Starting from Scratch (29 page)

He was polite, yet taciturn in his communication, no
doubt a trait General Boltz prized in his men.

They met up with a bus that had already taken on
board the other members of Mike’s scientific staff, and then they
headed a few miles away to the entrance of a huge cavern. They were
able to drive down several ramps, before they unloaded and took an
elevator down untold levels.

Bambi, how far down are we going?

The junk room is actually in the basement of this
place; about five hundred feet below ground.

When the elevator doors opened, armed guards and
Sergeant Walters escorted them to a doorway into the junk room.
General Boltz was there and when Mike walked in, the Air force
General quickly went to him.

Mike smiled, held out his hand and said, “Do we shake
hands, or do you want to go ahead and punch me first.”

Without a smile, Boltz responded, “Don’t give me
ideas, Hurst. I admit it would give me a great deal of pleasure to
knock you on your ass. But, I have direct orders from the President
not to do that; and, as I’ve said before, I obey my orders.”

Mike looked him in the eye and the man didn’t blink.
Mike liked the strength the General projected, although there was
arrogance about him and he hoped that it wouldn’t get in the way of
progress.

Boltz announced, “Each one of you has a brilliant
mind. Everyone look at this stuff and figure out what it does and
how it works. If you can’t, we’re probably fucked.”

Mike and Boltz stood back and let the scientists chat
among themselves. It became apparent that the Nellis team was way
behind the communication curve and that frustrated the upgrades.
Mike’s people began coming at their new phenomenal rate, which left
the Nellis people out of the loop.

Mike gave a warning,
All right people we aren’t
playing nice. I know it’s a pain in the ass, but if we’re going to
have the combined minds of these people working on this, you
absolutely must talk out loud. Don’t shut them out. That’s an
order, damn it.

Suddenly chatter broke out between his people and it
was so fast that it was nearly impossible to be understood.

Again, Mike warned them, “You’ve got to slow down and
allow these people to grasp what you’re saying.”

Finally, a two way conversation began to develop.
What the Nellis people didn’t realize was that Bambi was in the
middle of it all, giving her observations and opinions to Mike’s
people, who painstakingly explained what she had passed on to
them.

General Boltz showed his intelligence, when he said,
“It’s obvious that my people need to be upgraded. I’ll let them
decide who should go first, perhaps just two or three of them. I’m
not going to risk all of them, in the beginning.”

Mike nodded and said, “If the situation was reversed,
I would handle it the same way.”

Boltz gave him a cold look and said, “I don’t need
your approval, Hurst.”

Mike shot right back, “And I wasn’t giving you a
compliment, Boltz. I was merely stating a fact.”

General Boltz smiled for the first time, but remained
silent.

Bambi became excited, as she cried out,
Those
little cones on the table in the corner. Those are Januki shield
cones. If you look at the picture of the scout ship, before it was
taken apart, you can see them all over the thing. They need to be
analyzed for metallurgy and magnetic properties. I doubt if they
have the necessary equipment here to do that. So bring one of them
up to our base in the belt and we can put it in a definer to be
analyzed.

If I’m right, we might be able to duplicate it and
that could be the start of our first real warship.

That would be the true beginning for them. As Max had
pointed out a week earlier, this organization was going to be like
an avalanche. It would start small and grow very rapidly.

The scientists seemed to be happy with their
progress, although it was frustrating for both sides, with regard
to communications. The Nellis people were getting tired of
constantly being reminded how much easier it would be, once they
had been upgraded. The upgrades were just beginning to establish a
working relationship with their Nellis counter parts and Mike felt
that they were going in the right direction. However, he remembered
how irritated he became, as Jo pushed him to get the upgrade.

Out loud he cautioned his scientists, “Ladies and
gentlemen, please stop emphasizing the upgrade process to our
hosts. It’s an obvious and wasteful thing to bring up over and
over. For now, do the best you can and listen to their comments. To
all of you, I wish to point out that you are all very smart people.
My guys are older and more experienced in science. But the Nellis
contingent has a great deal more exposure to these artifacts and
they have ideas that can only add to our knowledge base.”

Through frequent meetings, the atmosphere became
friendlier as an attitude of cooperation and greater patience took
hold for both groups. There was the occasional disagreement and
sometimes it involved harsh arguments. But they were working
together and their progress began to pick speed.

He turned to General Boltz and suggested, “Sir, I
have other areas that need my attention and I’m sure you do too.
Let’s leave the brainiacs to play with their new toys.”

Boltz nodded and agreed, without speaking. Mike felt
the hostility in the man, as they walked out of the Junk room and
traveled back up to the surface. He wondered if they would ever be
able to hold a calm, pleasant conversation. He hoped so, but had
his doubts.

The seals, who had undergone the upgrade procedure,
had already ascended to near Earth orbit. Bambi had seen to the
rapid production of a space worthy orbital training facility, with
food processors, sleeping bunks and not much else. She could
control the gravity on it, but it wasn’t mobile. It was really
nothing more than a huge enclosed auditorium, but it served its
purpose.

To move it, a shuttle had to tow it into place. Once
there, the men began practicing how to maneuver in null gravity, in
preparation for an assault on the transport. More and more people
were being upgraded and it felt as though things were rolling along
nicely.

Bambi commed Mike.
Sir, Jim Atteberry wants to
speak you. He says it’s urgent.

Hi Jim. What’s up?

Mike, we have a few problems developing. First, the
local drug cartel has seen our rapid growth from a distance; and
they’ve noticed how large an effort is going on here. They realize
there’s a lot of money being put in here and they want more than we
agreed to.

Also, the Russians and Chinese have had Nellis under
surveillance for years. There’s no way to hide the new build up
taking place in the basin. They’ve combined efforts to find out
what’s going on there. They have five teams of agents lurking
around there. At the moment, they’re just doing some initial probes
of people who work there. You know the usual stuff, like when a
pretty girl asked a guy what he does for a living. From that info,
they begin to build a picture of activities there and they are damn
good at it.

They’re also working heavily in Washington,
particularly on a few congressmen and senators who have been easily
manipulated in the past. The effort includes large donations to
their political action committees and a promise of enhanced power,
once those politicians find out what’s happening in Nevada. I doubt
the politicians know who’s using them, or have any idea what
they’re getting into. They’re just interested in moving up the food
chain.

Mike was silent, as he took it all in, and then
asked,
Jim, how in the hell are you finding this all out? You
are still down in Mexico, aren’t you?

Yes sir, for now. But, I know how to establish
contacts over the internet, using nefarious means and with Bambi’s
help everything moves at near light speed. Her micro drones are
amazing. They’re so tiny no one notices them and because they
function through the comm system, they’re undetectable.

Mike, the real questions are, should we do anything
about these people and if so, what?

Mike confessed,
I never thought our secret would
be jeopardized so quickly. I would like to slow it down, but I
doubt we can prevent it from leaking out eventually.

By the way, is there any evidence that they’re on to
our Mexican operation and how is it going?

You need to ask Wayne about the industrial progress.
As for being discovered, I haven’t seen a hint of anything that
would indicate we have been discovered here. So far, we’re clean,
other than the local crime lords, although there is a definite
possibility that they could accidentally put a spotlight on us,
down here.

Bambi, bring Cdr, Vollmar in on this discussion.

A few seconds later,
Vollmar here, sir.

Frank, we have a problem in Mexico. I know you
aren’t aware of what we’re doing down there, but Bambi and an
upgraded friend of ours will fill you in. I want you to handle it.
You have my authority to use the Old Guard to remedy the situation.
I suspect it will be good practice for you and the men. It involves
troublesome cartel people and you might have to resort to lethal
means to get our message across.

Yes sir. I’m sure we can handle whatever it is.

Mike liked the quiet confident way of the man. There
was no bravado, like some of the younger, less experienced seals
they had recruited. Frank Vollmar was a real pro, when it came to
special ops, and he had operated at the height of the cold war. He
understood the importance of remaining undiscovered, yet completing
the mission.

He asked Atteberry,
Jim, are you all right with
the use of force, if necessary.

Of course, sir. As a matter of fact, if the gang
doesn’t come around to our way of thinking, and I believe they will
not, it will be necessary to use extreme measures to make our
point.

The man had avoided using any reference to taking
lives, but his use of the term ‘Extreme Measures’ had been
delivered with the same calm tone he always used. Mike had seen men
like that on the battlefield. To be honest about it, he admitted
that he, too, became cold and calm, in the heat of battle. Jim
Atteberry was cut from the same cloth, except he hadn’t been in the
same type of conflicts, which Mike had seen. But Mike didn’t doubt
that the man would be a cold hearted killer, if the situation
required it.

Mike was looking forward to hearing Vollmar’s plan,
before he put it into effect.

The next few days brought excitement and frustration.
The scientists were making some headway, but a real break through
was nowhere in sight and they badly needed one.

Todd Pierpoint and his wife had just completed the
upgrade procedure. It had been especially rough on her, because she
was so nervous. Bambi had to sedate her a few times, and that
slowed down the process, dragging out her aguish. But, she made it
through and Bambi assured her that she was disease free.

Todd commed him.
Mike, I want to thank you for
what you’ve done for my wife and me. It was every bit as bad as you
promised and every bit as rewarding also. I now see how important
it is to be upgraded. The speed of communications and the
availability of the massive amount of info in Bambi’s brain is mind
boggling.

You’re welcome, Todd. I’m especially happy for your
wife. Honestly, it’s difficult for me sometimes, because I can’t
help but think of my late wife and how she could have been saved,
if we had a med unit available, back then.

Mike didn’t want to dwell on the subject; so he
changed to something else of great importance.

There’s something you need to know about Chinese and
Russian activity around Nellis and in DC. Bambi, tell him
everything we know about the spies and answer any questions he
has.

Todd, I’m asking that you not do anything about
them, without cluing me in. It’s just a request, not a demand.

After a short pause, Todd replied,
All right. But
you must realize that it’s the President’s call, not mine. If he
tells me to do something and not tell you, then that’s just how
it’s going to be.

I understand. I agree; it’s the President’s
call.

On a private comm, he told Bambi,
Watch him like a
hawk. Check every communication he has and let me know if they’re
going to take any form of direct action against the Chinese, or the
Russians.

On it.

Additional seal team members and a few of Boltz’s
physicists had entered the upgrade process and completed the worst
of it. It was as difficult as they had been promised. But to most
people’s amazement, both groups dove into the learning program and
began to gasp the particulars of the Mental Control Panel.

After closely watching a few of his people undergo
the process and watching how quickly they progressed, General Boltz
told Mike, “I’ve received the Presidents permission to be upgraded.
I want my wife to have it too. I’m told it just wouldn’t be fair to
her, if she wasn’t with me on this.”

“General, I think that’s a wise decision. I can
attest to the fact of a closer bond being reached, when you can
comm each other and share mental experiences. It’s impossible to
explain to someone, who can’t comprehend it. There’s an enhanced
trust and understanding, once you open your thoughts and desires to
a loved one. And don’t worry, you won’t be opening your mind to
anyone that you don’t wish in there.”

Boltz, in his own a typical way, looked crossly at
Mike and sarcastically told him, “You are a beacon of comfort,
Mike.”

Bambi had kept him aware of the progress out in the
asteroid belt, but he didn’t really focus on it too much, because,
at the moment, getting the people at Nellis to buy into the urgency
of the situation was more important. Now that the President seemed
to be developing a greater trust in Mike, things were moving along
nicely, or so he thought.