Chapter 50
When they arrived inside the auditorium she was ushered to seat on the other side of the room from Ken and Joe. Sitting down next Ryu and Jinpei she watched Dr Anderson sit down next to them along with Commander Reed. A man she had seen at G-Town but never spoken to.
"What's going on?" She asked the two of them.
Ryu just blinked and Jinpei shrugged his shoulders. "I was about to ask you the same question, I know they got a nanny for Joe so he could be in here without Jason interrupting everything, but that's about the extent of my data."
She didn't have a chance to say any more as the meeting began with the introductions of world leaders attending.
She could have caught on some sleep in the morning session as they went through mundane things on the agenda that had more to do with ongoing science projects and research being conducted by the ISO.
It was after lunch that it became more interesting…
Dr Anderson stood in the middle of the room for his presentation. He flicked a few buttons on a terminal in front of his podium and an impressive star chart that appeared three dimensional in the middle of the massive auditorium.
A sun was shown to have several planets orbiting around it…
"We have found life!" Dr Anderson smiled- he adjusted his glasses and waited for the excited murmur in the crowd to die down. Jun sat there spellbound with others around her talked and stood up from their chairs to get a closer look at the planet. So this is what Ken was talking about in the hallway with Joe…We knew about Riga on a mission a year ago, but not that it had actual life on it.
He pointed to a planet with two moons, second from the sun, but smaller.
"This is Riga, our prize… there are oceans, land masses, fresh water rivers and mountain ranges." He said bringing up pictures taken by probes. "There's more, so much I'm not sure if we can fit it into two days. But I'll try." He promised.
He had Dr Nambu's serious nature, yet he in some ways he was very different in his approach. Jun observed. She straightened in her chair so she could see Ken's reaction to the information Dr Anderson began pouring out.
"…We'll be installing an early alert system to protect out planet from any potential invaders in Pluto…It will be called affectionately "Susan" for now after its creator Susan Hollingsworth. We will rename it in time to a more suitable name eventually…and of course there's the 'Zark' robotic program- we feel the removal of humans from this role will make it less likely to fail.
She watched Joe lean over and whispered something to Ken-- Ken pulled a face and looked back at Dr Nambu. Joe had very little trust in anything that replaced humans when it came to protection. She felt it ironic since he was a cyborg, but maybe it was just his human side coming out and not wanting to be squashed she thought, knowing how hard it was for him to accept his new body when he first came back to them.
He talked for the next few hours on other planets they had found in the galaxy. And the promise it held for the future of Earth. And then he dropped the next bombshell.
"Tomorrow I will be talking about the forming of a new Federation of planets!" He stalled and waited for the response he knew was coming at those words. The buzz in the room became unbearable for about five minutes before everyone stopped to listen to him once more.
"…That means dissolving the ISO as we know it today and remoulding it with agreements from all of the world leaders to work together in a new age of peace and prosperity…" Dr Anderson looked around the room, satisfied with the continued responses he was receiving he continued his speech.
"The new Federation headquarters will be based both here in Geneva due to neutral territories. And there will be another main headquarters in Ameris because of their extensive space program. We are in the process of planning teams to go and start settlements on the four planets I have shown you. We have found some life of small animals and other creatures yet there isn't any intelligent life on these planets like humans…for Earth it's the most amazing opportunity to ever grace us…and we can't hold back from taking advantage of it...If we move now we can secure Earth's presence in the Universe and make our planet safer from future attacks like Galactor's leader Z that we just defeated…there could be more of this Alien species out there. This time we have to be able to strike first, before an enemy gets a foothold here on Earth like Sosai Z did and form a group like Galactor."
He drew in a breath, sipped some water and kept talking to give as much information in this sitting as he could." The teams are mainly military for now with a few scientist, we hope to be bringing families to the settlements within two years…those who volunteer to go first will be well rewarded…and have the first dibs on land being offered in the settlements."
The noise in the room became deafening from the questions that the hundreds of guests present began throwing at Dr Anderson.
"Will our bacteria be compatible what about diseases the settlers could bring back to Earth?" A few shouted, and then more followed…"Who is funding this project? Why not keep the ISO as it is…it's worked well for years on science advancement…greening the planet…why not do the same on another planet…"
Dr Anderson held up his hands to try and silence the room so he could continue speaking. "I know you all have lots of questions and tomorrow, I'll be going over details like funding and how the Federation will operate…thank you all for attending and I'll see you bright and early for a fresh start to this exciting turn in world events…"
With that he dismissed everyone, some leaped from their seats too excited to sit any longer with this new information.
Jun waited watching from a distance, Ken hadn't moved he looked lost in deep thought, and exhausted, the long day in the conference and the flight the night before had taken it out of him.
Her eyes fell on Joe strolling out of the room, leaving him there alone to go and see Jason.
"Sis, we're going to find some food…" Jinpei tapped her on the shoulder distracting her only a little, and then he looked over at Ken.
"Awe Sis…he's just taking it all in…you know Ken." He stated with a smile, Yes she knew Ken, Jun thought cheerlessly. All they had to do was tell him the planet needed him to go…and Ken would out of the call of duty.
Jun thought about it for a minute. Could she go if he asked her to…closing her eyes she tried to think of leaving Earth, and Utoland and her new restaurant plans behind. She drew in a deep breath…Maybe I should become more adventurous…okay she thought rationally, if he asks me to go with him I will, even though I'm still not totally sure about it.
Jun fought her way through the crowd still standing around the auditorium talking about the possibilities of the new age they were entering into. As she pushed passed she heard a continual echo of questions being asked by leaders and scientist…How was settlement going to work…transport of goods and materials to set up colonies…how long before the first teams leave…?
The energized buzz rolled around the room as some people deep in conversation began leaving together to talk about it in private and form their own plans.
"Ken..." Jun sank down in the chair next to him- quietly she picked up his hand in hers. Slowly he turned his head to look at her.
"Hi Jun…" He said weakly. "That was mind blowing wasn't it…is that we set in motion for Earth…defeat Galactor and we head for the stars."
"Yeah, it was mind blowing." She agreed.
"I'm so tired, I need sleep." His voice dropped an octave. "Yet at the same time I'm wide awake from the adrenaline rush I've had from all of this."
This whole trip was too soon, she thought. He wasn't ready for something this taxing trip on his health.
"Do you want to go out to dinner?" Jun asked. "We both need to eat, and talk about this."
"I'm way to tired Jun…maybe room service at the hotel would be enough…and we could hopefully have some alone time before the Sergeant gets back." Ken smiled tenderly.
"Sounds good to me." She said taking his hand in hers they rose from the seats together to leave-- it was then that they were interrupted by a man standing behind them.
Clearing his throat the Commander she had come to dislike immensely stood behind them.
"Mr Washio, You're required in a meeting straight away." He ordered. Jun pursed her lips tightly. Who is this man to order Ken around like a sub-ordinate she thought madly.
"He's tired can't you see that." Jun's anger flared at his lack of consideration to the man who gave everything he had to bring about peace so this new Federation could happen.
"Why now? Could we meet in the morning?" Ken said directly to the commander, taking Jun's hand firmly in his.
The Commander squared his broad shoulders and said in an official manner. "Sir, it's a matter of national security."
Ken drew in a breath and turned to face Jun. "Looks like we have a meeting to go to."
"No, Mr Washio, only your presence in required." He said politely.
"Jun's input in this nation security issue would be very valuable- she's had as much experience in this area as I have… Dr Nambu trusted her insight and so should you." Ken's displeasure at Jun being fobbed off became evident in the mounting tension in his voice.
"I didn't mean to offend you Mr Washio, it's just that it was requested I only bring you…and I follow orders." The Commander held his ground. "Kamo has requested a meeting with you Miss Nambu."
"Oh…" She looked at Ken and knew she had to go and see Kamo, it had been a long time and he wouldn't be asking for a meeting unless it was something important.
"I'll catch up with you afterwards." She said letting go of his hand.
"Okay, I won't too long, wait for me in foyer." Ken said walking away with Commander to find out why Ken was needed for National security.
She looked over towards the doors to see Kamo staring at her, his usual jolly expression had become serious. Something is weighing on his mind. She thought walking towards him.
"Jun, can we go for a walk?" Kamo indicated to elevators. She nodded and followed him out silently out of the building.