Project Faith

Chapter 5

Amilius and Captain Jackson sat around the table in the briefing room. The captain was yelling and screaming about the fail mission as he saw it. Lydia entered the room. Captain Jackson turned his focus on her.

"You have a big problem young lady," the captain hollered. "Where do you get off talking to me like that?"

"Is it true that you threaten to kill the captain?" Amilius asked in his typical calm tone.

"Yes," Lydia answered. "He was being an ass."

"That's not wise," the captain said.

"You have to remember, Captain Jackson," Lydia explained. "Faith is not a soldier. She doesn't have to follow your orders. She doesn't have to give you respect. She doesn't like you and she doesn't trust you. On the other hand, Faith likes and trusts me. Going after you, was perfect. I did more in building her trust than any of your damn methods."

"Lydia does have a point, captain," said Amilius. "Making her fight for us is different than her wanting to fight for us." He looked at Lydia. "You will be handling Faith for now on. The missions will still come from the captain and me, but you will make the final call. If any new information pops up like the Frautfom, we will trust your judgment."

The captain shook his head. "We could use that against the Drilli."

"And we would have been charged with war crimes," replied Lydia. "Every member in Association's space will turn on us. Humans will be outcast. We will have no influence in interstellar policy."

The captain rolled his eyes. "We don't need policy. We need bigger guns."

"Captain," interjected Amilius. "I have to agree with Lydia. Humanity can't survive by itself out here. We have to play nice."

The captain leaned back in his chair. "I understand your view. The main question is?" He pointed his finger at Lydia. "Why didn't she listen to you?"

"Faith is not an idiot," Lydia said. "She knew why we wanted Alessio alive, to get our hands on Frautfom. Maybe she has some sense of a moral code. She wanted no part of the 'Golden Slumber.'"

"Where was her moral code when she was stomping the faces of Alessio's men? Or the soldiers she killed at the prison camp." The captain sneered trying to get under Lydia's skin. "You didn't expect that much brutality."

Lydia sat down at the table and put her hand on her cheek. "I admit. I did find her actions disturbing, but necessary to get the job done."

"She is deadly," Amilius said. "But can we always control her?"

"She will listen to me." Lydia tried to assure him. She didn't want the Amilius or the captain to take hard measures against Faith.

"But would she always?" the captain asked. "What happens if she turns on us? I think we need a plan if that happens."

Lydia looked at the captain. She was still angry with him and questioned any of his motives. But she did humor him listen to what he had to say. "Like what?"

"I thought you would never ask." The captain reached into his breast pocket of his uniform. He pulled out a small metallic ball about six millimeters in diameter. He placed it on the table. He reached into his other breast pocket. He pulled out a small square clicker about two centimeters wide and two centimeters long.

"Stay back," he said. He pushed the clicker and the metallic ball burst into a loud and controlled explosion.

A startled Lydia shot up from her chair. "What the hell?"

The captain laughed. "A pretty big bang for such a small ball, I got the boys in the lab to develop it, when we started this project. It's a kill switch. All we have to do is place it at the base of Faith's skull. If she ever goes rogue, Boom!" He used his hands to emphasize the explosion. "She's will no longer be a problem."