Free Waiting by Gary Weston Page A

one,' said Gunther. 'But yes. At least some of
their radio signals were picked up when we were looking at Spero
awhile ago. I'm pretty certain microbes don't have radios.'
    'How old were
the signals?' Staples wanted to know.
    'Hard to say,'
said Gunther. 'I'm no expert, but radio waves behave differently in
space than here on Earth. Out in space radio waves can travel
better in the vacuum than in our atmosphere. They also shoot off in
all directions. They keep on going almost indefinitely until
they're impeded. The signals picked up started off outside of
Spero's atmosphere as it was at the time, so the signals kept on
going. Could be from hundreds or even thousands of years ago, or
just months ago.'
    Gunther let his
words sink in when Loretti said, 'If the signals were out of
Spero's atmosphere, then that must mean...'
    'Say it,' dared
Gunther.
    'Oh, crap. They
had ships in space.'
    'Bingo!'
    Willis said,
'And we sent our ship and our people out there knowing this?'
    'Like I said
before. The Goliath was coming to the end of its journey when the
signals were picked up and somebody tried to bury that knowledge.
Almost succeeded until I stumbled across it.'
    'And you are
saying this is known at the top?' said Loretti.
    Gunther nodded.
'Yes. And I know who one of the voices is on that partially deleted
message.'
    'I think I know
where this is going,' said Loretti. 'It's why you sent for me,
isn't it?'
    Gunther leaned
towards her, his elbows on his desk. 'Bridget. One of them was your
mother.'
    Loretti was too
stunned to respond, but she could tell from her father's eyes he
spoke the truth.
    'We need to
warn the Goliath,' said Willis.
    Gunther got up
and raided his fridge for more beer for everyone. 'I thought of
that. But I'm convinced somebody on the Goliath already knows all
this.'
    'Who?' asked
Staples.
    Gunther
shrugged. 'I have no idea who, but gut instinct tells me at least
one person on that ship is in on the conspiracy with General
Loretti. Also, before most of my people were taken back to serve in
the war effort, I believe somebody in the Base was communicating
with their cohort on the ship. At least that communication had to
come from here because only our radio can get through to the radio
on the Goliath. Designed that way to prevent the East having access
to the Goliath during times of conflict. That is the specific
purpose of the unit.'
    Willis said,
'Which is why you sabotaged that communication unit.'
    'Guilty as
charged.'
    Loretti said,
'You'll be guilty for sure if mother finds out.'
    'I know. Look.
I can't do this alone. I hope to God I'm doing the right thing
putting my trust in you three. Forget I'm your father for one
minute, Bridget. You know how the war is going better than most.
Eventually we will all lose, right?'
    'The way things
are going, we'll wipe ourselves out within six months.'
    'Correct. If we
are to save mankind, we have to help those on the Goliath with the
mission. And to do that we need to find out what is really going
on.' Gunther spread his arms wide, appealing to the three of them.
'Either one of you can turn me in and it is all over, or we
work together and do all we can to keep the mission safe. I'm in
your hands now. What is it to be?'
     

Chapter 22
     
    'Unless we are
hopelessly lost, we must be near,' said Jacobs, feeling even more
than his age. 'Sorry. Complaining again.'
    'I forgive
you,' said Lee. 'The compass is a little erratic because of the
storms interference, but not enough to doubt it totally. It also
says we have covered thirty one miles so far, so we should almost
be on top of the terraformer.'
    'Good. I'm sure
my one arm is longer than the other one after lugging this case for
hours. Are you ok?'
    Lee said, 'I'm
fifteen years younger than you. I'm fine.'
    'As I'd expect.
You are very fit and in excellent shape. Damn. Sorry. That made me
sound like an old pervert. What I meant was...'
    Lee chuckled at
Jacobs' awkwardness. 'I got it. I think. Not much else to do on