The Ambassador Calls Twice (A Federation Story)

by E J Randolph

Why was I so tired? I did some stretches but they didn’t help. I glanced at my bunk. Maybe more sleep. No, some tea.

  In the commons Shebang sat on John's lap. She leaped off, arched her back and hissed, and made an end run around me, snarling a warning in case I made a lunge for her.

  John looked at Dan, and he looked at Nick.

  “I took a dry shower.”

  John nodded. “That’s alright. Dan and Nick have something in mind.”

  “Right, Kate,” Nick’s voice rang with excitement. “Dan was saying all your numbers were in the normal range, but wrong for you, almost like they were from a different person. He asked me if we could devise a new scan and look to see if there’s another person in there with you.”

  I looked at myself, held out both arms and checked them. “Looks like me.”

  Dan’s gaze softened. “We’re looking for an implant in your nervous system.”

  My eyes widened. “Like in the movie The White Glop?”

  “What?”

  “In the movie these people ate this white substance they called glop that looked like ice cream but wasn’t, and aliens took over their minds and personalities.”

  “I don’t know the purpose or intent, but we need to take one of Miss A's scans and modify it to look inside you.”

  Nick bounced on his toes. “One of our scans has to be re-calibrated. I’ll do it now.” He left the room.

  Maybe some tea would make me feel better. I stumbled to the food fabricator and punched in a green tea with honey. That should make my stomach feel better. I took a sip and spit it out. “Yuk! This tastes horrible.” I sniffed the cup. The tea smelled alright, but I no longer wanted it. I dumped the cup in the recycler and glanced at Dan. “All those wrong numbers, are they why I feel sick?”

  “Probably.”

  “What they did... I felt violated. I could say, hey, it was just emotions. But, they were my emotions. They were private.”

  He nodded. “It has to do with our sense of identity. Emotions are crucial in defining who we are. On the one hand, we can’t let emotions rule our lives, yet, if we’re not connected to our desires, we have no reason to do anything. Researchers find that when a person's neural connections to emotions are disconnected, that person has no drive to do anything, like emotions are the engine and the mind the transmission.”

  “Maybe that’s how I feel. No drive. I thought I was tired because I don't feel like doing a thing. I feel so passive.”

  Dan and John exchanged looks, and Dan stood. “I’ll help Nick.”

  The intercom buzzed. “A vehicle has drawn up alongside.”

  “Visuals.”

  General Trond stepped out of the passenger seat of a military utility vehicle.

  I gasped. “That’s General Trond. What’s he doing here?”

  John’s lips drew tight. “I’m sure we’ll find out. Open main hatches, Miss A.” He left the commons and returned with General Trond.

  I stood. “Hello General. Good to see you again.”

  “This is not a social call.” He removed his gloves and slapped them on the counter.

  John waved toward a chair. “Have a seat. I’ll get you something to drink, then we’ll talk.”

  The general harrumphed. “I don't have the time to be sociable.” He sat, looking stiff and uncomfortable in his tight uniform.

  John stood at the food fabricator. “Tea? Or, something stronger?”

  “Tea.”

  John brought him a cup. “What can we do for you?”

  General Trond gave him a direct, commanding glare. “You’re part of the Navy, right?” He used his parade ground bellow.

  “Right.”

  “As the military representative of Bellasport, I call on you under the Emergency Clause of the Organic Act to take action against the aliens.”

  “This ship is not capable of taking on three major combatants.”

  “We need the Federation Navy to take care of the aliens, and you’re the only member of that service currently on this planet. How you accomplish the mission is your concern.”

  “I agree the Navy is the only force capable of taking on the alien force. I understand it’s on its way.” John kept his voice neutral.

  “Central has decided otherwise.”

  “What?”

  “Talk to your ambassador. That’s what he says.”

  John gave me a sharp look and nodded.

  I called Mosely, using his direct number that Nick had found.

  “Mosley here.”

  “Kate. We’ve got General Trond here. He says the Federation Navy is not coming. Is that true?”

  Mosley sighed. “Yes, the peace faction is in the ascendancy in the Grand Council. They say we need to handle this first contact with care. We need to cooperate with their scientific experiments. They say there’s no need for violence.”

  “That defies all rationality.”

  “I agree, but there’s nothing we can do from here.”

  “What are we to tell the general? He’s here and has just ordered us to defend Bellasport under the Emergency Clause.”

  “You must not. That would countermand the express policy of the Grand Council.”

  “Is this their final position?”

  “Yes… for now.”

  I commo'd out and sat for a few seconds. John and I stared at General Trond.

  His face collapsed. “I can’t defend the planet. You must help me.”

  John nodded. “We’ll do whatever we can. But we can’t attack. That would be pure suicide and might make matters worse for Bellasport.”

  General Trond sucked in his breath, straightened his shoulders, and strode out of Miss A.

  John stared at the deck. “I understand how he feels. It’s pure hell to be responsible and not be able to do a thing. I’ve been there. I’ll help him if I can think of anything.” He shook himself. “Why don't you come with me to see how the guys are getting along with that scabbed-together scanner?”

  We went to the tech lab. Nick pressed a button on his intercom link to Dan standing outside. He entered some numbers. “Alright. I think we have it. Come in and see for yourself.”

  Dan charged in. “Screen up, Miss A.” A large screen lit up displaying all of his internal organs. “Next.” His nervous system and brain became visible. “That’s outstanding! It’ll work” He turned to me. “Follow me outside.”

  We walked to the bottom of the gangway, and he pointed to a circle he’d drawn on the tarmac. “Stand in the center of this.”

  I aligned my feet in the center of the circle.

  The outside speaker turned on. “I took Miss A's terra wave threat scanner and plugged in the different parameters Dan gave me.” Nick’s high tenor sounded excited. “I tweaked the settings on him, so I think they’ll work on you. Anyway, it won’t hurt. Stand still.”

  I clasped my arms close to my body and squeezed my eyes closed. “I’m ready.” The hair on the back of my neck stood up. Oh no! What was happening?

  Everything went black.

  I came to lying on the treatment table in the medical lab. “What happened?”

  Dan's face leaned over me. “You’re back with us.” He smiled, but that didn’t erase the small furrow between his eyes. “You know me?”

  “Of course. You’re Dan.”

  He helped me sit. John crowded in next to him, and Ricardo and Nick stood outside the hatch.

  Dan pointed to a screen. “Look at that. We color coded what we found.”

  I gasped. A green, multi-armed organism nestled on top of my brain stem, thrusting tentacles forward into my brain. The skin on the back of my neck prickled. I covered my mouth and rocked. “No, no, no.”

  Dan put on his best bedside manner. “I wanted you to see what we have here. John has called General Trond. He’s making all the necessary arrangements at the local hospital to take care of you. We’re taking you there as soon as you can travel.”

  “Can they fix me?” My voice sounded like a scared, littl
e girl.

  “They have a monoclonal antibody lab with all the facilities to whip up some antibodies to attack the parasite.”

  I studied the screen. “What’s that green thing doing?”

  “Taking over your perceptions. It’s gotten to your taste buds.”

  “Is that why my tea tasted so bad?”

  “Yeah. It hasn’t reached your visual cortex or your auditory center – yet. But, it’s growing.”

  “Do you mean it’s alive?” I dry heaved. “Is that thing the reason I collapsed?”

  “We think so. It detected your reaction to being scanned and shut down. Some kind of defensive mechanism, I suppose.”

  I shuddered.

  John’s lips tightened. “Once that thing reaches your auditory center and visual cortex, they’ll have a spy right in our midst.”

  My eyes widened, and I hopped off the table. “Get me to the hospital. I won’t betray my friends.”

  Outside, a military vehicle and driver waited. Ricardo volunteered to stand watch and stood to one side of the vehicle. “Keep me informed.”

  The driver sped through traffic, but not nearly fast enough for me. Every second that thing was digging farther into my brain. Could they get it out before I was no longer me? I turned to John. “If I don't make it, will you tell Really Big I quit.”

  “Don't worry. They’ll get that thing out of you at the hospital.”

  “I want him to know I don't think my career is worth this.”

  He gave me a level look.

  “I’m serious.”

  He nodded.

  “Thank you.”

  ~ ~ ~

  At the hospital, the general waited outside the front doors. “I’ve seen the scans. I have everything set up and ready to go.” He walked into the hospital with all the pomp and authority of a top military officer on a large and prosperous planet.

  Several physicians and nurses waited for me. They put me on a table, wheeled it into a laboratory, and took samples from several locations on my body. A large screen on the wall displayed my insides.

  They took a small snippet from one of the parasite's tendrils. The tendril recoiled. Pain flooded my mind and I screamed. A robonurse glided toward me and pointed a needle gun at me. Within seconds I no longer felt pain.

  One of the white-coated men took a step back. “That thing feels pain.” He had awe in his voice. “Never seen anything like it.”

  “Whadze happening?” If only I could sit up and demand action.

  The white-coated woman closest to me patted me on the arm. “Those monoclonal antibodies are growing right now. In forty-five minutes we’ll inject them back in your body. They’ll get right to work getting rid of that thing.”

  I groaned. Nausea roiled my stomach. I was going to die. Couldn’t these people see that? I was an abandoned house and a winter storm was blowing through my shattered windows.

  Fifteen minutes later a green tendril stretched toward my visual cortex. I opened my mouth but nothing came out. I couldn’t get away. This alien thing was inside me. Could I survive thirty minutes until the monoclonal antibodies could be injected?

  Two men in white coats stood below the screen and stared at the image. One pointed. “Most interesting. I wonder if we can save any of it. An artificial parasite could be used to control as well as to monitor.” He spoke with clinical detachment.

  I frowned. Something was odd about what he said. I tried to concentrate. What did he say? The pain medicine flooded my body, and I floated in a pleasant, warm sea disconnected from all bodily sensations.

  “This would intrigue Warpig.”

  Warpig? I must have heard it wrong. I giggled.

  The taller of the two walked over. “You alright?”

  “Yes, fine. Glad to be taking care of things. The pain drug I think.”

  “We quite understand.” He returned to the shorter, squatter man. “Let’s go. We've got something to do.”

  “Right now?” The second man’s voice rose in pitch.

  “Of course.”

  The second man glanced at me. He clasped his hand over his mouth and his eyes widened. He followed the first man out.

  It was hard to keep my eyes open. Surely, I must watch the screen. What if I didn’t pay attention? Would that tiny green filament reach my visual cortex? My eyelids grew heavy and I fell asleep.

  Several hours later I woke in a private room. An array of sensors perched above me. John, Dan, and Nick sat around a table and stared at a screen. They were here, they cared. Warmth enveloped my body. Maybe I should say something. No, I was too tired.

  John pointed at the screen. “Three to one, that top tendril will get eaten in fifteen minutes.”

  Nick dropped coins on the table. “You’re on. I’ve been timing how fast those suckers work, and I say it’ll take twenty minutes.”

  I raised my head. Various sized piles of coins sat in front of each guy. I flopped down and fell asleep.

  Nick yelled. I woke and lifted my head. He raised his arms in a victory salute. “Yay! I won. Look! Look! It’s gone. Hey, John, pay up.”

  John smiled. “Be glad to.” He deposited a couple coins in front of Nick.

  Nick’s pile was the highest, John's nearly nonexistent.

  John placed both hands on the table. “I have to get more local currency or I’m out of the game.”

  Nick grabbed some coins from his pile and poured them in front of John. “You’re back in the game. These coins are essentially worthless. It’s something like one thousand coins for one standard dollar. We can play forever and neither make nor lose any real money.”

  I was too tired to keep my head up, and I let it flop down. My mouth felt gummy. I opened it and tried to talk, but all that came out was an incomprehensible sound.

  The guys rushed to my hospital bed.

  Dan patted my arm. “How are you feeling?”

  Nick grinned. “The monoclonal antibodies are working. I’ve timed them. They destroy a cell every ten seconds. We’re watching them work.”

  I waggled my right index finger at them. “You’re gambling on how fast they’re working.”

  Dan ducked his head. “We were just passing the time, and, well, one thing led to another.”

  Nick grinned with smug triumph. “It allowed me to prove I was right on how fast the procedure was working. It proves it pays to be right.”

  John glared at him. “A little insensitive aren't we?”

  Nick drew back.

  “Guys, it’s alright.” My voice was weak. “I’m glad you’re here. You said it’s working. I can’t see the screen.”

  Dan smiled. “That’s right. You’re the patient.”

  “I have no rights?”

  He laughed and swung the screen so I could see.

  All that was left of the parasite were tiny fragments. “Oh, wonderful.” I closed my eyes and fell asleep again.

  Hours later I woke. It was dark outside and a dim light illuminated the room. I was alone. I tried to sit but got dizzy. Loud voices erupted in the hall, and the door opened.

  “Make no mistake.” The voice was as cold and deadly as a shark moving in still water. “We will be back. I’ll have the necessary authorization to override you.”

  John filled the doorway. “We’ll see about that.”

  The guys filed back in the room.

  Dan paced. “What will we do?”

  John slumped into a chair. “Don't know. Let me think. If only we could move her.”

  “Yeah.”

  I lifted my head. “What’s going on?”

  John's head snapped up. “Are you awake?”

  I gave a short, weak laugh. “Unless I’ve learned to talk in my sleep. Yes, I’m awake.”

  Dan leaned over me. “How do you feel?”

  “Much better, but still weak.”

  He turned to John. “What do you think? According to the scan there’s no trace of the alien parasite left in her body.”

  “I would feel more comf
ortable having it confirmed.”

  “That shouldn’t be a problem. Get General Trond to demand an update.”

  John opened his wrist computer and called the general. “We need a readout on Kate's condition pronto. We must move her back to our spaceship. Warpig wants to take over her care, and I don't trust those slimy, black operators.”

  “You’re absolutely right. Keep those black ops types away from your troops. I’ll request a scan right away.”

  In a few minutes three white-coated hospital personnel wheeled in a table. They trundled me onto it and took me to the main lab. I was poked, probed, shot up, and scanned. They returned me to my hospital room and slid me onto my bed.

  The guys watched Nick slouched in his chair staring at his wrist computer. A few minutes later he grinned. “Got the report. She’s clean.”

  John commo’d General Trond. “We need transport now.”

  “It’ll be there.”

  John stood. “We’re moving her. Get her clothes.”

  Dan brought me my clothes from the closet. “Can you dress without help?”

  “I think so.”

  “Fine, do it.”

  He handed me my clothes, and the guys turned their backs.

  I was still befuddled and a little clumsy, and it took me a few minutes to get everything on. “I’m ready.”

  Dan and John grabbed my arms, and Nick peeked out the door. “Coast is clear.”

  We walked into the gleaming white, brightly lit, hospital hall. Nick walked ahead, looking down side halls, and John and Dan half carried me. They shot several glances over their shoulders.

  We passed a number of hospital personnel, but no one gave us a second glance.

  I stumbled. In an instant, John and Dan swept me up a couple inches above the floor. As though of one mind, they lengthened their stride, and we flew down the corridors. They stopped and put me down at the door to the lobby.

  John looked at me. “Do you think you can walk a few meters by yourself?”

  I took a deep breath. “Yes, as long as I can take my time.”

  John put his arm around my waist and leaned his head toward mine. “Just lean on me. We’ll act like lovers.”

  I rested my head on his shoulder.

  “There, there, honey. The kids will be glad to see you.”

  I shot a quick glance at him. Wasn’t that going a little too far?