The Commander Read online

  A quiet voice spoke in the back of his mind. No, Commander. You are not insane. Luke realized with a start that it was George.

  “Do we have telepathy or something?” Luke asked aloud.

  Not as such, Commander. But I wanted you to be aware that we can communicate directly. Simply speak to me as though we are in a room together. Even if you are on Earth, I will receive that communication.

  “Sounds a lot like telepathy,” Luke observed. Can you hear me now?

  “Loud and clear, Commander,” George responded verbally.

  Not sure I like this, Luke thought. He threw the cheeseburger and fries, already cold, into an opening that looked like a trash receptacle built into the counter. A momentary buzz and flash of light from within seemed to confirm his theory.

  “Give me a beer,” he said to the replicator.

  “That object is not programmed,” the tinny voice replied.

  “What do you have programmed?”

  “Cheeseburger and fries are the only items in inventory.”

  “Figures.”

  “That object is not programmed.”

  “Never mind.”

  “That object is not programmed.”

  There were obviously varying levels of AI. Luke returned to his shuttle.

  “Hey, Sadie.”

  “Yes, Commander?”

  “Can you take me back to the hangar in Baggs?”

  “Of course, Commander.”

  “You know, I haven’t filed a flight plan or anything. Will they see us coming? Do I need to worry about getting shot down?”

  “Not at all, Commander. I promise that detection by your planetary authorities will never be a problem while you’re with me.”

  Luke sat down in the pilot’s seat. “Okay, then, I’m ready. Let’s go home.”

  “Course set.” Sadie closed up the shuttle, lifted off, and flew into the moon’s night sky.

  Day 2—Population 1

  “You okay, Luke?” Rosanne asked. “Luke!”

  Jolted out of his reverie, Luke nodded at the coffee pot she was offering. “Thanks, Rosanne.”

  “Don’t worry about it so much. Nobody expects you to win a big grant every year. You look like you got the weight of the world on your shoulders.”

  “Funny you should say that. This morning, that’s exactly how I feel.” The night before, Luke had arrived back at the airport after dark. He’d gone straight to his house and turned in.

  “Well, ease up, hon. You moved here to get away from that kind of stress.” Rosanne glanced at the other end of the diner’s countertop. “I wish that one would just stay here and settle down.”

  Luke followed her gaze toward the pony-tailed blonde. Annie something or other. She was wearing leggings, running shoes, and a colorful T-shirt under a fleece hoodie. The girl had moved back to town a few months ago to take care of her grandmother. Luke knew the older woman only as Mrs. Vasquez, and that she had passed away last week. Luke had gone to the funeral, but other than offering condolences, he hadn’t spoken to the grieving teenager.

  “Not many jobs around here, Rosanne,” Luke offered.

  “I know, but I doubt that Royal Deutsche outfit really appreciates her.”

  Luke perked up. “You mean Royal Deutsche Banque? How old is she? She looks twelve.”

  “Let me see,” Rosanne ruminated. “Her birthday is in March. She’s older than my grandson. Harry is twenty-eight or twenty-nine, I think. I just can’t remember.”

  Luke marveled, not for the first time, how Rosanne knew so much about everyone in this town. He wondered how long before she knew about Sadie.

  As if sensing his mood, Rosanne pried into his thoughts. “Where’s your funny-talking friend this morning, anyway? What was that language he was speaking? You two were getting on like a house afire.”

  “I’m afraid he’s moved on, Roseanne. Believe me, I tried to get him to stay. You said Annie worked at Royal Deutsche? What’d she do there?”

  “I dunno. She got registered as a CPA in Reno. I remember when she used to study all the time for that test. But back east she does something in precious metals? Broker?”

  Luke’s interest in the young lady skyrocketed. He picked up his coffee and moved two stools down from Annie.

  “Morning, Annie. Sorry about your grandma.”

  She gave him a half smile. “Morning, Mr. Blackburn. Thanks. And thanks for coming to the funeral.”

  “Of course. Say, Rosanne said you work for Royal Deutsche Banque.”

  “Worked, past tense. I had to quit to take care of Grandma. I don’t know if they’ll hire me back.”

  “So you’re looking for a job? Rosanne mentioned you’re a CPA in the precious metals division.”

  Annie gave him a skeptical look. “Why, Mr. Blackburn? You have some precious metals you want moved?”

  Luke held up his hands to show he meant no offense. “I’m actually looking for a CPA.”

  “I can give you a couple of names. Mr. Ortiz down the road could probably use some extra work.”

  “A background in precious metals would be a big plus.”

  Annie squinted at him distrustfully. “Seriously? I know you’ve gotten some grants at the airport, but I understand that Mrs. Cummings is not making much money. As I hear it, she’s out there about forty hours a week and getting paid for a lot less. I’m looking for a real job.”

  Luke’s cheeks grew hot, and he felt unaccountably embarrassed. The little female sitting at the counter was not much over five feet. In the past her comments would have bounced off his rough exterior, but after yesterday’s events, he felt more vulnerable than in his entire life.

  He was desperate for help but unsure how to move forward. Anything he did might entail some unforgivable mistake that would doom humanity. The realization made him angry. Not at anyone in particular, but at the situation, and for sure, he was plenty mad at Sam.

  “I would… Sorry, I don’t know your last name.”

  “Daniels.”

  “Miss Daniels. I would say Linda’s decision on how much time she spends at the airport is her business. She understands the circumstances of my limited ability to provide her with income and has always, at least to my knowledge, been quite satisfied.

  “Regarding my current personnel requirements, it is possible that the right person would put me in a position to do a little more for the town in general and Linda in particular. If you’re not interested, not a problem.”

  The silence between them lasted only seconds before it was broken by the irrepressible Rosanne. “Annabelle Theodora Daniels! Why are you giving Mr. Luke a hard time? He’s offering you a job, girl. Just yesterday you were in here whining about how you hate the thought of going back to that Deutsche Banque outfit. What’s the matter with you?”

  The change in Annie’s demeanor was dramatic. She was no longer a strong woman but a reprimanded adolescent.

  “Sorry, Mr. Blackburn,” she said meekly. “I guess I’m a bit touchy because of Grandma. I would be happy to know more about your position.” She looked over at Rosanne for approval.

  The ice was broken and everyone stopped frowning. Luke paid for both of their breakfasts and asked Annie to accompany him to the airport with a quick stop at the local You-Lock-It storage place on Main Street.

  “She would love to,” Rosanne answered forcefully.

  # # #

  Luke stood in front of unit 23 and checked both ways. With no one in sight he unlocked the clasp and lifted up the door.

  Annie gasped when she saw the stacks of gold bars. She gave Luke a blank stare for several seconds and then turned back to the interior of the garage unit. Luke saw that she was counting the pallets.

  “Jesus H. Christ,” she whispered. “You have this much gold and you’re keeping it in a storage unit? Are you insane?”

  “I keep it locked,” Luke replied weakly.

  “Well thank God for small favors.” She looked at the gleaming metal for a bit longer and then faced
Luke. “Listen. Really. Thanks. I just… I’m only thirty-three years old and I don’t want to spend my life in prison. I’m not going to get involved in anything that’s illegal so why don’t you close the door and I’ll go back to Chicago? We’ll pretend this never happened.”

  Luke could see the growing fear in her expression. She was creating all sorts of improbable scenarios about how he had acquired so much gold. And all of her suspicions were off the mark.

  “Hang on,” he urged. “First, I promise you that there’s nothing illegal here that I know of. This came into my possession yesterday. If I prove to you that everything here is kosher, will you at least listen?”

  “I can’t imagine how anyone can legally have two billion dollars of gold in a storage unit.”

  “Five minutes,” Luke insisted. “Just give me five minutes, and if you’re not convinced, then fine; go back to Chicago or wherever you want. I’m as worried about this as you are, but I don’t know what to do.”

  While Annie was thinking about his response, Luke locked up the gold and opened the pickup’s passenger door. “Five minutes,” he said again. “Just a trip out to the airport and I promise you will understand.”

  She got into the pickup but never took her eyes off of him. He could almost see her mind spinning, trying to decide if she should scream or run, or both.

  Luke drove straight to the hangar and escorted her inside. He pulled out the key fob for the little spacecraft and opened the side door. The flashing lights and sliding door gave her a bit of reassurance. Everyone feels safe around a minivan, he thought. “Go on in and take a seat. I’ll open the hangar.”

  “Where are we going?” she asked, looking at the shuttle suspiciously. It was obvious she was not familiar with the aviation industry. Anyone with a pilot’s license could have told her the shuttle wasn’t from this planet.

  “I want to show you where the gold came from.”

  “Is it a hidden mine or something? Is that what you found?”

  “Sort of.”

  He coaxed her into the shuttle and got her situated in the co-pilot’s seat.

  “You sure it’s okay if I sit here?” she wanted to know. “I’m not a pilot or anything.”

  “It’s not a problem, I promise. Sadie, could you take us to Moonbase One, please?”

  “Course set,” Sadie answered, sounding smug as Annie’s eyes grew wide.

  Same Day—Population 2

  Luke gave Annie a moment to adjust while they stood in the center of the Moonbase hangar. He wondered if he’d had the same look yesterday.

  During the thirty-minute flight to the moon he briefly explained what he’d learned from Sam. She didn’t argue with him, just looked at everything with an awed expression. Luke knew how she felt.

  After they touched down inside the hangar Sadie opened a panel on the side console and instructed Luke to take the enclosed earpiece. It was identical to the one Sam had given him. “Take her to the training room before you give her that,” Sadie recommended.

  A quick tour through the Moonbase ended at the training room. Luke felt uncomfortable for what was about to follow.

  “Annie, I’m going to introduce you to George. He’s a computer that runs the place for us. George, this is Annie Daniels. She’s our…uh…new finance director.”

  “Have you given her the translation device?” George asked.

  “Not yet,” Luke replied.

  “Not yet, what?” Annie asked. “What was that voice?”

  Luke handed her the earpiece. “That was George. This might hurt a little, but after you put this in your ear you’ll be able to understand what George is saying.”

  “Like a universal translator? Like on Star Trek?” She looked eager.

  “Yeah. Kind of like that.”

  “Okay.” Without hesitation Annie took the device and stuck it into her ear.

  Luke winced, feeling guilty. The pain he’d been hit with yesterday was no joke.

  After a few seconds she smiled. “Whoa! That was weird. I can’t even feel it now.”

  “Really?” Luke was glad but astonished. “That’s it? It didn’t hurt even a little?” It didn’t seem quite fair that his transition was so painful.

  “Nope, not at all.”

  “George, why was that?” Luke asked the ceiling.

  “Miss Daniels experienced a normal transition, Commander. Sadie had the opportunity to examine her more closely during the flight here. Accordingly, she was able to adapt the device more specifically to her needs.”

  “Is that George?” Annie asked excitedly. “He’s the one you were talking about?”

  Luke nodded. “That’s right.”

  “Hi, George. I’m Annie Daniels. Nice to meet you.”

  “My pleasure Miss Daniels. Welcome to Moonbase One.”

  “Thank you, George. Please call me Annie. So you gave Mr. Blackburn all that gold?”

  “Indirectly, that’s true. Sam was the one that provided it, locally. But it was my determination that bullion is a suitable currency in your culture.”

  Annie threw Luke a tentative glance. “Yeah, bit of a problem the way you did it, but I think I can sort it out; now that I know what’s going on.”

  “Seriously?” Luke asked. “So, I take it you’re in?”

  Annie smiled, brimming with excitement. “Are you kidding? This is a whole lot cooler than working with those guys at Royal Deutsche. Why does George call you Commander?”

  “I’m kind of afraid to ask. He started that once Sam left.”

  “George?” Annie asked. “What’s up?”

  “Annie, Commander Blackburn is the senior military officer for Earth’s Planetary Defense Force. His mission is to develop space travel for your people, establish ties with potential allies in this part of the galaxy, build a suitable force to meet the alien invasion, and then engage and defeat that enemy.”

  “Cool.” Annie looked at Luke expectantly. “So, what’s next?”

  Luke was astounded by her unruffled acceptance of the situation. Was it the naïveté of youth or an incredibly adaptable mind? It didn’t matter. At least he had a partner.

  “I need money I can spend,” he answered.

  “I can handle that. It’ll take a few weeks. I think it would be smart if you have a corporate structure; easier to keep it legal. There’ll be a lot of paperwork to create the necessary shell companies. I assume you want me to handle the details?”

  “Absolutely. It’s your baby. Do whatever you need and keep me in the loop.”

  # # #

  Two months later Luke sat behind his office desk and watched Annie disembark the chartered Gulfstream 450. She thanked the crew and walked toward the airport terminal. She looked a lot different these days, at least outwardly. The running outfit was gone; in its place was something chic from Burberry.

  In the past few weeks she had worked wonders. The first day following their trip to the moon she had Luke load twenty of the gold bars onto the floorboard in the back seat of his pickup.

  “JP Morgan in Seattle has a concierge banking service for all the dot.com millionaires,” she explained. “They’re used to dealing with newly-rich young people. These bars will establish my credentials. After that, they’ll take care of the rest.” She covered the bars with a blanket, took his pickup key and drove off.

  She was right. As she explained on her return, “When you put five hundred pounds of gold on a banker’s desk, they get interested really fast.” Once their account was opened, Annie visited the Seattle branch of the law firm Hawley, Hepworth & Kidwell. By the time she got back from her first trip, she had created a new corporate entity, Professional Design Engineering Firm, LLC. She even had a logo created. It was a blue globe on a black background overlaid with a hand grasping several drawing pencils. The corporate name was inscribed below the globe. The acronym, PDEF, was printed across the top.

  “This is just subterfuge, though,” she explained. “The parent company is the real PDEF. Here’s that logo.
” It was the same graphic except the hand had been replaced by a mailed fist grasping bright yellow lightning bolts. The name at the bottom was Planetary Defense, Inc.

  “Remember?” she asked. “George said you were the commander for Earth’s planetary defense.” She laughed delightedly at his approval of her ideas.

  While Annie was arranging their finances, Luke spent his time on two tasks. The first was fairly ridiculous. He visited every restaurant in Reno and Las Vegas, both plain and fancy, and ordered everything on their menus. He told the various food service employees that he was photographing all the dishes for a glossy new publication. The waiters didn’t really care; he tipped well so they were satisfied.

  In reality, Luke was using the hand-scanner from Sam to add each menu item to the replicator database.

  Although he felt absurd going about the task, he knew that failing to provide appetizing meals would be cause for mutiny. He had eaten enough MREs over the years to understand that a varied and pleasing cuisine was crucial for the long-term satisfaction of remotely stationed employees. By the time he finished, the moon’s replicator food menu was more than respectable.

  When not visiting restaurants, he worked with a marketing agency in Seattle to develop a corporate website for PDEF, complete with photos of Moonbase’s residential accommodations and stock images of smiling, happy families. The website described exciting research projects with descriptive language like for the good of all mankind, and career growth opportunities. It never revealed the location of such supposed labs. Instead the advertisements admitted that it was in a remote and harsh environment. The layout contained several outdoor, snow-covered landscapes, deceptively hinting that the Antarctic was the likely location.

  Annie looked exhausted when she walked into the office. “It’s all done,” she announced. “PDEF has a net worth of two billion dollars. Lots of unasked questions but bankers at this level are used to keeping things discreet.”

  “Good job,” Luke replied. “I know you’d like some rest but are you ready for some grunt work? It’s a little more basic than all the high finance you’ve been doing.”