ship."
Keane shook hands with Dunaway. He hadn't paid any attention to him until the introduction. When Admiral Mullins occupied a room his burly stature and the steady gaze of his sky blue eyes beneath snow white brows and hair got the full attention of everyone until directed otherwise. While he didn't know Dunaway personally, he had worked with a friend who had served with the Commander. According to him, Dunaway was a smart man who didn't talk much but did his job in an exemplary manner. In person he was only medium height and slim. He had a studious expression but carried it well. He had graduated number one at the academy and had a PhD in physics. Hopefully, that would be useful in helping him to understand all the new technology he was going to have to master.
"Have a seat, gentlemen. Coffee?" Mullins came from behind his desk and joined the two subordinates in the area around a low table. He took the single large seat on one side of it, leaving the two on the other side for the Captain and Commander.
Keane took a quick covert glance at the admiral's desk and saw a cup there. "Yes, sir. That would go good after the flight. There was no coffee on the plane."
"No? I'll have to do something about that." He brushed negligently at his white hair while a Chief Petty Officer entered with a coffee service, placed it on the low table and withdrew.
Keane poured for himself and Dunaway, then for the admiral when he retrieved his cup. He took his black and sipped while the other officers were still adding cream and sugar to theirs. It was very good, rich and flavorful, as was to be expected in a full admiral's domain.
Mullins waited until they were each comfortable with filled cups. He crossed his legs and clasped his hands around his knee. He gazed upward at the ceiling for a moment as if wondering how to begin, then looked at them and commenced to speak.
"First of all, gentlemen, what I have to say here is strictly 'need to know'. No repeating any part of it to anyone until and unless it becomes general knowledge. Is that understood?"
Keane nodded in unison with Dunaway.
"Good. Now you both know the military usually doesn't interfere with the Survey Service other than sending along an intelligence officer and a security contingent of marines, but we're making an exception in this case. I'm sure you've already surmised that much since you are both military and Keane is to be the Captain of U.S.S.S. Doc Travis . It just received its name from the President's wife, by the way. It's a new class of ship and was originally slated for the Survey Service but ...circumstances dictated that it be turned over to the military. It will remain under our control permanently. We, in case that term needs clarifying, it includes the President of the United States but not the Joint Chiefs.
"All the Joint Chiefs know is that the Navy has been assigned the first of the new C class interstellar ships and that it's being sent out for extended trials. That should tell you how utterly secret this mission is. In plain words, we don't want it to get out and upset people. You probably don't know it yet but besides the three ships Wannstead has reported missing over the years, another one is overdue and presumed lost. Every one of those ships disappeared while on missions to land near an alien city. The city is located on a planet of a system within a small cluster of stars quite some distance from Earth. The Bolt Cluster, as it's known." He frowned and Keane wrinkled his forehead right along with him. This was getting interesting.
"Whatever is lurking in the Bolt Cluster must be heap bad medicine and we want to know who or what it is," Mullins continued. "Wannstead can't afford to lose another ship so they finally turned the problem over to us. Very reluctantly, I might add, since the city appears to be in pristine condition and most likely contains a wealth of new knowledge and technology. In fact, they named the system and the planet
Keane shook hands with Dunaway. He hadn't paid any attention to him until the introduction. When Admiral Mullins occupied a room his burly stature and the steady gaze of his sky blue eyes beneath snow white brows and hair got the full attention of everyone until directed otherwise. While he didn't know Dunaway personally, he had worked with a friend who had served with the Commander. According to him, Dunaway was a smart man who didn't talk much but did his job in an exemplary manner. In person he was only medium height and slim. He had a studious expression but carried it well. He had graduated number one at the academy and had a PhD in physics. Hopefully, that would be useful in helping him to understand all the new technology he was going to have to master.
"Have a seat, gentlemen. Coffee?" Mullins came from behind his desk and joined the two subordinates in the area around a low table. He took the single large seat on one side of it, leaving the two on the other side for the Captain and Commander.
Keane took a quick covert glance at the admiral's desk and saw a cup there. "Yes, sir. That would go good after the flight. There was no coffee on the plane."
"No? I'll have to do something about that." He brushed negligently at his white hair while a Chief Petty Officer entered with a coffee service, placed it on the low table and withdrew.
Keane poured for himself and Dunaway, then for the admiral when he retrieved his cup. He took his black and sipped while the other officers were still adding cream and sugar to theirs. It was very good, rich and flavorful, as was to be expected in a full admiral's domain.
Mullins waited until they were each comfortable with filled cups. He crossed his legs and clasped his hands around his knee. He gazed upward at the ceiling for a moment as if wondering how to begin, then looked at them and commenced to speak.
"First of all, gentlemen, what I have to say here is strictly 'need to know'. No repeating any part of it to anyone until and unless it becomes general knowledge. Is that understood?"
Keane nodded in unison with Dunaway.
"Good. Now you both know the military usually doesn't interfere with the Survey Service other than sending along an intelligence officer and a security contingent of marines, but we're making an exception in this case. I'm sure you've already surmised that much since you are both military and Keane is to be the Captain of U.S.S.S. Doc Travis . It just received its name from the President's wife, by the way. It's a new class of ship and was originally slated for the Survey Service but ...circumstances dictated that it be turned over to the military. It will remain under our control permanently. We, in case that term needs clarifying, it includes the President of the United States but not the Joint Chiefs.
"All the Joint Chiefs know is that the Navy has been assigned the first of the new C class interstellar ships and that it's being sent out for extended trials. That should tell you how utterly secret this mission is. In plain words, we don't want it to get out and upset people. You probably don't know it yet but besides the three ships Wannstead has reported missing over the years, another one is overdue and presumed lost. Every one of those ships disappeared while on missions to land near an alien city. The city is located on a planet of a system within a small cluster of stars quite some distance from Earth. The Bolt Cluster, as it's known." He frowned and Keane wrinkled his forehead right along with him. This was getting interesting.
"Whatever is lurking in the Bolt Cluster must be heap bad medicine and we want to know who or what it is," Mullins continued. "Wannstead can't afford to lose another ship so they finally turned the problem over to us. Very reluctantly, I might add, since the city appears to be in pristine condition and most likely contains a wealth of new knowledge and technology. In fact, they named the system and the planet