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About two months after it was all over and the Federation was recuperating from the thankfully minimal effects of the invasion that was supposed to wipe humans from the galaxy, Astrid and I walked down the streets of Askehon, one of the main cities on the planet of Hebron. It’s a pleasant, small planet with several major military installations.
The attendant greeted us as the doors swung open to the military museum. She asked if we needed any assistance. We said no. We had been there before and knew our way around.
We paused for a moment before the exhibit honoring Naval Captain Horatio Donaldson. His ship, the Audie Murphy, took on three heavily armed Creager vessels when the Creagers tried to invade Oregon II. We flicked on the screen and watched him during the three-hour battle. He was a tall man, almost six-five and at the time of the battle, gray streaked his hair and the black goatee. The man had nerves of steel. When explosions rocked his ship and the space around him, he stayed calm. Viewing him you had no idea he was seconds away from death. Astrid and I had met Captain Donaldson just two years before he died.
There are some individuals who have so much charisma it’s akin to a waterfall. It flows out of them and can wash over you. They suck the oxygen out of a room. Other individuals, such as Captain Donaldson, are unobtrusive when they walk into a room. But the more you talk to them and the more you get to know them, the more impressed you are. They don’t seem to raise their voice or engage in any type of histrionics, but convey their basic decency and integrity and courage. There are few men and few women like that. But Captain Donaldson was one of them.
We watched him give commands during the battle. Everyone on the bridge took courage from his example. In addition to his exemplary personal traits, he was a brilliant commander. When the smoke had cleared, one Creager ship was destroyed, a second was shattered beyond repair. The third limped off heavily damaged. His victory played a major part in Oregon II being saved from the Creagers. The population of Oregon II knew the vicious nature of the invaders. It’s not surprising Captain Donaldson received numerous awards and accolades from the government. They also elected him to the Oregon II Hall of Fame. It was a well-deserved honor.
We observed a few other pavilions of honor before we entered the section dedicated to the MITTs. A gold plaque listed the names of the soldiers the Federation had lost. Although the MITTs who lost their life fighting the Destroyers were not officially Federation personnel, an exception was made and they were honored in the military facility.
We walked silently on the thick rug. The holograms of the departed MITTs were excellent. They looked just like them. We read about their service and how they volunteered for a suicide mission against the most vicious enemy the Federation had ever encountered.
Technically, the commanding officer did not have to order them into combat. But it was still my responsibility. If I had been forced to give the order, I would have. But I was still saddened. And I still missed them. I didn’t think I would.
Even though the conflict was recently over, the scroll gave a complete recounting of the prior military events. I couldn’t argue with a line of the summation. Especially the concluding paragraphs.
“Although it remains unknown just how the MITTs achieved their victory, they did convince the Destroyers that they were deserters from the human command of Major Logan Ryvenbark. They were taken to the main military facility on. It is believed they managed to hack into the military computers at the facility and then caused extensive destruction to the Destroyers and their military capacity. The resulting computer attack by the MITTs created chaos and briefly paralyzed the Destroyers. They remained paralyzed as Major Ryvenbark’s ship dropped from hyperspace and released the Planet Buster Bomb. No Destroyer ship was even able to lift off the ground by the time the human ship returned to hyperspace. The resulting explosion obliterated the planet and crippled the planned invasion of the Destroyers. Without their sacrifice, the mission could not have been successful.
“The Federation still knows very little about the Destroyers and possibly will never know more than we do now. But we do understand we were saved from a genocidal enemy by the courage of the MITTs.
We honor their memory now and forever.”
I read their names on the gold plaque. I hoped we would remember them forever. If we didn’t, our civilization was lost.
“They were not human. They were metallic,” Astrid said. “But so help me, I think the words courage and sacrifice are proper to describe what they did.”
“Yes, I agree.” I sighed. “You know I’m not sure if humans have improved over the centuries. We have the same flaws we’ve always had. We can be heroic. We can be cowardly. We can sacrifice for others and we can be selfish. But we do seem to have the knack for creating virtuous MITTs.”
Astrid shrugged. “You think the Destroyers were really built just to kill? Or did something go wrong with their creation?”
“I guess we’ll never know. It will be one of the secrets of the galaxy. Which has a great many secrets. We will never be able to discover the answer to all of them.” I chuckled.
“What’s so funny?”
“Well, it’s not funny, but when man first began building machines and robots, it was feared by some they would turn against their creators and wipe out all humans. But, on the contrary, it’s the robots and the MITTs who have saved us. Rather ironic.”
“Plus Ralph. The one Destroyer who refused to destroy.”
“Yes.”
I gazed upon the exhibit featuring Ralph. He had an honored cubicle.
Along with the thanks of humanity.
Semper Fi.
