Once Upon The Stars (old thread)

[Atrocities]

In the mid day sun the temperature on the Northern Victorian Glacier can reach as high as minus thirty degrees below zero. However if you factor in the wind chill the temperature can plummet to minus two hundred below zero. Zero being the point at which water freezes.

Standing in the open, Captain Macmillan estimated the temperature to be, factoring in the wind chill of course, around minus fifty degrees at the moment. Without his cold weather gear, he would have frozen to death in a matter of seconds. Such vastness he thought to him self, how could anyone ever ignore its beauty. He was studying the newly established parameter for this current base of operations, a parameter that was nearly a mile in circumference around the object frozen in the glacier.

By this time tomorrow, but not soon enough for his needs, this entire area would be monitored for movement, sound, heat and even pressure changes, nothing would be able to enter or leave this site without his knowing of it.
“I want this area secure by the end of the day.” Said Captain Macmillan as he pointed to areas around the discovery site. “I want motion sensors and heat detectors along the entire circumference of the operations area and our compound.” He pointed to key location on a digital map on his command and control pad, CCP for short. A device used to relay order to team leaders instantly without the need for verbal communications. It was an effective way to give orders and have them carried out. Quick reliable, and fool proof.

“Yes sir.” Responded a Lieutenant Michael Winston,, Captain Macmillan’s aid, as he to entered data into his command and control pad. “The Engineering Team has arrived, and the Chief Engineer would like to meet with you”
“Very good.”
“Guardian One has returned with the missing scientists and all other search teams have been ordered back.”
“Assign them to patrol duty in layers ranging from one mile as far out as five hundred.”
“Yes sir.”
“I also want the scientist at that the Glacier research base camp taken to Davenport. Tell them that they are under military quarantine.”
“What about the ones here?”
“They know to much, I want to keep them here until I receive orders to the contrary.”
“Yes sir. I’ll have then collared.”
“Do that and make sure they understand what will happen to them if they attempt to escape. In the mean time direct the Chief Engineer to Operations Tent.”
“Yes Sir.” Responded Winston as he walked away. Macmillan stood there for a moment looking about the vast openness of the northern part of the Victorian Glacier. My god what desolation. He thought to himself then walked away.

Lieutenant Winston and five armed men carrying what looked like small black belts walked into the mess tent where all of the scientist were being held. He wasted no time on pleasantries as he made his announcement.
“You are all going to be fitted with monitoring collars that will allow you to move about the camp but will prevent you from leaving it. It you attempt to leave it, the collar will paralyze you and notify Command Operations. You will then be taken into custody and placed in a five by eight holding cell on the Argo once she arrives.” He looked about the room to ensure that everyone there had heard him.
“Just for your information these devices are sound monitored, and we will be listening.” He nodded at one of the armed soldiers to begin placing the collars on people. For the most part everyone complied without resisting. Everyone that is except Dr. Mentor who demanded to speak to Captain Macmillan.

“I will not allow you to place that damned thing around my neck until I have spoken to your commanding officer!” Stated Dr. Mentor adamantly.
Winston just looked at him for a long second then nodded. “Very well Dr. Come with me.”
Dr. Mentor and Lieutenant Winston left the mess tent. Not more than a foot out of the door Winston, a tall and very strong man struck Dr. Mentor in the lower left leg just behind his knee with his left foot causing the Dr. to scream out in pain and fall to his knees. Winston then grabbed a handful of the doctors hair and pulled his head back. One of the other soldiers placed a collar around Dr. Mentors neck and stepped back. Winston knelt down beside Dr. Mentor, still holding a handful of his hair, and whispered into his ear.
“If you ever talk to me like that again in front of my men, I will break your legs in five places and leave you without regard to die in an open pit. Have I made myself clear to you doctor?” Mentor looking rather startled and in some pain simply nodded as best he could against the constant pull of his hair.
“Very good. No follow me.” With that Winston released his grip on Dr. Mentors hair and stood. He began walking toward a solid black tent that Mentor assumed was the newly established Operations Tent. It took him a few seconds to gather his composure and stand. He had underestimated their situation, if people like this Lieutenant Winston had their way, they would all be lined up and shot. He knew he had to be careful now, for one wrong move, and everyone would surely die.
“Coming doctor?” Asked Winston in a mock polite tone.
“Lead on Lieutenant.” He replied as politely as he could given the anger he felt.

“At best estimate it will take us about two weeks to dig an access shaft to that opening.” Stated Engineer Ron Lindley as he pointed to a digital reading on his data pad. Ron was a husky man with short brown hair. He had a tan complexion and seemed to always be smiling. “From what we have here, the data shows the entrance to be nearly half a mile down through solid hardened ice.”
“Two weeks is unacceptable.” Said Macmillan as he stood next to him looking at a data pad. “Is there no way that you can speed things up?”
“Well we could if we had a clear and accurate depth and density reading of the ice around and under the object. With that we could use sculpted charges and cut our bLast time in half.”
“The winter weather will begin to effect this area in about a month.” Commented Macmillan
“I understand that Captain, but this core sampling the one the scientist did.” He held it up for inspection. “Just does not have the information I need. For all we know, the ice around the object could be unstable.” Lindley looked down at the data pad on the table. “Hell we’re not even sure that this is an opening, it could be just about anything. We simply do not have enough accurate information to be certain.”

“We could perform another core scan of the object.” Commented Calvin Kurd, another engineer.
“No, they’re not accurate enough.” Replied Lindley as he moved to a large display of a top down satellite image of the object and the outlining area.
“We could just bLast according to our best guess, and conduct scans as we go deeper. It would speed the process up by a few days.” Commented Kurd.
“That would be far to dangerous, one wrongly placed charge and we could severely damage or even destroy the object.” Responded Lindley flatly.
“Destroy it how?” Macmillan asked.
“Its like this Captain, we have to be certain of how the ice will fracture when a charge is detonated, how thick the ice is, what its density is and how the bLast will effect the overall stability of the ice. BLasting ice is like cutting diamonds. One wrong move and you destroy the diamond. For example, the ice could fracture under the focal layer and this entire shelf could simply shift to the side with the least amount of pressure thus crushing the object.” Ron was deadly serious, and he wanted the Captain to know it.
“Simply put we do not know how deep this ice is. For all we know, that thing out there could be sitting on only an inch of ice covering a vast chamber and one wrong bLast and this entire area would collapse into the chamber and game over.“
“What is the likelihood of such an event?” Macmillan asked.
“The likelihood of such an event occurring is high given the fact that this entire region has thousands of such caverns.”
He paused for effect as he folded his arms.
“Basically put sir, If we just bLast without regard, we could cause the entire ice flow to collapse inward and that is something we do not want.”
“So bLasting is out of the question?” Commented Macmillan more to himself than to the people around him as he tossed his data pad onto the table.
“Unless you can give me a core sampling that accurately reads more than a hundred feet, there is no way.”
“Perhaps I can be of some help then.” Said Dr. Mentor politely.
Both men were so intent upon their discussion they did not notice that Dr. Mentor and Lieutenant Winston had entered the tent. Both Lindley and Macmillan looked over at the doctor in silence.

“I could not help but over hear your situation as the Lieutenant and I walked up.” Said Dr. Mentor as he removed his coat. The temperature in the Operations tent was a comfortable sixty degrees above zero. Odd thought Dr. Mentor, why they called these things tents when in fact they were prefab buildings complete with insulated walls, flooring, and ceiling. Perhaps because they assembled like tents.
“Captain Ron Lindley, meet Dr. Brook Mentor.” Introduced Macmillan as he flashed the doctor a casual smile.
“I am familiar with Dr. Mentor.” Said Lindley as he smiled from ear to ear and offered his hand to Mentor. “I attended a few of his seminars on gravitational technology. I was going to enter the field of Gravitational Theory but life took me in a different direction.”
Taking the offered hand Mentor smiled.
“Indeed, it is a shame that life would be so cruel as to place a potential gravitational scientist in with such bad company?” Mentor said in serious non-joking tone as he shook Lindley‘s hand. Winston flashed him a dirty look and was about to revive the good doctors memory of their earlier conversation when Macmillan put his hand on his arm to steady him.
“Very clever Doctor.” Replied Macmillan. Mentor just smirked at him as politely as he could.
“What do you propose?” Asked Lindley with some agitation in his voice.
“First I want this god forsaken thing off of my neck.” Mentor said angrily.
Macmillan looked at him for a second then nodded to Winston who reluctantly stepped behind the doctor and started to remove the collar. He slapped Mentor on the back of the head, accidentally of course, as he finished removing the it. He flashed the doctor a ‘oop’ look as he stepped to the side. Mentor just looked at him without an expression. ‘In time all good things come to those who wait.’ Thought Mentor to himself before directing his attention back toward Captain Macmillan.

“One other thing, we over heard your men earlier commenting that they had captured both Nina Smith and Bill Ramzies. Is this correct?”
“Yes.” Replied Winston without explanation.
“Why have they not been returned to use?”
“Because they are being treated for injuries sustained during their apprehension.”
Commented Winston again.
“I am not asking you Lieutenant, I am asking the Captain.” This time Mentor was the one to flash the dirty look. Politeness be damned, Winston’s arrogance was getting on his nerves. If he was going to die, then he would die like a man, and not like some cowardly whimpering old man.
Winston took immediate offense at Dr. Mentors tone and stepped forward. “What did you say?” He damned in a hostile tone. Mentor matched posture for posture before choosing to ignore the danger, and looked directly at Winston, and said as sarcastically has he knew how; “You heard me Lieutenant.”

After what felt like hours, but was in fact only seconds, Dr. Mentor looked away from the menacing Lieutenant to make eye contact with Captain Macmillan.
“Captain Macmillan, what happened to them?”
“Your people are well doctor, and Lieutenant Winston will see to it that they are escorted to the mess tent immediately.” Winston cringed ever so slightly, but never the less he stepped back away from Mentor.
“Yes sir.” He said with professionalism and then left the tent.

“Thank you Captain.”
“Why are you here doctor?” Asked Macmillan without pretence and it took Mentor a second to collect his thoughts before he could answer.
“I wanted to know why my people and I are under arrest.” Stated Mentor flatly. “And why my people have been collard like animals?”
“Doctor Mentor.” Said Macmillan as he causally stepped to within inches of Mentor. He was in charge, and he wanted Mentor to understand that. “You and your people are free to move about the compound, provided that they do not attempt to leave it.” Macmillan was studying him for a reaction. “The collars are a necessity doctor.” He smiled. “A matter of global security.” He then stepped back a bit and gestured at the satellite image. “Now would you be so kind as to explain just how you can help us.”

Mentor looked for a long second at Macmillan. He was indeed an intelligent and perceptive man. Mentor knew that if he thought he was lying about being able to help them, he would have allowed that sadistic fleer Winston to beat the crap out of him.
“You need to know the depth and density of the ice around and under the object correct?”
“Yes.” Replied Lindley.
“I can use the Gravimetric Core Sampler to accomplish that.”
“I thought you had already done that?” Asked Lindley. “I am reviewing the data your team gathered, and it is noted that that is how you obtain the earlier readings.”
“We only used the Core Sampler part of the device, a core sampler that is specially designed to work in extreme cold weather. We did not use the GCS equipment when we took those readings.”
“What is a GCS?” Asked Kurd innocently.
Mentor looked at him and smiled. “GCS stands for Gravimetric Core Sampler. It is the device that we came up here to test.” Mentor pointed to the satellite image as he continued to speak. “As you all know this area has never before had an accurate core sampling. It is theorized that there may well be vast untapped resources under the Glacier, and with an accurate core sampling, we can begin the process of bLasting access tunnel through the ice to the ground beneath it. Given the fact that the Northern Glacier is riddled with thousands of caverns that can cause collapses without warning, having an accurate core reading is a must.”
“Dr. Mentors device, if I understand it correctly, uses a reverse gravimetric field to nullify the planets gravity to any depth thus allowing a core sampler to take an accurate reading of the ice.” Commented Lindley.
“Correct, as you know, fractures in the ice are so small that they can not be seen without the help of specialized equipment. And given that the ice flow of the Glacier is constantly in motion, it is next to impossible to obtain an accurate reading beyond a few feet. The GCS suspends an area in zero gravity thus stopping the motion of the ice and allowing the core sampler to obtain an accurate reading of the ice.”
“And without an accurate reading of the ice below you, you could easily tunnel right into an open cavern, and collapse the ice for which you are standing.” Commented Kurd as he began to understand the significance of the Dr. Mentors GCS device. “I guess the next question would be when can we get started?”
“With my teams help, we can perform a complete scan of the object and the area around it within three days.” Said Dr. Mentor.
“We can begin bLasting an entrance shaft once the reading is completed and we have a day or so to survey the best route.” Said Lindley excitedly as he punched figures into his pad.

“I am impressed Dr. Mentor.” Commented Macmillan as he put on his coat and stepped toward the entrance. “Have your team ready for work within the hour.” He said then exited the tent.

[CNCRaymond]

Bump

FYI just in case you did not know, Will is back in the hospital again.

Also, and this one hurts, his new pc died, and with it, the 3d images for the New Dominion,Ferengi, and Cardassian ship sets.

And this Story was lost as well. I don't know how much he had written past this point, but I suspect he had a chapter or two done. Sorry.

I have not told him yet, I do not want to added to his worries. Rest assured, there was no back up.

[Suicide Junkie]

Aw, cripes.

Don't let them take the hard drive; you can probably recover the data.
Just add the old drive as a slave to whatever replacement/repaired PC you end up with, and you'll have a good chance of saving the work.

[ January 27, 2003, 22:50: Message edited by: Suicide Junkie ]

[sachmo]

Atrocities is in the hospital? Please wish him well for me if he is.

[Fyron]

CNCRaymond, please check your private Messages.

[Atrocities]

Part VI (Deception Uncovered)

It was raining in the Capital City as it often did this time of the year. It was a hard, sustained rain that fell from darkened clouds that seemed to loom over the City like great gray blankets that marked the end of winter and the beginning of spring. Tom was sitting in his chair, looking out his office window thinking about things that he could be doing if he had chosen to go home the night before rather than stay and work. It was acceptable for him to have taken this Last day of the week off as he had not yet made arrangements for his move back to the Capital City, but he chose to remain at the S.E.D. and finish much of the work that was laid about his desk.

Before him, that is behind on his desk, were the latest reports on the progress of the Space Engineering and Planetary Colonization project, images from the new space telescope that had just gone on line, plans for an orbital scientific station, and atmosphere reports on the two moons, Remus, and Ramos, that orbited Pandora.

It was late in the afternoon, and Tom was getting hungry. He wanted to get something to eat, but he had to wait until the meeting he had scheduled with Carl Wilhelm was over before he could. He looked at his wrist chronometer and swiveled back to face his desk. He pressed the contact button of his desk COM and waited a second before hearing a reply.
“Yes General?” Asked his aid Captain Richard Hess.
“Has Carl Wilhelm arrived yet?” He asked.
“Yes sir, he just arrived.”
“Good, send him in.”
“Yes General.”
“And be sure to have my Sky Chariot ready to go by eight.”
“We’ll be ready sir.” Replied Hess.

There was a slight knock on his door just before it opened and Carl Wilhelm entered.
He was well dressed in an expensive hand tailored suite that Tom speculated was made from some finely exotic material. Oh how some of the rich loved to flaunt their wealth, thought Tom to himself.

“General.” Carl said simply as he came into the office. Tom stood and gestured for him to take a seat in a chair in front of his desk. Tom was thirsty now; a drink would do him good or so he thought. He stepped to the mini bar and grabbed two glasses.
“You look impressive today Carl.” It was intended by Tom and viewed by Carl as an observation and not a complement.

“I am attending an art exhibit and conference with my wife at the old Chancellery building this afternoon. I am afraid that she has insisted that I accompany her. I would much rather be working, but duty calls.” He replied casually as he sat down and crossed his legs.

Oh poor you, thought Tom to himself as he finished pouring the drinks. Now that the pleasantries were over, he could get down to business.

“I take it from your notes, and research materials that you and your team feel optimistically that this new gravitational technology of Dr. Mentor’s will provide the basis for artificial gravity for which can be used for long range space flight?” Asked Tom as he offered Carl a glass of Brandon Weed Whisky. It took all of Tom’s self control to maintain a polite demeanor while talking to Carl Wilhelm. It was an insult to the very honor of the S.E.D. and its mission objective to employ this man, however, he was one of only a few Department Heads that was actually producing positive results. And that made him a valuable asset to the S.E.D., and both Tom and Carl knew this.

“That and much more.” Replied Carl as he took the drink from Tom. He had no intention of actually drinking it for all he knew it could be poison. More than likely not, but never the less the possibly was there. He simply smiled and sat the glass neatly on Tom’s elegant girch wood desk.

“What do you mean by much more?” Asked Tom as he lifted Carl’s glass and placed a coaster under it. “What other uses are there for artificial gravity?”

“Aside from the known benefits of being able to explore the stars in ships that can generate there own gravitation fields, there are the theories that gravitational technology will lead to other technologies which could ultimately lead to our ability to create, and if need be, destroy planets, stars, nebula’s, and even black holes.”

Tom had sat down behind his desk and was took a sip from his glass. “You mean weapons.”
“Well, yes.” Replied Carl in a matter of fact tone. “Weapons of incredible power.”
“Weapons of mass destruction.”
“The ability to create and destroy a star could be viewed that way, however the likelihood of such a technology ever being developed, let alone used, is incredibly unlikely.”
“Really.”
“There are many other applications that gravitational technology could provide.”
“Enlighten me.”
“Scientific benefits in understanding how the universe works. Propulsion and possibly even drive systems that could propel a ship thousands of light years in a matter of seconds.”

Tom leaned forward, coupling his glass between his hands and rolling it slowly back and forth.
“Now those are the technologies that I am interested in Carl. Not weapons of mass destruction. Research into the development of technologies that will open the stars to our people is why the S.E.D. was founded.” He back into his chair again and took a drink from his glass before continuing.
“The pressure is on for us to being the process of colonizing both Remus and Ramos. As you know, only Ramos has a breathable atmosphere, thus leaving us with a small problem. I don’t feel that research efforts into weapons will help us to resolve that issue. Therefore, I am suspending all research into gravitational weapons.”

Carl did not say anything, but Tom could read his expression, despite how well he concealed it, that Carl was not pleased.

“I assure you General, that I too share that goal. The thought of developing weapons that could destroy whole worlds and even entire star systems is to frightening to fathom.”

Tom looked at Carl with skeptical criticism in his eyes. The hypocrisy of that statement was so ironic that Tom nearly burst out into laughter. “Right.” He replied Tom slowly.

“I understand that you have been attempting to contact Dr. Mentor and have been unsuccessful?” Asked Carl innocently enough, but to innocently for Tom’s comfort. He knew something, but what, better to play along thought Tom to himself.

“That is correct.” Replied Tom. “There is a communications problem mostly likely magnetic interference as they are rather close to the northern pole.”
“I see.” Replied Carl with a measure of doubt in his voice. “Magnetic interference. This time of the year?”
“That is what I have been told. What have you been told?”
“Well General, I have it on good authority that Dr. Mentor and his entire research team have been arrested by Global Command and are being held in Davenport.”

God damn him! Thought Tom to himself. He had only heard that this morning and was having Hess look into it. General Green had dispatched troops to the Victorian Glacier just over a week ago, under the guise of a training operation, but he knew there was more to it than that. After failing to reach Dr. Mentors party or even the city officials in Davenport, the closes city to the research site, Tom had put two and two together and had come to the conclusion that Dr. Mentor and his team were why General Green had sent troops to the Glacier. How in the hell did Carl find out about this? Tom had to find out what else Carl knew.

“That is the information I have as well. What else do you know?”
“It was rumored just over a week ago that Dr. Mentor had reported that his team had discovered something under the ice. Something remarkable, and they needed the Core of Engineers to assist them in excavating it.”

Carl knew that he was playing a dangerous game now. A fine line between betrayal, and trust. He knew that Tom had made the discovery about the good Doctor’s team’s predicament and that General Green wanted the entire affair kept quiet. Whatever it was that they had discovered up there, Carl knew that it was a significant find that he had to be investigated. By revealing the information about the discovery to Tom, he would establish a thread of trust with him, while opening the rift between Tom and Green. Carl did not fear Greens wrath, but rather something else. He needed to establish a good rapour with Tom in order to gain is confidence.

“I had not heard about any discovery.” Tom said as he sat his glass down and pressed the COM button. “Hess, get me General Greens Office.”

“Aye sir.” Came a prompt response.

“I think I will take a trip up to the Victorian Glacier and find out what in the hell is going on with up there.”

Carl considered this for only a second, as it was exactly what he had hoped Tom would do. He needed to get up there to see this discovery first hand, but he did not want Tom to think that he was interested in it.
“Do you mind if an aid and I join you?” He finally asked nonchalantly. “I would very much like to meet Dr. Mentor and talk with him about his work.”

Tom began to consider Carl’s request when his COM chirped. He tapped the accept button.
“Yes?”
“Sir I have General Greens aid, a Lieutenant Elise, on the line.”
“Put him through.”
“He’s on the COM now sir.” Replied Hess.
“Thank you Richard.” Tom looked up at Carl, and considered his request. After a moment of thought Tom agreed to allow him and his aid to accompany him.
“Pack your coat Carl.” With that Carl smiled stood, and left his office.

Once out side, he pulled out his COM and activated it. He spoke three short words then turned it off. “Op Tally Go.” No one was within earshot, nor did any one see him or his actions. He simply walked out of the outer office without looking back.

Tom pressed the activate button once again and spoke into the COM.
“Lieutenant?” Tom asked. “Where is General Green?”
“Sir, the General is in a meeting with the Prime Minister.” Replied Elise over the COM.
“I see. Patch me through to the Prime Ministers Office then.”
“I will try sir, but if you would just call back in an hour, I am certain the General will be back in.”
“Patch me through now Lieutenant.” Order Tom. His patience was gone. General Green was playing a game, and Tom was fed up with it. He wanted to know exactly why the General had Dr. Mentor and his team in custody and what it was that they had discovered.
“Patching you through now sir.” Elise was nervous about doing this, and Tom could hear it in his voice.
“Lieutenant, if the General asks, tell him I ordered you to do it, as that is exactly what I am doing.”
“Yes sir. Your connected sir.” Replied Elise a second before an attractive sounding women came on the COM.
“This is the Prime Ministers Office.”
“This is General Tom Christopher, I wish to speak to General Green.”
“The General is in a meeting at the moment with the Prime Minister.”
“I know, COM him any way.”
“One moment General.”

A second later an angry General Philip A Green came on the COM.
“What in the hell is wrong with you Christopher?”
“I should ask the same of you General.” Replied Tom as nastily as he could.
“What do you mean?” Yelled Green through the COM. “I am in a meeting with the Prime Minister at the moment, and your interruption is unacceptable!”
“Then I will come strait to the point General.”
“Please do.” Replied Green sarcastically.
“Why are your men holding Dr. Mentor and his team hostage on the Victorian Glacier?”
There was a brief pause before Green responded. This time his voice was much more subdued and was barely above a whisper.
“I don’t understand.”
“Why are you holding Dr. Mentor and his team General? What was it they discovered up there that would prompt you to take such an illegal action?”

There was another short pause before Green replied.
“This is not a secure line. Meet me in my office in an hour.” The line then went dead. Tom was furious about being disconnected, but realized quick enough that the General was scared. He did not expect him to find out about what he was up to and the fact that he had scared him. Green needed time to think, and Tom was not about to let him have it. He grabbed his coat and headed for the door.

“Richard, I’ll be back in an hour.” He said as he stormed out of the outer office into the hall. Hess nodded his acknowledgement, all be it a confused.

Green slipped his COM back into his pocket. He closed his eyes for a second or two then turned and went back into the Prime Ministers Office. How in the hell did that son of a dayton find out about the discovery. Someone in his office had betrayed him, and that thought sickened Green immensely. That spy would be discovered in short order, but first things first, Green knew that it his best option for maintaining control of the situation was to control the release of the information itself. First order of business now was to cover his ***, and he knew exactly how to do it. As he entered the Prime Ministers office, his anger had subsided, if he played his cards right, this could work out far better for him in the long run than he had original planned. A smile grew acrossed his face as he formulated his new plan.

“Mr. Prime Minister, Senators. I apologies for the interruption but I have some startling news that I must share with you.”

[Atrocities]

Part VII (Disclosure)

It only took Tom about twenty minutes to reach the Prime Ministers Building and even less time to make his way to the Office of the Prime Minister. Bob’s secretary was sitting behind her desk when he entered the office.
“Has General Green left yet?” He asked.
“Um no General, he is still in the meeting with the Prime Minister and the Senators.”
“Good.” He replied as he started for the door to the inner chamber. This prompted the secretary to stand and object.
“General, you can not enter it is a private policy meeting.”
“Then announce me.” He said simply.

She did so, and was instructed to allow him to enter. Tom was surprised to see so many senators in one location out side of the luxury and comfort of the Senate Complex at one time. The thought of them actually working for a living had never crossed his mind.

“Gentlemen.” He said as he entered the room. The conference room was a large gray painted oval room, with white trim work and a solid Decka wood table in the center. The room was lit well, and comfortable looking. The Prime Minister was sitting at the end of the Conference table with General Green sitting to his left. Around the table were sitting about twenty-five Senators. They all looked as if they had seen a ghost when he entered the room. Only the Prime Minister stood as he walked in.

“General, please, take a seat.” Said Robert ‘Bob’ Benton, the Prime Minister, as he gestured for Tom to sit next to him on his right. Tom walked the distance of the room and stood facing acrossed the table from Green. Tom looked at him with utter contempt.
“Please excuse the interruption Prime Minister, but I am here to speak with General Green.”
“Tom, why don’t you sit down.” Said Benton in a calming friendly voice. Tom had known him for many years, and they were on a first name basis. Tom looked at him and flashed him a questioned look of confusion. “The General was about to tell us something important.” Tom looked from Bob to the General and back.
“Please, sit down General.” Benton said once again as he sat back down and relaxed in his chair. Tom had no idea what was going on, so he decided to accommodate his friend and sat down.
“Now General, would you be so kind as to revel this important news of yours.” Said Benton.

Green looked confidant and in control. He had not taken his eyes off of Tom since he entered the room, and was not about to. This was a challenge of his authority, and he was not about to let Tom win.

“A little over a week ago a scientific team conducting gravimetric experiments on the Northern Victorian Glacier, headed by a Dr. Brook Mentor, discovered an object of enormous size under the ice. They contacted the Global Corp of Engineers, and in turn my office was notified. I ordered a containment team to the site to evaluate the discovery as per Global Command Protocols. The site was secured and the scientists were quarantined. Over the Last week a combined effort of both the scientist and the Corp of Engineers to excavate a tunnel to a suspected opening in the object has been under way. They expect to complete this tunnel no later than this time tomorrow.”

Tom just looked at Green with contempt. You bastard, he thought, you’re covering your ***. Green only starred back at him with an equally contemptuous glare.

“General, do we know what this object is?” Asked Benton.
“No sir, all we know for certain is that what ever it is, it did not come from this world.”

The room exploded into chaos as the senators began to ask questions. Benton raised his hands and attempted to quell the noise and excitement filling the room. Tom and Green only starred at each other. Tom was as shocked as the rest of them, to think an alien ship within their grasp all this time, and Green willing to keep it a secret for his own purposes.

“General, why did you not come forward with the information of discovery immediately?” Tom asked as directly as he could.

The room began to quiet down a bit, allowing Benton to succeed in regaining control of the meeting. “Senators, please, you will all have a chance to ask question, but first, we must have quiet.” It took several more minutes before the room was quiet enough for Tom to repeat his question.

“I ask you again General Green, why did you not come forward with this information imminently?”

“At first we had no Intel on the object. All that we knew was that something had been found under the ice. It was not until this afternoon that I received confirmation that the object was of off world origins. Just prior to your call in fact.”

“You did not answer my question General!’
“Who the hell are you to question me?” Fumed Green aggressively.
“Gentlemen!” Benton said forcefully as he put up his hands to in a hold your comments gesture. “This is neither the place nor the time to discuss this subject.”

Tom and Green exchanged angry looks, but otherwise kept quiet.

“Senators, I am sure that you all understand the situation and will agree that it is best for all if this matter is kept confidential for the time.”

“The religious repercussion of such a revelation alone would cripple the planet.” Replied Senator Owen Cassady, one of the oldest Senators of the UGA and member of the Salideen religious sect. He was also one of the few Senators that Benton actually trusted. “Mass hysteria and panic of the population would most likely flood acrossed the planet like some great wave leaving in its wake destruction and ruin. You can rest assured; we will all keep what we have learned here today confidential until further notice. None of us can afford the panic that news of this magnitude would undoubtedly cause.” Several of the Senators nodded in agreement but a few seemed to be noticeably displeased. One of these was Senator Caparo Kordesh, a radical by any definition, and a man who adamantly believed in the old Global Alliance and opposed the formation of the United Global Alliance. He was also one of the many Senators that openly challenged Benton’s appointment to the Prime Ministership.
“Keeping this discovery, if indeed it is an alien space ship, from the public will clearly be a violation of the free information codes of your UGA constitution. If you are not willing to follow your own laws, then what business do you have sitting in that chair?” Commented Kordesh sarcastically.

“Surely you do no think the people of Pandora are ready to hear that we have discovered an alien space ship?” Asked another Senator.
“It is not a matter of whether or not I believe they are ready, it is a matter of law that they be told.”
“Senator Kordesh, we will not expose this information to the public until I deem it is appropriate. Do you understand me?” Benton demanded evenly. His dislike for Kordesh was as apparent as Kordesh’s hatred of him. “To ensure that, I will have you placed under quarantine.”

Kordesh looked about the faces of the Senators in shock. “There is your proof, he spoke of the value of principles and rules, of the honor of the law, yet when faced with the obligation to follow the law, he disregards is as harshly as any dictator ever could.”
“Senator!” Benton said loudly with anger in his voice. He had stood now, and was looking directly at him. “This is not the Senator floor, you will hold your salience regarding this subject. Do you understand me?”
Kordesh looked at Benton with sincere contempt but said nothing. He simply nodded a slow yes. Benton took a moment to calm himself before he sat back down.

“Eighty years ago our planet fell into the darkness of global war. All efforts at space exploration were halted as each nation took up arms in the name of religion and petty personal vendettas that nearly wiped out all life on this planet. I will not allow that to happen again. Senator Cassady is correct, the population would respond negatively to such news of a discovery of this kind.”

Benton was no fool, he knew that people individually are intelligent reasonable creatures, but people however, as a whole, are a panicky wild beast prone to random and bizarre acts of hysteria. To inform them that they may not be alone in the universe would most assuredly cause a panic and send the planet back into the chaos. The law be damned, this was far too serious of a risk to chance in the hands of the pubic.

“General Green, your action in this matter were appropriate, however, I expect you to keep me informed of all future discoveries that this object yields.”
“By all means Prime Minister.”

“Do we know for certain that the object is alien? Who actually made this determination?” Tom asked.
“Why Dr. Mentor of course.” Replied Green. “They used a device known as a Gravimetric Core Sampler to take measurement and metal density readings of the object.”
“So Dr. Mentor and his team are well?”
“They are fine. In fact, as I stated, they are assisting in the excavation.”

“I see.” Replied Tom. “Prime Minister, I will be flying up there this evening. I trust that the General’s troops will not shoot my Sky Chariot down?”

Greens look went from serious to one of out right concern.
“Your flying up there?” He asked in a reserved voice. “Why?”
“As Director of the S.E.D., it is my duty to be involved with any and all discoveries of such a magnitude as this.”
“My men can handle the situations.” Green was not happy at all about this. He had intended the to keep the discovery a secret in the hopes of obtaining new technology and weapons that he could use to proxy the Senate to do his bidding. But now that the darmok was out of the box, his best hope for salvaging any control of the situation was to maintain control of object. Having Tom Christopher nosing around would jeopardize his objective of being the first to obtain any new technology.
“That may well be General, but I am still going.”
“I can see no reason for this Prime Minister. The situation is well in hand.”

“I think having the Director of the S.E.D. investigate this object first hand is a good idea.” Said Benton as he stood. “General would you please notify your men that General Christopher will be assuming command of the operations upon his arrival.” Green face went white. “I expect you both to keep me apprised of any developments.” He looked from Tom to Green then at the Senators. “If there is nothing else, meeting adjourned.

The room cleared out rather quickly leaving only Tom, and Benton sitting alone in the room.

“My God Tom, an actual alien space ship.” Said Benton. “The very concept of it is amazing.”
“This could be one of the greatest discoveries in the history of our world and Green wanted to keep it to himself.”
“Well his aspirations in that regard are no more.”
“And Greens not to happy about it.”
“Apparently so. But he will have to learn to live with it. Its your project now.”
“Greens going to work against me on this. You know he is up to something, and this was just one small part of it.”
“True, and I will be keeping an eye on him. But to be honest, it’s not Green I am concerned with, are Senator’s like Kordesh that have me worried.”
“He did seem a little hostile.”
“Dissent has been growing in the Senate for sometime now.” Benton looked concerned, and Tom knew that if he was worried about it, then it was a serious matter indeed.

“I need for you to be careful up their Tom. I can ill afford loosing you to some accident, and you know what I mean.”
“I’ll take Richard with me and we’ll both be prepared for any random accidents that might try and befall us.”
“Good.” Replied Benton before changing the subject. “God only knows what kind of technology that thing could give us.”
“I haven’t given it much thought, it is still too amazing to believe. I would hope that at least would will be able to learn where it came from, and how long it has been buried under the ice flow.”
“True. Make it your priority to find out all that you can about that things origins. If we have neighbors, I want to know all there is to about them.”
“Well then, I guess I had better get going.” Tom stood as did the Benton, and they shook hands.
“Be safe Tom.”
“You as well Prime Minister.” Benton smiled at him, and watched as Tom left the room. Once Tom was gone, Benton’s smile evaporated and he took on a more serious look. The look of a man who knew more than he wanted to about a great many things. It was an aged look that transcended every fiber of his being.
“Be damned careful Tom.” He said to himself quietly as he starred at the back of the closed conference room door.

[ February 24, 2003, 15:51: Message edited by: Atrocities ]