Chapter 16: Head of Governance Training / Interplanetary Affairs

Armstrong Station, August 1, 2141
Head of Governance Training / Interplanetary Affairs

Admiral Remy Darwin, the commander of the Seventh Fleet, stepped into the ante room of Captain Walter Schirra’s office. He was a very large black man with close cropped white hair and a perpetual smile, like he knew what the joke was and he was ready to hear the punchline again. However, he wasn’t smiling today. “Good afternoon Remy,” said Estelle Schirra. “Shall I announce that you’re here?”

“I am not here,” he said with a frown. “Is the admiral alone?”

“Yes, his last meeting just left.”

“Fine. Mark this office closed and take the rest of the afternoon off. Go get some coffee.”

Estelle has been her husband’s yeoman for over twenty years. When an admiral tells you to go get some coffee, you go get some coffee. “Yes sir,” she said, and she started getting her purse together.

“Estelle, how is Mister Scarlett doing in your opinion?” asked Admiral Darwin.

“He’s doing fine sir, as far as I know.”

“Is he ready to fight?”

Estelle looked at the admiral, her lips tightened and she said, “Yes, as ready as any twenty one year old boy can be.”

“Is he ready to lead men into combat?”

Estelle wanted to scream “No!” she has seen how he treats Commander Marks. He’s kind and caring, he doesn’t treat her like a street whore like most non-lunar’s treat lunar women. She has two daughters his age, and she wanted to introduce him to them. She doesn’t want him shot up before they can meet. But she’s seen his test scores. He’s smart, innovative, he takes command if there’s not a clear leader. He’s what the Navy needs in spades, but will a force follow a Lieutenant JG into battle? “I think so sir.”

“Thank you.”

Estelle grabbed her purse and closed her terminal, then headed out. As she opened the office door to leave, there was a pleasant-looking man in his mid-forties standing there, ready to knock on the door. “I’m sorry, we’re closed.”

“He’s with me,” said the Admiral. “Estelle, this is Ray Clark, he’s a member of the Martian Parliament. Ray, this Estelle Schirra.”

“Pleased to meet you,” said Ray as he held the door for Estelle as she left. She nodded and mumbled a greeting, then left, not knowing that if she wanted to talk to someone about Alan, she just missed the best source of information. “Are we missing anyone?” asked Ray.

“Mister Ben Curtis,” said the Admiral.

“He’s not going to leave Mars, not if the rumors are right,” said Ray. “Besides, this briefing isn’t for him, he knows what’s going on. This briefing is for you.”

The admiral and Ray Clark stepped into Captain Schirra’s inner office. “Gentlemen? Seats please.” He got up and locked the door after Ray and Admiral Darwin entered. “This briefing will be classified Top Secret, Cabinet 35.”

They waited nervously for his phone to ring. Ray, who is normally calm, looked horrible. He was jittery and nervous. Mars was on the opposite side of the sun from Earth, so it was a long trip at max burn, then a long hard deceleration burn. Wally poured coffee and handed Remy and Ray a cup, then sat down at his desk. Finally, the phone rang and Wally hit a button on the phone.

“Captain Schirra.”

His phone was set to speaker, and a man’s voice said, “Insert the appropriate card now.” The message was repeated over and over. Admiral Darwin took a plastic card the size of a business card from his breast pocket and handed it to Captain Schirra. Wally inserted the card in the phone and the voice disappeared and a hissing background noise could be heard. “Stand by for roll call,” called a distorted voice. The voice was clearly encrypted and the message to standby for roll call was repeated every fifteen seconds. Finally, the voice said, “This is a briefing from the Martian Intelligence Bureau. All information is classified Top Secret for official use only. Roll call. CINC NAV.”

Another voice called “Admiral Piper.”

“Seventh fleet?” asked the original voice.

“Admiral Darwin,” said Remy.

“Governance Training?”

“Captain Schirra”

“Earth?”

“Wendel Anderson.”

“Mars?”

Ray tensed up. Wendel Anderson is the secretary general of the Western Alliance. He’s in charge of half of the earth. There were some incredibly powerful people on this call. “MP Ray Clark,” said Ray.

“We are joined, any questions before we start?”

“Yes, where is Ben Curtis?” asked Secretary General Anderson.

“I will represent him,” said Ray. “We believe it is not prudent for him to leave the Red House at this juncture in time. If this information becomes public knowledge, he needs to be immediately available. He has granted me the authority to represent a United Mars.”

“Is Mars truly united?” asked Wendel Anderson. For years, especially after World War V, Mars had been a divided world. It was always a series of think tanks united only by a tube train that was the envy of the solar system. To gain a trade agreement with Mars was nearly impossible because you had to negotiate with multiple colonies and usually ended with multiple conflicting trade treaties. A United Mars sitting on top of all that iron, nickel, and osmium willing to trade for potable water, and making coherent trade agreements, was a shipping magnates dream.

“No sir, but we are getting close.” Ray was sure that one more unifying event could bring all colonies into the parliament, and then Mars would be a force to be reckoned with.

The strange, distorted voice returned. “If there are no more questions ... the Martian Intelligence Bureau has been able to download the log files of three abandoned spacecraft at Kōngchéng spaceport. Two were licensed Yīng Kuàilè model personnel transports that were heavily damaged, and one was a small cargo carrier whose license and registration numbers do not appear in any database. The two personnel carriers were heavily damaged. It is believed that they were shot down by Kōngchéng spaceport security. Both carriers reported a crew of five and a load of seventy passengers, which is fifteen more people than the Ying Kuaile can safely carry. One of the personnel carriers was able to set up a narrow beam transmission beamed at earth with the message “geugeos-eun neuseunhan,” which translates to “It’s loose.” We were only able to discover this message because a satellite in Mars orbit was in the line of transmission on one of the last times the ship had enough battery power to send the message. I will pause for questions.”