The Return: The Conglomerate Trilogy (Volume 1)

by William S Frisbee Jr

  “What should I do?” Luke asked and Nelson and Gray looked at each other.

  “Face facts,” Nelson said. “Face reality. Man up and woo Brita. Has anyone ever returned from the dead? How can Elena return? Reincarnation perhaps? She will not be the same person she was even if reincarnation was possible. Stop living in the past.”

  Luke crossed his arms and sat back to stare at the screen.

  “So, I’m a fool,” Luke said. He could not forget Elena? What would she say?

  Nelson shrugged. “In that regard, yes. I must classify you as a fool. There is no logic, no reason, and no precedence for your belief she will return within a thousand years. Do you think she will pop out of a bottle? Materialize in your bedroom?”

  Looking at the star scape displayed on the screen Luke did not want to face reality. A Zalwa freighter was plodding toward the wormhole and would reach it before Luke’s ships did. Sometimes facing the truth and integrating the unpleasant truth with reality was so damned hard, so many people failed and preferred to live in their fantasy worlds. The inability to face the truth had destroyed nations and cultures throughout human history. Luke liked to think he was better, but was he?

  “However, I understand your unwillingness to face the facts,” Nelson said. “There will never be another Elena. Until you can let her go, then you won’t be able to commit yourself to another woman. That is your flaw and I think you know it.

  “Elena will not be coming back. It is impossible and we all know it. She died wanting you to live. Do you doubt for one minute there won’t be someone else out there that will love you just as much? Humans are social creatures. You need your own kind for your mental well-being.”

  “I still miss her,” Luke said putting his face in his hands, why did she have to be the one to have died? “Dammit it still hurts!”

  “It will continue to hurt until you let her go,” Nelson said. “You can still be happy. She would want you to be happy. She wanted you to LIVE, not suffer living until her return. You have forgotten what it is to be happy. Do you think she wants that?”

  Luke fought to hold his body still, to keep it from betraying what was going on in his mind. Gray grabbed Luke’s shoulder gently, letting him know he was there.

  “It is tearing you apart,” Nelson said watching Luke. “Let her go!”

  Luke closed his eyes, it was required to maintain the concentration to hold his body still. He could imagine it was her hand on his shoulder, her whispering in his ear how much she loved him. He would not be having these thoughts or emotions if he was the only human onboard. It was so much easier to bury memories and emotions when there were not any reminders.

  “Now you blue headed pencil dick geek you can shut the fuck up or I will put one of my boots up your scrawny uptight ass,” Gray said to Nelson. Gray could feel the tension and tremors in Luke.

  Nelson and Gray locked eyes.

  “It is for his own good,” Nelson transmitted to Gray.

  “Who are you to judge,” Gray replied the same way.

  “Here is my data and reasoning based on human behavioral studies,” Nelson said and transmitted a file to Gray.

  It took Gray a few seconds to review the data.

  “Shove it up your ass Squidbert,” Gray transmitted. “One thing I’ve learned is humans are not always predictable, so your data is flawed.”

  “The logic is there,” Nelson said.

  “No, the statistics are there,” Gray replied. “Statistic are always flawed. You should know by now how unpredictable Luke is.”

  Tears slid down Luke’s face, and he leaned against Gray who wrapped an arm around Luke’s shoulders while he glared at Nelson. Gray was not comfortable, but he was comforting.

  “It’s okay man,” Gray said gently. “Things will happen in their own time.”

  “I’m tired,” Luke said trying to stop the sobbing and failing as a single sob escaped. “I still miss her so god damned much.”

  Gray and Nelson glared at each other. Nelson processed and stared at Gray.

  “Maybe you should see a priest or psychologist?” Nelson said earning a deeper scowl from Gray.

  “Not an option, squidbert” Gray said scowling at Nelson.

  “I’m trying to help jarhead,” Nelson said. “Luke needs help and we can’t give it to him.”

  Gray continued to glare at Nelson but could not argue the logic.

  “Time,” Gray said to Luke. “It can work for, or against you Devil Dog. You are immortal unless you get your ass killed, and if you do that, then you are breaking a promise to someone who loved you very much. She wanted you to live, and man? Are you really living. I’d be willing to bet she understands.”

  “I don’t know what to do dammit,” Luke said getting a grip.

  “Well,” Gray said. “I would say you have been alone too damned long for starters. You need to spend more time around people.”

  “But then all I can think about is Elena,” Luke said. “People drive me crazy.”

  “Admitted it is more of a short walk than a drive,” Gray said with a grin. “But seriously, you need to spend more time with people. They will help with the pain as you learn other people can be just as great and wonderful as Elena. She wasn’t the only wonderful person in the world, you need to see that. Elena was unique, just like everyone else.”

  “Brita is approaching the CIC,” Nelson said.

  “I’ll have Musashi call her back,” Gray said and transmitted a request to Musashi.

  “Thank you,” Luke said taking a deep breath. “I’m getting weak.”

  “No,” Gray said. “You are getting human. It is good for you. Don’t stop, but you need to spend more time socializing. What would Elena want you to do? What would you want Elena to do if your roles were reversed?”

  Luke thought about it, despite wanting to. They had discussed it and she said she wanted him to marry a nice woman and have a good life if he lost her. He had said the same to her and meant it, but he had not expected to lose her and he understood that now.

  “She would want me to be happy,” he said leaning forward, putting his elbows on his knees, and looking at the deck.

  “Well?” Gray said.

  “I’m not ready,” Luke said. Nelson cocked an eyebrow at Gray.

  “So, let’s pretend Elena came back, how could that be possible and how do you think that would go.”

  “She did believe in reincarnation,” Luke said. “I’ve studied it, meditated and to be honest, I don’t know. Nobody can prove it. I’ve read stories, but then they are just stories.”

  “And?” asked Gray. “How do you think you will meet and fall in love then?”

  Luke looked between Gray and Nelson.

  “Yea,” Luke said. “I’ve been a fool.”

  “You aren’t getting off that easy,” said Nelson. “What are you going to do about it?”

  “Think about it,” Luke said.

  “How long?” pushed Nelson, leaning forward to stare at Luke.

  “Until I’m done thinking about it squidbert,” Luke said pushing back. “You want to stand in for Musashi someday?”

  Nelson smiled. “You jar heads are all alike. Knuckle dragging Neanderthals always ready to resort to violence.”

  “Who gives the orders?” Luke growled and Nelson smiled, but Luke relaxed.

  “Sorry Nelson,” Luke said after a minute.

  “No worries Luke,” Nelson said, unfazed by it all. “But the sooner you get with the program, the sooner you can stop having bad dreams and become a productive member of human society.”

  “Thanks guys,” Luke said. Feeling better. Talking helped a little. There was still a lot of pain, anger, and frustration to process though. “Of course there is one other problem, and that is the rules about fraternization.”

  Gray rolled his eyes to the ceiling.

  “Seriously?” Gray asked. “You will seriously quote rules and regulations? You?”

  Luke shrugged.

  “You
are the only two unattached people out here in the middle of nowhere,” Gray said. “I could be wrong but Jeremy and Amanda, banging like an unsecured rifle in a tumbling shuttle, are highly unlikely to care.”

  Luke shook his head and scowled, wiping away the tears. Rules and regulations were there for a reason. People were too damned complicated.

  “Want me to let Musashi know you are coming?” Gray asked.

  “No thank you,” Luke said taking a deep breath. “I’ll refrain from abusing Musashi right now.”

  Gray raised an eyebrow and stared at Luke.

  “Brita is coming back,” Nelson said. “Are you, um, presentable?”

  “I think so,” Luke said. “Am I?”

  Nelson looked him over and nodded.

  Seconds later Brita walked in. She paused upon entering the CIC and looked around. Nelson and Gray looked at her.

  “Am I interrupting something?” she asked. Luke looked at her.

  “No,” he said. “I was just thinking. Is everything okay?”

  “Yes, sir,” she said. “It was just getting late and we transition to Chonka tomorrow. I wanted to check and see if there was any new data.”

  “Not yet,” Luke said checking the boards. She could have checked remotely. No need to come to the CIC in person.

  “Would you care to join me in the shuttle bay Mister Nelson?” Gray asked, not pleasantly. “I have a bone to pick with your storage of my shuttles, and I think you should see it firsthand.”

  Nelson looked at Gray. “That would be good. I think your pilots need updated programing. The last set of code was sloppy.”

  Luke looked at them. Nelson’s comment was a shot at Gray who had programmed the pilots.

  The two marched out and Brita watched them go. It seemed odd, thought Luke, and he wondered if Gray was going to beat the blue out of Nelson. It would be interesting since Gray had the physical combat mods.

  “You have some interesting droids,” Brita said joining Luke in staring at the various displays.

  “They keep me thinking,” Luke said.

  “Why is Gray called Gray when he is green?” Brita asked and Luke chuckled.

  “Way back when I was an infantryman in the US Marines,” Luke said. “Damn that was a long time ago. Well, before my time, there was a General Al Gray who is the father of Maneuver Warfare in the Marines.”

  Brita stared at Luke.

  “Really?” she said. “You were on Earth?”

  “I was born there,” Luke said staring at the displays but not seeing them. “We lived there for over sixty years. When it got bad, Elena and I left the Marines. We decided to immigrate to space. We had several college degrees and could.”

  Brita laughed. “Well, I didn’t know you were THAT old . . . you don’t look old.”

  “The US Marines were some of the first to give their people anti-aging treatment when it became available. Elena and I got the first-generation treatment.”

  “You were like real ground pounding, sleep in the mud infantryman?” Brita asked looking at Luke.

  “Yea. Lost a lot of friends and troops in those wars. I fought in the Philippines and Africa, which was real nasty terrain. Drones can’t see through triple canopy jungle too well.”

  Brita stood silently digesting that.

  “Nelson?” she asked.

  “Admiral Horatio Nelson was a bad ass wet navy Admiral,” Luke said. “I learned about him in Officer Candidacy School. Nelson was commissioned to be my Captain and eventually Admiral. I figured I needed an Admiral instead of a General for my fleet.”

  “You think big,” Brita said. Luke shrugged.

  “Why bother thinking small? If you don’t think big, then when it happens you are screwed and unprepared, and you aren’t ambitious enough.”

  “They have quite a set of personalities. Gray the tough guy, Nelson the snooty bastard, Musashi the sadistic trainer.”

  “You know who Musashi was?” Luke asked looking at her.

  “Oh yes,” she said. “Anybody who studies Martial arts has heard of him and read his book of Five Rings.”

  Luke smiled.

  “I don’t think the real Musashi was so damned hard on his students though,” she said.

  “The real Musashi didn’t have so many things to teach his students,” Luke said. “He taught medieval combat and philosophy. He didn’t teach firearms, sensor capabilities, stealth, Brazat warrior psychology, and so much more.”

  “What do you think we will find on Bizzen?” she asked sitting down in an observer chair where she could watch Luke and the displays.

  Luke swiveled to face her.

  “I have no idea,” he said. “Travel to some grid coordinates and help a Soma. I have no freaking clue what a Soma is. It isn’t a race or a rank.”

  “Didn’t he say ‘your’ Soma?” she asked.

  “Yes, doesn’t make it any clearer. In fact, it makes it even more difficult to understand. Suresh usually isn’t so cryptic and evasive and it makes little sense. Maybe that is what the Pral call a student.”

  “You work for more Topa than Suresh?” she asked.

  Luke nodded. “Suresh is the one I work for the most, but I’ve done jobs for several others. Mostly breaking embargoes, rescuing ambassadors, escorting diplomats, investigating murders and stuff like that.”

  “I’ve read a lot of your reports,” Brita said, her eyes locked on Luke. “Even some of the classified ones.”

  “So why did Mark send you out here?” Luke asked. “I would think my reports would be instructive enough. I include most of the video log files.”

  Brita sighed and then smiled, “I don’t know for sure. I don’t always play nice with others and I’m an adrenaline junkie. I figured it was to get rid of me for a while, maybe put me in close contact with another anti-social asshole and let me get my fix.”

  Luke chuckled. “I didn’t get that from reading your fitness reports.”

  Now Brita chuckled. “It is hard to prove,” she said. “I’m careful and sometimes very subtle.”

  “Do you ever get lonely out here on your own?” She asked when Luke turned his eyes back to the monitors.

  Luke wondered where this conversation would end up.

  “Yes,” he replied “but that is for the better. I can concentrate more fully on the mission and nobody else is endangered. I’m also unlikely to lose anyone. But. . .”

  “But?” Brita asked.

  “Turns out I like my droids too,” Luke said.

  “Your droids are like people, almost,” Brita said. “Too bad we can’t back them up like lower level droids.”

  Luke nodded. It was a tradeoff. The better droids had to learn, and forget, like humans to be more effective and this led to personalities. The design was very different with the warbots.

  Lower level droids were robots and were programmed, lacking real initiative and flexibility. They were slaves to their programming, which could be good but it was not perfect and they needed direction or at the very least some randomization.

  “I’ve had them a while,” Luke said. “They are like family now.”

  “Maybe that is why Mark dumped me on you,” Brita said. “Make us look at each other and learn.”

  “Are you good friends with the Prime Minister?” Luke asked. A good change of subject would be nice.

  “Lots of people are,” Brita said. “He is very involved with most of the officers and people. I don’t know when he sleeps. He really cares and fears we might lose our humanity out here among all the aliens. I also know he likes you.”

  Luke looked at her and scowled. “That is a load of bullshit,” he said. “We fight all the damned time I’m there.”

  Brita shrugged. “That’s not the impression I get when we talk about you. He seems to always be singing your praise, calls you a stuck up anti-social suicide jock, but he is quick to defend you, and I’ve noticed you haven’t committed suicide yet.”

  “You talked about me?” Luke said looking at her as if sh
e had called him a nasty name.

  “Yes, as a matter of fact,” she said with a smile. “You are one of the best mercenaries and the Topa pay top credit for you. Many aliens will. Some of the other commanders are good, but the Topa don’t care for them so much. Mark is still trying to figure it out and hopes I will be able to help him. He has plenty of Shoku, but only one Shoka.”

  “Are being mercenaries what we want to be known for?” Luke asked turning to scowl back at the screens. It is something he had thought of often. Killing is not what he liked but he couldn’t deny he was skilled at it. It was his best chance of ending the pain. None of the other jobs available held any appeal to him.

  “Until we find something else,” Brita said. “It is our niche within the Conglomerate. We aren’t populous enough to threaten anyone, or to compete with any of the existing empires in any meaningful way.”

  “What about the improvements to InnerBuddy?” Luke asked. “Aren’t we licensed to sell improvements?”

  Brita nodded. “From what I hear it is going well. There is talk about changing the name though since we don’t have rights to the brand name.”

  Luke shrugged. “Do you think the InnerBuddy corporation will sue us in fifteen thousand years when the wormhole opens again?”

  “Regardless of what we call it,” Brita said. “It is gaining traction. I heard about a contract to customize InnerBuddy for the Bishari. There is also a company selling sentry robots. Seems like most Conglomerate races don’t use combat robotics very much and this is something new for them. It might be a problem or a boon to the less warlike races depending on how they are used.”

  “That could be dangerous,” Luke said.

  “Not if we put a backdoor in them and the contract states they can’t be used against us,” Brita said. “Lots of talk in Council on that. There are also quite a few people reviewing Conglomerate licenses and human technologies. There is one New Alamo company doing well making games for the Bishari and Dren. Some companies are also interested in hiring neutral trade negotiators and that is another business doing well. It is only a matter of time before we find our niche. Until then though it is the mercenaries bringing in most of our money.”