Chapter 17: Negative Official Notice

The departure of Freya brought peace to Ishtar. Janice continued to lead rehearsals of the musical. We now had a complete show that lasted just over seventy minutes. It was almost ready, and we were becoming increasingly worried that the secret would be revealed. Janice insisted that conversations about our work be kept to the Concubine's Refuge to prevent accidentally revealing our plans.

The citizens seemed rather distracted though. James and Yvette seemed to spend hours in the command post briefing room. Many of the more technically minded citizens joined them, but concubines were being kept away. Kitty and Brittany complained about this, but James merely smiled when he came home before showering us with affection.

Tina has finished the tapestry, but quickly concealed it, refusing to allow anyone to see it. "I'll present it at opening night," she said. "That would be the best way to do it."

We finally decided that we'd tell the citizens to prepare for a special event in three days. We figured that would give us an opportunity to hold one final dress rehearsal before the show. Somehow I was elected to be part of the group to make the announcement, so with Janice, Heather, David and Claire, we headed to the command post.

Mike and his concubines, Michelle and Mickey were in the command post when we arrived. Michelle offered a wink as we made our way to the briefing room door. Janice was reaching out to knock on the door when Mickey stiffened. Her hand reached out to a dial. "James, we have a communication. The caller sounds a bit upset."

The briefing room door opened. "Who is it?"

"Chief Scientist Colonel Clint Johanes," Mickey responded. "He insists that you speak with him immediately."

I heard my master sigh. "Put him through."

There was a short pause and then James spoke. "Greetings. How can we help you?"

"Is this James Rabb?" a gravelly voice growled out.

"It is," James replied. "Who am I talking to?"

"Chief Scientist Colonel Clint Johanes," the voice snapped. "What is this I hear about you discovering some alien ruins?"

"We sent out some probes to examine other planets in this sector," James replied. "One of the probes found evidence of an artificial structure on an airless moon. We have sent two more probes to examine the structure and additional probes to other nearby stars looking for more ruins."

"The AI said you have relics!" the man said.

I heard a gasp from inside the room. "We have recovered a few pieces of space debris that don't look natural," James admitted. "Why does that matter?"

"Because you aren't qualified to investigate them!" the voice screamed. "You might have discovered something significant, but we can't find out until it's in the hands of our scientists."

"That's nice," James said. "How are we supposed to deliver them to you?"

"Huh?" the voice asked. "What do you mean by that?"

"We are inside Sa'arm space by a few dozen light years," James replied. "This is a little resupply post. With the exception of occasional visits by ships requiring repair or Stagecoach ships bringing supplies, we don't have access to any ships. We don't exactly have a way to ship the items to you."

"What about giving them to one of the ships that visit?" the voice growled.

"That might get them to Borneo," James replied. "But I expect you aren't calling from there."

"I'll get back to you," the voice growled out.

There was silence for a moment and then Mickey sighed. "The communication just ended."

"Log the call," Yvette called out. "And leave a note for the others. If this man calls again, alert James right away."

"What was that?' Janice asked.

"If you remember just before Freya appeared we were about to announce something. We were going to tell you then that we found some evidence of an alien civilization," James said. "I didn't know that the AI had communicated that find to Central Command."

Yvette groaned. "We shouldn't be surprised. This is a significant find. We've spent the last week trying to figure out what we've found."

I heard a gasp. Looking over, I saw that Claire had a hand over her mouth. "Was that the big secret? Has that been why you've been in meetings all the time?"

I heard one of the twins sigh. "Yes. We've been examining the data the probe brought back as well as the artifacts we have. We were hoping to find something we can use, but the Chief Scientist is right about one thing. No one on Ishtar has the knowledge and training to successfully study what we have found."

"What about Borneo?" I asked in a whisper.

"There is no scientific team on Borneo. This district is about fighting the Sa'arm, not research or training. We've already asked," James said.

"Admiral Himmel and General Montgomery know about the find," Yvette said.

What did they say?" Janice asked.

"Nothing," James replied. "They don't have any scientists in the district, so sending them the artifacts would be meaningless. That and we have the time to study our find while waiting for the next ship to arrive."

As James finished his sentence, Mickey started waving her hands. "Jump point opening. Based on the vector, it can't be coming from Borneo."

"Sa'arm then?" Mike asked.

"Not sure," Mickey said. "I'm waiting for the sensors to provide more data."

James and the others stood up. James came out and stood next to Mike as Mickey continued to press buttons and attempt to refine the scans. Conversation died until Mickey smiled.

"It's Confed," she said. "One of their fast freighters. Stagecoach class."

"Is it Mary Celeste's ship?" Yvette asked. "I know Gina wouldn't mind another afternoon with her,"

"One moment, ' Michelle said. "We have an incoming signal."

She flipped a switch and a new voice called out over the speakers. 'Howdy, Y'all. Command tells me that you be needing a visit from me."

The voice rang out with a sweet accent. It was female and I could see Yvette shaking her head. James just nodded. "If you are bringing more spare parts for our repair station, we can definitely use your cargo."

"Spares, replacements, heck I think some technician threw in a kitchen sink while they were filling me up," the voice replied. "Now, why don't you turn on the porch light, so I can find you."

James nodded and I could see Mickey hit several switches.

"Ah, there you are," the voice replied again. "My ship's telling me that I'll be able to dock in just under an hour."

"We'll be waiting," James said. "Will you need any rest here?"

The voice laughed. "This ain't Earth with their rules on how long I can be driving before I have to sleep. In the Confederacy, I can keep Peterbilt running until the engines need to be overhauled. Besides, Jasmine is about to give birth to her second child and if I keep my turnaround quick I can get home in time to watch the baby be born."

Everyone in the command center laughed. "That I can completely understand," Yvette said. "Peterbilt? I haven't heard that ship name before. Where you hail from?"

"I'm based out of Circe, one of the resupply and training posts the navy has set up far behind the lines," the voice replied.

"And you are?" Yvette asked.

"Not like you've supplied your name," the voice replied with a chuckle. "I'm Ensign Dixie Himmel, captain and crew of Peterbilt."

"Himmel?" James said, looking up at the ceiling. "As in a relation to Admiral Horace Himmel?"

"You know Daddy?" the voice cried with an unaccented squeak. "Oh god, please don't tell him that I was unmilitary. He's so proud that all of his children qualified as citizens."

"He's in charge of the district we are part if," James replied. "We talk to him fairly regularly."

"Is he there?" Dixie asked quietly.

"No," James replied. "He's on Borneo. We can call him if you want."

"No!" Dixie snapped. "I mean, please, not right now. I know he's proud of me, but I have to disappoint him because I went auxiliary rather than joining a combat arm. I don't want to hear the disappointment."

"Funny," Yvette said. "He sounded proud of you the one time we talked about his children. Only his one son is a disappointment."

"That has to be William," Dixie replied. "He was a turd back in high school. Is he working for Daddy?"

"He was," James replied. "He was transferred out of the district a while back."

"May he find himself under a hardnosed commander who can finally make him straighten up," Dixie said with a huff. "Meanwhile, the computer says I'm almost in position. Transfers should begin. Do you have the manifests?"

Michelle giggled. "Yup, and we've already sent your AI the order we'd like the cargo packs removed. It's saying it will take less than forty minutes to complete the transfer."