 
# Co-Or

By

Phillip N. Hancock, Sr.
Text copyright @ 2017 Phillip N. Hancock, Sr.

ISBN: 9781370987573

All Rights Reserved

Smashwords Edition License Notes

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Note: All cover artwork is a combination of free photo art combined with the authors use of computer programs and no copyrights were violated.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Prologue

Characters

Other Books by this Author
Prologue:

By the year 2335 many cultures and species were living and working through the known universe. That universe covered numerous planets and many light years of distance and most were only reachable by faster than light (FTL) vessels. This did not hamper travel to and from as faster than light capability had long been acquired and distributed. Any world that had, in any way on their own, already reached into or explored outer space, in any fashion, had the option of receiving or rejecting this FTL knowledge.

It was found that no matter what species was encountered, the problems they experience were present in almost all cultures. Outbreaks of hostility was somehow common to all and the prevention of those hostility fell on the Universal Galactic Governing Board (UGGB). This board was made up of representatives, one from each world that had accepted the FTL capability. This conglomerate of species had only one general conference and that was held once every five years. At this conference they recorded changes in delegates and address universal problems. On the other hand, an emergency meeting could be called, at any time, if something problematic was encountered that threatened security and peace.

The UGGB was not designed to be the peace negotiators nor were they schooled in that capacity. They, however, did setup an organization with this single purpose. This organization's only duty was to try to negotiate a peaceful settlement between worlds who were, for whatever reason, at war with each other. These brave souls who went into harm's way were called Coordinators.

Chapter 1

Guest Arrival

He had to concentrate on the upcoming conference and the direction that he would like it to take. Scott looked deep into his mind as he continued with his thoughts and looked again at his surroundings. This asteroid was huge and quite unusual. There was no normal horizon, you know, like on a planet where the surface curves. No this was a flat fifty mile in diameter circle of rock that simply ended at the edge of the asteroid. There were no hills, no dips, and no vegetation in any direction. It was a perfect place to feel secure. No one could explain the asteroid's ability to have or hold a breathable atmosphere, however, it did. That atmosphere spanned the entire surface with a ceiling of breathable air to about five meters in height.

There was no place for anyone to hide for the purpose of surprise. The only outcropping of any kind was Scott's little ship. It was a small four seater, ghostly white, with the speed and agility of any ship in the universe. The Coordinators needed that. They were not allowed to carry any weapons, oh, and neither were the other persons in a conference. They didn't need any weapons because they were simply here to talk about peace.

The reason for this speedy exceptionally agile little ship, with warp capability, was to avoid conflict. Scott's bosses felt that involvement in any little hostile scrimmage would be most embarrassing for a coordinator's reliability. It was better to run away and live for another day rather than stay.

All of a sudden, his friend Fortried's head jerked to the right and to the left. Scott didn't notice this as he should have for this terrific ringing was going off like thunder inside his head. God, he had forgotten how loud this alarm could be. He mentally silenced the small weapon detector that had been implanted in his over crowed skull. The reason it was over crowded is because of the other implants placed inside his head.

The alarms silenced, Scott's mind ran the gambit of the current situation. Looking across the asteroid he saw the two ships pop up from the edge coming from the right and one from the left. This was trouble, they were supposed to approach in full view and, if they were peacefully following the set rules, without weapons. They must have used the mass of the asteroid to hide their approach from the ship's detection system. He remotely flipped on the ship's force field shield and raced for its security. Fortried noticed how slow he was and he reached back grabbed Scott and bodily threw him into the gaping port of his little cocoon. The two ships silently grounded, one ship following closely behind the other. No sound except for the transfer of weight from air to the soil of the asteroid.

As soon as they touched down their ports opened emitting five or six armed personnel from each. They seemed to have one goal in mind and that was the total annihilation of one very frightened coordinator.

From the comfort of his little vessel, he watched as Fortried turned to meet that challenge with a grace and ease unmatchable. As they departed their ship, the nearest one opened fire with a laser rifle. Scott followed the beam to where Fortried had been standing. He gritted his teeth expecting to see a pile of disintegrated matter that was Fortried. What he saw was only a small depression where the soil of the asteroid had been blown away.

Had Fortried side stepped the fire? Was that possible? Evidently it was for there was old Forty standing directly in front of the rifleman. He whispered a thought out loud, "if only Fortried had a weapon." Well maybe he did. Fortried picked up the rifleman and while he snapped the attacker's neck with one hand he ripped, along with several fingers, the weapon away with the other hand.

He did not fire the weapon he had taken. He threw it like a whirling boomerang at the stunned attackers. His aim and accuracy was unreal. The flying scythe severed two heads and stuck in the chest of a third, the final departure out of one of the ships.

This little escapade caused a slight hesitation in the planned attack of the others. That was all old Forty needed. He simply bowled several over with the body he held in his hand. He then kicked one like a soccer ball into the side of one of their ships. That now lifeless body seemed to embed there. Forty quickly disarmed the remaining one as he just stood there evidently stunned. A quick short punch straight into the middle of his face rendered the attacker unconscious. Fortried lifted him, carrying him over and placed him inside Scott's little vessel.

Fortried made a quick trip back to check each of the small ships for any survivors. He returned at full speed and, in a rush, boarded. He hit the emergency close button and the door sealed with amazing speed. Scott turned to look again out the small port just in time to see a tremendous explosion as the two ships, in unison, simply disappeared in a huge ball of flame.

Thank God for the protection of the force field and security of this small ship, all on board were almost unharmed. Yes Scott admitted they were tossed around a bit and he cracked his head pretty hard against the back of the console but, as far as he could tell, he was not injured to any major extent. As he slowly recovered he realized his first step was to let headquarters and his boss know of his situation. As Fortried watched their new companion, Scott turned to the ship's console and the controls of his ship.

Chapter 2

Waiting Game

"Well, now I know where they were, they were hiding their approach," Scott whispered to himself as he headed for the pilot's chair of his little life saving vessel.

Before he contacted his boss he sat for a few moments and reviewed the last few hours he had spent on this small asteroid.

He evidently had been at the right place and at the right time. He had been assured by the Contractual Three Moons in all their natural brilliance rising in, what he presumed was, the west.

He had been thinking what an unusual sight. He had seen the Saturn rings, the Andromeda Cluster Stars and the Cathedral of Orion, but they could never match the spectacular beauty of these three simple moons.

His mind wondered as he pondered on the colors that were so unusual and different. He personally didn't know how to describe these colors but these were three that complimented each other to no end. Sharp contrast one minute then a swirl of colors turning into a turmoil of activity with the colors squaring off in patterns of circles, diamonds and any other shape that one could think of. Then they were returned to simple pastels with no activity at all. Now this was really something but even this did not match the unrealistic beauty of these three moons when they not only did their color trick, they also seem to crisscross and swap places with each other.

He had only seen it once in a tri-video. He did not believe anything could be of such natural beauty and elegance without the help of some very perceptive and creative genius.

He didn't understand how the photographer could have recorded the moon swap on a tele-view disc. Since this was and still is the only copy in existence, it leaves you with the idea that capturing this recording could not have been easy. The wait for this occurrence must have been an undertaking that took all of the recorder's stored up patience and unusual type of freedom.

The patience he was thinking about was not the time the swap took, it's just that the swap only happened once every ten years. Yep, it's just like clockwork, every ten years. There is only one thing wrong with this clock, it doesn't correspond to any other clock in the universe. No one has been capable of figuring out just when, during the tenth year, the swap would occur. Sometimes it happens at the beginning of the year and the next time it might be at the end of the year. It has happened in the middle of the tenth year, well no one saw it, but it must have because it did not happen at the beginning or the end of a tenth year. If it happened that year it had to be in the middle and, since no one expected that, no one saw it.

There is one smaller problem that interferes with the recording of this event. The swap can only be seen from one small area on this particular asteroid and that area changes with each swap. That area seems to be randomly selected by whatever does the selecting. Well anyway Scott thought, "What or whoever did the recording, I sure admire their patience and persistence or their pure luck in that magnificent production."

Chapter 3

Fortried

Scott remembered looking again at the sky as if for some reassurance. He couldn't find an answer up there so he had looked back at his companion.

Scott's mind, as if on an uncontrolled wandering journey, readdressed the enormous being that had been standing beside him and had actually saved his ass in that unwarranted attack. "My companion," Well, that's what he considered him.

The being was tall with dark wavy hair flowing down his back. Flowing down his back only, on top of his perfectly formed head, he was completely bald and his skin shown like a new baby's rear end lit by moon light. The hairline seems to only start at the lower part of the back of his head and continue down his neck to his shoulders. He had let his hair grow and now it was about two feet in length. When there was a breeze the fluttering hair seemed to give him the illusion of motion even when he was standing very still.

This wasn't his only amazing attribute, no not at all. Scott thought that no one could forget his face or his eyes? He knew he couldn't forget them. There is no way a description of his companion could be completed without including these unmistakable, unmatched complimentary attributes.

His face looked like something chiseled out of a creamy textured, dark tanned piece of granite. A super square jaw, high cheek bones and eyes like cold blue steel. Scott felt those eyes left you mentally pierced through and through. His eyes seem to see deep into a person's brain and see their innermost thoughts and Scott agreed that maybe those eyes could see one's ideas forming.

He stood about seven and a half feet tall and his massive shoulders gave the impression of uncommon, if not impossible, strength. His two arms and two legs are, except for their muscular size, similar to all the bipeds across the universe.

What had Scott been doing with this unlikely companion? The answer to that question is a little unusual and you could bet your life, that had not been in his plans. He actually won him in the main planet lottery while he was on its second moon called Plaintanet where they held the drawing. Everyone there had a stake in those prizes or was part of the prize committee. Boy, just think he was only after the fifth prize, a three month supply of Podium. Podium is the fuel that everyone uses for their space faring vehicles and it is a little expensive. What he won was much more valuable but it was something he wasn't supposed to have. You have to understand he is a Coordinator. His job is to prevent war between worlds, worlds that have a problem with each other. His job is peace and peace only, so what need would he have with a live, in perfectly good working order, Warman?

A Warman is a breed of people who were specifically bred and trained for only one purpose. The purpose of war! They are like mercenary soldiers who were used in full scale conflict between warring world. They are bought and sold to the highest bidder. After all aerial attacks have quieted down, they were used to physically land and invade a given target.

Warman, although thought of as just another piece of equipment, were very expensive and a loss of one was not taken lightly. The victory usually goes to the world with the most capital available for the purchase of the largest number of Warmans.

Now here he was, a peace keeper, with his very own personal Warman. Boy if his boss knew, he would truly be upset. Scott tried to trade him for the less valuable prize but he had no takers. They all thought it was a little on the shady side of the planet's law. Scott couldn't refuse to take him for it is their law that an unwanted Warman would be simply eliminated. He couldn't have that on his conscious. Scott thought he wasn't that hard to look at and his personality and skill in just about all the languages spoken in the universe, made him easy to converse with.

Scott remembered bringing his attention back to the approaching conference as it was. He had decided he would give the people a little more time to get there. While he did that he'd had some lunch and tried to decide how to introduce his friend here to those expected when they got there. He didn't expect that they would believe that he was a peace keeper for no peace keeper would have a live Warman of his own. Well, that is unless the peace keeper couldn't trust the people he would be dealing with in the conference. Boy, he couldn't let them think that or his job would have been made impossible. The main rule in any conference is to instill the trust of all present. Without implicit trust there would be no chance of stopping an impending or full scale conflict. Scott had offered some of his nourishment to Fortried. Fortried is his friend's name, well, that was freely translated into Scott's language of course. He had refused the food but had taken some of the liquid refreshment that was offered.

Chapter 4

Lottery

Scott had continued quietly pondering. Looking at Fortried drinking the liquid. He recalled the first time he saw him. He was on that second moon, just a satellite of the main planet. He was just standing there with a large crowd of people, all waiting for the lottery drawing. He just knew he was going to win a three months supply of fuel. He slowly looked around taking in the whole crowd. There were people from all walks of life and worlds. These prizes, given away here, were really something and worth a king's ransom.

Then Scott saw him, he was standing, as he always is, at attention in the edge of the crowd apparently waiting for something or somebody. Then the announcer called Scott's name and he headed up on stage. When he got there and moved over close to the MC, he turned around to face the crowd and there was this, this Warman walking up the steps to join them on stage. For the life of him he could not figure out why this individual was joining them there. He knew he wasn't a winner because a Warman could not gamble in any way shape or form. As a matter of fact, the only thing that Scott knew for sure was that he was a Warman, that cannot be hidden. He never looked at Scott but Scott didn't care because he was waiting for them to bring out his prize, his Fortried, whatever that was.

The announcer, the lottery manager, said something very rapidly in the local slang language. Scott, having very limited grasp of this dialect, did not understand the meaning. The crowd, gathered there, did not share in his dilemma and started cheering loudly and applauding his apparent winnings.

The Warman raised both arms above his head and flexed his chest and arm muscles. Good Lord, Scott thought, now he knew why these Warman were bought for their strength. Then he noticed the "F" on one of the Warman's garment belts.

"It is not possible." he stammered as the MC ushered him, with a more understandable language, toward the enormous being.

The Warman stuck out his hand in the universal wide sign of greeting. Hands up empty and completely exposed. This sign of greeting was completed with a placing of hands in each other followed by a firm grasp while looking in each others eyes.

He tried his best. He placed his hands in the large being's hands. As for the grasping, there simply was no way. It felt as if he had placed his hand on the seat of a small transporter and had it close up on him. He tried to flex his hand to show some life but not sure if the Warman would feel it, he just hoped he would feel some movement at least.

Scott was embarrassed and to complete his embarrassment with a booming voice The Warman spoke in Scott's language, "Hi, how are you my friend?" and then he smiled at Scott and at the audience.

"I am well, as well as can be expected in a situation like this." Scott replied.

Fortried roared with laughter and so did the crowd. Scott thought, boy, they would really laugh if they knew what he did for a living.

This whole episode was embedded in Scott's subconscious and it reared its ugly head from time to time.

Why had Scott been sitting out here in plain sight with him if this Warman wasn't supposed to be with him. The answer was simple and technology was the answer. Most of today's space faring ship have infrared capability and it will scan through most material, even space ship hulls. Trying to hide a being that puts out a heat signal as huge as Fortried's would pre-empt any peace talks a lot more than having him out here visible to all. Scott thought it was the only way to appear open and truthful from the start.

Chapter 5

NARD

Scott shook his head as if to clear the memories that had held his attention for the last few moments. Scott then broke the beam that puts Nard into action. Nard is his ship's computer. Nard, is made by Erodammoc Inc. and he is the first, the # 1 model. In other words he was the first one of his series. He does not, however, think of himself as a ship's computer. He thinks of himself as a communication controlling expert. Scott guessed Nard was correct in that thought because the ship is a secondary task for him, or it, or whatever one should call a, almost human, computer.

Scott slowly shook his head as his mind wondered and his thoughts were evident. "I know, I know, I am calling it a he as if it were a living human being. I do think of him as a partner or more a member of my staff, he was the only member until Fortried. Now with two staff members I must be the CEO of this outfit." He shook his head slowly as he ran things through.

Anyway, Nard's main job is to communicate. That's where he gets his name. Nard stands for, "No Appreciable Radio Delay". It is the only radio system of its kind. It has the capability to transmit in any frequency and at what ever speed is necessary to make communication between star systems as easy as face to face, without any time lag.

Nard's perfect annunciation always throws him and he usually misses the first few words. He just thought this had happened again because Coordinator headquarters had never, and he thought never, given any of its personnel a busy signal. He has been on the clock many years and that had never happened to him or had he heard of it happening to any other member, not in his lifetime anyway.

"Nard?" Scott said.

"Yes Scott," Nard's precise voice replied.

"Was my boss in?" Scott asked about Director Colby, the Star Board Commander and Scott's immediate supervisor.

Nard's words were even more explicit as he repeated his first message. With a hint of impatiens he replied, "As I said before Scott, the line is busy. I know that is not easy for you to accept but..."

"Easy to accept! It is not possible." Scott leaned in toward the console where Nard resided, if in fact he did reside. With a great deal of anxiety he continued, "The company spent mega credits too develop this communication system of yours. It has unlimited channels. It would take almost every Coordinator in the universe calling in at the same time to make all these channels busy," he was babbling, "You have finally flipped your micro chips. You have probably forgotten where we are, what day it is and just simply don't know what frequency is in use at this time."

"I am well aware of our location, the precise time and I am positive of the required frequency." Nard as usual replied as calm as always. "I have, however, been silently monitoring communications and find an unusual number of transmissions describing the same type of attack we have just experienced."

"What? Other coordinators were attacked, attacked as I was? Are you sure?" Scott was having trouble believing what he was hearing.

"Yes, but I fear the others did not fare as well as we did. There are an unknown number of casualties."

Nard's unruffled answer almost sounded like sarcasm. This was of course impossible for he was not programmed for any nor had he developed any emotions. He just reported things as they were and Scott's mind added the undertones.

There was no reason to fault the computer for his way of speaking. Scott was still quite shook up. He had never been attacked before. His hands were shaking and his vision was blurred, he couldn't seem to think straight.

Chapter 6

Interrogation

The debris from the two destroyed ships was slowly and silently settling back on the face of the asteroid. The one half gravity of this small chunk of rock caused all movement to look like a video replay viewed in slow motion. It all looked surreal and it was a little difficult for Scott to pull himself back to the reality of his situation.

He knew he must get control of himself again, his job required it. He dealt with realism, it was essential in his occupation.

He knew it was his responsibility to investigate and thoroughly examine their captured visitor. As he started his examination of their friend the now awake individual's eyes looked directly at Scott. At first glance he seemed calm with a minor involuntary twitch and movement of his fingers on his right hand. It gave Scott the feeling that there was some underlining reason for his lack of anxiety right now.

He sat there in one of their formal visitor robes found on all Coordinator's little star ships. Meanwhile his former attire was being spread out on the star chart table and inspected, examined and searched by Fortried. Scott turned and took a quick look at the clothes spread out on the table. They looked all too familiar but their origin escaped him at the moment probably due his still being influenced by recent events.

Scott had heard the many languages Fortried had used in the attempt to get some information from their new friend. All the visitor would say was "Lacgil." Both the Warman and Scott agreed that it must be his name. He would say it loud and slap his chest. Scott just hoped it wasn't some type of brag or something like that. They also noticed another thing, it seemed that any direct question concerning the visitor's reason for being here would cause his limbs to stiffen, his breathing to become labored and his eyes to roll back into his skull. Fortried would immediately change the subject and the visitor would relax and return to what the two presumed was a normal person.

Scott was thinking this Lacgil was under the influence of some type of hypnotic drug. Scott asked Fortried what he thought and Fortried agreed it might be possible.

If it was drugs, it would have to be some type of drug that acts in response to a certain phrase that would send a programmed response to his brain. Neither of them knew of any type of drug that was capable of this and, Scott thought, a Warman did know drugs. War brought out all types of mind controlling drugs and knowledge of those drugs was key to fighting and winning of any war.

Maybe it was some type of post hypnotic suggestion that rendered their friend incapable of a comprehensible response about this attack. That would protect the origin and people behind a plot against Scott's group. If this was true, it would take some time and careful manipulation before any satisfactory results could be expected.

Chapter 7

Colby

Nard, their friendly computer, was calmly talking again and Scott missed the first couple of words as usual.

".....and contact has been established with your boss and Director Colby is ready for your report."

"Colby, hey Colby, are you aware of our situation out here, an attack on us?" Scott almost shouted at the screen.

"Take it easy Scott. Nard has filled me in on the actual events but, I was wondering if you could add anything to his report. I need your own personal input, your feeling and insight," Colby's smooth reassuring voice coaxed.

"Feelings or insight, I haven't had a chance to take a look at any insight. All we..uh..ah..I can be sure of is this attack was meant to remove me, and my little ship, from the company's inventory." Scott knew he was a little bit on the hysterical side of things.

"What do you think of your prisoner and does he have anything to say about his reason for this attack?" Colby asked.

"I don't believe the prisoner can answer any questions that come close to inquiring about the attack or the reason for the attack. It seems like some type of specialized drug or maybe a mysterious post hypnotic suggestion. Questions about the event leaves him almost paralyzed, breathing labored and his speech is severely restricted. We tried just about every universal language and the slightest hint or mention of this violent incident causes this recurring paralyzes."

"Nard said the only word the visitor there would say was "Lacgil", do you think that has anything to do with the attack?" Colby calming voice questioned.

"No, I really think the way he slaps his chest after he shouts "Lacgil", it must be his name," Scott replied thoughtfully.

"Scott, are you alone? I mean with the prisoner, just the two of you?"

The question caught him off guard even though he expected it. His mind raced as he tried to find the right reply. Should I tell him now of my companion the Warman, or should I continue to keep that particular item a secret? What should I do? His mind hit all the questions without a real good answer.

"Who else could there be but me and the prisoner?" Scott hoped he had stated that convincingly. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, twice you said we, and then you changed it to I." Colby paused and then continued. "Were you implying as if Nard was an individual or is there another person with you?" Colby's questions were strained as if he wanted answers but did not want to alienate Scott.

"Well, as you know I often refer to Nard as my partner in crime." Scott said jokingly, hoping Colby would not push him down this particular avenue right now.

There was a hesitation that seemed longer than it probably was. This made Scott think that Colby was conferring with someone else before continuing the questions. Then he asked. "Where are you headed from there? You're still on the asteroid, aren't you?"

"Yes, I'm still on the asteroid but I haven't thought much about my plans or destination." Scott replied quickly, relieved by the change of topics. "I have another appointment in four of your days on the desert of Polan. Do you think I should continue with my route or return to headquarters?"

If Colby says he should return to headquarters he will have to think of a way to advise him of his companion the Warman. He would have to do that now because they would be aware as soon as he got within sensor range of home base. If he waited too long, he'll probably be blasted out of space as a vehicle with an unidentified intruder on board. That would be embarrassing as well as deadly for both of them.

His luck was still holding as Colby replied. "Ok, Scott, I want you to continue but I also want you to be extremely careful and avoid all possible entrapments or unsure situation. Use all of your instincts and every computer sensor available to prevent any surprises. Any contact with headquarters or me should only be made when you arrive at your destination and just prior to conference time. That way you can be brought up to date and see if there are any changes that you should be aware of."

Colby knew this statement was unnecessary but he was required to say it and since it did not require a reply, Scott simply signed off with Colby replying "good luck".

Chapter 8

Girls in Space

He thought he must be losing his mind as he reflected on the contact with headquarters. He didn't understand why he didn't inquire on the other coordinators. Nard had mentioned that they too were under attack and that they hadn't fared as well as Scott had. Was he so self centered that he didn't care about anyone else or had he just lost his mind due to the attack. Well, he promised himself one thing, as soon as he got in contact with headquarters again he would inquire about them. He figured that Colby must think he was out on the deep end and ready to drop off into oblivion. Maybe that is the reason he did not comment on the well being of the other personnel. Scott shook his head and tunneled his concentration on getting himself back together or, next time, Colby would be recalling him to headquarters which would only add additional problems for him and Fortried.

"Nard?" Scott said. "Could you read anything into Colby's statements that could give us a clue to what he was thinking?"

"He was very concerned about your stability and did not push you with questions because he did not know what affect it might have on you," Nard stated calmly.

Scott waited for any further comments but evidently none were forthcoming.

"Nard, if you would please, prep the ship for takeoff." Scott said as he headed for the pilots couch. He didn't think it would be very wise to just continue sitting here like Wattise birds floating on a lake. There could be another attack coming and they might not be so lucky the next time.

Scott watched the monitor, with a view out the back, as the asteroid seemed to shrink into nothing. The gravity that would have been created by the acceleration of his ship was dampened by the way the warp force controlled the ship and its contents. Everything inside the warp moved as a solid object. There was no increase in gravity on individual objects and the sense of movement was virtually non-existent.

Some time later as they prepared for their third warp jump Nard interrupted his thoughts.

"....a small ship approaching." Nard announced. "I sense no weapons but that doesn't mean it is safe. The pilot is trying to make contact."

"Ok Nard, Put the pilot on the monitor." Scott said.

It was a woman, it was a beautiful woman, the pilot was a woman.

"....and I desperately need your help in my escape from them." She was so fragile and beautiful Scott's heart went out to her.

"How can I help you?" Scott asked.

"They have invaded my home planet and taken my father hostage against his will. They are trying to conquer the universe with their mind control." She was almost hysterical.

"Who are they?" He asked.

"I don't know but I know they are alien and violent and they mean business," she said as she seemed to be calming down.

Nard routinely blocked the contact and said. "I will put her ship through our sensors. You will need all the information on this vehicle and the operator before you can make an intelligent decision as to what you should do."

"Put her back on!" Scott shouted and as soon as the contact was renewed he said. "Standby madam and we will beam you on board to discuss your problems." An unusual sound came from the console and It seemed like he was getting a nasty growl from Nard, was that possible?

Nard, without waiting for orders, had gone ahead with a full meticulous scan of her entire ship and all of its contents. Of course Scott knew he would do that even if he didn't like it or request it. This was also part of his job and he was not a malingerer in any of his duties.

"I need to give you the report on that little ship, if you are ready." Nard said.

"Not now Nard, I'm very busy getting our female guest over here through the transporter, that is if you don't mind." Scott said as he worked the control that would bring the young lady on board. He wasn't sure if he wanted to hear Nard's report on their visitor's little ship. If it was good news he could wait but if it was bad news he could be in trouble. Well, the looks of the young lady could be worth a little trouble. He was just hoping she wasn't so much trouble that he would live to regret it or not live to regret it.

Fortried had moved their current guest into the storage room and he was staying with him so he wouldn't get lonely. This would also keep both of them out of sight of their new arrival. Scott took a quick look around to make sure the control room was in some type of order when the transporter started to whir as the transferring process began.

As she began to materialize Scott thought he saw something radically different and not the person he had envisioned and seen on the monitor. On the completion of transport she was as he had seen her. He thought, how could she be in any trouble, she was spectacular, the face of an angel, the body of a goddess with the voice of a beloved queen. Her attire was as beautiful as she was. The color was like the contractual moons in all their brilliance. The material was never quite one color and changed into many textures of cloth that seem to change in design as she stood there.

Where was she from and what was her mission, if it wasn't just as she had stated? She looked at him openly and with very deep and honest eyes. There is no way that these eyes could deceive anyone especially a coordinator of his alertness and intelligence. How graceful she was as she approached him, she needed his help, and you could believe him, he was hers to command and just waiting for her to put her wishes into words. She reached for him, she needed to be held, he could tell she was just frightened. He could feel the fear and helplessness emanating from her every being.........

Suddenly the air smelled of ozone and the brightness of the flash stunned him. He watched as she burned and melted in front of him. The noise of the electrical phasers erupted in his ear. "Holy shit!!!" He screamed. He swung around to see the Warman with a cooling phasers hand gun in his large fist. Scott's mind reeled with the feeling of loss as if a loved one had died. His anger was palatable and building up and he wanted to attack and destroy this killer. The Warman had taken away, by murder, someone who Scott felt he had spent all his life loving...my lovely...my darling...my, what was her name? Scott stammered. Could he have forgotten so quickly? There was something wrong, he couldn't remember her name or her face.

"I've finally gone off the deep end. I just lost my true love and I can't remember her name or what she looked like," Scott's thoughts were a gambit of confusion.

Chapter 9

Medi-Unit

The Warman had Scott in his grasp and shook him then he turned him around to see the remains of a...a...

"What the hell is this?" Scott could not believe his eyes. Smoking debris of ashes, cloth, ceramic, composites and circuit boards occupied a small area of the control room floor. "Where did this pile of junk come from? We can't have a mess like this littering the ship, it's not sanitary. Where is the visitor that beamed over? Why do I have this terrific headache? Won't someone speak to me, what is going on?" Scott was truly shaken and sick to his stomach and almost hysterical.

Both Nard and the Warman were waiting for him to run down so they could tell him what had transpired while he was under some sort of spell or something.

Once he stopped running off at the mouth, Nard politely asked. "Do you now want the sensor report of the visitor's ship?"

Was that sarcasm in Nard's voice again? "Will it make any sense to me if you tell me? Do I really want to hear it?" Scott hesitantly asked.

"The ship was not too unusual. It did not have a life support system on board and there were no environmental, space type, suits that might maintain life." Nard began reporting in his precise annunciation and continued. "The ship had no identifying marks and did not transmit a code that would allow one to know its deportation site. There was very little fuel on board as if it was at the end of its journey," after a short pause Nard continued, "in my calculated opinion and computer analysis, you were its intended target and the end of its mission. The ship and its passenger, whatever it was, had been dialed into you and you only."

A sudden violent increase in gravity and the exterior ports were filled with a blinding flash of light. Nard started correcting immediately with a whisper of cooling fans and solenoid actions. Pieces of debris were disintegrating and burning upon contact with the ship's screen. Dismembered pieces of the alien ship rocketed in all direction from the violent explosion that was evidently meant to remove Scott from the living and breathing people of the universe.

This was the second time someone had tried to take that action and it was the second time that someone or something had protected him from elimination. Nard's action in making sure the force field screens were up and at maximum output was more than just a plus. This time there was no loss of life due to the explosion being mechanical only.

The ship's console had moved and blurred as the floor of his ship rushed at him. Blackness engulfed him before contact with the floor could occur. The pull of gravity no longer mattered to one that was unconscious.

Scott's eyes opened and the quiet sound of the Medi-Unit gave him the first clue. The glass canopy was closed and the air was full of that familiar medicinal smell found in most hospital rooms from the beginning of time. Being inside this unit told him that he had something wrong that a band-aid would not fix or cure.

Seriously speaking, Nard must have sensed something serious and was leery of his chance of survival. That would be the only reason he ended up inside the Medi-Unit.

How long he had been out, he had no idea. From his position he could not see the ship's time display and he could not move his arms to see his wrist chronometer because of the tight fitting Medi-Unit.

There was no communication system inside the unit and Nard relied on the monitors to decide when to open the lid and release his patient.

Scott's headache had decreased in intensity but was still significant to his well being. He closed his eyes and darkness recaptured him, this time there were dreams of explosions, beautiful android and screaming shooting aliens putting phaser burns all over his body while Nard rattled on with no emotions.

The Warman stood by, on the flat asteroid, and laughed as he juggled the three contractual moons, their colors swirling and changing.

Colby was on one of the monitors with a camera, taking still shots of all the action. Each time the shutter snapped, the action would freeze, it would be completely silent and that frozen position would hold for a moment before returning to motion. The return to motion was at a very slow pace. First as ultra slow motion, medium pace and then to normal speed with sound returning at that time.

Scott woke in a cold sweat. The lid of the Medi-Unit was open and the smell of medication had dissipated. The smell that hit him now was the aroma of an old fashion breakfast, eggs, bacon, toast and coffee. He rose up and turned to the left. Sure enough there was his breakfast. Just as the aroma had told him, it was eggs, bacon, toast and coffee. It of course looked a little different from what his mind had dreamily envisioned. He had dreamed of crunchy bacon strips, two sunny side up eggs, sourdough toast with butter and jalapeno jelly on the side. A steaming hot cup of coffee with whiffs of steam slowly wavering as it rose from the hot liquid. What he actually saw was three bio-edible tubes slitting open with the exterior skin dissolving into and becoming a part of the, no longer, enclosed ingredients.

These tubes are kept and stored at the temperature of space. When they are exposed to any temp above freezing a chemical reaction is initiated that dissolves the protective coating and at the same time heats the foodstuff to its normal cooked temperature. The smell of this foodstuff was the same as the smell of the original product, however, the only item that had any resemblance to the breakfast of his dreams was the cup of hot coffee.

Of course this, on the other hand, was the one item that left a lot to be desired with the taste. He had yet to get a really good cup of coffee that was made by a computer. He actually thought it was the computer's use of exact measurements of coffee grounds, down to the last granule, with the water level within a millimeter and the temperature at exactly the manufactured suggested degree. All this precision actually destroyed the variety of expected flavor.

He picked up his simulated toast, applied his simulated butter and jelly, dipped it in his simulated egg yolk then put it in his real mouth. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the feast. The coffee was hot and reasonable and the food was palatable, alas his strength returneth.

Chapter 10

Secret Destination

Even though they were not at their scheduled destination, he went ahead and contacted Colby again. He brought him up to date on his recent encounter. He also told him about his three day session in the Medi-Unit, while he was recovering from his head injury. Colby's first comment threw him.

"How did you get in the Medi-Unit if you were unconscious?" He asked innocently.

Busted, he was busted. he had to now tell Colby about his luck with the lottery and the acquisition of the Warman. He dove in and told him just enough so he got the idea and then he prepared for the lambasting.

"Impossible, you can't, law and rules do not permit this. You should be shot not court marshaled, just plain shot. I have never......

Scott let him ramble on without interruption on his part. There is no way he would interrupt when Colby was this upset and here he was, worried about telling him, afraid he might rant and rave. Scott's fears, as they were, were now justified however.

Scott got the chance, when Colby had finally run down, to tell his complete story. It was hard to imagine but the boss was even more pissed off. The blasting was even more severe than before as Colby now knew that he had been correct to chew Scott out. To put it mildly, he did not appreciate the way Scott got himself into a jam like he did with the Warman.

Scott later guessed there was one good thing that came out of this, it at least took Colby's mind off of their troubles and gave him a direction to vent his pent up frustrations and anger. Of course Scott didn't think about this as his ear was being bent by Colby's blast. Scott kind of stood to one side of the camera which took him out of the middle of the monitor. He tried to make himself invisible or at least very small in Colby's view. This did not work, Colby can see around corners and has bifocals to pick out very small objects in any surroundings.

Colby did finally rundown and recover some of his normal composure. He started to talk to Scott rather than at him. He made some sense and finally asked. "Scott, what are your plans now, will you be continuing in route to your next scheduled appointment?"

Scott, for some time now, had an idea running through his head that somewhere, somehow, someone must know where he was headed and when he would get there. No other explanation would support the two, out of the blue, unprovoked attacks and the locations of those attacks. There were just too many coincidences, unarmed on the asteroid and in his ship between jumps. Someone had his route and planned those attacks accordingly. Twice now, with unbelievable accuracy, alien ships had appeared out of nowhere and tried their best to retire him without a pension. That's the reason he said, "I'm going to have to reserve my itinerary plans for my eyes and ears only. It will be that way until I can convince myself that there is no third party listening in on our conversations."

Colby could see no way anyone could eavesdrop with the type of security on their radio channels. They discussed this for a few minutes and he relented to Scott's idea. He either thought it was a good idea or he just didn't want to talk to Scott anymore and he had better things to do. Scott was sure Colby was still very upset with him, the law breaker, one of the worst kinds.

It took him some time to convince Nard that he should not keep headquarters informed of their whereabouts or their destination. Scott explained how he could be turned into wasted debris, floating in space, circuit boards ripped apart, burned and pitted. Only after this explanation did Nard agree. No contact until Scott said it was ok to do so.

"Nard, shut down the transporter so I don't do something stupid again and, if you will, lay in a course for the Nimbus sector. As you are aware our destination must be kept secret and, as far as anyone else is concerned, we no longer exist due to our termination by my latest girlfriend. Now we are only a minor memory and hopefully we will be forgotten by our enemies."

There was no reply from Nard or the Warman so Scott continued. "Nard, I don't want any kind of signal going off board and, Nard, please engage the cloaking device."

Chapter 11

Cleboe

"You know we haven't used the cloaking device on this ship since that incident on Poroid in the Clactar Sector twenty five years ago." Nard was just reminding Scott, stating a fact in case he didn't remember.

"I know, we still need to be as safe as possible. We need to be cloaked, we don't want to be found or seen," Scott assured him.

How vividly Scott recalled that time and incident. Three coordinators were attacked and killed by ordinary citizens who had, for no apparent reason, gone berserk. It was not an isolated incident, this involved more than one planet, however, the attack on the other planets were thwarted. An order was initiated and all of their defensive weapons were put into action, including the cloaking device. This posture lasted for only a short time, about three months. There were no further incidents or actions against the Coordinators organization so they returned to their open, available, warring worlds interventions, you know, their normal routine. Whatever had caused those types of incidents had not recurred during the last twenty five years, well until now. Scott reflected.

Anyway, Scott's normal routine at that time was to respond to the Carass Sector where three of the four earth type worlds were at war with each other. Old style nuclear weapons were being used and uncountable numbers of people had been incinerated in those conflicts.

He curtailed his thoughts of the past and returned his attention to his current situation, "Do all the circuit in the device check out and appear to be in working order as they should?" He asked.

"The system is as it was, intact and will work as designed. Engaging now." There was a slight shutter as the device went into operation.

"Our destination?" Nard said or asked.

"I would like you to set us down on Carrier, at the Equatorial Rings on the island of Siact, and Nard, keep us outside of the city limits of Peatoic. I am going to try to get some rest. Wake me in plenty of time to contact inbound control. Fortried, will you be resting also?" Scott turned to face the imposing being as he posed the question

"I will, even I need some recuperation." Fortried replied in his booming voice.

After these comments Scott left the control room for his quarters. He knew the inbound control on this particular planet required no contact or ship identification. It was a kind of pirates hang out, the whole planet was like that and only the most violent of those were local residents.

He did want to contact inbound control but that was not the main reason he wanted to be awakened. There was a certain character on Carrier that could, if he was willing, help Scott get out of the situation he was in.

Jacque Cleboe is, without a doubt, the most unsavory individual Scott had ever had the pleasure of meeting. Mr. Cleboe's contacts are unlimited, universal and they span the galaxy. Scott met him while he was on one of his bi-annual vacations, just passing through this sector. A minor problem with his transportation had forced him to birth there for almost a week. Scott wouldn't soon forget how that character expanded his view of the universe by showing him an unhindered view of the dark side. Scott's thoughts had now returned to that time.

To say that he is not of average height is like saying, being outside in space without a space suit is a little uncomfortable. If you took all the living species and cut them in half, he would not even measure up to that mark. That is visually, on non visual communication he is about three meters tall, a giant of a man.

While Scott was touring with him he found out what his favorite sport was. It was a version of people watching. As Scott had said many times, when Cleboe is on the wireless, without video, he is about nine feet tall. He loves to use these communication skills to set up a meeting with a perspective client in one of his bars.

He would have the new client wait at the bar or in a booth. While waiting they would be supplied with free drinks provided by the management. He would let them wait a few minutes and then he would enter the room and go and climb up on a bar stool, next to the perspective client or go and sit in the booth across from the client, then he would simply order a drink. Not saying anything for a few moments, he would watch the individual in the bar mirror or across from him. He wanted to see their reaction to his size and appearance. Their individual facial expressions could tell him a lot, if indeed they were endowed with facial expressions.

Scott had no idea how Jacque Cleboe felt as he watched the reaction of these appointees. He did know that once he had waited long enough he would have the bar tender or waitress introduce him. If, for some reason, the perspective client had moved from the booth or moved down a couple of bar stools, due to Jacque's intrusion, he would have the bar tender, or waitress, ask the individual if they were here to see Mr. Jacque Cleboe. If they indeed said they were, Jacque would have his employer simply point him out. No matter how the introductions went, Jacque now had the upper hand. This was usually due to the perspective individual's reactions to the dwarf's physical appearance and the knowledge that Jacque Cleboe, the Dwarf, was aware of their reactions.

Scott somehow stopped his thinking and got to sleep. He wanted to be fully rested before planet fall.

Chapter 12

Colby's Dilemma

Colby, the Star Board Commander's, mood was, as usual, less than happy. Well that is probably the understatement to end understatements. If there was a time to do something completely irrational, this would be the time for Colby to do it. Doing something, anything, would relieve some of the frustration he felt at not being able to protect his now almost extinct personnel. He knew that he had to bring the UGGB up to date on things but he wasn't sure how they would take Scott's situation. Colby quickly typed in a detailed note on current events and forwarded it to the board. He didn't expect a reply until after the board had called a meeting and made some decisions. That, of course, would take some time.

In the meantime, he was practically out of business, except for completing dead files and closing cases that no longer mattered. Dead files, what's in a name? The files were dead, the personnel were dead, Colby again thought that maybe he too might as well be dead. He never thought about committing suicide or anything like that. He just thought it would have been easier if he too had been eliminated by the unknown enemy. He knew he could never do away with himself, he was too much of a coward and did not like the sight of blood, especially his own.

As Colby walked, he again thought about the Warman and Scott, his lone surviving Coordinator. What an unlikely pair. Scott was of normal statue and build, while a Warman was enormous and built more like the cartoon drawings of a Super Hero. Scott was good at intervening and conferences. The Warman was like a, a one man wrecking crew, able to leap tall buildings with a single bound. If he wasn't a Warman, he could have been a super hero.

Colby thought that Scott must think he was out of his mind. His only survivor and he chewed him out because he's still alive. Colby was just so shocked. He felt Scott wasn't alone but he expected him to have some lovely young thing living with him, which is not against the rules, just highly frowned on.

But, no, no, not Scott. He had to have a destructive weapon, and not just a gun or bomb, which might have been understandable in some respects, he had to have a live Warman as his companion. A man in search of peace with a Warman, it's contradictory to say the least, maybe even an oxymoron.

Colby tried to forget about that for now and set his mind on trying to rebuild his forces with some personnel that could protect themselves. He still had to keep within the rules established by the UGGB. Colby let his thoughts navigate through their set policies looking for some gray areas on weaponry that would meet his needs.

With their present state of affairs, He didn't think for one minute the board would condemn him if he had his crews able to defend themselves. After all the UGGB's clients would be the ones who benefit in the long run.

Colby started with a call to his Engineering of Defensive Weapon Department. He wanted to find out what is new and available. He knew that Cliff was still there, so he might as well ask to speak with him. It would save a little time and avoid a lot of phone transfers before he got to the individual that had the information he required.

The picture was exceptionally clear when the call was answered. "E.D.W.D, this is Carol. How may I direct your call?"

"Hi Carol, this is Colby. I need to speak to Cliff." Colby told the young lady who appeared on his monitor.

"Hey Mr. Colby. Hold on, I will transfer you." Carol was replaced by a blank screen. At the bottom was a short line that read, "Call transferred to Cliff".

Cliff's face replaced the blank screen. The engineering department was visible in the back ground. "Hey Colby. I'm surprised to hear from you, you know, with all that's going on." Cliff then paused as he saw Colby's expression. "Sorry, I heard what happened and I didn't mean to be crass. What's up? How can I help?"

"Morning Cliff, thanks, it has been tough and, hey, don't worry about it. I know how the talk is all over the project and I am so mad, at what happened, the talk doesn't mean anything to me. I have to keep busy so I need your help," Colby said and meant it.

"Ok, should I come up to your office?"

"No, that's ok, I'll come down later, what I need to talk about is down there anyway," Colby paused., "what would be a good time for you, this afternoon if possible?

"My time is yours I'm at your convenience," Cliff immediately replied.

"Before I come down I'll give you a heads up on what I am looking for. What I need from you is something completely new and revolutionary, that will fit within the category of defensive weapons and meet the approval of the UGGB."

"Give me a few minutes Tom, I'll buzz you back," Cliff then left the screen .

Colby placed his monitor in the personnel sensor mode so he would be alerted when Cliff returned.

Colby picked up the school's list of undergraduate Coordinators. He had the task of choosing those students that were close to graduation. Those students that had completed all the training requirements who were ahead in their studies and were mature enough to fly solo. He was looking for those that might be able to hold their own under fire, verbal or live. He only got down to number five before the monitor pinged, Cliff was back on. So far he had not found a student that might be ready.

Chapter 13

Defensive Weapons

"I've got five or six items that might just interest you and they all meet, in a questionable way, the council's requirements," Cliff said as he turned to the left and picked up a small plastic/metal capsule about three inches long. He held it up close to the monitor's camera so Colby could get a good look at it. "The first one's this little jewel, a personal body shield. Body shields are not unusual, however, this one is the first to have a built in power supply. The built in power supply for this little beauty will last up to thirty hours. It last that long but it only needs about three hours to recharge to full potential."

"It looks so small," Colby said.

"Not only that, it is not detectable as a power source and we can produce one that is a half inch long but still retain about one third of its power. It can be hidden almost anywhere, rechargeable lasting about twenty hours on one charge. Both are strong enough to deflect a one mega ton phaser at close range."

While Cliff took a breath Colby put in, "you won't be hurt by fire even at close range?"

"I'm not saying you won't be bounced around a bit but you would survive and be able to function. The small screens, these babies produce, could take two such blasts before there is noticeable depletion of their power charge."

"Small, powerful and defensive only, I like it," Colby said.

"Here is something else, they are activated by thought patterns and you can carry two of them on your person. Each shield has a different activator pattern and they are prevented from interacting with each other. We find that more than two will result in the elimination of the carrier himself." Cliff shook his head as he relayed this info.

"The size of those shields is an unbelievable breakthrough. The previous shields were the size of a ground car and took the power supply of a star ship to work. You guys are really good, I can't believe you have reduced them to this size," Colby said with enthusiasm.

Cliff had laid the small capsule aside and picked up the next item. "This," He said, "is a weapon's power depleter. It makes all phasers, within a given area, impotent and unusable except as a club or something to throw. It works on the principle of a magnetic tape eraser. It disrupts the memory and distorts crystal alignment preventing the weapon from firing. We, as yet, haven't found a known substance that can screen its depleting action."

"Unbelievable," Colby whispered, "this is so much more than I expected but, like a baby after candy, I want more."

"Well I got more. You do know these items are in the final stages of test and that is why we haven't released them for use," Cliff warned.

"I understand that and I wouldn't be asking except for our unusual position at this time."

"Ok, the next little item is a Camouflaging Hologram Unit." He held up the small item that looked similar to a digital camera. "It works off numerous heat sensors that sense colors by the amount of heat they reflect. The enclosed computer then reproduces and projects a holographic image that completely surrounds and blends the wearer into his or her background. No matter what angle the individual is viewed from, the background is the only thing seen"

Cliff smiled and looked at the small device as if it were his offspring. "Most of these items are designed and engineered by our staff, this one I did myself. I got the idea from those old twenty first century supermarket checkout counters. When a package was pulled across a window in the counter, numerous laser light beams would pick up the bar code message on the package and send it to the computer. The light beams would enable the product readable no matter what shape the package or from what angle it was read. The computer took this info, displayed it on the monitor and translated it for a print out receipt for the customer. This one doesn't translate what it sees, it just reproduces it."

Cliff carefully, although it wasn't necessary due to its rugged design, laid the item aside.

"Ok," Colby did everything but clap his hands. "I am intrigued and on my way down there to see the other items. Is it possible to get a field demo of all of these items?"

"Like I said, anytime, at your convenience," Cliff replied.

Colby turned off his monitor, made a couple of calls and headed over to the Lab where Cliff waited. The halls were empty and so the trip to the lab was uneventful. Colby probably made it down to the lab in record time, no one stopped him with questions or comments. Cliff was still in the process of setting up things for a field demonstration when Colby was admitted to the lab.

"Hey Tom," Cliff said as he shook Colby's hand. "I'll be ready in just a moment. Go ahead and pick up those items and take a good look at them while I finish."

"Ok, take your time, I'll play with these nice additions until you're ready."

When Cliff was done with his current item's set up he returned to where Colby was still scrutinizing the small weapons.

"You guys have been very busy, working overtime I would think?" Colby asked.

"Well, most of the things have been on the drawing board for years, but I will admit, these recent happenings have increased our, shall we say, pursuit of the solutions necessary to make them into a viable piece of equipment." Cliff spoke with just a little pride in his team's results.

"I'm totally impressed," Colby assured Cliff.

"I haven't told you about the last two items yet and I did save the best for last, but first I will have the others demonstrated for you. These will not be here in the lab, a true field test if you would? I want you to see them in the field as they will be used," Cliff said.

Chapter 14

Copter

"We will take my cellular copter to the demo site, so grab a grip and climb on," Cliff said as he pointed at the hand grip located near the windscreen and necessary when climbing on the small airship.

"A cellular copter, I had heard of them but I didn't expect to see one in the near future, now, not only do I get to see one, I get to climb on for a jaunt around the island or perhaps across the world." Colby knew that where the little two person craft would go would now be up to Cliff, the pilot. All the pilot has to do is think about where he wanted to go and the little craft would take them there.

It was called a copter, not a helicopter, because those large rotating wings had been replaced by four short stubby rotating shafts holding four small ion motors. The motors were angled down and out from the small cocoon that held the passengers. These ion motors were quite but their power was off the chart. There was no violent downward wind produced by the little copter that was present with a helicopter. The pilot and passenger's seating area was still a bubble design with a tail. The digital displays, circuit breakers and switches were present in the vehicle and were similar to a normal helicopter. If the pilot decided to do his/her own flying, they would manipulate the controls themselves, it would still take two hands to fly the little craft. One hand on the collective control stick, down by the side of the pilot, and the other one on the cyclic control stick, located in front and between the pilot's feet.

Cliff threw a few switches and slightly moved both controls. One moment they are secure in the small craft sitting outside the lab then a few moments later they are miles from the starting point. The little vehicle slowed as they approached an open area that was surrounded by a seemingly impenetrable jungle. Cliff set the vehicle down near the edge of the small meadow facing away from the dark surrounding tangle of vegetation.

They stepped out and down from the small craft facing a curved path that led into the underbrush. All of a sudden, a vicious biped charged down this path straight at them. It charged like a railed vehicle loaded with cargo and it had its fanged filled jaws sat at maximum width.

Colby quickly drew his phasers and fired three times. The distance to the oncoming menace was insignificant and should have been dispatched immediately. This was not the case. His phaser failed to fire. Cliff quickly drew his phaser and also attempted to fire at the anomaly. Nothing happened, no sound and no response from the weapon. Cliff's phaser was also mute and useless.

Colby turned to the side and threw up his hands to protect his face. Before impact the beast dissolved as the hologram display ended.

"Exciting, right?" Cliff asked as he bent down and retrieved a small square unit from the grass.

"Terrifying is more like it." Colby said.

"This," Cliff said as he held up the small square object. "is a weapon's depleter, the one I had told you about. I placed it here last week and it still has enough power to zap both of our weapons and make them completely useless."

Cliff rotated the small unit and switched it off. "Try your phaser now," He said.

Colby picked out a small pebble in the distance, adjusted the setting on his phaser from max to minimum and fired. The sizzle and light beam were present and the small pebble disintegrated leaving a small divot in the soil.

"If the other defensive weapons work as well as this one, we will have a heads up on protecting ourselves." Colby accepted the small unit from Cliff and took a good look at it.

Colby handed the item back to Cliff and then turned back nervously. He had the feeling that someone had invaded his private space, someone was way too close to him. He turned both ways, there was no one. He was in the open, Cliff had gone over to the copter to store the depleter. He was alone but he had that itch, that certain feeling, he was being watched and the watcher was too close. He could almost feel someone's breath on his face.

Colby took an involuntary step backward as a fully dressed combat ready individual became visible losing its camouflage protection. He had a bayonet drawn and ready to plunge into Colby's mid section. Colby, without thinking, drew his phaser again and fired point blank. The phaser setting had been set back to maximum before he had holstered the weapon. The discharge this close to a target had some blow back that heated up the air surrounding Colby.

The phaser blast caused a clear globular encasement around the combatant's body. The combatant replaced his weapon and smiled at Colby. He then bowed and not suffering any effect from the weapon's firing, he turned to Cliff.

"Is that what you needed boss?" He asked.

"That was great, thanks Jim. You can return to your work," Cliff told him.

"Not another weapon depleter?" Colby asked then said, "Hey Tom, my heart is still racing from that last encounter, could you hold up on the surprises."

"Not a problem and no it wasn't another weapon depleter, he has a personal body shield on and, as you can plainly see, it will definitely absorb a full phaser blast at close range."

Cliff fished a helmet out of the sack he was carrying, "now Tom, if you would put this typical Coordinator helmet on?"

Colby took it and looked it over with the eye of a CSI detective as he was still leery of the two previous surprises. The only difference he could surmise was that it might have been a little heavier, otherwise it was just regular issue.

He placed it on his head and adjusted the fit until it was comfortable and turned his attention back to Cliff. He then grabbed Cliff's fist as Cliff had, without warning, thrown a punch that meant to hit him in the face. "What are you doing?" Colby shouted as he easily blocked two additional punches with reflexes that he didn't know he had.

Cliff stopped and backed up a step and said, "now you know what the next item does even if you don't know how it works. The addition to this helmet is totally internal. We call it an anticipator. It allows the wearer to know how another person is going to attack as soon as the attacker does."

"It's no wonder I was able to block your punches even though they were not expected." Colby said as he looked over the now removed helmet. Shaking his head as he looked at Cliff, "you're turning me into a fragile, frightened, really nervous individual with all your surprises."

"Sorry, I went through the same thing when my engineers demoed these items on me, and believe me, I know what you've just experienced. When I complained about the surprises they explained that this was the only way to really embed and realistically show these items effect in the field. There are two other devices but I can't show them to you here. They are too large and they are to be installed directly into a coordinator's ship," Cliff explained. "The other two defensive weapons will work in conjunction with the cloaking device."

They climbed back aboard the copter and headed back to the control center. Cliff promised to show the other two items within the week.

Colby, back at his desk, had received no reply from the UGGB. It had to mean that they were going to leave any actions up to him and his people. He had shouldered problems like this before and saw no reason why he couldn't recover from this one. It would almost be like starting over but this time he had some prior history to go on.
Chapter 15

The Other Two Weapons

The week flew by and true to his word, Cliff called Colby. He said he was now ready to show him the other two weapons his people had designed and tested.

In the last few days nothing has happened, that is, as far as Colby knew. They say 'no news is good news', however, Colby was not convinced that this is true in this case. He had the feeling that due to only one Coordinator out in the field, who's incognito, there is no one to transmit the bad news or any news for that matter.

Colby had found three of the new personnel, from his list of students, that could possibly fit the bill as an active Coordinator. Even with the apparent abilities of these three, it will take the concentrated effort from all departments to push these students through the final phases of training within the time frame he was looking at.

The implanting operations themselves will take numerous hours of intensive, meticulous and demanding involvement from every physician that control has on board. The medical procedures had been perfected and all the available short cuts are now normal procedure. Aside from the operations, healing time has to be included as a norm.

That is not the end to the implants, after healing the individual has to have time to acclimate in order to use these devices.

These things were in the mill and Colby guessed he should now concentrate on the weapons that Cliff will be showing today.

As Colby entered the lab, Cliff looked up. "Hey Tom, good to see you again."

"Thanks Cliff, you too," Colby replied. "You got time for me now or are you too busy?"

"No, no, you're up, you're next on my list of things to do." Cliff finished what he was writing and closed the small book he was using. He rose from his desk and said, "follow me."

They went through the security access to the lab in the back portion of the weapons development department. The sign on the entrance door read, 'Danger, Weapons Testing' unauthorized personnel prohibited, visitors must be escorted. A red light rotating above the door warned that a test was in progress. Cliff and Colby waited until the light was turned off before they entered.

Once inside Cliff led Colby over to a unit about the size of a small ground car with numerous short spears extending out from the center. "This is the fifth item I wanted to show you. It will be installed in the payload bay of all the Coordinator's ships. It is designed so that the ship can take a blast point blank, as close as three hundred meters, from a medium sized battle cruiser." Cliff winced as he said this. He knew the power of a medium size battle cruiser.

"This unit will protect the ship from that power?" Colby asked and Cliff shook his head.

"Not protect, it is more like deceive."

"Ok, that confuses me," Colby said as if he was giving up.

"What happens is the ship seems to disintegrate and be destroyed by the blast. There will be enough debris left in the area to convince almost anyone, even the hardest to fool individuals, that the targeted ship was destroyed." Cliff was having a great time with this explanation and he had Colby going.

"Great, some weapon," Colby said then continued, "becoming floating debris after being blasted out of space. That would really impress your enemy, in fact they would probably die, die laughing that is, if he or she laughs."

"Let me continue, please." Cliff held up his hand to stop the input. "What actually happens is a sensor picks up the enormous build up of energy coming toward your ship. This activates the warp mechanism and warps the small ship some light years away into a distance preselected sector. Remember, this is an extreme situation and will only happen if there are no other avenues of escape available."

"Well that's a lot better." Colby had to add.

"True, you and your ship will survive but, due to the need for maximum deception, pilot and crew will be violently projected from zero to high warp speed at maximum acceleration. The crew will be left disorientated for at least one hundred and sixty eight hours real time. Not only that, all exterior items, not connected to life support or emergency communication, will be jettisoned from their mooring and left as space wreckage."

"That is a long time to be out." Colby said.

"That is the reason for leaving the wreckage. Seventeen point eight percent of your ship will be left to receive the enemy's weapon blast. This will aid in your deception, hopefully convincing your attacker that you and your ship have been totally eliminated. If for any reason, your attacker feels that you were not destroyed, you are dead meat."

"What is the wreckage made of?" Colby asked.

"You would lose all exterior equipment, shields, guns, redundant portal covers and anything else that would not compromise the environment inside the ship. This loss of equipment and your disorientation would render you incapable of defending yourself. Also, if for any reason your attacker is not totally convinced of your destruction and they do a simple warp wave search, they will see that something fair sized had left the blast area at warp speed." Cliff paused.

"I know all vehicles leave a traceable wave that can be followed by an alert navigator," Colby stated.

"That's correct and that is the reason the destruction of your ship must appear to be complete in every sense. Amongst the debris that is jettisoned will be some small hologram projector. These will give the visual impression that your ship was still there when the cruiser's blast hits it. We can only hope, if it comes down to this situation, that they will accept what their eyes tell them."

"I know this is a last ditch effort, I just hope none of our men get in the situation where this will be their only option."

"There is no way I can or want to demonstrate that unit's operation, you will just have to take my word on it for its operation. There is possibility for a sixth item but, it's another one that I can't demonstrate for you. It actually has been worked out in theory only. Everything says it can be used safely. The main drawback is that it can be used one time and one time only. It simply won't work again. Once it is used, everyone in the galaxy will be immune to it." Cliff paused but Colby could tell he wasn't finished.

"What I like to call it," Cliff started again, "is my Human Brain Reboot System. It seems it will clear all memory in all people for a period of approximately ten minutes. Before you ask, it does allow for the continuation of all involuntary systems, people will still live and breathe."

"That is unreal," Colby put in.

"It has a drawback, if it is a drawback, after one use all brains will create a secondary or backup system that will prevent a second loss of time. The second system will act like an uninterrupted power source which will have no loss of time or memory. However, during that first use, the Coordinator will have ten minutes of total control no matter where they are. This will be due to their being the only ones already having this secondary system built in. Another thing to remember, the ten minutes of loss time will not be noticed by those who lost it. I have no way to test this one either, kind of like after learning to be a suicide bomber, you will only get one shot at it to test your skill," Cliff said as he and Colby headed back out of the lab.

"Thanks Cliff, these items could very well extend the life of this organization and give us a future."

Cliff promised to keep Colby updated on their progress as they were shaking hands, then Colby headed back to his office.

Chapter 16

Ranks

Colby caught up on the files of those Coordinators that had met an untimely demise. It was a debilitating experience but one that had to be done. It was with some relief that he was distracted by the tone emitted by his view-phone.

He touched the key, saw the little red light blink as the camera came on line and the monitor went from a blank screen to a close up of Cliff and his lab.

"Colby," he said and saw a slight smile on Cliff's face.

"There is an unexpected development here at the lab," Cliff said.

"What's the situation Cliff?" Colby asked with only half interest.

"It's best if you come and see for yourself," Cliff stated forcefully, "Just come and see," followed by a severed connection and the screen went blank again.

Colby considered Cliff's other than normal response and actions. For Cliff to make a statement not allowing any reply was like sending out a RSVP and then not accepting responses. It was so out of the ordinary. Even in a heated discussion or argument, Cliff would never put in the last word. He had explained this once to Colby.

"A person's final comments in any situation usually meant more than all the words used to get to that point." With this comment Cliff explained that he had made many significant breakthroughs in his work by using those last few words spoken by another person. He called it their final sum up and this is why he always allowed the other person to have the last word, that is, up until now.

No matter what Colby had to think about Cliff, here he now sat with a blank screen on his view-phone. Blank, except for the prompt at the bottom of the screen, blinking in yellow. "The party has terminated connection. Redial? Y/N. Colby hit the N. The View-phone screen went from dark to opaque which indicated the unit was off.

Colby hit the replace file key on his office computer. The personnel files he had been working on were promptly filed and stored again in the main computer. This, the main computer, was located somewhere deep in the heart of this uncharted planet. The headquarters for the Coordinator's organization called Coordinators Inc.

It was sixteen hundred hours, old earth time, and Colby figured he had at least two hours he could spare with Cliff. He knew Cliff and he guessed that this situation, what ever it was, could be significant.

As he made his way to the lab the weather was as it was, a drizzling rain with cloud cover, gray and depressing. It matched Colby's mood and the job he had been doing with the dead files to a tee. He needed sun and brightness but this depressing overcast was what he had.

He took his mind off of those dead files and thought about the rookie Coordinators and the changes in operation during the last few days.

P1 Don Ranks, the new and possibly only recruit that was ready for field work. This Coordinator's progress was unreal to the point of unbelievable. This particular individual must have been born for this line of work. Rapid healing, shorten knowledge conditioning in all phases, unexcelled implant operational use and his weapon knowledge and accuracy were just a few of his attributes. In conjunction with this, his physical and mental stamina were extra ordinary and allowed him the ability to run the obstacle course below minimum time. While he ran and maneuvered the obstacles of the course he solved the most difficult peace negotiation problems that had ever been encountered.

The only problem with Ranks, if again it was a problem, he knew he was good and that showed in his cockiness. This overconfidence could get him in a lot of trouble or maybe even get him killed.

Colby entered the lab and accepted the towel offered by Cliff. He wiped his face and his hair removing most of the rain water that the slight drizzle had caused to accumulate.

"Thanks Cliff, now what did I need to come see?" Colby asked as he finished with the towel.

"It's the Anticipator," Cliff stated.

"What about it?" Colby impatiently asked.

"Ranks isn't using the device as it was designed or expected to be used," Cliff started to explain.

"Excuse me, are there other uses for this device?" Colby broke in.

"Not that we previously knew, but he seems to be mentally altering the device. He can not only anticipate your actions, he may be able to actually read a person's mind." Cliff's hands were animated as he tried to explain.

"Come on Cliff. You know they dismissed that ESP crap as a hoax ages ago. They could never find any solid evidence that it was possible."

"Now you know the reason I didn't tell you this on the phone. I want you to look at some brain wave charts. A normal brain wave chart, like this one," Cliff pulled up a chart on the monitor, "it shows highs and lows covering all the areas of active thought. The amplitude of the signal is usually of a certain height as you can see by this normal graph recording." Cliff pointed to several peaks of the graphed displayed on the monitor.

"Now I want you to look at this graph." Cliff clicked a couple of keys and the display changed. "This was recorded this morning on our young P1 Don Ranks, Don was Actually Gordon just shortened, "see this separate signal above the others?" Cliff again pointed to areas on the monitor's display. "This is the Anticipator in action. This line, although it has highs and lows, is almost strait and about two centimeters wide. Now follow this, look here," Cliff quickly moved the cursor to a new area on the display, "a much taller peak, then nothing. The Anticipator was switched off." Cliff then explained. "This line is the results of heavy use of the Anticipator during combat. Ranks was unarmed and being attacked by an armed assailant."

"Could this be a fluke of the machine?" Queried Colby.

"No, I don't think so. We have tested the machine and we have tested other candidates on the machine. We could not duplicate the results that Rank's test recorded," Cliff said as he pulled up several charts on the display, having them placed side by side. There was only one that displayed something quite different and that one had the name, Ranks, at the top.

Cliff allowed a little time for Colby to study the charts that were displayed then he continued.

"There is more. This is Rank's second use of the Anticipator. It starts off at normal amplitude as he is waiting for his next test." Cliff had a running chart displayed on the monitor. The chart pulled across the screen with the time, in seconds, ticking off at the bottom of the graph. It was about five minutes of level display before the amplitude peaked and went out the top of the chart. Cliff continued pointing out where it started to rise. "This is where it starts and then it goes off scale, to what power we don't know."

"The staff and I were in a meeting in an adjoining room planning the next test for Ranks. There was no way he could have overheard or been aware of what we were talking about." Cliff stressed the next point. "Our meeting room is bug free and soundproof, so I feel comfortable with its security."

"We had four separate tests in mind as we returned to the lab where Ranks waited." Cliff held up four fingers to solidify his statement.

When we entered, Ranks said, 'I'll take the test number twenty seven and number thirty three. I don't care for numbers forty one or forty seven.'

"Of course, I was stunned because no one, as far as we knew, could have known about our tests or the numbers we had assigned them. The two tests he picked were the two we had decided to run." Cliff slowly shook his head, not really understanding the results.

Colby stared at the monitor, he too did not understand, not even half as much as Cliff, so he was completely lost.

"Let me try to explain this amplitude." He pointed again at the two centimeter line left on the display. "Now this line is a certain frequency and should not vary very much, mmm, this width is normal and these peaks are usually the max." Cliff then pointed at the change. "Now I want you to understand, this peak on Rank's chart is not an increase or decrease in frequency. This line is representative in a completely different way. It expands like a balloon expands when it is being blown up. It's still the same frequency but its amplitude is beyond measurement somehow."

"Is there any way to discern what this means?" Colby asked as he continued to stare at the display.

"As you know this chart simply records patterns of pulses transmitted from the brain. Each of these transmissions of pulses transfers information from the brain to the body or it may transfer information from one part of the brain to another part. The actual transmitted signal is made up of a pattern or set of pulses. The distinct pattern of these pulses makes up the message."

"This," Cliff again pointed at the display. "is the normal signal and pattern of the Anticipator and this is where it deviates from the normal. It has a pattern but it is not normal. From this little information you can see how this Anticipator works. It actually picks up the signal from another person then it increases the speed of the message while transferring it to the wearer's brain. In other words the actual thought pulses reaches the wearer's thought center resulting in the wearer's reaction as if the thought originated in his own brain."

"Now that is the way it normally works. These messages, it is suppose to pick up, are action messages. That is when, let's say the opponents brain sends a message to its hand or arm, this signal is picked up by the Anticipator in route from the brain. The message is speeded up and sent directly to the wearer's thought center. It is processed at this accelerated state allowing the wearer to respond before the opponent can complete his action. We call these surface messages because they have left the brain and are traveling along the transmission lines to the reaction station." Cliff paused while he closed the file and turned off the monitor.

Then Cliff began again. "Well, what Ranks has done with this equipment is to mentally increase its pickup capability so as to penetrate the thought centers of the opponent. He is now obtaining the messages as they are compiled inside that thought center. Now the thoughts don't have to leave the thought center before he can read them."

"That would make him unbeatable in a one on one situation." Colby's thoughts were spoken out loud. "How would this work with, oh say, a mob of attackers?"

"Not sure, it would probably make him very nervous. All those thoughts would become muddled together and that makes them probably unreadable. Oh, I'd say, he would pick up the closes one's thoughts easy enough, but they may be confused or even hide the intentions of the others, making him even more vulnerable to harm."

"That would make it almost unusable with our current situation. All the current attacks have been by numerous opponents at one time." Colby was just thinking out loud again. "I think I know a way this can be used. I just, oh, ah, thanks Cliff, you guys are great. Keep up the good work and keep me abreast of any new developments."

"Don't you want to see it in action?" Cliff asked.

"Not just now, just keep testing, find out the limits and restrictions on its use," Colby said as he departed the lab.

Cliff said something about some minor restrictions, but Colby was deep in thought and he either didn't hear or it didn't register.

Chapter 17

An End to Hostilities

She's unbelievable, she's beautiful and she's mine. She doesn't walk, she seems to glide toward me arms outstretched, welcoming me into an embrace that promise unlimited bliss. There is love and comfort in her eyes. Her lips seek mine, her body aches for me and projects total submission to my every whim. We are lovers, we are inseparable in love and life. I have known her always, I can't remember when we were not one. We have always been close, touching and caressing with subtle looks and, ah, she, she, she's melting. She's melting, oh no, this can't be, she's melting. The stench, a part of me is melting, the loss is unbearable, my love, my beautiful love, my darling, my aahhhhhhhh.

Scott screams as he catapults into a sitting position. Sweat was running down from his forehead into his eyes causing them to sting and tear. These tears were added to the tears already there from the shear loss he had felt from the dream. This addition of tears caused a small trickle to turn into a river that ran down his face and dripped onto the bed clothing.

"Arduous at best, it was another nightmare about the android." Mutters Scott. "I swear that damaged implant recorded the experience and is playing it back whenever I get completely rested and relaxed for any length of time. As a matter of fact, I think it only starts when I am well rested. What an alarm." He continued out loud to no one but himself. "Ok enjoy, here's your nightmare to wake you up, you've had plenty of rest."

As Scott dressed he reflected over the past few day's activities while here on this small but exceptionally busy planet. The busy is caused by the number of transients looking for their own personal way to make a fortune. The planet Carrier had ties with the whole universe in all types of endeavors. If it entailed anything shady like bogus real estate, ore, illegal drugs, entertainment, rare jewels, exquisite fabrics, unusual vacation spots, prostitution, slaves, warmen or assassinators, Carrier had it or dealt in it.

Carrier had a serious screening ritual for protection. This process insured that those searching here were actually searching on a quest for themselves and their own personal fortune, not some type of policing authority looking to shut down an illegal supply point or activity. Whatever it was and how it was designed didn't matter, the fact that it really worked was the only thing paramount.

This was the reason Scott had chosen this place to hide. He was sure he could still keep up with the progress of the galaxy, even from this dust ball. He had only heard one person mention anything about Coordinators. When it was he saw two bar patrons go into some type of seizure. One of the victims had been the one who had idly brought up something about the faith of the Coordinators.

Scott thought there must be some common type of animosity toward his organization. What else could explain this concentrated effort to rid the galaxy of him and his associates? Everyone must subconsciously and violently hate them and what they try to do.

"What the heck did we do?" Scott thought and said out loud. "Our goals and our mission came from an established organization that is dedicated to peace and preventing the wars that had, and again could, cause the death of millions of people. Is that so bad?"

The view-phone screen went black and prompted in amber at the top, 'Transmit video----Y/N.' Scott thumbed the 'N' which prevented his picture going out but allowed the incoming video on screen.

The screen showed the lovely face of Jacque Cleboe, smiling, friendly but curious.

"Hey! What's the matter Scott, not dressed?" The face with some sarcasm questioned.

"Dressed enough for the likes of you I guess," Scott quipped while he flicked the video transmit key enabling his picture's transmission.

"That's better, I like to see who I'm talking to. I like to see their reaction as I speak," Jacque smiled as he said reactions.

"Ha, reactions, reactions to what? Since I have been staying here, at your invitation, I haven't seen nor heard anything worth reacting too," Scott said as he continued to dress. In order to keep out the chill of the planet, Scott donned a lite thermal under garment that covered the full length of his body, neck to feet. This was by no means the normal wear of the well dress coordinator. As a matter of fact, nothing he wore was coordinator equipment. He had stashed all that with his ship hidden away in a place known only to Jacque, Fortried and himself.

"Reactions will come. There is a transient in the Crown Bar talking about coordinators and their being wiped out to the last man. He evidently is not affected by whatever affected the others and neither is his crew. There..."

Jacque started to continue but Scott was evidently reacting.

"Where are you?" Snapped Scott.

"I'm at my office, north bar," The smile said.

"I'll be there in ten minutes. Oh, is someone watching these individuals?" Asked Scott in a businesslike manner.

"Not to worry, he and they are being watched very close by one of my associates." As he finished Scott was gone from the screen and the connection was broken.

In just nine minutes, thirteen seconds and six nanoseconds later, if you are keeping detailed accurate data, Scott entered the foyer of Jacque's office. The secretary, a Credidon female named Noonac, seated behind her desk by Jacque's office door, said. "Go on in, he's expecting you."

She spoke with a severe accent that brought back memories of his childhood so long ago. Her speech had all the flavors and tones of the old English cockney used by a street urchin in old London, England, 1700AD time frame. She sounded so much like his nanny, who had the same accent, it gave him flash backs and caused many warm memories to surface.

Scott paused as she continued. "You sure do look good to me." She stated as she let her eyes rove over his body, top to bottom.

"Oh yeah? That is because I have had plenty of rest." Scott said, then in his mind he thought, 'so my dreams tell me.' "You look good too."

Scott said and winked at her as he opened the door to go into Jacque's office. He knew she could not wink in return because of the design of her eyes. A Credidon's eyes are opened by a process similar to electronic light sensors that are sometimes used to turn on night lights automatically. In other words, when it is light out a Credidon's eyes are open, when it is dark out they are closed. There is no in between. You would think they would be blind and helpless at night but nothing could be further from the truth. True they are sight blind but not helpless. They use a sonar/radar system in order to function in the dark. By bouncing an ultra high frequency emission off objects they are able to see. With this ability they are considered almost nocturnal, functioning quite well even when it's dark.

"Mr. Cleboe, how nice to see you again." Scott said as he entered.

"Knock off that mister crap or I will have Noonac seduce you in a bar somewhere in front of everyone I know," Jacque explained.

"I don't think I would mind that at all. Just kidding, What's the skinny Jacque?" Scott asked a little more serious and sat down to hear the answer.

"You know how you requested me to keep asking travelers about those attacks on Coordinators and how that person, you had captured, reacted when you questioned him about those attacks. I understand he had almost died, going into convulsion when you questioned him about his attack on you."

"I remember it very well, thought I was going to loose him."

"About three times a day I have been questioning transit personnel ever since you asked me to and their reactions have been similar to your experience." Jacque explained. "They would turn pale, if that was possible, convulse and if I pushed they would become unconscious. Well that has been the case up until today."

"Today these three new transients from the ship, Climate, traveling from the Beltar Sector, were in one of the bars raising a little hell. They were not paying any attention to my subtle reminders of my rules and code of conduct expected in my establishment. I thought I would get their attention by asking some question about the attacks. They fielded all my questions without batting an eye or two or four or whatever number they had."

"No reaction at all?" Scott asked.

"The only reaction was their joking about being in on those attacks but didn't know why. They said the Coordinators were wiped out to the last man. They remember this strong urge to go and kill Coordinators and they lost about two weeks of time while under that urge."

"Two weeks looking for a Coordinator to attack. Unbelievable." Scott shook his head as he commented.

"They woke one day and the inclination to attack and kill was gone. The whole crew was affected at the same time both at the beginning and at the end of that urge. They were somewhere in the Beltar Sector when they recovered. I questioned two other non residents today after that and they showed no ill effects from my questions. They were not from the same ship and I could find no way that they might be connected. Sure, they had attended a party where the other crew was present but no contact was made." Jacque paused and then asked. "Is it possible that this Climate crew might be a catalyst, a cure?"

"I guess it's possible, a cure would be nice but I would like to find out the cause of these attacks. Is there anything else you can tell me about this turn of events?" Scott asked.

"I think it would be best if we go over there and see, maybe you can ask them some questions that would shed a little light on this intriguing problem."

Chapter 18

Cleboe's Transportation

They left by Jacque's secret back way, which was a small elevator that took them down to a maze of tunnels that lead to all the hot spots in town. This is the way Jacque traveled. The passageways were about six meters in diameter and admitted his electromagnetic two wheeled conveyances full speed travel to and from these hot spots.

The elevator doors opened exposing a short passage way to a door that was curved from top to bottom and provided access to the actual tunnel. Jacque hit the electronic door latch and Scott heard the sound of pneumatic pressure being released. The door recessed toward him and then slid sideways into the left side of the passage way exposing the tunnel and Jacque's little, two person maximum, vehicle.

Jacque got in and waited until Scott was settled and they were both strapped into their individual gee couches for the ride. Satisfied, Jacque engaged the magnetic pickup and the vehicle began to rapidly pick up speed.

The tunnels had electromagnetic pulses or frequency sine waves traveling through at approximately three hundred kilometers per hour or 83.333 meters per second. Not so fast as electronic pulses go but fast for vehicles traveling in such a confined area. These pulses were generated every few seconds leaving some space between each pulse.

The magnetic pickup would pick up a pulse as it passed. It would automatically switch from repelling to attracting then dropping a pulse, picking another pulse, repeating the process until the vehicle was up to one third the speed of the pulses. When this speed was reached the magnetic pickup would lock on to a pulse and remain locked on until the speed of the vehicle matched the speed of the pulse, holding that speed until the trip was complete.

This meant that the first few seconds of the trip were a steady pull on an individual at about three to four gees. When the vehicle reached about two hundred kilometers per hour the pickup locked on to a pulse and propelled the vehicle to three hundred kilometers per hour almost instantly. When this took place, the passengers were pinned to their couches until the vehicle matched speed with the pulse. Movement was impossible, breathing ceased and one was lucky if they didn't get a black eye out of the violence.

These gee couches not only protected a passenger from damage during acceleration they also supported them during high speed turns in the tunnel and there were a few. As a matter of fact they were actually designed for the turns not for the acceleration.

These little vehicles were engineered in such a fashion that they could skip pulses to slow you down to a slower speed or jump pulses to put you beyond the speed of the pulses themselves. One other little thing they could do is start out on lock. In lock mode you go from zero to the speed of the pulses as fast as possible, two bruising seconds max from zero to three hundred kilometers per hour. Scott had the guts to foolishly do this, once and only once. What a thrill that was.

He was sure glad the destination was already programmed in. He couldn't even move a finger during the less than three second trip. It was all starting and stopping but due to the swinging rotation of the couches the pull on his body was the same. He was pushed back into the couch and held there until the vehicle stopped. His nose was bleeding and one of his eyes was black and blue. His rib cage hurt where he had foolishly left his hand resting on the center connecting couch harness.

As he had said that time he had pre-programmed the destination in. You of course did not have to do this. You could choose your destination and steer the vehicle yourself by the transfer of weight control. At three hundred kilometers an hour, it is a test of your athletic ability just to go from one place to another. The first time he had tried that it was like first time roller skating or riding a bike. He was all over the passage way, up and down the sides of the tunnel curvature and he actually missed the first two turns. It was not because he didn't know the direction. The correct track was originally painted in but this had been obliterated by the number of times it had been traveled. However, in its place there was a dark track left by the high speed rolling of the neoprene cylinders that occasionally touched down during high speed turns as the little vehicle traversed the tunnels. In other words, the directions to and from were still clearly marked.

Most of these hot spot bars were located at different elevation levels. It was not unusual to approach the seemingly blank end of a tunnel when arriving at your destination. If your hot spot was located on a different lower level, you would see painted directing line and these neoprene tracks going up the side of the tunnel along the top with a ninety degree curved turn straight down rounding out through an opening in the bottom of the tunnel. It left you ending up, in a lower tunnel, going back the way you had come followed by a severe left or right turn to a stop. If the spot was on a upper level you would see the end of the tunnel curving up through the roof of the tunnel with a loop at the top to a stop. Centrifugal force would hold the vehicle in these level changes and no matter how it happened, it sure left your blood flowing a little faster than normal.

With this high speed travel, Jacque could seem to be in many places at one time. It only took him about two minutes to travel the full length of the city, one end to the other. This included deciding to go, the elevator ride and the tunnel travel. If someone asked to see Jacque, the bar manager would engage a secret wrist alarm while asking that someone to wait while he checks to see if Jacque can get free. By the time the manager went to the office to check, Jacque would be there or arrive in short order, unless otherwise engaged. Well anyway, no matter which one of Jacque's ten bars you were in, it would seem like this was where Jacque's office was and he was usually there, day or night.

Of course now you and I both know that he had a private residence and had an office in all ten of his bars. This worked two ways, finding and not finding. If he didn't want to be found he could leave any bar secretly and be miles away at the other end of town. Scott consider this real bar hopping.

Chapter 19

First Meeting

Scott thought back on why he was privileged on this information about Cleboe's life, residence, secure travel arrangements and access to these passageways. All of this was due to the way they had met. He guessed that Jacque felt like he owed Scott his life and whatever was his was available to Scott. That's it, simply said. He perceived that Scott was saving his life when actually he was saving his own life by squelching the attack on Jacque. Scott explained this to him many times but Jacque just simply ignored him. So Scott ended up way ahead in information, access and a true lifelong friend whose debt, as Jacque put it, could never be fully paid.

Scott recalled that incident that put him in favor of Jacque. About ten years ago he was right here. At that time Scott didn't know he was on Jacque's own little world. Scott was waiting on the two representatives, one each from these two neighboring planets. They, for whatever reason, were at each other's throat. War was eminent and the arsenal each had would reduce both worlds to rubble and there would be few survivors if any. It was not a good situation. Each of these civilizations were reaching out to other planets for assistance in their plights. If this happened, if other worlds got involved, it could totally wreck a solar system.

The two worlds had agreed to meet with Scott's organization in a hope for some relief from the situation. They had each chosen a representative and they had chosen to meet on this particular dust ball of a planet because of the unbiased reputation it had gained.

Colby had chosen Scott as their representative. Scott had done this many times and had excellent result in almost all instances. Scott came here two weeks in advance to insure that there would be no surprises for the two dignitaries when they arrived. He also had to get the cooperation of this burgs security forces, if there were any.

Connection had been completed and thing were arranged for the meeting. Scott was taking a little personal time, and like several other species, he was at the central gym working out. There were your normal mixture of characters who were just trying to keep in some type of physical shape.

This one little character, let me emphasize the little and the character, stuck out like a sore thumb wrapped with a clean white bandage. Then again, maybe it was his lack of sticking out that gained Scott's attention. He was a little over one meter tall, not your typical sports enthusiast. He was doing some adjusting on the horizontal bars he had set up. They were set up in a most unusual configuration.

He had placed three individual horizontal bars about three meters from each other. At one end, three meters from the last horizontal bar, he had placed a set of even parallel bars. These parallel bars ran perpendicular to the other bars. Not only were the horizontal bars three meters from each other, they were set at different heights. The first one was at least three meters high with the next one a half meter lower and the next one a half meter lower still than the last. That left the even parallel bars a half meter lower than the last horizontal bar at almost two meters high.

Once the height of the bars was as he wanted, he went from anchoring cable to anchoring cable and tightened each one, all twelve. The bars shifted with each movement of the securing apparatus but when all cables were tight the bars were again straight up and even.

With everything in place as he wanted Jacque went over to the chalk dish and began chalking his hands. Using the water spray bottle, he dampened his hands slightly and then applied chalk. With the palms of his hands now white with chalk, the little character walked up beside the even parallel bars, looming about a half meter above his head. He raised his hand in a gymnast salute of ready and began one of the most exhilarating bar routines Scott had ever witnessed, and he had witness the best several times while watching the universal Olympics.

That little Cleboe character began by bending his knees in a maximum squat and sprang flat footed into the air, executing a jackknife dive, landing in a handstand atop the parallel bars at the far end. He swung backwards between the bars ending again in a perfect handstand. He worked his way down the bars with backward swings between the bars into handstands until he reached the end nearest the first of the three horizontal bars. In his last swing, between the parallel bars, he turned as he came to a handstand. He did one more swing through the bars, this time a forward swing. As his swing went through he grabbed the very ends of the two bars and pushed off toward the nearest horizontal bar.

He executed a forward pike flip and cleared the horizontal bar in a seated pike position with his hands extended down below his seat open facing forward. As he cleared the bar it seemed to go right into his hand without any adjustment. As he started on the down swing toes first, he brought his feet in, toward the bar and then uncurled them, full length, as he continued his giant swing backward. This uncurling of his body on the down swing, increased his giant swing speed which enabled him to release the bar as he approached the apex of his swing and execute another pike forward flip as he went toward and cleared the next bar.

Jacque cleared the next bar as before and, without any adjustments, caught that bar and went again into giant swings. He repeated the same moves on this bar and he then launched himself at the final bar, the highest of the three. He did the same routine on this bar without the release at the apex. He continued on this bar with some high speed giants, two with two hands with releases over the top followed by exciting last moment catches. He did two giants with the left hand only and then two with the right hand only demonstrating uncommon strength. He did one more giant with both hands and released that bar on the way up leaving him in a fully layout position rotating backwards. He seemed to float and slowly rotate high above the middle horizontal bar. As he came down he was within reach of that middle bar.

He grasped the bar going into a giant swing and repeated the same identical release and layout with revolutions. He did the same catch and release to leave the last horizontal bar headed for the even parallel bars. When he came down level and in the middle of the parallel bars he had his arm fully extended with hands turned out. He caught the bars and pulled himself through a high speed swing. He released the bars as he again came parallel with them on the way up.

His momentum carried him high above the bars and to one side. After his release he tucked in a ball and pulled at least four backward flips. He said later that it was five, but who was counting. Then he landed, feet first and solid, no step and no movement. He landed as if he had simply jumped up in the air and came right back down. He raised both his hands as if he were completing a successful Olympic routine, saluting unseen judges that would score his routine. He did a ninety degree turn facing me and raised his hands again as he almost clicked his bare heels.

What the hell, Scott thought as he applauded, and so did everyone else, well, those that were capable. The gym had actually become void of movement during his performance and routine.

The gym slowly returned to activity as most patrons returned to their less than exciting exercise routines, all except for Scott who had decided long before Jacque's routine ended that he had to meet this extraordinary individual. An individual who could turn a couple of standard inanimate chinning bars into a visual masterpiece of live aerial art work, he simply had to meet.

Cleboe was washing his hands and he evidently sensed Scott's approach and turned toward him.

"Excuse me, I would like to tell you how much I enjoyed your exhibition on those bars. My name is Scott Standard, I am a Coordinator." Scott said as he extended his hand.

Cleboe, having finished his hand washing, quickly dried his hands and shook Scotts. "Jacque Cleboe." He said. "Tavern Owner."

This was the normal greeting procedure on this planet, stating your name and then your occupation.

Jacque had returned to the removal of perspiration that had accumulated on his face and arms with the blue terry cloth hand towel he had casually slung around his neck while they exchanged greetings.

"Tavern owner? You look more like a professional gymnast to me." Scott said indicating the bar arrangement with a wave of my hand.

"Oh, it's just a hobby. I own bars and I like to practice on bars." He smiled at his joke about the two different types of bars. "Actually the gym bars are something I really love to play on. I love to perform an excellent routine or see an excellent routine performed. That is why I spend most of my spare time here practicing my routine." He paused and smiled as he continued. "I feel like today's routine was one of my individual best and I felt that with this routine I could have won any gymnastic bar competition anywhere in the galaxy. I am really pleased with today's results."

"You should be pleased, it was the best I have ever seen and I have seen the greats." Scott said.

"I thank you for those kind words, let me buy you a beer and you can help me celebrate this small victory over gravity." Cleboe invited Scott.

Scott quickly accepted this invitation since Jacque's demo on the bars had dashed all Scott's hopes of gaining any positive attention with his feeble excuse of a bar routine. Him doing a bar routine now would be like having a first year, Byloain soloist student, play a chorus of space walk just after the Galaxian Stilliants had finished their rhapsody of 'First Lift Off' and 'Elliptical Orbit in A Minor'. It just wouldn't do, besides, these patrons of the gym are here to work out, not lie around laughing at some clown who....., well, you know or so, Scott was thinking.

They left the gym in conversation not really aware of their environment. A short distance away from the gym they were suddenly surrounded by six Quadusiants. They seemingly appeared out of nowhere and they seemed to be upset with Jacque or Scott. How much they couldn't tell, the Quadusiants have no facial expressions, however, Scott knew they only waved their appendages when they were very upset. The way these guys were waving their extremities, upset was an understatement. Scott thought he had suddenly parachuted into the hills of California and into one of those windmill generator farms of the 1980's during a wind storm. True those rotating blades were dangerous but these waving arms were even more menacing. What made them so menacing was the fact that their fighting mode was activated and their needle claws were unsheathe.

Everyone called those needle claws two steppers. They were so named because if you were touched by those exposed claws you might get about two steps before you fell dead. There still is no antidote available to counteract their deadly poison.

As the perimeter they had created started to shrink and close in on them Scott felt he had no choice but to react. He hit his personnel stun emitter. All activity ceased and the Quadusiants dropped in their tracks. Their appendages turned limp and appeared visually liquid while flowing to the ground. Their multiple limbs collected around their individual bodies with the previously withdrawn sheathing relaxing and once again covering their deadly claws.

The stun emitter was not selective and Jacque had also fallen as if he were dead. Since this condition is not permanent and has varied effect on different species, Scott didn't wait around to find out the length of time it would take for these cheerleaders to revive. He grabbed Jacque and slung him over his shoulder in a fireman carry and took off. they rounded the nearest corner and went across the street into the bar called the Nugget.

As they entered the Maitre d' saw the package Scott had on his shoulders and led them to Jacque's private booth. Scott thumbed the revive button on his stun emitter and Jacque came back to life. He sprang to his feet throwing up his arms as if to protect himself from the recent unwarranted attack. It took a moment for him to realize where he was. He looked around at the bar and at Scott and slowly started to relax.

Scott explained what had happened, what he had done to stop the attack and he apologized for putting him under with the stun emitter. Jacque accepted the fact that the emitter was non directional and that it was not discriminatory in its victims. He was and continues to be so very grateful. Since that minor episode, no matter how many times Scott tells him he was just protecting himself, he has treated Scott like his best and only friend and everything Jacque has also belongs to Scott. He says it's because, sure Scott saved himself when he hit the stunner button, Scott also saved Jacque when he picked him up and carried him away into hiding before the attackers regained consciousness. Whatever, that was the reason Scott got to see and use Jacque's subway and transportation equipment.

Chapter 20

The Interview

Scott's thoughts returned to the present as he entered the subway. He needed his concentration on what he was doing, especially when he was riding one of Jacque's little vehicles. As he approached, the unobtrusive craft, he was already running the turns and rolls over in his mind, they could be so tricky if one wasn't prepared.

The lighting throughout the tunnel was excellent. The tunnel was lit by several light ropes imbedded in the material that made up the walls, roof and floor of the passageway and these light strips ran the full length of all tunnels. These light ropes were imbedded so as not to impair driving, in case your vehicle needed to go up the wall for a turn or you lost control and your vehicle strayed and went up the wall errantly.

This time the trip was very short with only two major turns, left then right, with plenty of time to stop. Scott arrived at the private bar entrance just in time to see Jacque bound up the steps that lead to his private bar viewing booth. The booth was located just off the office and had a uninhibited one way view of the bar and table areas.

The bartender was on his way to the back office area as Scott entered from the tunnels. Scott joined Jacque at his private booth and sat while keeping his eyes on the few patrons who had taken up seats around some of the tables in the lounge area of the bar.

Watching this bartender approach caused Scott to think that all Jacque's bartenders were the same species, all of Rustonian descent. It would be hard for him to tell which establishment he was in by the bartender as they all looked alike. This one named Bob, had poured a glass of the universally famous Merlot, grown and bottled here on Plaintiff. The Merlot wasn't chilled, but it was fresh from the wine cellar which made the wine much cooler than the temperature in the bar. Small droplets of moisture had collected on the lower portion of the rounded glass causing small insignificant trickles down the glass. The flow continued unseen down the stem and onto the round bar coaster. The coaster soaked up the moisture to prevent leaving a ring on the highly polished expensive wood table.

Scott thanked Bob and lifted the glass and took a sip while the bar coaster clung to the bottom of the glass. He rose turned from the booth and moved closer to the one way glass for a better look at the bar patrons. Scott took another sip of wine then as he lowered the glass, the coaster decided it was time to free itself. He knew this would happen but he never knew when, so he stayed prepared. He released his hold on the glass and snapped the coaster out of the air before it had fallen no more than three inches.

It was a game he played that tested his reflexes. He only used his right hand to hold the glass and grab the coaster. Once the coaster came loose and started to fall, he would release the glass, grab the coaster, place the coaster on top of the glass and then catch the glass again before it fell more than four or five inches. The idea was to do this without spilling any of the contents from the glass.

He had perfected this after cases of broken glasses and lots of spilled water, not wine. His practice had paid off this time and he completed the action without losing the glass or spilling any of the drink.

There was an ultimate reason for this practice and reflex test. Unbeknown to Colby, it was to keep in shape for the quick draw of his antique side arm which he wore only when on this particular planet. It was a weapon used in, what was called, the old west on the planet earth during the early 1800s'. This particular piece had been updated with the addition of a larger size projection tube and bullet chamber. It now held the equivalent to a magnum 44 size lead pellet, smokeless black powder and brass casings with percussion caps for its ignition.

The weapon used expanding gas, from the quick burning black powder, to drive the lead pellet down the tube of the weapon. The gas expanded so fast that when the pellet left the metal tube it caused a loud report, more like a small explosion. The metal tube, or barrel, had spiraling grooves inside it to cause the lead pellet to spin. This spin prevented the lead pellet from knuckle balling, floating up or down or side to side, as it traveled to its target thereby increasing the accuracy of the projectile.

This weapon was a true antique and completely different from everyday phasers used throughout the galaxies. Those modern phaser weapons were almost silent emitting a whispering high voltage sound that sounded similar to water, under high pressure, squirting from a hose nozzle. The gun's sound was a very loud ear bursting explosion. Scott assumed that this loud report would be disarming and unexpected, maybe even alarming or distracting enough to allow him a moment to escape from danger.

Scott reseated and they sat for a moment and, while Scott finished his wine, he and Jacque discussed some interrogating strategies. Nothing clear cut came to mind so they decided to simply wing it.

"Well," Jacque said. "Let us go and see if we can't engage this individual in a conversation about Coordinators."

Jacque and he split up and came into the bar from different directions. Scott came in from the front, as if off the street while Jacque came from the direction of his private booth. They entered about two minutes apart. As Scott entered, he saw that Jacque had taken up a position at the end of the bar. From his perch Jacque could see everyone in the entire establishment.

A couple of heads turned as Scott entered the bar but no appreciable attention was given to him. The bartender, this particular Rustonian was called Joe, acknowledged Scott presence by pulling a cold mug from the micro freezer and filled it with Scott's own favorite brand of beer. Well, it might as well be his favorite, it was the only beer available on this little planet. The monopoly and brewery were owned by a little friend of his. You can guess who.

As Joe set my beer down he asked. "Hey Scott, how is your day going?"

"Lousy, I've really need to get off this planet. I'm just sick and tired of going from bar to bar. I've got to find a berth on a ship out of here. I want to get back into the vacuum of space. I'm losing my hard earned space legs on the unmoving surface of this dust ball." Scott looked and swept his hand around indicating the bar area and asked. "Do you know if any of these patrons or if one of their ships is headed toward the Baltic Sector? I think that's a place I would like to see. I hear they've got two super nice space ports there that cater to old and young space dogs."

"Oh man, you don't want to go the Martinez." Joe said as he shook his head.

"And why not? I'm not afraid of any old space port aliens or situations."Scott asked.

"It's not the aliens that will bother you." Joe said quietly so only Scott would hear. "It's the current activities that frighten most people."

Following Joe's lead, he quietly asked. "What is it, a few murders, rapes, robberies?"

"Worse than that. It's full scale conflict between two of the planets in that sector." Joe paused and nodded his head, turned his eyes and tipped one of his antennas toward one of the bar's patrons. "Well that is what Keogg said."

Scott looked in the direction Joe was pointing and saw a large Senueian seated at one of the many tables that were randomly arranged throughout the bar.

Scott picked up his beer mug and walked over to the table where Keogg sat. As he arrived he asked. "Who's Keogg?"

"Who wants to know?" Asked a Trioped Zipploydd who was in the process of vacuuming up some of his drink with one of his intake tubes.

Scott took his time replying because of the way the zipploydd spoke. Their way of speaking was unusually hard to understand. It wasn't an alien language, it's just that when a zipploydd spoke, each word was repeated by a second oval flap covered mouth. The repeated words were muffled and followed so closely to the first that it sounded like a dull but loud echo that almost covered the next word. It took a moment to decipher. To understand his talking, you had to mentally tune out the echo. Scott had almost forgotten this but he quickly did the mental work necessary and understood the zipploydd's comments.

"I do, Scott Standard, ex Nav/Comm Officer, SPTPS Calsin, out of the Stailing Sector." Scott stated while displaying the international sign of greeting. "And, who are you?"

"Diealeauge," The Zipploydd echoed, "Ship's Stores, AFCD Climate, Celloid Sector. He is Keogg." Diealeauge said indicating the Senueian across the table. One eye stayed locked on Scott as one moved to indicate Keogg while most of his attention had returned to the vacuuming of his chilled libation.

Keogg grunted his acknowledgement and raised his glass in greeting. "Keogg, Ships First Officer, same ship as my talkative friend. What can I do for you?"

"Joe, the bartender, tells me there is a full scale war going on in the Baltic Sector." Scott said as if amazed at that situation.

"And you have some problem with that?" Keogg asked with some malice.

"Well, I just find it a little hard to believe since I know for a fact that the Coordinators have completely eliminated war." This had been true for some time now but Scott wasn't sure about the present due to the attacks. He, hopefully, replied with convictions anyway.

They all three laughed at Scott's statement.

"The only thing the Coordinators eliminated was themselves." Keogg actually guffawed as he completed this statement. This caused some spittle to trickle down his chins and mix with the foam left there by the beer. Keogg ran his furry arm across his mouth removing all traces of the foam mixture.

Scott had to restrain himself from saying something stupid. "What makes that so funny, are you some type of war monger or do you just have a hatred for Coordinators?"

The coaster, that had temporally adhered to the bottom of his beer mug, picked this time to come loose and start to drop. Scott automatically released the mug and snapped the coaster from the air, placed it on top of the mug then caught that beer mug before it had fallen no more than four inches. Using only the one hand during the trick, not a drop of the contents was spilled.

I don't think that Keogg was sure of what he had seen. I think the only thing that registered was the fact that the hand movement was incredibly fast. This was the first time Scott noticed that they were aware of the sidearm he was wearing. Scott thought it caused his next comments to be a little less gruff and maybe just possibly contain a little respect.

"No, in answer to both of your questions." He explained with a dismissing wave of his hand. "It just struck me as funny, you know, them trying to eliminate war and them the only thing eliminated. I don't have anything against Coordinators, but I know I did want to attack some of them a while back, why, I don't know. Now it seems, since we went through the Baltic Sector again, I, ah, we," Keogg said as he included his friends, "lost that feeling."

Before Scott could ask his next question, Keogg asked. "Hey, what was that thing you did, that hand movement thing with the coaster and beer mug? That was impressive."

"Just a way to keep my gun hand in shape," Scott said hoping Keogg would understand. "Do you know what caused you to want to attack the Coordinators and do you know why you lost that feeling of wanting to attack them?" Scott asked.

"Again the answer to these two questions is no. Why are you so curious and interested in this? Are you a Coordinator or something?" Diealeauge, finished with his drink, idly asked but not really interested in the answer.

"Actually, I had the same feelings you had and I'm just trying to find out the reason for it." Scott lied straight faced. "My desire has also left me so I would like to find out why. Could you entertain a few more questions that may shed some light on this for all of us?" Scott asked this question as he located and pulled up a chair facing the Senueian and his friends.

Chapter 21

Dreaming Again

As Scott seated, the chair quickly adapted to his body shape and statue. This bar, like most of the bars, had the Sense-A-Shape seating accommodations. The chairs used several video sensors and heat sensors to determine the necessary shape of it's soon to be occupant. This way it didn't matter if the sitter was three legged, four legged, wide, narrow, tall, short, had its mammary glands in front or, like some of the bar's patron, down on their back. The chair would change to whatever is required to accommodate the occupant.

So a nice lady, who just happened to be unusually equipped, didn't have to order anything special. She didn't have to say, 'I need a C-Cup cross your spine back rest with a three legged person's seat.

No matter who you were, you just pulled out a chair and as you seated yourself it changed to meet your individual requirements.

"When did you, you know, first want to, uh, k-k-kill Coordinators?" Scott asked.

"We don't really know," The big Senueian stated flatly. "The last thing we remember is being about two days out from Salibar, in the Baltic Sector, with our holes full of goods. That was two weeks ago and our holes are still full of equipment. The next memory we had was being in the Baltic Sector again without any memory of how or why we were there. It seems we bypassed Salibar by a few days travel, however, the calendar shows us fifteen days later with considerable miles on our vessel. The reason we know this is the fuel load was almost depleted. With the fuel we had on board, we could have made numerous jumps from this sector back and forth to our home base. Evidently we jumped all over the galaxy." He said this as he waved his three manipulators all around then back and forth over his head indicating multiple directions of jumps.

"Do you have any evidence of where you had traveled or what you did during those lost days?" Scott asked with some considerable anxiety in his voice.

Keogg, eyes swiveling back and forth, stole a glance at his companions and considered this question before replying then he said. "Although I'm not sure if it is any of your business but, in answer to your question, we do have some video evidence of us making our ship ready for an attack on a Coordinator's vessel." Keogg shook his head as he continued. "No we did not do this recording on purpose. As I am sure you know, if a commercial vessel arms their defensive weapons on their cargo ship a video recording will start automatically and record the action both inside and outside of their vessel."

This was the first time Scott saw any register of remorse on the face of the Senueian. His eyes dropped as he paused. Scott knew the video recordings of which he referred. They were developed, early in the 2160's, to enable the law enforcement agency ability to quickly locate and stop any and all hijackers, those would be space pirates.

Keogg raised his eyes back up and looked at Scott, "Well, believe it or not, these systems are still in place and they still work. They recorded all our actions while our ship was armed." Keogg shook one of his manipulators back and forth in front of his face as he continued. "I am not proud of what I saw on that recording. We were captured on that video in deep space getting ready to hit this small white Coordinator's ship. You could tell it was a Coordinator's ship their ship's logo was highly visible." Keogg paused. "Thankfully, we didn't get a chance to attack. In the blink of an eye the small vessel disappeared. After that the video has us just milling around as if we all of a sudden had nothing to do. This lasted for some time before we disarmed which caused the video recording to stop. There were no further events that we know of. The video recording system did not start again during those lost days."

Scott's thoughts had turned inside. That small white vessel, he spoke of, could have been his. Scott excused himself after offering thanks to the crew of the cargo ship. In the galaxy's routine gesture, he wished them obstacle free space, an unlimited supply of fuel, hazard free docking, happy memories from duty free land falls on many planets and unlimited entertainment. Ok, ok, it was just a simple wave with a single clap of the hands, but that is what it was supposed to mean.

Scott left them as they returned the routine well wishing gesture back at him. That crew, having put the interview behind them, were involved with their continued conversation as Scott left the bar by the front door. He made his way around back and entered again into Jacque's private booth. Jacque and Scott observed those three individuals for a few more minutes before agreeing that this well was dry.

Scott went back to the bar and set the beer mug back on the bar. He took out his credit disc and swiped it through the reader. As usual it came back denied.

"Jacque, this thing denied my disc again." Scott said as he slid the disc through the reader again.

"How many times I got to done told you, your moneys no good here." Jacque said and waved a push away at Scott as he entered his office.

Scott lay cradled in his small white cocoon, somewhere deep in space, drifting peacefully with absolutely no cares, no worries and no noise. The star patterns were not familiar but that was of no concern. He has plenty of fuel, plenty of food and plenty of useable air. His speed was adequate for safety but not so fast that constellations were lost or even smeared as they pass. Deep space at less than warp speed, things must really be great with the pace he was keeping. His mind was in turmoil as thoughts ran wild. "Where am I headed? Why am I headed there? A small vessel, a two seater appears in the view screen, no advanced signals or warnings were received on board. Ok, ok now I am getting something. The televiewer, ship to ship, a picture is clearing. It's a-a-ah a girl, a very beautiful girl. I have never seen a girl so lov---- she's flashing and she's getting brighter. No, no, hold it, the girl is trying to speak. Stop flashing, stop flashing, why won't it quit flashing. She's gone, the picture is gone but the viewer is still flashing faster and brighter and now it's starting to buzz as it flashes."

He squinted as he kept his eyes closed, squeezing them trying to avoid the bright light coming from above the bed. He slowly opened one eye viewing the flashing light mounted over his single bunk. He knew this flashing indicated an incoming call and sadly he realized he was not deep in space, he was just lying here on his bunk recovering from a more than vivid dream still planet bound. The televiewer was softly buzzing, no emergency, as the normal prompt blinked on and off on the view screen.

He hit the 'N' in response to the questioning, televiewer on "Y or N" prompt. The flashing quit then the face of Lieutenant Callgaurd appeared on the screen showing him sitting behind his desk at police headquarters.

"Good morning Mr. Standard, sorry, I hope I didn't wake you too early. You asked us to call if there was a significant change in the prisoner you gave us." The lieutenant paused.

"No, no, it's ok. I need any information you have. Sleep is like the last thing I am concerned with," Scott responded eagerly.

"The prisoner is for the first time taking nourishment, coherent and talking about his experience. He does not pass out every time he is questioned about those experiences." Callgaurd paused and then continued, "You know, this guy seems to be harmless and not at all as aggressive as he was when he was brought in. As a matter of fact, he seems more like a normal person than some type of assassin. I'm sure you would like to question him to some considerable length since you brought him in and you're the one who knows what he actually did, you're the only witness." The lieutenant paused and seemed to be waiting for Scott's reply.

"Give me an hour and I will be down there. Can you have an interrogation room available for me?" Scott asked.

Later that day he was back at the Crown bar having a cool beer with Jacque and discussing the day's events or lack of events. He had gained nothing from questioning Lacgil, and that was his name. He was a simple farmer with a family. He did not know of or recognize Scott when he confronted him.

The last thing he remembered was boarding a vessel that was supposed to take him to an agricultural convention. He had waved goodbye to his family, went on board, stored his gear and went to his assigned cubicle. Lunch was a couple of hours away so he had lain down to take a nap. The next thing he remembered was waking up in a cell here at this local jail. "Hell of a nap." was his final comment as Scott closed the interview.

"What could take a simple, fresh off the farm, farmer and turn him into someone who is bent on the destruction of a certain group of people? A group of people he doesn't know and who he has no complaint with," Scott rhetorically asked Jacque.

"Not only that, now he's just a simple farmer with no knowledge of what he had done. The strangest thing about the whole thing is he shows no signs of his being under some unknown influence. What could cause that?"

Jacque just shook his head and they both sipped their beers and quietly reflected on these questions.

Chapter 22

The Baltic Sector

Having the Warman as a friend here in this sector was evidently acceptable for space faring personnel. No one raised the roof or panicked even though some looked at them out of curiosity as Scott and Fortried entered one of Jacque's local taverns. Scott was sorry with apologies to Fortried as he realized Fortried could have shared his experiences while here on Jacque's world. He would make up for some of it by at least having a few beers with him and Jacque. They would soon be saying goodbye to Jacque for a short period as their plans included returning here after their visit to the Baltic Sector.

The bar was quiet with just a murmur of conversation from the occupants sparsely spread throughout the room. The patrons were of many different ethnicities and there dialog mixed together left little that was understandable but no hostilities were apparent. Actually, Scott thought, it was such a pleasant sound it would be easy to forget that a short time ago their life was in such peril from patrons just like these.

The bartender pulled a couple of beers and placed them on the bar in front of Fortried and Scott. Scott's glass was a chilled 20 ounce crystal with the bar logo on one side while Fortried's container was more like a glass bucket. It held almost a gallon of the golden liquid, no logo but it had an arrow pointing up with "This End Up" stenciled just below the rim. On the bottom in small print "Tipped to empty" could be seem as Fortried drained the contents.

"I serve drinks according to the size of the customer." The bartender said as he smiled at Fortried. "You are gorgeous and one huge individual if I may say so myself."

After draining the large container without lowering it and with that deep booming voice Fortried said, "You may." This was followed by an enormous burp that caused many heads to turn in their direction.

"Pardon me," coming from Fortried caused some good natured comments from patrons of the bar with a smattering of applause.

Jacque sauntered in with his favorite customer style greeting smile plastered on his face. "Wow, nice volume," Jacque said as he added a couple of hand claps of his own.

"Scott, who is your enormous friend?" Jacque asked as he craned his neck back while looking up at the towering individual.

"Sorry, my bad. This is Fortried, he was watching my ship while I've been here," Scott said as he touched Fortried's elbow presenting him in introduction.

Extending his hand up toward Fortried Jacque said, "Good to meet you, I am Jacque the owner of this establishment. I am also a good friend of Scotts'."

The three of them spent the next two hours as Fortried and Jacque got to know each other. The three of them tried to decide on what avenue Scott should now take to continue his investigation on the recent attacks.

They had previously agreed that the Baltic Sector was the next logical stop or step. What to look for and how to approach the locals there would be instrumental in any knowledgeable gain that might be derived.

After the three shared a good meal, Fortried and Scott spent several minutes saying goodbye to Jacque. Taking their leave they headed back to their ship. Preparations to launch were few as Nard and Fortried, both excellent pilots, had together accomplished most of the pre-flight checks before Fortried joined Scott at the bar.

Giving the destination to Nard was the final step in putting the ship back into space. The monitor changed rapidly as Nard accepted the voiced instructions that placed the new destinations on the monitor. The screen showed the current sector pulling away as the galaxy spread out to include more stars and more sectors of known space. Soon, left on the screen, was a single dot signifying the small area and planet that was Jacque's world. A small white circle surrounded their current, soon to be fast moving, location with a false dark blue line that spanned the monitor ending at another white circle. A small tag identified the areas that were circled. Scott's ship was circled on one end and the Baltic Sector label was blinking steadily at the other end of the dark blue line.

Satisfied with what he saw on the screen Scott said, "Nard, please engage," Unseen by Nard, Scott had pointed his index finger at the monitor as he said engage. The tug of acceleration had pulled on Scott as the ship lifted and left the atmosphere of the small planet. The blue, representing the atmosphere, that surrounded Jacque's home was clearly visible and it made things seem so friendly and inviting. Suddenly the small world receded, dwindling quickly to a small bright dot before blinking away as the stars blurred with the entrance into warp. Leaving was always emotional and Scott's thoughts were on his friend as they sped away from that sector. He was already looking forward with fond remembrance of their visit in anticipation of their quick return.

Scott looked back at the monitor. The dark blue line was bending as warp speed bent space and the distance between starting and ending points simply moved closer together as he watched. Of course the display was an animated picture but the actual effect in reality was true.

Chapter 23

Crew Member Addition

It was several hours later and Scott had just poured a fresh cup of coffee. He and Fortried had spent the time since launch making sure everything was ship shape and a detailed inventory of supplies had been completed.

Fortried, on the other hand, not a fan of coffee had added several tea bags to the steaming cup of hot water he had heated.

Taking a break with nothing to say, they quietly sat across from each other watching the steam rise from their individual cups. The scene was almost comical as Scott who was of medium stature and this giant of a human sat at this small table wrapped in their own personal thoughts. Their individual cup sizes reflected their difference in stature with Fortried's cup at least three times the size of Scott's cup.

"..... is waiting for you to answer." Nard's sudden interruption made Scott jump and his attention turned to the com panel where he saw the incoming message indicator light blinking.

As usual Scott had missed the first couple of words. "Who's calling?" He asked even though in his mind he knew it could only be one person.

"Colby is waiting for you to answer." Nard repeated.

"Ok, this is just what I needed, thanks a lot Nard." Scott, knowing that Nard was not capable of recognizing sarcasm, moved over to the com panel and he hit the lighted button.

"Goooood morning boss man." Scott said as Colby's face appeared on the monitor and he heard the open channel noise coming from the speakers.

"There you are, I was worried, you ok?" Colby's voice relayed a sense of sincerity and true concern.

"Actually, I am a lot better. I've had some well needed rest and recuperation. Thank you for giving me time to readjust from the recent ordeals. I feel that I am ready to continue my investigation of those attacks." Scott replied.

"Well you will have to scrap that investigation for now. We have a serious outbreak of hostilities and it looks really bad, innocent civilians are being slaughtered. There are nuclear weapons and Warmen involved. The planets are two close together for either to survive this type of conflict. I want you to go there and bring peace back to that area." As Colby was speaking his face was replaced with a view of a galaxy with the two involved planets indicated by arrows and notes attached to each.

Scott studied the view, running his finger along the screen as he processed the presented information. "This, Mmm, this looks a lot like the Baltic Sector, is that right, the Baltic Sector?"

"Yes, that's right, it's the Baltic Sector." Colby paused then continued. "I wasn't aware that you were familiar with that sector or was that just a lucky guess on your part?"

"Lucky, lucky," Scott said slowly as he continued to peruse the view on the screen. "Ok, ok, I will go there and see what I can do for these two unfortunate planets. I'll get back to you when I have something to report."

"Wait, wait a minute." Colby said as his face popped back up on the monitor. "I have some good news for you, I am sending someone to help you."

"Someone, anybody I know and why would I need help?" Scott knew it was very unusual for a Coordinator to have an accomplice. "Lose a little faith in my ability or what?"

"No, no, it's not that, not that at all. I'm sending a young rookie, Gordon Ranks, and he is in need of some field work and a knowledgeable professional that can show him the ropes, so to speak. I could think of no one better qualified than you." Colby said with a grin that made Scott think of the cat trying to hide the fact that he had just eaten the canary. "He scored extremely high when running the obstacle course and all qualifying field work, you'll like him. His use of the Anticipator is remarkable."

"Anticipator? What is that?" Scott asked.

"New equipment inside standard Co-or helmet. Allows a wearer to know what an individual was going to do before they do it."

"Ok if you say so, I have planet fall in twenty two hours so your young rookie should get on the road as soon as possible." Scott said as he studied the chronometer.

"He'll be there, he's already on his way, left this morning early." The screen went blank as Colby ended the connection.

"Colby doesn't know it but the task he said I should scrap is still on the forefront. A rookie, I'm getting a rookie, what could be next?" Scott's question was rhetorical and, as he expected, no reply came from either Fortried or Nard.

Scott, for no apparent reason, double checked Nard's calculations and, once he was sure that everything was as it should be, he turned to Fortried. "Time to get some rest, Nard has everything in hand and there's nothing for us to do but wait."

Scott and Fortried headed for their individual bunks. Scott wasn't sure if he could sleep with the thoughts he currently had running through his head. Surprisingly that changed shortly after he got comfortable and warm. Dreams came and went in an animated blur as he chased an unknown young man who ran back and forth between the legs of Fortried. As the young man turned, going back between the legs of Fortried, the sign he wore on his back became readable. Rookie was stenciled in bright red letters on the sign that flopped back and forth as the young man dodged in and out round and round the legs of Fortried.

Chapter 24

It's not easy being Green

The Baltic Sector arrived with a variety of inhabited planets. This was one small galaxy with only four planets circling its yellow star. What made this system unusual was all four of the planets were inhabitable and all were filled with sentient life. Scott now knew which two worlds were at each other's throat and he decided to base his efforts on one of the other two neutral worlds.

Unbelievably all the planets, seen from space, were a variety of individual visible colors. As bright colored as Mars is red this one was the color of green and seemed to attract Scott's attention. After getting Sector Control on communication Nard was soon transferred to Gradieur Control. Gradieur freely translated from their language meant "Color of Leaf" and the name was derived by its inhabitants from and a reflection of the color of their world. Yes the leaves were green but the atmosphere and water also had a distinct pale green glow.

Scott's ship was placed in an orbital garage that housed numerous restaurants, gyms and shopping centers for visitors waiting for transportation to the planet below. Individual spaceships were not allowed to breach the atmosphere and for all out world vessels access to the planet surface was totally forbidden. A local shuttle was the only means of transportation allowed to enter the atmosphere or touchdown for any reason.

Scott quickly viewed the available accommodations down on the planet and selected an acceptable hotel in the center of the city location. The reservation was transferred to his bank card for future use. Fortried decided he would explore this huge orbiting complex while Scott headed to the shuttles area for a trip to the surface where he would begin the task that Colby had assigned.

Clearing through the rigid customs check took some time. It seemed their main concern was the absolute lack of tolerance on weapons and munitions of any kind. Scott was surprised at the difference between Jacque's world and this one and he was glad he left his valued hand gun back on board his ship.

The green glow was not apparent as Scott stepped off the shuttle and looked around. The air was somewhat fresh or at least as fresh as any other space port he had visited. The green of the sky became visible and was as green as the earth's sky was blue when Scott finally cleared the overhead turned and looked up. He stood a moment staring up resembling a small town tourist's visit to the streets of a large city and his first viewing of the skyscraping towers and tall buildings. His mouth hanging open a little as he surveyed the panorama that was displayed before him.

As on earth, although it was daytime, the moon, oh, make that moons, were visible in the pale green sky. Some puffs of clouds moved lazily across and Scott watched as the prevailing wind slowly changed their shapes and caused a peek-a-boo viewing of those moons as the clouds passed.

Someone clearing their throat brought Scott back to the surface. Looking around he realized he was blocking the exit from the shuttle area and travelers were backing up. Many too polite, weren't born with a throat to clear or didn't want to interfere with his viewing had just waited until he moved.

Remembering something he had read about Twentieth Century Earth's concerns, looking around Scott's thoughts went to the idea that maybe here on this world the use of green energy only and natural resources protection could be a given. He smiled at the green thoughts as he took another quick look at the sky then followed the other travelers down to the ground transportation area.

While waiting for the next available vehicle Scott read the warning sign posted beside the waiting area sign. "Off Worlder's should minimize outdoor exposure until their systems are acclimatized". Wondering how long that takes, Scott did not notice the watcher although the watcher was clearly visible and made no attempt to hide. Scott climbed in the waiting transport and slid his bank card through the payment slot. The controlling computer beeped as the card conformation was received then a mechanical voice ask for the destination. Scott punched in the hotel name and the vehicle moved forward picking up speed then lifted on its way. The next vehicle in line picked up the watcher then fell in behind as both climbed out and banked toward the visible monoliths that were the towers of the nearby city.

Scott relaxed and peered out the windows at the structures below. He could see the activities on some of the streets as he passed over. From this height the view resembled ants crawling from opening to opening building to building business as usual he presumed.

His transport banked and tilted down heading for the streets below. The hotel destination he had requested came into view and the transport softly grounded with the doors automatically opening once stopped. Scott slid his plastic bank card across the slot again and payment was collected for the transport. Once Scott was clear the doors closed and the vehicle ascended again with a slow spiral as it lifted.

Scott's attention was on what lay ahead as he walked into the hotel, he did not see the watcher's taxi touched down. The watcher sat for a moment until Scott had entered the hotel before he departed the small conveyance. Stepping out he held his position on the sidewalk as the transport buttoned up rising in a replay of the previous transport's spiral dance while lifting into the pale green sky.

Scott checked in but didn't head up to his room right away. The noise from the street drew his attention and he returned to the open entrance. Green hail fell and the small marble size pellets bounced in a popcorn style ballet. Rain followed the short hail exhibition and the large moisture filled droplets danced on the now wet streets. The falling drops caused a haze to form just above the surface and that haze was more like a green fog with small gust of wind sweeping it across in front of the hotel. A severe crack caused Scott to jump and look up in time to see some lightning bolts spread their bold streaks across the emerald panorama. Those bolts were almost red in color as they flashed and lit up the surrounding area. The bright bold streaks had an unbelievable number of small fingers of light that wiggled and danced as they moved away from the main arteries. One half of the sky seemed to be filled with the bright fluctuating presentation. Several bolts flashed down toward a nearby building striking some rods that extended up from the corners of its roof. The rods seemed to suck the electric power out of the bolts before they could do any damage. That's when Scott noticed that all the buildings had these rods sticking up from their roofs as if expecting those bolts to strike them also.

Scott couldn't take his eyes off the exhibition and watched the violent display for several more moments. The lighting bolts cracked and seared the air as they went from roof to roof randomly striking rods in a crescendo that danced to some strange unheard melody. When the display finally ended the silence was almost as distracting as the display had been. If this had been a stage presentation the electrical display would have received a monumental standing ovation. Feeling privileged that he could witness such beauty, Scott loudly applauded for sometime causing others to join in, then he went back inside and took the lift to his room. Amazing, simply amazing and so alien he thought to himself and the smile he wore reflected his pleasure.

Chapter 25

People, Places and Things

There were no surprises in his room as it resembled hotels he had used across the galaxies. Showering and freshening up took a little time and an hour or so later Scott exited the elevator to the plush lobby. The moons were still visible as Scott walked past the now closed glass doors of the hotel entrance. Only the moons were visible as the sun had already set. The mummer of voices and the clink of glasses could be heard coming from the hotel's bar just off the west wing of the facility. The noise was inviting and, with no more than a moment's hesitation, Scott headed that way.

The bar was busy with numerous customers and many different cultures mixed with beings whose genetic makeup was considerably alien, well they were not homo erectus anyway.

The surroundings felt comfortable and so familiar that Scott had to take a second look to insure he was not back at one of Jacque's places.

As he approached the bar he wondered if the bartender was hired because he was from a certain planet in a galaxy far, far away. Scott was sure he was from the same world as the bartenders at Jacque's place. Maybe they had something to do with serving bars that other nationality's did not have. Whatever, the feeling Scott got was a feeling of familiarity and comfort like a second home.

"What's good in the beer category?" Scott asked the being behind the bar.

"I suggest a cold brew from the tap, one of the local brews would be the best," the barkeep replied.

"Ok, surprise me, please," Scott said as he motioned toward the visible taps.

Selecting a refrigerated glass then opening the beer spigot the bar tender leaned the glass in having the greenish/golden brew run down one side of the inside of the glass. It was an effort to decrease the amount of head that would swiftly accumulate atop the brew. No matter the technique it was to no avail, the head filled half the glass and rose above the rim about two inches. Closing the spigot the bar keep used a flat wooden spatula to remove the head piled above the glass rim. He then added more beer to the glass. He repeated the spatula and refill steps two times before he set the chilled glass in front of Scott.

"It's called Green Moon Brew because of its green tint. The green hops used in brewing are not artificially colored and they are grown right here on our lovely green planet. You can always tell the quality of the brew by the amount of head that remains after a pouring and this one is quite excellent if I may say so myself." The bartender stated as he turned to help another customer.

It wasn't really cold, it was more like wine cellar cool, it was however simply delicious. It did not need the frost that some brews needed to be palatable. He watched the pale green head of the beer for a moment and could not detect any lessening in volume. "The head of this brew would probably still be present even if I left it on the night stand overnight." Scott didn't realize he had said this out loud until the patron next to him commented.

"You're correct and I should know as I have done that very thing more often than I can remember, cheers." His or her smile spoke volumes as the half empty beer mug was lifted in a friendly salute toward Scott.

"And to you," Scott replied as he also lifted his glass echoing the familiar gesture.

"Sink-Lue, from Perubia Delto," the patron said as he half turned toward Scott. He extended his hand and Scott took it and they shook hands.

"Scott, from Carrier," Scott said. "You staying here at the hotel?"

"Yes, for the next four sleep periods anyway."

"I just arrived and checked in this afternoon, just before the lighting storm gave that amazing light show," Scott said as he pointed toward the front lobby and the entrance.

"It was impressive wasn't it?" Sink-Lue favored Scott with that amazing smile again. "That was my third show and I am still absolutely stunned and amazed at the amount of electric atmospheric violence and the panorama of vivid colors that simply fill the sky when it happens." Sink-Lue opened his arms wide as if spreading the sky before them. "Is this your first time here on this world?" He asked.

"Yes, first time. I think this short stay here is going to be a worthwhile experience," Scott said as he got the bartender's attention. "Well Sink-Lue, you ready for a refill?"

"Maybe one more, Ok," he replied then drained his glass and wiped his lips, removing the foam that had been deposited there.

It was an hour later, Sink-lue had decided to retire, Scott made his way through the bar out into the casino portion of the hotel. The bells ringing, the muted voices and the attention gaining alerts, produced by active video machines, filled the grand gaming theater like an electric sound blanket had been placed over the entire area. There were no areas untouched by the pulse of play in the gaming arena. The almost palatable gambling atmosphere was hypnotic as each machine and gaming table lured customers to their individual siren song.

Scott, not a gambler, decided to play a few credits in one of the machines. At first the payback was decent and he had, not only maintained his original investment, he had actually gained a few almost doubling his available credits.

The machine seemed to hit a wall as it now spun without the bells signaling a pay off. The gain he had made at first was gone and with each play the original investment was absorbed by the now unfriendly equipment. He could feel the need to invest more to get the machine to return to the preceding run of good fortune he had experienced. With the will of a non-gambler he walked away from the machine. He looked around at the decor and size of this single gaming room. It didn't take any smarts to understand that something or someone had to pay for these surroundings. It was a given, this facility couldn't be maintained with the patrons making off with the houses money.

Scott returned to the bar to get a refill of the green brew. The bartender filled a new glass with the same routine as before then placed the glass on a small circular coaster. Scott picked up the glass and turned to find a table where he could watch and listen to the band that had started to occupy the small stage across the bar.

He saw an empty table that should give a good view of the performers and headed that way. The small coaster that had remained attached to the bottom of the glass picked this time to come loose. Scott released the glass but before he could catch the coaster, in his usual routine, a young man who had come up beside him beat him to it.

This young man caught the coaster and placed it on top of the glass and then caught the glass and handed it back to Scott. The glass had only dropped a few inches and no liquid was spilled.

Scott looked at the young man. He sported a small beard and was dressed in non-descript clothing. He seemed to just fit in without drawing any attention to himself.

"Sorry couldn't help it, were you going to do that yourself?" The young man asked.

"Well, I usually use this falling coaster as an opportunity to practice my quick draw routine," Scott said as he mentally took in the physical attributes of this young man.

"Don Ranks," The young man said as he extended his hand toward Scott.

"Ranks, I should have known. You're the one Colby told me about. I thought your name was Gordon Ranks?" Scott asked.

"Actually it is Gordon but I shortened it to Don rather than let people call me Gor," Ranks stated.

Ok, so you do have an unusual ability but I thought it was only when you used that Anticipator helmet and hey, what's with the beard, that is not regulation?

"Duh, well guess what, I got the upgrade and me and my beard are undercover. Like all the other devices that Cliff miniaturized, now the helmet is a mega simple implant," Ranks said as he gave Scott a healthy smile. "I don't look strange or anything do I? Does my head look any bigger because of all the implants?"

"Not that I can tell. Funny, we would all look strange if our heads reflected all the internal devices the organization shoved inside our cranium," Scott commented off hand.

Scott's attention was suddenly pulled away from the conversation with Ranks. A girl, a woman actually, had just exited the elevator and crossed the lobby. Bells were going off in his head but they weren't from one of the implants. It was just a natural reaction to someone very familiar but the reason she was so familiar had escaped him.

"Who is that?" Scott rhetorically ask as he vaguely pointed in her direction..

Ranks turned and let his eyes follow the lady as she left the lobby and entered the dining area of the hotel. "Don't know her and haven't seen her before, I don't think," he started to go after her, stopped turned and asked, "should I go find out?"

"No, no, wait, let me think. I have to remember where I have seen her before, it's important," Scott said as he reached out and pulled on Rank's jacket, lightly restraining him.

Scott put the lady out of his mind then, making sure they were unmonitored, he brought Ranks up to date telling him everything including the winning of his large companion. Most of the info was not new to him but Scott's actual encounters were enhanced coming from the one who was actually involved.

Once Scott had finished laying it all out, Ranks immediately began to pressure Scott on meeting Fortried.

"When can I meet him, you know, the Warman?" Ranks blurted out. "Where is he, he can't be easy to miss or easy to hide? Is he down here in this beautiful green environment."

"Relax, relax, I'll take you to meet him later and no he is not down here. He stayed up to explore the space station, it's like a city up there you know.

Chapter 26

My Fair Lady

Ranks left to do some investigation on the local economy. He wanted to see what kept this particularly lovely green ball going. That information might give them a clue to solving the questions on their organizations current predicament.

Scott left the bar and went across the lobby stopping and standing at the door leading into the dining area. He visually swept the room trying to locate the lady he had seem earlier.

At first he couldn't see her, as one of the waiters was standing between him and her. When the waiter moved the movement got Scott's attention and brought his scan back to that table. He could now see her but it was from the back as she faced the other way.

For whatever reason this made little or no difference as Scott recognized her right away. Yep, he recognized her but had no idea who she was, where he had seen her or why he was so sure he recognized her. It was a puzzle and Scott wasn't comfortable with this or any other type of unsolved puzzle.

It will come to me if I just let it go and get on with things. Scott decided he would see if he could catch up on current local activities. He headed to his room to view the real time news update on the room's monitor.

The media ran a gambit of local happenings, current weather, forecast for the next week and sports news. Once the local economy was covered the media switched to global news and the financial situation ran in a bar at the bottom of the monitor. The news on the current hostilities between their neighboring worlds was handled as if it had nothing to do with this world. It was portrayed as not unusual, almost as something wanted or at least something expected.

He didn't recognize the three and four letter codes on the banner that represented businesses. That banner, at the bottom of the screen, showed the status in global currency with the day's change in red or green indicating a positive or negative change.

He quickly jotted down several of the codes. He slid the room's computer control unit out of its recess and typed in a three letter code. A business home page came up immediately. He read the description and the production of the business. It manufactured, sold and distributed munitions and munitions using products.

After he entered the seventh code and got the same or similar results, all munitions manufacturing connected, he wondered if the ones he chose to view were a true random sample.

He called up the yellow pages and looked at the listings. The listings were similar to most yellow pages except for areas that pertained to explosives, munitions or war type material. That listing filled two thirds of the complete listings. It seemed that the manufacturing of items used in conflicts could be the base for the economy. If this was true then my organization was an enemy of this world. This world's rigid customs on munitions was one way, non allowed in only. Exports were not only allowed but seemed maybe mandatory.

He thought, his outfit's ability to gain a cease fire and smooth out conflicts was like a slap in the face to an economy that dealt in supplies that assisted in the killing of inhabitants on a global scale.

Could it be that simple, they were attacked because they interfered with the making of money. He knew that money was a powerful influence and had lead to many crimes against mankind, but really, wipe out the peace core, so to speak, for a few bucks. He would be mortified if this turns out to be the reason for those horrific attacks.

Multiple checks on different computer sources pointed toward a society built on the production and sale of weapons. Weapon of every type, legal and illegal.

Scott tired of looking at this menagerie turned off the monitor and computer. He quickly undressed and headed to the shower. The hot water soothed him and he let it run for several minutes until he felt really relaxed. He turned off the water and selected air dry from the wall console.

The shower stall turned into one super dryer as the warm air spun around in a centrifugal torrent quickly removing all traces of moisture. Scott's hair was super dry and blown to a fluffy softness. The days reflection were put aside as he tried to put everything away that might interrupt his chances to get some needed sleep.

He stretched out and let his mind rest, whatever it was, it could wait until tomorrow.

She looked at him openly and with deep blue and honest eyes. There is no way that these eyes could deceive anyone especially a coordinator of his alertness and intelligence. How graceful she was as she approached him, she needed his help, and he believed, he was hers to command and he was just waiting for her to put her wishes into words. She reached for him, she needed to be held, he could tell she was just frightened. He could feel the fear and helplessness emanating from her every being.........

Suddenly the air smelled of ozone and the brightness of the flash stunned him. He watched as she burned and melted in front of him. The noise of the electrical phasers erupted in his ear. "Holy shit!!!" He screamed as he sat up in bed.

"Damn alarm clock. This crap has to stop. I get a little rest and Wham! I am hit with this nightmare." Scott spoke out loud to himself as he looked at the clock beside the bed. It was early morning and he guessed he was well rested.

Like a fast moving car, the face of the girl reentered his thoughts. It was the space girl/android that he had recognized at the dining area last evening. It wasn't someone he had met before it was a traumatic experience he had while he was very vulnerable to an outside influence.

Scott's thoughts silently ran amuck. "Could this current lady also be an android or is she a real person? As far as he knew androids didn't eat, so if she's an android what was she doing in the dining room last night? Ok, taking for granted she was eating and a real person, why does she look so much like the girl of my dreams?"

Chapter 27

He Ranks above the best

The tap on the door brought Scott's thoughts back from his dreams. "Just a minute," he called out as he threw back the lite bed comforter and grabbed his pants.

As he buttoned and zipped he looked at the door's video monitor, satisfied he swung the door open to admit Don Ranks.

"You might not believe it but I can guess why we might be targeted for annihilation," Ranks said as he entered the room. He took off his jacket and tossed it on the couch as he crossed to the small refrigerator, opened it and took out a small plastic container of juice.

Scott closed the door turned and said, "Let me guess. Our efforts were interrupting weapon sales and this conglomeration of planets has its economy base on those sales."

"Ok, Ok, so you would believe it. Everywhere I went, except for the basic items needed to exist like food and stuff, it was explosives, guns, missile and war products," Ranks said as he plopped down on the couch next to his jacket. He twisted the cap off the juice container and drained the contents in one long swallow.

"I agree on your guess and it is the same thing I observed while watching the news on the room's monitor. The list of stocks on their market reports were ninety percent weapon manufactory and sales." Scott took the chair across from the couch. "Come on in, have a drink, make yourself comfortable, oh, I see you've already done so."

"Thanks, I will," Ranks said unperturbed by Scott's sarcastic comments. "So now what? How do we find out who or what company stands to lose the most with us out there blocking their profits by ending or preventing conflict? Then we need to find out if these people would take this type of drastic action."

"Yes that is one route, you know, follow the money. There is another line that could also pay off," Scott said as he looked at Ranks. "One of us could search for the source that could bend a person's mind in the fashion we have observed."

Scott rose from the chair and paced back and forth as he continued. "What could take a quiet unassuming farmer, taking a business trip on a spaceship, turn him into an assassin bent on the elimination of a certain group of people? Mind control like this is not natural and I have no way of knowing how it could be done."

"So what do you say, let's do both, you take one avenue and I'll take the other. Let's see what we can dig up in a concentrated detailed investigation," Ranks said then added, "It goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway, it is imperative that we remain unidentified as part of the coordinators organization."

"Don't I know it. If this is the heart of our enemy, I don't want to go around waving our company's flag. That would be dumb and very likely suicidal."

Scott took himself a juice container out of the fridge, turned to Ranks and offered another to him. Ranks, quiet and intensely thinking, just shook his head as he refused the offer.

Scott returned to his chair. He reached over and tapped Rank's knee gaining and ensuring his attention. "I have to tell you something you are not yet aware of."

"That could cover a lot of things. In this particular problem I am almost clueless, right now there isn't even any semblance or evidence of awareness. So go ahead and make me aware," Ranks nonchalantly said.

"The girl, er lady, I thought I recognized last night. That lady entering the dining room while we were down there in the bar. You remember, I pointed her out to you?"

"I wondered about that. We only saw her backside and you were so positive you knew her." Ranks slowly shook his head. "I didn't say anything but I thought, no way, no way you could be so sure."

"I know. Hey it bothered me too. I thought it would take some digging to get to the bottom of that little mind teaser," Scott raised his indexed finger as he continued, "however, it only took one little dream to solve this particular dilemma."

"You dreamed up a solution. Ha, that is rich," Ranks said as he smiled at Scott.

"Ok, ok here goes. As I told you, one of those recent attacks on me involved a small space ship that blew up after it suddenly appeared beside our ship while we were in route. I didn't elaborate on it last night but, on board that little ship was a lady who was in distress and needed our help. Not waiting for an analyses of her or her ship by NARD, and before it blew up, I transported her on board."

"Are you nuts? NARD must have been livid, well if a computer can be livid," Ranks said as he again slowly shook his head.

"Hey, I was injured, some of my implants were malfunctioning. It's like I had half a brain at the time." Scott begged his understanding.

"Look, you're not going to tell me that this lady last night was the same lady, are you?"

"Same lady, no I'm not. The lady I transported over was a bomb and Fortried melted her before she could do any damage. That's when I found out she was no lady. She was an android, a beautiful lady like android of the highest quality."

"An android? So this lady last night is an android also?"

"No, no, I don't think so, well not unless androids now eat like humans." Shaking his head Scott continued. "I took another good look at her after you left. She was eating some pasta dish and drinking red wine. She is so very beautiful and exquisite even while eating, I couldn't take my eyes off her."

"You're smitten, this lovely thing has you infatuated. How can you be rational while in this state?" Ranks shook his finger at Scott as he spoke.

"I can admire something and still be rational. Let me finish and maybe you can understand why I was sure I recognized her," Scott forcefully stated.

"Fine I will wait your explanation," Ranks said as he crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"Ok, ever since that brief contact with that android I have been bothered by that contact. When I have the opportunity and get fully rested I am awakened by this same overwhelming emotional dream. I pop up in a cold sweat. It is my own personal alarm clock, you're rested wake up. The dream is the melting of that lady android. In this brief dream she is my everything, my love, my all and she melts before my eyes. I am totally reliving that short episode with all the emotions involved at the time."

"This morning I was fully rested and as expected that dream went off like a time bomb. This time I realized the young lady last night had the same face as that android."

"So you took the lovely lady last night and incorporated her into your nightmare, how poetic," Ranks said as he waved his hand across like he was a Jedi Knight or something.

"No, no, you don't understand. She is my nightmare and she always was the face of that android. It just took a recurrence of that dream to make me realize that that is where I had seen her before."

"So, what are you going to do about that?" Ranks asked.

"I was thinking about finding out who she is and why in the galaxy she looks like this android I once met." Scott rose from his chair and went into the small coffee bar area. He poured a glass of water as he waited for a reply from Ranks.

"You know what, I agree. That too might help us find the source." Ranks got up and retrieved his jacket then headed for the door. "You take your girl friend and the mind benders, I'll take the money, see you later."

The door closed and Scott was alone with his thoughts already on finding the young lady again.

Chapter 28

Follow that Dream

It can't be this easy Scott thought as he looked at the face of his dreams and reread the monitor. "Androids made to order." Below that statement was the address and a contact number. "I have got to go see this in person," he said to the empty room.

Scott exited the hotel and had the doorman hail a taxi. Almost immediately a black and yellow cab dropped from the sky in a small spiral lining up with the street and, with a minor bump, settled into place at the curb in front of the doorman. The rear door swung open and invited Scott in. The mechanical voice asked for a destination then once Scott was seated and belted in the entrance door closed.

"722 Munitions Blvd." Scott said as he slid his plastic card down through the slot. "Munitions Blvd, that's just another clue to the mentality that I assume permeates this world's industry," Scott added in a whisper.

The taxi lifted in a spiral then tilted forward and accelerated as it continued to gain altitude. The large monoliths styled buildings slid by the windows faster and faster as the taxi reached traveling speed. The taxi leveled off and merged into the heavy traffic that made up the designated commuting lanes. The monoliths had now fell far below the speeding, one way, caravan of vehicles. The passengers dashboard displayed the vehicles progress and particulars. Scott read the speed at six hundred twenty kilometers, the altitude steady at fifteen hundred and ten meters and the digital compass showing a heading of three hundred forty three degrees. They were headed North by Northwest.

It was twenty minutes of high speed bumper to bumper travel before the vehicle abandoned the heavy traffic and started its spiral down to the surface and Scott's requested destination.

Scott, watching the landscape as they descended, could see the mountains in the near distance. Sitting on the side near the top of the highest visible peak was a massive man made structure. The lower portion was not un-similar to an old mother earth castle he had seen in numerous videos of its historic past. There was an enormous barrel type extension that protruded from the top pointing toward the sky. It was simply so unusual that it held his attention and he turned his head maintaining eye contact countering the spiral of the ascending vehicle as it dropped.

'"A weapon, could that be some type of defensive cannon?" Scott said as his thoughts raced over that possibility. "I may be required to investigate that monstrosity simply to entertain my curiosity."

With a silent bump the vehicle landed and Scott exited. The marquee was illuminated even in the full light of day. "Androids, Made to Order" blazed and blinked on and off almost cartoonish in appearance.

The showcase windows held several stationary people all androids in different poses and settings. Two were apparently male while the third was no other than the girl of his dreams.

Seeing her beautiful face again caused Scott to put the investigation of that massive structure on the back burner for the time being.

He entered the shop causing a small electronic buzz to sound somewhere in the back portion of the shop.

"Moment!" Someone shouted out from the back.

It was a couple of minutes before the back room shouter entered. His almost shoulder length graying hair was covered by a securing net. He wore glasses, a kind of bifocals that enlarged his, almost planet colored, green eyes. His form fitting cover all attire was bright and white, presenting the look of a factory worker who had been working in a clean room. The feet coverings were soft and would probably be called booties.

"Hello, I am Lukecaid, but you can call me Luke, how may I assist you?" He asked.

"Ok, Luke is it? I am Scott and I am curious about one of your products." Scott stated and then continued as he pointed at the showcase window. "Your female in the window, where did you get that beautiful face, is she someone's imagination or what?"

"Imagination, hell no, she is as real as the day is long." The smile had to be from the memory of being near that beautiful face. "She lives right here on Gradieur about thirty minutes away in the city. Her name is Andrea and, believe me, my manufactured results are a poor representation of her true beauty."

"So, you know her personally I guess?"

"I know her as the model she is, not really very personal. I just admire her from a distance, you know. I am no way the person that would fit into her life but I can dream can't I." Luke added with a whimsical smile.

"You know, I think I saw this lovely young lady in the hotel where I'm staying while in the city. She was entering the dining room one evening and I couldn't take my eyes off her. You are right about her allure, I was captivated."

"That is one of the reasons we use her appearance, even in my rendition, she will hold anyone's attention long enough to get the job done." Luke said matter of factually.

"And that job is?" Scott just had to ask.

Luke held his hands together momentarily, fingers touching almost prayer like, then he moved his hands apart and brought the fingers back to each thumb. He moved the hands away from each other as he spread his fingers open and simply said, "Poof."

"Wow poof is it? True her beauty is captivating but is it enough to hold the most alien cultures attention?" Scott, even though shocked at the thought of such a violent use of someone so lovely, curiously asked.

"Yes, well, that is a yes when combined with the broadcasting ability of her internal computer program." Luke slowly shook his head as he continued, "That mind bending broadcast knows no alien barrier, no matter what their makeup is, if they have a brain, it will work on them. It's the same program they use in the big machines, but you know, just not as powerful."

"Yeah, I was looking out the window on the way here. I saw this massive structure on the mountain. The big machines are formidable to say the least." Scott guessed saying as if he knew all about the large machines Luke had mentioned.

"There are about ten of those on Gradieur, separated by about a hundred kilometers each. They are quiet right now, but when they are powered up and synced with the others on our other planets, this undetectable net forms quite easily." Luke told him as if it was common knowledge. "We use that to induce the urge to land on our planets to shop for individual and global needs. The transmission produces a subliminal suggestive idea to passengers on any ship passing through that formed net. The urge is usually somewhat hypnotic to most."

"I don't understand, how could you know all of this?" Scott asked.

Luke moved up close to Scott and, slowly turning his head and looking around both ways, whispered. "I designed and programmed both, my androids and those machines."

"Seriously right? You did that and now you work here, here by yourself?" Scott was confused.

"The program is complete and doesn't require any maintenance or adjustments so they don't need me there anymore." Luke extended his hand out encompassing the shop with a sweep of his arm. "This shop is mine and I run it all by myself and that's enough for me."

Luke tried very hard to portray the fact that he was happy and comfortable with his station. Scott thought maybe he was trying a little too hard and somehow this caused Scott to have some doubt about Luke's actual feelings.

Scott, as if interested in a purchase, spent the next hour going through brochures and discussing prices. He promised Luke he would get back to him with his company's decision as soon as possible.

"I have no competition, my work is one of a kind. My product is made lifelike in adult form or as children, it can be made in all or any species you might need," Luke said as Scott left the shop to board the taxi that had responded to his earlier call. He waved goodbye to Luke as the door closed.

Chapter 29

Poof, they all fall down

Scott and Don Ranks returned to the hotel at almost the same time. They, seeing each other, pointed toward the hotel bar.

"Interesting day to say the least. I found these massive structures up on the sides of this range of mountains. From high up, if you are in between their locations, you can see one or two at a time. They look like they are about a hundred kilometers apart. I think they are somehow connected together but I don't know their purpose. Maybe they are some type of power generators or something." Ranks reported as he signaled the waitress for a pitcher of beer.

"Funny you should mention those structures. I saw one as I was on my way to this little unique android producing shop," Scott replied then continued, "they are not power generators, they are parts of a subliminal net shooting into space to encourage passing spaceships to land here and buy products from this world."

"Yeah ok, I'll bite. You know this how?" Ranks asked totally doubting Scott's comments as truthful.

"A little shop owner told me, and he should know as he designed the program they use in that broadcasting net." Scott paused then said. "Well that's what he told me and I have no reason not to believe him."

"Well you have a welt of information don't you? Why was he in that little android shop if he programmed those massive structures? Shouldn't he be in some corporate office or the head man in some programmers union?" Ranks asked.

"That's what I was thinking but he said he is satisfied with his position just making androids that blow up and kill people. You won't believe this but he uses the girl of my dreams to capture people's attention holding it until she blows up," Scott slowly shook his head, "Not only that, he makes them in all varieties, adult and children of any species. They are programmed with that same mind bending program as those massive machines but the android's effect is only local not broadcast into space."

The pitcher was empty and the discussion had waned as Scott and Don left the bar. They walked through the lobby and noticed quite a commotion in one of the small banquet rooms off the main concourse.

Scott stopped a bell captain and asked what the commotion was all about.

"It's Luna's birthday, she is ten today, and her dad, the hotel owner, has thrown her a big party. Everyone's invited." The bell captain pointed at a sign sitting on an easel beside the main desk. The sign actually read, "Birthday Party for Luna, everyone's invited, hotel guest also. Please join in or you can simply watch from the balcony over the banquet room."

"You may join or take the stairs to the balcony if you wish." The bell captain said and pointed at the stairs that led up to the narrow balcony that was above and circled the banquet room. Several guest were already in place looking down on the activities.

The two coordinators looked at each other and with a "Why Not" shrug of their shoulders they ascended the stairs.

Everything was normal, just like any other birthday party in any part of the universe. Children played and they sang the traditional birthday song as Luna blew out the candles on the birthday cake.

A sharp intake of breath caused Ranks to turn and look at Scott. "What?" He asked.

Scott pointed at the two that had entered the banquet room from one of the wings. Ranks turned in that direction to see a small gray haired man leading a lovely young lady into the center of the throng of children. All those in the banquet room had suddenly stopped what they were doing and placed all of their attention on the new couple. Everyone circled around the young lady. The small wiry gray haired man made his way back out through the participants that had gathered and exited the way he had come in.

"That was the shop owner and that is one of his androids." Scott said. "This can't be happening!"

Scott realized it was too late to take any action except to duck. He grabbed Ranks by the arm as he went down dragging the surprised individual with him.

The noise wasn't very loud but the screams of the children sent illusions of mass hysteria through Scott. Ranks stood back up and pulled Scott with him. They looked down on the results.

Scott expecting to see carnage was confused. Everyone that had surrounded the young girl was now lying on their backs all around the banquet room. They had all been blown down by the explosion or so Scott thought. This evidently was not the case. All the children were lying there, reaching up and grabbing the confetti and candy that was falling all around them. There was a considerable quantity still airborne, partially impairing their clear view of that area.

Evidently the android had exploded into a confetti and candy rainfall that completely filled the air in the banquet room to the delight of those present.

It evidently was a routine that had been perfected and expected by the children. The lady would come in and go "Poof", the children would all fall down and look up at the amazing rainfall of swirling delight.

The confetti that fell attached itself to the clothes the children wore. It actually became part of the material and the results was extremely pleasing to the eye. The outfits the children wore turned into glistening, shimmering and glowing pieces of designer art.

When the shower of candy and confetti finished the children got to their feet and everyone applauded. They all formed a line and with arms outspread they soared around the room in single file with Luna leading them. They chanted a rhyme that the coordinators had not heard before.

"She comes among us

So beautiful and fair

We stop what we're doing

Just stand and stare

We move in closer

and all gather round

Then the lady goes Poof

We all fall down."

The children followed the song as they joined hands and made the single line into a circle. Then raising their arms they moved in tightening and collapsing the circle. As the song finished and they all shouted, "Poof", they fell on the floor again laughing and giggling, some with tears of joy in their eyes.

"Maybe Poof wasn't meant to kill people." Scott said as they hurriedly descended the stairs. "Maybe he only makes party favors, like the one we just saw. I have to go see him again and ask."

Chapter 30

Badges, We don't need no Stinkin Badges!

"Ha ha ha. Kill people, are you serious?" Luke asked when Scott posed the question to him. "I only make party favors and android entertainment for parties. Yeah, the only way I would kill people is if they happen to die laughing. You should have seen yesterday's birthday party and you would know what I do."

"Well we did catch that birthday party yesterday, we were on the balcony, and personally I didn't think you were a killer. Hi, I'm Gordon Ranks, make that Don for short," Ranks said as he extended his hand toward Luke.

"Hi, Lukecaid, call me Luke. Good to meet you," Luke said as they shook hands.

"Same here, I love your work, it's so life like. Hard to tell from the real thing," Ranks said as he indicated the window display and shop models.

"I strive to capture that life like quality in all my pieces and for the most part I get what I want. That young ladies full beauty still eludes me in some respect," Luke said as he pointed at the model of Andrea. "I know the product is good but her live, up close and in person, she's simply glorious. Put the two together and my results dims in comparison." Luke slowly shook his head as he relayed what he thought were faults in his rendition.

"So you only make party favors, but I hear someone has taken your product and turned it into a very destructive device, designed to inflict maximum damage to whoever is within range," Scott said then added, "that is unless you're not the only one who makes androids with her likeness."

"You sound like a cop, you're not a cop are you. If you are I need to see your credentials," Luke said a little taken aback.

"Sorry Luke, please forgive him." Ranks interrupted. "He's in sales and he's always so pushy. I can assure you he's no cop and he don't got no stinkin badges." Don laughed at his own joke. "Our job is to find saleable items that we can market to make a profit, that's all."

"Right, sorry, I didn't mean anything by my questions, it's just something I heard, sorry," Scott added.

"Well, ok, but for your information I am the only one that makes this product and if someone is altering it for some other purpose, rather than party entertainment, I would certainly like to know about it." Luke said as he held up one finger indicating he was the only one.

"Us too, we wouldn't want to purchase an item for entertainment when that same product was being used for destructive purposes." Scott replied as he tried to lesson his accusations toward the shop owner.

"Is there any way we could talk to Andrea, just to make sure she hasn't modeled for someone else without your knowledge?" Scott asked.

"I don't know, don't know if she would allow that, but hey, about that use of my android, I have to find out if that is true." Luke was considering his responsibility if he were being used somehow. "You've got me thinking, that's why you had that look on your face when I told you about my android going 'Poof'? You thought I was making some type of explosive device, that's what you thought? I'm right aren't I, you did think that?" Luke's questions hit the nail on the head and Scott couldn't deny it.

"I must admit, I had put two and two together and I guess I got more than the correct answer. And yes, it did cross my mind and I saw this picture, that picture was simply disturbing to say the least." Scott nodded his head as he spoke.

"Look, I'm intrigued and I have to know. I really mean it, if someone is using my product for destructive purposes, I have to know." Luke paced back and forth as he spoke. "I have to know. I will try to contact Andrea and see if she will meet us. She won't believe me when I tell her what you think, I know she won't."

Don and Scott waited while Luke went to his office and the video comm. He was in there at least a half hour before he returned.

"She's kind of mad. She can't believe that someone would make up a inflammatory accusation like this." Luke was not a happy camper himself. He was thinking he might have lost all he had worked so hard to gain in respect to his association with Andrea.

Scott cut right to the chase. "Did she agree to meet with us?"

"She said she had to ask her council before she could make a decision on my request. I may have lost it all, she might just write me off as a crackpot. What have I done, what have I done?" Luke placed both hands on his head as he slowly shook it from side to side.

"We're not going to allow you to lose all you have accomplished. If the communications are broken between you and Andrea, we will fix it somehow. You can take my word on it." Scott told Luke. "Come on Don, let's go back to the city and see what we can do. Luke, if you hear from her you can contact me with this communication code. Let's just hope everything goes our way and Andrea would also like to find out who is using her likeness to harm others."

Don and Scott took their leave and boarded a taxi that had responded to their call. They entered the hotel name when requested by the automated voice and the taxi ascended in that usual spiral then entered the flow of traffic headed toward the tall monoliths that were profiled in the distance. As the vehicle gained some altitude Scott pointed out the massive structure as it became visible then added his intentions about giving that place a visit in the near future.

Chapter 31

The Circus is in Town

Don and Scott kicked the problems around for the next few hours. The hotel had nothing on file that they could release to the public so Andrea's location was still unknown to them. Scott, again, thought maybe that visit to one of the massive structures on the side of the mountain might reveal some information about their actual use if other than luring customers shopping.

After some discussion it was decided and they put some thought into a simple straight forward plan. They boarded a shuttle to the space station where Scott's ship was stored. Their idea was to retrieve some items to assist in their investigation and to get Fortried to help them as his strength and ability might be needed.

"Open the Pod Bay doors HAL." Scott said as he approached his little ship.

"You are just hilarious." NARD's sarcastic proper voice said as it opened the hatch to allow their entrance.

"Kind of cranky, isn't it?" Don said as they entered.

"Naw, he just missed me while I was gone." Scott replied. "Fortried's location please?"

"C deck, the mezzanine area." NARD replied. "Colby would like a word when you are ready."

"Roger that, I'll do that after we go get Fortried. I want everyone in on what we are planning and it's best for all to get it firsthand. Oh, and NARD, this is Don Ranks."

"Don, I have it as Gordon." NARD correctly delivered.

"Well, I shortened it to Don." Don said.

"Shortened, then it should be Gor." NARD stated.

"I didn't like Gor so I made it Don." Don argued.

A moment later NARD said. "Good to meet you Don, I am RD, don't ask."

Don was still smiling over NARD's shortening his name as they approached the mezzanine area on "C" deck. The noise of the crowd enjoying some type of entertainment literally rocked the place.

"Wow with this crowd, and the size of the mezzanine, it will be hard to locate Fortried. Maybe we should split up and make our way around each side as we search. Actually he will be easy to spot unless he is sitting down somewhere then he might blend in some." Scott said as he pointed to his right as he started to the left.

Scott suddenly stopped and grabbed Don's arm before he could get started. "Don't bother looking, I see him." He pointed at the middle of the area and the entertainment the crowd was enjoying.

"Oh crap, he's beating somebody up. Holy shit, he just tossed some little guy way up in the air." Scott was stunned for a moment, froze in place until that little airborne person started to do spins and flips as he ascended and descended to a catch by the large warman. "Disregard my assumptions. It looks like the circus is in town and the clowns are performing. What have I got myself into here?"

The applause was thunderous and took some time to diminish. The throng started to break up and move away as they realized the performance was finished.

"Scott!" Jacque shouted as Scott and Don approached him and the warman. He ran over and shook Scott's hand. "Good to see you buddy."

"I don't understand, what are you doing here?" Scott asked.

"There is no way I would let my good friend have all the fun so I thought I might join you, maybe I can help." He then turned to Don. "Hi, I am Jacque and you are?"

"Gordon Ranks." Don said as his eyes flickered back and forth between the lack of stature of Jacque to the towering build of Fortried. "Sorry for staring, good to meet you too. Call me Don."

"Fortried." The warman said as he extended his huge hand out to Don.

Don's hand was swallowed as he shook the large beings hand. "I have been looking forward to meeting you ever since we found out you were on board with Scott. You are even more than I expected, wow."

"Thank you, I hope that was a compliment?" Fortried's deep voice questioned.

"Oh yea, it was and I am glad to meet you." Don still stared in amazement. "You two make an unusual pair if I may say so. Your flying stunt was simply breath taking in its danger. Your aerial performance and the height you reach showed both your ability and the strength of Fortried. Simply amazing. The crowd was stunned."

"I know I was shocked to see you two out here in the open drawing attention to yourselves. Here we're trying to stay under the radar and you guys are blazon in your approach, maybe you don't do undercover work." Scott smiled as he relayed his thoughts.

"Sometimes undercover is protected by a layer of misdirection. It's like a magician uses one hand to attract your attention while the other hand performs the trick," Jacque said. "It's pretty hard for Fortried and I to go unnoticed as you can see."

They trooped back to the ship and NARD set up the communication with Colby.

Colby, of course, wanted to know how the coordination with the warring planets was going, were they able to get the fighting to cease.

Scott didn't pull any punches as he explained what they had been up too. It was then he brought in all the players involved so far.

After introducing all the players to Colby and explaining what their investigation had revealed so far, Scott went into a overall picture of their immediate plans. "With the help of Fortried, Jacque and Don here, we will attempt to enter one of those massive structures that form the net that's suppose to attract shoppers. We would like to find out if the originally installed operating system's program has been modified to perhaps induce innocent bystanders to become slaves to someone's whims."

"I have to agree, with the assassins being simply normal people under some type of spell, a modification of the operating system would be an avenue I would explore." Colby comments were short and to the point. He then spent a few moments with Scott and Don only while the others waited outside. He let Scott know how disappointed he was in his avoidance of the job he had sent him here to do but he did understand. Colby also made sure they knew what the ramification were of enlisting outside help in a dangerous mission such as this. He then wished them speed and success in the mission before he signed off.

They all trooped a short distance over to where Gordon had parked his small, warp capable, vessle. Don and Scott entered leaving the others outside. Don took Scott through the intro and operation procedures of the three new defensive devices Cliff had sent along. Scott was really excited about the size of and the stopping ability of the individual personal shields.

The Weapon Depleter and the Hologram Camouflage Transmitter were also inspected with rapt attention by the senior Coordinator. Scott was surprised at the number of each of these units Don had brought with him.

"They all look so innocent, they don't even look like a tool much less a defensive device. Wow, it looks like Cliff made sure you had enough of these items. You would think he knew we would be accompanied by additional personnel but, I can't guess how he would have known," Scott stated as he picked up and closely scrutinized the small items.

"Actually, I don't believe he had any ideas of that possibility. I think he was covering all bases in case some of these got damaged somehow," Don said as he accepted the items back from Scott and placed them in a carryon bag.

They all four took individual shuttles down to the planet. Once there, they all made their way to the small android shop to confer with Luke about what to look for in his program.

After some lengthy introduction to Luke were taken care of they got down to business.

"We have to be able to tell if your original program has been altered in any form. Is there something that we would notice right away if we looked at the program?" Scott asked Luke.

"I'm not sure you could but that doesn't matter, I will know as I'm going with you," Luke said as he extended his chin in a determined manner.

"I'm going too, I want to know if someone is using my likeness to kill people. That's not what I signed on for when I modeled for Luke here," Andrea forcefully added as she came from the rear of the shop where she had been monitoring their conversation.

"Whoa!" Luke said as he swung around to face her. "Andrea, I didn't tell you all of this to get you in danger. What did your council tell you about this?"

"He told me to forget it, but hey, it's not his face that is being used if what you say is true, so I'm going, end of discussion." Crossing her arms in front of herself she set up her stand.

Each introduced themselves to Andrea admiring not only her beauty but her determination to search for the truth no matter what.

It started with one on a quest for the truth. It had now turned into six in search of answers. A six pack of personalities, for their own individual reasons, on a mission that could well be to their detriment.

Don took the next hour explaining the operation and use of one of the small items that Cliff had sent. They each took the offered item. Now each had a personal body shield for their individual protection. The power supply on each would last several days unless they were tested by phasers fire. The length of charge would be reduced by the phasers settings and discharge strength. When needed they could be recharged to full power in a very short time.

Chapter 32

Jack be Nimble, Jack be quick

"He got the van. There were no questions asked. He just showed his permit, signed the paperwork then we simply drove away." Don said as Luke just stood there smiling and holding up the signed paperwork still attached to the vehicle's keys.

"Way to go Luke. I'm beginning to think you are enjoying this too much," Scott just had to add. "Remember this is just the first step and each of the following steps could be dangerous."

"I'll remember and I will be careful, I promise." Luke turned and smiled at Andrea and she smiled back.

They loaded the items they had retrieved from the ship then all crawled on board for the flight.

Luke, at the controls, powered up the vehicle and took it into the air with a slow spiral that gave them the opportunity to make sure they were clear of other flyers. Tilting the vehicle forward as they approached the traffic lane increased the speed allowing them to merge with those flyers already in those busy lanes.

When they reached the area where an exit would bring them down close to their target's entrance road they left the speeding traffic behind and descended in that same slow spiral.

Touchdown was anticlimactic even though no one had any particular expectations at this time. Once on the surface they drove to the front of the massive structure in search of an entrance.

No door in front but driving around to the south end gained them a view of a single door sitting on a small platform accessible by a set of concrete steps.

"It starts now, please activate your shields for protection for we don't really know what or who might come next." Scott told each as Don exited the vehicle.

Don quickly ran up the steps and investigated the single door. There were no latches or knobs on the flat metal surface of the access. The dust was considerable and it had piled up against the door to indicate no recent entry through this way for some time.

As they had planned, Don, not finding anything resembling a door bell, beat on the door with his open palm. He whistled while he waited hoping someone would respond to his pounding. Several minutes passed with no response from inside so he made it back to the vehicle.

Everyone exited and stared up at the daunting exterior of the huge edifice. The lofty rim that ran the gambit and circled the castle like structure was unobtainable from their present location out here in front.

"I would not have been surprised if there had been a moat around this thing, it is so crusade. You don't see any knights up on the top, do you?" Jacque said as he stared.

Everyone piled back into the vehicle and Luke drove it around the end and up along the side to see what lay in the rear of this monstrosity.

"Can we fly up to the top with the van and then jump out onto the roof?" Andrea asked as they drove around the end.

"Can't be done as all vehicle, including this one, have undefeatable security, when in flight, that prevents its doors from being opened. We have to do this ourselves without the van's use." Luke explained.

Not much different in back but, due to the way the whole thing was built into the side of the mountain, the rim was not so lofty and, with some effort, it might be reached.

All again exited the vehicle and gathered around the front of the van.

"I hate to say this and I will probably hate myself in the morning but here goes. Jacque you and Fortried, could the circus come to town again letting you two entertain us with your high flying act?" Scott asked.

"Ha, you want the big guy to toss me up onto that wall up there, are you nuts?" Jacque said as he pointed toward the rim above.

"Well I just thought of it. After seeing you two at the mezzanine entertaining that crowd, I'm sure you were thrown higher than our wall here."

"I can toss him up there, no problem." Fortried's deep voice echoed off the side of the fortress.

"No problem for you but what if you or I miss."

"I'll catch you and throw you again." Fortried didn't see a problem with this approach.

"You don't have to do this, we can find another way." Andrea said as she touched Jacque arm.

"Ha ha, what a jokester. Jacque loves this type of challenge. He's just looking to see if anyone falls for his wish for sympathy, so humor him if you want." Scott noted to all as he helped Fortried retrieve the ropes they would use from the rear of the van.

"Thanks Andrea but Scott is correct, I need these challenges to keep my balance in line with my dynamic personality." Jacque's smile was wider than his face as he appreciated Andrea's reaction to his pretended distress.

"Ok, but just to let you all know I am still concerned about Jacque's safety." Andrea smiled as she looked at the others insuring they all knew her thoughts.

The braided line that Jacque slung over his shoulder was light, not meant to hoist anything with significant weight. Once Jacque made it to the rim he would lower the small line so it could be attached to the actual climbing rope. He would tow that rope up and attach it so all would have an opportunity to gain the roof access for themselves.

It was the second toss that clued them into the idea that the rim was just a little out of reach. Jacque fell about two meters short of being able to grab the edge of the target they had set.

Fortried caught Jacque and lowered him to the ground. "That was as high as I could toss him." Fortried seemed to lose some of the assurance he had held with this failure.

"Hang on I have an idea. Cut me about ten feet of that climbing rope and give it to me and we can try again," Jacque said as he pointed at the lengthy coil of rope that lay at Scott's feet.

The next toss had Jacque swing that section of rope in a loop as he held one end in each hand. The loop fell over one of the small rectangles that dotted the rim giving that structure the castle like appearance. The sudden jerk of that secure looping swung Jacque into the side of the wall with some force. He held on tight and hung motionless for a few seconds before he brought the two ends of the rope together and climbed to and over the edge of the building.

The sudden appearance of that tow line at Scott's side was met with a round of applause and cheers for the circus act and the two performers.

Surprisingly, Luke and Andrea both scaled the wall as if they had practiced this task many times. Scott was a little unsure but got the hang of it by the time he was half way up. They all gathered at the edge and looked back down at the van in the distance marveling at their success so far.

Access into the interior was fairly simple once Frotried had grabbed and yanked, ripping the lock off the entrance hatch they found at one end of the roof area. A electrical contact was made up and a light came on when the hatch was opened and the stairs, now dimly lit, seemed to invite them in.

"After you," Jacque said as he bowed the way for Fortried to enter.

"Thanks, I got it, I'll go in first." Fortried took the steps down inside as those with him waited his entry.

Once he reached the floor below he stepped aside and waited as each entered in single file.

Chapter 33

Andrea was simply beside herself

Once entry had been gained from the roof there were no barriers inside so they started to explore the entire facility. The huge control center took up a complete floor with switches and knobs on panel after panel. Each panel was a copy of the next panel on and on from wall to wall. Lights on each switch showed its condition as either closed or open with a red or green glow visible from anywhere in the room.

At the end of those panel on the south wall were the computer links that evidently operated those breakers as desired. The small LEDs blinked and seemed to beat with a pulse as they monitored and operated everything in accordance with their internal programming.

Luke headed for that wall as he opened the small pouch he had brought with him. The small rectangle box he retrieved had several wires attached with plugs of different designs suggesting it probably had multiple uses.

It only took a moment to attach the equipment to the wall unit. The three separate plugs, all now secure in place, brought the small machine to life with the small monitor on top lit up and now it began mirroring the entire units operation.

The small machine started to buzz and the monitor indicated an incompatibility between the large installed wall unit and the small handheld machine.

"It's been totally redesigned and the output power has,.. that can't be right. That could allow the output through the net to reach an intolerable level. Whoever got caught in that net with the power at max could have their brain scrambled. The safety level stops I had placed in its program have been removed to allow this increase in output." Luke was shaking his head as he read the small monitor. "My guess is that you were right and this net is being used for something unlawful and not just for a shopping lure."

"Can you correct the program and put it back to its original use or purpose?" Don wanted to know.

"Not sure, maybe they left my access code alone but if they didn't, no way." Luke said as he typed out a rhythm on the small exposed keyboard. "If I upload my original program, changing this one back, it will show up somewhere as having an error and someone will have to respond here to correct it. Each facility was individually loaded and I can see that has not been changed."

"That's great, maybe we can use the individual who responds to get to the other facilities and reprogram them also." Scott put in as Luke kept typing. "I suggest we find a way to open that south entrance and hide our vehicle before anyone comes."

Andrea took the van keys and she and Jacque took the stairs that led them down to the levels below and hopefully to the exit Scott had mentioned. The next floor below was open with nothing stored or worth mentioning so they made their way to the ground level floor and started toward the south end and the outside access panel they had previously pounded on.

Andrea stopped as they started past one of the many rooms available off this long corridor. The quick peripheral view through the door left ajar had grabbed her, pulling her head around as if by some magnetic force. She turned and pushed the door fully open to get a better look.

Jacque moved back beside her and they simply stared for several moments.

Lined up in ranks, standing at attention as if they were in the military, were androids. Everyone was a perfect copy of the beautiful face of Andrea and they were too numerous to mention.

Andrea's knees were suspect as she mumbled something incoherent and would have collapsed if not for the quick action of Jacque who caught her and helped her to a nearby chair.

"I never contracted for this many androids, go get Luke. If he has been producing more of these things than I agreed too he better have a good answer." She waved Jacque away. "I'll wait right here, hurry please."

Gathering some strength and regaining her composure Andrea moved over and row by row she inspected the silent stationary clone like duplicates that simply distressed her as she moved among them.

She heard her friends come in and heard there exclamation as they took in the unexpected sight that confronted them.

"Andrea must be beside herself with this menagerie." Don said as he looked around for the real person to step forward into view.

"There's a lot of them beside themselves as far as I can see." Fortried added then called her name. "Andrea, are you still in here?"

"Right here." She said as she came back out of the ranks around in front. "Luke, can you explain this, did you do this?"

"No way, I could never do this. I've only done the ones you asked for. You know my factory is too small to accomplish something like this." Luke took a good look at one of the androids up close and personal. He even took a moment to smell the makeup material as he checked the android from top to bottom. "They have my design right down to the access ports and buttons." Luke said as he touched a button and the back of the android opened to allow a look inside.

Luke looked and then quickly backed away. "We should leave this room right now, right now please." Luke hurriedly led the way out into the corridor and down toward the door that hopefully led outside.

The latch on the door operated as expected but it took the strength of Fortried to open it due to the buildup of debris outside against the door and in its swing path.

Once all were clear and outside, Scott asked. "What spooked you in there, was the design so bad?"

"No no, the design is mine, however, the explosives packed inside belongs to someone else. Scared the shit out of me. My opening it like that might have just set it off and nailed us all. My hands are still shaking and my nerves are shot." Luke took a seat on the running board of the van. "I can't go back in there, it's too dangerous, too dangerous."

Andrea sat down by Luke and took his hand. "Sorry Luke, I knew you couldn't have made those. Forgive me for my accusation earlier, I was just so shocked?"

"I don't blame you, you must have been floored when you saw all those copies." Luke looked up at her. "It has to be partly my fault. It's my design and I'm responsible for that design's security and somehow that security has been compromised, albeit without my knowledge."

"Those things are so dangerous. If they have the program similar to the net generators, when they are turned on, it would be hard to resist their attraction and lure." Luke nodded his head. "I believe you now. Using Andrea's face to kill people, until I saw it with my own eyes I didn't believe it possible but, the proof is in the pudding, so they say."

Luke moved everyone away from the van then pulled it around in amongst the trees until it was out of sight from the front and not visible from the air.

They all trooped back inside and made their way back up to the generator control floor. As they passed the room with the androids, they reset the door to the previous ajar position to avoid suspicion from whoever responds to the introduced electronic error now malfunctioning in the equipment.

They made themselves comfortable and played the waiting game by getting to know each other. Rapt attention was given when Andrea told of her life and path to the super model she had become. Unknown to most she was a tomboy until her late teens. She played soccer, basketball, hockey and baseball, all with boys teams until she began to draw too much attention from her teammates. Parents began to complain about their boys not keeping their minds on the game when she was around.

Andrea said she did not encourage this attention but soon realized there was no way to avoid it. On the day she turned sixteen she abandoned those sports she dearly loved and signed on to a career in modeling. Offers from manufacturing scouts who had seen her play ball were numerous. Many wanted her to model sport and casual teenage clothing and foot wear. That beginning soon expanded into her own line of recreational wear and the success she now receives galaxy wide.

Luke added comments on her face being known from one end of this universe to the other.

Scott, holding up his hand said, "I have an idea if Andrea is willing to do a little acting."

Chapter 34

She'd only play this role once

After Scott explained his plan Andrea had several questions. He answered as best he could and in the end she agreed to play the role.

"I'm no actress and I have very little confidence in my ability to make this believable, but I will try," Andrea then added, "I'll only do this once, this is not something I'm comfortable with."

Leaving Luke alone in the control room, Scott and most of the company took refuge up one flight of stairs. They figured having Luke there with his handheld unit plugged in would put whoever they sent a little off balance.

Luke had guessed correctly and the response time was about what he expected.

"Whoa, what are you doing, who let you in here, who are you?" The technician asked as he entered the control center and saw Luke busy at the computers. "You shouldn't be here, this is a restricted area."

"What do you mean I shouldn't be here? I am the writer of this original program and I have every right to check on it." Luke lowered the small unit he held as he continued. "Who the hell changed my program? There are no longer any safety stops on the power output. Did you make these changes? Who requested these changes? What is the purpose of these machines now?" Luke unplugged his control unit, walked over to the technician and, after checking and then poking the name tag on his shirt, forcefully asked. "So Jim, who is your employer? I demand some answers."

Luke had the technician back on his heels with the barrage of questions he attacked him with. It took a moment before Jim could come up with a response.

"I, well, I work for Sargon Electronics." Jim said as he pointed at the patch that adorned the sleeve of his work shirt. A representation of this massive structure was prominent in the middle of the patch with a red lightning bolt running through its center.

"These are your facilities?" Luke asked. "Everything in here belongs to your company?"

"Well yes, we take care of all these stations, a hundred of them." Jim said.

Hearing the cue "Everything in here belongs to your company?" Andrea came out from behind the generator that was the center of the large room.

"Help me, I desperately need your help in my escape from them. They have invaded my home planet and taken my father hostage, against his will. They are trying to conquer the universe with their mind control. I don't know who they are but I know they are alien and violent and they mean business." Andre kept asking for help as she approached the two, both seemingly surprised.

"Oh shit, oh no how did she become activated?" The technician was in a panic and started searching through his tool bag. He found and took out a remote control unit and started pushing buttons as he pointed the small unit at Andrea.

Andrea kept coming toward them, ignoring the frustration exhibited by the excited tech.

"Crap, crap, oh crap, this isn't working." Jim repeated over and over, pushing the buttons on the remote control, then he tossed the remote device aside and pulled a phaser out of the bag he carried. Before anyone could react he pointed it at Andrea and fired point blank. Showing no ill effect from the powerful discharge, Andrea continued her progress toward the frightened man while continuing her request for assistance. "Run run, oh shit, no no, we got to get out of here." Jim kept shouting as he headed for the stairwell and a way out.

Scott came down the steps and blocked his path as he tried to exit. "What's up? You leaving?"

"She's going to blow, got to get out," Jim said as he tried to get around Scott only to be blocked now by Fortried who had stepped into view.

Andrea came up behind the tech and said, "I need your..."

Jim was gone, when Andrea reached out and touched him, he fainted.

They moved the unconscious Jim to a chair and sat him upright holding him in place. As they all gathered around, Jacque splashed some water in the slowly recovering man's face. As he came alert he was still in a panic to get away. He stared a hole through Andrea as Fortried, with just his hand laying on the front of the man's chest, prevented him from rising.

"Are you afraid of little old me?" Andrea teased. "I wouldn't hurt a fly so why do you fear me?"

Jim, with considerable difficulty, pulled his attention from Andrea and took stock of his captors. Pointing at Andrea, "She's not an android, is she?" He asked when his eyes finally came to rest looking at Scott.

"Of course not, she is flesh and blood just like you and me. Now what would make you think she was an android?" Scott smiled as he spoke, figuring Jim would know his question was rhetorical and no answer was expected.

Expected or not Jim said. "Her words, the ones she keep saying, they are part of the program..." Jim cut off his outburst as he realized he might be saying too much.

"So, evidently you know about the use of the exploding androids to kill a certain people. The question is, did you program them and, if you did, by whose order?" Don asked before Scott could get those same or similar words out.

"Hey, I'm just a technician, I load the programs, I don't write them." He held up his hand in a stop motion as he spoke then wiped his hand across erasing the idea of his writing them. "I did see the demo video once and I recognize those words she spoke. How did you get those words, most people hearing those words are, well, they're not with us anymore."

It took some time and numerous questions before the complete picture was exposed. The Sargon Electronic Corporation was run by a board of twelve members. These board members were the top people from the major munitions producing companies, the very backbone of this galaxies economy. They were the major exporters of munitions and a definite opponent of the Coordinators organization. A peaceful galaxy was not lucrative so they did what they could to insure there were customers for their wares.

Jim didn't think the board would purposely set up to personally kill anyone but yes, they would make the equipment available for those who would have such intentions, that was a given. Jim, however, did not have the same opinion of the board leader. He felt that she was very dangerous and wouldn't even think twice about erasing a profit hampering obstacle, even several human ones. He was almost positive that she secretly set up the small factory that produced the exploding androids, all with Andrea's beautiful face.

"I would like a meeting with this board, do you think that is possible." Scott asked.

"No way, they only meet with major buyers or prominent "want to be" world leaders." Jim shook his head as he replied. "You don't look like a world leader very much."

Chapter 35

A Meeting of the Board

The table was long with six members comfortably placed on each side. There was ample room for the beverages and pastries placed in front of the board members.

The lady at the end of the table was standing with a small pointer in her manicured hand. She was dressed to the nines and she was the personification of wealth and power. As she spoke she supported her delivery with the graphs displayed on the huge monitors on the wall behind her.

Using the pointer she followed the profit sharing display graph showing a dismal decline in profits across the board. She led them from the beginning high point through the severe dip that neared the negative border line shown on the presentation.

Changing graphs she pointed out the low point that was the beginning of this chart and followed it through the rise that finished with the current position. The rise was dramatic and profit sharing had recovered almost half of its previous high point in a very short time.

"This low point is where I came on board. I'm not here to blow my own horn but, as you can see, my actions and results speak for themselves." She smiled and the board smiled with her.

"How did you turn things around? I know we left it up to you but, just to satisfy our own curiosity for information, how did you do it?"

"I don't think you really want to know, plausible deniability might serve you well," She explained.

"Excuse me, Ms President, there is a buyer out here who would like to meet the board. He has deposited a, nonrefundable, million credits to our account for the opportunity.

"A million huh, that's double what we normally require for a meeting. I suggest you show him in, any objections?" The president said and seeing no objections she ushered the secretary out to bring the buyer in.

It was an entourage of six that entered, lead by the smallest of the group with the large warman bringing up the rear. "Good morning everyone, I am Jacque Cleboe from the planet Carrier and I need your assistance."

"Good morning Mr. Cleboe, how may we assist you?" The president asked.

"I am the owner of all the taverns on our planet and I'm only perceived as such. I have the desire to be a lot more. I want to be, if you will forgive my bluntness, the ruler of that little world. My opposition is ruthless and has a small army to back him up and I only have what you see here." Jacque swept his hand across indicating his small following.

"Well we can help you, I have some things that would surprise your opponent. Do you have anything for the board members to consider?" She asked.

"Well maybe this one thing." Jacque said as he pulled Andrea to the front of his small group and as her cloak fell to the floor she began.

"I need your help. My father has been taken..." Andrea started her spiel as she mechanically walked toward the front of the table.

It was not bedlam as they had expected. The board members simply sat and, with rapt attention, they followed Andrea as she moved forward.

That was not the case with the board president, she was in a panic and looking for a way out. She, of course, went for her bag and pulled a small remote device out. It was the same or similar to the one the tech had previously tried to use. She stabbed the buttons over and over with her eyes getting bigger and bigger as Andrea approached.

Andrea continued her spiel as she walked right up to the president and relieved her of the small remote device. "That thing doesn't work on me, sorry."

The questions from the board members were too numerous and noisy to understand. Scott held up his hand and waited for the commotion to subside.

He held up his badge, then he waited until the new outburst subsided. "Your president is under arrest for numerous counts of murder. If we find any evidence of involvement or knowledge of wrong doing by any of you, you will also be arrested. I suggest you should cooperate fully with our investigation. Now I will take your questions, one at a time please."

Scott answered their question as best he could. He explained the misuse of the space net, the use of the androids and the attempted elimination of his organization.

They cooperated fully and admitted to knowledge of the use of the net for encouraging shopping but did not realize or know of the use in those violent attacks. The mind bending transmission that changed everyday people into assassins was hard for them to believe. The video Scott found in the president's office was shown to the board members. The explosion of the android in that demo was received as unimagined horror by those present.

Colby sent a team to assist with the board members investigation.

Cliff had volunteered and brought another team in to assist. He was delighted to be a part of this team that would get with Luke and see his products. They, with the permission of Andrea, removed all the explosives from the fleet of androids stored in that massive structure.

Andrea signed a contract that allowed Luke to reprogram them with his original party entertainment program. Luke realized he had just cancelled all his future productions of this model as the number he had on hand would take eons to use up.

Luke and Cliff introduced a worm into the space net system that would replace all the power safety blocks that had been removed. This worm would then stay dormant unless someone tried to alter the program without Luke's knowledge.

The net still operated luring shoppers but that lure would be galaxy wide knowledge and those that traveled this way would be aware.

Luke and Andrea went back to Luke's shop together. What the future held for them was not known but they were continuing to get to know each other and seemed very compatible to Luke's surprise.

In a ceremony, back at headquarters, Colby presented Scott with the Distinguish Peace Star, with second cluster. Gordon Ranks received the Rookie Award for services rendered.

Frotried was the most difficult to award. In the end he and Jacque were presented with the equivalent civilian award of Boaster of Peace, which to the Warman seemed like a joke in its connotation.

Jacque was privileged to be a part of Scott's accomplishments and thought he had now partially repaid his life saving debt. Leaving an open invitation to everyone gathered there, Jacque took his leave and returned to his home planet. He thought the bar business was going to be just a little boring after this adventure.

Back to work, the job still remained. Human and alien both still found ways to destroy each other and the coordinator's job would always be there.

NARD said it was a big "Whoopee!" that they received an award and again it sounded sarcastic when he said it.

Ranks got his own ship and, no longer considered a rookie, headed out with a new assignment.

Scott launched his small vessel with his own somewhat different mission. This time he traveled with an assistant, the recruit Colby had assigned him. The largest part of his new task would be in schooling this rookie coordinator that Colby had blessed him with.

Fortried glanced at Scott and although he was sitting comfortably as co-pilot, he still had a hard time believing that a Warman could be the harbinger of peace, albeit as only an assistant this time.

Characters **in Order of Appearance**

Scott Standard - a Coordinator, main guy

Fortried - a Warman, sidekick

NARD - ship's almost human computer

Director Colby - Star Board Commander Scott's Boss

Lacgil - assassin/farmer

Jacque Cleboe - Scott's friend on Planet Carrier

Carol - EDWD Secretary (see below) for Cliff

Cliff - Boss of Engineers of Defensive Weapons Department

P1 Gordon (Don) Ranks - New recruit

Noonac - Jacque's secretary, a Credidon female

Bob - Jacque's bartender of Rustonian descent

Joe - Jacque's bartender of Rustonian descent

Keogg - A transport pilot a Senueian

Diealeauge - A Zipploydd, Ship's Stores

Lieutenant Callgaurd - Local police on Carrier

Sink-Lue from Perubia Delto - bar patron on Gradieur

Lukecaid - Android shop owner on Gradieur

Andrea - Girl of his dreams

Jim - Technician for Sargon Electronics

President of the Board - The Evil One
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Other Books by this Author

"Moon Trip **"** : The original discovery of the Facility on Smashwords.com

"I'm Not the Man I Was **"** a time travel novel available on Smashwords.com

"The Facility" The crew ten years after the "Moon Trip" story on Smashwords.com.

"Accurate Visions" Alien artifact gives visions of future numbers on Smashwords.com

"There First Murder Case" an M&M Investigation novel on Smashwords.com.

"A Path Not Chosen" A grandfather's quest to get his life back on Smashwords.com.

"Waiting to Heal **"** an M&M Investigation novel on Smashwords.com.

Watch for other books by this author as they will appear shortly on Smashwords.com.

