Solbidyum Wars Saga 4: Too Late for Earth (19 page)

“I’ll get it taken care of, Tib.”  Both Kala and Marranalis said in unison.

“A’Lappe, I would like for you and Cantolla to be present at the meal tonight as well.  I'm going to want an assessment of the colony’s capabilities here in terms of long-term survival."

An hour later Marranalis dispatched a shuttle to the surface to pick up our guests.  He made sure all of the crews had used the learning bands and could speak English.  I was hoping all the members of the Mars colony spoke English as well, but there was no guarantee of that.  As it turned out, all of them did, as well as several other Earth Languages.

When the shuttle landed back aboard the
NEW ORLEANS
, Marranalis had an honor guard comprised of 30 men waiting at attention.  Commodore Stonbersa, A’Lappe and Cantolla, Piesew, and Kala and I were there to greet our visitors.  Jenira was there also, having insisted that she must be there; I could not find a legitimate reason to deny her.  Kerabac stayed on the bridge to maintain the ship running properly.  As the most senior officer on the
NEW ORLEANS
, it would be the Commodore’s responsibility to greet our guests first.  Even though Kala and I were First Citizens, the highest ranking status in the Federation, it didn’t give us right to greet the visitors first.

When the door of the shuttle opened, one of our security people on the shuttle stepped out and stood to the side of the shuttle door as the seven guests emerged led by Captain Slater.

“Captain Slater, welcome aboard the
NEW ORLEANS,
I’m Commodore Stonbersa, commanding officer of all of First Citizen Tibby Renault’s fleet of ships,” the Commodore said in English.  Captain Slater saluted and then stepped forward and extended his hand; suddenly I realized that I had neglected to inform the ship’s crew of the Earth custom of shaking hands.  The Commodore stared at the Captain’s outstretched hand awkwardly for a second and then looked at me. I gestured for him to take the Captains hand, and he did, but appeared startled when the Captain began pumping it up and down.

“It’s a great pleasure, Commodore, permission to come aboard?”  The captain said.

“Kala looked at me, and in a whisper asked, “What’s going on, Tibby?”

“I forgot to explain Earth customs to you all,” I said.  “I fear this is going to get uncomfortable.

Fortunately the Commodore realized that he was out of his element, and he turned and gestured toward me and Kala.  “Allow me to introduce you to First Citizens Tibby and Kalana.  Like you, Tibby is originally from Earth; both he and Kalana are the highest ranking citizens in the Federation, and Tibby is the owner of this ship as well.”

I stepped forward, offering my hand as I did so, “Captain Slater, I am honored to have you and your fellow Mars team members aboard.”  I took his hand in a firm grasp and shook it. . “Allow me to introduce Kalana, in terms of the Federation she is my bond-mate, the equivalent of a wife on Earth.”  Kala stepped forward and mimicked me in shaking the Captain’s hand.  “It’s my pleasure Kalana, or do I address you as First Citizen?”

“In as much as you have just arrived and are not fully acquainted with us, it is considered appropriate that both Tibby and I be addressed as First Citizens,” Kala answered, “ however we may also be addressed by our other rankings as well.  You may also address me as Commander Kalana, and Tibby may be addressed as Vice Admiral Tibby, but he dislikes being addressed by any honorifics and prefers just being called Tibby.”

“Vice Admiral?  My apology, the captain said snapping to attention and saluting; I was not aware.”

“That will not be necessary, Captain. The Vice Admiral title is purely honorary.  I have no real authority with the Federation Space Force.  However, Kalana is a full commander in the Federation.”

“So you have military personnel on this ship as well?”  The Captain asked in some confusion.

“At the moment there are only two Federation officers aboard.  Commander Kalana and Major Marranalis, both have been assigned to my staff by the Federation.  At times we host a number of military officers and government dignitaries aboard the
NEW ORLEANS,
for various reasons, but at the moment Kalana and Marranalis are the only military personnel aboard.

“What of those men over there?” the captain nodded toward the armed security team that stood at attention along the walkway into the ship.

“Those are part of my own personal security forces.”

“Personal security forces?  You have this many men for your own security?”

“Actually, captain, this is only a small portion of my security team.  It’s hard to explain, I’ve sort of been providing the Federation military some assistance with some of my own personally trained men.”

“I’m getting the impression that things are not so peaceful in the Federation.”

“Again, captain, it’s a long story.  We can discuss it later, but right now let me introduce you to the others of my staff here.”  I quickly introduced him to A’Lappe and Cantolla and lastly to Jenira, who stood by my side almost defiantly in her black attire, her two swords strapped on her back and the painted mark around her eye.  I could see some question in the captain’s expression when he shook Jenira’s hand, but he didn’t ask anything and merely said hello to her.  Jenira simply copied my action and reached out and shook the captain’s hand.

“Let me introduce you to the others in my party,” the captain said.  “This is Doctor Ruth Nelson, head of our biology and hydroponics section.”  A tall woman in her mid to late 40’s with short grayish-blond hair stepped forward and shook my hand.  Next was Doctor Ichiro Yamaguchi, astrophysicist and geologist.

“Just call me Iggy; everyone else does,” he said as he shook my hand.  His Japanese ancestry was clearly evident and he appeared much younger than all the rest and I doubted he was more than 30 years old.

The captain continued, “This is Doctor Naomi Danjuma, our medical doctor, surgeon, and dentist.  A woman of many talents and without whose efforts most of us on Mars would not be alive today.”  Dr. Danjuma was a petite black-skinned woman, who I learned later was in her mid-40’s but looked much younger.  When she spoke it was with a soft voice and a clearly South African dialect.  “It is such an honor to be aboard your wondrous ship, First Citizen.”

The next person the captain introduced was a tall man with close-cropped brown hair and a slender build.  “This is Lt. Ray Stevens.  Until our shuttle ran out of fuel, he was our shuttle pilot.  He’s quite handy with mechanical and electrical equipment; we rely on him heavily to maintain things and keep them functional.  We’re sort of hoping that you might be able to provide us with some spare parts that we desperately need.”

Ray shook my hand with a firm grip, “Pleasure to meet you, sir… ahh, First Citizen.

“And this,” the Captain continued, “is Doctor Alexey Volkov, a xenobiologist and bacteriologist, and Doctor Winston Hughes our psychiatrist and historian.”  I noted that Doctor Volkov spoke with a distinct Russian accent, and that he kept looking at A’Lappe with a huge grin on his face.  I was sure that he was most interested in meeting A’Lappe and was full of questions.  I could only imagine how he would react when he met one of the Nibarians on the ship.

Once he had finished introducing his team, I said, “I am sure you and your team would like to freshen up.  Allow me to introduce you to Piesew Mecarta, my majordomo. He will show you to quarters where you may freshen up. Then you will be given a brief tour of the ship before we dine.”

I noted that every one of the Mars colony visitors seem to relax after my statement, and after standing next to them and noticing the rather pungent odor they emitted, I could understand why.  “That would be most appreciated,” Captain Slater replied.

“If you follow me, ladies and gentlemen, I will take you to your accommodations and will see that you are instructed on the usage of items inside,” Piesew stated, as he led the way toward the inside of the ship.  Once they were out of hearing range, I met briefly with A’Lappe, Cantolla and Marranalis. “I would like for you, A’Lappe and Cantolla, to give our guests a brief tour of the ship, as scientists you will know the things they will be most interested in and can answer their questions.  For the time being, however, I do not want them in the engineering sections or the gravity wave generator rooms.  I also think it important that they not see anything related to the RMFF system, but you are free to answer any questions on theory of these systems that they may ask.  I think it would be a good idea for at least one member of the security team to accompany the group on this tour to answer any questions regarding issues of ship's security and our relationship to the Federation, if that matter should come up.”  I felt a tug on my sleeve and turned, seeing Jenira standing there.  “I want to go with them on the tour!”  She signed.  She had an earnest look on her face that was hard for me to read; it was not one of eagerness, nor did it seem to be curiosity about the visitors; I wondered just what her motives were.

“Why do you want to go on the tour?”  I asked.

“Someone needs to be there to observe and not to talk,” she replied.  Though I could not see the need for such, I couldn’t argue with her thinking either saw no danger in allowing her to go with them, so I told her she could accompany them.

The area of the ship where Piesew had taken our guests was laid out with a large common area room fashionably appointed; around it corridors went off at opposite ends with apartment like accommodations at each end.  Each apartment had its personal bath facilities, and the suite of rooms had its exclusive pool.  All in all, the accommodations were much like the suite of rooms I had aboard the
DUSTEN
when I first arrived in the Federation after I had discovered the
TRITYTE
, albeit the room was on a slightly smaller scale.  Piesew, in his impeccable fashion, arranged for staff members to be present to see to their needs and instruct them on the use of items in their suite.  It was about three hours later that everyone assembled in the main dining room under the starlit transparent dome.  Lights suspended in the air, by means I didn't understand, lit the floor at places providing enough light to see clearly when required. However, as we were in orbit around Mars, the light from the Sun and the reflection of light from the planet provided more than ample light for the dining room.  The view of the planet was spectacular, and Commodore Stonbersa saw to it that the ship was positioned appropriately in orbit so the sun side of Mars was always in view.

The Commodore was present when everyone arrived and made a brief welcome to them all again. I was impressed that he remembered all of their names and that he made an effort to speak to each of them at least once, calling them by their names.  Kala noted my amazement and said, “I hope you can do as well with their names as the Commodore is doing.”

“Not a chance,” I replied with a grin, “That’s what I have you for.”

“You better not flub this, Tib, I will be very embarrassed if you forget their names.”

I had to admit I wasn’t sure if I was up to that task or not.

Once the Commodore had welcomed everyone, he announced that he would not be attending the meal with us but would be on the bridge and that Captain Kerabac would be standing in for him at the meal.  I suspect that the real reason was that Kerabac wanted to meet our guests and didn’t have the opportunity to do so earlier; now the Commodore was switching places with him so he might meet everyone.

Piesew had arranged for an attendant for each person at the meal, and they directed the guests to their seats.  I was seated at the end of the table with Kala to my right, and Kerabac sat at the far end of the table.  Captain Slater was to my left, A’Lappe was seated next to him with Doctor Yamaguchi seated on the opposite side of A’Lappe.  Doctor Volkov, was seated next to Kala, and across from A’Lappe.

“First Citizen,” Captain Slater began.

“Just Tibby, please.”  I said

“Tibby then, we are totally amazed at your ship.  Most magnificent, incredible, actually!  It’s an entire flying city with everything anyone can think of on it.  I was shocked, that there are not more people aboard!”

“The ship is designed to carry several thousand, but we have slightly less than a thousand aboard,” I replied, just as the attendants began placing some appetizers in front of everyone.

“A’Lappe tells me that even though this ship is technically a luxury yacht it also is armed like a war ship.  Is that common in the Federation?”

“Not really, though most ships have some armament on them to protect against pirates. This ship was originally designed for an industrialist who was trying to gain a government contract for space weaponry, and he built the ship to both demonstrate the weapons and to serve to entertain his guests.”

“So then you didn’t have this ship built, you acquired it from someone else?”  Captain Slater said between spoonfuls of his appetizer.

“Correct, the original owner was murdered shortly after a giant solar flare wiped out his industrial complex; I had just come into an incredible wealth and was in a position to buy it, so I did.”  I explained, as I heard one of our guests down the table exclaim.  “Oh my!  This food is delicious; I’d forgotten how good real food can taste!”

“This ship must cost a fortune, how were you able to afford it?”  Captain Slater inquired.

“It all had to do with the derelict ship I found back on Earth,” I replied, “that and the cargo aboard it.”