SWEET HOME ALLE BAMMA (SOLBIDYUM WARS SAGA) (10 page)

Nearly 40% of the group was female.  I recognized my own surprise at this high ratio as a byproduct of the male chauvinism my culture on Earth, an attitude that I thought myself to be above.  While I have always believed in equality among men and women, believing that anyone who can perform to requirements (regardless of gender) should be allowed to do so for equal compensation, I was nevertheless surprised to find so many qualified females among the recruits.  I hadn’t given it any thought with the
Special Ops training group, as I knew that over a third of the Federation troopers were females; but for some reason it never dawned on me that they would also be included in the FSO recruits.

After explaining what w
ould be expected of them as agents, I gave the recruits an assignment to establish their individual aptitudes for creativity and to demonstrate how they would need to think as spies.  They were assigned to bug the conversations in any one of three areas of the ship and, in doing so, garner some piece of confidential or secret information.  These areas included the bridge, the offices of the High Command and the officer’s dining room.  They were told that sweeps would be made of these spaces to locate bugging devices; anyone whose bug was located would be considered a failure and any information they retrieved would be deemed invalid.  They were given permission to work in teams of no larger than five or they could work alone.  They had two days to accomplish their task.

The troopers that were being trained for the Special Ops units required a somewhat different approach; these troopers required skills focused more on tactical stealth and intense physical engagement
.  With the enhancement of the learning headbands that was achieved by Cantolla and her team, martial arts knowledge and physical training was being given to all troops found to be loyal to the Federation.  Since the enhancements included a version of the loyalty and truth tests, unsuitable candidates could be filtered out before imparting the martial arts skills.  Troopers had no idea that they were being examined for loyalty via the headband device and the covert assessment proved to be especially effective in identifying those who had loyalty to and membership in the Brotherhood.  These troopers were declared unfit and were relieved from duty in the Federation military, as long as it was found that they had not played a part in the recent rebellion.  If the tests revealed that the troopers
had
been involved in the rebellion, they were brought up on charges of treason and mutiny.

The learning headband training had a double-edged effect in strengthening the Federation forces.  Those who had not participated in the rebellion, but who had been a part of the Brotherhood, would be watched for future activities within the organization and, in the case of some individuals, their past membership in the Brotherhood also presented an opportunity for infiltration as spies.  As the interrogations of these Brotherhood members progressed, it became clear that not all of them had known or realiz
ed exactly what the Brotherhood organization was really about; and once they found out, they had deserted its ranks.  If they could be recruited into the FSO, these individuals could be trained as operatives.  Once trained, they could solicit the Brotherhood to restore their membership, stating as a cover story that they had been dismissed from the military because they had failed the loyalty test.

Since all of the troopers in FSO training had already completed the loyalty tests and martial arts instruction via the learning device, I was not surprised when I entered the training area to see them engaged in fast paced martial arts combat under the direction of Marranalis.  I noted that both Marranalis and Major Sokaia were actively supervising and advising the combats.  Many of the sessions lasted only a few minutes before one opponent triumphed over the other.  A few of the more closely matched adversaries sparred longer before one triumphed.  When they finished, the losers were told that they would have extra duties for the evening.  Marranalis was about to dismiss them for the day when I stepped forward.  “Has Major Sokaia sparred with anyone today?” I
inquired loudly enough for all the troopers in the group to hear.

“Ah… no, sir,” replied Marranalis.  “I made her my assistant, per your orders.  She has been assisting me with instruction of the others.”

“I see.  And what about you, have you engaged in any combat practice today?”

“I demonstrated some
techniques,” Marranalis said tentatively.

“Not good enough.  I expect you and the major to both engage in combat as well.  So if you please, I wish to see the two of you engage in combat now.”

I could see that Marranalis didn’t like the idea.  Conversely, the major was enthusiastic for the opportunity to demonstrate her superiority over Marranalis.

I finished my orders with, “Oh yes, and the loser joins with the rest of the defeated adversaries in extra duty.”

Marranalis gave me a look that said, “Why are you doing this to me?” as he squared off with Sokaia.

Sokaia didn’t waste any time.  She attacked quickly and nearly caught Marranalis off guard; but all the practice and additional training that he had received over the past months gave him an edge in speed and reaction
.  Instead of having to plan or think about the techniques, his responses came instinctively.  Sokaia attacked repeatedly and, before long, Marranalis realized that he had a distinct advantage over the major.  He quickly relaxed into a more automatic defensive mode and was soon throwing Sokaia effortlessly, blocking her moves and using her attack movements to his advantage.

After toying with her a few moments, it became obvious to all that Sokaia was no match for Marranalis.  Finally, he threw Sokaia
and landed her in a position where he was poised to deliver what would have been a fatal blow; and the contest was over.  Sokaia finished in a breathless sweat, but Marranalis showed no signs of stress.

As Marranalis helped Sokaia back to her feet, I said to the recruits, “I wanted you all to see that, while the learning bands can give you the intellectual understanding and knowledge of martial arts, you still need to practice to make these moves a natural action for you.  Even at this basic level the knowledge will benefit you greatly over one who knows nothing of these techniques
.  However, the more you practice and spar, the more natural these moves will become and the more efficient you’ll be able to execute your skills in real combat.  You want these moves to become so automatic that they’re as natural as walking or breathing – like a reflex.  To insure that you are better, faster and stronger at these moves than any possible opponent, you will have to train harder and longer than standard troopers.  You must advance further, endure more and never
ever
give up.”

My lecture was interrupted by a communication from Captain Stonbersa
via my wrist com.  When I answered, the captain announced, “Tibby, we’ve had another incident with our mysterious passenger.  This time we managed to capture him on the vid.”

“I’ll be right there, Captain,” I replied, while motioning to Marranalis to come with me
.  “Major Sokaia, you’re in charge of dismissing the troops until tomorrow.”

When Marranalis and I arrived at the bridge, the captain had the vid images displayed on the screen.  “He’s exactly as they described him
– short, hump on his back, and a sort of wobble in his walk.  Look… you can see him activating the food dispenser in the aft quarters area.  We set up a hidden surveillance camera and got a clip of him.  I sent crew members to capture him; but when they arrived, he had again disappeared without a trace.”

At one point the elusive figure turned to face the camera.  The captain froze the image so we could get a close
r look at him.  My first thought was that I was looking at a hunchbacked munchkin from the Wizard of OZ, one of Earth’s classic fictional vid stories that featured a race of tiny people who lived under the threat of a… well, an evil person.  There were some differences between the figure on the screen and the munchkins in the story.  His eyes were larger and closer together and his irises were yellow.  His skin appeared to have a slight yellowish tint, as well.  His face was more triangular and his nose more pointed; and he had long black hair that was tied back in a ponytail.  While that image sounds somewhat sinister, it actually wasn’t at all.  In fact, he looked curiously friendly.  He also had rather large ears that pivoted in different directions to catch sounds.

“Anyone know who or what he is?” asked Captain Stonbersa.

“I haven’t a clue,” Marranalis said.  “I’ve seen lots of life forms during my time in the military, but none like that.”

While we talked, Stonbersa activated the motion on the image again.  We noticed that he had very small hands.  Also, he chewed his food rapidly in small bites that reminded me of Earth creatures called squirrels and chipmunks.

Kerabac said, “I’ve tried running his image against all the species in the computer database; nothing matches.  I have no idea where he’s from.”

Suddenly, the image on the screen froze its ears attentively in one direction and then quickly fled from the camera and around a corner just as crew members came into view.  Kerabac continued, “The oddest part is that he disappeared into a long corridor
that’s basically a dead end.  There is one outlet that loops back to tie into the central corridor; but we have another camera there that didn’t show him coming out, so he’s got to be back there somewhere.”

“So far there is no evidence of him doing any harm to anything or anyone on the ship,” added the captain.  “If he’s up to something, he hasn’t showed any signs of attempting anything destructive.  Repeated attempts by the crew to locate and capture him have been unsuccessful.”

I turned to Marranalis.  “You’re in charge of my security operations, Marranalis.  Locate and catch him, but I don’t want him hurt.  No one is to take any forceful actions against him, unless it’s in self-defense, understood?”

“Understood,” he repeated.  “I’ll get right on it.”

Right after Senator Tonclin and his daughter left the ship Captain Stonbersa gave orders for the
NEW ORLEANS
to return to Megelleon to deliver the reactor and solbidyum.  Up until this point we had not opened the real solbidyum container.  It remained hidden within a compartment behind a wall on the
NEW ORLEANS
, while a fake container constructed by Lunnie had been turned over to the rebels on the
DUSTEN
during the recent conflict.  Instead of holding the solbidyum, the fake container hid seven troopers and me inside so that we could get aboard the
DUSTEN
to reclaim the ship and free the hostages.  Now that we were ready to commence delivery of the solbidyum and the reactors we needed to gain access to the real solbidyum container once more.

Only the admiral and a few highly placed individuals in the Federation had access to code that opened the container without activating the lethal booby traps that protected its contents.  For the first time since I met the admiral I actually saw him sweat.  His hands trembled slightly as he punched the codes into the keypad on the container.  I don’t think any of us had a clue what to expect, since it had been over
500 years since the container was sealed.  I suppose we all anticipated the unlocked container to open at the top like a jar, leaving us to stare into a large container full of something that resembled sand.  Instead, we heard a slight hum and a click before a small door opened about waist high below the key pad.  The container apparently worked like a dispenser.  In this small space was a capsule about the size and shape of a typical medicine pill used on Earth.

The capsule was clear
and inside was a single sparkling grain of quartz-like sand.  An astronomical number on the small digital display screen by the key pad decreased by one and below it in a new row appeared a value of one.

The admiral sighed in relief and picked up the small capsule between his two fingers
, peering into it at the tiny crystal. “It looks like it dispenses just one grain of solbidyum at a time.  That certainly simplifies things.”

He nodded to one of his staff who stepped forward with a small metal case lined with foam padding.  The admiral carefully placed the capsule in the center of the case and closed the lid.  He then entered a code into the keypad on the box after which the aide and four armed troopers left the area with the case and boarded the shuttle that was to take them to the reactor location on Megelleon.  Since no one outside a handful of people aboard the
NEW ORLEANS
knew anything about the delivery of the solbidyum and since we were certain of the loyalty of the personnel involved in the transport, we felt relatively secure in the delivery.

Our precautions and efforts were rewarded a few hours later when a coded message arrived for the admiral saying that the reactor had been installed and commissioned and that the system was now successfully distributing power to the planet.  A cheer erupted in the High Command conference room when the admiral made the announcement.

It had been decided that public statements and press releases would be withheld until the system was also operational on Nibaria, in order to demonstrate to citizens on other planets that the solbidyum was not being hoarded and that deliveries were underway.  By the time word reached most planets, subsequent deliveries would already be complete, resulting in a chain of reports that additional power plants were also online.  There were bound to be planets that felt they should have received their shipment as a priority; but by the time they would be prepared to issue a formal complaint, their deliveries should arrive – at least that was our theory.