“Is Ducket watching now?”
“No,” Marjorie lied.
He looked leaned closer to the screen. “It’s a shame because she should be loyal to her race. She should do what all Ulliam need to do when there is a threat. She should fight every last one of you until you’re out of our system.”
“Is that what you want?” Marjorie asked. “For us to leave?”
“Yes, Captain. You’re influence is unwelcome and it’s done more harm than good for us.”
“How can you say that?” Marjorie asked. “Without us the Ulliam wouldn’t be exploring the stars and other planets.”
“They would have found that knowledge on their own!” Merriam yelled. “You gave them your knowledge to make them your pets.”
Rage boiled inside Marjorie’s gut. “We gave them respect and power.”
“Captain,” Merriam’s voice lowered as he calmed down. “This conversation will go nowhere. When your second fleet arrives I want you to tell them to remove all humans from the planet.”
He shut the communication channel off.
She got the information she needed. Merriam was not only alive but he was a bigger threat than the Gyssyc and he needed to be stopped.
~*~
Ducket stared at the computer screen as the image of Merriam faded. She heard his call, she heard his words and she had to obey.
She stood from her chair. Her breathing was erratic and saliva foamed around her mouth. Her vision blurred as she charged into the metal door shoulder first knocking into the wall on the opposite side of the hallway.
She burst out of the room and grabbed the first human she saw. It was a female who screamed in surprise. Ducket’s strength intensified as her fury increased. Merriam ordered all humans out of the system and she needed to obey.
She lifted the woman over her head and threw her down the hallway. Her head made a sickening thud as it hit the ground; a streak of red followed as she skidded to a halt.
That caused the other humans to move out of her way as she screeched a warrior call and charging forward. No human could keep up with her speed. No human could match her strength. They were easy prey and she got as many of them as she could.
A sharp pain in her back caused her to arch. She turned to see several armed men firing their weak energy beams at her. The Ulliam were tough, no simple beam of energy could break through their battle-evolved skin.
She charged again, arms flaying in the air, throat sore from the howling. Another beam struck her in the chest and she staggered. Blood poured out of her gut. That only made her angrier and she continued the charge unabated by the pain. Another beam struck her and she fell over. Crawling toward the men she tried yelling but found no air in her lungs. It was over and before the darkness overtook her she wondered why she had attacked them in the first place.
~*~
Kel wrapped his arms around Fran as they both looked down at Ducket’s body. She lay on a medical table with a white blanket covering the wounds. Some of her red blood soaked through the sheets. Fran shook her head in disbelief. Kel pulled her closer to comfort her. “I don’t believe it,” Fran said. “She was so timid.”
“She was probably a spy,” Kel said. “Or some sort of assassin.”
“That doesn’t make any sense!” Fran pulled away from Kel and turned to face him. “She wasn’t like that.”
“How well did you know her? How could you really know what was going through her mind?”
“Kel, you weren’t in that shuttle with me. If she were a spy why would she help me figure out Merriam was still alive?”
“I don’t know.” Kel replied, his eyes trying to show compassion. “She killed one of the crew and wounded five others.”
“Listen to me Kel,” Fran said looking at him with fierce determination. “That wasn’t the Ducket I knew.”
“Okay,” Kel replied. “What do you think happened?”
Fran shook her head. “I don’t know but I’m going to find out.”
Chapter Twenty-three
Captain Cook sat in her command chair looking over the reports from the past two days. There was no response from Ulliam to her news. Ducket had been killed. There was no response to the constant requests to speak to Merriam again and there was nothing new from the Gyssyc ship. Even though all was quiet, she felt the tension in her back and her neck. She didn’t sleep well and thoughts of what was going to happen next danced in her mind until she fell into a restless slumber. There were too many choices out of her control, too many things she needed more information on, too many ways this could end up in an all out war.
“Captain,” her communications officer said. “Chief McFeren is calling us.”
“Let me see,” Marjorie replied and looked at her screen. The chief’s face appeared. “What is it Chief?”
“Captain, we have the computer core from the Milgard and we’re on our way back. We should be there in a few hours.”
“Good work. I want you to make a copy of whatever is on that computer and store it somewhere safe. I’m looking forward to seeing the result.”
“Yes, sir.” He turned the communication off.
Kel walked onto the bridge, saluted, and sat at his station. She noticed his mood slowly improving and she did her best to keep him busy. The harder he worked the less he thought about his sister. “Commander, give me a report on your investigation of Ducket’s attack.”
He looked up at her. “There is still no apparent motive. The autopsy didn’t show anything out of the ordinary. Doctor Mercury is looking into other options.”
“What other options?” Captain Cook asked.
“She seems to think it might have been some sort of mind control or hypnotic command Merriam gave when we talked to him.”
“Are there records of Ulliam even being able to receive hypnotic commands?”
“I don’t know. She’s doing all the research.”
“Take the bridge. I want to talk to Fran about her ideas. Have Professor Ricter and her meet in my office.”
Marjorie walked off the bridge and into her elevator. She needed to keep her mind busy as well and maybe helping Fran work out what might have happened to Ducket would do the trick.
She walked into her office just in time to see Professor Ricter rip a computer out of Fran’s hands. “Your results are ludicrous,” he said in a tone Marjorie never heard from him before.
Fran snagged the computer back angrily. “Just because you don’t agree doesn’t mean they’re not right.”
“What’s going on?” Marjorie asked.
“Captain,” the Professor said, “I believe Doctor Mercury is going to lead you down a path of foolishness.”
“If you would let me explain,” Fran seethed as she opened her computer.
“Professor, please sit down and let her talk.”
He glared at Captain Cook, then at Fran and quietly took his seat. “Thank you,” Marjorie said, “Doctor, continue.”
Fran looked over at Professor Ricter as if expecting him to interrupt again. He didn’t reply and instead simply stared at her. She looked away and toward the Captain. “I couldn’t believe Ducket went crazy on her own and I couldn’t see how she could have been a spy or a saboteur so I did some research. My first thought was wrong; the Ulliam mind isn’t complex enough to be hypnotized or to have subliminal messages implanted in them.” Fran paused and let that information sink in. “I got to thinking about instinctive behavior, things that are inbred into animals and people from birth. The dog that knows how to herd sheep. The ant that knows how to build a tunnel. The bee that knows how to communicate by dancing in the hive. I wondered: what if the Ulliam were programmed that way as well?”
“That’s ridiculous,” Ricter said. “They might not be as intelligent as us but they are still intelligent beings.”
“Let her finish,” Captain Cook commanded.
“Well,” Fran cleared her throat. “We know the Ulliam were engineered by the Gyssyc. Wouldn’t it make sense
to put a marker in their genes to always be obedient?”
“But they still rebelled,” Marjorie said.
“And their leader was a half Ulliam, half Gyssyc hybrid,” Fran replied. “I believe Merriam’s genetic makeup allows him to control the Ulliam to do anything he tells them.”
“Do you have any evidence?” Marjorie asked.
“Nothing I’d like to write a paper about. I’m basing my theory on what I’ve observed. I’ve been studying the Ulliam DNA to see if something jumps out at me, so far nothing has.”
“Thank you, Doctor. Professor, what do you think?”
Professor Ricter stood from his chair and paced behind it. “Bees? Ants? Dogs? This is your evidence? What Doctor Mercury is missing is the fact those animals are not intelligent and are acting on instinct. Me, you, the Ulliam, we are intelligent and as such have control over our thoughts and destiny.” He placed his hands on the back of his chair and glared at Marjorie. “Captain Cook, what Doctor Mercury is suggesting is this: any intelligent being, with the proper genetic manipulation, can become a slave.”
“That is not what I’m saying!” Fran shouted. “You’re taking my word and twisting them around because you don’t understand them.”
“Calm down!” Captain Cook yelled. “I will not have you two tear each other apart in my office. Doctor Mercury, let the Professor finish.”
Professor Ricter continued. “I apologize, Captain. I’m not normally this angry at a theory. Perhaps I’m just afraid it might be true.”
Fran looked up at him; Marjorie raised an eyebrow. “Why?” She asked.
Professor Ricter sat back into his seat. “It’s a scary thought, isn’t it? That some race could, with enough engineering, take us over without even firing a shot.”
Marjorie folded her hands across the desk. After some thought she replied, “It’s almost as scary as when we discovered Strangelets. I’m sure Goldman wondered if his theory would become real and, if so, would it be used for good or evil.”
“I’m not sure it’s the same thing,” Ricter said. “What good could come out this knowledge?”
They all sat in silence lost in thought until Marjorie’s com beeped urgently. Kel’s face appeared on the screen, “Captain. There’s a shuttle from Ulliam heading toward us. It’s being chased by several fighters and is in pretty bad shape.”
“We’ll continue this later,” Marjorie said. “Kel, it might be a defector. Do all you can to protect it. I’m on my way.” She rushed out of the room and into the elevator.
Moments later she walked onto the bridge, Kel stood from the captain’s chair and climbed down to his own station. “We’ve managed to shot three fighters down but they’re coming in waves now.”
Marjorie sat in her chair and looked at a monitor. She saw the Ulliam shuttle, thick black smoke trailed behind. “They need help badly. Is the Chief’s shuttle close enough to help?”
Kel glanced at one of his screens. “Chief McFeren, where are you?”
“Close enough to see the fireworks,” He replied. “Which makes me close enough to help.”
“Good,” Marjorie said. “Do what you can to get the occupant of that shuttle off. We’ll cover you as best we can.”
“Captain,” the communication officer said, “the shuttle is trying to contact us. I think they’re close enough where the interference won’t be too bad. I’ll try to boost the signal.”
“Put them through,” Captain Cook watched as a fuzzy, badly broken up image appeared. It was an Ulliam; the cabin he was in filled with white smoke.
“My name is Lysis; I am the scientific director of Ulliam.”
“We’re reading you Lysis; we’re going to do our best to rescue you.”
“That might not be possible, I’m transmitting some data,” he pressed several buttons on his consol. “Have your people look it over. Merriam must be stopped.”
“Did we get the data?” Captain Cook asked her communication officer.
“Yes, it’s garbled but I think we got it all.”
Captain Cook looked back at the screen. “We got it. Now hold on.”
“Thank you, Captain,” Lysis replied. “I can’t hold on much longer, please hurry.”
Gunfire from the Arwen disintegrated the fighters as they pursued the crippled shuttle. Marjorie tried not think of the Ulliam pilots she was killing. Normally, killing a threat never bothered her because she knew they were her enemy. It would take time before the idea of the Ulliam being her enemy would sink in.
The Chief’s shuttle glowed white hot as it interacted with the atmosphere. The Arwen continued to provide cover as the chief maneuvered next to the Ulliam shuttle. It extended its shield to cover both ships. The glow from the shield obscured anything that was going on inside the bubble.
Fighters tumbled out of control as the Arwen blasted them with her energy beams. She counted at least 15 fighters destroyed.
“We have him,” McFeren said. “On our way back.”
“Nice job Chief,” Captain Cook said. “We’ll continue to provide cover fire. I’ll meet you at the hanger.” She turned him off and looked over at Kel. “Commander, you have the bridge.”
Excited at the prospect to talk to the head of the sciences she jumped off her chair and briskly walked onto the elevator. The ride to the hanger seemed to take forever. She thought about alerting Professor Ricter and Fran but decided against it. She wanted to talk to Lysis alone first.
When she arrived the shuttle had landed. She waited a few moments before approaching. The door opened and Chief McFeren walked out and then saluted. “You need to talk to this Ulliam. He started yammering at me the moment he saw me. I think he has a lot to say.”
“Thank you, Chief. How did the copying of the computer core go?”
He held up a disk, “Pretty good. We still have the physical core inside the shuttle. I’ll have some of my men take it out. Where do you want this?”
She took it out of his hands and placed it into her pocket. “I’ll take it. I think Engineering missed you so I’ll let you go.”
He saluted and followed his crew out of the hanger.
Marjorie walked up the ramp and into the shuttle. In the very middle of the cargo hold was a bank of computers and screens. Standing next to them, waiting for her to speak first, was Lysis. “I’m Captain Marjorie Cook.”
“I am Lysis, head of the sciences,” he shrugged his hello, and then bowed. “I have some very important news I need to share.”
“Come with me.”
They walked off the shuttle and into the elevator. “I’m not sure if I need to ask,” Lysis said, “But I am requesting amnesty until this crisis is over.”
“It will be granted. At least until the fleet arrives then I won’t have much say into how permanent it will be.”
“There is a fleet coming?”
“Yes, they should be here any time now.”
“Will it be Ulliam and Corps?”
She hesitated to answer. Did she want him to know what the Gyssyc had showed her? No, she thought, I don’t know enough about him to give him that much information until I can trust him. “I can’t answer that right now.”
“I know about your visit to the Gyssyc ship,” he said. “Merriam knows about it as well and it was driving him slowly insane wondering what you discovered over there. I don’t expect you to tell me anything. I do want to tell you that not all Ulliam want what he wants yet we cannot disobey his orders.”
Maybe Fran was right, Marjorie thought. “We have a scientist here who believes you are being controlled on an instinctive level by Merriam.”
The elevator door opened and the two walked out and into the hallway heading toward Marjorie’s office. “That’s extraordinary,” he said. “We don’t just suspect it; we know it to be true. That is the information I need you to see. Proof that Merriam is controlling us and we can’t do anything to stop it. I came here to ask for your help in killing Merriam before it’s too late.”
They walk
ed into Marjorie’s office; she offered the seat in front of her desk and then sat behind it. “The Corps has never officially sanctioned assassination.”
“What about unofficially?” Lysis asked.
“That’s a different story,” She pressed a button on her desk and made call to Kel to meet her in her office. “I can’t authorize it myself but I can’t stop people from thinking about a way to do it.”
“Would the Corps be willing to put any plan in motion?”
“If I can convince them it’ll save lives.”
“I believe my evidence will show that it will.”
The door opened and Kel walked in. “Lysis, this is my second in command, Kel Lipton. Take a seat, Commander.”
Kel shrugged his shoulders and bowed to Lysis, who did the same. Captain Cook asked, “Commander, if you were to want to assassinate Merriam, what would be the best way to do it?”
He hesitated for a moment. Marjorie was sure it wasn’t a question he was expecting. He leaned back in his seat and rubbed his chin. “I’m just thinking out loud here but if we could find a sympathizer and convince them it’s for the best we could have that person do it.”
“If you mean another Ulliam forget it,” Lysis said. “Merriam has too much control. Even if one could get close they won’t be able to do it.”
“He’s probably very well guarded,” Kel said. “So, a direct assault wouldn’t work. We could always just blast his HQ from space.”
“Too much collateral damage,” Marjorie said.
“Then I’ll need more time to come up with something. I need information about his headquarters, his habits and how things work.”
“Okay,” Captain Cook said. “Lysis, you have knowledge of the capital building unlike anything we have, correct?”
He nodded, “Yes.”
“Kel, I want you to take Lysis and come up with a plan.” Kel opened his mouth to say something but she stopped him. “I just want a plan for now. I don’t know if we’ll implement it unless we need to.”
“Thank you, Captain.” Lysis said. “But, I believe I have one more piece of news which may convince you to not be so cautions. He has ordered a team of military specialist to figure out a way for us to use Strangelets to destroy the Gyssyc ship.”
The Arwen Box Set Page 19