the list. The death of the infiltrator known as the Chameleon was noted. But the complete disappearance of the clean-up team after the standard notification of arrival on the uninhabited satellite of H14-D102 was very disturbing. The destruction of the mother ship, the two short range space craft, and all life pods had to have happened nearly simultaneously in order to have all contact severed without a report to regional command. Planet H14-D102 was clearly dangerous despite the early reports from the Chameleon. The Users had survived hundreds of thousands of years of space travel by never fighting an opponent they could not guarantee winning against. Some of the other races they had met in space had considered them cowards but the Users still survived while most of the detractors were now gone. In this quadrant, there were eight planets and five space traveling cultures under quarantine. No travel to those eight planets and contact limited to authorized personal with any of the five space cultures. H14- D102 became the ninth planet and an advisory concerning contact with the natives of H14-D102 was broadcast to all User colonies and spacecraft.
Chapter 19
The Cabin
The cabin was hidden in a grove of pine and fir trees. The road was a narrow track following the old logging trails through the woods in back of the farm. It looked like a small retirement cabin but it cost nearly four million dollars to build. The money had gone into what you couldn't see. The basement of the cabin was four times the size of the cabin itself. The basement was a full research and communications center plus at the insistence of the government a fortified bunker, which the government paid for. The cabin was also where Tabby and I were going to start our honeymoon in three days, six hours, and twenty-three minutes.
I had a load of firewood in the trailer behind my small John Deere tractor. I unloaded the wood in the little shed behind the cabin. I took off my boots and jacket in the mud room across from the woodshed. The cabin smelled new. The kitchen gleamed. The great room tinkled. Winters in northern Minnesota are so cold the air is dryer than the Sahara desert. A few years ago my old publishing company had a big meeting in Portland that I had to attend. Between meetings, I went site-seeing to the formal Chinese garden there. Two things I remembered, the quiet tranquility of the garden and the rich humid air. In the
corner of the great room, I took a seven by five-foot spot and had constructed a formal Oriental garden with water trickling off rocks and a small pool surrounded by a handful of small plants. This cabin will never have dry air. Over most of the great room was an open ceiling. The second floor was one large bedroom with a balcony overlooking the great room and pool below.
I sat on the couch listening to the tinkling water. I must have dozed off because it was dark when my eyes opened again. I left the tractor by the cabin and walked back to the trailer I was still living in. The moon was strong but it was still possible to see the stars. An owl flew silently overhead blocking out the stars and moon. I knew something more was out there that I had to find. It was now two days, twenty-two hours, and eleven minutes before the wedding.
* * * *
Thomas Riley didn't like the way the meeting was going. General Holcum, Dr. Schmitt, and Dr. Manning were handling the bulk of the discussion. The two main items of contention were why did Karpinen's space drive keep collapsing and why were the fragments of the alien ship found on the moon made out of a ceramic material stronger than titanium steel and able to withstand the temperatures of a plasma torch. This was the third such meeting that degenerated into an argument.
“Okay, gentlemen. We need to be ready if these aliens come back. What do we need that we haven't tried already?” The silence was a shock after the angry words.
Schmitt finally voiced a reply, “We need Daniel Karpinen here to look over every bit of information we have. And we need him to tell us where to go next.'
Holcum, “We can't. We will have no control on him. He has shown us before he just tolerates us.'
Major Burrows had been standing at the back of the room. He had been brought in as a liaison between the research work at Karpinen's farm and the current project. “Karpinen might just tolerate us but he has always been willing to help. What would be worse, the aliens coming back before we are ready or Karpinen telling the world about a few of the secrets they don't already know? We all know that the press has printed most of the information we have discussed.'
Riley made a decision. “Get me Harry Zimmerman on the line. I want the FBI to bring Karpinen ...
Where is the nearest base that we can secure for a meeting of most of the researchers?'
Holcum replied, “Grand Forks is large enough.'
“Bring Karpinen to Grand Forks. I also want Ole Swenson there. We need a strong applied engineering presence at the meeting.'
* * * *
The small church was packed. My oldest friend from Chicago couldn't make it so Tabitha's brother was my best man. There were a few college friends for Tabitha but the rest of the church was filled with friends of both Tabby's and my parents. Erma and her husband sat up front next to Oggie and her husband Tom. Erma was my mother's best friend and Tom was my father's. Both couples had decided that I needed a parent today so they had kept me busy all morning giving me advice. I am still not sure what they said to me but they did keep me from worrying.
The music started and I saw Tabitha for the first time today. She was beautiful. She gave me the sauciest smile coming down the isle. Her dress was hot. Most brides dress for themselves or their mothers in white lace and frills. Tabby had on a simple white satin full-length dress that clung to her figure. She was fully covered but she would have had only slightly less of her figure revealed if she had worn a bathing suit.
I don't remember much about the ceremony. I do remember that my voice cracked every time I tried to answer the minister. And Tabby was laughing at me every time I stumbled.
The reception was also a blur except for our first dance together. I felt every move Tabitha made through the thin material of her dress. She leaned in close to me and I discover for sure what I had suspected earlier. She had on nothing underneath her dress.
Finally, we were able to leave. We had come in separate vehicles. I parked my pickup away from the church and Tabby parked her car next to the church. Her car was covered in shaving cream and streamers but my truck had been left alone. We took my pickup. We had an escort of one FBI car. The car stopped at the entrance to the farm. Just as soon as we got into the woods, Tabby slid across the seat next to me. When I stopped by the cabin, I pulled her close and ran my hands over her body. She leaned into me and I felt something hard between her legs. Curious, I bunched her dress and slid my hands between her legs. Attached, to the inside of her leg with a garter belt, was a throwing knife. Her hands had found my puukko hanging underneath my arm. We laughed and ran to the bedroom. We made love. Sated for a time, I traced her curves using the cold steel of the knife. After leaving a trail of goose bumps down her back with the hard blade, she pushed me away and we had sex. There is a difference between making love and sex. I am usually exhausted after sex so I fell asleep.
I woke later to the smell of food cooking. I found Tabby in the kitchen. She was wearing my wedding present to her. It was a large dark red silk robe. When she moved, a white limb would flash out from under the darkness. We burnt the food while we had sex on the kitchen counter. Much later, we watched the sky grow light listening to the water tinkling in the great room of the cabin.
Knock, knock, knock.
Tabby had her throwing knife in her hand. She stood to the side of the front door while I opened it. “Felix. Nice to see you've recovered. But what are you doing here?'
“Sorry Mr. Karpinen.'
“Daniel.'
“Sorry Mr. Daniel ... Dan. But I have been ordered to bring you to a meeting.'
“I see the hand of Zimmerman here. Well, was he the one?'
“Mr. Zimmerman was the one who ordered me to come here but he just passed along the orders that came from the NSA.'
“This is my honeymoon. You go back and have Harry tell Riley to call me in an hour and to ask me politely to
