Starting from Scratch (16 page)

Atteberry looked around, and then asked, “How did I
get my health back?’

“Alien technology, Mr. Atteberry. But you’ve only had
the very basic improvements made to your body. If you join us,
you’ll go through an upgraded program that makes you about twenty
five years of age and you’ll be much stronger and able to think a
great deal faster. I’ve had it done, as has General Kolbe here and
Al Benson, Wayne Hurst, my son and his wife, Mary. You’ve met all
of us and you’ve seen the video. There’s more, but for now, I’d
really like to know what you can tell us about that Januki scout
ship.”

The man looked puzzled, and then a light of
recognition went off. “Oh, the alien space craft. What did you call
it? I only saw it once. That’s not my area of responsibility. My
primary assignment was to investigate the disappearances. We think
there may have been as many as four thousand, world wide.”

Mike whispered loudly, “My God.” He looked at Max and
said; “I find it hard to believe the Saurans are responsible for
all of those.”

Atteberry told them, “I have felt for a long time
that there was more than one group of aliens who were behind this;
possibly four or five completely different races. There might be as
many as two thousand people who have been returned, but they merely
add to the confusion, because their memories are so jumbled.”

Bambi told them, “Sir, it’s possible that other races
have been coming here for some time. They want to know about
humans, just like the Saurans do. They want to know how you think
and how you’ll react to certain stimuli. Will humans pose a threat
hundreds of years from now? Then they wipe that person’s memory as
best they can. Even the Saurans had difficulty in doing mind wipes,
or so they told me.”

Atteberry said, “That computer is quite amazing. I
assume she is of alien technology.”

“You are correct, Mr. Atteberry.”

The man was actually shy, as he said, “If we’re going
to be working together, you might as well call me Jim.”

“Ok Jim, welcome to the team.”

Max made a suggestion. “Mike, I think before we make
the President aware of Jim and what he did for a living, we should
try to chat with someone who might be in on the secret, someone at
Nellis.”

Jim told them, “By now, most of the people I knew
have moved on. I doubt that even the base commander is aware of
this, sir.”

Max pursed his lips, and then grinned. “Son, you’d be
surprised what a base commander might know, even if he’s not
supposed to know it. I speak from personal experience.”

Mike commed Bambi,
Can you call the base commander
at Nellis Air Force Base? He probably has some sort of private
phone to the Pentagon. I’d like to chat directly with him and I
think hacking into his secure line would be a good way to let him
see we have surprising capabilities and that he could benefit from
them.

Yes sir. I’m sure I can.
There was a long
pause, and then she told him.
Here you go General Hurst. The
base commander is Lieutenant General Ludwig Boltz. He seems to have
quite a record regarding new technologies that were developed under
his command.

Thanks Bambi.

“Jim, I’ve had Bambi make a call to General Boltz,
who is the base commander at Nellis.”

“I met him, sir, years ago, when he was a Captain.
He’s a very impressive man…very intense. I suspect he doesn’t have
a sense of humor; so you may want to keep that in mind.”

“I will.”

You’re on, General and the man is not happy.

“Hello, General Boltz, this is Mike Hurst. I assume
that Mike Hardesty might have mentioned that we’ll be meeting face
to face in a week or so.”

“Listen buster, this is a secure line and it is a
felony violation to hack into any defense system and disrupt our
communications.”

Mike smiled, but did so without comment. “Sir, I can
assure you that no other individual, or government can do what we
just did. I need to talk with you about a special vehicle that a
select group, within your area of responsibility, has been
researching for decades. I believe it looks like something from a
sci-fi movie.”

The man exploded. “I’m not going to talk with you
about anything. You are in bigger trouble than you can
imagine.”

Sir, he has signaled one his people to run a trace
of the call. They have sent him a text message that this call isn’t
happening and that the line is out of service.

It was all Mike could do to keep from laughing out
loud.

“General Boltz, I know you’re trying to trace the
call. It won’t work, Sir, because we are using alien technology to
jump your line. It is my intention to provide you with this
technology for your own protection. The problem is, while we can
use it, we can’t figure out how it works.”

The General hung up.

Sir, General Boltz ripped the lines out of the wall
and threw the phone across the room.

Bambi, does he have a TV screen in his office.

Yes sir, a rather large one.

Turn it on and put me on the screen live. Maybe if
he sees me, he’ll be a little more receptive to having a
conversation.

When Mike’s image appeared on the big screen, Boltz
cried out, ”Jesus Christ, how are you doing this?”

Mike shrugged his shoulders and admitted, “As I told
you, sir, we can use this tech, but we don’t know yet, how it
works. I’m calling because I know you know what’s been hidden there
for many years and I suspect that the President has never been
told. He was recently made aware of alien presence and I thought
you might appreciate a heads up, before he finds out that this has
been kept from him.”

“Listen, Hurst, or whatever your name is. If you know
anything, you must know that I’m not about to tell you a damn
thing.”

Mike maintained a serious expression and told the
General, “Sir, I don’t have much to say right now, but it’s
important. I’m sending you a video of what has happened so far to
me and why I’m stepping way out on a limb to defend the people of
the planet.”

Bambi, send him my service record and the video that
we show first timers, but leave out the parts about upgrading. Be
sure and show Jo and I talking on the video. He needs to see me
with a live alien. Then show him the best picture you can of a
Januki scout ship.

“General Boltz, please take a few minutes to watch
this video and the accompanying information. I’ll get back in touch
with you in two hours.”

Cut it, Bambi.

Ok sir, we’re off the air.

Mike turned to Max and said, “I thought that went
well. We’ve got just enough time to chat with our Naval
officers.”

Max laughed and uttered, “Good grief, Mike, You sure
do know how to stir the pot.”

Mike turned to Jim Atteberry and told him, “Jim, for
now we’re going to maintain your status as a Lieutenant Commander.
In a moment, there’s going to be a robot here to escort you to
sickbay for further analysis of your revival. If you have any
questions, just ask them out loud and Bambi will see to your
needs.”

“Thank you, sir. I hope we can do something about
those missing people.”

Max said, “Jim, don’t get your hopes up. If we can do
something, we will, but I doubt they’ll ever be heard from
again.”

Jim Atteberry looked very sad, as he and Max left his
quarters and walked down to the conference room.

Chapter
9

Max and Mike walked into the room to interview the
naval officers, in the hope that at least one of them had some
experience with fleet maneuvers. They interrupted a conversation
about who was the senior man among them.

Mike announced, “Gentlemen, we’re so glad to see that
you’re getting along nicely.”

The four men sitting around the table looked at him
and one of them began harshly tapping his cup on the table,
demanding attention. He said, “I presume you’re Sergeant Hurst.
What’s going on here Hurst? Why are we being held here like
prisoners?”

Mike smiled and replied, “You are not prisoners, sir.
We have a need for men with Naval experience and a solid record of
performance at sea. We have seen to your health and brought you
back some of your youth, which will last for more than a hundred
years. If you don’t wish to help your country and your planet, then
you will be returned to America.”

The man slammed his palm against the table. “Look, we
know that genetic research has been able to bring people back their
youth. It’s old news, so don’t try and fool us into joining some
weird right wing group of traitors.”

Mike tilted his head and said, “I’m going to guess
that you are Captain Patrick Gorham, one of the great desk jockeys
of the Navy. Sir, your services will not be needed.”

“Now look here, Hurst. I’m your superior officer and
you must obey my commands.”

Mike moved so quickly to the man’s side that Gorham
shrunk away in fear. He yelled, “You stupid fucking little
martinet, you are superior to no one. You are dismissed, Patrick.
You will be put in a safe place where you can’t harm yourself and
be returned to Earth.”

Gorham was about to say something, but a threatening
glare from Mike changed his mind.

Bambi, send in a robot and stun him to sleep. Then
put him into stasis, after you have removed his memory of this.
We’ll dump him back on Earth, when we return.

It will be a pleasure, sir.

Max commed,
“I think you handled that nicely,
Mike. There’s no sense in wasting our time with pipsqueaks like
that little empire builder.

A robot entered and as soon as it had a clear shot,
it sent a weak bolt of ions at the Captain. The man collapsed face
first on the table and the robot easily lifted him and took him
away.

As he was removed, Mike told the others, “Gentlemen,
I am truly sorry for that ugly event, but we suspected he wasn’t
going to be any good to us anyway. His Navy record indicated he
lacked leadership talent. Also, I don’t want you worry about him.
He is fine and if any of you wish to look in on him I’ll arrange
it. We have no intention or need to harm any of you.”

“Now, let’s get down to business, shall we?”

Turning to Commander. Doolin, who he recognized from
his file, he asked, “Commander, how would you like to be one of the
first human space fighter pilots? With a little practice, you’ll be
made the squadron leader and, I suspect, very quickly become the
space group commander.”

The man smiled and said, “Don’t you think this is
moving a bit too fast?”

“No, I don’t for two reasons. We don’t have the time
for a long familiarization program and because it isn’t necessary.
If you agree to be upgraded, you will have all the knowledge you
need to fly in space and it will be placed right there in your
brain.”

Over the next two hours, the questions flew around
and so did the answers. Mike and Max held back nothing, as they
explained the horrible experience of the upgrade procedure, and the
subsequent advantages to be had, once it was complete.

When the topic came around to Commander Denniston and
how he could be of help, Mike informed him that he would be setting
up the equivalent of a CIC, on the Mother Ship. It would occupy one
or two stations on the bridge.

Denniston immediately answered, “It’s still too soon
for me to be sure, sir, but I think a separate room would be
better. If it’s anything like a ship at sea, there will be an
enormous amount of information passing through and people can get
excited and loud at times. I wouldn’t want that distraction to
affect the decisions that must be made on the bridge. We will pass
on what we know and what we think to the officer of the deck, if
that’s acceptable.”

Bambi responded, “Cdr. Denniston, Your idea may have
merit. However, you must realize that with the upgrade comes great
speed of thought. General Hurst’s thoughts are that the CIC
department would provide an on going intelligence display, on the
bridge and in his mind, therefore eliminating the few seconds it
would take to pass on any pertinent information. In space combat,
seconds lost can mean battles lost.”

Mike had never told her of his thoughts on the topic
of CIC, because he didn’t have any. He might have to take Bambi to
task later, because she shouldn’t be speaking for him.

He added, “Commander, I think we’ll wait until you
have been upgraded and had a chance to work with your new
abilities, before making the decision to put CIC on the bridge or
somewhere else.

“In the mean time, Bambi will provide you with some
basics about traveling, within the solar system. I feel certain
that will be the location of our first confrontation. You should
familiarize yourself with the maneuvers necessary to get around out
here and you’ll need to focus on maneuvering in three
dimensions.”

“Yes sir. But I want to point out that the Navy has
been working in three dimensions for decades. We have to be
concerned about the area beneath the surface, on the surface and in
the air. I know it will be different in space, but the concepts
will be similar.”

Mike shrugged. “Good point, Commander and I am aware
of that. However, the speeds at which events happen must be
prepared for and executed with flawless precision. Otherwise, the
ship will be toast, before you can react to the enemies well laid
out plans.”

He looked over at Cdr. Vollmar and said, “Commander
Vollmar, you’re just the sort of man we’re going to need in a about
five or six weeks. We’re going to try and capture a damaged ship
that’s just like this one. We’re going to have to board it in three
places and fight our way into those areas, if we’re to succeed. You
wouldn’t happen to have any idea how that could be done, do you?”
He gave Vollmar a huge grin.