Chapter 19: Devices

May 5^th, at 5:52:05 am, a hundred-meter beige sphere with the black Lady Strife personal insignia rose from the Sonoran Desert, accelerating as it passed through first the lower, then upper atmosphere steadily accelerating while keeping its course as it left Earth’s orbit heading into deep space.

‘Proper Notification’ had been delivered to NASA, FAA and ATC, making sure that no flights were affected by its takeoff.

Meanwhile a thousand miles to the east, at the same time the SEC and IRS were informed of the upcoming Spin-off of Strife Communications International from the parent company Strife International. Initial stock prices were discussed throughout the day with guesses ranging anywhere, for the upcoming IPO of between $152 per share to $185 per share.

Speculations for the reasons behind this action were split between a fundraiser for SI itself or the suspected Senate Monopoly hearings. Or both.

“The government won’t make this easy for her, will it?”

“No, they will try and steal possession from her. Her lawyers are very good, I wouldn’t worry too much. Besides it’s not like any of them can Create the Devices necessary and if they piss her off too much, SI has divisions all over the world. They won’t risk the lost tax revenue and loss of jobs if she relocates.”

“If they know it, and she knows it, then why waste everyone’s time?” Catherine naïvely asked.

“Politics, politicians, lawyers and greed.”

“Ah.” Gathering up her courage, Cat declared, “I decided to give one of my Devices to her as a gift tomorrow.”

“I’m sure she will appreciate it.”

“Hope so.”

“Eagle will be here Friday at three.”

“Okay.”

“I know why you are limiting me to four a month. But I rather just get them done.”

“Tough. Besides we go on vacation Monday.”

“I wish Rache could come.”

“She has a job and a career. Only so many days off a year for new employees.”

“I know.”

“She could come down at least for a week,” my young student complained to me again.

“She prefers your little excursions more. Besides when you return it will be high season for Shakespearean plays.”

“Yeah,” was Cat’s fond reply.

...

At 6:55 I dropped off the pretty teen in her latest blue custom gown at the entrance of Marciel’s. She carried an oversized black velvet lined jeweler’s box. The doorman opened the door and allowed entry to the increasingly elegant young lady.

I knew if I asked about her leash, she would have said she had forgotten about it again. After a year plus, it has become a part of her. I drove off to meet Robert for a good steak elsewhere.

Catherine entered the dual entrance of the nationally reviewed restaurant, ignoring the admiring gazes of the few well-dressed businessmen waiting for tables. She sought out the location of her friend from the hostess.

“That gown is beautiful on you. I had to earn decent clothes from that Fossil, unlike you.” Standing, the former student become Master, returned the current student’s hug.

“Thanks. This is for you.”

Moria O’Shannan waited until the waitress took the young lady’s drink order and left before opening her gift. “This is exquisite. Thanks, Cat. Do you mind if I frame it?”

“Not at all,” the brunette teen replied bashfully at being recognized by her elder. “I watched the liftoff this morning and your conference yesterday. A new habitable world. That is huge.”

“I think so too.” The two bounced from topic to topic surrounding O’Shannan’s latest Earth shattering moves for an hour plus.

“Have you decided what you are going to work on next?” the older Device master asked the younger hopeful.

“A gun, I think. Master said it had to be something just for me and I liked the one he has had me use a few times...” She went on to describe the steampunk like weapon that he had lent her on a few occasions. “What was yours?”

“I didn’t listen to advice. I wanted desperately to make a powered suit and wouldn’t hear otherwise. It took me five years to complete Mk XIII.”

Cat winced. “I bet it wasn’t just one Device when you were done with it. You had to have learned a ton,” she replied in admiration.

“Seven active ones. And I did learn a ‘ton’,” Moria chided her adopted younger sister.

“Seven? And they were all integrated in one unit?” The waitress, who was a full time Systems Engineering masters student, half listened in on their conversation while serving the two super geniuses. She stopped trying to comprehend what the two were saying soon after. Their technical elements were years beyond her and she knew it.

Over dessert, “Master won’t tell me anything about me being a Crystal Bishop, it’s even on the stupid website. Can you please tell me what it means?”

“Twelve years ago, I created a representative playing field. Gave each individual world power a rank and color. The current US President is always a White King. The Xhinese Premier is a Jade King and the major houses of Beijing are the eight jade pawns. Eagle, your Heroine friend is a White Bishop. Drake is the White Rook.”

“The rankings are a symbol of both individual power and influence.”

“Are you the Black Queen?”

“Close, Black King,” Moria admitted. “I was the queen for five years until I realized that I no longer made sweeping moves across the board. I use others for that now.”

“Why did you name me a bishop when I hadn’t done anything yet?”

“Are you going to try and say you haven’t earned the ranking in the last year? Little miss who made the cover of Justice in her first month of apprenticeship?”

“That was all because of the gowns.”

“All?”

“Okay, not all,” the brown eyed, brunette admitted.

“Do you still believe it is unjustified?”

“I don’t know.”

“I don’t think it’s justified.”

“You don’t? Then why?”

“It’s why you were promoted to Rook.”

“Rook, that makes even less sense.”

Tapping the black box containing one of Cat’s EMP arrowheads next to her, “It does to me.”

“Oh. What is next for you?”

“Senate hearings all next week.”

“Master said that they would try and control you and Arachnid.”

A decisive laugh and firm look accompanied Moria’s retort. “They can try, but I designed the system to be automatic. Over the next five years, Arachnid and its subsystems will use anything and everything that comes in range to assemble the new station and its components.”

“They won’t like hearing that. Let me guess, they will complain that it will go out of control, their control, and attack the world and other nonsense.”

“And worse. They will also want me to mine the asteroids and return their minerals for UF use only.”

“So will the rest of the world, won’t they?”

“Of course.”

“Do you plan ... you know?”

“I would be willing to consider it if someone can deliver me a gram or two of anti-matter.”

“The Device on the first day I saw you; it was for the energy conversion for propulsion of Arachnid.”

“Yup, and that half gram took me eight years to accumulate and horde in a magnetic chamber which cost me nearly two hundred million alone.”

“Couldn’t you use a different power source?”

“I haven’t found one powerful enough. Maybe you can. Later. It will be years before we are ready for the next step.”

“Next step? ... OH!”

“Not here, Catherine. That will be a topic for somewhere less public.” The naive younger girl was reminded of their public location.

The novice Device maker surreptitiously looked around and noticed the attention that they had been receiving all night. She tried to think back if any of their conversation was out of bounds or not and couldn’t decide.

“Yes, you do need to be more aware of your surroundings,” chided Moria O’Shannan in one of her usual gray business suits who was always aware of her surroundings. A lesson learned the hard way soon after her emergence on the Villain scene.

“I think this is the first time I have been outside with Master not at my side or watching over me since this started.”

“Master Smith is very protective. He was the same with his other students. Time to take you back to your Master. Want to bet he is waiting in the bar?”

“No. He said he would meet me there when we were done with talking.”

The two walked with contented smiles towards the chair I chose while sipping my bourbon. Moria casually carrying her gift and Cat, tired but happy.

“Hey, you old Fossil. I met someone interesting in Monaco. She acted as if she knew you. You wouldn’t believe the strange things the midget claimed.”

“I saw the video. You looked like you were having fun.”

“I was. It even convinced me to buy some land near Cyprus. Unfortunately, the land was filled with rubble that had to be carted away before we could build a factory. All to help the unemployed Greek people, of course.”

“Careful of her boyfriend, Moria. I have heard he is stronger than ever.”

“We Must discuss this with me at length at another time. Ya, anito.” The mocking woman cheerily waved bye to me in Greek, gave a hug to her newly acquired Sister and returned to her home outside of the city with her security.

“Master?”

“Wait until you get home for questions. Did you have a good dinner?”

“What do you have, Captain Collingsworth?”

“Project Starfare left no energy emissions from propulsion.”

“Just like Smith’s vehicle?”

“Yes, Sir. Even the frontal shield’s energy signatures were identical.”

“Same craft but larger?”

“And unmanned, Sir.”

“Are you positive about it being unmanned?”

“Yes, Sir. Unless the passenger does not need to eat or breathe and can withstand being without other human company for years on end. And won’t have his bones reduced to mush by the lack of gravity.”

“What about stasis?” Questioned the General overseeing the Department of Strategic Intelligence.

“Unlikely. A waste of space and the person would be taking a huge risk. Adding to the loss of five years.” The newly promoted head of that department, located somewhere in the Pentagon, replied with conviction.

“Is that Thing, Smith’s, Strife’s or both?”

“The shields are Smith’s. No one else can even come close to what he can make, Sir.”

“And the rest?” the senior flag officer demanded, clearly not at all happy with that information.

“Our best guess, is that it is a joint effort. We don’t know the exact payload but we all agree that it contains self-replicating constructor Robots. At least three for redundancy. Strife calls them Arachnids according to her release.” The young Captain tried to ease the subject away from the unknown.

“Did Strife make the propulsion systems or did Smith?” The General wasn’t about to let the ‘kid’ get away from what he needed to know.

“Sir. We know the spherical shell is ceramic and was constructed at O’Shannan’s personal manufacturing company. The magnesium steel alloy was shipped in pieces out of Pittsburgh and assembled on site. A hundred thousand pre printed circuit boards already assembled were sent from one of SI subsidiaries in California. That is the extent of the information on the payload.

“We have no records of any large components being delivered even with the constant satellite monitoring. Our only guess is that She herself built each large Device used in Project Starfare.”

“What about the smaller components?”

“Unknown, Sir.”

“Could she have received blueprints from Smith and made the engine or power source herself?”

“Sixty percent chance he had a hand in the construction beyond the shielding Sir. He is too good of a resource not to exploit, given their close relationship.”

“Do you think she was able to achieve all of that without Smith’s assistance?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“And you still believe she did so with his assistance?”

“I do, Sir. So does eighty percent of our department.”

“What is Strife’s goal?”

“To build a Space Station that doesn’t orbit Earth so that the local governments have no say in what goes on out there, Sir.” Thankfully, the department had reviewed the General’s list of questions eighty minutes after liftoff yesterday so that they had some time to discuss and work on responses or else the ‘I don’t knows’ would have added up quickly.

“What does she plan on doing with the Space station once built?”

“Sir, if all she wanted it for was to do research, there were easier and less dramatic and expensive ways to accomplish that.”

“Which means what Captain?”

“She needs raw materials. O’Shannan specifically chose a large iron nickel asteroid with silicones for her to mine.”

“Mine?”

“Yes, we believe that her robots will use the asteroid for resources to build both her space station and any other space vehicles once that is completed.”

“You believe she is building a space station just to build more spacecraft?”

“Yes, Sir. No gravity well. No limits on size, mass or volume. She can build as large or as many as she wants. All free.”

“Free...”

“Then why only send up one?”

“Project Starfare could not have been cheap, Sir. Maybe two billion, maybe more.” The General considered the amount and wondered who the other investors were. “Also, General. Since Smith’s whereabouts have been closely watched, she would have had to make all the large Devices herself. O’Shannan spent two to three days a week at her facility for the last few years. We know she has an extensive lab and machine shop at that location.”

“And no one else can make those Devices besides her?”

“Or Smith. Maybe Catherine Larkin in eight to twelve years.”

“When will it reach the belt and Psyche?”

“Thirty-two days. That is including deceleration if it follows predicted acceleration curves.”