by Saxon Andrew
Ka saw a light illuminate on her monitor and she entered her computer. She watched the two crews introduce themselves and her heart went into her throat as she heard Jee and Jan introduce themselves as Stevens-Albritton. Her tears were immediate, and she lowered her head into her hands as she heard them take her name as their own. She wept and finally managed to say to Tal over her subvocal communicator, “Thank you for that!”
“I’ll take care of your family, Ka. I love them, too!”
The contact ended, and Ka left the lab to be alone with her sorrow and joy. Tal was right; allowing them to go made them family. If she had prevented them from going, she would have lost them. Tal was seldom wrong…be honest…he was never wrong when he made a decision. The only bad decision he ever made was choosing her. She didn’t want to admit it but the worse decision she ever made was rejecting him. She closed her eyes and saw Sha in her mind. She missed her daughter so much.
• • •
Covering the new crew on the ship’s systems went smoothly and he showed Greg how to operate the various systems needed to fly the ship and talked in detail about using the joy stick. “If you use the joy stick, you can control the ship’s speed like nothing you’ve ever flown Greg. You can stop the ship inside a phase field from full speed and then go to any speed you choose. You can avoid overrunning an enemy warship when you take out its phase field. I’ll share some recordings I made on our first trip out in one of these ships. Jan, why don’t you bring Mo up-to-date on the scanners?”
Tal noticed that Jee was nervous and wondered what had him bothered. He turned back to Jan and was impressed. She did an excellent job of going over the minute details of operating the new scanning system. She finished, and Tal turned to Greg, “I’ve had the missiles we’re carrying hand built and they are programmed to either attack a ship inside a phase field or a ship outside of a phase field. Unfortunately, they can’t do both. Jee, why don’t you go over the weapon systems with Joe.”
Jee stared at Tal and he suddenly saw that Tal realized that Jan was just as nervous as him. The new crew saw it as well and Tal’s brow furrowed, “Jee, what’s going on?” Tal asked.
“I’d really rather not say right now, Sir.”
“Jee, whatever it is, this crew needs to hear how their new ship is going to perform.”
“Can I wait to tell them, Sir.”
“Until when?” Tal asked.
“After we leave.”
“Jee, what’s going on?!” Tal repeated.
‘If I tell you, I might be prevented from going with you, Sir.”
Tal stared at Jee and turned to Greg, “I need your crew to keep what he says secret; will they do that?”
“Tal, that is not something I can agree to if it involves the safety of my crew.” Greg responded.
Tal struggled and made a decision, “Jee, you have to tell us what’s going on. Their lives are more important than your going on this mission.”
“Tal, they’re safer, not in more danger,” Jee blurted out.
Greg turned to Jee reassuring him, “If that is true, we will keep it to ourselves.”
Jee raised his shoulders, “I sort of…well…erased the software the two scientists installed in the missiles’ programming.”
The bridge was silent, you could hear Duncan yelling a hundred-yards away outside the ship from the open landing bay door. Tal asked, “Why would you do that, Jee.”
“Because it’s stupid to program a missile that can’t attack a ship regardless of being in or out of a phase field!” Tal stared at him waiting for the rest of the explanation and Jee sighed, “I rewrote the software and installed it in the board before it was duplicated.”
Jan jumped in defending her brother, “Jee is the most talented programmer in the colonies. If he wrote the software, it’s far superior to the one developed by the scientists.”
Tal turned to Jee, “Is it?”
Jee started taking at high-speed, “Tal, those missiles are now killing machines and if they’re fired at an alien warship, it is going to die.” Jee turned to Joe, “Just choose the target from your attack display, and send the target to a missile. That’s all you have to do! Fire it and forget it. You can then use your time looking for another target instead of trying to determine if the missile hits the target.”
Greg stared at Jee, “That good, huh?”
“Better than you can imagine, Sir.”
Greg turned to Tal. Tal exhaled slowly before saying, “Greg, the computer experts in the colonies are far more advanced than the engineers on Earth.” He turned to Jee, “Why did you do this?”
“Because if I showed them my talents, they would have told Dr. Meier and he would have told Mom. She would have insisted I was too important to risk sending out on this mission. I wasn’t going to take that risk. My place is here on this ship with you and my sister.”
“Are you certain about your programming, Jee.”
Jee snorted, “You can take it to the bank.”
Tal turned to Greg and saw him shrug before saying, “If you trust him, then I will as well. We’ll not discuss this with anyone until the third crew arrives and we have to cover them on their new ship.”
Tal looked at Jee, “We’ll be long gone by then.”
Jee’s smile was huge, “Let’s go over your console, Joe. You’re going to like this!”
Joe smiled, “Teach me, Master.”
Jee waved his hand toward him, “You’ll probably be better than I am. You’ve been on an actual warship and have a lot more experience that me.” After five minutes, everyone on the bridge doubted anyone was better at weapons use that Jee.
Chapter Six
Tee was walking next to a building where he had taken out his first aliens; things had changed quite a bit. A few weeks earlier, every alien on the planet was picked up in transports and moved off Australia’s surface. There was widespread panic that the aliens were preparing to bombard the planet in retaliation for the deaths caused by the assassins. The President of Australia made an announcement that there was no need to panic; the aliens were bringing in new forces and to remain calm, but that didn’t help much. The new landing forces began arriving in the cities and everyone on Australia knew these aliens were very different from the ones that landed earlier. Their equipment was clearly more modern and lethal. The armored blasters were incredibly fast, and it was clear the armor was made from an entirely different substance than the earlier units. They were also air-conditioned and the troops inside them wouldn’t have to get out in the hot, sweltering nights. During the daylight hours, the aliens stood outside watching the intersections they controlled. One of them always remained inside the blaster vehicle.
The new warriors were also armored from head to foot. They looked menacing and made the earlier troops look tame and friendly in comparison. These soldiers took pleasure in inflicting pain on the local populace and soon, everyone avoided the intersections where their tracks were located. The businesses located at those intersections were empty of traffic but weren’t allowed to close by the aliens. The planet began enduring hardship and fear began growing that the worst was yet to come.
Tee didn’t go near the alien mobile blaster but walked against the wall and tried to go unnoticed. He studied the armored track for any weaknesses and didn’t see any. This was going to be a tough nut to crack. Perhaps he had earned enough and should just settle in for the long haul and wait to collect his bounty on the forty aliens he had already killed. He was walking with a small group of pedestrians that were quickly moving around the corner of the intersection when one of the aliens raised a strange looking rifle, aimed, and fired hitting Tee with a powerful electrical field.
Tee collapsed to the pavement screaming as the other pedestrians sprinted away screaming. Tee suddenly felt every muscle in his body spasming and every nerve in his body felt like it was on fire. The alien that shot him sauntered over and bent down to look in Tee’s face. Tee could see the alien’s face through his clear face-
cover and he was smiling malevolently. Tee’s body violently jerked completely off the ground and fell back for what seemed like an eternity, but the shock finally wore off and he fell on his side leaving him facing the alien’s tracked vehicle. The alien that shot him turned to the other four aliens at the track, raised his weapon above his head, and cheered himself on the great shot; the other aliens cheered with him. Tee kept his eyes on the alien as it walked away and saw a strange symbol on the side of his helmet. He switched his focus to the other aliens and saw all of them had different symbols on their helmets. It had to be some kind of identification. He remained on the sidewalk for hours recovering as other pedestrians saw him and turned away. He was finally able to get to his feet and stumble away. The same alien raised his rifle again, as one of the other aliens snorted and laughed. Tee knew he would die if the alien hit him again, but the obvious commander of the group put his hand on the rifle and pushed it down. Tee could see that killing was frowned on but inflicting severe pain was acceptable. He managed to move away and fell into an alley several blocks away. He crawled to the center of the alley and waited until nightfall. Every muscle in his body was screaming as he pushed the section of wall back and crawled through. He pressed a device in his pocket and a cutout rose slightly. It took him weeks to install small wireless devices to slightly raise the cutouts scattered around the city. It was too dangerous to get trapped outside and not be able to raise them.
He raised the cutout higher and crawled down to the ladder. It took all his effort to lower the cover and pull the cutout back in place. He managed to move down the ladder but fell the last-three-feet into the pipe. He rolled over on his back and closed his eyes. The last thing he saw in his mind before he passed out was the alien’s face laughing at him.
When Tee regained consciousness, he felt like eight miles of bad highway, although he was able to stand and walk. He bent down and touched his toes numerous times as he moved toward his hidden quarters and after a mile, some of the aches began to disappear. By the time he arrived at the ladder leading to his lair, the only lingering pain was a headache. He climbed into the main room, fell into his recliner, and injected himself with a pain reducer just before closing his eyes. He laid there and thought about the alien that shot him. He finally turned on the monitor and saw images of many people lying in the streets of the city where aliens had shot them for no reason. Tee’s eyes narrowed into slits, things had just turned personal; that alien was going to die.
• • •
The AL looked up from his console to see the Division Commander staring at him, “You have something to say?”
The AL remained calm, as he replied, “Your deliberate brutality on the population is not called for, Commander. This behavior is going to cause more harm than good and you’re punishing inhabitants that had nothing to do with the deaths of our landing forces.”
“Save your sympathy! You’re nothing more than a weakling.”
“Before your arrival, the population was willing to work with us. Now they’re going to have to be forced to assist us. The price of your sadism is going to cut deeply into the profits we could have made here.” The Commander’s expression turned angry, as the AL said calmly, “I’ve informed the Law Enforcer of your brutality and sent a report to the Prince Royal that ninety-percent of the inhabitants that originally agreed to work with us have withdrawn their agreements. You can explain why that happened when you report in to him.” The Commander’s expression immediately changed from anger, to concern, and quickly back to rage. The Prince is only driven by greed and this AL had just poked him in the place that would cause him problems. He pulled his hand blaster out of the holster and pointed it at the AL. The AL smiled, “This conversation is being recorded, Commander. Please, pull the stud!”
The Commander was shaking due to his rage; his hand trembled as he kept the blaster pointed at the AL. He raised his head and roared at the ceiling before storming off the bridge. The Fleet Commander watched the confrontation calmly and observed, “I’ve always felt ALs were pretty much weaklings; you’ve just changed my mind. I don’t think I could have done what you just pulled off.”
“Unfortunately, it’s not going to change anything. He’ll continue to brutalize the population,” The AL replied.
“The assassins have not been active since they’ve arrived, AL. I suspect they may have something to say about what’s going on.”
“They care nothing about what happens to the citizens on the planet.”
“No, but they probably don’t like the new troops thumbing their faces at them daring them to act. Even the most terrible of beings have pride. The Division Commander is an idiot and his arrogance and sadism will lead to things he’s not anticipating.”
“What do you mean, Commander?” the AL pressed.
“Have you really looked at this planet’s technology? It’s becoming clear to me that they are more advanced technologically than our civilization and it’s only a matter of time until they develop the means of destroying our warships. We’re stuck on six of their planets while the rest of our forces are out chasing another alien civilization. If we don’t invade the other planets quickly, we’re going to lose this fight.”
The AL watched as the commander took out a small-electronic unit from his pocket. “This small device allows me to listen in on everything being said between our ground forces and our fleet” the commander explained. “I purchased it in a store for next to nothing. It’s programable and detects any frequencies around it. Even our best scanners aren’t as good as this small unit and it’s just a toy on this planet.” The Commander handed it to the AL, “What the Enforcer said about treating invaded planets fairly keeps running through my mind. I only hope this civilization doesn’t have their own Elite Divisions.” The AL examined the small-hand-unit and then began typing on his console.
• • •
Tee exercised every day getting his muscles back in tone and his strength back to what it was before the alien shot him. He heard a ping and stood up from doing pushups. He pressed a button on his computer and saw a message from Ric. Ummm…he was saying that any assassin that had the necessary tools and guts to take on the new invaders should plan to use them in six days.”
Tee though about why Ric wanted it done within six days. He let the idea run around in his head and then smiled; the aliens must have shot Ric just like him, while he was scouting their positions. He was ticked off! He had already planned to attack the aliens that shot him in five days. The aliens relieved the units stationed in the cities every two weeks and he didn’t want the crew of that track to get away before he made them pay for what they had done to him. If numerous alien positions were hit, it might help reduce the time the aliens could respond to his attack. He decided to wait an additional day. He smiled and went back to his pushups.
• • •
Tee made two trips to the cutout to get the equipment he needed to pull off his attack. The MH-R Launcher had to be carried alone, it weighted fifty lbs. without the two rockets. He pulled his most prized possession out of the gun cabinet and slammed an air-canister into the stock. He loaded it with two-special magazines and checked out the switch to insure it smoothly changed from one magazine to the other.
The darts in the two magazines cost a thousand credits each and were manufactured to exacting tolerances. The darts were made from a metal that would penetrate the armor of anything up to chronide; those aliens weren’t wearing chronide armor. Getting them out of their armored track was the main issue he’d have to deal with. The MH-R would have to make that happen.
• • •
He sat in his recliner rocking back and forth, as he picked up a glass of water from the table and noticed his hand trembling. He took a slow sip and closed his eyes. Tee always prided himself on his control and patience, never taking a shot unless he was certain of the conditions around him. Now, he saw that he didn’t care and wasn’t even worried about losing his life in this attack, this had become person
al. He took several long, deep, slow, breaths and centered his mind. He had made it personal and he was losing the tight control of his body as a result. With the shakes he was having, he’d be lucky to hit the track much less the aliens. He had to come to terms with what was happening. Was he frightened? Yes, he was. Why? He could die. So?
Tee looked at possibly dying and decided it was something he had long ago came to terms with. He didn’t care about what he would be paid for what would happen tonight. He visualized the other people lying in the street around him twitching from the alien’s shots as he staggered away. They didn’t have a place to run and hide and he knew they were killed later that night when they were caught violating curfew. He could have very easily been one of them but for his close by cutout.
Tee had never considered anyone else but himself…but now he felt kindred spirits and sense of loss for those that were suffering like he did that day. He stopped rocking and was still. He was going to do this tonight for those that would die from these alien’s brutality. He sensed a peace fill him and he opened his yes, picked up the glass of water, and held it in front of him. The water was perfectly still, and he took a sip. He set an alarm, closed his eyes, and slept soundly for the first time since the alien shot him. This was worth giving up his life.
• • •
The alarm sounded, and he turned it off. He walked to a small cabinet and took five small-round-balls out of a plastic container. He opened the cover on an electronic machine in the cabinet and placed the five balls in a row of indentations. He set one dial to fifty-percent and the other to eight. He closed the lid and pressed a green button; it turned red and he went to put on his black suit. When he returned, the button was green again. He lifted the cover and took the balls out, closed the cover and cabinet, then put the balls in his leg pouch. Slinging the rifle over his shoulder, he looked around the room for possibly the last time, then climbed down the ladder.