Gall Force Fan Fiction ❯ The Day After ❯ Break-Out ( Chapter 7 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: Frederick_Herrio 
Anime/Manga: Gall Force Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action / Adventure / Romance / Sci-fi | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 09.02.2004 | Pages: 4 | Words: 4.0K | Visits: 659 | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: Gall Force Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action / Adventure / Romance / Sci-fi | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 09.02.2004 | Pages: 4 | Words: 4.0K | Visits: 659 | Status: Completed
Gall Force: The Day After
By Fred Herriot
gorgo@kwangju.net
**** **** ****
Edited by E.B. Kushnir
kush@iaw.on.ca
**** **** ****
Based on the "Gall Force" series created by MOVIC.
**** **** ****
PART SEVEN - BREAK-OUT
"Steve, I wish to have an e-mail address," Catty announces.
Everyone, Solnoid and Terran, stare confusedly at the android. A week had passed since the survivors of the "Starleaf" crashed into the lives of Mrs. Ross and her boarders. The week had actually been quiet. The Solnoids busied themselves seeing to the proper operation of their gear. The Terrans felt overwhelmed by what their guests had brought. Along with the four Bronz-X bouncers, there were a half-dozen Dies Angel struggle frame exoskeletons, a Front Rover ground reconnaissance vehicle/command post, two Homing Bat hover attackers, two Jet Blowgun hovercraft, a Flying Squirrel scout craft and a Breeze II battle tank. "What are you people trying to do?!" Derek asked Eluza one day. "Start a war?!"
"Haven't you ever heard of being prepared?" Lufy retaliated.
The grumbling had stopped when the Terrans came to realize that the Solnoids knew of no other way of being prepared. Finally, things settled down, although Derek and his friends often warily eyed the hangar holding the Solnoids' stores. The Solnoids then realized they could not always prepare for war, that peace, if they really had one, had to be given a chance. Still, not knowing the truth of their situation galled Eluza and the others, remembering the times they had been left out on a limb when disaster after disaster occurred. To that end, each of the Terrans had elected to become a chaperon for the Solnoids, escorting them into Lunenburg and other towns so they could start learning about the outside world. Catty, being an android, decided to remain at the apartment building, but by her request for access to the Net, it was obvious that she was getting antsy. "I don't see why not," Steve sighs. "I mean, you people will have to learn more about the world around you. The Net can certainly facilitate that. Let's get you one."
Catty smiles...
* * *
"It's ready," Steve announces to Catty the next afternoon.
"So fast?" the android looks amazed as they proceed into the computer room.
"Yes, the Net does work a lot faster than normal services," the Canadian chuckles. Fortunately, being a computer science student at Dalhousie University, Steve had the right connections. He had been tempted to get Catty onto the university's server, but Catty was not a student. Worse, Catty, nor anyone else, had any records. No social insurance cards, no birth certificates, no health cards or anything which could help them get jobs in the local area. Worse, none of the Terrans could begin to imagine how to get that stuff. None of them had any larcenous tendencies; they were all brutally honest. To that end, Steve had called a friend who knew a worker at a national server group.
Sitting down at his computer, Steve hops into his chair, then calls the server's splash page to the screen. At the prompt USER, he types NEWUSER, then types ANONYMOUS when asked for the password. A new screen flashes up, displaying a series of questions. "There you go," he stands to allow Catty to sit down. "Go to town."
"Thank you," the android smiles as Steve leaves the room. Smiling at their observance of the curious privacy taboos which seemed to rule Terran lives, she turns to the screen.
At the prompt NAME, Catty types CATHARINE ROSS, taking an Earth name which used "Catty" as a nickname, and the landlady's family name as her own. At CITY/PROVINCE, she identifies Lunenburg. At E-MAIL NAME, she sits back and thinks, then smiles. "I'll use Mother's name," she comments as she types CNEBULART.
ERROR, the computer flashes. NAME ALREADY IN USE. CHOOSE ANOTHER.
Catty was stunned. Surely there could not be a person with the last name "Nebulart" in Canada?! Shrugging, she types CNEBULART2 in the slot.
ERROR flashes again as the server announces that there was already someone with that e-mail address. Two Nebularts on the same server?! The android blinks. This was really strange. She then adds the number "3" behind her mother's name. The ERROR message flashes again...and again and again until Catty reaches CNEBULART8, which is finally accepted in the system as the e-mail address for Catharine Ross of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.
After filling out her password, Catty sits back, staring at the screen, which now presented the user commands for her to start sending messages over the Internet. Eight people using the e-mail address moniker CNEBULART, nine including herself. This was very strange. Now, either the name Nebulart was popular on the Net (it after all sounded like "nebula," an English term to describe a sea of boiling stellar gasses which could form a star system) or...
"Other Catty androids?" she softly inquires.
Thinking about it, such seemed likely. Since they had been to the Ninth Solar System before, the "Starleaf" crew had an idea of what to expect, hence they warped straight to Earth, instead of the usual practice of warping to the edge of a system, then travelling in at sublight velocity to planetfall. The others ships would have probably aimed for the edge of the system, by Pluto, as the de-warp point. And given the Paranoid's sabotage of their G-cancelers, that only meant one thing: the other Solnoid ships had arrived not after them, but BEFORE the "Starleaf!"
"We're probably the last ones to come here!" Catty gasps.
She sits back to consider the matter. Obviously, the other crews had been here for some time...and had, as the "Starleaf" crew did, decided to keep a low profile so as to not attract attention to themselves. Eight other crews, all with Catty androids, were obviously living in Canada now. That did not mention those who did not have the mechanical doubles of Catty Nebulart. Now what? "I might as well see if they're who I think they are," she muses.
Deciding on the first one of the list, she calls up the e-mail program, then types in the addressee: CNebulart@Cancom.ca. Now, what to say? "I know!" Catty smiles and types the message, then transmits it.
"What are you up to?" Lufy's voice is heard.
Catty turns to the door to see the Attacker walk in, one of the apartment's six cats, a white Persian named Pericles, in her arms. "I just sent my first e-mail message," the android smiles, then opens her arms so she could hold Pericles.
"To who?" the Attacker hands her the cat.
"To C. Nebulart at Cancom," Catty smiles.
Lufy nearly falls down in surprise. "What?!! Are you saying that the captain's here?!! Why didn't we hear...?!"
"Because I believe we're the last to arrive in this system, Lufy," Catty sighs. "We warped into this system right up beside Earth. Everyone else, who really did not have much experience with this system, would have warped in at the system's edge."
"And given the nice little present the Paranoids left us, that means we spent more time travelling through time than they did," Lufy quickly concludes.
"Yes," Catty nods. "Now, one of two possibilities. First, it is Mother herself I just mailed. Second, one of my sisters."
"Catty, there's a third: an innocent person who just happens to have the initial C and the last name Nebulart."
"I've taken a precaution," the android smiles. "In my message, I asked 'who are you?'...in Solnoid."
Lufy hums. "Catty, are you sure your mom wasn't an Attacker?"
"I do not know," Catty chuckles.
"Hey!!!" Len's voice echoes from the hall. "Get that furball out of there, Catty!! We don't want cat hair in the computers!!!"
Catty sighs, then turns to Pericles. "Humans are so strange, are they not?"
The cat meows affirmatively...
* * *
"We're the last ones here?" Rabby hums. "Can you be sure of that, Catty?!"
The two and Eluza step into the computer room later that evening. "I believe so, Commander," the android sits down, then keys into the Cancom system. "After all, eight C. Nebularts in Canada alone? I do not know if I can access a listing of all the e-mail addresses on Earth, but I'd like to try. Perhaps have an idea as to how many people finally made it to Earth."
"If we can contact another group, then we can share experiences, perhaps find out how to better fit into society," Eluza muses. "And Catty, we might as well relax with the ranks. We have no ship anymore."
"Certainly, Eluza," Catty smiles, then accesses her e-mail. To her disbelief, eight messages are waiting for her, from all the other C. Nebularts on the Cancom server. "Unbelievable!"
"Access one," Rabby sits beside Catty.
Catty chooses the first C. Nebulart. It reads:
From: Barbara Scott <CNebulart@Cancom.ca>
To: Catharine Ross <CNebulart8@Cancom.ca>
Hello, sister,
Praise the Great Mother you are still alive. I have a different name, an Earth name now, but I used to be Catty-2831, assigned to the Eighth Expeditionary Forces before they were almost decimated at Alpha-Twelve. I knew Catty-3534, who was assigned to the old "Starleaf." Please identify yourself by your old code number. Do NOT pass your s-mail address just yet. There are eighty-six of us still alive. Mother is currently living in New York City. She is alive and well. Eight of us live in Canada and thirty-two are in the United States. Most of the others are concentrated in Western Europe and the Far East.
If whoever came with you need SIN cards, birth certificates and health cards, e-mail Lisa Tanner at CNebulart4@Cancom.ca. She used to be Catty-9924, from the Fiftieth Ranger Squad. Be warned, she's just as wild as the organics in that force, even now more so now that she's living on Earth.
It is good to hear from you. Please write me soon.
Love,
Barbara
"Oh, my!" Eluza moans. "The Ranger Squads are still around?! They were even wilder than the Attackers!"
Rabby laughs. "Yes, they were, weren't they?" Catty sniffs as a tear rolls down her cheeks. "Oh, this is so wonderful. We're not alone, anymore."
"Catty, you're crying," the first officer gasps.
"Is there a reason I should not be crying, Rabby?" the android smiles. "After all, I feared, like all of you, being alone. Now, I am with friends...with family again."
"E-mail Lisa," Eluza sighs. "Tell her who we are and tell her we need as much help as we can."
"Immediately," Catty turns to the computer as Rabby and Eluza leave the computer room.
She memorizes Barbara's message, then scrolls down the list to Lisa's message. Calling it up, she reads:
From: Lisa Tanner <CNebulart4@Cancom.ca>
To: Catharine Ross <CNebulart8@Cancom.ca>
Hey, sis!
Welcome to the craziest planet in the galaxy! It's no bloody wonder the Paranoid didn't want this rock. I don't blame them. But the natives are cool and the organics I'm with are mellow. We came in a couple of years ago. All the organics with me are married and most have already given birth to their first child. Kind of sucks, huh? We're just as desirable but because Mom wanted android observers, we get to be androids. Pits.
I can guess you're Catty-0049, who wound up on the Sardin before Sigma Narse blew everything to hell and back. I'm Catty-9924, by the way, if Barbara didn't tell you. It's nice to have someone else to gab with. Has a local boy started to scout you out for companionship? Hey, be cool. We're fully functional that way and sex is way too much fun. If you want, I'll teach it to you.
Anyhow, I guess you'll e-mail me with information about your organics. I need the following:
a) Ship name,
b) Number of crew,
c) Each person's name, height (in cm), weight (in kg), eyes, hair and any markings (tattoos and the like). One of us saved a databank full of all the survivors' pictures, but the processor got slightly messed up and we lost all the decent data.
Once you send me that, go to a Canada Post office in ANOTHER TOWN, preferably one a considerable distance from where you live. This is for your safety. We're all linked together, but there's nothing wrong with watching our backs. Get a PO Box, then send me the address. The stuff should arrive in a week.
If the chance comes, I'll come by where you live and see how you're doing.
Later, sis!
Lisa
"Yes, Lisa, you have not changed one bit," Catty chuckles to herself as she prepares the response message. When they were still servants of Mission 21, Catty-9924 had been sent to the Rangers, scouts who patrolled the edge of known space looking for any new places to live as well as remained on the lookout for possible Paranoid operations. Rangers were misfits, hooligans; normally recruited from Malthus' many street gangs, who had formed as a sort of social protest to Journey's having taken all power for herself from the Council of Elderwomen to better prosecute the war. The street gangs were pressed into service, then sent off on their own. It was a sheer wonder that they all did not go totally mad. Almost all had adopted Sensualism as their private belief, usually in open defiance of Journey's prohibition of the sect's peaceful beliefs, thinking them destructive to Solnoid morale. But the Rangers were also survivors. Catty was not surprised that they had survived Sigma Narse en masse. Catty wondered if Lufy or Miti had been Rangers before becoming Attackers.
Sighing, she begins to type the message.
* * *
"Why this need for security?" Derek hums as he drives Catty and Lufy into Halifax.
After replying to Lisa's message, Catty had arranged with Mrs. Ross to set up a private post office box. Halifax seemed the best idea; it was the nexus of all communication networks in Nova Scotia, including mail. The Solnoids then sat back to wait. It was now six days later. "Lisa did not explain it to me," Catty shakes her head, adjusting the sunglasses that kept her eyes hidden from normal view. "However, if there are other groups such as yourself who are sympathetic to our plight, there might logically be groups of people who may fear our presence."
"That makes no sense," Derek hums as he guides the car down Barrington Street, Halifax's main thoroughfare. "You have no ships, little in the way of offensive capabilities and no enemy. What could people be scared about?"
"How about the simple unknown?" Lufy offers.
The Canadian considers the point. "You may have a good idea there, Lufy," he sighs. "Lord knows, my people have never been truly able to keep our cool whenever something strange happens. Fear, hatred, loathing and a desire to control have been our usual response. The chances are good that some people may have first been friendly to your people, then when they got to know you, thought that you were a threat, then decided to take control."
"You won't do that to us, will ya?" Lufy hums.
"With all that firepower you control?" Derek laughs. "Even if we wanted to do that, how could we fight you?"
The Solnoids laugh. Arriving at the local post office, they disembark and walk inside. Proceeding to the post office boxes, Catty opens Box 4815. Sure enough, a thick padded envelope addressed to her is there. Taking it out, she opens it. Inside are ten folded leather card holders, their names in Malthusian on white tape on the outside. "Here you go, Lufy," Catty hands the Attacker her new identification, then takes her own and pockets it. There is also a small box. "What is this?"
Opening the box, Catty is surprised to see two small round bits of soft green glass, each protected in a small vat of liquid. "Contact lenses," Derek whistles. "Coloured to disguise your eyes."
Catty quickly slips the lenses into her eyes. A second later, she looks at Derek, her eyes now a light green. "Well?" she inquires.
"Nice," Derek nods. "No, you don't need the glasses."
"Yes, they do restrict the vision somewhat," the android sighs as she folds the glasses, then puts them away. "I'm hungry. Shall we get something to eat?"
"There's a nice place by the university," Derek waves to the car. "Let's go."
Minutes later, the three relax at a small pub south of Dalhousie's main campus. It served as the local watering hole for a lot of students, including Derek and his friends when the mood ever struck them. Derek had met Sally in this bar. Taking a table, the three are immediately served by a waitress. "Hey, Derek!" she smiles. "What'll it be?"
"Poutine and a basket of chicken fingers, Denise," he smiles at her. "Three cokes. We've got to burn rubber back home."
"No problem," Denise writes the order, then looks at Lufy. "Hey, you must be Lufy, right?"
"That's me," the Attacker smiles.
"And you've got to be Catty," the waitress points to Catty.
"A pleasure to meet you, Denise," the android smiles.
"How'd you learn our names?" Lufy asks.
"Well, when the word got around that the Nine Hermits," Denise thumbs Derek, "..had ten of the most beautiful women in Creation itself pop down on them like that, everyone started to ask loads of questions. I'm surprise the others never told you."
"We didn't mean to cause trouble in their lives," Catty sighs.
"Hey, it's your business, as far as I'm concerned," Denise heads to the bar. "Be back with your stuff in a minute."
As they wait, Lufy opens her new wallet to look at what Lisa Tanner had wrought for her. According to records now registered with the Saskatchewan Department of Social Services, Lucilia Phyllis Atkinson was born in Yorkton, Saskatchewan in 1975. A small note from Lisa explained the cover story: Lucilia was orphaned when she was a child, never adopted by any family until she became of age, then allowed to go her own way. She got her high school diploma in Regina. Lisa warned Lufy that to ensure that the story would be believed, she should avoid meeting people from Yorkton, or if she did meet some, to avoid speaking about life there. "Make it as if you had a bad life in the orphanage," Lisa concluded. "With the hell you went through in the Attackers, that shouldn't be too difficult."
"Who concocted the name 'Lucilia?!'" Lufy inquires.
"Mrs. Ross and I did," Catty points to herself. "We sat down one day and figured out Earth names for everyone whose names sounded off the mark or would have caused suspicion."
"'Lucilia' can be shorted to 'Lucy,'" Derek advises. "That's pretty close to 'Lufy.' Besides, people really don't care much about names. It's the people that matter."
"I hope so," the Attacker nods.
"Here you go!" Denise smiles as she places the food and drinks down. "Hey, Derek, is Oskar going to bring Eluza around sometime later?"
"Don't know," Derek shrugs. "Why?"
"Well, when they were on a date on karaoke night, she got on the stage and sung her guts out," the waitress relaxes as Derek fishes out money for the food. "Same with Rabby. The two should start a band. They'll make a mint."
"I'll advise them of that," Derek laughs as he hands her the money.
"Thanks," Denise moves to make change, her voice lowering. "You better know, Derek. Sally's been asking about you."
Derek jolts on hearing that name. "Geez, Denise, aim a little higher and you'll knock the top of my head off!"
"Sorry," the waitress hands him the change. "But she's got wind of Lufy here and she doesn't like it."
"My days with her are autumn leaves, Denise, and that's the truth," Derek smiles at her.
Denise laughs. "I know you, Derek, so I know you're telling the truth. Now, can you convince Sally of that?"
"She'll be convinced," Lufy snarls, holding up her fist. "I've got five ways of convincing her right here."
"Knock her senseless, Lufy!" the waitress heads to another table.
Derek shakes her head. "What in the name of God did I get myself into?" he moans.
"Hey, you're my friend," Lufy winks at him. "I may not be ready for the more personal stuff people here do, but friendship is something both our peoples understand."
"And you have had little of that, right?" Derek smiles.
"Yeah," the Attacker nods.
"I believe we all have had little of that, both Solnoid and Terran," Catty muses.
Derek holds up his glass. "To friends, then. They stand above all the garbage the world throws at you, no matter which world you hail from."
"To friends," the two Solnoids click glasses with the Terran.
* * *
To be continued...
By Fred Herriot
gorgo@kwangju.net
**** **** ****
Edited by E.B. Kushnir
kush@iaw.on.ca
**** **** ****
Based on the "Gall Force" series created by MOVIC.
**** **** ****
PART SEVEN - BREAK-OUT
"Steve, I wish to have an e-mail address," Catty announces.
Everyone, Solnoid and Terran, stare confusedly at the android. A week had passed since the survivors of the "Starleaf" crashed into the lives of Mrs. Ross and her boarders. The week had actually been quiet. The Solnoids busied themselves seeing to the proper operation of their gear. The Terrans felt overwhelmed by what their guests had brought. Along with the four Bronz-X bouncers, there were a half-dozen Dies Angel struggle frame exoskeletons, a Front Rover ground reconnaissance vehicle/command post, two Homing Bat hover attackers, two Jet Blowgun hovercraft, a Flying Squirrel scout craft and a Breeze II battle tank. "What are you people trying to do?!" Derek asked Eluza one day. "Start a war?!"
"Haven't you ever heard of being prepared?" Lufy retaliated.
The grumbling had stopped when the Terrans came to realize that the Solnoids knew of no other way of being prepared. Finally, things settled down, although Derek and his friends often warily eyed the hangar holding the Solnoids' stores. The Solnoids then realized they could not always prepare for war, that peace, if they really had one, had to be given a chance. Still, not knowing the truth of their situation galled Eluza and the others, remembering the times they had been left out on a limb when disaster after disaster occurred. To that end, each of the Terrans had elected to become a chaperon for the Solnoids, escorting them into Lunenburg and other towns so they could start learning about the outside world. Catty, being an android, decided to remain at the apartment building, but by her request for access to the Net, it was obvious that she was getting antsy. "I don't see why not," Steve sighs. "I mean, you people will have to learn more about the world around you. The Net can certainly facilitate that. Let's get you one."
Catty smiles...
* * *
"It's ready," Steve announces to Catty the next afternoon.
"So fast?" the android looks amazed as they proceed into the computer room.
"Yes, the Net does work a lot faster than normal services," the Canadian chuckles. Fortunately, being a computer science student at Dalhousie University, Steve had the right connections. He had been tempted to get Catty onto the university's server, but Catty was not a student. Worse, Catty, nor anyone else, had any records. No social insurance cards, no birth certificates, no health cards or anything which could help them get jobs in the local area. Worse, none of the Terrans could begin to imagine how to get that stuff. None of them had any larcenous tendencies; they were all brutally honest. To that end, Steve had called a friend who knew a worker at a national server group.
Sitting down at his computer, Steve hops into his chair, then calls the server's splash page to the screen. At the prompt USER, he types NEWUSER, then types ANONYMOUS when asked for the password. A new screen flashes up, displaying a series of questions. "There you go," he stands to allow Catty to sit down. "Go to town."
"Thank you," the android smiles as Steve leaves the room. Smiling at their observance of the curious privacy taboos which seemed to rule Terran lives, she turns to the screen.
At the prompt NAME, Catty types CATHARINE ROSS, taking an Earth name which used "Catty" as a nickname, and the landlady's family name as her own. At CITY/PROVINCE, she identifies Lunenburg. At E-MAIL NAME, she sits back and thinks, then smiles. "I'll use Mother's name," she comments as she types CNEBULART.
ERROR, the computer flashes. NAME ALREADY IN USE. CHOOSE ANOTHER.
Catty was stunned. Surely there could not be a person with the last name "Nebulart" in Canada?! Shrugging, she types CNEBULART2 in the slot.
ERROR flashes again as the server announces that there was already someone with that e-mail address. Two Nebularts on the same server?! The android blinks. This was really strange. She then adds the number "3" behind her mother's name. The ERROR message flashes again...and again and again until Catty reaches CNEBULART8, which is finally accepted in the system as the e-mail address for Catharine Ross of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.
After filling out her password, Catty sits back, staring at the screen, which now presented the user commands for her to start sending messages over the Internet. Eight people using the e-mail address moniker CNEBULART, nine including herself. This was very strange. Now, either the name Nebulart was popular on the Net (it after all sounded like "nebula," an English term to describe a sea of boiling stellar gasses which could form a star system) or...
"Other Catty androids?" she softly inquires.
Thinking about it, such seemed likely. Since they had been to the Ninth Solar System before, the "Starleaf" crew had an idea of what to expect, hence they warped straight to Earth, instead of the usual practice of warping to the edge of a system, then travelling in at sublight velocity to planetfall. The others ships would have probably aimed for the edge of the system, by Pluto, as the de-warp point. And given the Paranoid's sabotage of their G-cancelers, that only meant one thing: the other Solnoid ships had arrived not after them, but BEFORE the "Starleaf!"
"We're probably the last ones to come here!" Catty gasps.
She sits back to consider the matter. Obviously, the other crews had been here for some time...and had, as the "Starleaf" crew did, decided to keep a low profile so as to not attract attention to themselves. Eight other crews, all with Catty androids, were obviously living in Canada now. That did not mention those who did not have the mechanical doubles of Catty Nebulart. Now what? "I might as well see if they're who I think they are," she muses.
Deciding on the first one of the list, she calls up the e-mail program, then types in the addressee: CNebulart@Cancom.ca. Now, what to say? "I know!" Catty smiles and types the message, then transmits it.
"What are you up to?" Lufy's voice is heard.
Catty turns to the door to see the Attacker walk in, one of the apartment's six cats, a white Persian named Pericles, in her arms. "I just sent my first e-mail message," the android smiles, then opens her arms so she could hold Pericles.
"To who?" the Attacker hands her the cat.
"To C. Nebulart at Cancom," Catty smiles.
Lufy nearly falls down in surprise. "What?!! Are you saying that the captain's here?!! Why didn't we hear...?!"
"Because I believe we're the last to arrive in this system, Lufy," Catty sighs. "We warped into this system right up beside Earth. Everyone else, who really did not have much experience with this system, would have warped in at the system's edge."
"And given the nice little present the Paranoids left us, that means we spent more time travelling through time than they did," Lufy quickly concludes.
"Yes," Catty nods. "Now, one of two possibilities. First, it is Mother herself I just mailed. Second, one of my sisters."
"Catty, there's a third: an innocent person who just happens to have the initial C and the last name Nebulart."
"I've taken a precaution," the android smiles. "In my message, I asked 'who are you?'...in Solnoid."
Lufy hums. "Catty, are you sure your mom wasn't an Attacker?"
"I do not know," Catty chuckles.
"Hey!!!" Len's voice echoes from the hall. "Get that furball out of there, Catty!! We don't want cat hair in the computers!!!"
Catty sighs, then turns to Pericles. "Humans are so strange, are they not?"
The cat meows affirmatively...
* * *
"We're the last ones here?" Rabby hums. "Can you be sure of that, Catty?!"
The two and Eluza step into the computer room later that evening. "I believe so, Commander," the android sits down, then keys into the Cancom system. "After all, eight C. Nebularts in Canada alone? I do not know if I can access a listing of all the e-mail addresses on Earth, but I'd like to try. Perhaps have an idea as to how many people finally made it to Earth."
"If we can contact another group, then we can share experiences, perhaps find out how to better fit into society," Eluza muses. "And Catty, we might as well relax with the ranks. We have no ship anymore."
"Certainly, Eluza," Catty smiles, then accesses her e-mail. To her disbelief, eight messages are waiting for her, from all the other C. Nebularts on the Cancom server. "Unbelievable!"
"Access one," Rabby sits beside Catty.
Catty chooses the first C. Nebulart. It reads:
From: Barbara Scott <CNebulart@Cancom.ca>
To: Catharine Ross <CNebulart8@Cancom.ca>
Hello, sister,
Praise the Great Mother you are still alive. I have a different name, an Earth name now, but I used to be Catty-2831, assigned to the Eighth Expeditionary Forces before they were almost decimated at Alpha-Twelve. I knew Catty-3534, who was assigned to the old "Starleaf." Please identify yourself by your old code number. Do NOT pass your s-mail address just yet. There are eighty-six of us still alive. Mother is currently living in New York City. She is alive and well. Eight of us live in Canada and thirty-two are in the United States. Most of the others are concentrated in Western Europe and the Far East.
If whoever came with you need SIN cards, birth certificates and health cards, e-mail Lisa Tanner at CNebulart4@Cancom.ca. She used to be Catty-9924, from the Fiftieth Ranger Squad. Be warned, she's just as wild as the organics in that force, even now more so now that she's living on Earth.
It is good to hear from you. Please write me soon.
Love,
Barbara
"Oh, my!" Eluza moans. "The Ranger Squads are still around?! They were even wilder than the Attackers!"
Rabby laughs. "Yes, they were, weren't they?" Catty sniffs as a tear rolls down her cheeks. "Oh, this is so wonderful. We're not alone, anymore."
"Catty, you're crying," the first officer gasps.
"Is there a reason I should not be crying, Rabby?" the android smiles. "After all, I feared, like all of you, being alone. Now, I am with friends...with family again."
"E-mail Lisa," Eluza sighs. "Tell her who we are and tell her we need as much help as we can."
"Immediately," Catty turns to the computer as Rabby and Eluza leave the computer room.
She memorizes Barbara's message, then scrolls down the list to Lisa's message. Calling it up, she reads:
From: Lisa Tanner <CNebulart4@Cancom.ca>
To: Catharine Ross <CNebulart8@Cancom.ca>
Hey, sis!
Welcome to the craziest planet in the galaxy! It's no bloody wonder the Paranoid didn't want this rock. I don't blame them. But the natives are cool and the organics I'm with are mellow. We came in a couple of years ago. All the organics with me are married and most have already given birth to their first child. Kind of sucks, huh? We're just as desirable but because Mom wanted android observers, we get to be androids. Pits.
I can guess you're Catty-0049, who wound up on the Sardin before Sigma Narse blew everything to hell and back. I'm Catty-9924, by the way, if Barbara didn't tell you. It's nice to have someone else to gab with. Has a local boy started to scout you out for companionship? Hey, be cool. We're fully functional that way and sex is way too much fun. If you want, I'll teach it to you.
Anyhow, I guess you'll e-mail me with information about your organics. I need the following:
a) Ship name,
b) Number of crew,
c) Each person's name, height (in cm), weight (in kg), eyes, hair and any markings (tattoos and the like). One of us saved a databank full of all the survivors' pictures, but the processor got slightly messed up and we lost all the decent data.
Once you send me that, go to a Canada Post office in ANOTHER TOWN, preferably one a considerable distance from where you live. This is for your safety. We're all linked together, but there's nothing wrong with watching our backs. Get a PO Box, then send me the address. The stuff should arrive in a week.
If the chance comes, I'll come by where you live and see how you're doing.
Later, sis!
Lisa
"Yes, Lisa, you have not changed one bit," Catty chuckles to herself as she prepares the response message. When they were still servants of Mission 21, Catty-9924 had been sent to the Rangers, scouts who patrolled the edge of known space looking for any new places to live as well as remained on the lookout for possible Paranoid operations. Rangers were misfits, hooligans; normally recruited from Malthus' many street gangs, who had formed as a sort of social protest to Journey's having taken all power for herself from the Council of Elderwomen to better prosecute the war. The street gangs were pressed into service, then sent off on their own. It was a sheer wonder that they all did not go totally mad. Almost all had adopted Sensualism as their private belief, usually in open defiance of Journey's prohibition of the sect's peaceful beliefs, thinking them destructive to Solnoid morale. But the Rangers were also survivors. Catty was not surprised that they had survived Sigma Narse en masse. Catty wondered if Lufy or Miti had been Rangers before becoming Attackers.
Sighing, she begins to type the message.
* * *
"Why this need for security?" Derek hums as he drives Catty and Lufy into Halifax.
After replying to Lisa's message, Catty had arranged with Mrs. Ross to set up a private post office box. Halifax seemed the best idea; it was the nexus of all communication networks in Nova Scotia, including mail. The Solnoids then sat back to wait. It was now six days later. "Lisa did not explain it to me," Catty shakes her head, adjusting the sunglasses that kept her eyes hidden from normal view. "However, if there are other groups such as yourself who are sympathetic to our plight, there might logically be groups of people who may fear our presence."
"That makes no sense," Derek hums as he guides the car down Barrington Street, Halifax's main thoroughfare. "You have no ships, little in the way of offensive capabilities and no enemy. What could people be scared about?"
"How about the simple unknown?" Lufy offers.
The Canadian considers the point. "You may have a good idea there, Lufy," he sighs. "Lord knows, my people have never been truly able to keep our cool whenever something strange happens. Fear, hatred, loathing and a desire to control have been our usual response. The chances are good that some people may have first been friendly to your people, then when they got to know you, thought that you were a threat, then decided to take control."
"You won't do that to us, will ya?" Lufy hums.
"With all that firepower you control?" Derek laughs. "Even if we wanted to do that, how could we fight you?"
The Solnoids laugh. Arriving at the local post office, they disembark and walk inside. Proceeding to the post office boxes, Catty opens Box 4815. Sure enough, a thick padded envelope addressed to her is there. Taking it out, she opens it. Inside are ten folded leather card holders, their names in Malthusian on white tape on the outside. "Here you go, Lufy," Catty hands the Attacker her new identification, then takes her own and pockets it. There is also a small box. "What is this?"
Opening the box, Catty is surprised to see two small round bits of soft green glass, each protected in a small vat of liquid. "Contact lenses," Derek whistles. "Coloured to disguise your eyes."
Catty quickly slips the lenses into her eyes. A second later, she looks at Derek, her eyes now a light green. "Well?" she inquires.
"Nice," Derek nods. "No, you don't need the glasses."
"Yes, they do restrict the vision somewhat," the android sighs as she folds the glasses, then puts them away. "I'm hungry. Shall we get something to eat?"
"There's a nice place by the university," Derek waves to the car. "Let's go."
Minutes later, the three relax at a small pub south of Dalhousie's main campus. It served as the local watering hole for a lot of students, including Derek and his friends when the mood ever struck them. Derek had met Sally in this bar. Taking a table, the three are immediately served by a waitress. "Hey, Derek!" she smiles. "What'll it be?"
"Poutine and a basket of chicken fingers, Denise," he smiles at her. "Three cokes. We've got to burn rubber back home."
"No problem," Denise writes the order, then looks at Lufy. "Hey, you must be Lufy, right?"
"That's me," the Attacker smiles.
"And you've got to be Catty," the waitress points to Catty.
"A pleasure to meet you, Denise," the android smiles.
"How'd you learn our names?" Lufy asks.
"Well, when the word got around that the Nine Hermits," Denise thumbs Derek, "..had ten of the most beautiful women in Creation itself pop down on them like that, everyone started to ask loads of questions. I'm surprise the others never told you."
"We didn't mean to cause trouble in their lives," Catty sighs.
"Hey, it's your business, as far as I'm concerned," Denise heads to the bar. "Be back with your stuff in a minute."
As they wait, Lufy opens her new wallet to look at what Lisa Tanner had wrought for her. According to records now registered with the Saskatchewan Department of Social Services, Lucilia Phyllis Atkinson was born in Yorkton, Saskatchewan in 1975. A small note from Lisa explained the cover story: Lucilia was orphaned when she was a child, never adopted by any family until she became of age, then allowed to go her own way. She got her high school diploma in Regina. Lisa warned Lufy that to ensure that the story would be believed, she should avoid meeting people from Yorkton, or if she did meet some, to avoid speaking about life there. "Make it as if you had a bad life in the orphanage," Lisa concluded. "With the hell you went through in the Attackers, that shouldn't be too difficult."
"Who concocted the name 'Lucilia?!'" Lufy inquires.
"Mrs. Ross and I did," Catty points to herself. "We sat down one day and figured out Earth names for everyone whose names sounded off the mark or would have caused suspicion."
"'Lucilia' can be shorted to 'Lucy,'" Derek advises. "That's pretty close to 'Lufy.' Besides, people really don't care much about names. It's the people that matter."
"I hope so," the Attacker nods.
"Here you go!" Denise smiles as she places the food and drinks down. "Hey, Derek, is Oskar going to bring Eluza around sometime later?"
"Don't know," Derek shrugs. "Why?"
"Well, when they were on a date on karaoke night, she got on the stage and sung her guts out," the waitress relaxes as Derek fishes out money for the food. "Same with Rabby. The two should start a band. They'll make a mint."
"I'll advise them of that," Derek laughs as he hands her the money.
"Thanks," Denise moves to make change, her voice lowering. "You better know, Derek. Sally's been asking about you."
Derek jolts on hearing that name. "Geez, Denise, aim a little higher and you'll knock the top of my head off!"
"Sorry," the waitress hands him the change. "But she's got wind of Lufy here and she doesn't like it."
"My days with her are autumn leaves, Denise, and that's the truth," Derek smiles at her.
Denise laughs. "I know you, Derek, so I know you're telling the truth. Now, can you convince Sally of that?"
"She'll be convinced," Lufy snarls, holding up her fist. "I've got five ways of convincing her right here."
"Knock her senseless, Lufy!" the waitress heads to another table.
Derek shakes her head. "What in the name of God did I get myself into?" he moans.
"Hey, you're my friend," Lufy winks at him. "I may not be ready for the more personal stuff people here do, but friendship is something both our peoples understand."
"And you have had little of that, right?" Derek smiles.
"Yeah," the Attacker nods.
"I believe we all have had little of that, both Solnoid and Terran," Catty muses.
Derek holds up his glass. "To friends, then. They stand above all the garbage the world throws at you, no matter which world you hail from."
"To friends," the two Solnoids click glasses with the Terran.
* * *
To be continued...