Sixteen
Later that evening
There still weren’t very many restaurants in Mountain View, but the Palace was one of the better ones, featuring beef from a Black Angus herd imported from Earth ten years earlier.
Seated between his father and an equally wide-eyed Maria Gutierrez, Mike Crider Junior couldn’t keep his eyes off the tall, weird figure across the table.
It was an odd congregation around the dinner table, and one that brought more than a few stares from the dining room’s other patrons. Mike Crider and his son, the American Vice President, his wife, daughter and son, and the alien former Commander of an occupation force bound to take over the planet Forest. Clomonastik was finishing off a large porterhouse steak with obvious enjoyment; his side dishes of potato and vegetables were left untouched.
Wiping his narrow mouth with satisfaction, Clomonastik laid down his napkin and smiled across the table at Mike Junior.
“You have heard your father’s stories, no doubt, my young friend. I trust his tales did my handsome and commanding presence justice?” He chuckled, a thin, strange sound.
“I suppose so. You’re my first alien,” Mike Junior commented. Beside him, his father spluttered into his napkin, trying to hide his amusement.
“You’re a young man yet,” Clomonastik observed. “I trust I won’t be the last. Michael – it’s gratifying to see you have such a strong young son, my old friend. He is the very image of you as a young man. You should be very proud.”
”I am. He has a sister, too, back on Forest with her mother.” With the instinctual pride of a parent, Mike extracted a flat card from his jacket pocket, pressing a contact to display a 3-D holo of his family from a portrait taken a year earlier in Settlement. It seemed so odd to be showing a family portrait to this alien who had once tried very hard to kill him, but…
“Ahh.” Clomonastik leaned forward to examine the holo closely. “Still only the one wife? I know, I know! I’ve lived among you for many years now, but some of your ways are still so peculiar to me. Why should a man such as yourself, a great warrior and a hero among his people, be so limited, and by force of law at that?”
“I’d be so ‘limited’ by choice, even if it weren’t the law,” Mike answered, “and the only reason I was ever a warrior, you may recall, is because you dropped in on my home with an Occupation force.”
“And what an adventure that was for us both, Michael! And look tonight, this friendship that has sprung from that old conflict! Tell me now,” he turned serious, “are you not in the slightest bit nostalgic for those exciting times? Do you not miss the excitement, the rush of battle, the surging of the blood?” He fixed Mike with an unfathomable glare from his jet-black, featureless eyes. “Did you not feel more alive then than at any other time in your life?”
“Well,” Mike began, but Clomonastik cut him off with a wave of the hand.
“You need not temporize with me, my old friend. I know you in many ways, in some ways perhaps better than you know yourself. I come from a culture that deals in war and conflict as a matter of routine, you must remember. I know all too well the mind of a warrior-born. I know how the rush of battle gets into a man’s blood. You specialize in hunting rocs, yes? Those giant bird-beasts of Forest, like the one that tore my arm that long-ago day?” Mike nodded. “And why?”
“Well, that’s where the money is, and I’ve got a family to support.”
“Please. Michael. You are a man of vast means, of vast talent and experience. You would earn a very good living hunting the harmless herbivores that roam the plains of that planet, and yet you hunt the most dangerous creatures extant, and you specialized in that since your arrival on Forest – when there was only yourself to feed and clothe. For the money? You hunt them for the excitement, Michael, do not try to convince me otherwise. Your son – how many rocs has he killed?”
“Three,” Mike Junior answered for his father.
Clomonastik turned to address the young pioneer. “And you felt what, when you killed that first great beast?”
“Excited. Scared. Sick to my stomach afterwards, but only for a minute. I was really proud of myself, but Mom sure fussed at Dad for taking me out after a roc.”
“You see, Michael?” Clomonastik turned back to the senior Crider. “Your son, he has it as well. All of you do. Vice President Gutierrez, you were a businessman before you were a politician, yes?”
“A contractor, but yes.”
“You had competitors, yes?”
“Of course. Denver’s a big city. There were times during the last big recession, competition for what few construction jobs there were got pretty tough. The kids were just little then, and I was working twelve, fourteen-hour days, Tony and I were busting our humps trying to keep our people working…” His voice trailed off.
Clomonastik was quick to jump on the opening. “Allow me to speculate. You competed ruthlessly. Your loyalty was to your people, your employees. You pursued your competition, you defeated them on price, on service, on quality, on every front, until they were bankrupt, and your own company was the premier construction company in Colorado.” Clomonastik may not have been eligible to vote, but that didn’t stop him from reading the political section in the news services.
“Yes.”
“And in spite of all the hard work, the time away from your family, the uncertainty, the conflict, you remember those times with a certain satisfaction, do you not?”
“Well, yes.”
“And your wife? Madame, how do you recollect those days?”
“It wasn’t easy,” Sandy Gutierrez reflected. “Heck was working all the time. Sometimes weeks went by when he only saw the kids asleep in their beds at night. It was worth it, don’t misunderstand – it all paid off – but it was hard. We all pulled through it, though – as a family.” She patted her husband’s hand fondly, and the nostalgic smile on her face wasn’t lost on the former Grugell officer.
“You see?” Clomonastik took a sip of the red table wine provided with dinner, made a face. “You thrive on conflict, all of you. Without it you become bored, complacent, lazy. I’ve seen it myself, in your own American city of Baltimore. Humans who have everything provided for them quickly grow fat, lazy, and useless. You need conflict, and yet you treasure peace. You co-operate and you compete all at once. You are violent, yet you avoid violence until it comes to your door.”
“It hasn’t always been that way,” Hector Gutierrez noted. “Our history has been,”
“Warlike? Violent?”
“Yes. Yes, it has.”
“Our societies are not so different, you see. And yet I think that ultimately, in this greatest of all conflicts that your race will prevail. Why?” He set his wine glass down. “One of your failings, of course, is this pale, tasteless water you call wine. But I digress. You humans will prevail due to your ability to co-operate.”
“But surely your own Grugell military co-operates as well. Any organized structure, such as a military, requires intense co-operation to function.” Hector Gutierrez hadn’t known a thing about military organization a few years earlier, but he was a quick study.
“Co-operate, yes, but only to the extent necessary to complete a task. You see,” Clomonastik continued, “my time among you has gifted me with perspectives into the similarities and differences between our peoples, but there is not yet one among you who has done the opposite. You must understand, the Grugell hierarchy is a vicious, intemperate competition – advancement by assassination is not unknown. I myself achieved my rank by ruthlessly undercutting my Commander on my last ship assignment – I concealed from him a serious shortfall in weapons qualifications records, and revealed them to an Imperium Inspectorate officer on a routine inspection tour. My superior was disintegrated, and I moved into his role.”
Clomonastik looked around the table at the staring faces of his human companions. “And so you see, the tendency of the individual Grugell often runs counter to the overall sense of mission. It is that tendency that we must use to our advantage.”
“You know, one thing concerns me,” Hector Gutierrez said. Clomonastik looked at him, an unspoken question on his narrow face.
“Based on all you’ve told us – especially that last bit – what reason do we have to think we can trust you? How do we know you won’t try to find a way to turn this to your own advantage?”
“Mister Vice President – you do not.”
Hector Gutierrez was a bit taken aback by the blunt but honest answer. “Why did you ask Colonel Perkins to have a Grugell uniform made for you?”
Clomonastik grinned, baring his predacious teeth. “Many years ago, when I was in command of a small weapons station on the planet Ghathaba, I had a very annoying subordinate. He took Grugell competitiveness to an unhealthy extreme – he was suspected in several assassinations and assassination attempts, including one on my own self. He fancied himself a student of history, you see – he had produced a long, quite boring scholarly work on an incident in our history known as the Night of Seven Blades.” He explained for a few moments, as expressions around the table grew more thunderstruck by degrees.
“And if my former subordinate Kadastrattik XII is indeed up there in orbit,” Clomonastik pointed up at the restaurant’s ceiling, “I’d like to meet him again. Yes, I’d like that very much indeed.”
“Do you think there’s a chance he’s the one that’s up there?” Mike asked.
“Yes, my old and respected friend, I do think he may well be. I’m not certain, but that bomb; it had a certain… inelegance… that reminds me of my former subordinate. And if it is in fact, he who is in charge of this mission…”
“Then you’ll know how to turn his own impulsiveness and ambition against him?”
Clomonastik laughed delightedly. “You see, my old friend? You and I, we are not nearly so different as you would like to believe.”
Mike considered that thought for a moment. “I just hope you’re right. We haven’t had many breaks yet.” “There’s an old Grugell aphorism that applies. Let me see if I can translate: ‘When your enemy has you on your back, things are looking up.’ Things may be looking up for us now.”
To see more of Animal’s writing, visit his page at Crimson Dragon Publishing or Amazon.
Mmmmm…space steak…
Thanks for the story.
Kadastrattik is going to get screwed.
Clomonastik goes kamikazi?
I think he has imperial aspirations.
Maybe. Definitely one to be watched. Will the love for his new home planet override his military aspirations? Stay tuned…
“You humans will prevail due to your ability to co-operate.”
I think he’s a smart commander and has no interest in being on the losing side.
He can’t undo the mindset of a whole planet’s population. Even if he succeeded in taking the emperor’s place, he just get assassinated in the end.
I think he’s looking to personally benefit from helping the humans to win.
It would be fun if he turns to piracy against his own people.
TPTB: regarding the article I submitted, the scheduled date is fine, but if you could move it back to draft there some bits I forgot to include. Won’t take much time to fix it up.
Meanwhile, in St. Paul…
Careful there, Protesters, Target may move to TX.
ICE may have some porta-potties to set up in front of homes.
The protestors may have forgotten a year or two ago with the trans kid nonsense. Cost Target some customers and cash. Most shareholders prefer a positive return.
It’s ok, they’re just observing ICE. It’s right there in the name, “ICE Watch”.
Trespass them all. Haul them off to jail.
Grinning down the bear?
“First Amendment speech is not limited to one park or one section of the city. You are allowed to protest, so long as you’re doing it peacefully. And by the way, we’ve got tens of thousands of people in Minneapolis that are grinning down the bear, that are peacefully expressing their First Amendment rights,” Frey said in an interview on CBS News’s “Face the Nation.”
By all means, mayor, encourage your subjects to engage in stupid and reckless behavior.
Pantomime martyrdom for everybody.
What did he say about people exercising their 1A rights to protest coronavirus lockdowns.
“That’s different!”
the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Reading comprehension test for the esteemed mayor . . . . show me where “directly interfering in legitimate law enforcement activities” is included in the 1st.
I grew up in the 60s and 70s. I whole-heartedly support the concept of civil disobedience. The radicals of the time understood they were breaking the law and would be arrested. They took pride in how many times they got arrested.
The ICE Watch nuts seem to think that they are immune from the law and will suffer no ill consequences from harassing and interfering with well-armed men and women in uniform. More of them are going to get shot.
“More of them are going to get shot.”
Which is what the instigators want.
Which is what the instigators want.
More posters for the cause. The printers rejoice (union shop no doubt).
If a protestor hasn’t moved in an hour better check ’em out, could be weather related
Protesters have thrown rocks and fireworks at law enforcement, who have responded at times with tear gas and aggressive tactics, video footage and reports on the ground show.
Look what Trump made them do.
This is just down the road from me. I have coworkers that are on that stretch of highway every day to get to work.
https://nypost.com/2026/01/19/us-news/roughly-100-vehicles-involved-in-michigan-pileup-amid-snowy-conditions-injuries/
Damn! I have run that stretch many a time, no one died so cool,
Showing just how awful most e bike riders are, here is a law I opposed, but do not feel depressed about in any way.
Gov. Murphy signs e-bike regulations on last day in office
It aint the kids thats the problem, adults are worse, they act privileged and never follow traffic laws
Only post 60s need an electric/motorized bike. Pre 60s need the exercise, many youngsters included.
New Law
“Possession of junk food while riding a power assisted bike will be a felony”
Would you like us to get off your lawn?
Ebikes are modern day mopeds, which are already regulated. Just apply the existing law.
“It is clear that we are in an age of increasing e-bike use that requires us to take action and update regulations that help prevent tragedies from occurring,” Gov. Murphy said.
Or when “tragedies” occur you could shrug your shoulders and say, “That’s what you get for being stupid.”
Since a good chunk of them come from the various ‘hoods around here you and I pay their medical. And my insurance the property they damage.
That’s a separate problem with a separate solution.
https://x.com/bennyjohnson/status/2013283898935882195
Don Lemon to be charged under the KKK law.
Goddamn right.
The major news is not covering this yet.
Google AI says:
Based on reports from January 19, 2026, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has placed former CNN anchor Don Lemon “on notice” following his coverage of a protest where demonstrators entered a church in Minnesota.
Here are the key details regarding this situation:
Incident in Question: Lemon was documenting a demonstration by anti-ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) protesters who entered Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, during a Sunday service.
DOJ “On Notice” Warning: Harmeet Dhillon, identified in reports as the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, publicly stated that Lemon is “on notice” for his role in the incident.
Potential Charges: The investigation is examining potential criminal violations, specifically mentioning the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, which also applies to preventing the disruption of religious services. Some reports indicate that charges under the Ku Klux Klan Act may be under consideration.
Context: Critics accused Lemon of participating in the disruption of worship, while Lemon defended his actions as independent journalism and a exercise of First Amendment rights.
This is a developing story as of January 19, 2026, with the DOJ indicating the incident would receive high attention.
I looked up the KKK law with Grok. This is an interesting choice. The law was signed into law by US Grant in 1871.
Key provisions included:
– Criminalizing conspiracies to interfere with constitutional rights (e.g., voting, equal protection).
– Allowing the president to use federal troops to suppress such conspiracies.
– Authorizing suspension of the writ of habeas corpus in areas where violence made normal law enforcement impossible (Grant used this in parts of South Carolina in 1871).
– Barring those involved in such conspiracies from serving on federal juries.
Penalties include up to 10 years in prison, and fines of $1000 or more.
Doubling down.
Can the people in that church sue him for that claim? That would be fun too.
Yes, they can.
He’d have to prove in a court of law that his statements were true to defend the lawsuit.
Oh please, please let that happen. $10 million should do it.
Thanks kinnath.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2yppj4lg4o
Gold and silver prices hit record highs but share prices fell on Monday as investors reacted to the threat by US President Donald Trump to impose fresh tariffs on eight European countries opposed to his proposed takeover of Greenland.
The price of gold touched $4,689.39 (£3,499) an ounce on Monday, while silver rose to a peak of $94.08 an ounce.
I should have bought a lot more silver and gold back in 2020 when prices seems ridiculous then.
Which is what the instigators want.
Wave the bloody airbag!
Have Crosby, Stills and Nash put out a song about Minneapolis yet?
I wouldn’t put it past Neil Young.