“Well…” I said as I started to think it through… “We’re taught to believe that and more or less socialized to think that way but in reality we’re judging people based on our moral beliefs. We justify these beliefs by claiming we need protection but according to these incarceration numbers I just pulled up on the net, that’s not exactly true. If these stats are right Jaki is technically correct when she says we lock up a majority of people simply because they won’t live their lives the way we want them to. As a society we’re kind of fibbing to ourselves and Jaki is calling us on it.”
“So the Noridians don’t share the same morals as we do. That’s probably to be expected,” Julie said. “Until we each have a better understanding of how our societies ‘think’ there’ll probably be more misunderstandings like this one.”
“You think it was a misunderstanding?” I asked.
“Well, don’t you?”
I wasn’t so sure. Somehow I didn’t believe that Jaki’s little speech was impromptu. The more I thought about it the more I was sure that she staged it. There are certainly a number of things about our civilization that would be hard to defend but we’re not on trial, are we?
“I don’t know. It just seems that she probed an area that we can’t logically defend, and it, well… it gave her the moral high ground. If nothing else it sure put us on the defensive…” And changed the subject as well, I thought to myself.
Chapter 6
Major Mathew Reagan, US Army
The interview with Jaki sent large waves through the Broken Star team, the military, and the government. We already knew that there were hostile entities out there and it was now obvious that our protection had a price. Our protectors were making it clear that they could withdraw that protection at any time. The biggest questions then were what did the Noridians want from us and could we afford not to give it to them?
The international politics had to be landing squarely on General Nesbit’s shoulders and I was thankful I didn’t have his job. The Noridians had contacted several other Heads of State in addition to our President, but had made it clear they would deal with Earth through us. How this didn’t cause a war I’ll never know but it set the stage for Operation Broken Star.
We were a scientific and diplomatic group overseen by the military—as opposed to being a military operation with a scientific and diplomatic element—a distinction that only a true Washington bureaucrat could appreciate. Also, I was told not to refer to myself or my staff as military but rather as security forces. Regardless, we were officially designated B Company, commanded by Brigadier General Nesbit and our personnel strength was 144. B Company was made up of four Platoons and Gen Nesbit’s Headquarters Staff. 1st Platoon was the diplomatic staff, and Platoons 2nd, 3rd, and 4th were given over to scientific duties. I commanded 3rd Platoon. Captain Antonio Silva was my Second in Command and along with three staff members made up my own headquarters. In addition to my HQ my platoon had four squads; Orange, Red, Green, and Blue. Each squad had a security Captain as a Squad Leader and six science personnel. My Squad Leaders and HQ Staff were all handpicked by me except for Captain Silva.
At any rate, my Squad Leaders and HQ staff are very special people. Since we would be weaponless once the journey started (I don’t know if that was a stipulation of the Noridians or an idiotic politician’s idea of showing faith) I wanted the very best hand-to-hand experts on the planet. I was told that I could have anyone I wanted as long as they could be vetted so I had put it to the test and called a friend of mine in the Japanese Self-Defense Force (SDF). I thought the two files he sent me were a joke until I watched the video of their martial skills. Twin sisters, attractive and deadly; real Femmes Fatales. I also called every Special Forces officer I had a working relationship with in the U.S. and the U.K. and used their best people to round out my staff and Platoon Leaders. The result was my own seven-man army that could probably, with their bare hands, kill 40 people in a crowded room before anyone had the sense to scream. The other three Platoon Leaders thought I was playing politics by selecting an international team but I didn’t care. I can understand why they’d want to bring their existing staff and command structure but I was going with my gut on this one. I figured it was easier to train Special Forces how to do staff stuff than it was to teach staffers how to be Special Forces.
All of this hadn’t gone unnoticed by General Nesbit. Sometime before we’d arrived at our Nevada facilities he’d called me into his Washington office and questioned me extensively on my choice of personnel. I don’t think he trusted the alien bastards any more than I did but it was our mission to play nice and make friends. It had to have been somewhere in that long conversation that he decided he’d trust me on this. The very next day all but one of my selections were approved and Captain Silva was assigned as my second. General Nesbit actually called me later that evening and apologized for not being able to approve everyone…
“Major Reagan, I tried to get you everyone you asked for but the psych boys were pretty adamant about Clayton’s emotional stability… something about his divorce. Anyway, I pulled some strings and fast-tracked approval on Captain Antonio Silva for you. I know this might look like I’m trying to plant my own personal spy on you but you’re going to have to trust me that’s not the case. After you’ve read his file and talked to him if you need to call my office I’ll back you on replacing him but you’re going to have to do it quick—we’re going to be moving the team to a secure location soon and there won’t be any changes after.”
“Yes sir,” I said. “Thank you sir.”
“Matt, I don’t have to tell you how crazy and unprecedented this mission is. You’ve started out thinking outside the box and I respect that but just make sure your team stays in line. I won’t tolerate any threat to the mission.”
“I understand, sir.”
What else could I say? I guess this was the quid pro quo… I got the unconventional team I wanted but I had to take a spy as well… or not. Maybe Captain Silva was a great officer and Nesbit was trying to do me a favor? Only time would tell.
“Ah, Major Reagan?”
“Yes Jerry?”
“What was the web address I needed to file these requisition forms?”
Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.
Just then Captain Silva walked in and said, “I’ll handle it.”
We were now moved into the underground Nevada facility and I was just becoming familiar with my new staff at the same time as we were all starting to work with the scientists and now, through interviews, we were all starting to meet the Noridians.
Since Jaki’s initial interview about 20 different Noridians (the actual number was classified) had started meeting with different teams of scientists and diplomats. It was amazing how much talking it took to learn or confirm important details. You might have a simple list of ten questions and never get past the first because the entire session is taken up exploring some new detail that was in the answer which, of course, brings up more questions, etc. A skill I was really learning to appreciate (and cursing that more people didn’t have) was knowing when to stop chasing the rabbit down the rabbit hole; stop following tangents and stay/get back on track.
Although the interviews were still being blogcast live it was impossible to keep up with them. They were all recorded and available 24 hours to Broken Star personnel but the simple math was that there were far more than 24 hours of recording made every day, so most people just read the summaries—and it was still tough to keep up.