Gall Force Fan Fiction ❯ The Day After ❯ Mardi Gras ( Chapter 10 )
[ 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: 6 | Words: 6.5K | Visits: 488 | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: Gall Force Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action / Adventure / Romance / Sci-fi | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 09.02.2004 | Pages: 6 | Words: 6.5K | Visits: 488 | Status: Completed
Gall Force: The Day After
By Fred Herriot
gorgo@kwangju.net
**** **** ****
Edited by E.B. Kushnir
kush1@iaw.on.ca
**** **** ****
Based on the "Gall Force" series created by MOVIC.
**** **** ****
PART TEN - MARDI GRAS
Space explodes.
The Paranoid battleship shudders as it de-warps, travelling the hundreds of light years and three million years across time to arrive in orbit over Earth's moon. Dawn's eyes narrow as he stares at the beautiful world beyond the moon's pitted surface. Three million years later, Terra's beauty was still intact, still awed him. "We have arrived, Commander," his first officer announces.
"Excellent," the commander sighs. It was another expression Solnoids used, one to express relief. But there was fear in his voice. No Paranoid had EVER contemplated what they were about to do. "Commence planetary scans, Tek," he looks at the first officer. "Inform me of anything which could be of interest."
"At once, Commander," Tek turns to his control board.
Dawn stares at Sel. "Adjudant, relay to the science team that the genetic converters are to be immediately prepared."
"At once, sir," the adjudant nods, then communicates the message to the lower decks. Once confirmation is passed back, Sel turns to Dawn. "Commander, I ask a favour."
"Which is?" Dawn looks at him.
"I request the honour of being the first to undergo the genetic conversion," Sel bows his head.
And the first to take the risk should the conversion fail. "No, Sel. I do not doubt your courage, but I think this time, the first one to undergo the conversion should be myself."
His subordinates are aghast. "Sir, we cannot spare you," Tek stammers.
"Peace, both of you," Dawn's eyes close. "We are all volunteers in this mission, but I am still the commander. I will not permit my forces to undergo something I myself am not willing to undergo. Do not worry; I have faith in the science team."
"Respectfully, sir, this has never been done," Tek warns.
"Aye, it hasn't," Dawn stares at Terra. "But, before us lies our new world. It will not do for us to remain in our current forms on a world of solids, would it not?"
"Agreed," Sel nods. "But, is the DNA actually compatible?"
"It should be," Dawn looks at the adjudant.
A communications relay echoes from the first officer's station. Tek analyzes the readout, then looks at his commander. "Sir, sensors indicate six billion sentients on Terra, both pure-Solnoid type and of the modified type we based on male primates existing on this planet when we first explored it."
"Indeed," Dawn's eyes narrow.
"Frther, sir...sensors indicate a post-industrial society with nuclear capabilities and local spaceflight. Two small craft are presently in orbit over Terra, in addition to many communications satellites. Little show Solnoid influence."
Silence falls over the bridge. "The Species Unification Project," Sel gasps. "It...it really worked!"
"It did indeed," Dawn nods. "Have the science team compare our DNA samples with what sensory picks up from the surface. Any differences will have to be examined before we undergo the procedure. And begin scanning for Solnoid trace influences."
"At once, sir," Tek turns to his station...
* * *
"C'mon, Derek," Lufy calls. "Let's try it again."
"Right, right," the history student grunts as he adjusts his arms in the Bronz-X servo-controls. "Bloody monkey suit! Hey, Lufy, how the hell did you people fight in these things?! This thing feels like I'm in a straightjacket!"
"Well, remember that the seats are for women, not men," the Attacker retorts. "Now, try it again."
"Yes, ma'am," Derek nods as he starts to walk the Bronz-X. In a way, it was like riding a bicycle. The foot pedals worked the legs while the arm servos worked the arms. The head was mated to the helmet Derek wore, the camera lens tuned to his eyes so the pilot could focus on whatever is of interest. Nice simple system, like a labor from "Patlabor" or a mobile suit from "Gundam." The only problem was that the special stuff...cannons, jet thrusters and everything else the Solnoid stacked on the bouncers...were controlled by the fingertips. Derek had to be careful lest he turn Lufy, watching him with a portable radio from nearby, to ashes.
The bouncer walks slowly down the beach. Patty and Rabby, having taken the day off work, are out with scouts to ensure no one could spot them from the land side. The "Enterprise" floated off in the distance, Denise and Catty aboard to ensure no one would sneak up from the Atlantic. "Good, good!" Lufy nods. "You're getting the hang of it now. Try to look around!"
Derek stops, looking around. He focuses on the "Enterprise," leaning close. Left middle finger magnified the lens to present a close-up of Denise and Catty, now stripped down to underwear, laying on the deck, passionately kissing away. He turns a bright shade of red as he looks away. "This thing can't guarantee any sort of privacy."
Nearby, Eluza shakes her head. Beside her was a computer screen which showed everything Derek's Bronz was seeing. Grabbing her mike, she cuts to the trawler's frequency. "You idiots out there stop making love and get back to work!!! This isn't a time for fun and games!!"
"Oh, Eluza, take a Valium, will ya?!" Denise's annoyed voice yells back. "Catty's got TOIL and AIL keeping an eye on things!! And Derek, stop peeking at us!! Look down Lufy's shirt the next time you get the urge to stare at a woman's body!!"
"S-sorry!" Derek's voice echoes from the bouncer.
Eluza shakes her head. Dealing with emotional intimacy in the midst of preparing for battle was, to say the least, annoying. She now understood why most armies on Earth had all-male combat units, plus had strict rules controlling the presence of gays in the service. It was hard training to kill when your glands had other ideas. "Just keep your mind on business, you two," she calls out.
"Yes, your highness," Denise moans, then giggles are heard as the line to the "Enterprise" is cut.
"I say, the old boy seems to be getting the hang of it now," Chet muses as he walks up to stand beside the "Starleaf's" captain.
"He does, doesn't he?" Eluza nods. "I'm amazed. You don't have a tithe of our knowledge in robotics, yet you take to the Bronzs like they were things you've had to deal with your whole life."
"Well, I day say whoever designed your bouncers made sure the things are idiot-proof," the Englishman points to the bouncer...
...then winces as the starboard arm cannon accidentally fires, blowing apart a large rock some distance away! "Yeah, idiot-proof!!!" Derek's voice growls. "You come in here and try to pilot this thing, Chet!!"
"My turn's coming, old chap," Chet waves. "As soon as Rabby makes her appearance."
"I'm here," Rabby announces as she drives up on one of the Jet Blowguns.
"Report," Eluza stares at her.
"All quiet on the western front," the first officer disembarks. "Just to be on the safe side, I'll ask Mal to disarm the guns before letting Chet inside."
"Good idea," the captain sighs. "What about out east?"
"I called Patty. All quiet."
"Let's hope it stays that way," Eluza looks out to sea as the Bronz kneels to allow Derek to disembark...
* * *
"Commander, sensors indicate the fire of a Bronz-X type combat armour," Tek looks up from his station.
"Where?!" Dawn looks at his first officer.
A schematic of eastern North America appears on the front viewscreen. A target marker falls over western Nova Scotia. "At this point, sir," Tek announces. "According to what we've been able to gather, it is a part of the Terran nation called 'Canada,' in a sub-division known as 'Nova Scotia.' Near a habitation called 'Lunenburg.'"
"Magnify," Dawn orders.
The image blows up until a roughly clear view of the beach where the Solnoids were teaching their Terran friends how to use the combat armour comes into view. "There, sir!" Sel points.
"I see it," Dawn stares. "A mix of both Solnoids and Terran males, I believe."
"Confirmed by sensory, sir," the first officer announces. "Further, ECM has identified a communications signature." He pauses, then looks over. "The battlecarrier 'Starleaf,' formerly of the 28th Battle Group."
The name causes the others to fall silent. "'Starleaf,'" Dawn rolls the name. "So, the Fates were kind to bring them to this world. We have allies, Tek. Their participation in the Species Unification Project is well known."
"The Gallant Force still lives," Sel muses. "Commander, I do recommend caution should we decide to initiate contact."
"Agreed," Dawn nods. "The 'Starleaf's' first officer, Rabby, sacrificed much to ensure that the Project was allowed to succeed without the interference of the more ambitious officers of the Axis or her own Central Guard. If they are committed to seeing peace on this world, they will become our allies."
"Let it be so," the adjudant nods.
* * *
Derek sighs, hugging Lufy as she guides the Blowgun towards the western observation point, a half-kilometre from the apartment building. He cursed himself for being so clumsy. A shot like that would have brought heaven knows what out to see what was going on. Fortunately, it was a weekday, with most people at work. Sensing his tension, Lufy pats his hand. "Relax," the Attacker smiles. "I was all thumbs when I first started piloting a Bronz. They're not nice things to learn."
After a minute, both arrive at the spot they chose to keep a watch on incoming traffic, a small cliff overlooking the dirt road leading back to the apartment. It was a seldom used lane. Lufy parks the Blowgun, then drapes it with a camouflage net. They move to sit by a tree. Both were dressed in surplus combat uniforms they had purchased in Halifax, Canadian flags stitched on both shoulders. Taking out a walkie-talkie, Lufy calls in. "Tripwire One to Starleaf. Am in position. No party-crashers coming. Will call if they show up. Out."
She closes the walkie-talkie, then notices that Derek has a faraway look on his face. "You know, some of this still feels like some insane dream," he muses.
"When the bullets start flying, you'll see how real it is," Lufy plucks out a blade of grass, then sticks it in her mouth.
"They felt the same way when they marched into France in 1915," the history student sighs. "They thought the war would be a ninety-day affair, one quick battle and it would be decided. The machine gun woke them up to that."
"I'll bet," she shudders, remembering what she read about the First World War. "I guess the war between ourselves and the Paranoid started the same way. One quick fight, then we'd go our separate ways. Shame that we can't remember that far back."
"You never learned from your own history," he sighs. "But even if you did, would your leaders have listened?"
"Guess not," she looks depressed.
Silence falls over them as they watch the road. As far as passers-by would think, they were a young couple relaxing, or a pair of survivalists taking it easy from a training exercise. Nothing too strange to make people start questioning what was going on. Lufy shifts herself to lay her head on Derek's chest. "Derek, what's going to happen to you after this is done?" she muses.
"After I graduate university?" he muses. "I guess go get my Bachelor of Education in TESL, then start travelling around the world. I've rarely been outside Nova Scotia."
"Really?" Lufy looks at him. "Maybe I should get my degree, too. What should I study?"
"The choice is yours since you'll be entering as a mature student," he shrugs.
"What about history?" she looks at him.
"It's a good subject," he nods. "But, if you ask Chet, he'd say engineering; if you ask Steve, he'd say computer sciences; if you ask Akira, he'd say English..."
"Could I just grab a mixed bag of whatever comes to mind?"
"A general BA, you mean?" he muses. "Actually, that's also pretty good. You'll be able to sample as much about Earth as you can. The teachers at Dalhousie are a decent lot. But, they're just like university professors everywhere else."
"And what happens if you start travelling around the world?" she coyly stares at him. "Gonna leave me behind?"
Lufy finds herself swept into Derek's arms. "Not on your bloody life!" he growls as they kiss.
She sighs as their tongues play with each other. They had become closer over the last month. Holding hands, hugging, kissing. Lufy could now imagine spending the rest of her life with this person, born under a different star, governed by a different set of social rules. They were mortal, but if they married, they would live on through their children and grandchildren. The Attacker realized that was the primary reason children were so prized on Earth. They were the guarantee for the future. They preserved the memories of their progenitors. "I guess that's why we became so reckless," Lufy sighs as they part.
"What do you mean?" Derek muses.
"I was thinking about the time we'll have our first child," she leans into him. "I mean...I suppose when we lost track of how to have children, when we discovered the ability to produce people without directly involving mothers, we fully confronted our mortality. And when we did that, we just said 'to hell with it,' then kept on fighting the Paranoid. We knew we had nothing which could preserve our memory, so we didn't care anymore."
He nods. "You lost track of what you were fighting for. The war became the be-all and end-all of existence."
"Yeah. Sucks, doesn't it?"
"I guess so. I can't tell because I wasn't there. Probably that's why the Species Unification Project came as such a shock to so many of you. You couldn't conceive of preserving your memories, even just via DNA, so you rejected it out of hand."
"But some held onto it," she smiles. "And made me hold on to it, too. Made me see the light."
He nods. "And now we'll have to make others see the light."
"Won't be easy," she looks at him.
"Nothing ever comes easy."
They kiss. "Except love."
"If you're lucky and you find the right person," he warns her.
"Have you?"
"I have. And you?"
They kiss again. "I guess I have," she smiles...
* * *
"Mardi Gras?!" Eluza looks confused.
"Sure!" Denise nods. "Look, Eluza, we've been training for three weeks now. It's time to take a rest and relax. Besides, you're not sure if something could happen anytime soon. You can't keep yourself tense all the time. No one can."
"It is time to relax, Eluza," Catty adds. "Even I am tired."
"I think the ladies are harking on a good idea," Oskar walks up to rub Eluza's shoulders. "Even in the IDF, we never trained this hard. You people are dedicated, but there's a point where dedication turns to fanaticism. I agree that the presence of people like those Guardswomen we fought just murder freedom by existing, but we cannot let them always dominate our lives."
"Alright, alright," the captain laughs. "Let's go!"
Everyone lets out a cheer...
* * *
"Tek, what is this?!" Dawn looks confusedly at the viewscreen.
An image of downtown Halifax decked in the decorations of the city's annual Mardi Gras projects from the screen. "It appears to be a celebration being held in Nova Scotia's administrative centre, Commander," the first officer reports. "They address it as 'Mardi Gras.'"
"'Fat Tuesday,'" the adjudant translates. "Tuesday is the third day of the standard Terran week, the second work day. I cannot understand the connotation of obesity when applied to this particular day."
"Agreed, Sel. It is curious," Dawn muses. "These Terrans are even more stranger than the Solnoid when we first began to fight our war with them. They willingly celebrate both life and death at nearly the same time."
"They must be as mystifying to the Solnoid as they are to us, sir," Sel muses. "Perhaps some of the Solnoid survivors could have rejected assimilating with the Terrans."
"Then our purpose here would have justification," Tek adds.
"Indeed," Dawn nods. "They would seek enemies anew, perhaps attempt to take control of Terra so they could re-establish themselves and continue prosecuting the war against us. The madness of fanatics knows no bounds. How go the preparations with the genetic conversion chambers?"
"They are still progressing, sir," Tek reports. "We are assimilating the new DNA samples our probes have retrieved from various places on Terra. However, given the costumes participants in Mardi Gras are wearing, we could potentially walk down the main thoroughfares of Halifax as we are and not draw attention."
"Why not?" Dawn muses.
His subordinates stare in disbelief at him, wondering if their commander had taken leave of his senses. "Sir, are you serious?!!" Sel gasps.
"This is a celebration, isn't it?" Dawn looks at the adjudant. "I suspect, Captain Eluza is allowing her crew the chance to rest. Perhaps they are in Halifax enjoying the celebrations as we speak."
"You propose contact, then," Tek concludes.
"Indeed I do," the commander nods. "However, to be on the safe side, have a squad of Drones put on standby."
"At once, sir," the first officer turns to his station...
* * *
"Yay!!!" a young girl screams. "Mardi Gras!!!"
Her mother calms her down as they proceed past the central square with its memorial to the city's war dead. The downtown of Nova Scotia's capital city seemed like a host of writhing snakes as people mill about. Many are dressed in costumes, others with their faces painted, still others relaxed in normal civilians. A few sailors from CFB Halifax and airmen from CFB Shearwater mill in the crowd, dressed in duty uniforms as they try to return home so they could join families or participate in the celebration. Laughter echoes everywhere. At one kiosk, Miti cocks her cap rifle, then fires. Each shot knocks a target down, which wins her a stuffed animal for the handicapped children a group of Roman Catholic nuns were chaperoning. In minutes, everyone has a toy. "There you go," the young Attacker smiles.
"What do you say to the nice woman?" a sister asks.
"Thank you!!" the children call out.
"Bless you, dear," another hands Miti a small crucifix. "May the Lord go with you."
"And you," Miti bows as the sisters proceed on, then strings the crucifix around her neck, returns the gun to the kiosk owner and heads on her way.
"Hey, nice shooting, kid," Lufy comes up, her arm wrapped around Derek's.
"They seemed like nice kids," Miti shrugs.
Denise and Catty walk up to them, both enjoying cotton candy. "Denise, this confection has no nutritional value whatsoever," the android muses. "Why do you eat it?"
"Because it tastes good," her girlfriend smiles. "Relax."
"Uh-oh!" Lufy pats Catty's side. "Catty's putting on weight!"
"I am not!!" the android flushes deep red as everyone laughs. "The only time I will alter myself is if Denise desires it!"
"Could you make your breasts larger?" Lufy makes a growing motion over her own bust. "I hear your sister's pretty stacked."
Catty sighs, then concentrates. Everyone gasps as the woman's chest literally grows before their eyes! "Hey, not too much!!!" Denise gasps. "You don't want to rip your shirt open!!"
Catty laughs as her bust returns to normal. "Besides, my mate loves me the way I am," she kisses the waitress on the cheek.
"I love you too, Catty," Denise purrs.
"Well, at least everyone's relaxing," Eluza smiles as she comes up to them with Oskar, Akira and Shildy. "Maybe this wasn't such a bad idea after all."
"Yeah!" Spea walks up, her arm around Maurice. "You know, back in the Lorelei Fleet, they never allowed us to relax! Couldn't even take a shower without some high mucky-muck jumping down your throat for being out of uniform."
"Insensitive slave-drivers," the Frenchman slips his arm into his shirt, now looking perfectly like a younger Napoleon. "They shall all go to the guillotine for their insensitive behaviour unbecoming of officers and ladies!"
The others howl at the bad joke. Sure enough, everyone save Patty, Steve and Jack come up to join them. "Whoo, is this what life is like all the time on Earth?!" Amy pats herself.
"Only in Canada, I confess," Oskar sighs. "Perhaps in France and Japan as well. In Israel, we have to contend with people such as Hamas."
"As the bloody I.R.A.'s starting up again in England," Chet rolls his eyes to the heavens.
"And we got jokers like the whackos in Waco," Len snorts, hugging Miti from behind.
"Maybe I should join a SWAT team when I grow older," the younger Attacker muses.
"You'd be a shoo-in," Rabby snorts.
"I'd dare say for the SAS," Chet adds.
"Pity they disbanded the Airborne a couple of years ago," Dave rolls his eyes up. "Put Miti and Lufy in there and they'd've straightened around those dips in 2 Commando all by themselves."
"True," Derek groans.
Steve and Jack walk up. Mal looks over. "Where's Patty?"
Both men stop, then look back. "What the hell?!" the computer sciences student gasps. "She was right with us!"
"Oh, relax, man!" the latter chuckles. "She's probably off window-shopping."
"Just in case, let's look for her," Shildy sighs. "I don't want any other fanatic to get close to any of us. And in this crowd, it would be simplicity itself to perform a kidnapping."
"Agreed," Derek nods. "If you guys see anyone from school, pass the word and ask around! We'll find her faster."
Everyone nods, splitting apart...
* * *
Patty finds herself walking alone down Hollis Street towards the train station. She had to get out of that crowd. Seeing so many children was bound to drive her insane. No one had a concept of what she had undergone, not even Eluza. To actually help bring life into this existence, then to be forced away from that life, denied the right to watch him grow, learn. She had been the first mother in known Solnoid history...and because ambitious officers could not see past their own noses, she was forever separated from her son and Rumy, her daughter-in-law.
The combat officer looks around. She was passing behind Government House, the lieutenant-governor's residence. Women dressed in revealing clothing lined both sides of the street ahead. Prostitutes, people who rented their bodies for sex. Patty had asked about them when she had first seen them. Most were young, probably runaways from broken homes. Many were drug addicts. She understood that. Stimulant addiction had become rampant among elements of the Solnoid fleet in the final months of the war, when it became awfully clear to many they were all going to die. The broken homes part, when Patty had heard the story about that, horrified her. Actually striking a child, even become addicted to delivering pain to others, mates and offspring alike?! Sickening!
Patty looks up as one particular woman eyed her. She was quite pretty, with a little too much makeup and too little in the way of clothing. There was a pale tinge to her cheeks, a hollowness to her eyes. She was probably hooked on crack, a vicious crystalline form of cocaine, one of the most popular...and lethal...of Earth narcotics. She was now contemplating if Patty would be a customer so she could get money for her next hit. The combat officer wanted to cry, to take them all from this place and give them good homes. Wishful thinking; probably the Great Mother couldn't clean the filth Earth seemed choked with, just like She couldn't clean Malthus' evil, allowing the Paranoid to destroy it to cleanse the Solnoid of their self-imposed degradation.
Was all this a great test? Patty stops, relaxing on a stone fence. Was coming to Earth, confronting its evils, a way of showing the Solnoid how to confront their own dark natures? If it was, was Patty worthy? Were any of them worthy? Patty sighs. She always possessed a spiritual turn of mind, which made her willing to embrace Sensualism after the Chaos fiasco. She found herself envious of Shildy, who was dating a man whose culture espoused the absorption of many different beliefs to better suit one's purposes. Akira was in turn a Shintoist, Buddhist, Taoist and Confucianist, with a sprinkling of modern democratic and pro-feminist thinking. Perhaps Canada was not the place for her. Could she move to Japan or Korea, where the mixing of faiths was seen as normal?
Patty looks right to see the woman walk up to her, a friendly smile on her face. "Hey, want a date?" she inquires.
The combat officer smiles, then pats the fence beside her. "I'm not interested in sex, but the companionship is welcome."
The woman shrugs, then sits beside her. "Actually, this is my third night out here," she sighs. "It hasn't been fun."
"Bad dates?"
"Pretty bad," she shivers. "There are times when I wish to God that I never got on this shit I'm hooked on now."
"Crack?"
"Yeah," she nods, then quizzically stares at Patty. "Are you a social worker?"
"No," Patty shakes her head. "Park ranger at Kejimkujik. I used to be a soldier, though. I saw drug abuse there."
"No shit," the woman nods. "Oh, my name's Darlene."
"Patty," the Solnoid offers her hand. "Pleased to meet you."
Darlene shakes the hand. "You know, this may sound weird, but I felt as if you could use the company...as if you would be tempted to be out here."
"Doing what you're doing?" Patty inquires.
"Yeah."
Patty shrugs. "I'm not into that. To be honest with you, I...lost my child recently."
The prostitute looks horrified. "Oh, fuck, no way! That must've been a bad trip!"
"In more ways than one," the combat officer nods. "I...I'm new in the area. I thought coming here would clear my mind up, but seeing people like you doing this...makes me very confused."
"Sorry," Darlene looks apologetic. "Actually, I'm starting to wonder what I'm doing here. But...I can't really go back home, either."
"Where are you from?"
"Out by Yarmouth. You?"
"Outside of Lunenburg," Patty smiles. "It's a peaceful place. Bad home back in Yarmouth?"
"Yeah," Darlene nods. "I mean, with the fisheries all shot to hell, Dad started to drink like crazy, then started hitting on Mom and me...I just had to split. Bad decision, huh?"
"Shit happens, I guess," Patty sighs, then notices a coffee shop nearby. "Hey, look, you want to get some coffee at least?"
"Sure, I could use some," Darlene nods.
Offering her arm to her new friend, the Solnoid escorts her down the street. In a minute, both relax inside the coffee shop. "Thanks for the joe," Darlene toasts her.
"My pleasure," Patty taps her cup to the prostitute's, then drinks. "You know, Darlene...I've got a friend who could help de-tox you pretty quick. She's done it before."
Darlene looks surprised. "Really?"
"Yeah, she's a nurse," Patty nods. According to Amy, stimulant abuse had been rampant in the Lorelei Fleet. The fleet commander had ordered that anyone caught would face instant conversion to a cyborg soldier. Nurses like Amy quickly taught themselves how to de-tox organic Solnoids so they would not face such a vile fate. It had worked very well; despite the appalling casualties in the second battle over Earth, two dozen Lorelei ships, whose crews had seen what Journey had planned, had retreated in time, then later survived Sigma Narse. "I can ask her tonight. She's downtown right now enjoying Mardi Gras."
Darlene looks at her, then down to her hands. They were shaking. Crack withdrawal was coming. But...to be free of her addiction? Her eyes lock on Patty's. There was clear honesty in this strange woman who just walked into her life. She had hoped to find new friends when she came to Halifax. She had just made her first. "Okay," she nods.
They finish their coffee, then stand and head for the door. Walking through it, they turn to head towards downtown when a man's voice calls out. "Hey, Dar, where are you going?!"
The prostitute freezes, turning back to see a man drive up in a van, several girls in the back. "Oh, hi, Joe," Darlene forces a smile. "I'm on a date right now."
Joe suspiciously eyes Patty, quickly noting her sex. "Or are you trying to trip out on me?" he muses, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a bag filled with a familiar white crystalline substance.
Darlene sucks in her breath. Patty quickly deduces what is going on. "Hey, look, friend!" she snarls, hoping that she would intimidate this slime enough so that he would get the hint. "She's with me. Poison her with your filth later!" At those words, she parts her jacket to reveal her shoulder-holstered automatic pistol.
Snarling at hearing the strange woman challenge his authority over Darlene, Joe growls as he leaps out of the van, his hand reaching for his own weapon. Patty smiles, her training kicking in as her pistol clears leather. This was a simple case of self-defense. No court in Canada would convict her, especially if the one killed was one who abused innocent women like Darlene.
Before she could bear her weapon to target, a metallic hand lashes out of nowhere to grab Joe by the face and neck, boosting him into the air. The john screams as Dawn's fingers collapse around his throat, then his screams are silenced as the Paranoid commander smashes him through the van's windows! Drawing his hand back, Dawn's eyes narrow, his disgust apparent. "It appears these Terrans have their own form of violence, eh, Sel?"
"Indeed they do, Commander Dawn," Sel is just as sickened. "Actually assaulting unarmed sentients for no discernable cause? Pitiful!"
"Whoa, Patty, who are your friends?!" Darlene gasps.
The Solnoid blinks as a name comes to her. Dawn. Commander Galt's former adjudant, co-creator of Project: Exodermus. What was he doing here?! Holstering her pistol, she walks up to him. "Commander," she salutes. "Welcome to Earth."
The Paranoid lightly bows. "It would be bad form, Combat Leader Patty, to permit you of all Solnoids, after the great good you did both our peoples, to fall to harm."
"What are you doing here?" Patty looks curious.
"Inform your captain that we are here," Dawn responds. "We are all volunteers who separated ourselves from our people to ensure that those amongst you who would carry on the insane war my father and Captain Nebulart struggled to end are stopped."
Patty blinks. Talk about help coming from the strangest of sources. First sympathetic Terrans, now Paranoid! "There are those among us who are planning such things, sir," she nods. "We could use all the help we can get."
Dawn nods. "You shall have it..."
"Commander, look out!!!" Sel gasps.
Dawn turns as Sel levels a disintegrator gun on Joe, who was trying to bring his pistol to bear on the commander. One blast of energy reduces him to ashes in the blink of an eye! "Whoa!!" one of the girls in the truck gasp. "This is one hell of a trip!"
"Aw!!" another drunkenly slurs. "Nice guy, but he blew up all our stash!"
Dawn's eyes narrow, then he looks at Patty. "Is this some strange Terran tradition?"
"Somewhat," the Solnoid rolls her eyes. "Sometimes, I'm just as baffled about these people."
"So I see," he nods. "We noticed you have Bronz-X bouncers with you. We are in high orbit to ensure that the two organically controlled spacecraft 'Atlantis' and 'Mir' do not spot us. At a future time, Combat Leader."
The Paranoid walk away. Patty watches them go, then notices Darlene quizzically staring at her. "I must be having a serious case of withdrawal, because I'd swear you're from another planet."
"I am," Patty nods. "But my story about my son is true."
"I figured that much," Darlene hums. "Care to tell me more?"
"Sure," Patty allows the ex-prostitute to slip an arm around hers, then she looks at the ones in the truck. "Hey, girls. Do yourselves a favour: get off whatever garbage you're on. It won't do you any good."
"After what those two studs just did?" one laughs. "Sure thing, honey! Take care, Darlene!"
"You, too," Darlene waves as she walks down the street with Patty towards Mardi Gras.
As they go, Patty looks in the direction of Halifax Harbour, spotting a Paranoid transport shuttle rocket into orbit. She had just made a new friend...but the spark which would set Solnoid and Terran against Solnoid had just arrived. Suddenly, celebration seemed the last thing on her mind. She then jolts on feeling Darlene's hand grip hers. Smiling, Patty stares ahead. A war was coming...but this time, peace, not final oblivion, would follow. Was that really so bad?
* * *
To be continued...
By Fred Herriot
gorgo@kwangju.net
**** **** ****
Edited by E.B. Kushnir
kush1@iaw.on.ca
**** **** ****
Based on the "Gall Force" series created by MOVIC.
**** **** ****
PART TEN - MARDI GRAS
Space explodes.
The Paranoid battleship shudders as it de-warps, travelling the hundreds of light years and three million years across time to arrive in orbit over Earth's moon. Dawn's eyes narrow as he stares at the beautiful world beyond the moon's pitted surface. Three million years later, Terra's beauty was still intact, still awed him. "We have arrived, Commander," his first officer announces.
"Excellent," the commander sighs. It was another expression Solnoids used, one to express relief. But there was fear in his voice. No Paranoid had EVER contemplated what they were about to do. "Commence planetary scans, Tek," he looks at the first officer. "Inform me of anything which could be of interest."
"At once, Commander," Tek turns to his control board.
Dawn stares at Sel. "Adjudant, relay to the science team that the genetic converters are to be immediately prepared."
"At once, sir," the adjudant nods, then communicates the message to the lower decks. Once confirmation is passed back, Sel turns to Dawn. "Commander, I ask a favour."
"Which is?" Dawn looks at him.
"I request the honour of being the first to undergo the genetic conversion," Sel bows his head.
And the first to take the risk should the conversion fail. "No, Sel. I do not doubt your courage, but I think this time, the first one to undergo the conversion should be myself."
His subordinates are aghast. "Sir, we cannot spare you," Tek stammers.
"Peace, both of you," Dawn's eyes close. "We are all volunteers in this mission, but I am still the commander. I will not permit my forces to undergo something I myself am not willing to undergo. Do not worry; I have faith in the science team."
"Respectfully, sir, this has never been done," Tek warns.
"Aye, it hasn't," Dawn stares at Terra. "But, before us lies our new world. It will not do for us to remain in our current forms on a world of solids, would it not?"
"Agreed," Sel nods. "But, is the DNA actually compatible?"
"It should be," Dawn looks at the adjudant.
A communications relay echoes from the first officer's station. Tek analyzes the readout, then looks at his commander. "Sir, sensors indicate six billion sentients on Terra, both pure-Solnoid type and of the modified type we based on male primates existing on this planet when we first explored it."
"Indeed," Dawn's eyes narrow.
"Frther, sir...sensors indicate a post-industrial society with nuclear capabilities and local spaceflight. Two small craft are presently in orbit over Terra, in addition to many communications satellites. Little show Solnoid influence."
Silence falls over the bridge. "The Species Unification Project," Sel gasps. "It...it really worked!"
"It did indeed," Dawn nods. "Have the science team compare our DNA samples with what sensory picks up from the surface. Any differences will have to be examined before we undergo the procedure. And begin scanning for Solnoid trace influences."
"At once, sir," Tek turns to his station...
* * *
"C'mon, Derek," Lufy calls. "Let's try it again."
"Right, right," the history student grunts as he adjusts his arms in the Bronz-X servo-controls. "Bloody monkey suit! Hey, Lufy, how the hell did you people fight in these things?! This thing feels like I'm in a straightjacket!"
"Well, remember that the seats are for women, not men," the Attacker retorts. "Now, try it again."
"Yes, ma'am," Derek nods as he starts to walk the Bronz-X. In a way, it was like riding a bicycle. The foot pedals worked the legs while the arm servos worked the arms. The head was mated to the helmet Derek wore, the camera lens tuned to his eyes so the pilot could focus on whatever is of interest. Nice simple system, like a labor from "Patlabor" or a mobile suit from "Gundam." The only problem was that the special stuff...cannons, jet thrusters and everything else the Solnoid stacked on the bouncers...were controlled by the fingertips. Derek had to be careful lest he turn Lufy, watching him with a portable radio from nearby, to ashes.
The bouncer walks slowly down the beach. Patty and Rabby, having taken the day off work, are out with scouts to ensure no one could spot them from the land side. The "Enterprise" floated off in the distance, Denise and Catty aboard to ensure no one would sneak up from the Atlantic. "Good, good!" Lufy nods. "You're getting the hang of it now. Try to look around!"
Derek stops, looking around. He focuses on the "Enterprise," leaning close. Left middle finger magnified the lens to present a close-up of Denise and Catty, now stripped down to underwear, laying on the deck, passionately kissing away. He turns a bright shade of red as he looks away. "This thing can't guarantee any sort of privacy."
Nearby, Eluza shakes her head. Beside her was a computer screen which showed everything Derek's Bronz was seeing. Grabbing her mike, she cuts to the trawler's frequency. "You idiots out there stop making love and get back to work!!! This isn't a time for fun and games!!"
"Oh, Eluza, take a Valium, will ya?!" Denise's annoyed voice yells back. "Catty's got TOIL and AIL keeping an eye on things!! And Derek, stop peeking at us!! Look down Lufy's shirt the next time you get the urge to stare at a woman's body!!"
"S-sorry!" Derek's voice echoes from the bouncer.
Eluza shakes her head. Dealing with emotional intimacy in the midst of preparing for battle was, to say the least, annoying. She now understood why most armies on Earth had all-male combat units, plus had strict rules controlling the presence of gays in the service. It was hard training to kill when your glands had other ideas. "Just keep your mind on business, you two," she calls out.
"Yes, your highness," Denise moans, then giggles are heard as the line to the "Enterprise" is cut.
"I say, the old boy seems to be getting the hang of it now," Chet muses as he walks up to stand beside the "Starleaf's" captain.
"He does, doesn't he?" Eluza nods. "I'm amazed. You don't have a tithe of our knowledge in robotics, yet you take to the Bronzs like they were things you've had to deal with your whole life."
"Well, I day say whoever designed your bouncers made sure the things are idiot-proof," the Englishman points to the bouncer...
...then winces as the starboard arm cannon accidentally fires, blowing apart a large rock some distance away! "Yeah, idiot-proof!!!" Derek's voice growls. "You come in here and try to pilot this thing, Chet!!"
"My turn's coming, old chap," Chet waves. "As soon as Rabby makes her appearance."
"I'm here," Rabby announces as she drives up on one of the Jet Blowguns.
"Report," Eluza stares at her.
"All quiet on the western front," the first officer disembarks. "Just to be on the safe side, I'll ask Mal to disarm the guns before letting Chet inside."
"Good idea," the captain sighs. "What about out east?"
"I called Patty. All quiet."
"Let's hope it stays that way," Eluza looks out to sea as the Bronz kneels to allow Derek to disembark...
* * *
"Commander, sensors indicate the fire of a Bronz-X type combat armour," Tek looks up from his station.
"Where?!" Dawn looks at his first officer.
A schematic of eastern North America appears on the front viewscreen. A target marker falls over western Nova Scotia. "At this point, sir," Tek announces. "According to what we've been able to gather, it is a part of the Terran nation called 'Canada,' in a sub-division known as 'Nova Scotia.' Near a habitation called 'Lunenburg.'"
"Magnify," Dawn orders.
The image blows up until a roughly clear view of the beach where the Solnoids were teaching their Terran friends how to use the combat armour comes into view. "There, sir!" Sel points.
"I see it," Dawn stares. "A mix of both Solnoids and Terran males, I believe."
"Confirmed by sensory, sir," the first officer announces. "Further, ECM has identified a communications signature." He pauses, then looks over. "The battlecarrier 'Starleaf,' formerly of the 28th Battle Group."
The name causes the others to fall silent. "'Starleaf,'" Dawn rolls the name. "So, the Fates were kind to bring them to this world. We have allies, Tek. Their participation in the Species Unification Project is well known."
"The Gallant Force still lives," Sel muses. "Commander, I do recommend caution should we decide to initiate contact."
"Agreed," Dawn nods. "The 'Starleaf's' first officer, Rabby, sacrificed much to ensure that the Project was allowed to succeed without the interference of the more ambitious officers of the Axis or her own Central Guard. If they are committed to seeing peace on this world, they will become our allies."
"Let it be so," the adjudant nods.
* * *
Derek sighs, hugging Lufy as she guides the Blowgun towards the western observation point, a half-kilometre from the apartment building. He cursed himself for being so clumsy. A shot like that would have brought heaven knows what out to see what was going on. Fortunately, it was a weekday, with most people at work. Sensing his tension, Lufy pats his hand. "Relax," the Attacker smiles. "I was all thumbs when I first started piloting a Bronz. They're not nice things to learn."
After a minute, both arrive at the spot they chose to keep a watch on incoming traffic, a small cliff overlooking the dirt road leading back to the apartment. It was a seldom used lane. Lufy parks the Blowgun, then drapes it with a camouflage net. They move to sit by a tree. Both were dressed in surplus combat uniforms they had purchased in Halifax, Canadian flags stitched on both shoulders. Taking out a walkie-talkie, Lufy calls in. "Tripwire One to Starleaf. Am in position. No party-crashers coming. Will call if they show up. Out."
She closes the walkie-talkie, then notices that Derek has a faraway look on his face. "You know, some of this still feels like some insane dream," he muses.
"When the bullets start flying, you'll see how real it is," Lufy plucks out a blade of grass, then sticks it in her mouth.
"They felt the same way when they marched into France in 1915," the history student sighs. "They thought the war would be a ninety-day affair, one quick battle and it would be decided. The machine gun woke them up to that."
"I'll bet," she shudders, remembering what she read about the First World War. "I guess the war between ourselves and the Paranoid started the same way. One quick fight, then we'd go our separate ways. Shame that we can't remember that far back."
"You never learned from your own history," he sighs. "But even if you did, would your leaders have listened?"
"Guess not," she looks depressed.
Silence falls over them as they watch the road. As far as passers-by would think, they were a young couple relaxing, or a pair of survivalists taking it easy from a training exercise. Nothing too strange to make people start questioning what was going on. Lufy shifts herself to lay her head on Derek's chest. "Derek, what's going to happen to you after this is done?" she muses.
"After I graduate university?" he muses. "I guess go get my Bachelor of Education in TESL, then start travelling around the world. I've rarely been outside Nova Scotia."
"Really?" Lufy looks at him. "Maybe I should get my degree, too. What should I study?"
"The choice is yours since you'll be entering as a mature student," he shrugs.
"What about history?" she looks at him.
"It's a good subject," he nods. "But, if you ask Chet, he'd say engineering; if you ask Steve, he'd say computer sciences; if you ask Akira, he'd say English..."
"Could I just grab a mixed bag of whatever comes to mind?"
"A general BA, you mean?" he muses. "Actually, that's also pretty good. You'll be able to sample as much about Earth as you can. The teachers at Dalhousie are a decent lot. But, they're just like university professors everywhere else."
"And what happens if you start travelling around the world?" she coyly stares at him. "Gonna leave me behind?"
Lufy finds herself swept into Derek's arms. "Not on your bloody life!" he growls as they kiss.
She sighs as their tongues play with each other. They had become closer over the last month. Holding hands, hugging, kissing. Lufy could now imagine spending the rest of her life with this person, born under a different star, governed by a different set of social rules. They were mortal, but if they married, they would live on through their children and grandchildren. The Attacker realized that was the primary reason children were so prized on Earth. They were the guarantee for the future. They preserved the memories of their progenitors. "I guess that's why we became so reckless," Lufy sighs as they part.
"What do you mean?" Derek muses.
"I was thinking about the time we'll have our first child," she leans into him. "I mean...I suppose when we lost track of how to have children, when we discovered the ability to produce people without directly involving mothers, we fully confronted our mortality. And when we did that, we just said 'to hell with it,' then kept on fighting the Paranoid. We knew we had nothing which could preserve our memory, so we didn't care anymore."
He nods. "You lost track of what you were fighting for. The war became the be-all and end-all of existence."
"Yeah. Sucks, doesn't it?"
"I guess so. I can't tell because I wasn't there. Probably that's why the Species Unification Project came as such a shock to so many of you. You couldn't conceive of preserving your memories, even just via DNA, so you rejected it out of hand."
"But some held onto it," she smiles. "And made me hold on to it, too. Made me see the light."
He nods. "And now we'll have to make others see the light."
"Won't be easy," she looks at him.
"Nothing ever comes easy."
They kiss. "Except love."
"If you're lucky and you find the right person," he warns her.
"Have you?"
"I have. And you?"
They kiss again. "I guess I have," she smiles...
* * *
"Mardi Gras?!" Eluza looks confused.
"Sure!" Denise nods. "Look, Eluza, we've been training for three weeks now. It's time to take a rest and relax. Besides, you're not sure if something could happen anytime soon. You can't keep yourself tense all the time. No one can."
"It is time to relax, Eluza," Catty adds. "Even I am tired."
"I think the ladies are harking on a good idea," Oskar walks up to rub Eluza's shoulders. "Even in the IDF, we never trained this hard. You people are dedicated, but there's a point where dedication turns to fanaticism. I agree that the presence of people like those Guardswomen we fought just murder freedom by existing, but we cannot let them always dominate our lives."
"Alright, alright," the captain laughs. "Let's go!"
Everyone lets out a cheer...
* * *
"Tek, what is this?!" Dawn looks confusedly at the viewscreen.
An image of downtown Halifax decked in the decorations of the city's annual Mardi Gras projects from the screen. "It appears to be a celebration being held in Nova Scotia's administrative centre, Commander," the first officer reports. "They address it as 'Mardi Gras.'"
"'Fat Tuesday,'" the adjudant translates. "Tuesday is the third day of the standard Terran week, the second work day. I cannot understand the connotation of obesity when applied to this particular day."
"Agreed, Sel. It is curious," Dawn muses. "These Terrans are even more stranger than the Solnoid when we first began to fight our war with them. They willingly celebrate both life and death at nearly the same time."
"They must be as mystifying to the Solnoid as they are to us, sir," Sel muses. "Perhaps some of the Solnoid survivors could have rejected assimilating with the Terrans."
"Then our purpose here would have justification," Tek adds.
"Indeed," Dawn nods. "They would seek enemies anew, perhaps attempt to take control of Terra so they could re-establish themselves and continue prosecuting the war against us. The madness of fanatics knows no bounds. How go the preparations with the genetic conversion chambers?"
"They are still progressing, sir," Tek reports. "We are assimilating the new DNA samples our probes have retrieved from various places on Terra. However, given the costumes participants in Mardi Gras are wearing, we could potentially walk down the main thoroughfares of Halifax as we are and not draw attention."
"Why not?" Dawn muses.
His subordinates stare in disbelief at him, wondering if their commander had taken leave of his senses. "Sir, are you serious?!!" Sel gasps.
"This is a celebration, isn't it?" Dawn looks at the adjudant. "I suspect, Captain Eluza is allowing her crew the chance to rest. Perhaps they are in Halifax enjoying the celebrations as we speak."
"You propose contact, then," Tek concludes.
"Indeed I do," the commander nods. "However, to be on the safe side, have a squad of Drones put on standby."
"At once, sir," the first officer turns to his station...
* * *
"Yay!!!" a young girl screams. "Mardi Gras!!!"
Her mother calms her down as they proceed past the central square with its memorial to the city's war dead. The downtown of Nova Scotia's capital city seemed like a host of writhing snakes as people mill about. Many are dressed in costumes, others with their faces painted, still others relaxed in normal civilians. A few sailors from CFB Halifax and airmen from CFB Shearwater mill in the crowd, dressed in duty uniforms as they try to return home so they could join families or participate in the celebration. Laughter echoes everywhere. At one kiosk, Miti cocks her cap rifle, then fires. Each shot knocks a target down, which wins her a stuffed animal for the handicapped children a group of Roman Catholic nuns were chaperoning. In minutes, everyone has a toy. "There you go," the young Attacker smiles.
"What do you say to the nice woman?" a sister asks.
"Thank you!!" the children call out.
"Bless you, dear," another hands Miti a small crucifix. "May the Lord go with you."
"And you," Miti bows as the sisters proceed on, then strings the crucifix around her neck, returns the gun to the kiosk owner and heads on her way.
"Hey, nice shooting, kid," Lufy comes up, her arm wrapped around Derek's.
"They seemed like nice kids," Miti shrugs.
Denise and Catty walk up to them, both enjoying cotton candy. "Denise, this confection has no nutritional value whatsoever," the android muses. "Why do you eat it?"
"Because it tastes good," her girlfriend smiles. "Relax."
"Uh-oh!" Lufy pats Catty's side. "Catty's putting on weight!"
"I am not!!" the android flushes deep red as everyone laughs. "The only time I will alter myself is if Denise desires it!"
"Could you make your breasts larger?" Lufy makes a growing motion over her own bust. "I hear your sister's pretty stacked."
Catty sighs, then concentrates. Everyone gasps as the woman's chest literally grows before their eyes! "Hey, not too much!!!" Denise gasps. "You don't want to rip your shirt open!!"
Catty laughs as her bust returns to normal. "Besides, my mate loves me the way I am," she kisses the waitress on the cheek.
"I love you too, Catty," Denise purrs.
"Well, at least everyone's relaxing," Eluza smiles as she comes up to them with Oskar, Akira and Shildy. "Maybe this wasn't such a bad idea after all."
"Yeah!" Spea walks up, her arm around Maurice. "You know, back in the Lorelei Fleet, they never allowed us to relax! Couldn't even take a shower without some high mucky-muck jumping down your throat for being out of uniform."
"Insensitive slave-drivers," the Frenchman slips his arm into his shirt, now looking perfectly like a younger Napoleon. "They shall all go to the guillotine for their insensitive behaviour unbecoming of officers and ladies!"
The others howl at the bad joke. Sure enough, everyone save Patty, Steve and Jack come up to join them. "Whoo, is this what life is like all the time on Earth?!" Amy pats herself.
"Only in Canada, I confess," Oskar sighs. "Perhaps in France and Japan as well. In Israel, we have to contend with people such as Hamas."
"As the bloody I.R.A.'s starting up again in England," Chet rolls his eyes to the heavens.
"And we got jokers like the whackos in Waco," Len snorts, hugging Miti from behind.
"Maybe I should join a SWAT team when I grow older," the younger Attacker muses.
"You'd be a shoo-in," Rabby snorts.
"I'd dare say for the SAS," Chet adds.
"Pity they disbanded the Airborne a couple of years ago," Dave rolls his eyes up. "Put Miti and Lufy in there and they'd've straightened around those dips in 2 Commando all by themselves."
"True," Derek groans.
Steve and Jack walk up. Mal looks over. "Where's Patty?"
Both men stop, then look back. "What the hell?!" the computer sciences student gasps. "She was right with us!"
"Oh, relax, man!" the latter chuckles. "She's probably off window-shopping."
"Just in case, let's look for her," Shildy sighs. "I don't want any other fanatic to get close to any of us. And in this crowd, it would be simplicity itself to perform a kidnapping."
"Agreed," Derek nods. "If you guys see anyone from school, pass the word and ask around! We'll find her faster."
Everyone nods, splitting apart...
* * *
Patty finds herself walking alone down Hollis Street towards the train station. She had to get out of that crowd. Seeing so many children was bound to drive her insane. No one had a concept of what she had undergone, not even Eluza. To actually help bring life into this existence, then to be forced away from that life, denied the right to watch him grow, learn. She had been the first mother in known Solnoid history...and because ambitious officers could not see past their own noses, she was forever separated from her son and Rumy, her daughter-in-law.
The combat officer looks around. She was passing behind Government House, the lieutenant-governor's residence. Women dressed in revealing clothing lined both sides of the street ahead. Prostitutes, people who rented their bodies for sex. Patty had asked about them when she had first seen them. Most were young, probably runaways from broken homes. Many were drug addicts. She understood that. Stimulant addiction had become rampant among elements of the Solnoid fleet in the final months of the war, when it became awfully clear to many they were all going to die. The broken homes part, when Patty had heard the story about that, horrified her. Actually striking a child, even become addicted to delivering pain to others, mates and offspring alike?! Sickening!
Patty looks up as one particular woman eyed her. She was quite pretty, with a little too much makeup and too little in the way of clothing. There was a pale tinge to her cheeks, a hollowness to her eyes. She was probably hooked on crack, a vicious crystalline form of cocaine, one of the most popular...and lethal...of Earth narcotics. She was now contemplating if Patty would be a customer so she could get money for her next hit. The combat officer wanted to cry, to take them all from this place and give them good homes. Wishful thinking; probably the Great Mother couldn't clean the filth Earth seemed choked with, just like She couldn't clean Malthus' evil, allowing the Paranoid to destroy it to cleanse the Solnoid of their self-imposed degradation.
Was all this a great test? Patty stops, relaxing on a stone fence. Was coming to Earth, confronting its evils, a way of showing the Solnoid how to confront their own dark natures? If it was, was Patty worthy? Were any of them worthy? Patty sighs. She always possessed a spiritual turn of mind, which made her willing to embrace Sensualism after the Chaos fiasco. She found herself envious of Shildy, who was dating a man whose culture espoused the absorption of many different beliefs to better suit one's purposes. Akira was in turn a Shintoist, Buddhist, Taoist and Confucianist, with a sprinkling of modern democratic and pro-feminist thinking. Perhaps Canada was not the place for her. Could she move to Japan or Korea, where the mixing of faiths was seen as normal?
Patty looks right to see the woman walk up to her, a friendly smile on her face. "Hey, want a date?" she inquires.
The combat officer smiles, then pats the fence beside her. "I'm not interested in sex, but the companionship is welcome."
The woman shrugs, then sits beside her. "Actually, this is my third night out here," she sighs. "It hasn't been fun."
"Bad dates?"
"Pretty bad," she shivers. "There are times when I wish to God that I never got on this shit I'm hooked on now."
"Crack?"
"Yeah," she nods, then quizzically stares at Patty. "Are you a social worker?"
"No," Patty shakes her head. "Park ranger at Kejimkujik. I used to be a soldier, though. I saw drug abuse there."
"No shit," the woman nods. "Oh, my name's Darlene."
"Patty," the Solnoid offers her hand. "Pleased to meet you."
Darlene shakes the hand. "You know, this may sound weird, but I felt as if you could use the company...as if you would be tempted to be out here."
"Doing what you're doing?" Patty inquires.
"Yeah."
Patty shrugs. "I'm not into that. To be honest with you, I...lost my child recently."
The prostitute looks horrified. "Oh, fuck, no way! That must've been a bad trip!"
"In more ways than one," the combat officer nods. "I...I'm new in the area. I thought coming here would clear my mind up, but seeing people like you doing this...makes me very confused."
"Sorry," Darlene looks apologetic. "Actually, I'm starting to wonder what I'm doing here. But...I can't really go back home, either."
"Where are you from?"
"Out by Yarmouth. You?"
"Outside of Lunenburg," Patty smiles. "It's a peaceful place. Bad home back in Yarmouth?"
"Yeah," Darlene nods. "I mean, with the fisheries all shot to hell, Dad started to drink like crazy, then started hitting on Mom and me...I just had to split. Bad decision, huh?"
"Shit happens, I guess," Patty sighs, then notices a coffee shop nearby. "Hey, look, you want to get some coffee at least?"
"Sure, I could use some," Darlene nods.
Offering her arm to her new friend, the Solnoid escorts her down the street. In a minute, both relax inside the coffee shop. "Thanks for the joe," Darlene toasts her.
"My pleasure," Patty taps her cup to the prostitute's, then drinks. "You know, Darlene...I've got a friend who could help de-tox you pretty quick. She's done it before."
Darlene looks surprised. "Really?"
"Yeah, she's a nurse," Patty nods. According to Amy, stimulant abuse had been rampant in the Lorelei Fleet. The fleet commander had ordered that anyone caught would face instant conversion to a cyborg soldier. Nurses like Amy quickly taught themselves how to de-tox organic Solnoids so they would not face such a vile fate. It had worked very well; despite the appalling casualties in the second battle over Earth, two dozen Lorelei ships, whose crews had seen what Journey had planned, had retreated in time, then later survived Sigma Narse. "I can ask her tonight. She's downtown right now enjoying Mardi Gras."
Darlene looks at her, then down to her hands. They were shaking. Crack withdrawal was coming. But...to be free of her addiction? Her eyes lock on Patty's. There was clear honesty in this strange woman who just walked into her life. She had hoped to find new friends when she came to Halifax. She had just made her first. "Okay," she nods.
They finish their coffee, then stand and head for the door. Walking through it, they turn to head towards downtown when a man's voice calls out. "Hey, Dar, where are you going?!"
The prostitute freezes, turning back to see a man drive up in a van, several girls in the back. "Oh, hi, Joe," Darlene forces a smile. "I'm on a date right now."
Joe suspiciously eyes Patty, quickly noting her sex. "Or are you trying to trip out on me?" he muses, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a bag filled with a familiar white crystalline substance.
Darlene sucks in her breath. Patty quickly deduces what is going on. "Hey, look, friend!" she snarls, hoping that she would intimidate this slime enough so that he would get the hint. "She's with me. Poison her with your filth later!" At those words, she parts her jacket to reveal her shoulder-holstered automatic pistol.
Snarling at hearing the strange woman challenge his authority over Darlene, Joe growls as he leaps out of the van, his hand reaching for his own weapon. Patty smiles, her training kicking in as her pistol clears leather. This was a simple case of self-defense. No court in Canada would convict her, especially if the one killed was one who abused innocent women like Darlene.
Before she could bear her weapon to target, a metallic hand lashes out of nowhere to grab Joe by the face and neck, boosting him into the air. The john screams as Dawn's fingers collapse around his throat, then his screams are silenced as the Paranoid commander smashes him through the van's windows! Drawing his hand back, Dawn's eyes narrow, his disgust apparent. "It appears these Terrans have their own form of violence, eh, Sel?"
"Indeed they do, Commander Dawn," Sel is just as sickened. "Actually assaulting unarmed sentients for no discernable cause? Pitiful!"
"Whoa, Patty, who are your friends?!" Darlene gasps.
The Solnoid blinks as a name comes to her. Dawn. Commander Galt's former adjudant, co-creator of Project: Exodermus. What was he doing here?! Holstering her pistol, she walks up to him. "Commander," she salutes. "Welcome to Earth."
The Paranoid lightly bows. "It would be bad form, Combat Leader Patty, to permit you of all Solnoids, after the great good you did both our peoples, to fall to harm."
"What are you doing here?" Patty looks curious.
"Inform your captain that we are here," Dawn responds. "We are all volunteers who separated ourselves from our people to ensure that those amongst you who would carry on the insane war my father and Captain Nebulart struggled to end are stopped."
Patty blinks. Talk about help coming from the strangest of sources. First sympathetic Terrans, now Paranoid! "There are those among us who are planning such things, sir," she nods. "We could use all the help we can get."
Dawn nods. "You shall have it..."
"Commander, look out!!!" Sel gasps.
Dawn turns as Sel levels a disintegrator gun on Joe, who was trying to bring his pistol to bear on the commander. One blast of energy reduces him to ashes in the blink of an eye! "Whoa!!" one of the girls in the truck gasp. "This is one hell of a trip!"
"Aw!!" another drunkenly slurs. "Nice guy, but he blew up all our stash!"
Dawn's eyes narrow, then he looks at Patty. "Is this some strange Terran tradition?"
"Somewhat," the Solnoid rolls her eyes. "Sometimes, I'm just as baffled about these people."
"So I see," he nods. "We noticed you have Bronz-X bouncers with you. We are in high orbit to ensure that the two organically controlled spacecraft 'Atlantis' and 'Mir' do not spot us. At a future time, Combat Leader."
The Paranoid walk away. Patty watches them go, then notices Darlene quizzically staring at her. "I must be having a serious case of withdrawal, because I'd swear you're from another planet."
"I am," Patty nods. "But my story about my son is true."
"I figured that much," Darlene hums. "Care to tell me more?"
"Sure," Patty allows the ex-prostitute to slip an arm around hers, then she looks at the ones in the truck. "Hey, girls. Do yourselves a favour: get off whatever garbage you're on. It won't do you any good."
"After what those two studs just did?" one laughs. "Sure thing, honey! Take care, Darlene!"
"You, too," Darlene waves as she walks down the street with Patty towards Mardi Gras.
As they go, Patty looks in the direction of Halifax Harbour, spotting a Paranoid transport shuttle rocket into orbit. She had just made a new friend...but the spark which would set Solnoid and Terran against Solnoid had just arrived. Suddenly, celebration seemed the last thing on her mind. She then jolts on feeling Darlene's hand grip hers. Smiling, Patty stares ahead. A war was coming...but this time, peace, not final oblivion, would follow. Was that really so bad?
* * *
To be continued...