Busy Skies: The Council Dissolution Read online

  “Councilor Frost”, said Mr. Holtzman, “I respect you and your work, however, I am an elderly man. When you are my age you will notice that patience in life sometimes just abandons you, especially so when you lose a house. Should we get to the matter at hand?”

  “Yes, you are right”, said councilor Frost, she sighed, tucked her hair behind her left ear. “On our way here, Dr. Quill and his team prepared a brief presentation so we can listen to that first, and then we can discuss further actions. Actually, I would like to point out that the people in this room are the only people I can trust at the moment.”

  Dr. Quill nodded towards Carlo, who took his computer and projected a 3D presentation. “Alright”, said Carlo, still chewing on a piece of pastry. “I will be as brief as possible and present three key points. First, our latest research and findings at the Antarctica research facility, second, the ongoing projects on the Lunar observatory 9, and third, the trust issues within the Council.”

  Hank was listening to this presentation from the park, while Jess and her parents were in the cellar. As Carlo was presenting the latest research, everyone was silent and tight as in a horror movie. Nor Mr. Holtzman, Mr. Potts, Hank, or Jess could actually believe how deep the story with the Rock goes, and how much information was hidden away.

  By the time Carlo was finished with his presentation, silence filled out the room, as well as the communication channel. Outside, Hank was blindly looking in the distant depths, while in the cellar Jess was walking in circles, nibbling the nail of her thumb. Finally, in the living room, Mr. Holtzman stood up, started walking closer to the bookshelves to face the window to the outside. He placed his hand on his mouth and stroked his beard several times.

  “Amazing.” - he said. “This is absolutely amazing. The Rock aside, we finally have an answer to the question of whether we are alone in the universe. While chances for that were actually very slim, I would have never thought that it will be answered during my lifetime. Wow.”

  After a brief moment of silence, he continued. “And typically, human nature will be human nature no matter what we do. How far do we go and how much we edit our gene pool. So what do we do? - we prepare for war, we assume hostile acts and we secretly start developing weapons.”

  Carlo, going for another pastry said, “unfortunately, yes, this seems to be true. That is the first reaction Dr. Quill had, however, considering the track record of human conquest, wouldn't you say these acts are appropriate?”

  Before Mr. Holtzman had a chance to reply, councilor Frost stood up and placed her hands on her back, and said. “The actions that councilor Krueger has in mind are somewhat justified, however, the way how these actions are executed is unacceptable. There is a reason for caution, but there is no reason to keep everything secret.”

  “Also, there is no reason to be the judge and the jury on the decisions to take other people’s lives, in order to protect your secrets”, added Mr. Holtzman.

  “Indeed”, confirmed councilor Frost, and continued. “Considering this, I don't know how deep the rabbit hole goes. I don't know whether anyone else from the council is involved and I don't know how to safely proceed. I need to raise this question in the council, however, I don't have conclusive evidence. We don't have a smoking gun in councilors Krueger's hands, and accusing a councilor of something is a very serious offense.”

  Dr. Quill said, “we have video footage.”

  “That won’t do, it can be faked very easily”, responded councilor Frost with a worrying expression.

  “There is a flat field where my house used to be”, said Dr. Holtzman.

  “That would be very hard to pin on anyone”, said the councilor, to what Mr. Holtzman just nodded and continued slowly walking around the room.

  Mrs. Potts suggested a diplomatic solution. “Maybe for a moment, we need to disregard councilor Krueger and the tragedy of the Winson family. Data from the Rock experiments exist, commander Hewitt knows about weapon development, can't we just focus the attention of the Council on the Lunar observatory 9? Then the Council can send an independent inspection.”

  “What if there are more members of the council involved?” - asked councilor Frost. “Councilor Krueger was not of much public interest, but the area he oversees is pretty powerful. He could be treating members of the council, he could hide everything. He is a master manipulator, and for instance, he convinced commander Hewitt that the council is informed about everything and that there is an approval for the rockets, and the launch. We first need to find out whether anyone else is involved, and then we need very conclusive evidence that puts councilor Krueger on the spot.”

  “Would a living member of the Winson family be sufficient evidence?” - asked Jess coming in from the hallway.

  Councilor Frost was a bit confused and for a moment seemed thrown off by Jess’s appearance. Mrs. Potts stepped in. “Patricia, this is Dr. Jess Winson, a surviving member of the Winson family. She is a chemist working in the Antarctica research facility, and she is the one that brought information about what is happening there to us. Both of her brothers were killed, while her parents are recovering downstairs.”

  Dr. Quill was happy to see Jess alive, while Carlo and Lee went to shake her hand and tap her back.

  “You see”, continued Mrs. Potts, “Mr. Holtzman and Jess’s friend brought them here to recover, and we have kept their survival secret in order to prevent more deaths. councilor Krueger didn't stop at any price to cover up his track.”

  At that moment, Hank rushed in and realized that everything was OK, so he casually said, “I was back up, just making sure everything is alright.” He stepped aside and leaned on a bookshelf.

  “Well, well.” - said councilor Frost, tucking her hair behind her left ear. “What an interesting group we have here. I guess that there are no surprises left?” - Mrs. Potts shook her head and said, “no there isn't, and they were not sure whose side you are on.”

  “By now, you can be pretty sure on which side I am on”, said councilor Frost. ”The big question is, how do we proceed. We have scientists that know everything about the rock, we know that something is moving towards Earth, we know that the Rock is beginning to be a real danger here on our precious planet and finally, we know that there is a councilor who is covering up everything Rock related, kills people and develops a weapon to attack a newly discovered species. At this time, we need to assume that councilor Krueger is aware of the fact that you visited the Saharan military base, and that unaware of all the details, commander Hewitt briefed him on your visit. He is aware that now you know what's happening and that you are bringing Dr. Quill and his assistants to the base.”

  Mr. Holtzman said, “it seems that your further actions are quite obvious. You need to join his game. That way, you may ensure your safety, and also, you may find out even more details. Then, when he least expects it, he needs to be exposed.”

  Hank joined the discussion and “said, that is an obvious choice of actions, but why do we assume that councilor Krueger will trust her? She needs to earn her trust somehow.”

  “She needs to bring us in, and she needs to hand us over to councilor Krueger”, said Dr. Quill.

  “Precisely!” - said Hank. “Councilor Krueger can now suppose that she will try to set up a meeting with the Council and expose him. That way he may try to act sooner, and who knows how this is going to end. However, if she was to call him, and tell him that she has Dr. Quill and that she is on his side, this will throw him off. Councilor Frost becomes his allay, and that’s when we are in.”

  Councilor Frost considered this for a while, and said, “yes, from now on this is a game of chess. The next obvious move is to join him, and then, expose him when he least expects it.”

  She turned to Jess and said, “Dr. Winson, please prepare all the evidence and stand by, you all stand by and wait here at Kamila’s house. When the time comes, I will ask you to come to the Council HQ and make a testimony. They will not know what hit them when they find out everythin
g. In the meantime, we need to find out what's happening on the Lunar observatory 9. To eliminate suspicion, we will leave now, but let's keep an open back-channel on this, and let's get some eyes and ears on the Moon.“

  “Just be careful up there Patricia”, said Mrs. Potts.

  Chapter 22

  “It needs to look like an accident, and also there must be no digital footprints that could, in any way, shape, or form, amount to something else than an accident”. - said councilor Krueger.

  “I’ve had several ideas, however it seems that there are systems in place to prevent accidents. The entire complex is equipped with security systems that are almost impenetrable, as well as backups” - said Ryad Cox. “The only way to handle this situation seems to be an old fashioned approach.”

  “This complicates things”, said councilor Krueger. “There seems to be too many people involved already, and we already created a mess with the photographer who recorded us at the Antarctic research facility. We are now dealing with several deaths, several destroyed properties. Damn it! - and now this.”

  Councilor Krueger was walking nervously around his office, while Cox was peacefully sitting on his sofa, with one of his feet on the desk.

  “Fuck!” - shouted councilor Krueger. “Alright, to hell with it, Mr. Cox, you do what’s necessary”.

  Cox, who was comfortably seated, at this point suddenly became very focused on what councilor Krueger was saying.

  “When all of them are in the same room, we need to make an arrangement so it looks like a systematic failure of a kind. I don't care, but this needs to happen ASAP. Before they get a chance to speak. As a matter of fact, we cannot be certain what they already did, or what the old witch is planning.”

  “Fuck!” - shouted councilor Krueger once again.

  The doorbell of councilor Krueger’s office rang, however he completely ignored it. Then, it rang again.

  “What?!” - he shouted.

  The door opened and his secretary came in apologetically and announced an urgent call from councilor Frost.

  For a moment there, councilor Krueger could not quite believe it. He was speechless and confused, as well as Cox.

  Councilor Krueger told his secretary to forward the call, and as she left, he took a deep breath and shrugged. I wonder how this plays out, he said just as councilor’s Frost hologram appeared.

  “Councilor Krueger, hello, I hope you’re doing well”, said councilor Frost.

  “Good evening, to what do I owe this pleasure?”, asked councilor Krueger, and she explained.

  “Today I paid an unannounced visit to the Saharan military base. It seems to me that commander Hewitt is handling this situation well. Also, speaking of him, we had a very long and informative conversation. That said, I believe we need to speak councilor Krueger. But, at this point, I believe you’ve already heard back from commander Hewitt”

  “No, not yet”, lied councilor Krueger.

  “Yes, I’m sure of that”, she responded, while Dr. Quill, Carlo and Lee were carefully listening from the back seat. “Be that as it may, I'm flying in with three scientists from the Antarctica research facility, and one of them, Dr. Quill you might know. In fact, from a nice talk I had with commander Hewitt I think you are quite informed about Dr. Quill's work and that of his team. I was fully briefed on the Rock research project, activities on the Lunar observatory 9, and how you are handling the situation related to our visitors from the Luyten's star.”

  At that moment, councilor Krueger's palms started sweating, his heart rate increased and he got a stabbing sensation through the middle of his chest. His confident posture was suddenly gone and he needed to sit down. Those few seconds were the longest moments in his life. His entire empire was collapsing in front of him, and for a short while, he felt scared and helpless. Everything that he has been working for is threatened and his position suddenly becomes questionable. He will become insignificant, embarrassed, and prosecuted. His fear soon enough started turning into boiling anger, and through the heaviest of restraints not to flip out, he managed to assemble several words through a fake grim.

  “I am not quite sure if I'm following councilor Frost, but please, continue”.

  “Cut the crap Krueger”, she said, and briefly looked at Dr. Quill who was sitting in the back seat, and at that moment, councilor Krueger realized she was calling from her har, and that Dr. Quill’s team was listening to this. “We both know what’s going on. You're building weapons and you want to intercept our visitors before they arrive here. I'm calling you not to rat you out, but to tell you that I understand, I agree with you and I want in on it. The council is way too slow and bureaucratic, while the public is way too irrational to understand this threat and treat it properly. I don't know if there is anyone with you from the council on it, however, I'm calling to tell you that you've got an ally in me.”

  Shortly after hearing this, the anger that was previously built up in Krueger slowly started to defuse, and the overwhelming feeling that took him was confusion. He wasn’t sure how you played this off without revealing too much, but before he got the chance to do so, councilor Frost continued. “If you allow me to continue now councilor, here is where my thoughts are. If I intended to report what you have been doing behind the Council’s back, I would have done so already. However, I'm bringing in Dr. Quill, Dr. Xi and Dr. Fuccini. As I understand, they are important to read out the last data from the Antarctica research facility and they need to continue their work on the Moon. I'm bringing them to the Council HQ so you can brief them and so that this can continue.”

  “We will speak in person once you come in”, said councilor Krueger calmly with a smirk stretching on his face, and ended the communication.

  He looked at Cox and asked, “what do you think?”

  “I’m not sure what to think of it”, responded Cox, ”, but it seems that our plan of having everyone at the same spot, is now out of the window. I’m not quite sure what she is doing”.

  “Hmm, I suppose that we need to be patient and see how it plays out”, said councilor Krueger. “But, I suppose there is still some value in getting Dr. Quill to the Lunar observatory 9, he is still useful.”

  “I guess, sir, but we should be careful”, said Cox.

  * * *

  “That was intense”, said Carlo, as councilor Frost got off the call. “Do you think he bought it?” He turned his head towards Dr. Quill who had a concerned expression on his face.

  “We will just have to wait and see”, said councilor Frost.

  “Ten minutes until our arrival”, announced Mr. York.

  Councilor Frost turned her front seat back to face her passengers and looked through the back window. “An awesome view, isn't it?” - she asked.

  ‘Not sure to whom this question was appointed”, Dr. Quill answered, “but indeed it is.”

  Councilor Frost continued, “it is a good reminder of how small we are, and how fragile. And how insignificant and oblivious. Like bees that work hard to stockpile honey, only to find out that at the end, someone is taking it away, and replacing it with worthless sugar. It is a good reminder, the Council HW for us. It keeps us on the edge and we see this fragile blue world every day. What have we become?”

  Dr. Quill finally said “I hope if we all just stick to the plan, we will overcome this. When we get to the Lunar observatory 9, we will find a way to smuggle in Hank, just as we talked about. He will collect all the data and personally deliver it to you. When Jess collects all the evidence, she will join you at the Council HQ. Then, it's just the matter of the Council HQ and in the closed session councilor Krueger will be exposed and the Council will have the opportunity to gain the full picture of recent events.”

  “I certainly hope everyone gives their best.” - said councilor Frost.

  Until Mr. York announced the docking procedure, they continued discussing the view of the Earth. The automated docking went smoothly and once everyone went out, councilor Frost arranged that Dr. Quill and his team
get settled, while she headed to meet councilor Krueger.

  * * *

  The following day, Dr. Quill and his associates agreed to have breakfast together. While the Council HQ housed all the members of the Council of Earth, the supporting staff, and their families the station itself wasn't very guest friendly. There were almost no public places where one could go and take a walk, the meeting rooms had to be booked in advance, everyone was very official and stuck up. However, they managed to learn about an older module that can fit about 10 people that has an auto-kitchen where one can prepare breakfast.

  “It seems that this place is almost saying go away.” - said Lee. “If you don't have your own apartment here, it looks like it is almost impossible to be a guest.”

  “Usually, visitors are announced in advance and there are several apartments that they can occupy”, explained Dr. Quill.” However, given the crisis and the extremely short notice, it seems that this is the best thing they can do now. This facility is one of the oldest ones and it's not as lavish as the newer ones. However, it does serve its purpose and the facilities for the regular staff here are quite good.”