OMEGA Conscript by Stephen Arseneault

disappear? Go occupy their space and blink in. It would be too open for abuse."
    I said, "I believe Humans to be easily corruptible, as are so many other species. You can take someone who would never commit an offense in their lifetime, put them in a situation where the ease of performing some offense is a temptation, and many will act upon it. Most won't, but many will. This is a fault we Gruntas recognize in ourselves, and is one of the reasons we have tried to stay separate from other species where strong influence can corrupt a weak mind. We all have our moments of weakness. With Gruntas, we try to police ourselves."
    Garrett nodded. "You know, I guess I never really thought about it. I don't think I've ever heard of a Grunta riot or even a Grunta murder. You all seem so laid back, which is why I was shocked to see you move and act the way you do in difficult situations. It's almost like you were trained for it."
    I sighed. "Truth is, Harden Salton was right. My people have been preparing for war ever since the New Alliance came into power. Every child and every adult is trained for combat. During the AMP, we had a strong subculture of always being prepared. Sometimes those who practiced it fully were looked down upon as being psychotic. When the AMP fell, those 'psychotics' became our leaders."
    Garrett chuckled. "Well, your people are definitely planners, I'll give you that. I pity the Moddle if your people make it to the battlefront. They have no idea what's coming their way."
    "Which is another reason we need to stop them. The moment the Greens know of our existence, our struggle to survive truly begins. They will see us as an immediate threat and will attack without mercy. Even if the Greens believed we could conquer a dozen star systems before turning on them, they would instead kill us immediately. They will see no value in even a single Grunta being alive."
    Garrett crossed his arms. "All the more reason we need to get back in the Jess and head for the gate."
    I leaned back. "Why is it you are continuing this fight? Joni is back safe with her family. You have no obligation to continue. I think we both know that Harden Salton won't pardon you. I can see you wanting to leave because you are a fugitive in this galaxy, but you could easily disappear if you wanted to."
    Garrett shook his head. "They have my DNA. The first time a med scan was performed on me I would be thrown in jail, tried and executed. Believe me, I've thought about this a lot. The things that keep going through my mind are 'Where would I go?' and 'What would I do?' At least I have purpose with what we are doing here. Besides, I kind of like the adventure. And I don't think I could sit still on some quiet world knowing what's going on. I don't know if that makes me a freak or a fool."
    Go popped into existence, stretched out on a table with his fist and elbow supporting his head. "It doesn't make you a freak or a fool. It makes you a sidekick!"
    Garrett pointed his finger. "First, I'm not a sidekick, and second, how did you get there? The video feed shows you flying around."
    Go spun around throwing his legs over the edge of the table. "Hey, that's what makes me a superhero and you a sidekick. With that helmet, I was able to record a minute’s worth of video and then substitute that for the live feed. If you had been watching, you would have noticed that my image circled the building five times. Oh, look, there's number six!
    "With the comm open between the three of us, I was listening to your conversation. While it's true that Joni is safely back with her family, I think you, Garrett, just like me, recognize that we have to do something about the current war. We have to do something because we can do something. We aren't the types to just sit back and watch. We have to be involved."
    Garrett waved his hand and frowned as he looked off at a far wall. "No, I'm not the hero type. I do want things right, though. And in reality, there is no war in this