“The statistics are even worse with this plan. We don’t know what the weather is going to be like, but we do know that the Huan Yue is moving at twelve knots. So we are looking at a minimum of a thirteen mile per hour winds while trying to set the drone down on top of the Huan Yue.”
“Yeah, I understand that,” Hail said. “That’s why our pilots train endlessly on this stuff. They’ve landed micro drones in heavier winds than that using the wing package.”
Mercier was still not convinced, but he knew that once Hail had made up his mind then it was a done deal.
“What do you think, Renner?” Hail asked.
“It is not outside of our operational limitations.”
Kara laughed and then said, “I’m sorry.”
Hail looked at her and said, “No please. What are your thoughts?”
Kara laughed again and said, “I think you guys are out of your fucking minds, if I can be so bold. Let me break down what I understand you want to do. OK, you want to drop a toy light tied to wings down to a ship doing twelve knots in the middle of the ocean at night. Doesn’t that sound like science fiction to you?”
“We do science here,” Renner said. “Not science fiction.”
“It still seems like a lot of rich kids playing with expensive children’s toys,” Kara stated, knowing the seriousness of the mission and not ashamed to state her feelings.
“Well, yes, it is pretty much exactly how you stated it,” Hail said. “But as Renner said, our aircraft might be smaller, but they essentially work exactly the way larger military versions work. You can fly anything as long as it’s aerodynamic and has control surfaces that can affectively be manipulated.”
Kara shook her head as if she had failed to make her point. She looked frustrated.
“You look upset,” Hail told her. “Do you have any other questions you would like to ask?”
“Sure,” Kara said without hesitation. “How do you plan to drop this tiny drone onto a ship in the middle of the night?”
“A mother drone,” Hail said confidently.
“Of course,” Kara cried out sarcastically. “What else would you use to drop a micro drone other than a mother drone?”
“We could have used a mini drone to release the micro drone,” Rugmon piped up. “But the mini drone doesn’t have enough flight time and it would be lost to the sea. I hate losing my drones.”
Kara looked at that man as if he had the word dumb ass tattooed on his forehead.
She looked at the group and shook her head in total disappointment.
“I don’t have anything else to ask,” she said harshly.
“OK, then,” Hail said, appearing not to have a care in the world. “Let’s proceed.”
“So if the Nucleus is in theater, then we can launch Queen from the Nucleus,” Hail stated.
He waited to see if there were any objections.
“We should have at least two, maybe even three backup micro drones in case we have problems. I think Kara has me spooked,” said Renner.
Hail asked Rugmon.
“Is that possible?”
The sedate man answered, “Making the first one is hard. Making copies is easy.”
“I take that as a yes, then,” Hail responded.
“Then what is the role of the Hail Laser?” asked Mercier.
Hail thought for a moment.
“I don’t think we need it. I didn’t realize we had as much time as I believe we have.”
Renner said, “It’s still a good idea to move the Laser closer in and get it on station.”
“Agreed,” Hail replied.
Hail looked around the room. He noticed Terry Garber looking bored. She hadn’t said anything or been asked anything the entire meeting.
“I’m sorry Terry,’ Hail said. “I promise you will get your hands wet during our next meeting. That’s when things are going to need to go boom.”
The woman shrugged and checked her watch.
Hail thought that was funny thing to do. Terry Garber might be the only person he knew that still wore a watch.
“Alright, then we will call this meeting adjourned until we can get more intelligence updates. Also, Renner, please update your pilots and let’s create a simulator exercise that will recreate what we discussed and get them all into the booth. I want our pilots to be able to land a toy light on a fishing trawler in a hurricane by the time we are ready to go.”
“Will do,” Renner said.
Hail looked at the CIA woman. She had been on an emotional rollercoaster since the beginning of the meeting. Initially, her attitude had been gracious and helpful. As the meeting progressed and she discovered what they did and how they did it, her mood turned skeptical and suspicious. Then as the specifics of the mission had played out, her mood took another sharp turn to that of confrontational and combative. And now, as Hail looked at Kara Ramey, she simply looked tired.
As everyone in the room got to their feet and started heading towards the door, Hail asked her, “How are you feeling?”
Kara looked up and him and sniffed once defiantly.
“Either all of you are geniuses or I am in a frickin nut house. That’s how I’m feeling.”
Hail smiled and nodded understandingly.
“I can see why you think that. It’s certainly a lot to absorb.”
He let some dead air stand between the two for a moment to see what Kara would say. When she said nothing, Hail suggested, “Why don’t we go find you some clothes and then I’ll show you to your stateroom. You can get some rest and then I’ll show you around the ship.”
Kara said nothing, but she appeared to be softening a little.
“Does that sound good?” Hail asked as if he was speaking to a spoiled child.
“OK,” Kara said, getting up slowly from her chair.
Hail stood and walked over to the heavy metal door that was still standing open. He gestured for Kara step through. Kara gestured back for Hail to step through first. Hail thought that actually made sense because she didn’t know where she was going, so Hail stepped through, turned right and began walking toward the nearest stairs. The door automatically closed behind them with a clang.
Kara noticed that they were going lower into the ship. The big bold numbers that were painted at the head of each staircase were going down. When they got to the number 9, Hail turned left and walked down a metal hallway that looked like all the other metal hallways on the ship. The hallway terminated at yet another metal door.
Hail opened the door part way, then turned to Kara and said, “I think you’ll like this.”
He motioned for her to step through.
Once on the other side, the first thing that Kara noticed was color. Before she had walked through that door, she had felt as if she had been walking through the bland Sahara Desert with its endless white sand covering white hills. Everything on the inside of the ship was white.
But as she stepped through the bulkhead doorway, she had entered a new dimension in color.
“You have got to be kidding me?” she beamed.
Kara had just entered the Hail Nucleus’s shopping mall.
Each time that Hail had the opportunity to show off the ship’s shopping mall, he felt a little like Willy Wonka showing off his chocolate factory. He had spent a great deal of money on this luxury. During the ships construction, this large two story space had been created by eliminating a large section of deck eight. In its place, a second level of stores and a balcony looked down on the stores on the bottom floor of deck nine.
Kara walked into the middle of the mall and the first thing she noticed was the creamy marble tiled floor. Up to that point, all the floors she had seen on the Hail had been dull metal. She kept walking toward the center of the mall. Every twenty yards, she passed a large planter that had an assortment of palm trees and bright colorful bushes and flowers. She noticed that none of the vegetation was real, but they served their purpose, the palms stretching toward the open second floor ceiling as if they were yearning for sunlight. Once Kara reached what she thought was the center of the space, she began to turn in a slow circle and inventory the mall. She was standing in the middle of a massive oblong mall. At least she considered it massive since it was located in the middle of a cargo ship.