Chapter 13

Sometime around 3:00 AM, Jeff and Ann were playing grab-ass in the pool and Jase, Jo, and Judy were sitting in the kitchen enjoying a cup of coffee. Judy remarked, "I don't mind losing the need for food, but I'm glad our body changes didn't destroy our ability to enjoy the taste of a good cup of coffee!"

Jo and Jase amened that and they went on to discuss some of the other advantages of their body changes. Jase commented, "Along the line of thought of what Seven has done for us, have either of you had time to think about her request that we become galactic troubleshooters? I would like to take on the job for two reasons, one: I'd like to pay back some of what I feel like I owe them for the changes they have given me, and two: I think that it would be a wonderful adventure!"

Judy said, "I agree with all of that, but I do worry that I would freak-out at some of the ETs I might meet, and I would hate to do that and hurt some being's feelings."

Jase said, "I think that would be easy to fix, just ask Seven for a preview of who you would meet. Then, if you couldn't face an intelligent jellyfish, you could tell her before you embarrassed either of you, and Seven could assign someone else to the job."

"Yeah, that is a reasonable solution to my problem. If I could do that, then I would like to take on the assignment just so I could be with you, Jase. Jo, how do you feel?"

"I don't anticipate any problems beyond what you already mentioned. With that kind of forewarning, I am eager to take the job. Jase, please call Seven and tell her our decision."

"OK, I'll go signal her. I have a couple of ideas I want to bounce off her, anyway." Jase went to his room and signaled for Seven. She showed up almost before he had finished signaling, and he couldn't help jumping a little in surprise.

"Hello, Jase, what can I do for you?"

"It's more like what we can do for you. All three of us are willing to accept assignments off-Earth, but the women have a condition I think you ought to hear directly from them. Please join us in the kitchen."

"Sure, lead on."

Seven sat at the table in a chair that had been constructed especially for her large size. She was so large that she towered over the kitchen table and made it look almost like a coffee table. Judy, ever the considerate host, asked Seven if she would like to try some coffee.

"Just a moment, let me make sure that the alkaloids in it are not harmful to me." She picked up Judy's cup, which had no sugar or cream, and disappeared for a moment. She returned almost instantly and handed Judy her cup. "Our lab people say that there is nothing in that coffee which would cause me permanent harm, but the caffeine will accelerate my libido. So, yes, I would like to try some of it, please."

Judy got a 1-quart measuring cup to give Seven something more convenient to drink from and poured her a serving of coffee. "You may want sugar and cream with it, many people do prefer it that way."

"I'll try it straight, at first, thank you. I'll put the other stuff in it later, if I need it. Now, Jase tells me that you will help us out on other planets, but you have a condition for me to meet, first. I assure you that we will do whatever you require; what do you want?"

Judy said, "Actually, it should be simple for you. We, that is, Jo and I are not sure how we would react on meeting some ETs, so we just want to see who we would be facing before we caused embarrassment or hard feelings. I don't think that we would have any problems as long as we were not caught by surprise. Is it possible for you to do that?"

"Certainly! We can make it a routine part of the initial briefing. That will give you full warning and a chance to change your mind if you need to. Thank you; I will relay your agreement to the Galactic Council immediately." Seven blanked out and returned. "That's done. Is there anything else we need to discuss? By the way, this coffee is delicious! We may have a trade item here, if we can work out the details."

Jase said, "I have thought of several things that would make the armor easier to use. Can you arrange a meeting between M'rth and me to discuss them?"

"That will be no problem. The fifteens relish new problems. Just a moment... Would you like to go now? We will only be gone a moment in real time."

"OK, let's do it."

There was a flicker in vision and they were standing in the presence of M'rth at the fifteens' laboratory. M'rth said, "It's a pleasure to see you again, Jase. What can we do for you?"

"Thank you, M'rth, it's good to see you, too. Our last assignment has brought a couple of ideas to mind to improve the armor. First, I'd like to have a locater installed in us or in the armor so that you would always know where we were. I hope that would let you retrieve us at any time, instead of forcing us to go to a specific place to be picked up. If that could be done, we could be rescued if we got into a fix we couldn't handle ourselves. Also, we could be picked up as soon as our mission was finished, instead of us having to go to a certain place for pickup.

"The second item I'd like is a HUD (Heads Up Display) of our position relative to our target. It would help for this display to be on a map showing the position of the other members of the team and any known enemy locations.

"I know that this is asking for a lot, but it would be a big help on our missions. Of course, any other information you would be able to display would be welcome."

"That's a very interesting technical challenge, Jase. Just the kind of thing we like. We'll get right on it. Hopefully, we'll have something for you by your next mission."

After a little small talk, Seven and Jase popped back to the kitchen on Earth. Since they were back only a moment after they had left, Judy and Jo were still sitting there with their coffee. Jase and Seven had refills of their cups, and Seven dropped a bombshell!

"Judy, how would you feel about having Ann and Jeff join your team? I won't say anything to them until you give your permission."

"Seven, they are just children! Everything else aside, they don't have the knowledge or experience to be able to function on an assassination mission."

"I don't think that knowledge or experience are barriers. Consider this, how much did you know before joining the GPD? On top of all the training you received, they would have experiences from Jase, Jo, and you added to the mix. My plan is, if you agree, to put them through the training as we did you, and then send them with you on a couple of relatively easy assignments to break them in."

"OK, suppose I accept that, what about the fact of killing. How will that affect them mentally and emotionally? The psychological shock could be disastrous!"

"That's true, but, when they were given the augmented bodies, we took the opportunity to examine their brains thoroughly, and we believe that they are quite capable of handling the fact of killing the kind of people we are after. Remember, the people don't really die, they just go into the "soul pool" to be reborn into a new body. Once they grasp that, there should be no problem."

"Seven, you know I trust you, so I will give you the benefit of the doubt. Go ahead and ask. If the kids want to join, I won't stand in their way."

"Thank you, Judy. I appreciate that statement. May I ask them now?"

"Sure, go ahead. Now is as good a time as any."

Seven got up and went to the door of the pool room. "Ann, Jeff, please dry off and join us in the family room. I have a serious question to ask you." Everybody went into the family room and found seats.

"Ann, Jeff, your mother has given me permission to ask this question. The galaxy needs your help. The Galactic Council wants you to join your family as a part of the Galactic Police Department. You would become a member of the team led by Jase. Will you join?"

That sound you just heard was two jaws hitting the floor. Jeff recovered first and said, "Cool! You bet I will join. What do I do to sign up?"

"Thank you, Jeff. You just officially joined the GPD. Your training will start immediately. How about you, Ann?"

"Oh, yes! I want to join. I'm just so surprised that you would ask me. Sign me up!"

"Thank you, Ann. Your training will also start right now." Seven, Jeff, and Ann's bodies flickered for a moment and they were back in place in their chairs.

The were wearing a full set of armor and weapons and were grinning from ear to ear. Seven said, "Jase, Judy, Jo, please put on your armor and gather your gear. It's time to get the enhancements that Jase asked for. There is also a mission coming up which will need all of you to carry out."

The three got ready, and they were all whisked to the laboratory where they were met by M'rth. "Ah, yes, the 5 intrepid guinea pigs, er, warriors ready to be fitted with their latest toys." There was a strange sound that came from M'rth which the universal translator converted to laughter. "Please don't take that last statement seriously, it was supposed to be a joke," explained M'rth.