New Title 1 (48 page)

“You have it,” Julian said.

Dr. Silver tapped the broadcast button on the com. “You are cleared for test stage one.”

The
Makalu
was just coming about to a position parallel to Verdant. On the cameras, they could see the curve of Mars beyond, and the black night above. After a few puffs of its jets, the freighter came to a stop relative to Verdant.

As they watched, an airlock opened on the freighter’s spine. A moment later, they saw the small test-bed sphere, attached to a grappling arm, extending upward from the airlock. Once it had reached a position approximately twenty meters above the
Makalu
, the grappling arm let go and started retracting, leaving the sphere hovering in place above the freighter. When the arm had retracted fully, the airlock closed.

“Preparing to launch the probe,”
came one of the voices on the
Makalu
.
“In fifteen seconds from mark…
mark
.”
They watched as the sphere hovered there for a quarter of a minute. Then, with barely an indication that anything had happened at all… it simply wasn’t there.

Among the people watching through the bay ports, or at recording monitors, there was a collective gasp, followed by a subdued rush of voices, all speaking at once. Julian had to restrain himself from the same reaction, it was so hard for the senses to accept… like watching a well-executed magic trick, and having absolutely no idea how it was done. Reya did voice a reaction: “God, look at that.” And Aaron just stared, slack-jawed, at the screen.

After a few seconds, Julian asked Dr. Silver, “How long does it take the probe to come back?”

“As far as we can determine,” Dr. Silver replied, “it arrives at its destination, for all intents and purposes, instantaneously. Then it takes stellar readings designed to confirm its location, and compares them to the expected results of the translation equation. If they match, it will apply a corollary equation… designed to retrace the steps of the original equation, and bring it back here. It executes the corollary, and arrives back at its origin point—”

A gasp from the crowd interrupted Dr. Silver. She and Julian looked at the screen, to see the probe floating twenty meters above the Makalu.

“—right about now,” Dr. Silver finished smugly. There was a smattering of applause throughout the bay, as the airlock opened and the freighter’s grappling arm re-extended to retrieve the probe.

“Are we sure we’re set with ‘Verdant drive’?” Reya asked. “The way those things disappear and reappear, I think ‘Abra-cadabra drive’ would be more appropriate.” Julian just gave her a wry look. “Okay, what’s next?”

“The crew merely examines the probe’s data, to make sure it went where it was supposed to go. If it confirms, they repeat the process on themselves, with an additional test step thrown in for good measure,” Dr. Silver explained.

“And that is?”

“We’re having them deploy small probes around the freighter. They don’t actually do anything but take up preset positions around the ship, in a spherical pattern. We want to see which ones translate with the freighter, which ones stay behind, and if there are any odd effects at the boundaries.”

“Ah,” Julian said, “to establish the effect’s perimeter.”

“Exactly,” Dr. Silver nodded.

At that moment, the com came alive.
“We’ve reviewed the probe’s data, and it reads one hundred percent accurate. The probe executed a perfect translation one million miles perpendicular to the plane of the ecliptic, with no risks detected at arrival point. We are now prepared to duplicate the maneuver on the
Makalu
.”

Julian nodded to Dr. Silver. “Go ahead,” she relayed to them.

“Deploying probes in ten seconds,”
the
Makalu
stated.

As they watched the screens, they saw the same airlock open on the spine of the freighter. At once, a small cloud of devices, essentially just small engines and control systems, flowed out of the airlock and jetted about quickly. In seconds, the space around the freighter was filled with the probes, all stationed equidistant from each other and forming a sphere that radiated out to twice the length of the ship.

“Probes deployed. Executing translation in fifteen seconds from mark…
mark
.”

Again, everyone waited as the seconds ticked down. As the moment neared, the bay became more and more silent, almost as if the bay machinery itself was intentionally pausing until the moment was over.

And then—just as with the probe—the
Makalu
, the entire freighter, was gone, with no advance sign that it was about to depart, and no trace afterward that it was ever there. Instead of surprised gasps, the bay erupted in yelps of surprise and amazement. The probes within a specific radius had also disappeared, leaving a hollow region inside the remaining probes. A visual examination of the remaining probes made it obvious that the center of the radius was not the center of the sphere, but rather, it centered on the area of the ship where the quantum system had been installed.

After maintaining their position for a few moments, the remaining probes jetted away and assumed station away from their origin point, and from Verdant.

Dr. Silver immediately turned to Julian. “Now, for the record, don’t expect the crew to be able to check and confirm their location as fast as the probe did. However, if they take a limited stellar reading and accept a rudimentary comparison to the data on the probe, they can execute the return at any moment.” With that, she turned back to the screen to watch, as did everyone else.

This time, as Dr. Silver had expected, it did take longer than the few seconds between the disappearance and reappearance of the probe. It seemed as if no one in the bay was breathing while they waited. And then, with no warning, the Makalu and its probes appeared in the same location as it had been when it disappeared. The bay immediately erupted in cheers and applause, and as Julian noted, even Dr. Silver smiled approvingly at the screen.

“Signal the
Makalu
, Doctor!” Julian exulted. “Tell them: Welcome home, and please return to the bay immediately!” The roar of the crowd arose again, and Julian found himself standing amidst a sea of back-slapping and hand-shaking. He chanced a glance at Reya, and even she was smiling and shaking her head in disbelief and amazement. “All right,” he said. “If the
Makalu
’s data checks out, it’s time for the next phase: The return trip to Earth.”

“You wanted to see me, sir.”

Julian looked up at Kris, and smiled. “Come in.” Once she was inside, closing the door behind her, Julian motioned to a chair opposite his desk. “By the way,” he said, “it’s all right to call me Julian in official circles. You’re on the team, now. What would you prefer we call you around CnC?”

“Kris is fine,” she said, taking the chair. She noted the ease at which Julian seemed to have switched back to a businesslike mode with her, as opposed to the reactions of some men whom she’d bedded in the course of her job. Aaron, for instance, had never been the same since they’d slept together… it was as if she were a completely different person to him now. Most men were like that. Yet Julian’s attitude or disposition towards her hadn’t changed in public at all. She was willing to bet that, as yet, no one else had an inkling that they had spent a night together, not even Reya, who seemed to have that well-honed feminine sense for things like that. It was one more thing to appreciate about him, when added to all the other aspects that had drawn her to him in the first place.

But she hoped it did not reflect a wall having been thrown up between them so soon… possibly from Julian’s role as Ceo reasserting itself, and drawing him back from the promises of intimacy… or from a reconsideration of her role, and doubts as to her intentions. Those kinds of things also happened after an intimate moment such as they had shared, and sometimes, it was all but impossible to tear that wall down after it had been erected. This meeting could be his way of trying to establish boundaries… or to separate them completely, if he felt that need. So she hung on his next words, wondering what was to come.

“Kris,” Julian began, “as you probably are aware, Verdant has never had official ambassadors. As we have always been under direct U.N. jurisdiction, it was never considered a need for satellites to have ambassadors. However, in light of current events, I believe it is going to be in our best interests to establish ambassadors to Earth.” Kris smiled despite herself, and Julian nodded in understanding. “I know how it sounds. Believe me, it sounds as strange to me. Makes it sound like we’re from another galaxy or something. But I think it’s clear that Verdant will have to stand up for itself in the future… we can’t depend on the U.N to protect us. That means we have to make some changes to the way we do things. I suspect that we are going to have to force a separation between us and the U.N., and petition for recognition as a sovereign country… of sorts.”

“It is a unique situation we’re in,” Kris admitted carefully. “Not a traditional country, simply by virtue of not being on the ground. On the other hand, various island nations with far less land than we have, managed to maintain their sovereignty, even after sea level rise wiped a number of them off the face of the Earth.”

“Hmm… that’s interesting,” Julian said. “I hadn’t thought about that… but it might be a useful precedent for us to explore. But back to the matter at hand. Kris, I’d already established you as our liaison to the United States during this crisis. As of now, I want to promote you. I’d like you to be the first of our ambassadors to Earth.”

Kris’ mouth parted in surprise, and she smiled gratefully. “I’m flattered. ‘The first’?”

“Right now,” Julian explained, “I’m thinking we’ll have a few ambassadors that will interact with many countries and corners of the globe… not ‘an ambassador for every port’, as some countries do. You would be the first in a team of such ambassadors. At this point, your primary duty would be to interface with the U.N., and the U.S., to help settle this crisis. After that, we’ll work on building up the rest of the team.”

“I understand,” Kris said. She paused then, causing Julian to react.

“Is there a ‘but’ in there somewhere?”

Kris shook her head slightly. “No… not really.” She paused again, to consider her next words. “It’s just that… I’d like to make sure that I’m being offered this position based on what I can do for Verdant, and not just because of what we had the other night.”

“Of course,” Julian nodded, and stood up from his chair. “To be honest, I would have been surprised if you hadn’t mentioned it.” He came around the desk and leaned against it, close but not too close to Kris, and eyed the ceiling a moment as he searched for the right words. “Kris, I’ve already seen your dedication to Verdant, and your ability to do the job assigned to you. I firmly believe that you are eminently qualified to take on this assignment for us, based strictly upon your professional aptitude. Anyone who sees your resume, accompanied with your performance in CnC of the last few days, could not argue your worth.”

He then looked down at her. “That said… yes, I recognize the awkwardness of the situation this puts us in, after the other night. I want you to understand that my personal feelings are just that…
personal
. I don’t let them interfere with the work. And if you feel that the only way in which you can carry out this assignment is to make it clear that we shouldn’t fraternize beyond CnC, I fully understand, and will respect that.”

Kris saw the opening, and without a pause, took the plunge head-first. “I would only say that, if it seemed my proximity to you would affect the performance of either of our duties. Speaking for myself, I can honestly say that I think I can execute the duties of ambassador without the need for reclusing myself from you.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” Julian stated, smiling. “Because, on a personal note… whatever you decide to do… I would like very much to have a chance to spend more time with you, too.”

Kris immediately stood up and let Julian gather her into his arms, kissing him deeply and gratefully.

When they separated, Kris admitted, “I was afraid you were reconsidering… us.”

Julian nodded. “I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t thought about it. But then I blinked again, and it was gone.” Kris laughed, and he hugged her close. “There are no words to describe how I feel about you, and what you’ve done for me.”

“The feeling’s mutual,” Kris told him honestly. “You needed me as much as I needed you. And to make it official: Yes, I want the job. I want
both
jobs… to be your ambassador… and to be yours.”

“Then you can start immediately.” And they kissed again, to seal the deal.

~

The knock on the President’s office door was light, but expected. “Yes?” Lambert called out.

The door opened, and an intern poked his head in. “Miss Vaughn is here.”

Lambert nodded, and the intern’s head disappeared. A moment later, Shay Vaughn entered the office. Lambert had looked up to visually confirm that she was walking in, before directing his eyes back down at his workstation. A second later, he did a double-take and looked back up at her. Shay was wearing a tailored outfit that accented her every curve to the utmost, and she glided into the room in such a way as to guarantee attention. Instead of looking pleased to see her on display, however, Lambert looked at her with veiled distaste. “Come to gloat? Giving me a taste of what I’ll be losing?”

Shay arched an eyebrow at him. “That would be cruel of me, wouldn’t it? And I admit I’ve done worse.” She came around the desk, pulled his chair about, and sat determinedly in his lap.

“But in this case, you’re wrong,” Shay told him. “I came here to tell you that, if you have to go back to the U.S., I want to come with you.”

Lambert blinked in surprise, and a healthy dose of doubt, but it was hard to ignore her offer. He eyed her closely before he said, “You said once that you didn’t want to leave Verdant for any—”

He didn’t finish the statement, because Shay bent down, placed her hands to either side of Lambert’s face, and kissed him. It was a kiss intended to promise the kind of paradise that no sane man could resist, with the owner of those lips. And Shay was very good at her job.