ELIZABETH WEIR quickly stopped counting how many times she stepped onto the bridge of the Atlantis. But with each new visit, she grew to love it more. The look of it, the sound of it, the smell of it. The soft murmur of the crew behind him, the occasional voices from the computers; she could sense the well-being of the entire vessel through those sounds alone.653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzhAKEAjWAb
Right now, they were satisfied sounds.
The huge Galaxy-class starship was a far cry from Weir's first command, the Fleet exploration and research vessel Javelin. Atlantis was even farther from the legendary Constitution-class starship that had borne the designation NCC-6771 and the name Esmeralda.
Weir's practiced eyes glanced quickly over the bridge, noting the efficiency and smooth interaction of the duty complement. Lieutenant Samantha Carter was frowning at something on her console. The Weapons Control and Tactical Station was built into the raised horseshoe behind the captain's chair.
Samantha was the most physically perfect young women Weir had ever seen. She was not especially beautiful-----not beautiful in the way James had been a beautiful man, but then no woman could ever be beautiful in the way that Charlie had been beautiful. Nevertheless, Samantha was a striking woman, with piercing blue eyes and a short mop of honey-blond hair.
The big Psychlo lieutenant, Wrrf, was seated at the ship's operations station at the front of the bridge. His Psychlo heritage was a source of great pride to him, and Weir had already noticed that the young officer still had some difficulty learning how to temper his natural aggression. Apparently, Wrrf still tended to consider himself a soldier first.
Weir smiled at the thought. Wrrf had a lot to learn. Yet there was a Fleet adage: "Any military operation is automatically a failure." It meant that the captain of the ship had failed in his duty as a peacekeeper. There was a counter-adage as well: "The most expensive army in the world is the one that's second-best." Even in the 24th and 1/2 century, the debate of military readiness was still a troubling one.653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdHi0tKbw2u
The Atlantis had a larger crew complement than any of the other starships in the fleet---but the eight hundred included scientists and technicians of many types. The actual ship's operation crew was probably no larger than that aboard the old Constitution-class starships. There were also some two hundred non-crew aboard---spouses and children. That fact made Weir uncomfortable. The longer voyages of ten to fifteen years that Fleet had decreed for the Galaxy-class ships made it inherent that starship crews bring families with them. Weir had never had to deal with such a situation before, and the idea of civilians, especially children, on board frankly bothered her.653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPAwk5Y7uur
It was something she would have discussed with her first officer---except that she did not have a first officer in place yet. They would be taking on the last of the ship's compliment at Jutterdon Station, including the chief medical officer and the new Number One.653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPSWbEsC5im
Weir had read over the record of her first officer several times, trying to get a sense of the man. Commander John T. Sheppard, thirty-two years old, most recently first officer of the USS Infinity from which he would be transferring to the Atlantis. His service record was nearly impeccable, and he had advanced to the position of first officer relatively early in his career, which implied ambition as well as ability. If anything, Sheppard's record was a little too perfect. The man had never had to deal with the consequences of a mistake. 653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQqMfI0D8Ap
Failure was relatively unknown to him. Weir wondered if Sheppard would be able to handle a disastrous circumstance---or would his self-confidence be irretrievably shattered? Despite all the simulations and tests and interviews, you never knew until it was too late whether a man was ready for responsibility or not.653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO1K5dZ2IaU
Well, she would find out soon enough---when they reached Jutterdon Station. Weir prided herself on her ability to manage people. She felt it came from his willingness to listen to, to emphasize with, the other person's perceptions. 653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfuuPrupYVl
She wanted to like this fellow Sheppard.653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkC2H1QTf3I
Jutterdon Station---that was another puzzle. The planet was on the farthest edge of explored space. The first contact team that had beamed down to the harsh surface of the world had found the Velonans, an ancient and much diminished race, living in the one city that still remained to them. Although not a spacefaring people, the Velonans appeared to have a sophisticated technology that allowed them to live in luxury while they pursued knowledge, arts and crafts. 653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmUWiirftFO
The contact team had not reported much about how the Velonan city ran, except that they had an abunance of geothermal energy. The Velonans had been otherwise evasive about their technology. Their senior official, Zektinoler Bucca, had been fascinated by the concept of Starfleet and the mighty starships that plied the vast depths of space. He had questioned the contact team extensively and finally made a startling promise. The Velonans would build a modern port and staging station on their planet if Fleet would establish regular trade.653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQX47yeu8Jk
That had been sixteen months ago. Jutterdon Station, an incredibly complex and advanced facility was now reported to be finished and waiting to serve interstellar vessels. Fleet's best analysis teams did not know how the Velonans had managed it.653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYfdYj0VRS8
Weir's sealed orders were simple. Find out.653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBQrjgFCGVj
How did they do it? How could an apparently nonindustrial, pastoral society design, construct and activate the most advanced base in known space in such a short time? There was no question that Fleet wanted to use the station, but first Fleet needed answers.653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRhV7znJIc4
That could mean an extensive stay at Jutterdon. The most recent surveillance team had come back knowing only as much as they had begun with. The official contact teams had produced equally fruitless results, even after months of intensive surveys. Weir would have to do better.653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡldH34lxCEb
"Difficult," Weir murmured half aloud.653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2rnvMepi1E
"Pardon, ma'am?"653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKqVZ3qojxm
Weir looked up.653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV3grJRDNrB
Her second officer, Jay One, was peering at her; his luminous blue eyes alight with curiosity.653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsh7rgHL5o0
"Fleet's instructions. I was thinking aloud. I was thinking that will also be difficult to implement. Don't you agree, Jay?"653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7foMNBwz36
"How so, ma'am? Simply solve the riddle of Jutterdon Station."653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGECfqnnWi7
From Weir's left, Lieutenant Commander Teyla Emmagan leaned forward and smiled gently at Jay One. "As simple as that." The ship's counselor's voice was softly musical and her skin was a delicate café-au-lait color. As a half-Betazoid, she had inherited the ability to communicate telepathically with Betazoids, but her telepathic communications with other species were limited to being able to feel their projected emotions. Some she could not "feel" at all. She had learned to speak from her human mother, and the gentle cadences of her speech patterns were soothing. She discerned early that people wanted to share themselves with her, and they listened to what she had to say. That fact had been one of the reasons she had chosen her profession. As personal advisor to the captain, she served in a liaison capacity as a translator, a buffer, a counselor between him, his crew, the ship's complement, and the life forms at their many ports of call.653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2XxA218vF9
Weir smiled at her comment. "Yes, Jay. Perhaps you see it as just a puzzle to be solved. But I see it as a problem in logistics, strategy, and diplomacy as well. The problem, Jay, is that another life form built that base. How do I negotiate a friendly agreement for Fleet to use it as a staging station and at the same time snoop around trying to find out how and why they built it? How do we do that without offending them?"653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡur7Xh5LZ85
Jay One frowned slightly. "Define 'snoop.'"653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP3YaxAok01
Weir blinked in surprise. "Jay, how can you be programmed as a virtual encyclopedia of human information without knowing what a simple word like snoop means?"653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuXIp3fj6t0
The android paused briefly, and Weir could imagine him instantaneously scanning his prodigious memory banks. "Possibilities. A kind of human behavior I was not designed to emulate. Or a term of English vernacular I have not yet encountered. I believe it to be an archaic form..." Jay trailed off, frowning to himself.653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiQSlpeEPUM
"It means 'to spy---to sneak,'" Weir began lightly.653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5MHXodHGGq
"Ah-ha!" Jay One interrupted in delight. "To seek covertly, to go stealthily, to slink, to slither..."653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEQg6Zu9IzG
"Close enough..." said Weir, holding up a hand to halt the rest of Jay One's recitation.653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsgkWmNdn3N
Emmagan began to smile and she tried to suppress it.653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwnG4OigJEu
"To glide, creep, skulk," Jay One continued enthusiastically. "Pussyfoot, gumshoe---" He trailed off, suddenly aware of the annoyance on the captain's face. "I understand now, ma'am. Thank you."653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv2P5Ib0lnu
Weir opened her mouth to explain to Jay One that Fleet expected him to function as something more than just a walking thesaurus, but before she could speak, Emmagan gasped behind her.653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ69KzhuD5UQ
She clutched at herself and nearly toppled to the floor. "Captain..."653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC2lysgh5zN
Weir turned quickly to look at her. Emmagan was convulsed as if by an intense physical pain. She looked as if her mind were being seared. "Captain!" she gasped. "I'm picking up on an---omnipotent presence...."653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQZFkMEf2JR
"From where?" Weir snapped.653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg33TdoWRJ5
Emmagan blindly shook her head, unable to answer. The mental hold was loosed abruptly as a bridge alarm went off. Emmagan weakly slumped in her chair as the bridge complement scanned their consoles, puzzled and concerned by their readings. Jay One moved quickly to the console at the science position and studied the panel.653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhc5hGYC3Ta
Wrrf frowned over his console. "Something strange on the detector circuits, ma'am." 653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFIJATf5oTA
His voice was drowned out by a second bridge alarm that honked loudly, demandingly. At the same time, the huge main screen in front of the bridge flickered. The view of space ahead suddenly altered. Weir involuntarily caught her breath as a shining, sparkling grid appeared, stretching across the whole of space ahead of them. It seemed impossibly huge, but also as delicate as a spiderweb, composed of interlocking geometric shapes.653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLZfZN4q7fF
Jay One looked up from his console, his face only slightly perturbed---as much alarm as the android ever displayed. "The object registers as solid, Captain. Or as an incredibly powerful force field. But if we collide with either..."653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHCFla07FXX
Weir nodded and turned to Lieutenant Brezetta, the officer at the conn position beside Wrrf. "Go to Condition Yellow. And shut off that goddamn noise while you're at it!"653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeN1OBozqTB
Brezetta's hands danced on the console, and the irritating honking alarm cut off. "Condition yellow, ma'am."653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd7FSZ3NPXA
"Shields and deflectors up, ma'am," Wrrf snapped. Samantha Carter had reached the comm tab on her console and tapped in a signal. She looked expectantly toward the forward turbolift.653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVpN5BsteYP
Weir glanced quickly at the screen where the glittering grid loomed larger and clearer as the Atlantis approached. Then she shifted in her chair and said almost conversationally, "All stop."653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡknQU4mexHF
"All stop, aye," Brezetta responded.
On the viewscreen, the shimmering net of energy seemed impossibly close. The Atlantis was still nearly a light-minute distant.653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUOgX2vEeiQ
"All stop, ma'am..."653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW0ad4Jjd73
Suddenly, the crackling, roaring power of a lightning strike flashed across the bridge. A searing, blinding flash of light poured out of a hole in space next to Weir. Instinctively, the bridge personnel backed away form it, shielding their eyes.653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY5ts40fHd4
The column of light shook and then resolved itself into the semblance of a human figure directly in front of Weir's command chair. There was a brief moment when the outline shimmered uncertainly---and then it stabilized into a figure.653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz9homo5bQs
A human figure.653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRiHrfL5k5X
Weir blinked, scarcely able to believe that what she saw before her was what appeared to be a man dressed in an outfit done in light purple and gold. His outfit included a medium-length dress with a flared skirt, a low gathered waist, and short flared sleeves, as well as a pair of slipper shoes and a medium-length cloak. His accessories included a pair of bracelets and a simple circlet. The man's skin was light brown in color. Mid-length, straight, graying light brown hair accented, in a surreal way, his dark brown, somewhat small eyes. In height he was short, a bit pudgy, yet he had a somewhat handsome, broad build. 653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuD7g3bhW1o
As soon as he realized he had coalesced into an identifiable form, the being offered an elaborate gentlemanly bow toward Weir. The forward turbolift doors snapped open, and the security team that Samantha had signaled began to lunge forward onto the bridge. The alien just nodded toward them, and a miniature version of the grid spanned the turbolift door and thrust the security team back. The lift doors snapped shut on their shocked faces.653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRmLTRobvxI
The Greco-Romanesque alien turned mockingly toward Weir and extended another bow in her direction. The voice of the creature, however, was anything but courteous. "You are notified that your kind have infiltrated the galaxy too far already. You are directed to return to your own solar system now!"653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoCcQR9sD75
Weir tilted her head almost quizzically. She considered her words carefully, decided to stall for time, while she figured out who or what she was dealing with. "Well, now, my friend," she said calmly. "Just who do you think you are giving me orders on my own ship?"653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1N9R5D1Tbh
"In words you can understand, we call ourselves the Eye. Or you may call me that. It's all much the same thing." He fluttered his hand to indicate his elaborate costume. "I'm presenting myself to you as a god in order that you will respect my powers and obey me." His voice flattened harshly. "Now, go back where you came from."653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKa51vwFG4o
"Why? Just because you say so, Mr. Eye?"653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡspgY6ER6S9
Eye appeared mildly annoyed. "Because we are greater than you. Because we have achieved much superiority over the millennia. You are but mere cavemen compared to what we are. And you pollute every planet you set your filthy feet upon."653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZPUT07YCrl
Samantha Carter flicked a glance at Lieutenant Brezetta, who had eased around in his chair. His hand crept toward the small phaser on his belt. Before she could snap an order to stop him, he had already drawn the phaser and started to aim it at Eye. The alien barely bothered to look; he just nodded at Brezetta. 653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnpyMXHiAyl
A fluttering electric blue wave enveloped the young man, cutting off the sharp scream he had started to utter. He crashed to the deck with the sound of a hard, almost brittle object as Weir leapt to her feet.653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRwgqm5oXam
"Stay where you are!" Eye shouted.
Weir ignored him, fighting to control her anger as she knelt beside Brezetta. The man looked as if he had been instantly frozen. Emmagan moved forward to knell opposite Weir, checking Brezetta for pulse and heartbeat. A white mist of evaporation rose gently from Brezetta's body. Emmagan was alarmed to feel the intense cold of his almost marble-like flesh.653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPPuWDNQH0r
"Jay, call the medics!" Weir snapped.653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCIG7wQ7dAj
The android reached for the left-hand arm panel in the captain's chair and tabbed a control, speaking urgently to sickbay. Emmagan finished her brief check of Brezetta's body. "I don't believe it. He's frozen. Life waves are there, but slow."653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeNWEaBH6vv
Weir snatched up the phaser, prudently reversed it, and stood up to shake it under Eye's nose. "He wouldn't have hurt you!" She displayed the phaser. "Do you understand this----it's called a stun setting?"653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOTi8U87Rfe
"Stun?" The alien's left eyebrow arched sardonically. "Stunning some life forms, Captain, can kill them. Did your officer run a systems check on my form before he attempted to use that weapon? Besides, even if it would only 'stun' me, knowing humans as you do, would you be captured helpless by them? I was only defending myself. Now, go back, or you all will most certainly die!"653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDzGM7CAgD3
"This ship's not going anywhere 'til this man is taken care of."653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3g90TDNtpi
Eye studied the firm set of Weir's face, the tenseness of her stance, and snorted in amusement. "Typical, of course. All right, as you wish."653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmlRjIzkzet
The medical team arrived at that moment in the turbolift. The barrier grid that had obstructed the security men didn't appear. Dr. Vimes, the assistant chief medical officers, shot a look at Eye, then at Weir. The captain gestured to Brezetta and he moved quickly down to the man. The medics followed, trailing emergency aids and a floating stretcher. Vimes scanned Brezetta quickly and efficiently, his low voice smoothly reading out the results. Finally, he nodded to his medical team and they lifted Brezetta's body onto the floating stretcher and began moving him toward the forward turbolift.653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWPOIcDjZ7j
"Is he still alive?" Weir asked.653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYnJAKgDoPw
"He's in cryo-sleep. We can handle it," Vimes said; but there was something in his eyes and his tone of voice that said, "But maybe we can't." Vimes followed the medical team into the turbolift. The doors sighed shut behind them.653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8hhaX5KfuU
Weir turned toward Eye who had ignored the entire interlude and turned her attention to the inspection of his elaborate costume. "Is this how you demonstrate your moral superiority?"653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwexwVaAzuR
"On the contrary. This is how I demonstrate my physical superiority." Eye frowned slightly, looking around the bridge as if seeing it for the first time. "I see you've become too sophisticated to be intimidated by a god figure. Your little centuries pass by so rapidly, Captain. Maybe you'll better understand----this." Eye moved his hand slightly.653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8hpuU2bI8T
Again the roar of thunder shook the bridge. The searing flash of light filled the bridge again---bright enough to be blinding even through closed eyelids. 653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ48XxB6dMmW
Weir could see the bones of her own hand silhouetted in the glare. When her vision returned, she could see that Eye had changed. The Greco-Roman garb had been transmuted into the green uniform of the 1950's U.S. Marine Corps. Three rows of medals were precisely lined up on his left breast, and the fore and aft cap sported the silver bars of a captain.653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9uIRWUszeZ
"Actually," Eye said briskly, "the issue at stake is patriotism. You must get back to your world and put an end to the communist aggression. All it takes is a few good men."653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJAv4kLvCds
"I don't know what you're talking about, Eye."653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3U8TjOT0J9
"The Red Menace, Captain---the struggle for freedom. The need to make the world safe for democracy."653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0ByEkq60cf
Weir shook her head, as if to clear it. What was Eye talking about? "You're still in the wrong time! That nonsense is centuries behind us!"653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQwFte2owOC
"But you can't deny, Captain, that you're still a savage, dangerous child-race."653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuB98RKemCV
"I certainly can deny it," Weir shot back. "I agree we still were when humans wore uniforms like that four hundred years ago."653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkbz0vtVGUJ
The Marine Eye pushed closer to Weir, interrupting harshly. "At which time you slaughtered millions in silly arguments about how to divide the resources of your insignificant little world. And four hundred years before that, you were murdering each other in quarrels over tribal god-images. And since there have been no indications that humans will ever change..."653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtmsTPPyIxA
"But even as far back as the time of that uniform, we had begun to make progress. We had begun the work of ending hunger and disease, poverty and illiteracy. We stamped out plagues, we ended famines. We taught nations how to rebuild themselves from the devastations of war. We were children growing up. We may not have known how to do the best job, but we did the job and we learned from our mistakes. We made progress. Rapid progress. We're still making progress."653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡseFcuEH46w
Eye twisted his mouth sardonically. "Is this your rapid progress?" He moved his hand again in that same little gesture. Weir didn't flinch when the thunder and lightning came again. Weir recognized it as a trick---a bit of stage magic to startle the audience, to frighten her and throw her off balance. Well, it simply isn't going to work.653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcWKMSHQhqN
This time, the Marine gear changed to the stark officer's uniform of the mid 21-century wars. Now Eye was a Fifth World Warmonger. Harsh and ugly. Every historian's nightmare: the soldiers who knew no fear, had no feelings, and were unstoppable. The healthy, clean-cut look was replaced by an ugly, unshaven robot face. You pointed him at a target and gave him the order to capture it or kill it. He wouldn't return until he did.653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEVpRh4OmyB
Eye spoke and his voice sounded slow, slightly drugged, as he made his point. "Rapid progress, Captain, to where nations learned to control their armies with drugs."653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnzC67T4L0v
"Next thing you'll be telling me your species is perfect. That you never makes mistakes--- That you never learn better...."653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfbTidgtDBB
A beep sounded from Wrrf's Ops console, and he reached out to tap a control. "Ops," she murmured. The low-voiced report brought a quick smile to his dark face. He turned toward Weir and nodded. "Ma'am, Dr. Vimes reports Lieutenant Brezetta is going to be all right."653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz2wKJgiC7u
Eye watched as a sigh of relief rippled through the bridge compliment. "I am touched by your concern for your comrade."653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzRclz7SUzf
Wrrf tensed as his eyes shifted from the contemptuous intruder to Weir. "A personal request, Ma'am. Permission to sanitize the bridge?" he meant Eye. 653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpAL5eLHf5H
As satisfying as it would have been to say yes, Weir shook her head. Wrrf started to protest, but Weir stared him down. They'd had one casualty already. Weir didn't want any more. She wouldn't risk any others until he knew what he was dealing with. Behind her, Samantha had come down the ramp from the horseshoe toward the command area.653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFm5nyUofT6
"Lieutenant Wrrf's right, ma'am. As security chief, I can't just stand here..."653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGBH5vQUEtS
"You can and will, Lieutenant," Weir snapped.653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡovJc0QUguT
Samantha wanted to protest. Weir could see that in her eyes. If she were still a security chief, she would want to protest as vigorously as Samantha did. All her instincts were to fight back, to deal with this intrusion on a physical level, even if it was clear the alien was far more than he seemed to be. But she was a captain now, and that was a different set of responsibilities.653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLspF4nyiBi
Samantha lowered her eyes. "Yes, ma'am." The captain was right, of course. Wait and see. But Samantha didn't have to pretend she liked it.653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC9MFCRiEp0
The 21-Century soldier form of Eye pulled out a slender tube attached to his uniform and turned it so he could sniff something from it. Then, taking a deep breath, he murmured, "Ah, yes---better." The drug seemed to take hold almost immediately, and Eye smiled sarcastically at Weir. "Later, of course, on finally reaching deep space, humans found enemies to fight there, too. And to broaden those struggles," Eye swept a hand around to indicate Wrrf and Emmagan, "you again found allies for still more murdering. The same old story all over again."653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6wvudqmEds
Despite herself, despite her training, Weir found her anger rising. Who was this pompous posing popinjay? Who was he to intrude and accuse? If his manners were any indication, Eye had no claim to moral superiority at all. Weir stepped toward the being, allowing some of her anger to show. "No. NO. You don't know what the hell you're talking about. You've got no sense of who we are at all. The most dangerous 'same old story' is the one I'm looking at right now. Self-righteous life-forms who are eager not to learn but to prosecute, to judge anything they don't understand or can't tolerate."653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOMeVTfgBz2
Eye cocked his head to one side, eyeing Weir sharply. He laughed. "What an interesting idea. Prosecute and judge?" He took a step or two away from Weir, pondering the idea, then he turned back. "And if it turns out we understand you humans only too well?"653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxMKlniZtv0
"We're not afraid of what the facts about us would reveal."
"The facts about you? Oh, splendid, splendid! You, my dear, are a veritable cornucopia of damn good ideas." He flashed a pleasant smile at Weir. "Well, now---we can proceed. Of course, there are preparations to make, Captain, but I promise you, when we meet again, we will proceed exactly as you suggest." He made the short, curt salute of the 21-Century troops. The thunder roll and flare of blinding light carried him away.653Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6UyrYNlAPN
