CH37

Zandur had been there a week. The guards and the nurse were long since gone. The admiral had dismissed them after he woke up. If these people were going to kill him or torture him for information, they would have done so long before now. He was pretty sure the nurse had gone back to the hospital with quite a story. In fact he was lying on his back, amazed to still be alive and with a new heart valve. He had also been told what was happening to his body along with everyone else on their ships was because they didn't have gravity. They had been built in gravity so they were designed and constructed as if they had gravity. It was just that they floated everywhere they went and had to strap themselves into their chairs. They even slept standing up since staying in bed was out of the question unless they strapped themselves into them as well.

He couldn't believe the room they had him in. It had a bedroom, living room, a giant closet that actually had clothes of countless different sizes in it, as well as a bathroom the likes of which he had never seen, ever. The sound of the door opening and watching the woman called Kate walk in with a tray that had food and a drink on it had become a constant over the last few days. "How are you feeling?" she asked him. Not that he understood a word she said but he could guess. "Fine, thank you." And he meant it, too. She put his food down on the table and picked up his tablet. "Work on construction of the antigrav generators is progressing nicely. The trick is creating the power conduits from your engine room to each of the generators. Alexis is presently on your ship trying to figure out how to route the conduits." She handed him the pad.

He still didn't understand these people. They could easily take what they wanted, he just knew it, and yet here they were trying to give his ships gravity and they had only just met a few weeks ago. All they had requested in return thus far was food and water that he was sure they didn't need to ask for. He held the pen and started writing. "I do not know how to thank you for all you have done and are trying to do." He had no words and had no idea what to give them in return.

"We are glad to help. I cannot imagine living, being born, and dying on a ship to reach a planet you were never going to see. We would have found a way to move you using our FTL if we had found your planet all those years ago." Kate handed him the pad and wondered if her planet, her people would have survived. She wondered if they had even known it had planets they could live on or had they just taken a chance?

"It has not been easy. We have hundreds of journals telling what they did, how they lived, how they fought to get here. It gives us incentive to live and survive." He gave the pad back to her. Kate smiled. "We would love the chance to scan them and read them. Now eat, Rick will be in soon to give you that tour he offered. I have to get back to work building the antigrav generators and power conduits." She handed him the pad and started to walk away. "Thank you." Even she caught that and just smiled at him before leaving and going back down to her area and keep making what they needed. The city had been supplying them with the materials they needed to create everything. The trick was getting it all into one of their shuttles and getting it installed.

The admiral just finished eating. He had to admit they ate pretty well on this ship when Rick entered and picked up the pad. "Feel well enough for that tour?" He slowly worked his way out of the bed as his answer. He was confused as Rick took him to a really small area and escorted him inside. It didn't really feel anything and yet the board on the wall showed that they were moving. Since his room was on deck six, Rick took him back down to Medical in a transit pod and would work his way up from there.

Medical he recognized. Next he found himself in a large exercise room that had machines all over the place. Then he found Kate in her area building something. There were two levels of plants that he was told were their source for fresh food. Next came two levels of bedrooms. There was also a recreational deck. He didn't recognize the words and since Rick had been told by Alexis not to make his heart work too hard yet, they stayed out of the rides. However, the admiral was introduced to the game of pool. He lost badly but didn't seem to mind. Alexis's oasis was next which made his jaw drop as he looked up at the two story water fall. He even saw fish in the pond and watched as Rick fed them.

They went to the bridge with its big blue globe along with something that was small and mostly red and looked to be floating. "What is this room?" He had never seen anything like it. Then he watched Rick turn on the walls to show the view in a perfect 360 degrees and his mouth fell open. Zandur watched as Rick adjusted the view and saw his city come into view right down to a single person walking in the street. Rick showed him each of his four ships that were in orbit and could even look down the barrel of one of the big guns.

His wandering around in complete awe had ended when he stopped right in front of Vincent who hadn't moved. "Hello Admiral Zandur." The admiral heard it speak but didn't see a mouth. He waved his hand for the tablet and hurriedly began writing. "What is it?" He handed it over while never taking his eyes off of Vincent. Rick couldn't help but grin. "This is Vincent. V.I. . Vital INformation CENTralized. He is an early A.I. or robot. He is the first of his kind, though we have been in space for a little short of two years now so there are likely more. In some time there will be one on each military ship." He read it then stared at Vincent.

Eventually he turned to look at the big blue globe. In it he could see everything thing that was in his system. Every planet, every moon, and every ship including this one sitting on the ground. These people had technology that they hadn't even started dreaming about.

An alarm started sounding and Rick adjusted the view to show a shuttle leaving the admiral's ship heading for the planet. Rick took the pad from him. "We should go greet it. It is likely Alexis to explain what it is going to take to get artificial gravity on your ships." Zandur nodded.

Rick was thankful that he hadn't said anything about how they power their ship. Showing him their generators and how they worked was way past their capabilities.

The three of them watched Alexis exit the shuttle and jog to her parents. "That was weird. They float everywhere." Suddenly she was grinning as she remembered how she ended up trapped in the middle of nowhere. She hadn't been within reach of anything and had actually tried swimming. But she just ended up flailing her arms and legs while the crew chuckled at her. Eventually someone took pity on her and helped her. A second shuttle passenger walked right to the admiral, saluted smartly, and then started speaking to him.

"It can be done Dad, but it might be a waste of time," she had to admit. "They don't have enough power?" Kate inquired. "They have the power, however, they use antimatter as their primary power source. Unfortunately they're running low on it. If they turn on the antigrav generators they'll use up the antimatter they still have even faster. By the time our ships get here, assuming they left immediately after they received our message, they'll be almost dead in space. Even faster if they turn on the antigrav units," Alexis said. "And they don't have a way to create more do they?" Rick wasn't questioning since she hadn't as yet seen anything to think that they could. Alexis shook her head.

Their two friends had grown silent as well. "Sounds like the admiral just got the bad news," Kate quietly said as she watched the admiral and the other man simply look at each other trying to think of an answer. "His name is Krell and he's their lead Engineer. He's the one responsible for keeping their ships going all this time. They have a process to make parts for the ships, just not a way to create antimatter." Alexis deflated. "We can't create it either. I doubt that even if we had the time that we could fit a neutrino-ion generator on any of their ships. Even then they would need shields to go scooping to get the necessary neutrinos. We might as well build them a whole new ship," Kate commented as Alexis nodded.

"How much space do they have Lex? Medical has its own neutrino-ion generators, however, my space has its own power source in case the ship loses main power. That way we can build what we need to fix what's wrong. Can we build them one of my generators? It should be powerful enough to power the antigrav generators." Kate racked her brain for a solution.

Alexis shook her head. "Their ships are packed tight. There's no wasted space anywhere. Nothing like our ship which has lots of empty room. Then there are the bulkheads that they built to close and seal off one damaged area from the rest of the ship. We would have to route power conduits through those even if they did have some free space." Alexis shot that down too.

"Okay." Kate kept thinking. "Think outside the box. ...Outside of the box. OUTSIDE! Could we mount the generator on the exterior of their ship? Then we could route the power conduits along the hull of their ship and go back inside to get to each generator. They still land just instead of working on the inside only we also work on the outside," Kate suggested hopefully.

"I doubt he would go for it. Their ship's hulls are made up of a double layer of titanium sheets put together to form two - six feet thick hulls. If an enemy gets in a lucky shot and ruptures that power conduit..." She finished for him, "Poof, no more ship. They might have survived because of their thick double hulls. We would be attaching a major weakness to their ships just so they don't have to keep floating."

"We don't solve it and they are going to be forced to live out their lives on those ships. Even the admiral with his constant trips down to the planet surface is beginning to suffer from the effects of spending too many years with no gravity," Alexis reminded them.

"We're not leaving tomorrow are we? So maybe we can sleep on it and think of something else," Kate offered and then had a question. "Why don't they just land their ships and alternate which one stays in orbit?"

"Leaving this planet's gravity takes time and power – lots of power. They'll use up the antimatter they do have even faster. There's a security issue, too. Their scanners barely reach the next planet in orbit. If an enemy does show up they'd be lucky to get their ships off planet and into orbit before they were attacked. Their ships are also old. If they push them too hard while leaving the surface..." Alexis had her hands in a ball and expanded them quickly and mouthed the word "BOOM!" Their ships were over 250 years old actually.

The admiral handed Rick the pad. "Thank you for trying! We can still exchange cultural information if you will leave us another pad. We can learn about you while we wait for your ambassador, provided they send one." Rick read it aloud for the others to hear. He sounded defeated.

"We still need to download more medical information before we leave Dad. Plus it would be nice to put in one more shift at their hospital. They could use the help." Alexis almost pleaded to keep helping. These people were her first alien civilization she had spent time in not counting her mother's planet. "Fine. Go grab another tablet and download it all into the tablet they already have. I'll get Vincent to work on the cultural information for them," Rick said. Alexis practically glowed with joy. "Thanks Dad!" She was off and telling Vincent to lower the ramp for her while Rick told Vincent what he wanted him to do.

Rick and Kate headed for Krell and Zandur to tell them what they were going to do as they were talking to each other at their shuttle several feet away. "We agree to leave behind another pad. Alexis is going to download more medical information and wants to spend another shift in your hospital before we leave." Rick handed him the pad. "I will make arrangements. I am sure they would appreciate her help." He handed back the pad and pulled out his communication device which to Kate looked more and more like a simple walkie-talkie. She supposed it was just over two hundred fifty years old and she wondered how many times they'd had to fix it and just how many they still had that worked. She didn't notice that she was thinking like an Engineer.

Rick and Kate waved to Alexis as she left for the hospital while the admiral went with his lead engineer back up to his ship. "Two more years," Rick muttered while he and Kate walked back into their ship. "Do we pass that information on to home?" she asked him as she closed the ramp. "Tell them that their ships will be dead in space by the time they get here? That all they'll have left is a bluff of their abilities, not that they would stand a chance anyway." She didn't know what to do. "Tell them what?" he asked. He'd been off in his own world. But he found himself being kissed soundly. "I love you Mr. Castle. I'd ask you to marry me but we're already married." She smiled into his mouth. "Not on your planet we're not," he pointed out which had her smiling even wider till she kissed him soundly again. "And my answer will still be yes. Just in case you were curious," she told him. "Good to know."

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They had put an exhausted Alexis to bed after she all but crawled up the ramp. "I've changed my mind; I don't want to do a residency in a hospital," Alexis told them. Kate had removed her clothes and helped her into the bathroom for a quick shower. Then she'd dressed her in a night shirt. "Good night Lex." Kate kissed her cheek. Alexis rolled over in bed and curled up with Monkey Bunkey. "Night... Mom," Alexis barely whispered and was out in an instant.

Kate was still smiling and chuckling a little when she entered their room. Rick was just getting into bed. "I think she's found out what it means to be a genius doctor who knows everything. She'll probably still be asleep when we leave in the morning." Kate walked past him into the closet and stripped before taking a fast shower. She shrugged on a night shirt and joined her husband in bed. "Back out into deep space," she said with a sigh as she slid in next to him. "You tired of looking already? Tired of being an Explorer?" he asked her. "No, it's just that being at that lake made me see what I'm missing. I like what we've done here. It would be nice to have real land under my feet. Maybe the next system will provide us with what we're out here to find – a planet that no one has claims on," she replied as she snuggled up to him and got comfortable.

"Don't you want to go back to Earth?" he wondered. "Except for a couple of friends there's no one back there. Plus you and this ship have spoiled me. We don't have a lot of things that you have. And I want to have a place to raise our kids and not fly through space forever," she admitted. "Our kids? Are you trying to tell me something?" He gently ran a hand over her belly. "Sorry babe, but I'm still not pregnant, not that I know anyway. I've got another week or so before we get a clue." Her and Alexis's periods were due in a little over a week. She was still keeping track of when Alexis's time came so she could help.

"Maybe one day you'll show us your planet. Alexis and I only saw a little of it. Just between where we hovered on some water and where we found you. Show us your planet, maybe see all of this Disneyland that you've been telling us about," he remarked enthusiastically.

"Actually the one in Florida is probably bigger by now. ...We need to go to Hawaii. Maybe we can see London and go to Oktoberfest in Germany, I've never done that. Oh, and we have to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower, especially at night! I've never been to Australia and..." He stopped her. "Whoa, slow down, we'll get there." He started chuckling.

"Rick, where's Earth from here?" She had no idea where they really were. "Rick?" He had been quiet too long. She knew he would know where it was since he was the master navigator. "We've gone in the exact opposite direction. Your planet is actually fairly close to mine since it only took us five days to reach it. We're way out here on the edge of nowhere," he replied in a low voice. She sighed, closed her eyes, and pressed her body closer to her husband. "Go to sleep babe we have to say goodbye tomorrow."

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Zeel and his two co-councilmen along with what looked like half the city were there to see them off. "We are glad to have met you. I am sure our ancestors are busy smiling right now. We look forward to your ambassador and what he has to offer us." He handed over the pad to Rick. "We do not steal but that does not mean they will not push you to accept as little compensation as possible for what you are willing to offer them. Remember to keep the long-term plan in mind." Rick, Kate, and Alexis turned to Admiral Zandur. "I am sorry we could not help you. I do not have any advice for you. Landing them would appear something that you cannot afford to do and not do." Zandur replied, "We will do what we have to for the safety of our planet and its people. I look forward to the arrival of your ambassador." Rick shook his hand. "Thank you for letting me work in your hospital, it was fun." Alexis took the pad from her dad and handed it to him. The admiral smiled and was about to write something when suddenly an alarm on Rick's, Kate's, and Alexis's watches sounded. Rick had to do what he had hoped not to and that was to display still more of their advanced technology. He used his watch to display a 3D view of what was happening suspended above his timepiece.

Zooming in showed five ships one of which was huge compared to the other four ships and they were clearly alien. Suddenly a fifth showed up that Vincent focused in on which was a match to the Manta Ray ship they had all seen earlier. "We have company," Rick remarked grimly. "Concentrate on the big one Vincent," he commanded. It was big and sort of round with a bulge on top and the bottom. It was a mix of sharp lines and smooth finishes. It was also rather colorful with all of the blues, greens, and silver on it.

Vincent changed the view to a communication that was being sent. In its place was a face that looked reptilian with a big head filled with sharp teeth. Suddenly he spread his wings wide. When he spoke it sounded like he was barking at them then he showed all of his teeth and growled. "That didn't look good," Kate commented. "Vincent?" Rick inquired. "I am unable to translate fully, however, what I can comprehend suggests that he is on a religious mission to conquer and destroy anyone who tries to stop him. I am still trying to decipher what each word means."

Admiral Zandur didn't need any translation. He started firing off orders and ran for his shuttle to get up to his ship as did Zeel and his co-councils. Rick, Kate, and Alexis ran up the ramp. "Close the ramp Vincent. Power up weapons, engines, and ready shields." Kate used her watch to communicate with him.

Rick jumped the ship out into orbit and was already out in front of their friends' military ships before the admiral even made it to his ship. "I'm reading one main ship with five of those Manta Ray ships around it," Alexis reported. "DAD!?" Alexis zoomed in on the main ship and they watched as fighter after fighter launched from all sides. "I'm reading shields on all of the ships save those little fighters," Alexis added. "They'll crush them Rick. Their ships don't stand a chance!" Kate didn't want their new friends to be killed. "Size comparison?" he queried. "The big one is equal to one of our battleship/carriers. The Manta Ray ships are equal to our destroyers. Their fighters are equal to the size of ours," Alexis responded. "Even their fighters look like a Manta Ray and yet they looked reptilian but with wings." Kate was confused.

"Alexis, type the following: "We will take the ships. You concentrate as much as you can on the fighters." ...Vincent," Rick started to ask. "Downloading all scans and our intentions. Transmitting," the A.I. responded.

"Shields at maximum, weapons active. I'm thinking of concentrating on the big one," Rick said. "If the lizards get past us our friends will lose all four ships and likely the colony," Kate huffed angrily. The idea that they fought their way here for two hundred fifty years and worked so hard to have what they have only to see it gone was pissing her off. "All generators are functioning babe, maximum power is available. We may need to scoop after this." It was the only warning Kate gave as Rick surged forward and locked on the lead Manta Ray and fired his 100% pure antiproton beam to clear space for a shot at the big guy.