Chapter 5: Route to the enemy

Chang was subjected to further 'interrogation' before the effects of the truth drug wore off, but it was clear that the inscrutable Chinese had no more idea of what the iLOX's aims were than the rest of them. The full extent of the Chinese treachery was revealed however. China had been secretly training troops for some time now and had grand plans of invading and subjugating what Scott knew from his time as Russia.

He was aware that enmity existed between Russia and China in his timeline, but had believed this must have grown up as a result of hundreds of years of border struggles and other events down through the ages. Now it appeared that China still hated Russia despite there having been no real conflict between the two for some eleven hundred years. The Chinese were famous for their culture, for their strategic thinking and for playing a long game. Scott wondered what was really at the root of their hatred for the Russians and their plans to invade.

Chang also confirmed that the Chinese had passed on warnings that the Earth was preparing itself to defend against the iLOX attack and that they had even passed information on how many ships Earth had built. The iLOX had scoffed apparently at the Earth's paltry efforts and had believed their overwhelming force of numbers would easily crush the seven Broadswords. Scott offered up a little prayer of thanks that the iLOX were apparently as complacent as the leaders on Earth had been. Without that complacency the iLOX would surely have changed the date and manner of their attack and the Earth would have been all but defenceless.

Scott gave orders for Chang to be kept sedated and then completed the arrangements for moving his base of operations back to Inveraray. He connected with General MacKelvie via a videolink and updated him on the position with regards to the Chinese, as Mac and the Special Forces, including Helfe, were in the middle of Asia and therefore possibly very exposed.

"Mac, I'm sending Prime Minister Chang through the transport system to you. We need to make sure he meets with a fatal accident to try to avoid the Chinese finding out that they have been rumbled. If we can keep them in the dark there might be some advantage in it for us. Once you have planted the smart-dust on the iLOX transporters and arranged Chang's accident I want you and the Special Forces to deploy to keep an eye on what our little oriental friends are up to. If you have any oriental troops in your ranks I want you to send them back here. Don't make it too obvious so I guess that will mean sending back each of the squads that have Chinese in them so they don't catch on that they have been singled out."

"Okay your Grace, I'll get right on it. The smart-dust is already in place so it's just the accident and returning the Chinese troops that I'll need to sort out." Mac replied.

"Okay, and Mac - well done for having such foresight." Said Scott.

"What do you mean your Grace?" Mac asked.

"Well, it seems that a certain Mac MacKelvie established a strict code of secrecy and 'need to know' back in the ninth century with regard to national security, particularly around new weapons. That code has been maintained and if anything re-inforced down through the years and it meant that the Chinese couldn't pass on vital pieces of intelligence to the iLOX. It's clear that Chang and his cronies didn't know about the smart-dust and its capabilities or that we had identified a weakness in the iLOX cruisers' force fields. If they had passed that on we probably wouldn't be talking now."

Scott watched as a grin lit up Mac's face and his friend shook his head at how his actions from so long ago had been of vital importance now.

"I'm all packed up and ready to return to Inveraray Mac, so if you need me that's where I'll be. Keep an eye on those Chinese for me and keep safe okay?"

"Roger that your Grace, MacKelvie out."

Scott had one further meeting with the scientists and engineers before he departed the President's residence. He had a feeling of déjà vu as he explained to them that he wanted a new kind of thinking from them. It was almost word for word the conversation he had had with Gabrain so long ago now.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I need you to be thinking differently. We need to come up with things that will give us the edge against the iLOX. We may have repelled their initial attacks, but rest assured they will be back. I want you looking at everyday things and making new connections; I want you to be identifying new ways of using things, of combining things so that they are useful against the enemy. Think of patterns and then use your imagination to transplant everyday things in such a way that they become more than ordinary. You have already demonstrated your scientific and engineering ability, now I need you to go beyond that and find me something, a new weapon or tactic that gives us an advantage.

"We also need to start manufacturing like we never have before. I need more ships, more jump reactors and many more 'modified' androids. Scale up the production of construction androids so that our capacity is increased by several hundred percent."

Scott also gave strict instructions that the code of security was to be maintained and if anything strengthened so that every bit of vital information was kept secret.

The return to Inveraray through the transport hub was uneventful apart from Scott needing to calm Eilean once she emerged from her journey. She had apparently opened her eyes and the speed of her travel had frightened the life out of her. Scott put his arms around his little elf and hugged her, stroking her back and whispering soothing words until she was back to her normal self.

Admiral MacCulloch had identified accommodation for the family and William had been sent details of where it was electronically. He was able to lead Scott and the rest of the family directly to their allotted house and they opened the door to investigate.

The house had six rooms, all on the same level. There was a huge dining/reception room first of all. An interesting and welcome difference to this room was the ceiling. The construction of the house had included a shaft full of mirrors that rose all the way to the surface. The mirrors channelled natural light down into the room, removing much of the sense of being underground. A massive plasma screen also took up the entire length of one wall. On the screen was a representation of a number of French windows that looked out onto Loch Fyne and across at Strachur. The definition on the screen was such that the view looked absolutely real. Sound was also being piped subtly into the room so that the occupants could clearly hear the sound of the water lapping and the birds singing and calling if they listened carefully.

Scott decided he liked this new set up enormously and knew he would never tire of the view. He could see little shapes moving about on the loch and assumed that the screen was being fed live images. That in turn would mean that the view would be ever changing to reflect the weather and the seasons. He liked that thought too.

Off of the reception room was a corridor that led to a number of doors. The family investigated and found a substantial kitchen and four very large bedrooms. The master bedroom had the biggest bed that Scott had ever seen and he knew immediately that he and his four wives would fit in it easily. Off of the bedroom was a well-appointed bathroom, not much lower in standard to the one they had in the President's residence. It had a sunken bath, a shower (slightly smaller than their previous one) and another sauna.

Each of the other bedrooms also had en suite facilities and the mac Fergus family declared themselves very happy with it all. William explained that Lachlan had been appointed accommodation right next to theirs so he would be close at hand at all times. The droid was smiling to himself and Scott sensed there was something else that they hadn't been shown yet.

"Okay William, I know there is something else going on here, come on, out with it!" Scott said.

The droid moved to one of the wooden panels that lined the reception room and pressed a spot in the upper right corner. A door slid open noiselessly to reveal a fully equipped music room. There were a number of instruments, including electric and acoustic guitars, keyboards and amplifiers and cabinets too. Scott's eyes lit up. He had always enjoyed messing around with his guitars when he was a student as a way of relaxing and unwinding. This set-up was extraordinary however, and he was like a child at Christmas.

"Once the doors are shut the room is fully soundproofed your Grace. There is also recording equipment should you feel the need to share your musical talents with the rest of us." Said William.

The droid moved further along the wooden panelling and pressed another panel to reveal yet another set of doors.

"Now, this is the nerve centre of the house your Grace, your 'study'. Everything can be controlled from here and you have direct links to the Operations Room and communications to anywhere the Earth has links to. Over in the corner is your very own private transport hub so that you can come and go as you please without prying eyes being aware that you have even left the house."

Scott and his family walked slowly over to this new doorway and looked in at the high-tech room. There were banks of screens and a control desk along one wall. A large conference table stood in the centre of the room and, sure enough, just as William had described it, there in the corner was one of the transport 'beds'. At the head of the room sat the Stone of Destiny, the Brecbennoch sitting on top of it. Other furniture suggested there was a range of things to comfort whoever was using the room. When Scott opened some of the cupboard doors he found a well-stocked fridge with juice, water, beer and wine.

"William, I thought the Admiral said we couldn't expect the kind of luxury we had at the President's residence? From what I can see this set-up is ten times better." Said Scott.

"Your Grace, the Admiral took the liberty of requisitioning a number of construction androids and had some alterations and upgrades made to what was here before. Your delay in New Inveraray to deal with the matters that needed attending to gave him the time to achieve quite a bit as you can see."

"Thank you William, I think we are going to be happy here. Now, can you tell me whether Captain MacFergus has come down to the surface as yet?" Scott was suddenly all business.

"Yes your Grace, he has been here at Inveraray for a few days now. Shall I inform him that you would like to meet with him?" Asked William.

"Please do. I have plans for that young man and they need to be set in train as soon as possible."

William closed his eyes and it was apparent he was sending some kind of communication to someone.