“You won’t get through. The Osiris is restricted to an official channel only,” Cavan said.
“I know, I already tried calling. But Amspace can bypass the regular net and get it on a direct beam when it’s above the horizon. We’ve still got the access protocols they gave us to get into their file system. It might be possible to create a message link from there.”
There was short silence. Then, “Give it a try, Landen. Keep me posted. And if I learn anything more at this end, I’ll do likewise. Must go now. Why does life happen in tidal waves?” Cavan hung up.
Keene went through into Judith’s office and found Vicki there. He waited in the doorway for them to finish speaking.
“Oh, is the beast fed?” Vicki checked warily.
“Yes, it’s safe. . . . Judy, do something for me when you’re through, would you? Lines to the Osiris are being blocked. I want to bypass the public system and try getting through direct. Would it be possible to create a connection via a beam from Amspace, using the access codes we’ve got for the file system?”
Judith thought for a few seconds. “It should be. . . . But with just a skeleton crew up there, it mightn’t be set up to get attention at their end.”
“Okay, well, get onto Amspace and find out when the ship’s due overhead, and give it a try. If it works, I want to talk to Idorf.”
“What are you getting us into now, Lan?” Vicki asked suspiciously.
“I’m not getting us into anything. I’m just trying to find out what’s going on.”
Vicki gave a resigned nod. “That’s how it always starts.”
* * *
Cavan called back around mid afternoon to say that Voler and a number of other leading astronomers had been called to a meeting at the White House, as well as top officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Departments of State and Defense, NASA, and the principal security agencies. It was being given a low profile to avoid media attention, but a lot of encrypted communications traffic was passing between departments involved in orbital and lunar operations and space agencies overseas, and all kinds of routine business was being canceled. There was a lot of strain and tension in the air. That was about as much as Cavan knew.
An hour later, Judith called Keene in his office to say she had Idorf on a link through Amspace. “You did it!” Keene got up to close the door with a foot and then resumed his place before the screen. “Good girl. I knew you’d hack it.”
“It wasn’t me,” Judith told him. “I was still working on it. This is incoming. He’s calling you.” Moments later, Keene found himself looking at the lean, hawkish features with the reddish hair and raggedy beard. Idorf didn’t look in the friendliest of moods; neither did he have time for social pleasantries.
“Dr. Keene, I’m sorry if this is inappropriate, but I don’t pretend to understand how things work in your world. I’m contacting you because you are a person who gets attention and can convey a message to the proper people; also, I respect you as someone whose word can be relied upon. I cannot say the same for many of the others that I’ve been hearing recently. My impression is that they are likely to say anything they think I want to hear if they believe it might get them what they want. I’m told this is what you call politics.”
Play this ree-al easy, Keene told himself. He tried to look composed. “I appreciate the compliment, Captain Idorf. How can I help?”
“Are you aware that the departure of our delegation is being obstructed?”
“No, I wasn’t. I knew there was a block on communications, and in fact was trying to get through to you via Amspace to find out more. I’m back in Texas now, away from it all. What’s happening?”
“The transportation that was supposed to be made available to bring them back up to the Osiris is not forthcoming. I am also informed that the emigrants who have been booking earlier flights to the Tapapeque base in Guatemala have been put on hold.” Keene started to inject that he knew something strange was going on in Washington, but Idorf went on, “Today, I announced that if your government was not going to provide a shuttle to bring our delegation up, I would send one of our own surface landers down to get them. I was warned off by Terran defenses, Dr. Keene! They advised me that any such unauthorized landing would be treated as a hostile act, and the craft seized. So, are we at war now, eh? Does Earth jump to the only kind of solution it has ever been able to conceive for any problem?”