The two stellar physicists exchanged a look; Treelam shrugged again, “Our work here is finished; it is possible we could be of some use at Forest.”
Stoker nodded and turned to Wills, “We will go with you, Admiral.”
“Very well, get your gear together and keep your com pads on; I don’t know how long this will take. With any luck we should be out of here by tonight.”
They both nodded and started for the door. As they turned, Victoria Treelam hesitated and turned back to Wills; she placed a hand on his arm and looked up to fix pale green eyes on him, “Roland and I hesitate to say this but you should know that it may be too late already. We were surprised at how far the situation within the Forest primary had degraded since last month. The magnetic disruption being caused by the Anomaly places this situation outside of known science, but the inevitable result is clear; it will cause violent flares that will wipe all life from Forest. We have little time.”
Wills watched them leave the room. Victoria Treelam was one of the top stellar physicists and had been for decades. Hearing her say that put a knot in Wills’ stomach.
He turned back to face CeCe, “Commander, is the Weasel operational?”
It had been several months since she had visited the old ship, “Well, when I was last there, Captain Helt was just finishing the installation of the last of the Berlin reactors, the isolator drive was in good shape, and the Silverman Integrator was up and running. I believe that the next thing on the list was the lift ring. If they haven’t gotten far with that then it should be usable.”
“Good, get Captain Helt over here now and call whatsisname, the construction guy, Salmond, and get him here now, too.”
“Yes, sir.” She pulled her pad out and started calling.
Reynolds returned his attention to the people at the work stations; they were all facing him.
“Who is Traffic Control?”
The older man at the station in front of and below the woman at Port Operations held up his hand, “Jesse Granholm, sir.”
“What interstellar capability do we have in-system?”
“Sir, the cargo ships Winslow and Pugnacious, and the passenger ship Gregory Falls are in orbit. The scout ships Santana and Melinda are on the ground as is the survey ship Streak which is having some minor repairs made. The Patrol Escorts Kellogg and Rance are on their usual patrol routes in the outer system. The passenger ship Wilshire Glade is due to arrive in one week.”
When Granholm had finished, Reynolds turned to Copeland, “Get Lieutenant Commander Billings here now.”
She started tapping on her pad again.
“Traffic Control, you will send a message to the Kellogg and Rance and reinforce my general announcement; they are to return here immediately. You will then call the Winslow, Pugnacious, and Gregory Falls. Make absolutely certain that they understand that they now belong to me. They are to remove all extraneous passengers, crew members, and cargo to the surface and prepare their ships for evacuation duty.”
He turned back to Copeland again, “Get the Police Commander here now.”
He pointed at the last person sitting at one of the stations, “Are you handling low-level traffic and port ground movement?”
“Yes, sir.” replied the older, gray haired woman.
“Contact the Wexton-Hanna people and tell them I need supplies moved from storage facilities to orbit and the spaceport. Then contact the Captain of the Streak; see if the ship is operational.”
The door opened and Lieutenant Commander Billings entered. He stopped in front of the Admiral and saluted. The balding, fortyish pilot was dressed in a standard dark blue ship suit.
“Sir, I was down the hall when I got Commander Copeland’s call.”
“Good, is the Melinda ready to go?”
“Yes, sir; I was going to lift for Forest in three hours as per my normal schedule.” His brow furrowed as he looked straight at Reynolds, “I get the feeling I won’t be doing that.”
“That is correct Commander; you are to lift for Sandalwood and then New Braxton. At each stop you are to notify them by com that Article Six is in effect and they are requested to send anything that can help with the evacuation directly to Forest. Also, at both locations, notify the Paradise Found resident supervisor that I have command of the Gregory Falls for this operation. And, you will do the same for the owners of the Winslow and Pugnacious. You will then go to Forest to see if you can be of any help there.”
The Admiral took his arm and steered him toward the door, “I have to stress that it does not look like we have much time. Get this done as quickly as possible.”
Billings turned and saluted again, “I will, sir.”
As he went out the door he nearly ran into Police Commander Clacton. Erica Clacton had been Police Commander of Michigan City for longer than the twenty standard years that Wills had been the Governor-General. The average looking woman enhanced her looks by always wearing her police uniform. She wasn’t much of a cop but she was an excellent administrator and knew how to put people where they did their best work. She had to lean her head well back to look at Wills as they shook hands.
“I heard your pronouncement Admiral, how can my people help?”
“Erica, I want you to handle my non-resident problem. There are three ships in orbit that will be unloading passengers and unnecessary crew members. I want you to locate all available housing for them here in town and out along the rail system. In two or three weeks there will be an influx of the inhabitants of Forest that you will have to handle.”
“Well, sir; there should be no problem with the ships that are here. We have plenty of unused transient space, but how many can you
