The Light Blue Jumper Read online

  “A couple of points…” Salaar interjected.

  “Yes, Salaar,” Madam said.

  “We couldn’t isolate the General on our ship, what makes you think we can manage in a convention centre full of her security?” Salaar asked. He had a point.

  “I can try to help with that,” Colonel Bob spoke up. “I will rejoin the General’s staff on her ship, as a spy of course,” he hastened to clarify. At last there was a use for him. “She won’t even notice that I have been gone,” he said as Salaar opened his mouth. “And I’m her head of security so nobody else can challenge me either.”

  “The broadcast range for SpaceRadio.fm is fairly limited. We will not be able to reach the kingdoms or any planet in the outer rims.” Again, Salaar had a point.

  Zaaro came to our rescue. “What if we were to link the entire proceedings to the Eye?” The Eye was a means of instant communication restricted by the IPF Military to their own use. It allowed live transmission of events simultaneously across the Universe and hacking into it was unheard of and quite impossible. “I may have a code for that on my personal data drive…”

  The Good Doctor cut in, “Brilliant idea, Zaaro! I am confident I can set it up once we are inside.” Zaaro looked like he was preparing himself to disagree but thought better of it.

  “Anything else?” Madam asked as the meeting drew to a close.

  I was being paired up with Lethal instead of Salaar, but maybe it was for the best. Perhaps I could accidentally shoot him while marching him into the convention centre, I thought with anticipation.

  72. Madam X

  Zaaro had come of age today and it was just in time. It had taken direct interaction with the General for him to see the true and ugly face of the IPF - maybe she ought to be a goodwill ambassador for them. We needed his help if we were going to liberate Zaaron. Gathering information was all very well, but we needed to make a dent in their plans for world domination. What better way than to takeover Zaaron? It was the heart of weapons development, if we were in control, the weaponry would belong to us. I’d like to see them try taking over the Universe without their super weapons. I had a feeling we could even carve out a nice little empire of our own and be a thorn in their side forever. That was the third stage of my plan, I meant our plan, I corrected myself.

  73. Commander Lethalwulf

  I wasn’t comfortable having Dinaara’s gun pressed into my back. I mentally rehearsed tackling her with a backhanded manoeuvre should she decide to actually hand me over. Out of all of them, I was the only one in real danger, with a wanted poster wherever the IPF could put them; I wasn’t exactly welcome on Zaaron, or anywhere else.

  “Hold your hands up high where I can see them!” Dinaara shouted as she marched me towards the first security checkpoint we encountered. “I have the traitor, Lethalwulf!” she announced, far too loudly. I wondered if she was trying to have me pinched; it was a very unpleasant and long drawn-out end for traitors at the hands of an IPF mob.

  The guard attempted to search her too, but she landed him a blow to the head with the butt of her gun. “You don’t need to search me! I am holding a gun in plain view because I have to keep it trained on this idiot!”

  “But who are you?” he managed to stammer.

  “Princess Dinaara, Commander Black Ops and this is Commander Lethalwulf!” She landed a kick on my shin and pushed me forward for good effect. “You do that again and I’ll turn this whole thing around, Princess,” I whispered furiously.

  She shoved me again. I wheeled around and attempted to wrestle the gun away from her, which brought the guards along the perimeter forward. They abandoned their posts, eager for a fight. “Shoot him, Princess!” they cheered. “I can’t! You can’t either! The General wants him alive!” Dinaara shouted at them as they raised their own weapons. “Let go of the gun!” I kept a death grip on the weapon, even as she landed a swift sharp jab on my jaw. “Not the face!” a groan went up from the female guards.

  I was beginning to enjoy the audience. I blocked her next punch and made a mock bow to resounding claps. Dinaara played dirty. She kicked me in the behind while I was bowing, so I landed face down in the dirt. When she reached out a hand to yank me back up, I took the opportunity to throw sand in her eyes. I saw no reason why I should be a gentleman if Dinaara wasn’t going to behave like a lady. There was a collective intake of breath from the crowd as she teetered backwards for a second. I leapt up as if to push her but instead reached out a hand to steady her. She responded to my kindness with a knee to my groin, finishing it off with a blow to my back while I was bent over in pain. The audience winced in sympathy. “Enough,” she mouthed as we were rushed in to see the General. I had seen Madam and The Good Doctor slipping through the checkpoint amidst all the commotion.

  74. The Good Doctor

  We managed to slip through the security checkpoint quite easily. The amount of ruckus Lethal and Dinaara were creating, we could have sneaked in an entire army.

  Once we were in, we made our way to the domed glass convention centre. We were both in IPF themed apparel, courtesy our friend, Colonel Bob, whose uniform we had copied. Madam’s was a bit of a squeeze, but I thought mine fit rather well. Nodding at the other delegates, we took seats in the back row. I switched on my recording device and promptly set off all the alarms in the building. I switched it off immediately, so Madam’s poke in the ribs was quite unnecessary. There were murmurs about body searches, but luckily someone decided that it was a drill. “No reason to panic. This was simply a routine check. All systems are in perfect working order,” a voice boomed over the loudspeaker

  A hush fell over the audience as the master of ceremonies spoke from the well-lit stage. “Welcome, great leaders of the Universe, our allies and our friends. As you know, we are all here for one reason and one reason alone; to promote world peace!” A groan went up from the audience, coupled with a few boos, at which he adjusted his silver bouffant and hastily continued, “By promoting new and powerful weapons!” At that there was enthusiastic applause from the audience, in which we joined heartily. “To that end, I invite on stage, the great General!”

  The General walked on amidst cheers. The alarm had destroyed our chances of broadcasting the events live, but I decided to do the next best thing to recording the proceedings. I took out my trusty notepad and started to take notes. My shorthand was quite the talk of the Science Academy.

  “Today I want to give you insight into the great plans we have for the known Universe.” I looked up from my writing and exchanged a smirk with Madam. How unfortunate for the IPF that we were going to hear this. There was a question from the audience. “Yes?”

  “What was your purpose behind the colonisation of Zaaron?”

  “Zaaron has been liberated, not colonised. Guards take this creature away and book him for using inflammatory language, inciting hatred, and disturbing the peace.” The creature, a Belnik from the inner regions was muttering as he was dragged away by his horns, utterly perplexed by the reaction to his question. “Anyone else?” the General asked a hushed audience. “As I was saying, we plan to have an IPF base on every known planet. We will stock these bases with the full range of our sophisticated weaponry, including our newly developed Zaaronian missiles. The beauty of these bases will be that they will be unmanned. The weapons will be controlled by remote devices, directly from IPF Headquarters. If required, they can be launched at a moment’s notice and quell an entire planet. Of course they will only ever be used as an absolute last resort or as a pre-emptive measure. If, according to our information, which is always correct, the indigenous leadership of any planet is suspected to be in possession of dangerous and sophisticated weapons or engaged in their development or thinking wistfully about engaging in their development, we will authorise a strike. In the interests of ensuring that there is absolutely no possibility of civilian loss of life, we have also incorporated a new feature into our Zaaronian missile. Each missile will give the occupants of a dwelling five whole minu
tes to exit a targeted building before it explodes,” she said to cheers.

  “There is one question,” one of the delegates began timidly and then continued at the General’s nod, “What will the m…great army be doing if all the bases will be unmanned?”

  “That is a very intelligent question, one that we cannot openly discuss at this forum I am afraid,” she replied.

  I raised my hand to ask what great army they were referring to, as the last time a great army had been mentioned it was in forgotten texts talking about the mad army of the Puranas. But Madam destroyed my initiative by yanking my arm down with such force that I fell off my chair.

  “What if the planet in question doesn’t want an IPF base on it?” another delegate asked.

  The General smiled, “Everyone wants to be liberated, delegate. Freedom is the absolute right of every being in the Universe and we intend to make sure they have it.”

  “And the rebel problem?” someone in the middle rows asked.

  “What rebel problem? They are a handful of disgruntled individuals, criminals, miscreants, who fly around in circles, trying their best to spread ugly lies about the IPF and our methods. They are envious of the freedoms and the protection that we provide to the citizens of the Free World, nothing more.”

  “What about the great data heist? Didn’t the rebels manage to get through all IPF defences and controls and steal top secret information?” someone else asked.

  “As I said, they are nothing but common criminals and will be punished accordingly. You will also be relieved to know that none of the information that was stolen is now current.”

  “What about the R O C?” someone else gathered courage to ask.

  “The Rain of Chaos is a fine example of the lies I was referring to. Would we have such a silly name for a plan for world domination?”

  “It’s Reign of Chaos, actually,” someone else piped up.

  “That is exactly what I just said. Arrest him,” the General barked, and then continued, “These are conspiracy theories thought up by a few insane people working against the greater good. Speaking of insanity, you will all be reassured to hear that we are working to root out the madness from among us. We have taken extreme measures to protect our citizens from the spread of this disease and would encourage you to report any untoward incident or sighting to our International Madness Relief Desk. You will, as our allies, also receive from us, as a new measure, an unending supply of medication to be added to the water supply of your home planets, to provide your populations with a natural immunity to the madness.”

  I looked over at Madam with wide eyes. Could it be? Had they discovered a vaccine? That would be a phenomenal breakthrough. If they had a vaccine, surely they would have a cure as well. I looked intently at Madam for a while to discover whether we were thinking the same thing. I would just have to ask her later. Her usual expression of mild irritation gave nothing away.

  “Why are the G-Sectors being destroyed?” someone from the front row asked.

  “They are most certainly not being destroyed. There have been surgical strikes in certain locations where we have confirmation of anarchist activity, hideouts, and support. Sometimes, those locations fall within G-Sectors, and now with our latest Zaaronian missiles, even those who live where they might strike won’t be able to complain,” she said smoothly. As she finished her answer, an officer led the delegate away for some routine questions.

  “Any other burning questions? Anyone else want to complain about the G-Sectors? No? Good. We care deeply about the native inhabitants of each planet and the creation of the G-Sectors themselves is proof of that. If we were barbaric savages, we would simply cut them down and takeover their land. Instead we give them homes, safety, and jobs. Even though, at times, it is difficult to justify the expense in the grand scheme of things,” she concluded to resounding applause.

  75. Princess Dinaara

  If we were taken to the General as prisoners, we would both be killed. I mouthed “Now” to Lethal as we entered a narrow passageway leading to the General’s command quarters. He tackled the two guards walking in front of us while I took on the two in the rear. I subdued mine without needless violence, but Lethal shot the front contingent in the shins.

  “No wonder you’re unpopular here,” I told him.

  “I am afraid my unpopularity is universal, I don’t have any special standing here,” he said with mock resignation.

  We dragged the guards into a storage closet and piled them up inside. “If you make a sound I’ll come back and shoot you some more, so don’t make me!” Lethal threatened, as they nodded their assent. He really was ruthless. I wondered if Salaar would have done the same.

  We sneaked into the General’s luxurious private quarters, concealing ourselves under her four-poster-bed. “Get away from me!” I said, shoving Lethal to the side.

  Suddenly we heard shouting in the passageway outside. “Where is the security detail? Where is my head of security? What kind of mismanagement is this, Sergeant?” a woman demanded.

  “They must have gone for a bathroom break.”

  “All together?” her voice was icy.

  “They are new recruits, I will ensure it doesn’t happen again, General,” the sergeant stammered.

  “Yes. You will! Now do a sweep of my room before I go in!” the General commanded.

  The door opened and we saw military boots walking around. He hummed and hawed for a bit, moved some cushions around, fussed with the heavy gold brocade bedcovers, dusting and folding, before he walked out and held the door open for the General. “You will be pleased to know that the room is spotless, General.”

  “I have convinced myself with great difficulty not to shoot you,” she said.

  He rushed off without a backwards glance. “Just fetching the mop and pail from the closet, General,” he called out as he left.

  “It’s the last time I allow someone from housekeeping to rise up the ranks,” the General muttered to herself. “Do not come back!” she shouted after him.

  She slammed the door shut and sat down on the bed with a thump, kicking off her boots. I turned to Lethal and shrugged, pointing towards the rest of the room, which obviously meant, “When should we jump out from under the bed?” He shrugged back, then nodded and proceeded to move towards me, arms outstretched. I kicked him clean out from under the bed, accompanied by a clicking sound, as the General stood with up with her gun trained on his head.

  “Ah, Lethalwulf the Treacherous. Are you switching sides again?” she asked calmly.

  “No. Actually, I am here to deliver my monthly report on rebel activity. I couldn’t find your number two for our monthly assignation, so I had to come to you,” he answered promptly.

  “That was very prudent of you. I am not quite sure where we last parted company. He’ll be back soon, I presume. He always is,” she said with confidence. “Well, what is the report?”

  “The rebels are trying to infiltrate this gathering. You must triple the security,” he informed her.

  I shouldn’t have been shocked at his duplicity, but I was. He really was a double agent and he was going to get us all killed. I tried to jump out and attack him. As I was hiding under a bed, what actually happened was that I rolled out at top speed but, as I righted myself to move into pounce position, Lethal and the General both had their guns trained on me.

  “It’s like a traitor’s convention in here! Dinaara, how nice of you to join us,” the General said warmly.

  “Lethalwulf, any particular reason you neglected to mention her?” she asked with far less feeling.

  “This is exactly what I was alluding to. You may have noticed my eye signals as I mentioned the word infiltration.”

  “I most certainly am not an infiltrator! I am the one who apprehended and brought this traitor in to see you,” I said, reverting to our original plan.

  “No! I tricked her into thinking that she was bringing me in. It was my plan all along to get her here so I could turn her in. S
he is a double agent!” he disclosed with a flourish.

  “And any particular reason you were both waiting under the bed?” the General asked both of us, finger on the trigger.

  “I wanted to ensure no one else got wind of his capture, because I believe we can still use him,” I said, quite plausibly.

  “I was playing along so I could expose her true allegiance at the right time,” Lethal gained ground fast.

  “Continue,” she said to me.

  I had her. “He can be sent back in the field as a triple agent. He was our agent, who was recruited by them, and now we can recruit him back. He will work as a double agent for them but he will only feed them information that we want to pass along,” I suggested.

  “We are already functioning under that arrangement, Dinaara; meaning that you now know too much. Shoot her, Lethal,” she said, turning away.

  “Wait. We can use her the same way. She can continue working for us and feed them only the information we choose to send to them through her,” Lethal said. He didn’t have an original thought in his head.

  “As you wish. Dinaara, welcome aboard. Your first assignment is to shoot the traitor Lethalwulf.”

  I cocked my gun at him. “Considering the ease with which he travels between sides, perhaps we can keep him alive in case we need to use him at a later date,” I offered. The General looked sceptical. “Or should we just kill him?” I asked, running out of steam.

  “Send him back,” the General waved her hand in dismissal.