Stormhaven Rising (Atlas and the Winds Book 1) (40 page)

“Roger. We’re on it,” came the reply. In the distance he could hear someone yelling orders and a Humvee roaring to life.

“Oh that’s going to go over well,” Watkins said, shaking her head and heading for the front entrance.

Pitching the phone to DeMarko, he followed Watkins outside saying, “Stand by to put that call through to Secretary Herman. If this Ambassador gives me any shit, I’ll be starting a war.”

***

Outside Stormhaven:

Sayo Itaki watched the high desert crawl past the window, and the Ambassador sat watching her. She’d been silent since they’d finished the tour of the labs, apparently lost in some deep stream of thought. “You seem troubled, Sayoko?” he asked, quietly interrupting her.

“No. I am stunned,” she said, turning to face him. “Yesterday I would have called anyone who claimed that these things could be done, a childishly simple fool. But today ...” her words failed, so she shrugged, hoping to convey her meaning without vocalizing its complexity. Her face played out a dozen expressions, none of which seemed to fit the moment.

“They have done incredible things,” he agreed, understanding how it must be for her.

“Yet they seem oblivious to the magnitude of their achievement.” She shook her head and turned back toward the window again. “They are technologically so far ahead of us, and still they seem willing to share without regard for personal profit or power,” she said. “They ask for so little in exchange for their secrets.”

“Actually, the price they seek is much greater than you know,” he said. “In exchange for access to their technologies, they want us to put ourselves in the path of the United States government.” Rounding a bend just outside the gate, the car slid to a stop in the middle of the road. Two Humvees sat blocking their way.

“I can see that it is time for us to make our first installment,” he said. Putting on his best diplomatic mask, he rolled the window down to face the approaching soldier, watching the young woman nervously fingering the safety on her rifle.

***

Kicking the Elephant

ISS Alpha:

“Jeezus this is getting ridiculous,” Commander McDermott swore under his breath, while manually maneuvering the shuttle through the swirling field of supplies surrounding the ISS. The proximity-alert claxon rang continuously, each time announcing another obstacle sweeping toward them. He’d been parked in orbit five-hundred meters behind the station, waiting for the tug to haul another fuel tank into position before he had a clear approach.

“No kidding. The computer would have plowed us into the side of the Zebra-Ten cluster if you hadn’t been watching it.” Tonya Leavitt swung the inspection camera across the underside of the shuttle, panning gradually to track the massive group of fuel tanks. “Somebody needs to get the routine updated or we’re going to have a real problem."

“Yeah. Put it in the notes right beside that wicked shimmy we had after separation,” he said, sounding cool as he nudged the shuttle through the gap behind the orbiting traffic. “They’ve got a lot of shit on their plates down there, and as long as we’re doing our part we’ll keep it all together."

“
Enterprise
, we have you at one meter per second, five-by and closing on the port,” Hiroko said through the comlink from her radar post in the Docking Module.

“Copy, Alpha. Ever think about putting up a traffic light?” Warren joked, watching the telemetry and easing the shuttle in for the first manual docking since the new fleet had been launched.

“Hey, there. Would you get that barge out of the way?” Randy Markham broke in on the channel, announcing his arrival at the station.

“Is that you,
Reliant
?” Scott said from the Control Module of the station where he was monitoring communications during the approach.

“Affirm, Alpha,” Randy said. “I’m just going to snag my containers and then I’ll be ready to pick up my passenger.

“Where’re you hiding
Reliant
?” Tonya asked, to try to get a visual.

“I’m about 2300 meters plus Z, looking straight down your barrel.” The EVA lights on the TLS flashed a couple times and she spotted the ship against the dark sky above them.

“Gotcha, Randy,” she said, pointing out the front window at the other ship. Warren was focused on the final maneuvers that would bring them into contact with the Docking Module. “You know we’re gonna be hogging the door for a couple days.”

“Yeah. I heard that. I guess the plan’s to bag Cindy and carry her over with an MMU, so I don’t have to squeeze up to an old Progress doorway. That’s why they told me to pick up the train first.”

“She’s going to make a 1000 meter free-flight in a bubble. That ought to be one for the record books,” Tonya said, shaking her head at the idea of floating in an emergency evacuation bag while being towed across open space.

“Excuse me, I might need to talk to Alpha now,” Commander McDermott said, smiling but making sure that she understood he was serious.

“Sorry,” she said.

A slight shaking signaled the impact of the airlock probe, and a distant vibration shook the shuttle while the connection hardware ratcheted them into hard-dock. “Honey, we’re home!” he said, smiling and running the muscles on his hand through several cycles to work out the tension.

“Copy,
Enterprise
, we’re equalizing pressure in the corridor and will be green in three minutes. Welcome to Alpha.” Scott said.

“Do you realize how close we came to banging into that fuel?” Warren said, unbuckling and floating away from his seat.

“Yeah. Way too close,” she agreed, twisting to follow him toward the mid-deck.

***

Camp Kryptonite:

“Agent Shapiro, need I remind you that I am a credentialed Ambassador to the United States?” Ambassador Kuromori stood like a stone monument inside the doorway to Shapiro’s office, fire dancing in his eyes. “You are making a grave mistake if you think you can detain me or my assistant.”

“I understand full well your position Mr. Ambassador” Shapiro said, matching Kuromori’s tone and restraint. “What I think you fail to realize is the gravity of the overall situation.”

“Is this detention something that your superiors have authorized?” he asked, his glare leaving no room for misinterpretation.

Shapiro knew he was on thin ice but he held his face expressionless. “It is within the scope of my orders,” he said, carefully choosing his words, and his interpretation of his instructions. “I have been charged with protecting the interests of this country, and if that means I detain and interrogate you, then I will do so without hesitation.”

“Are you familiar with the term Diplomatic Immunity?” the Ambassador said. “If not, then I am sure you will be soon enough.”

“Are you familiar with the term National Security?” Shapiro said, without flinching. “I’d hoped that we could avoid coming to this, as I do not wish to see things become unnecessarily difficult for either of us.” Douglas needed Kuromori to take the implied offer in order to keep things from spiraling out of control. He knew he’d probably overstepped a long way, but there was nothing that he could do to change that now. He stood at the front of his desk with his arms crossed, watching the Japanese Ambassador processing his options.

“Am I under arrest?” he said after several seconds. His tone had changed to one that was a bit less adversarial.

“No sir, you are not,” the agent said, also easing back and taking a more casual tone and posture. “I only had you brought here so that I could ask a few questions about what you may have seen in there.”

“Very well then, I will consent to answer your questions, providing that my assistant is allowed to be present for this interview,” he said, stepping forward and taking a seat at the small conference table. He laid his hands flat on the table and waited.

“DeMarko, bring in Dr. Itaki, please,” Shapiro said, raising his voice to be heard through the walls while joining Kuromori at the table. Several seconds later DeMarko appeared with the doctor. She sat silently beside the Ambassador.

“I hope this interview will be brief, Agent Shapiro, as I have my jet waiting in Flagstaff, and I am expected in Washington this afternoon,” he said, relaxing a bit, but still guarding his expression.

“I’ll do my best, Ambassador,” he said. “I just have a few questions I need answered. If you’re willing to cooperate this shouldn’t take long.” DeMarko reappeared with a thermos of coffee and three mugs. He set them on the table and took a seat across the room.

“Coffee?” Shapiro asked, pouring for each of them. “Kona, extra dark."

“Arigato,” Kuromori said, taking the offered cup. “I see you do your homework.”

“Actually, it happens to be my preference in coffee as well,” Shapiro said, smiling and trying to thaw the situation.

“Dr. Sayo Itaki,” he said, turning to face his assistant. “Nobel Laureate with Doctorates in Astrophysics and Robotic Systems Engineering.” She nodded in acknowledgement, but said nothing. “Last night you told me you were here to check on the well-being of your citizens inside Stormhaven, is that not true?” Shapiro asked.

“Yes, it is true,” Kuromori said, his eyes telling Shapiro that he already knew where his question was leading. “I brought Sayo because she knows Colton Taylor personally, and I thought a familiar face would be useful if the situation were indeed tense.” The Ambassador delivered his answer far too smoothly.

“Ahh, of course,” he said. “So where did you meet Mr. Taylor?"

“Several years ago at the Kobe University Robotics Symposium,” she said. “He was a keynote speaker on the development of artificial intelligence for assembly robots.”

“I never realized that Taylor was into so many things,” Shapiro said, glancing at DeMarko to make sure he was getting notes they could use to verify her story. He was scribbling on his epad.

“It was fortuitous that she was in the US on an Engineering Exchange Program from Matsui,” Kuromori said. “Mr. Taylor gave us a tour of their automation and laboratory facilities while we were there.”

“I’m sure it was fascinating for you, Doctor,” he said.

“It was an enlightening experience,” she said.

“So tell me, what types of things are they working on?” Shapiro asked. “Do they manufacture anything that we might need to know about?”

“Like what?” Dr. Itaki said. “Most of their production capacity for the last several years has been dedicated to producing the space technologies that go into their vehicles.”

“Really?” Shapiro said, raising an eyebrow skeptically. “You’re saying they don’t have anything they’re working on that we’d find interesting?”

“Of course they do, Agent Shapiro. Everything they are building is interesting,” the Ambassador said. “But what you are really asking is whether they are developing weapons that they could use against you.”

“Well, yes,” Douglas said, blinking. “Are they building weapons?”

Kuromori looked at his assistant and an unspoken comment passed between them. Shapiro caught it and it sent a shiver down his spine in spite of himself.

“I honestly can’t tell you if they are now building, or already possess, weapons of any form,” he said. “I say this not because I don’t want to tell you, but simply because I can’t say for sure that Dr. Itaki or myself would recognize anything based on their technology. I felt very much like a caveman trying to understand nuclear fusion.”

Shapiro glanced at the scientist who, for all her education, could only nod in agreement. Although he had no doubt that Kuromori was skilled enough at diplomacy to hide the truth, he could read her easily.

Shapiro finally understood what they were up against.

***

ISS Alpha:

“Hey Commander, you got a minute?” Warren McDermott said from the command deck of the
Enterprise
, gesturing for Scott to join him. The new crew members had all cleared out and were settling their gear in the Bunk Module, so they were alone.

“I think I can fit you into my dance card,” he said, pulling himself up into the crowded cockpit. He floated over to the pilot’s seat and swung his legs into place. It had been several years since he’d piloted a mission, but the seat still fit. “What’s up?”

“Lange wanted me to give you the news about the new TLS,” he said. “They’re going to be boosting a new CSM and they want you to put it together up here. It’ll give you something to use for EVA training of construction techniques.”

“You are kidding?” he said. “It’s all Sergei and I can do to keep these monkeys from concussing themselves inside the station. I don’t think they’re going to be worth a damn outside.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean,” Warren said. “I told Lange that I was with you on this."

“I still think someone’s blown a breaker down there. Lange should damn well know this is insane,” Scott said.

“The best explanation he had was that if we had to fall back to Plan B, there’d be a lot more amateurs up here. If we start training these guys now, we’ll have a better idea what mistakes to watch out for,” McDermott said. “NASA has to recognize that living and working in space can’t be limited to the overqualified and overtrained. Sooner or later we’ve got to open the doors for everybody.”