The initial hours after departing Mars orbit were tense. Denton sensed that despite the assurances of Admiral Hozera and Leah, there was uncertainty whether the governor of Mars would stay true to his character of passive aggression or do something unexpected. The admiral was concerned that he might feel snubbed by the betrayal of Leah and lash out in frustration. However, as the hours passed, he could sense the tension dissipate as the distance between the ship and Mars increased. He could almost hear a collective sigh when the admiral cracked a smile and gave the captain a congratulatory slap on the back.
The rest of the trip to Earth was uneventful. Denton mostly kept to himself, reviewing the existing evidence in the investigation with Tanner and making obligatory visits with the admiral. He avoided Leah to the extent he could, still not sure if she could be trusted.
Denton was relieved when they finally arrived at their destination. He was eager to continue the investigation. He felt as if all the drama on Mars had been a giant distraction and had moved his focus away from where it needed to be.
As the ship docked in orbit around Earth, Denton was collecting his belongings when he received a call from the admiral. He requested Denton's presence on the observation deck before disembarking. The call left Denton wondering what other surprises the admiral might have in store for him.
The observation deck was a dome-shaped structure of the ship. It allowed for a 180-degree view of what was outside of their vessel. Denton made his way through the crowd that had assembled and found the admiral by himself, away from the rest of the crowd. He saw Denton approach and nodded a greeting with a smile.
"Thank you for coming," he said.
"I have nowhere else to be at the moment," Denton said and shrugged. "Besides, you don't decline the invitation of an admiral. Quite the crowd you've got here. What's the occasion?"
The admiral laughed and shook his head. He then pointed towards the edge of the observation window. "You'll see. There's something I want to show you."
Denton followed the direction his finger was pointing and saw nothing but black space and stars in the distance, no larger than pinpricks. "Oh yeah?"
"As we dock in orbit, certain sections of the ship rotate into other positions, for various reasons. A side effect of this is that the observation deck ends up with a fantastic view of Earth while docked."
Denton looked up again and immediately saw that the distinct movement of the stars that slowly moved upwards because of the rotation of the observation deck. "So we'll see Earth from here?"
"Have you seen her before?"
"Well, no..."
"Then it's a sight to see. You'll get a closer look soon enough, but it's as they say, first impressions and all that. Ok, wait for it, any moment now."
As if on cue, the light around the bottom of their view became brighter as the reflected light from Earth lit up not just the immediate surroundings but also the ship and the observation deck. At first, it was just the sliver of white that was the upper atmosphere. Then a thin line of blue appeared and expanded horizontally as the observation deck continued to rotate into position. The blue ocean gave room to green and brown. White wisps of white clouds came into view and covered parts of the surface with its random patterns. Soon, the view of Earth occupied most of the area of the observation deck immediately to the front of Denton and the admiral.
Denton, his mouth wide open, continued to stare at the planet for several minutes. This is Earth, the cradle of civilization. He was there in front of his eyes. So often, he had dreamt of actually setting foot on this ancient foothold of humanity. For a long time, he had wondered if he'd ever make it here because of his reluctance to travel through space. He gripped the steel railing in front of him and grinned. It was stunning.
"I told you," the admiral chuckled and slapped Denton on his back. "It was worth it, wasn't it?"
Denton nodded without taking his eyes off the planet. They could now see about a third of the planet, and he noticed the rotation appeared to have stopped.
"It's so different," he said and looked over at the Admiral.
"What do you mean?"
"This whole planet is inhabitable. There's water and land all around the planet. Proxima b is so different."
"It's tidally locked, right?"
Denton nodded. "That's right. The same side of the planet always faces the sun. It's a planet with an eternal day and eternal night, all at the same time. There's a desert on the one side and ice on the other. On Proxima b, we live in the habitable zone in between."
"Do you ever explore either of the extremes?"
"Rarely. We have space stations orbiting what you might call the equator, the habitable area. Even from there, you see both the dark and the light side of the planet at the same time. It's rare that anyone sees just the light or dark side."
The admiral looked up at Earth again. "Yes, I suppose that is different."
"I'm looking forward to experiencing day and night without having to travel to see it," Denton said with a smile. They stood in silence for a few moments before the admiral spoke up.
"Denton, I didn't ask you up here just for the view."
"I figured as much."
"It's about Tanner. Come, let's walk back to my office," the Admiral said and led them away from the observation platform. "Commander Connor wasn't completely inaccurate when she detained you in Mars orbit because of what Tanner is."
"How so?"
"Independent Artificial Intelligence is prohibited on Earth, just like she said, but it's not the complete story. The Governor of Mars likes to nitpick on what to enforce and when. AI's are allowed, their movements are just highly restricted through specific directives that they are all, well, let's say born with. Since Tanner is from Proxima b, none of these directives would be inherent in his code. There would be nothing stopping him from just wandering around on Earth if he wanted to."
"The governor was relying on a technicality?"
"Kind of, yes. That's also the problem. If there's any potential he could walk around, we can't allow it. However, there would be no issue for him to remain in orbit. If absolutely necessary, he can be escorted to the surface. He just can't be alone. I trust that he can still be of use to you through your investigation."
Denton looked at the Admiral for a few moments as they left the observation deck behind. It wasn't an unreasonable request. He didn't need Tanner to be physically present to do his job. The important thing was that he was always in contact with him. "That should be alright," he said. "As long he has access to networks and the comms network so we can communicate, that is acceptable."
The admiral smiled and nodded. "Very well. We'll make the arrangements. You won't be alone on Earth anyway. Your liaison will be with you every step of the way."
"Ah yes, my liaison. I heard something about that," Denton said while resisting the urge to roll his eyes. "Who is it, if I may ask?"
The admiral raised his eyebrows. "Oh, I didn't tell you, did I? My apologies. Fortunately, I'll be able to introduce you shortly. Ah, here we are," the Admiral said and pointed towards a door. He used some method to open the door that Denton couldn't detect and then stepped through it. Denton hesitated for a moment. It was bad enough he had to fly across the universe to solve this case, being forced to have someone tag along that always would be looking over his shoulder and likely second-guessing his decisions made it worse. He took a deep breath and exhaled forcefully before he stepped through the door and froze immediately inside the door.
"What are you doing here?" he said forcefully and pointed at Commander Connor.
Leah, seated on one of the chairs by the Admiral's desk, smiled and stood up. "It's nice to see you too."
"Admiral?" Denton asked, both his hands gesturing in the air.
The admiral sat down in his chair behind the desk and gestured towards the other chair. "Please, have a seat."
Denton hesitated for a few seconds, sighed and then sat down. His eyes went from the Admiral to Leah and back. "So? What is she doing here?"
The Admiral cleared his throat and looked straight at Denton. "Commander Connor is your liaison during your stay here on Earth."
"She's my...you're joking."
"I'm afraid not."
"Listen, Admiral..."
"Denton, I know you have your reservations about Commander Connor, but I assure you, it's the best we can do. Originally, your visit was supposed to be handled by our intelligence agencies, but unfortunately, their resources are held up elsewhere. Since we were already in transit, it has been determined that the Commander will be the liaison between you and Earth."
Denton sighed. Complaining wouldn't get him far so he saw little reason to fight it.
"Fine. I can live with that."
"Besides, Commander Connor has intimate knowledge of the surface. She was born on Earth."
"Mr. Staxx, I assure you, my mission is to ensure your mission is successful," Leah said. "I'll do everything I can to make that happen."
Denton looked at the admiral and Leah. He wasn't convinced the pairing wasn't suspicious but did it make sense to make a big deal of something he couldn't prove? It was better to observe and if needed, try to make other arrangements if he determined he couldn't trust her. "So what's next?"
"The ship has docket at this point. The first order of business is to get Tanner situated. The quicker he is in position, the sooner you can continue with your investigation."
"That sounds reasonable. Where will he be based?"
"There's a complex of orbital stations used for a variety of purposes. Some are just transit hubs, others are maintenance and so on. We've made space for him and his cores in our intelligence hub. It gives him easy access to the data he needs plus secure communications with you. You also have quarters prepared in the same hub so you can be close by during the initial phase of your investigation, as well as have access to the best of our resources, should you need it. Then, as needed, Commander Connor will help you get around as needed, whether it be in orbit or down on the surface."
"When can we start?" Denton said and stood up.
~~~
Denton and Tanner have finally arrived. What do you think the deal is with Commander Connor? Is she an ally or a plant? Will she hold them back or try to move them along as quickly as possible?
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