The colonel had asked the alien AI for assistance, and it had quickly recommended the perfect place, Murramarang National Park, over forty square miles of tropical forest and beach that ran along the south coast of New South Wales, just over a hundred miles from Sydney.
The Park was apparently thick with wild kangaroo, which hung out by the dozens near and on the beach, eating washed-up seaweed. Dolphins could often be seen frolicking just off these same beaches, with parrots and other exotic birds overhead.
Choose the right room and you could sit outside and see it all: tropical forest, beach, kangaroos, dolphins, and exotic birds. Given our time constraints, it couldn’t have been more perfect.
The colonel had asked the alien AI to book us at what it considered an ideal spot, the Roo View Lodge, which consisted of a line of twenty large tourist cabins with forest behind them and beach in front. Since the AI could hack any computer and create funds and fake electronic passports from thin air, the reservation was made in the blink of an eye.
So now we were all set for a UFO joyride, followed by the Roo View experience. Not a sequence of events I ever would have predicted if given an eternity of guesses.
Brad Schoenfeld finally arrived on the beach and marched over to us, carrying a large black rucksack, which he handed to Tessa. “I packed this with every last weapon, gadget, tool, and medical supply you typically take on missions, Major.”
Tessa raised her eyebrows. “You know me too well, Colonel.”
“I’d appreciate it if you’d arm yourself once the UAV drops you off.”
“You know that kangaroos are herbivores, right?” I said impishly.
“That’s very funny,” said the colonel, not amused. “Given your importance, it’s all I can do not to station an army around you.”
I grinned. “Well, you pretty much have,” I said. “If there was ever an army of one, Tessa Barrett is it.”
Tessa rolled her eyes at me and then turned to the colonel. “Thanks, Brad,” she said. “I’ll make sure I’m armed. But what’s up? What do you want to talk to us about? Is everything okay?”
“Everything is fine,” he replied. “It’s just that now that you’ve had the chance to meet Nari and learn what’s going on, I wanted to share some additional . . . thoughts. Especially since you’ll be meeting with him privately, and I have no idea what he plans to say.”
“Are you concerned about that?” I asked.
“Not really. But I hope you’ll consider sharing what he tells you. I know its heady stuff to learn that you might be some kind of galactic second coming, but I trust you’ll remember that your loyalties lie with humanity.”
My eyes narrowed. “Are you implying that you don’t trust Nari and his Federation?”
“No. I’m not implying that at all. As I said, I believe everything he told you is true, and that his intentions are pure. He’s been a valuable and steadfast ally.”
“Then what’s the concern?” asked Tessa.
The colonel sighed. “I just think there’s more to the story. More than we’re being told. And that makes me uncomfortable. These aliens and their AI have saved us many times. There’s no doubt about that. But they can also destroy humanity whenever they want. On a whim. We’d be helpless against their technology.”
“Their psychological constitutions wouldn’t allow it,” said Tessa.
“Maybe so,” replied Brad. “Or maybe one of their members with enough backbone could bring themselves to issue an automated command, and not watch the results. They did find a way to let Hiroshima and Nagasaki happen, after all. Their resolve would be even greater if they were convinced their fate depended on it. And remember, along with the Rho, there are three other Federation species less sheep-like than the rest.”
“I thought their fate depended on us?” I said.
“It probably does. But remember, they aren’t in complete agreement on that topic. Nari mentioned that there are members who believe humanity is more of a potential threat than a potential savior.”
He was right. A great example of why I needed time to digest what I’d been told and consider all implications. Nari had mentioned this so casually it had failed to properly register with me, but I could see why it would give the colonel pause.
“So you think there’s trouble in Federation paradise?” said Tessa.
“I don’t. Not really. Everything we know, every experience we’ve had with the Galactics, suggests that they’ve been nothing but saints. Still, I’ve secretly assigned a team to find a strategy we could use to defeat them. It would be foolish to do anything else. If Superman were real, humanity would be forced to keep a secret stash of kryptonite on hand, even while he was saving the day.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Superman is amazing, right? A stalwart friend of humanity with a heart of gold. But he’s too damn powerful. So just on the one-in-a-million chance he might somehow turn against us, we’d want to be ready. It’s the only prudent thing to do.”
There was a brief silence, punctuated only by the calls of various island birds and the gentle crash of waves on the beach.
“Or do you disagree?” said the colonel.
“I can’t say I do,” replied Tessa.
“Me either,” I said.
It occurred to me that there was a better cautionary tale than Superman. God himself. He had created humanity, after all, and had been a very close ally of our species. Until the whole flood thing, when he had wiped us out. If even God could experience that kind of change of heart, I supposed the aliens could too.
“You said you thought the Galactics might not be giving you the entire story,” said Tessa. “In what way?”