The Journey of Atlantis- The Children of Earth

Disappointing Returns

The next morning Levi had sent some sorties out to contact the Moon colony. He had already spoken with Armando Ramirez who had been running the show down there. He had Mr. Ramirez transported to the Atlantis, so arrangements can be made. Ramirez had been checked out by the medical staff and now made his way to the captain's apartment. Levi was a little nervous. There were so many questions, and at the same time, had to remain cautious. He had made an exhaustive search on Ramirez's records. He rose through the ranks, a respected leader, and a notable rebellious record. An interesting man. Well, he thought, we will see if he uses his powers for good or evil. He could see in his mind's eye they were approaching the apartment. "Here we go," he said under his breath.

"Please come in," as security approached the door. Levi opened the door and Ramirez, plus the two people from security entered. "Thanks," he nodded to the security escort. In their cochlear implants, he told them, "wait outside please." They nodded in return and left. After the door closed, they took up station by the door. Levi quickly scanned this man. Not quite as tall as he was. Clean shaven and wore a tunic usually seen on mining colonies; a two-tone green and white. Levi smiled and closed the distance between them and shook his hand. A good firm handshake. All good signs. "Good to meet you at last, Mr. Ramirez." He motioned to the table where a variety of breakfast foods awaited. "Please have a seat. I don't know if you are hungry or not, I just had someone bring me a few things. Help yourself. When you get settled, we can talk."

"Well, I don't know if it is uncivilized here or not, but I can talk and eat at nearly the same time." He went about picking out some food from the table. "Thank you for inviting me to your ship. And thank you for this lavish meal. I'm not sure how long it has been since I have seen fruit!"

"No trouble at all Mr. Ramirez."

"You can call me Armando if you please. I do not stand on formality much anymore."

"I understand. I asked you over to the Atlantis to discuss any assistance you may need and whether you are ready to leave the Moon for greener pastures."

"Is that all you're going to have?" Ramirez looked at his glass of orange juice.

"Yes, it is all I need. I am rather fond of orange juice."

"I heard you were enhanced."

"Yes, I am. It is how I knew you were coming. I can tap into any feed on this ship and elsewhere. The door thing is a little trick I play now and then on my guests. My body gets energy from other sources besides food. I can eat food, but I do not need it in the bulk I did before enhancement."

"How convenient. Now you were mentioning greener pastures?"

"Yes," the captain continued, "we are here on a search and rescue mission. We were lucky to find a suitable place on the first time out. So, we have returned to gather as many people who want to go with us back to Searth."

"Searth? Where is Searth?"

"It is forty-two light years from here. Even at maximum speed, it takes us about five years to get there. It is why it has taken more than eleven years to get back here."

"I see," Armando said. "We didn't think anybody would be coming. There were six mining companies on the dark side of the Moon. Now there are only two."

"Actually, there is only one. Major Rand, from a mining colony on the terminus, intercepted one of our ships the other day. He tried to self-destruct a nuclear weapon to take out one of my ships. I'm not too happy about that."

"I hope everyone is alright."

Levi sized up the man. "Yes, thankfully quicker minds saved the day."