Authors: Juli Blood
“W
hat this means is that when the water filtration system in SC-17 was damaged, either purposefully or by accident, it opened up an opportunity to get Princess Kalea out there. You see, the exact date of your wedding hadn’t been released to the people until this morning. The holographic image was broadcast just after we received the news about SC-17. Unfortunately, it could easily be seen as a response instead of a report.” King Douglas shrugged his dismay and waited for Edward to finish translating.
“Why would damage to a water filtration system require Princess Kalea’s presence?” Bryan asked
, trying not to sound suspicious.
“Kalea developed the systems. Actually she did most of the planning and development of all the
sea cities. She and Randolph have similar interests and pursued similar degrees at the University. She is the best one to determine how the system was damaged and if it was intentional,” King Douglas explained.
When Prince Bryan nodded that he understood and Edward had a sip of water, the
king continued. “Captain Fletcher and his men have taken control of SC-17. Because they are suspicious, they are allowing only Kalea to enter or leave the city. I told her to keep her quarters on the shuttle instead of moving into the city, and that she is to have her personal security detail with her at all times. I informed Captain Fletcher of this as well. If he has a problem with it, I have instructed the head of her security team to prevent her from going without them. If she finds out … she is not going to be happy with me,” he finished with a shrug.
Bryan was relieved that these details had been taken care of but he still had questions. “Sir, what other security measures have been taken?” he asked.
“Ah! Good, I was hoping you would ask,” King Douglas replied with a smile. “This morning, moments after I received the news, I dispatched two elite defense teams. They had a few hours head start on Princess Kalea and their mission is to get as close to SC-17 as possible without being detected. If all goes well, they should be within a few meters of the outer dome any moment. They have only one objective – keep Kalea safe.
“Everyone in SC-17 has an emergency escape pod. If activated
, it will slowly rise to the surface where rescue boats will collect them. I have several boats in the area now for that purpose. If indeed the system was sabotaged and those responsible get away because of the need to protect Kalea, so be it. She is their number one concern, and mine.” King Douglas’ concern was obvious even without translation.
“Sir, if you receive any additional information or communications from Kalea, I would appreciate it if you would let me know.” Bryan said as he stood.
“Yes, of course.” King Douglas answered as he also stood and shook Bryan’s hand. “If you finish with your staff in time, please come and join us for dinner,” he invited.
“Thank you
, Sir. I will see how the day progresses.”
“Edward,”
Bryan said when they were both in the hall again. “Thank you for translating. I will call you if I need anything else. See you later.” With that he strode down the hallway to join his staff as he had seen Leo in the hallway earlier.
Thankful for some time to work on
all the rescheduling, Edward turned the other way and headed for his office.
~
“Princess Kalea, we have arrived at SC-17,” Franklin announced as he entered the lounge area.
“Thank you Franklin. Have we been contacted by Captain Fletcher?” she asked.
“No visual contact, Your Highness, just audio. I feel it necessary to point out that their refusal to establish visual contact, now that we are within range, concerns me. This could be a trap,” Franklin explained.
“True,” Princess Kalea replied.
“I am not going into the city today. I will be examining the exterior damage today. Notify Captain Fletcher of my plans and if he has concerns he is more than welcome to come discuss them with me on the shuttle.”
“Very
good, Your Highness. Where would you like to begin?” Franklin asked.
“Opposite t
he damaged water filtration system and then circle around to the right. I want to see if there’ve been any unusual water currents or sea life in the area that might have caused the problem. Also, go ahead and download the security data from both the internal and external and secondary surveillance stations,” Princes Kalea ordered.
“Yes,
Your Highness. Umm, forgive me but, what external and secondary surveillance stations?” Franklin asked.
“Here are their locations and the access codes to download the information
.” Princess Kalea handed him an actual piece of paper as she explained. “Their existence is classified, so do not inform the others. There are seven stations outside the city and dozens inside. It will take most of the day just to download the data,” she explained. Franklin accepted the paper with obvious surprise and gave a slight bow before he returned to the crew quarters and cockpit.
Alone again, Kalea took some time to take in her surroundings. Throughout the trip she had reviewed all the data on this
sea city as well as the specific water filtration system it used. Now she forced herself to relax against the plush cushions of her seat. This couch lined one wall of the lounge compartment. Across from her an anchored table and four cushioned chairs. There were no windows but the walls were a calming yet cheery shade of pale yellow.
Each end of the room had a door.
The one Franklin had used led to the crew quarters and cockpit. The other door led to her small private quarters which included a bed, bathroom and recliner all crammed into a room no larger than the rose arbor in the garden.
Smiling at the comparison, Kalea stood and walked to the crew quarters. “Hello
, Gentlemen.” She addressed her security force. “Did Franklin inform you of the situation and today’s schedule?”
“Yes, Your Highness,” Danielson answered. “We are monitoring all communications from and within SC-17. So far
the only unusual thing of note is that no one is using visual communications.”
“Interesting. Franklin is downloading security data
, I will need you to review it as it comes in. We will be looking for anything out of the ordinary, even something that may seem insignificant,” Princess Kalea said as she moved over to one of the control panels. “I am going to activate the bio signs reader and set it for human readings only. I want to monitor movements inside the city today as we slowly circle it. Again, if there is anything unusual, let me know. I am also programming this station to keep a plotted journal for each bio sign. Hopefully this will tell us something.”
“I was unaware that we had that technology,” Pierce commented.
“Well, as with most of the equipment you brought on this mission, it is experimental,” she answered. “All the tests appear accurate but this will be its first real deployment.”
“Did this come as part of the treaty?” Jackson asked.
“No, we developed it ourselves,” Princess Kalea answered. “Many believe that all of our new defense technology will come from Saxionias but the truth is we are only using their technology for external defense. Our engineers are still hard at work and won’t stop even after the new defenses are in place.”
Each man nodded just as their stations started to flicker with the download of infor
mation coming from the internal data stations. Moving to the cockpit, Princess Kalea leaned in and said, “Franklin, please download the other data into my station only. I will have to review it all myself.”
“Yes
, Your Highness,” Franklin answered as she closed the door and headed back to her lounge. Her station was located inside the table and was independent of the others. Knowing that her security detail would be swamped with all the data from inside SC-17 she didn’t feel the need to inform them of the external secondary security data.
Hours later Jackson knocked on the door and then entered. “Excuse me
, Your Highness but we have something you might want to see.”
“I’ll be right there Jackson. Thank you,” Princess Kalea said as she lifted her hand from the table
, automatically securing her station and lowering the display. Rising she followed Jackson back to the crew quarters.
“It’s regarding the bio signs monitoring, Your Highness.” Jackson explained as he led her to his station. Pointing to the display he said, “You see
, each of these blips represent a person, but when we ran a summary of the morning this is what we discovered. Only fifteen of the blips moved all morning. They also seem to be moving in certain patterns like patrols.”
“Yes
, I see. Now, there are two possible ways to interpret this data. One, Fletcher and his team have secured the city by forcing everyone to stay in their residences. Or two, another force has taken control of the city and they are trying to make the bio signs look normal at first glance. Unfortunately, I think the second is most likely,” Princess Kalea summarized.
Jackson agreed. “We do as well,
even if people where confined to their quarters they would be moving around within them. We have been analyzing the security data and we found that it all ends as of midnight last night. We tried to run a systems diagnostic but the whole thing seems to be down.”
Princess Kalea moved over to
Pierce’s station and quickly entered in some command codes. Additional data started appearing on the screens. “This is from the backup security system,” she said in answer to their questioning looks. “After the riot we realized that disabling the security system had been one of the objectives of the workers that rioted. So while doing the repairs we incorporated an entirely independent system with less access.”
The team was impressed
. Soon they had proof that a hostile force had taken the city hostage. “I think they must have drugged the population somehow.” Pierce said and then pointed when people all over the city suddenly started stumbling and then falling to the floor or onto tables before them. “I’ll copy this evidence to King Douglas and the Royal Council immediately.”
Kalea
returned to her station and soon found that the external security data showed exactly how the water filtration system had been damaged. It would take major repair work.
Watching
the footage again of the hostages, Kalea thought. ‘We’ll have to solve this hostage situatio
n
,
before we can even begin all the repair work,’
Franklin knocked and entered at her signal. “Your
Highness, Captain Fletcher has asked when you plan to enter SC-17?”
“I don’t,” Princess Kalea said as she stood and began slowly pacing. “I just need to find a way to resolve this situation without getting anyone killed.”
“You could simply say that the damage requires the evacuation of the city until repairs can be made,” Franklin suggested.
“If the people were conscious that would work. But I doubt that whoever is holding them hostage will simply put them in their escape pods and send them to the surface because I said so. They are obviously trying to capture me for some other reason.
However, if it’s to prevent the wedding, it’s too late,” she answered.
“Have you notified the
king, Your Highness?” Franklin asked.
“I was just about to record
a message. Have we discovered anything else?” she asked.
“No,
Your Highness,” Franklin replied.
“Very well. I will prepare the recording and secure it. I will contact you when it’s ready.” Franklin nodded and left as Kalea sat down to
prepare her report.
“Your Majesty and members of the Royal Council,” she began. “I regret to inform you that upon reviewing the security data for SC-17 we have discovered that a terrorist
group has taken the city hostage and severely damaged the water filtration system.”
“At midnight last night
, a band of fifteen persons entered the city disabled the primary security system and somehow drugged the population. They then damaged the water filtration system by removing the exterior grid and forcing what appear to be metallic objects into the unit. These objects are believed to have sliced through the filtering screens and jammed or seized the pumps. Onsite inspections will reveal the extent of the damage but it is safe to say that the system will require either a complete overhaul or will need to be replaced.
“The terrorists are verbally impersonating Captain Fletcher and inquiring as to my arrival within the city. So far I have delayed by saying that I needed to complete my external investigation first. I believe
at most I can put them off for one more day. However, I will need to be seen swimming in the vicinity of the water filtration system to make this seem reasonable.
“I request the
construction of a replacement water filtration system begin at once and that a decision regarding the terrorists be made. One good note is that the unconscious population is not using up the water and air supply as quickly. I estimate that those in the city will have sufficient air and water for four or five days. Thank you for your attention in this matter. May the Holy One guide you as you make the necessary decisions.” Princess Kalea finished and then reviewed the message. Using special bio encryption, she secured it.