“I didn’t think of it at first, then I guess because I want to bond with the team.” Mark answered.
“Good answer. Yeah, if we can both squeeze into your quarters comfortably.”
Mark thought that was a strange thing to say. His quarters were bigger than Sally’s and he could make them as big as he liked. Still, there was no reason why Mike should know that. Picking up his plate, while Mike was still in her bunk he blinked them both into his room. As they arrived, Mark realised that Mike was naked.
“Shit, sorry Mike.” Mark said as he turned his back on her.
“For fucks sake Mark, we’ve done all this. We’re different species, remember? If it makes you feel better, I’ll get a jumpsuit on.” She walked over to the synthesiser and pulled out a fresh jumpsuit and boots and got dressed. “Better?” She asked.
“Yes, thanks. Sorry, cultural conditioning I guess.”
“Nice big room you’ve got here, but sparse. Can I use the bathroom?”
“Sure, just through there.” Mark gestured to the door.
He sat down and finished his breakfast while Mike was in the bathroom and got another mug of tea. Mike came out carrying the jumpsuit, walked over to the synthesiser and got a fresh one out, tossing the one she had only worn for a few minutes back in for recycling.
“This is great.” Mike said as she got dressed. “I’d give my right arm for something private like this.”
“You can have it.” Mark said. “I’ll tell the main AI to give you access to it.”
“Not a good idea.” Mike said. “Sally wouldn’t be happy with you giving away privileges like that. Anyway, I couldn’t just take myself out of the team quarters, you mentioned bonding? We all need to do that.”
“Yeah, you’re right. Give me a minute while you get yourself breakfast.”
“Kate, can I communicate with Sally?” Mark asked his AI.
“Of course Mark, as long as she hasn’t set her comms to busy, and she hasn’t. Shall I put a call into her?”
“Just a moment.” Mark stepped outside into the corridor. “OK, can you connect us now please?”
“Yes?” Sally answered the call.
“Hi Sally, You OK?”
“Skip the small talk, I’m busy. What do you want?”
“OK. Mike could do with somewhere quiet to relax in her downtime. I don’t use my quarters anymore. Would you have any objection if I gave her access to them?”
“No. Sounds like a good idea. She seems very hard-nosed but I know it’s tough on her sometimes. Go ahead.”
“You’re not worried about her having extra privileges?”
“No, she can handle that with the others. Don’t you mention it to them though. You are to diplomacy what Tk'ng Dach Rrn is to peace and love and as subtle as a jab in the eye with a sharp implement.”
“And you’re not worried I might be shagging her?”
Sally burst out laughing. “You’re not physically compatible, and I’m not sure about you, but I’m damned sure she wouldn’t find you physically attractive. Thanks for cheering me up.”
Mark could hear her still laughing as she broke the connection. He was a bit put out at Sally laughing at the thought that Mike might find him attractive. Although with the best will in the world he couldn’t find anything remotely attractive about Mike’s pale green scaly skin, short thick tail, wide thin-lipped mouth and those scary teeth.
He stepped back into his quarters as Mike was starting her breakfast.
“I’ve spoken to Sally, she is OK with you having this. I’ll tell the main AI to give you exclusive secure access and complete control, so you can rearrange and change the quarters as much as you like. You can add as many rooms and as much space as you like too. And, I’ll confirm with Alan, but it should be OK for them to be yours for as long as you like, even after the war is over.”
Mike looked at him. “That’s a bit over the top. Are you sure you can do that?”
“Pretty sure.” He smiled, “I’d better check with Alan. I’ll ask him now.” He blinked to the command centre and, as usual, Alan was there.
“Hello Mark. You seem to have stirred up a hornet's nest. Well done. The People are pleased that some positive action is being taken to put an end to this.”
“Oh, good. I thought you might be annoyed.”
“In time you will integrated into the Universal web and will be able to check with the People before taking action, but for now, continue as you are. Did you want me for something?”
“Er, yes. I’ve just offered my quarters to one of Sally’s team members. I may have overstepped the mark. I have offered them exclusive secure access and the ability to mould and extend them as they wish, and I have sort of said they can have access as long as they like.”
“In general Mark, I am a believer in the saying that it is often easier to ask forgiveness than permission, so yes, of course it is all right. This would be Mike, I take it?”
“Yes, how did you know.?”
“She seems tough but my analysis is that she is fragile. You appear to have come to that conclusion yourself. I trust that Sally has given permission for one of her soldiers to have this privilege?”
“Yes. That’s a lesson I’ve learnt.”
“Then all is well. However, I can’t guarantee that Mother will be accessible to Mike very often. As you know, when I am pursuing my vocation as an Archivist, Mother is dormant.”
“Er, as I am a Friend of the People, can I have my own ship - I mean, craft?”
“Of course Mark. When you are ready.”
“When will that be?”
“As you know Mark, we don’t measure time like you do, so the question is meaningless. It is not a measure of elapsed time, you will be ready when you are ready.”
“Why did I bother asking?” Thought Mark.
Mark said “I’ll tell Mike.” And blinked back to his quarters.
Mike was finishing her breakfast when Mark blinked back in. “I’ve spoken to Alan, he is happy with the arrangement. I’ll make the arrangements and I’ll also get you the authority to blink directly here. These are your quarters now.”
Mike gave him a curious look. “What’s the catch? What do you want in return?”
“There’s no catch and I don’t want anything in return. Except, maybe you could stop being so pleasant to me. I’m not used to it and it’s a bit weird. Ah, there is a slight catch. Alan isn’t likely to be around too often, and when he is on assignment as an Archivist, Mother will be dormant for a few hundred years at a time. Oh, Sally said you will have to handle it with the rest of the team. For some reason she thinks that I lack diplomatic skills. They don’t need to know I arranged it.”
“They don’t need to know where I am.” She grinned. “Are all humans as strange as you?”
“Possibly.” He paused.
“Kate, can you make the arrangements with Mother please?” Mark asked his AI.
“All done Mark. The exclusive secure access for Mike means that you don’t have access now.”
“Got to go now.” Mark said to Mike. “I’ve got an appointment with Orange.” He told his AI to take him to Orange and blinked out. He found himself in Sally’s quarters.
“Everything settled?” Sally asked him.
“Er, yes. It’s all arranged.” Mark replied.
“OK Orange, he’s all yours. I’m going to get some sleep.”
Into The Mind Of The Enemy
Mark and Orange blinked to the meeting room and sat at the table.
“I guess we’re not doing explosives today?” Mark asked.
“We can do it here. We’re not going to blow anything up during the training, though we may do a bit of practical stuff when you’ve finished. But you’re right. I want to talk to you about field tactics.”
“Good. Now I’ve experienced what it’s like on the front line, I’ve had a few ideas.”
“I thought you might. You’ve got an outsiders perspective, not coming from a military background.
You’re from a primitive, pre-emergent civilisation too. So, what ideas have you had?”
“First up, drones.” Mark said. “They can be used to drop bombs and grenades onto the enemy lines and behind their lines.”
“Not my area. You need to talk to Mike about weapon systems, but we can’t use AI for fighting.”
“They don’t need AI, but I’ll speak to Mike about them.”
“I don’t want to discourage you but they have been tried, they are too easy to shoot down,”
“Oh, OK, I’ve been thinking about structuring the troops more when attacking, in defence and also about how the units are made up with species mix.”
“So, pretty much everything about the battlefield organisation?” Orange asked.
“Er, yes. I’m not treading on your toes with this am I?”
“No, you go ahead. It’s not anything I have ever looked at. We leave that sort of thing to individual commanders. My tactical input is about how we use the troops. Where we place them, when we use them, how we use them. So what were you thinking?”
“I have seen that different species have differing attributes. The Krendor for example, prefer to fight together in groups. Some of the insectoids just go berserk in battle. I saw one called Bai Reah who attacked a huge reptilian enemy soldier which must have been six times her size and she killed it in seconds. The Wookies…”
“Wookies? I’ve not come across them.” Orange interrupted.
“I don’t know what they are called. I’ll get my AI to translate their real species name.”
“Kate can you give the proper name when I call them Wookies please? I thought you did that without being told?” Mark asked his AI.
“Yes Mark. You seemed to know what they were so, I updated my records. I will adjust them accordingly.”
Mark spoke to Orange again. “Let’s try that again. Wookies. Does that mean anything now?”
“Ah, yes, I know them. Very hairy.” Orange answered, now Mark’s AI was translating their correct species name to Orange.
“The Wookies will look for a comrade who is struggling and leap in to help them overcome the enemy they are fighting with. If we were to make up units for specific tasks in the battle, you could use the most appropriate unit to achieve specific objectives. Those units would be general purpose soldiers as they are now, but they could also be trained as specialists based on the particular attributes of their species.”
“For example?”
“We could put spearhead units of insectoids in close support to the Ants to punch through enemy formations. Krendor units to go into situations where we are having difficulty against a particularly tough enemy formation. Units with a lot of Wookies to send in when our soldiers are up against stronger opponents. There must be a lot more opportunities available to us.”
“It’s an interesting idea Mark. Would you like to take it on as a project?”
“No. That seems to me to be a job for an AI to plan and field commanders to train and implement.”
Orange laughed. “You’re right. It doesn’t seem like a fun job. Anything else?”
“Yes. Offensive and defensive formations. I can see how we got to where we are now, but we need to re-think how our troops go into battle. What we are doing at the moment is like we did it on Earth years ago, just charging at the enemy lines and fighting in a melee. When I was in the front line, we were using mortars to soften the enemy lines before attacking, but we could do a lot more.”
“The advance could be in a formation with shorter species in the first line with taller species right behind them able to fire over their heads. You would have twice the firepower moving forwards. If the lines behind were throwing grenades as they advanced it would soften up the opposing line without endangering our lines with more mortar fire. Does that make sense?”
“Yeah. It does. I can see that kind of formation would be an effective defence against a charge as well. I’ll run your ideas past Sally and if she’s agreeable, I’ll arrange a meeting with the Lieutenant Colonels. Now, I want to go over the basics of battlefield tactical planning and how you can work with the tactical AI’s to define the plan with the highest probability of success.”
“Orange, before you start, you need to know that once this war is over, I won’t be staying in the army. Someone told me that as this is a volunteer army, everyone in it has their own reasons for being in it. Well, I don’t have any reason for being in the army. I want to be with Sally, and I like you and the other three members of the team. In the few days I have known you all, you have become the closest friends I have ever had, but I’m not a soldier. I don’t have the stomach for it. I left Earth to travel, see new things, new places, to meet new people. I know you do that, but when you meet new people, you try to kill each other. I want to see an end to this war. I have no compunction about killing Tk'ng Dach Rrn, he is a disease. He is a cancer that needs to be cut out and destroyed. Once that’s done, I want to be out of the conflict. I don’t need to know about battlefield tactics though how to use explosives would be interesting.”
Orange sat in a thoughtful silence for a couple of minutes. “Have you spoken to Sally about this?”
Mark looked down at the table. “No. It’s not a conversation I’m looking forward to, and I’ve not had a chance. She’s never got time for me.”
“You’re right Mark, we do all have our reasons for being here. But none of us will be here forever. You are a pre-emergent, so you don’t know yet what it’s like to not age and not need to suffer from any disease. Unless we’re unlucky we’ll live a very long time. That might sound great, and it’s better than the alternative, but it has its downside too. After a while, whatever you’re doing gets boring. It drives some people mad and they have to be secured to protect themselves and others. Some end up committing suicide, others take increasingly dangerous risks until they end up dead. Some go far away and hide by themselves where they go quietly mad and die from self-neglect. Virtually nobody lives to be a million - except the People. They seem to go on forever, Effective immortality is as much a curse as a blessing. Being in the army is just a phase for most people, one that sometimes ends with their death. Sally understands that. She will understand why you don’t want to stay in the army. It wasn’t even your choice to be here. Sally carries a huge responsibility during any engagement. The future of everyone in this galaxy depends on the outcome of this assault. If we fail, nothing can stop Tk'ng Dach Rrn except the People, and they won’t. So, maybe it would be best if you don’t speak to Sally right now. We’ll keep this our secret, yes?”
“I didn’t think you would be so understanding Orange. I feel like I’m letting you all down, wanting to leave.”
“You’re not. What you’re planning means you’ll probably never need to have the conversation with Sally because you’ll be dead, but it has given the impetus to assault Tk'ng Dach Rrn’s headquarters and take it out. I’ll make sure we get to his fortress as soon as possible so if you are still alive you won’t suffer too long. I’ve suggested to Sally that we plan to let the Ants bombard the fortress from orbit, but she thinks we should give you a chance first and she wants to make sure Tk'ng Dach Rrn doesn’t escape.”
“Thanks Orange, you’ve been a real comfort.”
“No problem Mark. In the unlikely event that you survive, and if you are planning to leave anyway, there doesn’t seem much point in training you in battlefield tactics. Thanks for the input on battle formations and specialist species based units. Does your plan involve explosives?”
“No, I’ve got everything I need thanks.”
“In that case, I’ll get some sleep. It will be a few days before we are ready, so I’ll see you again before you go on your mission.” Orange stood up and blinked out.
“Do they all think my plan is crazy?” Mark asked his AI.
“It’s possible. They don’t know the true nature of your protection or about your hidden weapon.”
“I’m beginning to wonder if this is such a
good idea. Have you calculated the probability of success?”
“Yes Mark. I have calculated you have an eighty-two point eight five three percent chance of success.”
“What! But I can’t be hurt with the phase shift protection!”
“You can’t, but it doesn’t guarantee that you will be successful in your objective of killing Tk'ng Dach Rrn. There are too many variables.”
“But if he escapes the whole thing will be a waste of effort. Not just mine, because even if his headquarters planet is wiped out, he’ll just set up somewhere else.”
“That’s correct.”
“Can you hack into their communications systems?”
“Yes, easily.”
“And decrypt them?”
“Of course.”
“And can you use their communications systems to get into their command and control?”
“Yes.”
“And all of this without them noticing?”
“Yes.”
“So, why haven’t you told me you could do all this before?”
“You didn’t ask me before.”
Mark mentally sighed. It seemed unlikely he would get his AI to think like a human. He would have to try to think like his AI. “OK, can you take control of their command and control and their AI systems? Make changes and issue commands without them noticing?”
“Yes, I could, but why would I?”
“You’re not really programmed for subterfuge and warfare you?” Mark asked his AI.
“No. The People are not a warrior species, so we have no experience to draw on.”
“Mmm. Alan performed quite a warlike act when he did whatever it was he did to Tk'ng Dach Rrn’s fleet at the Gnn’Ath wormhole gateway. Anyway, as Alan said, I am not of the People and I think differently from them. That’s something you will have to get used to, we’re going to be together for a long time. If you penetrate their systems, is there any chance that if the intrusion were noticed they could use that communication channel to inject malicious code into you?”
“You are using primitive terms, but I understand what you mean, and theoretically, there would be a risk, but they are a bit primitive.”
Unwilling From Earth Page 37
