I couldn't help thinking about that opening scene in Apocalypse Now, how everyone gets everything they want and all he ever wanted was a mission. Was this all I ever really wanted? Would I want another? 

I parked my gogo outside the pressurized entrance. There was a standard four-person vehicle parked outside, with two guards, I assumed keeping an eye on the car. I gave them a nod and they both returned it. It was odd to get respect from such brutish soldiers. I went through the hatch out onto the beach. The skylight was open and the soft Varan sunlight filtered in. 

Sunshine was on the beach in a fluorescent pink bikini. She was laying in the sand with a small pile of clothes next to her and a clear plastic box containing the rusty whale sized neural transmitter. 

I walked up to her. "Hi, I'm Ferris Bueller." 

She squinted up at me and laughed. "That was one of my favorite movies when I was a kid. We don't really tan well, but I love laying in the sun. Charlie asked that I deliver this to you personally and insisted I bring a couple of goons with me. I made them wait with the car." 

I picked up the transmitter. On close examination, I noticed that Charlie had rebuilt it. He kept the outer shell and the send/receive node made of the rusty metal. The rest of the interior was made of traditional materials. He also coated the entire device in a clear coating of plastic. 

The sound of a whale surfacing and spouting grabbed our attention. It was Jonas. 

"Well, I got to get to work, enjoy the beach." 

"Sure thing, brother." Sunshine leaned her head back down and closed her eyes. 

The sun did feel good. I kicked off my boots and jacket and went in. I swam out to Jonas. We talked via transmitter while I worked. 

"I think it would be best if you remove my normal transmitter completely and replace it with this new one. Charlie assures me it will function perfectly and in the event that the Vedma kill all of you and come after the Banga, I should be able to maintain a certain degree of control over the ship. Charlie's working on a plan to shield a section of the main computer with sheets of the rusty metal Mox had on his ship. It would be a kind of computer safe room and could override navigational and engine control for the ship as well as life support for the passengers. It's minimal but at least we wouldn't lose everything." 

"That's a great idea. They took out a ship half the size of the Banga with no problem. I think it is safe to assume they could do the same to us." 

"On this mission, your priority is to get the whale and bring him back alive. I want you to stay focused on this goal.  As soon as you get the whale off the ship you head back here. Don't wait for anyone. It's going to be a small team with all the usual players. You, X, Death, Werner and Forklift, Mox and his crew. Don't take your droids. I'd send a bunch of troopers with you, but every indication says they wouldn't do very much good. We have no idea what is going to happen onboard. Mox will head up the mission, so follow his lead. You can trust him, I've known him my whole life. He seems to think this will go off without a hitch but I'm not entirely sure. And watch out for those giant wolves." 

I powered on the new unit and attached it to Jonas. I swam out a bit and looked at his eye. 

"Don't worry, Vronsky is piloting the ship, not that we are going anywhere right now. It's safe to remove my transmitter." 

Jonas knew what I was thinking without me saying it. I swam back to his side, removed his current unit, replaced it with the new rust coated transmitter, and connected it. 

"Testing. Are you receiving my signal?" 

"Loud and clear. I have complete access to all ships functions. I'm retaking navigational control. Sensor array transmission connected and functioning properly. All safety parameters met. It looks like these transmitters work. As soon as you have yours implanted contact me." 

"I will." I pushed off his side and swam toward the shore. 

"Thank you." 

Jonas rolled and moved away from the beach, submerged, breached with a tremendous splash, and swam off into the depths of the ship. 

I made my way back to shore and handed off the old transmitter to Sunshine, who would return it to Charlie's workshop. She tossed it to her side, she clearly planned on enjoying the beach a little longer. 

"You take it easy, Bueller." 

When I arrived at the central science lab Dixon was talking with a synthetic female with four arms. The four-armed woman turned to me and had the single pupil pale blue eyes of Veronica. They both smiled at me when I walked up to them. 

"Veronica?" 

"This is my surgical unit." 

She was identical to her other self, but with no hair and the extra arms. The hands on her second set of arms had seven fingers each with two sets of thumbs. 

Dixon took both my hands in her's and squeezed them with a purr. I swear she is part cat. 

"Did you get rid of those whale-killing Inuit?" 

"Yes, they stayed behind on Varanidi. I got a ship, a Varan diamond scout ship. I guess I'll have to think of a name for her." 

The four-armed Veronica led us back into a sterile room. We passed through a decontamination glass closet where we were cleared to enter. Four tables in a kind of cross formation with a two-meter space in the middle filled the center of the room. On one of the tables was Veronica's normal marionette self. 

"There's been a lot of discussion on whom is going to receive the fourth rust unit and I have decided it's going to be me. The trick is I'll have to bring my actual body along on the trip. The Save the Whales crew is working on retrofitting a tank in the cargo hold of the Brick. In case something goes wrong with the cargo ship, we can put the baby whale in the tank with me for the return trip. It's a small space and will be tight but it'ill work, and I should be close enough to control my synthetic, assuming there is no additional interference. Other than the Vedma beam, of course, which shouldn't infect the transmitters." 

Dixon went to the corner where she was working on coating the three remaining transmitters. Veronica led me over to the table and took back a plastic cover that revealed the inner workings of her other bodies head. It was crayon green in color, though somewhat resembled a human brain. There was also a good deal of electrical circuitry that connected the transmitter directly to the brain. It was fascinating. 

"I need to download a medical degree or something." 

Dixon looked up from her table. "Why don't you?" 

I hadn't even thought about doing anything like that. I accessed the ship's computer and pulled down extensive medical records for artificial life forms. Zang, with a flash I had the knowledge of the biological and mechanical makeup of the last ten generations of our synthetic life forms. I understood how the brain was based on a cloning technique used in brain replacement surgeries. It was basically a raw storage device waiting to be filled. The electronic elements stimulated accelerated neural pathway creation. When we learned things our minds physically changed. Just like humans. There was also a micro-fiber element that integrated with our mechanical elements. We were mostly biologic, with re-inforced spinal columns, brains, and autonomic nervous systems. Our musculature was based on a primitive humanoid species that rose to the top of the food chain on what could be called a super-Earth. A planet where physicality is god and might makes right. We get our agility and strength from a race of primitive giants. I understood the surgical procedure for adapting a living brain with a neural transmitter. It was how we expanded our minds and interfaced with the ship's computers. 

I must have been staring into space for some time trying to digest all this new medical knowledge. 

"Hands, don't fry your brain, take it slow on the uploads. It's good to let them sink in a little. I'd like to start you and Uzi at the same time. I didn't have any complications with my other self. And Jonas says, his new transmitter is working fine. I'll do Mox last, he is slightly more complicated, but luckily I put in his last transmitter so all the hardware is in place. Hopefully, there will be no issue. Why don't you lay down on the table and let all your recent downloads and adventure sink in." 

I got up on the table and relaxed. Veronica hooked me up to a few monitoring wires and gave me an injection. 

"Try not to mess up my hair." I smiled at her. 

The last thing I remembered was the bald-headed Veronica standing over me. Everything went completely black. Dreamless.

I opened my eyes. One thing is the same in all worlds and that is the strangeness of waking up after surgery. I stretched. I yawned. My vision came into focus. I felt my head. I didn't notice any difference. I ran my fingers through my hair. I felt a very faint line that was somewhat tender. I looked up at a ceiling of lights. For a moment I thought it could have all been a dream? 

Then I looked to my left and saw an unconscious lizard man on the table across from me.

"How do you feel? Can you connect with the ship's computer? Can you hear me?" 

It was Dixon. I looked around the room. The four-armed Veronica was gone and had been replaced by the two armed one. She was doing something over Mox. Dixon walked into the room and this time spoke using her mouth. 

"How do you feel?" 

I sat up on the table. "A little blurry. It's coming back though. I could hear you through the transmitter." 

I thought about connecting to the computer. I got full access. I tapped into the external sensor array. We were still in orbit outside the Varan system. 

"I have full access." 

I established contact with ship-wide communications. "Hands to Jonas. Operation a success. Everything appears to be functioning normally." 

He replied that I should take it easy for the rest of the day, but if I was up to it, to attempt piloting a vehicle using the new transmitter. 

Dixon handed me one of her smoothies. "Drink this, it'll get your strength back." 

I took a sip. It was good. Sorta like bananas. 

"Banana?" 

She smiled. "It's kind of a starfruit shaped banana. Space banana if you will. Funny how tastes come along with memory isn't it. I'm still into eating really good things when I do eat." 

She walked over to Uzi who was also waking up. They didn't speak, with their voices anyway. She walked out of the room. Uzi sat up and looked around. He opened his eyes. He looked exactly the same. I wondered why they didn't fix his scar or why they didn't replace his robotic red eye. I understood we had the medical know how to do so. I guess he liked looking intimidating. He really did look like the bad guy from the movies. Over the transmitter, he connected to me. 

"Do I look as bad as I feel?" 

I transmitted a message back. "Worse." 

He laughed out loud and coughed. "It looks like these new transmitters are a success, doctor." 

Veronica patted Uzi on the shoulder. "Yes, mine is functioning perfectly. I may have made a mistake putting it in my two armed self. I forgot how useful the extra pair is. Whale's arm envy I suppose?" 

Mox croaked and then was motionless. We all looked at each other for a moment. 

"The Varan never really go unconscious. I drugged the hell out of him but he still drifts in and out. His head must be pounding." 

Veronica went over and injected Mox with painkillers. The foggy feeling was starting to lift. The drink did really help. Dixon returned to the room and handed one to Uzi. He tried to refuse but she wasn't having any of that. 

"It helps. It really does help." 

I slung my legs over the side of the table and sat up. Uzi sat up, nursing his smoothy. I slugged down the last of mine. It hit the spot. 

"The tenderness and any pain you have should be gone by tomorrow. These bodies recover quickly." 

I stretched. "I think I'll go for a swim." 

Uzi looked at me when I spoke and the sneer on his lips curled into a smile. "I'll join you." 

He leaned forward, stabilized himself a bit, stood up, and nearly fell over in the process. He walked over next to Veronica and myself and looked down at Mox, who was breathing very slowly. 

"These Varan are amazing creatures. I used to have a pet lizard when I was a kid. We were some of the first people to live in the desert after World War II ended. I guess all that doesn't matter now but it sure seemed real. And it sure seems like a bunch of madness now. To think how evolved the Varan are. How far they have traveled. Their immense knowledge of the galaxy. You know when I died and left the simulation one of my last memories was of a gecko climbing a wall. Maybe I was reflecting back on childhood or maybe it was a tell of the life to come." 

He paused. It was the first time I had heard him converse like a regular person. It was short lived. 

"How long will Mox's recovery time be?" Uzi recovered his sensibilities. 

"I shouldn't think more than twenty-four hours. The Varan are also hardy creatures. I think he could get up and go right now if he wanted to. He requested I give him three doses of this serum he brought with him. It's an extract from a jungle tree sap on the Varan homeworld. It seems more like a narcotic than a sedative. He's probably high as a kite."

Uzi walked to the door and entered to the decontamination anti-room. "You coming?" 

I set my glass down on the table. "Thanks, Veronica, see ya later." 

I ran over to Uzi. The glass doors sealed us in for a moment then cleared us for exit. Dixon was on the other side. She handed Uzi his trench coat. He put it on. She was giving him a very serious look. 

"You don't have to worry about anyone. They're all tough people and they'll all return from the mission." 

She seemed to believe him and be somewhat comforted by his statements. 

"Yes, yes, of course. Thank you." She ran her hand across my chest and down my side, purred at me, squeezed my hand, and went back into the surgery room. 

"What do you think about that?" I asked.

Uzi looked at me. "I don't know what you are waiting for, she couldn't be more obvious." 

We walked through the science lab and out to the hallway. Two guards were waiting there with Uzi's armored transport. 

"He's coming with us, grab his bike." 

One of the guards lifted my gogo up with one hand and put it on the back of the tank. We climbed in. Inside it had a mini control room with direct access to most of the ship's operating systems. 

"Mobile command." Uzi motioned that I take a seat next to him. "To the moonlight beach entry point." 

"Aye-aye, sir." Gruffed the driver.

The tank leapt into motion and cruised through the ship with speed and purpose. We rode on in silence for some time. Then Uzi gave me another of his mission briefings.

"Assuming Mox is ready to go tomorrow, we are heading to Vedma ship. Slight change of cast, but basically the same plan. Three ships; the Brick, a whale transport, and you in the Sunshine diamond scout. Blunt will be Piloting the Brick with Veronica and Dixon in the hold. In the whale transport ship will be Mox, his rust Sentinel robot, X, Dr. Death, and Werner and Forklift inside rust armor combat suits. Keep a fucking eye on them. Mox is taking the last Monster Polar Bear, he thinks it will intimidate them. You know, bring something bigger than the wolves I guess. You and that other rust robot Styx will fly in the diamond scout. You're going to have to board the Magus and who knows what will be waiting for you. You may have to blast your way out. 

"The Brick will stay outside as the only ace we have. Chances are we will lose the diamond scout, but it might sweeten the deal enough for them to trade with you, no strings attached. Don't offer it up though. Let them ask for it. The 100 Year Lifespan system is what they want and they're going to get it." 

He seemed to be weighing the options, contemplating possibilities. I waited for him to continue. 

"This is going to be a real crapshoot. We'll arm you all with Mox's rust weapons, but there is no way you could take on thousands of those Therion wolf shock troopers. And who knows what these three witches have up their sleeves. You'll go in as Mox's crew, follow his lead. 

"No contact with the Banga, no matter what. It's radio silence until you get back inside our hangar. You'll dress down and have nothing that will link you back to the Banga. We'll smash up the outside of the transport ship so it looks old and crappy. On the way back, transfer the whale and everyone else onto the Brick. Ditch the transport ship outside the shipping lanes. The Banga will resume course after you leave and you can catch up to us in the Brick. 

"I don't want them following you back here. Double-crossing these Vedma is risky. If we could take the whale by force I'd be all for it. Get the whale, get out, and come back here unseen. That is the mission."

He paused.

"It seems the Varan have an alternative motive. This is their big chance to get inside the Vedma ship. They want to know what's happening there. They're in this for a recon mission. I think the whale is secondary to for them. But for us, it's the priority." 

I spoke. "You do realize I've never done anything like this before and I have absolutely no military training. Other than the stuff I've downloaded. I'm game, though. I feel like I should go. Like I'm meant to go." 

Uzi squinted at me in a real Clint Eastwood fashion. His mechanical eye focused faster than his other eye. He snarled his lip.

I have to admit my last statement was true. It concerned Uzi to no end at the time and after I said it aloud I realized how bad it sounded. If just watching a video of the Vedma was enough to draw me to them, what would happen when I met them? 

I had a deep feeling that my destiny lay ahead on the ship following the comet. That was exactly what people who followed the cult felt like and when they went aboard they never came back. I felt compelled to go, even if it was to my doom. I wanted the mission.

"Look, Hands, the reason you're going is that you have a unique ability to navigate surreal experiences. And this mission is sizing up to be just that. You'll be able to bring the others through in the event they get lost. Also, you might be clueless enough about women to avoid their snares. They're sirens you know. Succubi. Try to make it back alive. Stick with Mox, if he's one thing, he's a survivor."

We pulled up to the hatch, left our escort to mind the tank, went through the airlock, and walked onto the beach. 

"Sunshine you light up an old man's heart. Come swimming with me and make sure I don't drown." 

She was faux asleep on the beach and woke up with a start when Uzi called to her. 

"Sure thing, pops, let's go surfing." 

Uzi threw off his coat and stripped out of his clothes and ran down the beach with Sunshine and went splashing into the water. I did the same and followed. It was a sunny beautiful afternoon under a Varan sun that would never set, given our position on the edge of the system. We swam for hours. I floated on my back and looked out into space. 

I once swam in a rooftop hotel pool in Tokyo, which at the time was one of the most fantastic experiences of my life. Swimming with that endless Tokyo skyline was a very happy memory for me. I