First Immortals Ch. 08

First up I would strongly suggest that if you haven't read the earlier chapters please do so before reading this one, it will explain a lot of things...

Now, enjoy. BB1212

*

All the resulting fuss that day was all about Androger, and yes if I am going to be totally honest I have to say that I was rather pissed off about that for quite a while.

The Mayflower survivors had managed to get to YW4597 and then back home, which was a huge feat on its own. Add to that the fact that we had also managed to defeat the much stronger YW's when we were on the ropes. We had survived the most testing mission that mankind had ever embarked on, and instead of being welcomed on our return we were unlawfully jailed and just left to rot.

That should have created a huge furore on its own, but it didn't.

The attack on, and intended murder of, Androger Spavl was the news of the day. He was already the most popular people's hero on the planet and his fans literally rioted when they saw what the authorities had attempted to do to him.

Added to that was the fact that there also were two violent and gruesome killings telecast live on the Spavl Show, and this all meant that Androger the highest ratings of his career. Twice. The live telecast had been promoted as 'a must not miss show exposing a cover up of massive proportions' and the promos had been running all day. The record audience got everything that they had been promised and much more, so three days later when the telecast was repeated there was such a massive level of hype that the number of viewers was fifty percent higher again. It was huge and unprecedented.

But to Androger and I sitting alone in the cell talking, it was incredibly stressful. Thanks to the data receiver in Androger's interface we knew that the huge number of calls to the government had brought down all voice communications across the country, we knew that the streets of every major city were clogged with demonstrators demanding our immediate release, and we knew that Androger's producers had put our location on the telecast and the complex we were in was totally surrounded by protesters.

What we didn't know was if that would be enough to guarantee our safety.

We sat there having a quiet but nervous chat, oblivious to the growing spectacle outside, just wondering what would happen next.

Dixscon Rickson came to us just over two hours after we locked the door. It would have been at least half an hour quicker if the crowds of Androger supporters hadn't blocked his access. Androger was regularly checking his interface for information, but because we were still telecasting live we didn't spend a lot of time looking at it. Even so we were still expecting our visitor.

"I'm Dixscon Rickson," a voice called from behind the door, "please let me in, you have my word that you will not be harmed." We looked at each other and nodded. I went and keyed in the code, and the door opened.

I'll give Rickson full credit for guts. He came in alone, knowing that we had a cell full of shock guns, and knowing how furious I would be with him. He shook Androger's hand, and then mine without saying anything, and then he looked at Androger.

"May I speak to your viewers?" he asked.

"Sure, er, Mr President," Androger replied, and Rickson turned to the wall. He had done his homework because he knew exactly where to look to be facing the hidden camera.

"I am Dixscon Rickson," he said, "and I am the President of the World Council of Nations" He paused, and then continued. "What you have seen today on Mr Spavl's show demonstrates just how necessary these shows are, even if they do irritate some of the people in power sometimes." He smiled, to show that he thought that was not a serious problem. "What has happened to Commander Scabbard and the heroes that made up the crew of the Mayflower since their return is thoroughly reprehensible. What has happened to Commander Scabbard and Mr Spavl here today is now a criminal matter, and the perpetrators will be held accountable." He paused again, and I had to admire his style. I could just imagine the millions of viewers looking at their interfaces in the streets, or at their picture walls at home were hanging now on his every word.

"Commander Scabbard said earlier that he had three priorities he wanted attended to. The first was the destruction of all energy weapons. We will pursue that end immediately. As of this moment they are outlawed and must be handed in to your local government enforcement station straight away. Owners will be given a receipt and we shall arrange for suitable compensation." Again he paused for effect.

"Commander Scabbard's second priority was the release of the crew of the Mayflower. Again we will implement this immediately, although I believe that most of them are in a very remote location so I cannot promise this will be achieved today. But it will be tomorrow at the latest." Again he waited for a moment.

"Commander Scabbard's third and final priority was that the people responsible for this 'massive travesty of justice' I believe he called it, and I have to agree with him, be held accountable for their actions. This will also be done, and this has already commenced." He stopped yet again.

"But," he said, "I know that after this debacle there are many of you who simply will not believe that we will do this properly as promised. To that end I must ask Mr Spavl a favour." He turned to Androger.

"Will you allow me to appear on your show again next week with Commander Scabbard? I will ask the two of you to confirm that our promises have been fulfilled to your satisfaction. I will also promise to answer any questions that you have in regard to this matter as long as they are not prejudicial to any resulting legal cases." Androger smiled in anticipation.

"Of course, Mr President," he replied, "we welcome the opportunity that you are offering." The fact that his ratings were going to go through the roof might have had something to do with his prompt acceptance.

"Tonight," Rickson said, "I request that both of you join me for dinner at The Dustings." The Dustings was the seven star restaurant in the World Council of Nations building that was only ever used for visitors who were heads of state. The invitation was totally unprecedented. Androger and I looked at each other in surprise. We nodded.

"We accept," Androger said, and after a brief wrap up by Androger where he thanked his viewers for their support, the three of us left the cell that had been my prison for seven months together.

It had been an incredible couple of days.

We had walked along countless dim and dingy corridors and had passed through three check points before we reached the outside door, and we heard the crowd when we were still a good distance away from it. They were chanting Androger's name. We had six security guards as an escort, and on the final approach to the door Rickson motioned them to stop and we walked far enough away so they couldn't hear us. Rickson addressed me.

"I know," he said, "that I am in no position to ask any favours of either of you, and particularly you Commander Scabbard, but I'm going to have to anyway. In a moment we are going out there and I would like us to present a united front. For the moment may we concentrate on your first priority, and that is to get rid of the energy weapons? Many members of the council simply did not believe my reasons for the ban and I did not get enough support to carry it through. I have made the announcement now and they either have to back it or remove me from my position. With your support I believe they will support me, without it they will not." I thought about this for a moment and it made sense.

"OK," I said simply, and he sighed with relief.

"The reason we are going to The Dustings tonight is for the three of us to discuss privately what action we need to take on all of the issues we face. I will listen to both of you and I will pay heed to what you say, can we please leave the more unpleasant topics until then?"

"Yes," I said reluctantly.

"Of course Mr President," Androger agreed. Rickson called his bodyguards back and we went down the corridor and through the door.

Over the years I had received more than my fair share of the 'rock star' treatment as an elite pilot, but even so I was completely unprepared for the reception we got when we left the prison.

Although the six original bodyguards were there for Rickson, and there was a much larger contingent waiting in an area they had cleared outside the door, it was Androger who was most at risk when we walked out. There were tens of thousands of people waiting to see him, and when they did they all surged forward to get near him. In the middle of the mayhem there was, of course, protected in the cleared area, a Spavl Show camera crew. Androger was very brief.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he said to the camera, "in a totally unprecedented display of public unity today we have made sure that justice will prevail, even when the corruption comes from the highest places." The crowd roared its approval. "I want to thank each and every one of you who took the time to do something to achieve this result." He pointed to the crowd around us, in every direction possible, and then he pointed at the camera.

"You are my heroes," he shouted, and again the crowd cheered wildly. Androger whispered to one of his crew and the man walked to the straining security guards who were trying to stop us being trampled.

"You in the yellow shirt," Androger said, pointing to a woman in the front row of onlookers, please come over here." Reluctantly the security guards let her through and the crew member brought her to Androger.

"What is your name? Androger asked the obviously overawed woman.

"Kelza," she replied nervously, "um.. Kelza Peders."

"And why are you here Kelza?" he asked.

"I thought what they did was wrong, so I uh... I just wanted to show my support."

"To the millions of people I can't thank personally, this is for you," Androger said, and he hugged the startled woman.

"Thankyou everyone, and we will be back tomorrow for an update," Androger said, "in the meantime please disperse peacefully and go back to your normal lives, the emergency is over." After the camera was turned away I walked over to Kelza.

"Thanks from the Mayflower crew and from me too," I said, and I shook her hand. She glowed red with embarrassment. We got into the presidential vehicle and left. The crowd only parted just enough for us to get through.

We were taken back to Hvaast Square, the place we landed at in the shuttle to meet the Mayflower, and I was saddened to see the skeleton of the Mayflower which had been almost entirely dismantled. The shuttle was gone and I assumed that it had either been pulled apart or just flown elsewhere.

We were then taken into the World Council of Nations building and I was shown to a luxurious suite. A butler appeared immediately and within a couple of hours I had washed, been given a haircut and shave and I was dressed in fresh clothing including a dark coloured Darnier suit. I had also managed to get an hour of sleep as I had not slept at all the previous night. When I looked in the mirror I didn't recognise the man I was seeing at first, but then I closed my eyes and I looked inside. Deep down I knew that despite all of the rhetoric and the fancy trappings I was still going to make damn sure that people would suffer over this, and Dixscon Rickson was the first target in my sights. At least I could still recognise that part of myself. I opened my eyes grinning evilly at my reflection, and then I turned to go to dinner. Now, behind the closed doors, the gloves could come off.

"I can fall on my sword if you want," Rickson said to me as soon as our orders had been taken, "ultimately it was been me who signed the order, even if I didn't know how they were going to go about it."

"OK," I said, and I left it at that. I knew there would be a 'but' involved, but I was not going to help him out there. There was an awkward silence for a while and I took a sip of my Hortenay. The purple wines, which were really just a very, very dark red, had already been in vogue when we left and this one was an excellent example of the type.

Androger finally weakened and broke the awkward silence.

"Why Josh?" he asked. He seemed to be a bit overawed by Rickson, which surprised me, and like most media people he really couldn't stand long silences. I, on the other hand, found them to be very useful.

"Well," I said to him, "it could be for the men who died on active service for our planet, and whose fate has been hidden instead of recognised." He nodded, "It could also be for the brave women and men who took on what was really a suicide mission, turned it into a spectacular success and then were punished for that success."

"Uh huh."

"It could be for the thousands of family and friends of our crew who have been fed government lies to cover up the fact that the mission was only ever about shutting down the military and never about true exploration."

"OK."

"It could be about the tiny fact that he has ignored a clear warning that may now lead to our entire planet being eliminated."

"That's a bit..."

"It could be about the money that was due but that wasn't going to be paid to the survivors, or even about the personal insult of my being locked up and given the identity of a monster to ensure I couldn't get my story out and it could be for any of a hundred other reasons that don't spring to mind right now," I said, determined to finish answering the question before I let him interrupt. Rickson nodded slowly, and Androger just had to keep talking.

"OK," he said, "but why not then?"

"Ask him," I replied, staring at my wine, "he is dying to tell us."

"Err, Mr President?" Androger asked, and Rickson gave him a shallow smile.

"First," he said, "Josh is right. What he has said is not exaggerated, and if anything he has understated the case."

"But?" Androger asked.

"But," Rickson continued, "in the current political environment, if I go there will never be the legislation to destroy the energy weapons." He looked at me earnestly. "I really did try, but none of the council members accepted what I was telling them. Even now," he admitted, "I will have a huge fight on my hands to push it through, and it cannot happen without the help and support of both of you."

I had expected to hear pretty much what he was saying, and I had resigned myself to the fact that Rickson was going to dodge the bullet, but I had also promised myself that it was going to cost him dearly and I wasn't going to make any of it easy for him.

"Let's start at the beginning," I said abruptly, and both men turned to me. "Where are the rest of the crew of the Mayflower?"

"They were put on an island off Republica Africa," Rickson replied. "The area was declared a contaminated zone and a no go zone for both shipping and aircraft. We gave them nothing in the way of survival equipment so there may well have been losses." I looked at him in horror and Androger shook his head.

"I didn't know that until today," Rickson said, but I was not too sure that I believed him.

"How are we getting to them?" I asked.

"Aircraft to Johannesburg and then hoverjet to the island," Rickson replied, "about six hours total."

"What happened to the shuttle from the Mayflower?" I asked, and he looked thoughtful.

"I'll ask," he said, and spoke quietly into his interface. Moments later he had the answer.

"One hour flight to Hinchlet base and then we take the shuttle. It is still serviceable and we will halve the time to the island. There is an area there big enough to land it."

"I'll fly," I said, and Rickson nodded.

"Will you accept my pilot as your co-pilot?"

"On the trip out," I said, "but not after we pick up the first group if we have someone with more experience who is able to do it." He nodded.

"What do you want Josh?" he asked seriously and I looked at him, this was why we were here.

"This is not a high ask that can be bargained down, this is my minimum requirement," I said, and again he nodded his understanding.

"All pay entitlements are to be calculated as originally arranged and then doubled."

"Agreed."

"All deceased crew are to be paid out in the same way as the survivors."

"Agreed."

"At least three senior level politicians are to be charged with treason, perverting the course of justice and anything else that fits." He gulped.

"Er..."

"Not negotiable," I insisted.

"Yes," he whispered.

"One of those charged must be the Deputy Vice Minister for Compliance." I'll swear that Rickson smiled at that one.

"OK," he agreed quickly.

"Promotions for Terek Van Der Schon, Scarlet and Saunders."

"Who?"

"People who were on the right side, I'll fill you in later."

"OK..." Rickson was starting to look doubtful, and he looked to Androger, I think hoping for some support.

"You asked," Androger said casually, "er... Sir." Rickson nodded.

"Oscar Yillidie to be given the worst possible posting," I continued, letting some of my personal spite loose.

"That was done the day after he spoke to you," Rickson said, and I smiled. The pompous little shit deserved it.

"The Inter Galactic Navy is to be restarted, and I will be in charge," I said.

"How big?" Rickson asked.

"Grow it to two hundred thousand personnel and at least two thousand battle craft capable of space travel over the next twenty years," I replied, and Rickson looked startled.

"Why so many?" he asked.

"The YW's will come here," I predicted, "and we have to be ready or we will all die. How many Stellers are left?" I asked.

"Maybe half a dozen," Rickson said, "but the drives are getting old now." I nodded.

"I want them and we can fit the drives from the Mayflower," I replied.

"Should work," he agreed, obviously thinking about the mechanics, but then he sighed. "Anything else?"

"I think that's enough for now," I said, and he shook his head slowly.

"It will be a very hard job to get all of that," he said, "but I promise you I will do everything within my power to make it all happen."

"Is that on the record Mr President?" Androger asked.

"Yes," Rickson said reluctantly, "but I would appreciate it if it was not made public knowledge unless I renege." Androger looked a bit disappointed, but he nodded.

"Fair enough," he said.

Then our entrée arrived and we put the business on hold. The entrée was superb, but the girl delivering it was divine. She was dressed in a deep violet cocktail dress with a few pieces of gold jewellery to match her long gold hair. She was exquisite, with a perfect button nose, startling starburst eyes and legs that looked almost endless.

"My goodness," Androger sighed after she was out of earshot, "she is stunning."

"Her name is Infannzin," Rickson said, "and I agree she is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. But don't bother, she has been propositioned by pretty much every world leader, male and female, that have ever dined here and she has politely but firmly turned them all down."

Androger raised an enquiring eyebrow and Rickson realised what his question was.

"Yes," he said sadly, "me as well."

The two men shared a sigh and I wondered what was wrong with me. I had been kept away from women for seven months up until Scarlet. Was that really just last night I wondered? So much had happened in such a short time after such a long period of inactivity. But now, when this beautiful woman was turning two of the most powerful men in the world into lust filled wreaks, I just wasn't concerned. I knew there would be plenty of chances to fulfil all of my carnal needs in the foreseeable future, so I wasn't going to agonise over what I couldn't have. I just ate my entrée, and I must say it was absolutely delicious.