by Jessie Wolf
“You heard me the first time! Now Do As You Are Ordered To Do!”
“Aye aye sir. Alice you heard the man now get everyone ready and keep them away from that cocoon.”
“Yes Mike”
I started getting everyone out of their harnesses and moving toward the emergency exits. Mike brought the ship to a stop at the end of the runway. I popped the E-release on the door letting it fall away from the ship releasing the emergency slides deploy. I hated leaving Mr. Owens behind, but I had others that were depending on me. Looking toward the front of the ship I see Mike’s slide has deployed and he is on his way down. I can tell he’s going to need help so I head down the slide and run forward to help him up off the ground. Navigators have very poor muscle development in their legs because they rarely leave the cockpits of their ships. Most die inside the cockpit of their ship, never marrying or having a family. They truly are loners who are married to their ships. So getting one to leave their ship truly takes every extraordinary circumstance.
* * *
Meanwhile back on board the ship in the passenger section
D.D.A.I: SYSTEM REBOOT: 15% COMPLETE C.O.B.R.A.SYSTEM 2% COMPLETE
ARMORED SKIN: 9% COMPLETE
PRIMARY WEAPONS SYSTEMS: 1% REPAIRED
SECONDARY WEAPONS SYSTEM: 10% REPAIRED
TOTAL TIME TO FULL SYSTEMS REPAIR AND REBOOT WITH SECONDARY CONFIGURATION 100 MINUTES
Is that really you Dee De? Are you really there? Or have I finally lost my mind?
No J.J. you have not lost your mind. I really am here. And yes it is me. Your favorite AI.
I thought you were decommissioned 56yrs ago? Where have you been?
No I was not decommissioned. I was placed in a hibernation mode till you died then I would have shut down completely and joined you in death.
But where have you been? So many times I wished you were there to help me when I had a problem, but never got a response from you?
I was always here;you just could not access me due to the restrictions that were put in place by the Military High Command.
Did they give you the reason behind locking me and the others out from their AIs’?
Yes, but you’re not going to like the answer.
I’m waiting.
The High Command was afraid that if they turned the Death Dealers loose with operating AIs you would try to take over the ruling Government in a coup’.
In other words they didn’t trust us to go quietly.
To not put to sharp of a point on it, YES.
Thanks Dee De. I could always count on you to give it to me straight.
D.D.A.I: SYSTEM REBOOT: 33% COMPLETE C.O.B.R.A.: SYSTEM 22% COMPLETE
ARMORED SKIN: 29% COMPLETE
PRIMARY WEAPONS SYSTEMS: 31% REPAIRED
SECONDARY WEAPONS SYSTEM: 41% REPAIRED
TOTAL TIME TO FULL SYSTEMS REPAIR AND REBOOT WITH SECONDARY CONFIGURATION 75 MINUTES
Hum, hey Dee De? What’s up with the system repair and reboot info that keeps coming up?
J.J. that’s me coming back on line.
But what about all these other systems? I don’t remember a secondary configuration, C.O.B.R.A., armored skin, primary and/or secondary weapons systems?
All of these systems were kept from you and the other Death Dealers as they were a last resort configuration that would have been deployed if the war turned against the human race and defeat was imminent.
So just what does this configuration look like anyway?
You’ll know and so will I when we’re done with the repair and reboot.
WHAT?! You don’t know what we’ll look like!?
Hum… How do I say this? Yes?
GREAT! JUST FRACKING GREAT! With my luck we’ll need up looking like the terminator from that ancient 2d flick on the late, late, late show.
Hee hee hee
DON’T Laugh! Do you want to be known as a cast iron bastard for the rest of our lives?
Owww I don’t like that possibility. Knowing the High Command that could have happened. But I doubt it if you look at the PRIMARY PARAMETERS you will see that it is designed to make us blend in with the local population.
True it wouldn’t do for us to stand out. But what is the basis for its look? Can you access the data that program is using?
Let’s see. Yes. Hold one please. While I get the info up in a format for you to use. Here it comes now.
Hair Color
Eye Color
Height
Weight
Sex
Race
Blond 25%
Blue 39%
180cm 81%
88kg 95%
Male 31%
White 22%
163cm 67%
56kg 81%
Female 69%
Black 65%
Green 21%
165cm 91%
68kg 84%
Male 28%
Asian 40%
152cm 92%
47kg 89%
Female 72%
Brown 15%
Brown 17%
173cm 68%
170lbs 72%
Male 21%
African 20%
157cm 71%
110lbs 81%
Female 79%
White 100%
Pearl 100%
168cm 91%
155lbs 81%
Male 37%
Elf 18%
150cm 92%
95lbs 77%
Female 67%
It looks like the program scanned the local planet populace records for Hades Dee De.
It sure does. And if I’m looking at this right I should be able to come up with an approximate representation of what we will look like.
Well do it already. I want to know what we might look like.
Just wait a minute I’m working it as fast as I can. I want to know what we’ll look like too you know.
D.D.A.I.: DISPLAY OF SECONDARY D.D.A.I.: DISPLAY OF SECONDARY
HOST CONFIGURATION # 1 22 % HOST CONFIGURATION # 2 40%
D.D.A.I.: DISPLAY OF SECONDARY D.D.A.I.: DISPLAY OF SECONDARY
HOST CONFIGURATION #3 20% HOST CONFIGURATION #4 22%
Hum … JJ I think that we are going to wind up looking like a teenage girl for some ancient anomie cartoon for around the early 21st century
OH SHIT!!!! Is there any way to stop this from happening? I really don’t want to be a teenage girl! Let me look at the program code. I might be able to do something.
D.D.A.I.: SCANNING SECONDARY REBOOT
*****
D.D.A.I.: SCANNING REPAIR PROGRAM FOR SECONDARY REBOOT
*****
D.D.A.I.: SCAN COMPLETE
J.J. I’ve dug through the whole program for the repair and reboot. You are not going to like the answer.
Spit it out already. We’re stuck like this right? One of the four configurations that you pulled up right?
Yup. You got it in one. Must likely number two since, from the looks of things, it has the highest percentage rating.
D.D.A.I: SYSTEM REBOOT: 91% COMPLETE
C.O.B.R.A.: SYSTEM 87% COMPLETE
ARMORED SKIN: 90% COMPLETE
PRIMARY WEAPONS SYSTEMS: 98% REPAIRED
SECONDARY WEAPONS SYSTEM: 96% REPAIRED
TOTAL TIME TO FULL SYSTEMS REPAIR AND REBOOT WITH SECONDARY CONFIGURATION 10 MINUTES
I don’t believe this 96 years as a man I’m about to be turned into a teenage girl because of some stupid assed fail safe program that was installed in my combat AI over 78 years ago, but that isn’t the real kicker. Oh no! It’s the fact that there has never been a female Death Dealer in all of history. This alone will be something that is most definitely going to get the attention of the High Command. I just know they’re going to want to study my ass. The thought of becoming a lab rat for some ignorant scientist is not something I’m looking forward to.
* * *
90 minutes earlier... outside of the ship
Flight Officer Alice R. Lee
I stand back and watch as first as P.D.F. troops surround the ship, then the MED. Corps teams board the ship in Tactical Med. Power Suits. That is never a good sign when it comes to emergency response teams. If they’re in Power Suits that means whatever is happening to Mr. Owens can be deadly. But then again Tower Control had us evacuate the crew and passengers. I hope he is going to be ok.
* * *
90 minutes earlier... outside of the ship
Medical Officer, Cpt. David Huston
I think back to the orders I received from the Tower as I lead my team on board the ship. I still can’t believe that there is a fully active Death Dealer A.I. on board this ship that no one knew about. I mean those God awful things were outlawed for a reason. I mean the primary configuration was bad enough, but the minute their secondary came on line it was 100 times worse. I just hope that this host hasn’t begun its secondary configuration cocoon. If it has this could get hairy in a heartbeat.
“Moore, do they know which seat the Death Dealer was in? And who they are?” I ask my second in command and Intel. Officer.
“Yes sir. He was in seat B05. As for who he is will that’s a little complicated.” Came Moore‘s reply.
“What do you mean by ‘complicated’?”
“Well sir, the High Command is blocking all our request for information on the passenger. They say that all information on Owens, James J. Commander is classified as TOP SECRET EYES ONLY sir.”
“WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN!? TOP SECRET EYES ONLY! We need to know just what we’re dealing with HERE!”
“Sir, they say that Commander Owens has an Omega Class security level and we are to wait until they have an Intel Security Officer here before we do anything.”
“Great. Just FRACKING GREAT! Do our friends’ over in Intel. Security have any clue as to when they’ll be here?”
“No sir. “
“Well I’m not waiting for them. If we have a secondary configuration going with this Death Dealer we need to know now, not tomorrow or the day after.”
“But sir...”
“Don’t but me. You hear me, we’re going in NOW!”
“Sir, YES Sir.”
“Ok boys and girls time to put on your big kid pants.”
I started towards the section of the ship where the passengers stayed during transit, with every sensor on full. We didn’t know what we’ll find. But I know one thing if we find a fully functional, Second stage Death Dealer, we are in real deep shit if it’s in combat mode. Those things kill any thing that gets in their way. That’s why they were banned for a reason. They’re totally uncontrollable. Not to mention dammed near unstoppable. Then I see it and my worst fears are realized. Owens is in full secondary cocoon mode. At least he hasn’t broken out yet. That means we have time to get it off the ship and to a secured site.
“Ok folks this is what we’re going to do. Moore, take Jones, Hall, Simmons, and Stone with you and remove all the seats and halls between here and the exit. I, Turner, Hill, Backmayer, and Casey will get to work on separating the cocoon from the ship. Once we have that done we’ll move it to the number 12 hanger bay over in the old military section of the port. Any questions?”
“Just one sir.” Said tech 1 Backmayer.
“What is it Stephanie?”
“Just what is that thing?”
I could hear the fear in her voice and I didn’t blame her. She was scared. “That, Tech.1 Backmayer, is a Death Dealer in what is known as a secondary cocoon. It’s what they enter before their secondary configuration. Which why we need to be beyond careful while we work around it. It’s also why they evacuated the Navigator and the whole crew and passengers. Whatever you do, don’t piss this thing off. Clear?”
“Hum… sir why do you keep calling Cmdr. Owens a thing?”
“Because every Secondary Configuration Death Dealer I’ve run into was 100% crazy. I don’t know what happens to them in those cocoons but we know when they come out, 99 times of 100, all they are is a killing machine with no humanity left in them.”
“Good Lord! Who in the name of all the GODS came up with that idea?”
“Your great and powerful High Command, as a last ditch endeavor to stop the Pan Galactic Empire 80yrs ago, and then the Gorgon Empire 25yrs ago. The Death Dealers were some of the most respected and feared warriors to ever come down the line, but when people heard about the secondary configuration and how deadly it was, all Death Dealers were discharged and had their AIs decommissioned.”
“Then how did his get reactivated?”
“That’s what was never told to the public. The AIs couldn’t be shut down completely without killing the Death Dealers. So the AIs were placed into a deep hibernation mode, locking out the Dealers from all of their weapons and armor and making them no different than you or I.”
“Oh that seems practical.”
“It is. Now let’s get to work. I figure we have about 70mins. Before he wakes up.”
“Sir yes sir.”
I don’t say it out loud but I hope and pray we have that long. I don’t want to be any were near this thing when Owens wakes and comes on line. Too often the human mind doesn’t handle the radical changes that have occurred to their bodies, driving them insane. Then there’s the other extreme, where the host’s brain is dead and the only thing controlling the body is an AI that is programed for combat and search and destroy missions. Please God; let’s be in time to get this thing off the plane and to the Military Hangar in time.
* * *
55mins later... outside the ship
Flight Officer Alice R. Lee
I can’t believe the Med. Corps is keeping us out here on the tarmac like this. I mean the sun is getting ready to set, and once it’s down the temp will fall like a rock around here. Hades is known for its blazing heat during the day and freezing cold nights. If we don’t get inside soon the passengers, not mention the crew, will begin to suffer from exposure. As I’m thinking about this I hear the whine of a hover truck coming this way. When I look to see what is going on I see one of the big Military Heavy Duty Hover Transport trucks moving towards the ship. This is getting scary. First the MED. Crops personnel in Combat Power Suits now an H.D.H.T. truck. What in the name of all that’s Holy is going on?
“Excuse me, are you Flight Officer Lee?”
I turn to see a young Captain with the Military Intelligence Security Office standing behind me. “Yes I am. How can I help you Captain?”
“I’m Cpt. Howard with Military Intelligence Security. I understand that you were talking to Commander Owens just before the drop into Space Norm and the attack is that correct?”
“Yes it is. Why?”
“Did he by chance say why he was coming here to Hades?”
“No. Why is that important?”
“What did you talk about?”
“He asked me if I have ever been to the Hall of Heroes and the Wall of Remembrance. Why? Is that important?”
“Do you know if he was taking any meds during the flight out here?”
“No he wasn’t taking anything. It would have been on his flight registration if he was. Why?”
“Thank you for answering my questions.” And he started to turn away .
“Hey BUTTHEAD you want to answer my questions?”
“Officer Lee you are not cleared to know the answers to those questions.”
“I suggest you look again, but this time run the name of reserve Officer Major Alice Rachael Lee s.n. 997-89-5775 P.D.F. Intel. Security Earth Prime. Captain.”
“Excuse me ma’am?”
“YOU HEARD ME! Now do your job and run the info I just gave you.” I watch as the little pain in my ass did exactly as I told him. It was fun seeing the color drain from his face as he realized his mistake. He should have run background checks on everyone here, but I could tell he only did it on the passengers by the look on his face.
“Hum… Ma’am, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize that you were a reserve Officer of Intel. Security.”
; “Look you made a mistake by not doing full background checks on everyone here, but I’ll let that go because I didn’t identify myself. How about we start over. Maj. Alice Lee of Earth prime Intel. Security at your service. How can I help you Cpt. Howard?”
“Thank you ma’am. I won’t make that mistake ever again, but to answer your questions, did you know that Mr. Owens is Commander J.J. Owens of the 1st Battalion 1st Brigade 101st Division Death Dealers of Earth Prime Military High Command?”
“GOOD GOD NO! If I did I would have reported that to High Command first thing before leaving Sol Quadrant.”
“Ma’am he is one of the very first Death Dealers and he is an Omega/ Assault class commander at that.”
“OH DEAR GOD! HOW, IN THE NAME OF THE OF ALL THE GODS THERE ARE, DID HE GET ON MY SHIP WITHOUT THROWING UP EVERY RED FLAG KNOWN TO MAN!?”
“That’s what I’m trying to find out ma’am”
“Ok. I can deal with that. Now what’s up with the H.D.H.T. and the Med.Tecs. being in Power Suits?”
“Well ma’am it seems that Owens has entered what is known as a secondary configuration cocoon. What the higher ups are afraid of is that the Commander will in his secondary configuration, go on a rampage because he has lost his mind, or that he is brain dead and the AI is controlling the new Death Dealer and it goes on a killing rampage. Either way they’ll have to destroy the Commander. That’s why the Med, techs are in Power Suits and there is an H.D.H.T. here to transport the cocoon to the old Military Hanger at the other end of the Port.”
“How much time do they have left?”
“At the outside, 35mins; on the inside, who knows? He could wake any minute now ma’am.”
“Thank you Cpt. Let me know if you need me for anything. Right now I have to get the rest of my passengers inside before nightfall.”
