by Don Koch
"Josh, I like it. One thing to remember, our shields are something they are not going to be able to penetrate. That gives us the luxury of not having to fire in self-defense. Do not fire without need. No itchy fingers. Maintain tight fire control. No accidents. We want information, not a body count. We have much bigger fish to fry. We do not have to take those seven ships out at this point. I have a feeling about this that I want to satisfy before we start shooting. The sense I am getting is that these seven are not the enemy. I want to know why that feeling is coming across so strongly, so data is the critical element on this mission. I know as well as any of you that no one in history has had the kind of advantage you take with you. It is also one of the reasons that I really endorse the idea of a telepath team to back up the interrogatories. They may spot something an individual might miss."
"Josh, when do you propose to embark?"
Josh was a bit startled by the quick agreement but said, "If General David and General Hawk concur, I suggest we embark four weeks from today and that should put us there two days later and we will commence operations the day after that." Both generals nodded agreement with a grin.
"I don't know if you realize just how far ahead of schedule this puts us and I am real happy about that. Gentlemen, you have heard this before, but no plan survives first contact. General Adams you will be in overall command. I believe you are ready and can deal with any eventuality. Make your troops proud. I sure am. Also, I have invited Father Tom here to say a few words and, I have asked him to bless the fleet."
"You and your men are of a variety of beliefs, but I believe that the good Lord has blessed this enterprise from the start. Almighty Father, please look after these men and the troops they command. Bless them in this effort and bring them all back to us safe from harm. Amen. Henry, you know me, I like to keep it short. Godspeed."
### Station 1 in Earth Orbit –
December 23 – C Day 115 ###
The meeting to discuss adjustments to the first contact mission had gone well and Hank and Sam were resting in their quarters. Suddenly. Hank jumped up, saying "Oh my gosh, do you know what tomorrow is?"
"Christmas Eve!"
"Yes and I forgot tradition. Barana, are you familiar with the Christmas decorations frequently used on Earth, Christmas Star, Christmas Trees etc.?"
Hank did as requested and was astonished to see a classic lit star on top of the mountain. Barana went on,
"This is just perfect. Thank you Barana and thank you Sam." He went over to Sam and held her, "I glad you came into my life. I can't express how much you mean to me."
"You just did dear Hank. Just keep on being you." And then she kissed him.
Chapter 24: Meeting the Glarin
Station 1 in Earth Orbit –
December 28 – C Day 120
Speaking to Josh on Station 12, Hank said, "Josh, you take care out there and bring back our troops. Your plan is a good one but if you have to deviate from it, you make the call that your judgment tells you to make. Something about this group feels very different than the main body, but you are the one who will have to make the read on this first encounter. Godspeed."
Josh replied, "Thanks boss, I appreciate the vote of confidence. Do you want to say anything to the Divisions?"
"Absolutely."
"You're on."
"Good day to you, men and women of the 9th and 12th Divisions. You are about to embark on our first encounter with the Glarin. I am convinced that this encounter is very much weighted in our favor. I say this because I know the efforts you have all made to prepare for this meeting of the Glarin and the technology the Antoran people have provided for this effort. You are ready. Just remember that your discipline is critical to a positive outcome. The most important element to this mission is the gathering of the intelligence to prepare for the main fleet of the Glarin. We definitely need the information you are out there to gather. Your officers and crews are ready. Do us all proud. Thank you and Godspeed."
Josh then said, "Divisions 9 and 12 prepare for departure in 10 minutes from my mark, three, two, one, mark. Stations report readiness for departure."
"Josh, I'll leave you to your departure routine. You know that you will be the first Earthman to lead a force into interstellar space. You are in the history books now chum. Keep in touch. Please give my greetings to your AI, Lorena. She and Barana will be in constant contact. If you need anything, ask. We will do our best to provide support. Hank out."
Ten minutes later, the ten stations comprising Divisions 9 and 12 departed on their mission.
Later that evening, Josh and Rose were discussing the current situation in their quarters with Lorena. Josh noted, "This is the first time in our history that I am aware of, that we are entering into a potential combat situation with our families, noncombatants, combatants, pets, entertainment, homes, everything. I admit it makes me a tad nervous but I am also not sure that I see another way. If it were a combat situation and I were a noncombatant, this is where I would want to be because it is probably the safest place to be. Still it requires a different mindset. Mind you, this is not an expression of having second thoughts about doing the job. I can handle what is expected of me and what I expect of myself. That I can do. This is a situation that is different than any I can recall reading about, at least in modern setting."
Rose said, "Well technically, I am a noncombatant and I am glad I am here instead of worrying about what is happening to you from a distance. This IS where I want to be. But to change the subject a bit, it sounded a bit like Hank had come to some conclusions about this group we are setting out to meet that struck me as a bit curious. It is almost as though he believes this group is not at all like the main group. His instincts have been right on the money so many times that he is almost scary. I kind of hope that the impression he has is supported by what we find in this encounter but I did like the fact that he has given you carte blanche as commander on scene to do what you have to do as the situation develops."
"That my dear is the sign of a good commander and I have been convinced for some time that he is not only good but rather extraordinary. His utilization of resources has put us years ahead of where any of us expected to be in such a short time. My impression is that Hank is gathering data from sources that even he is hard put to describe or give full credence. He is an exceptionally strong telepath and I think that he is tapping into information sources that none of the rest of us can reach or at least not as effectively."
Lorena interjected,
Rose glanced at Josh who nodded agreement. Rose responded, "How soon can we start?"
"OK, I am game, lets do this."
### December 29 – C Day 121 ###
The next morning, Josh and Rose were discussing the experience. It was clear that it had an effect on their abilities and range. They also found that they could now mentally communicate and enter rapport effortlessly. Josh asked,
"OK, let's start small. I would like a meeting with those twenty in a half hour. I want a special broadcast to all telepathic pairs in our two Divisions of that meeting. Also alert Barana what we are doing with a copy of the broadcast. You will need to determine how many you and the other AI's can effectively shield before we encourage them to try this. Be sure that the AI's on both Divisions are up to speed on what we are trying to do here."
A half hour later, Josh started the meeting by introducing himself and his wife Rose. He said, "I and my wife are telepaths as are each of you. A while ago, our two strongest telepaths, General of the Fleet Henry Stone and his wife Samantha started a program of self-exploration while in rapport. That is correct, with their minds linked. Recently several of our AI's concluded that this program had the effect of further enhancing telepathic abilities. Rose and I learned of this after we were underway on this mission and determined to try it last night. The impact was beyond our expectations. The immediate effect is that we are now able to communicate mind to mind without assistance. We are able to enter into rapport easily unassisted. Our telepathic capabilities have taken a quantum leap. In doing this, we wanted to assure that we were shielded from other telepaths when we made the attempt. We do not wish to potentially telegraph our capabilities to the enemy. In addition we needed to assure that our personal shields were up to the task. Lorena has assured us that our personal shields are sufficient to meet the need. What I would like you to consider is to attempt the same regimen that Rose and I have. How many of you are up to trying this program?"
All hands went up.
"That is great. Ok here is how we will proceed, return to your quarters. There, Lorena will instruct and guide you through the process and shield you during it. Do not try this without her guidance and shielding. Tomorrow when we encounter the Glarin, this will hopefully assist us in this contact."
By the following day, Lorena reported that each of the pairs in the special auxiliary had a similar experience. All of the other telepaths of the two Divisions who had participated in the program had a similar result. This was reported back to Barana and Hank who ordered that the program be implemented fleet wide.
### Station 12, about 49.5 Light Years from Earth
– December 30 – C Day 122 ###
Josh was sitting in the command seat and appeared to be calm as reports came in concerning the seven Glarin ships. They had been in position tailing the ships for the last five hours. Josh had sent Stations 142 and 162 back to Earth about three hours previously after receiving the last scans and commentaries concerning the vessels that were now about two hours past their sleep cycle. All Stations had reported in and they were now ready to implement his plan. Lorena had assured that they would egress from FTL at the same time as the Glarin ships. Josh said, "Gun crews remember, just enough of a charge to cause the Glarin’s to discharge their FTL capacitors and drop into normal space. You will be doing the aiming but I will fire the lot from here to assure a simultaneous engagement. Is everyone ready? OK, game time." As he said "Fire" he depressed the firing button that fired the projectors and then they were all at a dead stop in normal space. Josh said "Uncloak Division 12, and please open a hailing frequency to the Glarin ships. Now the fun begins."
"Glarin vessels, this is General Joshua Adams of the Antoran Fleet. Please state your business in this sector of space and the reason for your current heading." As the Glarin leader came into view, Josh was surprised to see how much he resembled an overgrown erect Koala bear.
A Glarin vessel responded, "General Joshua Adams, I am Commander Vassim leader of the seven vessels you see here, are you the one that has caused our vessels to return to normal space?"
"Yes I am." He signaled for the telepaths to link and Rose joined him in rapport.
Vassim said, "Then you have doomed these seven vessel to death in about one of our day cycles. But you asked what was our business here and why this heading. Our reason for being here is that we were attempting to escape the fate of the rest of our race. We were attacked by a race called the Gar. Their method of attack was to infect us with a symbiote that has the effect of totally changing our personality and causing us to be hyper aggressive. Infected Glarin become extremely aggressive and barely intelligent. The Gar use those infected to do their battle for them. Our shields cannot prevent their symbiotes from entering our vessels and infecting any Glarin not in stasis. We were in the process of evacuating our planet because our star was about to enter an erratic phase that would have destroyed us. Most of our people were in stasis aboard a fleet of vessels like these when the Gar attacked. We had no practicable defense. These seven saw what was occurring and managed to leave without becoming infected. I believe that we were the only ones to do so. Unfortunately, the Gar realized that we had escaped and dispatched infection missiles to pursue us. Those will reach us before we can recharge our capacitors so we are doomed. Over the years we lost distance between us as we had to replenish our fuel stores or perform repairs. It was apparently a hopeless effort in any event. As to why this course, we were hoping to reach a source of help and that was probably a reflection of our desire to see our sleepers survive. Excuse me, but I have just realized that you are speaking to me fluently in my own language. How is that possible? And your ships are impossibly large. What are you?"
"I will answer that in a moment. But first I wish to confer with some of my staff. I will leave this communication open but I will be speaking for a few minutes in a language you will not likely understand." He continued in English, well folks, I am reading straight up truth here. Are you getting the same?" Rose and the other telepaths all replied that they were hearing truth and with no attempt to hide anything. They also noted that there was a definite overtone of doom and gloom. Josh went on in English and said, "well let's see if they would like an ally. I love it when the boss is right." Rose got a big grin as did most of the crew hearing the exchange. "Lorena, what is your read on this."
Josh continued in Glarin, "Commander Vassim, first let me assure you that you are not doomed. We have the means to prevent the disaster you have been worried about. I have been conferring with my mind talkers and they assure me that everything you have told me is truth. You have noted that our vessels are indeed large and each has shielding capabilities far in excess of your capabilities. Our vessels have a large open center. I propose that we bring your ships inside those open areas and shield you from the oncoming missiles. We can transport you back to our area of influence and confer about how to deal with the 600 Glarin vessels heading to our sector of space. We may just be able to come up with a palatable solution. What do you say?"
"You would do this for complete strangers?"
"You are not exactly complete strangers but you are a Glarin we did not exactly anticipate. However, time is of the essence and we would like to have you safe before those missiles arrive."
"Yes, yes, yes we gratefully accept but we are powerless to move, how can this be done?"
"Worry not. We will do the work. We are going to tractor you in to the space in our center. In fact our ships are moving into position and will start moving you shortly. Once you are in we will shield and wait for those missiles to see what kind on intelligence we can gather from them. Then they will be destroyed. We will keep communication channels open for you so you can
talk to one another and to us. Once your ships are inside we will talk and I will answer the rest of your questions. Is that agreeable?"
"Indeed it is, I will alert the rest of my crews about what is transpiring so their fears will be relieved. Thank you again."
Stations 112, 132 and 172 each tractored two Glarin vessels inside their central cores while the command ship was tractored into Station 12. Station 152 positioned itself a protective position should any undue delay impede the tractor effort. None did. The vessels were secured for the ride back to Earth. This was all in readiness several hours before the arrival of the missiles.
Josh was giving instructions to his gunners, "I want the payload of one of those missiles captured in a stasis field. The other six are to be destroyed. I do not want so much as a spec left to drift about. I want absolute total energy release on those packages. Any dust that results, I want collected and blasted again. I want these things pulverized down to the molecular level. Lorena will coordinate the gunnery stations so that we have as complete a job as we can do. Lorena, the payload of one missile is to be taken apart outside the ship. I want a complete identification of the genome, structure, everything that is possible to know about that thing. If the payload contains a manufactured organic, I want to know that. How varied is its target? Is it a direct threat to humans as well as Glarin? Is there more than one type of symbiote on board? Once we have everything we can learn from it, destroy it. Also please run scans on our guests to assure that they are not carrying a present we might not like such as a symbiote not tailored for them. If you find anything, see if you can determine who the target might be. Go over their ships with a fine-tooth comb. If the Gar are smart and evil enough to do this to the Glarin, they might have anticipated us and have a nasty surprise ready. If so, lets find it first and defuse it. Also please send an update to Hank, he is probably having conniptions about now. "
