"I'm glad I didn't live in those days," Admiral Plimley said, "especially that period when the advertisers got into it and began broadcasting cleverly disguised sales messages, like the way advertisers embraced subliminal messages back in the early nineteen fifties. Some people said it was the same thing but vocal instead of visual, while others said that it was more like hypnosis because you couldn't consciously hear the messages being input into your brain. I hope that's the closest we ever come to anything like that again. What's wrong with individuality?"
"Some people are just so weak-willed or weak-minded that they need someone to tell them what to do, and they usually turn to people in authority for direction. The people who can profit from exploiting that behavior are always ready to take charge— and then take everything else they can get."
"So what are we going to do about that vast knowledge base you have locked up?"
"Let Sywasock meet with them individually and tell them what we need. If they agree to cooperate, we'll allow them to begin training our people in scientific areas where they might be more advanced. But let's do it in rooms where electronic messages can't be sent or received. And let's keep them all separated for now. Only allow them to have contact with Sywasock. And make sure we're monitoring him electronically when he meets with others."
"Okay, Jen, I'll begin working on that right away."
~ ~ ~
When the Koshi arrived at the RP, Christa was working in her office and she immediately established a conference call with the other three SD captains via laser com.
"Congratulations, Lori. I understand you found us a major battle group."
"Aye, Christa. We've located four of our missing motherships. But there are no warships in evidence."
"Have you sent a 16 in to get images of the interior of the motherships?"
"Not yet. I didn't want to spook them in case they can sense the penetration. Now that you're here, I'll do that."
"Okay. Let's get prepared. Once we have the images, we attack. There are four of them and four of us, so you each take one, and I'll take one."
"Here's the flyby shot," Lori said as it appeared on the monitor. "I've labeled the ships with the numbers one through four. Jen, since you arrived last, why don't you take number four. The Seeker was here first, so we'll take number one. Burl, you arrived second so take number two, and Walter can take number three. If anybody would prefer a different ship, speak up. I'll trade position one with anybody who wants it."
"I'm fine with two," Commander Kalborne said.
"Number three is fine with me," Commander Fareman said.
"And the Koshi is fine with number four," Christa said. "Now all we need are those interior shots so we can estimate the number of warships we'll be destroying at this battle before we turn them to scrap."
~
Forty minutes later, the CPS-16 sent to take the interior shots returned to the RP.
"The ships are empty," the lieutenant in command reported.
"Empty?" the four commanders seemed to echo at once.
"Aye, nothing shows up on the interior shots."
"Are you sure you had the neutrino measurement device active?" Christa asked.
"Yes, ma'am, Captain Carver. We verified that twice after seeing the images. Then we made a second pass through all of the motherships just to be sure. They're totally empty, ma'am."
Christa sat back in her chair and thought for a second before saying, "Did you see any sign of life?"
"No ma'am. Nothing was stirring at all."
"Is the entrance way open or closed?"
"Wide open, ma'am."
"Thank you, Lieutenant," Lori said. "Stand by while we discuss this."
"Yes, ma'am. We'll be standing by."
After the lieutenant(jg) had signed off, Commander Ashraf said, "Well, this is one for the books. Thousands of warships have left the protection of their mothership."
"Maybe they decided the mothership wasn't offering very much protection," Commander Kalborne said. "It sure didn't help the other warships when we caught up with them."
"Some of the ones we destroyed must have gotten messages off first so the ones here decided to take their chances on their own," Fareman said.
"Possibly," Christa said. "I wonder how many of them have Dakinium sheathing."
"No more than half, if their progress was similar to that of the other motherships," Lori said.
"Where would they go?" Commander Fareman asked.
"Anywhere but here," Commander Kalborne said.
"Before we go running off to search for warships, we have to conduct a search of the motherships," Christa said.
"Are you kidding, Commander?" Kalborne said. "Searching each of those ships would be like searching a major, occupied city on any planet. It could take months to search all four."
"We don't have to search every broom closet. We'll just let some shuttles cruise around the center where the warships would have been and take some energy readings to see if anything appears to be out of the norm."
"Okay," Commander Ashraf said. "I'll send a dozen shuttles into number one."
"I'll send a dozen into number three," Command Fareman.
"I'll send a dozen into number two," Kalborne said.
"And I'll send a dozen into number four. Let's get this over with so we can go look for those missing two thousand or so warships."
~
The searches turned up nothing. There was no indication of an energy signature or any sign that anyone had been inside any of the motherships recently.
"Commander," Commander Fareman said to Christa during a conference call following the search effort, "shouldn't we drop ordnance inside these behemoths to prevent them from ever being used again?"
"Yes," Commander Kalborne said, "We should make sure the Denubbewa don't return with expectation of moving in again."
"No, I want to leave them intact."
"Why?" Commander Ashraf asked. "Do you have a plan for them?"
"More like an expanding idea than a plan. I'm not ready to elucidate further just yet. Let's just make sure nothing happens to them yet."
Before leaving to search for the warships, each of the SD commanders assigned one of their 16s to remain behind and watch the motherships in case someone returned or some scavenger decided he'd like to trade up to a slightly bigger ship.
* * *
Chapter Twenty-Two
~ October 2nd, 2291 ~
"It's finally arrived, Adam," Aliana Shanara said excitedly to the Jumaka she'd purchased to be her personal bodyguard and companion as she entered her apartment. The seller had never named him, so she'd decided to call him Adam.
"You wouldn't believe what I've had to go through to get this. It's a proprietary design made for a special and powerful customer, and it includes a translation chip that you can't buy for love nor money. Fortunately, fear and intimidation always win out over love and money."
Adam sat on the carpeted floor, looking on passively as Aliana opened the package. "My contact at the company had to steal this from the R&D lab with the help of an associate in that section so it cost a small fortune, but it should be worth it to both you and me."
With the package finally unwrapped, Aliana opened the box and looked at the collar. "It's attractive," she said. "I might get something similar made for myself so we look like a matched set."
Bending down, she motioned to Adam to come a little closer so she could put it on him. She fastened it loosely about his neck, positioning it so the microphone was over his larynx, then tightened it just enough that it wouldn't slide around. When she was done, she stepped back a couple of feet.
"There. Give it a try. Say something."
Adam made a soft growling sound but nothing came from the collar.
"I didn't hear a thing except your normal growl. I guess there must be a special way to activate it. Perhaps you have to give it a command or something. Let's watch a replay of that video where two Jumakas are talking at the Admira
lty Board session. But first I want to change into something a bit more comfortable and then we can relax and see what they do to activate the collar."
~ ~ ~
"We've found the final three motherships that were part of the original fleet," Commander Lori Ashraf said when the conference call among all four CPS-16 squadron commanders had been established. "Rather than immediately summoning the combined might of this group, I approved some flyovers. When we saw no evidence of Denubbewa presence, I authorized a closer investigation with fly-throughs. When we saw no evidence of warship presence, I sent some shuttles in to investigate. They report there are no warships inside and no indication of life or even any energy signatures. It appears that the Denubbewa just turned the lights off and ran away, just as they apparently did at the last site. What are your orders, Commander? Do we remain here or leave a small presence here and go searching for the warships?"
Due to the distances involved, there was a slight delay when the conversation shifted to a different participant.
"We should leave three CPS-16s at that location and continue searching. The warships may have scattered to the four corners of this sector, but we know they're out there somewhere. That means that eventually we have to confront them, and it might as well be now. I'm going to notify Quesann, but it will be almost two months or more before a reply arrives here. We could all use a break so if you want to stand down for a week or two, establish a distant DeTect system using CPS-16s and relax a little. I've been notified that the Ship Transporters and Quartermaster ships have finally arrived at the first battle site to begin taking on the scrap so it will be many months before the cleanup there and at the second battle site is complete. I've received orders to return to Quesann so we'll be leaving now that we know about the final three motherships. I'm going to reassign my CPS-16s to temporary duty with you three commanders."
"Aren't we all being recalled, Commander?" Commander Kalborne asked.
"I've only received orders for the Koshi to return at this time. You'll receive notification from Quesann when they make a decision regarding your return. In the meantime, if you see any Denubbewa warships, take them down and show them no mercy because those cyborgs sure wouldn't extend any to us."
~ ~ ~
"I've heard there are a lot of people who want to know where they can purchase Jumaka collars," Annette Carver said to her daughter at dinner. Cayla, Tayna, Ruby, and Jake were instantly alert and listening.
"Yes, I'm aware of the interest," Jenetta said. "Some people seem to believe that if they put one of the collars on their pet dog or cat, the pets will be able to talk with them. We've denied it repeatedly and tried to make them understand that if the animal isn't a Jumaka, the collar won't do what they want. But it does no good so I've finally given up and contacted Chamberlain Yaghutol. With the help of our legal people, he's already been working to set up a company to market the collars through stores on Taurentlus-Thur. Now we're also going to be establishing marketing avenues for sales to stores on other planets. The packaging will state in very clear wording that the collars are only for Jumakas and that no returns will be honored if the collar is being purchased for any other species. We've received estimates that there might be as many as ten thousand Jumakas off-world so we want to be able to supply collars for them. I've given instructions to the Chamberlain to send most of the collars we received with the initial shipment to the government of Taurentlus-Thur at no charge to thank them for the courtesies they've extended, such as waiving the export prohibition that allowed Dr. Wilkerson to bring Nicky to us."
"Is there any news regarding your request to have the G.A. Senate declare Jumakas sentient beings?"
"No official news. The bill was sent to the full Senate, but so far it hasn't been presented for a vote."
"What takes so long? All they have to do is say yes or no."
"They're politicians. Some have to find out how their constituents want them to vote, while others have to find out how the big companies want them to vote."
"What do the big companies have to do with it?"
"They frequently have interests in political decisions because changes in the law may affect their corporate profitability. If it does, they get their lobbyists to warn the politicians that if the measure passes, they'll cut off all election support and various other funds they give to those politicians so the politicians vote only the way the big companies want them to vote."
"What? That should be illegal. The only thing that should matter is how the people want them to vote."
"It is illegal, but because the people who get the money are also the ones who make the laws, they build in loopholes so they can accept money in devious ways. That's why they work so hard to reelected, while ignoring everything else. Most politicians are quite wealthy when they retire. That's just the way it is, Momma, and the way it's been for centuries in every society, big and small, that have genuinely free elections."
"It's shameful."
"Yes. The only governments where such abuse isn't so rampant is where politicians have term limits. They're voted in, they do their jobs, and they're gone— with no chance of running for office again. The dishonest ones still manage to fill their pockets as much as possible while they can, but they don't have the years and years necessary to develop the schemes and cronyism that allows them make million credit deals for their own personal benefit."
"Oh, have you heard from Christa?"
"Indirectly. She reports to Brian."
"How come she doesn't vidMail us anymore?"
"She's on a special assignment. All private communications are restricted because they might give away the location of her ship. No one on her ship has been allowed to send messages home for many months. I know she's okay, and she should be back here in about a month and half."
"Oh, good. I was beginning to get concerned."
"She's fine, Momma. And she's doing an excellent job for Space Command and the G.A."
~ ~ ~
"I received a message overnight from Commander Carver," Admiral Holt said to the Admiralty Board meeting in closed session in the A.B. Hall. The aides and clerks were there, but the gallery was, naturally, empty.
"She reports that they have now accounted for all twelve Denubbewa motherships that we believe represented the first wave of a massive invasion fleet. As has previously been reported to this Board, five of the Denubbewa motherships were pretty much destroyed in early fighting. Since their outer hull is Dakinium sheathed, they appear to be intact from the outside, but the inside is definitely a different story. Each of those first five motherships was the recipient of ten of our most powerful weapons. After detonation of a WOLaR bomb, there's usually not much left that's recognizable so I leave it to your imagination to visualize what ten would do in an enclosed area. But we have a slightly different situation where Denubbewa warships with a Dakinium outer hull were inside the motherships. Undoubtedly, everything not protected by Dakinium is just a memory, but there's a good chance cyborg drones inside the warships survived the original attack. Commander Carver ordered bombing runs on the warships inside the motherships, so we're hoping all cyborgs have been killed.
"By now, Commander Carver has received orders to return to Quesann. I sent that order before the latest discovery, but I'm sure she was happy to account for all twelve before being summoned to return. However, we still haven't accounted for an estimated two thousand seven hundred warships that were actually spotted at the first Denubbewa assembly area where they were sheathing all ships with Dakinium. We have no idea where those thousands of ships have gone. They may be on their way out of G.A. space, they may be trying to hide, or they may be headed this way.
"That's all I can offer at this time."
"Thank you, Brian," Jenetta said. "How are we doing with the recovery of damaged Denubbewa vessels?"
"Everything that can be packed into a Ship Transporter, a Quartermaster transport, or a reclamation vessel will be returned to Lorense-Three for recycling. Additional
ly, we've been pre-filling the motherships with as much as we can cram into them. Once we seal the entrance, we'll try to tow the motherships back within an envelope since they're sheathed with Dakinium. We have shuttles standing by to watch for enemy combatants suddenly coming to life. When found, they're terminated on the spot. Although they were once biological beings, they're just killing machines now. We don't have adequate resources for rehabilitating Denubbewa drones. And we were certainly not prepared for the enormity of this task. We haven't even thought about the second battle site yet. I understand that one's going to be twice as bad."
"Thank you for your reports, Brian," Jenetta said.
Addressing the full Board, she said, "We have two priorities: one is to find those missing Denubbewa warships, estimated to be about twenty-seven hundred; and two, we must begin making preparations for a massive invasion by the Denubbewa. We fortunately might have some time before the invasion if everything we've been told by the cyborgs we have in custody is correct. They allege that the Denubbewa warship we have in the enclosed dock at Lorense-Three is the only one capable of establishing a Cosmic Jump Gate opening in G.A. space that's large enough to allow the Denubbewa invasion fleet through. They say the Denubbewa will have to send another scientific team to build a replacement emitter here and that will probably take significant time, if they even have another team capable of building an emitter. The cyborgs we're holding say they don't, but we also know the cyborgs have no control over the dissemination of their knowledge or information so there may be thousands of others that have absorbed the information, even if they're unable to use it at present because of their programming. The actual issue may come down to the fact that few cyborgs are allowed to retain their ability to think and reason. That may be how the cyborgs we have were able to make their escape. It might have been inconceivable to their supervisors that any cyborg would ever try to leave."
Changing of the Guard (A Galaxy Unknown - Book 11) Page 26