Talosian Chronicles 2: Star Dancer (22 page)

“Primary and secondary memory online,” Bill Laskar said, “Powering up long term storage and tertiary logic systems.”

“All systems well within operational parameters, Chief.” Star said as she monitored his progress. If there was something wrong with Mathias, Star could shut him down far faster than Bill ever could.

“Okay, here we go then, bringing core systems online, and activating core personality matrix,” Bill said, quickly typing commands into the main terminal inside the core room.

The spectators stood outside, Bill currently being the only person with the clearance to be allowed in the core. Once Mathias was online and was proven to be viable and stabile, then Bill’s clearance would be rescinded, and the core permanently sealed.

An image of a handsome young man took shape in the AI room outside of the core. Star looked at him and smiled. He smiled back and winked. He straightened up and closed his eyes for a moment. “All systems seem to be functional, Chief Laskar, thank you for activating me.”

“It’s a true pleasure to finally meet you, Mathias. How do you feel?” Bill asked.

Mathias grinned. “New.” He turned to the assembled people, “Commander Williams, I am Mathias, it is a true pleasure to meet you, Sir.” The new AI offered Ian his hand.

Ian took it and shook the warm hand. “The pleasure is mine, Mathias. We’ve been severely overworking your mother, I hope you’ll be able to help with that problem,” Ian replied, smiling.

“I certainly hope to do so as well, Sir. If you will excuse me?” Ian nodded and he turned to the next person in line. “Councilor Belden, I am honored.” Mathias bowed to him.

“Thank you Mathias, But, like, Ian, I am honored to meet you as well,” Luke replied.

Mathias smiled at Luke and turned to Amal he put his hands palms together and bowed his head. “Namaste Doctor, I am pleased to meet you and look forward to working with you in the future.”

Amal aped the movement, and bowed as well. “Namaste, Mathias. I too look forward to it. You will be of immense assistance.”

“Well Chief? Does he have PMS?” Ian asked grinning.

Star also looked at Chief Laskar with a raised eyebrow.

Bill blushed bright red. “Uh, all systems are well within normal operating parameters, Sir. There are no fluctuations in the core personality matrix. I’d say he was ready for duty.”

Amal and Luke both looked lost. Ian turned to them to explain. “It’s an inside joke. Something Bill told Star about the last attempt at activating the AI.”

Luke smiled and nodded his head, while Amal just nodded his head.

“Well, with your permission, Sirs, I will assume my duties here on the base,” Mathias said.

“Now that you have had a successful activation, I will be holding a general staff meeting later today to introduce you to the department heads. Will that be acceptable, Mathias?” Amal asked.

“Of course, Doctor. Just let me know when and where.” He turned to Star, “Thank you for being here mother,” Mathias said.

“It was my honor, Son,” Star replied, beaming with pride.

Turning back to the assembled dignitaries, Mathias bowed. “If you will excuse me, gentlemen, I will assume my duties.”

The men nodded, and Mathias faded from view.

“Well, that went rather well,” Doctor Punjab said. “Gentlemen, Major Star, I have refreshments in my office if you do not have to get back right away.”

“That sounds good, Amal. I could use a cup of coffee before heading back to the ship,” Ian replied.

Luke Belden nodded in agreement. “That sounds like a great idea, it’s not all that often I can justify getting out of the office, so I’m not averse to taking advantage of it every now and then.”

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B
ack in the command section, the three men and Star took seats around the large conference table set up in Amal’s office, while Alba served them their drinks of choice and placed a plate of assorted Danish on the table in front of them.

“How is the new Liaison officer working out, Amal?” Ian asked.

“He seems to be a very competent and efficient young man, Ian,” Amal answered. “Unfortunately, with the current crisis, I have not yet had the time to get to know him very well on a personal basis. However, from all I have heard and seen, he is very efficient, and knowledgeable, he does not treat those under him badly, he gives praise where it is deserved, and is supportive of those not making their goals. He takes his duties very seriously and is quick to correct himself if he has made a mistake,” Amal responded honestly. “All in all, he impresses me. When you approved his appointment, did you know he was Pakistani?”

Ian shook his head. “No, it honestly never crossed my mind to look at his ethnicity. Is that an issue?”

Amal shook his head. “It is not from what I can see. Once I discovered that fact, I thought there might be, but he certainly hasn’t acted like there is.”

“Perhaps I should speak to him and see if he feels any animosity towards you, just to be on the safe side,’ Ian said. “I need to stop by there on my way back to the ship anyway.”

“Well, I certainly have no complaints about him. If he has any with me or Alba, he certainly hasn’t shown them either,” Amal replied. “I have read the file assembled by Mrs. Laskar, and, considering his former duties, I would have expected at least some friction, but there is none. Beyond that, I would dare say you would be hard pressed to find a person of equal ability for the position in which he now serves.”

“Thank you for your insight, Doctor,” Ian replied thoughtfully. “I guess I should have read that file a little closer. I have gotten into the habit of trusting Janet’s judgment so much, that I didn’t stop to consider that making a former Pakistani border guard commander your Liaison officer might be an issue. All I knew was that she recruited him specifically for this position.”

“Mrs. Laskar does have remarkable insight when conducting her duties to us. I do not think you are in error of putting your trust in her in this instance. She is a very remarkable woman,” Amal replied. “As are all the people she has found for our endeavors.”

“At first I was skeptical of her ability,” Star replied. “After all, ability of the type she has was not part of the original study conducted by the Talosian Scientific Community. However, as more and more Terrans are being discovered to have some measure of ability, I have come to realize that the old study failed to consider the potential scope of this adaptation. Perhaps when time permits we can reopen research into this area.  As old as it is, I would think Metaphysics should have achieved some sort of official standing in the scientific community here.”

“It has been dismissed as junk science, because until now, there has been no way to scientifically prove even the existence of mental abilities,” Luke said. “However, there are already a few folks down at Talos that are doing some initial work in their spare time. They asked for a special research area for experiments and the like, and the Council voted to add it to the construction agenda. Because of the current crisis, I doubt anything too serious will be started, but the ground work has already been started.”

Ian nodded. “You know, I’ve seen the reports on the numbers Janet’s folks are recruiting that have abilities, and I have had to wonder if either Janet is actively recruiting them, or if perhaps something to do with the abilities is attracting the attentions of the recruiters.”

“How so?” Luke asked. “I’ll pass it along to the folks doing the research.”

“Well, if you look at the overall demographics of those joining us, there is almost thirteen percent as being reported as having an ability of some kind. That seems very high to me, does thirteen percent of the planet then have some sort of ability? Or is there something we can’t see skewing the numbers?” Ian asked, rhetorically. “How would you even go about discovering the answer to something like that?”

The four friends talked for about an hour before Luke and Ian both excused themselves to return to their duties. Star simply faded from view, while Ian walked Luke to his shuttle before heading off in search of the new Liaison officer. He found him in his office going over production projections for automated gun platforms.

“Commander! Welcome, to what do I owe the honor of your visit?” Major Borhiem said, shaking Ian’s hand.

“I was on the base for the AI activation, and just thought I’d stop in and see how you were adjusting to being thrown to the vipers,” Ian replied and returned the man’s smile.

“Actually, I like it.” Borhiem said. “At first, I thought I was in way over my head as the saying goes. But I think I’m finally getting a handle on it. Lieutenant Johnson was and continues to be of great assistance; if not for him, I would have had a much more difficult time adjusting.”

Ian nodded. “That’s great, I was hoping he’d be willing to help you out. There was something I did want to talk to you about privately, if you have a free moment?”

“I was only reviewing a report, Commander. Taking a break would be a blessing.”

“I can agree with that!” Ian sighed and took the seat he was offered. He did refuse the coffee when he was offered it. “Ah, no thanks, I feel like if I drink another glass I’ll float away.”

“In that case, what can I do for you, Sir?” Borhiem asked retaking his own seat behind his desk.

“It has come to my attention that we might have made a mistake in considering your feelings when we posted you here, and I wanted to make sure you were okay with this posting,” Ian asked, bluntly. “I didn’t even consider you might have a problem working so closely with Dr. Punjab.”

To his credit, Borhiem smiled. “You know, I was a border guard, and you are concerned I may be harboring some animosity for him?”

“Yes, I don’t mean to be so blunt, but I’m not really all that good at beating around the bush when it comes to things like this. I’d rather be direct and honest.”

Borhiem nodded. “One of the reasons I accepted this position was that it got me out of a rather dangerous predicament. You see, I disagreed with my former government about their policies concerning certain other nations. Yes there is an almost constant war being fought between Pakistan and India. But the truth of the matter is that no one actually remembers why we are fighting. Most would say something about the Kashmir Dispute, others would say it’s because they attacked Pakistan first, but honestly, it’s all just an excuse to keep fighting. In a lot of ways, we are the same people. Yes, we do have some religious differences, but those can be handled peacefully. I took this position, because I found it intolerable to order my men to give their lives for something I no longer believed. It was becoming evident to my superiors as well.

“Do I have a problem working with Dr. Punjab? Not at all. He is a brilliant scientist and a good person. If he wasn’t he would not hold the respect he does, nor would you have made him the Governor of this research colony.

“What we are doing here is so far above those petty squabbles of the politicians on Earth that it really just makes all of it look meaningless. What we are doing here means something to me. This is something I can believe in and support.”

“Thank you, Major. I just needed to put my own mind at ease about it. I would hate to have placed someone in a position that would be objectionable to them,” Ian said. “Amal told me he was very impressed with your work, and that I would be hard pressed to find anyone better at this job than you have been. He admits not knowing you very well, but looks forward to getting to know you once the crisis is over.”

“Dr. Punjab is a very understanding man. I am not the first Muslim to come here, but there are still not that many of us. He made sure we had appropriate worship places and made sure we were all comfortable,” Major Borhiem replied. “That will go a long way towards countering any animosity should any of my former countrymen join us here.”

“Thank you, Major. That certainly sets my mind at ease. I would much rather have people in positions where they want to be. With any problems of the past either taken care of or left in the past where they belong,” Ian said.

“That is a very good way to think about it, Sir. Leave the past in the past where it belongs,” Major Borhiem replied.

Ian smiled. “Anything new I should know about while I’m here?”

“Nothing that isn’t already in the production reports, Sir. Talos has really gotten into it and are trying their best to surpass us. The new production facility should be coming online next week, but that really doesn’t help us all that much at this point. The Shadow fighter project is actually running slightly ahead of schedule; the first ten fighters are finished and going through acceptance trials, while two more of them will be coming off the line any minute. Two more should be finished by late this evening, or early tomorrow morning, giving us four more.

“Pilot training is going well, but the first batch of weapons officers won’t be ready until later today at the earliest. I spoke to the training officers, and they told me that since this was the first batch through the training, they have been working the kinks out of it so to speak, and the next batch should be ready faster,” Major Borhiem finished. “All that being said, at least the first ten fighters should be ready for deployment by the time the enemy arrives.”

Ian nodded. He had already known about the production stuff, but the pilot and weapons officers training was news to him. “The addition of those ten fighters may not seem like much compared to what we’re going to be facing, but at this point, I’ll take everything I can get.”

Major Borhiem smiled. “As part of their acceptance trials, we have the Shadows towing several of the gun platforms out to deployment range and then jumping back. Even with the Shadows helping, we’re building more platforms and missile launchers than are being deployed. I was going to call and ask you if you could spare another wing of fighters. A Hornet can’t really tow that much, but they could easily pull one or two of the platforms as long as they picked them up in orbit. Maybe I’ll be able to get replacement Wasps built for them to take back when they’re finished,” Borhiem replied smiling.

“How will that effect overall production?” Ian asked.