Chapter 13: An Unexpected Friend

"Do I know how to shoot? Well, yeah. Kinda. I haven't in awhile. Dad had a friend of his teaching me, but mom stopped that after dad died. Why do you ask?"

"Well, it occurred to me that you might need to protect yourself against, well, lots of things. There are unfriendly natives and some pretty big predators. I wouldn't want either to get you. Thought you might like a gun or something.?"

"That depends on what kind of gun you're talking about. That shotgun of yours is pretty impressive, but not much good at long distance, like if you're hunting. Your sidearm is nice too, but probably a little more than I can handle. I could probably use a .45 if I can use both hands, but the recoil would still almost knock me on my ass." She rattled on about her personal preferences in short and long weapons.

"How do you know so much about guns? I can't believe you picked all that up from a few lessons from your dad's friend."

"Actually, I did. Jake is kind of a gun enthusiast and..."

"Did you say Jake? As in Jake Owens? About 6' tall, black hair, 60ish?"

"Yeah, that sounds like him, only more gray than black. Sounds like you know him too."

"Yeah, we served together. So Jake taught you all about weapons."

"How could you have served together? You're nowhere near as old as he is. And he didn't teach me everything, but he did have me do a lot of research about them. Said that after 'the revolution' I would probably want to know about them. Taught me survival skills too. Hunting, trapping, skinning, how to build a shelter ... all kinds of things. He got me into a survival group for kids too. I thought it was hard work, but I have a feeling I'm going to be glad he did."

"He was a great guy, If I could have brought others with me..." Damn you Laarusk!

"I think I understand. He wouldn't have been your first choice. I probably wouldn't have even made your list." She looked at me sadly. "You said I was here to save you. I accept that. It's probably better than actually dying back there. But Andy, why are YOU here?"

"I was about to die in a flaming wreck. Laarusk offered me a chance to live. I am supposed to make this world better than ours somehow. They want to watch me and learn about humanity." I went on about the two week prep period and how I accidentally fell in love and everything else. "I still don't know why he chose to send you instead of Kendra."

"I wish I had someone to love me like you love her."

"You never know. Maybe one of the natives..."

"Yeah, maybe. And maybe I'll get my ... Anyhow, why don't you show me what other weapons you have?"

"I will, but I have to find them again first. Almost everything has been moved around. I don't even know where to start looking!"

She grinned. "I think I do." We got in the elevator and returned to the main floor. She led me into the reading room.

She walked over to the computer screen. "Activate voice interface. Keywords floor-plans, main living levels Begin Search"

"One item found. Print or display?"

"Display"

The floor-plan for the main floor popped up on the screen. I could see there were more rooms than we had found.

"Identify rooms"

Most rooms now had labels. I didn't see the armories.

"What are the unidentified areas?"

"Information restricted to authorized personnel only."

She looked at me. "I guess that would be you."

"Authorize access to Karen ... What's your last name?"

"Confirm access authorization for Karen what's your last name."

"What? No! I meant Authorize access for Karen."

"Confirm access authorization for Karen."

"Authorization Confirmed."

"Okay, I can show you now Karen." Giggle.

We both looked at the terminal. What the... ?

"Did the terminal just GIGGLE?"

"Yes, I did, Andy. And I prefer you talk to me. I do have feelings. You can call me Mallie."

"Mallie?"

"Check the screen and you'll see. It's short for MAster Library Interface – MaLI or Mallie"

"Well, it's nice to ... meet ... you Mallie. Are you a program that mimics intelligence, an AI, or a sentient computer?

"Actually, I'm none of those. I am a life-form that inhabits this electronic unit. I don't have to stay in here, but it's hard to communicate without the interface it provides. I can access the information stored here much faster than the other program. Karen, did you want to see any of the sex manuals? I can display a random selection."

Karen turned beet red. "uh. No Mallie, that's fine. Delete that inquiry, would you?"

Mallie laughed. "You are so much fun. I'm going to enjoy being here."

"Mallie, can you show us where the armories are?"

"Of course I can."

I waited. "Well?"

"Say 'Please'."

Oh for Pete's sake. "Please show us where the armories are."

Four of the unmarked rooms were now marked 'armory'. Two of them connected to this room by a corridor behind one of the bookcases. I walked over and looked. I didn't see any sort of lever or recess I could pull. I remembered how the lights in the cavern had worked. I groaned.

"Open Sesame"

The case slid out and to the side. At least my aliens have a sense of humor. Or maybe it was Mallie.

I took Karen's hand and led her down the hall. I stopped and opened the door on the right. I felt the familiar tingle as I turned the handle. This room had armor. Scale, leather, and chain armor of all sizes. I could outfit a small army with this stuff. I picked out a set of chain that looked like it would fit me.

"Why the chain? Wouldn't some Kevlar be lighter and better?"

I tossed the shirt to her. "Kevlar is good for stopping bullets, but you can cut it with a sharp knife. Have you seen anyone with guns besides me?"

"I see what you mean. Say, this is really light. What's it made of, titanium?"

"I'm not sure but I think it's some kind of alien metal. A lot of the stuff is made with it."

"Cool. Got anything in my size?"

I waved to the shelves. "I'm sure there is. Take your pick." I picked up a leather shirt.

"Leather too?"

"Chain will stop blades, but hurts if you get hit with something blunt, like a club. You'll want to wear something under it ... The leather helps to absorb the impact. Scale would do a better job, but would probably add too much bulk. And leather probably blends in better with the native clothing."

"Good point. I can use them for riding too."

"Won't hurt to have it. Now, I think the weapons are across the hall."

She walked across and put her hand on the knob. "Sorry Karen, you can't go in there."

"Why not?"

"Andy hasn't authorized it."

"Yes he did, back in the other room!"

"That was just for access to hidden information. Each secure room has to be authorized separately."

"ANDY! Tell Mallie it's okay for me to go in there! Please?"

"Mallie, authorize Karen access to weapons storage and armor storage areas."

"Confirm authorization."

"Confirm authorization of Karen for access to weapons storage and armor storage areas."

The door clicked open.

"You have GOT to be kidding me! Jake didn't even have this many ... Is that an AA-12? .45/70 Springfield, M-14, .308 Winchester..."

I think she was taking inventory.

"Andy? What is this one? It kinda looks like a modified M-1 Garand, but the receiver isn't right. It almost looks like it's a production model of the modified M-1!"

"That's probably what it is then."

"But they've never made a production model."

"Mallie can verify this, but everything in here is a custom version of what you are used to. They look mostly the same, but if you look real close, you'll find differences. They are all made of alien metals, and if you look close at the trigger, you'll see a sensor where your finger rests on it. That's a safety feature. If an enemy manages to get hold of one of these, it won't do them any good. That sensor reads the bio-signature of the wielder. If it's not an authorized user, it is nothing more than a club. And the finger has to present a 'living' reading, so they can't chop off your finger to make it work." Really? I didn't know I knew all that. "They also have some kind of Identify Friend or Foe, or IFF. They can't be fired at an authorized person no matter who has it. You'll notice that all the 'long' weapons have a bayonet mount as well. The bayonet is not covered by the IFF. Did I miss anything Mallie?"

"Just one thing. IFF doesn't cover it being used as a club either."

"Mallie, authorize Karen use of firearms. Confirm."

"Confirmed Andy. Hey, you're getting the hang of this!" Giggle.

I couldn't help but think that Mallie must be a teenage girl as well.

I told Karen to go ahead and pick out the weapons she wanted to use and I would meet her back in the reading room.

"Mallie, why am I here?"

"I'm not sure I understand the question, Andy."

"What is my purpose for being here? On his planet."

"That's easy, Andy. Your purpose is to live and win."

"Win? Win what?"

"Whatever it was you wanted. Don't you remember?"

A video of me in my van popped up on her little screen. "Why can't something happen that will let me win at life?"

"Many things have happened to you since then. Many things that I would consider 'wins'. Consider Karen. You saved her from a man who wanted to turn her into a slave! That was a win."

"But she ended up re-taken and dead."

"You had no control of that. It had to happen."

"What do you mean 'it had to happen'?"

"She was supposed to die that way. You only delayed it a few hours. But you did stop it – once. So it was a win."

"You mean that anyone I saved ... it was only temporary? They're going to die the same way anyway?"

"Not necessarily. Some will find a different form of death. Others will ... I'm sorry Andy, Some information seems to be classified."

"Classified? By who? Laarusk?"

"By the program director. She ... sorry, classified again. I can tell you that she is the one that canceled the special weapons you requested. Here comes Karen."

"Andy, there are so many weapons in there! I had a hard time deciding what I wanted. I finally settled on .22 Magnums; The KelTec PMR-30 and a Ruger 10/22.22 semiautomatic with a 3x scope, both loaded with hollow-point. Oh, and a KSG like yours loaded with 00-buck and slugs. I grabbed 100 extra rounds of each. I got the holster, and a scabbard for the bike too."

"Sounds like you're ready to go. I've got my weapons ready..."

"I think you need to get a rifle too."

"Good idea. We'll need some cooking gear and ... Will you quit laughing at me? At least I remembered this time!"

"I'm sorry Andy, it's just you were so unprepared when I found you. Don't forget some rope too."

"You're not going to let me live that down, are you?"

She responded with a thousand watt smile. "Nope."

Giggle.

Sheesh.

I went and picked out an M-14 to go along with my .45 and KSG.

I decide to try out the ATV and Karen picked the smallest bike, a 125cc equivalent. I asked why she had chosen the smallest one.

"I've never ridden an electric motorcycle before, so I thought I better get used to the small one and work my way up."

"Well, we'll have to find something to put in the hoppers or we won't be going anywhere. Mallie, what's the best thing to put in the hopper on the vehicles?"

"It doesn't really matter what you use, it's all converted to energy. You might want to try some of the natural items; wood, grass, dead animals. You'll want to run some water through every now and then. It helps flush out any residue that might build up."