Earth Ship Protectress: Book Two in the Freddy Anderson Chronicles (8 page)

She received several “You bet we will, ma’am”s from the team, and he was taken away.

“Black.”

Nothing went black. I could still see right through the tentacles, and during that session, I turned down the knob on the machine that ran the tank. It was very difficult, but it turned.

Green said, “I must agree, sire. This Susan did seem to be more Black than most others we captured. Still, she had a lot of Blue in her and some Yellow, I think. I had not thought to look at them this way.”

Yellows said, “Order the others to look at the past memories we have taken and see what they think, if categorized into colors.”

Green turned to the other Greens and said, “Do it.” Then it turned back to me.

Chapter 11
Sometimes Things Affect Us a Lot

E
verything was quiet after that. I headed back into the kitchen to get something to drink. Behind me, I heard Mike asking, “He doesn’t stay upset very long, does he?”

Susan took a second to answer. “You have no idea. He’s thinking right now, letting it set in, and figuring out the ramifications of what this means. Thank God he trusts us enough to know we’ll handle it, but God forgive the army if I can’t get them to stop.”

I turned around and said sadly, “Susan, I’m tired. I think I need to sleep on this. I can’t work right now anyway, as I’m too worried that the evil army people will harm you and me. I can’t go into my shop right now. Please, could you keep one of my protectors near me? Mr. Fly, I’m sorry, but I can’t let anyone into the shuttles right now. Please be aware that they’re locked down tight with orders to self-destruct if anyone breaches the shields, so please stay away.”

I walked over to Colleen and took her hand. I looked up at her and said, “I don’t want to go to my room alone, but I’m very tired. Would you please come and stay with me for a while?”

Colleen looked at the commander, and the commander motioned for her to go ahead.

When I reached my bedroom, I said to Colleen, “This scares me, and I really don’t want to be left alone right now.”

“I understand, Freddy.”

I heard the commander downstairs, asking Katie, “Could you read him on that last?”

“I received several impressions, Commander. First, he’s really scared. He was not kidding about being worried, and all of a sudden, he’s very tired, so I think he’s going to do exactly what he said. He’s not playing some child’s game. You know him better than that. He is really upset about this. I received the strong feeling that he trusts us, but he doesn’t trust that someone won’t find a way into his shop and gas him or something. He’s thinking up ways right now to make his shop more secure against intruders. He’s also thinking that going to the stars is a folly because when he gets there, the army will just take it away from him, and he won’t be able to”—she stopped and stared at the commander—“save the planet from disaster!”

Betsy, one of the SEAL team, said, “Oh God, save us!”

“Commander, he is really upset,” said Katie. “Remember the last time he was like this?”

“Yes. He didn’t eat for a week, and he did nothing but sleep. We thought he was trying to kill himself. Then it was weeks before he went back to work, and that was piecemeal. He had to redo everything he’d done for a month.”

Katie turned to the others and explained, “When he gets worried, he thinks too much and reads too much into everything. He loses his appetite completely, and he gets paranoid and depressed. He can’t work like this because he makes too many mistakes, and that causes him to worry even more. Commander, those ships are set to disintegrate if anything happens to them, and so is the shop. I received that very clearly.”

“I need to think this through,” said the commander. “Please keep up with the training. He has to be present for scenario number fifty-one, and it’s just possible that we can pull him out of it then.”

Susan went to her office. I watched her thoughts for a few minutes until I fell asleep. I was so tired.

Gray said, “Weakling.”

God!
I wished they would stop talking and probe me some more. I was tapping into Yellows’ energies, and I turned that knob off. I couldn’t do any more while Yellows were not occupied with helping the probe.

Yellows asked, “Weakling?”

Gray said, “He has a mental breakdown over some little problem like a spy. How cute. He belongs in the Purple child pens.”

Green said, “How dare you say that about a Red of any species!”

Green was so angry that he let go of me and looked around for something to bash the Gray. Blue saw me falling and panicked. A Yellows’ tentacle reached out and gently tapped Green and Blue. They became totally emotionless and immediately stopped. Green turned around and came back to the tank. He placed his tentacles under me again and held me up. I touched the sides three times while falling. Green said in an unemotional tone, “The creature is not harmed.”

Yellows touched them again, and emotion returned, but they were calm. “How can this be? It should be dead. We saw it touch the side.”

I said, “Seems to me that Green had a little Gray in him for a minute. Perhaps you are not as different as you think.”

“Do not be profane, creature. How is it you are still alive?” Yellows asked.

“I turned the switch off.”

Yellows looked over at the switch and turned it up fully. Then they ordered, “We want two more Yellows in here immediately, and have Green guard that switch!”

As two small Yellows entered, Blue and Gray backed up. Green would have backed up, if not for being required to hold me centered in the tank. The new Yellows bowed to the other Yellows, and eyes looked unblinkingly at the other colors in the room. A Purple fainted, and two Greens quickly attended him, glad of something to do.

The new Yellows said, “You wish for help, our pen mate?”

Yellows said, “Yes, our friend. Please hold this creature up, and monitor any attempts from him to use mental abilities. If he tries, do not shut him down or erase memories. Simply block him.”

“As you wish, pen mate.” Six tentacles entered the tank and wrapped around me, holding me directly and firmly in the center. My mind was held in a firm shield, and everything went black. Darn!

Green removed all his tentacles except the one in my brain. Yellows said, “We are sorry, Green, but your emotions would have destroyed this creature, if not for his deception. We cannot afford any more deceptions or mistakes. Please continue.”

Chapter 12
The President Is Coming

W
hen I woke up four days later, it was because I heard Colleen saying in a soft voice, “Freddy! Wake up, Freddy! The president is coming. She wants to talk with you.”

I turned over and covered my head, asking, “Why? What did I do now?”

She smiled. “I see you have a sense of humor again. You know you did nothing wrong. Now let’s get you up and into the shower, and then we’ll get you dressed.” She threw the covers back and lifted me up, noticing how underweight and undernourished I was, and she carried me to the shower.

When she turned it on, I woke up. I have a great hot-water system, but it still starts out very cold—ice-water mountain cold. “Hey!”

“Stop complaining, and get going.”

“Yes, Aunt Colleen,” I said meekly, while shivering.

I cleaned up and started to get dressed, even though what I really wanted to do was go back to bed. The president was in charge of the army, and she had set them on me again. I just couldn’t see them disobeying her. She was the boss, and that made her responsible for what the army did, didn’t it? Was she against me for some reason? I’d been good, so why was she coming here?

Since it was the president, I supposed that I should dress up a little. I had a suit and tie that the team bought me for my birthday, or I could just dress in my normal work jumper. I could not think, so I went over to the dresser and found a coin. Heads it’s the jumper; tails it’s the suit. It hit the carpet and bounced, finally settling on tails. I said out loud, “The suit it is, I guess.” Luckily, Colleen had already tied the tie for me, so all I had to do was slip it over my head and collar, turn my collar down, and button the flaps. I liked this suit. It was a dark blue with tiny stripes—I was told they were called pinstripes. It made me look like I was thirteen instead of eleven, and I really liked that. I actually felt better for a minute.

Colleen knocked on the door, startling me. She opened it a crack and asked, “Are you ready yet?”

“Yes. I guess so. How do I look?”

She looked at me critically and then tightened and straightened my tie. With a look that seemed motherly, she said, “You’ll do.”

“Why is she here?” I asked. “Are you going to stay next to me? I don’t want to be alone near her.”

She bent down so we were face-to-face. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. The team won’t let anyone harm you, not even the president. You don’t need to worry about her. She’s not here to punish anyone. I think she’s interested in the shuttles.”

I looked at her. “Don’t lie. You’re better than that, and you know I can tell.”

“I wasn’t lying.”

“Scurrying around the real answer is the same as lying.”

“Yes, well, sometimes your abilities are a good thing, and sometimes they’re not.”

“Tell me about it. Sometimes I hate knowing how others feel.” I shivered, remembering the coldness of that Mr. Handelson, and said, “But sometimes it saves my life.” Nothing was said for a few moments while I tidied up the bed. “I’m tired, Aunt Colleen. How long do you think this will take?”

She looked at me with concern. “A while, sweetheart. She came a long way just to talk with you, and we’ve planned a dinner for her. You’re the host, so you need to entertain her and keep her occupied.”

“I guess I can try,” I said, feeling downhearted. We left my room and headed downstairs.

Meanwhile, downstairs in the study, planning was going on. Petty Officer Henderson said, “The president will be here in about ten minutes, Commander.”

“Great! Katie, how’s Freddy?”

“Colleen has him in the shower. Commander, he’s unconsciously broadcasting his thoughts. He can barely stand up he’s so tired. His thoughts are fear of the president. He feels that she’s responsible for the army’s actions and that he might as well give up and die. He doesn’t want to face her. God, I hope she doesn’t make him angry right now. If his fear turns to anger, I have no idea what he’ll do. Don’t let him get cornered, or he could come out fighting. He called Colleen ‘aunt.’ He doesn’t realize it, but he thinks of her as his aunt and protector.” She smiled. “How cute.”

“What?” asked the commander.

“He thinks of you as ‘Mommy.’ He may not say it out loud, but he does.”

“Interesting.”

“We’re like his sisters. I kind of figured that, but he really feels that way.”

“What is he planning to do?”

“Nothing. He’s so tired he had to flip a coin just to decide what to wear. He’s thinking he’s glad Colleen already had his tie tied. He’s also thinking about going back to bed.”

“Where’s Colleen?”

“At the top of the stairs, waiting for him.”

The commander said, “Betsy, tell Colleen that Freddy is thinking of going back to sleep.” Betsy nearly flew up the stairs. “Katie, I know this is spying, and you don’t like doing this to Freddy, but I need to know. What are his immediate needs? What can we do to help him? Is there any clue on how to get him interested in working and living again?”

“First, we need to be ourselves, act natural, joke around, and make light of things. He could use a laugh. Show concern if you feel it. He loves us all very much and will take it well if it’s sincere. Do not fake anything! Next—and possibly most important—show that you’re protecting him. Make a big show of it. Show that you trust the president but not more than you trust Freddy. He needs to see that your concern for him overrides anything the president wants. He trusts us, but he’s feeling very vulnerable right now.”

“Showing protection for him is easy. The orders stand that we protect Freddy at all costs, and I repeat—
all
costs. If that means taking out the president, then do it. The other could be tricky. I could warn the president that I need to go against her on some things, but he’d see right through it. Let’s just hope something comes up that will fit the situation. I can always explain it to the president later.”

Katie said, “He’s on his way down.”

Betsy entered. “Freddy and Colleen are coming down, Commander.”

“You have your orders. I want that helicopter fully scanned, and I want Freddy to see us scan the president and every person who’s with her. What are you waiting for? Scatter!”

The commander stood up and walked out to the front. When she saw Freddy, she almost cried because he looked so tired and pale. He needed to hold on to Colleen just to make it downstairs. His little legs were wobbling like there was no strength left in him. His expression looked drab and listless. His normally bright purple eyes were dark and sunken. Susan’s motherly instincts were in overdrive. She bent and straightened his tie when he reached the bottom of the stairs, and she hugged him close to her as tears started to flow.

“It’s nice to see you too,” I said to the commander.

“It’s good to have you back from the dead, sweetheart.”

I chuckled a little. “Does this mean I can go back to bed now?”

She held me at arm’s length, saying, “No way, young man! You’re not leaving me alone to entertain the president all by myself.”

“Are you still afraid of her? I don’t blame you. I am too.”

She took my hand and started walking toward the front door—the helicopter was coming in. “No, dear. I’m not afraid of her at all. I’m just afraid of looking bad in front of her.”

“I guess that makes sense,” I said. “You respect her and her office, and your career depends on what she thinks about you. That would make anyone nervous. After all, she is your boss. You may think the orders make you independent, but they don’t, not if your job is still in her hands.”

“Freddy, you’ve always had this knack of seeing right to the real issues,” said Colleen. “You understand that we do need to make her happy.” Then, while straightening my tie again, she said in a sterner voice, “You be on your best behavior, young man.”

“Don’t you think it would take some of the tension away if she accidentally slipped and fell in the water?” I asked. “Can she swim?”

Susan looked at me in shock, but seeing my smile, she realized I was pulling her leg. “Don’t even joke about such things.”

“They would kill their president to protect this creature.”

Everything went black, but if you think that’s going to stop me,
think a
gain
!

Yellows said, “Yes, and now you know why their entire fleet is headed toward our home system. Not one ship stayed behind to protect their Earth.”

Blue turned to Yellows with great concern. “Their entire fleet! We will destroy them easily. They must know this.”

Yellows sadly said, “We are not sure they do. Our last Gray leader was so inept this species was winning. They may think they have a chance. What we learn here may save their planet from our fury and this species from total annihilation. No one has ever attacked our home system. The fleets from all the worlds are converging to the home system. Over one thousand battleships. They will be there in plenty of time, and the Gray will not allow a single survivor. Green, please continue.”