by TJ Viola
“I have spent considerable time debating with myself whether I should join Zeiss and his team—I am confident, Zucan, you have had the same thoughts. It would certainly mean the end of our respective civilizations if either one of us has devious intentions. I could easily destroy your only hope for survival and you could be asking me to defeat myself and, by doing so, keep Ammag on the brink of extinction.”
The silence that followed Muglar’s analyses had a disturbing ring of truth, causing each to probe the depths of their own personal motivations and evaluate the motives of the others.
Zucan broke the uncomfortable silence. “Muglar, the Universe is at a crossroads, and we find ourselves in the unenviable position of deciding its future course. Nothing in our lives has prepared us for making such a decision, but decide we must!”
After dinner and much discussion, it was agreed that Muglar would return with Yolan to the biosphere early the next morning.
Zucan’s transporter was preprogrammed to only make one return trip to the biosphere for each reception; therefore, Yolan and Muglar had to travel together. This was a concern since the biosphere transporter would sound an alarm if a different molecular composition returned. The response to such an alarm would be to assume that the Ammagans had detected Yolan’s transmission and were entering the biosphere. If an Ammagan appeared, Titch and Eros would instantly launch a deadly aura projectile.
Yolan and Muglar materialized only a fraction of a second apart, but Muglar’s fate was sealed since he appeared first.
*****
Acting on instinct, Yolan tried to step in front of Muglar, but he pushed her aside just as his body absorbed the full impact of the projectiles that delivered a crushing blow. Muglar instantly collapsed. Yolan went to his aid but she had no way of knowing if he was alive or dead. Zeiss’s reaction was also swift; he was at her side, concerned for her safety.
“Yolan, are you harmed?”
“No, but you must help Muglar. He is our only hope!”
“Muglar! How is this possible?”
Yolan ignored Zeiss and turned to Titch and Eros for help. “Do something! He is here to help us!”
The urgency in her telepathic thought projections was undeniable, so they both converged on Muglar to encase him in their aura fields, which would, under normal circumstances, have a healing effect. At first, Muglar’s body wasn’t absorbing any of their energy. Then suddenly, they were drained of their life forces and broke contact not a moment too soon.
Muglar slowly rose to his full height and deliberately scanned the faces in the transporter room. As he did so, a chill went through each team member as they came face to face with the most notorious killer in the history of the Universe. Muglar, on the other hand, was able to correctly identify the cast of characters before him from the dossiers prepared by his science officer and from the details provided by Zucan. He immediately sensed the fire and brimstone emanating from Titch and the intellectual prowess of Zeiss, both of whom he admired for their respective capabilities. Due to military protocol, he first addressed Zeiss because he was in charge of the biosphere, but then recognized Titch and Eros for saving his life. “Commander Zeiss, it is indeed a pleasure to meet such a distinguished scientist.”
As he spoke these words, he gave Zeiss the traditional greeting for a respected leader: bowing his head, he beat his forearm against his Triagmite breastplate in a sign of the highest respect.
“Sir, before I formally present myself to you and your crew, I wish to express my gratitude to both Titch and Eros.”
Zeiss acknowledged his request, so Muglar turned to Titch and Eros.
“I understand your instinctive impulse to defend your shipmates from any perceived threat and hold no malice toward you for attacking as you did. However, I’m most impressed with your ability to disregard your deepest feelings of fear and loathing based on the few words of a trusted colleague. Such trust and unity are more powerful than any weapon in the Ammagan arsenal. If you didn’t act as swiftly as you did to share your energy core, I would likely be dead. I will repay you both if the opportunity ever presents itself.”
Zeiss could tell Titch was about to return his words of admiration and gratitude with one of her sharp barbs, so he interrupted Muglar before she had a chance to comment.
“Muglar, I surmise unusual circumstances have brought us all together. I suggest you and Yolan accompany me to my meeting quarters, so I can understand the purpose of your unexpected arrival.”
Titch wanted an explanation immediately, but Eros was able to restrain her normally aggressive behavior long enough for Zeiss and company to leave the room. As Zeiss left, he turned and gave Eros a brief look of appreciation, which infuriated Titch even more.
Upon entering his quarters, Zeiss served light refreshments and sat his guests at his video conference table. Muglar at first hesitated to join the others and stood a few feet away.
“Muglar,” Zeiss said, “please join us. You’ve had a difficult experience and I suspect we will be here for a while.”
“I had a similar table in my quarters and it served a dual purpose, so I would like to know if this table is more than it seems.”
“It is a video conferencing table with three-dimensional holographic capabilities. I can assure you, it’s quite harmless.”
Muglar reluctantly joined them, not knowing if he could trust Zeiss, but he was committed to his current course of action and reasoned that until proven otherwise, he would trust Zucan and his people.
Once Muglar was settled, Zeiss turned to Yolan, gently touched her arm, and transmitted his thoughts at a frequency that Muglar’s translator couldn’t receive. “Yolan, I’m glad you decided to return, and I regret any pain I may have caused you.”
Yolan was stunned by Zeiss’s overture, especially at such a critical moment when Muglar was present and expecting a debriefing.
“Zeiss, I also regret my actions; they were unprofessional and jeopardized the lives of all involved. It will not happen again. As to our relationship, I’m looking forward to a more private discussion.”
Zeiss turned his attention to the more practical matter at hand. “Muglar, it is hard for me to imagine the turn of events that would bring you to this biosphere as an ally. However, if indeed you are now our ally, your knowledge will be invaluable.”
“You must understand, Zeiss. I have one objective and one objective only, to save my planet. I believe you are our last hope for survival, and as long as I’m convinced of this, you will have my full cooperation.”
Zeiss turned to Yolan, encouraging her to begin the narrative.
“When I arrived on the surface, you can imagine my surprise when I found myself in a locked chamber that only contained a transporter. This was followed by the shock of finding Zucan and Muglar working together. Zucan anticipated that you would have many questions and concerns, so he prepared a holographic message to help explain the current situation and to review the agreements he reached with Muglar. I believe he calls them terms and conditions for Muglar’s cooperation.”
Zeiss played the hologram and listened in silence as Zucan described the events that took place since his departure to the biosphere. Zeiss’s respect for Muglar grew immensely as he understood the personal risks he had taken and his ability to recognize the potential for Grillion to find the ultimate solution for his people.
They continued to watch in silence as Zucan detailed the agreement he negotiated with Muglar. Zeiss thought the conditions requested by Muglar to solidify his support in helping Earth defeat the Ammagans were reasonable, but not necessarily practical.
-Earthlings would minimize the loss of life at every possible opportunity.
-Muglar’s life wouldn’t be taken under any circumstances during the battle.
-When possible, Danny would inform Muglar about the material that can be found on planet Sorac and how this material could enable all Ammagans to become independent of the radiation grid.
Zeiss agreed to all the t
erms, recognizing that in reality, he and his team had little control over events that occur in the heat of a battle. The only person who could commit to the terms and conditions established by Zucan and Muglar was Danny. He then decided the best course of action was to immediately contact Danny to get his agreement.
He moved the meeting to the control room. Yolan contacted Danny while Muglar received instructions on how to interpret Danny’s mental images as he responded to Yolan.
“Danny, I need to talk to you about a new development.”
Danny had been anxiously waiting to hear from Yolan, since he had been concerned about his inability to contact her. “Yolan, thank God you’re okay. We’ve all been worried.”
Since everyone was watching the monitor, Yolan tried to change the subject, not wanting Zeiss to know the anguish he had caused her.
“I have some exciting news that should ensure Earth is successful in fighting the Ammagans. I’m going to turn the conversation over to Zeiss, who will explain the details.”
It took Danny a while to fully comprehend all that he was told, since the story was so incredible. At the same time, he was trying to relate the critical details to Crystal so they could make any required decisions together. After a barrage of questions and a lengthy discussion, Danny agreed to all of Muglar’s demands, but he also had a requirement of his own.
“My understanding is that Muglar will provide us with vital information that will improve our chances of defeating the Ammagans. Certainly, we will honor his terms to the best of our ability. However, I have a condition for cooperation: after we’ve successfully defeated the invasion, and Muglar has the information about the planet Sorac and the miracle material, I want scientists on Grillion to transfer to Earth the technology necessary to achieve intergalactic space travel.”
Zeiss’s response was immediate.
“Agreed.”
Chapter 36
Muglar’s Test
D anny and Crystal decided to keep Muglar’s existence a secret from everyone except their research team, since explaining the complexity of the situation could potentially destabilize the already tenuous worldwide alliance. They did, however, realize it might be necessary to reveal his presence at a later date if they were unable to gain agreement on a defensive strategy that would minimize damage to the Ammagan fleet of spacecrafts.
The immediate technical issue facing Zeiss was how to have Muglar interact directly with Danny, since he didn’t have telepathic capabilities and was, therefore, unable to use the telepathic-time-travel equipment. One solution was to have an android programmed with Muglar’s memory and personality characteristics, similar to the process used to enable Rolo and Bounce to replace Danny and Crystal. This proposal was accepted by everyone but Muglar, who refused to have his memory core duplicated for fear of providing information, especially military information, to another civilization that could someday be used against his planet—alliances do not last forever. Muglar’s refusal raised concerns about his sincerity. Zeiss, however, understood if he were in a similar situation, he would have the same objection. A compromise was ultimately negotiated, which wasn’t ideal but provided Danny with the information needed.
It was agreed that Yolan would act as translator between Danny and Muglar. Arrangements were made to have Muglar see and hear Danny’s transmissions, and for Yolan to transmit Muglar’s respond to Danny. The communications between Danny and Muglar eventually became seamless, primarily due to Yolan’s exceptional mental and telepathic abilities. Having solved this issue, the next order of business was for Muglar to review Earth’s defense plans and identify how he would use his crafts’ resources to respond to a counterattack. He made it clear that he would launch fighter crafts as soon as he realized his missiles were destroyed, and use his mother crafts to destroy Earth’s major military land bases.
Muglar refused to answer Danny’s next question, which again called into question his sincerity and true motives for cooperating with Zucan.
“Muglar, what I’m asking should be simple enough for you to answer, so I’ll ask again. How did you gather your pre-invasion information about Earth’s inability to defend itself against an alien invasion? To be perfectly honest, I don’t understand why you would be hesitant to provide us with such a critical element needed for our strategic defense plan.”
Muglar wasn’t about to give up this vital information until he was absolutely convinced he had made the correct decision to help Grillion and Earth. He understood how his refusal could be interpreted, so he tried to justify his refusal.
“I suggest you all put yourselves in my position and understand my concerns. By every standard on every planet, in every galaxy, in the entire Universe, I would be branded a traitor of unspeakable dimensions for my current actions. I have taken a great risk, not only for myself, but for my people. Therefore, until I’m convinced beyond any doubt that the purpose of your efforts is to reverse the devastation that has already occurred, devastation I have been responsible for, and that by changing the course of such events my people will survive, then, and only then, will I answer this question.”
Yolan’s ability to relate the depth of emotion that literally rocked Muglar to his core was truly remarkable. The silence that followed her transmission to Danny could be heard over the distance of time and space that separated the tangled web of galactic relationships that were interacting on the stage of Universal survival.
*****
Muglar’s response was unacceptable to Danny since it was vital for success, so he continued to press the issue until Muglar gave him an ultimatum.
“If you continue to insist that I reveal our prewar planning techniques at this stage, then you can consider our arrangement cancelled. However, due to our mutual interests, I recommend we begin working on more urgent defense issues, issues that will take you several more years to resolve. How the Ammagans gathered intelligence is irrelevant at this time, and if you’re half the leader I think you are, you won’t let this disagreement stand in the way of achieving our objectives.”
These last words of Muglar convinced Danny he needed to move onto other topics in order to take advantage of information Muglar was willing to share. He also decided the best way to gain Muglar’s confidence was for him to be totally transparent and provide as much detail about Earth’s planned defenses and the direction of his current research.
“Your progress has been impressive,” Muglar stated. “However, you have a long way to go if you are to have any chance of surviving my attack.”
The irony of his statement and all that was taking place wasn’t lost on Muglar. He was in the future helping a young man prepare to defeat him in a war he had won in the past, in another galaxy. It was almost more than his mind could fully comprehend.
“This Gaser weapon you described,” Muglar continued, “is certainly powerful, but my spacecrafts and fighter crafts have both offensive and defensive systems that were never deployed in 2060, because they weren’t needed.”
Muglar had just hit upon the very issue that was the cause of Danny’s anxiety and keeping him awake at night. Would having an element of surprise and the Gaser be enough to defeat the Ammagans? Fortunately, he now knew the answer and could alter his development plans to effectively respond to Muglar’s weaponry.
“Muglar, can you list the capabilities and technologies we will need to defeat you in priority order? We may not have the time to develop everything, so we need to prioritize our research efforts and count on your ability to outsmart yourself.”
“To be perfectly honest, Danny, the only hope we have is for you to somehow, during the heat of battle, convince me to surrender or voluntarily cease hostilities. The probability of that happening is infinitesimal because I believed I was fighting for the survival of my civilization, and I would have taken any risk, used every weapon at my disposal, and sacrificed everything to defeat Earth.”
“We will find a way! But first, we have more work to accomplish, so let’s start with t
he priorities.”
“You need to protect your spacecrafts and men against our radiation. You need to develop a force field that protects your spacecrafts against photon bombardment and high-energy projectiles. You will also need ground-based defenses because I will attempt to obliterate your main cities while you are engaged in outer space.”
This last revelation wasn’t one Danny had prepared for; he had assumed all the action would take place in space as long as he was on the offensive.
Muglar could see all the thoughts that were streaming through Danny’s mind as he was analyzing the priorities Muglar had just provided. With each passing experience in the biosphere, Muglar was more and more convinced that the Grillions were operating on a higher intellectual plane than his race and, with this growing insight, his conviction that Zeiss’s plan could actually work deepened. The technological capabilities of the Grillions were truly amazing. Real-time thought-time travel was far beyond the realm of imagination for Ammagans, and to be actually seeing the thoughts of another being as they were assimilating new information was almost incomprehensible. As he continued to watch Danny’s innermost thoughts, he decided to move aggressively forward with his cooperation.
It was evident from Danny’s brain images that he was becoming overwhelmed with the many challenges facing him. The technological breakthroughs required, the frail alliances he had formed with Earth’s world leaders, and not knowing how Muglar had gathered his prewar intelligence were combining in Danny’s mind to create a possibly insurmountable obstacle. Muglar interrupted Danny’s thought process in an effort to integrate some simplification into his analysis. Muglar certainly had a lot to learn about the human mind. He didn’t realize that once most aspects of a problem were clearly understood, then and only then would the mind begin to compartmentalize the data and develop potential solutions.
“I know it appears like an impossible task, but the reality is you already have some of the key technologies needed to develop and implement several of the priorities I listed.”