Pete(9)‘Intervention Plan’ (Young adult; adventure/sci-fi)
February 16th 2008 04:22
SIX
'Next time/All the King's men'
A Borgz needs very little in the way of comfort; in fact, they deem such things as weakness. A warrior carried only a small, multi-function generator the size of an Earth matchbox that could produce a habitat similar in dimensions to a large dome tent. Inside the shimmering, blue matter-beam walls of the habitat was a suspensor-track (bed), an ion-cleanser, and sustenance-replicator. The generator also functioned as a laser-beam for stunning or killing an adversary. Septo Zan generated the habitat on a flat rise of rock against the western shaft-wall, just to the left of the vent-outlet. It is from there he sat and planned his next attack on the Daxian agent.
When the Borgz detected the arrival of the Daxian starship captained by Xen and observed the subsequent abductions, they deduced the only possible reason their altruistic adversaries would be doing this is the Daxians had found out about their plan and would somehow use the animal agents against them. Naturally, Borgz operations to discover the exact nature of the Daxian intervention were accelerated.
So it came as no real surprise to Septo Zan when his transmitter beeped, and the angry voice of his Commander barked: "Hurry up, you Splag (dimwitted alien animal)! Assimilate the form of a female dog, then he is bound to follow you."
The sky was dark, full of luminous stars when a small red-haired boy and his blue spotted dog walked into their backyard. As Tomas predicted, his mother had already called him once for dinner, and now stood on the verandah with a cross-look creasing her pretty face. "And where did you get to young man?" She asked.
"Bluey took-off after a rabbit again," Tomas explained.
"Did he now, well Bluey can go to his kennel, and you can come in for dinner before it’s ruined."
Tomas patted his dog's head. "See yah in the morning Blue. And don't go running off anywhere tonight, okay."
Bluey answered with a low-pitched “whine.”
As Tomas followed his mother into the house, Bluey trotted to his kennel and crawled inside. This day had been the strangest of his short existence, and he hoped a good sleep would see him wake in the morning with it all being just a bad dream. Wishful thinking, he somehow knew. He promptly curled up on his mat, and within minutes, had dozed-off.
Then something happened that even the Daxians hadn't planned, a telepathic-link between all twelve agents forming. The link was an anomaly; one that none could have foreseen, as an alien-enhanced mind sought out kindred spirits through the dimensional ether. Had the Daxians suspected, they would have removed the ability, as it will make mission secrecy much more difficult to maintain.
The link came to Bluey as a series of dream-state projections, short mind-melds that gave him a glimpse into the lives of his fellow agents. If allowed to evolve, this form of telepathic communication would come natural to the agents. For now, it seemed like a vivid dream.
Bluey's mind was drawn to the nearest agent, New Zealand golden Labrador, 11d. Blackness dissolved, and there was 11d lying before an open fireplace in a well-furnished room. Flames crackled and a sense of contentment pervaded Bluey’s mind. The scene then began to fade, and Bluey felt like he was flying over dark waters, his mind drawn through the ether to the next agent in Jakarta, 9c. Suddenly, Bluey felt very strange, for 9c is a Persian cat. Bluey saw a huge tree with birds hopping along the branches, and there was 9c, laying in-wait to snare her prey.
Bluey's mind was drawn-on through vastly differing scenes: Shitzu agent, 4d, in Tokyo; Rhodesian Ridgeback, 7d, in Pretoria; Scottish terrier, 6d, in London; Manx cat, 12c, in Oslo; Doberman dog, 3d, in Berlin; Siamese cat, 2c, in China; Rex cat, 5c, in Madrid, Maine Coon cat, 1c, in Washington.
Then came a long period of darkness, before the home of final agent, 10c, a Russian Blue cat in Moscow appeared. 10c was curled up before two men having a discussion in hushed tones. Bluey sensed and atmosphere of concern, and due to the universal-translation ability that all the agents now possessed, soon understood why:
"How many bear carcasses have been found, Comrade?"
"Inuit trackers are finding one, maybe two a day for the last few months, Comrade President."
"Have our scientists determined the cause?"
"It is a simple matter: starvation."
The President of Russia leant forward and stroked his cat's head. "That is ridiculous, is it not. Polar bears have ample prey on the ice to sustain their numbers."
Chief Scientific Adviser to the Kremlin shook his grey, balding head. "Not any more, Comrade President, not any more."
Then the link began to fade, but not before Bluey had an idea as to the nature of the problem: Earth’s environment. During conditioning, his mind was impregnated with the history of sentient life on Earth, and as far as the human race is concerned, sound environmental management is a lesson yet to be learnt. Humans are a relatively new entry in the Cosmic Codex, compiled when Earth was in its second Ice Age. Due to the amount of harm they have caused to the planet during their brief and tumultuous existence, they are ranked just behind the ancient Borgz for the ability to create chaos. Then a thought occurred to Bluey: ‘The strange things that are happening to me, are all part of a much bigger plan.’
Maintenance of the psychic link without assistance from his fellow agents had sapped Bluey’s mental and physical strength. For some reason, the other agents’ psychic power had not developed to his level. Why, will remain a mystery, even to the Daxians? Within a few seconds, his mind went into shutdown, severing the link completely. Then he fell into a deep, restful sleep.
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