Chapter 27
He Ranks above the best
The tap on the door brought Scott's thoughts back from his dreams. "Just a minute." He called out as he threw back the lite bed comforter and grabbed his pants.
As he buttoned and zipped he looked at the door's video monitor, satisfied he swung the door open to admit Don Ranks.
"You might not believe it but I can guess why we might be targeted for annihilation." Ranks said as he entered the room. He took off his jacket and tossed it on the couch as he crossed to the small refrigerator, opened it and took out a small plastic container of juice.
Scott closed the door turned and said, "Let me guess. Our efforts were interrupting weapon sales and this conglomeration of planets has its economy base on those sales."
"Ok, Ok, so you would believe it. Everywhere I went, except for the basic items needed to exist like food and stuff, it was explosives, guns, missile and war products." Ranks said as he plopped down on the couch next to his jacket. He twisted the cap off the juice container and drained the contents in one long swallow.
"I agree on your guess and it is the same thing I observed while watching the news on the room's monitor. The list of stocks on their market reports were ninety percent weapon manufactory and sales." Scott took the chair across from the couch. "Come on in, have a drink, make yourself comfortable, oh, I see you've already done so."
"Thanks, I will." Ranks said unperturbed by my sarcastic comments. "So now what? How do we find out who or what company stands to lose the most with us out there blocking their profits by ending or preventing conflict? Then we need to find out if these people would take this type of drastic action."
"Yes that is one route, you know, follow the money. There is another line that could also pay off." Scott said as he looked at Ranks. "One of us could search for the source that could bend a person's mind in the fashion we have observed."
Scott rose from the chair and paced back and forth as he continued. "What could take a quiet unassuming farmer, taking a business trip on a spaceship, turn him into an assassin bent on the elimination of a certain group of people? Mind control like this is not natural and I have no way of knowing how it could be done."
"So what do you say, let's do both, you take one avenue and I'll take the other. Let's see what we can dig up in a concentrated detailed investigation." Ranks said then added, "It goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway, it is imperative that we remain unidentified as part of the coordinators organization."
"Don't I know it. If this is the heart of our enemy, I don't want to go around waving our company's flag. That would be dumb and very likely suicidal."
Scott took himself a juice container out of the fridge, turned to Ranks and offer another to him. Ranks, quiet and intensely thinking, just shook his head as he refused the offer.
Scott returned to his chair. He reached over and tapped Rank's knee gaining and ensuring his attention. "I have to tell you something you are not yet aware of."
"That could cover a lot of things. In this particular problem I am almost clueless, right now there isn't even any semblance or evidence of awareness. So go ahead and make me aware." Ranks nonchalantly said.
"The girl, er lady, I thought I recognized last night. That lady entering the dining room while we were down there in the bar. You remember, I pointed her out to you?"
"I wondered about that. We only saw her backside and you were so positive you knew her." Ranks slowly shook his head. "I didn't say anything but I thought, no way, no way you could be so sure."
"I know. Hey it bothered me too. I thought it would take some digging to get to the bottom of that little mind teaser." Scott raised his indexed finger as he continued. "However, it only took one little dream to solve this particular dilemma."
"You dreamed up a solution. Ha, that is rich." Ranks said as he smiled at Scott.
"Ok, ok here goes. As I told you, one of those recent attacks on me involved a small space ship that blew up after it suddenly appeared beside our ship while we were in route. I didn't elaborate on it last night but, on board that little ship was a lady who was in distress and needed our help. Not waiting for an analyses of her or her ship by NARD, and before it blew up, I transported her on board."
"Are you nuts? NARD must have been livid, well if a computer can be livid." Ranks said as he again slowly shook his head.
"Hey, I was injured, some of my implants were malfunctioning. It's like I had half a brain at the time." Scott begged his understanding.
"Look, you're not going to tell me that this lady last night was the same lady, are you?"
"Same lady, no I'm not. The lady I transported over was a bomb and Fortried melted her before she could do any damage. That's when I found out she was no lady. She was an android, a beautiful lady like android of the highest quality."
"An android? So this lady last night is an android also?"
"No, no, I don't think so, well not unless androids now eat like humans." Shaking his head Scott continued. "I took another good look at her after you left. She was eating some pasta dish and drinking red wine. She is so very beautiful and exquisite even while eating, I couldn't take my eyes off her."
"You're smitten, this lovely thing has you infatuated. How can you be rational while in this state?" Ranks shook his finger at Scott as he spoke.
"I can admire something and still be rational. Let me finish and maybe you can understand why I was sure I recognized her." Scott forcefully stated.
"Fine I will wait your explanation." Ranks said as he crossed his arms in front of his chest.
"Ok, ever since that brief contact with that android I have been bothered by that contact. When I have the opportunity and get fully rested I am awaken by this same overwhelming emotional dream. I pop up in a cold sweat. It is my own personal alarm clock, your rested wake up. The dream is the melting of that lady android. In this brief dream she is my everything, my love, my all and she melts before my eyes. I am totally reliving that short episode with all the emotions involved at the time."
"This morning I was fully rested and as expected that dream went off like a time bomb. The only difference this time was the face of that android was the face of that beautiful lady last night."
"So you took the lovely lady last night and incorporated her into your nightmare, how poetic." Ranks said as he waved his hand across like he was a Jedi Knight or something.
"No, no, you don't understand. She is my nightmare and she always was the face of that android. It just took a recurrence of that dream to make me realize that that is where I had seen her before."
"So, what are you going to do about that?" Ranks asked.
"I was thinking about finding out who she is and why in the galaxy she looks like this android I once met." Scott rose from his chair and went into the small coffee bar area. He poured a glass of water as he waited for a reply from Ranks.
"You know what, I agree. That too might help us find the source." Ranks got up and retrieved his jacket then headed for the door. "You take your girl friend and the mind benders, I'll take the money, see you later."
The door closed and Scott was alone with his thoughts already on finding the young lady again.