Starting from Scratch (8 page)

“Also, they will have the ability to comm each other
and you from our ship in the Kuiper belt. They will be able to
exchange data at phenomenal speeds. This method of communication is
unique and unknown to any government on the planet. No one will be
able to intercept it and even if they did, it is encrypted to such
a degree that they would never be able to read it.”

“Oh, about encryption. We recommend making
substantial changes to all of your military cyber connections. I’m
having Bambi send your people at NSA a copy of a new process for
securing and encrypting your data. Your people can review the
twenty million lines of code for it and decide for yourself if you
wish to use it. It isn’t as good as ours, but it’s OK, I
guess.”

Pierpoint said, “That’s an awfully large amount of
data. There’s no way we can review that in a reasonable amount of
time. And we’re certainly not going to install it in our systems,
at your recommendation.”

“Of course not, sir. When it arrives, it will be in
relatively smaller segments, which will facilitate your review in
an easier manner and can be implemented one segment at a time.

“It probably works out better that way, because other
countries will notice an improvement in your security, yet not be
too alarmed by it. It will be viewed as part of an ongoing process
of cyber security improvements, which all governments do now days.
They won’t realize that once you open it up full bore, they will be
completely unable to gather anything on your activities.”

Pierpoint pressed the matter, “And how will you go
about sending us this data?”

Mike deliberately let out a noticeable chuckle, as he
happily told him, “Oh, it’s already there. It’s sitting in an NSA
file on a server in Fort Meade, Md. Tell them to look for it in a
file for independent contractor closed accounts, with a sub-file
marked “Payment Withheld. The password is
71yearoldfisherman?
”

The President seemed upset, when he asked, “Don’t you
think you should have notified us before you broke into the NSA’s
computers.”

“Mr. President, don’t you think it should have been
more difficult for us to do, and shouldn’t it have been noticed by
them; and doesn’t this point to a flaw in their ability to protect
all of your secure data?”

Hardesty jumped in. “You’re pressing us too damn hard
and your moving along too fast. You say you want trust, and then
you pull a stunt like this. It just doesn’t square with me.”

“I don’t blame you, Mr. Hardesty. My methods are
abrupt and, by normal social standards, rude. But, we just don’t
have the time to worry about ego or whose toes are being stepped
on. Believe me when I say it’s a two way street. I know your going
to piss me off too and I’ll just have to deal with it. I don’t want
my temper to be a hindrance to what must be done. So you just keep
telling me when you think I’ve crossed the line and we’ll work it
out.

“Gentlemen, if we don’t voice our concerns honestly,
we are all doomed.”

He paused and no one spoke, so he went on to the next
item on his agenda.

“Mr. President, have you been able to work out a
video conference call with the other English speaking nations as we
discussed earlier?”

“Yes I have, Mike. I’ve spoken with each of them and
I must tell you it hasn’t been easy, without revealing the reason
for the call. They are all waiting for me to activate the video
conference, whenever you are set up there.”

Bambi, take control of the video in each country and
be sure that it’s secure. I don’t want any other people to learn of
us, just yet. Then get Max and Jo in front of a camera and blend
them into a video with me. I want them in on this, too.

On it.

“All right, Mr. President. I’m ready, let’s
proceed.”

Mike was able to watch it in his mind, as though the
meeting was taking place live, with all of them in the same room.
What amazed him was how effortless the process was for him. He
continued to perform several other mental functions, as he held the
meeting. Simply incredible.

“Mr. Hurst, I have on line the Prime Minister of
Great Britain, the Prime Minister of Canada, the Prime Minister of
Australia and the Governor-General of New Zealand. Gentlemen, this
man is Mr. Theodore Hurst, formerly of the United States and
now…well, I guess you’d call him an independent citizen of the
world.”

“Mr. Hurst, I give you the podium, so to speak.”

“Thank you mister President. Gentlemen, I am not a
politician and I’m neither familiar with, nor comfortable with the
procedures of diplomacy, or statecraft. Many years ago, I was a
Sergeant in the American Army. I was serving in Iraq, back
during…”

He gave them a brief background and explained how an
alien had kidnapped him. Their disbelief was not diminished in the
slightest, when Jo was put on the screen.

The Prime Minister of Australia complained, “Is this
some sort of sick joke? Hollywood could come up with a better
monster than that. Really Mr. President, I must object to using
this meeting to show us some movie trailer.”

Mike was not angry in the least. He had expected
resistance to the facts. They were, after all, very hard to
believe.

He told them, “Gentlemen, I can assure you that this
is all true and that I will be visiting you soon with gifts and a
request for aid in defending our planet. Also, I’m going to send
you a video that goes into far more detail about what is known
about the threat we face.

“The men who currently advise the President and are
aware of the greater details will tell you and your confidants what
they know and of their own concerns about me. You, I dare say, will
have your own doubts.

“This is merely the first of many meetings that will
be needed to get the English speaking nations involved in a solar
defense force. In soliciting your aid, I will bring gifts of great
wealth, also I shall deliver technical knowledge that is of far
greater value.”

Again, the Prime Minister of Australia interrupted.
“Are you openly admitting that you intend to bribe us to do what it
is you wish? You certainly are a cheeky bastard.”

There were several voices that agreed with him.

“Yes sir, that’s exactly what I’m doing. I’m trying
to get your attention, by making you see that I’m not in this for
the Money. I’ll be back to Earth, carrying gold and platinum by the
ton and it will be in its purest form. Also, I’ll bring you medical
units that can cure diseases and repair severed nerves and grow new
limbs.”

The doubt and awe in their mumbled responses was a
little quieter, as they began to want to believe this could be
true.

The President decided to add, “Gentlemen, I must tell
you that I have read through this man’s extensive military record.
This man did, in fact, lose both of his legs and an eye, in Iraq. I
have seen him in person and I can tell you he is nearly a foot
taller than our records indicate and currently he has both of his
eyes and both of his legs. Perhaps the most amazing thing I can say
is that he is seventy one years old. I cannot vouch for his other
claims, just yet, but there does seem to be some validity to what
he has told you.”

“No!’

“I don’t believe it.”

“It can’t be true.”

Mike allowed their surprise and disbelief to fade
away, before he continued.

“Gentlemen, I make you the same offer I gave
President Stassen. You may each select between one and ten people
to travel back with me to the Mother Ship. I insist that they are
all volunteers and are given every bit of information, before they
have the upgrade. They will undergo the upgrade process and be
returned to you.

“They will still be your men; although there will be
a significant changes in their attitudes towards the defense of
planet Earth. I will have their motivations slightly tweaked. They
will be compelled to defend the Earth and to neither attack nor
hinder, in any way, the efforts of the Terran Space Navy to protect
the planet. Otherwise, they will obey your commands and provide you
with as much information as you can absorb, about any subject.

“I leave you now, so that you may discuss this among
your selves.”

Bambi, cut the connection, but keep an eye on what
they chat about, after I leave the scene.

On it.

Chapter
5

A few hours later, Bambi woke him.

General…General. We have an emergency.

When sleeping, an upgraded human could do some
incredible mental gymnastics. He had been reviewing his latest
conversation with the leaders of the English speaking nations. He
accepted that he would never be up to diplomatic speed, but he
could at least work on it. Bambi had offered to build a primer on
the basics for him study.

Bambi, please tell me you haven’t interrupted my
sleep, just to show me your new program on how I can avoid putting
my diplomatic foot in my mouth.

He was surprised to hear noticeable fear in her
voice.
No sir. This is serious shit. One of the early warning
beacons just alerted me to the arrival of a Sauran vessel.

Mike sat bolt upright and asked, “How many of them
and what kind are they? Is this the special transport, with the
escorts?”

No sir. This arrival was completely unexpected. It’s
a transport just like me and it’s flashing a damage alarm. I
haven’t responded to it, because under normal conditions, I
wouldn’t know of its presence yet.

The earliest Saurans in this area are the ones who
placed the first beacons in this solar system. They didn’t place
the beacons that alerted me; I placed the early notice beacons much
farther out, and they aren’t supposed to be there. Technically, I
won’t notice their arrival, for another two days. I would expect a
comm from the Senior Pilot of that ship any time after that.

She finished her report and it occurred to him that
she was truly frightened. How odd that an AI would feel that way,
but then, why not? He was pretty worried and they still didn’t have
any useful info on this yet. It might not be as bad as he feared,
or it might be worse.

“OK Bambi, we can handle this together. Tell me, how
long until the ship can reach us?”

Normally, about four weeks. But it’s damaged, so it
could be longer.

“Do those beacons gather any other sort of
information.”

“
Well they can pick up ships unfolding in the
area, by the subtle gravitational changes. They can also detect
ship drives, but they have to be a lot closer for targeting
purposes. There is a telescope on board each beacon, but it’s not
especially powerful and the ship is too far out to show us anything
important, yet. I didn’t design them for much else, because I was
afraid if they probed for more info, it would be cause for concern
for any visiting Senior Pilot. We don’t want a Sauran vessel to
come by here and get suspicious.”

“No, we certainly don’t want that. You’ve handled it
perfectly, Bambi. There was nothing else you could have done. Thank
you for warning me, it was wise to bring me up to speed as soon as
possible.”

“Thank you, sir. I realize that I may have over
reacted here. But I didn’t know what I could do about this. So, I
woke you up and now I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. I’d be really pissed if you hadn’t. A
commander needs information, as soon as it’s available. It’s better
to wake me for something unimportant than to wait and deny me some
truly vital information, denying me adequate time to think it
through.”

He sighed, put his head in his hands and thought for
a moment, and then told her, “Don’t mention this to anyone else
tonight. We’ll let them sleep. I will have a breakfast meeting,
with everyone present. Then we’ll make them aware of what’s
happened.’

“
Yes sir. Do you mean all of the people we have on
board now?

“No, just the staff. Until I designate anyone new to
the staff, that’s going to be, Me, Jo, Max, Wayne Mary, Al and I
think I’ll include Bet Fulwiler on it, too, even though she hasn’t
been upgraded yet.”

Got it. Sir, are you going to notify the Earth?”

“I suppose I will; but not yet, for two reasons.
First, I don’t want them to know about the distant warning beacons
and I don’t want to hear a lot of crap from them about how they
should be allowed to deal with this. I’ll listen to
recommendations, but if they waste my time telling me how they
could do a better job of it, I’ll cut the line.

“Now, let me think about this. I’m sure I’ll need the
answer to a few thousand questions, before everyone wakes up.”

OK

Mike ordered coffee and began to march around, as he
thought. He quickly came to the conclusion that there might be an
opportunity to capture this vessel. That would give him two ships,
plus whatever this new one was carrying.

“Bambi, do we have any idea what they’re carrying on
that thing?”

No sir, and I won’t be able to find out, because
Saurans don’t allow the computer to broadcast that information,
unless a Grand Pilot leader, or higher requests it. The Senior
Pilot of a ship cannot allow it, even if he wanted to. The Grand
Pilot Leader would have the required codes that the Senior Pilot
does not carry. It’s typical of Sauran cautiousness.

“There must be some way we can take advantage of that
cautious nature of theirs. I’ll bet Max can come up with a scheme.
That’s why he’s here. He has a brilliant mind for being
devious.”

“OK, what about breaking into the ship. Can we breach
the thing from the outside? How hard would that be?

Pretty easy, if all they did was stand still and let
you in. But Saurans are fighters and they will certainly send all
available warriors to repel you. You’d need a hundred men, just to
deal with a few Saurans.