack charm, Jolene Karsen is full of enthusiasm and Thorvald is about as vocal as a tree limb,” Mensah critiqued dryly.“Why did they want to go to the Technology Museum?” Asked Director Vick.“Was the museum on a list of sites that you recommended they visit?”Mensah didn’t care for the underlying implication in Vick’s question.Before the Chief Advisor could fling a verbal barb, Minister Amari jumped in. “What are you suggesting, Tirel, that Robert compromised our security by allowing our guests to visit a public building filled with relics?”“With respect, Defense Minister, our guests may find something in those relics which they might consider adaptable to their own technology.”“We have plenty of popular publications, historical archives, and academic journals for public consumption,” said Dula. “Any one of those sources contain material that is potentially useful to someone, somewhere. And McCray can easily access those those sources without ever stepping foot inside a museum. Needless to say, I am confident about our ability to keep classified information within the proper classified bounds.” The president’s statement on the matter was decisive, signaling an end to that discussion.Vick nodded meekly.“In two hours Admiral McCray is going to address the Senate,” Donovan Knightly, Minister of Information Affairs, stated. “The senators are as enchanted by these people as the public. They’ve become the darlings of the media.”“I understand,” said Dula. “We would be going against the grain of public opinion if my administration were to advocate a more cautious approach to McCray and those immensely powerful ships he commands.”“We just have to make sure that a viewpoint not so friendly to our guests is disseminated to the public,” Director Vick suggested.The president thrust a finger in agreement. “You are absolutely right. To those elements in our society who think McCray is akin to a messenger from the gods, rational, balanced thinking is sorely needed. I want you and Minister Knightly to work together, make sure our viewpoint is published widely in all the prominent and not so prominent dailies and weeklies.” Regarding Mensah with a lopsided smile: “In the meantime, Robert, continue to cater to our guests. Put on your best face, as we all must, until their intentions are deciphered.”
Comments