The floor was littered with down Izod, there were so many, he had trouble moving his cow-robot through them. He pointed the sensor on his rifle towards a couple of the fallen figures, and the sensor showed they were alive, barely. A couple of them showed definite signs of trauma and a few of them showed no life signs on his sensor.
“What happened here?” the squad member behind Robles asked out loud.
“I don’t know, but let’s keep moving. Some of these guys might start waking up,” responded Robles.
The team moved quickly and with more confidence. Based on the ornate walls it was a safe assumption they were getting closer to the command.
Robles made the last turn, and he was faced with a double door that had been torn off its hinges. Must be the bosses digs, he thought.
He motioned for the team to slow down and be cautious. He entered the lavish room and was shocked.
There was a huge Izod lying on the floor with SIMPOC sitting on him. Sitting comfortably on a large couch nearby was Captain Herl and Captain Drummond. Their small bodies seemed comically out of place in the large furniture.
The look of bewilderment on Paol’s face dictated a response from the Captains.
“Sorry to take away all of your fun Sergeant,” Captain Herl said in a humorous tone.
“What the hell happened, were you being held prisoner?” the sergeant asked.
“Yup, but it appears to be more complicated than that,” Captain Drummond pointed out.
“We’ve been having a ‘discussion’ with our host,” Herl said as she pointed to the prone Izod under SIMPOC.
“Now that we have reinforcements, I think we can let him up SIMPOC,” she said to SIMPOC with a gentle head nod.
The large robot moved cautiously, and the large Izod rolled over onto his back. He stretched a little then gave SIMPOC an apprehensive look.
“Captain, we need to talk,” was his direct response.
“Yes, we do,” was Captain Drummonds response.
Captains Herl and Drummond talk to Izod
“Captain Drummond, I am unsure why you reacted in such a violent way?” Said the large Izod as he walked across the room and sat in a chair sized for his large frame.
“Reacted in such a violent way? It is obvious that we have a lot to learn about how each of us communicates. This was the second time that you kidnapped Captain Drummond,” said Captain Herl as she pointed to her friend sitting next to her. “And this was the first time that you kidnapped both of us. In our society kidnapping is an extremely violent act and is frequently reacted to with other violent acts. Why do you do this to us?” Asked Captain Herl.
“Captain Herl, I am not clear what you mean by the term kidnapped?” Said the corporate leader.
Captain Herl and Captain Drummond looked at each other. They both realized that significant differences were present when dealing with an alien race.
“For us taking a person without their consent and holding them in a room is a very violent act. It is something we do not tolerate, under any circumstances,” added Drummond.
“For the Izod, controlling the movement of an opponent is a key element of negotiation. That is how we control their resources and reach agreements.”
“We negotiate from a position of respect and mutual benefit,” said Herl. “We do not seek to control the person with whom we are negotiating.”
“Interesting concept, but ineffective in the Izod society and likely very inefficient,” said Nortog with some indignation in his voice.
“I don’t care,” said Captain Drummond. “That is how we deal with our friends and what we just did is how we deal with our enemies. Are you here as a friend or an enemy?”
The directness seemed to satisfy the Izod’s mood.
“It would appear that we should come here as a friend,” said the Fleet Commander with some hesitation.
“Then we will conduct our discussion without kidnapping you. We would appreciate the same treatment,” Herl said.
“Perhaps, but it needs to be noted that you have murdered a number of my honor guard.”
“Yes. But that happened as a result of a misunderstanding that I hope we can avoid in the future.”
Nortog, sensed the challenge and responded in kind. “We will try to avoid misunderstandings on our part. I trust that you will do the same?”
“We will,” replied Captain Herl with a nod from Captain Drummond.
“Now Fleet Commander, we have a question,” said Captain Drummond changing the subject. “During our battle, we disabled three of the Terest space stations and many of their ships. There are Terest remaining on those ships, and we must decide how to deal with them.”
“The Illiod Corporation is willing to dispose of the Terest’s military hardware and prisoners.”
“I don’t like the word dispose,” replied Captain Drummond.
“Again, an example of our use of the word. They will be treated appropriately and eventually returned to the Terest. We are not violent people. The Terest are more aggressive than we are. As you can see, they attack first, then negotiate. The prisoners are a resource which must be negotiated over.”
Captain Herl and Captain Drummond got a quick flash from SIMPOC through the alien links, “Keep the spaceships. That is what he wants.”
After Drummond processed the thought, it was obvious to her. The hardware and Terest were just negotiating points for the Izod. In fact, giving them the Terest hardware might give them a decided advantage in the next conflict.
“We’ll keep the hardware as payment for the invasion. You may take the prisoners, and we expect them to be treated with proper respect.”
In was obvious that Nortog didn’t like that answer. Both Drummond and Herl sensed the same emotions from him – frustration and loss.
“Of course the prisoners will be treated appropriately. If they are dead, they have no value in a negotiation.”
Darlene and Joan got a shared feeling of unease from that statement.
Wednesday, November 15, 2051
Robles and Drummond Debrief BG
The shuttle ride back to the Burlington was fast and with less stress. Darlene stepped out of the shuttle parking bay and saw BG. Her eyes expanded and they met after a couple of quick steps. Joan just stood back waiting for the embrace to end. She had to contain her thoughts about having the same reunion with Tom.
“So, I hear that you kicked some ass,” BG said as Darlene leaned back and smiled at him.
She smiled and gave a small noncommittal head nod.
“I suppose so,” she finally admitted.
“What happened. Paol and I thought we were saving you.”
“You were, in a way. Apparently, kidnapping or hostage taking is how the Izod negotiate. We explained that it doesn’t work with us. We also apologized for killing some of his troops. To them, kidnapping is just a tactic and using force to rescue us was more violent than they are used to.”
“I overreacted?” BG said a little defensively.
“Perhaps, but it was a bridge the Izod, and we had to cross. I feel bad that some of his men were lost, but we didn’t know. Now we do know, and we’ve got be careful when dealing with them. They are always negotiating, taking each other’s resources and using them against the others. I suspect that the Terest are pretty much the same.”
“Darlene, how did you, Joan and SIMPOC take over the ship?” BG asked.
“It was pretty easy, but in hindsight, I guess we could have been hurt. Towards the end of the conference with Nortog, I think we pissed him off. Anyway, a couple of guards came in and zapped us with some kind of energy weapon. It fried our circuits a little, and after Joan and I woke up we were dazed, and SIMPOC was still out. We came up with a plan, and surprisingly it worked.”
“What did you do,” queried BG.
“Let’s just say; there is an Izod guard that is singing soprano.”
“Ouch,” responded BG.
“Any way we got his gun and by then SIMPOC was coming to. Then we d
id something dumb, we figured, hey we’ve got a weapon, and SIMPOC so let’s go find Nortog and end this.”
“Ya, dumb,” was BG’s muted response.
Darlene smiled, shrugged and went on with her story.
“We charged out and picked a direction. We lucked out, and it was the right one. After a minute or two we ran across some guards. They shot at us, and we shot back. SIMPOC took the lead and told us to stay behind him.”
“Wait a minute. If the guards zapped the three of you in the meeting why didn’t they zap SIMPOC again?”
Darlene realized that she had to modify her story, so as not to give away some private information.
“Before we left, SIMPOC told us that he felt he was able to compensate for their energy weapons. So, we trusted him.”
Darlene hesitated a little as she made up that part of the story. In actuality, SIMPOC told them that when he was zapped, it had been the second time and that the alien material in him was starting to compensate. It was able to pick up much of his functioning while his normal organic brain was sorting things out. That was something that Darlene knew she wasn’t ready to share with Robles.
Regardless, Robles bought that little ‘clarification,’ and Darlene went on.
“We followed him, and he took most of the hits. We were able to use the gun to clean up a couple of the ones that he missed. Anyway, we got to where Nortog was, and SIMPOC just went through the door. He was caught totally by surprise, and before he knew it, he was on the floor, and SIMPOC was on top of him. A few minutes later Paol made his entrance.”
“You’re damn lucky,” BG said with a lot of concern in his voice. “Don’t do anything like that again. Promise me?” he asked.
Darlene Drummond just smirked a little.
“Now that you’re out of medical, what the hell happened to you?” Darlene asked.
“I guess I got zapped pretty good.”
“A couple of Marines saw you get hit and go down, but they were too busy to see what happened after that. All we know is, their ship blew up, and the rest of your team were able to clean out the rest of the aliens.”
“Well, I decided that I needed to take out their ship and I was in the middle. It was sort of a one-way trip. The ship had to be taken care of. I hoped that my Cow-Robot was a little tougher than I was. So, I put a couple of C-4 packs under my seat. If I was taken off the Cow-Robot, I programmed it to find the ship and set off the bomb. I guess it worked.”
Darlene quickly planted her fist in his stomach with enough force to say “stupid,” but not enough to double him over.
Vice President Hagerly Gets His Data
Nial Hagerly was expecting Michael Dereaux and Ruth Minor any minute. The file open on his desk wasn’t one that gave him comfort. The first rule in developing a new weapon system was to understand what the enemy would do to counteract it. If a new stealth bomber was designed, what would the enemy have to develop to counter it? If a new virus was discovered, what vaccine needed to be developed? If a powerful computer was developed, how could it be controlled or eliminated? When one company was contracted to develop a weapon system, the DOD would contract with another company for alternatives.
It was a ‘vile of alternatives’ that Nial was expecting from the two Secret Service agents. They didn’t need to know what they had or what it was intended to do to an organic processor; their only job was to retrieve the vile.
He didn’t know if it would ever be needed, but having two powerful, thinking computers, that were learning and changing every day, posed problems that he had to be prepared for.
Deal with Terest Prisoners
Collecting the Terest prisoners went smoothly. The Chevesky and Burlington escorted the Izod ships to each of the damaged space stations, and the prisoners were more than eager to move to them. Apparently, they were more comfortable with the method of negotiating between the Izod and Terest than either Captain Herl or Captain Drummond was. At each stop, it took only a few minutes of discussion before they surrendered and moved to the Izod ship.
Coincidently SIMPOC stationed some of his smart Cow-Robots on each ship, to make sure that ‘it was safe.’
“Captain Drummond we have taken all of the Terest prisoners onboard, and we’re are departing for Izod home,” Fleet Commander Nortog transmitted.
“Again, please confirm that you’ll accommodate the Terest properly?” asked Captain Drummond.
The response was a little slower coming then she hoped, but eventually she heard.
“We will treat the Terest prisoner in our traditional manner,” responded Nortog.
“Captain the transmission has ceased,” pointed out Beta-5.
Lovely fellow, Captain Drummond thought.
BG rebuilt with alien material
Darlene and BG were enjoying a quiet time in their quarters. They were engaged in what two young people in love often do in the morning.
The curtain to their space bursts open and Beta-Prime walked in carrying a tray of breakfast.
“What the?” BG yelled, followed by a sudden scream from Darlene.
“I thought that you would enjoy some nourishment in bed while you relax,” was Beta-Prime’s excuse.
“Look Beta-Prime; I’m going to call you BP from now on - you don’t walk into a couple’s room without warning us. The proper thing to do is knock gently on the door and wait for us to allow you to enter,” Darlene explained, trying to keep her voice calm as she covered herself up.
“Captain you have no door, merely a curtain,” pointed out BP.
Darlene took a deep breath then said, “Yes, we have only a curtain. Next time you wish to enter, and the curtain is closed, please stop beyond the curtain and ask for permission to enter.”
“Yes captain, I’ll pass that requirement to the other Beta units,” BP said as he placed the tray of coffee and breakfast on the bed.
“Thank you,” BP said. “Now you may leave, and thanks for breakfast.”
“If you desire more nourishment, please let me know,” was BP’s response just before he turned and left the room.
“He’s only a robot,” pointed out BG.
“Makes no difference,” Darlene responded before she poured them cups of coffee. “Now that we’re awake and ‘thinking of other things,’ there is something I want to talk about with you.”
“Ya, I guess the mood has slipped by. What’s up?”
“Not too long ago we were crew on an aircraft carrier. Now we’re commanding a spaceship. We’ve faced a lot, and I suspect there will be many more surprising things in our future.”
“Okay, where are you going with this,” BG responded.
“SIMPOC is more than SIMPOC. A while back he was able to integrate some of the organic alien computer material from the Chevesky into his organic processor. It has given him a bunch of cool abilities.”
BG reacted, but not with disgust, but as if an entirely new world just opened up.
“I guess … that’s a good thing,” he finally added.
“He and Joan spoke about it … and she decided to have some material implanted in her.”
BG’s eyes got a little bigger, but he kept listening.
“She can communicate with SIMPOC telepathically, and she can sense much more around her.”
“Okay, so we have a super robot that has made itself super’er. Beyond that, Joan is part alien,” BG said with a lot of confusion on his face.
Darlene almost decided not to go any further, but she needed to be honest with BG.
“That’s not all,” she whispered.
BG looked at her and waited.
“I’m commanding a huge ship. Facing aliens and defending Earth. I have more power at my disposal than any military commander has ever had. To do my job, I must use any tool that I can.” She paused, then said, “I had to do it.”
BG hesitated then asked, “Do what.”
“I have alien material in me also.”
The motion stopped on the bed, as BG stared at her.
She didn’t know if he would run or throw up. The look on his face suggested either were options.
“You have alien material inside you,” BG asked.
“Yes,” was her quiet response.
A moment later he responded, “Cool, can I get some?”
Now it was Darlene’s turn to react. Shock, surprise, relief all washed across her in a short time. But BG noticed her hesitation.”
“What,” he asked?
“When you got zapped, you had tons of nerve damage. I wasn’t sure if the medical on this ship could repair all of it.”
“And…” BG asked?
“I told the ship to use alien processor material to repair the damage. You have the same stuff that Joan and I do.”
BG looked confused for a second and Darlene’s heart almost stopped.
“Cool,” he said.
The only appropriate response was a mixture of laughter, tears, and hugs.
Earth Debrief
“What can I say?” Said the President who was standing in the middle of the Chevesky control room.
“Well sir, I guess there isn’t much to say except that it is over,” said Admiral Monson.
“Yes, it is over, but is it ended?” Said, President Patterson.
“Sir, I think we have found a balance that is sustainable. The Terest have withdrawn with considerable losses. The Izod may not be our best allies, but at least at this point in our relationship, they aren’t on the Terest side. You are correct, it might not be the end of the war, but at least it is the end of this battle,” added Vice President Hagerly.
“Nial,… Lew, you’re both right. Thanks to the bravery and skill of these people gathered around us earth is safe. We live to fight another day, as the old saying goes. Joan, Darlene, Paol, BG, SIMPOC. You have all performed a miracle. I don’t want to stand here and go into a long speech, your tired; everyone’s tired. So, let’s just enjoy some beer and pizza,” said the President as he patted his stomach and walked towards the small conference room.
Captain Herl, this might be an appropriate time to mention to the president that we think we could find Julius, SIMPOC passed telepathically to Joan as she passed in front of him.
Earth II - Emergence Page 32
