Captain Telnik greeted Gomgom with an approving wave. Gomgom saluted briefly and smiled. Both drop shuttles were back aboard the Guranaki lor for refueling and maintenance, giving the crews a chance for rest and access to the comforts of ho aboard ship.
"Captain."
"Well done, Gomgom. Co to my burrow so we can talk."
"Yes, Captain. One mont." Gomgom shouted a few orders to his people, then followed.
Telnik settled into his usual nest and gestured for Gomgom to take the one facing him. "We need to talk, but aside from that, you can relax."
"Thanks." Gomgom touched a couple of controls and leaned back as his suit started giving him a massage. He gave a brrrp of pleasure and exhaled.
Telnik regarded his first officer for a few minutes. "How are you holding up?" he asked finally.
Gomgom grunted. "Better by the mont." He let out a groan of relief.
"You soul sick at all?"
Gomgom gestured a negative. "Not from the work. The need for the work, a little."
"We are janitors, my friend."
"And so worlds stink more than others." It was a frequent exchange between the two ship officers.
"How are your teams?"
"Getting a little callous, so this break will be good for them. Of course, Vzzbyz is the sa as always. How are things up here? How's the far view?"
"Getting towards the next stage."
"Already?"
"The rulers know we've been taking out slavers. You don't need to worry as much about being seen when you return to the surface. Your next targets are going to be far more visible."
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"Rulers?"
"Not yet." Telnik thought about their next moves. "Earth has an exponential monster."
Gomgom shot him a sharp look. "Like a totona?"
"Pretty much. They call it a hydra, and from the look of it, their version probably lives in the ocean."
"Well, if you need a local totona taken out, I suggest using a deliberate and full asure of capital ship weaponry, because I am not fighting one of those." The two males shared a chitter at the thought.
"Noted. If it cos up, maybe those Ooafans will finally get enough target practice to start hitting things they aim at."
"Did I hear right that they couldn't even maneuver into position when they tried it?"
Telnik nodded. "Captain Geh!aoa had the spine to admit that her crew would not be able to serve as backup on the quake mitigation, so I didn't have to be rude to the poor kid."
"Well, since I'm not hitting the rulers, and I am not fighting a totona, what are my next targets?"
"The rulers' deputies. When we cut the heads off, we don't want them to regenerate instantly."
"Ah, you ant a taphorical monster."
"Exactly. So of the rulers are fine, so are monsters but their deputies are decent, so are the other way around, and so...the whole totona needs to go."
"And how do the locals feel about this?"
"We're going to find out fairly soon. I'm going to ask the Boss to loan us enough computing power to shut down the propaganda systems but leave the honest information streams available."
"The humans are in for a wet awakening," Gomgom chittered.
"They even have a term for it. They call it a 'truth bomb'."
"I like that. We should make sure the armory has a good supply of those."
"I'll tell Vzzbyz to procure so when we get back to civilization."
A comfortable silence fell. After a while, Gomgom sighed. "How are you holding up, Captain?"
Telnik washed his hands a few tis. "It's hard, but also exhilarating. If we do this right, we improve the lives of billions of sapients and billions more who follow. If we make too much of a ss...billions could die."
"Does the Boss have a fission jamr? Just in case?"
"No. I asked. It would take too long to build one, apparently."
"You know, we hear all kinds of stories about UMPs, but this is the first one I've ever heard of with such limited resources. It's weird to have a UMP on our side and it can't build very much to help."
"Well, that's what got this whole ss started, after all."
"Do you think the Boss is going to leave this system when the ships do?"
"He is, and he's keeping control of the UMP as well."
"Well, that's going to be exciting. I'm not sure what he plans to do when he hits a civilized system."
Telnik chittered. "I'm sure that he doesn't know either."
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