Everybody gets naked, part 2

The Ark Lords (Rome's Revolution #2) by Michael Brachman Yesterday, we saw how Rei came up with a completely ingenious solution to both the danger that the Darwin Project members posed along with the desperate need of the Vuduri on Helome for "normal" genetic contributions. He decided he was simply going to ship the Darwin people to the next star system and let Virga figure it out. He knew she was more than capable. However there was one of the co-conspirators that didn't want to go along with his plan. That was Bonnie Mullen who we know was not so secretly in love with Rei:
     “Rei, please,” Bonnie said, taking another step forward. “I’m sorry but I had no choice. You know that.”
     “Everyone has a choice. You made the wrong one,” Rei said harshly.
     Rome turned to Rei. “She seems truly sorry.”
     “It is getting rather crowded in my cargo hold. I do not think I will have enough room for all of them in any event,” MINIMCOM added.
     Rei shook his head. “These people are not human. There is no place for them on this planet.” Rei looked across the tarmac at the little gray starship that had brought them back from Earth, then down at the little gray livetar. “How about Junior?” Rei asked, pointing. “He’s got room. I’m sure he’d love to take a trip with Dad.”
     “I would, I would,” replied Junior’s livetar enthusiastically.
     The mouth slits on MINIMCOM’s livetar curled up.
     “Excellent idea. Junior, seal up your cargo compartment and remove the hatch activator and airlock switches. There must be no manual methods of egress.”
     The little gray livetar stood perfectly still for a moment then nodded and said, “It’s ready.”
     Rei turned to Bonnie. “I’ll give you one chance,” he said, scowling.
     “Anything,” Bonnie whimpered.
     “When you found out the principles behind Darwin, did you disagree with them?”
     Bonnie lowered her eyes to the ground. She sighed then looked up at Rei with a sad expression on her face.
     “That’s what I thought. Goodbye, Bonnie,” he said, flicking his wrist. With a whoosh and a pop, she was gone, her clothes falling to the ground in an unruly pile. The process resumed until only Captain Keller remained. He looked to his left and right, surveying the empty base and his shoulders sagged in utter defeat.
     “Bierak,” he said miserably. “You are a traitor to your country. I hope you’re proud of yourself. You’ve just doomed America to the trash bin of history.”
     “I am proud to be an American,” Rei said. “I believe in freedom for all. But I’m also a human being. Clearly you aren’t. This is a new world. A new universe. It belongs to everyone, not just a bunch of self-appointed murdering zealots.”
     Rome lifted her hand and waved it across her little group. “Cheer up, Captain Keller,” she said with a mirthless grin. “Project Darwin is a success. It is survival of the fittest. It’s just not the group you imagined. You are now relieved of the burden. We will see to it from here.”
     Taking that as his cue, MINIMCOM activated his transporter one last time. With a whoosh and pop, Keller disappeared, leaving only his clothes behind. “Can you use your sensors and tell if anybody is left?” Rei asked MINIMCOM.
     “I believe that is all of them,” MINIMCOM replied. “Even the ones who tried to leave the area.”
Is that it? Can it be that simple? MINIMCOM and Junior mopping up the area? It would seem so. Let's find out.
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Published on March 15, 2017 06:47 Tags: action, adventure, ftl, science-fiction, space-travel, vuduri
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Tales of the Vuduri

Michael Brachman
Tidbits and insights into the 35th century world of the Vuduri.
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