The Aeolian Master: Book Four - Invasion of Zire III

By John Northern

The writings of John Northern bring to life the citizens of a planet in peril. Once again he depicts the evil androids as they begin their invasion with the intent of killing off the human race. As Ben starts out to stop the androids he is confronted with the belief that he cannot succeed. The odds are too great against him. Millions or maybe even billions of humans will succumb to the ghastly acts of the androids.

• Language: English
• Publisher: John Northern
• Release date: Jul 31, 2016
• ISBN: 9781370360840

John Northern

Doctor of Chiropractic

Book preview

Aeolian Master Book Four

Invasion of Zire III

Published by John Northern at Smashwords

Copyright 2016 by John Northern

All Rights Reserved

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

Chapter 40

Chapter 41

Chapter 42

Chapter 43

Chapter 44

Chapter 45

Chapter 46

Chapter 47

Chapter 48

Chapter 49

Chapter 50

Chapter 51

Chapter 52

Chapter 53

Chapter 54

Chapter 55

Chapter 56

Chapter 57

Chapter 58

Chapter 59

Chapter 60

Chapter 61

Chapter 62

Chapter 63

Chapter 64

Chapter 65

Chapter 66

Chapter 67

Chapter 68

Chapter 69

Chapter 70

Chapter 71

Chapter 72

Chapter 73

Chapter 74

Chapter 1

New blue eyes, like the eyes of a new born baby, peered up in wonder. Movement from below occurred. The eyes looked down and watched in curiosity as an android in a white lab coat shut the small, metallic door. The skin, in front of the new android's brain and power plant, was flesh colored. The creases in the skin smoothed out until the stomach looked as normal as a human's. The android in the lab coat said, with of voice of indifference, You can get up now.

The new android watched the lab tech step back. The new android was in the supine position with his head tilted forward a bit. When he raised it further, the first thing he noticed was his chubby little hands and his protruding stomach. It appeared, thankfully, he wasn't obese—just a little overweight. He wondered if he could go on a diet, maybe start working out, and get thin. He didn’t know if androids could do that. Suddenly he knew his name. It was Bebee Longfellow. He started to stand up, but he miscalculated the edge of the sterile, metallic table and fell to the floor on his fat butt. The cushioning of his fat rendered the fall painless. Then he realized androids don’t feel pain. His clumsiness brought on embarrassment. He turned his head up and peered into the eyes of a beautiful femDroid who was bending over him. He noticed she wasn’t wearing a lab jacket, and because of that he thought she was probably a new droid like himself. She must have just gotten off one of the other tables.

She reached her hand down and helped him to his feet.

Thank you, he said.

She smiled sweetly.

Bebee turned his attention to the sterile, white lab. The wall with the counter loomed as a threat. Why? Because of the numerous surgical instruments lying on a white cloth. Yuk, he thought. He could picture those instruments doing horrible things to an androids body and brain. The computer screens were positioned above the counter. Empty jacks used for connecting cables to electronic equipment were situated in the screens—but Bebee would know nothing about it since he wasn’t programmed to be an electronics or computer tech. Four tables—one of which he had just fallen off, were neatly positioned near the four corners. Three were now empty with one still occupied. A different lab tech was bent over examining the brain of a new android. At that moment Bebee was wondering where he was, and that's when all the hidden knowledge came flooding into his mind. Bebee Longfellow was born with the rank of second lieutenant. He was also born with the knowledge of the ever-infinite Universe, which included the expansive galaxies, the solar systems, the stars, and all other heavenly bodies. He was born with the awareness of life, which included the nasty human beings. It included other life forms as well—animals, insects, and plants, and of course the androids—the most intelligent and physically adept of all the life forms in existence anywhere. A strong urge overcame him and before he knew it he was thinking about the vile humans again. A realization told him he hated humans. But it didn’t make sense—he loved all life forms, so why would he hate humans. He decided to ignore the hate. He knew, of course hate was a ridiculous emotion, especially for an android. He was wondering if other androids felt hate for the humans.

The beautiful femDroid let go of his hand. He wondered why she had held it so long. My name is Decimere Longsummer. What is your name? she asked.

He felt an immediate bond with her. He studied her countenance. She was five foot eight—two inches taller than him. She had lime-green hair and a slight purple tinge to her skin. Her face was beautiful in shape and was accented with her coal, black eyes. Her figure was exquisite. Yaba, yaba, yaba, he said.

The lab tech laughed, and Decimere gave Bebee an inquisitive look.

My name is Bebee Longfellow. And by looking at the stripes on your sleeve, I can see you are a Captain.

Yes, I have been programmed to be a General's assistant.

Without warning a ghostly, black shadow seemingly came out of nowhere. It formed a face with an evil smile. It glared at Bebee for a moment, then it crossed the floor of the lab and disappeared into the wall. A moment later a long trail of little black bugs followed the shadow and also disappeared into the wall. Bebee was stunned to silence. He may have been only a few minutes old, but he knew what he just saw was not normal. The thought of what just happened was horrifying. Would they think he was crazy if he said anything about it? Would they believe his brain was malfunctioning? Would they lay him down and use those instruments on him? He didn’t know, and he didn’t want to find out. He said nothing. He hoped that would be the last time he would see the shadow.

Just then the other new android slung his legs around and stood up from the table. He joined with Bebee and Decimere. With no hesitation he said, My name is Major Aadonn Longwood. I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation. With gleaming, white teeth, he smiled at Decimere. I have been programmed to be second in command beneath the rank of a General or a Colonel, or whoever is the commander of a base. It will be my duty to take over the command if anything happens to my commanding officer.

Aadonn was a tall, good-looking mDroid. He was six foot two and three quarters. He had dark brown hair, blue eyes, and a handsome face. He had a manly build and a flat stomach. It seemed he was a dreamboat for femDroids. It occurred to Bebee the Major was boasting a bit to impress Decimere. But with his looks, why would he need to?

Decimere appeared to be indifferent to him, and instead turned her attention back to Bebee. What is your job description? she asked with a seemingly honest interest.

I'm a pilot for cargo and personnel space-bound transports.

A pilot. How exciting.

Maybe, but I'm not a fighter pilot—and I'm glad. I don’t like the idea of killing other living beings.

Decimere seemed surprised. Don’t you hate humans?

Yes, but I hate the idea of killing any living being even more.

That's strange, commented Aadonn.

Just then two ominous shadows appeared. They lurked for a moment, and then they ran across the room, and disappeared into the wall

Cisss, replied Bebee. He was beginning to think that indeed something was wrong with his brain. He would pretend it didn't happen. He signaled to one of the lab techs. What do we do now? He didn’t know where he was going, but he took a step in the direction of the door. He wanted to get away from the shadows. He lifted his right foot and propelled it forward. Surprisingly, it hit the ankle of his left leg. He stumbled and waved his arms in the air to keep from falling. He regained his balance and stood upright. Yikes, he said, that first step is a doozy.

One of the lab techs laughed in a demeaning manner. Being rude, he said, Once in awhile we get some strange androids coming out of the factory, but I'm certain you're the strangest.

Keep it to yourself, said Bebee.

The lab tech laughed again and shook his head back and forth. He took some tools back to the counter and placed them neatly in order.

The door to the lab slid open and a Captain walked in. He studied the three new droids for a moment. He did a second take of Bebee, frowned, and then said, Three new officers. That's good. We need more officers. Normally we put the new officers in two months of training at the officer's cadet school, but we're running low on recruits. The war on Ferron is about to enter phase II, and we need all the droids we can get. So, instead of the cadet school, we'll be sending you to Targorn, a planet in the Xilon solar system. We use it as a jumping off point and way station before reaching Ferron. You will be given four days of training on Targorn, and then you will be sent to Ferron. He walked over and handed each of them a document. These are your orders. Keep them on your person at all times. In two hours you'll be boarding a transport at docking bay three. Make sure you're on time. But before you go make a short detour to the armory and acquire the weapons you have been programmed to use, and get any other equipment you'll be needing or wanting. When the Captain was finished, he stood stoic for a moment, then turned and left the room.

Sir, said Aadonn to the lab tech, which way to the armory?

The lab tech, still smiling—obviously thinking about Bebee, pointed, "Go out the door, turn left, and walk down the hallway. Make your first right at the intersection and make your way along the next corridor until you come to the double doors. Once you exit the building you'll be on the tarmac. Take a left, and the armory is the second building on the left. When you have everything you need, backtrack to this building and keep going. The first hanger you come to will be docking bay three.

With a wave of his hand, Aadonn made a commanding signal to Decimere and Bebee. Let's go, he said. He walked briskly toward the door. It slid open, and he stepped into the hallway.

Bebee wondered if Major Longwood thought he was in charge of them—and maybe he was since he was a Major. But it seemed to Bebee that taking charge before they left the birthing room was a bit premature. Oh, well, thought Bebee. Bebee and Decimere left the room and entered the hallway. The three of them followed the lab tech's directions. A few minutes later they were stepping into the armory. It was a huge warehouse filled with rows and rows and racks and racks of all types of weapons and other human-killing equipment. Directly in front of them was a counter. Metal bars from both sides of the counter extended to the front double doors. The bars were made of the strongest metal to keep out any unauthorized personnel. A sergeant was sitting behind the counter. Newbees, he said half talking to himself. He pushed a buzzer and a gate in the metal bars swung open. In a louder voice he said, After you acquire what you need I have to record your name and the serial numbers on the equipment."

Like free candy in a candy store, said Aadonn.

Obviously, thought Bebee, the Major is experimenting with new words and new ideas, but still that statement is ridiculous. Bebee said, And they thought I was weird.

You're not weird—you're just different. Decimere smiled at Bebee, and then she stepped through the open doorway and started down one of the aisles.

Bebee caught up. I don’t need anything, he said.

You better at least take a hand phasor with a holster; otherwise they might suspect you of being a rebel.

Rebel? I'm no traitorous rebel. I can't stand the humans. He mused for a moment, But I do wonder why all the fuss over killing these humans. He stopped in front of a rack with hand phasors. He picked one up, fumbled with it, and quickly dropped it on the floor. Opps, he said. He bent over and picked it up. He decided he wasn’t going to be embarrassed. Big deal, he said out loud. And then to himself he thought, it appears my coordination isn’t quite what it should be. He went on down the aisle until he came to the holsters with the belts. He sorted through several until he found one which would fit around his protruding stomach. He buckled it together and put the phasor in the holster. Well, he said, I'm as ready as I want to be. It turned out he was talking to himself since Decimere had gone on down the aisle toward the rifles, and Aadonn had taken a different aisle.

By the Father! he thought. Upon seeing them, he jerked his head to one side. It was confusing. He was still a baby, and because of his very young age, he was wondering if this should be happening. He gazed upon three shadows lurking above the gun racks. One of them smiled a wicked smile at Bebee, and then the three of them disappeared. What is happening to me? It frightened him and made him wonder whether or not he should report it, and then the idea of what they might do to him frightened him even more. He decided he would wait. He made his way back to the sergeant and handed him the phasor. Even though he was young, he believed the sight of these terrible shadows was abnormal. He was wondering if he would have to spend the rest of his life with these apparitions.

The sergeant put his hand out. I need your orders.

Bebee handed the paper to him and watched as the sergeant got down to business.

He waited for the Sergeant to finish shuffling through the paperwork and writing down the serial number for the hand phasor. While waiting, Bebee, in the dim lighting, watched the lime green hair coming toward him. Decimere returned. She was carrying a phasor rifle, a hand phasor, and a holster and belt. Just then Aadonn returned. Yowza, thought Bebee. Aadonn was carrying a large satchel filled with weapons, and he had a phasor cannon tucked under his arm.

Are you sure that's enough? asked Bebee. "You might have to take on a battalion of humans.

Somehow Aadonn either missed the sarcasm or just ignored it. It should be enough, he answered.

Bebee started drumming his fingers on the counter top. He varied his finger taps thinking he might hum a tune, but after a glance from the Sergeant, he stopped. He started tapping his toes. Bebee was anxious to move on to new experiences. And so far, picking weapons was quite boring.

The sergeant handed him his phasor, and Bebee stuck it in his holster. Bebee felt like drumming his fingers some more because he knew it was going to take a while to register all the weapons, but he didn’t. The Sergeant had already given him a look. He liked drumming his fingers better than tapping his toes. So, he forewent the tapping of the toes.

A doldrum of minutes later they were exiting the building. Once outside, two more shadows zoomed off the tarmac, past Bebee, and disappeared into the wall of the armory. Cripes, thought Bebee.

They walked toward docking bay three as they were ordered. On the way, Aadonn said the strangest thing. From my understanding of humans, they seem to be parasites destroying planets, but since planets are infinite, who cares?

Bebee stumbled, had to run a bit to catch himself, and said, My thoughts exactly. He searched the nooks and crannies for more shadows. If this kept up, he knew he would become a paranoid mess. He tried to stay positive.

I don't care if they're destroying planets or not, commented Decimere. I hate them, and I want to kill them. Unfortunately, since I'm going to be the Commander's aide, I will probably never see the front lines. She glanced at Bebee. You know, now that I think about it, because of our professional duties, none of us will ever see the front lines.

When they got closer to docking bay three they could see quite a number of newbies. Holy moly, said Bebee. Look at all the new soldiers. I see one hundred and twenty-one, and probably more in the hanger.

Yeah, agreed Aadonn.

Upon seeing all the newbies, Bebee attempted to walk in a professional manner into the hanger, but not necessarily a march or a step in cadence. With his clumsiness, Bebee wasn’t of a mind to try marching. He would probably trip and fall on his face. How embarrassing would that be in front of the newbies. When they came to the first group of non-officers, also known as the ‘soldiers,’ or the 'grunts,' which was more of a slang term, the newbie soldiers came to attention and saluted.

Bebee, Decimere, and Aadonn returned the salutes.

Holy cumquat, said Bebee, this is fun.

Aadonn frowned. "You need to be a little less excitable and a little more professional.

Yaba, yaba, yaba, replied Bebee.

Decimere put her hand on Bebee's arm and said to Aadonn, I think he's fine just the way he is.

Bebee returned another salute. And that's when he began to think Decimere was flirting with him. But it made no sense. She was tall and beautiful, and he was short and rollie pollie. Was it possible the Gods had smiled down on him during his birth? He patted her hand and suddenly had a little more bounce in his step.

His joy was short-lived. An evil shadow appeared in the crowd. It ran through the soldiers—literally through the soldiers. It passed close to Bebee, gave Bebee a devilish smile, then kept going. It disappeared into the black of night.

The officers, all twenty-two of them and all of them newbies, joined in a group away from the Soldiers. The two groups of androids—the Soldiers and the officers, were already aware of their stations in life. They were aware of the chain of command, and they knew their duties. They had a detailed knowledge of how they would be killing humans, or how they would be contributing to the death of humans.

An hour later, in accordance with the privileges of the officers, they were the first to be boarded. They were shown to their private quarters with all the amenities and privacy of one officer per each room, and then the Soldiers were shown to their quarters, which contained a dozen bunk beds, or so Bebee was told. Everyone got settled in, and finally the transport lifted off and headed for Targorn—a planet in another galaxy. Using this particular transport it would take nearly forty minutes to reach their destination. Bebee lie on his bed and put his head on a pillow. It's funny, he thought, how the androids like all the same things as the humans. He figured it must have been so the humans couldn’t tell the difference between androids and the humans. Of course, that meant the androids couldn’t tell the difference either. The androids did, however, have the advantage of being able to memorize all the faces and names of the androids they came in contact with, but that wasn’t enough for large groups of androids who had never met each other. When it came to war the droids in the android armies would wear uniforms to make it easier to differentiate between the humans and the androids. But the only way to tell the difference between the replicates and the humans would be the weapons the replicates were using. The humans would be using antiquated guns.

Right after another phantom shadow flitted across his room with a trail of black bugs following, his compartment door slid open. Decimere entered. She espied Bebee, and in a loving manner she said, Since it's going to be nearly an hour before we debark, I decided I might spend some time with you.

Bebee sat up. This would definitely take his mind off the shadows. He became excited and started to say 'yaba, yaba, yaba,' but at that very moment the door slid open again and Aadonn walked in. Cisss, thought Bebee.

Aadonn walked to the middle of the room. I'm glad you're both here. I wanted to talk to you. He paused as if he was carefully choosing his words.

This gave Decimere time to say, We kinda wanted to be alone.

Bebee nodded his head with great emphasis.

I'm beginning to see that, responded Aadonn, and I have to admit I will never understand it—not in a million years. He gave Bebee the once over and shook his head. Anyway, I have something really important to talk about. Again he paused. Finally, after a number of seconds had passed, he said, Bebee, you've indicated you don’t want to kill humans.

That's right.

And what about you? Aadonn indicated Decimere with a nod of his head.

Decimere gave him a suspicious look. "I hate humans and I want to kill them, but I will never be in the front lines, which means I will never have a chance to engage them in battle; besides, if Bebee doesn't want to kill them, then I will follow his lead.

Aadonn smiled. That's good, he said, because the moment I stepped off the metallic table I was aware I had been programmed to be a human sympathizer. It frightened me at first, because I realized if any of the commanders found out, they would have me executed. But then it came to me that my life will be useless if I can't help the humans. I will not only not kill humans; I will help them in their war efforts.

Bebee let out a low whistle. You're taking quite a chance telling us this. How can you be so certain we won't turn you in?

From what you said previously, I thought I could convince you to be an ally. Besides, I feel a strong bond among the three of us.

I don't know about being an ally, said Decimere, but I promise I won't turn you in. I feel the same bond, and I don't know for certain, but I believe this type of bond is not normal. Is it?

Aadonn and Bebee remained silent, as if pondering the question.

Decimere said, I also promise that I WILL turn you in if you harm or kill any androids.

Bebee agreed. He said, with an air of honest concern, I might help you, but only if it won't harm androids.

Of course, replied Aadonn. He expressed the same thoughts—he would never intentionally hurt another droid. And then it seemed to Bebee Aadonn became quite chatty—most of the way to Targorn. The fact was, he wouldn’t shut up and leave. It was obvious he didn’t want to give Bebee and Decimere any alone time. Finally, he told Aadonn he and Decimere were going to the officer's lounge and they would see him once they arrived on Targorn.

Three shadows appeared in the room behind Aadonn. They had daggers in their hands. They made stabbing motions at Aadonn's back. They kept it up for several seconds. Finally, they rushed to the wall and disappeared. At least the bugs were absent. But as soon as he thought it, here came the bugs jumping and leaping and running across the floor. They disappeared into the wall.

Chapter 2

Bebee and Decimere were sitting in the officer's lounge watching through a view plate. The black, saucer-shaped troop transport, in which they were traveling, landed on the tarmac next to the military base. It had been a new experience watching the atars as they traveled through space. Once they landed Bebee glanced at the expanse of the surroundings. The dim, yellow sun was feeble giving off only muted light and the landscape was quite barren and flat—no mountains. And he could see no plant life of any kind. If plant life was absent on the entire planet, then insects and animals could not survive. If the oceans had no plant life, then no life of any kind would exist in the seas. It made sense that this planet was uninhabited. From what he knew about planets this planet was unusual, which made it strange. It was a lifeless hunk of rock floating in space. Of course, even without food, an android could live on this planet as long as he wanted, but it wouldn’t be much fun and if it was too long, the skin and other soft tissues would start to die. He reached down for his duffle bag. Bebee and Decimere had brought their duffle bags and equipment with them, which meant they were ready to debark. In his short existence, Bebee was excited about having adventures. He thought about going to Ferron. Yaba, yaba, yaba, he said. They both latched on to their bags at the same time and stood up. Decimere stepped away and took the lead. I guess because she's a Captain, she thinks she's in charge. But I don't mind. Anyone as good looking as her can lead me anywhere. Bebee knew, of course, that that was an exaggeration, nevertheless . . . .

In the hallway Decimere said to the ship's computer, Debarking station.

Two metal discs fell from the wall and hovered six inches above the floor.

I love these things, said Bebee. He started to step on the nearest disc, but misjudged and realized his foot was going to land on the edge of the disc. He shifted his weight just in time to avoid another embarrassing fall to the floor scenario.

Decimere patted Bebee on the back in a loving manner, and then stepped onto the other disc. They started rapidly down the hallway.

They made several turns and traveled quite a distance, or at least it seemed that way to Bebee, and then the discs came to a halt. Ten feet further down the hall was a group of officers—fourteen in all. They were waiting for the elevators—three in all.

The shadows came back, but by then, they had come and gone so many times Bebee learned to ignore them, or at least he tried to. If he gave them no credence, he hoped eventually they would leave and not come back. These darn shadows, he thought. In spite of trying to ignore them, he cringed.

Aadonn's face appeared in the group of officers. He walked away and joined with Bebee and Decimere. Bebee groaned mentally. And without a greeting, Aadonn said, Since our creation I have found life is strange, and yet, wonderful. Fifteen minutes ago I ate food in the officer's mess hall. I loved the experience, and I'm glad Father gave us all the same sensory perceptions, traits, necessities, and desires as the humans. I believe we are going to experience more great moments and a few horrifying ones as well. Of course, I'm not looking forward to anything horrifying, but at least they will give the wonderful experiences meaning.

Oh great, thought Bebee, now he's going to be a philosopher.

You dwell too much on the emotions, said Decimere. And yet, you told Bebee to become less emotional. That's like a fat man telling another fat man to go on a diet. You should spend less time thinking about love and hate, pleasure and pain, and start thinking more about your mission.

Aadonn, with a short laugh, relayed his new ideas. Since the time I gave Bebee that piece of advice, I've changed my mind. I'm positive emotions are what make life worth living. It gives you a connection among people, places, other life forms, and things.

The conversation between Decimere and Aadonn had become too philosophical for Bebee—too much deep thinking. What difference did it make, and who cares? Bebee didn’t want to think about it. He just wanted to move with the crowd. He wanted to experience his new life, but without the black shadows. Again he wondered if he would have to live the rest of his life with the shadows. If so, he was certain life would become a drudge.

The doors on one of the elevators opened and most of the officers boarded. Another elevator opened and three officers, along with Bebee, Decimere, and Aadonn, stepped in.

Shortly after that they were standing on the tarmac. Antigrav vehicles arrived and the officers loaded in. They were ready to be taken to their quarters, where they would be residing for the next four days. Since Bebee already had the knowledge of how to fly a transport or a cargo ship, he was curious as to why and what they would be teaching him. He stared out the window at the warships situated in front of the hangers. Most of them were fighters glistening like black holes in the daylight. What a paradox to bring peace to a planet, he thought. I'm just glad I'm not flying one of those killing machines.

They arrived at the induction center, and as it turned out, Bebee was the last one in line going up the stairs and into the building. The line moved forward and as he stepped up he misjudged the step and fell past Decimere upon the sharp edges. Wozies, he said.

Once again Decimere helped him to his feet.

I don’t get it. Did I get a sadistic programmer? I know androids are adept and physically coordinated using their knowledge of the location of spatial objects. Our computer brains are infallible. So, what happened to me!?

No pun intended, but don’t let it get you down. You're going to be just fine.

Yeah, if you keep helping me up. The line moved forward, and this time Bebee concentrated all the coordination he could muster on making it up to the next step. He was wondering if his lousy coordination would interfere with him being a pilot. It was a horrible thought, and if that happened, he would have to tell the higher authorities about the shadows.

When he finally stepped through the doorway and into the building he saw six officers in front of him, including Decimere and Aadonn. They were waiting for a Sergeant, behind a counter, to read their orders and to assign them to their classrooms. After he read each officer's orders, he told the officer which room he or she would be bunking in. As Bebee was standing and thinking he devised a new saying: 'hurry up and wait.' He kept it to himself. The others might not appreciate his witticism.

Another twenty minutes passed and finally the three of them were headed down the hallway.

Hey, have you guys eaten yet?

Decimere shook her head.

Great. After we stow our gear, let's make it over to the officer's mess hall and get something to eat. You're going to love it. The food seems to tingle on your tongue.

Tingle?

Yeah, something like that.

I'm for it, said Bebee. And then, under his breath, he said, Yaba. He was a virgin eater, and he was thinking a new experience was headed his way.

He entered his quarters, which was very austere, and threw his duffle bag on the bed. He studied the room momentarily. The room had a bed, a chest of drawers, a closet with hangers, and a bathroom. He unpacked his duffle bag and hung his dress uniform in the closet and placed his clothes, neatly folded, in the chest of drawers. He didn’t have any weapons to stow, just his phasor which was in the holster on a belt around his waist. According to regulations he could and should wear his human-killing phasor wherever he went. When he was finished he stepped into the hall and found Decimere and Aadonn waiting for him. For a moment he was stunned. He couldn’t believe how beautiful Decimere was with lime-green hair, slightly purple skin, gorgeous face, and magnificent figure. Obviously Aadonn thought so too. He was flaunting his handsomeness in front of her and telling her a funny story. Bebee didn’t understand that. Had they been alive long enough to know funny stories? Decimere laughed, but when she saw Bebee her face seemed to light up—something else Bebee didn’t understand.

Five shadows appeared in the hallway. They danced around for a moment. They smiled in their usual evil manner, and then they drew daggers and pretended to stab Decimere in the back. Finally, they disappeared into the far wall. And then came the bugs, but this time they didn’t follow the shadows, instead, they turned and rushed Bebee. Their little mouths were opening and closing. The pinchers on the sides of their mouths were clicking together. The noise was a ratcheting sound. They were coming for the kill—little mouths tearing at Bebee's android body. It was nothing more than his imagination, but it seemed so real. He quickly put himself into a five second sleep mode. When he came out of the sleep mode everything was back to normal; except Decimere. She was holding both of Bebee's arms with her hands and she was staring into his eyes. Bebee, are you okay?

Yes. I'm fine. I was just thinking about something.

Good, said Aadonn. Let's go eat.

They walked into the officer's mess hall and found a table. They sat down and waited, but not for long. A waiter came rushing over. He was wearing a uniform with a cook's apron over the top. The shoulder of his uniform boasted the stripes of a private. He handed each of them a menu and waited to take their orders. The menu contained writing, but mostly it had pictures. Bebee was glad. It made it easier to see what he would be eating.

So, what have you had that you think is worth eating? asked Decimere.

Yeah, wondered Bebee. He didn't want to lose his cherry on something bland. Suddenly he was wondering what that meant 'to lose a cherry.' It didn’t make sense. Don’t you eat cherries? He was beginning to think his programmer was stupid.

Aadonn laid the menu on the table so Decimere and Bebee could see it. He said, I wanted to know what these dishes tasted like, so I tried a couple of bites of several of them. He pointed at one of the pictures. This dish is made of noodles, a tender meat, and gravy; and this one has wide noodles with meat, cheese, and cream cheese between the layers. I also liked this one. It's a steak with mashed potatoes and a vegetable.

Bebee ordered the steak and mashed potatoes, and Decimere ordered the wide noodles. When the three of them finished ordering, the waiter rushed into the kitchen.

Aadonn nodded his head as if he were agreeing with himself. He said, When you're finished with the main meal, they have what they call 'desert.' Believe me when I say, 'ice cream will convince you life is worth living and you will never want to die.'

When the meal arrived, Bebee took his first bite of steak. It was absolutely wonderful. The meat was so tender and juicy. He quickly took another bite, and while he was enjoying the flavor and the texture, he said, Where do they get such delightful food?

They kill a four-legged, domesticated animal and slice it up.

Bebee swallowed hard and rose from his seat. But we love animals, and we should never kill them. He started for the door and as he was leaving, he said, I'm never going to eat again."

Chapter 3

It was 1300 in the afternoon of the fourth and last day of training. Bebee was in the officer's mess hall getting ready to eat a delicious lunch. He had decided he would eat again because he had to. He had to keep his organic tissues healthy, but he would never eat meat. On the plate in front of him was a pizza—with no meat, of course. He loved pizza. He hefted a slice to his mouth and took a big bite. Aadonn had been right—eating was a great pleasure. He took another bite. Yum, he thought. He heard loud voices. He turned his head up and to his left as he chewed. He noticed some officers had entered through the doorway and into the mess hall. Six mDroids and one femDroid started walking across the floor. Bebee had seen them before. They were loud and obnoxious. They thought life revolved around them and no one else, and it was because they were training to be fighter pilots. The handsome, curly, blond-haired one in the front had a rather cocky attitude. Instead of passing by, the blond one stopped in front of Bebee's table. He peered down at Bebee and said, You better eat up. You're going to need all your strength to handle that cargo boat.

The others laughed, but the blond droid wasn’t finished. If you get shot down, we'll probably lose the war.

Again the others laughed at their leader's humor.

Cisss, said Bebee. Why don’t you move along you're beginning to annoy me.

I don’t mean to hurt your feelings. I just want you to know we know how important your job is, so eat up young droid, we'll be relying on you to get us through the terrible ordeal that's coming. He gave Bebee a sardonic smile, patted him on the head, and then he moved along to a table on the far side of the room. The seven of them sat down and waited for the waiter.

Beebe was smart enough to know some droids had to put down other droids to make themselves appear more important and more capable. Psychology wasn’t a difficult subject to understand, but he was surprised some droids couldn’t fathom the depths of the droid psyche. The blond fighter pilot was one such droid.

After a few minutes had passed, and after Bebee had eaten more of his delicious pizza, Decimere walked in. Instantly, all the mDroids in the room, and even most of the femDroids, stopped talking and stopped eating. They were intently watching Decimere as she made her way to Bebee's table. Her lime green hair and her light purple skin drew attention wherever she went. After a few moments of staring, they went back to what they had been doing.

It's been two days since I've seen you. Is everything going well?

Bebee had been skipping lunch in order to spend more time on the simulators. I'm beginning to understand why the sergeant in charge of my class was right. He said we need more than the knowledge—we also need the experience. I've found riding in those simulators is not only fun, but educational. And I'm beginning to think four days is not enough. As he finished his statement he noticed movement out of the corner of his eye. He glanced up and standing next to him was the blond, cocky, fighter pilot.

The blond mDroid said, I wasn't joking when I said I know how important your job is. Without supplies we couldn’t win the war. The entire time he was talking he was staring at Decimere. Why don’t you introduce me to your friend?

Before Bebee could say anything, Decimere responded unpleasantly and stiffly. I only date cargo boat pilots. So, buzz off.

Listen some friends of mine and I . . . .

Decimere gave him a stern look. In a louder voice she blurted out, I said, 'buzz off'.

The blond mDroid stood silent for a moment. It seemed he was in shock. Why was it he couldn’t draw the eye of this beautiful femDroid? Finally, he turned around and went back to his table. Evidently he made a sarcastic remark, because the whole table broke out in laughter.

Bebee took another bite of his pizza with olives and pineapple toppings, swallowed, and asked in a curious voice, How did you know he called me a cargo boat pilot?

I was in here yesterday when he was ridiculing another cargo pilot. But let's forget about him. Tell me what else is going on.

Not much. At the moment I'm looking forward to piloting my own ship. It has a certain thrill to it. He took another bite, and when he was finished, he asked, What about you?

Three black apparitions abruptly appeared and ran across the mess hall floor and disappeared into the wall. These black shadows were starting to have more of an effect on his psyche. He was having a difficult time ignoring them. He felt eventually he would have to report it no matter what the programmers would have to do to him. If he didn’t do something about it, he was certain he would go crazy. He shook his head and concentrated on what Decimere was saying.

She smiled sweetly. I'm certain my classroom experience isn't as complex as yours. Basically they're teaching us how to pamper upper echelon officers and that's about it. I'm more like a secretary than an officer in a wartime environment.

Does that make you unhappy?

No. After listening to you I'm no longer interested in killing humans, even though I hate them. So, I'm content with what I'm doing.

That's good, and I'm glad you're comfortable with your job. Bebee had just finished his meal and was looking forward to getting back to the simulator. He decided he would skip the ice cream. He put his eating utensils on the plate and stood up. Well, he said, I better get going. The Sergeant doesn’t like it when we're late. I hope I get to see you tomorrow. And he really meant it. She was so beautiful he just enjoyed looking at her.

I hope so, too, she said.

Bebee left the building and went back to the classroom. That night the Sergeant kept the students two hours longer than the scheduled class. He wanted to emphasize certain maneuvers, which he felt were important. At the end of the class he expressed regret. He said he hadn’t been given enough time to cover everything. And he wished them luck. When the class was finished, the instructor told Bebee to stay, and after everyone had left, he said to Bebee, Not only do I admire your dedication and commitment—staying extra hours to learn as much as you can in your short amount of time here on Targorn, but also, and not surprisingly, you have the highest scores; therefore, you will be piloting the transport ship to Ferron tomorrow.

Bebee was thrilled. Thank you, sergeant, he said. This means a lot to me. He was most surprised, and because of his clumsiness he thought it would be the opposite, but evidently when he put his mind to it he could excel.

Bebee left the classroom and went to the mess hall. He certainly didn't mind eating a late dinner. Everything was looking really good. He made it back to his room around 2100 hours. He got undressed. He drew back the covers. And he climbed into bed. He rested his head on the pillow and lay for several hours going over everything he had learned. He wanted to be certain he performed his piloting in an exemplary manner. It was nearly 0100 hours in the morning when he finally decided to go to sleep.

But that wasn't going to happen. The door to his room slid open and Decimere stepped in. She walked over to his bed, undressed, and slipped under the covers next to him.

Yabe, yaba. Another new experience, he thought. He was glad androids didn’t need sleep to give their brains a rest, like humans. He knew during the remainder of the night his brain would be entering maximum overdrive.

*****

The next morning Decimere left early stating she wanted to take a shower before packing. She said no matter where their quarters were on the base on Ferron she would find him. And he was sure she would.

He took a shower, dressed his little rollie pollie body, packed his duffle bag, and walked onto the tarmac. An antigrav car picked him up and sped him quickly to the transport ship. What a beautiful sight—the huge, black transport ship sitting serenely and waiting for his gentle touch. He would move her off the planet and into the infinite reaches of space.

He got out of the antigrav car and walked over to the lift. It would carry him up and into the forward section of the ship. He stepped into the tube and the round door slid shut. Then the lift started to rise and in moments was traveling quite quickly. It entered the ship, slowed down, and came to a stop. The door opened and Bebee stepped into a small compartment with four elevator doors. He knew which elevator would take him closest to the bridge. He walked over and pushed the button. He was just a youngster at less than five days old—some androids were thousands of years old. He hoped he would live through the war so he could become older and experience more new things, but for now he was a newborn who would soon be piloting a spaceship to another planet.

The elevator door slid back and Bebee stepped in. It would only be moments before it traveled a hundred stories. And moments it was. The door slid open, and across the hallway was the door to the bridge. He stepped over and put his hand to the light. The door slid open and Bebee stepped in. He studied the room. It was exactly like the simulator; except in this room live androids were sitting at their stations performing their duties.

He made his way to the pilot's station, which was a step down and a little to the left of the Captain's chair. He sat down and studied the controls. He knew everything about them, and even though he was excited about being the pilot he was also a bit nervous. How ridiculous. He remembered Decimere talking about being unemotional, although she wasn’t quite unemotional last night.

The door to the bridge slid open. Bebee turned his head over his shoulder and watched as the Captain walked in. The sergeant at arms next to the door yelled out, Captain on the bridge.

Everyone in the room; except Bebee, stood up at attention. The pilot's were instructed to never leave their station until given permission by the Captain, and thus—no standing up.

The Captain commanded, At ease. He strode to his chair and sat down. He said to Bebee, Lieutenant, I've been told you’re the best pilot in your class. Don’t prove them wrong.

No, sir.

Okay lieutenant, the troops are loaded and the cargo's onboard. Wind up the rubber band and let's get this ship off this rock and on its way to Ferron.

Yes, sir. Navigator, are the coordinates for Ferron set into the computer?

Yes, Lieutenant.

"Navigator, has the computer been informed of the correct entry into Ferron's solar system?

Yes, Lieutenant.

Very well. Captain, we are ready for lift off.

Do it.

Yes, Captain. Bebee worked the controls and lifted the ship off the tarmac. It was thrilling to move a ship this huge with the touch of his fingers. Under his control, the ship left the base and rose quickly. The antigravity drives propelled the ship into space. Once out of the atmosphere he called out to the officer controlling the drives. Engineer.

Yes, Lieutenant.

Attain maximum intra-solar system speed.

Yes, Lieutenant.

The ship sped up until it was traveling at a tremendous speed. The planets they sped next to seemed to be in fast motion, but the planets and other heavenly bodies further away, moved very slowly as if they were in a race with a turtle—and loosing. The black space with the bright stars was beautiful. But Bebee couldn't be thinking about that. He concentrated on the controls. It took them twenty-six minutes and thirty-two seconds to leave the solar system.

Captain, we are now ready for hyperdrive.

Do it.

Sizing officer.

Yes, Lieutenant.

Be ready to jump once we are in hyperspace. It actually took this spaceship longer to travel out of the solar system than it did to travel nearly countless numbers of light years to another solar system or even to another galaxy.

Yes, Lieutenant.

Communications officer.

Yes, Lieutenant.

Inform all personnel we will be entering hyperspace in one minute. And count it down from ten seconds.

Yes, Lieutenant.

Computer, said the communications officer.

At your command, Janaan.

Inform all personnel we will be entering hyperspace in one minute and count down from ten seconds.

Yes, Janaan.

Bebee was taught in class that this entire scenario was unnecessary. Everything could be done with the computer, which meant only the Captain, the pilot and the weapons officer were necessary for the flight of the ship. And actually, the Captain, alone, could pilot the ship if needed. But a crew made flight and fight more efficient. After all, the android's brain was a computer.

It seemed like a long minute before they put the ship into hyperspace. But it was a short nine seconds when they came out of hyperspace. In fact, they didn't have enough time to warn the personnel they were leaving hyperspace. But, of course, the personnel already knew it was quick; except for possibly some of the overly-confident newbies who weren't paying attention in class.

The ship came out of hyperspace and slowed to maximum intra-solar system speed. After nine minutes, the ship approached the atmosphere of Ferron. Just then a shadow appeared above the console. By the Father, thought Bebee. The timing couldn’t have been worse. The shadow's smile was evil as it stared at Bebee. It was distracting. Bebee tried to ignore it knowing it was only his imagination. He concentrated on the controls. He tried to get the shadow out of his sight line. Nevertheless, the shadow made him nervous. It continued to sit on the console, and it continued to stare at him. He piloted the ship into the atmosphere of Ferron and slowed it down to entering speed. He wanted to yell, 'go away you evil shadow,' but he didn’t. He couldn’t. The Captain would think he was crazy. He wanted to put himself into five seconds of sleep, but he couldn’t—not while he was piloting a spaceship—five seconds meant thousands of miles. He gripped the controls tighter than normal. He cruised above the island where they would be landing. Soon, they were approaching the docking bay. And that's when it happened. The alarm began to blare.

The Captain quickly stood up. His face was red. He yelled at Bebee, "You fool. You forgot to put the ship in stealth mode, and now someone has spotted us.

After all the training and the extra training and after going over and over the sequence of events, Bebee still made a critical mistake. And he was sure he was going to pay for it. Darn these evil shadows, he thought.

Chapter 4

Dr. James Tiree turned off the screens and stood up feeling a little shaky. His face seemed hot. A darkness came over him and he shuddered almost uncontrollably. He forced himself to become calm. Damn, he thought, did I just see what I thought I saw? For a moment he stared into space, and then, as he walked toward the printer, his mind raced out of the black void toward an unexpected conclusion. He tore off the printout, which revealed a most unusual picture of what the telescope had discovered. He checked it. Little droplets of sweat began to form on his brow. The picture verified what he had seen through the eyepiece. Was it possible after all these years of searching he had finally discovered an alien UFO? He didn't like it. The flying object had landed on one of the southwest islands of the UI. If they were aliens, then because of their secrecy, he had to assume they had evil intent.

But wait. Wasn't he getting ahead of himself? Yes. He turned around and stepped up to his other desk. He grabbed the weekly airline schedule and thumbed through until he got to the day's date. He quickly looked for any airline which would have a plane in that region of the UI and at that particular time. He scrolled down the list—he couldn’t find any. Besides, the island the object had landed on was small and had no airport. If he hadn't been in such a turmoil, he would have thought of that first. He wiped the sweat from his brow. Since it was a small island without an airport he would not check with the air force. He walked out of the small observatory and unto the balcony, which overlooked the mountains and the valley below. The early winter-air was brisk. In another month it would snow and all the mountain tops would be a pristine white. He sighed and thought about his discovery. He suddenly realized what he had to do. He would have to go to the island and investigate. He rushed into the observatory and studied the map of the UI. He checked the visual readout, and then studied the map again. He found it,—Little Pig Island—named for the little pigs living in the tropical forest. He used a red pen and circled the island. It seemed he had heard of this island before. He thought for a moment. Damn! It was an island that had been bought by one of the conglomerates. No one previously had wanted the island because it was too far west and too far from the nearest other island. The conglomerate advertised they were turning it into a resort for CEO's and other important people. And then they did the unthinkable, they built a bridge sixty-two miles long from the nearest island. If they were aliens, then the aliens were in control of the conglomerate.

He knew what he had to do. He decided he would write a note and leave all the evidence on the desk just in case anything happened to him. He would explain he was going to explore the island and if he didn’t return, then the authorities should consider his theory of an alien invasion and do their own investigation.

He continued to stand. He stared down at the island on the map. He decided to write the note later. He had vacation time coming in three weeks. If he could arrange it, he would take his vacation sooner. To get ready, within the next day or two, he would rent a small cabin cruiser and buy supplies.

Satisfied with his plan he walked out the front door of the observatory and down the steps to his Land Crawler. He decided he would tell no one—not even his girlfriend. He knew people would ridicule him if he started talking about UFO's, but in a situation as important as this he didn’t care about that. He knew no one with authority would do anything. The military wouldn’t investigate, and SEA would ignore him. No one would take him seriously. No. He would have to tackle these alien bastards on his own. He got into his Land Crawler and drove down the mountain just less than a mile to his cabin below. He wouldn’t break the routine simply because he saw a UFO. He would do what he usually did. He would spend the night in his cabin, and then get up early and go to work.

He parked in the driveway and got out. But instead of going into the cabin—he just stood next to the car. He slipped back into his staring-in-space and once again found his thoughtful mood. His brain was on automatic pilot. As he began to go over all the events, his foot moved automatically forward. He walked in a haze to the steps and up the steps to the front porch. In a faraway land he could smell the fresh pine scent of the forest in which his body was located. His mind continued to study all the aspects of his discovery. For years he had searched for extraterrestrials in their flying crafts, and even though he never encountered one, and even though he never expected to see one in the skies, he still enjoyed the search—it was an intriguing hobby, although expensive. And it was nothing more than a hobby, that is, until tonight. He walked across the porch and opened the door. He entered the cabin. His cat, Pricilla, sauntered over and rubbed against his leg and purred. He snapped out of his thoughtful stare and picked her up. He went into the kitchen and set her down. He put food in her plate, and then he considered getting a late night snack for himself. On further reflection, the thought of eating had no excitement. He quickly decided he wasn’t hungry, and he wasn’t going to drink any coffee.