Galaxy knew that Dad was hiding the actual reason for why he and Kalo drifted apart. Dad may have been a world-class secret agent, but he could never keep any secrets from her, such as the time he had tried not to tell her what her birthday present for her sixth birthday was going to be.
Wonder if it's related to that other issue that was bothering him earlier, Galaxy thought.
“But you said you ran into one of his creations on Shizor?” said Dad. “I did not even know that he had a lab on Shizor.”
“It was supposed to be a secret lab that no one was supposed to know about,” Space explained. “It exploded, unfortunately, and there wasn't much left after the explosion, so even if you went there, you probably won't find out much about it.”
“I have no interest in going to some faraway world like Shizor,” said Dad, shaking his head. “But you know, I remember how Kalo always spent his summer vacations on Shizor, going on safari and spending countless days in the wilderness studying its wildlife. Maybe that's why he chose to build a secret lab there.”
“Did he invite you along?” asked Galaxy.
Dad shook his head. “No. He sent me all of the pictures he took of all of the exciting things he did. He always liked to brag about his adventures. He grew out of that habit when he got older, however, after we drifted apart.”
“So you haven't spoken to him even once since after I was born?” said Galaxy. “And you don't know how to contact him at all?”
“No, I do not,” said Dad. His tone became a little tougher. “Nor do I want to. I am content to spend the rest of my days here on the Annulus, living in peace and solitude, and to let Kalo live his life as he wishes. I am tired of getting into trouble. It is too much effort for an older man such as myself, who has had enough trouble for more than one lifetime.”
Though Dad put on a convincing 'tired old man who only wanted to retire' act, Galaxy wasn't fooled. She could tell that there was much, much more to his connection to Kalo. In fact, she was getting rather tired of him dancing around the subject.
So Galaxy asked him point blank, “Dad, what's been bothering you lately and how can we help?”
Dad looked a little taken aback by Galaxy's forthrightness, but then he said, “Nothing. It's just been the stress of moving from Garth to the Annulus. Moving is always stressful, as you know, especially on an older gentlemen such as myself, so if I seemed bothered by something, it's because I haven't gotten used to the Annulus yet.”
“No, I can tell that you are dealing with some other problem you don't want to talk about,” said Galaxy. “What is it? Don't try to hide it from me. I'm not stupid, as you very well know.”
Space looked shocked at Galaxy's blunt questions, but she ignored him. Space didn't understand her relationship with her Dad. She knew that Dad wasn't offended or bothered by her honest questions, even if he sometimes acted like it. Honesty was a virtue he had always instilled in her, after all, so there was no reason for him to be upset at her.
Despite that, Dad at first did not look like he was going to say anything, but then he sighed and said, “Very well, Helena. I could never hide anything from you. The truth is, I have far more problems than merely the stress of moving into a new and unfamiliar place. In fact, I'd say the move is one of the least stressful things that I have had to deal with recently.”
“So what's really been going on?” said Galaxy. “You can tell me. And Space, too. If you want us to keep it a secret from everyone, we can do that, no problem.”
“Yeah, I am completely trustworthy,” said Space. “For example, I've kept the fact that I ate the last doughnut in the fridge on Christmas morning three years ago a secret without Galaxy ever being the wiser.”
“Wait, you mean you ate the last doughnut?” said Galaxy, looking at Space in shock. “You said that it had somehow gotten space dust in it and you had to throw it out because it wasn't fit to eat anymore.”
“Uh …” said Space, who was clearly trying to think up a good excuse to get out of trouble with her. “Would you believe me if I said that Sparky actually ate the last doughnut and my 'confession' was really a lie?”
Before Galaxy could yell at Space for lying to her as he deserved, Dad said, “Very well. But I would rather not. I don't want to get your or your friend involved in the things that have been stressing me out lately. Still, you are my daughter and I do trust you, so I know that I can tell you the truth. But first, I would like you two to take a seat.”
Galaxy and Space sat on the couch, while Father summoned a floating chair from his room that he sat upon. Even sitting down, Father was about a head taller than either of them, though he wasn't very intimidating in appearance. He looked rather exhausted, in fact, which made Galaxy worry for him even more.
“What I am about to tell you could get me into very big trouble with the government of Garth, but at this point in my life, I could not care less about what those idiots think of me,” said Dad. He rested his hands on his knees. “The truth of the matter is, I never did actually retire from my job as a secret agent. I stopped going on most missions due to my age, but when you work as a secret agent for the government of Garth, you never really 'retire,' even if all of the official documents and paperwork say you are retired.”
“So your retirement is basically a smokescreen for your real status?” said Space.
“More or less,” said Dad, nodding. “It was only to deflect any suspicion from me so that the government's enemies would not try to get me. In truth, I still wear the title of secret agent and I still know everything that I know, including sensitive government secrets that even many of my superiors don't know about.”
“Let me guess,” said Galaxy, “that means that you are still doing some kind of secret mission for the government of Garth, right?”
“Yes,” said Dad. He gestured at the apartment. “I moved to the Annulus not necessarily because I want to—though I like the Annulus quite a bit—but because I was given a secret mission to complete on this place. I was chosen because of my vast experience working as a secret agent, as well as the fact that I can appear like a kindly old man who just wants to live in peace. Thus, no one can suspect me of being up to any suspicious or, ah, not exactly legal behavior.”
“You sure fooled me,” said Space, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. “I didn't even suspect that you were doing anything out of the ordinary here. Thought you were just a normal retiree, like most people your age.”
“It was easy to fool you,” said Dad, leaning back in his chair. “While some humans are too clever to fool—like my daughter Helena—many of you humans are so ignorant about the way we non-humans behave that it is quite easy to fool you into believing that we are something we are not. Human education about the different sapient species is notoriously poor.”
“It's not my fault I didn't take the time to learn about all of the twenty-five or so different sentient species in the Universal Alliance,” said Space, folding his arms across his chest and pouting. “I bet even you don't know about all of them.”
“Actually, I can speak twenty-three different languages from across the Universal Alliance,” said Dad, “including the code language used by Zinarthian secret agents to communicate with each other. I have also performed extensive research on the various member planets that make up the Universal Alliance and the dominant species of each world. Truthfully, I sometimes think I know far more than I should, but in the world of spying, you always need to know more than you should because you never know what will save your life and the lives of your countrymen.”
Space looked at Galaxy suddenly. “So that's where your intelligence came from.”
“What, is it a surprise that my Dad and I happen to have similar personality traits?” said Galaxy with a roll of her eyes. “Anyway, Dad, you can continue.”
“All right,” said Dad. “The reason I was sent here was in response to a possible terrorist attack on Sector Six. According to the government of Garth's intelligence, a Zinart
hian terrorist group known as the High Superiors, as they call themselves, are intending to blow up Sector Six and kill thousands of innocent Zinarthians who live here.”
“I've never heard of the High Superiors,” said Space. “Who are they?”
“A separatist radical terrorist group who are a spin off of an older terrorist group known as the Separatists,” said Dad. “To state it simply, when Garth first joined the Universal Alliance two hundred years ago, there was a group of Zinarthians who disagreed strongly with the decision. They formed their own terrorist group known as the Separatists, who focused their efforts on attacking non-Zinarthian ships and people that visited Garth in order to encourage the other UA member planets to vote Garth out of the Alliance due to the danger that my world presented to the peoples of others.”
“I remember learning about that in history class back in high school,” said Galaxy. “The Separatists were defeated, right?”
“Correct,” said Dad. “They lasted for about a century before their leaders were finally captured and executed by the government of Garth for their crimes. The grunts scattered and mostly went into hiding in the most obscure corners of the universe in order to avoid suffering the same fate as their leaders. Or most did, anyway.”
“Most?” said Space. “What about the rest?”
“The remaining Separatists—the ones who were truly radical—formed their own terrorist group that they believe is superior to the Separatist group,” said Dad. “They call themselves the High Superiors. While the Separatists were mostly concerned with keeping Garth from becoming controlled or influenced by the governments of other worlds, the High Superiors are more interested in violently asserting the natural superiority of our species to other peoples. They believe that Garth should not only leave the Universal Alliance, but should also conquer and dominate every other member world under the 'Garth Empire,' as they call it.”
“Sounds pretty crazy,” said Space. “But I don't understand how this ties into their plotting to blow up Sector Six.”
“Easy,” said Dad. “While the full details of their plan are not quite known to us, we believe that they are going to frame the destruction of Sector Six—as well as the resulting deaths in innocent men, women, and children—on the Universal Alliance. They hope to provoke outrage in the people of Garth, who will then urge the government of Garth to declare war on the UA and start the conquest of the universe.”
“I doubt that will work, even if they succeed in blowing up Sector Six,” said Galaxy, folding her hands behind her head. “The High Superiors are hated by pretty much everyone on Garth. They probably wouldn't get their precious Empire if that happened. They'd probably just start a war that would get lots of innocent people killed.”
“Helena, I keep forgetting that you have not visited Garth in a long time,” said Dad. “The political situation is far more restless than you think. While most Zinarthians do not like or approve of the actions of the High Superiors, many Zinarthians still want nothing to do with the UA. It would not be difficult for a particularly traumatic event to create an uproar that even the government would not be able to suppress, which could lead to the fabled 'Garth Empire' that the High Superiors are fighting for. So as you can tell, this is quite a serious situation.”
“Is your job to stop them, then?” said Galaxy.
“Correct,” said Dad. “I moved to the Annulus under the guise of an aging retiree using his new freedom to follow his dreams. And I am not the only Zinarthian retiree to do such a thing, either. About ten percent of all Zinarthian retirees move to the Annulus after they retire, as most Zinarthians love space and the idea of living on a space habitat.”
“Ooh, another similarity between you and Galaxy,” said Space, who Galaxy was now sure was simply saying this to annoy her. “That's why Galaxy likes to explore space. Did she get the idea from you?”
“When did I say anything about actual space exploration?” said Dad. “I don't care to explore the outer reaches of space, to be frank. Right now, my focus is on stopping the High Superiors from killing the thousands of innocent Zinarthians and others who live here.”
“If that's the case, then why are you here in your apartment and why did you invite us over?” said Space. “Not that I am complaining about your generosity or anything, but it sure doesn't seem to have anything to do with stopping a bunch of terrorists.”
“Actually locating the bomb that the terrorists plan to use to blow up Sector Six has been more difficult than you'd think,” said Dad, rubbing the back of his neck as he reclined in his chair. “There are an estimate one-hundred twenty-thousand Zinarthians living here, as well as a couple hundred non-Zinarthians. There is plenty of room for them to hide, especially since there are unfortunately many Zinarthians who happen to agree with them and are likely helping them succeed in their plan.”
“I don't understand how the High Superiors could have gotten a bomb of any size past the Annulus's security,” said Galaxy. “You know how thorough they are when they check the luggage and belongings of passengers. I would think they would have found a bomb on someone trying to sneak one in. Even if the bomb was dissembled, surely someone would have noticed the bomb parts and confiscated them from the smuggler?”
Dad chuckled. “The Annulus's security is simply rubbish. When I came here, I managed to sneak in three laser pistols, enough chemicals to create my own bomb, plus a rather thick, five-hundred page tome entitled How to Make your Own Bomb, and I didn't even try. Of course, we also suspect that Sector Six's security has a few High Superior sympathizers on the inside, though that's been impossible to prove so far. In any event, the fact that the Annulus has not suffered any major terrorist attacks since its inception is proof, in my opinion, that there is a God and that he likes giant space rings.”
“Does the Annulus Defense Force know about this?” said Space.
“No,” said Dad, shaking his head. “The government of Garth doesn't really trust the ADF, because the ADF is mostly made up of humans who have a known distrust of Zinarthians in general. Besides, this kind of job is best done covertly. If the High Superiors were aware of what we are doing, that might cause them to panic, and panicked terrorists never make rational decisions.”
“Hey,” said Space reproachfully. “My older brother, Alex, is a member of the ADF. He's a bit of a jock, yeah, but he doesn't hate Zinarthians one bit.”
“I apologize,” said Dad. “I did not know that you have family in the ADF. Nonetheless, they still know nothing of the High Superiors' plot to destroy Sector Six, nor does the government of Garth want them to. As I also distrust the ADF, that is one order I have no problem with following.”
“I still think you should have support from the ADF somehow,” said Space. “The High Superiors sound really dangerous.”
“I can deal with them on my own,” said Dad, waving off Space's concern. “I've dealt with High Superior terrorists in the past. While they certainly are rather trigger-happy, they tend to lack discipline and organization under stress. Once, for example, I tricked about a dozen High Superiors into killing each other using smoke and mirrors to make them think they were outnumbered by a much larger force. And I'm not even all that great of a magician, to be frank.”
“Can we help you, Dad?” said Galaxy. “I don't like the idea of you working alone against these guys, even if you've beaten them before. You're not nearly as young as you used to be, after all.”
“I appreciate your concern, Helena, but no,” said Dad, shaking his head. “I am technically not even supposed to tell you two about this. Besides, I could never live with myself if you somehow got hurt or killed by those bastards.”
“What if I got hurt or killed?” said Space.
“I could live with that,” said Dad, although the offhanded way he said it told Galaxy that he had not actually heard what Space had just said. “But the point is, the two of you should return to your ship. I do not want either of you to get involved in something so dangerous.”
&
nbsp; “Dad, we're space explorers,” Galaxy said. “We are always involved in something dangerous at some point or another. We've fought energy beings, religious extremists, crazy robot rights activists, assassins with mechanical arms, and many other things besides. I think we can handle a handful of terrorists.”
“The government explicitly told me not to involve anyone else in this mission,” said Dad. “I don't even have any of my fellow secret agents with me. I am completely on my own here. That is how secret it is.”
“You know, Galaxy, I think your Dad has a point,” said Space. “While I am of course not afraid of these terrorists at all, this really doesn't concern us and if we get involved, we might cause more harm than good. We should probably just let your Dad handle it, seeing as he's the super secret agent with decades of experience who knows what he's doing and we aren't.”
Galaxy folded her arms across her chest and stared Dad in the eye. Dad looked away, mostly because Zinarthians tended to avoid looking at anyone in the eye for very long due to the social norms that made staring into another person's eyes for longer than a second or two a gesture of disrespect.
“Well …” Galaxy shrugged and unfolded her arms. “Okay. I can tell you're not going to let us help. And maybe that's for the best after all. Still, I hate knowing about a potential terrorist plot that could kill thousands of innocent people and not being able to do anything about it.”
“I doubt you will need to worry about it for much longer, Helena,” said Dad. He raised his own com-watch to his face and looked at it. “You see, when I first got here, I attached a tracking device onto one of the suspected terrorists in an attempt to find out where the High Superiors are hiding. My com-watch shows me where the suspect is at all times, which has so far proved helpful in determining likely spots of Sector Six to search later. As a result, I believe I should have the terrorists defeated and the bomb disabled in as little as three days.”
The Spacetastic Adventures of Mr. Space and Captain Galaxy: Season Two Page 24
