"Visitors' Arrival: Book 3 of the LUNAR SERIES."

ABOARD GRAVITY’S PULL…

It took a couple of days before Respect Hausa finally made it to Gravity’s Pull from Governance headquarters on Erth.After the Governance’s historic vote to rescind the Raid policy on Respect Hausa’s disciples scattered throughout the solar system, the elder cult figure and his followers were all, now, considered legally absolved of the abduction of the Visitors’ Seedlings!When news had gotten out via the solar system-wide professional media and the citizenry-based media, brief political rallies were held in major cities on Erth and Mars, and even on some of the independent space stations that were culturally aligned with Respect Hausa’s philosophy.

There were, however, some legal backlash to the now-defunct Raid policy.Several Tellmondonian citizens on Asteropia felt it was bad enough that many of their ethnic brothers and sisters of Tell’ heritage, were apprehended on Erth, Mars, and the myriad of space stations and habitats throughout Sol.But when a few Governance military-grade spaceships had actually crossed into the asteroid field—the entire belt legally claimed by the ancestors of the current Tell’s, of a movement during the early 22nd century lead by a neo-Respect PunJon—that was at a political level of crossing Tellmondonian sovereignty!It would take a while, given the attention of the whole solar system on trying to placate the Visitors, but the Sol Governance had legally been sued by many of those Tellmondonian activists and many Tell’ organizations that were generally antithetical to the Erth-based Governance to begin with…

After the small transporter had docked with Gravity, Respect Hausa emerged from the docking door; beaming as he walked his way to Mary Brushwell, whom was waiting for him in the main lobby of the ship.Indeed, Gravity’s lobby was full of Tellmondonians and even some non-Tell’s from Erth, Mars, and various stations!Like what had happened throughout the Sol system, they were all waiting for their specially arranged flight back to those very same locations in which the Governance had detained them…all being arranged by the Governance, of course.Prime Governor Valerio signed the special enactment for the arrangement.

Admiral Shan watched across the lobby as the elder Respect embraced the young student from the Martian University.Doctor Franks remained on Gravity, even after her help with the interrogation of Brushwell.It was by Admiral Shan’s request.The scientist was being extra-compensated by the Governance for her work with the admiral, and, again, truth be told, the educated Hausanite disciples were more likely to listen to her than to an admiral within the Governance machinery.

“Ok, boss,” Dr. Franks quipped as she and the admiral looked on as the couple hugged in the midst of a cluster of Respect Hausa’s followers, “what now?”

Admiral Shan thought for a bit as she watched Gravity’s lobby being taken over by Hausa’s tribalistic people.Many of Admiral Shan’s officers and cadets were, also, looking on with some trepidation!She, then, glanced at her tall, thin friend from the Physical University and wondered within herself how they could have even been friends!For Dr. Franks looked as if she were one of the Protectors of the Seeds disciples that were just released from the Raid detention!But Reshma Shan knew that she could never have a better friend than Dr. Franks, despite their cultural differences.

“Let’s give them a few minutes,” Shan said; a bit irritated.“And then have both of them meet me in my quarters…now’s the time for themto play their part with the Visitors!”

Dr. Franks firmly nodded her head.“Agreed, Admiral.”

As it turned out, it took about an hour before the elderly Respect and his young student primer to show up in Admiral Shan’s private quarters.They were escorted by two Governance guards…there still was a trust factor with Respect Hausa.Indeed, the guards walked right into Admiral Shan’s quarters, behind Respect Hausa and Mary Brushwell, at their surprise!Dr. Franks was seated at a posh chair not far from the admiral’s large desk, where Shan was seated behind.The two guards took standing positions on opposite ends of Admiral Shan’s quarters.

Respect Hausa lightly laughed as he and Mary took their respective seats.“I see you still don’t trust me, my dear Admiral…”

Shan thought for a bit.“Ok, Respect Hausa, let’s face it; you won!You were right about your fellow Respects and some of Asteropia’s scientists experimenting on the Visitors’ Seeds.Based on the communication technique I felt that one Seed did while at the spaceport on Pacificalis, I’m guessing all the Seeds that Asteropia’s scientists experimented on had sent out some distress signal out to the Visitors!”

“You are correct about that, Admiral,” he said from his chair.“It took a little while before the Visitors came for their young…frankly, a little longer than what Asteropian scientists had expected.”

Admiral Shan and Dr. Franks looked at each other with surprised faces.

“So,” Admiral Shan tried clarifying, “you knew that the Visitors would come for Humanity after the Asteropian scientists abducted their Seedling?”Shan then glanced at Mary.“Respect, I had the impression that you were against the taking of the Seeds from the Kuiper belt!”

“And that is still true!When I heard about it, as Mary told you, I’m sure, I tried to convince the Respects’ Board not to go through with taking the Seeds, but my fellow Respects got greedy, dear Admiral…they were so anxious to be the first to obtain an alien life-force at the very edge of our solar system, they voted to let the Asteropian scientists to gather up some of the seeds!”

“On a planetoid,” Dr. Franks ask earnestly.

The Respect was nodding.“That is correct, Dr. Franks.But…”He looked at Mary, whom had greeted him with a knowing smile.Respect Hausa returned his eyes to Admiral Shan and Dr. Franks.“Our blessed Visitors did not come from the Kuiper belt.They came from much farther out…they came from the Oort cloud!”

Admiral Shan and Dr. Franks looked at each other with surprised faces again, but this time their eyes were wide-opened!A thought occurred to the admiral.

“Now that I think of it, with the first abductions of Governance people, our Director Morelli Tuun’s crew had said in the last of their recording that some objects were coming from the Oort section!”

The Respect nodded; his face, along with Mary, beaming.“Today, we call it abducting what the Asteropian scientists did with the Seeds several months ago.But it did not start off as an alien abduction—the aliens being humans, in this case!”He shrugged as he recalled the situation.“At first, none of us knew what those little, metal bits of technology were!Our scientists knew they were, obviously, alien—till this day, even Governance’s records show that no known Sol-core societies had made it out as far as the Kuiper belt section since that one operation by that industrialist over 200 years ago—“

“Sigmund Cartwright,” Dr. Franks threw in.

“That’s it, Doctor…Cartwright, whom was also a Representative of what was then the governing Erth Industrial Alliance, had built an operation only on asteroid Quaoar.Our Asteropian scientists had discovered the Seeds on one of the smaller asteroids—at a much farther orbit than Quaoar!Actually, very close to the Oort cloud!”

“Highly unlikely that a private space entity of the 22nd century could make it that far out with the technology of their day,” Mary interjected.

Both Admiral Shan and Dr. Franks nodded at her point.They let Respect Hausa continue.

“It was only after the scientists made it back to Asteropia from the Kuiper belt did we notice that the Seeds started to…communicate; vibrate; sing…Asteropian scientists are still not sure what to call what the Seeds do when they communicate!”

“That’s when you deduced that the Seedlings were sending out a distress signal,” Admiral Shan guessed.

“Correct again, Admiral…those reinforced containers that Governance forces found them in during those Raids?Those cases weren’t just to keep the Seeds dry!”

Then, Mary came in, “The cases are specifically built by Asteropian scientists to block the Seeds’ signals…especially when some of the Tellmondonian scientists in Asteropia started experimenting with the Seeds!”

“And,” the admiral speculated, the pieces beginning to click together for her, “somehow, one or a few of the Seeds got their signals out…which made it to the Visitors way out in the Oort cloud, and now we’re in the mess we’re in!”

Dr. Franks looked at Admiral Shan with a weary look.The admiral leaned back in her seat with a sigh before speaking.“Wish you had told me this at the spaceport on Pacificalis, Respect!”

“Would you have believed me?I’m sorry I lied about saying the Seed was a probe, Admiral Shan.But I was trying to use the Governance’s power as a shield from my own brethren and sisters of Tellmondo!They discovered where I was at that time, and, well, I don’t think you and the Governance body would’ve taken my side!With my eccentric personality known throughout Sol, and with some Tellmondonians in power who are not quite as open-minded as my followers and I about being one with all humans throughout the solar system, the Tell’ Advisory Board would have simply built a story around me to convince the Governance that I was a fugitive of Asteropia, who’d stolen some alien beings!”

The admiral and the elder scientist shared a long look.Admiral Shan, then, dismissed the two guards that were standing in her quarters.She waited for them to leave and the door to her quarters shut before she got up from her desk and walked over to where the odd couple sat.Shan leaned back on her desk.

“Ok…you’ve convinced me, Respect.This meeting with Dr. Franks and I was actually meant as the last wall, to make sure we were on the same page, before I hand you your position for collecting those Seeds!”

Mary reached out and grasped Respect Hausa’s hand.He simply smiled.The admiral went on.

“Now, this is your turn, Respect, to help us out in getting those Seedlings back to the Visitors!Mary did a good job in warning us that we only have so much time before the Visitors start making things uncomfortable for us…let’s get you and Mary processed with a ship!I’ll assign my people to work with you on recruiting from your disciples to help you.”

Respect Hausa and Mary looked at one another.Mary pointed a thumb in the direction of the door to Admiral Shan’s quarters.“Probably should catch all of his followers out in your lobby before they scatter throughout the solar system!”