David, Becky, William and Juli stepped into the office at the arena.
"Well, Mr. Porter. Here they are." David said.
"Excellent. Now boy. What is your name?"
"William Kell Frasier, age seven."
"Well, then. William. David told me that you have terms that we must agree to in order for you to work with us."
"I'm not working with anyone at all. The Lynark placed the champions in charge of the crews and personnel. Pay David Mc'Intosh and Becky Hathaway, first. Then we'll talk."
"Fair enough. Susanne, you heard him."
"Yes sir. Here you are. Two million dollars value in the agreed 99.999 pure gold." Susanne said, handing a briefcase to each.
"Now, then. My name is George Porter. I'm usually not accustomed to taking orders from a child, so I hope you can forgive me if I lose my temper from time to time."
"I've never taken orders from anyone, Mr. Porter, so I can certainly understand the frustration it can instill."
"Well said. You, a seven year old boy, speak much better than any of my own employees and colleagues. Maybe it won't be so daunting.
Anyway. What are your terms?"
"David Mc'Intosh and Becky Hathaway are to be named on the crew roster. They're to be onboard the U.S.S. Havendale first thing in the morning."
"That's right, your ship was provided to you by the Lynark. How many crewmen do you need?"
"Well. None. We're free to take whomever we like. The ship only requires two operators and Juli can become a human."
"Seriously? The other nations will be using large crews to run their ships. Alright, what about supplies?"
"The ship has replicators. All of the supplies are provided for through conversion of the reactor waste."
"A self sustaining ship? Incredible. Well, then. Do us proud."
"Certainly. I'll let you in on a secret. All of us champions know what the ultimate reward is, but we can't tell anyone."
. . . . . .
William set off to find his best friends whom he'd come to know mostly through association with his late father.
A US Marine Corporal by the name of Victor Wells.
A US Navy Commander named Brook Hayes
A US army drill instructor named Darion Brown
A US Air Force fighter pilot named Cordarrel Wright.
Lastly, the only person not met through his father.
A Groom lake Interstellar chronographer.
Name classified. Codename: Clocksmith. Specialty: Realtime Interstellar routing and mapping.
These five were placed on the crew roster and their spouses were likewise allowed berth on the U.S.S. Havendale.
. . . . . .
On the morning that William scheduled for takeoff, they stood near a massive boulder, in the Nevada desert, that was as large as a super tanker.
"Everyone ready?" William asked.
Upon the collective agreements, William jabbed the rock with the fingers of his left hand and punched three points making the sound of three bells.
G, A and E.
YOU ARE READING
New World.
General FictionEarth's nations compete in a space race like never before. To be the first humans to reach the Lynark home world. What they don't know, however, may very well kill them.
