Spark the Runner Ch. 06

It was Su Ling's opinion that they should take a quick walk through the Admin areas of Core, which they would see a lot more of, later, and then drop down to the Hub. A circle through the R&D labs and then a tram out to the testing labs would be next, and finally the submersibles. That seemed to satisfy everyone as a plan, so that's how they headed off.

* * * * *

The trip through Admin had been boring, as expected. Su Ling did have them spot check their IDs as access cards and as expected, everything worked right. She made sure charges at the Commissary accrued correctly. She even took them by Security, where there were restricted areas their IDs couldn't access, just to be sure. They got polite looks from a number of the people working in the area, but no one seemed to connect them to the VIPs expected the next day. Or if they did, they didn't show it.

Professor, Spark thought to him over the transceivers, how private is this microband channel?

There are only five people able to use them at the moment, the Professor thought back. The encryption was engineered by Tonya to be nearly hack-proof. Those with the transceivers are you, me, Tonya and now Charlie. Okami can ride the band because of her natural ability. Su Ling cannot. She has the standard meta interfaces. If there are other beings with natural abilities like Okami's, I'm not aware of them. Why do you ask?

To know how private a conversation I can have, Spark explained. I'll use voice for humans, meta for Xenos and microband for just us. I realize most of the humans here are enhanced for standard meta, so I won't try to hide anything that way.

Good choice, the Professor thought back. Voice and standard meta should get us through just about everything important.

Unaware of their conversation, Su Ling continued to lead them down to the Hub, to pick up a buggy for visiting the R&D buildings. It was basically an overgrown, battery operated golf cart. After checking it out from Transport, and making sure the others' IDs would allow them to check out equipment, Su Ling took the driver's seat, while the Professor slipped in next to her and Spark and Okami climbed in back. Then they were off.

There was an underground network of tunnels connecting all the major parts of the enclave with huge "You Are Here" maps posted all along the routes. Su Ling pointed out that just like with Core, the signage was in both the three major human languages (nominally the current derivatives of English, Chinese and Arabic), as well as Crescian, Sirian and Regulan -- those being the most common extraterrestrial visitors.

She pointed out that the R&D efforts were roughly sectioned into Heavy Metals, Radioactives, Toxins & Industrial, Engineering, Fabrication, Xenology and Academics, and that they would get a much deeper dive into the various areas starting tomorrow. She also pointed out that the Proving Labs roughly matched their R&D divisions, but were isolated for safety purposes. The Submersibles were kept separate for environmental and operational conveniences.

They were driving through the Academics area when they ran into their first Crescians. Apparently, a pod of one female and two males was working with half a dozen humans, having a silent but animated discussion about drawings and symbols scrawled all over whiteboards and on a digital projector.

Greetings, Honored Ones! the female Crescian thought to them as they entered. That got everyone else looking at Spark and company.

Greetings! Spark answered with standard meta telepathy. Please do not let us interrupt you. We are simply taking a quick peek before tomorrow.

The Professor, one of the humans thought to another one.

Trade Reps, a third one thought.

Hold up, please, the Professor thought to Su Ling and she did. The Professor got out, so Spark, Okami and Su Ling did the same. They followed the Professor in the direction of the Crescians. When he got there, he addressed the female.

I am terribly sorry to be so ignorant, he told her, but I do not believe I know you. I am Professor Anatoli Lenox, of the Consortium, and these are my companions... Mr. Jamie McLeod and Ms. Okami, Solarian Trade Representatives, and our host, Ms. Su Ling Go. May I ask your identities and about your project here?

We know who you are, the female Crescian replied. Your fame precedes you. I am Norleeith and these are my pod, Glithlor and Sardanuum. She pronounced her name as Nor-lee-ith. We, and our Solarian coworkers, are quantifying our written languages in order to produce a form of dictionary, for the purposes of assisting both Solarians and Crescians in learning each other's language. May I introduce Mr. Thomas Parnell, team lead for the Solarians? The indicated fellow stepped forward, offering the Professor his hand, which the Professor took.

We are honored to meet you, Professor, he thought. And it's just Tom. We try to use telepathy as much as possible, to improve our skills. May I introduce the rest of my team? Judy Wentworth... Sara Frantz... Jim Dougherty... John Wilson... and Mary Stiles. We are all accomplished linguists and have been given the honor of working with the Crescians.

Excellent! the Professor smiled. A dictionary will go a long way to improving our communications! And thank you, Norleeith and Tom, for sharing. We will be in the area for a few days, so I am sure we will see you again. And please don't let our presence distract you.

If possible, Professor, Norleeith thought to him, would your schedule permit a private meeting while you are here?

I'll have to check with the Boss, here... He indicated Su Ling with a nod... but I thinks it's very likely.

We can work something out, Norleeith, I am sure, Su Ling interjected. I will let you know what times are available.

Thank you, Su Ling, the Crescian responded. We will look forward to it. May Good Fortune lead your way and Happiness surround you...

Live long and prosper, Spark answered back. It was becoming habit.

The Professor and the others took their leave and got back in the buggy. It occurred to Spark to ask, verbally, "uh... Su Ling... we all know the Crescians' stock in trade... Have you had, um... relations with them?"

"I have not, yet," she answered with seriously. "I have heard it can be a life-altering experience."

"Well, of our entire crew, only Charlie hasn't had the pleasure. If Norleeith and her pod come visit, she may get the opportunity. You may be invited to join in. Is there any potential problem with that?"

"Not from a cultural or political point of view," Su Ling told him. "I am presuming you, Okami and Lizzie as the Symbiote would look out for Charlie."

"You presume okay," Okami spoke up. "Plus you. Do we know where in the cultural structure Norleeith and her pod fall?"

"I believe she and her pod are researchers attached to the Xenology R&D Section, back on Recensere. Since they don't have an embassy set up on Earth, yet, I suppose they would fall under the direction of the Crescian Ambassadors on Mars."

"Krisslum and Saelass," Okami commented. "This oughta get good..."

"You know the Ambassadors?" Su Ling asked.

"Intimately," Spark told her.

"Of course, you would... silly me," Su Ling answered. "Oh, and in case you want to stop and visit, the next three stations are Xenology, Fabrication and Engineering."

"Let us play it by ear, my dear," the Professor told her. "I know there is significant ground to cover... however, I didn't realize it would end up this large."

They proceeded with only one interruption, when they got to the Structural section in Engineering, getting a summary from Su Ling of the various projects currently active. At Structural, they stopped to talk to Belamon, a Sirian who looked a lot like Aluxor. He was working with a crew on a design for a deep water, high pressure e-suit for use off the submersibles. Kind of like the old Newtsuits, but quite a bit more advanced in maneuvering and manipulation, and capable of much greater depth and pressure.

Belamon, too, was interested in meeting privately with the Solarian Trade reps. After agreeing and aiming him at Su Ling as a liaison, they headed on to the last three -- Toxins & Industrial, Radioactives and Heavy Metals. There, they saw various extraction methods being developed, in these cases by purely Solarian teams. After Heavy Metals, Su Ling took them back to Transport and turned in the buggy.

"We will use the tram system for the next piece," she informed them. "A bit more walking, but not bad. The trams connect the testing labs and we have Slidewalks in most places with distance to cover. Unless you would prefer a Power Chair, Professor. We can sign one out here and take it with us."

"I believe I will be fine, dear," he told her. "The Crescians have done a wonderful job of rejuvenating me. My cane is more for show and self-defense, now, than medical necessity. So, please... lead on."

She did and took them to an underground rail station where wide-body trams would cycle by periodically. They had an uneventful tour of the Testing Grounds, where they saw newly developed devices being put through their paces. Each area was biologically, radiologically and atmospherically isolated to prevent contamination should some sort of leak occur.

For example, when touring the Radiation Extraction areas, they were behind leaded shielding, but were still required to wear dosimeters and to take them seriously. It was well into the afternoon by the time they arrived back at Hub.

"I know it's late," Spark told the others, "but I really would like to see the submersibles, if we can."

There was a quick huddle and both Okami and the Professor thought it was possible. Spark decided to do a quick check-in with his pregnant wife.

Lizzie, he thought over the microband, can you pick this up?

I am here, Jamie, her thoughts came back. Is there a problem?

No, we're just running late and I still want to see the subs. Are you and Charlie alright?

We are fine, she thought back. We have had a wonderful girls' day in. Charlie has surprised me with how fast she is adapting to her new capabilities.

That's great, he told her. I'm guessing two or three hours before we're done. I'll let you know when we're on our way. Maybe you can do something about dinner, since we have Su Ling with us.

It shall be as you wish, husband, she replied and he could hear the smile in her thoughts.

Oh, FYI, Spark added. Su Ling can't ride our microband. But she's full standard meta capable. And we may be having Crescian and Sirian guests in the near future.

Understood, Tonya told him. Please be careful around the expensive toys.

Spark just chuckled and told her, Later, then turned to the others. "Okay, let's go see the subs."

"What?" Okami asked. "No quip about long and hard and full of seamen?"

"Or that it thrives when penetrating a wet environment?" Su Ling added. That surprised Spark. She actually had a sense of humor.

"Nope," Spark told them cheerily. "I'm turning over a new leaf."

"Bullshit," Okami muttered, but dropped it as the group moved off for a different tram that ran to the sub pens, fifty meters below sea level.

To Spark's mind, this was beyond amazing. Not quite at the Vegan level of amazing, but close. In fact, he found out that the reason they could stand in awe of the gigantic Collectors in surface level comfort was because the Vegans had provided tools and technology to manipulate the environment, setting up a force field around the pens which kept the ocean out and the comfort in.

The Collectors themselves dwarfed their environs. Each was a good 200 meters long, 30 meters abeam and 20 meters surface draft. Counting a small sail, or conning tower, its total depth was about 30 meters. In general, they looked like stretched, squashed ballistic missile submarines from the old days.

One of the first oddities Spark noticed was their colors. Three were in the water and one was raised up out of it. All four were markedly different. One in the water was painted in green and white splotches, with a vaguely pixelated pattern. Another in the water was cobalt blue with orange accent lines and the third was white with red trim, prompting Spark to ask why they weren't all some uniform grey or something.

"Each crew was allowed to pick their own colors," Su Ling told him as they approached the dock area control point. "These are not military vessels and need not conform to a uniform scheme."

"Dare I ask why the one out of the water is all yellow?" Spark wondered.

"Don't ask," Su Ling smiled. "And please have your IDs ready for Dock Area Control." She guided them through the control point where the team asked for and was granted a tour of one of the ships.

"Boats," a Ms. Alvarez explained. She had been assigned to the group for the purposes of the tour. "It probably doesn't make a lot of sense, but for some reason it's traditional to call a submarine a boat, not a ship. All of our Consortium Collectors are named for constellations. The four we have here are the Apus, the Cetus, the Dorado and the Volans. Captain Marsh of the Dorado has okayed your tour of his boat."

It turned out the Dorado was the blue one. The group carefully made their way through the dock area and out onto the slip where the boat was tied up. Crewmen -- or crewpersons, for the politically correct -- helped them over the gangplank and the deck to the sail, where a man in a tan jumpsuit with some kind of insignia greeted them.

"Greetings!" he told them. "My name is Edward Collier, sometimes called Number One, or just Ed, and I'm First Mate on this behemoth. Welcome aboard! I'm to take you to the Captain, if you would follow me."

He turned and led them through a hatch in the side of the sail and the first thing that impressed Spark was how different this was from the military ships he'd been on... both physically and while running the Plex.

He was used to tight quarters and cramped passageways where packing the most equipment in the smallest space was the overarching concern. Warships in general tried to cram as much firepower into as compact an area as they could. Smaller vessel, smaller target.

In here, rather than ladderwells and workstations everywhere, there was a series of flatscreens on this level and a central Levitator with side ladders for manual use if necessary. Collier guided them to the Levitator as he explained the general layout.

"This foyer is mostly status displays of the boat's systems. We call it Sail 1. When we're underway, Command and Control are split between Nav-Comm and Monitoring here, the Executive up a level, on Sail 2, and Helm directly below us, on Deck 1. In general, Navigation and Communications equipment is fore, Propulsion is aft; Medical and Stores are amidships on Deck One; Quarters, Mess and Recreation are amidships on Deck 2, below that; Collection and Refining is amidships on Deck 3; and Ballast, as well as other Refining, is amidships on Deck 4."

The party passed into the Up tube and rose to the deck above them. Again, Spark was surprised at the amount of room. What was obviously the Captain's chair was off-center and slightly forward, facing a bank of monitors, with a couple of other stations to either side. There were other workstations around the rim, but still a lot of room for walking around. It definitely had a "Bridge" feel to it. And over by one of the workstations, a fellow in a tan uniform and a "scrambled eggs" hat was in quiet conversation with a couple of other tan-clad people.

The fellow in the hat was the one First Mate Collier took them to. He waited until the man paused and looked at him.

"Captain, our VIPs are here," he told him. The man now known as the Captain turned to look at them.

"Hello," he addressed the group. "I am Captain John Marsh of the Collector Dorado. I understand you wish to tour our boat," he stated evenly. Ms. Alvarez stepped up to make the introductions.

"Captain Marsh, may I present Professor Anatoli Lenox, Consortium Director, Mr. Jamie McLeod, Solarian Trade Representative to the Crescian Trade Council, Ms. Okami, also a Solarian Trade Representative and Ms. Su Ling Go, Liaison? They have an interest in seeing one of the Collectors firsthand."

"Welcome aboard," the Captain nodded. "We are currently getting ready to deploy on our maiden voyage, but we should be able to accommodate your curiosity."

"Thank you, very much, Captain," the Professor spoke up before Ms. Alvarez could. "We truly appreciate becoming familiar with what we 'bring to the table', as they say. Jamie and Okami will be representing our interests within the Crescian trade alliance. A third trade representative is with us, Ms. Lizzie McLeod, but unable to be with us today. Hopefully, you will be able to meet her sometime this week."

"Is there something in particular you are looking for?" the Captain asked, turning more to Spark and Okami.

"First of all, thanks for having us aboard, Captain," Spark spoke up. "I know it's got to be a hectic time for you and we will try to be as little a bother as we can. The other races we deal with are familiar with Earth culture and technologies in some ways, and lacking in others. One of the questions we are going to be facing quite a bit comes down to, 'what can you trade and how much?' Both in cost and quantity.

"Secondarily, we're going to get the usual 'how do you do that?' Certain tech might be considered Trade Secrets, but the Crescians deal in honesty in everything they do, so we need to be prepared to give accurate, if simplified, answers. So what I'm looking for is mostly, what do you do and how do you do it? In laymen's terms."

"And what I get a lot of," Okami spoke up, right on his heels, "is the cultural side. Being non-human, I get asked about how the human Solarians... the dominant race... get along with others. What's life like, basically. So I'm interested in how you live and work in what I thought were going to be tight quarters when you're deployed for months at a time." The Captain smiled slightly.

"Fair enough," he told them. "I'll give you my two kilometer overview and then turn you over to Mr. Collier to show you the boat." The Captain gestured towards the area they were standing in.

"This area is generally called Sail 2, or the Conn. All aspects of the boat's operations are relayed here. We work on watches, nominally four on, eight off. Our Deck Division handles Command and Control, and wear the tan uniforms you see around you. Ed Collier, whom you've met, is our First Mate and supervises general operations. He also, usually, has first and fourth watches. He's the one I'll have walk you through the boat. Our Second Mate, sometimes called Number Two, is Janet Stearns. She is generally responsible for Nav-Comm and Computer Ops. She also usually has second and fifth watches. Most likely, she is forward, in the equipment bays right now. Third Mate, or Number Three, is Rick Murphy and he has responsibility for Helm and Dive Control, as well as Safety and the Escape Pods. He usually has third and sixth watches. Right now, I think he's down on Deck 1. I'm more of a lazy bum and don't have any watches, but if anything goes wrong, it's my fault.

"We've got five divisions on our boat... Deck, which has command and operations; Electro-Tech, which has all the energy and Xeno tech for the whole boat; Engineering, which has propulsion, life support and all the extraction machinery; Stewards, which has the Purser, Mess, Laundry and other miscellaneous, and Medical, with our doctors and their support staff. I'll have Mr. Collier explain how it all bolts together for you. Feel free to ask any questions you want. We're heavy a lot of Xeno-tech, mostly from the Vegans and Regulans, so if you're familiar with them, some stuff might seem familiar. Any questions?"