Blue Planet Rising (Pebbles in the Sky Book 2) Read online

  “How much manpower is going to be required to maintain the greenhouses and manage the plants?” Brianna asked.

  “It depends on the time of the planting cycle. Ideally, you’ll have each greenhouse at a different phase of growth. You’ll be planting one while harvesting another one. All of you will have to pitch in at different times. Doctor Doucette is the horticulturalist in charge. When she’s not functioning as the expedition’s medical doctor, her primary duty will be the greenhouses. You and Petty Officer Mullen are also cross trained with the plant species and will assist quite a bit. If you want to eat though, all of you will have to help out from time to time,” the engineer replied.

  “Are there any more questions at the moment? I was supposed to go over the plans for the greenhouses only. There will be other people to give you more specific instructions on the plant varieties, soil conditioning, and other farming specifics. If you have no more questions, then you are free until after lunch I believe.”

  The engineer left the room and Lt Commander Nichols stood up. “Everyone be back at fourteen hundred hours. “Lieutenant Greco, could you please stay a moment?”

  As the others left Jason stayed seated. “Lieutenant, I wanted a private word with you,” Lt. Commander Nichols said.

  “Yes, Ma’am,” said Jason.

  “This is on a personal matter, Lieutenant, and I really don’t know the best way to discuss it with you. It concerns you and Doctor Driskall. I don’t think I’m the only one that senses the attraction between the two of you.”

  Jason blushed but did not speak.

  “What you and Miss Driskall do on your off time is your business. Space Force has not hindered, or made any specific regulations on what members of similar rank do together on their off time as long as it does not interfere with what they do on duty. It’s understood that whether it’s thousands or millions of miles from home, that members of the opposite sex will be attracted to each other. It’s also assumed that they will find some way to make things happen. Miss Driskall isn’t in the military, so I really have no control over what you two do as long it doesn’t affect your on-duty behavior. If it does start to disrupt the safety or operational schedule of this mission, it become my business. I want to warn you that if any problems come up, it’ll be easier to replace you rather than her. Do I make myself understood?”

  “Yes Ma’am. There won’t be any problems,” said Jason quietly.

  “Don’t misunderstand me, Lieutenant. No matter what rumors you hear about me, I don’t hate men. I’ve been married twice. I understand the chemistry that happens between two people.”

  “Yes Ma’am,” said Jason.

  “Good, go grab lunch then. We’ll be discussing the dismantling of the automated landers in more detail after lunch.”

  Jason hurried out the door to catch up with Brianna. Lt. Commander Kristy Nichols smiled to herself as he left. She remembered some of the good times that she had when off duty with her ex-husband while in space. Hell, she had been a member of the zero-G club while the young Lieutenant was still in high school. As long as Lieutenant Greco and Doctor Driskall kept it private and under control, there shouldn’t be any problems…she hoped.

  When Jason caught up with the rest of the crew, they were already sitting and eating at a long table in the cafeteria. Brianna gave him a questioning look and he mouthed the word “later” to her.

  “Your Commander seems like quite the prim and proper officer,” remarked Doctor Albert Abernathy, the mission geologist. Doctor Abernathy was originally from London, before the British Islands had been evacuated for the encounter. He still retained his English accent.

  “Don’t underestimate her,” said Jason. “She’s quite the brilliant engineer. It was an idea she came up with that led to the discovery of the ice caverns on Phobos.”

  “I meant no disrespect,” said Albert. I just meant that she seems to toe the military line very closely.” He looked over at Brianna long enough to cause her to blush. The young biologist was quite the looker with her green eyes and red hair. Her young and trim feminine form would cause any man to pursue her. He looked back at Jason who was eyeing him jealously. It seemed she was already spoken for. Too bad, he thought to himself.

  “Lieutenant, you’re the only one here who has actually been to Elpis. Can you tell us what the voyage to the planet is going to be like? Two months cooped up in a small space ship isn’t my idea of fun,” said Doctor Frederick Vaughn, the mission Meteorologist.

  “Well, for you, it’s probably going to be very boring until we get there. You’ll be getting all the latest atmospheric readings from the weather station on the surface, but you’ll have little to do. I advise you to bring some good vid-books and learn to play cards. I know I’ll be in the flight simulator for several hours each day. I’m also qualified to pilot the transfer ships so I might spell the pilot and co-pilot of the ship I’m on. It’ll give them a break and keep me in practice. All the other Space Force members on the team will probably be standing watch and studying our mission parameters on the way out.”

  Since the team members had only spent the past two days together as a group, they took the rest of the lunch break getting to know each other better. A secret pact was made to do away with all the military rank designations if the civilian members would do away with the entire Doctor this and that crap when they eventually got down on the planet. When their lunch break was up, they walked back to the training room on a first name basis laughing with each other.

  As they were walking down the hall Brianna slid up beside Jason and whispered to him. “What did she want to talk to you about?”

  Jason grinned and answered her in a quiet voice. “She said that you absolutely couldn’t lose your virginity in the cockpit of a space ship, so you just need to sleep with me here before we leave.”

  Brianna stopped in the hallway flushing beet red and gasping like a fish out of water. Jason smiled and kept walking back to the briefing room. As the team members arrived back in the classroom, they took their seats again.

  Peter watched the landing team on the hidden video imager with Lt. Commander Nichols and Doctor Simon, the NASA psychologist that was monitoring their training.

  “Well, are they off to a good start?” Peter asked.

  Doctor Simon nodded. “They’re starting to bond. The psychological profiles predicted they would. There might be a bit of jealousy regarding Doctor Driskall between Doctor Abernathy and Jason Greco. However, due to the age difference between Abernathy and Driskall, it should quickly pass. I do think that you should separate Doctor Driskall from both of them on different outbound ships though. That will give the Lieutenant and Doctor Abernathy time to get to know each other better without her in the picture.”

  The psychologist looked at Lt Commander Nichols. “Are you going to be able to tolerate the seclusion of command? It’s critical that you keep distant from the crew on a personal basis so you maintain that “command aura.” It could get lonely for you over a period of four years.”

  “I’ll be fine,” said Kristy, “I’ve had my fill of relationships for a while,” she said with a frown.

  “Good enough,” said Peter. “You better get back with the group. All of you have some intensive cramming to do if you want to learn everything you need to know for the mission.”

  She nodded and went out the door to join her crew.

  “I envy them,” Peter told the psychologist.

  “Then we better lock you up for therapy,” laughed the psychologist. They’re going to ride a once tested plane to the surface of a strange world, and then try and survive there for four years. Only a crazy person would want to do that.”

  Peter nodded. “I just might be,” he thought to himself wistfully.

  Chapter 21

  June 7th, 2046

  New Washington, Georgia

  President Walden signed the documents of the trade treaty with a flourish. The American Federation was now a reality. After several years of wranglin
g over the wording and logistics, all of the countries of North, South, and Central America had agreed upon the terms of Federation. They had been joined by the small island countries of the Caribbean and now there existed one large trade body. It was hoped by all the parties involved that this would jump start the region’s economy again. The United States had technological expertise while the countries in the equatorial regions had a climate that allowed them to produce the food that the countries that were in higher latitudes so desperately needed.

  Similar agreements had been arranged among the countries of Africa and between the new British Commonwealth and the island nations lying north of Australia. There were now four major economic regions in the world; the American Federation, the Eastern Pacific Trade Group, the Greater African Trade Alliance, and the Middle Eastern Alliance. The only real holdouts were India and Japan. Japan was floundering with the climate change and India was still trying to get an ethnic civil war under control. Southeast Asia was a mess with a few remaining Chinese generals holding on to their own areas of control by brute force and an almost feudal type hold on power.

  As the dust clouds slowly dissipated and the sun was breaking through the clouds more and more frequently, there was a new sense of hope and re-birth among the surviving nations of the world. A new world, smaller, colder, and with far fewer people was taking shape. The people on Earth were once again able to look at the night skies and see the stars and planets. Around the world, there were also some that were looking up there with eyes seeing profit and opportunity.

  After signing the last document, President Walden stood with the other leaders of the Federation for the required photographs and video briefs. They all shook hands, partook in refreshments, and stood around making small talk. Afterwards, they went back toward their transportation and eventually made the trips back to their respective embassies or capitols. As the President bid the last leader goodbye, Jerry Thornton, his chief of staff was standing nearby. The President turned and looked at him.

  “Is he here?” the President asked.

  Jerry nodded. “I had him brought in through the underground tunnel. He’s waiting inside out of sight.”

  “Can I strangle him?” President Walden asked.

  Jerry shook his head. “As President, it would be bad for your public image to strangle an old man.”

  “Damn. Let’s get this over with then,” said the President as he headed to his office.

  Sitting in the President’s office was the nemesis and benefactor of many United States Presidents over the past thirty years. The old man stood up and held out his hand. “Thank you for seeing me, Mr. President.”

  The President went around and sat down at his desk without shaking hands. “Tell me why I shouldn’t have you arrested and thrown into a cold cell for the rest of your life.”

  The old man sat back down. “Have I broken the law, Mr. President?”

  It was all that President Walden could do to not reach over the desk and hit the man. “Let me see, you sterilized over half the women in the world, you’re suspected of killing a senator and a large number of his protégés, and you purposely contaminated the planet Elpis with Earth life forms. That is just the tip of the iceberg. Who knows what else you’ve planned and done with your twisted egocentric mind.”

  The old man shook his head sadly. “Mr. President, I saved hundreds of millions of children from starvation. I helped eliminate the suffering of billions from the ravages of disease. I kept a traitor to the United States from gaining the presidency. I prodded the people of Earth to proceed with the eventual colonization of the planet Elpis. It was also me that got you elected when the people of the United States needed a strong leader in a time of crisis. I’ve helped many of the countries of South America jump start their economies by providing them education and supplies to become agricultural exporting nations. My only children are now both up there in space serving humanity. In return for their service, they’ve been allowed practically no un-censored contact with their father for fear that they are spies.”

  “No, Mr. President, I’m not an egomaniac. I simply use the wealth I’ve accumulated to make things happen for the good of all humanity without having to wade through all the political bullshit that pervades the governments of today. So I ask again, what laws have I broken?”

  “What do you mean you got me elected?” demanded the President.

  The old man chuckled. “Who do you think it was that asked Elliott Dewey to come see you that afternoon and talk you into entering the race for presidency? Who do you think contributed the majority of the seed money for your election campaign? Who do you think convinced key senators to amending the constitution and keeping you on for an additional term during the encounter? You sit in that seat because of me, Mr. President.”

  “If what you say is true about my election, then I need to shoot you dead right now by myself. It’s your fault then that I’ve been stuck here in this seat all these years. I didn’t want this!”

  “You’re there because your country needed you, Mr. President” the old man sighed.

  “Then you tell me why you’re here now, Mr. Greco?”

  “Mr. President, look at me. I’m an old man. I’m tired. I’m tired of hiding out in some South American backwater surrounded by an army of security guards to keep some government’s assassin from killing me. I just want to come home. I want to spend my final years living in the country of my birth and contemplating what eternity has in store for me and mankind. I’m here to ask you to call off the assassins and pardon me. Let me come home, and let me see my sons again.”

  “Tell me why I should allow that, Mr. Greco? After all you’ve done, tell me why humanity should forgive you?” President Walden asked.

  “Mr. President, I ask you truthfully. If I hadn’t done the things I did, would the world be a better place? Would humanity have a brighter future? If you’d been in my place and had the same opportunity, would you not have done the same as I?”

  President Walden didn’t answer. In retrospect, he probably had to agree that he might have done the same as Benjamin Greco had done. Sometimes as President, he had to make difficult choices that not everyone would agree with, but they were made for the welfare of the majority of the people he represented.

  “I’m willing to try and make amends for the perceived wrongs that I’m accused of,” said Benjamin.

  “At your age, I don’t think you have enough time left to do that Mr. Greco. It’ll take several generations for people to forget all that you’ve done,” the President said as he shook his head.

  “I’m willing to let history judge me,” admitted Benjamin. “However, I feel I can still help humanity at least one more time.”

  President Walden snorted. “I don’t think humanity wants any more of your help, Mr. Greco.”

  “Mr. President, I’m presently worth about one hundred and forty seven billion US dollars. Seventy-five percent of that wealth is in safe investments such as gold, platinum, diamonds, and other rare earth stockpiles. Before the encounter, I sold off almost all of my paper wealth for materials that were going to be in great demand when the snows fell and the glaciers formed again. In my will, I leave one billion dollars to each of my sons. In addition, I figure that I can live very comfortably the rest of my life off of only one billion dollars.”

  “Only a billion dollars Mr. Greco, are you sure?” the President said sarcastically.

  “Hear me out, Mr. President. The human race needs to get off of this planet. We need to expand out into the solar system so that we don’t have all our eggs in one basket. I want to use the other one hundred and forty four billion I have saved to jump start that effort. There are fortunes waiting to be made out there among the asteroids. There’s a whole new planet that can support life circling our sun. Mankind just needs to take those first steps.”

  “You’re preaching to the choir, Mr. Greco.”

  “Mr. President. The magnetic rail shuttle launch facility that my co-patri
ots and I have been building in Bolivia is nearly complete. We need a base in space to reach out and start harvesting the riches that are out there waiting for us. We need bases on the moon to mine and produce rocket fuel. I know that Space Force has outgrown Space Station Alpha. I want you to sell it to my space mining conglomeration. With the money you make in the sale, you can help build a new and larger low Earth orbit station. All I’m asking is that you sell the old station to my corporation and let us use your facilities on the moon as temporary bases for us to build our own. In return, I’ll give the United States Treasury my entire fortune except for the three billion I previously mentioned. This country needs revenue to continue to be the world’s leader Mr. President. I need to spend the rest of my days knowing that I’m helping ensure the future of mankind.”

  President Walden sat thoughtfully. “You know that I can’t agree to this by myself. It would take congressional approval to sell any assets in space. In addition, we would need to get approval from our new Space Alliance members.”

  “Trust me, Mr. President, if you make the recommendation it’ll go through. Let me come home and I can help you and the country back onto the road to economic prosperity.”

  “I’ll think about what you’ve proposed Mr. Greco. For the time being however, it would be wise if you continued to lay low and not advertise your presence here. I suggest you return to Bolivia and someone in my administration will be in contact with you.”