'bout time. What took them so long?
"They went over them with a fine tooth comb, and the result is ... we haven't put a dent in their infrastructure! We're gonna' have to regroup and rethink our strategies. Armando, Wuggles, Mo'Reese, we're gonna' send you over to Pelagics. Fish? Come with me."
We quietly went down a corridor to an elevator. He pushed 2 buttons, and then a third. Why? Which ones. Couldn't tell. Just knew we were going down - fast! We stopped. The doors opened on what looked like a huge computer center with a raised floor and about 20 IBM 3090's, plus all the peripherals necessary.
"Welcome to the test/eval. center."
"Why am I here?"
"You'll see."
We went down row after row of "Big Blue Pig-Iron", turning left down a blank corridor and into another large room filled with large screen monitors, maps, statistical tables, graphs, plots ...
"This is Operations Control (OC). Thought you'd better get used to it. This is where you're gonna' be reporting."
"What's going on?"
"Fish, this is General Smith-Palmer. He'll be briefing you on your new assignment."
"G'Day. First of all, we want you to understand that this mission is purely voluntary. Should you accept it, and get caught, there will be no rescue. We will disavow your actions, and you'll be out there on your own. Oh, by the way, failure is not an option. You were our first choice for this mission because of your background."
"And just what is this 'mission.'
"As you know, our initial attempts at knocking out the RNA's Command and Control were, how shall I put this, 'less than spectacular. We are going to have to take a different tack. We want you to infiltrate the RNA as a special operative. Your mission, to identify malcontents, to foment dissent and discontent, and to attack them from the inside out in the same way that they have been doing us. You will receive no help from us. You will have no contact. You will be completely on your own"
"UuuuHhhh, excuse me, but an alarm bell just went off. I think I got the message and I think I know what it means. You're asking me to go on a suicide mission!"
"That's why we chose you."
"What! Do I look like an idiot? Am I that expendable?"
"Absolutely not! In fact, given your dossier, you're the only one who stands more than a snowball's chance of succeeding! You see, this is going to have to be done using all of your skills as well as your instincts. So far, you've been right on, old boy. Now, we're going to give you the chance - the 'opportunity to excel', as it were."
"I'm going to have to think about this one."
"Well, please don't take tooo long, old boy. Your plane leaves in 30 minutes. And we do hope you'll be aboard."
"And if not?"
"Oh shit! That's something we hadn't quite figured out yet. You see, we really don't have a 'B-Plan' at this stage of the game. You are the 'B-Plan!'"
"What the hell! Haven't got anything better to do! Might as well. Besides, beats sitting around here waiting for you guys."
"Good! Now that we have that taken care of, here are your orders. Read them, and eat them. Don't pack anything. Turn in any identifying items, tags, wallet, watch, you know the drill. Oh, and ... Cheerio, old chap. We'll see you on the other side."