The Navigator 2: We the People (8 page)

The woman nodded. "We are aware of her intent. This is another reason we wished for you to retain your weapons."

"I bow to your wisdom, Madam Shinobe." Joe again bowed and turned to rejoin the two men waiting for him at the door.

The room the men entered was much like any other corporate board room you would expect to see on the upper levels of the skyscraper above this hidden complex. It even had huge windows that overlooked the city. The hostess escorted them to their seats at the long table. Several men and women were already present and stood when the men entered. Admiral Hawklings turned and saluted the head of the table, and Joe followed suit.

The man at the head chair smiled and returned the salute. "At ease, gentlemen and thank you for coming. Major Anderson, it is a pleasure to finally meet you in person. I am Howard Young, the North American representative to this Council."

"It's an honor, Councilor Young," Joe replied.

The man nodded in acceptance. "As this is your first visit with us, please allow me to introduce my colleagues. Councilor Itchka Namakaze, the Asian representative," Joe bowed to the councilor who smiled slightly and bowed. Young continued. "Ms Odemi Cruze of Australia and Micronesia," Young continued around the table and Joe nodded to each of the members of the Council. "On behalf of this Council, we would like to welcome you and thank you for coming today."

"Before we begin, may I say a few words, Mister Chairman?" Joe asked as everyone else took their seats.

"Of course Major," the man replied.

Joe had remained standing so everyone could see him clearly. "Irrespective of what is decided or not today, I would like all of you to know that I agree with everything I have seen and been asked to do so far. I feel that this current situation is one I can easily work in and be comfortable asking questions if there is something I do not understand or do not agree with. I know that my past, as well as my current skill set, makes some of you very uneasy about trusting me or asking me to do sensitive tasks.

"Your actions in the manner of Jarad Small have set my mind at ease about assisting you in such a manner. I have no problem dealing with issues of that nature as long as I can see and understand the reasons for it. I am a somewhat dangerous potential problem for you. I would like to try to help set your minds at ease on that. Everything I have seen or heard so far has been for the preservation and advancement of our people; not for the advancement of one group or one person. You are not pursuing a nationalistic agenda, but are trying to promote a global one. That is something I can happily support and agree with. If I have a problem, I can ask questions. If I see an issue, I can report it. None of you have anything to fear from me. I do not enjoy killing people, but I do understand that sometimes it needs to be done," he nodded his head. "As in the case of Jarad Small. I was forced to kill more than just my original target, and for that I apologize. Circumstance did not allow for much freedom of operation in that mission. Wherever possible, I will try to subdue individuals so we may question them and try to repair what damage was done. I will work to assist you in any way I can. Even to making suggestions and pointing out potential problems we may have. Trust me here, I never would have done that for my former employers." He paused. "Employers; I don't really consider you folks to be my employers. I see you more as our guides in shaping and creating a new world for our people; they are our real employers. I hope this has helped to ease your minds at least a little about me so you can focus your energies on something more important. Thank you."

Namakaze stood. "Major Anderson, you are someone my former countrymen fear a great deal. I believe, to this day, there is a kill on sight order for you with the Chinese Intelligence services. It is indeed good to know that you are not a mindless killing machine programmed by the United States. You have indeed eased my mind a great deal, and I for one thank you for taking our feelings into consideration." He bowed deeply and retook his seat.

"That sounds like a perfect introduction to the reason we asked you to come here today, Major. As we understand it, you had some thoughts about how the Citadel was structured?"

Joe nodded and took out his notes. "Now, I'm not the best at doing this, so please bear with me. The other day, when I was asking Admiral Hawklings about the procedure for requesting Laura to be allowed to join me, our discussion evolved into this business with the Citadel and the plan for me to take over from Jarad.

"I honestly don't believe a Navigator should be in charge of the Citadel for the very same reasons Jared was sanctioned. As you've already discovered, the ability to Navigate hyperspace is not just mathematics, but a genuine, documented mental ability of the human mind. An ability we are only recently discovering has evolved into our race.

"I don't know if any of you have yet realized it, but the problems we saw with Jared was the result of another mental ability he had developed. The human mind is evolving, and that has manifested in those of us you call Navigators. Because we are talking about evolution here, we must also accept the fact that it cannot be contained or controlled. The best we can hope for is to prepare and try to adapt to these changes. For now, only a few of us have the ability to Navigate. If, as I believe, the use of that ability brings about the advent of even more abilities, we must take the opportunity to learn from them and adjust to them.

"I don't mean we need to quarantine or dissect anyone, or turn them into mind controlling assassins. I mean we need to be tolerant and supportive, because eventually, our whole race will develop these abilities. This is a very frightening subject, as well as it should be; the potential for disaster is incalculable, unless we prepare for it and adjust to it.

"Take Jared as an example. He had a limited form of mind control or perhaps a better description would be persuasion. In his position as the Administrator of The Citadel, he had used his ability to begin to forge his own little kingdom. We know from witness’ testimony that he considered Navigators to be superior to 'humans'. That tells me he had already justified turning his back on humanity. His actions with The Citadel only support that. That cannot be allowed to happen again. We need a normal person, one familiar with administering odd organizations in charge out there. I suggested my wife's new friend Sharon as a good candidate because of her past experiences in that capacity." Joe grinned, "Before you ask, no; I have no desire to pursue anything more than a professional relationship with her, regardless of what my wife and she may have.

"If we can create an atmosphere that is supportive of these changes, as well as the people they are happening to, I believe we will be in a much better position to influence those individuals enough to help mitigate the god complex many would develop without that guidance or support. If we can help them keep faith in humanity and help them continue to see themselves as members of our race, I feel we will see far less issues when this comes to pass. Ladies and Gentleman, we're talking about the evolution of the human mind here, this will happen. It is happening now, as we speak. The question is, do we try to help it along, or do we try to stop it from happening?

"Please keep in mind, I am not an expert or a professional in this subject. I am simply a person with a unique perspective on this situation, and I am offering you my thoughts. Please do with them as you will. However, before you make a decision, there is another that would like to offer testimony for you to consider, with your permission, I will ask her to join us," Joe finished. 'Are you ready, Cassie?'

'As ready as I'll ever be,' she replied. 'Are you sure they won't shoot me for doing this?'

'I cleared it with security already, you should be safe; just come in next to me," Joe replied.

"Of course, Major. Please proceed," Mister Young said after getting a nod from those at the table.

Joe bowed his head in acknowledgment. "Ladies and gentlemen, May I present to you, Miss Cassandra Lane, the original Navigator."

When Joe finished speaking, Cassie dropped into real space beside him. She bowed to the chairman and the rest of the table. "Thank you for allowing me to speak to you today. In my absence from your service, I have been searching out others like myself and Major Anderson in an effort to protect them from hostile governments. That effort expanded, and currently we have a community of gifted people numbering four hundred and eighty-two.

"These people are not Navigators, but they have developed abilities that would have gotten the attention of a certain government agency within the United States intelligence community. That agency hunts us and attempts to capture, but failing that, kill us. Some of us were rescued from this agency while the attempted capture was being made. Those in my community have lost loved ones in this covert war. As a result, there is a group of mostly younger people that are advocating open war with 'normal' humans. Myself and the rest of the elders that govern the group are very opposed to this, but the more people we lose, the stronger the young ones become.

"Ladies and gentleman, this issue is no longer just about Navigators, if those extremists do what they are planning, we will destroy any chance we might ever have of living peacefully within our own race. I have asked Major Anderson to visit our community and speak to the people." She looked down as if in shame. "Over the years of my exile, I have learned that you have never been our enemy, although at first I believed you were. Now, I believe you might be the only chance we have of stopping what is about to happen here. On behalf of the other elders of our community, I ask for your assistance as well as advice on how to handle this situation. I'm afraid we must act soon; we've discovered the young ones have planned their first attack and that cannot be allowed to happen," she finished.

"Of course we will do what we can to assist, Navigator Lane," Young said and those at the table agreed. "Where are they going to attack? Perhaps the Major can persuade them not to do this."

"Remember how I said I thought you were the real enemy when I first ran away?" Cassie said. "They'll begin arriving here in Tokyo in two days."

"They are going to attack us?" the chairman asked. "I see, so if they discover you came here, it will undermine your authority as well as that of your elders."

"I'm afraid so, Mister Chairman." Cassie said and shook her head. "This is my fault; in my blind fear and anger I spoke out against you in the early days, and the kids soaked that up. We've been trying to change that belief for two years now with an eye to approaching you for eventual citizenship. They refuse to listen to reason. They believe you are the American agency attempting to capture them. They blame you for the deaths of their friends and loved ones."

"Excuse me a moment, Councilors. I would like to see to your safety," Joe said.

"What do you have in mind Major?" Mister Young asked.

"To consult with your security head then a direct transfer to Darkwater station," Joe replied.

"A direct transfer?" Young asked.

Joe nodded. "The same way Cassandra arrived here, I would send you up to the station, to the Admiral's office. Let's get you to safety, then we can finish the discussions." Joe replied and opened the door to the chamber. He looked to the closest guard. "I need to speak to Madam Shinobe, please."

The guard nodded once in acknowledgment and Joe closed the door again.

Cassie and the Councilors were still talking, but Hawklings waved Joe over. "How did you know the woman was the head of security and how do you know her name?"

Joe grinned. "I don't know her name, I doubt many actually do. Shinobe isn't a person's name, it's what a master of ninjutsu is called. In this case, it would be rude to ask her name, so I try to show respect and honor by addressing her as Shinobe."

Before Joe could make it back to his chair, there was a discrete knock on the door. Joe opened it and let the woman enter. "Thank you for coming, Madam. We have a problem; Cassandra has informed us that several members of her group will be staging an attack on this facility in two days. With your permission, I would discuss moving the Council up to the station immediately."

She nodded slowly. "Yes, that would be the safest place. However, they would be most vulnerable during transit. I will have to call in more of my people to secure the route."

"Madam, all of the attackers will be of the gifted. I am afraid this will make your work much more difficult. However, I propose sending them up to the station directly, from this room to the Admiral's office," Joe suggested.

She looked at him sharply. "You can do this?"

Joe nodded. "I can. As you are responsible for their security, I am speaking to you of this and offering this service."

"Do you know how long the threat will be viable?" she asked.

Joe shook his head. "Unfortunately, no. I will be going to their compound and speaking to the potential attackers, as well as the rest of the group, to try and talk them down and let them know we are not their enemy."

"This sounds complicated; will you require assistance?" She asked.

Joe smiled at her. "I appreciate that, but I really will only be speaking to them. It is a very complicated and fragile situation. Any kind of assault on them would put the lie to anything I said. We actually do want to gain their trust and support. Once the Council is safe, and our discussions have concluded, I will return to their compound with Cassandra Lane,"