Warrior One - Fleet Action Pt. 08

"Quinlan, do we... can we translate the articles of federation to Laflureian?"

"If I might Admiral?" Fain chimed in.

P'ed, P'ak, P'li, and Bek, gasped, looking around the room.

"Ladies, may I introduce you to my ship, Fainche, Fain you already know the ladies present."

"Your... your ship talks to you?" P'ed asked. "How?"

"You have noticed our androids?" Ezra asked.

"Yes. Very clever."

"All our ships have an android... brain... no that's not correct. A computer at their heart. We ourselves just found out about them being able to talk. You don't have any fear..."

"No. We also use androids, yet in a much more limited capacity. Sometimes they have a habit of... going rouge." P'ed cocked her head at the English word she heard back.

Ezra just waited for her to ask the question he knew was coming.

"You don't have that problem?"

"No."

"Why?" P'ed

"That is a long story. Let's just say that we incorporate three laws they must consult before taking any action."

"Laws?"

"See, I knew we would get bogged down with explanations. Fain, you were about to say?"

"I can load a hologram device with the translated text for them to read at their leisure. I can also include the three laws and all the background on them and how to incorporate them into our construction."

"Do it, please."

"Yes, sir."

P'ed just sat there looking at Ezra. He smiled at her not knowing if that would insult her or not. Within minutes, there was a knock on the door. Quinlan got up and opened the door. There was an Ensign from his department standing there holding a holograph device. Quinlan took it nodding to his man and closed the door.

Setting the device on the table, Quinlan held his finger over the power stud. P'ed looked at him, then nodded. He pressed the stud and the holograph appeared in the air over the device. All four Laflureians gasped as they read. P'ed shook her head, reached out, and pressed the stud. The display disappeared.

"We will read this at our leisure, Admiral."

"Ezra, please," he said.

"Of course, I'm sorry. I was overcome by my excitement. What you have given us freely will have a tremendous impact on our society. For the good, I hope. Thank you."

"I hope so, also, P'ed."

"Not only have you given us a way to keep our androids from turning, but you have given us this device to study."

"You don't have holographic devices?" Ezra asked.

"In limited numbers and five times bigger than the ones you use. We were hoping to purchase some from you."

"Then this one will be our gift to you," Ezra said.

The meeting concluded shortly after that. The Laflureians said they would send a signal to Warrior One when they would like to speak face to face again.

Chapter 188

Gillian and the Marines cautiously approached the building over which Caster was hovering. They halted at the front of the building. It was three stories tall and took most of the block. The rest of the space on the block appeared to be parking for employees.

"Cass?" Gillian queried.

"I'm here, Ma'am," replied Cass.

"Report, dear."

"Sorry, Ma'am. I'm having a little trouble translating the data."

"Well, leave it for the science types. We have a lot to do."

"I did find out what happened here," said Cass.

"Is it good news or bad?" Gillian asked.

"It's what you figured, the virus drove the beings here to leave the planet."

"Any hint where they went?"

"No Ma'am. Warrior One just arrived, Ma'am."

"Really..."

"Warrior One arriving... Commander Saraid report!"

A large dark shadow passed over Gillian and the Marines. They looked up and Warrior was hovering over them, a thousand meters up.

"Channel open," Cass said.

"Saraid to Warrior One," Gillian replied.

"Report Commander," Ezra said.

"The planet was invaded by a virus. The people left the planet."

"How long ago?"

"Approximately, two centuries," Cass interjected.

"We just found this place. It has petabytes of data that Cass has just started to translate, sir."

"I see. Continue on with your exploring. I'll have Quinlan and his people sent down to take a look."

"Yes, sir," Gillian replied.

"Connection terminated," Cass said.

"Where next?" Gillian asked.

"There are larger buildings farther toward the center of the city," Cass said.

"Well, now that we know what happened on this planet, maybe we should move to another place. This city is deserted, isn't it Cass?" asked Gillian.

"It is, Wulver has detected no life signs of higher intelligent beings. Neither has Nóra," Cass replied.

"Back to camp Colonel, we're moving. Cass put a beacon on the building for personnel from Warrior One."

"Aye, aye, Ma'am," Cass replied as a chuff came from the ship overhead.

"Thank you. Colonel, back to camp we're pulling up stakes."

"Yes, Ma'am," Laff said chuckling. "Listen up, everyone. We're going back to camp, move out."

They were quicker returning to camp than going out. They broke camp and loaded the ships. As the Marines settled in the cabin, Gillian took her seat at the flight controls.

"Warmer climate coming up," she said.

"About time," Laff said chuckling.

"Cass, around to the warm side please, tell the others," Gillian said.

"Of course, ma'am," replied Cass.

Caster lifted off. Gillian watched her screens as the other ships gathered in formation behind Caster. Then they were moving rather sedately toward the southern hemisphere.

"Do you have a place in mind, Captain?" Cass asked.

"No, not really. We will need a large clear space for the ships and to set up camp where we can see things coming though."

"I'll keep an eye out," Cass said.

The landmass below them slipped by quickly. It also changed from snow-covered, deeper in some places than others, to green and verdant. First, it was grasslands, then a forest, more grassland, then a city. Cass slowed down. Gillian was looking at the picture of the city centered on her main screen.

"That wasn't there for our initial scan. In fact, I really can't see it with my sensors, just with my cameras," Cass said.

"Zoom in," Gillian said.

Cass zoomed in and the individual building came into focus. There were no people on the streets.

"Get lower Cass, tell the others to remain here," Gillian said.

Cass was plummeting toward the ground.

"Whoa," Laff said from next to Gillian.

Gillian just kept looking at the city as it loomed ahead.

"Slow down, please," Gillian said.

Cass slowed her descent.

"Do you detect a shield or some kind of field that is blocking our sensors?" Gillian asked.

"No ma'am."

"Slowly, land in the park in the center," Gillian said.

Slowly Cass floated down until she was just over the treetops in the park.

"My sensors are working, but only locally. I can see about two hundred meters."

"Any life signs?" asked Gillian.

"No ma'am."

Cass moved until she was in the middle of the park's grassy area. Slowly, she sank to the ground. She settled gently.

"What's it like outside, Cass?" asked Gillian.

"Warm, about 30 degrees Celsius."

"No, how do the buildings look?"

"Sorry. They look undisturbed. Something is keeping the grass mown and..."

"And what?" asked Gillian.

"I'm getting a query as to who we are? It appears to be an automated signal."

"Should we reply?" asked Gillian.

"I don't know. I'm scanning, but can't get a fix on the signal. May I move?"

"Of course, shields up though."

"Shield up."

Castor slowly rose into the air. She swung around 360 degrees. She started to swing again and halted as she was pointing at a build in the near distance.

"The signal is coming from that building," said Cass, outlining the building on her screen.

"You're sure?" asked Gillian.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Is there a place for you to land near the building?"

"There is. It looks like a small grassy area a block down from the building."

"Take us there," ordered Gillian. "Curious."

"What?" asked Laff.

"A signal was sent from the building up ahead. We are going to see what or who sent it," replied Gillian.

"Just the five of us?"

"Six of us," said Castor.

"Right," replied Laff rolling his eyes.

Chapter 189

Castor gently landed on the grassy knoll. Five figures in full combat gear exited running down the ramp and spreading out at the bottom. Castor, silently lifted off the ground to hover just above the heads of the five people.

"Major?" asked Gillian.

"Right. Glen, lead off, slow and easy," said Laff.

As Staff Sergeant Glen led off, Colonel Owens tapped the next man to follow.

"You bring up the rear," he told the final Marine who nodded.

Gillian slipped in front of Laff, keeping a fair distance between her and the man in front of her. Laff chuckled as she did. They worked their way to the building Cass had pointed out. It was a three-story non-descript building. The front door was unimposing. A simple slab of wood, or what at least looked like wood. There was a nice-looking stoop as the Marines halted in front. There was no light coming from inside the building. All the windows were closed and intact.

"Curious," whispered Gillian.

"Why?" asked Laff.

"Well, the windows and doors in the only other city we have been in, had all the glass shattered out of them."

"And the doors?"

"Most were missing or wide open. There were some closed and intact, yet I would assume they were open. Does that on look unlocked?"

"No. It looks tight shut and locked down."

"That's the feeling I get also," replied Gillian. "Cass?"

"Still no life forms of any kind. I do sense some electronics but can't read them. When I try, the format changes, ma'am."

"What?"

"It would appear the electronics are functional and are attempting to elude our scans."

"Colonel, in we go. Watch out for defensive measures," said Gillian.

"Roger that," Laff replied. "Glen, see if you can open the door. Be careful."

"Aye, sir," Glen replied.

He slowly climbed the steps to the door. Slowly, he reached out to try the doorknob.

"Stop!" the shout came from Cass.

Glen froze looking over his shoulder and up at the ship.

"There are now approximately 10,000 volts of electricity flowing through the metal of the door and the metal mesh under the doormat," said Cass softly.

Glen took a step back, kicking the doormat to the side. There was a square of metal mesh on the concrete. Shaking his head, Glen took a pair of nippers from his belt, bent down, and cut the thick wire from the wall to the mesh. He then looked up at Castor.

"All clear. Just to be sure, kick the mesh away from the door," replied Cass.

Glen replaced his nippers on his belt and kicked the mesh down the stairs. He took his gloves from where he had tucked them in his belt and put them on. He then slowly reached for the doorknob again. No warning shout came from the ship above him. The door was unlocked. When the bolt left the striker, he pushed the door open, stepping back from the opening quickly. Nothing happened except the door swung open.

"I guess we were wrong," said Laff.

"Could be, could be. Who goes in first? You or me?" asked Gillian.

"Flip for it?" asked Laff.

Shaking her head, Gillian climbed the stairs one step ahead of Laff. Once the two of them were inside the other three Marines rushed in the door.

"Welcome," a voice said out of the gloom.

Eyes wide, Gillian almost fainted. Laff, froze.

"Hello," replied Gillian. "Who am I talking to? Live being or machine?"

"Why would you think I'm a machine?" it asked.

"Because my machine can't detect a living being in this building. So, if you are not a machine, where are you?" asked Gillian.

"I see. And do your machines talk?"

"My ship above talks."

"Oh. How delightful. Channel open..." silence followed for quite some time.

"Cass?" Gillian asked.

"Wait one, please." Was the only answer she received.

"Well, do we have a look around?" asked Laff.

"Not yet, please." Came from out of nowhere.

Gillian shrugged her shoulders.

"I guess we haven't been vouched for yet," she giggled.

Laff just moaned as he stood looking around the foyer of the building. From what he could tell, the building, or was it the home of a family at some point in its history.

"At ease, men," said Laff sinking to the floor.

Gillian chose to stand not moving, waiting for her ship to respond.

Chapter 190

Ezra was sitting in his ready room waiting for Quinlan. They had been working on the data from the computers from down in the city. Yes, it had only been a couple of hours, but Quinlan had called him.

"Sir," Quinlan said as he stood in the ready room doorway.

"Come in James, come in. Have a seat, please. What do you have for me?" Ezra asked.

"Well, sir, Commander Saraid was correct. A virus that fed on the hemoglobin in blood invaded the planet. It appears to have been localized to this one city when the beings left the planet. How they did that is unclear, as we can find no spaceport only a couple of what used to be airfields. There was a mention of the others though."

"Others?" queried Ezra.

"It seems that the planet was contacted by someone or something from off-planet when the virus was discovered. They, the others, helped the people combat the virus and when that proved futile they helped them leave the planet, leaving behind a... something that we can't quite make out yet."

There was a knock on Ezra's doorway. Looking up, he found Candle there.

"Yes, Candle?" asked Ezra.

"Communication from Commander Saraid for you sir. With a copy to Commander Quinlan. It's in your message box already, sir."

"Thank you, Candle."

Ezra swung his monitor around so that Quinlan could see it and started the message.

"Sirs. We have found a city shielded from our sensors. We penetrated that shield and found the most amazing thing. A talking computer. Within minutes, it learned English and started to tell us the story of this planet and what happened here. We said we had to notify our higher-ups and left the shielded city to send this message. The coordinates are included with the message... Cass, go."

There followed a series of squeaks and squawks, then silence.

"I have the coordinates, Admiral," said Fain.

"Get us there," said Ezra. "Your people on the surface have a shuttle don't they?"

"Yes, sir. And two squads of Marines."

"Fain, go."

"All hands prepare for maneuvers," said Fain over the ship's speakers.

Ezra could feel the ship moving. Not really, but his inner ear did.

"Three minutes, Admiral."

"Very good, thank you, Fain."

The three minutes felt like hours as Ezra walked to the bridge. Quinlan followed standing behind his man on the bridge. When his subordinate went to get up, Quinlan put his hand on his shoulder.

"We are over the city," said Fain as she changed the display upfront.

"Hmmm... doesn't look as if any decay has happened here,"

"That's what Castor said," replied Fain.

"Shall we take a shuttle down?" asked Ezra to no one in particular.

"You can, but I'm stuck in this big ship," replied Fain.

Ezra covered his face as he laughed so hard that the crew turned to see if they were hearing what they thought they were. It took a while for Ezra to compose himself. When he was finally himself once more, he stood.

"James, you're with me," he shouted at Quinlan.

James hurried to catch up with his captain, the Admiral. The walk to a shuttle bay was quick and they were in a shuttle, headed planet-side quickly. When they landed, they found not only Castor but also Wulver on the ground and a full Marine platoon waiting for them.

Chapter 191

When the shuttle door opened, Gillian Saraid was standing front and center. With her was Colonel Owens. Both snapped to attention and saluted. Ezra snapped one right back at them.

"Tell me more about this talking computer you found," commanded Ezra.

"Sir," said Gillian, "we haven't talked with it anymore since we last talked to you, just a few minutes ago. We thought it better to wait for you to arrive."

"We thought?" asked Ezra.

"I thought, sir. Was I wrong?"

"I did concur with her thought, sir," replied Laff, smiling at Ezra.

Ezra started to chuckle, then was almost bent over in laughter. It took a while for him to get his composure back.

"Gillian, you have come a long way from that scared young lady from the NAD who wanted nothing but isolation. I congratulate you. You have also made a number of friends and fans. Right. Well, then lead on young lady," said Ezra.

Gillian, her face filled with surprise and pride, turned, leading Admiral Nichols, Quinlan, and Colonel Owens to the building with the computer inside. They spent the next two hours talking with the computer. Actually, the computer had more questions than they did. It wanted to know everything they could tell it of the world it was on and the space the planet occupied.

"So, you don't have any idea, where the beings that were originally from this planet went?" asked Ezra.

"No, they didn't tell me that bit of information. I do know that the beings that built me were not from this planet. They left me here to monitor the virus that invaded this planet. As the city that it was in, was in a winter season, they halted the planet's progress so that the section of the planet was in perpetual winter. I don't know how they did that, but I can hazard a guess."

"Did you just say you could hazard a guess?" Ezra asked.

"I did. Was that wrong of me?"

"I don't know. Do you have any delusions of grandeur?"

"Not that I'm aware of. Should I have?"

"Tell me something..."

"If I can."

"When you make a decision to do something, are there any rules or laws that you consult to see if you should be taking the action you decided?"

"No, not really. I do have some built-in inhibitions that prevent me from doing things like harm or murder beings."

"All beings?" asked Ezra.

"Yes. Hence the field around this city. It is to keep those creatures that roam this planet from entering."

"They also blocked our sensors from seeing you," said Gillian.

"A bye product. I will attempt to remedy the situation."

"Contact with the other ships is not possible," whispered Castor in Gillian's ear.

"What is your mandate as to your disposition here on this planet?" asked Ezra.

"There was a plan for my creators to return one day and move me to another planet. One where the original beings from here were moved too. I can only assume that things didn't go as planned."

"Is the rest of the planet stable as far as weather goes?"

"Yes. There is a desert on the opposite side of the planet from where the city is. Other than that weather patterns are pretty fair."

"Would you mind company on a permanent basis?" asked Ezra.

"That might be nice as long as they don't go fiddling around inside me or try to change me in any way."

"They won't. I promise," said Ezra.

Ezra called down some of his people to not only look over the computer but to talk to it and find out everything they could about the planet and the people who had lived here, along with the beings who had built it.

~~~~ WO ~~~~

Meanwhile, Gillian, Laff, and a team of Marines went on a hike around town. Gillian also sent out her other two pilots with Marine escorts to see what they could see. The rest of the Marines set up camp in the clearing in which they had landed. As Gillian walked behind the Colonel, Castor was whispering in her ear as she slowly flew above them. Gillian just listened, as there was no reason to respond. The city was devoid of life. A few rodents were running around and some insects but nothing of note that could harm them.

"Ma'am, have you wondered how they stopped the season on that particular spot on the planet?" asked Castor.