Field Commander still apply. You have extensive knowledge of dig site excavation methods. We don’t.’
‘I know some things, and my lecturer will help, but I don’t have the Military knowledge to …’
‘We’ll make sure you appear fully knowledgeable about all Military matters,’ said Leveque. ‘Now, my information is you two evacuated to Ark with the Eden Dig Site teams. We need your operation up and running without delay, so please ask them for their assistance. Do they have any vid bees with them? We want to announce details on Earth Rolling News as soon as possible, and we’d like to include vid images from your area.’
‘Details? About this?’ I gulped. ‘I’m sure the Eden Dig Site teams will be happy to help, and we have vid bees, but …’
‘Excellent. The fact you were evacuated with the dig teams, combined with proper vid bee images, will give the reassuring impression we’ve been preparing this for some time.’
‘But, sir … What happens if we don’t find anything? If my theory isn’t right, or we’re looking in the wrong place, I’ll have wasted everyone’s time.’
Leveque actually laughed. ‘A delaying action is exactly what we need now, Jarra. Our immediate objective is to prevent widespread panic. Your excavation can’t even start before the portals are back, and will hopefully take at least a full day. If you find a way to contact the sphere, that’s wonderful. If you don’t, we’ve bought time for people to calm down, and for us to think of our next move. You don’t worry about that. You just look confident and demonstrate the Military are actively working on the problem.’
‘Yes, sir.’
‘Now, please talk to the Eden Dig Site teams.’ He smiled. ‘Don’t forget to change clothes first. I’m happy to know you tagged Fian, but a Military uniform will look more reassuring on a vid.’
I looked hastily down at my top and blushed. ‘Yes, sir.’
Leveque ended the call, and I looked helplessly at Fian. ‘This is …’
‘I know,’ he said.
We hurried up to our room, dug our uniforms out of our bags, and started hastily taking off our clothes.
‘You’re changing out of the black lace?’ asked Fian.
‘Yes. It’s not exactly Military.’
‘You could keep it on,’ he said. ‘I like the idea of you wearing the formal Military uniform on top, while underneath you’re …’
I giggled. ‘It’s me that has a thing about you wearing a uniform, Fian, not the other way around.’
‘I think I got corrupted.’
‘I think you’re trying to make me laugh to stop me panicking.’
We put on our uniforms, and attached our Military lookups. I thought Fian looked impressively professional. I was less convinced about myself, but I didn’t have time to stand around worrying about it.
On our way down to face the Eden dig teams, I checked Earth Rolling News, and found it alternating between replaying Colonel Torrek’s speech and showing a Military vid. This showed the Military fighters and the Earth Africa solar array guarding the sphere, the combined menacing effect making it look outnumbered and insignificant. I felt people would find it very reassuring, at least until they remembered Earth was in the middle of a solar storm at the moment, so the fighters weren’t actually up there.
I paused just outside the entrance to the main hall. My grandmother, Colonel Jarra Tell Morrath, had commanded several Planet First teams. She’d died before I was born, so I’d never met her, but I imagined her now, picturing her as calm and confident as Colonel Torrek. I was her Honour Child, and I could do this. I had to do this.
I walked in with Fian at my side. Everyone was standing together watching Earth Rolling News, which was promising further information from the Military within the hour. I knew what the information would be.
The main crowd didn’t notice our entry into the hall, but Playdon did. He took one look at our uniforms, grabbed something from the pile of boxes holding the band’s equipment, and came to join us.
‘We’ve been ordered to request some help from the Eden Dig Site teams,’ I said.
Playdon was obviously grazzed by that. He looked down at the object in his hand; a reproduction twentieth- century microphone. ‘I thought everyone would ask questions the moment they saw you in Military uniform. I wasn’t expecting …’
He broke off, switched on the microphone, and his voice echoed around the hall. ‘Please can I have your attention?’
People turned, looking startled by the interruption, then stared at our uniforms.
‘Major Jarra Tell Morrath and Captain Fian Eklund have a request to make on behalf of the Military.’
Playdon passed me the microphone, and stepped back. Several hundred people waited for me to speak. The dig site teams were used to keeping their heads in a crisis, and were just looking tense, but I spotted Keon with his arm around an openly terrified Issette. Her reaction was far more typical of the panic that must be spreading through Ark, and I had to help stop it by convincing people they were safe. I tried to look like someone who was totally in control of any and all aliens in the universe.
‘I’m Major Jarra Tell Morrath. Captain Fian Eklund and I were recruited in the initial phase of the Alien Contact programme. I’m now Field Commander of the Military operation to retrieve the device needed to communicate with the alien sphere. There’ll be a general public announcement about that soon. For the moment, I’ll just explain an alien device was left on Earth in excess of a thousand years ago. The recent solar super storm created a power surge in the device, which transmitted a signal to summon the alien sphere. It’s now waiting for a further signal to trigger its communication sequence, but we have to find the device before we can send the signal.’
Was I sounding confident and in control? It was hard to tell from the shocked faces in front of me. No one was actually throwing anything at me, or asking where I’d stolen the uniform, so I kept going.
‘We believe the device is buried at a location in equatorial Earth Africa, due north of the Eden Dig Site. The Military request your expert assistance in finding and excavating it.’
Rono elbowed his way through the crowd. ‘Last time, Jarra, it was a crashing spaceship. This time, you want us to dig up aliens?’
‘Only an alien artefact, Rono. We haven’t got any actual living aliens, there’s just an automated probe up in Earth orbit.’
He gave a huge laugh. ‘Only an alien artefact …’ He turned to face the others and yelled. ‘Cassandra 2, are we in this?’
‘Chaos yes,’ called back Stephan. ‘I was in hospital and missed the last trip. Dig Site Command, sign us up!’
After that, there was pandemonium, as everyone started talking at once.
30
The Eden dig teams must have been the happiest people in Ark at this point. They were people who liked action, something incredibly important needed doing, and they were going to help get it done. Dig Site Command automatically started work, making a list of teams who wanted to help, and mailed it to me.
The Military Command Support team had also sent me mail, giving site location details and logistics information. I sent Dig Site Command’s list of personnel on to the Military, and sent the Military information on to Dig Site Command and all the dig team leaders. This seemed to give everyone the delusion I’d competently arranged all this myself, right down to the details of the aircraft flying in freight-sized portals to Eden and Zulu Dig Sites.
‘You’ve chosen a very clever name for the excavation site,’ said Rono. ‘I love the way Zulu is in current use as a letter designation for the Military, but also has historical links to Earth Africa. Cassandra’s original colonists came from Earth Africa, so I take a special interest in its history.’
I knew Command Support had just randomly named the excavation site after our Military base, but I smiled and accepted the compliment. It all helped build up the fantasy this had been calmly planned for days and I knew
