The Euclidian: When Worlds Collide (uncut) Page 14

  A couple of hours later the XO reported, “Captain, we’ve arrived at the seventh planet of the solar system, beyond detection range of Earth, the inhabited third planet. We will commence mining it and then the next two once Mikael gives the signal”

  “How long before you can finish mining these planets?”

  “We can finish the first one in a couple of weeks. The other two will take a couple of months, if we harvest them in unison. We should be able to offload the cargo and be back before Earth travels from the behind the sun and its inhabitants notice the other planets are missing. We don’t want them poisoning their planet with radiation like the Waldorf team had to deal with.”

  “Sounds like you have everything worked out. To be safe, let’s push the gaseous planets’ moons out of orbit before we start. We’re not going to mine them, and it will give us a chance to practice using the gravity engines to move large objects. We can use their planets as leverage. Let’s leave the moons around the fifth planet for later. I don’t want to risk the crew being harmed by the planet’s radiation. Work with the science officer to determine when each moon appears on the far side of its planet so we can easily shove it away from the gravitational pull of their sun.”

  “Aye aye, sir,” replied the XO.

  The captain next met with the logistics officer to go over the details of the mining deployment. His office had several large screens on the wall, one showing an image of the local solar system. There were numbers by each planet indicating the order in which they would be mined. A zero indicated that the planet would be skipped. There was a 1 next to Uranus and 2s next to Saturn and Jupiter since they would be mined simultaneously. Another screen showed Uranus and its moons. The planets’ moons were too small to bother with and so were labeled with zeroes. Shisal noticed that one of the moons had disappeared, indicating that the XO had started pushing them into space. A third screen showed the mineral content of Uranus, and listed the containment areas where the different minerals would be stored after mining.

  The logistics officer greeted the captain. “It’s a pleasure to have you visit my office. How may I assist you?”

  “I want to go over the logistics again. What’s the plan for clearing this solar system?”

  “As you can see from the solar chart, this system has nine planets. The first one is a tiny ice planet and designated with a zero because we won’t be mining it. We will mine the seventh planet from their sun, which will take about two weeks. Next we will mine the sixth and fifth planets simultaneously. They will take out the first planet from their sun when their orbits decay. That will take eight weeks to complete. We will return to base for two weeks to dump the cargo and retrofit the holds before returning. We will then mine the third planet of minerals as well as life forms. We will take that cargo back to headquarters to avoid spoilage and then return to mine the second, fourth, and eighth planets. The inhabited planet is now on the far side of their sun and won’t be able to detect the missing planets for thirteen weeks, giving us plenty of time to complete our mining, offload, and return.”

  “That sounds good. What about the planet we are preparing to mine now?”

  “Here is a description,” stated the logistics officer, pointing to a screen. “Dimensions, total mass, surface temperature, orbital speed, and speed of revolution. Along the right are the mineral inventory, and the volume required to store minerals and each gas once compressed. Here are the principal mineral deposits. Collectively, all the minerals that we plan to harvest should only occupy ten percent of our cargo space. We should have plenty of space left over to store the minerals we’ll mine from the other two planets.”

  “Great work, Commander. Let’s move to the next planet.”

  “That one is much larger, and has rings and several moons. Its minerals will take up an additional thirty percent of our storage space. The rings don’t have anything of interest to us, but could be a danger once they become unstable after the mass of the planet is diminished beyond its ability to hold them in place. This planet’s moons are too small to harvest. The planet after that is the largest in the system. You can see by the radiation readings that getting too close would cause a danger to crewmembers. We will only mine that one with our unmanned vehicles or Nomids as needed. Its moons are also small and certainly not worth the trouble of harvesting.”

  “I want us to hold off on mining the next two planets,” said Shisal, “until Mikael gives the word that their orbits have brought them close enough to collide with each other once we have mined their atmospheres, so that they fall into the sun together. Are you sure that the other planets will be clear of their decaying orbital paths?”

  “Aye, Captain. I went over the numbers several times with Mikael. We will only lose the one small planet, which is of little consequence.”

  “We have to complete the entire operation in ten weeks. That will give us three weeks to return home, complete the offload, reconfigure, and return before the inhabited planet notices anything is awry. After we mine the inhabited planet we’ll mine two more planets and be done with this system. We can take the booty home for payment and finally retire.”

  “Yes, I agree, Captain. Our timing should be just fine. And also that it will be a good time to retire. After this mission I will be able to acquire one hundred servants to work the estate I bought with the money from our previous missions. I got a place on a planet in the Kindle system that is like something one would read about in a fairy tale.”

  “Enough with the idle chatter,” interjected the captain. “Is headquarters aware of our reconfiguration and timing needs?”

  “Aye, Captain. And I will send them a reminder once we have a more accurate estimate of when we will complete this part of the mission.”

  “Good. I don’t want any delays jeopardizing our mission. Who’s working on our timing for the gas planets? I don’t want to miss out on valuable cargo by exiting too soon or stay too long and lose one of our ships in the gravitational well of their sun.”

  “The navigator and mining officer have been working on that and have a plan in place.”

  “Get them in here.”

  “Aye, Captain.”

  When the navigator and mining officer arrived, Shisal asked, “Are you confident that we can safely mine the gas planets and get out safely without being discovered?”

  “Aye, Captain,” replied the navigator.

  “Aye, Captain,” replied the mining officer. “We can’t commence operations on the second and third planets for a couple of weeks, but this will closely align with the completion of mining on the first planet. I’m working with Mikael on exact timing.”

  “Okay. Don’t screw this up. There is too much riding on this for me. Dismissed!”

  The two officers left the logistics office. “Captain, should I hail Mikael?” requested the logistics officer.

  “No, he’s never wrong. Plus, he’s a bit sensitive about repeated questioning. That’ll be all, Commander.”

  “Aye aye, sir.”

  CHAPTER 17

  ZAI JIAN LI XIAO

  “Ms. Li,” asked Commander Cobalt, “what was the result of your interrogations?”

  “All is well and going according to plan. You have the location of all nuclear weapons and fissile material, including the material secretly held by terrorist groups across the planet. There are no artificial satellites with offensive or defensive capabilities.”

  “Excellent, Ms. Li. We can now feel comfortable that China is safe from attack. We will round up the weapons and material that is not well protected or is in, shall we say, less than reputable hands. Thank you very much for your service to your country. We shouldn’t need you again, but if we do you can be sure of additional payment. I wish you a safe journey home.”

  “Thanks, but I’m not interested in going home just yet. I’d like to get a tour of your ship. I’m sure I can be of additional service to you now, and I’d like to get one of your gadgets before I leave.”

  “Why do
you call this a ship, and what gadgets are you talking about?”

  “This is obviously an alien vessel, which means you must have some innocuous advanced technology you could let me walk away with. Do you really think I would fall for your story about China developing a transportation mechanism in secret and not using it for military advantage? I’m privy to China’s technological research, and what you have is far beyond anything I have ever seen.”

  “Now that you have figured out who we are, it would be simpler to just kill you.”

  “Maybe so, but you would lose out on some additional information that could keep your ship safe.”

  “So we’ll torture you then kill you. There are no secrets that we can’t eventually extract from your mind.”

  “I have no desire to withhold secrets from you. I am volunteering the information and I am humbly requesting consideration in exchange for going above and beyond what has been requested of me.” Ms. Li kowtowed before the person posing as Zhao Zhang.

  “Okay, you have piqued my curiosity, Ms. Li. Tell me what you know and I’ll see if it is worth your life or extra consideration,” Cobalt said in a hissing voice.

  “Before we get started, can I at least see your face? If I’m dead anyway, what does it matter? We could both disrobe a bit and get to know each other better.”

  “You are clever, aren’t you? I guess we could get a little more comfortable. After you.”

  Ms. Li took off her business suit to reveal a low-cut, lacy black silk bra and matching thong panties with a small red dragon embroidered on the front. She turned her back to Cobalt and removed her garter belt and stockings then leaned over and ever so slowly removed her Manolo Blahniks one shoe at a time, giving her host a full view of her assets. She slowly turned to face Cobalt with a look of confident sexuality and stated, “Your turn.”

  “Okay, but I warn you, I’m not of this world.” He removed his hat, coat, and gloves, and then the scarf covering his royal blue face. Cobalt was a Majorellen from the planet Majorelle. He had humanoid features and blue reptilian-like skin. He had a small nose and mouth, and slits for eyes. His ears were small cones, and his head was covered with dark blue hair. A pleasant smile exposed rows of sharp teeth.

  “I’m surprised that you’re not quivering with fear,” he said.

  “On the contrary, I’m intrigued by your looks. If I was a chicken shit I wouldn’t be here in the first place.”

  “Before we get more intimate, tell me what gave us away.”

  “Well, as I mentioned, the teleporter certainly made me suspicious. Then the view of Mount Huashan from the window seemed odd. The Huashan Hotel is in the city of Huayin, which is north of the mountain. The window shows a southern view. I know this because my parents used to take me to the park near there. In addition, I took an air sample the last time I was here and found that the elements in the sample weren’t quite right.”

  “Okay, those are environmental things we need to adjust. Now tell me what’s important for me to know.”

  “I’m under the impression that you plan to move Earth’s nuclear weapons to this ship. Some of these weapons are set to go off with changes in altitude, temperature, or GPS location. That could make a pretty nasty hole in your ship and destroy your cargo. You can avoid the risk by keeping the storage area at a temperature between ten and twenty degrees Celsius. Any lower might damage the device and cause leakage. You can then deactivate the detonation mechanisms, or send the weapons out into space. So, do you find that information valuable?”

  “Yes, I think that is sufficient to keep you alive a little longer. I’ll make sure the cargo officer is aware of these developments.”

  “So how about that tour?”

  “That’s not really part of our arrangement.”

  “Neither was my info.”

  “Fair enough. Maybe I could make an exception this time.”

  “And afterward maybe we can see what else we might be able to exchange. You’ll find I can be very accommodating.”

  “Ditto. Why don’t you get dressed and I’ll give you that tour.”

  Cobalt took Ms. Li’s hand and gave her a wry smile. “I can’t show you much, but I think what I can show will blow your mind. Did I say that right?”

  “Your English is perfect. However, it’s yet to be seen if you can deliver on your boast.”

  “Right this way, Ms. Li.”

  “Commander, please call me Xiao.”

  “Then you must call me Cobalt!”

  Cobalt led Xiao through the observation room and out into the corridor. Unlike the lower levels, this one was brightly lit and full of activity. The walls were not dark metal, but white and backlit. There was constant traffic from crewmembers, at least those who were not on lock down. Xiao’s jaw literally dropped. She grabbed Cobalt’s arm and held him close as if she was afraid of being blown away by it all. Cobalt was startled by her warm grasp and her human scent filled his nostrils, stirring something inside of him that he didn’t think was possible.

  “A bit overwhelming, isn’t it? I know how you feel. I remember when the Euclidians first showed up on our doorstep. It was frightening and fascinating at the same time. The Euclidians are the large ones in uniform. They run the ship.”

  “They’re scary looking.”

  “You don’t know the half of it. We were lucky that they encountered us just as they were beginning to venture out beyond their own solar system. My people have a gift for complex languages, and we also had short-range transport devices that were of interest to them. We exchanged technologies and set up a cultural and material exchange between our worlds. They later created a colony on a nearby planet and helped us join the space age. That was two hundred years ago. Now they use their power to strip worlds of their raw materials, people, and technology. For the most part the planets are left intact, but any remaining people literally have to rebuild their civilizations from scratch.”

  “So is that what will happen to Earth?”

  “For the most part, but you will have six of your months or so to enjoy your newfound wealth.”

  “If that comes to pass, is it possible for me to hitch a ride with you?”

  “We may be able to work something out. Now let me tell you more about the beings that occupy this ship. The ones with the large heads are empaths. We use them during interrogations and recruiting. The small ones make up the maintenance crew. They can attach themselves to walls and get into ducts and other small places. They are also happy to take on tasks that other species look down on.”

  “How do you get rid of all the waste on the ship?”

  “It’s dehydrated and compacted and then we use an air cannon to propel the compressed capsule toward the nearest star. All care is taken to avoid any other objects in space. An encapsulated beacon warns any ships in its path to avoid it.”

  “Pretty thoughtful.”

  “You never know. The life you save might be your own.”

  “What’s that crazy thing floating around over there with all the antennae-looking appendages?”

  “That thing is a roving anomaly monitor. It roams the ship looking for anything that might be out of place. It could be structural, electrical, radiation, or security related. I’m not sure what all it does. Whenever it detects something out of place it calls an operations center and a team is assigned to address the problem.”

  The rover made an abrupt turn and a beeline for Xiao. Cobalt held out his universal connection device (UCD), waved it in front of the monitor, and pressed a button. The unit turned and moved on.

  “Wow, that was scary. Did that thing think I was an anomaly?”

  “You are, in a way. You don’t have a universal connection device. It is used to identify who you are and your role on the ship. I use it for communications on and off the ship, access to pertinent areas, scheduling, system activation, and most importantly to collect payment for services rendered. It’s used off the ship as well, on any planet or installation in the Euclidian system. It’s
basically an extension of myself.”

  “Would I be able to use it?”

  “No, not at all. It’s tied to my physiological makeup. You couldn’t even coerce me into using it against my will.”

  “Why not?”

  “The device would detect that and shut down.”

  “What are those creatures with translucent skin?”

  “They’re Nomids. They can survive in the most hostile environments. Hot, cold, wet, dry, radiation, and almost any atmosphere including none. We use them as scouts and retrievers in hostile situations where we are unable to deploy artificial devices.”

  “Fascinating. How do you keep up with it all?”

  “My universal connection device can give me general information about any species that I point it at. I can even communicate with someone without knowing the being’s language. Watch. I’ll greet the creature coming toward us.”

  Cobalt pointed the device at the creature and tapped out commands. The creature looked at his device and then bowed to Cobalt. Cobalt bowed in return.

  “That’s pretty cool. How did the device know who to send the message to?”

  “Each person in range is displayed on the screen and I select the one I want to communicate with. I can then select a message to send and it is translated upon receipt if possible. Pressing here increases the size of the device so I can create larger messages or view images on a larger screen.”

  “Wow, how does it do that?”

  “It uses free atoms to replicate the molecular makeup of the screen and border. The control module detects the larger size and makes use of the additional real estate transparently. Come on. Let me show you around the ship.”