The next morning, the rug-rats, Casey and I all returned to the medical section to check on our lovers. Though we got the complete layout of the base in our dreams the night before, our diminutive guide showed up right on time to escort us.
"Good morning! How did you all sleep last night?" Mulan asked.
"Very well, thank you. This dream teaching stuff is really neat. I bet we could find our way to the medical section on our own, but thanks for showing up anyway; we know you had some stuff you wanted to study," Casey replied.
"Actually, I did a lot of the study portion last night. There are a couple of things I want to try in simulations, but that can wait until later. Besides, Andreya is a little busy right now, so she can't spare the computer time for me." Mulan grinned. "She is a sweetheart about it most of the time, but some of the stuff I get into taxes even her computing power."
"I think we'll all need some more time asleep before we even get a basic idea of just how much computing power you're talking about. Though, it is nice knowing the history of the Talosian people, and how the Williamses fit into the picture. It was pretty unbelievable to see Ian's face on TV the other night. Now, it makes much more sense," I said.
"Well, if any of you have questions, feel free to ask them. If I don't know the answer, I know how to find out," Mulan answered as she played with Greg. "Master called last night. He asked me to tell you that he would be back in a couple more days. They had to get the defensive shield in place before they really started working because those idiots over there actually started shooting at him before they even asked questions."
"I hope no one was hurt?" Casey asked with sudden concern on her face.
"No, luckily most of the bullets either went into the dirt, or got bounced up into the air. Poseidon took care of the larger stuff, but even that wouldn't have hurt them since they were in their armor," the girl replied, unconcerned. "None of the idiots were hurt either. Apparently, right now there is the better part of a battalion of troops trying to figure out how to get through the shield, and they are hopping mad."
"May I ask where they are putting in the new base? I know it might be classified, so..." I asked.
"No problem, who are you going to tell? The base is in west-central Libya. They had originally planned for it to be in Saudi Arabia or Iraq, but one of the strategists changed their mind at the last minute. It's not like it'll matter much; the speed these fighters can travel even in atmosphere is mind-blowing. I think they are looking at collateral damage if and when the base is attacked."
"Are two bases going to be enough?" Casey asked.
"No, not by a long shot. There are other teams overseeing the construction of other bases. Currently there are, or should be, four main fighter bases finished, with four more being built. In addition to the metropolitan defense platforms that are getting built. Our biggest problem has been the personnel to man them. As it is, some of the sites are going to have to be unmanned," Mulan explained. "We've been joined by another race, the Benesians, but even with all the help they are giving us, we might not have enough to defend the whole planet."
"I guess it's just hard to imagine something on this scale. Everything seems so rushed; is our time really that short?" I asked.
"Yes, it is. We don't know for sure exactly how long we have, but sector command said it isn't much. We don't have enough time to build effective shelters, but we do have time to build a few defenses on planet. In the mean time, every ship building and fabrication facility we have is working full tilt to produce enough weapons to defend our planets," Mulan explained.
We'd arrived outside Medical by now, but I didn't want to let this conversation go just yet. "Planets. Is Atlas at risk also? Surely they are better equipped to handle an attack," I said. We'd learned last night that humans had colonized the fourth planet in the Centauri system and named it Atlas. We didn't learn how large scale the coming attack was supposed to be.
"Command thinks so, and they'd have more reason to know than we would, and they're beefing up the defenses there too. All we really know for certain is that when the attack comes, it's going to be bad."
Casey laid her hand on my arm to stop me from question Mulan further. "Honey, let's go and see how our ladies are doing. Once we get our family back together, then we can decide how we can help."
I smiled at her; I could tell she was troubled by what the girl had been telling us as well, but for the moment, she was worried about Erin and Barbara. I nodded to her and we entered the medical section.
Nurse Emma was on duty again, and smiled at us as we walked in. "They are both awake and had a large breakfast. The procedures were both successful, and all is well. Now, since I've dashed your concerns, would you like to go see your mates?"
"Yes please, we really missed them last night," Casey said.
Mulan excused herself to some task she said she needed to do, but it was obvious that she was only trying to give the family some privacy. She hugged Casey and the kids before she left, and Emma led us back to the room that held our wives. Emma smiled as she explained that once the treatments were completed, they moved Erin into Barbara's room thinking they would be happier together.
"Boy, do you two look better this morning! How are you feeling?" I asked once I saw the glow that Erin had, and the healthier look to Barbara.
"This is the best I've felt in years! I feel like a teenager again!" Barbara said as she ran to my arms.
"She's right, I don't remember the last time I felt this good. The doctor said that the baby seems just fine, but he would like to see me again in a few days to make sure," Erin said while she hugged Casey.
"Have they said when they are going to let you out of here?" I asked as I took a turn hugging Erin.
"They can leave anytime; I'll make an appointment for Erin to see the doctor again on Saturday; will that be okay?" Emma asked.
"I think so; we don't exactly have a plan on what we are going to be doing here yet," Casey said.
"Why don't we go back to our apartment and talk it over? I've a few ideas I'd like to toss around," I said.
The ladies agreed, and we headed back to our apartment. The place itself was pretty sterile, but Alan had said our stay here would be only temporary, so we didn't want to change it too much. The fact that Andreya had added a huge addition and sound-deadened it seemed to indicate we might be here longer than just a few days.
"So, what are your ideas, Jon?" Casey asked.
"Well, right now there is a crisis, but I think I would like to learn more about how businesses work here. I'm thinking about opening a lounge where people can go to relax, socialize and forget about their troubles. There is a lot of stress around here right now. I think a place like that would be almost invaluable in this situation," I said.
"Andreya?" Casey asked after touching her earpiece. "Can you spare a moment or two?"
Andreya appeared in the room beside Casey, "Actually, I can spare at least three moments."
"Jon wants to open a USO in your base," Casey said without preamble.
"Not exactly a USO, but something like a lounge where people can go to unplug, and relax, listen to some music, have a drink or eat a meal, maybe dance. There's a lot of stress and anxiety here. I'd like to help with that if I could," I said.
"You want to open a night club in our base?" Andreya asked.
"The word 'night club' seems to have become synonymous with 'bar' and that's not what I had in mind. I mean someplace with a warm, friendly atmosphere; a place to relax, not a place to get drunk. Kinda like an officer's club, except it would be open to everyone."
"I think I know what you mean. I also think it's a great idea. Morale has been an issue lately, and this just might help things tremendously. We'll need to get final approval from Alan, but I think I can talk him into it. Do you have any idea where you want to put this place?" Andreya asked.
"Could we put it on the top of the base? Right on the ocean floor?" I asked.
"We could, but why would you want to? We're so deep that there is little light from the surface. However, we could use holographic panels to simulate the light; and we could put it just about anywhere then. It would still give the impression of being on the ocean floor. Since it would be a commercial establishment, we would have to install a kitchen in it, but you don't have to worry about staffing it until the crisis is passed and replicator usage becomes restricted again," Andreya said.
"I think I better brush up on the business aspects and laws then," Casey said. "If we're going to be business owners here, it might help to know what we're doing."
"You guys work on the details some more, and I'll get my avatar to talk Alan into it. In the meantime, I think I'll power up some of my construction drones. I'll get back to you in a few minutes," she said as she faded from view.
We all sat around the holographic coffee table in the living room and hammered out a design for our first pub: "Davey Jones' Locker".
We started with a large room, and put a sunken wooden ship along one wall. Entrance to and from the kitchen would be through a break in the hull close to the bow. Another broken portion of the hull was a small bar area, and a large rock formation had a cave that led to the restroom.
Lounge areas ranged from open clam shells to sponge beds. Long fronds of kelp stood from the floor to gently wave in the current while holographic fish swam through the air. The ceiling would look like the surface of the ocean seen from below and the floor was sandy. A small coral reef provided a stage for live music, and there was enough of a clear area for people to dance if they wanted.
All three of my ladies had contributed to the design and we were still sitting around it looking for things we forgot when Andreya asked if she could return. We hadn't realized, but it had taken us almost two hours to create the design.
"Wow, you guys are really getting into this aren't you?" Andreya asked when she saw the hologram above the coffee table. "It looks wonderful! It would be simple to build as well."
"We were just sitting here trying to think of anything we might have overlooked or forgotten. The only thing I can think of would be the sound system, and I figured I'd need to talk to you or maybe Mulan about that," I said.
"Acoustics, like light, can be manipulated in almost any way we wish. We can build a simple system that would allow for any instrument or voice to be heard equally well. That won't be a problem.
"What I wanted to see you about is that Alan has approved your request, and immediately asked me how soon it can be ready. The morale issue has been worrying him," Andreya said.
"Looks like we should get busy then. Can you see anything we might have overlooked, Andreya?" Erin asked.
"No, but would anyone object to having two entrances, one here, and the other over here?" she asked, indicating the areas and shifting the appropriate features around so they fit.
"Not at all; in fact, I think that looks better. To begin with, people will have to serve themselves, but we can add staff as time goes," Casey said. "There is one thing I'd like to add on later; a play area for kids. We could have a miniature amusement park for the little ones, slides, and cargo nets, wooden forts, and a big pool of those balls like they have at those pizza places."
"That's another great idea; we already have some children here, but there will eventually be more. While we can still leave it attached to your pub, I think we should consider expanding that and staffing it twenty four hours a day. We can set up study areas and a small meal area as well," Andreya said. "Currently we have one small room and two overworked people watching over about thirteen children."
Andreya brought up a holograph of the base, then inserted the place she thought would be best for the pub and the new daycare center. "If we put it here, it would be easy access from just about anywhere on the base. You'd be close to the main maglev tube, and have easy access from the main bay as well. We might eventually have to add a small section for transient quarters, and we had planned them to go here, which would be just below were I'd like to put your pub. A small private lift from there up to your pub, and the people would have easy access," Andreya said, smiling. "What do you think?"
"When do we start?" I asked.
"The construction drones are getting the commands right now, and will start on it in a few minutes. All three facilities should be finished in four days, two hours, and twenty-nine minutes," Andreya said.
"Let's just hope we have that much time before the fighting starts," Erin said.
"I'm pretty sure we don't, but the drones will keep working on it anyway. We'll need those transient quarters for some of the wounded and their families, and we'll need the pub for morale purposes, more so after the fighting starts. This project actually has a pretty high priority."
"One more thing, Andreya; do the Talosians or Benesians have any musical or performance art data bases I could study?" I asked. "If I'm going to play for a mixed crowd, I'd like to know something about them."
"There is a terminal in your studio that has access to all the information I have with regards to the cultural data. I can delegate a subset to help you research those areas. She will look like me, and act like me, but won't actually be me, though you might not really notice." She paused; "There, the drones have begun on the pub and surrounding areas. If you will excuse me, I need to get back to tactical. There's a riot in New York we need to try to deal with."
"Of course, Andreya. Thank you for your help with this," Cassie said as the woman disappeared.
"You're very welcome," Andreya said. "I'll be back later."
"If I know our mates," Cassie said as she put her arm around Erin. "Barbara would like to get busy studying medical books, and lover boy here is dying to get into the studio. What do you say to putting the little ones down for a nap, and the two of us can ... check out the bedroom?"
Erin immediately picked up the drowsing Greg and carried him toward the kids' room. "You'll have to catch the other one, sweetie. I'll meet you in the bedroom."
We all chuckled at the speed Erin had moved, and I had to admit that I was tempted to join them, but I really did want to go check out the music of other cultures. I kissed the girls, and headed for the studio.