Chapter 79. Republic seeks allies
Tired Ingmar opened his eyes. He looked around in confusion. This is not his place. Then his eyes fell on Shu Ran, who was still sleeping next to him. The quilt didn't completely cover her. When he saw her, he remembered everything that had happened. That's wonderful. He had never had such a sexual experience. In the past, it was just a simple enjoyment for him. Little did he know how wonderful it would be when strong feelings were involved.
The sight of her made him long to touch her. He had to make sure she was real and not just a figment of his imagination. But before he did that, his eyes fell on the clock.
There are still ten minutes until he starts his work. Although the captain planned to give him a day off as he had a lot to deal with during his tenure as captain. But Ingmar arrogantly refused, on the grounds that everyone was currently overworked. And input is part of his job.
Now he regrets this decision. But there is no turning back now. He gently stroked Shu Ran's back with his fingertips. Then he kissed her neck. "I love you," he whispered.
Then he had no choice but to get dressed quickly. He must return to his apartment, take a shower and put on clean clothes. He'll definitely be late, but there's nothing he can do about it now. He had just finished getting dressed, and Shu Ran said good morning to him. She was still lying on the bed, covering her shoulders with the quilt.
"Where are you going?" she wondered.
"I have to go to work." He sounded unhappy.
"Okay, approved." She smiled tiredly at him. "Do you regret what happened to us?"
"No, I will never regret it." He smiled happily, and then looked at her with some worry. "And you?"
"No. I was just thinking about what to do next."
"Please don't worry about this." He knelt in front of the bed and looked directly into her eyes. "Just let it be. And we'll see where it goes. In fact, it's always going to be different than you expect." He kissed her, and she returned the kiss passionately.
"I love you," he said after standing up.
"We'll meet tonight," she replied, watching him leave.
Republic remains in the system where Vulcan is located. Although the distance from the former planetary remnant has been increased to avoid collision, they have now been in this position for seven days, and no one knows how much longer they will stay there. The stillness weighed heavily on the crew. But is there anywhere else they could go?
Daisy walked through the corridor of the cabin and walked towards the captain's watch room. She knew Noah was currently there. Officials she passed greeted with slight nods, but she walked past them in silence.
When she arrived at Noah's office, she sat down at the conference table and propped her cheek on her elbow. She sighed and looked at Noah. He sat at his desk and asked her through the screen.
"How long do you plan to stay here?" Daisy asked more abruptly than she had intended.
"Where are you going?" Noah asked.
Daisy sighed and rubbed her eyes. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to piss you off. But the fragmented scene here is very disturbing."
"It's okay," Noah waved his hand. "I find this scene depressing, too. Even though this isn't my home. I wouldn't want to be in Jeffrey's shoes." He thought for a moment, imagining how the Vulcan might be feeling. Maybe he has no feelings at all? "We're going to wait here until our guys find a way to repair the damage."
"Are you serious?" Daisy felt angry. "What if it takes longer? We can't stay here long."
"What do you mean?"
"It's simple: there seems to be no easy solution to the problem. We may be stuck in this universe for quite some time. But we can't hide. There are definitely Earth's armies looking for us. Before we are discovered, we should at least understand Some information about our adversaries. Would you like to be entertained on Earth again?" Daisy said.
Noah tilted his head and looked at her. "Go on. You must have more to say."
"Let's find out who we can trust and who we can't. Just like Jeffrey advised us. We need allies. But we're not going to get them if we keep hiding here. Besides. , the damage on the ship was too severe and we couldn't fix everything ourselves. We needed some spare parts that we didn't have. We needed a safe port to repair the shell. And we also had to shut down some systems to repair it. But on our own It’s impossible to do it sometimes.”
Noah sighed. "Then where do you think we should go? Earth is out of the question, and Andoria isn't any better. And Vulcan doesn't exist anymore. We have no allies. No one will come to help us. And the people who accept us There will only be interest in our technology.”
"I'm not denying that," Daisy explained. "But we alone can't get the ship to restart. And there are other planets in the Federation. We should visit one of them. If things go bad, I'm also willing to make some technology exchanges. Not weapons," she held up Get up and stop the captain from expressing his opinion. "Medical technology should be something that no race will reject."
Noah looked out the window pensively. From this side of the cabin, he couldn't see the wreckage of the Vulcan. Only the stars twinkled in a familiar way. "Can't we repair the ship here?" he finally asked.
"No, not at all possible. We try our best, but there are still too many systems damaged. I must strongly recommend that we shut down and repair systems such as sensors."
"If we turn off the sensors, we'll become blind," he reminded Daisy.
"Yeah, so we need other people's eyes," Daisy emphasized again.
His eyes returned to her, looking straight at her. "Make a list of the damage we cannot repair and prioritize it. I will instruct Carol to select a race that may be friendly and willing to help. In two days, I will decide our next course of action."
She looked at the captain gratefully. "I'll do that. I'll also notify the crew. It'll definitely give them some relief."
"As if it would be better to sail to unknown lands," Noah muttered. "At least we're safe here."
"Sometimes safety isn't everything. It's more important that we feel like we can move on," she retorts vehemently. She also couldn't bear the feeling of waiting.
Noah looked at her thoughtfully. She's probably right, it's probably more important to most people, although no one realizes it. Restlessness is a human trait. "I can understand that," he admitted. "But for me, safety is more important now. Responsibility for the safety of the ship and the crew."
Daisy's face flushed, and she suddenly felt caught. She privately accused Noah of being too cowardly and hiding here instead of taking action. She even secretly blamed him for being timid. Now she realized that he had to consider the situation more fully. They are alone, trapped in a strange universe. They are on their own and cannot simply call for help. Of course, as captain, Noah has a huge responsibility for the success of the ship and the mission.
Suddenly she felt sorry for him. He had to endure more stress than most people could imagine. And he does it all alone.
She looked at him. "What can I do for you?" she asked.
He smiled tiredly. "Just be more patient with me."
The colonists continued to work in preparation for the market. Both the market itself and the adjacent market hall will need to be cleaned and minor damages repaired. Since the facilities are only used twice a year, dust and debris accumulate, as birds also use the halls, nesting under the roof. Weasel-like creatures also continued to cause small holes in the metal walls that needed to be repaired.
The largest amount of work is to repair the access road from the airport to the market. The road is still not asphalt. Since the required building materials were scarce and very expensive to transport from Earth, it was decided to first make the roads within the city able to withstand harsh weather conditions. As settlements expanded rapidly, every bit of asphalt was immediately used again for expansion. Therefore, the road to the airport must be a stone road prone to caves. Before the merchants arrived with their goods, they wanted the roads repaired to the point where vehicles could safely pass through them. After all, the colony couldn't afford to lose a merchant.
So far, no one has thought about meeting the requirements of the Earth. Although the senators have reached an absolute confidentiality agreement not to tell anyone, various rumors have been circulating among workers. Such news simply cannot be contained. In the absence of more information, people speculate and fabricate without scruples.
Around the road leading to the airport, a team of seven workers was doing final repairs. Potholes in the stony roads created by rainwater and deepened by the crushing of heavy vehicles now need to be filled and leveled using road rollers. You shouldn't feel any unevenness while driving. Additionally, tightly packed stones should hold firmly and not come loose easily. The building material was porous rock from nearby quarries. The stone itself had no other purpose than to build these roads. After being heated to extremely high temperatures, the stone becomes soft and can then be used as a road. After cooling, the stone becomes a solid road again, and vehicles can travel smoothly. The disadvantage is that the stability of the stone is not uniform. As a result, wind and rain can cause damage to many parts of the road. In addition, stone roads will gradually deteriorate. This is mainly manifested in the fact that there is always a layer of dust on the road, kicked up by passing vehicles. However, the road is still much better than the unpaved road, which turns into a quagmire every time it rains. Moreover, the production of this kind of road is very simple, and the materials used are all produced on the planet.
A passing truck interrupted the construction team's work. Six men and one woman stood on the roadside, watching the truck carrying something to the airport to beautify the arrival of visitors to the market. Of course, on the construction team, Earth's instructions were the talk of the town.
"Do you think Earth is going to send troops?" the youngest of the group asked, trying to hide his fear.
"No, absolutely not," the team leader tried to reassure him. "We are too important to the planet for them to attack us."
The woman looked at him suspiciously. "Malhar, what do you mean?"
"It's simple. We are the most profitable colony. No one pays more taxes than we do," the man explained, wiping his fat belly with a dirty hand. His entire suit was dirty. "If Earth attacks us, that's going to hurt revenue. And Earth can't afford that. They need the money we bring them."
"Then why are they using this law to hurt us?" another man said.
"Lasekai, why don't you always think about it? The earth has adopted a tough policy towards aliens. Of course they cannot let aliens participate in the market. Therefore, they said something, knowing that we would definitely refuse. Then the topic Forgotten, the money continues to pour in. The point is that Earth's governments can say they did something. The results don't matter to anyone anymore. That's obvious, right?"
Others nodded or grunted in agreement.
“I know a lot about politics,” Malhar said confidently. "My brother-in-law's brother works in the Earth government. He knows a lot of inside information, and then he tells me."
"Did he really say that to you?" Rasekye expressed doubts.
"Of course not directly. Of course he couldn't do that. But from a lot of what he said, I know what politics is about. So I also know how politicians think, and I can think like that."
“I didn’t even know you could think,” one of the men said, eliciting laughter from everyone.
"Just wait and see, I'll show you right away what I think. Now I think it's time to get back to work," Malhar threatened, shooing away the team. They grunted and stood up again, some hastily throwing away their cigarette butts.
Rasekhai sat in the driver's seat of a machine used to melt rock, steering the vehicle through the next pothole. When he reaches the right spot, the softened rock melt will flow directly into the pit. Usually, this works. Only occasionally does molten rock spill out and find a way out. If you cannot get out of the way in time, you must get medical help as soon as possible to avoid serious burns. In the worst cases, it can result in the loss of both legs. Because rock is not completely liquid, it is not as fluid as lava. The flow rate is not high.
It's just that it's hard for Lasekai to concentrate now. It took him several attempts to park the vehicle in the right spot, which drew ridicule from his colleagues. He kept thinking of his boss's words. What nonsense. His argument was far less logical than he thought. This is simply the lowest level of vulgarity. And he didn't believe there would be no consequences to rejecting the decree. If this colony was really that important as Malhar said, then Earth would be more involved to protect its own interests. Although he may be just an ordinary worker, he is unwilling to let himself be regarded as a fool.
So when Rasaka finally returned home, he was still thinking about it. Immersed in his thoughts, he entered the small house where he lived with his family. This house has only two rooms. In fact, too little. His two children had to share a room, while he and his wife slept on a roll-out bed in the living room. But they can't afford more. By the time they left Earth, they had used up all their savings, which weren't much in the first place. Flights are expensive, but it's hope for a better world. They grew up poor and never had much. Here, everything should be better and their children should have the opportunity to go to school and maybe even college. They deserve a fair chance. That was the plan when they came here five years ago.
However, reality left them disillusioned. For them, little has changed. The job didn't pay well and his wife couldn't find a job. There are too many new immigrants looking for work. So they continue to live the same life here as they did on Earth. The only hope that comes true is that the children can go to school. But whether it will be enough to get into university is unlikely. They just don't have enough money.
"Daddy, daddy." The two daughters rushed up to him at the door and hugged him. "Come play with us," they said, looking at him with their big childish eyes.
He smiled and stroked their dark hair tenderly. "Wait a minute. I'm tired today," he defended.
"Oh, really," the two daughters said angrily, and then retreated to continue their game. Rasaka looked at them. When he saw them, he felt that there was nothing he lacked. He has a beautiful wife and two healthy and lovely daughters. What does it matter if they live in crowded conditions?
But when he thought about the future, he felt a little uneasy. He fears for the safety of his children. It would be terrible if the Earth government really sent troops. He had also heard the story of Terra Nova and the events. If something like that happened here, everyone would be in danger. But that doesn't seem to worry the senators. Otherwise, how could they explain their rejection of Earth's decrees? What's so scary about accepting it? It seems that this decree only prohibits aliens from staying. What's so scary about this? Without aliens, people might have a chance to make some money. This should be the most important goal.
"Are you okay, honey?" His wife's voice brought him out of his thoughts.
"Yes, of course," he smiled weakly and gave her a kiss. "I'm just tired. It's been a grueling day."
He sat in a chair at the table and looked out the window. He would like to intervene in the situation, but he is only an insignificant person. What can he do? But he believed he would do better. But if only fate would give him a chance.
