{"id":1526,"date":"2016-06-29T07:18:09","date_gmt":"2016-06-29T12:18:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/?p=1526"},"modified":"2016-07-02T07:28:36","modified_gmt":"2016-07-02T12:28:36","slug":"buck-rogers-part-10","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/?p=1526","title":{"rendered":"Buck Rogers – Part 10"},"content":{"rendered":"

Buck Rogers<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

by AJ Marks<\/span><\/p>\n

Part 10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Buck watched as Twiki settled in the passenger seat across from him as the transport took off towards his apartment building.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou actually think I\u2019m innocent?\u201d Buck asked, wondering if the logical mind of the robot actually thought that way, or was saying something to be sounding logical.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course, the odds of it occurring any other way are too great, and it would indicate that the Rizonians are also in on what is going on, which is, at best, far-fetched,\u201d Theopolis said. \u201cFor them to be operating with another race would be against everything they stand for, and if they really wanted such things, there are other, better races to work with.\u201d<\/p>\n

Buck had forgotten there were other races out there, many of which he had never even met, or heard of yet.<\/p>\n

\u201cI guess you\u2019re right,\u201d Buck finally said. \u201cI never imagined I\u2019d be drawn into such a political mess over all of this.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI feared this would have happened regardless of you being here or not, but it probably provided a perfect opportunity for them to strike,\u201d Theopolis said. \u201cThe timing of it all is rather too convenient for you to have been a part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThanks, so, do you sleep, or rest?\u201d Buck asked as he noticed the transport approaching his building.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do have a period where I recharge, and then there is the updates, and servicing which is required,\u201d Theopolis replied.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow does one service you?\u201d Buck asked, wondering if it was typical plug in and update, or more.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a process, the servicemen are not allowed to be alone with me at any time, Twiki and two others are present at the same time to provide security for my program,\u201d Theopolis answered.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, I guess when the council is dependent on your advice they must ensure that no one tampers with you or your programming,\u201d Buck said giving it some thought as they arrived in the building and exited.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey managed to secure a nice place for you,\u201d Theopolis said as they walked towards the elevators, a few people stopped to stare at both of them and Buck had the feeling Twiki didn\u2019t get out around here much.<\/p>\n

\u201cI guess, not sure, nothing to compare it to,\u201d Buck finally replied back. \u201cI still have to figure out what I\u2019m going to do, can\u2019t mooch off the government forever.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGlad to hear that,\u201d Theopolis said, as they arrived at the elevators and went inside, along with two women, who looked at him in silence for a few seconds before one spoke up.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re the one from the past, aren\u2019t you?\u201d she said, her eyes never leaving Buck.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s me,\u201d Buck replied wondering what type of fans they were, or questions they might have.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s so rad, can\u2019t imagine being hurled into the future like that,\u201d she said looking over at her friend.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, you live in the building?\u201d her friend asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor now, yeah,\u201d Buck answered not sure where this conversation was going, and hoping it wasn\u2019t where he thought it was.<\/p>\n

\u201cRad, no one of importance lives here,\u201d the first girl said as the elevator stopped. \u201cWell, this is our stop, maybe we\u2019ll see you around again.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPerhaps,\u201d Buck said giving them both a smile as they took one last look at Buck, then Twiki before heading out of the elevator, and it continued on up to the eightieth floor.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow are you handling fame?\u201d Theopolis asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cSomething I expected before all of this, just not in this way,\u201d Buck finally answered. He already knew there were celebrities like in his time from the TV and movies and internet.\u00a0 Some were better than others just like back home.<\/p>\n

The elevator stopped and he headed out to another elevator and went up the rest of the way before heading to his apartment in silence with the two robots.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, Twiki, you just move him around?\u201d Buck asked as they entered his apartment.<\/p>\n

\u201cBiggy, biggy, that\u2019s part of the job Buck,\u201d Twiki replied back to him.<\/p>\n

\u201cTwiki is a special series, he looks completely harmless, but has security protocols built in, and can be a regular combat droid,\u201d Theopolis said. \u201cHe only looks like a clumsy robot, part of his programming.\u201d<\/p>\n

Buck went to say more when something on Twiki interrupted them. He watched as Twiki pulled out what looked like a smartphone, looked at it before speaking up again.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ve called an emergency council meeting,\u201d Twiki said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI expected something like this,\u201d Theopolis replied. \u201cWe\u2019re going to have to run, but if you need anything let us know.\u00a0 Twiki, reply that we\u2019re on our way.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBiggy, biggy, no problem, see you Buck,\u201d Twiki said, before finishing up on the phone, putting it away and heading out the door.<\/p>\n

Buck was left alone again, and hoped people didn\u2019t somehow thing he was actually involved in spying against the NAA for the Draconian Empire. He never expected this when he climbed into the cockpit of the Enterprise to test the FTL drive and be put into the history books.<\/p>\n

He gave a small snort, he was in the history books, but not the way he hope. Of course that part was already being rewritten and it appeared he was already being dragged into a conspiracy.<\/p>\n

*****<\/p>\n

He woke to a knock on the door, frowning he looked over the clock which read 21:19, and wondered who was knocking at this time of night. Walking over to the door, he activated the screen, only to see Wilma standing there in the hallway waiting for him.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust a moment,\u201d he said, splashing some water on his face, drying it and heading to the door to open it for her.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know you could have unlocked it and allowed me in without actually coming to the door?\u201d she said with a bit of smile on her face.<\/p>\n

\u201cAh, yeah, force of habit,\u201d Buck replied, knowing that the screen in his bedroom had the ability to open, close, lock and unlock the door. \u201cIt\u2019s a relief to see you survived.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, we lost too many in the battle,\u201d Wilma said, confusing Buck.<\/p>\n

\u201cThought the losses were light?\u201d Buck replied. \u201cOr at least that\u2019s what Theopolils said.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEven one loss is too many for me,\u201d Wilma said, and Buck saw a quick mask of pain at those she had lost.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou must make a great commander,\u201d Buck finally said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause you care about all of them,\u201d Buck said. \u201cI\u2019ve seen too many who don\u2019t care, they\u2019ll toss away the lives of those below them as if they were nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCan\u2019t imagine doing that to them,\u201d Wilma replied.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, anything you can tell me, or is it all top secret stuff?\u201d Buck asked, wondering if he would be any information at all of what happened.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot much to tell in a fight, they appeared, it was actually a smaller force than I thought,\u201d Wilma said. \u201cThat\u2019s what is so confusing about it all.\u00a0 Then you have King William denying he ever made such an order.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, he might not have,\u201d Buck said after a few seconds of thinking about it.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d Wilma asked, sounding a bit confused by the turn in the conversation. \u201cThe king rules absolutely, there is no sharing of power there, no voting by the people, you obey or die.\u201d<\/p>\n

Buck wondered if that was really the case, but from what he saw things were slightly different. \u201cI\u2019ll admit, the king holds a lot of power, but like anything there are power factions within the power structure, each one vying for top slot.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you saying someone is trying to overthrow him by attacking us?\u201d Wilma replied. \u201cSorry, that sounds extremely unlikely at best.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d Buck said now pacing around as he thought about it. \u201cHis kids each seemed to be very different.\u00a0 Take the princess, she seems to want no power, but loves to use that power for her own personal gain.\u00a0 No, she wouldn\u2019t do this, but the middle kid, what was his name?\u00a0 Harry, no Harold, he seemed, nervous, and angry.\u00a0 Perhaps this was to impress his father, or embarrass his brother.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStill doesn\u2019t make any sense,\u201d Wilma replied.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat did King William say?\u201d Buck asked, wondering what excuse the man would use on this.<\/p>\n

\u201cSaid he was not responsible, but he would find out and punish the man responsible for sure,\u201d Wilma said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI guess you wait to see what he uncovers,\u201d Buck said, not really sure about that bit of advice.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know, its up to the council to figure that out,\u201d Wilma said. \u201cI know I have to reorganize the fighter squadrons a bit, bring up some reserves, activate new people and start a new training program.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI might join,\u201d Buck said finally, after giving it some thought.<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you sure?\u201d Wilma said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, I was a pilot before, still enjoy being a pilot,\u201d Buck said. \u201cThough some in the council might not like me being part of the defense force.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, if you continue to fly like you did, I\u2019ll accept you,\u201d Wilma said. \u201cAs for the council, I heard about that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd you don\u2019t think it\u2019s suspicious?\u201d Buck asked her wondering what she thought.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt first, yeah I did, then gave it some thought, and realized you hardly asked about the defenses, or rotations or anything else which might help an attack like the one which was sent, you were interested in the Thunderfighter,\u201d Wilma said sitting down on the sofa. \u201cAnd anyone would know such a small force would be defeated.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA feint?\u201d Buck asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cThought about that as well, but what would the objective really be?\u201d Wilma asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have no idea, not enough information to figure that out,\u201d Buck replied. \u201cAnything important going on politically, an event or something?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot for us, everything had been normal with our neighboring races, except for the disturbance you created, intelligence has picked up nothing,\u201d Wilma said. \u201cBut its something I can bring up in the next meeting in the morning, see if anyone else knows something I don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThought you were the head of the defense?\u201d Buck said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, the Thunderfighter squadrons, there are some others, we have a few warships, most are in orbit around the moon,\u201d Wilma replied back to him, surprising him. \u201cBut with the capabilities of the Thunderfighter, we rarely need them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWasn\u2019t aware of those,\u201d Buck said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnother reason why I don\u2019t think you were a spy, they could have been rushed to defend in minutes if a larger force arrived, and they were on alert, and again, anyone would know about that by looking on the internet,\u201d Wilma said. \u201cAdmiral Thomson will be here to be part of the meeting in the morning, he\u2019s the fleet commander.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cToo many different position to figure out,\u201d Buck said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn a way, the Chancellor is the overall head of the military,\u201d Wilma said. \u201cI command all the Thunderstar fighter squadrons on Earth, Thomson commands our military in space.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, okay, two different systems, a bit like the Navy, Army and Air Force,\u201d Buck said, each was separate yet were all part of the military of the USA. Looking at it like that it made more sense to him and he could actually understand it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI guess,\u201d Wilma said.<\/p>\n

They were quiet for several minutes as Buck went over everything in the conversation. It seemed unusual to him, but he was missing pieces of the puzzle, a mystery he wanted to solve.\u00a0 Then there was the invite to the fighter squadrons, something he had been excited about from the moment he actually sat in the simulator.<\/p>\n

He turned to Wilma and stopped, she had fallen asleep. Deciding not to wake her, he went over and picked out a blanket, covered her and went back to his own bed, wondering what would happen tomorrow.<\/p>\n

End part 10<\/p>\n

Continued in part 11<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Buck Rogers by AJ Marks Part 10 Buck watched as Twiki settled in the passenger seat across from him as the transport took off towards his apartment building. \u201cYou actually think I\u2019m innocent?\u201d Buck asked, wondering if the logical mind of the robot actually thought that way, or was saying something to be sounding logical. […]
Continue reading…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[3,66,53,10,67,5,12],"class_list":["post-1526","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fanfiction","tag-aj-marks","tag-buck","tag-buck-rogers","tag-fanfiction","tag-rogers","tag-sci-fi","tag-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1526","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1526"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1526\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1542,"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1526\/revisions\/1542"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1526"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1526"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1526"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}