A tall slender figure stood on a balcony, arms crossed and gazing up at Ganrea’s late afternoon sun. His focus slowly descended to rolling hills of the well-manicured orange grass of the presidential grounds.
“Humpf,” grunted the figure as he unfolded his arms, leaned forward and placed his palms on the railing.
A shorter man of slight build walked up behind him. “Mister President, we have contact from your son. He accomplished his mission and is on his way back home,” said the little man.
The president dropped his head and let out a relief-filled sigh. “Thank you, thank you, thank you,” he whispered under his breath.
“Sir? Did you say something?”
The President turned, putting his hands on the man’s shoulders. “Just giving thanks because my boy is heading home, Mister Jessman.”
Sending his only son, Ethan, on this assignment to Earth had been an overwhelming and difficult decision for President Silhee Inglischkenigat. But like any great leader, he could not ask anyone to do something he would not be willing to do himself.
The president had a trusting and respectful relationship with Ethan. He knew firsthand the skills and abilities of his son. He would trust this mission to no one other than his boy. Nonetheless watching him pack up was painful. Ethan stepping on to the ship all alone twisted in his gut.
Heart wrenching, thought the president, I cannot imagine what I would do without my son. Please be safe.
The President strode by his assistant, Mister Jessman, and went into his office.
“Shall I read you the message Mister President?”
“Yes, please do.”
“Phase one of the mission is complete. Tyler is on board Bob with me. Tyler’s willing to assist us.”
He looked up at his boss and shrugged. “This is all we received Mister President.”
“Anything from our friend Ralph?” The President rubbed his chin. “Did they make the rendezvous point yet? He should have met Ethan at Clarcona hours ago.”
The President pointed to a huge white phone booth parked in the corner. “I need to talk to Ralph on the Big White Phone.”
‘The Big White Phone’ was a phrase, which went back thousands of years on Ganrea. The first communication device for the president of Ganrea had become known as the Big White Phone because it was, well, just that, a big white phone. Over the centuries technology had shrunk the phone. Eventually the communicator became a multimedia form of communication.
But as many things go, the tradition and name stuck. Even though the entire device could now fit in a grain of sand, the presidential palace still kept a giant phone booth for historical purposes.
“I am sorry, sir, but that will be impossible. Communication is sparse since we are concerned the Unu may be intercepting the messages. We expect something within the hour.”
“Fine, please keep me informed.”
“Absolutely Mister President. I will let you know as soon as we receive anything.”
“Thank you,” the president responded as he walked back out on to the balcony.
A voice came over the intercom, interrupting the two. “Mister President, you have an urgent communication from Bob. The ship is on your private line, would you like to take the call?”
The president spun on his heel, strode back to his desk and sat down. “Yes, please patch it through.”
“Mister President, slight change in plans. Ethan’s arrival will be delayed,” Bob stated.
The president feared the worse and his heart sank in his chest with a thud. “Bob please give me your report.”
“An Unu probe vessel stopped us by force in the wormhole and had us with a pulse hook and completely disabled.”
The president kept a strong steady voice as he expressed his greatest fears. “Have the boys been taken hostage?”
“No Mister President, we escaped. Tyler taunted the Unu robot ship until a shutdown occurred and began a reboot sequence. There was not enough time to get to Clarcona before the Unu robot ship came back on line so we had to find an alternative.
“Ethan reasoned they should meet Ralph at an unlikely location and chose Onohuedint. We jumped out of the wormhole only long enough for Ethan and Tyler to take off in Junior. I left them in that system. No communication from them since.”
The president leaned back in his chair and ran his hand along the length of the desk. “Have you contacted Ralph? Did you confirm the rendezvous?”
“I cannot confirm the rendezvous. However Ralph sent me a message that he is en route to Onohuedint.”
The president pursed his lips. “I trust Ralph implicitly. If Ralph said he’s on his way, we can take comfort in knowing he will meet the boys.”
“Mister President, I thought you would like to know Ethan took Hooper with him.”
The president smiled, “Ethan is always thinking ahead. This does make me feel better, Bob. Thank you.”