Solbidyum Wars Saga Book 1: Battle of the New Orleans (33 page)

“Kala, contact
Admiral Regeny’s office and tell him that I am making rooms available free of charge to senior officers for up to a week at a time at the Lodge as a sign of my appreciation to the Federation for its protection.   I doubt we will be using the lodge much, if at all, but it’s a beautiful building with lovely rooms and I am sure the senior officers will enjoy it.”

“Yeah,”
Marranalis chuckled, “and you can be sure if they are going to be using it the trooper security will be top drawer on the estate.”

“Exactly!” I said, and everyone the room laughed.

The next few days went by rather quickly, and other than for routine business things were less stressed.  Between Kala’s talking to her assistants back at the Estate about routine matters she and I had a fair amount of free time and wandered about the ship.  Our personal living quarters were identical to the ones we had back on the estate, right down to the study room with the fish tank. I had a special fascination for this room and it became my personal working space.  Between the time I bought the ship and our return of it Orcpipin I had seen that the tank be filled with water and aquatic life.  I discovered there was a large view screen that could completely cover the aquarium so you had no idea it was there.  At times I would have it in place and set the view to space.  The picture was so vivid and real that you felt like you could just step into it and drift off into space.  There were leather like sofas in the room and large chairs covered in the same material.  Potted fern like plants also stood at various locations giving the room a very Victorian feeling. The only thing it seemed to lack was a fire place. 

Just like back on the
Estate there were multiple swimming pools, gyms and activity spaces on the ship.  Another thing that really surprised me was the number of food and drink dispensers about the ship with garden styled atrium patio areas where people could sit and have a drink or meal and chat.  The ship was more like a floating town than a ship.

I was surprised to find
that the ship had its own hospital, not just a medical facility but an actual hospital with an operating theater and several rooms with beds for the sick or injured to recover in.   Kala said this was not uncommon of many of the larger ships, and that our Estate had a hospital in it as well.  I asked her about doctors and nurses only to discover there was no word for doctor in Federation language, though there was for medic, and something like a nurse existed only they were called medical aids.  Medics were basically persons trained to read the computer readings and to issue orders to the medical aids. The computer diagnosed the conditions and indicated treatments and medications would carry out treatments with different instruments.  The medic was responsible for issuing the orders for the treatments that could not be provided by the computer and the medical aids saw to the basic care and needs of the patient. If surgery was required the person was taken to an operating room where a machine much like the one in the infirmary on the
TRITYTE,
performed any medical procedure that was required. 

I was told that on some of the more outback and primitive planets they did have medical
personnel trained to do operations and the like if need be, but every planet in the system had at least one major hospital and if necessary a person would be flown from anywhere on the planet to the center for care.  All medical treatment in the Federation was free and no one was denied medical care or treatment unlike back on Earth.

It was two days after the docking of the passenger liner
at the ship yard at Nibaria that we began interviews with the crew members looking for jobs.   Piesew was still aboard the
NEW ORLEANS
as Wanoll and Captain Maxette both believed it would be better not to have any ships flying back and forth until the situation on both ships was resolved.  Piesew only had a few days left on his tour of duty with the
DUSTEN
and Captain Maxette said he could finish out his time on the New Orleans, so Piesew was conducting the interviewing for staff for the accommodations.   Captain Stonbersa, Lunnie, Marranalis, and Kerabac were all interviewing potential crew members and Kala administered computer psychological and loyalty tests. To our pleasant surprise only one person failed the loyalty test out of almost three hundred and surprisingly they all seemed to be highly qualified.  We ended up hiring all the ones that passed the loyalty test. 

We spent the next
three days training everyone on their jobs, and on the fourth day we decided to take the Back to Megelleon and park her in high orbit over the estate.  Later in the day Kala came to me.

“Tib you asked me
a few weeks ago to arrange a meeting with some of the scientists or manufactures of the leaning headbands.  With all that has been taking place I sort of forgot about them and I just got a call from my assistant at the Estate that three of them are there now.  What do you want me to do?”

“Tell your assistant I want to buy their services starting today for
, oh let’s say a week.  Tell her to tell them it’s very important, to name their price and then tell them we will triple that amount.  Let her know that we are on our way back to Megelleon and to put the scientists in a luxury suite with full accommodations and to see to their needs until we arrive later today.   We’ll need a shuttle to get down to the planet.  I’m leaving the
TRITYTE
here hooked into the RMFF grid on the
NEW ORLEANS
for safe keeping.”

While Kala was making those arrangements I contacted Captain Stonbersa and instructed him to move the ship to Megelleon and that some of us would be going down to the surface.  I told him to keep the RMFF shields up at all times and not to let ships through the shield without clearing it through myself or Kala.  I
also told him the
TRITYTE
would be staying on the
NEW
ORLEANS
as well as Lunnie, Reidecor and Kerabac but Marranalis would be going with Kala and me to the surface.  I then contacted Piesew.

“Piesew,” I began
, “I would like for you to contact a clothing designer and have them create uniforms for the crew, especially for Captain Stonbersa.  I don’t want something over stated and gaudy but I would like something smart and recognizable while not over stated.  I would also like to see the designs before we commission any being made.”

“I think I know just the people to contact,”
Piesew said, “it’s a team on Megelleon and they are noted for their designs throughout the universe.  I will contact them immediately, when I tell them the uniforms are for your people they will jump at the opportunity to do them simply for the fame it will bring them.”

Next
I spoke to Lt. Commander Wanoll, who was still in charge of the Federation troopers on the ship.  “Some of us are going down to the planet on business; I anticipate being there for a few days.  Lunnie and Reidecor will be staying here and aboard the
TRITYTE
to maintain the connection for the RMFF.  I think it would be a wise idea to have extra security in the hangar around the
TRITYTE.”

“I agree
Tibby,” Wanoll said.  “It will be much easier to protect the
TRITYTE
from here.”

I had one more task to take care
of before leaving and I went to the hangar to talk to Lunnie.

“Hey lover boy,” Lunnie said with her typical sense of humor
, “how things going with you and my sister?  She’s keeping you happy I hope.”

“Lunnie, your sister does nothing but make me happy, I just wish I had more time to show her how happy she makes me.” I said.

“Hey Tib don’t worry about it, I can tell you that you have made my sister happier than I have ever seen her in my life.  You’re the best thing that has ever happened to her.  But I don’t imagine that you came here to talk about Kala, so what’s up?” She said while she wiped her hands on a rag.

             
“I have a task for you to look into, but I need for you to do it without anyone else knowing my intentions.  I want to investigate what it would take to move the Solbidyum reactor from the
TRITYTE
to the
NEW ORLEANS
.”

“WHAT!
?” Lunnie exclaimed, “If you do that you would have to gut the
TRITYTE
and install a new engine room., It would be cheaper to just buy another patrol ship.”

“
I don’t want the
TRITYTE
gutted, but I don’t expect it to fly after the Solbidyum reactor is removed.  I’ve decided is retire the
TRITYTE
and to make a flying museum that will take the
TRITYTE
on tour around the Federation so everyone can see it and appreciate it for what it was.  When I saw Captain Stonbersa reaction to the
TRITYTE
the other day I realized just how important it is to the people of the Federation and I think everyone should have a chance to see it.  But it’s too huge a temptation for any one or any planet wanting to obtain it’s Solbidyum heart, so we remove that, put it in the
NEW ORLEANS
which is equipped to protect itself and make the
TRITYTE
available for everyone to see and walk through. We build a flying museum with exhibits and the story of Solbidyum and the wars, the rediscovery of the
TRITYTE,
everything right up to today and we fly it to them so everyone on every planet gets a change to see it.”   I looked at Lunnie and I saw tears in her eyes and she walked over to me and gave me a hug, “Kala is very lucky to have you Tibby, you truly are a great and caring man, one of a kind I would say.  I’ll look into your request and let you know what I figure out.”

The trip from the
NEW ORLEANS
down to the planet went smoothly, I was surprised when the shuttle arrived and had a Galetils Industry logo on it.  “What’s with the logo on the ship,” I asked Kala, “and where did it come from?”.   Kala spoke to the pilot and returned to tell me, “The shuttle came with the estate, there’s a fleet of about a dozen of them in the hangar at the Estate and Lodge.  I guess the logo is on there from Galetils.  You will probably want them removed.”

“I was just thinking that perhaps it would not hurt if we had ou
r own logo,” I said.  “Something simple that people would quickly identify as being uniquely ours, but I have no idea what it should be or look like.”

             
It was only moments after we landed that I stood in my office staring into the fish tank with Kala when a young woman on Kala’s staff announced the arrival of out three guests.

“
Tibby, may I present Dakko of Tarola, Rivez of Koeis, and Cantolla from the University on Essen, honored guests may I to present you to Tibby the Recoverer and Major Kalana of the Federation.”  Then she stepped back and waited by the door for further instructions.

Dakko
was a rather short and squatty man, with short stubby fingers and a hair style right out of the Wizard of OZ, even his attire reminded me of the old Earth movie.  He wore a bright yellow coat with a red vest, had brown trousers and shoes that looked way too large for his frame. Rives was tall, about 1.6m I would guess, and thin about 81.6kg, unlike Dakko he had long thin fingers and had an aura about him that made me think of Abraham Lincoln.  He had dark wavy hair and a sad look in his eyes.   Cantolla on the other hand was a strikingly beautiful woman of about 1.75m, she had green eyes and long chestnut colored hair that caught the light and reminded me of the horses on farm next to my grandfathers after they had just been currycombed and brushed.  She was dressed in a rather form fitting outfit that reminded me of brushed green suede and had calf high boots that accented the outfit perfectly.  I could feel Kala tense up momentarily when she entered the room.

“Greetings
to you all please be seated,” I said indicating the leather sofa and chairs in the room.  They seated themselves, Dakko and Koeis taking seats on the sofa while Cantolla selected one of the comfortable and plush leather like chairs.  Kala and I sat across from them in chairs similar to the one Cantolla was seated in.  Between us was a low table that could be raised and lowered if needed, but in this occasion it was kept low like a coffee table.  “Would anyone care for something to drink?” I asked.  Both Dakko and Koeis indicated they would appreciate some foccee while Cantolla indicated she would take a “dayere,” a drink I had never heard of before.  Kala indicated to her aid that we would be having four foccee and one dayere and the aid went to the wall and opened the drink dispenser and got the drinks serving them to everyone and then at a nod from Kala left the room.

“I trust everyone is comfortable and happy with your accommodations and the compensation you will be receiving for your time?”  I inquired.   “Oh my, oh my yes,” Dakko responded excitedly
, “The accommodations are most exquisite, luxurious, beyond belief actually and your generosity, oh my, oh my! What can I say?  It’s more than ample, yes more than ample.”

“I must agree with Dakko,” Koeis said
, “The suite you put me in is larger than my house and far more lavish as well. The food has been divine.”

“I’m s
atisfied with my rooms,” Cantolla said coolly, “they are adequate for my needs, though perhaps a bit large for just ONE person, but then these suites are not designed for just one person now are they?”  There was a definitely emphasis on “ONE” that begged to question what her inference was, but I decided not to pursue it.