“When we stumbled on your conflict, you were attacking them from one of their rocky planets.”
“Yes, periodically we’ve been able to establish outposts on a couple of their rocky planets or moons. As they orbit and get closer to Terr, we’re able to engage. Usually, those outposts are not permanent. The one that you reference, was overrun soon after your passage. At the current time, we have no such outpost.”
“You mentioned that your part of space is controlled the corporations? What are they like? Do you represent one of them or all of them?”
“Captain Drummond, there is no easy answer to that question. Throughout our history, there have been many agreements made between them, between one or two of them and the Terest. It is a very dynamic situation, and that is why the conflict is a mix of trade and war. I represent two of the largest corporations. We have the most to lose if you and the Terest become allies. That is why I was sent to meet you and understand your relationship with the Terest.”
“Are the other corporations in agreement with your visit?”
“Captain, as I said there are six major corporations. I represent two of them. Two others are currently neutral and want to find out what they can. The other two have not made their desires known. They may be on our side, or they may be actively working with the Terest. Once again, the relationships are complex and frequently change.
“My associates and I represent the Illiod and Mantare Corporations. They are the largest and control most of the food and energy. My associate Xionna is the official representative of those corporations. She and my associate Captain Icbadd cannot speak through this translator. It has been tuned to respond to my voice only. After you met with the Terest and your computers and theirs found a common method of communication, it took us only a short time to obtain a copy of the translation software and install it in this small unit.”
“Izary, I understand. You’ve provided a lot of great information. After we enter our jump point, we’re still 4 hours and 12 minutes from the exit point. Does that translate into your time metric?”
“Yes, Captain we understand. In our language that is 7 Tars and 19 Utars. We will return to our space and wait for our people to come to us,”
“We’ll let you know when we exit the jump into your system,” Darlene said just before she smiled turned and headed back to the command area with BG at her side.
“BG, what do you think?” Darlene asked her friend as they walked.
“I don’t trust them. Just because they represent a couple of those corporations, I don’t know what that means. If I were a betting man, I’d say that the corporations are keeping the war going and adjusting alliances because they can make money off it. I hate to sound like a cynic, but that isn’t unreasonable.”
“I agree,” Darlene said as she and BG entered the command area.
“Beta-1, you’ve been recording their conversations and feeding into SIMPOC’s cultural analysis programs?”
“Yes, Captain. We have been recording everything they say and comparing it with the output of their translator. We have continued to improve our understanding of their language,” Beta-1 said after he turned from his computer interface.
“Do you have an analysis?” Captain Drummond asked.
“Yes. It appears that Izary isn’t the leader of the group. When they are alone, they speak in a very guarded manner and use a lot of terms and colloquial language which the analysis is working on. It appears that everything Izary said was well rehearsed and directed by Xionna.
“BG, I don’t know what we’re getting into. Please be prepared for anything,” she said. “Are your Marines ready?”
“Captain, my team has been training with Cow-Robots. We’re getting pretty good with them. We’ve been working with some items that SIMPOC has passed on. The one-man rail gun that he developed is a mean weapon. The barrel is a little long, and the slug is small, but when it hits something, it has a ton of hitting power,” he responded.
Darlene turned and looked BG directly in his eyes and said, “I’m glad that you’re with me. We’ve gone through a lot together, and it seems that everything we do, is a first for us and for everyone else. Wouldn’t it be nice to be back on the Burlington in the Med, maybe on shore leave to Athens?”
“Darlene, if we were there, you and I would be on opposite ends of the ship. Here, we can work together…and be together,” he said as she stood, and they hugged. They pulled apart for a moment, then kissed. It was a long and gentle kiss. Finally, they came up for air and looked at each other.
“Wow, I didn’t plan on that happening,” BG said in a whisper.
“Neither did I,” Darlene responded in the same hushed tone.
“I suggest that we get back to business,” Darlene finally said.
They broke their embrace and acted a little embarrassed even though they were the only two humans in the command center.
Chevesky 1 Minute from Jump Exit
“Captain Herl we are one minute from the exit jump point,” announced Beta-3.
“Beta-2, as soon as we exit the jump point, I want all of our sensors and weapons online as soon as possible.”
The robot merely nodded its head by bending at the waist slightly.
“Beta-5, immediately after we exit, I also want you to plot a trajectory to exit the system as soon as possible,” said Joan.
“Acknowledged. As soon as we exit the jump point, I will compute two trajectories. One will be to return to the jump point which will return as the earth, and the other will be the nearest suitable jump point which will take us to some unknown location. You will have the option to pick which jump point to which you want to proceed,” said Beta-5.
Joan heard everything that her Betas said, but her mind was elsewhere she realized that the second they exited the jump point they might find themselves under attack. She searched her mind trying to find alternatives, but there were none.
“Beta-Prime, tell Sergeant Robles to get in here. If we’re thrown into something, I want him to know immediately.”
“SIMPOC, prepare the following transmission and broadcast at the first opportunity after we exit the jump point,” said Joan.
‘Terest this is Joan Herl on board the EDF Chevesky. I am on a peaceful mission, and I wish to talk. Please acknowledge immediately.’
“Message has been prepared. We are exiting the jump point, and the message has been sent,” announced Beta-5.
Joan just sat and waited. Sergeant Robles entered and stood behind her command chair.
“Captain Herl, the sensors are fully functional,” announced Beta-2.
“SIMPOC, what do we have?
Confrontation in San Diego
The routine that Ron Beal and Joyce Bennet followed was simple. Take two of the Cow-Robots that were now under their control and slowly canvas the area looking for key supplies and survivors.
Using the Cow-Robots had advantages and disadvantages. They were great to go into buildings and inventory the contents, but they were horrible in finding survivors. Inventory didn’t feel as if they were being attacked, but survivors did.
Joyce and Ron would sit in their command vehicle while the Cow-Robots surveyed the area. The robots would pass back visual information which they could record for review later. If the robots encountered any humans, they were supposed to back off, and Ron and Joyce would approach them separately.
Today the plan was being followed, and other small groups were doing the same in other parts of San Diego. Ron was sitting in the passenger side of the Humvee, and Joyce was sipping a soda in the driver’s seat.
“Hey, we just found a warehouse full of medical supplies,” Ron announced.
Joyce looked towards him and nodded her head. She smiled and went back to the soda.
“Let me know when we find a freezer full of ice cream, and it’s still cold,” she finally added.
Ron smiled; he had already discovered her ice cream habit.
Fernando and the Military Stake-out
Fernando was wary. He was hunched over on a roof watching the action. The others in his team were on other rooftops watching from their vantage points.
His street smarts were controlling his actions. Never jump into something unless you could control the outcome, was a creed that he followed. Today was no different. There were two stories unfolding in front of him. He didn’t know which of them could be used to his advantage. One story involved a street gang of thugs that came down from LA. He didn’t know all of them, but he had dealings with a couple of the leaders before. They had been the buyer end of his previous life as a mule. All he remembered was, they didn’t treat him well. He brought them the drugs, and they acted like he was dirt. He didn’t like them. Now, they were invading his area, his turf, his part of San Diego. He needed to understand what they were doing this far south before he acted.
The other story was more complicated. Below him were two people in military uniform, sitting and waiting. Why were they there? Were they looking for someone or something? He thought.
He had seen others like them before. They would just sit in their vehicle and do nothing. Fernando never saw them arrive or leave, when he encountered them, he watched for a while and moved on. Today, he decided that he needed to learn what the heck they were doing. He was determined to wait it out and find out what he needed to know.
“Fernando, I’ve got a Mecha going through my building. There’s just one, and it seems to be just moving around, maybe looking at things,” whispered Jose through the headset they had stolen.
“Jefe, I might have one in my building too. I can hear it, but I haven’t seen it yet,” reported another soft voice.
Having two of the invading robots rummaging around the area added a twist. Dealing with the virus changed everything for Fernando, but the robots hadn’t been too much of an issue. He just avoided them, and once he heard the rumor that they were aliens, he avoided them more.
Today was a different situation. Something was going on, and he needed to understand it. With the military, LA MS-13 and alien robots all in the same area, something interesting was sure to happen.
“Jefe, the LA boys, just saw the two uniforms, they’re sneaking up behind them. Should be showtime in a few.”
Fernando moved a little along his roof to get a better view of the alley below. As he got settled, the two military types got out of their vehicle, and it was clear that it was a man and a woman. They walked to the front as if to stretch their legs, and one of the Mecha came out a cargo door on the other side of the street. Fernando’s eyes opened a little wider, but he noticed that the two militaries didn’t flinch. One of them was looking at a laptop they were carrying and making entries. The Mecha stopped for a few seconds then turned and headed up the street.
Are those two in uniform aliens, or are they humans controlling the Mecha? Fernando thought.
Jose jumped in on the headset, “Did you see that? I think they’re telling the Mechas what to do. I thought they were alien robots.”
“I heard a rumor that the aliens backed off and stopped the invasion. Someone said that we figured out how to use the robots they left behind,” came a whisper across the headset.
Fernando had heard similar rumors, but now they were confirmed. His instincts told him that piece of knowledge would have a direct impact on his future.
While Fernando was processing the new information, motion to his right caught his eye. The LA boys were turning a corner and coming up behind the military guys. It was doubtful they knew of the Mecha.
Fernando was thinking rapidly. The LA MS-13 guys were not good neighbors. They were violent for the sake of violence. Fernando wasn’t eager to have them roaming his city. But, having the military controlling the robots wasn’t good for his line of work either.
Fernando’s instinct told him that he would have to choose sides. If not today, then it would be soon.
Just as he reached that conclusion, the MS-13 group came up behind the military and jumped them. The scuffle was minor, and the military didn’t have an opportunity to fight back, they had been surprised. The LA boys took their weapons and the laptop computer. While they were down, they took the opportunity to kick the guy a bunch of times and play with the woman. He didn’t have much of a chance, but she got in a great kick to one guy’s balls, and he was down for the count. She was still on her feet and doing a pretty good job on the others as they crowded around her. But she was outnumbered and finally tackled.
Fernando suspected that within a short time they would both be dead.
Fernando remembered a quote from his Grandfather, “If you know what you’re doing, chaos can be comforting.”
“Time to act,” Fernando said to himself. “Listen up; everybody get to the street. I’ve got a plan.”
The responses varied from shouts of Sí to just muffled grunts. Fernando knew that all six of his team were moving. Fernando moved quickly. He knew the route and was moving down the stairs as the last of his team acknowledged. He reached the front of his building, and two others met him. After a moment he saw movement in windows across the street, and he knew his other team members were in position.
“Take out the LA boys and save the military, on my count,” he spoke clearly into his headset. “3, 2, 1, go,” he yelled.
They burst onto the street, and the LA boys were too busy playing to notice. By the time they paid attention three of them were dead and before they could do anything, the other three fell on the concrete. For a second the echo of gunfire echoed around the industrial complex and wisps of smoke slowly moved away. Fernando had taken sides.
General Keung at Training Base
General Keung enjoyed the ride from the Capitol to the outskirts of the city. Now that so many people had been cleaned out by the virus, the air was clean, and there was no traffic. Keung loved days like that; they gave him time to think and put his life in perspective.
Twelve years in the People’s Liberation Army in the Falcon Commando Squad were the proudest years of his life. The PLA had trained him for this day, and he found himself in the ideal position to use the virus to achieve what it had taken his country thousands of years to accomplish.
When the virus hit Beijing, chaos reigned, but within the Falcon Base, they were able to maintain some control. A couple of the units were sent to control parts of the leadership and their families, but they soon lost contact, and the few surviving soldiers made their way back to the main Commando Base.
Losses were heavy throughout the city and even on the Commando base, but their training and loyalty to each other helped them to survive.
Soon after the virus subsided, the remaining Commandos from the elite Snow Commando Unit, joined with the remaining Falcon Commandos and Colonel Keung made himself a General. No one argued, so it happened.
The General’s mind continued to wander as his driver approached the front gate and he was immediately waved through.
His base wasn’t like a typical military training base. There were no large fields to have review parades. The work of his base was done indoors. That is where his men and women were trained, where his devices were developed and where the plans were made.
Today there were two buildings that General Keung needed to visit. First was the quarters of Lieutenant Lee. Reports indicated that his visit to Moscow was a success, but he wanted to hear from the person in charge.
After the visit to see his Lieutenant, his next stop was more important. It would be for his tools of the future. If he was going to succeed, he needed to make a bold move. Those tools represented that move, and they had to work.
Keung and Lee Review their Plans
Lieutenant Lee didn’t have an office. She stayed with her team. She worked with them, trained them, conducted exercises with them and disciplined them. Today she would likely be training for their next mission.
The large building didn’t have much inside except the large water tank with the submarine structure beneath the surface. That is where he w
ould find her.
The large room echoed as the door slammed behind General Keung. Even his footsteps along the side of the huge pool contributed to the reverberation in the chamber. Lieutenant Lee was standing on the edge of the pool, and her wetsuit was dripping. It was obvious she had just climbed out of the water. She was yelling to her team in the water as the General approached.
“Sergeant Luon, you need to do it again. You must open the hatch and be inside within 1 minute. You’re too slow, and you didn’t get into your defensive positions fast enough after you were inside. Do it again,” she yelled.
Then she saw the general approach. She stiffened her back, turned and gave him a smart salute.
“General, I’m surprised to see you. I thought you’d be tied up with the meeting for a while.”
“Lieutenant, it went well, and we need to move forward with your mission.”
“General, I’m excited to conduct another mission for our country.”
“I heard that your mission in Moscow went well. The losses were acceptable?”
“Yes, sir. We lost a couple of planes and pilots, but once we got to the Kremlin, it went as planned. All the key people were in the places we expected, and it took only a few moments to take care of them. A couple of the generals weren’t there, but without their people, they should be of no consequence.”
“Yes, Lieutenant. Without their hands, the generals will be less effective. Your mission will cause much confusion, and it will take a long time for them to recover. If they ever recover, we will be in the position to deal with them. You did a good job. Now, I want you to prepare your team, and you will not be part of the operation. I have another mission that might come up.”
Earth II - Emergence Page 9