Leviathan

The door opened and stewards entered, starting to pouring wine and fill glasses of water. Samuels nodded his head as he placed a napkin in his lap at the opposite end of the table from the empty captain's chair. He waited.

Before the Event personnel knew what was happening, two men entered the room, looked them over and then opened the double compartment hatches wide. As they watched, a dark figure, dressed in shiny navy blue pants and navy blue long-sleeved turtleneck blouse covered in the same color jacket with gold braid, stepped into the salon.

Niles stood as he saw the captain of Leviathanfor the first time, and needless to say, he was speechless.

The woman was tall and stunning. Her jet-black hair flowed over her left ear. Her eyes were a brilliant deep blue, and they looked at each guest before she continued into the room, stopping just to the left of her high-backed chair at the head of the long table.

"Ladies and gentlemen of the Event Group, may I present Captain Alexandria Olivia Heirthall."

The tall woman half-bowed, her blue clothing shimmering in the lighting of the salon as she looked once more at each of her guests in turn. Then for the first time, she smiled.

"I would like to welcome you aboard my vessel Leviathan,"she said softly as she nodded her head. As she straightened, one of the large men that had accompanied her pulled out her chair, and she sat slowly and deliberately, taking the embossed linen napkin and placing it in her lap as she did.

"I must say, your vessel is a marvel to behold, at least the sections we have seen of her," Niles said as he sipped from a glass of water.

The captain closed her eyes and nodded once in Niles's direction.

She raised her glass of white wine. "Ladies and gentlemen--to the earth, and its many varying and wonderful species."

Niles looked from Captain Heirthall to his own people, then shook his head. Only Farbeaux took his glass and toasted.

"By all means--I am not passing up the chance to drink this marvelous wine."

Alexandria Heirthall took a small sip of her wine as her mesmerizing blue eyes looked at Henri Farbeaux.

"Colonel, you are impressed with the wine?" she asked, setting her glass down and avoiding any indication she took offense at the slight from Compton and the others.

"Yes, but I am more surprised it has not turned to vinegar."

"Ah, but it was found in an environment that would not allow that to occur."

"Where would that be, Captain?" Sarah asked, smelling her own glass of wine.

"Two and a half miles down in the Atlantic ocean, Lieutenant McIntire; in the master chef's wine vault onboard the RMS Titanic. It wasn't in use, and we were in the area a few years ago, so to speak, so we rescued them from the depths. I normally do not grave rob, but it would have been almost criminal to leave such a splendid wine."

The doors opened once more and the stewards brought in salads, placing them in front of each person.

"I think you'll enjoy the vegetables. They are grown onboard Leviathanin our hydroponics greenhouse, which you'll see later on your tour. They were actually grown in a twenty-four-hour time frame."

"Genetics?" Niles asked, looking at his plate.

"No, Dr. Compton, small-voltage electricity and fertilizer made from coral, all from the sea--simple, really."

They all began to eat their salads. Niles watched the captain, who made no move to touch her own. She did, however, accept something from the head steward, and then swallowed it with a sip of her water.

"Captain, I have noticed that when your vessel accelerates, there is very little vibration and absolutely no sound from your power plant. May I ask what power source you utilize?" Farbeaux asked.

"Of course; we wish to be as transparent as possible, Colonel." She was now looking directly at Virginia as she answered the question. She held the gaze for the longest time, and Virginia never once looked away. "We want you all to know whatever it is you wish to know. Leviathanuses nuclear power, the same as any submarine in service to the major powers of the world. Our system of propulsion is thermal-dynamic drive, or TDD. We utilize superheated water from our reactor core and run it through a series of pumps, mixing it with hydrogen and a substance not unlike baking soda, thus creating steam drive that is environmentally friendly and is quite substantial in providing propulsion for Leviathan."

"Captain, may I ask a question?" Niles said, placing his salad fork on his plate and looking at Farbeaux.

Only a small dip of her elegant chin was the answer.

"How many did you kill in cold blood this morning? I must tell you, at least before my friend and mentor Senator Lee does, that your actions seem quite insane."

To his left, Niles felt the eyes of the first officer on him. The man touched at the corners of his mouth with his napkin and then slapped it into his lap.

The captain smiled and shook her head lightly at Samuels.