by Saxon Andrew
“What do you mean?”
“Duncan, if your scanners detected every piece of metal floating around in space, they would be overwhelmed with the returns. What’s the size of the smallest metallic object that your scanners will detect and show?”
Duncan lifted his communicator and began speaking, “Admiral Snow, do you have a minute.”
“I’ll make time General Montana. What’s up?”
“Is there a limit to the size of a metallic object our scanners are programed to detect and report?”
“There is. If the scanners reported all of them the displays would be overwhelmed.” Duncan raised his eyebrows and saw Tal raise his shoulders as he listened in. “The objects that are reported must be larger than two-hundred yards. There are thousands of asteroids and meteors floating in open space between Earth and Mar’s orbit.”
“Thank you, Admiral.”
“Is there a problem, General?”
“There is, and I’ll contact you shortly to discuss it.” Duncan ended the contact and turned to Tal. “How would it get to the moon undetected?”
“It would use a gravity drive, Duncan. I’m sure it has normal thrusters to use in the phase field but also has gravity units to pull it toward the moon. Two-hundred-yards is a lot of space to build a ship.”
“So, what do we do about it? There are so many craters to hide in that finding it will be next to impossible.”
‘Take this communicator to Ka and have her develop a means of tracking the frequency it uses to communicate with its contacts on Earth.”
“I can do it.” Duncan and Tal both turned to see Sha standing in the opening to her bedroom wearing a robe. “All that needs to be done is to shut down the transmitter in the device and leave the antennas operational.” Tal was obviously surprised, and Sha raised her hands waist-high, “I told you I know everything my mother knows.”
“But you never went to college to learn electronics.”
“No, I didn’t. But I had every textbook my mother used in school and she taught me how she made all her electronic tools. She is an excellent instructor and I did sit in some advanced classes at the university.”
“How did you get away with that?” Duncan asked.
“You know how large those classes are? It was easy to slip in and watch what was going on,” Sha replied.
“Then do it!” Tal said to her.
“Give me a moment.” Sha went to her room, got dressed, and came back with a pouch filled with tools. She quickly opened the communicator and began making changes to the circuit board. After forty-five minutes, she looked up from the table, “It will now line up with any communication frequency that is used between Earth and the moon or visa-versa.” Sha pressed the red button and the two-antennas on top of the device began turning. After a moment, one was pointed toward the sky and the other one was pointed directly out the door of their quarters. Sha’s eyes showed her surprise, “This communicator operates by line-of-sight and it shouldn’t be picking up any signals in here; there must be a transmitter close by to allow it to be detected in here. Someone on this base is communicating with that ship on the moon.”
Tal looked at Duncan, “It has to be Laramie. Has he been allowed in the lab?”
“No.”
“We need to find him and stop him.” Tal lifted his communicator and contacted Colonel Sato, “Where is Dr. Laramie?”
“He’s outside the lab waiting for clearance to enter. Why do you ask?”
Sha quickly interrupted, “He’s just reported to that ship that he’s been given clearance to enter the lab! However, I’m reasonably sure he’ll wait until this evening to report his findings; the lab has more scanners than any place on the planet; he won’t risk it inside.”
Tal’s eyes narrowed as he thought about how to handle the situation. He quickly asked, “Colonel Sato, has Corporal Allison Ander’s reported to work?”
“No, Sir. She has the week off to get her new quarters set up.”
“I’m sending a Sgt. Simmons to replace her. I’ll need you to meet her at the first gate in an hour and escort her in to Allison’s cubicle.”
“Yes, Sir.”
Tal ended the contact, “What are you planning, Tal?”
Tal ignored Duncan’s question and turned to Sha, “You’re going to have to take down Dr. Laramie. Sha, he is a mimic and is quite dangerous.”
“Why don’t you do it, Tal?” Duncan asked.
“I suspect the moment I show up in the lab, Dr. Laramie will be immediately suspicious and might just start killing every scientist in there.”
“Why would he do that?” Sha asked.
“Removing Dr. Meier would hurt but taking out the scientists working on the projects in the lab would cripple us. You need to get close enough to take him down, Sha, without making him suspicious.”
Sha’s eyes narrowed, as Duncan asked, “Who is Sargent Simmons?”
Tal looked at Sha, Go and get your ID.: Sha went to her bedroom and came back holding an identity card, “Remember the model in the book with the auburn colored hair?” Sha nodded. “Can you match her appearance?”
Sha’s appearance instantly changed, and Duncan jumped back, “I’ll never get used to seeing this done!”
Tal went to the closet and pulled out the printer and camera. Stan against the wall, Sha.” Sha stood in front of a white wall and Tal took an image. He inserted Sha’s ID into the printer and connected the camera, “I’m changing the image on your card to the one I just took. I’m also changing the information on it. You are now Sgt. Simmons.” The Id popped out of the printer and Tal handed it to Sha. Tal looked at them, “Let’s go.”
“Where are we going?” Sha asked.
“Sha, we’re going to the quartermaster and get you sized for a Sargent’s uniform. Once that’s done, you’re going to the lab.”
Fifty-minutes later, they arrived at the first-gate and saw Colonel Sato waiting. He looked at them and his expression gave him away as he leaned in to Tal and whispered, “General, you do work with some real lookers.”
Sha smiled, “Thank you, Colonel.” Sato was embarrassed that she heard his remark.
“Colonel, take her into the lab to Allison’s cubicle, introduce her as a temporary replacement, and explain to her what she’ll be doing while she’s replacing the corporal.” Tal turned to Sha, “You need to come up with a reason to get close to Laramie.”
“Where is he going to be working, Colonel?” Sha asked.
“I haven’t assigned him to a project.”
“Assign him to the force field team,” Sha suggested. “It’s the closest group to Allison’s desk and I’ll yell after an hour or so that I’m out of work. You will then order me to go to the force field team to see if they have anything to be input into the computer.”
Sato nodded, “Sounds like a plan.”
Tal stopped, grabbed Sha’s chin and turned her face to him, and said very deliberately, “Sha, Laramie is not an assassin mimic! He’s Colony Military and is much more dangerous than an assassin. Have the tube in your hand ready to use!”
“He’ll see that, Tal. Let me see what I can do.” Tal rolled his eyes. “Would you see the tube?” Sha asked. Tal sighed and nodded. “I’ll see what I can do,” Sha said and turned to Colonel Sato, “Lead the way.”
“Is there any way we can get a sniper rifle on him?”
“No, Duncan! That lab is the most fortified place on the planet and there’s no possible way to shut down all the alarms to allow one to be brought into the lab. Anyone that enters the lab that doesn’t have a reason for being there could set Laramie off on a killing spree.” He watched Sha go through the first-gate and knew they were committed to the plan.
• • •
Colonel Sato led Sha into the lab and walked with her to Allison’s desk. He looked up and shouted, “May I have your attention for a moment!” Everyone stopped what they were doing, and Colonel Sato smiled, before announcing, “Corporal Anders is on leave for the nex
t week and Sgt. Simmons will be relieving her during her absence. Let’s all welcome her to the project.” Everyone stood and clapped, Sha smiled broadly, and did a little curtsey. Sato shouted, “BACK TO WORK!” He turned to Sha and said quietly, “This stack of paperwork should be input into the system. You can fake it.”
“No, Colonel. Show me what directories the data needs to be input.”
Sato’s eyes narrowed, and he pulled up the directory on the computer. Sha took the first form and began typing. Sato was stunned at the speed she entered the data. He smiled and walked across the lab to his desk.
Laramie stared at Sha and wondered if she was an intelligence officer. He kept his eyes on her and saw several of the scientists go over and say hello. Sha stopped tying and greeted each of them with a dazzling smile. She’d flip her hair off her shoulders and lean toward the men as they talked. She’d touch them on their hands and laugh with them and Laramie had her figured out. She was a gold digger looking to find a rich scientist to pair up with. He saw the speed she was tying and was amazed at what he saw. This woman was talented, and it made sense to use her to replace the corporal. He needed to find and eliminate the corporal, but that would have to come later. She was incredibly beautiful and was quite different than the colored-up women in the colonies. He went back to work and saw Sha glance his way and smile when she saw him staring at her. He returned her smile and Sha went back to her work.
Sha kept her eyes on her terminal and was aware of Laramie’s interest. If you can’t get Mohammed to the mountain, bring the mountain to Mohammed, she decided and continued to input data into her terminal. Sato waited for her to call for more work, but she didn’t after an hour elapsed. He tried not to get nervous and wondered what she was doing.
Laramie kept looking at Sha and decided that if she was looking for someone, why not him. She could add to his cover. He excused himself from the table and walked over to Sha’s cubicle. “I understand this is your first day in the lab,” he said smoothly.
Sha stopped typing as he approached and ejected a tube into her cupped fingers as she stopped typing. She smiled and fluttered her eyelids, “It is.”
Laramie returned her smile, “This is also my first-day here.”
Sha flipped her hair over her shoulder with her left hand and her smile grew, “We have a lot in common, Doctor…”
“Laramie. I’m Dr. Laramie and I’ve won the Hawking Prize for Physics.”
Sha’s eyes widened, and she drew back her head, “That’s amazing!”
“Perhaps we can discuss it during our lunch break?” Sha lowered her eyes slightly, flipped her hair off her shoulders, tilted her head a bit, and nodded, “I’d really like that, Doctor.”
Laramie smiled and turned to walk away and said over his shoulder “See you in an hour.” He turned his back; Sha raised the tube and blew the dart into his back. Laramie knew for a brief instant that he had made a huge mistake, as he fell to the floor paralyzed.” Colonel Sato shouted, “EVERYONE REMAIN WHERE YOU ARE!!” Duncan rushed into the lab with three-soldiers and carried Laramie out. Sato turned to Sha, “Thank you. You may leave now.”
Sha nodded, stood up, and followed Duncan out of the lab.
Tal met her outside the first-gate, “That was good work. What dart did you use?”
“Immobilizer; I figured Duncan would want to question him.”
‘That’s too dangerous, Sha. If the Doctor regains control of his body, I’m reasonably certain he has an explosive device inside him that he’ll detonate.” Sha nodded and watched Duncan carry Laramie out of the building.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Laramie became aware of his head first and tried to raise it. He barely moved it an inch and let it fall forward. He closed his eyes and, after a few minutes, tried to raise it again. He succeeded this time and began to feel his arms and legs. He tried to raise his arms but couldn’t. He looked down at them and saw his arms and legs were locked in metal restraints holding him to the chair he was sitting in. He looked around at the small lighted room he was in and recognized the walls were the color of chronide; that meant they probably were made of chronide. He felt a pain in the back of his head and knew his communicator had been surgically removed. Looking up, he saw a camera and display monitor were attached to the ceiling. He thought about his options and they didn’t look good. The monitor suddenly illuminated, and an Earth General appeared on it. The General smiled and asked, “Are you comfortable?” Laramie remained silent. The general lifted the communicator that was placed in the back of his head and turned it in his hands, as he examined it, “I must say this new communicator is a real advancement over the old models.” Laramie continued his silence and Tal sat back and began speaking, “I know when you fail to communicate with your contact on the moon tonight, you’re hoping to be rescued. That isn’t going to happen.” Laramie didn’t say a word. “You should know that I’ve got your voice nailed and you will be reporting in as scheduled.”
Laramie’s eyes were little more than slits at this point, but they flew wide open when he saw the General change into an exact duplicate of his form. “WHO ARE YOU!?” he yelled.
“That’s not really important.”
“YOU’RE A TRAITOR!!”
Laramie saw himself smile on the monitor, before saying, “Come on, Laramie! You’re supposed to be intelligent. You learned in the lab that Earth has had a stardrive for quite a long time. If Earth intended to harm the colonies, why haven’t they attacked?” Laramie couldn’t take his eyes off the monitor and he saw himself say, “I’m trying to save the colonies, not destroy them.”
“AND YOU’RE DOING THAT BY WORKING WITH OUR ENEMY!!”
Tal changed back to his normal form, before responding. “I don’t think you really know who your enemy is.” Laramie didn’t respond, and the image on the monitor suddenly changed. Laramie saw a dark blue colored ship orbiting a planet. He heard the General say, “That ship you see on the monitor has been orbiting Neptune for decades. It’s not an Earth warship and it’s definitely not a colony vessel.” Tal paused before asking, “If you had to guess, what do you think it’s doing there?” Laramie stared at the blue ship and shook his head slightly. Tal continued, “I have no doubt that whoever sent that ship knows of the existence of the colonies. If they didn’t know it before, they do now that cruise ships from the colonies are coming to Earth. Do you disagree?” Laramie shook his head slightly. “Now, it’s clear to me that you are in the Colony Military and you should understand that if the civilization that sent that ship intends humanity harm, who will they attack first? Earth, that has never revealed it possess a stardrive, or the Colonies that do have a stardrive?”
“They’ll go after the colonies first.” Laramie said quietly.
“And what do you think would happen if the colonies knew about the existence of that ship?”
Laramie paused and then answered, “We’d be forced to come and determine why it’s here.”
“And what happens if Earth and the Colonies can’t match up with their technology?” Tal paused and added, “I hope you realize that if the Colonies come and attack that vessel, the civilization that sent it would immediately go after the colonies. Can you see that?”
“I think that’s obvious. What are you doing here?”
“I’m preventing the colonies from learning that Earth has a stardrive, which would precipitate a war between them. I believe that alien ship is probably waiting for that to happen; they’ll come in and cleanup what’s remaining afterwards.”
“Why aren’t you assisting the colonies?”
“Because they wouldn’t accept it. They’d ignore me and attack that ship anyway. You should know that Earth’s warships are far superior to any warship in the Colony’s fleet; Earth is also working on developing a force field and other technological advances to take on that civilization. Tell me anything else I could do to defend the colonies against this threat but to assist Earth in preparing to take them on if they attack?” Laramie s
truggled to answer the question and after a few minutes, Tal asked, “I’m waiting Dr. Laramie.” Laramie remained silent and Tal asked a few-minutes later, “Do you have a family in the Colonies?”
“I do.”
“If you had to decide what to do to defend them against this threat, what would you do? Would you report your findings to the colonies, knowing they would come here and attack that ship without knowing its capabilities?”
Laramie screamed and then grew silent. After a few moments, he asked in a low, spent voice, “Can you prove that ship is really out there?”
“I can show you all the records we have but you can figure it out for yourself it is?”
“How is that?”
“Simply ask yourself why Earth hasn’t attacked the colonies; they’ve certainly been give provocation to do it.” Laramie kept his gaze on the monitor and Tal tilted his head, “I’m going to tell you the real reason Earth hasn’t attacked the colonies, even though the lie would work better for me.” Laramie stared at the monitor in silence. “Earth carries a huge guilt for turning their backs on the colonies and forcing them to fend for themselves before the nuclear war. The general feeling on Earth is that they deserved what the Colonies have done because of that. Earth does not represent a danger to the colonies and is working hard to come to their defense if they’re attacked.” Tal paused and quickly asked, “Do you have a daughter?”
“Why do you ask?”
“Because fathers don’t worry as much about their sons. But for their daughters, they have dreams. Do you want to see her die in a war between Earth and the Colonies or that alien civilization? I know the military chooses their agents carefully and high intelligence is required to be selected. Are you intelligent or just a flag waving colony patriot that places glory and duty over everything else?”
“How do you know I’ll answer that question honestly?”
“I won’t; but there is someone with me that will know if you’re being honest and they’re never wrong.”