Alpha One - Chris Burton [9]
The Modular transport was a high-speed low-altitude hover ship, which utilized Titan’s thick atmosphere, to hover at a height of just over fifty meters above the ground. The ship skimmed the planetoid on specially designated and controlled routes allowing for a precise and efficient network. Carla’s ship arrived at AUSWAS HQ at 12.30 p.m. and she headed immediately to the organization’s reception facility. Here she made several discreet enquiries regarding her sister, the ‘group’ and a Professor Nigel Winterburn, an English Interplanetary Consultant who left Earth some years ago and was rumored to be the head of the ‘group’ based here on Titan. Her initial enquiries found little, but after a quick lunch, she returned to the AUSWAS facility and headed to the reference library. Here she found various articles relating to the ‘Collective’ and references to Professor Winterburn. This led her to seek out Dr. Helen Smythers, a fellow Australian who not only was aware of the ‘Collective’s’ existence on Titan, but also the whereabouts and relative movements of Professor Winterburn. Carla left the AUSWAS headquarters and headed back towards the transport link. She was pleased with her afternoon’s work and she began to believe this link could lead to her Sister.
Dr. Helen Smythers was, however, concerned; concerned enough to make direct contact with Professor Winterburn. Far from being troubled, Winterburn made light of this and replied by saying that, “Perhaps this is could be a real opportunity, the Collective needs new blood and a new contact within Alpha could be useful. She will make an excellent new recruit.”
Carla arrived at the Hotel in downtown New Portsmouth just after six. She checked in, located her room, showered, changed and joined her colleagues and associates at a pre-dinner reception in one of the function rooms adjacent to the restaurant. During the reception, and afterwards at dinner, Carla exchanged pleasantries and engaged in several lengthy conversations with local New Portsmouth students, colonial students and associates from both affiliated and non-affiliated APF planets. She was able to make fluent conversation in some fifteen different non Earth languages and was even able to exchange a few words with a Plexiduran. This peculiar species were multi-dimensional and, during conversation, would shift between two or three dimensions, disappearing briefly and then reappearing momentarily while in mid-conversation. This made for an interesting dinner discussion.
After dinner and drinks, Carla returned to her room and opened a personal comm link with Earth. She would speak to her parents first. She needed to update them on her findings, and then perhaps do a bit more research before she spoke to Steve. She was still angry with him and despite the fact that they parted on seemingly good terms, she seethed about his stupidity—and Jake’s, for that matter. She felt confused about how she felt about Steve and what future they might have.
Jake answered the comm link when Carla called. Carla thought Jake’s actions during Steve’s Rapier fly-by incident were brave, but ill-conceived. He was lucky to get off with a caution, but Steve would be unlikely to be treated so lightly, his actions were idiotic. When Steve did eventually join the comm link, Carla and Steve greeted each other in endearing terms, much as you would expect from a couple, separated by over a thousand-million kilometers of open space.
There was sarcasm in Carla’s voice when she brought up the subject of the Disciplinary Panel meeting.