The morning came with a stretch, I mean a really good stretch that you feel in your toes and hair at the same time. That got one big and 6 little duplicates to my move. I felt great this morning and I knew I had a long day ahead of me as I got up.
I think this run of emergency services went well and it will be nice to dust off today. The town is back on grid power and everyone's foundations are ready to build. I got a coffee and went to my office "Vickey, does the film crew have their footage online yet". She smiled "they uploaded the raw footage they had and it's sitting at 1000 views". "Can you do some hacking and help that along. "Sure I will mass post it to all the ufo sites and that should do it".
"That will give us time to get out of dodge". She nodded "don't you want the PR?" "There is time for that later, how are we on the town?"
"We are at 99% completion, I've been waiting for you to get up to put the finishing touches on it".
I booted up my VR and found myself covered in stick it notes again. I laughed and reminded Vicky I want scans of them. I emerged from the office I was in to find a bunch of government officials milling around. They made a beeline to me when they saw me. The first question was how I managed to prep the land for the apartment building. I assured him it's perfectly safe and the pillings are good and deep. I got the usual questions about my tech and I gave vague answers. I walked outside and saw the town before the tornado hit. This is what I want, these people are getting their life back together already and that made me smile. I looked at Vicky "what is left".
"The flagpole in front of city hall and there are a few people waiting". I made my way there and found the mayor, the chief of police and the fire chief. There were a bunch of kids and photographers as well. The mayor looked at me and said, "Would you do us the honor of raising the flagpole, it's the final piece". I nodded "thank you for this honor". I grabbed the flagpole and stood it upright and put it into place amongst cheers and flashes.
I looked at kids clapping and there were even a few hugs. We did the photo ops and everyone there had cameras filming. I bid my farewells as a van pulled up and a lot of military striped shirts jumped out. All they got is to watch us fly away and cloak. We hovered for a few minutes and saw 10 more military vehicles stopping behind the van.
I disconnected from the VR and looked around. It was just Lisa and she came to me. "The kits were hungry so moms got them". I got my nose lick and then I kissed her. She drew back not sure at first then she smiled. She essentially has no real lips so I'm assuming kissing is new.
We went in search of the others finding Sandy and her crew at the railing looking down and at the tree. They were wearing the infamous housecoats again. Maybe I should try one sometime. The kits were sitting at a little table and chairs eating.
Kim spoke up "it makes sense for them to learn to act in your culture". I asked the twins who were enjoying watching and having a hot chocolate. "Any plans for the day". Emma spoke up "no just working on plans" I looked at Sandy crew "and you" I got head shakes. "Well there is the zero g arena and the gym". Vicky cut in "speaking of which you have been in some time. All ships docking now"
The kits gave me some "hi papas". The twins and Molly wanted to know why they call me papa so I told the story. Amongst laughter and them shaking their heads at me Vickey stood straight up and shushed everyone.
"Brad they are having trouble on the ISS, an uncharted piece of space junk the size of a bolt. It impacted on the corner of a window producing a crack that is leaking air. I looked at her "do we have anything big enough to go grab them". She smiled "just me". I smiled "we'll get your show dress on it's your coming out day. Launch some drones to film your takeoff, we may as well make this good".
The ship shuttered and displays popped up showing the ship and the shields. I looked at the live video from the drones and the triangle shape in a flat area started to vibrate. The shape started to grow and 13000 years of moon dust and rocks were sloughed off to the side revealing the ship.
I don't think my smile couldn't grow any bigger as I watched and everyone caught it. "Hack their communications please". She nodded then I heard ground control. I listened for 30 seconds before I realized they were getting ready to bail.
"Huston, can you copy me?". I waited and repeated my call. "Huston here we have an emergency happening we can't deal with amateur radio foolish"
"Sir, I'm here to help you with your situation. Tell the astronauts not to start emergency evacuation" no later I said the words the emergency capsule detached.
"Vicky grab them. Huston before you freak out, did you hear about the robots helping people "
"yes sir".
"Well this is the same guy and I have a space ship, I'm about to pick up the ISS and the crew. They will be safe and you can contact them at any time".
"This isn't funny we have" it trailed off as the ship approached behind the ISS. "You should be able to see me now". "Um yes sir we see you. Who are you?"
"A friend. I will be in touch shortly".
"Vickey what is the status of the escape module". She smiled "both are in the hanger sir, they are in an unused section". "Ok, are there quarters near there?" She nodded "ok get some medbeds down there they will need them". Another nodd "can you patch me through to the crew". My ears were assaulted with people yelling about where they are.
"I may be able to clear up the situation" I said in a clear voice. 2 seconds of silence "to whom am I referring to".
"I'm the guy that just scrubbed your launch and will have you back and functional in a few hours". More silence "I will have you out of your ship and we can get to work on the ISS"
"um yes sir, where are we right now". You're in one of my hangar bays and I will be there shortly". I cut the connection and booted up my VR to get my avatar.
I got to the capsule and I thought crap they must be cramped. I knocked on the capsule door and waited. About a minute later I heard the door being opened. The capsule was still in zero g and I was standing on the floor. I looked in and saw 4 astronauts and I couldn't tell who was who, I heard a few voices. "You can exit the craft, I will keep you in zero g till you're ready". I watched them open their helmets and detach all their buckles. They each floated out the door forming a line of very wide eyed people.
"I would like to welcome you. Would you like to try some light gravity".
"You can control gravity" said one of the women, I just nodded. "I have a drone on each of you to keep you comfortable. Let's start with 0.2 G". They floated to the floor slowly then jumped a few times with smiles on their faces. "If you've heard about me, I'm going to assume you have heard of the beds". They all nodded "there are 4 available over there to make you a lot more comfortable for your stay".
"Sir I am the commander in this crew. I will go first and if I'm ok my crew will follow me" said one of the men. "That makes perfect sense, if you will follow me or I can float you" I said to him. "No this is good". We went the 5 meters to the bed and I had to catch him gently. I guided him to the bed and started the scan. "It looks like it will be 30 min and you will be up and walking around". He laughed "we will see". I hit the button and he was out. I went back to the others "you are free to move around, your partner will be done in 30 min".
They bounced around looking around for the half hour. I stood next to the bed as it finished and he sat up "how am I sitting up, I've been in space for over 200 days?" I looked at him "you are now in perfect health as well". He shook his head and swung his legs over and practically jumped to the floor.
We walked to his workmates and they were shocked to see him walking "come on I have 3 more beds for you". I grabbed 2 and the commander grabbed one and we guided them to the beds. As soon as they were out the questions started. "Who are you"
"let's just wait till the others are awake. I have quarters you can use to shower and I have some fresh clothes for you" he looked excited at that so we headed that way. Entering the quarters "please stand here" he did as I asked as I pushed the button and 30 seconds later a track suit in his size appeared. His eyes shot open. "The shower is there, the control panel is straightforward and there are no limits on the water so relax".
He nodded with a blank expression, he walked to the shower. I laughed and went back to the beds to check on the rest of the crew. They slept comfortably as I examined their suits. They were clunky compared to my tech, maybe I should do some upgrades for them. I went to look at the ISS floating there and saw the bots repairing a window, the drones bringing in the replicated parts.
I turned to see the commander coming out of the quarters drying his hair and stretching. I walked to him "I bet that feels better" he started to laugh"you have no idea that's the first real shower I've had in almost a year".
"Your crew mates should be up soon", We walked to the beds and it was not lost on him that the ISS was hovering above us like a painting. I saw the look and resisted telling him this is one of the little bays. "The bots and drones are replacing the window". He was watching them work when he looked at me "I know you said to wait but you said you were human" I nodded "how long have you been here?"
"About a month" he looked shocked "you did all this in a month". "The ship is much older but trust me I'm under no influence" he laughed at that one.
A ping from a bed we both looked "this is saying she needs to be in for an hour. She has the beginning of ovarian cancer and it takes a bit longer for that. She probably didn't even know" she shook his head "just like that" I nodded "yup just like that. Just like your tennis elbow". His eyes came together and he flexed his arm, his eyes widening "that's been there since my 20s". He slumped into a chair as another ping went off. I let him know it was a good noise and there was 60 seconds left. Then another ping announced the other bed had the same countdown.
Well 3 out of 4 isn't bad I may as well get under way. "There are showers and fresh clothes for you so please relax and enjoy". The look on the new faces told me they were stressed "Vicky a little help here" I asked in my head. She appeared and stole the show. "Hello my name is Vicky I'm an AI and here to help".
"It must be the face" I quipped at her. "What my big partner is trying to say is we have all you need to be comfortable here for your stay. We have food replicators that can make anything you want, yes it's just like sci-fi". She steals a room like shooting fish in a barrel.
"So why the getup" asked the Canadian "I want to hold on to the last bit of normality in my life, it will get complicated when I come out". He smiled "ok I get that, after looking around here I'm thinking I'm out of a job".
"Not at all we can just go further now, I still need men like you to break the boundaries with my tech. We just have to switch from trying to get to the moon again to building bases there. I need men and women like yourselves for exploration to other planets. This is just a taste of what I'm bringing" they all had smiles enjoying a coffee.
They enjoyed a meal after they got out of the showers. I answered questions and I made sure to give them no more info than I gave in the interview. "How big is the ship?" asked one of the women. Vickey jumped in "it's 1.7 km long". They all stopped eating "this is one of 6 bays I have on board". They looked around in shock "and this is all under your control". Vicky again said "well he is the captain". They looked at me "I will be bringing this tech to earth in a controlled manner. You should contact the ground and make sure they aren't freaking out too much".
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
The commander agreed and went to the ISS and jumped to the door and climbed inside.
"What's next for us?" asked one of the women. I cocked my head "what do you mean"."Well is our mission over?"
"Not that I know of, when your colleague wakes up and we are all fed and happy we will work that out. Until then you are my guests so please enjoy".
A drone signaled me that it was done "I just got a notification that your ride is done. If you're finished eating we can go take a look". We all got up and went to the ISS just as the commander exited "wait till you see what he did" he giggled.
We walked around to look at the new window. The one that was hit was part of a dome like structure for viewing. "I thought I would upgrade your view". The 6 sided dome with flat windows was replaced with a bubble window. "Is it safe?" one of the men asked. "Perfectly safe I assure you. All of your tanks are being topped off and I'm replacing your toilet with one you will be a little more comfortable using". That brought smiles. The commander looked at me "everything is good with Huston and putting us back in the same place would be appreciated". I nodded "consider it done".
The timer went off on the 4th bed so we all approached. She was sitting up by the time we got there. She was brought up to speed on everything and she went for her shower. We all chatted while she enjoyed her meal.
"Your telling me I had cancer" I looked at her "yes and it's gone now. All of you, the nanobots are still in your system and when they finish their tasks you will pass them". That got head nodds and more questions "yes they are safe". After another hour we decided it was time for them to go back, after a bunch of thank yous and reconnecting the escape craft.
"Commander, can you hear me?"
"loud and clear sir".
"Check your systems I'm going to drop to a vacuum and check for leaks for a few minutes ok".
"Copy that checking now".
"Huston are you there?"
"Huston here"
"Is there any course correction you need done?"
"No sir where they were would suffice"
"Copy that Huston. Commander are you showing anything indicating a leak"
"No sir all is good across the board"
"Moving you back into orbit, hold on".
I saw the door open and the ISS float out into space "safe travels my friends, oh be aware Huston I topped off all food and supplies so do an inventory before you send more".
"Umm thank you"
"your welcome" and I closed the line.
I looked around and saw the entire kit family, Lisa came to me and guess what I got. "I like watching you work and the kits love attacking the holograms" she giggled "when you walk around they seem to know and never get in your way". I kissed the top of her head "Vickey how is the video of the town". She smiled "it's pushing 5 million views and not slowing" that made me smile.
"What are the comments like" another smile "there are the typical naysayers but they are the minority, people are freaking out thinking this is an invasion. The bulk of the people believe it's real and they want answers. This incident with the ISS should lean in our favor. Do you have a plan or are you winging it?"
I looked at her "I'm winging it", She shook her head. "A plan will come out of it eventually. For now let's keep the PR looking good in our favor". That got nodds from everyone.
We turned on the news and we were on every channel. They had closeups of the ship and video of the ISS emerging from the ship. They jumped back to the town that we rebuilt and I could see faces that I recognized. They looked happy and the apartment building looks to be a hit.
"Vickey, is there any way to make sure people can't get to the power sources? Like a self destruct if it's breached". She looked from the kits to me "they are already like that, if the fusion cells are breached they shut down so fast there is no fallout". I smiled "what about the bots, I can see someone swiping one". She laughed "I can remotely activate a melt down process. They will be left with a pile of elemental carbon and some other trace elements". I started to laugh "I would love to see the look on their face for that one" my eyes shot open "I wonder if an interview would help".
"It certainly wouldn't hurt, what are you thinking?" "Nothing concrete just a idea"
That's when I thought about the TV crew. "Vickey do some hacking and keep an eye on the film crew. It might get a bit hectic for them and I want to know"
"Gotcha" I heard over my shoulder. "You know this might make a career for someone if they play their cards right" Vicky added then came to me "it's not going well for 2 of them, one male one female. The male just seems to be a dick and that is his problem. The girl who was working behind the scenes isn't getting any recognition. I saw her and she was busting her hump behind the scenes getting nothing but a pat on the back".
"Let me guess, I know you have a plan".
"Damn skippy I do. I dug into her career and she is really talented, just overlooked. We can be her break". My eyebrow went up "ok I'm listening" she smiled "when I get you two in the same room I will explain". Both eyebrows now "fair enough I trust you. Just tell me when to nod" I giggled "don't worry you will know. The director and the camera guy are killing it, they both signed deals for interviews already". I smiled "I see the void you want to fill". She nodded "she is also the only one that didn't talk about the base".
"How did you" then I stopped myself "Oh never mind". She will fill me in later how she got access and where. She brought up a hologram of her and I recognized her as the one who asked if they should have heard that conversation about the base.
"She looks perfect if my say has anything to do with it". "She is getting grief getting recognition because her name wasn't on the call sheet".
"So what is the plan".
"This one is simple. She lives alone with her cat, how complicated can it be". I started to giggle "I wonder if she is bringing the cat".
"Ok when are we doing this". She smiled "we leave in 18 minutes and we are going to Dallas, hmph I figured you would be a harder sell" I stuck my tongue out at her. "Is it me or the bot?"
"Both actually I need a driver for the RV". I threw my hands in the air in mock distress "I've been downgraded to driver" I joked. "This might be the norm for a bit to show you as security for the bot. I think being there will help". I nodded and she got an evil grin "come on driver we have to go" I just shook my head and laughed.
We pulled up in the RV realizing the streets were narrow and stopped a block away. I got a large hoodie for both me and my doppelgänger for the walk. You could barely tell it was a robot except for the feet. Within minutes we approached the apartment of one Becky Harmon.
I knocked instead of the bot I figured metal on metal wouldn't sound good. She answered and her eyes shot open " I didn't say anything about the base". I stood there and let the bot answer "we know but that is not why we are here". Vickey jumped in "we want to talk to you about a position with us. We have looked at your work and think you should be leading a crew not in the background". She lowered her head slightly "I get pulled in so many directions that I lose focus".
"That means you need a job with a single focus like a PR agent" she perked up "I would love that but you have to know someone famous for that". Vicky this time "do you think you can do a job like that?"
She nodded so hard I worried she was going to hurt her neck. We all smiled at that, well they smiled I need to change that before the interview. "I want you to do an interview, just me and you and you can ask almost anything you want". Back to wide eyes "that would make my career" she started to jump "do you have any plans for a few days?" She shook her head "good how is your cat around other cats". She looked at me strangely, "she is just a kitten so she should be good, why".
"Just a thought, are you able to leave now?" Another nodd "yea I have no life". She picked up the cat carrier by the door and went inside to grab it and returned. We started to walk "this job may require relocation are you ok with that".
"Oh yea my lease is month to month, where would I be moving to". The real me giggled "let's say you will be on the move a lot for a bit". That got me a worried look.
We were walking when a woman came up to Becky, I was in the lead and my bot was taking up the rear. She pushed past me and looked Becky in the face "are you still saying you were there, you know the paperwork tells the truth". My bot pulled back his hood "of course she was there. She did such an excellent job that we have come to get her and offer her a job. Now if you will excuse us we are actually busy". I gently moved her to the side and she just stared at me mumbling something.
We got to the RV and got onboard "thank you for that, the look on her face made the crap they put me through worth it. I do have one question, am I being abducted".
We all laughed except her, Vicky stepped in "you're not being abducted and you can go home at any time I promise". She nodded at that.
I yelled from the driver's seat "consider it an upgrade". She leaned in to Vicky "who is he". Vickey smiled "that's the big guy". Back to the shocked look "like big guy, big guy?" Vicky nodded and I heard a "holy shit" under her breath.
I found a parking lot with no power lines so we could take off and let Vickey take over. I went back to Becky "I'm sorry about the cloak and dagger". She smiled and stood and shook my hand "have a seat we will be in transit for about 15 minutes". I sat across from her "transit to where" she asked. "Our base" she smiled "I am being abducted".
I laughed "well sort of but it's all for the good, I'm offering you a job helping me change the world for the better. Let me put some on the table. I was chosen to have this tech and help mankind. Before this I was 53 and not on social media but I see the benefits of it. You know the systems and can help me". She looked flustered but nodded then realized we had taken off and was staring out the window so I went to sit by Vicky. "She seems like she needs a few min'' Vickey nodded.
I noticed where we were going. Just north of where she was hibernating. "Are you sentimental about this spot?" She looked at me "yes I was here for so long". My turn to smile " well maybe we have the spot for a moon base".
"Really I like the idea of a city on the moon"
"have the triplets help you, nothing too phallic there is too much of that on the ground. We can dedicate it to your resting spot". She was very pleased with that. "It will be fun fighting with B, he is very territorial over his designs".
"Well I will leave it in your hands and you can get back to me. Just make it people friendly ok" she nodded.
I heard over my shoulder "is that the moon?" Both Vickey and I turned and said at the same time "yes". The frankness of the answer seemed to give her grips on the moment. I looked at Becky "we are the big ship that saved the ISS and we are currently parked on the moon".
She was silent till we exited the ship. She pointed at the zero g playroom and I explained what it was, at least she was talking. We got to the quarters deck and she looked down "your quarters will be down there if that's ok with you". She nodded "now for the real test" . I looked at the cat. "Oh you need something first" and left her alone for a minute. I ran to the empty quarters and replicated a disk of nanobots. I returned to her "these are nanobots and they will translate for you, you just have to put it on your hand and push the button".
She took it with shaking hands and wide eyes. She examined it and read the word on the button, PUSH. She did it and it melted into her skin and she went to brush it off. There was no brushing it off. "Without them you won't be able to understand my extended family. You will hear your own voice over the people talking when the bots are working so relax".
She nodded and the door opened. Instantly the kits were in attack formation so I picked up the male to meet Becky and mittens. Once the male nodded ok to the others they descended on Becky. She just took it in with wide eyes as Lisa came to me "hello there it's nice to meet you" she said. I saw Becky's eyes squinting for a sec then a smile. "It's weird but it works, hi there".
I heard a hiss and looked down and the kits were sniffing mittens. We all sat and she opened the cage. The kits approached the door and mittens came right out and ran to Becky. They followed her over and sat on the floor watching. Kim spoke up "these are cats in your world" I nodded expecting a verbal lashing "alright monkey boy" she giggled and sat.
The kits during this time were watching Becky pet mittens. It was the male that stood and did the same, after he got a positive response the others joined him. I looked at Lisa "do I even ask" she shrugged "I gave up on that a long time ago". I looked at Becky "these little guys are not much older than mittens". Another shocked look "are you shitting me, they act like toddlers". Kim spoke up "we develop fast, I'm Kim by the way".
Mittens was comfortable enough to explore and the kits followed her around sniffing one another. They got more and more comfortable over minutes and became friends. Becky was looking freaked out especially when the kits called me papa.
I looked at Becky "you have the choice of working on earth or up here".
"Um I guess up here if that is ok" I smiled "how are you feeling" she took a deep breath "part of me wants to run and don't look back and the rest of me can't wait for what's next" she smiled. "That's the right attitude are you hungry or thirsty?" She nodded "a drink would be nice thank you". I took her to the replicator and showed her how it worked. She got a cup of tea and took a sip, her smile told the rest of the story.
We talked about what I wanted to happen and she was all over the social media presence. She knows the ins and outs of that system, something I never was part of and still wanted to avoid. She said the interview will be the big one people will look at. I told her there are some points I want covered but she has free reign to ask the real people questions.
I got Vicky to bring her up to speed with everything and she soaked it up like a sponge. While Vickey brought her up to speed and I went to get mittens some food and water. I put it on the floor and mittens took right to it. I laughed out loud when the male tried it and spit it out then ran to mom wiping his tongue. By the time Becky was done she was sitting on her seat excited.
Lisa and Kim took her to show her the quarters and amenities, there were squeals at the clothes replicator. Becky emerged with a housecoat of the poofy material "I was told to ask about the shower" then started to laugh. I stood "ok where is everyone sleeping and they all pointed at bedrooms including Becky which shocked me. I collected Lisa and bid my farewells. One nose lick and kiss later we were out.