Impious Hearts (Part 2)

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."