Starting from Scratch (15 page)

Bambi, a little calmer now, answered, “I’m doing a
quick check of files and sub-files regarding interstellar messages.
But, I’m not finding anything that indicates a warning.”

Everyone stood silently, as Bambi continued to search
for a file source.

“Wait a second. I found a file here, in the
interstellar message file area, which refers to the interstellar
drive engine. That’s an odd place for it to be. When I go into that
file, it contains a warning of extreme danger, if outside sources
generate sufficient harmonic waves, at the time of
transmission.”

Horace said, “I’d like to see that file, if I
may.”

“Sir, it’s more than six hundred thousand lines of
code. Once you are upgraded, you will be able to see it and analyze
it relatively quickly. If I print it out for you now, you could
begin to look at it, but it will take you months to absorb it.”

Mary spoke up. “Bambi, send the file to me and give
me a crack at it. I can run through it and perhaps pick out the
areas where we can share it with the others, until they have there
own upgrades to use on it. At least it would be a start.”

“OK Mary. It’s on the way.”

Everyone stared at Mary, as she closed her eyes to
concentrate on the file.

Finally she blurted out, “Oh my, this really is a
huge file. Even at my new speed, this is going to take a
while.”

General, Those Naval officers you wanted to see are
waiting in the staff conference room. I sent them coffee, soft
drinks and pastries.

Thanks, Bambi. Tell them I’m on my way.

Mike held up his hand and said, “Ladies and
gentlemen, you have work to do and so do I. I leave you in the
capable hands of Bet and Mary.”

Bet rubbed his arm again and told him, “Would I be
too forward, if I asked you out for dinner?”

Mike was pleasantly shocked. “I think I’d like that,
Bet. I’ll have Bambi cook up something special for us in my
quarters, if that’s alright with you.”

“That would be perfect.”

Mary commed him and her comment came as another
shock.
Mike, that woman isn’t the old goat she was nine days
ago. She’s going to wear you out tonight. Just don’t get carried
away and kill her by accident. We need her.

He didn’t how to respond to his daughter-in-law’s
rather crude comment, so he remained silent.

“Max, let’s go talk with our Navy guys.”

Max clapped his hands and said, “I suppose we have
to, but how much good they’ll be to us is a mystery to me.”

“Oh have a little faith Max. One of them was damn
near dead when we snatched him. He’s actually a veteran of World
War Two and he earned The Navy Cross at the battle of Okinawa. I
just hope that at least one of them knows what he’s doing in a
multi ship battle. If there is one, we can build from his
experience.”

As they walked, Mike told Bambi to give them a
rundown on each man, with regard to their duty at sea.

Captain Patrick Gorham, spent twenty six years on
active duty, of which two postings were at sea. One of those was as
the junior officer in fox division, whatever that is.

Max interrupted to say, “That’s Naval gunnery and he
was probably an Ensign at the time.”

That is correct, sir. His other sea duty was a few
years later, where he served on an aircraft carrier, as the
administration officer. After that, he spent most of his time at
the Pentagon.

Max again, “Only two postings at sea. That’s a little
odd. A Naval officer fights to get sea duty on his record. This guy
was a pencil pusher. But he must have had some political pull to
make it to Captain, without taking on any more duty at sea. The man
definitely had connections.”

The next officer is Commander Lawrence Doolin. He
spent two years on board an aircraft carrier as a fighter pilot.
Three years later, he was back on a different aircraft carrier,
serving as a squadron leader. Four years after that, he was at it
again, as the Air Officer.

Max told them, “That’s a nice resume. I wonder why he
didn’t get any further?” He hummed for a moment, and then asked,
“Bambi, where did he go to college?”

He attended Marquette University and was a member of
NROTC. When he graduated, he went straight onto active duty as an
Ensign.

Max shook his head. “No wonder he didn’t go any
further. The Navy’s even worse than the Army about senior officers
graduating from a big name school. And while Marquette is
considered a fine institution now, I doubt that the powers that be
looked at it seriously, back in this guy’s day.”

Mike asked, “Who’s next?”

Commander Edward Denniston. First sea duty was as
the junior CIC officer, on a cruiser. Six year later, he was the
senior CIC officer, on an aircraft carrier. Five years after that,
he was the Operations Officer on an aircraft carrier and was
eventually transferred to an admiral’s staff as the intelligence
officer.

Max told him, “CIC is Combat Information Center. That
runs along with intelligence and, as the Ops Officer, he would have
had his hands on a lot of Intel. I like the guy already.”

“OK Max, let’s reserve our assessment of these men,
until we have spent some time with them. Next one, Bambi.”

Commander Frank Vollmar. Most of his file was
sealed, labeled as classified. He spent time on a number of
submarines, but only for brief periods.

Mike said, “I bet he was a Seal.”

Max nodded. “Yeah, sounds like it. I used those guys
on a few ops. They’re just as good as Green Berets, and they
definitely have some unique training and qualifications. A guy like
that could be very useful, in the type of op we’re looking at.”

Bambi verified,
Yes sir. I opened his classified
file and he has indeed been on some very dangerous missions, in
places where Americans weren’t supposed to be.

“OK, Bambi, let’s move on.”

Lieutenant Commander James Smith. Sir, this is most
unusual. I can find no record of him at all. It seems he doesn’t
exist. There is no record of him in the Navy and his Social
Security Number matches a man who died fifteen years ago.

Mike had no idea what was going on here.

“Max, I’m stymied. Do you have any clue as to what
this guy was doing in a veterans home?”

“Yes I do. The bastard was getting free medical care,
using a dead veteran’s name.”

Mike disagreed. “That couldn’t be right. Bambi said
the guy doesn’t exist. The VA wouldn’t have accepted him, when he
presented a dead man’s social security number.”

They were approaching the conference room, as Mike
reached out and grabbed Max’s arm. “Hold on a minute. I want to
talk with Smith in private, just you, him and me. Bambi, have a
robot escort Mr. Smith to my quarters.”

Yes sir.

Five minutes later, they walked into Mike’s quarters,
as Max scowled and Mike held out his hand. “Mr. Smith, how are you
doing.”

The man was of average height and non-descript in
appearance. He shook Mike’s hand and said, “I’m tired and still a
little confused. Even that video wasn’t much help. I don’t
understand what’s going on or why I’m here.”

Max became belligerent. “Look shithead, we know
you’re a phony. So, how about spitting out your real name and what
you were doing in a retirement home for veterans.”

The man didn’t seem concerned at all. “Gentlemen, I
can assure you that I have no idea what the problem is. I really am
a veteran of the Navy and I really was a Lieutenant Commander. You
must know that the VA screws up records all the time. I’m sure if
you keep checking, you’ll find me somewhere.”

Mike thought, this guy should be a little shook up,
but he wasn’t. He was just kidnapped, given a healthier body and
told he was in outer space. But, he acts as though it’s all just a
minor misunderstanding.

Bambi, I’m going to need your help with this man.
Can you tell if he’s lying to us?

I think so. I assume that he would divulge a
falsehood, by his breathing, his pulse, his eye movement and slight
facial alterations. If you allow me to physically insert a mind
probe, I could tell a lot more about him.

He told her,
I’ll keep that in mind.

Mike sat across from the man and gazed into his eyes,
as he asked, “So, you’re telling me that you are James Smith?”

The man emphatically replied, “Yes I am.”

He’s lying, boss.

“Have you ever been in the Navy?”

“Yes.”

True.

Were you ever a Lieutenant Commander?

“Yes, I was.”

He’s lying again.

Max asked, “Are you an American?”

“Of course I am. I was born in Stamford
Connecticut.”

True on the first part, but lying about
Connecticut.

Max pressed hard. “Have you ever spied for a foreign
power against the United States?”

“No sir.”

Well, that’s true.

Mike followed up quickly, “Have you ever spied for
the United States?”

“Look gentlemen, I am what I say I am. It’s that
simple.”

Max shot back, “Answer the damn question. Are you a
spy for our side?”

“I am not a spy of any sort.”

Lying again.

Mike stood up and said, “Mr. Smith, you’ve told us a
few truths and lot more lies. I’m not going to fuck around with
you, pal. You either answer truthfully, or I’m going to have a
robot stick a mind probe into your skull. We won’t have to bother
with all of these questions then. We can extract everything you
ever thought of, right from your brain.”

“Gentlemen, I am James Smith.”

“OK Bambi, bring in the probe.”

He expected the guy to cave in, at that point, but he
didn’t. Bambi sent in a wheeled robot, with a thin three inch long
needle protruding from its metal arm.

Smith started to get up. As he did, the robot’s other
arm shot out and hit his leg, injecting him with a sedative. A few
moments later, the man slumped back in the chair. Then the robot
carefully inserted the long needle into the back of his skull.

Mike wasn’t squeamish, but the sight of that needle
entering the man’s head was difficult to bear.

Bambi commed Max and Mike.
I’m going to have to
look around in here, in order to see where everything is hidden.
When I did upgrades on you and your staff, I found that humans keep
their memories in different places. So, I’m going to have to jump
around. If you see something interesting, say so, and I’ll focus on
that area.

As they watched, it was a little like a video game
that was blurred.

“Bambi, why is everything so out of focus?”

Weak memories, I suspect. Wait; look at this. Holy
shit, that’s a Januki scout ship.

“Are you sure?”

Yes sir, I’m sure. They’re small and fast as hell
and I think the Saurans would like to know how they work.

Max asked her, “Is this guy some sort of Januki
spy?”

“
I don’t think so, sir. When he answered about
being a spy for someone else, he said no and it was the
truth.

“Max, how in the hell does this guy see a Januki
scout ship, when he didn’t even know it exists?”

“I would guess Nellis Air Force Base. That place has
been suspected of hiding the dead aliens from the Roswell
incident.”

Here it is, boss. Years ago, he was one of the case
officers that investigated UFOs. His name has changed dozens of
times, as he looked into a number of sightings and especially
missing people. Your government has known for a long time about
aliens, but they’ve kept it quiet for years. Mr. Smith here is
actually James Atteberry and he really is retired, as a Naval
officer.

“Bambi, can you communicate with him/”

I can leave messages in his brain and set them to
encourage him to be more cooperative, once he comes back around.
Should I have the robot reactivate his consciousness?

“Yes. Insert the messages and wake him up.”

Five minutes later, the man was holding his head and
complaining, about the pain.

“Mr. Atteberry, you’re going to be just fine. We’re
not mad at you. You did what you thought was the right thing to do.
But, it should be obvious to you, by now, that the situation has
changed. The years you spent protecting all of us from a
frightening secret, was commendable and necessary. Unfortunately, a
different group of aliens is the real problem and they are headed
this way.”

Max patted Atteberry on the knee and asked, “How
would you like to help us keep these bastards from destroying the
Earth?”

He looked troubled, as he considered his options.
Then he said, “Well, it’s obvious that you know more about what’s
going on then I do. I retired fifteen years ago and the government
let me retire as a Naval officer, so I could get into the veterans
home.

“I didn’t feel bad about it because I did do a hitch
in the Navy, and then devoted my life to finding out as much as I
could about aliens and abductions. Those missing people where a
sign of things to come and my superiors didn’t want to alarm the
public, or give any aliens watching us a reason to move any
quicker.”

Max sternly asked, “Who were your superiors?”

Atteberry balked. He just couldn’t bring himself to
say it.

Bambi answered for him, as she spoke out loud. “His
boss was a major in The Air Force. They have a small office at
Nellis Air Force Base.”

Atteberry said, “I’ve kept the secret for so long.
Not even the President knows about all of this. For years it’s been
handled by a few select officials and a few field officers, such as
myself.”

Mike took a gentler approach. “Mr. Atteberry, the
president and several members of his staff now know about the alien
presence. They are keeping it secret for now, but you must realize
it’s only a matter of time until it leaks out. I refuse to answer
to the bureaucracy on Earth…America’s or that of any other
nation.

“I love my country, but they have a bad track record
of allowing a large and cumbersome style of management to bog
things down. We can’t afford to let that happen this time, because
things are moving to quickly and the entire existence of the human
race is at stake.”