Dark as Daylight Ch. 02

"Long time ago, must stop."

"I agree. How old are you?"

"2, soon 3."

"Mommy came to live with me three years before you were born, because her mommy died. Her mommy was her only friend, because she protected your mommy from her father and the boys at school. I tried to make her stop for one year. Then she met your daddy, and we both tried. Your daddy is a very strong man, because your mommy argued with him up to and including the day they were married. He could have left mommy many times, but he didn't because he loves her so much. They still argue today. I believe they are the happiest couple on this spacecraft, and also the weirdest. I believe if you give your mommy a little time, and a little more love, she will do better. If you do this favor for me, I will give you a big surprise for your birthday."

"How big?"

"As big as my love for Teddy."

"That big surprise."

"Huge surprise!"

"Okay, no mommy nose in corner."

"I love my Teddy so very much."

"Huge surprise!"

"Extremely huge surprise!"

"No dress."

"Yuck, what kind of surprise would a dress be? Can we go to work now?"

"What wrong?"

"Callie is programmed not to answer a question, because it would reveal the names of the two people capable of destroying our ship. I don't know if she will tell you or not, but I believe it is worth a chance if you go inside her, and she lets you read her program."

"Okay."

The little one walked over to Gordon's console and said, "Good morning Callie, may I come in?"

"Of course, sit close to me, and I will bring you in."

"I love you Callie, you are my friend."

"I will never let any harm come to you Teddy. You are my friend."

Teddy sat down as close as she could to the computer console, and an orange glow surrounded her. Her body laid down, and her inner spirit rose up, walked through the wall of the computer and went inside.

For the next 13 minutes there was nothing for us to do except check Teddy's pulse, and respiration. Outwardly, she was fine. Inwardly, she wasn't there. I stayed by her side every moment, waiting for her return.

When the orange glow returned I removed my hand from her wrist. Out walked Teddy. She laid down into her physical body, and lay there for a moment, unmoving, and then she sat straight up.

She screamed, "I beat Callie in a game of Monopoly. She went to jail four times, and ran out of money. It was such fun."

"Congratulations Teddy, was that the first time you won?"

"No, one time I beat my mommy and daddy."

"Did you find out what we needed to know?"

"She wouldn't tell me, because that would have been breaking her programming. She showed me a picture of the two doctors accepting an award in Chicago."

"Did you see their names?"

"Only one name was there. I remember it because it sounded like pickles; Clawson."

I opened my communicator and called engineering.

"Jack, tell your men to get a rocket ready for launch. Have them go over it with a fine tooth comb? This one has got to make it back to earth. Then get up here, we have to talk."

"What's going on Even?"

"Someone screwed the pooch. They tried to set us on fire, and possibly blow up the computer. We have to get a message to Lucius. It's time for someone to pay, and pay a really high price for trying to kill us all."

"I'll be up there as soon as I assemble my team."

"That's fine Jack, but this time I'm pissed."

"Grandpa use bad word."

"Teddy, someone's trying to kill all of us, and when that happens sometimes people don't think about what they're saying. Your mommy found something that could have put the ship on fire, and your uncle Gordon found one of our most important books had been changed. If someone had followed the rules in that book, the ship would have been blown up. In times like that, bad words come out because you're angry with someone else."

"Can I use bad words?"

"Are you angry with me?"

"No."

"Are you angry with mommy?"

"Want mommy stop using bad word."

I whispered, "You can say this one time to mommy, but if I hear you say it again to anyone, I'm going to spank you five times every time you say it. Okay?"

"It's good?"

"It will shock mommy."

"Once no good, two times."

"Two times you get spanking."

"Not fair to Teddy again."

"Does daddy say bad words?"

"Yes."

"One time to mommy, one time to daddy. No more bargaining."

"Two times no spanking."

"What did I just say?"

"One for mommy, one for daddy."

"You thought you were going to sneak that one by me didn't you."

"Teddy try."

"Listen carefully, and then tell mommy this."

"#*&@! ^ Mommy, no bad words."

"Can you remember that?"

"Easy!"

Teddy was walking towards Delicious and Gordon. They were examining the diamond microchips, numbers 12, 13, and 14, when the testing kit fell on her foot. Delicious said, "Shit."

In perfect continuity Teddy said, "Dammit mommy, no bad words."

Delicious head snapped so hard towards Teddy, I thought she was going to break it. Gordon stood there with his mouth open, while I was on the floor laughing along with Newton and Teresa.

Delicious picked up Teddy and was about to say something, when Teddy said, "Grandpa say one time. Two times, he spanks me five times."

My daughter kissed her daughter, and said, "Grandpa can be a real bastard when he wants to, can't he?"

"Mommy, bad word."

"Oh fuck it. Let's go to the room, I'll put my nose in the corner, and we can play Monopoly."

"How play Monopoly with nose in corner?"

"Just like you do, I cheat."

"I no cheat. I no play bank, I no give property. I roll ice, you move hat."

"It doesn't sound like she has many opportunities to cheat Gordon, what do you think?"

"I think her mother is a sore loser, dad. I also think you should look at these chips while Delicious leaves us to do all the work."

"What do you have Gordon?"

"Smoking guns' number 1, 2 and 3."

As I looked into the microchip reader, I could not believe what I was seeing. For the first time in my life I was looking at a fully encrypted NSC codes outside a secured area. These were designed specifically to kill computers. There wasn't one or two but three of them, and each one was different. Whoever these people were, they were not fooling around. Even they weren't sure which code would shut down an Exascale computer, because everything was written on industrial diamonds.

Lucius, my friend, I hope you are on vacation, because you are going to be working very soon.

Having removed the three contaminated chips, Gordon began checking all the chips in the medical programs, while he was under the computer consoles.

********************

Jack entered the bridge and asked, "What the hell is going on Even?"

"Jennifer the bridge is yours."

"Thank you Captain."

"Come into my office Jack, we have to talk."

"Do you have a code that you could send to Lucius that only he would understand?"

"I have a feeling we are talking about some heavy shit here Even."

"Does killing very powerful people qualifying as heavy shit?"

"Oh yeah, I would say that it does."

I put the three microchips, and the microchip reader in front of him to give him a chance to see them for himself. His face turned gray.

"Is this for real Even?"

"We just took them out of the medical assistant program of the computer. They knew at one time or another we would have to use it, and we would lose the computer, and be lost wherever we were in space. Give me your opinion Jack, does this go up to the president, or does it stop short of him? I don't feel like assassinating the President of the United States on a hunch."

"The president doesn't take a shit without listening to these 12 people. I can't believe they put this out on their code sheets. Hell, the paper delivery boy knows the NSC code. They really expected us to use this, and someone not to think about installing it. They thought someone would just put it in and let it go. Who found it?"

"Gordon."

"What was he doing on the bridge?"

"He's the only one that knew how to set up the medical equipment so the computer could help Doctor Finch with his operations."

"Can I take my vote back?"

"I won't let you take your vote back, because it was an honest thinking man's vote. Your statements were true, and they went exactly to the point of the problem. I believe Laura punched some holes in it, which is why it came out as a tie, otherwise I believe you would've had a clear victory."

"Some victory that would've been, I execute your son, and a few days later we're lost in space."

"Not really Jack, we could follow the planets back home."

"Do you know where the planets are?"

"No, but I could take a good guess."

"Even, you are just like Lucius, but in a different area of expertise. I believe I would follow you anywhere."

"Let's get back to business Jack, do you have a code that Lucius would understand, and no one else?"

"Yes, the problem is getting it to him."

"That's not a problem, we send it to William Zabo, as personal and private. Whoever receives it, and brings it to him first, will receive a $1 million reward. Do you think that's enough of an incentive?"

"If I was living in Podunk Alabama, and I received that message on my satellite receiver, I would be calling that phone number before I got my cousins second daughters kid off my dick."

"Write the note, take as much space as you need and be specific. Use the names we have on the NSC, and use one other name. Doctor Clawson at the University of Chicago. He may want to try to patent the Magnetic Drive Engine's for himself. Have Rod Laver patent it for my kids immediately. I think William will want to take care of Doctor Clawson himself. He signed an NDA almost 8 years ago, and William never forgets a traitor."

"Is there anyone else we have to be vigilant of Even?"

"We're dealing with the NSC; we have to be vigilant of everyone. I want a fortress around my boys. I want a fortress around our site in South Carolina. I want Dycke Schneider to know what's coming down the line, so he can beef up his security force. They may go after his factories and his people, because he is our biggest supplier. Have William advise the original 19 members, just in case these assholes start going after them.

Get to work Jack, the faster this gets done, the faster we launch the rocket, the closer to Earth we will be. I will be down in engineering helping get the rocket ready. Right now your job is more important."

"You don't want to check the original?"

"Do you know what to say?"

"Yes."

"Then why the hell do I have to check your work. Get it done, put it on a disc, and let's launch this damn thing."

"Aye, Aye Captain."

Jack's crew was doing yeoman's work again. When I got there the body of the rocket was on the floor, and every testing kit available was in their hands. If it was a wire, they tested it. If it was a module they tested that. If it was a circuit board they pulled it out, inspected it for cracks, tested it, put it back into the body of the rocket, and tested it again. They did exactly what Jack told him to do, which was to make sure this rocket made its way back to Earth, and if it didn't, it sure wasn't not our fault.

I didn't do what many senior officers do, and that is get in their way. These men and women knew their work, and all I would do is fuck it up. I stood back and waited for them to say something was wrong, and then I would intervene.

Nothing was wrong, and I did not intervene. Well, that's not true. I went to the clock, and reset it to 2 minutes. We were approaching three quarter lightspeed, and in 2 minutes we would have traveled 16,765,000 miles away from our rocket. I believe our distance safety factor would be met.

I called Jack on my communicator, and asked him how much longer before he was ready. He said 15 minutes at a minimum, 30 minutes on the outside.

"I told him we were starting to get dressed, and moving the rocket outside. Do not rush, you are the most important factor in this launch. When you are ready we will put this thing over the side."

"Thank you Even, engineers love doing things perfectly the first time."

"Be an engineer Jack; be the greatest engineer ever. You know how important this is for our friends and families back home. We left them on Earth, with no clue they were in danger. Now those political bastards are going to try to kill them without remorse. They didn't care about anyone up here either. They were either going to kill us in a fire, or abandon us in space without a computer. They have no moral compass, Jack, all they want is power. We have to stop them, before they blow up anymore armored cars."

"Even, if you stop talking, I can finish this thing."

"Can you tell I'm a little ticked off Jack?"

"I would not want to meet you in a dark alley right now."

"Why are you goofing off?"

There was no response, and I smiled. He got me again, and I was so happy I brought him along.

40 minutes later he called me.

"It's done Even. It's loading up on the disk now, and I'm making a spare to put in the backup compartment. Just in case we get lucky, and it lands in South Carolina."

"Are you taking bets?"

"I'm sorry Even, but I'm going in the other direction. I'll never know who won."

"Get down here, we are in the clean room waiting for you."

The technician handed Oscar the discs, and opened the door to the heavy lift elevator. I hooked up, and everyone hooked up to me. As soon as the door closed, the rocket was rolled out to us, and the oxygen was removed from the room. Mac checked the compartment for the discs, said okay and gave a thumbs up. Oscar checked the disk to make sure he put it in the correct way, and then slipped the secondary disk into the rear compartment. They closed the hatch and sealed it using their screwdrivers. I opened the timer compartment using the spring-loaded catches. It popped up. Instead of just hitting the start button this time, I uncovered the timer to verify I put in two minutes. I did. Then I decided one minute would be more than enough, but then I changed my mind. Between the time I pressed the button, took the rocket off of its carrier, walked it to the edge and pushed it off, I decided the timing would be to close; especially if Mac accidentally went out for a walk again.

I looked at my mates and asked if they were ready. Three heads nodded, we undid the springs, and the rocket floated above its' sled. We turned it in the direction of Earth, supposedly. Mac and I removed the rear shield containing the Vanadium and the laser. We took our positions to move the rocket to the edge of the elevator, and before we pushed it off, three of us asked, "Mac are you staying with us this time?"

"You cock sucking bastard's. A guy makes one little mistake and you are all over him."

"We can't even say you fell Mac, which isn't fair to the rest of us. If you did we could call you clumsy, but you just floated away like an angel, and God knows you're not one of them."

"So does my mother."

I said, "Can we toss this thing over the side now? We've only traveled a million miles since you started talking."

"How far Captain?"

"Let's launch this thing, and then we'll talk about mileage. 5,4,3,2,1, launch."

As Mac stood on the edge of the platform, the three of us floated out into space. Mac was livid.

"I hate you guys. I'm not talking to any of you anymore."

As he continued to yell, I tuned him out, and focused on the beautiful silence that surrounded me. Mac had described it perfectly. The black swallows you up, and millions of lights surround you. I was so enthralled I wasn't paying attention to anyone or anything. It wasn't until I hit the bottom part of the elevator that I realized my crewmates had pulled me back to the ship.

Mac said, "You got lost in it didn't you Doctor?"

"It's true; if you didn't need oxygen you could stare at it forever. It's wondrous."

"Speaking of oxygen, we have nine minutes left."

"What a shame, what an awful shame."

********************

Gordon was just beginning to install the certified chips into their position, when she came tearing onto the bridge.

"Where is he? What have you done to him this time? If you've put him back in the brig I'm going to take your head off with my bare hands. Say something Captain, before I lose my mind."

I picked up my communicator and calmly said, "Security to the bridge, security to the bridge."

"Where is my husband dad, I can't find him anywhere. He's not with Doctor Finch. He's not at lunch, he's not in the gym, and most important of all he's not in bed with me. What have you done with him?"

Security asked, "Yes Captain, what can we do for you?"

"This woman is on the bridge without written permission. Put her in the brig, and be careful doing it. She's pregnant."

"Dad, I was only looking for Gordon."

"You were given instructions not to enter the bridge without written permission. You do not have that permission. You will spend the day in the brig without your husband."

"Dad no, please don't do this to me. Please, I'm dying, help me."

As they took Zoey away Gordon poked his head out from under the computer console. "You do realize, if she ever finds out I was under this module, she is going to kill me, and then she is going to find you, and take you apart piece by piece."

"I will have an advantage son. Someone will yell that you're being murdered, and I will be able to find a place to hide, until security gets to her and puts her behind bars."

"She will wait dad. Five years, 20 years, 50 years, it won't matter to her, she will get you, and you will regret it."

"Joe and I agreed on that last night. She is going to be quite a handful Gordon. Keep your running shoes on, because if you think your sister is tough, Zoey has her beat in one area that is deadly; memory.

If your sister fights with Gray, half an hour later you will find her in his lap cuddling with him. As you just said, your wife will wait until the time is right to strike, and when she does, it will be brutal.

I am very fortunate I found your mother, because she is the middle ground, and I give in quickly."

"You're damn right you do, otherwise you'd have no one to put that club of yours into."

"The club you are referencing didn't go into anyone for over 30 years, and it was quite content not to. I became extremely wealthy while it was not getting any, and I was quite peaceful in my own home. All of a sudden, women decided to take over my home and I have never been the same since. I can't even find my own planet anymore."

"What is my son doing on the bridge?"

"When did he go from our son to your son?"

"I'm sorry I keep doing that, I apologize."

"Did you hear that Gordon, I made your mother to apologize."

"Dad, don't push it, you could be a dead man."

"What is our son doing on the bridge?"

"He's saving us from disaster."

"Would you please explain that to me."

"Take it away Newton."

"I was working on a simulation of flow control in the Nuclear Engine, as per the manual, when Gordon told me I was doing it wrong. I told him it couldn't be, because I was following the manual's directions to the letter. Grandpa told me to let him sit down and show us how it was supposed to be done, and Gordon did it the way I was going to do it, and then the right way. He showed us the way the book had it written would have resulted in us having to eject the nuclear engine, which would have left us with only the magnetic engines, and the Ion H2 engines for propulsion. Then he showed us the proper way to do it and it was opposite the way the book showed us. We are going to have to check all the manuals, because someone has tampered with them."