Deep Space Journey - 17. DSJ Chapter 17

“Thank you Sire” both Quinn and Lucas replied at the same time before they moved to the restaurant for a light meal, and some time to relax, before heading to the Academy on Mars using a shuttle, so the Imperial Ship remains at the Space Station. When they returned to Scorpion, Natihya announced that they would be spending two days at the space station, before making the trip back to Ganymede, and the boys were pleased to hear this.

The following morning, Lucas came to find Quinn to let him know the news that the first two shuttles of 94 support staff and the 18 Executive Council, will be leaving Germany shortly, to start occupying Prometheus Luna Base, with an ETA of 9 hours, due to the two shuttles being made slightly slower than usual speed to restrict the shuttles from going any further out into space.

Quinn asked Lucas to repeat the message to Natihya, and she passed it onto the Crown Emperor. “Chancellor, I would like us to make the official handover of the Luna base to the International Space Federation, so let’s get on board the Imperial Ship and make our way to the Earth’s moon” the Crown Emperor announced, and Quinn went to find the boys before they boarded the ship and set off.

“I believe it is an 8-hour journey to the moon?” the Crown Emperor asked, “That is correct sir, we should get there about an hour ahead of them unless we call the URP pilots and delay them a little” Quinn replied smiling, “Yes, do that please Lord Lenegan” Natihya responded, and Quinn headed to the bridge and sat down in the spare seat.

“Lord Lenegan to Prometheus Shuttles, over,” Quinn said into the Headset mic, “Receiving you my Lord, Flight Officer Carmichael speaking, how can we help you” came a fast response from a cadet, “Prometheus shuttle, can I speak to a senior officer alone please, over,” Quinn asked, and after a short delay there was a response, “Franklin Traer here my Lord” came a familiar voice, making Quinn smile.

“Hi mate, I had forgotten that you had taken a position at Germany, how are you liking working on Earth” Quinn replied, “I prefer being in space actually Sir, and looking forward to being based at Prometheus” came a reply, Franklin, we are leaving Mars now, we would like to be at Prometheus to do an official handover, can you delay departure by one hour, to give us some time to get there,” Quinn asked.

“Yes sir, that will not be a problem at all, as there is a delay in getting the Admin and support staff screened before departure, so I will just make sure it is delayed a bit longer” Franklin replied, which made Quinn chuckle, “Very good, my wife had taken over as Chancellor of the URP, so we will be coming as officials for the handover, we will see you when we get there” Quinn replied and signed off.

When the Imperial Ship arrived on the moon, the two shuttles from Earth had not arrived yet, the Imperial Guards had stepped into the Lunar base first to get Prometheus fully operational, as it was in caretaker mode, with minimal power, lighting and life support operating, once the Crown Emperor, Chancellor and her family, and the ship was moved away, to allow for the shuttles to dock at the base, Quinn gave a tour of the facilities, which were quite roomy, but didn’t have as much sport and recreation facilities as the space station has.

“That sounds like a heck of a lot, for such a small area” Natihya stated, “I agree with you there, cousin, we need to expand the lounge and recreation facilities, so it is not so crowded, and reduce the number of science research staff” the Crown Emperor added. “I will get onto it as soon as I get back to Ganymede” Quinn responded. Nearly two hours later, one of the Imperial Guards notified the Royals, that the two shuttles had finally arrived, and they gathered in the arrival hall of the Luna Base Space Port, and the first 18 men to step inside were the members of the ISF Council, followed by Franklin Traer, who on seeing the Emperor dropped to one knee and bowed his head.

“Mr Traer, who are these people and why are you on one knee” one of the Executive Council members asked. Quinn stepped forward and indicated that his friend stand, “Sir my name is Lord Qjiinn Lenegan, from the United Republic of Planets of Sahndrol, Mr Traer is a citizen of Sahndrol, and as such he did the correct thing when he saw His Majesty, the Emperor of the Sahndrol Empire” Quinn said as he stepped up close to the Council member, and the look on the council member changed dramatically.

“My name is Natihya, I am the newly appointed Chancellor of the URPS, as the administrator of this outer region on the Sahndrol Empire, we came today to participate in the official handing over of this facility, but we are not happy with some of what we have seen in the past two hours that we have been here, so it has been decided that Prometheus, will remain under the ownership of the Sahndrol until we are happy that the facilities are suitable for your kind to operate it safely.

We know that you have just completed your Space Familiarity training in Germany, but for now, we are making a recommendation, that no other persons be permitted, onto Prometheus, until some changes have been made” Natihya announced to the visitors. “Well, this was not what we expected, maybe we could sit down and discuss this” and I am the appointed Executive Director of the ISF, James O’Reilly is my name,” the council member said.

“We have completed our inspection of the facilities here, so may I suggest that Lord Lenegan, Mr Durham and some guards remain here to sort out these issues that we have discussed, and we will organise for the Star Voyager to come and collect you when you are done” the Emperor suggested.

“Yes, your Majesty, I think that would be a wise move, allow us to get our luggage, then you are free to return home” Quinn replied, feeling a little disappointed that he was being separated from his family once more. “Franklin, would you ask the guards to gather my luggage for me, while I escort the 18 ISF officials to their VIP quarters, and the staff to their living quarters,” Lucas asked his friend, who agreed to do that.

Once the two shuttles had been fully unloaded with people, luggage and supplies, they were placed in the storage hanger, until required again, and both 3 crew members from each shuttle, including a former cadet in each, were shown to the guest living quarters, where they would be living for the time being. Lucas also had the eight Imperial guards accommodated in the same area.

Quinn, Lucas and Franklin would take up VIP suites on the upper level, along with the 18 ISF council members, and once everyone was settled, Quinn, Lucas and Franklin asked the 18 council members to join them in the administration conference room, to begin discussions, and they were about to start when a guard knocked and entered, “I am sorry for the interruption, my Lord, but we came across a stowaway of sorts” the guard said, as he turned, and saw his colleague bringing Maenyl into the conference room.

Quinn jumped up and raced to his son, “What are you doing son, you are meant to be on the ship back to Ganymede” Quinn said shocked and concerned, just as another guard entered, “My lord, we have the Imperial Ship on Communications, wishing to speak to you urgently” the guard said, “Yes, transfer it to in here please” Quinn said as he indicated for his son to follow him and sit down at the table next to him. “I am sorry father, I wanted to be with you, I don’t want to be away from you for so long as last time, and I brought my luggage with me” Maenyl whispered to his father, as he hit the button for the communications link.

“Lord Lenagan speaking,” Quinn said, “Oh Quinn, our son is missing and…” Natihya started to say before she was interrupted, “Relax dear he is here and he is safe, he has just been discovered by one of the guards and is sitting next to me as we speak, he wishes to stay with me, and he has his luggage with him, so continue your journey, and we will see you soon” Quinn said to his wife.

“Very well dear, but I expect some stern warning to be given to Maenyl, for what he has done,” Natihya said crossly, “I am sorry mother, I miss father, and I want to stay with him,” Maenyl said clearly, so his mother would hear, “Very well, just don’t do it again, bye for now,” Natihya said and she ended the link. “Right, now the family drama is over, shall we begin,” Lucas said with a big grin, looking over to his friend Quinn, who just laughed.

“If I may please make a suggestion Lord Lenegan?” Maenyl said, which surprised everyone on the opposite side of the table, and Quinn chuckled, “He may be only 9 years old, but he is half Sahndrol and half Earthling, and he has the intelligence, skills and training in Diplomatic Relations, just like his mother, the Chancellor” Quinn explained, “In that case Master Lenegan, please go ahead” James O’Reilly said. “Just one important point before we continue, Lord Lenegan’s wife is a cousin to the Emperor, so his son is to be addressed as His Royal Highness or Sir” Lucas stated.

“My apologies sir, please continue” Mr O’Reilly added, with the bow of his head. “When our family was inspecting these facilities, I noticed that the science research accommodation is split into two wings, already it has been stated that there is not really enough recreation space for the number of cabins there are on this facility, hence the need to review this situation.

It is my recommendation, that we reduce the number of Science research staff, down to half, to 132 research staff, and that the other accommodation wing be converted into more general living and recreation spaces for the permanent staff” Maenyl suggested. Quinn remained silent as he looked around the room to assess the looks on everyone gathered including his own staff.

“My Lord, your Highness, I would like to propose that we accept this recommendation by Prince Maenyl, and that work begins on it right away, and that we bring the remainder of the administration and support staff here, to assist with this project” Lucas stated, “Lord Lenegan, your Highness, I too agree with this recommendation, even in the short while I have been here, I feel that it would be too cramped with too many people living here.

If approved by the remainder of the ISF council, then I will return to Earth, to return to my job as elected Executive Director of the International Space Federation, I recommend that one-third of the council remain here and the other two thirds, return to Earth, and swap positions after a term of one year” Mr O’Reilly stated.

This was agreed on by the whole ISF Council, and it was quickly agreed that one member from each agency be the first to stay at Prometheus, they also put up a motion that the URPS nominate 2 candidates to remain as URPS representatives on the IFS Council, for a minimum period of three years, and Lucas and Franklin happily volunteered to take those positions.

When the meeting concluded, they all headed down to the main restaurant, which is one of the biggest spaces in the whole complex, and called for all staff including URPS staff to gather there for a public meeting. During this meeting, the new staff were informed of the decisions that had been made, including that Prometheus is still the property of the United Republic of Planets of Sahndrol.

The following day, one of the shuttles returned to Earth with 12 ISF council members and the ISF Executive Director, and a day later it returned with the remaining permanent Administration and Support staff. Once they had been informed of the changes and had settled into their new living quarters, Quinn and Maenyl waited for the arrival of the Star Voyager to take them back home.

After 4 long days of travelling, Quinn and Maenyl were pleased to be back at Ganymede, were Natihya gave them both a big hug and welcome back home kiss on the cheek, before they retreated to their living quarters, to spend some family time together.

The End