"They're up on a Mother Ship talking to the Captains, Maria too. The four of you will be going out on a mission soon, maybe today. I'll keep you in the loop about events here, where ever the mission takes you. I don't think all of the details have been agreed to yet, has to do with more rejuvenation chambers. Meanwhile you could sit in on a meeting of the company commanders."
"I saw people last night I never knew existed. I'd better get up to knowingness on everybody here before I attend a meeting with them.
Greta considered something, or asked for orders, because she offered, "I can down load into your mind the necessary data. But I agree you should consider the application of your forces before you tell them what to do. Ready?"
I must have blinked, or something, because a flood of data came into my consciousness."
"I will definitely have to consider this."
Maria, Lil, Mary, and Betty entered the room. Betty said, "Two hour departure. You've worries about Lady W. She has a house below, and has started a school. She's fine. Your mission details you get from these three."
Operational Area Hendes One - Frizdier
Chapter Seventeen
Volunteer Thelma
I walked up to our table and announced, "I'm leaving for Frizdier. Anybody want to come along?"
Hank, Jim, and Erlo exchanged glances. Erlo asked, "Can we finish our drinks before we go?"
"Yes." I sat to wait on them.
Hank ventured, "Opinion seems to be that distance would be best covered by an ARK, though it could be covered by a battleship."
Jim announced with surprise in his voice, "It seems the two Ships of the Line feel there is no further mission for them here, now that Rangers control the orbital Forts on each planet. They want to go along, having received all dispatches from that area."
"We'll take the Battleship. ARK V has a Mission here at the moment. I'm leaving in twenty minutes gentlemen. Suggest you pack, and get souvenirs if you want them. I'll be waiting on the porch."
Hank said, "Getting a message from Ark V; the education Task Force has been declared a ground operation, those people are planet side already. ARK V is free for our use."
I said, "Then it's ARK V we'll go on."
On the way to the kitchen I noticed three bags by the outside door, those sods. I would get them. In the kitchen Litton looked up from the stove and said, "The Med Tech got dumped off last night. She's there on duty already."
"I'm sure she's well trained. Litton, I want you to do something for me. That corner room on the third floor I've been using; I want you to keep it unoccupied for me. I'll be back someday."
"I know you will. When we have flowers I'll put fresh ones in every day. Erlo asked me to do the same. Said he didn't fancy flowers, just a bottle of whiskey, and three glasses."
Upstaged is upstaged, but I did intend to come back here. Seems this place and I hadn't finished our conversation.
Litton continued, "Overheard the news from them three. A battle won is the first in a long time. You win a battle for me, won't you, Lady Thelma?"
When I un-choked I replied, "I'll do that, Litton. And I'll put up a stone at that spot with your name on it."
He turned back to the stove, and I turned away. We weren't good enough friends to cry together. I walked to the parking lot, into the skiff, and powered up. I had everything in the green when I heard footsteps. They took their seats. I jumped the skiff off of the ground fifty feet, tilted its nose up, and hit full thrust. I thought it hesitated for a moment, like a horse asking, 'you really want to gallop'. We were at fifty thousand feet before I regained focus on the dial, which seemed to be doing a race all its own.
The skiff barely had its docking clamps secured before the Battleship raced away from orbit.
Hank assured me, "I said our goodbyes to the Research people. They understand and applaud, and asked to be kept informed. They feel safe, what with the Forts and their Workers. If they can agree among themselves they may start the Worker birth line again and develop a model suited for planetary labor."
I wryly observed, "Aren't any unions on Hendes One, yet. They'd probably be better off making tractors. But you do what you know. What say we get out of here and go to the Mess? I miss the wide open spaces already."
"Me too", Erlo agreed. "I came on this Mission why? Never mind. It'll come back to me."
Walking along the corridor the Battleship docking chimes sounded. We grabbed the close by hand holds. Ancient history said some one had scrapped on insertion.
The chimes quit. Not this time. We continued. The Mess held no one. The fellows headed for the food dispenser. I pulled out a canteen. My jaw bone joints would last forever.
Fifteen minutes later the ARK V Duty Officer orderly brought in a stack of papers which he separated into four and placed in front of each of us. He left without a word. The cover sheet said, Essences, and Command grade only. I had an odd feeling. I flipped the page and speed read the whole stack. Erlo riffled the pages with his eyes half open. Jim and Hank just placed a hand on their stacks. 'To each their own,' I absently commented to myself, while my mind fought against accepting the enclosed data.
Erlo broke the silence, "Seems our enemy gets cleverer as we go on."
I voiced my indignation, "The bastards don't hold anything sacred. We knew that. But replacing a planets humans with their own creations who appear the same, goes beyond our present knowledge of them, or maybe not. Maybe we on Earth were their creations, who got away from them. Personally, I've always operated on that assumption. But here they seem to have built in safeguards to prevent rebellion. A metal implant which takes over your motor functions in a preprogrammed manner is a good rebellion preventer. But a whole planet. That took time. Which conversely says, we don't have much time. Do we agree?"
All three nodded. Jim cautioned, "We don't want to base all our decisions on data from this one planet, which acted as a cross road for a long time; avoid knee jerk reactions. We need to know much more before we start lashing out."
"I know one thing we don't want to do," Erlo insisted. "We don't want to start attacking out of present time. Intelligence actions, with individuals, are another matter, they may go unnoticed. The back time track of the four ANNU KI ships destroyed on Frizdier has to be cleared, in some manner. That's because they have the potential of going back down their track and off sideways where ever they want to, and back up another Time Track to present time elsewhere. I say tread lightly until that's accomplished."
I looked around the faces. Nobody disagreed. I said, "Hank, or Jim, put a call in to Paula. We need the Special Events Platoon."
Jim said, "It's done. We'll just have to wait and see what they come up with. They're in nobody's chain of command."
I continued, "There's another facet we need to discuss. Granger gave the 'no-noncombatants order.' Did he know something not in this report, or did he get ahead of us and realize that you can't fight a war against the ANNU KI if you're trying to safeguard civilians? We can ask him when we see him. But us four, here and now, as far as I'm concerned, have to make his order general policy."
Erlo cautioned, "Some won't come to that point of view easily."
Heatedly, I answered, "I don't either. It goes against all I've operated by. If some can't stomach the consequences we'll put them on a farm growing vegetables in a rear area. Wherever that might be."
Hank put in, "If you two agree, I'll send out feelers and see to weeding out the conscientious objectors."
Both Erlo and I nodded.
Jim interrupted, "While he's doing that I have a thought. If our attack on Frizdier can be made to look like we did it purely for economic gain, the ANNU KI, as a whole, might not feel threatened. They may be inclined to counter attack, but if we post an overwhelming force there, they may just cross the planet off as a bad investment. I say our present three ships, and what's already there, would make any counter attack highly costly.
I agreed, "That's so. I don't see any mention of the Orbital Fort
s. What happened to them?"
Jim answered, "They were over run in the initial attack and everything Military destroyed. However, the vast civilian complexes weren't touched."
I worriedly asked, "Who knows what the civilians will do now that the battle is lost?"
Jim assured me, "Nothing. Nerre's Carrier Group set off Sonic Bombs. There's nothing living around Frizdier except on our ships. There are pockets of resistance on the ground. Workers, with industrial disintegrators on their two person ships, are making the pockets, and any involved structures, back into free atoms."
I shook my head, trying to bang this new reality into it. "So, we will have a bare depopulated planet, with orbital cargo handling facilities. Then we try to sell the mantra that we are bringers of peace and liberation. It doesn't track."
Erlo caught my arm before I could raise it and bang the table. "Sure, it does track. Imagine the viewpoint of the exploited planets. Not a one will do anything but applaud. Who knows what percentage the ANNU KI stole?"
Hank came back for a moment and said, "Thirteen percent, low end estimate."
`"Exactly," Erlo continued." We come along and say one percent; cuts out the need for smugglers, less lawlessness. We don't care if we make a profit. Just that the ANNU KI thinks we did the attack for money."
I smiled at him, "And I expect you have people who can run the whole complex waiting in the ether?"
"Absolutely, have then here in four days. Three days to throw out the bodies. Functional in nine days. Send out a proclamation. Open under new management."
Hank, and Jim, who had been relaying our conversation to the Commanders of the Line Ships and the Ark V Captain, and I looked at each other, "It seems that all parties agree. Do it."
Hank's full attention came back to the Mess Hall and he said, "Here's what it adds up to folks. About three percent of the Rangers on this mission can't get their minds around the 'win at all costs' idea. That's being taken care of. Here, on ARK V, among the combat arms we have 100 percent. Supervisors in other areas are sorting out the level of support. It's just a job for the Workers and the A-Is. They consider that the positives far outweigh any negatives. The Regs say 'let God sort out the fallen', Brenesi share that opinion. The Dragon Riders and the Phaeton contingent say better dead than an ANNU KI slave. Who knows what the Special Events Platoon think, but from their actions we'll conclude the concept of civilian dead is a non event to them. As you can imagine, Thelma, the Volunteers consider dead a step along a path, and the path is plenty wide for a few more."
Erlo summed it up, "We're covered. If you'll excuse me, I'll go back to the skiff, get my folder, and make calls. Arrange for a transponder frequency so my people don't get shot on the way in. Anybody want anything special from my world?"
Jim and Hank couldn't think of anything, but I asked, "Trading Posts. I like the concept. Maybe it wouldn't be too much trouble to come up with one which could withstand an attack from generic type rowdies?"
"Boy, oh boy, my people will have fun with that concept. The result will probably need its own anti-grav to keep from sinking down to the Magna level. What the hell. We might need a few which could float. Why not?"
He walked out of the Mess having a conversation with himself. Hank and Jim looked at me with smiles. After all I'd invited him along.
I said, with a twisted grin, "He is well-intentioned."
They just kept on smiling, so I continued, "We have four days travel time. Let's consider the planetary groupings between us generally, then the route to the ANNU KI home base. See if there are any more planets where we could pull off this 'economic attack.' Failing that we have to look at gearing up en-masse and attacking their stronghold all at once. The tale will be told then, by how much resistance we come up against on our way there."
Three days later, we concluded that if the enemy bought our reason for attacking Frizdier, and didn't swarm in to get it back, we could do the 'economic dance' twice more. The groupings involved were further removed from the direct route to the enemy. A third world, controlling 794 planets, we couldn't agree upon. We did agree the enemy would certainly be there in force. We sent our conclusions out for comment, distribution, 'Essences, and Commanders eyes only'.
After that effort, Erlo and I rested. I guess Hank and Jim recharged, if they did that. No matter, we were ready for Frizdier. We popped out of ARK V in the Battleship and slowed before the larger ships did. The larger ships could stop on a dime, but that might spill somebody's tea, so they made multiple orbital passes, and came to rest in mutually reinforcing defensive positions 500 miles from the surface.
I called Nerre, "Good to be here. Anything of minor interest, which didn't make the written reports?"
"Good to see you, Thelma, and the rest of you. I've cancelled the general Blue Alert. The ground troops are about done. Vegetation will grow back before we know it. You should come visit us. You haven't been on one of these Carriers, have you?"
"No. Neither these or the older ones. Are we compatible?"
"Yes. The roof opens like a clam shell. Just sit the skiff down where our Landing Craft usually are. We have universal cushioning, they'll adapt to the skiff."
I offered, "Why don't I do that now? Feed your coordinates to the DO. See you soon."
Across the table Erlo raised his eyebrows.
"No idea, but it's important. Come along if you want to. Battle Gear might be handy. Hank, Jim, you come along also. She knows I can't go anywhere without my trusty Signal Ensigns."
We landed on the upper deck and the roof closed over the skiff. Nerre met us at the end of our exit ramp. We hugged, and she saluted the others.
"Good to have you here, Thelma, and the rest of you. I want you to see something in Med Bay. Then we'll go to my office. Come along, please."
We followed her through the doors, eternal double airlocks, into the Med Bay.
In an open space a suspension field held a man, woman, and two children, one male, one female, all naked. They were being hydrated through drip tubes in their arms.
Nerre explained, "This is a family we picked up at random and suspended. They're heavily sedated. If we don't do that they go mad and fight the suspension field. Aside from the implants they test totally normal. Paula and Betty have directed Marvin, my Signals Ensign in every manner they could think of to remove the implants. No success. Sure we can take it out surgically, and we've done it to others, but then the subject goes into convulsions and kills its self. I've been instructed to keep these alive in case somebody comes up with something new."
Through my bulb I sent a calming modulated wave toward them, and waited for feedback. It came, blinding hatred, with no impression of human thought pattern. I saw from the studious faces of my companions that they attempted contact. I waited for them to finish.
When their focus shifted to me I said, "Next stop your office, Nerre."
Down the jump tube and across the Bridge floor we went. I noticed that every remote fighter position had two people in it. Evidently the mop-up continued.
Once we were in her office Nerre shut the door and motioned us to a low round table with five chairs. There were drinks and snacks on the table. We sat, looked at Nerre, and awaited revelations.
"Please help yourselves. If you want anything special I'll ring for it? No. Fine. I'll get on with it. I read same file you did. You see what I have upstairs. What are your personal observations?"
I started, "Not human, despite their appearance. Degraded to non-human status, or altered through implantation, makes no difference, not human. Erlo?"
"I couldn't contact them telepathically. Seems those bands were jammed. All I got back were noise, and color swirls."
Jim and Hank looked at each other and Jim spoke, "What we have above are highly programmed Genetic Entities. There is some residue of an analytical mind in each of them, but no identity. We conclude that went away with the erasure of their minds. Caused, we think by a metal sphere at the top of their spinal cord, through which har
monics were input, tactically, a good idea. Mindless prisoners can't be questioned. Their individual essences have been scrambled to disconnect them from their Back Track so no re-insertion of their past identities and knowledge is possible. Thorough job. Nothing we can do for them."
Nerre said, "I'm sorry to hear you reaffirm what are the conclusions to date. Terribly sorry. That said; let's look at the tactical situation. Those above have spread everywhere. The question is how we can track them down, and kill them in an efficient manner?"
Erlo gestured upward with both hands and said, "We leave the problem to free enterprise."
All of us looked at him like he'd lost it.
He continued, "It's simple. We manufacture a small sensor tuned to detect the implants. Then we drop the word in the right places that those perforated balls bring a high price in whatever money the collector wants, wherever they want it. Free enterprise. I know where to start the ball rolling. There's a bounty hunters haven on an out of the way planet I've been to. Not as a Ranger, just as a tourist."
That twisted webs we weave litany went through my mind, his solution had simplicity in its favor. Hank and Jim were looking at me for a decision. I thought to remind them I had no command function, yeah right.
"Nerre, can your Techs rig a sensor with a mile radius?"
"The Workers already did. They put it on their rifle sights. I can get some to test."
"Do that, won't you?"
"Message sent." Hank said.
I glanced at the back wall of the room with its many boxes, reminded me of Bank safety deposit boxes from my time in Los Angles. I still had boxes there and hefty deposits in several accounts. Maybe the fishes of the future would have hands and open them.
I asked, "While we're waiting, perhaps I could play with the consol. There are still a few things I'm curious about?"
Nerre waved her hand in the console's direction, "Be my guest. Erlo, you want to look around the ship?"
"Why not? Thanks for asking. Coming boys?"
Greener Green III: Let Light Reign Page 15