SWEET HOME ALLE BAMMA (SOLBIDYUM WARS SAGA) (17 page)

“Excuse me one moment, I’ll be right back.”  Kerabac retreated to the kitchen and returned shortly with a glass of afex and a plate of something that resembled an Earth dish called
escargot
.  There was a small cup of dipping sauce in the middle and a small silver pick used to extract the creatures from their shells.  He retreated again to the kitchen and returned a moment later with a plate and a glass of afex for himself.

“So, Tibby, to what do I owe the honor of this visit?” he asked with his usual warm grin.

“I have a very special request of you… and I hope you will accept the challenge.”

“I will certainly try.”

“On Earth there was a very famous and beloved singer named Nat King Cole, who lived a few generations before my time.  Your voice is remarkably like his.  He was my mother’s favorite singer.  She had recordings of all his songs, which she played nearly every day; so I pretty much grew up listening to his music.  I was wondering… if I were to sing a few of his tunes to you and provide you with the lyrics, would you be able to learn them on your instrument and sing the melodies?  I would like to surprise Kala one evening.  It would mean very much to me to hear you sing them and to dance to them with Kala.”

Kerabac’s eyes twinkled.  “Tibby, I would be delighted to do it.  I’m sure I will be able to reproduce these songs, unless your singing is so bad that I can’t identify a note.”

“Well, I won’t ever win any singing contests, but I can carry a tune.  I will certainly never come close to your singing talents.”

“Hmm, we’ll see.  One never knows what one can do until one tries,” Kerabac said with
his million-dollar smile.

“These – what did you call them…Mugorian shellfish? –
they’re delicious, Kerabac, truly delicious.”

“Close,
Tibby.
Magarian
shellfish… and thank you.  I’m pleased that you’re enjoying them.  They have always been a favorite snack food of mine, but until I began working for you, I could not afford them very often.”

I decided on a few of my favorite Cole songs; but I found that translating the lyrics into Federation language within the context of the melodies was not as easy as I had anticipated.  However, by applying a bit of creative license and some slight modifications, we managed to achieve something close enough to preserve the meaning of the songs.  I was amazed at how quickly Kerabac was able to take
to the tune and play it on his keyboard instrument, which he said was called a
Judaras Sound Machine
.  I was especially surprised that he was able to match the musical sounds of Earth instruments so well when all he had to go by was my simplistic descriptions and the sound of my voice as I mimicked qualities of the instrument sounds.

“How do you know how to duplicate the musical sounds of Earth so well?” I asked.

“I don’t know really,” he answered.  “It just seems like this is how it should sound and anything else would be wrong.”

“Well I have to tell you, you nailed it perfectly.”

“Thank you for teaching me these wonderful tunes.  When do you plan to bring Kala by the lounge for her surprise?”

“Tonight, I think – if nothing comes along to interrupt our plans, that is.”

“Great.  I should have these songs well memorized by then.”

My wrist com started beeping just as Kerabac finished.  I answered to hear the
recorded voice of Captain Stonbersa saying that I should come to the bridge immediately.  No sooner did I end the call than Kerabac’s wrist com also beeped with the same message.  The two of us headed to the bridge immediately, only to be met en route by the admiral and one of his aides.

“What the hell’s going on!?” the admiral asked.

“I have no idea, Admiral.  I just got the call to go to the bridge moments ago.”

Just then I saw Kala rounding a corner ahead of us, also heading for the bridge.  We all arrived at the same time and entered to find Stonbersa and another crew member at a vid screen.

“What’s going on?” Admiral Regeny demanded.

“We just came into range of the Rabanu communication beacon and picked up a message from the Enpowor
System.  Apparently, when the message of the Brotherhood rebellion and seizure of the
DUSTEN
reached the system, the Brotherhood members of the frigate
TECCION
revolted and took over the ship.  They left the ship’s loyal crew members at the abandoned relay station on the moon of Nasgoria with enough supplies to last them a month.  Not long after that, word apparently reached the mutineers that the
DUSTEN
had been reclaimed by the Federation, causing them to go into hiding while the star ships
URANGA
and
CACHATORA
searched for them.  Now reports are arriving that the Federation freighter
MOOGAWOE
was intercepted by the
TECCION
and that the crew of the
TECCION
believed that the
MOOGAWOE
was carrying the
TRITYTE
and the solbidyum.  Of course, they found no ship aboard and no solbidyum; so their next move was to eject the freighter crew in escape pods over the planet Koobs and commandeer the
MOOGAWOE
.  The two ships left the system together and are now believed to be hiding in the asteroid cluster near the Zanoid Nebula.”

“Where are the
URANGA
and the
CACHATORA
now?” asked the admiral.

“Well, our data is about three days behind; but the last communication stated that the
CACHATORA
was
headed to the Nasgorian moon to pick up the abandoned crew members, while the
URANGA
continued on its search for the
TECCION
,” advised
Stonbersa.

“Damn, damn, damn!” Regeny cursed.  “Do we know if the
URANGA
and the
CACHATORA
received orders to test their crews and whether their crews have been confirmed as loyalists; or do we face the risk of a Brotherhood mutiny on those ships as well?” Lieutenant Commander Goncest, the new aide to the admiral rapidly punched commands into his vid pad.

“Ah, sir, when the orders were issued, the
URANGA
and the
CACHATORA
were both closer to us than the
TECCION
; so they should have received the message to test their crews prior to the mutiny incident on the
TECCION
,” stammered Goncest.

“Let us hope so.  At least it sounds like they did.  Damn, though – the
TECCION
– we can’t have our fleet divided up and fighting against each other.  Tibby, I think we’re going to need to implement your plan to get solbidyum to trusted systems using the GW pods first thing tomorrow.  I have a list of about 30 outer planets and 30 inner planets that we can target.  If we can secure a significant number of deliveries at the core and the perimeter of the Federation territories while we move toward them from the center, we will effectively be able to confine rebel activity somewhere in the middle.  If the Brotherhood is flanked by loyal systems that have already successfully implemented their solbidyum power distribution, they will also have a more difficult time enticing others to join them.”

“I agree, Admiral.  I don’t think we really have any other choice.
  What do you think, A’Lappe?”

Everyone looked around the room, but A’Lappe was nowhere to be seen.

“A’Lappe’s not here.  Why are you asking for his opinion?” the admiral demanded.

“A’Lappe
is
here,” I insisted.  “Show yourself A’Lappe.”

All of a sudden, A’Lappe appeared by the admiral’s right elbow and said, “Boo!” and the admiral actually jumped.

“Damn it, don’t do that!” objected the admiral.  “Besides the fact that it’s unnerving, it also undermines my trust in you which, may I remind you, is already fragile!”

“So, A’Lappe,” I said, “what do you think?”

A’Lappe twisted his mouth as he thought a moment, then looked at me and said, “The
TECCION
and the
MOOGAWOE
are
not
in the asteroid belt; but you can be sure they want you to
think
they are.  My bet is they are hiding at an old quarry site on the third moon of Ludation.”

“Oh, and just why do you think they are there?” the admiral fumed.

“It is in line with the asteroid cluster but it is a much quicker – and safer – destination.  Pursuers will naturally anticipate that they will flee into the cluster and not give the moon much scrutiny.  Even if they do, the quarry will hide them quite well, since their ships’ profiles would be concealed below the surrounding surface terrain.

“There is another reason to consider the moon as the more likely destination – it is where the Brotherhood has an established underground base.  When the quarry was still active
, the Brotherhood secretly began mining into the walls of the quarry and then tunneling vertically into the moon.  After the quarry’s resources were tapped out, the site was pretty much forgotten.  The site was purchased about fifteen years ago by a member of the Brotherhood; and the organization has been stockpiling arms and equipment there ever since.”

“And you’re expecting me to believe you?” the admiral said.

“No, not at all, Admiral.  I’m expecting you to check it out,” A’Lappe said plainly.

“Humph!” the admiral grunted.  “Well, you’re right about that; we
will
check it out.”

I tried to suppress my amusement over the admiral’s attempts at intimidation and A’Lappe’s complete refusal to be pushed into a defensive posture.

“Well, Admiral, if you are not in need of me anymore, I will leave you and your staff to deal with this issue.  I need to get A’Lappe and Cantolla together on several matters that could greatly aid the Federation, in the event that we have to engage the Brotherhood or any other hostile forces in the near future.”

“Would you care to share a few of these things now, Tibby?” the admiral asked.  “At this point hearing some good news for a change would be most welcome.”

“I would prefer to wait just short while, Admiral.  I would hate to raise false hopes and then not be able to deliver favorable results.”

The admiral gave a heavy sigh.  “Alright Tibby, so far your methods and actions have been pretty sound.  I’ll give you the benefit of
the doubt on that.  I hope you have something good and that it doesn’t take you too long to let me in on it.”

A’Lappe, Kala and I left the admiral and his staff and the captain and his crew on the bridge to confer over these latest developments as we headed aft to Cantolla’s laboratories.  Cantolla had briefly met A’Lappe, when she and Kala conducted his loyalty tests; but since then there hadn’t been a real opportunity to get acquainted, nor
had I found an opportunity to talk with them together.  Cantolla greeted us as we entered her lab.

“I w
ondered just how long it would be before you brought A’Lappe to see me,” Cantolla said.  “I suspect he is full of information about the ship and the RMFF system.”

“More than that,” I said.  “Besides being the engineer and architect for this ship, A’Lappe was also the chief architect of the original 10X fusion reactor.  Your brother worked with him on Astamagota.”

“You knew Kimmie!?” Cantolla exclaimed.

“I knew him very well.  He was the brightest physicist on the project.  When Galetils asked me to
move onto the ship to prepare for the installation of the 10X reactor, it was Kimmie that I left in charge of things.  He was a good man.”

“Kimmie never mentioned you,” Cantolla said.  “But then he never mentioned anyone or even discussed his assignment, other than to say that it would revolutionize the power industry.”

“How would you feel about finishing the work he was doing?” I asked Cantolla.

“Finish it?  How can I, when I don’t know anything about what he was doing?”

“A’Lappe can fill you in on the project details and status at the time of the solar flare.  He also has the plans and calculations for the 10X reactor; but before we build one, I want to see if the two of you can maybe find a way to make it smaller.  As the design is now, the only Federation ships that can make use of it are star ships and frigates – and for the frigates it means surrendering a lot of space.  Oh, one other thing – see if the two of you can resolve the power issue on the personal cloaking device that A’Lappe has invented.”

“You have a
personal
cloaking device?” Cantolla said in amazement.  A’Lappe shrugged his shoulders and vanished. “Well, I’ll be damned,” said Cantolla as A’Lappe reappeared about three meters away.

“The goal is to extend operation from the current 20 minutes to at least two hours before the device needs recharging,” I said.

Cantolla gave A’Lappe a wide-eyed a look of admiration.  “How did you ever come up with a personal cloaking device?”