The 232nd year of the Interstellar
Commonwealth of Earth-Orion had began in the traditional way: with
the ceremonial opening of the Senate of the Commonwealth of
Earth-Orion and it's Populous Among the Stars. The Procession of
Populations had concluded it's long, winding journey down the
narrow streets of Old Paris. It took nearly three and a half hours
for the entire parade to travel from the Place de la Concorde,
through the Arc de Triomphe,to le Palais du Sat des Etoiles.
The Procession of Populations was as old as the Commonwealth. The
tradition had started when representatives from the systems Sol,
Alpha Centauri, and Sirius convened together on Earth to sign the
founding documents of the very first inter-stellar legal body in
human history. It grew in those 232 years as humanity, finally
finding peace after decades of conflict culminating in the War of the
Local Bubble, focused it's energy on expansion and settlement.
Where originally the Procession had but 16 delegations, it now held
114. From Earth to Eplison Indi, the representatives of planets,
Habitat Stations, Deep Space Freeports,and Trade Flotillas all
gathered for the yearly grand opening of the Senate.
Following close behind the Procession were the Senators. The 114
members each represented one of the 114 Populations. The Commonweatlh
had done away with words such as states, provinces, or territories to
describe, not only the vastness of the space occupied, but also the
diverse methods in which humanity survived and flourished throughout
the Orion Arm.
Immediately preceding the Senators was the Premier of the
Commonwealth. Younger than most Premiers, at age 73 his energy and
youthfulness had brought a unique quality to the office usually
reserved for aged politicians. He was not a particularly handsome
man, but was tall and thin and commanded the attention of the rooms
he occupied. His hair was close cropped, dark brown, and was always
parted to the left. His hazel eyes that always seemed to mirror the
color he was wearing. He was the 21st person to hold office and was
styled Giancarlo Xing IV, although his birth name was Juan-Carlos
McCray. He had taken his formal name upon election two years prior.
As was the custom for Premiers, his first name was styled after one
of the first delegates of the Congress. His surname styled to honor
the Primate of the Technosymposium, Xing Gu?ng, who was
responsible for successfully brokering the current and lasting
interstellar peace.
Accompanying the Premier were two members representing The
Technosymposium: Taurus and Cassiopeia. Taurus was First Technologist
of Sol (the ranking member of the Techs in the Sol System) and
Cassiopeia, the Prolocutor of Technologists, whose office made her
the Second-in-Command to the Primate.
Some might have called the Technosymposium a religion. Although no
one in the Commonwealth used that word. Religion had been outlawed by
the Earth-Mars Federation in the 22nd Century during the early years
of humanity's space-faring days. Those who clung to religion had
fled in generation ships to Alpha Centauri. The ships, however, had
never made it to their destination. Indeed when the first humans
arrived in Alpha Centauri, their extensive exploration had reveled no
trace of the ships. While no one knew what had happened to those
pious pilgrims, most historians view this as humanity's divorce
from religion.
Humans, however, drawn to tradition, drawn to pomp and
circumstance, and certainly drawn to power, had created the
Technosymposium to fill the void left in the wake of the end of
religion. Practically speaking it functioned more like a fraternity
than a church and was responsible for all of the major technological
advances for the past several centuries. Humanities greatest
scientific minds were members of the Technosymposium, organized
around an almost pious devotion to scientific and technological
advancement.
When the procession reached its end the celebration began. The
entire government shuffled into the expansive ballroom in the Senate
building. It was the Premier's least favorite part of being
Premier. He had never been one for glad handing. Although, he was, he
had to admit to himself, good at it. Indeed no politician worth their
salt could advance without the skill. Humanity may have populated the
stars, but politics had not changed. The Premier had just began a
conversation with a group of Senators when Prolocutor Cassiopeia
interrupted him.
"Sir, I've been monitoring a situation which needs your
attention," whispered Cassiopeia as he leaned into the Premier's
ear.
The Premier nodded to Cassiopeia then turned to the Senators he
had just engaged with.
"Senators," began the Premier "if you'll excuse me. The
office provides no rest, and rarely time for celebration."
The group of lawmakers bowed their heads respectfully as the
Premier and the Prolocutor departed. With his security detail around
them the pair quickly exited the large ballroom and headed down the
corridor which led to station where the underground transit system
used by governmental staff which ferried people back and forth
between the various buildings and offices used by all departments of
the large bureaucracy that ran the Commonwealth.
As they boarded the waiting vehicle, the Premier turned to
Cassiopeia and said "Thanks for getting me out of there. Now, is
there an actual situation that needs my attention?"
"Yes, Premier," began Cassiopeia "I have been in
communication the past several weeks with the Chief Technologist of
Research Station Helvetia. She has monitoring transmissions from a
Deep Space Probe."
"A probe," asked the Premier. "Why does a probe need my
attention?"
"Well, preliminary data indicates it may be from a Goldilocks
vessel," responded Cassiopeia.
The Premier looked stunned. "A Goldilocks ship? We haven't
sent one of those out in seven years, after we lost the Yanlai!" he
said. The ICN-EV Yanlai that had mysteriously disappeared and brought
the Goldilocks project to a premature end.
"Yes, sir, that is correct. The Chief Technologist on Helvetia
believes it is from the Yanlai."
The transit vehicle came to a stop at the station in the shuttle
hangar. The Premier and Cassiopeia headed for the large ship that
took up much of the hangar. The ICN Acheron was the Premier's
official yacht. It had ferried the past three Premier's wherever
official duties had taken them - at least within the Sol system. The
Class II vessel was not designed for interstellar travel.
The crew of the Acheron were lined up in the hangar on either side
of the entrance ramp to the Acheron. They saluted as the Premier
passed, proceeding up to board the ship. The Premier's personal
secretary Jiro Silva approached him. He had broken tradition by
selecting a personal secretary from outside of the Technosymposium.
But Jiro had been with him since he began his political career and
was one of the few people he trusted completely.
"Jiro," began the Premier, "open a channel to Helvetia
Station immediately. I need to speak with..." he turned to the
Prolocutor "who do I need to speak with?" he asked her.
"Chief Technologist Nysa, Sir," Cassiopeia replied
"Ah yes...I remember Nysa," said the Premier. He had worked
with her when he served as Deputy-Assistant Governor of the Regulus
system many years ago.He had helped her secure funds for the then
newly built deep space Relay Network, the grid of communication relay
stations the Commonwealth had built to rapidly communicate across the
vast space humanity now populated. The Premier remembered her as one
who took her work very seriously. She did not waste her time, or his
for that matter, always being very direct.
The Premier walked through the door to his office as it slid open,
detecting his approach. Jiro and Cassiopeia followed him through. He
walked to the window and looked out as the ship rose off the hangar
floor. It passed through he shielded hangar archway out into the sky
over Old Paris. The Acheron begin to turn, heading eastward towards
Geneva, where the offices of the Premier were housed and where he
spent the bulk of his time.
"I've brought up the Chief Technologist on your holo-display,
sir." Jiro said. A 3D image of Nysa rotated, hovering above the
display on the desk, the connection waiting for the Premier to begin.
"Thank you, Jiro."
"Of course, sir. Anything else?"
"No, Jiro. Thank you." Jiro bowed and walked out of the office
leaving the Premier and the Prolocutor with the glowing image of
Nysa. The Premier walked over to the desk and seated himself behind
it as Cassiopeia remained standing. He held his palm up to the
display, the chip embedded in it signaling the holo-display to begin
the message. As it did the image of Nysa bowed and began to speak.
"Your honor, - Prolocutor - thank you for taking the time to
speak with me," said Nysa.
The Premier nodded "It's hardly an imposition, Chief
Technologist."
Cassiopeia stepped forward. "Nysa, I have only briefly
informed the Premier on the situation. Please, make him aware of the
past few weeks developments.
"As you may know, sir," Nysa began, "part of the work done
here on Helvetia is the monitoring of transmissions from the relay
network. Three weeks ago one of our deeper placed relay stations
beginning transmitting a message from a deep space probe. The probe
was still quite distant from the closest relay station. I theorize
the probe has long-range communication equipment typically found only
on the Goldilocks Class Exploratory Vessels."
"Yes, the Prolocutor explained that you believe it is from the
Yanlai," the Premier said.
"Sir that has been confirmed today," replied Cassiopeia.
"Yes, that is correct. We were able to decipher parts of the
transmission and can confirm this probe belongs to the Yanlai,"
Nysa said.
"My God..." the Premier said to himself leaning back in his
chair, pondering the implications. "What does full message say?"
"Ah yes, we're aren't exactly sure at this point. The
transmission isn't clean."
"Clean?" The Premier asked.
"Yes sir," replied Nysa, "The transmission is garbled. It
comes to us in bits and pieces if you will, " Nysa continued,
squirming at having to dumb down the highly technical complexities of
deep space communication.
"Sir," Cassiopeia began "Our Deep Space Probes were
developed specifically for the Goldilocks Project, but never given
the benefit of long-term testing. We've no data for an event like
this," we explained.
"Have we been able to gain any insight with the transmission
available?" Asked the Premier.
"Yes sir. I can confirm that the Yanlai was destroyed by some
sort of energy surge. However, we are not sure where she was when she
was destroyed.She was the furthest Goldilocks vessel sent, there's
a lot of space between here and her destination."
The Premier closed his eyes and shook his head "What about the
crew?"
"The Crew, sir?" Nysa asked.
"Yes Nysa, the crew? Did they make it off? Are any alive?"
She had to admit to herself this was the first time she considered
the crew. "I cannot say with confidence they are alive, but what we
have been able to piece together from the transmission indicates that
the crew abandoned ship before it was destroyed."
"Thank Tech," the Premier said quietly, nodding his head. He
then looked at Cassiopeia and said "I want that full transmission.
We need to know what happened to the Yanlai. The families of those
sailor deserve to know."
"Yes, sir," she responded. "With your permission, sir, I
suggest we take a vessel out to retrieve the Probe sir. It is still
several light years from the nearest research station. I've taken
the liberty of selecting several individuals I believe would be best
for this mission. I've sent them to your holodisplay."
"Alright," the Premier said. He briefly flipped through the
files the she had sent. He didn't recognize the names, but trusted
the Prolocutors judgement. "I'll make one addition."
"Addition, sir?" Cassiopeia asked.
"Yes. There is someone I want on this team. She'll be an
invaluable resource to you."
Nysa balked at the addition to the team but knew better than to
argue with the Premier. "May I inquire as to who, sir?"
Cassiopeia shot the Chief Technologist a scowl. She did not
approve of her questioning the Premier, but if it had bothered him,
he did not show it.
"A member of my personal guard. Aiko James-Rodriguez."
Nysa knew the name as did Cassiopeia. She was ex special forces.
All of the Commonwealth knew her name after the Incident on HabStat
Proxima. The majority of her personnel file was redacted, even to a
Tech at Cassiopeia's security level. Whatever career she had in the
military must have been impressive. She did not like the idea of
including military personnel, but this was no surprise - the
Technosymposium blamed the the military for War of the Local Bubble.
The animosity was shared. But she had also worked with the Premier
long enough to know there was no argument to be had.
"An excellent choice, Premier," The Prolocutor responded.
The Premier chuckled and waved his hand. "I know you don't
mean that Cassiopeia, but I thank you for not arguing with me. You'll
thank me later," He paused "Actually, no you probably won't."
He said while laughing to himself. I will send her presently, along
Whatever you need, you have. This is top priority - I want to know
what happened to that ship and it's crew."
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