The next day I had messages from Becky all saying the same thing, that was great PR. I got up and went to my office, coffee achieved. I turned on the news and saw my face everywhere, still not used to that.
I went on YouTube and the footage of my interviews were everywhere. There were people analyzing my movements and judging intent. There was a lot of interest in the comm units and people wanted them pretty bad for testing.
Vickey appeared "they don't know most of the possibilities, that's for Sara's interview". I looked at her "when is her debut happening?" "They are doing it live today at 16:00".
"Ok let me know so I can watch" She nodded. "Is there anything else going on I should know". She smiled "the twins have they upped their game now that progress is almost empty again".
"That's news that I like to hear".
"Me to" she swung back and forth with a smile on her face. "You seem in a very good mood today". She beamed a smile at me "people want an interview with just me and Becky is going to make it happen" she was jumping at the end of the sentence.
"When are you doing it?"
"She is going to transition from Sara to me, so today". I smiled "I'm sure you will get more viewers than me". She blushed at that comment "you are the reason for all of this" I said as I waved my arm around.
"Ok I kicked it off, you built it so far". I shook my head "oh hush up and take the compliment. I could never have been able to do anything without you and you know it". She blushed deeper and dissipated.
I went to my wives and kissed them and got mumbling replies. "You both are hungry and it's bleeding over to me". They laughed at me and went to get some breakfast. I could feel their hunger over my own and it was annoying.
I went back to my desk and brought up a live map of the world. I zoomed in on Lake Mead and saw the ships. They were about 10 meters across and produced their own rainstorm. I could see boaters having fun in the rain jumping in and out of the storm.
My comm went off and it was Becky "good morning captain" she said with a forced smile. "What's wrong?" Was my reply. "Am I that transparent?" I nodded "come on spill it". She huffed "the Canadian and American governments are freaking out that you can appear anywhere you want. They want to meet with you". I nodded "how have they reached out?" She took a deep breath "email through the site and all of your socials".
"I knew this day was coming sooner or later might as well do it now. Do they have a time set up or are they waiting on me?" She smiled "they are waiting on you and they are sending a few messages a day". I looked at her "thank you for bringing this to me and I'm sorry you had to be a go between. Forward all of the messages and I will sort through them".
"Thank you for taking this off my plate" she looked relieved as we ended the call. I looked through the messages when they arrived and found a contact for each country.
The states gave me the runaround for about 20 min to get anyone serious. The Canadians were waiting on the call so I got right through.
I agreed that 3 people from each country will be picked up and brought to my ship.
I left my office "I'm going to have a busy afternoon" I said to my girls and collected kisses. After I explained what I was doing I went to the flight deck.
I took one of the big RVs in case they got whiney and wanted to take more. I headed for a base in Ontario and landed outside the gate to the address.
I pulled up to the gate to wide eyes and shock. "Good morning I'm here to pick up the representatives to go to the ship". The staff looked flustered.
"Could you sign in sir" said the male of the group and he handed me a clipboard. I signed the captain as a joke and handed it back. I looked at the most flustered of the 2 and asked "is it ok to take off from there or do I have to come back through the gate". She looked at me "if the higher ups say it's ok you can take off from there". She looked relieved to pass the buck up the chain of command.
"Thank you" I said and the male with the clipboard gave me directions to my destination. I followed them and found 5 men standing outside. I pulled up and disembarked to meet them. I shook each man's hand as they were introduced and I gathered the 3 with me and we boarded.
"I'm not gonna lie, I didn't expect to be picked up in an RV" he laughed. I looked at him "it's what's under the hood that counts. I'm sure you were thinking more like this". I made the steering wheel retract and the flight holograms appeared. The men's faces lit up when I took off vertically and we were on our way to DC.
"How fast does this ship go?" I heard over my shoulder so I looked "I'm not sure let's find out" I pushed the ship to Mach 4 with ease. I could see the whites of his eyes as he looked at the speed.
We were over DC in no time and I found the address was a swanky hotel. I sat down in an empty parking lot and drove to the address. There were 2 males and one female waiting for me.
"I expected a spaceship" said the gruff old man. His female counterpart was more pleasant with a quiet hello and the final man said nothing.
Vicky chirped at me "he is armed sir" I noted that for later. "Sorry to disappoint but if you will take a seat we will get underway".
I could see the Canadians smirking. I had the flight controls come up and we took off. I should have taken a video because the looks they put on their faces were priceless.
I stood and turned to face my guests "did all of you bring your phone or a camera" I got nods.
"Can I take a picture of your instruments?" asked one of the Americans. "Of course if there is anything particular you wanted explained just ask. I'm going to swing by the ISS so you can have some interesting pics to take home" they seemed pleased at that. The Americans were interested in my version of radar, it showed everything including birds.
They were all looking around as we approached the station and they got excited.
While they took pics I took this time for introductions.
The old grumpy man held out his hand "I'm general Adam Black sir". I took his hand and felt the grip of years of service. I went around Lee Crawford was his second, Oliver Buchanan was the other man's name and he just nodded. Then on to the Canadians, Bailey Harvey was a big man with a crushing grip. He introduced his associates Hugo Long and Alex Pratt.
"Welcome to all of you, if you have enough pics we can go to our next destination which is the park". They seemed pleased with that so I set a course. "The park is fully functional". It was in view and they started taking pics.
"There are people there," said Lee. "Yes they are people I've helped and they have free reign here. We will see their home on the ship and I can explain further there" They seemed ok with that answer for now. I flew by my stockpile of material on the moon so they could see it. There were huge blocks of gold and other materials the size of shipping containers.
With wide eyes Hugo looked at me "are you mining the moon?" I shook my head "the asteroid belt actually, I have autonomous ships doing the mining and they bring back a few hundred tons at a time". That drew shocked looks so I tried to recover "ready to go to the ship?" That got enthusiastic head nods. "And I thought this was going to be a boring day" said one of the Canadians, getting laughs from all.
"What powers this craft" came from the same man. "It's a type of fusion reactor and this crafts engines can power a mid-sized city. This is a small ship I have others". Alex spoke up "how many do you have?"
"I just make them as I need them, this one took 2 hours to complete" he seemed flummoxed at that. "How fast can you make say a tank". I looked at him "what models are referring to". He seemed shocked, "say an Abrams". I looked away for a sec and looked it up "56 minutes with my armaments, 29 with yours". That drew blank stares, wow this is a rough crowd. "I will show you my toys I'm not hiding anything" that drew smiles.
I landed and got out. I pointed to the ships "I have no set design yet but I have a fantastic design team". I heard over my shoulder "are those the ships that are flying your missions". I turned "yes they are, the pilots are on mandatory down time for a few days".
"You give your military mandatory down time" came from Oliver.
"I don't have a military, the pilots of those ships are doing it because they wanted to and to get practice flying. They saw the problem and wanted to help not because I ordered them to. They are having fun and I let them have their fun because it's beneficial for all".
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"Can we meet them?" Came from Lee. "Possibly let me check" I raised my arm and the hologram appeared and they marveled at it.
"You're not wearing a comm device" Hugo pointed out. I smiled "mine are built in". They were at the park so I sent a message asking them to make an appearance for me. The reply was instant, they will be back in an hour. "They are at the park right now but they will be here soon" that produced smiles.
"Let's start off with the toys you came to see" more smiles. We made our way to the upper deck of the armory and I turned on the lights over the fighters on racks. "I have 500 fighters on board but only 5 pilots so far" I joked, getting blank faces.
"What about ground assault?" asked one of the generals. I turned the light on over my battle armor and took control.
I was standing in front of the crowd and pacing back and forth, the armor was mimicking my movements. "Normally they require a pilot but I can command them remotely". I did a stupid dance and the armor did the same, getting laughs.
"How many can you control" came from Oliver. "This should be good, I've only done this in training". 4 more joined the first and snapped a salute.
"Do I want to ask how powerful they are?" I smiled "with one of these you could take out any base on the planet. Saying that these weapons will not be used on earth they are too powerful. They have railguns on each arm and produce their own ammunition. There are missile launchers as well and they self replenish. They can't fly but they can jump over 200 meters and fall gracefully. They are space worthy and the pilot has supplies for a month". They looked like they were salivating as I described them.
"And when are you going to share your weapons?" Said Oliver. I looked at him "probably never with existing militaries, you are barely in control of the weapons you have. I wouldn't trust most militaries with a potato gun". That produced a single giggle and shocked looks.
"What makes you think I'm going to give you anything general" I said to him. "It is a matter of national security. We need to impound these weapons and any other on US soil". I glared at him "that's easy I won't help the US after the dam is full ok".
That got him to backpedal "I didn't mean" I cut him off "I know what you meant general. I can tell you now that my weapons will be used defensively. But that said those who decide to come at me will be shocked when I come at them. Those who are with me are under my protection and I take that very seriously. Did you notice the construction on the moon next to the park?" I got nods.
"That is mankinds first colony and it will house millions, all with a new way of life and that's the beginning. I'm bringing this tech to the people not the military" that brought some sour faces.
"I chose Canada to start but I could do business anywhere. I choose to do business here and pay all the taxes with no loopholes. Let's get a drink"
I went to the replicator and got an iced tea. They took their time and chose a drink and there were a few extra made to see it in action.
"Everyone on the moon will have one of these, it makes food as well"
"For free," said Oliver. Of course for free it costs me nothing to make so why would I charge. Clothing, and education will be the same. They all had shocked looks on their faces. "The Pegasus network is something I needed so my design crew beefed it up to handle all communications on the planet. We built it and put it in place 2 days later. I'm going to charge next to nothing to buy the units and it will give them lifetime access. This is a gift to all mankind". Back to blank stares.
"I will give you a bunch of them to rip apart if you want" that got me head nodds.
"Let's take a walk to Progress" questing looks as we got into the lift. The doors opened and revealed a few people there milling about.
Lee started "who are all these people" she asked in a polite tone. "These are people you walk by every day and ignore. These are most of the homeless from Vancouver, they don't have addictions or mental issues anymore. They have become part of my workforce on the moon. They wanted jobs so Sara interviewed them and placed them where they can succeed in life".
"Who is Sara?" Came from a few people. "She is an AI that will be running the park and my business interests on earth". Backed to shocked looks "an AI is going to run your business" said a Canadian just to verify he heard it right.
I laughed "yes I have a few AIs on my team and no they can't go all murder bot. She was designed to run an entire planet and she will make sure my business is above the board. You will notice that everything I do is for the people to make their lives better. When you remove greed from the equation the solution is clear".
Everyone was nodding except Oliver "you are going to bankrupt us and make us live your way" he spat out.
"Not at all sir, I want people to join me not bend to my will. I'm trying to introduce tech in ways to keep people working. Some industries will suffer like oil and gas has to go as well as a lot of chemical production. We have known that for a long time now".
"You're telling me you would tell us to stop drilling for oil and gas on American soil" he said as he stood. "You have no right to tell us what to do". He drew his weapon and was frozen in place.
"What did you do?" he screamed. I looked at him "you drew a weapon and showed aggressive action to another so a drone grabbed you. This is the same security I have in my park and colony. The only reason it didn't stun you is because I would have to lug your ass back to the shuttle. Now are you going to calm down?" He threw me a dirty look and nodded.
The others watched as I took his gun and laid it flat in my hand. I had a drone pick it up wrap a shield around it and decompile into a round ball. It was the size of a big marble and I put it in his pocket. "I knew you were armed before you even got on the shuttle. I didn't think you would be stupid enough to pull it". I looked him dead in the eye "nothing you can throw at me will work, got it" he scowled.
By that time I had 3 bots there to escort him to the flight deck. "You have a choice, the flight deck or my brig?"
"The flight deck" he said through gritted teeth.
I looked at the remainder of my guests "he will be fine and he will miss the best part, now shall we" I left him knowing the bots will keep him in line.
We were sitting beside the tree by my quarters and I sent a message to the kits.
"Are you ready to meet the pilots?" I got wide eyes and nodds. The kits came running to me for hugs and I crouched down and scooped them up. I turned with them in my arms to wide eyes. "These are the pilots?" Adam said.
"Yup"
"they aren't human".
"Nope these are the kids of a family I rescued and they are learning to fly for fun. They are using the cleanup as practice. And the best part is they aren't 2 months old yet". I saw Kim and Gar watching and smiling, they waved at my guests and they waved back.
"These are the kit family and I rescued them when their ship went through some sort of a gravitational thing out past Pluto".
My guests were gobsmacked looking at me "May I" said Lee and pointed at the kits. I nodded and walked to her. The male stepped forward and sniffed her then smiled at her but he wouldn't go to her. He looked at me then wanted down and his sisters joined him. They went to their parents and left. I looked at Lee and shrugged "they are kids don't take it personally" she nodded.
"How many aliens are on board" asked Alex "they are a family of nine and for lack of a better term I adopted them".
"Why didn't the parents come over" asked Hugo. "You don't have the nanobots for translation so you would understand them" a lot of puzzled looks. "Here let me show you" I went to the replicator and got 5 disks of nanobots for them.
"All you have to do is put it on your hand and push the button, I will activate the translation protocol for you. That isn't going to be mainstream yet so you will have an edge others don't have". They looked at me with skepticism and took them and did as I asked. I brought up a screen with a Japanese broadcast. "Over the next few minutes you will hear a voice translating for you". I watched them go through a multitude of expressions then ending in smiles. "This is amazing, what other languages will they work on?" Asked Bailey. I smiled "all of them, you now understand every language on earth. You will learn to turn them on and off, it just takes a little concentration".
"We all need to get used to a different way of life from now on and I'm willing to listen to any ideas on how to bring it without job loss" I could see them all thinking "tough thing huh" I got a lot of looks but not a lot of suggestions.
"We are here when you need the help" Hugo said and the rest of the Canadians nodded. "I'm on board as well but I'm not sure what we can do". I smiled at Adam "I need you to go back and let them know I'm not the enemy. Everything I do I do for the benefit of all people".
We chatted on our way back to the flight deck to see Oliver sitting in a chair. I turned to the Americans "I'm going to autopilot your shuttle to the ground exactly where I picked you up. I have no desire to see his face right now". The general nodded "he is CIA and please don't take his actions as the attitude of all of us" he extended his hand and I took it "I won't but make it clear I don't take displays like that kindly". He got a look on his face and looked at Oliver "trust me I will make that clear".
"Thank you general" was the last thing I said as he stood up Oliver and marched him onto the ship.
I turned to the Canadians "now where were we, oh yes toys". We boarded the RV and I got them their comm units. They were set up within minutes. As soon as they put on the glasses they were tickled pink.
"So what do you think of all this?" the general smiled. "Well here is the way I see it so far. I have a company bringing lots of new products. I can respect your decision regarding the weapons for now. I don't think our neighbors to the south will feel the same way". I nodded "yea I got that impression as well. They will learn I will never start a fight but I have no problem finishing them, I think they won't like that" he nodded. "I will viciously protect my own and I think they will learn that the hard way, actually that applies to a bunch of countries" more nodds.
"Well gentlemen let's get you home I'm sure you will be in meetings for a while" I laughed and they joined me. We set off and within 20 min they were on the ground. I flew straight home and crawled in between my mates and passed out.