CommandoBob
AbstractArt
Mack
'Are you sure you want to do this, boss?' asked Mack. 'You can let them wait another day.'
'No, I can't delay them any more. And no, I am not sure I want to do this. But I'm the guy in charge, so I have to do it. Might as well get it over with.' The words were delivered slowly and painfully as they walked together.
Mack looked at his charge and realized that further discussion was useless. As he led the way down the hall, he steered the older man into a side room.
'Well, you need to get cleaned up some. You don't want to meet these folks looking like you were just in a fight,' he said as he opened the door.
'Mack, I was just in a fight,' was the labored response. 'I can't help the way I look.'
'Look in the mirror, boss. Is that how you want to appear to your guests?'
'Mirror? Oh, we're in a bathroom; I didn't notice.'
The older man gazed at the reflection of his companion in the mirror. Mack was easily the taller of the two, broad shouldered, black haired; his everyday uniform was spotless and pristine. Then he forced himself to look at himself. Not so tall, but still erect, even after the events of the last hour. His hair was matted and messy. Fighting and sweating in a helmet were to blame, he knew, but that didn't make his hair any straighter. He leaned forward to examine his face; he had some bruising around his left eye that would soon become a black eye. He saw red droplets scattered across his face. He tried to lean closer but was stopped by a pain in his side.
'Ow,' he gasped. 'I see what you mean. I'll get cleaned up; wash the blood of my face and hands and try to make myself presentable. Why don't you stand guard in the doorway while I do that.'
Mack moved to obey.
As the water began to run in the sink, the older man spoke again.
'Mack, if Vinnie isn't busy, ask him to find us some coffee. I'm going to need it.'
The Council
The ambassdor from The Council, dressed in the dark blue colors that represented his nations, waited in apparent indifferent patientce to meet with CommandoBob, the current leader of The Free. He was nervous and worried but he had to act like nothing at all had happened. His people had been attacked twice now, once by The Babes and now by The Saber. Both times the attacks had been unprovoked and unwarranted. The Council had never sought a place on the world stage. They prefered to be left alone, to learn and learn more and put that knowledge to good use, to help the world. He knew of several technological gifts that had been given to The Free, although in each case the gifting had been in the form of a personal favor. CommandoBob was very much in their debt, not only from their assistance to him during the Free-Gong war but also in more recent days since he had assumed leadership of The Free.
The Council had not planned to collect on those debts made in times of goodwill and trust, but their very existance was in doubt and that made all the difference in the world. No string was too small to be used and every bit of leverage was needed for them to survive.
The Ambassador orders had been quite direct. 'Enlist The Free on our side or be ready to wear Orange the rest of your life.'
Saber
The representative from Saber lounged in an easy chair, his distinctive orange sash being the only overt way to know his national identy. He, too, waited to meet with CommandoBob fellow and present to the head Free-man the views of his own leadership. He flipped through the magaizines on the table top, Frime, Freeweek and TV Guide for FREE. Since the local calender was different from his home, he could not tell if the magazines were current or not.
Bored, he stood up and began to walk around the room, looking for something to occupy his mind and time. The fish tanks did not interest him nor did the first edition books. Literature, he thought, was so overrated. Reading Darwins 'The Origins of Species' had not helped him win any battles with Babe. Those guys hadn't cared about where the human race came from. They had cared about killing him and his men, and that was all that mattered to a warrior. Us against Them.
As he moved his senses remained alert. Even in such surronding he expected danger. And as he walked around the room he saw the danger and then pretended to ignore it, as if it did not happen. In the flower arrangement that sat atop an upright piano in the corner of the room, one of the flowers was following him. It did not move very much, just enough to notice if you were very careful, and he was. As he walked from side to side in the room the open face of the flower remained pointed at him. He then ignored it. No sense in revealing what he knew. And surely this wasn't the only snooping device in the room.
Vinne
In the darkened room between The Council and Saber, Vinnie sipped at his coffee. He had multiple cameras in both rooms to watch his guests. He could see that gentleman from Saber was alerted to the fact that he was under surveillance, but he did not know what had tipped him off. The Council's man was too cool to tell if he knew or not.
'Are you sure you want to do this, boss?' asked Mack. 'You can let them wait another day.'
'No, I can't delay them any more. And no, I am not sure I want to do this. But I'm the guy in charge, so I have to do it. Might as well get it over with.' The words were delivered slowly and painfully as they walked together.
Mack looked at his charge and realized that further discussion was useless. As he led the way down the hall, he steered the older man into a side room.
'Well, you need to get cleaned up some. You don't want to meet these folks looking like you were just in a fight,' he said as he opened the door.
'Mack, I was just in a fight,' was the labored response. 'I can't help the way I look.'
'Look in the mirror, boss. Is that how you want to appear to your guests?'
'Mirror? Oh, we're in a bathroom; I didn't notice.'
The older man gazed at the reflection of his companion in the mirror. Mack was easily the taller of the two, broad shouldered, black haired; his everyday uniform was spotless and pristine. Then he forced himself to look at himself. Not so tall, but still erect, even after the events of the last hour. His hair was matted and messy. Fighting and sweating in a helmet were to blame, he knew, but that didn't make his hair any straighter. He leaned forward to examine his face; he had some bruising around his left eye that would soon become a black eye. He saw red droplets scattered across his face. He tried to lean closer but was stopped by a pain in his side.
'Ow,' he gasped. 'I see what you mean. I'll get cleaned up; wash the blood of my face and hands and try to make myself presentable. Why don't you stand guard in the doorway while I do that.'
Mack moved to obey.
As the water began to run in the sink, the older man spoke again.
'Mack, if Vinnie isn't busy, ask him to find us some coffee. I'm going to need it.'
The Council
The ambassdor from The Council, dressed in the dark blue colors that represented his nations, waited in apparent indifferent patientce to meet with CommandoBob, the current leader of The Free. He was nervous and worried but he had to act like nothing at all had happened. His people had been attacked twice now, once by The Babes and now by The Saber. Both times the attacks had been unprovoked and unwarranted. The Council had never sought a place on the world stage. They prefered to be left alone, to learn and learn more and put that knowledge to good use, to help the world. He knew of several technological gifts that had been given to The Free, although in each case the gifting had been in the form of a personal favor. CommandoBob was very much in their debt, not only from their assistance to him during the Free-Gong war but also in more recent days since he had assumed leadership of The Free.
The Council had not planned to collect on those debts made in times of goodwill and trust, but their very existance was in doubt and that made all the difference in the world. No string was too small to be used and every bit of leverage was needed for them to survive.
The Ambassador orders had been quite direct. 'Enlist The Free on our side or be ready to wear Orange the rest of your life.'
Saber
The representative from Saber lounged in an easy chair, his distinctive orange sash being the only overt way to know his national identy. He, too, waited to meet with CommandoBob fellow and present to the head Free-man the views of his own leadership. He flipped through the magaizines on the table top, Frime, Freeweek and TV Guide for FREE. Since the local calender was different from his home, he could not tell if the magazines were current or not.
Bored, he stood up and began to walk around the room, looking for something to occupy his mind and time. The fish tanks did not interest him nor did the first edition books. Literature, he thought, was so overrated. Reading Darwins 'The Origins of Species' had not helped him win any battles with Babe. Those guys hadn't cared about where the human race came from. They had cared about killing him and his men, and that was all that mattered to a warrior. Us against Them.
As he moved his senses remained alert. Even in such surronding he expected danger. And as he walked around the room he saw the danger and then pretended to ignore it, as if it did not happen. In the flower arrangement that sat atop an upright piano in the corner of the room, one of the flowers was following him. It did not move very much, just enough to notice if you were very careful, and he was. As he walked from side to side in the room the open face of the flower remained pointed at him. He then ignored it. No sense in revealing what he knew. And surely this wasn't the only snooping device in the room.
Vinne
In the darkened room between The Council and Saber, Vinnie sipped at his coffee. He had multiple cameras in both rooms to watch his guests. He could see that gentleman from Saber was alerted to the fact that he was under surveillance, but he did not know what had tipped him off. The Council's man was too cool to tell if he knew or not.