Punishment

by Guerin Zand

  “We can enable an administrative mode for any or all of the devices. Currently, only yours is set up in this mode.”

  “Roger may also want this feature enabled.”

  Cindy smiled at me. “We can set that up if you want, Guerin.”

  “Guerin wants that, right Guerin?”

  “Sure, Roger. That’s fine with me.”

  Cindy looked around. “Any more questions about the capabilities of these devices?”

  “I have a question.” Roger looked at Sammy and not Cindy for some reason. “Is it possible to transmit more than just, I guess I’ll call it speech? Could we transmit images to each other?”

  “Guerin could,” Cindy replied while smiling at me. “He’s already demonstrated the ability to do this without any aid at close range. The earbuds would just increase that range for him to the range of the network. The rest of you don’t have that ability so no, you couldn’t.”

  “But we could learn that ability?”

  “Possibly, Roger. As Stella said earlier, it’s surprising that Guerin has learned this. It may be because of the innate abilities of humans or it could be unique to Guerin. Remember, Guerin has had more extensive changes made to his physical being than the rest of you. I can’t really say.”

  “You said you could teach Katie.”

  “I think I said I could maybe teach Katie, but Guerin said I was not allowed.”

  “We may have to rethink that decision, Guerin?”

  “No, I stated my reasons then and they haven’t changed. If I can teach you then fine, and I’ll try, but we can’t be looking to our friends to do more just because we think it would come in handy. We can’t become over-reliant on their help.”

  “Cindy, what is the range of these devices? Is there a line of sight requirement? Under what circumstances would these comms fail?”

  “Those answers, I guess you would say, are classified. Letting you use the devices is one thing but telling you any weaknesses is another. I would think you would understand that, Steve.” Steve nodded in agreement. “I can tell you your team should not have any issues. You can communicate to each other regardless of where on Earth you are, and you will not have any issues communicating with the crew on the shuttle. If something on Earth were capable of rendering these devices inoperable it would not be any human-made device. Let’s leave it at that.”

  “Thanks, Cindy.”

  “Anytime, Guerin. If you need anything, just contact me over the network. We’ll always be monitoring it and I’ll make myself available if you need me.” Cindy winked and gave me a big smile.

  “Oh, please!” Katie shook her head and rolled her eyes at me. Roger and the rest of the group just chuckled.

  We said our goodbyes to the kids in the control center, they actually had some work to do, or so they said. We left, and Sammy escorted us to the room normally used for the transit portals. Sly and Stella were there waiting for us.

  “Now you be careful, Guerin. I don’t want anything to happen to my favorite Earthman.”

  “Thanks, Stella. I’ll try and be good. Sly, you take care of everything. Don’t let Sammy and the kids wreck the shuttle or anything like that.”

  “I’ll keep an eye on them. I sent down some Gluark for you and I got a list from the kids of some Earth items they’d like, if you get a chance.” Sly handed me a list which included some video games for the PlayStation 4 and some music supplies.

  “Say hi to Sid and Nancy for me. I’ll take care of this list and you can pick them up before you head back. Perhaps you can all come down to Earth for a farewell dinner before you leave? I promise to prepare a vegan-friendly feast for all of you.”

  “You know that we’re really not supposed to set foot down there unless it’s an emergency, Guerin.”

  “I know, Sly, but we’re not really supposed to be up here either, are we?”

  “No.”

  “We have a saying here on Earth. It’s easier to get forgiveness than it is to get permission. Besides, if I don’t break the rules as often as possible it wouldn’t look good for my reputation, scourge of the universe and all.”

  Everyone laughed.

  Stella came over and gave me a hug. “We’ll see about it, ok? Roger, Steve, Katie, it was nice to meet you.”

  The rest of my team went over and said goodbye to their new friends. I walked over to Sammy and thanked him for his help. I probably should have spent more time with Sammy. He was a good guy and there were some things I needed to share with him. I just never found the right way or the right time. I wanted him to know I didn’t blame him for what the Bree council did. He opened a portal and in an instant, we were all back in my living room.

  Chapter 10

  Team Building

  Steve was the first to comment. “That wasn’t as bad as the first time. I guess the inoculation they gave us really works.” Roger and Katie nodded in agreement.

  “I’m not sure there is any inoculation for that. I think the first time it’s such an unusual experience it scares the shit out of you. Having spent more time with them I have come to think they say that sort of stuff to placate us. They dumb down the unexplainable to terms we can relate to easier. Technically you could say they’re lying, but it’s more like a parent telling their child a shot at the doctor’s office won’t hurt.”

  “So, we should probably get started.” Roger was anxious to get the show on the road. “I want to suggest we all start wearing our earbuds during the day. Let’s use them instead of our phones for all out of sight communication between the team so we start to feel comfortable using them. Over dinner tonight, perhaps Guerin can give us all lessons to get us started?”

  “Sure.”

  “Right now, let’s get to planning this little adventure in South Dakota.”

  “I’m definitely going to need some weather appropriate clothes. I’m a Florida boy and I don’t have anything for cold weather or trekking through the mountains.”

  “Is there a local outdoors shop that you and the team could visit to get the clothing and gear you might need?”

  “We have those types of stores here, but they won’t stock cold weather clothing. This is Florida after all. Not much of a market for that kind of thing here. I suggest we do what I normally do when I travel to cooler climates. Do our shopping when we get there. I’m sure everything we need will be easy to find on site. We’ll probably arrive at night, so we can spend the night at a hotel in Rapid City and go shopping and get outfitted the next day. I would then suggest we spend another night at the hotel and take off the next morning. There isn’t much as far as accommodations in the target area, so it would be best to start off fresh from Rapid City.”

  Steve looked at Roger. “What about weapons, Roger? We don’t want to go in there looking like your typical government thugs.”

  “Well, I have a wide selection of weapons in the safe in my utility room. We’ll want a high-powered rifle and a sidearm of sufficient caliber for everybody. The biggest threat out there will be bears and other predators.”

  “Ok,” Roger agreed. “You can go check out the weapons after we're done here. Since we have the company jet here already we’ll use that, and Guerin can make hotel arrangement for everyone. I can use our company budget for this for now, but it might raise some questions about Guerin’s expenses.”

  “Roger, me and you can contact Isabelle tonight and she can set up the financials. She can do something temporary until we form a company of our own to handle this in the future. It’s Monday, so let’s plan on flying out on Sunday. That way we’ll avoid most tourists who are out in the area for the weekends.”

  We continued to plan our trip and I ran out to grab everyone some lunch from the local Chinese takeout. While I was gone, Katie had obviously decided to bring up some issues with Roger in private. When I got back with lunch Roger suggested we two have a private chat while we were eating.

  “Roger, if there are some issues then I think it’s best if we all discuss them openl
y. This small team is going to have to start trusting each other if this is going to work. If you have something to say to me, I don’t have a problem with everyone else hearing it.”

  “Ok. What is happening with you and Cindy? Katie has told us that she saw Cindy sneaking into your room last night and that her father is a Council member.”

  Steve gave me a look. One of those “Way to go dude” looks. I just shook my head.

  “Of course Katie told you that. I wouldn’t say she snuck into my room, that’s just a bit of fantasy on Katie’s part. I think if she’d get over her obsession with what my dick is doing she might actually learn something.”

  Katie was more than a bit annoyed on how I turned this on her. “Exactly what did I miss, Guerin.”

  “Well, while you were all having fun, I actually reviewed the surveys last night. Cindy showed me those using the viewer in my room. Tommy and her also helped me with this.” I handed Roger a USB thumb drive. “You need to get a standard laptop, I would suggest with the maximum memory available, and boot from this.”

  “What’s on this?” Roger inquired.

  “It’s a secure version of the Windows operating system. Tommy and the group modified the basic O/S so we can use a familiar interface and still have a secure system. It will connect through the internet over an encrypted network to, for lack of a better term, the alien cloud servers. They have set up nodes for each of us where we can find data they’ve made available. I’ve been working with them on some things for our proposed company and when you get the time you should review the materials, Roger. We can discuss them later. We can also use this cloud to exchange data between ourselves securely. I’ve got a thumb drive for Steve and Katie as well.”

  “But you also slept with her. Isn’t that what you told me this morning?” Katie was angry with me. I hadn’t done anything to her, so I couldn’t understand why. I thought it was just a general dislike or lack of trust that we were going to have to get past.

  “I don’t think I said that but regardless, that is none of your business. I was obviously working on things, which is more than you can say, so I don’t see where you have any room to criticize me.”

  Roger jumped in to referee. “Is it true her father is a Council member?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’m concerned then that your feud with the Council may affect the team.”

  “I understand that Roger but…., well I don’t’ want this to come across wrong, but you need to stay out of my affairs with the aliens. If there is something you need to know you have to trust that I’ll share it with you. I told Katie about Cindy’s father because I had nothing to hide.”

  “The problem is I don’t trust you, Guerin. You obviously have your own agenda that doesn’t involve us.”

  “It’s obvious you don’t trust me, Katie. As far as having another agenda that doesn’t involve the rest of you, that’s true, but Roger also has an agenda that doesn’t include you or me. You don’t seem to have a problem trusting him.”

  “Because I know Roger.”

  “Good enough, but I broke the rules yesterday, not just to piss the Council off, but to share with you some of what is going on. Hopefully to help you trust me. I guess that was a mistake.”

  “I appreciate that, Guerin, but what about this assignment. Did you know about any of this before we found out?”

  “No, Roger, I didn’t. I thought they only wanted me to help accelerate our technological development by passing on tech and some hints. Policing the restrictions on alien visits was a new duty they had never discussed with me before.”

  “I introduced you to a few of the aliens I deal with and yes, they are actually good people who I do trust. The problem is they have an agenda. One they don’t want to fully share with me. They only share bits and pieces with me as they need to. This assignment, suddenly popping up, is just an example of the type of shit I have to put up with. That’s why I’ve told you, more than once, to ignore the awesome, flashy tech shit they throw at you. It’s a distraction. You need to focus on their words and actions.”

  Steve looked concerned. He had been distracted and he realized what I said was true. “Do you think we shouldn’t trust them, Guerin?”

  “No, Steve. I think we should remain suspicious though. I know, I know, I’m paranoid, right? I don’t think they have bad intentions, but we also need to look out for our best interests. I need to look out for my best interests. Their agenda may not coincide with ours and at some point, we may have to walk away from them. They have some plan for Earth, but they also have a plan for me. Why me and what that plan for me is, well, that’s my business and why I said you need to stay out of it. Let me worry about that. The plan for Earth we all need to be concerned about.”

  “What do you know about their agenda for Earth currently, Guerin.”

  “It’s mostly speculation, Roger, and I outlined it in my book you’ve all read. I think the first part is to get us working together. The reason for that is to accelerate our development so when the time comes, and we have to deal with the Trogan empire, or others out there, we’re not naïve or easy prey. After that, I’m not sure. But since this first part could take hundreds of years I don’t think we have to worry about that right now.”

  “What about this new responsibility to police the Earth for, I guess we can say, illegal aliens?”

  “That, Roger, I’ve just started to think about. Perhaps they want to announce to these aliens that it’s no longer business as usual. Using me to make contact and enforce this may indicate to these aliens that contact with the Collective has been initiated and interference will not be tolerated. In essence, there’s a new sheriff in town.”

  “Katie brought up another issue. She and Steve have both had extensive military training while you’re a civilian. Now there’s nothing we can do about it for this current assignment but in the future, you’ll have to pull your own weight on these assignments. We can’t have the team slow down or be put in jeopardy because they can’t depend on you or your abilities.”

  “But, as Milly explained to you, I’m in better physical shape than any of you by far.”

  “Yes, but she also told us that you don’t know your own strength. Also, you don’t know how to use or control that strength. I want Katie to train you when you get back from South Dakota. I expect the two of you to come up with a daily training schedule. She’s a Krav Maga expert and if you let her, she can help you realize the potential of your new-found health.”

  “Let me guess. That was Katie’s idea?”

  “No, that was my idea, Guerin. I figure that maybe if I force you two to work on something together you can both get past your problems with each other.” That was what Roger said, but the look Katie gave me told me it was probably Katie’s idea.

  “And if I end up hurting her?”

  Katie scoffed. “I’m not worried about that.”

  “Don’t get cocky, Katie. I believe what Milly told us. I saw what he put up with at Gitmo and so did you. I don’t need attitude from either one of you. If you try and prove something he may very well hurt you. That is not what we need. Help him with control first. I want you to discover his strength with him and find his weaknesses. I’m not putting you two together so you can beat the shit out of one another and get it out of your systems. I’m putting you together because your attitude towards him is just as dangerous as his lack of experience. I expect you to be professional and get past your issues. Start thinking as a team.”

  “And what is Steve going to be doing while Katie and I play with each other?”

  “If we can arrange some downtime with all three of you, I would like to send you off together to various special operations training facilities and put you through some of the different courses.”

  Katie and Steve moaned. I was confused.

  “What for?”

  “Well, one course is a mountain course which would have been helpful for this mission. We’ll work in the various courses when we can.
They’ve also had some modifications made to their physical abilities and they need to learn their own new capabilities. While you’ll probably have more to learn, my main objective is to get you three to work as a team.”

  “You won’t be joining us, Roger?”

  “No, Guerin. Unfortunately, I have a lot of management issues to deal with to get this company started and coordinating our efforts.”

  “Well, that’s convenient,” I muttered.

  “I can’t make you do any of this, Guerin. I’d hope you’d agree to this to show your commitment to the team. You’ve asked for our commitment to this effort. I think it’s only fair. Besides, I can’t think of a better way to build trust between the three of you.” I could tell by his grin that he also wanted us to do this for his own amusement.

  “I guess I can go along with it. I’m not sure my friends want me to become some alien ass-kickin' killing machine. They got all bent out of shape when I just bitch slapped some dude.”

  We all chuckled and then Roger added, “If they object, perhaps we’ll have to rethink things, but for now let’s plan on this. Now I should probably head off and purchase a laptop.”

  Roger asked where he could find some laptops close by and we searched the net quickly and found that the local Walmart had what we needed. Roger told us he’d be back in a while and he headed out.

  I figured while he was gone I could get the other two started learning how to use the earbuds.

  “Katie. Do you want to try using your earbud?”

  “How? I mean I heard you but how do I respond?” Steve looked at Katie, puzzled by her seemingly talking to no one.

  “Start by not using your mouth to talk. Maybe if you mouth the words but don’t vocalize.”

  I could see Katie moving her lips, but I heard nothing over the comm network. Steve was looking at us both funny.

  “What are you doing, Katie?”

  “Guerin’s trying to talk with me over the earbuds. I can hear him, but he can’t hear me.”