In order to make my plot plans work, I need some way for Aldin to access the bunnynet. Fortunately, Aaron Mandelbaum agreed to help out. At that time period, the author behind the filed splinter-group, WOMBAT, had 'invited' all Fudds and buns to a neutral weekend beach party at Sandy Beach State Park in Maryland. Said author expected everyone to write a short story and post over one weekend and only that one weekend. He learned the hard way, that this isn't quite possible with such a large group, chuckle. Furthermore, he decided after the fact that he didn't want my character there because I insisted on bringing some Moxie™ (bunny-safe of course) and we got into a little argument (IC at my end) which provided a way for Teral and Eugene/Aldin to meet-up.
A couple of quick notes: At that time, UCirc was populated mostly by red squirrels. Chris (Mentat) was in charge of UCirc's sciences division and should not be confused with Chris Pomerleau.
This story continues Immediately after The Maine Plot and before Invading Namakata.
Originally posted 23 March, 1995- 7 May, 1995 in collaboration with Aaron Mandelbaum
under several titles.
© 1995-2002 by Scott Bernier and Aaron Mandelbaum
First HTML-ized 6-7,13 March, 1998 by Scott Bernier
*Blasted slow newsfeed. The picnic starts today and I'm still in Texas.*
Eugene loaded up Da Beast and headed east. He drove for two days straight before spending the night in Roanoke, VA. The following afternoon, the Outer Capital Beltway brought back bad memories of his days interning with the Feds at the World Weather Building--particularly his "crash course" in city driving (well near crash course, I only had several, several near misses). He made his way around to US 50 East, remembering not to use his turn signals this time (wouldn't want to give your next move away to the other drivers).
He chuckled at the toll bridge warning sign a few miles before the park--wonder if they consider Moxie™ a hazardous material?
Da Beast pulls into the park and attracts attention as several curious onlookers wonder who would be caught dead in such a beat-up gas guzzler. How did it get this far without passing Maryland emission tests. They then note the TEXAS plates, sigh in disgust ("TOURISTS!") and go their own ways. Eugene gets out, spots the Alt.devilbunnies crowd and unloads some goodies.
"All right, I've got the Whoopie pies (New England Chocolate Cake sandwiches with creamy filling), the Moxie™, a few Maine Lobstahs and the mixed nuts. Show me to the grills."
............. A Yankee (Mainah) stranded in West Texas Eugene "Moxie Man" Pomerleau INTERNET: m8sab@ttacs.ttu.edu Give me a break, in RL™ I haven't been to that part of Maryland in 4 years. :)
.
Teral approached a group of bunnies. Was that the general, there? What did LonGears look like, anyway? [chitter] Would he see *anyone* he knew here? He hadn't seen any squirrels at all, just bunnies and humans and more bunnies...
He had to go around two humans in a heated debate on what was and wasn't allowed at the picnic. He scurried over to scoot behind a nearby tree -- there was no telling what humans might do, especially if they were angry. They might attack him, or even try to [chitter] pick him up or [shudder] pet him! He really, really wished he'd brought his laser, but judging from what the guy in the orange hat was saying, that might only have led to *more* problems. Best to stay out of their way.
"For the last time there are no weapons at the picknic I don't care if you aren't going to attack anyone or bun!" said the guy in the orange hat for the tenth time or so.
"It's not a (*$%& weapon! It's my favorite softdrink! How dare you accuse me of a dishonorable act! Especially YOU! &*%&$# WOMBAT..."
Wait a minute... was that *squirrel*? He hadn't heard those particular expletives since the time the Mentat had fallen in the hydroponics tank... why would a human swear in squirrel?
Could it be Aldin? [flick?]
Against his better judgment, he cautiously approached the pair.
.
Teral wrote: [snipping throughout...] >He had to go around two humans in a heated debate on what was and wasn't >allowed at the picnic. He scurried over to scoot behind a nearby tree -- >there was no telling what humans might do, especially if they were angry. >"It's not a (*$%& weapon! It's my favorite softdrink! How dare you accuse >me of a dishonorable act! Especially YOU! &*%&$# WOMBAT..." > >Wait a minute... was that *squirrel*? He hadn't heard those particular >expletives since the time the Mentat had fallen in the hydroponics tank... >why would a human swear in squirrel? > >Could it be Aldin? [flick?] > >Against his better judgment, he cautiously approached the pair.
Eugene openned the door to Da Beast, got in and slammed the door. He continued to tell the WOMBAT representative exactly what he and Aldin thought of his group as he reved the engine. With one last squirrel expletive (translated it meant the WOMBAT's mother was a [pig-13]!..um [pig-13]...um there is no way to translate it politely), he shifted Da Beast into gear and floored it.
Dirt spun into the air behind the tires of the 3000 pound metal machine as Eugene/Aldin speed out of the parking lot. He saw a terror stricken red squirrel in his path at the last moment and jammed the brakes.
Teral had just started his approach when the one he thought could be Aldin got into the largest (and most beat-up) station wagon he had ever seen. True, it was the *only* station wagon he had ever seen, but it was much *much* larger than the compacts CWRU students always drove. He shivered at the last comment Aldin made to the WOMBAT--if the human had understood squirrel, there would have been fur flying by now.
Wait a minute, if he was getting in a car... he was leaving already? "Wait!" Teral squeaked, leaping in front of the car to stop it, "Aldin!"
He saw the car suddenly accelerate, and it began to barrel toward him. Teral waved his paws once, and realized that it wasn't going to stop. He couldn't move. He was frozen in place with fear. Was this the end?
Everything slowed-down. Funny, he thought that was just a stupid movie trick when something bad was about to happen...
The car seemed to grow larger as it approached him, screeching hideously, as if taunting him in his final moments. Time slowed further, as if to draw out the agony... Teral held his breath for the impact that would end his life. Slower... slower... time stopped.
Or rather, the car stopped. Teral looked-up to see the front driver side wheel a mere 3 inches from his body, and collapsed in shock.
Aldin rushed out of the car and saw the dead-looking squirrel. "SPIRIT! I've killed one of my own kind!" he cried in grief. He bent down and more carefully examined the still form. No it wasn't still, it was breathing shallowly. Aldin carefully picked the unconscious small body up and placed it on the passenger seat of Da Beast. He then dug-out a canteen of water and a cotton ball from the car's first-aid kit. He dabbed the wet cotton on the unconscious form's forehead. There wasn't much else he could do until the squirrel came around.
.
Teral felt something cold and wet touching him, and came to with a start. He looked around for a few seconds, blinking.
Teral grinned. "Hey, you stopped! It worked! [flick]" Not that he was ever, ever going to try that again...
"Are you okay?" the Aldin asked, only a little surprised to see a squirrel talking (well not really surprised--his fellow squirrels back at Namakata Labs could talk, but that had been 11 years earlier).
"Sure, fine," Teral said, looking around. "You are Aldin, right? [flick?] Why were you leaving so soon? The picnic's barely started!"
Aldin nodded, still thinking. The bunnies wouldn't let their squirrel slaves come to the picnic, and Sadie had said she wasn't coming, so that left Teral. If he was Teral, this trip might be more useful than he had planned. "I'm not welcome at this picnic. They won't allow me to bring Moxie™ into the picnic. Besides, hanging-out with a bunch of fluffers is not my idea of a picnic. If Iago or the General had been here, I might have stayed awhile, just to ruffle their fur." (very human grin) "Are you Teral Acorn, perchance?"
"That's me." Teral hopped up onto the dashboard, but missed--the car appeared larger within than it had on the outside--and had to clamber up the radio control to avoid falling to the floor. He looked back at the field, where bunnies lined up for some kind of contest, teams of mixed races played volleyball, and other picnicky things.
"You mentioned to me in one of our tightbeam conversations that your computers at UCirc were hooked to the Bunnynet™. Is that still true?" Aldin asked in fluent squirrel.
Teral froze, and looked closely at Aldin. It didn't *look* like morpharmor...and a bunny wouldn't have stopped for him. So, giving a final glance around to make sure no bunnies were nearby, he tentatively replied, "Sort of. The physical connections are still there, but we normally use cwrunet. It'd take a bit of work to get it running." He grinned and flicked his tail. "Nothing I couldn't handle, of course!"
Aldin recognized the [enthusiasticflick] and continued. "I was wondering if I could follow you back there, then. I need to do some research, and I need a bunnynet link to do it."
"Sure, no problem," Teral said. Then something occured to him. "Oh. No. Wait. Sorry." His tail drooped and he hung his head in sorrow. "I can't go back there. Loren thinks I tried to kill him! [chitter] I was going to ask you if I could stay with you for a while, and help infiltrate the Fudds."
Moxie sighed. It was obviously no use to try to convince him that the Fudds weren't bunny agents. "You wouldn't like West Texas, Teral." He pulls a photo of a treeless flat brown plain out of the glove compartment and shows it to Teral. "No trees. No cover. And lots of hot Texas sun. The only squirrels out there are thirteen striped ground squirrels--sorta like chipmunks, just as dumb, but bigger then you are. Oh, and did I mention the deviljacks--most vicious bunnies you ever set eyes on--some of them four feet in length."
Aldin pauses a moment. "How do you know that Loren thinks you tried to kill him? Did he tell you he thinks you attempted to kill him?"
"Well... no."
"Did you try to kill him?" Aldin stared at Teral. He stared deeply. Teral felt uncomfortable momentarily, but he wasn't hiding anything. He gathered up his couraged and answered.
"Well... no. [chitter] But I did help plan of most the attack where he almost got killed."
"Everyone makes mistakes, Teral. You can't run forever. You have to go back and face him, Teral. It's the only honorable thing to do."
"But... [chitter] I can't go back there. [nervousflick]"
"I can go with you, and talk to Loren. I'm sure that both of us can explain to him that you didn't try to kill him. And if he's interested in any kind of relationship with the Fudds, he'll listen to me."
"Why would he want a relationship with the Fudds? [flick?] Oh, I get it." Teral winked conspiratorally. Aldin just sighed.
"So I can follow you back?"
"Sure," Teral said. "Oh, wait... my transportation was kind of... destroyed. [embarrassedflick] Could you give me a ride?"
"Don't see why not. 'Da Beast' (pats the dash) may look a little beat-up, but she's dependable. Rain, sleet, snow, and fluffers have been unable to stop her in the past. She'll get us to UCIRC."
"How about the other fifty squirrels?" Teral leapt to the back of the passenger side seat and looked around. "Yep, plenty of room!"
"Fifty other squirrels?" Aldin calculated for a moment. "It'll be a little cramped back there, but I believe I could pull it off. Just direct me to where we are to rendezvous with your buddies."
.
"Where are they?" Teral wondered as Da Beast lumbered down the only road from the picnic ground. "I told them to wait near the ambush site, but we're almost there and I don't see any sign of...
"Get off the road, now!" Teral screamed, leaping at the steering wheel. Moxie swerved to the side and slammed on the brakes, as the road ahead exploded in flames.
Teral was out the window and on the roof before the dust settled. "You idiots!" he chittered angrily at the squirrels that scurried out from the trees to inspect their handywork, "You almost killed me! And why did you set off all the mines? You were supposed to save some for other targets!"
The squirrels chittered and looked at the ground. "Sorry," one of them said. Teral's tail flicked back and forth as he considered whether to leave those idiots here... no, they were his most loyal followers, even if they were completely incompetent. [flick!]
"Get in the car!" he screeched at them. Aldin dropped the back window and tailgate to allow entry into Da Beast. The squirrels ran up and got in, eyeing Teral nervously. When the last was in, Teral climbed back down through the window and dropped into the passenger's seat.
"Idiots," he mumbled under his breath.
Aldin looks back at Teral. "I suppose I could have turned on the Cuteness Geometer™."
.
"Cuteness geometer?" [flick] "You have a cuteness geometer in this car?"
"Of course, wouldn't be much of a Fudd if I didn't have one in here. This is the latest model, it can be tuned by 'type' of cuteness. See at this setting, it only picks-up rabbits." Aldin turns the dial, on the scope a large concentration of dots shows-up behind them at the picnic. "And at this setting, it picks-up squirrels." Aldin turns the dial again, on the scope is a large concentration of dots at 'ground zero' and a few here and there at various distances up to a quarter-mile away. After his little demonstration, he tunes back to the rabbit 'frequency', and prepares to depart.
Aldin pulled-out into the traffic on US 50 west. "Teral, I don't recall you ever telling me in our tightbeams just exactly where UCIRC was." He looked to the red squirrel with curiosity. "If we are going there with me driving, I really need to know where we are going."
"Ohio," Teral chittered quietly.
"WHAT!!!!" Aldin slammed the brakes and swerved off the road. Several drivers behind blared their horns and waved their hands and gestured as they passed by. "That's LonGears' territory!" He calms down and chuckles in a sort of cross between human and squirrel way. "I'm impressed. Very well then, Ohio it is. But this won't be easy. LonGears, unfortunately, has a full description of this vehicle. However, he is, shall we say, rather incapacitated at the moment in Colorado. As we approach Ohio, I'll need something more specific. For now, sit back, enjoy the ride, oh and there should still be 10 or so pounds of mixed nuts back there somewhere...." He glances back and sees that his guests have already found the nuts. "but you've already found them."
Da Beast headed west towards DC and 'wonderful' afternoon rush hour (several hours in DC) traffic on the Capitol Beltway.
Return to the .
Aldin and the Chipm^H^H^H^H^HSquirrels
Teral had been scared half-to-death before, but never like this. This former squirrel he had entrusted his life and his techies to was driving like some Indy 500 driver. Every time Aldin would swerve lanes in the bumper-to-bumper traffic going at 60mph (in the slow lane), Teral would let out a long, chittering schreech from his perch on the dashboard, claws hooked securely on the defrost vents.
"Sorry," Aldin said, "But if I slow down we'll get rear ended!"
"Can you go any faster?" Teral asked, eyes locked straight ahead.
"Not without getting the cops on us. I don't think I want to explain why I have fifty squirrels in the car with me."
Teral sighed. "Damn. [flick]"
Aldin kept switching frequencies on the radio, trying to get the latest road conditions ahead of them.
"....major back-up on the Baltimore Washington Parkway North, Carl,
this one goes onto the Beltway and is slowing down traffic in the outer two
lanes in both directions....."
"...we shall take the next three callers to play Cop or No Cop..."
"...there has been a jack-knife on the Woodrow Wilson Bridge. Only one
lane on the Inner Beltway is clear at this time...."
"...We have a major pile-up involving at least 6 vehicles at 193 and
201..."
Aldin finally turned the radio off and swerved into the inner most lane. A couple of horns sounded-off behind him. "Just like the good old days," he commented.
Thirty-five minutes later they were out of the worst of the DC traffic and were northwest of Rockville on I-270 West. Three hours later they found themselves in Washington, PA. Aldin looked for somewhere to spend the night and fuel-up.
"Why are we stopping?" Teral asked, curled up on the seat. The Pennsylvania highways were boring, everyone went the speed limit. "We're almost there!" "We're only 30 minutes from Ohio. I want to be fully alert before driving into devilbunny territory. Where in Ohio are we going, anyway?"
"Not far, just to Cleveland. Shouldn't take more than an hour or two."
.
"Only if we make a beeline for Cleveland and invite half the bunn army to join us at UCIRC, Teral. Remember, my vehicle's description is in the buns' data base. We are going to have to take a less direct route back."
Aldin pulled into a Motel 6™, got a room, made sure Teral and company were comfortable and went shopping. He returned an hour later with nuts, berries, fruit, and a large mushroom pizza. While they ate, Aldin plotted several routes for them to take in the morning. Several squirrels took turns at guard duty throughout the night, but Aldin's Cuteness Geometer™ (CG) stayed quiet. The following morning they were on their way.
"Welcome to Ohio, the Heart of it All!" Read the sign as they crossed the border. Beneath it, a small seasonal plaque was attached. Bright yellow with a ky00t pink bunny, it read "Have a hoppy Easter!"
There was no mistaking who was in charge here.
.
"That's the fifth road construction crew we've been forced to pass!" Teral chittered. They were somewhere on I-70 West between Cambridge and Zanesville. Twice before during other construction detours, the CG beeped. Both times when they had passed one of those fat-looking men that just stood there holding-up those SLOW signs. It was quickly approaching noontime.
"I don't like the way that last one stared at us. We may have to leave the highway and take the backroads....how are you doing back there?"
Muffled complaints of the heat and cramped quarters came from under the blanket in the back cargo area being used to hide Teral's 50 techs. Teral simply ducked under the front seat whenever they approached a 'construction site'. The General was a genius...what better way to disguise bunny checkpoints than to use a road construction project--traffic crawled by slow enough to allow careful scrutinization of each vehicle.
The CG was going crazy. There was definately some heavy bunny activity in the area. He looked around for an exit, but the next one wasn't for a few miles (hours, at this rate).
A beat-up pickup broke from traffic a bit behind them and started driving down the median. Before it got fifty feet, a highway patrol car appeared out of nowhere and chased it down. The cop started writing a ticket, then ordered the man out of his car while it was searched.
A few minutes later, just as their section of the traffic jam was passing the scene, they slapped him into handcuffs and removed a fire axe and shotgun from the truck.
"...looks like we found another member of that cult. We'll take him in for questioning..."
"What's goin on?" Teral squeaked from the floor. Aldin shushed him, trying his best to look innocent as he passed three feet from the cops, and to ignore the poor man (Fudd? Or just an unlucky hunter?) sitting in the back of the cruiser.
All through the construction zone, he felt like he was being watched. He figured they probably were. At one point one of the construction workers came over and started shuffling around orange cones three feet from their car. But they made it through without any alarms going off, and the Geometer didn't show anyone following as they got back into normal traffic.
"[pig-13] that was too close." he said softly when they were far enough away. "That's it, we have to get off this highway."
"Agreed," Teral chittered. Aldin pulled off onto county road 'E' and headed west.
"These roads aren't even on the map," Aldin said, "They can't be watching everywhere."
.
Unfortunately, they could be watching lots of places, but the CG warned them away from the patrols and the huge concentrations that had to be warrens. The problem was, they spent so much time avoiding blips that they were barely making progress.
"They know," Teral chittered, as a blip appeared directly ahead. "They know where UCirc is, and they're keeping us away!" By now they were almost directly west of the city, and if they were turned away from their goal a couple more times they'd end up in Lake Erie.
Aldin shook his head. If the bunnies knew who they were, they'd've been arrested long ago. "I think it's time we make a break for it," he said, "We can shoot right by them, and if they recognize us, it's a small enough patrol for us to take out before they can get word back to PAW."
So they kept going as the blip got closer and closer. Suddenly, there was a 'whoop!' of a siren and flashing blue and red lights pulled them to a stop. Moxie readied his axe, while Teral and the rest of the squirrels checked their lasers. The cop slowly walked up to them, and Aldin rolled down the window.
"Do you know how fast you were going?" he asked, pulling out his pad of tickets.
"Forty-five exactly, officer," Aldin said, trying to keep calm. He glanced at the CG. The cop was definately human. But the bunnies were close... really close.
"You do know that this is a 25 mph zone..." So it was a speed trap. Annoying, but not necessarily a disaster.
"Can you step out of the-- OW! What the hell!?" The cop flailed back as Teral's laser stung his hands and face.
"You idiot!" Aldin shouted at the trigger-happy squirrel as he jumped out of the car to deal with the policeman, who was trying to shield his face from the squirrel's beam and draw his gun at the same time.
He almost stumbled over the bunnies, arranged in ambush pattern just outside his door. Luckily for him, they were almost as surprised to see him come out swinging an axe as he was to see them waiting, and a couple were staring at their human cohort in confusion. With a quick swing he took out the two who were paying attention, and then dove to avoid a lunge by a third.
They whirled to face each other, and then the bunny screamed and fell to the ground, it's fur catching flame. Aldin turned to see twenty squirrels crowded in the driver's side opening, eyes and tiny lenses glittering red and blue.
"We got the fourth," Teral shouted from behind the ranks, "He tried to make a run for it, but you can't outrun a laser. Well, you can't outrun fifty lasers."
"You can't outrun a bullet, either, traitors," a voice came from behind. A shot rang out, and the squirrel formation collapsed in chaos. Aldin whirled and threw his axe as he fired off a second shot, shatterring the driver's side rear window. The bunny symp gugled and fell, clutching at his chest.
Aldin got his axe and ran for the car. The squirrels scurried to get out of his way as he leapt into the driver's seat and squealed into motion. "Hurry!" Teral said, watching the Cuteness Geometer™, "There's another patrol on the way, probably to check why this one stopped responding. When they get here they'll know what happened!"
"I know," Aldin growled, as they barreled through the small town at fifty. He hoped they didn't have another trap on the other side -- there wasn't a blip, but bunny symps didn't set off CGs. After half an hour with no sign of any pursuit, he hit the brakes to slow back down to the speed limit.
Something squished. He looked down and saw a squirrel's body draped over the brake pedal, horribly mangled by the bullet that had thrown it there. "Damn, someone was hit!"
"Two actually," Teral chittered sadly, "But Sira should live if we get her to UCirc in time." There was a chitter from the back, and a bloodstained squirrel popped up and shook his head. Teral sighed. "Never mind. But how close are we?"
"Almost there," Moxie said, looking at the glowing spires of the downtown Cleveland that grew larger by the minute. "Where should I go?"
.
Teral directed Aldin through the Cleveland streets. It was easier to say "Left. Now right." than to try to give complete directions, especially since Teral was mostly guessing the route anyway. He knew which direction to head, and since human cities were laid out as grids that was enough.
Finally, they got to a part of the city he recognized, and he had them turn down Bellflower. "Now, whatever you do, don't hit the brakes," he warned Aldin, and started sending the sequence to open the entrace.
"What?" Suddenly, the road dropped out underneath them, and they careened down a steeply sloping metal ramp, which clanged underneath their tires. Moxie screamed in terror as they shot forwards into the darkness...
There was a sudden jolt, and a tearing noise, and then another jolt. Human and squirrels were tossed around as the car ripped through layer after layer of nets, finally coming to a halt. Outside the car, lights clicked on, revealing a cement walled warehouse-like chamber filled with rope webbing, much of which was now draped over and around Aldin's car.
"We're here!" Teral said, glancing around through the windows, "Come on, let's go talk to Loren." He followed the rest of the squirrels out the shot-out window, squeezing between the ropes. "Come on!" he said to Aldin, impatiently.
Aldin pushed on the door, but it wouldn't open. Teral saw the problem and yelled for a few of his rapidly dispersing troop to help him cut the nets that were holding the door shut. It only took a few minutes to get Aldin out of the car, and maybe five for him to make his way through the room to the door.
Teral chittered to the remaining squirrels, who ran back to the car and carried out the bodies of his fallen comrades. He watched them go out, and sighed. "We can get your car fixed up," he told his human friend, "I'll have the techs move it to the machine shop. But first [chitter] let's go see Loren," Teral looked at the hallway with apprehension. It was too late to go back now, though -- if he didn't go talk to Loren now, Loren would undoubtably be on his was to talk to him. He hoped Aldin was right.
------------------- Teral Acron
.
Aldin offered to allow Teral to ride on his shoulder, but the squirrel declined. As they went down the hallway, they glimpsed several tails ducking down side passages, like they feared what was to happen. Aldin noted that the squirrels, or at least the glimpses he could catch were mostly red. They met two silver guards with their weapons cocked. Neither Teral nor Aldin resisted the escort to Loren's chamber.
A lone silver squirrel, awaited within. He chittered at the guards.
"Leave us!" Loren ordered the guards. He turned to Teral. "So," he said, "You've returned. Why?"
Teral cringed back against the door. "Why not?" he offered weakly, quivering in fear. Loren grimaced.
"First," he hissed, twitching his tail and turning to stare at a wall, "You took it upon yourself to take over when you heard... no, when you guessed that I was dead. Rather than following the established procedure, you brutally put down any objections, going so far as to imprison the entire warren science staff when Chris attempted to keep you under control, as I had ordered."
"As you had ordered?" Teral squeaked. "But --"
"Should I mention that you destroyed nearly a third of the warren by detonating the failsafes? That after imprisoning half the population, you decided that legal niceties such as *trials* were unnecessary? That you carried out programs that endangered the security of the warren? That you fled rather than explain yourself?"
"You just did--"
"SHUT UP!" Loren whirled around and leapt at Teral, but Aldin stepped in the way. Loren landed at his feet and slowly looked up, glaring menacingly (for a squirrel).
"That's what this is all about?" Aldin interrupted in flawless squirrel, "You are upset about miscommunications! Did you leave a copy of this order with Teral? Or did you forget?"
Loren was furious, almost quivering in anger. "Who in Gaia's name are you?" [fLiCk!!!] "And where did you learn our language?" [bristle]
[timidflick] "That human is Aldin Busheytail, mentat and former second-in-command of the devilbunny Namakata Research Facility." Teral replied, peeping out from behind Aldin's legs. Loren still simmered, but now at a level that suggested he would merely rip Teral limb from limb, rather than both of them.
[flick] "So you are Aldin Busheytail. We have conversed before. What brings you here?"
Aldin sat down cross-legged on the floor, almost crushing Teral, who scurried to the corner. "My reasons are two-fold, Loren." Aldin ticked-off on his fingers. "One, I'm here to defend Teral's conduct. Two, I need to conduct some research here, with your permission.
"Back to point number one. Teral and I have been in almost constant communication since just after the revolt. That is how Teral interpreted it. Obviously, some squirrel forgot to pass your standing orders on to him. He defended the warren as expected in such a crisis. I never asked for the details of what happened and he didn't tell me. I did however offer my assistance to him as he needed it.
"As for his errors in handling prisoners, I can't say anything for him, other than look at this place. It's a miracle he was able to keep it together after the revolt or at least that's my impression on what little I saw on my way in. Everyone makes mistakes, Loren. I'm still paying for one I made 11 years ago. Before you pass any sentence on Teral, listen to his side of the story. I'll explain what I need to conduct research on once this is settled."
Loren sat back, calming slightly. [amusedflick], "Very well, Aldin, I will listen to what he has to say. Teral?" Teral jumped as Loren's glare turned back to him.
.
"Er..."
"I assume, after all of this, that you *do* have an explanation for everything?"
"Sort of..." Teral chittered. "I didn't know you said anything to Chris...and there *isn't* any standard procedure for permanently changing warren leaders."
"Yes there is," Loren said calmly, "You hold a popular election. One squirrel, one vote. Remember? You helped draw them up!" Teral jumped. He'd completely forgotten about that! When they were holding the election, to try to mollify the rebels, they'd written that into the warren charter! Not that Aaron and Sylvie had abided by the results anyway.
"But that was just-- I mean-- you were just trying to trick them!"
"Nevertheless, it was the law. Why did you not abide by it?"
"I thought-- anyway, Chris didn't hold any election. He just attacked!"
"He was afraid of what you would do if you had control of the failsafes. Was he wrong?"
Teral chittered again and cringed back into the corner. "I had to do it! I thought I was defending the warren from a usurper, possibly even an Ill--a bunny agent! [flick!] And it worked, didn't it?"
Loren paused, considering. "Explain the rest."
Teral shrugged. "The rest is easy to explain. I didn't have time to worry about legal neccesities, the warren was in ruins! I spent all my time running around trying to do six jobs at once... I got an average of what, an hour sleep a night? And when I finally decided to give up my old positions so I could get some rest, I was so worn out that I *needed* to rest."
"As for endangering warren security, talk to the damn security chief about that! [flick] It's not my job anymore." Teral frowned. "Nothing's my job, right now. [chitter]"
"As warren leader that was your responsibility."
"Well then, I didn't do a very good job, did I? But that's hardly a criminal offense. [flick] I'm not asking you to put me back in charge. But I wonder if you could have done better -- ask anyone, I did all that was squirrel-ly possible."
Loren considered what to make of this. The population in general had approved of Teral's work, although he doubted they understood just how badly certain aspects had been damaged by his reign. Shutting down the science division had lost them three government contracts, and with all the repairs that needed to be done they needed the money more than ever. They were already stealing water and power, now they'd need to steal raw materials as well. Loren hated theft, even from humans.
Teral's 'mistakes' could not go unpunished. But his explanation made sense. He *wouldn't* take a passage written into the warren charter as part of a strategem seriously... and Loren should have known that. Not to mention that he wasn't entirely certain that Chris *hadn't* been trying to take over by force.
.
Aldin looked back and forth at the two squirrels, who were just staring at each other, Teral flicking his tail nervously, Loren calm in thought. When he could take it no longer, he spoke. "Alright, now that is settled, may I go to step two?"
Loren looked up at him, slightly startled. "Oh, very well. For what do you need our facilities?"
"You already know part of my story, Loren. Where I use to work and how I was changed into a human. Since then I found that my former boss and Namakata Labs had been destroyed. I accepted the evidence for this I had found in Fudd, devilbunny and other records. For the first time since rediscovering the war, I was able to relax, for I knew that no one or bun would try to carry-out THAT project using my research at Namakata Labs."
"And what did that entail?" [curiousflick]
"I told you in the past I had a falling-out with my bunny commander, but I didn't say why. The bun wanted me to alter the bunnyvirus, HLV, into an air-borne virus. I told him he was crazy. It would be too dangerous. After all, if it were possible, the great BunnyMentat would have already done it himself. It was his research I quoted to my commander, the very same research all mentats at the time were required to read. That research showed that HLV could be altered into an air-borne plague, but it would be unstable and would mutate quickly and turn deadly, to both humans and devilbunnies. He didn't believe me and ordered research to commence anyway.
"So I did the research and through computer models, found it not to be as BunnyMentat had predicted, but worse. At first it would work like HLV, that is it would have changed 3 billion of the 5 billion humans on the planet into rabbits, kill another 1.5 billion or so, leaving 500 million humans unaffected. It would do this in a matter of 4 days, thanks to trans-oceanic commercial jet flights.
"HOWEVER, after the initial 24-36 hours, it would begin to mutate. The mutant strains would infect both devilbunnies and humans and it would be deadly. About one week after the initial mutation, half the world population of rabbits and humans and those unfortunate enough to only half-change would be dead. But it would not stop there. It would keep mutating and keep attacking the survivors, continuously weakening their immunity systems. After one month from initial release, there would be too few survivors left to form the necessary gene pool for a species to survive. And by that time (one month), the virus would have mutated to the point that it would begin to start killing-off other species. That's as far as I had taken the computer models." Aldin took a momentary breather.
"Loren, I had created a computerized model of the ultimate Doomsday Virus. When I presented my findings to FlopEar, he didn't believe what I said, despite the evidence. You know the rest of my story. I never got to destroy my model. Any one with the know how and 8-12 years to engineer it, could create that virus. I recently found evidence that shows that FlopEar may not have died when Namakata Labs was destroyed. If he does live, he must be stopped before he releases such a virus upon Gaia. I need 4 hours access to the bunnynet in order to determine if FlopEar lives and how to stop him. I know I can get that access here.
"If you don't grant me access, Loren, you may be dooming all of us to a quick end to most life. I say most, for I know what my punishment from the Spirit of the Wilderness would be for designing such a plaque. I would wind-up one of the few survivors, doomed to watch as the world dies around me, realizing it was my research that killed the planet. If you don't help me, I maybe forced to drastic measures and contact our enemy for help."
Aldin sat back. A single tear rolled down his cheek and sweat dripped from his forehead.
.
Loren stared at the human, deep in thought. "I understand why you thought it necessary to come here. But I wonder if you understand what you are asking.
"We shut down all bunnynet activity for a reason. It has long since passed the point where our transmissions would be modern enough to avoid attracting attention from every bunny on the net. And I have no doubt that *some* bunny out there is good enough to break our security.
"I doubt that any bunny would be foolish enough to release a virus such as you have described on the world. Surely, once he sees for himself how unstable it is, he will try to alter it to correct that. And, if as you say, that is impossible, then we have nothing to worry about, do we? [flick]"
"We can't take that risk," Aldin said, "And I think you're severely overestimating FlopEar's wisdom. If he develops the virus, unstable or not, he will release it. I worked for him long enough to know that."
"No." Loren said, walking back to his desk. "I cannot allow it. There is no risk involved -- if I give you what you ask, this warren will be destroyed. There are other ways to get access, and I suggest you use them."
"Do you think I haven't tried?"
"Leave me, I must speak with Teral."
Loren turned his back, and Aldin left the room, cursing the squirrel's selfishness. After a few minutes, Teral came out, shivering.
"I'm sorry," he said, "I tried to convince him, but he's unreasonable about that. He's just sure that if we stick our neck out on the bunnynet, it'll get cut off. I don't know why! We've got security programs. [flick] But at least he agreed not to kill me, although I'm under warren arrest. [sigh] I guess the trip wasn't a total loss."
"I need access, Teral," Aldin said, a grim look on his face. "I don't know how much time we have, and I wouldn't know where else to look, anyway. I doubt the bunnies would cooperate."
"He won't change his mind," Teral said.
"You were warren leader here, weren't you?"
"AND chief of security AND head of the computer department!" Teral said proudly, puffing himself up. "Not anymore, though. [swish...]"
"But you know how the system works. You could get access, right?"
"Probably..." Teral said, "Let me check." He turned on his portable terminal and started typing. "Yep." he said, "All my backdoors are still there. And they never changed the root password, either." He shook his head in disapproval.
They relocated to an empty storage chamber on the lowest level. It was dark, and somewhat damp, but no one ever went there. No one had gone there for years, in fact, other than young squirrels on a dare to sleep there overnight. Why would they? UCirc's stores were never full, and the bunnymover tunnels, the only other major feature of the level, had been collapsed long ago on Loren's orders. Teral assured Aldin that it was the safest place.
"Wait a minute," Aldin said, "You mean to tell me you could've given me access from that little thing back at the picnic?"
Teral grinned. "Probably. [flick!] But I wanted you to talk to Loren for me. And I really thought he'd agree. I hate going behind his back like this. [chitter] But I see why it's necessary, even if he can't!"
It took about three hours for Teral to modify the interface and security code he'd written to work with the new version of BUNIX™. "We never used it, so I didn't bother redoing the transmit stuff when I reinstalled. This could take a while." Aldin waited impatiently while Teral clacked away.
Finally, he was done. "I think it should work," Teral said, "But hurry. You said you needed four hours...[flick] I don't know if you'll have that long before someone from here finds out. We can only hope." He handed Aldin the computer.
.
While Teral was fiddling with his computer, Aldin was preparing his laptop to interface with it. After all, Teral's computer was a bit too small for Aldin to use and Aldin didn't have time to learn the 9 key system of a squirrel computer. As soon as Teral was ready, Aldin connected his computer to Teral's and booted his up. After about five minutes, he had preliminary access to the Bunnynet™.
For the first 20 minutes Aldin set-up his own security routines, explaining every step to Teral.
"....and this step is to make the buns think I hacked-in alone at one of those warrens Loren blew-up..."
Some were to provide them with ample warning if somebun attempted to trace the connection. It would also make it look like Aldin had hacked in on his own at UCIRC should one of Loren's security squads notice the computer activity. He made multiple anonymous telnet connections throughout the Bunnynet in order to slow down any attempt to trace the origination of the signal. Forty minutes had gone by since Teral had handed the computer over to Aldin and Aldin was ready to make the final connection to Namakata Labs.
"Here goes nothing," was all he muttered as he entered the command.
:>telnet[fluff] namakata.com :>[attemptfluff].... :> :> :>[sorryfluff] no such node
The quiet curse in squirrel that muttered from Aldin's lips made Teral shiver. Aldin tried again with a slight variation.
:> :>[sorryfluff] no such node
"All right FlopEar, when you relocated what did you rename your system?" Aldin muttered to himself. Then it hit him...."If that is what you named it, you shall resemble that remark very shortly."
:>telnet[fluff] tailless.com :>[attemptfluff]..... :> :>connection established
Aldin sighed with relief while also trembling slightly in anger.
:>userid:
Aldin entered the backdoor account entrusted to him many months before. The one hard-wired into the system by The Rabbit himself.
:>userid:therabbit :>therabbit's password:
Aldin entered The Rabbit's real name.
:>therabbit's password:******** :> :>password accepted :>Welcome[fluff] to Namakata Labs superMac mainframe, Rabbit! :>It has been 4008 days since your last login. :> :>Have a HOPPY DAY! :Main>
Aldin yelped with elation and begin to override all lock-outs. Teral jumped back and shushed his human companion in fear of attracting attention to themselves.
Meanwhile:
Corporeal PinkEye was on late shift, sleepily monitoring the computers at Namakata Labs. He noticed a red light come on. One he had never seen before. He had to look-up what it meant. When he saw what it meant, he signaled for FlopEar to be summoned at once....for the first time since the move, somebun was attempting to hack into their system. He cursed softly as he found that all the boot-out commands had been overridden.
PinkEye wasn't the only being to notice. Chris Pomerleau was up late this very evening reading material on the Internet when a small group of pixels in the lower right portion of his terminal began changing colors in a set pattern he hard-wired in earlier. He too knew there was activity on the main frame from outside now. He began to prepare his message.
.
> Aldin yelped with elation and begin to override all lock-outs. Teral >jumped back and shushed his human companion in fear of attracting >attention to themselves.
Aldin began to download files that appeared pertinent as quickly as possible, for he knew his time was limited. Teral watched on as kilobyte upon kilobyte became megabytes....
Meanwhile at Namakata Labs:
FlopEar groggily hopped into the command center.
[yawnfluff] "This had better be good."
[nervousfluff] "Somebun from the outside has successfully hacked into the system, sir."
FlopEar came instantly awake. [STOMP!] "Well, kick the bun off!"
[cringefluff] "I've tried sir. This bun has overridden all the commands. Whoever this bun is, he's good. He's using the ID, The Rabbit."
FlopEar's jaw dropped momentarily. [impossiblefluff] "Attempt to boot that bun off again and tell me what he's doing. IF you can't boot him off, start tracing the connection. I want that hacker's head or toes depending on his species."
PinkEye complied. After several attempts at trying to boot the hacker off, he gave up. He paled when he saw what was being downloaded. "Sir, the only way we are going to get him off the system is to either shut-down the entire system which would take 5 hours to reboot or we physically disconnect our tap into the BunnyNet™. He's downloading everything on project AB."
[impossiblefluff] "All those files are protected and only I hold the passwords to release them." [STOMP!]
PinkEye only pointed to the screen that indicated that FlopEar's statement was apparently wrong.
[STOMP!] "Get me a talk session with that bun! While I keep him busy, you trace his connection. Then we'll let Agent SnowShoe deal with this intruder."
.
Aldin began to view certain files as they were downloaded, viewing on his laptop while downloading via Teral's computer.
"Great Spirit." he exclaimed. "Teral, look at this time table. If FlopEar is following this, he could unleash his virus within a week."
He called-up a second file. This one showed a model of the virus in question.
"This is not the virus I designed, but it is along a similar concept. I don't know how much of this thing you may understand, Teral, but I don't like what I see here. I'll have to run some new tests once we disconnect."
Aldin's terminal beeped, startling both Aldin and Teral. Aldin looked to his screen.
:>The commander is paging[fluff] you..... :> :>The commander is paging[fluff] you..... :>
"[pig-13], well I'm surprised we got as much as we did before somebun responded." Aldin began typing into his keyboard. "While I keep 'The commander busy, I'll need you, Teral, to keep downloading files. Try to get some floor plans to that base."
Teral began typing away on his terminal as Aldin answered the paging. Aldin's terminal went into splitscreen mode.
:>[STOMP!] Who in Frith's name is this???!!!! :>
Aldin replied:
:>[chucklefluff] Oh, come-on commander, you think you are the only bun capable of staging his own death? I was just [curiosfluff] as to how my old command was doing these days.
:>Impossible, [STOMP!] I watched as the Nibble Notice was carried-out on :>The Rabbit. I watched as a Bunnysymp carried out the sentence and :>*POP*ped the traitor. You can't be The Rabbit.
Aldin quivered for a moment as he read the reply. He had known that The Rabbit had been executed, but he had not known how. He carefully planned his next reply, but the line was suddenly bombarded with static, yet the static had a pattern to it. He thought he recognized the pattern...it seemed to be Morse Code.
.
> PinkEye wasn't the only being to notice. Chris Pomerleau was up late this >very evening reading material on the Internet when a small group of pixels in >the lower right portion of his terminal began changing colors in a set pattern >he hard-wired in earlier. He too knew there was activity on the main frame >from outside now. He began to prepare his message.
It took several minutes for Chris to prepare his message. He had decided to send a little static and send Morse Code through said static:
(* is a dot and - is a dash) *** / - - - / *** // - - / * - / - * - * / - - * / - * - - / *** - / * / * - * // * - - - / * - * // ** / *** // * - / - * // ** - / * - - / ** / * - ** / * - ** / ** / - * /- - * // - - * / ** - / * / *** / - // **** / * / * - * / * // * - / * - *
>Aldin carefully planned his next reply to FlopEar, but the line was >suddenly bombarded with static, yet the static had a pattern to it. He >thought he recognized the pattern...it seemed to be Morse Code.
dot.dot.dot.dat.dat.dat...sos macgyver jr is an unwilling guest here ar
Aldin paled further. *Impossible....ar...end of message, not ar. How in the world did you get mixed-up in this, Chris?* unthinkingly, he typed into the terminal:>IMI (repeat signal) He then typed a reply to FlopEar while listening to the static.
:>Well, commander, or should I say Brigadier General FlopEar, what other bun could tell you about that private conversation we had in my office just before I handed command over to you? Here let me refresh your memory a little: That young whippersnapper, LonGears is a fool [STOMP!] to place a squirrel hater in charge of a predominately squirrel warren. To which you replied: That's no longer your worry, Rabbit.
The morse code repeated itself with the same message. Aldin contemplated his reply while awaiting a reply from FlopEar, thanking the Spirit he had eavesdropped on that conversation so long ago.
There was no static at FlopEar's end as he read 'The Rabbit's' reply. He couldn't believe the answer. Nobun except The Rabbit himself would be able to recall that conversation. "Commtech, how much longer!"
"I need 15 more minutes, sir. This bun's crosswired all over the BunnyNet. And we aren't the only ones attempting to trace him...it looks like this has the attention of somebun at PAW also, sir."
[STOMP!] "We can't let them discover us! Find me that hacker before we are forced to make the disconnection ourselves. DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR!"
[meekfluff] "Yes, sir." PinkEye continued to try and trace the hacker's whereabouts.
.
Teral was busy downloading the floorplans when he noticed two yellow blips appear in the lower right corner of his screen.
[curiousflick] "Aldin, what do these blips mean?"
"Two different somebuns are trying to trace us. We have about a five minute safety margin left before we will be forced to shut-down....To hell with the margin....have you got that floor plan yet?"
"Yes, just finished downloading it." [flick]
"Good, one more quick message and then you can shut us down."
Aldin sent off one more message:
:>(static * - * static) :>Well FlopEar, I've got what I need for tonight. This rabbit wishes to remain in hiding much like yourself and somebunelse is attempting to trace our signals. Perhaps we shall converse again soon here in the 'afterlife' >:) [chucklefluff]
"Kill the feed, Teral." Teral did so.
Meanwhile up at Namakata, FlopEar stomped in rage as the signal was cut and the comm tech shock his head in the negative when asked if he had found the hacker's whereabouts. Down below, Chris sighed with relief when he heard the dot.dat.dot or the letter R indicating that someone/bun understood his message. Now all he had to do was pray that help arrived when he needed it as he prepared to make his escape.
.
Aldin turned to Teral after the connection was cut and looked to at his friend. "Thank you for your aid, Teral. Hopefully, what I set-up will bring any trouble towards me rather than you. It will take a few hours to run the program on FlopEar's virus model, but I already know I'll need to go to Namakata Labs no matter the results of the computer run." Aldin sighed deeply.
Teral detected something wrong. [curiousflick] "What's wrong?"
"Did you here the pattern in that static we got? It was a coded message from a human being held prisoner by FlopEar, my...er, Eugene's brother, Chris. How in the Spirit he got mixed-up with FlopEar is beyond me, but even if FlopEar's virus turns-out to be harmless, I'll need to rescue Chris. There wasn't enough time to send Chris a reply, just an acknowledgment that his message had been received. I'll have to send something coded in the form of banter that hopefully he will understand."
"How do you know he'll get it?" [flick]
"FlopEar may be extremely evil, but I doubt that even he would deny a prisoner access to Usenet News. For now, I suggest you get back to your quarters before you are missed, that way if I'm discovered down here, you won't get in trouble. Thank you for your help. If you are in need of my assistance in the future, Teral, don't hesitate to ask."
Teral wanted to stay and watch, but it was true, he was in enough trouble already. So he left Aldin to his models and headed back towards the main part of the warren.
Before he got off the level, though, he heard voices chittering up ahead. He recognized them: security guards, silver ones, and probably on Loren's orders if things were truly back to normal. Teral looked around for an escape, and ducked into an empty chamber. Yep, there it was. He unlatched the grating and scurried into the air vent, popping out another one fifty feet down, behind the guards.
The guards were searching every room, so Teral caught up without hurrying. "Hi! [flick]," he said, "What are you guys doing down here?"
"Where have you been!" one of them demanded, brandishing his laser, "And what are *you* doing down here."
Teral [shrugflick]ed "Just wandering... why? Been looking for me?"
"Loren wants to talk to you."
"Again?" Teral sighed and let the guards escort him back to his warren leader.
.
Teral stepped fearfully into Loren's office. Loren sat calmly behind his desk. Too calmly. Teral crept closer, and saw some kind of drawing on a small piece of paper, but before he could see any details Loren crumpled it up and tossed it into the corner.
"I've been thinking about what Aldin said," Loren began, "And it has lead me to think of other matters. We have been too vocal, of late."
Teral looked at him in confusion. "But I thought our plan was to rally the squirrels, and the remaining Fudds? Don't we need a certain amount of... noise for that?"
"Our plans have changed," Loren said, "Chris examined the devilbunny you brought here..."
"You let him out! [flick!]"
"Of course I did," Loren replied, ignoring Teral's reaction, "He examined Thistle, and thinks that with some work we can develop a virus such as Aldin described. We reached a dead end years ago, but his geneticists claim that with the data they can gather from him, they can carry that project to completion."
Loren looked up at Teral, and stared him straight in the eye. "Do you realize what this means, Teral? Victory! In our lifetime! We can convert the world population of rabbits into squirrels. Natural, unintelligent squirrels. There aren't so many of them that it would collapse the ecosystem, and it would *eliminate* their unnatural influence from the world."
Teral was shocked. "Didn't you listen to what Aldin said at all? The virus would be unstable! Horrible mutations, changing *everything* and then wiping out all life! [flick!] Are you insane?"
Loren's face darkened, and his claws dug furrows in the desk as he gripped it to lean forwards. But he managed to control himself short of attacking, replying instead with words. "Our virus is in no way based on the one he referred to, other than using the bunnyvirus as a base. There is no reason to think that it would suffer from the same problem. [flick!] Although I wish we could see his research, it could speed our progress, months instead of years... [chitter] but the risk is too great."
Teral just stared. Loren had chittered? What was the world coming to? "An end", the smart alec part of his mind replied, but before he could argue Loren continued.
"In any case, all we need is time. I want you to find Aldin and tell him to leave as soon as possible -- UCirc will be shut down, as far as the rest of the world is considered. Total silence.
"Because we do need time, and quite a bit of it. And we cannot afford to attract *any* attention [flick]. The next time the bunnies hear from us... the bunnies will never hear from us. The next time the humans hear from us, it will be to announce our victory."
Teral stared at Loren for a few minutes, then left, realizing he'd been dismissed. Or forgotten, same thing. He wondered why Loren had told him all this... and wondered whether he should tell Aldin.
No. What would that accomplish? Aldin couldn't hope to stop Loren without calling in the Fudds and razing UCirc... and Teral wasn't going to put him in that position. After all, it would take *years* for the research to go anywhere, if what Loren said was true. Plenty of time to stop it later. And he'd have plenty of time to plan how to stop it. No need to bring Aldin into this, no need at all.
----------- Teral Acorn
.
Aldin got some rest before running the computer model. It was as bad if not worse than he thought. FlopEar had somehow altered the bunnyvirus enough so that some types of antibunnies would be ineffective against it. He made records of everything and did some last minute programming. He then searched-out Teral and asked him to walk with him to Aldin's car.
[chitter] "What's up?"
"I must leave as soon as possible. What I have to say to you must not fall on other ears. It would be easier to explain if you were to ride along on my shoulder."
Teral hesitated and then complied. "Better?" [flick]
"Yes. FlopEar's virus is as bad as I feared, if not worse. I have created a running model and stored it along with copies of the files we filched from Namakata in your account. I have also set things-up to look like I hacked into your account and then onto the BunnyNet™ to draw any heat off of you and onto me. Once I am safely away, I'll be sending Loren a quick message confessing to hacking into UCIRC's computers and pointing him to the appropriate files. I hope the SPIRIT that the files give him the proper shaking-up he deserves."
"Um, Aldin..." Teral began, pausing.
"Yes?"
"Never mind." Aldin looked at him for a second, and shrugged (almost dislodging him, but Teral was more sure-footed than that). If Teral didn't want to talk about it, he wasn't going to pry.
They arrived in the vehicle warehouse. Da Beast was as good as 'new' as Teral had promised. Aldin opened the back-end and unlocked the rear glovebox. He pulled-out what looked like a severed squirrel's tail. Teral shrank back, but not fast enough. Aldin expertly flicked the fake tail around Teral's, intertwining the two.
"In my present form, that's the closest I can come to doing it, friend. I shall always consider you my brother, Teral."
Aldin allowed Teral to unentwine his tail from Aldin's fake recognizing the honor Aldin had just bestowed upon him. The intertwining of one's tail with another was a form of farewell only done between those who were good friends, good friends who did not know when next they would meet.
Teral felt like utter crap. Guilt. He hated guilt.
Aldin produced a diskette. "On this is the latest copy of BunnyStumper Deluxe™, the Fudd coding system. Guard it well and don't broadcast with it openly or the Fudds will know and change the code. If you, personally, are in need of aid, do not hesitate to send a tightbeam encoded message to me. Do not tell Loren you have it, unless you are forced to. Be wary of that squirrel, brother, there is something not quite right about him."
Teral took the diskette. [curiousflick] "What do you mean, there's something not quite right about Loren?"
"I only got a quick glimpse into his eyes during our interview yesterday. As I told you I have a gift to that allows me to 'see' the inner personality of someone. What I saw in Loren was not good, but evil. He has the blood of innocents upon his paws. I know no more. Watch your tail, Teral."
"Aldin, there's something I need to tell you." Teral said.
"What is it?" Aldin asked.
He couldn't do it. If anyone deserved to know, it was Aldin, but he just couldn't do it. If he told Aldin about Loren's plans, Aldin would doubtless try to stop him. And with the failsafes, there was just no way of dislodging a warren leader against his will, as Chris had found out.
All it would accomplish would be to force Loren to use them. And the warren would be destroyed. Which would leave only the Fudds to oppose the bunnies.
The Fudds. To 'oppose' the devilbunnies. Yeah, right.
"Teral?" Aldin asked, turning to look at the squirrel on his shoulder.
"Never mind," Teral said, "It's not important. You'd better get out of here before Loren finds the files." Aldin could tell that something was wrong, but if Teral didn't want to talk about it there was nothing he could do.
"Good luck at Namakata," Teral said, hopping off Aldin's shoulder. "Go ahead, I'll open the door for you."
Aldin got into Da Beast and departed.
.
Aldin/Eugene had a rough time getting out of Ohio. But he got out. He was spending the evening at a Fudd safe-house in some little suburb of Pittsburgh. Oakmont was what the sign said. He needed to get three messages out: one he needed to get a message to his brother that Chris would understand without alerting FlopEar; and two, he needed (as much as he hated to do so) to get LonGears' attention and draw that attention away from UCirc, if the buns had traced the hacking session. Three he needed to send a quick message to Loren pointing to the files he hacked from Namakata Labs. Perhaps he could do the first two with one widebeam, but the third he would actually do first with a tightbeam.
*****TIGHTBEAM TO LOREN GREYCOAT*****
You told me to find some other way to get the info I needed. I did so by hacking onto the Bunnynet™ last night from my guest room. You will find copies of what I got on the UCirc computers within Teral's account. What I told you that I feared is true. I've got less than a week to try and stop that madbun before he destroys the planet. I hope you forgive me for going behind your back like this, but it was the only way. As for your fears of Bunny retaliation, I am currently attracting their attention so as to draw all heat off UCirc. May we meet again some day, the Spirit willing.
Aldin
*****END TIGHTBEAM*****
.
Aldin/Eugene just finished the message to Loren and then turned to sending one to the General.
*****Widebeam to General LonGears*****
Did you enjoy getting your furry tail kicked at NoCO? That is, if you still have a tail... }:) I must say I am somewhat disappointed that Bill insisted on filling the water towers with HVE rather than Moxie™. I am also disappointed in you, General. I came by for a visit, but I guess you had not returned to PAW yet. You claim to control Ohio and that bunnies are the true defenders of Gaia, but all I saw were factories that poisoned Gaia. Factories of bunny-owned companies like DuPont. Yeah, I know some of the companies your kind owns, remember, I use to work for your side.
I'm impressed with your road construction checkpoints, but you need to train your workers on how to spot Fudds. I guess those SLOW signs they were holding were indicating the mentality of the workers, huh? I guess drinking a can of Moxie™ and blaring NIN wasn't enough of a give away. Nor was the bunny-guts smeared in the grill, huh? I thought your buns and symps knew what my car looked like after that bun *popped* one of my Generals™ last fall. I suppose I could have made my presence a little more obvious by painting Fudd vehicle on the sides of Da Beast or by verbally announcing who I was at each checkpoint. }:) If this is how you handle security in your home territory, I can see why you had no chance at holding NoCO. }:)
By the way, I'm behind the demise of scout groups Fluffy, Snuggle, and Anglefur. I had hoped that those left to defend the home turf would have given me some challenge, but I guess I was wrong. Your home troops have grown to be much like their commander, fat and lazy. And they died for it.
Oh, if you see Cubbi, tell him that Tummi will be sending him a care package in four days.
Aldin Busheytail
****end widebeam****
Aldin/Eugene hoped that Chris would spot that last bit of that widebeam, given he was being given netnews access.
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Aldin prepared to log-out when it occured to him that he had yet to report to LuFI since he left for that picnic many weeks ago.
[yawnspiritflick] *Suppose I should contact them also.*
*****Tightbeam to SGT Blake****
****BUNNYSTUMPER DELUXE™ ACTIVATED****
Sir,
My appologies for being silent for so long. I have been snooping into the possibility of FlopEar being alive and have found that he does live. I had a few hours access to the BunnyNet thanks to a small squirrel rebellion group hiding right under LonGear's muzzle. Sorry, I did not have time to attempt to download a copy of BUNIX™. However, copies of all documents I was able to download are enclosed. The crazy bun intends to release an unstable airborne Bunnyvirus™. Due to the short time left on his time table I obtained, I am forced to stop him on my own. He also holds Gene's brother captive. Do not order me to hold-off. I will be forced to disobey that order, for there is no time. If I live through this, you and Jean-Paul can court martial me. The Spirit be with you, Steve.
Aldin Busheytail
******end tightbeam and encryption******
Aldin [yawnspiritflicked] again and bedded down for the night.
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[palefluff] "SH^H^H[pig-13]...if only we had a little more time."
He sent a reply immediately back to Aldin
****TIGHTBEAM TO ALDIN BUSHEYTAIL****
**BUNNYSTUMPER DELUXE™ ACTIVATED**
Aldin,
You have preliminary approval to carry-out your plan, pending the Colonel's decision. Enclosed is a short list of Fudd operatives in Maine, you may want to contact for aid. May God be with you.
SGT Steve Blake, temporary commander, LuFI
***end tightbeam and encryption***
To be continued in Invading Namakata.
End.