Punishment

by Guerin Zand

  Roger was shaking his head. “You have to understand, Guerin, we won’t do anything to harm our country. We’re used to planning for the worst-case scenario and we don’t know what happens in that case. What if we just spark an arms race and this leads to World War III?”

  “Then I’ve failed. My friends aren’t going to let my failure destroy the world. If this worst-case scenario should occur, they would be forced to step in and fix my mistake. After they diffuse the situation they would probably remove all traces of this failed project, including me, and leave Earth alone. They might try again sometime later, but maybe not.”

  “It just seems very risky.”

  “I grant you that, Roger, but what about our current world guarantees you that one side or the other doesn’t gain a military advantage and start the apocalypse? I’ll tell you the same thing Julie told me. When in your life have your decisions not had consequences? You’re asking for a guarantee, but when in your life have you ever had a guarantee that what you did wouldn’t result in something worse happening? The question you should be asking yourselves is, is the risk worth taking?” I was quoting Julie and I just wanted to poke my eyes out.

  “What if we are conflicted between this project and our loyalty to this country?”

  “Then either I picked the wrong people, or I haven’t explained what’s at stake well enough. If you agree to join me, then you’re going to have to stop thinking of America first. Your first and only loyalty should be for the project, Katie.”

  Katie simply shook her head. “You can’t ask us to betray our country. I won’t speak for everyone else, but I won’t ignore the security of America.”

  “I’m not asking you to. If a threat to America would arise from another country using this technology, then we would need to stop them. By the same token, we would have to act against America if they used this technology against other countries. We’re going to have to be as impartial as possible. I’m an American too. I worry about the same issues you do but my friends don’t see us as individual nations. They are working for the benefit of all humans and we need to do the same.”

  Katie was as gung-ho an American as they come. The thought of giving her loyalty to something other than her country just didn’t sit well with her. “But…”

  “Enough.” Roger interrupted. “We can go around in circles with all the what ifs, but Guerin is right. What they’re asking of us goes beyond the considerations of any single country. He’s stated before that how we do this is the task at hand. We’re going to have to make it work. If you don’t think you can do that then you should back out now.”

  “For me, I’m in. I don’t believe the intentions of Guerin and his friends is to do harm to America. If that happens it will be our fault and I don’t like to fail. If we want to make a real difference this is our chance. We’ve all three been through a similar selection process in our military careers. We committed to a path and when we did, we decided failure was not an option. The only question you two need to answer is, do you want to be part of this, and if so, you need to commit to it. It’s that simple.”

  “I’m in.” Steve was the most enthusiastic of the three. He probably would have joined up even if Roger hadn’t.

  Roger looked at Katie. “Katie?”

  “I want to be part of this, Roger. I know you and Steve, and I know your level of commitment, but what about Guerin? We’ve heard stories about the stupid shit he’s done. Can we trust him? As part of our team, can we count on him? He’s already said he hasn’t told us everything and that he’s holding things back.”

  Everyone looked at me. “Look, Katie. You either trust me or you don’t. That’s your decision. I can’t prove anything to you except over time. If your instincts tell you not to trust me, then say no.”

  Katie stared me down. She looked at her two friends and shook her head. “Ok, I’m in, but if this asshole fucks us…”

  “So, Guerin? What’s next?”

  “Well, you probably shouldn’t have eaten breakfast.”

  “What?” Steve looked surprised.

  “We’re going up to the shuttle, the S.S. Minnow. If you read the book you’ll know the transit portal won’t be fun, but it’s time you earn your space legs. I’m sure you probably don’t believe all of this totally, so the best thing I can do is show you.”

  Sammy had been listening in and had been waiting for my signal. A portal opened in the living room.

  “You can see the portal if you look closely. It’s virtually invisible, but if you look close you’ll see a slight distortion around the edges.” I pointed to the edges of the portal with my finger. “Just walk on through.”

  Steve walked up to the portal and was looking closely at the edges and then at the center. He tried to look through the portal but couldn’t see anything. He started to put his hand through and I placed my hand on his back and shoved him into the portal.

  “Do you two need some help too or can we get on with this?”

  Roger simply walked through the portal and Katie looked at me suspiciously. I grabbed her hand and yanked her through with me.

  Onboard the shuttle, Steve was on his knees with a small pool of vomit in front of him. I should have waited a while after breakfast, but hey. Roger was being steadied by Stella and I had Katie. Both of them managed to hold down their meals. It took a few minutes but they all slowly came out of it.

  “FUCK ME!”

  “Exactly, Steve. You know you’re going to have to clean up that mess.”

  “Leave him alone, Guerin.” Stella came to his rescue. “The ships maintenance systems will take care of that. Quit trying to show off.”

  Steve looked up and took a long hard look at Stella. “What, who is that?”

  “My name is Stella. I’m a Cyletherean as is my husband Sly here. Why don’t you take a seat here while the effects of the portal subside?” Stella guided him to a little table with a few chairs where they could recover.

  “Are you ok, Roger?” I looked directly into his eyes and I could see he was still somewhere else. Katie had a death grip on my hand which told me she was still in transit as well. It wasn’t that long ago I had been through the same thing. I think Steve’s puking actually helped him recover a little faster than the other two. Sly and I guided Roger and Katie to the table as they slowly started to become aware of their surroundings. Finally, Katie looked at me angrily and pushed my hand away.

  A few little maintenance machines came out and cleaned up after Steve. The three newbs were watching in amazement. Once the cleanup was completed a perfumed smell was introduced to the local air handler to neutralize the odor. The little bots simply disappeared when they had finished and my team looked at me.

  “Don’t ask me. I just try to ignore the shit I can’t explain. I warned you guys about that. So, let me introduce everybody. This is Stella and Sly, they’re Cylethereans as I mentioned in my book. The guy behind the controls is Sammy and he is Bree, the same race as Milly. These are Roger Smith, Katie McDougal, and Steve Holmes.”

  “Welcome aboard. Would any of you care for a Gluark.” Sly had the bottle already on the table along with a few glasses. Everyone nodded that they would like a drink including Sammy. Stella and Sly were joining in as well.

  Sly poured everyone a drink and I raised my glass. “To the newest spacemen and space babe.” Sly, Stella, Sammy, and I took a sip of our drinks. The three new recruits slammed theirs down.

  “I guess I should have mentioned that you should drink the Gluark slowly.” Sly decided to mention after the fact. I just watched as their initial reaction was to spit it back up until the drink started to kick in and smiles crept over their faces.

  “This is a fine beverage. It tastes like shit at first, but it kind of tastes better after you give it a chance.”

  “That’s the Gluark talking, Roger. You really should go easy on it.” Despite warning them to take it slow Sly had poured them all another drink.

  The three reached for their glasses an
d I stopped them. “Slow down, guys. We still have some important things to discuss and I need you sober for a few more minutes, please.”

  They all stopped and looked at me. “Any fans of the movie Interview with the Vampire?”

  “I am.”

  “Figures, Katie. Well I’m going to quote from that movie right now, ‘I’m going to give you the choice I never had.’”

  “What’s that supposed to mean, Guerin?”

  “If you want, Sly will take you to medical and give you what I call the basic rejuvenation package with the included neural implant. You can decide to skip this if you want but let me explain it to you first.”

  “The neural implant will allow you basic access to the tech on board this ship. You need it if you want to access the information viewers, open doors, and work the food replicators for starts. It will also allow you to use those earbuds like you found at my home to translate any language on Earth and most languages used in the universe.”

  “Like a babel fish?”

  “Right on, Steve. It’s nice to finally have someone who understands the basics of space travel.”

  The crew of the Minnow just shook their heads. I ignored them and continued on. “The medical rejuvenation part will fix any medical issues you have and some you’re not aware of. It could add a few decades to your life.”

  “I can’t believe that you can….”

  I interrupted Katie. “Let me finish and Sly will tell you what is and what isn’t possible.”

  “Sly has your medical records. Roger, you have some back problems from a few hard landings while parachuting into a few missions. Correct?”

  “Correct.”

  “Steve. You blew out your knee in the mountains of Afghanistan while part of a SEAL team deployment. It cost you your shot at selection for Team 6 and ended your military career with a medical discharge.”

  “Yes.”

  “Katie. You were injured in a helicopter crash during a training mission in your attempt to become the first female Green Beret. You went back to save the pilot which resulted in severe burns over a large portion of your torso. A hero? You spent several months in the hospital and, as with Steve, it ended your career with a medical discharge.”

  “You have a thing for orphaned spec ops types, Roger?”

  “Their injuries do not make them any less valuable. The military just isn’t smart enough to use them, I am.”

  “Sly can fix all of these issues if you agree to the treatment.”

  Katie stood up and pulled off her shirt. “Can he fix this!”

  “You poor child. What did they do to you?” Sly asked as he inspected her damaged skin. Most of her torso was scar tissue and, well, you’ve seen pictures of burn victims before. Her breasts were scarred as well, and I knew, no matter how tough Katie acted, that any woman would be devastated by this.

  “That’s modern medicine, Sly. I’m sure they did their best. Please answer Katie’s question.”

  “Yes, we can fix the damage to her skin. It will take a little longer than the rest, so we should probably save her for last.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes, Katie. Sly wouldn’t lie to you about that. The question is, do you want the treatment?”

  “Why wouldn’t we, Guerin?” Roger looked puzzled.

  “Because living longer isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. I know none of you are married or have children, but you may one day. You could outlive your own children or watch as your spouse dies and you live on. I can tell you I am not looking forward to any of that and the reason I’ll probably avoid such relationships. I’ll watch as all my brothers and their families pass. I don’t know how I’m going to deal with all of that. Also, the neural implant can be used to access your memories and you might not want to give up what privacy you have left.”

  “I don’t care about any of that. If he can fix this body, I say yes.”

  “I just want you to think it over, Katie. I know it sounds great but would you make the same deal if the devil offered it to you?”

  Steve looked at me. “Are you saying they’re the devil?”

  “No, but have you bothered to ask why we would do this? What’s in it for us?”

  “Ok Guerin, what’s in it for you and the aliens?”

  “First Roger, do you think we’d tell you if we had a nefarious reason for doing it?”

  “Probably not.”

  “So, no matter what I say, you still have to figure this out for yourselves. We would be able to monitor you more closely but it’s also a way to build trust and loyalty.”

  “Can you control us with these neural implants?”

  “No, we can’t Steve.” Stella had decided to help me out. “But we can track and monitor you if we want. This could be helpful if we needed to pull you out of a tough situation.”

  “Why would we be in a tough situation? What is it you want us to do?”

  Stella continued to answer Steve’s questions. “I think Guerin has explained the basics to you but as you all know he doesn’t have everything planned out. He’s just getting started and, well, Guerin can be a bit unpredictable. I know Milly told you about the incident with a foreign dignitary. If we hadn’t been monitoring him and pulled them out when we did, well, it could have turned out a lot worse.”

  “I told you, Roger. Why should we join up with Guerin knowing he can’t be trusted?”

  “I’m sorry, Katie, if that was the impression I gave you, but Guerin can be trusted. We trust him. Yes, he has some issues, especially with authority figures, and he may be a little rash, but we trust him implicitly. He’s pissed off a few people, but they still have faith in him.”

  “You don’t need to defend me, Stella. Katie has issues with me and I don’t think she’s going to get over those anytime soon. I don’t have a problem with that.”

  “Well, I want the treatment. Can they fix the problem with my knees or are they just going to repair them?”

  “They will repair them and fix the underlying cause of the problem as well. You will actually be better than ever,” I reassured Steve.

  “Then I’m good with it.”

  I smiled at Steve. “Then slam down that drink and head off with Sly to medical. Don’t worry. When he gets done you’ll be as sober as a newborn.”

  Steve slammed it down and headed off with Sly. Stella took Katie aside to talk to her.

  “What are you doing, Stella?”

  “Don’t worry, Guerin. I just thought I should have a private talk with Katie and help ease her concerns.”

  “Right. Like I believe that. You plan on recruiting her into the Universal Guild of Women Bent on Destroying Guerin Zand? I thought we had a truce?”

  “Don’t be so paranoid, Guerin.”

  “I may be paranoid, Stella, but it doesn’t mean I’m wrong. Just look at what all of you space babes have done to me so far.”

  “I’m just going to give her a tour of the ship.” Stella and Katie walked off giggling. Does anyone believe that was going to be good for me?

  Sammy was chuckling as well. “Really, Sammy? What’s so funny?”

  “Nothing, Guerin.” All the men at the table were laughing. I just slammed down the rest of my Gluark and poured myself another glass.

  Sly and Steve returned. Roger slammed back his drink and went with Sly off to the med center.

  “Where’s Katie?”

  “Her and Stella went off to bond over their common love of torturing me. How are you feeling?”

  “I feel great. I don’t really seem any different, but I am sober.”

  “It will take a few days for the full effects to set in. You might want to find yourself a woman for tonight when we get back to Earth. When that alien Viagra kicks in, you’ll need one.”

  “Sammy, why don’t you take Steve for a tour of the ship. I’m sure he’d like to meet the rest of the crew.”

  “Sure, if Steve wants to.”

  “That sounds like a blast, thanks.”

  “Wh
at are you going to do, Guerin?”

  “Don’t worry about me, Sammy. I’ll be fine.”

  I sat back and sipped my Gluark. I had a big smile on my face. I knew Steve would enjoy meeting Cindy and Jackie. He was going to owe me one.

  Stella and Katie returned a little while later. I didn’t like the way either one of them was looking at me. “What?”

  They both giggled and Katie said, “Nothing. We were just getting to know each other. I got to meet the rest of the crew. Ricky and Tommy were very nice. How come you didn’t introduce me, Guerin? Scared of the competition?”

  “I didn’t think you were into men, that’s all.”

  “Very funny. Just because I’m not interested in you doesn’t mean I’m not interested in men.”

  “That’s good to know, I guess.”

  Sly and Roger returned. “Are you ready, Katie?” Sly asked.

  “Sure.” Katie got up and walked off to medical with Sly.

  Roger and Stella joined me at the table.

  “Any problems, Roger?”

  “No. It went well I guess. Other than being sober suddenly, I can’t say I notice anything different.”

  “Well, when Steve and Katie get back I’ll get you started learning how to use the neural implants.”

  “Where is Steve?”

  “Sammy took him for a tour of the ship. If you want, Stella can take you for a tour as well.”

  “Maybe later. I guess I’m like you, Guerin. It seems a bit like a submarine and it’s not actually as exciting as I thought it would be. I mean going into space and all. There’s gravity here and…”

  “You were expecting a little zero-g time?”

  “Well, yes. I guess. I’m not really sure what I expected. I read your book and it’s just like you said, but still.”

  “Like I said, once everyone gets back I’ll try to make it a little more interesting. I guess I really just want you guys to spend some time with my friends and get to know them. You may need to contact them when I’m not around and I want you to feel comfortable with them.”

  “It’s odd. When I first saw Stella and Sly I was a little shocked by their appearance but now it seems almost normal.”