Gray Panthers: Battle for Earth (8 page)

Gray Panthers, Arizona

31 May 2126

    New volunteers continued to arrive in town, they signed their enlistment papers and then received their elixir, and notice that they would soon once again go through basic training.  After in-processing the volunteers were given three days to acclimate to their new physical condition.  Most were ecstatic to participate in sports, while others found themselves trying to control feelings of aggression. Numerous fights started as quickly as they finished.  Many of the men trying to go AWOL in search of women found their escape blocked by fences.  Once they started basic training few found themselves with the energy to try to go AWOL since the training was based on the knowledge the men were already in outstanding physical shape.

  In six months, the first shuttle was ready. Because of its shape it gained the nickname "Flying Brick" or "Bricks" for short.  From the outside, it looked like a shipping container, especially with its gray exterior.  The brick was forty feet long by eight feet wide and eight feet high. Evenly spaced along the sides and bottom of the ship, protrusions were attached to the exterior, most of them were shaped like a ball with a barrel protruding out that rotated freely.  No other visible lines were on the outside; the hatches’ appearance was seamless.  Once the hatch was opened from the rear, the gray interior was empty except for an interior door at the front that accessed the flight deck.  The use of grav plates in not only the floor, but the sides and ceilings would ensure no cargo would move, especially with the inertial dampers that made it feel like you were standing still up to 100 G’s.  The flight deck looked like the front seat of a car.  The front bulkhead and both sides were covered in solid displays.  External sensors, in conjunction with cameras, provided a view mimicking what they would have seen if the displays were windows.  A pair of fat deep seats faced a holographic instrument panel that consisted of instrumentation and gauges required for skimming over land up to a max ceiling of fifteen feet.  Pressing the right combination on the numeric keypad, located on the panel changed the holographic instrument panels configuration from skimmer to space shuttle. 

Gray Panthers Factory, Arizona

15 October 2126

Dan and Abdul climbed into the shuttle and went forward to the flight deck.  They sat in the seats as Abdul called Grub.  "OK Grub
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we're ready for our flight lessons."

Grub simply replied to strap in since it was the shuttle’s first manned flight and there might be unforeseen problems.  Dan pressed his hand on the keypad to start the engines as they both looked over the gauges.

"Gentlemen as long as you do not do anything dangerous the shuttle will allow you to control it. If you do something dangerous, it will take over command and complete the programmed flight without accepting input from either of you. If you need to change destinations in flight, you may interact with the ships AI verbally to make the changes.  The AI’s name for this ship is Icarus.  Icarus, please introduce yourself to your crew."

Both men watched as an apparition about a foot high appeared to be standing on the instrument panel.  The apparition looked like a teenager dressed in robes with wings strapped to his shoulders.  "Welcome aboard the Icarus gentlemen. I will try my best to see you learn all you can about flying an Icarus series shuttle.  The main purpose of the Icarus series shuttle is to train new pilots before they progress on to higher performance shuttles.  In the case of an emergency, I will assume control of the shuttle and complete the mission.  You may have noted the name of the shuttle; it is both a warning and a reminder.  If you have no questions I will now take you up for a familiarization flight."

Both men ensured they were fully strapped in when Icarus declared them ready for takeoff.  The displays in front of them came to life as they saw they were slowly lifting off the ground and heading for the opening of the cavern.  The display showed the exterior around the ship and in the center of the screen was a softly illuminate display of ship status as well as showing everything in the air around them for 500 miles.  Touching any of the avatars shown on the screen for other aircraft would immediately display any information desired about it. 

Icarus must have been the reincarnated spirit of a fighter pilot
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as the shuttle immediately pointed itself upwards and continuously accelerated until it was at 30,000 feet.  Neither passenger even felt the change in attitude or acceleration to altitude, simply watching the display in disbelief.  "Icarus, can anyone see us up here?"  Abdul asked as he strained to see around the display.  "We are invisible to any of your technology's detection devices.  The exterior of the ship has the option to bend light so it can't be seen by naked eye.  We are quite safe from discovery,” Icarus replied smugly.  Dan looked back on the screen and noticed another pair of aircraft flying in formation 30 miles behind them and closing with them at their altitude.  He touched the avatar to see they were a pair of F-90 Fighters from Luke AFB that were supposed to be heading for the range, and instead had been vectored for them.

"Icarus, we have a little problem," Dan shouted excitedly.  "Why do we have company?" 

"It appears we have a malfunction that has affected numerous systems.  I shall just accelerate and then go down to where they will not detect us against the ground."

The screen still showed the stars and clouds as the shuttle picked up speed then pointed itself directly toward the ground.  The inertial dampers were working perfectly as there was no sense of motion other than from what they were seeing through the displays.  The F-90s were still in pursuit as the shuttle leveled off at 20 feet above the ground.  The fighters, a thousand feet above, and half a mile behind continued to close in as Icarus could be heard laughing.  Icarus immediately came to a dead stop from 800 miles an hour as the fighters continued off to the night.  "That was too easy,” Icarus said as the shuttle again sprang into the air heading for the fighters. After a quick close, Icarus climbed to five thousand feet above the fighters in formation.  The F-90s once again changed course to engage as Icarus climbed; accelerating at 3000 miles an hour as the fighters were left behind them, and they found themselves now in space. 

"Grub, what the hell have you done to us?  Have you been monitoring what's been going on?"  Dan shouted, breaking out in sweat.

"My apologies sir. It was my intention to program the shuttle AI with human characteristics.  I have taken control and turned on the stealth features.  I will have you home in 20 minutes.”

Back on the ground Dan and Abdul were able to laugh about their ride, as they returned to the Grub.  Once inside they grabbed beer and sat down as Grub materialized in front of them. 

Taking a long swig from the cold beer, Dan looked at Grub and asked, “So you think for the AI to interact with humans it has to be insane? I’m sorry we have made such a poor impression on you Grub.  What is the Air Force doing now?”

“I am sorry sir.  Usually a new AI is exposed to its new environment and it learns from its surroundings, in developing its personality to better interact with them.  I put some generic information about humans into its algorithms.  Courageous, devil may care, and disrespect for rules. You can see it did not work out as planned.  I will fix it.  The Air Force was not able to detect where the shuttle launched from, and was unable to capture any photos.  They were able to track its performance until I activated the stealth while you were heading for space.  After that, your return trip was not noted.  They are adding the data to their UFO project.” 

Rubbing his head, Abdul spoke up, “Grub make it easy on yourself and us. Duty, honor, country, with a strong ability to learn and adapt, with a sense of individuality.  That would be a good place to start.”  Dan nearly choked on his beer as Abdul gave his recommendation, but could not find any flaw in his logic.

Gray Panther Head Quarters, Arizona

6 December 2126

“Daniels
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” Danny answered the phone as he nearly choked.  The initial cadre that were training and outfitting the new army was looking at mutiny.  Danny replied he’d be there in 10 minutes as he reached into his desk drawer and grabbed for his 9mm, then decided against it.

Arriving on the underground parade field, he saw the 500 who had initially signed up standing around in groups.  To the side, the training cadre was in a huddle.  One of the cadre saw Dan coming and hollered for the men to fall in.  Most started to move and then stopped when they saw the rest were not moving. 

“Fall in god damn it!” Dan roared his voice reverberated from the ceilings and walls.  The men fell in, forming ten groups of 50.  “Atten-shun!  I have been told I have a mutiny on my hands.  Some of you are thinking that this is not the US government and screw this.  If that is your thought, you may walk to the far wall and we will have you out of here in an hour.  Those of you who are not candy ass, but have a grievance, now is the time to air it.  Before you begin, I will remind you this is NOT the US Government. We are not the Army, the Navy, or even the Marines. Oh yeah; we’re not Air Force either.  We are the Gray Panthers.  What you did or what rank you held has little or no bearing here.”  Dan continued as he walked around the formation, pleased to see they were all holding the position of Attention.  “We few that remain, we were the ones that answered our nation’s call.  We few remember those who paid the ultimate price for what our government later threw out as inconvenient to them.  We few we paid our nation’s debt, we few will once again find ourselves at the spear’s tip.  We few, will once again know pain, we will know loss, we will prevail, we will know victory once again.  Once again, we will not let our liberties be subdued by any enemy, foreign or domestic.  You are the last generation that understands simple words like Duty, Honor, and Country.  We will bring those words back into vogue.  I know many of you are pissed off because you’ve been through basic and this is an insult.  Well, suck it up!  This is the Gray Panthers and this is a new game.  If you were in your prior service and saw someone come in off the street and be put in command of you or your people
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you would have been ready for real mutiny.  Before anyone has life and death responsibility over anyone here in the Grey Panthers they will have earned that privilege here with the Grey Panthers, there are no free rides.  Those of you who manage to complete basic training will be fully briefed on what our mission will be.  That’s something you’ll be telling your great-great grandchildren.”  Dan continued to the front of the formation.  “Formation Rest! Now those of you who wish to leave our merry band can make your way over to Sgt. Smith and he will have you out of here in an hour.  Those of you who have a bitch or grievance, now is the time.  Dan watched as no one in the formation made a move to leave.  Dan took one last look at the formation ahead of him; every head was either covered in grey or blue hair with numerous baldheads.  He had not wanted to be Mickey Mouse and shave heads for no reason, now he saw too many heads in need of hair cutting, then he thought of his own ponytail and that, he was not setting a decent example.  Especially since he was addressing a formation and not wearing a uniform himself, as he looked on those in front of him all uniformly attired in gray fatigues.  “Sgt. Smith, bring me a pair of scissors please. We have an individual who needs a little haircut.”  When Smith got to him, he simply reached behind him and held out the ponytail.  Smith smiled evilly as he drew the scissors as close to the skull as possible then cut the ponytail off.  Cheers reverberated through the cavern. “I guess that’s a start,” Dan said to the formation smiling as he held the tail in front of him.  “Next week will include chemical defense training gentlemen, and for those of you who may have forgotten what a poorly fit mask feels like, that will be your opportunity, so I suggest short hair and clean faces.  I will be clean-shaven and in uniform the next time you see me.  There is no room for unprofessional conduct and that starts at the top.  Sgt. Smith you may take the formation,” Dan said as he turned to leave.  From the back of the formation a low howl started as it made its way to the front. The entire formation joined in as it grew louder as one voice.  Dan looked at Smith who just shrugged his shoulders.  Turning back to the formation, Dan smiled one last time, shaking his head as he left.

“Hey Abdul!” Dan hollered out as he reached into the fridge for a beer.  “We have anything for the guys to shoot yet?”  Taking the beer from Dan’s hand Abby replied, “Don’t you ever buy your own beer?  I talked with Siggy, since we are considered a town, we can request weapons from DHS, or buy them directly from any armory we choose, for our police force.”  Laughing, Dan smiled as he said. “OK, order us 1200 Ruger SR-980s, and 999 deputy badges, with credentials, and one sheriff's badge with credentials.  Go ahead and get 1200 .45 autos.  Get the seamstresses to sew fabric deputy badges on all the uniforms after they complete basic. I also want a Gray Panther Patch for the right shoulder of the uniforms.  This is going to be one well-protected town!  How are we looking for real weapons for when the visitors arrive?” 

Abdul just smiled as he described how he was working with Grub to modify the mining beam so it could be a hand held device.  Since Grub looked at it as a tool, there was no objection to modifying it.  The beamer, as Abdul was calling it, had three settings; the first, which was a narrow beam had the longest range but the narrowest point of impact, was the size of a silver dollar at its contact point.  The second beam setting pulsed out a beam encompassing up to a 30º arch, left to right, to a range of three miles on full power.  The final setting was the dead man's setting.  Once triggered it becomes a grenade that will vaporize everything inside 100 feet, after 30 seconds, giving the triggerman marginal time to get away.  It has a power setting of one to five, weighs 15 pounds, and is 36 inches long.  The power supply for the beamer is a self-charging solar battery that attaches to the beamer like a magazine.  The battery could recharge itself either when it is in the beamer or lying out.  Depending on the amount of light, it took between three to eight minutes to charge.  In a pinch, the beamer could be used to drill a tunnel.

Dan smiled, thinking of the many times he could have used such a weapon.  "How is it against armor?  How many batteries will be carried?  What's the weight of the batteries?"

Abby smiled, expecting those questions. "Until we get them in production and see how reliable they are, I'm estimating four will be carried, they weigh a pound.  On setting one they will go through a foot of hardened steel from three miles like a hot knife through butter."

"OK, keep me informed on how it's progressing.  How are we looking for the Enterprise?"

"The ship yard has done an excellent job and is actually well ahead of schedule.  They have torn everything out from the insides, except some bulkheads and the elevators; those will probably need to be totally redesigned anyway.  All exterior hatches have either been sealed over or been rebuilt as airlocks.  I hired a few scientists and engineers that think I am crazy.  However, they have been enthusiastic in redesigning the ship.  They are following the recommendations that Grub put out.  Every deck has had the Gravity plates installed.  I just said it's a need to know item, when they asked what they are for.  I get the feeling a couple of them have figured it out already.  We really need to get a crew.  Almost everything will be automated, but we need a crew." 

Danny rubbed his head and said he'd take care of it.  "Grub, I want a list of who the best candidates are to crew the Enterprise, from experience and education. Include what you can from psychological profiles for everything from commander to bottle washer, also the recommended size of crew.  Include a separate crew for harvesting and processing the H3.  I also will want an independent security detail.”

Grub immediately replied the task was already done, and the list was waiting for his review.  The only problem is the best choice for commander of the Enterprise, is a retired navy commander, with extensive submarine experience.  The commander was forced to retire to avoid court martial when he refused to take the new oath of obedience in 2096, after the constitution had been suspended.  He had a PhD in both engineering and astrophysics.  He was blackballed from any government or government sponsored jobs.  He is no longer in the system, although you talked with him not long ago.  He is the leader of the Outsiders, his name is Butch Bad."  

"Thanks Grub, any idea how to get in touch with him?  Where can we find him?"  Dan asked, trying to remember which Outsider had been the commander.

"That’s not a problem sir; he is less than 10 miles away. He has a camp of 85 people.  It appears they are just to the west of us.  His group seems to be a mixed group of 25 adult males, 30 adult women, and 30 children.  I located them a few months back as he started to leave a couple of scouts to monitor us up in the mountains.  They have not made any hostile acts toward us yet."

"Grub, do we have an open cavern we could put them in, one that would not interfere with what we are doing?" Dan questioned as he started to form a plan in his head.

"There is a cavern away from the rest, we were going to use for munitions and hazardous materials
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It has not been used yet and just needs an opening to the surface.  It is large enough for the outsiders, and their vehicles, campers, and mobile homes.  The cavern has electricity and water already connected," Grub finished.

"Say Abby, you want to go hunting, or just let the men do it?  We have two visitors in the mountains I would like to talk with.  I also do not want them hurt, but want to make an impression on them that they can't sit on my mountain without us knowing."

"I need the exercise boss, I'll have a couple cadre to go out with me.  We'll gear up, and be on our way in 20 minutes.  I'll just let Grub direct us to them." 

  In the locker room Abdul donned the one piece optical deflection combat suit, and after donning the gloves and boots, reached to his left wrist and hit the power test button.  The tiny screen showed he had 48 hours of power as he next stood in front of the mirror and pressed the test button. For ten seconds all he could see of himself was an out of focus fuzzy apparition with his head appearing to float above it.  Satisfied with the suit he donned the hoodie and attached his field gear as the other two men of his patrol waited. Fifteen minutes later, Abdul and two sergeants also dressed in optical deflection combat suits. Armed with only nonlethal training rifles, they made their way around the mountain.  Following the two NCOs at 15-foot intervals would have been impossible without the spectrum glasses Abdul was wearing.  The glasses had numerous settings; from night vision, to thermal, to multi spectrum. The multi spectrum setting made it possible to see the deflection suits.  They first came up on a pair of off road motorcycles, carefully covered with brush.  A slight trail was visible from the cycles heading up the side of the hill.  Abdul and the sergeants spread out as they got off the trail but followed it until they saw a small camp with one camouflaged outsider sleeping noisy.  They continued until they found the back entrance of a small observation post dug into the mountainside near the top of the mountain.  Abdul reached behind him picking up a handful of dried brush and lit it up, then tossed it near the OP entrance.  The second Outsider looked carefully out of the OP, then proceeded toward the small fire when each of the NCOs grabbed an arm and clamped a huge piece of tape over his mouth.  Before the struggling began, the first outsider was heard making his way up the trail.  Both NCOs dropped to the ground with their prisoner.  The Outsider stepped carefully into the small clearing and looked left. When he looked right he never saw Abdul’s fist as it made contact with his head.  Ten minutes later, both restrained Outsiders were walking down the mountainside.  Abdul was examining the Outsiders’ weapons they had carried. He felt the throbbing in his right hand from knocking out the Outsider with a single sucker punch. The first had a replica 1864 Winchester .22.  The second had carried a Ruger 10/22 that was over 200 years old, and had seen many repairs, but was clean and seemed in good order.

Dan looked at the two men sitting dejectedly in the conference room.  Both were dirty and smelled of smoke and rough living.  The leader of the pair was tall and muscled
,
around fifty.  The second one was tall and slim, barely old enough to drink legally.  Although neither had any IDs, Grub was able to identify them as father and son.  Clean-shaven and missing his ponytail, Dan walked in wearing his sheriff’s uniform.  Both men seemed to shrink after seeing the uniform.  “Good evening gentlemen
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I see you have been in our mountains hunting without a permit.” Both men’s faces perked up at this announcement, and was not lost on Dan. “I can understand how important that is since Mr. Bad has quite a few mouths to feed.” Looking at the oldest of the pair he continued, “Joshua, I’m going to let you go, with a backpack of food to take to Mr. Bad, with the request that he come visit me as soon as possible.  Your son George will stay as my guest, until tomorrow. Then I will call DHS to pick him up. We brought your motorcycle down from the mountain to save you time getting on your way.  George, if you want to say goodbye to your dad, that’s fine.  I’m sure he will not abandon you. We will know for sure since he only has to go ten miles to your camp.”  Both men looked at him sullenly without saying a word.  “The offer expires in ten seconds gentlemen,” Dan said as the younger man started to tell the older one to go, and not come back.  The older one tried to get Dan to let his son go. “Two seconds left gentlemen,” was all Dan replied with as he started to get up.