Chapter 65

Some new soldiers were to be given some very basic training and sent back to let the rest know of how they were treated and what marvels they saw. The governments would question them, but very little could be found out. This would take a few weeks to accomplish.

The Tandra and others that were awoken, started to help the rest integrate into the new society they were forming. The Earth base became full once again, as any and all of the teaching machines were used to educate and train the ever growing population. The only way it could remain this way was the use of the military shields around the ships doing the massive job of ferrying people.

Charlie and Paul were recalled for another refit of their ship. They had unofficially named the vessel 'Uncle Henry'. Lam and their mother were on hand as they settled into the main hanger in the moon base.

The young men walked down the ramp in their officer's uniforms and basked in the unconscious praise of their mother. Even Lam liked what she saw. The boys looked at the women and saw that they had undergone further time in the tanks, for each looked just old enough to be their younger sisters.

Doris hugged the boys that stood quite a bit over her height. This necessitated them to bend over to allow her to do this. She marvelled at how handsome each looked and wondered at how the girls must chase them till she remembered and shut off her mind.

The boys did catch the thought and were a little sad, but were used to the sentiment. They looked down and saw a grav unit filled with babies and more babies.

Paul, asked Lam, "I see your family has grown." Taking up one of the beautiful children, he said, "They don't even look like Duc though. By the way where is the dad?"

"He is at the academy teaching the boys about humans. He is always busy now. If he is not gardening, he is teaching his boys all they can absorb. If that is not enough he is at the school doing all he can to keep them alive if they have to fight the Samutz."

Paul handed Charlie the baby, while he picked up another for himself. He looked on the newborn sized child and saw just how beautiful they were. It would be so nice to have our own family he thought.

They had not eaten yet and they all went to the communal apartment to have a home made meal. The boys were surprised to see a few women working in the improvised kitchen preparing the food. On closer examination the boys saw that something was wrong but could not really put their finger on it.

Doris was following the boys' thoughts, and said, "These girls are not Human or Tandra but Dolson, in as close to their tongue as we can get. They were on the Samutz ships and would have a grisly end, but for the work of your father and Mr. Buchanan. They can't seem to learn with a tutor, so they are taught individually. They are not as fast as the rest of the races, but do know how to cook. Lam wanted to see what she could do, and so far they have done well looking after the children and preparing the meals. They aren't servants, but just people staying with us and giving us a hand as we try to help them."

The boys were introduced and it looked like the Dolson girls would run and hide, except they had no real place to hide in. The babies in the males' arms did help a little and calmed some fears, but not all of them.

Duc got back soon after the meeting with ten shadows following him. He apologized for being detained and asked about their last mission.

"It was the same as the others, except when the ships came in. We didn't know if they were here to attack or join us. I have to tell you that it was a relief to hear them transmit the deactivation code for the mines."

Moesha, Kimberly, Michelle, Clarice and Dog came in first laughing out loud and being chased by Moth, Cloud, Kitty and finally Topaz. They saw the young men and ran to them for a hug and a kiss from their favourite brothers.

They all ate around a large table and Charlie asked about the food.

Duc answered first, and said, "There are literally mountains of food on the Earth in silos and even caves. From rice, wheat, to butter, cheese and meat. We got very favourable terms when we bought tonnes and tonnes of the produce. Much was being left to rot, because it could not be sold at a high enough price. To give it away, we were told, would just bankrupt the farmers in any particular region trying to make a meagre living from the land. To sell it cheap would drop the price of it, till their own farmers could not survive on the price. Since it is not going back to Earth, it can be picked up very inexpensively."

"Where did all the money come from to buy this food?" Charlie asked.

"Your father and Mr. Buchanan have almost 1.3 billion American dollars. I will explain later how they acquired it. The last 300 million they got when Lieutenant Meech sold some of the gold that was thrown outside when the Tandra were digging up silicates for use in their transmitter. It was sitting in the Earth base for a while with a lot of platinum. The Tandra have little use for it."

Charlie looked around the long table after the amazing disclosure. There were babies and children of all ages sitting around it, not to mention the Dolson women at the far end. All of this was possible because of the Tandra and the efforts of his father and Uncle Henry. There was not much that the Earth money could actually buy that he did not have in plenty just now.

After six hours of leave, both young men were ordered to report to medical for some tests and a few minor enhancements. They came out a few hours later and met William Meech.

Meech said, "I looked at the records and saw how you guys were ready to take on both of those monsters out there. Not everybody I knew before meeting the Tandra, would have even attempted to do that."

Paul answered first, and said, "Thanks for mentioning it, but after the training it was a lot easier to do. Also, all we had was on Earth. If they got by, then they might not have been stopped by the automatics."

"I know about the training. It is a lot easier to make decisions now and not difficult to stick with them no matter what the consequences. Very few people I knew before could do such a thing."

Charlie said, "True. What brings you here now?"

"Mom wanted to run some tests and get a few minor improvements done now that I have more responsibilities."

"The same with us. I just want to get the rest of the hull covered and get back out there. It is quite a feeling to captain a ship like the Uncle Henry."

"Uncle Henry?"

"Ya, sort of a nick name we haven't had time to name her properly. Besides, I think the boss will have something to say about the name even if it wasn't his on the hull."

"I don't know if I'd like mine on a ship, even if it was unofficial, but your uncle doesn't strike me as a stuffed shirt."

"No, he isn't. Dad goes drinking with him a lot of times and both seem to resent authority without a sense of humour. I don't know how long he would be able to hold his temper with some of the things that were happening on Earth. I guess being the Cap, then the Captain, makes him one of the big boys now."

The conversation changed as Meech left for his appointment in medical. Paul and Charlie talked till they got to the large cafeteria. They got some beer and fried wontons while quizzing Mom about all the different kinds of aliens. They got Mom's observations and found most of them were like Humans and like Humans had many failings. The Vauntu were not to be trusted after the fighting stopped. The rest were honest in their dealings, but were too meek to fight the Samutz the way Humans would. The Dolson hid in a far corner while they ate and looking around all the time for somebody that might attack them.

A short hairy person called a Softay, about a metre high, was new to Mom. She had no information in her archives and had to go from what she observed. She was able to get some data from the mighty ships orbiting the Earth. The T'aut were a meek race too and had a reptilian ancestry. All had been featured, one time each, in Mom's TV shows. Other races had their own time on the show. Their characteristics were given and it was easy to see that they would be of little help in any conflict.

One other race was not mentioned yet. When the Nautilus was completely empty and with a much better AI it was able to find 143 Maca. They looked like a teddy bear with long black hair and four fingered hands with a prehensile thumb. They had come on board twenty years ago with a load of Softay. It was assumed by the Samutz crew that the Maca were children, but they turned out to be pets that were smarter than an ape but less than a Human. They were released into the ventilation system and lived by robbing food from the crew or operating the food dispensers that were throughout the ship. Many times the Samutz thought them destroyed but they had managed to keep hidden long enough to multiply again.

The Maca were back as pets of the Softay and even the Dolson children were not afraid of them. In any case, every living creature now wore a crystal to boost communication and allow the computer to find them if needed. For some reason, none of the men found this to be an invasion of their privacy or their rights.

Paul and Charlie got a call from Mom, "Will you boys take your ship to the Nautilus. Bay 33f5b has the remainder of your hull plates and engines. Admiral Buchanan sent back quite a few crystals and wants one now fitted to the ship."

"Sure, Mom." They raced off like boys. The thoughts of having a fully functional ship was the stuff dreams were made of. Having an AI to talk to was orders of magnitude better, almost like having Mom around all the time to talk to.

The light destroyer was small at only 600,000 tonnes and mere 430 metres in length. When compared to the Nautilus, she was just a minnow, but a well built minnow. After querying the Nautilus, a beacon and directions were added to help find the correct bay. The hatch was wide enough, to let the ship pass easily into the almost empty work area. At least a hundred techs were ready to start work and this surprised Charlie for that many techs meant a high priority for this job when so little were available.

As soon as the ship settled into a cradle formed by the Nautilus, the techs jumped on the shield with tools and waited for the shield to disappear. With an almost inaudible sound the ship quieted and the operation began. Diagnostic units went over the hull and into the openings. The computer meshed with that of the Nautilus and any and all of the problems that plagued the ship were looked at for remedial action.

There was very little that the crew could do and the Nautilus seemed to beckon each of them. With a last few orders to the computer, all of the crew left the ship and wondered through the giant battleship.

Techs and crew scurried, some appeared and disappeared as the matter transmitters took them to undisclosed destinations. Charlie and Paul entered their identities into the computer and got permission to enter the bridge. In one respect it was a let down, for there was only a few techs and automated machines working on some of the displays and controls. There was no security or bridge crew, but with a computer and AI of the size Mom said, it would be useless to rely on just biologicals.

Charlie wistfully ran his hand over the Captain's chair and closed his eyes at what the view must be. His hand strayed over one of the many sensors and a vision came into his mind of what he wished for. He steered the gaze as he would on his own ship and viewed the Earth. He was lucky, for the area over his old home was clear and bright, though night and cloud cover would not diminish the view very much. North Bay, and Lake Nipissing came into view. The lake was mostly frozen over and some fishermen were in their huts and fishing through the ice. The city roads were clear of freshly fallen snow, as was his old neighbourhood.

The house he lived in for the last few years had its driveway and walk cleared as his father had made a deal with a neighbour. The view shifted as he saw his father's business and the clear area, as one of his dad's friends took care of the business while he was away. Downtown, his mother's dress shop was closed, but down the street, Duc and Lam's old store was neatly shovelled.

The local schools had some students going to a store he frequented when he was younger and he remembered the layout of the store as if he worked in there all his life. Thinking of his youth, he headed south to Barrie and his old home there and his early schools. One building was where he first met Paul. They were not friends then and only knew one another by sight. The movie theatre caught his eye, remembering his fun times, watching all the science fiction, and adventure shows that came along. An accident at the other end of town caught his eye and he saw the bar where he and Paul had been beaten not that many years ago. Zooming in closer he could see the same bartender shovelling the snow around the back door before he opened. It would be so nice to go back there now that he and Paul were strong and quick. The fight would end the same way with the gang on the floor holding their bleeding bodies.

With a shake, he pulled himself together. It was one thing as a Human to dream of a payback like that, but another as an officer entrusted with the protection of Earth and every life on it.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and opened his eyes to see Paul's kind smile. "It is good that you didn't want revenge. Perhaps there is some hope for Humans after all. I believe as Uncle Henry does that Humans are only a few short steps above animals."

"It feels good to know that I could do it if necessary though. I still see them punching and kicking you till you bled and I thought you were going to die."

"It is over Charlie," he said with a calm voice and his arms around his lover. "It will never happen again."

Charlie smiled and in a moment said, "I doubt if it could. Not with a big strong brute of a man like you to protect me."

Paul and Charlie checked more of the sensors, displays and controls. They compared them to their own little ship. His mind flashed to Earth and compared his destroyer to the Enterprise and knew his little ship was 6 times more massive and almost a hundred metres longer. The Uncle Henry was many times wider and even taller, to accommodate all that the Tandra engineers wanted to put into her hull. The destroyer was loaded with armaments and a large dimensional tap. There was very little wasted space and the ship had millions of years to be developed, even before the Earth was discovered, by the Tandra.

Thinking of the wet navy ship again, Charlie visualized the vessel and the computer spotted it in a second, sailing at night in the Pacific. Through the Tandra satellites he saw fighters now and again taking off or landing, as they went about their duties. A white luminescent wake marked where they had been. He felt happy for them to be so close to their loved ones and sad that they could not be on the Uncle Henry with us when the ship left on its next mission.

Paul looked at what Charlie was seeing but kept a close eye on their ship too. Many of the hull plates were on the deck and repair work was carried on within. The stern section was completely laid bare and one of the original engines was being removed. Paul interrupted Charlie and pointed this fact to him.

Charlie accessed the computer and found the AI present. A strangely masculine voice replied, "There have been some minor improvements since those engines were made. It is best if all three are a matched set and this requires all of them to be replaced. Heavier power conductors are also being installed so that Captain Ching can go out as soon as possible."

Charlie was so startled that he spoke aloud again, "I am the Captain of that ship." Thinking hard he tried to think of a reason for Mom, or Mom and the two new AIs, to find him lacking in his duties. He lived, breathed, and slept, thinking of how to make the tiny ship do as best it could to protect all that he loved.

Regaining his composure a little, he asked, "Mom, why am..." When no reply came, he said, "Nautilus, will you sync my communicator so I can speak to Mom?"

"Yes, Captain Shingle."

"Mom, Do you have a minute for me please?"

"Hello, Charlie," came the kind matronly voice. "I see that you are upset about me transferring both of you. It is necessary. Captain Ching had your blessings when you trained him on your ship. Your report said that he would make a very good officer, his crew of Chinese officers ratings, would work even harder knowing that one of them, was at the helm." "Yes, I did Mom. But I love that wreck and don't want to leave her."

"You have only been the captain for a little over three months now and there are so many other jobs that need to be done. You are young and need to be given challenges that will make you grow. I have been doing my own assessment, and think both of you make one of the best teams I have ever met, and that includes all the Tandra that this base has ever had."

Charlie and Paul stopped to think on that. They had spent so much time learning and training that they had sacrificed much of the time that they could have spent together.

Both said, "Thank you," but Charlie continued with, "what will you have us do then," thinking of a job recruiting or training new recruits of different races? Somebody had to do it and there were only so many jobs that were as demanding as captain. It was best if these jobs were shared so that the system was protected the best it could be. There were a lot of two person fighters that could be flown. Not as nice, but not shabby, when you come to think of it. At least they would be close to Earth and the moon more, for the ships were for close in support.

Mom had been reading their minds, and said, "The fighters are not for you. They are intended for the new recruits. Both of you show great strength in training. The Chinese, Russians, and the Americans think a lot of you. I was thinking of placing you in one of two possible posts."

"Where are they, Mom?"

"The first would keep you home. You would be head of the academy, over viewing all of the training, being a role model for the recruits, and remain on the moon."

The job was certainly tempting. The academy would grow to eventually handle millions of recruits the coming few years and this was a very critical time for a steady hand to guide them. "That is an important job Mom and I would be proud to take it, but what is the other job? Is there one in space?"

"This other job is very similar to the other posting. It will in fact require even more of your time and commitment in training the recruits. Your mother will see you even less than she had in the past. The chances of time together is even less I am afraid."

"We are not afraid of work Mom. If it takes a bit longer till we have time for ourselves, then it is a small price to pay for getting our planet ready to defend itself."

"Where is this post Mom?"

"I need you to remain a captain Charlie and I think Paul should also remain a commander and your executive officer. The post is actually on the screen behind you if you want it?"

The young men turned and looked at the giant display. There were many ships clustered around the un-named carrier. One was a cruiser that was even larger than Uncle Henry. "Which one Mom? There are a few."

"The largest one Charlie."

Charlie was happy once again. The cruiser had a different mix of weapons and was even a little faster than that the Uncle Henry, even when it would be fully operational. The cruiser took off and then so did the other small ships. The view did not change and in fact got even closer. The gigantic bays were open to view and they could see Tandra cadets working on a small fighter.

"You don't mean the carrier, do you?" He said incredulously.

"Yes Charlie, the type of dedication you have shown warrants the posting. I am quite sure, you will enjoy it and we will both benefit from your choice. I know you never wanted a job with regular hours, but wanted little excitement. Why don't you go back to your old ship and say goodbye to your crew and take a shuttle over to your new one?"

The young men forgot all the protocol they were supposed to go through and just held one another. They could still not believe what had happened. Charlie saw the rough layout of the ship, the possible 500,000 crew and the enormous number of officers that would be depending on both of them. Even now he had to include Paul, for a job like this required more hours than there were in a day.

During the winter they had ploughed. In the rest of the year they drilled and broke up rock, or anything else a family business needed to do to stay alive. Now, after only joining the Tandra and Uncle Henry he was a Captain for a second time and of a ship that was one of the most powerful ever made. With galvanized missiles ordinance and small ships to deliver them, the ship might actually be the most powerful.

Charlie felt that he was not capable of handling such a massive commitment. The load would be horrendous even when it was spread among all the officers. He ran through the rules and routines that the Tandra found necessary in the millions of years of developing a command structure and a sort of peace came over him. The training he got from all the machines of one shape or another had given him an education, that with a few exceptions, was second to none. And as he had abandoned his revenge on his old enemies, he saw his duty, and the Tandra knowledge to carry on.

The men left the room with their minds still confused, even with all the augmentation that had been given them.

Within the barest fraction of a second, Mom asked the entity aboard the Nautilus and the one aboard the carrier if they were satisfied with the choices made.

The masculine voice from the Nautilus said, "The Humans are very young with hardly any training. Tandra children have more training than that when they finish at the academy. I am concerned that they may break under pressure and fail our small fleet when we are attacked."

The carrier, in a different, but still masculine voice said, "That is true. I think my job will be more difficult when I have to train them even more than the usual Tandra officers. If the Samutz give us enough time I think it can be accomplished. The Humans are driven much harder than the Tandra and this can lead to mistakes. With the majority of the bridge crew being Tandra, a mix will form what I hope will be an optimum choice."

Mom replied, "I believe that both of you will act the same. Each of you was programmed with a Human component as well as a Tandra element. This way the empire might come back, but even better for all of us."

Paul and Charlie walked slowly the last few steps and were not fully recovered when they got to the destroyer. Coming into the bay they saw the exposed ribs and even more techs working on the ship. Ching was with some of his countrymen and two large Americans watching how the ship was being repaired.

Charlie asked Mom, "Does Ching know he is to command the Uncle Henry?"

"No. There will be a formal procedure in the future, but now there are too few of us to warrant this. You may tell him if you wish. I know he will like it when it comes from both of you."

"Thank you Mom. Then we can do it right."

As they walked up to the group of men the later stood and saluted in the Tandra fashion. It was one of the things ingrained into the training and seemed to be working well, even if it were not needed in such a small crew.

"Sir, the ship is getting much more attention than I believed possible. Do you know the reason why?"

"I do, Lieutenant Ching. It seems that there will be a crew change and the new captain will need all of the performance he can get out of the hull. Your commander and I have been re-posted. Replacements will be notified within moments. I am going to miss being with all of you."