Starting from Scratch (22 page)

“Yes, I know. I thought you had already learned that
in Iraq. Now, if you’ll forgive me, I have to check on our future
warriors.”

After he left the room, Wayne said, “Who does he
think he’s kidding? He’s going to check on our newest staff
member.”

Then Max, Wayne and Bambi, continued to work out the
details of the plan. They wanted to cover a wide variety of
contingencies that could pop up. Max demonstrated his remarkable
depth of thought on polishing off the details of an operation. He
constantly bombarded Wayne and Bambi with ugly scenarios, some of
which were just plain ridiculous.

He told them at the end of their session, “When I
bring up seemingly stupid possibilities, it is to remind you that
the enemy might not see it as stupid. It’s better to be prepared
than it is to be surprised.”

Wayne, remembering his brief encounter with a guided
missile, mumbled, “Amen, brother.”

Most of the people going through the upgrade were
nude. None if them would have noticed if the female scientist
suffering the same process was naked, because everyone was
afflicted with the same agony. As a courtesy to her gender, Bambi
had provided the few women with a loose fitting gown that allowed
them some dignity. So when Mike looked in on her, all he saw was
her lovely young face. He thought it was perfect.

He commed,
Thanks, Bambi. You did a great job and
I’m sure Bet will be pleased. I know I am.

With a soft melodic lilt to her voice, she replied,
Welcome.

When Bet finally began to come out of the upgrade
process, she was still woozy, as she asked Mike, “Please promise me
that if I ever have to go through that again, you’ll just shoot
me.”

He smiled and agreed. “I know how you feel, Bet. I
felt the same way. The good news is that you’ll never have to
suffer like that again and thanks to the nanites you’ll find that
you rarely feel pain. If you stub your toe, you’ll feel it for a
half second, and then the little buggers go to work and squelch it
for you immediately. You’ll be able to have them do a complete
diagnostic on any part of your body. Just go to the appropriate
file and tell them to do it.”

Bet was feeling tired, but it was her nature to
ignore it and get on with her work. She tried to get up out of the
med unit bed and nearly collapsed. Mike caught her and guided her
back to a sitting position, as he warned, “Don’t push too hard at
first. You’ll get there, but you have to allow your body to finish
the process of making various connections and adjustments for
you.”

“Thanks, Mike. Mary told me it would be awkward. She
also told me I needed to find a way to see, in my mind, this Mental
Control Panel…the MCP. She said you gave it that name.”

“That’s right. Bambi helped me find it by
highlighting a memory that was dear to me. I don’t know of any
memories of yours, except the one between us. Would you consider me
rude, if I asked Bambi to go into your mind and retrieve that
beautiful hour we spent together?”

She actually blushed and quietly told him, “Mike, is
that really the only memory you have of me. I know we’ve only known
each other briefly, but I’d like to think that we had more of a
connection than just that.”

“We did, Bet, I can assure you. Wait a second.”

Bambi, see if you can show her the first time we
met, when she took me to task for kidnapping her.

I’ll need her permission.

So, ask her. But do it through the comm.

Bet’s expression changed to one of wonder, as Bambi
commed her new biologic module.
Bet, may I have your permission
to enter your memories and highlight one for you? It will help you
to discover the MCP.

“Yes, Bambi, by all means, please do.”

Bet’s face lit up with joy, as she felt and
internally saw the look on Mike’s face, as she scolded him that
first time.

Bambi commed her.
Now think about looking down and
you will notice the equivalent of a blinking light. That’s the file
I created for this memory. Press on it with your mind.

Bet understood immediately and mentally leaned
against the file button, opening an enormous flood of memories.

“Oh my God. The memories are so clear, although some
are fuzzy. I’m not really seeing them, yet it’s as though I
was.”

Mike commed,
Kind of cool, isn’t it?

“Yes it is,” she replied, without realizing she had
heard Mike’s communication through the comm net and not out
loud.

Bet, try talking to me by thinking it, instead of
saying it. Just following my transmission back to the source and
reply the same way.

There was a long pause, and then she commed,
Is
this right? Am I doing it? Oh, you don’t have to answer me, because
I know I’ve got it now. Oh this is wonderful, Mike.

They commed back and forth for half an hour, and then
Mike had a robot chair roll over to her, saying,
This little
character will take you to your stateroom. I want you to relax, eat
a ton of food and drink a lot of water. What ever you want, just
comm Bambi and she’ll see to your needs.

He watched her leave the shuttle, and then he went to
visit with Commander Vollmar. Mike wasn’t as endearing to him,
although he was sympathetic to the wretched experience that had
finally been put behind him. He helped Vollmar find his MCP, and
then moved on to some of the old vets who were coming around.
That’s when he realized that most of them were having trouble
finding their MCPs. He had Bambi jump in and give them a hand.

When he stopped to chat with Jim Atteberry, he found
the man smiling.

Mike asked, “Are you all right?”

Jim grinned at him and responded gleefully, “Wow,
this stuff is really great. I can look into all sorts of files and
it’s all so fast. I love it.”

Mike was a little puzzled. “Who helped you figure out
how to use it?”

“Was I supposed to have help? I guess I didn’t need
it, because I seem to have a good understanding of what’s what.
I’ve always been a quick learner.”

Mike was impressed by the man’s ability to understand
and use the MCP, without guidance. He decided to test Jim’s newly
installed talents.

Jim, I have a need for your input, regarding a
situation we’re going to face, as we touch down on Earth. There is
going to be an attempt to assassinate me.

Mike expected to see the man’s facial expression
change, but it did not. Jim looked back at him with a blank stare
and Mike thought, “Man, this guy must be an awfully good poker
player.” Then Jim commed him back;
I suppose this is the
government’s effort to take control. I’m not surprised. There were
times when I had to hide in the weeds, as I witnessed it happen
several times. The UFO project had a few high ranking politicians
who had to be made aware of our discovery. Some of those people
wanted it in their backyard, so they could milk it for
profit.

It was disgusting to watch how little they cared for
the reality of what that space ship could mean for humanity. All
they wanted was to enhance their power, by controlling the
information that was being gleaned from it. And not a single one of
them gave a tinker’s damn about those missing people.

The guy’s insight was amazing. Mike told him,
Damn, Jim, you got it in one.

Atteberry pointed out,
General, you fought in
wars, where the enemy shot at you. I dealt with a much lower life
form for an enemy, politicians and their sycophants. Our secret
non-existent agency was always under threat of a power grab from
some politician who was trying to enhance his or her position on
Capital Hill. Some of them actually had no idea what we were
hiding, just that it was top secret and in Nevada. We had to squash
a lot of rumors, in the early days, due to deliberate leaks.
Eventually, the Air Force just ignored them and said, “No
comment.”

Mike gave Atteberry his orders.
Jim, I want you to
maintain that same low profile that you’re obviously good at. That
includes while you’re here with us. Just be a fly on the
wall.

While you’re getting your mental legs under you, I
want you to spend some time with General Kolbe. Max will bring you
up to date on our plans to deal with my assassination, as well as
how we intend to grab the damaged ship headed this way.

General, should I just seek him out, or would it be
best to comm him?

Comm him. You can do it without anyone knowing that
the two of you are in touch. The same is true for all of us. So, if
you wish to speak with me, ping me in the comm system. And use
Bambi as a resource. I think you’ll find her to be a huge aid in
bringing you up to speed.

Bambi jumped in.
Hello, Mr. Atteberry. I’m always
available, if you need anything or any information. Just comm me
privately as you would anyone else.

Again, the man looked calm as a cucumber, when he
responded,
Thank you, Bambi. I’m sure I’ll have a lot of
questions for you. I hope they won’t keep you from your day
job.
And then he smiled at his little attempt at humor.

Mike was pleased to see that the guy wasn’t as
robotic as he seemed most of the time.

Several hours later, Max and Mike held a conference
in a large meeting room that Bambi had constructed for just such
big gatherings. They had all of the upgraded men, the Naval
contingent, Bet and the other scientists present to explain the
problem regarding Mike’s imminent assassination.

After giving them the rundown, Mike announced,
“Gentlemen, I fear we’re going to have this happen from time to
time, and it won’t just be the Americans. Once the other English
speaking nations join in, we may have to face the possibility of
more attempts to take over all of the alien technology. Eventually,
a wide range of countries will have to be included in what’s really
happening and some of those countries are naturally belligerent to
America and, therefore, us. Sadly, it’s the nature of men and women
in power. They will see us as opponents and thus a hindrance to
their way of doing things. And they’re right.

“We are a hindrance to their way of doing business.
But we can’t wait for the normal methods of preparing for war to
slow down what little progress we are making. Even if everything
went perfectly, we would still have only a slim chance against the
Saurans. We must prevent men like Mike Hardesty, and any other
power hungry bureaucrats, from taking over the Terran Space
Navy.

“Now, the problem is, we may have to do some harm to
innocent soldiers, who are just following orders. It is not and
never will be a preferred method to counter such acts against us.
The plan we have come up with offers the possibility of zero
casualties on both sides; and yes, I know it is unlikely. But, if
we execute to the best of our ability, we should have a minimum of
collateral damage.

“A good part of that minimization will be the careful
application of force by each of you. Learn how to best use your
minds to control the weapons we’re giving you. Use the lowest
settings and you’ll find that you’re only stunning these people,
not killing them.

“Bambi tells me that it’s possible that some of these
men’s bodies will not be able to survive a stun shot. We won’t have
the luxury of sticking our toe into the water, to check it out in a
casual way. When the shit hits the fan, we’re going to be neck deep
and we’d better get it right, or we’re fucked and so is the planet
Earth.

“Anyone who feels that they can’t pull the trigger,
please tell Major Benson, via the comm, and he will see that you
are not assigned to this mission. However, you might still be used
on the effort to capture the Sauran ship we’re hoping to grab.
There will be no repercussions for anyone who doesn’t wish to stun
a fellow American. Believe me when I say, I don’t want to either.
But I will, if means saving my home and our world from being
destroyed.

“For those who want in on this, General Kolbe will
give you the details of how we intend to avoid this catastrophe. He
will answer your questions completely and honestly. Bambi, as
always, will be available for that as well.

“Thank you all. I know that it’s a dream come true to
have a young body again and to have all of your limbs working, as
they should. Each of you has paid a dear price for the freedoms
that Americans continue to enjoy and I’m sorry that you are the
ones that have to risk it all again. But, you’ve been made aware of
the situation and I’m sure we can all agree on one thing. It sucks.
I give you now to General Kolbe.”

As he walked out of the room, there was no cheering,
or clapping. For Mike, the silence was deafening. Had he handled it
badly? He didn’t know. But the lack of any show of enthusiasm was a
serious concern for him. He cast a last glance at Bet, but she gave
no indication of her thoughts on his speech. That was
discouraging.

He wondered if any of the men would want to be
included in the action at Nellis. If not, this entire organization,
and perhaps the Earth, would be screwed.

Ten minutes later, Max commed him.
You did well,
Mike. All but two of them are in and they might still join us. It
seems those two men are still working to build some muscle mass,
after regrowing missing limbs. Bambi said you could relate to
that.

Indeed I do, Max. I felt shaky for a few days, until
could move around without fear of falling on my ass.

Max told him,
Mike, Al Benson commed me and
suggested that I go ahead and issue weapons for training purposes
now. Bambi assures me that she can teach the men how to use them
and what power settings to use for the mission. She’ll also provide
them with a few simulated exercises. She knows the territory at
Nellis where our men will need to operate and she is building a
program that will be exactly like it. She said the men will think
they’re on the ground, as they work out the kinks.