Now, don’t be too freaked out since I am going to take you through a large time jump. Most of the basic technology we need is being researched, so it’s a matter of either waiting for success or waiting for it to be built and improved to the point of being usable. Telling you about the minutiae of what we’re doing everyday would most likely be excruciatingly boring. Don’t worry though, I’ll still give you a general overview of what we’ve accomplished.

I love the people here. They’re smart, dedicated and innovative to the point of giving me headaches at times. For instance: the laser cooling project to help out the inertial dampeners. Well, it works and works extremely well as a matter of fact. Then, someone on the team just happened to read an old NASA article on laser cooling from 2018 or so. It seems NASA was able to create a laser cooling system back then that could achieve a temperature drop of -273℃, but only for a very short period of time. You can guess why. Right, power requirements, which we can now meet.

So, this ended up with Erica, Katsuo and me in a meeting with an overly excited project manager, who wanted more funding to follow up on it. That’s all fine and good, but he should have been content to try to tell us the basics and ask for money.

But, oh no, he had to have a full blown nerdgasm and try to bring out the equations and theory behind it, and it had already been a really long week for me between work and school. Now, I’m kind of a geek when it comes to science and math myself, but right then, I had the patience of a starving lion being told to wait while their handler dangled prime rib in front of them. He got about 20 seconds or so into his discourse before my head started pounding and I yelled at him to stop and get out. Believe me, I felt really bad afterward. He got the new funding he wanted, but I was done for that day. I’d been up since 4:30 that morning, and it was 9 at night at that point.

They’ve gone through several iterations of working models so far. The first one was the size of a very large refrigerator. The latest version is the size of a 250 g inertial dampener, which is 1.5 meters per side by half a meter tall, and pulls about a third of the amount of power that the first version did. A neat side effect of the supercooling is that the dampener doesn’t require as much power to do the same amount of work. It’s roughly half now.

The inertial dampener progress has leapt forward due to this, and if we’re willing to accept higher energy costs, it can reduce 400 g’s to 1 g. So far, we’ve kept acceleration down to 250 g’s since the power costs are half of what they would be at 400 g’s.

Truthfully, I think we can call the inertial dampener good at this point because at 250 g’s acceleration you gain 8,820 km/h per second. At that rate of acceleration you can go from Earth to Jupiter in about 27 hours, assuming you don’t want to enter orbit and simply do an extremely fast flyby. If you’re curious, that would be a speed of 31.7 million km/h. I believe that’s more than enough to get us around the solar system in a timely manner. For emergencies, such as a ship in distress, there would always be the Side Step drive. I’m not saying that we should stop further research, just maybe lower the priority.

The gravity field generator is coming along very nicely. Power requirements are a bit of an issue at the moment, but other than that, it works as described. We’ll be installing them in manned ships as well as the orbital anchors. I’m sure other uses for it will be forthcoming.

Speaking of the Side Step drive, human testing went extremely well. No abnormalities among the volunteers at all. When they were asked about their experience, they said it was like being in a dark room with a dim glow ahead of them and no sense of movement or direction. If for no other reason than mental health, I can see the need to make sure that everyone is secured before entering Side Step. It wouldn’t do to have someone hurt themselves because they can’t tell where they are.

I’ve been asked by UEASF (United Earth Alliance Space Force) if there is a way to combine the System and Side Step drives into one unit. You know the military, they prefer things in simple packages for the most part. I believe it can be done, but I don’t think it’ll be as simple as they think either.

At this point, the Dark Energy project has been relegated to a smaller team of researchers. The best they’ve been able to get out of it is a single gigawatt, and that’s with using 5 gigawatts to power the containment grid. Suffice it to say that the research costs have far outweighed the benefits. We’ll still keep the small team going at it, hoping for a breakthrough, though it simply doesn’t seem likely.

The space elevator is another project that is progressing by leaps and bounds. MIT and Cambridge both added additional nanite labs and production facilities, funded by us, of course, so we have far more nanites available to construct the tethers. Nanites are constantly being added to increase construction speed. At present, slightly more than half of what we need has been constructed.

TGR and MIT collaborated on what they are calling maintenance nanites for the tethers, although they are far more than that. Basically, the idea is to build a vein system throughout the tethers and allow the maintenance nanites to circulate in and through the tethers through capillary action. If they find damage or any form of degradation, they repair it. An elegant solution to a sticky problem I had been considering.

19355 is now hollowed out, and the arrival/departure port is busily being built. Above that will be 5 floors of controlled environment storage. Then 3 floors of commercial/shopping districts. The next 5 floors will be parks with lakes and hydroponics. If you’re wondering, it’s to provide oxygen and carbon dioxide scrubbing as well as a place to play and provide fresh food to residents. The next 10 levels will be residential. Hotels for visitors, and houses and apartments for permanent personnel, all interspersed with even more parks and ponds.

As an aside, you wouldn’t believe the amount of applications we’ve already received for permanent residence.

There’s been a lot of negotiation in the background that I wasn’t even aware of, but they are trying to set up a unified governing body for all of the UEA. The sticking point is what form it’s going to take. We’ll have to see how all that works out. I’m simply thankful to not be involved.

Back to what I was talking about. The next level is UNE Space Force military police and detention facilities. Yes, this facility will be under military rule for the near future. Just above that are the 4 floors for environmental control, 2 for primary and 2 for backups. Originally, the design called for the environment control floors to be down by the arrival/departure port, but General Hastings nixed that in a heartbeat. I can easily understand why he did.

Above that is the command, control, and communications deck. I’m not allowed to say much about it. And, last, but definitely not least since it takes up the largest part of what used to 19355, is a volume comprising 15 extremely large decks. Again, I’m not allowed to say much about it. Even when it’s opened up to public access, there will be sections where the public won’t be allowed for any reason.

At the very top of the spaceport is the space traffic control center. Merely think of them like the air traffic control centers you are familiar with on Earth, only responsible for a much bigger area.

From top to bottom, the entire elevator will be heavily defended, both against any Earth based or cosmic threats. How they are setup is heavily classified as you can guess.

TGR, MIT, and Cambridge are making headway on the nanites to build engines in 19274. I’m sure you remember me saying that turning it into a habitat or the like would be much more preferable. They do have the nanites ready to harvest 19274 if necessary though. I’m thinking that I’ll give them another 6 months, and if they can’t do it by then, I have DTI build the engines in sections and assemble them in orbit. Then we’ll have a crew fly them out and attach them along with installing the power plants and AI. For now, assuming that we can do it, we’ll be parking this beast in orbit around Mars.

So, on to the moon base. The design has been finalized, and I approved it. It’ll be a subsurface station to protect everyone there from cosmic radiation. Think of a setup similar to the space port, and you’ll have it right. It’ll even have its own gravity generator to keep the base at 1 g.

The engineers at DTI, in conjunction with the USAF, redesigned my Osprey and the F-48’s. The USAF, after quickly testing the new fighters, designated them the F-50 Archer. Both aircraft, or really space planes since they can reach orbit, use system drive engines, inertial dampeners and a cold fusion plant to power everything. They designated my plane the Peregrine. Both the Archer and Peregrine can reach speeds of Mach 15. The AI was upgraded to a level 2, who is named Tara, and the defense systems were upgraded as well. The nose and tail have a rotary 6-barrel 5 gigawatt pulse laser. On each side of the plane are twin 3-barrel 1.5 gigawatt pulse lasers. The weapons systems retract into the hull when not in use. Also, in the last retrofit, they added a bedroom, a closet and a private bathroom with a shower.

Oh, yes. The USAF has offered to pay for the redesign and refit of all our aircraft and give us 5% of what it cost for them to build the new aircraft, if they can have the rights to use the designs. The engineers’ smug grins told me what they thought about it. I can’t say that I blame them since they are by far the most advanced aircraft on the planet.

Oh, remember me saying that simply building the space elevator would bring out the conspiracy theorists in droves? Guess who was right? Their most popular theory is that aliens have arrived and are hiding behind the moon until we finish the elevator, then they’ll come down and take over the Earth.

Things got bad for 2 months starting in February 2061. 15 people or groups have tried to attack me, although only 1 group managed to actually hurt me.

Let me make something extremely clear to you: being shot hurts, a lot! Mmkay?

That crap you see in the movies where the MC gets shot several times, hops right back up and then runs around killing all the bad guys? Yeah, it’s total BS.

I was in Azerbaijan attempting to talk the hardheads into actually providing the support amounts they pledged. I made good progress, and they agreed. I have no idea how anyone knew I was there, but I walked out of the building to a huge crowd of cheering people. I was beyond surprised, but it took me all of a microsecond to adopt my media persona. I smiled and waved at the crowd as we made our way down the steps.

Suddenly, I feel like I’ve been hit in the chest with a 10 kilogram sledge hammer that was white hot.

I vaguely hear Honoka scream, “Sora,” from behind me.

Thinking back, I have no idea how I remained on my feet, but I look over my shoulder to say something to her. I open my mouth and immediately cough up a huge amount of blood.

Again, I feel the white hot sledge hammer hit me in the chest, and it’s quickly followed up with three more. At this point, my vision dims to the point that all I can see is in black and white through a very narrow tunnel. Honoka’s arms slip around my waist, and I feel myself being whirled around.

A second later, Honoka jerks and grunts in my ear, and her arms loosen around me. Another arm grabs me, and I reopen my eyes to see Jason slipping his arms around both Honoka and me and picking us up. If I could have, I’d have screamed as he ran down the stairs and tossed us both into the SUV like we were ragdolls.

The last thing I really remember is Jason screaming at the driver, “Get us the fuck out of here, now!”

After that is pain. All encompassing, unadulterated agony overwhelms me as my nanites begin expelling the bullets and healing me. Just as I’m finally getting back to some semblance of normal thought, we arrive at the airport and blow through the security gate like it wasn’t even there and come to a screeching halt beside my plane.

Jason quietly says, “You two hang in there. We’ll be out of here soon.” He gently picks us up, carries us inside and places us in our seats. He touches my shoulder. “Relax. You two are safe now,” and then he disappears. A moment later, I hear him yell at our pilot, “Get us airborne, now!”

Glancing over at Honoka, she’s sitting limply beside me with her eyes half open and literally covered in what I assume to be my blood.

They were still closing the entry ramp when the pilot took off at full power, which sent out a shockwave that shattered windows for kilometers around. Our escort F-50’s joined on us moments later. Within 20 seconds, we were at Mach 9 and quickly climbing past 30,000 meters so that we could reach our top speed of Mach 15. Less than a minute in total and we’re safely at our cruising altitude of 100 kilometers. We later learned that the population had initially thought that a huge bomb had been set off at the airport.

Still looking at her, I tiredly murmur, “Honoka?”

Turning her head, she weakly pats my thigh and quietly says, “Shh. Just rest, little sister. We both need to rest.”

Far too tired to argue with her, I merely lean my head against her shoulder and close my eyes.

Sometime later, I feel a touch on my cheek and open my eyes to a concerned looking Jason. Smiling wryly, I ask, “Do I look that bad?”

He shakes his head slightly and gives me a small smile. “You’re beautiful, as always.”

I grin weakly, “Liar.”

He snorts. “Do you need anything?”

“Water, both of us are going to need lots of it. The nanites had to replace our lost blood.” I’m unsure of how I know, but I know that Honoka was shot too. Where and how many times, I have no idea.

He nods, leaves, and comes back a moment later with two - one liter bottles of water, which disappear in short order. Holding out the empty, I say, “Another, please.”

He brings back two more, and we sit there, sipping it slowly this time.

I can see the guilty look in his eyes as he asks, “How do you feel?”

“Very tired and hungry. What happened?”

“I’ll get you two something to eat in a moment… Someone, or some group more likely, shot you as we were going down the stairs.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know, Sora, but whoever did this is seriously stupid. The alliance just went to a war footing, and they have all their intelligence services burning the bushes to find out who did it. Alright, that’s enough for right now. Let’s get some food in you two.”

I nod, and he leaves. Looking up at Honoka, I ask, “How are you?”

“I’m fine, but tired and hungry like you. You never told me how hungry they made you when they had to heal something.” I look at her questioningly, she nods and answers my unasked question. “Not as badly as you. They only hit me twice in the back.”

Angrily, well, as angry as I can be when I am this tired, I state, “What did I tell you about putting yourself in danger? We have all these other people who have sworn to protect us. I couldn’t take losing you.”

She smiles. “It’s a big sister’s job to protect her little sister. I’m always going to do that, so get mad at me if you want.” She smiles and caresses my cheek. “You aren’t going to lose me, so don’t worry about it.” Leaning over a little, she kisses my forehead. “Little sister, we are going to be together for a very long time.”

“You’d best keep that promise.”

Jason brings us each a bento. Honestly, it’s nowhere near enough, but it does put something in our stomachs to replace some of the energy that our nanites used to heal us.

At this point, I feel disgusting. Half-dried blood isn’t the greatest feeling on a young lady’s sensitive skin, so all I want right now is a shower. It’s badly needed because Honoka and I both look like we dove into a pool of blood.

“Honoka, let’s take a shower.”

She merely nods, and we head into the bathroom, undress and throw all of our clothes into the trash. Even our stockings were soaked in blood. Someone, please, explain how such a tiny body holds so much blood.

What should have been a quick shower ended up taking the better part of an hour. Once we get out and dry off, we tacitly agree not to get dressed. We merely wrap some towels around ourselves, step into the bedroom, and lay down on the bed.

No sooner do we lay down, than I begin shaking and crying as everything catches up to me. Honoka pulling me against her just made things worse since all I can do is hold onto her tightly and sob. Believe me, it’s quite some time before I can bring myself to stop as I cling to her like she was my life preserver in a wild sea.

Once I could finally stop crying, Honoka still refused to let me go, so I simply snuggled deeper into her embrace and murmur, “Thank you, Honoka.”

“Mhmm. Anytime, little sister.”

I try my best to relax, all the while repeatedly wondering why someone would want to kill me until I finally drifted off to sleep. No one bothered us either, the pilot simply continued on his westerly course for 8 hours until we got dressed and came out somewhat calmer than when we went in. Basically, we circled the Earth in low orbit six and a half times.

Walking over to Jason, I tell him, “Thank you for saving us.” He merely nods. “Has anything happened while we were sleeping?”

He looks down and sighs. “I knew that you’d ask me that.” He looks back up to me. “President Wilson and several other national leaders around the world have held press conferences asking for the public’s help in tracking down any suspects. The public outrage is… fearsome, to say the least. Horrific in some cases. There have been several instances where known conspiracy theorists were dragged out of their homes and… well, it wasn’t pretty.”

“No. We can’t allow this!” Tears form and blur my vision. I look at Honoka. “This is wrong, so wrong!” I wipe my eyes as I look back to Jason. “Tell the pilot to take us home, please.”

Everyone is waiting in the living room when we walk into the house. I never said a word to them. Instead, I ran up to my room, logged into my social media accounts and set them up for a live stream, set it to record and automatically upload the broadcast when I’m done, and then I began the live stream. I probably look like hell, but at the moment, I don’t care.

“Hi, everyone. I apologize for how I look. As you can see, I’m a little tired, but I’m perfectly fine. Suffice it to say, the reports have been wildly exaggerated.” I lean forward. “This has to stop, though. Whoever is hurting people, it has to stop, now. They could be totally innocent of any wrongdoing. Please, if you know people that might be conspiracy theorists or talked out against me or whatever, don’t hurt them. Report them to the police, and let them handle it. Please… please, stop this. No one deserves to be hurt or killed for their beliefs, no matter how outrageous those beliefs may be… I need to go now, but I’ll talk to everyone again, soon. Love you all.”

I tap the screen to stop the stream and lean back in my seat, then I hear something from behind me and glance over my shoulder to see Mama standing there. “I’m sorry, Mama. Everyone wanted to talk to me downstairs, but I had to do this.”

She doesn’t say anything as she walks over and kneels down to hug me. “Sora, I’m very, very proud of you.” She pulls back enough to look me in the eye. “Baby girl, don’t worry about everyone downstairs. They’ll understand.”

I quietly say, “I had to try to stop all of this. I don’t want people to get hurt over me, especially when they’re likely to be innocent.”

“Baby, you have such a big heart. I wish I could wrap you up and keep you safe from the world's insanity, but I can’t. This… this isn’t your fault, so don’t let it haunt you. You’ve done what you could to stop it. Now it’s up to the authorities to settle things down again… Alright. Let’s go back downstairs.”

I nod, and she takes my hand to lead me to the living room.

At first, Dad couldn’t seem to decide whether to hold me and murmur, “Don’t worry, we’ll find them,” or to stomp around in an utter rage. Frankly, I believe that if he could’ve laid his hands on the men who shot me, he would have smiled as he tore them apart with his bare hands.

I’ve seen many sides to my dad. I’ve seen him angry, happy, sad, disappointed, and even in cuddle bug mode as I call it, but this? Seeing this new side of my loving, caring father, who would never harm a single hair on any of our heads, it scared me witless. Discretion being the better part of valor, I quickly retreat into Mama’s protective embrace.

A few hours later, Jenny and a few of other representatives of the UEA, which includes King George and Queen Anne, show up at the house. I glanced outside, and our compound looks like a small airport with all the planes parked out there.

Once they find out that I really am fine, Jenny flies off into what I’ll call Mama-bear mode when she angrily states, “I don’t care if we have to invade every non-aligned nation. We will find these people because this is not going to happen again!”

She’s almost as scary as Dad. Anne, as she tells me to call her, is almost as bad. We take a break for dinner, and then everyone congregates in the living room for a few drinks.

The wackos around the world were quickly rounded up and questioned. In some cases, the UEA military went in and extracted the individuals from non-allied countries. Apparently, it’s just as Jenny said, the alliance isn’t willing to take the chance of some whack-a-doodles coming after me again.

Most of them were deemed harmless nutjobs and released, but a goodly number of them were arrested and held on various charges while awaiting trial. The most common one being some version of ‘Conspiracy to…’

The men who shot me and Honoka? Well, they were South African citizens who thought that I’d been taken over by an alien. Thankfully, they will never see the outside of a prison again.

As for South Africa, they claimed to have no knowledge that the men intended to do anything. Then they pointed out that they are a member of the UNE. Even so, a watchful eye is being kept on them for the time being.

Fortunately, my broadcast seems to have helped settle people down. There was still the odd attack here and there, but nowhere near the amount there was before.

There was no way that we were going to keep the attack quiet since there were far too many witnesses. Soon after the story hit all the news channels, the UNE released a cover story that Honoka and I were hit by multiple paint bullets. So far, the news channels seem to be taking that at face value.

As you can guess, that incident opened up a huge can of worms and ended up with me in front of a conference of national leaders of the UNE. Dad had me use, “We were wearing body armor under our dresses,” to explain how we weren’t seriously hurt. Of course, Mama and Dad had hired some makeup artists to create realistic looking bruises on my chest and took a few pictures as proof. Thankfully, they were mostly convinced. Jenny, along with King George and Queen Anne, backing me up pretty much forced the remainder to buy the story.

I should mention that all alliance members were warned that any further leaking of my movements would be met with harsh repercussions.