THE COMMANDER
Part Seven
By Arthur
Editor Mattvt
Authors Note:
Other stories by the author may be seen here on nifty.org by clicking on my name in "prolific authors" or by going to "www.justincasescorner.homestead.com/justins nook.
All your comments are welcome and all will be answered so if you have an opinion I would be glad to hear it, at rochopa@xtra.co.nz
The next three days were spent by Cameron setting up the advertising for the new super computer so that the people would be ready to accept the new vehicles and power packs as a part of the new developments undertaken by his company 'Nuie Neutron Electronics'. He hoped that the bait of new technology would be enough to silence any of the questions that would be asked about such radically designed and powered units.
Cameron had some of the robotics sent to the closed hotel to begin the work of transforming it into the rooms that would be needed to house his intimates and guards. The top floor converted for himself, the view from there astounded him when he first saw it. It was the one place that should be safest for him and his boys as the only means of entrance was through the lower floors.
By the second day after the construction of the jetties the hotel had also been transformed and the whole group thanked the managers of the other one they had stayed in and made the move into their new home.
The day after the first construction of the factory Cameron had taken Matteus aside and explained everything to him about why they had come here and what they planned to do. He didn't tell him everything about himself and what his mind was capable of but he did tell Matteus that he would never have to be alone again and that he would always have a place beside Cameron.
Matteus became inseparable from Cameron. It became his duty to send everyone to bed at night with his beautiful lilting voice and to awaken Cameron in the morning the same way. The rest of the group seemed to have taken Matteus to their collective hearts and were always fussing over him and would drop whatever they were doing when he began to sing.
As soon as Cameron had the medical room set up he talked to Matteus and explained to him about his health then went on to tell him that if Matteus was strong enough they could fix it all up for him.
Matteus, with a look of worship on his young face just nodded his head. He was ready to agree to whatever was suggested and so that night he was taken into the med room and placed into the same type of oblong box that Cameron remembered so well from his first visit to the station. This one had a slightly denser liquid in it and when Matteus was placed on it he floated on top until the clear see through lid was closed and then he was asleep and sank down until only his face was visible to the onlookers.
Cameron knew it was going to take nearly two hours, but he stayed and watched. His special friend began to shimmer as the different colors wrapped around his submerged body. It all looked ethereal to Cameron as the various liquids and components did their work.
Twenty minutes before the procedure was finished Jason popped into his head.
'Besat, would you like the boy to age naturally or would you like to slow it for him, we cannot give him as long a life as ours but we can slow the aging process for him so he will be able to at least live for a longer time than normal if you so wish.'
'Yes Jason I think he would like that, yes I see now how you've worked it, ok then 5 to 1 is good for him.'
'Thank you Besat it will be as you ask.'
This meant that now his young friend would only age one year for every five he lived and would give him a longer life span that normal on earth. Cameron was sure in himself that it was the right thing to do for Matteus as the boy had well earned the right to something better than others.
When the two hours were up the blue green liquid had now turned to white and was draining rapidly from the cabinet. As the boys eyes fluttered open, he saw Cameron standing beside him and smiled that beautiful youthful smile that was open and now Cameron saw, also loving.
"How do you feel Matteus?"
"Oh Cameron it's like I slept for a week and I feel so good all over, and I can see a lot better too, my eyes aren't cloudy like before."
"That's great, now what would you like to do?"
"Well I'm not sleepy anymore, can we go up and look at the stars?"
"Sure my little friend, anything for you tonight."
The two made their way past the guards and up to Cameron's suite then further up until they were standing on the roof. They were looking out over the mirror like surface of the night time sea with the bright stars reflecting back to them from its surface.
Cameron sat in one of the many chairs that were set around the rooftop. Matteus instead of looking for his own chair shyly came to Cameron and looked down as if to ask if he could sit in Cameron's lap.
Cameron smiled up at him and reached out his arms for the boy to fall into as he made himself comfortable on Cameron's lap with his head back against his chest.
Matteus looked up at the millions of bright stars above his head and sighed a deep contented sigh at the feelings he now had as he lay there, his boss, no his Besat was so nice to him all the time and he knew that he loved him beyond just being an employee.
The strange tingling kept going through his body and he felt that he had a new strength that seemed to make him stronger and more alive after the strange box he had been in earlier.
The days flew by as they waited for their first shipment of scrap until at last the message came that it would arrive the next morning and that everything had gone according to plan.
Cameron had got all the small truck owners on the island and told them he had continuous work for their trucks if they wanted it and to be at the new jetties in the morning for the first loads to arrive.
The robotics had been working during the night times when everyone was asleep and had made a new roadway up to the site of the factory. The local people had been amazed at how quick it had been built. They could not make out what the surface was made of, it looked like crushed coral but when you tried to mark it or pick it up it turned out to be solid and immoveable.
Nothing was said about it however as the Islanders accepted it as being what it was, a new road, no more no less. They also knew that everyone on the Island would be getting a share of any money that the factory made as payment for their openness and hospitality as well as for keeping an eye open for strangers.
As part of the contract with the drivers Cameron had told them that they would get new vehicles to do the hauling as soon as the factory was up and running. Until then he would need their older trucks, he told them that as part of the contract they would own the new trucks and would not have to pay for them, they would own them for life.
Cameron had spent some time with Jason on designing the units he would need to haul the scrap and at last it was done and the robotics had been programmed by Jason to make them first so that the hauling would go faster and the factory could go to full production sooner.
Cameron's next design task was to produce their own ships so that the movement times would be faster and the collection of the scrap needed would have to be centralized for shipping. This meant he would have to go back to Australia to do the negotiations and to set it up. During this was the time he would be vulnerable to any Melecasians that would be investigating the transport movements.
Cameron decided to wait until they had distributed a number of their new vehicles around Australia so that he could then use his personal transport and would not look to far out of place. He informed Jopty via Jason of his decision and Jopty told him that the craft would be there the day he wanted it.
Now he stood on the Jetty with nearly the total population of the Island watching as the old rusty freighter that they had chartered came over the far horizon with it first of many loads of scrap. Cameron looked over to the other jetty to watch the younger kids as they fished for sprats and sometimes even larger fish off the end. This had become a popular pastime on the jetties as they reached further out into deep water than the old wooden one had done. The kids loved to be out there sometimes fishing and at other times jumping off the jetty and swimming to shore as they laughed and played.
Matteus stood beside his Besat with the other boys dressed in what he now called his "Work Uniform" and was the envy of many of the other boys of the Island as they looked at the boy now well fed and healthy looking instead of the underfed boy they had got used to seeing around the Island. He was no longer the brunt of their cruel jokes but respected like the new comers were.
The old freighter was now only minutes away and then everyone heard a small clear voice start to sing, it was Matteus, the song was lively and full of hope, it was so obviously a song of welcome. After the first notes were out the rest of the Islanders took up the song with Matteus and sent out their welcome to the first ship of their new lives.
The captain of the freighter must have been able to hear the welcome as he opened up his foghorns with full long loud blasts of noise, sending it echoing out over the surrounding sea and through the green clad hills of the Island.
The ship was soon tied up and the unloading began. Cameron could see it was going to take time with the small trucks that were used here but that would change when the new larger ones had been built at the factory then with the aid of the robots he would set up a system to unload the ships faster the old style cranes they now used.
The unloading continued on into and through the night and the next day as truck after small truck made its way up the hill to dump the scrap in a pile and then back for more.
The scrap dump had been set just inside the factory in a large loading bay so that the drivers would not see the inside of the factory and the robots as they worked away at what they had been given to do.
At last after three days and two nights the ship was clear to leave, everyone breathed a sigh of relief as the last load headed up the slope to be devoured by the factory. They had used every one of the fifteen trucks available and apart from the usual break downs that the old vehicles suffered it went smoothly and without to may problems.
The next ship was due in two days and it would start all over again. This time the drivers would have their new trucks and the unloading would be quicker. As soon as Cameron was able to get a system in place for getting the scrap out of the holds it would then be only a matter of a day or so and they would be done.
Two days after the first delivery and the fifteen trucks were assembled and waiting for their owners to claim them. They looked sleek and solid, their decks were low to the ground and had four small mushroom shaped posts, one at each corner, the cabs were just a black bubble at the front but as soon as you stepped inside you could see 360 degrees around you, the load was kept on by activating the four small posts and they would throw a stasis field over the load and stop it from moving while the truck was in motion.
Cameron organized a huge party for everyone on the Island to make the presentation to the owners. The feast was done Island style with great umu's dug in the white sand and whole pigs and vegetables put into them to cook. A stock of kava was ordered from some of the local makers and the party got underway the day before the next ship was due.
The presentation went well and as Cameron took each driver to his vehicle and placed his owners wrist band on the man he was met with at first astonishment then a small tear and smile at the gift.
Cameron explained to each driver that the wrist band was set to his truck only and that no one could use it but him. The band activated the drive system and all of the controls in the cab so that no one could access the truck but the driver. Cameron didn't bother to tell them that he could if he wished over ride the band or set another band for someone else to use if he wished.
Everyone stood back as the drivers took their places in the luxurious cabs, the seats molding themselves to each person as they sat down. At a signal they reached forward to the single lever in front of them and as they had been told, twisted the hand grip and then eased it forward. Cameron had told them not to worry about the read out screens on the dash just yet as his men would go over everything with them the next day before they started on the next ship.
At the first touch of the grip a humming started and as the drivers pushed forward the heavy trucks slid smoothly over the ground with hardly and dust raised or louder noise than the soft humming. The crowd shouted and clapped as the fleet of new trucks made their way up the hill to the factory and after turning almost on their own length came back down to the gathering below them.
They were all met with cheers and whistles as the drivers got out of the cabs a little nervously but with open satisfied looks on their faces. They knew that they had something of great value and were from that day on determined that their group of new friends would be protected by the population of the whole Island from now on.
The length of the delay for the old freighters to make the trip was still a concern for Cameron. Unless they had some special ships built they would take years to get enough vehicles and power packs exported to make a difference to the new power structure that was the Melecasian design. The sheer size of the ships they needed could not be built here and finding anyone on earth to build then would open to many secrets to the world. It was again little Matteus who came up with the idea, again it was so simple he should have thought of it.
"Besat, you are spacemen why don't you use space ships?"
Cameron almost threw the idea out but then it hit him, he couldn't use the transports as they were meant to be used out in space but if they had some either built or altered then they could be used down here instead.
As long as they were not used for space travel then the Melecasians would not see them coming and going in space but if they said they were built here for land and sea use then they may get away with it.
Cameron reached for the boy he now knew was his outright favorite and hugged him close, leaning down a little he kissed the top of his head.
"Matteus you are a treasure and a genius, thank you."
Matteus smiled and blushed at the compliment but took the opportunity to snuggle a little closer just the same. He felt so safe in those strong arms and the love he felt for Cameron grew even deeper, if it was possible.
Cameron alerted Jason and passed on his requirements, Jason said they would have three ready in two days altered to the specifications that Cameron gave him. He had redesigned them to look a little more like earth ships so that they would not be to far out of place and the huge holds would be able to take three times the amount of scrap.
The only hold up once the new ships had been sent was the actual loading at the earth wharfs, they were still slow and cumbersome so he knew it was time to make the trip to Australia and get their own central loading area set up.
It would have to be by the water although the transports didn't need it he had to keep up appearances but he would set it up so that the trucks delivering the scrap could drive straight on and tip their loads directly into the holds.
The first of the new vehicles and power packs were ready for export so it was a good time for him to take the next step and go to Australia for the final phase of their plan. He had held back the last ship to dock so that it could be loaded with the new goods and make its way back to Sydney where Cameron had decided to start the retailing of them.
It would take the ship ten days to get back to Australia so Cameron had plenty of time to get ready. He wanted to make the first shipment an important one and along with Jopty had decided to give away the first one hundred vehicles to people he selected when the ship berthed.
They had both agreed that the giveaways would go to ordinary people and not the usual freebees that all the politicians and counselors got their hands on, this was for the people and Cameron was determined that they would get the benefit from it.
Cameron had got Jason to go over every word of the road rules of Australia to make sure that the new vehicles would be exempt from any of their rules. They couldn't be licensed as cars as they didn't have wheels, they didn't come under the laws of the flying industry as they never went above five meters. It meant that anyone who could afford to buy them, and they were going to be cheap enough for everybody to afford one, could use it regardless of age or position.
To this end Cameron had decided that some would go to young people and others would go to older people, it was going to be determined by who was there when the ship docked, they had sent out notices to the vid channels and the papers that the first load was being sent and would be unloaded in Sydney for distribution, he had not said he was giving them away.
The power packs were the same, he was going to go around the city and give them to people he thought would benefit the most from them.
The fitting he would do himself as he had the link with Jason to show him how, there remained only the problem of getting his guards to Australia for the opening.
His flyer was too small to take more than two people and he knew that the other one would be Matteus so he decided to send twenty of his guards on the old freighter as passengers and meet them in Sydney when they docked. In his flyer it would only take minutes to make the journey and if he stayed low enough the Melecasians would not detect him.
Everything was set, the loading of the old freighter had gone smoothly as each vehicle had been driven aboard by one of his guards and then locked down with the wrist band being given to Cameron to take with him, the crew of the old ship stood in awe as each vehicle made it on board, they clambered around and over the new style cars smiling and rubbing their hands as they dreamed of what one would be like to drive.
The crates holding ten of the power packs in each were stacked neatly into the hold up by the bow and then it was sealed with one of the guards batons so that it couldn't be opened until they were there to do it, the captain wasn't happy but he was paid well to keep everything to him self.
At last Cameron stood on the end of the jetty with everyone else as they watched the freighter disappear over the horizon with its new cargo, heading straight to Sydney and the clamor Cameron hoped it would create.
Cameron sent a link to Jason.
'Anything from the Melecasian's yet Jason?'
'No Besat they don't seem concerned at this stage about the advertising you have done.'
'Thank Jason, keep me informed if anything changes.'
'Of course Besat.'
It was now or never Cameron thought to himself as the faint thread of smoke dissipated into the lowering sun and the ship finally disappeared totally from sight.
To Be Continued: