. 01

Chapter 27, Part One

Date: November 14th

Location: The Samuels Ranch, La Grange, TX

Time: 0920hrs CST

Dave was at his desk, enjoying his morning Austin American Statesman, when he heard the characteristic beep signaling that Evangeline had terminated the Iridium uplink. What was uncharacteristic was the call switching to voice mode.

"Doctor Hansen, the upload is now complete. You have all the necessary information required. This transmission is ended."

Dave folded his newspaper neatly. He slowly got up from his chair with the paper under his arm, picked up his half-finished cup of coffee, and headed toward the kitchen. The team was eating the breakfast Seth and Jare had prepared.

Dave shuffled in with a big grin, "Good news, team. The uplink is complete."

Ellie looked up from her plate, laying her fork down. "At last. Now the Waxahachie team can complete the architecture assessment."

Annie asked her mother, "Mamma, when will you leave to join your team?"

"In a few days, sweetie," she replied.

Seth called into the kitchen as Dave finished placing his coffee mug in the dishwasher. He went into his Maxwell Smart imitation, "Chief, I demand the Cone of Silence."

A few minutes later, everyone was in the 'White Room' sitting at the conference table. Bunty waited until the lift returned to the upper floor, and the light was green. She initiated Faraday mode and received confirmation of activation.

Seth began, "Space Command has given us the go-ahead to dedicate the ten terahertz Ultra-Wide Band SATCOM prototype to the newly established Ellis Engineering District. The 'Ellis Project' has unconditional priority."

Jared added, "A package will be ready for our team to pick up at the Houston office no sooner than mid-January. A new DARPA-inspired terahertz transmitter is available. Our team will deploy with the unit. Once at sea, we will establish the uplink from our stateroom balcony. We can tie the unit into the ship's electrical system and fiber-optic network. It is suitcase-sized and employs an integrated 220/120-volt inverter unit that steps the voltage down to the required 28V DC. The unit has a GPS-enabled controller to optimize the orientation of a second suitcase-sized data/telemetry dish. Evangeline will have sole Control of the unit once the link is established."

Dave nodded, "That should work. What will our maximum capable uplink speed?"

Seth checked one of his datasheets and answered, "Optimal transmission with the satellite in geosynchronous orbit is 10TBS."

Ellie shook her head, "We can't assume we will come anywhere near that rate. She walked around the table to Bunty's tablet and began to work. For a minute, she typed and then passed her work on to the whiteboard application. It read as follows:

Time=SpeedData​

Where:

Time is in seconds

Data is in bits

Speed is in bits per second

Given:

Data = 11 Petabytes = 11×101511×1015 bytes

Speed = 1 terabit per second = 1×10121×1012 bits per second

Convert Petabytes to bits:

11 Petabytes=11×1015 bytes=11×1015×8 bits

Time=11×1015×8 bits 1×1012 bits/sec

Time=1×1012 bits/sec 11×1015×8 bits​

Time=1×101288×1015​ seconds

Time=88,000 seconds

Convert seconds to hours:

88,000 seconds=24.44 hours

Ellie pointed at the screen, "The current estimate is that Evangeline's memory is approaching nine petabytes. She will likely be closer to eleven petabytes by the time the cruise begins. Once the team connects to our girl through the ship's fiberoptic network, we will have at most five days. At one terabyte per second rate, 24.44 hours is the best estimate, assuming nothing goes wrong." Ellie sighed, "A seven-day cruise from Galveston to the Bahamas and return is all the time we will get. Let's hope there is a sufficient safety margin for unforeseen exigencies or the gig is up."

Bunty spoke, "The next cruise begins on January 28th. Ellie that gives your team, at most, 60 days to finish creating Evangeline's new home.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Date: November 18th

Location: The Samuels Ranch, LaGrange, TX

Time: 1105hrs CST

Jared sat on a picnic bench under an old pecan tree near where he had just finished target shooting with his selected firearm, a new production Browning 9mm High Power pistol he purchased in Virginia while training at Langley. He liked the pistol's heft and feel.

Bunty sat alongside Jared, cleaning her Sig Sauer P225, while Jared did the same with his weapon. "You're improving, Luv. Your technique is good. Just a little more breathing control."

Jared shook his head. "Bunty, you are so kind, but you need glasses. I still can't hit anything reliably beyond 15 meters."

Bunty smiled as she worked her brush through the barrel of her piece. "True, but as long as you hit an eight-inch center mass target with your first shot, you will be fine. No one on this team expects you to shoot a flea off someone's arse at 15 meters."

Jared just shook his head and decided to change the subject. "When does Control get back today?"

Bunty continued to focus on cleaning, saying, "Sometime this afternoon. She and Cole are coming in from the site."

Seth and Heather walked up to the pair and sat on the opposite side of the table. "What are you two discussing?" Heather asked.

"Nothing significant," Jared complained.

Seth looked at his best friend, "What is eating at you, Jare? You haven't been yourself the last couple of days. Are you missing Ellie already?"

Heather elbowed Seth, "Sometimes, Seth, you can be insensitive. Of course, he does." She shook her head.

Bunty finished assembling her pistol and worked the action several times before stowing it in her Pelican case. She began putting away her cleaning kit. "Control indicated there are changes to the family protection mission. She will brief us on arrival. Ellie's team has completed their analysis and established what is required."

Heather added, "Speaking of updates, we should avoid discussing Control's trip, taking Angela home to her parents unless she brings up the topic."

Bunty stood and picked up her gear. As she started back towards the house, she said in parting, "I will see about some lunch for us all."

Jared finished and began packing up, too. Heather studied his face, and something was troubling him. She decided not to press Jared. Jared locked up his weapon and pushed it into the center of the table. "Seth, do you mind if I ride back with you and Heather this evening? I just want to check on the house. I plan to drive the RAV4 back out tomorrow to charge the battery. It's been two weeks since I fired it up."

Seth smiled, "Sure, pal. We can convoy back together. Safety in numbers."

Heather placed her hand on Seth's. "Please don't forget to pick up the lesson plans from the kids' teachers for the next two months. I have to homeschool them, and I am dreading it."

Seth turned and pulled Heather's face near his. "Have I told you lately how spectacular you are?" Seth leaned in and took Heather's breath away with a passionate fifteen-second lip-lock.

Heather pulled away as Seth released her, "Oh, you and I need a mid-morning rendezvous, husband."

Jared smiled, "Let's get back inside, folks." Seth stood, picking everything up carefully before heading back. Seth and Heather followed slowly behind him, wondering what was troubling Jared.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Annie was in the lounge when Jared returned after stowing his firearm. He took a seat on the leather sofa alongside his daughter. She was focused on studying a detailed deck plan of Crossthwaite's vessel. He sat silently, placing his hand on his daughter's thigh as he leaned against her.

Annie looked up and sensed her Father's unsettled mood. She put her tablet down. "Daddy, is something wrong?" she asked.

Jared tried to fake a smile. "Nothing, sweetie, just troubling dreams about the past. Nothing to worry about. Do you know how some dreams are so real and vivid, with sights and sounds that seem like real memories? The kind of dream that stays vivid in your consciousness for the whole day."

"Yes, I have those several times yearly," she replied. Annie looked at Jared intensely for a moment. Then, she gently asked her Father, "Would you like to talk about it? I am here for you if you need me, Daddy."

Jared smiled, "You are so sweet to ask, but no. It's just jumbled memories from a decade ago. It's just a bad dream." Jare decided it was time to snap out of the gray funk he had been in since Ellie left a few days back.

Dave called from the kitchen, "Grilled cheese and tomato soup for light lunch, folks. I will have everything on the table in five minutes."

Bunty exited her bedroom, announcing, " I just got a call from Control. She and Cole are inbound with Ellie. They should be here in 15 minutes. I will set out three more places at the table, Dave."

"Thanks, Pen. I appreciate the help. I have plenty of soup, but I will start with a half dozen more grilled cheese sandwiches. Harshman has a big stomach."

Back in their bedroom, the Barksdales spoke in hushed tones behind a closed door about Jared. "Heather, I think having Annie on this mission instead of Ellie freaks Jare out," Seth remarked.

"Seth, that doesn't sound like something Jared would let get under his skin. He made the call for Annie to be on the team," Heather countered.

Ellie can shed some light on this when she gets back from Waxahachie. At least she will be surrounded by the same development team as before. I would think Jare would feel good going off, knowing that Ellie's group was intact and in the same roles as before," Jare thought aloud.

Heather paced a few steps away from Seth. She recalled those days when Ellie went off to work with DARPA for weeks, leaving Jare to juggle work and the girls. "Towards the end of Ellie's stint, when she was gone so much between 2010 and 2014, do you remember that Jared and Ellie had a window where they walked on eggshells around each other?"

Seth nodded, "Sure, I remember that Jare told me it was work stress, and he was troubled that Ellie didn't fall back into their old routine and support him like he felt he deserved."

Heather shook her head, "No, that wasn't it. It was something much more."

They heard Bunty's voice outside their door: "Let's go. The soup is on. The grilled cheese sandwiches are hot and buttery. Cole, Control, and Ellie are here."

Seth held a finger to his lips. "Take Ellie aside and find out if she has an idea of the problem."

Seth led the way out, opened the door, and disappeared down the hallway. Heather said aloud, "Oh, Ellie knows."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Everyone was assembling around the dining room table. The Samuels and Barksdales each made a point of giving Control a big welcoming hug. The boss took her seat and poured herself a glass of iced tea. Cole and Seth took chairs on either side of Control. Meanwhile, Ellie was busy locking lips with Jare and then told him how much she missed him. Jare held her tight and then pulled a chair out for her. Annie carefully worked around the table and sat next to Cole.

"Dig in, y'all," Dave encouraged. Seth quickly ran through a few highlights for Control, catching her up with the team's activities for the last several days.

"Good work, team," Control said. "Ellie and I have been discussing the elaborate protection detail for Hallie, Seth, and Heather's children. I spoke with the President in Brussels. She agreed to make significant changes that Ellie believes are in the best interest of the deployed team's mission and the project Ellie must bring to a successful conclusion. Go ahead, Ellie."

Ellie took a drink of iced tea. Then she tore a piece of her sandwich free and said, "The facility where Evangeline's home will be is the former supercollider facility in Waxahachie, TX. The world believes it is incomplete and turned over to a private consortium. This is a cover. The facility has been fully developed as the government's supercomputing equivalent of Cheyenne Mountain. The miles of tunnel originally dug for the Super Collider now house an underground complex of computer laboratories and various supercomputing research facilities developing deployable quantum computing solutions to defend the Western ally's critical infrastructure. Space Command research teams are also developing advanced AI to work as part of an emerging planetary defense system."

"Planetary defenses, it's about time," Jared said.

"There is an astrophysics team of 60 leading minds from NASA, CalTech, Lawrence Livermore, MIT, Cornell, and Columbia Universities. A few notable names you might recognize are, "Dr. Michio Kaku and Dr. Neil de Grasse Tyson.

Dave Samuels whistled, "Wee doggies, Miss Jane."

"Well said, Jed," Seth deadpanned.

Ellie resumed, "I asked the President to add Hallie to the astro-sciences team led by Doctor Tyson. The President personally asked Dr. Tyson to assign Hallie as a favor to her. He told the President no favor was required. He couldn't understand why he hadn't thought of it first."

Annie clapped and gave a resounding 'Woot' that cracked up the team. For the first time in days, Jared smiled and exclaimed, "I couldn't have said it better, Annie."

"The facility is under the strictest security lockdown. Because the facility is one hundred percent self-sustaining for blocks of six months, it was decided that the Department of Defense secondary school support would be provided and linked specifically to STEM development of children accompanying their parents during deployments at the facility."

Control looked at Heather and said, "You have been assigned as Ellie's executive admin and scheduling assistant. Your children will join you and the 114 other K through 12 students at the facility. There is no safer, more secure facility in our country. The living quarters, classrooms, shopping venues, movie theaters, and medical facilities are sequestered from the main labs. Personnel are shuttled on a light rail tram to the various locations where classified work is conducted."

Ellie smiled, "Hallie will be my roommate. Heather and the kids are just one door down from us. This is as safe as we can be from Crossthwaite. Every location in the facility is under constant surveillance, even the personal quarters. No chances are being taken. This facility was developed at a great cost to protect our allies around the globe. Over 600 security personnel from the four services will protect the facility from below. I can't speak to the protections above ground. There is even a field office from the FBI as well." Ellie reached out and clasped Jared's hand. " As for my role, I told the President that when Evangeline is safe and secure, I am taking my husband home to assume my Professorship at my alma mater. It will be time for Jared and me to become the academics we always knew we were at heart. I asked the President for this assurance in writing."

Control smiled, "Ellie took me at my word when I said, ask, and it shall be yours."

Jared leaned his head against Ellie's, whispering in her ear, "Nicely done, but before you leave me for six months, you will account to me, and you know why."