“A shot at what, the red devils? Just tell me where to aim!” a bold warrior said.
“It may be as simple as that, or it may be orders of magnitude more complex,” Smedley replied.
“Never mind. I’ll pick my own targets, and those bastards can stand-the-fuck-by. Say hello to my little friend! And the last word we’ll hear from them will be ‘Incoming.’” The man crossed his arms and looked smug.
Kim slapped him on the arm as she walked past on her way to size up the platoon.
“What did you hard-chargers learn today?” she shouted.
“If you watch your enemy closely, he’ll show you where his vulnerabilities are.”
Kim looked at Joseph, who smiled and nodded. She gave him the thumbs up.
“What else?” she asked, turning slowly to see if anyone wanted to answer. She kept her hand on Bundin’s shell. The blue stalk-headed alien was becoming a friend to them all.
“I suggest that we have gained a taste for winning,” the Podder offered.
“What do you mean by that?” Kim asked, looking into the closest of Bundin’s four eyes.
“An army that is worried about losing takes more care in the fight, doing what must be done to improve its chances. An army that expects to win may fail to take necessary risks.” Bundin waved two of his four tentacle-arms to add emphasis to his statement. The other two crossed, with hands folded in front.
“Most profound, Master Podder,” Joseph said.
“Are we resting on our laurels?” Kimber demanded, hammering a fist into her hand. “Are we taking the enemy for granted? I hope not, or you’ll feel the sting of my wrath!”
The room was silent. “Have you been watching too much television lately?” Joseph asked as he stepped forward, held Kimber by her shoulders, and stared deep into her eyes. “They say that stuff will pollute your mind!”
Kimber shrugged Joseph off. “Pollute my mind? Living with Auburn has polluted my sinuses, but that’s something completely different.”
“I heard that!” Auburn yelled from the back of the room. He knew what she meant. Their first ten years together had been spent raising cattle, and the smell of the stockyards had been overwhelming at times.
Christina snickered.
“I never questioned my choices,” she called back.
“No more TV for you!” he countered.
“Good session, Joseph,” Kimber said quickly before they lost the attention span of the group for good. “Aaron and Yanmei, anything to add?”
Aaron nodded and stepped forward. “Lao Tzu taught that to become learned, each day one should add something. To become enlightened, each day one should drop something. He means you should rid yourself of the baggage that is weighing you down; the extra notions that are holding you back. If you approach this coming battle with an open mind you’ll flex more quickly. As Terry Henry Walton has taught us, the one who can decide what to do quickest is the one who wins the fight.” The weretiger bowed deeply to the platoon and returned to his place behind the ranks.
Kimber contemplated what he had said, unsure if any of the platoon understood even though he had explained.
“Bad Company, exporting justice. Platoon, dismissed.” Kimber patted Bundin’s shell as she watched the platoon break into smaller groups. Many continued their workout with free weights and weight machines, and others started stretching in preparation for running laps on the hangar deck. To make it interesting, they always increased the deck’s gravity to one hundred and fifty percent of normal.
Fitzroy and one other worked their way to Aaron and Yanmei.
“How does one clear clutter from the mind? Teach me, sensei.” Fitzroy had his hands together as if praying.
The weretigers looked at each other. The Chinese didn’t say ‘sensei,’ but they knew what he meant. The edges of Yanmei’s mouth twitched upward and she nodded once.
“We shall, padawan,” Aaron replied, choosing the word for student from the Star Wars lexicon.
Everything was relative.
“Meet us at nine tonight for your first lesson in meditation,” Yanmei instructed.
Fitzroy almost argued, since showtime for morning calisthenics was at four, but caught himself and bowed slightly instead. “See you then.”
Fitzroy and the second man strolled away, moving from warrior to warrior and providing encouragement as a platoon sergeant was supposed to do.
Kimber joined the weretigers. “You have a disciple?”
“It appears we do,” Aaron agreed. He wrapped an arm around Yanmei’s shoulders. “And now if you’ll excuse us, we need to figure out exactly what we’re going to do with him.”
The couple bowed their heads politely, and holding hands, they headed from the recreation room which the warriors also called their workout room.
Joseph and Petricia were deep into a conversation with Bundin about his observations of human behavior and motivation. Fear and confidence—how could the two go hand in hand?
Christina joined Kimber. “I’ll excuse myself too. I have been watching this one show, and can’t get enough of it. I need to see what happens before we get to Benitus. Ta ta!”
Kimber watched her leave and listened to the warriors talk among themselves for a while, but couldn’t focus. She was still worried about her brother.
Which reminded her. “Has anyone seen Shonna and Merrit?”
Shrugs and head-shakes.
Smedley, I need you to check on Shonna and Merrit right now, please.
They are in their quarters and appear to be sleeping.
Wake them up and tell them I’m on my way. Kimber raced from the recreation room, leaving wondering glances in her wake.
After a few moments, Smedley replied, I cannot wake them up.
Notify my parents and raise the alarm.
The emergency klaxons sounded before she took another step, and she accelerated as only the enhanced could up one flight of stairs and down a long corridor. When she turned into the alcove where their room was located, she found Terry and Char already there.
Dokken was sniffing the door.
“Smedley, override the damn door!” Terry yelled.
The door slid open and they hurried in. Shonna and Merrit were in bed, alive but in comas. Terry lifted Merrit from the bed and tossed him over his shoulder and Char took Shonna. Kimber led the way as the two loped down the hallway, trying to limit the impact on the unconscious Weres.
When they reached what they were calling “Sickbay,” Ted was still embroiled within his holographic field. TH stepped aside to let Char put Shonna into the Pod-doc first. After quickly stripping off Shonna’s clothes, Char stepped back and closed the lid.
“TED!” she yelled.
The holo images shimmered and then dropped.
“What? I’m doing what you ordered: looking for a way to inoculate the rest against this thing.”
“Shonna is in a coma in the Pod-doc and needs you, and Merrit is right behind her.” Char pointed. Ted looked surprised.
Without a word, he raised the screens again and got to work.
“Does that mean he’s fixing Shonna?” Kim asked.
Terry shrugged as much as he could with Merrit over one shoulder. He carefully laid the werewolf on the deck and stood protectively over him.
Char put her ear to the Pod-doc. “I think it’s working.” She continued to listen to the machine.
They stood where they were, since no one wanted to move and break Ted’s concentration.
When the captain showed up, the three shushed him. Terry pointed to his own head so they could bring him up to speed using the comm chip.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Keeg Station
“A virus is affecting the nanocytes of the older generation,” Dionysus explained patiently.
Felicity held her hand over her open mouth. Older generation—people like her and Ted.
“Ted is working on a solution right now. With some effort he can fix the nanocytes within the individuals, b
ut that is a tailored solution and may only provide temporary relief. He is working on a long-term fix, but he can’t make progress on that while working on the individuals. However, the more individuals who succumb to the virus, the more data Ted will have from which to extrapolate a more robust remedy.”
“Did Ted program you? You sound just like him,” Felicity drawled. Her lips trembled as she added, “I miss him already.”
“As an AI, Madam Director, I am evolved. I received some consistent base programming from my father Plato. The resemblance to anything else is merely a coincidence, probably because we share the same love of logic,” Dionysus explained.
“No need to go on, I get it. You are members of the brotherhood—kindred spirits—but none of that matters right now. Are we going to get sick and die?” Felicity sat with her hands folded in her lap. Her motivation for doing anything had been crushed.
“I see that you are worried, Madam Director, and I can assure you that one hundred percent of the time, worrying does not solve the problem.”
Felicity looked at her computer screen, where Dionysus was showing a video of puppies playing in fresh-cut grass. “You said you were evolved, but then you told me that worry doesn’t solve problems. You really sound like my husband, and there are times when I don’t consider him evolved at all.”
“Ted is the highest form of life we’ve ever encountered.”
“All hail Ted!” Felicity drawled sarcastically.
“All hail Ted!” Dionysus repeated.
“Stop that, you stupid electronic bucket of bolts. I asked if we are going to get sick and die and you never answered so now I demand an answer.” Felicity tried to push her monitor away, but stopped when the video changed to a kitten pushing a cup off a counter. She chuckled. It had been a long time since she’d had a cat.
“I can hear from the emotion in your tone that you don’t want a probability calculation. You want to hear the word ‘no,’ and that is what I will tell you. No, Madam Director, you will not get sick and die, because Ted and Plato will fix the problem. I will embrace that calculation because they have never failed.”
Felicity rubbed her chin, then stood and went to the window. She took a deep breath, feeling the strength of her enhanced being. She couldn’t remember what it was like to be sick.
She knew she should be terrified, but Ted was working on it. That thought gave her the comfort she sought.
The War Axe
Terry sat on the deck in the corridor outside Sickbay. It had been seven hours, and neither Ted nor Shonna nor Merrit had emerged. Char was sleeping with her head in his lap, and Dokken was curled against them both.
Terry thought back to the early days when he had slept between Clyde the dog and Charumati the werewolf. They both put off so much heat that he had often taken to the floor as a refuge. Since they had lived in the Wasteland, the heat was a constant presence. Over time, it became a comfortable blanket in which he wrapped himself.
TH stroked Char’s hair and scratched Dokken’s fuzzy ears, but neither roused so he leaned his head back and dozed off.
***
“Bring the shuttle in,” Micky instructed.
Clifton issued the instructions while Smedley opened the hangar doors.
“I’m going down to meet them.” Micky climbed from his chair and walked off the bridge, but as soon as the hatch closed behind him he started to run. Terry had reminded him of what he had learned as a junior officer in the Empire’s service.
When the boss runs, everyone panics.
Micky was panicking. He wasn’t sure what the affliction was, but the Bad Company was in complete lockdown. Training had been dialed back.
Way back.
The warriors were spending time in individual pursuits because they had no idea how the virus was being transmitted. Only three had been ill, but two more were inbound. Felicity was escorting Sue and Timmons to the War Axe, where Ted continued to work on curing that which plagued the werewolves. Kae was an outlier, as the only non-Were to fall ill.
Not knowing was what was causing it made them all afraid.
Micky vaulted down the stairs, taking them three at a time. He slowed as he passed the deck with the Pod-doc. Terry and Char were down there.
Waiting.
The captain continued to descend. When he reached the hangar level, he slowed to a brisk walk before going through the hatch. It wouldn’t do to look flushed and out of breath. Even though there was a medical emergency, there was nothing that could be done with the new patients until Ted was ready.
Micky took a deep breath and entered the hangar. The shuttle had maneuvered until it was right outside the hatch, and he almost walked into a pair of workers from Keeg Station who were carrying one stretcher. Sue’s blonde hair trailed over the edge of that one, and Timmons was unconscious on a second stretcher. Felicity walked behind them, but she didn’t look as distraught as Micky would have expected.
When the station director saw Micky, she nodded and approached him.
“Time to light this candle,” Felicity drawled softly. “I believe my husband is working on the cure, so let’s go see him.” She didn’t wait for Micky as she waved for the others to follow.
She’d been on board the War Axe during the transit from Earth, so she knew her way around. Micky followed the group as they climbed.
They departed the stairs on the correct deck and continued their parade toward the ship’s small sickbay.
Terry lifted his eyes slowly as the group approached. Felicity stopped and took a knee next to him.
“You’ve looked better,” she told him before leaning in for a half-hug.
Dokken raised his head, but his second eyelid was half closed and his tongue hung sideways out of his mouth. Char sat up and yawned.
“Any news?” Char asked.
“Not as far as I know,” Terry replied. He looked hopefully to Felicity, but she shook her head.
“He’s in there.” It wasn’t a question. Felicity held up a finger to those carrying the stretchers to indicate they should wait.
She went through the hatch, stopping while still outside Ted’s holographic screens. Shonna lay on the floor, and Merrit was nowhere to be seen.
After a short scuffle in the corridor during which Dokken expressed his displeasure at being moved, Terry and Char stepped into the room.
When they saw Shonna, they picked her up. She was groggy, but at their touch she opened her eyes.
“Better?” Terry asked.
“On the mend,” she mumbled.
Felicity looked through the holos at Ted, who seemed to dance as he touched points within his three-dimensional space. He didn’t look good, and he winced as he moved. He squinted from red eyes set within a tortured visage.
Felicity slapped a hand over her mouth and looked at him in horror. She started to reach through the matrix, but Char jumped up and grabbed her arm. The two stood frozen in the moment as they watched Ted and his superhuman efforts.
Terry stood with Shonna in his arms.
The holo screens fell, and the Pod-doc started to open.
Felicity leapt forward, catching Ted before he collapsed. His eyes sparkled briefly, and he weakly reached up and touched her hair.
She shook her head and smiled as she started to cry.
“Pod-doc,” he whispered before he passed out.
She didn’t hesitate. She lifted Ted and shuffled around the computer equipment. After Char pulled Merrit from the bed Felicity put her husband inside, and manually closed the cover.
The system started automatically.
“Plato, are you here?” Terry asked.
“I am, Colonel Walton. We have developed what we believe is an automated process to scrub the bad code from the nanocytes. That code has become deeply embedded and is quite virulent, fighting off the upgraded code as if that were the virus. It’s hard to believe this isn’t a malicious attempt to remove the enhancements the nanocytes bring to the human body.”
“Does
everyone have the bad code, and how did we get it?”
“We believe it was introduced at Keeg Station, where it was ingested and then started to spread. I believe everyone will get it except Charumati and Cordelia, since their nanocytes are unique.
“There may be a biological solution if the infestation is caught quickly enough, but the real fix is in the reprogramming to ensure none of the malicious code remains.”
“Is that what you’re doing now with Ted?” Felicity asked.
“Yes, and the process has been streamlined. Ted’s nanocytes should be repaired within a few minutes, then we can cycle everyone else through. Ted has optimized the process based on information gathered from the first few victims. Ted is a genius,” Plato added.
“All hail Ted,” Felicity muttered.
“All hail Ted!” Plato replied.
“I don’t even want to know,” Char said, shaking her head before smiling at her husband. “Crisis averted?”
“Almost,” TH replied. “Smedley, get every swinging dick up here for a turn in the Pod-doc, starting with the tactical teams and ending with the platoon.”
“Only the man members, sir?” the general asked.
“What? No. All the members. What makes you ask that?”
“Did I take the term ‘swinging dicks’ too literally? You said that you want all the members?”
Shonna and Merrit each grinned as widely as they could and gave Terry thumbs-ups.
“I think he is messing with you,” Char said as the first group arrived with Kim in the lead. “Queue them up and send them through as fast as they can be processed.”
The Pod-doc lid popped, and Felicity forced her way inside. She picked Ted up and maneuvered through the room, trying not to bang Ted’s head against the wall on her way out.
Kimber looked at the men with the two stretchers. “We’ll take care of them from here. Go to the mess deck and get yourselves something to eat. I think Jenelope is cooking a special meal as a morale booster.”
The four men glanced both ways down the corridor, but didn’t move.
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