Chapter 7

Sam wakes me up about an hour before our meeting with the Confederacy so I can freshen up.

“Sam, why is the Confederacy CnC (Command and Control) here near Earth? To be in “Command and Control” I would think that they’d need to be close enough to actually “Command and Control” their soldiers? By the time information gets to them here it has to be old, outdated, and no longer useful.”

“The CnC is almost all higher-ranking officers and they told the AIs they needed to be near Earth for planning and tactical purposes. The AIs have no experience at war and trust the Officers to make decisions concerning it.

Most of the officers still live on Earth even though they have accommodations on the CnC. They even have their conks with them on Earth.”

“How do they get away with having slaves on Earth? I’ll bet living on Earth is why they want the CnC here though. No replicator food, alcohol all the time, and never without their favorite things like they would be if they were living on the CnC or at a colony. Well, also because they are safer from the Swarm here, the motherfuckers.”

“Only the officers travel back and forth to Earth DD. All the enlisted live on the CnC.”

“Of course, rank has its privileges don’t ya know. Do you think the Confederacy would move the CnC out of the solar system if that was the only thing I asked for in compensation for violating our agreement?”

“I don’t know DD. It never hurts to ask though.”

“And I’ll throw in how the Confederacy is breaking Earth laws by allowing their officers to live on Earth with their slaves. Like you said, it never hurts to ask.

Contact Trank and see if they are ready ok Sam?”

“Ok, GP ... They are ready Sire.”

“Good afternoon Guardian Prime. I am sorry we are meeting like this again.”

“I am too Lunar Base AI. This is sounding stupid always calling you Lunar Base AI and you calling me Guardian Prime. Can we go with GP and Trank?”

“Guardian Prime, GP, yes I think that will be better as well GP.”

“Ok then, Trank I found out something I need to make you aware of. It has come to my attention that Confederacy officers from the CnC are living on Earth with their slaves. You do know that slavery is against the law in pretty much every country on Earth don’t you?”

“We did not know that. The officers said it would not be a problem as they are now Confederacy citizens.”

“Of course they’d say that. Just like they said that they needed to be near Earth for planning and tactical purposes, when the real reason is probably so they can have all their favorite things from Earth and they are a lot safer here than if they were near where they should be.

Trank, I am going to ask for only one thing as compensation from the Confederacy for violating our agreement. And it’s good in a way as the ones responsible for the violation will be the ones to pay.

Trank I ask that the Confederacy move the CnC out of Earth solar system to a system where they will be better able to support the other Confederacy military bases and colonies.”

“They will never go for that GP.”

“Hear me out Trank. I know that extractions need to continue so Confederacy ships that are on missions for the purpose of extracting and transporting new volunteers and conks will still move through this system.

The Lunar Base needs to remain to support the extractions and for communications between the Confederacy and Earth governments.

However, the CnC is the militaries COMMAND and CONTROL is it not? How can they have Command and Control over their soldiers and equipment, let alone make timely decisions regarding the war when they are so far away from it? Truth is they probably can’t because the information they receive would be old and no longer meaningful.

By moving the CnC the Confederacy will no longer be breaking Earth laws and the military will end up having better Command and Control of all Military situations.”

“Ok GP, let’s say the Confederacy moves the CnC, who will protect the Earth should the Swarm arrive unexpectedly?”

“I thought that the Confederacy was supposed to protect Earth even though you have very little here to do so. Right now the Swarm are still a few years away but if for some reason the Swarm arrived here unexpectedly the CnC wouldn’t be able to put up much of a fight anyways would they.

However, if the Confederacy feels they can’t provide the assets necessary to protect the Earth then I will. I believe that what I have in this system right now is more than sufficient for the moment, and for any “unexpected” Swarm attack.

Commander, have the Shields decloak.”

The 4 Shields appear and you can hear panicked voices in the background for a few minutes until the AIs inform the CnC and others who the ships belong to and that there is no need for panic.

“You are correct that we don’t have sufficient assets here at the moment though that will be rectified ASAP so we will not need you to provide any. Though I have to ask how you got such ships so quickly.”

“These ships were already built when they asked me to become Guardian Prime of their planet and Solar Systems. They are called the “Guardian Prime Protective Group” or “GPPG” and will travel with me wherever I go. I did not know about them until after I had agreed to become Guardian Prime.

Do you have anything else Trank?”

“I have nothing else GP.”

“Do we have an agreement then?”

“Ok GP, once everyone has returned to the CnC in a few days, it will be ordered to move to another system.”

“No Trank. I want the CnC gone within 6 hours.”

“They won’t be able to have everything on board and ready to move in 6 hours. They are going to raise hell about having to move as it is.”

“They didn’t have 1 minute to move when they were extracted so why would they need 6 hours now. And if they raise hell about moving are they part of the Confederacy or not? You AIs have the final say do you not?

Just order a simple recall for everyone to immediately return to the CnC and inform them of the move when they are all on board and accounted for. If some aren’t moving fast enough I’m sure the Marines would love to have orders to go and get them.”

“That would work. Ok GP we have an agreement. It has been registered and a copy sent to Sam.”

“Excellent Trank. I really hope we don’t have to do this again. I suspect the CnC has a lot more officers like the late Rear Admiral and hopefully this will stop anyone else from getting similar ideas.”

Unfortunately, some people are always watching the moon and the surrounding space now that there is a Confederacy base on it and they saw and got pictures of the new ships that appeared. My ships. With the internet, the photos and speculation spread like a wildfire.

Just as quickly the world’s newsies were falling all over themselves asking questions, speculating about where the ships came from and what they are here for.

The Confederacy put out a news release saying that they have been contacted by the ships, they are from a planet called Arkadia, approximately 2550 light-years from Earth, they are friendly, and are here to pick up their leader and colonists.

Well didn’t that information cause even greater speculation and stranger theories! Hahaha.

I called Mark and Dean to tell them that yes, the ships were mine but that it was not public knowledge. I told them that once things calmed down a bit I’d love to show them my Flagship. I made sure they had Sam’s and my numbers and told them to call if they had any questions or needed anything.

“Sam, if you don’t mind let’s go back to the Flagship and you can give me a tour. Notify the Commander we are coming ok?”

“I’d love to DD,” and in the blink of an eye, we were back on the Flagship just outside my suite and a quick walk from the CIC.

We entered the CIC and heard “Guardian Prime is aboard!” again just as we did the first time.

I didn’t notice it the first time but the CIC looked more than a little eerie with the lights on and no one around. The Furst didn’t need to take a corporeal form to run the ships.

“As you were everyone. Good afternoon Commander. Can you open Comms to all the ships in our PG? I’d like to say a few words to everyone if I may.”

“Of course Sire, one moment ... Comms are open to all ships in our PG Sire.”

“Good afternoon everyone, I thought I’d introduce myself to you but I guess you already know that I am Guardian Prime and 1^st of the Furst. I want to thank everyone for acting so professionally during the recent problem with the Confederacy. You kept a bad situation from rapidly escalating and contacted Sam as you were supposed to. You all accepted me immediately and responded to my orders without hesitation. I want to say thank you and I appreciate you coming here to pick me and our colonists up. Getting colonists will take time so you can plan on being here awhile.

If you require anything please let your Commanders or Sam know and we’ll do our best to see if we can get it for you. And if we should have the opportunity to talk outside of your work, I would like you to address me as DD or GP. Thanks again and I’ll let you go back to whatever you were doing.”

Sam and I leave the CIC and she tells me that was a good thing to do for everyone onboard, letting them know they are appreciated. I tell her it is something my parents always did with our employees. Let them know we appreciated their work.

“Sam, how long would it take to get all the medical enhancements and everything done?”

“The enhancements and implants would be completed in 3 hours. Fixing any defects or potential diseases will depend on what is found and how far along it is. Something like cancer that is found at its early stage can be cured faster than if found at later stages.”

“Ok how about we stay up here tonight and I will get them done while sleeping. Is that possible?”

“Not only possible GP but it is the more desirable way to get them done. You’ll have extra time in case something is discovered that takes longer to fix, and you have extra time for any healing.”

“You should contact Trank tonight too and get the Confederacy tech transferred to us. Is there enough space on the ship’s data crystals for all the information?”

“The information the Confederacy will send won’t take up any noticeable space on a crystal. I have asked Trank to start sending the data to a crystal when they are ready.

This crystal is not connected to any of our systems for the moment to prevent any possibility of bugs, viruses, etc being transferred and infecting our systems. Once the transfer is complete and verified, the crystal will be reconnected to our system, and I’ll inform Trank and another part of the agreement will be completed.”

“Excellent Sam. This has been quite a day. Show me around the ship and then we’ll go to the Medical Center.”

Sam showed me around alright. The ship is huge and even with her “transporting” us to different areas, even after several hours I’m sure I didn’t get to see it all. Seeing the Fast Attack Craft (FAC) in the hanger was awesome though. I wanted so badly to jump in one and go for a quick flight!

(The FAC looks like the Elite Dangerous Python. 58m at its widest x 88m long x 18m high, with these painted black with crimson striping.)

We went to the Medical Bay and Sam showed me how to get into the MedBed.

“Ok GP I will stay nearby and monitor the results as they happen and will see you in the morning.”

“I guess we should go back to the apartment so I can get some clothes and a few things like my toothbrush, toothpaste, etc”

“We can do that if you want DD, or I can have your clothes and toiletries scanned and replicated here, or you can choose whatever you want, whenever you want it from the replicator in your suite.”

“Ok cool. Have my clothes and other things scanned and put away for now. It’ll take a little while to get used to using a replicator anytime I want something.

See you in the morning, Sam.”

Opening my eyes I feel more wide awake than ever before. I look around and remember I am onboard my flagship, in the medical room, and had the implants and enhancements done overnight.